Chapter 1:

Light. Flames. Heat. Then Darkness.

Our house had burnt to the ground. But that wasn't all I had lost, I lost everyone dear to me. And that's what set me on the path of revenge. My name is Flair and I was named for the flame that killed everything but the only thing left in Pandora's box, hope.

"The Will of Fire."

I shuddered. It was as if tiny insects were crawling all over my skin and shielding me from the light. The fear, the pain, the memories, "Fire" that word meant everything to me.

"Calm down Flair. Do you hear me?"

I gulped and nodded.

"Good, because in order to become a strong shinobi, you must never look back into the past."

Wrong. I thought. Wrong. I didn't want to become a Shinobi. That simply wasn't my goal. I was a revenge taker. And even if it means taking the devil's fruit, I will go for it.

"Back to The Will. Lord Sarutobi, Lord Fourth, many honorable shinobi have had the Will which means you should shoot for that too."

Ignore, ignore, ignore. It was my instinct to ignore adults. They never had any important things to say.

"Now run along and go play, remember our lesson though. Also, graduation day is in a few months!"

I was out the door before that sentence could be finished. Hurray! I had the rest of the day off to plot revenge! I raced across the lawn and skipped on top of roofs happily thinking about how much fun I would have. Alone.

"NARUTO!"

I hid behind a chimney and peered out. Lord 3th was chewing out Naruto who apparently forgot to pay for ramen. Or ran out of money. That idiot... I thought. I'll just bail him out this time because he took me fishing last week... of course I paid for everything...

"Miss Ayame, you're looking beautiful today. If you wouldn't mind, could I pay for the... err... 23 bowls of ramen Naruto-kun had?"

"Why thank you Flair and sure, if you really want to." Ayame looked so stressed out, she could have taken money from anyone.

So I reached for my wallet and that completely killed my week's budget. Guess instant noodles this week... Lord Third was staring at me the whole time. Probably wondering why I was being so nice.

"Aww thanks!" Naruto looked really happy.

"In return, come with me." I grabbed Naruto and performed a simple transportation jutsu that brought us both onto the roof. Then I kept on running. Naruto didn't seem to care. He was enjoying my company.

Naruto was kinda my closest friend. Not saying that I needed friends in life. He just supported me when I needed help, which was not very often. I usually had to go help him.

"Naruto!" I hissed, while brushing back some ferns that lead us into the mysterious caverns. Naruto had his back turned to me, scanning the area for others.

"All clear." He whispered and crept in after me. The first few steps were in darkness. I didn't really care, my whole life was lived in the dark. It wasn't really living, or dying either. It was just staying alive.

We finally reached the center of the cave. It was still pretty dark, until Naruto opened the hatch door from above. Then light from the thousands of tiny holes we spent our summer drilling, shone into the cave, making it shimmer with brilliance.

"Naruto and Flair! You guys are so late!"

Ugh, it was them again. I was hoping for some peace and quiet just with the two of us. But it seemed like the rest of the children had come along.

"Sorry Ino. I, err, ran into some trouble on the way here… luckily Flair helped me out!" Naruto chuckled.

Ino, Sasuke (This was a surprise because he didn't usually join us) Shino, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Neji, Tenten, Choji, Shikamaru, Ino, Flynne (Hyuuga main branch member, distant cousin of Neji's), Rock Lee, and Akusern Lee (Lee's twin brother, only he knows ninjutsu), were all sitting on the rock in the very middle. Sakura was quietly reading a book, pretending that they didn't exist. She was just like me, enjoying peace and quiet, but loud at times. Except, I saw her a couple of times, hiding around the corner, watching the other kids play. I think she wants to join. Ino and the others enjoyed teasing her for her big forehead. Of course I didn't step in to help her. That was the difference between Sakura and I, she cared, and I didn't.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing pranks, skinny dipping, and karaoke. I didn't join in half the activities. Kids were no fun, they didn't understand much anyways.

…

I walked back by myself. Shadows danced across the streets. There was an occasional shatter of glass and a roar from drunks. Couples walked around, holding hands. This was Konoha. I didn't care much, but this really was my home. I grew up here, even if it was alone. I had learned to swallow my emotions and let all the fury, anger, sadness, out when I was alone. Alone. By the fire. Suddenly, I ran into a man with white hair.

"Oh, isn't it Flair? Thanks for helping out Naruto today. Here, I'll pay you back." The third hokage smiled down at me.

I lowered my head. I knew I should feel honored that the kage was talking to me but once again, I didn't care. "Nah Sarutobi- sama, it's really okay. He's my friend."

Friend… friend…. friend. Did I really just say that? No. I have none of these "friends".

"That's great but I really can't just let a favor go... " Sarutobi paused, looking up as if he was thinking, "so, will you come and visit me sometime? I'll give you a tour of the kage tower. Heard from your uncle that you were interested."

I thanked him and hurried home. There was no need to linger any longer. I may have not acted like I was excited but I was! Seeing everything! That was truly wonderful!

My home was a small apartment room. The lady on my right loved singing opera, and the family on my left had a baby who wouldn't stop screaming/ crying. Life was pretty stressful at times but I grew to just letting it fly by, like all the other events.

"Kotetsu, please stop." I said out loud suddenly, upon entering the living room. "You too Genma. You guys have your own families already, can you just leave me alone?"

Kotetsu ducked out from the kitchen, "Yeah, hokage orders for us to watch you. You live alone, Sarutobi -sama's worried. You were like him when he was young."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Care to tell the story then?"

Genma came out from the showers with wet hair. Ignoring my question, he said, "Plus Flair-bear, we've all grown kinda fond of you." He rubbed my hair and threw back his head, laughing slightly, water splashing over me.

"Yeah, yeah. No need to get all mushy." Most of the time I sounded bored. Everyone had adapted and gotten used to it.

Kotetsu looked at me sadley. "Flair… back then… you were so..-"

I glared at him. "No need to remind me." Even when I seemed mad, I didn't express it.

"We ought to make you into an ice sculpture." He joked, noticing no chance in my expression.

"Kotetsu, shut up." Genma had his sharp eyes on me, analyzing my facial features.

I sat down in the nearest chair. There was a deadly look in my eyes. Oh, one more thing about me; I can not, never, take a joke. I believe that there is always a reason in saying something and then adding a, "Just Kidding."

"You can leave now." My voice was bored again. Not cold, not happy, just nothingness.

Genma grabbed Kotetsu and they jumped out the window after waving slightly.

I sighed and leaned back into my chair. "Ugh, that stupid graduation ceremony is coming up… at least I'll have a jonin sensei to teach me more…" I activated my sharingan. The three red pinwheels spinning. This was a spoil of war. What I had gained from the flames. The enemy. My last name wasn't Uchiha, or neither was I related to them. Me, Flair, was special. Revenge was my path. The same as Sasuke Uchiha's apparently. But I would never fall into someone else's hands, this was my path of revenge. And I will take it seriously.

…

At the Hokage Tower…

"Lord Sarutobi, there's something wrong… it's Flair… she's… her parents… they're not in the ninja databook."

Lord third looked out the window. "Yes, I realize. They… aren't important."

The jonin looked at him in surprise. Then he peered down into the book. "Are you sure? They were citizens of Konoha so-"

Sarutobi walked over to the window. "Enough. I had this conversation years ago already with some other ninja. I don't want a repeat. You got that Gekko? Flair's graduation is tomorrow. I don't want her to be bothered."

"Yes sir."

…

Next chapter coming up. Love who you are.

Best Wishes, ImperialFlair