The Sandaime sighed. This was a frustrating situation indeed. In the chair in front of his desk was a little 5-year-old girl with sun-kissed blond hair, cerulean blue eyes, whisker marks on her cheeks, and wearing nothing but an old t-shirt that was four sizes too big for her.

"Sora," he said calmly, "are you sure that the orphan matron won't let you back into the orphanage?" The little girl nodded. "Yes, Ojiji. She even burned most of the stuff I own which isn't much. She said that I was the reason nobody was going there to take the other kids home." She said sadly, hanging her head.

The Sandaime sighed once again. He was going to have to have a talk with the matron soon. But for now, he needed to find a place for Sora to stay where people will let her. Suddenly, an idea came to his head. If it worked, he would be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

"Sora, would you come with me, I'd like you meet someone." Sora nodded and followed the Sandaime out the door.

Walking down the streets of Konoha, Sora looked up at the old man and asked, "Ojiji, who are we going to see?" The Sandaime said, "You see, there is this little girl about a year older than you. Her name is Tenten. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father died recently on a mission, and has no other relatives. Normally, she would have to be sent to the orphanage, but she refuses to go. She promised her father to take care of their apartment, and she won't let anyone else do it."

"So why are we going to see her?" Sora asked. The old man gave a warm smile, "You'll see."

They soon arrived at a decent looking apartment door. The Sandaime knocked on the door a few times and waited. It was soon opened by a girl, Tenten, Sora assumed. She had brown hair in two cute little buns, matching brown eyes, and a red Chinese-style dress. "Hello?" she said, "Oh! Hokage-sama!"

"Hello, Tenten-chan." Sandaime said, "I came here to talk, may Sora and I come in?" "Huh? Oh, yes of course, Hokage-sama." Tenten opened the door wider, letting the Hokage and Sora in. "You sure she's only a year older than me? She acts a lot older." Sora said to the Sandaime as they sat down in the living room. "Hey! I heard that!" Tenten said, "I'm just trying to be polite." The Sandaime chuckled, "Oh, you don't need to be so formal. You only get to be young once, after all."

"Now, the thing I wanted to talk to you about concerns Sora here," he continued, "She has recently been….expelled….from the village orphanage. I also know that you can't live here on your own." the two girls nodded, asking him to continue. "So, I will make you a deal. If you allow Sora to stay here, I will let you keep the apartment and even pay the rent and bills until you two are old enough to tend to yourselves."

"You mean it?" Tenten said, eyes sparkling. "REALLY?!" Sora exclaimed, eyes also sparkling. "Ha ha ha ha, yes I mean it." The ancient Hokage laughed. He was then glomped by two very happy girls. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"You're very welcomed." He said, giving the girls a squeeze before setting them down on the floor. "So, Sora," Tenten said, turning to her new roommate, "You have anything you need to get?" "Nope, this is all I have!" Sora replied, spreading her arm, indicating her shirt. "That's all? Well, we'll just have to go shopping for new clothes and stuff tomorrow." Sora pouted, "But I have no money……"

The two girls suddenly had an epiphany, and smirked evilly. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" "Oh yes…" they then turned to the Saindaime, who was beginning to wonder what they had thought. "Hokage-sama…" "Ojiji…" Both Tenten and Sora then used the two most lethal weapons known to man…..The Puppy Eyes and The Quivering Pout. "Will you pweeze give us some money?"

Now, not even the Sandaime, known as the Professor for his knowledge of every jutsu in Konoha, has a known defense for these techniques. Add that they were cute and little, which multiplies the effect, and that there were two of them, he instantly caved.

"Gah! Wha? Nah! Eeeerrr…..fine," he grumbled, handing them a token, "This emblem will let the shop-keeps know to send the bill to me, so that I will pay." After taking the token, the two girls smiled sweetly at him, "Thank you, Ojiji," "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"You better be." The Sandaime said, crossing his arms. He started to think introducing the two to each other was a bad idea, and costly. "But it is late, so you two should get to bed. I guessing that you will have a busy day tomorrow."

"Hai, hai! So, where am I sleeping?" Sora asked Tenten. "Well, I'm sleeping in the bigger bed, so you can have my old bed." "Why do you get the bigger bed?" "Because I'm older, bigger, and I was here first!" "I should get the bigger bed!" "No I get it!" "No me!" "No, me!" This fight continued, as the Sandaime slipped out. No need for him to get involved. Eventually, the argument led to the bedroom, then a pillow fight, and the girls falling asleep, Sora, the winner, lying criss-crossed on top of Tenten.

--

7 YEARS LATER

"……..Sora……."

"Ngh."

"Sora Uzumaki, it's time to get up."

"Ngh…five more minutes….."

"No Sora, now."

"No, go away."

Sigh, "Fine." Then a bucket of ice water splashed a sleeping Sora. She sat up instantly, shivering and wet, glaring at her roommate. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

Tenten sighed, "You wouldn't get up. Now get changed, you're going to be late for the Genin Exams."

"GAH! Why didn't you say that in the first place?!" Sora yelled, getting out of bed and getting out of her PJs and into some clothes, skipping the shower as she was already wet.

"I did, but you didn't wake up." Tenten said, holding a bowl of ramen, "Here's your morning ramen…" A blur sped past and the ramen bowl disappeared, but Tenten simply held out her other hand and expertly caught an empty bowl.

"ByeI'llbehomeaftertheexamwishmeluckbye!" Sora said as she raced out the door. Tenten sat down at the table and started her own, slower paced breakfast, savoring the quiet before having to meet up with her team and an overly energized sensei and teammate.

--

AT THE ACADEMY

Sora finally made it to the Academy, with five minutes to spare before the exam. She was an orange t-shirt that exposed her mid-drift and had a reddish-pink heart with a silver boarder on the front (Think heart container from Legend of Zelda), and doing nothing to hide her ample (for a 12-year-old) chest. She also wore blue jeans that were tight enough to accentuate her curves, but not tight enough to restrict movement, and fingerless gloves. Her hair was in two pig tails that went down to her shoulders. And for good luck and confidence, she decided to wear her orange thong. Big mistake.

"Wheeeweeeet!" whistled Kiba Inuzuka. "Looking fine today, Sora-chan!" Sora glared at him, "Fuck off, dog-breath." "Rather I did it to you." He shot back with a lecherous grin. He was the greeted by a barrage of shuriken and kunai, which he barely dodged. Unfortunately, he did not have time to dodge the knee to his groin, curtsy of Sora Uzumaki.

And that is when Iruka Umino, their sensei, decided to walk in. "Sora," he said calmly, getting her attention as Kiba tried to crawl away, only to have her kick his side, "Why are you beating up Kiba?" "He was harassing me and being a perv." Sora said, as if it was obvious. "Kiba?" "Hey, it's not my fault she hot! I'm only a guy, after all….." Kiba groaned, earning him another kick. Iruka sighed. "Well, since it is Kiba, again, I'll overlook it this time. Hopefully, it will be the last time I will have to deal with you two. Now, sit down everyone. I will have a written test to begin with, and then I will call you one by one to the other room to test to test your skill in the Bushin No Jutsu."

Sora visibly paled. Bushin No Justsu?! That's her worst technique!

After the written portion and after several other people have been called, Sora was called to perform the Bushin. 'Ok, Sora,' she thought to her self, 'Just breath, concentrate, and most importantly, DON'T SCREW UP!' "Ok! Here's the perfect Bunshin!" She shouted, performing the seals and executing the jutsu. After the smoked cleared, one sickly bushin laid next to Sora. Sora paled again.

"YOU FAIL!" Iruka said. "Say, Iruka," said Iruka's assistant Mizuki, "Why don't we just pass her? I mean, this is her third time, and she actually made a clone this time…."

"No, Mizuki. The rules are clear. Even if she aced the written test, which I doubt, she had to make three clones. She only made one, badly, if I may add. I'm sorry, but she'll just have to try next year."

Sora world was nearly torn apart. As the others who had passed were congratulated by their parents, she sat on the swing on the playground. Two mothers whispered to each other, just within her hearing range, "Say, isn't that….?" "Yeah, the only one who didn't pass." "Good thing to. Could you imagine what would happen if they let her be a ninja, I mean, think of what she is…?" "Shush, we aren't supposed to talk about it."

"Hey, Sora…" Sora turned to see Kiba standing next to her. "Sorry you didn't pass." Sora looked to the ground. "Hey I have a good idea to cheer you up!" Sora looked back at him, curious. "How 'bout you and me go back to my place? My parents and sister aren't going be around and….." he never got to finish the sentence as Sora stood up and slapped him, hard, across the face. Sora then turned and headed home, leaving Kiba to wither in pain on the ground.

--

As Sora walked back, she was intercepted by Mizuki. "Mizuki-sensei!" "Hello Sora. You know, you shouldn't be mad at Iruka, he's only doing his job." "I'm not mad at Iruka, I'm mad at Kiba! He tried to hit on me again." Mizuki chuckled. "Should've known. But still," he said with a sad smile, "Iruka's only hard on you because he knows what it's like with out parents; he's only trying to make you stronger." Sora looked away and said, "Yeah, but I really wanted to be a kunoichi….." An evil glint appeared in Mizuki's eye, going unnoticed by Sora. "Well then, I guess I have no other choice….."

--

LATER THAT NIGHT

Sora stealthily crepted into the Hokage Mansion, avoiding the guards and traps. 'This is too easy. Security here sucks!' she thought. Suddenly, a voice came from behind her, "What are you doing in my house in the middle of the night?" Sora froze. The old man caught her! So much for being easy. But she was prepared. "Orioke no Jutsu!" And with that, the Sandaime was sent flying back wards by a stream of blood from his nose, knocking him out cold. 'And Iruka said that was a useless jutsu.' Sora smirked as she continued her mission.

Shuffling through the Mansion Library, Sora found what she was looking for. 'Jackpot!' she thought as she picked up the scroll that was almost her height and took off to the spot Mizuki told her to go.

ELSEWHERE…….

Tenten was heading over to Iruka-sensei's house. Sora hadn't come home and she was getting worried, so she'd ask Iruka if he might know or help. Turning the corner, she saw Mizuki knocking on Iruka's door. When he answered, Mizuki said, "Iruka! It's Sora! Somehow she found out and stole the Forbidden Scroll!" Tenten was shocked. Why would Sora do that? She had to find her before the Chunins, heck, even the ANBU did. Tenten ran off to find Sora while Mizuki and Iruka ran to the Hokage Tower to get the briefing.

WITH SORA….

Sora was sitting in the middle of the woods, looking at the scroll she took. The first jutsu in the scroll was the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. 'Man, my least favorite jutsu and it's popping up everywhere!' none the less, Sora went to work.

A FEW HOURS LATER

Sora was huffing and puffing from her hard work when a shadow loomed over her. Looking up, she saw a very peeved Tenten. "Oh! Hey Tenten. Erm, sorry of not heading home right away, I……"

"Oh, Sora, can it!" Tenten said sternly. Sora looked like a puppy being scolded. "This has to be the worst prank you ever pulled off! Graffiting the Hokage Monument, that was horrible! Using the Orioke No Jutsu on Iruka-sensei, a little funny," Sora grinned. "But extremely stupid!" Back to scolded puppy. "But this? This has to be the lowest, most….juvenile thing you ever done! I mean, what possessed you to steal the Scroll?"

"That is what I'd like to know." Sora and Tenten turned around to see Iruka himself standing not far from where they were. "Well, Sora? How do you plea?"

Sora stood up, not getting what was going on. "Hey, Mizuki said that, that if I got this scroll, learned one jutsu from it, and showed it to you, you'd let be a kunoichi." "Sora, you failed again?!" "Yeah, but that's not the point, Ten-chan…." "Don't you 'Ten-chan' me! You know how much trouble you're in?"

'Mizuki?' Iruka thought. Suddenly, Iruka sensed danger, and pushed the two girls away. Which was good, as the kunai that was aiming for the three of them missed the two and did minimal damage to him.

"Didn't think you'd find her so fast, Iruka." mocked Mizuki from a branch above them. "Sora! Tenten! Don't let Mizuki have the Forbidden Scroll! He tricked you so he could have it for himself!" Sora stared at Mizuki while Tenten readied one of her weapon scrolls. "Sora," Mizuki said, "Just give me the scroll. Even if you read it, there is no way you'd ever comprehend the power in it. One jutsu in it has great influence on your…secret."

Sora was confused. "Secret? What secret?" There was no way anyone found out about those Icha Icha Paradise books she has under her floorboards, not even Tenten! So what was he talking about? "Mizuki! You know that it's forbidden to talk about it!"

"About what!?" Tenten said, not liking where this was going. Mizuki said, "Oh, neither of you two would know, as the fool Sandaime passed a law saying we adults couldn't talk about it, but seeing as you won't be living very soon, I think I can adjust the rules."

"You see, the Yondaime didn't kill Kyuubi No Kitsune, like we taught you in the Academy." "What? But, but, of course he did, what else could he have done?" asked Sora. "Simple," Mizuki replied, "He sealed it, inside of you, Sora Uzumaki."

Sora froze. Kyuubi…..was sealed…inside of her? So the glares, the whispers, the taunts, the rejection…..was all because of this? "Yes, that is the reason everyone hates you! I'd bet that even noble Iruka would admit it if he had the guts!" Mizuki then through a giant shuriken at Sora, who was still in a daze.

Thunk! Sora was on the ground, but the shuriken did not hit her. Looking up, she saw Iruka over her, the shuriken in his back. "I know… your pain, Sora," he said, tears flowing down his cheeks, "I know how much it hurts, not having parents to love you. I just wish I was a better teacher."

Sora stared at him, then got up and faced Mizuki. "True, you may," She said, "But I still have family, my friend Tenten." Tenten looked at her, a small blush on her cheeks. "And I will defend her and you, Iruka-sensei! TAJU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

The section of forest filled with blond girls, surrounding Mizuki, who looked like he was about to soil himself. The smack-down commenced.

By the time it was over, Mizuki was left a bloody pulp. "Heh, guess I went a little over board……" "Hey, Sora." Sora looked at Iruka. "Come here and close your eyes." She did as instructed. "Ok, you can open them." When she did, Iruka's hi-ate band was gone. Feeling her head, she felt the band on her forehead.

"Congratulations, graduate, for learning and mastering a Jonin rank justu and defeating a Chunin ranked enemy. You are now an honorary member of the Konoha ninjas." Iruka was then tackled by an overjoyed Sora. 'Guess the speech will have to wait.'