It was a nice Saturday afternoon. The sky was blue and there were no clouds in sight. Sora Suzuki was walking home from her third soccer game of the season. Her team had won 11-0. She scored six of the goals. Grinning, she replayed the game in her mind, not caring about how she must have appeared to others passing by. Both her dark blue jersey and her sky blue hair were soaked with sweat and Gatorade. After the game, Sora’s team had dumped their drinks on each other in excitement. The stickiness was uncomfortable, but no one seemed to mind. Sora was carrying a backpack with the number 1 on it. That’s her, all right. Number one! It contained her soccer ball, shin guards and what was left of her drink. Her cleats were tied by the laces and hanging around her neck while she walked home in her amazing knee high socks.

As she approached her house, she remembered that her mother, father and older brother were all away. They all had jobs to tend to, so she would be home alone for awhile. Sora wasn’t bothered by it. The village she lived in was safe and everybody knew each other. There was almost never anything to worry about.

Planning on a cool shower, she stepped onto the household. Sora heard some noise coming from the living room. It sounded like someone was playing video games. She dropped her gear and headed right to the source of the noise. She stood in the doorway, staring at the sight before her. Two strange guys about her age were sitting in chairs, playing on her game console. The one closest to her was a blonde with an idiotic look on his face. His spiky hair flopped around as he moved his body in sync with the controller. On the other side of him, a guy with raven hair sat. He had a cold and serious look on his face, but still Sora noticed that he was very cute. He wasn’t as into the game and seemed totally careless about the playing the game. Both boys had a headband tied across their foreheads.
“Go Sasuke-kun!”

Sora was a little surprised by the third voice that came from around the corner. She took a step into the room and looked towards the voice. Leaning forward on the edge of a blue-green cushioned couch was a girl with pink hair. She also wore a headband in her hair. The girl noticed Sora when she entered and smiled up at her.
“Hello.”

The two boys turned and who their friend was greeting. Upon seeing the blue-haired girl. The blonde started blabbering.

“Hiya! We were waiting for you! I’m Naruto Uzumaki! This is my teammate Sakura Haruno, and this prick is Sasuke Uchiha. This is a very cool game thing! Where’d you get it? I think—“

Sora just stared at him with her mouth hanging open, but she managed to compose herself before Naruto stopped ranting. She really wanted to ask politely why they were in her house and how they got in, but they invaded her perfect day home alone, so she didn’t bother holding back.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” she shouted, surprising even herself at her outburst.
Naruto looked scared, but Sasuke barely raised an eyebrow. Before anyone spoke, Sora stalked past them, towards the stairs.

“Okay, I’m gonna go take a shower, and when I get back, you guys will have some explaining to do.” Quickly going up the stairs, Sora grabbed her towel that was hanging on a doorknob, and went into the bathroom. After closing the door, she stripped down and turned on the water. She was originally going to have a cool shower too help her cool down, but now she needed warmth to help her relax. Sora took a nice long shower, making the three invaders wait and hoping all the while that it was just her imagination. ‘Not likely though.’

When she got out, she dried off and wrapped her towel around her. Stepping into her room, she saw Naruto sitting in a chair at her desk. When he heard Sora enter the room he turned to face her and instantly his jaw dropped. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink, but he didn’t stop staring. Apparently, he didn’t expect her to come in like that. Already not in a good mood, Sora yelled at him.

“Get the hell out of my room you pervert!” She threw a shoe at him. A good aim, he ran out of her room and down the stairs right as the shoe hit him on the shoulder. Trying to forget about the incident, Sora quickly got dressed in a white skirt over navy blue volleyball-shorts and a long-sleeve wide-neck white shirt over a pink strapless shirt. After pulling her hair into a high ponytail, like always, she went downstairs, hands on hips.
The two boys were once again playing the game that required killing as many people as possible. Sakura was cheering on Sasuke.

‘Heh. I could easily beat them both.’ Sora thought. Although she was usually bush doing something productive, she still has those days.
“Okay, time for some explaining,” Sora growled.
“Just give me a minute!” Naruto yelled, blue eyes glued to the screen. “I’m gonna get you, Sasuke!” Sora walked up to the game system pulled the plug out of the wall. Naruto looked at her. “Hey!” He whined. Sora just glared at him with fierce brown eyes. The regular chocolate stare was hardened with irritation. He backed down. Sora sat down on the couch as everyone turned around.

“Explain why you’re here, now.” She pointed at the blonde since he seemed to talk the most. Naruto looked like he was thinking, but it was Sakura who spoke.
“We were sent by the hokage, the leader of Konoha Village to come for you. She thinks you have what it takes and wants you to train to be a ninja.”

This was a shock to Sora. She really wasn’t anticipating this. She didn’t doubt that she could do it, but it was totally unexpected. Sora got good grades, was a star athlete at her school, was really popular, was in all of the schools productions and learned really fast. In forth grade, she played both the clarinet and the flute, but quit the next year because she had nothing more to learn. Instead, she decided to take private singing lessons and has been doing so ever since, but she never sang in front of anyone besides her teacher and occasionally her showerhead.

“So, you-your ninjas?” She asked. Naruto nodded.
“A-are you sure that it’s me you were told to get?” Of course she wanted to go – that would be so cool to become a ninja – but she would have to leave everyone, everything she had ever known behind.
“You’re Sora Suzuki, right?” It was Sasuke who said this. This was the first time Sora heard his voice. She noticed that his voice seemed cold, but it still appealed to her. She could get him to like her. Many guys liked her, but the guy that she liked the most only acted like friends around her.

“Uh, yeah.” Answered Sora, looking down and blushing slightly. No one noticed.
“We were told to bring you back to Konoha where Tsunade can explain everything.”
“O-okay.” She stammered. “But what about my family?”
“Just leave them a note.” Said Sakura. “Tell them that you’ll be home sometime in the next 2 days.”

“Kay.” Sora said as she jumped off of the couch. She stumbled, caught by surprise by the pain in her right ankle.
‘Dang it!’ she thought. ‘When that girl tripped me at today’s game, she must’ve really hurt me. I can’t let them know.’ Trying not to show that her ankle hurt, she grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and wrote a note:
Otosan, Okasan and Onisan,
I’m going camping in the woods with some friends. Don’t worry, we’ll be safe! I’ll be back sometime in the next two days.
-Sora
Sora didn’t mind writing this, because it wasn’t completely lying, but she didn’t have enough information to tell them about becoming a ninja yet. That would have to wait until later. She was really excited about her journey, but was still a little scared of what would happen.

“Are you done?” Sakura’s voice interrupted Sora’s thoughts.
“Oh. Yeah.”
“Then let’s go! You’ll love Konoha! It’s really great!” Naruto really seemed impatient. So everyone got up and headed out. As yshe set the note on the table, Sora stopped.
“Hey, wait a sec!” They stopped and looked back at her. She was a little embarrassed.
“If I’m spending the night, won’t I need to bring some stuff? Like pajamas and a change of clothes and a pillow and --”
“Shut up.” Not good. She already annoyed Sasuke. Naruto laughed.
“Oh – um – I – I’m…”
“You don’t need to bring anything. Just sleep in your clothes and change when we get back,” Sasuke growled.
“Okay” Sora mumbled, looking down in embarrassment. Continuing on, Sora stopped once again at the gate of Niji.
“Can I say goodbye to my friends?” she asked. It was Sasuke who answered.
“You’re leaving for a about a day or two. Do you really think they’ll miss you? They probably won’t even know you’re gone.” His comment hurt her. Sora had plenty of friends who care about her, but Sasuke was probably right. She wouldn’t be gone long.
“Fine then. Let’s go.” She said. And with that, the group headed towards Konoha Village.

---

Otosan=Father (polite)
Okasan=Mother (polite)
Onisan=Older Brother (polite)

After only a few minutes of walking, the pain in Sora’s ankle grew. Despite trying to ignore her injury, she started limping, hoping that no one would notice. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke had sharp eyes.

“You’re limping.” He said.
‘Is he trying to show that he cares? It doesn’t seem very…caring.”
“No,” she said. “You must be seeing things. I’m fine.”
“Hn. I’m not seeing things.” Sora didn’t say anything, but continued walking. She was too busy thinking about any meaning behind what Sasuke had said to pay attention to where she was going, and got her foot caught in a ditch.

“Ah!” She fell before anyone could catch her. Sora tried to not make a big deal about it.
“I meant to do that.” She murmured as she got up, but as soon as she got up, she fell again from the now increased pain in her ankle. This time, Sasuke was quick enough to catch her. Sora blushed as Sasuke helped her up.

Squatting down, Sasuke said, “Get on my back.” It was an order, not a request, but Sora didn’t like appearing weak in front of guys, or taking orders. She refused politely and said that she’d be fine. Sora took a step forward and her ankle seared with pain. Grimacing, she saw that Sasuke hadn’t moved from his position.

“Get on.” Giving in, Sora muttered a “whatever” and let him carry her. She noticed that he was warm. By the way he acted, Sora expected his body to be cold like his personality and was surprised. She also thought that he smelled nice.
Sakura and Naruto continued behind them.

Everyone stayed silent so as to not waste energy. Even Naruto managed to keep his mouth shut during the long walk.
Sora had been riding on Sasuke’s back for a long while, and it was getting darker.

‘Aren’t they going to stop to rest for the night?’ She was getting very tired – especially after working so hard during her soccer game – but didn’t think it would be polite to fall asleep on his shoulder. So she struggled to keep her head held up, which drained her strength in her already weakened state.

“Go ahead, rest.” The sudden noise breaking the silence startled Sora.
“A-are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Yeah, go ahead. We’re not stopping until we get there and you’re barely managing to stay awake.” She laid her head on his shoulder, getting in a comfortable position. Sora smiled as her eyes drooped shut. Her last thought before she went to sleep was, ‘How can they still be walking?’

---

Sora woke up when the sun was coming up over the horizon. Sasuke was still carrying her and Sakura and Naruto were also still walking behind her. The pain in Sora’s ankle felt a lot better, but it wasn’t completely gone. When Naruto saw that she was awake, he walked up next to her and started talking.

“Good morning, Sora! How are doing? Does your ankle feel better?” Still groggy, she didn’t answer his questions. Instead, she asked if they were almost there.

“Yeah! It’s just up ahead! You’re gonna love Konoha! It’s really awesome! And it’s got the best place to buy ramen! Ichiraku makes the best! The noodles and the soup -” Sora just tuned him out. Who cares about ramen?

“Heh. You got the right idea.” Said Sasuke. Sora saw that he was grinning slightly.
“Naruto can spend hours talking about ramen. It’s all he ever eats. When he starts going off on it, just ignore him. That dobe doesn’t know that no one cares.” Sora laughed. Then, feeling a little embarrassed to still be on Sasuke’s back, she stopped laughing.

“Uh, Sasuke?”
“Hn?”
“I – uh - think I can walk now.”
“Hn.” He stopped walking and let her down. She gingerly took a step on her right foot. Surprisingly, it barely hurt her. Sasuke stretched his arms and cracked his neck, but aside from that showed no exhaustion. The group continued walking on in near silence, but they got used to Naruto ranting on. (“Have you ever tried that flavor? It’s the best!”) A while later, the Konoha gates came into view. Sora’s eyes lit up at the beautiful sight.

“Woo-hoo! Let’s go!” Naruto ran by Sora, grabbing her hand as he passed by. Nearly being pulled off of her feet she ran with him. As soon as they entered the village, Naruto stopped. He was thinking aloud of where he should take Sora first.

When Sasuke and Sakura arrived, which was a couple minutes considering how fast Naruto was running, Sasuke spoke in an annoyed voice.
“Come on, dobe. We have to take her to the hokage first” Naruto looked up and glared at Sasuke. He then turned around, took Sora’s hand and tried to run off again. This time, though, Sora stood her ground. Naruto looked at her with a confused look on his face.

“Naruto, I’m in a beautiful new village. I don’t want to run around so that I can’t see anything. We’ll head towards this hokage, but I want to look around some on the way. And when we do get to the hokage’s office, I want it too be all of us.” Sora looked at Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all in turn, her eyes lingering on the Uchiha.
“Alright! Alright!” Naruto pouted. So the four set off again.

About fifteen minutes later, Sora was standing in front of Lady Tsunade’s door. She started getting nervous, afraid that she’d make a fool of herself. Naruto noticed her fidgeting.

“Calm down! Old Lady Tsunade isn’t that mean!” He said with a grin.
“That – mean?” Sora stammered.
“Grr! Naruto!” Sakura hit Naruto in the jaw. He flew back a few feet and fell to the floor. A trickle of blood came from his mouth. Sora was scared that Naruto was hurt, and at how strong Sakura was.

“Naruto, you are the only one that Tsunade-Sama is mean to! I don’t blame her! You are so annoying!” Naruto got up and looked at Sakura in a funny way.

“Ow! Sakura-Chan! That hurt!” Sora giggled nervously and silently thanked Sakura. Sakura then knocked on the door. From within the room, a voice said, “Come in.” Naruto opened the door and ran in yelling.

“Hey Old Lady! Did you miss me?” Sora was confused as why Naruto called the hokage ‘old lady’. She looked like she was in her twenties or thirties.
“No Naruto! I didn’t miss you!” Tsunade shouted. “It was peaceful without you here!”
“Aw! You’re just saying that!” When the hokage saw Sora, she ignored Naruto.

“Ah, you must be Sora! It’s nice to meet you.” Sora didn’t do anything, afraid that she’d say something stupid.
“So, you know the situation?” Sora nodded her head. Tsunade continued.

“I know that you are a strong person, mentally and physically and I believe that you could become a very good ninja. Now, you need to talk to your parents about this when you return to Niji tomorrow. They can move here if they want, but if you agree to become a ninja, you will have to stay here. I can find your family a house if they decide to come, but if not, I might just have you stay with someone here. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto will be your sensei. They --”

“Uh, excuse me, Tsunade-Sama.”
“Yes, Sakura?”
“My mom was hoping to spend the day with me and I really wouldn’t want to let her down.”
“Yes, of course. You may go.” Sakura quickly bowed her head and left. Naruto suddenly looked panicked.

“Oh crap! I was supposed to meet Iruka-sensei! I hope he doesn’t get impatient!” With that, he ran out of the room without saying anything.

“Okay, now where was I? Oh, that’s right. Your sensei will teach you how to fight and stuff like that. Sasuke.” Sasuke looked up from staring out of the window.

“I suggest that you get Iruka to talk to her, and maybe Kakashi for a demonstration. Tomorrow, you guys will be going back to Niji. You are to explain everything to Sora’s parents. Try to return as soon as possible. And Sora, when you come back, bring your possessions. Okay, I think that’s all. You are dismissed.” Sasuke started towards the door, but stopped when Sora spoke.

“Uh, Tsunade-Sama, where am I supposed to sleep?” They seemed taken aback by the question. No one had even thought about this. After a few seconds of thinking, Tsunade turned to Sasuke.

“Sasuke, would you mind having a guest for tonight?” He was very surprised by this, but not unpleasantly. Turning back to the door, he replied with a ‘Hn’. Sora followed after saying goodbye to the hokage.
“Make sure you feed her!” Tsunade called after them.

No words were spoken on the walk to Sasuke’s house and the only noise from the two was Sora’s growling stomach. She was already embarrassed that she would be staying at Sasuke’s place, but her stomach just embarrassed her more. When his house came into view, she stopped and stared in awe, her mouth slightly ajar. Sasuke stopped.

“Are you coming or not?” He called over his shoulder. Sora shook from her reverie and ran to catch up with Sasuke, who had already continued walking. The inside of the house was dark, but Sasuke didn’t turn on a light. He went straight to the kitchen and heated up some instant ramen. Sora sat at the table and ate silently. When she was finished, Sasuke pointed to a door across the room.

“You can sleep in my bed.”
“But where are you gonna sleep?”
“I’ll sleep on the couch, now just get some sleep.” Sora didn’t want to kick Sasuke out of his own bed. It wasn’t even his choice to let her stay with him.
“No,” she said. He glared at her. “I’ll sleep on the couch. I’ve done it many times before. I could even sleep on the floor, so I of course I can sleep on a soft couch.”

“Hn” He went in his room and closed the door. Sora sighed. It was still the middle of the day and her body wasn’t tired, but so much was going on that her mind needed as much rest as she could get. She took off her white shirt and white skirt, sleeping in her strapless pink shirt and navy shorts. She took out her hair tie and rolled it onto her wrist. Lying on the couch, she rested her head on her arm. She cleared her mind of all thoughts and quickly fell asleep.

---

Something woke Sora up in the middle of the night. She opened her eyes and saw that it was very late. The couch was spread out so that it was flat like a bed. She rolled to her left and saw Sasuke sitting by the window looking out at the moon. He didn’t have a shirt on. Sora smiled and blushed slightly. A few seconds later, she was in a deep sleep.

The sun shining through the window woke Sora up the next morning. She thought that last night must have been a dream, but then Sasuke walked out of the bathroom without a shirt on. He was scratching the back of his head, looking at the floor. When he saw her sitting up on the couch staring at him, he blushed slightly.

“Good morning.” He mumbled, trying to avoid looking at her. Wondering why, Sora looked down and saw that her shirt was starting to slide down a little from moving in her sleep. Blushing madly in embarrassment, she fixed her shirt and put up her hair. Sora put on her white skirt and sat down at the table. Sasuke was making breakfast. After a few minutes sitting in silence, the food was ready. Sora was very hungry, but she ate kinda slowly so she wouldn’t look like a pig. When she had finished eating, she finally spoke.

“Thanks, that was delicious.” Then she got up and took Sasuke’s and her own dishes to the sink and started washing them.

“You know, you don’t have to do that.” Sora didn’t even notice Sasuke coming up behind her.
“I know.” She said. “But I don’t want to be impolite. You provided me with food and a place to sleep. Anyway, if I don’t, it probably will never get done.” She said with a grin.

“Whatever.” Sasuke went into his room and came out a minute later dressed. Sora was a little disappointed because she liked how he looked without a shirt on. He had no fat and was muscular, but not so muscular that it was creepy. After finishing with the dishes, she put on her white shirt and black sandals.

“Are you ready?” Sasuke asked.
“Yeah, where are we going?”
“Tsunade’s office. Then we’re taking you home to talk to your parents.”
“Okay.”

When they got to Tsunade’s office, Sakura and Naruto were already there. Tsunade was briefing them on the mission. When she had explained everything, the four set off. To save time, they ran most of the way back to Niji. It was an uneventful trip, except for the couple of times Sakura banged Naruto on the head for something stupid he said. Everyone talked about everything, but Sasuke didn’t participate much.
Finally, the gates of Niji game into sight. Sora led the way back to her house. Stepping inside, she saw her mother watching television. Something about how to make low fat foods.
“Hi Okasan!” Sora’s mother looked up and her face brightened when she saw her daughter. When she saw Sasuke, Sakura and a slightly bruised Naruto behind her, though, she looked confused.

“These are my friends that I spent in the forest with.” Sora said, remembering her note. “Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. Um, I dunno how to tell you this lightly, but I’ve agreed to train under them to become a ninja.” Sora’s mother was very surprised, a little more confused., and really upset.

“I’m moving to Konoha. You are invited to come as well. Tsunade would find us a house and jobs.”
“This is so sudden. I’ll have to discuss it with your father.”
“No matter what you decide, Sora is coming back to the village with us tomorrow. I’ll tell the hokage to send some people to help you move or bring back news.” It was Sasuke who said this. As soon as he finished, Sora’s older brother walked in. Not wanting to explain all over again what was happening, Sora asked her mother where her father was.

“Alright! Hi Niisan, bye Niisan! We’re off to find Otosan.” Running out of the house, the last thing Sora saw was the complete look of confusion on her brother’s face. With the three ninja behind her, she took off to find her father. On the way, Sora pointed out things to Naruto. He was really fascinated by some of it. Sakura walked next to Sasuke.

Finally, Sora found her father standing on a ladder next to a house under construction. When the group approached, he looked at them funny. Sora knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Uh, Sora?” Naruto asked. “Why is he looking at us like that? It’s freaking me out.” The four were standing in a line, boy, girl, boy, girl.
“He thinks we’re, ya know, on a double date.” The three looked at her in surprise and slight amusement. Sora knew that by the way they were standing, that her father thought that she was with Naruto and Sakura was with Sasuke. She liked Naruto as a friend, but would much rather be paired with Sasuke, although she’d never admit it.

“Hi Otosan! These are my new friends! Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno!” Sora called up to him, indicating each person. “When are you coming home? I’ve got news for you!”

“I’ll be home in time for dinner. What is it you wanted to tell me?”
“Just wait until this evening!” Sora took off again, quickly saying ‘c’mon’ to her friends. Naruto asked, “Where are we going?”
“My school, I want to say goodbye to my friends.” She replied.

“But we’re not even leaving until tomorrow!”
“I know, but I don’t want to wait until then. I won’t have enough time! And this way, I can kill lots of birds with one stone! Most of my friends with be rehearsing for the musical right now.” Sora was excited to see her friends again, but she couldn’t tell them exactly why she was leaving.

“Sora, I really want to meet your friends and all, but I’m not feeling too well. I didn’t get much sleep last night and I’m still exhausted from the trip and spending the day with my mom,” Sakura called up. Sora stopped and looked at her with concern.

“You can go back to my house and rest if you want. Just tell my mom that you don’t feel well and she’ll show you to my room.”
“Okay, thanks.” Sakura turned in another direction and when she turned out of view, the group continued to the school. A minute later, they were standing in the auditorium of the school. A rehearsal was being held for a musical. Sora was supposed to be in this one, but she was moving, so she couldn’t. Sora approached the director.

“Sora! You finally showed up!”
“Yeah, but I’ve got bad news. I can’t be in the play. I’m moving.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m not. I feel really bad that I’m leaving in the middle of it, but I have no choice. I’ll still come to see it though, but I wouldn’t be able to rehearse, so I can’t be in it. I’m sorry. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to say goodbye to all of my friends.” She went back stage, which was actually a hall because they were in a school. To her close friends, Sora talked and gave them a hug, but to the people that weren’t too close, she just said goodbye and moved on. Sasuke and Naruto followed behind her the entire time. After talking to all of her friends in the back, they returned to the auditorium. She went up to one of her girl friends, who was reciting lines to herself. She talked to her for a couple minutes. Afterwards, Sora ran up to Makoto, the guy she liked. His shaggy blonde hair fell over his face as he was reading a book, and before he even looked up and noticed Sora coming, she had enveloped him in a hug. Never before had she hugged him. She thought it would be a bit awkward since he was a little shorter than she was, but she wasn't bothered. It would probably be the last time she'd ever get the chance to hug him, so all that mattered was that she did it. When Sora let go, she saw that Makoto was blushing.

“Bye! I’m really going to miss you.” She said.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“I’m moving to another village. I got – er – accepted at another school. I’m still going to visit every once in a while, though. And I promise I’ll be here to see the musical.”
“Oh – uh – okay. I’ll – uh – miss you.” Makoto was obviously nervous about talking to Sora and wasn't quite sure what to say. At this point, Sasuke walked up close behind Sora and spoke.

“We should get back to your house. You still have to pack and talk to your father. We’re leaving tomorrow, and I want to leave as soon as we can.”

“Yeah, alright.” Makoto looked jealous that Sora was with these guys and that one of them was standing so close to her. She ran off towards the exit, calling ‘goodbye’ to Makoto over her shoulder. Right before she reached the corner, a short fat girl sidestepped in her way
“Hey! Aren’t you going to say goodbye to me? I’m your best friend.” Sasuke and Naruto looked doubtful that this girl was Sora’s friend. Sora tried to stop running so that she wouldn’t collide with the annoying girl. Because she was running kinda fast and the floor was slippery, Sora fell on her butt, but continued sliding feet first. The girl stepped out of the way, and Sora’s right foot slammed into the wall.

‘Great, just when my ankle was almost completely healed! Grr! That little – Okay, I need to calm down…” Sasuke, Naruto and Makoto came running up to her with concern on their faces. Naruto turned to the girl and started yelling at her.

“Hey! Whadaya think you’re doing? You might’ve really hurt Sora!” By this time, Sora had gotten up and gingerly applied pressure to her once again aching ankle. Naruto pulled back his fist and lunged at the girl. Sora knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to punch her, and that if he did, the girl would be in critical condition. Running up behind him, she wrapped her left arm around him and grabbed his fist with her other hand. The girl was staring at Naruto’s face and had a frightened look on her own. Sasuke and Makoto were also in position to see the front of Naruto. Makoto looked scared, but Sasuke looked worried as if he thought something bad was going to happen.

Naruto still tried to punch the girl, even though Sora was holding onto him. His fist moved forwards some, but Sora managed to hold it back. Everyone was surprised that she held back his blow, surprised, but relieved. Naruto turned to look at Sora. For a second, she thought that his eyes were red, but she blinked and they were his normal blue color.

“Why’d you stop me? She deserved it!”
“Yes, I know she deserves it, but if I let you hit her, she’d be in critical condition. And I don’t want to draw attention to us.” The girl looked even more scared after hearing what Sora said. She looked up at Sora.

“Oh,” Sora said. “And one more thing. You’re not my best friend, you never were and you never will be.” With that, the girl ran out crying. Sora took a step towards Sasuke. She didn’t really care about the girl. The crash into the wall really hurt her ankle, and she fell. Sasuke and Makoto both moved forward to catch her, but Makoto was hesitant. Sasuke wasn’t, and he was the one that caught Sora. He picked her up and held her in his arms. She blushed and took a glimpse towards Makoto. She saw that he was disappointed that Sasuke holding her made her turn red. Sasuke started walking to the exit.
“Come on, Naruto.” With a final goodbye to Makoto, the group left. Naruto kept cursing the girl who injured Sora. She looked at him from Sasuke’s arms. He turned to her.

“How did you know that I could have killed her with one punch?”
“You guys are ninja. Ninja are supposed to be really strong. Even though you aren’t very old, you grew up with ninja training. Hey, when you looked at me…”
“Huh?”
“Oh, nevermind.”
“No, what is it?”
“Naruto, your eyes. They looked like they were red. But I guess I was just imagining it.” Sora didn’t see the look exchanged between the two boys. After a minute of walking in silence, Sasuke spoke.

“Who was that last guy you talked to?” Sora looked up at him, but he was staring straight ahead.
“Oh, you mean Makoto? He’s well – um – er –” Sasuke looked down at her. She felt him tense up a little.

“Your boyfriend?” Sora was a little surprised by this. Blushing, she looked away from him and mumbled, “No.” Sasuke relaxed a little, but Sora had more to say.
“I wish…” she muttered.
“Oh.” He said, somewhat disappointed. “The way he acted when you hugged him and when I spoke…and most of all, when I carried you…He likes you back.”
“Nah.” She said in a cheery tone. “We’re just good friends!”

“Hn.” A couple of minutes later, Sora’s house came into view. Inside, Sora’s mother and father were talking. Hearing the door open and close, they turned to look at the three. Sora’s father didn’t seem to like that Sasuke was carrying his daughter.

“Put her down this instant and leave this room!” Sasuke put her down gingerly and he and Naruto went into another room.

“Why was he holding you?” When her father yelled at her, Sora got very frightened. He never directed his shouts towards his daughter.
“Chichi! I accidentally hurt my ankle while at the school and I couldn’t walk! He was just helping me!”

“Then how come you can stand now? I don’t want you going with him anywhere!” Sora started to cry.

“I said I couldn’t walk, I never said I couldn’t stand! Why are you like this? You never were before!” With that, she ran out of the room with a limp. Sasuke and Naruto had been listening. She ran past them and up the stairs, tears starting to stream down her face. Sakura was just coming out of the bathroom when Sora ran into her room and jumped on her bed, sobbing. The three ninja came in and watched over her, but they left her alone. She ignored them and eventually fell asleep, crying.

---

Chichi=Father (not-as-polite-as-Otosan)
Niisan=Older Brother (not-as-polite-as-Onisan)

The girl who causes Sora to fall is based on a real person I know. I won't say her name to be nice, but she seriously thinks everyone likes her when not many people do...
Also, Makoto is based off of a real character. He's based of of the guy I likED when I wrote this part. My friends don't think I'm over him, but I AM!!

Sora woke up around 6:30 in the morning, feeling miserable. Getting up to go into the bathroom, she saw Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all asleep on the floor. She went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Tears stained her cheeks and her eyes were red and a little puffy. Her pretty blue hair was messy and tousled. Overall, Sora looked terrible.
Taking a clean wash rag, Sora gently cleaned her face, then brushed her hair. Finally satisfied that it was as good as she was going to get, Sora left the bathroom.

As she passed her room, she saw the three sitting on her bed talking. When they saw her, they stopped talking and looked at her with concern. Looking away, Sora continued downstairs, hearing them follow behind her silently. In the dining room, Sora’s father was sitting in a chair, reading the newspaper. Sora walked up to him and asked a simple question.

“Chichi, what is twenty-one times twenty-one?” Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were confused by her actions, but stayed silent. Sora’s father looked up at her and asked ‘Why?’
“Oh, it’s just something for my homework.”
“If you bring me a pencil and some paper I’ll figure it out for you.” As soon as he finished his sentence, without warning, Sora pulled back her right fist and hit him right in the jaw. He fell back from the force of the punch. Sora took some rope that was lying with his construction tools. Tying him up tightly to the chair, she saw Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto staring at like her like she had gone crazy. Ignoring them, she started interrogating the man in the chair.

“Where is my father?” Now, everyone thought she was mad.
“What? I – I am your father!”
“Sora,” Naruto said. “ I know you’re upset about what happened yesterday, but isn’t this going a little to far? I mean, you shouldn’t –”
“Shut up! This isn’t my father! Otosan isn’t this stupid!” The three behind her looked at her confused, but the man tied to the chair was starting to look worried.

“My father wouldn’t need pencil and paper to do a math equation, especially if it was as simple as that. Also, if I was to ask my father a simple problem like that, he’d look and me funny and tell that I should be able to get that on my own.” Everyone’s eyes shifted to the imposter. He went up in a poof of smoke, and when the smoke cleared, a completely different man was in the chair. Sora was shocked because it was the first time she’s seen someone do that.

The man in the chair was tall and skinny. He had a very short beard and had messy, cropped hair. Sora got angry and charged at him, but in another poof of smoke, he disappeared from the chair and reappeared at the door.

“Thanks for the easy exit!” He said. For a second, Sora just stood there, surprised that he escaped. Quickly gathering her thoughts she ran after him. He was running on the roofs, so she followed him on the ground, unable to jump that high. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura jumped on the roof of Sora’s house and pursued the imposter from there. He was pretty far ahead, so Sora tried to predict his actions.

‘Okay, it looks like he’s heading towards the fountain in the far east of the gate…Hmm…What could he be planing…hey! Wait a sec! The small alley way between the wall and the inn!’ Sora changed directions and put on more speed.
‘He’s gonna go to the fountain and slip in the alleyway. That way, we might think he disappeared again! He needs to stop underestimating me!’ Sora turned right into the ally and slowed to a walk. Hearing footsteps, Sora got angry. She knew it was the imposter, and now she really wanted to kill him. Keeping silent, Sora sneaked up close enough to hear him whisper.

“Heh! Heh! I lost those punks!”
“Who are you calling a punk?” Sora said. The guy was frightened. He thought he had lost them. Being only a few feet in front of Sora, she ran at him and started punching him. She kept hitting and hitting him. All of her blows landed on his face and they were making him move backwards. Then, Sora started to scream at him.
“What did you do with my father!” Hearing her voice, her three comrades appeared on the roof above.

“Why did you do this? What do you want? Where’s my father?” Sakura dropped down behind the imposter and Naruto jumped in between Sora and the man. At the same time, Sasuke landed behind Sora and wrapped his left arm around her while his right hand covered her mouth.

“Stop yelling.” Sasuke said. “You’re not helping the situation.” He sounded a little angry, but that anger dimmed when his hand became wet with tears. He felt a little bit of sympathy for Sora, but not a whole lot. Sasuke almost never felt sympathy. Naruto tied up the man and stared walking towards the fountain. Sora easily pulled Sasuke’s hand away from her mouth, he was holding loosely, and cried, “Please! Find out from him where my father is!” She continued crying as Sasuke led her to the fountain. They sat the man down on the edge of the fountain and then sat on the benches that surrounded it. The imposter didn’t look scared of the group, but then Sasuke approached him, the sharingon in his eyes. The man freaked out.

“Y-you! You’re an U-Uchiha!” Sora was surprised that this man knew whom Sasuke was and didn’t know how he suddenly knew. Before, he just thought he was just another ninja kid. She was sitting somewhat behind Sasuke, so she couldn’t see his eyes.
“Where is Sora’s father?” Sasuke said angrily.
“He…he…”
“Answer now or I’ll kill you!”
“You wouldn’t kill me anyway! If you did, then you wouldn’t be able to find the girls father.” Sasuke pulled out a kunai and appeared behind the man. He held the weapon up to the man’s throat. Sora was surprised at how fast Sasuke moved.

“Wanna try me?” The man cried out in fear, “He’s in the basement of the building in the west that is under construction.” After cutting a tiny line in the man’s throat to frighten him, Sasuke withdrew his weapon. Sora was scared that Sasuke had cut the guy and she looked away.
“Naruto and I will go get him. You to watch over this scum.” Said Sasuke. They stared to walk away, but Sora jumped up.

“No!” They turned to look at her. “He’s my father! I’m going too!” No one objected, but Naruto said, “Alright, Sakura, I’ll leave two clones with you.” He formed some seals and two more Narutos were standing next to Sakura. At first Sora was shocked, but the she laughed to herself, thinking that one Naruto was hard enough to deal with.

“Let’s go.” Said Sasuke. The three ran in silence to the building that the man said. Stepping inside, they saw a trap door. Sora went up to it and tried to open it. It was locked. She placed her hands over the lock, closed her eyes and imagined the insides of the lock moving. Opening her eyes, she pulled on it again, and it opened. She stared going down, but Sasuke stopped her.

“Are you sure you want to go first?” She looked up at him.
“Hn.” She continued down, and even though it was dark, she could see the faint shadow of a broad shouldered man tired to a chair.
“Otosan!” Sora started running towards him, but stopped when a kunai landed right in front of her feet. A man was standing of to the side, another weapon in his hand. He was big and muscular and had a tattoo of a bloody skull on his left bicep. Sora backed off until she was right behind Sasuke. Naruto attacked the guy and Sasuke threw two kunai towards Sora’s father, then joined in the fight. The kunai sliced through the rope tying Sora’s father to the chair. She ran up to her father and gave him a big hug. She then retrieved the two weapons Sasuke used to free her father. When she looked up, the man was running at her. Without thinking, Sora threw the kunai at him, and he disappeared in a poof of smoke. It was a clone. A minute later, the man was unconscious. Sasuke approached Sora and her father after picking up the kunai that she had thrown and asked if they were okay.

“Yes, we’re fine. Oh – uh – here’s your – uh, weapon thing.”
“Kunai” He said, smirking. Naruto came up with the man slumped over his shoulder. Sora’s father spoke to them both.
“Thank you very much for saving me. You boys are very talented.” Naruto scratched the back of his head.
“Thanks a lot, mister, but we really should be getting back to Sakura.” Walking next to her real father, Sora followed Sasuke and Naruto back to the fountain. Sasuke had told her father to wait until they got back to Sakura before he explained what happened. Sakura was sitting by the fountain with the two Naruto clones watching the imposter. She looked up and saw the group when the clones disappeared.

Naruto sat the unconscious guy down next to his friend. Everyone sat down and Sora’s father began to tell his story.
“It was after you guys came and told me that you had news. When you left, two strangers approached me. The one with the tattoo went over to where I had laid down my tools and started looking at them. The other guy started talking to me. Then I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was tied to a chair. I tried to break free, but the guy, who I assume knocked me out from behind, told me that he’d kill me if I tried to escape, so I stopped. I guess the other man disguised himself to look like me, because he wasn’t there and it seemed like no one was wondering where I had gone. After it got dark out, I began to think that no one would come. Then, a couple hours later, you guys came and rescued me. Thanks a lot. Now tell me, what is it that you wanted to tell me at dinner last night?” Sora looked over at Sasuke, then back at her dad. Sasuke spoke.

“She has agree to undergo training to become a ninja.” Like her mother, Sora’s father was very surprised. He looked at his daughter and asked, “You agreed to this?” She nodded her head.

“I’m moving to Konoha. You are welcome to come too. The hokage would find us a house and jobs. It’s alright if you don’t come, but it would be nice if you did.” He looked at her and asked another question.

“Where did you sleep when you left? Your note said you were sleeping in the forest, but you said you went to this village.” Using her acting skills, Sora spoke before anyone else could.
“I slept in a room at the hokage’s office on a couch. She was very kind to me.” Sasuke glanced over at her questioningly, wondering why she didn’t tell the truth. Luckily, Sora’s father didn’t notice.

“I’ll have to talk this out with your mother.”
“Hn, I already told your wife this, but whatever you do, we’re returning to Konoha today. We’ll send a few ninja back in three days to give you time to decide.” Said Sasuke.

“C’mon.” Sora said. “Let’s go home. Oh! Wait! I haven’t talked to Hotaru yet!” She glanced at Sasuke, then took off towards her best friend’s house. A short while later, Sasuke caught up with her.

“Naruto and Sakura are going to take care of those bastards. Your father went home, and I’m coming with you to make sure no one else is after you.”

“After me? But they attacked my father?”
“Yeah, to get to you. But don’t worry, you’ll be safe.”
“Okay!” A minute later, they were standing in front of a beige house. Sora knocked on the door. A lady in her early thirties opened the door.
“Well hello Sora. Can I help you?”
“Yes, Mrs. Tanaka. Is Hotaru home?”
“She is. I’ll go get her. Please wait here.”
“Alright.” Mrs. Tanaka left and a short while later, a girl about Sora’s age was standing at the door. Her dark brown hair hang just past her shoulders. She was wearing a black mini skirt over top of light gray pants. Her shirt was peach with a yellow heart in the center.

“Hey Sora! What’s up?” Instead of answering her friend, Sora grabbed her arm and ran to a hidden area that only Sora and Hotaru knew about. Sasuke followed. When he sat down next to Sora, with Hotaru across from them, Hotaru spoke.

“Hey, is this guy your boyfriend or something? He keeps following you.” Sora and Sasuke both blushed a little. Sora said, “No, this is Sasuke Uchiha. He’s going to be one of my new sensei.” Hotaru looked at her confusedly.

“Huh?”
“I’m moving.”
“What? You can’t move! Everyone’s going to miss you!” Sasuke seemed surprised that Sora was that popular.
“Why are you leaving? Makoto is going to die without you here!”

“Hotaru, calm down! I’m still going to visit sometimes! I’m definitely coming back for the musical! And when I do, I’ll show you my new ninja skills.” Sora made a pose with her hands out like she was about to fight. Hotaru stared at her with her mouth hanging open. Sora smiled smugly.

“N – n – ninja? You? Why you? What about me?”
“Hey, it’s not like I said ‘you know what, I think I’m going to become a ninja.’ It was Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto who found me! They were in my house when I came home from my soccer game two days ago!” Hotaru looked at Sasuke, then back at Sora.

“So he hunted you down?”
“Wha-? No! It was on the hokage’s orders!” Finally, Sasuke said something.
“You know, you still have to pack.”
“Oh, okay. Hotaru, come with us. I’ll talk to you while I’m packing.” Sasuke didn’t expect this, and he wasn’t pleased that Sora had invited her friend.

“Okay.” Hotaru said. When they got back to Sora’s house. Naruto and Sakura were in Sora’s room on her computer. After introducing all of her friends, she got out some bags. Wanting to finish quickly, she threw everything in while talking to Hotaru. Sasuke asked Sora, “Are you really this messy?” Sora looked at him.

“Why do you care?”
“You’re sleeping at my place until your parents come. I don’t want you messing up my house.”
“Oh, for the love of Pete! No, I’m not this messy! I’m just in a rush, okay?” Hotaru kept looking from Sasuke to Sora.
‘Who’s Pete?’ wondered Sasuke.
“Wait a sec! You’re staying at his place? And what if your parent’s don’t decide to move with you, Sora? Then that means you’d be living at his place for the rest of the time you stay there! Are you sure there isn’t something between you?” This time it was Sasuke who replied.
“There is nothing between us! It was Tsunade who said that she had to stay with me. So just shut up!” His angry tone frightened Hotaru and she didn’t talk about it anymore. Naruto and Sakura were amused by what was going on.
“Okay, I’m finished packing!” Three bags were lying on the floor. “Are we going back to Konoha now?” Naruto got off of the computer and said, “Yep! Let’s go!” Suddenly noticing something, Sora looked at Naruto.

“How did you get on my computer? I’ve got a password!”
“Oh, I figured it out. I did, not Sakura!” Sora looked at Sakura. She nodded, agreeing with Naruto. He smiled.
“What? How?”
“I took notice of your surroundings and your actions! Easy! It’s ‘Makoto’!” Sora blushed and swung a punch at the blonde, but he ducked. Sasuke looked a little jealous that her password was the name of another guy.

“Let’s go.” He said.
“So, you’ve already talked to Makoto, eh?” Said Hotaru. “Did you give him a hug?”
“I gave everyone a hug, but Sasuke’s right. We should get going.” Downstairs, Sora gave her parents a hug, then went over to her brother.
“Bye Niisan!” He motioned for her to come closer. When she got close enough to him, he poked her in the forehead.

“Hey! Why do you always do that?” Instead of responding, he just said farewell once more. Sasuke looked shock by what Sora’s brother did, but didn’t say anything. The other three just laughed at their strange ways. Outside, Sora gave Hotaru a hug, and while they were, Hotaru whispered something in Sora’s ear.
“I’m gonna tell Makoto about you and Sasuke.” Letting go of her friend, Sora forgot to whisper her response.

“What? No! He’ll be jealous!” The three ninja looked at her, wondering what they were talking about. Sasuke had a pretty good idea.
“Whatever. Hotaru, go ahead! But we’ve got to go! Bye!” Hotaru ran home and Sora picked up her bags as the group left for Konoha.

---

Hotaru is kinda like my friend Sasukeluver8675309. She's a bit crazy, but fun to be around. Later in the story, Sora get's a letter from her that shows her true craziness!

I actually did have my password the nickname of the guy I liked for awhile...

The Sora's Onisan poking her in the forehead is just something I added because I wanted to show that she has a fun relationship with her brother. I do know that Itachi did that to Sasuke, but Itachi and Sasuke weren't close. I might use this to bring Sasuke and Sora closer together.

A few minutes into the trip, Naruto said something that relatively made sense, which was surprising because everything else he said was just…weird.

“Hey, when we first met our new sensei, we had to say things about ourselves. You should do the same.”
“Alright, what sort of things did you say?”
“Things you like and dislike, hobbies and dreams for the future.”

“Okay then. My dreams for the future…I don’t really have any! I just go with the flow.”
“How about getting together with Makoto?” Suggested Naruto. Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who answered.

“It’s not like she could anyway. She’ll be living in Konoha for most of the rest of her life.”
“Okay, you guys, stop.” Said Sora. Then, with a wide grin, she said, “Hmm…If I had to say something, I’d say to become a great ninja and to be able to defeat you three!” Naruto said, “You could probably get good enough to beat Sakura and Sasuke, but there’s no way you’ll surpass me! I’m gonna be the next hokage!”
“I’ll prove you wrong! Okay now. Thing I like and things I don’t like. Hmm…I like a lot of things, and I don’t particularly hate anything.” The three stopped walking. Sora looked at them, confused.

“What?” She looked at each of them in turn. Finally, Sakura spoke.
“T – that’s what Sasuke said, only opposite.” Sora looked at Sakura and Sasuke, even more confused.
“I hate a lot of things, and I don’t particularly like anything.” Sasuke said, exactly as he did to his sensei a couple years ago. Sora stared at him. Trying to make light of what just happened, Sora continued walking and talked jokingly to Sasuke.
“That’s not very nice! But I can think of one thing you do like! Me!” Sasuke’s face turned a little red, and Naruto laughed at Sora’s comment.
“Now answer the last question.” Said Sakura.
“Hn? Oh, yeah. My hobbies. I’m always in the schools productions, I’m the captain of the soccer team, I take private singing lessons, I like to read and sometimes draw!”

“You sing?” Asked Sakura.
“Yes.”
“Heh, are you any good?” Asked Sasuke. Sora punched him in the shoulder.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am!” Naruto said, “Then sing us something!” Sora suddenly got scared.
“No!” She snapped. The three were surprised by the way she responded.
“Huh? Why not?”
“I don’t sing aloud anywhere besides my lessons and school plays anymore.”

“Anymore?” Said Sasuke. Why did Sasuke always pick out the small details? Sora stopped walking and her eyes welled up with tears. They all stopped walking and Naruto stepped up to her.
“Sora! What’s wrong? If you don’t want to sing, we won’t make you!” They stared at Sora as she dropped her bags and fell to her knees with her face in her hands. She was now sobbing. Sakura kneeled beside her.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“T – two years ago…”
“Huh? What about two years ago?” Asked Naruto. Sora continued.
“I – I was on the r-roof outside m-my window, singing to the stars… T – This little b-boy was running by. W – when he heard me, he looked up and s – stared at me. I – I kept singing…and – and… The next thing I knew…” She sobbed harder. “The boy was in pieces in a pool of blood! H – He stopped running, and the n – ninja that was chasing him c – caught him and – and… He died because of me!” Sora shouted. “I – I didn’t know! I – I would’ve stopped if I knew he w – was being chased! And now he’s dead!” She continued crying in the silence. Then, Sasuke spoke.

“It’s not your fault, the boy probably did something wrong and –”
“He was my best friends brother! Ever since then, she has hated me!” Sasuke put a hand on Sora’s shoulder.

“Let’s continue walking.” She stopped crying, looked up and glared at him.
“I’m not walking. I need to rest.” He just looked at her for a second, then leaned over and picked her up. Sakura and Naruto collected Sora’s bags.
“Fine then, rest, but we need to move on.” Sora looked in his eyes, angry, but when she did, she lightened up.

“If you need to rest, then sleep.” Tearing her eyes away from him, Sora looked up at the stars and started to sing.

“Natsuhiboshi Naze Akai; Yuube Kanashii Yume Wo Mita
Naite Hanashita; Akai Me Yo
Natsuhiboshi Naze Mayou; Kieta Warashi Wo Sagashiteru
Dakara Kanashii Yume Wo Miru.”

Sora's graceful voice drifted away in the breeze and all was silent. All three ninja were staring at Sora, which caused her to blush. Sora was the one to finally break the awkward silence.
“That’s – the song. I guess I just feel comfortable around you guys…”

“Hn, let’s go” Said Sasuke and he stared walking. No sooner did he take two steps then a shuriken hit the tree right behind where he just was. Sakura screamed and Sasuke put Sora down. They spread out a little, and the next attack was directed to Sasuke. Sora stepped in front of it and it sliced through her shoulder and blood started coming out. Sasuke and Naruto both ran at where the weapon came from. Sakura walked over to Sora and bandaged her arm. Sakura then took out a kunai and stood in a defensive position. A minute later, the two boys came back.

“He got away.’ Said Naruto.
“Do you have any idea what he wanted?” Asked Sakura.
“No. I thought he’d be after Sora like the other guys, but it seemed like he was attacking Sasuke.”
“Sora, are you alright?” Sasuke asked. “You know, I could’ve blocked that and no one would’ve gotten hurt.”
.
“Yeah, I know. I’m fine, I’m just a little tired.” She yawned. She stumbled forward, eyes half closed. She was so tired, that she just barely felt Sasuke catch her, then pick her up.

“Come on, let’s go.” He said softly. He headed once again towards Konoha. Sakura and Naruto followed with Sora’s bags. The sun was just coming over the horizon when the Konoha gates came into view. Too tired to report to the hokage, everyone went to their houses and crashed. Sora went to Sasuke’s and dropped her stuff in the corner. She plopped on the couch and was asleep again in seconds.

Sora woke up when it was almost three o’clock in the afternoon. Sasuke was already eating breakfast. He was in his pajamas, black pants low around his hips and no shirt. Not bothered by it, Sora went to sit at the table, where a plate of food was waiting for her.

“So you’re finally awake, lazy bum.”
“Hn.” She said, and ate her breakfast. After finishing their food and getting dressed, the two went to see the hokage. They explained what happened in Niji before she sent them off. At the training ground, a man with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and a scar across his nose was waiting. Naruto, who they had met along with Sakura at the hokage’s office, ran up to the man.

“Hey! Iruka-sensei! This is Sora Suzuki! Sora, this is Iruka-sensei.”
“Hello there, Sora. It’s nice to meet you. I was told all about you. Tsunade-Sama has asked me to introduce you to your ninja training.” He motioned to the bench near him. “Take a seat over there and we’ll get stared.” Sora walked over to the bench and sat down. Sasuke sat next to her. Iruka raised an eyebrow when he saw this, reading between the lines. Sakura sat next to Sasuke and Naruto sat next to Sakura. He tried to but an arm around her, but she hit him and he ended up sitting on the ground. For about two and half-hours, Iruka talked about what it means to be a ninja and what it’s like and stuff like that. Naruto commented a lot, but Sasuke and Sakura didn’t seem to be paying attention. Sora fought away yawning in fear of being rude.

The day was almost over so everyone went out for dinner together. Naruto wanted ramen, so they went to Ichiraku’s. Naruto ate an endless amount. Sora couldn’t see where he put it though. Naruto was a skinny kid. Everyone else only ate one bowl. Sora offered to pay for herself, but Iruka ended up treating everyone.
Back at the training ground, even though it was starting to get a little darker, they started to teach Sora how to throw kunai and shuriken. Starting with kunai, Iruka threw a few, explaining how he held it, threw it and aimed. Sora’s first three missed the target. As she was about to throw her forth, Iruka said that he had to leave. Something about promising to meet up Kakashi. He told the three to continue Sora’s training, then left in a poof of smoke.

Naruto and Sakura went to train themselves because they knew that Sasuke would take care of Sora. And they were right. He gave the girl a few tips, and her next one hit right near the bull’s eye. She grinned to herself, but continued practicing. It took her four more tries before she finally hit the center. She kept hitting the center until Sasuke stopped her.

“You’ve got that down. Now try shuriken.” He showed her how to throw them, with a few tips. She got the bull’s eye faster than before.
“Ha, see, I am a fast learner!”
“Okay, so you can throw kunai and shuriken, but can you do this?” He threw a shuriken at the tree so that it tilted slightly upward. As soon as the weapon left his hand, a kunai came from his other hand. The kunai hit the tree, going through the center of the shuriken. Sora looked at Sasuke in amazement. He made it look so easy.

“When you first try it, take time to aim the kunai. Eventually, you’ll automatically have pretty good aim.” Sora threw a shuriken the way Sasuke did, then took a kunai. She aimed carefully and released it. It hit the edge of the shuriken with a ‘cling’ and fell to the ground.

“Heh.”
“Grr! I’ll get it next time!” She tried over and over again. Each time, she missed. It was hard because the target was smaller. After awhile, Sora still hadn’t gotten it. Sakura and Naruto both said they were tired and decided to head home. Sora was so focused on Sasuke and her training that she didn’t even hear them sparring and training on the other side of the field. She had completely forgotten about the two.

Sora was so frustrated that she couldn’t get the kunai through the shuriken, that she ignored her exhaustion and continued training. Sasuke stayed for awhile too, but when it started getting almost too dark to see, he told Sora not to stay out too late and went home and went to sleep. Sora continued missing the target. She was about to give up and go home but decided on one more try. Not expecting much, she carelessly threw the kunai. She was surprised when it hit the center of the shuriken. It was then that she realized that she was too tense and that she needed to loosen up. Brightening up a little, though still tired, she threw three more, plus one for good luck, each hitting the center. By the time she got back to Sasuke’s house, it was nearly eleven o’clock. Sasuke’s door was closed, so Sora slept on the couch without saying goodnight. As soon as her head landed on the pillow, she was asleep.

---

Did you catch the hint of KakaIru? ;- )

“Wake up.” Sora felt someone jostle her. “You have to train today. Just because you’re a little tired doesn’t mean that you can skip practice and sleep in.”

“Go away.” She mumbled. He didn’t leave.
“When did you get to bed anyway?”
“Eleven, now leave me alone.”

“Okay then, there’s only one way to get you up.” She felt him touch her, but even though she wondered what he was doing, she didn’t open her eyes. He picked her up and a few seconds later, laid her down on a hard surface.

“You have five seconds. Five…” Sora opened her eyes. “Four…” She took in her surroundings. She was lying in the bathtub. “Three…” She saw Sasuke’s hand on the knob. “Two…” She quickly sat up and stared at his hand. “One…” Before he could turn on the water while she was still in the tub, she jumped out. Looking at him, Sora saw that he was smirking. She put her hand under the running water. A shiver ran throughout her body as the freezing water rushed over her hand. Taking a handful of the cold water, Sora threw it at him. At first, he was shocked, but he quickly got over it. He stared splashing her, and the water fight began. The two continued tossing around water until both were soaked to the bone. Then they stopped, exhausted. Somehow, the two had ended up in the tub. Sasuke was sitting down, leaning against the wall. Sora was leaning against him, resting her head on his chest, her eyes closed. Sora started laughing so hard that it was getting hard to breathe. Sasuke was chuckling a bit too, but not nearly quite as hard. The sound of Sora’s voice filled the room so that neither of them heard someone knock on the door.
When Sasuke suddenly stopped laughing, she looked up. Sakura and Naruto were standing in the doorway, glowering at them. Naruto was the first to speak.

“What, think you can get out of training just to play around? Sora, if you’re going to become a good ninja, you need to spend more time training and less time flirting.”

“I – It’s not like that!” She said, blushing. “Sasuke was just waking me up. I was sleeping in, so he used cold water to get me wide awake.”
“I wouldn’t have expected this of you.” Said Sakura. “C’mon Naruto.” Her and Naruto left, leaving Sasuke and Sora alone. Greatly embarrassed, Sora got up and got a towel to dry off. Sasuke went in his room to change while Sora changed in the wet bathroom. Without saying a word, the two ate a small breakfast and headed to the training ground. Neither Naruto nor Sakura were there, but Iruka was waiting impatiently. Avoiding his eyes, Sora sat on the bench. It was a while before Iruka spoke, but it wasn’t directed towards Sora.

“Sasuke, this is the first time you’ve ever been late.”
“Hn.” He replied from where he was standing across from their sensei.
“I sent Sakura and Naruto to check on you, but they never came back.” Sora started to speak.
“We just – ” Iruka held up a hand.
“I don’t want to know. Let’s just get training.
Today I have a mission, so Sasuke is going to be your sensei. Sasuke, I suggest that you don’t fool around. You’ve wasted enough time already.” And with that, he disappeared. Sora stood up and Sasuke looked at her.

“Sorry.” She mumbled. Pretending not to hear her, Sasuke told her what they would be doing.
“Okay, I’ll just teach you how to control your chakra. Kakashi told us that once you can do this, you can control your chakra in almost any situation. I don’t completely agree, but it does help.” Sora looked at him, expecting some complicated task.

“Okay, what is it?” She asked eagerly.
“Tree climbing.”
“What?” That was the last thing she expected.
“You focus your chakra to the bottoms of your feet. If there’s too much, you’ll break the trunk, but if there’s too little, you’ll fall right back off. It’s perfect for controlling chakra.” He formed a seal and after a second, a light blue light came from his feet. He walked up to the tree and put his right foot on the trunk. What Sora saw next surprised her. Sasuke Uchiha, a semi-normal human being was walking up a tree. He walked under a limb so that he was upside down.

Smirking at Sora, he said, “It’s easy once you get the hang of it.” Sora stared at him, only half because she was amazed that he was standing on a tree. He was a ninja after all. The other half was because he was standing upside down on a tree. Sasuke’s shirt was falling to his arms that were crossed in front of him. She’s seen him without a shirt before, but she still enjoyed the view. Suddenly, he was falling. Sora was very afraid that he wasn’t going to land. Watching in horror as he fell feet from the air, she screamed as a cloud of dust arose when he neared the ground. Running towards where he landed, Sora heard laughing. The dust faded away and Sasuke came into view. He was crouching with his right leg slightly further up than his left. Sora stood in front of him, confused. Sasuke stood up and slowly stopped laughing.

“Do you really think I’d be so stupid as to accidentally fall from that far up?”
“Uh – I – Uh…”
“I scared you there, didn’t I?” And he stared laughing again. Realizing that he did this on purposed, Sora got angry. Aiming to slap him, she whipped her arm out at him. Sasuke just took a step back. He would’ve evaded the attack if Sora hadn’t been growing out her nails. A thin line of blood appeared across the bridge of his nose. They both were surprised.

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!” Sora stepped up to him and wiped the blood off of his nose with her thumb. He blushed slightly.
“A tiny scratch can’t hurt me. Don’t worry about it.”
Sora looked at Sasuke and cocked her head to the side. Then she started giggling.

“You know, in a way you now kinda look like Iruka-sensei.” Sasuke smiled at her comment.
“You need to stay on task. Now try to focus your chakra. Start off running so that you can go with the momentum. Mark where you get to with a kunai.”

“Okay.” After he handed her a kunai, Sasuke stood out of the way. Remembering Iruka’s lecture, Sora concentrated and focused her chakra to her feel. A light blue glow came from her feet. She looked up and ran at the tree. She got very high because she ran very fast. Before she started to fall, she cut a slash in the tree. As she started falling, she realized that no one had taught her how to land. Sasuke must have realized this too, because Sora heard him say, “Shit!” and run to catch her. Right before she hit the ground, he came sliding under her, catching her in his lap. She lay back against him, heart pounding.

“I didn’t expect you to get to high.” He said.
“Neither did I.” She said, between gasps for air. After a few seconds, she realized that she was laying on Sasuke, so she hastily got up, blushing.
“You need to teach me how to get down safely. That was terrifying!”

“Did you think I was just going to let you fall from that height?”
“I dunno. But it’s not fun being in doubt”
Now standing, Sasuke explained how to not fall from feet in the air straight at the ground.
“For beginners, it’s probably easier to go down jumping from tree to tree instead of falling straight down.” He climbed the tree and when he was coming down, he jumped to a tree next to him, then used chakra and pushed off, going back and forth. When he landed, Sora said, “I don’t think I can do that.”

“You’ll never know unless you try,” replied Sasuke.
“But what if I fall?” asked Sora, worried. Sasuke just stated, “I’ll catch you.” After a few seconds, Sora asked, “Doesn’t it hurt when I land on you?”
“If I just stood there waiting it would, but because I’m sliding, it doesn’t. Don’t worry, now just try it.” Sora climbed the tree and pushed off before gravity took over. There wasn’t enough force and she didn’t reach the other tree. Sasuke caught her, and Sora tried again. After six more tries, Sora still couldn’t make it all the way down without Sasuke having to catch her. A little tired after the last run, she just sat on Sasuke’s lap, panting. He was talking to her encouragingly, but Sora was too exhausted to get up to try again. Suddenly, another person spoke. It wasn’t Sasuke or Sora, but someone who had moved up so silently, that they weren’t heard.

“I don’t think this has anything to do with training,” said Naruto. A little surprised by his sudden appearance, but otherwise undisturbed, Sora asked, “Where’s Sakura?”
“She’s helping Ino at the shop,” responded Naruto, annoyed that Sora had changed the subject.
“Hey, that’s right!” exclaimed Sora. “I haven’t met any of your friends yet!”
“It seems that you would rather be laying on Sasuke,” stated the blonde.

“Hey, I’m not laying on him! I’m sitting on him!” Sora proclaimed. Sasuke said, “This is laying,” and lay back, pulling the girl on his lap with him. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
“Sasuke, stop it,” she said, sitting back up. Naruto asked, “What does this have to do with your training anyway?”
“I’m learning to land when I fall so I don’t get hurt.”
“Really? Are you sure you’re actually trying to land correctly? Or do you just enjoy having Teme catch you?”

“Naruto,” Sasuke growled. “Go away.” Sora was getting upset that Naruto was so mad at them. She held it in the best she could.
“Seriously Naruto, why do you care?” she asked.

“If you have a dream, you should be trying your best to accomplish it instead of fooling around! Before I was in the academy, I trained hard at home. I did sit ups and push-ups and I studied hard, pushing myself past my limits! You just sit here doing nothing!” Sasuke was getting worried that Sora was going to cry from Naruto’s outburst. He was also angry that Naruto was yelling at her.
“Shut up, Dobe –“

“I don’t care what you think!” Sora couldn’t hold it in, but it was more out of anger. “I’m a fast learner, so I don’t need to take as much time! I know I should spend more time training, but you know what? I’m new to this whole ‘ninja’ thing, so just leave me alone! You don’t know how hard it is to just leave everything you ever knew, ever loved behind for a whole new life!” Sora was very angry at Naruto now. Both of the boys were surprised that she had raised her voice and shouted at Naruto. After a final glare at Sora, Naruto stalked off. When he was gone, Sora calmed down a little and started to cry. When she stopped, Sasuke lay down and she leaned back on him.

“What’s wrong with him? Why’s he like that?” she asked, softly.
“Naruto grew up without a family. He never even knew his parents. His dream is to become the future hokage, and he never gives up, no matter what. He just doesn’t like seeing someone get through this so easy.”

“He’s wrong.” Sora said. “It’s not easy. I do enjoy being here with you and learning something new, but in the back of my mind, I’m always thinking of my home. Of my family and friends. Going out on the weekends to practice soccer and talking in our hidden spot. Being a fast learner isn’t all that there is to it. I wish he would see that.” Sora sighed and closed her eyes. They laid in silence for a couple seconds.

“Are you gonna be okay?” asked Sasuke.
“Yeah, I’m just a little hungry,” Sora answered.
“C’mon, lets go get something to eat.” Sora got up and stretched. Sasuke got up and lead her to a nice restaurant. The service was good and the food was great. Sora ate more than she normally would, but Sasuke still finished before her, like always. Sasuke paid for both of them, even though Sora offered to pay for herself. When they got back to the training grounds, Sora continued trying to land, and finally made it after a few tries. Taking a break from tree climbing, she practiced her aim. Neither spoke as Sora went through her training, but when it started getting dark, Sasuke decided to go home to get some sleep.

“Don’t stay up late again,” he told Sora.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Sasuke went home and Sora once again climbed as high as she could. After most of her chakra was drained, she threw a few more shuriken and kunai at the tree. A short while later, she was laying amongst the dropped knives, asleep. They cut shallowly in her skin, but Sora was in a deep sleep and took no notice. A tear rolled down her tan skin. Even though she was asleep, something disrupted her. Slightly aware of her surroundings, but totally out of it, Sora felt pressure on her skin. The next thing she knew, someone was carrying her away. A couple minutes later, she was placed gingerly on a soft surface. By now, Sora guessed that the person was Sasuke and that she was now lying on his bed. She felt him take off her shoes and her white shirt, respecting her by not touching her inappropriately. He ran his hands down her stomach as he slipped off her white skirt. Sora felt the bed sink as Sasuke laid down next to her. The last thing that she remembered before she fell asleep was Sasuke wrapping an arm around her and holding her close.

---

I feel kinda bad for having Naruto yell at Sora, but she yelled back at him, so they're even. And plus, Naruto doesn't really hold grudges!...^^

When Sora woke up, Sasuke was sitting on the end of the bed, sharpening his weapons. Sora sat up and saw that the door was closed. Sasuke didn’t say anything, he was lost in his thoughts. After standing up and stretching, Sora went to the door. She put her hand on the doorknob and twisted it, but before she could open it, Sasuke pushed her away and up against the wall. He held her back by her shoulders and looked into her eyes as if searching for something. Sora tried looking away, but Sasuke raised an arm to turn her head back towards him. Feeling very awkward, Sora finally broke the silence.

“Uh, Sasuke. Is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” It took a minute for Sasuke to answer.

“What is it with you?” Sora was surprised – and confused – that he asked that.

“Wha –?”
“You stay out late at night training until all of your energy is gone even when you’ve got it down or could just wait ‘til the next day. Are you trying to impress someone? Prove something to someone?”

“I –.” Sora was now uncomfortable. Sasuke was so close to her and asking these strange questions.

“I dunno. I guess – I don’t like to give up. I want to be the best I can be. I – I’m sorry, but I don’t exactly understand what you’re asking me.” This time it was Sora’s turn to search Sasuke’s face. But it’s nearly impossible to read him. Then, without warning, Sasuke leaned in and kissed Sora on the lips.

“If you want to become great, I’ll help you. Anytime you need help, ask me.”

“Wow, you two, it’s only been a few days and you’re already at it?” Naruto’s voice brought them both back to the real world. Sasuke released Sora and glared at the blonde as Sora slipped silently across the room to fetch her clothes. While she was getting dressed, she listened to the boys.

“We weren’t doing anything, just talking,” Sasuke growled.
“Really? From where I was it looked like you were holding Sora up against the wall and – haha! You missed!” Sasuke had swung his fist at Naruto’s head, but the blonde had evaded it by ducking.

“Ow! You bastard!” Naruto leaned forward, clutching his stomach. This time, Sasuke didn’t miss. He had lifted his knee right in Naruto’s gut. Sora ran over to Naruto, making sure the boy was all right.

“You’re lucky I didn’t aim any lower. You would’ve been seriously injured, but I don’t wish that kind of pain on anyone.” Naruto got up and glared at the raven-haired boy.

“Screw you!” he shouted, leaving the room.

Sasuke called after him, “You wish!”

Sora and Sasuke ate breakfast in silence. (That seems to be the case these days.) When they were finished and got to the training ground, Naruto was no where to be seen. Instead, there was a man sitting on the bench, reading a book. Sora thought that it was called Come Come Paradise, but didn’t think that any mature older man would read that. When he looked up at them, his gray hair flipped around. His ninja headband covered his left eye and he wore a black mask that covered the rest of his face. All that could be seen was his right eye. Sasuke spoke to him like they were pals.

“Kakashi, what are you doing here?”
“Iruka told me to give Sora here a demonstration.” Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
“How come you’re here early?”
“It seems that Iruka tricked me. He said to be here several hours ago.”
“Uh, Sasuke?” Sora spoke up. “Who is this guy?” Sasuke looked at her.
“Oh, this is our sensei, Kakashi Hatake. Despite his laid back appearance, he’s a top ranking ninja.”

“Sasuke, please. I have other important things to do. Let’s get this over with.”
“What, you need to read your book? Are you trying to say that you can’t read it while fighting me? That’s a compliment.” Kakashi smiled.
“No, what I meant was that if I’m going to give a demonstration, I have to talk. I can’t talk and read at the same time. I might miss an important part in my story.”

“Whatever, lets just go!” The two ninja stood in the field while Sora took a seat on the bench facing them. She knew that they were going to fight, but at first they just stood, watching each other. Finally, Sasuke made his move. He threw a bunch of shuriken and kunai at Kakashi. One was thrown within the shadow of the first few. Sora was surprised that he was attacking like he was going to kill his sensei. Then, when Kakashi dodged them all and caught the last one, she stopped worrying. She knew that they probably couldn’t lay hits on each other. They continued their battle, using lots of cool jutsu. Kakashi used substitution first, which amazed Sora, but then they both used it pretty often, so it wasn’t as cool. Then Sasuke blew fire! It was pretty awesome. After awhile, the long battle came to an end. Both men were exhausted. Sora stared at them both. Kakashi turned to her and said, “I also want to show you one more thing. If you work hard, you will be able to accomplish something as powerful as this. I didn’t use in our demonstration battle because it would’ve killed Sasuke.” Sora looked at him with horror written on her face. Kakashi grabbed his right arm, just above the elbow.

“Hey, wait!” Sasuke called out. The man stopped and looked at his student.

“I want to show her,” said Sasuke. The jounin grinned and stepped back. Sasuke spread his feet apart and leaned over slightly. He held his right arm the way his sensei did. Suddenly, a bright blue light that resembled lightning appeared in his right hand. It made a very loud noise that sounded like a myriad of birds chirping. Sora stared with her mouth hanging open. Sasuke charged toward a tree and thrust his arm forward. It ran through the tree so that there was a large hole in the middle. Sora was so amazed that before she could stop herself, she shouted, “Holy shit!” Sasuke turn to her, smirking. Sora ran up to the tree to examine it. It looked like it had been struck be lightning, which, in a way, it had. Sasuke started laughing. She glanced over at him.

“What’s so funny?” He just started laughing harder.
“The look on your face.” Sora turned to where Kakashi was before.
“Kakashi-sensei, what was –” But Kakashi was gone. Sasuke stopped laughing and spoke seriously.
“That’s the Chidori, or thousand birds. It’s called that because it sounds like a thousand birds chirping. Kakashi created this, and he calls it Lightning Edge. He said that he cut through lightning with it once.

“Wow, that’s pretty awesome!”
“Yeah, but we should get back to your training. Since we were working with chakra control yesterday, let’s continued on to today. This time, instead of climbing a tree, you’ll be walking on water.” As soon as he finished, Sora’s stomach growled.

“Okay, but can we eat first?” she said weakly. The two went to the nearest place that sold food, which just happened to be Ichiraku’s. Naruto was there, but he left as soon as they approached.

Sora easily ate three bowls, but Sasuke only ate one. Sora paid this time. She wouldn’t let Sasuke refuse.
Before the two returned to training, they stopped at Sasuke’s house. Both of them put on their swimsuits, but left their shoes behind. Sora wore her pink strapless shirt and her white skirt, leaving the rest at home. After grabbing a couple towels, they set off. Instead of going back to the training ground, Sasuke led Sora to a river that flowed nearby. Sasuke took of his shirt and walked to the water’s edge in his blue swimsuit while Sora took off her shirt and skirt. Her blue and white striped bikini halter top bathing suit matched her hair perfectly. As she walked to the water, she saw Sasuke gawking at her. Dipping a toe in the water she said, “Okay, so what am I supposed to do?” Sasuke shook his head to wake from his reverie.
“Oh – uh – yeah. Focus your chakra to the bottoms of your feet. You have to release a steady flow to keep on top of the water.” Sora grinned and did as she was told. Sora concentrated hard on focusing her chakra. Looking up, she stepped on the surface of the water. Her foot started to sink, so she stepped back and tried again. Sasuke stood in the center of the river, watching Sora’s many failed attempts. Finally, on her twelfth try, Sora was able to stand on the water.

“Yay! I did it!” she shouted joyfully.
“Heh, finally. I’ve been standing here forever!”
“Hey, it was only about thirty minutes!”
“Yeah, that thirty minutes too long. But now that you’ve finally got it, let’s take a break.” Without warning, Sasuke ran at Sora and tackled her, bringing them both under water. Surfacing, Sora started laughing. The two played in the river for several minutes. When they got out, they lay by the river, gasping for breath and laughing. After they calmed down a little bit, Sora got up and stood over Sasuke.

“C’mon, all of that playing brought up an appetite again.” She reached out her hand, but instead of pulling Sasuke up, Sasuke pulled Sora down so that she was lying on to of him. At first, Sora tried to get up, but Sasuke just held her tight. She finally gave up and Sasuke snuggled her neck. He brought in her scent and kissed her neck. Sora was a little frightened, but didn’t do anything. She was afraid that someone would see them, but knew she couldn’t over power Sasuke.

“Having fun?” The two separated as Naruto and Sakura interrupted.

“I was,” grumbled Sasuke. Sora’s entire face turned red and she wouldn’t look at anyone. Instead, she went over to her towel to dry off. Sasuke listened to Naruto’s lecture on how that relationship could “distract him and ruin his teamwork”. Sasuke just glared at him, but let the blonde finish. Then he smirked and said, “You’re just jealous that you can’t do that with Sakura.” Sakura had been watching Sora. It seemed that she wasn’t paying attention to the two boys, but at Sasuke’s comment, she started turning red.

“Who says I even want to do that with Sakura? Ever think that I just care about my teammates?”

“All you care about is yourself and becoming hokage,” yelled Sasuke. Naruto took this like a blow in the face.

“Th – That’s”
“That’s not true!” shouted Sakura. Everyone was surprised that she was standing up for the blonde. Sora stopped messing with her clothes and looked up.

“Naruto does care about becoming the hokage, but that’s not all! He always puts others before him! Don’t even think that he doesn’t care about you! He cares about others more than he cares about himself! So never again say anything like that!” Sakura turned around and stormed off.

Sora picked up her stuff and walked over beside Sasuke. She looked at Naruto, not letting any emotion show on her face.

“Sorry, Dobe,” apologized Sasuke. He then turned away and walked over to get his stuff. Sora stayed with Naruto.

“Naruto – I’m sorry – I –” Sora stated. Without saying anything, Naruto left. Sasuke walked up behind Sora, his clothes in his hands.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” Sora told Sasuke. “Let’s just get back to our training.”
“Hn.”
“Sasuke, are you alright?”

“Wait here,” he replied, then he disappeared. Wondering what he was up to, Sora lay back in the grass and watched the clouds drift by. A couple minutes later, Sasuke returned with a bunch of scrolls.

“We’re going to work on the mental training now. Let’s go into the forest where it’s quiet.” Sora sat up and looked at him. “Promise you won’t try to kiss me again?”
He heaved a sigh and said, “Yeah, whatever.”

Sora followed Sasuke into the woods. The trees were tall and their green leaves rustled in the breeze. The two walked in silence the whole way. They entered a clearing, where they could study. Many small bushes lined the edge, some with berries growing. A large tree was in the center. Sasuke sat down and leaned up against the truck of this tree. Sora sat down next to him, but made sure there was some space in-between them. Both picked up a scroll and began to read.

Sora was actually interested in what she was reading, and she went through scroll after scroll. After a couple hours passed, Sasuke looked up into the sky. A black bird was circling above head. Sora continued reading, but she looked up when Sasuke spoke.

“I have to go.” He stood up and Sora looked at him.
“What? Why?” Without giving Sora so much as a glance, Sasuke replied, “Wait here” and walked away. When he was out of sight, Sora sighed and went back to reading.

Just outside of the clearing, Kakashi was waiting. Sasuke walked up next to him.
“What do you want, Kakashi?”
“It’s time to test her.” Sasuke was surprised that the time had come so early. He looked at his sensei and asked, “What? Now?” With no emotion, Kakashi replied, “yes.”
“But she doesn’t have any weapons.”
“That is what taijutsu is for.”
“But I haven’t taught her that yet.”
“Well, we’ll just have to see what she already knows. Are you going or not?” Sasuke looked down. “I can’t”
“Alright, I’ll go.” At this, Sasuke jerked his head up to look at his sensei.
“No. Not you.”
“How about me?” Naruto appeared behind them. Sasuke glared at him.
“No. Not you either.” Naruto said, “Hey, it’s either me or him,” pointing at Kakashi. Without waiting for Sasuke’s reply, Naruto transformed himself. He walked toward where Sora was still reading. Kakashi and Sasuke watched him to see what he was going to do. The test began.



Sora had just finished another scroll when she heard leaves crunching. Looking up, she saw a man standing in front of her. He looked to be about her sensei’s age, maybe a little older. His dark hair was very unruly and his clothes were a size too big. Nothing about him was pleasant.


“What do you want?” Sora asked him.
“Nothing much,” he said, his grin shining with mischief. Sora stood up as the man approached her.
“Go away!” she shouted, sensing trouble, but them man kept coming. There was no escape, and the man put his hands against the tree on either side of her head. Sora raised he knee hoping to his the man in his weak point. He caught her leg and put it back down. She then took her right fist and tried to hit him in the face. Once again, he caught her blow easily. He said, “you’re not that bad.”
“I’ve had experience with guys like you,” Sora said. (Sasuke’s eyes widened in wonder.)


“Oh really?” Sora closed her eyes and focused on her escape. ‘Maybe if the man were to trip.” When she opened her eyes a second later, she pushed the man back. He tripped on a small hole in the ground that wasn’t there before. When he fell down, Sora took the chance and ran away. She ran and ran, not stopping until she was laying on her back on Sasuke’s bed. Awhile later, Sasuke came home to find Sora still in his bed, staring at the ceiling. When she didn’t say anything when he entered the room, he asked, “What’s wrong?” Without moving anything besides her lips, Sora answered him.
“You’re what’s wrong. You weren’t there when…” Sasuke looked up at her, looking confused.
“When what? What happened?” He already knew what had happened, he had seen it, but he couldn’t let her know that. Not yet.


“That man tried to…”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s all over.”
“Fine, I’ll just wait until you’re ready to talk about it. Are you going to shower?” Sora crawled under the covers, as she said, “No I’m too tired. I’ll wait ‘til morning.” Sasuke took off his shirt and changed into his pajama pants. Sora didn’t mind, she was facing the other way. But she wouldn’t have cared anyway. He climbed into bed and put an arm around Sora. She quickly pushed it off and slid further away from her raven-haired friend. Sighing quietly, Sasuke fell asleep. Sora drifted off soon after.



Sora woke up just as Sasuke was leaving the room. She sat up and stretched. Grabbing a towel, Sora stumbled into the bathroom, still half asleep. After setting her towel near the tub and getting undressed, she turned on the water. The showerhead was off center, so most of the water hit the wall than it did the person standing beneath it. Sora tried to reach for the showerhead to adjust it, but found that her wrist didn’t have the strength to turn it. ‘Probably from my encounter with that creepy guy last night.’ She sighed, knowing what had to be done. Sticking her head out of the shower, she called out.
“Sasuke! Could you come here for a sec?” A minute later, the raven-haired boy opened the door and hesitantly walked in.


“Uh, yeah?”
“Um – the uh…the showerhead isn’t centered and I can’t fix it…I – uh – I must’ve injured my wrist – last night…” Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
“And?” Getting angry that she couldn’t continue with her shower, Sora yelled, “Could you just please hurry up and center it for me?”


“Hn.” Sora took a step back as the Uchiha finally reached his hand in and grabbed a hold of the showerhead. The two both blushed even though Sasuke couldn’t see her. Just the thought was making it awkward. After adjusting it, Sasuke left the room. Surprisingly, a certain young blonde was sitting on the couch. Naruto grinned at the boy exiting the bathroom seeming to forget their argument the day before. Sasuke blushed even more as he sat down next to his friend. Trying to stay away from the unmentioned subject, Sasuke asked, “Why are you here?”
“Oh, no reason,” answered the blonde, a smile still on his face.


“If you would have done anything to her yesterday, I would’ve killed you,” Sasuke growled. Naruto looked over at him. They both knew what he meant.
“C’mon, I wasn’t going to do anything. It was just a little test. I’m still confused how she tripped me, although Kakashi seemed to understand.”
“Hn.”
“Also, I wonder what she meant when she said ‘I’ve had experience with guys like you’.” Sasuke didn’t say anything. He was also wondering about that. Sora didn’t know he heard her though, so he wasn’t sure when it would be safe to ask.
“So,” Naruto dragged on. “What were you doing in there while Sora was in the shower?” Not even glancing and the boy next to him, Sasuke murmured, “I – uh – nothing really – just –” At that moment, the bathroom door opened and Sora stepped out. She had her towel wrapped around her and was holding her dirty clothes. When she spotted Naruto, her eyes widened in shock, but she quickly composed herself.


“Hi, Naruto. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, just visiting.” Sora rolled her eyes and headed into Sasuke’s room to change after grabbing some clean clothes. Once she shut the door, she dropped the towel from around her. Just as it hit the floor, the door slowly opened. Sora was further behind the door, so it opened towards her, she quickly picked up her towel and covered herself. Sasuke stepped inside.


“Sorry, need a towel.” He took his time to walk across the room and reach in the closet for an off-white towel. Sora watched him in silence. When he was gone, she closed the door again. This time, she locked it. Sora quickly got dressed and brushed her hair. Unlocking and opening the door, she saw that Naruto was still on the couch. He was staring at his twiddling thumbs, deep in thought and still grinning. When he heard Sora come out, he looked up at her and his grin deepened. Sora wondered why he was in such a good mood. She sat down next to him and leaned back, her feet on the table. Placing her hands behind her head, she sighed.
“What are we doing today?” Naruto’s smiled dimmed as he answered slowly, afraid that Sora would burst after what happened the previous day.


“Well, you still have a lot of training to do if you want to become a great ninja.” Sora glared at him, but said nothing. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Naruto wasn’t smiling anymore.
A little while later, Sasuke came out of the bathroom. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and his raven hair was damp. Small beads of water were running down his bare chest. Sora stared at his wet skin as he walked into his room to get dressed. A huge smile appeared on Naruto’s face as he watched his female friend gaze at the area where Sasuke had disappeared behind a closed door. Sasuke came out a second later with a shirt in his hand. Sora once again gazed at Sasuke’s chest without thinking. She was amazed at how much hotter he looked without a shirt on. ‘If that’s possible. He’s already hot enough.’ Sora’s eyes started wondering downwards to the edge of Sasuke’s low pants. Some naughty thought’s entered her mind. Although he knew what she was doing, Sasuke didn’t say anything about Sora’s actions. Instead, he turned to his blue-haired friend and asked, “So, are you ready to get going?”


“Oh – uh.” Sora shook her head to clear it. “Yeah, lets go. Naruto, are you gonna come with us?”
“Nah, I’ve got some other stuff to do. You two just go on ahead.” He got up and left, but not before giving a smile goodbye. Sasuke put on his shirt and went to the door. He locked the door behind him as Sora started walking. They didn’t talk much on the way to the training fields.
When they reached their destination, the two stood facing each other.


“First you are going to learn to make clones of yourself.”
Sora’s face lit up as she exclaimed, “Oh cool! I’ve been wanting to do this ever since I saw Naruto do it!” Sasuke smiled at the clear joy on her face.
“All you do is focus chakra and form the seal. You can make just one or two, or Naruto can make a couple hundred.” Sasuke showed Sora by making a clone appear next to her. She jumped from its unexpected appearance. A few seconds later the clone disappeared with a ‘pop’.
Sora couldn’t wait to get started and in her hurry, she couldn’t focus very well. Her first few attempts turned out terrible and barely resembled her and couldn’t even stand. This made Sora so frustrated that her concentration became even worse. Sasuke tried to calm her down, but she wouldn’t listen. Finally, he grabbed her in a strong embrace from behind, not letting her go no matter how hard she struggled. After a few minutes, Sora settled down and Sasuke released her. She lay down on the soft grass and breathed deeply. Sasuke sat next to her, but didn’t say anything.


Sora’s growling stomach broke the silence. She placed a hand on her abdomen and her cheeks flushed a light pink. Sasuke stood up, facing away from his friend, who was still lying in the grass.
“C’mon. Let’s go eat,” he suggested. The two walked to a restaurant and ate their brunch in silence. When they returned to the training grounds, Sora had calmed down a lot. Once again she tried to make a clone. She formed the seal, took a deep breath and concentrated hard.


Eventually, a clone appeared in front of Sora. She was so happy that she finally accomplished her task that she ran up to Sasuke and enveloped him in a hug without thinking. He held her tight, but when Sora realized what she was doing, she pushed away, blushing. Trying to forget what had just happened, Sora continued making clones.
When many minutes had passed, Sasuke told her to stop and that they would move on to transforming. Sora was really excited at the thought of transforming herself to look like someone else.


“First imagine who you want to transform in to,” Sasuke instructed.
“Like who?” asked Sora.
“Anyone. A friend, classmate, family member…Anyone but me.” Sora thought for awhile about who her victim was going to be. She decided in only a minute and asked Sasuke what to do. After he explained everything, Sora took a step back and did as she was told. A thick cloud of smoke appeared, surrounding Sora. As the smoke dispersed, Sora ran her hands through her short hair. She’d run her hands through this hair before, but it wasn’t her long blue hair. The blonde shaggy hair belonged to the person Sora had always liked, Makoto.
Sora looked up at Sasuke, her eyes bright with satisfaction. But Sasuke was laughing. Well, it was more of a chuckle, but it still made Sora feel uneasy.
“What? I did it! Didn’t I?” Sora still had her own voice, even though her body had changed. Slowly Sasuke regained his composure just long enough to say two simple words.
“Mine’s bigger.” He then started laughing again, a little harder than before. It took Sora a second to realize what he meant, but when she figured it out, her eyes widened in horror. Very slowly she looked down. There she saw herself, transformed into Makoto, completely and utterly stark naked. Sora covered her eyes and asked Sasuke how to undo the transformation. He told her how and Sora was back in her own body in an instant. Her face was deep red and her eyes looked everywhere but at Sasuke.


“Okay, look,” said Sasuke. “ Go into the forest and practice awhile. Just don’t do anything…inappropriate.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sora asked. Sasuke smirked.
“Nevermind about that, just go get to work.” Sora went into the forest and found the clear that she had studied with Sasuke in earlier. She tried transforming into a various number of people. Unfortunately, Sora couldn’t keep the clothes on the people when she tried the jutsu. The poor girl tried concentrating harder on the clothing, but it didn’t work. After trying a number of different people, Sora couldn’t think of anyone else to transform in to. She wondered why Sasuke had told her not to transform in to him.


‘Probably just so I couldn’t embarrass him,’ she thought. ‘But now that he’s gone, why not?’
With a mischievous grin on her face, Sora performed the jutsu and transformed herself in to Sasuke Uchiha. She felt the familiar sensation that came with it. When the jutsu was complete, though, something wasn’t right. Sora felt a very strong pain in her neck. It was too much for her to handle and she fell to the ground, screaming in pain. In a couple of minutes, she was unconscious.

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