*Might Bite*

You have found the Evil Overlord, Queen of the Court of Trolls DISCORD: under construction

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Just dropping by to say that I’m not dead nor is the story I just published abandoned.

My work space is extremely short staffed cuz Covid is running rampant through it so all the tellers are having to do two jobs at once. I don’t know when Mistakes will be updated, hopefully by spring at the very latest.

That’s all! Stay safe and wash your hands!

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Well I was trying to get all the stories Archived before Saturday, but I’m just staring at that dreadfully long list of chapters from Rule 3 and Trapeze and shudder to myself.

And I can’t find Cats and Dogs on my USB anywhere!

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt. 6 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 18 & 19

Chapter 18: Prank Wars, Revenge of the Siblings!

vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

 A girly shriek resounded all throughout the Compound, followed by Obito yelling for Yanagi. On Itachi's other side, Shisui barked a laugh, “How much you want to bet Yagi-chan shoved a beetle down Obito-senpai's shirt again?” Sasuke gave his brother's best friend an annoyed look. It had been one of the few times that Itachi was willing to spend time with him, and Shisui came and ruined it!

 Itachi-nii had told him once that Shisui used to be close to Yanagi and Obito. It bothered Sasuke even more not knowing why his cousins and Shisui drifted apart. He suspected it had something to do with Yanagi-sensei. Both Shisui and Obito-itoko weren't the kind of people to drop a friend, but Yanagi definitely was.

 Itachi shrugged at his best friend's question, “It's that or chili pepper again.” Naruto had told Sasuke about that one. Somehow Naruto had ended up at Yanagi's house for dinner yesterday and she had dumped an entire container of chili powder in Obito's food as the first prank of the war. The next day Obito approached Sasuke and Naruto with a proposition for helping him in a prank, which they agreed to, stupidly.

 Had Itachi-nii not intervened, Sasuke hadn't a doubt that Yanagi might actually have broken his arm the way she flung him around. Though she earned a harsh reprimand from the Hokage and Sasuke's father, Yanagi was back the next day throwing a bee hive at Obito's face.

 It went on from there for the next several days. Pranks ranged from exploding flour bombs, which irritated Aunt Uruchi to no end since they had stolen her best flour, to elaborate pranks involving squirrels, super glue, and a healthy amount of some type of itching salve flinched from Obito's female teammate. There was even a rumor flying around that Yanagi had bodily thrown an Academy student at her brother.

 Prank Wars between Yanagi and Obito were a serious business as well as an entertaining one. Someone, Sasuke suspected one of Obito's friends, had started a betting pool on who would win this war. Had Kaa-chan not explicitly told her sons to not bet a single yen, or else, Sasuke would have placed his money on Yanagi-sensei.

 He already knew how ruthless his sensei could be.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 Obito: 28 Yanagi: 27

 “Would you be quiet?!” I hissed to the two quarreling genin behind me as Obito came into view. Naruto and Sasuke blanched and finally shut their traps, they had already learned earlier this week that I was very irritable and quite violent if my pranks messed up because they couldn't shut their damn mouths.

 Obito-nii passed Checkpoint One and didn't notice a thing. Giggling under my breath, my fingers slowly tightened on the ninja wire I held. the feel of it's sharp metal biting into the pads of my fingers was wonderful and made me almost giddy with the near accomplishment of my newest prank.

 ...Checkpoint Two…

 ...Three…

 The thin beige covering on the pothole I had Naruto prepare last night gave under Nii-san's foot. I saw my brother pause and look down confused when seemingly solid ground collapsed. “Now!” I roared and yanked on the ninja wire, releasing the chakra-reinforced bamboo cage that Kakashi-nii had prepared for me.

 Obito yelped when the cage landed, it's sharpened poles digging into the ground so it would be hard to get out. I knew it wouldn't hold him long, my brother was called the Uchiha Phantom for a reason, but it would hold long enough for the prank.

 The one eyed Uchiha snapped around to glare at me when I stood up in triumph. “You think this can hold me?” He growled. Oh Kami, it was like Nii-san had jumped out of some cheesy festival play that Mikoto-oba was addicted to. I still remember being subjected to those horrors all throughout my childhood. Obito, Itachi and I all avoided festivals with a passion because of those dreaded plays Mikoto-oba dragged us to every year when we were young.

 Sasuke, the lucky bastard, never had to face the horror of cheesy plots and drama.

 I decided to play along with it, “May you rot in eternity, Nii-san, for your crimes against the public!” I said with flair and a poker face that made the ANBU masks full of expression.

 Obito's flat 'you are so dead to me' look was beyond priceless.

 Kakashi-nii landed beside me before I could disturb my poor brother even further, “We have a schedule, Yanagi, stick to it.” The masked jounin reminded me.

 I waved a hand, “Alright alright.” I grumbled then raised my voice, “First wave! Forward!”

 Out of no where, known victims of Obito's past pranks appeared, holding balloons filled with paint, glue, water, and oil. Kakashi and I grinned at the now terrified Obito; well I think Kakashi-nii grinned, it was hard to tell with that mask of his. This was what Nii-san got for tripping me, and Kakashi who had been walking beside me, into the Naka river yesterday. It had been an accident, but Obito made the foolish choice to claim it was a prank to break the tie we had been in for the past four days. In retaliation, Kakashi changed loyalties and together we planned the Ultimate (Flowering Lotus) Prank to End All (Youthful) Pranks as Gai had put it.

 Kakashi-nii was ever so helpful to grab me and shunshin the both of us to a rooftop out of firing range. “Fire!” I screamed and as one, colorful balloons soared towards the poor little bamboo cage and the well deserving victim trapped inside. I watched gleefully as my brother slowly turning into a multicolored, gooey blob.

 “Second wave! Approach!” I called out once the first wave was out of ammunition. This time it was Obito's friends, and their students, who showed up, sporting large bags made of burlap. These were filled with sand, glitter, flour, and chicken feathers. Genma joined Kakashi and I on the roof, a clipboard in hand, as Kakashi waved the second wave to start their attack. Obito's growling threats of recompense was music to my ears; sadly I had to ignore it in favor of Genma.

 Several years ago, when the first Prank War started, Genma asked for neutrality from all our pranks in return that he be the Record Keeper; that way there was no dispute on who won the war. Over the years Genma's job slowly evolved into not only keeping up with the record, but also judging the pranks and awarding points based on creativity, ruthlessness, and complexity. He also kept up with the loyalties of Kakashi– which changed often enough that even Kakashi couldn't keep up with it– the irritability of superiors, namely Fugaku and the Hokage, and controlled the betting pool that always cropped up when Prank Wars started.

 The senbon wielder looked at the scene below us, then at the two of us. “Kakashi is on your side now?” Genma asked. I let Kakashi answer that one and watched him with my sharingan activated. During the fifth Prank War, Kakashi had played the dirty double agent to sabotage my pranks. Since then I never really trusted him again, at least when it came to pranks. Luckily for Kakashi, I could tell he wasn't lying, otherwise he would join Nii-san in the cage and become target practice for genin.

 Genma studied the scene below him with the intensity of a building inspector, “Hm… I'll give you three points, the ruthlessness of the prank is somewhat lacking. As is the creativity, I've seen you do better than that Yanagi-chan. But I have to give you credit for the complexity.” Genma eyed me, “What did you do to get everyone to go along with this?”

 I smirked, “Secret.” I quipped. I would never give out my pranking methods any more than I would give away blackmail unless I got something out of it.

 There was a small beep and Genma and I turned around to see Kakashi looking at a timer. He turned his single eye on me, “Time's up.”

 “For what?”

 Instead of answering, the sneaky little bastard gave me his famous eye smile and jumped into the fray to release Obito. There was a stillness on the battlefield and my brother slowly climbed out of the cage, wiping off large globs of stickiness and flinging it at anyone close by. Then Obito slowly turned to glare at me. His single eye was glowing red with the sharingan.

 Shit.

 “Damn you, Kakashiiiii!” I shrieked as I hightailed it out of there. Nii-san was close on my heels and hands outstretched and fingers hooked, ready to catch me or strangle me I didn't care to find out.

 vvv

 Obito: 49 Yanagi: 52

 I yawned as the Hokage went on and on about representing the shinobi population to the citizens of Konoha and how it was our duty to uphold and respect the citizenry of the village we protected… or something like that. I was just happy that the prank went as well as it did. There had been a fifty percent chance that the prank could have ended worse than it did. Honestly, what I had predicted as the best outcome turned out to be far worse than what actually happened.

 Wasn't my fault that the oldest restaurant in the village, which was said to have been built by the Shodaime himself with the first Mokuton houses when Konoha was founded, went up in flames.

 I got good points from Genma for the impromptu firework show though.

 “…silly feud will stop now! I've indulged you long enough, but now that you are endangering the lives of this village it will stop, do you understand me?” The Hokage ranted as he paced back and forth in front of my brother and I.

 “Yes sir!” Obito responded immediately, his single eye forward and hardened with formality. Hiruzen-sama was the person whom Obito respected the most, after the Yondaime. Like Naruto, Obito seemed to think of the old man as a grandfather figure. However unlike Naruto, Nii-san knew that Hiruzen would first and foremost be our Hokage before he was a grandfather type and treated the old man with a little more respect than my blonde student.

 “…Yes sir.” I answered a beat after Obito, slightly rebellious and with very little respect. Mostly because I now owed money to Anko in a personal bet of who would end the War: Fugaku or the Hokage. The one time I was expecting the Uchiha clan leader to end something, and the old codger didn't even lift a damn finger.

 I hate my uncle.

 vvv

 “Okay, two D-rank missions today.” I said as way of greeting once all three of my brats showed up. After the Hokage had chewed Obito and I out yesterday for the pranks, he practically threw the two missions at me, saying that they were special requests for Team 7.

 Not only did Naruto groan, but so did Sasuke. “D-rank? We completed an A-rank mission, shouldn't we get better missions now?” I was mildly surprised that it was Sasuke who complained. But then, he was a cocky little shit and probably thought that since we survived an A-rank mission, we didn't need puny D-ranks anymore.

 I pegged Sasuke with one of the scrolls, “Stop complaining! Team 7 was extremely lucky to survive that mission and neither the Hokage or I are willing to put untested genin back into that situation so soon.” I didn't tell them that, because of the Wave mission, every C-rank mission was closed to all genin teams until they were verified on their true mission rank. Fifteen missions had already been changed to a higher standard and the clients fined huge sums because of their dishonesty.

 Sasuke glared at me as he rubbed the side of his head where the scroll had hit him, but he said nothing. Naruto, however, wasn't so keen on keeping his mouth shut, “Yeah, but if they give us a proper C-rank then we shouldn't have a problem, right?!”

 Boy was his logic flawed.

 My last scroll hit home, right down Naruto's face. There was a second of stillness as his body teetered for balance, before the blonde idiot toppled over. Not a moment later, Dumbass sat up with a very amusing red mark dividing his face in half, “Hey!”

 I gave him a distasteful look, “Team 7 is cursed with bad luck. Whatever C-rank we get is bound to go wrong. Hell, you can't even complete half of the D-ranks without messing something up.”

 “Doesn't mean you can throw things at your students!”

 “It's practice.”

 “For who?!”

 “For you to dodge. That could have been an enemy kunai and you would be dead, congratulations. Now give me the scroll back. You too, Duckass.” I countered dryly. Both came flying end of end towards me at a rabid pace, Sasuke's a smidgen faster than Naruto's scroll. I grabbed Sasuke's out of the air before it could strike me in the chest and let Naruto's fly over my shoulder to hit a random tree behind me. “Work on your aim too, Dumbass.” I commented as I walked to retrieve the scroll he had thrown.

 Hinata seemed to be tired of our antics when I returned to stand in front of them, “Y-you said we have t-two missions, S-sensei?” She prompted.

 Mentally I ticked off a check mark. Getting Hinata to initiate a conversation: Done!

 “Yes, and we're in luck!” My sarcasm was almost tangible, “The Hokage gave us two special request missions.” Special request missions rarely involved D-ranks, and they were normally babysitting missions for teams that had a special handle for kids. I knew for damn sure that whatever the missions were, they couldn't be a babysitting mission. No sane parent would trust the Kyuubi brat to babysit their spawn, let alone two anti-social Uchiha. While it might be bragging rights to say that the Hyuuga heiress had babysat your unholy imp it wasn't worth it to have the two walking disasters and their violent sensei under the same roof.

 Sasuke scrunched his nose up in displeasure, “If it's the Capture Tora mission again...” At that all three of my genin shuddered while I laughed. There was nothing quite amusing as seeing an Uchiha scared of a cat. In fact, as far as I knew only Itachi had never been afraid of Tora. Even I had been when I was still a genin.

 “No, but there will be cats on a mission. Nekobaa wants us to-”

 Naruto cut me off, “No. Way! I'm not going to clean that weird lady's house again!”

 “…Wants us to-”

 “Not doing it! Go tell the Hokage that I refuse to go there again!”

 “Dumbass, if you interrupt me again, I'll personally lock you in a room with Nekomata-sama and say you are a dog lover!” I snapped impatiently. Only Sasuke really got the levity of my threat, but Hinata at least got an inkling of what it entailed when she saw Sasuke staring at me in horror.

 Naruto just shrugged, “Eh, so what? It's not like this Nekomata guy can do anything to me.”

 “Lord Nekomata happens to be the Boss summon of the Uchiha clan. And do you know what summon the Uchiha clan uses?” I didn't wait for any of them to try and answer, “Cats.”

 Now Naruto was understanding what exactly I was getting at. He gulped and laughed nervously, trying to play my threat off as a joke. I simply stared at him through narrowed eyes until he finally shut up.

 “Now, as I was saying. Nekobaa wants us to come pick up the newest order and transport it to the Clan Compound. We'll be going to Sora-ku to Nekobaa's shop tomorrow and will be gone all day. That means that you have the rest of today to complete your other mission.” I tossed the other scroll at Hinata, who scrambled to catch it.

 “Wait, what about you?” Sasuke asked me.

 I waved a dismissive hand, “I've got other things to do. By the way, if you screw this mission up, I'm signing all of you up for a very special training regimen.” I smiled in such a way that Team 7 knew whatever 'special training' I had in mind would be torture for them.

 After tossing training ideas around with Asuma and Kurenai, I learned that the best motivator to get the job done right was to threaten my brats with Gai.

 It's how Asuma got his lazyass genius to do things.

 Mock saluting my trio of brats I disappeared with a puff of smoke as I shunshined the hell out of there. Rin had announced that she would pay for any jounin kunoichi who showed up at one of the local hot springs. The fun part was she didn't tell us which one, only that if we didn't arrive by noon then she wouldn't pay for us.

 Sometimes Nii-san influenced Rin too much, but I was fine with that.

 vvv 3rd POV vvv

 Team 7 all sighed when Yanagi-sensei disappeared. Sometimes it felt like she was only babysitting them and not actually trying to teach them to be true ninjas. In fact the only time she even bothered to teach the genin something, it was during the Wave mission. For the weeks afterwards, Yanagi was too busy with her pranks to even bother paying attention to her students and her negligence was starting to show.

 “D-rank M-mission,” Hinata read off the scroll Yanagi-sensei had given her, “B-babysitting.” At that Naruto groaned. Hinata gave her crush a side glance, blushing, before continuing, “B-babysitting H-h-ho-hokage-sama's g-grand-s-son, K-Konohamaru.”

 Naruto stopped his dramatics and perked up, “Konohamaru? Really? Yes!” He cheered. This was a mission he could stand! Nothing like getting to hang out with his kohai and getting paid for it!

 Sasuke bit back a sigh. He could already tell that this was going to be a disaster.

 vvv

 “Hey! Hey boss! I'm appointing you the leader of the Konohamaru Corps! And your first mission is to find the red four-leaf clover!” Konohamaru shouted the second he saw Naruto.

 Naruto blinked at him for a moment, then exchanged a confused glance with Sasuke, who only shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Sasuke did not pretend to understand younger kids. Most Uchiha children were treated more like adults than kids, and as a result they often had a more mature mentality than the rest of their age mates.

 “What's this Konohamaru Corp?” Naruto finally asked, feeling like it was the safest question he could ask his little kohai. Even Naruto understood that there were somethings you were better off not knowing, especially when it came to Konohamaru.

 The kid puffed out his chest and planted his fists on his hips, “It's a newly established renovation corps of Konohagakure!”

 Naruto seemed to like that answer, he grinned hugely, “Oh? And how many members do we have so far?”

 The scarf-wearing little boy touched his index finger to his chin as he pretended to think, then pointed up at Naruto, “Well there's you, the leader, and me, the lieutenant general...”

 Naruto posed, “And and?”

 “And that's it for now!” Konohamaru ended joyously. Naruto deflated like a balloon.

 “What?! You should have told me it was just a game, dattebayo!” The blonde shouted.

 Konohamaru continued as if he hadn't heard his senpai. Instead he was staring at the rest of Team 7 standing awkwardly in the doorway, “I guess they could join too.”

 Naruto squinted at the two genin standing behind him, “Ne ne, I don't mind Hinata-chan, but Sasuke-teme can't be in the Konohamaru Corps!”

 Sasuke scoffed, “Like I want to… loser.”

 Konohamaru interrupted before a fight could break out, “Now, as I said we have a very important and dangerous mission! We must find the red four-leaf clover!”

 “K-Konohamaru-kun… we c-can't do d-dan-dangerous missions. W-we have to baby-babysit you.” Hinata interjected but Konohamaru waved her off.

 “Don't worry! There isn't anything that can defeat Naruto-nii-san! We'll be fine!” If Sasuke was a laughing person, he would have lost it just then. Naruto? Unbeatable? Maybe against a fly, but then again maybe not.

 Before Naruto could puff up at the lies, Sasuke did a very 'Yanagi-like' thing and bopped him upside the head. “We're supposed to babysit you, Konohamaru, not go off on a wild goose chase for some dumb plant.”

 The young Uchiha regretted it instantly when Konohamaru turned large watery puppy eyes on him, “Please, you don't understand!” Konohamaru bowed his head and looked at his hands, “There's this girl in the Academy. Her name is Yoshino Kaede and she's very cute...”

 “So what's the problem?” Sasuke asked rudely. He couldn't stand little idiots with their ridiculous crushes, be they boy or girl.

 Konohamaru sniffled, “She's leaving tomorrow...” He said dejectedly. “That's why I wanna get the red four-leaf clover. Because Kaede's friends said that if she got it, her wish to stay can come true and she can stay in the village.”

 “Alright then!” Hinata and Konohamaru jumped at the sudden outburst from Naruto, “Well go get that red clover and you can give it to the girl you love!”

 At that Konohamaru went completely red. He never said he loved Kaede-chan, just that he thought she was cute! With her teal colored hair and eyes and kind smile… a lot of the boys in the Academy thought she was the cutest girl in their class! And the nicest. And the smartest. And the one who brought the best sweets because her mother was a fantastic cook!

 “Hold on! We're here to babysit him, not to go off on a stupid quest. Do you even know where this clover is?” Sasuke protested, trying to be the voice of reason. Unfortunately, Naruto was already sold to Konohamaru's plea and Hinata wouldn't take sides because she wasn't one to raise unnecessary conflict.

 “In Akagahara…”

 Sasuke deadpanned at the ten year old. “Akagahara? Really? You're going to risk your life for some stupid clover for a girl you'll never see again?”

 Naruto gave his teammate the stink eye, “You know you're really starting to sound like Frizzy-sensei...” He commented before giving his best grin to the downtrodden Konohamaru, “Don't worry about the bastard, we'll get your clover, dattebayo! Teme can stay here if he's such a wuss.”

 A shiver ran up Sasuke's spine. He was not a wuss! He just didn't want Yanagi-itoko after his head for not stopping the Honorable Grandson from being killed!

 “Besides,” Naruto continued, “Konohamaru will go after the clover whether we do something or not, so isn't better if we go along and make sure he doesn't get hurt? To babysit Konohamaru, we have to be with him right?” Since when did Naruto become so manipulative?

 Sasuke swore the dead last was hanging around Yanagi too much if he was starting to act like her. The young Uchiha opened his mouth, ready to protest the stupidity of their plan, when Hinata suddenly spoke, “N-Naruto-kun is right, S-S-Sasuke-san.”

 Now Sasuke knew he had lost the battle. He threw up his hands and glowered at the wall, “Fine. But I'm blaming Naruto when Yanagi comes after us.” Naruto and Konohamaru waved away his threat, not even caring. They had gotten the sourpuss to agree to go! And that was all that mattered.

 vvv

 “Man… patrol here is always so boring. It's not like someone is ever going to get in...” Denryoku remarked as he thumped his sore shoulder with a fist. That new captain of theirs was a true slave driver. Not even Yanagi-taichō had been so brutal when it came to training, though she hadn't put Squad 18 through training since Ibo first joined it.

 Ibo said nothing as he continued scanning the road for anyone coming close to the entrance into Akagahara. Denryoku felt sorry for his silent friend. Ibo probably was having the worst time adjusting to the new captain. Hyuuga Tokuma didn't treat Denryoku and Ibo like unique individuals the way Yanagi had, he treated them like soldiers that had no personality and he expected them to do whatever he asked. Yanagi had been Ibo's first captain, Squad 18 was the white haired Uchiha's first assignment and he had it extremely easy with the hot-tempered but understanding spitfire. Now poor Ibo was having to deal with an uptight Hyuuga who didn't take into consideration that Ibo avoided talking at all costs.

 In Denryoku's opinion, Tokuma was more uptight than Fugaku-sama. Which was saying a lot.

 Denryoku bumped his shoulder against his best friend's, “Hey, remember that time when Yanagi clobbered Shisui-san with the Spring/Summer Criminal Records Book of 37 A.K.E.?” The dark haired flirt chuckled at the memory. Oh it had been frightening at the time, because if was one of the rare instances that Shisui had actually lost his temper, but now all the Uchiha officers thought back on the incident with amusement.

 Ibo huffed a little and signed with a single hand, 'Stop trying to cheer me up.'

 The other Uchiha pretended to be offended, “Me? Cheer you up?! Why would I do such a thing?”

 This time, Ibo finally gave his quiet laugh. Denryoku could never understand how Ibo did everything so quietly. He was almost like a ghost sometimes, especially with that ashen hair of his. If Obito-san didn't already have the nickname as 'Phantom Uchiha', Denryoku was sure that Ibo would have been tagged with it. As it was, many of the officers called Ibo the 'Wraith' behind the young man's back. Even Yanagi often called Ibo 'Silent Spook' to his face, but then Yanagi had an awful habit of assigning demeaning nicknames to everyone.

 Everyone blamed Obito for his sister's rude habit.

 They also blamed him for her blackmail collection.

 And her general surliness.

 Really, it was always Obito's fault when it came to something Yanagi did.

 “Anything to report?” Tokuma asked as he suddenly popped up out of no where. Denryoku silently cursed his captain's 'pop goes the weasel' trick.

 “Nope. All clear, as it always is.” Denryoku responded, his voice a little cutting. He had been in service for eight years, and had had three captains not including the Hyuuga, but this stuck up prick treated him as if he were the newbie. Even Ibo, who was only on his fourth year and only had Yanagi as his captain, was still more of a veteran than the Hyuuga.

 Tokuma's captaincy had practically been handed to him on a silver platter. The Hyuuga was on record for having the quickest promotion in history of the Konoha MP, and that wasn't a good thing. He had been an officer for a year before Fugaku handed him a promotion in response to the accusations of Uchiha promoting only their own. Which was a load of bullshit. Code of Conduct clearly states that an officer must have at least five years before being considered for a captain promotion. Konoha MP hadn't even allowed non-Uchiha to join for four years before people started complaining about the 'lack' of non-Uchiha captains.

 And Fugaku handed the first non-Uchiha promotion to a wet-behind-the-ears Hyuuga because 'it brought the two powerhouse clans closer together'. What a load of bull.

 The captain narrowed his pearly white eyes at Denryoku. For three weeks he had tried to win over the two Uchiha, but they were dead set on comparing him to their last captain, who had quite the reputation at headquarters. Ibo hadn't been as bad as his teammate, less expressive definitely, but Tokuma could still feel cold enmity from the silent Uchiha. Now he didn't care and just treated the two stubborn men like he would anyone else who treated him with hostility.

 “Did you check the south end?” Tokuma prompted further.

 The dark haired Uchiha rolled his eyes, “Yes. And Ibo kept watch on the road. We know how to patrol, you kn-” Whatever Denryoku was about to say was cut off when a dull explosion caused the fence of Akagahara to rattle. All three police officers whirled around to stare at the plume of smoke raising from inside the fence perimeter. All traps within the restricted area were motion-sensitive and there was no wildlife stupid enough to scratch out a living in a booby-trap invested forest. That only meant that someone had somehow gotten in and were now causing a ruckus.

 Great.

  Chapter 19: A Little Tough Love

“Fifty more laps.” I grouched when Hinata finally finished the third set of the day. Naruto took off like someone had just told him that there was a free all you can eat ramen buffet in Kumo, with his Uzumaki lineage and the Kyuubi reserves the boy wasn't even sweating. Sasuke gave me the darkest glare he could muster as he stumbled into a run behind the blonde, still going at a relatively good pace, but Hinata was barely walking.

 Rolling my eyes I grabbed the hood of the Hyuuga's jacket and pulled her back. “You meditate.” I told her and tried to make Hinata sit down, but she only shook off my hold.

 “N-no… I can… do-do i-i-i-it.” She said between whooping breaths. I narrowed my eyes at her. I wasn't used to this new Hinata, this was the second time she defied me. But I wasn't going to stop her, anything was better than the stuttering mess I had started with.

 “Fine, but I'm not saving your ass when you faint.”

 Hinata took off without another word, she was only going as a shuffling jog, but she was still trying and that had to count for something I guess. I turned to my next task and glared hotly at the Honorable Grandson, who cowered in my shadow. “P-please don't kill me...” He stuttered.

 I rolled my eyes, like I would kill the Honorable Grandson of the Hokage.

 Too much of a hassle to hide from the authorities.

 “You, pest, are going to write a formal apology to the Konoha Police Patrol that found you and my team then write a report to the Hokage detailing what happened. And don't think about doing anything stupid, I'll read over everything before you hand the report to your grandfather personally.” To prove my point, I handed him two sheets of paper and a pen, “You only get one chance for each, otherwise you join my Team in their exercises for the rest of the week.”

 Konohamaru seemed confused by that, “B-but...” He started.

 “But what?”

 “Bu-but Naruto-nii-san said that you couldn't do anything if we were caught. My grandfather will hear of this! Then you'll be sorry!” Apparently this brat wanted to die.

 I leaned down until my face was inches from his own, “If you're stupid enough to believe that dumbass then you're more gullible than a sack of worms. And about as ugly and useless too. I don't give a damn if you're the Honorable Grandson, be glad I'm only making you write the apologies because I'm very tempted to kick your ass like I will my team's once they're good and warmed up. You want to be a ninja? Because I'll give you your first lesson for free if you want.”

 Konohamaru was quick to shake his head no and sit down to begin his apology and report. I gave him a pretty poor attempt at a smile, it was more of baring my teeth, “Make sure you don't get a thing wrong. Or you'll get your free shinobi lesson anyway.” I threatened. The brat paled under his tan.

 Good, about time he learned some respect.

 I was probably going to get it for traumatizing the pest, but it was worth it.

 Shithead.

 I didn't even care that they broke the rules and entered the forbidden area, if they wanted to get killed on their own time then fine. It was the fact that they did it while on a mission babysitting the Honorable Grandson. Akagahara was one of the number one places enemy shinobi tried to infiltrate, hence why it was forbidden. Any person caught in the gated area was immediately executed without question. Team 7 and Konohamaru were extremely lucky that Denryoku had recognized Konohamaru or else they would all be dead and Patrol 18 would have been brought up on charges of killing the Hyuuga heiress, the second son of the Uchiha clan head, the Kyuubi jinchūriki and the grandson of the Third Hokage.

 It was a political nightmare just to sort out fill out the paperwork on the incident. I was pissed because I had been dragged into it since I was the sensei and now was under scrutiny for 'abandoning my team' on a mission. Even though D-rank missions didn't require the presence of the sensei, since they were considered 'baby missions' no matter what the chūnin at the mission desk said. But that small little detail was conveniently forgotten when it came to the issue at hand.

 I was going to strangle that prick Hyuuga for bringing me up on charges.

 Even worse, the whole Uchiha clan had been brought into the mess as well as the Hyuuga and both were now up in arms over accusations against each other. For what, I really didn't care. All I knew was that months of work bringing the Uchiha clan back under the Konoha banner was ruined and we were almost back where we started when the genin graduated.

 And everyone was blaming me for not keep a better eye on the trio of brats. And Team 7 had been put on probation for three weeks. No missions at all; which meant Nekobaa was not pleased because only Uchiha were allowed to handle Uchiha merchandise and the idiots that had been sent in Team 7's place lost half of the shipment. That didn't really go over well with Fugaku-sama.

 I didn't mind the 'no missions' as much as everything else since I was turning that into my advantage as a way to take my ire out on them the whole team through harsh training. I was also stuck with Konohamaru, though I didn't know why. Probably so he could share in the punishment.

 Well, that's what I was taking from it.

 Once all three genin stopped in front of me, I immediately pointed to the ground, “Twenty push-ups, forty crunches, and thirty leg lunges. Go!” This time all genin groaned and literally dropped to the ground. I kicked dirt at them, “DO IT!” I roared and ignored their hisses of pain when the dirt got in their eyes.

 I did not give a shit what they felt. If they were stupid enough to think 'forbidden' didn't apply to them, then they can suffer a little grit in the face.

 Arrogant assholes.

 “Konohamaru, join them!” I shouted, turning to the startled boy. He stared at me for a good minute before I pointed at the paper, “That character is written wrong. Twenty push-ups, forty crunches and thirty leg lunges, now.”

 “What?! But-”

 “NOW! Do not ever question your superior officer. Now put your head down and start!” I snapped harshly, snatching the papers from his hands. I began walking away, crumbling the paper into a ball, when I heard a quiet sob from the boy. I whirled around, “Oh, are you going to cry? Did I upset you? If you're too much of a crybaby then maybe you should just forget about being a ninja, let alone Hokage.” I mocked with a harsh sneer. Large tears were flowing down Konohamaru's eyes now. He was truly crying like the brat he was.

 I grabbed him by his ridiculous scarf and shoved him to the ground, “Stop whining, you pathetic little rat.”

 “Hey! Leave him alone.”

 My head snapped around to glare at Naruto. Sasuke and Hinata had paused in their push-ups and were watching me, but only Naruto was standing and glaring at me. “Did I say stop? Start over–thirty push-ups, fifty crunches, and forty leg lunges.”

 Naruto's bright eyes glittered, “What do you want? Are you so cruel that you need to make little kids cry so you feel better? Why, you're nothing but a bully!”

 “A bully, huh?” I mused, pulling my fury behind the Uchiha clan's standard emotionless 'I-don't-give-a-shit' mask. “Everyone stand up.” Konohamaru jumped up quickly, rubbing an arm across his messy face, and latched onto Naruto like a leech. Sasuke and Hinata stood up more slowly, but they were giving me glares that were almost on par with Naruto's.

 I stared down at them for a long time, taking in each of the child's face. Team 7 were scowling back at me, they were used to me enough that they felt they could get away with it. Konohamaru was sobbing quietly into Naruto's side while Naruto had an arm around him like he was protecting him from me. These four were only kids; kids who broke the rules and almost got killed for it. They needed to know that some rules weren't even allowed to bend without dire consequences.

 But…

 Somewhere deep down I knew that my harsh treatment was wrong, completely and utterly wrong. I was at a loss of what to do. The only way I could make them truly understand that what they did was not okay was to push them until they broke.

 No that wasn't right.

 I was taking my anger out on them, I wasn't even trying to teach them. For all they knew they were only suffering through my harsh torture because I felt like it. Because I had finally gone off the deep end.

 “Do you know why I'm making you do all this?” I asked, more calmly now that I had time to ponder over my actions.

 Naruto, however, hadn't calmed down one bit, “Because you hate us and you get a sick joy outta watching us suffer, `ttebayo!”

 I glanced at Sasuke and Hinata to see if they agreed, the sad thing was that they did. Even quiet Hinata was turning rebellious, though after the hell I put her through I wasn't very surprised.

 “And if I did, what would you do about it?” I prompted, folding my hands behind my back and waited for them to answer. For the longest time all of them were stumped. Even Konohamaru stopped his crying to peek at Team 7. I think they expected me to defend myself and say I didn't hate them at all, but it was all for their own good.

 Or some gooey shit like that.

 I didn't let them answer, “Some shinobi are batshit insane, and they might possibly be one of the most loyal ninjas you'd find in the village. There are nuke-nin that are mild mannered; but they betrayed your village's trust, so you still are expected capture them or kill them if you can't. I thought you already realized that no one can be defined as just being good and bad.” Naruto and Sasuke winced, most likely thinking of Haku.

 Hinata was still warming up to her new found backbone, “That doesn't give you the right to push around like you do.” She stated in a calm clear voice one would expect from a Hyuuga.

 Tilting my head I studied the heiress. Two months had passed under my tutelage and already she was more outspoken than probably ever. She wasn't even stuttering at the moment.

 “No it doesn't, but again, what can you do? Go whine to your father or the Hokage? You're stuck with me, Hyuuga, like it or not.”

 “It isn't right!” That was Naruto.

 “You're right.” I think I just broke all four of their puny brains when I agreed so readily with the dumbass. I scoffed a little, “But then, when is anything we do right? I thought we discussed this, Naruto, back in Wave. It's all a matter of perspective.”

 “Since when is beating little kids a matter of perspective?!” Sasuke snapped. Inwardly I laughed at the way Team 7 was ganging up on their sensei.

 “Did I touch any of you with the intent to hurt?”

 “Don't play your stupid mind games, Yanagi, you know what I meant.”

 My eyes narrowed at the blatant sign of disrespect. Defending a child, I could understand. Standing up for oneself, sure go for it. That was always amusing. Disrespect in any form, even during an argument?

 You've got five seconds to get the hell out of dodge before I tear you a new one.

 “I'm not playing games. It's an honest question. Did I hurt any of you, physically?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice calm now. One more word out of my cousin's mouth and he would suddenly have proof that I was beating little kids like he claimed.

 “You hurt-”

 I cut Sasuke off before he could continue, “I didn't touch Konohamaru, I grabbed his scarf. Try again.” Any ninja worth their salt knew how to hurt someone without ever touching them.

 Before any of them could say another word I tossed four blank scrolls on the ground at their feet, “Training is done. I want all of you to write a full length formal apology to the Patrol that caught you in Akagahara. No copying from anyone else. Go.” I started to walk away, having my own work to fill out.

 “Why?”

 I didn't care who said it, but it stopped me in my tracks. Why? WHY?! Did they really not understand exactly what could of happened? Slowly I turned back around, my expression not angry as they clearly expected but concern, “Do any of you know why Akagahara is a forbidden area?” I asked slowly.

 Four 'no's.

 I facepalmed. I couldn't help it, in all my life I never met a group more dense than these idiots. Not even Obito could compete with one of them! “Okay sit down, you're getting another lesson.”

 They all remained standing, which was fine by me. “Akagahara is on the border of Konoha, it abuts Training Grounds 44 and 45, which are the furthest training grounds from Konoha. It's also the easier area to navigate through. Guess what that means?”

 Sasuke looked like he knew the answer, if his frequent paling was anything to go by. But of course that could be the fatigue catching up with him too. It was a 50/50 chance of being either.

 “That means that Akagahara, during the war, was the most common way for intruders to enter into Konoha's surrounding forest. Once enemies got past Akagahara it was a cakewalk to Konohagakure.” Now the rest of the team were turning white. Konohamaru still didn't get it, dammit.

 I focused my gaze on the littlest brat, “Akagahara is still the used by enemies to get into our village.” I explained slowly so his childish mind could grasp the concept.

 “So? Naruto-nii-san and his friend could take them.” Boy, talk about blind hero worship. My eyebrow twitched, this kid really wasn't getting it. I don't think any of the brats really got the grave circumstance they were in, truly.

 I sighed, “Look, because Konoha knows that Akagahara is the easiest way to get in, we put a fence up and made it forbidden, as well as stationed a permanent patrol for the police force. That patrol has orders to kill anything that moves in Akagahara.” I said flatly. There was no sense in sugar-coating it for an idiot as dense as the Hokage's grandson.

 Now Konohamaru was joining his 'friends' in utter horror. And that wasn't even the best part.

 “The reason why I'm making you write the apology to Patrol 18 is because if Uchiha Denryoku didn't recognize the Honorable Grandson, all of you would be dead. You four are some of the most politically sensitive brats in Konoha; can you imagine what Patrol 18 would be facing if they had killed you? The Hyuuga and Uchiha clans would be calling for blood, it might even boil into a clan war between the two. The Hokage wouldn't be any help as he would be biased over losing Konohamaru and Naruto. Many of the jounin, and even the Council of Elders, would be up in arms over Naruto's death as well.” For all the wrong reasons, but I wasn't about to tell an emotionally neglected child that, “Hell, in a worst case scenario the whole village would probably melt down into total chaos, which would then prompt another Hidden Village to attack and might start another Shinobi War.”

 Silence reigned down on the brats as I let the new information sink in, they were finally understanding what exactly could have happened.

 Hinata bent down and picked up one of the blank scrolls. She stared at it for a good minute before tucking it in her weapons pouch and turned to look at me, “I'll give my apology to you in the morning, Yanagi-sensei.” She said calmly before leaving. If it wasn't for that ridiculous boyish haircut, I'd say that another Hyuuga was impersonating her; but Hinata was the only Hyuuga with that styled hair so it was impossible.

 No one was desperate enough to act like Hinata to actually cut their hair like that.

 Sasuke was the next one to pick up the scroll. He glared at the innocent roll of paper then at me and walked away without saying a word.

 Naruto picked up both his and Konohamaru's, “Is that true? What you said about the jounin and stuff?” He almost sounded scared, as if I would say no just to laugh at him.

 Dammit I was hoping he wouldn't ask that, “Yes.” Let him come to his own false conclusion that they actually cared for him as a person and not the ultimate weapon of the village. I wasn't going to be the one to break his heart. I was an unpleasant woman, hell even I'd readily admit to being a bitch; but I wasn't inhuman.

 I left without another word.

 vvv

 “Thought I'd find you here.” Someone said behind me. I grunted and poured myself another helping of Awamori. If I remembered correctly the person talking was normally more cheerful and I wasn't supposed to talk to him.

 Well screw it, I talk to who I want.

 Shisui sat down beside me and pulled the bottle of Awamori towards him to read the label, “Thirty-eight percent alcohol? Wow you must be depressed this time.” I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

 “Shu'up.” I slurred angrily and tried to yank the bottle out of his grasp, but only succeeded in nearly toppling off the bar stool. If Shisui hadn't reached out with his free hand and grabbed my elbow I'd be on the floor.

 “I think you've had enough tonight. Time to go home.” He said and gently pried the alcohol dish from my fingers before setting it down. As Shisui stood, I just continued to stare at the remaining liquid in the glass. It looked so graceful, swirling slowly in the shallow dish as the light directly above reflected off of it.

 “`M a 'orrible sen'ei, ain't I?” I whispered.

 Shisui didn't immediately answer as he slowly eased me up on his back. I took his silence to be a 'yes'. I was the worst sensei on earth, that scum that Nii-san always talked about. I could blame my team and Konohamaru all I wanted, but in reality I was the only person to blame. If I was a better teacher I would have warned the kids why that place was avoided, and I sure as hell wouldn't traumatize them when I was told about it.

 Shisui tsked and readjusted his grip on my legs as he walked out of the seedy bar he had found me in. Apparently I had been thinking out loud, “You're not the best sensei out there, but I wouldn't write you off as scum yet, Yanagi-chan. And how were you to know those kids were foolish enough to go to Akagahara?” Damn man. Why was he always so cheerful and optimistic?!

 Stupid Shisui and his stupid reasoning. I pressed my cheek into the back of his shirt and pouted. Why was it stupid Shisui that found me? Why couldn't it be some other officer that I didn't know who wouldn't try to give me a stupid pep talk as he brought me home?

 “You smell.” I mumbled after a pregnant pause.

 This time Shisui laughed softly. I couldn't help but smile a little at his chuckle. That's just how it was; whenever Shisui laughed people couldn't help but smile or laugh with him. It was almost like his laughter was a spell for happiness. “You're one to talk, Yagi.” He returned.

 I pouted again, “…Di'nt say it was bad.” Shisui always smelled like freshly turned earth and crushed grass with only the faintest undertone of metal. The scent brought up memories of long past summers spent sprawling on the ground after hours of sparring together. If I closed my eyes I could almost imagine us being silly teenagers again, and Shisui was carrying me home because I was tired from a day of endless spars and not because I was intoxicated.

 But that was before the drama of the Uchiha coup, and when I opened my eyes that perfect rosy scene faded back into harsh reality. My already depressed mood sunk even lower and I almost felt like crying.

 Shisui seemed to pick up on my mood, “Is Yagi-chan complimenting me?! The world must be ending!” He said in a dramatic flair. It was a desperate attempt to take my mind off of other things. Sadly it didn't work.

 “Shaddap, Eyelashes.” I said in all seriousness, though I did appreciate that he was trying to cheer me up.

 “I haven't heard that nickname in forever. You must really be drunk.” The only other curly haired Uchiha commented.

 I didn't respond immediately. I was thinking the circumstances over and I wasn't liking the conclusion I was coming to, “How much trouble am I in?” I finally asked, resigning myself to my fate. I knew from the second I first forced Team 7 into that harsh training that there would be repercussions. Really bad ones at that.

 Shisui turned serious, only further proving that I was in deep shit. If Shisui was serious then I was definitely in trouble, otherwise he would try to reassure me that everything was alright and I was just being ridiculous.

 “Not all that good. Fugaku-sama and Hyuuga-sama are definitely not pleased, and neither is the Hokage.” Shisui relayed calmly. I simply laid my forehead against his shoulder. I saw that one coming by a mile. But oh did it get worse, “What with you having not been with your team when they were caught in Akagahara and now this… Hyuuga-sama is calling for your permanent resignation from the shinobi forces.”

 That managed to get through my foggy brain. I jerked my head back in surprise and immediately regretted it when the pounding headache cropped up in retaliation. “Wha-?! He can't do that!” I snapped, my words clear and forceful. Only the Hokage or my clan leader could force my resignation.

 Shisui hefted me up further on his back and gave me a look over his shoulder for nearly waking up the neighborhood, “That's what Fugaku-sama said and the Hokage agreed; which is why you have an appointment with Yamanaka Asao tomorrow morning at ten.”

 I groaned and dropped my head back onto Shisui's shoulder. Yamanaka Asao, or as I called him Ass-ao, was the Uchiha clan's personal therapist. Every clan had their own Yamanaka therapist who was informed of almost every clan secret to avoid having said secrets accidentally leaking out during a session.

 Our Yamanaka had a standing appointment with any Uchiha that activated their sharingan; so he could make sure that the stupid Curse of Hatred didn't crop up. Only Itachi and Shisui were exempt because of they were exceptions to every single Uchiha cliché known, the lucky bastards. Hell, even Kakashi had to visit Asao because of his borrowed sharingan.

 Asao, on top of his normal duties as a therapist, was also the clan's standard medic because Uchiha's were utterly hopeless when it came to medical ninjutsu; I was considered the best in the clan at medical ninjutsu and to any other medic I was considered utterly hopeless. Most clansmen found their own medic though.

 Because Yamanaka Ass-ao also happened to be one vindictive little shit.

 “If Asao-san diagnosis you as mentally unstable than Fugaku-sama will demote you to being a secretary in the police force and the Hokage will assign another jounin to your team.” Shisui added, almost sounding regretful. I didn't blame him, I could handle losing my team, maybe, but secretary?!

 I'd rather walk into Kumo and offer to be their Sharingan breeding cow.

 “Jus kill me now.” I grumbled into Shisui's shirt. Like I said, Asao was a vindictive asshole and he found fault in every Uchiha. When asked if the Nidaime or Ass-ao was more spiteful towards the Uchiha clan, Asao would win hand down every time. I wouldn't put it past that worm to say I was mentally ill just so there would be 'one less Uchiha on active duty'.

 Shisui gave an exasperated sigh, “Asao wouldn't do that.”

 I must have been talking out loud again. Stupid drunkenness. “Like you know. You don' `isit Asao, you don' know what he like.”

 My escort home, if you could call him that, stayed silent for a good while before asking in a resigned voice, “Want me to come with you tomorrow?” Why'd he have to sound so reluctant? I wasn't that bad, was I? Maybe to my team but I just normally ignored Shisui, wasn't like he ever minded or nothing.

 “Naw, I won' like ya to'arrow.”

 “Oh, but you like me now?”

 “…Shu'up and ge' me home.” I said, blatantly avoiding the question. Shisui was my friend tonight. Tomorrow, he would be that goofy idiot that I ignored. Shisui laughed and laughed at my response though, and that made me feel just a bit better.

 vvv

 Nii-san was pounding on the bathroom door, “Yanagi! Get your ass in gear, your appointment is in ten minutes!” Hypocrite. It was perfectly fine for him to be late five hours, but kami forbid that I be late by a second.

 “Like that ass Asao would fail me if I was a minute late.” I snapped back as I tried to pull my rebellious hair up in it's standard high ponytail. Unfortunately I had made the mistake of going to bed with it still wet from my shower last night–forced by Nii-san because he 'wasn't going to have the house reek of alcohol'–and that meant my hair was ten times as unruly than normal. Baring my teeth at my reflection in frustration I dropped my arms and let the dark brown coils fall loosely down my back. It wasn't like I was going to be doing anything today that required my hair being up. The meeting with the Yamanaka would take up most of the day and then there was nothing until the evening; Mikoto-oba had invited Obito and I to have dinner and she had strongly suggested that we be there.

 When Mikoto suggested anything, you had better do it or you'd discover the reason why she had been called the Terror of Genyo Pass in the Third War.

 Giving up on my hair I stormed out of the bathroom, past my brother, and grabbed my sunglasses. “See you tonight, and you better not be late this time. I'm not making any excuse, you can just try to explain it to our aunt yourself.” I threatened as I headed for the door. Obito followed behind me, absently reassuring me as he flopped down on the living room couch with his daily dose of porn in hand.

 Disgusting.

 Even with the sunglasses on, my eyes still watered at the brightness of the outside world. I wasn't as hungover as I thought I'd be, but it was still enough to feel the symptoms. Luckily, as a kunoichi, being hungover wasn't as bad as to what a civilian might feel. With the amount of alcohol I had consumed last night, a civilian might be in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. Instead, due to chakra boosting a ninja's metabolism to a much higher rate than average, I was only mildly hungover. It was both a blessing and a curse. Shinobi had no problem sliding back into the swing of things the next day, even if they had passed out the night before; however it took them much longer to get inebriated.

 As soon as my eyesight cleared I turned straight around and stalked back into the house, “Nii-san! What is that… thing doing out there?!” I yelled at my brother.

 Shisui poked his head in the doorway, “Thing? I'm hurt, Yagi-chan.” I glowered at him. If the door didn't swing outward I would have tried to slam it closed on his head.

 My brother chortled quite evilly, “My kohai offered to escort you. He said you expressed to being worried about Asao last night when he brought you home. Just have her at the Main House by six, Shisui-kun.”

 “Can do, senpai!” Shisui chirped, giving my treacherous older brother a two fingered salute.

 “Wha-?!” I squawked, but didn't get to finish as Shisui grabbed me by the waist and physically dragged me out of my own home. The last thing I heard was Obito yelling at me to let go of the door frame before I broke it.

 I nearly fell over, disoriented and confused at the sudden change in footing. A hand reached out to steady me but I swatted it away with a vengeance and took a step back to find my balance. I gave the very smug looking Shisui my best stink eye for that stunt he had just pulled. Stupid shunshin master, I hadn't even felt him build up chakra! That was just being too good at your favorite jutsu if you asked me.

 Shisui's smug smile turned into a pout, “I thought we were over all this, Yagi-chan.” He said and turned those damn puppy eyes of his on me. I glared back; being a master of that look myself I was immune to it. And when the hell did he get that notion anyway? I was flat out drunk last night, and drunk people do stupid things they normally wouldn't do.

 Like talking to someone whom you've sworn never to speak to again for the rest of eternity.

 Instead of answering, I turned on my heel and stormed away. I only got maybe three feet before Shisui caught up to me with his longer stride, “Oi oi oi, ya know the word 'escort' normally means that they're walking with you, right?” I simply gave him the universal one finger sign of 'go away'.

 Like always, Shisui didn't react, he only shrugged it off with a grin. There had only been three instances when I had truly pissed Shisui off. Once was when I confronted him about the reason for which I now ignore him, another was when I bashed a criminal records book over his head, and the third was only last year when I had tossed one of Nekobaa's cats at his face.

 Shisui is allergic to cats.

 Thankfully Shisui seemed to understand that we were back to Square One in which I ignored him no matter what he said or did. For several minutes we walked causally in blissful silence. Well, I stalked down the streets, with a look on my face that made bystanders scramble to get out of my way; and he just strolled in the wake I left.

 “I like your hair down like that.”

 Damn it.

 vvv 3rd Person~ Sasuke vvv

 “Hey where's Frizzy-sensei?” Naruto asked, sitting up from where he had been lounging on the ground.

 Sasuke gave his dumbest teammate a look, “She hasn't arrived yet.” Mentally the Uchiha hoped she never arrived. Hopefully the meeting that Tou-san had gone to late last night was so that Yanagi was removed from being their sensei.

 “But, it's been four hours since she told us to meet here, and Sensei is never late.” Naruto knew that for a fact. He had once staked out their training grounds for the night, determined to beat Yanagi at the internal, unspoken 'get there before Sensei does' game Team 7 seemed to have. Somehow she must have realized what he was doing, because she had stayed there that night just so Naruto couldn't show her up.

 Stupid Yanagi-sensei and her overzealous competitiveness.

 “So what?”

 “So… don't you think it's weird that the Time Machine Jounin is late?” Sasuke honestly didn't know how Naruto came up with the variety of nicknames he had for their sensei. And Sasuke definitely didn't want to know about the nicknames the dobe had for him.

 “She probably got demoted and taken off the team. Tou-san had a late night meeting with the Hokage after I told him what happened yesterday.”

 “T-t-that's right… M-m-my O-Otou-sama did the s-s-same.” Hinata added. Both males glanced at their stuttering teammate, each with their own levels of concern. Ever since the Wave mission they had noticed that Hinata's stutter had decreased, almost to the point that she didn't stutter at all unless talking to Naruto– though only Sasuke noticed that part. After yesterday's torture lesson, Hinata likely had regressed back into her old habits.

 Naruto turned back to the matter at hand, “Yeah, and where is Konohamaru anyway? He's supposed to be with us.” The blonde's blue eyes widened in fear and he leaned in, “You don't think… she killed him, do you?”

 Sasuke sighed in exasperation and hung his head. If Naruto kept his stupid rumor mongering, every child in Konoha would think his cousin was some kind of monster that hid under the bed and ate little kids for dessert. Konohamaru's classmates already thought that Yanagi was some kind of vampire; Sasuke had heard his younger relatives talking about how to 'excise' her.

 Before Sasuke could find the patience to answer his lummox of a teammate, someone else did. “While I wouldn't put it past her, Yanagi-chan has more finesse than that. You'd never be able to pin it on her, at the very least.”

 All of Team 7 looked high up in Yanagi's favorite tree, past her normal branch, where a grey haired masked man lounged, his nose in a small orange book that both Sasuke and Hinata recognized and dreaded immensely. Sasuke recognized him as one of Obito's teammates.

 “Eh?! Who are you?!” Naruto shouted and rudely pointed up at the older man.

 The stranger turned to look at the three genin and his only visible eye tilted in an odd way so that it gave the impression that he was smiling, “I'm your sensei for the day, while Yanagi is out… sick.”

 “Well you're late! Frizzy-sensei said never to be late!”

 “Maa… a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around.”

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 Asao hummed as he pretended to scribbled some shitty notes down. I had a suspicion that he was just doodling. He didn't stop 'writing' even when I had stopped talking for several minutes. I already knew that the little worm wasn't listening to me. For almost ten minutes I had called him every insult under the moon and he didn't so much as twitch.

 Being a relatively regular patient of his, I knew that Asao was not that thick-skinned.

 “And how would you say that makes you feel?” He questioned in that stupid condescending 'I'm the doctor here and you're the nutty patient' voice he always used. Even when he wasn't on duty. I had the misfortune of running into the asshole when I was taking a message to Yamanaka Inoichi, that was just his default tone.

 It was so nauseating I wanted to throw up.

 “Like I wanna strangle something.” I said dryly and looked out the ridiculously small window, which also happened to be barred. Nothing like having to talk about your repressed feelings in a room that felt like it was a refurbished prison cell.

 And honestly, they could have just left the cell like it was, since the 'redesign' sucked.

 Ass-ao's sandy head whipped up from his notepad and he pinned me with a look, “Are you feeling violent now, Uchiha-san?”

 Oh please, that he heard?! Now I was sure he was just waiting for me to say some shit like that so he could write me off as mentally unstable.

 Like I said: vindictive asshole.

 “No. I'm feeling oddly calm, like I've just had a spiritual purge of all the negative energy within my system. Please, O Great Guru of the Mystic Beings, continue your instructions so that I may become one with the universe like you.” Finally I got a twitch from the pompous bastard.

 “Sarcasm doesn't become you.”

 “Oi! I'm the queen of sarcasm, don't insult me!”

 “I thought you were the Blackmail Queen.”

 “Well a queen can have two titles, dipshit.”

 “Do you see yourself as a queen? Do you have feelings of superiority over others?”

 I threw my head back with a great groan. Trust a Yamanaka to turn a simple sentence into some insight on a damn nonexistent mental disorder. I'd hate to be a Yamanaka, it would get very old very quickly if I felt the need to psychoanalysis every word said to me.

 “I'm a damn Uchiha, of course I have a superiority complex; because it sure as hell isn't an inferiority complex.” I snapped back. It seemed that every Uchiha suffered through one of the two mental states to some degree. They either felt like they were a gift from Kami or that they were worthless trash that no one cared about. Unless you were balanced people like Itachi and Shisui.

 “Do you feel superior to me?”

 “Do you really want me to answer that question?”

 There was a moment of silence then: “…No. Let's move on.”

 Thought so, jackass.

 vvv 3rd Person vvv

 “Man, this new sensei sucks! He just gave us some stupid missions and followed us around all day reading! He didn't even try to teach us anything!” Naruto complained as Team 7 left the Missions Desk Office at the end of their day.

 “You'd rather run around a training field all day with our psychotic old sensei trying to emotionally break us every second?” Sasuke asked sarcastically. He didn't like the new sensei either, Kakashi he had learned, but he was still loads better than Yanagi-sensei.

 Naruto squinted at the mention of yesterday, “Well, no. But Frizzy-sensei normally isn't so… uh… evil. She's kinda funny when she's not yelling at us.”

 Behind the two boys Hinata nodded, though neither saw it.

 “When isn't she yelling at us?”

 “When she's yelling at someone else,” Naruto returned quickly. He paused for a moment then added in a mischievous tone, “her nicknames are really funny actually… Duckass.”

 Sasuke shot his stupid teammate a dark look, “Her nicknames are not amusing at all, they're insulting.” He stated firmly.

 “Oh come on! Don't tell me you weren't a little amused by 'Peach-boy'! Calling someone as strong as Zabuza that is just hilarious.”

 “I'm surprised you even know that word.”

 “Oi!”

 “G-g-guys, let's not f-f-f-fight.” Hinata interjected before either boy could warm up to the argument that was starting. When the team was first formed, Yanagi-sensei had given the job of maintaining order to Hinata; and she was just finally starting to be confident enough to try and mediate between Naruto and Sasuke's fights.

 Both boys glanced back at their shy teammate and then at each other. Though neither would admit it, they were both in agreement that they had to watch out for Hinata since she was so shy and fragile. She didn't know it, but she could probably order them to do almost anything and they would do it without complaining because it was Hinata. They felt the need to protect her from everything; from chaotic cats to their insane sensei.

 “Training?” Naruto prompted, changing the subject. Yanagi-sensei had beat into them pretty early on that they had better train sometimes in their downtime, or training with her would be utter hell.

 And they had already gotten a taste of Utter Hell; there was no reason to try and seek it out.

 Sasuke shook his head, “Kaa-chan wants me home before dinner. Something about someone having dinner with the family.” He explained. In reality he'd rather train with Naruto. They had actually been a decent team on the Wave bridge and he wanted to see if they could hone their skill.

 Hinata hesitated, not liking being put on the spot. She would love to train with Naruto, but she was concerned that she might faint if it were just Naruto and herself. “I-I can… but only for a h-hour, N-Naruto-kun.” She finally decided. She didn't think she would be any help, but Naruto seemed to think otherwise.

 He brightened, “Great! You can help me with that silent technique Frizzy-sensei taught you! Come on!” And with that Naruto grabbed the bright red Hinata and practically dragged her away. Sasuke watched amused and feeling only slight pity for Hinata. His female teammate was in no condition prepared to deal with the hyperactivity that Naruto consistently exuded; but if she was determined to keep that crush of hers, she might as well learn how to deal with it.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 “Well look at the bright side, Yagi-chan…” Shisui tried to cheer me up as we walked back to the Uchiha Compound, “Asao-san didn't say you were mentally unstable.”

 I crossed my arms with a scowl. Ass-ao might have cleared me of being batshit insane, but he did diagnose me as emotionally repressed, with a superior complex in general, anger management issues, and a plethora of tragic memories that possibly lead to all of said conditions. I was suspended for three weeks to see professionals to take care of my issues; and if I failed to show to the people that Asao recommended I'd be suspended indefinitely until I did see them.

 Although the anger management issue came from when I threw a chair at the bastard's face for bringing up Obito's temporary KIA status during the Third War.

 Really, he was asking for that one though.

 “Ah well. Here we are, Yagi-chan, I delivered you safely to the Main House!” What do you want, a medal? “I had fun today, Yagi-chan. We should do this more often… though it's better when your drunk.” Shisui added teasingly. I tried to punch him, I really did, but he seemed to know exactly what I was going to do for he utilized the shunshin jutsu to get away and my fist went through the air where his gut had been.

 Piss ant.

 I glared at the spot where Shisui had been standing, as if it had somehow betrayed me by not holding the man there for a second longer, before stalking inside. I never bothered knocking since the only one who really cared was Fugaku and I didn't give a shit what he thought anyway.

 “Mikoto-oba, I'm here!” I called as I sat down to take off my sandals.

 Instead of my aunt answering there was the pounding of someone running towards the entrance than Sasuke shouted, “What are you doing here?”

 I turned to give my student and youngest cousin a flat look. But before I could give a snappy comeback his mother came to greet me, “Oh good! Obito-kun is already here, now we can eat. Come, Yanagi, I made Nikujaga just for you.”

 Okay I had my suspicions before, but now I was certain that this whole thing was a set up. My aunt never made Nikujaga because Sasuke hated sweet foods. The only time she did make it was when the family was at odds and she had been forced to play the mediator; most often between her husband and Obito or I.

 No wonder Shisui didn't try to mooch a meal off of Mikoto like he normally did. He knew what was going on, the traitor.

 vvv

 Silence reigned supreme over the whole meal. The only people who weren't giving me dirty looks throughout dinner was Mikoto-oba and Obito, though Nii-san looked like he was constantly on the verge of laughing. At least Mikoto-oba had the decency not to bring drama to the table.

 Unlike a few people I knew of.

 I was the last one to finish, mostly because I was stalling for time, and as soon as I laid down my chopsticks Fugaku-sama was standing, “Yanagi, come with me.” He ordered.

 I exhaled a long sigh and looked at my brother sitting across from me. Obito had his silly grin on and was cheerfully waving good-bye when I looked at him. Then he stood and gathered his and Sasuke's dishes, “Mikoto-oba, let me help you.” Oh so he'd help Mikoto do the dishes, but left me to do all the chores at home. Jackass.

 “Yanagi.” Fugaku snapped when I was taking too long.

 “Alright alright! Don't have a cow, I'm coming.” I said defensively as I stood up and stalked after my uncle to the common meeting room.

 The common meeting room opened to the outside and was closer to the living quarters of the Main House, thus making it easier to spy on. It was where most public discussions took place, or official reprimands. The private meeting room, located under the Naka shrine, was only used for serious issues; like excommunications from the clan, planning coup d'états, and–in the past when Konoha was first founded–executions.

 I wasn't really surprised to find four of the eight clan Elders all sitting in a semi-circle. Fugaku waited until I was inside the room before shutting the door with an audible snap and taking his place at the apex of the arc. I barely refrained from rolling my eyes as I bowed to the Elders and knelt down on the uncomfortable tatami mats. No soft pillow for me, the jerks.

 “Your condition?” The furthermost Elder sitting to the right questioned. If I remember correctly, her name was Sayako and she was not only the oldest Uchiha, but one of the oldest individuals in the village. She also happened to have a soft spot for my brother, as did most of the elderly.

 I leaned over in a bow, placing my hands flat against the ground and lowered my head until my forehead brushed the tatami mat, “Honorable Elders, Clan leader… I reported to Yamanaka Asao as ordered. He has deemed me to be mentally sound, however…” At that everyone tensed. “I am to report for professional help for the next three weeks on account of anger issues and repressed emotions.”

 I think I heard one of the more crotchety old coots mutter something about not being all that surprised, but I couldn't tell.

 Fugaku gestured for me to continue. I sat up and placed my palms flat against my thighs, “I have been cleared to resume normal duty as soon as my three weeks of suspension are up.”

 My uncle dipped his head and turned to the Elders, “Then the issue is solved.” He said in that flat tone he used when addressing the Elders. Fugaku and I didn't get along at all. We disagreed on almost everything; but one of the sparingly few times we did agree on something was that the Elders were just a bunch of bored busybodies who had nothing better to do than to bother the clan leader about trivial things.

 Hibiki, a particularly nasty Elder, sputtered, “Just like that?! This gaki has nearly mentally traumatized one of our most promising genin of this generation and she gets away with a slap on the wrist?!” Funny how he made it clear that he didn't care for Sasuke as a person, just a tool to better the Uchiha clan.

 “It was by the order of the Hokage that Uchiha Yanagi be able to continue as a sensei if she were to pass the mental examination.” Fugaku said. There was a rustling of unease that clearly stated exactly what the Elders thought of their Hokage. I breathed deeply through my nose and made sure not to stiffen up. Unrest among the Elders meant that it would soon leak out into the rest of the clan, which could possibly lead to another coup.

 Sayako grumbled as she climbed to her feet, leaning heavily on her walking cane. The Elder beside her and Fugaku both jolted as if to assist her, but the spry old woman was already on her feet. “The issue is closed, as Fugaku-sama said. Complaining about it won't change a thing. I'm going to bed!” And with that the old woman hobbled past me and out the door.

 We could all still hear her go from an ornery badger to a cooing grandmotherly figure. Most likely that meant that Obito was out there eavesdropping; in fact I would bet that everyone except Itachi, who would have found a much better hiding spot, was just standing outside the sliding doors.

 Leave it to my brother to turn the woman said to have intimidated all Hokage from the Shodaime to the Yondaime to turn into a mushy old granny.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 5 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 16 & 17

Chapter 16: A Different Kind of Peach

“No.”

 Naruto pouted, “Awwww, c'mon, sensei! Please? I'll be extra careful!” The blonde little brat batted his eyelashes up at me with an innocent smile. I was not amused, mostly because of the fact that a twelve year old boy could flutter his eyelashes and I couldn't.

 “No.”

 Naruto opened in mouth again, but Haku interrupted him, “Naruto-kun, please don't irritate Yanagi-san. She is still healing.” Zabuza and I snorted at the exact same time. There wasn't much Haku could do to silence Naruto other than hitting him upside the head with a skillet like I was going on doing if the little shit didn't shut his trap.

 Surprisingly enough, Naruto listened to the older teen and edged over to where Sasuke was still resting. It had been three days since the fight on the bridge, or so Peaches said. I had been surprised that I had slept that long, but not so surprised about Sasuke. He had been to the point of complete chakra depletion, just barely alive. Not only was it past the point of no return, but this drain was Sasuke's first brush with chakra exhaustion so it would take a while for his coils to fill back up.

 The second Naruto was out of hearing range I glared up at Zabuza who was sitting against a wall next to my futon, “Bastard.” I snapped.

 He only smirked and crossed his arms, trying to maintain an innocent look like he didn't know what the hell I was talking about. I don't know why he even bothered, he was the only one here who even saw me use the Fan of Wonders so he was the only one who could have told Naruto.

 I bet he did it just to mess with me.

 Damn it, don't tell me this man was another Shisui!

 Haku sighed quietly behind me and cool hands gently grasped my shoulders, “Yanagi-san, please don't talk much. Otherwise the poultice won't stick to your jaw.” He chided as he forced me to slowly lay back down on the futon provided for me.

 The ice user had turned out to be a healer too. But unlike Konohagakure, which had a monopoly on medical ninjutsu thanks to Lady Tsunade, Haku didn't know how to heal with chakra. He simply got by with herbs and backwater remedies, which was what most Kiri nins learned in lieu of medical ninjutsu. It was better than Iwa's 'tough it out, it doesn't hurt' ideology at least.

 I was lucky really that Haku turned out to be what some might call a medic; otherwise I would have to suffer with a fractured jawbone and gaping chest wound all the way back to Konoha since I lacked the talent to heal myself– it was kind of pathetic that I was the best healer in the Uchiha clan, really; and it showed just how bad Uchiha members were at medical ninjutsu.

 The bratling had just better be glad that he never really meant to kill Sasuke, only put him in a temporary state of death. Otherwise I would be the worst patient I could possibly be.

 Peach-boy snickered at my quiet compliance to being manhandled by his student, and I threw Haku's pestle at the grey skinned nuke-nin in retaliation. It infuriated me that he caught it. Haku sighed in a way that made me think he was the adult and we were the children. Honestly I didn't blame him; other than Tsunami, Haku was probably the only mature person in Tazuna's house. Tazuna had been kind enough to offer his home to both my team and the Kiri nuke-nins while we recuperated; he also disregarded the fact that Zabuza and Haku had tried their damnedest to kill him not too long ago. Maybe I had misjudged the man.

 He must be more stupid than I thought.

 “Hey Frizzy-sensei! Sasuke-teme is waking up!” Naruto shouted from the other side of the room. I debated briefly between throwing the mortar that went with the pestle at the loud kid or joining him at my cousin's bedside.

 Haku decided for me when he leveled a stern look at me, “Don't get up, you might reopen your wound.”

 “Which?” I asked, deliberately being obtuse. I had only been wounded at the chest, and Haku's reaction was too hilarious to pass up on.

 Like I predicted, Haku blushed and stuttered. It had turned into a rather entertaining game for me to make Haku blush, almost as fun as irritating Sasuke. The ice user was at that awkward age where talking about the other sex's anatomy was very uncomfortable, and I milked it for all it was worth. The boy's visible eye started drifting to my chest before he abruptly jerked his gaze away and stared vehemently at the poor wall. There was a pause before the teen scrambled to his feet and hurried over to check on Sasuke.

 Or to get away from me, it was hard to tell.

 Which Haku out of my hair, I turned my head to eye the Demon of the Mist, who was trying his hardest not to laugh, “Now what?” I asked. I was really hating not being able to speak much, but at least I could speak again.

 Peach-boy shrugged and didn't answer me.

 Not amused, I reached out and flicked the man's big toe, since it was the closest thing to me. Zabuza gave me a funny look to which I returned with a lopsided grin. Now that we weren't enemies I planned to annoy the man to the best of my abilities. With no Kakashi-nii or Nii-san around, I was feeling a little deprived of annoying people. Team 7 didn't count, they were just traumatized whenever I pulled funny shit.

 After failed for several minutes of trying to get a reaction out of the nuke-nin, I reached to my left where Haku had placed my weapons pouch–why did that brat even touch a foreign ninja's weapons pouch was beyond me–and yanked out a my Fan of Wonders. It surprised me that someone, probably Haku, had thought to retrieve the weapon from the bridge; but I wasn't going to complain. The thing was expensive as hell and I would probably never earn enough money to replace the one I had; Kakashi and Obito had to split the cost of it when they had it commissioned for me when I made jounin rank. Besides, I was attached to the fan I had for obvious reasons. Planting my right elbow into the floor, I managed to push myself into a sitting position with the fan in my lap. I really wanted to just lay on my futon and bother Zabuza, but I had a stupid report to fill out.

 Kill me.

 Zabuza had a strange look on his face as he watched me take my field pen and ink block out of their hiding places. He had already seen the senbon launcher and the kunai blade during our fight, so it was no wonder he looked a little amazed at the fan's many hidden compartments. Peaches even choked a little when I twisted the heel sole of my discarded right sandal and pulled out a blank miniature scroll, the perfect size for a messenger hawk to carry.

 “Is there anything you don't hide?” The nuke-nin drawled as I made the ink.

 I gave him a dry look, “My temper.” I deadpanned then ignored Peach-boy as I hurried to write my post battle report. It had already been three days since the battle, if I waited any longer the Hokage was bound to strangle me for mimicking my brothers' habitual laziness.

 'Yellow Update

 Mission status: Complete

 Team: Genin Team 7

 Report: Team encountered A-class nuke-nin, Momochi Zabuza at Destination, with Identified Ally: Yuki Haku. Battle ensued, Team Leader heavily injured: Fractured Jawbone and Wound to Chest. Genin A heavily injured: Temporary Death State and Chakra Depletion. Genin A activated Kekke Genkai, will require Clan Guidance upon Return. Genin B has temporarily Accessed S-Ranked Secret; unknown to all members of Team. Battle concluded with No Deaths in either Party. Deaths of Mercenaries and Gang Leader: Gatou. Temporary Truce with A-class nuke-nin, Momochi Zabuza and Ally. Full Report Due upon Team's Return. Will attempt to solve remaining problem with Diplomacy.'

 I waved the unbound scroll in the air like a little ribbon to dry the ink faster, before rolling it up and painting two bands around the outside, marking it as Moderate Priority. The report was only a post battle report and didn't require the immediate attention of the Hokage; but still, Sasuke's activation of the Sharingan, Naruto's use of the red chakra, and Zabuza's change of heart were all important events that the Hokage should know about before Team 7 made it back home. Especially since he would have to inform the Uchiha clan about Sasuke.

 I was about to tie up the problem with Gatou too when Haku found his courage again and descended on me like a vengeful Ice Princess.

 Peach-boy was no help at all.

 vvv

 Another three weeks went by as we all waited for the bridge to be completed and for Sasuke to regain his strength to move out. The Hokage had sent back a response via my messenger hawk that Zabuza and Haku would accompany us to Konoha, not as prisoners but to work out a deal with the Hokage. I had used my sharingan and a pilfered slip of paper with Gatou's writing on it to forge a will stating that the deceased man's entire fortune went to Zabuza; to give the Kiri nuke-nin an excuse and a place to stay out of trouble. It was for Konoha's benefit; we would lose a customer, but gain an ally and a foothold against Kirigakure if the village ever needed it. After all, a shinobi never wasted an opportunity to plan ahead.

 Unless you were a numskull like Naruto.

 “No, no, no! I can't find it, it's gone!” Naruto cried as he rifled through his mission's pack with desperation to find something. Haku and Hinata were the only ones to watch the brat panic in genuine concern while Sasuke just glared at Haku whenever he thought no one was looking. Zabuza and I straight up did not care.

 “N-Naruto-kun... what are you looking for?” Hinata asked. She had been acting strangely ever since the fight and I fully intended to wring it out of her the second we got home. Or possibly throw her at Obito and let Mr. Feelings deal with the Hyuuga heiress since I already failed at the emotional buddy-buddy thing.

 At least she wasn't stuttering much anymore.

 Naruto groaned and jammed his stubby little finger into his hair in frustration, “Teuchi gave me a coupon for one free order of ramen and I know I had it on me!” I groaned quietly and pinched my nose. I should have known that this was about damn ramen. I was seriously contemplating on sending Naruto to therapy over his addiction to ramen; but I was sure Kushina would roll over in her grave if I did.

 Actually, knowing her, she'd just haunt my ass from the afterlife.

 I shuddered at the possibility and dropped the thought. The last thing I needed was Naruto's mother coming after me as a ghost. She had been scary enough alive and I didn't want to suffer through another concussion courtesy of a dead Uzumaki woman.

 Zabuza shot me a curious look, which I pointedly ignored. I didn't wish to add insanity to the list of things Zabuza thought about me.

 My sensei instincts kicked in by then and I looked up to see Naruto starting to run off, “Hey! Get your ass back here!” I snapped. There wasn't time for this; the Hokage expected us back in a week and I sure as hell wasn't going to let something as stupid as a misplaced coupon delay our return any further.

 “I'll be right back, I swear!” Naruto called over his shoulder. He was gone in a flash, probably thinking that I was going to chase him. I swear that kid was learning to quickly on how to evade my ire, I had a feeling that I was becoming predictable. And a ninja often created very bizarre situations just so they lost their predictability.

 Obito-nii was going to suffer from a butt load of pranks when I got home.

 Haku started after my brat, “I'll get him.” He said calmly before zipping off.

 I pursed my lips and grabbed Sasuke by his Uchiha collar as he began to walk in the opposite direction of Naruto and Haku, “You're going after them.”

 My cousin gave me a very teenager look, “Are you serious?” If I didn't know better, I would say he was whining. In the back of my mind, I groaned. Great, now Sasuke was getting to the teenage rebellion stage and Naruto would likely follow soon. There was going to be a lot of head bashing in their future if they didn't pass through the stage quickly.

 “Yes.” I deadpanned and shoved him back towards the Land of Waves. The boy heaved a sigh and started walking slowly back the way we came. My hand twitched and I came this close to finishing what Haku started. The damn brat was being difficult on purpose!

 Once the damn little cocky Uchiha prince of the brats was gone, Peach-boy turned to me, “You still don't trust us.” It wasn't a question.

 I scoffed, “I trust Haku, at least when it comes to Naruto. It's you I don't trust.”

 “When why-”

 “Why did I send Sasuke after the other two boys?” I finished from him. I shrugged, “Have you seen the was Sasuke glares at Haku? I don't want to deal with that drama for the rest of the week. They can all work out their problems away from me. I'm their sensei, not a damn therapist. Now come along, Hinata, if I remember correctly there's a tea shop around here somewhere.” I didn't leave the Hyuuga any choice as I grabbed her wrist and forcibly dragged her along. I could hear Zabuza sighing then fell in step beside me without a word.

 vvv 3rd POV~ Haku vvv

 “Naruto-san, please. Yanagi-san and Zabuza-sama are waiting for us. Yanagi-san is already upset, let us not anger her more.” Haku asked as he caught up to Naruto. Naruto didn't slow down in his tree jumping though.

 Naruto-san landed on a branch and was about to push off again when a barrage of kunai knives perforated the poor innocent tree limp. Naruto yelled in surprise then followed the trajectory to where Sasuke stood upside down on a branch twenty feet higher than Naruto's.

 “Hey, what's the big idea?! Watch were you're throwing those things, teme!” Naruto shouted as he waved his fist around at his teammate. Haku resolutely decided that this was a team conflict and stayed silent. He had already witnessed the odd dynamics of the dysfunctional Team 7 and didn't wish to be sucked further in to their insanity.

 Sasuke-san didn't sound very amused, “That's payback for not being a team player. You've wasted enough of our time already, let's head back. Yanagi-itoko is pissed.”

 Naruto slumped a little and Haku was mildly surprised that he was already giving in. During one of the many dinners that Yanagi-san practically twisted arms, particularly Zabuza-sama's, to make sure everyone was present, Naruto-san had declared his own nindo way: that he would never give up no matter what. The way the preteen had said it made Haku think Naruto would never stop, not even for the most trivial matters.

 “Okay, I get it.” Sasuke scoffed in victory, but it proved to be premature, “I will... right after I take care of my business!” Naruto-san exclaimed and leaped under Sasuke-san. Naruto patted his rear end in a very immature manner, “Like I'd ever take orders from you, bone-head!” He called to Sasuke, who looked a little bewildered.

 Haku sighed when Sasuke-san shot after his teammate. He had planned to return to Zabuza-sama now that Yanagi-san had sent Sasuke-san after Naruto, but it looked to be he was going to have to go after them and act as the mediator between the two stubborn genin.

 It didn't take long for the three of them to reach the little town where Gatou had been killed. Haku followed after the two younger boys from a short distance, just beyond hearing range. He had stopped for a moment earlier to put on his cracked pseudo hunter-nin mask to hid his burn scars and hadn't bothered to regain the distance it had cost him; he wasn't trying to stop Naruto like Sasuke-san was. Haku saw no need to since they were already in the town, it would just be better for all of them if Naruto-san finished his business and went back willingly. Why Sasuke didn't see that was beyond the Kiri nuke-nin.

 There was a poof of smoke that indicated the use of a jutsu and Haku nearly fell off the roof when he saw that Naruto had transformed into a busty naked girl with only scant puffs of chakra smoke to cover her...

 Haku blushed.

 Yanagi-san had already exploited Haku's aversion to the awkward topic of women anatomy ever since she regained her ability to speak. Zabuza-sama had been no help at all since he found the whole thing amusing. Haku had a sneaking suspicion that Zabuza had intentionally told Yanagi about Haku's dislike of the topic to get back at him for ignoring his master those first three days when Yanagi-san had been unconscious. Haku would have probably continued avoiding Zabuza-sama if Yanagi hadn't, almost literally, bashed their heads together and flat out told them what the other was feelings about Haku's near death.

 For such a surly woman, she did think of others... sometimes.

 While Haku had been trying to collect his dazed thoughts, Sasuke-san thankfully broke the transformation jutsu and had tied Naruto-san up with ninja wire. Haku quickly leaped the rest of the way until he was crouching on the roof directly above the Konoha genin.

 “Just give it up would you?” Sasuke-san asked in that emotionless, slightly condescending, voice he often used when around Naruto. Haku watched the Uchiha boy curiously. They were already in town, to drag Naruto-san back now would be just a waste of time. It was better to let the blonde boy get his coupon and head back, that way they killed two birds with one stone. Right?

Another voice spoke, “Hey! What are you two doing here?” The three boys looked at the speaker. Tazuna-san stood in front of Naruto, looking as if he were about to go on another journey, if the pack on his back was anything to go by. Now that the Great Naruto Bridge was finished, Tazuna would likely be raking in more commissions to build bridges, so it was no surprise to Haku. In fact, if Zabuza-sama decided to stay in the Land of Waves they would probably be escorting Tazuna-san around a lot. Kind of ironic, at least to Haku.

 Naruto brightened at the sight of his team's former employer, “Tazuna-oji! Talk about perfect timing!” He tried to move, but Sasuke jerked on his 'leash', “Ya see I left something at your place.”

 Tazuna-san leaned down so he was closer to Naruto's level, “Wait, let me guess. A little slip of paper?” Naruto nodded happily. “Inari-chan wanted to make sure you had so he ran off a little while ago to take it to you.” Haku mentally winced at that. If Inari-san caught up to the rest of their group, he would have to face Yanagi-san. During their time at Tazuna's house, Haku got the instinct impression that Inari was scared of Yanagi. Knowing the jounin, it probably wasn't unfounded.

 Really, Yanagi-san was just like Zabuza-sama.

 Haku leaped from the roof, surprising Tazuna-san, “Come on. Let us head back, Naruto-san. Maybe we'll come across Inari-san.” He suggested quietly. Naruto seemed to cheer up at the thought but Sasuke-san narrowed his dark eyes at Haku. Haku immediately backed away, he knew that Sasuke-san was touchy about the subject of his defeat and Haku had no intention on broaching the topic until Sasuke-san was more calm, if ever. Haku didn't like conflict of any kind, not even verbally.

 After a few tense seconds of silence, Sasuke-san reached down and cut the ninja wire from Naruto. He turned away and stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Let's go.” He ordered flatly before walking back to the way they came. Naruto-san shot to his feet, dusting off his orange jumpsuit and ran off after his teammate, pausing just briefly to wave good-bye to Tazuna. Haku watched the two genin go with fatigue before tiredly wondering after them. In the scant three weeks he had known Team 7 he had already seen more drama than the entirety of his time with Zabuza-sama.

 Haku seriously doubted he was going to survive the rest of the week with them.

 “Inari! Hey Inari!” Naruto-san was calling as the three of them walked calmly back up the road that they were taking back to Konoha. Naruto was looking left and right, trying to peer into foliage for the little boy. Sasuke-san and Haku walked flanked him, Haku was trying to help Naruto look while Sasuke-san just walked with his hands folded behind his head, he apparently did not wish to help. Haku did not blame him though. Sasuke-san didn't seem like the person to help unless it benefited him. He acted like a true shinobi, unlike Haku who was too soft.

 Naruto-san stopped and planted his fists on his hips, “Huh, I was sure Inari would be down this way...” He mumbled to himself. Haku startled when Naruto suddenly twisted around and pointed an accusing finger to the casual Sasuke-san leaning against a nearby tree. “Hey Sasuke! Get over here and help me look too, would ya?!”

 Sasuke turned his nose in the air, “Listen, Inari when looking for you. This doesn't involve me.” He said with mild contempt. Haku tilted his head to look at the younger dark haired boy. He had often heard that teenagers were rebellious, but he never had been able to witness it himself since he was always around Zabuza-sama who avoided other kids like the plague. He wondered mildly if this was what those people meant.

 Naruto gritted his teeth, “Ah c'mon! Whatever happened to teamwork, huh?!”

 “That's the only reason I'm here with you now, show some gratitude, loser.”

 Haku could hear Naruto's teeth gritting from a few feet away and he winced at the sound. “I'll. Show. You. Gratitude.” Naruto seethed as he stomped off into the woods, punctuating each word with a footstep.

 Haku wanted to comment but felt that it wasn't his place. Besides, Sasuke-san did not seem to like him and Naruto-san didn't look to be in the mood to hear advice from anyone.

 “Hey, where are you going?” Sasuke questioned as he watched his hot headed teammate stomp away.

 “Shut up! I need to go take a leak!” Haku grimaced at Naruto's uncouth manner. It was at times like this that Naruto reminded Haku of the Demon Brothers Zabuza-sama employed. Haku rarely used the word 'dislike', but he did not like those chūnin nuke-nins that followed Zabuza-sama around like unwanted filth.

 Naruto-san bent down to grab something and wondered aloud, “What's my ramen coupon doing out here?” That seemed to prick Sasuke's interest as the other boy came to look over Naruto's shoulder. Haku joined them a little later, but didn't get to close. He didn't feel like he belonged here, he almost felt like a babysitter really.

 Sasuke jerked, seeing something that Haku could not, “Wait a second, look there.” He pointed to the forest floor in front of the duo. Haku looked over the boys' shoulder and saw many footprints in the area. Some big and some... childlike. It wasn't hard to figure out that Inari, and possibly a few friends, had been kidnapped.

 Haku stepped up so he was Naruto's other side, “A fight. Likely a few thugs got a way and decided to take a cowards form of revenge.” He spoke for the first time since they had gone in search of Inari-san.

 There was only a moment's warning before the clouds that had been looming in the sky all day broke and poured their load down on all three of the boys.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 “Just in time.” I commented as we ducked under the tea shop awning just as the deluge began. I was glad, I didn't have to worry about my hair frizzing up any more than normal. It was bad enough that Naruto called me 'Frizzy-sensei' I didn't want to give anyone else a reason to call me that. The hostess smiled at the three of us and waved us to sit down on the long bench in front before she bowed to us and asked for our orders.

 I rambled off mine and Hinata's, knowing that the little Hyuuga heiress probably wouldn't have it in her to speak up, and leaned back so Peaches could do the same; I was mildly astonished that he ordered water. When the old lady ducked back into the tiny shop, I turned to give Zabuza a look, “Are Kiri nin so obsessed with water they drink it everywhere?” I asked incredulously.

 Peach-boy gave me a glare that could evaporate the rain water off my clothes, “No.”

 I was not letting him get away with that for an answer. I didn't like talking to people much, but I hated awkward silenced even worse. “We're at a tea shop it's generally accepted that people drink tea here.” I pointed out slowly.

 For a moment, I thought Zabuza might actually try and hit me. If he did, then Zabuza vs. Yanagi Round Three would commence. “I don't like tea.” He snapped. Seriously, this guy was never social unless Haku was around and even then it was still a 50/50 chance.

 Now Hinata was giving Zabuza a look. People from Konoha practically lived on tea, especially those living in more traditional clans like Hinata and I. In Konoha, someone saying they didn't like tea was like Naruto suddenly declaring that he detested ramen and became a nuke-nin because the Hokage refused to outlaw it.

 Peachy didn't miss our shared horrified looks. He glare turned defensive and he looked away with a harrumph, mumbling something about stewed leaf water and pesky women. I smirked.

 Yanagi: 17 Zabuza: 12

 Another costumer ducked under the tea shop awning and flapped their soaked leather coat out, spraying the three of us in a fine cold spray, but he didn't remove his hood. Suspicious. Zabuza released a hissed breath and glared at the newcomer out of the corner of his eye. I pretended to ignore them as the lady came out sporting trays with our orders and came to take the order of the new costumer. Hinata gingerly took her cup of hot tea while I popped a stick of sweet dango in my mouth. Even from only two seats away, I could barely hear the newcomer as they spoke with the hostess and that only raised my suspicions.

 Without thinking about it, I nudged Zabuza and handed him his wimpy glass of water to excuse the action. In return he nodded in acknowledgment as he pulled down a few of his bandages to reveal his mouth and took a casual sip of water. The whole exchange was smooth and nothing was suspicious about it. Strange that only a month ago we were enemies and now we were working together as if we had been for years. But I guess being under the same roof for nearly three weeks did that to a group of enemies-turned-allies.

 “So when do you think those brats will get back?” I asked, to keep in character. It would seem suspicious to the tea lady, and possibly the newcomer if he had been watching us before, if we all just fell silent.

 Zabuza grunted and said nothing.

 I rolled my eyes, and not for show either. This man was just as annoying as Obito-nii, only in the opposite way. “Might as well be talking to myself.” I grumbled and popped another dumpling in my mouth, taking all my anger out on it by chewing the poor thing. My anger only elevated when I saw Zabuza's smirk before he brought his water to his lips.

 Soon the dango was all gone, eaten by myself really. Zabuza didn't like sweets apparently and Hinata said she wasn't hungry, though I suspected she only said that to please me. I would have forced her to eat one so she wouldn't be hungry, but decided against it to teach her another hidden lesson. Hinata needed to stop being a people pleaser, in the world of shinobi people would take advantage of her faster than she could blink. The Hyuuga needed to grow a little backbone and courage, otherwise everyone would walk over her more times than a welcome mat. I was sure her father already took advantage of her soft nature and it wouldn't be long before she broke if nothing was done.

 The newcomer had yet to take his hood off. Zabuza and I had already written him off as an enemy, but now Hinata was starting to get the drift. Though she was a green genin and not all the confident, I knew that Hinata was the most observant on out of my trio of brats. Having grown up in the Hyuuga clan and having a functioning Byakugan, Hinata had an eye for detail. A Hyuuga could look at a scene for three seconds, without their Kekke Genkai activated, and rattle back immediately everything in perfect detail. There was a reason why they were the ones assigned the missions that entailed guarding someone or finding lost items. So it was no surprise to me when Hinata began stiffening. Hurriedly I nudged her in the side so not to alert the mystery man.

 “Oi, wanna split a plate of dango? I'm still hungry, but I don't think I can eat all of it this time.” I said easily as I shot a warning look at my student. Hinata luckily caught on to it and nodded before looking down at her lap. Leaning back a little, I waved to the tea shop owner from the large window put behind the bench for that purpose. She nodded at me to show she acknowledged me and continued make the stranger's order.

 vvv 3rd POV~Haku vvv

 “Eh?! Inari did what?!” Naruto-san practically shrieked when Inari's friends told him what happened. Sasuke now looked concerned instead of indifferent about the whole thing. Though, Haku believed that Sasuke-san had been concerned ever since they found the signs of a fight, he was just showing that emotion now instead of suppressing it like he normally did.

 Haku stepped in before Naruto-san could question the obviously traumatized kids further, “Naruto-san, we must go. I know these men, if they find Inari-san...” He trailed off, not wishing to go into detail. Not only were there young kids present, but Sasuke and Naruto were still younger than him and obviously fresh genin. He doubted they had witnessed the true horrors of reality yet. To them everything was still good versus bad; with the bad losing horribly and the good getting away with no permanent injuries.

 Sasuke-san, however, seemed to have a notion of just how bad the situation was for he grabbed Naruto by the arm. “Go back and warn the town.” He ordered the kids before tugging his teammate along into a run. Haku zipped ahead of them. He had been trained as a hunter-nin before Zabuza-sama and he defected from Kirigakure, he was an expert tracker and following after thugs stupid enough to have marked a clear path with cuts in trees was probably the easiest thing he ever did.

 It was quick work finding Inari-san in the river, struggling to make it to shore, and with Naruto-san's numerous shadow clones, it was even easier work to pull him out. Haku felt almost useless standing there next to a line of Narutos and watching as the main Naruto struggled to grab Inari-san's hand. As soon as he had him, Naruto leaped out of the water and set Inari down.

 Immediately Haku scanned Inari-san for any obvious injures, but found none. The Kiri nuke-nin was confused, if Inari wasn't injured then why had he been in the river? He had thought that the thugs of Gatou had thrown him over a cliff to watch him drown, but by all appearances Inari looked as if he had jumped willingly.

 Inari-san was staring at Naruto in a daze. He looked at Sasuke, then at Haku and finally back at Naruto, “Why are you here? How come?” He asked.

 Naruto-san gave Inari his trademark, earsplitting grin, “How come? Cuz of you! You did an awesome job, your friends were able to escape and warn us what happened!”

 “The guys are okay?” Inari asked, but before any of the boys could answer, the sound of many footsteps came from their right. All of them turned to see the remainder of Gatou's thugs, a very small remainder, trotting up with the two filthy right hand men of Gatou leading them. Haku narrowed his eyes behind his mask. He did not like those two for trying to kill Zabuza-sama when he was healing from his first fight with Yanagi-san. The only person he hated more than those two had been Gatou himself. And with Gatou out of the way...

 If Haku liked killing, he might say he was eager to kill those two.

 The crowd came to a stop and one of them, the taller tattooed leader with a cutting fetish accused, accused “You're the brats from the Hidden Leaf!”

 The second leader, the one with the strange jacket and purple stripes under his eyes, yanked out his sword as if it were just a piece of metal and not an extension of his arm, “You've gotta lot of nerve coming back here.” Naruto and Sasuke-san both glared and tensed, ready for battle, but so far no one made a move. The two leaders hadn't seen how the battle of the bridge had turned out with Naruto-san creating thousands of shadow clones and the village showing up to take back their home; but the rest of the thugs had and they knew that Naruto wasn't just any ordinary kid.

 “It's just two kids you guys, go get them!” The second leader shouted when none of his minions immediately ran forward. As if they had been the magic words, the crowd of thugs charged forwards with pathetic battle cries. Sasuke immediately grabbed Inari and jumped back. Haku was glad that Sasuke wouldn't let something like pride put someone else in danger. Until now, the ice user had been worried if that would be a major problem for someone as competitive as Sasuke-san.

 Naruto scoffed, “So, you think you can out number me, do ya?” He asked rhetorically and made his strange hand sign. Multiple Narutos popped back into existence and Haku took a moment to admire the younger kid's stamina. Zabuza-sama had once told him that the shadow clone technique was very high in chakra requirement; that Naruto was able to use the Kagebushin Jutsu twice in so little time and still create more than thirty was something extraordinary.

 Haku waited until Sasuke-san had Inari safely out of the way before joining the fight. Luckily by that time some of the Naruto clones had already been popped and so a nice smoke, much like the Hidden Mist Jutsu, permeated the area. Perfect. Pulling out senbon in each hand, Haku began dancing among the thugs, striking out like a snake and putting anyone he hit in a temporary death state. Even if these men had been willingly with Gatou and not just in it for the money like Zabuza-sama and Haku had been, Haku would not kill them unless they forced his hand.

 Now that Zabuza-sama had given up on his dream and started a more peaceful one, Haku hoped he would never have to kill again.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 I growled and gnashed my teeth, damn this rain! It was making everything cold and I hated the cold! “It's been hours since they went back, how long does it take for them to find one damn coupon?!” I hissed.

 Peaches shrugged, “Haku will find it even if your pests can't.” Really? He was still doing the whole fangirling thing?

 Ignoring his student posturing for now, I tugged at my ponytail and glared at the stranger still sitting at the end of the tea shop bench. I didn't care if it would alert him or not, I was pissed because he was here and I couldn't pop a shadow clone off to go see what the hell those trio of brats were doing.

 Peach-boy landed an elbow in my ribs, making me grunt. He leaned over and hissed in my ear, “Don't do anything stupid.” Damn it, how did this guy get to be so good at reading my mind in the few weeks we hadn't been trying to kill each other? My own brother, who raised me, wasn't as good a mind reader as Peachy was.

 “Elbow me again, Peach-boy, and I'll break your arm off and shove it up your ass.” I threatened. I heard Hinata whimper slightly behind me and shift away. I really didn't blame her. Hinata was a genin with two high classed jounin who weren't in a very good mood at all; one of which was an infamous nuke-nin who had only recently turned 'good' and the other was from an infamous clan known for their anger induced fights and rather horrifying genjutsu.

 My comment finally seemed to get the stranger's attention, who had, until recently, seemed quite content to act as if we didn't exist. “Interesting...” He said lowly. Zabuza and I both whipped around to glare at him in sync. This was it, most likely the hooded stranger would attack and I could take my pent up anger out on him and bash his brains in. I almost shivered in excitement.

 The hood turned a little, giving me the impression that the man might be looking at us out of the corner of his eye, “I thought you were a family, guess your not.”

 Hinata eeped behind me while Peaches and I exchanged dry looks. How this idiot stranger came to such a conclusion, or how he proved himself wrong, I did not wish to know. At all. Ever. Seriously, all three of us were wearing our haiti-ate, of two different villages no less, and Zabuza was lugging around Kubikiribōchō on his back. All we lacked was a sign that said WE ARE SHINOBI AND WILL KICK YOUR ASS. How this idiot thought we might possibly be a family was beyond me. Of course, he could be trying to get a raise out of us. But even then it wouldn't work. Shinobi had control over their emotions, most of the time, and trying to make a ninja blush was about the hardest thing to do and the most clichéd.

 “And I think you're an idiot, turns out I'm right.” I retorted. I was already irritated with my little brats and this never ending rain. Being associated to Peach-bastard in a positive manner was just the icing on the shit cake of my day. We could be out of the damn Wave Country already if Naruto hadn't gone after his damn ramen coupon!

 I swear I was going to kill the brat with training when we got back to Konoha. He'd never ask for another mission like this ever again.

 Unfortunately the hooded man seemed to find amusement in my statement and just laughed. My right eye started twitching then and I was contemplating bodily harm when the source of my ire finally decided to show their nasty little faces. I turned my glare on all three boys when they came up to the tea shop, completely soaked. Naruto and Sasuke paled while Haku stiffened. He might have paled too, but he was strangely wearing his mask. After we had first left the town, Haku had taken the mask off and hadn't put it back on since.

 No matter, he was dead in a few minutes anyway.

 I inspected the other two brats and found small scrapes and specks of blood on their clothing. I hung my head with a long suffering groan. Of course, they would get into some dramatic fight with random enemies. Team 7 was unlucky enough to land a falsely labeled A-rank mission on their first 'C-rank' mission, so why not add more drama to it already?!

 Damn karma demons. Why was I the one stuck with the unluckiest team on earth?

 Sasuke seemed to sense my exasperation for he opened his mouth, no doubt to report, but I just held up a hand, “I do not want to know. You little bastards are filling out your own paperwork this time.” I was not going to be doing paperwork over an extra mission that I didn't even participate in! Filling out paperwork on additional missions that didn't follow the primary objective were a pain in the ass to fill out, more so than normal.

 Naruto and Sasuke shrunk back behind Haku, who seemed to be eying the hooded stranger still sitting quietly off to the side. Zabuza laid money down for our food, which was surprising because I was sure he'd make me pay for what Hinata and I ordered. Peach-boy had struck me to be a big penny-pincher; but I wasn't going to complain if he proved me wrong. More money for me.

 Haku removed his mask to speak, but before a single syllable could leave his mouth, the stranger attacked. Immediately all of us reacted and reached for our nearest weapons, but didn't get the chance to attack. Mostly because we were all staring at the stranger hugging Haku. Not strangling. Not holding him hostage. Not even acting aggressive.

 Hugging.

 Zabuza and I exchanged confused looks. We had probably seen a lot of strange things in our careers, but a total stranger hugging a shinobi scarred by angry red burn marks had to be at least in the top five of most bizarre.

 And yes, this incident beat the time I had to accompany a nobleman's daughter to a local bathhouse, as the 'friend of the day', only to have her almost abducted by her ex-sumo-wrestler ex-boyfriend. Somehow there was also a chicken involved.

 “Oh you poor baby! Poor child! Who did this to you?” The man asked in an odd squeaky voice. His voice was still deep but it rose several octaves at the end of every sentence, almost as if he were talking in questions. Poor Haku looked bewildered and shot us pleading looks from his prison. I seriously doubted Obito, who was internationally known for his infiltration and evasion skills, could get out of that hug.

 “Eh?! Just who are you?” Naruto shouted, pointing a finger at the stranger.

 The man seemed to realize he had an audience, even the damn tea lady had come out of her shop to stare at him. He laughed sheepishly and put Haku back down on the ground, but didn't release the poor kid, “Oh... my name is Kurosawa Momoko.” The person pushed back their hood to reveal a pair of upturned eyes, much like Naruto's, and a mess of short chocolate brown hair. A scar, a nick really, slanted over Momoko's cheekbone and curved downwards towards his jaw like a sideways hook; that alone was enough to identify him as who he said he was.

 I blinked, Zabuza facepalmed and Haku blanched under his burn marks. Team 7 looked between the three of us confused, not understanding anything going on but I couldn't blame their ignorance for that. They were fresh from the Academy and barely knew what a nuke-nin was. Kurosawa Momoko was an infamous mercenary who was responsible for the fall of some country no one remembered anymore more than a decade ago. He... She got her name 'Nariagari Naginata' for the legend of starting several civil wars by using only her naginata and pepper spray.

 All for the fun of it.

 “Last the rumors had it you were in Grass Country causing trouble.” I said dryly.

 Momoko laughed and waved a hand, “I've retired from that business, dearie,” I twitched at the endearment, “there's no fun in it anymore. I got my fill of fighting, now I just wonder the world. I'm glad I did too! Cuz I wouldn't have met this cutie otherwise!” The older woman squeezed an extra ten years out of Haku.

 Peach-boy wasn't looking amused, “Release him.” He snarled. I pursed my lips and wondered if I should stop Zabuza before he did anything rash. It wasn't like he couldn't handle himself against Momoko; for all her skill, she wasn't a ninja and was thus as a great disadvantage, but killing someone just because she was touching his student was a little... well, stupid. Not that I could really blame Peaches for being overprotective, I'll admit that I was slightly overprotective of Sasuke since he had almost died.

 Momoko gave Zabuza a shit-eating grin that dared him to try something and my respect for her went up a little. Not many people could grin cheekily at a pissed off shinobi with a big ass sword and sharp, predatory teeth bared. “Sorry, hon, no can do.” From the look on Zabuza's face, I'd say he wasn't used to people telling him no.

 Though I found the encounter amusing now that I knew that Momoko wouldn't be a threat to us, I was still frustrated. I wanted to go home not stand around in front of some random tea shop in Wave Country and watching an infamous mercenary butt heads with an equally infamous nuke-nin.

 I snagged Naruto's collar and began dragging him away, “Duckass and Hinata, we're going. Those three can work their own problems out.” I ordered. I was so done with solving other people's problems, if I wasn't getting paid for it I wasn't going to lift a damn finger to help. My two slightly smarter students immediately fell in step behind me while Naruto struggled to break my grip on his jumpsuit, squawking with indignity.

 An hour later when Zabuza and Haku finally caught up to us, neither looking remotely pleased with me, I noticed that Momoko was still firmly attached to Haku. That's when I started laughing and didn't stop until set up camp. Even then I would occasionally start snickering again whenever I glanced over at Ice Princess and his involuntarily new mercenary friend.

 vvv

 Our little motley group made it back to Konoha two days behind schedule, and thus earning me a rather stern lecture from the Hokage about picking up my brother's worst habits. Team 7 made our mission's report, as well as Sasuke and Naruto's side mission, then stepped aside and let Peach-boy and Ice Princess lay out a rough plan on what they intended to do now that they weren't 'bad guys' anymore. Apparently they were planning on using Gatou's money to start something like the Academy, to teach the younger generations how to protect themselves properly. The Land of Waves was no where near powerful or wealthy enough to be a shinobi nation, but they wouldn't be at the mercy of people like Gatou anymore.

 Though half of his face was covered up again with bandages, I swore I could see Zabuza's eyes light up in surprise and respect for the Hokage when the old man suggested he meet with one of the Nara to discuss further development on the plans. Apparently that thing just wasn't done.

 Welcome to Konoha, Peach-boy. And get used to our bizarre flavor of insanity.

 As soon as both the verbal and written reports were done, which took two extra hours since I had to teach my brats the proper way to write a report, the six of us were released back into the dying sunlight and into Momoko's waiting arms–at least for Haku.

 I, on the other hand, was apprehended by someone else entirely.

 “Imoto!”

 “Damn it, let go of me Nii-san, before I crack your skull open with a blunt spoon!”

 Obito dropped me, knowing I would at least try to attempt my threat if I thought he didn't believe me. I landed in a pile at his feet and glared up at Nii-san from my spot on the ground. Obito grinned back, “I heard ya had fun. Oh, and Rin-chan as a few choice words for you when she sees you next.” I paled at that. Rin was probably the only medic I really trusted, but she took after Kushina and her hero, Senju Tsunade, too much. If she had somehow found out about the injuries I sustained during the mission...

 I gulped. The only thing I feared the most was Rin when she was pissed off about my medical state.

 Even Kakashi was scared of her then, and he feared nothing. Or so he said.

 “Come on, Haku, we should get your burns looked at.” I started and reached out to grab Haku's arm. I was totally using the kid as a meat shield from Obito's kunoichi teammate.

 Unfortunately Zabuza seemed to catch onto my plan and moved Haku, and by association Momoko, out of my reach. The glint in his eyes told me he meant to do it on purpose, and he fully intended to see me suffer. I was sorely tempted to sic my brother on him in retaliation.

 “Oi! Who the hell are you?!” Obito barked when his attention was drawn to the two Kiri nuke-nins and one clingy retired mercenary.

 Screw it, I was setting Nii-san on Zabuza anyway, just for the hell of it.

 Flashing Zabuza a sneer, I turned to Obito, “Nii-san, this is Momochi Zabuza... and friends.” My brother's goofy aura that he seemed to always emanate faded and his dark gaze turned steely. I always loved watching people around my brother when he went from an idiot to the hardened war veteran he rarely showed. It was a sadistic joy, but I reveled in their looks of horror and fright. I snickered when my team and even Haku inched a little away from the older Uchiha. Zabuza and Momoko didn't look all that bothered though.

 Now for the icing on the cake.

 “And he's the one who injured me.” I added cheerfully, like the helpful little sister I was. Quickly, to be just as helpful, I turned to Zabuza and introduced my brother, just in case he didn't already know him, “Peaches, this is my Nii-san, Uchiha Obito. Internationally known as the Uchiha Phantom or the Ghost of Konoha.”

 Wow, I never thought anyone could go white so fast.

 Momoko was giving me a reassessing look, apparently she approved of my throwing Zabuza to the wolves. I only smirked at the older woman and winked. I fully intended to take responsibility for this. If there was one thing I wanted to see in my life it was Obito butting heads with Zabuza, even if I had to throw them at each other myself!

 Unfortunately Kakashi had to ruin it all.

 “Obito, Rin said that you're to drag Yanagi to her no matter what. Stop glaring at grouchy minnows and do what you're told before she turns her ire on you.” Kakashi commented drily as he popped into existence with the help of a white puff of cloud beside Obito, his standard perverted orange book in hand, “I'll take care of the pest.” He added belatedly and with much venom.

 “Grouchy what?!”

 Nii-san forgot his anger with Zabuza, or at least he ignored it, and snagged me by the arm. “Let's go imoto, before Rin-chan really gets pissed off.” I struggled in his grip, but there was no escaping an escape artist like him. It looked like I was resigned to the fate of being dragged away to meet my doom.

 Just before Obito could walk away, Kakashi said nonchalantly, “By the way, she wanted to see Team 7 and Momochi's brat too.”

 Yes! There was justice in the world!

  Chapter 17: Welcome… Home?

Rin had generously decided to forgo trying to force me into a hospital and just told Obito to bring me, and by result everyone I had returned with, to Obito's and my house. Like my brother, I had a major phobia about hospitals more so than the normal shinobi, so Rin knew that the only way she could get me there was if Obito knocked me unconscious first. And I would not be happy if I woke up there. Our small entourage marched straight through the Uchiha entrance gates with suspicious looks from the guards. The three of us Uchiha weren't paid any mind, nor was Kakashi who was practically an Uchiha in all but name and looks; but Hinata, Naruto and Zabuza received the brunt of every Uchiha member's narrow gaze. Whenever I returned their glares tenfold each person quickly found something far more interesting than the Hyuuga heiress, the Kyuubi brat, and a famous nuke-nin walking around.

 I was the only one who got to glare at them and get away with it!

 I nearly cried in despair when I saw the crowd waiting around the house. Not only had Rin converged on the house, but Sasuke's entire family and Shisui as well. Itachi and Mikoto-oba I didn't mind, Fugaku could go to hell, and Shisui would most likely gang up on me with Zabuza if they were introduced.

 Just end my misery now.

 Rin descended on me before I could punch Nii-san for not warning me about my imminent doom, “Yanagi-chan! I've told you a million times, a million times, that your body can't withstand so much chakra exhaustion! You're going to kill yourself if you keep doing this!” For such a small woman, she had a large voice. No doubt earned from being the kunoichi teammate of two hardheaded stubborn mules commonly known as Kakashi and Obito. “And don't you dare tell me it's part of a shinobi's job like you did last time, this is the eighth mission where you suffered from it! I know you have above average chakra reserves, so how the hell do you manage eight missions in three months?! The expected amount for your chakra levels is only three missions in a year, a year do you hear me?! Not only that, but Obito-kun tells me you passed out from chakra exhaustion twice during your last mission! Well, what have you to say for yourself?!”

 “Sorry mom.”

 In a joint effort, I received three smacks upside the head from all members of Team Minato for my snide remark. I sighed under my breath and idly rubbed my abused head as Kakashi and Obito joined in Rin's lecturing. Sometimes I felt like I had three mothers instead of two brothers and their teammate, it was ridiculous when Team Minato teamed up on me. Most likely this would end with me having a head trauma, a result of the trio smacking me every time I said something snarky, and the three of them arguing with each other. It happened every time and it gave me the perfect chance to slip away though.

 Luckily Fugaku wasn't in the mood to hear three idiots ganging up on a poor defenseless girl and snapped, “Enough.” Team Minato fell silent immediately, but all shot me looks that promised a continuation of the conversation when Fugaku wasn't there to ruin their fun.

 Couldn't wait.

 “Report, Yanagi.” Fugaku ordered me. I glared at my clan leader, not in the mood for niceties. Why the hell did I have to report?! Fugaku-sama already had my post-battle report and the Hokage would be sending him a copy of Team 7's debriefing since it concerned the Uchiha clan.

 He wanted a report? Fine, I'd give him a report.

 “Uchiha Sasuke went above the line of duty and protected his teammate, earning himself the hallowed kekke genkai of our glorious clan. Then he passed out from chakra exhaustion.” Oh, you could taste the sarcasm rolling off me in waves.

 Zabuza shot me a subtle knowing look, of which Obito caught and reflected it back with a 'Big Brother Glare' probably thinking it meant something else. Okay so I was lying when I said that Sasuke passed out, but I was not telling the leader of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke's own damn father, that the person who had made an attempt on his youngest son's life was standing right beside the duckass boy. Especially not when the three strongest Uchiha in the clan were standing right there, one of which being Sasuke's overprotective brother. Haku wouldn't make it a step before he was put through the most horrifying genjutsu he could imagine, sliced into tiny pieces, and incinerated to the point that his ashes were microscopic.

 And he thought I was terrifying.

 Grabbing my brother by his flak jacket, I reached for the inside pocket and snagged myself a piece of candy before he could do anything. Obito squawked and tried to take the sweet back, but I evaded his hand and popped it into my mouth with a grin.

 “Yanagi! That was mine, damn it! You have you're own.” Nii-san snapped at me.

 I shrugged and said around the hard candy, “I'm pretty sure that brat Inari stole my candy stash I had on me. I need sugar before I go on a rampage.” I grimaced when I realized that the confectionery I had stolen was strawberry flavored, but I didn't dare spit it out no matter how much I disliked it. Obito would destroy me if I wasted candy, especially when it was his favorite flavor.

 My brother scoffed at me, “You let your candy get stolen? By a kid?” Funny, coming from the guy who couldn't even stop me from stealing his candy in plain sight.

 “Well you can't blame me, I can't really protect my stash when I'm unconscious.” Wrong thing to say, because that opened Lecture Yanagi About Chakra Exhaustion version 2; and this time Mikoto jumped in on the mothering too. I threw up my hands in defense and immediately started apologizing. I could get away with being surly when Team Minato lectured me, but I could never pull that shit with my aunt. Not without earning an earful from both her and Fugaku about respecting one's elders. I was really tempted to make the sign to ward off evil, but decided against it for the sake of keeping my head where it was.

 vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

 Everyone else watched with varying levels of amusement as Yanagi-itoko began apologizing profusely once Kaa-chan joined Obito and his team in yelling at her. Sasuke felt very satisfied to see his sensei and cousin taken down from that high pedestal she put herself on, even if it was only for a moment.

 Yanagi-sensei had been more bearable after Sasuke's brush with death, but only a little. She had gone from treating him like scum under her sandal to being slightly overprotective. Sasuke couldn't really blame her for that, she must have been feeling very guilty if it showed even the slightest. So he endured it as best he could, even if it annoyed him to no end. Kaa-chan and Itachi-nii already smothered him, and having Sasuke's normally grouchy sensei doing the same was irritating. He expected Yanagi to treat him like he was any other genin, it was a refreshing experience from his mother and brother's babying or his father's negligence. Still, Yanagi was very arrogant, and Sasuke didn't like that. So he thought she was getting what she deserved.

 Shisui snorted from Itachi's side, “How long do you think it'll take before she's forgiven this time?” This time? Did this happen a lot? Sasuke hardly saw his two elusive cousins before Yanagi became his sensei. Honestly, he hadn't been able to recall their names at times. When Sasuke first asked his family why he never saw more of his cousins, they carefully changed the subject and he never thought of it again. He knew next to nothing about his cousins, Sasuke didn't even know if they were related to him on his mother or father's side! And he hated not knowing things.

 “Hn. Two episodes of chakra exhaustion is enough to worry anyone. Even if they forgive Yanagi-san, I doubt Obito-san and his friends will ever let her live it down.” Itachi-nii said quietly while casting an expressionless look at Zabuza standing a little further away. Sasuke could see the gears turning in his brother's head. The navy-haired Uchiha had no doubt that his Nii-san was coming to very accurate conclusions about Zabuza and his hand in everything. He wasn't called the genius of his generation for nothing.

 Shisui followed Itachi's gaze and grinned cheerfully at the grumpy nuke-nin, “Yo! Kiri nin, huh? Odd seeing one of you in Konoha. Did you have mission complications with Yagi-chan?” When Zabuza gave him a glare, Shisui's grin took on a devious twist, “Oh I see~! Let me warn you though, Obito-senpai is very overprotective about his little sister. He might actually try to kill you if you make a move on Yagi-chan.”

 The revulsion in Zabuza's eyes amused Sasuke greatly. Sasuke had wondered if Zabuza was interested in Yanagi-sensei romantically. In fact both Team 7 and Haku had often discussed the possibility of their teachers being together, even Momoko seemed to agree that Yanagi and Zabuza liked each other. Not that they'd ever admit it.

 “What was that?!” Obito's voice carried over from where he was cornering his sister.

 Shisui actually cackled, loudly. “Once again, Obito-senpai's sonic hearing strikes! Better run, Kiri nin-san, Obito-senpai has a habit of attacking first and asking questions later... if you can still talk that is.”

 Zabuza shot Shisui a nasty look and Naruto was staring at the goofy Uchiha in confusion, “Eh? Who are you?” The blonde idiot asked, rudely pointing a finger at the older Uchiha.

 Itachi's best friend didn't take offense though, Sasuke would be genuinely surprised when Shisui did take offense over something. He was the most easy-going person he knew of, and Sasuke still couldn't believe that Shisui was the strongest in the clan! “Why, I'm the great Uchiha Shisui! Nice to meet ya, Naruto-kun!”

 Naruto looked surprised that Shisui knew his name, but the young Uchiha boy wasn't paying attention to his teammate. He was more interested in how Zabuza stiffened up and stared at Shisui with an almost fearful look. Even the mercenary Momoko looked more alert now, her eyes sharpening over poor Haku's head as she continued to cling to him. It made Sasuke wonder just what Shisui did to earn his reputation as being the strongest Uchiha. Now that he had the sharingan, he could know the secret. That's what Yanagi-sensei had told him during their first team meeting.

 “Damn it, Obito! I swear I'll kill you!” Yanagi suddenly snapped and everyone not part of that particular conversation turned to see Yanagi glaring harshly at her brother, who's expression was an odd one of smugness and annoyance.

 “Oh really? And just how are you going to do that?” Obito asked sardonically. Beside him, Obito's teammates, whom Sasuke still didn't know the names of, rolled their eyes.

 There was a long moment of silence as the two hot headed Uchiha glared at each other before Yanagi threw her head back and announced loudly, “I declare another Prank War on you, Uchiha Obito!” Every Uchiha in hearing range, even Itachi, choked. It had been almost four years since the last prank war, but Sasuke remembered it very clearly. It had been one of the few times he remembered that his cousins existed, mostly because their pranks had been leaking out and fooling other clan members. It had gotten bad enough that Tou-sama finally ordered both of them to stop under the threat of being kicked out of the Uchiha Compound for good.

 Behind him, Sasuke heard Zabuza muttering under his breath, “That's our cue to leave” followed by Shisui's loud cheerfulness of, “Allow me to escort you out! The Uchiha guards can be a bit nasty if you leave alone.” Somehow Sasuke didn't think that Shisui was escorting the Kiri nuke-nins, and Momoko, out of the Compound by the kindness of his heart.

 Sasuke debated if his parents would let him leave with Zabuza. He knew he was going to be in the crossfire between Yanagi and Obito when all hell broke loose and he wanted to get out while he still could.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 While Nii-san was still stunned at my deceleration, I turned to his teammates, “Are you two staying for dinner?” I asked, a complete 180 from how I had been acting only a moment ago.

 Rin and Kakashi, however, were used to my mood swings. Kakashi shrugged his assent while Rin shook her head, “Sorry, I have to go check that Kiri boy before they leave. I'm worried that that eye of his might be infected, has it been bloodshot ever since the fight?” I would always be amazed that even when Rin was in the middle of lecture me she would notice an injury on someone twenty feet away. Must be a medic intuition or something.

 I nodded, not at all offended that she didn't trust my skill at medical ninjutsu. I didn't trust my skill at medical ninjutsu, I only learned it because Rin was determined that I had the basics down just in case. “Yes. I hit Haku with a fireball and that caused his capillaries in his eye to burst. You might want to check his chest too!” I told Rin as she took off. She waved her hand to show that she heard, already calling out Shisui's name.

 Mikoto rolled her eyes at all of us and shook her head, “Well if we're done then I guess I should start dinner for my own family.” She turned that hard eyed 'mother' look on me and I had to suppress the shudder going up my spine, “Remember what I told you, Yanagi-chan.” She practically growled and I was once again reminded that my aunt used to be a very powerful jounin before she retired to raise her boys.

 “Yes, ma'am.” I squeaked. The Uchiha matriarch smiled fondly at me and dipped her head in a good-bye before going to join her husband and sons. All four of the Main Branch family left quietly after that, and only Itachi-san bothered to say good-bye to his cousins. My eye twitched as I glared at Sasuke's retreating back.

 Rude little brat.

 Immediately after Fugaku was gone, Obito trapped me in a choke hold, “What the hell, ya little brat? Ya trying to get us killed by our uncle?! Don't you remember what happened last time?” My brother snapped at me.

 I glared up at him, “It's your fault, you shouldn't have said what you did, bastard.” I snapped.

 “Yeah, well I noticed you didn't deny it!”

 “NO! I did not like Peach-boy in that way, you sick pervert! Keep you mind out of the gutter! Just because I act friendly with someone of the opposite sex does not mean I like them!” I snapped and dug my fingers in Obito's left side where an old injury slashed across his ribcage. My brother hissed in pain and released me.

 I whirled on my two remaining genin, “Naruto! Hinata! Get cleaned up and stop gawking like idiots!” I barked. Both of them jolted and blinked at me dumbly. I rolled my eyes in exasperation and explained further, “Clean up for dinner, nitwits. Unless you have somewhere else to be, you're staying here for dinner.”

 Naruto immediately started whining, “Eh?! But I was gonna go to Ichiraku Ramen for dinner! I went through all that trouble for the coupon and-”

 Grabbing his earlobe, I yanked on it to shut the brat up, “Having ramen after a mission is not healthy. I'm not going to have the Hokage jumping down my throat later on in life because you die on a mission due to lack of nutrition. You're staying for dinner and that's final.” I snarled without any real anger in it. When I let go of Naruto's ear, he clasped his hands to the abused cartilage and danced around, howling in pain.

 Hinata was pushing her forefingers together again and I reflexively swatted her hands down, “F-forgive me, Yanagi-sensei, but I… my Tou-sama… I mean…”

 I rolled my eyes and waved her away, “I forget. Go on if your clan needs you.” Hinata gulped and made a quick bobbing bow before fleeing like the devil was on her heels. I watched her go and hoped that the entrance gate guards wouldn't give the Hyuuga girl any trouble. They were a real stickler about visitors, even to the point that visitors had to leave the Compound with an Uchiha escort so they weren't heckled.

 Grabbing Naruto by the collar of his jumpsuit before he could sneak away, I marched into the house, past the squabble that had started between Kakashi and Obito-nii. Honestly, those two were just a grown up version of Sasuke and Naruto.

 ...Or was Sasuke and Naruto a younger version of my brothers?

 I deposited Naruto on the common room couch, where I could keep and eye on him as I made dinner, with a warning not to break anything. The brat didn't move, other than to cross his arms and sulk. I said nothing as I went into the kitchen, the brat would eat whatever I cooked without complaining or I'd kick his ass tomorrow in training.

 After the mess of the Wave mission, I came to the conclusion that it was best if I started taking Team 7's training seriously. I hadn't expected to run into the problem of an upgraded mission rank so soon, and if this bad luck continued I had no doubt it would happen again. It was better to over-train the brats and let them be bored out of their skulls with D-rank than to have them die on a mission they were ill prepared for.

 “Damn it… where is that-!” I cut off with a yelp when a hand appeared over my shoulder, holding the chili powder I was looking for. I twisted around to find Kakashi-nii giving me his trademark eye smile. Cautiously I took the powder from my adoptive brother while giving him a wary look. Kakashi was a neutral party when it came to spats between Nii-san and I; while Rin normally took the side of whoever she thought was right, Kakashi took the side of whoever the hell he wanted to win. And that depended on who pissed him off the most. His loyalty often changed several times before the warring between Obito and I ended.

 Needless to say I didn't really trust the Copy ninja much when it came to pranks.

 Kakashi-nii went to the other side of the kitchen to stir the Miso soup. I watched him like a hawk, knowing this wasn't just about pranking my brother anymore. Kakashi tried to avoided my kitchen whenever possible because he claimed I was a slave driver to anyone who dared enter; but it was his last sanctuary from Obito and Gai since they never stepped foot in the room. The kitchen was my domain and I didn't like trespassers.

 I knew exactly why Kakashi was in here, and it had nothing to do with Obito being an idiot.

 I peeked out of the doorway to where Naruto was sitting. Obito had joined my blonde student on the couch and was listening to Minato's son as he talked animatedly, waving his hands in the air and imitating explosions–probably talking about the Wave mission. Unlike Kakashi, Obito seemed to be enjoying Naruto's company if his wide grin was anything to go by.

 Looking back at Kakashi, I debated on saying anything. Minato-san's death was a touchy subject for any member of Team Minato, but it was a personal issue to Kakashi-nii. Kakashi had known Minato-san longer than Obito and Rin; and even though all three of them saw the blonde Yondaime as a father figure, it was Kakashi that Minato practically raised.

 “So did you ever decide what to do with Netsui?” I asked casually as I returned to chopping vegetables. Even the most oblivious person could see the way Kakashi's shoulders relaxed at my question. I was sorely tempted to throw something at the silver haired jounin. I was rude and nosy with a penchant to collect blackmail whenever I could, true, but I wasn't dense like my brother was. I knew when some topics were touchy and best avoided at all costs; having quite a few subjects I liked to avoid myself.

 Especially when the other person had a very nasty mean streak that rivaled mine and my brother's combined.

 Kakashi hummed from his side of the small kitchen, “Yes. I gave him a trial run, which he passed. He starts training full time next week. Also,” Kakashi's voice turned a little colder, “why didn't you tell me that his twin sister was a fangirl? She wouldn't stop yapping about Sasuke-kun when I took her to Rin.” He hissed at me.

 I laughed, “Oh did I forget to mention that part?” I asked in false surprise then laughed even louder when Kakashi glared at me.

 “What did Rin-chan do to you to piss you off?”

 “Nothing. Really, it's more like what Nerai did to me. We know how Rin is when she's annoyed.”

 Kakashi-nii grimaced, probably remembering a few such instances. While both men on Team Minato had more leeway than most people when it came to Rin, she could only take so much of their incessant bickering before she started smashing heads together. Hard.

 I waved Kakashi away before he could say anything else, “If you're going to be in here, then set the table. And make sure you wipe it down before you do anything! I know how you and my brother are!” Obito and Kakashi were notorious for setting the table without cleaning it first. I always cringed at the thought of eating at a dirty table, but everyone always told me it was just my clean freak showing. I always responded by telling them to go to hell. It was my kitchen and my table. If they wanted to eat my food then they better listen to what I told them to do, damn it!

 “Ugh! No, I'm not eating it!” Naruto whined half an hour later after I finally managed to wrangle my student and Obito into the kitchen to sit down and eat. Already I was regretting letting those two idiots be friends instead of hating each other. All they did was just bounce their idiocy off each other until it was unbearable. I had to actually threaten Kakashi with blackmail so he wouldn't leave me alone with Idiot One and Two.

 Needless to say he wasn't very happy with me.

 I laid my hands flat on the table and towered over the blonde brat, “Listen here, Dumbass, you're going to eat what I cooked or you can starve.”

 “Ha! You can't stop me from eating when I leave! I can easily go home and eat ramen!”

 “Don't think I won't burn your ramen stash; and I am perfectly willing to blackmail Teuchi-san into banning you from his ramen stand. You can ask Kakashi and Obito how far I'm willing to go to get my way. Eat your vegetables, idiot, or starve.”

 “You're not my mom!”

 My eye twitched. This brat was really trying my patience, “No, but I am your sensei and legal guardian. If I say jump, you say-”

 Naruto cut me off, “Wait, really?”

 I blinked momentarily in confusion, thinking he was answering me. When I saw that odd look of eagerness and hope in the brat's bright blue eyes I understood what he was asking. This was Naruto I was talking to, someone who had only been treated with disdain and neglect throughout of his childhood. Underneath that loudmouth idiocy facade he had, Naruto was really just a lost little kid who wanted a family.

 Rolling my eyes, I sat back down with a scoff, “Duh. Did you even read the Shinobi Handbook? Law is that orphaned genin are automatically wards of their jounin sensei until they turn sixteen or become chūnin. Even if they have relatives, it's overlooked to prevent confusion and unnecessary conflict. The only exception is if the genin is part of a clan, and then they just become wards to the clan leader.” Like Nii-san and I had been when our parents died. But both Rin and Kakashi had been legally considered Minato and Kushina's wards. Technically, Kakashi, Rin and I all had joint custody over Naruto; as well as his godfather Jiraiya wherever the hell that pervert was at the moment.

 If a fight about guardianship ever broke out over Naruto, I had a feeling that all of Konoha would eventually be dragged into it.

 There was a silence over the table as Naruto stared at me in astonishment and slight awe, which made me very uncomfortable. I wasn't a very affectionate person, and while I enjoyed glances of wonder because the person thought I was amazing, I did not like being stared at. I glared at him, “Shut up and eat your stir fry.”

 Naruto pouted.

 “Get used to it, gaki. This is the way my imoto shows affection,” Obito snorted. I glared at my brother but said nothing as he took a large bite of his oyakodon Donburi, his favorite food. Immediately Nii-san spat it back out and lunged for his water glass, draining the whole thing in one fell swoop.

 Obito was a wimp when it came to spicy foods.

 “YANAGI!!!” My brother roared and I took that as my cue to flee the scene until further notice. It might be best if I begged someone for a place to sleep for the night.

 The Prank War had started.

 vvv

 “Alright, bratlings, time to get serious.” I said the moment the last member of my students, Hinata surprisingly, appeared the next day. I felt an odd mixture of pride and annoyance when all three of them went white as a sheet.

 ...Maybe I was being too harsh on them...

 Naw.

 I held up one bell, “If you get this bell by lunch I won't use you as training dummies for the rest of the day and I won't request the Retrieve Tora mission for a month.” I was going to pull a classic Team 7 Sensei maneuver, minus the hidden teamwork message since I didn't have time for that bullshit. After all, what was this generation's Team 7 if I didn't force them to do the bell test at least once in their lives? I had never personally experienced it, but I knew enough from when Nii-san complained about it.

 Needless to say I had their undivided attention now. My grin turned a smidgen more evil as I added, “and you better came at me with the intent to kill, because I'm not going to hold back.” Cue the 'oh shit' looks on my cute little genin's faces. “Ready… Go!”

 They lasted ten minutes.

 I casually eyed the slightly ruffled training ground with mild distaste. When Nii-san and I spared, on the rare occasion that we weren't at each other's throats long enough to have a friendly spare, there would be at least a tree or two uprooted and several burn marks. When Kakashi-nii joined us, Fugaku was forced to reconstruct the demolished training grounds. And he was never happy about it.

 But we were never as destructive as Itachi-san and Shisui. Fugaku actually banned the two from sparing in the Uchiha Compound.

 There wasn't even a broken tree limp from Team 7's rather pathetic attempt at fighting. It was a wonder how they had survived the Wave mission. I pinned each genin with a glare. “Up. Again.” I barked and fell back into stance. Naruto wasn't the only one to groan as they climbed to their feet.

 By noon I still hadn't broken a sweat and the brats still didn't get close to the bell. And that was only because Sasuke and Naruto somehow got it into their heads that this exercise was no longer about teamwork but a pissing contest between two idiots. Even Hinata was starting to get frustrated with the two of them when I called time.

 I was irritated enough by then that I bashed the boys' heads together hard to get them to shut up, “If I have to beat this stubbornness out of you I will,” I snarled, “even if I have to tie you together!” Both boys winced in horror at the thought. Maybe it would scare them into working together finally.

 Turning to Hinata, I opened my mouth to tell her how she failed the exercise and noticed her wide lavender eyes filling with horror. I grinned, sometimes it was just fun to traumatize kids. Not because they needed to face reality or because it was an accident, but it was just so damn fun-

 It was hard to describe what happened next. One moment I was smirking evilly down at the shy little kunoichi and the next I was wet, as in soaked to the bone. And not only that, I was cold. If I wasn't mistaken there was an ice cube sliding down the back of my shirt, along my spine.

 I fucking hated the cold.

 Turning around slowly I pinned my grinning brother with a deadly look. On either side of Obito, Naruto and Sasuke looked both horrified and amused at the same time. So they were in on it then. “...Obito...” I hissed through my chattering teeth. Steam rolled off my as the water evaporated quickly under my spiking fire aligned chakra.

 Nii-san cackled something about revenge best served cold and chucked the bucket he had used at my head before poofing away. Only a shadow clone then.

 But I was certain Sasuke and Naruto weren't clones. They might not be the instigator, but they would do in a pinch until I got my hands on that bastard.

 VVV^^^OMAKE^^^VVV

 Deadly Reputation

 vvv 3rd Person vvv

 “We don't need your help.” Zabuza snapped as the woman who had been yelling at Yanagi checked Haku's eye. The poor boy stood there awkwardly, trying not to blink as the stranger stared intently at his bloodshot eye.

 Rin ignored the grouchy man's comment as she produced a scroll from her weapons pouch. She handed it to the boy with a smile, “Apply this salve to your burns twice a day. The ingredients are listed on the scroll so you can make your own once you run out. And don't worry about your eye, it'll heal on it's own!” Haku blinked at the kind woman, he wasn't used to people giving him something with no strings attached.

 An arm snaked around Haku's shoulders and the ice user stiffened when he saw the owner of the arm was none other than the famous Shunshin no Shisui. Zabuza-sama had told Haku many stories of the Uchiha who made Ao, one of the best hunter-nins in Kirigakure, turn tail and run with little effort. Shisui was herald as being the Master of Genjutsu, praised even by his own clansmen. Haku didn't feel very safe with one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha standing right next to him.

 “Don't worry, Rin-san! My buddy Haku-kun will be fine, you can go back to yelling at Yagi-chan if you want.” Shisui said with a cheerful wink. Rin rolled her eyes at the goofy Uchiha as she left the foreign shinobi with Shisui. He reminded her so much of Obito before the war changed him. While her teammate hadn't changed too much there were times, Rin noticed, when he would grow quiet and stare off into the distance, probably remembering whatever had happened to him during the time he was thought to be dead.

 Zabuza growled at Shisui for his familiarity, but didn't dare say a word. As infamous as he was to Kiri nins, there was little to nothing known about Shunshin no Shisui; other than his ruthless genjutsu and his frightful speed. Kiri shinobi were naturally fast, probably the fastest of the five nations after Kumo, and masters of stealth; but Uchiha Shisui had no problem catching any Mist shinobi that crossed his path. Zabuza didn't know how the Uchiha would react if he snapped at him. After dealing with Yanagi, who would react with harsh violence and an explosion of insults that made Zabuza want to blush, he was leery.

 Shisui chose to ignore the former member of the famed Seven Swordsmen and kept his arm wrapped firmly around the awkward teenager's shoulders. Haku reminded Shisui so much of when Itachi was his age, so awkward and formal that it almost hurt. The Uchiha eyed the nuke-nin inconspicuously. Shisui knew from the moment he spotted the bandaged nin that he was none other than Momochi Zabuza, wielder of the Kubikiribōchō and known for having attempted a coup in Kirigakure. But Shisui didn't let on he knew; in his experience nuke-nin, especially those from Kiri, were a little touchy when it came to their missing status.

 Shisui had enough scars to prove their oversensitivity on the matter.

 “So Haku-chan, got a girl waiting for ya? Or did the lovely Yagi-chan scare her away?” Shisui inquired. Haku blinked in confusion, he didn't know anyone named 'Yagi'; the only name that came close was Yanagi and she- Oh.

 “No, Uchiha-sama.”

 Shisui made a peculiar noise in the back of his throat, something that sounded like a gag and a croak. “What's with all the formality? Oi! Do I look like Fugaku-sama to you? It's Shisui, just Shisui. I'm too young to be a '-sama', even a '-san'. Why, I'm younger than Zabuza-san!”

 Zabuza pinned the Uchiha with a look. He didn't know how Shisui knew who they were, he even knew Haku's name and Zabuza had made sure not to let Haku's name slip out in the bingo books, but Zabuza wasn't all that surprised. Uchiha Shisui was a prodigy, not one of the average Uchiha prodigies like Yanagi was, but a genius that was on par with Uchiha Itachi, the famed Genius of his generation.

 By then, the little group had reached the Uchiha Compound entrance. Shisui waved happily to the Uchiha guards, who dipped their heads in acknowledgment. Shisui pulled a face and leaned in close to Haku, whispering, “I even bribe them with sugar and they still do that.” Haku's mouth twitched a little in amusement. In the month he and Zabuza-sama knew Yanagi they learned one very important fact: no matter how powerful, violent, grouchy, or arrogant any Uchiha was, they all had one thing in common and that was a sweet tooth.

 With the exception of the oddball Sasuke.

 Zabuza twitched in irritation when Shisui made no move to let go of Haku, or to leave them. Even Momoko was starting to get annoyed as the Uchiha continued to bother them. They both tried to keep it to themselves, due to their protective instincts over Haku. It was no accident that Shisui had chosen Haku to bother. Shisui had seen the adults' parental instinct over the fifteen year old the moment he saw Yanagi leading her little parade to her house, no matter how miniscule it was. Every little twitch they made was in preparation to protect Haku from any potential threats. That was why Shisui flung his arm over the boy's shoulders. If the nuke-nin or mercenary made a move against Konoha, Haku would be dead before the first civilian casualty.

 Uchiha Shisui was a cheerful soul, but even he was not above murdering someone to protect his home, even if that someone was a teenaged boy with no heart to fight.

 “Hey hey hey! You know, Momoko-san, you should take Haku-kun with you! Haku's gonna need some help fending off the ladies when he gets back. I don't think even Zabuza-san can help!” Shisui chirped cheerfully as he finally let go of Haku when they reached Konoha's main entrance. He pretended not to notice how the nuke-nin or mercenary's shoulders drooped every so slightly now that Haku was out of danger.

 Momoko pretended to consider the Uchiha's offer, even though she had planned on it anyway. “You're right, I think I will!” She, at least, could pretend that the goofy Uchiha in front of her wasn't someone that could murder her in a blink of an eye.

 Zabuza sputtered, “What?! No! Haku is staying with me!”

 “Then you can both stay with me.”

 Haku blanched white, causing his burn marks to stand out even more than they already did, “Ano… why?”

 Momoko flashed him a smile that could rival Naruto's, “Because you're the cutest little thing! I've always wanted a kid like you, Ku-chan!”

 Shisui choked on his laughter at the nickname, but composed himself so he could speak, “Great! The three of you can be one big happy family!” He ended with a cheesy thousand-watt smile.

 Zabuza glared at the man, he had given up any notion that Shisui wasn't anything other than a goofy man who had a frightening reputation. Zabuza would even go so far as to question if Ao was hallucinating when he said it was Uchiha Shisui that made him run and not some other Uchiha that no one knew about. Even the Ghost of Konoha, Uchiha Obito, while as goofy as Shisui, was also known for being vindictive and slightly arrogant. Shisui was just… ridiculous. “Tch. Idiot.” Zabuza muttered under his breath.

 He spoke too soon.

 Shisui grinned even wider until his cheeks hurt, having heard the nuke-nin, “Unless your invited by the Hokage, please don't come back. Not everyone is as forgiving as Yagi-chan,” Shisui's smile slowly died and he stared at the three of them for the first time with a serious expression, “especially when their precious people are injured by you.” Shisui finished and pinned his sharp gaze on Zabuza. Obito-senpai had told Shisui what exactly the nuke-nin had done to Yanagi, and he would never forgive him for that.

 Quickly as his glare appeared, Shisui replaced it with another smile before cheerfully wishing the three of them a safe journey and shunshined back into Konoha, leaving the three of them staring at the small puff of dust disturbed by his quick use of Shunshin no Jutsu.

 Shisui returned to the Compound quickly, a smile on his face and happily greeting his clansmen with ease. He was Shunshin no Shisui and he protected Konoha from the shadows, even behind the shadow of a smile and veiled threats. He would never let anyone befall harm if he could allow it, especially those he considered closest to him.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 4 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 14 & 15

Chapter 14: Round 2 with Peach-boy

I nudged Naruto's side with the toe of my sandal. He didn't even twitch. Squatting down I poked the brat's cheek with a rigid finger, “Hey, dumbass...” I said loudly, knowing that a knucklehead like Naruto would react if I called him names. He still didn't move. “Obito Mini-me. Brat. Idiot. Dumb blonde. Dead last. Coward.” When the brat didn't react at all I stood back up with a sigh and turned to the others standing in the doorway.

 “Well either he's dead or out like a light post.” I told them, scratching the back of my head. Hinata gasped a little, her hands going to her mouth as she no doubt thought that her precious 'Naruto-kun' was dead.

 Tsunami looked as equally worried as the little Hyuuga heiress, “You don't think he overdid it in training, do you? He was looking pretty exhausted last night.

 “Hn. He was passed out in the forest yesterday morning.” Sasuke commented thoughtfully.

 I groaned and hung my head, I really didn't need this at the moment, “Fine, Sasuke will be on guard duty today and Hinata will train.” I said defeated. I hated it when people screwed up my schedule! “Hinata you know the rules. If anyone suspicious shows up, head for the bridge and warn everyone.”

 “H-Hai.”

 Sasuke frowned, “But that was the rotation yesterday.” I glared at him. Like I didn't know that already, idiot.

 “Hinata still needs to train in her stealth and since Naruto is stealing your rest day, you can take his spot on guard duty. Don't complain, Duckass, true shinobi don't protest orders.” Like I predicted, Sasuke snapped his jaw shut and didn't make another sound.

 Really, it was insulting how predictable that kid was.

 “Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll go with you that way you can relax at the bridge.” Everyone but Inari gave me strange looks. I returned their gaze with an unamused look, “Stop staring like calves at a new gate. I'm bored.” I snapped, perhaps just a little too defensively. By Sasuke's sudden smug look I was guessing he knew why I really was going.

 I was worried about the brat.

 With good reason though. There was no such thing as a jounin who didn't have a sixth sense for danger; and I felt more jittery than when Obito accidentally released those rabid squirrels in the house.

 I mentally shuddered at the memory.

 I moved past the miniature crowd and lead them outside. Turning to Tsunami I began issuing orders, “When Naruto wakes up, just tell him to practice his taijutsu; you also have permission to send him on any errands you have. Hinata, I want you to try and sneak up on as many woodland creatures as you can. If you catch five animals in a row then join Sasuke and I on the bridge. Duckass, Grandpa Dunk, let's go.” I turned on my heel and immediately started for the bridge without waiting for the two idiot males catch up to me.

 “Geez, for a woman you walk pretty fast.” Tazuna panted when he and my cousin finally caught up. It was really pathetic that we were almost to the bridge by that point.

 I gave the old drunk an unimpressed look, “Not all women are geishas or civilians who don't have anywhere important to be. The success of a mission could rely on fast feet, I could possibly save a life that would otherwise be lost if I arrive quicker than my enemies anticipate.”

 Tazuna pulled a face, “Hey kid, are all shinobi like this one or is it just her?” He asked Sasuke.

 Sasuke just shrugged and didn't comment. He practically had to jog to keep up with us adults; I couldn't tell if he wasn't answering because he didn't want to or because he was too focused on not falling behind. I was guessing it was a little bit of both.

 “Tazuna, how long do you have before the bridge is finished?” I asked the old man. Now wasn't the time for fun and games. That sense of dread I had been feeling all morning was getting worse the closer we got to the bridge.

 Grandpa Drunk shrugged, “Depends. If I have a full roster of workers, it should only be a few weeks. But with Gatou controlling everything and scaring the people, I keep losing my workers. Just yesterday I had one of my foremen quiet! I don't even have half of a roster now, it could take months with the amount of workers I got.”

 Grimacing, I halted at the entrance to the bridge, “That's what I feared.” I muttered.

 Tazuna gaped at his unconscious employees littering the bridge. I could tell by their chakra levels that the men were still alive, but only just. “What tha-?!” Tazuna exclaimed, his face twitching in horror. I glanced at him then at Sasuke. Sasuke looked back at me, his eyes gleaming with an odd shine of excitement. He was ready.

 A sudden mist blew in from the ocean. I snarled in frustration and stepped in front of Tazuna, “Stay behind me.” I said sharply. Tazuna didn't say anything, but he didn't move.

 That stupid creepy chuckle drifted out from the fog, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Uchiha. I see you still got that brat with you, but what happened with the other two? Did they run off?” I heard a slight clicking behind me, but didn't glance towards my cousin. I knew he wasn't doing something stupid. Of all my genin I trusted Sasuke the most in a fight, even if he had bouts of cowardice when I least expected it.

 Peaches chuckled again, “Oh look, he's shaking again. Pathetic.” The nuke-nin laughed mockingly.

 There was a small intake of air from Sasuke and I felt Zabuza's chakra spike as water clones surrounded the three of us. I tensed and palmed a kunai, ready to throw it at the clone's head that was in front of me if he so much as blinked in a way I didn't like.

 Sasuke scoffed, “I'm trembling with... excitement.”

 The Zabuza water clones seemed surprised at the admission and I only rolled my eyes. Why couldn't the need for dramatics skip Sasuke? It skipped Itachi and me, why not one more generation?! I had enough drama from Naruto, I didn't need Sasuke filling in for that little brat too.

 Speaking of brats...

 I glanced at my cousin out of the corner of my eye, “Play nice.” I said teasingly. That was all the permission Sasuke needed. He twirled the kunai in his hand around a finger so that the blade was pointing at the clone in front of him. With a delightful smirk that reminded me a little too much of Obito's sadistic grin, my baby cousin pounced at the water clones.

 While Peach-boy's clones were busy trying to defeat an Uchiha brat, I ran through the signs for a summoning and slammed my hand to the bridge's surface, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” I heard Zabuza growl angrily as a swarm of normal sized hawks flew up from the seal, spiraling into a twister of feathers and harsh cries that surrounded me like a moving wall. I held up my right arm and one of the hawks detached itself from it's flock. “Fly to Hyuuga Hinata and inform her to come as back up.” The hawk dipped its head at my command and took off to the sky, flying out of sight before turning in the direction of Hinata. No need to tell our enemies where an ally was after all. The rest of the hawks dispersed among the cables of the bridge, their sharp yellow eyes watching.

 While I was busy with my summonings, Sasuke finished up his little spar with the water clones. He looked about as cocky as a true Uchiha when he returned to his spot beside me. I mentally whimpered and hoped that I didn't get an arrogant little brat who thought he was God's gift to man. If so, I was going to beat that out of him and suffer Itachi's wrath with a smile on my face.

 “Ooooo, the brat's improving.” Peach-boy said from my right. All three of us turned to see the man with horrible fashion sense giving us a leer. At least I thought it was a leer, it was kind of hard to tell when the lower half of his face was bandaged up. His ally stood beside him, still wearing that false hunter-nin mask. “Looks like you've got competition... Haku.” Zabuza continued.

 “So it seems.” The boy, Haku, murmured quietly.

 Trolling time.

 “Oi oi. Peachy's ally, or whatever the hell your name is, are you a boy or a girl? Because honestly, you're a very androgynous individual.” I asked, intentionally playing the ignorant idiot. Tazuna and Sasuke were giving me looks that could only be described as 'way to ruin the suspense, dummy'.

 Haku and Zabuza exchanged looks and I took my chance to continue, “You know what? It doesn't matter anyway, I think I'll just call you Zabuza's Bitch.” I said with a smirk. Both nuke-nins snapped their heads around to glare at me–well I assume Haku glared, it was hard to tell with the mask–while I cackled in delight of pissing my enemy off.

 “Take care of the brat. I'll take the bitch.” Zabuza growled.

 Haku turned his gaze on Sasuke, “Right.” The kid murmured again. Then he moved. Startled I opened my mouth to shout a warning to Sasuke, but Zabuza was on me before I could utter a single syllable.

 I back flipped away from Tazuna, distancing myself from the client and the man trying to kill him. At the moment Zabuza seemed pretty focused on me, so I didn't have to worry. I smirked as I kicked Kubikiribōchō away from me. “Don't tell me I struck a nerve.” I cooed as I deflected another swing with my kunai. Zabuza snarled like an angry animal and charged at me again. I snorted and ducked under his swing. If I had know pissing Peaches off would make him attack like a predictable wild animal, I would have done it a long time ago.

 Kicking off the ground, I gave myself enough time to spare a glance at Sasuke. My eyes widened as I saw Haku performing hand signs with only one hand. That wasn't something you saw everyday. I wonder if the sharingan could somehow pick it up.

 Before I could activate my sharingan to see if I could, Zabuza attacked again, “You're opponent is me! Let's leave the kids to their game.”

 I shot Zabuza a nasty glare, “Oh, go drown in your own water ninjutsu! I didn't come all this way with a bunch of brats and a drunk old man to hear you blowing steam, ya old windbag.” I snapped, getting irritated. I knew Zabuza wasn't taking this fight seriously. He was just trying to keep me from Sasuke and Haku's fight.

 Peachy paused, “A bunch of brats, eh?” He quoted, sounding oddly interested. “So you don't think that those genin are worth anything either.”

 “Oh I think they're worth a lot of things, I just like calling them brats. They're my brats and I'm the only one allowed to call them that and get away with it.” I snapped back and flung my kunai at Peachy-boy's head to emphasize my point. He easily ducked under the kunai and charged at me, his sword back and ready for a strong strike to my legs. I leaped into the air over his blade and put my hands down on Zabuza's back, flipping over him to land between him and the kids.

 I smirked, “Ya know, some people would think you were compensating for something with that big blade of yours.” I commented sweetly.

 “You're letting that big mouth get away again, Uchiha.” Peachy growled.

 I shrugged, “Well at least I'm not trying to prank you as well as fight you like my brother does. That's just annoying.” I said coolly. From the look in Zabuza's eyes, he thought my inappropriate remarks were a hell of a lot more annoying.

 “Argh!” Both of us whipped around to see Sasuke kicking Haku away.

 Sasuke stood in his spot, smirking, “Seems you're not as fast as you think you are.” He said, idly spinning his kunai around his index finger. Cocky little git, I was definitely beating that arrogance out of his system.

 Zabuza glared at his ally, “Haku. Stop messing around and letting a brat beat you, get on with it!” He ordered.

 The masked boy stood back up easily, “Yes.” He responded in an almost robotic voice.

 Frowning I turned my back on Zabuza to watch what the masked brat was doing. Icy blue strands of chakra haloed Haku and he bowed his head, “I'm sorry it's come to this.” The boy said softly and made a strange sign. The temperature dropped drastically and I uttered a curse under my breath as I automatically regulated my chakra to keep myself warm. Of course our newest enemy would have some kind of tie to cold weather. It wouldn't be hell if he didn't.

 Stupid karma demons and their stupid agenda against me.

 The water around Sasuke and Haku suddenly leaped up into the air to form flat frozen surfaces. Haku stepped into the mirrors, senbon needles in his hands. Meanwhile I gaped in surprise, it was not cold enough to form ice like that. Even the most powerful shinobi with water nature had a hard time creating ice even in temperatures where it was easy to form. That only meant one thing.

 Kekke Genkai.

 Peaches chuckled behind me, “Seems you figured it out.”

 Growling I ran for the ice mirrors, but Peach-boy flash stepped in front of me. “If you're going to fight, you will fight me.” He snapped.

 I glared at him. “Bastard.” I spat out.

 The peachy nuke-nin chuckled creepily, “Oh? Out of your witty comments? I'm crushed.” I could practically taste the sarcasm in the air.

 “You have three seconds to step aside before I really crush you.”

 “How cute. You think you can defeat me. You weren't able to before, what makes you think you can now that we're surrounded by even more water than before?” My eyes widened a fraction and I flung my kunai at the water clone that I thought was Zabuza and leaping away before the real Zabuza could cut me down. He didn't look all that happy when he turned to face me. He scoffed when he saw my sharingan, “That again? Are all the Uchiha so weak that they rely on that silly Kekke Genkai of theirs? How pathetic.”

 Sasuke yelped and I looked over Peaches shoulder to see Haku raining senbon down on my cousin like a vengeful thunderstorm. Anger washed over me, hot and heady, when I landed my gaze back on Zabuza. “Two seconds to move.”

 Peaches sneered.

 “One.”

 He didn't move.

 I held my right arm above my head and brought my left to my mouth. Curling my index and thumb around my tongue I whistled loudly, using a small wind ninjutsu to amplify the sound. My hawk summons, having been sitting on the sidelines forgotten, all took flight. They flew in circles like a roiling thundercloud of brown and black, using my upraised arm as the pivot point.

 “Last chance to move.” I said. Zabuza stubbornly stayed where he was. My mouth twisted in an ugly grimace and I lowered my right arm to point at the Mist nuke-nin. The hawks gave one last turn before following my finger and shooting straight towards Peach-boy.

 He smirked.

 My eyes widened.

 “Hha!” I felt water douse my back and I spun around to see Hinata standing in a puddle of water, formerly a water clone, panting slightly. She gave me a shaky grin, “I-I'm sorry Y-Yanagi-sensei. I c-came as fast as I c-c-c-could.” She stuttered slightly, a blush forming on her cheeks. I didn't blame her, Hinata had suddenly become the center of attention after pulling a stunt like that. Even Haku stopped torturing my poor cousin to stare at her.

 I grinned, “Hey, I'm not complaining. You just saved me from being skewered like a roast pig.” I joked before turning serious, “Guard Tazuna, don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered. Hinata gave a firm nod and leaped sideways until she was in front of Tazuna, in a Gentle Fist stance. When I turned to face Zabuza again, he did not look amused.

 “Oh... did she ruin your little scheme?” I asked innocently, pressing an index finger to the corner of my mouth like a slut trying to act cute.

 That did it, I could practically hear Peachy's patience snap. He snarled and charged at me, “Shut up!”

 I laughed as I jumped away from him, “Looks like you underestimated my brats, Peach-boy. Sasuke and Hinata are clan kids and having been training with their families since they could hold a kunai right.” I ducked under Peachy's swing and shot my left leg out for a round house kick. Zabuza launched into the air to avoid my leg and I pulled back before he could land on it. “Sasuke is the best in his class and no one can defeat Hinata in taijutsu. She's a Hyuuga after all, it's in her blood.” I taunted as I back flipped away from the Kubikiribōchō.

 Skidding to a halt a few feet away from Peaches I smirked, “And what have you got? A coward with a nice Kekke Genkai. Well, I've got two brats with Kekke Genkai and neither of them are cowards!”

 Zabuza's face twisted unpleasantly, “Haku, stop goofing around and kill that pest!” He barked out, his gaze darting over his shoulder to where the ice mirrors stood. Haku didn't respond, but only started throwing more senbons at Sasuke at a more rapid pace than before; I tried not to flinch when I heard Sasuke cry out. Peachy looked back at me, his gaze deadlier than before, “That big mouth of yours is going to get your brats killed, Uchiha.”

 I only smiled, “I'm confident they can handle one little brat, even one as powerful as yours. Besides, you forgot something.” Peach-boy stiffened as it dawned on him that Naruto had yet to appear. My smile twisted into a sneer, “You know, I think my last student deserves to be called the 'Stupidly Brave Shinobi of Konoha' more than I do. After all, not many genin are brave enough to fight someone like you, Peach-boy, let alone get the better of you.”

 As if planned there was a puff of smoke to the right of Haku's mirrors. Naruto's voice drifted from the white billowing vapors, “I resent that, Frizzy-sensei! Call me the 'Fearless Shinobi of Konoha'! That's right, Uzumaki Naruto is here!” My eye only twitched a little at the nickname. I'd let it slide this one time.

 Peach-boy blinked slowly at Naruto then looked at me, “You think some brat like him can do anything?”

 I shrugged, “Why not? It was a dead-last like Naruto who helped turn the last shinobi war back in Konoha's favor.” I responded coolly. I should know, Obito was the idiot I was talking about. “I feel Naruto can do the same with this little spat we have. Dead-last shinobi have a tendency to surprise people.” Naruto took a second to gawk at me, not use to my free praise. All I could say was he had better back up my claims or I was going to murder the little sucker.

 Naruto got a really big grin on his face, “You know how the hero always shows up at the last minute and kicks butt? Well that's what I'm going to do, right now! So don't you worry sensei, you can just sit back and watch me beat these guys!”

 I facepalmed.

 The blonde idiot ignored me, “Alright, you're history!” He formed a sign, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” But before Naruto could form a single clone, Zabuza twisted around and threw a handful of shuriken at him. Like with the Demon Brothers, Naruto's first reaction was the freeze in fear.

 “Move Naruto!” I yelled, my heart in my throat as I watched the throwing stars head for my frozen student. I wouldn't be able to get there in time to stop them, not even my hawks surrounding the bridge would be able to grab the shuriken in time.

 Out of no where, senbon needles collided with the shuriken and knocked them off course. I jerked in surprise and twisted to stare at Haku half leaning out of his mirrors, still in the position of someone who had just thrown something. Zabuza narrowed his eyes at his ally.

 Now that he was out of danger, I felt it safe to yell at Naruto, “You imbecile! This is a real battle not a stupid spar; a shinobi's lifestyle is deception, not a damn talent show! Always keep your enemy guessing, be unpredictable so they can't figure out how to defeat you. So get your head outta your ass and think before someone makes a dartboard out of you!”

 Naruto turned about as red as Hinata did when Naruto got within ten feet of her. He started yelling apologies, but I ignored him to glance at Haku. Everyone else seemed to think that Haku had thrown senbon at Naruto at the same time Zabuza did and their attacks ended up colliding; but I knew better. One look at my cousin-turned-porcupine told me that Haku did not miss his targets. Which could only mean... he meant to throw those shuriken off track.

 The question was why.

 Peach-boy seemed to be thinking the same thing I was, “Haku, what are you doing?” Peachy demanded. His tone was dangerous and angry, he was pissed at Haku for disturbing his attack. In Zabuza's state of mind at the moment, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he attacked his own ally out of anger.

 One could only hope.

 Haku straightened out of his position and dipped his head towards Peaches, “Zabuza-sama, let me fight this boy in my own way... please.” The brat rasped. Mildly I wondered if all Kiri nins had that smoker rasp, or if it was just these two idiots.

 Naruto glared at the masked boy, “Bring. It. On.” He challenged before I could tell him to not be stupid. I suppressed the urge to hang my head in defeat at the stupidity of the blonde brat and wondered if he knew how powerful Haku was. Sasuke was hardly a match for the nuke-nin, what chance did Naruto have against him?!

 Zabuza chuckled, “As usual you're too soft, Haku. Fine, if that is what you wish.” Soft? What part of that masked brat was...

 I glanced at Sasuke. He was injured but not too bad, nothing that would cause any lasting damage. So either Haku was very sadistic and liked to play with his enemies; or he was soft as Zabuza said and wasn't trying to hurt Sasuke, just stall him. Still, knowing Naruto, he'd piss Haku off enough that the nuke-nin would tear him to shreds. I started to take a step forward to intervene before things got worse, but Peaches blocked my path.

 “Don't even think about it.” Oddly enough, Peachy sounded amused. “You know what will happen if you take on Haku. I'll go after the bridge builder and that little girl.” I stiffened and looked to the left where Tazuna and Hinata stood. There was no way that I would be able to end Haku and protect those two at the same time. Against a long sword like the Kubikiribōchō, Hinata's taijutsu was useless; and without me guiding my hawk summons they couldn't do shit but sit there and look pretty. I supposed I could summon a larger hawk to deal with Zabuza while I took out Haku, but that would cut down on my chakra and possibly put me in a dangerous position.

 Damn.

 Zabuza seemed to know I was in a bind, he smirked underneath those bandages, “Relax, Uchiha. Lets see how our students do... one on one.” I gave him an Uchiha Glare, but he wasn't even paying attention to me. I didn't dare attack, he might not be looking at me, but I know the Peach Bastard was still prepared to fight me. Only an idiot would think otherwise.

 Apparently Sasuke was an idiot.

 While Haku was talking to Naruto, a kunai came flying out of the ice prison that held Sasuke. Haku easily dodged the knife and looked at my cousin, “Don't think I forgot about you, not for an instant.” The masked nuke-nin tilted his head a little, “Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten...” Oh great, know I was going to have two idiots who couldn't think straight, “Others do not. So be it, let us finish our battle then.”

 I couldn't help but groan quietly as Haku reentered his mirrors. Zabuza actually snorted and gave me an amused look as if we weren't enemies fighting to the death but two people just watching our students spar. I shot him a brief glare and looked away. I refused to think Peaches was anyone else but my enemy.

 It was torture having to watch my cousin practically being torn to shreds by multiple attacks coming from all the mirrors. With my sharingan I could pick up the real Haku and how he jumped from mirror to mirror to keep the element of surprise. The little pest was fast, even with my sharingan I could just barely pick up his movements as he flashed between the mirrors. But I still didn't know how the mirrors worked.

 “Sasuke, Naruto think! You have to attack the mirrors from the inside and outside at the same time to figure out how they work!” I yelled. Naruto's face brightened with an idea and there was a poof and...

 He was gone.

 It was only when Sasuke started yelling did I realize where he went. My eye twitched and I glanced at Zabuza. The nuke-nin looked like he was on the verge of laughing, I was almost tempted to tell him that I was disowning Naruto as my student after a stunt like that.

 “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” Sasuke yelled out and there was a brief glow of orange that surrounded the multiple mirrors at various angles, but none of them melted.

 I could hear the amusement in Haku's voice when he said, “You'll need more firepower than that to melt this ice.” I stiffened slightly. More firepower? I could easily do that, but...

 Peaches smirked at me, easily reading my mind, “If you melt the mirrors you'll incinerate your students. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?” He asked. I shot him a nasty look and mildly wondered why he hadn't attacked yet. Peach-boy didn't have a problem earlier, was he just stalling then to get to this point and showcase his student? He had been hired to take out my client, not show off his student's prowess.

 Once again my suspicions of his involvement with the Mist Rebels surfaced. I eyed the man, trying to figure out his game. I doubted that he was ever fighting me seriously. All he had done was send water clones and swing that big ass sword around. Zabuza had been part of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, he had gotten the position by being a master of kenjutsu. So far Zabuza had been attacking as if the Kubikiribōchō was just a piece of metal to be swung around and not a great sword.

 Of course it was always possible that he was downplaying his abilities to keep the element of surprise; I had been doing the same by only dodging Zabuza's sword and tossing kunai around when I got the opening. But it just didn't fit Peachy's personality to use deception when he had the opportunity to strike. I glanced at the ice prison as Haku bounded from mirror to mirror, raining senbon down on Sasuke and Naruto. Haku was the same. I knew that that jutsu was meant to trap and destroy an opponent. The positioning of the mirrors and the pure speed of Haku proved that point easily enough. So why weren't my students dead yet? From what I had gathered on Haku, I knew he wasn't the sick twisted kind of shinobi that enjoyed toying with their victims. Not even Zabuza was that way. Zabuza's way of killing was quick, painless, and silent; leaving any survivors baffled and frightened of the Demon of the Mist.

 Naruto's yelling stopped my musing, “I won't quit! Not ever, I'm going to survive and become Hokage because that is my dream!” I didn't know if I should be proud that he still wasn't giving up even after that downpour of needles or still embarrassed that he had gotten himself into that mess.

 What Haku responded with surprised me, “I didn't want to be a shinobi, it's painful. I don't want to kill you, but if you come closer I will have no choice.” What? “I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the shinobi way. This bridge will the battlefield where our dreams collide. I will fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours. Please do not blame me, I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him and I will face death for him so that his dream will become reality. That is my dream, and for the sake of that dream, if I must I will act as a shinobi and take your lives!”

 I bowed my head and glanced at the silent Zabuza. It was obvious that Haku was referring to Peach-boy, but why? What did Zabuza do that made the kid so loyal to him? And furthermore, just what was Zabuza's dream? The more I listened to Haku, the more reluctant I was to kill the kid, but if he got in the way of my mission then I would cut him and Zabuza down.

 Peaches shot me a haughty glance, “Tell me Uchiha, does that wimpy village of yours still avoid the most important rule of being a shinobi?” He asked as if he were genuinely curious.

 I only started at him in silence. It was a loaded question, so I saw no need in wasting my breath with an answer that was already obvious.

 Peach-boy cackled like a madman, “I wonder what your precious little Hokage will say when you come back with two bodies instead of three live genin... if you survive that is.” I heard Tazuna inhale sharply as it dawned on him just how outnumbered the genin truly were. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see how Hinata was holding up to the news of her possible death.

 Not too well.

 Zabuza followed my gaze, “She's going to faint.” He observed in a tone that could only be amusement. He looked back at me, “How is it that you ended up with three incompetent brats? You're supposed to be an A-class kunoichi, and yet here you are... babysitting.”

 “Hn.” I grunted. That insult was so pathetic I knew I would lose brain cells just by answering it. One would think that the Bloody Mist would pencil in a trash talk class right after their academy students learned how to gut a helpless victim. At least so they wouldn't kill their opponents from the lame insults flying around.

 Unless... that was their stupid plan all along.

 The damn man didn't shut up though, “Falling back on the Uchiha customary response? How unlike you.” Great now he was adding sarcasm to the list. My eye twitched and I came close to planting my fist in his stupid, bandaged face if only to shut him up; but I somehow refrained... for now. “It must goad you that your precious Hokage would dump a bunch of brats on you. It's such a waste of your skills, chasing after three brats like you're their nanny while shinobi weaker than you take over your missions.” Peachy continued on, not even bothering to see if he was really insulting me or not.

 Finally I got fed up, “Your insults are pathetic. Even my pacifist cousin can talk trash better than you.” I deadpanned. Peachy didn't even have the decency to look offended. He only smirked at me from underneath his bandages.

 I reached into my weapons pouch and brought out a fan. Snapping it open I began lightly fanning myself like a geisha would. I even fluttered my eyelashes at Peaches, “Let's get this over with, ne? I want to leave by dusk.” I simpered like a primping airhead and reactivated my sharingan, having had deactivated it once I realized I would never figure out Haku's jutsu with my eyes.

 Zabuza jerked his gaze away from my sharingan and he reached back into his own kunai pouch. As he charged at me, I made a sweeping motion with my arm so that my fan cut through the air like a blade. When he came into my range, I thumbed the little lever on the handle and fourteen senbon needles shot out of the fan's ribs. Unfortunately due to the large curve of the fan's edge, only five senbons were heading directly at Peaches. He easily knocked them away with his two bladed kunai and jumped back.

 I snapped the fan shut and pointed it at him, “Lesson number one of kunoichi tactics: Everything can be a weapon.” I depressed another button on the bamboo frame of the fan and a three inch blade shot out of the little slot that was embedded into the fan, just to prove my point. Zabuza did not looked very pleased with my Fan of Wonders–as Obito called it.

 In fact, I could swear he was pouting.

 “This won't be like last time, Peach-boy.” I promised him, my smirk melting away to be replaced with the expressionless mask every shinobi seemed to have.

 The bandaged nuke-nin seemed to have stolen my smirk, “You're correct, because this time even if you do defeat me, you have no chance against Haku. When I found him he was just a street rat, but I trained him in the most advanced techniques. I taught him everything I know, and with that Kekke Genkai of his, soon he was able to take on dangerous enemies. Even outnumbered and in total darkness, he could strike with perfect accuracy. He cared nothing for his own life, or the lives of others. Haku became a unique fighting machine, a shinobi. In the end even he surpassed me, with that Kekke Genkai of his nothing can defeat it! I've created a tool that can destroy anyone who stands in my way, unlike those useless brats that follow you around like little lost puppies!”

 I grimaced in disgust at the man before me. Then I glanced over his shoulder at the prison of ice mirrors where the shouts of pain from Naruto and Sasuke were still originating. When I head heard Haku's speech I was ready to put an end to the battle peacefully, just to save the kid the pain of losing his precious person. Now I was ready to roast the fool who dared take advantage of loyalty like that.

 Zabuza laughed as he looked back at the ice mirrors with a crazed look in his eyes, “You think those punks can defeat Haku? He's the ultimate battle tool of destruction!”

 “Would ya shut up already? Geez you sound worse than my uncle when he's talking about Itachi!” I snapped, getting irritated with this 'Haku is so great! You can never defeat him!' bullshit. Was Zabuza Haku's fangirl or senpai?!

 Zabuza didn't understand the reference, so he wasn't offended. Though I had now doubt he would be throwing a temper tantrum if he knew how Fugaku was when he was bragging about my cousin. “Fine, but there is one more thing you should know.” I raised an eyebrow and decided to humor him, not that he needed any encouragement, “Did you really think our last battle was just win or lose? Haku had been watching the whole time, watching every move your made with that sharingan of yours. Haku can see a move once and immediately devise a counterattack; it's one of his... gifts. I've been waiting to see the look on your pretty face when you realize that your sharingan has become worthless!”

 I kept my face blank just to annoy him.

 Zabuza held up two fingers, “Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!”

 Deja vu, anyone?

 The thin mist that had already layered the air thickened to the point of no visibility. I cursed, my sharingan eyes darting to pick up the slighted movement in the mist; but all I could see was Hinata and Tazuna fidgeting around, looking left and right for a thin spot in the thick mist. I pinned Hinata with a look. She was twitching nervously and shaking in fear, “Hinata, stay with Tazuna. Don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered her in a sharp tone. The Hyuuga girl seemed to get over her fear at the order and nodded firmly before shifting from an offensive to a defensive taijutsu stance. I had noticed over the weeks that she seemed to lose her cowardice when given a direct order. Hopefully she would stand by it even if I went down.

 Shuriken came out of no where and I easily batted them away with my closed fan. I took a cautious step in the direction the throwing stars had come from but stopped and twisted around when I felt Zabuza's chakra behind me. I blinked when I saw that his eyes were closed. Was he trying to prevent looking into my sharingan or was it another reason entirely? I frowned when he started to speak.

 “Next time you see me, will be the last time you see anything.” Okay, for Peach-boy, that wasn't a half bad attempt to be intimidating; but still... even goofy Shisui still beat him by a mile. Of course, goofy Shisui happened to be pretty terrifying when someone did the impossible and actually pissed him off, but that was irrelevant. “Without your sharingan, you're nothing.” Zabuza rasped and then disappeared again before I could attack. I twitched in annoyance. If this was just going to be a hit-and-run tactic I was going to murder someone.

 Preferably Peaches; but I would take Tazuna for putting me in this mess in the first place too.

 Fine. If he wanted to play this game, then I would just pull and Uchiha Tactic straight from the Book of Bullshit and own his sorry ass before he could sneeze. I ran through the appropriate hand signs and slammed my palms together with a loud clap, “Fūton: Gale Palm!” In a large ejection of wind oriented chakra, I managed to disperse most of the mist thinning it out enough that I could see Zabuza's faint outline several paces to my right. I turned to face the outline and began a new set of hand signs, “Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!” I shouted and sent a steady stream of fire at Zabuza.

 I grinned when Zabuza had to leap out of the mist and into my sight, just like I wanted, “I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part. You left to quickly. Something about me being without my sharingan...?” I said teasingly. Boy, did Peaches look pissed off.

 Somehow that set off a monologue of how Peach-boy had figured out the secret behind the sharingan. I almost started nodding off when he started explaining the piercing eye and the hypnotic eye and how I had used them in battle. Seriously, what was with this guy and explaining things to invisible audiences? Was he so enamored with his own smoker voice that he liked making long winded speeches over obvious things?!

 That would explain a lot of things, actually.

 After he finished lecturing me about things I had grown up knowing, he started talking about his 'ultimate plan to win the day'. Finally I gave up pretending to listen and groaned loudly, “Oh. My. Kami. SHUT UP! At least try to make it harder on me by not explaining your stupid little plan. Dear Lord, do I need to give you the 'a shinobi's lifestyle is deception' lecture I gave Naruto too?!”

 There was a beat of silence when even Haku stopped fighting Naruto and Sasuke, before Zabuza's annoying raspy voice spoke again, “Fine. I just won't give you a sporting chance.” If that was what he called a 'sporting chance' I would gladly go without, if only to keep my ears from bleeding.

 In the back of my mind I wondered who could out talk the other: the Hokage or Peaches.

 The fighting between the three boys resumed with vigor, but something was different about it. I could hear Sasuke using the fireball jutsu as well, which was strange. Didn't he already try to melt the ice and figure out that it didn't work? What could those two idiots possibly be up to? I risked a glance in their direction, hoping that it might shed some light on their plan.

 “Pay attention to your own fight!” Zabuza roared and I snapped my head around with a gasp just in time to feel his foot connect with my jawline. There was a dull crunch and I tasted the sharp coppery twang of blood flooding my mouth; seconds later a wave of pain bloomed from my jaw, momentarily causing my mind to blank. I landed in a heap on the ground, my jaw throbbing painfully. I reached up to cradle it and winced when my hand grazed against the bruising area. The bone was cracked at the very least.

 High killer intent brought my head up and my eyes widened when I saw Zabuza descending from the air, the Kubikiribōchō raised over his head and positioned to bisect me at the waist. Scrambling, I twisted to the side and got my feet under me just as the long blade dug into the ground almost three inches deep. I winced and tried not to imagine what would have happened to be had I been any slower.

 I was really starting to regret pissing Peaches off.

 The Kiri nuke-nin yanked his big ass sword out of the ground and turned towards me, a deranged look in his eyes. “Seems I finally succeeded in shutting up the Uchiha with the runaway mouth. Now to make it permanent.” I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the lame trash talk. This guy was truly pathetic when it came to being intimidating. I was starting to think that awkward Iruka could be more terrifying than this guy. The chunnin might be terrifying to kids, but he was just a socially awkward wimp when it came to adults.

 Peachy disappeared.

 I stiffened and looked around, trying to discern any chakra signal with either my sharingan or my sensory abilities. I swallowed a mouthful of blood, trying not to gag at the overbearing taste of copper, and ran through my options. While the wind jutsu had momentarily cleared the mist, it was back in full force, once again hindering my line of vision. Sight was out, I could deal with that. Peaches was a master of the silent killing technique; he could enter a crowd full of people, kill one person, and be gone before that person even hit the ground–all the while not making a smidgen of noise. That mean I could not hear Zabuza's attacks either and if I did it was probably a distraction. Still I could manage without hearing too.

 That left my sensing abilities and scent. I wasn't a tracker and I was no where near as good at olfactory perception as Kakashi or the Inuzuka clan, but I still had a sharp nose. However, the problem with that was my sense of smell was being overridden by the smell of my blood still filling my mouth. My chances of predicting Peaches next attack were starting to slim down. My chakra sensing abilities weren't the best, it was mostly just raw talent, but I still should be able to pick out Zabuza's large chakra source in the thick mist he had created. It would be like trying to pick out the early morning sun in a thick fog, but it was still doable. Unless Peach-boy suppressed his chakra, I should be able to sense him.

 I closed my eyes and concentrated on spanning my awareness about the bridge. I could feel the chakra of the three boys flitting around inside the ice prison, which appeared to be a thin dome of Haku's chakra, and I could pick out Hinata's still relatively high chakra reserves right in front of Tazuna's stunted civilian level chakra. Wait.

 Hinata.

 Damn it! I had a Hyuuga with me the whole time and I was too caught up in my ego to even think about asking her for help. There wasn't anything that could hide from the Byakugan! And now, I couldn't talk because of my cracked jawbone. Growling deep in my throat I was about to shunshin to Hinata and signal what I needed in my rusty genin hand signs, when the object I was looking for appeared.

 Right where I didn't want it.

  Chapter 15: Not Everything is Black and White

Hinata screamed.

 I gasped as a sheering pain ripped across my chest; blood from my mouth dripped down my chin and joined the splatter of blood already on the ground. I was extremely lucky to have been able to shunshin right where I needed to be in order to take the blow meant for Hinata and Tazuna.

 I reached up to cradle my wound, trying to stop the blood flow, and glared at Zabuza with slow spinning red eyes. Unfortunately he didn't meet my gaze, “Too bad, Uchiha, you let concern for those brats cloud your mind and adding further to the fog that already hinders your sharingan. You're eyes are sharp, but not sharp enough to read my moves.”

 Kami above, why did I have to be injured and listen to Peach Bastard's shitty insults?

 Peach-boy cackled in a cliché villainous pitch, furthering my annoyance with the man. Did Kirigakure hand pamphlets out on how to be a lame antagonist?! “Come on, Uchiha, I want this to be fun!” Can anyone say psychopath? “I want to enjoy myself while I extract my revenge! As for those pest... don't worry. They're at Haku's mercy, no they're breathing their last breaths right now.” Peaches twisted Kubikiribōchō so that the sharp edge of the blade was facing up and he reached behind him into his weapons pouch. I didn't move. “Relax. You'll have plenty of time to weep out an apology when you see them in the next life.”

 Where the hell did he get the assumption I was tense in anyway?

 He started cackling again. My eyes narrowed slightly as he seemed to dissolve back into the mist surrounding us. Peachy's crazed laughter drifted so that it sounded like it was coming from all around us. There was a moment of silence after Zabuza's awful guffawing faded away filled only with my labored breath. Damn this stupid wound, I was going to be in pain every time I got dressed for a month! Not to mention my bruising jaw; I'm not going to be able to eat solid foods for a long time. Plus when Obito sees it, there would be hell to pay.

 Exactly who would pay... that was the question.

 Because I was going to make damn sure that Peaches didn't leave this bridge alive.

 Hinata whimpered behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see her staring intensively at the ice prison. “N-Naruto-kun... Sasuke-san...” She whispered and took an instinctive step towards the place where her team was fighting for their lives. Hinata stopped and her breath started to shorten with panic, in another moment she would start hyperventilating and I couldn't do shit about it. The one time I wanted to comfort my student and my damn jaw was locked up from the pain.

 Luckily Tazuna stepped in, “Don't worry, Hinata-chan. I have faith that the boys will pull through. That blonde kid... I thought he was just some goofy little brat with the maturity of a two year old. And the one with the attitude, I didn't think he cared about anyone! But I see now that I was wrong. All of you aren't what I expected and, by golly, I know Naruto and Sasuke will beat that masked pest to a pulp!”

 My sharingan eyes darted to Tazuna to convey my silent thanks. The old man smirked at me and reached out to place a hand on Hinata's shoulder. The Hyuuga heiress was looking more confident than she had been, she stood straighter and held the kunai in a tight, firm grip.

 I returned my gaze forward again and I was surprised to see Zabuza's outline among the fog. Maybe he hadn't disappeared as completely as I had thought. Peach-boy laughed sardonically, “You think those punks can defeat Haku? No one has ever stopped his secret jutsu.” Zabuza reached up for Kubikiribōchō and I clinched my fists, wishing that I hadn't lost my grip on my fan when Peaches landed that damn round house kick on my face. I was down to the senbons I had carved out of twigs earlier that week. Against the Kubikiribōchō, they wouldn't do squat. Mentally I ran through my other options.

 When I realized my opponent was Zabuza, I had raided my pack until I managed to dig up my old, worn, and very out-of-date copy of Konoha's Bingo Book. While the brats were out training, I had been cooped up in the room I shared with Hinata, pouring over Zabuza's page. What I had read made me frustrated and ecstatic at the same time. Peach-boy's stats were solid straight across–practically invincible–except for one little detail. Zabuza was below average in genjutsu. As an Uchiha, I was fairly good at genjutsu, but I wasn't the best. Furthermore, Zabuza would be avoiding looking into my eyes which hindered my chance of catching only him in a genjutsu. My best chance was casting an area of effect genjutsu, but that would also endanger my team and Tazuna.

 My other option was that I could also use my hawk summonings that still perched around the bridge, waiting for me to order them around. The downside to that option was that I had to focus my attention on directing the hawks, those small summons couldn't fight by themselves very well as they would attack anyone who wasn't me. I would have to concentrate on making sure none of the hawks went after Team 7. That meant that Zabuza, or even Haku, could bypass me and go for the bridge builder. I supposed I could create a shadow clone to handle the hawks, but I was already low on chakra and that would only eat away at my stores even more. I knew that if this fight was prolonged any longer I would suffer from chakra exhaustion again or worse.

 I needed to end this now.

 My hands rose and I started going through the hand signs for my signature technique, water ninjutsu be damned, when a spike of chakra made me freeze in utter fear. Hot, cold, anger, red... red... red. That chakra...

 vvv FLASHBACK vvv

 “Stay with your cousin, Itachi. I'll be right back.” Mikoto-oba called as she dashed off. I stared wide eyed and frightened as my aunt left. Alarms had awoken me in the middle of the night calling for an extreme state of emergency. Obito-nii was in my room only seconds after the alarm started wailing and dragged me to the Main Branch house, telling me to stay with Mikoto. When I tried to tell him that I was a genin now and I could help with whatever the crisis was, Obito had gotten uncharacteristically serious and ordered me to stay in the house.

 Now the bells were calling for all shinobi ranked above chūnin, retired or otherwise, and Mikoto had left me in charge of my cousins while she ran to respond to the summons.

 Itachi and I sat on the porch, watching ghostly red ribbons float through the sky, and keeping an ear trained on any changes in the constant alarm. Sasuke thankfully was being relatively quite, I wasn't having to try and listen over a brat's soft crying. Itachi seemed surprisingly responsible with his little brother, so I left Itachi was baby duty. I didn't like kids that much; the only kid I liked was Itachi and that was because he was more like an adult anyway.

 My heart dropped when I heard the alarm pick up in tempo and changed to a higher pitch. That was the call for all civilians and lower ranked shinobi to evacuate to the Monument. Whatever was happening in the village it must be bad if it was a village-wide evacuation. I stood, “Come on Itachi, we've gotta-” I cut myself off when I saw my cousin already heading for the compound gates. I didn't even have it in me to be angry at him for leaving me behind.

 I had only gotten five feet when there was a thunderous crash that shook the ground. Itachi and I stumbled, trying to regain our footing and still move fast enough to get to the shelter. Then I felt it. A tangible anger, so hot and violent that I felt sick to my stomach. Sasuke, who had been quietly whimpering until now, shrieked in fear, his small face turning a dark red. I was scared, I wanted to run away and hide, to give into to whatever was attacking. It was the predator and I was the cornered prey, I stood no chance against that anger; that raw, potent Killer Intent.

 Something firm but small tugged at my wrist. I jolted out of my frozen state and stared down at my little cousin. Itachi looked as calm and impassive as he always did, as if he couldn't even feel the Killer Intent infused in the very air–no, it was the air. I was breathing in that powerful anger with every breath until it became my whole being. I wanted to hide. I wanted-

 “Yanagi-itoko, we have to get to the shelter,” Itachi spoke, cutting off my thoughts. To anyone else he might sound bored and indifferent, but I could hear the small lilt of concern in his voice. That seemed to wake me up. I was frozen like a deer downwind of the wolf and here my six year old cousin wasn't even bothered about the attack. He was trying to comfort me! What was worse, I actually needed to be comforted. It angered me, I was weak. A child barely in the academy was more rational than I, the Rookie of the Year, was!

 I promised myself I would never freeze again.

 vvv FLASHBACK OVER vvv

 I concentrated on my sensory ability, trying to determine what would make Naruto lose control. I doggedly ignored the hotredredredthatnightfearmustrun chakra that was the Kyuubi's and instead on the chakra points all over the bridge. Zabuza was a little ahead of me, his chakra thick and languid like honey; there was the smooth, silky feel of Hinata's chakra behind me beside the stunted civilian amount that was Tazuna's. Haku's, hard and sharp like ice yet surprisingly warm, was darting all over the place as he tried to dodge Naruto's crazed strikes. Sasuke's chakra was muted, almost to the point of...

 I snapped my head around and stared as the ice mirrors shattered and Haku came flying out, laid out flat by Naruto. In between the broken shards of the still hanging mirrors I could see a dark lump in the center, not moving.

 ...of death.

 It wasn't the first time I had seen death, and certainly not the last. I wasn't even bothered all that much by it. Except... I was. There was a difference between seeing a teammate die in the course of a battle, when you didn't have time to think or even notice that they had just died; and seeing the body of a child, your own cousin, crumpled on the ground like a thrown away doll.

 Suddenly all the horrible things I had said to him, all the unkind actions and unfriendly glares, all came rushing in like a tidal wave. Like a tsunami. Obito was right, I was a horrible sensei. I had gotten one of my students killed on their first C-rank mission. It didn't matter that it had been updated to an A-rank. I had in essence killed my own student; I had signed his death warrant the moment I didn't withdraw from the mission when it was clear that it was out of Team 7's capabilities. I felt sick, both physically and emotionally. I felt like I was drowning with no life line to pull myself out. I... needed an outlet, I needed to rid myself of all the pent up guilt and anger at myself.

 “Awww... are you going to cry?”

 I found my outlet.

 Slowly I turned to stare at Zabuza, That Bastard, all my emotions draining away and leaving nothing behind. I didn't take joy in seeing him jolt in surprise at my flat gaze, or the way he when white under his tan skin when my Killer Intent washed over him. All I cared about was beating the shit out of that bastard for putting my cousin in the position that killed him. I raised my hands slowly and, almost in a trance, I ran through the hand signs, never breaking gaze with that bastard. I stared straight into his soul and found it... lacking.

 Zabuza's death wouldn't bring back Sasuke, but it would sure make me feel a hell of a lot better.

 I could only hope.

 Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Jutsu. I thought, since my injured jaw prevented me from saying the jutsu. Zabuza's eyes bugged out when he felt the imaginary genjutsu stakes driving into his body, pinning him where he stood. I dropped the last hand sign and started another jutsu. I kept my eyes on Zabuza the whole time, letting him see my cold indifference to him. I wanted that bastard to know that I wasn't killing him because he was my enemy or because I hated him.

 I was killing Zabuza just because I fucking felt like it.

 Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu. I didn't channel too much of my chakra into the fire. I didn't want to incinerate Zabuza on the spot. That wasn't good enough, I wanted to slowly roast him alive. I wanted him to die a slow agonizing death, covered in third degree, maybe even fourth degree if I was feeling merciful, burns for even thinking of harming my baby cousin. I took a deep breath and brought my fingers up to my mouth. I watched dispassionately as Zabuza tried to evade the oncoming fire, I didn't feel the pleasure of watching my prey squirm before I killed them. All I could think was 'how dare you.'

 I noticed Haku too late.

 vvv 3rd POV~ Hinata vvv

 Hinata was frightened. She stood there shaking on spot as she watched the plume of red chakra spiraling out of the mirrors. With her Byakugan activated, she had seen all that had happened. She saw the spike of chakra in Sasuke's eyes and saw the glint of red–the sign of the sharingan. Hinata saw him fall, saw his chakra sputter like a candle before dying out. She saw Naruto lose control, she didn't need her kekke genkai for that. That violent red chakra was clear from even the distance between the boys and Hinata.

 Hinata saw Yanagi-sensei freeze up when she spotted Sasuke's body. Afterwards, Hinata saw Sensei take on a whole new personality. Hinata shivered, with her Byakugan activated there was no missing that cold look in Yanagi's eyes. There was a saying in Konoha: 'The four things any Konoha nin fears are an angry Aburame, a focused Inuzuka, a motivated Nara, and a bereft Uchiha.'  Until now, Hinata had never realized why.

 The Hyuuga heiress clung to her kunai as if it were a religious symbol, she wasn't ready for this. When she had graduated as a genin, she knew there would be death and fighting, but... not like this. She hadn't expected to see her first death so soon, and definitely not her own teammate! Hinata would happily go back to doing D-ranked missions if she survived.

 She hoped she survived.

 But that hope was dwindling into an unattainable dream. If Sasuke, the strongest genin of their class, couldn't survive, then what hope did she have?! Yanagi-sensei had promised she would protect them with her life when they first fought Zabuza, but she had failed. Yanagi had broken her promise. There was no guarantee that Sensei would protect Hinata if Zabuza came after her, Yanagi didn't even protect her own cousin.

 A sentimental fool, that's what Yanagi-sensei called Hinata. Was this what she meant? Sasuke had ran to protect Naruto from being hurt, Hinata saw that, and in turn the Uchiha boy had gotten killed. “If you live past your Chunnin Exam I'll be amazed” That's what Yanagi-sensei had said, had she been right? Were emotions really a hindrance to a shinobi? From the way Yanagi-sensei was going after Zabuza, it seemed like she was right. Emotions were an obstacle to a shinobi, they got in the way of the fight and clouded the mind. Hinata remembered that there was a rule about emotions, Rule 25: A shinobi must never show their feelings. It was one of the only rules she actually knew by heart because it was the rule most shinobi strove to achieve.

 But... did Hinata have what it took to get rid of her emotions?

 Movement behind Yanagi-sensei alerted Hinata and she opened her mouth to call out a warning, not even thinking about it, but she was too late.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 I stumbled back a step, caught off guard by the sudden body in front of me, cutting of the steam of fire to only a small fireball barely bigger than a cat. Time seemed to slow as I watched the small jet of fire fly from my mouth and connect with Haku's chest perfectly. Surprisingly, he didn't go flying back from the force of the fire. It should have sent him back twenty feet minimum, but he didn't budge a single inch. I stared straight into the kid's brown eyes for the first time, his mask was gone– probably Naruto's doing– as my ninjutsu hit him.

 He looked... peaceful.

 It was Sasuke all over again.

 I had killed many people in my career as a kunoichi, I've even enjoyed it at times. Many of those kills had been children, kids who had gotten in my way; but I never liked admitting to those kills. I always felt ill when I watched the light go out in their young eyes. But... it was necessary for Konohagakure to keep going, so I swallowed my disgust and soldiered on. I didn't look back and reflect upon my kills, I didn't find pride in the high number. I knew that if I did I would never be able to live with myself again. Haku though... he did it willingly. He jumped in front of my fireball to protect the bastard he found precious to him.

 Haku, a Kiri nuke-nin, had the Will of Fire.

 And I almost killed him.

 Almost.

 There was still a chance to save the boy.

 The question was: would I take it?

 He was my enemy, he killed my cousin.

 But he was only a boy... barely older than Team 7. If I let him die, it would be just another Sasuke. A death of a child saving someone precious to him.

 No, I would not let that happen.

 My decision made, I wrapped my arms around Haku and leaped back away from a shell shocked Zabuza. Once the demonic illusion fell, the bastard would no doubt come after me, regardless that Haku was now in my possession. I knew the Peach bastard didn't care for Haku, his sordid little speech of Haku being the ultimate tool was enough evidence for that. I needed enough time to try and heal the kid, at least enough that I could leave him to destroy Zabuza if he attacked.

 I laid Haku down gently and ran a diagnostic jutsu to check how injured the boy truly was. Deep second degree burns across the chest, as well as minor second degree on the right arm and shoulder; but fortunately no internal bleeding or ruptured organs. Not as bad as I thought then. I sighed and allowed my eyes to close a brief moment; I was glad that I had intended to slowly roast Zabuza alive, it had probably saved the kid's life. Haku would need help beyond my capabilities, but I should be able to heal him enough so he would last until I got a medical nin.

 Reaching into my pack I withdrew a kunai, intending to use it to cut open Haku's haori and shirt. Zabuza, however, jumped to the wrong conclusion. “Get away from him!” The Demon of the Mist shouted. It surprised me how desperate he sounded.

 Was... his speech about Haku just a ruse?

 No, I shook my head, I couldn't think like that. It was bad enough that I was healing the boy. I couldn't start going soft on Zabuza. He needed to die, otherwise Tazuna would always be in danger. Haku... once I healed him I would take him prisoner and turn him over to T&I when Team 7 returned to Konoha. This kid was a gold mine of information about the Mist Rebels, and being partners with the infamous Demon of the Mist and one of the rare Kiri nins to have a Kekke Genkai meant he probably had a high bounty.

 I stubbornly ignored the disgust I felt.

 I fingered the pinstriped collar of Haku's bodysuit to determine the patterned stitch. Luckily it was a downward weave, which would make slicing through the fabric much easier for me. I raised the kunai to Haku's neck...

 ...and hissed when a shuriken embedded itself in the back of my hand.

 Zabuza was charging towards me when I looked up to see who had thrown the shuriken. I was shocked that he was even able to move; Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes was a powerful paralyzing genjutsu. Only the most powerful were able to move under it, and even then it wasn't without struggle. So how the hell was Zabuza moving as if he was never under the genjutsu?! Genjutsu was supposed to be the nuke-nin's weakness! No time to think about it, Zabuza was already swinging his sword, trying to behead me. I barely managed to duck under the Kubikiribōchō and rolled away from Haku. Zabuza snarled at me and placed himself between the boy and I. His blade raised in a defensive position.

 Interesting.

 So Peaches didn't attack Tazuna, even though he had the perfect opening... again. Zabuza had had the element of surprise. I hadn't known that Shackling Stakes had ended, which meant he should have assassinated Tazuna, and possibly Hinata, before I knew what had happened. But he didn't. Zabuza came to the rescue of his fallen comrade, had even warned me by shouting. And when he had managed to separate us, instead of going for Tazuna or me like one would expect him too, Peaches continued to guard Haku from me. He totally ignored the bridge builder who stood behind him. It was a perfect opportunity to attack, there would be no way I could reach Tazuna in time, both Zabuza and I knew that. And yet, there wasn't a twitch from Peach-boy to indicate he meant to attack.

 Only defend.

 “Yanagi-sensei!” Someone landed beside me. I jolted and looked down at Naruto in surprise. I hadn't even thought of him since he smashed that ice prison to pieces. I was too focused on making Zabuza pay for Sasuke's death, and then saving Haku's life, to even think about the other two genin.

 Naruto was staring at me, “Sensei, what happened to you?!” That's right, the blonde didn't see me get my ass handed to me by Zabuza. He was too busy with the Ice Princess.

 I grunted and pointedly looked at Zabuza, trying to convey my meaning since my jaw was still out of commission. Unfortunately, the Kyuubi brat was too dense to get my meaning. He squinted at me, “Hey, I asked you a question!” I was really really tempted to kick him off the bridge. I was trying to think and-

 “HEY, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HAKU?!”

 That did it, as soon as this fight was over, I was murdering Naruto.

 Zabuza growled at Naruto's demand, but didn't take his narrow eyes off me. The man was finally serious about the fight. This wasn't some little show anymore where we threw a few half assed attempts of trying to kill each other. We were fighting for our students now, and that meant there was no holding back. In the shinobi world, students were considered the last straw. If someone went after a student, they had better prepare to fight for their lives against the master.

 Zabuza was guarding his one and only dying student.

 I still had two students to protect. No matter how much I wanted to strangle one at the moment.

 Tazuna be damned, this was no longer about a bridge builder and some petty shipping company. It was personal now. It became personal the minute Sasuke died, and I sure as hell wasn't letting my cousin and student go without being avenged. Even if I didn't kill Sasuke's true killer, I would damn sure take out the master. If it was the last thing I did, then so be it.

 “What the hell are you doing?!”

 There was a beat of silence before Zabuza and I turned to look at the new speaker. There were very few brave, or stupid depending on how you looked at it, souls who would willingly speak when two jounin level ninjas were releasing large amounts of Killer Intent. It was a well known fact that shinobi weren't mentally stable, and in the height of battle one could easily turn on some idiot who opened his big mouth. I deadpanned when I spied the little midget standing in front of a large crowd of thugs, all leering as if they were something special. Honestly, quantity did not equal quality. Every shinobi knew that, but it seemed that civilians forgot that little fact constantly.

 I could already tell where this was going.

 The midget piped up again, “You're supposed to be attacking the bridge builder, not playing ninja with a whore.” My flat expression turned to one that screamed, 'do you have a death wish?!' Zabuza wasn't even injured and here the idiot was mouthing off to an A-class nuke-nin. What an arrogant little dwarf. I didn't think it was possible, but I had finally found someone more arrogant than the entire Uchiha clan and Zabuza combined.

 Zabuza did not look amused, “Gatou,” Boy talk about loathing, I could feel just how much Zabuza hated the man by the levels of contempt in his voice, “what is all this? Why are you here and who are these thugs you brought with you?”

 This Gatou tapped his cane against the ground. “Well, you see there's been a change of plans.” Called it! But still, this guy was an Idiot, with a capital 'i'. Betraying a nuke-nin who was already pissed off... how did the little dwarf become one of the richest men in the world? “According to the new plan, you die of this bridge... Za-bu-za.” Oi! That was my plan, the little bastard.

 Peaches didn't look all that surprised, “What.” It wasn't even a question. More like a 'Really? You're actually trying that shit?' statement. If I wasn't still burning with adrenaline and anger I would find this whole thing hilarious.

 Gatou leered, as if he thought he was something special. “That's right. You're too expensive, so I decided to take you off the payroll.” See Zabuza? That's what you get when you're greedy. Your rat bastard employer pulls the most cliché move in history on you. “Of course, even these thugs with me cost something, so if you could slaughter a few of them before they take you down, I'd appreciate it.”

 Seriously, how was this guy still alive? Betraying a nuke-nin was one thing, but asking said nuke-nin to kill a few of his hired thugs who were standing right behind him before they 'killed' Zabuza was just asking for it. All it took was one of the thugs to stab the midget bastard in the back and then they could go loot his no-doubt richly furnished home for payment. They'd probably get a lot more money that way.

 But of course, male egos would prevent them all from thinking clearly and they would just battle to the death.

 Delightful.

 Gatou went even further and started adding mockery to the list, “Think you can manage that, Demon of the Mist?” The midget chuckled condescendingly. “Look at you, you look about a demonic as a wet kitten.” Apparently Gatou had never faced a wet kitten before. Especially when they're called 'Tora'.

 I turned to look at Zabuza. Of the both of us, I was the one who was more injured. In fact, Zabuza didn't even have a scratch on him. The only thing to his disadvantage was that he was mentally fatigued from the genjutsu I had cast on him. But like all good ninja, Peaches didn't show signs that the genjutsu had bothered him. I could tell Zabuza wasn't going to last much longer under the insults and blood would soon spill, but he didn't move. He thought I still meant harm to Haku.

 Even if I did, I would be willing to call a truce if only long enough to shut Gatou's damn mouth.

 I struggled to a stand, feeling slightly dizzy which meant that the blood loss was finally getting to me. This fight would be over for me soon, but I still had enough chakra in me to at least heal Haku so his life was no longer in danger, maybe even a little more. I swayed a little as I walked towards Zabuza. The man tensed and tightened his grip on the hilt of Kubikiribōchō. I stopped just out of reach of the big ass sword and forced myself to speak, “Heal...Haku.” I manged to push past my aching jaw, though it was so garbled that even I barely understood it. I really hoped Peach-boy got my meaning, because it was obvious that I couldn't explain in depth. Damn man, why couldn't he break my ribs or something?!

 The Kiri nuke-nin stood there for a moment, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to trust me but didn't dare. Not that I blamed him, until recently we were ready to kill each other. But like every experienced shinobi, we both knew that situations could change in an instant and enemies could become close allies in the blink of an eye. The problem was if those allies would return to enemies once the fighting was done. If I did, which I wouldn't dare, then I would be in the perfect position to off Haku without any intervention from Zabuza.

 By pure luck, Haku whimpered quietly at Zabuza's feet. A small reminder of how close to death the kid was. I couldn't wait around for Peaches to decide, Haku might be dead by the time Zabuza made up his damn mind.

 Unfortunately our conversation drew attention from that grub Gatou, “Ha! So that little brat is dying, eh? Serves him right for trying to break my arm! Do us all a favor, dear, and kill the runt for me, would you? I'll pay you handsomely for your troubles!” The little man asked me. I shivered in disgust and shot the midget a dark look over my shoulder. I hadn't noticed that his left arm was in a cast until now. My respect for Haku rose several notches. Too bad Ice Princess didn't slay the cretin when he had the chance.

 Zabuza narrowed his eyes at Gatou and I mentally laughed at the midget's stupidity. Insulting a man was one thing, but insulting his student when the kid was on the doorstep of death was something else entirely. Peach-boy looked at me with murder in his eyes, but I knew it wasn't directed at me. “You're in luck, Uchiha, our fight is over now” Zabuza rasped. My mouth twitched into a brief smile, but I let if fall when even that hurt. Peach-boy raised his voice so the rest of the people on the bridge could hear him, “since I am no longer in Gatou's employ, Tazuna is safe.”

 Gatou twitched, obviously infuriated that his little display of audacity was backfiring on him. Did he honestly expect that Zabuza would still go after Tazuna after he cut Peach-boy's pay? That was just arrogant in the extreme. And I was an expert on arrogance.

 I was an Uchiha after all. The trait for arrogance was in our blood just as much as the Sharingan was.

 Quietly I knelt beside Haku again and nicked a small cut in his collar before ripping the shirt open. I grimaced when I saw my handiwork. The skin across his thin chest was warped and yellowish. White bubbles dotted the skin like small snow capped mountains; some were as round as coins and others barely bigger than the head of a pin. The burn continued up Haku's neck, fading to a pale rosy pink as it curved up his jaw line and half way to his right eye, looking no more superficial than a sunburn. Haku's upper right arm was a glossy vivid red with sparse clear blisters running along the inside of his arm. Further down the arm, just below the elbow, the burn faded into the same rosy red color that marred the poor boy's cheek. It was honestly a surprise that Haku was still alive at all. The shock alone from the jutsu should have sent him into cardiac arrest.

 I felt Zabuza's heavy gaze on my back and looked up to meet the nuke-nin's glare, “You harm one hair on his head and I will end you.” Zabuza said and for the first time since I clashed with him, I felt intimidated by the Demon of the Mist.

 Wordlessly I nodded and activated the Mystic Palm Technique. I wasn't nearly as good as Rin was, but she taught me the basics of medical ninjutsu. That would be enough to keep Haku alive. He would be horribly scarred for the rest of his days, but it was better that he be hideous than dead. Besides, those who truly loved the boy wouldn't care what he looked like.

 vvv 3rd POV vvv

 Naruto didn't understand at all what was happening. One minute Yanagi-sensei and that peach guy were glaring at each other with the intent to kill, then the weird short guy with the weird hair showed up and started insulting Zabuza and all of a sudden Zabuza and Frizzy-sensei were friends! It was all so confusing and Naruto couldn't keep up. He wanted to scream and make them explain, but Yanagi-sensei would probably knock him upside the head again. And she hit hard!

 Yanagi-sensei was kneeling down beside Haku. She was... healing him. Naruto frowned at his sensei. He remembered what she said to him when she refused to give anything to that sick boy, “I don't see the point in wasting resources to a lost cause when there are more likely cases around that can live.” Naruto didn't know how Haku had gotten hurt, but it looked bad. Almost like Haku-san wouldn't live, even Naruto would admit to that no matter how much he didn't want to. So why was Yanagi-sensei healing a lost cause?! Sasuke! If Yanagi was willing to heal Haku, then shouldn't she try to heal Sasuke too? Naruto looked over to where the body of Sasuke laid, why wouldn't Yanagi heal Sasuke? He was her cousin, and Haku was the enemy; so shouldn't she focus on Sasuke and not Haku? Naruto wanted Haku to live, sure, but he wanted Sasuke to live more!

 “Yanagi-sensei, what about S-Sasuke?” Naruto asked. He wanted to yell, but he could barely even bring his voice above a low mumble. He didn't like the way Yanagi's shoulders stiffened, Naruto's sensei was normally more reserved than that. Naruto could hardly ever figure out what Frizzy-sensei was thinking unless she was mad, so for her to act out of character didn't bode well for Sasuke.

 Zabuza hefted his large sword up onto his shoulder and looked at Naruto. The nuke-nin's voice was surprisingly soft when he spoke, “Kid... your teammate is dead.”

 “Then why...?” Naruto started to ask as he turned wide eyes on his sensei's back. Why was she healing Sasuke's killer?! His blue eyes turned up to Zabuza, wordlessly demanding answers.

 Zabuza only looked away, unable to meet the kid's gaze. Death normally didn't bother him, he enjoyed killing and enjoyed seeing the survivors' fear when he took credit for his kills. But... there was something in that blonde kid's eyes that made him almost feel ashamed of it all.

 The short midget laughed harshly, “Look at you! So soft! Awwww, are you going to cry?”

 Naruto couldn't take it any more. He spun around and leveled a harsh glare at the scruffy little rat, “Shut up!” The Kyuubi container roared. He couldn't stand it! Not anymore! If Yanagi-sensei was going to be a coward then fine, Naruto would take care of those thugs by himself! Screw the shinobi code or whatever bullshit Yanagi spouted at him, Naruto would just follow his own code then!

 Naruto charged forward before Zabuza or Yanagi could stop him.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 I tried to grab Naruto as he shot off, but I wasn't in a good position. He had been standing behind me and I wasn't at my best so my reaction time was off. I twisted awkwardly and landed on my stomach, my arm stretched out before me. I didn't even come close to grabbing the blonde. Grimacing I pushed myself off the ground and was preparing to run after my hot headed student, when a blur of grey shot past me. I fell back in surprise.

 “You heal Haku, I'll get the brat!” Zabuza ordered over his shoulder. I blinked after him; it was common that enemies would temporarily call a truce to deal with a mutual foe, but it was always an uneasy truce. The way Zabuza was acting... it was like we had been allies for a long time. And that, I did not understand.

 “S-sensei!” I turned to see Hinata and Tazuna coming forward, Hinata's lavender eyes landed on Haku and she swallowed audibly. Even Tazuna looked horrified at the warped mess that was Haku, and I was sure he had seen many nasty injuries during his career in construction.

 No time to think about that. I couldn't deal with those two, not while I was dealing with Haku. In quick succession I ordered Hinata to retreat and continue guarding Tazuna–even if Zabuza said he would no longer go after the bridge builder that didn't mean he would stop any thug going after my client–through basic genin hand signals. There was a chance she didn't know even one of them; the Academy never really went into depth with hand signals, which was stupid in my opinion. It was inevitable that one day all shinobi faced a situation where silence was the difference between life and death. It was at those times that hand signals were an essential tool to a ninja. I would be damned if another one of my students died because I didn't teach them something basic and easy In the back of my mind I added teaching Naruto and Hinata all the levels of hand signals to the growing list of things I should have done.

 Luckily, Hinata seemed to understand me. She nodded a bit shakily and backed up, pawing at Tazuna's sleeve. The old man stood frozen, his eyes on the boy that was slowly dying. I ignored them both as I activated the Mystic Palm Technique again and spread my palms out just inches above Haku's chest. Green chakra seeped into the affected area and I mentally twisted it so that the chakra spread through the skin, going no deeper than the burns. I was in my own little bubble, completely ignoring all that went around me as I laboriously worked to save my cousin's murderer.

 vvv 3rd POV~ Naruto vvv

 A heavy hand landed on Naruto's shoulder before he could get within two meters of the first thug. Furious the blonde kid spun around, expecting to see his cowardly sensei, but was surprised to see the no-brow nuke-nin Zabuza. A small twinge of fear shot through him and he wondered if Zabuza was going to take him out. Naruto could barely hold his own against Haku, he knew there was no chance he could even make Zabuza sweat. Sure there had been that time before, when Yanagi-sensei was captured, but that was with Sasuke. Sasuke was gone now, and Naruto honestly couldn't think of any way he might stand against Zabuza on his own. All his plans included Sasuke.

 Whap!

 “Ouch! HEY!” Naruto yelped and glared up at Zabuza, the person responsible for smacking Naruto upside the head.

 “Stupid. What do you think one little pest like you can do against them?” Zabuza grouched as he grabbed the blonde by his hideously orange jumpsuit and dragged him back a few steps. “You're nothing but target practice to those bastards.”

 Naruto didn't want to hear it, “Shut up! This is all your fault! If you... If he hadn't... Then...” He didn't know what to say, all he knew was this whole mess, from Sasuke to that creepy short guy, was somehow Zabuza's fault.

 Zabuza's answer wasn't helping matters, “Haku is nothing but a tool to me, just like your friend was nothing but a tool to your sensei. You shouldn't linger over his death, it makes you soft. A true shinobi-”

 The blonde growled, “You shut the hell up! I don't give a damn was a true shinobi does. Haku thought the world of you, you were one of his precious people and Sasuke...” Naruto trailed off for a moment, unable to push away the image of Sasuke dying in his arms.

 “Aniki... he's going to be mad at me. He made me promise to... try and surpass him. But...”

 Naruto shook his head fiercely to clear the image of a senbon-riddled Sasuke, his friend, “Sasuke died because of me! And Haku is dying because of you!” Naruto finished with a shout, pointing a rigid finger at the silent Zabuza, “You and Haku were together for years, doesn't that mean anything?!”

 Zabuza's eyes didn't change from their cold flat gaze, “You don't understand the way of shinobi, you're still just a child who knows nothing. I merely used Haku as Gatou used me. He is nothing but a broken tool now, one that will never be the same. A broken tool is a useless one.”

 The anger roiling inside Naruto's gut boiled down to utter disgust. He couldn't understand how someone as loyal as Haku could get mixed up with a rat bastard like Zabuza, “If you really mean that, then you're a bigger rat than I thought. You're worse than Gatou!”

 Zabuza simply watched the kid.

 “Yanagi-sensei said that she wouldn't waste resources on a lost cause, but she's over there right now trying to heal Haku for you; and you say you don't care about him! Haku wanted me to kill him when I defeated him, he didn't want to dishonor you, damn it! He thought the world of you, so much that he was willing to die for you! While he was sacrificing everything for you, you never felt anything for him? What does that mean for me, huh?” Naruto's voice started dying down as the grief he had felt for both Haku and Sasuke began overwhelming his anger, “If I become strong, does that mean I become as cold hearted as you are? Haku almost thew his life away... and for what?! For you and your dream? He never had a dream of his own, but you don't care, you just tossed him aside like he was nothing...” Thick tears began streaming down Naruto's cheeks. “It's just... so wrong...”

 The Kiri nuke-nin looked away, unable to face the genin. “You talk too much...” He muttered under his breath. Naruto looked up, surprised at the tired tone in Zabuza's voice. The blonde kid was nearly shocked to see tears gathering in the nuke-nin's eyes. “Haku was always too soft for this life, and curse you I refuse to let him throw away his life on one as worthless as I.”

 Naruto stared at the man in silence, unable to even think of what to say. He had never meant to actually change Zabuza's mind or anything. He just wanted Zabuza to see how wrong the shinobi way was.

 The man seemed to be smirking under the bandages covering his mask, “What, cat got your tongue, gaki? Or are you so surprised to discover that I'm human? Even shinobi are human, no matter how much we try to escape that fact. That's what your sensei was trying to teach you... but we always fail. Or at least... I have.” Zabuza reached back and wrapped his fingers around Kubikiribōchō's hilt, “Stay back, kid.  This fight is between me and Gatou.”

 There was a brief pause, a small moment of silence, before Zabuza suddenly charged forward with the speed only a shinobi could achieve after years of training. Naruto watched the nuke-nin in awe and horror as he met with the numerous thugs of that Gatou guy and, like a wave breaking on a rocky shore, blood pieces of thugs went flying into the air. Arms, legs, torsos, heads, it didn't matter what it was; but some appendage would go into the air every time a thug thought he had a chance against Zabuza. Naruto suddenly knew how out of league he was, a simple genin, against someone like Zabuza; and he was immensely glad that Zabuza wasn't against Team 7 anymore.

 “Rah! Damn it, I'm not going to sit this battle out like a coward!” Naruto suddenly shouted and made a hand sign, “Kage bushin no Jutsu!” Three other Naruto's popped into existence, drawing the attention of a few thugs that Zabuza left alive to go after Gatou. Their eyes lit up at the sight of an easier target.

 One thug snickered as he took a step towards the genin, “Awww, look. A little brat thinks he has a chance against us. What'chya say, boys? Shall we teach him a lesson?” There was a collect of evil chuckles as each thug brought out their weapons and turned to face the boy.

 Naruto was not amused, “Don't underestimate me!” He snapped and two shadow clones charged forward. While the thugs were busy taking care of them, Naruto concentrated on the jutsu Yanagi-sensei had taught him. He had mastered it, but he didn't even have a fan to concentrate the chakra. Naruto doubted that the jutsu would work without a fan or something to concentrate his chakra, at least that was what Yanagi-sensei had told him. However this was a live or die situation and he didn't have a choice. “Fūton: Wind Blade!” Naruto shouted and prayed to kami that this worked.

 It didn't.

 The thugs laughed at him when nothing happened, “Look at him, you're a long way from home, little kid. What a pathetic-” The thugs' self proclaimed speaker was suddenly cut off when a hawk shot past Naruto's shoulder and slammed full speed into the man's face, its wings smacking the man upside his head. The thug's laughter turned into screams of pain as the hawk raked its curved talons down his face, carving deep bloody grooves in his cheeks, and pecked at his eyes with its sharp hooked beak. He reached up, trying to pull the bird off, but it only fell back for a moment before swooping back in and digging it's talons into the man's neck. The thug fell backwards and laid prone, dead, underneath the now calm hawk as it cleaned it's blood spattered feathers. The whole thing had only lasted a short moment.

 Naruto spun around, his blue eyes going wide as he saw Yanagi-sensei walking towards him. A swarm of hawks flew around her, a cacophony of shrieks and caws. The hawk that had clawed at the thug took flight and landed on Yanagi-sensei's shoulder, looking utterly smug with his perch of honor. The rest of the hawks spread out among the bridge work, each of their sharp yellow eyes seeming to pick a victim to claw the face off of.

 Even though the blonde really didn't like his sensei all that much, he was glad to see her. “Frizzy-sensei! How's Haku, did you heal him?” Naruto asked when his sensei stopped beside him.

  “I don't know,” The tall woman said blandly as she shrugged, “Taicho is healing him.”

 Naruto blinked at her, confused before looking over his shoulder at where Haku was. He was surprised to see another Yanagi still crouched over the older boy's body, green chakra pouring out of her hands and into Haku's chest. Naruto twisted to face the Yanagi beside him, “You're a shadow clone!” He exclaimed.

 Let be known that, shadow clone or not, Yanagi-sensei's hits still hurt. “Idiot. Of course I am.” She cracked her knuckles and made a strange hand sign that Naruto didn't recognize, “You take care of these buzzards, I'll take the rest of the stragglers that Peach-boy leaves.” The hawks seemed to respond to Yanagi-sensei's hand sign and like a storm cloud of feathers and sharp talons, all shot forward after any thug standing still.

 Naruto decided to ignore the horrible screams that were now rising from the masses.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 Haku groaned quietly under my hands and I sighed in relief. That he was responding meant that Haku was out of danger. I could quit healing him if I had to and not worry about him dying regardless of my efforts. I was already dangerously low on chakra again after I had created that shadow clone to offer some protection and assistance to Naruto. I didn't really trust Zabuza to watch out for the blonde kid and there was no way in hell that I would let another student die on this mission, especially since the two more dangerous opponents were out of the fight. Naruto could handle civilian thugs easily one on one, but no one could survive being overwhelmed. Even by wussies like Gatou's so called bodyguards.

 “Otou...san...” Haku wheezed. I frowned at the boy as he lolled his head away from me, his eyelids fluttering uselessly. Who the hell was Haku talking- I looked behind my shoulder where the training dummies were getting their asses handed to them by Zabuza. Did Haku think of Zabuza like a father? That would explain his suicidal behavior when it came to protecting the kenjutsu master.

 The boy's eyes suddenly snapped open and he tried to sit up. I cut the healing chakra to pin him to the ground and gave him a wordless stern look in hopes to convey my meaning. Haku's chocolate brown eyes glared back at me. I noticed that his right eye was blood shot from capillaries that had burst when I hit him with the fire ball, and felt a twinge of guilt at the reminder that I had almost killed the kid. Had I not wanted Zabuza to suffer painfully, I would have killed Haku. Strange to think that my thirst for revenge had saved someones life.

 ...I was signing up for therapy when I got home after this.

 Haku looked away first. He looked strangely unhappy. I blinked down at my impromptu patient, confused as his change in mood. I had been expecting anger or... something other than sadness. “Let me die...” Haku rasped quietly.

 I raised an eyebrow and leveled a flat look at Haku. I wasn't going to let the kid die, not after going through everything to keep him alive. I was almost at the point of chakra exhaustion again, damn it! And this little brat had the gall to ask me to kill him. I got it that Zabuza basically raised the gaki only think of himself as a tool, but every human should have some self-preservation. And if this was Haku trying to get away without having to face the fact that he killed my cousin then I say he could go screw himself.

 Instead of answering, since I really couldn't anyway, I reached into my weapons pouch and brought out a roll of bandages Rin forced me to keep on my person at all times. Without meeting Haku's gaze, I gently lilted his head forward and began wrapping the slim bandages around his skull so that they covered his right eye. I didn't have the medical talent to heal capillary blood vessels, his eye would have to heal naturally, or at least until he got better help.

 The ice user reached up and grabbed my wrist with a surprisingly strong grip. I paused in my work and met Haku's single uncovered eye. “Kill me.” He hissed. By his grimace I guess that the boy's vocal cords had been damaged as well. With my free hand I activated the diagnostic jutsu and laid my palm against Haku's throat. Despite his pleading for me to kill him, Haku tensed when he felt my touch. I couldn't help but smile inwardly at that. Any good shinobi didn't like having their neck exposed, it was a sign of helplessness and defeat.

 Withdrawing my hand after scanning the damage, I went back to work wrapping Haku's eye up. It wasn't serious, something more like a sore throat than an internal burn. Haku's grip on my left wrist tightened almost to the point of breaking it. I glared at him, if he didn't let me go I was going to make him seriously regret it. There was only so much touching a jounin could take before their temper snapped.

 The boy quelled under my full glare and he released my wrist in a hurry. I might not be able to talk at the moment, but I could easily get my point across with glares.

 “I'm useless now...” Haku whispered after a moment of silence. I rolled my eyes and contemplated the consequences of knocking the Ice Princess out. Since Zabuza was a little busy at the moment he might never know, but there was always the risk of Haku tattling on me.

 Best not risk it.

 “Shutit.” I ground out, not even bothering to enunciate my words clearly. I hated the kid for killing my cousin, but it wasn't Haku that I wanted to kill in revenge. It was Zabuza for taking such an innocent child like Haku and twisting his rare loyalty into something ugly. But if it was that manner of thinking then I couldn't blame Zabuza either, I realized. It was Kirigakure for creating so many monsters like Zabuza, for teaching children that death wasn't just a part of life, it was something to enjoy.

 I loathed the Bloody Mist.

 Haku started begging, “Jounin-san... please.”

 I shook my head. I would not give in to his demands. I refused to kill the child, if only because I didn't want to see my work and efforts to keep him alive go to waste.

 “Frizzy-sensei! Haku!” Naruto's joyous yelp sounded from further down the bridge. I shifted to look at my blonde student bounding towards us. Behind him Zabuza followed at a more sedated pace, Kubikiribōchō on his shoulder gleaming red with blood and gore. My summonings were scattered among the dead, feasting upon their reward for helping me. I couldn't suppress the grimace at that. I had always been slightly revolted at the contract I held with my summons: that anytime I called them into battle they got the remains of any flesh left.

 My shadow clone was crouching even further back, close to the edge of the bridge where a small lump that no hawk touched laid; I was guessing it was the remains of Gatou. I had given her orders to get something with Gatou's writing for purposes I intended to use later.

 A soft scrap of someone's sandal against the rough ground brought my attention back to what was in front of me. Zabuza stared down at me passively, his face bandages splattered with the scarlet blood of his enemies. He glanced at Haku laying beside me, who looked away, then back at me, “I suppose you held up your end.”

 I wasn't going to try and ask what he would do if I hadn't.

 Instead I looked at Naruto where he knelt beside me and jabbering endlessly to the silent Haku. The kid had seemed to forget that the ice user had killed his teammate, but I wasn't going to point it out to him. I wasn't that cruel.

 Placing a hand on the ground, I slowly got to my feet carefully concealing any sign of struggle from Zabuza. We might be allies now, but until I could secure the alliance it would remain unsteady and must be treated as if it were a wild animal. I did not trust Zabuza in the slightest and I could only expect the same regard he had towards me.

 Besides, I didn't want that bastard's help.

 My shadow clone was coming back towards us. Our eyes met, her red against my black, and she nodded before turning to Naruto, “Hey, bratling, go find Hinata and make sure Tazuna is secure.” Naruto twisted around to stare at the shadow clone then at me standing beside her. I narrowed my eyes at him in a silent threat. Clone Yanagi was still his sensei, just as a copy of me. The brat had better get used to taking orders from my clones just as much as as he took orders from me.

 Naruto quickly scrambled to do my bidding, leaving Zabuza and Haku alone. I turned my back on the nuke-nin pair and brushed passed the shadow clone, dismissing her as I went. I had another matter to attend to, and it wasn't a pleasant one. I did not wish for either of my remaining students to be around as I stored Sasuke's body in a storage scroll like he was a common bounty.

 The area where Sasuke had died was further back on the bridge, away from where the fighting had taken place. My little cousin laid where Naruto had left him, senbon needles still sticking out of him like some sick attempt at a porcupine. He looked like he was still in pain, his pale face scrunched up and etched with fine red lines from stray needles grazing his skin. I stared down at Sasuke, feeling empty.

 Uchiha do not show sadness; they use their grief as a tool to fight. We were the strongest clan in Konoha, we must lead by example. That was what every Uchiha child was taught long before they even entered the Academy. Emotion was a liability and a hindrance. Tears are a sign of weakness. Something Kakashi-nii pounded into my head at an early age; further cementing Uchiha teachings. I never really bothered with it all though. My short temper was an emotion and one I readily applied to almost every situation I came across. I used it to my benefit though, instilling some small level of fear among those I could. On that small foundation I built my entire reputation. I was ruthless, vulgar, quick tempered, and more arrogant that most Uchihas on a good day; and I was proud of that.

 I wanted to feel sad that Sasuke was gone forever, but I couldn't. Regret, yes. Regret that I hadn't taught him more to keep him alive. Disappointment in myself for living up to Nii-san's prediction and being a horrible sensei. Anger that I wasn't tearing Zabuza and Haku apart right now for killing the boy. But no grief. I had seen too many children die already, what was one more?

 Even if he was my cousin.

 Slowly, I knelt by his body and pulled out a premade storage scroll used exactly for this purpose. I had no talent for fuinjutsu, so I relied on other people to make them for me. I mildly wondered if Nekobaa would be sad to know that one of her body storage scrolls was being used on her favorite little Uchiha and if she would be disappointed that Sasuke would never complete that Paw Encyclopedia she always talked about when I visited her.

 I unrolled the scroll and laid it down beside Sasuke's corpse. There was no time to ponder useless things. With a gentleness I knew Mikoto-oba would expect, I lifted her dead little boy and laid him on top of the seal's focus point. I sat back and studied him before absently pulling a senbon needle from his shoulder. I knew that his family would not appreciate seeing the weapons that killed him, I should pluck them before sealing Sasuke's body. I reached for the senbons in his neck, feeling that those were the most demeaning. After all, good shinobi didn't like having their neck exposed.

 There.

 I froze, not sure what the hell I was feeling. Not a heartbeat, Sasuke's heart had long stopped, that was sure of it. But... warmth. Chakra. Life. Like a small ember still clinging to the warmth of flame, determined not to burn out and become a lowly lump of coal. Steady, waiting for that extra push to turn back into a brilliant fire. There was still a chance to save my baby cousin. I was low on chakra, what I gave possibly couldn't help, but if might keep that ember flickering for just a while longer until someone could stroke it alive again.

 Screw it.

 I laid my palm flat against Sasuke's chest and pushed what remaining chakra I could spare into his coils. It wasn't much, but I felt his heart flutter beneath my fingers like a caged little bird. Good, then he no longer needed help, Sasuke could make it back to us on his own.

 Which was excellent, since I was passing out again.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 3 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 11, 12, & 13

Chapter 11: Training, Yanagi-Style!

Demon of the Mist. Master of the silent killing technique.

 So why didn't he kill silently?

 Why did he make his presence known and draw me into a long battle instead of killing Tazuna before any of us could suspect something.

 Tazuna went off on the little brat, but Naruto ignored him by exclaiming that people were hiding around in the bushes all around us. I was about to hit him for being stupid when I felt a surge of chakra behind me.

 Naruto seemed to follow my instincts and aimed another kunai knife at the spot I felt the chakra surge. Tazuna smacked Naruto upside the head and the brat and drunk had yet another yelling match while I went to investigate. Just below the kunai that Naruto had thrown a white rabbit was having a heart attack.

 A white snow rabbit.

 Curse my cursed damn luck. The karma demons must really loath me.

 I stepped away from Naruto's sobbing apologies to casually inspect the clearing, searching for chakra signatures. I wasn't a very good sensory nin, most of it was just pure natural skill since I had spent most of my training on my sharingan and attacks, so I wouldn't be able to sense anyone who was suppressing their chakra at a jounin level.

 Considering that I couldn't sense anyone meant that my suspicions were right and our next attacker was a jounin skilled opponent.

 I hadn't been able to sense Zabuza until he wanted me to.

 So why did he want me to?

 And that kid with him, he was also able to suppress his chakra enough that I didn't sense him until he felt like it too.

 Why?

 Why didn't the false hunter-nin attack me? We both knew that he could easily take me out as weak as I was. Towards the end of the fight, I had been putting on a front. That hunter-nin knew that, I could feel it in his gaze. But he only retrieved Zabuza. Did he want us to be surprised when Zabuza came back to attack us? No. That false hunter-nin would know that I'd be able to figure it out. People like Zabuza and his allies wouldn't underestimate anyone.

 Zabuza was hired by Gatou, I know that. Which meant he was in it for money... or was he? Gatou would want Tazuna dead quickly, so Zabuza should have killed him quickly. Instead he went after me. That meant that Zabuza didn't care for money as much as it would seem. So why? What did Zabuza really want?

 Something to do with Gatou. He had money–Zabuza could be hired by anyone else for that. He could offer protection–Zabuza didn't need it, he was capable of protecting himself and he had an ally. Gatou practically ruled over the Land of Waves–I doubted Zabuza was interested in that. Gatou had a shipping company...

 “Obito-nii! You said you were going to teach me something cool! This is geography!” A younger me whined.

 My older brother laughed, “Just you wait, imoto, you'll see this is cool!” I gave my brother a skeptical look. Obito often lied to me for the heck of it. Nii-san, seeing my expression, reached over to ruffle my curly hair, “That's a promise!” He said cheerfully. I automatically smiled. Whenever Obito-nii said those words, that meant whatever he was saying was true!

 Turns out he was right. It was very interesting learning about rebels often hiding in secluded areas like small islands. Obito was going to teach me about smuggling too, but then Kakashi-baka-nii-san came and interrupted everything.

 Rebels. Smuggling. Zabuza.

 My mind recalled Zabuza's page in the Bingo Book. He attempted a coup d'état on Kiri because he disagreed with the government. It was rumored that he had joined the Mist Rebels, but it was never proven.

 Could working for Gatou be a cover up?

 ...

 “Frizzy-sensei, I know you're awake!”

 “Idiot, don't yell!”

 “Shut up, Teme! I know Frizzy-sensei is awake! She keeps twitching.”

 “N-Naruto, p-p-plea-please q-quiet down. S-sensei is try-trying to r-r-rest.”

 My eyes snapped open and I immediately glared at Naruto, “You call me that again and I'll kick your ass.” I growled threateningly. I tried to sit up and immediately groaned as my chakra system convulsed painfully causing my muscles to spasm and freeze up as well.

 A woman I didn't know was by my side in an instant, “You shouldn't move.” She said in a mothering tone. I eyed her, she looked a lot like Mikoto-oba except her face was a lot plainer than my aunt's. She even acted like Mikoto. “Until you're feeling better you should just lay down.” I gave in with a sigh and laid back down. If this woman was anything like Mikoto-oba, she wouldn't take no for an answer. It'd be in my best interest to just listen to her.

 “S-sensei, are you al-alright?” Hinata asked, coming to kneel beside my futon.

 “Hn.” I responded with the Uchiha general answer for everything.

 Naruto, of course, wasn't going to take that for an answer though, “What happened anyway, sensei? You were fine one minute and the next you were passing out! What gives?”

 Sasuke bopped Naruto upside the head, “Idiot, Yanagi-itoko used too much chakra.” I gave Sasuke a strange look, since when did he call me 'itoko'?!

 Tazuna spoke up from behind Hinata, “Well you did take down a powerful ninja, so I guess you've got an excuse.”

 “He's not dead.” I said, turning my gaze to the ceiling.

 I think everyone had a miniature heart attack.

 “W-what?! What do you mean he's not dead?” Tazuna practically screeched like a girl.

 I closed my eyes and struggled to sit up again. It tore at my pride that Hinata had to help me, but at least I wasn't laying down like some helpless invalid anymore, “Hunter-nins destroy the body where they make the kill. So why did that boy take Zabuza away?”

 Silence permeated the air as that information sunk in.

 Hinata gasped a little, “T-those needles he-he used...” She said under her breath. Everyone looked at the shy heiress and she blushed. “S-sorry!” She squeaked, ducking her head and twiddling her fingers.

 I reached out and pushed her hands down, “No, what were you saying?” I asked. Now wasn't the time for shyness. If Hinata had information, then she should share it.

 The girl nibbled at her lip in nervousness and, after a long silence, finally stuttered out, “W-where he h-h-h-hit... i-it was a pres-pressure p-p-poi-point... that c-ca-causes d-death if hit h-hard e-e-en-enough.” Of course Hinata would know. The Hyuuga fighting style specialized in pressure points, hitting them with chakra to cut off the chakra flow.

 Sasuke stiffened, “The senbon needles. They don't have a high casualty rate.” He said, mostly to himself.

 I nodded, “Exactly. Unless hitting a vital organ, senbon needles don't kill. My guess is that the hunter-nin used the pressure points on Zabuza's neck to create a temporary death. A hunter-nin is an expert in human anatomy, causing the heart to stop temporarily is child's play to them. Also, the fact that the hunter-nin we ran into took Zabuza's body away instead of taking care of him on the spot and using senbon needles for a weapon points to one fact: that boy was trying to save Peaches... not kill him.”

 Tazuna tried to reason with us, “Come on, you're over thinking things!” By the tone of his voice, I could tell that Tazuna really want us to be paranoid and not right.

 I gave the man a serious look, “An Uchiha does not over think things.” I said, a little more harshly than intended. Tazuna cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away. More calmly I recited a rule from the Shinobi Handbook, “The Shinobi Handbook states: 'Encountering suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster.'” I narrowed my eyes at Tazuna, daring him to comment again. I should thank Kakashi for being a ninja robot when I first met him; because of him I memorized the entire handbook by the time I was seven.

 Involuntarily, of course.

 I glanced at my genin to gauge their reaction. Naruto was grinning a little psychotic grin and Hinata looked extremely pale. Sasuke wasn't showing any emotion.

 Naruto stood up, his hand still clenched in a fist, “Alright! Let's prepare then!”

 Blinking, I looked at my dumbest student with surprise. Honestly I had expected him to start yelling about going and hunting Zabuza down, not training.

 Even more surprising was when Hinata gave Naruto a look that could have been called a glare... if she wasn't blushing, “B-but Naruto, Y-yanagi-sensei is hurt!” Hinata wasn't even stuttering as much, and she was talking to Naruto! Normally she couldn't say one word completely when talking to her crush.

 “Uh... Sensei?” I blinked and shook my head a little before focusing on a confused Naruto, “What's with the funny look?” The blonde asked, the dread in his voice apparent. Mildly I wondered if he though I was going to whip out another Uchiha-style training session like I did when they bothered me too much.

 I smiled kindly at them, “I'm just impressed by how much all of you have grown. Especially you Naruto.” Naruto squinted at me. I grinned wider until my eyes closed, “You've grown the most.”

 Should have known the praise would go straight to his head, “So you noticed, huh? Things are going to get even better, believe it!” Naruto exclaimed.

 “I don't believe it!” A childish voice, not so different from Naruto's actually, shouted behind the blonde. I looked past Naruto to the doorway where a small child in green overalls stood. He glared at us from under his hat with eyes so filled with hate and... loneliness.

 “Who are you!?” Naruto enunciated each word loudly, pointing an accusing finger at the kid.

 Tazuna spoke before the kid could, “Ah, Inari, where have you been?” My eyes went from Tazuna to Inari, so this was the kid that would cry and cry if we hadn't taken the mission to protect Tazuna after we found out how dangerous it was.

 He sure didn't seem the type.

 Inari, ignoring the rest of us, ran for his grandfather, his voice suddenly happy and eager, “Welcome back, Grandpa!”

 “Inari! That was very rude, these ninja helped your grandfather and brought him here safely.” The woman who I had yet been introduced to scolded. No doubt she was Inari's mother and Tazuna's daughter. Seemed to me that she wouldn't resent Konoha if Tazuna was killed.

 Grandpa Drunk was a dirty blackmailer.

 Tazuna waved off Inari's mother, “Ah, it's okay. I'm rude to them too.” He chuckled.

 I shot him a nasty glare, “Same to you, Grandpa Drunk.” I snapped. Tazuna tried to glare at me, but he didn't hold a candle to any Uchiha. Not even Ibo.

 Inari gave us all a blank look before turning to his mother, “Mom, don't you see, all these people are going to die! Gatou is going to kill them all!”

 Naruto had the right idea when he yelled, “What did you say brat?!” He gave a cocky grin, “Listen up, you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only I'm going to be better.” Contradictory much? “I'm going to be Hokage!” Oh dear kami, not this again, “This Gatou or Blatou or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!”

 The brat scoffed, “There's no such thing as a real hero. You're just full of stupid ideas!” Inari snapped, looking very much like a miniature Uchiha in appalling fashion at that moment. Yeesh, talk about dramatic.

 There was a brief moment of silence before Naruto started for him, “WHAT'D YOU SAY?!” Sasuke luckily leapt up to grab the blonde idiot before he could murder Inari. I almost felt sorry for my cousin for having to be so close the that blaring mouth. No doubt Sasuke would be deaf by the time he was twenty.

 “If you wanna stay alive you should go back where you came from.” Inari said snobbishly then started walking away.

 Finally, finally, Tazuna scolded him, somewhat, “Inari, where are you going?”

 “To look at the ocean!” Inari snapped as he opened the doors and left, slamming the door behind him.

 I sighed, “That boy is going to have a bad attitude when he's a teenager...” I commented to no one.

 Tazuna looked at Naruto after a moment, “Sorry about that.” He said in a 'not so sorry' tone. I should know, I used it all the time.

 Inari's mother took over then and shooed everyone else out of my room, saying I was still supposed to be resting. I sighed when I was alone and wondered what everyone else was up to. Not that I cared, I was just bored. I nearly cried when I realized that if Obito found out about this he was going to murder me for getting hurt! Kakashi would be right behind him. And Shisui would never let me live it down.

 Still moaning about my morbid future, I closed my eyes to rest and plan ahead.

 vvv

 I flicked three small squares at my genin. Being ninjas, even miniature ones, all three snatched the paper out of the air without thinking. They looked at the chakra paper confused, then at me. I leaned against the tree I sat under, “That's chakra paper. When you channel your chakra into the paper it will react according to your chakra nature. For instance,” I held up a fourth slip of paper and channeled my chakra into it. The paper split in two. “That's the sign that I have Fūton nature.” I waved my hand at Sasuke, “Go, Duckass.”

 My cousin gave me a small glare before concentrating on the bluish paper in his hand. As we watched the paper began to crinkle. Sasuke looked at me for explanation. I nodded once, “Seems you have a Lightning affinity. Being an Uchiha you also have Katon nature, correct?” Sasuke nodded silently. Of course he did. The Uchiha clan was born with fire affinity, no two ways about it. There was a reason why we were famous for it after all.

 Naruto went ahead and channeled his chakra into his paper without my say-so. The paper cut in two, “Cool! We have the same... uh... katra nature, Sensei!” He exclaimed.

 “Chakra” I stressed before mentally running through all my wind ninjutsus. I didn't have that many that were low level, and those that I did weren't really battle-oriented.  Anything I taught him would be useless in the inevitable battle against Zabuza. Maybe I should start him on a higher level ninjutsu. With his large chakra stores, Naruto shouldn't be in too much danger.

 But it was Naruto we were talking about.

 Shaking off my dilemma for now, I nodded to Hinata for her to go. She channeled her chakra into the slip of paper and watched as it turned damp with water.

 I tsked, “Well, I don't know any water ninjutsus. It goes against my fire chakra nature.” I said, feeling slightly sorry for Hinata especially with her pulling that disappointed look. She was the one who needed training the most and I couldn't help her at all. Not many people could, really. Unless... I snapped my fingers, startling my three genin, “I can teach you some stealth techniques for now, I noticed you're good at that. And I'll try to find you someone someone to teach you Suiton jutsus later.” Already my mind was going through a mental file of everyone I had seen using Suiton techniques.

 All three of my genin were giving me strange looks. I raised an eyebrow in question, but I already knew what was going on in their tiny little minds. “Why... why are you being so helpful?” Sasuke finally asked.

 I gave them a smirk, “What, you miss the surly sensei? Because I can easily go back into that.” Cue a quick head shake from all my precious genin. I rolled my eyes and explained, “We're going against a S-ranked criminal and his unknown ally. I was barely able to defeat Peach-boy last time-”

 Naruto interrupted me before I could continue, “But that's the point!” I was mildly surprised at his outburst, “If you were unable to beat Zabuza then what makes you think we can?!” Was Naruto... admitting that he wasn't strong? “You passed out last time after that battle, and that weird guy in the mask will also be there this time, so what makes you think we're ready for that kind of-”

 Being the awesome sensei that I am, I smacked him in the head with one of my crutches to shut him up.

 “Didn't I just say that you're getting stronger?” I asked hotly, irritated that my rare praise wasn't warming their sorry little hearts. First time I ever praised Naruto and he was whining about not being strong enough! “Look, I wouldn't have been able to do anything during that fight if you three hadn't done something.” I think the genin were a little shell shocked.

 Naruto, stupidly, tried to speak again. I grabbed him by his collar and pulled him down until we were inches apart. “Look here, Obito Mini-me, you're going to shut up and learn a jutsu because if you don't that little promise you made back when we fought those chunnin will go to waste!” Naruto clammed up after that. I let him go and struggled to a stand, “Good. Now, lets start training. Sasuke, heel.”

 My cousin's right eye twitched at being treated like a dog but came forward anyway. I stared at him intently, trying to figure out what jutsu I could teach him. I already knew he could to the Grand Fireball–it had been a big thing around the clan when Sasuke mastered the technique when he was seven, making him yet another prodigy.

 I swear the Uchiha clan spat out either prodigies or total losers.

 “Do you know the Phoenix Sage Technique?” I asked suddenly, looking down to the duckass haired boy for his answer.

 Sasuke added a slight frown to his otherwise emotionless face, “Aniki says that's a Katon technique.”

 “I know that. I have Katon and Fūton chakra, I can't teach you any Lightning jutsus. Yes or no, did Itachi-san or anyone else teach you the Phoenix Sage?” I said testily. Damn this little brat and his need to question everything!

 Sasuke shook his head 'no'.

 I grinned sadistically. “Good. Now I get to apply Uchiha-style training on you.” I said then chuckled evilly. It might have been my imagination, but Sasuke seemed to turn three shades paler than his normal pasty self. But first, “Sit, while I deal with the others.” I commanded my cousin before pushing down on his shoulder, forcing him to sit.

 Naruto was over his gloom and doom attitude already, “Oh oh! Sensei, me next! Me next!” He yelled eagerly, waving his hand in the air like a child eagerly wanting to impress the teacher.

 Ignoring him, I turned to Hinata. “You're training is simple to explain. Go out deep into the woods and try to sneak back here. Try to suppress both your chakra and the noise you make. If you make it back here before the boys can hear you, then you pass. Got it?” Another nod. “Shoo then.” I said, waving my hand towards her. Hinata hesitated for only a moment before disappearing.

 As soon as Hinata was gone, my vision was filled with yellow and orange, “Yanagi-sensei! Teach me next! I want to learn a kickass jutsu!” I was kind of starting to miss the 'doom and gloom' Naruto...

 Picking up a leaf that laid at my feet I gave it to the blonde brat, “Here.”

 Naruto squinted at the leaf in confusion, “Huh?”

 I picked up another leaf and held it in my right palm, “To master any Fūton jutsu, you need excellent control, even more than the control required for tree walking. Use your chakra to cut the the leaf; it'll be harder than cutting the chakra paper since you must consciously cut, not just channel chakra.” I focused my chakra to cut the leaf I was holding and did just as I told him, “Do that and I'll teach you the Wind Blade.” The Wind Blade was a B-rank jutsu. But since Naruto already knew the shadow clone jutsu, which was forbidden, I doubted he'd have too much trouble.

 “WHAAT?! You said you were going to teach me a cool jutsu!”

 “I will. After you learn to control your chakra better.”

 “I already know how to do that! Teach me the jutsu!”

 “Don't make demands, kid, or I'll do nothing. Shut up and train with your leaf.”

 Naruto pouted, predictably. He crossed his arms and turned his nose into the air like a child. Rolling my eyes I leaned over and pinched his nose between my index finger and thumb. Naruto screeched and tried to swat me off, but I didn't let go, “Look, if you don't learn this then you'll never get any of the wind jutsus I'm going to teach you.” A complete lie, but what's a little white lie if Naruto never found out about it? I let go of Naruto's nose and straightened up, “Unless you want to be defenseless when Zabuza comes back, I suggest you don't question my methods. Get to work.”

 Before Naruto could say another word, I grabbed Sasuke by his ridiculous Uchiha collar and bodily dragged him away, ignoring all his protests along the way. I only let go when we reached a clearing well enough away from Naruto and made Sasuke sit again.

 I sat down across from him, staring intently at my cousin. There was a long moment of silence as we stared at each other. Eventually Sasuke wilted under my gaze and shifted nervously. Finally he looked away.

 Quickly before he knew what was happening, I shunshined further away and made the appropriate hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” I intoned and several fireballs flew towards Sasuke.

 My cousin's eyes widened as the fireballs roared towards him. I watched in amusement as he dodged the first five before creating a Grand Fireball to cancel out the last of my jutsu. When the fire died away, Sasuke was glaring at me. I smirked and did the same hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

 Repeat.

 By the time I did the third Phoenix Sage jutsu, Sasuke was pissed. He snatched a kunai from his weapons pouch and charged me. I laughed at his puny attempts to attack and backflipped away. “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

 “Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!”

 I shunshined behind Sasuke to avoid his fireball and recreated the hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” Sasuke turned around, his eyes wide and filled with horror as he saw the several mini fireballs flying towards him. There was no way he could avoid them in time. I watched passively as Sasuke managed to dodge the first and second fireball. The third skimmed his right forearm, making the brat cry out in agony. He leapt away from the others, getting out of the fire zone and crouching down to cradle his injured arm.

 “What the hell is wrong with you?!” He shouted at me. I was impressed that he wasn't crying from the burn. The Phoenix Sage Jutsu was hot enough that if the fire grazed you, it would result in a second degree burn. When Obito first taught me the jutsu I was bawling my eyes out when I got burned.

 Instead of answering his question, I started making the hand signs again. Sasuke, finally catching on, leapt away. I kept following him, spitting out fireballs, but every time I did Sasuke only leapt back again. He looked good and riled now. My mouth twitched upwards in a smirk, time to throw in insults.

 “You know for being a prodigy, you're a pretty lousy one.” I drawled casually. Sasuke straightened up from his crouched position, his brows drawn low over his nose. I nodded as if he had said something, “Even my brother, the famed 'dead last of the Uchiha', was chūnin at eleven and had unlocked his sharingan at age thirteen. And let's not get into Shisui and Itachi.”

 “What's your point?” Sasuke snapped angrily.

 I sneered as I made the hand signs again, “My point is that you're going to have a hell of a time learning without that sharingan. Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

 vvv

 “Ouch!” Sasuke actually yelped later that night as I applied salve to his burns.

 I rolled my eyes, “Hush up, you big baby! I'm not even hurting you.” I swatted the brat over the head for good measure.

 Tazuna snorted, “Now you are.” He chuckled then made a squeaking noise in the back of his throat when Sasuke and I glared at him.

 Naruto seemed torn between laughing at Sasuke and being jealous that he got to learn a jutsu while Naruto only got to practice more chakra controlling exercises. By mid afternoon he had mastered the leaf exercise to I gave him another, when he master that one I gave him another and another. Sasuke seemed grateful every time Naruto showed up saying that he mastered the exercise, since it was a break from my torturous training methods.

 I tied a knot in the last bandage and pulled it tight, causing my cousin to wince. Sasuke glared at me as he rubbed his arm. I smirked, “If you tell Itachi-san, he'll only tell you to train more. You know he will.” I teased, reading exactly what was on my younger cousin's mind. Well Itachi would probably kill me too, but I'd leave that part out.

 No need to give Sasuke any funny ideas.

 Feeling an evil look staring at me I looked up to see Tsunami glaring at me hotly, “Yanagi-san, you overdid it today. If you keep this up you won't be able to protect us when that man comes back!” Tazuna's daughter snapped at me.

 I waved a flippant hand, “Eh, I'm a jounin, I've been dealt with chakra exhaustion before.” I said dismissively. Granted when the last time I had been on an A-rank with chakra exhaustion I had other jounin to back me up, not fresh genin. Not that I was telling any of them that.

 Tsunami just continued to glare at me.

 Giving in I stood up with a sigh, “Fine. I'm going to bed. Hinata, since you already mastered your training I'm putting you in charge of guarding Tazuna tomorrow. See you two boys in the morning.” I said deviously. Sasuke paled a fraction while Naruto cheered happily. With that I hobbled off for another night's rest.

 vvv

 “Uh... Sensei, what are we doing...?” Naruto asked. Sasuke was off in a little corner of the clearing, practicing the Phoenix Sage jutsu–he had finally memorized the hand signs I had used for the jutsu–while the Kyuubi brat and I sat in a meditative pose in the center of the clearing. It was mid-morning and so far had been peaceful except for Naruto's consent nagging.

 I opened an eye, “Right now? I'm enjoying the morning. Shut up and meditate.”

 “But-”

 “No.”

 “Sensei-”

 “Meditate.”

 “What does-”

 “Shut up.”

 “Hmph!” Naruto pouted, but at least he fell silent. I relaxed and let my mind drift over my musings on Zabuza and his ally again. I needed to figure out what they wanted before they attacked again. Maybe... maybe if they're intentions weren't as evil as I originally thought I could talk them out of their job and thus save bloodshed. Gatou, he would have to go. I didn't need the drug lord around and trying to control the Land of Waves. This whole mission was just a tangled mess. I had to worry about my genin and Tazuna. I had to figure out how to get rid of Gatou. I had to do something about Zabuza and his ally.

 Why didn't I have Itachi's insane ability to plan years in advance?!

 Bamf!

 I opened my eyes to see Naruto had fallen over, asleep. I sighed. This kid was a long way from being Hokage, that much was for sure.

 “Hey, idiot! Wake up or I won't teach you the Wind Blade!” I yelled in Naruto's ear. From his shriek of pain, I guessed that I probably burst his eardrum.

 ...Oops...

 vvv

 “Come on...” I groaned to myself as I dragged the unconscious Naruto back into the house. For a kid, he felt like he weighed a ton! I dumped him at the table and dusted my hands off.

 In the meantime, Tsunami was gaping at Naruto's crumbled state, then at me, “What happened?!” She asked shocked. After a moment the older woman's eyes narrowed as if she blamed me for Naruto's sorry state. Though, it kinda was my fault...

 I gave her a raised eyebrow, “He fell unconscious. He'll be fine tomorrow.” Normal kids took months months to recover from near chakra exhaustion; but Naruto was the Kyuubi container, a little chakra exhaustion wouldn't bother him too much.

 “What's the use? You're just going to die!” Three guess who the doomsayer was, and the first two didn't count.

 It turned out that Naruto wasn't as unconscious as I thought, he was just being extremely lazy, “What do you mean?! We're training very hard to protect you, and you just-”

 Inari cut him off, “It doesn't matter how hard you try, there's no such thing as a hero!” With that the little brat ran out of the room, slamming the door shut. Tsunami ran after her son, calling out his name. I looked at Tazuna, knowing that he had answers.

 Grandpa Drunk sighed and set his tea cup down. He nodded towards a torn picture hanging on the wall, one that showed his family there smiling. I squinted at the picture, along the edges that had been torn, I could barely make out part of a masculine torso behind Tsunami. There was a story behind this family's strange behavior, I could practically smell it.

 “He wasn't Inari's real father, he came into our family later...” Tazuna started. I sat back and laced my fingers behind my head, I knew I was in for a treat.

  Chapter 12: Bitter Taste of Reality

I nudged Naruto's side with the toe of my sandal. He didn't even twitch. Squatting down I poked the brat's cheek with a rigid finger, “Hey, dumbass...” I said loudly, knowing that a knucklehead like Naruto would react if I called him names. He still didn't move. “Obito Mini-me. Brat. Idiot. Dumb blonde. Dead last. Coward.” When the brat didn't react at all I stood back up with a sigh and turned to the others standing in the doorway.

 “Well either he's dead or out like a light post.” I told them, scratching the back of my head. Hinata gasped a little, her hands going to her mouth as she no doubt thought that her precious 'Naruto-kun' was dead.

 Tsunami looked as equally worried as the little Hyuuga heiress, “You don't think he overdid it in training, do you? He was looking pretty exhausted last night.

 “Hn. He was passed out in the forest yesterday morning.” Sasuke commented thoughtfully.

 I groaned and hung my head, I really didn't need this at the moment, “Fine, Sasuke will be on guard duty today and Hinata will train.” I said defeated. I hated it when people screwed up my schedule! “Hinata you know the rules. If anyone suspicious shows up, head for the bridge and warn everyone.”

 “H-Hai.”

 Sasuke frowned, “But that was the rotation yesterday.” I glared at him. Like I didn't know that already, idiot.

 “Hinata still needs to train in her stealth and since Naruto is stealing your rest day, you can take his spot on guard duty. Don't complain, Duckass, true shinobi don't protest orders.” Like I predicted, Sasuke snapped his jaw shut and didn't make another sound.

 Really, it was insulting how predictable that kid was.

 “Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll go with you that way you can relax at the bridge.” Everyone but Inari gave me strange looks. I returned their gaze with an unamused look, “Stop staring like calves at a new gate. I'm bored.” I snapped, perhaps just a little too defensively. By Sasuke's sudden smug look I was guessing he knew why I really was going.

 I was worried about the brat.

 With good reason though. There was no such thing as a jounin who didn't have a sixth sense for danger; and I felt more jittery than when Obito accidentally released those rabid squirrels in the house.

 I mentally shuddered at the memory.

 I moved past the miniature crowd and lead them outside. Turning to Tsunami I began issuing orders, “When Naruto wakes up, just tell him to practice his taijutsu; you also have permission to send him on any errands you have. Hinata, I want you to try and sneak up on as many woodland creatures as you can. If you catch five animals in a row then join Sasuke and I on the bridge. Duckass, Grandpa Dunk, let's go.” I turned on my heel and immediately started for the bridge without waiting for the two idiot males catch up to me.

 “Geez, for a woman you walk pretty fast.” Tazuna panted when he and my cousin finally caught up. It was really pathetic that we were almost to the bridge by that point.

 I gave the old drunk an unimpressed look, “Not all women are geishas or civilians who don't have anywhere important to be. The success of a mission could rely on fast feet, I could possibly save a life that would otherwise be lost if I arrive quicker than my enemies anticipate.”

 Tazuna pulled a face, “Hey kid, are all shinobi like this one or is it just her?” He asked Sasuke.

 Sasuke just shrugged and didn't comment. He practically had to jog to keep up with us adults; I couldn't tell if he wasn't answering because he didn't want to or because he was too focused on not falling behind. I was guessing it was a little bit of both.

 “Tazuna, how long do you have before the bridge is finished?” I asked the old man. Now wasn't the time for fun and games. That sense of dread I had been feeling all morning was getting worse the closer we got to the bridge.

 Grandpa Drunk shrugged, “Depends. If I have a full roster of workers, it should only be a few weeks. But with Gatou controlling everything and scaring the people, I keep losing my workers. Just yesterday I had one of my foremen quiet! I don't even have half of a roster now, it could take months with the amount of workers I got.”

 Grimacing, I halted at the entrance to the bridge, “That's what I feared.” I muttered.

 Tazuna gaped at his unconscious employees littering the bridge. I could tell by their chakra levels that the men were still alive, but only just. “What tha-?!” Tazuna exclaimed, his face twitching in horror. I glanced at him then at Sasuke. Sasuke looked back at me, his eyes gleaming with an odd shine of excitement. He was ready.

 A sudden mist blew in from the ocean. I snarled in frustration and stepped in front of Tazuna, “Stay behind me.” I said sharply. Tazuna didn't say anything, but he didn't move.

 That stupid creepy chuckle drifted out from the fog, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Uchiha. I see you still got that brat with you, but what happened with the other two? Did they run off?” I heard a slight clicking behind me, but didn't glance towards my cousin. I knew he wasn't doing something stupid. Of all my genin I trusted Sasuke the most in a fight, even if he had bouts of cowardice when I least expected it.

 Peaches chuckled again, “Oh look, he's shaking again. Pathetic.” The nuke-nin laughed mockingly.

 There was a small intake of air from Sasuke and I felt Zabuza's chakra spike as water clones surrounded the three of us. I tensed and palmed a kunai, ready to throw it at the clone's head that was in front of me if he so much as blinked in a way I didn't like.

 Sasuke scoffed, “I'm trembling with... excitement.”

 The Zabuza water clones seemed surprised at the admission and I only rolled my eyes. Why couldn't the need for dramatics skip Sasuke? It skipped Itachi and me, why not one more generation?! I had enough drama from Naruto, I didn't need Sasuke filling in for that little brat too.

 Speaking of brats...

 I glanced at my cousin out of the corner of my eye, “Play nice.” I said teasingly. That was all the permission Sasuke needed. He twirled the kunai in his hand around a finger so that the blade was pointing at the clone in front of him. With a delightful smirk that reminded me a little too much of Obito's sadistic grin, my baby cousin pounced at the water clones.

 While Peach-boy's clones were busy trying to defeat an Uchiha brat, I ran through the signs for a summoning and slammed my hand to the bridge's surface, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” I heard Zabuza growl angrily as a swarm of normal sized hawks flew up from the seal, spiraling into a twister of feathers and harsh cries that surrounded me like a moving wall. I held up my right arm and one of the hawks detached itself from it's flock. “Fly to Hyuuga Hinata and inform her to come as back up.” The hawk dipped its head at my command and took off to the sky, flying out of sight before turning in the direction of Hinata. No need to tell our enemies where an ally was after all. The rest of the hawks dispersed among the cables of the bridge, their sharp yellow eyes watching.

 While I was busy with my summonings, Sasuke finished up his little spar with the water clones. He looked about as cocky as a true Uchiha when he returned to his spot beside me. I mentally whimpered and hoped that I didn't get an arrogant little brat who thought he was God's gift to man. If so, I was going to beat that out of him and suffer Itachi's wrath with a smile on my face.

 “Ooooo, the brat's improving.” Peach-boy said from my right. All three of us turned to see the man with horrible fashion sense giving us a leer. At least I thought it was a leer, it was kind of hard to tell when the lower half of his face was bandaged up. His ally stood beside him, still wearing that false hunter-nin mask. “Looks like you've got competition... Haku.” Zabuza continued.

 “So it seems.” The boy, Haku, murmured quietly.

 Trolling time.

 “Oi oi. Peachy's ally, or whatever the hell your name is, are you a boy or a girl? Because honestly, you're a very androgynous individual.” I asked, intentionally playing the ignorant idiot. Tazuna and Sasuke were giving me looks that could only be described as 'way to ruin the suspense, dummy'.

 Haku and Zabuza exchanged looks and I took my chance to continue, “You know what? It doesn't matter anyway, I think I'll just call you Zabuza's Bitch.” I said with a smirk. Both nuke-nins snapped their heads around to glare at me–well I assume Haku glared, it was hard to tell with the mask–while I cackled in delight of pissing my enemy off.

 “Take care of the brat. I'll take the bitch.” Zabuza growled.

 Haku turned his gaze on Sasuke, “Right.” The kid murmured again. Then he moved. Startled I opened my mouth to shout a warning to Sasuke, but Zabuza was on me before I could utter a single syllable.

 I back flipped away from Tazuna, distancing myself from the client and the man trying to kill him. At the moment Zabuza seemed pretty focused on me, so I didn't have to worry. I smirked as I kicked Kubikiribōchō away from me. “Don't tell me I struck a nerve.” I cooed as I deflected another swing with my kunai. Zabuza snarled like an angry animal and charged at me again. I snorted and ducked under his swing. If I had know pissing Peaches off would make him attack like a predictable wild animal, I would have done it a long time ago.

 Kicking off the ground, I gave myself enough time to spare a glance at Sasuke. My eyes widened as I saw Haku performing hand signs with only one hand. That wasn't something you saw everyday. I wonder if the sharingan could somehow pick it up.

 Before I could activate my sharingan to see if I could, Zabuza attacked again, “You're opponent is me! Let's leave the kids to their game.”

 I shot Zabuza a nasty glare, “Oh, go drown in your own water ninjutsu! I didn't come all this way with a bunch of brats and a drunk old man to hear you blowing steam, ya old windbag.” I snapped, getting irritated. I knew Zabuza wasn't taking this fight seriously. He was just trying to keep me from Sasuke and Haku's fight.

 Peachy paused, “A bunch of brats, eh?” He quoted, sounding oddly interested. “So you don't think that those genin are worth anything either.”

 “Oh I think they're worth a lot of things, I just like calling them brats. They're my brats and I'm the only one allowed to call them that and get away with it.” I snapped back and flung my kunai at Peachy-boy's head to emphasize my point. He easily ducked under the kunai and charged at me, his sword back and ready for a strong strike to my legs. I leaped into the air over his blade and put my hands down on Zabuza's back, flipping over him to land between him and the kids.

 I smirked, “Ya know, some people would think you were compensating for something with that big blade of yours.” I commented sweetly.

 “You're letting that big mouth get away again, Uchiha.” Peachy growled.

 I shrugged, “Well at least I'm not trying to prank you as well as fight you like my brother does. That's just annoying.” I said coolly. From the look in Zabuza's eyes, he thought my inappropriate remarks were a hell of a lot more annoying.

 “Argh!” Both of us whipped around to see Sasuke kicking Haku away.

 Sasuke stood in his spot, smirking, “Seems you're not as fast as you think you are.” He said, idly spinning his kunai around his index finger. Cocky little git, I was definitely beating that arrogance out of his system.

 Zabuza glared at his ally, “Haku. Stop messing around and letting a brat beat you, get on with it!” He ordered.

 The masked boy stood back up easily, “Yes.” He responded in an almost robotic voice.

 Frowning I turned my back on Zabuza to watch what the masked brat was doing. Icy blue strands of chakra haloed Haku and he bowed his head, “I'm sorry it's come to this.” The boy said softly and made a strange sign. The temperature dropped drastically and I uttered a curse under my breath as I automatically regulated my chakra to keep myself warm. Of course our newest enemy would have some kind of tie to cold weather. It wouldn't be hell if he didn't.

 Stupid karma demons and their stupid agenda against me.

 The water around Sasuke and Haku suddenly leaped up into the air to form flat frozen surfaces. Haku stepped into the mirrors, senbon needles in his hands. Meanwhile I gaped in surprise, it was not cold enough to form ice like that. Even the most powerful shinobi with water nature had a hard time creating ice even in temperatures where it was easy to form. That only meant one thing.

 Kekke Genkai.

 Peaches chuckled behind me, “Seems you figured it out.”

 Growling I ran for the ice mirrors, but Peach-boy flash stepped in front of me. “If you're going to fight, you will fight me.” He snapped.

 I glared at him. “Bastard.” I spat out.

 The peachy nuke-nin chuckled creepily, “Oh? Out of your witty comments? I'm crushed.” I could practically taste the sarcasm in the air.

 “You have three seconds to step aside before I really crush you.”

 “How cute. You think you can defeat me. You weren't able to before, what makes you think you can now that we're surrounded by even more water than before?” My eyes widened a fraction and I flung my kunai at the water clone that I thought was Zabuza and leaping away before the real Zabuza could cut me down. He didn't look all that happy when he turned to face me. He scoffed when he saw my sharingan, “That again? Are all the Uchiha so weak that they rely on that silly Kekke Genkai of theirs? How pathetic.”

 Sasuke yelped and I looked over Peaches shoulder to see Haku raining senbon down on my cousin like a vengeful thunderstorm. Anger washed over me, hot and heady, when I landed my gaze back on Zabuza. “Two seconds to move.”

 Peaches sneered.

 “One.”

 He didn't move.

 I held my right arm above my head and brought my left to my mouth. Curling my index and thumb around my tongue I whistled loudly, using a small wind ninjutsu to amplify the sound. My hawk summons, having been sitting on the sidelines forgotten, all took flight. They flew in circles like a roiling thundercloud of brown and black, using my upraised arm as the pivot point.

 “Last chance to move.” I said. Zabuza stubbornly stayed where he was. My mouth twisted in an ugly grimace and I lowered my right arm to point at the Mist nuke-nin. The hawks gave one last turn before following my finger and shooting straight towards Peach-boy.

 He smirked.

 My eyes widened.

 “Hha!” I felt water douse my back and I spun around to see Hinata standing in a puddle of water, formerly a water clone, panting slightly. She gave me a shaky grin, “I-I'm sorry Y-Yanagi-sensei. I c-came as fast as I c-c-c-could.” She stuttered slightly, a blush forming on her cheeks. I didn't blame her, Hinata had suddenly become the center of attention after pulling a stunt like that. Even Haku stopped torturing my poor cousin to stare at her.

 I grinned, “Hey, I'm not complaining. You just saved me from being skewered like a roast pig.” I joked before turning serious, “Guard Tazuna, don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered. Hinata gave a firm nod and leaped sideways until she was in front of Tazuna, in a Gentle Fist stance. When I turned to face Zabuza again, he did not look amused.

 “Oh... did she ruin your little scheme?” I asked innocently, pressing an index finger to the corner of my mouth like a slut trying to act cute.

 That did it, I could practically hear Peachy's patience snap. He snarled and charged at me, “Shut up!”

 I laughed as I jumped away from him, “Looks like you underestimated my brats, Peach-boy. Sasuke and Hinata are clan kids and having been training with their families since they could hold a kunai right.” I ducked under Peachy's swing and shot my left leg out for a round house kick. Zabuza launched into the air to avoid my leg and I pulled back before he could land on it. “Sasuke is the best in his class and no one can defeat Hinata in taijutsu. She's a Hyuuga after all, it's in her blood.” I taunted as I back flipped away from the Kubikiribōchō.

 Skidding to a halt a few feet away from Peaches I smirked, “And what have you got? A coward with a nice Kekke Genkai. Well, I've got two brats with Kekke Genkai and neither of them are cowards!”

 Zabuza's face twisted unpleasantly, “Haku, stop goofing around and kill that pest!” He barked out, his gaze darting over his shoulder to where the ice mirrors stood. Haku didn't respond, but only started throwing more senbons at Sasuke at a more rapid pace than before; I tried not to flinch when I heard Sasuke cry out. Peachy looked back at me, his gaze deadlier than before, “That big mouth of yours is going to get your brats killed, Uchiha.”

 I only smiled, “I'm confident they can handle one little brat, even one as powerful as yours. Besides, you forgot something.” Peach-boy stiffened as it dawned on him that Naruto had yet to appear. My smile twisted into a sneer, “You know, I think my last student deserves to be called the 'Stupidly Brave Shinobi of Konoha' more than I do. After all, not many genin are brave enough to fight someone like you, Peach-boy, let alone get the better of you.”

 As if planned there was a puff of smoke to the right of Haku's mirrors. Naruto's voice drifted from the white billowing vapors, “I resent that, Frizzy-sensei! Call me the 'Fearless Shinobi of Konoha'! That's right, Uzumaki Naruto is here!” My eye only twitched a little at the nickname. I'd let it slide this one time.

 Peach-boy blinked slowly at Naruto then looked at me, “You think some brat like him can do anything?”

 I shrugged, “Why not? It was a dead-last like Naruto who helped turn the last shinobi war back in Konoha's favor.” I responded coolly. I should know, Obito was the idiot I was talking about. “I feel Naruto can do the same with this little spat we have. Dead-last shinobi have a tendency to surprise people.” Naruto took a second to gawk at me, not use to my free praise. All I could say was he had better back up my claims or I was going to murder the little sucker.

 Naruto got a really big grin on his face, “You know how the hero always shows up at the last minute and kicks butt? Well that's what I'm going to do, right now! So don't you worry sensei, you can just sit back and watch me beat these guys!”

 I facepalmed.

 The blonde idiot ignored me, “Alright, you're history!” He formed a sign, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” But before Naruto could form a single clone, Zabuza twisted around and threw a handful of shuriken at him. Like with the Demon Brothers, Naruto's first reaction was the freeze in fear.

 “Move Naruto!” I yelled, my heart in my throat as I watched the throwing stars head for my frozen student. I wouldn't be able to get there in time to stop them, not even my hawks surrounding the bridge would be able to grab the shuriken in time.

 Out of no where, senbon needles collided with the shuriken and knocked them off course. I jerked in surprise and twisted to stare at Haku half leaning out of his mirrors, still in the position of someone who had just thrown something. Zabuza narrowed his eyes at his ally.

 Now that he was out of danger, I felt it safe to yell at Naruto, “You imbecile! This is a real battle not a stupid spar; a shinobi's lifestyle is deception, not a damn talent show! Always keep your enemy guessing, be unpredictable so they can't figure out how to defeat you. So get your head outta your ass and think before someone makes a dartboard out of you!”

 Naruto turned about as red as Hinata did when Naruto got within ten feet of her. He started yelling apologies, but I ignored him to glance at Haku. Everyone else seemed to think that Haku had thrown senbon at Naruto at the same time Zabuza did and their attacks ended up colliding; but I knew better. One look at my cousin-turned-porcupine told me that Haku did not miss his targets. Which could only mean... he meant to throw those shuriken off track.

 The question was why.

 Peach-boy seemed to be thinking the same thing I was, “Haku, what are you doing?” Peachy demanded. His tone was dangerous and angry, he was pissed at Haku for disturbing his attack. In Zabuza's state of mind at the moment, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he attacked his own ally out of anger.

 One could only hope.

 Haku straightened out of his position and dipped his head towards Peaches, “Zabuza-sama, let me fight this boy in my own way... please.” The brat rasped. Mildly I wondered if all Kiri nins had that smoker rasp, or if it was just these two idiots.

 Naruto glared at the masked boy, “Bring. It. On.” He challenged before I could tell him to not be stupid. I suppressed the urge to hang my head in defeat at the stupidity of the blonde brat and wondered if he knew how powerful Haku was. Sasuke was hardly a match for the nuke-nin, what chance did Naruto have against him?!

 Zabuza chuckled, “As usual you're too soft, Haku. Fine, if that is what you wish.” Soft? What part of that masked brat was...

 I glanced at Sasuke. He was injured but not too bad, nothing that would cause any lasting damage. So either Haku was very sadistic and liked to play with his enemies; or he was soft as Zabuza said and wasn't trying to hurt Sasuke, just stall him. Still, knowing Naruto, he'd piss Haku off enough that the nuke-nin would tear him to shreds. I started to take a step forward to intervene before things got worse, but Peaches blocked my path.

 “Don't even think about it.” Oddly enough, Peachy sounded amused. “You know what will happen if you take on Haku. I'll go after the bridge builder and that little girl.” I stiffened and looked to the left where Tazuna and Hinata stood. There was no way that I would be able to end Haku and protect those two at the same time. Against a long sword like the Kubikiribōchō, Hinata's taijutsu was useless; and without me guiding my hawk summons they couldn't do shit but sit there and look pretty. I supposed I could summon a larger hawk to deal with Zabuza while I took out Haku, but that would cut down on my chakra and possibly put me in a dangerous position.

 Damn.

 Zabuza seemed to know I was in a bind, he smirked underneath those bandages, “Relax, Uchiha. Lets see how our students do... one on one.” I gave him an Uchiha Glare, but he wasn't even paying attention to me. I didn't dare attack, he might not be looking at me, but I know the Peach Bastard was still prepared to fight me. Only an idiot would think otherwise.

 Apparently Sasuke was an idiot.

 While Haku was talking to Naruto, a kunai came flying out of the ice prison that held Sasuke. Haku easily dodged the knife and looked at my cousin, “Don't think I forgot about you, not for an instant.” The masked nuke-nin tilted his head a little, “Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten...” Oh great, know I was going to have two idiots who couldn't think straight, “Others do not. So be it, let us finish our battle then.”

 I couldn't help but groan quietly as Haku reentered his mirrors. Zabuza actually snorted and gave me an amused look as if we weren't enemies fighting to the death but two people just watching our students spar. I shot him a brief glare and looked away. I refused to think Peaches was anyone else but my enemy.

 It was torture having to watch my cousin practically being torn to shreds by multiple attacks coming from all the mirrors. With my sharingan I could pick up the real Haku and how he jumped from mirror to mirror to keep the element of surprise. The little pest was fast, even with my sharingan I could just barely pick up his movements as he flashed between the mirrors. But I still didn't know how the mirrors worked.

 “Sasuke, Naruto think! You have to attack the mirrors from the inside and outside at the same time to figure out how they work!” I yelled. Naruto's face brightened with an idea and there was a poof and...

 He was gone.

 It was only when Sasuke started yelling did I realize where he went. My eye twitched and I glanced at Zabuza. The nuke-nin looked like he was on the verge of laughing, I was almost tempted to tell him that I was disowning Naruto as my student after a stunt like that.

 “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” Sasuke yelled out and there was a brief glow of orange that surrounded the multiple mirrors at various angles, but none of them melted.

 I could hear the amusement in Haku's voice when he said, “You'll need more firepower than that to melt this ice.” I stiffened slightly. More firepower? I could easily do that, but...

 Peaches smirked at me, easily reading my mind, “If you melt the mirrors you'll incinerate your students. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?” He asked. I shot him a nasty look and mildly wondered why he hadn't attacked yet. Peach-boy didn't have a problem earlier, was he just stalling then to get to this point and showcase his student? He had been hired to take out my client, not show off his student's prowess.

 Once again my suspicions of his involvement with the Mist Rebels surfaced. I eyed the man, trying to figure out his game. I doubted that he was ever fighting me seriously. All he had done was send water clones and swing that big ass sword around. Zabuza had been part of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, he had gotten the position by being a master of kenjutsu. So far Zabuza had been attacking as if the Kubikiribōchō was just a piece of metal to be swung around and not a great sword.

 Of course it was always possible that he was downplaying his abilities to keep the element of surprise; I had been doing the same by only dodging Zabuza's sword and tossing kunai around when I got the opening. But it just didn't fit Peachy's personality to use deception when he had the opportunity to strike. I glanced at the ice prison as Haku bounded from mirror to mirror, raining senbon down on Sasuke and Naruto. Haku was the same. I knew that that jutsu was meant to trap and destroy an opponent. The positioning of the mirrors and the pure speed of Haku proved that point easily enough. So why weren't my students dead yet? From what I had gathered on Haku, I knew he wasn't the sick twisted kind of shinobi that enjoyed toying with their victims. Not even Zabuza was that way. Zabuza's way of killing was quick, painless, and silent; leaving any survivors baffled and frightened of the Demon of the Mist.

 Naruto's yelling stopped my musing, “I won't quit! Not ever, I'm going to survive and become Hokage because that is my dream!” I didn't know if I should be proud that he still wasn't giving up even after that downpour of needles or still embarrassed that he had gotten himself into that mess.

 What Haku responded with surprised me, “I didn't want to be a shinobi, it's painful. I don't want to kill you, but if you come closer I will have no choice.” What? “I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the shinobi way. This bridge will the battlefield where our dreams collide. I will fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours. Please do not blame me, I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him and I will face death for him so that his dream will become reality. That is my dream, and for the sake of that dream, if I must I will act as a shinobi and take your lives!”

 I bowed my head and glanced at the silent Zabuza. It was obvious that Haku was referring to Peach-boy, but why? What did Zabuza do that made the kid so loyal to him? And furthermore, just what was Zabuza's dream? The more I listened to Haku, the more reluctant I was to kill the kid, but if he got in the way of my mission then I would cut him and Zabuza down.

 Peaches shot me a haughty glance, “Tell me Uchiha, does that wimpy village of yours still avoid the most important rule of being a shinobi?” He asked as if he were genuinely curious.

 I only started at him in silence. It was a loaded question, so I saw no need in wasting my breath with an answer that was already obvious.

 Peach-boy cackled like a madman, “I wonder what your precious little Hokage will say when you come back with two bodies instead of three live genin... if you survive that is.” I heard Tazuna inhale sharply as it dawned on him just how outnumbered the genin truly were. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see how Hinata was holding up to the news of her possible death.

 Not too well.

 Zabuza followed my gaze, “She's going to faint.” He observed in a tone that could only be amusement. He looked back at me, “How is it that you ended up with three incompetent brats? You're supposed to be an A-class kunoichi, and yet here you are... babysitting.”

 “Hn.” I grunted. That insult was so pathetic I knew I would lose brain cells just by answering it. One would think that the Bloody Mist would pencil in a trash talk class right after their academy students learned how to gut a helpless victim. At least so they wouldn't kill their opponents from the lame insults flying around.

 Unless... that was their stupid plan all along.

 The damn man didn't shut up though, “Falling back on the Uchiha customary response? How unlike you.” Great now he was adding sarcasm to the list. My eye twitched and I came close to planting my fist in his stupid, bandaged face if only to shut him up; but I somehow refrained... for now. “It must goad you that your precious Hokage would dump a bunch of brats on you. It's such a waste of your skills, chasing after three brats like you're their nanny while shinobi weaker than you take over your missions.” Peachy continued on, not even bothering to see if he was really insulting me or not.

 Finally I got fed up, “Your insults are pathetic. Even my pacifist cousin can talk trash better than you.” I deadpanned. Peachy didn't even have the decency to look offended. He only smirked at me from underneath his bandages.

 I reached into my weapons pouch and brought out a fan. Snapping it open I began lightly fanning myself like a geisha would. I even fluttered my eyelashes at Peaches, “Let's get this over with, ne? I want to leave by dusk.” I simpered like a primping airhead and reactivated my sharingan, having had deactivated it once I realized I would never figure out Haku's jutsu with my eyes.

 Zabuza jerked his gaze away from my sharingan and he reached back into his own kunai pouch. As he charged at me, I made a sweeping motion with my arm so that my fan cut through the air like a blade. When he came into my range, I thumbed the little lever on the handle and fourteen senbon needles shot out of the fan's ribs. Unfortunately due to the large curve of the fan's edge, only five senbons were heading directly at Peaches. He easily knocked them away with his two bladed kunai and jumped back.

 I snapped the fan shut and pointed it at him, “Lesson number one of kunoichi tactics: Everything can be a weapon.” I depressed another button on the bamboo frame of the fan and a three inch blade shot out of the little slot that was embedded into the fan, just to prove my point. Zabuza did not looked very pleased with my Fan of Wonders–as Obito called it.

 In fact, I could swear he was pouting.

 “This won't be like last time, Peach-boy.” I promised him, my smirk melting away to be replaced with the expressionless mask every shinobi seemed to have.

 The bandaged nuke-nin seemed to have stolen my smirk, “You're correct, because this time even if you do defeat me, you have no chance against Haku. When I found him he was just a street rat, but I trained him in the most advanced techniques. I taught him everything I know, and with that Kekke Genkai of his, soon he was able to take on dangerous enemies. Even outnumbered and in total darkness, he could strike with perfect accuracy. He cared nothing for his own life, or the lives of others. Haku became a unique fighting machine, a shinobi. In the end even he surpassed me, with that Kekke Genkai of his nothing can defeat it! I've created a tool that can destroy anyone who stands in my way, unlike those useless brats that follow you around like little lost puppies!”

 I grimaced in disgust at the man before me. Then I glanced over his shoulder at the prison of ice mirrors where the shouts of pain from Naruto and Sasuke were still originating. When I head heard Haku's speech I was ready to put an end to the battle peacefully, just to save the kid the pain of losing his precious person. Now I was ready to roast the fool who dared take advantage of loyalty like that.

 Zabuza laughed as he looked back at the ice mirrors with a crazed look in his eyes, “You think those punks can defeat Haku? He's the ultimate battle tool of destruction!”

 “Would ya shut up already? Geez you sound worse than my uncle when he's talking about Itachi!” I snapped, getting irritated with this 'Haku is so great! You can never defeat him!' bullshit. Was Zabuza Haku's fangirl or senpai?!

 Zabuza didn't understand the reference, so he wasn't offended. Though I had now doubt he would be throwing a temper tantrum if he knew how Fugaku was when he was bragging about my cousin. “Fine, but there is one more thing you should know.” I raised an eyebrow and decided to humor him, not that he needed any encouragement, “Did you really think our last battle was just win or lose? Haku had been watching the whole time, watching every move your made with that sharingan of yours. Haku can see a move once and immediately devise a counterattack; it's one of his... gifts. I've been waiting to see the look on your pretty face when you realize that your sharingan has become worthless!”

 I kept my face blank just to annoy him.

 Zabuza held up two fingers, “Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!”

 Deja vu, anyone?

 The thin mist that had already layered the air thickened to the point of no visibility. I cursed, my sharingan eyes darting to pick up the slighted movement in the mist; but all I could see was Hinata and Tazuna fidgeting around, looking left and right for a thin spot in the thick mist. I pinned Hinata with a look. She was twitching nervously and shaking in fear, “Hinata, stay with Tazuna. Don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered her in a sharp tone. The Hyuuga girl seemed to get over her fear at the order and nodded firmly before shifting from an offensive to a defensive taijutsu stance. I had noticed over the weeks that she seemed to lose her cowardice when given a direct order. Hopefully she would stand by it even if I went down.

 Shuriken came out of no where and I easily batted them away with my closed fan. I took a cautious step in the direction the throwing stars had come from but stopped and twisted around when I felt Zabuza's chakra behind me. I blinked when I saw that his eyes were closed. Was he trying to prevent looking into my sharingan or was it another reason entirely? I frowned when he started to speak.

 “Next time you see me, will be the last time you see anything.” Okay, for Peach-boy, that wasn't a half bad attempt to be intimidating; but still... even goofy Shisui still beat him by a mile. Of course, goofy Shisui happened to be pretty terrifying when someone did the impossible and actually pissed him off, but that was irrelevant. “Without your sharingan, you're nothing.” Zabuza rasped and then disappeared again before I could attack. I twitched in annoyance. If this was just going to be a hit-and-run tactic I was going to murder someone.

 Preferably Peaches; but I would take Tazuna for putting me in this mess in the first place too.

 Fine. If he wanted to play this game, then I would just pull and Uchiha Tactic straight from the Book of Bullshit and own his sorry ass before he could sneeze. I ran through the appropriate hand signs and slammed my palms together with a loud clap, “Fūton: Gale Palm!” In a large ejection of wind oriented chakra, I managed to disperse most of the mist thinning it out enough that I could see Zabuza's faint outline several paces to my right. I turned to face the outline and began a new set of hand signs, “Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!” I shouted and sent a steady stream of fire at Zabuza.

 I grinned when Zabuza had to leap out of the mist and into my sight, just like I wanted, “I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part. You left to quickly. Something about me being without my sharingan...?” I said teasingly. Boy, did Peaches look pissed off.

 Somehow that set off a monologue of how Peach-boy had figured out the secret behind the sharingan. I almost started nodding off when he started explaining the piercing eye and the hypnotic eye and how I had used them in battle. Seriously, what was with this guy and explaining things to invisible audiences? Was he so enamored with his own smoker voice that he liked making long winded speeches over obvious things?!

 That would explain a lot of things, actually.

 After he finished lecturing me about things I had grown up knowing, he started talking about his 'ultimate plan to win the day'. Finally I gave up pretending to listen and groaned loudly, “Oh. My. Kami. SHUT UP! At least try to make it harder on me by not explaining your stupid little plan. Dear Lord, do I need to give you the 'a shinobi's lifestyle is deception' lecture I gave Naruto too?!”

 There was a beat of silence when even Haku stopped fighting Naruto and Sasuke, before Zabuza's annoying raspy voice spoke again, “Fine. I just won't give you a sporting chance.” If that was what he called a 'sporting chance' I would gladly go without, if only to keep my ears from bleeding.

 In the back of my mind I wondered who could out talk the other: the Hokage or Peaches.

 The fighting between the three boys resumed with vigor, but something was different about it. I could hear Sasuke using the fireball jutsu as well, which was strange. Didn't he already try to melt the ice and figure out that it didn't work? What could those two idiots possibly be up to? I risked a glance in their direction, hoping that it might shed some light on their plan.

 “Pay attention to your own fight!” Zabuza roared and I snapped my head around with a gasp just in time to feel his foot connect with my jawline. There was a dull crunch and I tasted the sharp coppery twang of blood flooding my mouth; seconds later a wave of pain bloomed from my jaw, momentarily causing my mind to blank. I landed in a heap on the ground, my jaw throbbing painfully. I reached up to cradle it and winced when my hand grazed against the bruising area. The bone was cracked at the very least.

 High killer intent brought my head up and my eyes widened when I saw Zabuza descending from the air, the Kubikiribōchō raised over his head and positioned to bisect me at the waist. Scrambling, I twisted to the side and got my feet under me just as the long blade dug into the ground almost three inches deep. I winced and tried not to imagine what would have happened to be had I been any slower.

 I was really starting to regret pissing Peaches off.

 The Kiri nuke-nin yanked his big ass sword out of the ground and turned towards me, a deranged look in his eyes. “Seems I finally succeeded in shutting up the Uchiha with the runaway mouth. Now to make it permanent.” I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the lame trash talk. This guy was truly pathetic when it came to being intimidating. I was starting to think that awkward Iruka could be more terrifying than this guy. The chunnin might be terrifying to kids, but he was just a socially awkward wimp when it came to adults.

 Peachy disappeared.

 I stiffened and looked around, trying to discern any chakra signal with either my sharingan or my sensory abilities. I swallowed a mouthful of blood, trying not to gag at the overbearing taste of copper, and ran through my options. While the wind jutsu had momentarily cleared the mist, it was back in full force, once again hindering my line of vision. Sight was out, I could deal with that. Peaches was a master of the silent killing technique; he could enter a crowd full of people, kill one person, and be gone before that person even hit the ground–all the while not making a smidgen of noise. That mean I could not hear Zabuza's attacks either and if I did it was probably a distraction. Still I could manage without hearing too.

 That left my sensing abilities and scent. I wasn't a tracker and I was no where near as good at olfactory perception as Kakashi or the Inuzuka clan, but I still had a sharp nose. However, the problem with that was my sense of smell was being overridden by the smell of my blood still filling my mouth. My chances of predicting Peaches next attack were starting to slim down. My chakra sensing abilities weren't the best, it was mostly just raw talent, but I still should be able to pick out Zabuza's large chakra source in the thick mist he had created. It would be like trying to pick out the early morning sun in a thick fog, but it was still doable. Unless Peach-boy suppressed his chakra, I should be able to sense him.

 I closed my eyes and concentrated on spanning my awareness about the bridge. I could feel the chakra of the three boys flitting around inside the ice prison, which appeared to be a thin dome of Haku's chakra, and I could pick out Hinata's still relatively high chakra reserves right in front of Tazuna's stunted civilian level chakra. Wait.

 Hinata.

 Damn it! I had a Hyuuga with me the whole time and I was too caught up in my ego to even think about asking her for help. There wasn't anything that could hide from the Byakugan! And now, I couldn't talk because of my cracked jawbone. Growling deep in my throat I was about to shunshin to Hinata and signal what I needed in my rusty genin hand signs, when the object I was looking for appeared.

 Right where I didn't want it.

  Chapter 13: Reassuring Brats is Such a Drag

“W-where's N-N-N-Na-Naruto-kun?” Hinata asked the next day as she came down for breakfast. I ignored the conversation as I absentmindedly went over my supply of weapons. My instincts were telling me that the final battle between my team and Zabuza was approaching fast. I wouldn't be unprepared this time, I was going to make sure I was as prepared as I could be with my limited resources. I sighed through my nose and wished that the Land of Waves had a weapons shop of some sort. I had gone as far as whittling down sticks I gathered in the woods into makeshift senbon needles.

 There was no way in hell I was going to lose this fight.

 Tsunami's worried voice brought me back to reality, “Well I hope he's alright. A child shouldn't spend the night out in the woods alone.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I reattached my weapons pouch to my hip. Civilians would forever think that a child was a child and not a ninja, no matter what we did to convince them otherwise.

 “I wouldn't worry.” Everyone turned to look at me. I found it amusing that there were sparks of anger in the eyes of the two genin present. It was especially funny coming from Hinata. I shrugged, “Naruto is an immature brat, but he's still a genin. He'll be fine...” A smirk crawled up the corner of my mouth, “Although, he could be dead from chakra exhaustion. He's an idiot for practicing that jutsu day in and day out.”

 Hinata squeaked in fear and daintily covered her mouth with her hands. “S-sensei, you d-d-don't th-think that he–” She didn't finish her thought, as if she was afraid that if she said Naruto was dead it would be true.

 Sasuke hummed to himself, “Sensei is probably right. That dobe is probably dead somewhere.” I mentally grinned evilly as I filed away the quote for future blackmail against Sasuke. If Mikoto ever found out that Sasuke was being rude to Kushina-san's child, my aunt would hang Sasuke by his toenails and proceed to skin him alive.

 Duckass stood suddenly and started to walk away, “I'm going for a walk.” He said nonchalantly as he stuffed his hands into his shorts' pockets.

 I grinned at my cousin as he passed me, “Say hi to your boyfriend for me when you find him!” I called teasingly. Sasuke actually snarled when he glared at me and I laughed with true delight. I swear teasing Sasuke was almost as fun as it had was to tease Kakashi-nii.

 Actually teasing the duckass was more fun because he didn't throw kunais at me.

 Or tell Shisui where I was at any given time.

 The door clicked shut behind Sasuke and I immediately stood up, “Let's go Hinata, you're turn for practice.” I didn't miss Hinata's flinch, but I ignored it. Now was not the time for personal issues, we were about to have a fight on our hands.

 Hinata followed me quietly until we reached the clearing I had in mind to use as Hinata's training ground. I sat down in the middle of the clearing and closed my eyes, “Alright, go out in the woods for a bit and try to sneak back here. I'll tell you if I hear you or not.”

 She didn't move.

 I waited for a moment longer before cracking an eye open. Hinata stood there, still in her strangely defiant mood. If not for the blush on her cheeks or the nervous way she twiddled her fingers, I would have said she was glaring at me. I guess I wasn't getting out of this easily.

 “Look,” I started as I leaned back on my hands and closed my eye again, “it's my job as your sensei to prepare you for the world. I won't apologize for seeming a little harsh; to me Naruto, Sasuke and you are all adults so I won't coddle you. If you can't handle it, then resign from your career as a kunoichi and find a less stressful job.” I opened my other eye to pin the quiet Hyuuga heiress with a serious look, “Otherwise, start practicing.”

 Hinata was quiet for a long time. She just stood in her place, staring at me. I held her gaze. Hinata may be a shy child who stuttered a lot, but I could tell by her eyes that gaining her respect would be a challenge for anyone, and once the had it she would never stop respecting them no matter what they did. I knew that her philosophy came from her clan, so I would respect her beliefs, however much they differed from the Uchiha clan.

 Finally the little girl bowed deeply, as one would to a highly respected elder, and ran off into the woods. I smiled, I was actually starting to enjoy this jounin sensei gig... well at least with Hinata.

 The two boys were still annoying.

 When I was could no longer feel Hinata's chakra signature, I pulled a blank scroll out of my weapons pouch and opened it. Setting it down in front of me, the tip of my foot resting on the edge to keep the scroll from rolling back up, I took out my fan I used for wind ninjutsu and unfurled it. I felt along the fan's edge for the rib that was just slightly larger than the others. Hooking my fingernail under the tiny lip at the top, I pulled out my field brush then I flipped the fan over so I could feel along the base for the compartment that held a block of compressed and died ink.

 With all my supplies laid out I proceeded to make the ink. Scratching off a good bit of the powdered ink into the large thumb indent on my fan that doubled as an ink pot, I spat saliva until the ink was smooth and thin enough for writing. Carefully, to avoid spilling my hard won ink, I set the fan down by my leg and dipped the brush into the ink. Leaning closer to the blank scroll I began the emergency report.

 'Red Update

 Mission status: C-rank updated to A-rank

 Team: Genin Team 7

 Report: Three days out of Konohagakure, Team had encountered two chunnin level nuke-nin known as the 'Demon Brothers'. Minimal injuries. The nuke-nin were taken out by Team Leader with a minor AoE genjutsu. Client confessed to requesting a B-rank level Mission under the rank C. Team decision made to deliver Client safely to Destination and abort the Mission. En route to Destination, Team encountered A-class nuke-nin known as Momochi Zabuza. Presumed Alive with Unknown Ally. Team Leader mildly injured: Chakra Exhaustion. Political tension. Gang trouble caused by man named Gatou. Team has made unanimous decision to remain at Destination until problems are resolved.'

 After the ink dried I rolled the scroll back up and drew three bands around the outside, marking the information as High Priority information. Setting aside the scroll I twirled my brush around and used the sharp end of it to stab my thumb. Quickly I made the hand signs and slammed my palm to the ground, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

 A small puff of smoke and a small brown hawk stood there, her head cocked to the side as she stared at me with one sharp yellow eye, “Yanagi-sama? You have use of me?” The hawk summon questioned in her smooth silky voice.

 I picked up the scroll and presented it to her, “Take this to the Hokage in Konohagakure, fast.” The hawk jumped into the air and grabbed the scroll in her talons. I bowed my head in thanks and the hawk was gone so quickly she was nothing but a speck in the sky within a minute. Breathing in relief I knew the scroll would reach Konoha withing two days. All my hawk summons were naturally fast; but Izon was the fastest of the group, I could rely on her.

 As I finished wiping the ink out of my fan's thumb imprint, I called out, “I know you're there. Go back and try again.” There was a moment of silence before I could feel Hinata's chakra starting to move away from me again. For her to get within 50 meters of me without my noticing was a feat; maybe I underestimated the Hyuuga girl.

 vvv 3rd Person~ Sasuke vvv

 Sasuke found Naruto alright, talking to some weird androgynous boy. The Uchiha boy didn't know if he should be amused that Naruto thought the boy was a girl, or annoyed that the loser was blabbing to a complete stranger about shinobi matters. He was leaning towards annoyed. Sasuke wasn't dumb, that boy down there with Naruto wasn't some innocent civilian boy. Having grown up in a ninja clan, Sasuke could spot the small telltale signs of a trained shinobi and that boy was definitely a shinobi of some sort. Why he was bothering Naruto... that was the question.

 Sasuke knew enough espionage to know that one should never be discovered loitering around. When it was clear that the strange boy was getting ready to leave, Sasuke ducked back a few yards and began slowly walking back towards the pair. He tucked his hands in his pockets and made a casual show of looking around; when the boy turned around Sasuke pretended that the movement caught his attention and picked up his pace, his dark eyes solely on Naruto. Sasuke glanced up at the strange boy passed him, just a false curious glance, before returning his gaze on the confused blonde.

 Only when the boy was far behind him did Sasuke pause and glance back. He knew that subtle tension anywhere, he had seen it in his father, Itachi-nii, Shisui, even Kaa-chan. Almost every adult he had ever come across in the clan had that same invisible aura of caution that seemed to run in their blood. There was no mistaking it now: that boy was a shinobi. And from his careful avoidance of Sasuke, the navy haired Uchiha  also knew that the boy wasn't an ally.

 Yanagi-sensei was going to be pissed if she knew there was a possible third-party of ill intent; but she would be even more pissed off if Sasuke didn't warn her of the possibility. Sasuke couldn't help but sigh a little, never had he understood why Shikamaru was always babbling about troublesome women until now.

 To take out his frustration, Sasuke bashed Naruto on the head. The loser automatically started snapping at Sasuke, both his hands raising to cradle his poor abused head, “Hey what was that for?!”

 Sasuke crossed his arms, “Hey, loser, did you forget about breakfast?”

 The blonde idiot blinked a few times before giving Sasuke his signature cheesy grin and chuckling obnoxiously. Sasuke made a disgusted sound and pulled a face, knowing he wouldn't like whatever this idiot just did. He was starting to understand why Yanagi was always so grouchy; if Naruto was anything like Obito-itoko then Sasuke's respect for his female cousin just raised a few pegs.

 Naruto's grin grew until it took up one-third of his face and he jerked his thumb towards him with a large wink, “Just wait til you see what I mastered last night! Frizzy-sensei is going to be so impressed!” With that the blonde idiot leapt to his feet and took out the much battered fan that Yanagi-sensei had loaned to him.

 Sasuke mentally groaned. Yanagi was going to murder his teammate for destroying one of her weapons.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 Bam!

 “Jounin-san! Don't do that!” Tsunami squeaked in alarm when I banged my head against the table. I only responded by repeating my action, just to annoy her. Damn it damn it damn it! I didn't need any more complications! I needed a nice, straight-forward battle to the death with the Demon of the Mist; I didn't need some secretive little bastard trying to throw a stupid plot twist into this! Especially not with three genin to watch over. I was going to have a hard enough time keeping the brats alive while fighting Peaches, having a secondary opponent was going to be next to impossible!

 Just kill me now, please.

 “Er... Yanagi-sensei...” My head snapped up and I pinned Naruto with a deadly glare. He immediately went white and visibly shivered. Both Hinata and Sasuke edged away from the little brat, knowing that all hell was about to break loose.

 I lifted a hand and jabbed my index finger in Naruto's direction, “You.” I hissed, my voice so cold I was almost surprised that I couldn't see my breath, “You had better start recalling that conversation you had with that bastard. Every. Word. Or. Else.”

 Naruto chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck, “Uh... Okay... I woke up and I saw this guy sitting there, only I thought she was a girl and-” He fell silent. The Kyuubi brat's breathing started to quicken. It was obvious that he couldn't recall the conversation to save his life, which was truly on the line at the moment. His blue eyes darted to Sasuke in a panic, trying to seek out help. My cousin only looked away from his teammate, obviously not wanting to get in the crossfire.

 My eyes landed on Sasuke, he wasn't going to get out of this. “If you have information, share. Don't withhold information simply because you're too scared of your own sensei.” I snapped.

 I might not have interacted much with my cousin before I became his sensei, but I knew how to push his buttons long before I met him. I made a point in knowing ever single weak point in all my clansmen, both physical and mental. Sasuke wasn't one of the only Uchiha who didn't like being called a coward, but he was the most irrational when someone did. Sasuke was very easy to manipulate. Having a father like Fugaku did wonders; you would either end up as unbreakable and unpredictable like Itachi or basically a pawn like Sasuke.

 As predicted, Sasuke stiffened and turned to glare at me. I kept my expression blank so he wouldn't see the victory in my onyx eyes. This boy was even more easy to manipulate than Obito, which was saying something.

 I closed my eyes, “Stop glaring and start blabbing.” I said to both the boys. Leaning back against the wall by the doorway, I closed my eyes as I began memorizing whatever came out of their mouths. Both were amateurs when it came to relaying information, but I could work with that. In the back of my mind, I added reporting in a concise manner and memorization at the blink of an eye to the already long list of what I needed to teach my brats.

 If we survived this stupid mission that is.

 “What does it matter?!” All conversation stopped when Inari screeched in that whiny voice of his. My eyebrow twitched in irritation, this kid was really pushing it. My already endless patience was coming to an end and someone was going to get hurt soon.

 Everyone looked to see the littlest brat standing at the doorway beside me, his childish eyes wet with unshed tears, “You're all going to die anyway! Gatou has a whole army, they'll just beat you and kill you. You're only wasting your-OW!” Inari fell over on his butt with his strange little hat flying off.

 Everyone twisted to give me various looks of surprise and anger. I only cracked my knuckles and shook my hand, “Such a hard head, that actually hurt.” I grumbled to myself. And I thought Naruto had a hard head, but he had nothing on Inari.

 “Jounin-san!” Tsunami cried out in alarm and anger. I had punched her child after all, any decent mother would be upset; even if her brat was asking for it. I wouldn't be surprised if she kicked the team out because of what I did.

 Still, I had to set this doom and gloom brat right. I set a cold gaze on Inari, who shivered and whimpered. The little coward. I hit Naruto harder than that and he never acted any different. “Never tell a ninja that their career is a wasted time. And stop sniveling, it's silly and childish.”

 Inari was very close to tears by then, “You don't know anything!” He wailed, “You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! All of you are just laughing and playing around, you don't know what it's like to be treated like trash!” I was positive that every member of Team 7 stiffened at that comment. We all had sob stories that were worse than Inari's and we knew it.

 Naruto cut in before I could even open my mouth, “Oh yeah? Listen to yourself whining like some sorry little victim.” I glanced at Naruto as my expressionless mask fell over my face, concealing any trace of emotion. First I would see how the kiddies handled it, then step in and finish up whatever was left. Naruto glared at Inari, his blue eyes full of anger and self-righteousness, “You're nothing but a coward!”

 “N-Naruto!” Hinata squeaked in a tiny voice, her pearl eyes wide with surprise. I doubt she had ever seen him so serious. Even I hadn't, and I had been put on his watch many times while I was part of the military police.

 Naruto stood up and stomped away with a growl of frustration. I watched him go silently, keeping an eye of the reactions of my other two genin brats. Hinata looked as if she wanted to go after him, but she stayed in her seat, her Hyuuga eyes trailing after Naruto's appalling orange jumpsuit. Sasuke had retreated into his own mind, keeping his expressions to himself like I was doing, but I could tell by the way his eyes followed Naruto that he was mildly concerned for his teammate. I returned my gaze to Inari to find the little brat sobbing, thick trails of tears coursing down his cheeks. He sat there for a moment, his head bowed so no one could see his eyes, before fleeing from the room like the coward he was.

 Time for me to step in.

 I waited until everyone had gone to bed before searching out the gloomy brat. Even though Inari was a civilian, he still had a chakra signal, albeit an extremely weak one, so finding him on the back porch was a piece of cake. I smirked when I found him sitting at the porch's edge, his knees up to his chest.

 “Hey twerp, got a minute?” I asked, bopping the kid on the back of the head lightly.

 Inari flinched away from me, his hands going to hold his hat in place, as his black eyes stared at me with nervous anticipation. Seeing how I nearly tried to brain him at dinner, I didn't really blame the brat. Inari quickly covered up his fear with a sharp glare that didn't belong on his young face, “What do you want?” He asked, his bravado only breaking when his question ended in a high pitched squeak.

 I took that as an invitation to sit down beside the brat, “You asked what do any of us know about suffering. It came to my attention that Naruto never answered your question, so I thought I would.” I said conversationally. Inari shifted away from me a little. I scoffed at his blatant fear of me and leaned back on my hands, my feet dangling inches above the water, “Where do I begin? Hm... well, I was raised by my brother, whom I don't really like, because my parents died before I even turned three; during the Third Shinobi War. Both Nii-san and I are practically outcasts from the clan because of some stupid reason, too. Sasuke's father constantly belittles him and says he should be more like his older brother Itachi. Hinata's father... yeesh, that guy is worse that Sasuke's dad. He actually thinks that Hinata is a waste of space because she's not the strongest in the clan. Even worse, she's the Hyuuga heiress so the expectations put on her are doubly high.”

 Inari looked more and more surprised at each passing sentence. His young face began to lighten with understanding that he wasn't the only one suffered. I met his gaze and turned serious, “Then there's Naruto. He grew up without knowing his parents too; even worse, he didn't even have friends or anyone who cared about him. At least I had my brother and his team, Naruto had no one ever. Still...” I trailed off and looked up at the low hanging moon, “I never saw him cry or give up. Not even when he completely screws over a mission, he'll still try his best to make amends. That brat wants to be respected, and he'll do anything to get it.”

 I smiled kindly at Inari, “My whole team has a bunch of sob stories and we all reacted in our own way. It's part of what makes us who we are and not your everyday idiot walking around on the streets. I guess you can cope through your losses by crying too... but won't you get tired of crying after a while? Isn't it better to be happy all the time, and loud and obnoxious?” Inari looked down at his feet, contemplating. I chuckled and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. He didn't flinch, “If there's anyone who can possibly understand what you're going through, it's Team 7. We're here to protect your grandfather and make sure your home stays safe from Gatou. And, if I have to die for that to be a reality, then so be it. I'll gladly give my life.”

 The little boy stared at me, awe buried deep within the obsidian orbs. I snorted at his expression and moved my hand from his shoulder to wrap his neck in a playful choke hold. With my free hand I ground my knuckles into his scalp, “Eh, don't give me that look. I may be a grouchy kunoichi, but I still have a heart. I just like confusing people!” I said teasingly and for the first time since my team had arrived, I heard Inari laugh. I grinned in response as I let the kid free from my grip and leaned back again. In truth, I didn't know how to talk to people unless I was yelling at them, but for some reason this little brat managed to break the ice.

 I snorted as I closed my eyes. If Nii-san could see me know, I was sure he would die laughing.

  VVV^^^OMAKE^^^VVV

 The Curse of the Uchiha

 vvv 3rd Person vvv

 “Man, why are we always the ones called off on stupid S-ranked missions?” Obito complained as Team Minato checked in at Konoha's gate. Kakashi shot Obito an irritated look while the two chunnin guards snickered. The Uchiha gave them a sideways glance, they seemed familiar, but Obito couldn't remember their names to save his life.

 Rin giggled behind one hand and smiled fondly at Obito, “Because, Obito-kun, we're the only full team outside of the ANBU Corp that is cleared for S-ranks missions.” She explained happily. It wasn't often that Rin got called out on missions, but she loved every chance she got.

 Obito beamed at his childhood crush, “Oh yeah! I guess it's awesome to be so powerful. But still, I wish they'd give Team Minato some off time. Between the police force and missions for Konoha, I'm being worn out.”

 “Yet you somehow still manage to run your mouth.” Kakashi interjected drily.

 Immediately Obito glared at his rival/friend, “Got something to say, Baka-Kashi?!”

 “I just said it.”

 Obito pointed at Kakashi, “Stop being so cool! We're not little kids anymore!”

 Kakashi pulled out his book and opened it to his place, “You could have fooled me.” He commented. Kakashi smirked under his mask when he heard Obito gritting his teeth. Mentally he made another tally. While he refused to participate in that silly rivalry with Gai, Kakashi saw no qualms in annoying Obito.

 Both men jerked forward a little when someone hit them upside the head, and turned to Rin, who was standing behind them looking annoyed, “You're both children, now grow up and march! We've gotta report to the Hokage.” The little woman ordered. Before Kakashi or Obito could do what she asked, she grabbed her teammates by the fronts of their jounin vests and dragged them along behind her.

 Obito pouted as he struggled halfheartedly to escape Rin-chan's grip. “Rin-chaaaan! We can walk on our own, ya know!”

 “It's not the walking that's the problem, it's your bickering! Honestly, you two never quit.”

 Kakashi didn't seem all too bothered about being dragged around by a woman half his height and weight. “You don't care when it's Obito and Yanagi fighting.” He commented, still not looking up from his porn.

 Rin and Obito both shot their teammate nasty looks, but Rin was the one who spoke, “That's because they're siblings and it's none of my business. Besides I'm not constantly around Yanagi-chan. It's you two idiots I've got to deal with.”

 Kakashi muttered something under his breath that Rin couldn't catch. Obito, however, seemed to understand him and snorted in amusement. The Uchiha quickly ducked his head in shame and sheepishly looked at Rin, proving that whatever Kakashi had said wasn't very kind about her.

 Rin could sometimes understand why Yanagi was so short tempered, if these goons were the ones who raised her. Luckily for Rin, they had arrived at the Missions Office and could give their stupid report and disperse. While Rin loved her teammates like her own family, she could only take so much of them in one sitting.

 vvv

 Hiruzen groaned and rubbed his temples after the rowdy team left. He would never understand how Minato-kun stayed sane around them, especially after all the drama that had happened between the three kids during the Third Shinobi War. It was one thing to have a student supposedly die and come back months later alive and well–that happened a lot in war; but it was entirely another thing to have another student be captured by Kiri-nins and forced to be the jinchuuriki of the Sanbi.

 It was because of Team Minato that people said having an Uchiha on the team was asking for trouble. What was alarming was most of the time they were right; Team Minato, Team Shisui, ANBU Team Ro, and now apparently Team 7 all had horrible luck when it came to missions.

 Hiruzen looked at the emergency mission report he had received from Uchiha Yanagi only moments before Team Minato came barging in the Missions Assignment Office. How on earth did Team 7 manage to somehow go from a normal C-rank mission to A-rank was beyond the Hokage's understanding, even with the explanation Yanagi had given him.

 Frustrated, Hiruzen took a long drag on his pipe and read over the report again. This put him in a bind, he knew that he should send reinforcements to aid Uchiha Yanagi, but he doubted they would be reached in time. His only hope was the pray that Yanagi had the situation under control, she didn't request reinforcements which meant she could handle it.

 Hiruzen paled at the very thought of how many people would be after his hide if Yanagi's team failed to return. At the top of that list would be Obito and Kakashi. Hiruzen shuddered at the thought of facing the two top shinobi in the village.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 2 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 8, 9, & 10

Chapter 8: Don’t Mess with Yanagi

“Damnit Yanagi, have you seen my goggles?” Obito asked frantically as he shunshined all over the house looking for those stupid things. I rolled my eyes and ignored him as I guzzled down my morning tea. I didn't need ruckus this early in the morning, especially not when I was going to have to deal with Naruto later on in the day. It was always the same. Obito was always able to find his goggles on any normal day, but the rare days that his team got called for missions was when he lost the things.

 I spoke, “Why does it matter? Rin knows you and Kakashi are going to be late. That's why she set the meeting at Godforsaken four in the morning.” If there was anyone who knew how to manipulate the Copy-nin and the Uchiha Prankster, it was Rin.

 “Stop making snarky comments and help me, woman!” Was all my brother responded with.

 Sighing I looked directly at the object he was looking for. Obito's battle goggles were laying on the kitchen table, where he always tossed them after his police squad finished for the day. I contemplated in telling Obito, but then that would take away the fun it would be to watch him tear apart the house looking for his goggles.

 “Why do you even wear them anymore? It's not like you still have that eye problem.” I called. Obito had been born with some kind of defect that made his eyesight weak. When we were younger, his eyes would constantly dry out, forcing my brother to carry around an eyedropper and wear goggles to protect his sensitive eyes. When Obito finally activated his sharingan, the eye problem disappeared but he didn't stop wearing those stupid goggles.

 Obito made some remark about his goggles being part of him or whatever. It's not like I ever understood what he was talking about half the time anyway. I knocked back the rest of my tea and turned around to set the cup by the full sink. My eye twitched at the sight. Reason Number 27 why Obito and I didn't get along: I was a clean freak and he wasn't.

 “You forgot to do the dishes again!” I yelled as I made my way towards the door.

 Obito poked his head out of my room, “That's not important right now, Yanagi. I need to find those goggles!”

 I glared at him as I sat down to put on my sandals, “Well they're definitely not in my room. Have you even looked in the kitchen yet?” I heard Obito grumbling about something, but I chose to ignore it. Whatever he was saying would only piss me off anyway.

 There was a spike of chakra that told me Obito was shunshining into the kitchen, followed by his exclaims of delight. I stood and retrieved my weapons pouch from the small table by the door where I had set it last night, trying to ignore the cheering coming from the kitchen. I was tempted to tell Obito to find a room, but that would only start another yelling match. It was too early in the morning for fighting.

 “Bye! Have fun on your mission!” I called as I ran out the door and into the foggy predawn morning. For some odd reason I felt as if I were a genin again, eagerly running to meet my team and show off the cool new jutsu my brother had taught me the night before.

 Not that I wanted to be around Team 7, of course.

 Training ground six, where I trained my genin, was one of the lesser used training grounds that the Uchiha clan owned. Obito and I were normally the only ones who actually used it since it was the closest to our house, so making Team 7 meet there wouldn't be a hassle to anyone. I didn't need more of a headache than what I got by just standing in those brats' presence. Anyway, I liked training ground six. When it wasn't being used, the area was very quiet and peaceful. If one ignored the burn marks and notches in the woods from stray weapons, one could say it was very beautiful.

 Settling myself in the crook of my favorite tree, I pulled out my book and opened it to the well-worn bookmark and began reading. I only had an hour of this peace before a certain knucklehead blonde came and ruined it with his loud mouth.

 It wasn't long after I arrived that my first genin did. I had maybe read ten pages when I felt the presence of a puny amount of chakra. Well... puny to me. For a genin, that amount of chakra was quite a bit; but considering that I had two clan kids on the team it wasn't surprising they'd be more advance.

 “Come out, come out.” I called softly, like the antagonist in children tales. Like I expected Hinata shuffled into my view, her cheeks dark with a blush and twiddling her fingers in anxiety. I easily leapt from the tree and landed in front of her, “You know we still have an hour until the team meets right?” I questioned.

 Hinata just fidgeted nervously, “I-I...” She started then stopped, her throat working as she tried to spit out words and failed.

 I raised an eyebrow, “I'm not going to bite.” I pointed out, feeling that I probably should. This poor kid was obviously terrified of me. I wondered what I did to make her so nervous, I hadn't been that bad... hadn't I? I waited for a little longer, but when it was obvious she wasn't going to make a peep, I rolled my eyes, “Well, it's a good thing you are here early, now we have an hour to get rid of that shyness. Sit.” I put a hand on her slight shoulder and pressed down, making the girl sit on the dewy grass.

 “Here.” I said and shoved a book into her hands. Hinata looked down at the cover and immediately blanched, so she recognized it. I laughed, “Best way to get over shyness, read that book.” I said.

 Hinata swayed, looking faint. I rolled my eyes again and snatched my brother's copy of Icha Icha from her hands, “Alright, maybe not.” I said and tossed the book over my shoulder, not caring where it landed. I had planned to rip the pages it out and make wallpaper for Obito's room, but I didn't want to touch the book longer than necessary. Sitting down in front of the shy Hyuuga heiress I tried a different route, “Did you know when I was in the police force I had a teammate who talked less than you?”

 Pearl colored eyes glanced up at me nervously, as if I were some type of monster luring her into a false sense of security. I decided to ignore her look and continued talking like she wasn't there, “Yep, his name is Uchiha Ibo. He's extremely shy, more so than you. He uses hand signs to communicate.” Hinata seemed surprised that, for whatever reason. I guess it was surprising to hear that someone was worse than she was.

 I clapped my hands loudly, making Hinata jump, “Right then. You're a kunoichi, so you're going to have to get over that shyness one day. Best start early before you're stuck in a jam because you put this off. Any questions before we begin?”

 “D-did y-y-you h-ha-have p-p-prob-problems?” Hinata asked shakily.

 “Are you kidding? Obito-nii would have beaten any shyness out of me before I was five.” I deadpanned. It was probably true. I'd never know since I grew up assertive and stubborn, being an Uchiha branded that personality into me at an early age. I honestly didn't know how Ibo had managed to keep on to his timid  nature for so long. The clan saw timidity as a weakness, so to find a twenty year old man who rarely spoke and blushed almost constantly was a rare find. “Now, first lesson of the day...”

 vvv

 “S-sensei?” Hinata asked later that day, while we, or rather they, were cleaning out the dumpsters behind one of the Akimichi restaurants.

 I ignored her and continued to read my book.

 “S-sensei...?” Oh great, she was even more hesitate now. I kept my eyes firmly glued to my book, taking note that Sasuke and Naruto were pausing in their work to watch Hinata. I had told Hinata that I wouldn't speak to her unless she addressed me without stuttering. Until she said 'sensei' without stuttering I wasn't going to look up from my book.

 “S-s-sensei?” Nope. Ignore.

 “Hey! Hinata-chan is talking to you!” Argh, I should have known Naruto would butt in. It would be uncharacteristic of him not to. He wouldn't be Naruto without messing up something. Still I wasn't going to say a word until I got what I wanted. These kids would soon learn that no one could break my silence treatments.

 “Sss...ensei?” That was better, but not perfect. I licked my thumb and flipped a page of my book. I flicked my eyes briefly towards Hinata, enough to show that I was listening but not enough to acknowledge she was actually speaking. Hinata would know what I meant. The girl took a deep shaking breath and said, slowly, “Sensei?”

 I finally turned my full attention on her, “Yes, Hinata?”

 “C-can,” My eyes narrowed and she blushed red before starting over, “Can I... ask you a q...estion?” The Hyuuga heiress managed. I rolled my eyes at her almost mistake and waved my hand for her to continue, “W...hy do we... h-ave to... to do mi...ssions? Won't y-ou t...each us some-something?” I frowned at the stuttering towards the end.

 I stood from my seat on a pile of wood pushed up against the back fence, “Tired of D-rank missions already?” I asked amused.

 Sasuke and Hinata said nothing, but their expressions said 'yes'. Naruto was more vocal about his opinion, “Yeah! These don't teach us anything! I want to get out there and fight some bad guys!” He said pumping his fist to show his eagerness.

 Sighing, I pressed my fingers to my forehead and shook my head sadly. Woe to those who has to deal with Naruto. “Slow down, brat, you'll get killed that way.”

 “But if you teach us, then we won't get killed!” Naruto snapped back.

 “No matter how much I teach you, that kind of recklessness can get you killed.”

 “Won't! I'm going to be the Hokage!” Naruto yelled childishly. And just was did that have to do with getting killed on a mission? I could tell him that there were thousands of people who wanted to become Hokage and they all died before their first B-rank mission because they had the same reckless behavior Naruto did. But I didn't since I wasn't that cruel.

 I gave up on the argument, since it was futile to argue with stupidity, “Keep telling yourself that, kid. I'm going to enjoy laughing at your failure at tree walking.”

 “Hey! I won't fail at... wait, are you going to teach us something?!” Man, if anyone needed to have something announce, they should just hire the Kyuubi brat. I swear the people in Kumogakure could hear him.

 “That's what I said, didn't I?” I questioned dryly with a raised eyebrow.

 Naruto leapt into the air with joy, whooping and cheering that he was going to learn an awesome new jutsu while Hinata and Sasuke looked mildly excited. I guess doing chores all day was really getting to them.

 “Alright, finish up this mission then I'll teach you tree walking.” I should have known disaster would strike then. What would Team 7 be if a mission went without incident?

 vvv

 “Tree walking is one of the hardest but most common chakra controlling exercise. It's also the first step to water walking, which is an essential tool in many fights.” I started, glaring at Naruto when he opened his mouth to interrupt me. The boy immediately quelled under my harsh gaze and didn't speak. I waited a moment to be sure that he didn't go ahead and interrupt before I continued, “To walk up a tree, you must use the right amount of chakra to stick your foot to the tree; too much and the tree explodes underneath you, too little and you slip and fall. Observe.” I turned and walked up the tree I was leaning on with ease. Though tree walking wasn't as commonly used in combat as water walking, it was still useful–mostly as a way of traveling through trees. Especially in Konoha. I turned to face my team with I was a good two meters up the tree trunk, “Any questions?”

 “Yeah, what the heck does this have to do with learning kickass jutsus?!” Of course it was Naruto.

 I leapt off the tree and landed in front of the three genin again, “Simple. In battle, ninja fight with jutsus. Jutsus require chakra to perform. Having good chakra control enables the user to perform jutsus to their maximum efficiency without wasting any chakra. Thus it also gives the user more chakra to use in a battle. Understand?” All three shook their head 'no'. I sighed, well damn it. Why did I get stuck with the stupid kids?

 “Look think of it this way, say a person can use about twenty different jutsus with medium damage in a battle without learning to control their chakra. If that person does learn chakra control, they can boost the number of jutsus they perform from twenty to say... thirty as well as boosting the power of their jutsus. Learning chakra control also is essential to learning medical ninjutsu and Konoha has a rule that there must be a medic nin on each team. One of you will be learning medical ninjutsu as well.” I stared right at Hinata when I said that. The kunoichi was usually the one who learned medical ninjutsu since women have better control than most men.

 Naruto, being the dramatic brat that he was, groaned exaggeratedly and fell back on his back, “But why?” He persisted.

 My eyebrow started twitching in irritation. Up until now I had been almost civil to the brats, they were highly amusing after all, but my patience was starting to wear thin... not that I had that much to begin with anyway. In a sharp voice I started counting off the benefits to tree walking, “Increases chakra control, gives you better balance, can be used in battle, is the first stepping stone in walking on water...”

 There was a slight breeze that suddenly shot past me. Being a jounin I immediately flinched to the right, automatically thinking that I was being attacked. I spun around, hand already going for my kunai pouch in preparation for whatever came at me. Instead all I got was the sight of Naruto's blazing orange back racing towards the tree I had walked up.

 He got three steps before falling flat on his back. I didn't even feel a spike of chakra coming from the untrained genin. By the time someone reached my level of experience, even lower actually, there was hardly a sign that they were focusing chakra to their feet. A genin however, especially a dead last like Naruto, needed time to focus their chakra.

 “You didn't even use chakra, did you?” I questioned dryly, already knowing the answer.

 Naruto went from rubbing the back of his head and grimacing in pain to shouting at me, “That was just a practice run!”

 This kid was just like Denryoku...

 “Sure it was, brat. Now why don't you try for real this time. Focus your chakra first, then run for the tree. You'll get better results.” I said before glancing at Sasuke and Hinata. They hadn't moved from where they were. As a Hyuuga and an Uchiha they should have already been introduced to exercises similar to tree walking, especially Hinata whose clan fighting style relied on strong chakra control. “Alright you two, practice even if you already know it.” I said and the two kids strode after Naruto.

 I sat down where I stood and pulled out my book. Now that the brats were occupied with training, I could finish it.

 vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

 “Hey...” Naruto said in a creepy mysterious voice. Both Hinata and Sasuke stopped practicing their tree walking to look at the blonde. Of all three of them, Naruto was the most bruised since he had no prior training. Sasuke fared a little better, his clan focused more on ninjutsu than building stamina; while Hinata remained unscathed.

 Naruto looked to the right then left in a shifty manner, “What do you think Frizzy-sensei reads? She's always reading that book.” He whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards their oblivious sensei.

 Sasuke had to admit that he was curious. He hardly knew anything about either of his cousins, other than that they were related to him through Kaa-chan and that both were extremely ill tempered. For some reason, Obito and Yanagi didn't get along with Otou-san; but why exactly, Sasuke didn't know.

 “Shisui says that Obito-itoko reads perverted books.” Sasuke said, mostly to himself. The navy haired Uchiha glanced at his sensei/cousin, could she...?

 “Eh? Who's Obito?” Naruto asked, his eyes squinting in confusion.

 Surprisingly it was Hinata who answered, “O-O-Obito i-i-i-is S-sen-sensei's b-b-b-b-b-bro-broth-brother.” She managed to wring out, blushing red. Sasuke was tempted to tell her not to try and talk to Naruto. Hinata risked fainting every time she even looked at her crush. How Naruto hadn't noticed their teammates affection yet was beyond Sasuke.

 “Oh... then who's Shisui?”

 Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Shisui is my Aniki's best friend. He is close to Obito-itoko. Shisui says that Obito and Kakashi-san read Icha Icha all the time. It's their favorite book series.”

 Hinata was turning even more red. Sasuke glanced at his female teammate curiously. Normally she only blushed when she was thinking about Naruto, or speaking to him, or looking at him, or hearing his voice... basically anytime Naruto was within ten feet of her. So why was she blushing now when all Sasuke did was mention a book series?

 Shrugging it off as strange girl behavior, Sasuke continued, “Do you think that sensei might read the same thing?”

 Naruto started snickering, “I knew there was something weird about her!” He said between snorts. Then he suddenly lit up with an idea. Sasuke had learned already that that usually didn't bode well for the team's health or sanity. “Hey, what if we...” More shifty looks, “found out if she does read those smutty books?”

 Sasuke had a mild panic attack. Trying to go against Yanagi would be like trying to prank Obito: suicidal. Sasuke had already learned his lessons about messing with his cousins and he didn't wish to repeat either of them.

 Bamf!

 Hinata fainted, of course. Luckily Sasuke managed to catch her before she hit her head on the ground. He glared at Naruto, “Do you have a death wish?” It wasn't that he feared Yanagi; but he had noticed that everyone in the clan, save very few people, usually took steps to avoid her when Yanagi was pissed. Caution was always a good trait to have when you're a shinobi.

 “Of course not! Frizzy-sensei can't be that bad.” Naruto defended hotly. Then he immediately went back into his 'scheming mode' “Now... here is what I was thinking we should do.”

 Why Sasuke even listened, he'd never know. But the young Uchiha had to admit that his blonde teammate did have a talent for pranking. Though... it was no where near as good as Obito's talent.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 “Sensei?” I glanced up at Naruto and raised an eyebrow. The kid's expression was uncharacteristically serious. I automatically suspected something.

 “There's no way you're finished with the exercise.” I said, my voice carefully void of all suspicion. I had learned from growing up with Obito that you never let the prankster know that you know they're up to something. Besides, with Naruto's one track mind, I might be able to distract him.

 No dice.

 Naturally, being an Uchiha and a powerful jounin, I refuse to admit to anyone what happened next. One minute the Kyuubi brat was standing in front of me, almost frowning, and the next he was tearing across the training grounds with my book in his hands. It took me a second for it to click that some damn newly made genin just stole something right out from under my nose.

 Someone was going to die.

 “UZUMAKI NARUTO!!!” I roared as I shot to my feet. I was delicate for both my height and age–I barely looked like a proper jounin let alone a chunnin–but I had a pair of lungs courtesy of having a fire chakra nature. All shinobi with Katon ninjutsu had to have a healthy set of lungs, especially to pull of the Uchiha style Grand Fireball technique.

 Plus growing up with Nii-san helped too.

 I had nearly caught the damned brat when he tossed the book across the clearing to Sasuke. If I wasn't so pissed I'd be impressed by his arm strength. My cousin caught the book easily and leapt up into the trees, taking off to a destination unknown. I shunshined twice to narrow the gap between us and reached out to grab the brat by his Uchiha collar. I'd never understand why most of my kinsmen liked those stupid high collar shirts.

 Sasuke stopped abruptly and dropped the book, letting it fall towards the ground, before evading my grip. Great. Now I had to change trajectory and free fall to grab my book.

 I was going to murder whoever thought this was a good idea.

 Three Narutos passed in below me, one nabbing the book out of the air while the other two stalled me for a brief moment, allowing the first Naruto to gain distance. What made matters even worse, they started jeering at me. I glared and grabbed the Naruto to my right and swung him into his partner. They both disappeared in a puff of smoke. That took me by surprise. I hadn't known that Naruto could create shadow clones.

 Maybe he wasn't such a dead last after all...

 But he was still dead.

 Shunshining closer to the culprit who had my book I yelled out, “Stop right there or else!”

 Naruto grinned at me over his shoulder, “What will you do? You can't even catch me!” He teased. I stopped on the branch I had just landed on and watched with a flat expression as the still mocking Naruto slammed into a tree.

 I take it back. He was a dead last for sure, he just had a very unexpected high ranked jutsu in his arsenal. And probably the only one too.

 “You gonna hand the book over now? Or do I have to get serious?” I asked boredly, my arms crossed over my chest, when Naruto finally caught his bearings.

 The kid squinted at me, “What is this book, anyway?” He asked curiously. I was surprised he didn't think to open it and look for himself; but he was dumb enough that I doubted he knew how to even open a book.

 “Hand it over and we'll forget this stupidity on your part.” I said, holding out my hand for my book, “You won't ever bring it up and I won't make your life hell, alright?”

 He tried to open the book.

 I snatched it from him before he could read the characters on the page. For extra precaution I stuffed the thin volume down my flak vest, not trusting my genin to try and sneak into my weapons pouch where I normally kept it. Without a word I turned away from Naruto, who was blinking dumbly at his suddenly empty hands.

 I was so signing them up for the 'Retrieve Tora' mission tomorrow. I deserved some damn entertainment after this stupid stunt!

  Chapter 9: Cats, Aunts, and B-ranks, Oh My!

“Good job team! Real nice action out there today.” I said cheerfully as Team 7 walked back to the Missions Assignment Office after a hard day's work of one D-rank mission. Though, considering it was the infamous 'Retrieve Tora' mission, I guess I couldn't blame them for taking all day. Honestly, some teams took weeks to capture Tora.

 I heard Sasuke mumble behind me, “Why do I get the feeling Sensei enjoyed this?” I ignored his comment, since it was true. I loved watching Naruto getting beaten by a cat, again; I had a feeling the blonde was starting to really hate cats. Especially after he nearly deafened the rest of Team 7 with his declaration of loathing cats for all eternity.

 ...Shouldn't have stolen my book yesterday.

 Naruto answered Sasuke's rhetorical question in a much louder voice that I couldn't ignore, “Because Frizzy-sensei is in league with the devil! Look at her, Sensei is holding that demon cat!” It was true, Tora was purring happily in my arms, not at all like the creature who just kicked Naruto's skinny ass into next week.

 And if Naruto called me 'Frizzy-sensei' again, I was going to kick him into the next century.

 “Oh Tora, my precious baby! You must have been so scared!” The Daimyo's wife cooed when we returned Tora to his owner. “Mommy was so worried about his fuzzy little face! Oooooo I'll never let you out of my sight again~!”

 Naruto laughed, “Ha! That kitty deserves to be squashed.”

 My eye twitched and I contemplated on swatting the blonde upside the head, but decided against it with both the Hokage and Iruka in the room. They were too overly protective over Naruto that I couldn't get away with hitting the idiot. Especially Iruka, he had a trick that he could use to get revenge. The guy knew about my silent treatment towards Shisui; if I hit Naruto I didn't doubt that Iruka would sic Shisui on me in retaliation.

 While the Daimyo's wife, Lady Shizimi, continued to smother her cat with affection, the Hokage began reading off more missions. Babysitting, shopping, gardening... the normal boring D-rank stuff.

 “Noooooo!” Naruto whined, putting his forearms up to make an 'X'. I glared at him for interrupting the Hokage. “I wanna go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this kids' stuff!” I frowned a little, thinking what I could do to make Naruto's life more interesting, since he obviously thought everything he was doing was 'kid stuff'. And by interesting, I meant more entertaining for me. Maybe if I made his life hell enough now, he wouldn't beg for a higher ranked mission.

 I glanced at the two silent clan kids. Sasuke was ready to go on C-rank missions, I'd admit that. But Hinata was nowhere near ready. While the girl was more advance in training than the boys, her personality was a major fall back. Hinata wouldn't last well outside the village, she'd probably faint when a rabbit hopped across her path! Still C-rank missions were simple. There was supposed to be little or no enemies on C-ranks, in fact C-ranks were generally just D-ranked missions that went outside the village. Maybe Hinata wouldn't do so bad on it...

 I punched Naruto in the head when he started yelling at Iruka about D-ranks not being real missions, causing the brat to facefault. “Cork it, kid.” I said flatly. Ha! Now Iruka wouldn't get mad at me for hitting Naruto since I was only controlling the rowdy brat's behavior. While I watched the blonde whine and moan, though I didn't hit him nearly as hard as he was making it out to be, the Hokage began another monotone speech.

 Ugh. Kill me now.

 Immediately Naruto turned his back on the Hokage and began talking about the ramen he had over the past week. Out of sheer boredom, I listen to him. Hinata was the only one really listening to him though, Sasuke and I were doing it so we didn't have to hear the Hokage drone on and on.

 “Silence!” Hiruzen snapped, though not very loud. He didn't seem like the person to actually yell–at least to people who didn't really know him. Hinata jumped like she had gotten caught drinking heavy sake or something; the rest of us just turned our attention casually back on Hiruzen.

 I glanced at the Hokage, “...Sorry.” I said in a 'not-so-sorry' tone. If the Hokage wanted people to listen, then he should really learn to put inflection in his voice.

 Naruto, still sitting for some stupid reason, turned back around, “You're always lecturing me like you're my grandfather or something,” Well... he kind of was. Naruto did call the Hokage 'jiji' sometimes, “but I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time!” Oh really? Than was do you call yesterday? “I'm a ninja now and I want a real mission!” After the somewhat speech, Naruto crossed his arms with a childish pout and turned around again. Whatever credibility he had just made, it was thrown out the window by his actions.

 I sighed and wondered why the karma demons hated me to much.

 The Hokage laughed. I mentally cringed, that laugh meant that I wasn't going to like what came next. “Naruto wants us to know that he's a former brat, and he wants a mission... so be it.” Cue surprised looks from all three genin and a groan from me, “Since you're so determined I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey.”

 Damn it. I hated when I was right.

 Naruto cheered and leapt up, “YES! Who? Who are we guarding? A princess?! Or some big league councilor?”

 The Hokage still have that evil smirk on his face as he said, “I'll bring him in now. Send our visitor in.” He called a little louder.

 The door behind us opened and we all turned to see a wizened old man, though he was younger than the Hokage, come stumbling in with a sake bottle hanging loosely in his grip. “Wha tha? A bunch of snot nosed kids?!” I raised an eyebrow, it wasn't even noon and already he was drunk. I liked sake as much as the next person, but I drew the line at being drunk during the day. The client took a swig of his sake and pointed to the team, “And you, the short one with the idiot face, you expect me to believe you're a ninja?”

 I glanced at my team and smirked. Naruto was the shortest, even Hinata was a full inch taller than him. The kid predictably cracked up and glanced at his two teammates, not understanding that he was the one our client was talking about. I had to hold Naruto back when it finally dawned on him that Mr. Drunk was talking about him.

 “You can't kill the client if he's annoying, Naruto... that's my job.” I said patiently as I griped the struggling genin by his appalling orange jacket. I could feel the Hokage and Iruka's equally disapproving looks drilling into my back. I ignored them.

 The drunk introduced himself as Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. He gave a nasty little speech about protecting him even if it cost us our lives. I glared at him for that. I believed in sacrificing yourself for the life of a friend just like anyone else; but it was an automatic 'screw you' if someone who wasn't my superior, namely the Hokage, was telling me to give my life for them.

 I wondered if the Hokage would dock my pay if I hogtied the man and dragged him to the Land of Waves by his hair.

 Nah, better not; it'd set a bad example for the kiddies.

 Snapping my fingers, I brought all attention to me, “Alright, we leave at three this afternoon. Go pack for a month long mission, and be at the gate by three or you can stay in Konoha. Sasuke, you're escorting the Grandpa Drunk around. Keep an eye on him. Now all of you shoo.” Sasuke was probably the only one who could handle being around Tazuna without trying to kill him or fainting. I completely ignored Tazuna's indignant shouts and Naruto's laugh as the four of them filed out of the room.

 Hiruzen gave me a brief rundown of the mission: Team 7 would escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves, protecting him from any bandits we might come across, then act as a bodyguards as he and his men finished the bridge that would 'change the world' or whatever. When the Hokage finished his briefing, I gave a small bow and left.

 The Daimyo's wife was still in the hall when I closed the door behind me. Tora had long since stopped struggling and coiled up in his owner's arms, purring like he hadn't been trying to escape. I smirked and gave a small bow, “Always a pleasure, my lady.” I said, meaning it.

 The woman gave me a smirk that equaled my own, “Oh dearie, you know I love teasing genin. Both me and my precious Tora.” Lady Shizimi enjoyed screwing with impressionable minds almost as much as I did. It was one of the reasons why she and I got along so well. After all, there weren't many women out there who would purposefully train cats–all named Tora of course–to give newly made genin hell. It was almost a rite of passage for genin to take on the infamous 'Retrieve Tora' mission. Even Obito said that Minato mentioned doing the mission when he was a genin; though if I remember correctly it had been another Daimyo's wife, not Lady Shizimi, who had 'lost' Tora.

 vvv

 The house was empty when I got there. Obito didn't say how long his mission with Rin and Kakashi would be, but when the best jounin squad was called out on a mission, they could be gone for months. Seriously, what kind of mission required the best medic Konohagakure had, an ANBU captain, and an infiltration expert? Whatever it was, it had better be preventing another damn war.

 I went to my room and pulled out my ready made mission pack I kept under the bed. Being a jounin and one of the top most powerful Uchiha, I was used to having missions at the drop of a hat so I always kept a mission pack ready just in case I was called out. Slinging my pack over one shoulder and grabbing my haiti-ate that I wore only when outside Konoha, I went to the kitchen to scribble a quick note for Obito in case he got back before I did.

 Gone on C-rank with genin brats.

 I won't interact with any men.

 Don't look for my candy stash, it's hidden.

 Hit Shisui for me.

 And yourself.

 And Kakashi.

 Tell everyone I hate them.

 ~Yanagi

 I took a kunai that needed to be sharpened and impaled the note to the kitchen table so Obito would see it. He hated it when I did that. Nii-san was weird about cuts in the table for some reason. Something about the table being the only thing we had of our parents left.

 Whatever. Our parents died before I turned three, so I didn't care.

 I still had two hours before we left. I was a stickler for being early and all, but even two hours was too much for me. Besides, it was lunchtime, I could eat something before we headed out; but with Kakashi gone with Obito I had no one to eat with. I wasn't keen on eating by myself, too many men tried to flirt with me when I was by myself. I might not like Obito being an overprotective troll of a brother, but I hated flirty men who didn't get the hint that I wasn't interested even more.

 Still... I did have one option.

 “Sensei?” Sasuke questioned when he opened the door. By the look of his face, I think I successfully stumped the kid. It wasn't a secret that Fugaku detested me and my brother and visa-versa; as a result Obito and I avoided from the Uchiha Main House like the plague.

 I gave my student/cousin a blank look, “Is your dad home?” I asked boredly. Sasuke shook his head 'no' and I grinned, “Perfect. Then I'm staying for lunch.” Mikoto had giving Nii-san and I an open invitation to come over for meals at anytime. But we usually declined because Fugaku was there. While I loved my aunt, I didn't want anything to do with her husband.

 Before Sasuke could answer I ducked around him and took off my sandals. As I pulled my gloves off, I looked at the still somewhat dumbfounded Sasuke out of the corner of my eye, “Where's Grandpa Drunk?” Please tell me he was tied up like a dog. Please tell me he was tied up like a dog. Please tell me he was tied up like a dog-

 “HEY! You've gotta awfully lot of guts calling me names!”

 Damn it.

 I glared at Tazuna who was in the hallway glaring right back at me. Behind him Itachi stood giving me a sort of disapproving blank look. I honestly didn't know how my cousin could do that. Glares normally didn't bother me, but Itachi had a way of getting under my skin with his staring, even when he was still a brat just learning to walk. I eventually found a way to bypass Itachi's stares, by accusing someone of bothering Sasuke they got the brunt of Itachi's looks and I got to sneak away with my dignity.

 “Like you have guts calling my students idiots?” I asked Tazuna in a false sweet tone. Okay so he only called Naruto an idiot, but it was worth stretching the truth to see Itachi full out glare at Tazuna while the drunk broke out in a sweat. Ruffling Sasuke's hair as I walked past him–didn't want the preteen to feel left out–I headed for the kitchen, calling out for my aunt.

 To say that Mikoto-oba left the stove to hug me when I stepped into her domain was saying something. That woman wouldn't leave the kitchen if the Kyuubi attacked again... maybe. I really didn't want to test the theory though. “Yanagi! Sasuke told me you're his sensei, I hope you're not going easy on him.” Mikoto-oba said when she finally let me go.

 I grinned evilly, “Of course not.” I joked, “But don't worry, I'm not singling him out for torture. All three of them get the same evil treatment.” I continued lightly. Mikoto laughed. That was the reason while I liked my aunt. Unlike the rest of our family, hell the entire clan really, Mikoto had a sense of humor. She didn't get offended over a joke... unlike two certain cousins who were glaring at me.

 Little brats.

 I shot Itachi and Sasuke a disdainful look before smirking and turning back to my aunt. There was one topic that made the two extremely uncomfortable. Well, at least Itachi; I didn't have much interaction with Sasuke until I became his jounin sensei. “So... any good prospect for the boys?” Itachi seemed to be choking on air behind me, but I ignored him.

 Wasn't my fault that Mikoto's hobby was matchmaking.

 My question launched a full hour of listening to Mikoto spouting about all the different prospects of potential girlfriends and their advantages and disadvantages. Tazuna and I got a kick out of it while the Uchiha brothers were pretty much trying to murder me with glares. I'd chalk it up as dinner and a show.

 “So, what about you Yanagi? Do you have a man yet?” Mikoto asked once she finished her rant that took up the majority of lunch. The downfall of asking my aunt about her hobby, she started playing matchmaker on me.

 My amused expression fell flat, “No.”

 “What?! Yanagi, you're in the prime of your life! You should live a little before you become old like me.”

 “You're not old, Mikoto-oba!”

 “Don't change the subject! Why aren't you dating?” Mikoto demanded, glaring at me darkly. I blanched. If there was one person who truly scared me, it was my aunt. I doggedly ignored Sasuke's quiet snickering across the table from me.

 “Talk to Obito-nii. He's still an overprotective prick.”

 “Don't call your brother a prick.”

 “Yes mother.”

 “And I'll talk to Obito.”

 “I never said I wanted to date anyone!”

 By Mikoto's expression, one would think I had just said that Itachi and Sasuke were committing incest. Slowly her horrified expression turned into fury. I was in trouble now. I stood up and grabbed Tazuna and Sasuke by the backs of their shirt collars, “Gotta go. Mission. Bye!” I said quickly then bodily dragged my two meat shields from the house.

 vvv

 “Yeeaaaaah! Alright!” Naruto screeched the moment he stepped outside the village gates. The rest of us just stared at him.

 Hinata, surprisingly, was the one to ask what everyone was thinking albeit more politely, “W-what is it, N-Naruto-k-k-kun?” Well at least she wasn't taking a minute just to stutter out a word anymore.

 The blonde Kyuubi brat began looking around exaggeratedly, jumping around the well worn road that lead to Konoha's gates, “This is the first time I've ever been outside the village! I'm a traveler now, believe it!” The kid exclaimed then began laughing like a loon.

 There wasn't a word good enough to describe his stupidity.

 Tazuna look at me, “Hey, am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke!” I noticed that Naruto stiffened up as he overheard the drunk.

 I gave the man a Kakashi-style eye smile, “Oh don't worry about that. I'm a jounin so I'll be able to protect you should the need arise. What you do need to worry about is if idiocy is contagious; I hear Grandpa Drunks catch it very easily.” I said cheerfully.

 “HEY!” Two equally offended people shouted. Three guesses on who. Sasuke was giving me a look that said 'no matter what you say, I'm not related to you' while Hinata looked horrified for some odd reason. I only giggled at their faces.

 Walking forward I grabbed Naruto's backpack straps, “Come on. I don't want to be late.” I said mildly as I began dragging Naruto behind me. He was too busy shouting at Tazuna about being Hokage to pay attention anyway. Besides, he'd probably attack the client if I let him go.

 …

 “...and then I had beef ramen again for lunch. I really like the beef, but my favorite is pork ramen! Though miso ramen is another good one! I also like naruto better than menma in my ramen because I'm named Naruto! Plus menma tastes nasty, it's like I'm eating grass instead of yummy naruto! Last week Iruka took me to Ichiraku ramen again, that place is so great! I like it better than the instant noodles I used to eat when I was in the Academy. When I become Hokage, I'm going to eat Ichiraku ramen all day long and-”

 “That's unhealthy.” I broke in. From the relieved sighs, I was guessing that everyone else, even Hinata, were glad for a break in the three hour long ramen speech.

 Naruto looked up at me confused, “Huh?”

 I gave him a flat look out of the corner of my eye, “Eating nothing but ramen is unhealthy. You should add vegetables and fruits to your diet. I'd say stop eating ramen altogether, but that's not going to happen.” I added the last part under my breath so Naruto couldn't hear me. If he did the brat would no doubt go into a long rant about the pros of ramen.

 Naruto stuck his tongue out and made a face, “Ewww! Vegetables are gross.” He said childishly.

 “Only if you don't cook them right.” I snapped right back.

 “No they wouldn't! They'd still be gross.”

 I leaned down so that my face was inches from the squinty eyed kid, “Oh really? Listen here, Obito Mini-me, my brother doesn't like vegetables either but he likes the way I fix them.”

 “I'M NOT HIS MINI-ME!!”

 “Actually... you kinda are.” Sasuke suddenly piped up. Naruto and I turned to my cousin to see him looking Naruto up and down. By the contemplating look on his face, I'd say that Sasuke was making many connections between the Kyuubi brat and my annoying Nii-san.

 Naruto turned red with anger and slammed his foot into the ground, “Listen here, teme, I am not that creep's Mini-me! We are nothing alike!” I sighed as Sasuke vs Naruto Round 254 started. And yes, I was keeping count.

 Hinata and Tazuna exchanged confused looked, not known Obito on a more personal level like the three of us did. I grabbed the two arguing boys heads and turned them forward, making the two keep walking. I was not going to stop for every time Naruto decided to pick a fight with Tazuna, Sasuke or me. He can learn to walk and talk like the rest of us.

 “T-Tazuna-san?” Hinata asked several minutes later after Naruto and Sasuke went to sulk in their separate 'corners'.

 Grandpa Drunk swallowed his gulp of sake and turned to the shy Hyuuga, “Yeah?” Hinata asked something about the Land of Waves, but I wasn't paying attention. My eyes were on that sake bottle of Tazuna's. I was going to be an alcoholic if I had to continue to deal with Naruto's idiocy, that much I was certain of. Might as well start now... if I could get a hold of that bottle that is...

 “S-ensei?” Hinata questioned, pulling me out of my alcohol musings. I looked at my nervous student and raised an eyebrow. “A-are there any nin...ja in the L-and of W-waves?” She managed to say without stuttering too much. Well it was better than when she graduated at least.

 Wait, I had to do a lesson didn't I? Weren't they supposed to learn this in school?! “No, not in the Land of Waves; though in some other countries there are hidden villages. Having a hidden village means having shinobi. But there's not a hidden village anywhere in the Land of Waves. There are five great nations that have a hidden villages: the Lands of Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, and Lightning. There are smaller countries that have hidden villages, but they don't have a Kage. The Kages are the leaders of the hidden villages in the Five Great Nations. Konoha has the Hokage. There's also the Tsuchikage, Kazekage, Mizukage and Raikage. Those five are the rulers of thousands of ninja in their own country. Got it?” Quickest rundown on hidden villages and shinobi ever.

 “So-so Lord H-hokage is r-r-eally important?” Hinata asked when I finished my spiel. I look at her, then at the two boys. From their expressions, I could tell that none of them were thinking really highly of the Hokage at the moment. But who could blame them, for all they knew the Hokage was just a grandfather figure. Not the war general the adults in Konoha knew.

 Still I wasn't going to let them get away with it, it was a golden opportunity to scold the lot of them, “You're doubting the Hokage aren't you?” I asked sternly, my hands going to my hips. All three kids looked away sheepishly. I rolled my eyes, they were just making it obvious. I put my hand on Hinata's head, “Still. Don't worry about any foreign ninja. This is a C-rank, there's hardly ever and confrontations on a C-rank mission.” That seemed to take a load off the three.

 Was it just me or was Tazuna stiffening up?

 vvv

 It was relatively quiet now. Naruto wasn't rambling on about ramen and Hinata wasn't pestering Tazuna with stuttered questions. The only sounds were the happy songs of birds in the trees and the footsteps of five people. I was tempted to take my book out and start reading, or possibly get into Tazuna's sake stash, but something was telling me not to. Twelve years as a kunoichi taught you to listen to your instincts. Man, if it was me just being paranoid again I was going to strangle myself.

 My three genin walked right past a puddle and didn't even look down; Tazuna didn't notice it either. As they should have. Puddles were meant to be inconspicuous and overlooked.

 Damn it. I hate puddles.

 “Hold up!” I called. My four companions turned around in enough time to see me bending over as if to readjust my left sandal strap. Out of view, my Sharingan activated and gave a quick spin before darkening back into obsidian.

 Try getting out of an Area of Effect genjutsu now, suckers.

 While everyone was under the genjutsu I shunshined into the treeline and watched as the chunnin level Kiri nins, if their headbands were anything to go by, leapt out of that damn puddle and used their chains to cut 'me' to ribbons. Literally.

 Ugh. I hate Bloody Mist nins.

 Both nuke-nins went after Naruto, who was too busy screaming my name to pay attention to the Kiri nins. He froze in fear, predictably since Naruto was only a genin with no previous battle training, as the two nuke-nins came for him. Their chains were still dripping in 'my' blood. My cheek twitched a little, maybe the genjutsu I had cast was a little too gruesome for genin. I tensed, ready to intervene and screw the plan, when Sasuke jumped out of no where and pinned the nuke-nins' chains to a nearby tree.

 Guess clan training/torture does come in handy sometimes.

 Using taijutsu, Sasuke managed to kick the Kiri nuke-nins back and thus breaking their chains in the process. The two attackers recovered quickly, as expected from chunnin level shinobi, and went for Naruto again. I frowned, wondering what their motive was. Were the two really after the Kyuubi, or were they just clearing out the competition before they went after the real target? Regardless of their true target, it would have been strategical to finish Sasuke off since he was the higher threat.

 One of the shinobi broke off and went for Tazuna and Hinata. The Hyuuga whimpered plaintively and stood in front of Tazuna, the kunai in her hands shaking so badly I doubted she would be able to even hit the enemy if he was two inches in front of her. She didn't move as the enemy reached out with his clawed gauntlet for... Tazuna behind her.

 So Tazuna was the real target.

 Sasuke leapt in front of Hinata, arms wide, intending to take the blow that wasn't even going for the Hyuuga heiress. Then I saw the glove move slightly down so it would stab straight through Sasuke and possibly through Hinata as well. Killing two birds with one stone, as it were. Shit shit shit shit! If they did hit Hinata and Sasuke it would ruin the genjutsu!

 I shunshined out of my hiding place and grabbed the nuke-nin going for the brats and bodily swung him into his partner. They both went rolling head over tail before crashing head first into the tree that Sasuke had previously pinned their chains to. I shunshined after them, grabbed the chains and tied the annoying piss-ants up using their own weapons. If they happened to get cut with their poisons chains, too bad so sad.

 Dusting my hands off to get rid of their filth I turned back to the group, all of whom were staring at me like they had seen a ghost.

 Oh wait...

 I put up two fingers and exclaimed, “Kai!” The world we were standing in dissolved away, 'my' nasty and very gruesome remains disappearing along with Naruto's scratch from the shinobi that attacked him. The nuke-nin twitched, “Y-You mean it was just a genjutsu?!” The one of the right with the darker clothing asked.

 “Well yeah... what did you expect when fighting an Uchiha?” I said as if it were obvious. Which it should have been. I looked back at my team, “Nice work Sasuke, very smooth.” I complimented. After taking on two chunnin level nuke-nins and actually giving them trouble for a few seconds, my cousin deserved some praise from me. The others... not so much. Though Hinata did stand her ground instead of fleeing. “I'm proud of you too Hinata. That was very brave.” The two kids looked at me surprised.

 Naruto on the other hand... he looked genuinely horrified as he thought back on the fight. I wasn't going to say anything. My silence would be enough of a reprimand. After all, Naruto had just thought he faced a life and death situation, anyone could freeze up like he did.

 Then Sasuke decided to egg him on like the little prick he was, “Hey, you're not scared are you... scaredy cat?” The look on my little cousin's face was so evil, I didn't know if I should be impressed or swat him upside the head for teasing Naruto. Maybe both.

 I settled on both, “Don't torment Naruto, Duckass.” I snapped while I was mentally cheering him on. Not that I'd ever tell him that, the kid didn't need that already big ego of his inflated anymore. “By the way, Tazuna...” The drunk stiffened and turned to me, his stance automatically defensive. Well, any doubt I had was just laid to rest, “We're going to have a nice long talk.” The man gulped.

 Good.

 I pointed to the two slouched over nuke-nins, “Those are chunnin level shinobi from Kirigakure, according to the Bingo Book they go by the Demon Brothers. They specialize in relentless attacks, often to the point of being suicidal.” Why they weren't trying to escape now was strange though. Surely I hadn't freaked them out enough they they actually gave up. Wimps.

 The nuke-nin to the right spoke again, “How did you know about our ambush?”

 I held up three fingers, “Three reasons. One, I'm a jounin. You had better damn well know I'm better than that, it's an insult. Two, I'm a sensory type, I could feel your chakra in the puddle; which leads me to my third point,” My expression turned flat. “A puddle, on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks. Seriously, how did you two become chunnin?!”

 Tazuna gave me a glare, “Then why did you leave it for the genin to do the fighting?”

 “They were never in any danger.” I said calmly. Everyone else shifted, obviously thinking the same thing. I rolled my eyes, “I'm an Uchiha. Genjutsu is the clan's specialty. If I can't cast a simple Area of Effect genjutsu, then I'm a lousy clan member.” There was no way I was going to explain the intricacies of my genjutsu in front of the enemy. Everyone else can ponder all they want and come up with their own damn conclusions.

 I continued before someone else could ask another question, “These wimps were no problem. I could easily kill them, but then I wouldn't know who they were after... would I, Tazuna?”

 “What are you blathering about?!” Boy talk about defensive.

 “It's obvious that these men were after you, Grandpa Drunk, don't bother denying it.” I said flatly. The man didn't say anything else, he only blushed a little. “A C-rank escort mission is a standard escort mission. There aren't supposed to be any ninja hunting clients during C-rank missions, just bandits and ruffians looking for easy pickings. Having enemy ninja on your tail is a B-rank or higher.” Tazuna looked more and more guilty for getting these kids in his mess with each word I spoke.

 Hinata spoke up, “N-Naruto-k-k-kun is b-bad-badly h-h-h-h-hurt. W-we-we sh-should get him m-me-medical treat-tre-t-treatment f-fast.” She stuttered out from her spot. I turned to Hinata and opened my mouth to tell her that Naruto didn't need any help when the idiot suddenly stabbed his hand.

 “What are you doing?!” I shouted, spinning around to stare at my stupid student. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hinata faint and Tazuna catch her. Don't tell me she fainted at the sight of blood too!

 Naruto shook in pain and closed one eye, his expression serious for once. “Why am I so different? I work very hard to get here! I pushed myself until it hurt and trained alone for hours to get stronger and achieve my dream! I won't let someone else rescue me again, I won't back down. I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke. On this wound I make this pledge... believe it. Tazuna-san, I will complete this mission and protect you with this kunai. A real ninja never gives up, and neither will I! Now let's go!”

 Tazuna and Sasuke seemed awed about Naruto's speech, I just stared at him deadpanned, “Naruto... that was, uh, really ...cool... and the speech was great but... um, there's no wound. And if you lose anymore blood, you're going to die.”

 Naruto slowly looked down at his now injured hand and saw only the wound he had inflicted on himself. He was turning steadily paler, whether from blood loss or from the fact that he just had a unknown emo moment, I couldn't tell.

 “Bu- I did get hurt! That guy hit me and he had poison claws and-”

 “That was under genjutsu. He was actually striking that tree.” I said and pointed. Everyone, including the Demon Brothers, looked where I was pointing and saw three scratch marks on the tree, “Everyone thought it was you, but it wasn't. The wound disappeared when I released the genjutsu.” Naruto started sweating bullets as he looked at his still bleeding hand. I smiled, “Now would be the time to stop the bleeding... seriously. You have like a minute to live.”

 Cue the freak out.

 I rolled my eyes, “Let me see your hand.” While Naruto still did his freakout dance I took his hand and turned it over to see the wound. Lifting up my free hand I started the Mystical Palm Technique to heal it, creating green chakra around my fingers, until I noticed that the would was closing right before my eyes. I stiffened slightly then narrowed my eyes.

 So the Kyuubi was healing him.

 “Um...” Naruto started. I looked up to see him staring at me intently, shivering in fear, “You have a really serious look on your face... I'm not going to die am I?”

 Hmmmm... troll him or reassure him? Choices... choices...

 Troll him.

 “Naruto, I'm sorry to tell you this but...” I trailed off and sadly shook my head. Tazuna gasped behind me. Naruto turned a sickly green color, then went whiter than a sheet. I stood up abruptly with my face impassive, “But you're going to live to annoy me longer. Congrats.” It took a second for Naruto to comprehend that he wasn't dying. Then I felt a soggy something slamming into me. “Ugh! What-?” I looked down to see Naruto burying his face in my side.

 He turned his face up and gave me a teary, snot filled, smile, “Thank you, thank you, thank you sensei!”

 “GET OFF ME, YOU DISGUSTING BRAT!” I yelled and tried to pull the kid off me. I was a clean freak, I didn't like snot nosed sobbing kids! I especially didn't like them hugging me. Naruto clung tighter as he continued to yell 'thank you'. I continued to yell for him to let go of me.

  Chapter 10: Peaches

I sighed and snapped my book closed, giving up on trying to read. This fog was so damn thick I couldn't even read! I don't know why I let Naruto talk me into not turning around and going back to Konoha after the fight with the Kiri chunnin. I just knew there was going to be another big problem before this stupid mission ended. It wouldn't be a Team 7 mission if we didn't run into some kind of trouble.

 “WOAH! It's huge!” Naruto suddenly shouted. I glanced up to see what the idiot was talking about now while the boatman scolded the blonde about his loudmouth. Like that would make a difference. Still, I was mildly impressed by the bridge Naruto had screamed about. Too bad we wouldn't see it finished, since I was dragging my team back to Konoha the minute Tazuna's foot hit the shore.

 Still there was one thing bothering me...

 “Yo, Grandpa Drunk...” I started. The man didn't react like he usually did, which gave me an insight to how serious this was. “Tell me why there are men after you.” I was still aborting the mission when we dropped Tazuna on shore, but due to morbid curiosity I wanted to know why this guy had gone from a seemingly harmless drunk to someone rogue ninja were after. I could smell a good story behind all this.

 Might as well entertain myself with story time since I couldn't read.

 I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when Tazuna said, “I have no choice but to tell you–no I want you to know the truth.” Man was this guy dramatic, “Like you said, this isn't a true C-rank mission, the one who seeks my life is a very short man but cast a very long and deadly shadow.” I wondered mildly if Tazuna was trying to keep us interested enough to stay, or if he was just a naturally gifted story teller.

 “ 'Cast a long and deadly shadow'? Hmmm... Who is it?” I asked, deciding to play along.

 Tazuna gave me a solemn look, “...You know him... as Gatou. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world and-”

 “I know of him.” I said flatly, not wanting Tazuna to continue his blathering. Granted I didn't know the midget was a black market dealer who worked in dirty under-the-table tactics, but still.

 Naruto was doing his squinty face again, “Huh? Who? Who? What? What?” Seriously, the kid sounded like he was five years younger than his actual age. How I got saddled with him, I would never understand. The Hokage must have some beef with me that I didn't know about.

 Grandpa Drunk went on to explain the dirty deeds of this Gatou, all without losing that dramatic flair he had going. Seriously, if this guy hadn't already devoted his life to bridge building he should have gone into professional story telling. The genin were hooked; even the boatman was listening raptly, all while rowing the boat of course. Tazuna went on to explain how the bridge would break Gatou's control over the Land of Waves, and thus putting Tazuna's life in danger. Blah blah blah, boring boring boring. I got enough drama from Obito, I didn't need it from Grandpa Drunk as well. Though, I had to admit, Tazuna was better at telling the story than Nii-san.

 “So why did you request a C-rank, when you knew this was a B-rank mission?” I asked, keeping the conversation on track before Tazuna could go down the road of ramblings.

 The old man looked down, silent for a moment, then spoke, “Because the Land of Waves is poor, not even our Daimyo have little money. I couldn't afford something higher than a C-rank.” I gave a flat stare. It was something as simple as money? With all the drama already saturating the story, I thought it would be more spectacular than that. “This bridge will bring prosperity to my home, but if you just drop me off there won't be a bridge. They'll assassinate me.”

 My three little genin looked guilty, though Sasuke hid it better than Naruto or Hinata. I just continued to stare at him unimpressed by his blatant guilt-tripping. After growing up with Obito and Shisui I was immune to all guilt-trips of any kind.

 Tazuna moved on to flat out blackmail. He gave us a fake smile and said in a light tone, “But don't feel bad about that! Of course my sweet little grandson will be upset. He'll cry 'Granddad! I want my granddad!'” The change in voice was amusing as Tazuna mimicked his 'grandson's voice. Hinata and Naruto looked extremely guilty now, like they had accidentally kicked a puppy. But Tazuna wasn't finished yet, “Oh and my daughter will condemn the ninja of Konohagakure, denouncing and blaming you for abandoning me and living her life in sorrow.” The old coot added quickly as if it wasn't a big deal. The man's beady eyes darted to my still unaffected stare and continued, “Ah oh well, it's not your fault, forget it!”

 I stared at him stoically.

 Tazuna sweatdropped, thinking his little scheme failed.

 Finally I sighed reluctantly, “Fine, we'll keep guarding you.” If I had said no Naruto and possibly even Hinata would annoy me until they convinced me otherwise. It was best just to give in for now and let the drunk have this round. Tazuna lit up and I glared at him, causing him to whiten under his tan instantly.

 Beside me Sasuke smothered a snicker. He knew from experience that it was foolish to blackmail the Blackmail Queen.

 vvv

 I groaned when I saw Sasuke and Naruto having some kind of speed walking race. Why couldn't they acted like a normal rivalry? Why must it all be passive-aggressive and loud?! Naruto ran ahead and did a funny little 'look left and right' thing. I was about to ask what the hell was he doing when he suddenly threw a kunai, “Over there!” He exclaimed.

 Everyone–read: Sasuke and I–immediately leapt into defensive stance around Tazuna and waited for the attack.

 Nothing happened.

 Causally Naruto stood back up, “Hm, just a mouse.”

 Tazuna went off on the little brat, but Naruto ignored him by exclaiming that people were hiding around in the bushes all around us. I was about to hit him for being stupid when I felt a surge of chakra behind me.

 Naruto seemed to follow my instincts and aimed another kunai knife at the spot I felt the chakra surge. Tazuna smacked Naruto upside the head and the brat and drunk had yet another yelling match while I went to investigate. Just below the kunai that Naruto had thrown a white rabbit was having a heart attack.

 A white snow rabbit.

 Curse my cursed damn luck. The karma demons must really loath me.

 I stepped away from Naruto's sobbing apologies to casually inspect the clearing, searching for chakra signatures. I wasn't a very good sensory nin, most of it was just pure natural skill since I had spent most of my training on my sharingan and ninjutsu, so I wouldn't be able to sense anyone who was suppressing their chakra at a jounin level.

 Considering that I couldn't sense anyone meant that my suspicions were right and our next attacker was a jounin skilled opponent. The right side of my mouth twitched up and I almost sang out 'come out come out wherever you are~' but I didn't.

 Especially since our opponent was already attacking.

 “DUCK!” I roared and immediately all members of the group hit the dust, barely avoiding the big ass sword flying through the air. I was on my feet the second that stupid sword was past me and staring up passively at the jounin now standing on his sword hilt.

 Cow print arm and leg warmers. Grey striped pants. No shirt. Big ass sword. Damn it.

 Time to troll.

 First I ruined his sense of mysteriousness, “So... you're Momochi Zabuza, eh?” Silence from the cowboy. Guess I'd have to kick the trolling up a notch, “Feeling... peachy today?” I got a small minuscule twitch from the man and I grinned. That minuscule twitch from him meant he was extremely annoyed. One more time and I'd push him over the edge. “I have a very serious question. I need you to answer honestly.” I paused for a moment, “Is peaches your favorite food? I hate them.” Now I got a glare and a sliver of killer intent.

 Naruto began running for Zabuza like an idiot. Luckily I was able to stop him. I might be able to tease Zabuza, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. Naruto would just be killed needlessly if I let him  attack.

 “Don't. This guy is out of your league.” I said seriously.

 The blonde didn't seem to like that, “But I can take him!” He said confidently. If only he knew how wrong he was.

 I gave the kid a very stern look that made him back down. Ever since I became Team 7's sensei, I had been very surly and often glared at the trio of brats. But I knew they got the feeling I was kidding most of the time, that I was only fooling with them. Now I wasn't. I was truly being serious. “Stay. Back. Naruto. When I say this guy is too powerful, I mean it.” I turned my stare to Sasuke and Hinata, “All three of you stay out of this. Protect Tazuna, that's an order.” I said and shoved Naruto backwards, out of danger.

 Looking back up at the still silent Zabuza, I changed moods and called out cheerfully, “Hey, Peach-boy, any chance you'll let us go?”

 Silence.

 “Is that a yes?”

 Silence.

 “Are you mute or something?”

 Silence.

 “...Do you like pineapples?”

 Silence.

 Man, this guy was worse than I was when Shisui was around. I dropped the act and fell into a defensive stance, “Fine, Peachy, if you're not going to talk then you can at least attack. I've got things to do than try and drag answers outta you. That's T&I's job, not mine.”

 Silence.

I rolled my eyes and in the process of doing so activated my sharingan. That seemed to get his attention. Zabuza perked up and asked in a raspy 'I'm-obviously-a-heavy-smoker' voice, “So you're an Uchiha. By your unusual behavior... you're Yanagi, are you not?”

 I tsked demurely and flipped my ponytail over my shoulder, “Why I'm just flattered to death. You know my name, and here I thought I was overshadowed by the stupidity of my brother.”

 “The Stupidly Brave Kunoichi of Konoha.” Zabuza rasped, naming one of my various catch names I had gotten.

 Laughing I waved a hand, “Lame, isn't it? I don't know who came up with it; still it is a better nickname than some.” A certain nickname from an annoying Uchiha who I wasn't on speaking terms with came to mind and I frowned. Quickly I erased the frown and replaced it with a cheerful grin, “But I have to say, you're nickname is better... Demon of the Mist.”

 Zabuza seemed to be getting tired of our little mind game, “Hand over the old man.” He said.

 I scoffed, “Seriously? I admit I dislike the man as much as you do, but asking for me to hand him over is just lame and lazy. And your intimidation tactics aren't working, Peach-boy. It's kinda hard to be intimidated by someone with the last name of 'peach soil'.”

 A thick mist suddenly began to build up. Guess I pushed the peachy cowboy too far. I smiled. Goody, now the fun began. “In the Kirigakure Bingo Book, it's listed that you had a runaway mouth, Uchiha.” Zabuza commented.

 “I have a runaway mouth. I'm not dead yet, dumbass.” I corrected hotly. How dare Peachy insinuate that I was going to die!

 Zabuza gave a creepy chuckle, but it didn't hold a candle to Obito in his pranking moods, “Soon.” He promised. I rolled my eyes again. As far as trash talk went, this guy was not a pro. It was almost embarrassing how predictable his insults were. Peach-boy continued before I could insult him back and show how a true master of disrespect did it, “In our Bingo Book it's said that your fire ninjutsus are some of the most powerful in the world. Too bad it won't do you any good.”

 Well shit.

 Being from Kirigakure, Zabuza would naturally have a water nature. I was lucky enough to have two chakra natures–fire and wind–but that wasn't going to do jack against freaking water. Water nature beat fire, and wind was practically useless against it anyway. That left genjutsu and taijutsu to fight with. However Zabuza's sword would put a hindrance on my taijutsu and just be plain annoying anyway. I was also pretty sure that Zabuza knew in advance that I was an Uchiha and would take lengths to protect himself against genjutsu.

 Double shit.

 “Now...” Zabuza started. Immediately my three genin leapt into a defensive formation in front of Tazuna. I shifted my weight onto my left foot, ready to spring forward at a moments notice. I might be at a major disadvantage going against this S-ranked criminal, but I was damn well going to give him a hard time and make the bastard earn his prize... if I even let him have it.

 Peach-boy suddenly leapt away and onto the water. The genin and Tazuna seemed surprised that he was able to accomplish such a feat. I was more worried about the huge amount of chakra Peachy was building up. Whatever Peaches was doing, it wasn't going to be good. I thought back on all my spars with Kakashi when he used water based jutsus. None of them required this amount of chakra, so what was Peachy doing?

 “Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!” Zabuza called out and the mist suddenly thickened with chakra, creating nothing but a white wall all around us. I could barely even see the kids behind me, let alone wherever that prick disappeared to.

 The tension was high in the air. I stayed coiled, ready to strike out defensively if so much as a leave rustled the wrong way. I was a jounin of Konoha and the only one able to stand a chance against Zabuza. There was no way in hell that I was letting the Demon of the Mist past me and lay a scratch my genin team.

 “S-sen-sensei...?” Hinata stuttered nervously. I knew the poor girl was shaking badly. Damn it, I knew she wasn't ready for real missions yet. Though, granted this wasn't supposed to be a real genin mission.

 “Don't worry. He'll come after me. You just keep guarding Tazuna.” I said, my red eyes darting from place to place. But even with the highly advanced sight of the sharingan, I still could hardly see past the thick chakra infused fog.

 “Who is this guy?” Naruto asked, for once sounding nervous and serious. I guess the kid finally realized that this was real and he could very much die out here without ever getting close to his dream. Strangely, I wished that he was still that naïve kid from three minutes ago.

 “Momochi Zabuza, a nuke-nin from Kirigakure and former captain of the Hidden Mist Assassination Unit.” That's all they needed to know. I didn't want to scare the kids. They were nervous enough as it was.

 Zabuza seemed determined to tell then anyway, “Uchiha, you're forgetting something...” That raspy voice sounded eerie coming out of the mist, like some vengeful wraith looking for a soul to devour. Peaches didn't even have to explain his silent killing technique for the kids to be frightened, but he did it anyway. I glared off into the mist, no one could frighten my brats except me.

 The fog thickened to the point that I couldn't even see Team 7 anymore. Shit shit shit! Zabuza spoke again, this time his creepy voice seeming to come from all around. I let loose my killer intent, my chakra swirling around me and dissipating the fog a little. I could practically feel Sasuke freezing up in fear, the killer intent coming off Zabuza and I were hitting my younger cousin. This wasn't going well, Sasuke was the best support I had out of the three. Though I hated it, I was probably going to have to call on the genin's help to take down Peach-boy. If he was unable to move because of fear...

 “Sasuke!” I said, my voice cutting but reassuring at the same time. My cousin tensed, seeming to come out of his fear induced stupor, “Calm down. You've got nothing to fear,” I glanced over my shoulder at Team 7 and smiled soothingly, “I'll protect you even if I die for it. That's a promise!” Nii-san used to say those three words when we were younger, and Obito always kept his word.

 So I would do it too.

 Of course Zabuza had to spoil our little bonding moment with his creepy intoning, “I wouldn't be so sure... it's over.” Suddenly his voice wasn't everywhere at once like it had been. It was in one specific place.

 Right in the middle of my genin team.

 OH HELL NO!

 With a reaction speed that could only be achieved through training with a sharingan, I leapt for the Peach bastard as my four companions leapt away from him. My kunai knife plunged deep into the man's gut. Zabuza grunted and leaned against my shoulder, his warm breath brushing against my dark brown curls that coiled around my ear. For a brief moment, a silence fell over the world, as if acknowledging that a life was ending.

 But both Zabuza and I knew it wasn't.

 Naruto suddenly screeched, “Sensei, behind you!”

 I spun around, the Zabuza water clone bursting to spray cool water all over my back, while the other Zabuza swung his Kubikiribōchō and cleaved me in half. Blood flew from my mouth as I stared in surprise at my killer. Zabuza seemed to smirk under his bandages.

 Then he frowned.

 I dissolved into butterflies.

 Zabuza spun around, spitting like an angry cat; though his voice retained that raspy calmness when he said, “Nice work, Uchiha. I didn't even notice the genjutsu.”

 From my hiding place among the trees I leapt down behind Peachy and placed my kunai knife along his throat, “Don't move.” I growled threateningly. This guy threatened my genin, he had made it to the bottom of my 'shit-list' in record breaking time.

 Peaches started a boring monologue of how I was able to distract him while I reassured my team and cast the genjutsu while he was distracted. I was tempted to kill him just to shut the idiot up. Seriously, what was the point of explaining everything as if there was an invisible audience watching this fight? It was boring and drawn out and sometimes just plain stalling.

 Oh.

 Yet another Zabuza appeared behind me, Kubikiribōchō once again back and ready to cleave me in half. This time, I didn't have a genjutsu ready. Naruto yelled something about being a water clone while I ducked underneath Peach-boy's big ass sword. Zabuza followed his sword's swing and stabbed it into the ground before using it as a leverage to kick me into the air.

 I twisted in enough time to meet Zabuza as he jumped after me, but his axe kick propeller me into the water. The one place I did not want to be. Just like I expected, the little prick appeared behind me with an air of smug victory. I tried to spring away from the water before he could catch me, but it was too late, “Water Prison Jutsu!”

 My world took on a watery blue tint and I immediately felt cold and clammy. The water that imprisoned me felt thick and viscous like honey, I couldn't move an inch. I snarled angrily at the man holding the prison, my red eyes promising a very violent death if I ever got out. I wish I wish Zabuza would just glance my way, long enough for me to cast a very painful and horrific genjutsu, but he didn't. Peach-boy seemed to know what would happen if he met my gaze; seems I'd have to think up a more physical torture to dish out then.

 Congratulations, Peaches, you just managed to piss off one of the most hot headed Uchiha known in existence.

 vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

 Sasuke felt Yanagi-sensei's killer intent spike drastically, but strangely this time he wasn't afraid. Perhaps her promise that she would protect the team with her life had gotten to him more than he knew. Sasuke frowned, in the few weeks of being under Yanagi's tutelage he knew that she was a very powerful but... he never expected her to be taken out so easily.

 “Water Clone Jutsu!” The man called Zabuza shouted. Dimly in the mist, Sasuke could see another Zabuza burst from the water and stand between Team 7 and the real Zabuza. Sasuke tensed, they would have to go through the clone first to get to Yanagi-sensei. If that brief fight with the clones was anything to go by, these water clones weren't at all weak.

 The water clone suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, causing the blonde to fall back and in the process lose his headband. If this wasn't such a serious moment, Sasuke would scold him for being clumsy. Given the fact that even Yanagi-sensei wasn't doing so just went to prove how serious this fight was.

 At a loss, the Uchiha genin watched as his teammate landed far away from him, too far to help. Sasuke didn't want to leave the protection of Tazuna to Hinata alone. The Hyuuga was already scared out of her wits, Sasuke doubted she would be of much use.

 Yanagi suddenly shouted, her voice muffled and wavering by the water that held her prisoner, “Leave you idiots! Peaches is only able to fight you with his water clone, now's your chance to run. The clone can't follow you forever, so run you imbeciles! Get out of here, complete the mission, do you hear me!?”

 Sasuke glared at his cousin, running was no longer an option. The second Yanagi got caught was the moment that Sasuke knew that Zabuza would stop at nothing to kill Tazuna. It was better to stand and fight rather than run away and prolong their life for a short time. That was the act of a coward. And Sasuke was not a coward!

 With a sudden surge of confidence, Sasuke shot forward, determined to rescue his cousin and sensei. Throwing shuriken after shuriken at the water clone, Sasuke leapt into the air and, just as he reached the clone with his attack, was thrown away like nothing more than a rag doll. Naruto called out the younger Uchiha's name, fear and concern lacing the blonde's voice. As Sasuke struggled to stand back up, Naruto suddenly charged for the clone.

 Of course the blonde goofball was thrown aside easily, coming to a stop at the feet of Hinata. The shy Hyuuga heiress quickly went to her knees to ask in her wobbly voice if Naruto was okay; but Sasuke eyed what the blonde had retrieved with interest. It seemed that the whole attack was just to get his headband back. Sasuke frowned, what was so important about that headband? Surely what the clone had taunted about not being a true ninja hadn't gotten to the blonde. It was just trash talk, like what Yanagi-sensei had been doing when Zabuza first showed up.

 Naruto stood up, the scowl on his face dark and serious. Sasuke was slightly impressed by the blonde's change in attitude, “Hey, you no-brows freak,” Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little at the attempt to imitate Yanagi-sensei's insulting nicknames, “put this in that book of yours... the person who is going to be Hokage of Konohagakure...” Naruto reached up to tie his haiti-ate around his forehead and glared up at the impassive water clone, “he never backs down. And his name is Uzumaki Naruto!” Unlike Naruto's previous claims to become Hokage, Sasuke had to admit that this one was serious. For once, Sasuke actually believed that Naruto could become Hokage.

 The serious aura surrounding Naruto turned into something akin to cocky and confident, “Alright, Sasuke, can you hear me?”

 The navy haired Uchiha gave his teammate a flat look. He was standing two feet away from the blonde, of course he could hear Naruto! “Yeah, I can hear you.” Sasuke said, his tone a touch exasperated.

 “Alright! I've got a plan.”

 So he finally had a plan, huh? As opposed to flailing around like an idiot? Sasuke scoffed, “So you're finally thinking about teamwork? What's the plan then?” Naruto gave Sasuke a foxy grin.

 Unknown to either of them, Hinata watched from her spot in front of Tazuna. If ever she doubted her awe for Naruto, it had been replenished. The Hyuuga felt as safe being protected by her two teammates as she had when Yanagi-sensei stood in front of them, promising to protect the team with her life. Whatever the two boys were planning, Hinata had no doubt that it would succeed!

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 Poof!

 Everyone, other than Sasuke and Naruto, was surprised to see the second Fuuma shuriken transform into Naruto. I watched with anticipation and awe as the kunai Naruto and thrown back at Zabuza made it's way, in what seemed like slow motion, towards the Peachy bastard. If I could move, I would be shivering in excitement. There was no possible way to dodge that kunai, not without releasing me from my prison.

 Although, it probably would have been better for Zabuza to let the kunai hit him.

 It would have hurt less.

 Zabuza turned on Naruto, the Fuuma shuriken he was holding spinning dangerously as he cocked his arm back to throw it at my student. Seemed Peaches forgot about me; I should be hurt, but the anger of been imprisoned–on top of my students being threatened–was overriding any hurt. “I'll destroy you!” Zabuza growled, his raspy voice finally showing anger.

 I. Don't. Think. So.

Still dripping water, I raised my fist and caught on of the blades on the hand guards of my gloves. I didn't even grimace when the thin metal cut into my skin unable to take the pressure of the shuriken's sharp blade. Naruto, not having any water walking training like Zabuza and I, fell into the water unharmed. I just hoped he had enough sense to get the hell out of dodge, because I wasn't going to wait. I wanted to tear Zabuza a new one right now. Zabuza met my gaze only to find a full on Uchiha Death Glare.

 It made me dance happily on the inside to see him pale a little.

 “Naruto. That was an excellent plan, I'm proud of you.” I complimented, feeling the need to. After all, without that brat's help, I would still be giving glares in a water prison instead of outside like I was now. Naruto laughed like it was no big deal when we all knew it was. My eyes flickered to him, “Now get your ass back to shore. I've got a rotten peach to incinerate.” Naruto gave a mock salute and began swimming to shore.

 Hmm... maybe as I reward I'd teach the team water walking. They had gotten tree walking down... somewhat.

 Zabuza and I struggled briefly for the Fuuma shuriken. Being female and weaker than Zabuza, I was losing and the sharp blade came closer to my neck. Narrowing my eyes I bent backwards, my right leg flying up to kick the shuriken into the sky, then back flipping away from Peach-boy. I crouched on the surface of the water, watching Zabuza warily. I knew he would use water ninjutsu, thinking that I would have little to no defense against it.

 My hand drifted towards my kunai pouch as I thought over my choices. I could block the attacks with well placed wind ninjutsu, but that risked diverting an attack to the genin, or I could copy Peach-boy's hand signs and fight ninjutsu for ninjutsu. The only problem with that option was I wouldn't have much chakra to use. Using a chakra nature that wasn't mine would use up too much chakra–especially if the jutsus were powerful like I knew they were going to be–and they would be substantially weaker. Unless...

 Nii-san always said if you can't win with power, win with annoyance.

 I smiled. Zabuza, suspecting something, leapt away and I mimicked him, going in the opposite direction. I copied Zabuza's stance and started weaving the hand signs he was making at an almost inhuman speed. But my sharingan eyes could pick them up.

 Zabuza's first mistake: weaving signs in front of an Uchiha.

 We finished at the exact same second and both called out, my voice mimicking his to the best of my ability, “Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!” Two dragons composed of water rose at the same time, moving in the exact same way. Perfect mirrors of each other. There was no way to tell whose was whose other than chakra. Zabuza's dragon crashed into mine and the weaker one flailed a little before twisting around and biting into it's opponent’s 'flesh'. Water rose from the banks and flooded the clearing, nearly drowning my poor genin.

 Eh, they probably needed a bath anyway.

 Especially Naruto.

 While our water dragons were busy battling it out, Zabuza and I shot forward to meet underneath the ninjutsus. Kubikiribōchō clashed harshly with one of my fans I used in wind ninjutsu; I grimaced when I heard the crack of some of the fan's ribs breaking under the pressure of Kubikiribōchō's sharp edge. Maybe I should have grabbed a kunai instead...

 I could tell that Peachy was thinking back on the battle, obviously confused by how my water dragon formed at the exact came time that his did. After all, the sharingan copying the jutsu, so I should have been a nanosecond behind at the least.

 Zabuza's second mistake: showing doubt to the sharingan wielder.

 I felt Zabuza's muscles tense and guessed his next move. Leaping back at the same time, I landed three feet from where we were struggling to get an upper hand on physical strength. My red eyes picked up a subtle twitch in Peach-boy's right leg and I matched his pace as we began running in circles, staying the same distance away from each other. I kept my mimicking up, copying the exact way his head was tilted or the way his fingers curled. He stopped. I stopped. He lifted his arm. I lifted my arm. His eyes widened. So did mine.

 Zabuza's third mistake: forgetting that eyes are the windows to the soul.

 “...going to do next?” I finished his thought as I dropped my arm in perfect sync with Peachy. I think I broke his brain, if that expression of pure surprise was anything to go by.

 Shouldn't have trapped me in a bubble of water, now should you Peachy?

 He made a hand sign as I did, “It makes you furious doesn't it?” I asked, reading the subtle twitches of his eyes.

 Zabuza was starting to look crazed. “You're just copying me, like a monkey!”

 “You can't beat me with cheap tricks! I'll crush you!” We said at the exact same time, in the exact same tone. I even managed to make my voice a little raspier than normal, just to match Peaches. It took Zabuza a second to realize that I had said exactly what he said at the same time, shooting down whatever claim of me copying him.

 Zabuza made some lame comment about my monkey mouth as he started to weave signs. I did the same. Unknown to him, my mouth twitched up slightly, ending my perfect mimicry of the Kiri nuke-nin. My tomoes began spinning slowly, so slow that it went unnoticed to Peaches even though he was meeting my gaze fully. Zabuza faltered for a brief moment, seeing the ghostly genjutsu of him behind me as I finished the hand sign he had already been making.

 “Suiton: Giant Vortex Jutsu!” I said in a loud commanding voice. Zabuza stared in utter shock as the jutsu that he had thought I was copying from him came roaring towards him. He didn't know that the genjutsu had stalled him for a nanosecond, long enough for me to read how his hands twitched and predict the last hand sign without his help. Peachy thought I had done the impossible, when I had just done was was expected of an Uchiha.

 Zabuza's final mistake: he thought he could beat an Uchiha.

 While I watched my vortex do it's job, I checked on my genin. Hinata was standing in front of Tazuna dutifully, her kunai knife no longer shaking with fear, while Sasuke helped Naruto out of the raging waters. They were lucky that the vortex didn't pull them in too. Then, out of the corner of my eye, my sharingan picked up another chakra source. One that hadn't been visible to me before. Outwardly I didn't show any signs of knowing, whoever this newcomer was they obviously weren't our allies. They would have leapt in by now. The question was: were they Zabuza's ally?

 The vortex died down and I leapt into the tree that it smashed Peaches into. I flung kunai at Zabuza to pin him there and keep the bastard from causing any more trouble. I wasn't going to underestimate this guy any longer, he would be dead before the minute was up. I withdrew another kunai knife from my pouch, “Now your finished.” I said and cocked back my arm to throw the kunai, aiming for the spot between his eyes.

 Zabuza gave me a bewildered look, the first true emotion I had seen on his face all day, “How did you-? Can you see into the future?” He demanded in an almost scared voice.

 Was it really that mind blowing to go against a sharingan? Sane people usually ran when they saw the Uchiha red eyes, but no one I fought with had forced me to use the Uchiha kekke genkai for so long. Normally it was just a quick genjutsu like the one I used early in the battle.

 Maybe I should ask Shisui-...never mind.

 “Yes. And I see death in your future.” I said.

 A tiny buzzing sound alerted me of something out of place. My sharingan eyes darted towards the source, but Zabuza's cry of pain snapped my attention back to him. My eyes widened when I saw him crashing to the ground, senbon needles sticking out of his neck.

 A womanly laugh drew my attention further up the tree that I was in. Long dark hair was brushed over a white mask with a swirling red pattern that curled around the nose and left cheek. The Kiri embalm was stamped into the mask's forehead: a hunter-nin. “You're right... it was his last battle.” The Kiri hunter-nin said.

 I leapt down from the tree and made a show of pressing two fingers to Zabuza's neck and felt no pulse. That didn't fool me. I could see a small amount of chakra still shimmering in Zabuza's core with my sharingan. A near death state then. There were three possibilities why Zabuza was alive: the hunter-nin was incompetent and couldn't even make a clean kill. Unlikely since she was a hunter-nin going after a A-ranked criminal. Two, she had a sadistic streak and wanted Zabuza's kill for herself, knowing Kirigakure it was possible. Or three, she was in league with Zabuza and 'killed' him before I could truly end his pathetic life.

 “He's dead.” I said from my squatting position and looked up at the hunter-nin for an explanation.

 She immediately bowed, “Thank you.” She said softly, “I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time.” My eyes narrowed at her voice. It wasn't... feminine enough to be a woman. A boy then? If the hunter-nin was male, then he was very young, probably as young as Team 7.

 “You're a hunter-nin from Kirigakure, correct?” I asked.

 The boy dipped his head in acknowledgment, “I am.”

 “What is this?!” Naruto suddenly shouted. Both of us turned from each other to look at the frustrated blonde. He was pointing at the hunter-nin accusingly, “Who do you think you are!” The masked boy said nothing, irritating Naruto even more, “Did you hear me?!” The brat enunciated each word.

 “Stop it Naruto. He's not our enemy.” I said. My sharingan picked up the slightest twinge from the hunter-nin's left pinky finger. A sign of guilt. I didn't look at the Kiri nin. If I let him know that I knew, he would attack. I couldn't take down a wimpy hunter-nin in this state. The two Suiton ninjutsus really bit into my chakra reserves. Soon I would have to be forced to deactivate my sharingan or risk chakra exhaustion. Honestly, I don't know how I was still standing at this point.

 Naruto spun on me, “That's not the point! He just took out Zabuza, just like that! I thought you said Zabuza was powerful, and that guy killed Zabuza with one move! It makes us look like idiots! How can I accept that?!” I had to admit, from Naruto's point of view it was a little too much to take. But then again, he didn't have a younger cousin like Itachi. I grew up knowing that Itachi would always be more powerful than me so I accepted the truth and moved on.

 I stood up, careful to show that it wasn't a struggle to do so, and walked towards my student. I stopped in front of him with a passive look, “You don't have to accept it, but it's still true. There are many kids out there that are younger than you but stronger than me.” Kakashi had pounded that into me at an early age too, when he was still a prick who didn't believe in teamwork.

 Naruto looked away mulishly.

 The hunter-nin, having gotten tired of my scolding Naruto, teleported from the tree to beside Zabuza. Easily the kid lifted Zabuza over his shoulder, ramming home what I had just told Naruto, “You're struggle is over for now. I must deal with the remains. Please excuse me and farewell.” The boy held up on hand, palm flat, as the wind began swirling around him again, and teleported both Zabuza and himself out of my sensory range.

 I sighed as Naruto yelled about the hunter-nin's disappearance. Naruto ran to the spot that the two disappeared from. “He's gone, Naruto.” I told him in a tired voice. Didn't this kid ever learn?

 “What are we doing here then?! I can't believe it! All that hard work and for nothing!” Naruto shouted as he began punching the ground, as if it were Zabuza's face he was pounding in. Behind us, Hinata stuttered out the blonde's name in concern.

 I grabbed Naruto's wrist before he could swing again “Let it go, Naruto. Being frustrated will not help things. Nothing will ever be just easy, so save it for the next enemy.” That's what I did. That's what the Uchiha clan was taught. Save it for the next enemy and pulverize him with the anger from your past defeat. I turned to the rest of our group, my hand still wrapped around Naruto's thin wrist, “Alright let's move on. We'll rest at Tazuna's house.” If the old man complained then I would kindly remind him that Team 7 shouldn't have even helped him. Rules stated that we would be wise to abandon the mission instead of continuing.

 Pulling Naruto to a stand, I turned to lead the group towards town. Just a few more hours and I could fall onto a nice futon and sleep until this whole damn thing blew over. I took one step, one measly little step, and my body froze. I felt my sharingan deactivate on it's own and had the strange sensation of falling.

 I didn't even feel the pain when I hit the ground.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei Pt 1 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 1 thru 7

Chapter 1: Of Arrogant Uncles and Annoying Brothers

My mouth dropped open as I regarded my clan leader, “You want me to do what?!” I screeched. Fugaku-sama didn't seem impressed by my breech in conduct. Feeling sheepish under his fierce gaze, I ducked my head. Damn the Uchiha Main Branch and their ability to cower anyone with a look. Usually I was unaffected by glares, being an Uchiha and all, but Fugaku and his family seemed to be the exception to that rule.

 “I will not repeat myself.” Fugaku-sama stated, crossing his arms and leveling a nasty look at me. Of course he wouldn't. My clan leader may have had a change of heart but he was still an arrogant asshole... not that I'd ever tell him that. I wasn't that insane, not matter what other people said.

 Still, my common sense didn't prevent me from keeping my mouth shut; Nii-san always did say that I had no concept of the art. Funny, since it was coming from him, “Well you damn well better repeat yourself, because I thought I heard you say that you want me to babysit your brat!” I snapped. I got extreme satisfaction in seeing Fugaku's eyes widen at my blatant disrespect. Whatever punishment I was about to receive was worth it.

 Fugaku-sama's Sharingan flashed, but being an Uchiha gave me some resistance to the intimidation of glowing red eyes. “You will not take that tone with me, Uchiha Yanagi, is that understood?” Fugaku ground out in that stern voice of his. Some deaf idiot might call it fatherly, but I could hear the cold undertone. If I stepped out of line again, I would probably be denounced as an Uchiha, if I was that lucky.

 I decided not to push my luck.

 I bowed low, “Apologizes, Uchiha-sama, I did not mean to offend.” I said in a false humble voice. Fugaku and I both knew that I had meant every word out of my mouth. I wasn't known as blunt and opinionated for nothing. Still, it was all a matter of pride. If I apologized then I would get an explanation from the infuriating man. That was the unspoken rule.

 Fugaku made me grovel a moment longer before sighing. “I want you to be a jounin sensei.” He stated again. Right off the bat, another sucker-punch. My clan leader didn't believe in sugarcoating words, that much was true.

 I bit my lip to keep the retort that was begging to be said in.

 “My eldest son's efforts to bring the Uchiha clan closer to the village are starting to fall short.” No surprise there, Konohagakure didn't trust the Uchiha clan for whatever absurd reason, and visa-versa. Five years ago the Uchiha clan had planned a coup d'état, I still do not understand the reasoning behind the Uchiha's actions. Luckily for the Uchiha clan, Fugaku's eldest son Itachi, and his friend Shisui, managed to stop the coup d'état before anything happened. Since then, the Uchiha and Konoha have been working hard to make past amends.

 And according to Fugaku, those amends weren't doing jack.

 “What does that have to do with me?” I asked, struggling hard to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I was already in hot water as it was. I didn't need to accidentally take a flying leap over the edge. The man gave me a displeased scowl, which I had a suspicion that he was just doing it because he wanted to. Fugaku seemed to be that kind of man.

 “The Hokage has recently thought up of a new plan to bring the clan closer to the village. We are to implement our teachings into the new generation that is graduating from the Academy. You are to be the first Uchiha jounin sensei.” Was it bad that this village had been around for a long time and I was the first ever Uchiha to be a sensei? I wanted to roll my eyes, but didn't. I could see through that false pride in a heartbeat. And I didn't need my Sharingan to do that.

 I sat back, seeing no need to keep bowing like some groveling peasant, and crossed my arms, “I still don't see what this has to do with me. Why not someone else? Itachi-san, perhaps. I'm sure he'd love to teach his younger brother.” Okay, the sarcasm was starting to show.

 “It is because of Itachi's relation to Sasuke that he is unable to be a jounin sensei.” And my relation to Sasuke wasn't? I was his first cousin, damn it! I couldn't help but notice that Fugaku failed to mention why I was the person chosen to be the glorious Uchiha sensei.

 Sometimes I think Fugaku should have been named 'weasel' instead of his eldest son.

 Before I could open my mouth, Fugaku waved his hand and turned his head away to find something new to occupy his attention, “Go. The class graduates tomorrow, you are to pick your team up the day after. The information packet will be sent to your house.” Damn old codger. He just had to change the subject before I could grill him some more. I gave a smart, slightly mocking, bow and marched out of the room. I just hoped that nothing else bad happened.

 Apparently it wasn't my lucky day.

 “Oof!” I ran smack into a hard body. Damn it, I wanted to get home and be as sarcastic and hateful as I wanted, not playing nice to more pompous Uchiha men! I took a step back and glared up at the person I had run into. I groaned wordlessly when I saw who it was and ground my teeth together so I wouldn't speak.

 Shisui gave me an easy smile, “Yanagi...” He acknowledged with an amused tone. His dark eyes darted to the room I had just exited, then back to me, “Have a good argument?” The man asked teasingly. If anyone knew I liked arguing with my betters, it was Shisui. Sometimes I think he was the reason why I argued so much. I glared at him and made to walk past him, but he stepped in my path, “Ah, don't be mean, Yagi... You know I love you.” Shisui whined in a playful tone.

 I intensified my glare and punched Shisui in the gut. I was the only person allowed to physically hit Uchiha Shisui and get away with it, and I took advantage of my privileges. Like usual, Shisui took the blow with a good-natured chuckle, “Still giving me the silent treatment, eh? Yagi, I think you hold the record for holding grudges.”

 My jaw worked as I thought about breaking my five year silence towards the goofy Uchiha. His comment did deserve a response, but if I did say something he would only tease me about breaking my silence. I really wanted to slap him for using that stupid childhood name too, we weren't kids anymore; but I doubt Shisui would be very amused with a slap to the face. Hitting yes, slapping... not so much.

 I was saved from making the choice when Fugaku-sama called from inside his office, “Shisui!” The old codger barked like the badger he was. Still, he saved me from dealing with the stupid Uchiha before me, so I'd let him off the hook this one time. I gave Shisui a self-satisfied smirk, which he returned with a wink and a mocking little bow, as I dodged around the twenty-three year old man and took off like there was no tomorrow.

 Of all the Uchiha, Shisui was probably the one who annoyed me the most, even more so than my brother.

 vvv

 “YANAGI!!! Close the damn door!” My brother screeched like an old wife when I walked in the house we lived in. I rolled my eyes and slammed the door shut. I had just walked in and he was acting like I had left the door open for hours, not mere seconds.

 “I didn't have the chance before you started yelling at me!” I yelled back as I sat down to take off my sandals. Calmly I put the black shoes neatly on the floor where I could shove my feet in them if I was in a hurry and kicked Nii-san's shoes out of the way. My brother was a slob and he proudly admitted to it. There was a reason why I didn't get along with him, we were too different; we were almost opposite in every way.

 Obito cursed and stomped into the living room, his one eye livid, “You're late and I'm hungry. Get in the kitchen!” Nii-san said, half playfully, throwing his head back and pointing a rigid finger towards the kitchen.

 “Go shove ramen down your throat. I'm not cooking.” I hissed as I started for my room. I wasn't Obito's slave, there was no way I was going to do anything I didn't want to.

 Of course Obito wasn't going to have any of that. Before I could get three feet from him, Nii-san had his arms wrapped around my waist and was bodily dragging me to the kitchen. “Food, now! Smartass comments later.” He ordered. I made sure to fight him all the way, if Obito was determined to get me to cook, he was going to regret every second of it.

 I wondered if Kakashi left that poison around from the last mission...

 “I already got rid of the poison. Nice try.” Obito said dully as he shoved me through the doorway to the kitchen. I groaned, he knew me too well. “Now do your womanly duties!”

 My eyes narrowed as I glared at my brother, “Does that include providing someone with children?” I asked sarcastically. I could predict what Obito would do. He would go into a tirade how no man was to touch me until I was forty, and even then it was to be with a fifty foot pole. My brother was more overprotective than a father would be. No father in their right mind would attempt to order a twenty-one year old jounin around, but Obito did and he somehow got away with it. The only people of the male persuasion who were allowed withing a ten foot radius of me when Nii-san was around was himself and Kakashi, who was basically another brother to me–I only liked him more.

 As I predicted, Obito immediately went on defense, “Why, has anyone asked? Cuz I'll skin them alive, castrate them with a rusty kunai, rip their spine out and choke them with it! And in that order!”

 I rolled my eyes at my brother's exuberant behavior as I bent down to dig around in the cupboards before I found the pot I wanted. “Alright, Nii-san, don't go on another man hunt. The Hokage said no more.”

 Obito crossed his arms with a pout, “I didn't hurt that one guy that bad...” He grumbled.

 “You put him in the hospital!”

 “He's the one who tripped.”

 “And fell off the roof that you had cornered him on.”

 “It's his own fault, he shouldn't have tried to run.”

 My right eye twitched as I turned away and slammed the pot down on the stove, just pretending that the stove was Obito's head and I was bashing it in. My anger still not spent, I went around the kitchen making Miso soup and imagining every ingredient I used was Obito's head. I especially liked it when I was dicing the green onions. My brother was too protective when it came to my romantic life–though, thanks to Obito, my romantic life was practically nonexistent. The man that had fallen off the building during Obito's last man hunt hadn't even been really into me. He was just flirting for the sake of flirting. I could see that in his eyes. But of course my brother didn't bother to think about it. He just charged in without thinking.

 And people wondered why I didn't like my brother.

 Obito, being the perceptive Uchiha that he was, said, “Stop beating my imaginary head in. Kakashi-baka is coming to dinner.”

 “And what does Kakashi coming over have to do with me crushing your skull?” I asked testily.

 For the first time since I had been home, Obito finally cracked a smile. It wasn't as goofy as it could be, more cynical, “Because Kakashi-baka might try and make it into a reality! You're making Miso soup right?” Miso soup was the only dish that I could make that met Kakashi's snooty taste buds. I swear the man was more picky than Fugaku-sama, who was legendary when it came to being a picky eater.

 “I was going to make it anyway. It's easy and fast and you hate it.” I snapped playfully. Obito only pouted, which meant he knew I was teasing. If he thought I had been serious we would already be fighting again.

 Nii-san reached over and tugged hard on my ponytail, “Watch it brat, or I might handcuff you to Shisui.” I shivered at the thought. Being handcuffed to someone I wasn't speaking to wouldn't be fun, especially since they would do everything in their power to make me talk. Obito laughed at my expression of horror, “Why do you hate him anyway?” He asked.

 I shot Nii-san a glare, “I don't hate Shisui... he just reminds me of you too much.”

 Obito gave a sly smile, “So you do hate him.” He stated.

 “No, I don't. I hate his personality.”

 “That's the same as hating him.”

 “Uchiha Obito, do not incur my wrath, it will be the end of you!”

 Obito smirked and sang teasingly, “You're just proving my point by changing the subject~!” He barely dodged the ladle I threw at him, considering it was at point blank I was rather impressed by my brother's evading skills. We were too busy glaring at each other now to pay attention to where the ladle went.

 “Yo! Is this a bad time?” Kakashi's voice said behind Obito. My eyes widened as I looked over my brother's shoulder at his best friend and old teammate. He was twirling the ladle around his right index finger, his only visible eye closed in an eye-smile. Behind Kakashi, Rin was giggling at the scene before her, her fingers pressed against her lips.

 Obito immediately spun around at the sound of Kakashi's voice, his single eye zeroing in on Rin. I sighed, though Obito said he was over Rin I suspected my brother still loved the twit. I never really liked her that much. She was nice and friendly, I admit; but there was no way she could be oblivious to my brother's aberrant affection, not without having to be a nitwit. So either she was stupid for not noticing that Obito loved her, or cruel enough to never dissuade him. I might not like my brother as some siblings did, but I still cared for him on some degree. And I didn't like how Rin treated him throughout their genin days. But for the sake of my brother's feelings, I never voiced my opinions.

 This silence was getting awkward as Obito just stared at Rin...

 BONG!!

 “Ouch! Yanagi, what the hell was that for?!” Obito shouted, clutching the back of his head as he turned to glare at me. I smiled sweetly as I could and tossed the dented metal cooking spoon into the trash. Just because I cared for my brother's feelings to a degree didn't mean anything. I was still going to abuse my power as the younger sister.

 “Can't I be a pest without any reason?” I asked innocently as I poured four bowls of Miso soup and passed them out among the three former members of Team Minato, keeping one for myself. From the way Nii-san's eye narrowed I knew his answer was 'no I couldn't'. I grinned evilly at him, my brother didn't have a say in what I did anyway. If I wanted to hit him in the back of the head with a metal spoon, I would.

 Kakashi sighed at our antics, “You two are idiots.” He said dully, the cheerful nature he had been sporting disappearing to be replaced with his true personality. Obito of course started yelling at Kakashi while I just rolled my eyes. I loved to argue, but only when I got a reaction out of people. Kakashi wouldn't react if I lit his clothes on fire.

 I listened mildly as the two exchanged insults, Kakashi's were more subtle than Obito's, sipping periodically from my bowl. It was hard to believe that those two men were part of Konoha's elite ninja. They bickered like five year olds. I glanced over at Rin to see her right eye twitching in irritation. Ever since that S-ranked mission years ago during the Third Shinobi War, her personality had gone from timid and sweet to more assertive. My mouth twitched upwards, I could hardly remember the days when Rin unsuccessfully tried to reason with Kakashi and Obito. Now however...

 The brown haired woman reached across the table and grabbed both men by their ears, pulling hard, “Would you two behave?!” She snapped when she had their attention. Kakashi jerked his ear from her grasp and glared at her. Obito only whined like the baby he was. Soon all three of them were arguing. I snorted into my bowl. If there was one thing that could be said about my brother and his friends, it was they knew how to keep me entertained.

 Just as Obito threw the first kunai–which was a regular occurrence among these three–there was a knock at the door. All four of us stopped what we were doing to look at the door in confusion. It was rare that Obito or I got any visitors, much less ones who actually knocked on the door instead of walking in like they owned the place. After the scandal about Nii-san refusing to take his left sharingan back from Kakashi, the Uchiha clan pretty much isolated Obito and me.

 I went to answer the door and was surprised to see a Konoha official, not an Uchiha, standing there looking nervous. I really didn't blame him, Obito and I were known for our short tempers and brash behavior. We weren't exactly typical Uchiha clan members in that sense. Because of our reputation, I saw no need to be polite, “What do you want?” I asked shortly.

 The Konoha nin gulped and shoved a moderately thick packet at me, “Meeting is tomorrow at the Hokage's office. Good day, Uchiha-san.” The man said quickly then high tailed it out of there.

 Obito was on my case the second I closed the door, “What's all that about? Why does the Hokage want you? Speak, imoto!” My brother said his single eye staring intensely at the packet in my hands. I shoved past him, ignoring his questions. If Obito knew that Fugaku-sama was forcing me to be a jounin sensei, I would never hear the end of it.

 I forgot about Kakashi.

 “You're going to be a jounin sensei?” The white haired nin asked curiously. He recognized the packet, having been almost a jounin sensei himself a couple of occasions. Kakashi always failed the potential genin and went back to being an ANBU captain. He was infamous for failing ever single student. I didn't know why the Hokage continuously tried to make Kakashi a sensei when he clearly didn't want to be one.

 That made two of us.

 “WHAT?!” Obito screeched and the three of us winced at his tone. I sighed as I tucked the packet under my arm. This was going to be a long day.

  Chapter 2: Last Day of Freedom

“There's that kid... You know I heard he's the only one who failed.”

 “Hmph, serves him right.”

 “Can you imagine what would happen if he became an ninja?”

 I opened my eyes as my ears picked up on the conversation among the happy parents celebrating their brats' graduation. Turning my head slightly to the left and looking down, I could see the object of the women's conversation straddling the swing hanging from the tree I was lounging in. I felt no pity for him. I had chased after the yellow haired menace too many times for disruption of the peace and defacing public property; since part of the Konoha Police Force's job was to watch over the brat and make sure nothing befell him as well as keep him from pranking.

 The little fox brat always managed slipped past the Police Force squads and caused a ruckus anyway.

 I glanced over my shoulder at my teammate sitting in the same tree I was. Ibo was watching the gossiping peahens with fierce intensity. Should either of the women make a threatening move towards Naruto, the white haired Uchiha would step in and 'dissuade' them from continuing their attack. Ibo glanced at me when he felt my gaze. I wordlessly lifted my hand and made a series of quick one handed signs. Ibo nodded silently and repeated the hand gestures to our other teammate who was on the ground, leaning in the shade of the Academy building.

 Ibo and I watched as Denryoku waded into the crowd of proud brats and mushy parents, his dark eyes on the two women. All conversation dwindled away as everyone watched the imposing man stalk towards the bimbos. Both women snapped their attention around to the Uchiha, but I was too far away to see their expression. Denryoku gave the two a polite smile and nod as he passed by them without a word, continuing down the street like he was going on patrol and nothing more. When he was gone, the woman bent closer together to whisper, eyes darting for any more signs of the police. I grinned a little to myself, nothing like reminding two idiots that the Konoha Police Force was always monitoring Naruto and any hint of revealing the secret about him.

 I stood and stretched my arms above my head, using chakra to keep me balanced on the slim tree branch, “Come on, Ibo, our work is finished.” I said dully.

 My more silent teammate shot me a glance as he too stood up. In a quick succession of hand signals, my teammate informed me that we weren't off duty yet. I rolled my eyes and pointed downwards, where the swing Naruto had been sitting on swung back and forth wildly. The kid had gone off with one of his teachers, he was safe and we didn't have to worry any more. Ibo still looked skeptical, but followed me nonetheless. I was captain of the squad for a reason.

 And it wasn't just because I was the only one who knew how to do paperwork correctly.

 Denryoku was flirting with a small crowd of girls when we walked up on him. I rolled my eyes. Like all Uchiha men, Denryoku had a fanclub. The only problem was, unlike most Uchiha, Denryoku adored his fans almost as much as they adored him.

 “Enjoying yourself?” I asked as Ibo and I walked up on our teammate. A few of his fangirls squealed when they saw Ibo standing beside me, but he ignored them.

 Denryoku gave me a cocky grin, his arms wrapped around the shoulders of two chesty and scantly clad women, “You know you want some of me too, Yanagi!”

 I stared at him expressionlessly.

 The flirty Uchiha stared back for a minute before hanging his head in defeat and cursing, “Damn it, Yanagi! Why do you have to be so intimidating?!” He growled as he stepped away from the sluts and crossed his arms with a pout.

 I grinned briefly before letting my face fall back into neutral, “It's a gift. Now we have to report, say goodbye to your girlfriends and hurry up.” I said and started to turn away, but Ibo grabbed my arm. Silently he pointed back towards the Academy. I followed his finger then groaned when I saw Fugaku-sama making his way towards us. Denryoku immediately leapt to our side when he saw our clan leader, scrubbing at his lipstick stained cheeks with the cuff of his sleeve. Fugaku was a bit of a prude and he thought that Uchiha shouldn't degrade themselves with vulgar behavior.

 It was a wonder how he managed to Mikoto-oba pregnant twice.

 The three of us bowed when Fugaku-sama stopped in front of us, though I didn't bow nearly as low as Ibo or Denryoku. Behind Fugaku stood his family, complete with the newly made genin brat that I would have the pleasure of torturing tomorrow.

 “Report.” Fugaku said, crossing his arms with a stern look he always wore when dealing with the Konoha Police Force squads. I stayed silent as Denryoku informed the Konoha Police Force Commander of all that had transpired. I wasn't going to speak unless my clan leader addressed my directly. And even then I might only yell at him for making me become a sensei. I loved my patrol, it was probably the only thing I enjoyed. And Fugaku-sama was taking that away all for the sake of his brat.

 My eyes darted towards the duckass boy, he was talking amiably to his older brother about whatever brats like to talk about. Tomorrow he wouldn't be smiling, I was going to make his life a living hell. Maybe he would actually quit being a ninja. I'd get a kick out of seeing how his family reacted to that.

 Sasuke must have felt my stare because he turned to me with questioning eyes. I held his gaze as my mouth tilted upwards into a sneer. I was starting to look forward to tomorrow and see how he reacted in knowing that I would be his sensei. I was even starting to hope that one of his more annoying fangirls got on the team, if only to torture Sasuke.

 Things were starting to look up.

 I was still smiling when Fugaku left my squad alone. Immediately after the Main Branch family left, Denryoku turned to me, “What sort of torture do you have planned for that poor kid?! You were practically scaring the shit out of Sasuke!” The loud mouth flirt exclaimed. Both my squad members knew of my involuntary retirement form the police force, they would be losing their captain after all. Even worse, while I was on my little quest to make the clan look good, Ibo and Denryoku would be on their own 'bring the Uchiha closer to the village' mission.

 I wouldn't return to the police force since I would be a permanent sensei, then a team leader if the genin made chunnin by some miracle. So Fugaku had found a replacement to take over my position as captain. Normally it wouldn't be that bad, but the great clan leader in all his infinite glory had decided to pull another jerk move on my poor teammates.

 They were getting an Hyuuga as a captain.

 All in the name of peace between the Uchiha and Konohagakure, at least that was what Fugaku-sama said. For years only Uchiha were trained as Konoha's police; but that lead to suspicion that the police were being biased towards the Uchiha clan, so Fugaku began granting admission to any who could make the cut. As a result there was an influx of many non-Uchiha police officers, but none had ever been given the rank of captain.

 Until now, apparently.

 Denryoku sighed and stuck his lower lip out in a pout, “Why do you have to go? Why can't it be Ibo? He's no fun.” Our silent teammate shot Denryoku a nasty look that was almost on par with mine, but as usual the abnormally white haired Uchiha said nothing.

 I rolled my eyes and stuffed my hands in my pockets, “Because then Ibo would have to actually talk. Besides, he hasn't activated the Sharingan, so he can't teach Sasuke. I have and I'm proficient with our Kekke Genkai, but I'm not powerful enough like Itachi-san or Shisui to matter if I become a jounin sensei.”

 “You know that question was rhetorical, right?” Denryoku asked drily, giving me a look out of the corner of his eye.

 I only shrugged. Denryoku was famous for asking a question he wanted to know the answer to then claiming it was rhetorical. I suspected he did that to seem smarter, especially when the answer was obvious. “Come on, let's celebrate our last night together as a squad and go drinking.” I said and threw my arms over my tall teammates shoulders. I was tall for a women, almost as tall as a man, and they were still taller than me. It wasn't fair!

 Ibo immediately shrugged my arm off and turned his head away from us. I'd bet a thousand ryo that the guy was blushing. Ibo was extremely shy, but he hid it underneath layers of neutral expressions and silence. It was one of the reasons why Fugaku paired Ibo with Denryoku and me, so that he would never have to speak and go outside of his comfort zone. Fugaku may be a grade-A jerk, but he stilled cared for his clan members.

 Denryoku wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer, “Sure! I love it when you get drunk! You're not a surly woman then.” He said cheerfully. I glared at him, contemplating whether that comment deserved setting Obito after my teammate or not. Denryoku seemed to catch on to what I was thinking, because he paled, “Not your brother...” He pleaded as he jerked his arm away from my waist.

 I grinned. It was nice to know that my teammate feared my brother enough that he would do anything I said if only to avoid the overprotective Uchiha. “Don't worry, Denryoku, I'm sure Nii-san won't hurt you too bad.” I said teasingly. Denryoku was starting to look ill.

 “You're terrible, Yanagi-san...” A soft barely audible voice said. Denryoku and I snapped our heads around to stare at Ibo, who was staring at his feet. Knowing the white haired Uchiha, he probably hadn't meant to say that out load. With shaking hands, Ibo quickly made the hand signals for an apology. Denryoku and I exchanged looks, our faces twisting up in amusement. When Fugaku had put the shy Uchiha on our squad after our last teammate retired, the clan leader had warned us about Ibo's habit to speak through jounin hand signals. We hadn't taken him seriously then.

 After three years of being on the same squad, Ibo had spoken maybe fifteen words, including the four he had just said, and used hand signs the rest of the time. It was his way of speaking.

 Denryoku pounced on Ibo, grabbing the younger Uchiha in a choke hold, “If you ever want to get a girl, you've gotta learn to talk to one, you know.” The flirt said as he ruffled Ibo's white hair with his knuckles. Ibo just took the treatment without struggle.

 I sighed, “You two are idiots. Come on, I want to drink. Maybe I'll get a hangover for tomorrow.” I said dully as I started for the nearest bar.

 Denryoku followed, Ibo still in his choke hold. “Fugaku-sama will kill you if you show up hungover tomorrow. We've all seen you the day after you're dead drunk, I can't think of anyone with a worse temper.” He pointed out.

 “Fine. I'll just get a little drunk.” I compromised.

 “Yeah right... someone is going to challenge you to a drinking game and you'll be stone drunk before you know it.” Denryoku countered drily. I glared at Denryoku, who went white and ducked behind Ibo. I felt proud that I could scare one of the physically strongest Uchiha in the clan with only a glare. Ibo sighed at the both of us and shook his head, probably wondering for the millionth time why Fugaku-sama put him on Konoha Police Squad 18.

 After flashing our ninja registration cards that showed we were all jounin at the bartender, Denryoku and I started our night getting drunk on sake. Ibo sat beside us, watching us out of the corner of his eye. Ibo never drank, having some medical condition that prevented him from partaking in the fun. Besides, we needed someone to make sure Denryoku and I didn't do something stupid.

 Half the time we did something stupid anyway.

 It took nearly two hours for Denryoku to get intoxicated, and soon after I joined him in that state of extreme happiness. I got a good laugh watching the older Uchiha flirt with anything that moved, even the bartender. I nearly fell off my stool at the expression of revulsion that the bartender sported when Denryoku asked him on a date.

 “Well you seem to be enjoying yourself.” A highly amused voice said behind me.

 I turned around with a grin, “ 'Kashi-nii-san! I didn't know you would be here, enjoying your last night of freedom too? Or did the Hokage finally learn his lesson and give up making you a jounin sensei?” I asked, my words only slightly slurred together.

 The grey haired male blinked his visible eye, from amusement or confusion that I was actually being friendly, I didn't know. He nodded towards a booth set in the back, where most of the other Jounin Elite sat chatting. My brother wasn't there luckily, he'd kill me if he knew I was drunk. I swear that man treated me like a five year old. “We're enjoying the night too.” Kakashi said mildly, not answer my question.

 Denryoku turned around, his right eye twitching in annoyance, “Hey... cool guy. My girlfriend, so back off.” The drunk Uchiha slurred. Ibo sighed and forcibly turned Denryoku back around, shooting an apologetic look at Kakashi.

 Kakashi watched my two teammates for a moment before turning to me, his visible eye questioning. I shrugged as I knocked back another shot of sake, “He's talking crazy, I'd never date him.” I dismissed the accusation easily.

 My drunk teammate turned to me, rivers of tears running down his cheeks, “Bu-but... Yanagiii... you said you loved me!” I rolled my eyes at him as I laughed out right. Only in his dreams would I ever say that I loved Denryoku, other than a friend. The Uchiha wailed loudly and threw himself all over poor Ibo, who's expression screamed 'do not want'. I laughed at their faces.

 The Hatake jounin scratched the back of his head nervously, “So this is why Uchiha never get drunk...” He said mostly to himself. I nodded happily, even though it wasn't a question. The Uchiha clan was so uptight that it had to take being stone drunk for them to relax.

 I leaned closer to Kakashi as if to share a secret, “Hey... do you think that Ibo-kun would be talkative if we got him drunk?” I asked in a loud whisper. The white haired Uchiha shot me a dirty look as he struggled to push Denryoku off of him.

 “Maybe. Let's not try it though. I think you should go home and rest up for tomorrow.” Kakashi hedged.

 My mood changed from happy to angry in .06 seconds. I glared at Kakashi, “Oh? Are you on 'Sister Duty'? Gotta make sure Obito's little sister behaves herself, huh? I'm a grown woman, Hatake Kakashi, I don't need you to tell me what to do!” Kakashi's hands went up in the air as he tried to defend himself. Outraged that he was lying, or so I thought in my hazy mind, I lashed out at him.

 vvv

 “Whoever invented hangovers should be dragged out in the street and made into a senbon pincushion.” I growled as Kakashi and I stumbled into the Hokage's office the next morning. The man had to physically drag me out of bed and then threatened to take away my supply of candy if I didn't get dressed. Excuse me if I don't feel any sympathy towards the jerk.

 My brother's best friend/rival sighed as he let me lean on him, “That's what you get,” Kakashi grumbled. I wasn't very high on Kakashi's 'nice list' since I apparently had managed to land a punch to his face before he used his sharingan to knock me out. I don't remember ever doing anything of the sort, but everyone I asked confirmed that I had socked Kakashi in the jaw for what appeared to be nothing.

 If I wasn't so proud that I landed a hit on the infamous Copy-nin, I would feel bad.

 I glared at him, “Just for that I hope you get the Uzumaki brat.” I growled testily. I almost felt sorry for the genin I would have to teach. Today they were going to face me at my worst, not even Obito dared to argue with me when I was hungover.

 Before Kakashi could respond, the Third Hokage cleared his throat. Both of us turned to see the old man giving us a stern look, the rest of the jounin looking exasperated. Suddenly I realized how late the both of us were. I glared up at Kakashi, I could see that smirk through his face mask. Kakashi had gotten Obito's habit of showing up extremely late to anything. He knew that being late was one of my biggest pet peeves, which meant the Copy-nin had done it on purpose.

 “Remind me to murder you later on.” I growled darkly as I stepped away from Kakashi, swaying on my feet. The jerk only gave me an eye smile, confirming that he had made me late on purpose. Though, after punching him last night, I suppose I deserved it.

 Still didn't make me any less mad.

 The Hokage started off with the spiel about how being a sensei was a big responsibility and that we were in charge of the next generation of shinobi, which then turned into a big motivational speech about the importance of genin. I sighed as I stuffed my hands into my pockets, if I thought Fugaku-sama was a long winded old fool, he had nothing on the Sandaime Hokage. Sometimes I wondered if Lord Hiruzen was Hokage because he was boring enough to talk his enemies to death.

 I tucked my chin in and closed my eyes, half listening to the Hokage as he informed all the jounin present that we could use whatever teaching methods we wished, as long as it was ethical. I smirked at that. The Uchiha clan was famous for getting as close to unethical as we could and still not breaking the rules. Still, if Fugaku learned that I was torturing his duckass son, he'd kill me. Worse, Itachi-san would be after my blood as well. The whole clan knew how much Itachi loved his little brother. I really didn't need the Uchiha Prodigy and ANBU Black Ops captain out to kill me.

 I'd have to keep my teachings ethical to all my students, or it would seem like I was playing favoritism towards Sasuke. And that was something I didn't want anyone accusing me of.

  Chapter 3 Enter Team 7!

“Morning Sasuke-kun... mind if I sit next to you?” A girlish voice said.

 The Uchiha blinked and looked away from his conversation with his cousin, Netsui. His classmate Sakura stood at the end of the table, her hands clasped in front of her flat chest. Sasuke's right eye gave a miniscule twitch. He really didn't understand why all the fangirls flocked to him when they could easily chase after Netsui, who was easily more willing than Sasuke.

 Netsui sighed and threaded his fingers behind his head. He didn't understand why Sasuke got all the fangirls. Even his twin sister Nerai was a stupid fangirl! Though, Netsui didn't want his own sister to be his fangirl, that was just wrong. Still, it was unfair that the son of the Uchiha clan leader got all the girls and not one of the other boys got an admirer. Netsui watched with mild interest as the fangirls all got into a fight about who should get to sit next to Sasuke; even if Netsui would never know the bliss of girls fighting over him, it was still fun to watch.

 Sasuke glanced back at his pouting cousin, fully intending to ignore his rowdy fangirls. They would all just stand there and argue until Iruka-sensei came in, there was no point in listening to the girls squabble about who came in first and got first dibs on the chair next to Sasuke.

 “Aniki says they divide us into three man teams. Who do you think you'll get paired with?” Sasuke asked.

 The brown haired Uchiha shrugged as his eyes lingered on the crowd of fangirls, “I don't know. Iruka-sensei probably has our teams already figured out. We can't help who we get paired up with. It could be a complete randomization...”

 “Or it could be a complex system,” Sasuke finished, “But if that's true, then how would they separate us?”

 Netsui shrugged again. It was his nervous habit, every single time his mother yelled at him about something, he just started shrugging. Honestly, he couldn't name what was making him nervous at the moment. Netsui got along fine with Sasuke. They were friends, being the top two smartest students in the academy, plus the only two Uchiha in their class, not counting Netsui's boy crazed sister. “Possibly by age or personality. Skill would be kind of dumb, since the lowest of the class would be paired with each other and never get anything done.” Netsui answered Sasuke's question.

 Sasuke frowned, that made sense, but he felt that he was missing information. As an Uchiha, he didn't like not having all the facts. When he had asked his brother, all Itachi said was that he would be placed on a three man squad with a jounin sensei. Then there was yesterday...

 Sasuke folded his hands in front of his mouth as he pondered his cousin's actions from yesterday. Yanagi-itoko had given him such an evil grin, it had almost given him chills. Almost. That police officer knew something about today, the way her eyes gleamed spoke as much. And it didn't bode well with Sasuke at all from the looks of it.

 A foot landing on the desk in front of him startled Sasuke out of his thoughts. There was that dead last idiot, Naruto, squatting in front of Sasuke and glaring. Sasuke's eyes narrowed instantly. Normally he didn't care what the idiot did; and Sasuke was never impolite to Naruto or Mikoto would flay his hide. Still, there were certain boundaries that Naruto clearly didn't understand; and that was unforgivable.

 “Naruto! Hey stop glaring at Sasuke-kun!” Sakura shouted.

 Naruto looked around at Sakura confused. The blonde boy honestly didn't understand what Sakura saw in Sasuke. Sure, the midnight blue haired Uchiha wasn't as rude as some of the boys in their class, but he was still a prick to a degree. Naruto looked back at the impassive Uchiha in front of his face. Sasuke's eyes narrowed just a fraction of an inch, enough to be classified as a glare.

 It went down hill from there...

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 I was the only one who burst out laughing when Naruto and Sasuke accidentally kissed. I could just see all the blackmail use I could get out of it. Those two would practically be my slaves, and then if some dimwitted girl should fall in love with those bozos, I was so bringing this incident back up. I might even inform Sasuke's family just for the reactions I would get from Fugaku-sama and Itachi-san.

 Maybe there was justice in the world.

 The Hokage sighed, “As usual... Naruto is right in the middle of some kind of trouble.” The old man commented when Sasuke's fangirls proceeded to beat Naruto within an inch of his life. Honestly I was still dying over the fact that my younger cousin's 'first kiss' was stolen by a rowdy boy, I really didn't care what a bunch of vain brats did to the Kyuubi kid.

 Kakashi gave me a slightly annoyed look out of the corner of his eye and elbowed me in the side to get my attention. I bit down on my first knuckle to muffle the snickers still leaking out as the Hokage went on some long winded last minute detailing about some special team that Asuma was getting. It took the entirety of Hiruzen's speech, which was saying something, but I finally got my giggles under control.

 Hiruzen-sama motioned to one of the shinobi officials sitting beside him. The nondescript person, seriously I couldn't even tell if it was female or male, passed out even more packets to the jounin. The Lord Hokage explained as his assistant distributed the stacks of papers, “These are a basic outline of the students you will be assigned. It contains a brief overview of their academics, personality, and abilities so you can adjust your training to fit their goals.”

 I couldn't help but scoff softly at that. 'Adjust your training' my ass. The Uchiha didn't adjust training, the students adjusted to the training or they failed and became a disgrace to the clan. Still, I had to keep reminding myself that the parents of my students would murder me- Fugaku being at the front of the line- if I mistreated their brats.

 Rolling my eyes because I could, I reached into the large envelope as all the other jounin did the same, and pulled out a small stack of thick paper. Dropping the envelope to the floor now that I didn't need it, I began leaving through the pages. I skipped completely over Sasuke's overview, if he was anything like a normal Uchiha then I shouldn't have a problem teaching him.

 My mouth hit the floor when I saw the remaining teammates of the new Team 7.

 Screw justice, the karma demons hated me again.

 vvv 3rd Person vvv

 “...All the genin will be grouped into three man squads, each squad will be lead by a jounin- an elite ninja.” Iruka-sensei finished his little speech.

 Sakura and Ino perked up at the same time and the same thoughts ran through their minds. A three man squad... that meant that some lucky girl would be placed on Sasuke's team! Ino recovered first and quickly pulled her aloof mask back down on her expression. “Well someone's gotta be on Sasuke-kun's group, I wonder who it will be...?”

 The pink haired girl sitting in front of her glanced slightly over her shoulder and said coolly, “I don't know.” As if the thought of anyone other than Sakura herself didn't really matter to her, when in fact it did. She was bound and determined to be on Sasuke's team if it killed her, she was certain of it. After all, Sakura was smart enough to figure out how the teams were divided. It was a sure win that she would be on Sasuke-kun's team!

 Iruka-sensei grinned, “We separate the squads by strength and abilities, that will determine who you are teamed up with.” See? Just like Sakura predicted! Because she was the most intelligent she would be placed with the strongest fighter, which was Sasuke. The only problem was that whoever was the weakest would also be put on the team, to balance them out. Sakura glanced to her right to see Naruto looking deep in thought, most likely she would be placed with him as well. What a nightmare!

  Iruka-sensei lifted the papers that listed the teams and called out in a louder voice, “I will now announce the squads!”

 All across the class room, each new genin were going through their own mental list, trying to puzzle out who they would be teamed with, all the while being sure to listen for when their names were called. Sasuke sighed and folded his hands in front of his mouth, this wasn't good. He was one of the strongest in the class; as was his cousin Netsui, so that meant they probably wouldn't be put on a team. Well there went his one chance at being comfortable with his new team. Now he would actually have to speak the people he normally wouldn't, and the kunoichi would probably be a fangirl. Sasuke shuddered at the thought.

 “Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto...” Iruka said and the blonde boy perked up. This was his team, Naruto could only hope that they wouldn't hold him back or anything, since he was a kickass ninja! “Hyuuga Hinata...” The shy little heiress almost fainted then and there. Her wish had been granted, she was on the team with Naruto-kun! “and Uchiha Sasuke.”

 Sakura and Ino stared at the sensei with open mouths, they had been so sure that they would be the ones on Sasuke's team! It was almost fool proof, after all they were both the smartest in the class... in their own opinions. What was worse, they really couldn't begrudge Hinata for being on Sasuke's team. She was probably the only girl that wasn't a fangirl of Sasuke's. She probably didn't like any boy!

 Iruka continued, not even paying attention to the drama unfolding in front of him, “Next Team 8: Haruno Sakura... Inuzuka Kiba... and Aburame Shino,” Sakura paled at the thought of being on a team with the rowdy dog boy and the creepy bug boy. Still that wasn't as bad as being on the team with Naruto! At least she lucked out on that. Sensei just continued ripping apart dreams and making some of them come true, “Now Team 10: Yamanaka Ino... Nara Shikamaru... and Akimichi Chouji.” Ino nearly fainted. She was on a team with the laziest genin in the class and the fattest?! How did she end up with such weirdos?!

 Before Iruka could continue, Naruto stood up with an air of indignity, “Iruka-sensei! Why does someone as powerful as me have to be on a team with a slug like Sasuke?!” Sakura glared at him, fire burning in her green eyes, but Iruka spoke before Naruto Beat-down Two could commence.

 “Because Sasuke has the highest scores in all the graduating students. Naruto... you had the worst scores,” Iruka said with no mercy towards his surrogate little brother. The whole class, mostly Sasuke fangirls and a few Naruto-haters, laughed loudly at the blonde. “To be a balanced team,” Iruka continued over the laughing kids, cutting their mirth off quickly, “we put the best student with the worst student.”

 Naruto growled while Sasuke looked coolly out the window. Mikoto might kill him later, but Sasuke couldn't help but say, “Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser.” Oh yeah, Kaa-chan was definitely going to murder Sasuke. She couldn't stand her children saying anything mean about Naruto. Though... Mikoto never gave a reason why.

 “Hey what did you say?!”

 “Hard of hearing?” Sasuke retorted, slightly amused and the whole class burst out laughing again. Sakura tried to come to Sasuke's defense, but Iruka-sensei cleared his throat and ended all mischief.

 As the laughter slowly dwindled down, Iruka informed the new genin, “After lunch, you'll meet your new jounin teachers. Until then, class dismiss-”

 Wham!

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 Everyone whirled around when I slammed the classroom door open. Even Iruka, who should have been able to sense my chakra signatures, looked surprised. I still had a few minutes before my life officially became a living hell, maybe I should pull a classic Obito and screw with the minds of the impressionable brats, which included Iruka even though he was older than me. Without hesitation I started making jounin level hand signals telling the members of Team 7 to meet me on the roof.

 No one moved. I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

 “Uh... Uchiha-san... may I help you?” Iruka said hesitantly. He didn't seem to know who I was, otherwise he'd be a lot more fearful to have one of the two hot headed Uchiha in his classroom. Still he knew enough to know that having an Uchiha in the room was enough to exercise caution. Being genin teammates with Shisui must have taught him that. Even an Uchiha as goofy as Shisui could still be unpredictable. I almost grinned, but didn't to keep my emotionless expression in check.

 I rolled my eyes instead, “Honestly, are you all so stupid that you don't know a single jounin hand sign?” I asked, the contempt in my voice wasn't forced.

 The Kyuubi brat took offense to that of course, “Hey! I'm not an idiot, I'm going to be Hokage someday, ya know!” I nearly laughed at that and mentally added yet another name to the list of Hokage wannabes. First Minato-san, though I didn't mind Nii-san's sensei being Hokage, then Obito, for a while Shisui had the dream too–before the drama of the failed Uchiha coup d'état–and now the Kyuubi brat.

 Iruka was sweatdropping, “Er, Uchiha-san, they're only genin. They shouldn't have to-” He tried to explain.

 My eyes cut to the chunnin and he stopped talking, “I knew half the sign book by the time I graduated, and I became a genin at the age of nine. That's no excuse.” So I was bragging, so what? After growing up with a braggart crybaby for a brother, I was surprised I wasn't bragging more often then I actually did, which was still rare. Of course, my knowledge of hand signs probably came from a certain emotionally stunted silver haired ninja robot; but I wasn't going to tell anyone that.

 Iruka tried to speak up, but he was silenced each time I pointed out why this graduating class was lesser than most classes in the past. It was almost scary how wimpy these kids were compared to past genin. Iruka was looking more and more flustered while the brats shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

 Waving a hand, I dismissed the argument, “Whatever. Team 7 is to report to the roof, now. You're training begins.”

 The three genin soon to be under my thumb paled, “B-but... what about lunch?” Naruto asked, tears starting to prick his bright blue eyes. My eyebrows pinched together in a frown, why did I get the feeling that food and this kid was going to be a major problem?

 “I'm your jounin sensei. What I say goes... and I say get your asses up to the roof now or suffer.” I started to turn away, but not before I noticed that the three Uchiha genin in the room were slumping down in their seats, as if ashamed to be associated with me.

 Disrespect towards a hungover hot tempered Uchiha meant someone had a death wish.

 “SIT UP STRAIGHT YOU UCHIHA HEATHENS! WHAT, WERE YOU RAISED IN A BARN?!” I roared and got the extreme satisfaction of not only seeing the three dark haired kids pop back up, but everyone, including Iruka, stiffen at the command. “Now Team 7, you've got thirty seconds to get your worthless asses on the roof or I fail the lot of you.” I said more calmly, probably mentally scaring a lot of the brats. I wondered if Iruka was going to look into getting me committed to a jounin sanity test.

 As I shunshined out of the room and onto the roof, I smirked. If I was going to make this any more bearable, a few more required sanity test shouldn't be too much of a consequence.

 “Twenty-eight seconds, you're cutting it close.” I said mildly when the door to the academy roof burst open and my three precious little genin came tumbling out. For having ran up four flights of stairs in 28 seconds, I was slightly impressed that none of them were winded. But then Sasuke and the Hyuuga were clan kids and were already conditioned for harsher training exercises, and Naruto had run from many shinobi in the past during his pranks it was no surprise that he had stamina as well.

 I wordlessly motioned for them to take a seat, and spoke as they were flopping down on the ground, well Naruto flopped the other two sat down more gracefully. “Alright, since we're stuck together, tell me a little about yourselves. Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams... crap like that.” I said dismissively, not even bothering to look at the three brats.

 The Hyuuga heiress raised her hand timidly. I raised an eyebrow at her juvenile behavior and rolled my eyes, making her blush even more than she already was. Exasperated I called on her and the shy Hyuuga stuttered out, “W-wi-will you g-g-go first s-s-s-sen-sensei?” I narrowed my eyes a fraction, first thing I was training her in was speech.

 “Fine. My name is Uchiha Yanagi, and yes I am related to Sasuke. I'm his cousin, as much as I don't want to be,” I added when I saw Naruto's confused face. “I like my Police Force patrol, which I was forced to retire from. I dislike stuttering timid kids,” Hinata's face lit up like a thermometer, “overly annoying blondes,” Naruto was too dumb to get the reverence towards him. I really shouldn't be that surprised, “younger family members... just kids in general.” Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed into an almost glare. I was tempted to return it with a full Uchiha Glare, but I didn't want to give him a heart attack.

 His family would kill me.

 “I also don't like my older brother or Uchiha Shisui, the clan in general, being a jounin sensei... and many other things. My hobbies... I have an indefinite amount of hobbies and none are your business. My dream is to get out of this hell that my clan leader forced me in and get back to my patrol.” Sasuke looked like he wanted to question me about my dislike for the clan, but I was already pointing at Hinata, “Stuttering kid, go.”

 Of course she turned an unhealthy shade of red. I was beginning to wonder if there was any blood left in her body or if it was all showing in her face. “M-m-my name is Hy-Hyuuga H-H-Hinata. I like... m-my f-fa-family a-and...” she got even brighter, “cinnamon rolls!” She finished in a squeaky tone. I raised an eyebrow at that, obviously she had been about to say something else. “I-I-I... don't real-really d-dis-dislike a-a-any-anything. My ho-hob-hobby i-i-is p-pres-pressing fl-flowers. And m-my d-d-d-dream is t-t-t-to-to be a g-gre-great n-nin-ninja!” I was almost tempted to make a fake snoring sound. How boring can a brat get?

 I was definitely signing her up for a speech therapist first thing in the morning. Even if she was a Hyuuga, this girl was my only semblance to sanity. Or she would be if I could cure her of that nasty stutter. I pressed my left fingers to my forehead as I pointed to the Kyuubi brat with my right hand, “Go.”

 “ALRIGHT!” The blonde haired idiots said and started moving his headband up and down like a weirdo, “I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka-sensei gave me. But I hate the three minutes I have to wait for the ramen to cook. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my future dream is... to be the greatest Hokage! That way everyone will start respecting me!”

 I couldn't help it, I facepalmed. This kid blabbed about nothing but ramen and then suddenly drops a bomb like wanting to be the next Hokage?! And I thought Obito was bad. I made a mental note to never introduce the two if I could help it. They would drive me over the edge if they started talking. Sighing, I waved a hand towards my relative, “Go, Uchiha brat.”

 Sasuke was sitting in his cool pose, where he got it from I would never know. Itachi and Shisui weren’t the ones to teach him, I knew that much! He glared at the name I gave him, “My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't particularly like or dislike anything.” I bet any fangirls hanging around the area were sobbing by now. A small joy to me. “My hobbies include walking and training with my Aniki. I don't have a dream, because I will make it into a reality. I'm going to become strong enough to beat my brother and be the strongest Uchiha in the clan.” Sasuke's eyes staring at me in an open challenge.

 I laughed out right and nearly fell off the railing, “Oh that's rich! Someone is delusional!” I shrieked. All three poor little genin looked confused, with just a smidgen of indignity on Sasuke's part. “Sorry, idiot, but I don't think your dream will become a 'reality.'”

 My younger cousin frowned, “How so?” He growled. Apparently someone didn't like being teased.

 Leaning forward I crossed my arms over my chest, “Simply because Itachi-san isn't the strongest Uchiha in the clan.” Boy I wish I had a camera to snap a picture of Sasuke's expression. I could totally use it as more blackmail.

 “T-t-then w-w-who is?” Hinata asked for Sasuke, since he was still shell shocked that his Nii-san wasn't the strongest in our clan, as he clearly believed. I wondered if Itachi was the one who put the idea in his head, or if it was simply idol worship.

 “Shisui.”

 Sasuke actually sputtered, “What?! You're telling me that goofball is the strongest?” The poor boy asked incredulous. I laughed again, even though Sasuke practically grew up around some atypical Uchiha like my brother and Shisui, he was still a typical arrogant ass. So it was ten times more funny when his facade cracked.

 I sneered at the still disbelieving boy, “Believe it or not, yes. Itachi is better in skill, true, but Shisui has something going for him that no other living person has.” I said in a mysterious tone. All three genin leaned in, obviously wanting to know the secret. Even Hinata was looking eager about it. I smirked and shook my head, “Nuh-uh. That's a secret that only people with the Uchiha Kekke Genkai can know.”

 Naruto looked confused, “What's a Kekke Genkai?” He mumbled under his breath.

 I was going to give him a sarcastic answer, but Sasuke ignored the question to say, “I will have the Kekke Genkai one day, so you can tell me.”

 I held up a finger, “Ah-ah-ah... Let me correct that previous statement: Only people who have activated the Kekke Genkai and can use it effectively in battle can know the secret.” Sasuke pouted but didn't push the subject. At least he knew the requirements to unlock his Sharingan, otherwise I have no doubt he would be standing up and shouting that he would unlock the Sharingan no matter what, just to learn the secret behind Shisui's reputation.

 Oh wait... that's Naruto shtick.

 Speaking of the Kyuubi brat, he was standing and shouting, “What is a Kekke Genkai?! And how can I get one?”

 I scoffed, “Idiot, a Kekke Genkai is something you're born with. It's a bloodline trait that you can only get from your family, a tool to help you fight as a ninja basically.” I said, dumbing it down so that a two year old, or Naruto in this case, could understand. Before any of the brats could say anything else, I pushed off the rail, “Okay. We have our first mission tomorrow, be at training ground six at five a.m. and bring your ninja gear. Bye, brats.” Before any of them could respond, I shunshined away, ignoring Naruto's shouts to come back and explain myself.

 He should really learn that Uchiha never explain themselves, especially since he had Sasuke and me on the team.

  Chapter 4: The Test

“YANAGIIIIIIIIIII!!!” Obito screeched. I sighed irritatedly and looked up from my book just as my brother came barreling through my bedroom door, a bath towel wrapped around his waist and sopping wet.

 I sighed again, this time in exasperation, and threw my left arm over my eyes, pointing towards my personal bathroom with my right hand, “Underneath the counter.” I said dully. It was pretty bad that this was a common occurrence in our house. Both Obito and I had come to an agreement that each of us were in charge of our own expenses and that the only time we pooled our money together on was if it influenced both of us. That being said, my brother had a nasty habit of forgetting to buy more shampoo.

 Nii-san had just better thank his lucky stars that I didn't like girly scented hair products.

 Still I got a nice deal out of it. Every time Obito forgot about shampoo, he bought me a bag of candy. One thing the both of us had in common was our unnatural sweet tooth. Most of the Uchiha clan had a sweet tooth as well, but no where near as bad as mine and Obito's. Candy was a part of my brother's and my necessities whereas it was only a treat to the rest of the clan.

 While my brother cursed and rummaged around in my bathroom I called out, “I'm leaving early in the morning.”

 Nii-san's voice was suddenly clearer, meaning he probably had come back into my room, “Why? You're not going on a date are you?”

 If my eyes were open I would have rolled them. Only my brother would automatically assume that I was going on a date. I bet he wondered if I was going on a date every time I stepped outside the house. “No. I have to teach teamwork to my group of genin brats. You know how that is.”

 “You failed your test if I remember.” Obito teased. It was true, I had gotten so irritated with the dead last of my graduating class, who had been on my team, that I actually punched his lights out even though our sensei told us not to attack each other. I was sent back to the academy immediately and had to wait another year. Really it was the idiot's fault, he shouldn't have assumed that since I was eight and he was twelve that he knew more than me. Because of that jerk, I had to graduate at the age of nine.

 “And you are probably the only one who passed with flying colors. It's rare not to fail the first time you know...” I growled back at Obito.

 The one eyed Uchiha snorted, “You're just hoping that those kids fail, aren't you?”

 “Would you go finish your shower?”

 “You're just proving my point by changing the subject~!” Obito ran out of my room, his footsteps fast and light, before I could even cock my elbow back to launch my book at him. Damn it, I hated it when he had the sense to get the hell out of dodge!

 I sighed and marked my place before setting the book down on my nightstand. I would have to get up early tomorrow morning so I could train a few brats, which meant my late night habits were probably gone for good. Pouting slightly I turned off my lamp and rolled over, pulling my covers up to my chin.

 Just as I was beginning to drift off, I heard a crash followed immediately by, “DAMN IT! YANAGI GET IN HERE AND CLEAN THIS MESS UP!”

 I glared at the wall my bed was pushed up against. I seemed to forget that my night owl tendencies weren't of my own making. My brother, curse him, forced me into the habit. I threw back the covers and yelled back, “Alright you big crybaby! If you weren't so incompetent, I'd make you do it yourself!”

 I'm sure the rest of the Uchiha clan could hear us yelling at each other all night long.

 vvv

 The moment five a.m. hit, my three precious genin showed up. Hinata and Naruto stumbling with weariness while Sasuke was wide awake and alert. Point for the Uchiha. I glanced at them, “You're on time.” I said mildly. Naruto grinned despite his exhaustion, he seemed pleased at the compliment. I bookmarked the book I was reading and stood from my place on the ground, tucking away the blue bound slim book. “Which means... you're late.”

 Cue the confusion on all three of the preteens' faces. It made my day.

 I held up a finger, “First rule of ninja: Timing is everything. When out on the field, an enemy might set a trap for you. If you were to arrive before he does, then you have the advantage. Same goes for tardiness, being late will lower your enemy's caution and thus give you an opening.” I could not believe I was lecturing these brats, that was the Hokage's job! I glared down at the genin in front of me, letting a little killer intent slip through so they were frightened enough, “But if you ever alive late while in my team I'll skin you alive! Understood?”

 “H-hai, sensei!” All three of the brats stuttered out, balking under my gaze. I felt proud that even someone like Sasuke was effected. But then, I had heard that he was more of a softie than his brother.

 Straightening I smiled, no doubt scaring them out of their wits with my sudden change in mood, perfect. “Okay, then we'll start the mission.”

 Naruto dropped his scared expression like a hot tin plate and immediately leapt forward, “What's the mission? What's the mission? What? What? What?” He was actually bouncing around in his excitement. When he got too close to me I pressed my fingers to his forehead like Obito did to me and sent him to the ground.

 “You're going on a treasure hunt.”

 “Really?! That is so cool! Is it some long lost diamond? Or a cursed ruby? Oh! Did a princess lose her crown and we're having to look for it?!” Did this kid never shut up? I made a mental note to grab Obito's numbing salve. Maybe it would numb the Kyuubi brat's mouth enough that he couldn't talk.

 I poked him in the forehead again, “No... you don't get to know what the object is, that's the point of the exercise. Here are some clues you can use to figure the object out.” I passed out plain white envelopes to the three genin. Before they could rip into them and start the 'mission' I continued, “you must find the object by noon or you get no lunch. Also, the last person to find the object will fail and goes back to the academy.”

 More confusion, and some despair from Naruto about the time limit, “W-w-w-what do y-y-yo-you m-me-mean, s-s-s-sen-sensei?” Hinata stuttered out.

 Naruto was squinting his eyes up again, “Yeah? What's this about failing?! We're already genin, you can't send us back to the Academy!” He moved his Haiti-ate to reflect the rising sun to prove his point.

 I gave him a cruel smile, “Oh can't I? Let me explain then. Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be accepted as genin. The other eighteen will not make the cut and be sent back to the academy. Your chance at staying genin is at least thirty-four percent, and it's all up to me.” Of all their reactions, Naruto's was the best. His eyes bugged out in surprise and his mouth dropped to the ground. Hinata just started swaying where she sat, as if she were about to faint, and Sasuke glared at me.

 Sasuke was the smart one and asked, “Alright, how do we convince you to let us stay genin?”

 “By passing this little mission I'm telling you about. Now stop interrupting or I'll fail you anyway.” I couldn't really do that, but the genin didn't know that. Until they actually passed my test, if they did, I was going to milk the threat of sending them back to the academy for all its worth.

 I waited for a moment to see if they would say anything, and when they didn't I continued, “You can fight each other for the clues, since all three are needed to figure out just what the item is. Also, once you figure out the object, you need to find it next and present it to me. And I'll be nice since you are just kids,” They relaxed slightly, or more than slightly in Naruto's case, “if you best me in battle, I'll tell you what and where the object is,” Cue the tensing back up again. “Remember: you have to figure out the clues and find the object all before noon or I will tie you to something and eat lunch in front of you. Ready... begin!”

 As I predicted the blonde idiot came charging after me, his fist raised with a pathetic battle cry. I rolled my eyes and kicked him away easily, sending him crashing into a tree. Hinata and Sasuke had already leapt out of sight, probably to figure out the clues on their own. I knew that Sasuke was too stubborn to figure out the object of the test, he would want to find the object with only the one clue I had given him just to prove himself. Hinata... she was a wild card. The Hyuuga heiress could either figure out the point of this exercise or she could be like Sasuke and try to accomplish things on her own.

 Naruto however... I had thrown in the option to attack me solely for his benefit. I knew the knucklehead would attack me, his overconfidence would get in his way. Besides I had entertainment while I waited for lunch.

 vvv 3rd Person~ Sasuke vvv

 When he was far enough away from Yanagi-sensei, Sasuke halted and pulled the envelope out of his shorts' pocket. He frowned down at the slip of paper.

 Tis erhe, uoy othrebhos-me diiot. Htis odec si oto arhd rfo yuo.

 The message was just a bunch of scrabbled letters. Clearly Yanagi-sensei knew that Sasuke would be able to decode the message, it was a simple scramble code that any three year old could figure out. Quickly the midnight blue haired Uchiha set to work. The hyphen in the fourth word threw him for a moment, until he realized Yanagi had probably put it in there for that purpose. What the message actually said made Sasuke pissed.

 Sit here, you botherso-me idiot. This code is too hard for you.

 What kind of clue was that?!

 vvv 3rd Person~ Hinata vvv

 When Yanagi-sensei said begin, Hinata immediately dove for cover in the underbrush of the forest surrounding the training ground. She watched in fascination as Naruto-kun lashed out at their sensei bravely, and then in horror when Yanagi-sensei kicked the blonde boy away with ease. Hinata had contemplated in helping Naruto, but she was too weak to stand up to a jounin, especially one who was so cruel.

 Instead the timid little Hyuuga heiress pulled out her clue and read over it.

 Tall and straight like a tree am I, but no leaves or fruit I bear.

 Hinata blinked. It was a riddle, and a hard one by the looks of it. Hinata's clue could mean anything! Anything that was tall and not a tree, that is. Maybe if she got the other clues it would help, but she didn't want to attack her teammates! Hinata wouldn't last a second against Sasuke, and she wasn't going to attack Naruto for no reason.

 The pale eyed girl glanced back at her sensei as the Uchiha woman once again threw Naruto over her shoulder and laughed as he struggled to his feet. There was something missing, something that Yanagi had said. 'The last person to find the object is failed and goes back to the academy.' Hinata frowned. If that were true, it would be better for all three of them could find the object together so no one was first or last.

 Hinata gasped as realization dawned on her, that was what Yanagi wanted! Sensei was pitting the team against each other purposefully to see if anyone could figure out that the point was teamwork! That was why Team 7 was allowed to attack each other, to push the thoughts of teamwork further away. Yanagi had said that they would need all three clues to figure out the object they were trying to find, it was the only hint that Yanagi-sensei had given them.

 Now if Hinata could only work up her courage to tell her findings to the two boys in her team. The Hyuuga girl whimpered a little at the thought. They could try and attack her before she even had a chance to explain.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 I smiled when I heard Hinata gasp. So she must have figured it out. My respect meter inched up a few pegs for the girl. She didn't have any male ego or pride to get in her way of thoughts. Still, what she would do now, that was the question.

 “YAAAAAAAAA!! Don't get distracted, sensei!” Naruto yelled multiple times from his shadow clone jutsu. I rolled my eyes and made a few quick hand signs with precision. I took a deep breath then blew between my thumb and forefinger. With a roar, the great fireball jutsu took out all shadow clones in front of it.

 I felt something hard connect with my back and I stumbled forward with a grunt, losing my concentration on the fireball. Cursing I started to turn my head to look over my shoulder at the little brat. He caught me off guard! Not even Obito in his pranking moods could accomplish that feat. Angry, I reached up and pulled the Kyuubi brat off of my back and flung him across the clearing.

 Naruto somehow was joyful in spite of being thrown a great distance, “Ha! I got a hit! Now tell me what the object is and where it is!”

 “No.”

 “WHAAAAT?! You said you would if I won!” Naruto shrieked.

 I glared at him, “I said if you beat me in battle. You only landed a hit,” I slowly started walking towards him. It stung my pride, both as an Uchiha and jounin, that some little blonde haired brat was able to land a hit on me. I wasn't really known for taking blows and turning the other cheek. Towering over the little genin I spoke, my tone, which had been amused until now, had a sharp cutting edge to it, “you rush in blindly and attack without strategy. That blow was a lucky shot, and it won't happen again.”

 Turning away from the kid I waved a hand, “Now, stop wasting my time and try to figure out that clue of yours.” I shunshined away before Naruto could attack, as I knew he probably would.

 vvv 3rd Person~ Naruto vvv

 Damn that frizzy haired lady! Naruto pouted and crossed his arms, it wasn't fair! He should have won, but his sensei was too stubborn to admit her defeat at his hands. Naruto could tell by the look on her face that the blow had taken her by surprise. If she hadn't reacted as quickly as she did, Frizzy-sensei would be on the ground!

 Naruto yanked out the clue from his jumpsuit and ripped the envelope open. Maybe the clue was super easy and he could guess it immediately. The look on Yanagi-sensei's face would be hilarious when Naruto showed up with the object before lunch. Naruto chuckled to himself as he imagined the expression of complete surprise and awe.

 My eyes glow red when I am mad or threatened.

 …What?! What did that mean? Was this some kind of insane creepy riddle that he had to figure out?! Was the object a vampire or something? Naruto had heard that some vampire's eyes glowed red when they drank blood. Naruto began to panic a little, he didn't want to fight a vampire! He had hard enough time beating Yanagi-sensei.

 RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!

 Naruto was torn between feeling relief and despair that the alarm had gone off. Now he wouldn't have to face the vampire, but–his stomach growled and Naruto groaned, remembering that Yanagi said no lunch for the person who hadn't found the vampire.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 “The three of you are a... Bunch. Of. Idiots!” I shouted when all three genin lined up at the starting point. I was crying on the inside at the stupidity of the team I had been saddled with. Why was the only one to figure out the mission the shyest? I hadn't even done the bell test, which was probably the hardest teamwork exercise, like Kakashi-san usually did. In fact, I had given Team 7 the easiest and they still failed!

 Hinata was the only one looking abash. Naruto looked miserable, probably had something to do with the sounds his stomach was making, and Sasuke glared at me hotly. If I wasn't in such a foul mood I would have asked if he liked my clue to him.

 I paced in front of them, “I practically told you this treasure hunt was a teamwork exercise, but you all are too stupid to see that!” I spun to face the team and zeroed in on Sasuke's petulant face, “Sasuke, you were too busy trying to succeed with your one clue you seemed to forget that you needed all three of the clues to find the object.”

 Naruto got over his starving state to laugh at the slightly pouting Sasuke, “Ha ha! Teme you're so stupid!”

 I glared at the blond, “You, Naruto, are probably the stupidest of the three.” I snapped.

 “Hey!”

 “You were too busy trying to fight me to even pay attention to your clue. Had I not practically ordered you to, I doubt you would have even looked at it! I am a jounin, you dumbass, I cannot be taken down so easily by a genin. You're actions were lazy and stupid.” I growled menacingly. Naruto had the smarts not to say anything. I glared at the team as a whole again, “Hinata was the only one to figure out that this exercise was teamwork driven, but she was too much of a coward to tell you two idiots!”

 Naruto leapt to his feet, “Hey! Don't call Hinata a coward! She's just shy.” The blonde defended. I noticed that Hinata's blush turned darker almost immediately. I spared her a curious glance despite my anger, such a strange child she was. Not only was Hinata extremely shy and weak for a clan kid, but she also seemed to have a major crush on Naruto of all people.

 Still, I was glad I didn't have a squealing Sasuke fangirl on my hands.

 While distracted with my thoughts, Sasuke stood up to, “You should not pick on the shyest of the team simply because she poses no resistance to you.” He said, rather calmly, but I could tell by the way his dark eyes glittered that my little cousin was about as pissed as Naruto. Hinata looked between her two teammates, seemingly surprised that she was being defended by the both of them.

 I raised a cool eyebrow, “Oh? Then what should I do, let her grow up as a shy coward perhaps?” I asked mildly.

 Sasuke gave me a rather impressive version of the infamous Uchiha Glare, “If anyone is the coward it's you. You spend your time picking on twelve year olds.”

 “Well I can't really yell at your father or the Hokage, Duckass, so deal with it.” I said dully. The three genin looked a little confused since they didn't know why exactly I was forced into this. Nor would they ever unless the case called for it. The near disaster that almost ended in the massacre of the Uchiha clan had been classified as an S-level secret, along with Naruto's jinchuuriki status. None of the younger generation, not even those of the Uchiha clan, knew about our planned revolt or that Itachi and Shisui stopped it. They didn't know that this whole team was an experiment to see if an Uchiha could effectively teach Konoha genin.

 “Whatever. You still are all idiots for not figuring out that teamwork is important or doing nothing about it.” I said, waving a hand to dismiss the subject. I really didn't need to go into that, or I'd be killed for spilling the beans.

 Naruto titled his head, “Why is teamwork important? Wouldn't people just hold you back?”

 I couldn't help but reach over and swat the brat upside the head. After listening to his protests for half a second, I did the same thing to shut him up and spoke before he could start yelling at me in renewal, “Teamwork is essential to everything. They don't hold you back, a team is family. Had you got together and shared the clues, you would have easily figured out the object.”

 “W-w-w-w-w-w-wha-what i-is-is the o-o-o-obj-obj-ect?” Oh great, yelling at Hinata seemed to make her stutter more. Just my luck.

 I smiled for the first time since the timer went off. “I'm the object.” Cue the three stunned faces.

 My little cousin frowned, “How does my clue point towards you? You just insulted me.” I was surprised that Naruto hadn't laughed, but one look at the blonde genin revealed that he was paling at a rabid pace. Soon the Kyuubi brat would be as pale as Sasuke and Hinata.

 “ 'Sit here, you bothersome idiot. This code is too hard for you.' That is the clue, correct?” I asked. Sasuke nodded, suspicion leaking into his eyes. I gave him a close eyed grin, “Did you happen to notice that 'bothersome' had a hyphen?” Another nod of confirmation. “I told you the code was too hard, and I was right.”

 “There was no code.” Sasuke said stubbornly.

 Shaking my head I held up a finger, “Technically there was, but I knew that–as an Uchiha–you would over think things. If you had simply looked at where the hyphen was placed you would notice that 'me' had been separated from 'bothersome'. Really, the answer if quite obviously stupid when you think about it.”

 Sasuke actually facepalmed and I genuinely laughed when he did so.

 I turned my attention back on the team as an whole and held up one finger, “I already explained Sasuke's clue. It was the most obvious, too obvious to tell the truth.” I held up a second finger, “Hinata's clue was a little more difficult. 'Tall and straight like a tree am I, but no leaves or fruit I bear.' I am extremely tall for a woman. Naruto's clue-”

 “Are you a vampire?!” Naruto chose then to shout, his eyes wide as he pointed an accusing finger at me. I blinked at him as did Sasuke and even Hinata.

 “...What?”

 “You're a vampire, aren't you! Are you going to drink out blood?!”

 “And where did you get that silly notion?”

 “The clue!”

 “What?!” I stared at the blonde kid. Granted his clue was a little creepy but still, how did he get vampire out of glowing red eyes?

 Naruto seemed to suddenly notice the looks his teammates were giving him. A blush marred his cheeks lightly and he ducked his head, “The uh... the clue. It said that your eyes glow red...” He mumbled.

 The younger Uchiha actually took pity on Naruto, “That's the Uchiha Kekke Genkai. Our eyes turn red sometimes to help in battle.” Sasuke explained. I was glad he didn't go in depth. There had once been a time when the sharingan was a clan secret, but after so many years it just became common knowledge. Still, the Uchiha didn't like explaining their Kekke Genkai unless absolutely necessary, that way there was less people trying to steal it.

 “...oh...”

 I sighed and shook my head, “You need to stop watching whatever it is you watch...” I said sadly. Then I grinned, this one full of evil intent. The genin hunkered down, obviously knowing that we were about to return to the failed exercise, “now... we're going to try this again, but it won't be as easy as the treasure hunt.” I said and waited for one of the genin to ask what I was planning for them to do.

 Finally Sasuke was the one who dared to ask, “What is it?”

 My grin grew wider, “You're going to prank my brother, Uchiha Obito.”

 I was very pleased the way Sasuke's skin turned a unhealthy pale color. If I thought he was pasty before, it was nothing compared to this. I was nearly shivering in excitement. Maybe having a genin team was fun after all, if I could get away with pranking the Uchiha Prankster.

  Chapter 5: Why Never to Prank Obito

“Who put you in charge, Teme?” Naruto whined the minute Sasuke tried to start planning their prank on his cousin.

 Sasuke glared at the blonde, “Obito is my cousin, I know his reputation.” The Uchiha boy said simply.

 “Ha! But I'm a prankster, so I should know what to do!”

 “You have no idea what Obito is capable of.”

 “So what?! Doesn't make you the leader!”

 I sighed exasperated and pinched the bridge of my nose. I should have known that the two boys were going to develop some kind of rivalry. Every team did it, even myself and one of my genin teammates had one. Although it was my teammate who was under the delusion that we had a rivalry, I had no interest in being a rival to anyone– especially not a civilian brat. I simply played along for the entertainment of watching the guy fail time and time again.

 If I remember correctly he retired from his shinobi career after losing the Chuunin Exams to me.

 As my two students continued to argue who should be the leader, I glanced down at the fidgeting Hyuuga heiress standing beside me, almost behind me. I guess it was time for some 'sensei-student' bonding time. “Hinata.” The girl looked up at me, her pale eyes wide with obvious fright. Mentally I sighed, maybe calling her a coward earlier was a bit much.

 “Y-y-yes, sensei?” She managed to stutter out, pressing her two forefingers together in a nervous habit.

 I swatted her hands down, “Stop that. First rule of being a kunoichi: don't show nervousness.” Hinata gripped her hands together behind her back, like a small child being scolded and nodded in a jerking manner, “Second, I'm putting you on teamwork duty. While the three of you are out pranking my brother, you're going to keep the boys from killing each other. Consider it your first lesson in asserting yourself.”

 Hinata paled and she looked down at her feet. I could see that she was gripping her hands tightly, as if she were trying to talk her courage up. I sighed and tapped the bottom of her chin, bringing her gaze to meet mine.

 “You will get over this nervous habit of yours, Hyuuga. Shy little kids don't make it in this career.” I said sternly. Hinata nodded quickly and I rolled my eyes. I was starting to wonder if she was only nodding so I would stop talking to her. “You can start by breaking those two up now.” I said and pointed at Sasuke and Naruto as they got in each other face.

 Hesitatingly Hinata shuffled towards the two fighting boys. I watched her closely as she neared Naruto and Sasuke, analyzing her ever move. “E-excuse me...” She said in a whisper. Of course the boys didn't hear her over their own loud voices.

 I groaned. Seems this was going to be harder than I thought. Putting my two index fingers to my mouth, I whistled loudly, making everyone in the vicinity cringe. My genin looked at me and I glared back, “Alright, pansies, if there's going to be that much of a fuss over team leader, I'll pick. Hinata is the leader,” Oh I would enjoy the looks of surprise from the three preteens for years to come. Still, before I could visualize those expressions again, I had to lay down ground rules, “She's also the person who's going to make sure you two don't fight. For this 'mission' to go successfully, you have to work together and be quiet! Any questions?” I didn't give them enough time to ask before I was continuing, “Good. Now when you're done, you can go home.”

 “How do you know if we pass or not?” Sasuke asked, a frown pulling his thin eyebrows low over his eyes.

 Grinning evilly, I tapped him on his Haiti-ate, “Trust me, I'll know. Good luck~! You're going to need it.”

 vvv 3rd Person~ Sasuke vvv

 The second Yanagi-sensei disappeared, Sasuke turned to his two teammates, “We need a plan of attack. Cousin Obito won't be an easy target.” He said. There was no way Sasuke would be able to retain his cool if he didn't think of this stupid childish test as an actual mission.

 Naruto glared at him, “Hey! Hinata is the leader! Stop trying to usurp her command!” Hinata blushed and looked away quickly, her whole face red. Sasuke rolled his eyes, it took him by surprise that the dobe hadn't caught on to Hinata's affections by now.

 “I'm surprise you even know what 'usurp' means.” Sasuke commented drily. Naruto pulled a hateful face, the corner of his mouth twitching in frustration.

 “G-guys! Please d-don-don't fight!” Hinata interrupted before Naruto could respond. Both boys looked away with equal sour looks. There were a few minutes of silence before Hinata spoke again, “S-S-Sas-Sasuke-san. W-what w-w-w-were you say-saying?”

 The Uchiha glanced at his female teammate, it wasn't often that any girl added the honorific -san to his name, most of the time it was -kun. Sasuke liked the change. Ignoring Naruto's pout, Sasuke explained his plan on pranking his older cousin.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 “Yeah, so since I couldn't do the same test twice, I made them work on something completely different.” I said to Kakashi as we both sat in the shade of some random tree, boredly watching Asuma and his three new genin. We both had free time, since Kakashi already failed his team and mine were currently trying to impress me.

 Kakashi hummed as he read his favorite book of all time for the millionth time, “So what are they doing...?” He asked distractedly.

 “Pranking Obito.” I got a laugh when Kakashi nearly fell out of the tree branch he was lounging in. Quickly, too quickly for my liking, Kakashi managed to catch himself and prevent a blackmail worthy moment.

 “He's going to kill you.”

 “That's why I'm hanging out with you,” I said jokingly, “You love me too much to let my big bad brother murder me.”

 I only got a sigh from the Copy-nin. I knew what was going on in his mind. “You put up with me because I'm the only person in the universe who can get Obito to stop annoying you. Besides, I have years worth of blackmail on you.” I answered his unasked question.

 Kakashi gave me a dry look, “You're incorrigible.” He grumbled. I laughed at him. Of all people in Konoha, Kakashi was probably the only one I truly got along with. One could say that I saw Kakashi as another brother, only I liked this one more than my blood brother. I liked to think that he saw me as a little sister.

 He teased me like one.

 The white haired jounin leaned closer to me and gave me his famous eye-smile, “And I have plenty blackmail over you too.” He said cheerfully.

 Glaring I crossed my arms, “Shut up.” I grumbled, not wanting to talk anymore. I felt a finger poke my cheek and I whipped around to snap at it, but like always Kakashi pulled back before I could dig my teeth in his finger.

 “Your crush on me was so cute! Of all my fangirls, you were probably my favorite.” Kakashi teased.

 My glare intensified until I was giving him a full Uchiha Glare. Having been a teammate with a hothead like my brother and being Kakashi in general, of course he was immune to it. Damn man. “That was only a brief time, it was a phase I went through you idiot. Hero worship!” I defended myself hotly.

 Kakashi leaned back, satisfied that he had riled me up, and took his book out again, “Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll actually believe it one day.”

 I crossed my arms and slouched against the tree trunk, “I'm going to sell your Icha Icha novels, jerk.”

 “I keep them in a safe.”

 “What? You're not still mad that I burned your last series, are you?”

 “...yes...”

 “You should have listened to Obito then. He tried to warn you.” I said dismissively, shrugging as if burning his books were inevitable. Which, considering my undying hatred for the perverted novels, it kind of was inevitable.

 “Like I'd ever trust anything Obito would say.” Kakashi growled, probably remembering one of the many instances where trusting the Uchiha Prankster got Kakashi into trouble. I grinned mentally, remembering a few memories myself. Poor Kakashi had to learn what all Uchiha knew the hard way.

 “I'm pretty sure that when it comes to Icha Icha, Obito means every word he says.” I said drily. There were two things Kakashi and Obito had in common: their habit of tardiness and their creepy obsession with the Icha Icha series.

 Kakashi snorted and crossed his arms, the closest thing he'd ever get to pouting, “He also likes to spoil the new books.”

 I held up my hands as if to defend myself and screwed my eyes up, “I don't want to know anything that goes on in those smutty books of yours! You and my brother can keep your perverseness to yourselves!” I snapped.

 My brother figure glanced at me, his single visible eye full of mischief. Well crap, I just dug myself into a hole. Kakashi opened his mouth, or at least I assumed by the way his face mask moved, to speak but someone beat him to it.

 “Are you two going to distract my team all day or what?”

 Kakashi and I looked down from our perches to see Asuma standing at the base of the tree giving us a rather stern look, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Behind him, his three genin were watching us curiously. If I remember correctly, the blonde girl was one of Sasuke's more adamant fangirls, but I wasn't for sure. Kakashi only dipped his head in greeting and buried his nose in his dirty orange book.

 “Sorry, Asuma” I said, but my tone wasn't apologetic. Asuma may be more powerful and older than me, but I was still an Uchiha. Arrogance was a hereditary trait that my clan was born with. I didn't respect anyone unless they absolutely deserved it. Kakashi, without looking up from his book, swatted me in the back of my head.

 I glared at him, but before I could say anything Asuma spoke again, “Could you take your argument somewhere else?” Even though the Sarutobi had asked it as a question, both Kakashi and I knew it was an order.

 Without saying a word, Kakashi stood and threw me over his shoulder like he used to when I was a kid. “Hey! Let me go, you scarecrow!” I shouted in indignity, but of course he ignored me.

 vvv 3rd Person vvv

 “Shisui have you seen Yanagi?” An irritated voice asked. Both Itachi and Shisui turned around to face Obito. To their complete surprise he was covered head to toe in honey; stray coils of ninja wire still wrapped around random places of his body.

 Shisui blinked, “Uh... Obito-senpai? What happened to you?” The Uchiha with long eyelashes asked, shocked to see his former Konoha Police mentor so... gooey.

 Obito was too busy glaring past the two men at the third in their company, who was trying to act as casual as he could. Itachi and Shisui followed the older Uchiha's gaze to Sasuke. Itachi frowned a little, obviously making the connection between Obito's honeyed state and his little brother's poorly accomplished innocent expression. “Sasuke, did you do this?” The Uchiha Prodigy asked in a passive voice.

 Sasuke, who could never lie when around his brother, looked down guiltily. Everyone could practically feel Obito's killer intent spike. Itachi dropped his stoic facade to glare at his cousin, not liking the potential threat to his little brother.

 Shisui on the other hand was staring at Sasuke with his head tilted. He really couldn't understand why Sasuke would do something like that, especially when it was uncalled for. As far as Shisui knew, Obito and Sasuke had never talked except in passing. And any Uchiha would have to be insane to actually prank the Uchiha Prankster.

 “Where. Is. Yanagi?” Obito growled at Sasuke. Itachi twitched, obviously wanted to step between Obito and his brother, but refrained. Neither would appreciate his interference. And Itachi really didn't want to suffer through another prank of Obito's.

 He was still finding feathers in his room from all those damn chickens.

 Sasuke stared defiantly up at Obito, obviously not scared of the goofiest Uchiha. Shisui had to admit that the kid had guts. Obito was one hot tempered Uchiha, only bested by his younger sister Yanagi. Hell, when Yanagi was on a rampage even Shisui stayed well out of her warpath. That woman had no respect for anyone, not her brother and guardian, not her clan leader... there were times when Shisui doubted that even the Hokage received Yanagi's respect.

 “Kakashi, put me down damn it!”

 Well speak of the devil.

 Shisui grinned as Obito spun in his gooey glory to glare at Yanagi thrown over Kakashi's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The young woman struggled even harder when she spied her brother, “You little traitor. I'm going to burn your whole house down now!”

 “Go right ahead, my books are in a fire proof safe.” Kakashi returned drily before dumping Yanagi on the ground right in front of her glaring brother. Yanagi crossed her arms and glared right back at him. Shisui smiled at the sight of the two siblings glaring, they were so different from Itachi and Sasuke.

 “I've got a perfectly good reason.” Yanagi said defensively before Obito could get a word in.

 “Oh I would love to hear this.” Her brother growled back.

 “My genin are idiots, but they're idiots who pass.”

 Itachi and Shisui exchanged slightly confused confused looks. They were both wondering the same thing, where in the world did Yanagi's genin team–Shisui didn't even know she had one–came into play with Sasuke pranking Obito?! Shisui caught Sasuke glaring hotly at Yanagi from behind Itachi and then it clicked.

 Shisui laughed, bringing all attention to him, “Was this your teamwork building exercise, Yagi?” He asked, highly amused. As he suspected, Yanagi immediately clammed up the moment she saw Shisui. He should have known that Yanagi would use the excuse of teaching her genin teamwork to prank her brother.

  Chapter 6 Shisui and D-ranks are Not Pleasant

“...”

 “...'Sup?”

 “...”

 “...”

 There was a quiet, slightly awkward, cough, “Do they do this a lot?” I heard Kurenai ask, her tone one of concern.

 My brother sighed beside me, “You have no idea...” He grumbled. Without looking I landed my elbow in his side, “OUCH! Yanagi, that hurts.” Obito yelled at me. Oh how I wanted to make a snappy comment; however a certain jerk sitting beside me, grinning devilishly, was preventing me from doing so. I settled for a dark look.

 Shisui's grin widened when I returned my glare to him, “Awww... I was hoping I'd catch you talking. I haven't heard your melodious voice in forever~” He teased. I just continued to glare at him. Shisui pouted and looked over my head at a now snickering Obito, “Obito-senpai, your imoto is being mean!”

 I went to punch Shisui, but Obito hooked a hand around my elbow, “No.” He said sternly. Obito always did like Shisui, so I was never allowed to hit him when my brother was around.

 I narrowed my eyes at the most skilled Uchiha, trying to tell him with my eyes how lucky he was that my brother was here to stop me from punching Shisui's lights out. Shisui seemed to get my message and ruffled my hair like when we were younger as he stood up, “See ya, Yagi!” The nickname set my teeth on edge and I would have hit him again, if Obito hadn't already guessed my intentions and wrapped an arm around my torso, keeping me in my seat. Shisui gave me another grin before bowing politely to the elite jounin sitting around the table, then he shunshined away like he was never there.

 Stickin' shunshin master...

 I crossed my arms, “Damn Uchiha... I hate him.” I growled when I couldn't feel his chakra anymore. Obito and Kakashi seemed to be the only ones amused by my silent treatment towards Shisui.

 “But I thought you said you didn't hate him, imoto.” Obito interjected.

 “I don't!”

 “You just said you did a minute ago.”

 “...”

 “What, are you giving me the silent treatment now?” Obito teased. I glared at him hotly, I hated older brothers; that I would readily admit to. Obito leaned closer, a grin similar to Shisui's on his face.

 My glare intensified as I leaned back, trying to put more personal space between us. My brother knew I hated people evading my personal space, and he used it to his advantage, “Outta my face or I'm going to steal your candy stash again.” I threatened. Like a spring, Obito was sitting straight again, sending me a dirty look. I grinned back at him, the tables had turned.

 Kurenai sighed, more used to Obito and my antics than my silent treatment towards Shisui, “Would you two stop?” She asked, her tone someone managing to stay between polite and exasperated. Only the Yuhi woman could accomplish such a tone.

 Kakashi scoffed from his corner of the booth, his eyes still on his smutty literature. At least Obito knew when to stop reading. “Getting those two to stop is like getting-”

 I butted in before he could finish, “Getting you to stop reading your porn?” I drawled. When Kakashi gave me a one eyed glare I grinned at him. Asuma and Kurenai tried to hide their chuckles while Obito didn't even bother. Kakashi slowly bookmarked his place and put the book away, still glaring at me.

 “I was going to say getting you to stop antagonizing your team.” Kakashi said in an irritated tone that he usually reserved for Obito when my brother was being particularly annoying.

 I scoffed, “They're a bunch of pansies, they get what they deserve.” It was a lame defense, but then again Fugaku hadn't really been thinking when he put me as Sasuke's sensei. It would be his fault if his youngest son was mentally scarred when I got through with him. “Besides,” I continued with my nose in the air, “the worst thing I have done was scare the shit out of that class when I yelled at those Uchiha brats.”

 Kurenai giggled, “Yes, I heard about that from Kiba. He said you reminded him of his mother.”

 “Shikamaru thinks you're very 'troublesome' too. Ino and Chouji looked a little shaken up about the whole thing.” Asuma added, “I can't imagine how your team feels having you as a sensei.”

 I glared at the Sarutobi, slightly insulted, “How they feel about me does not matter,” I paused for a moment then said with a sneer, “but... I'm pretty sure they're scared shitless. Especially the Hyuuga girl.”

 Obito sighed, “You're going to be the worst sensei ever...” He mumbled, rolled his eyes. No one said anything, but I could tell they agreed with him. Bunch of lackluster faithless jerks if you ask me.

 Pursing my lips I turned to Kakashi, “So, how bad did your almost team fail?” I asked, changing the subject.

 Kakashi gave me a look that told me he knew exactly what I was trying to do, but answered anyway, “Miserably, though I might take the Uchiha kid on as a personal student. He was the only one smart enough to figure it out.” Obito and I perked up at the mention of our clan name.

 “Uchiha? Who?” Obito questioned, leaning towards his best friend/rival.

 Kakashi shrugged, “Some kid named Netsui. He has a twin sister who was placed on another team.”

 My brother and I exchanged looks. We knew who Kakashi was talking about. Having twins in the clan was extremely rare, so Netsui and Nerai were considered something special. “Why didn't they place Nerai on your team, Kakashi-baka? Netsui and Nerai have a lot of combo attacks that could be useful.” Obito commented. Kakashi only shrugged again and I rolled my eyes, seeing that he was reading Icha Icha under the table. I was sorely tempted to 'accidentally' spill my drink on Kakashi and see if I could ruin his book.

 Before I could attempt anything, Anko suddenly appeared carrying a plate of dango, “Yo my bitches! What boring conversation are you- HEY!” Anko shouted when Obito and I simultaneously nabbed a dango stick from Anko's plate and stuffed them in our mouths before Anko could snatch them back. Everyone at the table sighed.

 The snake mistress glared at us, “You're lucky that I love you two, or you'd be dead... pigs.” She growled.

 Kurenai shook her head, “You should know better than to bring sweets around Obito and his sister.” She scolded lightly. Anko was still glaring at us as she grabbed her last dango stick and popped the first dumpling in her mouth. Kakashi was just giving the both of us dry looks that practically screamed, 'you nimrods'.

 What can I say, when it came to anything containing sugar, Obito and I were on it like white on rice.

 “Mm,” I waved my now empty dango stick around as I chewed on the last dumpling. Swallowing I continued, “did you know that Sasuke doesn't like sweets?” I commented. The look of absolute horror on Obito's face was priceless. Anko, who was almost as bad of a sugar junkie as Obito and I, looked almost as horrified. The rest of the jounin were too busy trying not to laugh at Obito's expression, myself included.

 “What Uchiha doesn't like sweets?!” Obito shouted, gaining a few looks from the patrons in the tea house where the six of us were relaxing.

 I shrugged at my Nii-san's question, “Apparently the second son to Fugaku. I tried to be nice and share my candy with him yesterday, but he said he didn't like sweets.” I got more surprised faces, but this time for a completely different reason.

 “You... offered to share candy with someone?” Anko asked. There was a brief pause before she slapped her hand to my forehead, “Nope, you ain't got a fever. Were you blackmailed into doing it then?” I glared and slapped her hand away.

 “Hey, I was trying to 'bond' with my students. With that hodgepodge of weirdos, I need to find some resemblance of sanity before I forget what it looks like.” I snapped sarcastically. I then turned to glare at Asuma and Kurenai, “How well does your students get along with each other?” I asked, though I already knew what they were going to say.

 The not-quite-yet-couple glanced at each other, probably silently communicating like the old married couple they should be. “Well...” Kurenai started hesitantly, “Kiba has some kind of one sided rivalry going on with Shino, but it's nothing too bad; and Sakura yells at Kiba a lot for being too... I think she said 'Naruto-like'.” I snorted at that one. This Kiba brat must be annoying indeed if he was compared to Naruto.

 Asuma shrugged when I turned to him, “Ino acts the same way as Sakura, she gets fed up with Shikamaru's lazy habits. She also tries to boss the boys around every so often, but Shikamaru and Chouji just go along with it. They're all very laid back.”

 “You lucky jerks.” I whined.

 Obito glared at me, “You're team seems to have good teamwork, stop complaining.” My brother growled. I laughed at him. No doubt he was remembering yesterday and the honey. I'd still be in the doghouse if I hadn't thought ahead and bought Obito two weeks worth of candy. In our house, candy equaled instant forgiveness, no matter how bad the crime was.

 “But they're still idiots. Hinata looks like she's going to faint half the time and Naruto is either trying to physically fight me or Sasuke. And Sasuke is trying to act cool and-” My eyes casually flicked up to the small clock hanging on the back wall of the tea shop. I stiffened when I realized the time. “Shit! My team has a mission!” I cursed and literally vaulted over my brother in my hurry to get away. The group of jounin laughed as I tore out of the tea house in a fury to beat my team to our meeting point.

 The last thing I needed was my team complaining about me being late.

 vvv

 “You're late.” Sasuke said dully when I came skidding to a halt five minutes before the time I had given my team. Luckily my cousin was the only one there. My biggest worry had been the loud mouth blonde. Naruto would never let me live it down if I had been late.

 I glared at the navy haired Uchiha as I tried to catch my breath, “Not a... word.” I panted.

 Sasuke smirked, “What will I get out of it?” He asked smugly. Damn it, he was catching on.

 “Name your price.” I said in all seriousness.

 My cousin's smirk grew wider, “I want to know why you won't talk to Shisui.” Damn it all, this brat was learning too quick! I was expecting him to name his favorite food and make me buy it like Obito usually did, not information.

 “HA! I'M EARLY, SO I'M NOT LATE!” Naruto shouted then as he came running up to us, saving me from a conversation I didn't want to have. By the looks of his disheveled state, it was clear that he would have been late if he hadn't hauled ass.

 I looked around as was surprised to see Hinata standing slightly behind the two boys. I raised an eyebrow, I hadn't even noticed her come up. There was no way of knowing if she was early or on time. Mentally I made a note to bump up Hinata to more advance stealth training before I pulled out the mission scroll, “Okay, first D-ranked mission of the day is... babysitting twins.”

 I don't know who groaned louder: me or Naruto.

 vvv

 Naruto and I came to the mutual agreement to ditch the brats with Hinata and Sasuke. I was already struggling not to kill myself by just dealing with three preteens, I didn't need two five year olds to add to the list. Naruto just didn't like small kids in general.

 Hinata, not surprisingly, took care of her brat quite well. The five year old seemed quite taken with the shy Hyuuga heiress. I was sorely tempted to make a comment about Hinata's future abilities at motherhood, but decided against it knowing she would just faint. Sasuke also fared okay. After a few tantrums, the brat quieted down knowing that Sasuke wasn't going to deal with any of his crap. As Hinata and Sasuke wondered around Konoha with their kids in tow, Naruto and I followed behind them talking aimlessly about our favorite foods. When I said I didn't like ramen, Naruto nearly had a heart attack, which was amusing to Sasuke and I. The twins looked confused as to why Naruto was on the ground twitching while Hinata was stuttering up a storm trying to talk to the comatose blonde.

 At noon we returned the twins to their parents and I dragged my team with me to clean Nekobaa's house. This time it was Hinata and Naruto that did all the work while Sasuke and I visited with the Uchiha weapons supplier. Nekobaa and I were mostly content in teasing Sasuke about his little paw challenge that Itachi-san had given him when they were younger. Sasuke didn't seem to mind all that much, though he did glare at me for quite a while. Naturally, being Uchiha, Sasuke and I were overrun by cats demanding for attention. Of course Naruto flubbed it up when, after seeing Sasuke and I casually petting the ever present cats, tried to pet one too.

 I probably should have told him that only members of the Uchiha clan were allowed to touch the cats.

 Needless to say, Naruto got his ass handed to him by a house cat. Hinata then did another swooning/stuttering episode as she tried to talk to the once again unconscious Naruto. Sasuke and I just enjoyed ourselves again.

 After the mission with Nekobaa, I took my team to help clean out an old abandoned building that was going to be torn down soon. Hinata and I sat this mission out as the boys used their 'muscles' to move old rotten crates and other decrepit treasures that were buried in the corners of the warehouse. I tried to cure Hinata of her stuttering problem in that time, but I only succeeded in lessening how much she stuttered by a few seconds before Naruto once again caused disaster.

 I tried to make the man who owned the building see the bright side: now he would have to pay the demolition teams anything, since Naruto flattened the building like a bug.

 I'm still not sure how he did that...

 At sunset I lead Team 7 back to the Missions Assignment Office to hand in the reports of the missions. Of all of them, the babysitting mission had gone the smoothest. It was the only one that didn't fail due to destruction of private property. I was starting to worry that all our missions would fail as bad. One lecture from the Hokage about mission effectiveness later, Hiruzen dismissed us and Team 7 dispersed into the growing dusk, each heading to their own home.

 Sasuke and I walked back together in silence, far enough apart that we wouldn't brush up against each other as we walked. I was starting to get a feeling that this was going to be a regular thing.

 “You never did tell me why you don't speak to Shisui.” Sasuke commented out of the blue.

 I glared into the distance. Damn it I had been hoping he had forgotten about that. When I didn't say anything he continued, “I asked Shisui yesterday, but he only laughed it off and changed the subject. Aniki said you two used to be good friends.”

 “What happened to the glaring boy who first introduced himself?” I asked dryly.

 “He got curious.”

 “Curiosity killed the cat.”

 Sasuke finally glared at me before smirking, “And satisfaction brought it back.”

 I twitched in irritation. This kid had been hanging around Obito and Shisui too much if he was starting to quote those two goofballs. I started picking up my pace, making the Uchiha brat have to jog to keep up with me, “I don't have to explain anything to you. It's private.”

 Sasuke shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, “Fine. I'll tell Naruto that you were late today. I imagine he'll stop teasing you about it... when you're in your grave. Maybe not though.”

 It was hard resisting the urge to smack the boy upside the head like I would Nii-san or Shisui when they started blackmailing me. You don't blackmail the Blackmail Queen and get away with it, it was simply unheard of. I thought frantically of a way to get out of the mess I had created and cursed the fact that I didn't have any blackmail to hold over Sasuke.

 Oh wait...

 I smirked evilly down at him, enjoying the sight of Sasuke tensing up in anxiety. I already had the Uchiha brat trained so well, “Go ahead and tell Naruto,” I started nonchalantly with a shrug of my own. My eyes gleamed as I grinned sadistically, “but don't come whining to me when people start asking if you and the blonde brat are dating... That kiss was so romantic. I wonder what your family will think.”

 My little cousin's complexion turned from white to green to red in under two seconds. I laughed loudly and reached down to ruffle his duckass hair, ignoring his rather impressive glare, “Never try to blackmail the Blackmail Queen, I have that nickname for a reason. I know every embarrassing secret about everyone. Now drop the subject and you'll maintain your dignity.”

 “I will find out one day.” Sasuke said stubbornly.

 I held out my hands, palms facing upwards, and shrugged to show how much I cared, “Sure... maybe you will.” I said in a soothing tone, the kind that parents got when their child failed at something and was bawling their eyes out.

 Another glare from the boy, “Don't patronize me.”

 “Then don't leave yourself open.”

 “You're annoying.”

 “I've heard it all before, brat. Keep it coming.”

 “Aniki says you don't respect anyone.”

 “I don't respect people for who they are born as. They earn my respect.” I snapped, a little more harshly than I intended.

 Sasuke was silent after that, his young face hard with contemplation. I eyed the boy as we reached the Uchiha Compound. I knew Sasuke was smart–he should be after having a genius for an older brother–so it wasn't much of a surprise that he would think before he spoke. Still that expression on his face didn't belong on the twelve year old's face; one could hardly expect an adult to think so deeply, let alone a child. I did the only thing I could do.

 I swatted him upside the head.

 “HEY!” Sasuke yelped and glared at me as he rubbed the back of his head. I pulled my cousin in a choke hold and ground my first knuckle into his temple, like Obito used to do to me when I was younger.

 “You're still a brat and I still don't like you, but stop trying to over think things. Didn't you learn anything from your first teamwork exercise?” I asked. Sasuke glared at me for the reminder about his understated 'clue'. I laughed and pushed in away from me, “Go home and bother your 'aniki,' brat.” I said cheerfully and started to turn away before I remembered something.

 “Oh...” I looked over my shoulder at Sasuke who froze on spot, probably thinking I was going to say something evil, “and if Shisui ever gives you trouble, just ask him about his nineteenth birthday.” I said with a wink. I shunshined away, leaving the poor kid frowning in confusion.

  Chapter 7: Hypocrite Thy Name is-

Mission One: Retrieve cat from tree

 Rank: D-rank

 Team: Team 7

 Complete: yes

 Overview from Sensei: Team arrived on site for the mission and evaluated the situation. Sasuke shows signs of a adept strategist as he relayed a plan to his teammates on how to get the cat out of the tree. Hinata appears to be a good follower, as she completed every task Sasuke gave her. Naruto, however, shows that he is neither a good leader or a good follower. Disregarding both mine and Sasuke's orders, Naruto created kage bushin to climb up and retrieve the cat alone. Both Naruto and the tree were injured and the cat traumatized.

 …

 Mission Two: Grocery Shopping for the Chief Councilor’s Wife (time limit: 2 hours)

 Rank: D-rank

 Team: Team 7

 Complete: no

 Overview from Sensei: Hinata took action by dividing up the long list of groceries between the three genin to save time. Sasuke shows excellent signs of being a follower when it is needed. He finished his section in record time and had the foresight to retrieve items not on the list but were still necessary. Hinata was only moments behind Sasuke in completing her tasks. Naruto go sidetracked by ramen and thus failed the time crucial mission.

 …

 Mission Three: Weeding the Public Gardens

 Rank: D-Rank

 Team: Team 7

 Complete: no

 Overview from Sensei: Sasuke and Hinata did alright. They successfully finished their sections of the gardens and disposed of the weeds properly. Hinata was even able to give advice about plant upkeep to the caretakers. Naruto pulled everything, plant and weed, from his sections. Half of his paycheck has been cut to go to the whiny plant caretakers.

…

 Mission Four: Cleaning Nekobaa's House

 Rank: D-rank

 Team: Team 7

 Overview from Sensei: An almost replica of the team's first mission to clean Nekobaa's hut. Sasuke and Hinata applied their ninja skills to complete their tasks faster. Naruto once again upset the cats and made another mess. Thankfully Nekobaa was not too upset.

 …

 Mission Five: Babysitting

 Rank: D-Rank

 Team: Team 7

 Complete: yes

 Overview from Sensei: Naruto shouldn't be allowed around children. He somehow traumatized the little brat... and not by means that you are thinking of.

 ...

 Mission Six: Gardening for Lady Jin

 Rank: D-Rank

 Team: Team 7

 Complete: no

 Overview from Sensei: I'M STARTING TO THINK THIS IS A CRUEL JOKE, HOKAGE!

 I shoved the reports away from me and tossed the pen down. I needed a break. It was only my official second day of being a jounin sensei and already I needed a break. I was going to go insane if I had to spend another minute around those three brats!

 “YANAGI-SENSEI!” A voice I knew too well, and didn't like at all, shouted from the front door. The brat was loud enough that I could hear his voice even from the back of the house. Cursing I started to get up to answer it when the worst happened.

 Obito.

 Met.

 Naruto.

 “HEY LOUD-MOUTH BRAT! SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH BEFORE I FIND AWAY TO STITCH IT CLOSED! I'M TRYING TO WRITE REPORTS!!” Obito roared and I cringed at the sound of his loud voice bouncing off the walls of our house. Fugaku really didn't think things through when he thought that a two bedroom house was enough for the infamous Uchiha hotheads.

 “SAY THAT TO MY FACE!” Naruto, of course, yelled back. Luckily his voice was a little muffled so I didn't go completely deaf then and there.

 Nii-san cursed rather loudly and I could hear him stomping towards the front door. Well crap, now I had to deal with two idiots under the same roof. I groaned from my seat, not having yet bothered to move and separate the two before things could escalate. Why oh why was I cursed to live with a difficult brother and have to teach the loudest brat I had ever known in existence? Even if I was the worst kind of insane homicidal psychopath in a past life, I doubted that I deserved this fate.

 Whoever told Naruto where I lived, I was going to murder them in the most horrific way.

 “Hey! You're that guy we had to prank.” I could hear Naruto saying as I heard the sliding door slam open. Oh crap. I forgot about that prank! Scrambling out of my seat I rushed into the main room just in time to see Obito glowering down at my student. At least he wasn't killing him... yet.

 Obito, to say the least, didn't look pleased at all, “Kid, you've got three seconds to get off my property.”  Naruto had better thank his lucky stars that he was the son of Minato-san; otherwise I doubted that the blonde brat would be standing there for very long. Predictably, a very long and very loud argument between the two knuckleheads started.

 I sighed as I thought about my options. Option one: Do nothing and let Obito and Naruto dislike each other. It might be a good thing, since they wouldn't bother me as much when they were too busy yelling at each other. However, two extremely loud people shouting at each other was a sure ticket to migraines. Option two: Make them like each other. If Nii-san got along well enough with Naruto then they would probably go pranking together and get out of my hair for a few hours. The downside was that I would have to deal with Naruto more often. My choice was clear.

 After retrieving Obito's wallet from his room, I chucked it at my brother and hit him on the back of his head. Obito spun around to glare at me, “What the hell is wrong with you?!” He snapped.

 I glared back at him, “Stop giving me headaches and go bond with your Mini-me. Buy ramen or whatever.” I dismissed with a wave of my hand.

 “Mini-me?! He's (I'm) not my (his) Mini-me!” Obito and Naruto shouted at the same time, in the exact same offended voice. I laughed at their expressions as horror came over their faces and they glanced at each other. Everything was in perfect sync, it was very creepy but amusing at the same time. I just gave the two a knowing smirk. It was so obvious that Nii-san and the Kyuubi brat were alike, and they just kept proving it by mimicking each other.

 I turned to Naruto as the two came to terms with their sudden likeness, “How'd you get here? I know someone told you, who were they?” I asked sternly.

 Naruto was still too busy giving Obito a nasty glare, which was returned tenfold, to answer me. It wasn't until I reached around my brother and yanked harshly on Naruto's ear that the blonde finally looked at me, “Ai ai ai! Frizzy-sensei! Don't pulllll!” He whined. I stiffened at the nickname and Obito burst out laughing.

 “Frizzy...sensei?” I asked, my tone turning dangerously. My hair, I admit, was unruly–even more so than Shisui's–but you never ever tease a woman about her appearance. Especially a hot tempered woman like me. Uchiha women were naturally beautiful, with their long flowing hair and dark intelligent eyes; I knew I wasn't on par with them, and I was extra volatile about my appearance because of that.

 The kid seemed to understand that he was in deep trouble now as he squirmed in my grip. He kept apologizing over and over. I just pinched his earlobe harder in a warning before letting go. The brat danced from foot to foot, both hands clasped to his injured ear, wailing about how much it hurt. Obito snickered the whole time, finding amusement in what he normally did when Rin pulled on his ear.

 I shot my brother a meaningful look and thankfully Obito caught my meaning and shoved Naruto out the door, “Come on, ya brat. I'm hungry and my imoto will only murder you if you stay here.” My brother drawled. Naruto made no complaints, probably hoping that Obito would take pity on the blonde and feed him.

 Rolling my eyes at the stupidity of those around me, I shut the door and went back to my room. I needed to finish those stupid mission reports.

 Someone murder me now.

 vvv

 “OBITO!” A voice shouted and I groaned, letting my head fall onto my desk. Was I never to have a moment's peace to myself without some loud mouth idiot coming to ruin it?! Though, granted the person yelling now wasn't a loud mouth...

 He was just extremely pissed.

 I glared at Kakashi the minute I walked into the main room, “Honestly, Kakashi, you have no room to yell at Obito-nii for lateness. You do it yourself!” I snapped as my way to say hello.

 “Where is he?”

 “Out distracting Naruto so I can do reports.”

 “Did he finish his?”

 I shrugged, “He was working on his reports until Naruto came along. By the way, do you know who told Naruto where we live? 'Cause I sure as hell didn't!” I eyed Kakashi suspiciously, thinking maybe he had something to do with it; but I turned the thought down immediately. The only association Kakashi had with Naruto was through Minato-san. And besides, neither Obito or I had warranted the revenge of the Copy-nin... yet.

 Kakashi also shrugged, his temporary anger already dissipating. I don't know how Kakashi managed to go through the emotional spectrum so fast. Normally the only thing that could rile the white haired shinobi up was Obito, and Kakashi's anger usually went away after a few minutes. I on the other hand could hold grudges for a long time.

 ...Five years in fact...

 I rolled my eyes when Kakashi didn't say anything and walked past him to shut the door; Kakashi had a bad habit of leaving doors open when it wasn't his own house. I turned back to my brother figure after I locked the door. Seriously, living in a shinobi village... and we had a cheap lock on the door. Both Obito and I were powerful in the clan, bested only by Itachi and Shisui, so I didn't understand why Obito installed the lock in the first place. Besides, what good what it do? If anyone was determined enough, a lock wasn't going to stop them.

 “Any particular reason why you came to yell for my brother? Or are you just making sure he's not being lazy?” I asked Kakashi.

 Kakashi fell back into his laid-back persona and chuckled sheepishly, “A little bit of both actually.” He said, scratching the back of his head. I huffed, of course he was. I raised an eyebrow and waited for Kakashi to elaborate, “Obito promised Rin and me that he would meet us at the BBQ today at noon.” I checked the time. It was almost four in the afternoon, only an hour since Obito left to distract Naruto.

 I rolled my eyes, “And you're only now coming to yell at him? I think you're a tad late yourself, Kakashi.” My brother figure shrugged as if it was okay when he was the one that was late.

 Hypocrite.

 “Fine. Since you're here, you're going to treat me to dinner. No exceptions.” I said and pulled Kakashi out of the house. Had it been Obito, he would have whined about being forced to come, but Kakashi just chuckled at my controlling nature. He had long since learned that when I put my mind to something, I was the most stubborn thing alive.

 A few minutes later found the two of us in an Akimichi restaurant. The Akimichi clan was famous for owning several restaurants around Konoha as well as being a ninja clan. Many clans had civilian sideline profits that could be used for shinobi means; it was almost rare not to. The Akimichi were into restaurants, but they also made most of Konoha's standard ration bars and mission food supplies. The Yamanaka clan owns chains of flower shops and provided shinobi with poisons and herbs. The Uchiha worked as police for civilians but they could easily switch to being an army if the need arose. There were various ways the clans could help Konoha's civilian population; it was a complex system smoothed out from years of experimenting.

 Except the Hyuuga clan, they were just a bunch of freeloaders.

 “So did you ever decide if you were going to personally train that Uchiha kid or not?” I asked as Kakashi pulled down his mask to enjoy his dinner. The two of us were in a private booth so there were no worries about people seeing Kakashi's face. Since I had been practically raised by Kakashi as well as Obito, it was inevitable that I would see the Copy-nin unmasked so Kakashi never truly bothered to hide his face from me. Plus it always helped that I had threatened to reveal pictures of him unmasked to the fangirl population if he ever tried to hide his face from me.

 That was my first ever blackmail and I found pride in it.

 Kakashi held up a finger as he finished chewing on his mouthful of broiled saury. I was just happy that he didn't talk with his mouth full like Nii-san did, the uncouth pig. “I'm still debating.” He said nonchalantly when he swallowed. Code for: I haven't decided to retire from ANBU Corps yet. “What do you think I should do?” Kakashi added, almost in afterthought.

 “Mmm... when I talked to Sasuke about it, he said that Netsui was one of the top genin. It seems unfair that he would fail just because his team has no concept of teamwork.” I tapped my chopsticks against my bowl of Nikujaga as I thought. There were really only two options for Netsui. He could always go into the Genin Corps and work his way slowly up in ranks, but that would take time and it was unheard of for an Uchiha to do so. Or he could snag a jounin master and learn privately, which could go one of two ways: having a Uchiha clansmen help or a random jounin. A non-clansmen wouldn't be any good anyway, since they couldn't teach Netsui how to master his Sharingan if it developed; and getting an Uchiha to be Netsui's master could be problematic in the sense that Konoha would think the clan was beginning to conspire again. That was a fate I wished to avoid at all costs.

 I might have no love for the clan, but I still didn't want it to be wiped out like it almost was.

 A sudden flick in the forehead startled me out of my musings. Kakashi rolled his eye as he sat back, “Stop plotting and tell me what you're thinking.” He said dryly. I giggled a little. Because of his sharingan gift from Obito, Kakashi was one of the few outsiders that was close to the Uchiha clan so he knew all about our tendency to over think things.

 Quickly I explained my thoughts about Netsui's future. Even though he kept a relaxed posture Kakashi seemed to listen intently to my reasoning, I could tell by the sharp glint in his eye. That was one reason why I liked Kakashi. He didn't think that because I was female, even if I was an Uchiha, that I didn't know anything. I might not have Itachi-san's ability to think up plans years in advance and predict every possible outcome, but I still had a sharp mind and I put it to use. Kakashi knew that.

 Kakashi's single visible eyebrow pulled down low over his nose and his mouth turned downwards in a frown as he came to the same conclusion I did. If Kakashi didn't do anything, Netsui would be isolated from the clan and saw as a failure like Obito had been when he refused to take his sharingan back from Kakashi. The Uchiha clan didn't look kindly on failures; our ruthlessness was one of the aspects that made us stronger than most clans. Kind hearted fools had better be powerful or else they were cut off. It was one thing that would never change, even with the clan's change of heart we would be ruthless to the end.

 A heavy silence fell over our booth as I waited for Kakashi to speak. I knew Kakashi was going through all his options carefully, trying to see every possible outcome. Kakashi didn't run headfirst into things, he was levelheaded and logical. If I pushed him now he would probably read wrongly into my motives, thinking that I might have an ulterior motive in regards to Netsui's future. I would have to be patient and wait for Kakashi's answer.

 Finally my brother figure groaned, “No offense... but your clan sucks.” He said resigned.

 I laughed, “No offense taken, I think the same thing.” I said lightly and turned back to my Nikujaga. A different kind of silence descended on us, this one more peaceful now that matters were resolved and Netsui wasn't in danger of becoming an outcast like my brother.

 Of course, Kakashi in all his nosy glory had to ask, “Why are you so interested in the kid anyway? He's not related directly to you like Sasuke.”

 “Because,” I said seriously, giving my brother figure a hard stare, “I don't want anyone to end up like Obito. People still look down on Nii-san, even though he is the third most powerful in the clan. I... I don't want anyone to suffer like he has.” I finished in a whisper, staring down at my bowl of sweet beef. Suddenly it didn't look all that appealing anymore. I admit it, for all my ranting about Obito and for all the times I claimed I didn't like him, I was still his younger sister. And little sister had to look up to their brothers, especially when their brother was the person who raised them.

 Kakashi shifted in his seat, probably extremely uncomfortable. The Copy-nin never really did handle emotions well, there was a reason why one of his ANBU nicknames was the 'Hot and Cold Kakashi.' But hey, at least I wasn't crying.

 Kakashi freaked when a girl cried near him.

 “Maa... doesn't Netsui have a twin?” Kakashi asked, discomfort coloring his voice a little. I knew he would change the subject. Kakashi trying to get away from sensitive topics was about as certain as Gai connecting any conversation to youth in some fashion.

 So forgive me if I couldn't help but snort a little at his predictability, “Yeah. Nerai has good medical skills, best in her class from what I hear. Can you talk to Rin and see if she is willing to sponsor Nerai?” Nerai was easy to deal with, it was Netsui that I was concerned about. The Uchiha clan was always harder on their men than the women.

 Bunch of sexist pricks.

 Without waiting for Kakashi's reply I stood and threw some yen down on the table, “You can go read your porn now, Hentai-nii. I'm through bothering you for the day.” I said teasingly. Kakashi's expression was not a happy one to say the least.

 But that was what made things fun.

 vvv

 I barely sat down at my desk, prepared to finished up those stupid mission reports even if it killed me, when there was loud banging at the front door... again. I was never going to win! Growling curses and muttering of all the ways I could kill whoever was at the door, going as far as to specify what I would do with their severed fingers and toes, I went to answer the door.

 “What the hell do you want?” I growled as I slammed the door open then froze when I saw who was standing at my door.

 I blinked.

 And blinked again.

 Fugaku did not look amused at all. “We have been summoned to the Hokage's office. Let's go.” He said in that gruff voice of his before he shunshined away.

 I stood there for a moment, stunned that the Uchiha clan leader would have actually come to my door. If Fugaku ever needed something from either Obito or I, he would send one of his little minions to fetch us, not come personally. Whatever he wanted, it was serious if it could get his royal ass within ten meters of our house. Out of sheer curiosity, and nothing else, I followed after my clan leader and went to the Hokage's Office.

 I sincerely wished I hadn't.

 The moment I stepped into Hiruzen's office I knew I was in trouble. Not only was Fugaku standing off to the side, glaring at me like he always did, but across the room the Hyuuga clan leader also stood, giving me the same glare.

 If it wasn't for the different colored eyes, I'd say they were related.

 Ignoring the two arrogant clan leaders, I focused my attention on the highly amused Hokage, “You wished to see me, Hokage-sama?” I asked, my tone perfectly polite. From the aura darkening around Fugaku, I knew it irritated him. I had to keep the smirk off my face. Annoy my clan leader by being polite: check.

 The Hokage seemed to know what I was doing, since he shook his head disappoint but that didn't make his small smile go away. The Hyuuga spoke instead of the Hokage though, “The matter of my daughter.”

 “What about her?” I demanded, not even pretending to be polite. I might not like the Uchiha clan, but like any Uchiha with even an ounce of loyalty, I automatically detested the Hyuuga.

 The Hyuuga clan leader, whatever his name was, twitched at the blatant disrespect. I smirked at him, Uchiha may be traditional, but we had nothing on those white eyed weirdos. The Hokage sighed, “Please, do not antagonize, Uchiha Yanagi.” He said tiredly. I bowed low in a false apology and didn't say anything. Fugaku and Hiruzen knew that was the best they were going to get out of me and didn't press the subject.

 “Lord Hokage, why did you put Hinata on a team with two Uchiha?” Hyuuga Prick Number 1 asked, completely ignoring Fugaku and me like we didn't exist. I rolled my eyes, this was why the Uchiha found no love in the Hyuuga. You couldn't find another clan that had so many jackasses in it anywhere else in the world. Not even the Uchiha clan could compete with the Hyuuga in that.

 Hiruzen didn't react at all. He just looked at the Hyuuga and said in an almost scolding tone, “Hyuuga Hiashi, please calm down.” Even though it was polite, anyone could tell that the Hokage was ordering Hiashi to shut the hell up. Hiashi's face twisted with displeasure, but he didn't dare go against the Hokage.

 The old man took a long draw on his ever present pipe before saying, “It is that attitude that makes this team arrangement necessary.” Oh dear heaven above, here we go... another long winded speech, “For years the Uchiha have been oppressed because of their ancestors actions. People often forget that the Uchiha were one of the founding clans of Konoha. It was the Uchiha clan that kept Konoha safe in the first few years, along with the Senju clan, but now they are treated with suspicion. After the Kyuubi attack, people began to distrust the Uchiha even more, until the point that the Uchiha nearly started a coup.”

 “That is exactly why we shouldn't let the Uchiha teach our children!” Hiashi snapped.

 “Hey!” I shouted and took a menacing step forward, how dare that insufferable prick accuse me of brainwashing the genin, but Fugaku held me back. From the tightness of his grip I knew that, for once, my clan leader and I were in agreement with something.

 The Hokage gave the three of us a steely look that reminded us of the war leader he had been, not the harmless grandfatherly type that he appeared to be now. Even though I had only been seven when the Third Shinobi War had ended, it was enough to know just how frightening Hiruzen could be when he wanted.

 When we had calmed down enough not to attack each other, Hiruzen continued, “It is because the Uchiha almost revolted that we should have Uchiha teaching genin.” Cue the 'I'm confused but I'm sure as not showing it in front of my enemy' look from Hiashi. Hell, I was a little confused too. The Hokage smiled slightly, “The Uchiha lost trust in Konoha, that is why they almost attacked. Had it not been for certain parties to intervene, I doubt that the Uchiha would be alive today.” Of the few people who knew about the attempted Uchiha coup only a handful knew that Itachi and Shisui were the ones who stopped it. And none of them were Hiashi. “It was clear that such an event could possibly happen again in the future if nothing was done. Konoha, as well as the Uchiha clan, had to change for the better if we were to prevent something of that scale again. What better way to clear away the dark past then to instill a new future into the minds of the next generation?

 “As for your daughter; it is a simple attempt to bring the Uchiha clan closer to the others. In the past, both before Konoha and after it was built, the Uchiha clan has always stood alone. They never relied on alliances with other clans. I believe that if they were to open their arms and welcome the friendship of other clans, they would be even stronger than they are now.” I noticed that Fugaku was standing a little straighter behind me and I had to swallow the urge to laugh at his pride. The Hokage was playing these two old warthogs like a fiddle, and expertly too. “Clan alliances always work best in teamwork. Take the Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Nara clans. Any team that contains members of those clans are known to have the best teamwork. Just imagine what the Hyuuga and Uchiha could accomplish together.”

 Both clan members gave each other appeasing looks, as if both were trying to figure the benefits they would get being allies. I raised a knowing eyebrow at the Hokage while the old farts were busy eyeing each other like sacks of meat. Hiruzen only chuckled under his breath and gave me a quick wink, so fast had I blinked I would have never seen it.

 “So... does this mean I can get back to my team? I have torture to dish out.” I asked, half joking. Okay, so not the best thing to say in front of the three men who were fathers, or a grandfather figure in the Hokage's case, to my precious little genin.

 I don't think even Obito can ever achieve the evil looks I got from those three.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Acrobats (ARCHIVED)

The story has been condensed into one document for easier reading

No one is born an orphan. Sure some babies could be an orphan three seconds after they take their first breath, but the mother is always alive when she gives birth. If only I had been as lucky as those children. I don't know, maybe my father was happy and kind once, but the death of his wife snapped him. All I know is that my father was a drunk and that he hated me from birth. How do I know? My earliest memory was of him coming home, drunk again, when I was three. I don't know what motivated him, maybe my name was already Tora, even though he never called me that before, or maybe an ANBU who happened to wear a tiger mask 'escorted' my father home. Whatever the reason, my father thought it would be funny to carve tiger stripes into his three year old daughter's face. No one saved me, mostly because my father scared everyone. He was supposedly a powerful ninja before my mother died and left me to his cruel antics. My father hit me, kicked me, made me his slave, abused me, cut me, and threw things at me like an unwanted animal. My dark past thankfully ended when my father died, whatever the cause, when I was five. I was finally free of him.

 I'm not here to tell you a sob story. What's done is done, nothing can change that. I could long for the lost seconds of my youth, but they would still be lost. I could cry in anger how my mother left me with him, but it would be useless. I refuse to be hurt by my father, a man who I knew only as abusive, or by my mother, a woman I never knew. My life is my own.

 I remember the day after I was imformed that he was dead. I can't remember if I found him or if someone happened to tell me, all I remember was that I left. I walked out of that nightmarish house and never returned. I remember walking down a street clogged with people and all of them screaming about a tiger demon. I had been confused, until I had realized that they were talking about me. My scars made me look like a demon. The day I was set free was the day I learned what life was like. Subjecting a small child to the hate and disgust of the world the day she becomes an orphan. I did what I knew best, I locked my heart away and let their insults wash over me like water of a stone. Nothing could touch me. Nothing. Not my mother's betrayal, not my father's cruel abuse, not the strangers hard words. I had found an abandoned house to live in and settled down, coming out only at midnight to steal nessecities from the people who purposely left things there for me to take. Not all of them thought me a monster.

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 "COME ONE, COME ALL!! COME SEE THE AMAZING TORA AS SHE PREFORMS ACROBATS FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT!!!" I rolled my eyes at Reiko's embelishment. I told him to make it simple. I was glad I had, no telling how wild he would have gone had I not made my orders clear. Reiko had been my caller for the past six years, ever since I had taken him from the orphange. Over that time we had grown close, so close that we thought of each other as siblings. Reiko was twelve, three years younger than me, yet he had the deepest and loudest voice I had ever heard of. I stood up as he said, "HERE SHE IS!!! PREPARE TO BE AMAZED!" I scanned the crowd below the building I was standing on. Over the years the number of people grew from about ten people to hundreds. I placed my hands on the lip of the building and backflipped off it, landing gracefully on my feet two stories below. Reiko smiled as the crowd clapped and began to work the crowd, begging for money.

 I arched my back until my head was pressed firmly against the small in my back. Over the ten years I had lived on the streets I had taught myself acrobatics so that I could support myself rather than living off the people. Placing my hands firmly on the ground I slowly lifted my legs until I was standing straight up on my hands. The crowd 'ohh'ed and 'aww'ed, even though these moves were old. I lifted my right hand off the ground with smooth practice. I slowly raised my left hand and the crowd gasped. It was almost impossible for someone to be able to hold their weight soully on two fingers. I say almost because I could do it. After ten years of hand standing I should be able to. I stayed in that position for a few minutes before flipping upright.

 The crowd cheered. But I wasn't done yet. I bent forward so that my hands sat a foot from my feet. Using my right leg as a lead, I flipped over so that I bent backwards. I bit my lip, this was a hard part. I lifted my left hand and moved it closer to my foot. I followed the same with my right hand. Then I moved my feet so that my hands and feet were touching each other. My back screamed and I managed to retain the position before having to stand up. I followed the move with a few basic flips and cartwheels to loosen up my knotted back. I pulled a back flip in midair so I didn't bore the crowd with everyday tricks. I stood still in the middle of the space, waiting. Reiko took his cue and made his way out of the crowd. There wasn't much I could do with a slight twelve year old boy, not as much as I could with a full grown adult. But no one else trusted me as much as he did. I put my hands on his shoulders and slowly, so I didn't topple him, flipped over him. I stood straight for a minute, doing a complete handstand on his shoulders, before letting my legs fall the rest of the way. I pulled a few more tricks, including lifting him up while doing another handstand, before stepping away from him.

 Reiko roared out, "I HOPE YOU'RE ENTERTAINED!! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DONATE MONEY TO KEEP OUR LITTLE SHOW GOING, THANK YOU!" I saluted the crowd and scaled the wall, using invisible chinks and cracks to climb. I ducked into the shadows and watched as very few people handed Reiko bills and coins while the rest despersed. I sighed, looked like another hard week. I made my way back to our hideout/home. I sat down and took a piece of wood out of the homemade basket that I had found on one of my 'suppliers', as I called the people who helped me, stands. Not only did I preform, I also sold wood carvings.

 I inspected the foot long log in my hand. It was generally straight, except from a slight curve at one end. The most troublesome flaw was a two inch knot in the middle of the piece. I groaned fustrated, this carving would have to be realively small to avoid the knot. I picked up my dull kunai and set to work, first things first, get rid of the bark. I dug into the wood and scaped along the grain, peeling back a sliver of the papery smooth bark and set it aside. One thing I learned over the years, you could always find a use for something. I continued the boring task of stripping the wood of it's bark, then, once the last piece fell, began to work on digging the knot out. Soon my right hand was sore and red from the hard kunai handle. I switched hands and continued.

 Reiko finally made it back just as I finished smoothing out the hollow that the knot had left. I caught a glimps of the sun setting behind the Hokages' mountain as he pushed back the ratty cloth that covered the doorway. I frowned at him, "Where have you been?" I demanded, just like the typical over protective older 'sister'. Reiko tossed me his bag of money, "Some thugs tried to get the money. I was lucky that the shinobi stepped in or we wouldn't have any food this week, except what you get from your 'suppliers'." I didn't trust the leaf ninja, or any ninja for that matter. No one had stopped my father from abusing me, they didn't protect me from the smacks and kicks I got from the villagers. Yet my 'little brother' still admired the shinobi as he should. Reiko didn't have my cursed luck. If he was in trouble the ninjas always found him in time. With me, they either ignored the Tiger Demon, or they were never there. It didn't matter.

 I grumped and asked, "How much?" I held up the very light bag and shook it experimentally, hardly a jingle. Reiko shurgged, "Enough to either have one hot meal between us, or enough for one cold meal each." I groaned, looked like we would be relying on my 'suppliers' this week. I pushed my raven hair out of my orange eyes and looked up at him. "So... do you want to get supper with our money, or use it as a last resort?" Reiko thought about it, "Supper, I'm starving." I rolled my eyes, "You aren't the one who works." Reiko punched me in the arm playfully and I laughed. I only laughed around Reiko, no one else.

 I took my 'brother' to Ichiraku Ramen, the one place that treated me decently. The kind old man and his daughter smiled when they saw me coming with a hand on my 'brother's shoulder. "Tora, good to see you! How long has it been again?" I settled on the seat farthest to the right, Reiko sitting on my left, "I don't know, three weeks maybe?" The chef laughed and placed two bowls in front of us, "Enjoy. Tonight's on the house." I smiled at him. This is why I liked coming to Ichiraku Ramen, five times out of ten we get to eat for free. I broke apart the chopsticks and began to eat, pausing every now and then to talk with the chef's daughter. We were what some people could call friends, but if we ever met in the streets I wouldn't acknowledge her unless she called to me first. Reiko just shovled food into his mouth, not talking. I mentally sigh at his lack of manners, but after six years of trying to teach him I finally gave up.

 The chef called out, "Naruto! Good to see you." I glanced at the new party sitting down two seats from my brother and immediatly look away. A genin team. I shook my head so that my raven hair curtained my face, shielding my scars from them. Reiko finally looks up from his bowl, admiration shining in his green eyes while my orange ones held distrust. The blonde boy about Reiko's age answered the chef, I guess he was Naruto. "Good to see you too!" He was the closest to Reiko with the others seated on the other side of him. He glanced over at us in polite curiosity, I ignored him but Reiko didn't, "Are you really a shinobi?" My eyebrow twitched, it should be obvious due to the Hitai-ate. I elbowed him to keep him quiet, but Reiko was in charge of his own mouth, not me. the Naruto kid nodded and moved his headband so that the metal plate reflected the ramen stand's lights, "Yep." He chuckled then squinted at Reiko, "You look familiar." It was Reiko's turn to chuckle, "You might have seen me in the orphange when we were younger, I'm Reiko." That stilled me, did Reiko know Naruto from before I took him? I never knew that.

 Naruto thought back, his blue eyes narrow in consentration. His face looked so comical that I could help but smirk. Then he peiced it together, "Reiko? The one who disappeared right before we went to the Academy?" I winced at that, wishing once again that I had either let Reiko go or grabbed him before the night they were to go to the Academy. Reiko nodded happily, "Yeah, that one. But I didn't disappear, I left." Naruto's eyebrows were pulled even farther down his nose, "Why?" I finally spoke up, keeping my eyes on my bowl of ramen, "Because I asked him to." "And you are?" The jounin asked, looked over Naruto's head while the other two genin leaned around him. I didn't take my eyes off my bowl but comtept grew in my voice as I spat out, "Tora. The Tiger Demon." Naruto looked surprised, as did his team mates but the jounin's face mask hid his reaction. I pushed my hair behind my ear so they could get a good look at my adnormal colored eyes and scars. The girl genin gasped. I always wore a mask when performing so I didn't scare away the crowd, but I always took it off after the proformance.

 I turned away from them, ignoring the shinobi as I continued to eat. The jounin asked Reiko after a moment of silence, "Why didn't you go to the Academy?" Reiko shrugged, "Because my adopted sister never did." It warmed my heart to no end when he said that, even in my bad mood. The jounin glanced at me then back to Reiko, "Why didn't she?" Obviously he knew I wouldn't answer any questions. Reiko shrugged, "I don't know." I never told anyone why I didn't go, but it was rather a simple reason, who would want the Tiger Demon in a class room? For all they know, I might try to kill my fellow class mates. I stood abruptly, not wanting to hear them talk about me as if I wasn't there, "Thank you for the ramen." I said to the chef and his daughter. They nodded and smiled, "Come back again, we love having you." The chef said. I twitched a smile and turned around, calling over my shoulder to Reiko, "Be home before dawn." I really didn't care what he did, he was his own master as I was mine. I was in no positon to order him around, even if I was three years older.

 When I got back to our home I sat down on the roof to stare at the stars. I smiled, no matter how difficult my life would be, the stars would always comfort me, they were my constant companions, my closest friends. I could sit up for hours just watching the stars march across the night sky. Reiko didn't understand my need for them, just like I didn't understand his awe for shinobi. I sighed and looked away from the sky. Reiko. He wasn't like me, he needed human contact, I couldn't keep him anymore. I knew what I must do, and I knew Reiko would hate it, but deep down he would thank me someday.

 I had to let him go, to give him back to the village, before they shunned him like they did me.

 Early the next morning I went to the orphange. Reiko was still asleep when I left, there was no way I was telling him my plan. My knocking was answered by a kindly old lady, that is kind until she caught sight of my scars, "What do you want?" She snapped. I refrained from rolling my eyes, once again glad I didn't let them take me when my father died. "I want to talk about Reiko." The old woman slipped outside and shut the door, this time I did roll my eyes. Everyone was afraid I would corrupt children. The woman glared, "What about him?" I hesintated, if she actually did what I asked for once I would lose my brother. I would lose the only family I cared about.

 The cranky old woman placed her hands on her hips, "Well?" I straightened, "I want him to be entered in the Academy." I stated and the woman stared at me for a moment before getting ahold of herself. She huffed, "It's too late for that. He's old enough to be out on his own. If you wanted him to be in the Academy maybe you shouldn't have stolen him right before he went." She turned and was about to walk back in the building when I grabbed her shoulder. She screeched and shook me off, I glared, "I'm trying to fix that mistake, why don't you stop trying to shun me and take the boy? Stop punishing him for my mistake." Even though Reiko agreed to go with me willingly, I was going to shoulder all the blame like I had for my whole life. The woman hesintated this time. She glanced down the road to see if anyone was watching her talk with the Tiger Demon. She glared back at me, "I'm sorry, if you want that poor boy in the Academy you are too late. He's too old." I sighed, "Then how do I get him to be a shinobi?" The woman shrugged, "How should I know? I'm in charge of orphans not shinobi." She snapped.

 I walked away calling over my shoulder, "You're not in charge of all of them." I could hear her fustrated scream as I turned down a back alley. No one was in charge of me, something I liked to remind people constantly even if they didn't listen. Walking to the Academy I stuffed my hands deep in my pockets and yawned. I should still be in bed, but I needed to get this mistake untangled before my brother found out and could stop me. Though it was early in the morning classes were just starting at the Academy. Fearful ten year olds stared at me as I walked through the halls, probably scared that I would eat them for breakfast. I rolled my eyes, I was just as normal as the next fifteen year old, with the exception of scars. Iruka, a chunnin who treated me well, frowned when I walked in. His class stared wide eyed at me, most afraid only three or four mesmerized by my scars.

 "Can I help you?" Iruka asked, slightly irritated that I inturrupted his class. I jerked my head towards the door and left silently, expecting him to follow. When he did, after a few minutes just to show me my place, I spoke before he could scold, "I want Reiko enrolled in the Academy." Iruka looked taken back, then he frowned again, making his nose scar bunch. I don't know how he got it, only that it was probably the only reason why he even tolerated me. "He's too old. He should be a genin by now." I nodded my head, "I know, but can you blame me? I have no one else." Iruka sighed, "Why the sudden change of heart?" I could talk to Iruka, better than I could to Reiko. To me Reiko was a kid and so he should be spared from my problems, Iruka however... he was an adult who treated me decent and who understood some of my problems. I leaned my head back againt the wall, "I realized that he wasn't cut out for the life I have. He needs people."

 Iruka raised an eyebrow at that, "We all need people, some more than others. I'm sorry Tora, but there is nothing I can do." I sighed, defeated, "Who can I talk to?" The chunnin shugged, "I don't know. The Hokage, if you could get that far. Maybe a sensei, to see if they would be willing to privatly train him." I nodded once and left without a good-bye. If I was going to get my brother into the Academy, or get him to be a shinobi, I would have to fight for it. And what better what to kill a problem, then go right to the head?

~No One's POV~

 Commotion outside the Hokage's office brought the Yondaime Hokage's head up. (A.N. Yes, Minato is still alive. No Kyuubi attack, no death of Naruto's father) The genin team he was speaking with turned towards the door as he stood, probably ready to deal with any threat that came through. The door was pushed open by two ANBU dragging a girl in. Minato raised his eyebrows in a silent question and the ANBU on the right spoke, "We caught her trying to scale the wall to the Hokage's Tower." The girl huffed, but her black hair veiled her expression, "If I really was trying I wouldn't have been caught." Minato surpressed a smile and leaned against his desk, "Why were you trying to get caught then?" He asked, greatly amused by this girl's so-called master plan.

 She cleared her throat, "I want to enroll my little brother in the Academy, or find a jounin who would train him privatly." Everyone was surprised at that, who in the world would get caught just so she could talk to the Hokage about her younger brother? The girl seemed to read the unspoken question correctly, "Who would let the Tiger Demon in the Hokage's Tower? For all you villagers know, I might try and kill you." Even though her voice was flat, Minato detected contempt in her words. The girl lifted her head so that her hair fell away from her face revealing her famous scars and orange eyes, which were blank and expressionless. Minato glanced at the genin team, Team Eight, to judge their reaction. All three kids were frightened like they were raised to be, but Kurenai was carefully hiding her thoughts. Minato sighed, shaking his blonde head, he had tried to stop the villagers from spreading rumors, to make them understand that Tora wasn't a demon. Just a girl with a hard life. Only a few listened to him, but even they found it hard to accept her.

 Minato shooed everyone out of his office and closed the door, leaving him and Tora alone. She stiffened, her distrust rolling off her in waves. The Yondaime Hokage sat back down at his desk, and motioned for her to take a seat. She did, perching on the edge of the seat, ready to flee at any moment, "Tora, why couldn't you speak with the Academy or even the orphange?" He asked. The girl looked mildly surprised that he knew her name, but she still answered, "I already tried, both turned me away saying Reiko was too old. Iruka suggested either the Hokage or a jounin." Minato nodded absently, leaning back against his chair, "Why? You know he'll be picked on for living with you." Most girls would have bristled at the statement, but Tora just shrugged, "He's lived with that for six years, what's the rest of his life going to matter?" Minato gave a fustrated sigh then, if this girl was so uncaring he might be able to do something. "I'll tell you what, I can give your brother to a genin team, if he does well he can become a part of that team." Tora narrowed her orange eyes, "And if he doesn't...?" She asked cautiously. Minato shrugged and stood, "There are many other lines of work in which he can succeed in." Tora glared, her eyes hard with anger and... something else. "I don't think you understand my predicament. The shinobi are the only people who treat me realitivly well, Reiko's only hope out of the life I got him in is to either leave Konohagakure or become a leaf nin. Would you rather have a boy with contempt for this village running around, or have a loyal shinobi?"

 Minato couldn't help but laugh, which made Tora finally offended, "You are wasted in the streets, Tora. I'll see what I can do to reassure that Reiko has every chance possible, don't worry. Now, is there anyway I can convince you to leave the streets?" Tora looked taken back at the question, then she slid her impassive mask back on, "If my brother is successful, then maybe." She stood and managed a vague bow before walking back out. Minato shook his head, and called Team Eight back in. Kurenai watched as the fifteen year old disappeared, "What did she want?" The Hokage glanced up at the woman, but nothing but worry and concern touched her face. "She wanted her brother to be a genin. Can you inform Asuma that I want to talk to him?" Kurenai bowed but didn't ask for details, even though she would find out soon enough.

 ~Tora's POV~

 I didn't return to our home just yet, most likely if I did Reiko would kill me for multiple reasons; starting with the fact that I didn't tell him where I was going. Instead I walked the streets, head bowed and shoulders hunched to make myself a small target. Even though I showed no intentions of harm, I still recieved digusted looks, avoidance, even the rare smacks from those barve enough to touch my revolting skin. Nothing touches me heart though, as it hasn't for ten years. I don't know why they even bother, they know they can't get to me. My suppliers that I can see ignore me and I them. Some of the shinobi watched me with distrust, others looked pitied. I didn't need their pity, I didn't need their sorrow, concern, distrust, anything. All I needed from them was a way to get my brother to become one of them, and for them to leave me alone.

 I passed in front of the Hyuuga compound. The dark haired and paled eyed members of the clan glared at me, their Byakugan activated, watching my every move. I just watched them out of the corner of my eyes, cautious. Too many times I have run into the Hyuuga and too many times I have come away perplexed. They were arrogant and didn't seem to understand any one's problems, not even the normal people. I could only hope that Reiko didn't end up with one of the two genin Hyuuga kids. I was about to turn away when I saw a little girl, probably no younger than three, smile at me and waved at me from behind who I guessed was her father. I stop and stare at her, doesn't she know who I am? Her smile falters a little and she sinks farther behind the man. I blinked several times and walked away without a second glance. All my life no one but Reiko ever showed my any positive emotion, and even with Reiko it took years. So why would a little girl, someone who didn't know me except for the rumors, smile as if we were friends? Humans confused me sometimes.

 I continued down my path, glad that the population was starting to thin out the farth away I got from the Hokage Tower. Bored I did a few front flips a few times, then began to walk on my hands to practice my next proformance. The outside world disappeared, nothing mattered anymore. I couldn't hear what the villagers said, I couldn't feel what they did to me. I was in my moment where the only thing that mattered was my acrobats. This was my zone, where I mattered.

 Something hit me hard and, before I could fall and break my neck, I flipped up to my feet, glaring at the intruder. The man that I had ran into was laughing, bent over clutching his stomach. His hair was short and unkempt. He had a pale skin tone and upturned markings at the edges of his dark eyes. Beside him was a younger boy, about my age or a little older, with long hair tied back at the nape of his neck and the same onyx eyes as the first. What looked like tear lines marked from his eyes down to his cheeks. He wasn't laughing, just watching. The older boy, if he could be called that, wiped streaming tears away and held out his hand, "I'm sorry, I should have moved. Uchiha Shisui." I blinked, for the third time that day I was caught off guard. Uchiha was another powerful clan, probably the most powerful. Why would one of them hold his hand out to the Tiger Demon? They had full view of my face and scars, surely they knew who I was. Uchiha Shisui raised an eyebrow and dropped his hand, "Cat got you're tongue?" He joked and I frowned, was he... teasing me? I turned to walk away, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me and spun me back to face them. The Uchiha didn't look happy any more.

 "What, are you mute?" He asked, the mirth gone from his face. I shook my head, "I can speak." Both Uchihas exchanged glances, something unreadable passed between them. The older looked back at me, "What's your name?" I narrowed my orange eyes, "Don't get out much?" I snapped and he laughed, "Oh ho! Kitty has bite. Now are you going to tell me, or do I have to keep calling you 'Kitty'?" I was tempted to hiss and run, but it was obvious these two were ninja and could catch me in an instant. "...Tora." I said after a while. Uchiha Shisui and the younger Uchiha exchanged glances again, "The acrobat?" Shisui asked. I huffed, "I was walking on my hands when I ran into you, isn't that answer enough? Or do you need more proof than my scars?" The younger Uchiha narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. Shisui, however shurgged, "We know about you, but we don't know you. Come on, Itachi." The Uchihas turned and left, leaving me to ponder over his words.

 I shook my head and walked back towards my home, it was now or never. I couldn't keep putting my encounter with Reiko off. It was time that he knew what I was planning and I knew he wouldn't like one bit of it.

 "You did WHAT?!" Reiko screamed at me. I sighed, wishing I was anywhere but here. "You can't really expect me to be happy that I'm leaving you by yourself, becoming something that you hate!" He yelled and I cut him off, "I've lived fine for four years before I met you. And besides I don't hate the shinobi, I just mistrust them." Reiko narrowed his green eyes and I sighed again, I knew what was coming. "So you'll mistrust me? Is that what you're saying?" Reiko growled. I rolled my eyes, "No! You'll be the only one I do trust if you become a leaf ninja!" "You're doing this for selfish reasons?" He hissed and I glared. That kid was really started to get on my nerves, "I've been watching you Reiko, you need human companionship." He geastured wildly at me, "And what are you? A jackass?!" All my emotions drained away, "No I'm the Tiger Demon. You are going to be a shinobi and that's final." Reiko's eyes filled with tears, "What about you?" His chin trembled, another sign that my little brother wasn't cut out for my type of life, "I'll get by. Come on, We're going to see the Hokage."

 The Yondaime Hokage circled Reiko, inspecting my brother while his furture team stood across the room from me. I stood with my back to the window, ready to escape at the slightest threat. The Hokage stopped in front of a very sullen Reiko, "Your sister says that she wishes you to be a shinobi, but I can't force you. Do you want to be a shinobi?" He asked. Reiko swallowed and glanced at me, I kept my gaze flat determined not to show Reiko how much I hated leaving him. Reiko looked back at the Hokage, "I would like to be a ninja..." He trailed off and the blonde got the hint, "But?" He probed. Reiko glanced at me agian before turning back to the Yondaime Hokage, "My sister, she has no one but me." I refused to meet the Hokage's blue gaze. I was almost tempted to just abandon Reiko, but that could make him hate me. I didn't want that. "Is this true, Tora?" The Hokage asked me, I wordlessly nodded then looked up at him, "Unlike Reiko, I can survive." The Hokage glanced at the genin team spread out across from me. I studied Reiko's future team, unlike the first genin team I met here these kids seemed unaffected by my presense. Good hopefully I could still visit Reiko without them interfering.

 Reiko looked down at his feet, but not before I could see the hurt in his eyes. "Alright, I'll try to be a shinobi." I could barely hear his voice, but the pain lacing it broke my heart. Like I had done all my life I buried my feelings deep within my heart and locked my heart away. I took a deep breath and I was expressionless once again. "Good luck." I told my brother and jumped out of the window before anyone could stop me. I landed on my feet then rolled so I didn't break any bones. The villagers around me gasped in surprise at my sudden appearance, but I ignored them. I ran down the street, dodging anyone who got in my way. Someone with a heavy load stepped in my way and I used my speed to run the wall to avoid him. I cut through alleys and blindly jumped over fences until I came to a place I thought I never would visit again. My childhood home.

 The house was abandoned, cobwebs hung sagging to any surface while dust coated the floors and old furniture in an inch thick layer. Sunlight filtered through the dirt clogged air casting a dingy glow to everything. I gulped and glanced around, everything was attached to a horrible memory. There was the spot where my father carved my face, I could still see the dark spot of my blood. And that cracked vase sitting harmlessly on a decorative shelf had been thrown at me. There was the chair that broke my arm. That picture used to be framed, until my father had hit me with it, causing the glass to break and cut me. I walked farther into the desolate house, looking at every place where my father had chased my childhood youth away. That stain on the floor was from when my father had cut the inside of my elbow, causing blood to gush out at an alarming rate. There was the broken pieces of a statue and the crater on the wall from where it hit, barely missing me. Something clinked against my foot, causing me to glance down. Empty glass bottles, some shattered, were piled carelessly to one side. Whether my father had thrown them there or if someone who had looted the house for valuables did so, I didn't know. I bent down and picked one up. dried liquid hung to the insides, creating a dirty film that colored the glass a murky brownish grey.

 I set the bottle back down gently, as if afraid that my father would come in roaring for me to stay away from his stuff. This place had caused me nothing but pain and despair, but I was oddly happy to be back surrounded by it's cracked walls. This house had watched my father abuse me endlessly, but it had guarded me against reality, keeping my scarred face away from the scrutiny of the world. It was like that old friend who constantly hurt you, but would never betray you and who always listened to your pain without judgment. I touched the rough walls, glad that this house still stood telling it's tale of my childhood to anyone who cared to see.

 I stayed at the house that night, knowing that Reiko would most likely be out looking for me to give me a piece of his mind. I sat with my knees drawn to my chest, watching dust motes float through the air. I refused to sleep in this house, not after all the things that happened here. I may have made my peace with this place, but I would never feel completely safe in it. The sun dipped down in the sky and disappeared, leaving me in darkness.

 My eyes were beginning to feel heavy when a sudden clatter and a garbled laugh startled me. Who in the world would come near here? This house was avoided almost as much as I was cursed at. Slurred voices accompanied by the sound of glass breaking and loud laughter. Drunks. Of course they wouldn't avoid this place. I should have realized that they would be here, those bottles were evidence enough, but I was too stupid to realize that. Now I would face the consequences of my mistake. I stood shakily, my legs had fallen asleep. I took a step, hoping to escape before they found me, and my still weak legs gave out from underneath me. My hand shot out to catch myself but rammed into the edge of a side table, making the thing topple over the vase on it shattering. Silence descended on the dreary night.

 A flash of something out of the corner of my eye and searing pain stabbed at my ribs. I bit my lip to smother the scream rising from my throat, muffling it to a groan. Dark figures stumbled towards me, "Wha' you doin' here?" One of them, a man by the sound of his voice, slurred. I scooted farther away, hand clutching my bloodied side. The speaker stepped on my hand, I closed my eyes again the pain, "I asssked, wha' ya doin' here?" He leered crouching over me, putting even more weight on my hand. A shaft of watery moonlight cut across his face, letting me see my attacker. His face was flushed from the drink, and his teeth were yellow and crooked. Greasy hair hung in straggled clumps around his head, I couldn't tell the color of his eyes in the dark.

 He shifted forward making my bones grind uncomfortably against each other. I still didn't answer. "Na goin' ta talk, huh? Ma'be if we cut ya, then wha'?" I nearly laughed; cutting me wasn't an option of torture. My father ruled that out a long time ago. When the drunk realized that his threat didn't bother me, he changed tactics, "How 'bout breakin' a few bones? Yer fingers are real thin, don' take much ta snap 'em." Still wouldn't work, my father made sure of that too. If there was anything my father did for me, it was raise my pain tolerance higher than normal. The man grabbed my throat, cutting off my air. "Ya strong, aren't ya? How 'bout we just use ya?" My heart stopped for a second, that wasn't something that I could resist.

 Adrenaline pulsed through me. Untrained as I was, I could still land a good strong kick when I wanted to, and I did. The man doubled over, groaning and I wasted no time in jumping out the nearest window, my arms covering my face, its glass cutting my skin as it shattered. Shouts filled the house behind me. I stumbled down the deserted street, trying to find my footing, but my entire legs were still numb. I made it maybe ten steps away from the deserted house when my knees hit the ground. Pounding feet behind me; but I was too tired to care now, all I wanted to do was lay down and close my eyes…

 ***

 "I don't care! I'm going to..."

 "Her condition is worsening, I don't know if she'll survive or not."

 "Broken bones, a punctured lung, and a concussion. What did they DO to her?!?" "Just heal her."

 "Tora..."

 ***

 The first thing I felt was an excruciating pain throbbing all over my body, not one inch left out. It felt like hot needles were plugged into every pore in my skin, burning all the way to my bones. Nothing could compare, not even when I first started teaching myself acrobats, not even my father cutting my face. Opening my eyes was hard; and only one would work, my right eye wouldn't open. At first the bright whiteness blinded me, making me squeeze my eye closed again. I must of made a sound because someone gently touched my right hand. A woman's voice I didn't recognize spoke softly, "Tora? Can you hear me?"

 I rolled my head to the side so I could look at the woman. She was buxomly with caramel colored eyes and a small purple diamond peaking out of her straw yellow bangs. The rest of her yellow hair was tied back in two longs ponytails. I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was so dry, I was expecting nothing but dust to come out. The woman reached for something out of my view, a glass of water. She helped me drink, which irritated me to no end, but at least she wasn't leaving me to fend for myself.

 "...H...How?" I forced out of my mouth, it almost sounded like a strangled choke. The woman seemed to catch on though, "You were found unconscious and someone brought you to the hospital. You've been out for almost three days." She left silently after that before I could ask her anything else. Like who found me. I lay back down and closed my eye, questions swirling in my mind.

 ***

 "Awhhhhh, that's not fair! Grandma Tsunade said she was awake." A kid whined from the foot of my bed. I kept my eyes closed, wanting to hear this conversation. Reiko hissed back immediately, "Quiet Naruto! You might wake her up!" Naruto was the genin kid from Ichiraku Ramen; Reiko must have made friends with him. Naruto grumbled, but much quieter, "Still, we came all this way just to watch her sleep. I had to beg both my Otou-san and Tsunade to come visit and she's not even awake!" Naruto was nearly shouting again by the time he finished. Reiko shushed him, threatening to go get Lady Tsunade if Naruto wouldn't shut up.

 Naruto couldn't be silenced though, "I know you're thinking the same thing. The whole time she was unconscious you've been here and now the day before you leave for a mission she won't wake up." "It's not like she has a choice, if she did I'm sure she would be awake and telling you to shut your mouth or else." Reiko snapped at his friend. I couldn't tell if it was playful or not, but he sounded quite upset.

 A new voice, male and older than both boys, spoke, "What are you doing here?" Though his voice was barely above a whisper, it shut both Naruto and Reiko up. "I-I-Itachi-san, w-we were just coming to see if Tora was..." I drifted back into unconsciousness before Reiko could finish.

 ***

 When I woke again it was dark in the room. A slight hissing sound came from outside, confused I frowned at the window. It wasn't until lightning flashed across the night sky did I realize it was raining. I struggled to sit up, but the tightly wound bandages restricted my movements. I grunted and laid back down, so much for leaving before I was kicked out. Now that I was awake and past danger I suspected that the medics wanted me gone, if I could move I would have beaten them to the punch and leave.

 I twisted to reach for the glass of water kept on a nearby table just as lightning flashed again, illuminating my room. I paused at the glimpse of a single flower sitting in another glass of water. I couldn't tell the color or the type of flower in the second of light, but it looked like a sakura blossom. Who would go through the time to get me a flower? Reiko was too busy and probably wouldn't do such a thing anyway. I didn’t know anyone besides my little brother. I fell asleep again thinking over the flower and its mysterious sender.

 ***

 The next day I managed to stay awake most of the day. The woman, Lady Tsunade, forced me to stay in bed, glaring at me when I tried to tell her otherwise. For once I didn't disobey, that woman had the deadliest glare I've ever seen. She and her assistant, Shizune, checked up on me every two hours. Sometimes another girl came in, quietly moving around avoiding my gaze. I didn't say anything, I just watched her silently.

 Around noon she checked my heart rate. I finally spoke up, "Who brought me here?" She jumped and glanced at me guiltily then quickly away. I refrained from rolling my eyes. Like the Tiger Demon would attack someone when she was hurt and trying to heal. "Uchiha Shisui and... I-Itachi..." I raised my eyebrows, the two Uchiha's I had met were the ones who found me? They were the least I expected. I thanked the girl, but she was already out the door so she probably didn't hear me.

 When Lady Tsunade came in I managed to persuade her to bring me a book so I didn't die of boredom. I think she was a little surprised that I could read. I didn't blame her, after my history who wouldn't be surprised? Reiko had made it his personal goal to teach me to read when we first met, among other things, like actually socializing when needed. She brought me a thick book of different medical procedures, which I found actually very interesting. So interesting that I started ignoring whoever came in my room.

 Because I was the Tiger Demon, I didn't expect any visitors; but right before the end of visiting time, the Hokage came in. At first I didn't pay attention, too caught up in my book, until he cleared his throat. I glanced up, surprised to see the Yondaime Hokage standing at the foot of my bed. I silently raised an eyebrow, I refused to be flattered by the attention. Minato smiled, "I see you are healing well. Most people beaten half to death wouldn't recover so quickly." I frowned at him, marking my place in the book before putting it aside, "An abusive past can alter a person's healing rate. And raises their pain tolerance." The Hokage sobered at the mention of my dark past. "Tora, could you describe the people who attacked you?" I glared now, "Why do you care?" I growled back.

 Minato scowled, "Because, contrary to popular belief, you are a part of Konoha." I shrugged, trying to act as if his words didn't affect me when they did, "It was dark, I couldn't see them. I can tell you that they were drunk and seemed to be staying at my... childhood house." I couldn't call that place a home, not anymore. I could easily forget things that happened in the far past, not recent events. The Hokage nodded, "Thank you, Tora. I hope you feel better soon." He left after that. I picked up my book again, but I couldn't consentrate on it. My life was changing before my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it.

 By ten the next day I had read the medical book from cover to cover, earning a reprimand from Lady Tsunade for staying up all night to do so. Shizune brought me another one, this book over the different poisons and their symptoms. Since the volume was smaller I had it read by four that afternoon. It was then that Lady Tsunade deemed me ready to exercise; I suspected it was because she was running out of reading material to lend me. There were limits of what I could do, I couldn't leave my room, I had to use a crutch to keep pressure off my broken leg, and I could only walk under supervision. Considering the alternative of laying in bed forever I was happy with what I could get.

 On my third day of being fully awake, I had another surprise. Shizune was sitting on my bed, chatting with me as I walked around the room. Over the days I had come to know her, we had become very close, despite the age difference. I looked up to her as if she was my older sister, though I would never tell her that. The door to my room slid open and a certain Uchiha walked in, looking cheerful as always. His dark eyebrows migrated to his hairline when he saw me by the window, crutch in hand. "I was still expecting to see you unconscious, Kitty." I automatically scowled, "My name isn't Kitty. It's --" Shisui waved a dismissive hand, "Tora, I know. Humor me." Shizune slipped out then, so silently I didn't notice she left until the Uchiha sat in her empty place.

 "So, six days and already you're walking about. I do believe that this is the fastest recovery I've ever seen." He said conversationally. I bit back a sarcastic reply and asked instead, "Why did you save me?" Shisui gave me an amusing look, "I didn't save you. Itachi did. I just happened to tag along." I sat down in one of the chairs and crossed my arms, "Fine, why did Uchiha Itachi save me?" "He didn't save you, my cousin found you unconsious." Shisui bantered. I nearly screamed in fustration, "Why did he bring me here? Why did he do anything? And if you give me another cryptic answer I swear I'll bash your head in." Shisui had the audacity to laugh, "Kitty can hiss and spit." He commented to the air. As I raised my crutch above my head, intending to smack him, Shisui hurriedly said, "I told you, Tora, we know all the rumors about you; but so far none appear to be true."

 I lowered the crutch, "What's that got to do with anything?" I asked warily. Shisui looked dead seious, for once, "If the you were really a danger, I don't think the Hokage would let you live in Konoha. Itachi and I both know that. To me, behind those scars you're just another fifteen year old girl who has been misunderstood. I suspect Itachi feels the same," Shisui stood, his good humor back in place, "Good-bye Kitty. If you're a good girl I'll bring you a treat next time." The glass of water I threw at him smashed harmlessly agaisnt the door where his head should be. I nibbled on the inside of my cheek, wondering why two powerful Uchiha men didn't just look at my scars and think me a monster. Why Shisui made an effort to cheer me up and why Itachi seemed to care whether I lived or died.

 After seventeen days of being stuck in the hospital, I was starting to get on everyone's nerves and visa-versa. Shisui seemed to be the only person who wasn't too affected by my irritation. But then he was the only one who could come and go when he pleased, so he wasn't always around me at my worst. Lady Tsunade wouldn't let me go until Reiko came back to make sure I was taken care of. When I tried to tell her that I could survive on my own she just gave me a look; I guess my days as fending for myself were over.

 Reiko returned that evening. I was reading yet another book when suddenly my little 'brother' burst into the room, panting slightly. I braced myself for a lecture, but instead Reiko just pounced on me, doing his best to crush my ribs again. I grunted at the twinge of pain in my side and Reiko leapt back as if I burned him. He blushed, "Sorry, I forgot." I laughed softly, "I don't care. It's not every day I get a hug from you." A moment of awkward silence passed between us.

 I cleared my throat, "So... How was your mission?" Reiko gave me a funny look, "How do you know I had one?" I had to quickly save myself; luckily, after all those years of being a street rat I learned how to lie with a straight face, "Someone mentioned it when I asked where you were. They said you were probably on a mission or something, since you are a genin now." Reiko relaxed a little, "Fine. My team and I had to escort some old man to his village. Nothing like hiring a genin team to make you feel important. At least that's what Ino says." I noticed he reddened a little at the mention of this 'Ino'.

 I smiled, "I'm glad your fitting in. You seem to enjoy it." Reiko cast me another look, this one I couldn't interpret, "Still, it's nowhere near as fun as spending time with you. They don't know any good jokes." I laughed, "Those jokes are stupid. Anyone could do better." I responded, but Reiko wouldn't be outdone, "Fine, they have no sense of humor. I mean, our Sensei smokes all the time, Choji does nothing but eat, Shikamaru makes me feel dumb and he's extremely lazy, and Ino is always mooning over Uchiha Sasuke." I perked up at the mention of the Uchiha clan, "Uchiha Sasuke? Who's that?"

 Reiko rolled his eyes, "Apparently the greatest genin in the class. I think he's just a big jerk with a super-large ego." Reiko glanced at me, "His older brother, Itachi, was the one who found you." I nodded, "I know, Lady Tsunade told me; and Shisui, their older cousin, has been keeping me company since I woke up. He won't let me forget the fact." Reiko seemed a little surprised that I actually held normal conversations with someone other than him.

 As if to prove my point, Shisui walked in just then. "Hey Kitty! Good to see you actually trying not to kill someone. Who's this?" Reiko looked offended at Shisui's nickname for me, but I had gotten used to it over the days. "Shisui this is Reiko, my adopted brother." Shisui studied Reiko, who looked uncomfortable in the presence of an ANBU Black Ops. The Uchiha tilted his head, "Your the kid that Tora went through so much trouble to make you a shinobi? Your sister's work better be paid off."

 I couldn't tell if Shisui was kidding or not. Before I could ponder it, he changed the subject, "Hey you're Sasuke's age, aren't you? What do you think of him?" Reiko gulped and looked down, I stiffled a giggle. Just a minute ago he was dissing this Sasuke and now, he was supposed to tell Shisui all about how much he seemed to hate him. Shisui saved him by answering, "Think he's a prick? Because I do. He's worse than Itachi, and that's saying a lot!"

 The door slid open again to show none other than Uchiha Itachi, looking on the verge of impatience. Shisui didn't even look slightly embarrassed. Itachi looked at his older cousin with masked eyes, the perfect picture of an Uchiha clan member, "Did you give your report to the Hokage yet?" He asked quietly. Shisui sighed, "No, I came  to say hi to Kitty." He turned to me, mock saddness in his eyes, "I'm sorry, Kitty, but it appears I have to do my duty." He left whistling a tune happily. I must say it took a lot to embarrass him.

 Reiko made some lame excuse of having to be somewhere for something and practically ran from the room. My poor brother, he acted like he was scared of Uchiha Itachi. Which, getting a good look at the young ANBU Captain, didn't surprise me. From the things I've heard of him, he had became a genin at age seven, a year later he activated his Sharingan, and passed the chunin exam at ten. That wasn't the end of his ambitions though, apparently Itachi even became an ANBU Captain when he was thirteen. In other words, by the time people his own age were learning the ways of a ninja, he was at the top of the list. I also heard was that he was the prodigy of his clan, surpassing even Shisui, who was talented as well.

 Itachi studied me laying in the uncomfortable hospital bed for a moment before silently turned and headed for the door. I felt as if I should say something, "Thank you." I whispered. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder, silently inviting me to continue. I looked down at my hands, suddenly shy, "T-thank you for saving me. And not leaving me to die." He just continued to watch me, then he spoke, "You're welcome." Like a shadow he left.

 ***

 Since Reiko was held up with training the next day, it was Shisui and his silent cousin that checked me out of the hospital and walked me to my new home. Reiko had managed to get a hold of a real home, not an apartment, for the two of us so I wouldn't be left on the streets. He even managed to coerce Lady Tsunade into giving me a job at the hospital in return of learning how to heal. He told me it was to keep me busy while I was healing, but I knew he was planning for me to keep the job. Even after six years of living with him, that kid still surprised me.

 Shisui kept the conversation flowing all the way to the house. He and Itachi walked on either side of me, silently daring anyone to insult me in their presence. But even they couldn't stop the glares and spits in my direction. Shisui noticed the villagers' dislike towards me. He watched an old woman scurry down the road away from us, when she realized that her path crossed mine she turned around and headed back where she came from, then asked, "Why do they do that?" My emotionless mask was back in place, "They don't see me, they just see my scarred face. It's rare to find someone who sees me."

 Itachi spoke for the first time that day, "Not as rare as you think." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, "What do you mean?" All three of us stopped. Itachi's face was blank as always, "Not everyone in the village sees you as the Tiger Demon." Then he turned and walked away, his dark ponytail swinging slightly from his pace. The girls he passed sighed dreamily, hoping that they would have the luck of catching his gaze. A few even started stalking him. I glanced at Shisui and we both burst out laughing for no apparent reason.

 Shisui left me to explore the house alone. It was simple, just a kitchenette with a small table in the center, two tiny rooms, a shared bathroom, and a main room separating it all. The place was furnished already, either that or Reiko spent a lot of money to make this place a home. I smiled when I spotted a rolled up mat and a basket of seasoned wood in the corner of the main room. Reiko thought of everything. I hobbled over to the window, taking in the practically deserted street. My brother had went through the trouble of finding a house near the hospital in a secluded spot, but not entirely deserted. Such a wonderful thought.

 It was nearly dusk when Reiko came stumbling home. I had already rearranged the house to my liking and fixed dinner for both of us, eating my portion when I couldn't wait anymore. Being the older sister that I was, I coddled him, forcing him to sit down at the small table and eat while I stood over him. Finally when I had forced him to eat half of his dinner I took the rest of the food and set it out for anyone to grab. I knew what it was like to starve; if anyone was out there looking for their meal, then there were easy pickings. Reiko stayed at the table, watching me limp to the basket of wood with a stern eye, "You overdid it today." He commented.

 I whirled on him, hands on hips, "Who’s in charge here?" I asked, half kidding. Reiko grinned and pointed to himself, "I'm the one who bought the house, and the one with a paying job, so I am." I tried to keep a stern face, but a smile managed to twitch itself onto my face, "I'm the one who made you become a shinobi, so I am. End of discussion." Reiko turned serious again, "You're still healing, and Lady Tsunade will kill me if she knew you exhausted yourself." I snorted, and opened my mouth to snap, but Reiko cut me off, "Go to sleep, Tora. You have to get up early tomorrow." Growling about annoying brothers and their demands I stomped off to my new room, Reiko's chuckling following me as I left.

 By dawn the next morning I was ready to go, but Reiko managed to force breakfast down my throat, claiming that it was Lady Tsunade's orders. I retorted that she was going to have a piece of my mind if she thought she could tell me what to do. Reiko immediatly offered to walk with me to the hospital so he could witness the show off. I threw the bowl I was eating out of at him.

 We were half way to the hospital when I heard someone shout, "Reiko-kun! Wait up!" Both Reiko and I turned to see a pretty blonde girl running towards us, her long ponytail swinging back and forth in time with her pace. "Reiko, Asuma-Sensei is treating us to dangos, wanna come?" The girl asked, panting slightly. I could tell from the way she stood, ready for an attack, that she must be a ninja, a genin from the looks of her age and respect to this Asuma person. Reiko glanced at me and I nodded, "I'll be fine." Reiko just frowned and turned back to the genin girl, "Ino, do you mind if we walk Tora to the hospital, Lady Tsunade would kill me if she showed up without me as an escort."

 Ino looked surprised to see me, I saw a flash of fear in her violet eyes, then it all disappeared into a forced smile, "Of course! I'm Ino, Reiko's team-mate. You're his sister Tora right?" I nodded silently. Ino continued to babble, "I'm so glad he's my team mate. I don't want to get Reiko angry, he's really good at taijutsus, as good as Rock Lee!" Well he should be, after working with me during all those years as acrobats. I didn't realize I had spoken out loud until Ino asked, "You're an acrobat? I didn't know that, I bet you're really good at taijutsus too. Maybe Gai, Lee's Sensei, could teach you or something; but I'd be careful, Gai is very... enthusiastic."

 We reached the hospital, but Ino didn't look like she was ready to leave yet, "Why are you here again?" She asked me. I looked at the uniform grey building, wondering the same thing, "Reiko got me a job here. You two have fun, I think I can make it from here." Reiko turned to Ino, "You go on ahead, I have to speak with Tora for a minute, I'll catch up soon." Ino looked a little disappointed but waved and walked away. I raised my eyebrows when Reiko looked back at me, he looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't know how to put it, finally he said, "Have a good day." And ran off to join his friend.

 As I walked into the hosptial I thought about my encounter with Ino. Except for the brief glimps of fear when she first saw me, she acted very friendly. I just hoped that it wasn't for some cruel joke. I had had enough of those in my years on the streets, if my new friends were like that, I would kill them. With my mind on such thoughts the first words out of my mouth when Lady Tsunade greeted me as I walked in were, "Why does everyone help me?" Lady Tsunade blinked, but answered, "Because you are not a monster, just a little girl." I barely refrained from rolling my eyes, but didn't push the subject. "Lead me where you want me." I stated and the woman laughed.

 "Well I was going to put you to cleaning the floors, but the Hokage has suggested something that is so much better." Lady Tsunade said, I just raised my eyebrows, inviting her to continue. "Minato thought that visiting the patients would be a good idea. That way they see you as a girl and not the Tiger Demon." I had to admit, the idea was a good one, but ever being the pessimist I asked, "And what if I upset them and make it worse?" The blonde woman frowned at me, "Well aren't you a bundle of fun?" She snapped sarcastically before going on, "We'll start with the people who we know don't mind you, then go from there." Without another word the woman turned and walked away, expecting me to hobble after her.

 In the first room an older woman smiled, "Good morning, Lady Tsunade. Who's this?" Lady Tsunade dipped her head in respect and said, "This is Tora, she's here to make sure your comfortable. If you need anything just ask her." She left me with the woman, who then ignored me completly by reading. I guess tolerating someone wasn't the same as actually enjoying their company. I stood with my back to the patient, looking out the window; unfortunatly her view was not very good, her window overlooked a small alley and that was it. I could see three children playing in the street, kicking a ball around or something. It was hard to see from my point of view. I smiled though, their life was no where near as hard as mine, and for that I was glad.

 "How old are you?" At first I ignored her, I was so used to being ignored myself. It wasn't until she cleared her thoat loudly that I realized she was talking to me. I spun around, "I'm fifteen." The patient looked mildly surprised at my young age, "You're the acrobat, right?" I nodded. She looked thoughtful for a minute, before asking, "What is your name again?" I know she knew my name, but she wanted me to say it. I keep my gaze on my feet as I say, "Tora..." "Clan name?" The old woman asked right after my answer. I was starting to feel uncomfortable, "...I-I don't have one. Not that I know of." The woman didn't believe me, "Of course everyone knows their clan name, it shows that you belong." I stay silent, she wasn't very subtle in telling me that I didn't belong. I turned around and faced the window again, the kids playing in the streets were gone.

 When Lady Tsunade came to get me an hour later I said, "They may tolerate me, but they still don't like me." The medic raised a blonde eyebrow in a question so I told her the conversation between the older woman and me. Lady Tsunade waved her hand, "I didn't say you were going to be loved, it takes time you know." I still felt sorry for myself, no matter what Lady Tsunade would say.

 She paused in front of another door, "Maybe he'll be more understanding." She slid open the door and pushed me inside before I could do anything. An eight year old boy looked up, his eyes wide as he took in my scarred face. I didn't smile, I had learned that smiling twisted my face even more than the scars already did, scaring anyone who didn't know me even more. Instead I tried, "Why are you here?" I asked timidly, expecting the kid to start screaming. He lifted his right arm, or what was left of it. Pink streaked bandages covered the stump that was supposed to be his elbow. From the look of his face, I knew he didn't want pity, he was sick of it. I took a step closer, "Have you been here long?" He wordlessly nodded. I inched closer so that I was standing at the foot of his bed, he still didn't flinch, "What's your name?" The boy hesitated then rasped, "Nasake Jiro, how did you get those?" He pointed to my scars, "They look like tiger stripes." I smothered my smile, "I got them when I was young. Younger than you."

 Jiro looked back down to his stump that was his right arm, "Something fell on my arm, crushing it. They had to cut it off. How did you get your scars?" I bit my lip, I didn't like saying that it was my father, most people wouldn't believe me, "Someone didn't like me very much. They were drunk when they did it." Jiro let the information sink in then whispered, "My mama died when I lost my arm, so did my baby sister." I sat down on the edge of the bed and patted his ankle, he didn't even tense up at my touch, "My mother died when I was born, and my father when I was five. Is your father still alive?" He nodded, then sniffed. I moved beside him and wrapped my arm around his shoulder. Jiro broke down sobbing and buried his face in my shoulder. I rocked back and forth, humming a tuneless melody until he calmed down enough that I could let go. He still sniffed periodically, but I didn't comment. Sometimes people just needed to cry. I did in the beginning, but after I was exposed to reality I locked my tears away, refusing to let them come out.

 I leaned away a little, "Listen, Jiro. Things may seem bad, but they will get better." He rubbed the back of his hand across his nose and said shakily, "How? It will never get better." I gave him a look that said Your telling me that? but I answered what Reiko told me a long time ago, "You'll never be the same, but you'll learn to be happy. It takes a long time to heal, it took me four years to finally laugh again. I have a grotesque face, I know it's hard to smile when people are either pitying me or hating me, but I have people who treat me like I am a normal person. Those people are the ones who cheer me up, no one else." Jiro looked up at me, "Are you one of those people?" I let a small smile spread across my face, he didn't shiver or look disgusted, "I can be. It's your choice." Jiro leaned back in his bed, nodding to himself, "Okay, you are." I thought I'd never feel so needed until then. Jiro looked at me, "Tell me a story." I mentally sighed, Reiko liked me to make stories out of the carving I did when he was younger. "There once was a fox who loved to steal everything in sight..." I started.

 Lady Tsunade came in some time after that, I looked up from the picture I was drawing at the side table. She raised her eyebrows at the sleeping boy then at me, I stood, "I'm a really bad story-teller, I always put people to sleep." I scribbled that I would be back tomorrow in the corner of the drawing and slipped out of the room with Lady Tsunade. She seemed impressed, "I thought he would be your worse patient. Jiro's been quite difficult to everyone else." I shrugged, "He hates pity and sympathy. I did when I was his age, I still do. Besides we have a lot in common." The woman just gave me a look, "Anyway, it's your lunch break. You can pick up afterwards. I believe someone is taking you." I gave her a strange look, but we were already in the waiting room.

 Shisui grinned widly when he spotted us while Itachi just looked bored beside him. I had a feeling that Itachi just went along to make sure his cousin didn't do anything stupid, that or he was constently being dragged into things. I walked up to them, "Your taking me on my lunch break?" I couldn't keep my skepticism out of my voice. Itachi actually answered, "Lady Tsunade is very protective over her patients." Like always he couldn't give a straight answer and left me with more questions then before. Shisui read my mind, "Yes, since Reiko is training and you don't trust anyone else. Lady Tsunade wants you to have an escort until you can take care of yourself. The last thing we need is you back in the hospital." I was touched that people besides my adopted brother actually cared about my health, but I would never tell them that. "Okay, so where are we going?" I asked after a while as we walked down the main street. Shisui smiled, "I can't tell, it's a surprise."

 "Come on, Kitty, quite fighting and just get over it." Shisui pleaded as he literally dragged me towards where they were taking me to eat. My heels were digging into the ground as my friend pulled me forward. A crowd had gathered, laughing at the comic scene, even Itachi was having a hard time keeping his face expressionless. I pushed at Shisui's arm, leaning as far away from him as I could, using my weight against him. Shisui suddenly let me go, causing me to crash to the ground. The crowd roared even louder. My Uchiha friend towered over me, snickering at his deed, "You had to admit, Kitty, you had that coming. Now can you just act like a sane person and stop making this difficult?" He asked.

 I glared and hissed at him. Shisui gave me a funny look before bending over, hands braced on knees, laughing even harder than before. I took my chance and scrabbled to a stand and tried to make a run for it. Instead I ended up nose to nose with Itachi. For a brief moment the world froze as I stared into his onyx eyes, and finding a spark of amusement buried deep within his eyes. I ducked away, feeling heat raise to my cheeks and tried to slip around him; but he stepped in my way. Before I could try to escape again, Shisui had caught me, still chuckling. "Kitty, either you eat with Itachi's family or go back to the hospital hungry."

 Ten minutes later I was sitting between my Uchiha friends, trying to avoid looking at Itachi’s father, who continuously scowled at me. I tried not to take it personally since he glared at everyone, but was failing miserably. Mikoto was really friendly, she reminded me of Shisui in a way, and it was she and Shisui who kept the conversation going. It wasn’t until she cleared away the food that Fugaku spoke, “So you’re Tora.” It wasn’t a question. I silently nodded, keeping my eyes glued to the table; I didn’t like adults, they reminded me too much of my father. I only respected the Hokage, and Lady Tsunade helped me before I knew her. Even though Shisui was technically an adult, he acted like a goofy teenager so I trusted him.

 Shisui shot a glance at Itachi, but his cousin ignored him. I had a feeling that neither of them knew Fugaku knew of me. Fugaku leaned closer, "Karasu's daughter." My head jerked up at my father's name. Fugaku took that as a yes, "Karasu was my team mate as a genin." I looked away again, "I wouldn't know that. I hardly knew my father." Fugaku was silent for a while, then asked, "And your mother?" I shifted uncomfortably, I didn't like his probing, "Dead when I was born." "Pity, she was a kind woman." I glanced at him, wondering how the head of the Uchiha clan knew about my parents that I didn't know. Mikoto spoke, "Hikaru, your mother, was also Fugaku's team mate, and my best friend. She introduced us." I glanced back and forth between the two adults, here was connections to my parents that I would never meet. Suddenly I was very eager to know the two Uchihas.

 Unfortunatly before I could expand my knowledge of my parents Itachi stood, "Forgive me, Otou-san, but Shisui and I are due for a mission, and we are needed to escort Tora back to the hospital." Silently I stood as did Shisui, and with one final bow we left Fugaku and Mikoto. Once again between the two Uchiha men as had become our positions. Shisui was, for once, quiet; he continuously glanced at Itachi, frowning. His younger cousin either chose to ignore him or didn't notice, the latter being unlikely. I could feel the tension thickening in the air over my head. A few feet from the hospital, Itachi finally looked at his cousin, "What?" He asked flatly. Shisui narrowed his eyes, "It was obvious Tora wanted to know something about her parents, why did you make us leave?" He growled. Surprised at my friend's uncharacteristic attitude, I actually took a step back from him. Itachi didn't show any sign of anger, but I could tell he was starting to lose his patience, "She's not ready to hear about them yet." How dare he say that!

 I glared at the stoic Uchiha, "What gives you the authority to chose what I hear and don't hear?" Itachi turned to me, and I flinched from the fury smoldering in his endless black eyes, "I've heard the stories." My anger returned in full force, "So that automatically gives you premission to withold them from me. I am not a baby to be coddled, I know my father was evil, he gave me these scars! I've lived on my own since I was five and--" Itachi gently placed his fingers over my lips, shuting me up effectivly. The rage was gone from his eyes, in place was... something. "I know your story. Trust me Tora, you are not ready to know about your parents." Without waiting to see if I would argue or not, he turned to Shisui, "Let's go." Shisui looked from his cousin to me and back, his expression knowing and somewhat sly. "Very well. I'm sorry Kitty, but this mission will take awhile, you'll just have to make do until we come back to keep you company." I rolled my eyes as I walked back to the hospital, calling over my shoulder, "Finally, some peace!" I could hear Shisui laughing as I entered the main door.

 The woman at the desk in the waiting room looked frightened to see me, but she let me know that Lady Tsunade was in the emergancy room and I could go about my rounds if I wished. Since I knew of only two patients, I went to see Jiro. His nurse was just leaveing as I reached his door, she smiled and place a finger on her lips then pointed to the door. I nodded and slipped quietly into his room. The boy was sleeping peacefully, his bandages had been replaced and he had shifted in his sleep, but otherwise he was exactly as I had left him earlier. My drawing had been moved to his night stand so it was the first thing he saw when he woke up. I walked over to the window and stood there, basking in the warm sun filtering through the glass. Jiro had a view of the better part of the city, with the Hokage Tower looming in the background. The roof of the floor below Jiro's petruded out so that he could go outside without leaving the hospital.

 A moan behind me made me turn, Jiro stirred in his sleep and mumbled, "Mama, no... not that way..." I smiled at his sleeping form, poor little boy. He had lost so much the day his mother and sister died. I was luckier, I lost things taken for granted over a period of time, stretching out the hurt and grief instead of being waylaid by in a matter of minutes. I sat down in the chair by the bed and touched Jiro's hand gently. He stilled and muttered one last word before slipping farther into sleep, "Mama..." I jerked my hand back, surprised that Jiro, even in his sleep, would confuse me for his mother. I sat back, thinking over the conversation between Itachi and I. What was so bad about my parents that he would try to keep them from me, even when he knew my father had scarred my face?

 XxXxXxX

 "Tora...?" I jumped at my name. Glancing up I saw Jiro blinking sleepily at me, from the darkness of the room I knew the sun had set. Which meant I had been in Jiro's room for hours. That worried me, Lady Tsunade wanted me to continue my rounds after lunch; and even if she was too busy, Reiko would have stopped by to walk me home. Jiro seemed to catch unto my moment of panic, "Tora? What's wrong?" I automatically tried to protect him like I always did with Reiko, "Nothing, I just realized how late it is. I must have fallen asleep." Jiro still looked worried, "Shouldn't you be home by now?" I covered with a joke, "And miss your company? No thanks. I better get going, my brother will be worried, the worrywart." Jiro smiled, "Okay, see you later." He called as I left.

 I ran back to the waiting room and asked the girl at the reception desk, "Where is Lady Tsunade?" She looked startled, but there was no fear in her stormy grey eyes, "She's still with a patient, one of the senseis was badly injured during a mission." Maybe Reiko's sensei was the one injured, and that was why he didn't come for me. "Which sensei? Asuma?" I demanded. The girl stuttered, "N-no. Sensei Kakashi of Team Seven. He--" A voice interuppted her, "Are you Tora?" I turned to see an oddly familiar dark haired boy Reiko's age looking back at me with no emotion. Cautiously I nodded. The boy stood and walked toward me, causing the girl behind the desk to sigh dreamily. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke and your brother asked me to take you home since his team was called on an emergancy mission." Immediatly distrust swam up, I thought Reiko didn't like Sasuke, so why would he chose the kid to escort me home?

 As if reading my thoughts Sasuke said, "Reiko thought that you would be more willing to go with me since you are friends with my cousin and older brother." His explaination was reasonable, I'd give him that. "Why you? Why anyone, I can walk home myself." I stated. Sasuke shrugged and stuffed his hands in his short's pockets, "Shisui and Itachi wouldn't like it if I left you. They are very protective over you." It warmed my heart to hear from someone else how much my friends cared for me. I waved a hand, "Fine." Sasuke turned without another word and lead me out of the hospital.

 Halfway to my house I came to realize why both my brother and Shisui didn't like Sasuke. He didn't say much, but from what he did say I knew he was a stuck up jerk (A.N. Sorry Sasuke fans, but don't worry, she'll change her opinion soon) who thought everyone, with a few exceptions, were all weaker than himself. He had even hinted that Itachi and Shisui were foolish to befriend me. I finally stopped and turned to him, "Look kid, I don't care if you hate me, I get enough of that from everyone else; unless you change that attitude of yours, you're going to end up with a lot more enemies than friends. I know you're going to make enemies anyway, being a shinobi, but don't go looking for them. That will get you killed." Sasuke glared at me and opened his mouth, but I spoke before he could, "I can find the rest of my way home." Then I turned and stalked away, favoring my still healing leg.

 Over the next few weeks I fell into a routine. In the mornings Reiko would walk me to the hospital and I would go on my morning rounds, always saving Jiro for last, just before lunch. After lunch with Shizune, and rarely Reiko, I would go about my afternoon rounds, making sure to check with Jiro and one or two of my other favorite patients during my frequent breaks. At dusk Tsunade, if she was free for that day, would take me aside to teach me basic healing. Then I would visit Jiro until either Reiko or Sasuke would come fetch me. I would fall into my bed, exhausted and sleep until Reiko came to wake me and begin the process again.

 I was just walking in from my lunch break when a very pregnant woman was rushed in by who I guessed was her husband. Immediatly the nurses ran forward, analyzing the wailing woman with sharp presicion. I watched mesmerized with the proceedings, it wasn't very often that I got to see the people I worked with in action. The man spotted me, "What's she doing here? Get her out before she curses my wife and child!" The nurses didn't even glance up, all of them had gotten used to my presence that they didn't even think about me. I backed away, my hands held out in to show him I meant no harm. When I reached the main hallway I turned and fled.

 Umi, another patient I had befriended, looked up when I came in. She was an older woman, cynical to everyone but me. "Tora, you look as white as a sheet. Here, have a drink." She pushed her own glass towards me, but I shook her head. I didn't like taking from the patients. She scowled at me, "Take it or I'll shove it down your throat." We both knew she was too sick to even get out of bed, let alone force me to drink her water, but I took it just in case she tried. She folded her hands over her stomach and said as I guzzled the lukeware water greedily, "Now, do you want to talk about it? Or did you just come to bother me?" I looked down at my lap, "A pregnant woman came in when I was returning from lunch..." I started, feeling foolish now.

 Umi raised her eyebrows, "So? What's that got to do with me?" I shook my head, "Nothing, I didn't know who else to talk to." Umi sighed, "Girl, either you tell me what's really eating at you or go bother that poor boy in room 206. What's his name? Jiro that's it." She answered her question before I could even open my mouth. I tried again, "Her husband thought I would curse her and the babe." Umi snorted, "Then half this hospital is good and cursed, including the nurses. That's still not the problem though." Finally I spit it out, "No one ever explained to me... you know... how women get pregnant in the first place..." I mumbled. Umi stared at me, "Never?" I shook my head, feeling my face heating up. Umi still looked startled, "You never overheard anything? Never went to anyone before now? No one ever just flat out said something that caught your attention?" With each question I shook my head, blushing even deeper.

 The old woman sat up, a sparkle in her eye, "Well then, little Tora, it's long past time you found out..." (A.N. I'm sorry! Random idea, humanizing moment, how could I pass it up!?)

 XxXxXxX

 Half an hour later I bolted from Umi's room, my face on fire, the old woman's cackling still ringing in my ears. Turning a corner, I ran right into Lady Tsunade. The older woman yelped and fell back against the wall. A bundle in her arms began to scream. I jumped away, ashamed that I had made the baby cry, whether from seeing my face or the fact that I nearly flattened it, I didn't know. Lady Tsunade sighed tiredly, "I just got her to stop crying." I stammer, "I-I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama." She shook her head, "No, I was looking for you anyway." I looked at her confused, Lady Tsunade never sought me out when I was doing my rounds. She waited for any announcments during our training sessions.

 "What for, Lady Tsunade?" I asked curiously. Whatever she wanted must be important if she was seeking me now. Instead of answering me right away she positioned herself so I could see the baby held in her arms. The little girl was still whimpering from her fright, her eyes tightly closed and her little face contorted. She was so small, smaller than what I would have ever believed.

 One tiny fist shot out of the bundle and waved violently in the air. I backed away, thinking I had frightened her. Lady Tsunade smiled, immediatly reading my responce, "No, Tora. She's too young to understand fright. Besides, she can't see your face." I guess Lady Tsunade was right, with her eyes so tightly closed she wouldn't be able to see my scarred face. I looked at Lady Tsunade, "What's her name?" The older woman looked a bit uncomfortable, she wouldn't meet my eyes when she said, "She doesn't have one." I turned back to the beautiful baby, wishing that Lady Tsunade would let me hold her. But I knew that even if I wasn't the Tiger Demon, Lady Tsunade wouldn't trust my inexperiance. "Why not?" I asked, not completly fazed that Lady Tsunade was acting a little strange, or that the girl wasn't named yet. I touched her fist and the babe immediatly grabbed my index finger, barely able to wrap her whole hand around my finger.

 "Because she won't ever." That got my attention. I looked up at the blonde woman in surprise. How could this little girl never have a name? Lady Tsunade gave me a sad smile, "The reason why she can't see your face is because she was born blind, Tora." I stared horrified at the little girl, to never see was horrible, more horrifying than my past. Looking up into Lady Tsunade's eyes I asked, "What's that got to do with anything?" Just because she was blind didn't mean she couldn't have a name. I had a scarred face, but I had a name. Reiko's parents both died shortly after he was born, but he still had a name.

 The blond woman sighed, "Tora, this little girl is the baby from that couple that came in with you during your lunch break. Her parents think that she's born blind because you cursed her. They refuse to accept her as she is." I slumped, another person was shunned because of me, first Reiko and now this innocent little girl. I looked at Lady Tsunade, dejected, "Why are you telling me this?" I asked. She answered quietly, "No one will take her, not when the story will spread of how you cursed her. Not even a good family would risk taking her and lose standing with the village." My eyes began to widen as I realized what she was saying. I began to shake me head. Lady Tsunade nodded, "Not now, she's still a little baby. But if you don't do something, this little girl will grow up like you. Alone and shunned because of something you were wrongly accused for."

 I began to feel paniced, "But I'm only fifteen, I can't raise a child." Lady Tsunade gave me a stern look, "You raised Reiko when you were nine." I glared at her, "That's different, he was older and he knew from the start that I wasn't his mother. This girl will think I'm her mother." The blonde woman sighed, "Tora, I'm not giving her to you today, she needs hospital care before she can even leave this place. I'm only showing her to you now so you can chose her name, and to warn you that you might have a new addition to your house." I gave her a wry look, "Might?" Lady Tsunade shifted the baby and placed a hand on my shoulder, "I'll give her a year, if no one decides to adopt her then you'll have to take her. She can't live in an hospital all her life."

 "Why can't you take her?" I asked, trying hard to keep the whiney tone out of my voice. Lady Tsunade barked a laugh, causing the girl to squirm in protest, "I'm not good with kids. Besides I'm too busy here to take care of a baby girl." I heaved a sigh, "Fine, if no one claims her in a year I'll take her." Lady Tsunade smiled, "I knew I could count on you, Tora. What will you name her?" I peered into the face of the baby girl. During our discussion she had opened her eyes to reveal a pair of cloudy blue eyes, she stared at the ceiling blankly, her tiny hands waving in the air as if to find something in the dark. I touched her cheek with one finger and she grabbed my finger, making whimpering sounds that tore at my heart. "Tenshi." I whispered to her. I glanced up at Lady Tsunade, who was watching me with a small smile, "I like the name Tenshi." I said a little louder. The older woman smiled, "Tenshi it is. If you ever want to visit her, she'll be in the care facility. Do you know where it is?" I nodded, first door on the right on the first floor. I passed by the room every day, staring into the wide window at the squalling babies.

 Lady Tsunade rewrapped Tenshi so that her hands were back in the bundle, "Go about your rounds, I'm sorry I made you late." I shrugged, "I don't mind." Turning I walked down the hall to my next patient, a grumpy older man who, unlike Umi, didn't like me; but then, he didn't like anyone. "What do you want?" He demanded as I walked in his room. I had leaned early on that a sharp retort worked best, "Coming to see if you died yet. Unfortunatly, I see that's not the case." I snapped back, not meaning a word of it. Secretly I thought he was like that grouchy old uncle who complained about anything. The man, I had still yet to learn his name, crossed his arms and grumbled about the rude teenagers these days, ignoring me.

 I smiled and turned to the window so he wouldn't see it. I knew he would come around when it was nearly time for me to leave, he always did. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the man finally asked, "Where's that boy you call your brother? At least he would talk to me." Reiko had met the old grouch once and was polite to a point. When we had left the man's room he immediatly started ranting about what a tyrant the old man was. I gave the patient a look over my shoulder, "You scared him off." I said and the old man barked a laugh, "What a wimp. He doesn't deserve to be a shinobi if an old crow like me scares him." I rolled my eyes and stared back at the window, the conversation was always the same, I could almost quote his next question. "So haven't scared any patients off yourself?"

 Usually I would shrug and say no, that I wasn't as scary as him, but this time I said, "A family thought I cursed their baby." The man laughed, "Ah, you probably did. With that face and those eyes anything is possible." I mock glared at him, "So if I cursed you to die the most painful death, would you?" He laughed again, "Too late, I'm already dying. You missed your chance." I made a face, "Pity, I was hoping."

 Like I predicted he lost his bitterness a few minutes before I had to leave for my next shift. When I told him I had to go he snapped, "Fine, just when I was starting to like you too! See if I ever talk to you again." I shook my head as I slid the door closed behind me, it was always the same everyday. He acted like an overgrown two year old every time. I checked the time, it was my two o'clock break. I decided to drop by Jiro and tell him about Tenshi. I smiled when I realized Jiro's father had thought of the same idea. He sat in my place, telling Jiro about his day. From Jiro's avid face I knew he enjoyed every minute with his father.

 Jiro's father smiled when he saw me. He was a large man, able to fill the room with his presence. The wrinkles on his face told of much smiling and little frowning. His face was haggared from the grief that overshadowed his family, but he still managed to smile every day. From what Jiro told me about him, his father was a specialist Jounin before the tragedy, but quit to take care of his son. "Here comes your friend to steal your attention away from me," He joked with his son. Jiro grinned and shook his head, "I would never ignore you, Otou-san." His father laughed and ruffled his gold-brown hair, "I don't know, once Tora's in the room I'm not so important all the time."

 I chuckled, "It's my face, Jiro can't stop staring at my scars." Jiro pretended to pout, "You two need to stop ganging up on the invalid here. It's not fair." He muttered. We all laughed and his father leaned down to kiss his forehead. For a moment I felt jealous that my father never treated me like I was a treasure, but I shoved it away. It wasn't fair to wish for something that I would never have now. "I got to go anyway, son. By the way, I have some news I forgot to tell you." Jiro raised an eyebrow questioningly. The big man chuckled and continued, "Lady Tsunade said that you could leave the hospital next week, if everything goes correctly." Jiro whooped and gave his father a one-armed hug and I smiled, happy to see my friend finally leave this place.

 When Jiro's father left, I sat down and sighed, "Well, it seems we both have had an eventful day." Jiro cast me a curious look, "What do you mean?" I glanced at him, "You find out that you're going to leave, and I got a new addition to my family, maybe." The kid jerked in surprise, "What do you mean?" I laughed at his face and said, "A little girl was abandoned by her parents shortly after her birth. If no one adopts her within a year Lady Tsunade is giving her to me to raise." Jiro lurched forward to hug me, nearly falling out of bed in the process. "That's great, Tora! What did you name her?" I smiled at my little friend, "Tenshi. And when you leave, what are you going to do?" Jiro laughed, "I'm going to run all the way home and no one can stop me!" I laughed with him, Jiro had been confined to his bed for over two months; the day he went home would be the first day since the accident that he would be able to walk.

 Jiro and I talked for the rest of my break about anything that came to mind. Then I went to run my rounds again, spending an half hour with each patient, making a progress of six patients before Lady Tsunade came for me. Instead of training me in healing, the woman took me to the care facility and showed me how to take basic care of a toddler. When she left I stayed, spending my time with Tenshi. Reiko found me still watching the little girl coo and wave her hands blindly in the air. He blinked in surprise, "Her parents don't mind you being here?" He asked.

 I couldn't keep the contempt from my voice when I said, "Her parents don't care what I do with her." I looked at him, knowing my fury was burning deep in my orange eyes. Reiko actually took a step back, "They abandoned her because she was born blind. They thought I cursed her to be born blind and wouldn't take her." Both Reiko and I hated any person who would abandon anyone for whatever reason. I guess it came from being orphans. My brother stepped up to lean over Tenshi's crib, and wiggled his finger in front of her face, when she didn't react he tapped her nose. She immediatly grabbed his finger and pulled it to her mouth. He chuckled a little and gently pulled away. When she made a fuss he gave up and let her suck on his finger.

 I stuggled not to laugh out loud, but a smothered giggle still managed to make it though my throat. Reiko shot me a dirty look, but I couldn't help it, I laughed a little louder. My brother rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the blind girl. I thought carefully how to word what I was going to say next. Finally I said, "You know since she has the Tiger Demon curse, she will be shunned, right?" Reiko looked up both eyebrows raised, "She's coming home with us isn't she?" I sighed, that kid thought too much like me sometimes, "Only if no one adopts her in a year. If she's still in the hospital then we will have a little sister." Reiko looked skeptical, "And how do you plan to take care of her?" I twirled her baby fine hair with my finger, "Lady Tsunade has added child care to my duties." Reiko sighed, "That woman is going to run you into the ground." He said to the ceiling.

 I kissed Tenshi good-bye and walked my brother out the door, "At least we're not trying to survive on what I made as an acrobat anymore. Both of us have paying jobs, a nice home, and each other plus all our friends. That little girl will have nothing if she isn't taken in by someone. Will you be so cruel as to deny her those things?" Reiko sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Alright! Sorry for being a tyrant. Geez, I hate it when you get righteous on me." I laughed and slung an arm around his shoulders, "Someone has to keep you in line. As your older sister, that's my job. Hey are you getting taller?" I asked suddenly, realizing that my twelve year old brother was almost my height. Reiko laughed at my sudden change of subject, "Yes, shorty, soon I'll be towering over you like everyone else." I grumbled under my breath, "I'm not that short." Reiko heard me and ruffled my hair, making me squack in protest, "Yes, you are. You're going to be sixteen next month and you have the hight of a twelve year old." I didn't bother to grace the comment with an answer.

 Because both of us were too tired to cook anything we went to Ichiraku Ramen. No surprise that Naruto was there already. Over the weeks that I had worked at the hospital Naruto and Reiko had become fast friends. He was over at our house frequently when he had nothing to do. I listened to them talk as I ate quietly, glad to see my brother getting along with someone his own age. I finished my bowl of ramen just as Naruto finished his third. The blonde boy wiped his mouth on his sleeve, earning a disgusted sound from me, and asked Reiko, "So are you entering the chunnin exams?" I perked up, this was the first time I was hearing about it. I glared at my brother for not telling me.

 Reiko shot me an sheepish glance and answered, "My sensei thinks I'm ready, even if I'm a few months behind the rest of you. Although I might not be able to since there are four people on my team." I spoke up then, "When is it?" Naruto answered me in his hyper way "The first part of the exam is in two days, the second is the day after. The finals are, I think, a week after that, anyone is allowed to watch the finals, but the other two are secretive." I smacked Reiko upside the head, "Couldn't give me more of a warning?" I snapped at him. He chuckled nervously and I jumped off the stool, "Just for that, you're paying. See you at home, and don't be late." I said then walked off, wondering if Lady Tsunade would let me off to see the chunnin exam. I would have to ask her tomorrow before I forgot.

 Naruto was wrong; the finals took place a month from the preliminaries. During that month I continued my work at the hospital, although it was slightly lonely when Jiro left. Instead I found myself spending my free time by Tenshi's crib; sometimes whispering to her what life would be like if she came to live with me and Reiko or just content to watch her. Tsunade alternated my lessons so that some days I would be learning medical techniques and others I would continue child care.

 Every night Reiko would stumble home, bruised from his extensive training, and would stay awake long enough to eat then crash on the couch. I rose each morning knowing Reiko was already gone to train again. I worried that his sensei was pushing him too hard, but didn't say anything. If Reiko didn't complain, I wouldn't either. Sometimes he was rested enough to talk to me, but most days he just sat there. From the scant information he gave me, I learned that he was one of the few that passed the preliminaries, Naruto and Sasuke include.

 The day of the finals came so suddenly that I had forgotten about it. I had walked out of my room, expecting to have the house to myself as usual; but Reiko was pacing the room, surprising me. When he caught sight of me Reiko exclaimed, "Could you be any slower? I have to be there quickly, you know!" Confused I blinked until he finally grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the house, "Did you forget that the finals for the chuunin exams were today? Let's go, we're probably the last people there!" It turned out we weren't, Sasuke wasn't there when we arrived. We had missed Naruto fighting Hyuuga Neji and defeating him, which was a huge feat, considering Neji was supposed to be the prodigy of his clan. Shikamaru was in the middle of fighting a female Suna nin. I was slightly stunned that Reiko's teammate was such a strategist. I had always thought he was a lazy boy who was pessimistic about everything.

 Reiko gave me a brief hug before leaving to join the other contestants. I found a seat towards the top of the arena and sat down. The people closest to me didn't even try to hide their disgust and moved as far away from me as they could, crowding each other just to get away from me. I sighed and rested my chin in my hand, even after all I do at the hospital, and I'm still considered a threat.

 Shikamaru finally beat the Sand nin using his shadow kekke genki to trap her. I leaned back, and closed my eyes, waiting for the next battle to begin. I knew it was supposed to be Sasuke and a boy named Gaara, but Sasuke had yet to appear. A familiar voice said beside, "I've heard of fashionably late, but this is ridiculous!" My eyes snapped open at the sound and I turned to see a Rabbit ANBU mask peering blankly back at me. I glared at wearer, "So when did you get back?" Shisui laughed, "A few minutes ago. The minute my captain heard about the chuunin exams we wrapped up the mission and headed back here to see Sasuke participate in the exams. Although, I think we could have taken an extra day the way this is going." I glanced around, but only Shisui was near me, "Where is... your captain?" Shisui shrugged, "Hokage needed him for something." He sat down beside me and we talked for a good time about what we had been up to the last two months.

 Sasuke arrived at the last minute, when the officials were about to disqualify him. Shisui chuckled, "Well, better late then never I guess. Although I would have enjoyed watching Sasuke have a temper tantrum once he learned that he was disqualified." I laughed with him and sat back to enjoy the fight, chuckling at Shisui's snarky comments.

 Soon neither of us was even smiling, both of us were leaning forward, engrossed in the extraordinary battle raging below us. Apparently Gaara was a force to be reckoned with, given his complete control over the sand. He hardly moved an inch for the first half of the fight, but then Sasuke began to change his tactics, causing Gaara to go from neutral to defence mode. Finally Gaara simply created an impenitrable ball of sand around himself. When Sasuke managed to punch a hole in Gaara's defence using the Chidori I was impressed, from what Reiko told me the Chidori was a very powerful jutsu. I bit my lip when a large apendage came out of the sand ball to swipe at Sasuke, I was suddenly very worried for the young Uchiha. Shisui looked very pale.

 "Kakashi wants us. Lets go." Itachi suddenly said, causing both of us to jump. I didn't know how long he had been standing there, or if he had suddenly just arrived. Shisui sighed, "Can't that lazy pervert do something on his own for once?" He grumbled as he rose, deliberatly slow I noticed, to his feet. Even though Itachi wore his ANBU mask I could still feel the heat of his glare and shuddered. Shisui seemed used to it though and turned to me, completely ignoring his cousin. "Sorry Tora, it seems duty calls me away again. See you later." Like that they disappeared.

 A white feather floated past my nose. I blinked and looked up to see thousands falling from appeared to be no where, it almost looked like snow. That was when I noticed the people near me dropping into a sudden sleep. I myself began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. Shaking my head hard to clear away the fog of sleep I stood and staggered up the steps. I put a hand on the wall and bent over, gasping. I felt like something smothering and heavy was pushing at me, demanding that I lay down and fall asleep.

 Something Lady Tsunade said to me recently managed to escape the haze taking over my mind, "Genjutsus are hard to detect, very few know when they are in one. Fewer still can deactivate it. If you ever feel like reality isn't real anymore it most likely means you are in a genjutsu. The bast way you can avoid one, Tora, is to get out of it's range until you learn how to deactive it yourself." The only reason anyone would cast an illusion sleep on a crowd of people would be because...

 The sound of battle reached my ears. I turned to see shinobi, both Konoha nins and Oto, attacking each other in the arena.

 ...Because Konoha was under attack.

 ***

 Within minutes after I reached the hospital the injured began flooding in. Due to my lack of knowledge in all things medical I was put to rearranging the regular patients to make more room for the new ones. Sometimes one of the nurses would shout for me to go fetch something and I would, using my skill as an acrobat to get through the maze of nurses, medics and patients. Soon we began moving the less injured into the hallways and waiting room.

 It wasn't before long that I was the only worker dealing with the regular patients, trying to keep them calm and postitioned so that they were in no ones way. I put all the children under ten in one room with a few of the elderly so that they would not see the people being rushed in, coated in blood. Or the lifeless bodies carried back out. Some of the more mobile patients began to help the nurses by fetching them things when I wasn't avalible. When the patients calmed down enough not to create more chaos I was put to comforting the less injured as they waited to be healed, using my meger skills bandage wounds, set bones and stitch the shinobi back up agian. Time was lost to me as people passed by, each bringing their own definition of pain and misery.

 ***

 When the flow of wounded ebbed I sat down where I was standing, resting my back against one of the movable beds where I had been stitching a shinobi's leg wound. I hung my head and began to close my eyes, thinking I would close my eyes for just a second... A voice in my head screamed, "NO! People are suffering, get your butt up and help ease their pain!" I climbed slowly to my feet, my muscles screaming in protest, but I didn't care.  Rubbing my arm across my eyes I tried to clear away my drowsiness and got back to work, slower this time so I wouldn't make a mistake.

 My eyes were perminatly half closed, no matter how hard I tried I could not lift my heavy eyelids. I know blood streaked my face from the numerous times I had to push the hair escaping my ponytail from my face. I shuffled my way around the hospital, never bothering to pick up my feet. People who normally would shun me, looked at my with concern. Some of my patients tried to assure me that they would live a few more minutes. I just shrugged them away and continued my mindless medical procedures.

 ***

 Check injures. Treat wound. Pat shoulder. Walk away. Check injures. Treat wound. Pat shoulder. Walk away. Check injures... were the only thoughts running through my head. I had learned from the shinobi that I attended that the battle had been won at a great cost. The fourth Hokage had died fighting Orochimaru. When I was informed I nodded and continued my thoughtless treatments. People began to bring in the enemy along with our own shinobi; after all, what harm could someone do when they were bleeding to death?

 My feet were numb from so much standing, I had no idea how long I had been up, trying to save the people that had protected me. Many died anyway from too much blood lost. I was too tired to even feel sad. All emotion had fled after the first wave of the wounded came in. My back ached, but I paid it no mind, what was the pain in my back compared to those suffering in front of me? The first time I stumbled I berated myself for being stupid, now it was just the way I walked. I hadn't said a word since I had lost my voice hours ago, shouting for things I needed to attend to the wounded; my tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth and my lips were fused together. I tried hard not to blink, because it took longer to open my eyes. My shoulders slumped with fatigue and my arms were coated with more blood then most of my patients. My throat felt like I had slept with my mouth open during a Suna sandstorm, I hadn't had a drink since before the chunnin exams.

 The shinobi I was treating grabbed my arm when I turned away, I looked back at her, dully watching as her fierce grey eyes glared back at me, "You are in no condition to continue this." She stated. I just smiled, my chapped lips cracking and bleeding, and gently dislodged my arm from her grip. There was no one else to take care of them until more professional help could heal them.

 My next patient was a Suna nin, the girl who had fought Shikamaru in what felt like ages ago. She grimanced when I touched arm and looked at me with her pale eyes, "Don't." She gasped, but I checked over her injures anyway. Nothing physical. I waved one of the patients that was running errands and motioned to the Suna nin, "She needs professional help. Take her to one of the nurses." The boy, who appeared to be my age, glanced from me to her. His glare made her flinch then groan. He turned back to me, "She'll survive. It serves her right trying to attack us like they did." The girl seemed to agree with him.

 Rage suddenly pulsed through me, waking me up. I shoved him hard, making him stumble back a step. He looked at me surprised that I still had the energy to push him. "I don't care if she was the mastermind behind the attack! No one should suffer just because they were fighting for the wrong side. Now you either take her to a nurse, or I'll make sure that you have a very unpleasent surprised in you meal tomorrow!" Without seeing if he would agree or not, I turned and continued treating shinobi, my rage still coursing through me giving me my second wind. All too soon my rage dispated and I returned to my mindless shuffle, treating the endless line of wounded. Check injures. Treat wound. Pat shoulder. Walk away. Check injures. Treat wound...

 ***

 I finished smearing a cream that would cool the heat from the burn that one of the Oto nins had gotten from one of a Konoha nin, from his rant I knew the person that burned him was an Uchiha. Only they had such control over the element of fire. Wrapping a clean bandaged around the arm I tied it off a gently as I could and turned towards the next patient. There was none. I looked back and saw nothing but treated people. The burned Oto nin was the last patient. I smiled, swaying on my feet, glad that I had managed to finish attendng to the wounded.

 The last thing I remember was someone shouting and the sensation of falling.

 ***

 Sunlight hit me squarly in the face and, groaning I rolled over away from it's brightness. "So, she finally decides to wake! How lucky the world is that the great heroic Tora should grace it with her presense!" Reiko's very sarcastic voice reached my ears. I cracked one eye to see him scowling in front of me. His eyebrows pulled even farther down his nose until I thought they would fall off, "You're stupid, you know that? Even Lady Tsunade said so! Hell, Shisui said it too!" I didn't bother explaining, I knew he wouldn't listen. He wouldn't understand.

 I rolled on my back, noticing that I was in my bedroom and not a hospital room, and tried to sit up, but my brother figure pushed my roughly back down, "Na-uh! You're going to lay in bed and not move until you are about ready to scream with bordom. When I get back, if you're in the exact same spot, I might let you roll on your side." I looked at him and managed to choke out, "Where are you going?" Reiko glared at me for speaking, but then he sighed and all his anger left him, "The Yondaime Hokage's funeral." He said tiredly. I tried to sit up again, but Reiko frowned and held me down. I struggled, but was still too weak from yesterday... or whenever the attack was.

 "You're not allowed to go anyway. Shinobi only." He started, I bashed my head against his and he fell back, groaning and holding his head. I jumped out of bed and sprinted for the door, but he twisted at the last minute and grabbed my ankles, pulling them out from under me. "Tora! I swear if you don't behave I'll chain you to the bed, and don't think I won't!" As a last resort I kneed him hard in the groin and scrabbled out the door. Turning I scaled the wall of our house and flipped onto the roof of the house. I got to my feet unbalanced and stumbled a few steps before crouching low, hiding from my brother.

 I could hear Reiko roar, "TORAAAA!! GET BACK HERE!" He rushed out into the street and looked both ways before running right, towards the Hokage Tower. I stood and followed, easily jumping the spread out houses as if jumping over cracks. He lead me past the hospital, which looked so empty compared to before I fainted. Soon a sea of black clothed shinobi replaced the hospital. I lost Reiko in the mess, he blended in too easily. Kneeling on a nearby roof I watched as each shinobi came up and placed a white flower on the memorial of Minato.

 I saw a woman standing off to the side with red hair, staring straight ahead, tears in her eyes. I could only guess that she was Minato's wife. A girl Reiko's age with the same red hair stood to her left, sobbing openly and not being very quiet about it. What surprised me though, was Naruto standing rigid beside the red haired woman, his blue eyes flashing. I had thought Reiko said he met Naruto in the orphanage. Could Naruto had been mistaken with someone else? Or was he adopted by Minato and his family? (A.N. hee hee ^.^"... I found a mistake in chapter one saying Naruto was an orphan when we all know he's not, but I'm too lazy to change it, so I'm just going to explain it later in another chapter...)

 Once everyone had placed a flower on the memorial someone came forward to speak about the Hokage. The red haired girl bit her lip and ran, her mother tried to stop her, but she still managed to get away. She passed under me and I backed into the shadows in case she looked up. When she didn't I took one last glance at the funeral to make sure no one was watching and went after her.

 It wasn't hard to find her, especially when I had a higher view point. I found her huddled in a corner in a deserted alley. I jumped down, crouching so I didn't break my legs. The girl gasped when I turned towards her, she stared wide eyed at my scars with her large brown eyes. Streaks of dirt smeared her face. We stared at each other for the longest time until I had to stand when my legs began to fall asleep. She cringed, thinking I meant her harm. I slowly sat back down.

 "I can't know how you feel..." I started and the girl grew angry for some reason, "I don't doubt it! You can never understand what I feel! I bet your father is still sitting at home, not caring that my father just died!" I tilted my head, confused. Was my scars not enough evidense that I didn't have a normal life? "I meant that--" She cut me off, "I don't care what you meant! My father died! You won't ever understand what that's like!" "My father already died." I whispered, but she was still angry. "So what? You're father didn't love you as much as mine did me! He loved me so much that he kept me! Even after Naruto came back, they kept me!" I had no idea what she was talking about now. I nodded, "I know, my father didn't love me, he hated me." She scoffed, "Do you want pity? You're not going to get it! My father died, he's gone forever to save selfish pigs like you! And all you do is go around saying 'my father hated me, boo-hoo' get over it! I won't ever be able to see my father's face again! Never to have him hold me or..." She broke off into a sob. She buried her face in her hands and wailed.

 When I tried to comfort her again she slapped my efforts away, screaming "LEAVE ME ALONE!" I tried to think what to say, but then she started shrieking and I jumped away in surpise. "Hey! What's going on?" Someone shouted from the entrance of the alleyway. I spun to see a large man coming towards us. Minato's daughter pointed towards me, "She was trying to hurt me!" The man took a closer look at me then scowled when he realized who I was. Without warning he lunged for me and I jumped, grabbing onto a part of the wall that jutted out, I hulled myself up out of his reach and made it safely to the roof. I didn't look where I was going, just blindly jumping from roof to roof until I reached a place where I could be safe.

 ***

 Of course Reiko heard about it. It would be stupid to hope he didn't. I expected him to storm in, ranting and raving about how stupid I could be, I just didn't expect Shisui or Itachi. I was sitting on the floor facing the door, waiting for Reiko to come back home so he could lecture me. I knew I was being stupid  and was ready to face whatever punishment was waiting for me.

 Indeed Reiko slammed open the door, his young face a thundercloud. Shisui soon followed, his usually easy going nature replaced with a deadly seriousness that laid to rest any doubt I might have about him not being an Uchiha. Itachi stayed in the doorway, leaning against the doorway, his face an emotionless mask as always. Reiko started the shouting match by yelling, "And here I thought you were just stupid, but I see I'm wrong! You're a complete idiot!!!" I just watched him, intending to take whatever insult he threw at me to heart. "Did you really actually seriously think that that girl would want to be comforted? That she might actually want to be left alone?!" I refused to look down, "I know I made a mistake." I whispered quietly.

 Reiko turned purple with rage and Shisui stepped in before he could pop a vessel, "Tora, it was incredibly stupid what you did. Do you understand that you might have endangered yourself?" I nodded. Unlike Reiko, Shisui kept in anger under control, being an Uchiha. He continued calmly, "The girl was Minato's adopted daughter, if she says you hurt her, everyone, save a very few people, would believe her over you. You need to lay low until this blows over and try not to do anything... stupid until the new Hokage is selected."

 Reiko snorted, "For all we know, the new Hokage might be one of those people who want to kill her. Congrats, Tora, you just became an enemy of Konoha!" Shisui sent Reiko a stern glance, behind the two Itachi narrowed his now red eyes at my brother. Apparently he didn't like Reiko being so harsh either. Reiko glared right back, "You know I'm right! Minato-sama's daughter is running around accusing my sister that she tried to hurt her. Lady Tsunade has run away, taking with her Shizune. That leaves me and you two to defend Tora." Itachi spoke, "My parents might stand with her." I blinked in surprise as I stared at the heir to the Uchiha Clan. Shisui nodded, "And the Uchiha clan will stand with the head of the clan. Besides everyone knew Minato-san liked Tora."

 Naruto chose at that moment to come in, his blue eyes flashing. He completely ignored everyone else as he pointed an accusing finger at me, "Leave my sister alone! Don't even come near her, you understand?!" I nodded solomly, as if I didn't know that I was in enough trouble as it was. Reiko glared at his best friend, "Naruto, I got it covered, you can leave now." The blond glared, his eyes puffy and red from crying, "If you had it covered we wouldn't be in this mess! Akarui is hysterical because your demonic sister tried to hurt her."

 "She's still my sister and I don't care if she's demonic or not, if you so much as say anything like that ever again, I swear I'll break every bone in your body!" Reiko snapped back. Shisui rubbed his temples and shouted, "Both of you shut up, before I pin you to a tree by your testicles!" (A.N. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it!) Reiko ignored Shisui's warning and shouted at Naruto, who looked positivly livid, "She knows she's in trouble, we were handling it perfectly fine until you came storming in!" "Oh no, I'm not letting this go! Tora is in a world of hurt now!" Naruto retorted.

 I couldn't stop the gasp escaping my lips. All the men before me turned to look at me staring at Naruto in horror. What he had said... my father used to say thing similar to that. Reiko seemed to catch, his green eyes widened and he tried to take a step towards me, but I flinched away. My hands started to shake and I blinked hard to keep the tears from spilling. "Tora...?" Naruto asked quietly, knowing that he had said something to frighten me, but he just couldn't figure out what. I scrabbled to my feet and darted into my room, slamming the door shut before anyone could say anything.

 ~No one's POV~

 Reiko growled when Tora shut the door and rounded on Naruto, "Well I hope you're happy now! Do you realize what you just did?!" Naruto looked at his friend bewildered. He had never seen Tora act like she did, from the looks of the two Uchihas, neither did they. Dumbly he shook his head and the enraged red head growled, looking as if he'd like to take a swing at the blond, "I'll be lucky if she comes out now! Congraglations, Naruto, you successfully managed to hurt Tora than we ever could physically."

 Shisui was still staring at the closed door, "What did he do?" He asked, more to himself than Reiko. The kid answered him anyway, "He said Tora's in a world of hurt!" Turning back to Naruto, Reiko shouted, "You imbicle, don't you realize her father used to say that everytime he abused her? It's a wonder she didn't run away instead to her room!" When he realized the gravity of the situation, Naruto went and knocked on Tora's door, no answer. Reiko pressed his fingers to his forehead, "Just leave, Naruto. You caused enough damage now." Reluctently the blond left, the two Uchihas going with him.

 ***

 Days passed and I refused to leave my room. Reiko knocked on my door every day, asking if I would come out. He even tried to force his way in, but my heavy nightstand prevented the door from budging. Naruto was at my door as much as Reiko, apologizing and begging me to answer him. They had even forced Naruto's sister to come once, saying that she was sorry for falsely accusing me. Sometimes Shisui would just talk to me from the other side of the door, he never bothered to ask if I would come out. He understood my need to be left alone. I never responded to any of them. I was too angry and hurt.

 When Minato's wife, Kushina, learned that what her daughter claimed was false, she came to our house herself. It was the fourth day after I locked myself in my room, four days without any human contact. A light tap was what alerted me. Reiko had taken to pounding on my door, begging for me to come back out. I waited for whoever this person was to speak. Her voice was soft and hoarse, "Tora? It's Kushina... M-Minato's wif-wido-wife." I immediately felt sorry for the poor woman, she didn't even know how to identify herself anymore. She continued, "My son said he had said something wrong and now you won't leave your room." She paused to see if I said anything, I didn't. Sighing she asked, "Do you need anything? Your brother said that you were refusing food and drink. That's not healthy."

 I tried to scorch the wall across the room with my glare, but still didn't say anything. After working in the hospital for two months, I knew what was healthy and what wasn't. Kushina tried again, "I want to apologize for my daughter's behavior towards you, it was wrong what she did." I scoffed, of course it was. I hadn't been within throwing distance when she accused me of trying to harm her. I understood that she needed privacy, but accusing me was going too far. Kushina talked for a few more minutes before she finally gave up and left me alone like everyone else.

 ***

 A week had passed. Naruto had gone with some old man named Jiraiya to fetch Lady Tsunade back so she could become the Godaime Hokage. Shisui and Itachi had left on a S-ranked mission, so it was left to Reiko to try and pry me out of my room. Even when he shouted that Sasuke was in the hospital in critical condition I didn't flinch. I stayed where I was, not moving a muscle.

 Loud hammering on my door woke me from my light nap. I wonder who it could be, it had been three days since Reiko finally gave up, leaving me in peace. A voice shouted through the wood, "Tora! If you don't open this door, I'm breaking it down!" I twisted around to stare at the closed door, wondering when Lady Tsunade had gotten back. When I didn't open the door it bulged inward, sending the nightstand I had pushed up against it straight for me. Only my training as an acrobat saved me from being mowed down by the incoming furniture. The door slammed open just as I landed on all fours on the still skidding nightstand.

 Lady Tsunade was standing in the doorway with Naruto, Reiko, Shizune, and Reiko's team mate Ino peering over her shoulders. The blond healer raised an eyebrow at my position, "So you going to talk, or sulk like a immature girl?" Reiko grimaced at her insult, but I knew she was right. I was acting immature; but, considering my life, I deserved a little sulking time. I glared at the woman, "Depends, are you going to try and kill me again?" I asked my voice rough. Tsunade frowned at me questioningly and I shifted so I was sitting cross-legged on the nightstand. "Though it may shock you, I don't spend my time sitting on nightstands in the middle of the floor. I prefer the floor or a chair." I snapped sarcastically. Ino twittered uncertainly, followed by Naruto's more brazen laughter.

 Lady Tsunade rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Well, while you're deciding where you prefer to sit, you have fallen behind on your work." I narrowed my eyes and hissed, "Look who's talking. Who's the person who ran after the Hokage's death?" Naruto cringed at the blunt reference towards his father's death, but I didn't care. He lost my sympathy two weeks ago. The blond woman glared at me the shooed everyone else away and closed the door behind her. She turned to me and I tensed, waiting for whatever lecture I was about to get.

 ***

 Two hours later we both exited the room. Everyone was in the living room, standing or sitting awkwardly. Reiko looked up and shot to his feet when he saw me out of my room. A grin split his face, one that almost rivaled Naruto's. Ino and Shizune smiled more sedately, but I could tell they were both glad to see me out.

 Lady Tsunade turned to me, "Remember, sunrise. Not a minute after." I nodded and Shizune and Lady Tsunade left without another word, although I could see that the younger woman had questions in her eyes. I stood there awkwardly, not daring to return to my room, but unsure what I could do. Reiko broke the silence by asking his friends "Are you hungry?" Naruto, of course, nodded eagerly. Ino hesitated, but then nodded as well. My little brother grinned and glanced at me. I knew what was coming. "You should stay for dinner then, Tora is an awesome cook. And I bet she's very hungry after staying in that room for almost two weeks."

 Ino gasped, "How on earth are you even conscious?" I just gave her a look, "Let's just say, my father trained me well." Very well. Growing up with very little water and scraps, one learns how to get by on so little. Reiko flinched at the mention of my father, but I don't mind. What Lady Tsunade had told me would help. I know Reiko wanted to ask what we talked about, but he dare not ask in front of his friends. I lead the genin into the kitchen and fix them fried rice balls and ramen. Naruto doesn't even touch the rice balls when I set the bowl of ramen in front of him, so I eat his share. Reiko was right; I am very hungry after not eating.

 Ino made good company; she had all us laughing with stories from her family's flower shop. Naruto told us about his team's failed attempt to get Kakashi to reveal his mask. Reiko had some very funny stories from the time when we were on our own; I sometimes added a detail he left out, or suggested some topics, but mostly I kept quiet. I noticed how attentive Ino was when Reiko was talking, or how she laughed more often and I couldn't keep the small smirk off my face.

 After a while, I cleared away the dishes, turning down Ino's offer of help, and returned to the table with a small ceramic cup and a bottle of sake. Ino blinked at the alcohol, but didn't say anything. Naruto however, wasn't against asking what was on his mind, "You drink?!" Reiko rolled his eyes, but I smiled as I poured the rice wine, "It's for the pain." I explained, confusing Naruto more. "What pain?" He asked oblivious. Ino groaned and buried her face in her arms, I just laughed and Reiko slapped him upside the head, "Knucklehead! What pain do you think?!" Naruto's eyes darted to my face then away, his cheeks red, "Oh...." I gulped down the shot and grimaced at the taste before putting the bottle away. I hated sake, but it was the only thing that eased the tightness in my face.

 It was well past dark when Reiko's friends finally left. My brother immediately turned to me and asked, "Okay, how on earth did Lady Tsunade get you out of your room?" I smiled and rolled out my practice mat before sitting down. "She made me a deal." I started, then folded my left leg under me and reached for my right foot. Reiko sat down and waited for me to continue. "She said that everyone was impressed by my hard work during the attack, and to reward me for my determination she would train me as a medic." Reiko stared for a good long minute before saying, "But it's the Hokage's job to decide if someone is to be privately trained."

 I let go of my position and switched sides, giving him a look in the process, "And who's the new Hokage? Besides, apparently Minato told her that if she saw potential in me, she could train me." Reiko took a while to absorb that, but when he did, he jumped into the air, shouting in triumph. Then he scooped me up and twirled me around. I laughed and swatted him, trying to get him to put me down, "I'm only going to be a medic, not a shinobi! Reiko put me down!!" He did, but only to sweep me up in a hug. "Tora, I'm so happy! You actually have a real job now! Not just a volunteer thing!"

 ***

 After training with Lady Tsunade for five hours, I was ready to hit the dirt. Ten minutes within our training session I automatically knew why the blond woman was chosen as the Hokage. It was ten in the morning and I hadn't even put a dent in my rounds around the hospital. All the patients I had were more eager to share what had happen in the last two weeks than they had in the past two months.

 I yawned as I bent backwards, trying to stretch my back. I was surprised how out of shape I was. Tiredly I entered my next patient's room and turned to shut the door, but a voice interrupted me, "What are you doing here?" I spun to see Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto standing by the bed, where an unconscious Sasuke laid. I checked my list and then the room number, I was in the right room. I glared at the paper in my hand, Lady Tsunade must be trying to get back at me for something I did.

 "I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, but Uchiha Sasuke is my next patient." I said, bowing a little to the head of the Uchiha clan. Mikoto smiled at me, at least she seemed happy to see me. Fugaku didn't, but then he never did. "You work here?" He demanded. I mentally rolled my eyes, as if I wasn't clear enough. "Yes. Lady Tsunade is training me to be a medic, until then I try to comfort the patients on my roster. If you want some privacy I could leave." I added. Mikoto's dark eyes darted to her husband then her youngest son. She turned back to me, "If it isn't too much trouble." She said softly. I smiled at her and shrugged, "It gives me a chance to visit my other patients. If he wakes Lady Tsunade would like to be informed." Mikoto nodded and I left without another word.

 Telling a passing nurse that I would be in the nursery if anyone needed me, I walked down the stairs to the care facility. I hadn't seen Tenshi since before the Chunnin exams; I was too busy sulking to even think about my little girl. One of the nurses was bent over her crib when I opened the door, she looked up and smiled. I recognized her; she was Jiro's nurse, one of the ones that didn't mind me from the very beginning. I smiled back, "How is she?" I whispered. The nurse picked Tenshi up and cuddled her for a moment before handing her over to me, "Fine, she's been touchy lately, but not that bad. I think she hasn't been getting her sleep." I didn't blame her; I had next to no sleep for the past week. Holding Tenshi close I sat down in one of the chairs put there for that purpose. The nurse, I had yet to learn her name, smiled again before leaving quietly.

 Tenshi grunted and waved her hand blindly. I touched her hand and she grabbed my finger in a small death grip. I smiled and gently wiggled my trapped finger back and forth, she brought my finger to her mouth and began to suck on my fingertip. Rocking back and forth I hummed a little lullaby that I used to hum for Reiko when he first moved in with me. It was one of the few memories from my past that was pleasant. I remembered during that first year someone had taken me in, giving me a room and food on stormy nights. I remember vaguely that the mother would sing her own children to sleep; though I forgot the lyrics, I always remember the melody.

 The little blind baby girl cooed and chewed on my fingernail with her warm gums, saliva coating my finger. I pressed my scarred cheek to her fine dark hair that swirled around her head. I wondered if her hair would stay that color, or lighten when she grew older. I kissed her forehead. Tenshi stiffened, her sightless eyes fluttered open, her light blue cloudy eyes looking blindly at me. "Hi there." I whispered. She relaxed and shut her eyes again, content to be held by me.

 A sudden crash from outside the window and Tenshi jerked then began to scream. I tried my best to get her to calm down, but she wouldn't be quieted. Sighing I stood and began to pace the room, bouncing her in my arms and whispering things that didn't make sense, just speaking to show her I was still there. She wouldn't stop screaming, I was just lucky that she was the only baby in the nursery at the moment. Finally I held her at arm’s length, she squirmed at the sudden disappearance of my warmth and fell silent. Tears raced from her eyes, down her red face. Sighing I cuddled her again, she huddled against me, as if afraid that I would vanish again. Still pacing I hummed the lullaby.

 "I would have never thought they would even let you within ten feet of this place, let alone touch one of the babies." I turned towards the door at the unfamiliar voice. A man stood in the door way, wearing ANBU armor and looking fresh from a fight. From the pearl colored eyes, I knew he was Hyuuga. I looked down at Tenshi, still whimpering into my shirt, then back up at the ANBU Hyuuga, "Normally I'm not." I saw no need to elaborate; my business was none of his. He frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Shisui appeared, "Kizoku, aren't you supposed to be giving Lady Tsunade our report?" He asked, looking about as emotionless as Itachi. The Hyuuga looked like he wanted to argue, but one more glare from Shisui sent him away.

 My friend turned to me and watched as I tried to put Tenshi back in her crib, but she held on, pulling at everything to stay with me. Finally I gave up when she managed to yank a fistful of my black hair out. Shifting the colicky baby to one arm I rubbed the sore spot while I waited for Shisui to start talking. "What are you doing here? I thought you spent most of your time with older patients." I smirked, "Tenshi's my daughter. No one can tell me to stay away when she's here." Shisui's mouth dropped open as he glanced from the dark haired babe to me, then back. He shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly and mumbled, "I never thought..." I let him wallow in his awkwardness for a few more minutes until I couldn't help but laugh at him. Shaking my head I said, "She was abandoned at birth. Lady Tsunade gave her to me, Shisui, so technically she's my daughter. Now what are you doing back, I thought you said your mission would last for another month."

 Shisui glared at me for laughing at him, then shrugged, "Do you really think Itachi is going to ever take his time with a mission? Besides, once he heard the news that Sasuke was hurt, he quickly finished the mission. If anything else happens to that brother of his, Itachi is going to have to resign from ANBU work. First the Chunnin Exam and now this." I held up a finger, "You can't blame him, I made sure that I was present at the Chunnin Exams to watch Reiko. And if Reiko was hurt I would drop everything to come here. At least Itachi-san finished the mission instead of aborting."

 Tenshi wiggled and I patted her back, calming her down. Shisui's attention riveted back to her, "Why was she abandoned? She's healthy." I turned her so he could see her sightless blue eyes, "Her parents claimed that I caused her blindness and didn't want her after that. She had a year to be adopted, if she's not, then I become her legal guardian." Shisui stared at me, his eyes boring into mine. Shisui had been very serious lately, I didn't like it. He spoke, "Aren't you a little young?" I jerked my chin up and snapped, "I've been on my own since I was five, I raised Reiko when he was six." Shisui held up his hands, "I'm just saying, you've raised Reiko since he was six, not from birth."

 I frowned at Shisui's sudden mood swing and stepped towards him, "What's wrong? Usually you're laughing and trying to steal Tenshi by now." Shisui tried to deny that anything was wrong, but I knew him too well. I pestered him about it until he sighed tiredly and said, "It's just... the other night, I knew you were abused by your father, but I never realized..." I couldn't help but smile at my best friend, "Shisui, the past is the past. I'm not going to sit around crying about how I lost my childhood because of my father. I know I overreacted, but I was just stressed out with Minato-san's death and exhausted from the attack on Konoha." Shisui looked at me, his expression unreadable, after a moment he grinned and stepped forward to coo over Tenshi. I let him hold her, letting her grasp my finger so she wouldn't think I left her.

 As my friend watched Tenshi, I watched him. Shisui was quiet old, over his twenties at least, but I never heard him talk about a girlfriend. He never even mentions having someone he liked, but then whenever we did talk it wasn't about romance. As I accepted the now napped Tenshi back from him I couldn't help but ask, "Shisui, do you have a girlfriend?" My friend froze then gave me a funny look. I didn't meet his gaze as I laid Tenshi back in her crib. "And the sudden interest is because...?" He probed. I shrugged, "You just never talk about any girl, you are an Uchiha after all." Shisui grinned then hugged me around the shoulders as he lead me back into the hallway, "I have my eye on someone, but she never notices me." Now I was interest, who did Shisui like? I asked but all he did was grin and say, "You get three guesses, don't guess and I throw you into the lake outside of Konoha." I shot him a glare, "And if I win?" I asked, Shisui smirked, "Then you get a favor from me, anything you like."

 The game was on.

 ***

 The next day I was walking into Sasuke's room after my lunch break, eyes on the scroll of medical jutsus that Lady Tsunade had given me earlier that morning. "What are you doing?" A voice brought my head up; Sasuke was staring at me with his dark distrustful eyes. I smiled briefly, "Learning medical jutsus. How are you feeling?" Sasuke frowned but didn't say anything, as I knew he wouldn't. Putting the scroll away I sat down in the chair that Mikoto usually occupied. The young Uchiha just watched me.

 I tilted my head, "Are you going to say something? Or am I going to have a one-sided conversation?" He didn't even blink. I shrugged, "Alright doesn't bother me." I said and pulled the scroll back out. Just as I unrolled it, he spoke, "What does Shisui and Itachi see in you?" I glared at him, I knew he was a rude little brat, but not crass. "Something that you are clearly blind to." I retorted. The boy glared, "It was a simple question." He said. I growled, "No it wasn't, it was rude and none of your business." I slung my legs over one of the arm rests so that my back faced the bedridden Uchiha.

 I tried to concentrate on the scroll in front of my, but the glare that Sasuke was sending me made it pointless. Finally I bent my head back so that I was looking at him upside down, "Do you mind? Whether you like it or not, I'm stuck in here for half an hour every day. Might as well at least try and make it bearable." I noticed that Sasuke had activated his Sharingan, I lifted my head back up, "That won't help you, no attacks in the hospital. Why do you think Shinobi are paranoid of hospitals?" It wasn't true, but he didn't know that.

 "That's not why we are paranoid!" I rolled my eyes, of course Shisui would ruin it. Without turning I asked, "Is she Yamanaka Ino?" Shisui gagged, "Ewww, gross. And wrong, two more guesses." I finally looked at him, "If you're not here visiting then leave. I'm busy." My friend smirked, "What, annoying Sasuke?" Sasuke glared at both of us, "I'm right here." He intoned, but we both ignored him. I waved my scroll, "No, I'm studying. Now leave before I kick you out for harassing patients." Shisui wouldn't wipe that silly smile off his face, "The only person I'm harassing is you, you're a worker, so that doesn't count." I growled and didn't say anything. He continued, "Moody, aren't you? What's wrong, Kitty, thorn in your paw?" "Yes! And if you don't leave I might take it out and stab you with it!"

 "Move." Itachi said from behind Shisui, cutting off our banter. The older Uchiha shot another grin at me and stepped aside to let Itachi in, then left without another word. I stood to give the brothers privacy, but Itachi shook his head. Frowning, I gave up the chair and moved to the floor under the window, wondering why Itachi wanted me to stay. Bringing my knees up to my chin I laid the scroll out in front of me and tuned out whatever the two Uchiha brothers were talking about. Considering that neither of them hardly said anything, it wasn't that hard.

 It wasn't long before Sasuke drifted back off, not that I noticed at first. Itachi spoke, "He says he doesn't care, but I know he does." I looked up confused. Itachi was sitting in the chair, watching his younger brother sleep, his dark eyes void of all emotion as usual. I shrugged and turned back to my scroll, "I could say the same for you." I didn't realize I had said it outloud until Itachi asked, "What?" I grimanced and met his gaze, "If you didn't care, would you have taken me to the hospital when I was hurt? Or would you hurry your mission along to see your brother participate in the Chuunin exams?" Itachi turned away, but not before I saw the answer in his eyes.

 I stood, "I'll leave you alone now." I bowed and left. I walked down to the waiting room and gave my report of Sasuke's health to the waiting nurse behind the reception. Naruto was pacing the room, growling under his breath as I recieved my next list of patients to visit. When he saw me he sprinted towards me, "Which room is Sasuke in? No one else will tell me." I scanned my next patients, refusing to meet his gaze. I began walking back towards the hallway, calling out, "Uchiha Fugaku requested that only family be able to visit him so far. But, if you walk around the third floor, I'm sure you'll be able to find his room soon enough." "Thanks Tora-chan!" Naruto called after me. I smirked as I continued doing my rounds, I had a feeling he would be thanking me later.

 Umi was my first patient, I hadn't talked to her since Jiro left, and I knew that I would get it for my neglectence. Sure enough, the minute I opened her door she began shouting, "Well look you finally discided to pay an old hag like myself a visit! Come to see if I'm dead yet, girlie?" I sighed and shut the door behind me, before anyone could ask what was going on. I faced the furious woman to explain but she cut me off before I could even open  my mouth, "Nuh-uh! You're not allowed to even speak to me! Not until I'm done being mad at you." I sat down silently and prepared myself for the worst.

 ***

 I was checking up on Tenshi one last time before I left when Shisui found me again. "You know you still have two more guesses left." I gave him a look, "We never said that I had to use them all in one day." He smiled, "Nope, but still, it's a nice day for a swim." I put my fists on my hips and said, "Oh, so you think you'll win?" He nodded, "Which is why we're going to the lake after you check out."

 Tenshi whimpered from her bed, drawing my attention away from Shisui. I leaned over the crib and gently brushed her black hair away from her forehead before planting a kiss there, "Hush now, little one. Sleep and dream of happiness." She calmed at my voice and grabbed my finger as had become her habit. I waited until she was fully asleep before dislodging my finger from her grasp. I turned back to Shisui, who was watching me with a strange expression on his face. He shook his head and grinned, "Ready to go, Mama Kitty?" I glared at him but followed him out of the hospital.

 "Itachi is planning to meet us later, with his girlfriend." I started at Shisui's comment, "He has a girlfriend?!" My friend gave me a weird look, and nodded slowly as if it was old news, "Yeah... personally I don't see why. She's a spoiled little brat who throws a tantram if she doesn't get her way. Itachi only goes out with her because Mikoto-oba is friends with her mother. Sometimes I think even Mikoto doesn't want Itachi dating her." I didn't say anything else, the shock that stoic Itachi would have a girlfriend and easygoing Shisui didn't was too much to absorb.

 Shisui seemed to read my thoughts though, "He's the heir to the clan, I'm just the goofy older cousin." I pursed my lips, "So? You're still a powerful member, second in the clan." He gave a short laugh, "Yeah, with Itachi at first." I couldn't help myself, I punched him in the arm. He yelped in surprise and rubbed the sore spot, scowling at me. "Oh stop that! I didn't hit you that hard. And stop feeling sorry for yourself before I really hurt you." I snapped. Shisui muttered something about Lady Tsunade rubbing off on me or something, I really didn't catch what he was saying.

 As we reached the lake I asked, "Do you like Hayaku?" Hayaku was a fellow nurse, she didn't talk to me, but I had noticed that she was always less moody when Shisui showed up. Shisui sent me a confused look, "Who?" I sighed, I guess he didn't like her. "Nevermind." Shisui grinned, "One more guess left." I thought long and hard, but couldn't think of anyone that Shisui really seemed to like. I scratched the back of my head, this was hard. I wished I had never asked that question. I sighed and flopped down on the ground, "I give up."

 Shisui laughed and sat more calmly down beside me, "No giving up. Either you guess right and get a favor or guess wrong and get thrown in the lake." I threw an arm over my eyes, "Is it... no one...?" Shisui laughed again and stood, I knew I had gotten it wrong. I tried to escape him but he wrapped his arms around my waist and climbed the small overhang that rose about five feet from the lake. "Wrong!" He said as he tossed me screaming into the lake. I hit the water hard and sunk a little, stunned by the impact. I shook my head to clear the buzzing feeling and swam back to the top.

 My friend was still laughing when I surfaced. I growled and shoved water at him, but very few drops managed to land on him. He caught is breath and looked down at the soaking wet me, and burst out in laughter again. I began swimming for the shore, Shisui called out after me, "That was quite a girly scream, Kitty! Didn't know you had it in you." I stomped to where he was standing, water dripping everywhere. I stopped a few feet from him, trying to scorch him with a glare, "Alright, you got your wish, now tell me who you like." Shisui grinned and leaned closer so that his face was inches from mine, "That wasn't part of the deal." I stiffened and shoved him playfully. Unbalanced my friend teetered over the edge for a minute before falling headfirst below. Now it was my turn to laugh.

 When he came back up I called out, "You're right! That was funny!" He shook his wet hair and looked at me mulishly. I turned my nose up, "Serves you right." I said snippishly and Shisui lunged out of the water, grabbing my ankle and dragged me back in, screaming again. He placed his hands on my shoulders and shoved me under the water. My feet hit the bottom and I pushed my weight against it to propel me back to the surface, "SHISUI!" I yelled, pushing my damp hair out of my face. He had managed to put distance between the two of us so he could laugh in peace.

 "Ugh. It's too hot Itachi-kun. Why can't we leave?" A snooty voice called from where Shisui and I originally stood. Shisui dropped his mirth like a hot bowl of ramen. It literally looked as if his smile slid off into the water. I turned to see Itachi standing there watching us from the overhang, a girl sulking beside him. I smiled and waved to Itachi, and Shisui said in a monotone, "Hey Itachi, Yakkaina." Itachi nodded his greeting but Yakkaina just made a disgusted face, as if she could believe that Shisui even bothered to look at her.

 I called out, "Hey Itachi-san, care to join us?" Yakkaina answered for him, "No, we don't." She said it in such a manner I was tempted to pull her in the lake just to get back at her. Itachi shook his head and sat down at the overhang's edge, forcing Yakkaina to sit with him. I swam over to them, delibertly ignoring Yakkaina's flinch, and hoisted myself up so that my toes dangled just above the water. Water dripped from my hair, running down my arms and disappearing into the grass underneath me. "So, Shisui won the bet, but he won't tell me who he likes. Do you know who it is?"

 "That's cheating, Tora!" Shisui yelled at me. I shot a grin over my shoulder, "There's no rule against it." I called back. Itachi looked from Shisui to me and back again, an almost invisible smirk on his lips. He leaned closer as if to tell me, but Shisui grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back before Itachi could share the secret. I twisted to tackle him, trying to gain the upper hand but was failing miserably due to my smaller size and inexperiance. Soon I was in a loose choke hold, just tight enough so that I couldn't escape.

 Yakkaina, of course, complained, "Itachi-kun, I don't want to be around uncouth people." Itachi gave her a look and said quietly, "So leave." Shisui paused in his attempt to drown me long enough to hear Yakkaina's answer, "You never do anything I want to do! You think it's more fun to play ninja then actually spend time with me!" She stood and stomped away. Itachi didn't seemed too worried that his girlfriend just snapped at him, but then, he never did. I looked at Shisui in explination. Shisui let me go, "Yakkaina always says that, besides Itachi only dates her so Mikoto-oba will stop bothering him." Itachi narrowed his eyes at his cousin, but I don't think Shisui noticed.

 I crossed my arms, "So are you going to tell me who she is?" Shisui smirked and shook his head, spraying me with water from his dripping hair. Itachi spoke, "It's Hana." Shisui glared at his cousin, who was smirking at him. I laughed at my friend, then ducked underwater when he swiped at me.

 ***

 It was close to midnight when I finally stummbled home, still sodden wet. Shisui finally had gotten over his embarressment at liking the Inuzuka girl enough to actually walk home with Itachi and me. Shisui seemed overly fond of wring his clothes out on top of me, causing me to be even wetter than I already was. I pushed him away laughing everytime. Even Itachi, who didn't even get his feet wet the whole day, seemed more at ease then he usually was; enough that I teased him about Yakkaina as much as Shisui did. He didn't seem to mind and for that I was grateful. I felt as if these two trully did accept me as I was, and that was a blessing in itself.

 ***

 I opened the door to my house and froze, nine faces turned to stare back at me. I stood there for a while, still dripping from the lake. Reiko found his voice first, "Geez, Tora! What on earth happened?" I shook my head and waded into the genin crowd, "I could ask the same question. What's going on? Why is everyone here?" I asked as I made my way to my brother. Reiko scowled at me, "Preparing to look for you! No one has seen you since this afternoon! We thought that someone harmed you. Who did this to you? You look like a drowned rat!"

 I shrugged, "I lost a bet with Uchiha Shisui." I said nonchalantly and scanned the faces of all the genin. All were here except Uchiha Sasuke, who was still in the hospital. Reiko rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "You're acting just like one." I smiled and slung an arm around his shoulders, "Funny, Shisui was just accusing me of turning into Lady Tsunade. I wonder which one of you are right?" Reiko tried to push me off, but my training as an acrobat paid off. Using his weight against him, I knocked his feet out from under him. I looked at his friends, "Well, I suppose I have to feed you don't I?"

 Naruto and Ino, both who had tasted my cooking, nodded vigerously. Reiko's fat team mate, Chouji, looked pleased as well. Reiko stood up, his face pink with embarressment at being beaten by an untrained citizen. He spoke, "That'd be nice, I'm starving." I smiled and left the room for the kitchen, Ino followed me.

 I glaned at the younger girl as I got down the ingrediants I needed. The young blonde looked uncomfortable, but determined. Finally she blurted out, "All the girls my age have a crush." I started at the sudden announcement and gave her a look, "So? What's that got to do with anything?" Ino blushed and looked down, "Well I never did. For the longest time I had a crush on Uchiha Sasuke, but I knew I didn't stand a chance against Sakura who saw him everyday." I stirred water in with flour and buckwheat for noodles. "If your going to be in here you might as well help"

 She hesintated then joined me at the kitchen counter, "I used to think that I would never meet anyone. That everyone I had a crush on would be taken by someone else, and now... well I'm scared that's going to happen again." I dumped the sticky dough on the counter and began rolling it out, flattening it then rolling it up into a tube again before repeating. I handed her a metal pot, "Here fill this up with water then put it on to boil. Now, who do you have a crush on?" Ino did as I told her, but didn't answer my question. Instead she kept babbling, "Anyway, all my friend have team mates that are actually interesting. I'm stuck with a lazy genius and someone whoe does nothing but eat! They are my team mates and my friends, of course, but still. I've known them for the longest times, our fathers are team mates too! I never got to meet anyone knew, I always knew that I would be teamed with Shikamaru and Chouji."

 I placed a flour whitened hand on her shoulder, leaving a print on her purple shirt, "Look Ino. Just tell me what's on your mind, stop getting off the subject." She heaved a sigh and said barely above a whisper, "I like Reiko... very very much." I stilled in rolling out the dough and stared straight ahead. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see the poor girl blushing deeply and probably regreting that she ever told me anything. I took her arm and sat her down before turning back to my work, "Why don't you tell me everything?" I asked.

 And so she began, going from how she had originally tortured Reiko about being my adopted brother, but never getting a raise out of him. She used to tease him and insult me, but he just remained calm and at ease. Then during his first mission with them, Reiko had saved Ino by taking a major blow that would have killed him if a healer hadn't been with them. Ino was surprised that, even after all her cruel remarks, he would risk his life to save her. When she asked why, he told her that I wouldn't let him get hurt because I was his big sister and it was my job. Just like it was his job as a comrade not to let Ino get hurt and visa versa. That was when Ino was determined to know my brother better, soon she was trying to spend all her free time with him and before she knew it, she had a crush on my little brother.

 When she finished I stayed quiet for a while, consentrating on creating noodles from the tube of dough, then asked, "Why are you telling me this?" Ino sighed, "I don't know if he likes me in return. It always happens. I like a guy, but he never likes me back." I rubbed one of my jaw line scars and thought carefully how to word what I was going to say, "I've known Reiko for almost seven years. He isn't against hidding his emotions like I am; if he's going to laugh or cry, he will do it and not hold back. I know he sees you as a friend and comrade." Ino spoke, her voice full of disappointment, "But not as a girlfriend?" I turned to face her, "You're both still kids. Call me old fashion, but twelve is a little too early to be dating. But I think with time, he might start liking you back, as long as you don't do anything to lose his trust."

 Ino gave me a tentative smile, "You think so?" I smiled back at her, "My brother is one of the most loyal people I know. Once your his friend you stay so until you do something completely unforgivable." I paused, then decided to tell her, "Had Reiko ever told you about Kouitsu?" Ino looked surprised at the change of subject, but shook her head. I smiled, "Well, when we were younger, Reiko and I used to know an old man named Kouitsu, who owned an inn. He used to let us stay with him when the weather was bad, before we had found a perminate place to stay. Kouitsu was a nice old man, he would feed us well and reserved a room for us, as long as we worked for our stay. Reiko saw him as a grandfather, but I was distrustful, there was something just off about him, now I'm glad I was. You see Kouitsu, he..." I bit my lip, trying to think of the best way to describe his evilness, "liked to ...use... little boys. And Reiko was easy picking. Fortunatly I got him away before Kouitsu could do anything harmful." Ino's light blue eyes widened at the implication.

 I looked at the stunned blonde genin, "As my brother, Reiko hasn't had an easy life." Ino stared at the table and when it was clear she wasn't going to say anything for a while, I turned back to my cooking. dropping the noodles into the boiling water. I added beef broth and spices then stirred the ramen for a while before turning to make dangos. Finally Ino spoke, "I never would have guessed that..." She trailed off, unable to finish her thought. I shrugged, "No one would have. My brother may be an open book, but no one can read a burned page. I probably would have never known myself if I wasn't there when it happened."

 Reiko walked in then, "So, what are you two talking about?" Without turning around I laughed, "Anything and everything, Reiko." My brother scoffed, "Yeah? Like what... boys?" I shot a carefree smile over my shoulder, "Since when am I ever interested in that? No, we were talking about the Yamanaka flowershop. Now Ino, you were telling me that your grandfather started the shop, right?" Reiko chuckled and said, "Tora, you may be a master liar, but Ino isn't." I turned to see the poor girl turning beat red and burying her head in her arms. I raised my eyesbrows, "We'll have to work on that then."

 Reiko sat down across from Ino and said, "Really? Why?" I rolled my eyes and turned away again, "Well, if Ino's going to be a shinobi, she needs to lie with a straight face. Her life may depend on lying one day." Ino spoke, "You would really teach me?" I smiled at her, "Why not? I taught Reiko, and he was worse then you when I first met him. Now look at him." To prove my point Reiko said calmly, his face straight, "I'm a purple panda that juggles tiny cats made out of leaves." Ino laughed. Reiko continued, "Anyway, everyone is asking when we eat, we are really hungry." I spun around, "It's done, when it's done! Either you be patient and eat or all of you can go home starving."

 Reiko held his hands up in surrender and began backing away for the door, "Hey, I'm just the messager..." I threw the closest thing on hand at him, a bottle of cooking oil, "Message this!" I yelled playfully. Reiko darted out of the room and the bottle continued its journey until it crashing into the front door. Ino had fallen out of her seat from laughing so much. "It is always so dramatic around here?" She asked when she caught her breath. I shrugged and turned back to the pot of ramen, "Of course, Reiko lives for drama and I happen to be living a life full of it. My eyes darted towards the empty doorway and I whispered, "Food's done, you might want to hurry and grab something before all of them come stampeding in." Ino giggled and served herself and before going to tell everyone else that the food was ready.

 ***

 Reiko tugged on my arm, "Come on Tora, we have to go!" I sighed as I followed him. Honestly I didn't see the whole point in a festival, but maybe that was because I wasn't exactly welcomed at one before. But apparently Reiko thought I was getting too used to our soft life, and had signed me on as a professional performer.

 It had been two months since the day at the lake, during that time I had made another bet with Shisui to see whether or not I could upset Itachi. Unfortunately I won; but at least I got two favors out of Shisui as a reward. After I had cooked for the whole genin group, I found that at least two genin were always eating with Reiko and me. Ino or Naruto seemed to be at our house more than everyone else, with Choji right behind them.

 "I still can't believe you're making me wear this." I grumbled. Reiko smirked at my outrageous costume that he assured me was the uniform of all performers. I glared at my younger brother then down at the orange and red spandex and red ribbons flowing from my waist that were supposed to symbolize fire. I was just glad that Reiko chose the Fire Festival and not the Sakura Festival for me to perform in. Of course, he probably knew I would have killed him then. My brother nudged me, "Oh, cheer up. It's not like this is a life profession for you, you work in the hospital full time now; there is no way you could ever go back, even if you wanted to." It was true, Lady Tsunade had decided that I was responsible enough to take on a more permanent job; I was a medic in all but name.

 "Hey!" Someone called from the crowd pushing at us. On instinct both of us tensed, ready to run. Living on the streets for so long taught us to treat everything with caution first. A woman in her early thirties wearing a similar costume as mine, only black and white, trotted up to us, her face was covered in face paint. White paint surrounded her eyes narrowing into a thin line that cut across her temples and disappeared into her silver hairline, the rest of her face was painted black. Reiko relaxed when he saw her, "Seiji, this is Tora, my sister."

 The woman looked me up and down then nodded, "So your brother tells me you're a very good acrobat." I shrugged, "I've been doing it since I was five. That's ten years, so I guess I'm good." The woman seemed unimpressed, "No wonder you’re so short." I gritted my teeth at the jab, but didn't say anything. The woman continued, "Oh well, our original acrobat fell and broke his arm while practicing, so I guess you'll have to do. Follow me." She grabbed my arm and started dragging me away. When Reiko tried to follow she stopped him, saying only performers were allowed backstage.

 Seiji faced me when we were backstage among dancers, some practicing with real fire and others with ribbons, players for a skit, and snake charmers. She circled me, "Well your costume fits well at least. Now about that face." I glared at her this time, "What about it? Want me to peal it off so I don't scare the crowd?" I growled. Seiji blinked in surprise then shook her silver head, "No, paint. No one can perform without face paint. In fact, I'm glad for the scars, it will be easier to paint tiger stripes on you." Now it was my turn to be surprised, never had anyone said they were glad for my scars, no one except me at times. The woman motioned to a boy carrying a tray of multiple colors forward. Dipping her first two fingers in the red paint she turned to me, "Close your eyes." She commanded.

 ***

 My fingers itched to touch my face as I waited for my turn to perform; the paint felt awkward and heavy, but Seiji assured me that I would get used to it. Three hours had passed since she painted my face in orange stripes and a red base. The skin around my eyes was coated with a very dark red to bring out my orange eyes. My black hair had been tied back in a high ponytail, the red ribbon used to tie it off hung almost to my waist.

 The fire dancer on the stage flung his torches up high then caught them in one swift motion and bowed. The crowd loitering about the stage clapped and he bounded off the stage, looking very pleased with himself. Seiji stepped back up, "The next performer is one of you own, Konoha. Please welcome the Tiger Demon, Tora!" I glared at her for a second, that name wasn't a nickname, it was a curse. There was no standing ovation, and I wasn't expecting one, but clearly Seiji, not being from Konoha in the first place, was.

 I walked out to a mute crowd, though there were a few quiet chuckles at the sight of my stupid costume. Seiji looked panicked at the silence, I gave her a reassuring smile and faced the gathering, noticing the all my friends had taken the front. I took a deep breath then started my routine off with a handstand. Bending my legs I placed my feet firmly in the small of my back. The crowd responded by hissing in pain at my twisted position. Slowly I lowered my feet until my hair was touching the backs of my knees. Now was the hard part. Getting up without falling. Raising my right hand out for balance, I shifted my left foot back until my calf was touching the back of my head. Very slowly I brought my left hand out from under me so that it rested in front of me.

 I stayed there for a moment, catching my breath, then quickly straightened. Unfortunately, I over calculated and went too far forward, but luckily my right hand stopped me from doing a face plant. Without missing a beat I brought my legs out from under me so I pulled a back flip, making my error look like it was part of the act. The crowd cheered, now over their dislike towards me for a good show. I did a few back flips and front flips to ease my muscles. Reiko was right, I was out of practice. During our times on the street I would have never almost fallen. I landed another handstand and pushed off the ground into the air. I flipped in mid air and landed on one foot.

 My weight was not distributed correctly and I fell forward once again; I managed to catch myself and executed a cartwheel to cover up my mistake. Bouncing on the balls of my feet I shouted, "For my next move, I need all of you to stay still please." Amazingly the crowd followed my orders and I ran forward, jumping into the crowd. I happened to land on Itachi's shoulders; his girlfriend, who was standing beside him, didn't look very pleased. Walking on my hands across the crowds shoulders' I traveled in an arc and flipped back on the stage. The crowd roared at my feat. Seiji, standing off to the side, smiled brightly at me.

 I continued my routine, bending my back into impossible positions and coming out of them with no more errors. I fell back into my zone that I had not entered in almost half a year. The crowd's cheering was a dull hum in my ears, I was no longer performing for the people, I was doing it for myself. As my finale I climbed the wall that the stage was shoved up against and flipped off it, turning three times, and landed in a sideways split. The crowd winced but still cheered as I bowed from my position. I rose on a twirling handstand and back flipped off stage.

 Seiji was waiting for me, her bright smile still glued in place, "I must say, that was a wonderful sight. Not even our official acrobat can twist his body like that." I shrugged, unused to praise, "I started learning when I was very young, my body is probably just used to it." Seiji nodded, but she was already distracted again, "Well change out of that costume then go enjoy yourself, but please return for tomorrow, I'd like to use your act the remainder of the time of the Fire Festival. I'll pay you triple your amount for every day, alright?" I nodded eagerly and the silver haired woman disappeared to announce the next performer.

 I was in the process of wiping of the face paint when my brother and Shisui managed to sneak backstage. Reiko pounced on me, "That was awesome, Tora! I do believe it was your best performance yet!" I rolled my eyes and ran the soft cloth under my eyes to rid myself of the maroon paint. Shisui laughed, "No leave it on! I like your paint." I glared at him and deliberately pulled the cloth across my face, leaving a clean strip down my face. He just laughed. We teased each other for a little bit more as I finished cleaning my face and then shooed them out to wait with the rest of our friends so I could change back into my bland black long sleeve undershirt, grey sleeveless vest and black pants.

 Outside I slung my arm over Reiko's shoulders and commented, "Seiji would like for me to perform as long as the Fire Festival is in, she'll pay triple what she's paying now." Reiko grinned, "I feel rich! I remember a time when getting a hot meal for the both of us was a big deal!" Our little group looked surprised. Ino spoke, "Really? It was that bad?" I shot Reiko a dirty look, who was chuckling sheepishly, and told her, "He's exaggerating. We had a meal every day, but most of the time it was cold." Choji gave us a pitying look, "Only one meal?" I shrugged, "It's no big deal. The past is the past."

 Yakkaina decided then that Itachi had been mingling with us too long. She tugged on his arm, "Come on Itachi-kun! I want to go buy something!" Itachi left without even a nod towards us. Shisui and I exchanged amused looks while the genin just looked very uncomfortable. We walked down the people clogged street, laughing at jokes and stories. When we reached the food strip Choji and Naruto disappeared. Ino dragged the genin girls away, chattering about boys and clothes. Reiko slipped away soon after that, leaving Shisui and me alone.

 The Uchiha looked amused, "What, are we horrible company or something?" I elbowed him in the ribs, "No, they're just intimidated by the two of us." He laughed and ruffled my hair. We walked a little longer, pointing out different things that caught our attention. Like the Fire Eater that stood at a street corner, swallowing flames for entertainment. Or the stand sold ANBU styled play masks in red, gold, orange, and yellow colors to celebrate the Fire Festival. Beside it was a man offering to heal any scar, no matter how old. As Shisui and I walked past him he called out, "Young woman! I can rid you of those scars, for a small amount!" Shisui frowned, not believing him for a second. I turned the man down on his offer and walked away.

 "Hey look!" Shisui suddenly said, pointing ahead of him. I followed his gaze and saw a young woman sitting at a table, three canines laying by her chair. I knew she was Inuzuka from the red claw like marks on her cheeks. From the way Shisui had brightened at the sight of her, I knew instantly that she had to be Inuzuka Hana. I grinned mischievously and  nudged Shisui, "Why don't you go talk to her?" He got cold feet quickly, "Well, she looks pretty busy..."

 I looked back to the woman, she actually looked very bored. Her hand cradled her cheek as she looked mulishly into the distance. Her dinner partner was talking non-stop, it was clear that he was the source of boredom. Before I could doubt myself, I walked over to her, ignoring Shisui's hiss, and tapped her on the shoulder. Hana turned to me and the man sitting with her glared at me for interrupting his tirade, "I'm sorry, but are you Inuzuka Hana, right?" The woman raised an eyebrow and nodded quietly. Her dogs sniffed me cautiously, but didn't attack. I sat down, much to the man's displeasure, "I'm Tora, and a friend of Uchiha Shisui. Do you know him?"

 Hana smiled, "Everyone knows Shisui, he's one of the few Uchihas that actually knows how to laugh!" I pretended to act surprised, "You mean there's more?" The woman laughed pleasantly and the man looked positively enraged. I continued like we were old friends, "Anyway, Shisui saw that you were bored out of your mind, and asked me to see if you wanted to come watch the fireworks with us." The man cut in at that point, "Look, kid. Hana's my date! So bug off." I smirked at him, "You’re welcome to join us." I said sweetly. Hana chuckled at the man's incredulous face, and said in a low smooth voice, "I'm delighted, but Shunzou is right. It would be rude to leave him." Shunzou looked satisfied and sent me a smug look. I twirled a lock of hair, "I said he could come too...” Hana laughed again, "I'm sorry, Tora, I can't; maybe some other time. Thank you for asking though." I smiled and bounded back to Shisui, who looked like he was about to explode.

 I laughed at him, "Oh cheer up, she actually seemed interested, not disgusted. That's a good sign!" He glared at me and muttered, "The day a fifteen year old girl plays matchmaker for me..." I smirked, "I'm sixteen. I have been for two months now." Shisui gave me a look that told me he wasn't amused at all. I looped my arm thought his, "Oh, you should be happy! She thought the gesture was nice." When he didn't answer I pointed a random to a stand to rid the air of the awkwardness surrounding us. Luckily the stand was something I actually found interest in, "Look, puppets!" Shisui gave me a funny look as I scanned the collection of wooden puppets. The kind old woman pointed out the attributes of each puppet that I seemed to inspect too closely. Finally, after much debate, I chose a simple white tiger puppet and paid the woman. I turned to show my treasure to my friend when I made a shocking discovery.

 I had lost Shisui.

 ***

 I tried to see through the crowd, thinking that he had just wondered away, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I asked if the puppeteer saw where he went, but she just shook her head and turned back to her next paying customer, a five year old boy that seemed really interest in a wooden dragon doll. I guess he was trying to get back at me for teasing him about Hana.

 I wandered around a little, trying to see if I could run into him, but he was nowhere to be found. I was starting to get worried. The crowd gave me a wide berth, most of them glaring at me while others refused to even come near me. I had forgotten how the villagers of Konoha treated me. I sighed and looked down at my feet as I walked so they wouldn't see so much of my face. One of the braver children running through the streets threw a rock at me. I managed to dodge it, due to my training as an acrobat and Lady Tsunade's student. I should have never thought that being friends with shinobi would make the villagers like me. I was still the Tiger Demon to them.

 A voice caught my attention, "Why do you hang around with your cousin, Itachi-kun? I swear, you find him more entertaining than me!" Yakkaina whined. I peered through the crowd to see Itachi sitting with his girlfriend on a public bench, far enough away from her so that he didn't touch her. I bit my lip, I didn't want to disturb him, but I had no choice. I had to find Shisui. "Excuse me, Itachi-san?" Yakkaina glanced at me then snorted, "Look, fan-slut, I'm his girlfriend, so just back off." I pointedly ignored her as I waited for Itachi to turn around. He raised a quizzical eyebrow and didn't say anything. I felt foolish.

 "I can't find Shisui, he didn't tell me where he was going and--" Yakkaina laughed cruelly, "That's because he was probably ditching you!" Itachi glared at her and stood silently, "I'll help you look for him." He said quietly. Yakkaina didn't like that idea, "But Itachi-kun! You were going to show me the fireworks!" Itachi didn't answer her as he joined me. I felt happy at my small victory.

 It was awkward walking with Itachi alone. We were friends, but we never spent time together, Shisui was always there. We walked silently through the obnoxious crowd, searching for Itachi's lost cousin. Yakkaina followed for a few minutes, throwing insults at me and begging Itachi to come with her, but we both ignored her. Finally, with one scene that would have put drama actors to shame, she left us alone. I couldn't help but ask after she left, "Why do you date her?" Itachi raised an eyebrow and I blushed, feeling sheepish for invading his privacy. That wasn't like me.

 "I just do." He surprised me by saying, usually when I asked Itachi anything he would just shrug or respond with his famous 'hn'. "But why? She is so pushy; she acts like she owns you!" Itachi gave me a half-amused, half-annoyed look, "I date her because of an obligation." I sighed and stuffed my hands in my pockets. Several more minutes passed in silence before I began to speak again, "Do you know where he would be?" Itachi shook his head and continued to push through the crowd; luckily being the Uchiha prodigy and heir they readily made room for us. "I guess he was trying to pull a prank on me, since I teased him about Hana. I actually spoke to her, asking if she would like to see the fireworks with us, she said she would think about it."

 I was babbling but I couldn't help it. Itachi finally stopped and sighed, a hand pressed to his forehead in irritation, "Tora, could we just focus on finding Shisui? I'm sure it wasn't a prank, he probably just got distracted." I blushed and looked down at my feet, determined not to open my mouth again. Unfortunately tonight was not my lucky night. I opened my mouth and heard Itachi groan, defeated, "Why won't you tell me about my parents?" I whispered. Itachi stopped and looked at me, his dark eyes held a glimmer of surprise.

 He was silent for a while, trying to think of the right way to word his answer. Itachi looked around at our surrounding then motioned me to follow him. Confused I did, wondering what he was up to. Strangely he took me to a small secluded restaurant and sat me down across from him. Waving away the doe eyes waitress he turned to me, "I suppose it is your right to know." I straightened; he was really going to tell me? Itachi hesitated, seeing the look of hope on my face. He frowned slightly, "Your parents... they were... unstable." I would have found Itachi's loss of words amusing if it wasn't over such a serious subject. I leaned forward, silently willing him to tell me more.

 "Your father and mother were teammates with my father when they were genin that much is true. But my father lied when he said you mother was a kind woman. She found joy in hurting people." I cringed at that, Itachi gave me a look that said I warned you and continued, "Fugaku says that Karasu was timid at first, but he fell in love with Hikaru. She belittled him and tried to belittle my father, but failed. Hikaru was known to be manipulative and blood thirsty, her sensei was often concerned that she would turn evil." I had to ask, "And d-did she?" I managed to choke out. He ignored my question, not a good sign, "She had an affair with Karasu shortly after they became Jounin and she ended up pregnant with you.

 "Neither of your parents wanted a child. When Mikoto heard a rumor that they planned to kill you once you were born, she told Fugaku and he threatened to bring them up with charges of murder if they did." I stared at him, my fingernails digging in into the wooden table, my parents wanted to kill me?! Is that why Karasu scarred me, because he was unable to kill me? Itachi was watching me calmly, but I could see pity deep in his eyes. After you were born, Hikaru left your father and became a rogue nin." My mouth dropped open, that couldn't be true! My mother couldn't be alive. Itachi watched my cautiously, waiting for me to react. When I didn't do anything drastic he stood and pulled me to my feet, "Let's find Shisui." He said and left, with me stumbling behind him.

 My mother was alive, I wasn't an orphan. She had truly abandoned me, leaving me to my distraught crazy father. Worse, she was an enemy of Konoha, someone who would harm me. Someone who had planned to kill me in the past. I was still in a daze when Itachi finally found his cousin arguing with the puppet seller where I had lost him in the first place. Shisui saw me depressed state and asked Itachi, "What's wrong with her?" I mutely stared at the ground, still horrified by my family. Itachi spoke quietly, informing his cousin of all that had happened while he was away.

 Shisui made a pitying noise and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "It's alright Kitty! Don't fret; I'll make it all better!" Itachi rolled his eyes and muttered, "You make it sound like she's five and scraped her knee." I smiled a little at the comment and at Shisui's offended expression. My friend turned back to me, "What Itachi said is just the worse of it tied up in a pretty bow, Karasu was actually a good man before your mother corrupted him." I gave him a strange look, "Did you know him?" I asked. Shisui nodded, "I was thirteen when he died, and Itachi was seven. We saw him frequently after you were born, and each time he seemed more..." Itachi finished for him, "Unstable." Shisui nodded then added, "But in the beginning before even Itachi was born he was really nice, he always had something to laugh about."

 I frowned at that, "Yeah, I bet he really laughed at my face." I growled, crossing my arms. Shisui shoved me lightly, "Oh stop that. If you start that sulking mood again I swear I'll... I'll... dump you head first in a barrel of tar then throw feathers all over you!" I snapped out of my anger quickly and inched away from Shisui, who was too busy laughing at his own joke to notice. Itachi came up behind him and threw a bucket of water over his cousin's head before grabbing me and taking off. I laughed as we ran through the streets, Shisui's angry shouts following us, amazed that the stoic Itachi knew how to pull a prank.

 ***

 Almost five months had passed since the Fire Festival before anything happened. I was folding unused bed sheets with Seisuikina and Muryou, two of my fellow nurses who were close to my age. Over the months since I had started working at the hospital, Seisuikina and Muryou befriended me; but even after eleven months they still acted awkward around me when something happened to remind them of my scars, but at least I had friends who were actually girls. It felt good to act like a girl sometimes and giggle over the most absurd things.

 Seisuikina, fourteen and Uchiha crazy, pushed her deep blue hair away from her bright blue eyes and teased me, "Oh come on Tora, you're around those hot Uchiha men all day, don't you have something to share?" I grinned and shook my head in a way that made her believe I did, when in fact I didn't. I might be friends with Shisui and Itachi, but I wasn't that close. Muryou just smiled as she watched from her corner, amused by us. She was a bookish sixteen year old and looked the part too. Her mousy brown hair was always tied back and her intelligent grey eyes hit behind square glasses. During our lunch period, when I ate with the girls, she always had a book in her hand and rarely joined our conversations.

 Suddenly one of the senior nurses popped her head in, "All experienced nurses and medics are needed in Block number 12, now!" Muryou and I immediately dropped the sheets we were folding and ran towards the emergency wing. Muryou was a Chunnin medic and I was at her level of experience due to my services during the Konoha attack. Seisuikina had started her training a few months ago, her experience or skill wasn't high enough to deal with emergencies yet. I could hear her complaining very loudly how it wasn't fair as I rushed away.

 I skidded to a halt in front of Lady Tsunade who was speaking softly with an unfamiliar man, Muryou slid into me, causing me to stumble forward, nearly bumping the man. Tsunade gave us a brief glance then stated, "Muryou to room seven, Tora stay with me." Muryou mouthed 'good luck' and I nodded in return before standing a little behind Lady Tsunade. The man finished the conversation then left, leaning on a wooden walking stick heavily as he headed for emergency room four.

 Lady Tsunade turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder, "Tora, I don't want you to panic." Automatically I start thinking the worst. The blonde medic gripped my shoulder hard, "Reiko is in critical condition, along with over half of the genin boys." My eyes widened and I felt my heart falter for a second. The woman guided me over to a bench put in the halls and sat me down, "Sasuke has been kidnapped by Orochimaru. Shikamaru, Naruto, Reiko, Kiba, Choji, and Neji were sent after him. All have returned in critical condition, but Sasuke wasn't recovered. Itachi and his team are currently in pursuit, if they are unable to retrieve him then no one can."

 I stared at my hands, "Why are you telling me this?" I whispered. She patted my shoulder softly and said, "You're Reiko's only family, it's mandatory that all family members must be informed. There is another reason why I drew you aside. I'm putting the whole recovery unit under your care." I stared at her, stunned at the sudden responsibility. She smiled, "You handle yourself well in emergencies, and you have a gift for understanding the patients. I think it's time for your promotion."

 "But... I'm not even an official medic." Lady Tsunade shrugged, "Once you take the Chunnin medical exam you will be. You don't have to accept it, but I can't think of anyone better." I frowned, "Where's Shizune going?" Shizune was currently in charge of the recovery unit. Tsunade smiled again, "She's going to become the head medic, since I'm retiring and focusing on my duties as the Hokage." When I continued to hesitate Tsunade sighed and said, "Look Tora, I know what you're thinking. But you've been here for almost a year, people who matter trust you. I've seen the way you are around patients; you understand them and have the ability to make them comfortable. You are the perfect person to be in charge of the recovery wing."

 I was still reluctant to accept. She grabbed my arm in such a grip that I was sure it would leave bruises. "Look Tora, Tenshi is almost a year old, in two weeks she'll be going home with you if no one adopts her. Do you honestly think that a nurse's and genin wage is enough to support three people on?" I shook my head, I remember when it was just me living off what I made as a street acrobat. It was enough for me then, but when Reiko came into the picture is was frightfully meager.

 Lady Tsunade nodded firmly, "Right, as the head of the recovery unit you have enough to support three people, plus a little extra to spoil your daughter." She smiled when she said the last part, and I couldn't help but smile too. She knew me too well, I would spoil Tenshi every chance I got, no doubt about it; not only that, I was sure anyone who was around Tenshi often would also spoil her too. After a moment I finally consented. Lady Tsunade grinned and opened her mouth, but I held up a finger, "On one condition." I said before she could do anything. The blonde woman didn't seem to like that, but she nodded anyway. "I'm allowed to take Tenshi home now, since we both know no one is going to adopt her." Tsunade didn't seem to mind granting my wish.

 She stood, "Come to the nursery after you're done for the day." She turned to the closed doors nearest to us and paused. Looking over her shoulder she said, "I believe Naruto is awake. Would you visit him please? He's in room eight." I nodded and stood as well before turning and leaving.

 The red light of room eight was blinking slowly, showing anyone who knew what it meant that the patient was taken care of. A steady light would mean the patient needed attention and if the light was turned off that meant the room was unoccupied. I slid open the door and frozen when I saw Naruto's visitors. My eyes automatically narrowed at the sight of Akarui standing by her brother, their mother sitting in the only chair, her son's hand pressed to her lips. All three Uzumaki (A.N. I know Minato was actually alive, but he took Kushina's name in this story so I don't have to bother with anything) looked at me startled.

 I schooled my face to be emotionless, something I picked up from being around Itachi too much, and bowed, "Forgive me, I didn't realize Naruto had company, I'll leave." Kushina spoke before I could turn away, "No it's alright." Akarui asked at the same time, "Don't you have some place to be?" I had thought she had acted the way she did when her father died because of her grief; but I was wrong. She reminded me of a younger version of Yakkaina, and that made me immediately dislike her. I opened my mouth to tell her off, but Kushina beat me to it, "Akarui! Apologize!" She said in a stern motherly tone.

 The girl actually snapped back at her mother, "Why? I already apologized once to her, when I didn't do anything." Naruto narrowed his blue eyes at his sister, "Akarui, you accused her of something she didn't do. That's something." The little red haired brat burst into tears, I was mildly impressed, I would never be able to do that, even if I wanted to. "Why are you all mean to me?! You don't know if she did anything or not!" Kushina turned red with anger and stood without ceremony and dragged her crying daughter out of the room, leaving me and Naruto alone.

 He spoke first, "How's Reiko?" I shrugged, still standing at the door, too uncomfortable by all the drama to sit down, "Tsunade says critical. As far as I know, you're the only one who is awake." Naruto nodded, "That's because I only fought a few clones, not an actual person." He looked down at his bandaged hands sadly and whispered, "I was ten feet from Sasuke when I blacked out. I could have held on long enough to save him..." He trailed off. I sat down and said, "Lady Tsunade said that Itachi-san and his team are deployed, they should bring him back." Naruto gave me a look, "You don't understand, Tora. I failed my friend and team mate. And..." He glanced at me then back down at his hands. I could barely hear what he said next, "...and I left Reiko defenseless to do so."

 My eyes widened, Reiko's best friend had left him helpless, probably injured, to save a boy who probably wouldn't thank him anyway. I closed my eyes to try and stem my anger, but it boiled anyway. I bit my lip to keep from yelling at the genin, but my anger shown through my eyes, making Naruto flinch. I stood silently and walked away without a word, carefully shutting to door behind me. Kushina looked up from her lecture in the hallway and watched me walk quietly away. I could feel her questioning gaze drilling into my back, but I ignored it. I couldn't believe it, the boy that Reiko had befriended even when no one else would had betrayed my brother, and probably killed him.

 I needed someone to talk to. But Shisui was part of Itachi's team, Reiko was still in surgery and I didn't know Muryou or Seisuikina enough to talk to them. I ended up in the nursery. Tenshi had just turn 11 months and had been moved to a smaller room off to the side of the main nursery. Jiro's former nurse, who I had learned her name was Kokoro was already there, watching Tenshi walk around the room, clinging to things. She could walk by herself for brief moments, but always fell down sooner or later.

 As I slid open the door Tenshi stilled and turned, waiting for me to identify myself. "Hey Tenshi." I whispered quietly and a grin split her small face. She had already recognized me as someone she could trust. She turned on unsteady feet and, gripping the table she was using to stand upright, she began toddling towards me. I smiled and took a step closer to her, but stopped a foot from the table. Kokoro watched with a tender smile on her face as Tenshi reached the end of the table and let go to walk alone for the last foot. She fell into my arms and I chuckled picking her up in a wide arc, she shrieked with laughter as I spun her around.

 When I hugged her, Tenshi's small arms automatically reached for my face. That was how she identified me. Confirming who I was, my daughter pressed her face into my shoulder and murmured, "Mmmmm." Tenshi would speak yet, but I had a feeling that meant 'mama'. Kokoro stood; I could almost hear her old bones creaking from across the room. Patting absently at her grey bun, she said, "I guess I'll leave now that you're here, dearie." She called anyone younger than thirty ‘dearie’; it was funny to watch some people get frustrated, like Shisui.

 I smiled at her as Tenshi pulled at my hair, something I had gotten used to, "Thank you Kokoro-chan." The older woman smiled and headed for the door when I remembered something, "Oh, Kokoro..." She paused and turned back to me. I bit my lip, not sure how to ask, "Lady Tsunade is letting me take Tenshi home early, and I was wondering..." As always Kokoro read my thoughts, she smiled, causing her many crinkles to bunch around her eyes, "I would be happy to assist you in any way." I nodded, "Thank you, Kokoro, as you probably heard, Reiko is in critical condition and I was hoping that you would help me transit Tenshi. You're around her as much as I am, so--" The elderly nurse cut me off before I could start babbling, "I'll be happy to help, dearie." She said then left without another word. I sighed and held Tenshi tighter

 Tenshi pulled back, her cloudy blue eyes staring in my general direction. I kissed the top of her head, "It's alright, sweetie. I'm just tired." I knew she didn't understand half of what I was saying, if that, but I knew she would listen no matter what I said. I sat down in the chair that Kokoro had left and settled Tenshi in my lap, "Guess what? You're going to be coming home with me. Won't that be fun?" I told her. Tenshi snuggled against me, rubbing her cheek against my chest. I smoothed her hair back and hummed a tune.

 After a while, I sighed, "Oh Tenshi, I'm so confused. First I find out my brother is in the emergency room, then that Lady Tsunade wants me to run the recovery unit. And on top of all that, I learn that Naruto is the reason why Reiko is in the hospital in the first place. I understand that he had to chose between Reiko, someone who could still defend himself, and Sasuke, who I hear was unconscious at the time; but it's just... wrong. Then I begin to think what would happen if I had been in Naruto's place, would I protect my brother or go after Sasuke?" Tenshi just made little baby noises, she didn't have a care in the world. She sat up in my lap and turned so that she faced me, I stilled, waiting to see what she would do. Pawing around my shoulder, Tenshi located a strand of my raven hair and brushed it across my lips, making me laugh at the ticklish feeling. I hugged Tenshi close to me and she squirmed into a better position. It was nice to have a daughter, even if she was blind and couldn't understand why I was upset.

 ***

 It was two days before the next boy woke, and he was Shikamaru. Since I hadn't forgiven Naruto yet, though Lady Tsunade didn't understand why since neither of us would tell her, she put me in charge of making sure the Master of Boredom, Reiko's nickname for his team mate, was comfortable. Most of the time we both ended up reading quietly, or sometimes he would force me to play Shogi and beat me swiftly. I felt very dumb around him at times, but we both had a common topic to talk about, my brother.

 "I've never seen anyone so flexible, it's bothersome." Shikamaru said once. I shrugged and set down my glass of water, "He's been practicing acrobatics since he was six, of course he's flexible." Shikamaru shook his head, his spiky ponytail swinging with the motion, "It's inhuman." I rolled my eyes and didn't respond. There was no arguing with him, it was like trying to win an argument with a brick wall. “Well I guess that means he really is my brother by blood. I am after all the Tiger Demon.” I snapped at the boy, who had the decency to look abash.

 Sometimes Asuma was there, so I was given the time off to learn from Shizune how things were done in the recovery unit. I memorized every name of the nurses and medics that would be under me and tried to win them over, but very few actually seemed tolerant of the change. The patients however, seemed pleased that I would be over the unit. I was confused until Umi, one of the patients I considered as my friend, explained, "It's because you seem to actually care about our health. You don't ask 'how are you feeling' because it's your job, you ask because you actually want to know." When I tried to say that the other medics also cared she snapped, "Just take the compliment and shut up!" I did.

 ***

 It was a week before the next genin woke, Inuzuka Kiba. Because his sister, Hana, was with Itachi's team still hunting for Sasuke, and that his mother was too busy with clan issues to get away, I was put to comforting him as well as Shikamaru when no one else was there to do so. Shino and Hinata, Kiba's team mates and his sensei often visited him, but not as often as they should. Most of the time I was in his room I spent learned everything there was to know about his sister. He seemed very eager to share when I told him my reason for asking.

 It took forever for the next genin to wake, who was Rock Lee. Lady Tsunade explained to me that the reason it was only the three so far was because they were saved by the Sand Siblings in the middle of their fight with a group that took orders from Orochimaru. At first I had all three boys on my schedule, but then Lee started moaning about my loss of youth because of my scars and I had him taken off my roster. Both he and his sensei, Gai, were too enthusiastic for my tastes, more so than Naruto.

 It was another three days before Neji woke and after that Choji, but Reiko still wouldn't wake up. Worried I found myself pacing, upsetting whoever's room I was in until they finally shouted for me to leave. Tsunade said that Reiko had taken a blow to the head that had sent him into a coma. There was no telling when he would wake up, if ever. I only slept maybe a few hours each night, and picked at my food. Lady Tsunade threatened to put me in a hospital room myself if I kept it up.

 ***

 "Tora?" A voice called out to me in my sleep fogged mind. I groaned and buried my head deeped into my arms; didn't people understand that I had gotten maybe three hours of sleep in a week total? The voice called again, slightly more panicked, "Tora?" My eyes opened and I remembered where I was. I had fallen asleep in Reiko's room. That meant... I jerked my head up and stared straight into Reiko's worried eyes. I lunged for him and wrapped my arms around his bandaged torso, he yelped in surprise. "You're awake." I whispered, hardly believing my own words.

 I pulled away to see Reiko's frown, "What am I doing here? How did I get here? What happened?" He asked, his questions tumbling into each other. Now it was my turn to frown. Pushing his messy red hair from his eyes I said, "Reiko, what was the last thing you remember?" His face twisted, trying to remember what happened. "I remember we went after Sasuke..." He said. My heart skipped a beat, Lady Tsunade said Reiko would lose some of his memory, but she had no idea how much. It was possible that he would lose everything since he became a genin, or possibly just a few hours.

 I tried to smile, "You almost found him, but someone hit your head and you blacked out. You've been here for almost two weeks, Reiko." His grey eyes widened as the news sank in. He stared at his hands for a long while, not saying anything. "Reiko?" I probed and reached out to touch his arm. He jerked away from me, "I'd like to be alone for a little while, Tora." He said it quietly and without emotion, but it felt as if he had stabbed me with a kunai. I nodded and left the room. Outside I leaned against his closed door, trying to force down the lump in my throat. In the seven years I had known Reiko, he had never treated me like everyone else did. It was one of the reasons why I became friends with him in the first place.

 Holding my forehead I groaned; with my lack of sleep and the stress, this new problem was turning out to be the beginning of a severe headache. Pushing my hair out of my face I headed downstairs towards the nursery before I remembered that Tenshi was settling in at the house. With Reiko being closed off and Itachi's team still hunting for what I considered a lost cause now, I had no one to talk to. Sighing I went on the rounds that I hadn't been on since the fire festival. I had been too busy learning playing a more responsible role. Lady Tsunade said that I was welcome to go on my old rounds anytime I had free time. I went to Taka's room first, the old fusspots was there only because she unbelievably rich and thought every little twitch in her body was some deadly disease.

 "Girl! I want sake, and I want it now!" Taka screamed as I opened the door to a very unusual sight. Because I had been too busy to do my rounds, some of the younger nurses took over, as part of their training. Seisuikina was standing in the middle of the room, staring wide-eyed at the formable elderly woman. I saved her by bowing to Taka, she wasn't happy if you didn't, and murmured, "Forgive Seisuikina, Taka-sama. She is new and doesn't yet know how things are around here." My friend sent me a grateful look and tried to slip away, but I grabbed her collar as she passed, "If you're going to learn to be a medic, you have to learn your patients." I stated something Lady Tsunade always said. The fourteen year old gulped.

 I didn't know how long it was before I left Taka's room, but by the time I did Seisuikina and Taka understood each other better. I turned to my left and began walking further down the hall, trying to kill time before I could leave. "Tora!" Someone called behind me and I turned to see Ino running towards me, her blond hair flying out behind her like a banner. She skidded to a halt a few feet in front of me, panting, "Did you hear?" I could only guess that she meant Reiko. I nodded glumly, still upset that he had pushed me away. Ino looked confused, "You don't seem very happy." She stated. I gave her a look, how did she expect me to act? Skipping around and singing now because my brother was awake and ignoring me?

 "Why should I be?" I asked. Now Ino looked genuinely angry, "Itachi-san found Sasuke and you're not happy?!" I stared in surprise then I began to laugh. Ino lost her anger in favor for confusion again. I wouldn't blame her; I was acting like a lunatic. I slapped my hands over my mouth, but the giggles still managed to sink through my fingers. People sent us strange looks; some glared and pressed a finger to their lips, trying to shut me up. Ino looked concerned for my health now, I waved my hand at her as I caught my breath, "I'm sorry... it's just I didn't hear that. I thought you were talking about something else." Ino tilted her head, "Like what?" I shook my head; I didn't want to spoil my good mood now by telling her about Reiko's sulking attitude. "Nothing. I'm just moody, pay no mind to me." Ino frowned but let the subject drop.

 It was silent for a while as we stood there awkwardly before I asked, "So, how bad is Sasuke's condition?" Ino gave me an exasperated look, "You're the new head of recovery, you go ask." I smiled sheepishly, with all the stress I had been dealing with lately I had forgotten that I had passed my chunnin medical exams and had taken over the recovery unit. I turned to leave and called over my shoulder, "By the way, Reiko's awake. Why don't you go entertain him?" If he wanted to be entertained, that was.

 ***

 Days passed in a haze. I hardly received any sleep, with the hectic state the hospital was in and Tenshi crying at odd hours of the night, I was lucky to get three hours of sleep. I sometimes felt as if the night of the Chunnin Attack had made reappearance.

 It was my lunch break, but I was too tired to move from the bench where I had sat down outside the emergency wing. Since Reiko was my brother, Shizune had added taking care of him as well as the rest of my unit. He still hardly talked to me, but I knew he talked to Ino regularly, about 'shinobi matters' he told me. That irked me in the beginning, I had known him for years and he turned to a girl his age for comfort, now I was too tired to care. He treated me like he would any nurse, aloof and nonchalant.

 Forgoing my break I decided to visit Shisui, who had been wounded during his mission. I wasn't surprised to see Itachi there; since Sasuke was still unconscious and unlikely to wake at the moment, I found the dark haired Uchiha heir in his cousin's room often. Shisui gave me a pained grin when I walked in and I felt ashamed that I was being moody when he was injured. I forced a smile, but he knew me too well. He frowned, "What's the matter?" He asked, a little slurred. Itachi looked at me, his face blank, but I somehow knew he was wondering the same thing. I shrugged, "I'm just tired." To prove my point, I yawned long enough that tears formed at my eyes. I blinked to clear them away.

 Shisui still didn't look convinced, but he knew that I wouldn't tell him what was really bothering me. He moved on to a safer subject, a wide grin gracing his features, "So, Lady Tsunade thinks that I'm either very foolish or very reckless. What do you two think?" Both Itachi and I answered at the same time, "Both." Shisui laughed loudly and I frowned. He normally wasn't so... obnoxious. Could it be that I was just testy, or was it something else? I checked his diagnosis chart and nearly laughed. Shisui was high on pain killer. I discreetly showed Itachi and he smirked a little. I had a feeling that he was going to get revenge on everything his older cousin had ever done.

 Since it was against the rules for visitors to deliberately make the patients feel uncomfortable, and we medics were supposed to stop it before things go ugly, I slipped out the door, telling Itachi I as going to find Shizune to lower the dosage of painkiller. I also warned him with a very stern face that it might take me at least an hour to find her. He nodded; he understood what I was trying to tell him. I walked down the hall, feeling better than I had ever since Reiko had woken up.

 ***

 I was leaving for the day when I ran into Shizune. She smiled brightly at me, "Oh good, I'm glad I found you! I need you to find someone to stay overnight in the recovery unit. Our night nurse is on maternity leave as of today now." I stared at her for a brief minute, my mind too tired to even register her words. Finally I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes, "I could stay." Shizune gave me a look that told me she didn't seem quite sure I could stay awake all night. I gave her a smile trying to reassure her, but I was a horrible liar when I was exhausted. "Well, I can't force you to go home. You can, but only if you promise me that you will replace yourself if you start falling asleep." I promised and she continued, "Well, with Sasuke in danger from Orochimaru, we have an ANBU guarding him, but Fugaku-sama has requested that a nurse be on hand in case he wakes. Can you handle that?" I nodded and the dark haired woman left. Turning I trudged back to the emergency unit where I would be spending the night.

 On the way, I passed Shisui's room just as Itachi left. I gave my somewhat friend a brief smile, and he nodded in return. I expected him to head the way I came, but instead he fell in step with me. I shot him a frown, confused, but he didn't pay any attention. His dark eyes stared straight ahead, pointed chin raised high to show that he was not submissive of anything. I couldn't help but notice that his long eyelashes seemed prone to tangle with his dark hair, or that the shirt he wore did little to hide his lean muscular arms. The more I looked, the more I realized why girls seemed to fall for him so easily. That was a disturbing thought. His dark eyes shifted towards mine, catching me staring at him like a love-sick fan girl. I was glad that my scars hid some of my blush. Looking down at me feet I asked, "Aren't you going home?" "No." He stated, not unkindly as he would a normal fan girl. Finally my sleep fogged mind connected the dots, "You're watching Sasuke, aren't you?" He nodded and didn't say anything.

 Spending the night with Itachi was every fan girl’s dream, even if it was in a hospital watching over his younger brother. I soon realized how wrong they were. We hardly ever spoke, and when we did it was to tell the other that we were leaving to go somewhere. I sat sprawling in the chair beside Sasuke's bed while Itachi propped himself up on the windowsill, his gaze fixed on the night sky. The dim moonlight casts as bluish tint in the room, making everything appear ghostly. Nothing happened, except for the rare times that Sasuke would groan in his sleep. I found myself wiping the sweat from the kid's brow, since there was nothing better to do.

 It was close to midnight and still nothing happened. I had given up trying to stay alert, like Itachi was doing so effortlessly, in favor of dozing off. My hand rested on Sasuke's bed so I would wake if he shifted during the night, but he had stilled hours ago. Suddenly the relaxed air in the room became tense. I pulled myself back out of my light doze, aware that something had changed. I glanced first at Sasuke, but he was still sleeping peacefully. I couldn't help but notice that he looked younger in his sleep and I wondered if Itachi looked the same. Shaking my head to clear my mind of those frustrating thoughts I turned to Itachi. He was standing, his back turned to me.

 I slowly got to my feet, scared that any suddenly movement would startle Itachi into attacking. I shuffled forward until I was standing beside him. The Uchiha spared me a brief glance of acknowledgment before turning his blank gaze back outside. "Is something wrong?" I asked, expecting him not to answer. To my surprise he said softly, "The night is too quiet." I looked out and indeed he was right, nothing, not even the wind, made a sound. It was like the whole world was holding it's breath in anticipation for... something. Sasuke moaned from his bed, and I turned my attention to my charge, and couldn't help but gasp at the dark eyes gleaming back at me. Dumbfounded I actually smacked Itachi to get his attention; he glared at me then followed my gaze to his younger brother.

 Sasuke twitched then winced in pain, "A-Aniki?" He croaked and Itachi was by his bedside in a flash. I stayed where I was by the window, this was between them. I turned away to stare out the window, remembering the last time I was in the room alone with the Uchiha brothers. I smiled, then I had told Itachi that he did care, even if he didn't show it. He proved me right once again.

 A shadow fell across me and I glanced up to see a night owl gliding in the still air. It hooted softly and with that sound the nocturnal life came alive once again. Whatever had silenced the night had passed and no harm had come to anyone, at least I hoped.

 ***

 "Here we are! Welcome home, Reiko!" Ino chirped as I unlocked the door and opened it. Reiko twitched a smile and limped forward. He paused just inside, glancing around the main room, as if trying to find anything familiar. I didn't blame him, it had taken me a while to get used to the child proof room. All the furniture and been shoved against the walls and plush carpets lay on the floor, giving Tenshi plenty of room to practice walking. My carving tools were put away safely as were Reiko's weapons. Kokoro, who had permanently moved in a few days ago, smiled at Reiko from the floor where she had Tenshi in her lap. Ino squealed at the little girl and sat down beside the older nurse, cooing over Tenshi.

 I stood behind Reiko, waiting for him to say something. Ever since he had woken up, neither of us had been easy around each other. Something had changed and we were both too afraid to admit it. How I longed for the days when it was just the two of us against the world, but I just had to be determined to get rid of him. Reiko looked over his shoulder and jerked his head towards the kitchen. I silently followed, sure that Kokoro and Ino's eyes were on us.

 My brother stood leaning against the kitchen counter as I sat on top of the table, swinging my legs and waiting for him to speak. Reiko finally turned to face me, his green eyes flashing, "Why bring her home?" I frowned, "Why not? You knew she was coming home if no one adopted her." Reiko drew a hand down his face, "Why now?" I glared, "This isn't about Tenshi, and you know it. What are you whining about?" Reiko growled, "You don't understand." He started towards the back door, but I grabbed his shoulder, stopping him, "No I don't, so make me understand. You've never shut me out before." He scowled, "Just like you never shut me out? Don't lie to yourself Tora, you shut me out the day you went to the Hokage to make me a genin. Did you even ask me?"

 I stared at him for a good minute, "This is what this is about? Something that happened almost two years ago?!" Reiko jerked out of my grip, making me stumble a little, "Surprised? I bet you are. You never considered how I would feel. You thought I was too weak for your life!" I was stunned, I stood there trying to say something. By the time I could remember how to speak, Reiko was out the door. I stomped after him, "I never thought that, and you know it! I was doing it for your best interest. You would have never made it this far if I hadn't done something." Reiko spun on me, his hands clenched in fists. For a moment I was afraid he would hit me, "I almost died because you did something!"

 I narrowed my eyes, regaining my anger, "Don't blame me for that! I could not have foreseen it, and I definitely would have never done so if I knew you would have almost died!" Reiko opened his mouth but I cut him off, "If you do not like the life that I made possible for you, by all means, quit. I am not in control of your life, you are! It's your choices now; I opened the door, but you chose to step through it, even when you knew it was dangerous!" I spun around and made for the door, but Reiko called out, his voice suddenly haggard and sounded old for his age, "I'm sorry." I stilled but didn't turn back.

 Reiko continued, "I'm sorry Tora, for accusing you. I guess I'm no better than the villagers. Once something bad happens I automatically blame you." I closed my eyes, I didn't want to hear this, but my mind had no control over my feet. "I was just scared. I've never been that close to death, and it's my own fault. I panicked during the fight and put Naruto in a critical position. Either he could save me or save Sasuke," My shoulders slumped, that meant that Naruto was wrong, he didn't endanger my brother. My brother endangered himself, "I'm glad he chose the right one, and I don't hold him responsible for it."

 "I'm sorry too." I whispered, "I shouldn't have said those things." I turned and gave Reiko a shaky smile, holding out my hand, "Truce?" My brother laughed and shook my hand before pulling me into a hug, "Truce." Our sibling affection didn't last long before Reiko had me in a choke hold trying to make me surrender.

 ***

 The next day I walked out of my room, yawning. I walked towards the kitchen, intent of fixing breakfast before everyone else woke up, and tripped over something. I laid there, flat on my face for a moment before flipped over and looking at the culprit. A scroll lay in front of my door, my name printed neatly on its side. Crawling to my hands and knees I retrieved the small thing. Unscrolling it I read:

 Tora,

 It would please me if you would once again lend your services to my youngest son, Uchiha Sasuke, while he is recovering from his wounds at our home. My eldest son has informed me that you had taken care of Sasuke all through the night when you could have chosen someone else to look after him. It would please me if you would repeat such actions as Sasuke's personal nurse for a few days until his health is stable.

 ~Uchiha Mikoto

 Sighing I rerolled the scroll and went to tell Reiko the news.

 A few hours later I was standing in front of the Uchiha compound, wondering why in the world I had agreed in the first place. I might be friends with Shisui and Itachi, but I was still a nobody, a Tiger Demon. Before I could turn around and run away, Shisui asked behind me, "Tora? What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in a long time." I grimaced, but turned around with a smile on my face, "Mikoto-san invited me to come stay so I could take care of Sasuke. Apparently Itachi mentioned me looking after Sasuke, so here I am." Shisui playfully pouted, "No fair I was wounded retrieving the brat, why don't I get any special attention?"

 I fluttered my eyelashes at him, "Well while I'm here, I'm sure I can baby you." Shisui shivered, "Please, you'd probably get my high again and leave me to be tortured by my cousin." I rolled my eyes, "He didn't torture you, just... interrogated you." Shisui gave me a look, "You better keep a close eye on the pain killer you brought with you, I might be contemplating revenge." I stuck my nose in the air and said, "Then I won't tell you what I learned about Hana." Shisui fell to his knees drastically, drawing a few looks from passing villagers, and begged, "No, Kitty! Please, if I am to ever have a chance, you must tell me all your secrets." I laughed and tugged at his hand, "Get up. Besides, if you told her that you were interested, I'm sure she's agree to go out with you. Any Uchiha, even one as goofy as you, is better than the losers her mom sets her up with." Shisui grumbled, "Thanks I feel so much better."

 I stuck my tongue out at him, "Now are you going to keep your family waiting, or are you going to help me with my bags?" Shisui heaved a sigh, as if it was such a terrible idea to help me, and lifted one of my larger bags, "Geez, what did you pack? Bricks?" I frowned at him, "No and be careful with that one, it has all the medicine I might need." Shisui hefted the bag and slung an arm around my shoulders, "Well come on, Uchiha Kitty, let's go meet your new family." For some reason I blushed, "I'm the nurse, not family." I grumbled. Shisui just smiled in such a way I was sure he knew something I didn't know.

 Shisui opened the door without ceremony and called out, "Hey look what I picked up on the street!" Mikoto came in from the kitchen and smiled when she saw me, "I'm glad you could come." I bowed, "I am honored, Mikoto-san, that you would consider me to act as Sasuke's nurse." Mikoto laughed, "That is unnecessary. Come, I'll show you your room." I followed her down the small hallway. We passed the family room and I couldn't resist peaking inside as I walked by, Fugaku-sama was talking with Itachi quietly, but otherwise they were alone. I hurried away, feeling as if I was intruding on something private.

 Mikoto paused at the second to last door on the right, "This will be yours for the duration of your stay. Sasuke's room is the first door before you reach the family room." I nodded and asked, "Is there anything particular that you would like me to do?" Mikoto smiled, "You are a Chunnin medic, I'll leave the decisions up to you, unless it involves the clan." She bowed slightly and left. Shisui, coming from the main room with all my bags, had to flatten himself against the wall to let his aunt pass by. I rolled my eyes and opened the door to my room.

 To say is was scarcely furnished would be an understatement. There was a bed and the Uchiha clan symbol painted on the wall, and that was it. I blinked, the old abandoned house that Reiko and I stayed in when we were on our room had more stuff than this! Shisui chuckled behind me, "Mikoto-oba gave you the room with the bed? She must like you?" I turned to him, "You mean there was a chance I wouldn't have a bed?" Shisui smirked and edged past me into my room to set down my stuff, "Fugaku-oji believes that furniture is a waste of money that could be used for something better." (A.N. Sound like someone else we know? *cough, cough KAKUZU cough, cough*)

 I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "I knew there was something I didn't like about him." Shisui grinned and sat on my small bed, "So... what were those secrets about Hana?" I frowned at him and pointed towards the door, "Out." I commanded. He pouted and crossed his arms, "Not until I hear one secret." "She's allergic to cats. Out, out!" I snapped and he left protesting that that wasn't a secret. I leaned against the closed door and exhaled, I came here on my own free will, so why did I feel like a prisoner?

 ***

 The next day I sat down with the family for breakfast. Sasuke was still asleep so I took his place to the right of Shisui, farthest from the head of the table. Not that I minded, it meant I didn't have to be any closer to Fugaku than necessary. For some reason I didn't want him near me. Maybe it was the constant glares shot in my direction. After he was sure that I wouldn't try anything, Fugaku turned to a very silent Itachi, "When are you going to bring Yakkaina to dinner again? It has been so long since she was here last." Shisui and I exchanged discreet glances and even Mikoto stiffened.

 Itachi took his time chewing his last mouthful before answering, "I don't know, Otou-san." Fugaku's frowned, "Are you not dating her?" Itachi didn't answer and the subject dropped, much to Fugaku's displeasure. Silent reigned for a brief period of time before the head of the Uchiha clan spoke again, this time directing his questions to me, "Itachi has informed me that you know the truth of your family, now. Is this true?" I flinched and almost spilled my tea. Setting the cup back down I answered quietly, "Yes, Fugaku-sama." "But he didn't tell you the whole truth." Fugaku stated. Blinking, I finally met his gaze. Instinctively I glanced at Itachi to see him glaring at his father, his Sharingan unconsciously activated. Mikoto murmured, "She doesn't need to know the full truth." Fugaku allowed a small smirk, "Perhaps you are right, Okusan." Itachi spoke, anger underlying his otherwise flat voice, "You have to tell her now."

 "Tell me what?" I asked, slightly irritated. Why did it have to be the Uchiha clan that knew my family so well? At this rate, I would know my family by the time I was half way in my grave. Fugaku leaned forward, "I assume Itachi told you that your mother was still alive?" I didn't like the fact that the Uchiha seemed slightly pleased when I nodded. He asked, "And that she was a rogue nin?" Again I nodded, more cautiously than before. Mikoto was now glaring at her husband along with Itachi. I knew I wouldn't like what came next, and I was right, "But you don't know that she was last seen with the renowned criminals, the Akatsuki?" My mouth dropped.

 Fugaku continued, ignoring all of us, "Itachi didn't tell you about your brother, did he?" Itachi growled and looked as if he were about to attack his own father. I wanted to stop him, but my limbs felt like lead, useless. I couldn't even cover my ears and save me the trouble and heartache that I was sure was coming. All I could do was stare. "We found out too late about him, Karasu wanted to kill you and keep the boy, your twin, alive. But he died the night your mother disappeared of unknown causes. It appeared that he had a heart failure, but then your mother was an expert in poisons. I'm sure she knew some poisons could stop a heart."

 Shisui stood then and dragged me away, no one stopped him. "I'm sorry, if I had known he would pull that stunt..." He trailed off, glaring down the hallway. I pulled free of his grip and shook my head, "No, I needed to hear it. I just wish... he had told me more kindly." Shisui snorted, "If there's anything my uncle isn't, its kind. He pushes Itachi and Sasuke too far and still expects so much from them. But the person he treats the worst is Mikoto-oba, it's like she's nothing. I don't know how she stands it." I smiled and patted my friend's arm, "It's so nice to see you so angry on your family's and my behalf. Now if you'll excuse me, I better get to work." Shisui shook his head as I headed back up the hallway towards Sasuke's room and called out, "You're too sweet for this family, Tora." I turned around to walk backwards, "Nice of you to think so, Shisui!" I laughed before disappearing into Sasuke's room.

 ***

 "Just take the stupid pills!" I snapped. Sasuke glared at me and shook his head again. It had been eight days since I came to look after him, and he had been nothing but trouble ever since. I curled my fist around the three small pills, careful not to break them, and pointed an accusing finger at the infuriating younger Uchiha, "Either you take them or I shove them down your throat, and don't think I won't." Sasuke scowled but didn't open his mouth; he had learned five days ago that if he did, I would force the pills in while he was trying to speak.

 "Sasuke, take the pills." Itachi said from the corner of the room. We both looked at him lounging in a chair, his nose in a book. Ever since Sasuke had proven to be difficult, Itachi always made sure to be there in case his younger brother wouldn't follow my orders. Sasuke tried to resist, but like always he did as his brother told him. As Sasuke swallowed the pills, with glares in my direction, I turned to Itachi, "Maybe you should be his nurse." Itachi looked up, "I'm not a medic." He stated calmly.

 I was about to say something when Mikoto slid open the door and smiled, "Tora, do you think Sasuke is ready for a visitor?" Sasuke opened his mouth to say he was, but I spoke before he could, "As long as it is a short visit." I could see Itachi shoot Sasuke a smirk out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored it. Instead I turned and propped Sasuke up a little, much to his obvious displeasure. Naruto walked in, looking a little nervous. Itachi stood and left without a word, the week I had been staying here, I learned that Itachi didn't like more of Sasuke's friends, especially the hyper ones.

 The blonde smiled at me sheepishly, I nodded then moved to stand in the corner, my hands folded neatly before and my head bowed like a maid. I knew I was a guest, but I couldn't help but act like a servant. Naruto pulled the chair that Itachi had used closer to the bed and sat down, "How are you feeling?" He asked. Sasuke shrugged, "Hn." I frowned at him then answered, "He's coming along nicely. If it continues, he should be able to walk soon." Sasuke glared at me while Naruto chuckled. He looked down at his hands, growing quiet again, "I'm leaving." Sasuke actually looked startled. "Why?" He croaked.

 Naruto looked away, "Jiraiya-sensei is going to teach me what he can. Kakashi-sensei says there is nothing more he can teach me." Sasuke tried to sit up straighter, but he groaned and fell back. I was at his bed side in an instant, "Don't make me knock you out again, Sasuke. You know better." I hissed at him while I helped him reposition so his wounds wouldn't hurt him. The Uchiha just glared at me. Naruto stood, "I'll be gone for a long time, Jiraiya says about three years." Sasuke narrowed his dark eyes at his friend, "And what will Sakura and I do?" Naruto shrugged, "Kakashi-sensei says you're getting a new member to replace me, until I come back."

 I straightened, "Alright, visitations are over. Come with me Naruto." The boys said their last good-byes and the blonde followed me out of the room. Itachi was leaning against the wall across from Sasuke's room. He looked up when we both walked out. "I'll be right back." I told him and he nodded before disappearing into Sasuke's room. I walked with Naruto for a while, neither of us speaking. Finally when the Konoha gate came in view I stopped, as did Naruto.

 When I opened my mouth Naruto cringed and I didn't blame him, the last two times either one of us spoke to each other, one or the other got hurt. I closed my mouth and looked away, suddenly at a loss of words. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm sorry... about Reiko." I shook my head, "No, I'm sorry. Reiko told me the real story. That he put you into a critical position." Naruto tried to defend my brother but I held up a hand, silencing him, "Look, just let me blame my brother, it's easier to forgive him." Naruto laughed a little. I smiled and continued, "We've never been on good terms with each other, and both of us are too easy to jump to conclusions. But both of us are dear to Reiko, so let us try to get along when you come home, alright?" Naruto gave me one of his bright smiles and held out his hand, I gripped it, "Alright."

 "N-Nar-Naruto?" A very shy voice called behind us, making both of us turn. A girl with dark purple hair eased out of the shadows, a blush marring her face. Naruto blinked in surprise, "Hinata-chan. I didn't know you were coming to say good-bye." The girl blushed even more, if that were possible and suddenly I understood. Unable to keep the smirk off my face I eased away to give the two genin privacy. I stood watching as Hinata whispered something to Naruto and he looked uncertain for a moment but quickly smiled, "Of course I like you Hinata-chan! You're a good friend!"

 I face palmed and someone groaned behind me. Turning I caught sight of a man with spiky long white hair and red marks running down his cheeks like tear lines, "That boy has no clue." He grumbled to me, his eyes on Naruto. I turned back in enough time to see Hinata grabbed Naruto's hair, stood up on her tip-toes to his level, and boldly kissed him in front of anyone who cared to watch. She gave Naruto a shaky smile then fled. I came out of hiding to stand beside the dumbfound blonde. "Tora... She-she..." I rolled my eyes and smacked him upside the head, "I don't even know her, and I could tell she liked you. You better have a better answer than 'friend' when you come back."

 Naruto rubbed the back of his head, giving me a mulish look, "I think I liked you better when you didn't like me." I smirked, “Shisui and Reiko say things like that all the time, get used to it.” The white haired man walked out and said, "Come on Naruto, we're wasting time." I ruffled Naruto's hair, "Who would have thought I'd be the person to see you go?" Naruto laughed and shoved my hand away. He picked up the pack that the white-haired man had thrown at his feet and slipped it on his back; waving good-bye, Naruto Uzumaki left.

 I stood there for a while, smiling slightly. The Tora that had ran the streets a year ago, performing acrobats for food, was gone for good. I was glad; I didn't have to worry any more if Reiko and I would survive to the next week. I reached up to run my fingers lightly down my scars, they weren't a symbol of my father's hatred for me anymore, nor were they a sign of the Tiger Demon. Now they were what helped Tenshi recognize me. They made me Tora.

 I turned around and began the long walk back to the Uchiha Compound, I had work to do.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Docile Insanity (ARCHIVED)

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Naruto! ^^

 Okay, so I started a 'Create-A-Story Challenge' (details are on my profile) and this story is the product of my first try. The choices I pulled were 'Nara' 'Dark' and 'M. Human' *cracks knuckles* Let's see what I can do with this!

“Give up!”

 “We've got you cornered!”

 It always happened like this, it never failed that someone would come along and interrupt him while he was trying to nap. Never failed. How troublesome. Nao sighed and looked up at the sky just as a bird fluttered overhead, “Given time, one does look to the sky and see the little bird fly and wonder about the wonders of spring.” Nao recited to himself.

 One of the hunters blinked, confused as Nao's mumbling, “...What?” He asked, as if he was almost afraid to.

 Nao met the man's gaze, “Dear little bird does not see the fire, dead little bird does not care.” He said dully and his pinky finger twitched.

 Both bounty hunters never knew what hit them.

 vvv

 “Little Mouse hides in the grass away from the Hawk, yet does not see the Slithering Snake.” Nao rumbled to himself as he slid through the trees; he wasn't bothered by the blood soaking his only uniform. In fact, he was only annoyed by it. Now he would have to motivate himself to buy more clothes or suffer through the stench of dried blood. Too troublesome.

 “The Slithering Snake thinks himself smart, yet does not see the Hawk has different plans.” A new voice joined Nao. Nao looked up in surprise to see his twin sister falling in step with him, slinking out of the shadows. Naoki spared her brother a languid grin and tossed Nao a bag, “I took the liberty of finding you some clothes. Knew you'd need them after that explosion. Looks like my assumption was correct.” Naoki cast a critical eye up and down Nao's blood soaked uniform. “About time too, I say. It's been three years and you still wear that thing.”

 Nao snorted as he dug through the bag and unearthed a pair of plain pants and a fishnet shirt, “Troublesome is blood, more troublesome is bloodless.”

 His sister rolled her black eyes as she turned her back on Nao have privacy to change, “Why are you a missing-nin again? I always thought it'd be too troublesome for you.” She said sarcastically. Nao never understood why she wanted to desert Konoha, but here she was and he followed her as good siblings did. Not that Nao would ever tell her that, she would see it as a weakness. Nao would have been perfectly fine to stay in Konoha and lazy about with his clan, speaking in riddles that no one understood.

 “Clouds shift to cover the sun, is it dawn or is it dusk?” Nao mumbled as he zipped his old chūnin vest up over the netted shirt.

 “Dawn it might be, but dusk it is more certainly.” Naoki responded immediately. Nao knew that only Naoki understood his abstract ramblings and she always had a response for them, it was one of the reasons why he decided to go with her instead of remaining loyal to Konoha. If Naoki was gone, then what use did Nao have in that village? He didn't like speaking plainly, that was boring and too troublesome. Instead he said whatever came to mind, asking questions in a roundabout way instead of being plain. No one had ever understood him. No one.

 vvv

 “Thin winter trees spear the sky like black fingers clawing the blue, do you see the wolves below?” Nao mumbled quietly.

 Naoki nodded absently, her hawk-like gaze on the pair of cloaked men wondering below the twins, “Wolves prey on sheep, but do you not see their ribs?” Naoki was right. These men looked bedraggled and wounded. They would be easy pickings for the Nara twins. Simple. Easy. Not troublesome.

 Why did Naoki want to leave Konohagakure?

 Nao looked to his sister and saw that sadistic gleam in her black gaze. That was why, she was unfitted for the soft life in Konoha. Nao, however, wouldn't mind it. But he was loyal to his twin sister first. Naoki wasn't the smartest Nara in the clan, Nao often thought she was the dumbest, but she was still his little sister by two minutes. And Nao didn't want to leave her alone. No matter how sadistic she was.

 “Two shadows linger, beware their innocence looks.” Nao said.

 Naoki either didn't hear him or ignored him. She leaped from the trees just as the men passed under them, her battle cry loud and alarming. One man spun quickly and launched a red scythe at her. Nao sighed quietly as Naoki landed on the three scarlet blades, her blood doing nothing to the color. Nao wondered if the blades were red with paint or blood.

 The scythe man scoffed and flung Nao's sister away where she laid crumbled and not moving. “Stupid little bitch, what the fuck was she thinking? Hey, bastard, come on out! Don't you think we don't know where you're fucking hiding?” The scythe man called out harshly.

 Nao blinked at the man, of course he knew where Nao was. Nao had not tried to conceal his presence from either men. Nor had Naoki. Of course, Nao knew Naoki didn't know how to suppress her chakra. But Nao did, he just didn't bother to this time. “Cliffs raise high. A speck of white falls and one less soul does the world hold.” Nao recited.

 The scythe man's face twisted in confusion, “What the fuck? What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?”

 “Do not trust the little gnat that whispers in your ear.” Nao said in response. He saw the scythe coming but made no move to stop it.

 Nao smiled.

 He would follow his sister anywhere.

 ^o^

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Dating My Brother’s Archenemy Pt. 2 (ARCHIVED)

CrAzYArtist: Party? Like full out high school party? Drinking and drugs and everything? O.o I didn't know you were into that...

 GreenThumb: Yeah... and my sister is making me go. But it'd give us a chance to hang out.

 MonKeybiz: I'm for it! As long as you don't make me do anything against my will...

 $Cha-Ching$: Fine by me, never been to one before.

 CrAzYArtist: Where's it at?

 GreenThumb: Ermmm... It's Amber's party... My sister is friends with her and she's dragging me a long as her ride back home. Can't see why I can't just wait around in town until she's ready...

 MonKeybiz: ...You're kidding, right?

 $Cha-Ching$: Gives Kori a perfect chance to speak with Nathaniel though...

 MonKeybiz: True...

 CrAzYArtist: Say one more word about that and I'll break the record of my grudges.

 $Cha-Ching$: No idea of what you mean, but I can tell you're serious. Not crossing the line

 MonKeybiz: I second that!

 GreenThumb: Besides, it gives you three a perfect chance to crash Amber's party.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm in!

 $Cha-Ching$: Me too!

 MonKeybiz: Me three! lol

 *RabidsingeR has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: Clear you weekend calendar, Lexsie, we're going to crash Amber's party!

 MonKeybiz: And do a little matchmaking between Nath and Kori on the side.

 $Cha-Ching$: Hey, this is Penni!

 GreenThumb: Plus you finally get to meet me in person!

 RabidsingeR: You had me at 'crash Amber's party' XD I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this...

 "You are not going out like that." Castiel said, not even looking up from his guitar. I looked down at my pure white flowing knee length dress and sheer tights with snowflakes picked out in silver. Lysander, who was sitting across from him scribbling away, glanced up, raised an eyebrow then looked at my brother, "She's not dressed inappropriately." Castiel still wouldn't look up, "She's going to that stupid party, so she's dressed inappropriately." He stated simply. I rolled my eyes to Lexsie who kept dabbing at her make up while Penni kept slapping her hand away. I wondered how Lexsie could even like my brother, he was just a pain sometimes. Penni smacked Lexsie's hand away again, "If you keep touching it, you're going to smudge my work!" The blonde girl snapped. Savannah sighed, "Really Lexsie. You're the one who wanted Penni to do your make up..." Lexsie's fingers started inching their way towards her face again, but one glare from Penni stopped them.

 Castiel finally looked up, "You look fine Lexsie. Stop fussing." He said flatly. Lexsie didn't really need the bright pink colored blush after that, she was so red in the face that the base couldn't hide it. Savannah, Penni and I giggled. Over the few days that we had to get our costumes ready for Amber's Halloween party Lexsie and Castiel went from Stage 1: 'You're Just My Friend, Whatever' to Stage 2: 'Blushes and Compliments.' It was all according to Tansy's '10 Stages of Relationships' chart. Penni was at Stage 7: the 'Can't be Without You' stage. Savannah was still at stage one with Lysander. Tansy said I was between Stage 5: 'Shyly Skipping Around the Subject of Dating' and Stage 6: 'Small Kisses and Presents.' I thought it was strange that Tansy had this whole thing already worked out, and that it made sense, somewhat.

 I sighed and snatched up my white wedge heels, “Let's go we're going to be late. Hey Castiel, are you using the car?” My brother, squinting at a page of lyrics, shook his head 'no'. I smirked, now came to part of tricking him, “I need the keys really fast, where are they?” Still trying to decipher the Lysander's writing, Castiel pointed to the small bowl sitting on the table, “There, stop bothering me.” He snapped. Before my twin realized he had been duped, I grabbed the car keys and ushered my snickering friends out the door, calling over my shoulder, “We'll be home late, see you later!” Before I closed the door, I could see Lysander smirking at me, he winked. So he knew my plan, but didn't bother to tell my brother. Guess he was on my side again.

 vvv

 So far the party was a total bore. The only thing exciting was when some random couple got into a major fight which ended with a major make out session that made me want to gag. Penni seemed to be enjoying herself though, having never been to a stereotypical teen party. Even I had been before, when Lexsie dragged me to one our freshmen year, that was when we met Savannah. And I met Ty, much to my later misfortune. I kept to the seats, sandwiched between couples who couldn't keep their hands off each other and druggies smoking themselves silly. Savannah had left in search for a soda, knowing it would be a lost cause, while Lexsie was busy warding off guys hitting on her. Penni, however, had headed straight for the dance floor. From my view, I could tell she was owning the floor with her crazy moves. I hadn't even known she was into dancing.

 Savannah reappeared, two Dr. Peppers in her hand, “Guess Nathaniel is cracking down on the beer, I couldn't find any.” She said as she handed me one of the frigid cans. I shot her a look, “Were you looking for them?” I asked suspiciously. Savannah plopped down next to me, not caring if her medieval lady dress was wrinkled in the process, and laughed, “Of course not. But you know how hard it is to find a coke at these parties. I was kinda suspicious when the first cooler was nothing but sodas, so was the second and the third... after I looked around, I couldn't find any beer.” I popped the tap on my soda and took a nice long drink. Something bumped into me, causing me to spew my drink... just as Amber walked past in her skimpy pirate girl costume.

 As Lexsie would say: It was an opportunity worth dying for, and from the look Amber gave me, I thought she really was going to kill me. Savannah dying of laughter beside me didn't help my case of it being an accident. Suddenly I went from being the invisible snow princess, to the girl facing Amber's wrath. I slouched a little in my seat, bracing myself for the hurricane that was about to be unleashed.

 “YOU LITTLE BITCH!! You did that on purpose! Why are you even here, I know I didn't f***ing invite you!” Amber started, her voice shrill to the point that I knew any dogs within a mile could hear her. I slumped down a little lower, my cheeks flaming red. I didn't like being the center of attention and suddenly I was on Broadway. “Uhh... I'm sorry, I didn't-” I started, but Amber didn't even let me explain, “You ruined my $200 costume! You are soooooo paying me back, bitch! Don't think you won't!” Amber shouted then stomped away, her whole right side drenched in my backwash. I buried my face in my hands, not sure if I should cry or laugh. Lexsie came up just as the rest of the crowd started returning to normal, “What happened?” I was still embarrassed to speak, but Savannah wasn't, “Well, you see. Kori decided it would be a good idea to spill Dr. Pepper on Amber and-” “It was an accident!” I practically wailed, both my friends cracked up.

 vvv

 Hours late Jade finally showed up as a green haired vampire. I didn't even have to make introductions, Lexsie and Savannah spotted him the minute he walked through the door, his bright green hair as out of place as Savannah's purple hair or my white locks. When I saw that there would be no awkwardness between the three I went to find Penni. She was surrounded by jocks trying to flirt with her, and she didn't look very pleased at all. I smiled and joined her, “Hey Penni, Jade's here. Do you want to meet him?” I asked. Penni looked at me confused, she had already met Jade before he went back to his own school, and she knew I knew that. I gave her a look, trying to express with my eyes that I was giving her the perfect chance to escape the jock's unwanted attention. She finally got the message and nodded before dragging me away with a force I didn't know she had.

 Of course, we never made it that far. As we walked underneath the upper story walkway, there was a voice shouting, “There she is!” It was followed by a show of ice cold water down on my head. I shrieked at the sudden change in temperature, throwing up my arms to deflect most of the downpour off my poor head. Laughter filled the air, and I was dragged back to the day that Amber had altered the comic I had drawn. Only this was worse, this was physical discomfort.

 Penni was staring at me, mouth open wide and eyes nearly popping out of her head. None of the water hit her luckily. Her gypsy costume was still in tact, but the same could be said for my snow princess dress. It had gone from gleaming white to sheer in .03 seconds, plastered to my body like a second skin. I hastily crossed my arms over my chest, shaking from the cold air that now wafted at my body. Amber appeared before me, taunting, “I told you you'd regret it, little bitch. How does it feel?” Penni glared at Amber and opened her mouth to defend me, but someone else beat her to it, “Amber! That's enough.” Shivering I looked over my shoulder just as Nathaniel wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. His sister backed down with a pout.

 Nathaniel took me to his bedroom. I sat on his bed, the blanket wrapped around me, watching him as he carefully made sure his door was cracked two inches. I couldn't help but smile at that, “I-It won't m-m-ma-matter. The-They w-w-will a-a-a-as-assume the w-w-worst.” I stuttered, my teeth clattering together loudly. Nathaniel didn't answer as he shifted through his drawers and pulled out a pair of grey sweats and a formless white T-shirt. He motioned to a closed door on the other side of the bed, “Bathroom is through there.” I didn't move. I just stared at the pile of clothes he gave me, then up at his golden eyes, “Why do you always help me?” I blurted out.

 Nathaniel blushed a little and looked away sheepishly, “Uh... I guess I feel responsible for what my sister does to you.” He said uncomfortably. I looked back down, disappointed, “...oh...” I stood and moved toward the bathroom to change, but Nathaniel grabbed my arm, “Korianna, wait...” I looked up at him, half hoping half dreading what he would say. Nathaniel studied me for a while before saying, “You know I like you, Korianna. I guess that's the real reason why I want to protect you from my sister's stupid pranks.” I stared at Nathaniel for a minute, my brain trying to catch up to what he just said. Nathaniel blushed even harder and started to let go of me, thinking that I was rejecting him, when I threw my arms around his neck and crashed my lips to his. Surprised he stumbled back a step and I was dragged with him, my feet skittering forward to avoid doing a face plant. Somehow my left foot got wedged behind his right and he tripped over it. To avoid falling to the floor, Nathaniel twisted and we both ended up on the bed, me on top of him, kissing...

 ...just as Melody opened the door.

 The three of us stared at each other for a minute, all of us blushing. Then I bolted off Nathaniel and fled for the bathroom, the clothes he gave me clutched in my arms. I stood leaning against the door, breathing heavily. I could not believe Nathaniel and I had just been caught by the girl who had a crush on him. Castiel seeing us kissing was bad enough, but Melody wasn't one to keep a secret like my brother. She was almost as bad as Peggy when it came to gossip, except when it dealt with Nathaniel. I just hoped her policy of not telling Peggy anything about Nathaniel would cover this incident. I could hear Melody speaking in a chocked tone, “What's going on? I-I came to tell you I was here and she- Did Kori... was she...?” Then came Nathaniel's much calmer voice, “Someone spilled something on Korianna's costume, she came to me for extra clothes.” His voice left no room to question how I had come in his bedroom looking for extra clothes and ended up kissing him. There was a small muffled sob and the sound of a door slamming.

 I finished tugging on the white shirt and tying the sweats tighter around my waist before leaving the bathroom, my wet dress flung over one arm. Nathaniel was standing in the middle of his room, staring down at something in his hands. I peered around him to see a pair of yellow cat ears attached to a head band teetering over his palm. Melody must have given them to him before she left. I gently touched his shoulder, startling him. Biting my lip I looked down, “I'm sorry... I-” Nathaniel pressed a finger to my lips, “You shouldn't be sorry. It's not your fault.” He said softly. I tried a small smile and took the cat ears from him, “These are nice. You should wear them.” I said timidly, trying to change the subject to a safer track.

 Nathaniel snorted, “I don't celebrate Halloween. I think it's stupid.” He said dully and I rolled my eyes, “You would.” I muttered then shoved the car ears down on his head, laughing at his expression of surprise. “There! You know, the ears really look good on you, I think you should wear them from now on.” I said between giggles. Nathaniel frowned at me and tried to pull the ear off, but I swatted his hands away, “No I like them. Leave them in.” Slowly he lowered his hands and didn't try to take them off again. I grinned at the thought that Nathaniel would wear something even if he didn't like it, because he knew I did. Mentally I made a note to tell Tansy I had gone from between Stage 5 and Stage 6 to fully on Stage 6 of her 10 Stages of Relationships. I knew she would be thrilled.

 *CrAzYArtist had signed in*

 $Cha-Ching$: Hey so what happened after the water accident yesterday? No one saw you after that.

 MonKeybiz: Seriously, girl. I know you want to be with your boy, but spend some time with your homeys!

 RabidsingeR: Savannah, don't try to be gangster. It's just atrocious.

 CrAzYArtist: 8 points for Lexsie!

 RabidsingeR: We're not playing Scrabble, Kori...

 GreenThumb: Back on subject... where did you go? I didn't get to even say hi before you disappeared.

 CrAzYArtist: No reason... I just didn't want to be in that house anymore

 $Cha-Ching$: So either you got into a fight with Nath or kissed him again...

 RabidsingeR: I'm going with kissing... At least here's hoping ;P

 CrAzYArtist: Since you'll drag it out of me anyway... Yes, Nath and I kissed again, and Melody walked in on us.

 MonKeybiz: ...Oh snap... doesn't she have a crush on Nath?

 $Cha-Ching$: Yep... ladies and Jade, prepare for World War 3

 CrAzYArtist: Oh come on! Melody and I are rational people, it's not like we'll end up cat fighting in the middle of the hall.

 RabidsingeR: When it comes to guys, all rationality goes out the window.

 $Cha-Ching$: Yeah, I mean look at how Lexsie first treated me for the whole Lysander mess... and she doesn't even like him (not like Savannah)!

 RabidsingeR: THAT WASN'T THE REASON!

 $Cha-Ching$: *read in sarcasm* You're right. It was because Kori forced Castiel into the whole mess, since that makes a whole lot more sense.

 MonKeybiz: Penni you're hilarious!

 RabidsingeR: Grrrrr...

 CrAzYArtist: Get over it, Lexsie.

 GreenThumb: Back on topic girls.

 MonKeybiz: lol, what are you the Topic Police?

 GreenThumb: Yes... don't make me write you a ticket! ^^

 MonKeybiz: I'm shaking in fear, Jade.

 CrAzYArtist: Has anyone seen Violette? She hasn't been on.

 GreenThumb: She was on briefly yesterday while you were getting ready for the party.

 RabidsingeR: Oh... and what did you two... discuss...? Hmm?

 GreenThumb: How nuts you are.

 $Cha-Ching$: 'You' as in all of us, or 'you' as in Lexsie?

 GreenThumb: You as in Lexsie.

 RabidsingeR: Love you too Jade! X(

 MonKeybiz: Okay guys, we have a crisis on our hands. Kori is possibly facing a cat fight with Melody...

 CrAzYArtist: I can handle myself, Savannah...

 RabidsingeR: We all know you can't, Korianna.

 CrAzYArtist: ...

 MonKeybiz: Nice going, dummy.

 RabidsingeR: ...Oops...

 *CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 I glared at the log in sign for ChatRoomzNet, normally I was used to Lexsie's hurtful comments, knowing she didn't really mean them, but that was just too far. Crossing my arms I slouched in my computer chair, but the more I thought about what she said, the more I realized... Lexsie was right. I couldn't take care of myself. It was always my brother or my friends who stepped in when something didn't go right. Now Nathaniel did the same. I closed my eyes wondering if I surrounded myself with people who had an instinct to protect me, so I wouldn't have to do so myself. Did I make friends or bodyguards? I shivered, scared of the answer. Maybe I wasn't so innocent as everyone made me out to be, maybe I was just a manipulative girl and a coward.

 My cell phone buzzed, bringing me out of my self depression. I answered it without thought, “Hello?” “Is this Korianna?” Someone, a guy by the deep tone of his voice, asked. I frowned, wondering who could have gotten my number. “Yeah, who's this?” “Nathaniel... You gave me your number last night, remember?” I shot straight up in my chair, I had forgotten that we had exchanged numbers when he walked me home. I leaned back in my chair, my right hand pressing into my forehead, “Sorry... I didn't add your number in yet, I was too tired last night.” I shut my mouth, knowing I was about to start babbling. There was a pause on the other side of the line, “Korianna... are you alright? You don't sound very happy.” Nathaniel ventured. I mentally cursed, why did Nathaniel have to be so good at guessing someone's emotions? I stayed silent, debating if I should tell him or not. I sighed, unable to lie to the guy who had been nothing but nice to me since I came to Sweet Amoris, “I'm not. I-” Nathaniel cut me off before I could explain “Don't say anything else. I'm coming to pick you up, then you can tell me what's bothering you.” I couldn't help but smile.

 vvv

 “Alright, now what's the matter?” Nathaniel asked after he returned with two ice cream cones, handing me the chocolate one. I licked the frozen dairy, taking my time in answering. When I didn't answer for a while Nathaniel shrugged and leaned back on the bench, eating his own ice cream contently, waiting patiently for me to answer. Crunch! I pulled back realizing I had just ate all my ice cream and was working on the cone now. I was stalling. I sighed and turned to Nathaniel, “Do you... think I'm helpless?” I asked him. The student council president blinked several times, his blonde eyebrows pulled low over the bridge of his nose. Nathaniel shot me a funny look, “What makes you say that?” I sighed and looked down at the remains of my melting cone. “Something Lexsie said earlier, about how I can't take care of myself.” I saw Nathaniel's gold eyes narrow and hurried on before he could say anything, “I think she's right. Looking back, I've never been able to get out of a mess by myself. Lexsie and Castiel were always taking care of my problems. Then Savannah and now you. I can't think of any time I solved a problem by myself.”

 It took forever to Nathaniel to answer. I could tell by his frown that he was still trying not to get angry at Lexsie and failing miserably. Finally he exhaled deeply, his head bent so that his bright blonde hair covered his face, “Do you... want... to not be protected?” I tilted my head, “Huh?” I asked him confused by the question. Nathaniel looked at me, “Do you want your friends not to care about what happens to you?” He asked, his expression unreadable. I shook my head, still confused at what he was asking. Nathaniel closed his eyes and smiled, “Then you have nothing to worry about. We all love you Korianna, that's why we step in, because no one wants to see you hurt.” My eyes widened a fraction at the word 'love' but I shoved that thought out of my mind before it could fully form; now wasn't the time to be thinking like that. I stared at my lap, dimly feeling the cold sludge of chocolate ice cream sliding down my fingers. I hadn't thought of it that way. I pushed a smile on my face, "Alright if you say so..." I murmured. Nathaniel grinned and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. I blushed, but didn't pull away, I could get used to this...

 vvv

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

 RabidsingeR: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! FORGIVE ME! I'll never say another word again!

 CrAzYArtist: Just drop the subject Lexsie...

 $Cha-Ching$: Please! You've been going on and on about this for hours.

 RabidsingeR: You would too if your best friend is super mad at you!

 $Cha-Ching$: First off I wouldn't have even said it. Second, Ken would never be mad at me, it's against his nature.

 MonKeybiz: Well we all thought it was against Kori's nature to get mad enough to LOG OFF!

 GreenThumb: You three are terrible friends. Kori, are you okay?

 CrAzYArtist: Yeah...

 RabidsingeR: It doesn't sound like it! TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG!!!

 MonKeybiz: Seriously? You're the one asking that?

 CrAzYArtist: Nothing's wrong. And Lexsie...

 RabidsingeR: *gulp* ...yes...?

 CrAzYArtist: I'm only forgiving you because it got me a date with Nathaniel.

 RabidsingeR: WHAT?!?!

 $Cha-Ching$: O[]O

 MonKeybiz: GIMME DETAILS WOMAN!!

 GreenThumb: Well what do you know? There IS a silver lining to every thundercloud! CX

 “So then my mum was all for sending me across the Pond to my uncle's home, studying abroad as it were. That's why I'm here.” Tansy explained before class that morning, twirling a strand of her springy brown hair around her finger. She was nodding her head to a song only she could hear, her teeth latching onto her bottom lip, her rabbit earrings bobbing at the motion. Lexsie nodded eagerly, determined just to keep the girl talking so she could listen to Tansy's accent. I would feel sorry for the British girl, if she wasn't so talkative to begin with. Savannah yawned and laid her head on my shoulder, “Wake me when the bell rings.” She mumbled, closing her red eyes for a few extra minutes of sleep. I glanced at my sleepy friend then returned to my sketchpad. It had been a while since I had drawn, not since Amber got a hold of that cursed comic. It was only because Ms. Orion, the art teacher, was determined to make me enter a drawing in some annual art exhibit that I was even drawing. I would have said no, but then the miraculous thing happened and both Nathaniel and Castiel said I should enter something.

 I had decided to continue working on the piece I started when I first moved to Sweet Amoris, the one with Ken and Penni smiling at each other. I filled the blank spaces with pictures of Savannah and Lexsie with their arms around each other's shoulders, both laughing. Opposite of my two friends I had drawn Tansy, her face aglow with the light of her laptop. I erased Nathaniel in the library and replaced it with another picture of him bent over a filing cabinet, leafing through some papers. I also erased Amber and her crew and replaced it with the principal when she was calm and grandmotherly. Now I had a problem of small spaces in between the drawings, too small to be of any use, but big enough that they were noticeable. Tapping my pencil against my lip I tried to think of a way to fill in the spaces. Shading them in would be tacky and would ruin the drawings, clashing with the light shading. Maybe I could smudge the drawing around the edges to get rid of the white spaces. Tilting my head I scanned my drawing, trying to imagine what it would look like. If done correctly the pictures would appear to be coming out of a fog, but it would be hard to get the smudges exact. If I did smudge the drawing, it would probably take up more time than drawing actual pictures.

 “Wow. You're really good.” Penni said behind me, causing me to startle. Savannah grunted and sat up, giving me a bleary-eyed glare. The blonde behind us was still staring at my drawing, more specifically Ken. I shrugged, “I've had a lot of practice.” I said, but I knew she wasn't listening to me, her stormy grey eyes were still on Ken. Tentatively her fingers reached out to graze her best friend's penciled cheek. I watched her, amused. “You know, if you want, I can copy the drawing for you so you can have one of your own...” I offered. Penni gave me a wide eyed look, “Really? Yeah, I'd love one!” She said in a rare show of excitement. I smiled at her and flipped the cover of my sketchpad back over the drawing, “I'll give it to you tomorrow then.” I told her. Savannah leaned against me again, “What about Lysander? Will you draw him for me?” She asked in a sugary sweet tone. I glared at her, “No.”

 vvv

 “I'm eating here.” I said to my friends at the beginning of lunch, pointing to the Student Council Room. My decision earned knowing looks from the girls and a glare from Castiel. Lysander just smirked, he had forgiven me for crashing the date with Penni, but we were just overly polite now. At least he helped Lexsie drag Castiel away, so I could avoid the drama of Nathaniel and Castiel butting heads. Nathaniel looked up when I entered, smiling when he saw who it was, “Hey Korianna.” He said before popping a carrot stick in his mouth. I gave him a flat look, “Carrot sticks? Really, Nathaniel?” I asked. Nathaniel shrugged, “My mom always packed them in my lunches when I was younger. I like them.” He stated nonchalantly, nibbling at another carrot. I shook my head and sat down in the chair to the right of his. “Well, my mom packed brownies. I think I got the better deal.” We both laughed.

 Nathaniel raised an eyebrow at my lunch; a roast beef sandwich, iced tea in a thermos, and a wild berry muffin. I chuckled sheepishly, “I like to cook...” I said sheepishly. It was Nathaniel's turn to shake his head, “Is there anything you're not good at?” I answered him quickly, “School.” It was true. Castiel didn't apply himself at all and managed to make As, I studied hard and still barely made Bs. Nathaniel seemed surprised, “Really?” He asked. I nodded glumly and waited for Nathaniel to start comparing me to my brother, but instead he said, “If you ever need help studying, I can help.” He offered. I shot him a surprised look, seeing that blush of his that I loved. Reaching over I swiped one of his carrot sticks, “Alright, thanks Nathaniel.” I said, biting the stick in half with a Cheshire Cat grin. Nathaniel shot me a dirty look, grumbling something about thief under his breath. I only smiled and finished off my stolen carrot stick.

 vvv

 A hand appeared in the middle of my face, waving. I jerked back, blinking and glared at Penni. The blonde was glaring back at me, “You should really get your hearing checked, girl.” Penni snapped. I began to turn back to the book Nathaniel had loaned me, but Penni snatched it out of my hands before I could focus on its words. “Oh no! You're going to put this book down and converse like a normal person.” Penni said. I crossed my arms, “Study Hall is supposed to be for studying, not talking.” I retorted. Penni scoffed and waved her hand around the room, “And how many people are actually studying? Zero.” I opened my mouth, but my blonde friend cut me off, “You were reading for pleasure, it doesn't count. Besides... if you read you can't read the letter Ken sent me...” Penni finished with a sly grin.

 I suddenly forgot the book, “Give me!” I yelped reaching for the crumbled paper that Penni was waving around. Penni rolled her eyes, “Geez, you're just like a three year old.” She said as she dropped the letter in my grasping hands. I stuck my tongue out at her, but my eyes were already on the scrawling handwriting:

 Hey Pen!

 Got your letter, finally (you wouldn't believe how long the mail takes getting here...). I'm glad I'm still your bestest friend! XP Can you believe how long it's been since we last saw each other? Too long in my opinion! And don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other again before we're both sixty, maybe fifty-nine, lol. So you finally met Kori? I never got to talk to her in person, but like I said she sure seemed nice. Glad you could rectify that! See what MS is teaching me? 'Rectify' such a wonderful big word. Man I hate it here, it's all 'do this, do that, listen to the Sergeant or get your butt handed to you.' That's a direct quote from one of my MS friends. Her name is also Lexie, like the girl who's a friend of Kori- the one who seems to have it in for you. I've made a total of two friends at MS. Lexie, who is sarcastic and stubborn as a mule at times, but she's a good kid (lol I sound like an old man). Then there's Carson. Ooo Carson... that guy is

 Hey. I'm Lexie. Kentin isn't here right now, and he left this letter in plain sight, he should know better by now that if anything is left in the open, I'm going to be all over it! I'm a raccoon in a sense... MUST. HAVE. SHINY!! lol but it doesn't have to be shiny, just interesting. So, Pen... are you a guy or a girl? To be honest the name doesn't really give anything away, no offense. Kentin really doesn't talk about his life before he came to MS, but then I don't know anyone who does. Sergeant Krisp would probably go on and on about how wussy it would be if someone shared their sob story BC. Sorry, using MS lingo here. BC means 'Before Camp' kinda ironic, no? Ha ha, I sound like a frenchy. So, Pen, have any dirt to share on our good friend Kentin? That kid is as solid as a steel wall when it comes to BC life. I mean, even I'm more open then Kenny-boy and I've had a hard life. Not that I'm going to tell you, I don't even know you! Oops! Gotta go, Kenny is comin' back!

 Sorry about the paragraph above, I'm too lazy to rewrite this letter, and too lazy to scribble out what Lex wrote. Anyway, before Lexie got a hold of this I was talking about Carson. Well, I have to say if you weren't my best friend already, Carson probably would take that title. I think he might be a long lost brother or something... but we look nothing alike so it couldn't be that. Maybe a distant cousin. And yes, I wrote to my mom like you asked *cough cough ORDERED cough cough* I haven't received a reply yet. I wonder if my 'wonderful' father/master burned the letter, he probably did considering contact with someone's mother makes the person a wuss. Sorry, Pen, but MS can make a person bitter. Only the thought of you keeps me me. I know that sounds extremely cheesy, but it's true. You're the only person who ever thought of me as Kentin and not who I should be. That's why you're my bestest friend!

 Say hi to 'Cuddles' for me!

 Kentin Pierce

 P.S. What's this about Kori drawing us? I want to see! Can you send me it? And tell Korianna thanks for doing that.

 4rm Lex: Hey, Pen. So after reading Kenny's letter (behind his back I might add) and concluded that you were a girl (at least I hope), I have to know. Do you like like Kentin? Or are you just 'bestest friends'? Not that I'm trying to move in on your space, girl, just want to know. Cuz if so I'll be keeping the other ladies off Kentin's back. Not that he needs any help, but Kenny-boy is a real catch in MS. Probably the cutest guy here. All the girls swoon at the sight of him! Anyway, send me an answer! Us girls have to stick together and protect our men! ;3 (Kentin's probably going to kill me for this, but I don't care!)

 I set down the letter very slowly, then turned to Penni. “So what did you write in return?” I asked, carefully keeping my tone nonchalant. Penni glared at me, probably mad that I could read her mind so well, and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. I unfolded it and turned my back to Penni so she wouldn't see what I was doing.

 Dear Ken,

 I'm glad things are going so well, and that you made friends. Does Lex really call you Kenny-boy to your face? O.o And Lexie, I'm not tell you if I like like Ken or not, I don't want to create any confusions as to how I feel for Ken, besides that information is between him and me alone. But if you feel it necessary to keep other girls off him, go right ahead. Ken, I'm not going to send you the drawing Kori did of us, because I can use it as another incentive to come home, you know... blackmail. X)) Besides seeing me again of course. And also, when did you get so popular? WHERE'S MY DORK AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM!?!?!?! lol XD Anyway, me and Lexsie are now relatively good friends, we still have our hard times, but that's because she's a hot head and has a crush on Kori's twin brother (you remember Castiel, right?). Well... I guess that's another long story to save for WHEN you come home, there's a lot of long stories. Like how Kori has a crush on the student body pres Nathaniel Powers and visa-versa (they're such an adorable couple!!) or how there's now a British techie girl going here. Oh! How about the Amber's Halloween Party Mishap? Starring Korianna, Amber, and an accident involving soda... that one is a doozy! I swear, if you put Kori and Amber withing five feet of each other, there's bound to be some interesting (and very amusing) events that will- whatever I completely forgot what I was going to say.

 I scooted a little farther away from Penni and started writing:

 Hiya! This is Korianna West, and this is to Lex (I'm just going to call you that since my own best friend is names Lexsie- with an 's' though): Penni likes Ken. I repeat, Penni likes Ken. She likes him just as much as I like Nathaniel, which is a lot, just sayin'. And since I'm sure Ken is reading this... if you break my friend's heart I'll track you all the way down to Military School and castrate you with a rusty spork. Don't think I won't, after all my twin brother is Castiel! But other than that you're good! ^^ But I still have to approve of you before I give my consent for you to date Penni. Otherwise you're out of luck. So when are you coming back, Ken? Cuz I'm tired of having to chase off idiot boys who thinks they have a chance at our lovely Penni (one of which being my own friend; and boy was Lys pissed at me! O.O). You had better come back and claim what's yours cuz

 The letter was snatched from my hand before I could finish. Penni was standing over me, red in the face. I could almost see the steam coming out of her ears like a cartoon. I smiled at her, “I've got his address now, so I'll just send my note to him if you don't.” I told my friend, knowing how much it would frustrate her. Penni turned even more red, if that were possible; for a moment I thought she would hit me.

 *$Cha-Ching$ has signed in*

 $Cha-Ching$: KORIANNA!

 CrAzYArtist: Really? I thought you already blew all your anger off at me in Study Hall.

 MonKeybiz: Now I'm curious what you did, Kori.

 RabidsingeR: Who isn't?

 GreenThumb: If it has anything to do with boys, then I'm not. Why can't we have a NORMAL discussion?

 MonKeybiz: Because you happen to be the only guy here.

 XxSilentBlossomxX: It is true Jade.

 GreenThumb: Kori! Make Nath join!!!

 RabidsingeR: Really? Then they can just flirt over the internet too.

 CrAzYArtist: Thanks for talking about me like I'm not here. AND WE WOULD NOT!!

 $Cha-Ching$: Hey, I have a crisis here!

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Oh no! What happened?

$Cha-Ching$: Kori wrote to Ken that I like him and then blacked mailed me into sending it.

 CrAzYArtist: Guilty as charged!! X3

 RabidsingeR: ROTFL!!!!

 MonKeybiz: Oh so cruel, Kori. I commend you!

 XxSilentBlossomxX: That wasn't very nice, Korianna...

 GreenThumb: I agree with Violette.

 RabidsingeR: WOULD YOU TWO JUST DATE ALREADY!?!?!?!

 GreenThumb: LEXSIE!

 CrAzYArtist: BTW, did you know Ken apparently has a friend also names Lexie? She doesn't spell it with an 's' though.

 $Cha-Ching$: Kori...

 MonKeybiz: You know, I think Violette fainted...

 RabidsingeR: That could be a valid reason why she's not answering.

 GreenThumb: ...I'm going to murder you one day...

 RabidsingeR: But you won't! ^^

 $Cha-Ching$: Back on topic...

 CrAzYArtist: Oh please, I know you played matchmaker that day you and Nath took me to the mall. Pretty convenient for your parents to show up JUST THEN.

 $Cha-Ching$: …

 MonKeybiz: 1 point to Korianna.

 RabidsingeR: Tell me one person who can out-argue our friend.

 GreenThumb: I can name two- Castiel and Nathaniel.

 MonKeybiz: Oh, touche. :{D lol mustache!

 RabidsingeR: I seriously question your sanity, Savannah...

 MonKeybiz: Why do you and Kori always say that?

 CrAzYArtist: Because it's true!

 RabidsingeR: Like that time you made us perform live in the courtyard of the school! I told you we weren't ready for publicity!

 GreenThumb: Oh geez, here they go again... talk of the old days.

 $Cha-Ching$: You have to admit it is amusing to watch them...

 CrAzYArtist: I don't even know why you made me play along, I can't play an instrument or sing worth a flip.

 RabidsingeR: You're still the prettiest of us three. Plus you were popular back then.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm not the prettiest!!

 MonKeybiz: No I really think you are. Your silver hair and purple eyes really works, makes you look exotic. As opposed to Witch Eyes over here.

 RabidsingeR: Or Goth Girl. Admit it Kori, you're the prettiest!

 CrAzYArtist: AM NOT!

 MonKeybiz: Oh really, then why are you the one with a semi-boyfriend and neither of us have even a smidgen that our crushes even notice our presence?

 RabidsingeR: You might as well agree, when Savannah starts actually making sense you know that she's right.

 CrAzYArtist: I. AM. NOT. THE. PRETTIEST!!

 GreenThumb: She's right. I'm the prettiest, can we change the subject now?

 $Cha-Ching$: XDDDDDDDDDD I think I'm going to die of laughter!!!

 MonKeybiz: ...I don't even know how to respond to that...

 CrAzYArtist: I think Penni has the good idea.

 RabidsingeR: *cough cough* Kori's still the prettiest! *cough cough*

 CrAzYArtist: LEXSIE!!!

 “Ouch!” I yelped and stuck my jabbed pinkie into my mouth to try and suck away the pain. The couple in front of me shot me a strange look, but didn't pay me any other attention. I glared at the pencil that I had pricked my finger on, if it wasn't so important I would have snapped the drawing utensil out of spite. When I was sure that the pencil didn't have any other evil plots up it's sleeve, I grabbed it again, careful to keep the point away from my fingers this time, and started sketching a rough outline of the couple. I had originally meant to spend the day at the park, just drawing scenery, but then someone saw my drawings and asked if I did portraits. I was about to tell him no when the man shoved a ten dollar bill in my hand and sat his girlfriend down in front of me. After that I started up a little business of drawing people for ten dollars a drawing, twenty if they wanted it colored.

 As I began finding the right curve of the woman's cheek, a shadow fell over my drawing pad. I looked up to see a sleazy looking teen, the kind normally found smoking pot down shadowy alleyways, leering down at me, “Hey there... haven't seen you here before.” He sneered. I scrunched my nose up in disgust at his breath, no wonder Castiel didn't like me coming here. The couple frowned at the guy, but didn't move. I was glad, I had already sketched them out and didn't want to ruin the pose. Besides, I could handle one druggie teen. My ex-boyfriend, Ty, was an addict as well, so I knew how to deal with drug heads. “Excuse me, I'm trying to concentrate, can you wait?” I asked politely, though I knew he wouldn't do anything. The sleaze cast a bloodshot glace at my drawing, “You're good... what do you say of drawing me?” He asked, smirking. I wanted to gag. I shot him a look, “Do you have ten bucks?” I knew he didn't, there was no way, and even if he did he probably wouldn't want to pay for a picture.

 Before he could answer someone sat down beside me and threw an arm around my shoulders, “Sorry to keep you waiting, babe. This guy bothering you?” A new guy asked. The couple sighed and I gave them an apologetic look before turning to my rescuer, “Yeah...” I mumbled. The new guy shot Sleazy Druggie a cocky smile, “Begone, and stop bothering my girlfriend.” He ordered airily. Sleazy Druggie gave me a glare, as if it was my fault he had to leave, and slunk away, his greasy dreadlocks dangling low over his face in defeat. False Boyfriend grinned at me when Sleazy Druggie was gone, “So... my name is Kyle, what's yours?” The couple I was drawing groaned, exchanging knowing looks. They thought I was about to hit it off with False Boyfriend, as if. I did smile at him, knowing it would be rude not to at least thank him. “My name is Korianna, thanks for saving me, but I didn't need help.” I said. Kyle seemed to ignore that last part, “Korianna, huh? Nice name. So what are you doing right now?” I gave him a look that said 'I'm on to you', “Being paid to draw. Can I finish this couple please?” I said flatly. Kyle gave me a winning grin, “Sure, I'll go get you some ice cream while you are!” He hopped up before I could tell him no. Sighing I returned to drawing the poor couple, making sure I made it perfect, they deserved to have the best drawing I could give them after waiting patiently.

 Kyle came back just as I handed the couple their finished drawing, two ice cream cones in his hand. He handed me the vanilla one, much to my dismay. At least Nathaniel knew I liked chocolate. Kyle sat down again, too close for my comfort, but considering my side was already pressed against the arm rest of the bench, I had no where to go. Kyle gave me an appraising look, “So, Korianna... where do you go to school, I think I would have noticed your white hair if you went to my high school.” I took a cautious lick of the vanilla ice cream and had to suppress the grimace, I really didn't like vanilla. “I go to Sweet Amoris.” I said nonchalantly. Kyle laughed, “Really? That place is the most drama filled school in this town.” I frowned at the guy, that comment was making him lose points, not that I cared; I was still sitting there because I was too polite to blow him off, especially after he rescued me from Sleazy Druggie. Kyle seemed to catch on to what I was thinking, he faked a cough, “Sorry...” He mumbled, looking sheepish.

 I pretended to check my watch, “Excuse me, but I'm supposed to be meeting my boyfriend for lunch.” I said in a false cheerful tone. Kyle's face fell, leaving no doubt that he had been trying to flirt with me. “Bye!” I called as I walked away, waving over my shoulder as I headed for the cafe across the park. I hadn't ever eaten there myself, but it seems I was the only soul in town that hadn't, even Savannah and Lexsie had been. I was seated almost immediately, given a small two-party table in the back corner of the cafe, near the kitchen. I set my drawing supplies on the table in front of me and ducked behind my menu, lest some other creepy guy decided to hit on me today.

 I hadn't even scanned the first column before my waitress was at my table, asking if I was ready to order. Talk about super service. When I didn't answer right away, she began blathering about today's special and what her favorite meal was. I ended up choosing the special, something called Slammer's Choice, which turned out to be nothing but a fully loaded hamburger, and a chocolate milkshake topped with whipped cream. I was hoping that the milkshake would help tone down on the super sweet vanilla taste still coating my tongue. I opened my drawing pad, intending to work Castiel's birthday present, a drawing of Demon, while I waited for my food.

 “One Slammer's Choice and milkshake.” Someone said a little later, while I was coloring in the right eye of Demon. My head jerked up at the familiar voice and I found myself staring at Nathaniel, looking very odd out of his crisp white shirt and blue tie he always wore at school. “Korianna?” He asked, startled, proving it wasn't just my imagination. I shook my head in disbelief, “You work here? I didn't know that.” Nathaniel blushed and looked away, "Yeah... My father wants me to have a job, and this was the only place hiring." He said sheepishly. I smiled and shook my head again, this time with amusement, "Only you, Nathaniel..." The blonde's eyebrows drew together and he opened his mouth to speak, but I continued before a word could pass his lips, "I used to work at an art supply shop, it's what got me hooked on drawing. Who knows, maybe you'll become a great cook!" "I don't cook the food." Nathaniel said flatly, I shrugged playfully and grinned at him fluttering my eyelashes, "Then you'll be a great host, for when your all rich and famous and host all those fancy parties with your spoiled wife and bratty kids." The look on Nathaniel's face could curdle milk, I hid my milkshake from view just in case he ruined it.

 Just as Nathaniel opened his mouth to speak, a boy our age pokes his head out of the kitchen, “Hey Nate, stop flirting with the pretty girl and come get Table 7's order!” Nathaniel rolled his golden eyes and called back, tucking his serving tray underneath his arm, “Alright, TC, be right there.” The boy, TC, grumbled something under his breath that I didn't catch and disappeared back into the kitchen. Nathaniel looked back at me, “My shift is almost done, do you want to wait around...?” He asked hesitantly. I smiled, “Of course.” I said, I could wait for Nathaniel forever, but I kept that part to myself.

 vvv

 I eagerly licked at my second ice cream cone of the day, this one chocolate. Nathaniel walked beside me, still laughing over my story of the flirting fiasco I had suffered before I ran into him, “I knew you were pretty, Korianna, but-” Nathaniel broke off laughing again. I rolled my purple eyes at him, “I'm going to take that as a compliment and ignore the 'but'. Also, if you ever buy me vanilla ice cream, I won't speak to you ever again.” I said snippishly. Nathaniel started to crack up again. After a while I nudged him in the ribs, “Okay, your turn to tell a funny story.” Nathaniel shrugged, “My day isn't as... interesting as yours.” He said nonchalantly. Having already suffered through one of his failed attempts at a joke, I conceded the point; Nathaniel was too serious to have funny days.

 “Fine, tell me about TC, what's those initials stand for?” I asked, changing the subject. Nathaniel made a face, “Why are you thinking about getting him to flirt with you too?” He teased. I mock glared and swatted his arm, “Speak!” I demanded playfully. Nathaniel laughed and threw his arm over my shoulders and drew me closer, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, “Well, TC's real name Tyrone Cyril, so you can imagine why he goes by his initials.” I snorted, “And I thought Lexsie's full name was bad!” I said between giggles. Nathaniel smirked, “Yes... what is her full name?” I turned my nose in the air, “She made me promise not to tell. A secret is a secret and nothing, not even a kiss, will pry it from me.” I said airily, Nathaniel smirked, “Oh come on, Korianna. I told you TC's real name, and he made me promise never to tell either... I won't tell a soul.”

 I looked my boyfriend up and down, pretending to consider if he was trustworthy or not. Finally I stage whispered, “You promise?” He nodded, trying to act serious, but his lips kept twitching. I glanced left and right and dramatically waved Nathaniel down. Grinning he leaned down until our faces were inches from each other. The air suddenly got a lot tenser and more serious. We stared at each other, aware how close we were. My tongue darted out to wet my lips, and Nathaniel's gold eyes zeroed in on my mouth. I couldn't believe how much I wanted him to kiss me, how much I needed him to. Nathaniel leaned even farther in, so close that I could feel the presence of his mouth, just millimeters from mine. One tiny movement and we would be kissing.

 Nathaniel's eyes flicked back up to my wide ones and he smirked, “I'm not kissing you until you tell me Lexsie's name.” He said, pulling just a little farther away. I glared at him, darn his everlasting sense of cruel jokes. I think he was learning too much from the villains in those mystery books he was always reading. With one last look of surliness, I leaned up and whispered Lexsie's name in Nathaniel's ear, nipping at his earlobe just to get revenge. Nathaniel jerked back, his golden eyes wide with surprise, then he crashed his lips to mine. I guess I lied when I said a kiss wouldn't be able to pry the secret from me, because when Nathaniel finally pulled away from my tender and kiss-swollen lips, I was ready to spill any secret he asked, just so he could kiss me like that again.

 I was trying to concentrate on my English paper due next week when my cell phone buzzed on my bed. It was Savannah, *U better get on ChatRoomz.* I sighed, I had specifically told my friends last night before I logged off that today I wasn't going to get on so I could finish my homework. *Homework, remember?* I texted back. Savannah's answer came quickly, *K, I just thought u might want 2 defend urself. Jades gettin pretty tired of doin the job 4 u* I blinked at the text, was it just me or did Savannah sound mad? I minimized my essay and pulled up ChatRoomzNet, dreading what was going to happen.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

 RabidsingeR: YOU!

 GreenThumb: Finally!

 *GreenThumb has signed out*

 RabidsingeR: HOW COULD YOU?!?!

 CrAzYArtist: Whoa, whoa what did I do?

 $Cha-Ching$: You staying on Savannah?

 MonKeybiz: Yeah... someone needs to be the mediator.

 $Cha-Ching$: Alright then I'm out, text me when the chat room is safe again.

 *$Cha-Ching$ has signed out*

 MonKeybiz: Will do!

 RabidsingeR: Korianna Rillei West, who did you tell!?

 CrAzYArtist: WHO DID I TELL WHAT?!

 RabidsingeR: My ****ing name!

 MonKeybiz: Hey hey, let's keep it PG.

 RabidsingeR: Butt out, Savannah! It's none of your business.

 MonKeybiz: Are you sure Kori is even the person who told?

 RabidsingeR: Because she's the only person who actually knows my full name besides my PARENTS!

 I gulped staring at the screen and suddenly understanding what Lexsie was so upset about. I quickly swiveled my chair around so I wasn't facing the computer and texted Nathaniel *Please tell me you didn't tell anyone Lexsie's full name...* It was a long moment before he answered *No, why?* *Because someone must of overheard us and told everyone else. I'm dead* Nathaniel took a while in answering, *I doubt Lexsie will kill you.* *Well if I don't show up Monday you know who to blame. I have to deal with this mess now. Bye* *Good luck O.o* I turned back to the computer screen and grimaced. I hadn't spent more than a minute texted Nathaniel but Lexsie was already shouting at me again

 RabidsingeR: KORIANNA YOU COWARD, COME BACK AND FACE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!!!!!

 MonKeybiz: Castiel might have had something for her to do. She hasn't logged out.

 RabidsingeR: KORIANNA!! Get your butt back on and take it like a woman!

 CrAzYArtist: I'm back. Geez I had to ask Nathaniel something, sorry!

 RabidsingeR: What did you ask him? If he told anyone my name?

 CrAzYArtist: ...yes...

 MonKeybiz: Kori! O.O

 RabidsingeR: WHAT?!?!? You actually did tell your boyfriend my topmost secret in the universe?! You promised never to tell!

 CrAzYArtist: It's a name, Lexsie.

 RabidsingeR: SO? You made a promise never to tell, and guess what, *****, you did!

 MonKeybiz: Hey hey, PG remember?

 CrAzYArtist: It's Nathaniel I told, do you really think I would just share with anyone? You can trust Nathaniel, he can keep a secret.

 RabidsingeR: Yeah sure, that is why Amber texted me about my name this morning? Because your boyfriend can keep a secret?

 *SBPrez has joined the Chat Room*

 CrAzYArtist: She must have overheard us!

 RabidsingeR: Uh-huh, sure. You told her AND Nathaniel! I know you did.

 CrAzYArtist: Are you even listening to yourself? I hate Amber, why would I ever tell her anything besides 'get lost'?

 RabidsingeR: Because you are always defending her when I try to talk bad about her.

 CrAzYArtist: That's because I hate gossip and you know it!

 RabidsingeR: I don't know anything about you Korianna West. I thought you were a promise keeper, but obviously you're not!

 CrAzYArtist: You are over reacting, Lexsie. It is a NAME!

 RabidsingeR: That you know I hate!

 CrAzYArtist: You know what I find amusing? You have no qualms of spilling other people's secrets, say... Jade's crush on Violet, but I dare whisper your real name and suddenly I'm the most horrible person on Earth!

 RabidsingeR: Well, if the shoe fits.

 CrAzYArtist: Alright, hypocrite. I'm the most horrible person on Earth. I should just bow down to you and beg for forgiveness for all eternity, because it's obvious that I will never be able to redeem myself.

 RabidsingeR: What did you call me?

 CrAzYArtist: Are you so incompetent that you don't understand the word 'hypocrite'? I'll try to spell it out so you can understand: It means that you can do anything you want but God forbid someone else do the same thing. Do you understand now?

 MonKeybiz: Kori... calm down.

 CrAzYArtist: You asked me to defend myself, I am. So BUTT OUT!

 RabidsingeR: Geez, aren't you defensive when your little innocent image is at stake. You know I'm glad I found out what you were really like so now I can just avoid you.

 CrAzYArtist: I guess you'll have to give up your foolish dreams about Castiel then, since he is my twin.

 SBPrez: BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!

 MonKeybiz: Hey who are you? This is a private chat room, how did you get in here!?

 SBPrez: I'm Nathaniel.

 RabidsingeR: Great, did you tell your boy to come and defend you, Korianna? Two against one is it? You're a coward.

 SBPrez: Korianna didn't invite me. Penni did. She thought I could give a better explanation.

 RabidsingeR: I'm all ears, traitor.

 SBPrez: Alright. I blackmailed Kori to tell me. She tried to not tell me, but I got it out of her. She also made sure no one was around before she told me and whispered your name in my ear.

 RabidsingeR: So how did that *****y sister of yours know my name?

 SBPrez: -_- When I asked her about it, Amber admitted to breaking into the Student Council Room and stealing some student files. She happened to grab yours, Lexsie.

 *RockStar has signed in*

 RockStar: So Penni told me to get on and break up a fight between Lexsie and Kori... My solution: Stop butting heads and forgive each other already. And Kori, it's your turn to make dinner.

 SBPrez: Oh great...

 RockStar: Please tell me that isn't who I think it is.

 MonKeybiz: *gulp* Why am I suddenly in the middle of two fights?

 CrAzYArtist: Lexsie?

 RabidsingeR: What?

 CrAzYArtist: Call a truce so we can watch Nath and Castiel fight? :)

 RabidsingeR: ...alright...

 SBPrez: Sorry to disappoint you, slacker.

 RockStar: Say that to my face, Goody Two Shoes.

 SBPrez: Gladly. You're reading the computer screen, so I said it to your face.

 RockStar: I MEANT IN PERSON!!!!

 SBPrez: I'm typing this in person, slacker. So I'm saying it in person.

 RockStar: Stop being a ****

 SBPrez: Gladly, when you do the same.

 RockStar: GRRRRRRRRRR!!!! You're dead tomorrow Mr. Goody-goody!

 SBPrez: You've been saying that for years, West.

 RockStar: Well this time it's real, Powers.

 CrAzYArtist: Ah, be silent both of you before I come after you!

 SBPrez: Fine.

 RockStar: HA! You're whipped, goody-goody!

 I glared at my brother's response, he was going to regret that. I dug around my drawing until I came up with a small silver whistle. Sticking it in the corner of my mouth I began blowing with each breath as I continued to watch Nathaniel and Castiel fight between them. Demon began barking like crazy and I could hear loud crashing downstairs. My brother started yelling at me, but I was too busy blowing on the whistle to answer. Finally he typed on ChatRoomz:

 RockStar: KORIANNA RILLEI WEST!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!

 MonKeybiz: Huh? She's not doing anything.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm blowing a doggy whistle. I thought I told you to stop fighting.

 RockStar: **** it, Kori!

 SBPrez: Hey, watch your language.

 RockStar: Oh I remember when you used to say that, goody-goody. Don't deny it.

 SBPrez: Shut up...

 CrAzYArtist: Do I smell a back story?

 RabidsingeR: Tell tell!

 RockStar: Never.

 SBPrez: For once I agree with West, I'm not telling. And you were stupid, slacker, to believe her over me.

 RockStar: Oh was I? I saw you, Goody Two Shoes!

 SBPrez: Ever thought that it was her fault?

 RockStar: She wouldn't ever do anything like that!

 SBPrez: You obviously didn't know her then.

 RockStar: I'm sure you knew her.

 SBPrez: As much as I would say I did just to annoy you, that would be lying.

 RockStar: Yeah, right.

 RockStar: KORI STOP BLOWING THAT **** WHISTLE!!

 CrAzYArtist: Then stop arguing with my boyfriend. And Nathaniel, stop arguing with my brother.

 SBPrez: You don't have a whistle to bother me with.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm not kissing you again if you continue.

 SBPrez: ...fine...

 MonKeybiz: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, you got him there, Kori!

 RockStar: *gag* I think I'm going to vomit.

 RabidsingeR: I'm still mad at you, but I have to say that is perfect blackmail.

 CrAzYArtist: I should know, that's what Nath used to get me to tell him your name.

 RabidsingeR: In that case... I guess I forgive you. Kisses are hard to abstain from.

 “So... how bad do you think it will be?” Lexsie asked me and Castiel as we started up the stairs towards Sweet Amoris. My brother shrugged, not commenting. I tried to keep an optimistic view on it all, “Well, not many people really like Amber, so they will probably zone her out if she tries to talk to them and-” I cut off abruptly when the three of us entered the main hallway, my mouth dropping open a little at the sight of the redecorated halls. Everywhere there was papers taped to the lockers and walls, scattered over the floors, and in neat stacks by the doors. Every last one had Lexsie's student ID photo and her full name printed in capital letters across the page in red ink. If that wasn't injury enough, drooping from the ceiling was a white banner that said LEXSIE LIARD IS LEXSINGTON CONCORD LIARD!!* Castiel and I exchanged worried looked over Lexsie's head then looked down at our friend. She actually looked like she was going to cry.

 Some jerk spotted us standing there at the entrance of the school and shouted, “Hey! There's the Walking History Book!” Everyone standing in the hall started laughing. Castiel glared and stalked towards the source of the jerk, murder written clearly on his face. Everyone made a clear path for my brother, giving me a clear view of the idiot who opened his mouth and signed his death warrant. I only knew it was him because Lysander had the guy by the collar, the usually laid back musician looking about as murderous as Castiel. Seeing that the boys had it handled, I nudged Lexsie towards the Student Council Room, knowing that she would be able to escape the scrutiny there. This reminded me too much of my own problem when Amber decided to doctor my art and show her work to everyone else.

 Nathaniel glanced up when we entered the room, his gold eyes serious. He didn't say anything as I forcibly sat Lexsie down in one of the chairs, since she was too stunned to do so herself. I walked over to my boyfriend, “Is there anything you're doing?” I whispered, with a cautious look to Lexsie. She just sat there, her green eyes hazed over as every nightmare over her name probably came to life. I felt sorry for my best friend, nothing could compare to having your worst nightmares realized. Nathaniel looked at Lexsie as well before saying quietly, “I already had my sister suspended. Someone went to get a ladder to take that stupid banner down and Savannah, Penni, Iris and Lysander are collected the fliers as we speak.” I nodded and sat down beside him with a sigh, “Man... I don't want to deal with this.” I grumbled to myself. Nathaniel reached out and took my hand, “You need to be there for Lexsie. She was there for you when Amber bullied you.” He said. I nodded slowly, he was right of course. He always was when it came to things like this.

 My brother burst in at that moment and Nathaniel dropped my hand quickly. I schooled my face so not to show the hurt as I turned to my brother. Castiel was glaring at Nathaniel, for whether he saw us holding hands or for another reason (which was plausible), “I'm taking Lexsie home.” He growled, it wasn't a question. Nathaniel narrowed his own golden eyes, “You don't have guardianship over her. She cannot leave without parental consent.” I sighed, of course the two boys in my life would find something to argue over in the midst of a crisis. Lexsie didn't even seem to acknowledge that she was being talked about, she sat in her chair as still as a statue. As I watched her, my friend drew in a shuddering breath, like those when you were crying, and burst into tears.

 Nathaniel and Castiel halted in their argument to stare at Lexsie, both looking extremely uncomfortable to be in the presence of a girl's tears. I glared at them both for being idiots before I sat down beside Lexsie and pulling her into my arms. Lexsie didn't notice, she just continued to sob. Fat tears rolled down her face, leaving black trails from her mascara as huge gasping wails shook her body. Her hands were curled up in front over her, as if trying to hold her heart in. I shushed her, petting away her shoot green highlighted black hair away from her wet cheeks. Lexsie continuously shook, like a small dog in the cold. her face turning blotchy red. Crying was never beautiful, no matter how many movies made them. It was an ugly business, to be seen only by those closest to you. But even I had never seen Lexsie cry, she was an impenetrable wall, holding all tears inside to be saved for a later time.

 I shot a nasty glare over my shoulder at Castiel and Nathaniel, who still stood there dumbly, staring at poor Lexsie. Guys should never see a girl cry, it was an unwritten rule. Especially when one of the guys happened to be a crush. Nathaniel was the first to recover, probably used to seeing Amber cry over nothing, he practically had to shove a still stunned Castiel out of the room, shutting the door behind him. The faint click of the door shutting sent Lexsie into a full out bawling fest, it was as if she had been waiting for the boys to leave so she could let her reservoir of tears loose. I just held my friend tightly, knowing that no words or friendly gestures could stop such a flood.

 ...

 $Cha-Ching$: So... you think she's getting on?

 MonKeybiz: Probably not.

 CrAzYArtist: Castiel took her out for ice cream, because ice cream makes everything better.

 MonKeybiz: I worry about your philosophy sometimes, Kori.

 CrAzYArtist: It's not mine! It's a West family belief!

 $Cha-Ching$: All of you West's are strange.

 GreenThumb: Remind me never to meet your parents...

 SBPrez: I wish I could say the same.

 CrAzYArtist: If you want to truly date me, Nathaniel Powers, then you have to meet my dad. It's the law.

 SBPrez: It is not the law.

 CrAzYArtist: It is in the West family. My father has to approve of every single guy I ever date.

 MonKeybiz: So how did Ty pass the Great Test of the Century?

 CrAzYArtist: Don't get snarky with me... and that little prick could charm a homeless man into giving up his last pair shoes.

 SBPrez: So why did you two break up?

 MonKeybiz: Oh you know, cheated on Kori then tried to make it as if she was the reason he cheated. The usual stuff.

 GreenThumb: Ouch.

 MonKeybiz: Yeah, Lexsie knocked a few of his teeth out when she heard about it.

 SBPrez: Should I be worried?

CrAzYArtist: Just don't screw up and you'll be fine. But Lexsie would be the least of your worries if you ever did anything to hurt me. I know Castiel is looking for a chance to lay into you.

 SBPrez: WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON?!?!?!?!

CrAzYArtist: My side. CX

 MonKeybiz: Okay lovebirds, we have a serious crisis on our hands. What are we going to do about Lexsie?

 CrAzYArtist: I'm sure if something evil happened to you the best thing to cheer you up would be to go get ice cream with Lysander. Trust me, it's being handled.

 MonKeybiz: ...I hate you...

 $Cha-Ching$: Is it bad that I'm laughing so hard?

 GreenThumb: No... So Penni, any news from Ken?

 $Cha-Ching$: o///////o HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!?

MonKeybiz: Kori have you been spilling secrets again?

 CrAzYArtist: I take offense to that.

 SBPrez: I thought we cleared this up last night.

 MonKeybiz: Nath stop standing up for your girlfriend! Let her answer the question.

 CrAzYArtist: I did Savannah. I said I take offense to that, meaning NO!

 SBPrez: Nath?

 $Cha-Ching$: You're name takes to long to spell out, so we shorten it on chat.

 SBPrez: Savannah's name is only a letter shorter than mine...

 CrAzYArtist: But her name shortened sounds weird. Savan doesn't have a ring to it.

 MonKeybiz: Plus it sounds like a guys name...

 SBPrez: So... Savannah is the only person who doesn't have a nickname?

 CrAzYArtist: And Castiel and Jade and Ken.

 $Cha-Ching$: Actually Ken's real name is Kentin, so yes he had a nickname.

 SBPrez: I wasn't counting Castiel.

 CrAzYArtist: You might as well start, buster. He's my brother which means your going to be seeing him a lot.

 MonKeybiz: Careful what you say, Nath, Kori loves her brother.

 SBPrez: Don't call me Nath, please.

 MonKeybiz: Why not?

 SBPrez: Reasons I don't wish to share yet.

 CrAzYArtist: You're just as closed off as Castiel sometimes.

 GreenThumb: Oooooooooo, burn!

 SBPrez: Shut up Jade...

 MonKeybiz: Well I'm not going to stop calling you Nath until you tell me. So there!

 *RabidsingeR has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: LEXSIE! How are you feeling?!

 RabidsingeR: better... you're right, Kori. That ice cream philosophy works wonders.

 CrAzYArtist: HA! Take that suckers!

 MonKeybiz: We never said you were wrong.

 $Cha-Ching$: Just strange.

 GreenThumb: And that we never wanted to meet your parents.

 SBPrez: *eye roll* All of you are nuts. Why do I get on is beyond me.

 *RockStar has signed in*

 SBPrez: Bye, Korianna! See you at school!

 *SBPrez has signed out*

 RockStar: At least I don't have to deal with that goody-goody tonight.

 CrAzYArtist: You do realize how stupid you sound when you call him a 'goody-goody' right?

 RockStar: Shut it, Kori.

 CrAzYArtist: NEVER!!! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

 RockStar: I'm not related to you.

 CrAzYArtist: So... you don't want to be with your non-related family when Nathaniel meets Dad?

 RockStar: I'm related to you again.

 CrAzYArtist: Too bad! You're not going! XD

 MonKeybiz: Hey, let someone else have a chance to speak, CRH!

 $Cha-Ching$: CRH?

 GreenThumb: What does that mean?

 RabidsingeR: Oh, you two aren't new to the chat room atmosphere. CRH means Chat Room Hogs. It's for people who take all the spotlight

 CrAzYArtist: I think they got that without the explanation, Lexsie...

 RockStar: KORI! Stop being a prick.

 CrAzYArtist: A. Who are you and what have you don't with my brother? B. Who are you and WHAT ON EARTH HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BROTHER!? C. I'm not going to be pussyfooting around her. That is the last thing she needs.

 MonKeybiz: Awwwww, Castiel is so cute when he's all protective.

 CrAzYArtist: Castiel stop cursing, you're burning my ears.

 RockStar: I'LL STOP WHEN YOU STOP BLOWING THAT **** DOG WHISTLE!!!!

 CrAzYArtist: It's the only way to make you behave. Besides, it keeps Demon happy.

 MonKeybiz: It is effective.

 RockStar: Kori, go to bed before I call Mom and tell her you're still up.

 GreenThumb: You still have a bed time? Even when both of you live without adults supervision?

 CrAzYArtist: There's a flaw in your plan, Castiel. When on earth has Mom EVER enforced our bedtime? And I know you won't call Dad, because you'll both just start arguing.

 RockStar: STOP BLOWING THAT GOD**** WHISTLE!

 CrAzYArtist: Then stop being stupid. I have homework anyway, good night everyone! (except Castiel)

 GreenThumb: You don't think she's mad right?

 MonKeybiz: Kori? Naw, the twins just like arguing for fun. It's actually kinda funny.

 RockStar: Shut up Lucky...

 MonKeybiz: YOU PROMISED NEVER TO USE THAT NICKNAME AGAIN!!!

 *CrAzYArtist has signed off*

 I shook my head and shut down my computer. As I pulled out my math textbook to work on the problems due Friday, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it then smiled when I saw what Nathaniel sent me. *Sweet dreams, Korianna* I unlocked my phone and texted back: *Don't let the bedbugs bite ;)* Though I had only been dating him for a few weeks, my relationship with Nathaniel was already better than that of Ty. I hoped it continued that way.

 Monday we were back at school, a mass of yawning zombies just wishing for those ten more minutes in our heavenly bed. Everyone except Nathaniel of course. He was bright eyed and energetic when I came stumbling in the Student Council Room, groggy like always. My golden haired boyfriend raised an eyebrow as I plopped down in the closest chair, “When do you go to bed, Korianna?” He asked as he returned to his task of filing away a file. I raised my head a little from the table to glare at him, “Less talking, more sleeping.” I spat. Nathaniel, bless his soul, didn't respond. I laid my head down on the table again, letting a small happy sigh escape my lips. There was fifteen minutes to the morning bell, maybe I could get at least ten minutes of dozing if I just laid there, thinking of how tired I was...

 The door burst open, “Nathaniel! You wouldn't believe- Oh.” I twisted around to glare at Melody. Lexsie, Penni, and Iris all stood behind her. Lexsie was the only one who wasn't surprised, she just giggled behind her hand. Lexsie knew I wasn't a morning person, and she found great amusement when other people discovered how grouchy I could really be. I saw Nathaniel roll his eyes in my peripheral vision, “Korianna, try going to bed earlier if you can't get enough sleep.” He said. I shot him a glare as I laid my head back down, grumbling, “Tell Castiel that, then maybe he would stop playing the stupid guitar at midnight.” Luckily Nathaniel didn't hear me. No need to give him another reason to hate my twin.

 vvv

 “And so... if you carry the two, you will get that the function of the graph equals...” Mr. Gordon said monotonously. Half of the class was already nodding off, their eyes drooping closed, while the other half of the class were keeping themselves entertained with whatever. Only the geeks who found mathematics fascinating were actually paying any attention to Mr. Gordon. Even Nathaniel, sitting a row over and a seat ahead of me, was only half listening. He held his pen in one hand, but his eyes were on the book he was reading, hidden carefully behind the student sitting in front of him. I dug my fingers into my white hair and yanked subtly, trying to wake myself up, as I continued to doodle all over my math notes.

 Charlotte, Amber's friend, leaned over to whisper to me, “Hey, did you get question five on the Physics homework?” I glanced at her, Charlotte was actually okay when she wasn't with the two other members of the Terrible Trio. Although, Penni was convinced Li was the nicer of the three. Still, neither couldn't be as bad as Amber. Charlotte had been a little nicer to me since the cruel prank Amber pulled with the artwork. I pulled out my homework and quickly passed it to Charlotte when Mr. Gordon wasn't looking. I knew helping Charlotte would be helping Amber in a way, but I didn't care. “Here, I don't know if it's correct or not, though. I haven't had a chance to ask Nathaniel.” I whispered to Charlotte. She smiled her thanks and snatched the paper quickly just as Mr. Gordon was turning around.

 “Korianna West. What is the answer to the problem?” The teacher asked. I felt something shrivel up and die, “Uhhh...” Was the only sound that came out of my mouth. Of all my subjects, I was worse at math more than anything. Instinctively I glanced at Nathaniel. My boyfriend was half looking over his shoulder, the corner of his mouth that I could see was tilting up in a pitying smile. One of the geeks was waving his hand wildly in the air, his eyes wide with determination to answer the question. Mr. Gordon ignored him, no one but the person he called on could ever answer the question, his beady little eyes glaring at me, “We're waiting, Miss West.” “X equals x squared over four x to the fifth.” Everyone turned to see who dared disobey Mr. Gordon's orders. Not only was Mr. Gordon the most boring teacher in the history of school, he was also the evilest.

 Mr. Gordon glared at Castiel who was hunched over in the back of the room, lolling across the desk. It was obvious he had just woken up. Lexsie, sitting to the right of him, had her eyes glued to her notebook. She didn't like being called out by teachers, having a fear of speaking in front of a crowd greater than ten. “Castiel West, have you been sleeping in this class?” Mr. Gordon asked my brother. Castiel, being Castiel, smirked, “Yeah... could you tone down on the talking? It's disturbing my sleep.” In one movement everyone turned to look at Mr. Gordon, who was looking very red. I could almost see the steam rolling off him. Nathaniel didn't look very pleased either, I knew he had a big thing about respect. Right then, I didn't care. I wasn't in the spotlight anymore, my twin had taken the hit and that's what twins are for.

 vvv

 “So where were all of you this weekend? You didn't even get on ChatRoomz!” I asked over lunch. Savannah shifted in her seat, her face downcast. The picture of guilt. Penni quickly shoved another slice of roast beef into her mouth, preventing her from answering. Lexsie was the only one who looked me in the eye, “We all went to Melody's birthday party.” She said flatly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. And it would have been, had Melody not have a crush on my boyfriend, “Wait, what?” I asked, not sure I heard her right. Savannah pipped up, “We didn't go because we wanted to! We thought we would find out why Melody liked Nathaniel or whatever.” She looked frantic, her purple hair actually frizzing out of her braids as she spoke. Lexsie shot her a look, “Savannah's right. We only went to tell Melody that her little crush was useless.”

 I blinked and sat back, “Let me guess, the reason why I didn't even know of the party was because Melody didn't want me to know... right?” I asked. My three friends exchanged looks. I rolled my eyes, “You could have told me you were going. It makes you look stupid that you didn't.” Penni ducked her head, “I know... we weren't thinking. Forgive us?” I stared at each friend for a long time, until all three were uncomfortable. Then I grinned, “I will... if you have anything interesting to tell me.” “Lysander has a tattoo on his back! Rosalya told me!” Savannah blurted out. Lexsie smacked her upside the head, “Dummy, we're not supposed to tell.” I shook my head, “Not interested anyway.” “Capucine said some very rude things about you.” Penni added. I rolled my eyes, “I don't care what that wannabe thinks of me.” I said then turned to Lexsie sitting directly across from me. This was their last chance to redeem themselves. I would forgive them anyway, I just wanted to tease them a little. Lexsie smirked, “I know why Amber has a crush on Castiel. And it has something to do with Nathaniel.”

 I perked up and leaned forward, now that was interesting. Lexsie giggled, “First of all, explain how Castiel and Amber could know each other when they were younger.” I sighed, “My family is actually from here, but we moved when Castiel and I were about four.” Savannah conceded the point, “That would explain why Castiel chose to live here when your dad kicked him out...” She muttered to herself. I ignored her and pointed at Lexsie, “Speak, firecracker.” My black haired friend glared at me, but said, “Now I don't know the full details, but apparently Nathaniel and Castiel are like polar opposites of what they are now. Nathaniel was supposedly the bad boy and Castiel the perfect angel.” I rolled my eyes again, “Well duh, you grew up with us, remember? Castiel was really nice when we were younger. It wasn't until junior high that he went all crazy.” Lexsie waved her hand and continued, “Well the story goes along the lines of Nathaniel broke Amber's doll or whatever and Castiel fixed it. She's had a crush ever since.”

 Penni snorted, “If she wasn't such a bitch, I'd say it was cute...” She grumbled. I didn't bother to snap at her for her swearing. What she said was true. Lexsie huffed and crossed her arms, “Besides, it's cruel to support Amber being with Castiel when one of your own friends has a crush on him.” “Who has a crush on me?” Castiel asked from behind me. I nearly jumped three feet in the air and turned to see Castiel staring down at us girls, eyebrows raised curiously, with Lysander watching behind him looking extremely amused. Lexsie miraculously didn't seem fazed by it, “None of your business, West.” Castiel smirked at her as he sat down beside me, across from Penni, “Someone has a crush on me, I think it is my business.” I tuned the conversation out as the two started debating if it was Castiel's right to know who was crushing on him or not. Lysander sat down in front of Savannah, “Nice dress.” He commented. Savannah, going all shy once more, eeped and blushed. My eyes darted between the two as a sly grin pushed up the corners of my mouth, this was getting interesting.

 …

 *$Cha-Ching$ has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: Savannah and Lys sitting in a tree!

 RabidsingeR: K I S S I N G!

 CrAzYArtist: First comes love!

 RabidsingeR: Then comes MARRIAGE!

 MonKeybiz: SHUT THE HELL UP YOU TWO!

 CrAzYArtist: THEN COMES BABIES IN A BABY CARRIAGE!!!!!

 RabidsingeR: One with white hair and one with black,

 CrAzYArtist: And two adopted aunts who've got your back!

 MonKeybiz: ...jerks...

 $Cha-Ching$: Uh... what did I miss?

 RockStar: Oh, Kori and Lexsie are just teasing Savannah about Lysander. Ever since we all logged on.

 SBPrez: It's starting to get annoying.

 RockStar: For once, I agree with you Powers.

 GreenThumb: The universe must be ending...

 RockStar: Jade, I will end you.

 CrAzYArtist: Hey! Stop terrorizing my friends, Castiel!

 MonKeybiz: Oh he can't, but you can?!

 RabidsingeR: What you didn't like our song? I'm hurt

 MonKeybiz: Not yet you're not... when I get through with the both of you you'll know what hurt really means!

 RabidsingeR: RUN! Lucky is making threats!!

 MonKeybiz: LEXSSSSSSSSSSSSIE!!!!!!! Stop using that name!

 CrAzYArtist: What name, Lucky?

 RockStar: Alright you two, as amusing as it is to see Savannah angry, dial it down.

 RabidsingeR: Phooey, I hate it when you get all responsible, Castiel...

 MonKeybiz: He needs to be if he ever marries you...

 RabidsingeR: SAVANNAH!

 RockStar: What?

 GreenThumb: I shouldn't be laughing so hard...

 $Cha-Ching$: You're not the only one... XDDDDDDDD

 CrAzYArtist: Lexsie and Castiel sitting in a tree!

 MonKeybiz: K I S S I N G!

 CrAzYArtist: First comes love!

 MonKeybiz: Then comes MARRIAGE!

 CrAzYArtist: THEN COMES A BABY IN A BABY CARRIAGE!

 MonKeybiz: And one of the hip!

 CrAzYArtist: And one pulling Castiel's hair!

 MonKeybiz: And one running naked through the streets!

 SBPrez: Now I'm worried...

 RabidsingeR: SAVANNAH KNIGHT! KORIANNA WEST!

 I was just about to type out my answer when I heard Castiel roaring my name as his footsteps thundered up the stairs. I winced, maybe it wasn't just a good idea to tease someone when they were under the same roof.

 CrAzYArtist: NATHANIEL! I need a get away! Castiel's coming to kill me! Meet you at the park!

 SBPrez: *sigh* the things I do for you... fine

 *CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 *SBPrez has signed out*

 After snapping my laptop closed I grabbed a pair of sandals and climbed out of the window and onto the fire escape just as my brother began beating against my locked door, “Korianna Rillei West! You are dead, do you understand me?! Say your last prayers, pest, because I'm going to kill you and send you back home in a box!” I laughed as I started for the fire escape ladder, “You're just repeating yourself Castiel. Can't you make up a better threat. By the way, I'll be home whenever!” I didn't hear his response as I quickly descended the ladder, barely escaping with my life.

 “I wish you would put something on that covered you more.” Castiel muttered for the hundredth time. I rolled my eyes, “Look buster. You're not my father so you can keep your comments to yourself.” I snapped, not bothering to look up from the book I was reading. Castiel glared at me, “No, but I am your older brother and the one responsible for you since Mom and Dad live in another town.” I pushed my sunglasses farther up my nose and ignored him. He was only older by two minutes, so it really shouldn't count, but I knew if I told Castiel that he'd start getting logical on me and I didn't want that. It was summer vacation and after much begging I finally managed to drag Castiel down to the beach. I was starting to regret my decision since all he did was throw a tantrum over my bikini bathing suit.

 The false red head opened his mouth, no doubt to start another round of bikini lectures and the danger of lustful teenage boys, when I ripped my sunglasses off to glare at him, “Look, before you say another word, just think of your reaction if Lexsie would come marching up here in a even skimpier black bikini.” I snapped, shoving an accusing finger at my brother's bare chest. Castiel glared at me, but shut his mouth. So he knew that that would be a pointless argument to get into. I smirked, “Good, cuz here she comes.” I said slyly and pointed over my twin's shoulder to the black haired girl sauntering up to us. I don't know who's reaction was more amusing when Castiel turned around: Lexsie's bright blush or Castiel's mouth dropping open. I cackled, “Need to step into the cold ocean for a moment, Castiel?” I asked sweetly and got two equally dirty looks from both Castiel and Lexsie. I just smiled as I returned to my book. And here I thought I wasn't going to get a chance to play matchmaker.

 “I thought you went home with Savannah.” Castiel commented to Lexsie as she sat down at the edge of my beach towel, her back facing me. Lexsie shrugged, “I was, but I figured it would be more fun here then at home with my parents nagging at me to get a summer job.” I sighed exaggeratedly, “Poor Savannah... she doesn't get to be around her crush all summer.” “KORI!” Lexsie screeched and turned to me, her face red. I grinned up at my best friend, “What? I was just commenting that she won't be able to hang out with Lysander, is all.” I said innocently. Lexsie glared at me, she knew what and who I really meant. Castiel, being the blockhead that he was, looked confused, “Savannah likes Lys?” He asked. I rolled my eyes at him, “Well duh, why do you think Lexsie and I made up that song to sing to her on ChatRoomz?” I asked. Castiel shrugged, “Because you two are idiots. I'm going to walk Demon.” My brother said as he stood, the dog's leash already in his hand. Demon pranced around his master's legs, panting happily. Castiel started walking away before something made him stop, he turned back to Lexsie and I, “Oh and... I'm not going to help you crash another date for him, got it?” Castiel growled. I smiled happily and waved my hand, “Don't worry, I want them together. They're perfect for each other. Go, walk your slobber monster, and try not to get dragged in the dust.” I said. Castiel gave me a sour look before walking off, Demon already pulling hard on his leash, wanting to run.

 Once my brother was out of earshot, Lexsie turned on me, “I can't believe you did that!” She hissed. I smiled as I turned over on my stomach, and opening my book, “Oh boo-hoo, he didn't notice I was talking about you. Castiel is a hard head, remember? And very dense when it comes to girls that like him. Remember Amanda? Or Christie?” Lexsie humphed and crossed her arms in a pout, “Yessss...” She ground out, no doubt trying to forget those awful snotty girls who thought they were in love with Castiel. Their mistake was they were cruel to Lexsie and me, whom Castiel was very protective over, and thus ruining their chances of every landing a date with the 'hottest guy in school'. I grinned and continued listing off names, “Or Georgia? Or Jessica? Or Sarah? Or Renee? Or-” “I get it!” Lexsie snapped and I broke off with a giggle. My friend was so fun to tease. I opened my mouth to tease her some more, when Lexsie sighed, her shoulders slumping, “I get it... I don't have a chance with him. I'm just another girl who likes Castiel...” She said dejectedly. I blinked at her, did she really think herself like that?

 I smacked her up side the head. Hard. Lexsie startled and turned to stare at me, her green eyes wide while I glared at her, “None of that self-pity, missy. A lot of girls like Castiel, sure, but do you know what he thinks of those girls?” I asked. Lexsie shook her head slowly. I smiled evilly, “He thinks they're all shallow insects that care more about the fact that their in a relationship than who they're in a relationship with.” Lexsie was starting to look down again, so I hurried and added, “And do you know what he thinks of you?” Immediately Lexsie perked up, her attention zeroing on me. I silently prayed that Castiel forgave me for telling Lexsie something that was supposed to be kept between the two of us, “He thinks you're, and I quote, 'an original who knows who and what she is.'” I poked Lexsie in the cheek, “Now, are you going to tell me that you don't have a chance with my brother again? Cuz I have plenty other proof that says you're the best pick.” I said teasingly.

 Lexsie giggled like a normal girl, “Does he really say that?” She asked, a blush riding up her cheeks. I rolled my eyes, wondering what monster I had created, “Yes, but if you dare mention I spilled, Castiel will murder me and then you'll be without your best friend. Plus Nathaniel will murder Castiel and then you'll be without your future hubby.” Lexsie's happy little blush when darker with anger, “KORIANNA WEST!!” She snapped and I burst out laughing, glad she was back to normal. Fortunately, before Lexsie could get a hold of my neck, someone behind us asked, “Uh... why would I kill Castiel?” Lexsie and I both turned to see Nathaniel standing behind us, his golden head tilted curiously. I brightened, “Hey I thought your family was still in the Caribbean!” When Nathaniel told me that his family was vacationing on some island in the Caribbean, something they did every year, I thought he meant he would be gone all summer.

 “Obviously not.” A voice I really didn't want to hear said behind Nathaniel. Lexsie groaned, “Great. Just when I thought I could get away from you.” My friend said, glaring at Amber who was standing there haughtily. I kicked Lexsie's foot, “Be nice.” I said through clenched teeth, I really didn't want to reprimand her, but Amber was Nathaniel's sister so I might as well try to be nice. Not that Amber was making the job easy for me, “Yeah, Lexington, be a good puppy and obey your girlfriend.” The blonde haired girl sneered. Nathaniel took a deep breath, his golden eyes looking heavenwards as if to ask for help. Meanwhile I was too busy trying to keep Lexsie from tearing Amber's throat out. Amber, apparently not realizing her death was emanate, laughed, “Geez, Korianna, I didn't know you had such a hard time keeping your girlfriends. Maybe you should let her go, she obviously doesn't want to be near you anymore. Can't really blame her.” I was awfully tempted to do what Amber was suggesting and let Lexsie murder the girl.

 Luckily for Amber, her brother finally turned to her, “Amber, stop it.” He said lowly. Amber frowned at Nathaniel, “I'm only playing around. I don't see why none of you can get jokes.” She said in a fake hurt voice. Nathaniel gave her a look, “You're jokes are hurtful. Stop it.” Amber's blue-green eyes filled up with crocodile tears, “Why are you being so m-mean to me?!” Amber wailed, bringing almost everyone's attention to us. My boyfriend looked like he was at the end of his rope. He turned to us, “Sorry, I'll be back.” He apologized before dragging his sister off. Lexsie and I glanced at each other, the black haired firecracker looked like she was about so say something when Castiel came back... with a new friend.

 “Kori, do you have a first aid kit?” Castiel asked as he practically shoved the girl down on his towel. Lexsie and I blinked at the newcomer than at each other. Castiel glowered down at us, Demon's leash clutched tightly in his fist, “Do you?” He growled. I rolled my eyes at my older twin and yanked my beach bag closer to me, digging through the massive thing to find the small first aid kit I had brought. Lexsie looked surprised, “Wait, you mean you actually brought that a kit?!” Even the new girl looked shocked. I snorted and jerked my thumb at the happy slobbering Demon, “With that monster out in public, of course. Trust me, this isn't the first time he's caused a riot.” Castiel looked offended for his dog, who just barked. The mysterious girl flinched away from Demon, her sea green eyes fearful of the animal. I smiled at her as I produced the little white box from the bottom of my beach bag, “Don't worry about him, Demon's all bark and no bite... with the occasional accidents.” The girl didn't answer me as she put her wrist out, showing the sand scrape from wear she hit the ground.

 Lexsie winced in sympathy, “I know how that feels. First time I ever held his leash, Demon yanked my feet out from under me and made me scrape my knee. But the Slobber Monster is just a big softie.” The black haired girl told the ginger. Castiel glared down at Lexsie, “He's a guard dog, he's not supposed to be a 'softie.'” My brother snapped. Lexsie rolled her eyes at him, “Well then you might want to talk to him, because Demon is the wimpiest dog I know.” I rolled my eyes at the two arguing, “Oi, lovebirds. Take the argument, and the Slobber Monster, elsewhere.” I snapped and earned two glares. I grinned, “Why don't you go get ice cream to cool off?” I asked innocently then tossed a few bills at Lexsie, who snatched at them hurriedly before they got blown away by the breeze, “Go on then. I'm busy.” I said, shooing the two away before they could argue with me. Shooting me sour glares the two hotheads left, Demon prancing between them, his stubby little tail waving madly.

 With them gone, I smiled at the shy girl, “Hi! Don't mind those two, they're just blockheads. My name is Korianna West. That guy is my twin, Castiel, in case you didn't know. And the black haired girl was Lexsie Liard. What's your name?” I chatted away. The ginger silently watched me as I applied disinfectant spray, not even flinching at the sting, and putting on a large cotton bandage. When I was finished she retracted her hand, cradling it against her chest, “Eva... Eva Biaglow.” She whispered so lowly I almost didn't hear her. I smiled, well at least she was talking. I settled down on my towel, turning so I faced the ocean. “Yeah. Hey are you new here? Or do you just go to another school. I go to Sweet Amoris.” Eva shook her head, “No... I just moved.” I glanced at the quiet girl. She was more shy than Savanna and Violette combined! “Oh, do you know where you'll be going to school yet?” Eva nodded, “Sweet Amoris.” She said quickly. I sighed, this conversation was feeling more like an interview. I hoped Castiel and Lexsie got back soon with that ice cream, and I hoped they were considerate enough to get me some!

 I heard rustling and glanced up to see Eva standing, “I have to go. Thank you.” She murmured and left without another word. I watched her go, her head down as she scurried across the beach as fast as she could without running. I raised an eyebrow before turning back to face the ocean, well that was odd.

 vvv

 It turned out that Lexsie and Castiel not only forgot about my ice cream, but they seemed to forget that I existed altogether. Both disappeared on me like they were never around in the first place. I scoffed and laid down on my towel, leave it to those two that the time they decided to go all doe eyed and finally admit to their feelings (at least I hoped) was when they had someone else with their party. Oh well, at least they weren't making out in front of me and making me feel like the very awkward third wheel. I reached into my beach bag of wonders and pulled out a novel. Just as I was turning to my dogeared place someone cleared their throat behind me. I laid my head back so I was looking at the person upside down. “Yes?” I asked politely.

 The guy smirked, his chest, and a very fine one I had to notice, puffed out, “Hey, I'm Dake and you're hot.” My polite expression fell flat as I stared at him, was he really that obtuse? Did he think a name and one stupid compliment would get him anywhere? I turned my gaze back to my book, resting my right arm under my head to serve as a pillow, “That's nice. Now go away.” I said flatly. Scratch just forgetting about me, I was going to murder Lexsie and Castiel for forgetting about me and not saving me from obvious flirts like this guy! The guy wasn't so easily deterred, “Aw, come on, babe. I know you're not that cruel. You stole my heart, being as lovely as you are.” Dake said as he came and sat down beside me. Flat Look numero dos was sent his way, “So, you're saying that beauty is the only thing that matters to you? Can you be more shallow?” I snapped. The guy didn't take it as an insult, “When it comes to you, I'll be anything!” The flirt declared. My eyes gleamed, “Oh really, can you be nothing but a bad memory?” I asked sarcastically. Dake chuckled, “Come on, sweets, I know you're playing hard to get. You want me, I can tell.” He said confidently. I wanted to hit him, “You're right... I want you gone.” I growled and turned my eyes back to my book, determined to ignore him. Mildly I hoped I didn't set the pages on fire with my glare.

 Suddenly the book was gone from my hands, I shot straight up, “Hey! Give that back you jerk!” I yelled and reached out to take the book Dake was dangling from his fingers. “First, a kiss.” He said and leaned in his cheek ready for a peck he obviously thought he was getting. I would love to disappoint him. As my fingers curled into a fist and my arm went back, ready to knock a few teeth out of this idiot, someone grabbed my elbow, “I do believe she asked you to leave her alone.” Nathaniel growled harshly. Dake blinked up at the golden haired guy then down at me, as I tried to scorch him with my glare. He was soooooo lucky Nathaniel came along when he did, otherwise Dake the Flirt would be a few teeth shy of a full smile. The guy scoffed and stood, “Fine fine, I can see I'm not wanted... see ya, baby.” Dake said airily, trying to brush off the fact that he had just been rejected. I rolled my eyes as he walked away, muttering, “Apparently you can't...”

 Nathaniel sat down beside me, giving me a strange look. I smiled brightly at him, “Thanks for saving me!” I said then leaned in to give him a little kiss on the cheek. Nathaniel raised an amused eyebrow, “Where's Lexsie?” He asked. I shrugged, “Eh, her and Castiel went to find ice cream a while ago. They better have a good 'we had a frank discussion of emotions and we're now dating' story if they want me to forgive them...” I grumbled. Nathaniel laughed and sat back, his hands propping himself up. I leaned against his sun warmed side, smiling, “What happened to Amber?” I asked curiously. Nathaniel shrugged, “She had an allergic reaction to some nuts and had to go home.” I blinked, “Oh.” I really didn't know what to say. Yeah I was glad she was out of the way so I could spend some time with my boyfriend, but- “Is she okay?” I asked. Nathaniel nodded, his eyes closing as he turned his face to the sun, “Yeah. She's not that allergic. Not the way I am to pollen, or my mom to cats.” I giggled, “What's your dad allergic to?” I asked teasingly.

 Nathaniel cracked one eye to glare at me, “Ha ha, very funny.” My boyfriend said sarcastically before grabbing me by the waist and letting us both flop back, my torso securely pressed against his chest. I blushed madly, “Nathaniel...” I said and tried to ease up from his chiseled chest. Mildly I wondered why on earth a student body president would have such a nice body. The boy beneath me gave an amused snort and tightened his arms around my waist before tilting his head up to nuzzle my neck. My breath hitched when I felt his smiling lips press into the soft skin under my jawbone. I tried to push away again, but Nathaniel stopped me by latching on to my earlobe with his teeth. A tiny gasp escaped my mouth when he tugged, my heart fluttering like some flighty bird in a cage. Before I had time to respond, Nathaniel flipped us over so I was on bottom and he was laying halfway on top of me. Slowly Nathaniel traveled up and down my neck, taking his sweet time to explore ever inch of skin with his mouth. He buried his nose in the defined hollow of my throat, kissing the skin just below it periodically.

 With a barely suppressed groan Nathaniel finally leaned up to capture my mouth with his. His tongue probed against my bottom lip, asking for entrance. My lips seemed to part on their own accord and Nathaniel's tongue dipped in, giving me a whole new sense of the word 'kiss'. My mind drew a blank on everything; where we were, what day it was, the fact that Castiel could walk up on us at any time, even my own name slipped away briefly. I seemed to forget that Ty used to kiss me like that all the time, that every time the jerk kissed me he would forcibly shove his tongue down my throat. Nathaniel's kiss was more, so much more, in ways I couldn't begin to explain. I moaned into his mouth, my hands running over his bare chest to his golden hair, my fingers tangling in those locks. Nathaniel seemed to enjoy my reaction and stroked the roof of my mouth with his tongue as a reward. I groaned again. Nathaniel retracted his wet muscle from my mouth and sank his teeth gently into my lower lip, drawing back slowly so that his teeth scraped against the tender flesh. “Nathaniel...” I groaned, my breaths coming in at shallow pants.

 Hearing his name must have shook some sense into him, for Nathaniel leaned back, looking about as breathless as I was feeling. “Korianna, I'm... going swimming.” My boyfriend managed to get out before scrabbling off of me. Though still a little giddy from that make out session, I couldn't help but grin, “Why, Nathaniel? Need a nice long cold bath?” I teased. Nathaniel shot me a nasty glare before grabbing my wrists, pulling me to a stand, “No... come on your coming with me.” He said determinedly. I laughed and shot forward out of his grip, “Last one in pays for dinner!” I yelled. I could hear Nathaniel's shout of cheating behind me, but ignored it, laughing the whole way.

 Of course, Nathaniel beat me. He had managed to snag my waist just feet from the water and spun around so that he was the one closer to the waves than I before letting me go. I was still trying to find my footing when Nathaniel dove head first into the brine, earning first place and getting a cold soak all in one. I laughed at him when I finally gained balance and pounced on his back, causing both of us to go underwater. When Nathaniel finally surfaced, one eye closed as the other narrowed dangerously at me, I just continued to laugh, my white hair plastered to my body. “Korianna... you're going to regret that.” He growled playfully and started towards me. I 'eep'ed and dove under the water in an attempt to get away from my boyfriend. He just grabbed me by the ankle and dragged me back, catching me up against his chest. I squealed and struggled, but not too much. It seemed that Nathaniel's form of punishment was a quick nip at the neck, that wasn't something too bad. I giggled and tried to get away playfully, until I noticed that my bikini top was strangely loose. Tilting my head in confusion I began to reach backwards to see if the knot was loose or something when I felt something along my side that definitely wasn't my hair.

 It was my bikini strap.

 I went red and pressed myself further against Nathaniel's chest as my arms crept up to keep my top in place. Of all the things that could happen to me, having my top come off in front of my boyfriend, in a public place no less, was one that I didn't want to happen. Somehow I would have to think of a way to get it tied again without Nathaniel knowing. If only Lexsie were here, she could do it for me and none would be the wiser. “Hey what's this?” Nathaniel suddenly asked and I felt a small tug on my top. I mentally groaned, now karma was just trolling me. “Uh... Korianna, I think your...” Nathaniel trailed off when I nodded, “I know. C-can you... tie it back?” I asked awkwardly. Without a word Nathaniel took a step back, the water sloshing around us, lapping coldly at my hips, as Nathaniel took the two untied straps between his fingers. There was a few sharp tugs and I felt the relief when my bikini top once again laid snug against my skin.

 All in all, I'd say it wasn't that bad a day at the beach.

 *MonKeybiz has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: Heeeeeeey~! How's your summer coming?

 MonKeybiz: Fine... except for the fact that all my friends are a state away, and so is my crush.

 CrAzYArtist: Awwwwww, poor Savannah! You need a hug!

 RabidsingeR: lol, Kori have you been eating sugar again?

 CrAzYArtist: I'M STILL NOT TALKING TO YOU!!

 RabidsingeR: …

 RockStar: By stating that you're not talking to her is talking to her, Kori.

 CrAzYArtist: Did I ask you?

 MonKeybiz: Okay, what did I miss?

 SBPrez: Well... West and Lexsie abandoned Korianna at the beach last week.

 RockStar: Butt out, Powers! It's none of your business!

 SBPrez: You left your sister, whom I am dating, alone. I say it is my business.

 RockStar: Kori is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

 SBPrez: I don't doubt that, but it's still rude and careless to leave her to fend for herself.

 RabidsingeR: See what you did, Savannah?

 MonKeybiz: I think it's kinda sweet! ^^ Nath is standing up for his girlfriend!

 CrAzYArtist: While Castiel is covering his butt.

 RockStar: HEY!

 RabidsingeR: Kori stop being mean.

 CrAzYArtist: Okay... as soon as you admit what the heck you two were doing when you were abandoning me!

 SBPrez: Oh this should be good...

 MonKeybiz: I am super duper curious now.

 RockStar: We didn't do anything!

 RabidsingeR: Yeah! We went to get ice cream, that was it!

 CrAzYArtist: Nice excuse. Except I could see the ice cream stand from the ocean. You weren't there.

 RockStar: What were you doing in the ocean? You said you didn't want to go swimming.

 CrAzYArtist: Nathaniel wanted to go swimming. And stop trying to change the subject. I'm not letting this go.

 RockStar: NATHANIEL POWERS!

 RabidsingeR: Kori!

 SBPrez: We are dating. It's perfectly acceptable to swim together. -.-

 VictorianPoet: Among other things.

 CrAzYArtist: SHUT UP LYS!!!

 MonKeybiz: Wait! When did he get here?!?!?!

 VictorianPoet: I joined shortly before you logged on. You had just missed the conversation.

 MonKeybiz: Oh... well then, HI LYS! Welcome to ChatRoomz!

 VictorianPoet: Thank you, Savannah.

 RockStar: WAAAAAAIT a damn minute. What do you mean 'among other things' Lysander?

 CrAzYArtist: Say one word, Lysander, and I'll ban you from my chat room.

 RabidsingeR: You can do that?!

 CrAzYArtist: As the administrator and creator of this chat room: yes.

 VictorianPoet: I do believe that is blackmail.

 RockStar: I don't care if you ban him, I want to know what you and Goody-goody were up to!

 SBPrez: Nothing more than what you and Lexsie were up to.

 RockStar: KORIANNA RILLIE WEST! You. Are. Grounded!

 CrAzYArtist: What?! You can't ground me!! And what were you and Lexsie doing anyway, if I was grounded?

 RabidsingeR: Nothing!

 MonKeybiz: lol a little too fast there, Lexsie... you just made it obvious.

 RabidsingeR: Where are Penni and Jade?

 CrAzYArtist: You're subtly is very lacking. (They're both on vacation)

 SBPrez: Just admit you two were making out already!

 RockStar: NATHANIEL!

 MonKeybiz: lolololololol I think that's the first time Castiel has every called Nath by his first name. XDDDD

 RabidsingeR: We weren't doing anything!

 CrAzYArtist: Then where were ya'll and why won't you tell the rest of us since you're SO innocent?

 RockStar: ...You're sarcasm is not appreciated...

 VictorianPoet: They were making out... more so than Nathaniel and Korianna.

 CrAzYArtist: LYSANDER!

 RockStar: Traitor.

 RabidsingeR: Imma going to KILL you!

 MonKeybiz: I'm going to die of laughter!!!!!!

 SBPrez: ...I think you are enjoying this, Lysander.

 VictorianPoet: Very much so.

 RockStar: Kori will you ban him now?

 CrAzYArtist: I'll ask him one question before I do...

 VictorianPoet: Hm?

 CrAzYArtist: ARE YOU A BEACH SPY OR SOMETHING?!?!?!

 VictorianPoet: Yes.

 CrAzYArtist: …

 VictorianPoet: And I commend you on how well you handled that Dake character.

 SBPrez: lol how long were you watching us, Lys?

 CrAzYArtist: Regardless of what he answers, he's dead anyway...

 RockStar: Who's Dake? And what was he doing?

 SBPrez: Flirting nonstop with your sister shortly after you and Lexsie abandoned her.

 RockStar: ARGH! I'm going to kill him than you, Powers, for messing with my little sister!

 CrAzYArtist: I'm TWO minutes younger than you! And you're not going to kill my boyfriend unless I get to kill you for messing around with Lexsie!

 RockStar: I didn't do anything!

 CrAzYArtist: Yeah yeah... keep talking. Denial is strong with you, but I'll break it eventually.

 VictorianPoet: ha ha

 MonKeybiz: *sigh* Why am I not there to enjoy all this drama?

 RabidsingeR: If you were I'm sure we'd be having this discussion about you and Lys.

 VictorianPoet: Hm?

 MonKeybiz: BAN HER KORI!! BAN BAN BAN!!!!!!

 SBPrez: I'm hungry. When are you taking me to dinner, Korianna?

 CrAzYArtist: Shut up you cheater.

 SBPrez: You cheated first~! ^^

 RockStar: No one is taking anyone to dinner!

 VictorianPoet: I thought you were taking Lexsie to dinner tonight...

 CrAzYArtist: YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO PRACTICE WITH LYSANDER!!!!!

 RockStar: Damn you, Lys...

 MonKeybiz: lol, Lysander I never pegged you as a troll.

 VictorianPoet: Is that internet lingo? I'm afraid I don't understand.

 MonKeybiz: I'll teach you if you want!

 CrAzYArtist: Great, now that everyone has a date tonight, bye! I gotta go get my wallet...

 MonKeybiz: KORIANNA!

 RabidsingeR: I'm going to murder you the next time I see you!

 SBPrez: Better make sure you have a lot of cash. I have expensive tastes, honey.

 CrAzYArtist: ...I hate you...

 “I thought you said you had expensive tastes.” I said as Nathaniel lead me into a restaurant that wasn't too fancy; it wouldn't suck my whole savings dry. Nathaniel smiled at me as he held the door open, “I do, but I decided to be nice. Besides, most fancy restaurants make you reserve ahead of time.” He said cheerfully. I glared at him, “Nice to know you're so worried about my wallet, Powers.” I growled sarcastically, my boyfriend's smile only grew wider. My eye twitched as a funny thought came to me, “You know... you're last name makes you sound like some type of lame superhero.” I pointed out. Nathaniel's grin turned into a smirk, “Oh? So can you imagine me in a cape and tights?” He asked seductively. I blushed brightly and pressed my fingers into my temples, closing my eyes tightly, “Ahhh! The mental image! It burns!” I squealed. Nathaniel just laughed, not at all offended like most guys would be.

 After the tired looking hostess showed us out seats and took our drink orders, Nathaniel turned to me. “So, what's my price limit?” He asked teasingly. I glared at him, “Nothing over forty bucks, got it?” He gave a mock salute, “Yes, ma'am!” He said before turning to the menu. I studied him, intrigued by his sudden display of cheerfulness. At school, Nathaniel was always so serious and focused, he rarely ever got distracted from school stuff. The guy sitting across from me wasn't like the Nathaniel at school at all. He was cheerful and more relaxed than I had ever seen him; he actually made jokes that were funny. I mean this was the guy who kissed me in public at the beach, at school Nathaniel was too busy with student council stuff and academics to barely even walk me to my next class. I liked the Nathaniel at school, but I was starting to like this Nathaniel a little more.

 My boyfriend seemed aware of my gaze, his golden eyes looked up from the menu to meet my own, “Yes?” He questioned, his mouth turning up in an easy smile. I returned it, “Nothing... just noticing stuff about you.” I said in an almost dreamy tone. Nathaniel's eyebrows started reaching for his hairline, “Oh? What kind of stuff?” He asked as he set the menu down, giving me his full attention. “You don't act the same in school as you do out. You're not so... serious.” I said. It surprised me that Nathaniel frowned and shifted in his seat, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Yeah well... my dad is very strict when it comes to school.” He said, sounding like the School Nathaniel I knew. I tilted my head, confused at his sudden change in personality, “Most dad's are, mine is too.” I tried to tell him, but Nathaniel just shook his head. I shrugged and looked down at the menu, determined not to ruin the night over something Nathaniel clearly didn't want to talk about.

 vvv

 “That was nice. We should do this more often.” I said as we walked out of the restaurant. Nathaniel smiled and snatched up my hand, entwining our fingers together, “Sure, and I promise I'll pay next time. Do you like sea food?” He asked. I stuck out my tongue, “No thanks. I don't like fish at all.” From the look on Nathaniel's face, I might as well said that I enjoyed kicking kittens or something. I laughed at his expression, “You should see your face.” I giggled. Nathaniel looked away with a pout, “How can someone not like fish?” He asked. I stuck my tongue out at him, “The same way you don't like sweets. I just don't.”

 Nathaniel glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and let go of my hand to wrap his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to press a kiss into my temple, “You're cute,” was all he said. Suddenly I felt extremely shy, as I remembered making out with Nathaniel on the beach for some odd reason. Lately he had been acting more like a boyfriend and less like a... friend, even though we had technically started dating back during Halloween. Nathaniel chuckled at my blush, “You're even more cute now.” He commented and tightened his hold around my waist. I was starting to feel as shy as Savannah when she was around Lysander. “A-are you ready for school to start?” I asked, stuttering only a little.

 The golden haired boy laughed, “Not really.” He admitted. I stared at him, honestly I had thought he would be happy that school would be starting. Nathaniel seemed to be that kind of person, the one who looked forward to school for whatever reason. I on the other hand could stay in my room drawing or hanging out with my friends for the rest of eternity and never go to school again. If I could get away with it, I might actually have considered dropping out; but since no one ever succeeded as a high school dropout, I continued to go to school. Nathaniel smiled at my shocked expression, “What? I'm a normal teenager, Korianna, I hate school as much as anyone.” He said amused. It was my turn to turn away with a pout, “You could have fooled me...” I said. I only got an eye roll from my boyfriend.

 “Kori...?” A boy called. I frowned as I turned around, that voice sounded oddly familiar. My jaw dropped when I saw who was walking towards Nathaniel and I, “T-Ty?!” I sputtered when I saw my ex-boyfriend walking towards us with a quick stride. He had changed drastically from the last time I saw him, before I moved to Sweet Amoris. Back when we were still dating, Ty managed to keep that 'All-American boy' look and hiding his less than stellar activities. Now his plain blonde hair, which used to be so wavy, hung limply over his washed out blue eyes. Bags sagged under his eyes, dark against his pasty skin. Looking at Ty, I could hardly believe that the boy who looked like the typical football jock had turned into such a sleaze.

 Completely ignoring Nathaniel, Ty wrapped his still muscled arms around me and squeezed tightly. I gagged at the rancid smell of his shirt pressing into my face. Was this the only shirt he owned?! “Kori! I can't believe it's you! When I heard that you moved into this area I was ecstatic! Babe, you don't know how much I missed you, I even moved here to find you!” Ty pulled back and gave me a grin that I once melted for before ducking his head to kiss me.

 Instead of my lips, his mouth met Nathaniel's fist. Ty stumbled back, letting go of me in the process, and cradled his jaw, “What the f*ck was that for?!” Ty garbled as he glared at Nathaniel. My golden haired knight in shining armor stood in front of me with his arms crossed. What was with boys trying to flirt with me out of the blue all of a sudden? It was like they were all waiting for me to enter a relationship before they decided to crash things! Ty glared at Nathaniel, “Dude, who the hell are you?” Ty snapped, blood dribbling down his chin a little. Nathaniel didn't look amused in the slightest, “Korianna's boyfriend.” He said flatly.

 Despite the situation before me, I couldn't help but do a happy dance on the inside. Nathaniel admitted it so easily, as if it were only natural that he was my boyfriend. When I had been dating Ty, he always laughed it off and changed the subject. If he actually did admit that he was dating me, Ty would always seem reluctant to admit the fact. I glanced between Nathaniel and Ty. I hadn't realized how bad a boyfriend Ty had been compared to Nathaniel. They were practically on the opposite spectrum of boyfriends. Ty laughed harshly, “So that little bitc-” Nathaniel slammed his fist into Ty's face again. I was honestly surprised that he was so violent. I never expected Nathaniel to be violent prone. Sure, he and Castiel almost got into a fight when I first moved to Sweet Amoris, but I had thought it was a one time thing. Guess I was wrong.

 “Refrain from calling Korianna that.” Nathaniel actually growled. I had seen enough. I tugged on Nathaniel's sleeve, “Come on, he's not worth it.” I said softly. Nathaniel glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before nodding and turning his back on the still moaning Ty. I smiled as I looped my arm through his. Other than the incident with Ty, which I hoped never happened again, tonight was a good night. I got to see a part of Nathaniel that no one ever did and I knew that he wasn't ashamed of me like Ty had been. I had gotten a better deal with Nathaniel than I'd ever get with Ty.

 RockStar: WHAT?!?!?!?!

SBPrez: You heard me. I want to know all about Ty.

 RabidsingeR: Why? And how do you know about Ty? We've never mentioned him by name... that I know of.

 SBPrez: ...he tried to kiss Kori...

 RockStar: WHAT?!?!?!

 SBPrez: Is that the only word you know?

 RockStar: Shut up, Powers. What happened with Kori and Ty?

 SBPrez: We left the restaurant, some guy called out to her. She called him 'Ty'. He started babbling about how much he missed her and tired to kiss her. I smashed my fist into his face. When he called her a bitch, I punch him again.

 RabidsingeR: Nath... I love you. Don't ever change.

 RockStar: HEY!

 RabidsingeR: I love him like a brother!

 VictorianPoet: You know... he might be your brother-in-law one day.

 SBPrez: You're matchmaking is not appreciated, Lysander.

 RockStar: *gag* LYSANDER! Stop trolling.

 VictorianPoet: No.

 MonKeybiz: Stop it! Oh dear heaven and earth! For all that is holy, STOP! I'm dying of laughter!!! XDDDDDD

 MonKeybiz: Where is Kori anyway? She hasn't logged in at all.

 RockStar: It's Saturday before school starts.

 MonKeybiz: Ohhhhhhhhh...

 VictorianPoet: What does that have to do with anything?

RabidsingeR: I shall explain for you newbies to the mysterious ways of Korianna West. Come in closer, little children, as I spin a tell of woe and misery.

 SBPrez: Cut the dramatics and speak plainly.

 VictorianPoet: You fail at theatrical speech anyway.

 RabidsingeR: ...jerks... Anyway, we all know Kori hates school. So she has a tradition of sleeping in extra late on her last true day of summer. The record is sleeping for eleven hours straight. She didn't get up until 5 pm.

 RockStar: Yeah, and that was when Dad flipped her mattress over and dumped her out of bed. If he hadn't interrupted she'd probably have slept all day, literally.

 SBPrez: Why are you always more talkative when your girlfriend is speaking?

RockStar: Why do you even care?

 SBPrez: I don't.

 RockStar: THEN WHY DID YOU ASK!?!

 SBPrez: To see you get defensive. It's amusing.

 RockStar: …

 SBPrez: Also, it's nice to know that you admit to dating Lexsie. I'm sure Korianna will be happy.

 RockStar: NATHANIEL POWERS!!!!

 MonKeybiz: lol Lys, I think you're rubbing off on Nath.

 SBPrez: Don't call me Nath.

 MonKeybiz: Tell me why you don’t want to be called that name and I'll stop calling you that.

 GreenThumb: Since Kori isn't here to keep you on track... we WERE talking about Kori and Ty.

 RabidsingeR: ...oops. It's amusing to see Castiel and Nath dish it out, why don't they do that normally?

 VictorianPoet: Because they're both whipped by Korianna.

 MonKeybiz: lol that's true! XD

 RockStar: ...I'm not even going to respond to that.

 SBPrez: I still want to know about Ty.

 RockStar: You'll have to ask Kori. It's her story, not ours.

 SBPrez: You couldn't tell me that to begin with?

 RockStar: No.

 SBPrez: ...you're a dick.

 RabidsingeR: ...O.O Did...He...?

 MonKeybiz: HE DID!!! NATHANIEL JUST CUSSED!!!!!!!!!!!! THE WORLD IS ENDING! THE WORLD IS ENDING!! Lshdklgjakdlgjlaksjdfl!!!!!

 SBPrez: -_- ...You two are weird.

 VictorianPoet: You can't really blame them. I've known you almost as long as Castiel and this is the first time I've ever heard you cuss.

 GreenThumb: It is strange hearing that coming from you, Nathaniel.

 SBPrez: *sigh*

 RockStar: Ha ha! Everyone thinks your a Goody-goody!

 SBPrez: Shall I go into how you were as a child?

 RockStar: Lexsie already knows, and of course Kori does too. So your plan is flawed.

 SBPrez: Then how about why you became a jerk?

 RockStar: Stop right there, Powers.

 SBPrez: ^^ I wasn't going to say anything.

 RabidsingeR: Okay, this is too muck OOC in here. NATH GO BACK TO BEING A SERIOUS STICK IN THE MUD! CASTIEL START HATING NATH AGAIN, STOP WITH THE POKING FUN AT EACH OTHER!!!!

 GreenThumb: I agree with Lexsie, it is a little weird.

 SBPrez: I'll be a stick in the mud when school starts.

 RockStar: I DO HATE HIM!

 SBPrez: The feeling is mutual, West.

 RockStar: Shut the hell up, Powers.

 GreenThumb: *sigh* Here we go again...

 MonKeybiz: Ring around the rosy, Pocket full of posy! Ashes ashes we all fall down!

 SBPrez: You do realize that song is about the Black Death right?

 MonKeybiz: Really?! Cool!!

 RabidsingeR: *cough cough* NATH IS A NERD!

 VictorianPoet: Knowing trivia doesn't make someone a nerd.

 RockStar: Says the guy full of useless trivia.

 MonKeybiz: Hey! I love trivia! Don't spoil my fun, Castiel!!!

 RockStar: Don't worry I won't!

 MonKeybiz: ...I hate you... Nath and I are going to start at Castiel Hate Club.

 RabidsingeR: Hey! Don't hate on my boyfriend!

 MonKeybiz: You were the president of his fan club back home, it's only right that I be the president of his hate club here!

 RockStar: ...What?

 VictorianPoet: ...

 GreenThumb: XDDDDDDD

 SBPrez: lol

 RabidsingeR: SAVANNAH KNIGHT, I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!!!!

 MonKeybiz: *sigh* just like old times.

 “Kori, I need your help, get down here!”

 I paused in shading the last bit of my art project and called out. “Why? You said you didn't need any help.”

 “Get the damn dog outta here! He keeps getting in the way!” Castiel snapped back.

 Sighing I set aside my drawing pad and wondered into the kitchen where my brother was, “You know… I don't think Lexsie will really care if you-”

 My brother cut me off, “Take Demon for a walk!”

 I rolled my eyes as I whistled for Demon to follow me. The slobber monster practically knocked my feet from underneath me in his hurry to get to the door. Instead of reaching for the leash, because not even Castiel could hold back that dog sometimes, I grabbed the dog whistle and a baggie of treats.

 First holiday this school year, and I was spending it walking my brother's uncontrollable dog. I hadn't had any downtime since the summer ended, what with my AP classes that Nathaniel convinced me to sign up for and more extracurricular activities like the art club and Theater. And even though it was Thanksgiving holiday, I still had to write a five page essay over Hawthorn’s 'Scarlet Letter', finish my still life for the art club before Christmas break, and finish painting the props for Theater’s spring play.

 Tansy had convinced me to get into Theater, saying that I would be just the girl for it. She didn't tell me that they only needed my artistic skills for painting the backdrops and props. Oh well, at least I was needed somewhere. Lately it seemed like I was just getting under everyone's foot. Some people I could understand, like Nathaniel who took nothing but AP classes as well as being the student body president, were very busy; but ever since Lexsie and Castiel started officially going out she never so much as said 'hi' to me, even though she was in our apartment almost everyday.

 I didn't blame her of course, Castiel had only asked her out three weeks ago so I knew that Lexsie was still getting used to her 'in a relationship' status. Nathaniel had been the only thing in my radar when I first started dating him and even before that. But it still hurt that she only had eyes for my own brother and I was forced to be around her constantly anyway.

 Demon suddenly took off, probably after some stray cat. I wasn't too worried about him, Demon was a city dog; Castiel had told me that the first and last time Demon had ran into the streets he got hit by a car and broke his right foreleg. Since then the giant slobber monster avoided walking even near the curb. It was one thing neither my brother or I had to worry about.

 Jumping up on people and knocking them over was still a problem, unfortunately.

 Demon disappeared around the corner of the bank and not five seconds later a girlish shriek resounded. I groaned and quickened my pace, I just hoped that whoever Demon 'attacked' wasn't some uppity snot who was going to file charges or threaten to call animal control.

 I didn't know who the girl was, but I did recognize the boy who was helping her up.

 Jade grinned when he saw me, “Kori!”

 I blinked at my green haired friend before smiling back, “Hi, Jade. Uh, sorry about Demon. He's kind of… uncontrollable.” As if to prove my point, the slobber monster took off again, this time barking after a skateboarder who had just shot past us. I helped Jade pull the girl to her feet, “I really am sorry, are you alright?”

 The girl stood up, dusting off her floral print skirt and held out her hand, “Oh I'm fine! My name is Ruby, and you're Kori, right?”

 Ruby, huh? I glanced at her bright red hair, her parents name her right at least. I shook her proffered hand, “Korianna, but my friends call me Kori.” I glanced between Jade and Ruby, “Are you… related by any chance?”

 Ruby laughed, “It's the names, isn't it? That's how everyone else always guesses. Our mother wanted to name her children after jewels. Something about how precious the 'family jewels' were.” I smiled again, if there was one thing to be said about this strange girl, it was that she was a lot more outgoing than her brother.

 I glanced at Jade to see him rolling his eyes fondly. They seemed to get along at least. He turned to me, “So how have you been? You haven't gotten onto ChatRoomz in forever and everyone always says you're busy.”

 I smiled sheepishly “Sorry. I signed up for more extracurricular activities this year and they're really taking it out of me.”

“Yeah I know, when I went to Sweet Amoris to help out with the garden again this year you didn't even drop by.”

 “You were there? You didn't tell me that!” What else have people been neglecting to tell me? Lexsie didn't even tell me when she started going out with Castiel, it was my brother who told me about an hour before their first date! And Penni never told me she started taking dance lessons until she asked Castiel for a ride to the dance studio one day.

 Jade shrugged helplessly and rubbed the back of his neck, “I'm not allowed in the school since I'm not a student. Why do you think I always made you run errands for me?”

 I hung my head in defeat. Some vacation this was turning out to be. All my friends were turning up and doing things without telling me, which made me feel incredibly left out. Hopefully it wouldn't be so bad when I went to have dinner at Nathaniel’s house tonight.

 Ruby giggled and patted my shoulder, “Don't worry about it, Korianna! Jade here is just a fuddy duddy,” The red haired girl leaned in as if she was going to tell me a secret, “I think it's because he won't tell anyone who he has a crush on! It's effecting his life, ya know?” She said loud enough that Jade heard her.

 He turned bright red and sputtered while Ruby and I laughed. Smirking I tilted my head to the side and raised a hand to shield my mouth from Jade as I said back, “Oh? Do tell~” I hadn't talked to Violette in a while, but from what Savannah told me she still had a crush on Jade. Could he have a crush on her? It would make my matchmaking job much easier.

 Ruby gave me a one armed hug that was more like a strangle hold, “Oooo I like you! Jadey-boy why didn't you tell me your friends were so fun?”

 “Jadey-boy?” I snorted as Jade's blush turned darker. If I ever got back on ChatRoomz I was going to announce his silly nickname to everyone.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Dating My Brother’s Archenemy Pt 1 (ARCHIVED)

DMBA has been condensed into two parts

Special thanks to XRroxanneX and Word. Lover18 for continuously encouraging me to write DMBA, even though they don't know they did. Just them talking to me was enough for me to feel guilty about not updating DMBA…

I wish I could have continued it, but I fell out of love with My Candy Love a long time ago

Dear son,

 How are you? We're fine, mostly. I know it's rare to hear from us, and I'm sorry. We must try to be closer together in the future. It breaks my heart that you and your father do not get along, it's especially hard on your sister. As you know she adores you, but your father won't even let your name be spoken in our house any more. He's taking this too far. Which is why I have a favor to ask you.

 I fear for Korianna's health these days. With your father's new ecentric behavior she has taken to not sleeping, causing her to start failing most of her grades. She was kicked out of art class because she failed two major core classes. Your father went as far as to accuse her of becoming like you! As if that was a bad thing! I've never seen Kori cry so much before. The reason why I tell you this: could it be possible that your sister come live with your for a while? I'm sure she'll improve greatly if not around her father so much.

 Love you always, no matter where you are,

 Mom.

 Castiel frowned at the letter before crumbling it and throwing it away, it wasn't that he didn't like his sister, it was just that their father would make a scene. That old man acted like a prissy girl sometimes, it was embarressing! Castiel leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes, he hated his father. But his mother and sister were actually okay, a little goody, but still okay. They didn't try to change him or anything like his father did. Castiel sighed and retrieved the paper from the waste basket. It was selfish to make anyone, especially his younger sister, stay around their father. He took out a clean sheet of paper and began his responce:

 Mom,

 Fine by me, just tell her not to screw up, Okay?

 Castiel

 XxXxXxX

 "See you soon, Honey! And try not to bother your brother." Mom yelled from the car window. I set down my bag to wave at her before she took off down the road in a fury. I giggled, I knew Castiel got his driving skills from her, even if Dad was the only one who taught him. I scooped up my heavy bag and turned to the down beat apartment building in front of me. I found my brother's apartment, it was relativly easy to find with the loud pounding music and dog barking like crazy, and banged really loud so he could hear me. Nothing.

 A neighbor walked out at that moment and caught me standing in front of the door, he snorted, "If you're here to tell him to turn the noise down, you're wasting your time." Instead of answering I pounded on the door and yelled, "Open the door!" There was muffled shouted, but I couldn't make out what it was. The man commented again as he walked away, "You might as well give up..." Ignoring him I marched to the window and smacked the glass, "Answer the freakin' door, you lazy punk!" The black curtains moved as Castiel smacked the glass back and I could hear him snap, "Go away before I call the police!" Before Castiel could say or do anything I retorted, "You invite me to stay here and then you don't answer the door! Some brother you turned out to be." The curtains parted and Castiel stared back at me.

 I put my hands on my hips, "Well, you going to stare at me, or let your sister in? Come on, it's freezing out here!" Castiel opened the door, I gave him a brief grin before grabbing my stuff and marching into my new home. A dog immediately jumped on me and I squealed before dropping my stuff and trying to climb up my brother's arm. He glared and pushed me off, "Behave, both of you. Kori, this is Demon. Demon, Kori." The dog slobbered all over my hand that I held out to greet him. "Awww, he's just a big sweetie!" I cooed when I was certain he wouldn't try to bite me. Crouching down to his level I scratched behind his ears and he licked my face making me giggle. Castiel just rolled his eyes, as if there was nothing to be done with either of us.

 vvv

 I shoved my hands in my pockets, "So, what's this place called again?" Castiel glared at me, I was trying to make him say it and he knew it, "Sweet Amoris. Ask me again and I'll make you wish you were never born." I stuck my tongue out at him, "You've been wishing that, not me." My brother humphed and began to move away from me, "Just go to class. And meet me here after school." I mock saluted him and made myself scarce.

 "Wow... no one's ever treated Castiel like that and lived." A voice said behind me. I turned to see a boy with dark green tipped silver hair. His eyes were a study, one gold the other green. He looked cute, but too mysterious, I liked the sweet considerate boys. I smiled, "If he killed me, our mom would kill him." The boy blinked in surprise, "You're Castiel's sister?" I held out my hand, "Korianna West, spelled with a 'k'. Call me Kori." He shook my hand, "Lysander. I play in the band with your brother." It was my turn to blink, "Castiel plays in a band?! Boy he should call more often..."

 Lysander chuckled, "Castiel should do a lot of things, but he doesn't." I could agree with that. Hitching my book bag farther up on my shoulder I asked, "So... does Sweet Amoris have an art club?" The boy in front of me raised an eyebrow, "Artist?" I shrugged, "I'm okay, but yes." Lysander gave me a look, "Why do I have the feeling that you're being modest?" He asked flatly. I rolled my eyes, "Fine you caught me. I'm probably the best artist you ever seen. Now does that sound polite?" He laughed, a nice deep sound. Shaking his head he said, "You'll fit in here, I can tell you that." I smiled, "Thank you. Hate to cut our conversation short, but I gotta run. Paperwork to do and everything." My somewhat new friend smiled, "You do that. See you around."

 After having to explain the reason why I was wondering around the hallway to a freaked out principle, I was shown the Student Council room, so I could talk to some guy named Nathaniel. Just my luck that it would be empty. I sat down in one of the many chairs and took out the project I was currently working on. A charcoal on canvas drawing of my brother sleeping. I had started it last night when I couldn't sleep, all that was left was shading and details. I licked my pinky and rubbed the charcoal so that it spread smoothly into a nice shadow along Castiel's jawline. A small line underneath his eye to emphasize the slght bags under his eyes made him look more human. I squinted at the drawing, something wasn't right, but I couldn't tell what.

 "Nice drawing." Someone said behind me. I squeaked and spun around to see the most gorgeous boy I ever laid eyes on standing in the doorway. Golden-brown eyes peered at me with friendliness and warmth under perfect blonde hair. He wore a crisp white shirt and a loose blue tie, but niether hid the fact that he was handsome. I smiled sheepishly, "Uh... thanks. The principle said I need to talk to someone named Nathaniel. Do you know him?" The hottie chuckled, "I'm Nathaniel." A blush creeped up my face, "Oh, sorry. They didn't tell me..." I cut off, I can't believe I almost said to look for a hottie! I finished, "...what you looked like." There that was a safe enough answer. "Did you need me for something?" I went on to ask. He looked a little unconfortable, I could only hope it wasn't because of me, "It seems that your paperwork has been misplaced."

 I blinked, "Misplaced? But..." I trailed off, suddenly realizing where it was. I smiled and held up a finger, "I have an idea of where it is. Give me a minute?" The boy nodded then turned away without another word. I knew I should be too disappointed, but I was. After all I was in the presense of the hottest boy I had ever seen and he really didn't seem to care that I was leaving. I slipped out the door and to the courtyard, hoping that my brother was still around.

 I was in luck, Castiel rolled his grey eyes when he spotted me marching over to him. Without saying hello I held out my hand, "Give me the paperwork. You were supposed to hand that in already, punk." My red haired brother sneered as he laid my transfer papers in my hand, "What? Don't want to end up with my rep here? Or scared that the goody-goody president won't like you any more?" That gave me a pause. I peered up at him, "Got a backstory to share, brother?" Of course Castiel didn't spill, "Yes, but I'm not telling pesky little sisters." As he turned to walk away I couldn't help but tease, "I'll find out sooner or later!" I skipped back inside before he could kill me.

 "Found them." I announced, walking into the student council room. Nathaniel looked up from the head of the table and smiled, "Thank you..." He trailed off and I realized that he didn't know my name. I giggled, "Korianna, call me Kori." Nathaniel laughed, "I don't know, I like your full name. It has a nice ring to it." I blushed again. He just complimented me! It took all my control not to jump up and down, squealing with joy. I managed to shrug, "You can call me by my full name. I-I don't mind." The blonde before me grinned, "Alright. You better get to class, though. Before the principle has a fit." I nodded and headed for the door. Just as I grabbed hold of the handle, Nathaniel said behind me, "See you around, Korianna." I nodded without looked back and fled before my face turned on fire.

 "So how was your first day?" Castiel asked as we climbed into his car at the end of school. I held out my hand, "Alright, where is it?" I asked and my brother gave me a strange look, "Where what is?" He asked confused. I smiled, "There is no way you would be asking me that question voluntarilly. Where's the list of questions mom gave you to ask me?" Castiel rolled his eyes, "I burned it." He snapped sarcastically. I laughed and answered his original question, "A girl named Amber was a jerk, I made a friend and I was a good girl all day. How 'bout you?"

 Castiel didn't answer, just like I knew he wouldn't. I took out my sketchpad. Propping my knees up on the dash I flipped it open to a new sheet and started doodling. By the time Castiel pulled into the apartment complex the page was littered with little scenes from my first day of school. In athe top right corner was a drawing of the Snotty Trio, Amber and her two lacklies, with their noses up in the air. Castiel's car shining in the sunlight roared across the bottom, leaving etches of tiremarks in it's path. A softly shaded pitcure of a pretty girl smiling at a dorky kid dominated the page in the center. I had though it was sweet that she didn't seem to mind his clinginess and focused most of my time perfecting that doodle. Castiel and Lysander talking by the school stairs was mashed right below the girl and boy. I hid Nathaniel in the top left corner, surrounded by bookshelves. I could imagine that he was at the library now, reading just for fun. How I wish I could be there.

 "Hey, pest, pull your head out of the clouds. We're home." My brother's annoyed voice called me to the present. I looked up startled and indeed the brick wall of the apartments stared back at me. I closed my sketchpad and got out of Castiel's tiny car. I glared at him over the roof, "Can't you get a car fit for a normal person and not a dwarf?" My brother smirked, "If you don't like it, you can walk. It won't kill me or anything." I muttered something under my breath, when Castiel asked what I had said I snapped, "I said I'm poisoning your dinner!" Of course Castiel didn't believe me, I wouldn't hurt a fly. Literally.

 I threw my bag down on he couch and parked myself in front of the computer. Castiel sighed and sat down beside my stuff, switching on the TV, as Demon laid down on his feet. "Just make sure you have dinner ready before nine, twerp." He commented, flipping though the channels. I ignored him as I logged into my chat website.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

CrAzYArtist: Hey girl, you'll never guess what happened to me today!

RadidsingeR: Don't tell me! You're preggers!! :D YAY, I'm an aunt!

CrAzYArtist: First of all, ew, 2nd: DO YOU HAVE NO FAITH IN ME?!?!!? RabidsingeR: No, but I have faith in that hunky brother of yours. How is the Black Haired Wonder?

CrAzYArtist: Again, ew. And FYI: Castiel's hair is now scarlet red.

RabidsingeR: WHAT?! But he can't know you're not the Yin and Yang twins!

CrAzYArtist: 9_9 God help me...

RabidsingeR: You tell that boy to dye his hair back! I can't picture him with red hair! It clashes against your gorgeous white hair!!

*MonKeybiz has signed in*

MonKeybiz: Hey whadup girlfriend?

RabidsingeR: CASTIEL CHANGED HIS HAIR COLOR TO RED!!!!!!

MonKeybiz: What?! No way!

RabidsingeR: Yes way! I'm about ready to go there and changed it back myself!!

CrAzYArtist: You know he's looked over my shoulder at this moment, right?

RabidsingeR: EEP 0//[]//0 Hiya Castiel!

MonKeybiz: How you doin' sweet thang? ;)

CrAzYArtist: LOL I was just kidding!! XD He's watching TV with his dog. And what a dog. He's so adorable, but scary at the same time!! ^-^

MonKeybiz: But I thought you liked cats... O.o WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY FRIEND?!?! CrAzYArtist: *facepalm* I do like cats, but I like Demon too. He's a big sweet dog.

RabidsingeR: I still can't believe that Castiel dyed his hair red.

CrAzYArtist: Well he did. Can we get on less boring subjects now?

MonKeybiz: Castiel ain't boring! He's freakin' HOT!

RabidsingeR: Amen to that sister!

CrAzYArtist: Let me rephase that: less boring subjects for me.

RabidsingeR: Well Amanda took your place as School Artist and has been trying all day to erase your presense from this school.

MonKeybiz: And Ty has a new girlfriend already. Such an unfaithful boy! Lexsie and I took the liberty of exracting revenge! >:) What about you?

CrAzYArtist: Tortured Castiel. Met one of his friends (Savannah you would like him). Ran into the hottest boy I've ever laid eyes on! and then made my first enemy, a girl named Amber.

MonKeybiz: Who is this person I would like??

CrAzYArtist: His name is Lysander, and he's in my brothers band. He likes victorian clothing and has VERY mysterious air about him.

MonKeybiz: *faints* I gotta meet him! I think you found my soul-mate!!!

RabidsingeR: Savannah! You traitor! You have been officially removed from the Castiel Fanclub! And I'm shunning you for the rest of the week!!!

MonKeybiz: More for you right? ;P

RabidsingeR: ...alright you have a point, but you're still kicked out of the fanclub. Make your own Lysander club and I won't shun you.

MonKeybiz: Yay! I got my bestfriendthat'sstillhere back!! *huggles*

CrAzYArtist: You two are so weird... I have no clue why I'm friends with you.

RabidsingeR: Now tell us more about this hot boy you've met... :]

CrAzYArtist: Well, his name is Nathaniel, he's the student body pres and he's hotter than Ty ever way!

MonKeybiz: On a scale of one to ten, how hot? CrAzYArtist: Eleven.

RabidsingeR: But the scale only goes to ten!!

CrAzYArtist: Well he has love potential...

MonKeybiz: Ooooooo LOOOOOOVE! Oo la la!

CrAzYArtist: There's a slight prob though.

RabidsingeR: What, he's gay?

MonKeybiz: Lexsie!!

CrAzYArtist: NO. Castiel seems to hate him. And knowing my brother, the feeling's probably mutual.

MonKeybiz: Oh poor Kori... Need me to go knock some sense in that brother of yours?! :D

RabidsingeR: Savannah! Just a minute ago you were in the Castiel fanclub! Have you forgot your past so quickly?!?

MonKeybiz: If that Lysander guy is everything Kori says he is, then yes. Besides, this is Kori we're talking about. Sisters before Misters!!

RabidsingeR: Oh... yeah you're right. LET'S BOTH BEAT CASTIEL UP!!!

CrAzYArtist: You just want to beat him up so you can play 'nurse' later...

RabidsingeR: What's wrong with that? ;P

CrAzYArtist: I don't know what to do with you... Anyway I gotta go before Castiel kills me about dinner.

RabidsingeR: Awwwww phooie! TTYL

MonKeybiz: See ya, honey lamb, and say hi to Lysander for me! (give him my chatname if you can!! ;D

*CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 As I shut down the computer Castiel said, "What did the two weirdos have to talk about?" I rolled my eyes as I made my way to the kitchen, "Anything and everything. I won't bore you with the details. What do you want for dinner?" Demon followed me, probably expecting me to feed him. I called over my shoulder, "If you don't want dog meat for dinner, come feed Demon! I'm not taking care of him as well as you." Castiel sighed as if it would kill him, but fed Demon without complaining.

 "What do you mean I have to join I club?" I whined to Castiel the next day. My brother glared at me, he definitely wasn't a morning person, and took another gulp of his coffee. I dare not say that it would stunt is growth; he might try to bite my head off. "The school requires all new students to join a club for at least a year." I knew it was useless to ask, but I did, "What club did you join?" Castiel scowled at me and didn't answer, "Go to class, I'll meet you here after school." Then he left to do whatever he did during school, besides cutting classes that was.

 I seethed and moved to enter the school when I ran right into someone. I fell to the ground with a yelp, my books and papers going every which-way. I laid there stunned for a minute before hands went to grab my arms, "I'm sorry!" A boy said, sounding surprised and concerned. I opened my eyes to see a green-haired boy staring back at me. I tried to smile, "its okay, I wasn't looking where I was going. You are...?" The boy returned my smile brightly, "Jade. And you?"

 I rolled to my knees and began gathering my scattered things, but before I could answer I heard Nathaniel calling, "Korianna, what happened?" I turned to see the golden haired hottie walking down the front stairs of the school, his brow puckered with concern. I smiled at him, "Sorry, Jade and I ran into each other." Nathaniel, to my everlasting luck, helped me up and handed over some of the books he had gathered. One title caught his eye, "How to Deal with Bullies? Someone giving you problems?" I blushed and gently extracted the book from hid grip, "Uhhhh, a little..." Nathaniel frowned and I spilled, anything to get that look off his face, "Some girl named Amber is giving me problems..." Nathaniel stiffened and looked away, uncomfortable, "I- I'll see what I can do... Tell me if she bothers you anymore." He left.

 Now Jade was frowning, "Something is up. The minute you mentioned that name, it was like he couldn't wait to get away." I sighed, maybe I had scared him off. "Maybe she's a friend or something..." I tried to sound aloof, but I was failing miserably. Jade gave me a raised eyebrow look, "You're praying to God that she's just a friend, aren't you?" I blushed, "Am I that obvious?" Jade laughed, "To me, yes, but to him... you're secret is still safe." I was strangely both glad and disappointed that Nathaniel hadn't found out yet. I looked back at Jade, "Can you keep it a secret?"

 He smiled, "Of course, if you do me a favor. Are you in the Gardening Club?" I blinked at the sudden turn of the conversation, "No... but I'm supposed to join a club today. Why, do you need help?" Jade shrugged, "I'm actually a student from another school. I came here to help out the Gardening Club. I'm supposed to put some plants in Classroom A and the Student Council room, but I need to get the garden back on its feet. Mind taking those plants for me?" I shrugged, I had wanted to join a drawing club, but I didn't know if Sweet Amoris offered that. The Garden Club would have to do. "I'd be happy to help!" He laughed again and took me to the Garden Club to retrieve the plants.

 On my way back to the school I ran into Castiel. He raised an eyebrow at my load and asked, "Busy?" I glared, "Yes, I joined the Garden Club. In your opinion, which plant should go where?" My brother smirked, "The Mimosa should be put in the Student Council room, I think it'll look nice and people would appreciate it very much." I nodded and began walking towards the building again, calling over my shoulder, "Thanks, brother, I'll do the opposite." I could hear Castiel growling curses behind me, but I decided to ignore him. I stopped at the Classroom first and put the Mimosa plant down on the teacher's desk, "There, a little color to brighten the room." I said to myself. Walking across the hall I hid the Ficus tree partly behind the filing cabinet in the back. I stepped back to survey my work feeling proud.

 "What are you doing?!" Nathaniel snapped behind me. I squeaked and spun around, coming face to face with the student body president. In the two days I had known him, I had never seen him so angry. Scratch that: I've never seen anyone so angry before, not even my father when you mentioned Castiel's name in his hearing. "Uh... I-um... Jade said that I had to put plants in the classrooms. I hope you don't mind...?" I finished hesitantly; the last thing I wanted was for Nathaniel to yell at me. He sighed and pressed his hand to his forehead, "I'm allergic to pollen. Please tell me that isn't pollen." Ah. That was understandable, "Oh, well I didn't put a pollen plant in here. I asked Castiel and-"

 Nathaniel looked irritated again. I mentally slapped myself, if Castiel hated Nathaniel there was a good chance that Nathaniel returned the feeling. "Did he tell you to put the pollen plant in here?" Nathaniel asked, his golden eyes narrow. I shrugged, "Yes, but I didn't do what he asked me! I knew he would want me to do something terrible." Nathaniel sighed and turned away, rubbing his temples, "You should stay away from Castiel, he's nothing but-" I cut him off, angry, "He's my brother. I'm going to hang around him and just because you don't like him doesn't mean anything to me!" Was this technically a couple's fight? Was it so bad that I wanted it to be?

 The golden haired guy turned back to me, his eyes sparking with anger, "I was just trying to warn you! You sure didn't tell me that you were his sister." I retorted, "You have ears don't you? I'm pretty sure that the gossip going around is about Castiel's twin sister moving here!" Nathaniel threw up his hands, "How should I have known that you were her? You two look and act nothing alike!" I rolled my eyes, "Hence the reason we're called the Yin Yang twins, genius!" The bell rang, saving me from having to argue with him. I grabbed my shoulder bag from where I had put in coming in, "I've got to go to class." I growled and stomped out the room. Nathaniel slammed the door behind me, almost hitting me. It was all I could do just to walk away. My classmates walked by me, giving me strange looks or avoiding my gaze. I frowned, I didn't have leaves on me, did I? I scanned my outfit, no leaves or pollen. So what were they all staring at? Pushing the question from my mind I went to find my brother in the courtyard.

 Castiel smirked when he saw me, "So, how was your fight with the student president?" I blinked, "How did you hear about that?" I asked surprised. I didn't know that gossip could travel so fast! Castiel shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "I didn't hear about it, I heard it. I'm sure everyone heard your little spat with that goody-goody two shoes." He barked a laugh, "I didn't know either of you could yell like that!" I glared, my face turning red, "Regardless, it's none of your business." Castiel sneered, "It concerns me, so yes it is my business." I glared at him, wondering if it was 'Make Kori Mad' day. Castiel continued, ignoring my glare "And as your older brother and guardian, I suggest you stay away from him."

 I held up two fingers, "One, you're only older by two and a half minutes. Two, just like I told Nathaniel, just because you don't like him does NOT mean that you should tell me to stay away from him. He's my friend and there's nothing you can do to change that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do for my club!" I spun and stalked off. If Dad could see me now he would chalk this up as Castiel having a bad influence over me. I could just see it now, "You're acting out just like that brother of yours!" Sighing irritably I marched into the Garden club, my face a thundercloud.

 Jade looked up from where he was kneeling, his sea green eyes knowing. I guess news of my fight with Nathaniel had reached even his ears, "If you dare say that I should or shouldn't be friends with anyone, I might bash you over the head with a shovel." I growled in way of a greeting. My friend laughed and patted the ground beside him, "I'd never do that, so tell me what's bothering you." I gave him a look, "I'm sure you've heard about what's bothering me. The whole school has." Jade shrugged as he turned back to tending the flowers, "So? It'll make you feel better to let off the steam, give you a chance to rant before classes begin."

 I sighed and sat down, sitting opposite of him, "Well, to begin my father hates Castiel, only because Castiel doesn't conform to our father's code. Dad eventually sent Castiel away, signed the papers saying that Castiel lived independently and everything. The man basically disowned his only son! Anyway, after that things got worse for my mom and me. We could barely mention Castiel's name around him. I mean, Castiel's my twin, my freaking other half, and Dad just shoves him away and expects us to get along like he never existed! It's even worse when Dad comes home drunk, because then he's liable to hit you instead of just yelling for mentioning Castiel. Mom threatened to leave, but then Dad just turns on his charm and she goes as soft as butter. It's not her fault that she loves him though, right?

 "Things got so bad that I had started to fail school and was suspended from the art club because of it. I've never seen my father so angry before. I actually thought he was going to hit me even when he was sober! Anyway my mom stepped in and somehow managed to deflect Dad's anger from me. She said that I should visit my aunt until this blew over, but instead of taking me to my aunt's house she brought me here. I was stupid enough to think that my life would be all hunky-dory here, but I find out that the guy I like is my brother's arch-rival and visa-versa. I've hardly made any friends here, compared to being popular at my old school. I can count on one hand how many friends I have here! And to top it all off, some girl I've never even met before is out for my blood." I heaved a sigh, suddenly feeling better than I had all day.

 Jade grinned, "See? Told you so." I smiled at him, "Well, you're a good listener." The green-haired boy nodded his head solemnly, "I should be, after listening to drunks whom I've never met before pour out their life stories at midnight at the clubs." I stared at him, did he just admit to going to clubs illegally? Jade watched me as I shifted uncomfortably, wondering what to say. Just when I opened my mouth he laughed, "I'm kidding. But I do have older sisters." I blushed and giggled, "That's good. You had me worried for a minute." We sat there for a few more minutes, laughing and talking about our lives. Sometimes Jade had me go do something, like fetching seeds from Iris, but mostly I spent the day digging around the garden. It wasn't until three that I finally left, waving good-bye to my new friend.

 I was heading for my next class when Nathaniel ran into me. It had been almost two hours since our fight, but it felt longer than that. I blushed and looked away, I really couldn't meet his gaze, I was so embarrassed about losing my temper. Nathaniel shifted in front of me, he must have been embarrassed too, but not enough to just leave me alone, "I... uh... Can I ask you a favor?" I nodded, keeping my eyes glued to the floor. A slip of paper was shoved into my hand, "Can you ask Castiel to sign this absentee form?" I nodded and started to turn away when I felt Nathaniel's hand on my shoulder, stopping me, "And... I'm sorry for the way I acted. I really didn't know." I shook my head, "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper." I smiled at him over my shoulder, "Just don't mention it again and I'll forgive you." I said playfully. Was it possible that Nathaniel looked even more hot when he smiled?

 I found Castiel standing on the front steps, leaning against the stair's railing, "There's my hot-headed little sister." He said cheerfully. I pursed my lips, "Ha ha, very funny. Sign this absentee slip please, punk." Castiel frowned. Unlike Nathaniel's scowls, I could live with my brother's, "So you and Goody-goody already kissed and made up?" I blushed scarlet, "Just sign the stupid thing!" I snapped. Castiel smirked, "Is that a blush I see?" He teased, pinching my cheeks. I swiped at his hand, but he pulled away too quickly, "So when's the wedding?" I narrowed my violet eyes at him, "Does that mean that you actually want to be related to him?" I asked snippishly. Castiel actually shuddered and snatched the absentee form from me, "Don't ever say that again." He growled as he shoved the poor paper back at me. I smirked, "You said it first." I pointed out before running back into the building.

 Castiel slammed the door in my face, cutting off what I was about to say. Glaring at the paint chipped wood I opened the door and snapped, "You were about to punch him, Castiel! Of course I jumped in!" My brother spun on me, his expression dark with rage, "You didn't have to take his side, Kori!" I rolled my eyes, "Well sorry if being loyal to one's siblings isn't my top priority! I don't think it's right to punch someone's lights out just because he put me up to making you sign the stupid absentee form, or whatever the stupid arguement was about!" Castiel took a classic parenting stance, with one hand on his hip and the other waving a finger in my face, but before he could say anything I growled, "Don't you dare lecture me, father!." Castiel, realizing what he was doing, turned abruptly away and said over his shoulder, "Just have dinner ready by six. I've got to work tonight." I glared at him before stomping to my room, hating that he got the final say.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

CrAzYArtist: I swear I'll kill my brother!!!

MonKeybiz: Woah, aren't you and Castiel like freaky close? Where did this come from?

CrAzYArtist: He teased me about getting into a fight with Nathaniel and then he almost got into a fist fight with the guy!! GRRRRRRRRR!

MonKeybiz: You and Nathaniel are already fightin'? And why did Castiel try to kill him?

CrAzYArtist: Long and complicated. I told you already that Nathaniel doesn't like Castiel and visa versa. IDK, some stupid reason.

MonKeybiz: Deep breaths Kori, look at the bright side, you survived today! That's gotta count for something.

CrAzYArtist: Yeah... where's Lexsie? MonKeybiz: Grounded XD Apparently her parents heard a rumor from Amanda's parents that she was banging some random dude and she got into serious trouble w/o them even hearing her side.

CrAzYArtist: Please tell me that the rumor isn't actually true...

MonKeybiz: Why Kori! Have you no faith in your friends?!

CrAzYArtist: ...

MonKeybiz: Ouch. And the answer is: no, the rumor is totally not true. Hey any more news on that hunky hottie?

CrAzYArtist: :) You've never even met him, how do you know he's hot? MonKeybiz: A) You just said he was. B) You wouldn't have mentioned him if he was butt-ugly. Man, do you know how not fun it is with you not here?

CrAzYArtist: Double negative. Tsk tsk.

MonKeybiz: You're the english nerd!

CrAzYArtist: English is always capitalized.

MonKeybiz: I swear if you say one more corretion I'll murder you...

CrAzYArtist: ...

CrAzYArtist: *correction...

MonKeybiz: ARGH!! You know, you've got to invite some of you new school friends here so they can hang out with us too! (Especially Lysander ;P)

CrAzYArtist: Awwwww you remember his name! It must be serious!!

MonKeybiz: *facepalm* your so werid sometimes.

CrAzYArtist: *you're

MonKeybiz: THE MINUTE I SEE YOU, YOU'RE DEAD!!!!

CrAzYArtist: Then you'll have to face Lexsie's drama by yourself.

MonKeybiz: I already do that, shouldn't be a problem if your dead.

CrAzYArtist: Then you'll never meet your Prince Charming.

MonKeybiz: NO PLEASE!! I forgive you!

CrAzYArtist: lol you're so funny sometimes.

MonKeybiz: I try! ^0^

 Castiel banged on the door, "Are you fixing dinner or not?!" I yelled, "If you're going to treat me like a servant, fix your own dinner!" Castiel jiggled the doorknob, but I had taken the precaution of locking it and the proping my chair underneath it, just in case my brother had picked up the skill of picking locks. "Kori, get out here!" I yelled back, "When you stop being a pain and stop hitting people!" He growled something then there was a solid thump that told me he had actually kicked the door. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the computer.

 MonKeybiz: Hello?

MonKeybiz: Where'd you run off to?

MonKeybiz: Korianna Rillei West! Answer me!!

CrAzYArtist: Sorry, brother trouble. So what were we talking about?

MonKeybiz: *sigh* you getting your new friends to come and chat with us.

CrAzYArtist: Yeah, because I have friends. Well, I guess Lysander could be counted as one... and I made a new friend today! Sadly he doesn't go to my school.

MonKeybiz: Oooooo, name? And is he hot?

CrAzYArtist: Why on earth would you ask that?! I thought you were totally in love with Lysander! And I'm interested in Nathaniel anyway.

MonKeybiz: But didn't you fight?

CrAzYArtist: Everyone fights. Nathaniel didn't get the memo that I was Castiel's twin, bada-bing bada-boom and voila, the fight is on. Apparently the whole school heard it. As in with their own ears. Castiel was in the courtyard and he heard it!

MonKeybiz: YaY, you still got those powerful lungs and you found someone who has the same! It's a match made in Heaven!

CrAzYArtist: What will I ever do with you?

MonKeybiz: Love me, feed me, never leave me. AND GIVE ME LYSANDER!!

CrAzYArtist: Now I'm questioning your sanity...

MonKeybiz: But I thought you started that way back when.

CrAzYArtist: No, honey, I put you on the watch list. Now I'm going to call the closest Asylum and register you.

MonKeybiz: Yay! fluffy walls and jackets that let me huggles myself! Just what I always wanted!! XD Anyway about you're new friend...

CrAzYArtist: *your. And his name is Jade. He helps in the Gardening club as extra credit for his school. Green hair, sea green eyes. Cute in a floppy kinda way.

MonKeybiz: (Grrr) Okay, 'floppy' is a new one... I've heard little brother cute and nerdy cute, but never floppy cute.

CrAzYArtist: Well he's nerdy in a gardener way. Baggy green overalls, hat, thick garden gloves... I don't know, it just works for him! Stop making me think!

MonKeybiz: Lol, Oh. Latest update: Ty has broken up with his new ex-girlfriend. Or at least that's what he's telling everyone, I think it's actually the other way around. Apparently she found out that he was dating her at the same time he was dating you before you left. His rep is ruined!! He managed to talk his parents into moving, because "he feels lonely" Mwahahahaha!!

CrAzYArtist: NOOOOO He might have to come here! O.o

MonKeybiz: That does present a prob... well I'm sure Nath and Castiel will protect you! Ty won't dare touch you if he has to go through those two. (Nath is a fighter right?)

CrAzYArtist: Uh, do you really need to ask that question? Hello, girl he fought with today?

MonKeybiz: Yeah, but that was yelling...

CrAzYArtist: Savannah, let's just say I don't think even my father had looked as angry as Nathaniel today.

MonKeybiz: Ah, that does explain things.

MonKeybiz: Oops! Past my bed time, Mom's trying to kill me! 'Night and see ya tomorrow, honey bear! CrAzYArtist: Lol, if you live until then.

*MonKeybiz has signed out*

*CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 Since Castiel and I still weren't on speaking terms I walked to school the next day, having to get up an hour earlier just to be sure I made it on time. It turns out I made it almost fifteen minutes before the beginning bell. I shrugged and started to make my way to the Student Council room, sure that Nathaniel would have something for me to do, when I came across a strange sound coming from behind one of the courtyard trees. I paused, trying to desipher the sound, when I suddenly realized what it was.

 Someone was crying.

 I felt torn between leaving the person alone, it was obvious they wanted to be alone, and going to comfort them. I stood rooted in spot for a good minute before I made my way cautiously over to the tree. At the base of the wide plant a strangely familiar girl sat, her face buried in her hands, tears gushing from her fingers and dotting her grey skinny jeans, "Excuse me...?" I said cautiously. The girl looked up suprised, her stormy grey eyes wide and red from crying. Immediately she glared, "If you're going to tease me, just go away." I blinked, that wasn't the reaction I was looking for. Still I stayed where I was, "I was just wondering if you were-" "Okay? Yeah, I'm fine. As chipper as a woodchuck, just leave me alone! Go ahead and inform your friends that I cry, I don't care." It sounded angry, but her voice was devoid of emotion. I studied her, wondering how in the world I recognized her.

 I suddenly remembered where I saw her before, "Oh! You're the girl I drew my first day here!" The blonde girl gave me a confused look, her pretty grey eyes blinking rapidly at the sudden change of conversation, "Uh... what?" I fished my sketchpad out of my shoulder bag and flipped through it until I came to the collage I did. "See, this is you with that boy." Instead of cheering up like I thought she would, the girl's lower lip trembled again. She pushed the pad back at me and lowered her head to her bent knees, "Just go away!" She cried. I glanced back down at my drawing then back up at the girl, there was a connection between the two. What was it?

 "Did... did something happen? Do you want to talk about it?" The girl sniffed and didn't answer me. I sighed, "It's better to just let it spill instead of keeping it locked in. Trust me, I know." She scowled at me, "You expect me to share my life secrets when I don't even know your name?!" I tilted my head, "My name is Korianna West. And yes, don't you think it makes it better? Because if you don't know the person then there's no way to tell if they'll judge you or not. And most likely you'll never talk to them again." The girl barked a short laugh, "You have a strange philosophy." I smiled and patter her shoulder, "Well if you want to talk about it, I'll be around. And just so you know, I won't tell a living soul that I found you this morning." She seemed to be reassured by that and I left her heading for my original destination.

 Nathaniel was, as I predicted, already in the Student Council room, filing papers. He glanced up surprised when I entered the room. I smiled and mentally steeled myself against my emotions. There was no way I was going to act like a total love-struck fool or get angry with Nathaniel today. If Jade had noticed my hopeless crush on Nathaniel after seeing me around him for a few minutes I had resolved to keep a tight lid on my emotions. Sooner or later Nathaniel was going to notice if I continued the way I did.

 "What are you doing here so early?" Nathaniel asked. I smiled and set my bag down on the table, "Castiel is still mad at me for yesterday. I walked here to avoid him." He looked away embarressed, "Yeah... yesterday..." I tried not to, but I laughed, "Oh lighten up. Castiel is a little hot headed sometimes, but-" I cut off and grimanced at Nathaniel's closed expression. Grinning sheepisly I held up my hands, "Okay, okay I call a truce. For now on neither of us will speak about my brother. Deal?" I held out my hand. Nathaniel looked from my hand to my face, trying to see if I was serious or not. I smiled encouragingly. Rolling his gorgeous golden eyes Nathaniel shook my hand, "Deal."

 Just then the door burst open again and a girl I had never seen before came skipping in, her dull brown hair swinging behind her, "Hey Nath, I'm here early to- who's she?" The girl cut off staring at me with pale blue eyes. Nathaniel gestured to me, "Melody, this is Korianna. Korianna, Melody. She helps me out sometimes." I plastered a smile on and said, "Call me Kori." My voice was friendly, but deep down I was hoping that this girl wasn't after Nathaniel's affections as well.

 vvv

 "...so then I had to chase that stupid dog all around the school, missing my classes. It's a wonder I'm ever going to catch up!" I finished my daily rant to Jade as I helped him weed the flowerbed. My green haired friend smiled, "Well, from what I heard your brother seems to manage." I held out my hands, "See that's the problem, I'm not a genius like Castiel. The only thing I'm really good at is drawing and that's only because I ignored my studies when I was younger in favor for art. People think that since I'm twins with Castiel we're both very smart, even my parents thought that. But what they don't seem to get is that Castiel and I are opposite in everything, from looks to personality to intellects. Don't get me wrong, I love school, but I just can never understand anything." I took a deep breath and asked, "I'm babbling again, aren't I?" Jade, nodded, his face pinched in effort to keep from laughing. Then he burst into laughter.

 I huffed playfully and threw a dirtclod at him. It exploded against his shoulder, and Jade sent me an evil smirk. I tried to run, but my friend had already grabbed me and dumped a fistful of dirt on to my white hair. I shrieked and watted back at him, trying to shake the dirt out of my hair. Jade only pointed at me and laughed. I sent him a dirty look, "Are you trying to dye my hair brown?" I asked, making Jade laugh only harder. I glared at him for a few more minutes before breaking down and joing him. We ended up on the ground our backs pressed against each other, still chuckling. Jade sighed after a while, "It's too bad I go back tomorrow." I perked up, this was the perfect oppertunity to get him into my chat room with Savannah and Lexsie.

 "You know... I mean, do you chat?" I asked. Jade twisted to face me, his green eyes confused, "Huh?" I shrugged, "Chat. You know, talk over the internet live. That type of thing." Jade raised an eyebrow, "No... why?" I chewed on my lower lip, wondering if I should drop the subject or explain. I decided on the latter, "Well, one of my friends back home has been begging me to get some of my friend's here to join our chat room. And... since you're leaving and we probably won't speak again, I thought- Oh you're right, it's a stupid idea." Jade smiled and shook his shaggy hair, "No, I actually like the idea. Tell me more." I released the breath I didn't know I held and began to speak avidly about my chat room and all that my friend's and I talked about. Jade laughed at all the right parts and promised to check it out when he got home. Then he waved good-bye and left, probably forever.

 I sighed and stayed in the garden. Already the place seemed more gloomy without my friend there to cheer me up. I sighed and began to pick up the gardening tools that we had used. I was just returning from the tool shed when the voice I least expected spoke, "Korianna?" I spun to see Nathaniel standing behind me, looking just a tad uncomfortable. "I was wondering... you said you were walking home and..." Could he possibly be asking what I think he was? "...Do you like cats?" I blinked and smiled, "Cats are my favorite animal, why?" Nathaniel finally smiled and relaxed a little bit, "I was wondering if you would like to go feed the stray cats with me. I could walk you home afterwards." I grinned, "I'd be happy to! Question though, why stray cats? Don't you have a cat of your own?"

 Nathaniel rubbed the back of his neck, "My mom is allergic to cats." Nathaniel must come from a family of allergic people. That thought struck me funny somehow and I had to purse my lips to keep from laughing, I doubted Nathaniel would like it if I laughed at his family. "That's too bad, cats are really fun, especially kittens. Hey maybe when you graduate and move out on your own you can get a kitten!" Nathaniel smiled at the idea, "That would be nice. Maybe I'll just take one of the strays off the street." I nodded, "As long as it isn't too mean, I don't see the problem. I used to run an unofficial home for stray cats back at my old town. My dad sure didn't like it!" He laughed. We talked about cats as we walked down the streets, both of us at ease with each other for all that we had been trying to deafen the each other just yesterday.

 The colorful array of kittens came running when they saw Nathaniel bring out a bag of cat food. I tilted my head curiously and noticed an empty pan pushed up against the wall. I raised an eyebrow, "Nathaniel, how many times do you do this?" He smiled, "Everyday after school, unless I have something to do." I laughed, "That's sweet of you to take care of these kittens!" One kitten, a solid charcoal grey rubbed against my legs and meowed cutely. I squatted down and swept her up in my arms, ignoring her prick of her claws as she kneeded my arm and purred. I cuddled her, "I just might have to take you home!" I said making Nathaniel laugh.

 Sitting crosslegged I put the kitten in my lap and pulled the pan over to me, filling it with a water bottle that Nathaniel had bought from the Dollar Store on the way here. The kitten purred even louder as she began to lap up the cool water. Nathaniel sat down beside me and spread the cat food out for the three other kittens to eat. A calico jumped up on his shoulder and nudged his pink nose in my ear, making me squeak and jerk away, rubbing at my ear. Nathaniel gave me a questioning look and I smiled sheepishly, "My ears are very ticklish." He shook his head and patted the calico's head before feeding it pieces of cat food one by one. The orange tabby ignored us, turning his back on us as he ate, but the solid black kitten walked from between Nathaniel and I, looking for affection. The charcoal jumped down to join the tabby and the calico climbed into my lap. Nathaniel handed me a handful of dried cat food saying, "He won't eat unless you give it to him." I laughed and tickled the cat under his chin, "Spoiled aren't you?" He only meowed. I laughed and cuddled him closer, making him squirm.

 I waved good-bye to Nathainel before walking into the apartment. Castiel was sitting in a chair, facing the door, glaring. His grey eyes narrowed when I opened the door, "So where have you been?" I shrugged, "Did Mom tell you to worry? Usually you aren't so... overprotective." I snapped back, still angry about the way he had acted yesterday. Castiel snarled and lurched out of his seat, "You were with Nathaniel, weren't you?" I straightened and raised my chin, "If you don't like it then maybe you should tell me what happened between you two, then I can decide if your an idiot or if you have a good reason." Castiel growled like an animal, spun, and stalked back to his room slamming the door behind him. I rolled my eyes and moved to my room.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

*Chat Room is empty*

 I sat back, staring at the buzzing computer, waiting for someone to log in. I slumped in my computer chair and picked absently at the cat hair on my shirt. I sighed and swivled to face my room. My sketches were tacked up on the wall like wallpaper, the whitewashed wall underneath them was literally covered. My ceiling fan moved with sluggish movements, creating a small whirr, it's faint breeze stiring the drawing periodically. My bed was made neatly and the deep red carpet was spotless. My school things laid in the corner by the door, waiting for tomorrow. All my clothes were hung properly on their hangers and filed neatly in the closet, color-coded and length organized. I sighed, Lexsie had once told me that I was a major clean freak. At the time I had rolled my eyes and shook my head, but maybe she was right. What normal teenager kept her pens organized by how much ink was in it?

 My computer bleeped and I spun back around to read the message.

 *GreenThumb has joined the Chat Room*

 GreenThumb: Uh... Kori?

CrAzYArtist: That's me! ^_^ I'm glad you decided to join.

GreenThumb: lol, CrAzYArtist? Yeah, you're crazy all right...

CrAzYArtist: Is that sarcasm?

GreenThumb: Maybe... where's your other friends?

CrAzYArtist: Lexsie is grounded, I don't know where Savannah is. She should be here any minute.

*MonKeybiz has signed in*

MonKeybiz: Hey girl!

CrAzYArtist: Well speak of the devil!

MonKeybiz: Huh? What are you talking about?

GreenThumb: Hi, I'm Jade. Kori's new friend.

MonKeybiz: YOU FINALLY GOT SOMEONE TO JOIN?!?!?! GreenThumb: Uhh... O.o

CrAzYArtist: I may call myself crazy, but it's really Savannah who's the crazy one.

MonKeybiz: Only on the internet and around you. Otherwise I'm as shy as a mouse.

GreenThumb: Like Violette? MonKeybiz: Who's Violette?

CrAzYArtist: Yes, like Violette, only... times ten.

GreenThumb: Ah. Then very shy.

MonKeybiz: Hellloooooo! I'm right here! WHO IS VIOLETTE!?

CrAzYArtist: No need to yell, Violette is a girl that goes to my school and another artist. She's a very reserved girl.

MonKeybiz: Ah. Gotta meet this chick. BTW, Jade, do you know Nathaniel?

GreenThumb: You meen Kori's crush? Not personally, but I've met him briefly.

MonKeybiz: Good! Is he as good-looking as Kori claims he is? GreenThumb: I'm not sure I should answer that question...

CrAzYArtist: I'll get you Savannah!

MonKeybiz: Well you can't at the moment. So is he?

GreenThumb: I'm not gay, so I wouldn't know.

MonKeybiz: Well if you were, would you be attracted to Nath? Don't worry, I won't judge you if you say yes. I'm against judging people.

CrAzYArtist: SAVANNAH!

MonKeybiz: What?

GreenThumb: *sigh* ...I guess.

MonKeybiz: :] Hey Kori when do I get to meet this guy? Otherwise you can't date him until Lexsie and I give approval.

CrAzYArtist: ...

GreenThumb: Hey, I'm her friend too now, where's my imput?

MonKeybiz: Oops, okay you get approval rights, but that means we have to approve on your dates too!

GreenThumb: Well I approve on Nathaniel.

CrAzYArtist: Can we drop the subject now?

MonKeybiz: NEVER!!

GreenThumb: I like you.

MonKeybiz: Awwww thanks! ^-^ I like you too! I think we'll be best buds.

CrAzYArtist: Why me?

MonKeybiz: Oh be quiet Kori, you're the one who invited him.

GreenThumb: Yeah!

CrAzYArtist: *sigh* I'm really beginning to regret that decision...

GreenThumb: Too late! By the way, Nathaniel was looking for you when I left, what did he want?

MonKeybiz: Do I smell the word 'date'?

CrAzYArtist: NO! What you smell is cat food. Nathaniel and I went to feed the stray cats after school.

MonKeybiz: IT'S A DATE!

CrAzYArtist: It is not!

GreenThumb: If a guy is spending time with you when he could do something else, it counts as a date. Trust me, I would know. I am a guy after all.

CrAzYArtist: Okay FINE! It was a SOMEWHAT date! It's not like he took me out to eat! All we did was feed a bunch of stray cats and he walked me home!

MonKeybiz: HE WALKED YOU HOME?!?!?! O[]O

GreenThumb: Oooooo this is more serious than I thought. :)

CrAzYArtist: Shut up...

MonKeybiz: If I knew you, Kori, and I do, I'd say you're blushing scarlet.

CrAzYArtist: ...

GreenThumb: Yeah, she's blushing.

*RabidsingeR has signed in*

CrAzYArtist: SAVE ME!

RabidsingeR: Whoa, whoa. What's this?

GreenThumb: Admit it, Kori, it's true.

RabidsingeR: AND WHO ARE YOU?!?!?!

GreenThumb: I'm Jade, Kori's new friend. Savannah and I were trying to convice Kori that she went on a date with Nath.

RabidsingeR: YOU WENT ON A DATE?

CrAzYArtist: No! N-freakin'-O.

MonKeybiz: Yes you did, don't lie.

RabidsingeR: See, get grounded and look what I miss out! And new chat friend and Kori has a boyfriend now!

CrAzYArtist: HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!

RabidsingeR: Well not officially, but sooner or later he's going to ask you out.

CrAzYArtist: TRAITOR!!

MonKeybiz: ...what's with all the yelling?

GreenThumb: I don't know, but I find it extreamly funny!

RabidsingeR: Wait... if you go to Kori's school, then you must know Castiel!

MonKeybiz: And Lysander!

CrAzYArtist: Jade doesn't go to my school, he helps my club out.

GreenThumb: The bad boys? Well Lys isn't really 'bad' but he hangs around with them. Yeah I know them a little. Mostly what Kori tells me.

RabidsingeR: Is it true that Castiel dyed his hair red?

CrAzYArtist: And we're back to that...

GreenThumb: ...What color was it before? I've only seen him with red.

RabidsingeR: NOOOOOOOOO!! It was black. Kori and Castiel were called the Yin Yang Twins because of their opposite looks... (FYI)

MonKeybiz: And we're back to the screaming. What about Lysander? GreenThumb: Please tell me you don't all have crushes.

CrAzYArtist: ...

RabidsingeR: ...

MonKeybiz: ...

GreenThumb: *sigh* What have I gotten myself into?

CrAzYArtist: We're teenage girls, what do you expect?

GreenThumb: But Savannah and Lexsie(?) have never met their crushes.

RabidsingeR: (Yes my name is Lexsie) I have met Castiel. He is from my town after all. Kori, Castiel and I all grew up together.

MonKeybiz: And from what Kori says, Lysander is my soul mate.

GreenThumb: Okay... Well what did Kori say about Lys?

MonKeybiz: 'His name is Lysander, and he's in my brothers band. He likes victorian clothing and has VERY mysterious air about him.'

CrAzYArtist: You really kept what I said about him?!

GreenThumb: Well, I really don't know him since I don't go to Sweet Amoris, but from what I've seen, Lys is a gentleman and is very nice to people who aren't nosy.

MonKeybiz: *swoons*

CrAzYArtist: Oh boy. Poor Lexsie...

RabidsingeR: Yeah that's right, poor me! Now I'm going to be hearing all about Lysander!

MonKeybiz: It'll make up for all those times I had to listen to you fawn over Castiel...

RabidsingeR: You used to be one of his fangirls!

MonKeybiz: As I said, more for you...

CrAzYArtist: If you're going to fight, I'm outta here...

GreenThumb: They fight?

RabidsingeR: Savannah and I don't get along.

MonKeybiz: Yep, if it wasn't for Kori, we probably wouldn't be friends. We only stick together now in memory of her.

RabidsingeR: Speaking of sticking together, did you get the tickets?

MonKeybiz: SHHHHHH! And yes.

CrAzYArtist: Shush about what?

GreenThumb: I have a feeling that they don't want us to know, so I'm not going to ask.

MonKeybiz: Jade, you're one smart boy! Do you have a girlfriend?

GreenThumb: No...

CrAzYArtist: HE HAS A CRUSH! I CAN TELL!

RabidsingeR: Tell us! We told you our crushes!

MonKeybiz: Spill, no secrets are allowed in our circle of friends. Plus we have to appove.

GreenThumb: Ugh, Fine... I kinda like Violette...

RabidsingeR: Who?

MonKeybiz: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!

CrAzYArtist: I appove 100%! Date her date her date her! (She's one of my classmates, Lexsie, about as shy as Savannah and is another artist)

RabidsingeR: What she look like?

GreenThumb: Purple hair in braids, purple eyes.

MonKeybiz: Hey we almost look alike! Only I have red eyes instead of purple... and my hair is curly

GreenThumb: You have red eyes? 0.o

RabidsingeR: Imagine when she's angry! XD

MonKeybiz: *IF I'm angry. I blush more than I glare... and it works for me.

RabidsingeR: I have black hair and green eyes!

CrAzYArtist: And I have purple eyes and white hair!  But you all know that.

GreenThumb: Okay... green hair and green eyes.

MonKeybiz: You know, you'd make a great pair, you're both named after what you hair and eye colors are.

GreenThumb: And this is relevant why?

CrAzYArtist: Savannah likes to think aloud sometimes, you'll get used to it.

CrAzYArtist: Well I gotta go cook dinner before Castiel kills me again... I expect you three to be best friends by this time tomorrow!

GreenThumb: He still angry about yesterday?

CrAzYArtist: Yeah... more so when he found out about today. Oh well! :)

RabidsingeR: What happened yesterday?

*CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 I sighed and checked my watch again: 7:03. Castiel said he would be done at five! I glared at my clock's face and turned back to my sketchpad. I still couldn't believe that Castiel was making me wait for him after school so he could practice. I had offered to walk home myself, but Castiel told me that if I did I might as well walk all the way back to our parents house. Personally I think he just made me wait as a lookout in case anyone who actually thought breaking into the school's basement at night was wrong.

 I shoved the thoughts out of my mind and concentrated on my latest project. A series of different kinds of fish as mermaids. Iris's, who said her favorite mythological creature was the mermaid, birthday was around the corner and I had decided to draw her a collage of mermaids. So far I had two, a large 11 by 14 of a normal mermaid clutching an overturned boat, and an 8.5 by 11 Angler mermaid in the shadows of the deep, waiting for her next meal. My fingers were coated with graphite trying to depictate the murky depths of the bottom of the ocean in the Angler picture, and my blender was black as coal from shading. I tilted my head, something just wasn't right about the Angler. I had the light evened out so that it looked like her little lure that came from her head like a real Angler fish was the only source of light. Her body was propotional and the tail faded into the dark like it was supposed to. Her hair floated around her head to show that she was really underwater, but something was just... wrong, and I couldn't figure it out.

 "What are you doing here?!" A voice startled me. I was just lucky that I hadn't been holding a pencil, because I would have ruined my drawing. I looked up into the stormy grey eyes of the Crying Girl, as I had secretly dubbed her until I found out her name. I smiled in spite of my racing heart, "Waiting for someone. What are you doing?" The girl cast me a suspicious look and brought out a camera, "Someone's been wondering around the school at night. I'm going to find out who." She paused and gave me another suspicious look, "It's not you, is it?" I laughed and shook my head, "No. How do you know someone's here?" Could she have somehow found out about Castiel and Lysander's band practices? And if so, how?

 The girl blushed, "I was caught getting revenge on Amber and was ordered to clean up the graffiti. Something jumped out at me and when I came back here the next night it happened again. This time I'm going to take a picture of the culprit and settle this." I giggled, earning a glare from the girl. I waved my hand, "No, I'm not laughing at you. You just sounded like Peggy just then." The girl's face twisted in confusion, "Who?" I shook my head, "The girl in charge of the school's newspaper. She's always doing things like this." "Ah." The girl glanced down the hallway towards the stairs then back at me, shifting awkwardly. I could tell that she wanted to get on with her investigation. I smiled and leaned back in my chair, "Go ahead, I don't mind. Tell me who it is when you capture them!" She nodded and disappeared.

 I took out my sketchpad again and flipped it open too quickly. A loose folded paper came fluttering out and landed on the floor under my chair. I sighed and bent over to retrieve it, but before I could there was a bright flash from the end of the hall and a shout of surprise. I guess the Crying Girl had found her culprit. I stood and walked towards the comotion, completely forgetting about the paper underneathe the chair. I flicked on the hall lights to see Castiel, Nathaniel and Lysander surrounding the Crying Girl. Nathaniel kept blinking and rubbing at his eyes, I guess he was the unfortunate one to get a surprise picture. Everyone looked at me when I turned on the lights, I smiled and leaned against the wall, waiting for the events to unfold.

 The Crying Girl turned to my brother, "I don't see why you couldn't have told me." The red head frowned, but it was Nathaniel who answered, "We were going to. That's what you saw us talking about earlier." She bit her lip, a small blush creeping up her neck, "Oh..." When no one said anything else I spoke up, "Now that that's taken care of, can we go home now?" Castiel glared at me, "Shut up, Kori. You can wait a little longer. Besides we still have to take care of this problem..." He directed the last sentence to the poor blonde in front of him. I frowned at him, "Don't take it out on her, she didn't know about your little afternoon adventures." "Butt out, or else..." Castiel warned. I gave him a look, "Did you really say 'or else' to me? The one person in the world who knows every dirty little secret about you?" Nathaniel and Lysander shared an amused grin while the Crying Girl just looked between us.

 Castiel shoved a finger in my face, "You forget that I know ever secret about you as well." I smiled and held up my hands in surrender, "It seems we are at an impasse. Stop bothering her, and we'll forget this ever happened. And give me the car keys so I can drive home." Castiel sighed and turned away, "No, and I've got to clean up. Go ahead and walk home." I stuck my tongue out at his back, earning laughter from everyone else, and returned down the hall to pick up my stuff. Nathaniel and the Crying Girl followed me.

 "I'm sorry again for blinding you." The girl said, Nathaniel waved away her concerns and took my shoulder bag without a word. I flashed him a brief smile of 'thank you and looked at the Crying Girl, "Hey, what's your name? I told you mine, but if you told me yours I must have forgotten it." The girl laughed, her personality so different from the one I had found yesterday, "My name is Penelope Ross, but please call me Penni. I hate my name!" I laughed, "Only if you call me Kori. What about you, Nathaniel? Do you prefer 'Nathaniel' or some nickname?" He shrugged, "Whatever you wish to call me." I grinned, "So... can I call you Castiel's best friend?" Nathaniel shot my a dark look, "Anything but that." He retorted and I laughed. Penni looked between us, her eyes questioning, but she didn't say anything.

 We reached the doors and Nathaniel held it open for us to walk through. Penni smiled and thanked him politly. I took the bold step and poked him in the side, making him twitch. I grinned, "Ticklish, Nathaniel?" I asked sweetly. He pointedly ignored the question, rubbing at the spot where I had poked him. Nathaniel looked down at poor short Penni, "Going this way?" He asked, nodding the way towards my house. Penni saddly shook her head, "No I go the opposite. Um... It's been nice meeting you?" She ended it as a question, making me giggle, "Yeah, it has. See ya tomorrow, I guess!" She smiled more brightly then I had seen before and waved good-bye.

 Nathaniel shifted my bookbag to his other shoulder so it wouldn't get tangled between us as we walked. "I feel sorry for her." He said suddenly. I turned to look at him, "Really? How so?" He shrugged, "When she first moved here everyone was teasing her about Ken, and then he moved away." "Who?" I asked confused. I had moved to Sweet Amoris about the same time Penni did, so I didn't know much of her. Nathaniel chuckled, "The dorky kid that was always around her? That was Ken. His father transfered him to a military school because my sister kept harrassing him." I blinked, "And who is your sister?" Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, "You'll get mad at me about not knowing you and Castiel are related and you don't even know my sister?"

 I blushed, "I didn't even know you had a sister. At least you know that Castiel's sister did move here, you just didn't know who it was. Will you tell me her name or not?" Nathaniel laughed and shook his head, making his golden hair flop over his eyes, "It's Amber." I blinked again, I hadn't been expecting that. The class bully and the class president siblings? I bit my lip to keep my thought to myself. Of course Nathaniel saw what I was thinking anyway, "Surprised? Most people are." I laughed sheepishly, "Sorry..." We were silent for a while, walking peacefully. I tried to think of ways to get him to talk some more, but I couldn't think of any. Finally I blurted out, "Okay, why were you at the school so late? I mean, I know about Castiel and his band practice, but why are you in it?" Nathaniel chuckled, "I got involved when your brother stole the keys from me. To keep myself out of trouble I had to cover for them as well. I'm surprised Penni was so determined with both me and Castiel trying to dissuade her from investigating." For some reason I laughed, and after a moment Nathaniel joined me.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

 MonKeybiz: It's about time you get here! What took you so long!?!

RabidsingeR: It better not be a date with Nath either! Savannah and I haven't approved yet!!!

CrAzYArtist: >.< No. Castiel made me wait at school after hours for his band practice.

RabidsingeR: Get that boy on the line now! I have a few things to say to him!!

GreenThumb: Is one of them 'I love you'?

MonKeybiz: LOL!!! XD

RabidsingeR: Shut up Jade...

CrAzYArtist: Well you can't say that at the moment, he's still at school.

GreenThumb: YOU WALKED HOME AT NIGHT BY YOURSELF?!?!? MonKeybiz: KORIANNA RILLEI WEST!! You know that's not safe!

GreenThumb: Her middle name is Rillei? How do you even pronouce that?

CrAzYArtist: I didn't say I did! Nathaniel walked me home again. (Yes, and it's pronouced like Rilley.)

RabidsingeR: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! Wait, why was he there? I thought you said those two hated each other...

GreenThumb: Trust me they do.

CrAzYArtist: Cuz Castiel broke some rules that would have gotten Nath in major trouble if the principal found out, and so Nath has to cover for him to stay OUT of trouble.

RabidsingeR: Okay, that's wierd.

MonKeybiz: On a happier note: Jade and I are related to the same distant cousin! Isn't that fantastic!!

CrAzYArtist: So... you're technically family.

GreenThumb: Big on the technical part.

MonKeybiz: HEY!

RabidsingeR: I heard about what happened the other day... >:) You and Nath are a match made in heaven.

MonKeybiz: That's what I said! :)

CrAzYArtist: *sigh* Can we please drop the Nath gossip? GreenThumb: (though I totally agree with you) Why? Get into another fight with him? CrAzYArtist: No, it's just... IDK, it feels like I get on here just to hear about you guys talking about me and Nath when we aren't even an item yet (if we ever will be)

RabidsingeR: Awww, poor Kori is depressed! I know just the thing to cheer you up! *Tackle hug*

CrAzYArtist: Okay that cheered me up! ^^

MonKeybiz: Good because you need to be happy for this part: Ty is moving!

CrAzYArtist: ...where?

GreenThumb: My school...

CrAzYArtist: ARGH!!! Don't tell him I go to Sweet Amoris, please don't tell him!!

GreenThumb: I have no intention of even speaking to him.

RabidsingeR: So, you said Castiel had band practice...

MonKeybiz: And you said that Lysander was in his band too... so that meant he was there...

CrAzYArtist: Erg...

GreenThumb: Not again.

RabidsingeR: ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!

CrAzYArtist: That wasn't a question!

RabidsingeR: Answer it anyway! lol

GreenThumb: *sigh* I'm outta here. I got homework anyway, talk to ya tomorrow!

*GreenThumb has signed out*

RabidsingeR: So... answer it.

CrAzYArtist: Answer what? MonKeybiz: Come on Kori! Are they really good?

CrAzYArtist: Well I was in the hallway the whole time, so I didn't hear them. But believe whatever you want.

RabidsingeR: You're no help!!

CrAzYArtist: Sorry... not! XD

MonKeybiz: This is revenge for what I told you about Ty, isn't it?

CrAzYArtist: I said believe what you want.

RabidsingeR: That means yes, Savannah

MonKeybiz: Don't you think it's wierd that Ty is moving so close to you, Kori?

CrAzYArtist: If you mean I don't think it's a concidence, then yes... My question is, how did he find out?

MonKeybiz: Well he asked me where you went the day after you moved but I blew him off.

RabidsingeR: And he's too scared of me to even look at me ;D

MonKeybiz: Maybe it is just a freak coniky-dink.

RabidsingeR: lol 'coniky-dink'? Savannah you've taken wierd to a whole new level!!

CrAzYArtist: *Sigh* maybe you're right, but if I hear he starts asking about me, I won't think so anymore!

RabidsingeR: Maybe Castiel will beat the **** out of him!

CrAzYArtist: LEXSIE LIARD!

MonKeybiz: Kori... you are way to innocent.

CrAzYArtist: I am not!

RabidsingeR: Uh... you're head over heels for the student body president at your school. And your idea of a great weekend is staying inside drawing pictures.

CrAzYArtist: As opposed to you singing all day long? Or to Savannah's violin?

MonKeybiz: Hey! I play the piano too!! And the violin is one of the hardest instruments to learn how to play!!

RabidsingeR: And I have to keep my singing vocals limber.

CrAzYArtist: So we're all freaks who have no life.

RabidsingeR: Speak for yourself, I remember a few years ago when you refused to go to a party because you had to finish a drawing for Mother's Day.

CrAzYArtist: And my police record is still nonexsistant because of that! ^^

MonKeybiz: She has you there Lexsie.

RabidsingeR: Grrr...

MonKeybiz: Lol

CrAzYArtist: I hear Castiel, gotta go fix dinner like a good little servant! Have fun deliquents!

RabidsingeR: KORIANNA!!

*CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 Penni was waiting for me at the school steps the next morning. At first I thought it was nice of her to do so; but then I caught sight of her expression, one of worry. I hurried to her, "Penni? Is something wrong?" Her grey eyes met my violet ones and the worry changed into pity. Silently she held out a folded piece of paper and said, "Don't... don't overreact." Dread filled the pit of my stomach. Slowly I reach out and took the paper from her, with one last glance at her I unfolded it.

 The picture it held almost made me want to cry, scream, and faint all at once. My once beautiful picture was mutilated and ruined beyond belief. It had been a cute little comic that I drew for Lexsie years ago, back when I was still discovering my talent. Instead of a story about a girl and her friend being best friends and all the trouble they got in, it was a comic about lesbians and how much they just loved each other. (A.N. No offense if you happen to be one... I don't have anything against you. Just so we're clear) I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and to keep the tears behind my eyes. With a surprisingly stead hand, I folded the paper again and slipped it into my bag. Penni watched me concerned, so I gave her a small smile and began up the steps to the school all the while thinking Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Maybe if I told myself that enough times today, I would actually believe it.

 I opened the door to the school and there was an eerie stillness in the packed hallway as everyone turned their eyes to me. The silence scretched for what felt like ages. Finally I averted my eyes to the ground, hunched my shoulders, and made for my locker. I felt every single pair of eyes on me, their weight heavy. I was halfway to my locker when the laughing began. First it was a twitter, then a snicker from a handful of people, then everyone save the sympthetic few were full out laughing at my face. One of the football jocks jeered, "Hey, leb, your work is really good! The way you drew those girls in detail, it was just... AWESOME!" After that, everyone I passed had a nasty word or two for me. I just crossed my arms over my chest, holding my bag close to me, and made myself as small as possible.

 When I reached my locker the girls around me drew away like I was a leper, their pretty faces twisted in revulsion. I shut my eyes, why today of all days did Castiel decide to skip school? Should I break my perfect attendance and skip too? Before I could decide a hand touched my shoulder and I jerked around, expecting to see another jerk but instead all I saw was Nathaniel's concerned golden eyes. He didn't say a word as he tucked me under his arm and lead me to the Student Council room, glaring at anyone who dared look at me. Penni was already there along with Lysander, who kept tapping his fingers against the table, staring intensely at the wall across the room.

 When Nathaniel closed the door behind us Lysander looked up, "I called your brother, he's coming to get you." I nodded numbly and sat down, staring at the whorled wood beneath my fingers. Penni growled, "Well we know who did this at least. Amber." Nathaniel sighed, "As much as I don't want it to be, I can't think of anyone else. Still, we have no proof... yet." He rubbed his temples, "Why she would do such a thing is beyond me." I knew why, it was because I liked her brother. Lysander rolled his bi-colored eyes, "It's obvious you don't know your sister like everyone else. Her behavior is very distastful." Nathaniel glared, "Lysander I don't-" Penni cut him off, "Shut up the both of you! Now is not the time to be arguing!" At that all three of them glanced at me, but I ignored their gazes in favor of tracing a knot in the wood.

 Someone knocked on the door and Penni went to answer it, her eyes narrow with distrust. After talking to the person outside the door for a little bit, Penni finally stood back and let Iris in but shoved someone else back and slammed the door shut. Iris shrugged sheepishly, "Sorry, I didn't know she was following me." I absently wondered who was with Iris. Penni pursed her lips, "Well if that bi-...girl thinks she's getting an exclusive then she can forget it!" Peggy, of course it was Peggy. Iris sat down beside me, "Don't worry, Kori. No one important believes that crap. And the principal has sent the teachers around to take down the pictures and to write up anyone who has one of the pictures." I finally turned my gaze on her, eyes wide, "You mean there's more?" I squeaked. Nathaniel and Penni exchanged grimances and Lysander patted my shoulder gently.

 Iris gave a smile, "I'm sure this will blow over quickly. When everyone realizes it's not true, they'll drop it like a hot potato!" I giggled softly, feeling a little better. The bell rang before anyone could say anything else. Penni sighed and grabbed her backpack, "We've got to go to class." Lysander's mouth twitched in disgust, "Great, the last thing I want to do is go around listening to gossip." He grumbled to himself, standing. Iris stood as well, "See you later, Kori." I smiled and nodded mutely as the three filed out the door, shutting it behind them before anyone could sneak it. Nathaniel stood from his own chair and made for the filing cabinet. Opening a drawer near the bottom he withdrew a few files and brought them back to the desk. I watched him as he shifted through one file, signing a few pages and scanning through the rest.

 "Don't you have class too?" I asked suddenly. Nathaniel glanced up at me briefly before turning back to his papers, "Not first period, and the principal is letting me out of classes until you go home." "You don't have to..." I said quietly looking away. I knew how important education was to Nathaniel. The golden haired boy smiled faintly, still not looking up, "But I want to." My head snapped around to stare at him, did he really mean that? Or was it just to comfort me? From the blush creeping across his face I knew he hadn't meant to say it out loud. After a moment of awkward silence Nathaniel asked, "Do you... want to help?" Grateful for a distration from my thoughts, I nodded.

 vvv

 It was almost second period when Castiel finally showed up. By then I had gone through twenty files, checking to make sure everything was in order for Nathaniel to sign. My mood has lifted considerably since the beginning of the day during that time. I was laughing again and teasing Nathaniel about his work-a-holic nature. I got him to tell me why he had become the student body president, apparently his father had pushed him to do so, but I didn't press the matter when I saw how uncomfortable the subject made him feel.

 We were discussing favorite books when my brother burst into the room, his face a thundercloud. I actually shrank away from him, I had never seen him so angry before and, though I knew his anger wasn't directed at me, I felt like it was. "If that sister of yours ever messes with Kori again, you can be assured, Nathaniel, that I will kill her!" For some reason I had the feeling that Castiel wasn't joking. Nathaniel seemed to know that too, "Well, I wouldn't go as far as kill her, but I understand." Castiel narrowed his grey eyes, probably expecting for Nathaniel to argue and not agreeing with him, then gestured for me to follow him. I waited until he was back out the door before turning to Nathaniel, "Thank you... for everything. You're a great friend." Nathaniel looked uncomfortable with the praise, "If I had been more attentive, this could have been avoided." I shook my head, "No, I was the one who lost the picture, it's my fault. Um... I guess I'll see you tomorrow or something." Nathaniel nodded and turned back to his paperwork. Unlike the first time I had met him, I wasn't disappointed that he was avoiding my gaze.

 Castiel was leaning against the wall outside the Student Council room, glaring at one of the comics that had been laying around still. When he saw me he crumbling the thing up and tossed it into a trashcan, "Ready?" He asked. I nodded and followed my brother to his car. Once we were settled in his little red muscle car, Castiel turned to me, "Are you okay?" He asked softly, his grey eyes oddly concerned. I opened my mouth to assure him when I hesintated. Was I really okay? Even though I had acted happy in the Student Council room with Nathaniel, I had this hard knot in the pit of my stomach that refused to go away. I shrugged, "I'll let you know when I am." I said and my brother thought a moment before saying, "Okay, today is all about you. Whatever you want to do." I could help but smile. The thought that Castiel was going to sacrifice his day to make me happy again was sweet.

 "Ice cream?" I ventured and Castiel nodded, his trademark smirk sliding up on his face. "Ice cream it is." He started the car and peeled out of the parking lot like lightning. I couldn't help but laugh, it was like Castiel couldn't wait to get away from the school before they caught him and shoved him in a classroom.

 ...

RabidsingeR: THEY DID WHAT?!?!?! MonKeybiz: WHO ARE THEY? TELL ME SO I CAN KILL THEM!!!!! GreenThumb: ...

CrAzYArtist: Guys it's not a big deal

GreenThumb: Not a big deal? Someone just humiliated you and you're going to say 'not a big deal'??

RabidsingeR: Korianna! You had better tell us so we can kick their butts!

CrAzYArtist: How? Jade goes to another school and you guys are in another state! Besides, it's been taken care of.

MonKeybiz: How?

CrAzYArtist: Well for starters, anyone found with one of the papers are written up, then Castiel brought me home early. Lysander, Penni, Iris, and Nathaniel have been doing their best all day to

 I stopped typing when I heard Castiel calling my name. "Yes?" I called down and my brother shouted back, "Someone's here to see you! Get down here!!" I grumbled under my breath and turned back to my computer only to see that I had somehow sent the unfinished message.

 MonKeybiz: To...? To what? And who is Penni?

RabidsingeR: Accidently hit the enter button there, Kori. :)

GreenThumb: Slow down on the typing Kori. You're going to break a finger or something.

CrAzYArtist: Sorry, I have company. See ya later!

RabidsingeR: I demand to know what was said!!!!

*CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 I shut down my laptop and closed it, then I went down stairs to find the biggest surprise of my life. Nathaniel standing in the living room of his most hated enemy. I paused on the last step, my right foot hovering over the floor, trying to get used to the sight of my crush standing there... in my home... without me having to ask him to. Castiel was facing away from me, speaking with someone who I couldn't see, and pointedly ignoring Nathaniel. The blonde haired boy smiled when he saw me, "Korianna." He greeted and I gave a tentive smile in return, trying to murder the butterflies in my stomach without revealing that I had them.

 Castiel glanced at Nathaniel, his eyes narrow with hatred, then followed his gaze towards me, "Kori, apparently your friends are here on a mission to cheer you up." He moved away to show Penni smiling at me, "Surprise!" She said, wiggling her fingers in a 'jazz hands' gesture, and grinned, "Come on, today's your day to do whatever, we're simply your money bags!" I blinked in confusion, what did she mean? Nathaniel rolled his eyes and explained, "Penni and I are taking you wherever you want to go. We'll buy everything." I took a step back up the stairs, "I can't let you do that." I said and Castiel snorted, "Told you she wouldn't agree to it." He smirked at Nathaniel, who spared a brief look of annoyance before turning back to me. His golden eyes peered into my violet ones, "Please?" He asked quietly then leaned down to whisper something that I dared not ever imagine him saying. I nibbled on my lip, debating. After a minute I nodded slowly and Nathaniel smiled.

 vvv

 "What time is it, Nath?" Penni asked for roughly the 2,875th time that day, give or take since I wasn't keeping count until after the first twenty or so. Nath sighed, getting as irritated with the question as I had been 1,000 questions ago, "Exactly seventeen seconds after you asked the last time." He ground out and Penni pouted, "I just want to be on time." I looked between the two, "On time for what?" Nathaniel shook his head and Penni grinned mischieviously, both refused to answer. Nathaniel turned to Penni, "Besides, it isn't until six anyway. We still have two hours." Penni rolled her stormy grey eyes towards him, "You obviously don't know how long it takes for a girl to get ready, let alone two." Nathaniel gave her a look, "I have a younger sister, you know." Penni waved her hands, "Exactly! She takes, what, and hour to get ready everyday? Hello! This is a big thing tonight so... I'm going to shut up before Kori finds out anymore information." Both Nathaniel and I laughed at Penni, after a minute of glaring at us she joined in on the fun.

 We were currently walking around the mall, having loaded all our arms down with bags from the stores, most of which were things that Penni said I absolutly needed and bought them regardless of my protests. It wasn't until she bought a $700 classy dress without batting an eyelash that I relized my new friend was filthy rich. Nathaniel seemed to be more conservative over his money, but not by much. When Penni whipped out her Platinum Credit Card again at a store where the cheapest perfume was fifty dollars I asked, "Just where do you get all the money?" The sales clerk gave me a scornful look, like she couldn't believe that Penni had brought riff-raff in with her, and earned a glare from Nathaniel. Penni, on the other hand, smiled at me, "My dad is a really big person in politics, and my mom is a clothes designer. Ever heard of the Ross Fashion Line? That's my mom." I raised an eyebrow at her ratty jeans and tattered tanktop. She shrugged, "I'm not one of those people who goes around purposefully flaunting their money. I had to beg my parents to let me go to Sweet Amoris, I wanted to have a taste of public school before I graduated."

 "You've been in private schools all this time?" Nathaniel asked and Penni giggled, "Nope. I was homeschooled until junior high. Then my parents shoved me into The School for Gifted Young Minds, A.K.A. a private junior high school. That's where I met... Ken..." She whispered his name so low that I almost didn't hear it. Nathaniel and I exchanged a look and silently agreed to drop the topic. I moved on, "So... you're buying all this stuff because...?" Penni whirled on me, hands on her hips, "Because I want to, missy!" Nathaniel coughed to cover up his laughter. I held up my hands in surrender and Penni turned to Nathaniel, "What time is it now?" Rolling his gold eyes Nathaniel glanced at his watch and said, "It's 4:30." Penni yelped and grabbed my hand, "Come on, we've got to get ready!!"

 vvv

 "Guy's you didn't have to do this!" I said as the waiter sat us down at a cloth covered table situated by a floor-to-ceiling window that let in the full moonlight. Not exactly an ideal place for friends, the scene was more romantic than anything. I was dressed in a creamy dress that hugged my upper body like a second skin to my waist before falling elegently to the floor. The fabic felt like still water under my hands and had a glossy sheen to it. Penni had bought me accessories studded with amethyst jewels to go with the dress and to bring out my eyes. I felt Nathaniel's eyes constantly drifting back to me, making me feel delighted and self-conscious at the same time.

 Just before we sat down the waiter came back with a silver trey, bearing a single card on a white napkin. He held out the tray towards Penni, "For you ma'am." Penni smiled and took the card. As she read it, her face lit up, "My parents are here! Oh I haven't seen them for months! Do you mind if I go eat with them?" Nathaniel and I exchanged looks before I turned to our friend and said, "We don't mind, you already spent the day with us." Nathaniel smiled at Penni and she squealed before motioning for the waiter to take her where her parents were waiting. Why did I have the suspicion that it was all too perfectly timed?

 It was six days since the comic fiasco, and no one had yet to forget it. I could tell by the look in their eyes that they would never forget it. Secretly the student body still laughed at me, but they had quickly learned that anyone who teased me openly would have to face my brother sooner or later. That still didn't stop the descreet jabs in my direction. Amber was the worst, but she always played the sweet concerned friend around Castiel. It didn't fool either of us, but my brother couldn't really punch her lights out for acting nice, could he? Besides, he would be suspended for sure for hitting a girl, then Amber would somehow blame me and extract even more revenge.

 I was lucky that all my friends watched out for me. No matter what class Lysander was supposed to have, he always found time to walk me to class and Penni and Iris sat beside me, even when we had assigned seating. Nathaniel let me stay in the student council room in the mornings and during lunch to avoid everyone; Melody didn't seem to like that, but she never said anything. Castiel never let me walk home, even when he skipped school he was up at the school at the end of the day, waiting to drive me home. I felt a little overprotected, but I didn't mention it. The last thing I needed was to fight with someone.

 vvv

 "So what are you doing this weekend?" Penni asked at my locker at the end of school on Friday. I spared her a glance before pulling out my Biology textbook and shoving it in my bookbag, "Nothing, why?" Penni shrugged, "Well there's this concert tonight..." I gave her a funny look, in the week I knew her, Penni didn't strike me as the concert-going girl. Penni saw my reaction and sighed, "Lysander asked me to go, but I don't want to go alone with him." I blinked, "Why not? Lysander is a perfect gentleman, he wouldn't-"

 She waved a dismissive hand, "I know, I know. I just don't want it to be a date. He's a good friend and all, but..." Penni looked away and I finally caught her meaning, "But you feel like you're betraying Ken." I finished for her. She sighed and nodded, "That's why I figured if I brought you, it wouldn't be a date, just another friend thing." Penni finished, looking at me through her eyelashes. I laughed, "Or I could be the awkward third wheel." The blonde glared at me and I laughed again. Shaking my head I said, "Really Penni, I'm just kidding. I'll drag Castiel with me, okay?" She brightened and nodded before skipping away.

 Of course Castiel didn't take it well, "I'm not about to go with you to make sure that my best friend doesn't get a date!" He snapped at me as he climbed into his tiny red muscle car. I rolled my eyes, "She likes Ken. Period, end of story." Castiel laughed harshly, "That dork? What does she see in him?" I glared at my twin, "I don't know, I've never met him personally. And that's none of your business." Castiel scowled at the road and snapped, "I'm still not going."

 All the way home I tried everything to get him to go. Blackmail, begging, throwing a tantrum, calling in a favor, nothing would work. I was getting desperate. Finally, when we reached the apartment complex I had reached the last straw. Climbing out of the car I said casually, "Fine, maybe Nathaniel will go with me. I'll just go call him." It was a bluff, I didn't even know if Nathaniel had a cell phone, but Castiel didn't know that. Just as I predicted Castiel was suddenly ready to crash his best friend's date, as long as it kept his sister away from his enemy.

 vvv

 The pounding music was giving me a headache, but I didn't say anything. I knew Castiel would leap at the first chance to get us home and leave Penni by herself. Lysander was quiet all night, but I knew he was upset, I could tell the way he sent burning glares discreetly at Castiel and me. Penni had been talking to me all night, making sure that she never had anything to say to Lysander. I kind of felt sorry for him and silently promised to make it up to him later.

 My cell phone buzzed in my pocket and I held up a finger to stop Penni from talking while I checked my phone. There was a message from Savannah *Hey you go to Sweet Amoris, right?* I rolled my eyes and texted back, *Duh. Why are you asking?* *Nuthin' just making sure, well good night!!* I stared at the screen of my phone, wondering what Savannah was up to. No doubt Lexsie was close behind.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: Alright Savannah, what was with the cryptic text messages? MonKeybiz: I have no clue what you're talking about...

CrAzYArtist: ...

RabidsingeR: Yeah Kori, whatch'ya talking about?

GreenThumb: I honestly don't know what they've been talking about here either, because it's appears to be in code, so don't ask me.

CrAzYArtist: What were they talking about? MonKeybiz: What is anyone talking about? O.o

GreenThumb: I don't know, something about you confirmed something and that the 'Objects' have been bought and that the 'Gate Time' was for tomorrow at 'V when the cackoo calls sunny side up'.

CrAzYArtist: Savannah, Lexsie... You better not be pranking again...

MonKeybiz: Kori you hurt me, would I do such a thing?!

CrAzYArtist: Let me think... YES!!

RabidsingeR: On to other subjects... how was your date?

CrAzYArtist: What date? MonKeybiz: Don't try to deny it. You never leave your house unless it's on a date.

GreenThumb: They've been speculating if Nath kissed you or not...

CrAzYArtist: ... *sigh* >.<

RabidsingeR: Oh. My. Gawd. HE DID!!! Was he good? Was it a french kiss? You know... with tongue...? :P

MonKeybiz: Oo la la!

GreenThumb: Oh God... *facepalm*

CrAzYArtist: No! Get your mind out of the gutter! And I didn't even go on a date with Nath!!! You told me not until you two approved of him, dummy.

MonKeybiz: Then where were you? ARE YOU CHEATING ON HIM WITH SOME GUY YOU'RE NOT EVEN TELLING US ABOUT?!?!?! RabidsingeR: Korianna West! How culd you?!

CrAzYArtist: Misspelled 'could' Grammar Nazi... And I'm not interested in any other guy.

RabidsingeR: ACK!!! No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!!!!! But where were you?

CrAzYArtist: Crashing a date between Lysander and Penni

GreenThumb: Who's Penni? You never told us before.

MonKeybiz: Lys was doing WHAT?! I'm going to kill this Penni chick!

RabidsingeR: He hasn't even met you yet... you have no right to be upset.

MonKeybiz: Shut up Lexsie.

CrAzYArtist: Penni was the one to ask me to crash the date. She doesn't want to go out with him, but was too polite to say no. Besides, she already likes someone else.

RabidsingeR: Then why did she go on a date with that guy? Why not tell Lys she was interest in someone else?

MonKeybiz: Yeah, why not?

CrAzYArtist: Because he's gone to military school.

GreenThumb: Waiiiiit... Are you talking about Ken Pierce?

CrAzYArtist: Yep.

GreenThumb: So I'm guessing Penni is the blonde haired girl he always hung around...

CrAzYArtist: Yep! Compared to us four she's pretty plain. Ash blonde hair and grey eyes.

RabidsingeR: Hey I'm normal compared to you three!

CrAzYArtist: Not everyone has emerald green eyes, Lexsie.

MonKeybiz: Besides when do you want to be normal?

RabidsingeR: You're right... What's Ken look like?

GreenThumb: Like a dork.

CrAzYArtist: JADE!!

GreenThumb: What? It's true... dull brown hair in a bowl cut and glasses so think that you can't even see his eyes? Pratically screams 'dork'

CrAzYArtist: Like you scream 'gardener'?

CrAzYArtist: Anyway as Penni's friend, I resent you saying that! And if she joins this chat room all of you are forbidden to say that, or you'll find that I'm not the most hot tempered person on the planet.

MonKeybiz: That bad huh? I might just like her, especially if she really doesn't want to date Lysander...

RabidsingeR: Drop it Savannah...

*RockStar has joined the chat room*

RabidsingeR: WHO ON EARTH ARE YOU?!?!

RockStar: Kori would you stop yacking with your friends and fix dinner?

MonKeybiz: Oh hey Castiel! ^^

GreenThumb: It's midnight... why are you fixing dinner now?

CrAzYArtist: I told you I was crashing a date. Castiel came with me so I didn't become the awkward third wheel instead of the date crasher.

RockStar: And I still hate you for that.

CrAzYArtist: How did you figure out the chat room password?! I didn't give it to you!!

RockStar: Idiot. You left it on the kitchen counter this morning.

CrAzYArtist: You really couldn't scream that? I know how much you like to yell at me.

RockStar: Shut up and come fix me dinner.

CrAzYArtist: Fine, jerk!

*RockStar has signed off*

*CrAzYArtist has signed off*

 I stalked downstaired, "You really couldn't just yell at me?" I snapped. Castiel spun around in his chair to smirk at me, "I prefer to annoy you." I just glared at him, muttering under my breath about poisoning his dinner as I stomped into the kitchen. Castiel called after me, "Besides, consider it revenge for what you made me do tonight!" He had a point... unfortunately.

 Monday, Penni and I were walking to class, laughing and talking about Friday night at the concert. Lysander was giving us the silent treatment, though I did have to say we did deserve it, so Penni took over his job of walking me to class to avoid trouble with the still circulating rumor about whether I was gay or not. A girl called out, "You better watch it Penni, she might be flirting with you!" My friend spun, anger flashing in her eyes, but Nathaniel stopped her as he fell in step with us, "Just ignore it, Penni." Penni rounded on the student president, "Oh, just ignore the fact that my friend is being verbally pummeled, is that what you're telling me?" She snapped at him. Nathaniel nodded towards me, "It's not bothering her." He stated. Both turned to me and I turned my head to smile at the two blondes... when the principal's office door opened and hit me straight in the face.

 vvv

 "..ianna? Are you alright?" A vaguely familiar voice drifted through the darkness towards me. I groaned and cradled my forehead, feeling the knot that had made me blank out, "Savannah... wha' happened?" I slurred. My friend giggled, "You ran right into the principal's door, or rather, it ran into you... Are you okay?" I blinked opened my blurry eyes to see the purple haired girl leaning over me, her bright red eyes concerned, amused, and curious all at the same time. "Yeah.. I'm fine... Where's Pen- Waaaaait a minute! What on earth are you doing here?!" I said, suddenly remembering that I was enrolled in Sweet Amoris and Savannah wasn't. She grinned, "And welcome back to reality!" She said, giggling and held out a small card, "See? I go here now! I'm the official new student!"

 A door opened behind us and we both turned to see Nathaniel walking in with an ice pack. He smiled when he saw me sitting up, "Good. You're up, Lexsie is feeling very guilty for making you black out." He said while pressing the ice pack to the knot on my head. I blinked, "She's here too?" I asked dumbly. Savannah nodded, "It was her idea to come here. She told her parents that the only way to get away from that awful rumor about her... uh... sleeping with a guy was to change towns. I 'volunteered' to come along to straighten her out since everyone knows that I'm the good girl of the group. And-... I'm  babbling again, aren't I?" She suddenly asked, seeing Nathaniel's raised eyebrow. I giggled and the gold haired guy said, "Just a minute ago she wasn't speaking two words to anyone." Savannah blushed and I laughed, "Savannah is like that. She's only talkative around me and on the internet." Nathaniel nodded in understanding.

 The door opened again to reveal Penni. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and said, "That girl out there is out for my blood. And I have no clue why." Savannah waved a hand, "Don't worry, Lexsie can be a tad overbearing, but you'll get used to it." Lexsie must of heard her because the black haired firecracker was in the room within seconds, "Well excuuuuse me if I can't help the way I am, Savannah Knight!" Nathaniel glared at Lexsie, "Would you lower your voice?" He asked in a tone that left no room for arguments. Lexsie, being the master of arguing with anything, turned to the him, "And just who are you to be telling me what to do?" I sighed and rubbed my temples, "Lexsie... this is Nathaniel Powers, student council president." I didn't have to add that he was my crush.

 Both Savannah and Lexsie zeroed in on Nathaniel, eying him to be sure that he had the approval to date me, even if he didn't know it. Penni snickered, obviously understanding what was going on, while Nathaniel frowned at the two troublemakers for the sudden interest. "Lexsie, Savannah... this is Penelope Ross. Penni, Lexsie Liard and Savannah Knight." I finished the introductions before things could get out of hand. Lexsie glared at Penni, who glared right back. "Penelope Ross, huh? Castiel seems to have a very low opinion of you. Of course that could be because you blackmailed Kori into crashing his best friend's date with you, but what can I say?" Lexsie started in a sugary sweet voice. Nathaniel's eye twitched at the mention of my brother.

 I spoke before Penni could, "Lexsie, don't make me use your full name..." I threatened. The black haired girl whirled on me, "Don't you dare! You promised you never would!!" The other three exchanged confused looks, wondering how a name could calm Lexsie down. I raised an eyebrow, "Then stop picking fights with my friends. If you're going to start going here then your going to have to get along with Penni. And Iris, and Violette, and Nathaniel and anyone else that happens to be a friend. Got it?" I asked in a stern voice. Lexsie sulked but didn't argue. I could always make Lexsie obey, it was my gift that no one else had, not even Lexsie's own mother.

 CrAzYArtist: I'll murder both of you!!!!!

RabidsingeR: What? We just thought to visit our favorite person in the whole world! School back home is sooooooooo boring! XD

MonKeybiz: Lexsie, don't make her mad, you already knocked her unconscious today.

GreenThumb: Should I be worried?

CrAzYArtist: Those two showed up at Sweet Amoris AND ENROLLED THERE!!!!!! Then Lexsie hit me with a door and knocked me out.

GreenThumb: So? They were just worried about you, especially after what happened with Amber... and as long as the door thing was an accident, you can't hold it against her.

RabidsingeR: You know Jade, I'm really starting to like you...

GreenThumb: Lol, and you didn't before?

MonKeybiz: XDDDDD

RabidsingeR: I didn't mean it like that. ><

RabidsingeR: By the way, Kori, I APPROVE OF NATHANIEL!!!!! You couldn't have gotten a better man!

MonKeybiz: I second the motion! Date him! Date him date him date him!!!!! And give me cute little blonde nieces and nephews!!!

CrAzYArtist: *facepalm* Did you really come just to approve of Nathaniel? And Savannah... DON'T EVER SAY THAT AGAIN!!!!!!!

RabidsingeR: Nope, it's like Jade said, we came to watch over the sweetest person of our group. Really, what jerk goes after sweet innocent Korianna? It's like... like... KICKING A PUPPY!!!

CrAzYArtist: I'm not that sweet and innocent.

MonKeybiz: Sorry, Kori, but you are.

GreenThumb: I agree with them.

RabidsingeR: SEE?! I'd bet even Castiel would agree with us. Where was he today anyway?

CrAzYArtist: Skipping what else? He must have gotten wind that you were coming to town.

RabidsingeR: KORIANNA RILLEI WEST!!!

GreenThumb: ...maybe Kori's right...

MonKeybiz: Yeah that was pretty mean...

CrAzYArtist: Oh come on guys! You all know about my hot temper! How can you think that I'm sweet and innocent?!?!?!

RabidsingeR: True... Still you'd rather make friends than enemies. I'd bet if Amber wasn't so mean to you, you'd try to be her friend!!!

CrAzYArtist: ...I don't know...

MonKeybiz: You may not be sweet and innocent, but you're WAAAAAY to nice and forgiving. The girl spread the rumor that you were a lesbian and made you a laughingstock in front of the entire school!!!

RabidsingeR: I've gotta agree with Savannah on this.

GreenThumb: We need to change the subject.

CrAzYArtist: Amen to that!!!

 *XxSilentBlossomxX has joined the Chat Room*

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Savannah?

MonKeybiz: Welcome welcome welcome!!!!!

CrAzYArtist: ...You invited someone?

MonKeybiz: Violette.

RabidsingeR: Violette? Wait is she that chick that...

GreenThumb: Shut up Lexsie...

XxSilentBlossomxX: Thank you for inviting me to the chatroom, that was very nice Savannah.

MonKeybiz: Hey we shy people gotta stick together. Now I'm sure you know Korianna A.K.A. CrAzYArtist. And Jade (GreenThumb).

XxSilentBlossomxX: Hi guys.

CrAzYArtist: Hello Violette! I'm glad you decided to join us!

GreenThumb: Hi.

RabidsingeR: Nice greeting Jade... XD

GreenThumb: Stuff it Lexsie. ><

RabidsingeR: Ooooooo someone's touchy. Could it be for a certain reason? :D Huh? Huh?

CrAzYArtist: Lexsie... Stop teasing Jade.

MonKeybiz: Ignore those three, Vi.

XxSilentBlossomxX: Kind of hard not to... it IS amusing.

RabidsingeR: You can't make me Kori!!!

CrAzYArtist: Lexsie...

RabidsingeR: Yes?

CrAzYArtist: Stop being a brat.

RabidsingeR: BRAT?!?! I'm not a brat!

GreenThumb: You're acting like one.

RabidsingeR: Oh shut up Jade!

CrAzYArtist: Lexsie!!!!

XxSilentBlossomxX: Are they normally like this?

MonKeybiz: No... I think I know why though... XP

GreenThumb: Don't even think about it Savannah.

MonKeybiz: Too late! But don't worry I won't tell.

RabidsingeR: What? All I want to do is share a certian secret with Vi. You know as a welcoming gift!

XxSilentBlossomxX: That's okay, Lexsie... I don't think Jade and Kori will like you sharing.

RabidsingeR: Hmph! Not another rational person.

MonKeybiz: Really? Are all people here sane?

CrAzYArtist: Hey! I'm from that crazy place you call home!

GreenThumb: Which is exactly why your name is like it is... crazyartist...

CrAzYArtist: You've gotta spell it crazy, Jade, otherwise it's just not the same!

RabidsingeR: So Vi, do you like someone?

GreenThumb: Lexsssssie...

RabidsingeR: What? It's a simple question. It's kinda like a right of passage in this chatroom. You're not an official member of the chat room until you answer the question.

XxSilentBlossomxX: Um...

CrAzYArtist: That's not true!!

RabidsingeR: Ever since you met Nath, it has been!

XxSilentBlossomxX: Do you like Nathaniel, Kori? MonKeybiz: Yes she does. A lot.

CrAzYArtist: I'm starting to understand how you feel, Jade...

GreenThumb: And this is why you're my best friend and not Lexsie.

RabidsingeR: Are you still sulking about that? It's in the past!!!

XxSilentBlossomxX: No it's not...

RabidsingeR: Whatever, so answer the question Vi.

MonKeybiz: Lexsie, stop being pushy. If she doesn't want to answer it's fine by her.

XxSilentBlossomxX: No... it's okay. I do like someone, but I don't think he likes me back...

CrAzYArtist: Who is he? Don't worry, we won't tell.

XxSilentBlossomxX: I'd rather not say.

MonKeybiz: Alright, you're business is your business. Lexsie don't pressure her.

RabidsingeR: Would I do that?

CrAzYArtist: Yes!

GreenThumb: YESSSS!!!!

MonKeybiz: Yeah. XP

XxSilentBlossomxX: I don't know...

XxSilentBlossomxX: Sorry but I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

 *XxSilentBlossomxX has signed out*

 CrAzYArtist: ...That was random...

MonKeybiz: It's obvious she likes you, Jade.

GreenThumb: How can you tell?

RabidsingeR: Call it a girl's intuition. She was extremely quiet and kept deflecting the conversation whenever I started talking about your little 'secret'. Or she was defending you.

GreenThumb: So was Kori...

RabidsingeR: So? She's Kori and an exception to the rule.

CrAzYArtist: I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or insult...

RabidsingeR: Plus she likes to boss people around.

MonKeybiz: Definatly an insult.

RabidsingeR: Hey!

RabidsingeR: If Nath ever does ask you out, you'll have him whipped in no time.

GreenThumb: LEXSIE?!?! What's gotten into you?

MonKeybiz: Are you PMSing or something?!

GreenThumb: ...ew...

RabidsingeR: No, but everyone else apparently is because none of you are getting a joke.

CrAzYArtist: You're still sore about the name thing today, aren't you?

MonKeybiz: That or Penni. Isn't it my job to hate her anyway since she 'stole' a date with Lys? XD

RabidsingeR: NO to both!

CrAzYArtist: So... yes to both.

GreenThumb: I'm so confused!

MonKeybiz: Apparently Penni and Lexsie don't get along very well. And when Lexsie kept fighting Kori threatened to use her full name. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW LEXSIE WASN'T HER REAL NAME!!!!!

CrAzYArtist: No, her parents really named her...

RabidsingeR: If you say it I'll shove sweaty gym socks down your throat!!!!!

GreenThumb: Wow, you must really hate that name.

MonKeybiz: Is it bad that I'm dying laughing over here?

GreenThumb: Not exactly...

CrAzYArtist: Gotta go. Castiel's home from work and I need to fix dinner.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 The words out of Lexsie's mouth the next day were: “Let's pull a prank on Amber to get back at her for messing with Kori!” Penni, Savannah, and I all gave the black haired firecracker a look. Penni was the one who spoke first, “Tried that, got detention for it... and nearly blinded Nathaniel for my trouble.” I laughed at the memory of Penni ghost hunting, while Savannah and Lexsie exchanged confused looks. The blonde shrugged, “It's just a bad idea, don't try it.” Of course Lexsie got offended, “Who are you to tell me what to do?” I sighed, this was getting old quick. Penni glared at Lexsie, “Someone who has a kernel of concern for you, idiot.” She snapped.

 One of our classmates passed us calling out, “Oooooo, seems the leb is actually attracting people. Are you cheating on all of those girls, Leb?” Savannah and I pounced on Lexsie in enough time to save the jerk from a beating, “Lemme at him! Lemme at him! I'll tear you apart, bas****!!!!!” My friend snarled, her fingers bent into claws as she reached for his neck, trying desperately to strangle him. “Lexsie it's not worth it!” I shouted above her yelling. My oldest friend actually dragged Savannah and I a few inches; I was worried she might actually get her hands on him. The jerk backed up a step, his eyes wide, and ran right into my brother. Lexsie stopped trying to fight Savannah and I. Tension was high in the air as everyone waited for Castiel's reaction. An evil smirk appeared on Castiel's face and he cracked his knuckles loudly, earning a grimace from almost everyone in the hall.

 Before anything could happen a hand reached over my shoulder, extending a small slip of paper towards the cornered jerk, “Take this detention slip to the principal.” Nathaniel said behind me. Everyone turned to the student body president, confused at his interference. He tilted his head, “Unless you want to have your face ripped off by Castiel...” Nathaniel said calmly. That did the trick, the jerk grabbed the slip and took off towards the office. Penni, who had been laughing though the whole scene, decided to speak, “I've never... seen any...one so... eager to go to... the... principal's office!” She said between giggles. Lexsie pouted, “You should have let me go after him...” She sniffed. I gave her a look, “I don't want you to ruin your reputation like Castiel already has.” I replied. “Hey!” Castiel shouted and all us girls burst out in laughter at his indignant expression.

 vvv

 During study hall I sat at my table yawning as I tried to concentrate on the book I had borrowed from Nathaniel. It wasn't that the book was boring, I found it very interesting, but I was just so tired. Mr. Faraize let us do anything during study hall, except sleep. Keeping Lexsie from killing someone was hard work. I was just glad that she had a class with Castiel this hour, she never acted crazy around him. I glanced at Penni who was hunched over a piece of paper, her pen scribbling away. I raised and eyebrow and leaned over to read the greeting

 Dear Ken,

 I smiled and whispered, “Writing a love note?” Penni glared at me, her grey eyes stormy. “Why can't you mind your own business?” She hissed back. I shrugged, “Well everyone else doesn't seem to nosing in my business... so what are you telling him?” Penni tried to refuse to show me the note, but in the end she gave up and handed the letter over reluctantly.

 Dear Ken,

 I'm glad to have gotten your letter! :D It made my day, even the fact that you're being tortured. Lol, just kidding! I really miss you, but it's not as bad as you think. I've actually made new friends, though none could ever replace my best friend, Cuddles. Ha ha, Cuddles is the teddy bear you gave me, and he's taking your place until you come back. Don't worry you're still my true best friend! Anyway, I made friends with that white haired girl you were telling me about, the one in your Gardening Club. Korianna West. She's very nice, she actually drew us together before you moved. It's very good, I'll have to get her to show you WHEN you come back. You're not getting away from me that easily, mister! Even if we're sixty and in a nursing home I will see you again! (not to sound creepy or anything...)

 Kori's friends from her home town have enrolled here. Savannah is very funny and shy, but that girl Lexsie... I'm still not sure about her. She seems to have it in for me. Luckily it's not as serious as anyone who teases Kori about her being a lesbian (long story, but Kori is NOT one, FYI). I saw Lexsie trying to kill some idiot who made the mistake of making a joke about Kori. It was amusing from my side, but I'm sure the jerk didn't enjoy it! :P BTW, I saw your mom yesterday, she misses you and is very angry at your father for sending you away. I got the whole hour long rant about how your father has to understand to love you just the way you are. She says you haven't written her yet... shame on you! Lol, but seriously, you need to write your mom at least.

 So how's Military School? You never did tell me...

 I smiled at the blushing Penni and placed the letter back in front of her, “You know I've got to approve of Ken before you start dating him, right? And you've gotta approve of Nathaniel.” Penni shot me a look, “Why?” I fluttered my eyelashes playfully, “Because that's what friends do.” Penni shook her blonde head, “You're so weird...” She mumbled to herself. I shook my head, “Nah-uh, it's a tradition passed down from generation to generation. A sacred ritual!” I said primly. Penni rolled her grey eyes, “Now you've lost it.” I grinned at her, “No I didn't!” I said, pretending to be offended. We burst out laughing, earning a reprimand from Mr. Faraize.

 vvv

 Study hall ended. I waved good-bye to Penni as we separated just outside the class room. Walking down the hall I clutched my books to my chest, ignoring all the snide remarks cast in my direction. I was walking past the Student Council room when I heard a commotion. Frowning I went to investigate, but before I could even get close to the door, it burst open and the principal came storming out, her grey hair in a frazzle. Nathaniel followed her, his expression a mix of annoyance and regret. I was close enough to hear the principal yelling at Nathaniel, “If you don't find those keys, there will be hell to pay!” Nathaniel only nodded.

 It was after the crazy old woman disappeared into her office did Nathaniel notice me. He sighed irritably, “How much did you hear?” He asked and I blinked at his tone, Nathaniel was never angry at me without reason. “Uh... nothing... just what the principal said just now.” I said cautiously, wondering what I should do. Nathaniel sighed again, this time it seemed like his anger was dissipating. “So... what was she so angry about...?” I ventured to ask. Nathaniel's eye twitched, “Some one stole the exams from the teachers lounge, using my key.” I couldn't help feel sorry for him, I knew Nathaniel would never do such a thing as break into the teachers lounge to steal anything, he took responsibility seriously. “Do you know who did?” I asked and the golden haired boy shook his head.

 There was a moment of silence, in which both of us awkwardly avoided making eye contact. When the silence became unbearable I spoke, “Well if that's-” At the same time Nathaniel started speaking too, “Korianna, could you-” I blushed, “Uh... sorry, what were you going to say?” Nathaniel watched me for a few seconds before finishing, “If you're not too busy, could you help me find the exams and my keys?” I didn't even think about it when I nodded, “Sure! Don't worry, we'll find them!” I said confidently. Nathaniel slumped in relief, which surprised me. I hadn't realized he was hoping I would say yes.

 vvv

 It really didn't surprise me that Amber was the one behind the whole mess, or that she only did it to get back at her brother. What did surprise me was when she went to slap me for getting her suspended, Nathaniel stepped in and shoved her away. I think it surprised Amber even more than me, she had a look of utter shock when her brother grabbed her, his golden eyes furious. I fled, not wanting to get caught up in the family drama. I had enough of that from my own family.

 I was almost out of the now deserted school yard when Nathaniel caught up to me. I shot him a questioning look, wondering why he was here. Nathaniel smiled, once again the boy I knew and liked, “I wanted to thank you for all your help today. I wouldn't have been able to solve the mystery without you.” He commented. I stupidly blushed, “Of course you would have. With all those detective novels you read, I'm sure you would have figured something out.” I managed to say without stuttering. I wondered absently where this sudden shyness came from. Nathaniel had walked me home plenty of times, this one shouldn't be any different. But it was...

 The student body president didn't say anything, he just stared ahead, a small ghostly smile on his lips. We walked in a silence neither awkward or comfortable. We reached the apartment complex where Castiel and I lived. I couldn't take it anymore and broke the quiet by saying, “Uh... I'm sorry... for making your sister-” Nathaniel stopped and faced me, “It's alright Korianna. You didn't do anything wrong, so stop apologizing.” I nodded and looked down, suddenly unable to meet his gaze. Gently fingers touched my chin, making me look at Nathaniel. When our gazes locked, he slowly moved his hand to cup my cheek and leaned down. For a brief moment our lips were millimeters apart, our breath mingling. My cheeks burned, but I didn't move away and Nathaniel closed the rest of the gap, softly pressing his lips to mine.

 He pulled away before I could fully enjoy the kiss, his cheeks were a curious dusty pink. “Ah... G-good-bye. And thanks for your help again.” He said quickly before I could react. I stood there in the same spot for a long time, watching the street that he disappeared down, my heart pounding. My tongue  licked my lips, as if trying to remember the feeling of Nathaniel's lips on mine. That was when it truly hit me...

 Nathaniel Powers had kissed me.

 The minute I walked through the door Castiel cornered me, “What was that I saw out there?!” He shouted in my face. My white hair actually blew back a little at the power of his voice. I blinked several times, still a little dazed that Nathaniel had kissed me. Finally my mind caught up to the present, “Uh... what?” I asked dumbly. My brother looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. “Did that goody-goody really just kiss you?!” Even though I didn't confirm it with words, my reddening face was a good enough answer.

 I could hear Castiel gritting his teeth, “Korianna, stay away from that guy. He's bad news.” I was finally climbing down from my shock enough to get angry, “Look I know you hate him, but he's done nothing to hurt me!” I snapped at Castiel. My red haired brother grabbed my shoulder tightly, his grey eyes dark, “Trust me, Korianna, if he hasn't hurt you yet, he will.” I smacked his hand away, glaring, “I'll be the judge of that, Castiel West. Don't you dare start controlling my life like Father.” I started to leave, but Castiel gripped my arm, pulling me to a stop, “Don't drag Dad into this. I'm trying to protect you from Nathaniel, not control you.” Castiel said. I tried to yank my arm away, but my brother only tightened his grip to the point of  bruising, “Until you tell me why you hate him so much, I'm not going to stop talking to Nathaniel! He's my friend, Castiel.” I growled.

 “Yeah, that kiss sure looked friendly to me.” Castiel retorted. I stomped hard on my brother's foot, making him let go of my arm. I took a few steps away from him in case he lunged for me again, “One kiss. Whoop-de-doo. It's not the end of the world.” Castiel looked livid, “Don't you dare say that one kiss isn't the end of the world!” He shouted and I blinked, getting the strange feeling that he wasn't talking about Nathaniel and me anymore. I crossed my arms, “Alright, I propose a compromise. You promise not to get so riled up over Nathaniel and I hanging out, and I'll stop bugging you to tell me what happened between the two of you. Deal?” “NO!” Castiel snapped. I shrugged, “Okay. I hope your ready to fight every night then, because I'm not going to stop talking to Nathaniel simply because you tell me to.” Before he could say anything else, I ran up the stairs and locked myself in my bedroom.

 *CrAzYArtist has logged on*

 RabidsingeR: Where on earth were you?! You didn't walk home with us, and you're late getting on.

CrAzYArtist: Sorry, I was helping Nathaniel with paperwork after school. And then I got into a huge fight with Castiel.

GreenThumb: Why?

CrAzYArtist: Uh... no reason

MonKeybiz: You're hiding something Kori. I can tell.

CrAzYArtist: I am not!

GreenThumb: Just tell us. It's so obvious.

RabidsingeR: Seriously. You're such a terrible liar, I can tell your lying over the internet!

CrAzYArtist: Okay it was about Nathaniel. He walked me home again.

MonKeybiz: Castiel freaked out about that? That's not like him. I can only see Castiel freaking out if...

GreenThumb: ...if...?

MonKeybiz: Oh. God.

MonKeybiz: NATHANIEL KISSED YOU DIDN'T HE?!?!?!

CrAzYArtist: It was a small peck!

RabidsingeR: WHAT?! You're actually admitting to it?!??!?!?! (Geez, I was hoping you'd try to deny it longer...)

GreenThumb: Well I can tell this is going to be a fan girl fest. I'm out.

 *GreenThumb has signed out*

 MonKeybiz: OhmaiGod OhmaiGod OhmaiGod!!!! Nathaniel kissed you! He kissed YOU!! He KISSED you! Dreams really do come true!!

RabidsingeR: How was it? Did he mess up, or is he actually a good kisser? NEED. DETAILS!!!

CrAzYArtist: *sigh* Jade was right... this is a fan girl fest...

RabidsingeR: Answer the question Korianna West!

CrAzYArtist: Why?

RabidsingeR: *read in sarcasm* If he's good enough I just might kiss him myself. What do you think?! I wanna know because I'm your oldest friend!

MonKeybiz: Yeah! Secrets don't make friends!

RabidsingeR: Or keep them!

CrAzYArtist: Well it's been nice calling you my friends all these years then...

MonKeybiz: Kori! You would really do that?! CrAzYArtist: NO! I told you it was a peck on the lips. I didn't even registrar what he was doing until AFTER he left!

RabidsingeR: Well what was going on before he kissed you? What did he say? Give us something to squeal over!!!!

CrAzYArtist: Ugh. He told me to stop apologizing for things out of my control then he... kissed me.

MonKeybiz: Well what were you apologizing for? CrAzYArtist: Kinda getting Amber suspended... and making her mad at him

RabidsingeR: Okay I'm lost, how did you get Amber suspended?

CrAzYArtist: That's what I was helping Nathaniel with. Someone stole his teacher lounge keys and then the exams. Turns out it was Amber. She got suspended for it and when she tried to slap me for ratting her out, Nathaniel stopped her.

MonKeybiz: One point towards Nath! XD RabidsingeR: And Nath walked you home and then kissed you?

CrAzYArtist: Yes. And Castiel saw. So he went ballistic on me as soon as I stepped inside. Kept talking about how Nathaniel was bad news and he would hurt me in the end...

RabidsingeR: Well Castiel has known him longer... and there is obviously a back story to those two.

MonKeybiz: Are you really taking his side?

RabidsingeR: NO! I was just trying to be reasonable!!

CrAzYArtist: Well stop, you're going to make the world end if you keep talking like that.

RabidsingeR: Har har. You're just a card.

MonKeybiz: lol it's so fun to watch you two argue... ^^

CrAzYArtist: How am I going to face him tomorrow?

RabidsingeR: Well did you enjoy the kiss?

CrAzYArtist: Huh? I don't know it was over too quick.

MonKeybiz: Let's put it this way, it was just a small peck right? But did you enjoy that brief moment with Nathaniel more than you did with Ty shoving his tongue down your throat?

CrAzYArtist: Do I really need to answer that?

RabidsingeR: Well you faced Ty after he stole your first kiss by a total make out... I'm sure you can survive Nath's little cute kiss.

CrAzYArtist: But the thing is I liked Ty because he was popular. I like Nathaniel because of who he is... and what if he...

MonKeybiz: Kori, just stop right there before you have a panic attack... Look Nathaniel isn't one to go around kissing random girls. That's obvious. So if he kissed you that means he must really like you. End of discussion. So stop doubting yourself and start daydreaming about how your children will look like! ;P

CrAzYArtist: SAVANNAH KNIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RabidsingeR: Wow Savannah, I think that's the longest message I've ever seen from you... I'm impressed.

MonKeybiz: Thank you! Thank you!

RabidsingeR: I claim Godmother on those future kids!

MonKeybiz: Hey that's mine! You're going to be their true aunt one day!

RabidsingeR: ...O.o...

CrAzYArtist: Savannah... *W*

MonKeybiz: You know what I notice? I've noticed neither of you denying the fact that one day you two will be married to your crush... CX

CrAzYArtist: Pick out your tombstone, Savannah, I'm burying you tomorrow. ALIVE!!

RabidsingeR: ...I'll get the shovels...

MonKeybiz: That's what you say all the time! But I chose marble!

 “...and after that, Leigh told me to go find Rosalya and give her the flowers, saying they were from him. I never seen a girl so happy!” Savannah finished telling us how she single-handedly saved a Lysander's older brother's relationship. Lexsie smirked, “Not even Nath kissed Kori?” I choked on my soda while Penni laughed so hard she almost fell off her seat. Ever since school started, Lexsie was on my case about Nathaniel's kiss. Savannah shrugged, “Well I didn't personally see that, so I couldn't tell. But I'm sure Kori would look so much happier.” I glared at my two treacherous friends. Penni snorted at my expression and reached across to pat my arm, “Might as well get used to it, Kori. They won't leave you alone, trust me on this.” I guess she was right, after all Penni did like Ken, so she must be used to the teasing.

 I still shot sour looks at Savannah and Lexsie, both were too busy giggling to notice. Penni made the smart decision to change the subject, “So... you were telling me about the chat room?” I flashed a brief smile then began explaining the pros and cons of joining our chat room. I was just getting to the fact that there was no limit of teasing when someone cleared their throat. All four of us girls turned to see Lysander standing behind Savannah, holding a lunch tray and somehow not looking awkward like anyone else would have. “May I sit with you?” He asked politely. Lexsie and I shared an evil smirk while Savannah blushed prettily and nodded, turning shy. Penni, still feeling bad about the wrecked date, fell silent and stared at her half eaten sandwich. I noticed that Lysander didn't even glance at Penni, he must still be upset about it.

 “I wanted to thank you for helping my brother earlier.” Lysander started and Savannah eeped and blushed. I sighed, my purple haired friend had been so good at speaking lately, I had forgotten about her inability to speak around anyone who she didn't know. Dimly I wondered how she had even managed speaking to Leigh and Rosalya earlier today. Lexsie came to Savannah's rescue, if it could be called that, “You'll have to excuse Miss Shyness over here. She clams up a lot, especially around certain people...” Savanna shot our friend a dark look and I laughed, “It's true. I'm surprised Savannah was even able to speak to your brother. By the way, I didn't know you had an older brother.” Lysander carefully ignored me, so he was still mad at me too. Penni and I exchanged looks and I shrugged, there was nothing I could do. Maybe he would forgive us when we set him up with Savannah, I grinned evilly at the thought.

 vvv

 As I dug through my locker after school, stuffing my random doodles in my bag to take some so Amber couldn't steal one and turn it into another humiliation antic, Savannah popped up. “Hey, Kori, what are you doing right now?” She asked, a little too innocently. I eyed her cautiously, “Packing my things to go home... what do you want?” She casually handed me a slip of paper, “I was late to English today, can you give take this to Nathaniel for me?” I glared at her, “Take it yourself and stop trying to set me up.” I snapped and shoved a page from my history notes in my bag, the margins of the paper full of mindless doodles.

 Savannah gripped my arm, “Please, Korianna! I'm not heading anywhere near the Student Council room! Lys wants to show me something, and I can't wait any longer!” I paused at that, my bookbag halfway on my shoulder. I settled the bag's strap before turning to my friend, she looked like she meant it. I looked down at the slip of paper still clutched in her hand, it was a tardy slip made out to Savannah Knight, so she wasn't lying about that. Sending Savannah one last dark look I took the slip of paper from her, "If this turns out to be a stupid set up..." I threatened. Savannah, however, didn't hear me instead she hugged me tightly around the shoulders, "Thanks Kori! You're a doll!" She squealed and I grunted. Sometimes I forgot how old fashioned Savannah could be; I mean, who said 'you're a doll' anymore? I could already tell that Lysander and Savannah were made for each other. I managed to escape my friend's strangle hold and fled down the hall twoards the Student Council room before she could think of any more favors.

 Timidly I knocked on the Student Council door, cracking it open slightly. I hadn't seen Nathaniel since last night after he kissed me, whether he was avoiding me or I him I didn't know and really didn't want to know. "Nathaniel?  You in here?" I called out hesitantly when I didn't see him in the room. Slowly I inched the door even farther open until I saw Nathaniel slumped over at the head of the table, sound asleep. I blinked at the sight, never would I have imagined that Nathaniel, the most responsible person I knew ever, would be sleeping when he could be working. Immediately I wondered if something was wrong. "Nathaniel...?" I asked cautiously, edging forward until I stood next to him. He still didn't respond, not even a flinch when I felt his forehead for a fever.

 Placing the tardy slip on the table, I knelt down so I was level with his handsome face. Nathaniel looked so peaceful when he was asleep, he looked like a normal teenage boy instead of the mature, responsible guy that I knew. I knew then and there that I liked this Nathaniel more than the one I saw everyday, with his unguarded and easy expression. I lightly pushed his gold bangs from his eyes, careful not to wake him. This was the guy who kissed me last night, and that one little peck on the lips that meant more to me than all of Ty's heated kisses. I smiled at the thought, realizing that it was true. I had only dated Ty because everyone thought we were the cutest couple in school. I wanted to date Nathaniel because he... well Nathaniel was just himself, and there was no way I could explain how much I really liked him.

 "Hmmm... Kori...?" Nathaniel's sleepy voice brought me out of my thoughts. My violet eyes locked onto his golden ones. I swallowed my shyness and smiled at him, "Hey sleepyhead. Have a good nap?" Nathaniel mumbled something too low for me to hear, then he sighed and straightened in his seat, stretching his arms above his head and giving me a perfect view of his shirt pressed into his finely toned chest. I blushed, of course. “Did you need something, Korianna?” He asked. I stared at him blankly for a few minutes, wondering why I had come in here, when I remembered the tardy slip, “Oh! Savannah told me to give this to you. She couldn't do it herself.” I said and held out the paper for him to take. Nathaniel looked at the paper, “Ah.” Was it just me or did he sound disappointed? I doggedly ignored it, determined to keep this meeting as least awkward as possible.

 Nathaniel signed the tardy slip then set it down, his pen fidgeting between his fingers, refusing to meet my gaze “Listen, Korianna... about last night...” Was he going to tell me that it was a mistake? That he didn't mean it? He shot me a brief worried glance when I didn't say anything before continuing “I'm sorry for-” I couldn't help but let a small sigh of relief escape and held up my hand. Nathaniel stopped speaking. I smiled at him, “It's okay Nathaniel... I- uh... I was surprised... but not in a bad way! It was real nice that- I mean, um...” I was making a mess of things. When Ty had first kissed me I had been too stunned to respond, but Ty had taken care of everything in the beginning. I hadn't known how to react then, and I sure didn't now.

 Quickly, before I knew what I was doing and could stop myself, I leaned down and kissed Nathaniel's cheek. He jerked in surprise and stared at me, golden eyes wide. I blushed and whispered, “Since I didn't get to kiss you back...” before fleeing from the room, embarrassed that I had just said that.

 *CrAzYArtist has logged in*

 RabidsingeR: About time you get here.

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Hello Kori. How was your day?

 RabidsingeR: Girl, I told you, you don't have to be yourself in the chat room. Show your crazy side.

 CrAzYArtist: Hey Lexsie, Violette. Where's Jade and Savannah?

RabidsingeR: Well Jade logged on long enough to tell me that he was going on vacation and wouldn't be here for a few days. And no one knows where Savannah is...

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Do you know, Kori?

 CrAzYArtist: She's probably still with Lysander.

 RabidsingeR: Wait... WHAT?! When did this happen?

CrAzYArtist: After school. She wanted me to do something for her because Lys wanted to show her something and she had to leave pretty quick.

 RabidsingeR: And where were you? Smoochin' with that boy of yours?

 CrAzYArtist: He's not 'my' boy...

 XxSilentBlossomxX: So you admit you were kissing him?

 RabidsingeR: I KNEW IT!!!!

 CrAzYArtist: Why do I put up with you?

 RabidsingeR: Because you'd still be more shy than Savannah without me...

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Really?

 CrAzYArtist: Yeah... I was pretty shy when I was young. My brother did all the talking.

 RabidsingeR: How is that hottie? I hardly see him at school except when we're leaving.

 CrAzYArtist: Screwy schedules never stopped you before.

 RabidsingeR: True, but as your best friend I have to be on my best behavior or risk ruining your chances with Nath.

 CrAzYArtist: Your logic is twisted and makes no sense.

 XxSilentBlossomxX: I have to agree with Korianna.

 RabidsingeR: It's a conspiracy against me!

 CrAzYArtist: I nominate a change of subject!

 RabidsingeR: I second that! So Vi, what do you think of Jade?

 CrAzYArtist: LEXSIE!!!!

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Uh... why do you ask?

CrAzYArtist: Don't. You. Say. A. Word. Lexsie...

 RabidsingeR: Or you'll do what? Because I'm curious, Vi.

 XxSilentBlossomxX: I don't know him well...

 RabidsingeR: But you want to right? :D

 CrAzYArtist: Lexsie leave her alone.

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Why are you asking the questions, Lexsie?

 CrAzYArtist: Lexsie... don't you dare.

 RabidsingeR: Make me stop Korianna.

 RabidsingeR: Well Vi, the reason is simply that...

 XxSilentBlossomxX: That...?

 CrAzYArtist: Lexsie, don't make me say your real name!!!

 RabidsingeR: Go ahead, it's only Vi, and she will never tell anyone!

 CrAzYArtist: You spill the secret and I'll make sure that Castiel NEVER likes you back! Keep the secret and I'll try to set you up!

 RabidsingeR:...

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Lexsie likes Castiel?

 CrAzYArtist: Yeah, all three of us grew up together. So she knows the real him.

 XxSilentBlossomxX: So... the Castiel everyone knows at school isn't really what he's really like?

 CrAzYArtist: Well... he is the bad boy that he seems now, but Castiel used to be real sweet and nice.

 RabidsingeR: Why do you get to spill Castiel's secret, but I can't spill Jade's?

CrAzYArtist: Because Castiel is my twin brother, I have sibling rights! You're not related to Jade in anyway.

 RabidsingeR: So if I got Savannah to spill the beans... would that count?

CrAzYArtist: No. If Savannah does happen to do what you ask her to, I won't set you up with Castiel, and I'll crash her chances of dating Lys.

 RabidsingeR: You drive a hard bargin, but I'll listen to you... for now. AND DON'T TELL ANYONE MY REAL NAME!!!

 CrAzYArtist: Sure thing... Miss Shot Heard Round the World.

 RabidsingeR: Kori... don't even drop hints.

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Shot Heard Round the World? Isn't that from US History class?

 CrAzYArtist: Yep! And it has something to do with Lexsie's name!

 RabidsingeR: Korianna Rallei West, if you say one more word I'll screw things over with Nathaniel and you!

 CrAzYArtist: Hey! I'm the only one allowed to blackmail people!

 XxSilentBlossomxX: lol you two are so funny...

 A few days later, when I opened my locker a note and daisy fluttered out. I blinked at the flower laying on the cold hard floor, it's yellow center bright against the white tiling. Slowly I bent down and picked up both the daisy and the note. Holding the flower in one hand I unfolded the paper to reveal neat handwriting:

 Korianna,

 I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to respond that night when I walked you home; but I'm glad you did so the day after.

 Nathaniel

 It was so simple, but to me the little note was better than any poetry ever written. I actually squealed softly at the meaning behind his note, Nathaniel liked me. He wouldn't have said he was glad if he didn't. Smiling I brushed the daisy against my nose before slipping it into my sketchbook, that daisy was going to stay with me forever.

 vvv

 “You are unusually happy.” Lexsie observed as we walked to third period. I bit my lip to keep from smiling even larger. I hadn't shown my friends the note yet, and I didn't know if I wanted to. It was still too personal to be shared, I wanted to keep it a secret for a little longer. My black haired friend shrugged and turned to growl at a passing freshmen who almost knocked into her. The poor underclassmen actually squeaked and scrambled away from Lexsie. I rolled my eyes, my happy mood toning down a little. Not even a month and already Lexsie had as bad a reputation as Castiel.

 A voice further down the hallway brought both our heads up, “No, please! That's fragile!!” The crowd of students parted at the right moment to give me a glimpse of Amber and her gang surrounding a panicked girl scrabbling for her papers fluttering in the air. Li was holding a laptop up, threatening to drop it, while the girl frantically tried to reach for it and juggle her papers all at the same time. Lexsie stormed forward, “Hey, I know you lamebrains have more important things to do, like pick out the right shade of pink for your lipstick, so why don't you leave her alone?” The three bullies turned quickly to face my angry friend. I stood behind her and to the side, determined not to get into this. Amber, of course, noticed me standing there. She smirked and turned back to Lexsie, “Awwww... it's so sweet that your trying to protect your girlfriend's crush. I would be jealous if I were you.” Lexsie narrowed her bright green eyes, “I'd watch what I say next, bitch.” She growled. I sighed, “Lexsie... language.” I reprimanded her.

 Amber glared at Lexsie, then she brightened, “Your name is Lexsie Liard right?” My friend scoffed, “Yeah, it took you a week to figure that one out? Congrats, I thought it would take at least three years.” Nathaniel's sister pursed her lips together then said, “I was just thinking how much it sounded like Sexy Retard.” The small crowd gathering in the hall 'oohed', and some dumb jerk yelled, “Cat fight!” from the back. Li and Charlotte giggled with Amber at her 'ingenious' comeback. I couldn't help the smirk crawling up my face, Lexsie was going to have fun. The black haired firecracker cooed mockingly, “Well I know I'm sexy, and thank you for telling me, but I'm not into girls.” Amber turned a very dark red, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. Not that our little audience bothered to do the same. Even the girl that Amber had been tormenting was giggling behind her hand, her bright yellow eyes sparkling with laughter underneath chocolate brown hair.

 Before Amber could respond Lexsie flickered her wrist in a dismissive manner, “Now go on. I'm sure you'll want to think long and hard on a good comeback.” My friend started to turn away the mused aloud, tapping her chin with a finger exaggeratedly, “It will always amaze me that you're related to Nathaniel. I mean, I know blondes are supposed to be exceedingly stupid, like yourself, but Nathaniel is so smart, maybe he got the brains and you got the beau- no you didn't even get that. You probably just got the left over bad genes.” Lexsie finished with a bright smile in Amber's direction. The blonde girl was too dumbstruck to even look mad. Her friends were the same way.

 The three made a hasty retreat, the laughter of our classmates following them. I shook my head at Lexsie, “That was a little over the line.” I said sternly. Lexsie shot me a look, “I was defending someone, and it's Amber. She deserves-” I finished for her, “-to be treated like a normal person, no matter how evil she really is.” Lexsie groaned and cast her eyes heavenward, “Don't get righteous on me now, Korianna. I'm still enjoying the look on her face when I told that-” My eyes snapped to Lexsie before she could cuss again and she quickly changed her word choice, “biii-girl off. Scold me at lunch.” I rolled my eyes and finally looked down on the yellow-eyed girl Amber had been torturing, “Hi, I'm Korianna and this is Lexsie. What's your name?” “Tansy.” She said, bringing her eyes up to mine briefly before going back down to her fingers as she flipped quickly though her stack of papers.

 Lexsie and I exchanged a look before I continued, “Well... don't mind Amber, she's just attention deprived and...” I trialed off when I saw the new girl wasn't listening. She was too busy checking all her technology she carried with her. I had never seen anyone with so much stuff. Two different laptops, an iPod, MP3, iPhone, iPad, three types of earbuds, clunky earphones, five chargers, an Android, Samsung Note, recording device, and a hand held gaming system with five games. Tansy sighed in relief when everything appeared to be working, then turned to us, “Sorry, I wanted to be sure that nothing was broken.” Lexsie let out a short bark of a laugh, “And I thought your dad was the techie, Kori.” She said to me. I rolled my eyes, “He's not a techie. He just needs all that for his job.” “Uh-huh, sure. That's what I would say too.” Lexsie said sarcastically. Tansy stood up, “Thanks for helping me, I had no bloody idea that you Americans were so violent.” She said innocently.

 I tilted my head, “Your accent...” I mentioned, not wanting to come out and say it. Tansy nodded as she tied her long brown hair back, “Yeah, I'm from 'Jolly Old England' and all that, come to live with my uncle here in the States, I have.” Lexsie looked like a three year old in a candy store, “Say something!” My friend squealed. Lexsie had developed a thing for British accents in junior high because of a boy she had a crush on could do a perfect imitation of one, or so he thought. Tansy frowned, “Uhh... 'something'?” She said hesitantly. Lexsie waved her hand, “No, no! Say something that you usually say, in your accent!” I sighed and checked the clock, “Lexsie, the bell is about to ring, we need to get to class.” I smiled at the very confused Tansy, “Come sit with us a lunch, and don't mind Lexsie, she can be annoying at times.” Tansy laughed as I dragged Lexsie away.

 vvv

  Lexsie was telling Savannah and Penni about the 'awesome British techie girl' when Tansy herself walked up, “Allo, Korianna.” She said balancing her lunch tray on her binder as she waited for me to either invite her to sit down or humiliate her. I smiled up at her then patted the seat beside me, “Guys this is Tansy. Tansy, Savannah and Penni.” I introduced her as she sat down. Penni waved like a normal person and Savannah looking down at her mystery meat meal, her shyness. Penni leaned forward, “So what part of the UK are you from?” She asked. Tansy swallowed her simple sandwich and took a sip of water before answering, “Well my family is originally from Ireland, but after my parents separated, my mum dragged me down to the little village of Chesterton, England.”

 Penni nearly choked on her cherry limeade flavored drink, “No way, really?! That's where I lived when I was in England. Do you know Anna?” All of us gave her surprised looks, “You went to England? And when were you going to tell us this?” Lexsie asked, her tone slightly huffy. I rolled my eyes, this was coming from the girl who kept her crush over my brother a secret from me for years. Penni laughed sheepishly, “Well, I already told you my dad is big into politics... he's the ambassador for America.” Tansy latched on to that piece of information, “Really? So that means your wealthy right? Do you own a mansion? Do your parents buy you anything you want?” She asked. Penni laughed and shook her head, “I used to, but I'm staying with my Aunt Agatha while my parents are gone so I can attend school here. And no, I have to earn every cent like normal kids.” I thought Lexsie would get offended that Penni had accidentally implied that 'normal' kids were poor, but surprisingly the black haired firecracker didn't say a word, she didn't even seem to notice.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

 GreenThumb: Hey.

 CrAzYArtist: Hey yourself. How was the your vacation?

GreenThumb: Boring, nothing like being stuck with three older sisters. Speaking of which...

 *MonKeybiz has signed in*

 MonKeybiz: The life of the party is here!!!

 GreenThumb: I thought that was Lexsie. Where is she anyway?

 CrAzYArtist: Trying to get a poor British girl to speak.

 GreenThumb: ...

 GreenThumb: ...Whut?

 MonKeybiz: You're using internet slang! I'm so proud of you!

 CrAzYArtist: You're so weird.

 GreenThumb: Amen to that...

 MonKeybiz: It's a conspiracy against me!!! Hey Kori, do you know where Lys was today?

 CrAzYArtist: He's still mad at me for crashing that fail date with Penni, and I don't have classes with him. So no.

 MonKeybiz: Alright... I just wanted to return his jacket.

 CrAzYArtist: YOU HAVE LYSANDER'S JACKET?!?! It must be serious!!

 GreenThumb: *sigh*

 MonKeybiz: Stop freaking out... it's only a jacket.

 CrAzYArtist: Like I said when Nath walked me home... If a guy lends you a jacket then it's obviously something.

 MonKeybiz: So is a guy walking you home!

 GreenThumb: Girls... please don't fight...

 CrAzYArtist: I never said it wasn't. Besides, if Nathaniel kissed me it's obviously something.

 MonKeybiz: Hmph... I liked it when you tried to deny something was going on.

 CrAzYArtist: *read in singsongy voice* Now it's your turn!! :D

 MonKeybiz: What about Castiel and Lexsie?

 CrAzYArtist: Have you seen my brother? He's not exactly the type to be nice.

 MonKeybiz: And Lysander isn't? They do hang out together.

 CrAzYArtist: I already told you, Lys is a gentleman. So is Nathaniel. Castiel is a jerk...

 MonKeybiz: And so is Lexsie, sometimes.

 GreenThumb: You realize I'm still here right?

 MonKeybiz: Shhhhhh! Important girl talk!

 GreenThumb: Sometimes I really wish there was another guy here...

 MonKeybiz: Maybe we could get Castiel hooked.

 CrAzYArtist: Sorry, I see him enough already.

 MonKeybiz: Okay, what happened? You're not usually bashing your twin.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm still mad at him for freaking out on Nathaniel kissing me.

 GreenThumb: Still?! Kori, you can hold a grudge...

 MonKeybiz: I know! Once in first grade she refused to talk to me for a month because I did something I couldn't even remember!!

 GreenThumb: Wow... Kori actually has a mean bone in her body.

 CrAzYArtist: Guys... I'm still here.

 GreenThumb: Shhhhhh! Important family talk!

 MonKeybiz: ROFL. Jade I think you get funnier every passing day.

 CrAzYArtist: ACK!! It's 'more funny'! Not 'funnier'!!!

 MonKeybiz: Silence, Grammar Nazi.

 *$Cha-Ching$ has joined the chat room*

 GreenThumb: Who on earth are you?!

 MonKeybiz: Seriously. IDENTIFY YOURSELF

 CrAzYArtist: Hey Penni!

 $Cha-Ching$: Hey... I'm guessing Crazyartist is Korianna...

 CrAzYArtist: Yep!

 MonKeybiz: What's with the user name?

 CrAzYArtist: You knew Penni was filthy rich...

 $Cha-Ching$: And Free2dance and just about every other user name I wanted to use was already taken in the chat website. Trust me, this was the last user name I picked. So who's the other two?

 MonKeybiz: Savannah here!

 GreenThumb: I'm Jade. I don't think we met.

 $Cha-Ching$: Jade... Jade... Wait, were you the guy that worked in the Gardening Club with Ken?

 GreenThumb: That's the one. I don't go to your school though, just FYI

 GreenThumb: By the way, I was going to wait for Lexsie to get here, but... do you all want to come with me to a party this weekend?

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Do You Have Power Over Me? Pt. 2 (ARCHIVED)

Document has been perserved in its original state

And now begins the wonderful part two, enjoy *bows*

vvv

 Sakura screamed when she saw the familiar walls of home take place of the goblin throne room. Akanbou joined her and Sakura clutched him close sobbing. It wasn't fair. She should have realized that Kanari never intended to go home. Why else would she have told Sakura to quote her? If she truly wanted to go home, Kanari would have just spoken for the both of them. For a brief moment, Sakura hated her stepsister. She have never felt such hatred to anyone, not even Gaara when he betrayed her. Shocked and ashamed at herself, Sakura focused her loathing off of Kanari and onto King Itachi, for making Kanari stay. Why couldn't he have been a good sport and let them all go?!

 Her parents came home around midnight, to find Sakura still clutching her half brother. Kizashi looked at his daughter with concern, "Sakura... is something wrong?" She waited for him to ask where Kanari was, to blame his step daughter like he usually did, but Kizashi said nothing. Sakura would have to tell them where their oldest daughter was. She gulped, "K-Kanari... is-is-is..." Could she say it? She swallowed the lump in her throat and choked out, "She's gone." Mebuki looked at her step-daughter confused, "Who's Kanari? A new friend?"

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Sasuke sat lazily against his brother's throne, his legs thrown casually over the elegant armrest, as he watched the crystal ball in his hand with great amusement as Sakura's struggled to realized that she was the only person in the human world who remembered Kanari. He couldn't wait until she realized why she was the only one. Sasuke hoped that she would realized it before the sickness took over. Itachi said that he couldn't bring her back unless she realized why, part of Sasuke's punishment for not keeping her under control. Sasuke thought that was a little unfair, considering it was his blasted girl, Kanari, who put the idea in her head.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 "So are you saying that not all of... Itachi's subjects are goblins?" I asked Temari as she piled my white-blonde hair in different styles, trying to figure which one fit me best. Temari was my new servant, being that she was the only human-like fey that was close to my age and female. She laughed, "Of course, anyone who wants to live in the Labyrinth have to submit to his rule. The Labyrinth may not be the safest or prettiest place, but it sure is the most fun! And to the fey, fun is better than safety or beauty." I shook my head ruefully, "You creatures are strange..." I laughed. Temari wrapped my in an awkward backwards hug and said, "Well you're one of us now. By staying, you automatically became one of his subjects. Well almost, Labyrinth runners are special."

 My mood soured at the mention that I was now technically fey, "Thanks..." Temari, who didn't understand sarcasm, smiled, "You're welcome. Now what am I going to do with this hair?! It's too beautiful to style too casually." I rolled my eyes at her in the mirror and my somewhat new friend giggled. I couldn't help but ask, "Is King Itachi... uh... a flirt?" Temari gave me a sly look, "Why, hoping that you have the king to yourself?" I bit my lip, when she put it like that I sounded like a jealous girlfriend, and I wasn't even dating him! "Well I was wondering why he would kiss me in the Oubli-" "He did WHAT?!?!?!?" Temari suddenly shouted, making me jump. In the two hours I had known her, Temari didn't seem like the person ever to shout, she was too happy-go-lucky.

 "H-he kissed me... is that wrong?" I asked in a small voice. Temari stared at me for a few more seconds then burst out laughing, "He kissed you! King Itachi kissed you!!! Oh he must really really like you!!" I blinked now, confused. "It was just a kiss." I muttered, getting angry with her obvious joy in my discomfort. Temari grinned at me, "You don't understand Kanari. Fey don't go around just kissing anyone; fey only kiss who they love. Sure, we fey can have many lovers, but that's beside the point. And as far as I know, Itachi never ever kissed anyone before!" I had to admit, for being his first kiss, he was very good at it.

 As if on cue there was a knock at my door and Itachi's voice, "Kanari, may I be permitted to enter?" I opened my mouth to say yes or no, I really didn't know which, when Temari grabbed my arm, distracting me. I turned to her, surprised to see her expression so serious when only a few seconds ago she was jumping up and down in glee, "Careful Kanari... according to fey rules, once you invite someone in, they can come in whenever they want until the ownership of said room changes." I stared at her, "So how were you able to come in without my permission?" I asked. Temari flashed me a grin that cut through her seriousness, "Because I come with the room! I serve whomever owns this room." That made sense.

 I glanced back at the door, where Itachi was waiting. Sighing I shook my head, "I can't turn him away for all eternity..." I whispered, more to assure myself than to convince Temari, then raised my voice and called out, "You may come in... Your Majesty." The door was pushed open to reveal Itachi leaning against the door frame, his dark eyebrows raised, "I thought I told you to call me Itachi..." He said and I gulped. I couldn't, not yet. It was too awkward. Temari hid a grin behind her hand as she arranged hairpins on the dresser, trying to look inconspicuous. Itachi straightened and came in the room. His presence seemed to take the air from the room. "Kanari if you'll please come with me..." He said politely.

 Automatically I was suspicious, "...Why?" I asked cautiously. Itachi gave me a look, "Because I wish to show you something." He said as if it were obvious. I glared, "It's not an Oubliette is it?" Surprisingly he actually laughed. Even more surprising is that I liked the sound of it. "No. I wish to show you the gardens." I hesitated, I liked gardens and somehow Itachi had found out. Any other time I would have thought the gesture sweet, but I knew Itachi and his stalkerish tendencies. It was just plain creepy when it came to Itachi. Temari made the decision for me and shoved me forward, "Just go! I've got things to do!" Before I could say no and pull away Itachi had me out the door and down the hallway.

 "How do you like my castle?" He asked as we walked down the corridor, his subjects in such a hurry to get out of his way. I snapped back, "I'm not saying 'piece of cake' if that's what you're looking for." Itachi looked down at me, I had never realized how tall he was compared to me, "Will you ever forget what happened in the Labyrinth?" He asked. I glared at him, "Will I ever be able to go home?" When he shook his head, I added, "You have my answer then." Itachi pulled me to a stop in the middle of the hall, towering over me, "You can't keep a grudge forever." He stated confidently. I grew angry, but he placed two fingers of my lips before I could say anything, "Don't. I do not wish to spoil your evening. Please." It was the 'please' that got me. I looked down and nodded mutely, all my anger gone in a flash.

 True to his word, Itachi did show my his gardens, and I instantly found the place where I would be spending most of my time. Shrubs of the brightest green lined the ivory walk, reminding me of the maze through the bushes in the Labyrinth, opened up into a moonlit garden too beautiful to describe. I let out an involuntary gasp of delight when I caught sight of the gardens rolling out before me like an untouched meadow. Flowers of every color imaginable, and not imaginable, dotted the emerald grass in a random but artistic way. Benches made of ivory, marble, and ebony sat under drowsy trees, their branches swinging low over the ground, creating arches over the path. A glassy pond was tucked against a crop of silver-veined rocks, its surface rippling as the fish underneath it danced. A weeping willow stood at the north end of the pond, under its sweeping branches I found an ebony bench nestled against its soft trunk; I had found my favorite place in the Fey Realm. I turned to Itachi and actually dipped into a shabby curtsey, "Thank you for showing me this place." I said sincerely. He merely nodded, but I think he was glad that I liked it.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 "Dear, why won't you tell us who this Kanari you keep speaking of?" Mebuki asked for the hundredth time that night. Every time she asked, Sakura wanted to cry all over again. Her own flesh-and-blood daughter was gone, and the blonde haired woman couldn't even remember that she had a daughter! Mebuki couldn't remember the pain of birth, the joy when Kanari took her first step, anger over all the rebellious teen acts, nothing! It was like Kanari never existed. It tore Sakura up that her sister's sacrifice would go unnoticed to everyone except her. She pushed her dinner plate away and stood without behind excused, "I'm not hungry." It was the truth, she wasn't, and she didn't know why. She should be starving, since the last thing she ate was that cursed peach in the Labyrinth hours ago.

 Sakura went upstairs to Akanbou's room. Kneeling by his cradle she began to tell her baby brother about Kanari, determined to make at least one person besides herself remember Kanari.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 The next day I was wondering aimlessly through the halls when I ran smack into someone. I was about to apologized when the person spoke, "Kanari!? Why are you here? I thought you went home!" I glanced up at Naruto's shocked face and frowned, "Didn't you know? I gave up my place so Sakura could go home." "But... why?" Naruto asked again. I rolled my eyes, "That peach that Gaara gave Sakura... mortals can't have fey food without consequences... I don't know, it's too complicated to explain!" I wailed, feeling the pent up tears coming. Naruto, sensing my distress, wrapped an arm around my shoulders and stayed quiet as I spilled all that had happened since I saw him last. After the strange things that had been happening, I was glad for a shoulder to cry on.

 vvv

 I was reading in the garden when Gaara found me. He didn't seem surprised to see me, Naruto must have told him I was here. He stood there, silently questioning. I moved my feet off the bench I was curled up on and patted the seat beside me. The red head sat and still didn't say anything, he just watched the willow branches sweep across the still pond, creating tranquil ripples. I watched him, trying to get a read on him. I hadn't been close to him like Sakura was, I had been too distrustful, but now I saw a hopelessness that stabbed at my heart. I followed his gaze to the pond and asked quietly, "You liked her, didn't you?" I saw Gaara lift his head to look at the orange tinged sky out of the corner of my eye.

 "She was the first person to call me a friend." He whispered and my heart broke. Once again my little stepsister had managed to squirm under someone's skin and to their heart. I chuckled humorlessly, "She does that. Make you love her, that is." Gaara finally looked at me and raised an invisible eyebrow. I smiled sadly at my hands, "I hated her when our parents first got married. We aren't actually sisters, just by marriage. But she managed to bring down my defenses within a week of the wedding." I finally looked at Gaara, "I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we really were related by blood. Would we have been so close?" The red headed gate keeper only shrugged. We sat there quietly for a long time, watching as the willow tree swept its drooping branches across the water. I smiled, it reminded me of a child playing in the water, the branches like little fingers skimming across the silky surface of the water.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Three days went by and Sakura still didn't eat. Her parents grew worried, but not matter what they tried, she just couldn't force herself to eat a thing. It was late at night, Sakura was trying to sleep when a sudden gust of wind blew her windows in. Sakura leapt out of bed and slammed the glass panels shut again before latching them together. She didn't move back to bed, instead she stared at the moon hanging high in the sky. In the three days she had come back she hadn't been able to sleep either. Her body shivered at a sudden chill and Sakura sighed. Maybe tonight would be the night that she actually fell asleep. School started tomorrow, and she didn't want to miss out on that.

 Sakura turned to head back to bed and froze. In the darkest corner of her room was a pair of red glowing eyes. Sakura narrowed her own sea green ones, she knew who had come to visit her, “Don't you have goblins to torture?” She snapped. Sasuke chuckled and came into the moonlight. The pink haired girl hated how handsome and brooding he looked. “I was just checking up on you, my dear...” Sasuke murmured. Sakura crossed her arms and refused to respond. The Goblin Prince smirked and settled down on her bed, “Aren't you going to ask after your sister?”

 That caught Sakura's attention. She eyed the fey suspiciously, but he didn't seem to be teasing her. “...How's Kanari?” The girl asked cautiously. Prince Sasuke leaned back on his elbows and stared at the ceiling, “Better than you.” He stated, then shot a smirk at her, “You look thin, my dear, have you been eating?” Sakura stiffened. He knew something, he had to. That question was too casual to be innocent. “You know something.” She accused. It wasn't a question. Sasuke smirked, “...Maybe...” He drawled. Before Sakura could question him further Sasuke stood, “It's been a nice chat, but I must get back. This mortal world is bad for my health.” He gave Sakura a pointed look before disappearing. Sakura stood there for a long time, blinking, wondering what he could possible mean.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 I was too preoccupied with the book I was reading to notice that I walked straight into the thrown room right as Itachi-san growled, “You. Did. What?” I looked up surprised at the venom in his voice. Since I had elected to stay in my sister's stead I had learned that Itachi-san was a perfect gentleman. He never did anything to remind me of the nightmarish time in the Labyrinth, and he never raised his voice. I knew Itachi's voice grew colder as he became more angry, not higher, having had witnessed it when the Goblins tried to play pranks on me in the beginning.

  Prince Sasuke was looking away mulishly, sulking like a naughty child. Whatever he had done, his elder brother apparently did not like it. I was about to turn away and head back the way I came when Sasuke muttered, “You said I couldn't bring her here, you never said I couldn't visit.” There was only one person those two could possible be talking about, “What are you doing with my sister?” I asked before I could think. Both brothers turned to look at me, a smidgen of surprise in their dark depthless eyes.

 When they didn't answer I knew that whatever they were hiding from me, it wasn't good for Sakura. I spun and left, marching down the hall my fists clenching. I felt the hot prick of tears in my eyes and couldn't believe myself. I wasn't crying for my sister, or for being helpless to save her. I was crying because those two had betrayed what little trust I had allowed myself to build up. These were the men that just a week ago they were trying their best to make me lose my brother. These men had bullied both Sakura and me and forced their subjects, Gaara mainly, into doing things they didn't want to to slow us down. So why was I crying over them? Why was I feeling torn for being betrayed when Sakura was in danger? Why, why, why?!

 vvv POV Change vvv

 “You've done it now.” Temari informed Itachi when he reached Kanari's closed doors. The servant was leaning against the doorjamb, her arms crossed. “My lady has locked herself in her room. Just like the last runner who stayed. If you don't watch it you'll be forced to send this one away just like the other one. Then where would you be?” Temari wasn't one to disrespect her monarch like her younger brother, Gaara, was; but sometimes she felt that King Itachi needed to know the flat truth.

 Itachi gave Temari a red eyed glare, “I thought I ordered you never to mention that one.” He growled. Temari gave an involuntary shiver and held up her hands in surrender, “I'm just stating the facts. I actually like this one. She's not a spoiled brat like that last girl, she seems to actually care for this place and it's people. Including you. So don't muck it up with those ever twisting speeches of yours.” Temari snapped, poking the Goblin King in the chest. King Itachi didn't show any outward surprise, but inside he was shocked that Temari was able to pick up such things from her new mistress. He hadn't noticed at first, but now that he thought about it, Itachi realized that the fey girl was right. Kanari was a perfect match for this place, and for him. His eyes slowly darkened until they returned to normal. He turned to Temari, “I shall leave her in peace... for now.” The servant bowed, her face surprised. Itachi never backed down from anything, for him to do so would be like Prince Sasuke apologizing.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 I hadn't left my room in days. No matter how many times Temari tried to convince me, I refused to leave the safety of my room and risk getting emotionally attached again. I didn't care if I stayed in this room for the rest of my life, I wasn't going to look or speak to either member of the goblin royalty ever again. I curled up on the window seat, watching the strange fey birds circling in the orange tinted sky, their beautiful and haunting cries hypnotizing me. I laid my head against the crystal window and closed my eyes, letting the melody wash over me, to sooth my heavy heart...

 Sudden knocking shook me from my trance-like state. I glared at the closed double doors, “What?” I snapped, angry to be interrupted. Instead of answering the doors burst open and I couldn't help the scream that escaped from my lips. Some... thing stood hunched over in the doorway. At first I thought it was King Itachi, but it was something else entirely. It's entire body was a shiny black, like that of a beetle's carapace, and skeletal. Red eyes, bright as blood, glowed like embers, filled with murder and malicious thoughts. Long white fangs glistened with something unnameable jutted out from the too small mouth.

 The creature gave a low gurgling growl and scuttled forward. I screamed again and scrambled backwards until my back hit the window. For some reason this creature reminded me of Itachi, and I didn't know why. It opened it's horrible mouth and screamed, it was strange and horrifying to hear my own scream coming from the abomination. The creature took one more step and froze, it's swollen head tilted as if listening for something. Then I heard it, a soft and comforting voice, whispering incoherent things in my ear. A look of dim confusion passed through the creature's sunken, glowing eyes and it shrieked again, only this time out of agony; it's body began to smoke as it folded in on itself like a wet dishrag.

 Slowly I followed the ghostly trail away from the creature, my mind leaving the horrid place to somewhere safe and warm. Where the soft voice belonged to...

 vvv

 "...nari, wake up. You're alright, safe. Kanari... wake up..." The voice that had brought me back kept murmuring, taking on a form that I recognized. Itachi. Itachi's voice had dragged me back from that strange dream world I hadn't even known I entered and back into the Fey world, back to my bed. A small whimper crawled out of me and I moved a little closer to him, clinging just a little tighter to him. I refused to open my eyes and face the possibility that maybe whatever had happened wasn't a dream and that evil thing was real. I felt the Goblin King stiffen in the slightest when I tightened my grip, then he relaxed and continued to sooth me, "It was just a dream, Kanari... it's okay, you're safe now." He whispered. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out excepted a hitching gasp. Itachi wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on the top of my head, "Shhhh... you don't have to speak. It wasn't real, they're never real."

 "What was it?" I managed to ask after a moment of silence, when my heart calmed back down to a normal pace. Itachi didn't answer for a long time, then he said, "A Nightmare." I pulled away, looking to see if he was teasing me. The king looked dead serious, "What do you mean?" I asked. Itachi sighed and slowly stood up, holding me in his arms. Slowly he lead me to the window and pointed, one arm still around my shoulders, "Nightmares. They're creatures under my rule that bring out a victim's greatest fears." He stated, but I was hardly listening to him as I watched the creatures flying in the air. What I had thought were strange fey birds were really black skeletal horses with bat-like wings soaring though the air, their mane and tail made of shadowy ribbons. I shuddered and turned my face away into Itachi's chest, they reminded me of the horrible creature in my dream. Itachi had said that they take on a person's worst nightmare. So what had mine been? I knew the creature in my dream looked like Itachi, but what did that have anything to do with it?

 Itachi lead me back to bed, "Just lay down. Sleep.” He whispered, pushing me down gently. I clung to his shirt, “What if they come back?” I asked, my eyes wide with panic. Itachi stared at me for a minute, his dark eyes unreadable, then he climbed into bed beside me. I stiffened and blushed, but didn't move away. I knew I shouldn't trust him, he was the reason why I was here alone in this strange world, but I couldn't help feeling protected around him. “I'll stay with you...” He whispered softly in my ear, his arms wrapping around my waist as I started to drifted away into a dreamless sleep. The last thing I felt as I succumbed to sleep was Itachi's warm lips on my forehead, comforting me.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Sakura slammed her locker closed, if one more person shot her a pointed look at her she was going to call for the goblins to take them to the Labyrinth. It wasn't her fault that she looked anorexic, she had no appetite to speak of. Sakura wanted to eat, but everything tasted like ash in her mouth and made her gag. Her parents already threatened to send her to a shrink if she didn't eat. To avoid that humiliation, Sakura learned to eat in front of her parents and hold her food in until they were out of sight. The minute Mebuki and Kizashi were gone Sakura was vomiting in the sink. The pink haired girl was really starting to hate it, not being able to eat was dragging her down; but she didn't seem able to sleep either, which added to her misery. Now it was lunch and Sakura had no clue what to do. She couldn't sit around pretending like everything was perfect then end up puking. And she couldn't skip, that would only fuel the fire that she had become an anorexic.

 Sakura groaned and turned to walk toward the cafeteria, she should have thought ahead on this. Dimly she wondered if this would continue or if it was only a phase that would pass. She hoped desperately for the latter, Sakura knew she would die if she didn't eat and that scared her. To survive the Labyrinth only to die of starvation, how ironic. If it wasn't such a dire situation, Sakura would have laughed. Her friend, Hinata, was waiting for her at the large metal double doors that lead to the cafeteria, fretting as always. Sakura smiled wanly at her friend, “Hey.” She rasped. Hinata's brow pricked with worry, “Sakura, are you okay?” She whispered, her pearl eyes scanning Sakura's super thin body. It had only been four days since Sakura returned from the Labyrinth and already her clothes hung on her. “I'm-” Sakura started, but she fainted before another word could pass though her lips.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Hinata yelped when her friend fainted, sagging under Sakura's sudden weight. “Help!” She called out, but no one heard her. Struggling to shift Sakura so she wasn't in danger of falling down, Hinata called out again, screaming. Still no one came. Hinata felt tears pricking her pearl colored eyes, was she going to have to hold Sakura up until someone came around? And how long would that be? Hinata grunted, for someone who was skin and bones, Sakura was heavy.

 “Need help?” Someone asked behind Hinata, the girl turned to see a boy her age leaning against the wall of the cafeteria. Hinata should have felt relieved that someone had finally come to help, but something about this guy seemed off. It could be that she had never seen him before, and there was no rumor of a new kid. So what was he doing here? On top of that, he looked extremely dangerous. His dark blue hair was spiked in the back and  his black eyes were depthless. He wore all black, from the black jeans to the black leather jacket, the only color he had was a small red and white fan charm hanging from his neck. His choice of clothing should have made him appear sickly with that pale skin, but it made him look even more dangerous.

 Hinata didn't trust him, but he was her best shot in helping Sakura, “Um, yes... can you help me take her to the nurse?” Hinata asked, blowing some of her dark hair out of her face. The boy came forward and easily took Sakura in his arms, as if she weighed nothing. “I'll take her. Go eat lunch.” He said dully. Hinata frowned, it could be that it was her paranoia or the way he spoke, but Hinata got the feeling that if she let him take Sakura, Hinata would never see her friend again, “I'll go with you.” She stated. The boy frowned and Hinata swore she saw a flash of red in his eyes, “It's alright, I can do it myself.”

 Now Hinata knew something was definitely wrong. This boy wouldn't turn down help so determinedly unless he had malicious intent. Still Hinata kept her face carefully polite, “You seem new, what's your name?” The boy didn't seem to like this change in tactic, instead of answering he turned and started to walk away. “Hey!” Hinata called out and reached out to grab his sleeve just as shadow enveloped him. Hinata screamed, but the outside world didn't hear her.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Knocking on my door brought my head up from the book I was reading. Ever since the freaky Nightmare encounter last week I had asked Itachi if I could borrow books over the Labyrinth and its inhabitants. He had readily agreed. So far I had finished four books, one over the basic history of the Labyrinth, another of creatures to avoid in all the Faerie Realms, the last two were over the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Apparently the Labyrinth had once been apart of the Unseelie court, but defected centuries ago under King Fugaku, Itachi and Sasuke's father. The book I was reading now was about the goblin race in general.

 “Yes?” I called and Temari slid the door open her eyes wide, “Kanari... King Itachi wants you in the throne room, now.” She said timidly. I frowned, wondering why I was needed and why Temari seemed so freaked by it. Shaking my head I placed a pressed flower in the spine of the goblin book and shut it gently. When I had asked Itachi for a bookmark he picked one of the flowers in the garden and gave it to me. I thought the gesture was oddly sweet and knew I would treasure the pressed flower for eternity. Standing I followed Temari down the long halls towards the throne room.

 A voice I recognized all to well reached me long before Temari and I reached the throne room, “What is going on?! How did I- What... I-I-I-” I walked into the room and there was Hinata staring around the throne room with bewildered pearl eyes. Itachi was looming in front of his throne, glaring down at Sasuke, his eyes spinning wildly with red. Sasuke, who usually looked indifferent when he pissed his older brother off, seemed very uncomfortable; but that could have been the fact that he was wearing modern human clothes instead of his usual elegant clothing. Hinata seemed freaked out about the Goblin King's strange eyes, like I had been when running the Labyrinth, but I hardly noticed anymore, and that surprised me.

 Sakura's friend spotted me before I could think about my revelation, “KANARI!!!” She shrieked and dashed for me, wrapping her arms around me. I held her close, I didn't really know Sakura's friend, but I knew that she needed someone vaguely familiar at the moment. Smoothing back her rich black hair I shushed her, feeling her whole body shake with sobs. Hinata didn't deserve this. No one did. Not Akanbou, not me, Sakura, or any of the past runners. Still I was stuck here, by my own will in my desire to save my sister. Hinata however...

 I shot a fierce glare over the young girl's head at Sasuke, “Why is she here?” I growled. Sasuke looked indignant, as if he didn't want me to find a backbone, “She grabbed a hold of me when I came back here.” He snapped. I narrowed my eyes, “And why were you in the human world?” I snarled. Itachi answered before his younger brother could, “Kanari...” I glared at him, “Did you have something to do with this?” I snapped. It surprised me how desperately I wanted him to say no. Itachi glared at Sasuke as he told me, “No. My foolish little brother went into the human world without my permission.” Both Sasuke and I opened out mouths to say something, but the Goblin King spoke before we could, “You have gone against my orders, Sasuke, for disobeying I forbid you to see Sakura until I deem fit.” Sasuke looked like he wanted to argue, but knew better.

 I had a bad feeling that Itachi didn't mean going into the human world to visit Sakura. I eyed him, hugging Hinata closer, “Where is Sakura...?” I asked, my eyes darting between the brothers. Hinata was the one who answered, “Sh-She... He- That thing... t-t-to-took h-h-her, a-and-” The poor girl fainted before she could finish. I yelped at her sudden weight and would have fallen over, if Itachi hadn't intervened. He wrapped one arm around Hinata, pulling her off of me, and the other arm around my shoulders, keeping me upright. Instinctively I grabbed his clothing, burying my face in his chest. I knew what Hinata was trying to say, that Sakura was here and my sacrifice was wasted because of a selfish Goblin Prince. Silently I let the tears come.

 vvv

 “She'll be right as rain as soon as we get food in her belly, don't worry!” A blonde girl chirped happily as I stared at my unconscious sister. Only a week had past since I had last saw her and it looked like she had been starving herself for months. Sakura's skin sagged over her bones, having barely any nutrition. I looked up at the blonde girl, “What happened to her?” I asked hoarsely. The blonde girl, I think she said her name was Ino, never lost that smile, “That's what happens when a mortal eats Fey food and returns to the human world. She's lucky that Prince Sasuke grabbed her when he did, another hour and she would have died.” I closed my eyes to ward off a glare and crossed my arms, tucking my chin into my chest. It wasn't fair that what Sasuke did was the right thing to do. It meant I couldn't be mad at him.

 Then a thought occurred to me, if this fey girl knew about the rule, then both Itachi and Sasuke knew, which implied that they knew all along that Sakura would have to come back to the Labyrinth, or die alone. Anger whelmed in me and I found myself standing and walking towards the door. I didn't stop to explain where I was going to Ino when she called after me. I needed to find a certain king and give him a piece of my mind. The prince would do in a pinch though. I really didn't care who I talked to but one of the Goblin Royals was going to hear from me, and soon!

 I mindlessly wandered through the Goblin Palace until I found Itachi standing under my willow tree, watching the surface of the lake ripple from the fish dancing underneath it. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, his onyx eyes serious and knowing, he knew why I had come here, before he turned his gaze away again. “Why didn't you tell me?!” I screamed at him, feeling the hot tears prick the backs of my eyes, but I didn't know why I was crying; was I crying because Sakura was stuck with me, or because Itachi betrayed my trust again? Itachi didn't look at me, he just kept watching the water, “For this exact reason.” He said, using the voice that had haunted me throughout the Labyrinth. “She's my sister! You should have told me! You should have-” Itachi cut me off with a fierce glare, “Should have done what? I am the king of the Goblins, you are a lowly human staying here willingly. You had the chance to go home but you wasted it on your foolish sister.” He growled, his voice icy. The tears were running freely now, pouring down my cheeks in an endless flow. Had it been only last week that this man was holding me against him, repelling those awful Nightmares? Only hours ago that he once again held me as I cried?

 I slapped him. Itachi didn't even flinch or looked surprised. He just stood there, watching me, before turning back to watch the water silently. With a final sob I turned and ran away, I ran away from the man who broke my heart like it was nothing. I wanted to go home, to leave this dreadful place behind, but I couldn't. I couldn't leave Sakura here to suffer like I had. Running blindly down the halls I finally managed to escape to my room. There I pushed past Temari without explanation and flung myself down on the bed, letting the flood gates open and all the tears I had kept pent up ever since I sent Sakura back to the human realm loose.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Hinata stayed curled up in the corner of the recovering room, or wherever she was. Sakura laid placidly on a nearby bed, bright little floating lights bobbing around her, their glows flickering periodically. Hinata had no clue what had happened. One minute she was arguing with the dark boy whether she should accompany him to the nurse's office, the next she was stuck in this twisted place.

 Things had started looking up when Hinata saw Kanari walk in wearing a beautiful floor length silk green dress, like the ladies in the medieval times. That was until she started arguing with the two dark looking men, Hinata realized then that Kanari wasn't the same. As she got a closer look at the older girl, Hinata saw small things had changed. Kanari was always beautiful, she never had a problem with self-consciousness, but when Hinata saw her, Kanari looked even more beautiful. Her skin seemed to glow and her green eyes were larger and brighter, framed with even thicker eyelashes. Kanari's hair seemed more white then blonde, like the color had bled from her hair, but it worked for her. It made Kanari seem dangerous and regal, almost...fey.

 Hinata shivered and hugged her knees even tighter around her, the Kanari she knew had definitely changed. Hinata wasn't sure if this new Kanari was the same as the one she knew as Sakura's stepsister.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Soft knocking brought me out of my pity party, “Go away.” I moaned out, my voice scratching from wailing. The door opened anyway, “Um... Lady Kanari...? King Itachi said for me to tell you that you were to figure out what we should do with the human girl...” Someone I didn't recognize stuttered. I twisted to see a girl with mousy brown hair peeking around my door timidly, her eyes wide with something akin to fear. It surprised and scared me how satisfied I felt to see the poor girl frightened of me, though I did not know why. I sat up, rubbing the back of my hand across my eyes, “What are you talking about?” I asked, a little sharper than necessary. The girl fidgeted then said, “The girl... that Prince Sasuke brought back... the one who wasn't here before.”

 My frown deepened, “Hinata? What do you want me to do with her?” “I-I don't know m-my lady, King I-It-Itachi said that you were to decide her f-f-ate. A-And and if you had a-any q-q-q-q-questions y-you were supposed to a-a-ask him.” The poor girl bobbed a quick curtsey and was gone before I could question her farther. I crossed my arms, I was not going near Itachi until I knew I could do so without bursting into tears. What he had said at the lake... my chin trembled just thinking of it. I shoved away my feelings, it Itachi wanted me to find a place for Hinata, I would do so without his help. “Temari!” I called and my maid/friend called in, her dark teal eyes watching cautiously. “Do you need something?”

 I stood and began to pace, wanting something to occupy myself while I spoke, “King Itachi wants me to settle in Hinata, what do you think I should do?” Temari blinked at me, her eyes wide, “No one has ever asked me my opinion...” She whispered. I spun on her, my eyes wide, surprised by the fact. Temari was so wise, it was shocking to hear no one ever asked her opinion. Shaking my head I returned to the matter at hand, “But what should I do?” I insisted. Temari blinked, coming out of her own daze, and turned to me, “Can this girl be returned to the human world?” Temari asked me, I shook my head, Hinata had fainted and that qualified as sleeping in the fey realms; when I told Temari she hummed, “That complicates things. I assume that King Itachi already took her family's memories of her then, so they won't go looking for her. The best thing to do now is to just give her a room and... Lady Kanari?” She broke off when I sat down hard on my bed, suddenly unable to stand.

 I had stopped listening when Temari mentioned taking memories. Tears sprang anew to my eyes, burning them. I blinked to clear them away, but they weren't leaving. Slowly I sank into the bed, “Itachi... takes people's memories?” I asked though the lump in my throat. Temari opened her mouth to say something, then stopped, unsure what to do. She stood there while I buried my face in my hands and cried once again. If what she said was true, then would Sakura even remember me? Did Itachi take her memories of me so I would suffer when Sakura was forced to come back? And what about my parents? How could Itachi cut me out of my mother's life? I was her pride and joy, how could she possibly forget me?

 A gentle hand touched my shoulder and I slapped at it, I just wanted to be left alone; I had suffered enough in this hellish place. The hand grabbed my wrist, stopping my attempts to shove the person away from me. That caught my attention, if it had been Temari, she would have left me alone. And the only person I had really kept company with was...

 Itachi's dark eyes stared back into my own green ones. Slowly he reached over with his free hand and brushed a stray lock from my face, “Your maid says I have been exceedingly cruel to you.” He said softly. I glanced over Itachi's shoulder in time to see Temari slipping from my rooms, the door clicking softly behind her. I didn't even hear her leave the first time to go fetch the King. I looked back into Itachi's depthless eyes, “D-Do you take memories?” I asked. His fingers brushed up my jawline, pushing my white blonde hair away from my face, “Only when it is necessary.” He said softly.

 I was too exhausted to be angry, “When it's necessary? When is taking someone's memory necessary?!” I asked, but there was no fight in my voice. I was tired of fighting. Itachi tilted his head, his low ponytail curling around his shoulder, “Would you rather have your parents worrying sick and grieving about your whereabouts? Or have them blissfully ignorant that you were ever alive?” I knew the answer, but didn't say it. It would be better that my parents never knew I existed, it would save them the pain of losing their daughter. Instead of telling Itachi what he obviously already knew I asked, “Did you... take Sakura's memories?” How desperately I wanted him to say no, I would do anything for Itachi to give me what I wanted. Itachi smiled gently and leaned over to kiss my forehead, “I may be powerful, Kanari, but I am still unable to control the minds of my subjects; you're sister still retains her memories of you, do not worry.”

 I looked down at my hand in my lap, “I'm tired of being left out, Itachi... You say I'm not a prisoner here, but I feel like it. I have to figure a lot of thing out by myself, but... I'd rather learn it from you.” Shyly I glanced up at Itachi, his dark eyes unusually kind, he held a hand out to me, “Walk with me and I'll tell you my reasons.” He said. I blinked, for the brief time I had known him, Itachi wasn't one to be very open about anything. I eagerly accepted his hand, wondering what he could possibly have to say.

 vvv

 Itachi took me to the gardens, not that I was surprised, Itachi knew how much I loved the gardens. As we strolled along the path through the small emerald green hills, I sighed. After all the ups and downs I had rode through the past few days, the garden was a nice change of pace. Itachi was silent for a while before saying, “You're not the first runner who stayed here.” That surprised me, to say the least. “Then... why haven't I heard of her?” I asked. Itachi glanced at me, “Because I refuse to let my subjects talk about her. She was... a problem... for everyone.” I opened my mouth to say something, but Itachi held up a hand, “Please, let me finish.” He said politely and my jaw snapped shut. Itachi eyed me for a moment, as if testing if I would speak or not, and continued, “When she was running, Yakkaina seemed to be on top of things, nothing could faze her. I had never met anyone like her before. Needless to say, Yakkaina defeated the Labyrinth and got her baby sister back. I then gave her the choice of staying here. Surprisingly Yakkaina took me up on my offer, and I gave her the room you have now.

 “At first I didn't notice any changes. Around me Yakkaina acted like she always did, a little clingy, but I knew I could get used to it. I trusted Yakkaina, and thus I kept no secret from her, much to my later regret. A week after she chose to stay, I began getting complaints from the cooks, Temari, and a few goblins. When I asked Yakkaina about it, she played innocent, saying she had no idea why my subjects were lying to me. I foolishly believed her and punished those who were complaining. It wasn't too long before I started getting even more complaints, but I dismissed them all. Finally my younger brother began informing me of some of Yakkaina's activities, she had been abusing the power I gave her for cruel purposes. I knew I couldn't ignore it anymore; I threw her out of the Labyrinth with the threat of death if she ever came back and made to silence my subjects in case any future runner, such as yourself, decided to stay.” Itachi finished. I stared straight ahead, trying to process what Itachi had just told me. Finally I gave a small laugh, “And here I thought I had it bad.” I said in a desperate attempt to make things light.

 Itachi faced me, his expression still serious but there was a spark of need deep within his dark eyes now, “Kanari... I haven't been fair to you. I gave you everything you needed, but not the one thing you wanted.” He said softly, pushing a stray hair away from my face. I blushed and looked down, dimly wondering where the evil Goblin King from the Labyrinth had gone, not that I missed him, “And.. what is the thing I... w-want?” I asked huskily, meeting his bold gaze. The king leaned down a little so that our lips were inches apart, “My trust.” He whispered back, but he came no closer to my mouth. I was surprised how much I wanted him to kiss me, how much I needed him to. Itachi leaned in even closer, but still not kissing me, “But, I also want your trust in return.” He said so softly I almost didn't hear him.

 I knew what he was asking, and I was willing to give it. I came the rest of the way and tenderly pushed my lips to his, my breath coming in fast and short. I could feel Itachi smile against my lips before he began kissing me back. Over and over again, he rained down small quick kisses upon my starved lips. I whimpered, going weak at the knees. I would have fallen if Itachi hadn't wrapped his strong arms around my waist, pulling me ever closer. Painfully close, smashing my body to his, but I did not feel the pain for my nerves were singing with a deep pleasure. My lips parted on their own accord and his tongue swept in, filling my mouth with his intoxicating taste, pushing against my own wet muscle demanding for a reaction. My tongue quivered in response and began stroking Itachi's tongue slowly, enticing a moan from the king of Goblins. This wasn't the seductive kiss Itachi gave me in the Oubliette, or the gentle kiss on the forehead on the day I had a run in with the Nightmares. It was both and more, in ways I couldn't try to explain.

 Itachi pulled away, satisfied by my reaction if the smirk that graced his wonderful lips was anything to go by. I blinked up at him, “If you had kissed my like that in the beginning I would have stayed with you.” I managed to say after a while. Itachi's smirk softened into a tender smile, “But then I would not have learned your strength, I would have thought you weak to be won over by a kiss.” He said softly. I groaned a little and buried my face in his chest, rubbing my nose against the smooth fabric of his ebony shirt and inhaling his masculine scent, “Anyone could be won over by that kiss, even the most stone hearted crone.” I grumbled. I felt more than heard Itachi's chuckle, “Indeed, but I am still glad the way things have played out the way they did. Come, I am sure your sister is awake by now.” Itachi said as he began leading me back towards the castle. I should have felt pain and sorrow at the reminder that my sister had returned here, but I was too happy to care.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Sakura flung another colored orb at the wide eyed fey girl, “Get the hell away from me, you freak!!” The pink haired girl shrieked as the colored orb shattered against the wall behind the fey girl, purple light dispersed from the glass and disappeared into thin air. Sakura reached out to grab another orb, but there was none in reach, so Sakura reached for the next best thing, a glass of water sitting on the table along side her bed, “LEAVE ME ALONE!” Sakura cocked her arm back, ready to throw, when none other than Prince Sasuke stormed in, “What is going on in here?” He snapped, dark eyes flaring red as he looked from the fey girl to Sakura then to the five shattered orbs littering the ground. Sakura aimed at him instead, but the Goblin Prince dodged more easily than the fey girl. He bared his teeth like a wild animal and began stalking towards her, his intent of harm showing clearly in his eyes.

 The fey girl bravely leapt in front of her prince, “Highness, p-please... she needs rest a-and-” When Sasuke's eyes swung towards her, the fey girl paled and she cut off what she was going to say, but she still didn't move from Sasuke's path. The prince raised his arm, as if to back hand the poor girl, but Sakura screamed. Not because of the drama unfolding in front of her, but because of the two figures standing in the door way. She scrambled from the bed, the sheets tangling around her legs, and pounced on her sister, causing Kanari to fall back against the Goblin King, who caught both of them while glaring at his younger brother. Sakura clung to her older sister, “Kanari! I'm so glad you're okay, I was so worried that they were being awful to you! It's horrible, Kanari, your mom doesn't know who you are and I couldn't eat or sleep and- and...” She broke of with a sob and buried her face into Kanari's neck. Sakura hated crying, but this time she couldn't help it.

 Kanari laughed and wrapped her own arms around Sakura, “It's okay, Sakura. Everything will be explained in time, you just need to get some rest.” Kanari soothed, petting her sister's pink hair as she sobbed. The king spoke behind them, “Actually, it would be more wise if she ate something.” Sakura turned runny eyes towards the king of Goblins, “I'm not eating anything here! You can't pull that one over me again!” She snapped, glaring at King Itachi. The fey shrugged, “Then you will starve for eternity. Sasuke, I wish to speak with you... alone.” Prince Sasuke shivered a little and reluctantly slouched forward, he opened his mouth as if to defend himself, but Itachi snapped his fingers and his younger brother's jaw snapped shut by itself. King Itachi then grabbed Sasuke by the collar and proceeded to drag the prince away.

 vvv POV change vvv

 When the Goblin royals were gone Sakura straightened and grabbed my hand, “Come on, we can escape while they're occupied. All we have to do is find Gaara and he'll lead us away!” Sakura said and started to walk in the opposite direction that the direction Itachi had taken Prince Sasuke. I stayed where I was, drawing my sister up short. Sakura shot me a funny look, “Kanari? Let's go, before those two come back!” She said, sounding a little confused at my reluctance. I shook my head, “I'm not leaving, Sakura. I like it here.” Sakura shot me a disbelieving look, “Kanari, did they brainwash you or something? This is the Labyrinth! Of course you want to leave.” She said, sounding so certain, it killed me to tell her otherwise, “Sakura, you haven't seen what I seen, or did what I do. Trust me, the Labyrinth was the worst part of everything, in the castle it's so much better. Itachi is so nice, everyone is! You'll like it here if you give it a chance.” I said eagerly. It wasn't until the words left my lips that I realized how much it was true. Itachi's kingdom had it's faults, but it was still a paradise. In the back of my mind I wondered when exactly I had fallen in love with the place.

 Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off, “Hinata is here too. She grabbed Sasuke when he brought you here and ended up being dragged along.” Sakura snorted, “Then we find her and take her with us.” She said decisively, as if it were that simple. I exhaled exasperatedly, “And go where? The minute any of us return to the Mortal World, we'll die.” That didn't seem to bother Sakura, she just shrugged, “Then we'll hide out somewhere near the Labyrinth gates and warn future runners of their fate. Or maybe we can find a nice place where people treat us better.” I rolled my eyes, Sakura didn't understand how dangerous the world outside the Labyrinth was. But then, neither did I. I frowned as doubts began to wash over me, I only knew what Itachi told me. He made it seem as if the Labyrinth was the safest haven in the Faerie Realms. “I want your trust in return,” That was what he said; my trust for his. Could Itachi be lying about that? It wouldn't be the first time he lied to me, I had thought that staying in Sakura's place would save my sister, but it only trapped both of us.

 Sakura tugged on my arm again, and this time I didn't balk, “It's about time you understand what I'm getting at. This place is full of lies and danger” My stepsister muttered under her breath as she dragged me though the halls. I followed her blindly, like a small child clinging to her mother's hand. Sakura, not knowing the Goblin Halls as well as I, managed to get lost in no time. Frustrated she kicked a wall and turned to me, “Kanari, you know how to get out of here, and how to find Hinata.” It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. Still in my hazy despair I lead Sakura to where the Goblin King had put Hinata until I could find a better place for her, it looked nothing more than a broom closet. Hinata was awake by the time we reached her, and sobbing uncontrollably. I stood there dumbly as she clung to Sakura, tears rushing from her eyes like waterfalls. Was this how I should have acted when a chance of escape was presented to me? Then why did I feel so guilty and torn? Was Sakura right and King Itachi did brainwash me into believing that he could care for me? Was it all a lie from the start?

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Itachi stared deeply into the crystal in his hand, his eyes shining red with anger as he watched the three mortal girls leave with that red haired gatekeeper. Sasuke leaned over his brother's shoulder, “That's why you dragged me away? To test that girl of yours? Seems she failed, pity. I kind of like her.” The Prince mused, deliberately mocking his older sibling. Itachi shot a withering glare at Sasuke, who looked away quickly. It wasn't often Itachi showed his anger, and when he did there was reason to fear. Not even Itachi's younger brother would be safe from his wrath. Sasuke glanced back at his brother lounging casually on the menacing goblin throne. Itachi didn't seem to have any intention of going after the girls.

 Sasuke couldn't help but ease his curiosity, “You're not going after them?” Itachi shot his brother another dark look and looked intently back into the crystal ball, “Why chase after something that is sure to come back?” He asked, his voice void of all emotion. Sasuke gave a small shake of his head and left. The Prince couldn't believe that was was actually starting to miss the other Itachi, the one who seemed so... happy around Kanari. Sasuke couldn't believe he was actually wishing for the girl to return and bring back the peace that had dominated the Labyrinth while she was here.

 Dimly he wondered how Sakura would fare now that she was back to full health. She always did seem stronger than her sister, the Prince had to admit reluctantly that he did admire the pink haired girl for that. But then he couldn't deny that Kanari was far more logical than her younger sister. Sakura's lack of logic would be her downfall. Sasuke grinned, the day Sakura blundered would be the day that Sasuke swooped in and picked up his prize.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 I shivered and rubbed my arms, stupid freak snowstorm in the middle of stupid no where. We all sat huddled under a snow drift, crowded together to try and preserve warmth. The snowstorm had come without any kind of warning, giving us no chance to find wood to build a fire. Gaara, knowing how to survive out in the harsh Faerie climates, was smart enough to find a leeward depression in a large rock, big enough to provide shelter out of the howling winds. Shakily I brought my hands up to my mouth to blow warm air on them. It wasn't even a minute that we had stepped out of the Labyrinth gate, with the help of Gaara, that I already regretted my decision. But Sakura and Hinata needed me, no matter how much I wanted to be with Itachi. Besides it was too late to go back now. Gaara had taken the extra step to warm me that Itachi would likely kill me the minute I showed my face to him.

 Gaara was the only one who knew of my reluctance of leaving, but then he had seen how Itachi had treated me, so he could understand why I felt a false attachment to the Goblin King. Just before the snowstorm crept up on us the red head had taken me aside and warned me not to say Itachi's name out loud. When I asked him why, his answer surprised me: because I had bonded with the Goblin King and was well in danger of becoming Itachi's mate. Should I even speak his name, Itachi would know exactly where I was. But as the cold settled deep into my bones, I stared to entertain the idea of calling for Itachi's help and forgoing the risk of being killed.

 Sakura moaned in the cold, pressed up against Hinata, “Where did this fucking blizzard crop up from?” She asked, her teeth chattering loudly. I glared at her, “Watch your language.” I growled instinctively, Sakura's father didn't mind what she said before he married my mother and as a result her loose tongue was a problem- a problem that my mother and I tried to fix. Sakura glared at me, ever since we had left the Labyrinth, Sakura had kept me at a distance, “Or what? Will you go tell your mom? She can't remember you ever existed!” Gaara and Hinata shifted uncomfortable, probably wishing they were anywhere but here at the moment, and not just because of the storm. At least that jab told me Itachi hadn't been lying about one thing- he really did erase me from my mom's memories.

 “I would rather her not remember me then be suffering with grief and wondering where I am.” I said calmly despite my anger that was boiling under my skin. Sakura scoffed loudly over the wailing wind, “Is that you speaking, or that Goblin King of yours?” She snapped. I narrowed my eyes at her, dimly wondering why I wasn't exploding with anger yet. I hadn't been one to keep my temper in check, not even around a powerful being like Itachi. Was the cold dousing my rage? Or was it something else? I lifted my chin, “Does it matter? What I say is true.” I asked. Sakura threw up her hands, “Ugh! You're just like them! Speaking in riddles and responding to questions with vague answers. You even look like a stupid fey, all white haired and otherworldly beautiful!” Under any other circumstances I would have taken her comment as a compliment.

 Gaara tried to step in then, “Now Sakura, Kanari can't help that she changed, that's what happens when a mortal becomes a subject to King Ita-” Sakura cut him off with a wave of her arms in my direction, “And that's another thing! Since when did you become that bastard's subject?! I thought no one owned you, Kanari!” My younger step sister finished with a scream that caused some snow resting precariously atop the ledge of the rock to fall. I raised an eyebrow, “Are you finished yet? Or are you determined to bury us in the snow?” I asked calmly. Given my insecure feelings about leaving Itachi, I was surprised I was so calm. How could I be, with the raging whirlwind of confusing emotions swirling in me?

 Sakura was breathing heavily, but she made no move to speak again. I spoke, “Good, now listen to me. I became his subject when I gave up my freedom in bargain for yours, however wasteful it was. The King was kind to me, so forgive me if I ever had doubts about leaving the immediate second you come waltzing back into my life, rocking the world I was just beginning to settle in. Also, he does not own me, I am still myself, even if I have physically changed. So don't think for a second I will kick you into next week if you ever take that condescending tone with me!” I ended with a shout. Hinata leaned away from Sakura and I, her face white as the snow around us. Gaara snorted a laugh and shook his head ruefully, “Boy you would make a great Goblin Queen.” He muttered to himself. I frowned at the red head, “What was that?” Though I knew what he meant, I still wanted to hear him.

 Gaara sneered at me and Sakura, “Still haven't figured it out yet? Why King Itachi even bothers to bring young pretty girls to run his Labyrinth? It's not for pure entertainment purposes, though that is a big part.” Sakura frowned at her friend, “Why does he bring runners in then?” She asked, by the tone of her voice it seemed that she didn't want to know. I snorted at her naivety, “For wives, idiot. That's why they gave you the peach, to insure that at least one of us stayed here.” Gaara smirked, amused, “And that's why you would make a great Queen, you seem to be on top of all this.” He said. I glared at him, “I'll have you know I do not intend to become a queen anytime in the near future.” I snapped. Gaara was enjoying this too much, “But what you plan and what King Itachi plans is two very different things.” “Then King Itachi can-” My hand slapped over my mouth before I could finish.

 I had said Itachi's name out loud.

 Almost as if someone had turned a switch, the blizzard stopped. The only evidence that it was even there was the snow that still covered the ground in a thick blanket. A sudden dark menacing presence radiated from behind me. I didn't have to turn to know who it was, but I did anyway. Slowly I turned my head to look over my shoulder at the man who had occupied most of my thoughts from the moment I left the castle and shivered. If I thought Itachi had been frightening before, it was nothing compared to the sinister fey before me. If looks could kill, I would already be nothing but decomposing bones six feet under the ground.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Sasuke enjoyed the frightened looks of the two girls he currently held in chains, both waiting for their judgment from Itachi. Gaara lounged beside the Prince, having once again managed to sweet talk his way out of any punishment. Sasuke had to begrudgingly admire the red headed gatekeeper for his quick tongue, though Sasuke wondered if the gate keeper had been let off easily because Itachi wanted to rip into Kanari. Sasuke glanced at the two talking just out of ear shot. Kanari was on her knees, begging, tears visible against her cheeks, while Itachi stood there immobile, deaf to her pleas. Sasuke hadn't a clue how Kanari was going to survive this, the prince could already tell that Itachi was planning her murder.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 I had run out of things to say, now I just knelt there in the freezing snow, my tears dripping down my face, as I looked up at Itachi's blood red eyes. When it was clear I wasn't going to beg again, Itachi finally spoke. His voice colder than the snow around me, “Give me one good reason why I should trust you.” I swallowed and looked away. I couldn't think of any reason at all why the Goblin King should trust me after I betrayed him like I did. I timidly looked up at Itachi out of the corner of my eye, “I-I can't, but I will work hard to regain your trust in me.” There was no way to tell what Itachi was thinking, he still looked as expressionless as he did in the Labyrinth, if not more.

 Roughly the Goblin King grabbed my arm and dragged me to a stand. Leaning down he whispered harshly in my ear, “Do not think I will hesitate to cut you down if I even hear a rumor that you plan to betray me again, understand?” I cringed when his hand tightened on my upper arm, and nodded hurriedly. Itachi pulled back to look down at me, the menacing glare he had been giving me ever since he arrived took a malicious turn and he smirked, “I think I'm going to enjoy this.” He growled and I shivered. If ever I was afraid for my life, it was now.

 vvv

 “Where are we exactly?” I asked as Itachi lead, more like dragged, me into a room I had never been in before. I looked around, it was an elegant bedroom, but sparsely furnished. Nothing but a large bed, desk, and a chair adorned the room. Still, despite the lack of furniture, the room remained very elegant and... kingly. My eyes widened and I spun around to face Itachi. He stood in front of the closed doors of his bedroom, arms crossed over his chest, as if daring me to try and escape. The only scrap of emotion was the small sadistic smirk gracing his face, “Like it?” He asked smoothly. I shivered and back away. I would take even the indifferent King Itachi from the Labyrinth over this dark fey standing before me. “Why did you bring me here?” I asked, my voice raising to a squeak.

 Itachi took a step towards me and I took a step back, feeling like cornered prey. It didn't help that Itachi's red eyes held a predatory gleam deep within them. He took another step towards me and I took another away, maintaining the same distance between us. All too soon the backs of my knees met the edge of Itachi's bed. That was when Itachi lunged and tackled me to the bed, rendering me helpless beneath him. “Itachi... please don't.” I begged. He actually growled, “Refer to me as lord, majesty, or King Itachi; do not speak in such a familiar tone, girl.” His voice was so cutting, I wouldn't be surprised if his words scratched me. I blinked back tears, “P-please don't do this, Your Majesty. I'm begging you.”

 The Goblin King tilted his head, “Do what? So far I only have you pinned to my bed.” He said mockingly. I squeezed my eyes shut to keep in the tears that were threatening to spill over. “P-p-p-pl-please...” I whimpered, barely able to form words. The Goblin King scoffed and his weight disappeared from atop of me. Cautiously I cracked open an eye then opened both when I saw Itachi sitting at the edge of the bed, glaring at me. It could have been my imagination, but he looked almost... hurt? “Do you have no faith in me?” He snapped. I could feel my anger starting to finally make a comeback. I sat up, matching his glare with one of my own, “It's kind of hard to when you drag me to your bedroom, then proceed to lay on top of me. So forgive me, my king, if my faith in you is somewhat lacking!”

 “Oh you're one to talk. Who promises to trust me, then goes off on some foolish adventure with her deranged little sister?” Itachi snarled at me. “And I instantly regretted it. Do not think I left happily, Itachi.” I snapped back. Itachi's gaze turned deadly and I shivered, my anger fleeing back into the dark hole where it had been hiding since the blizzard. “Call me by my name again and you'll see how lenient I have been with you so far.” Itachi said, his tone colder than that of the blizzard's biting winds. I didn't say anything, having known I was pushing it. Itachi eyed me for a minute, probably thinking I was going to snap at him again, then scoffed, “Go to sleep.” He growled. My head whipped around to stare at him, “Here?” I squeaked. Itachi glared at me, “Until I trust you again, you can either stay by my side at all times, or join your sister in the dungeon.” Sakura forgive me, but I would much rather stay out of a Goblin prison, even if it meant staying glued to the fey who probably dreamed of murdering me now.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Sakura glared at Sasuke though the bars of her cell, “What does a prissy Goblin Prince need down here?” She growled at him. Sasuke smirked, letting the insult slide just this once, “I thought I'd tell you that Kanari is fine. I know you must be concerned for her.” Sakura stiffened, “What have you done to Kanari?” She asked, fearing the worse. After all, Kanari had the most to suffer of all of them. Sasuke snorted, “I haven't done anything to her, and neither has my brother, besides yell at her a little. Right now you sister is sleeping, not that I can say peacefully, but she is warm in a proper bed. Which is more than you have right now.” Sakura glared at the cocky prince, “Well isn't that just peachy? Now why don't you just skedaddle on out of here, now that you've played with my mind?”

 Sasuke knelt so he was face to face with Sakura, “I can't do that. You see, Itachi has given me strict orders not to let you out of my sight, in case you try anything funny.” Sakura barked a short laugh, “Where on earth am I going to go in this cell?” The pink haired girl asked. Sasuke smirked, “No where, but I have Itachi's orders, and no one disobeys the Goblin King.” Sakura wanted to hit that cocky little smile off the infernal prince's face, “Tell me, does Hinata get the royal treatment? Or is she lucky?” Sakura hissed. Sasuke smiled a true smile, which surprised Sakura, “Oh, Itachi deemed that she was just blindly following your idiotic idea. So she's staying in one of the guest rooms. In fact, Itachi firmly believes that all three of them, Kanari, Gaara, and Hinata, were tricked into following you out, that's why you're here and they're not.” Sakura glared hotly at the infernal prince, “Do you ever shut up? What happened to that brooding prince in the Labyrinth?”

 The Prince continued to smile, “You think I'm brooding, I'm flattered. Maybe things aren't so ruined between us as I feared.” He said in a mockingly cheerful voice. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, “Come near me and I'll castrate you...” She threatened and suddenly she was flush against the bars, her front digging painfully into the faerie metal bars, her feet dangling in the air. He moved so quickly that Sakura didn't even see him move. The pink haired girl swallowed at the look of raw anger flashing deep within Sasuke's ruby red eyes, “Should you even speak of such an act again, and I'll kill you in the slowest most painful way possible. Do you understand me, wench?” The fey prince growled, his face feral, all mocking playfulness a forgotten memory. Sakura nodded quickly, too scared to say anything.

 Without ceremony, Sasuke dropped her again and Sakura crumbled to the ground. The Prince was towering over her menacingly, he stayed there for a minute, making sure that the girl was good and scared, before he spun and left. Sakura leaned up against the brick wall of her cell, panting. Suddenly she understood why Kanari had been so fidgety during the blizzard, those Goblin Royals were dangerous. To even irritate one was to flirt with death.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Hinata sat in her bed, knees curled up against her chest. There was no way she was going to go to sleep, not in this place. She had thought they had been safe, but then Kanari had said the king's name and suddenly they were all back where they started... well almost. Sakura didn't start out in the dungeon. And Hinata had not a clue where Kanari disappeared off to. The Goblin King had snatched her away the minute he and the Goblin Prince dragged the four of them back. Gaara had disappeared too, but he seemed to be in on the whole trick anyway. Hinata wanted to go home, this place was like a strange endless nightmare. A nightmare of dark scary men with red eyes and blizzards that jumped out of no where and left just as quickly. Where the most hot tempered girl Hinata knew begging on her knees and tears in her eyes. Hinata shivered a little at that, she could handle strange things to a point, but when the familiar became one of those strange things was beyond what she could handle.

 The door opened and Hinata let out a reflexive scream and threw the closest thing to her, which happened to be a feather pillow. The person at the door let out a startled yelp and dodged the pillow with ease, “Sorry! I thought this room was empty.” Someone male said. That voice didn't belong to the king or prince or to Gaara, it was something new entirely. Hinata drew the covers up so that only her eyes and above were peaking out, “Who is that?” A bright green light came into being, illuminating a very cute boy's friendly face, “I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Sorry I bothered you, no one bothered to tell me- hey are you alright?” Naruto broke off in a panic when the girl slumped forward, her eyes fluttering closed.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 When Itachi opened the door to his room, he stopped. Kanari laid curled up on his bed exactly like he had left her, but that wasn't what pulled the Goblin King to a halt. The Nightmare that had Kanari under its influence flinched when it saw the king and made to fly away, but Itachi didn't move. He watched Kanari with cold eyes as she suffered in her dark dreams, giving no indication that he was going to save her this time. Itachi glanced at the cowering Nightmare, “What do you show her?” He asked, knowing that even if the Nightmare could speak, it would not offer up it's dark secrets.

 Instead Kanari answered Itachi's question by moaning, “Itachi... no, don't.” He glared at the girl, even in her sleep she thought less of him. Was she fearing that he would attack her, or ravish her? The Goblin King was tempted to bring light to her nightmares, but his honor restrained him; even if she did not deserve his mercy. The king scoffed to himself, who was he fooling? Itachi still found the girl intriguing, to say the least. Itachi stood over Kanari as she whimpered in her nightmare, twitching from wraiths only she could see. The King of Goblins found a sick joy in watching the girl who had betrayed him suffer from her self-induced dreams, though he wished it was not true. Kanari reached out to him then, her fingers searching across his wide bed for an anchor in her nightmare, “No... don't go. Please... Itachi.” She said softly and Itachi stiffened. She wasn't dreaming of him coming toward her with a malicious intent, but leaving her.

 Gently he laid his hand on hers and she sighed, the tension leaving her body as she finally found peace in her slumber. Itachi frowned, if she left him to go with her sister, then why did Kanari dream of the horror of him leaving her?

 vvv POV Change vvv

 It had been several weeks since King Itachi had brought us back from the fail escape attempt. Though he had been more patient towards me, the Goblin King was still not the same fey I knew from the gardens. The one who held me when I was suffering from the power of Nightmares, or brought me flowers to use as bookmarks. I sorely missed that version of Itachi. As I knelt beside King Itachi's throne, I wondered how many more personas the fey man had. He had already shown me three: The terrifying King who wouldn't hesitate to kill those closest to him, the master of the Labyrinth who enjoyed playing with the minds of his subjects, and the man beneath it all who gave small rare smiles and spoke of trust.

 “Bring the prisoner forward.” Itachi commanded and I couldn't stop fro cringing, to hear my sister referred in such a derogatory term hurt. Two tall (for goblins) guards came forward with my sister in chains. I cringed at the sight of her dirty form, but at least Itachi hadn't been cruel enough to starve her. My sister still had her fiery spirit, I could see it sparking in her sea green eyes as she glared at everyone in the room. The goblins holding Sakura forced her to her knees in the center of the throne room. Itachi leaned back in his throne, casually placing a hand upon my head. I couldn't believe how happy I was to feel his touch. I should be angry at the king, for treating me like I was some pet curled up at his side begging for attention, not wishing that he would hold me.

 Sakura seemed to be indignant enough for the both of us, “Hey, stop treating my sister like she's a beast craving your attention!” King Itachi tilted his head, “Are you ordering me?” He asked causally. Sakura glared hotly at the king, “Yes, you bastard! Let. My. Sister. GO!!” She shrieked. Prince Sasuke made a move to shut Sakura up, but Itachi help up a hand, “Let her speak.” He said calmly for someone who was just insulted, his fingers slowly combing though my hair. I pressed my lips together to suppress the moan begging to be released. Sakura didn't waste her chance, “You drag us both here, then proceed to torture us with your little mind games. Then you f***ing trick Kanari into thinking she could set me free, but dragged my ass back here and Hinata's along with it. After THAT, don't you think Kanari at least deserves some dignity to be left alone?!”

 Itachi just continued to stroke my hair, watching my sister rant with a dispassionate expression. When she finished he asked, “What would you do if someone whom you trusted deserted you for an enemy?” Sakura blinked, having no clue what he was getting at, but I did. He was talking about me. “What do you mean?” My sister asked cautiously. Itachi's expression didn't change, “How would you feel if that same person who broke your trust came back, begging to be let in your good graces again?” He asked, as if he didn't hear Sakura speak. Sakura blinked her sea-green eyes, then glared, “I'd tell that person to get lost, if they broke my trust then they don't deserve to live.” Itachi smirked, “So are you saying your sister should be put to death?” He questioned coolly. Sakura's eyes widened and flicked towards mine before going back to the Goblin King, “You wouldn't dare.” She growled at him.

 My king's eyes flashed red briefly, but his smirk stayed in place, “So far I have not. I am being merciful to Kanari even though, by your own mouth, she should be killed for betraying me.” He said. Sakura surged towards the king, but Sasuke grabbed her by the collar and forced her back to her knees, “That's not what I meant!” Sakura shouted. Itachi raised his eyebrows, “Oh? Then what did you mean?” Sakura snarled, “Kanari had every right to betray you, you had been tricking her and lying to her from the start! I meant if someone broke my trust with no grounds to break it, but Kanari had every grounds to break your trust. You don't deserve to even look at Kanari, she's too good for the likes of you. Do you hear me, shit-for-brains?! YOU CAN NEVER OWN KANARI!!” Sakura shrieked. Itachi remained impassive as he nodded to his brother. Sasuke smiled cruelly and withdrew a slim katana from seemingly no where. Slowly the Goblin Prince raised the sword above his head, ready to strike down my unsuspecting sister.

 I couldn't move. I sat there staring at Sakura as she continued to yell at Itachi, unaware of the danger behind her. As the blade began it's decent towards my sister, I turned to Itachi. He was watching me with dark eyes, as if expecting me to do something. “Please...” The single word left my lips and I reached out for him, Itachi didn't move. He continued to watch me. My fingers gently grazed his arm, latching on to his dark shirt, “If you must kill someone, my lord, take my life...” I whispered, my eyes silently pleading. Itachi's right index finger lifted barely a centimeter, but it was enough to stop Sasuke from killing my sister. The king leaned down and hissed at me, “You would throw your life away, after begging me for it just weeks earlier?” I looked down, my fingers still curled in the soft fabric of his shirt, “To save someone else... yes.”

 King Itachi leaned back, “Your sister is right, you are too good for me. Which is why...” Before I could even wonder what he was going to do, Itachi had a silver dagger at my throat, it's sharp point pricking at the tender skin, but I didn't flinch. Sakura screeched and surged against Sasuke, but the prince held her still. I just knelt by Itachi's throne, watching him with a surprising calmness. Itachi's eyes flared red and the world suddenly fell away.

 vvv

 I blinked and looked around at the blood red sky and barren black landscape. This was not the throne room I had been kneeling in a few moments ago. Was I dead? Or had I fainted and Itachi had dumped me here... where ever here was. “You are surprisingly calm for someone who is about to be killed.” A voice I knew too well said behind me. I turned slowly to look upon Itachi himself. The Goblin King stood before me, a black katana in each hand. I bowed my head, “Why should I be scared when I willingly give my life away?” I asked, more to myself than Itachi. The king scoffed a little, “You are starting to think like a fey.” He commented and I was reminded of our time alone in the Oubliette in what seemed like ages. So much had passed since I had been a runner in the Labyrinth. It felt like that was just a dream.

 My eyes flickered to the katanas, “Is that what will kill me?” I asked. Itachi smirked, “Yes, but first I have a question for you.” I met his glowing red eyes, eyes the exact shade of the sky behind him. I couldn't help but ask, “What is this place?” I glanced around to take in the scarce environment. Itachi raised an eyebrow, “Are you stalling, or are you truly curious?” He asked instead of answering. I eyed him, “What will you do if I say both?” I answered with a question. Itachi's red eyes narrowed a bit, but he didn't answer my question, instead he answered my original one, “This is the Tsukuyomi, a tool of the Mangekyu Sharingan, a place of torture and nightmares.” A spark of fear finally embedded itself in my heart, “The Mangekyu Sharingan? Is this… the death of darkest fears?” Itachi smirked, “Yes.” I looked down at the black ground beneath my feet. “Now... My question.” Itachi said and I met his gaze, defiant yet submissive. I would answer any question he asked truthfully, even if it cost me my life.

 Itachi leaned closer so that his lips were brushing my ear, “Do you trust me?” He whispered so lowly that I almost didn't hear him, even with him so close. My eyes widened and I pulled back. My mouth opened but no words left my lips. Even after all I had done to the fey king, he still wanted me to trust him? Itachi watched me for a minute, his feelings carefully guarded, though I had a impression he was hopeful that I would say yes. After a full minute passed, though it felt like a day, Itachi's expression slowly turned from blank to angry. He raised his chin, “I see.” He growled and drew back his right katana, preparing to stab me through the heart.

 Suddenly I lunged forward, my body acting on it's own, just as Itachi thrust forward with the blade. I choked back on a scream when I felt the sword cut into my side, sliding painfully through my ribs and piercing my lung. I didn't care, I was where I was supposed to be. Itachi stared down at me, his red eyes wide in surprise that I would purposefully impale myself on his blade just to be close to him. Reaching up with shaky hands I cupped the Goblin Kings face and yanked him down so that our lips met in what felt like an eternity. Itachi released both swords, one clattering to the ground while the other remained inside me, and wrapped his now free hands around my waist, pulling me ever closer. I grimaced when the katana lodged in my side pulled painfully to the right, but I didn't pull away.

 He pulled back after we were both breathless, “Forgive me...” He murmured against my lips, his still red eyes boring into mine. I struggled to smile, the pain in my side nagging at me, tearing at my happy moment, “Only if you forgive me.” I whispered back. Itachi kissed me again, swallowing my scream of pain when he yanked the katana from my side. He pulled away again, his eyes once again dark as a starless night, “Done.” He whispered and the world around us bled into a swirling mass of red and black. Just like Itachi's ever-changing eyes.

 vvv

 When I came back to reality, the pain where Itachi had stabbed me remained. Groaning I doubled over, my hand going to cradle my unharmed side, it was only the memory of the pain that was there, nothing physical. Not even a faint red mark or scar. As if nothing ever happened. As if our time spent in the Tsukuyomi was just my imagination, even though I knew it wasn't. Sakura screamed and lurched against her captor again, “You bastard, what did you do to her?!” She shrieked at Itachi. Itachi didn't answer her, instead he helped me slowly to my feet, his dark eyes only on me, like I was the most important thing to him. I gave him a shy smile, maybe I was the most important thing to the King of Goblins, it was plausible.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 Sasuke could not keep the smirk from his face as he watched his elder brother lead Kanari away, acting very much like a man in love. Sasuke knew that Itachi had used Tsukuyomi on Kanari, what had transpired in that dimension was between only the two, and would remain a secret for eternity. Not that Sasuke minded, he was glad that Itachi was back to his normal self and not the ruthless king he had been of late. Sakura struggled to follow her sister, but Sasuke tightened his grip on her, “Calm down. Your sister is in no danger.” He hissed in the pink haired girl's ear.

 Sakura shot a disbelieving look over her shoulder, “Did you see the way she winced? He did something to her, I know it! I have to save her from him, I have to-” Sakura would have continued, but Sasuke asked, “Save her from what? From happiness? Did you not see her expression?” Sakura elbowed him, but he refused to let go of her, “She doesn't know what she's doing! Kanari is under a spell. She could never want to be with that bastard.” Sasuke rolled his eyes, wondering once again why he was stuck with the annoying sister. At least Kanari accepted her fate and didn't make up ridiculous excuses to explain the unimaginable.

 “You would rather your sister be ignorant in your eyes than happy? What kind of selfish sister are you?” Sasuke asked. Sakura gave another ear splitting shriek and bashed her head against him. Sasuke bit back a groan and spun the hot tempered girl into a wall, pressing himself into her to keep her from moving. Sakura stilled instantly, immobilized by fear of his blood red eyes now glaring down at her. “Your sister truly fits into this world. You however...” He growled, teeth bared in anger adding a feral look to the fey prince. “You should be put out of your misery. No world will take you now that you are a Labyrinth subject, yet you refuse to bend. It is only the fact that Kanari would be miserable if you were to die that keeps you alive.” Sakura's sea green eyes widened as the gravity of her situation settled over her.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 “T-Thank you, Naruto-kun...” Hinata mumbled as she accepted the bowl of ramen from her new friend. Of all the people she had met so far, the blonde was the most friendliest and she felt safe around him. Kurama laid curled at Naruto's feet, he was the size of a large dog, though Naruto told Hinata that he grew much larger when outside the castle. When Hinata asked why he was small now Naruto said that King Itachi had a spell in place that prevented the nine-tailed fox demon from growing any larger. Hinata took the blonde's word for it, she never wanted to see Kurama at his actual size, she feared she would faint if she did. “You're welcome, Hinata! Man it's great to find another friend in this place. Gaara is always running off and Sasuke is a teme half the time so I don't get to hang out with them much. Plus Sasuke has all his princely duties and Gaara is always out leading runners astray; I'm only here to scare a few people into line so King Itachi doesn’t have to...”

 Hinata giggled a little, Naruto could go on for hours explaining just one thing, but she didn't mind. He didn't try to make her speak like her friends did back home, and he definitely didn't point out her stuttering problem, which was a good thing. It was strange though, before she met Naruto she never had a problem stuttering unless she was stressed. Now she could hardly open her mouth without stuttering. “Hey, Hinata?” The pearl eyes girl looked up at her new friend. He stared fiercely at her in a way that it caused her to blush, “You're not eating your ramen. Don't you like it?” He asked and Hinata blushed even more. Why did she think he was going to ask something serious?! Shakily she handed the ramen back to him, “Y-y-y-you c-c-ca-can h-h-have i-it.” She managed to get out, her cheeks red. Naruto perked up and took the bowl back, slurping down the noodles without so much as a thank you. She looked away, staring out into the garden they sat in, silently willing her blush to go away.

 Warm air brushed her right cheek and she looked up to see Naruto leaning in precariously close so that his nose almost touched her cheek. Hinata could feel her entire face warming as the blood pooled in her cheeks. Naruto frowned, “Hey Hinata, are you feeling okay? You look red...” Hinata would be surprised if there was any blood left in her body as it all rushed to her face. She closed her eyes tightly and breathed deeply, determined not to faint on poor Naruto a second time.

 Peals of laughter floated around the garden and both Naruto and Hinata looked up to see Lady Kanari and King Itachi walking through the garden, arm in arm. They looked so happy. Much different from the picture they both painted of themselves only hours before. Hinata mentally sighed, wondering dimly if she and Naruto could ever that close. Hinata could not help but notice how different their coloring was from each other. King Itachi, with his dark hair and eyes, dressed in palpable shadows was the embodiment of darkness while the woman beside him, her now white hair flowing down her back and icy green eyes, was light. Hinata sighed, a small smile touching her face, so opposites did attract. Her pearl colored eyes slid to Naruto as he continued to stare at his monarch and lady, Hinata could help but wonder if Naruto and she were opposites as well.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 ~Several Years Later~

 Sunlight managed to filter through the dark curtains that hung over the ceiling high windows and land right across my eyes. I cracked an angry eye at the light and rolled over to evade the sunlight and try to catch a few more minutes of rest. Itachi shifted in bed beside me, his arm tightening over my waist. I mentally groaned, there was no use in sleeping now. Sighing I opened my eyes to stare deep into the darkest pair of eyes. I smiled and reached over the brush Itachi's bangs from his face, “Good morning.” I whispered. Itachi smirked and pulled me even closer, pressing his lips to mine as was his way to say good morning. I sighed happily as Itachi's mouth molded to mine, drinking in his familiar scent that intoxicated me more than any fey alcohol could. I had to forcibly remove my mouth from his, “Not today.” I said breathlessly.

 Itachi narrowed his eyes and reached up to cup the back of my neck, forcing me to kiss him again. I didn't put up much of a fight. “Do not order me around. I am not your subject.” Itachi growled good-naturedly when he pulled away from me. I glared playfully back, my fingers skimming up his bare chest, “Neither am I yours.” I retorted. Itachi grunted and pushed my hand away, making me laugh.

 Before either of us could say anything else a sudden weight landed across us with a small war cry. I groaned and tried to sit up, but the figure tackled me back down, “Get up get up get up! You have to get up!” Daiyu, Itachi's and my son, yelled happily. Itachi reached up and dragged our son off of me, wrestling Daiyu playfully into an loose choke hold, “Then stop jumping on us so we can get up.” My mate growled. Daiyu squeaked and tried to throw his father off, but it was useless. I laughed and slid away from Itachi and Daiyu, every morning it was the same. Itachi and I would whisper in each others arms until our son came and ruined our quiet morning with his yelling and permanent energetic nature. If Daiyu wasn't the embodiment of his father I would be worried that I had somehow gotten Naruto's child and not my own.

 Before my son could notice that I wasn't in bed anymore, I slipped into my personal bedroom, which was hardly ever used anymore except on the rare occasion. Temari was grinning when I came in, “I heard a commotion...” She said mildly while I glared at her. When I became Itachi's mate in full and the Queen of Goblins, my first act was to free Temari of her servitude and promoted her to my lady-in-waiting. Though she still remained my best friend first and foremost, “You always hear a commotion every morning.” I growled at her as I sat down in front of the vanity so Temari could work her magic on my hair. Temari grinned at me through the mirror, “And sometimes in the night.” She said slyly then laughed as a blush marred my cheeks.

 As my friend brushed out my glistening white hair she asked, more serious than before, “So when will you tell him?” I frowned, “I'm sure Itachi already knows.” I said sagely. It was true, there was nothing I could keep from my fey mate. His crystal scrying balls made it impossible to keep anything from the king of Goblins. Temari grinned, “Oh I'm sure he knows your pregnant but-” I shushed her before she could continue, “It's talking over such matters that reveals the secrets, dummy.” I said while Temari smirked. “I dare you to tell him over breakfast.” She challenged. I thought about it. Though Itachi could very well know that I was pregnant again, I knew for a fact that neither Sasuke or Sakura could know. Not unless Itachi told them himself, which he never did unless it pertained to them. I sighed, “But then I'll get an earful from Sakura...” I grumbled. Temari laughed again, “So what? Sasuke will shut her up if it gets too annoying, you know he will.” It was true, I had learned very quickly that Prince Sasuke had no patience for any level of annoyance and he found Sakura more annoying than anything. Temari nudged me as she finished tying off my elegant but simple braid, “Stop making excuses and tell him. At least you'll get a funny reaction out of Sasuke and Sakura.” I smiled, she was right as always.

 vvv

 Seven years had passed since Itachi forgave me for running off on him, yet Sakura had not adjusted completely to life as a Labyrinth subject. Or so she claimed. There were times when I would catch her looking out of her balcony smiling as the orange sun set against the Labyrinth, her expression being on of peace. Though she always denied ever being happy, I knew otherwise. In truth I believed she only did so to irritate Sasuke. My sister and brother-in-law had made up a kind of game to see who could get on each others nerves first. More often then not Itachi or I ended up yelling at the two to shut up, which ended their little game.

 Like everyday, Sakura came into the dining hall being loud and obnoxious, just to irritate Sasuke- though it did a good job of annoying Itachi and I as well. My pink haired stepsister deliberately threw all table manners she had been taught out the window as another jab at Sasuke, who stood for decorum and manners more than anyone at the table. I watched as Sakura ate everything with her fingers and belched whenever she could. After seven years of eating like that for three times a day, I couldn't help but wonder if she did it on purpose anymore or if she had truly lost all manners. Being pregnant I felt queasy as I watched her gobble down the strange fey food without pausing. I pushed my own plate away, not able to eat with my sister acting like a pig.

 Itachi shot me a questioning look, then followed my glare to my sister. He frowned, “Sakura.” Immediately my sister halted in her gorging to meet the eyes of her king. Sasuke smirked at her, obviously enjoying seeing my sister being reprimand like a child. Meekly Sakura picked up her silverware and began eating like a civilized person. Itachi didn't say anything else as he returned to his own meal, but my appetite was lost. I picked up my fork and began playing with my food halfheartedly. Sasuke stared at me hard, then glanced at the disinterested Itachi and back to me, his black eyes searching for answers. Itachi finished his breakfast and looked at me, raising knowing eyebrows.

 I mentally sighed and rolled my eyes, I should have known he would hear Temari and me speaking, and now expected me to tell everyone that I was pregnant again. I set down my napkin and stood, bringing the attention of Sasuke and Sakura. I wasted no time, “I'm pregnant.” I said. Sakura choked on her drink and sputtered, “W-what?! Pregnant? You just had Daiyu!” She shrieked. I winced and glared at my younger sister, as did the two brothers, “Five years ago, Sakura. I had Daiyu five years ago.” Sakura grumbled something under her breath that I didn't catch, though it made Sasuke glare at her. I continued before the conversation got off hand, “And I'm carrying twins.” That gave even Itachi a pause, but only for a little bit. Sasuke and Sakura however stared at me, their mouths hanging open. Having told my news I sat back down beside my mate. Itachi gave me a soft smile and leaned down to whisper, “I love you, beloved.” I giggled like a girl falling in love for the first time, even though I had heard the same four words everyday at multiple intervals.

 vvv

 Over the seven years since I had become the Queen of the Goblins, Hinata and I became closer. The fact that we were both pregnant at the same time cemented our friendship. While Sakura was busy flirting/arguing with Sasuke, Hinata and I followed a more mature route and became mates to the fey men we loved. Daiyu and Minato, Naruto and Hinata's son, already acted more like brothers than friends. Kurama, retired from scaring the subjects of the Labyrinth, finally found peace from his surly nature as a babysitter. I had yet to see anyone handle Daiyu and Minato so well as the fox demon did. I trusted the nine tailed demon with my son more than with my own brother-in-law. Though Sasuke was right behind Kurama- my moody brother-in-law had turned out to be the best uncle I could ever ask for. When I asked Itachi about it, my mate said that he had learned from taking care of my own brother Akanbou back when I was still a runner.

 After my family had been informed of my pregnancy, I went directly for Hinata and Naruto's rooms, since they were as close to family as I could get them. Hinata answered my knocking with a finger to her lips and lead me into the main room where I could see Naruto passed out on the couch, an arm thrown over his eyes, his son curled up beside his father snoring almost as loudly as Naruto. I suppressed the giggle raising in my throat as I followed Hinata into her private receiving room. “If I ever found Itachi snoring like that I would probably die of laughing.” I said as Hinata giggled, “Yes, I was surprised when I found out how loud Naruto is.” I smirked at her, “Did you faint?” It was a running joke that every time Naruto surprised Hinata she fainted. Naruto had started taking the sign of Hinata fainting as a yes, it was how she answered him when he asked her to become his mate.

 Hinata blushed, “No.” She whispered, then giggled. “How rude of me, my lady... you wanted to speak of something with me?” She asked politely. I glared, “I won't tell you if you call me 'my lady' again. You know I hate that.” Hinata smiled, “It stopped you teasing, though, didn't it?” She asked sweetly while I glared. She had been hanging around Kurama too much, if my innocent and shy friend had started thinking like him. I squinted at her, “What happened to that stuttering girl who fainted at the mention of insidious plots?” I asked her. Hinata smiled, “She became the mate to a flamboyant knucklehead who had a grouchy demon as a pet-companion.” I shrugged, there was no arguing that point.

 “Now, are you going to tell me why you came or do I have to guess?” Hinata asked. I fluttered my eyelashes, “What makes you think I came here to tell you something, what if I just wanted to talk?” I asked teasingly. Hinata pursed her lips a little and said, “Because I know you, Kanari, you don't make social calls. Something that your mate rubbed off on you, I would think.” Hinata answered. I sighed, how well she knew me. I could hardly remember a time when Hinata was more of Sakura's friend than mine, back when fey and the Labyrinth was just something I read in books. “Fine. I'm pregnant again, with twins.” I said flatly. Hinata blinked her pearl eyes a few times before shrieking in happiness and flinging herself at me. I fell back in my chair, surprised by Hinata's rare display of strong emotion, just as Naruto burst into the room, Minato tucked under his arm, blinking his sleepy bright blue eyes. “What's going on in here?” He asked loudly. Hinata blushed, “F-Forgive me, Naruto-koi. I was just excited over something Kanari said.”

 I waved my fingers at Naruto when he turned his gaze on me, clearly surprised to find me in his apartments and not with Itachi. It was a well known fact that I hardly left my mate's side. Minato struggled in his father's arm, waving his arms for me, “Aunt Kanari! Aunt Kanari!” He called until Naruto set his son down. Minato shot for me like a bullet and jumped up into my lap, “Aunt Kanari, where is Daiyu?” The little boy asked, his blonde head looking back and forth for my missing son. I hugged Minato close, “Sorry, honey, he didn't come with me today. He's with his father, learning about boring stuff.” Naruto snorted, “If it's coming from King Itachi, it probably is boring.” He laughed. I shot a glare at the blonde while Hinata gave him a hard elbow and disapproving look. Then I smiled, “At least it's not coming from Sasuke, he'd probably corrupt my son before the first word left his lips.” I joked, to which Naruto laughed.

 vvv

 Later that night as Itachi and I laid curled up together, he commented, “Sasuke and Sakura are starting to irritate me.” I snorted, it was good to know that Itachi's patience lasted about seven years before something started annoying him. “So throw them in an Oubliette and don't let them out until they have at least three children.” I said jokingly. It was frightening that Itachi actually considered it, “Maybe not three children...” He mused. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Itachi chuckled and tightened his grip on me, “You fit in well, my queen.” He whispered in my ear, his voice coiling around me warming me from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes. “I'm glad to hear it, my king.” I murmured back.

 Itachi drew up on one elbow so he could look at me, “To think I would actually have killed you that day.” He said, referring to the first time he had cast Tsukuyomi over me. Over the years anytime we disagreed on something, Itachi would drag me to the Tsukuyomi landscape so we could hash it out. It worked perfectly, we could say what we wanted, and no one save Sasuke would know that we ever left. To our court we were unbreakable, living in a true happy ever after, when in reality we were like any other couple, mortal or fey, but we knew how to hide it.

 I smiled and reached up to cup his cheek, “I trusted you that you wouldn't, even if you were fully prepared to do so.” I said softly. Itachi gave a small scoff, “You trusted me wrongly.” He stated, so confident in his answer that I would enjoy proving him wrong. I rolled flat on my back so I could face him better, “Oh really? Where were you aiming when you took a stab at me?” I asked. Itachi's eyes darkened as he remembered, “I had planned to stab you through your treacherous heart.” He growled. I decided not to take offense to that, it was in the past. I took his hand and laid it over my side, “You stabbed me in the least critical place, though. Just my side and lower half of my lung was hurt. Nothing fatal.” Itachi smirked and moved his hand, massaging the spot where his imaginary blade had pierced me and left no mark, before his hand started inching higher. I shot him an irritated look, “Stop.” I growled. Itachi leaned up and kissed me, “Make me.” He growled back. I frowned at him but made not move to do so.

 Seven years had passed since I became Itachi's mate, yet neither of us had any power over the other.

 vvv POV Change vvv

 A little boy of seven years sat up with a gasp. He had that dream again, the one with the pink haired girl and white haired woman and their two dark companions. The dream had been plaguing him ever since he could remember, which wasn't much. The boy climbed out of his little bed and got down on his hands and knees to pull out a tarnished old book that he had found crammed under one of the old bookshelves. When he had turned four, the boy's parents had given him one of the two guest rooms. There had been large bookshelves packed with books that his parents don't remember buying. Regardless the bookshelves were removed and replaced with things found in a boy's room. Still the boy never told his parents about the little leather bound book he had found.

 Slowly he opened the book to the cover page where a girl had written her name there in pretty handwriting. Somehow he knew that her name was tied to the dreams he had, but he could never remember how.

 Kanari.

 That was the name. The name in the book. The boy mumbled it out loud, stumbling over the simple syllables of a name he had never heard or seen before he saw it in the book. When he finally said the name correctly other words began to fill up his mind, as if that name was the key to the memories that he had forgotten he had.

 I wish... I wish... I wish the Goblins would come and take you away right now.

 Akanbou blinked at the sentence that flooded his mind, pushing away bizarre and strange memories of ugly twisted creatures and red eyes glowing amid a pale face and black hair. He frowned, where had he heard those words before? For some reason he knew that somehow those words had started the strange dreams and even stranger memories. Should he say them?

 Akanbou opened his mouth “I wish the Goblins would come and take me away... right... now.”

 ^o^

 *Pant pant pant pant* After a full year of writing this story... I AM FINISHED!!!!!! And you'll have to forgive me on the (probably) sucky ending, but after a year of one piddling on this thing, I was ready to quit.

 Sorry for the cliffhanger, but then I'm not really. I might continue with other parts, but Part 1 & 2 are Sukoshi-NinjaFox'sBuddy Birthday Present, so I needed to get it done.

 Flame Friendly! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUKOSHI-NINJAFOX'SBUDDY!!!!!