Beginnings

It was a hot day in the Hidden Leaf village and a young girl was wandering around the village. She was orphaned and had no one to feed her, clothe her, or give a place to stay. She had been on the streets for quite a while. She left the orphanage due to certain circumstances. She learned enough to protect herself against the civilians, but there were ANBU that would be watching her. She was afraid of what would happen if they got involved. She wasn't equipped to handle herself against ninja.

The Hokage was watching her and summoned an ANBU with silver hair to his office. "You requested me Lord Hokage?" The Hokage turned to him and said "There's a young girl in the village. She is very adept and knows of the ANBU watching her." The ANBU turned to say "Did you want me to bring her to you?" The Hokage nodded and said "Do it in your civilian clothes. This girl is much like young Naruto Uzumaki. We don't want to scare her."

At the same time both Naruto and the girl were being chased by their respective mobs. Naruto had defiled the Hokage stone faces again and the girl for being around Naruto. The ANBU was watching both of them and followed the girl.

He then went to his normal reading bench because he had a hunch that she would be going in that direction. In his civilian clothes he sat down and pulled out his make-out paradise book. The girl came running and tripped over his leg.

She looked and saw his headband. She gulped and said "I-I'm very sorry. Please don't hurt me." He looked at the girl and picked her up "I won't hurt you. Do you want to come with me?" She remained quiet and rested on his shoulder. He held her tight as he teleported to Lord Hokage's office.

The hokage said "Ah, you retrieved her quickly" The girl was sleeping in his arms. The ANBU nodded and said "She seems to have a particular behavior towards me." The hokage nods and says "I've been trying to figure out what to do with her. It's pretty bad because the civilian council has been breathing down my neck about Naruto." The ANBU then replied "What are you implying sir?"

The hokage gave a slight smile and said "I decided to give her to you. Consider this a mission." The ANBU became slack-jawed and said "I don't know how to raise a little girl." The hokage then said "Don't worry about it too much. She's pretty much self sufficient. She just needs a place to sleep and watchful eye. I picked you because you have a keen eye." The ANBU nods and says "Understood sir." He notices the the girl stirring on his shoulder and took her back to his apartment.

At the apartment, the ANBU set the girl in his bed and cleaned up his gear as to not scare her. He then goes to make some rice-balls. The girl wakes up and notices that she isn't in her box, but on a bed. She uncovers herself and walks around thinking "Was I kidnapped?" She quietly walks around and notices a pain in her arm. She looks and sees a scrape from when she fell.

She walks into the bathroom and closes the door. She thinks to herself "I'm definitely in someone's apartment, but who would want me?" She comes out to find the person who picked her up after she tripped. He says "You're quiet for a kid." She then says "Why am I here?" The ANBU replied "The hokage asked me to keep an eye on you. Do you have a name?" The girl replied "Einjeru." He replies "My name is Kakashi." She nods and says "I'm not in trouble am I?" Kakashi shakes his head and says "The hokage feels kind of bad that you've been on your own. I guess he wants you to be able to grow up under a proper roof." Einjeru nods and says "Okay." Her stomach growls and her eyes wander around the room trying to figure out where it's coming from.

Kakashi under his mask lets loose a small smile thinking "This kid will need help with food." He looks at her and says "That little grumble is coming from your stomach. You need to eat." Einjeru shrugged and said "I wouldn't know. I was in an orphanage until recently. I didn't understand what happened myself, but next thing I knew I was fending for myself." He hands her a rice-ball and says "This should fill you up for now. I need to go out. Will you be fine until I return?" Einjeru nods and goes toward the bookshelf. Kakashi heads out and Einjeru pulls out the nearest scroll she can reach.

Meanwhile, Kakashi is heading to the hokage's office and wonders if he should prep her for the academy or not. He gets into the office and says "You were right Lord Third. She is self-sufficient, but if you don't mind me asking, what had happened at the orphanage?" Lord Third replied "It's Naruto. She was caught speaking with him and everyone in the orphanage didn't take too kindly to it. The other kids looked at her with disdain and it pushed her to leave. Maybe I should've made her go back." Kakashi then says "It's okay Lord Third. I can keep an eye on her. Do you have any idea if she's going to the academy or not?"

Lord Third then said "I never thought to ask her. Maybe you can ask her if she has an interest." Kakashi then said "I was considering it, but I thought maybe I should ask you." Lord Third replied "Consider this part of your mission, if she wants to go to the academy that is." He nods and says "Well she does have an interest in reading and was going for my scrolls when I left. I'll see. I'll report in tomorrow if she does show an interest."

Kakashi comes back to the apartment to find Einjeru reading another scroll. He starts off saying "I see you like to read. Have you considered going to the academy?" Einjeru shrugged and said "I like to learn, but what about the other students? What if they look at me with contempt?" Kakashi then said "There is a particular reason why, but we are forbidden to talk about it. You won't have to worry because these students don't know about it." Einjeru says "I don't believe you." Kakashi sighs and says "Then don't believe me. I've been telling you the truth since I found you, but that's okay."

Einjeru then said "I really want to learn, but I'm not very confident about it." Kakashi turned to her and said "You don't have to be. I am going to say this, going to the academy will allow you to become a shinobi of the village. Do you want to do it?"

Einjeru considered her options and pondered a bit before saying "I want to go to the academy. Will Naruto be there?" Kakashi's eye widened at that and he said "Most likely. I've been watching him for a long time and his dream is to become hokage. To do so he must become a shinobi." Einjeru smiled and said "I want him to know he has a friend." Kakashi then said "If he doesn't know, he will. So what have you been reading while I was gone?"

Einjeru then said "I was reading about the history of the village, and the basics of chakra." Kakashi's eye widened again and he said "Well you have to know that stuff at the academy, so we can start from what you learned from the scrolls and go from there." They discussed how the village was formed and how the village was passed down to each of the hokage. Einjeru thought about the destruction of the leaf and said "I now understand why it's forbidden to talk about that incident. Naruto was the newborn."

Kakashi then said "You must never talk to him about that. He is not to know until he is ready. Even though you came to the conclusion yourself, I can still get in trouble for that." Einjeru nods and says "My lips are sealed." They then drifted to the basics of chakra and Einjeru said "I know that it's the lifeblood of a ninja, but what if you feel the presence of something more powerful than chakra in yourself?" Kakashi then says "You would talk to someone similar to yourself if that was the case." Einjeru then said "I doubt I'd find someone similar to myself." Kakashi replied "What's that supposed to mean?" Einjeru then realized that she said something that she shouldn't have and said "Oh nothing."

Kakashi decided to drop it and said "How would you feel about going out to eat?" Einjeru looks at her clothes and says "No offense sir, but I'm not properly dressed." Kakashi looks at Einjeru and thinks "She had been on the streets for a few weeks. Her clothes are practically ruined." He then says "How about we get some clothes and then something to eat?" Einjeru nods and says "Can I clean myself up first?" Kakashi nods and looks through his old clothes to find something to fit her.

He came across the clothes he stored from his academy days and thought "They may be slightly big on her, but they should do the trick for now." He knocks on the door and says "I found something for you to wear temporarily." A small hand appeared and took the clothes. She came out with the clothes on and the scarf wrapped around her waist to hold up the pants. Her hair was black with some lighter highlights.

Kakashi grabbed her hand and said "Do you have any favorite foods?" Einjeru shook her head and said "I'm not overly picky." Kakashi then said "Have you ever eaten ramen?" She shook her head and said "No. I never really ate much in the orphanage. Mostly it was oatmeal and sandwiches." Kakashi thinks to himself "I may have to get her a variety of foods to try so she can decide for herself." Einjeru then says "Is something wrong?" Kakashi shakes his head and said "Just lost in thought. Lets go get you some clothes."

While walking through the village, Einjeru couldn't help but see the eyes of the village on her. She gulps and Kakashi says "Is something wrong?" Einjeru remains quiet thinking "It's nothing. No one is looking at me." Kakashi then says "Earth to Einjeru?" She was shaken out of her thoughts as she looked up at Kakashi saying "It was nothing. I was just caught up in myself." Kakashi exhales slowly and says "You can tell me. I won't be upset by it." Einjeru said "It's not you." Kakashi then said "I've noticed the villagers staring. Don't worry about it."

At the store, Einjeru was looking through the clothes and saw a purple shirt with a black stripe. She smiled and said "I like this shirt." She looks around for the right pair of bottoms and was about to give up until she found a black skirt with a silver trim. She tried them on and they were a perfect fit with a little growing room. She came out and said "I like these." Kakashi then said "You're the one who has to wear them, but in my personal opinion, aren't little girls into bright colors?" Einjeru glared at him and said "No wonder why you're by yourself." Kakashi shot a look at her and said "That was a little out of line, especially considering that I'm sharing my home with you and spending my money to buy you new clothes."

Lord Third came up behind and chuckled hearing the little argument taking place. Einjeru jumped and Kakashi said "Lord Third!" Lord Third stopped his chuckling and said "I see you two are getting along." Einjeru turned red in embarrassment and said "I apologize Kakashi." Kakashi then said "I was a little out of line when I said about your clothes." Lord Third then said "I don't see a problem in her choice of clothing. If anything, a shinobi should be trying to keep themselves from being discovered."

Kakashi face-palmed at his stupidity and said "Why wasn't I thinking of that?" Einjeru then said "Lord Third, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" Lord Third then said "The civilian council allowed me an allowance for you so you can buy your clothes and basic necessities." Einjeru nodded and said "Thank you?" Lord Third nodded and said "You're welcome. Just make sure you spend wisely." Einjeru nodded and went through the calculations in her head for the outfit.

Kakashi then said "Going through the math?" Einjeru nodded and said "I think I should have enough for 5 outfits and a set of pajamas." Kakashi then said "You managed to budget your money already?" Einjeru nodded and said "I won't be left with much, but at least I'll have clothes." Kakashi nods and says "That's good." When they left, Einjeru had 5 of the same outfit and some pajamas.

They then went for something to eat. They come to a place called Ichiraku and Naruto was walking out saying "Thanks for the food." Einjeru wanted to say something, but the words were caught in her throat. She thought to herself "I'll speak to him eventually." Kakashi then said "Crushing on him already?" Einjeru shot daggers at him and said "No! I don't like him like that." Kakashi then said "I was only playing. Calm down." Einjeru took a couple of deep breaths and said "I'm fine now." They go in and hear a "Welcome! Come in and take a seat."

Einjeru takes a seat and Kakashi says "The usual for me and a beef ramen for her." Einjeru then said "Are you sure?" Kakashi smiled behind the mask and said "I'm treating, and you don't want to overload your tastebuds, so I got you something simple." The ramen was set in front of them and Einjeru grabbed her chopsticks and ate slowly. By the time she finished her first taste, Kakashi had finished his bowl. She nearly choked on her food trying to comprehend how he managed to eat his bowl so fast. He looked at her and said "It's a long story."

She finished her ramen and said "This is good. I want to try something different the next time I'm here." Kakashi then said "It's time to head back." Einjeru nodded and followed him. She said to Kakashi "Say, how are sleeping arrangements going to work?" Kakashi then said "I was going to sleep on the floor and let you have the bed." Einjeru says "No way! I'm not kicking you out of your bed." Kakashi then says "Well since I'm in charge, I'm telling you to take the bed." Einjeru grumbled and said "Fine, but I don't like it." Kakashi smiled and said "I'm not that harsh." They get back to the apartment and get ready for bed.

A few hours later Einjeru came out of bed and attempted to drag Kakashi to the bed. She managed to drag him a couple inches before falling backwards and bumping her head. Kakashi woke up and muttered "Einjeru... What are you doing?" Einjeru didn't respond and Kakashi looks at her to see she's unconscious. He groans and looks at her to see that she had a lump on her head. He sighs and says "Great. Now she has a head injury. I'll give her credit though. She managed to drag me a couple inches."

Einjeru came to and Kakashi put an ice pack to her head saying "You whacked your head pretty hard. I'm glad that you are okay. I was nervous that I was going to have to take you to the hospital." Einjeru held it to her head saying "Well that was a bust." Kakashi then said "Yeah, it was. After that lump goes down, you're going right back to bed. If you're going to go to the academy, you need to study for the entrance exam." Einjeru frowned and said "I don't want to sleep on the bed." Kakashi then said "If I get you your own bed will you stop whining?" Einjeru said "Yes. I don't like doing that to people." They went back to sleep after the lump went down.

The next morning, Einjeru finds a note in the kitchen and reads it. She sighs and goes to the fridge to find the rice-balls that Kakashi made for her." She goes out to the park for a little physical activity. She sees Naruto and a bunch of kids ganging up on him. She goes up to them and says "What's going on?" The kids said rude things about Naruto, and Einjeru felt bewildered, but boldly said "You guys have no idea. If you feel the need to beat on someone, beat on me." Naruto then said "Why are you doing this?"

Einjeru then said "Remember a few weeks ago that a little girl from the orphanage was talking to you?" Naruto then says "Barely." Einjeru then said "I was the girl. I wanted to continue talking to you, but the orphanage dragged me away." The other kids said "You actually talk to this freak?" Einjeru then said "He's not a freak. He's a human being, and will be hokage someday." The kids laughed and said "Yeah right! Because you're a girl, I won't hit you, but I will warn you, you will be target of a lot of teasing."

Einjeru turned her back to them and said to Naruto "I hope you're not mad at me for intervening." Naruto then said "No, it's just no one stood up for me before." Einjeru then said "No one seems to understand you." She looks at the sun and says "Will you be here tomorrow? I have to go before my guardian comes looking for me." Naruto then says "Sure... What's your name?" She replied "My name is Einjeru. I'll see you Naruto."

She gets back to the apartment and Kakashi was in the kitchen. He says to her "Did you have fun at the park?" She replies "Not really. I saw Naruto getting picked on and the kids were about to beat him senseless for no reason." Kakashi then said "What did you do?" Einjeru said "I intervened. I was willing to take the hit for him. The boy said that he wouldn't hit me, but I would be the target of some vicious teasing." Kakashi looked at her and said "Are you sure about taking the blunt of the bullying that Naruto receives on a daily basis?" Einjeru shrugged and just realized that Kakashi knew that she was at the park.

Einjeru then said "You were at the park, weren't you?" Kakashi then said "I'm supposed to be watching Naruto. You just happened to be at the park." Einjeru then said "He's going to be there tomorrow. I said I'd meet him there." Kakashi smiled and said "You made a friend out of the village pariah. That's good. Maybe you can change the hearts of the other villagers." Einjeru smiled and said "Well that's good. What are we going to study?"

Kakashi then said "It's not studying per say. Most kids at the academy will have some knowledge of ninjutsu and taijutsu. I want to impart some knowledge into your head regarding the basic academy jutsu and something a little more advanced if you feel up for it." Einjeru then said "Sure. What do I do?" Kakashi then said "First hold still." He revealed his hidden eye and took a look at her chakra coils. He then says "First we need to tap into your chakra reserves."

Einjeru then said "How do we do that?" Kakashi then says "You need to focus. I'll be keeping an eye on your chakra the whole time." Einjeru then said "I don't like the sound of that." Kakashi thinks to himself "This girl... She can definitely push buttons." He then says "Don't worry about it." Angel sat in a meditative pose and tried to focus. Kakashi kept an eye on the chakra and saw a flare. Einjeru opened her eyes and said "Did I get it?" Kakashi then said "You started to get it. You've only scratched the surface. Tomorrow when you go to the park I want you to get as much exercise as possible."

Einjeru nods and says "What is one of the academy jutsu?" Kakashi then said "This one is so subtle you didn't even notice it taking place. It's called the substitution jutsu. It allows you to to swap places with another object or person." Einjeru then noticed where she was and said "Aw come on. That's totally unfair." Kakashi smirks and says "All is fair in love and war." Einjeru looks at him weird and says "Okay?" Kakashi says "You try." She ends up substituting herself for a chair.

Kakashi then says "That's good. Another jutsu is the transformation jutsu. This technique allows you to take the form of something or someone else. For example... Transform." Einjeru takes a look and sees Lord Third. She then says "Errm, Kakashi?" He nods and says "Try transforming into me." She tried to picture Kakashi and weaved the signs. She then said "Transform!" As soon as the smoke cleared, Einjeru looked and saw the flak jacket that she was used to seeing Kakashi wear. Kakashi reverted back to normal and took a look. He said "We'll work with it."

Kakashi then said "There's one more jutsu before we call it a night. This allows you to duplicate yourself. It's called the clone jutsu. This also requires a certain amount of chakra control." He makes the signs and creates a clone and says "You try." She attempts it and looks to see a blob on the floor. Einjeru then says "Well this is a jutsu that I totally suck at." Kakashi then says "If we can't get it up to par in the next couple years, I'll teach you an alternative."

Einjeru nods and yawns. She goes to bed and falls asleep almost instantly. Kakashi watches her thinking "The little brat has a lot to learn before becoming a shinobi. I'll give her credit though. She managed to look past the incident to the person Naruto is inside. There may be hope for Lord Fourths dream after all." He heads to bed and falls asleep.

The next day, Einjeru heads to the park to see Naruto and a couple of other kids playing with him. One of them was from the Nara clan and the other from the Akimichi clan. She came into the park and said "Hey Naruto." Naruto looks and says "Einjeru! I didn't think you were going to show." She smiled and said "Sorry, I was a little bit tired after last night. I ended up sleeping in this morning."

The other two came up and the one with the black hair said "Who is this? I never met her before." Einjeru replied "Hi, I'm Einjeru." The slightly chubby kid then said "It's nice to meet you. My name is Choji." Einjeru then said "Hi Choji." The black haired kid said "I'm Shikamaru. It's a drag, but we're starting at the academy soon. Are you going to be attending?" Einjeru nods and says "Yes, but I'm kind of nervous." Naruto interjects and says "What do you have to be nervous about? If you can stand up to a bunch of bullies then you can stand up for yourself at the academy." Einjeru smiles and says "Okay." All of a sudden a guy in a green one-piece suit appears out of nowhere.

Kakashi watching from a distance said "Oh no! It's Guy. I need to save my charges from his youth speeches." Kakashi appeared next to the green-clad man and said "There is no way I'm letting you scar these kids for life with your youthful antics. You're coming with me." Einjeru then said "Who is he Kakashi?" Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji look at her and say "How do you know the famous copy ninja of the leaf like that?" She shrugs and says "I live with him."

Kakashi then says "Besides my best friend and rival, he's the one you'd kill yourself for, for hearing his youth speeches. His name is Might Guy." Einjeru then said "Okay." Guy releases himself from Kakashi's grip and says "I'm the Leaf villages noble blue beast." Kakashi also says "He's a taijutsu specialist." Guy then says "Lets have a match Kakashi." All of the kids and Kakashi sweat-dropped. Einjeru then says "Does anyone want to go play. My IQ is dropping." Kakashi then says "You guys go and play. I'll take care of him."

They all ran towards the playground equipment and Einjeru said "Any longer and my mind may have melted." Everyone else nodded in agreement. Einjeru climbed on the monkey bars and said "Anyone feel like doing inverted sit-ups?" Naruto then says "I'm coming up." Shikamaru says "It's a drag, but my dad will be picking up choji and I soon. Einjeru nodded and said "It was nice meeting you two. I hope to see you again soon." They nod. Einjeru proceeds to doing the inverted sit-ups.

Kakashi came back to the park and said "Einjeru, time to go." She frowned and said "Just as I was getting into my beat. I'll see you tomorrow Naruto." Kakashi then says "If you make it through a training session with Guy that is." Einjeru then turned and said "Guardian say what?" Kakashi then said "I may have bet your sanity." Einjeru then said "Why would you force me to have a training session with him of all people?" Kakashi then said "Think of it like this. It was a gamble that I lost, but it is an opportunity for you to hone some taijutsu skills." Einjeru groaned and said "After all those inverted sit-ups." Kakashi then said "How many did you do?" Einjeru said "About 30 at max. I lost count after 10." Kakashi then said "You may not be going to the park tomorrow." Einjeru frowned and said "Curse you Kakashi."

The next morning, Einjeru woke up to banging at the door. She sighed and said "If that's Guy, I'm going to be mad for him interrupting my sleep." She goes to the fridge and grabs a rice-ball and opens the door. Guy says "Good morning!" Einjeru deadpans at him and says with a rice ball halfway in her mouth "Good morning." Guy then says "I'm sure you heard from Kakashi, but I'm training you for the day." Einjeru nods and says "Give me a few moments. I'm not sure if Kakashi wants me letting people into the apartment. I'll be out in a few."

Einjeru goes to finish the rice-ball and gets dressed. She comes out and says "Okay, so what are we going to do first?" Guy then says "We're going to the park. I know you want to see your friends before you start." Einjeru then says "This has to do with youth, doesn't it?" Guy gives the nice-guy pose and days "Exactly! Besides, maybe one of them would like to join you." Einjeru shrugged and said "Kakashi owes me big time."

At the park, Naruto is on the swings and he sees Einjeru. He comes up to her and says "Want to play?" Einjeru replies "I can't today, but would you like to train with me? It would be better if I wasn't by myself." Naruto nods and Einjeru says "I have to warn you now, that green guy is overseeing us." Guy then appears and says "So who's ready for some good Taijutsu training?" Einjeru starts crying on the inside and Naruto deadpans thinking "This guy's a taijutsu specialist?"

They go to a training ground and there are some logs. Guy starts off saying "We're going to start off with basic conditioning." Naruto and Einjeru look at him weird and say "Do you mean stretching?" Guy says "That plus some basic moves." Einjeru reaches for the sky and bends down low thinking "This is how I start off my studying sessions with Kakashi. It helps to loosen the muscles and relax a little. It's also good for when you start exercising. You don't want to pull something by accident." Naruto then says "I may ask you for help in the academy." Einjeru said "If anything I'll be about average. Kakashi is trying to make sure that I have some basic knowledge before starting."

Naruto then says "I think you've stretched enough Einjeru." She replies "I do more when I'm stressed or worried." She finally stops and says "What's next?" Guy replies "I want you to hit the log for as long as you can." Einjeru deadpans and says "Hitting the log?" Guy then says "I'll tell you later." Einjeru looks at Naruto and says "You're explaining to Kakashi why my hands are bandaged Guy."

After a couple hours, Einjerus' arms went limp and she said "I don't think I can continue, Guy." Naruto was still going. Einjeru looked at him in admiration and said "I wish I had your stamina Naruto." Naruto flashed a smile and said "I want to stop, but I know I can keep going." Guy then said "That's enough Naruto. You have demonstrated quite a bit of youthfulness." Kakashi watching from a distance said "I apologize. I'll take you for ramen to make up for this."

Einjeru looked at her hands and saw a whole mass of blood and splinters. Naruto's hands were clean and pristine. She looked at him and said "I kind of envy you Naruto. You can hit the log and walk away without a scratch. Guy then said "Let me take a look at your hands." She held them out and said "I guess I may have hit them a little hard." Guy then said "This is why I wear bandages. To protect my hands." Einjeru nods and Kakashi appears saying "I have this." Einjeru then looks at him pulling bandages out of his pouch.

Einjeru tried pulling the splinters out and was wincing in pain. Kakashi brought her to the side and cleaned up the cuts. He looked at her and said "How do your arms feel?" Einjeru replied "They feel like they fell off." Kakashi smiled and said "You're going to be in a world of pain tomorrow." He put some healing ointment on the cuts so they wouldn't get infected and put the bandages on. Einjeru goes back to Naruto and Guy and says "I'm better." Naruto then says "Are you sure?" Einjeru then said "I'm fine. I'm just grateful that they're not from a poisoned kunai or else there would've been problems." Guy then said "That's quite youthful to say." Naruto then looks at the position of the sun in sky.

He then says "It's getting kind of late." Einjeru takes a look and said "Kakashi should have just taken me home." Guy then says "I'll walk you." Einjeru then says "Naruto?" He says "I can get home just fine." Einjeru says to him "I'd feel better if we walked you home first." Naruto then said "Okay." They walked Naruto home and as soon as Naruto was in his apartment, Guy put Einjeru on his back and made a mad dash for Kakashi's apartment.

At the apartment, Einjeru found a note saying "Be back soon." She sighed and went in saying "Thank you Guy for the training and for bringing me home." Guy smiles and says "I hope we can have another training session soon." Einjeru smiled and said "It was quite interesting considering we only punched logs." Guy then said "The results will be evident in the next couple of days." Einjeru closes the door and relaxes.

A few minutes later Kakashi came in the door and said "Ah, you're back." Einjeru nodded and said "Yup." She looked at her bandages and saw that blood was soaking through. She went to take the bandages off and nearly screamed when she saw her hands. She nearly tripped over herself to find Kakashi. In the main room Kakashi was reading his book and heard the fumbling. He set the book down and saw Einjeru running around like a maniac.

He grabbed her and said "What's going on?" Einjeru showed him her hands and said "What's going on?" Kakashi looked at them to see that they're perfectly healed with no scars." He then said "I have no idea. It's time for bed." He put her to bed and went to Lord Thirds office.

At Lord Thirds office, Kakashi was saying "Einjeru's hands healed to the point where they looked like they weren't injured at all. Do you have any idea why?" Lord Third then said "She was born a month after the nine-tails attack. While that has nothing to do with her condition personally, it has influenced it. For the most part she appears normal, but she is not human. I don't want her to know of this until her other abilities start to show." Kakashi then said "She's looking for answers. I told her the truth about not being sure, but now you're telling me to lie to her about her condition?" Lord Third then said "Growing attached to her?" Kakashi then said "That's not true in the slightest. I just don't like lying about something like this. She has the right to know." Lord Third then said "You're right. She does, but it's best to hold off until she's able to understand."

Kakashi then says "What is she?" Lord Third looks at him and says "Are you sure you want to know?" Kakashi's eye widened and said "Why are you saying that?" Lord Third said "I hinted it to you when I gave her to you." Kakashi looks at him and says "What do you mean?" Lord Third said "I guess you didn't catch on. Einjeru is yours by blood." Kakashi becomes slack-jawed and says "She'll think I abandoned her." Lord Third then says "It was the wishes of her mother that you'd seek her out on your own." Kakashi then says "How could I seek her out when I had no idea that she existed?"

Lord Third said "I thought she told you." Kakashi then said "Nope. I had no clue. Let alone the fact this has been hidden for years. How am I supposed to tell her?" Lord Third then said "You may be her father by blood, but technically she is an orphan." Kakashi then said "I don't think I can look at her the same." Lord Third then said "Then don't. Just don't push her to the side."

Kakashi then thought "Someone precious just came into my life. I'm afraid to lose her." Lord Third then said "No need to worry. Nothing will happen to her on my watch. She's more like her mother with her temper." Kakashi then says "We have yet to see her true temper then. If it means anything, I'll keep watching over her. I don't think I'm ready to take the fatherly responsibility yet." Lord Third nods and says "I have a feeling you will in time."

A month passes and it was time for the academy entrance exams. Einjeru took a couple deep breaths and says "I've been studying and training for just over a month for this day. I can do this." She goes in to see Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji. She smiles and takes her seat. She looks at the questions and thinks "These look simple enough. Math, basic ninjutsu questions, common sense for a ninja, etc. I guess we'll see how well I do."

A hour later the tests were collected, and graded. Einjeru wandered around the academy. She bumped into a pink-haired girl and said "I'm sorry." The girl turned around and was teary-eyed. Einjeru then said "What's wrong?" The girl replied "Nothing." Einjeru didn't want to push the envelope so she kept walking. Her arms started to hurt and she said "I'm going to kill Guy in the future for these harsh workouts."

Later on the results were posted in the main hall. Einjeru found her name and smiled. "I'm going to the academy." She said while Naruto was searching for his name. She frowned and helped him to look. At the end of the list there was a set of vacancies and Naruto's name appeared there. Naruto was beaming with happiness. Einjeru gave a gentle smile and said "I hope we're in the same class." Naruto says "I do too."

Within the month the entrance ceremony took place. All of the students were standing in one of four lines in front of the academy. In Einjeru's line there was a lot of chatter amongst the girls about a boy named Sasuke. Einjeru then said "What's so special about him? He's an Uchiha granted, but is that all you see in him?" Sasuke was shocked to hear that and turned around saying "What's your name?" Einjeru said "When asking people, it is customary to give yours first." Sasuke then said "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. What's yours?" Einjeru replied "My name is Einjeru."

In another line, Naruto was thinking "What's so special about him?" The pink-haired girl said "I'd kill to be in line with Sasuke." Naruto then said "Will someone answer me?" The pink-haired girl said "Shut up will you?" Naruto shrunk and said "Hey! Einjeru is talking to him!" The pink-haired girl then said "How!" Naruto then said "I can't help it that they're in the same line and that she's right behind him. The pink-haired girl then said "I saw her at the entrance exams." Naruto then says "So what's your name? I'm Naruto!" The pinkette then says "My name is Sakura."

After the ceremony, Einjeru went looking for Kakashi and Sakura came up to her. She started off saying "My name is Sakura." Einjeru started off saying "My name is Einjeru. Weren't you the girl I bumped into during the entrance exams?" Sakura nods and says "I was having a bad day then." Einjeru nods and says "It was nice meeting you. I have to get going."

Kakashi was waiting for her by the gate. She comes up and says "Sorry about that. Some of the other students held me up." He replies "Just don't get into the habit of being late all the time. It's a hard habit to break." Einjeru shrugged and said "Okay." He then says "Congratulations on making it into the academy." Einjeru smiled and said "Thanks!" They went to the apartment and relaxed for the rest of the day.

A couple of weeks later, Einjeru and Naruto walked into class and sat down talking. A few minutes later Einjeru said "Cover your ears." Sasuke walked in and the fan-girldom went crazy. Sasuke was ignoring them and went to sit next to Einjeru. She thinks to herself "Are you kidding me." Naruto notices the annoyance and was kind of annoyed himself. He put his head down and said "If you need me I'll be avoiding the fan-girls." Einjeru sighed and then sensed the rage of all of the girls in the room. Einjeru is close to unleashing that bittersweet temper she's been holding.

Sakura comes up in Einjeru's face and Einjeru says "Is there a problem Sakura?" Sakura then says "I want to sit next to Sasuke." Einjeru then said "Well I'm sitting next to Naruto, so I'm not moving. Sasuke chose to sit next to me on his own accord." Sakura then says "I don't care. I want to sit next to him." Einjeru replied "I'm not moving! If I sound like a brat then so be it." A blonde girl came up and said "Well I want to sit next to Sasuke too!" She goes to Naruto and says "Hey kid move!" Naruto was ignoring her and Sakura laughed saying "You should be saying that to Einjeru, Ino." Meanwhile Einjeru was close to snapping.

Sakura then said "There's no way you'll be able to go up against all of us." Einjeru said "I only need two of you to make a point. I believe you and Ino will do just fine Sakura." Sakura then said "What did Ino do?" Einjeru said with a little twinge in her voice "She bothered my friend." Ino and Sakura then said "What are you trying to do? Pick a fight?" Einjeru smirked saying "If you guys throw the punch, I'll be happy to oblige." They ball up their fists and wind back thinking "This little brat." Einjeru sighed. They threw the punches, and Einjeru caught them. She knocked them on the floor and said "You guys aren't worth the time, but I'll play around until our sensei gets here.

They got up and tried again. Einjeru knocked them down again saying "It's not a good idea to go throwing punches. You might end up on the floor again." They got up and tried to hit her again just to land on the floor with bruises on their faces. Einjeru sighed and said "I warned you. Not to mention I'm kind of bored." Iruka came in and saw Sakura and Ino on the floor nursing their faces. He said "Einjeru, I need to see you after class." She nods and goes back to her seat. She smirked and thought "That's what they get."

After the lesson and everyone left, Iruka said to Einjeru "We don't go around hitting others." Einjeru said "I was only defending myself. Ino and Sakura threw the first punches." Iruka then said "Well, did you provoke them?" Einjeru said "No, they just got mad because I wouldn't move. They wanted to sit next to Sasuke." Iruka then said "Who else were you sitting next to?" Einjeru said "Naruto." Iruka sighed and said "I know they threw the first punches, but you left a bruise on both of their faces. I know with how hard you hit it can be worse." Einjeru then said "How do you know how hard I can hit?"

Iruka replies "I've watched you at recess. You and Naruto go to the training logs and practice your punches. Each day we have to have to replace at least one of the logs because of it." Einjeru looked down and said "Sorry Iruka sensei. I'm just annoyed about all of the girls in the class getting mad at me because Sasuke comes next to me and sits. I decided to do something about it by showing them what they're lacking. I know my temper is least to be desired, but I really am trying. Not to mention that people bother Naruto for no reason, and it's not cool that you're ignoring it." Iruka gives a look and says "So someone has noticed."

Einjeru then says "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know why either. I'm not going to press on because anymore would get us a nice visit to Lord Third and Ibiki." Iruka says "You know?" Einjeru nods and says "I came to the conclusion myself. When I was still in the orphanage, I talked with him briefly. He's not as bad as you elders make him out to be. If you'd pay attention to that you wouldn't have so many problems out of him. He's pretty easy-going once you get past the shell you put on him. Don't get me wrong, he's still a notorious prankster."

Iruka smiled and said "Thanks for that. You still have detention, but I won't start it until next week." Einjeru nods and says "Can I go now?" Iruka nods. She walks out of the academy and sees Naruto. She smiles and says "You waited?" He smiles and says "Yeah, so what's the punishment this time?" Einjeru smiled and said "One week of detention, and it won't start until next week." Naruto smiled and said "I'm still trying to serve my detention which stretches into next week. At least I won't be by myself." Einjeru then says "You better report to Iruka sensei so you can get credit for your detention." Naruto nods and Einjeru heads home.

Upon getting in the door, Einjeru hears Kakashi calling her from the kitchen. She walks in and says "Hi Kakashi." He gestures for her to sit and says "I was at Lord Thirds office just a few moments ago because he got a complaint from the Yamanaka clan that their daughter was hit while at the academy. Would you care to explain?" Einjeru then said "It all started after Naruto and I walked into class and sat down. Sasuke walked in and all hell broke loose. Sakura decided to ask me to move just so she can sit next to him, but I wasn't moving away from Naruto, so Sakura tried to instigate. Ino then bothered Naruto and I was on the verge of snapping. Sakura and Ino decided to throw punches so I pushed them backwards once thinking they would stop. They went for a second punch and I pushed them back again warning them. The third punch I punched back. I left a bruise on both of their faces to remind them."

Kakashi then said "I assume you got detention." Einjeru nodded and said "Starting next week." Einjeru smiled and Kakashi then said "I hope that you're not smiling out of pride." Einjeru then said "No, but I found out what had been bugging Iruka sensei. That's why I'm smiling." Kakashi said "You didn't talk about it, did you?" Einjeru shook her head and said "That's part of the reason I'm not starting detention until next week." Kakashi then said "I'm just glad that I don't have to remind you of all that."

Einjeru sat down and rubbed her head. "Why do I feel funny?" She thought. Kakashi then said "Are you okay?" Einjeru shook her head and said "No, my head hurts like when I bumped it that night, but I never bumped my head today." Kakashi walks over to her and looks at her head and mouth. She gets a nervous look in her eye and says "Should I be nervous?" Kakashi shakes his head and says "Not yet. If the pain doesn't go away then we have a problem." Kakashi then thought "I never would've guessed that that part of the bloodline from my family would show." He sighs and says "Go get some rest Einjeru."

Kakashi walks around the village and Guy appears saying "Care to join me for some dumplings?" Kakashi felt he needed to confide in someone. He went with Guy and says "How would you feel if you found that I was a father?" Guy gives him a look and says "Well I'd never pictured you to be the fatherly type, but as your friend I'd support you." Kakashi then says "Well I guess it'd be okay to tell you. Lord Third told me a while ago that Einjeru was my flesh and blood." Guy then says "Einjeru is your actual daughter? I thought you were just watching over her." Kakashi then said "Tell me about it. I guess this was a blessing in disguise. She forces a certain behavior out of me." Guy then says "Why are you nervous about it?" Kakashi then says "I'm nervous that she'll be mad at me. I don't want her to think that I abandoned her for the first few years of her life."

Guy jumped up and said "Well, just make her understand that it wasn't your intention." Kakashi then said "But I'm not ready for the responsibility." Guy then says "No one is, but you'll know when, my rival." Kakashi then says "Talking to you always makes me feel better Guy. Thank you." Guy gives the nice-guy pose and says "No problem." Kakashi walks back to the apartment to see Einjeru holding her head.

Kakashi walks up to her and says "What's wrong?" Einjeru shook her head and said "It'd be better if you didn't know." Kakashi then thought "That's about the area where the ears would pop out." He then said "I already know just by the way you're holding your head. Move your hands." Einjeru moved them and revealed a set of black wolf ears with gray tips. She looked down and Kakashi said "There's no reason to be afraid. I've been hiding something from you." Einjeru looked at him and noticed a pair of ears sticking out of his hair. She said "Then you did hear what I said that night when you first brought me here." Kakashi nods and says "There's more to it than that, but I'm not ready to tell you." Einjeru nods and says "How do you hide them?"

Kakashi then says "Why do you think my hair is the way it is?" Einjeru shrugged and said "I always thought it was that way naturally." Kakashi chuckled and said "That's how I hide them." Einjeru then says "Well I can't hide them like that. We have to think of something because I'm not going to the academy like this." Kakashi then says "How about a bow?" Einjeru says "I may be a girl but that's too girly and the bow can come undone." Kakashi sighs and says "That's true especially when getting into fights."

Einjeru said "What about a genjutsu?" Kakashi was gobsmacked by the idea and said "Why didn't I think of that? The only ones who would know would be you and I. The genjutsu would affect everyone else and make it look like you're still normal." Einjeru smiled and Kakashi then said "It will be subtle enough that no one else in the village would even know that it's a genjutsu." Einjeru smiled more and Kakashi thinks "Well at least she inherited some brains." She then says "This will do until we can find a permanent fix."

They manage to contain the ears for six years. Unfortunately a few secrets come out on graduation day.