She would never recover from this.

"Play?" Ayako managed to say as she held her head and groaned in pain.

"What did you say, Ayako?" Inoichi questioned her.

"He just wants to play." She stuttered, trying her best to stand back up. Her legs wobbled as she used the desk as a form of support.

"Who wants to play?" Inoichi asked yet again.

"Gaara." She stated, looking straight in his eyes.

"And the-" Inoichi was stopped from questioning her even more when the Hokage raised his hands and motioned him to stop.

Maybe he knew what was going on?

"Ayako, are you okay?" Mikoto asked her as she helped her stand straight.

"I'm fine, don't worry... Mikoto-san." She said, putting on a smile. Clearly it was fake but no one commented on it.

"Inoichi, maybe we shouldn't put much strain on her. It wouldn't do well for either parties."

"As you wish, Hokage-sama."

"Now, Ayako-chan, could you tell us all you know? Or recall?" The Hokage questioned her.

All eyes were on her, watching her every move and she felt suffocated. This was inevitable, wasn't it? She didn't have a history, a background. She did not have  something that they could judge.

So, they were trying to figure it out. They were trying to create a background for her. They were trying to make her be a citizen who they knew about. Not someone unknown.

And as much as she understood why they would take such a step, it served no comfort to her at all.

The Hokage permitting the Yamanaka clan head to use a highly dangerous jutsu on her right now meant that she was going to be subjected to it quite a bit.  Because, according to the book she read in the library, it's a jutsu that one had to continue quite a for awhile  before it had full effect.

And most.. well, they didn't survive. Experiments had been conducted under the leadership of Orochimaru regarding this jutsu. It was not a secret clan jutsu but it was also not very popular unlike the famed Mind-Controlling jutsu since not many could use it.

Maybe it was passed down only through the main line? Maybe most just didn't want to learn such a jutsu. But right now, what she knew was that, Inoichi knew how to use it and used it on her.

Her headache persisted even when the others seemingly moved on from the conversation they were having.

She perceived everything as blurry, almost as if her eyesight was slowly worsening.

She saw Shisui waving his hand in front of her and move his mouth. But no words came out.

She tried to speak and ask him what was wrong. But she could not move her mouth, it all felt too heavy.

Suddenly, she felt heavier than what she could handle. Her breathing quickened. And she felt herself slowly drifting away.

Ayako woke up panting heavily on a hospital bed.

She was alarmed, this place was unknown to her. Slowly, her mind took in the surroundings.

She sat up straight before standing up.

However, it turned out to be a failure as she fell again. Her body unable to balance itself as if it forgot the seemingly normal workings of life.

Footsteps could be heard running inside the room as the doors slammed open.

A nurse, staring right back at the girl who was now trying to stand straight without any support from the inanimate objects around her.

"Would you like some help, Aya- Ayanami san?" she asked, scanning through her file to look for her name.

"Thank you, I'll be fine. I'm up anyways." she answered, letting the nurse take control over her movements. The nurse offered her a glass of water from the jug nearby.

"May I ask what happened, miss?"

"You passed out from exhaustion. I don't know much of the details myself either. But it seems Yamanaka-sama used the jutsu on you."

"Oh.. I see... My memories are really fuzzy so I don't remember much." she told her, trying to strike up a conversation between them. 

The nurse didn't seem to mind her questions though, her eyes were scanning through the files on the clipboard, "The Memory-pull jutsu was too much for you to handle. You weren't conscious when you were brought here."

"May I ask who brought me in, nurse?" She asked the nurse, looking around.

Her eyes fixated on the flower vase with flowers so bright and colorful, refreshing her mind and calming her down.

The windows were open, giving her space to finally relax and breathe.

Just Breathe. That's it.

How long has it been since she's done that. Just let your worries away. Breathe in and breathe out.

"A ninja brought you in, don't know much since I wasn't here at the time. I was only just assigned to your case this morning." She answered.

"This morning?" She forgot how to breathe. She forgot everything she told herself just now. "How long have I been here?"

"You were brought in yesterday." The nurse answered. "And before I forget to tell you, I think I recall some other people your age mentioning that they would pass by around this time. So, please do rest up before that and don't exhaust yourself."

"I will remember that, thank you." Ayako said before closing her eyes.

She let the information sink in.
A whole day in the hospital.

A WHOLE DAY

She must have missed out on a lot of things but could they have continued without her? She was vital, right?

The rational part of her mind told her that was not the main concern. Her desire to know more about what happened was not more important than her health. But her nosy self disagreed.

She nearly had a heart attack when the hospital doors slammed open revealing Shisui and Itachi.

Shisui was probably the one who suggested it while Itachi tagged along to keep him in check.

She chuckled when they both turn to her, 'They were so predictable.'

"Ayako, how are you feeling now?" Shisui asked her, carefully.

He was speaking to her as if she was glass, fragile and prone to break with the slightest mistake.. the slightest wrong choice of words.

Itachi was the one who was more blunt, "We didn't know this would happen."

His voice wasn't remorseful nor was it regretful. His voice was asking for understanding. Asking her to understand everything that they had subjected her to.

A reminder that no matter how praised the Leaf is for being peaceful, they still haven't become soft. They would do anything for their country.

And she also knew that she would have  to go through things much worse had she been older.

Given her young age and close relation with the Uchihas and others, they had used the most effective method on her that would not lead to instant death.

On one hand, she was grateful that she wasn't dead yet. But on the other hand, she wondered if death would be easier than going through any more of the Yamanaka memory jutsus.

"I know." She replied.

Her answer was short. But they got their answer.

She understands. She does, maybe even better than them. She willingly let them use the jutsu on her, knowing the harms.

Not that she had any other choice.

"I would like my memories to come back too. It's not just the Hokage and others... or the both of you. Even I, personally, wish for my past to come to light." She told them.

"Ayako-" Shisui was interrupted when the Hokage along with the Yamanaka clan head entered.

The two boys stood up to greet them while she could only bow her head slightly.

"How are you feeling now, Ayako?"

"I have a hard time keeping balance. But other than that, I am fine." She answered.

He continued to say some other common greetings such as 'I hope we are not disturbing you.' And 'I am thankful you are recovering well.'

She saw the papers in the Yamanaka's hands. Her eyes narrowed before she cleared her throat, "We can continue tonight as well, Hokage-sama."

"I don't think that would be well, Ayako." Inoichi told her, "You should take some more rest, it might be too much for you to handle if we do it again tonight."

"I disagree, Yamanaka-san. I can handle it even if we end up doing it tonight."

She wanted to know what was wrong as well.  What must have happened to her to have ended up here in the Leaf and so, there could be no interruptions.

She needed no rest. She would only rest when she fainted. That's enough rest, right? She did just sleep for a whole day due to it.

"Then, we shall do it again tonight at 8." The Hokage announced before turning towards the door.. ready to leave.

Once the room was clear of the two adults, Shisui spoke up again.

"Ayako, I am truly sorry about all."

"You don't have to be, Shisui." She didn't understand him.

Why is he sorry when he hasn't done anything wrong?

"He means to say that he felt like he had to step in but he couldn't. His loyalty is to the Leaf, after all." Itachi spoke for him.

"Yes..." Shisui looked embarrassed for a slight second, one you would miss if you didn't know him as well as the two in the room did.

"Why would you agree to doing it again tonight, though?" Itachi asked her.

"Why not? As I've already mentioned, I am also hoping for my memories to come back as soon as possible." She was nearly about to go on for a whole hour on the topic when she was interrupted.

"But. Seriously, to this extent?" She was being questioned.

"Yes, to this extent."