Haru's head swam.

The muffled words of the medics outside the room became fuzzy, indistinct. Her thoughts drifted aimlessly, moving from one concern to another with all the grace and awareness of a dust mite. Blood loss had left her undeniably weak, vulnerable. On her own, she was only too aware that her chances of survival would have been nonexistent.

Shafts of misty light fell upon her closed eyes. Annoying was all she considered it. She rolled over, blinked open her eyes anyway. She'd been asleep for too long and nowhere near long enough.

A hazy outline of a blinding whiteness filled her vision. Gradually shapes emerged, found sharpness and became familiar. Several beds besides her own took up a majority of the room; various medical supplies claimed the rest. And all of it was that startling white, akin to her own hair color.

Haru breathed slowly, her chest expanding and deflating with minimal discomfort. They'd let her leave soon. She would only have to keep showing improvement.

Her lilting breaths stirred the white fringe that hung carelessly over her eyes. It lifted high, fell back into place. Lifted, fell. Lifted, fell. The repitition helped keep her heart calm, kept her from leaping suddenly from her bed and flinging herself at the door, intent on scouring the entire Village until she found Kasai.

She winced.

The thought of Kasai, her one and only precious thing, alone and scared, wondering what had happened to her owner...

A hollow ache formed in Haru's chest. It pulsed with each and every thought, every memory she and Kasai shared.

The recent moments were the hardest to bear. A life worth living, a life worth ending, a life worth running from. Such phrases described her at different times, different emotional states. But they all coalesced into what she had become now: A B-Ranked Missing Nin from Hinoirigakure.

B-Ranked? she mused tiredly, eyes drifting shut as her fringe returned home, only to disappear a heartbeat later. They give me too much credit. Just because I killed....

Her heart clenched.

If I could forget about it, I would. In a heartbeat. Nothing is worth this pain. But it's there, and it always will be. The guilt, the shame, the self-hatred. My life's going to be wonderful from now on, I'm positive!

There was a knock at the door; the medics hushed into awed silence. Haru recognized it. The silence that ensued when subordinates were faced with their leader. A silence of respect. Or, in Haru's case, a silence of unbridled terror.

Haru didn't bother feigning sleep; she watched through half-lidded eyes as the Hokage shuffled inside. The door, for once, remained open in his wake, and he settled in a chair that sat facing Haru.

Out of sheer respect, the girl ignored her screaming muscles and shrieking injuries to haul herself into a semi-sitting position. She tensed when a weathered brown hand gently pushed down on her shoulder. She collapsed back onto the bed, greeted with an amused elder's smile.

"I appreciate your efforts, Haru-san," the Third smiled kindly, "but I prefer it if my young Shinobi are healthy and whole, and pushing yourself with accomplish neither. So lie still."

The girl nodded absently as she sunk into the luscious softness of the sheets, as soft as a blanket of fresh snow. Her mind whirled with posibilities, conversations yet to pass, questions she would demand answers to. She opened her mouth but all that came out was the muffled question: "Why?"

"Hmm?" The Third looked at her, perplexed.

"Why?" she croaked again, lifting her eyes to meet his dark, wise ones. "I'm a rogue, a Missing Nin. I should be dead right now, either by yours hands or the hands of my former villagers. So why'd you take me in? And why do you keep insisting I'll become one of your Ninja?"

The old man chuckled softly. Amusement twinkled in his dark eyes.

"I'd like to think I'm capable of judging others quite well, after having done so for such a long time," he said. "And as many times as I look at you and consider, I can't believe you're the cold-blooded killer you're trying to make yourself out to be."

Haru's heart hammered now, unabashed by the icy fear that slithered through her veins. Fear. It had stayed with her for so long, it had almost become a part of her. Fear of death. Fear of abandonment. Fear of the unknown. Death cropped up again several times. Then more unknown, a black expanse as dangerous and welcoming as the sunset she was running from.

But this fear was different.

Fear... of losing the blossoming hope that threatened to ignite a blaze in her chest.She tried to keep herself in check.

"Che," she scoffed, turning her head away with the utmost rudeness. "Damn old geezer, can't see what's right in front of him. I told you I killed a member of my own Clan, I told you I was kicked out of the Village. My headband proves it! What more do you want?"

"The truth would be interesting."

"The... the truth?"

Hadn't she been telling the truth all this time? Oh, if only she could dismiss it as a nightmare, or a lie concocted by her troubled psyche. But no, she was sure this was the truth, in all its murderous glory.

"S-So, you're blind and deaf? Not good qualities for a leader of a Hidden Village, old man."

His only response was to smile and stand from his seat, walking over to the large window that overlooked the Village that still slumbered peacefully.

I wonder if she'll come to see this Village as I do, he thought silently, amused by the idea.

Haru's gaze flickered to where her headband rested on the table beside her bed. Her fingers reached for the cool, reflective surface that made up her Village's symbol. It frosted beneath her touch, ice cold, like her villagers hearts towards her. A heavy sigh escaped her. The symbol, at one time, meant everything to her. Now it bore only the certainty of her death.

"You trust me." She stated facts only. "You trust me and yet you are aware of what I've done, right?"

The Third nodded without turning to her.

"What a weird Village I've come to..."

________________

"Haru-san, this is Tenzo. He'll be one of the ANBU monitoring you while you adjust to the Village."

Haru eyed the masked man warily from her hospital bed.

He was rather tall, with ruffled brown hair that emerged from behind the white mask, styled to match the look of a cat's face, sitting over his face. He wore a black sleeveless shirt, leaving his arms completely bare except for the black arms that covered his forearms and the gray arm guards positioned over them, under a gray chest protector and black pants, tucked into the black sandals that wound their way up to his knees. On his shoulder rested a swirled red tattoo. Two pouches hung off his hips and a katana was strapped to his back.

Tenzo stood silently beside the Third Hokage, giving off such an intimidating air that Haru wished desperately for Kasai to be at her side for comfort. And possibly to snap at the man's ankles. Kasai was never found of cats.

"Why tell me about the ANBU?" Haru couldn't help but ask. She looked only at the Third, resisting the urge to close one eye to block Tenzo out completely. "Wouldn't it be more effective if I didn't know they were there?"

"Oh, you won't," the Third assured her with a smile tinged with pride. Haru sweat dropped. "But I wouldn't want you to feel as though you're being spied on. It's only procedure to watch guests who stay in the Leaf Village. And Tenzo will the one who reports directly to me, so if you run into any trouble just seek him out."

"Does he... speak?" Haru asked timidly.

The Black Ops of her own Village weren't paritcularly talkative and it had always unnerved her. Her dream had once been to become a Black Ops Ninja herself, but the idea of not speaking for the rest of her life had soured the idea somewhat.

Tenzo looked to the Hokage, as if to ask permission and, upon receiving the inevitable encouraging nod, turned back to Haru.

"I do, in fact speak, but you won't hear my voice often. ANBU don't engage in conversation with their targets."

"I don't feel at all reassured by that statement."

"It's fact."

"I'm well aware," Haru sighed.

The Third chuckled to himself. He was glad he'd decided to bring Tenzo in on the girl's predicament. He was a trustworthy, reliable Shinobi whom he knew could guarantee the girl's safety if the need arose. And the wizened man had already concluded the need was not as hypothetical as he - and most likely Haru - would have liked.

"Tenzo will also be the one to show you to where you'll be staying for the time being," the Hokage said, breaking into the short staring contest that had been struck up between Haru and Tenzo.

Haru snapped to attention, effectively losing the "competition" when she blinked unnecessarily. Tenzo calmly returned his all-encompassing gaze to the Hokage.

"You... you've already found a place for me?"

Another amused smile.

"Konoha does take care of its less fortunate youngsters, Haru-san."

_______________________________

Haru blinked, pulling herself from the memory of a few days ago.

She'd been released with a somewhat clean bill of health earlier this morning; the wound in her abdomen still throbbed with the memory of pain but as long as the stitches weren't pulled, she was assured, she'd be just fine. She found herself absently rubbing the spot as she stared at the building before her.

Average. Homey. Lived-in. Charming. That last one amused her. Her old home had been considered charming by many as well. And why shouldn't it have been? Her family had ranked high in the Akiyama Clan, a respectable family, beloved, looked up to.

Haru's eyes fell to the ground.

No more could she consider them her family. The words they'd screamed at her, while she, bloody and terrified, ran for her very life, still echoed in her nightmares.

"You are nothing more than hell's spawn! An evil, wretched child! You are no child of ours! Forever until the day you breathe your last we will hate you and hunt you! We renounce your claim of being our daughter!"

She gulped.

Guess that sums up their feelings pretty well...

She felt a tap at her shoulder and looked up into the masked face of Tenzo. Even without seeing his face, it was clear he was irritated. She had been preoccupied with her thoughts for far too long, it seemed.

"My bad," the teen grinned sheepishly; inside she was shaking. Why did it have to be Tenzo who walked her here? Was the Leaf Village really that lacking in dependable Ninja?

Haru freely admitted to being scared witless by the stoic ANBU and would have preferred even Ibiki to his expressionless mask.

"Your headband, Haru."

"Huh?"

The headband was where it had always been: strapped to her arm in lieu of her forehead. Her one, agonizing reminder of what she once considered home.

Tenzo sighed and knelt down beside her, blank eye holes meeting mystefied purple orbs.

"You've been instructed not to tell anyone about your past," he reminded her as his nimble fingers worked at the knot binding the headband to her arm. "You're to follow the Hokage's orders and stick to the story he gave you. This headband will be a dead giveaway that you're lying, and this family in particular won't take kindly to that."

The knot came free and the headband fell with a clank into Tenzo's outstretched hand. Haru only caught a swift glimpse of the grimy metal before it was deposited in one of the pouches at his hips and he stood straight again.

Haru nodded meekly; as painful as it was keeping the headband with her, it was twice as horrid to be parted with it so easily.

"If the Hokage considers you trustworthy you'll be assigned a squad of your own, and be issued a Konoha headband."

Another nod, another falsely attentive stare. Tenzo frowned behind his mask. The girl wasn't listening anymore. She was looking at him, feigning interest, but it was plainly obvious her thoughts were elsewhere. He sighed; it had never been his intention to be a guardian to a child. He preferred to instruct people his own age. They were much easier to deal with.

"Knock, Haru," he ordered curtly. "Otherwise they'll never know you're here."

Slightly embarrassed, Haru's cheeks colored a soft pink as she nodded and rapped lightly on the door. There was shuffling and shouting, barking and general madness to answer her knock. Uneasy, she turned to ask Tenzo just what type of family this was, but he was gone, and she couldn't have a moment to contemplate that as the door swung open abruptly.

A fierce woman claimed the space in the doorway. Her brown hair was wild and unkempt and her eyes were wide with curiosity. Haru noted the red fang marks beneath her eyes and immediately her thoughts turned to Kasai.

"So. You're the little rogue, ain't ya?" the woman smirked.

Haru didn't tense, nor did she stutter or bable. She did not blush or tremble or give an uneasy, laughable smile. She stood straight, presentable and relaxed, with a small, knowing smile on her lips as she said, "That was a misunderstanding. I was attacked on my way here and fell unconscious before I could inform the guards who I was."

"And who would that be?" the woman inquired, lifting a brow. She had to admit, this hadn't been what she'd expected when she was told the owner of the Ninken Hana was taking care of would be coming to live with them.

"I'm Akiyama Haru, a visitor to the Hidden Leaf. Nice to meet you, Tsume-san."

_________________________

Tenzo watched Haru put on a show in front of Tsume, explaining away her discrepancies and ill-gotten background information.

She was animated, lively, innocent. So much so that, had he not been aware of her situation, he would have been fully sucked into her charm.

Tsume appeared convinced and leaned back against the door, gesturing for the snow-haired girl to enter her home freely. As she prepared to slam the door shut, Tsume's nose shot up and a smirk curled her lips. Her eyes locked with Tenzo's, through the twisted, gnarled branches of the ancient tree he'd perched in to remain close to Haru. A tense, heavy atmosphere crackled between them, until it dispersed into the wind blown free by Tsume slamming the door.

He remained a moment more, listening, waiting, watching. Nothing stirred. The house turned quiet.

It would be Tenzo's job to keep the peace and protect Haru, in addition to assessing her potential threat to the Village. The Hokage would be eagerly awaiting his findings.

Whether Haru turned into a trusted, beloved Leaf Nin was entirely Tenzo's decision.