Poison in Your Veins--Prologue

Though Aki was not dumb she was not going to face who ever was drawing close to her home from the jump. Soon the visions her grey eyes took in of the forest changed ever so slightly as she turned her small feet, her zori grinding at the blades of grass to look to her small cottage instead.

On the inside Aki cringed as she set her eyes upon the small structure. It was built well enough but the signs of the seasons change could be fingered easily too. Some day it was just going to fall in on itself. She did not like that thought but at least she was not gonna try and be inside it when that happens.

'Oh lovely people who want something of me.' Aki sighed in her thoughts. She was not usually addressed as Ms. Chikako unless they wanted her to heal their sickly grandmother or who ever!

"Hmm?" Aki craned her neck to peer over her shoulder. For a heartbeat of time she held taut in her shoulders when she noticed there were four shinobi summoning her. Aki did not make it a self-law to have manners towards people; she acted somewhat rude to everyone.

From her place yards in front of the four, Aki sized them all up in her own way. She was not ignorant in the ranking and such of the shinobi villages. She had lived in a few after all. The tallest, full grown man had slick silver hair tossed to one side and one of his dark coal black eyes covered by his hand band. The rest of his face was masked over but Aki could get a good picture of what he looked like underneath it. The other three, the rest of this man's team were short, nothing more then children still. One of them had dark raven feature blue hair that framed his pale face and got choppy in the back. In apparel was lax but still serious Aki noted. The next, a beaming blond boy with shining blue eyes the glowed almost as vividly as his orange jumpsuit. Still this one had his innocence of youth intact. The very last one was a rosy pink hair girl with edgy and expressive green orbs. This was interesting.

'So why would the hidden leaf village come looking for me if lady Tsunade is the newest Hokage?' Aki questioned mentally. She was going to have to ask them that too.

Aki had met with Tsunade a few times in her path of healing; her skill was to be admired but both women did not have a big fondness for each other. Maybe it was because both of them were rivals of sorts.

"Yes?" Aki replied as she turned her full body to face them and the depths of the forest again.

All eyes fell on her; that confirmed that Aki was the subject matter.

"The Gondaime, Tsunade has set summons for you," The silver haired man, Kakashi explained to the younger women who gave an inquiring look in return.

"Why would lady Tsunade send summons for me without my awareness? She is in full awareness that I do have other things to do in my time," Aki shot back and her voice was not overly friendly either.

The pink haired girl, Sakura shot Naruto a mixed look. This must have been one of the few times a target of their escort missions knew not of the trip or wanted it. The squad leader and the shadow-his boy kept cool about it all, Kakashi from experience and Sasuke from ignorance.

"Lady Tsunade has sent summons for you due to the need of assistance. A fellow squad of ninja is close to being a fatality of their latest mission and she needs skilled assistance it help them," Kakashi explained further. His words soft and like verbal whips at the same time. His eyes were just the same.

For a slight moment, the fresh air filled with tension of Aki and Kakashi before it soon died away again but not fully anyways as Aki mulled over his words in her mind. Though unknown to them all, Aki was running soon out of time. It was now or never to decide.