Disclaimer: I own Alyssa, Shizuka, and the plot, nothing else

Characters: Tsunade, OCs, Hokage, Inoichi
Rating: G
Word Count: 3, 517

Author's Note: I have to apologize to the immensely long wait for this chapter. I had planned on posting a chapter much sooner than this, but right after Christmas, my computer crashed and I'm still trying to get back all of my important things.

When she woke, Alyssa noticed things she had missed before she'd fallen asleep. Things that had seemed unimportant, but suddenly were frighteningly obvious. Though she knew that one couldn't go by Tsunade's appearance, she had to wonder if Shizune also used the same technique, it made sense, but she'd never heard that anywhere before, and was unsure if she should count that as important.

She did know, however, that to have at least some vague idea of where in the timeline she was, something as simple as Shizune or Tsunade's age was very important. The question was, how to ask?

It was considered rude to ask a woman her age, Alyssa knew that, but this was a rather important question. She didn't know what year Naruto was placed in, or what type of calender system they used, so she couldn't use that. But being a fanfiction writer, and reader, she had a pretty good knowledge of the character's ages. She could easily use that to figure out where she was in the timeline, which was rather need-to-know information.

So, while she watched Tsunade go through her bag, for what she was sure the second or third time, she tried to think of a polite way to ask someones age. It was possible, she was sure, but to do so with such a limited vocabulary? Not quite so simple.

Finally, when Tsunade had finished going through Alyssa's things, Alyssa just gave up on politeness, and asked out right. She thought for sure Shizune would be upset, but the woman just have her a mildly curious look and answered.

"Ni ju san." (23)

That didn't sound right. She had never been a big fan of Tsunade or Shizune's, but she was pretty sure that Shizune was supposed to be older than that at the beginning of the series. In fact, if she was remembering correctly, she was pretty sure that the dark-haired woman should be closer to around 28 or 29. Which would place her, around four or five years before the series beginning...

Of course, she realized she would have to take into consideration that this was an actual world there was no way to know for sure that the manga and anime were completely accurate. That opened an endless amount of possibilities, she wasn't sure she wanted to think about them, so she decided to ignore them for the moment. There was far to much to think on right at the moment.

Of all her problems, she decided getting home was top priority. To do this, she had to figure out she'd gotten where she was, and how to get back. For that to happen, she thought, glancing at her three companions, she would have to either learn Japanese, or teach them English...

That didn't seem likely.

She supposed, she should start by getting some place safe. She supposed, being with Tsunade and Shizune would be safe... unless she infuriated either, and then she worried how dangerous that could be to her health. Tsunade wasn't exactly known to be calm, or soft-tempered.

"Doko desu ka?" (Where?) She asked, looking at them.

"Doko?" (Where?) Tsunade replied.

Alyssa sighed, and looked around. Her dictionary sat on the table, her fingers itched to pick it up. "Watashi wa doko desu ka?" (Where am I?)

"Tanzaku." Tsunade told her.

Alyssa thought on the word, "Tanzaku... town?" She asked, then looked down. That certainly told her where she was in the plot. She was near the Tsunade Finding Arc. She had never actually sat through the whole thing, and had instead skipped ahead... She was regretting that now.

She listed everything she knew about that point in the series. She knew that Orochimaru and Kabuto would run into Tsunade and Shizune before Naruto. She knew that Tsunade would promise Naruto the necklace she wore, though she didn't know what the terms of it were. She knew that the whole group battled, and destroyed a huge castle.

She didn't think that she wanted to be there... she also didn't want Shizuka to be anywhere near that particular fight, or Orochimaru for that matter. She looked up at Tsunade, "Konohagakure." (Hidden Leaf Village)

Tsunade stared at her, "Iie." (No.)

Alyssa bit her lip. She knew that Tsunade wouldn't agree immediately to going there, but it was the safest place Alyssa could think of. She had at least a basic knowledge of Konoha, she wasn't much interested in going there to early, because she didn't want to be there during the Chuunin Exams, the last thing she needed was to be around when Sound and Sand attacked Konoha... Still.

She would prefer to take her chances there, and possibly just run into an enemy Shinobi in passing, then to somehow meet up with one in a much more close-combat situation. "Konohagakure, kudasai." (Hidden Leaf Village, please.)

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, and Alyssa decided to drop the subject for the time being. For now, she would be content to travel with Tsunade and Shizune, and hopefully would be able to avoid getting caught up in the fight.

Nearly a week passed, a long time for Tsunade and Shizune to stay in a single place, and there was no sign of either Orochimaru, or Naruto. Alyssa wasn't sure what to think of this, and came to the conclusion to just be happy with small favors. She kept up her persistance on Konoha. She would ask randomly, only stopping when Tsunade would glare.

She'd gotten lucky with the fact that Tsunade and Shizune didn't kick her and Shizuka out into the streets, leaving them where they had been before. Shizuka seemed content with the two women, but kept himself nearly glued to Alyssa. The two Kunoichi, took note of this, and whatever they thought about it, they were unable to convey. Alyssa was beginning to wish she'd been born in Japan, instead of America.

During her week with the two women, Alyssa was given many chores and errands. It was obvious that Shizune and Tsunade didn't trust her completely, but the fact that they allowed her to stay with them, was enough for her. Though she could do without playing maid. She was expected to keep the room clean, and help with anything that was needed, and it was also her responsibility to keep Shizuka out of trouble...

Alyssa had never been a very responsible person, the capability was there, but not really the need. At her home, her father did most things, and she was just expected to keep her grades up, and cook dinner every other night. That was the extent of her responsibility -level. She was suddenly bypassing it.

It was in the middle of week two, that Tsunade finally broke on the Konohagakure thing. Alyssa knew it wasn't really her persistent nature that had made Tsunade change her mind, but was actually Shizune who had. While Alyssa couldn't understand what the dark haired woman had said to Tsunade, she was well aware that whatever it was, was the only reason Tsunade agreed to it.

Alyssa had woken up from her sleeping mat on the floor, that she shared with Shizuka, to find Shizune and Tsunade had already packed their things, and were waiting. After Alyssa was up, and ready, they left Tanzaku, much to Alyssa's pleasure.

For four long days and nights, they traveled. Alyssa was finding that her previous love of camping was quickly being lost. She also found that the sandals Shizune had given her, were not as comfortable as her sneakers, when walking long distances. On the second day, despite Shizune's annoyed look, Alyssa put the pair of sandals in her bag, and pulled on her socks and shoes. It felt so wonderful, to her, to wear a piece of her own clothing.

Shizune and Tsunade had provided clean clothing for Alyssa and Shizuka both. Not new clothing, but it was clean. An old kimono, obviously having once belonged to Shizune, was comfortable enough for Alyssa, though a hassle to wear. She didn't know where Shizuka's new clothes came from, and didn't have the desire, nor verbal ability to ask.

On the fifth day of their traveling, the gates of Konohagakure came into view.

Alyssa stood next to Shizuka, Tsunade walking ahead of her, and Shizune behind. She bit her lip to try and contain her excitement.

This was Konoha! Just seeing the gates was like seeing some great, historical, landmark. Her grip on Shizuka's hand tightened slightly, and he looked up at her, but she was to busy trying not to squeal. When they passed through the gates, they were stopped by a pair of men, wearing Konoha Forehead protectors, Shinobi. Another squeal tried to escape. She hid it with a cough, and tried not to look anyone in the eye.

She didn't recognize the men, and couldn't help but to glance back at them, when Tsunade began to lead the way to the Hokage's tower. Both were tall, and lithe. Her attention quickly fell to taking in any and all details of her surroundings. Buildings, and people, they passed, all of it seemed to alien, yet so familiar. She spotted the Barbecue place that Team Asuma spent so much time at... the smell coming from was mouthwatering, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from asking if they could stop and eat, before moving forward.

Not long after they had passed the Barbecue place, Alyssa had to stop and pick up Shizuka, who was continuously tugging on her kimono sleeve, saying "Up, Up." In Japanese.

The Hokage building was much bigger than Alyssa had imagined, and walking through it was like walking through a maze. She couldn't help but wonder how anyone ever found their way around the building.

Actually meeting the Hokage was a shocking, and slightly terrifying experience. The shock came first.

She had thought she was somewhere after the Chuunin exams, but this theory was proven wrong, when she saw Sarutobi. He wore the Hokage robes and hat, and appeared to be a bit more serious that she'd seen him in the anime. He greeted Tsunade and Shizune with a familiar air, and his smile to the two of them was warm, and kind. However, after a moment of the three speaking, his expression hardened a bit, and his gaze, now cool and wary, turned to Alyssa.

Alyssa had never felt more so nervous, as she did, when she stood before the Hokage, his eyes seeming to see through her. She couldn't help but to fidget a little, and look at the floor, terrified of making eye-contact.

He looked her up and down, then inspected Shizuka with the same intense gaze. Once he was finished, he said something to Tsunade, and Shizune took Alyssa by the arm.

She told Alyssa to follow her, using words Alyssa had grown quite used to since meeting the women. Shizune left Alyssa in the hall, with an ANBU guard, who seemingly had appeared out of thin air. Alyssa and Shizuka sat in chairs across the hall from the Hokage's office door.

Shizuka tried to start up a conversation with Alyssa, who went about the usual "Yes," "Okay," "Sure," responses to whatever he said. She leaned back, her bag at her feet, her eyes closed. Trying to think of what to do.

She knew that Konoha was one of the less violent villages, but it was still a Shinobi village. The language barrier would make interrogation hard, as she'd learned from spending time with Tsunade and Shizune. She couldn't answer questions she couldn't understand.

Her mind brought up the fanfics she'd read in the past of things like this. The ability to speak the Japanese language, was usually given to Original Characters from her world, via a genjutsu of some form. A long lasting one. Or, she thought, by a medical jutsu that did something to the mind.

She briefly touched her right temple, worried about what would happen. She didn't know what part of her mind dealt with language and things like that, but she didn't want anyone messing with her head, anyway. After all, she rather liked all of her brain functions, and keeping them all up and running, was a really nice idea.

Images from the history channel flashed through her head. Lobotomies, and those who had them done on them. Then, even more horrifying, a terrible scene from some movie with Hannibal Lector, where the man cut someone else's head open, took out a gray, mushy piece of the person's brain, fried it, and ate it!

Alyssa gulped, and tried to keep herself from panicking. She didn't think she would have to worry about cannibalistic tendencies of those here, and she was certainly not going to worry about a Lobotomy. She couldn't deal with that sort of stress, and decided that it was going on the lower levels of problems for the time being.

Konoha, was a much more peaceful village, she told herself. If she had somehow ended up in Orochimaru's hands, she knew she would have to worry about things like that. Or possibly even in a village like Suna, but not here. The anime, and manga, had hinted that Konoha was far less cruel, then the other villages. She grasped at this piece of unproven knowledge as a lifeline.

She was brought out of her thought, by the sound of heavy footsteps. She didn't know how long she'd sat, lost in thoughts, but it didn't matter now. She listened closely to the person walking, and was pretty sure there was someone else with them, who's movements weren't so heavy. She looked up, and towards their direction.

Next to her, Shizuka was pressing himself against her side, one hand grasping her arm, and she pulled up into her lap. She wrapped her arms around his middle, and pulled him back against her, as her eyes stared at the corner. Waiting.

When the two people turned the corner, she had to bit her lip to keep from letting any sound escape.

Ibiki.

She couldn't remember his last name, and really didn't know to much about him. She knew he was the head of Interrogation, and that he had something to do with the ANBU, though she couldn't remember what. She also knew, that he worked with people. Interrogation, meant he could read people. Every little fidget, every little twitch, meant something.

She had known a psychiatrist who could do that. He said you could learn everything from the little subconscious movements a person's face made. He also told her, how it was important to be able to categorize most things. Every little detail was filed into a box, to be analyzed, and picked apart.

She felt Ibiki's dark eyes on her, and knew he'd been doing that since he first spotted her. She bit down hard on her tongue, and tightened her arms around Shizuka. Her eyes drifted past Ibiki, she couldn't bare looking at him any longer, to his companion.

A tall man, with long blond hair, and strong features. It took her a moment longer to realize who he was, though the long blond ponytail was one hell of a tip-off. Yamanaka, Inoshi.

Inoshi. That didn't sound right. Inochi? Inoichi? She couldn't quite remember, he'd only been in a few episodes, and was a very minor character. Add that to the fact that she didn't read many fanfics with Ino as a main character, so the blonde kunoichi's family were never really brought up.

As the two men finally reached them, and knocked on the closed door, she turned her mind away from Yamanaka's first name, and instead turned it to what the man could do. What both these men could do.

There was that lovely fear again.

After a few seconds, the men were called inside, and around fifteen minutes later, Alyssa was called inside as well. She slung her bag's strap over one shoulder, and stood. She didn't bother to put Shizuka down, not quite willing to let him go yet. Instead, she just shifted him, so she could hold him more easily.

She walked into the room, closely followed by the ANBU, and was directed to stand in the center of the room. She glanced at Shizune and Tsunade, who stood close to the Hokage's desk, and gave her reassuring smiles. She wasn't reassured.

Slowly, she set Shizuka down, he stood in front of her, his body pressed back against her, hands gripping hers. She stood as still as she could, fear holding tight, and tried not to move in anyway that could be seen as hostile. She could feel Ibiki and Yamanaka's eyes on her, burning holes through her clothes and skin, as though they could seem deep inside her body to her very soul.

The Hokage spoke, his voice calm, and warm. He was asking Shizuka questions. His name, where he was from, what had happened to him. All of them, Alyssa had heard Tsunade and Shizune ask. Each was given the same answer as always. Takahashi, Shizuka. I don't know. The bad man hurt him.

Hokage tried a few more times, but always got the same reply, so he turned his attention to Alyssa. She gulped, and tried to calm herself down. She told herself she was over reacting. And she knew she was. There was no reason to panic so much, until she was actually given a reason to panic.

"Anata wa nan to iu namae desu ka?" (What's your name?) He asked first.

She paused, before answering. "Green, Alyssa."

He nodded, then asked something far more complicated. She blinked, and tried to decipher any of the words he'd said. "Nani?" (What?)

He tried again, but she still couldn't understand him. She gave Tsunade a pleading look, and the woman walked over to her. She snatched Alyssa's bag, and opened the flap. For a second she dug through it, then grabbed the dictionary out of it. She pointed to the words on the cover, then made Alyssa take the book.

Alyssa began to open the book, only for Tsunade to slap her fingers, and point at the words again. She said a word that Alyssa didn't recognize, then pointed at Alyssa's lips.

"You want me to talk?" Alyssa asked in English. Her native language felt so good on her lips,. and it was so nice to be able to say a full sentence without worrying if she was translating correctly.

"Green-san?" (Miss Green?)

She turned her gaze to the Hokage, who had just spoken, "Hai?" (Yes?)

"Anata no shusshin wa doko desu ka?" (Where are you from?) He gave her a sweet smile, and it soothed her a bit. He suddenly made her think of some grandfather, trying to calm down a crying child.

She licked her lips, and blew her bangs out of her face, "Maryland, United States Of America."

He mouthed the words she'd said, then nodded. He motioned to Yamanaka to come forward, and spoke quietly with the blonde man for a few seconds.

When Yamanaka straightened, he turned to Alyssa. His face was serious, a bit tense. Like he had a lot on his mind. He motioned for her to follow him, as he made his way to the door. She went to follow, pulling Shizuka with her, but he stopped, and told Shizuka something. Glancing at Shizune, when the boy threw a fit.

The dark haired woman came forward, and calmed Shizuka down as best she could, trying to lead him away from Alyssa. This only made things worse, and the boy turned and clung to Alyssa's legs, starting to cry.

Alyssa knelt down, and wiped Shizuka's eyes. She didn't want to be separated from him either, but if Yamanaka only wanted to speak with her, then she wasn't going to put up a fight. That would make things worse. She patted his shoulders, and hugged the boy close, "Daijobu, Shizuka-chan." (It's okay, Shizuka.) She told him, trying to keep her own voice calm.

When he finally let Shizune pull him away, Alyssa quickly followed Yamanaka out of the room. The second the door to the Hokage's office closed behind her, she felt the panic seize her again, she started to shake, as she followed the man down the hall.

They went down several flights of stairs, until the windows stopped, and everything was lit by fluorescent lights.

He took her to a small room. It was furnished only with a table, two chairs, and a lamp. She thought of the interrogation rooms shown in cop shows. He motioned for her to take a seat, and she did, hesitantly. He took the seat opposite of her, and watched for a moment.

She was tense, hands fisted in her kimono, eyes down on the table. Staring intensely at the dark wood, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating, she missed Yamanaka's movements. He made several hand seals, and she only looked up when he had pressed his hands to her head.

A wave of dizziness hit her, and the room blurred and spun. Everything went black.

To Be Continued.