"I'm the leader of the Grass Shinobi warriors, Tatsuya Ishikawa." The young man introduces himself to the 3 leaf Shinobi. 

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, Jounin of the Leaf Village." Kakashi says back to the young man. 

"Of the Leaf Village? Well, why didn't you just say so? Sorry for the rude intrusion." Tatsuya smiles at the leaf shinobi. "Come inside, we'll discuss what you came here for. We mean you no harm." 

The young man turns around and walks into the building, where him and the other warriors reside in. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura followed him inside, and were prepared a feast after their long journey from the Leaf Village. 

Naruto ate away with the food, as did Sakura, while Kakashi and Tatsuya were discussing about the reason Kakashi, and his students, came all this way. 

"So, you mentioned that you know about the Maiden in the Willow Forest? How did you encounter her?" Tatsuya asks Kakashi while taking a sip of his tea. 

"My squad and I saved her when your warriors were attacking her." Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the man. "

"Attacked her? Surely you're mistaken." 

"They were her tying her down, and she was begging them to let her go." Kakashi begins to glare. 

"Oh, I see." Tatsuya begins to laugh. "Sorry about that. The Maiden is very valuable to the Grass Village. We didn't mean her any harm. After her mother came here, she wanted us to find her daughter and bring her here. Whatever meant necessary." 

"Her mother? Then, you don't mind showing her to us." 

"Of course. Come with me." Tatsuya stands up and takes Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura to where the former maiden of the willow forest. "We keep her in a special garden because it keeps her calm and relaxed. She's right over here." 

Tatsuya pushed the doors outward and there was a beautiful, sacred garden with waterfalls, lots of flowers, butterflies, and tall trees to make it smell like a rainforest. 

"Wow, it's so beautiful." Sakura stared at the garden in awe. 

"So, where is this woman anyway?" Naruto asked. 

"Over there, and you will see her true beauty." Tatsuya points in front of him. "Behold, the Former Willow Maiden."

Just a few feet away from them, there stood a woman with long red hair, and emerald green eyes. She was covered with such beauty that no man could look away from. 

Everyone were amazed by her beauty. No words left their lips as they continued to stare at the Maiden with glee. 

'So, this is Ruka's mother? She's still alive?' Kakashi thought to himself as he stared closely at the woman. "Mister Tatsuya, by any chance, did you kidnap this woman?" Kakashi turns his attention to the young man. 

"Kidnap? No, never. We saved her and brought her here. The forest was a terrible place for a mother and child to live in. After we took in her mother, her daughter refuse to be with her mother. All she could do was deny and hide from us. So, I had my men go after her and bring her here." 

"You know. . .my daughter, Ruka?" The maiden spoke to the leaf shinobi. She turned her head and faced them with a slight frown on her face. 

"Yes, we did, Ma'am." Sakura steps forward to the maiden. "She's really upset and she misses you." 

"Thank goodness. . . My daughter is still alive. . . I thought all this time she was dead. But, now I know she is still alive. Please. . . if possible, bring her to me. I want to embrace her in my arms again." The maiden places her hand over her chest, where her heart is, and gives Sakura a warm smile. 

"Were you really brought here?" Kakashi questioned the maiden. 

"Yes. A young man saved me years ago, and brought me here. . . I wanted my daughter to be with me, but I understand that she is scared to come out of the forest. . . I sheltered her too long, and it's my fault. . . Please, I beg of you. . . Bring my daughter to me. I miss her very much. . ." The maiden frown and her eyes wander down. 

"Don't worry, we'll bring her back no matter what! You can count on us!" Naruto shouts with confidence. 

"Are you convinced now? I would never hurt the daughter of a beautiful woman. All I want is her mother, and her child's safety." Tatsuya gives Kakashi a gentle smile. 

"I understand." Kakashi nods his head. 

"If you ever see the maiden again, please, bring her to the Grass Village." 

"Will do. Thank you for your hospitality. Naruto, Sakura, time to go." Kakashi tells his students and leaves the Grass Village, then go back into the forest. 

When they return, they find Sasuke sitting down, watching Ruka bathe in the small waterfall, fully clothed. "You're back." Ruka smiles tiredly at the group who has returned. 

"So, how'd it go?" Sasuke stands up and looks at Kakashi for an answer. 

"It well okay, I guess." Kakashi tells him, then looks at Ruka. "Ruka, I think there's something we need to discuss." 

Ruka gives Kakashi a questioning before walking out of the water and walking up to the group. "What is it? What did they tell you?" She asks, tilting her head to the side. 

"Well, they gave us a different story, but similar to yours." Kakashi rubs the back of his neck. "You see, what they told us was that someone saved your mother and brought here to the Grass Village in order to keep her safe. When they went looking for you, you would refuse and run away from them." 

"That's a lie!" Ruka snaps with her eyes wide. Some of the leaves from the trees fell. It was like an earthquake was about to happen. "My mother would never leave the forest on her own! She was taken from me after her Willow Tree was cut down! They took her by force!" 

The more Ruka shouted, as if her heart were shattered, the trees bent and the some of the birds began to fly away. 

"Ruka, calm down. I'm not saying I believe them. We're not going to turn you over to them. You need to calm down, please." Kakashi tells her and instantly the ground stops shaking, the trees stopped moving, and everything went silent. 

Ruka pants a bit as she holds her chest tightly, as if were having a heart attack. Afterwards, she calms herself down and looks up at Kakashi. 

"We saw your mother, Ruka. She's is in this sacred garden that Mister Tatsuya showed us." Sakura chimes in. 

"Really?" Ruka's eyes widen a bit. "You saw my mother. . . ?" 

"Yeah. Long red hair and green eyes, right?" Naruto described the woman, with arms behind his head. 

"That is what my mother looked like. . . But why didn't she call out to me when she left. . ." Ruka whispers the last part to herself. 'Something isn't right. . .' 

"If you want to see your mother, we can bring you to her. Or, she can come to visit you." Kakashi suggested. 

"No." Ruka turns her away as her hair covered her eyes. "I won't go anywhere. . . I know what happened to my mother, and I refuse to believe that she is with the people who took her." 

With those words, Ruka walked away and disappeared into the forest. The squad didn't know what else to do. It was obvious that Ruka needed time to process this. But, Ruka refused to let them spend the night in her small house. 

She was both angry and upset. 

She didn't want to talk to anybody. 

All she wanted was to be left alone. So, the squad returned tot eh Grass Village and Tatsuya let them spend the night. 

Kakashi had explained the situation to Tatsuya about Ruka, and her decision. He told him that she didn't want to leave just yet, and she was very upset. 

"I understand. Give the maiden some time. She will come around eventually. You all had a long, busy day. You should get your rest. My men have prepared a guest bedroom for you and your squad." Tatsuya smiled at Kakashi. 

"Thank you, Mister Tatsuya." Kakashi replies back. 

When the night arrived, the squad was sound asleep, like nothing could wake them up. 

A few warriors went out of the village and went into the forest to retrieve the maiden. They quietly searched for her, without making a sound. 

One of the warriors spotted her treehouse, then looked inside to see nobody inside. Ruka wasn't there. She was sitting on a tree branch, watching her home from above. 

She decided not to do anything. All she could do was watch. 

Ruka didn't believe a word what Kakashi, and his students told her. She knew what she saw, and heard. She believed something wasn't right, but she couldn't put her finger on it. 

She was debating whether to go see her mother, to see if she was still alive, or stay in the forest where she calls a home. But for now, she wanted to be all by her lonesome. 

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