Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of Naruto. I have, however slightly manipulated it's plot and possibly small aspects of its concept.

Back in the day, things were so simple.

I sighed as I watched him hit all the targets, again. Maybe if I was able to do that he'd look my way once in a while.

"Moegi are you okay?" Udon asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I glanced over my shoulder to where he had fallen asleep on a doodle of Iruka-sensei. Even if he was a jerk sometimes I couldn't help but love him.

"Well then hurry up because it's your turn."

I reluctantly got up and took a few kunai out of my pouch. Training was fine, but I don't think I'd be able to do this in the heat of battle, maybe he'd come save me if I got into trouble.

It's not like he hasn't done it before.

"Come down from there Moegi!"

I glanced over the edge of the branch and shook my head as I observed the height.

"I can't."

He laughed. "What sort of ninja are you?"

But then he held his arms out underneath me.

"Jump, I'll catch you."

I aimed and then launched them at the target. I shut my eyes before they came in contact with the red and white boards. I peeked out of one eye when Udon started to cheer quietly, I couldn't believe what I saw, I'd hit all but one of the targets.

"I did it! Believe it!"

He'd stolen that from that idiot Naruto, the one he calls boss.

"About time you hit more than one Moegi!"

"Thanks Konohamaru, Udon," I said, very pleased with myself.

I grinned as I saw the perfect '100' written at the top of my test, I was always good at tests. Konohamaru on the other hand wasn't.

He groaned beside me, he'd only gotten a 54.

"That should do for today. Let's prepare for our mission. Meet at the gates in ten minutes," Ebisu-sensei ordered us.

It was our first C-ranked mission and it far more dangerous than our previous D-ranked ones. I was scared. It was bad enough that I could barely hit one target, let alone one in a pressured situation. But to go on a mission where I would not only have to hit moving targets but also dodge attacks, I was doomed. There was no doubt that I would come out of this harmed in some way or another.

"Stay in formation."

"Konohamaru," I said nervously. "I don't think we should do this."

He snickered. "Of course we should."

And so we proceeded into the training grounds which were off limits to anyone who wasn't and official ninja.

I listened closely to the sounds around us to make sure that no one was hiding in the bushes. We had to escort a tea merchant back to his village that was a few miles away. There's wasn't a lot of risk for him other than the possibility of being ambushed by bandits.

In the end we got to the village safely.

"See, I told you we wouldn't get caught Moegi."

We still had to keep our guard up on the way back to the Leaf Village, just in case we were ambushed by bandits or other ninja.

"YOU TWO!" Iruka-sensei yelled at us.

A jounin had found us at the training grounds and brought us back to the Academy.

We had been caught.

I stopped dead in my tracks as a kunai whizzed past my nose, barely missing.

"You'll have to stay after school for detention."

I was so frightened by the first kunai that I didn't notice the second one coming and I didn't hear the warning calls from the others.

By the time I did notice it, it was too late to move.

I shut my eyes, waiting for the painful impact, but it never came.

"It wasn't her idea, I forced her to come along," Konohamaru explained.

"Very well. Moegi you may go home."

Ebisu-sensei took out the offender in an instant but all I could think about was that Konohamaru had jumped in front of me so that I wouldn'tget hurt by the kunai.

I stared, wide eyed at Konohamaru. He'd taken the blame, he never did that.

I was glue to the spot. He was bleeding so much, or what looked like so much in my current state.

It was all my fault.

"Moegi..."

I bent down, doing what I could to prevent the wound from bleeding any more than it was. The injury didn't look that bad but it had hit a rather vital spot and from the way it was bleeding it was likely that the kunai had been poisoned.

"I'm sorry Konohamaru, this is my fault."

"I'm sorry, you wouldn't be in detention if I didn't yell at you when we got to the grounds," I said before I left to go home.

"It's okay Moegi."

"It's okay Moegi."

"I love you Konohamaru," I whispered.

I couldn't understand why he would forgive me after I got him trouble. I probably didn't stand a chance with him now.

Maybe another day, things will be simpler.