An Almost Silent Love

by animarune

DISCONTINUED. I'm an 11 year old chuunin who just moved to Konohagakure from Kirigakure. My only friend is Naruto, whjch seems to confuse Sakura. I'm grateful to Sasuke for saving my life, but he doesn't seem to care. He hides his emotions all the time. I'm kind of like him, but not out of choice: I don't talk, and haven't for three years.

An Almost Silent Love

I ran as fast as I could through the down-pouring rain. My bare feet slapped against the pavement painfully. My right ankle was killing me, and I could swear I was leaving a trail of blood behind me. Not that anyone could see it with the rain coming down so hard. I had to hold my left shoulder while I ran, to try and stop the bleeding of the deep wound I had there. My light brown hair was made dark from the rain and my cloak was getting heavy from the water.

I only had a dark blue skirt on with black leggings on underneath, a tight purple T-shirt, and my sleeveless cloak. My cloak was brown and had a large hood, which I gave up on wearing because the wind kept blowing it off. No use trying to keep my hair dry when it was already soaking wet.

I started to look at the houses to see if anyone could help me. None of them had any lights on, so I kept running. Then, at the end of the street, I saw a really large house with at least two lights on.

I ran hurriedly up to the door and pounded on it frantically with both fists, clenching my teeth against the pain in my shoulder and right cheek. I banged at least three times. One of the lights flicked off and I banged another four times, getting more panicked than I already was.

When no immediate answer came, I leaned on the door with my forearms still against it, hung my head and began to cry silently. Though my crying was silent, it was still very hard.

I was about to collapse to my knees when the door swung open. I, leaning against said door, fell over since it was no longer there. I landed on my hands and knees painfully.

Not thinking straight, I got up and closed the door. Locking it, I leaned against the door, with my left hand still on the lock, and my right forearm above my head, trying to stop crying.

After about a minute, I gave up and turned to face the one who opened the door. It was a boy a bit older than me, with onyx eyes, raven black hair, a blue shirt and white shorts. I tried to stand up straight.

My vision went blurry and I collapsed, falling on the boy. I was out before I felt the impact.

Someone's POV

I was ready for bed and was about to turn the lights out, when I heard a rapt knocking on the door. I turned my bedroom light off and started to walk towards it.

Right after I turned it off, there was another four bangs on the door, this time harder. I ran to the door, (I was on the other side of the hall) and opened it quickly.

The person who knocked must have been leaning against the door, because as soon as I opened it, she fell to her hands and knees. She stood up quickly and slammed the door shut. She locked it and then leaned on the door, her hand still on the deadlock.

I was about to yell at her when something caught my eye. I looked to the floor where her feet were, 'She isn't wearing shoes?' I thought. That wasn't what had caught my eye though. Amid the water on the floor from her dripping cloak, a small pool of blood was beginning to form. It was dripping down from her ankle. I looked back to her hand. Blood was dripping from it also.

She's been attacked.

Just then she turned around, still leaning against the door. I studied her a bit. She was wearing a purple T-shirt, a blue skirt and black leggings. She was also holding her left shoulder. I guessed that there was a wound there.

My sights rested on her eyes and I took a small step back. Her eyes were just like mine. Just like mine when it happened...

She tried to stand up straight. I watched as her eyes clouded over. She fell forwards and I caught her before she hit me. I laid her down on the floor and checked her wounds. There was a deep gash where she had been holding her arm, and her ankle's wound was similar.

She must have passed out from either loss of blood, or exhaustion. I picked her up bridle style, put my sandals on, and went out into the down-pouring rain. I forced chakra to my feet as I ran to the hospital.

Girl's POV

I woke up with a start. Remembering what happened, I put my right hand on my shoulder. I was surprised to find that it was bandaged. I opened my eyes slowly as they adjusted to the bright lights.

Moving my head, I looked around the room. Judging by the colour and the other two beds beside mine, I realised I was in a hospital. It was a plain white room with another bed on either side of mine. On the left side of my bed was a nightstand with my clothes and ninja forehead protector on top.

I sat up slowly, making sure not to move my arm too much. There was a small but sharp pain in my right arm. I looked to see a needle taped to my skin. Following the tube attached to it, my sight landed on a bag half full with blood.

'Oh.' I thought. 'I guess I lost a lot of blood... But how long was I out? Who brought me here?'

Just then a doctor walked in. "Oh, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" He asked as he walked over to the bag.

I looked at him and pointed with my left index finger to the needle in my arm. 'Please, take it out!' I thought. He says anything so I shrugged my shoulders in an answer to his question.

"I'm Dr. Minakawa. But you can just call me Doctor if you'd like. What's your name?" He asked as he tapped the bag a bit.

I couldn't answer him. I lifted the covers off of me and slid my legs over to the right side of the bed. The blood bag was hanging on a hanger-like pole with wheels, so a patient could walk around the hospital and still get the blood they needed.

I held on to the pole as I stood up, using it for balance. I began to woble a bit so Dr. Minakawa took my right arm to help steady me.

"Careful now, I presume your right ankle still hurts?" He inquired. I nodded my head. I soon found my balance and was standing up straight. "Do you want to go to the front desk?"

I nodded quickly and he led the way there. Behind the desk was a nurse presumably in her twenties with short brown hair. I walked up to the desk, pulling the pole with me, and took a pen and paper.

Dr. Minakawa. My name is Shiratori, Yuki. But you can call me Yuki.

After writing this on the paper, I handed it to him. He read it and asked, "You don't speak?" I shook my head no and he handed back the paper.

I don't want to explain why, so please do not ask. But, may I ask who it is that brought me here?

I handed it to him and he said, "I understand. And a boy about your age named Uchiha, Sasuke brought you here." He paused. "I have to say I was quite surprised to see him carry you in here. Do you mind telling me what happened?" He asked, handing me back the paper.

I hesitated before writing.

I'm sorry, but I really don't wish to think of it.

This time he read over my shoulder after seeing me hesitate. He nodded in understanding and I wrote,

Do I really need the blood bag?

He chuckled and said, "No. I think you've used it enough. Why?" He asked and bent over to look at what I was writing.

I wanted to know because I wish to speak with the Hokage...

"Oh, I see. Well, hand me your arm for a second." I did as told and he undid the tape and slowly pulled out the needle. "I'll let you go, but you have to come back for a check up later. And don't overexert yourself please. No need to re-open your wounds."

I smiled and nodded. I went back to the paper and asked,

Do you have a note pad I may borrow? Oh, and a pen, please?

He chuckled again and said, "Nurse, do you have a note pad Yuki-chan may borrow? And a pen, please?"

"Why, yes, of course Doctor." She said and rummaged through one of the drawers. A few moments later she pulled out a light blue notepad and a black coloured pen. She handed it to me and smiled kindly.

I smiled back and wrote, Thank you. And showed it to both of them.

"Do you need someone to show you where the Hokage's office is?" Dr. Minakawa asked. I shook my head and showed him the 'Thank you.' note again.

"Well, I'll see you when you come back for a check up. Don't forget okay?" He said. I nodded my head and went back to my room to change.

Thankfully, the clothes were nice and dry. I didn't bother to put the cloak on after looking out the window. After putting my clothes on, I tied my forehead protector around my neck and, holding my notepad to my chest, I walked out of the hospital.

I breathed in the fresh summer air and smiled to myself as I walked towards the Hokage's office building. 'I'll have to ask him if he can send someone to get my shoes from my home.' I thought as I looked at my bare feet.

When I got there, I walked in and looked around. Which hallway was it again? Oh. I turned right and counted the doors. I took one on the right that led to a staircase. At the top of the stairs, I went right and counted the doors again. When I got to 14th door on the left, I checked the front of the door and looked for the word 'Hokage'. Sure that I was at the right door, I knocked.

"Come in." Came the Hokage's voice from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and bowed. After straightening up again I closed the door and walked up to his desk.

Good morning, Hokage-sama.

I showed it to him and he said, "Ah, I remember you. You came her last week with your parents right?" I nodded and then looked at the floor. "I heard what happened. How are you feeling?" He asked.

Hesitating again, I wrote, I'm feeling rather depressed actually. I do not wish to go back to my house. I fear I may fall apart. So I was wondering if you knew where else I could stay.

"I understand how you feel. And I think you should be put on a team. But there are no open chuunin places for you..." He said after I showed it to him. "Do you mind if you're put on a team of genin?" I shook my head no. "Hmm..." He said as he sucked on his pipe.

"Come by again tomorrow. I have a meeting soon and need to prepare. Tomorrow we'll discuss which team you will be put on and where you will stay. Right now I think you should stay in the hospital."

I nodded and wrote, Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will see you tomorrow then.

I showed it to him. He nodded and I bowed again, and then went to leave. Just before I opened the door he said, "You should stop by Ichiraku's. They sell very delicious ramen there. I'm sure it will cheer you up a bit."

I turned around and smiled, bowed one last time and left. Once outside I headed towards Ichiraku's, after checking that I had money. 'I think I have more than enough to buy a few bowls...' I thought.

I took a seat beside a blonde boy in an orange jumpsuit. The chef came out and asked, "Well, hello there Naruto-kun! What would you like this time?"

"Beef with extra noodles, please!" The boy, apparently named Naruto, shouted.

I smiled at his enthusiasm and the chef asked me the same thing.

I'll have what he's having, please. I wrote and showed it to him.

He seemed a bit confused for a second and then nodded. "Sure thing!" He said and went to go and prepare our meals.

"Hello, I'm Uzumaki, Naruto! What's your name?" Naruto asked, turning towards me.

Shiratori, Yuki. Nice to meet you Naruto-san.

I showed him what I wrote. "Hm? How come you don't talk?" He asked curiously.

This Naruto kid seems nice. I don't feel as sad as before.

I haven't talked in three years. Please don't ask why, though.

He read it and said, "Three years without talking? Wow, I think I'd die! Not telling anyone how I feel! But I won't ask, Yuki-chan!" He gave a goofy smile and I couldn't help but smile back.

Wow. You're so kind, Naruto-san!

"Thank you, Yuki-chan! But you don't have to call me, 'San' you know. Just Naruto is fine." He said, still smiling.

Hm... Naru...kun... Naru-kun! Is that alright?

He read that and laughed. "Yeah, but I've never heard that before! 'Naru-kun.' Hahah! That's funny, Yuki-chan. Call me whatever you like." I smiled again and the chef came back with our ramen.

Naruto broke his chopsticks and shouted, "Itidakimasu!" And began eating.

'Itidakimasu.' I thought and did the same.

"You like it, Yuki-chan?" He asked in between slirps. I nodded enthusiastically. We both finished eating about five minutes later and he asked for another bowl. I did too.

He ate about three bowls and I two and when we were all finished, we paid and sat there talking.

"So, how come I haven't seen you around? I mean, you must be a genin like me, right? Actually, you look younger than me!" He said.

Uh... I am younger than you. I'm 11. You haven't seen me around because I just moved here. But I'm not a genin. I wrote.

"Huh? Then, how come you have a forehead protector? Aren't they only for ninjas?" He asked, confused.

Oh. I never said I wasn't a ninja. I'm just not a genin. I took the chuunin exams last year and I passed...

I watched as his jaw dropped. "You passed? You're a chuunin? Wait, when did you become a genin?" He asked.

Uh... I was a genin for about 2 years so... I think I was 8.

"Are you serious? Wow! That's awesome, Yuki-chan!" I smiled. "So what's your team like?" He asked.

I'm not on a team yet. Hokage-sama says I need to come by tomorrow to find out which one I'm on. He says that I'm going to be put on a team of genin because there's no open teams for me with the chuunins right now...

"That's weird..." He said and I nodded.

Well, I should get going. Sorry, Naru-kun. Dr. Minakawa told me to be back before 8pm. and I wanted to look around Konoha first.

"Doctor? Why, what's wrong?" He asked, worried.

Oh... Uh, I was sent to the hospital last night due to my injuries... I don't really want to think about it Naru-kun... Sorry.

"Oh, okay! Do you want me to show you around?" He asked. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, writing, Sure.

"Okay. Let's go! I'll bring you to the training grounds!" He said and took my hand, pulling me out of my chair. We half jogged towards the grounds. When standing the top of my head just reached past his nose. I smiled.

'Wow. Naru-kun certainly is energetic. And he's so kind! ...Mom would be so happy for me...that I had made such a friend as Naru-kun...' I thought and slowed down to a walking pace. 'Mom... Dad... Where are you? Are you both happy...where you are? Are you together?' I thought sadly. As tears started to form in my eyes I stopped walking.

"What's wrong Yuki-chan?" He asked, looking back at me. When he saw my expression he asked again in a more worried tone, "What's wrong?"

I sniffed and rubbed the tears away before they could spill over. I didn't want to cry in front of him. He's so happy. I shouldn't make him worried!

"Naruto! What did you do to her? You baka! You made her cry!" I heard a female shout from ahead of us. I looked to see a girl with long pink hair and a red dress with shorts under it standing in front of us.

"S-Sakura-chan! I didn't do anything! Honest!" Shouted Naruto hurriedly. I looked back at him to see he was a bit scared. I looked at the pink haired girl, obviously named Sakura, and saw why. She looked furious!

I stepped in front of Naruto and shook my hands in front of me, as if to say, 'No! No! You've got it all wrong!'

I quickly wrote down, I was just thinking of something that happened to me! It isn't Naru-kun's fault! and ran up to her and showed it to her.

Just like the chef at Ichiraku's she seemed a bit confused. I pointed to the writing and she read it.

"Oh, I see..." She said.

I wrote, Hi, my name is Shiratori, Yuki. What's yours?

"Haruno, Sakura. Nice to meet you Yuki-chan. When did you meet Naruto-kun?" She asked.

Pleased to meet you too, Sakura-chan. I just met him at Ichiraku's. How about you? I asked.

"Oh, he's my teammate. You're a ninja too, right? Who're your teammates?" She asked.

"She isn't on a team yet, she just moved here last week." Naruto answered for me, saving me from having to write it again. I nodded.

"Really? Where're you from?" She asked.

Mist. The Village Hidden in the Mist. I answered and showed her.

"Mist? Cool. Well, Yuki-chan, I have to get going. It was nice to meet you. And, Naruto-kun, don't forget we have training tomorrow at 3pm. okay!" She said as she started walking away.

I waved and Naruto shouted his goodbye. He then said, "Okay, now do you wanna go to the training grounds? Oh, I know, I'll take you to the one where we're supposed to go to tomorrow! Then you can come and watch us! Well, I mean, if you want to."

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. Naruto, taking that as a 'Sure,' took my hand again and we began to head, once again, towards the training grounds.

When we reached them, we both hopped the fence and I looked around. Something black and shiny caught my eye and I looked towards it. Naruto followed my gaze and we headed over towards it.

As we got closer, I noticed that there was writing engraved into the stone. I kneeled down in front of it and read a few of them. 'They're names... But whom do they belong to?' I thought.

"Kakashi-sensei told us on our first day of training that these are the names of heroes. I was so excited and shouted that I wanted my name to one day be carved into it. He seemed sad and said, 'Naruto... They aren't those kinds of heroes. These are the names of heroes who have fallen.'" Naruto explained.

I turned my head sharply to look at his face when he said, 'Fallen.'. I looked at his eyes and noticed that behind his silly smile at the memory, he was sad. Maybe he feel's foolish, that he had shouted, 'My name's going to be on the stone someday!'... I wonder what he's thinking right now.

I looked back at the stone. I read some of the names and after a while I hung my head. I said a small prayer for all the people whose names were engraved into the memorial.

Naruto did the same and then stood up, holding a hand out to me. I took it and he helped me up. I smiled in thanks and we walked away.

Somehow, the date of my birthday popped into my head and I wrote in my notebook,

Naru-kun, when's your birthday?

He laughed a bit at the random question. "In a few months... Why? When's yours?" He asked.

Next Friday... I was wondering if maybe I could spend the day with you then...? I don't have any friends to spend it with... And... My parents...

I wrote slowly and handed it to him, looking away.

"Your parents...?" He started but caught himself as he saw my shoulders stiffen, figuring I didn't want to talk about it. He asked a different question. "Really? You don't have any friends?" I shook my head and he stopped walking.

I looked back up at his face and stopped as well. "Are you serious?" He asked, his face had a dead serious expression. I nodded slowly, not sure why he was so serious. "That's terrible! You basically need friends to live! As of now, I am officially, your friend! Alright?" He said, holding out his hand.

I looked into his eyes and saw that he was still being serious. I looked at his hands and thought, 'Friends... Friends with someone like Naru-kun? Definitely!' I smiled and took his hand, shaking it.

After we were done I wrote on my pad, Let's be friends forever, Naru-kun!

"Of course, Yuki-chan! Friends forever!" He shouted. I nodded quickly and would have shouted the same thing as him if I wanted to talk. Wrapped up in the 'Friends' thing, I hugged Naruto abruptly. I slid my arms under his and laid my head on his shoulder.

He stood there for a moment, shocked, and then hugged me back. Tears welled up in my eyes and I hugged him closer. 'Naru-kun... Thank you. Maybe I'll be able to get over them... Maybe you can help me, Naru-kun.'

My tears spilled over and I started to sob. Naruto hugged me a bit tighter and asked, "Yuki-chan, are you alright?" I bit my lip as I shook my head and kept crying. We stayed that way for a while until I calmed down.

When I finally stopped crying, I slowly let go of Naruto. He let go too and asked, "Are you feeling better now? Do you want to talk about it?"

I sniffed and wrote on my note pad, I'll tell you tomorrow, if I'm up to it. And yes, I'm feeling better now. Thank you, Naru-kun. And smiled brightly, showing him.

He smiled too and said, "That's good, I'm glad you're feeling better. Where do you want to go now?"

For the rest of the day, Naruto showed me around Konoha. He brought me to the Ninja Academy first, where I met his friend, Konohamaru. He reminded me a lot of Naruto.

At around 7:30, he walked me back to the hospital.

"Don't forget, tomorrow at three o'clock, okay? I'll see you later, Yuki-chan!" He said happily.

I hugged him again and waved goodbye. After that I walked into the hospital. Dr. Minakawa gave me my check up. Soon after, I changed and went to bed.

The next day at around 1pm., I knocked on the Hokage's office door.

"Come in." He answered.

I did so and bowed, then closed the door behind me.

Have you decided which team I'll be put on, Hokage-sama? I wrote, and showed him.

"Yes. I'm putting you on Hatake, Kakashi's team." He answered.

The name got me thinking. 'Hatake... Kakashi? Kakashi...why does that name seem familiar?' I gasped and quickly wrote,

You mean the Copy-Cat Ninja? And showed him. He nodded.

'The Copy-Cat Ninja! Awesome! But, it seems like I've heard the name Kakashi elsewhere...' I thought.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" Came a bored voice from behind me.

I looked to see a man with white hair, with a mask covering most of his face and his forehead protector pulled over his left eye.

My eyes widened as I realised immediately that this was Kakashi, my new sensei.

"Yes. I've called you here about your new member. I'm sure you remember my mentioning it yesterday?" He asked. Kakashi nodded. Holding a hand out in my direction he said, "Kakashi, this is Shiratori, Yuki; your new student. Yuki, this is Kakashi."

I turned towards Kakashi and bowed. I wrote on my notepad and showed it to him,

Pleased to meet you, Kakashi-sensei. You can just call me Yuki, of course...

He looked interested. He nodded and said, "Yes. I'm sorry to hear about what happened." I cringed. "Sorry." He said and I shook my head.

"I have yet to figure out where you will stay, Yuki-san. After your training, you should come back here and check if I've figured it out yet. Right now, I think you should go out for some weapons and supplies. Right, Kakashi-san?" Hokage asked.

He nodded and said, "Well, training starts soon so let's get going. I'll show you what you'll need." I nodded.

Thank you, again, Hokage-sama. I wrote and showed him, once again bowing and left the room.

For about two and a half hours we walked around, looking for weapons I could use and I looked at outfits to wear (because I wasn't going home to get mine). We had lost track of time and I only noticed when we passed by a clock in the store we were currently in.

I looked at Kakashi who was walking ahead of me by a few inches and tapped his shoulder. I wrote,

Shouldn't we be going? I think we're late, Sensei...

He chuckled and nodded. Thinking of something silly, I wrote,

If anyone asks; we got lost on the path of life.

And laughed silently. He chuckled as well and we left the store, after paying for the shurriken I had grabbed, and headed towards the training grounds Naruto had shown me yesterday.

'Wait, isn't Naru-kun training here?' I thought.

When we got to the gate, Kakashi said, "Wait here, alright?" He looked back at me and I nodded.

I leaned against the fence and tried to figure out something to do. I took out my notebook and pen and flipped to a new page. I sat down in the grass, still leaning on the fence, and started doodling randomly.

Just then I heard someone familiar, "You're late again, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Yeah, Sensei!" Shouted a female.

I didn't look up from my doodles though, I was in the middle of a detailed heart. I was getting it to look 3D when I heard Kakashi say,

"Well, this time I had a good reason to be late. I had to pick up someone." I took that as my cue and stood up, not looking up from my book.

I walked over to where Kakashi was standing and stood just behind him. "Everyone, this is your new teammate. Introduce yourself please." He said.

I looked at him and frowned. I flipped the page and was about to write, That isn't funny. When someone shouted,

"That isn't funny, Kakashi-sensei! You know she doesn't talk!" Shocked, I looked up to see Naruto, Sakura and a familiar raven haired boy standing in front of me.

'So that's why Kakashi's name sounded familiar to me. Naruto mentioned him when we were at the memorial yesterday.' I smiled.

Kakashi chuckled and said, "Well, I see you've already met. Well, this is Shiratori, Yuki. She's a chuunin from the Mist and just moved here last week. Introduce yourselves, tell her what you like, don't like, and one of your dreams, please."

Naruto walked over to me and I smiled again. "Well, I met Yuki-chan yesterday. But anyways; I like ramen, and my dream is to become Hokage, Yuki-chan!" He shouted. I giggled and looked at Sakura.

"Hello, again, Yuki-chan. I like..." She looked at the boy standing beside her and giggled. "My dream is to..." She looked at him again and blushed. "And I dislike Ino-pig!"

The boy said, "Uchiha, Sasuke. My dream is more of an ambition, I want to kill a certain someone..."

I gasped silently. No wonder he looked familiar! This is the boy who brought me to the hospital! I walked towards him and bowed. After straightening up I saw that he was shocked. Giggling, I wrote in my book,

Thank you for bringing me to the hospital, Sasuke-san.

And handed it to him. He gave me a look that said, 'Whatever,' and handed it back. I could tell that he did care, but didn't want to show it. I smiled and wrote in my book,

Well, you already know my name, I like ramen like Naru-kun, I dislike people who kill without reason, and... I don't have a dream yet, and if I do, I don't know what it is.

And handed it to him again. Again, he gave me the, 'Whatever,' look and handed it back. I sighed, once again seeing that he felt something, and showed it to Sakura and Naruto.

Sakura gave me a sympathetic smile at the, 'I don't have a dream,' part, and Naruto laughed at the part where I said I liked ramen. I smiled and hugged him. Sakura had a surprised look on her face.

After I let go, Kakashi said, "Okay, well, if we're done our little introductions, we can start our training. Show us what you can do, Yuki-chan."

"Yeah, Yuki-chan! Will you spar with me?" Asked Naruto. I smiled and was going to nod when,

"Actually, I think you and Sakura-chan should spar, Naruto-kun. Yuki-chan'll spar with Sasuke-kun." Kakashi explained.

Naruto pouted and walked over to Sakura, "But I wanted to spar with Yuki-chan..."

"Oh, be quiet, Naruto! Come on, let's go." Sakura said and they walked over towards the trees. They stopped about ten meters away from the trees and began.

I looked at Sasuke and smiled a bit. We walked to the other side of the fields. When we were near the trees, he asked,

"So... Why don't you talk?" I stopped walking and stood about five feet away from him.

I looked at his eyes, and shrugged my shoulders, writing,

Something happened to me...around 3 years ago. I don't talk because of it... I don't know... I guess the trauma of the thing caused me to stop and I haven't had the courage to start again.

I handed it to him and looked at the ground while he read it. 'I can't believe I just told him that! I've never told anyone about it except my--'

"Hn... What's this?" He asked, cutting me off from my thoughts.

Shaking my head, I walked over to his side, and looked over his shoulder to see what he was talking about. What I saw was the page covered in the doodles I was working on. He was pointing to three connected triangles, where two of them were cracked.

The un-cracked one was me, the other two were...

I shrugged my shoulders. "Hey. Aren't you supposed to be sparring?" Came Kakashi's voice from a nearby tree. He was leaning on it, reading a book.

Sasuke handed the book back and I walked back to where I was standing before. I took a ribbon out of my bag and tied my hair up, so that it was out of the way. I would have removed my sandals, if I had remembered to buy some. I put the book in my back pocket and stepped into my fighting stance. Sasuke did the same.

"What do you say; instead of sparring, we fight? Whoever passes out or gets knocked out loses?" He asked, smirking. I smirked also and nodded.

I made the first move. Using one of my favourite techniques, I charged head on towards Sasuke. With my right hand, I threw a fast punch, knowing he'd dodge.

He did so, smirking, and I pretended to fall over. I used that hand to grab onto the grass and spin around fast enough to trip him before he could jump.

I performed some hand signs and thought, 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!' A clone of myself appeared and jumped into one of the trees before Sasuke could see it. I jumped backwards and landed about three feet away from him.

I smirked as he got up quickly.

"Katon: Fireball jutsu!" He shouted after doing some hand signs. I jumped up in the air and pulled out two kunai, one in my right hand, one in my left. I put my left hand behind my back and threw the other one at his feet to make him jump in the air also.

I threw the one behind my back near his face, just barely missing and it went into the tree my clone was in. I landed soundlessly and ran up to Sasuke as he landed.

I started throwing random punches and kicks, and he blocked them easily. I threw a kick to his head and he stopped it. To my surprise, instead of throwing my leg away, he used the momentum from my kick to throw me over his shoulder to the ground behind him.

I landed on one knee and quickly performed my hand signs. Before I could get my last one in, he threw a kunai towards me and I pulled out one of my own to block it. It flew away and landed in the ground. I gave up on the ninjutsu I was going to do and decided on the one I started with.

I threw my kunai at him to distract him. I snapped my fingers and counted backwards with my fingers starting at five.

I was about ten feet away from him as I ran in a circle around him, still counting, and when I got to zero I closed my fist and motioned it towards Sasuke. My clone jumped out of the tree and joined me in circling Sasuke on the opposite side of him.

My clone took out four shurriken in each hand and we both ran faster, forcing chakra to our feet. Sasuke stood there, slightly worried, as he tried to figure out what I was doing. He tried throwing a kunai at my clone, thinking it was me, but missed due to our speed.

Faster and faster we ran, still circling Sasuke. I performed a few hand signs, thinking, 'This is one of my new tricks I was working on before I moved here... I hope it works right.' I finished the last one and both my clone and I were moving so fast it was like we weren't there.

I took out my kunai and jumped at Sasuke. I was careful not to cut too deep into his arms and legs, but deep enough to draw blood. Not that any blood appeared yet. I was moving too fast.

I quickly did two hand signs after I was done, one to dispel the clone, and one to stop my speed. I appeared in front of Sasuke and sat down.

"What? You disappear only to reappear in front of me? What a waste of ch--Ah!" In a delayed reaction his wounds split open all at once, stopping him from completing his sentence. He gave out another cry of pain and fell to the ground.

I smirked a bit. I beat him and I didn't even break a sweat.

I rushed over to him and started to dress his wounds.

Kakashi appeared beside me and started to help. "Good job. That's some fighting style you have there; it almost looked like you were playing." He said, slapping a band aid on Sasuke's neck. "That technique just then, Yuki-chan. Where'd you learn it? I've never seen it before." He said.

I shook my head as I wrapped some bandages around Sasuke's left arm. I'd explain it to him later.

"Naruto! Sakura! You two can stop now. Come here and help Yuki-chan!" Kakashi shouted.

Naruto came running, probably thinking I was hurt, and Sakura was right behind him, obviously worried that Sasuke was hurt. When she saw Sasuke laying on the ground and me, not even scratched, she gasped loudly. Naruto stood there in awe, then started to help me.

"And I wanted to fight you, Yuki-chan! Man! And you're not even scratched!" He shouted.

Sakura seemed to pull herself together and helped wrap one of his legs. When we were done, I shook Sasuke lightly by the shoulders to wake him up.

He opened his eyes and Sakura said, "Glad to see you're okay, Sasuke-kun." She looked at the sky and said, "Oh, no! I'm late for supper!" And ran off shouted goodbye to all of us.

Naruto went to talk to Kakashi about something and Sasuke looked at me, with a mix between anger and awe in his eyes. "What did you do? I didn't even see you!" He said quietly in case Kakashi or Naruto could hear.

I stood and held out a hand to help him up. He took it and I pulled him up beside me. I took out my notebook and wrote,

It was a mix between taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu. I used taijutsu when I was running and when I cut you, ninjutsu to increase my speed to appear invisible, and genjutsu to make it seem as though there was nothing you could do to be able to see me.

I gave the book to him and he read it. The anger almost completely washed away and was replaced with astonishment.

"Where," He asked loudly, as he handed the book back. "The heck did you learn that?" His expression still showed he didn't care but his eyes told me different.

I was taught by no one. I created the technique myself before I moved here. That was the very first time I used it.

I wrote and showed him.

"You made it?" He asked, completely dropping the, 'I don't care,' attitude. "You rolled all three ninja techniques into one! Are you sure you're only a chuunin?" He asked.

Behind the astonishment, I could see another emotion. I just couldn't put my finger on what it was.

I blushed a bit at his last remark and nodded. Just then, Kakashi and Naruto walked over.

Kakashi asked, "So? Where did you learn that technique? I'm curious."

I showed him both of the things I had shown Sasuke and he gave a look of shock. "Who was your sensei in Mist?" He asked.

Um... I was never on a team of genin... But my Sensei's name was Tsunade. She was passing by through the village and she kind of went broke so she couldn't pay for a hotel... My Mother ran into her and offered for her to stay at our house. Somehow I ended up being her student...

I showed him and he almost flipped. "You're a former student of Tsunade? The Legendary Loser?" He asked.

I nodded, blushing again. Why does he have to be so amazed?

"Wow." He said. "Well, maybe you could show us a thing or two."

I shrugged my shoulders and he handed me my book back. I wrote,

So, when do we have training again?

"Uh, on Saturday, I guess. You guys can have tomorrow off." He said, grinning for some reason. "I think, you should have something to eat, before you go see Hokage-sama, Yuki-chan."

I nodded and asked Naruto,

You want to go get some ramen, Naru-kun?

I handed him the book and he nodded enthusiastically. Kakashi said something to Sasuke, and then said goodbye and walked away. I waved goodbye to Kakashi, but before leaving, I wrote in my book,

Sasuke-san. Really, I thank you so much for bringing me to the hospital. I'll see you on Saturday then, Sasuke-san.

And handed it to him. He read it quickly, then handed it back, giving me another, 'Whatever,' look and walked away.

I sighed and thought, 'I wonder why he hides his feelings all the time... I think it's sad. If Naru-kun thinks he'd die by not telling people how he feels, I think he'd die quicker if he had to hide his emotions all the time...'

After Naruto and I ate ramen together, he showed me to the Hokage's office building and said good night. I waved goodbye and walked up the stairs to his office.

"Come in." He said after I'd knocked.

"Ah, Yuki-chan. It wasn't very easy, but, I think I've found somewhere you can stay. You'll be sharing a house. They already know that they're going to be having a room-mate. I'll give you the address." He explained.

I handed him my book and he opened it to a new page, writing down the address of my new room-mate. I was going to ask who it was when he interrupted me,

"I'm sorry our meetings are always so short and rushed, but I have another meeting soon and need to prepare." He said.

I nodded and smiled thankfully, walked over to the door, bowed, and then left.

I walked down the street that my room-mate lived on. The whole time I was thinking, 'Why does this street seem so familiar?' And looking at the addresses.

When I got to the right one, I walked up to the door, once again familiar, and knocked on it three times. There was no immediate response, but after a few seconds I could hear footsteps on the other side of the door.

It opened and I immediately realised why this street was so familiar.

"You're my new room-mate?" Asked a surprised Sasuke.