I can do this, I know that I can do this. It's way too easy… the young boy thought quietly to himself. Of course, his personal abilities had always sided more with nin- and tai- than genjutsu, but he would pull it off anyways.

"Bunshin no jutsu!" he said clearly, feeling the chakra rush through his veins.

He felt a slight tug at that reserve of energy, and then, a puff of smoke surrounded him. He stood there with his hands still in seal position, waiting for the cloud to pass…

Once it did, he looked slowly up, and was releaved to find two perfect versions of himself, smiling back at him.

Suzunaka grinned triumphantly, and looked over to the table where Iruka-sensei sat.

"Well done, Suzunaka!" the instructor praised him. "As to be expected, of course."

"Thank you, sensei!" the boy replied, enjoying the praise. He had never been the type to deny a compliment if it was offered. The young boy walked over to the table across the room, and stood as straight backed as he could before his sensei.

"Well, you have definitely earned this," the adult told him, and the look of pride in his eyes made Suzunaka want to melt with happiness. "I present you with your forehead protector, genin, with the hope that you will continue to grow."

Suzunaka reached forward slowly, his hand shaking. Slowly, it clasped around the piece of black fabric, and he lifted it up. Taking the other end of the fabric in his hand, Suzunaka reached behind his head to knot it in place. He felt the metal pressing at his forehead, but not uncomfortably. No, quite the opposite. It felt like it had been meant to sit there, on his head, and his head alone.

"I won't let you down, sensei."

Suzunaka walked by the other dozen or so who were waiting in line, head held high so that they could all see his new forehead protector. It was heavy, lying there, but he didn't mind. No, he didn't mind at all.

The boy managed to hold his excitement in until after he stepped out the large front doors of the academy. He walked slowly across the school yard, approaching the one swing hanging there. Then, unable to contain himself, he jumped forward, over the swing, and landed in a roll, letting out a whoop of excitement.

He had done it! He was an official ninja of Konoha!

As he came back up to his feet, he started running, just for the joy of it. Laughing, he hopped the fence, and then sped into the street, tearing a path at random. There weren't many people out at current, what with it being the middle of a Thursday, so he had very little trouble just running.

He went for several minutes, occasionally bursting into random fits of laughter or jumping into the air just for the heck of it, before he finally reached where he was going. Rounding a corner, he went up to the door of a small house, and, taking a deep breath, he knocked.

It would take a while for an answer. He knew that already. It always took him a long time to answer the door. What he did in that house, Suzunaka would never know.

Taking the time to his advantage, Suzunaka looked at his reflection in the glass of the window, and grinned. The black of the band on his forehead protector nearly blended in with the incredibly dark brown shade of his hair and his skin's tanned tone. His bright green eyes scanned up and down his appearance, liking the way his face looked with that forehead protector.

Normally, he wouldn't be anywhere near as vain as he was being at current. However, he had a right to be. He was a genin!

Suddenly, the door finally opened, and a lazy face glanced out, a long needle clenched in its mouth. The face turned slowly down to look at Suzunaka, and it cocked an eyebrow.

"What are you so smiley about?" it asked tiredly.

"Notice anything different?" the boy asked, casting a smug look at him.

The young man looked the boy up and down, scanning him. After almost a minute of silence, he finally asked, "Did you cut your hair?"

Sighing in annoyance, Suzunaka reached up and flicked the metal of his forehead protector, releasing a loud pinging noise.

"Yes…?" Genma asked, tilting to the side.

"Uh, forehead protector?" Suzunaka said pointedly.

"Uh-huh," the jonin said, apparently not impressed. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm a genin!" the boy finally shouted, holding his hands out from his sides.

"What, did you think that I would be surprised?" Genma asked dismissively. "I've been telling the Third for the longest time that you should've already become a genin."

"Still, I thought that we could… I don't know… celebrate or something?" Suzunaka asked, looking up expectantly at him.

Genma sighed, and stepped back from the door. "Come on in."

Suzunaka followed his mentor through the threshold of his messy house. It was in complete disarray, with books and clothes littering the floor. The jonin was simply wearing the blue jumpsuit that many of the village jonins sported, the heavy green vest which all ninja above the level genin wore not yet donned. Glancing over at one of the tables in the jonin's living room, Suzunaka heaved a sigh of annoyance. Splayed out across the table were several knives with rings attached to the ends of their hilts and star-shaped blades designed for throwing. Kunais and shurikens: the tools of a ninja. Genma was going out for a mission.

"It's not like I can help it," Genma said, seeing where the boy was looking.

"I know," Suzunaka shrugged. "Still, I wish you could be here."

Genma sighed, then walked over to his ninja equipment bag. He began sorting all of his scrolls and kunais into it, making sure to keep the two separate. "You know, you really need to start making some friends, Suzunaka."

The boy stopped at that statement, stunned. "Friends?" he asked, looking puzzled.

"Yes, Suzunaka, friends. You know, people your age who you spend time with. Doing stuff? Like, uh, I don't know, talking, training, eating, hijinks, those sorts of things."

"I don't like people my age," Suzunaka said matter-of-factly.

"Well, whether you like them or not," Genma replied, "you're going to have to start spending more time around them. Starting tomorrow, you're going to be on a team with two of them."

"Oh, right," Suzunaka muttered, looking disappointed. "I'd forgotten about that part of the whole genin thing."

Genma shook his head. "You know," he muttered, "I think this might be good for you."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, the only person your age that you ever spend time with is that Aburame kid."

"Shino?"

"Yeah, him," Genma replied.

"What's wrong with Shino?"

"Shino's not quite what you would call the normal kid your age," Genma replied, attaching the pack to the back of his hip.

Suzunaka watched in silence as his mentor finished getting himself ready, then pulled his heavy green vest on over the jumpsuit. The jonin finally reached down to the final piece of equipment on his table; a heavy bandana with a forehead protector attached to it. He put it on the way he normally did, with the metal piece facing backwards. Then he glanced over to Suzunaka, and shrugged, saying, "I should be back within a week, at latest. Try not to get into trouble."

"Alright," Suzunaka nodded, and then followed Genma out of the small house. As the older ninja locked the door, Suzunaka turned and glanced towards the sky. The sun was slowly setting, casting a glow of pink and orange across the sky. Suzunaka squinted slightly at the brightness, and turned away.

"Good bye, then," Genma said simply, glancing over his shoulder at the boy.

Suzunaka nodded, and then the shinobi disappeared, moving too fast for his untrained eyes to catch. As soon as the ninja left, Suzunaka let out an exasperated sigh, and started walking down the street without any direction.

Great. Now what was he going to do? It was no fun training all alone, and Shino… he didn't feel like talking with Shino. He wasn't sure why, but he only ever seemed to talk to Shino when he was in a competitive mood. The two were more rivals than friends, really.

Suzunaka glanced up at the sky. The sun had only just set; it could not be later than seven o'clock. It would be depressing to go to bed so early. But what else was there to do?

The boy sighed, and began walking towards the far-off city wall of Konoha. That was the place he always went whenever he was alone and had nothing better to do. Which was surprisingly often whenever Genma wasn't there. He could just go up to the wall, and listen to the wind rushing through the great forests which surrounded Konoha. It wasn't terribly exciting, but it was something to do.

Wow, the genin thought quietly. Maybe Genma was right. I do need some friends.

Suzunaka continued walking, with his head down, and watched his feet touching the ground. With every step, he heard the soft, regular beat. Tap… tap… tap… tap… The sound drifted through his head, and Suzunaka quickly began tapping his feet between each step, making the sound a bit more interesting. Occasionally, he would drag his foot along the earth, for a bit more variety.

Soon, the young ninja was veritably dancing down the street, the quiet rhythm which his feet tapped out filling his mind completely. Sound had always fascinated Suzunaka, for about as long as he could remember. Always, any regular noise, beat, or rhythm would get him started, and then he would have to keep building upon it and building upon it until either he got bored and started a new one, or somebody got annoyed and yelled at him.

Nobody seemed to mind when he was just dancing down the street, however. Sure, a lot of people stared at him, but that was alright. They never payed any attention to him the rest of the time, so it couldn't hurt if they stared a bit.

Eventually, Suzunaka hopped, skipped, and danced his way to the great wall of the city, right next to the main gate. Not even pausing, the genin placed his next step onto the surface of the wall, and sent a few small waves of his chakra down to his feet. He felt that same tug he'd felt while casting the bunshins, except centred around his feet. Then, without thinking about it, Suzunaka continued erratic movement, going up along the side of the wall. Genma had taught him to do this about a month ago; walking on water, that was. According the jonin, he had a very good level of chakra control. Whatever that meant.

Soon, the genin was standing along the top of the wall, balancing there with very little effort. He had stopped his dancing, in order to close his eyes and feel all of the vibrations, the waves, the simple pleasure of the sound of a sea of leaves, each one moving, rustling, creating its own little current of sound. He sat slowly down, his eyes still shut, and opened himself up to it. Soon, he had created an image in his head, showing him every little current and stream of air vibrations running through the space around him. The sound was nearly intoxicating to him…

Friendship… Suzunaka thought reflectively, considering the word. Do I really need it? What's the use, when I have… this…

He slowly opened his eyes, and looked at the sun before him, now no more than a sliver on the horizon. Burning, alone in that sky, more brilliant than anything any human would ever be able to create.

Tomorrow, he decided, I will meet my teammates. And they will see me for who I am. An entity, alone, untouchable, powerful. I don't need them. All I need is the sound.

With that thought, Suzunaka smiled slowly, and watched as the sun finally dipped beneath the horizon. Tomorrow would be an interesting day…