Two and a half years after she left the Leaf Village, we find Ashley hot on the trail of the Akatsuki. Ordered to gather as much information as she can, Ashley abandoned her training in her homeland, the Land of Ambience, to pursue the members of the criminal organization. When she finally returns home, her friends are over joyed to see her again, Kiba especially. Back together again, Ashley and Kiba are happy to continue where they left off. But what will happen when one terrible decision tears them apart again? Will they be able to make it through? Will Ashley's friends ever understand her reason for leaving them again? More importantly, is the darkness in her heart, courtesy of Hakuba the Ten Tailed Wolf, real? Does Ashley truly wish to join the other side and leave everyone she ever cared about behind? And how will she react, when the Ninja World is on the verge of the biggest War in history?

****Winner of the Most Popular Naruto Fanfic Watty Award 2013/14**** **Currently being rewritten as the original is old and awful in this author's opinion** A coming of age story about a young Ninja, confused and hurt by the instances in her past, struggling to find her place and figure out what it all means. Can the kindness of a new Village warm a heart that time has taught to be cold and cruel? Can new friendships replace broken bonds, lost to the past? Is it safer to stay, or is it safer to run? A story not about one's physical strength, or of obtaining great power, but a story of overcoming and learning to change as old wounds heal.

I stared wide-eyed at the scene in front of me. A guy wearing a black jacket with its hood covering half of his face shoots a man in his chest. Nakita ko kung paano napahiga yung lalaking naka-business suit dahil sa tama ng bala. Hawak nito ang dibdib kung saan bumaon ang bala habang yung isang kamay naman niya ay pilit inaabot ang isang briefcase na itim. Pero bago pa niya 'to makuha, naunahan na siya nung lalaking bumaril sa kanya. Holy shit! Did I just witnessed a crime? Kinuha ko agad ang phone ko sa bulsa habang di parin inaalis ang tingin sa lalaking may baril. I was about to press a button ng biglang napatingin siya sakin. I saw how his eyes zeroed in on me making the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "Who's there?" Suddenly, the cellphone fell from my hands. And I just found myself face to face with a guy holding his gun straight at me.

Play it safe. Push people away. Don't take risks. Don't try hard. Keep your standards low. Those things are to guarantee you an easy life. But there was one time. One time you mindlessly broke that rule. You had broken one of the biggest rules in your book. And oh how bad you broke it. Don't fall in love. Ayame Yamamoto lives a not-so-ordinary life, and it gets even crazier when she meets the Karasuno's volleyball club. {Various x OC} May contain manga spoilers and profanity. I do not claim the cover art, credits to the respective artist.