QUICK LANGUAGE LESSON: Ani-ue and ane-ue means older brother and older sister, chichi-ue and haha-ue means father and mother.


DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS AND PLOTS. I ONLY OWN MY OC AND ANY OTHER OCS.


Lately I been walking walking in circles, watching waiting for something
Feel me touch me heal me, come take me higher.

The Rasmus


In The Shadows

She loves him for as long as she can remember.

They grow up fighting together, rivals (but best friends) for the Clan Head's attention. She wants the Head's attention simply because she is striving to become a kunoichi, a role that is not looked well upon for women of her clan (which she thinks is a stupid tradition). He wants the Head's attention because he is his son, never able to live up to his father's expectations and always shadowed by his eldest brother. She always wonders why he never hates his ani-ue for that―she hates her eldest sister for being the 'perfect' daughter, a daughter that she will never become (nor wishes to be). So she asks him this constantly, but the answer always remains the same:

"Because he is my brother, and because I love him."

She wants to scream at him for this reason. How? How can he love a sibling that he is compared to every single day? She sees the looks that her haha-ue and chichi-ue give her when they think she is not looking and she sees the disappointment in their eyes. They wonder what they did wrong, why she did not follow her ane-ue's footsteps. So she stops viewing them as her parents and only as her guardians but secretly inside her heart, she is jealous. She sees the way his ani-ue treats his siblings―he treats them with love. And times like this, she wonders why she is so different―why her ane-ue hates and avoids her. Why is she not able to become a normal girl, one that braids their friend's hairs and talks about their future husbands? Why does her own family hate her and want nothing to do with her? Then she realizes that there is nothing wrong with her―in fact, she is better than those girls because they do not know what real life is.

So then she realizes that she's better off being a disappointment to her family than being forced to be something she's not.


She is twelve when she takes her first life and he is there afterward, comforting her.

"That m-man, he could have had a family!" She screams into his chest, the image of the dead man fresh in her mind. The blood that splatters onto her face after she stabs him, the scent of said blood. It drives her crazy.

"He probably did." He says.

"I could have killed a father, a husband!"

"You probably did." He grabs her hands and forces her to look at him. "But if you didn't kill him, he would have killed one of us. He would have killed you or me. So in the end, you did what you had to do." She remembers this day in great detail, not only because it is the day of her first kill but because it is the day she starts to view him differently. His red eyes look at her plain brown eyes (hers still filled with tears) and there is a fierce determination within them. "You are a kunoichi of this clan. Don't ever forget this." These words help her come to terms with the dead man. It may take her months before she accepts that she took a life, that she is now a killer (a murderer), but these words help keep her going nonetheless.

But she still cries and he holds her while whispering to her: "I'm here Akari."

She asks the next day why he bothered to help her and he answers her straightforward with a shrug. "You would do the same for me."

She stands there, dumbfounded, not expecting those words. If she is mature or older, she would have understood the meanings behind them. But she is twelve, still immature and easily embarrassed, so she retorts with the first thought that runs through her mind. "No, I won't!"

But she is wrong. Three days later, there is news of his youngest brother's death and she is now the one who does the comforting. She holds him the best she can (because he is so much taller than her) and does what he did for her. She tells him that he is a shinobi, who must be strong for himself and for others. She rubs his back and cries along with him, the pain that radiates from his loss seeping into her.

She never says it will be okay because it will not, and she knows it. So she says the words that she hopes comforts him like it comforted her days ago.

"I'm here Tobirama."

It does not take long for her to see the changes in her friend. He closes himself off to everyone, even his only living brother. She wants to tell him that she still cares for him (that she thinks he is being stupid, that she is still here) but when she sees the coldness in his eyes, she can't help but stay quiet. He scares her and this ultimately puts a wedge in their friendship. They stop talking, yet this is also when she starts to fall for him.

She is 14.

Her heartbeat quickens whenever he is near and she cannot help but feel flustered whenever they talk. She never admits it to herself because if she did, it would ruin whatever semblance to friendship they had. So she pushes these mysterious feelings down, to a place where she will not feel them anymore (not for a few months anyways). Although they still remain friends, it is not the same. There is an awkwardness between them, something that she does not know how to fix (and has nothing to do with her secret). Little by little, she feels as the distance between them gets further and further, to where she thinks there is nothing that she can do to repair their broken friendship. However, when she is 15 it all changes again.

Being a kunoichi in her clan is hard. They are ridiculed, underestimated, and disrespected (she hates it). However, her determination as a kunoichi is tested when a group of five older shinobi confronts her of her job.

"Why do you even bother?" The short one asks her. She just sighs and turns around to face him.

"Because it is my job." She says. "Now if you excuse me, I have somewhere to be." She still bows (she doesn't want to but has to because they are older than her).

But before she can turn around, the leader of the group grabs her arm and looks at her with a sneer. "I don't like that tone of yours."

She pulls her arm away and meets his eyes. "I'm sorry if I came out as disrespectful. However, I must leave."

"To go where?" Another asks. "A mission? Please, as if you can finish something like that without an actual shinobi."

(Deep breaths) She forces a smile onto her face and it is obviously a fake. "I can finish a mission just as well as an average shinobi simply because I am one." She ends with that and turns around (those sexist bastards). What she does not realize is that she just breaks an important rule that all shinobi must never break:

1. Never turn your back towards the enemy.

Someone grabs her hair and pulls her between the two buildings that they are near. They think she is weak, that she does not know how to fight. She grabs the arm of the person who pulls on her hair and with a boost of chakra, pushes him into the wall before punching him in the face (she feels the bones in his nose break under her fist and oh the satisfaction). All at once, the group of men surrounds her and attacks her.

She does not go down without a fight. She manages to knock out two of the men and severely hurt another before she is overwhelmed and pushed to the ground. On reflex, she curls up and protects her head as the men around her kick and attack her (the pain). She stifles her screams because she knows that that is what they want to hear (oh Kami the pain). She keeps her eyes shut in hopes that they will soon end their torment (why won't someone help her?). Tears may run down her face but she remains quiet, and it angers the group even more (how long must she endure?).

Her chest feels as if it is on fire.

(She can't breathe).

She cannot feel her arms.

(Why won't they stop?).

It feels as if knives are digging into her back.

(Why her?).

Suddenly, there are no kicks or punches. She hears the sound of a fist hitting flesh, but she is too scared to look. "S-Stop!" The voice that belongs to the leader begs.

"No." She opens her eyes once to see who came to her rescue (or perhaps they too want to hurt her) but she closes her eyes a second later because of the pain. She does not know how long it takes (although it feels like forever) before she feels a presence next to her. They place their hands gently on her arms but she whimpers in fear of another attack. "You are okay now." They say. "I'm going to pick you up now." She does not respond in fear of the cries she holds back being released. As gently as they can, the person picks her up and oh kami the pain. She cries out and they mutter a curse before taking her to the clan doctor. It is not long before the tendrils of darkness pull her down into the comfort of unconscious bliss, but the image of her savior never leaves her mind. He stands in front of her body with his fist raised, preparing to punch one of her perpetrators. The white of his hair, the red of his eyes―she cannot help but feel safe despite the pain she is in.

He stands by her side as the doctor begins his healing and she hears the guilt in his voice, but she still feels safe because of what he says.

"I'm so sorry but I'm here now Akari. I'm here."

She does not forgive him (at least not yet) but she still smiles in spite of the pain. She grabs his hand and holds on (it drives the pain away). She does not loosen her grip, even when exhaustion hits her.

She does not let go and he doesn't either.


A/N: Welcome to my newest addition to my stories! For new readers, hi! I'm IntoTheDeep (obviously) and this is the fifth story I've written so far. I have one fully completed story and another that will probably end sometime next month (and they're both Naruto so) you guys should go read it if you can! The completed one is a Kakashi/Oc (but be warned, that was my first story and let's just say that the story line and plot are something I'm not quite proud of) and the other mostly completed story is a Tobirama/Oc.

For returning readers (like the ones who already know me) I'M SO SORRY, I SWEAR I WILL UPDATE LOOKING INTO HIS EYES AND THE FATE OF US SOON. I PROMISE. I'VE JUST BEEN SO OVERWHELMED WITH SCHOOL SHIT AND JUST SOME PERSONAL THINGS.

Okay, so this story this story won't be too long, probably around three chapters (four at most). It's another Tobirama/Oc story but OH WELL. My obsession for this man knows no boundaries lol.

I hope you enjoy this story and any future chapters so please do review and follow/fav. this story! It means a lot to me!

Until next time!