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Minato led me through the gates, pulling me along by holding onto my hand. In any other situation, I might have blushed or felt embarrassed, but I was too busy trying to ensure that my sleeve didn't slip up: I had obviously not yet had the opportunity to check my pale skin for scars. Before I realised it, we were in a flat out run, dashing towards a large, round, red building.

It looked a bit strange, if you ask me, but it seemed to be right at the centre of the village and there was a steady flow of people coming in and out of it, going about their daily business. Minato continued pulling me through the wooden gates and into the building itself. After scaling what felt like 10,000 miles worth of stairs (I wish I was exaggerating!) we made it to a landing. Minato stopped, and let go of my hand, rapping his knuckles firmly on the large wooden door looming in front of us.

"Come in" rumbled a deep, but kindly, voice from within the room. Minato gently opened the door, then held it open for me as I tentatively followed him into the bright room. The room was very spacious, with windows around all the walls, except for the one that housed the door. At the centre of the room, a middle-aged man sat, behind a desk. He wore an official-looking robe, and a pointy red hat.

"Hello, Minato! What a surprise! I wasn't expecting to see you here today. What can I do for you?"

Judging by the admiring looks that Minato was shooting at this man, I assumed that he was the Hokage: they mirrored the looks of pure adoration that had flashed across his features when he explained about the Hokage earlier, so it was a logical assumption to make. He (being the Hokage) clearly hadn't noticed me yet as I was hidden behind Minato, slightly - okay a lot, intimidated by this man.

"Well... I was walking in the forest just outside Konoha – you know I like going for walks in the morinings, when I found this girl lying on the ground" he said, gesturing to me. "She doesn't remember anything, apart from that she went for a walk and then woke up here."

The Hokage's eyes widened ever so slightly, displaying his shock. However he quickly recovered. He stood up from his seat, so that he could have a better look at me, and then began talking.

"Hello young lady! What might your name be?"

I hesitated momentarily, but struck up the courage to speak as the Hokage smiled reassuringly at me.

"M-my name is C-Chiaki" I replied, smiling softly at the end of my sentence, as an attempt to hide my nerves. The Hokage chuckled lightly at, what I assumed was, my stutter.

"You shouldn't be scared, Chiaki. I'm not going to hurt you!"

" I k-know, Sir. I-I just c-can't help it. I've h-had this stutter f-for as long as I c-can remember."

"Oh, sorry. Please excuse my lack of manners." The Hokage apologised, as if what he said would have insulted me.

"It's a-alright Sir! I d-don't mind!" I smiled brightly, as if to prove that I meant what I said. Forcing a relieved smile onto his face, the Hokage continued with the meeting.

"Anyway, back onto the matter at hand. Do you remember where you come from, or anything about yourself other thane your name, and the fact that you went for a walk earlier?"

"N-no, Sir, not really. I c-can see some flashes, and r-remember s-stu- struggling to speak, but t-that's it." I lied effortlessly. I had had a lot of practice at lying back at home. It was pretty easy to trick people into thinking that you were fine, even when you weren't: people believe what they want to believe.

The Hokage scratched his beard in thought, when Minato decided to get involved.

"Hokage-sama, Chiaki can stay with me, if you like. She clearly has no where else to go until she gets her memories back."

The Hokage smiled brightly. "That's a great idea Minato, if that's alright with you, Chiaki?" The Hokage responded, directing the last part at me. I nodded my head to indicate that I was not opposed to the idea. I wasn't exactly thrilled though either!

"Great! Minato, take her to your home now. You can have the next week off from the academy to help Chiaki get settled in to life in Konoha!" The Hokage grinned then ushered us out of his office. Considering he was a very influential and powerful man, he was probably very busy.

Minato led me back out of the Hokage's building and into the streets of Konoha. We struck up small talk and managed to keep a conversation going for around ten minutes until we reached a small house on the outskirts of the village. Minato pulled a small metal key out of his pocket and slipped it into the keyhole. The lock clicked as it was released and the door swung open.

"Welcome to my home! I hope you like it!"

Minato's house was an absolute pigsty! Whilst he spent the next ten minutes giving me a guided tour of the place, I spent it planning how I was going to tidy everything up! Not only did I feel like I owed him something for letting me live at his house for free, but this was another one of my "quirks" from back home : OCD.

Moments later we arrived outside a pale blue door.

"And this is your room,Chiaki!" Minato stated, whilst opening the door for me. The said room was like a breath of fresh air for me: it was the only tidy room in the whole house! Inside, the walls were painted a pale shade of green, with white furniture. The furnishings were minimal, with only a single bed, a medium-sized chest of draws and a small wardrobe. I looked up, feeling Minato's gaze upon my shoulders. I blushed slightly, remembering his prescence. Looking away again, it dawned on me that he was waiting for a reaction.

"I-it's really n-nice!" I said, blushing more at my stupid stutter. Minato smiled in response, as if my words had pleased him.

"That's strange! Who would be pleased by you?" A malicious voice drawled out inside my head. This was accompanied by a white-hot pain burning throughout my skull. It felt as if someone was hitting me over the head with a baseball bat over and over again. I cried out frantically, before my senses were overtaken by blackness...