Chapter 01

Once upon a time there was a girl
You wouldn't really call her typical
Had her own definition of cool
She lived in her own world

The teenagers at Dancing Leaf High were so American. It was the only non-uniform school in Konoha. All the girls with their plaid skirts and fancy white pullovers were chatting away, using such terms as: "As if" or "Omigod, that's, like, so f-d up!" It was the dawning of a new age, which meant that the fashions were changing, too. It was 1998, and in a year and a half, Y2K would be here.

A bunch of kids clustered in their freshman english class were talking away as always.

"Did you hear," said a small blonde, "They've established a new class for kids who wanna learn more about ninja."

"Oh yeah," said her raven haired friend, "The par-nin classes. What do you think they teach there?"

What she was referring to was the new class called Shinobi Studies 101. The participants were called Part-Time ninja, or Par-nins for short.

"Ask Yume," said the blonde, motioning to a skinny, pale girl in the back room.

She had her own style her own rules
She played along like it was usual
Nobody really even knew her name
To her life was one big game

The girl, Nonaka Yume (Yume means "Dream"), sat slouched over desk. Her short, brunette hair, streaked with bright red chunks, was held back by a purple headband. Her large-collared shirt was an equal shade of purple. She also wore baggy, khahi shorts, black fingerless gloves, striped purple and black socks and jet black combat boots. She scribbled the remainder of her long journal entry and then drummed her pencil on her desk to the music playing on her , her coal colored eyes fixed in an upward gaze.

"She totally looks like she belongs in the ninja academy," said the raven-haired girl, twiling a bit of hair in her fingers, "She, like, dresses like a ninja."

"Does she even hear us," said the blonde, "She's got her head up in the clouds...all...the...time!"

She's got her head up in the clouds
Sharada, Sharada
Don't know when she'll come down
Sharada, Sharada
She can't get to bed
Sharada, Sharada
She's got this song stuck in her head
(her head, her head, song stuck in her head)

Yume didn't care. She just played along with her own drum as best she could. Everyone whispered that she was so different. She dressed like a ninja. She was always in her own world. Though, they had to give it to her...she was a great writer. She loved to write passages in her book...sometimes they were poems and songs.

Dreaming all day
That's all she did
Ever since she was a little kid
All the teacher's thought that she was slow
She was just dreaming about her show

Yume came from an odd-duckling family. They were outspoken and brave in their conviction. On top of all that, her uncle was none other than the self-proclaimed "Green Beast of Konoha" Maito Gai. She had formed a bond with him over the years and it stuck. Even at 14 years old, she was dependent on him...but she was finding her own voice. After all, she was outspoken. It was actually because of him that she was able to find her voice. Gai was a pretty confident, although flamboyant, guy when it came down to it. She watched him all her life and obtained the courage from his actions.

And when they told her she's delirious
She didn't care
She's just oblivious
She likes to make everyone curious
One day she's gonna be famous

Yume went through her day trying to be optimistic, but she heard them whisper about her. What did they know? They gossiped and chattered and swore (boy, if she had yen for every time she heard one, she would be very rich indeed) and created misconceptions simply because they didn't want to take the time in their busy lives to take the time to get to know the 'individuals' and 'outcasts.' What did that even mean? Individual, maybe, but outcast?! Nobody is an outcast in her eyes. Nobody!

She got her head up in the clouds
Sharada, Sharada
Don't know when she'll come down
Sharada, Sharada
She can't get to bed
Sharada, Sharada
She's got this song stuck in her head
(her head, her head, she's got this song stuck in her head)

Well, at least she had her Par-nin classes to look forward to. She didn't know who the jonin instructor was yet, but she was absolutely hyped. She didn't know who her teacher was, but she was excited to find out.

Everything about Yume was ninja. She kept keepsakes: Kunai, skurinken, scrolls, pics of famous ninja...and since her uncle was a jonin, she thought...what the heck? Why couldn't she be one. Her parents, however, mainstreamed her, but she was addled, as her teachers put it. She wasn't...she was just dreaming about being a ninja, which she couldn't do. Then, when these Shinobi Studies classes popped up, she was surprised her mom allowed her. She was so protective of Yume. But, she knew Yume was passionate about, so they allowed her to take the class...she was so happy she could burst...

She got her head up in the clouds
Sharada, Sharada
Don't know when she'll come down
Sharada, Sharada
She can't get to bed
Sharada, Sharada
She's got this song stuck in her head
(her head, her head, her head, her head, her head, her head)

Hopefully, someday, people would look at Yume differently, not as an odd duckling, but someone who had a passion for doing something, as we all did...