Chapter 2: More Friends, and Weird Teachers?

 

 

        Once Naruto dragged you out the door and out into the hallway, he did a sharp right and continued down the path to wherever you guys’ second period was.

        “This is great! We have math with Iruka Sensei next! He’s amazing, and can be REALLY cool! He even treats me to ramen sometimes! And I mean the good kind of ramen at Ichiraku’s!!” Wait, isn’t Ichiraku’s that fancy place downtown? And isn’t that a little weird for a teacher and a student to go to a restaurant together? 

        “You mean Ichiraku’s as in that fancy place downtown, right?”

        “YEAH! They have the BEST ramen! Have you tried it before?”

        “Oh uh, not yet I guess.”

        “WHAT!? WHY NOT!?”

        “I… don’t exactly… have the money to go to restaurants like that, at least not yet.” Naruto look mortified for a second, before his face brightened up and his cheekily grinned. Even though you’ve only known him for a minute, you could tell he was planning something. “Naruto, what are you planning?”

        “Don’t worry! You won’t have to wait anymore!” You shot him a confused look.

        “What do you mean? And I am NOT robbing a bank if that’s what you’re thinking.”

        “Wha- NO NO! I mean I’ll take you there! My treat!!!” You stared at him, a shocked expression adorning your features, and he returned it with a cheery close eyed smile. You couldn’t believe it. This had never happened before. No one ever invited you to anything ever before, much less take you out to dinner.

        “Really? Do you mean it? But, I mean, I should be the one to pay for it though…” You trailed off.

        “It’s fine! I can pay for as much food as you want!”

        “And what if it’s a hundred bowls of ramen then?” You asked with a smirk.

        “Aw that’s nothing.” He waved it off. “Trust me. I can pay for a thousand bowls if I need to.”

        “And how do you know you can pay for all of that? Hm?” He chuckled at your question, like a little child giggling when they’re not telling someone a secret.

        “You’ll find out when we get there.” Your smirk was replaced with a slight frown. He seemed so insistent on you eating ramen with him, but you felt like you would be a burden since you didn’t have much money to pay for anything.

        “Naruto, I really shouldn’t go if I can’t pay for my own meal yet.” 

        “Now you know I won’t take no for an answer (Y/N), please?” He once again gave you his puppy dog eyes that you couldn’t say no to. You smiled at him, and the thought of decent food. You barely even had any takeout while you lived with James and his parents, only when they sent both of you out to get something a couple of times, for themselves. You never had any real, good restaurant food, and now, you were just given the opportunity to eat somewhere. This made you ecstatic.

        “You seriously mean it? I won’t be a burden?”

        “Of course I mean it! I would never lie about something like this! And how could you ever be a burden? You’ll always be welcomed to join me, money or no money!! Believe it!!!” Your eyes brightened up at the thought. No one who was trying to use you would be in their right mind to take you out to a nice restaurant downtown! That’s when you decided something that would change your life forever. You now placed all of your trust in Naruto, something that only ever happened with James.

        “Alright. It’s settled. I’ll come with you to Ichiraku’s! And I’ll eat the best damn noodles they have!!!” You giddily exclaimed.

        “YES! WOO HOO! (Y/N)’S GONNA TASTE ICHIRAKU’S RAMEN FOR THE FIRST TIME! YAY!!!” Naruto continued to fist bump the air while still dragging your wrist down the school’s hallways, and you laughed at his enthusiasm the entire time. You were surprised that no one even paid attention to all of Naruto’s loud cheering and your laughing. Guess everyone’s used to Naruto yelling all the time. Makes sense. He is a loud mouth. You chuckled at your thoughts, but you stopped after you remembered something that Naruto said earlier, and something that you wanted to ask him. 

        “Naruto. Did you say earlier that Iruka treats you to ramen?” Naruto stopped his ranting, and looked at you a little confused.

        “Yeah, why?”

        “How can a teacher be allowed to do that? I mean, he’s a teacher and all.” He gave you a perplexing stare. Then he finally understood what you were getting at and made an apologetic face.

        “Oh yeah. Forgot you don’t know. Sorry. Anyways, my parents are, well, ‘usually away’, and Iruka Sensei was assigned to me as a sort of ‘caretaker’ while they’re gone, and he just so happens to also be our math teacher. But don’t worry! Grandma Tsunade’s okay with it, so it’s all good.” He gave you a thumbs up and a closed eyed smile. You giggled at Naruto’s nickname for Tsunade. If she really was fifty or sixty something years old like you heard, then Grandma Tsunade is right. You didn’t ponder the nickname any further though, and continued on.

        “Oooh.” You got a snarky idea. “So he’s your glorified babysitter teacher then?” You asked with a smirk. By now he had already dragged you to right outside Iruka’s classroom, and your comment got him to stop just before he was about to open the door.

        “WHAT!? I DON’T NEED A BABYSITTER!!!”

        “But, that’s kinda what a babysitter does, Naruto. They take care of big red-cheeked cute wild babies like you, and they’ll give you special treats like ramen if you’re a good boy.” You literally jumped up to reach Naruto’s height, and quickly ruffled his hair in mid air. His mind processed what you just said, and his mood changed from anger to confusion.

        “Did you just call me ‘cute’?” 

        “Well, your cheeks look like puffed out tomatoes and you’re acting like a seven-year-old throwing a tantrum! Of course I’m gonna call that cute!!” His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and anger, and he tried to shake it off when he finally realized what you had just said.

        “I DON’T act like a seven-year-old throwing a tantrum! I act like the proper teenager I am!” He pouted his lower lip up and puffed his cheeks out, making him seem even more childish. Then he looked like he had an idea. “You know how behaved I really am?” You smirked.

        “How behaved are you, Naruto?”  He smirked and held up his finger in a knowing fashion.

        “I’m as behaved as a trained soldier!” He then stood straight and saluted, imitating that of a soldier. “Just call me Soldier Naruto, BELIEVE IT!” He smiled determinedly, and it made you chuckle. Even now in his serious stance, he still looked and acted like a little child. It was funny, and unfortunately for Naruto, cute.

        “Well, maybe Soldier Naruto,” You pointed at him, “and General Shortstacks,” You pointed to yourself with your thumb, “should actually go to class. We’re almost late.” He laughed at your nickname for yourself.

        “Yeah yeah whatever. Fair enough… General Shortstacks.” He snickered, making you frown a bit.

        “Shut up.” You grumbled. “Why did I ever say that in the first place.”

        “You are pretty short, Shortie.” He ruffled your hair this time.

        “Lets just get to class, Soldier Baby Blonde.” You smirked.

        “Whatever.” He mumbled. After your conversation was done, you both finally entered the classroom, and the sound of soft chattering classmates was immediately followed by a loud yell.

        “NARUTO! YOU’RE LATE!! AGAIN!!!”

        “Wait WHAT? Not agaaaaiiin!” Naruto whined. While he was busy panicking, you looked at the clock behind you above the door, and then at who you assumed was Iruka, your new math teacher, and Naruto’s ‘caretaker’. The first thing you noticed was that he had a scar across his face where his nose is. You didn’t stare at it for too long to appear rude, so you looked at his other features quickly. He had long, spiky brown hair that was pulled up in a high ponytail, slightly tanned skin, and black eyes. He wore a plain navy blue jacket-like shirt with a green wavy vest on top of it, matching navy blue sweatpants to go with the jacket, and finally, black sneakers that matched his eyes. You then averted your gaze to the rest of the classroom, where everyone kept talking, and found that they were unfazed by the sudden outburst of Iruka. Naruto must be late all the time. However…

        “Uh, Sensei?” You drew Iruka’s attention to you.

        “Yes? Who are you?”

        “First of all, I’m new.” You rushed out, hoping he wouldn’t really notice. “Second, there’s about three minutes before class starts. Naruto’s not late, he and I are early.” He was a little taken aback by your blatant tone, and he was confused for a second, before looking at the clock and noticing what time it really was. He seemed completely shocked, wide eyed and jaw agape, as if Naruto not being late was the most impossible thing in the world. Although, as far as you knew, it could’ve been.

        “Well then, sorry Naruto. You’re… early, for once.” He choked out his last sentence, as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. He sighed. “You can take your seats now.” You turned around swiftly, happy and proud that you helped Naruto, but still also quickly trying to escape being noticed. Unfortunately, you were unlucky. “Wait, except you.” Sadly, you knew he was talking to you. You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. You slowly turned back around and faced Iruka once more. “Did you say you were new?” You slightly nodded your head. “What’s your name?” You had no choice but to, albeit nervously, introduce yourself to Iruka. You just hoped he wouldn’t make you do so with the whole class.

        “My name’s (Y/N) (L/N).” He pulled out a clipboard, and after a few seconds he checked something off, most likely your name.

        “Alright, take any seat that’s open then.” He gave you a closed eye smile, and retreated back to his desk. You immediately looked around the class for any empty seats. In the middle of your search, a familiar loud voice pierced your ears.

        “(Y/N)!!! HEEEY!! OVER HEEEEERRRE!!!” You turned your attention to Naruto, who was in the near back of the leftmost side of the class, closest to the door. There was an empty desk to his right, and you gladly accepted the offer, happy he was sitting close to where you usually liked to sit. You walked over and sat in the chair while setting your bag down next to you, and Naruto smiled. Lucky me, I get to sit with my new friend this period. Wew! I don’t have to be alone now!

        “Now I’m glad that one guy who sat there transferred from this class, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to sit next to good ol’ me!” He pointed to himself with a cocky closed eyed grin. You playfully rolled your eyes.

        “Yeah, lucky me. I get to sit next to my loud mouthed, childish new friend.” You smiled, trying not to laugh at your own joke.

        “Heeeeyy!” He pouted. You shrugged your shoulders, then you both laughed.

        “Oh wait hold on! (Y/N), while we have time, I want you to meet some of my friends!” He gestured to three people sitting around you. At the sound of Naruto’s voice and the word ‘friends’, the three stopped whatever they were doing and faced both you and Naruto.

        You were sure you didn’t look it, but you were super nervous on the inside right at the moment, and it only grew when they started looking at you; you felt like you were starting to sweat. You were, of course, very shy and scared of meeting new people, because there was always a possibility that they might hurt you like all the others had, and Naruto springing it on you didn’t help at all, the stares only made it worse. Despite all of this, somehow you were able to keep a straight face, and you tried to hide your nervousness while Naruto started to introduce these people.

        He pointed to the seat in front of him, where a chubby black eyed male with long spiky light brown hair and two red swirls on his huge cheeks. He wore a white scarf around his neck, a red shirt with a picture of food on it, a maroon jacket with the zipper down, long brown pants, all white sandals. He was also scarfing down potato chips nonstop. It looked almost childish. “This is Choji Akimichi. And yes, he always eats instead of breathing.” ‘Choji’ glared at Naruto, then looked back to you. He gave a small wave and flashed you a close eyed smile.

        “Sup? Like he said, I’m Choji. Nice to meetcha!” His voice sounded a little muffled due to his mouth being full of chips, to which you chuckled. You waved back, some of your nervousness washed away after seeing the happy looking Choji.

        Before you could give your own name though, Naruto pointed to the boy with spiky dark-brown hair in front of you, who had his feet propped up on the chair to his left, so the left side of his body faced you. You couldn’t see his eyes since they were closed, but you did see light skin and an irritated, or bored, expression. He wore a grey shirt with a cropped brown jacket that lay over top of it, khaki pants, and black sneakers with white laces on his propped up feet.

        “This is Shikamaru Nara. He’s kind of a bummer. And by kind of, I mean always a bummer.” The boy finally opened his angry chocolate eyes and glared at Naruto. He then averted his gaze to you. He seemed to be studying you, and so you raised your eyebrow a bit, still keeping a serious expression. This guy looked like everything bothered him, so you might as well try and not be too annoying for him. When he was done surveying you, he nodded his head in an approving sort of way at you.

        “It’s such a drag for Naruto to introduce me to someone new, but hi I guess anyways.” Once again, before you could even respond with a ‘hey’ back, Naruto moved on. 

        He now pointed to the long blonde haired girl you recognized from last period, who now sat directly behind you. Upon closer inspection, her hair was put up in a high ponytail and a giant portion of it was used as bangs that covered her right eye and went a little past her chin. It didn’t actually look that bad, considering the chunk of hair didn’t look like actual bangs. But you didn’t care too much about fashion and looks and stuff like that anyways. She was skinny and pale white, more so than anyone you’ve seen yet, with big sky blue eyes that screamed determination and confidence. She wore a white tank top, a dark purple vest overtop it, white bandages that covered her stomach, puffy dark purple shorts worn a little too high in your opinion, but thankfully the bandages covered a lot of skin there, and dark blue shoes with the tops cut off.

        “This is Ino Yamanaka.” All of your nervousness washed away, as it was replaced by annoyance at not being given the chance to say your name, so you mumbled an ‘it’s such a drag for Naruto to not let me speak to new people I’m supposed to be meeting and talking to’, mimicking Shikamaru’s ‘drag phrase’ with a snarky attitude. Shikamaru raised the corners of his lips to a slight smirk at your quiet, almost unheard, comment. Naruto, being one of those who didn’t hear you, then leaned in close to your ear and whispered, “She can be a big loud mouth, a LOT.”

        “Look who’s talking.” You and Shikamaru replied simultaneously. You both turned to each other and proudly exchanged smirks. Then, Naruto started whisper yelling.

        “Hey now wait a minu-!”

        “I HEARD THAT LITTLE COMMENT NARUTO!!! YOU’RE THE LOUD MOUTH HERE, NOT ME!! I MEAN HAVE YOU EVEN HEARD YOURSELF BEFORE!?!?…”

        “Oh no. Here we go again.” Choji groaned with his mouth still full of chips.

        “What a drag.” Shikamaru followed.

        “Does this happen a lot?” You questioned with a hint of sarcasm, since you already had an idea of what the answer is.

        “Two loud mouths right next to each other in the same classroom. You have no idea.” Shikamaru mumbled. You half smirked at that, but that’s when you realized something important.

        “Oh, hey, I never introduced myself, since someone wouldn’t let me talk.” You grumbled the last part out. You stole a glance at Naruto to see if he caught that, but he was still busy getting scolded by Ino. You sighed, and finally introduced yourself. “My name’s (Y/N) (L/N), and I guess it’s nice to meet you guys.” The corner of your lip raised to a slightly serious smile. Choji smiled back, while Shikamaru nodded in approval. Suddenly, Ino stopped her yelling lecture and snapped her head to you.

        “Wait, you were in mine and Naruto’s first period! You were the one who, you know…” She turned her head from side to side, as if looking to see if anyone was watching, then motioned for the whole group to lean in to the center space between the four desks. She whispered quietly for only you guys to hear. “You were the one who stood up to Gaara!” Choji gasped loudly, Shikamaru stared at you with widened eyes, and Naruto looked as if he remembered something, then started looking wide eyed and nervous as well.

        You thought Ino was being a little overdramatic, since you wouldn’t exactly call a glare contest ‘standing up’ to someone, just a way of saying you weren’t afraid. You didn’t even know what the big deal about Gaara was in the first place. He must’ve done something to gain this kind of infamy, where even the careless Shikamaru was interested and worried about this. You shrugged it off though, it wasn’t like you were afraid.

        “Ino, I wouldn’t call glaring at someone ‘standing up’ to them.” Choji gasped again before you could say anything else.

        “You GLARED at him!?” Choji yelled. Shikamaru and Ino both shushed him loudly.

        “Choji! Keep your voice down! We don’t want this news spreading around!” Shikamaru whisper yelled at him. You crossed your arms in an almost annoyed manner. You still didn’t see what the big deal was.

        “You guys act as if he’s the most dangerous person in the world.”

        “He kinda is.” Ino said. “The last person who stood up to him like that… never came back!” You slowly raised an inquisitive eyebrow, not exactly believing her. However, one look at Ino’s eyes, made you instantly question your thoughts. Her eyes were dead serious, as if she had seen something happen before.

        You thought Gaara probably just acted like a tough guy to get everyone nervous, or he’s just naturally like the person you saw this morning, but was it possible that it all wasn’t just an act? After another few seconds of thinking, you shrugged your shoulders. It’s probably just some rumor or something. You shouldn’t trust that kind of stuff guys. You can trust me on that one. Memories of your old school came to mind, mainly the rumors about you, and some about James, but mainly you. It was horrible. They were horrible. However, before you could clearly recount those harsh words, Choji pulled you out of your train of thought.

        “There were a few time where I saw him beating up these tall muscular senior kids! I was there during those fights the whole time! It was scary!! He literally beat them to near death! Those guys were in the hospital for two weeks!! Then, when they came out, they still looked like they fell off the edge of the world or something! Plus…” He leaned in closer to the group. “I hear he kills… for fun! And that he’s even the leader of one of the most dangerous gangs in the city!” Before Choji said anything else, Shikamaru butted in.

        “I don’t know about the gang and killing part, but the beatings and the disappearing kid stories are true (Y/N). Watch your back. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. No matter how I appear, I actually care about peoples’ safety, especially my friends, no matter how much of a drag they are, and no matter how new they are. Alright?” You smirked.

        “So I am your friend then?”

        “Of course you’re my friend! Ugh! It’s such a drag to explain this.” You smirked even more.

        “I thought I’d be ‘too much of a drag’ to be your friend.”

        “(Y/N), I’m being dead serious.” Shikamaru took on a serious, almost military like expression and tone. “I don’t want you to get hurt… or worse. Plus, okay, you’re actually not… that much of a drag.” He mumbled that last part quietly, but you were still able to hear it anyway. You smiled at the generosity, and the fact that these are the first people, besides James, Naruto, and your old principal, that actually cared about you this much, even after only knowing you for a couple minutes. 

        “Thanks. I didn’t realize you guys care for me that much. I mean we just met and all, and-“

        “So what? We’re still your friends. It doesn’t matter that we just met you like, what, a couple minutes ago. Who cares?” Ino cheerfully replied. 

        “You are part of the group, aren’t cha?” Choji cheerfully asked.

        “W-Well, I-I m-mean, am I?” You stuttered, and Shikamaru groaned at your question.

        “You really don’t have this kind of experience with friends like us, do you? Well now we keep having to explain that stuff you should already know, like being new doesn’t matter to us. Look (Y/N), we all have your back. Even if you’re about to fight against the toughest guy in the school, maybe even the city, it doesn’t matter. We’ll be getting beat up right next to you, even though it’s SO much work if I had to try and save your sorry ass.” He smirked at his last statement. You playfully rolled your eyes and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

        “Sorry it’s ‘such a drag’ to come and help me with imaginary fighting. And by the way, I actually don’t have much experience with friends, thank you very much.” You didn’t know what in the hell made you say that, but you just blurted it out of your big mouth like it was nothing, which you didn’t intend to do. Ino blinked her eyes in astonishment.

        “Really? How is that possible?” Choji asked.

        “Who did you go to school with? Picky, bratty spoiled bitchy kids? How could you not have many friends?” Ino added. You giggled at how accurate Ino was at describing the people you used to go to school with. You were surprised that they found it hard to believe that you didn’t have friends before. I guess it helps when they don’t know my background, yet, at least.

        “I honestly don’t know why, but people didn’t like me much. They only used me, or bullied me, or both. That’s why I was skeptical about you at first Naruto. I was actually skeptical, and admittedly nervous, of you guys as well just a minute ago. But I’ll admit, you guys are pretty cool and trustworthy.”

        “Glad we fit the requirements then.” Choji smirked for once.

        “Yeah, I’ll freaking kick those sorry excuses of humans! Don’t worry (Y/N)! They’ll answer to my fist! CHYA!” Ino punched the air in front of you to show that she meant business.

        “Ino, you know I can fight, right? I’m not weak. I can handle a skirmish if I really need to.” You smirked a prideful smile. No one, not even James, knew this, but you used to sneak out of the house and practiced self defense so you could protect yourself and James from anything that could’ve happened to both of you. You knew how to fight very well, but you didn’t have to tell them that. Shikamaru scoffed at your declaration.

        “I don’t see how a girl could pick a fight… and win. You guys can be more of a drag than anything to protect. How do you expect to fight? AND win?” Great. I’m friends with a lazy sexist guy. Just great.

        “Sexist much?” You mumbled.

        “SHIKAMARU!!! Do we need to have that little TALK again!?” Ino looked like she was ready to kill. She even cracked her neck pretty loudly. She clearly meant business, you knew that much without even knowing her for long. Shikamaru look worried for a second, then sighed heavily as he hung his head in defeat.

        “No.” He groaned like a child admitting they did something wrong.

        “You guys don’t have anything to worry about anyways. I’m not trying to sound like a tough girl, but I don’t get intimidated by anyone. Trust me. I’m pretty stubborn, and I’ve seen my fair share of… ‘things’ I guess you could say. I’ll be fine. You won’t have to worry.”

        “Don’t be an idiot (Y/N), and stop trying to act tougher than you already are. It could get you into something you don’t want anything to do with.” Shikamaru warned. “Plus, it’s not just Gaara who’d be after you, although he’s the most infamous one. His two siblings, Temari and Kankuro, aren’t always far behind him. They may only be his loyal followers, but they stick together like a pack of ravenous wolves, and they certainly fight like one too. So I’ll say it again. Don’t. Act. Like. A tough girl.” You scowled.

        “I’m not joking, and I’m not trying to act tough.” You dropped your scowl and relaxed. “It’s just how I grew up. Well, with people around me anyway. You never let people get to you or intimidate you. Show no fear, and you have a chance of them leaving you alone. If you do, they’ll keep coming back to torment you. That’s what I had to figure out, the hard way. That’s why I’m not afraid of anyone or anything.” You spoke with pure confidence. Ino placed a hand on your shoulder.

        “Just, don’t get into any trouble, okay?” You twisted your head to face her and sighed, not bothering to reply anymore. After a moment or two, you decided to nod so they wouldn’t pester you on the matter anymore. She tightened her grip just a smidge. “And if you ever need to talk about anything, we’re here for you.” You curled one end of your lips to a determined half smile. You glanced around at everyone, and they nodded and smiled, well Shikamaru smirked, in agreement. 

        “Yeah, I guess I could take a break from silently, and might I add peacefully, watching the clouds to help you if you need it. Although it’s such a drag to do all that work.”

        “Shut up Shikamaru! You know you wanna help in spite of your laziness. It wouldn’t even matter if it cut into your ‘precious cloud watching’, and you know it!” Ino raised her voice.

        “Psh. Whatever.”

        “Wait, you like watching the clouds?” You asked Shikamaru.

        “No duh captain obvious. What gave it away?” He grumbled sarcastically. You ignored his comment.

        “I do too!”

        “Wait. You watch clouds? No offense, but you don’t exactly seem like the person to do something so… quiet. I’m kind of surprised.”

        “And what is that supposed to mean?” You stared at him like Ino did just a moment ago, making him a little nervous.

        “I don’t know. You seem very… hmm. What’s the word I’m looking for? Uhh… let’s just say… you seem like Naruto over here. He just… doesn’t sit still? Restless? Reckless? Ah, you know what I mean.” You eventually stopped glaring at him and relaxed a little. You didn’t care about his tone too much, he at least tried. I guess that’s just how he is. I’ll get used to it… eventually… hopefully.

        “Well anyways, it’s always nice to relax and let all the stress flow out of you for a few minutes… or maybe even hours.” You smirked at the last part.

        “Huh. Where do you go and ‘let the stress flow out of you’, then?” He mimicked your choice of words and tone, which you replied with sarcasm.

        “The deepest darkest parts of the sewers with the rats to keep me good company. Where do you think? Of course I go on top of a roof, or a nice secluded grassy plain on a hill! Duh! Where else would you go? Seriously, were you raised in a barn Shikamaru?” He smirked, seeming to approve of your answer, despite your attitude.

        “Hm, you know what? Maaaaybe I’ll show you the best place to see the clouds then. That is, only if you’re interested.” Your eyes shone with excitement.

        “Really? You mean it?”

        “Ah ah ah. I said, maybe.” You pouted your lips.

        “Asshole.”

        “Well maybe you should listen more.”

        “Well maybe you should-” Before you could comeback Shikamaru’s comment, Ino cut you off.

        “You nerds with your ‘cloud watching’. JEEZ! There’s more important things to do you guys! Like showing (Y/N) the most important part of life!!” Ino replied excitedly.

        “And that would be…?”

        “SHOPPING!!”

        “…” Everyone was silent.

        “…Wait. What? Shopping??” You did not like shopping. Your stepmom would make you go ‘shopping’ with her all the time, but really you were only there to hold her shit, so it never quite stuck out to you. It was so boring to go to places that didn’t have the kinds of things you’re in to, your feet always hurt and basically killed you when you walked for a long time, and plus it’s just not your style. But, you guessed if it was with Ino, it couldn’t be too bad. It might actually be fun for once.

        “Hey, Naruto. You’ve been quiet this whole time. What’s up? You okay? ” Choji drew you out of your thoughts, and you weren’t the only one. Naruto was also slightly disrupted as well.. “It’s not like you to space out on us like this, you know?” Naruto had been, come to think of it, absolutely silent the whole time you guys were talking. Unless…

        “Naruto. Naruto!” You yelled. 

        “Didn’t know you could be that deep in thought. Heck, I didn’t even know you had much of a brain.” Choji smugly said. That got Naruto mad.

        “Heeeeey! At least I don’t only think about food like you do! I swear YOUR brain is a big freaking potato chip!”

        “Naruto.” You repeated sternly. He and Choji stopped arguing, glared once more at each other, then Naruto turned and faced you. No one expected what came out of your mouth next.

        “Are you afraid of Gaara?” Naruto’s eye widened and his face paled. He seemed anxious, as if you figured him out as easily as an open book. That wasn’t all true though. You only remembered he stopped talking when you guys were talking about Gaara, which lead you to think he was afraid, or at least very uncomfortable, with him. He simply stared at you for a few seconds, then he took a deep breath and sighed.

        “Okay. Yes, I am. But it’s not how you think it is!” He stuttered out at the end. You definitely didn’t expect him to be honest about it.

        “What do you mean by that?” You stared questioningly at him, hoping for a less vague answer. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

        “It’s… complicated.”

        “Is it because you’re friends with him?” Ino asked. I didn’t know Gaara and Naruto were friends. He certainly didn’t look like they were buddies this morning.

        “Yeah, you could say that. He’s a great friend and all. He’s not abusive or too mean or anything like that. It’s just that-” Unfortunately for you guys, the bell rang right when Naruto was about to explain himself. So much for ‘saved by the bell’. For us, at least, not Naruto. I’m not letting this go though. He won’t get out of this that easily. Iruka finally stood up from his desk and yelled.

        “ALRIGHT CLASS! SETTLE DOWN! You can talk later. Now today we’ll-” Everyone instantly shushed. Your group now faced the front of the room, and you didn’t bother Naruto anymore, for now at least.

        You sat through the whole lecture thinking about why Naruto would be afraid of Gaara, even though they’re friends, but also how grateful you were to have met new friends yourself, while still paying attention to the lesson without zoning out too much. You thought you knew the material pretty well already, you weren’t too bothered or confused by it at all. You weren’t worried about missing too much, only about Naruto’s friendship with Gaara, and what it means.

 
        When the bell finally rang at the end of class, you quickly exchanged numbers with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji before the three left to their own classes. While you said your temporary goodbyes, Naruto stole your phone, put his number in, and placed it back. He then took your schedule and began scanning it over. When you finally noticed what he was doing, you put your hands on your hips and frowned at him. You knew he was trying to avoid your question from earlier, and he stole your schedule without you even getting a chance to look at it yourself.

        “Awww we don’t have next period together!” Aw shit! I was really hoping he would be in my next class as well. Great, I’m alone on this one. This new problem made you completely forget about your curiosity on Gaara’s and Naruto’s relationship.

        “Wait, what do I have then? Maybe it’s not so bad?” You asked nervously. He grimaced.

        “Biology with Orochimaru Sensei. Oh boy, you’re in trouble.” You started to grow nervous.

        “Why am I in trouble?” He motioned for you to lean in, and you quickly obeyed. Naruto cupped his hand at the side of his mouth and whispered in your ear.

        “He’s kind of a perv. All I know is that he may be bi, and the stronger the student, the more he ‘likes’ them. Apparently he stares at my friend during the whole class, or so he’s told me.” Your face paled a little at the end.

        You didn’t actually expect any teacher pervs as weird as this one sounded. You didn’t mind that he was potentially bisexual, that stuff didn’t bother you at all, but the big perverted side of his story made you a little nervous. Scratch that, I’m pretty scared now.

        Naruto noticed your uneasy expression, and he quickly waved his hands in front of his face and tried to console you. “Don’t worry! I’m pretty sure it’s not as bad as it sounds! My friend can exaggerate at times!” His words came out rushed and stuttered, and it was clear that they weren’t helping your nervous state. “Uh, here! Let me show you the way!” With that, he grabbed your wrist, just like after first period, and dragged you throughout the hallways and up the stairs to the second floor. Along the way, you made mental notes of certain landmarks to try and familiarize yourself with the route to your class and the way throughout the school. It helped distract you from the cause of your nerves.

        Naruto eventually stopped you in front of a door that read Orochimaru in the center of it. Glancing inside, there were a couple groups of people already standing or sitting down in random places. That meant you didn’t have to face this teacher in a room alone, which was a small relief.

        “Alright. We have P.E. today next period, and you know where the gym is right?” You nodded, remembering that you saw the gym when you walked into the front of the school this morning, which was to the right of the front doors. You only had to back track the way Naruto dragged you through the hallways, and maybe you could even figure out a shortcut if you were lucky.

        “Yeah it’s fine, I got it. I know where it is. I guess I’ll see you later then?”

        “Alright. See you later (Y/N)!” You waved him off as he sprinted down the corridor to whatever class he had next, probably not wanting to be late. It wouldn’t actually surprise you if he was still late. You turned your head around to the classroom door. Lets see, three minutes before the bell rings. Good, I’m early enough to get a good seat. Let’s just hope this teacher isn’t that bad. With that, you walked inside.

        The room appeared to be like any other normal science room. To your left, three columns of black desks made to sit partners instead of one person were aligned evenly throughout the class. They each had two chairs, where the few people who had already arrived were sitting. Wooden cupboards with glass windows were filled with different objects: books, beakers, flasks, Bunsen burners, test tubes, and microscopes. A black cart was at the back of the class with different glass tubes full of solutions, different chemicals, and even a couple animal species in glass habitats, on the different layers of the cart. 

        At the teacher desk in front of you, just to your right, sat a man who you assumed to be Orochimaru. He had long black hair that covered most of his face, partly due to him leaning down as he was doing something. You could see that he wore a dark green jacket with matching dark green pants, and one of the jacket pockets had a grey eighth note on it, which you wondered what that meant. Is he a music lover then? Maybe that’s a good thing since I just started liking music. He seemed to be looking at a figurine on the desk. It was glass, like the Tonton one Shizune had on her desk and the Katsuyu on Tsunade’s. Except, his was of a different looking purple snake with black stripes all over its body. It had black eyeballs with emerald green irises and big black slit pupils. Big purple horns stuck out of the back of the head almost like a dragon’s. There was a label at the front like the other two, but you were too far away to see it. What is up with these glass figurine things?

        At the sound of the door opening, he glanced at you, and started to turn back to his desk, until he realized that you weren’t one of his normal students. For some reason he smirked, then gestured for you to come to his desk. You didn’t know if he was trying to scare you on purpose, or if it was just how he normally greets people. Nevertheless, you showed no signs of being nervous and as you walked over to him, you were able to get a better look of his features.

        The man looked like a humanoid snake, only with no scales. He had golden slit eyes, pale light green skin, and sharp white teeth, which he showed with a yawn. His pointy canines were clearly shown, and somehow you knew he did this on purpose. His face was carved to a pointed chin, exactly like a snake’s head. In addition to his snake like features, he wore purple eye shadow on his eyes that branched off at the ends and stopped to where the bridge of his nose ended. He actually looked pretty cool to you. After all, you loved animals, and snakes had always leaned more towards your favorites side. Legend says they’re descended from dragons, which are one of your favorite animals. However, that smirk he still had plastered on his face gave the possibility of ill intentions, so you still kept your guard up while maintaining your calm composure.

        As you moved closer to him, you could now see the nametag of the figurine he had. It read Manda. You stopped in front of his desk, and he spoke in a raspy hiss like voice. He even extended the s’s a little bit. Just like a snake.

        “It appears I was right. We do have a new student. I just didn’t think you would be this early. You must be smart, you seem like it. What is your name, then?” You swore he already knew your name by the tone of his voice, but he just wanted to hear you say it. It was slightly suspicious to you.

        “(Y/N) (L/N).” You said in a confident and strong tone.

        He then looked like he was judging you on something. Your facial expression, your tone, or something, you couldn’t figure it out. But that’s when you figured him out. Ohhh he’s not a perv. He just acts like a snake! He must be completely obsessed with them judging from all the snake themed hints from him. Wew! He’s just being unique. That’s all. No need to worry! You inwardly sighed in relief, glad that what Naruto had said to you was a misunderstanding. You then remembered the animals on the cart in the back, and realized that they were all prey a snake would eat. That’d be funny if he actually eats them. Heh… I seriously hope not though. While you were busy thinking, he finally seemed to approve of whatever he was just studying about you.

        “I can tell you love animals. I’m glad someone else like you is in this class then.” You raised an eyebrow at this, surprised. How did he know? Maybe only the ones who like animals take this course?

        “Does everyone in this class love animals then?” He chuckled, as if the answer was obvious, or you were oblivious.

        “Not exactly my dear. Not exactly. Not everyone likes animals as much. Only you and a few others, including myself.” Then how?…

        “Then how’d you figure it out?” You asked in slight confusion and curiosity, still easily keeping your calm and cool. He smirked wider.

        “It was pretty easy to notice actually. Your eyes had a certain ‘twinkle’ in them when you looked at those animals you saw back there.” Wow, this guy is observant.

        “Guess I’m pretty predictable then.” He chuckled in amusement.

        “Maybe you are. I guess we’ll find out. Anyway, you can take the seat over there in the back.” He pointed a long slender finger to a table on the rightmost side of the room, indeed towards the back. “Hurry, go on. Class is starting soon.” You nodded, and walked to the desk he pointed to. You felt his eyes linger on your form for a minute before the feeling thankfully disappeared. 

        The desk that was now yours was about the third one from the back row. Not bad. Usually back seats were more ‘isolated’ in your opinion, just your environment. You sat on the window seat, hoping your new partner wouldn’t mind that you preferred looking out the window instead of being next to the aisle. If not, you supposed you could sit in the other one if you really needed to.

        You were just leaning close to the window with your left elbow propped up on the table, resting your left cheek on your palm, when the door was suddenly slammed open. You turned your attention to an all too familiar sight standing in the doorway. It was Gaara. Aw shit. Like this is what I need right now. No friends in this class and now him. Ugh. I hope nothing like first period happens again. And what’s up with you slamming doors dude? Jeez. I swear it’ll cause a major earthquake one of these days. That’s when you noticed two people standing in the doorway behind Gaara, both in similar attire as him.

        One was a slightly pale girl with teal eyes and spiky, sandy colored hair that was pulled up into four spiky ponytails, which shaped a square in the back of her head. She wore a plain black hoodie, dark blue skinny jeans, and light purple shoes with white trimmings and laces. The aura she gave off was bored, cooled, a little serious, and isolated all at once, but not as extreme as Gaara’s ‘bad boy’ coldness and anger.

        The other one, a boy with little dark eyes, gave off a similar aura as the girl’s. He had on a black hoodie with the hood covering his head. It seemed rather wide for his face size, and it had strange tufts on the top that almost made him look like a cat. You could tell he had dark brown hair due to some strands of it sticking out the side of his head. He had strange purple markings all over his face, which made him look like he belonged to some kind of tribe or cult. It was almost funny. He had black pants that looked tighter than Gaara’s sweatpants, and black shoes with white trimmings and laces. 

         They must be the siblings that Shikamaru mentioned. The girl must be Temari, and the boy must be Kankuro. Huh. Gaara, for your sake, don’t you even DARE be a coward and try and pick an uneven fight with me right now with your little lackeys. You snorted your annoyance, and proceeded to close your eyes and turn your head back to the window, still keeping an eye on them through the li.

        Gaara still had his hands in his hoodie pockets and that same scowl he wore this morning, as he and his siblings walked into the room. Orochimaru looked up from writing something on a piece of paper, to see Gaara nodding at him to show that he was here. Orochimaru nodded back with a slight smirk and returned to writing whatever he was writing on his desk. It looked and felt like there was a weird tension between them, but you only brushed it off as Gaara being the same way with everybody else.

        The group walked over towards the many rows of desks, where the two siblings split up from their brother and walked down the first aisle of them, while Gaara walked down yours. Your head still rested in the palm of your left hand with your eyes lowered so much, it would seem to anyone else that you had dozed off, though you could still clearly see Gaara drawing nearer to your desk. It wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, if it wasn’t for one simple thing.

        He wasn’t stopping.

Chapter 5: Your New Family

 

 

        Everyone stared at you, shocked. Not once in a million years did they expect you to tell them your real name, especially after today’s events. You were still looking at the view in front of you, with a soft and relaxed smile plastered on your face, ignoring their surprised stares. Temari was the first to break the silence.

        “(Y/N). It’s pretty.” A light pink dusted your cheeks as you closed your eyes, and you snuggled deeper into your knees out of embarrassment. Kankuro smirked.

        “So, I guess this means you trust us then, right?” He teased, and you scoffed in return.

        “Don’t read too much into it, kitty cat.” He scowled at your nickname for him, which referred to the tufts of black on his head that were part of his bodysuit. Before he could make a comeback, Temari stopped him.

        “Maybe you’ll tell us your last name one of these days.” You snorted, and rose your lips into a slight smirk.

        “I’d keep dreaming then. It’s my top secret. No one can know.” Not even me. You didn’t know your last name, only Old Man did, and he never told you, but you wouldn’t tell them that. You weren’t technically lying. It’s still your secret… that you just didn’t know.

        “And why can’t we know?” Kankuro asked. You shrugged your shoulders.

        “Because you can’t.” He groaned, impatient with your stubbornness. You layed back down on the ground and smirked.

        “You are one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met.”

        “Thank you. You’re one of the most annoying people I’ve ever met.”

        “But you said that you don’t have much contact with people.”

        “Uh huh. Keep going.”

        “Why you little-“

        “How do you two even live with him?” You gestured to Temari and Gaara. “You guys are siblings, right? So you’ve lived with each other all your life.” You chuckled. “I don’t know how though, it must be so much work.” They stared at you, surprised for the second time that night.

        “How did you know that we’re siblings?” Kankuro asked.

        “Yeah, we never told you that.” Temari added. You shrugged your shoulders again.

        “Instincts, you give off vibes. I mean, besides that, I don’t really know. Just can.” You smirked. “But seriously, how do you two live with him?” Of course Gaara didn’t answer, and Temari shrugged her shoulders.

        “I’m not sure if we’re actually alive with him around.” Kankuro stared at Temari, jaw agape.

        “Why are you siding with her!?” He asked incredulously.

        “Is someone jealous?” You teased. Kankuro growled softly, and you held up your hands in mock surrender, well your up since you were still laying down on Gaara’s sand. “Calm your man tits, we’re just joking around. Right, Temari?” Kankuro just continued to glare at you, and you swore Gaara was doing the same when you said ‘man tits’, which was hilarious. Temari, however, smirked. 

        “Weellll, more or less.” She said. You chuckled and sat up.

        “Maybe she wasn’t, but I was.” He was still glaring at you, which you couldn’t blame him for. You didn’t expect, however, for him to reach around Temari and punch you square in the shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but it was still unexpected. You smirked, and didn’t do anything back. “Alright, maybe I deserved that. But that’s the only free hit you get. Next time, let’s just say you won’t be so lucky.” He snorted and smirked.

        “Fine by me.” You smiled.

        “Let me get in on some of that.” Temari said while punching you, annoyingly, in the same spot Kankuro did. You frowned.

        “And what was that for?” You could hear Kankuro snickering, but you were more focused on Temari.

        “I thought we all got a free hit.”

        “Yeah, everyone who’s name is Kankuro and who wears black clothes with little tufts on the head that kinda makes him look like a cat. Anyone else-” She cut you off.

        “You still owe us for the food you stole. I think this is a pretty fair deal.” You didn’t have anything to say back, and you just sighed in defeat.

        “Well, you got me there… this time.”

        “Does this mean I get another hit?” Kankuro asked excitedly. 

        “No.” Was your immediate answer. “You already got your free hit.” He ignored you, and punched you anyway, still in the same exact place as before. “Really?” You turned and saw him smirk at you. You sighed, this time more heavily. “Fine. But seriously, that was it for you.”

        “I get another one then!”

        “What is this, a hit me party?” You asked sarcastically. You turned and saw Temari’s and Kankuro’s excited and evil grins. “OK, alright. This is a party. Just us, no wait! How about we invite the whole damn Leaf Village while we’re at it. Step right up step right up, get your free hits here. One punch and you won’t end up dead. Step right up! Everyone’s invited!” Temari and Kankuro were clutching their stomachs from laughter. “You want in on this too Gaara? Might as well.” You looked up at his green eyes with your own playful ones. You were surprised that he was even looking at you. “This is a once in a lifetime deal, you’ll never get another chance like this.” You offered. He continued to stare at you with the same scowling, stoic expression for a few minutes, never wavering in the slightest, never showing any emotion, no signs of what he was thinking or feeling. Your playful expression never changed as well.

        He eventually turned away from you, not giving you a single glance back, but it didn’t bother you. You shrugged your shoulders and faced forward as well. “Alright. Suit yourself.” You chuckled, since in a way, Gaara was acting just like you. Being silent, showing no emotions, and acting like an outcast in general were all the things you usually did. Well, except for now that is. You felt like you understood him a little, at least from that point of view.

        You saw him glance at you once more before he looked back at the view ahead of him. Out of the corner of your eyes you saw Temari and Kankuro staring at the view with fearful yet slightly surprised expressions. Why do they look so afraid? Psh, there’s nothing scary here. Unless Gaara has a really bad temper or something. Now that I think about it, there is something different I sense about him. It’s almost like there’s two different beings. Bipolar? No, that’s different than what I’m sensing. Well… it’s not like he’s done anything… yet, which is surprising, since I’ve been pretty annoying so far. Actually, why hasn’t he done anything to ‘shut me up’ or something like that? Does he really not find me that annoying… or does he pity me? Whatever the case is, I guess I’ll take it, even if it really is only pity.

        You continued to smile, and closed your eyes as you layed back down on Gaara’s sand. You felt someone messing with your hair, and you opened your eyes back up to see Temari half smiling half smirking down at you.

        “You’re alright kid. You’re alright.” You smirked yourself.

        “I guess you’re not that much of a brat.”

        “You know you’re not much older than me, right?”

        “So? You’re still a brat in my book.”

        “And you’re an angry kitten in mine.” Kankuro huffed, and decided to stop talking. Peaceful silence passed, with the four of you sitting, except you who was laying down, and admiring the view you had shown them. You let out a quiet breath of air, and shifted yourself deeper into Gaara’s sand. I never knew how warm his sand really was until now. It’s actually quite comfortable, almost like that sand in the dream I had…

        Suddenly, a whiff of something caught your nose. You sat straight up, twitching your nose and sniffing the air to find the source of the smell, completely staying still otherwise so as not make other noise. Kankuro, Temari, and even Gaara were watching you in confusion, curious to find out what you were doing.

        “What are you? Some kind of animal-“

        “Shut up.” You whispered in a serious tone, interrupting Kankuro and stopping him from saying anything else. You tilted your head to try and listen for a certain noise that you hoped was a false alarm. When you pinpointed a sound that matched the scent, you snapped your head in the direction it was coming from. Just as you predicted, there was smoke rising from the building you were looking at, and it was the building that was close to… Oh no. Not- “Shit.” You jumped up from Gaara’s sand and onto the edge of the rock of the Hokage mountain. You turned around and stared at the trio with serious and, admittedly, fearful eyes. “Fire.”

        That one word was enough for them to spring into action. They looked at each other, then back at you, and nodded, knowing exactly what to do. Just as you turned around and was about to jump off of the mountain, you were stopped by Kankuro’s shouting.

        “What are you doing!?”

        “What does it look like?” You said impatiently.

        “You can’t jump off the edge!”

        “Glad to see you’re actually concerned, but I’ve got a HUGE problem now, and this is the quickest way to go. So if you wanna come, hurry up and move it.” Kankuro glared at you.

        “And how do you expect us to just jump off this rock without dying?” Temari shouted. You rolled your eyes.

        “Well you’ve got wind.” You pointed to Temari. “You’ve got sand.” You pointed to Gaara. “You’ve got chakra strings.” You pointed to Kankuro, and then a thumb to yourself. “And I’ve got these.” You flashed your hidden blades. “Not that hard to figure out.” Temari sighed.

        “I guess we’ve got it.” You nodded, and not wasting anymore time, jumped off the Hokage mountain, falling straight down to the ground below, with the trio not following too far behind. Before you could hit the floor, you released your blades, and sent charka into the air below you. You used what you could gather and sent a full force of wind towards the mountains, shooting yourself in the direction of the smoke.

        When Temari reached the altitude you were at, she followed your lead and used her fan to propel herself to where you were flying. Kankuro was propelled along with Temari, which you assumed meant that he must’ve tied chakra strings to her so that she would propel both of them with her wind. Gaara was flying with his sand, and he was heading your way as well.

        You roughly landed on the dark floor of a street and instantly started to run with all of your might, sending chakra to your feet to increase your speed. Gaara was somehow able to follow you really well, just like before, with Temari and Kankuro not too far behind Gaara, though Kankuro must’ve unattached his chakra strings from Temari since the two weren’t so close to each other now. You sped through all too familiar alleyways, twisting, turning, and winding your way through without a single problem, following the sick smell of the smoke you had seen. You didn’t even pay attention to the figures watching the area you now entered.

        You abruptly stopped when the scent of smoke was the strongest, and stared at what you saw. About a few yards away, stood a tall blazing wall of flames, dancing and swaying brightly in the moonlight, giving everything around it a light orange glow. You could hear the sizzling and crackling, the sound of the destruction it was causing. The worst part of it all, was the fact that the fire was burning your ‘home’. You could sense the trio behind you, staring at the fire just as you were, realizing why you had stopped.

        “Isn’t this your-” Temari began, but was cut off by you.

        “Yeah. It is, or… was my ‘home’.” Nothing else was said. Nothing was needed to be said, the crackling of the fire providing all the unspoken words that could’ve been said.

        Your eyes moved across the flames, and eventually landed on the center of the fire. All of a sudden, an image of your nightmare from last night flashed through your head. It was of the fire in the building you were chained in, and the memories of the nightmare came rushing at you. You remembered sitting there, trapped, unable to avoid the inevitable burn of the flames that was consuming everything in sight, and you had been scared of certain death in the weak and frail body of your very young self. What scared you now the most though, was that the heart of the fire in front of you, looked the same as the one in the nightmare.

        A surge of pain rushed throughout your head, and you brought your hand up to clutch your aching head. The pain was unbearable. You gritted your teeth, trying to keep yourself from making any noise that would signal your current discomfort, but the trio still noticed your obvious pain.

        “A-Are you OK, (Y/N)?” You heard Temari’s slightly shaky, quiet voice. You tried to subdue the pain as you spoke.

        “Yeah. I’m fine.” You took a few deep breaths, which seemed to help your headache begin to go away. You finally focused on your surroundings again, and saw that there were Jonin circling the fire, who looked like guards. Or lookouts. Wait, no, they’re not guarding this  place. They’re trying to- “You guys should get out of here.” You paused, then turned and looked up at some of the taller roofs behind you. Just as you thought, you saw a few figures in the distance, and one of them you recognized as very very familiar. So you really made a plan this time huh? Burn my ‘home’ to draw me here, then surround me in a way that you could easily ambush me if I tried to get away, and then capture me. Clever. “I don’t think you want the ANBU to see that you’re associated with me.”

        The trio slowly looked behind you, and once they understood, they looked back at you with what you thought was concern in Temari’s and Kankuro’s eyes. Gaara, however, still showed no emotion. You didn’t really know if he cared at all, but that didn’t matter at the moment.

        “You’ll be alright?” Kankuro asked. You smirked.

        “Yeah, I can handle it.”

        “You sure?” Temari pressed on.

        “Yeah, I’m sure. I needed the change anyway. Makes everything more fun.”

        “But, won’t you get…” Temari trailed off, not wanting to finish her thought.

        “I guess you’ll find out in the morning. But don’t worry.” You started cracking your knuckles, shoulders, and neck. “I just need to stretch is all.” As you finished cracking everything, you gave them all one final confident smirk. Temari flashed her own smirk in response.

        “Don’t let us down then.” Your smirk widened.

        “Yeah, take care brat.” Kankuro mumbled.

        “I will.” With that, Kankuro and Temari took off into the night, leaving just you and Gaara left. He was staring at you with those emotionless green eyes that always seemed to pierce through your soul. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and you wondered why he didn’t leave with the others. Nevertheless, you smiled sincerely, thinking of nothing to say to him, and showing that you wished him well. It was only for a fraction of a second, but you thought you saw his eyes widen, but they had gone back down to their normal glare so fast that you weren’t sure if what you saw was even real. His eyes drifted to the fire, and you saw him just slightly wince at seeing the flames, almost like you had done just moments before. In fact, that’s exactly what you had done when you looked at the fire. Maybe he saw something in the flames just as I had. I wonder what that could be.

        His eyes glanced back to yours, and you bowed your head to show your respect and farewell to him. You gave him no time to respond, as you leapt off the ground and landed far back on a rooftop where you were sure none of the Jonin watching the area would notice you. You looked back to where you just were, and found that Gaara was no longer there. Good. Now the ANBU shouldn’t be after them if they spot me. I can move without worrying about them.

        You turned your attention up to the taller buildings where you had originally seen the figures of ninja. They were now moving and jumping off the roofs, most likely starting to search for you. You smirked. Let the fun begin. You sent chakra to your feet, and started to run as fast as you could while blending into the shadows around you. Come and get me.

        So far, no one saw you… yet. You were currently near the boundary of where the Jonin were surrounding you, and you hadn’t run into any trouble at all, you never even saw another ninja the whole time you were running. It was strange… too strange. There’s something wrong here. Maybe I should take a ‘detour’ and see if I’m being followed. You took a sudden turn down an alley and began taking a longer path to the boundary.

        After a couple minutes of going your ‘detour’ there was still no sign of anyone at all, which made you even more concerned than before. They have to be planning something, I just can’t figure out what it is. They’re not trying to make me suspicious on purpose, are they? Well, maybe they think that my chakra will be depleted more after running so much. I guess that’s plausible, but I don’t know for sure. I assume they would think that since it’s all of these ninja against one person, they would at least come forward with a direct assault, nothing like this strategic trap. Their plan seems to be a bit more complex than I thought. There’s no other choice but to be predictable for now and try and get past the boundary. I’ll go from there if I actually run into trouble.

         You switched your course so that you would pass one of the tall buildings the ninja had previously been standing on as quickly as possible. You had turned down an alleyway, and was just about to reach it, when a figure suddenly appeared at the end of the alley. Before they could see you, however, you moved to the side and pressed your back up against the wall next to the entrance of the alley. You remembered what had happened with Naruto, and knew you were in some kind of weaker state where your powers to ‘blend in’ weren’t working as well as before. You didn’t want to test your luck against what looked to be a Jonin, especially after already using so much amount of energy, so you couldn’t slip past them nor jump over the roofs in case they saw you, and you didn’t want to take any chances and risk ending up having to fight. It was too much energy, you couldn’t afford to show them your powers, and you didn’t want to fight your own village shinobi, even if they did want to fight you.

        After catching your breath, you ran to another exit, only to see another figure blocking that one as well. You pressed your back up against another wall, breathing in and out, and hiding yourself once again. They’ve begun to cage me in and block the exits. What should be my next move? Maybe I could-

        “There she is!” You gasped, and turned your now horrified expression to where the voice came from. It was a Jonin, standing on the roof right in front of you. As soon as you saw him move, you knew there was no point in sneaking around anymore. You immediately bolted away from him, and took off down the darkened streets ahead of you, not caring who else saw you now as it was already too late. Dammit! How did they find me so fast?

        It wasn’t long before you saw some ANBU members, with their familiar white animal masks, following you from the rooftops above. So the Jonin spot me and then the ANBU track me. But, could there be more to it than just that? This whole plan of theirs has already seemed so elaborate enough, I just know there’s more to it. I should think of all of the possibilities there could be. You took a sudden left down some random alley. Hm… wait. Jonin wouldn’t just be on lookout duty, or at least not this many would, and the ANBU wouldn’t be after someone like me. They would’ve assigned at least a medium or high ranking genin or a low ranking Chunin team for that job. This many Jonin means something. Same goes for the ANBU. There’s gotta be something else I’m missing. Something important. Something that’s right under my nose that I just can’t see.  

        You suddenly dodged an incoming kunai and shuriken attack just as you were about to make another turn, forcing you to change your course and go the opposite way you wanted to go. Wait, that attack seemed poorly thrown by a ninja as high a rank as Jonin or ANBU. It was almost like it was intended to miss me. You again tried to make another turn, but another barrage of shuriken and kunai was sent flying towards you, and you were forced to go the opposite way you were trying to turn again. Wait… that’s what they’re trying to do! They’re trying to lead me to a specific location. That’s why there’s so many Jonin and ANBU here! They’re going to trap me and ambush me! I have to think of something before that happens, though, and fast. Who knows when the ambush will happen. If I don’t think of something soon, I’ll be-

        You looked over your shoulder and saw a couple more ANBU were following you than before. Damn. I must be coming up close. Come on, you’re the Shadow Fox, the Shadow Fox, apparently. You can think of something to get yourself out of this, but what- wait. An idea suddenly popped into your head. Yeah, I am the Shadow Fox, the ‘most despicable, stealthiest, master thief in the village’, and I think they expect a show… so how about I give them one. You smirked as you continued to run through the streets, the ninja behind you oblivious to what you had planned for them.

        You went along with letting the ninjas direct you to wherever the ambush was, still bombarding you with kunai and shuriken every once in a while, and keeping the plan you had thought of still in mind. With each passing second, you came closer and closer to where the ninja were surely going to ambush you. But you weren’t worried, not in the slightest. 

        Eventually you came upon an alleyway, where at the end, you could sense a whole group of ninja waiting for you. You smirked, as you started to put your plan into motion. You reached the end of the alley, when all of a sudden, you were surrounded by a huge cloud of dark smoke. You stopped and swiveled your head around to see that the ANBU were no longer behind you, or at least, what you could see behind you anyway. You turned your head from side to side, trying to look for who was blowing the thick smoke your way. However, you couldn’t concentrate as much, for the smoke’s smell was anything but nice, and you became more focused on the scent surrounding you. It almost smells like… ash. Now that you thought about it, the ‘smoke’ was starting to feel like it was burning your skin, and the more you smelled it, the more your nostrils started to burn as well. With all of these distractions, you couldn’t bring yourself to see anything but dark grey surrounding you.
        
        Out of nowhere, blades protruded from the ‘smoke’ and swiped at you. You had no time to dodge, and the blades cut your left shoulder. The ‘smoke’ dispersed, and it revealed a squad of Jonin surrounding you on the ground, with you in the middle, your cut shoulder displayed for all of them to see. As the Jonin started to approach your injured form, you poofed into a puff of white clouds, and your body was replaced by a box with a wide slash at the top left corner.

        You had already taken off on the rooftops by the time they realized it was a substitution jutsu. You looked over your shoulder and saw that the Jonin were looking for you. One of the Jonin stood out, and you recognized him as Asuma, who you assumed was the one that had blown the smoke at you. I know that’s he’s pretty powerful, and I remember hearing that he can use a fire release jutsu that can burn his opponents, which was what he must’ve used on me. What was it called again? Ash, pile… something? Well, who cares for now. Why is such a powerful Jonin being sent to deal with someone like me? What the hell is going on here? You had to stop yourself from thinking about it anymore, as your plan was still in motion, and you couldn’t afford any distractions. Your mind had to be clear, you had to concentrate on getting out of this.

        As you went to jump off of the roof you were currently on, your foot tripped on one of the tiles, making a noise which the Jonin could surely hear. As soon as that sound crossed their ears, they rushed to the source of it. Asuma said something in the mic he had on his ear then went to where the noise came from. He eventually found your running silhouette and, joined with the ANBU Asuma had most likely contacted, once again started chasing after you.

        Meanwhile, heading the opposite way the Jonin and ANBU were now going, the real you was running away on the streets. Your plan had worked. Before you had even entered the Jonin’s ambush, you had created a shadow clone. It was to trick the ninja with a substitution jutsu, then run off in the opposite direction you had been hiding in and purposefully make a noise that wouldn’t seem too suspicious so that the Jonin squad and at least some of the ANBU would be distracted. They would run after the clone, who would then lead them far away, giving the real you the chance to disappear.

        You had hidden in a spot so that you could see what happened, and at the same time transfer your chakra to the clone. You wanted the clone to be as believable as possible, and you were sure that the Jonin would sense the high chakra level in the clone and still think it was you, which luckily they did. However, when you saw Asuma there after your clone had tricked them with the substitution jutsu, you were worried that someone like him wouldn’t fall for your trick. You were obviously proven wrong when he ran after your clone with no hesitation, and that’s when you took off from your hiding spot as soon as you were sure that they were all gone. 

        That should keep them busy, at least for a little while. I only have to outrun them until morning, when the streets are busy and they can’t risk harming or scaring the villagers and the Chunin exam visitors. Until then, I’ll use this trick anytime I run into another squad, as at this point I’m sure there are more than just Asuma’s. You weren’t sure how many times you could use this trick of yours, and you weren’t sure if the ninja would your plan out, but you would deal with that when the time came. Heh, they shouldn’t underestimate my abilities. Now they’ll never catch me.

        As you were nearing another turn, you felt something ‘change’. You couldn’t explain it, but it felt like the very atmosphere shifted, almost becoming thick. You stopped in your tracks, not liking the change at all, and suspecting that you may have walked into some kind of trap. You looked all around, but you still found no sign of anything suspicious.

        You suddenly felt the ground start to shake, and you turned around to see a tree rising from the earthen street. It started wrapping trunk vines around your form, and you found yourself held back against the tree, trapped. You struggled all you could, confused on why and how a random tree can spring up trap you like this. Out of the corner of your eyes you saw a figure not far away from you, in a certain stance that you almost immediately recognized. The person looks almost like… Kurenai. Focusing all of your exceptional eyesight on them, you observed the figure more closely. You noticed the long curly black hair, and the familiar red and bandaged outfit the person wore. No doubt that it was really Kurenai. And if I remember correctly, she’s a genjutsu master, which means… this isn’t real! It’s only genjutsu!

        With this realization in mind, you stopped struggling and started to concentrate on a different plan. You felt most of your chakra you had transferred into the shadow clone return to you, and even though this meant that Asuma and his squad must’ve now realized that the clone was fake, you were more focused on getting out of Kurenai’s genjutsu. You managed to release your hidden blades through the fake trunks and started to send your chakra into them. Even though the tree was only an illusion, in anyone else’s mind the tree is real, which is what Kurenai would want you to think, so the same rules of reality still applied, which meant that you could still use your powers. You managed to control the trunks enough so that you could join your hands, drew back your hidden blades and moved your hands into the proper hand sign. You muttered a ‘release’, and after a few more seconds of focus, you were released from the illusion. Before Kurenai realized that you had broken her genjutsu, you took off.

        I must’ve made eye contact with her at some point, or she did something else to cast the genjutsu on me. Well, thank goodness I learned about proper chakra control, otherwise I would’ve never been able to pull that off. As you were running, and after you were sure you were far away from Kurenai and the other Jonin you were sure were there with her, you started to worry about what the ninjas’ plans were again. Only this time, you were more worried than ever. Why would two powerful Jonin such as Asuma and Kurenai be after me? Now I know something’s not right, but what? Have I been accused of something major? That’s a possibility, but if a lot of people know about the whole ‘urban legend’ about me, how could anyone pull off an accusation that involves these powerful Jonin? They only know me as a food thief, nothing else. Or maybe they’ve finally had enough of me and are this determined to get rid of me? But that wouldn’t make sense, and if even that was it, then why wait all of these years to finally capture me? Nothing here adds up. You were getting more frustrated by the second. You couldn’t think of anything that would lead to you being in this bad of a situation, with two of the most powerful Jonin in the Leaf after you along with all the other Jonin and ANBU black ops.

        You suddenly sensed people behind you, and you looked to see none other than Asuma and his squad of Jonin and ANBU chasing after you once more. Not long after, they were joined by Kurenai and her group of ninja, which you instantly looked away from when you saw her so she wouldn’t be able to cast another genjutsu on you. You quickened your pace and began winding your way through the alleys, trying to shake them off your tail as best as you could.

        You were close to the border the ninja had all originally surrounded you at, and you thought that since a lot of Jonin and ANBU were after you now, nothing much would block you from going past it. The most you expected were a few more Jonin and ANBU. But you soon realized you were wrong. As you neared the border going down a small street, you could make out another figure in the distance. When you realized that there were more ninja behind the figure, and that the ones chasing you now trapped you between them and the new figure’s group, you completely halted your movements, just as you were starting to run out of breath.

        You stood in the center of Asuma’s, Kurenai’s, and this new figure’s groups, who you were close enough to now see. You recognized the bowl cut shaped hair, the familiar Jonin uniform, and that smirk/smile of his that you had always seen on his face from afar. He was none other than Might Guy, the taijutsu master. You were out of breath and breathing a little heavily, having been chased for so long to no end, and a lot of your chakra had been depleted from battling some of the strongest ninja in the Leaf Village. You didn’t want to have a fight with a taijutsu master and every other ninja that was there surrounding you, you were completely outnumber. None of them were able to see you due to how dark it was, which gave you a significant advantage, but you still didn’t want to fight. Suddenly, Guy started to chuckle, but to your surprise, not in a mocking way.

        “Well, well, if isn’t the Shadow Fox herself.” He spoke in the familiar, kind of weird, voice of his. “I never thought I’d see the day when we finally got to see you in person.” Aw, I’m famous. How touching. Great. “For years I’ve been wondering who the famous master thief of the Leaf Village really is. Who this person is to have evaded our detection for years, manage to steal right from under our noses, and still not get seen by anyone. Just a simple shadow of a person, and nothing else… until now.” You didn’t reply, and he chuckled again. “So, what is it gonna be Shadow Fox? Will it be the easy way?” He cracked his knuckles. “Or the hard way?” 

        You continued to stand there, silent and unmoving. You smirked, and you released your hidden blades, the clinging of metal being the only sound heard all throughout the dark street. Now Guy smirked. “The hard way it is.” 

        There was a moments pause, a stray beam of moonlight reflecting off your blades, shining a ray of silver in the otherwise darkened night. Then, as quick as you could, you stabbed your blades into the ground and sent chakra into your blades and through the street. You made powerful shockwaves that shot straight through the ground and hit all of the ninja around you. They were so surprised and distracted by the sudden attack that you had time to pull your blades out from the ground, and sending chakra into your feet, jump to the next alley over.

        As you were about to run again, you just barely blocked an incoming fist with your metal bracer, and the attacker was none other than Guy himself. If your reflexes weren’t so quick from training over the years, you bet his attack would’ve knocked you unconscious.

        “And where do you think you’re going?” Your arm was shaking under the force of his fist. You knew he was way stronger than you, but even though you were a bit skinny from your lifestyle, you were still pretty strong, which was the only reason you were holding out against him now. You swiftly pushed his hand away and began to attack with your blades. Your weapon choice was specialized for relentless attacks, so you kept striking and striking until he finally tried to land a blow. You lunged away and tried to stab near Guy to try and stun him. Your attacks weren’t intended to be harmful, you didn’t want him to get injured. He was a part of the Leaf Village for crying out loud, and it’s not like he was doing anything wrong, he was really just doing his job, it was nothing personal. At least, that’s how you saw it. You just needed a second or two of Guy to stop attacking, and you could slip away and not have to worry about fighting anymore. But that was going to be a problem, especially since you did not have enough time to use the elements against him, his attacks were too fast for you to send chakra through your blades.

        You and Guy continued to fight, which consisted of you mostly swiping to miss and blocking his attacks, a few almost coming into full on contact. After all, you may be not trying to hurt him, but he was still trying to hurt you. You always just barely missed his attacks, your fast reflexes being the only thing helping you out, but with you quickly becoming more and more drained of energy, it was getting harder to dodge his attacks. You finally slipped, literally, as he swept your leg out from under you, and you fell to the ground, landing on your back. 

        All of a sudden, next to you, a street lantern on the house’s windows lit up, and the golden glow of the light illuminated your face, now giving a clear view of it to Guy who previously could not see you due to the darkness. His eyes widened and he took a step back, most likely surprised at seeing how young you were, as young or even a little younger than some of his pupils. You smirked, he was caught off guard.

        “Now you know.” Three simple words, that’s all you said to him. He looked surprised once again at actually hearing you talk, and you took this brief moment of vulnerability as your chance to escape. You got up from the ground, released chakra into the air, and blew a huge gust of wind towards him. He stumbled back a few steps and raised his arms to form an ‘x’ to shield himself from the wind. While he was distracted, you sent chakra to your feet, jumped onto the next roof over, and began jumping from rooftop to rooftop. You didn’t pay attention to the fact that Guy was no longer being blown by your wind, and you missed his signature smirk as he watched your retreating form. He lowered his head in an approving manner, and closed his eyes.

        “I like this kid.”

        Jonin and ANBU alike were once again chasing you on the rooftops, gaining more ground on you than before as you were becoming more and more tired. Although, now the ninja were so far behind you, it would be extremely easy for you to slip away into the darkness if you so desired, which is exactly why you didn’t. It just seemed too easy. I know those ninja are not getting tired, so what’s going on now? Before you could continue your thoughts, they were interrupted, as you had suddenly come to a complete stop, but not of your own will.

        You were forcibly turned around, and there on another roof was Shikamaru, who you had seen earlier when you were with the sand trio, now in a stance that told you he was the one that trapped you, clearly in some kind of jutsu. The moonlight reached the roofs just right now, so that he and anyone else could see a good view of your face, lit in a light white glow.

        “Well well, if it isn’t the Shadow Fox.” Please tell me you’re not going to repeat what Guy already said. “Are you surprised? To be caught I mean.” He said it so smugly, it annoyed you to no end. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. He chuckled. “You fell right into my trap.” Your eyes widened out of shock. I didn’t know this was all his plan… I guess he really is a genius. He smirked. “I found your little hideaway while you were away somewhere, and that’s when I thought of this plan.” So you were the one who found my ‘home’ the other day ago. “It was such a drag to make, but it was worth it in the end.” He nodded his head gesturing to you, and somehow you were forced to do the same thing. He was mocking you, emphasizing that you were stuck in whatever jutsu he had you trapped in. Ninja were starting to surround you both as he started to explain his plan. “First, we burn your hideaway to draw you in. Then, once one of the Jonin or ANBU patrolling saw you, surround you at different points of a mapped circled out area so you would then be trapped. I knew the circled area had to be wide and spread out enough so you wouldn’t get suspicious and run away before we could even trap you, which is why it was big enough for you to run, but small enough to catch you. Once you were inside the trap, ninja would close the circle and block any exit you could slip through. Some would be standing at the fire acting as lookouts, which you were sure to take notice of. Of course you would be smart enough to figure out that something was wrong, and you would get suspicious enough to try and sneak around and get away from the lookouts at the fire.”

        “Your suspicions would eventually get worse, since we wouldn’t attack yet, and you would take a longer path to get to one of the blocked exits of the closed area, which would lower your energy. Then you’d discover one of the exits blocked, and you, trying not to be seen, would take another route, where ANBU stationed at certain points in the area would be waiting close by to go after you as soon as they sensed your chakra.”

        “They would eventually lead you to the stationed squad of ninja lead by Asuma, who was expected to fail because of whatever trick you would pull.” It wasn’t just ‘some trick’. It’s called strategy, that apparently you can predict… damn. “Then you would be lead to Kurenai, who would hopefully be able to trap you with her genjutsu, as I expected you never had much experience with. But even so, there was a 50-50 chance you would somehow escape, and then if that were the case, you would be dealt with by Guy’s squad, where Asuma and Kurenai would have by then recovered from whatever you had done to them and would have made it back to surround you.” How could you possibly predict all that!?

        “There was only just a small chance that you would somehow outsmart all three of those squads, and if that was the case, one of the ninja would report to me the direction you were headed in. I knew that you would be almost out of energy, which meant that you wouldn’t have the strength to make a clone or do any other tricks you had, and I calculated precisely where you would run to and trap you with my jutsu as an ultimate resort of drastic measures.” He continued to smirk, impressed with himself for coming up with such a complex plan.

        By now, all the ninja who were after you had surrounded you on the rooftops, and you said nothing in response to his long explanation, and you weren’t surprised at all by their large numbers, or Shikamaru’s confident smirk.  Don’t look so smug. Your plan was very smart, but there were flaws and holes in it where it was possible for me to get away. You only got lucky, especially since I’m off my game.

        “Don’t even try to run. You’re caught in my Shadow Possession Jutsu, so I have control over your actions.” Wait. Shadow possession jutsu? That’s right, I forgot about his signature jutsu! Now I’ve got an idea. You glanced down and saw the thick line of shadow that lead from Shikamaru to you. “Face it, there’s no escape once I’ve caught you in this jutsu. By the time I release you, you’ll already be in our custody. You’ve. Failed.” A pause of silence passed, and you smirked. Shikamaru saw this, and his own confident one changed into a frown. “And what do you have to be happy about?” You smirk widened, as you averted your gaze from his shadow line to his eyes.

        “Did you say, Shadow Possession Jutsu?” His eyes widened for a fraction of a second, but immediately returned to a scowl.

        “What does the name have to do with anything?” Your smirk changed into a smug smile, and you looked at him, now fully relaxed. You took one step forward on his shadow line with ease, which greatly surprised him. You almost burst out laughing from looking at his expression. “But, how is that possible!?” You looked around, since you were now able to do so, and all of the ninja, including Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy, were almost as shocked at Shikamaru.

        You looked over your shoulder to where Shikamaru’s shadow line still ended, at the same place you were standing at just a moment ago. Your plan was simple. His jutsu didn’t control the actual body, only their shadow. You may not be able to ‘blend in’ with the shadows, as you like to call it, or manipulate them without chakra either, but you could still at least ‘move’ among them, as it didn’t require much chakra and energy. All you had to do was send just a small amount of chakra into your feet and lightly touch the roof just enough so that only your shadow received your chakra. Then you could manipulate your shadow to stretch however you wanted, so that you could move across Shikamaru’s shadow line wherever you wanted without your own shadow following you or forcing you back. Since you were still technically caught in his jutsu, you couldn’t move anywhere else but his shadow line, and only as long as you kept chakra infused with your own shadow, but it was still better than nothing. 

        You looked back over your shoulder and faced Shikamaru again, this time with a devious smirk. You started taking a couple more steps forward, making Shikamaru become anxious as he tried to hold you in place with his jutsu, but unfortunately for him, to no avail.

        “It’s all in the name, Shikamaru.” You chuckled, as he paled considerably when you said his name. He didn’t remember ever saying it to you, so how did you know who he was? “So, what’s your next move?” You asked sarcastically. “Are you gonna release me and save your chakra for another move, or will you waste it and keep me in this jutsu, and have me force you to release me?” There was a long pause of silence, as Shikamaru thought about what to do next. You stood there with a confident smirk on your face, as you already knew what he was going to do. 

        After another moment of silence passed, Shikamaru made his decision. Just as you predicted, he released you from his jutsu, and you immediately sprung into action. You gathered your chakra you sent to your shadow back to your feet, and jumped off the roof and back onto the streets, beginning yet another chase. 

        You were a good distance away from the ninja and decided to catch your breath, just for a second. You leaned against a wall and began to pant, trying to catch some of your lost breath back. As you rested your head against the wall you began to realize how exhausted you actually were. Your energy felt completely gone, as if all of the adrenaline in you had suddenly drained out, and your chakra was depleted to where you weren’t even sure if you could cast something as simple as a transformation jutsu.

        With each passing second, you grew more light headed, and soon your eyes began to droop. Your sweaty (H/L) (H/C) hair stuck to your head and neck, making your dirty form look worse than usual. When you tried to push yourself off of the wall, you collapsed onto the cold hard floor of the street. You clenched your fists, trying to push yourself back up, but your last remaining strength faded out, and you fell back against the ground. The last thing you saw before you blacked out, was ninja beginning to crowd around you, and a familiar red haired figure sitting atop one of the highest roofs in the village, watching you intensely with his sea green eyes, as your own (E/C) ones shut.

 
3rd Person POV

        “What!? She was caught!?? When!?” Naruto shouted. Sakura covered her ears while Sasuke just stood there, leaning up against the tree of their usual training grounds with his eyes closed, not looking impressed by anything, and annoyed at Naruto as well.

        “It was just last night, sometime when we were asleep. Apparently the ANBU and Jonin that were there had a really hard time trying to catch her. It took them at least a few hours, and they had some of the best ninja in the village assigned to the mission! Even Asuma and Kurenai Sensei were there, and they even had trouble. Shikamaru was even called in and-“

        “Wait, why does THAT lazy bum get to go on cool missions while we’ve been getting stuck with stupid chores!!?” Naruto was about to continue his rampage, until Sakura started yelling back at him.

        “Because he, unlike you, has something called common sense!”

        “And what is that supposed to mean!?”

        “Will you two shut up already? You’re giving me a headache.” Naruto turned his hate filled gaze around to Sasuke, who ignored him as usual.

        “What did you say?”

        “Hn. I said you two are annoying.”

        “Why you little-“

        “Calm down Naruto. Stop making Sasuke so mad.” Sakura tried to calm Naruto down while dreamily staring at Sasuke, who still ignored the two of them.

        “It’s always Sasuke this! Sasuke that! What’s so great about him in the first place?”

        “Naruto, you said you saw the Shadow Fox for yourself, right?” Sasuke asked out of the blue, changing the topic. Naruto smiled proudly, and put his hands on his hips.

        “Yeah I did.” He pointed a thumb to himself.

        “And you said you even landed a hit on her, right?” Naruto’s proud smile faltered slightly.

        “I-I, well, I kinda punched her in the face, b-but I didn’t realize that she was a girl until after, I swear! Plus, she didn’t even look hurt, just stunned, actually.”

        “I don’t care if she got hurt or not. What did she look like?” 

        “Well, she was about our age, and she was shorter than me. She looked skinny though, not enough to see her ribs, but she was still thinner than I was. And, um, I think-“

        “I don’t need to know anymore.” Sasuke stopped Naruto from continuing, which made the said blonde boy glare at him, however he didn’t say anything else back. Sasuke stood there, contemplating.

        “Hey, Sasuke, whatcha thinking about?” Sakura asked. Sasuke finally opened his eyes.

        “They shouldn’t have had a problem.” Sakura, and even Naruto, now looked at him with a curious gaze. “If she’s only our age, has had no training whatsoever, and the ANBU and Jonin who were after her were some of the best this village has, how could she have outlasted them for so long? Especially if Naruto of all people was able to easily find and attack her.”

        “Well I don’t mean to brag but- hey wait a minute!! What is THAT supposed to mean!?” He glared at Sasuke, who scoffed.

        “First of all, you’re a dope. Second, you’re a genin and they’re the highest rank there is. Think about it for a second.” Naruto, ignoring Sasuke’s first comment, put his hand up to his chin, rubbing his index and thumb against his skin in a thinking pose.

        “Hm, well she did have these blade thingies, what did Shikamaru call them again? Ah, nevermind. They were so cool! They slid out of these metal thingies on her wrist and they were like blades hiding up her arm! It was AWESOME!” Sasuke hummed, putting that piece of information into the back of his mind, for now.

        “How did she finally get caught?” He asked Sakura.

        “I don’t know. No one was told that much.”

        “Interesting.”

        “The Jonin couldn’t give anymore information than that because they were called in to help with questioning and guarding. Even Shikamaru’s there right now.”

        “What!? Why him!!?”

        “Because he was part of the mission that actually caught her.” Sakura grumbled.

        “But I saw her first! And I was the one who told Shikamaru about her in the first place! I deserve to be there too!!”

        “Even if you could get in there, we still have to wait for Kakashi.” Sasuke informed.

        “Kakashi’s always late, so it’d be his fault if I leave hours after he was supposed to be here! And-“

        “Wait, where is Kakashi Sensei? Wouldn’t he usually be here by now?” Naruto scoffed.

        “Late as always, of course. That guy’s NEVER on time!”

        “Sakura has a point.” Sasuke said.

        “What!?”

        “Really!?” Sakura practically squealed at Sasuke agreeing with her.

        “We shouldn’t be waiting this long for him. It’s already been over an hour when he usually arrives, he should’ve been here by now.” There was a pause of silence, as even Naruto began to see what they were talking about. Sakura was the first to break it.

        “You don’t think something bad happened to him, do you?” Naruto snorted.

        “I doubt it. I bet he’s just being lazier than he usually is, or he’s trying to finish that dumb book he’s always reading.”

        “Even so, he still wouldn’t be this late. Maybe a few minutes, but never over an hour.” Sasuke pointed out. There was another pause of silence.

        “Then, where’s Kakashi Sensei?”

*Meanwhile*

        “So, she really did get caught then, didn’t she.” Temari sighed, as she leaned against the doorway to the bedroom of their apartment. Kankuro shifted in his chair, sitting backwards on it, with his arms hanging off the seat back.

        “It’s all the village is talking about. ‘The Shadow Fox has finally been captured’, that’s all I’ve been hearing this morning.” Silence was all that was throughout their temporary apartment. 

        “Well, I hope (Y/N) isn’t in too much trouble.”

        “Yeah, hope she’s OK.” There was another tiny moment of silence as Temari thought about something.

        “How did she get caught, anyway?”

        “I don’t know. No one said anything about that.”

        “Gaara, you saw, didn’t you? How’d she get caught?” Gaara had been sitting on the bed the whole conversation, thinking about you and what he had seen the previous night. Not only had he watched you get captured, he had seen the whole chase unfold from just outside of Shikamaru’s ‘trap’. The way you single handedly evaded the village ANBU and Jonin, who he could tell were relatively powerful, was intriguing to him. The way you fought, the strategies you used, escaping Shikamaru’s jutsu, he didn’t realize how powerful you really were, and ever since last night, he was more interested in you than before. To think he had you right under his foot subdued, and tamed that kind of power on his own, it made him feel strong and in control, dominant. He liked that excitement. He closed his eyes in thought.

        “She collapsed from exhaustion.” He finally answered Temari’s question, in his usual raspy monotone voice.

        “Oh.” There was another moment of silence. “Then, if we hadn’t been after her yesterday, would she not have been-“

        “No.” Gaara cut Temari off before she could finish. “Even if she had all of her energy, she still would’ve eventually fallen.”

        “And she knew it, didn’t she.” Kankuro added. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told us to leave her.” A long moment of silence passed, and Temari sighed once again.

        I really hope you’re OK, (Y/N).

 
Your POV

        You groaned as you started to regain consciousness, and your eyes started to slowly open. It was hard to move them since your eyelids felt heavy. You felt surrounded in darkness, and you lifted your aching head up from its uncomfortable hanging position. Light suddenly flashed your eyes, and you squinted them until your vision grew clearer, and you were able to observe your surroundings.

        You were sitting in some kind of wooden chair in the middle of a dark room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all the same maroon like color, but in the center of the room stood a brown wooden table, the only color that wasn’t any sort of dark shading. The light you had seen previously was gone, and was replaced by a few ANBU who were at the opposite end of the table.

        When you tried moving your arms, you found that your wrists were chained down to the arms of the chair, which meant that you couldn’t use your hidden blades to escape. You came to realize that you were now at the mercy of the ANBU black ops, and you had no idea what they were going to do to you.

        “So, you’re finally awake, Shadow Fox.” One of the ANBU said. He had a white animal mask in the shape of either a whiskered bear or a chubby tiger, concealing his face and identity. No response came from you, as there was nothing for you to say, and instead you gave them all an expressionless look. Another one with a bird shaped mask began to speak.

        “Under the Leaf Village, you are charged with multiple accounts of theft, assault, and evading arrest. You have been called in today for interrogation for these crimes. You will answer all questions truthfully and you will cooperate wholeheartedly. If you don’t, your punishment will be more severe. Do you understand?” You still kept silent, and continued to sit there, unwavering in your emotions. “Do you understand.” The bird masked ANBU asked more sternly. You gave an annoyed snort as your answer, which they thankfully took as an acceptable yes.

        All of a sudden, a door on the left side of the room opened, letting in a blinding amount of light into the once darkened room. When your eyes adjusted to the brightness, you saw someone standing in the doorway, and it was none other than Shikamaru.

        “I’m here.” He said in a bored tone. His eyes moved to yours, and slightly lowered. You raised an eyebrow in return, not affected by his stare at all, although you wondered why he was here in the first place. He walked to the center of the room and sat down at the side of the table next to you, and immediately rested his head in the palm of his hand in an irritated manner.

        “Now we can begin.” The last ANBU member, who had a cat mask on, said. Oh great. Questions, my favorite. “Can you reveal your full identity?” Wow. Forbidden question number one right off the bat. You stared at the ANBU with an expressionless face, although you were not comfortable answering this. You would refuse to cooperate, but you had to have a limit and control yourself. After all, you were dealing with the ANBU, the last people you wanted to tick off.

        The bad part about this was that, since the ANBU in front of you wore masks, you couldn’t see their expressions, which meant you couldn’t tell how mad they got at your actions and responses. The cat masked ANBU turned to Shikamaru, who still had the same bored expression on his face. “Do you know her name?”

        “No.” The ANBU turned his head back to you.

        “Will you answer any of our questions?” You didn’t answer. “Can you even talk?”

        “Yes, I can.” You finally answered.

        “I was about to say.” You heard Shikamaru speak, and you turned your head to him. “You didn’t seem to have a problem with speaking last night.” You cracked your lips up into a small fake smile.

        “And I don’t have, well, ‘much’ of a problem with it now. I talk when I need to talk.”

        “If you can talk, why didn’t you answer our previous questions?” Your lips twitched into a light smirk.

        “I said I only talk when I need to. I don’t need to answer these stupid questions, but fine, if that’s what you want. The first question, you don’t need to know, and for the second one, I’m answering them now aren’t I?” You had a smug expression on your face, and you would’ve laughed, but given the circumstances of being at the ANBU’s mercy, you refrained from going too far. You had already most likely overstepped their limits.

        “We can force the answers out of you, so you might as well just tell us now and save everyone the trouble.”

        “Really?” You said mockingly. “I don’t care.” Shikamaru sighed.

        “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.” The ANBU did nothing to show their emotions and continued to face you.

        “Let us continue then. Shikamaru Nara, please present the evidence you acquired the day before.” Shikamaru slowly rummaged through his pockets until he found what he was looking for. He put an item on the table, and you saw that it was a full water bottle. So you really did find my ‘home’. Damn you were lucky. “Can you explain where you found this?”

        “Down some alleyway at the corner of a building. This one and a few others were under an old blanket.” The ANBU nodded, satisfied with his answer.

        “We received a report the other day ago about a stolen shipment of water bottles from someone who will remain anonymous.” Psh, I already know who it is. I’m not gonna go after them. That kind of ‘revenge’, if you could even call it that, is not my thing. “Is this just a coincidence?” You smirked.

        “Technically, it could be. That water could belong to someone other than the one who made the report.” You paused, debating on whether or not to tell them you actually stole it. Well, they basically already know, so there’s no point in hiding it. Besides, I should take pride in the stuff I’ve stolen without getting caught… relatively speaking, excluding Naruto. “But, yes. I took a shipment of water bottles.” The ANBU turned to Shikamaru.

        “Shikamaru, was that the only one you found?”

        “No, there were a couple more. But it wasn’t enough to make up an entire shipment of them.” Shikamaru glanced your way and gave you an ‘I’m not going easy on you’ look. The ANBU turned back to you.

        “Did you hide any others?” You shook your head.

        “No.”

        “Are you lying?” You scoffed.

        “As if I would be stupid enough to lie to the ANBU.” You saw Shikamaru glaring at you. “Okay, sure, I may stay silent if I don’t like the question, but I’d never lie. It’s such a bother anyway, there’s no point.” It was true. You wouldn’t lie to the ANBU. They’re the specialists, the experts, on investigations like these, so they’d find out rather quickly if you had anything to hide, no matter how good you lied. Thankfully, the ANBU seemed satisfied with your answer, but you couldn’t be completely sure if they believed you, since you still couldn’t tell what they were thinking.

        “Then where are the rest?” You shrugged your shoulders.

        “Maybe still on the ground somewhere, or someone picked them up.”

        “Why would they be on the ground?” Aw shit.

        “…Because I had a little run in with someone.”

        “Who?”

        “Naruto.” Shikamaru looked up expectantly from his bored posture, as if surprised by your answer.

        “What happened?”

        “He saw me make off with the water, started chasing after me with his shadow clones, then one of them ‘bumped’ into me. When he threw a punch I dropped the waters, but I managed to pick some up and escape.” 

        “So Naruto saw you?”

        “Yes.”

        “Did anyone else see you before?”

        “No.” Technically Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara talked to you just last night, and Old Man did four years ago, but they never saw you steal. Sure the trio figured it out that you stole some of their food and Old Man was pretty smart himself, so he probably figured it out by now that you were the thief, but they didn’t actually see you steal like Naruto did. You technically didn’t lie.

        “Shikamaru, did Naruto tell you about this confrontation?”

        “Yes, and you could’ve just asked her that. I’m pretty sure she heard the whole conversation that day, am I right?” You smirked.

        “I don’t know, you tell me. Do I seem like a fraud now?” He had said in that conversation that you were either weak or a fraud, but now he’s seen first hand what you can really do, and he doesn’t even know that your powers are weak. He shouldn’t be thinking I’m a ‘fraud’ now. You smirked. “I’m impressed though. How’d you know I heard?”

        “Educated guess. You seem like the kind of person that ‘gets around’ and ‘knows’ a lot.”

        “I’m flattered, but I don’t think I know as much as you probably think I do. Far from it, actually.” There’s something you’re not telling me, I do know that. There’s another reason why you knew I heard that conversation than just seeing my ‘character, I just know it. Unfortunately, you were not in the position to further question Shikamaru on the matter. He merely smirked and said nothing more, most likely thinking the same thing.

        “Was what Naruto told you match what she just claimed?”

        “Pretty much, yeah.”

        “See, I won’t lie to you.” You smugly grinned, knowing what they had been trying to prove. The ANBU continued to stare at you, ignoring your teasing and moving on.

        “Why did you ‘take’ the water bottles in the first place?”

        “I was thirsty.”

        “You couldn’t buy them?”

        “Nope.”

        “Why?”

        “I have no money. I’m broke.”

        “You don’t have a job, and you never enrolled in the academy?”

        “Yes to both.”

        “Why?” You were silent. “So, you don’t know the answer?”

        “Of course I know the answer.” The reason is because no one likes me, they never did. They wouldn’t let me do anything, and they were always so horrible to me. They wanted me dead. I had no other choice but to be this, but like I’d ever tell you all that. 

        “Then will you tell us?” You stared at the ANBU with no emotion, your silence a clear giveaway to your answer. “Very well.” The ANBU turned to Shikamaru. “Do you have everything you need?” Shikamaru glanced your way.

        “Yeah, I got a good amount of information.” He stood up from the table, giving you one last glare, and slowly walked out the door, leaving you alone in the dark room with only the ANBU once more.

        “We’re going to try something.” The two ANBU who had remained silent most of the time took a couple steps back. The one with the cat mask, the one who had been asking the questions the entire time, stepped forward. “The Time Reversal Technique. When done properly, it pulls out the memories of the person it’s cast on, and allows the person to remember every single detail of them.” You looked up expectantly. That means you can bring back my memories, from before I can’t remember anything! However, your hope soon turned into anger, as the ANBU continued his explanation of the jutsu. “It will also force that person to comply with interrogation, so you will answer every question I ask.” No! Dammit, he’ll find out my secrets, my past! How could I think that I could get my memories back? Besides, the only way he can get all of my memories is if he asks a question about them, and he most likely won’t! How could I forget? In your panicked state, you managed to calm yourself, and think. I have to try and be somewhat aware, at least for certain questions, and I have to be cautious, or I’m ruined. The ANBU made the hand signs, and you braced yourself as he cast the jutsu. “Back to the past jutsu.”

        You felt yourself become more… relaxed, and oddly comfortable. Your muscles were no longer tense, and you felt your whole body become loose and tired. Your head started to hang as if it were becoming limp, and your eyelids drooped until they were completely shut, but you were still somehow conscious. Your mind felt at ease, and a sense of calmness washed over you. It was… nice. When the ANBU member was satisfied with your new state of mind, he started to question you.

        “What is your name?” The question flowed through your ears like milk and honey, and you couldn’t help but say the first answer that came to mind.

        “I am the Shadow Fox.” You softly whispered.

        “Your real name.” You somehow managed to stop yourself from speaking, and bit your tongue to keep your mouth shut. You must’ve been at least somewhat aware, because like before you still didn’t want to answer this question, though your mostly calm mind was making everything more difficult for you to resist. Then an answer came to your mind, and you blurted it out without thinking about it.

        “I have no name.” For some reason, your head started to hurt, as if that answer triggered something in the back of your mind, exactly like when you had looked into the fire last night when that image passed through your head. Thankfully the ANBU seemed to accept the answer, for now, and moved on to something more simple.

        “What are those weapons on your hands?”

        “They’re my hidden blades.”

        “Where did you get them?”

        “They were given to me, when I was eight.”

        “You didn’t steal them?”

        “No, I did not.”

        “Who gave them to you?”

        “Someone kind, and nice. A friend.”

        “Who?” You bit your tongue again, trying not to give away the Hokage’s identity.

        “I can’t tell you.” All three ANBU seemed surprised that you refused to answer, the cat masked one faltering in his hand signal.

        “Why?”

        “It’s a secret, but the person is no one bad, quite the opposite, good.” The ANBU agent realized that he wouldn’t be able to get more information about it out of you, and decided again to try something else and focus on how you were ble to resist later.

        “Where do you live?”

        “My ‘home’ was burned down.”

        “Did you have anything valuable hidden around there?”

        “No.”

        “How long did you ‘live’ there then?”

        “Four years.”

        “How long have you been at the Leaf Village?” Your headache became worse.

        “I was told I was born here, but, I only…” Again, the pain became worse. The ANBU noticed your discomfort, and yet again moved on to not cause more damage, as there was obviously something wrong with your memory, just what they didn’t know yet.

        “Who are your parents?” Again, the ache became worse, and your breathing became heavy.

        “I don’t know.” The ANBU noticed your distress, and were starting to wonder what was wrong with your brain.

        “What was the first thing you can ever remember?” The question eased your head a bit, and you returned to a more relaxed state.

        “I woke up lying on the ground at the village gates, when I was seven.”

        “Is there anything else?” The memory of that day started to come to you more, and you felt yourself slightly trembling.

        “There were people, they were crowding around me as I opened my eyes. They, they whispered… things.”

        “What did they say?” You began to shake as you recalled the familiar names that have always haunted your entire life.

        “Worthless, outcast, street rat, and…” You took a deep breath. “Monster.” A faint whisper was what left your lips. You were starting to breathe more deeply. You didn’t like these memories. You already had to suffer them in your nightmares, putting up with them during the day was beginning to be too much. But still the ANBU pushed on.

        “Can you remember anything before that?” Your whole head began to hurt again, and you didn’t, you couldn’t, answer the question. You were silent except for your fast abnormal breathing. “What happened before you were seven?” This one question made your head snap. The pounding became unbearable, and you moaned from the excruciating pain. It felt like there was a wall that was blocking you from going past that first memory, and you were ramming into that wall repeatedly with no success of breaking  it down. The more the ANBU held the jutsu, the worse the pain got, and you began to whimper every so often, not being able to hold in your discomfort. Your breathing was heavy and rapid, sweat was running down your brow, and you could hear your heart thumping loudly in your chest, seeming to echo within the walls of your skull. It was pure agony. You were ready to scream your heart out, to call out to someone, anyone, to end the torture. Even if no one would come.

 
3rd Person POV

        Gaara suddenly looked out the window. He was still sitting on the bed in his and his sibling’s apartment, and he had still been thinking about you a moment ago, when he sensed something happen. There was something wrong, as if someone was stabbing him from the inside out of his stomach. It didn’t feel right, and he felt almost… bad, in a way. He sensed distress, and it was coming from the Hokage building, the one you were in.

        “What’s wrong Gaara?” Temari asked with concern.

        “You look like you wanna smash the window.” Kankuro added, also with concern. Gaara was too focused on the window to respond, trying to figure out what was happening. The weird feeling couldn’t have anything to do with you, right? You were a girl who was just interesting, nothing more, nothing less. But he still couldn’t help but feel rather ‘uncomfortable’ as the thought of you in trouble ran through his mind. Something told him that the wrong feeling he felt really was dealing with you somehow. But, what was happening to you?

        “It’s nothing.” He said, with a little bit more anger than normal. Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances, both hearing the slight change in Gaara’s voice, knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

        “Gaara, does it have something to do with (Y/N)?” Gaara moved his piercing green eyes to Temari. He didn’t know what this strange feeling was, or how he was feeling it in the first place, but he knew it was connected to you, and he didn’t like feeling this way. Temari and Kankuro figuring this out only made him angrier. He was curious, though, on what happened to you to give him such a bad feeling in the deep pits of his stomach, so he looked back to the window, trying to ignore his siblings as much as he could.

        Temari and Kankuro took his intense glare and silence as a yes, and couldn’t help but to question him more. After all, they cared about you too, although different than Gaara’s confused feelings. Kankuro wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Temari and himself liked you and worried about you a lot, and they would find out if there was something wrong with you, even if it meant suffering a little bit of Gaara’s wrath.

        “Do you think something bad happened to her?” Temari asked, adding to her earlier question. Still, Gaara didn’t answer.

        “Maybe they’re torturing her for information, and she’s hurt.”

        “They wouldn’t torture her, Kankuro. It’s not like she killed the Hokage or something.”

        “Well what else could’ve happened?”

        “I don’t know. Maybe nothing happened to her at all or-“

        “No.” Gaara finally spoke, in a rather angry and serious tone. Temari and Kankuro stopped their conversation immediately, scared by this dark tone of his. Silence filled the room, and the tension in the air became thick. “But something is wrong.” He paused. “And it does have something to do with her.” Temari and Kankuro just stared at him, shocked. Never in their lives did they expect Gaara to admit something like that. It sounded like he actually cared about someone, which was impossible, but Gaara was starting to prove otherwise, much to their disbelief.

        He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about you, as he continued to stare out the window. The more he looked at the Hokage building where you were being held, the more this wrong feeling became worse. He wanted to think that what he was feeling was simple curiosity, but the looks Temari and Kankuro were giving him and to each other started to really anger him for some reason. Usually he wouldn’t be this bothered by them, but the fact that they were looking at him weirdly because of you was infuriating. He would never admit to feeling anything towards you, it was insane. He loves only himself, and everyone else deserves to die, such is the purpose of his life.

        But, deep down, he couldn’t help but feel a bit… different about you. Maybe it had something to do about your blood still infused with his sand. Maybe he craved more of it. After all, that drop of blood is still in his sand, he can sense you better because of it. Maybe it was his desire to have all of your blood spilled, or to again tame your power for that exciting rush of dominance. Why else would something bad happening to you cause him to feel different? He didn’t know why, he didn’t know how, but he did know that it was because of you, and he was determined to find out why and how you drew this feeling out of him.

        I will find out what makes you so special, (Y/N), the Shadow Fox. I swear by it. He snorted at the end of his thoughts, finalizing them, anxious to begin his ‘investigation’ of you. For now though, he would have to deal with the concerned feeling in the dark pits of his stomach, until you would hopefully be released. Don’t die… yet. This just started to get interesting. 

 
Your POV

        All the ANBU looked at each other, and the one with the cat mask holding the jutsu released you from his hold. Your eyes snapped open in a wide terrified look, staring down at the table. You panted heavily, sweat dripping down your brow with the headache still ever present in your head. Out of exhaustion, you lowered your head the more the pain began to disappear, and as you did, your eyes returned to their normal size, and your deep breathing became more regular.

        When the pain in your head completely disappeared, you looked up at the ANBU with slightly tired eyes, your chest rising and falling with each deep breath you took. They looked at you with their expressionless masks as usual.

        “What, was… that?” You breathed out. The ANBU all looked at each other.

        “It doesn’t matter.” You stared at them appalled.

        “What do you mean ‘it doesn’t matter’? It was in my own head and-“

        “You still did not answer all of our questions yet.” What the hell you damn assholes! Unfortunately for you, you didn’t have the energy to argue or fight against them, so you just had to sit there and take whatever else they had to say or do. Before the ANBU had the chance to continue though, the click of the door opening drew everyone’s attention to the door. The light that now entered the room revealed someone standing in the doorway. It wasn’t Shikamaru, but rather it was another man you didn’t recognize.

        “I believe I can take it from here.” The new mysterious person said. The ANBU just stared at the man, seemingly not surprised by his intrusion.

        “What are you doing here?” The man merely stood there without any trace of fear or nervousness.

        “Orders.” He said. The ANBU stared at him, unmoving. “The Hokage would like to see you three, and I was sent here to take care of things from here.” You stared at him suspiciously. You didn’t like the way he said ‘take care of things’. He made it sound like he was going to dispose of you, or something of that nature. The ANBU looked at each other, nodded, then, albeit reluctantly, left the room. They shut the door behind them, leaving you alone, still chained in the chair, with this new mystery man. There was a little moment of silence, until you finally decided to ask him the question you had when he first walked in.

        “Who are you?”

 
3rd Person POV

        “Let me in already! Come on, I need to see the Old Man!”

        “Sorry Naruto, the Hokage’s busy.”

        “Is it about the Shadow Fox? If it is, I can go in. I saw her for myself! It’s totally fine!”

        “I already told you no Naruto, now beat it!”

        “But-“

        “THERE YOU ARE, YOU IDIOT!” Sakura came around the corner of the hallway, looking extremely mad at Naruto, who was now panicking at the sight of an enraged Sakura. Following right behind her was a really annoyed Sasuke with his eyes closed and arms crossed, who would much rather be anywhere else than dealing with a runaway Naruto.

        “S-Sakura! W-What are you doing here?” Naruto asked in a scared, shaky voice.

        “I’M HERE TO GET YOUR STUPID BUTT BACK AFTER YOU RAN OFF!” Naruto was about to run, but Sakura had gotten to him first. She grabbed him by the ear and started dragging him back the way Sasuke and her had just come from. “I SWEAR! THE STUPID IDIOTIC THINGS YOU DO! YOU CAN’T JUST GO WALTZING IN HERE AND EXPECT US TO-“

        “I needed to talk to the Hokage! Shikamaru got to go and see the Shadow Fox again, but I don’t!!! Even though I saw her first!”

        “Well maybe it’s because they don’t need you in there screwing everything up like you do all the time!”

        “You would only get in the way, Naruto.” Sasuke added.

        “It’s still unfair!! Besides, I was gonna ask where Kakashi Sensei is too! We’ve been waiting long enough as it is!”

        “Maybe he has important work to do.” Sakura suggested. “He probably just forgot to tell us… or he really is this late. But that doesn’t matter right now! You can’t just run off like that Naruto! Since Kakashi Sensei isn’t here, and we’re a squad, we’re all responsible for each other!”

        “And the last thing I wanna do is go after your sorry ass every time you go and do something stupid.” Sasuke grumbled.

        “Shut up Sasuke! It’s not stupid, and I wanna- AAH!” Sakura had harshly pulled on his ear again.

        “Just be quiet and don’t run off anymore!” Sakura yelled.

        “But I know Kakashi Sensei’s somewhere here! I just know it!”

        “How do you know he’s here in the Hokage building? And even if he was, he has his own business to take care of, which is none of our concern.”

        “Ugh! Whatever!! I was just tired of waiting is all.” Naruto pouted like a little child, puffing out his lips and cheeks and crossing his arms over his chest. Sakura continued to drag him out of the Hokage building, still nagging him about being an idiot, with Sasuke following, still annoyed, behind them. However, Naruto had made them all realize something that was on all of their minds, which they could no longer ignore.

        Where’s Kakashi Sensei?

 
Your POV

        The man seemed to smile under the mask he wore, and he tilted his head with spiky silver hair to the side, with his only uncovered grey eye closed in an innocent kind of way. It was the complete opposite of your emotionless frown.

        “I’m Kakashi Hatake, and you must be the one everyone’s talking about.” You stared at Kakashi, the name baring some familiarity in your head. Oh, that Kakashi. Yeah, I remember you now. 

        “Oh, sorry, I didn’t recognize you right away. Sometimes I can’t put names to faces that quick.” You said with a hint of sarcasm and irritation. He opened his one good eye to look at you, ignoring your rude tone.

        “Glad to hear you already know who I am then.” He walked to the seat where Shikamaru had sat in. “Do you know a lot of people in the village then?” He asked while pulling out the chair and sitting down in it. You hesitated before giving your answer.

        “Yeah, actually. I know of most of them.” He gave a simple nod of his head, and continued to give you that calm relaxing expression from when he first walked in here. It unnerved you. No one, except for the trio and the Hokage, talked to you like a normal person, but now Kakashi was too, or at least trying to. He even looked like he was still smiling, which you weren’t used to. Smiles had never been directed at you, and you wanted to believe his was fake, but you had a feeling it wasn’t. In your book, he was already completely untrustworthy. Kakashi tilted his head, and gave you a puzzled look.

        “You seem confused. Is something wrong?” You paused.

        “Well, it’s just that-” You stopped yourself before you could say anything else. You wondered if you should really tell him what you were thinking, as you weren’t sure if he was just trying to get information out of you or not. If that were the case, and you did tell him that he was treating you better than most people, maybe he would continue being nice, and it would be easier to get that information from you. I still don’t trust you, Kakashi, ex member of the ANBU. “Nevermind.” Surprisingly, he chuckled.

        “Do you not trust me?” He asked so nonchalantly you almost thought he didn’t just ask that. He noticed your surprised expression, and nodded his head. “I’ll take that as a yes.” 

        “Why should I?” He looked at you curiously.

        “Hmm?”

        “Why should I trust you? How did you even know I didn’t?”

        “Oh, well, I’m pretty sure, based on what I assume, you don’t trust anybody, right?” You paused.

        “Yeah, I guess.” With a few exceptions.

        “Then why would I be any different?” Using common sense, but still rather quick. I’m gonna figure out your game. “But the reason you should trust me, the reason you can, is because we’re both at a disadvantage here.” You raised an eyebrow and stared at him curiously.

        “What do you mean both of us are at a disadvantage? What could you possibly be lacking in this situation? I mean for Pete’s sake I’m chained to chair here.” You wiggled your hands, and he chuckled. 

        “You said earlier that you knew my name, and you know who I am, right?” You nodded your head. “Me, I don’t even know your real name.”

        “But you’ve certainly heard those rumors, am I correct? You must know a few things about me.”

        “Are rumors always true?” You had to admit, he had you there.

        “Not… all of them.”

        “So really, I don’t know much about you at all, yet, I’m pretty sure you know a lot about me. I bet you could even use some of that information against me.” You were beginning to see the point in this. “And you are at a disadvantage because you don’t know me personally, or my skills first hand. So in this case, we both don’t have enough knowledge about each other, which means we’re both at a disadvantage.” You blinked in surprise. Wow. Impressive thought process. But this doesn’t change a thing. I still don’t trust you.

        “Why are you here anyway?” Kakashi didn’t seem surprised that you wanted to get straight to the point, and you swore you saw him still smiling under his mask.

        “I’m interested in you.” Wow, captain obvious.

        “What, in my ‘crimes’? Or maybe even my weapons?”

        “No, not exactly. I mean in general.”

        “And what does that mean?”

        “I read your reports on what they already know on you, as well as your ‘battle’ from last night.”

        “So you admit you do know something about me.”

        “In the end, it wasn’t anything completely useful. I still don’t know much about you.” Is that why you’re here? Curiosity? You remained silent. “But, I did find something out.” Your (E/C) eyes were now completely glued to his one grey eye, wondering what exactly he was going to say, fear lingering in the back of your mind. “In my own opinion, I don’t think you’re the type of person everyone says you are.” What? “I know you’re not the villain that people claim you to be, and I think you have the potential to be someone greater than this.” Do you really mean that? Nothing could prepare you for the next words that came out of his mouth. “I want to help you.” No words could leave your mouth, your thoughts were going a million miles an hour. He was silent as well, letting his words sink into your head. Anger started to mix with your shock. Yeah right. You don’t mean it. You couldn’t. No one would ever think of me as something other than a lowly thief.

        “How could you say that.” Your words barely came out as a whisper. “When you even said so yourself that you don’t even know anything about me?” He sighed.

        “You know, I was invited to join the mission to capture you last night.” He paused. “It was to retrieve you before any of the Chunin participants… ‘found out’ about you.” That would explain the sudden and huge plan. Now he had caught your attention. “I declined. I didn’t think the mission called for so many of our best ninja to stop you.” You frowned, which made him chuckle. When he was quiet again, he paused. “I talked to Guy this morning though. He told me about the fight you two had.” You raised an eyebrow, curious as to what Guy had told him. “He said that he liked you, your spirit, the fight and determination in your eyes at such a young age. He said that in some way, you reminded him of his pupils.” Guy really said that? You shook your head a little. No! I can’t think like that. Kakashi could be lying for all I know. “He said something else too.” You stopped. “He said that whenever you attacked with those blades you have, it always looked like you were trying to miss him. Is that true?” He really isn’t lying about talking to Guy then, or at least, not for the most part. You didn’t know how to respond, you were too confused with yourself and your emotions. You finally decided on what to say. You were reluctant, but you closed your eyes, sighed, and hung your head in defeat. After all, you had no energy to fight or argue back anymore, and the trauma you had just gone through with the Time Reversal Technique and the events from last night and yesterday was finally starting to take its toll on you.

        “You know I was born here.” You opened your saddened and defeated eyes, not caring what he thought about you. “And because of that, the Leaf Village is as much my village as it is yours, or Guy’s, or anyone else who lives here. So why would I hurt my own village just to ‘get away’ for a little longer, it wouldn’t be right.” A moment of silence fell over the room. You finally looked up at him with determined, yet still tired, eyes. “Does that answer your question?” You asked with anger laced in your tone, not because of Kakashi’s questions, but because you were starting to break down in front of him and actually show your true emotions. He still seemed to smile under his mask.

        “I knew you’d say something like that.” You still kept a frown on your face and stared at Kakashi, remaining silent. He sighed at seeing your stubborn expression. “You know, I was outside the door right when they started the Time Reversal Technique.” Your eyes widened out of fear. You quickly turned your head to the side from embarrassment.

        “You heard everything, didn’t you?” You mumbled.

        “I did.” You pressed your head more into the back of the chair and blushed. The part when you talked about your first memory and when you were in pain from being forced to remember something that your mind wouldn’t let you, made you close your eyes in shame. You had given away a secret that wasn’t supposed to be known by anyone, especially to someone you barely knew. Great. Just great. “That was enough for me to figure out that you didn’t choose to become a thief on your own. You were only trying to survive, weren’t you?” You lowered your head and averted your eyes to the floor, strands of your now sweaty (H/C) hair covering your embarrassed and defeated eyes from Kakashi’s sight.

        Silence encompassed the room, as you continued to hide your practically broken form in shame. One person figuring out your past wouldn’t seem like much to anyone else, but to you it was like your whole world just came crumbling down. The last thing you wanted was your nightmares of your past to become a reality once more, you didn’t want history to repeat itself. Even if Kakashi felt sympathy towards you, you didn’t want to be pitied either, if that was even a possibility. A single tear rolled down your cheek and dripped onto the floor, one of many threatening to break loose from your tired eyes. “You know you’re not the villain, right? You don’t need to hide from anyone. There’s no need for it.” One lone (E/C) eye peaked out from your hair, looking at Kakashi with hope, hope that what he was saying was true. However, you couldn’t help but doubt him, even though his words seemed kind. “There, now that you’re looking at me again, we can really talk.” You still remained silent. “I have an offer for you.” This  peaked your curiosity, and you found yourself starting to return to normal, your previously lost energy coming back to your exhausted form.

        “What kind of offer?” 

        “From what I’ve read, you know all of the basic academy jutsus, you’re smart, you’ve demonstrated exceptional skills in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, you’ve done well in battle against multiple powerful Jonins, and you have my official approval. You’re more than qualified.” Both eyes now faced him, with utter bewilderment directed at him.

        “Qualified for what?” He closed his one eye and tilted his head in an innocent way.

        “Why, to be a genin of course.” Your eyes widened considerably, and your jaw hung agape.

        “Y-You can’t be serious.”

        “Well if you prefer, you can stay chained to that chair and let the ANBU come back-“

        “No no!” You paused, realizing you were about to make the biggest, yet, possibly, best decision of your life. “I accept.” For once, you smiled. It wasn’t forced nor fake, it was truly genuine, and Kakashi returned it. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out an item. He held it at his side with one hand, and the item made your eyes widen. There, right in his hand, was a blue genin Leaf forehead protector.

        “You are now an official Leaf Village shinobi.” He set it on the table and walked behind the chair. He did something, and with a click, your restraints popped off of your wrists, our arms now finally free from the chair. You rubbed both of your sore wrists, and when they felt comfortable enough, you walked up to the table, picked up your new forehead protector, and tied it around your head.

        “Damn. I never thought this would happen in my life.”

        “Do you mean becoming a shinobi, or getting caught and being strapped to a chair?”

        “…Can we just get out of here?” He chuckled.

        “Sure.” You both started walking out of the room, but as he was about to open the door, he stopped suddenly and turned around to face you. “Oh, I almost forgot one thing.” You halted as well, and looked up at him. “If you’re going to become an official genin, we’ll need to know you as something other than the Shadow Fox.” Oh shit. “I need to know your name. Your real name.” Dammit. You bit your teeth and pursed your lips, trying as hard as you could to keep yourself from talking. It wasn’t exactly easy to tell someone your real name when you’ve been keeping it a secret from everyone but Old Man, and the sand trio. Sure you only just recently told the sand trio your name, but that was because of the moment, and you surprisingly had an easy time trusting all of them, including Gaara, who you thought didn’t even care. You opened your mouth to speak a few times, but nothing came out. much like a fish blubbing in water. You were holding yourself back out of an instinct that was five years old, and Kakashi knew this, as he waited patiently for you to answer. Finally, you were able to speak.

        “My name’s… (Y/N).” You breathed out.

        “Is there a last name with that?” You paled.

        “Can we… talk about that later?” You hoped Kakashi would be happy with just your first name, which he seemed satisfied with, for now. He nodded his head, accepting your answer, and opened the door, letting you step into the light for the first time in many years. I’ve now crossed from the dark into the light, literally. Heh, that sounds so cheesy. You smiled. It actually feels… pretty good.

        A realization crossed your mind, and you stopped before you could start down the hallway. Kakashi looked at you curiously. “Did they freaking mess with my weapons?” You muttered to no one in particular. Kakashi smiled under his mask, knowing the answer. You examined your weapons, and found that the slots where the blades come out were clogged, for the second day in a row. “Dammit!”

        You and Kakashi proceeded to walk throughout the Hokage building, heading for the exit as you fixed your weapons, completely ignoring the fact that you were actually out in the open now for the first time since you could remember. You were just so frustrated that you had to fix your hidden blades again, and you were muttering curses under your breath the whole time, not paying any attention to anything else except to not run into walls. Luckily, you fixed them before you arrived at the exit, and you unsheathed the blades to make sure they worked again.

        “I’m impressed you got them fixed so fast.” You smirked.

        “I know every inch of these babies!”

        “Apparently so.” He eyed your blades, more observantly than cautiously, and his eye followed the movement of your blades as you retracted them back into the bracers. You scoffed.

        “I’m not gonna stab you in the back. I don’t even think I could stab you in the back, even if I wanted to.” He hummed in amusement.

        “I’m simply curious is all. I’ve never seen weapons like those anywhere else.” You closed your eyes and still kept your smirk.

        “These are one of a kind.”

        “I can tell.” You stopped before Kakashi could open the door that would lead you out onto the streets of the Leaf Village, the actual main streets instead of small alleys full of crowds of people and, to you, blinding light. He noticed that you were no longer walking, and halted his movements as well. “You coming?” You slowly nodded your head.

        “Y-Yeah.” You cursed yourself for stuttering.

        “Are you nervous?” You nodded your head.

        “Only a little.” Kakashi didn’t seem surprised.

        “You didn’t have a problem walking through these hallways. Anyone could’ve seen you just now.”

        “Well I was a little too busy to think about that.” Kakashi sighed.

        “You’re going to have to face your fears sometime, you can’t hide forever now.”

        “I’m not afraid. Just…” You trailed off, not able to find the right word you were looking for.

        “Afraid?”

        “No.” Kakashi sighed once more.

        “Like it or not, this is part one of your new life as a genin. It involves being seen by people, not hiding in the shadows and avoiding them like you’re used to.” You still didn’t budge. “This is your first test of being a genin, one of bravery and courage. You have to be able to face your fears, stand out in the open now.” He’s right, and it’s not like I’ll be alone. Wherever we’re going, I have to follow Kakashi, and we’ll be out there together. 

        “It’s nothing, I’m ready. I just needed a moment.” You slowly walked up, and gathering all your strength and courage, pushed the door open, revealing the bustling streets outside.

        You and Kakashi started to walk the streets of the Leaf Village, with you keeping your seemingly fearless face in tact, but on the inside, the five year old instinct shouted for you to dash into the nearest alley, or blend into the shadows. You pushed these familiar urges down, and continued to walk side by side with Kakashi to wherever he was taking you.

        The more you walked, the more stares you received. You glanced at people a few times, and watched them follow your movements, some even whispering to the people next to them. With your better hearing, you caught a few snippets of words, but even without your good ears you already figured out what they were saying. Here there was, some stranger girl they’ve never seen, or have forgotten some five years ago, walking along the streets, coincidentally the very same morning the Shadow Fox, who they’ve also never seen before, was brought in.

        Whenever your urges of hiding came up as the whispers and stares of the people continued, you would secretly take a step closer to Kakashi. Eventually, Kakashi stopped you in front of some restaurant and told you to wait outside. You nodded and begrudgingly did as you were told. You felt really uncomfortable standing outside alone, but you kept telling yourself that you would pull through it. You were still the Shadow Fox after all, you could handle anything.

        Although, soon after Kakashi had entered the store, you felt eyes on the back of your head. It wasn’t like the stares you kept receiving, but it felt like these eyes were glaring daggers at you. It was almost as if they were observing you, keeping track of all of your movements. The strangest part about it was the fact that it felt familiar to you, like you knew this stare well, but you couldn’t figure out who’s just by your sixth sense. You searched all around, but you couldn’t find where the source of the strange feeling was coming from. It was starting to make you paranoid, and you began to wonder if someone was after you.

        Thankfully, it wasn’t long before Kakashi came back out of the store with something in his hand that smelled fresh and sweet, and the paranoid feeling disappeared. That was really weird. Kakashi, who either didn’t notice or ignored your weird behavior, possibly brushing it off as being part of your nerves, held out what he had in his hand in front of you. When you took it, you saw that it was a dumpling, and you looked up at him, confused.

        “I’m sure you’re hungry. Eat up.” You still stared at him, not completely sure what to make of this situation. It’s not like you were ever given food before, especially food that was fresh and better than the stuff you usually ate. You brought the dumpling to your mouth, and slowly started to take small bites of the sweet food. Holy shit this is really good! No matter how hungry you were and how sweet the dumpling was, you controlled yourself, and continued to take only small bites of the sweet treat. Kakashi then handed you a water bottle, which you immediately recognized as the one from the dark room in the Hokage building.

        “Thanks.” You said while taking the water, taking small sips from it as well. 

        “You might as well have it. I’m sure it’s not going to be missed anytime soon.” You smiled as you finished the dumpling and water, and throwing the bottle away in a nearby trash can.

        You finally made it to a secluded area, filled mostly with green trees and shrubbery, and a path of grass leading straight ahead to somewhere unknown. You survived the streets of the Leaf Village, though no doubt those stares and whispers would continue, maybe even worsen. But for now, they no longer concerned you, as you were now a genin of the Leaf, an official Leaf Village shinobi, and you were about to begin your training to your new life.

        “Welcome to part two of becoming a genin.” Kakashi stated, walking down the path, with you falling into place right next to him.
 

3rd Person POV

        “I’m sick and tired of waiting for Kakashi Sensei, to get his lazy butt over here!!!!” Naruto yelled from the grass in the middle of the training field.

        “I am too! What’s taking him so long?” Sakura asked, anger and a little worry laced in her tone.

        “This is boring. If he was just gonna leave us like this, why didn’t he just say anything?” Sasuke grumbled, standing against a tree with his arms crossed and eyes closed, also annoyed with the rest of his squad.

        “Why can’t we just go and find him!!!??”

        “Because we’re still supposed to wait for him here, even though he’s extra late today.” Sakura reminded Naruto. On the outside, she was collected and only slightly annoyed, but her inner self was screaming about how she was going to wring Kakashi’s neck when, and if, he finally shows up.

        “Don’t run off again to go look for him Naruto. I hate babysitting you like that.” Sasuke warned. Naruto turned towards Sasuke, fury written all over his face.

        “You’re NOT babysitting me!!”

        “Just shut up and don’t run off anymore-” Naruto sat down on the grass with his legs crossed and putting both of his hands on his knees, and yelled.

        “I’m so BOOORED! I can’t take it anymore!” Sasuke growled softly at Naruto’s interruption. “I swear, when I get my hands on that guy, I’ll-” In the middle of Naruto’s rant, Sakura gasped.

        “Look! I think I see him!” She pointed down the grassy path, where she saw the figure of Kakashi walking towards them. However, there was another smaller figure walking with him. “Wait. Who is-“

        “KAKASHI SENSEI!!” You heard Naruto angrily yell from all the way across the upcoming field. By now, you and Kakashi were close enough for Sakura and Sasuke to be able to catch a glimpse of your features. Sasuke peaked at you with one of his previously closed onyx eyes after hearing Sakura incomplete question. He became just as curious as Sakura was as to who you were. He’s never seen you in the academy, in fact he’s never seen you in the village before, and yet he noticed a Leaf forehead protector on your head.

        Naruto didn’t notice you at all, ignoring you as he ran down the path and stopped right in front of Kakashi, pointing an angry finger at his chest and yelling at him.

        “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE HOURS AGO!! YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAD TO WAIT HERE, BORED OUT OF MY MIND, WITH SASUKE!!? WHY ARE YOU SO LATE!!!?” 

        “Naruto, first, stop shouting so loud. You’re hurting my ears, and I’m pretty sure you’re hurting hers too. Second, I was busy-“

        “Wait, her?” That was when he finally noticed you standing next to Kakashi, an emotionless frown on your face, and your ears still ringing from his outburst at Kakashi. Your hearing was better than most others, so you were more affected than anyone else, and man did Naruto’s yelling hurt, a lot. But you still managed to look as if it didn’t affect you at all, and thankfully you could still hear. “Oh, who are-” His face suddenly lit up with recognition. “Wait a minute! You’re the girl who-“

        “Naruto, do you know her?” Sakura asked while walking closer to you.

        “Yeah, I’ve never seen her around before.” Sasuke wasn’t too far behind Sakura. She stood on Naruto’s right while Sasuke came up to Naruto’s left, directly in front of you. They all watched you intently, waiting for Naruto to answer the question.

        “You’re the girl I punched in the face! You’re the-“

        “Yes, I am. Oh, and no hard feelings Naruto. Didn’t hurt, really. I didn’t exactly get to tell you that the last time for… obvious reasons.” You glanced between Sakura’s curious gaze and Sasuke’s scowling one. “Sakura, Sasuke. Nice to finally meet you two.” They both looked a little surprised that you knew their names, even though they’ve never even seen you before.

        “Guys, this is (Y/N).” You saw Naruto’s eyes light up in shock, not expecting to hear your actual name. “Or as you’d more commonly know her, the Shadow Fox.” They all looked at you now, completely shocked to meet the famous master thief in person, and to now even know your real name. Even Sasuke’s usually hate-filled onyx eyes were wide open. You just kept your frown in place, not surprised by their reactions, as Kakashi continued on. “And she is the newest member of Squad 7.”

Chapter 4: A Needed Thank You

 

 

        Warmth. Comfort. Exhaustion. Pain. Your eyes tried to open, having just awoken from a dreamless sleep, but they wouldn’t budge. They felt too heavy to move. You regained some feeling in your body, and you could tell that you were on your back, but where, you didn’t know. It felt like you were laying on something soft, but you’ve never felt such comfort before, so you didn’t know what it was. Although your head was pounding from an excruciating headache, you tried to remember what had happened to you, but that only increased your headache’s intensity.

        You groaned from the pain and fuzziness in your head. You moved your head to your right, trying to see if it would ease the pounding in your head, but it only made it worse. Now that you thought about it, breathing made it worse. You decided it would be best to stop moving and to try and let the headache subside on its own, for now, at least.

        “Hey guys! I think she’s waking up!” A male voice suddenly yelled very close to you, cutting through the once silent air, which was the only thing keeping your headache only slightly unbearable. Ugghh whyyyy. The voice sounded near, and you didn’t know what to make of it. You groaned once again, louder than before, from the sudden change in volume that irritated your head, and soon heard footsteps stopping a few feet away from you. The auras around them seemed vaguely familiar, you just couldn’t put your finger on it. 

        “Are you sure Kankuro? She still looks like she’s sleeping to me.” Another voice, this time a female’s, was heard. Why do they sound so familiar?

        By now you could open your eyes a little, just enough to allow a little ray of sunshine into your vision. You quietly hissed, not being awake and strong enough to adjust to the brightness, and turned your head to the left away from the light. Apparently, they had heard you.

        “Told you she was waking up. Now shush!” It shut whoever the girl was up, and whoever else surrounded you made no noise as well. You turned your head so you were facing back up, and tried opening your eyes once more. This time you weren’t blinded by as much light, and you were able to open your eyes just a smidge. Different splotches of colors began to appear, mostly all of them were of a lighter scheme, but you swore you saw a darker red somewhere in front of you. You moved your head to the right, trying to get a better view of your surroundings.

        The first thing that became clear was a window, where you assumed that the bright sunlight that shone through was what blinded you earlier. The window was behind a wooden chair close to where you lay, and someone was currently sitting on it. You guessed it was who the male voice belonged, judging by how near he was to you. There was something familiar about him, now that you could see his outline. However, you couldn’t place a name to him. The male leaned forward and whispered close to your face.

        “Wake up, sleepy head.” His voice was taunting and full of mockery, similar to the earlier louder, more uncaring one.

        You decided to ignore the figure for now, since there were more important things you needed to do, that is, before you taught this guy a lesson for speaking to you like that. You scanned your surroundings to the best of your abilities. Even though you were never actually inside one, you could still make out the details of a Leaf Village apartment, the ones that outsiders stay at. Why am I in an outsider’s apartment? Who’s apartment is this? You sat up a little, keeping a hand on your throbbing head, and tried looking at the people who’s footsteps and voice you heard earlier were. You could make out red and sandy colored hair right next to each other, and that was all you needed for your memories to instantly come back in one burst of pain, making your headache disappear completely. You realized who’s apartment this really was. It was Gaara’s and his lackeys’. 

        You immediately sat up straight, wide eyed. When the shock left, you scowled and forced your hidden blades out, or you thought you did. When you didn’t hear the clinging of metal, you snapped your now shocked gaze to your weapons, wondering why the blades wouldn’t come out. You tried again, and again, and again, only to fail each and every time, making you panic. You heard chuckling from the male sitting in the chair, as you continued to examine your precious newly broken weapons.

        “Nice try, brat. We knew you’d try using those little special weapons of yours. So we ‘fixed’ them for you. Hehe.” Your icy cold yet fiery glare turned to him, and you bared your sharp teeth in a threatening manner. These hidden blades were given to you by the one person who treated you with pure kindness and sincerity, the Hokage, Old Man, the very leader of the Leaf Village who had given you hope all those years ago. These hidden blades were everything to you.

        A low growl erupted from your throat, now only focused on the infuriating boy in front of you. You even forgot that Gaara and the girl were still at the doorway. Your eyes burned with pure fiery hatred towards the male, and you were just about ready to attack him with your bare hands. Before you or the boy could do anything, a raspy monotone voice cut in through the thick atmosphere, severely cold and commanding.

        “Kankuro. Enough. Don’t upset her. She’s like a wild animal who just got caught. Don’t do anything stupid.” You snorted at him calling you a wild animal, but focused on something else more important. Kankuro? So that’s your name, asshole. What’s the girl’s then? You ceased your growling and now focused your icy glare on Gaara. He glared right back at you, cold sea-green eyes piercing darkened (E/C) ones. The whole apartment grew silent, and a tense atmosphere filled the room. You refused to break eye contact, showing no signs of backing down. But eventually, you realized that you were outnumbered, your weapons didn’t work, and right now, you were at their mercy. Plus, you needed answers, like why they brought you back to their temporary apartment instead of turning you in to the ANBU, and how much of your ‘moment’ did they see. With all of that in mind, your glare lowered into a frown and you crossed your arms over your chest, giving them the signal that you would not attack.

        When no one answered, you tilted your head and looked at them expectantly, to show you were waiting for them. The girl finally realized what you wanted, and spoke. “Are you wondering why you’re here?” You tilted your head back up and gave her a sarcastic expression that said ‘really, what do you think’. Before she could answer, Kankuro bet her to it.

        “Just give us back what you stole, brat. Don’t waste anymore of our time.” You shot a short glare over to him, then you devilishly smirked, and tried to hold in your rising want to laugh at them. You had already eaten what you stole from them, there was no way to give it back, and they didn’t even have a clue. Kankuro noticed this and frowned.

        “And what the hell’s so funny, brat?” You shot him a fake guilty look. “Yeah, I see that little laugh coming up. What do you think is so funny? Huh?” You raised an eyebrow as a, ‘what do you think?’. He continued to frown at you, until the girl sighed, breaking the tension he was creating.

        “Kankuro, just let me talk to her.” Kankuro muttered something under his breath, but obeyed the girl’s words nonetheless.

        “Whatever Temari.” Temari. I know all of your names now. You turned your gaze to ‘Temari’, and waited for her to talk. All this time, Gaara had been watching you very carefully and coldly, making you uncomfortable, but since you had been used to the feeling since you were little, it didn’t affect you as much. He seemed to be the leader of the bunch, but you found it weird, since he didn’t seem as strong as you’d think a ‘leader’ would be. Maybe I’m underestimating him. You shook your head out of your thoughts, just in time for Temari to start talking.

        “Anyway, as Kankuro here just said, we do want our stuff back, so can you tell us where it is?” She sounded nice, but it was easily detectable as a façade; there was a hint of impatience and hostility in her tone. You raised your eyebrow again, only this time in confusion. I only stole food, why are they making such a big deal out of it? Why would they be asking for it back in the first place? What’s the point? Is that all they wanted?

        “Hellooo? Earth to tiny little brat? Can you give us an answer already?” You rolled your eyes. “I’m tired of waiting, so how about we beat it out of you?” You looked at him with a dangerous glint in your eyes, just daring him to try and lay a finger on you. You snarled.

        “Kankuro.” Gaara growled out. “I said, enough.” Kankuro looked taken aback and nervous.

        “S-Sorry.” He stuttered. You turned your head back to Gaara and Temari and snorted. You still refused to say a word. You didn’t trust them enough, and this game you were playing with them was kind of funny.

        “Hey kid.” Temari called out. You paid no attention to her. You didn’t like how she called you ‘kid’ even though she was only a couple years older than you. She groaned out of frustration. “Shadow Fox.” You slowly turned your eyes to Temari, acknowledging her. “What’s your real name?” You looked at her with a ‘why would I tell you anything’ face. “Nothing. Really?” She glanced at Kankuro, and then nervously to Gaara. Why do these two seem to fear him so much?

        “She must be mute.” Gaara stated plainly. You bit the bottom of your lip to keep from laughing. Ha! They actually bought it! They actually think I’m mute! I can’t take it! Kankuro noticed you trying not to laugh, and this made him angry.

        “Hey, what’s so funny?” You couldn’t take it anymore. You stopped biting your lip and let out a long, loud, laugh. When you finally calmed down, you looked up and smirked.

        “I’m not mute, dumbass.” You were surprised that your voice sounded as good as it did, since you hadn’t used it in such a long time. Gaara clenched his still crossed hands into fists, and deepened his scowl. “Or could you not already tell.” You taunted. Your smirk widened. It was faint, but you thought you could hear a small growl coming from Gaara. Temari tried to break his angered state before he exploded, by moving to another topic and asking you another question.

        “If you can speak, why didn’t you answer our questions before?” You snorted.

        “One, because you guys can be fun to mess with.” You could feel everyone’s anger at that comment. “And two, simply because you don’t need to know the answers to them.” Kankuro scoffed.

        “And why not?” You raised your eyebrows like it was an obvious answer.

        “Well, let’s see. My answers, my choices, and my life. That’s why. Oh and ‘Kankuro’, get your damn chakra strings away from my neck.” You grabbed the chakra strings that were in front of your neck, and pulled them, causing Kankuro to fall off his chair and land face first onto the floor. You let go of the strings, letting them return to Kankuro who was still on the floor. You had noticed them from the moment you had regained your memories, but hadn’t said anything because you were too busy messing with them. Kankuro looked up, shocked and a little nervous.

        “How did you see them so easily!?” He yelled. You looked to where he was on the ground.

        “Simple. I’m not blind.” You teased. He looked at you confusedly, but noticed the little glares Gaara and Temari were giving him, and so quickly picked himself up off the floor and sat back on his chair.

        “So, you still won’t tell us your name then? Or is ‘Shadow Fox’ what you prefer.” You could tell Temari was just trying to coax you into giving out your information. Emphasis on tried.

        “Hey, I didn’t even know that was my, quote on quote ‘name’ until a couple days ago, so don’t try that crap on me.” She seemed surprised, clearly she wasn’t expecting that kind of response from you. “And I don’t trust you enough to give you my ‘actual’ name, anyway.”

        “You won’t tell us anything?” She asked. You snorted.

        “Why would I tell the people who gave me food poisoning and dragged me away from my ‘home’, which oh lets see, I think there’s a word for that. Yeah it’s on the tip of tongue oh! KIDNAPPING! That’s what it’s called.” Kankuro started laughing.

        “First off, it wasn’t food poisoning. Second, we didn’t ‘kidnap’ you. We caught a thief. There’s a difference.” You huffed, but he did make a good point on the whole thief thing. You were a strict believer in Thief’s Honor, after all. You shrugged your shoulders in defeat.

        “Fair enough.” You grumbled. Kankuro gave you an exasperated look and rolled his eyes. Temari seemed confused about something, but you continued speaking. “So what did you put in that ramen by the way?” Temari looked annoyed that she didn’t have the chance to talk, but Kankuro didn’t notice and answered your question.

        “Why do you wanna know?” Temari again tried to speak, but again you prevented this.

        “It’s classified.” You sternly claimed while crossing your arms.

        “Well, since you won’t tell us anything, we won’t tell you anything.”

        “Touché.” You didn’t really want to answer his dumb questions, but curiosity got the best of you, and you had no other choice. “Fine. I’ll tell you why I wanna know. It’s because I’m poison resistant, so I wanna know why whatever the hell you used got to me. Got it? Or should I dumb it down for you?” Kankuro glared at you, but was more confused than annoyed.

        “That’s it?” He asked surprised.

        “Uh, yeah, that’s it.” He started chuckling.

        “So it’s your pride you want back, is it? Ha!” He burst out in laughter.

        “Yeah sure. Pride, something you don’t have.” You proudly smirked. Kankuro just grumbled a ‘shut up’ and gave you a little glare, then continued speaking.

        “It was a poison we sprinkled in there, that’s found only in our village.” He started thinking about something. “That could explain it though.” You looked at him curiously. “If you’re so tolerant to poison as you say you are, that explains why you weren’t knocked out right away.”

        “Was I supposed to be?”

        “Yeah, right when it entered your mouth.” You huffed.

        “I would’ve preferred getting knocked unconscious. That hurt like hell!” Kankuro smirked.

        “Maybe it was pay back.”

        “‘Maybe it was pay back’.” You mocked his voice in the worst way possible. He scrunched his lips up in disgust.

        “Are you mocking me you little brat!?”

        “‘Are you mocking me little brat!!'” You mocked him again, putting emphasis on ‘little brat’. His reaction was priceless, even Temari was stifling her laughter. He seemed as if he was about to hit you, but upon looking at Gaara’s warning glare, he leaned back into his seat mumbling a ‘damn kid’ and crossing his arms.

        “Your weapons.” Gaara spoke suddenly. You eyed him with a confused expression. “What are they.” He asked, more like demanded an answer. You unfolded your crossed arms and started rubbing your gauntlet shaped weapons. You thought about what you should say, since you didn’t want to give away any vital information, until Kankuro stopped your train of thought.

        “I bet you don’t even know much about them, since you probably stole them. You’re a thief, after all.” You smirked.

        “Quite the opposite actually, Kankuro. One, I know every. Single. Inch, of these weapons.” He snorted. “Second, they were given to me, by Old Man.” Kankuro tried to hold back his laughter.

        “You mean to tell me, an old man gave those to you? Yeah right!”

        “No idiot. Not an old man, the old man.” He looked at you like you had gone completely crazy. You face palmed. “The Hokage. You know, that old man?” Kankuro made an ‘o’ shape with his mouth, finally getting it. You rolled your eyes at his stupidity.

        “Just explain the stupid weapons already that the Hokage ‘gave’ you.”

        “He did give them to me. If you want proof then go ask him yourself! And they’re NOT stupid!” 

        “Then what are they?”

        “They’re better than yours! That’s what they are!” Before you or Kankuro could continue your argument, Gaara shut you both up.

        “Both of you. Shut up. Or I’ll kill you.” You stared into Gaara’s sea-green eyes, and found that he wasn’t joking. You thought you also saw something else hidden deep down, an emotion that you knew all too well. But… that’s impossible. Both you and Kankuro crossed your arms and leaned back with a huff, both averting your eyes away from each other and to different points of the floor, exactly like children would do. After a little while, you felt Gaara’s eyes glare into your own, and you knew he was expecting an answer out of you. With a sigh, you finally faced the two across from you, still ignoring Kankuro.

        “Hmmm. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell you what they are, though. Let’s see what did Old Man say. Well, these babies,” you gestured to your blades, “are called hidden blades. They’re kind of like built in swords, or knives, but I guess that depends on the length of the blades and I guess the shape. Also the sharpness of the points and the rigidness of the-” 

        “Can you just tell us how they work?” Kankuro cut your rambling off, obviously getting impatient with you. You glared at him for interrupting you, and folded your arms again, but soon smirked.

        “Ah ah ah. I said what they are, not how they work. Why would I tell you the secrets of my weapons?” You said blatantly, and then smirked. “Wait, you wanted to know how they work because I almost beat you. Is that it? Maybe you have pride after all, or a big ego. Hmmm, probably the latter.” They all looked frustrated at your stubbornness, but what did they expect? You were a thief sworn to secrecy and honor. And dignity.

        Temari sighed, obviously giving up on you, or at least, that’s what you thought, until she spoke up.

        “Fine. Be that way. But I’m asking one more question.” You leaned back more into the bed with a sigh.

        “Fire away. I’ve obviously got all day to answer.” Temari muttered something under her breath, but continued with her question nonetheless.

        “You said that we ‘dragged’ you from your ‘house’, correct?” You nodded ‘yes’ like she was stupid.

        “Yeeah, why?” She rolled her eyes.

        “You were sleeping on the corner of a building with a blanket.” You nodded again.

        “Uh huuuuh.” She sighed heavily.

        “What I’m trying to say is, how does that classify as a home, exactly?” 

        “I bet you’re a runaway, or something like that!” Kankuro proudly proclaimed. Gaara and Temari sent him a few hard glares, until they heard you burst out in laughter.

        “Runaway!!? Runaway!!!? That’s hilarious! HA! At least if I was a runaway, then I’d have something to go back to!! Man I didn’t know you could be so funny Kankuro. Maybe you’re not as annoying as I thought!” The trio looked at each other.

        “Uh, how long have you exactly been living like this?” Temari questioned. You stopped your chuckle fits and thought about your answer, muttering your thinking process out loud.

        “Let’s see. I can’t remember anything before seven years old, and I’m twelve now, so… ’bout five years.” You said the last part so nonchalantly it surprised even yourself. Everyone else seemed stunned. “What? It’s not so bad, once you get used to it. The first year was probably the hardest, since I didn’t even have my babies with me until the year after.” You flashed your hidden blades at them. “And of course, other… things, but I survived.” You shrugged your shoulders, like what you said was nothing. You, calm and collective on the outside, wanted to internally just slap yourself for revealing such personal information. Kankuro was the first to break the silence.

        “Hold on. You’re telling me, that you can’t remember a single thing before you were seven years old?”

        “Not a thing.”

        “You’re not lying, are you?” He squinted his eyes in an observing glare.

        “Please. I wouldn’t waste my time. Too much work to make something up like that. No no, it’d be much more amusing to not lie, and just not tell you, then watch you get into another pissy-fit again.” You smirked.

        “Then if you don’t remember anything, in theory you could be a runaway, you just wouldn’t remember.” Kankuro suggested You shrugged.

        “I’ve thought about it. Even asked Old Man. He just said that I was a ‘survivor’ and that I was born and basically raised in this village. And I believe him. Every word. So don’t say it’s false.” Everyone stopped talking, and Gaara signaled for everyone to move out of the room. When everyone filed out, without a single glance back, they shut the door, and you heard the click of a lock. Figures. Of course they don’t trust me. You smirked. And they shouldn’t.

        You waited until their footsteps faded away, and once you heard the silence, you took that as your signal to slip out of bed. You tiptoed quietly to the window behind Kankuro’s chair, and quickly checked the door again to make sure none of them were there. Luckily, you didn’t hear anything. You looked back to the window and jumped on top of the sill.

        Little did they know, but during that whole ‘interrogation’, you had been stealthily ‘fixing’ your weapons. Turns out, ‘someone’ had stuffed the blade slots with bits of wood and more metal, and then to top if off filled them with sand, which was why you couldn’t use your blades earlier when you first awoke. Despite their best efforts though, it was an easy fix. You had indeed warned them that you knew every inch of your weapons, inside and out. They should’ve listen. Oh well.

        You forced the blades out, hearing the familiar ‘cling’ of metal scraping metal. You slid your right blade in between the wall and window, and began sliding it up and down. You had done it before, not to steal but to practice, in case you were in some situation like this and for emergencies, so you knew this would work. When you heard a ‘clonk’, the sound of the window being unlocked, you lifted it up with ease. A slight breeze blew into the apartment, and you enjoyed this taste of freedom for a few seconds.

        Before you could make your escape though, the door burst open, revealing the infamous sand trio, causing you to look away from the window. You merely flashed them a fake innocent smile and wave, before drawing back your blades and jumping outside making a dash for the other rooftops, and as you did so you could hear yelling coming from the apartment.

        “What!? How did she use her blades? We blocked them up!!” It was Kankuro.

        “And how did she get out the window so fast!?” Now it was Temari. You thought you heard Gaara growl under his breath, and then immediately after the sounds of his footsteps running towards you. You wasted no time, and picked up your speed.

        You could feel all three of them hot on your trail, trying to follow you as best as they could, but there were two things to their disadvantage. One, you were barely using your chakra, you were basically just messing with them. Two, this was your home turf, and they were outsiders not accustomed to the Leaf Village’s geography. It was perfect for you.

        As the wind blew in your face and the pressure to escape lay on your shoulders, you couldn’t help but feel excited. It was exhilarating, the rush and thrill of the chase. You haven’t had this much fun in a while. You could tell they were using a lot of chakra to keep up with you, and they couldn’t do much more. It was almost like a very funny strategic game to you.
        
        You glanced over your shoulder to see that Temari had her big fan open, Kankuro had his chakra strings at the ready, and Gaara was using his sand to fly above the roofs. You looked to where the sun was to check the time. It’s only late afternoon. Must’ve only been out for half the day. Good. I just have to keep them busy until nightfall, or lose them before then. If I can’t shake ’em loose earlier than that, then when it turns night, I can disappear, and I won’t have to worry about them after that. Heh, this should be easy, but I do enjoy a challenge. Maybe they’ll give me one. You sent them a devilish smirk, letting them know you had something in store for them.

        You decided you would make this more interesting, and you really wanted to test their abilities. So you finally released more of your chakra to your feet and began speeding up twice as fast as before. Whenever you used your chakra like this, you were a very speedy runner. Not to say though that your chakra was stronger than someone else’s like Naruto’s, running was just one of your strong points. You could feel the shock coming from them, but they soon sped up too and were trying to catch up with you. That’s when you broke off your straight path and jumped a sudden turn that would be hard to follow.

        You back flipped off the roof, twisted, and landed in the darkness of an alleyway. This was really your territory now. You raced through the different and familiar alleys, letting the lighter shadows consume you and disguise yourself among them. You looked behind you, and you didn’t see the infamous trio. Why do I still sense their chakras nearby? As if on cue, on the rooftop on your right, you saw Kankuro looking down at you, and to your left Gaara was doing the same. Right behind you, Temari was catching up, faster than you wanted. What!? How!? How did they find me so fast? How do they still see me when I’m covered in shadows!? Hmmm, I’m guessing they could’ve pulled some trick on me while I was asleep. That could be it. But I was having problems when Naruto chased me as well. I don’t know… Ugh. I’ll have to focus on that later. Right now, I need to lose them..

        They continued to chase you all throughout the darkness of the alleys. While you were running, you noticed that the closer Temari got to you, the closer the boys moved to your sides on the roofs, as if they were planning to trap you. They were planning something, but you didn’t know what. Wait. Temari has her fan out. And if… that’s it! They’re trying to close me in so they can lead me somewhere for Temari to use her fan against me! If I don’t stop, I’ll get hit and blown into a wall and maybe get knocked unconscious again, but if I do stop, it lets them surround me like when I fought them before. But this time, I’ll be wide opened. It was a simple yet effective trap they had in store for you. But still, no matter what they try, this was still your territory. They were still at a huge disadvantage, and you had just now figured out a plan to counter their trap. Let them think they can herd me like little sheep. I’d like to see them try. 

        You were coming up on your destination, a big four way cross in the alleys that was fairly bigger than the others and perfect for Temari to use her wind technique, and you knew that she would see this bait as well. As you were coming up on the cross, just like you had predicted, Temari had begun to move her fan to strike, and you forced your blades out, ready to counter. As soon as you could hear the wind coming at you from behind, you released more of your chakra to your feet and sped up. Before Temari could realize what you had done, she had already released a strong gust of wind your way. You made the turn to your left, but halted right at the entrance to it. You released chakra into your blades and into the air, and sent your own wind towards Temari’s. You guided both your’s and Temari’s wind back the other way towards the trio, and it took all of their focus to not get blown away. While they were busy keeping their footing, you guided half of the combined wind back to you, leaving the other half for the trio to deal with, and when it came close enough, you raised your arms in an x-formation and struck the ground with the wind. It propelled you into the air and out of they alleys. You were sure they wouldn’t be able to find you after you ‘disappeared’ as you did.

        You soared through the air across the Leaf Village, and it was absolutely breathtaking. This must be how birds feel all the time! This is so much fun!! Woo hoo!!! As you started to come to a landing, you made sure your footing was right so you wouldn’t break any bones, and you landed safely on some rooftop on the opposite side of the village from where the Sand Trio was. Holy shit that was some powerful wind! Despite your excitement, you yawned out of exhaustion, and were surprised that you were tired at all. Man, that was like an actual workout! And I’m actually a little tired from it! I need to work out more. You chuckled at your thoughts, and started walking off in a random direction. I’ll have to move from my ‘home’ no, or at least for a while, until those three leave the village. 

        Just as you were thinking this, your eyes widened as you sensed something, and you just barely dodged the blow of sand that came your way with a back flip. You didn’t even look to see where it came from as you took off into a sprint once again. How do they keep doing this? They shouldn’t be able to find me this easily! Ugh! I can’t even stop and see if they actually did do something to me while I was sleeping! Great. This is gonna take longer than expected. You fell into formation, and began twisting through the alleys once more.

        This pattern continued, where you would run on the rooftops or in the alleys and dodge any attacks that came your way. If they tried to trick you into a tight spot, you would somehow find a way to get out of it, and continue on. There were a few moments where you thought you were safe again, but they would find you just as easily as the last time, and it also left you just as confused.

 

        By late evening, you still couldn’t shake them off your tail, and it was beginning to grow bothersome for you as their attacks were getting fiercer and fiercer through frustration and desperation. This is pointless! This will just go on and on until one of us tires out, and at this rate, it’s gonna be me. I don’t think I’ll be able to hold out until nightfall. Maybe there’s something else I could do, besides waiting for the dark. You tried to think of another plan, but what could you possibly do? You gazed at the sun that was just about to set, that would soon turn day into night. Then you caught a glimpse of the Hokage mountain, which is when you got an idea. Maybe… this’ll work.

        As the sky turned dark blue, signifying that it was now night, you focused your last remaining energy into leading the trio astray in the opposite direction of the mountain, and managed to ‘disappear’ from them again. You ran all the way to the top of the mountain without them seeing you, and sat down at the edge, finally at your limit. This was one of the last places you thought they would check, or so you hoped.

        With your better vision, you could actually see the trio looking around for you, which was pretty hilarious to watch. You tilted your head up to the night sky, and saw the bright luminous stars littered across it. One especially caught your attention. It was the biggest, brightest, and most special of them all, directly in front of the mountain. It reminded you of a song you sang when you were younger, around when you first arrived in the village. Leaning back on your hands you began to hum and sing that same exact song.

Natsuhiboshi
Natsuhiboshi,
Why are you so red?
Because I had a sad dream last night
My eyes are red
From the tears I shed
Swollen as I cry

Natsuhiboshi,
Why’ve you lost your way?
I’m searching for a child who’s gone afar
He can’t be found
Though I search all day
My sad dreams come once more

        As you finished the song, a single tear escaped your eye, and you let it fall to the ground. You put more pressure on your hands and leaned back. You smiled in content, closed your eyes, and enjoyed the nightly serene setting for a few moments of rare, relaxing peace. You almost didn’t notice the three presences behind you.

        “I know you’re there.” You opened your eyes and stared back at the night sky, waiting for a response. When you heard nothing, you hummed. “Idiots.” You didn’t even turn your head to look at them. You could feel their baffled gazes on you, until you heard Kankuro’s all too familiar voice.

        “What kind of game are you playing here!?” You scoffed and rolled your eyes.

        “None. None at all.” You heard him take in a deep breath, about to yell at you, but you stopped him before he could speak. “Before you go on another one of your rage hissy-fits again, sit.” You patted the two spots next to you, signaling for them to sit there. You could feel their confused and suspicious glares being sent your way.

        “How do we know you’re not gonna try anything if we do.” Kankuro questioned. You laughed.

        “I won’t. Don’t feel like it.”

        “You lying to us, brat?”

        “No, but you’ll never know if you just stand there like a bunch of sticks caught in the mud.” Kankuro snorted, but didn’t say anything else. A few more moments of silence passed, until Temari finally walked forward and sat on your right side, cautiously watching you in case you pulled something. Kankuro let out a little huff and walked over to Temari, and sat next to her. It took Gaara the longest to finally sit down next to you on your left, although he was most likely very uncomfortable. You smiled softly when everyone sat down, and your crossed your arms behind your head, making them into a make-shift pillow, and layed down on your back, with the three still watching you intensely to see if you would try anything.

        “What is it that you wanted to show us, brat?” You smirked.

        “Wow, even a bat can see better than you.” He scoffed. “Well, look directly in front of you and tell me what you see.” They were all still looking at you, until you felt some of Gaara’s sand slide underneath you, and some grabbed a fistful of the end of your shirt so he would know if you would try and escape, which you were okay with. They all finally turned their heads to the scenery in front of the mountain.

        You opened your eyes to see them looking at the view before them with a bit of a sparkle in their eyes, except Gaara, for obvious reasons. You smirked. “Now, look up.” You pointed your finger to the stars above, and they turned their gazes to the sky. You could tell they thought it was amazing, even Gaara didn’t look away, and you hoped he found it at least enlightening. You saw Temari smile, and she looked back down at you.

        “What was all this about, anyway?” She asked. You hummed.

        “Hm. Well, think of it as a sort of… thank you.” They looked at you with confused expressions.

        “What do you mean?” Kankuro questioned. You smirked.

        “One, that was probably the most fun I’ve had in years!” Temari and Kankuro playfully rolled their eyes. “Two, you didn’t turn me in to the ANBU. So, I thought… maybe I should thank you for all that.” You smiled. “Did it work?” Temari and Kankuro slowly nodded their heads, while Gaara remained stoic. “Well good. I’ve never really had to thank anyone, so this is my first. Success.” The two looked at you with understanding eyes.

        “The song.” Gaara suddenly spoke. You looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “What was that song you sang earlier.” You heavily sighed.

        “You guys were there the whole time, weren’t you.” You groaned, which made Kankuro smirk.

        “Yeah, didn’t know you could actually sing, bra-OW!” Temari punched him in the shoulder to shut him up, and then turned to you.

        “What he meant to say, was that you have a beautiful voice. Right, Kankuro?” Kankuro turned pale at her tone and energetically nodded his head.

        “Y-Yeah, I did.” You blushed. Was that, a compliment? Was she being… nice to me? No. Impossible. Besides the Hokage, no one had ever been ‘nice’ to you like that before, so you didn’t know what to think of it.

        “It’s just a song I’ve known since I came here. I don’t know why or how I know it, I just do, so don’t ask.” You said sternly. You sighed once again. “I used to sing it all the time when I was little, to calm myself down, or something like that. I-It’s no big deal.” You quickly added. You heard Temari chuckle.

        “Well, I like it. It almost reminds me of… someone. Right, Kankuro?” She nudged Kankuro and glanced at Gaara so quickly you almost didn’t see it. Kankuro saw it too, but Gaara didn’t, or at least as far as you could tell. You were a little surprised at the gesture, and you wondered what Gaara’s story was, to relate to that song. Or maybe, he was lost, and he needed saving, or at least some form of help. Just like you. Hmph. I don’t think I’m completely alone now. You smiled contentedly, and you sat up and pulled your knees close to your chest, thinking, and enjoying the moment.

        Minutes passed by in peaceful silence, no one saying a word. It was nice, and you four sat there, looking at the stars and the view before you. It was really one of the best moments of your life, and you were, for once in your life… happy.

        “(Y/N).” You quietly uttered. Everyone turned their eyes to you. “My name… is (Y/N).”

 

Chapter 3: Feelings of Guilt

 

        Everyone around you was yelling, shouting names solely directed at you, ones that you knew all too well.

Worthless

Street rat

Freak

Outcast

Monster

       You stood in your weak 7-year-old body in the middle of the Leaf Village, tears pouring down your face from your now dull (E/C) eyes like a water fall. The people started advancing towards you, ready to beat you for the second time that day. Some had started throwing things already, anything they could find: food, trash, rocks, even glass bottles. This is what happened everyday, and didn’t why they did this, why they hated you so much. Couldn’t they all see the weak and pained child crying right in front of them instead of the monster they claim you to be? You couldn’t take it anymore, and even though it hurt, you picked your weak, damaged, and trembling legs up, and started to run away.

        They followed you until you finally lost them in a place of the village you didn’t know, all you knew was that it was somewhere dark. You collapsed, exhausted from the pain, and curled up into a ball, hugging your knees and lowering your head into them. You whimpered and sobbed uncontrollably. You had no friends, family, or people that didn’t think you were a wild beast. There was no one around to help or comfort you. You were all alone, and you knew it was going be like this for the rest of your life.

        When you lifted your head from your knees, you found that now you were in a different hell-hole. You were locked in a dungeon like cell, heavily chained and gagged to the dirty, musty wall behind you. Besides your neck, you couldn’t move an inch, since the chains bound you everywhere. This place felt strangely familiar, like you knew it well. And you knew there was no escape.

        A man stood in front of the cell door, looking through the tiny window with a few small bars, directly at you. A distasteful scowl that seemed so familiar was spread across his stone cold face. He unlocked the door and stepped inside the cell. His whole figure emanated with authority and power, leaving you with only a sense of fear and dread. He completely terrified you, but you tried to show no fear. He stalked over towards you, each step echoing off the walls like an earthquake, making you wince, only getting worse as he got closer. He kneeled in front of your slightly quivering form, and started beating you. He punched, kicked, and slapped you, over and over while he shouted words that you couldn’t hear, as if you already knew what they were and your mind had intentionally blocked them out. You never made a sound, even when he made contact with your skin, you were too weak to do so, and you knew it would only make everything worse. You did nothing to stop him, to try and get away, because there was no point, there was no way out, no way for you to stop him.

        When he finally stopped, he gave you one last hurtful glare before exiting the cell, slamming the door shut, and locking it firmly in place behind him. You felt small, hungry, cold, and nearly defeated. You began to cry once again, but no noise was made due to the gag in your mouth. In the midst of your tears, you could make out the sound of metal resounding in your ears, getting closer and closer, drawing your head up to where you heard the sound coming from. All of a sudden, an explosion sounded near where you were, setting the cell and anything else in front of you on fire. You were trembling in fear of burning alive as you watched the scorching flames dance all around you. But before you could look to see what had caused the explosion and fire, everything vanished.

 
Gaara POV

        It was a quiet and seemingly peaceful night. The full moon shone down upon this village brightly, one of the only things that pleased me besides blood being spilled. It was the perfect night to track a worthless little thief who dared steal from me.

        We followed my new sense for her blood, which led us somewhere behind a maze of alleyways, with the ‘Shadow Fox’ huddled up in a fetal position in front of a huge wall. She was almost completely wrapped up in an old torn blanket, which looked too small to cover her, with only her head that was facing me, hands, and legs showing. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was rising and falling in a steady motion. She must be asleep. For some reason, she looked so… peaceful. The sight slightly filled me with something I’ve never felt before. It was a warm feeling that somehow made me… calmer, and it kept growing the more I looked at her. I didn’t realize that I was staring so long until Temari’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

        “Gaara, is she sleeping? Should we take her out now?”

        “Yeah, how long are we gonna stand here? I wanna teach this brat a less-” I shot my arm out to the side, signaling them to stop talking and be silent. Something was wrong.

        All of a sudden, her body started shaking, and she began tossing and turning wildly. With a yelp she opened her eyes and shot up, panting and looking around frantically. I could see her expression clearly. Fear and terror were written all across her now sweaty pale face. Her once gleaming (E/C) eyes were now glazed over in pure horror, as if she just saw the devil. I would’ve fully reveled in this, but for some reason, with her, there was something different.

        As she whipped her head from side to side, her eyes met with mine only for an instant, but I saw so much. Those eyes. They remind me of mine, a long time ago. I saw the very same emotions I once felt in those now hollow eyes: loneliness, sadness, confusion, and suffering. She didn’t see us, she was too distracted from whatever she just went through inside her head to take notice of her surroundings. Part of me liked this new fear that I’ve never seen in her before, but another wished it to be gone.

        I understood everything now. Her eyes, her fear, her sorrow, it was like looking into a mirror of my own life. I kept my gaze on her the entire time, watching her start to calm down some and regain her senses, at least some of them. Still shaking, she leaned against the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her head between them, and then started to sob.

        I felt something in my chest. It was a weird feeling. It wasn’t pain, but something different. I didn’t like it. This was different than before, why does it hurt this way? I clutched my shirt where my chest was, gritting my teeth in annoyance. Thankfully my siblings didn’t see this, they were too focused on the crying girl, unsure of what to do.

        “What’s wrong with her?” Kankuro asked. I did not respond, even though I had the answer.

        “Is this all because of a nightmare? How-?”

        “It’s not just that.” I interrupted Temari. It’s clear that they can’t see it, what was actually going on. “This isn’t just from a single fake nightmare.” Her whole life has been one. They looked at me, now understanding what I meant, then back at her sobbing form with a new sense of curiosity and pity. “We’re leaving.” I started walking back down the alleyway we came from, in the opposite direction of the ‘Shadow Fox’. They didn’t argue, and reluctantly followed suite, shooting a few glances back at the girl. We walked back onto the main street and I stopped again. “Go back to the apartment, and don’t follow me.” They didn’t protest, and I began walking to my new destination. I will get rid of this weird pain in my chest, and I don’t care how.

 
Your POV

        You awoke, shooting up from the ground, wide eyed and trembling, feeling beads of sweat trickle down the sides of your face. You swiveled your head from side to side, breathing heavily, and your heart beating drastically. This always happened when you awoke. However, tonight was much worse. You had never experienced the last part of being chained in that cell. It felt so horrible, yet real, as if it had actually happened, and the memory of it gave you a splitting headache and you didn’t know why.

      You eventually began to calm down as you breathed more slowly and deeply, and your mind began to focus again. But the only thoughts that came to mind were what kind of hard merciless life you’ve lived so far, and always will. How lonely, hated, bruised and beaten you had always been. To never find friends, love, or just people who didn’t think you were a monster. Why did this all ever happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why can’t everyone just realize that I’m not a monster? That I’m suffering? I sound like a selfish brat now, but dammit! I HATE THIS! I CAN’T TAKE IT!! I don’t… I don’t want to do this anymore.

        You could no longer hold back the tears that watered your eyes, now flowing freely down your cheeks and dripping onto the ground. You leaned against the big wall next to you, wrapping your arms around your knees and burying your head between them. Tears upon tears cascaded down your face, and it was the most you had cried in a while. You let out a slight whimper, a cry for help that no one would or will ever listen to.

     You imagined that you looked pathetic, a vulnerable and weak mess. It hurt too much, though, and you no longer cared at this point if anyone saw you in this state. Why do I even try anymore? No one’s ever gonna care about me. Why do I try to survive when there’s nothing for me in this world, when the world doesn’t even want me? Oh, yeah, because I’m too much of a coward to do anything about it. Instead, I put myself through this torture for nothing, for no one, not even myself. You slumped against the wall in defeat and tightened your grip around your knees as you felt the cool night air against your body, reminding you again of how abandoned you were, and how you’ll always be.

       You were drawn from your thoughts when you felt something warm swirling around you. You lifted your head off your knees at the odd feeling, and you were met with a thick strand of sand around you, stroking your cheek. It was strangely comforting, and you found yourself closing your eyes and leaning slowly into the sand’s touch. It never even crossed your mind to realize who it belonged to, or where it was coming from, you just embraced the idea of the new radiating warmth. For the first time in your life, you didn’t feel so alone and cold. You sighed blissfully, as the corner of your lips formed a smile, not a smirk, not a killing grin, but a pure, genuine smile. Soft giggles left your mouth too, as the sand started twirling faster and tickled your skin a little. You opened your eyes in complete joy and wonder, as you stared at the sand lovingly.

        But all too soon, the sand started to retract from you, and you felt the comfort slip away, but the warmth still lingered, making you smile. Your expression softened as you remembered this first friendly feeling, and how amazing your heart felt at the contact. Is this what it feels like to be happy?

        This train of thought didn’t last too long, as your logical side quickly returned, and you began to question where the sand had come from. There was only one person you knew of who could use sand. Gaara! You gasped and looked around, worried that Gaara and his two followers still surrounded you. When you couldn’t see or sense anyone nearby, you relaxed a little, although you were confused. If they saw me the entire time I was awake, why didn’t they just attack me while I was vulnerable? Oh geez, it was probably too embarrassing or awkward for them to even look at me. But, if the sand really was Gaara’s, why would he…

        That’s when you finally sensed something, or rather someone nearby. When you looked to see where they were, you realized that they weren’t in front of you, they were above you. As you looked up, you could barely make out a figure on the roof of one of the houses. Before you could get a closer look, they vanished.

 
Gaara POV

        I was still watching her as she cried into her knees, leaned up against the wall below. The pain in my heart was still there, and it wasn’t going away anytime soon. But I wanted it gone, and without thinking, I tried something that I never would have imagined I would do. I let my sand quietly sink to her form below and had it swirl around her to draw her attention. I began to try and comfort her as best as I could. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem in pain when I caressed her cheek. I must actually be gentle enough then, or she’s strong enough to resist some of my sand. I could see her glow with happiness, smiling and giggling as the sand tickled her skin. The pain had finally stopped, but now it was replaced by a new feeling. It felt… warm, and there was a sort of… longing. Why is there a pounding in my chest? I don’t know what this new feeling is, and I had no idea if I liked it or not. 

        I called back my sand, I couldn’t continue this. I had to try and distance myself now, before anything else happened. Although, when I looked down at her again, I felt some sort of… satisfaction? It was all too weird. I had no desire to kill her anymore after the scene she made, and I didn’t understand why. Why did I not use my sand to crush her? Why is it that I could kill anyone but her? What makes this girl so special, and what are these strange feelings in my chest? 
        
        I saw her trying to look for someone, most likely me, as she seemed to snap back to her senses. But when she had finally looked up at me I had already turned around and started walking off. The feelings are still here though. Why do I feel so calm, and light-headed? My thoughts were only on her now, and it annoyed me. What do I do? How do I get rid of these feelings? I shouldn’t be feeling like this in the first place, it should be impossible. Maybe they will go away. Yes, that has to be it. They will leave in time. They have to.

        I found a place on one of the roofs in the village and sat down, staring up at the full moon as another sleepless night passed, with my thoughts still lingering on the Shadow Fox.

 
Temari POV

        Me and Kankuro saw the whole thing. We decided to follow Gaara and see where he was going. We were curious as to his sudden change of behavior, which all started when we first met the ‘Shadow Fox’, and again after the girl’s panic attack tonight. Her breakdown looked so familiar. It reminded us of a long time ago, when Gaara was a small child, before he… changed.

        After Gaara was gone, we went back and hid in the same alleyway we were in just moments before, and watched Gaara step onto the roof above the girl’s sleeping place. We watched Gaara actually comfort her with his sand, with no ill will at all. No blood, no death, nothing. After a few minutes, he just stopped, and left to another rooftop, with the girl falling back asleep soon after. When we finally got a hold of ourselves, we started walking back to the apartment. There was an almost awkward silence between us, both us refusing to say a word, our thoughts only one thing.

        “Hey, Temari?” Kankuro mumbled softly.

        “Yes, Kankuro?”

        “Do you think that, you know… Gaara’s-“

        “Shush! We don’t know for sure. It could just be that he… Well maybe…” I sighed. “I really wish I knew what he was thinking sometimes. We’ll figure out why he’s acting weird, I just need to figure out how.”

        “Huh. And I thought you were supposed to be the smart one here.”

        “Then that makes you the stupid one.”

        “Shut up.”

        “Just keep walking before we get caught, idiot.” He scoffed.

        “Whatever.” Hmph. We’ll definitely figure this out. I smirked. Things just got real interesting.

 
Your POV 

        You groaned as you groggily opened your eyes to the bright sun, waking up from a dreamless sleep, or so it felt. Maybe I blacked out after I started… breaking down, and the whole sand thing was just a dream. A very weird, random dream. But it felt so real, I still feel the warmth radiating off me. I guess it could just be some kind of after dream effect. Well, I guess it was nice while it lasted. Of course no one would ever do something nice for me like that, let alone him. As you stood up, you decided to take a walk to hopefully clear your mind.

 

        You strolled around the village for the rest of the morning. Your mind did clear somewhat, and the more time passed, you became more focused and alert, still on the lookout for anything that be a danger to you. Surprisingly, it was a very quiet morning, not even Naruto could be heard yammering his mouth about anything and everything. It was strange, but it was also a blessing. You sometimes liked the quiet while examining the village in the morning. It was so peaceful, but that didn’t last long, as you felt something lingering in the back of your mind that made the hairs on your neck stand up. It was the feeling of being watched.

        That feeling suddenly rushed throughout your whole body, right as you saw a warm bowl of ramen on a crate in the alleyway you were in. This was definitely not right. (E/C) eyes glanced from side to side, searching for anyone who could be hidden from view. When you still didn’t sense anything, you tried walking past the tempting ramen bowl, but you couldn’t, your hunger clouding your judgement. It could be a trap. Come on, just keep walking and don’t fall for something as stupid as this. But then again, it wasn’t everyday that you got a treat like this, and you needed to stock up on food. One bowl of ramen can’t be that bad. Besides, if there were any poisonous ingredients, it still wouldn’t be a problem since you were resistant to many kinds of poisons and illnesses. You had to do risky things due to your lifestyle, which overtime strengthened your immune system. With this in mind, you walked back over to the ramen and sniffed it. You couldn’t smell any strong poison or anything else ‘weird’, and that feeling of being watched started to fade. Strange, but I’ll take it.

        Sighing in relief, you started to chow down on the delectable noodles. You wanted to take it back and save it for later, but again, hunger got the best of you. After you were done, you set the bowl down and decided to go back ‘home’. You passed by almost empty streets, still as silent as before. It was becoming slightly unnerving now, but you still continued on. Once you returned ‘home’, you just wanted to lay down and try to relax for at least an hour or two. You let out a slight cough and began to lean against the wall, yawning all the way down. Another harder cough escaped your mouth, followed by another and another, until it finally stopped. But in its place, a searing, excruciating pain erupted in your stomach, making you yelp loudly in shock.

        You collapsed onto your right side on the hard dirt ground, clutching your stomach. You were taking deep, heavy breaths to try and help distract yourself from the unbearable pain, but another wave of agony rushed through your stomach, the intensity making you clench your eyes shut. AH! THIS IS PURE TORTURE! Damn it!! That ramen bowl must’ve been poisoned after all! But for something to have affected me like this, it would have to be super strong- AH! THIS SUCKS!!!  Who did this!?

        You slowly opened your eyes, your vision starting to get blurry. However, you could still make out three very familiar figures walking your way. It was Gaara and his squad. You! Damn you, you freaking- AH!!

        You winced as another wave hit. You glared menacingly at the trio as your whole body was filled with rage. You grit your teeth, and snarled, flashing your teeth at them to warn them. You let out low, loud, feral growls, making you look and act like a deranged wild animal, all the while trying to summon enough will power to move your hands and force out your hidden blades. The pain only seemed to grow stronger, making you lose your focus, and leaving yourself utterly defenseless. They kept getting closer and closer, while you panicked more and more by the second. You had no idea what they were going do to you. For all you knew, they could kill you, Gaara seemed to be able to do so with no remorse.

        Gaara’s feet eventually stopped right in front of your face, and because your strength was weakening, you couldn’t lift your head to see his or the other two’s figures. You didn’t want to. He placed his right foot on the left side of your face and applied pressure to it, not enough to crush you or severely injure you, but enough to keep you in place on the ground. Thinking that he might try and crush your head, you tried to struggle your way out of his foothold, literally, on you. He only put more pressure on your head, causing you to stop your struggling. You growled, and he put even more pressure on you. You stopped, and whimpered, only loud enough for him to hear.

        When he seemed to be satisfied with your surrender, he knelt down in front of your stagger breathing form, which caused you to twitch your lip and nose into another snarl with a low, quiet growl rumbling from your chest. He leaned in close to your ear, but you did nothing to stop him, you couldn’t.

        “Sleep.” A deep, raspy voice whispered. You stopped your growling all together, a sudden feeling weakness and drowsiness overcoming you. Exhausted, your tense body relaxed, as the pain in your stomach began to vanish, and you grew more tired by the second. The last thing you remembered before slipping into unconsciousness, was being lifted into a pair of strong, warm arms.

 

Chapter 2: Suspicions and More Denials

 

That strange feeling from this morning never left you. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up the whole day, and you felt as if someone was watching you, studying your movements everywhere you went. It got worse the further you got into the day, and your nerves were getting the best of you. Suspiciously, the feeling wasn’t as harsh after 9th period. But, your instinctive bad-feeling sensation started back up again the farther you left the school, and the closer you got to home. It wasn’t as bad as before, just seemingly telling you to be cautious. This has probably been the weirdest day of my life.

        Now it was the end of the day. You were on the bus with your viola in hand since you had felt the need to take it home, although usually you don’t. This time, you sat alone, but that was actually a good thing. It was already a little difficult to move around with the instrument case inside the small space a bus seat provided, let alone try to get out of the seat with someone else sitting with you. Plus, since you were alone, you were left to your own thoughts in peace.

        Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it was your stop. Since you were one of the last stops in the morning, you were one of the first in the afternoon, so the bus ride wasn’t that long. You squeezed through the tight rows with your precious baby in hands and exited the bus. You enjoyed the bright blue sky with barely any clouds and sunny day it turned out to be. You walked the three minutes it took to get to your house, noticing that the nervous sensation you had been feeling was becoming worse.

        When you arrived you opened the front door, but your mom wasn’t there like she usually was. Neither was Rocky, who would literally bark at anyone who so much as touched the front door. Maybe mom had people coming over and took him to the kennel? The silence was a bit unnerving either way. Your younger brother was of no concern because he was still in elementary school, so he usually didn’t come home for another hour.

As you were about to head upstairs, you noticed a sticky note taped to the inside of the door. It was from your mom. It said that her and your dad would be out for a few hours. This wasn’t something to worry about though. Once in a while your mom would do something like this. It just meant more alone time for you then. You went to the kitchen to get a snack when you saw Rocky lying in his bed, watching you intently. So he didn’t go to the kennel. Odd. Rocky would normally be so noisy, thinking whoever stepped foot into the house was someone to bark and run at no matter who they were. Plus, when you opened the refrigerator, he didn’t come jumping up from his bed and sprint towards you and beg for food like he usually would. He merely stayed in his bed, disturbingly still, his chest rising and falling in a steady motion. You swore his lips were raised in such a way as an equivalent to a smirk, and you glared suspiciously at him. Definitely my imagination. It has to be. But why is he acting so strangely? Maybe he’s tired or sick? …Is it me or do his eyes seem more… glowing. Your instincts were really warning you now, and they were telling you that things were definitely not right.

You, however wrong this decision may be, neglected them, but still remained suspicious as you got a random yogurt and a glass of milk and sat down at the couch Rocky’s bed was beside. You turned on the TV to try and calm yourself down and distract you from your strange acting dog next to you. You logged into your dad’s Xbox 1, put on funimation, and watched Fairytail. It was the only show that always helped you calm down and feel better. After a few episodes, you went to put the controller away but found (Favorite Childhood Movie) instead! Immediately, you put it in the DVD player.

        An hour and a half later the movie finished, which was when you realized your brother and mom still weren’t home yet. Where is he? Your brother was definitely supposed to be home by now, since you realized it had already been over an hour past when you got home. You had the TV set loud, but still loud enough so you could hear his bus, and it usually came right in front of your house. Even if somehow you hadn’t heard him, your brother could still walk inside himself. Plus, he always slammed the door, so there was no reason you shouldn’t have heard him. He’s not home yet, but why? Is his bus late?

        Then, just like that, it was like a light bulb appeared in your mind. Mom must’ve had too many errands and decided to pick him up herself. That makes sense. But how long does it take to go to the grocery store? Like sheesh! The silence was starting to get too unnerving for you, and you wished for company. As if on cue, Rocky walked towards you and sat right in front of you, although there was something… different about him. Sighing, you scratched behind his ear, his favorite spot, for a few minutes, which he seemed to enjoy greatly.

        Suddenly, you got the strangest idea to practice your Taekwondo forms. There was an open field right next door with a hill that overlooked everything! You stopped scratching behind Rocky’s ear and ran up to your bedroom with, Rocky curiously following right behind you. You closed the door before he could get into your room and changed into just your black sports bra and another pair of black super baggy pants with a red outlining. It was impossible to do the moves with your feet not being able to slide, so you didn’t put any shoes on. You grabbed your bow staff with one hand, which was inches taller than your tiny form, and held it right next to you, comparing the height differences. Unfortunately, it only reminded you of how short you were. You grabbed your nunchucks with your other hand and walked towards the door, with the bow staff acting as a walking stick. You opened the door to find Rocky sitting before you, staring up at you in a trance.

        “Come on Rock, move out of the way.” You started walking forward, and it snapped him out of whatever daze he was in because he moved and started to walk behind you.

        You then went out the front door and locked it so Rocky couldn’t get out, which he almost did. You admired the beautiful day again, which was just as nice and clear as when you first arrived home. Why do I feel as if this is the last time I’ll ever see it? You ignored it because it just made the weather that much more beautiful. You absolutely loved nature. You finally focused on the task again and ran to the hill. Once you reached the hill you set your weapons down, deciding to do your non-weapon forms first. With one of your favorite orchestra songs, Dragon Dances, in your head, you started. You moved with the beat of the music in your head, letting your motions flow in fluidly. You showed more power and perfection when you started to feel the competitive stress of being watched intently, like judges at one of your competitions. You didn’t worry about this feeling because you had been used to it for so long, you merely played the song in your head a little louder as you continued practicing. 

        After about 30 minutes you returned home, only to discover that still no one had returned. Why isn’t anyone home yet? When Rocky noticed you were home his head shot up from his bed and stared at you. Before doing anything else you decided to go to your room to change. Rocky raced past you and entered your room before you even reached your bedroom door. He sat down in front of you and looked up with curious eyes. You glared. “Rocky, out. I don’t give a damn if you care or not, I need to change. It’s called privacy. Come on, out! Now!” He reluctantly obeyed, and you shut the door once he was back in the hallway.

        You changed back into the clothes you had on before, and felt another urge. This time it was to play your viola. You really enjoyed the practice time with your forms greater than most others. So, why not play as well? You  got out your viola, set up your instrument stand, and turned on your TV for background sound. You ran through all of your songs you had for your upcoming concert, and you surprised yourself by playing them fairly well. You barely messed up or missed something, even your vibrato was dead on. Now, it felt like you unlocked some weird talent hidden from you all this time. It felt great. You actually felt some pride now, and a strange sense of confidence that made you cheerful, still distracting you from the feelings of dread.

(Time skip to 7:00)

        It was already time for dinner but still no one was home, so you decided to make something yourself. You decided on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some Doritos on the side and a glass of fruit juice. You then sat in the living room and watched random shows that you like. Your nerves were almost going into overdrive with this perplexing feeling of something not being right. Rocky was making it worse by just sitting down in a corner watching you, not even a little excited about the food you had, which he would always beg for. What is wrong with everything today? Nothing is helping me to calm down. There’s gotta be something that’ll help!

        After eating, you turned the TV off and decided to try something more distracting. You went upstairs and finished your homework, took a shower where thankfully the watching feeling wasn’t there, dried your hair, put it back up, changed into a baggy black wolf shirt and big black fuzzy sweatpants, and headed back downstairs. Rocky kept trailing you the whole time, except in the shower when you literally had to push him out of the bathroom. Is he scared or something? Well I guess he is getting old. That might be affecting his mood.

        It was 9:00 when you turned the TV back on again, still trying to find as many distracting things as possible. Bob’s Burgers or the Cleveland Show should be on. Yes! Those should DEFINITELY help me to relax!!! You loved those shows. they were basically a better, funnier version of what you hear in high school. Seth MacFarlane’s stuff was pretty freaking HELLarious. You grinned happily and flipped to the desired channels, but instead of the ones you were expecting, there was only King of the Hill. You. Hated. That. Show. With all of your life. “WHAT!? AW COME ON, NO ONE LIKES THIS SHOW IT IS SO FREAKING DUMB!! DAMMIT!!!” After your little outburst, you immediately changed the channel. You groaned loudly, Rocky stared at you in amazement as you yelled, and now it seemed like he wanted to laugh his ass off if he could. You glared at him quickly and went to the freezer, grabbed a (Favorite Ice Cream Treat), and started eating it. You sat back down, and while flipping through the many channels, you thankfully found that South Park was on. You checked the ratings to make sure nothing extreme happened and continued watching.

     After the episode was done, you turned the TV off and went back upstairs, Rocky following you, remembering another way to relax. You knew the dangers, but being Friday and not a school night, you were allowed to stay up until midnight; you could do this if you wanted. You turned the TV and Xbox 360 on, found your Xbox controller, and finally pulled out the mother of all games, Skyrim. Skyrim is my favorite game! I could pull an all-nighter with this one! You grabbed and clutched your Skyrim symbol pendant you got for Christmas, and mentally squealed with delight. Rocky was in your room while all this happened, and watched you in bewilderment. You put the game in and waited for the loading screen. You pressed continue, and started playing.

(Time skip to midnight)

     After a few hours that went by fast, you noticed it was midnight, and unfortunately stopped your game. You just defeated Alduin and completed the main quest. But you needed music right now though. A giant frostbite spider had jumped down on your character in a ruin 30 minutes ago and scared the crap out of you, making you yelp and cower. You had closed your eyes, bunched up in a ball, and had quickly felt and pressed the pause button. You had to take a couple minute break before you had the courage to unpause the game and kick its ass. Then, still, you sat there shivering and had gotten as far away from the screen as possible. Rocky was there the whole three hours you were playing, seemingly fascinated with the game, or at least curious to what you were doing. He even gawked at you, shocked, after the spider incident, like he expected you to not fear something as stupid as video game spider. You told him to keep it a secret, obviously, and explained that you had no idea why the hell you were scared in the first place.

     “There’s just something about them that makes me freeze in my tracks. They’re so freaking creepy. This stays a secret, Rocky, OK?” He still sat there, seemingly conscientiously understanding. He is your dog after all, you can tell him anything, right?

        Turning the TV off, you went to your fan, put it on high, and turned off your lights. You climbed into bed, not bothering with blankets since it was too hot for you, and you always got warm too easily. You realized Rocky was still in your room, looking straight into your eyes. It was like he was willing you to go to sleep. You couldn’t take it anymore.

        “Rocky, go. Go on. Get!” He still wouldn’t move. “If you don’t get out of my room, then I can’t go to sleep. So go wait for Mom downstairs or something. Get!” You got up and went to shoo him out of your room, and he walked away and you made sure he went downstairs. You went to your bed, still queasy, and had one continuous thought before you shut your eyes, laying on your left side towards the open window.

        I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen tonight.