"And why should I run away? I'm not afraid of you," you stated, surprised that your voice was deadly calm. Mizuki seemed just as taken aback by your declaration, but he just shrugged. Then he twisted his features into a gruesome approximation of a smile.

"I was going to save this for the Uzumaki brat, but I suppose I can finish you off quickly enough without having to damage my equipment."

You stiffened, furious at his insufferable insolence. He would pay for insulting your friend Naruto. With those ominous words, Mizuki yanked a giant shuriken off his back. Before he could launch the dangerous missile at your vital organs, you feinted to the side and flung a flurry of shuriken of your own at his chest.

As you expected, the chuunin dodged them with ease, but you had secured a few precious seconds of time for Naruto. Mizuki also had to re-pinpoint your location. With a monstrous shuriken of that size and weight, air resistance would surely be working against him, buying just enough time for you to leap nimbly behind his unprotected back. Your fingers tightened around the handle of a polished kunai, but he was faster. Before you could react, he had his own kunai pressed to your throat.

"Die!" he hissed, digging the knife painfully – but not fatally – into your collarbone. You aimed a swift kick at his shins, thanking your lucky stars that Mizuki was the kind of man that liked to play with his opponents rather than finish them off quickly. Otherwise, you would be dead by now. You jerked your head out of his reach and deftly yanked the kunai out of your neck.

The wound wasn't exactly deep, but the sticky flow of hot blood and the stabbing pain that came with it was nauseating. You gave a small cough and staggered back, taking a steadying breath to calm yourself.

"I warned you not to mess with stronger, more powerful shinobi," he taunted. With a jolt of terror, you realized that Mizuki's voice was coming from directly behind you. You ducked instinctively and rolled out of the way.

"You can't escape."

Mizuki's foot connected with the side of your head and you flew several metres into the air. With a sickening crack, your body collided head on into the trunk of a tree. You let out an involuntary howl of pain. In a flash, Mizuki was perched on the branch where you lay, helpless and broken. His foot prodded your side none too gently and you clenched your teeth to muffle another screech issuing from your throat.

"Ah, something's broken?" Mizuki asked conversationally, sounding positively amused. You groaned in response. You really didn't want to know the answer to that question.

He threw back his head and laughed. "Now, to finish this."

You raised your right arm experimentally, delighted that it was still working. There was only one thing you could do. Your fingers weaved through a familiar pattern of hand seals for the third time in one week.

"Kawarimi no jutsu," you whispered, summoning the last of your strength with sheer willpower to roll aside and plummet to the ground below. In a lethargic, pain-induced haze, you watched as Mizuki stabbed what appeared to be your body in the heart. You watched as he turned his back on you, not noticing that the 'you' had turned into kunai-embedded log. He bounded into the night, chuckling to himself and you sighed in relief. Then you allowed yourself to succumb to the pain and passed out.

-:-

"[Name]-chan! Hey, [Name]-chan, you've got to wake up!" A familiar voice, hoarse with anxiety dragged you from your peaceful slumber. You gasped as the sleep drained from our limbs, exposing you to the full potency of your injuries. You opened your eyes, blinded momentarily by the soft glow of sunrise. When you adjusted to the brightness, you found a pair of vivid blue eyes gazing worriedly at you.

"H-hey, Naruto," you said weakly, trying to lift your head.

"Whoa, careful [Name]," you heard Iruka say. "You don't look so good."

"No," you admitted, stifling a yelp of pain when your leg gave way as you tried to stand.

"Sensei, what are you waiting for?" Naruto complained, crossing his arms. "We have to get her to the hospital!"

"One thing first. Izumo and Kotetsu spotted your confrontation with Mizuki while on patrol duty, [Name]," he smiled at your reddening face. "Your bravery was admirable."

You flushed even redder. You must be dreaming. "B-bravery? But I –"

"The way you fought, [Name] – you fought like a true shinobi."

You smiled at him, bewildered. Iruka pointed at your forehead.

"Congratulations, you graduate!"

Your trembling hand moved to where he was pointing. Your fingers caressed the Konoha symbol etched into the cool, smooth metal plate of the forehead protector. A grin stretched your face, and you impulsively gave Iruka a crushing hug. He looked startled, and patted you awkwardly on the back with one hand. "Be careful, [Name]. You're still injured. Now Naruto, let's get her to the hospital."

-:-

You attempted to get through the classroom doorway with your crutches, but it wasn't an easy task. Then there was the business with sitting down properly at a desk. When you finally took a seat, Iruka had already begun addressing the class and listing out the members of the teams.

"As for the seventh team, there has been a slight change due to the increase of the number of graduates," he was saying. "I will read out the members of this team now. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and [Last Name] [First Name]."

Naruto gave you a high five and beamed at you. "We're on the same team, believe it! Now if only Sasuke-teme wasn't with us, Team 7 would be perfect!"

Sakura glared at Naruto, looking sour. "If only you weren't, then the team would be perfect."

You laughed, drawing comfort from the sound of their ceaseless bickering. It never ceased to amaze you how at home you felt in the shinobi world, with these characters you've always admired, respected, and ah…crushed on for so long.

-:-

"Let's see, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?" Sakura inquired, leaning forwards.

"What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies. Something like that."

"Ano-sa, ano-sa, why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei?" Naruto asked, playing with his forehead protector.

"Me?" Kakashi asked, his tone slightly amused. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate…I don't feel like telling you that. As for my dream…" he paused, his eyes flickering over the four of you before continuing. "…I have a few hobbies."

"Well, that was useless. All he really told us was his name," Sakura grumbled, sounding thoroughly annoyed. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Now it's your turn," Kakashi said, pointing at Naruto. "You first."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen, but I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought for me even more. I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I pour the hot water. My hobby is to eat and compare cup ramen! And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage. So then, the whole village will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody, somebody important!" When he finished, he grinned cheekily up at Kakashi.

His visible eye widened, but he continued impassively. "Okay, next."

"I'm Haruno Sakura! I like…well the person I like is…" she glanced at Sasuke and giggled. "And my hobby is…well, my dream is to…" she dissolved into a fit of helpless giggles. Kakashi cleared his throat noisily.

"And? What do you hate?"

"Naruto," she responded promptly.

"Ehh…?!" he protested, looking disgruntled.

"Next."

You glanced at Sasuke, who didn't seem inclined to answer, so you spoke. "I'm [Last Name] [First Name]." You went on to describe your likes, dislikes and hobbies, and finished with, "And my goal…is to become a strong kunoichi of the Leaf Village."

"I see," Kakashi nodded once, turning to Sasuke. "And you?"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. And my dream…is an ambition that I have no intention of leaving as just a dream. The revival of my clan…and to kill a certain someone."

Again, Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't comment. "That's all very interesting. You four have unique personalities, and I like that. We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow. Survival training."

"If it's a mission, what's the point of training?" Sakura questioned. "We've had loads of training back at the Academy already."

"This is no ordinary training," Kakashi said, enjoying himself. He began to explain the dropout rate, the small number of graduates who will go on to become genin. Sakura and Naruto looked unnerved.

"Whether you pass or fail is determined tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring all your equipment and we'll meet at 5 AM! Now then, the meeting's over. Oh yeah…and don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up if you do."

-:-

That night, you had the first dream since you arrived in the ninja world.

And it was strange, even by your standards. It started out normal enough, a vague, fuzzy replay of the day's events and the odd, dreamlike quality characteristic of dreams.

You floated around, minding your own business, until the scene before you tore apart like strips of painted canvas. And now, fear clouded your mind, because it wasn't like any nightmare you had ever experienced before. There was no strange haze that blurred your thoughts, no fuzziness that confirmed that it was just a dream. You were paralyzed with terror, but you forced yourself to back away from the gaping holes in the canvas. Then you froze again, as the silhouette of a man stepped out of the blackness and gazed at you with the strangest case of heterochromia you had ever seen. His left eye was deep purple, while his right eye was crimson with the telltale design of a matured Sharingan. That man…he wasn't supposed to obtain the Rinnegan until Shippuden, so what was up with that?

You told your body to move, but it would not respond to your frantic signals. Somehow, against your will, you were held rooted to the spot.

"Genjutsu…" you breathed. With a mix of revulsion and awe, you gazed as the man reached towards your face, almost lovingly, with a strange expression on his face.

"Rin…" he whispered tenderly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His fingers lightly brushed your cheek and you flinched, terrified. His eyes filled with sadness and he vanished. You awoke, your face pale and beaded with perspiration, then fell back into a restless, dreamless slumber.

Go to Chapter 21.