Hotaru Akiko was different. Unlike her peers, she wasn't made for the battlefield. She wasn't built for war.

As matter-of-fact, there wasn't really much she was made for. Very little was known of this young girl who, up until recently, was still falling behind her classmates in the Academy. How she managed to "graduate" was simply down to luck – and nobody would allow her to forget that.

The day began as many days normally did. Hotaru was running late, for reasons she cared not to explain and class had usually begun by the time she stepped through the doors.

What usually followed her presence was a loud series of groans and sighs, proceeded by Iruka quickly regaining control of the class and reprimanding her. It probably wouldn't be long before the head of the school incorporated these daily events into the class schedules.

It would make sense.

As soon as Hotaru found her seat – usually after falling over the other students' bags and feet – she kept her head down, with her notebooks out, just wishing away the hours of the day. Fortunately, for her, she was sat quite strategically at the back of the class, meaning she wasn't the first choice to demonstrate new techniques or speak up in front of the group – that was usually down to Sakura or Ino, two very competitive girls who were clearly trying to attract the attention of another student.

However, this day was to be much different than the others. Today, was exams day.

There was a noticeable mixed reaction in the room. Many students moaned and whined, while a few seemed to have genuine excitement. An all-too-familiar voice piped up – Naruto, she was sure – and declared to everyone that he would, some day, become the village leader: the Hokage.

Hotaru rolled her eyes but waited for instructions. There would be no surprise as to who would pass their tests. The likes of Sakura and Sasuke were obviously destined to succeed. There was also a boy called Shikamaru who was easily one of the smartest in the class – maybe, even the school – and a few other students, who Hotaru couldn't quite remember the names of. To be honest, she didn't particularly care, either.

As names were reeled off a register, students filtered out of the classroom and into another room. Hotaru was one of the first to be called out and the children all snickered to themselves. Even Iruka seemed hesitant to read out her name.

Not much was known about Hotaru, but one thing was universally understood: she was completely and wholly inept when it came to ninjutsu.

Again, the young girl staggered past the other children, clumsily trying to avoid their feet and possessions as she exited the room.

The exam went just as expected and, in less than a minute, she left the room and hastily made her way outside, feeling nothing less than deflated.

"I guess you didn't make it either, huh?" A familiar voice called over to her. It was Naruto, without a doubt. Hotaru blanked him and continued skimming stones over the lake.

Naruto watched the young, white-haired girl tossing each pebble into the water. The angle was perfect and each stone bounced above the surface at least four times. "That's pretty neat. You have to show me how you do that, believe it!"

Still, the girl ignored him.

Refusing to get the hint, the blonde grinned and picked up a stone. "Hey, let me try!" Hotaru paused and waited for the inevitable splash that quickly followed. Without a word, she picked up another two stones and threw one again. Naruto sighed and decided to leave her be – it wasn't like she ever spoke in class anyway.

Just as he turned his back, Hotaru took his sleeve, sliding her hand to his and placed the stone into it before curling his fingers over it. Wordlessly, she tugged him by his elbow to where he was standing and positioned herself behind him, moulding his arm into the correct position.

Naruto said nothing and swung his arm, releasing the stone. It bounced twice and then made a gentle splash. "That was so cool, thank you s-" He turned to find Hotaru, but she had gone. "Weird..." He murmured to himself as he looked all around him but she was nowhere to be seen. He scrunched his nose up in confusion and went to leave too, but not before trying out one more stone.

It was four days since she met Naruto at the lake and, since then, she had overheard people saying how Iruka had graduated him and promoted Naruto to genin level. Something about a scroll being stolen and Naruto helping out Iruka... something like that.

Hotaru shook her head, relieving herself of the thought, as she arrived at the training grounds. It was silent and completely void of anyone.

Right, she thought to herself as she slipped out of her oversized, maroon trench coat. Underneath was a long, sleek katana with a hand-stitched leather handle and a brass tag embedded into it. The writing on the tag was now completely illegible as though it was some decades old.

There, she stood, facing the clearing with a determined face. In front of her, she imagined an opponent, also wielding a weapon akin to her own. They made the first move, and she followed, holding the sword just right before ducking to one side and swinging the blade upwards. She imagined herself evading a downward attack and then she quickly rolled to one side, as though the enemy had quickly regained their composure and was about to attack again. Quickly, with the handle first pressed into abdomen as she crouched, she swung it up, in a stabbing motion, before throwing a high kick at them. The entire imaginary fight was choreographed to perfection.

Suddenly, she stopped, and slipped the sword back into the sheath on her back before feeling around for her coat. Someone else was on their way.

"Those are... some moves." A familiar voice spoke calmly. Kakashi and his team walked over. "I'm sorry, we didn't think you would be here." He added, clearly with something on his mind.

"That was AWESOME!" Naruto exclaimed, wide-eyed, before being quickly reprimanded by Sakura.

So this is where Naruto ended up? With the son of the White Fang and the...Uchiha? Hotaru paused momentarily, feeling a cold air around them. Definitely the Uchiha. "I was just leaving." She replied in a short tone, before Kakashi stopped her. He had read all about the academy students and her profile had been one of the few to really stand out to him.

"No," he said in a measured tone. "You were here first, we'll let you be." He turned on his heel and shot Naruto a look before he said anything. Hotaru said nothing and simply stood still, with her gaze fixed to the ground, as though she was just waiting for them to leave... But Kakashi had another idea.

In one swift motion, he shot a kunai from his bag, aimed just a few centimetres from Hotaru so, worse-case scenario, it would go straight past her...

But it didn't.

Without even a moment's hesitation, Hotaru spun around and caught the fast-flying weapon perfectly by its handle.

Silence filled the grounds. Kakashi and his team just stared, collectively astonished.

Naruto was easily the first to break the tension in the air. "Where the heck did that come from?!" He exclaimed, his mouth still agape. The rest of the team simply stood, as though they were expecting a response. Instead, Hotaru just walked past, handing the kunai back to Kakashi.

"As I said, I was just leaving." With that, Kakashi took her by the arm.

"Stay?" It almost sounded like an order. Kakashi was intrigued now and had an idea. "You have skill... that much is clear. I have a proposition for you."