“The thing is, I used to like that; feeling special because I knew something no one else did. It's a kind of power, isn't it, knowing a secret? But lately I don't like it so much...knowing this.” —Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Not Your Average Cliché
I had once been told that I was born in a strange way. I was young. Maybe three? I can't remember. But after the old man told me that and refused to say any more I sort of gave up on getting the straight answer. I mean the answer to the question everyone asks themselves at some point—who am I? Where did I come from? What is my purpose? Something along those lines. It makes it harder when you don't have parents to ask.

I guess I had the old man, but he was more like an estranged grandpa who wasn't really related to me by blood—but then I wasn't too invested in the whole “blood ties” thing either, even as a kid. It takes a village to raise a child, and that's what happened. So I guess the whole village is my family if you want to put it like that. Still, I couldn't exactly go up to old lady Tatsu and ask her all those questions. And it didn't exactly help that not many people besides a couple of shifty Jounin I'd met and the old man knew much about my origins anyway. So I was sorta out of luck on that front...

But I wasn't too down about it. I was far too busy to be thinking about that stupid stuff anyway. 'Busy doing what?' you may ask? Well, it's a simple. My monthly allowance didn't amount to crap—Maybe enough to live on, but that was it. And I don't care what anyone else says, that's not living! It all started when old lady Tatsu ran out of apples for her apple pie. She seemed so upset about it that I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. It just so happened that I knew a tree with the best sort of apples growing on it—the kind I made myself.

I'd always had a bit of a green thumb ever since I could remember. In fact, according to the old man, it was more than just a green thumb—it was a kekki genkai. Whatever that means. Anyway, it wasn't that hard at all. I just felt the seeds in the ground, found the one I liked the best, and pulled. Then it would shoot right up out of the ground—easy. Well, maybe not at first. It took a long time for me to get them past the baby tree stage, and before that, I couldn't even get sprouts before I'd get so tired I felt like I was going to pass out. But practice makes perfect, and soon enough I could manage to pull up one eight foot tree in one go.

The old man was furious when he found out what I'd been doing, since apparently if I wasted too much 'chakra' I could die. It sure scared me straight, and though it didn't stop me from growing my own secret garden, I was much more careful about it—at least when I wasn't pressed for cash. In that case, I'd pull up a hundred trees if it meant I got to eat home made pie from old lady Tatsu as a reward for my apples.

She wasn't the only one I did favors for though. I did odd jobs for anyone who offered payment of some kind—deliveries, shop assistance, clean up jobs, fence painting, and especially gardening. If someone hired me to weed out a garden, those weeds never came back—they were probably too scared. Plus everyones' herbs and crops grew much more successfully after I was through with them. It was one of the only kinds of jobs I got payed real cash for—otherwise it was snacks, toys, or something else useful. It was a pretty sweet set up, but when I'd finally started to make a name for myself, the old man signed me up for the stupid ninja academy!

“When you graduate, you can keep doing the same thing you are now.” He frowned at me disapprovingly then, “But in the mean time, I want you to stop taking all the D rank missions from the Genin. Do you understand me, Tonbo?”

“Missions??” I cried angrily, “These aren't missions, they're chores! Why do I have to become a shinobi to do them?! Those stupid Genin should be thanking me!”

“Besides, when I do them, I actually do them right!” I crossed my arms, pouting, “The academy is stupid, and it makes stupid Genin! I don't want to be a stupid Genin!”

The old man sighed, and I caught that look in his wrinkly old eyes, calling him out on it shamelessly, “Ha! I knew it! You think they're stupid too! Haha!”

“Regardless of either our opinions...” He replied with exasperation in his voice, “one of those 'stupid Genin' could still come in here and kick your butt if I told them it was a C rank mission.”

Instead of feeling threatened and insulted like I should've, the warning actually gave me a warm fuzzy feeling and I looked at the old man with heartfelt eyes, “I'm worth a C rank mission...?”

“If you were a 'stupid Genin'...I'd make it an A rank.”

And with that—knowing full well I'd been handled—I was sold into the shinobi profession for life. Probably one of the dumbest decisions of my life, based on idiotic nine-year-old principles and a wild determination to be a huge pain in the ass for anyone who crossed me—but what can I say? I was young and ambitious with no earthly idea of the hardships to come in the future. I was young, happy, and utterly naïve. Ignorance was literally my bliss...and I miss those days.

On the day of the entrance ceremony, I got dressed in some puffy black shorts, and a red, sleeveless, wrap shirt, secured by a thickly braided black drawstring tied in a messy knot to the side, leaving the remaining length to dangle past my waist freely. As usual, I would forgo the shoes completely. I'd never worn them a day in my life, and I wasn't going to start then either. They made me feel oddly naked because I couldn't feel the ground, or the earth beneath my feet. It was uncomfortable and confining, not to mention it made me more jumpy than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It was like a part of me was cut off when I couldn't feel that good dusty dirt between my toes.

Old lady Tatsu stopped me on the way and thoughtfully offered me a bento which I gratefully accepted with an enthusiastic smile and respectful bow to which she just laughed and waved me off as I voiced my gratitude, “It's about time you started going to school. You should be with other children your age instead of working so hard on your own.”

I huffed, frowning, “Well, the boss says I have to be a Genin if I want to keep working...but he didn't say I couldn't bring you anymore apples!”

“Well aren't you a sly little thing?” The old lady giggled happily as I grinned at her proudly with my hands on my hips, “They're the sweetest apples I've ever tasted! You never did tell me where you get them.”

I put my fingers to my lips and beamed, “It's a secret!”

With that, I was off again with a wave of farewell over my shoulder as I ran down the street. I met several more of my regulars on the way, each of them with a wish of good luck, or even better—a special surprise for my first day at school. If I'd known that everyone would be so excited about it, I would've gone to the academy much sooner. As it was, I was entering pretty late in the game—a year late, in fact—so the old man stuck me in a group that was one year younger than me. Needless to say, I wasn't too enthused about the idea—or any of it for that matter—but the support of everyone else made me feel more confident.

I wasn't actually too great at making friends—well, friends my age that is. Old lady Tatsu? Old man Teuchi at the ramen shop, his daughter Ayame, or lady Yamanaka at the flower shop? They were easy to talk to, and they liked me since I always helped them out—like making deliveries for Teuchi when Ayame was sick, and for lady Yamanaka with prepaid deliveries at the cemetery; She hated to go for various valid reasons, and her daughter refused because it, quote unquote, “creeps me out.” It was precisely because of people like Ino that I didn't get along with kids my age...but I was just going to have to make the most of it.

Ino wasn't really that bad though. She made friends so easily that I even envied her a bit. Actually, I might even say I admired her. It still didn't stop me from teasing her though. She liked to make a habit of pretending she didn't know me, but I wasn't too fond of being ignored.

So when I saw her before the ceremony, standing in front of her parents with a bubbly flock of girls around her already I couldn't help running over and tackling her with a flying surprise hug, exclaiming her pet name loudly “Ii-chaaaan!!” consequentially earning us both the blank stares of her new comrades. Her cheeks burned with rage and embarrassment, but mostly rage, I think. Ergo, my mission was accomplished.

“Heeeh? Is that Bo-chan?” Lady Yamanaka beamed at me while her husband sent me a curious smile. He was one of the few who knew of my green thumb, though he never said so out loud; he'd always invite me to come look at the flowers in the nursery, and I could never really help myself when it came to pretty flowers. I always wanted to see what they looked like after they bloomed. It was the curiosity that got me. I guess everybody wins except for the cat...?

“Hello again!” I beamed back at her and released the fuming, struggling girl in my grasp to speak with the adults, “Is Ii-chan enrolling in the academy?”

“That's right.” Inoichi answered for his wife, his friendly smile fading slightly when he asked, “But what are you doing here Bo-chan? Are you still running errands for lady Tatsu?”

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly as I heard Ino deny any and all relations to me to her little group of friends, and replied, “Well, I promised I'd still bring her my apples, but I probably won't be able to make anymore deliveries for a while...Old man Hokage said I have to enroll this year if I want to keep doing favors for everyone, and stop taking missions from the Genin...whatever that means, hehehe!”

I didn't miss the way Inoichi raised his brows in shock, but lady Yamanaka exclaimed happily, “Oh, that's wonderful! Maybe the two of you will be in the same class?”

I think the way Ino's head turned to stare at me with slight horror may have given her whiplash, but I still grinned at her slyly, “I hope so! We're going to become so much closer!”

I was cracking up inside at the look on the other girl's face, and the support from her mother just about melted my heart. The amused smirk on Inoichi's face suggested he knew my true motives though. After all, there is no one more skillful at mortifying a daughter than her own father. Behind the amusement, however, was a face I couldn't read. He was a member of the interrogation squad, after all. He was trained to keep a poker face...but it was still a poker face. And poker faces are meant to conceal something...I just couldn't tell what. It so was frustrating, because reading people was one of the things I was supposed to be good at. I almost felt cheated.

I wasn't too put out about it though. After all, it was my first day of school, and I was too preoccupied trying to sit still and not to fall asleep during the old man's speech at the entrance ceremony—which was surprisingly easy, since I was sitting next to Ino and her family. Poking fun at the other girl was too amusing to pass up. She'd grumble insults under her breath like 'kiss up' or 'freak,' but it only made it funnier to me since I knew I was getting under her skin. I wasn't trying to be mean though...I was trying to get her attention. Being by her side made me feel included, if only to be included as a nuisance. Besides, the Yamanakas were the only people I'd met at the congregation so far that I was especially familiar with. And with the exception of Ino for the most part, they'd always been kind to me. I really did hope we'd be in the same class together.

When the long, boring speech was over, and the instructors started calling names, in the throng of the crowd, I felt a hand touch my shoulder firmly. It was old and wizened, and I knew instantly it was the old Hokage. I spun around and gave him my best determined smirk, my hands on my hips, and I boasted, “Just watch, Old Man, I'm gonna graduate in one year! And when I do, you owe me a billion ryo!”

“Will I?” He returned my smirk with an amused one, “Well, we'll just have to wait and see. I'll be monitoring your grades carefully in the mean time.”

I stuck my tongue out, “There's going to be grades?? I thought this was supposed to be training!”

“Of course there's grades. How else would your teachers know who needs more training than others?” He reasoned logically and I pouted since I knew he was right.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever...” I kicked at the dust at my feet, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly, “I'll still be the best. You'll see.”

“I suppose I will.” He agreed with another smile but then caught my shoulder again before I could run off, “But before you begin, I need you to make me a promise.”

I focused on him curiously then, turning back and questioning, “What kind of promise?”

He led me by the shoulder, walking side by side with the much shorter me at a leisurely pace until we were standing by an old tree swing in the school yard. He stared up at the statues of the four hokages, carved painstakingly into the cliff side, with a tranquil look in his eye and told me, “A long time ago, this village was created by a man who wished for peace.”

He pointed at the proud, stern faced effigy on the far left and asked me, “Do you know who that man was?”

“...The First Hokage?” I questioned, somewhat clueless at to where the conversation was going.

“That's right.” He nodded, his face going completely serious as he looked away from the mountain and turned his gaze upon me, “And that man had a very special gift. Just like you.”

I blinked in honest surprise, looking over both my shoulders conspiratorially before I held up my thumb, pointing at it and hissing quietly, “You mean this??”

His serious face faltered for a moment and he almost smiled before repeating once again, “Yes. That's right.”

But all humor left him when he bent down to look me seriously in the eyes, “Tonbo. Promise me that you will not use your gift while you are at the academy.”

My brows furrowed and I frowned indignantly. We'd had discussions before about using my green thumb in moderation and keeping it a close knit secret, but never with this much intensity. I didn't understand why it was such a big deal. It made no sense, “Why not?”

“Because it's dangerous.” he stressed the word, gripping my shoulder once again and shocking me with the tension in his gravely old voice.

Once the shock of the admission wore off, however, I made a face and scoffed, “No it's not! I grow apples for old lady Tatsu! I help make the sick flowers in Mr. Yamanaka's nursery get stronger! How is that dangerous? !”

The old man looked at me with sympathetic eyes and told me quietly, “Because, Tonbo. Though you are young and your intentions are innocent, there are others who are not so innocent, whose intentions only lie in darkness...If word reaches them that a child exists with Senju Hashirama's pure wood release technique, they will find you, and they will take you away—one way or another.”

My argumentative attitude slipped away almost instantly at his words, replaced with a cold sick feeling creeping into my stomach and up into my chest. A strange sound I recognized as fear worked its way into my voice then as I questioned feebly, “...What will happen to me then?”

He frowned solemnly, hesitating slightly before replying softly, “I don't know...and I believe it would be best not to find out.”

I wholeheartedly agreed, but that still left the question, “Then...what should I do?”

“Exactly as I said.” He replied, “Promise to let no one know of your gift unless you become strong enough to protect it, and your home.”

But...it's not that easy. How could I just stop doing something that was a part of me? If I was going to become a shinobi, then I was going to have to use it at some point or another, right? Like the first hokage. I stared up at the likeness forlornly, a hundred questions in my eyes. I wished he were still alive and not mouldering away in some fancy crypt. Then maybe I would have my answers. Maybe even a teacher. A guide. But what's dead is dead...and it should stay dead.

Sensing the tension in my silence, the old man looked up at the first hokage as well and told me reflectively, “That man was known as the god of shinobi...do you think you can become like him one day?”

I tore my gaze away from the statue to stare at him with wide eyes as I considered it, then grinned and replied, “When I do, you owe me one billion ryo, Old Man. I'll keep that promise.”

He smiled back, his eyes shining with something unknown beneath their hooded lids, and he answered decisively with, “I'll start saving up.”

I grinned, and turned to go, but halted when I saw the empty court yard. I then rounded on the old man with irritation, “Why'd you have to talk for so long?! Now I don't know which...class...”

I trailed off as he led my by the shoulder once more and gave me a look, “You think I don't know exactly what class you're in? I let your sensei know about your abilities, so he'll be my eyes and ears when I'm not around, got it? No pulling any funny stuff.”

“Geeze! I'm not stupid, Old Man!” I sent him a similar look, “I already said I won't, so I won't!”

“We'll see.” He replied skeptically and I glared at him as he slid open the door to a classroom. I made a face as everyone's attention turned to us as the old man walked me down and sat me next to the only person who wasn't openly staring—he was asleep.

The sensei paused in his lecture to say, “Thank you, Hokage-sama.”

He nodded to the younger man and replied dubiously with a knowing look on his face, “Good luck...”

What he knew, and what the sensei needed luck for, I wasn't sure, but he got this overworked look on his face that actually made me feel sort of sorry for him. I couldn't say why though...When the Old Man left, however, the look on the Sensei's face changed into one of strict authority, and his eyes darted to me as he addressed the class, “For future reference, though I'll make an exception the first time, I don't accept tardiness in my class. Is that understood, everyone?”

“Yes, Iruka-sensei!” The whole class, minus the sleeping guy and me, replied.

I frowned indignantly and stood, “But I wasn't late! It was—”

“No excuses!” 'Iruka-sensei' cut me off, and the class giggled at me mockingly.

Defeated, I sunk down low in my seat, scowling and not feeling sorry for the guy at all now. There was a loud snore from the kid beside me and I narrowed my sharp, dark eyes in exasperation. Coupled with that, and the giggling from Ino and her new crewmates, I felt great. Oooh yes...today was turning out to be awesome so far. I think I sunk even lower in my seat.

Halfway through the lecture, the snoring boy beside me decided to grace the world with his presence and yawned loudly, drawing glances at us from other students. Thankfully, Iruka-sensei didn't notice, but he would if they boy didn't stop looking around blearily and asking, “Heeeh? Wa's goin' on?”

I slid my notes across the conjoined row of wooden desks curtly with one finger and replied quickly and quietly, “Take it. They're the supplies we need to bring tomorrow.”

“Huh?” He looked at me as if just noticing my existence and replied with slightly blushed cheeks, “Uh...yeah. Thanks....Um, who are you?”

I looked away from what Iruka-sensei was writing on the board to regard him with a raised brow. Taking in his appearance, I noticed he had bright blue eyes that I was kind of jealous of. Mine were a dark murky brown, and his hair was this blindingly bright blond—another thing that kind of made me jealous. My hair was pure inky black that grew past my mid back in a V shape with long strands of bangs that framed my tan face—all together kind of plain in my opinion. His own skin had a regular pink complexion, but I noticed some odd marks on his cheeks, and I frowned a little, replying warily, “I'm Tonbo.”

“Eh?” He sent me a confused look, “Like a dragonfly?”

I couldn't help but grin. I loved dragonflies with a passion. When I had free time, I would go down by the water to skip stones and try to catch them, but they were always too fast. They symbolized victory, after all—always flying forwards, never backwards. There was even one embroidered on my shirt in gold thread from Old Lady Tatsu and I pointed it out to the boy, “That's right.”

He seemed caught off guard by my friendly response and strangely suspicious at first, but he eventually grinned back even wider than me and pointed to himself, “I'm Uzumaki Naruto!”

The sound came from my general direction, and because Iruka-sensei already seemed to hate me for some reason, he paused in what he was writing on the board and sent a glare at us—which we both flinched at. I grabbed Naruto's shoulder and we both sunk down pretty low in our seats, almost as if it were a barrier between us and him. His eyes narrowed a little more but eventually he turned and resumed the scribbling with the stern command, “No talking.”

We turned to look at each other and I sighed in relief, whispering breathlessly, “That was close. Be quieter next time, Naruto-kun.”

He nodded quickly, then scowled and grumbled, “That Iruka-sensei is a real boring guy. I fell asleep as soon as he started talking.”

“Well,” I reasoned, silently thinking the same thing, “I heard the first day is always boring...”

He shrugged as we slouched lower in our seats, covertly speaking amongst ourselves, “I wouldn't know. I've always gotten kicked out too soon to tell.”

“You were kicked out??” I questioned him, surprised. I noticed subtly that he had a strange way of speaking very quickly with a speech quirk at the end of most sentences. It was mildly amusing.

He grinned in response as if it were something to be proud of and answered, holding up three fingers, “Three times! None of these wimpy sensei can handle my awesome pranks! Iruka-sensei is the only one left, hehehe...”

I frowned though, the thought occurring to me, “But what if Iruka-sensei kicks you out too...? Will you still be able to graduate from the academy and become a shinobi if you don't have a sensei...?”

He stopped snickering to himself then, and his face went blank for a moment—obviously he hadn't considered it. But when the thought passed from me to him his face started to go a little pale and a sheen of sweat developed on his brow as if he were sick. It was then that he grabbed the notes of supplies I had passed him on the desk and he went over it feverishly with his eyes, silently freaking out before he turned to me with a desperate plea, “Holy crud, Tonbo-chan! You have to help me out! I don't even know where to get any of this stuff, much less pay for it!”

“Um...” I plucked the supplies list out of his clenched fingers carefully, going over it one more time before replying awkwardly, “I might be able to call in a couple of favors...for me, but I don't know about you.”

Looking into those poor puppy dog eyes as the hope left them was like actually going up and kicking the poor thing though, so I added quickly, “But maybe I could manage something...? I'm not sure. You'll have to come with me on my rounds.”

“Rounds?” He questioned, confused.

I shrugged slightly, “I help out around the village for extra cash and stuff...”

“You know...” I explained further as he stared at me with a dumbfounded look, “Chores? Deliveries? Odd jobs? A lot of people owe me, and my monthly allowance sucks, so I have to find some way to get by. It's sort of my job.”

He blinked at me, “People actually pay you for that?”

I sized him up for a moment before shrugging once again, “More or less. Tell you what, meet me tomorrow at the playground at six in the morning, and I'll see what I can do about getting us those supplies. We've got one day off, so we better not waste it. Sound good?”

Slowly, a grin broke out across his face, even wider than the last one and he replied, “Sure! Thanks a lot Tonbo-chan!”

The corner of my mouth lilted up slightly into a half smile in response and I told him, “Everyone calls me Bo. Just remember, after this, you owe me too. And don't be late. Got it, Naruto-kun?”

“Got it!” He nodded happily.

'Well, there's another one to add to the IOU list...' I thought to myself dubiously before absentmindedly copping down what Iruka-sensei had on the board. But that's when another thought occurred to me...and I looked up from my paper to observe my classmates critically. If someone like Naruto needed my help, who's to say other kids my age didn't? Come to think of it, lots of kids in my class had the look of clan kids like Ino. I slowly started to grin. If I could get some serious IOU's from them now and call in the favors say...maybe ten years down the road when they're all big and famous...hehehe

“I'm going to be rich!” I exclaimed, excitedly throwing my hands up in the air and jumping out of my seat without thinking. Consequentially, it drew the simultaneous attention and alarm of everyone around me. This time it wasn't just a few giggles—it was full blown laughter. I mean, honestly, who does something that random in the middle of a boring lecture? Apparently, me. I don't think I could've sunk down any lower in my seat than I did then.

The top of my head was barely visible, but I think Iruka-sensei might have had x-ray vision, “Is there something you'd like to explain to the class, Tonbo?”

I peaked over the top of the desk with eyes full of regret, but with the look the sensei was giving me it seemed that he was actually expecting me to reply. I stood slowly, and, again, without thinking, I admitted, stumbling over my words as I went, “I've...um...got a rare form of...uhh...tourettes?”

There was more laughter, even from Naruto, and Iruka-sensei gave me a look that made me stiffen up like a plank of wood and I added quickly, “I'm also a compulsive liar.”

“That's good to know.” He narrowed his eyes with a mixture of exasperation and annoyance. He then addressed the class, “Speaking of personal introductions, I'm not cruel, so I'll spare you the kind of embarrassment your classmate just demonstrated. Today you'll be introducing yourselves with a measure of your skill.”

Apparently I wasn't the only one who wasn't excited at the news as I dropped back down in my seat, defeated. I frowned, grumbling to myself gloomily as the rest of the class groaned accordingly, “What skill?”

It was true. Besides my abilities—which I still hadn't mastered—I truly had no clue about how the ninja arts worked. I wasn't like those clan kids who had been in training ever since they could walk. Sure, I could run at a pretty decent speed from all those deliveries I'd made, sure, I could pull a tree out of the ground, and sure I had a pretty good endurance from working out in the sun all the time, but none it mattered. When it all came down to it, I couldn't use my abilities, and I was at the bottom of the food chain. Iruka-sensei had made that very clear.

Being a shinobi hadn't been the original plan—not by a long shot.

When I told Naruto as much as we were all marching down the hall to the training grounds, he seemed surprised, “You don't want to be a shinobi?? Then why are you here???”

“I'm starting to wonder the same thing...” I grumbled to myself, then spoke up so he could hear, “I made a deal with that old man. He owes me a billion ryo if I get better than the first Hokage, so that's what I'm going to do.”

“Eh? Me too, me too!” Naruto agreed, grinning, “I'm going to surpass all of them! I'll be hokage one day, you'll see.”

I gave him a strange look, “Why would you wanna be hokage? All it is is a bunch of boring paper work.”

“But,” He sent me a similar look, as if I were the strange one, giving me the textbook definition, “Everyone respects the hokage. He's the strongest in the village. Who doesn't wanna be hokage?”

“Well,” I crossed my arms as I walked and sent him a crooked smile, “if you really wanna be the hokage, more power to you. But that means you're going to have to get stronger than me, and that just ain't gonna happen. I want my one billion ryo, so I'm going to become the god of shinobi, and nothing's going to get in my way. Not even you, Naruto-kun...unless you think you can take me.”

His frown slowly morphed into a grin and he returned competitively, “There's no way I'll lose to you!”

I narrowed my eyes with a smirk, and answered lightly before walking ahead, “We'll see.”

He responded by strutting passed me, to which I retaliated by full out sprinting ahead of him, sticking my tongue out over my shoulder as I did so. The look on his face was priceless before he took off after me, shouting, “HEY! Get back here!”

Maybe the prospect of friends wasn't as far off as I had originally thought...

“Okay, you won't be graded on this,” Iruka-sensei explained with a smile, “but everyone is different when it comes to the scale of development. This exercise is just to find out where everyone is at so I can proceed with lessons...”

“...So we'll start with a basic clone jutsu.”

I stared at him helplessly, then looked to Naruto and asked hurriedly, “Quick, tell me, how do you do that?”

He sent me a similarly panicked expression and admitted, “Hell if I know!”

I gave him a dry look and thought to myself, 'Great choice in friends, Bo. Nice job.' I sighed and looked up at the unrelenting sun. Usually I liked the heat, but today it was just annoying me. Sighing once again I walked away from Naruto to pad over to a nice, non crowded, shady looking tree where I could still watch the proceedings in peace.

Iruka-sensei took a look at his clipboard and announced, “Umm, first up is...Uchiha Sasuke. Go ahead and give it a shot.”

I flinched as a loud squealing assaulted my ears, and actually scowled at Ino and her friends as they started cheering—for lack of a better word—for the bozo. Speaking of said bozo, I hadn't even gotten a look at him yet. But when he stepped out of the crowd, eying everyone haughtily, I recognized him immediately as a clan kid—probably one of the big ones. Uchiha, was it? Sounded familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it...

I wasn't really into running jobs for the clans anyway, besides the more modest ones like Yamanaka, that is, maybe the Akimichi, possibly the Inuzuka—who had a lot of rambunctious dogs who liked to be walked, though I frequently found them to be much more trouble than they were worth...Other clans were more secretive. They either preferred their dirty work done by their own, or a professional hireling of their choosing. I imagined, in their minds, nine-year-old vigilantes belonged at their petty little lemonade stands...But I was trying to run a business here!

As such, I held a little resentment for those stuck up bastards...okay, maybe a lot, but who needs 'em anyways? I was more of a neighborhood oriented business after all, and I was happier for it. I loved my little corner of Konoha with a passion, and I didn't see myself leaving to be some prestigious clan's lapdog any time soon. In my opinion, the older, poorer neighborhoods were actually better for business. Sure, they didn't have a lot to spare, but they always had more problems to deal with.

I also found that the night life in the lower class neighborhoods was always more exciting than the blue collar caliber. Rich people had neighbors. Poor people had family. And as family, we celebrated that. All the time. We had more holidays than the rest of Konoha combined, like a miniature new years eve festival every weekend or so. I always made sure to be there, one, for the cheep as dirt—but more delicious than forbidden fruit—festival food, and two, for the games. Though I always lost, they were addictive.

I smiled at my own thoughts as Naruto, fed up with the arrogant attitude as I was, tried valiantly to take out the easily generated clones, though, losing interest as Naruto failed in landing a punch on the real one, I let my attention drift up to the branches of the tree above me in disappointment, sighing yet again. But something caught my attention and I narrowed my eyes as a devious smirk made its way onto my lips. Grinning, as Naruto was about to take out the last clone, absolutely sure it was the original this time, I yawned, and leisurely leaned on my elbow against the huge tree...sending a violent tremor through its branches as if a barrel rolling Akimichi was just sent flying at it...and knocked its unsuspecting occupant quite unceremoniously from its limbs. It just so happened that he landed right on top of Naruto. A bit of a miscalculation...but it works.

That's when chaos erupted—a chanting of, “Omg, Sasuke! Sasuke! Are you okay!??” Things along those lines, and I rolled my eyes. Was I the only one worried about who he landed on?

“Get off!” They both floundered to get away from each other and Naruto pointed at him furiously, “What the hell is your problem, fatty??”

The spiky ponytail kid next to the Akimichi tensed notably and sent a nervous glance at his companion who had gone completely still, and started backing away very slowly. I took that as the first sign to climb a tree and get to safety. The next thing everyone knew, total chaos broke out amongst the students. One event set off a chain of subsequent events that in turn set off another one and escalated until...okay, lets just say it wasn't pretty. I had a pretty good view of all of it from my vantage point, and though I had only been trying to help Naruto in the beginning, it all sort of...well...Even the best laid plans of mice and men, ya know...?

Though as I watched it all take place, looking over the chaos below me like some demented overlord, I couldn't help but start laughing. The whole thing was really completely ridiculous. First, the Akimichi got set off by the word Naruto used to describe Sasuke—they're all pretty sensitive about their weight—and went completely postal on them both. His spiky haired friend, whom I recognized as a Nara, tried to stop him at first, but eventually just crawled under some bushes and tried hide from it all, deeming it too troublesome to deal with. The Inuzuka then joined in as everyone started running around like chickens with their heads chopped off because I honestly think he enjoyed the excitement, but then he ran into the Aburame. I shivered because I didn't even know someone like that was in our class. Ran a job for them once. Didn't like it. Never went back. I think he was actually trying to restore order at first, but the Inuzuka pissed him off, and he just became another part of the problem—the bugs made everyone freak out even more. Ino and her friends were just standing there, screaming at the tops of their lungs, which was worse than when they were screaming about Sasuke, and that poor Hinata girl...She looked terrified and...I think...I think there was something wrong with her eyes—Oh...oh god.

I stopped laughing and the amused grin slid off my face as her hands started moving faster than my eyes could follow and the people dropped like flies. One...two...five...ten...Holy crap. I watched as finally she was the only one left standing, panting heavily at first, the terrified look still plastered upon her face as her eyes went back to normal and she stared around at the battle field nervously. She then held her trembling hands together and bowed several times to no one in specific, apologizing profusely. She even started crying. I kind of just stared at her from my perch with a sort of profound awe as the Nara crawled back out of his hiding spot and Iruka-sensei—who'd been taken out with the initial Akimichi attack—started to come to.

“You, uhh...you did the right thing.” The Nara boy awkwardly patted Hinata's shoulder as she cried into her hands, seeing as Iruka-sensei was too busy checking on the KOed students. The instructor then looked straight up at me from my vantage point in the tree and I flinched as his eyes narrowed.

Oh shit.

Well...so much for all the cliché about the first day of school being “boring”...

"History keeps her secrets longer than most of us. But she has one secret that I will reveal to you tonight in the greatest confidence...Sometimes there are no winners at all...And sometimes nobody needs to lose." —John le Carre

Friends and Enemies

"They're like the terrible two." Iruka sighed morosely, looking up at Hiruzen earnestly, "And the girl is worse than Naruto—Like a living conduit for discord. Wherever she goes, trouble follows in the form of that..."

He trailed off, sighing once more and shaking his head. Old memories that haunted his nightmares flashed behind his eyes. The old Hokage stared at him sympathetically, but he had his reasons for putting the younger man through this ordeal. Not only would it help him overcome his traumatized youth, It would also help the other two. Iruka could give them a second chance.

"Hokage-sama...I could understand one of them," Iruka looked up miserably, "but why did you put both those children in my class?"

Hiruzen took a long puff of his pipe and leaned back in his desk chair as he thought, mumbling, "Hmm...where should I begin?"

He looked at the stressed newbie instructor calculatingly and questioned, "Iruka...you know the history of this village well, do you not?"

He nodded and replied, "Of course. I've probably memorized the entire text book by now...But why—"

The old man nodded, "Yes, yes...but what about what is not included in the text book?"

Iruka stared at the other man strangely and apologized, "I'm sorry, but I don't follow..."

Hiruzen smiled, taking another drag on his pipe and replying enigmatically, "Iruka, we are shinobi. And that means the true compilation of Konoha's history would never be advertised in a book where just anyone could access it. The text book is simply the bare bones of this institution—and is only available to the public because that is all we want them to know."

Iruka stared at the old man, shocked, "But...the students—"

"—Will be made aware when they have shown they possess the responsibility required to hear the truth. The whole truth. And then it will be passed on gradually to the next generation...when they are ready." He nodded to the younger man, "Today...it is your turn, Iruka."

"But...Hokage-sama..." He looked at the old man in desperate confusion, "what does any of this have to do with those two?"

Hiruzen rose from his chair slowly and padded over to the sitting area of his office—which really wasn't much of a sitting area but a viewing area. Iruka moved to follow him. On the wall rested four picture frames containing some of the most important men in history. Hiruzen passed the frame containing his own much younger features and two others—one, of a man who had been taken before his time, and the other, a man who had given his life to protect his students, Hiruzen being one of them. He paused before the portrait of the far left featuring a man with an attractive crooked smile, long dark hair and eyes, and bangs that framed his tanned face in a carefully unkept yet meticulous style.

"The Shodaime was one of the most exceptional shinobi ever to walk the earth..." Hiruzen murmured, almost to himself, then turned to Iruka, "who—along with Uchiha Madara—possessed the equally exceptional ability of pacifying tailed beasts..."

Iruka's eyes widened and he voiced the revelation with honest surprise in his voice, "Then...those three...you...you specifically put them in the same class? ? My class?"

The third hokage turned to examine the overwhelmed instructor over his shoulder and smiled slyly, simply answering with, "I have high hopes for all of your students, Iruka...And I trust you'll teach each of them with a proper...discretion."

After a pause, in which Iruka was silently having an internal crisis, the old man turned fully and started, "Now, I suppose I should begin with explaining in depth—the complex nature of the rivalry between Uchiha...and Senju..."

~*~

"Teach me the clone jutsu." I demanded, my arms crossed over my chest, glaring at the object of my attention.

"...No." He answered stiffly, glaring back just as stubbornly.

"Teach me." I repeated more forcefully.

"Go ask sensei..." He sent me a look, "stop bothering me."

"Teach me, and I'll pay you." I tried again, keeping my expression stern. I knew how these kinds of guys worked. You had to be persistent, and always offer a better deal than the next guy.

He sent me another bizarre look and questioned skeptically, "...Pay me with what?"

I shrugged, "Cash, goods, services—You name it, I can get it. You got chores? I'll do 'em every day for a week. Easy."

For a second, he actually seemed to consider it before he turned on his heal and threw over his shoulder carelessly, "Find someone else. I've got real training to do with my Nii-san."

I clenched my small fists, shouting after him, and stomping my bare foot angrily, "Uchiha!!! You will teach me that jutsu!"

"Make me!" He called back tauntingly.

I clenched my teeth and sent an obscene gesture at him furiously, then stomped away in the opposite direction, fuming and muttering to myself savagely as the end of lunch bell rang. As luck would have it, though we took different routes, we both made it back to the classroom at the same time, facing each other on either side of the door, glaring daggers. It was then I made a sweeping gesture with my arm, bowing a little bit ironically, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "Ladies first, Princess Grumpy Pants." He said nothing but sent me a glare that could peel paint.

As usual we were locked in a tense stalemate...that was until Iruka-sensei snapped at us, "Oi! You two! Separate!"

We both sent the other a similar murderous look, then shouldered past each other roughly as we squeezed through the door at the same time, both of us equally unwilling to be the 'lady' in the 'ladies first' jibe I'd set into motion. Iruka-sensei sent us consecutive looks of heavy disapproval but just pointed to our desks and simply commanded, "Seats. Now."

I huffed and dropped into the seat beside Naruto temperamentally as the jerk did the same on the other side of the room and glared out the window. I then growled angrily to myself, "Stupid Uchiha..."

"Hey, hey," Naruto grumbled back, "I hated him first."

"What'da ya want?" I sent him an irritated look, "A freakin' medal or something?"

Our eyes met for a second of tense silence, but then we both started snorting on laughter—struggling to hold it in actually. We didn't know who either of us was kidding. After all, we were the founding—and only—members of the unofficial 'We Hate Sasuke' club. We'd actually gotten Hinata to join for maybe a half an hour until she realized what the whole point of the club was—after which she went and gave him a full apology. I didn't blame her. That's just how Hinata was—she was too nice.

I'd felt so guilty after what Iruka-sensei liked to refer to as 'the incident.' He couldn't exactly pin its direct origin on me due to certain circumstances, even though we both knew good and well that it was all my fault. And though what Hinata had done was only to prevent anyone else from getting hurt, she got most of the blame for what happened...well, she and Choji—which I also felt guilty for because Choji was actually a really nice guy when you didn't make fun of his weight. But Hinata got the shortest end of the stick...

Sure, Choji and Kiba got suspended for a week, Naruto nearly broke three of his ribs, Shino was still rebuilding half of his destruction bug colony, and Ino nearly lost her voice from screaming so loud—though in my opinion it was a shame she didn't lose it all together—but Hinata...Hinata was from the Hyuga clan. She'd used her kekki genkai—the byakkugan—to incapacitate the panicking student body in order to protect them from themselves. But Hinata was also the heiress of her clan...and, apparently, incapacitating the student body was just not something that Hyuga clan heiresses do...

She'd been absent from class for about three days, and when she finally came back, she looked defeated and traumatized. I'd felt so terribly guilty I actually went to Yamanaka's flower store, bought a bunch of, huge, painfully obnoxious looking sunflowers that were taller than me, and delivered them straight to the Hyuga compound myself. I would've grown them myself too, but paying actual money for them seemed to make it more meaningful somehow. Especially for me. I loved money. When you were me, giving away money for free was practically a sacrilegious act...but I could make exceptions...sometimes.

I'd passed the compound on my rounds several times before, but it was a real prestigious place—invite only. It was surrounded by a relatively towering wall you could hardly see the tops of the houses over, and in the front was an intimidating gate, guarded by two stern individuals at all times. Talk about blue collar—this was the bluest of them all, and the guard was being testy...

"Listen, I don't care how, but you've got to get these to Hinata-chan!" I held up the sunflowers stubbornly, "I'll even pay you!"

The pale eyed guard looked at his similar companion and shared a laugh, "Heh, nice try, little girl. But I'm not getting chewed out by the head just to deliver some flowers. Besides, Hinata-sama is on lock down. No correspondence in, or out."

I scowled, "Fine! If you won't, then I'll do it myself!"

There was a strange silence that permeated the air, and hushed the curious pedestrians around us, and that was the first sign that pointed out to me something was very wrong. The two guards then bowed low and chanted in unison, "Welcome home...Hiashi-sama."

The very ground beneath my feet seemed to tremble with the power emanating from the looming presence behind me. The very ghost of the ridiculous thought that the guards could've been bowing to me was dismissed in less than a millisecond and I swallowed thickly, slowly turning to peek over my shoulder. Behind me, I laid eyes upon the imposing figure of a middle aged, frighteningly stern faced man with the trademark, hauntingly featureless pallid eyes I'd come to associate with the Hyuga. He stared down at me dispassionately.

"I am curious..." He crossed his arms, his hands disappearing within the sleeves of his traditional robes, "about just what it is you're planning to do..."

When I didn't answer, he asked authoritatively, "Aren't you that Senju Tonbo?"

"Umm," I think so, "...Yes? But it's just...um...Tonbo..."

His look cut me off as he gave me a grim once over as if every aspect about me offended him, especially when his all seeing eyes reached my wrapped feet. I still refused to wear shoes no matter how many times Iruka-sensei yelled at me. I just couldn't get used to it. So we'd made a compromise with wraps. As long as I could still feel the ground, it was fine with me. Though the look Hyuga Hiashi gave me made me want to reconsider just so he'd stop looking at me like that...

Eventually, he just sighed and shook his head, walking around me with even, measured footsteps, "Follow me."

I stared at his back, "...What?"

"Come." He ordered , pausing only slightly to look back at me over his shoulder, and I flinched, not because he yelled, or issued it in a harsh voice, but because it was deathly quiet and brusque as a September morning, and I was afraid of the consequences if I chose to disregard his command...The looks the guards were giving me didn't instill too much doubt in that assumption either...Hence the fact I wasted no time in shadowing the intimidating man, dreading and protesting internally against every step encroaching into what felt like enemy territory.

I had no doubt in my mind that this man was Hinata's father. Those we passed within the compound bowed respectfully, just as the guards had, and gave the strange, ginormous sunflower bearing, shoeless outsider bizarre stares with their countless, identical pairs of glaring, silver eyes. I'd never felt more awkward or out of place in my entire life. That Hinata could live and breathe here every day gave me the chills...though she had a place here. She was the heiress after all. She had a place she belonged...yet the look on her face at school had seemed so alone...

I stuck close to the heels of Hyuga Hiashi, trying to ignore the glares of the other residents, and contemplated my situation, my thoughts taking off to become more and more frantic as my inner urge to flee began to scream at me incessantly, louder and louder. But I pushed that down, dismissing it because fleeing was clearly impossible. I could tell that, even with only two miserable weeks of formal education in the ninja arts...I was going to have to ride this one out. After all, it wasn't as if the head of the Hyuga clan had a secret cellar full of chopped up dead bodies somewhere...

Right...?

I found the lack of reassurance from the logical part of my brain, quite frankly, disturbing...

I was a bit too busy stewing in my own pot of nerves to notice much of the scenery, but from what I could tell, the inside of the compound contained nowhere near the amount of finery I had pictured. In fact, the buildings and people were quite plane, compared to the nobles I had seen strutting around the embassy district like puffed up peacocks. Then again, this was shinobi nobility...so I supposed it was a whole different flock of feathers than those other birds of paradise...

No, the Hyuga compound was made up of traditional, but simple dojo-like constructs, the grounds used for training in the courtyards hardened by countless Hyuga soles that had settled and passed over them for generations. It spoke of high class society in its name, yet simplicity in its nature, and a hardened way of doing things that thought very little of change...Another thing I noticed were that some residents bowed lower than the others when Hiashi passed, and most of those who did had a strange symbol tattooed across their foreheads...It was then that I came to a solid conclusion.

The Hyuga clan was weird...

And that's coming from the girl who decided it was a good idea to personally deliver flowers that are twice as tall as she is to the princess of said clan...whose father may or may not chop me into pieces and stuff me into a dirty old cellar afterwards. I believed it was safe to say that willingly doing something like that would also be considered "weird"...so maybe "weird" was irrelevant in the big scheme of things? Or maybe I was just confusing myself...

When we reached a small sun room my sunflowers were taken from me abruptly by a servant and immediately deposited in a tall vase which was then placed by the simple, yet elegant round shoji window (all in the course of ten seconds). The room was then vacated except for Hiashi and I, and he pointed across from himself and a small, simple tea table, instructing briefly, "Sit."

It felt as if I were a puppet and someone had just cut my strings when I dropped to my knees across from him and he raised his brows in what I assumed to be disapproval, the lines on his forehead crinkling, but he simply said, "It seems someone has at least taught you manners..."

I looked down at myself to my hands in my lap and the uncomfortable way of sitting in seiza style I'd assumed accidentally in my flustered state and I admitted quietly, "I watch a lot of samurai movies..."

He raised only one brow this time and replied with what sounded like total disinterest in his voice, "How...interesting."

There was a silence in which only the chirping of birds outside in the courtyard sounded from outside the rice paper shoji doors, and the sun filtered into the room past the vase of flowers. Hiashi stared at them for a moment and questioned me, "Why sunflowers?"

I shrugged uncomfortably and recited, "Lady Yamanaka told me...that in the language of the flowers, they mean respect for another. And I...really respect Hinata-chan...so..."

I looked down at my hands before bursting out in one breath, "Please, Mr. Hyuga, it wasn't Hinata's fault that day, it was mine! I knocked the stupid Uchiha out of the tree, and then he landed on Naruto-kun, and he called him fat, and then the Akimichi went nuts and started cannonballing everyone in between, and then the Inuzuka—"

"Enough." Hiashi closed his eyes, his brow furrowing with obvious irritation, and I fell silent as if someone had stolen my voice box, staring back down at my hands in a chastised manner.

There was silence in the room for a measure of time before Hiashi opened his eyes once again and studied me calculatingly. I felt like I was being x-rayed and gripped the fabric of my shorts anxiously in discomfort, unable to meet those disconcerting silver pools until he spoke once again, "It is...admirable that you have come to apologize for my daughter's thoughtless indiscretion, but that is not the reason why I have allowed you here...Senju Tonbo."

There was that strange name again. I frowned, running it through my head thoroughly before asking, "Who is...Senju?"

The man's face held a terrifying expression of immense irritation, but thankfully it was not aimed at me. He seemed to speak to himself when he spoke next, because none of it made sense, "That man...I can understand why some things are forbidden to speak of, but the things that are not forbidden need to be addressed as soon as possible...What is he thinking?"

I frowned and opened my mouth to speak and try to question him again, but those x-ray eyes caught the words in my throat before I could even divulge them, and my mouth snapped shut once again. He observed me closely again as if he were staring right through me and I fidgeted nervously before him. He sighed once more, shaking his head in what I could only assume to be pity, and when he spoke again it was as if several years had been added onto his shoulders, "Then I suppose the duty falls to me..."

Finally, he really looked at me, raising one brow and stated, "You seem terribly confused."

I nodded helplessly, opting not to speak—since it seemed to just make things worse—and to simply listen instead. Yes, it seemed to work better that way since Hyuga Hiashi went on pleasantly without once glaring at me with those daunting eyes, "That is understandable since you have gone your entire life without knowing that legacy which proceeds you."

"There are some things about the subject that even I am forbidden to speak of, for good reason, but you can blame the Sandaime Hokage for not properly informing you of your position." Irritation crept back into Hiashi's voice, "Illegitimate or not, you are the heiress to one of the honored founding clans—the Senju clan."

"And, since you are the not only the heiress, but one of two of the soul remaining members of the clan, as custom dictates, you will become its leader upon turning thirteen years old..." His eyes regarded me critically, as if I were a mildly offending ticking time bomb, "Do you believe you are ready for that sort of responsibility?"

My eyes widened dramatically and I floundered pathetically, stuttering for words, "I...I didn't...um...that is...I can't..."

"No. You are not." Hiashi summed up for me, eyeing me with more of that mildly condescending pity, "It is as I thought, and it is no fault of yours. Normally, leaders are chosen from a very young age, even birth—as it was in mine, and Hinata's case. But your situation is different. The other member of your clan is much more qualified to take up the position, but she has cut all ties and refuses to return to Konoha for her own reasons, therefore it narrows down the choices quite significantly...the council has no choice."

"Then..." I finally got up the gumption to speak, albeit in the smallest voice I could muster, "how can I be the leader of anything if I'm the only one left?"

"Being a leader is more than having a clan to lead..." The man shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, "If you had been raised properly, you would have learned this long ago..."

"Which is why someone has to teach you. But if the Third persists on this bizarre notion of giving you a proper 'childhood', no one will...and we'll end up having a proper child on the council." By the amount of frown lines that entrenched the man's face, I would assume that 'frustration' would count as an understatement...

I had plenty of colorful responses to his statement, but something about Hyuga Hiashi kept my trap shut tight. Maybe it was a phantom sense of self preservation? Common sense? I wasn't sure of the exact cause, but what I was sure of was that I did not want to piss him off, and that banished any thought of personal indignation from my mind. I didn't care how many insults he directed towards me—indirectly or not—just as long as his anger was not directed towards me. So I did the only thing I could do and remained silent and unobtrusive as the man spoke to himself with mounting frustration.

I tensed when he finally paused though, and captured me in that icy Hyuga glare once again as he seemed to be sizing me up, and when he spoke, this time he was speaking to me directly, "...There is one lesson that you should learn here and now, Senju Tonbo. Keep in mind that there are two primary choices in life—to accept conditions as they exist, or take up responsibility for changing them. Because no one will do it for you."

I stared back at him, my own brow furrowing in confusion, but I nodded slowly and replied obediently, "...Yes, Sir."

"Good." His face smoothed, though it held no joy. In fact, Lord Hiashi's face looked as if he'd never once cracked a smile in his life, and his voice carried a strictly business only tone, "Now, you are to report here every day after school with Hinata, and I will send someone to fetch you on your days off. You will tell no one where you are going or what transpires. Is that understood?"

"You mean...it's a secret?" I questioned hesitantly, feeling a creeping sensation within me that would later be identified as dread. I honestly hated keeping secrets. Keeping just one was hard enough. It was like walking around with a weighted ten ton disk in my pocket. I didn't want to imagine what it would be like walking around with two of them. I'd be a hunchback before I reached double digits...

"Yes..." Hiashi replied decisively, "You are not to speak of this arrangement to a single soul outside of this compound. I assume you are familiar with such things already, are you not?"

"I...am." I stared down at my lap uncomfortably, frowning to myself and thinking over it carefully before admitting my realization, "...But I don't like secrets. They make my skin...itch."

"Hm," The corner of the seasoned shinobi's lip turned up into what just may have been the ghost of a smirk, and he replied forebodingly, "we'll just have to fix that particular problem, won't we?"

I looked up from my lap to eye him carefully and replied reluctantly, "Yes...Sir."

I never did get to see Hinata that day, because I was then promptly escorted from the compound, and dumped into the street. Though I assume she got the flowers because she would smile at me and look away shyly when our eyes met in class the next day, and at lunch break we bonded over our mutual terror of her father—well, I couldn't really complain. At least I didn't have to live with him twenty-four hours, seven days a week.

Hinata became my second friend, alongside Naruto. She was much less annoying, and easy to talk to, since she mostly just listened, and when she did speak her mind, it was very pleasant to listen to. She actually admired Naruto, and the two of them were very much alike in some ways. She seemed to see something in him that no one else did. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was...But that was just Hinata. She saw the good in everyone and everything. Even stupid Sasuke.

Though I had to admit...she was right about one thing. Sasuke was strong, and even smart to some extent. Notice, I say, 'to some extent,' because he was still stupid. He didn't like to share and he didn't play well with others, even though he apparently got top marks in everything—even teamwork. It made him isolated from the rest of us, since it kind of put him up on a pedestal. I don't even think he had any real friends, besides Ino's silly group of girls, and they just liked to follow him around like some sort of paparazzi. It isolated him even more. He trained alone, he ate alone, he worked alone—end of story.

It drew my attention.

I didn't hate him. Not really. I actually felt kind of bad because I had friends. Granted, very few, but those I did have, I'd begun to cherish. I remembered when I had no one. I'd had the village, and my neighbors, but no one my age to relate to. Then I had Naruto, who was annoying, and even kind of gross sometimes, but...sweet in his own little messed up way. And then there was Hinata, who was always nice and supportive of almost anything besides the 'We Hate Sasuke' club idea. I even had Ino, with her stupid obsessive crush on a boy who didn't even acknowledge her existence. Sasuke didn't have anyone...

Now, despite my more than healthy fear of Hyuga Hiashi, he really did give good advice. He was chalk full of it actually, during every trip I was required to make to the compound after school. Apparently they were 'lessons in leadership', using proper judgment, picking battles, implementing proper etiquette, tact in speech, strategy in debate and what not. It was actually extremely interesting, not to mention useful—not like the stupid stuff Iruka-sensei would go on and on about.

Lord Hiashi was practical, driven, and, apparently, hellbent on turning me into a political ally in the council. He never said so out loud, but after a few 'sessions' it honestly wasn't that hard to figure out. I'd have to be stupid not to, actually. It wasn't like he was trying to hide anything from me. Quite the opposite actually, and I soon came to the conclusion that having allies in politics was not a bad thing. Especially the Hyuga.

Hiashi had made it clear, albeit indirectly, that it works both ways—being allies. He would support me, if I supported him and vice versa, and the Hyuga were one of the most powerful clans in Konoha, beside the Uchiha. In terms of allies, I could have done much worse. There was also the fact that, conveniently, Hiashi and I seemed to come to a consensus on many of the hypothetical issues he'd proposed to me. We both supported change and reform, and the idea that while the old can be good as well, things can always be...well...better.

He was also surprisingly more democratic than how I'd pegged him in the beginning, "The village is like a machine with several different working parts. If a decision is made and it is not unanimous, then not all the parts will work, and precious resources will be wasted on a hopeless endeavor. You need charisma, not force, if you wish to convince others to follow you willingly. Only then will the machine work successfully."

According to Hiashi, my charisma needed a lot of work...I didn't like to admit it, but my communication skills were awful. I was a polite, pleasant type of person when things were going the way I wanted them to, but when they didn't...well, I wasn't exactly the nicest person when I didn't get my way. Not that I was spoiled or anything...I just wasn't a people person. Hiashi wasn't very happy with me when I'd given him that response though...

I'd walked home with a coin sized lump on my head.

In any case, my interactions with Sasuke had proven to me that it was true I had zero charisma...If I wanted him to do what I wanted, I was going to have to hone my speaking skills to perfection. Hiashi supported the idea, and proposed that I use him as a guinea pig, or a personal challenge of sorts, "If you can successfully turn your enemy into your friend, then there will be nothing more for me to teach you in this subject."

I needed to learn the clone jutsu. I also needed to prove myself capable to Hiashi, but more than that...I wanted to prove something to Sasuke. I wasn't exactly sure of what I wanted to prove, but something about him pissed me off, so of course I had to express that in some way that would hold his attention and not piss him off at the same time...

Being charismatic is really, really hard...especially since there was a shallow, petty side of me that actually wanted to make him mad...This was my challenge: Overcome the compulsive desire to kick the other kid's ass, and turn him into an ally. Like I said, it wasn't going to be easy...maybe it wasn't even possible in the first place, but I still had to try. Otherwise I would be good for nothing, and Hiashi would stop training me and never talk to me again. I'd probably never get to hang out with Hinata again either, and both of these things just gave me that much more motivation to succeed. I couldn't fail. Failure was not an option...

But as anyone could see by my first attempt—my persuasive skills needed a little bit of an adjustment...I sighed, and laid my head down on my desk in a bout of bitter pessimism. Naruto shifted beside me and elbowed me in the ribs, causing me to glare at him momentarily but my face smoothed when he whispered to me quietly, careful not to be heard by Iruka-sensei who was acting especially finicky lately, "Oi, what's up? Did you eat something funny? You look sick, Bo-chan."

"Gee, thanks..." I replied sarcastically, which went completely over his head, so I might not have even bothered. I then sighed and admitted grumpily, crossing my arms and slouching forward on them to glare at the chalk board over Shikamaru's stupid pointy ponytail, "That bastard still won't teach me the clone jutsu..."

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto questioned, confused.

"No." I sent him a look as if it should be obvious, "Uchiha!"

"Ehh?" Naruto gave me a look, "Why do you want him to teach you! I could teach you ten times better than that guy!"

"Heeh? You're ten times worse than me!" I pointed out mercilessly, and he flinched as if an imaginary comical arrow had just gone through him, and then another one as I finished him off with, " It's pathetic!"

"Tonbo-chaaan..." He whined at me, "You should be nicer...you don't act like a girl at—Oof!"

He was cut off by my arm as I calmly delivered a swift bar strike to his breadbasket, causing him to clutch his stomach painfully and jolt forward, consequentially hitting his forehead on the desk with a loud 'bang.' I crossed my arms once again and gave him the dispassionate stare I'd been trying to adopt from Hiashi, "I'm sorry. Are you under the impression that all girls have to act like touchy feely wimps to be cute? 'Cause if that's true, Naruto-kun, I think you're the cutest one of all..."

"I'm not cute!" He protested while holding his forehead with one hand and clutching his stomach with the other, "Tonbo-chan, you're mean..."

I gave him a cynical look, "I'm not mean, you're just a big sissy."

"Am not!" He cried.

"Are too!" I insisted.

"No!" He replied just a stubbornly and I returned, "Yuh-huh! Yes, you are! Sissy, sissy, sissy!"

"Jerk!" He tossed back.

"Girly girl!" I was really getting into it, "Sparkley, froo froo wimmmmmmmmp!"

"You're a big, hairy man!" He pointed in my face and it was so close I could see the swirl of his finger print if I crossed my eyes, "With lumpy frog worts! And huge, ugly man feet! Like Sasquach!"

I had to give him points for creativity, but nothing could beat my trump card, "Oh yeah?! Well, you still wet the bed!"

"You're a liar!" He jabbed his finger at me again like it was a sword.

I batted it out of the way and leaned in close to his face, shouting, "Bed-wetter!"

"Thumb-sucker!" he retorted even louder, leaning in even closer until our foreheads were grinding together painfully.

"Butt-sniffer!"

"Frog-kisser!"

"Toilette-licker!"

"Barf-face!"

"Crap-eater!

"Dog-breath!"

"Moran!"

"ENOUGH! ! ! !" Iruka-sensei's voice thundered as he slammed his book down on the podium.

"Quick!" I warned Naruto—our dispute forgotten—and I pushed his head down as we sunk below the surface of our row of desk, "Duck and cover!"

Iruka-sensei was liable to throw things when he got mad—sharp, pointy things. We knew from experience, and it was not a pleasant one. But lately Iruka-sensei was acting even weirder than usual and it was really starting to creep me out...he was acting...nice? The outburst just now was like a breath of fresh air actually, and Naruto and I peeked over the desk slowly, testing the waters.

Iruka-sensei didn't look happy by a long shot but he wasn't reaching for chalk projectiles either. Instead he just gave us both a long look and asked us, "If you two were facing an enemy right now, do you have any idea how outmatched you would be? You'd get your entire team killed! Not to mention, if by some snowball's chance you made it back alive, you'd be nothing but embarrassments to the entire village!"

Comprehending it, my face went a little pale and when Naruto and I looked at each other, I saw his expression was practically identical to mine. Iruka-sensei sighed in frustration, and apparently he seemed to think his point hadn't been drilled in hard enough because he soon announced, "Alright, everyone! Thanks to your classmates, we're going to be doing some special survival training for today's afternoon lesson. Who wants a real challenge?"

Several people groaned at the prospect of strenuous training, but some, like Kiba, and even Sasuke perked up at the mention of it. Kiba especially. He was a real wild child, with a similar disposition to Naruto actually. He was from the Inuzuka clan, so he always had this little puppy with him. It was cute now, but I knew how Inuzuka dogs were. They could grow to be taller than a full grown man. I remember the first job I took from them...and I really wish I could forget. The only reason I ever walked those dogs was when I was in serious need of cash. Desperation at its finest moment.

I looked away and sighed as I got up to follow the rest of the grumbling class out to the training grounds and mentioned to Naruto with a pout in my voice, "Why does he always have to use us as the bad example? There's plenty of other people who are way worse!"

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed wholeheartedly, "Like that bastard Sasuke!"

I made a face, eyeing the back of the spiky haired kid's head as he walked ahead and shrugged, "He technically doesn't do anything he shouldn't...he's just got a lousy attitude."

"Oh, so you're standing up for him now?" Naruto rounded on me accusingly, "Is that why you want him to train you instead of me?"

"No!" I defended with a scowl, "I'm just saying it's not technically against the rules to be a stingy bastard!"

I glared at the back of his head again, "But it sure is a giant pain in the ass..."

He then looked back over his shoulder as if he could sense the glare and returned it with those dark eyes. It was funny, because even though I thoroughly hated his guts, I could tell, just by looking at his face, he wasn't one for picking stupid fights like this. He wasn't one for stupid kid stuff either, because he'd just laughed and smiled at her when Hinata had attempted to apologize for us and the 'We Hate Sasuke' club. He was genuinely kind to her...

So maybe if I acted nice like Hinata...he'd be nice back? Working and plotting it out in my head actually waned a little of the disgust of simply having to do it. It still wasn't a pleasant prospect though. I chewed on my lip impulsively as I thought, scowling as did so as they moved onto very pessimistic outcomes. I really wished I had a better option than what I had in mind...

Naruto stared at me as we gathered around Iruka-sensei at the training grounds and remarked with a slightly concerned expression in his eyes, "...You've got a really weird look on your face, Bo-chan. It's scary."

I sighed and answered him absentmindedly, "That's because I'm about to do something I really don't want to do..."

He tilted his spiky blond head in confusion, "Then why are you going to do it?"

"Because sometimes, in order to get what you want, you have to do a lot of things you don't necessarily like..." I sent him a look as if it should be obvious, "In order to gain something, you have to lose something, whether it be money, beauty, fame...or a sense of self dignity...It's just how things work."

"Uhh..." He scratched his chin and admired the branches of the tree above us in order to disguise the fact that he didn't understand a single thing I was talking about, "Yeah! Sure. I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah." I agreed, returning to my pessimistic attitude and glaring at the back of Sasuke's head again, "Sure."

"Okay, everyone!" Iruka-sensei addressed all of us when we'd all made it to the semi circle, "Today I'm going to be splitting you all up into teams of three, and we're going to be practicing how to collaborate as a team...But these aren't going to be just any teamwork exercises..."

"Ehhh?" Some of the class echoed in confusion.

"Now that we've been together for a couple of weeks, I've noticed a lot of things about how everyone gets along with each other in class..." He crossed his arms and sent a deliberate look at Naruto and I, "and I have to say, I'm not liking what I see."

"And before anyone starts pointing fingers," He cautioned everyone with a look, "it's not just any one person's fault. It's everyone's fault."

"That stupid fight with those two earlier wasn't the only one," I tensed when he pointed Naruto and I out.

"Kiba, Shino," He pointed at them next, and though I could never tell with Shino, Kiba tensed up just as much as me and Naruto, "don't think I haven't noticed."

"Ino, Tonbo." He sent us both a look, and then we glared at each other.

Then she turned back to protest, "But Sensei! It's not my fault! Nobody likes Tonbo!"

Everyone laughed then except for Hinata who tried to speak up, but her soft spoken voice didn't stand a chance in hell. Naruto was pretty loud though, but that just made it more embarrassing. There was one other person who didn't laugh—and this was the most surprising part—it was Sasuke...We just stared at each other for a long moment, and it seemed to me as if the laughter around me faded for just a moment as I focused, then I scowled.

"You know what!? Iruka-sensei is right!" I shouted, clenching my fists, "I don't care if I'm hated! I'm not here to be your friend, I'm here to become the best shinobi I can be! If there's anyone here who doesn't understand that, you should just quit, and go home like sissy girls!"

"That's enough Tonbo." He chided me and I fell silent, scowling at everyone disdainfully.

"But you were half right." He allowed, giving me a strange look then addressed the class once more, "In this world, there are always going to be people you don't like, but as Shinobi who may be teamed up with those people, you're just going to have to deal with it. You don't have to like them, you just have to cooperate with them so that the mission can be completed without complications. If you can't do that, then you're not going to make it very far..."

"So that's why," He spoke up in a much cheerier voice, with a somewhat malevolent smile, "today I'm going to be splitting you into groups specifically chosen because you don't get along!"

Everyone in the class groaned then, even me, because even though I'd meant every word I'd said, it still didn't mean I had to like it. I'd had a sinking feeling Iruka-sensei would do something like this. He was just that sadistic. I also had a sinking feeling of just who he would team me up with...

Naruto wasn't bad. Not really. He had a good heart at least. But he was absolutely useless when it came to doing anything other than pranking people. He was also loud, obnoxious, and would pick fights with anyone who looked at him the wrong way. Which happened a lot actually...

When we'd met up at the park on the second day of our acquaintance to try to collaborate and pick up some school materials on my rounds, I'd lost half my customers! Notwithstanding I didn't get the materials either of us needed, but they'd shouted and even thrown things at Naruto. I suspected maybe there was something in the air—was there such thing as crazy gas?—that made everyone act so insane, but it turned out that Naruto was like the village pariah.

I'd thought it strange that I had absolutely no clue of this fact, or that I'd never even seen him once before the day of the opening ceremony at school. After all, I knew every inch of the village like the back of my hand, it was almost ridiculous that I'd never...Either way, it was bizarre. Naruto wasn't so annoying that he could cause people to act like...that. That was one thing I could say for sure.

But Naruto screwed up on the smallest of tasks. Even when we went to Ichiraku and found the one of the few people in Konoha who didn't reach for their pitch fork when they saw Naruto, he ended up dropping all of the ramen on our delivery! The worst part about it was when I went to apologize and pay for the lost product out of my own pocket, Teuchi had acted like he'd already known it was going to happen! I'd then come to the steady conclusion that Naruto was good for nothing but pranks, and making fun of Sasuke. I stayed around because it was funny, but that was about it...Needless to say, I'd never taken him with me on my rounds again.

We butted heads often. It was bound to happen due to our similar personalities, but we didn't hate each other. We had our differences, but neither of us cared too much for very long. Sasuke's weirdness aside, Naruto and I were the odd ones out in class, so it was sort of an unwritten agreement to stick together. We partnered on most things pertaining to group activities, so event though I didn't particularly like it, I was used to working with him and was unsurprised when Iruka-sensei assigned Naruto as my teammate. What I wasn't expecting, however, was Sasuke...

Actually, who am I kidding? Of course it was going to be Sasuke. It was never going to be anyone but Sasuke. Naruto quarreled with him even worse than I did, so of course iruka-sensei was going to assign him to our group. Naruto and I could work just fine on our own, but Sasuke caused just the right amount of tension to have us all fighting amongst ourselves...I glowered at the instructor's knowing smirk.

"Alright!" Iruka-sensei announced, "You've got half an hour to work out a strategy with your new teammates. Remember, this is a competition! Whoever can get to the prize at the top of the hill in Naka forest first gets to keep it, and as for the last three to arrive...cleaning duties for three weeks!"

There was a collective uproar of protest at that verdict, but Iruka-sensei shot down every one of them, and it turned out that asking questions just served to waste more of our strategy time. Though there was one good inquiry, surprisingly posed by Kiba, that caught my attention.

"Oi, Sensei!" He grinned ferally before questioning, "...Are we allowed to attack enemy teams?"

My sharp eyes narrowed at him slightly before they darted to the instructor when he answered calculatingly, "The goal is to beat your opponents to the finish line...but I suppose if the aim is to sabotage them, that may just earn you some bonus points if you do it right. Keep in mind that you want to slow them down, not yourselves. If that includes directly engaging the other teams, then by all means...though, however hard it might be for some of you, in order to pass this test you're going to have to use your brains, not your brawn. Remember: traps are encouraged, weapons are not allowed. Now, get together in your groups and form some sort of plan before time is up."

The smirk on Kiba's face afterwards just didn't sit well with me, and I eyed him suspiciously as I padded over to Naruto and Sasuke who were already glaring daggers at each other. Only when we were all facing each other in a triangle formation did I tear my leery gaze from the Inuzuka boy and focus on the other two. They instantly reminded me of two ally cats I'd seen once, just before they pounced and started ripping each other apart. I'd foolishly tried to separate them and ended up being carted off to the hospital by Old Lady Tatsu for stitches and rabies shots. Not a pleasant experience.

So it was with this lesson branded painfully into my memory that I proceeded with caution, drawing closer with measured footsteps as to appear nonthreatening, and not tempt their glares upon me. It was then that Naruto exploded at Sasuke, "What's so good about you anyway? You're not better than me, so stop acting so high and mighty!"

I gave him a skeptical look that nearly mirrored Sasuke's, but I switched my attention to the later when he gave the retort, "Che...loser. Stop picking fights you can't win."

"Here's an idea:" I interjected with a carefully forced grin before either of them could speak, "How about not picking fights at all? Crazy, I know, but it might just be crazy enough to work! Wha'da'ya think?"

They both stared at me blankly, and I think I might've heard a cricket chirp somewhere before they both rounded on me like the cats in the ally.

"So now you're trying to make peace?" Sasuke glared at me accusingly, "You're worse than a loser, you're a hypocrite."

"Why would you ask that bastard for help anyway?" Naruto spoke up loudly, "We can beat all the rest of these guys easy, all by ourselves!"

"First of all," I glared back at Sasuke then Naruto and threw caution to the wind within seconds, "I don't give one shit about being a loser or a hypocrite, and second of all, would the two of you stop being idiots and take a look around!?"

The other teams weren't fairing hardly any better, fighting amongst themselves just as we were. I turned back to them and explained what I found evident from the very beginning, "In order to pass, we have to work together. If we can do that, then, and only then," —I glared pointedly at Naruto— "will this test be made easy."

"Sasuke," I said his name quickly, and realized with a bit of surprise that it was the first time I'd said his given name out loud. It made me feel slightly disgusting, especially because of the part that came next, "you're strong, and girls like you for some reason so you'd do pretty well on your own, but do you even know your way around any part of Naka forest that's not around your house?"

He glared at me, but we both knew it was true. Clan kids hardly ever left their little corners of the village except maybe to train or go places with their caretakers. Sasuke probably knew how to get to the training grounds, school, designated clan locations, back to home, and that was just about it. Otherwise he couldn't find his way out of a paper bag...

"And Naruto," I turned to him next, "You know every inch of this forest like the back of your hand and you can set up some pretty elaborate prank traps when you put your mind to it, but you can't even do the clone jutsu right..."

"Neither can you!" He argued defensively.

I regarded him with a 'touché' expression and nodded, "True. Very true. I guess you don't need me then..."

"Still..." I continued, addressing them both with a mysterious smirk, "how much do either of you really know about me?"

I put both my hands out to the side in a half hearted shrug, then met both their uncertain faces with a bit of a glint in my eyes, "Who knows...I might surprise you. It all depends on whether or not you want to take a gamble, or stay safe."

They exchanged a look as I went on, clasping my hands behind my back and ambling aimlessly until I was facing away from them, admiring the clouds, "I don't know about you guys...but as for me...I'm not interested in things like safety, or cleaning a stupid classroom for three weeks..."

I then turned on my heal and declared with a wicked grin, "I want to win."

Sasuke gave me a look, arching one dark brow cynically, "So you want the prize? That's some wild ambition you've got there...considering you've got nothing to back it up."

"So far as you know..." I sent him a challenging smirk, "And with all three of us working together, we might just manage to pull it off."

"Ehhhh..." Naruto crossed his arms bratishly and remarked, "Sorry, Bo-chan. I ain't buyin' it. I still don't see what good could come from working with this bastard."

The glared at each other once more and looked like they were about to start up again before I spoke up for one last try, "Fine. You don't believe me? If we don't get the prize, I'll buy you ramen for three weeks, and Sasuke? I'll do your chores for free. Three weeks. No strings attached. This way, everybody wins, even if we loose."

"Ramen?" Naruto's eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his sockets, "Free? For three weeks? HELL YES!"

"That was easy..." I rolled my eyes as he spazzed out, then turned my gaze upon my hardest customer, making a point of speaking to him in the polite tone he seemed to respond better to, "Sasuke? Your answer?"

I was met with a stern, stony glare, and I mentally sighed. The glare was mixed with the same indecision I'd seen on his face this morning and I realized I'd have to push him just a liiiiittle bit further, "It's a win win. If we don't get the prize, I'll stop bugging you about the clone jutsu and do all your chores...then you can spend even more time with your stupid Onii-chan..."

"He's not—" He broke off clenching his fists. I could practically hear him grinding his teeth angrily, and his face went dark. I even wondered for a second if I'd pushed him too far, but then he sighed, unclenched his fists, and settled for just glaring at me, snapping, "Fine. Let's just get this over with..."