Insert disclaimer here

Blah Blah Blah basic text (i.e. description, speech, etc)

Blah Blah Blah Thought or some transaction within someone's mind (also flashbacks)

Blah Blah Blah Kyuubi talking Jutsu will also be bold

BLAH yelling, or emphasis of some sort

Wrath of a Woman Scorned

Rated M for: language, violence, adult situations and concepts, lemons, and graphic imagery

Chapter 3: Ghosts of the Forest

He had to get away. That was the only thought in the man's head as he crashed through the underbrush. He had to get away, far away. He had to run, had to get away, faster, as far away as possible...

Snap!

He froze, listening. What was that? Did she catch up to him? But how could she have caught up to him so fast?! His escort should have at least been able to-

Footsteps...

He whirled around his eyes frantically searching the shadows for his pursuer as he drew a dagger from the folds of his robe. It was her! It had to be!

Rustle...

He spun around again to the sight of the still swaying shrub. She was screwing with him. "Where are you?" he growled trying to sound menacing but the quaver in his voice and his trembling hands betrayed him.

"Here," a voice whispered in his ear.

Konoha

As Sakura walked toward the Hokage Tower holding Tora for what felt like the millionth time she thought about how life had changed since she had been place on Team 7.

It was amazing how much had happened in the two months since Kakashi-sensei had passed them and as she walked with Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei to hand in their latest D-rank, she couldn't help but remember one of the more memorable moments.

Flashback

It was the day after the Bell Test, as Sakura had come to refer to it, when Team 7 walked into the Mission Office.

"Ah Team 7," the Sandaime said as he caught sight of them, "Here for a mission?"

Kakashi nodded.

The Sandaime inclined his head to the assisting chunnin who started listing the available missions, "Alright we have, Catch Madame Shijimi's cat Tora, Ms. Yamata needs a fence painted, Mr. Kataka needs- hey where are you going?!" he called as Aki started walking out of the room.

"I have more productive things to do than someone else's busy work," she responded waving her hand dismissively.

"Now see here you little-!" the chunnin began.

WHAM!

Before anyone could blink Aki had crossed the room and was holding the young man against the wall by his throat. "Your flack jacket smells new… recently promoted?" Aki asked evenly, one hand still in her pocket as her choking captive futilely attempted to break her vice-like grip.

"Aki, release him, please," said the Sandaime, who didn't seem at all phased by her actions.

At first Aki did nothing, just kept staring into the chunnin's eyes as they started to roll back into his head. Then, seemingly losing interest, she released her grip letting the gasping chunnin drop to the floor.

"As you wish..."

Then she was gone.

End Flashback

So it was that whenever they went for a mission Aki went off to do her own thing with the unspoken understanding that they were to come and get her when they got a real mission. Aside from that and the times that she would occasionally disappear for a day or two Aki would join them for team exercises and training. It was at some point during all this that she and Sasuke had come to a very important realization. Aki was a scary ass psycho… but she was their scary ass psycho. Make no mistake they were still terrified of her but they'd sort of…

"Adopted her?" Inner Sakura suggested.

'No, I don't think that's the right word for it,' Sakura responded, thoughtfully. 'Well... Maybe? It's more like we're really dysfunctional siblings I guess. We don't exactly like each other but when it comes down to it we're on the same side? Do you think that counts.'

"Kinda, sorta, not really, but maybe?" Inner Sakura replied unhelpfully.

Sakura huffed grumpily. She couldn't really tell when it had happened or how exactly but at some point in their ongoing quest to solve the puzzle that was their teammate she and Sasuke had developed a strange sort of possessiveness. They couldn't really explain why it had happened, though. Sasuke had compared it to something from one of their lessons about studying a target during a mission. Iruka had said that if you study your target in depth you come to know them, their character, their likes, dislikes, their habits, and in a sense you grow to love them because, in many ways, you knew them better than anyone else and they had most definitely studied Aki. So, in a way, it made sense.

It started when Sasuke had suggested that they should go to the academy and see what records they could find and more importantly Aki's full name so that they could look her up in other public records. That was when they had discovered a pattern that would show up continually throughout their search.

Aki was a ghost.

As far as paper was concerned Aki didn't exist. Academy directory, orphanage records, village census, medical archives, she didn't show up in any of them. That was not to say they hadn't found anything though. While they were searching the old Military Police records Sakura had stumbled across an unsolved Missing Person investigation.

Flashback

Opening the dusty folder Sakura's eyes went wide, "Sasuke! Look at this!" she called.

Coming to stand behind her Sasuke scanned the folder's contents over his teammate's shoulder.

"Is that Aki?" Sakura asked pointing at a picture of a red haired girl with a striking resemblance to their teammate.

"Could be," Sasuke glanced at the rest of the file. "The file says Uzumaki Kaiki… do you think she changed her name?"

End Flashback

They'd decided to go with Sasuke's theory that she had changed her name but if she had there was no record of it anywhere. Undaunted, they'd tried looking for records about Uzumaki Kaiki, this had yielded a couple of things. First, at the academy they found a record of an Uzumaki Kaiki entering the same year as them but after the first year she hadn't signed up again. Then last week they gone back to check the hospital archives again. The first thing about her file that they'd noticed was that she didn't have a birth certificate but they had reasoned that she must have been born outside of the village. The actual file showed a few visits when Kaiki had been three for severe beatings but after her fifth visit she hadn't come again so someone had probably reported the abuse and put an end to it. Unfortunately, this proved nothing and left them with no real answers, just half formed theories and speculation.

"Heads up! You just walked into the mission room," Inner Sakura warned.

With a practiced motion Sakura handed the now furiously struggling Tora back to Madame Shijimi before turning to the Hokage and Iruka who was the attending chunnin for the day.

"Alright," Iruka said as he brought out the list of available D-ranks, "We have three babysitting requests, the Inuzukas would like some extra hands to help at the kennels-"

"Oh, come back Tora-chan! Come back!"

"…um from the sound of it you could catch Tora agai-Sakura where are you going?" Iruka called after the pink haired girl who was walking toward the door.

"Aki was right, D-ranks are a waste of time," she grumbled irritably.

"Sakura these missions provide a major source of income for-" Iruka began only to be interrupted.

"Sensei our mock missions in the Academy were more meaningful than this shit!" Sakura snapped.

"Hmm, a valid point," Sarutobi mused stroking his beard. "D-rank missions weren't really meant for a team like yours, I suppose. What do you think Kakashi, are they ready?" he asked turning to the masked Jounin.

"Well I've been thinking of asking for a while now…" Kakashi confessed thoughtfully. "Is Aki back yet?"

Sarutobi nodded. "She checked in a little over an hour ago," he explained.

Seeming satisfied Kakashi said, "Then yes, as the leader of Team 7 I would like to request a C-rank mission."

Nodding the aged Hokage called for one of his aides, "Please send Tazuna in."

A few minutes later a gruff looking old man walked in nursing a bottle of sake. "Kids?! I pay for ninja and you give me rug rats?!" he raged upon seeing who was to be his escort.

Sakura shivered. "You are so lucky Aki isn't here," she muttered under her breath as she imagined what Aki would have done if she'd heard him say that.

"Team 7 this is Tazuna, a bridge builder from Nami no Kuni, you will be protecting him on his journey home and as he finishes his current project. Kakashi I assume that you will inform Aki?" Sarutobi spoke, focusing on the silver haired jounin as he addressed him while completely ignoring Tazuna's outburst.

Kakashi nodded.

Satisfied the Sandaime turn to Team 7 and Tazuna as a whole. "You leave in the morning. I wish you the best of luck," he spoke, waving his hand to dismiss them.

As they left Kakashi leaned toward Sakura. "So…that time of the month?" he teased.

Flushing in embarrassment Sakura turned to yell at her sensei for saying such a thing only to find that he had disappeared… though she would swear that she could hear him laughing.

Elsewhere

'Now to find Aki,' Kakashi thought as he made his way down the street. He'd decided to check the Research and Development HQ first, they had standing bounties for bodies and materials that could yield anything useful and Aki generally found something on their list when she went on her little... excursions.

As luck would have it he caught her as she was leaving, a fat envelope disappearing into the folds of her jacket.

"Yes?" she asked, noticing his presence immediately.

"We have an escort mission," he explained.

"Oh?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Where too?"

"The client is heading to Nami no kuni."

"Are they now…" she muttered to herself, she'd heard quite a few rumors while she was out and even if only half of them were true this little escort could turn out to be very fun. "When do we leave?"

Edited: 6/10/17

A/N

Ok, before anyone jumps down my throat about this chp being short considering how long it's been since I updated I need to point something out. Chapters three, four, and five were originally one really freaking long chp which I decided was too much (in more ways than length) for what I was trying to accomplish. So the majority of the next two chps has already been written with the exception of some modifications and the first confrontation with Zabuza and should be out relatively soon.

Anyway, someone pointed out last chp that naming a future Jinchuuriki Evil Spirit was kind of stupid on the Yondaime's part, and I would have to say that they were completely right… if that was the name he gave her. As I hinted in this chp Aki changed her name from what if was originally, I'll be progressively explaining and giving clues all the way up to the end of the Chunnin Exams at which point you should have pretty much all the major background information.

Kaiki-Ocean Breeze/soft wind