Chapter 1: Xiokra And Riko The Cat.

"Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Fujiyaki Xiokra will make up Team 7."

Xiokra let out a sigh as Sakura exclaimed that there should only be three to a team. She, noting the averse glance from Sasuke, didn't care much for the arrangement either, but she sucked it up as she walked over to sit with them. The trio looked at her curiously, unsure of what to say. They didn't know anything about her. She wasn't one for conversation, and she intimidated most of their class. The only thing that they knew was that she used to live in the Uchiha Compound with Sasuke, which seemed to explain his aversion to her.

Finally, after all the teams had been named, Sasuke spoke to her, "Xiokra."

"That's my name," She commented dryly, sitting on top of a desk observing the emptying classroom.

"I loathe you."

"Oh, really? Do you have a taste for arsenic?"

"What?"

"Hating someone is like trying to kill them by drinking the poison yourself. It's a waste of time."

He looked up into her face, which she'd actually turned towards him for once, and said, "You don't hate me, then?"

"No. It's a waste of time and energy that I hold no interest in. Do you hate me?" She asked, smirking at the surprise that took his face, limited as it was.

"No." He replied.

"I didn't think so. Whoa, Naruto, What are you doing?" She asked, pushing herself down to go observe Naruto's prank.

"It's what our sensei gets for being late!" He said, securing the eraser in it's place in the door.

"Do you really think he'll fall for that? He's a jounin," Sakura commented.

It was as she finished her sentence that Kakashi pushed open the door, and totally fell for it as the eraser smacked against his head.

Xiokra laughed, "So, You're a jounin?"

He glared at her before saying, "My first impression is... I hate you. Meet me on the roof." And he vanished.

"Oh my," Xiokra said with a snicker, brushing her red bangs from her face as she walked out. After a moment, she poked her head in again and said, "You coming?"

Sasuke was the first to follow her, in spite of himself, and Naruto and Sakura followed him up the stairs.

"So," Kakashi said, observing the four he'd been assigned, "Let me get to know you a bit, hmm? Give me your name, your hobbies, likes and dislikes, and your dream. You first, pinkie," He said, gesturing to Sakura.

Xiokra refused to sit with them and instead stood by the wall surrounding them on the roof. She looked out over the village, listening vaguely to her teammates explanations until it was time for her to name her own.

"My name is Xiokra Fujiyaki. I don't have many hobbies. I like..." She trailed off, looking up at the sky, "I like colors and feelings and friends. I don't like apathy or hatred, I don't like people who only see in black and white, I don't like... I don't like myself. I don't have a dream... Well, there is one, I guess."

"What is it?" Kakashi said, surprised by how personal her speech had become.

"My dream is to find some people," She said, "And enjoy some sea-salt ice cream with them."

They all stared at her, taking in her strange, vague sort of dream. "Do you know them? Or just some random people?" Sasuke asked.

"I know them." was all she said.

Kakashi, considering Xiokra's dream and the file he'd found on her, explained to them the nature of the test they would have the following day, with the 66.6% failure and what not, and don't eat because you'll puke, and took his leave of them to go review Xiokra's file.

The four of them walked out of the academy building together, and Sasuke surprised Sakura and Naruto by asking Xiokra if he could walk her home.

"Could we come too?" Sakura asked her.

"Sure," She said, blandly, "If you want, you can stay, and I'll make dinner for you."

"Are you a good cook?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know," She said. "You'll have to tell me when you eat some, okay?" She continued with a laugh.

They reached her house, a small house on the edge of the old Uchiha Compound, much to Sasuke's discomfort. This faded away when they walked in to her house, and found the warm nature of her house. She had many dogs and cats, and they crowded the visitors lovingly except for a small white pup that slept in a small doggy bed and a black cat that hissed at them as they passed it.

"Wow!" Sakura exclaimed, picking up one of the kittens, "How many animals do you have Xiokra?"

"I don't think I could count them," She said with a laugh, "If you want to take one of them home with you, feel free. None of them have a real home, so they stay with me. Oh, but not that one." She pointed to the kitten Sakura held.

"Why?"

"That's one of Riko's," She gestured to the angry looking black cat that was eying Sakura suspiciously, "The fact that she's letting you hold her is something. She usually attacks anyone who touches her kits."

"Oh," Sakura said, putting the kitten down and bowing slightly to Riko in thanks, "Does she have a story?"

"Well, kind of," Xiokra said, turning to Sasuke, "Do you remember when you and your brother found me outside the Uchiha compound 10 years ago?"

"I only remember seeing you," He replied shortly, "Nothing else."

"Well, this cat followed the three of us back into the Uchiha Compound, but they wouldn't allow her to stay because of superstitions in the Uchiha Family. Mik- Never mind." She said, noting the tenseness that took Sasuke's form.

"Anyway, whenever I went into the village, Riko followed me everywhere. She jumped on my shoulders and stayed with me wherever I went except into the compound. When I left the Uchiha Compound, she moved into this house with me. I tried to give her a home I thought would better suit her, but she showed up at my doorstep again a few days later, with dried blood on her claws. She's been here ever since."

"Wow," Sakura said, smiling gently, "She must like you."

"What do you think, Riko?" Xiokra called to the feline, "Do you like me?"

The cat jumped up onto her shoulders and licked her face affectionately. The white pup wandered into the kitchen and nuzzled Xiokra's leg. She looked down, and, seeing the pup, pet her head gently.

"Now," she said looking from one to the other, "Out. I'm going to make food for them, alright?"

Riko jumped down and fled the kitchen, nuzzling the pup on her way and leading the thing out of the kitchen. The four of them chatted and ate the dinner that Xiokra prepared for them with gusto. She was a good cook, Naruto said with fervor, and asked her if she could make him some ramen some time. Finally, after some time, she and Sasuke were left alone. He wouldn't leave. He kept looking out the window and shuddering.

She brought him something, it was wrapped, so he couldn't make out the shape. She told him that he should open it when he got home, but a look of mild fear showed on his face and he shook his head.

"I'll walk you," She said, understanding his fear, and he looked relieved.

They didn't talk. It was a silent trip.

When they reached his house, he bid Xiokra goodnight, and went inside. He unwrapped the thing that she'd given him, and found a small square box. He opened it and found a necklace. It had the Uchiha family crest surrounded by what appeared some sort of animal's claws and a note.

"Dear Sasuke,

I made this for you. I meant to give it to you on your eighth birthday, but I fell ill. I decided I would give it to you when I felt better, but then... it was too late, and I couldn't bring myself to give it to you. Riko would lose her claws when we walked together sometimes, and those are what hang on the sides of the fan. I hope that you like it and treasure it dearly.

Sincerely, Xiokra."