A/N: Hola. Call me Bond. Paige Bond.

NAH! :)

Anyway, this is my first story, so please send me constructive critizism? Critizisism? Critisim?

Criticism. Got it.

Btw, this WILL be a romance story, it'll just take a while.

I know I'm starting off a litte quick, making her graduate so soon, but there's a lot of things to cover, so I just decided to go a little faster than I normally do!

If some of you who have quizilla accounts recognize this as my friend Charlie's work, then you're very observant. I was given permission to remake this story and Charlie is even pitching in!

We have some cool characters in store and I hope you all enjoy~!

Read and Review, onegai! :D

Italic= thoughts/dreams/flashbacks


The infant's wails were loud and bounced off the smooth, marble walls.

The maid's pleas for silence fell upon deaf ears as the babe continued to scream louder.

The small woman rocked the child in her arms, attempting to calm her with a tune.

"Rika."

In sheer terror, she turned quickly, yet cautiously, not forgetting the child in her arms.

In the archway of the babe's room, stood the queen, dressed in beautiful red silk with a jeweled crown resting on her head.

Her blue eyes were filled with compassion.

"Lady Arisu!" The maid gasped, "I apologize for her cries! She is uneasy and restless!"

The queen drifted to the smaller woman and held her arms out.

Rika immediately obeyed the unspoken demand and gently laid the babe in Arisu's arms.

Slowly, the child opened her bright, glossy, emerald eyes to stare up at her mother with her bottom lip poking out (evidence of her tantrum).

The queen caressed the child's face with a gentle smile.

The maid stood awkwardly to the side, awaiting orders.

"Rika," Arisu grinned, "you can go back to your quarters."

Not wishing to argue, the servant scurried off with a bow, glancing over her shoulder to see the queen singing a soft tune to her baby, whose eyes were closed in peace.


"Everyone!"

Umino Iruka said loudly, despite the fact that the only one being obnoxiously loud was Naruto.

"I have an announcement!" He said cheerfully.

The spiky-haired blonde stuck his tongue out.

"Boring!"

A vein grew on Iruka's forehead.

"Naruto! BE QUIET! There's a new student today!" He yelled.

So much for his patience.

The blonde raised an eyebrow with obvious curiosity.

There, Iruka smugly smiled, that shut him up.

He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, there's a new student today and I want you all to act your best, okay?" He asked.

"Hai, sensei" was the deadpanned reply from the class.

A little off cue, a girl, perhaps Naruto's height (minus his spiky hairdo) walked into the room. Eyes immediately widened.

She looked like a doll someone had dropped in a bucket of white paint. Her skin, eyes, eyelashes, and hair were all as white as snow. She looked drained of color; a coloring book page that had been forgotten. Her clothes were of a traditional nature, a kimono with baggy sleeves and a skirt with a large 'V' to show her pale legs and wooden sandals that clacked when she walked. She walked to Iruka's side and turned to face the other students with an expression that gave a whole new meaning to the word 'blank'.

"My name is Kotone Kimiko."

No one could process the emptiness in her voice. It was aloof, but.. dead seemed more like it. Unlike the normal student who would add 'It's nice to meet you all', Kotone decided that was all that was needed in her introduction.

"Er, uh, thank you, Kotone. Please take a seat wherever you like" Iruka smiled.

The small girl bowed low to him before walking carefully to an empty desk in the front. All eyes were on her as she sat, her geta* giving one final clack before silence engulfed the room.

She's so weird looking! What is she wearing? Sakura thought, raising an eyebrow.

Who.. is she? Sasuke thought, keeping a straight face.

She's... weird. Naruto thought, his curious, big blue eyes not leaving the pale child.

The class continued like usual. Surprisingly, the girl was the quietest one in the class. Actually, it wasn't too much of a surprise. She didn't take notes, and didn't let her lifeless eyes leave Iruka. It was kind of creepy. When class was dismissed for lunch, she stayed in the room and stared at the board. After Iruka processed the fact that she wasn't moving, he moved to stand in front of her.

"Is there something wrong, Kotone?" He asked.

She looked up to meet his eyes and replied, "No, sensei."

At least she isn't disobedient and impolite like Naruto, Iruka thought positively.

"All right.. Well, if there's anything that's bothering you, you can tell me" He said, turning around before adding, "You should go to lunch."

When he heard no reply, he turned around, only to find that no one was there.


All the gossip at lunch was about Kotone, the new freaky student. Ino complained that she was weird and needed more color in her clothes. Sakura nodded vigorously in agreement. Shikamaru and Choji didn't seem to care. Naruto sat, alone, wondering about his new classmate.

When Kotone herself appeared outside, with no lunch, there were more whispers.

Where is her lunch?

What is she doing?

Ew, look at her!

She's coming this way; move!

The girl kept walking until she reached a patch of what seemed to be unoccupied grass. She lied down and stared blankly at the sky. Hinata, trapped, stood idly close by. Her shy nature stopped her from speaking to Kotone, but she was so close, and she couldn't leave anyway, without being stared at. Mustering up all of her courage (which was not much), Hinata took a timid step towards the pale girl. Kotone immediately turned her head to the side to stare.

. . . . .

Hinata gulped, shaking unconsciously. Kotone stared lifelessly.

"Your eyes are white.."

Hinata gulped again, her trembling beginning to dissolve.

"Y-yes," she stammered, "I-.. I have the B-b-byakugan."

Kotone sat up, causing Hinata to flinch.

"Byakugan.."

"Y-ye-yes."

"Understood."

. . . . . . .

"M-my n-name is Hinata."

"I see."

"W-w-would i-it bo-bother you i-if I s-sat her-... here?"

"No."

Hinata, plopping down on the ground with a soft 'thud', placed her bento box on her lap. Kotone lowered herself back down onto the grass. Not having the courage to talk anymore, Hinata sat quietly and ate her lunch slowly.


Spring came; sakura fell.

Summer came; grass was lush and bright green.

Fall came; leaves turned from green to red, orange, or yellow.

Winter came; snow sprinkled down, and the leaves disappeared.

Then spring came again.

The class had become used to Kotone after a few months. She was herself, and everyone else were themselves.

Nothing changed. Kotone still sat by herself in all of her classes. Hinata occasionally sat with her at lunch, but that was it. Kotone still looked the same, with pale skin, white eyes, and white hair. Her outfits consisted of a copy of the same white kimono everyday. She always wore her pair of geta.

Life continued.


Graduation came from nowhere. One day, they were being introduced to their teacher, and then, they were graduating to become genin.

Hinata fidgeted nervously, pushing her index fingers against each other with a troubled expression. Would she be on Naruto's team? Or would she be with mean people? Perhaps Kotone? Hinata peeked at the pale girl sitting in the front. Kotone Kimiko was very blunt and honest, never lying (which was sometimes a bad thing). When asked questions, she answered so honestly, it was considered rude.

"Do I look okay?"

"No."

"Am I fat?"

"Yes."

"Do I look ugly?'

"No."

"O-oh! So, do I look pretty?"

"No."

"Oh."

But Hinata liked her. A lot. Kotone gave her honest opinion, not caring what others thought. She gave her own opinion without altering it to make others feel better.

Hinata blushed furiously when Naruto entered the room, taking the pale girl off of her mind.


(we all know how the graduation scene goes, so I'm skipping it)


Kotone stood, with no emotion crossing her features. She was standing on the roof of a random building that was most definitely not the academy. To her left were two girls, chatting quietly, but neither of them were old enough to be the sensei. So where was their jounin teacher?

The smallest girl was blonde, with a long braid going down her back. It was tied tightly with a blood red bow that contrasted with her bright blue orbs. Her clothes were tight and colored lightly with a pale green and an unexpected bright red cloth wrapped around her stomach with her Konoha forehead protector on it.

The girl beside the blonde was odd looking. Her green hair was choppy, with random short and long pieces, and her eyes looked like ripples of water. All along her eyebrows were painful looking piercings. Her clothes were darkly colored and her feet were wrapped in white bandages instead of the traditional shinobi shoes. Her forehead protector was wrapped around her forehead behind her green bangs, just like Kotone.

They stood, an awkward tension hanging over them.

Their sensei, an adult most likely, was late. Very late.

"Where do you think they are?" asked the blonde girl.

The green-haired girl shrugged with her odd bony shoulders.

"I don't know. Ditched us, probably."

The awkward tension was back, and the blonde girl distractedly kicked a rock. When it was sent flying, it landed in the hands of what seemed to be a beautiful woman. She crushed the rock in her fist and sent the gentlest smile she could muster to the three girls.

Her hair was pinned up in a lousy, but beautiful bun and her side bangs were tucked behind her ear. Her lips were painted a light pink and she was dressed in a short dress with her flak jacket giving it an odd, but professional look.

The woman reopened her fist and let the dust of the rock go into the air. She bowed politely to her students, her Konoha forehead protector wrapped lovingly and loosely around her neck.

"Hello. My name is Hanako. It's nice to meet you all. I believe I am your sensei. Before we begin, please introduce yourselves along with some things you like and dislike. Perhaps even a goal you have in mind?" Her voice was soft and kind.

The blonde girl, now less tense than earlier, went first.

"My name is Hiromi Sato. I hope we can all become great friends! I, umm, like flowers and I don't really like thunderstorms.. A goal of mine is to become a powerful kunoichi one day!" She bowed sweetly and Hanako-sensei clapped delicately, "How wonderful, Sato-san! I do hope your dream comes true. You, with the lovely green hair, it is, I believe your turn."

The girl scowled at the delicate young woman.

"Fine. My name's Maiko Arakawa. I like potato chips and I don't like tea. My goal is to one day become a famous and all powerful kunoichi that can kick anybody's (curse.)!" Her frowned turned quickly into a satisfied smirk.

Hanako-sensei put a hand to mouth and giggled, "My, my. What a nice dream to aim for. And what about you, dear child?"

Kotone sent her a lifeless stare that didn't hurt her lovely smile.

"My name is Kotone Kimiko. I do not like or dislike anything. I have no goals in mind."

Hanako giggled, "Oh my. No dreams? No loves? No hates? You really are stoic."

Kotone did not react.

"Now that we all know each other, I'll go ahead and explain what we'll be doing," Hanako paused to tuck away some stray hairs behind her ear, "We will be taking a test."

Maiko groaned, "What? A test? We just got here! And right after taking a test!"

Hanako-sensei frowned lightly, "It's necessary to see if you really are prepared for the life of a kunoichi. It's not an easy test, I'm afraid, but it's a test you all need to pass. Understand?"

The three girls nodded and the tall brunette woman giggled happily, "Good. I'll meet you all at the academy tomorrow at six in the morning. Don't be late!"


Kotone returned to her apartment, alone like usual. She walked inside, locked the door behind her, and walked slowly towards the bathroom. Once there, she shed her clothing and looked at herself in the mirror.

Her skin was oddly the same color of her hair and eyes.

White.

Pure white, like fresh, untainted snow. Her straight bangs covered some of her Konoha forehead protector that she had received earlier that day. She untied it and listened with a blank expression as it fell to the ground.

She stepped into her bathtub and sat down slowly into the water. Her white hair fell all around her, looking oddly at peace with all the soap studs surrounding all of the strands.

Her lips, in an odd attempt to show emotion, twitched upwards.

She tossed her head back suddenly, her mouth open in a soundless scream.

Pain. That's all she felt anymore. Unbearable pain that would never fade. Its strength would never falter. It would continue to bring her pain and she would never overcome.

Some force of evil was blocking sound from escaping Kotone's mouth, for her opening mouth released no scream that was itching to escape her throat. She closed her mouth quickly, taking in a gulp of air before looking down into her lifeless reflection in the water.

It sent her an evil grin, mouthing the word that Kotone hated the most.


A/N: Weird ending.. I didn't even expect it! Well, I lie, yes I did, becasue I typed it ;)

I hope you guys liked it and I'd love to hear some comments! '

Read and Review, onegai! ;)

And I'll probably post... Later. I don't know. I'm not good with deadlines... I'd be a horrible manga editor :)