Ko has been hospitalized for five days getting ready to be released within a few hours. Bandages were wrapped around her torso along with her arm and feet. When she arrived at the hospital, she had to be rushed into surgery receiving a blood transfusion due to her lack of blood and received stitches on her two major wounds. She hadn't realized how bad they were until she actually looked at her arm seeing a bit of bone under the shredded skin. Ko was thankful for Jiraiya arriving when he did, or she either would be dead or would've blown her cover in order to stay alive.

She was worried about the other one, who she learned was Kisame, knowing of her abilities. If he tells the rest of the Akatsuki about her, she would definitely be a person of interest. Ko was in her hospital bed sitting up and staring out the window about to summon a snake but was interrupted by someone climbing through her window. She looked over seeing Kabuto walking towards her.

"What happened to you?" Kabuto questioned eyeing the many bandages covering the girl.

"The Akatsuki. They came for Naruto and I was attacked by the seven swordsman Kisame."

"Is that why you were about to summon? To alert Orochimaru?" He questioned crossing his arms.

"Partly, they know of my abilities as a Himura; it was the only way I could fight them off."

"Hm well the cat will be out of the bag sooner than later. I'm assuming Sasuke ran into Itachi?"

"Yes, he is still in a coma recovering from the genjutsu he was under."

"Good, he'll be on our side in no time."

"H-how is he?" Ko questioned hesitantly. Her last encounter with Orochimaru was still fresh in her mind.

"Orochimaru? He's running out of time and needs a new body. You must work your magic to convince Sasuke to leave the village."

"I will once Jiraiya comes back with Tsunade. She's the only one who can wake Sasuke up."

"Tsunade eh? She should be close then." He chuckled as if he knew more about the situation.

Ko looked over at Kabuto noticing he was injured.

"What happened to you?" Ko questioned eyeing his injuries.

Before she could get a reply, Kabuto was gone leaving her alone once again. Her days in Konoha were now numbered. Orochimaru needed a new body which gave them about a month or so before he desperately needs it. Ko wasn't sure whose body he would use. Even if Sasuke goes to him, he needs to be stronger, his Sharingan isn't powerful enough. Orochimaru promised her that he would transplant the Sharingan into her eyes and kill Sasuke then take her body but that can't be done in such a short time.

"Father...why are you waiting for Sasuke? Take a new body of any of the other followers." Ko said quietly as she laid on her side trying not to put pressure on her back and bad arm.

The past few days have been lonely for Ko, reminding her of what it will be like when she's back home; isolated from the world. She hadn't received any visitors which was no surprise but she at least hoped Sakura would've stopped by when visiting Sasuke but she never did. The nurses weren't as talkative either, they did what they had to do and left. Kabuto was the first person she had been in contact with since she woke up in her hospital bed. She at least was able to work on the jutsu Jiraiya was going to teach her and made little progress, but it was a start. To make it easier on her, she cut her hair to make her bangs shorter to practice on.

The isolation gave her time to think about her decisions and what she really wanted out of life. It hasn't helped much but she knows staying in this village is extremely dangerous. Part of her wants to go back home to her Father but the other half wants to be a part of a village...not the Leaf but another one, a stronger one. Ko looked down in sadness knowing she will never be free from her Father and will be isolated from the world for the rest of her life.

Ko loves her father, but she knows it's not mutual. All he sees is weapon and nothing more. His love for her most likely died when she was given the mission to retrieve Sasuke but deep down, Ko knows that he never loved her. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she thought more and more about the situation she was in. If she could escape, she would be hunted and then killed. Even worse, Orochimaru could reveal her identity to the world forcing her to run back to him with nowhere else to go and the Akatsuki hunting her.

Finally, her thoughts were interrupted by a doctor giving her a release paper. Ko gladly signed it and hopped off her bed changing into her clothes. She couldn't wait to get out of there. When she was done changing, she decided to visit Sasuke, well at least pop her head in, and quickly leave to go train. As she walked towards his room, she noticed that there were a few extra people in his room. Ko poked her head around the corner of the door frame seeing Naruto, Jiraiya, Sakura, and another she guessed was Tsunade.

"May I come in?" Tsunade questioned from the door frame.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked observing the woman.

"Sakura-chan, he'll be alright now! She's a great doctor!" Naruto reassured her which brought tears to her eyes.

"I heard from Gai-sensei. Please, please help Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pleaded.

"Alright! Leave it all to me!"

She placed her hand on Sasuke's forehead and it started to glow green. When she was done she turned towards Sakura.

"He'll wake up soon." She said.

Moments later Sasuke woke up. Sakura had tears streaming down her face and hugged Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed.

Sasuke still was in a daze and just started at Sakura. Usually, he would complain and shove her off but he sat their limp as if he couldn't move. Tsunade turned around to leave but she froze when she spotted Ko lurking at the door. It looked like she had seen a ghost as she stared at the Himura.

"Tsunade? Are you alright?" Jiraiya questioned her.

She was silent so Jiraiya looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at but only saw Ko.

"What's wrong Tsunade? Did Ko sneak up on you?"

"Ko?" Tsunade finally spoke.

"Yes, their fourth teammate. She's been in the hospital as well recovering but her wounds were only physical."

Without another word, Tsunade walked out of the room to her next patient with Naruto in toe. Ko's heart started to race with fear. The way Tsunade looked at her, she saw Orochimaru at first not her.

"It's good to see you're awake Sasuke but I have to train. See ya." Ko said then proceeded to race out of the hospital running towards a training field.

Once she was at the training ground, Ko fell to her knees in exhaustion not use to moving her body since she was admitted to the hospital.

"She knows! She knows she knows she knows! Arg just that look on her face said it all!" Ko said frantically trying to catch her breath. "Calm down Ko, she has no proof. There's no connection between me and Orochimaru. I have to leave soon, she's going to investigate if she's the Hokage's replacement. I know from what Father said, she's smart and determined. If she's Hokage, she will look at all of my files and know I wasn't in the infirmary during the attack."

Ko took deep breaths trying to calm her heart down. She activated her eyes searching the village for Tsunade and found her still at the hospital with Lee. From the looks of it, she wasn't giving him any good news. It didn't seem like she was excited to become the next Hokage but it seems like she had no choice but to come back. Ko could see Sasuke still in the hospital being bothered by Sakura while Naruto was at his favorite restaurant.

She deactivated her eyes then sat back up and shook her head then got back to her feet. She had to clear her mind by training. Ko started out with taijutsu to loosen her stiff muscles. She lunged towards the nearest tree to her left kicking and punching as hard as she could to let out her anger that started to overwhelm her. For a split second, she wondered why she felt angry but the more she attacked the tree, the better she felt. By the time her arms and legs started to hurt, the poor tree was battered with dents. Ko was hunched over with her hands resting on her knees as she caught her breath. She wiped the sweat off of her face and lifted her head to see the damage she had done to the tree.

"Man, one gust of wind and it'll fall over." Ko said as she sat back down on the ground.

She set the top of her arms on her crossed legs breathing in and out trying to slow her heart and tune out the sounds around her. Instead of wasting her chakra on jutsu she already knows, she wanted to practice sending chakra to her hair. She concentrated on something small like her new bangs envisioning the blue chakra going through her hairs making them harden and extend longer to her chin protecting her face. She made the correct hand signs, Tiger → Horse → Boar → Ram → Rat → Snake.

"Ninja art, Needle Jizō!"

Just as she envisioned, her bangs covered her face making it hard to see then touch it instantly getting her finger pricked.

"Damn my hair is sharp!" Ko cursed as she held her finger.

"I see you're improving," A voice was heard from above Ko startling her.

Her head snapped upward barley seeing Jiraiya through her hair standing on a branch leaning against the tree. Her heart skipped a beat but her face remained emotionless.

"I also see you learned its name," Jiraiya said as he jumped down from the tree landing in front of Ko.

"I may have had a nurse bring me a scroll that mentioned the jutsu." Ko said as her hair returned to normal. "So what was with Tsunade? It looked like she saw a ghost." Ko got to her feet and faced Jiraiya feeling nervous about his answer.

"You did spook her," Jiraiya said with a chuckle. "She thought you were someone else at first."

"If I may ask, who?"

"Our former teammate, Orochimaru."

Ko's heart skipped a beat once again knowing she was right.

"How? I don't see the resemblance." Ko lied.

"Well it's the skin and hair. His skin is pretty pale like yours and the black hair also. I told her it was impossible, and she was overreacting. We ran into him during our search for her and he did do a number on her psyche in order for her to heal his arms."

"I see, I never really paid attention to my pale skin. I always thought it was normal until I arrived here. I actually have a question about Needle Jizō."

"What is it?"

"Um when you use it on the offensive, what happens to the hair you just shot out?" Ko questioned feeling a little embarrassed about asking a stupid question.

"Oh it's like a porcupine's quills. Your hair will grow back, not right away but after a few hours it'll grow back."

"Alright, so how do you activate the offensive? I'm working on the defensive but sending out my hair sounds difficult."

"How did you extend your bangs?" Jiraiya asked which confused Ko.

"Uh I envisioned everything?"

"You do the same but you need to command your hair to attack the enemy. Aiming is the hardest part of the training. You have millions of hairs attacking one person or more and it's a life or death situation. Your aim is the most important part of the jutsu. If you miss and get distracted, you may lose your focus on the defensive. I have used defense and offence simultaneously and the first time I used it, I was injured in the back. I was too focused on the offensive, my hair protecting my back receded leaving an opening for my enemy." Jiraiya said to her then looked from her face to her bloodied hands. He looked around seeing the battered tree then looked back at her. "I see you've done some damage on that tree and your hands."

Ko looked down at her hands shocked to see the cuts and bruises her anger had made. She didn't even feel them in pain and never thought to pay attention to them. Jiraiya pulled out bandages from his weapons pouch and started to wrap them around Ko's battered hands.

"Thank you," she said as he finished.

"No problem, keep working on that jutsu. I've got some things to take care of." He said before disappearing leaving Ko alone once again.

Ko decided to call it a day and head back to her apartment but stopped when she reached the Hokage building. The elders took no time in inaugurating Tsunade as Hokage as she was on the roof of the building looking down at her cheering villagers.

"Starting today, the village is my responsibility as the Fifth Hokage!" Tsunade announced as the villagers cheered louder.

"I hope we're leaving soon. I don't want to be here any longer." Ko thought as she continued to walk home.

Edited April 30, 2020