Pic of Ashley  --->

I tried a different style to what I usually do while drawing this picture of Ashley, so hopefully you like it ^-^

Ashley's POV

Cracking my eyes open, I slowly come to and find myself staring up a strangely familiar grey ceiling. My brows furrow as I continue to look directly above, blinking rapidly in an effort to wake myself up somewhat.

'Why do I feel like I've seen this roof before?' I can't help wondering to myself, eyes narrowing at a small crack in the otherwise perfectly built ceiling. 'And that crack.......'

Still feeling confused due to being half asleep, I lean up on my elbows and push myself into a sitting position, only to exhale sharply. I reclose my eyes and hang my head backwards, scowling as I bite my lip to keep from groaning in pain.

My body feels so heavy and drained, almost like I've been sapped of all my strength. My muscles almost feel like they're on fire or something, they ache so badly. What exactly have I been doing?

Forcing myself to not just flop back down onto the bed I'm in, I open my eyes again and scan the small, empty room, only to do a double take and glance back over to the door on my left.

Kiba stands in the open doorway, back leaning against the frame, with his arms crossed and a faintly amused expression on his face.

"As much as I love getting a break from rebuilding the Village to come visit you in the hospital Angel" the brunette states, giving my a lop sided grin, "This is the third time this week."

I give Kiba a strange look, not understanding what he means, when the reality of his words suddenly hit me like a tonne of bricks. I throw my hands up to my face, groaning once again as the events of the past week come flooding back to mind. I hang my head and run my hands up into my hair, pushing my long fringe back from my face. I can't help sweat dropping, hooding my eyes as Kiba begins to laugh.

"I take it you finally remember what's going on then?" he questions cheekily, to which I deadpan.

"It's not my fault" I grumble tiredly, folding my arms over my chest like a spoilt child. "They're overworking me here! With the amount of chakra I've had to use up so far this week, it's a wonder I'm not dead yet...."

"Captain Yamato seems to be doing fine" Kiba tells me innocently, grinning despite the dark look I give him.

"Captain Yamato has been using his Wood Style Jutsu for years" I remind the Inuzuka flatly. "I only really started using mine this year, so comparing us isn't really fair you jerk."

"Still" Kiba continues, stepping into the room and walking over to my bed, still grinning, "This is the third time you've passed out from chakra overuse and Captain Yamato is still going strong."

An anime vein appearing on the side of my head, I jab one hand up towards Kiba's neck and grip him by the collar of his jacket, before roughly tugging him down to my height.

"I may be tired and I may be in pain" I warn, leering at the surprised Inuzuka dangerously, "But that only makes me more likely to hurt you. Watch yourself Mutt."

"Now probably isn't the time for flirting with me Angel" Kiba informs me cheekily, gently pulling my hand away from his neck and placing it back in my lap. "Don't you wanna know how long you were out for this time?"

"......As long as it's less than twenty four hours" I sigh, shoulders drooping, "I won't be too annoyed."

"Well, you'll be glad to know that you've only been here since last night" Kiba tells me, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Sakura let me know early this morning. I was helping out with rebuilding a house and she saw me on her way back from the hospital this morning."

"Great" I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "You'd think that seeing as I keep passing out from chakra loss, they'd let me take a break, but no. I seriously think someone is trying to kill me."

"Hey, you're just lucky Sakura keeps letting you have this private room" Kiba says with a shrug. "She looked pretty annoyed that you were in here again. She said she's got real patients to be dealing with, and you tend to be pretty difficult, even when you're injured."

"She said what?!" I shout, puffs of steam shooting away from the top of my head. "I'd like to see her try and do what I've been doing all this week without passing out! Just wait until I see her, I'm gonna-"

"I get what you're sayin Angel, I really do" Kiba interrupts, raising his eyebrows as he looks up pointedly, "But I kinda get Sakura too. I mean, the hospital was the first place they rebuilt and you already put a crack in the roof."

I scowl and tilt my head back, glaring up at the minuscule damage to the grey ceiling above me.

Hn. Sakura's mad about that tiny little crack is she? Well, she's lucky I didn't break through the damn roof last time I woke up in this stupid room!

"If they'd quit forcing me to work so hard and then get mad when I end up in the hospital" I argue stubbornly, "Then I wouldn't end up breaking their things!"

"Everyone appreciates what you and the Captain are doing Angel" Kiba lets me know, playfully pushing my shoulder. "It's really handy that you guys have Wood Style Jutsu, so people are coming to you guys for help. Even those two guys from your Clan are helping out with the rebuild. They're both good at welding stuff together."

"As annoyed as I am to be here again" I growl, "And that I'm being treated as an inconvenience, I'm glad that Shimei is better. The Medics did a good job on him."

"And guess what else?" Kiba asks mysteriously, eyes shining. "Sakura told me that as soon as you're awake, I'm supposed to check you out of the hospital and get you back to work!"

"Nooooo......" I moan miserably, throwing myself back onto my bed and running my hands down my face.

What does a girl have to do to earn a break around here?!

Third Person's POV

Looking somewhat down, Naruto stares at the ground, seated on a large pile of neatly chopped lumber as if it were a wooden bench. Sakura perches beside the blonde, watching him from the corner of her eye.

She'd been working at the hospital all night, still having many patients to tend to after the attack Pain had launched on the Village a week ago. She'd seen Ashley be carried into the hospital by one of the Jonin she'd been working alongside, but after seeing that she was only suffering from being overly tired for the third time, Sakura hadn't really paid her friend much mind.

Ashley would be fine. She'd wake up, get mad about passing out again and then Kiba would take her back out into the Village to continue working on rebuilding.

It wasn't that Sakura didn't care about Ashley being so overworked, she just had greater problems to deal with and the pinkette was confident her Minami friend would be alright.

On her way home from the hospital, Sakura had seen Naruto sitting all by himself like this, seeming a little glum. It was clear he had a few things on his mind, but apparently he didn't feel like burdening Sakura with his thoughts, as he hadn't said too much since the girl had sat down beside him.

"....There's so much stuff I need to talk to Grandma Tsunade about" the blonde eventually sighs, briefly closing his eyes. "If only she'd wake up....."

"I'm sure Lady Tsunade will wake up in no time" Sakura assures Naruto cheerfully, though she secretly doubts her own words. "She's a strong woman and the Hokage after all!"

Turning her head to the side so that Naruto won't see her bite her lip, Sakura sighs internally. Why did she have to sit here and comfort Naruto? He should be comforting her in this situation!

Lady Tsunade had fallen into a coma after using up all of her chakra to protect the Village during Pain's assault and she hadn't so much as stirred since then. Sakura had been spending a lot of time visiting Lady Tsunade recently, though she didn't really have to. Shizune had stayed by Tsunade the entire time she'd been unconscious and was refusing to leave the Hokage's side until she woke up.

"Hey Naruto, Sakura!" a voice suddenly calls, catching their attention. "Long time no see you guys!"

Raising their heads, Sakura and Naruto both break into broad smiles when they see two familiar people approaching them, one much taller and older than the other.

"Tazuna" Naruto greets excitedly, jumping to his feet, "Inari!"

The dark haired boy begins to laugh, glad to see his old friend again, while the older man merely closes his eyes and smiles. He was secretly happy to see the two brats who had rescued him from Gato's men in the Land of Waves years earlier, but he couldn't let them know that!

"Wow Inari, you look so grown up now!" Naruto can't help blurting out. "But you don't look much different Gramps, just a lot older!"

"Gimme a break......." Tazuna laughs bitterly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"I'm a carpenter now" Inari explains, "So I decided to come and help out when I heard about what happened to the Leaf Village."

"I really just came to say hello" Tazuna admits, a sheepish expression on his face. "But I'll help out where I can!"

"I can't believe how pretty you got Sakura!" Inari adds, causing the pinkette to blush lightly.

"O-Oh, really?" she asks, dropping her eyes and tucking some hair behind her ear. "Thank you."

"Oh" another voice chimes in, making everyone turn around, "You guys made it here already. Hey."

"Kakashi!" Tazuna addresses brightly, raising one hand in a wave as the silver haired Jonin strolls over. "We came as soon as we heard there was trouble. Oh, by the way, are Sasuke and Ashley around? We wanted to see them as well."

Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi fall silent at this question, each of them focusing on Sasuke's name rather than Ashley's. What were they supposed to say? How could they explain to Tazuna and Inari how far their comrade had fallen since they'd last seen him?

Looking to his right, Naruto glances down at Sakura with a sombre expression, seeing that her mouth is turned downwards and her eyes are focused intently on the ground.

"Oh......" Kakashi trails off awkwardly, not sure how to begin. "The thing about Sasuke is-"

"He and I kinda had a fight" Naruto interjects, running a hand through his hair and giving his friends a closed eye grin, "So he left the Village for awhile. Don't worry though, I'll bring him back soon! You can say hi to him then, right Sakura? I bet he'd love to see you guys again."

"Y-Yeah......" Sakura agrees, raising her eyes to Naruto's smiling face. She can't help smiling back, internally thanking her blonde teammate for handling the situation so well. She certainly hadn't known what to say.

"What happened?" Tazuna inquires, raising one eyebrow. "Some sort of love triangle or....?"

"No, of course not!" Naruto barks back, causing Inari and Tazuna to laugh. "We just-"

"Woah!" Inari interrupts, his dark eyes widening as he raises a hand and points at something. "Is that Ashley?!"

Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura all turn around to see where Inari is pointing, only for their expressions to fall and sweat drops to appear on the sides of their heads. What a way to meet people you haven't seen for a few years.....

"Hey you guys!" Kiba calls brightly, throwing one hand up in the air, the other firmly attached to a pale wrist.

Being dragged along against her will, Ashley stumbles after Kiba tiredly, looking more like a zombie than the lively, sharp tongued blonde girl that Tazuna and Inari had remembered her to be.

Dark circles are under her hooded eyes, which seem devoid of any sort of emotion or life. Her paler than normal face holds no expression, leading Inari to wonder if she is currently being led to her death or not.

"Ashley-chan?" Naruto asks uncertainly, scratching his chin. "Uh.....Tazuna and Inari are here. They wanted to say hello to you....."

".........Who?" Ashley asks in a low voice, raising her eyes to the two people standing in front of Naruto as Kiba finally stops dragging her along, allowing her a minute to talk. "Oh......The Bridge Builder and that annoying kid that followed us everywhere......Hi....."

Everyone besides Kiba stares at Ashley in bewilderment, with Tazuna and Inari exchanging confused looks with each other.

"How come Sakura got so pretty and Ashley......." Inari pauses for a moment, trying to search for the right words, "Well, turned out like that?"

"You tryna say she's not pretty you little punk?!" Kiba explodes, throwing up one fist and taking a step forwards, fire burning in his eyes. "She's way prettier than Sakura!"

"Uh, no no, that's not...." Inari laughs awkwardly, waving his hands back and forth as he takes a step back. "She's totally pretty! She just um.....Well..."

"She's about as awful as I remember" Tazuna speaks up flatly, the corners of his mouth twitching up when he sees a faint glimmer in Ashley's visible eye, the girl's expression hardening a little. "Ah, that's a little better. There's that attitude that I remember."

"You'll have to forgive me for not being happy about standing here and making small talk with you" Ashley snaps irately, seeming to wake up a little. She straightens her hunched posture, wrenching her wrist free of Kiba's grip and throwing her hands on her hips. "I'm currently being overworked by the Village for my abilities."

"Huh?" Inari asks, oblivious to the scowl of disapproval forming on Sakura's face behind him.

"They're quite literally working me to death" Ashley reiterates smartly, casting Sakura a pointed, side long glance. "I'm just on my way back from a third trip to the hospital this week and currently actually feel like death itself, so I'm not exactly in the mood for socialising you see."

"Uhhh......." Inari says, looking to his Grandfather uncertainly. Was she going to attack him?

"Are.....Are you alright Ashley-chan?" Naruto asks carefully, cringing when the girl smiles at him, her sharp teeth visible. That certainly didn't look like a happy smile. If anything, the girl looked like a snake who was about to bite someone.

"Just peachy" Ashley replies pleasantly, though her sarcasm is glaringly obvious.

"Don't you have somewhere to be right now?" Sakura asks with a heavy sigh, not about to fall for Ashley's guilt tactics. "Kiba?"

"Right!" the Inuzuka confirms, smiling at a deadpan Ashley as he reaches back and grabs her by the wrist again. "C'mon Angel, I've gotta deliver you to work so you don't run away or something."

"Today, I'm more likely to kill someone than run away" the Minami responds flatly, to which everyone sweat drops again. Whether she was serious or not would remain to be seen. "See ya......"

Everyone watches as Kiba breaks into a run, dragging a less than enthusiastic Ashley along behind him, much to Inari's relief. Even after the three or so years since he'd last seen her, Ashley still scared him. She was a horrible woman.

"I'll admit" Tazuna says, pursing his lips in thought, "I wasn't even sure she'd still be with you guys after all these years."

"Well, it's only been three years" Kakashi states, "But what do you mean by that?"

"She didn't exactly seem like the loyal type" Tazuna explains, shrugging his shoulders. "She wasn't too keen on any of you and I just figured she'd have run away from your Village by now. I'm slightly surprised she's still here and still friends with all of you."

Sakura and Naruto exchange faintly dismayed looks with each other at Tazuna's words, with Kakashi closing his eyes and releasing a low sigh. If only the older man knew.........It wasn't Ashley who had loyalty issues.....

"Ashley-chan is one of the most loyal Leaf Ninja I know" Naruto speaks up after a few moments of silence. "She's gone through a lot for our sake......"

Ashley's POV

"That's perfect Ashley" Izumo applauds, shielding his eyes with one hand and tilting his head back to look up. "A couple more and this building is done!"

I grimace at the Chunin's praise, killing him in my mind, as I raise my arms up. A number of thick, wooden boughs tear through the ground and stretch up into the air, tightly forming together to make a wall.

It had taken me an hour to finish the other three walls and if I did this two or three more times, the building would be done. It's just too bad that right now, my body hurts so much and is so tired, I'd rather die right here and now than perform anymore Jutsu.

Today I've only been working for almost four hours and I'm about to finish building my fourth house, but I'm so sick of this. How about everyone else just learns some freaking Wood Style Jutsu and we'll see how they like doing this for hours on end without a break!

"Wow!" Kotetsu cries, eyes widening. "Captain Yamato, that was great! We'll be done in no time with you around!"

Dropping my arms and heaving a deep, aggravated sigh, I whirl around, only to see that Captain Yamato has erected an absolutely massive wooden building, in less than ten seconds.

Well. Good for him. I'm still a beginner. I could do that too if I'd trained.

Wiping one hand down his face, a weary looking Captain Yamato slowly turns around to look at Kotetsu, looking much worse for wear than Kiba had said. This is the first time I've had to work alongside the Captain to rebuild houses and while his Jutsu is far more impressive than mine, he's not looking too great.

He might even possibly look worse than me, which I didn't think was possible.

"You make it sound like this is easy" Captain Yamato complains, his shoulders slumping.

I stare at the brown haired man in though, raising one eyebrow when he sighs raggedly and drops down onto a small pile of lumber to take a rest.

"Hey Captain Yamato" I address, walking over to the man.

"Yes Ashley?" he asks warily, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. He's probably expecting me to cause a problem here no doubt. Why do people always expect so little of me?

"Can you please kill me?" I beg, suddenly dropping to my knees and clasping my hands together, anime tears pouring down my face. "This is worse than anything I've ever had to do, so please, just put me out of my misery!"

A shocked expression crosses the Captain's face, before he leans his elbows on his knees and folds his hands in front of his mouth, eyes now hooded and regarding me seriously.

"No" he states firmly. "You have to kill me first."

"What?!" I exclaim indignantly, leaping to my feet and jabbing a hand down at Captain Yamato. "No way! I asked you first!"

"I'm older than you and hold more authority" the brown haired man states matter or factly, looking somewhat smug. "Now, do as I say before they ask me to build anything else!"

"........You're just as immature as Kakashi Sensei" I point out, folding my arms over my chest and smirking in amusement. "You know that?"

"It's an honour to be compared to him" Captain Yamato jokes, giving me a slight bow, before sighing loudly as Kotetsu and Izumo walk over to us. "C'mon guys, you're killin me here....."

"I'm afraid we don't have time for breaks" Kotetsu informs us, not at all fazed by my steely glare or the Captain's imploring expression. "Everyone's working their asses off to get the Village back up and running."

"And just what do you think we're doing?!" I demand to know, before whipping out a kunai knife. "I'll kill all of you!"

"......Cute Ashley, real cute" Izumo says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I know you guys are tired, but so is everyone else. Back to the grind I'm afraid."

Pouting like a child, I put my kunai away, only to glare at Captain Yamato over my shoulder as Izumo leads me to where the next house needs to be built.

"I hate you so much for teaching me this stuff" I inform the man, to which he shrugs a shoulder.

"You asked me to help you learn" he replies, before smirking to himself as he rises to his feet. "I bet you regret it now though huh?"

"......I still blame you for this" I mutter under my breath, focusing chakra into my hands and pressing my palms together.

Two Hours Later

"....Uh oh you guys......." I hear Izumo speak up. "Ashley's getting a weird look in her eyes."

"Huh?" Kotetsu asks, running over towards me. He stares as I robotically raise wooden beams up into the air, the same as I've been doing all day. "That's not a weird look, they're spinning!"

"Ashley, are you okay?" Izumo asks urgently, placing one hand on my shoulder. "Do you want to sit down for a minute?"

"Nope, I'm fine" I reply dizzily, my face feeling flushed. "I'm perfectly okay, this is so fun. I can't see what I'm doing anymore, but it's so, so fun....."

"No......I think you'd better take a break" Izumo tells me seriously, a sweat drop forming on the side of his head. "You uh, don't look very well."

"Haha" I laugh, my legs shaking, "No no, you're being silly Izumo.......I'm......I'm fine...."

That said, my legs give out beneath me and despite the stupid smile on my face, I fall to the ground. Before I can hit it however, I feel a strong pair of arms catch me and hold me up, supporting my weight.

"I figured you'd be passing out some time soon" a male voice sighs. "You've done it so many times this week, I can just about guess when your energy will finally run out."

"Hey Kiba" I greet with a giggle, steam rising from my head, which feels like it's burning. "I'm a little bit hot.......And shaky..."

"Yeah, I brought one of my clan's Food Pills for you" the Inuzuka replies, carefully dropping something small into my mouth. "I figured that since it increases a person's chakra, it'll help replenish all of yours."

"Wow, that's so nice of you" I say dreamily, swallowing the tiny pill as my eyes continue to spin, rendering it impossible for me to see. "You're a nice person....."

"You sure she's not just drunk Kiba?" I hear Kotetsu ask in a rather dubious tone, to which I laugh again.

"That would have made my day a lot easier!" I announce. "Maybe next time....."

"You're too young to drink Ashley" Captain Yamato murmurs. "Kiba, I think you'd better take her away so she can rest for awhile. She probably won't want a fourth hospital trip this week."

"Sakura would probably kill her" the Inuzuka agrees, sweeping me up into his arms. "Alright Angel, let's get out of here for a bit huh?"

"Yay!" I cry, throwing my arms up in the air and almost smacking Kiba in the face. "No more work!"

"You're so weird sometimes....." Kiba informs me softly. "Just relax okay? The Food Pill should start taking effect pretty soon."

The Inuzuka continues carrying me for a few more minutes, when my eyes finally stop spinning and I feel my energy beginning to come back. I'm still tired, but I don't feel delirious like I did back there with Captain Yamato, Izumo and Kotetsu.

I growl quietly and blush a little, thinking about how stupid I was acting before. I didn't mean to, I guess my brain just wasn't working properly due to my lack of energy and chakra.

"Hey, where's Akamaru?" I wonder out loud, only now realising that the Ninken is nowhere in sight.

"Oh, so you can see again huh?" Kiba asks, glancing down at me. "Well that's good. I guess the pill is working."

"Yeah, I'm feeling better already" I confirm with a nod. "Thanks."

"No problem Angel, let's stop here for a bit" the brunette responds, carefully setting me down on a pile of logs, before running a hand through his messy hair. "I actually need to talk to you about something anyway."

"Sounds serious" I muse, leaning back on my hands and looking up at Kiba with one eyebrow quirked. "So I guess it was just good timing on your part earlier then? You didn't actually know I was gonna pass out, you just needed to get me away from work so you could speak with me?"

Kiba smiles guiltily at that, to which I can't help rolling my eyes.

"And here I was beginning to think you were some sort of White Knight" I say with a laugh. "How naïve of me."

"Back to your question about Akamaru" Kiba back tracks, hands now in his pockets. "I asked him to go and round up the others while I went to find you. He shouldn't be too far away."

"Round up the others?" I repeat questioningly, tilting my head to the side. "What for? What's going on?....."

"Well, I already managed to find the rest of your team and explain this to them" Kiba informs me, looking hesitant to continue, "But basically, I found out that Lady Tsunade was dismissed as the Hokage not too long ago."

"She was what?" I ask sharply, brows furrowing. "What for? Who would make an idiotic decision like that?! Is this because she's unconscious? That's so stupid! She protected this Village with her life and that's the thanks she-"

"Calm down Angel, I'm not even done yet" Kiba interjects, to which I throw one hand up.

"Oh great" I scoff. "More good news."

"The sixth Hokage is gonna be some guy named Danzo" the Inuzuka explains, brow creasing with worry. "I don't know much about him, but I've heard that he's pretty shady."

"Who the hell is Danzo?" I ask sharply, trying not to direct my annoyance at Kiba. "I've never even heard of the guy."

".......That's not all I'm afraid" the brown haired male sighs, a sympathetic look now filling his eyes. I don't like that look. It puts me on edge. "The new Hokage has given permission to dispose of Sasuke as a rogue Ninja."

I can't help stiffening at that news, staring at Kiba through wide, angry eyes. My fingers curl up into tight fists, my knuckles turning white.

Why is this happening? Why has Lady Tsunade's position been taken away from her and handed to some random guy that we know nothing about? Why is he going back on Lady Tsunade's word to not go after Sasuke? This isn't right.......Something bigger has to be happening here. I don't know what it could be, but something has to be going on behind the scenes....Right?

"Are you alri-"

"We grew too accustom to Lady Tsunade's lenience when it came to Sasuke" I say lividly, dropping my eyes to the ground. "She only humoured Sasuke's activities outside of the Village because she likes Naruto, Sakura and I. We were lucky that she was so kind..........Looks like that luck has run out though...."

"Aren't you mad about it though?" Kiba asks, sounding perplexed. "I mean, Sakura and Naruto were furious when I told them......Kakashi basically had to hold the both of them back and force them to listen to him."

I slowly pull my hands into my lap and uncurl my fists, staring into my palms as a drop of water hits the skin. I raise my wavering eyes to Kiba's face, though my brows stay furrowed and my mouth pulls downwards.

"Of course I'm mad" I say lowly, struggling not to cry. "I'm so mad, that I don't even know how to react, so my stupid eyes are tearing up. I don't even know who to be mad at either. Should I be mad at Sasuke? He was selfish and left us. Should I be mad at this Danzo guy? I mean, he's the one saying it's okay to kill my cousin. Should I be mad at Itachi-kun? He's the one who hurt Sasuke so badly after all...........I don't know....."

"Hey......." Kiba says softly, kneeling down in front of me and placing one hand on my cheek. "It'll be alright Angel, we'll work something out. Maybe we'll be able to convince this Danzo guy to honour Lady Tsunade's promise. Don't cry...."

I lean my cheek against Kiba's shoulder as he pulls me in for a hug, a tear sliding down the side of my face.

I'm not sure if I'm sad, angry or frustrated but all I know is......This isn't fair. First Itachi-kun and now Sasuke. While it's true that I don't know for a fact that Itachi-kun is gone, surely he wouldn't have been so nice to me the last time we met if he wasn't going to do something drastic.

Why can't people in my family stay alive? They always have to get themselves killed in one way or another......

Ashley stares at Shikamaru in disbelief, wondering if she'd heard the Nara correctly. She feels a pain in her chest, an ache that she hasn't felt in quite some time.

Kai glances down at Ashley to see if she is okay, not overly affected by the decision itself, but more concerned that his human partner will be greatly upset.

The large Wolf had been sticking to Saffire and Fang like glue all week, but as soon as he'd seen Akamaru gathering Ashley's friends, he'd decided to tag along and see what all the fuss was about. It was a good thing he had too. It was a much bigger problem than he'd anticipated.

Lee sits cross legged atop a large stack of chopped wood, seeming to be in thought, though there is a sad look of regret on his face. Seated down below, Tenten and Choji sit on either side of a loudly sobbing Ino, trying their best to console the broken hearted girl.

Hinata watches on silently, her heart hurting at the sight of Ino's misery. Shino and Neji stand alongside her, with the two males both easily masking any thoughts or feelings they may have towards the whole situation.

Kiba scowls at Ino, his back leaning against a panting Akamaru and his arms folded over his chest. He'd been glaring at the crying blonde for a good minute or two now, and her incessant crying was getting on his last nerve!

"Quit your crying Ino!" the Inuzuka finally demands, only to earn a withering look from Tenten.

"Don't yell at her for crying Kiba!" the pretty brunette reprimands. "Of course she's going to be upset, you don't have to make it worse!"

"What else can we do, huh?" Kiba shoots back hotly. "I don't hear you offering up any other suggestions? Things aren't like they used to be."

"At least I care about Sasuke" Ino speaks up, tears streaming down her face. "I don't see any of you getting upset over this! Even Ashley hasn't said anything!"

Kiba's eyes widen at that, as everyone turns to look over at the blonde girl, who had indeed remained silent ever since the others had gathered to discuss the situation with Sasuke.

Kai immediately turns his head to glare at Ino, his red eyes narrowed dangerously and his lips pulled back into a silent snarl. How dare that girl accuse his partner of not caring about Sasuke? She probably cared more than anyone here! She was just smart enough to know how bleak the situation was.

"You think I don't care Ino?" Ashley asks quietly, slowly turning her head to look at Ino from the corner of her eye. The blonde girl flinches, able to hear Ashley's poisonous tone despite how quiet she is. "I love Sasuke far more than you proclaim to. You don't even know him. You have the gall to say that you love him, when really, you don't know a thing about the real Sasuke."

"He's what's left of my Uchiha family" Ashley continues, beginning to frown as she closes her eyes and turns her head away, "So he means more to me than he could ever mean to you. Don't assume I don't care, just because I'm able to control myself in front of you all......."

".......How are Naruto and Sakura going to react to this?" Shino asks out loud, cutting the awkward tension that Ashley's words had created.

"Leave that to Shikamaru" Neji speaks up wisely. "He'll be able to explain things properly to them. Besides, he failed in his first duty as a Team Leader, so he feels a certain responsibility for this."

"........Why do you think I volunteered to do this?" the Nara asks rhetorically, opening his eyes and glancing over at Kai, who is quietly trying to comfort his Minami partner. "Ashley, do you want to come with me? You might be able to help if they react badly."

Releasing a low, defeated sigh, Ashley turns around and regards Shikamaru with an expressionless face. She stares at him for a few moments, before reluctantly nodding her head.

"Fine" she agrees quietly. "But even with me there, don't expect them to take this well......"