Ayame hummed to herself, her thoughts elsewhere as she sat inside the kitchen. She swung her legs back and forth from where she was sitting, while looking down at the food in front of her.

Kurenai had made some rice balls, specially for her, yet she was too caught up in her thoughts to even pay any attention to them. She was stuck thinking about what had happened the other day, the way people had reacted towards her. Ayame wasn't used to getting compliments and it had made her extremely happy.

Finally, Ayame slowly ate the three rice balls, her mouth watering from the tastiness. She loved Kurenai's rice balls and had convinced herself that no one else could make them like her.

She finished them in record time and stood up, cleaning off her plate. She had nothing to do that day, Kurenai had canceled their training for that day because she had gotten a mission.

Ayame left the house and locked the door behind her, hiding the key in it's usual spot. She then realized that she had literally no idea where to go and frowned before letting her feet take her in a random direction.

She came to a stop in front of the park, her eyes watching as Children interacted with each other and the parents watched. Ayame smiled sadly at the sight before walking over to an empty swing, sitting down.

She ignored the person who came over, sitting down in the swing next to her. She was thinking about her friends, if she could even call them that yet, until the person started speaking to her.

"They call you Ayame, right?"

Ayame's head snapped up, her eyes landing on the speaker. It was a girl, one that was at least a year younger then Ayame. Her brown hair was tied into two braids. She had the same green eyes as Ayame but she looked more healthier and more lively.

"They do."

The girl just grinned, nodding. "Fits you much better then Kaede."

Ayame tensed, just then realizing this was the other girl who had been on the team with Kai and Aoi. She couldn't place the girl in any of her memories however and frowned, wanting to remember who she was.

"Miyu Himiwura!" Miyu held her hand out for Ayame to shake, which the girl did hesitantly. She didn't understand why she was so different then her siblings, who had wanted to kill Ayame instantly.

"I don't really remember much about you, since I was five at the time, but I do know you were an awesome big sister!" Miyu just continued smiling, tilting her head slightly this time. "Sorry about Kai and Aoi, by the way. They were just surprised is all. We all thought you were gone!"

Miyu just kept rambling on and Ayame couldn't help but laugh at her. The girl stopped talking, tilting her head in confusion. "Did I say something funny?"

Ayame shook her head, trying to stop the giggles coming from her mouth. "Ne, how old are you now, Miyu?"

The brunette tapped a finger to her chin, as if she really had to think about her age. "Ten! Which means you're thirteen, right Ayame?"

The red-head nodded again, turning her head as she watched the children play on the playground. She wished that she could have done that and if she had, she wanted to remember what it felt like. She wanted to remember the feel of the dirt on her hands and knees or the sound of laughter of coming from her mouth. She wanted to remember the smell of the air and feel the wind on her face. She wanted to remember all this, but her mind just wouldn't allow herself too.

"Ayame, will you come back home with us?"

Ayame froze, her happy thoughts pushed right out of the window. Her head slowly turned to look at Miyu, who was already looking at her. Her face was serious, she wanted Ayame to desperately come home with them whenever they decided to leave.

"I'll give you two weeks, Ayame. If you decide to leave with us, I'll be so happy, so will mom and dad! They would love to see how well you've grown and Ayame, please just come home with us." Miyu's eyes were pleading, the guilt weighing down on Ayame like a brick.

"Meet us at the gate in two weeks if you decide to come. Goodbye, onee-chan."

Ayame sat there, watching Miyu walk away from her. She didn't know what to say, much less think. She wanted to leave, but what would happen to Kurenai then, how would the women who was now legally her mother react?

She didn't know who her true family even was, so why should she go?

++++++++

Ayame groaned, trying to ignore the banging on the front door. Kurenai was yet to be back from her mission and wasn't due back until tomorrow night. It had been three days sine Ayame's talk with Miyu and the girl still hadn't come to a decision.

Ayame smiled, half asleep, when the banging finally stopped. She was finally going to get some peace and quiet. . .

"Ayame-chan! What are you doing sleeping, we have a mission, believe it!"

Ayame groaned, covering her head with the pillow until she realized it was Naruto speaking. The red-head screamed, taking the pillow off her head and threw it at the blonde who tumbled out of the window he was standing on.

"Troublesome women. . . " Shikamaru mumbled before jumping onto the windowsill himself. He narrowed his eyes at the red-head as he took in her appearance. Her red hair was in a bun on top of her head but had pieces sticking out at odd angles from the restless sleep. She was dressed in a pink tank top and a pair of white shorts that hung loosely.

Shikamaru then noticed the scars that littered her body in random places but said nothing of it, deciding to keep it to himself. "You have ten minutes to get ready, we have a mission."

Ayame stood there for a few seconds before the words finally sunk in and threw another pillow at the lazy Nara. "Then go so I can change, idiot!"

Ayame was getting much better at hiding her shy personality around those that she saw on an almost daily basis. She grinned as she ran over to her closet, grabbing the outfit she had bought with Tenten and quickly got ready.

When she went to fix her hair however, she noticed her shorts were on backwards and blushed before fixing them and then put her hair in a ponytail, her headband on her forehead.

Ayame brushed her teeth the quickest she could and then ran out of her room, falling down the four step staircase that Kurenai had in her house. The red-head growled at the inanimate object before running into the kitchen, grabbing an apple from the bottom of the pile. She screamed when the others started to tumblr down, rushing to catch them all before they hit the ground; which she failed miserably at.

The day had just started and it was already going bad by the looks of it.

Ayame put all the apples back before rushing to the front door and slipping on her shoes. She nodded to herself as she checked one last time, making sure she had everything, before leaving the house where Shikamaru and Naruto were waiting for her.

"That took twelve minutes."

Ayame went to slap the Nara, frustrated by what he had just said but Naruto took off then, going in the direction of the gates. Shikamaru just sighed as he started walking, Ayame following next to him slowly while chewing on her apple.

When they got to the gate, three other people were waiting for them. One of them being the person she wanted to see the least at that moment. Kiba Inuzuka, Chouji Akimichi and Neji Hyuga all stood there, their faces showing boredom, irritation and tiredness.

Ayame giggled to herself while Shikamaru started explaining the mission. "Our mission is a rescue mission of sorts. Sasuke has left the village and it's our job to bring him back."

++++++++++

Short update cause i need to save more for other chapters xD

Can you guys please leave some feedback, I have no idea if my book is actually good or not.

I'm planning to make this twenty chapters long. But since the chapters have so many pages, it's okay. ^.^