"Ryo, I'm sending you to the Ninja Academy."

I'm Ryo Yamazaki and my clan is one of the richest in Konohagakure. I've been sheltered almost my entire life. I've only seen my father and his most trusted servants. However other branches have been conspiring to execute the main branch and take over. My father has been aware of their plans for a long time, even before I was born. That's why he's kept me hidden for the past 10 years. Lately he's seemed on edge and I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen soon. Which brings us to our current conversation.

"Father..." I whispered, staring at the wooden floor beneath my feet. "I do not think I could handle being a ninja."

"Don't be silly. You're not going to actually become a ninja. I'm only sending you there to be protected by ninja that are there. You're going to live with the strongest shinobi. I'll pay lots of money to have them protect you," My father fell to his knees in exasperation. His hands clutched the sleeves of my kimono. His head hung dejectedly.

"Father...?"

"I'm sorry we have to be separated. But this is the only way I can ensure your safety," He said as he stood up. "You leave at dawn tomorrow." I knew I couldn't argue so I kept my mouth shut.

- Dawn

I only packed a few things. My father had a group of ninja escort me to the Hokage's building. He was too paranoid that the lesser branches would attack at any moment.

"Ryo Yamazaki..." The Hokage smiled down at me. His eyes crinkled and he lifted a pipe to his mouth. "You're going to live with this jonin right here." The Hokage gestured to a man standing behind him. The man had gray hair and a mask that covered his face. He looked kind of annoyed and I was feeling uncomfortable living with someone I had never met before.

"H-Hello," I bowed to the man. The man softened his expression and seemed to smile, judging by the way his eyes crinkled.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake. I'll be caring for you until your father says it's safe to go back home," He said as he bent down to my height.

"Okay," I nodded. Hokage smiled at me again and then Kakashi brought me to his apartment.

"You can sleep in there. I don't use it for anything but it'll be your bedroom now," Kakashi pointed to a closed door. He sighed as he looked in his fridge. As he bent over to dig in the fridge he muttered, "Who knew I'd become a full time babysitter." I felt bad for making this man take care of me. I went into the room and it was empty except for a bed without sheets, a desk, and a small nightstand. I set my things down next the bed and opened the curtains. The view wasn't bad. I could see outside the village walls and the forest surrounding the village.

"Are you hungry? I haven't really gone shopping so there's nothing to make. We can go get ramen or something, " He rubbed the back of his neck. He looked just as uncomfortable as I feel. I nodded, trying not to make things harder for him. He turned around and motioned for me to follow him. I was excited to see the village. I've only seen the land that my family owns. "Wait. Your father said to wear this when you go out."

"Why?" I asked as he handed me a box.

"It's to disguise yourself. I guess the clothes you're wearing signify you as a Yamazaki. He just wants you to blend in," Kakashi explained. I closed my room door and opened the box. Inside were regular commoner clothes. I slipped on the black pants, white shirt, and sandals. I left my room and stepped outside where Kakashi was waiting. He handed me a black thing and said, "Here. You can borrow this. It's my old hitai-ate. I heard women in your clan aren't allowed to become ninja, so the lesser branches wouldn't pay attention to you if they saw you're wearing a forehead protector."

"Did your head get too big for it?" I asked as I tied it around my forehead, pushing my bangs to the side. His eye twitched and I could tell I annoyed him. I laughed at my own joke as I followed him to a ramen shop.

- Two years later

It's been 2 years since I've moved in with Kakashi. My father never came back for me. The lesser branches of the Yamazaki clan executed everyone. Including my father. I'm the only pure blooded Yamazaki left and only alive because of my father's paranoia. Kakashi expected me to only stay with him for a couple months. Those couple months turned into a couple years. Kakashi became an older brother to me as he taught me basic ninjutsu. I'm not very good at it so I never really practiced. I felt like I was betraying my clan by learning how to be a ninja.

"Ryo, I'm going to become a leader of a genin team," Kakashi said as he flipped through his book.

"Does that mean you're going to be gone a lot?" I asked as I cut meat. I learned how to cook since Kakashi almost burned the house down when I first moved in. Cooking became my passion. I was never allowed inside the kitchen at my dad's house and cooking took my mind of things. Plus it was a nice reward, being able to eat something that I made.

"Yeah. You can tag along if we're in Konoha. But if we're going on a mission out of town, you have to stay here," Kakashi set his book down and sat down in a chair at the counter. "They're your age so maybe you'll make some friends."

"Friends?" I've never had a friend before. I guess I could count Kakashi but he's almost 10 years older than I am. I want friends my age, people that I could relate to.

"Yeah... They'll probably be as annoying as you," Kakashi teased. I threw a knife at him and of course he easily dodged it but it's the feeling that counts. Living in my old house, I was never really able to express my feelings but now I'm able to act and do pretty much whatever I want. "Anyway... I'm leaving now to go meet them."

"Okay. Dinner will be ready soon so I'll just put it in the oven," I said as he left to go meet his new team.

- Three hours later; 3rd Person POV

Kakashi frowned as he entered his apartment. Ryo was laying on the couch watching TV.

"Yo," She said without looking up. She was intently watching a drama.

"They're annoying. I don't know if you'll get along with them, but you're meeting them tomorrow," Kakashi smiled.

"Really? Am I really?" Ryo sat up with shiny eyes and a wide smile. Kakashi nodded as he began eating the leftover food.

"So go get some rest because we're leaving early."

Ryo was so excited that night that she could barely fall asleep. Her mind was racing with thoughts on what they would be like.

"Ryo, meet Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke," Kakashi gestured to three kids. Sakura smiled at her, Naruto had a grin on his face, and Sasuke had a disinterested look on his face.

"Hi, I'm Ryo!" The 12 year old girl smiled. She quickly scanned each kid up and down and evaluated them based on their first impression. She didn't think they liked her but she wasn't going to let that discourage her.

"Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno," The pink haired girl waved.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Remember the name, believe it," Naruto held a thumb up.

"Sasuke Uchiha," The raven haired boy said as he glanced at the girl. 'Wow... He's handsome,' Ryo thought.

"So are you Kakashi's little sister?" Sakura asked. 'She's too pretty to be his sister,' Sakura's inner self frowned.

"Eh-" Kakashi started.

"Yeah," Ryo nodded. "Kakashi is my older brother."

"You two look nothing alike," Naruto frowned as he leaned into Ryo's face.

"You haven't seen him without his mask," Ryo leaned forward. Naruto shrugged.

"Anyway, Ryo here has never had a friend so you guys can hang out," Kakashi smiled and waved goodbye at the young kids.

"You called me out for this?" Sasuke sounded annoyed. Kakashi nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Ryo's eye was twitching from Kakashi embarrassing her.

"You've never had a friend before?" Sakura asked.

"No, I-" Ryo almost told them that she was part of the Yamazaki clan. "Kakashi was very overprotective of me."

"Hn,' was all Sasuke said as he turned around to walk back home. Ryo frowned and grabbed his arm. Sasuke was surprised and stared down at her hand clutching his wrist.

"Don't go," Ryo said as she looked into his onyx eyes. Sasuke didn't know what to say. He didn't know if it was her pleading eyes or the tight grip on his wrist but he sighed and hung his head defeated. Ryo smiled. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the two while Naruto was disinterestedly watching.

"Fine," Sasuke said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away. 'What the hell is wrong with me? Normally I would have walked away without a second thought. But when I looked into her eyes, I felt empathy for her. She looked lonely... Argh! What am I saying? Why should I care?' Sasuke argued with himself while Ryo smiled brightly.

"So what do you guys do for fun?" Ryo asked after the group aimlessly walked around Konoha. Naruto's ears perked up.

"Eating at Ichiraku's ramen shop, of course," Naruto grinned.

"Well..." Sakura trailed off as she fiddled with her thumbs and blushed at Sasuke. Ryo was confused.

"Your hobby is Sasuke?" Ryo asked the Haruno girl. Sakura screeched.

"N-N-No! I just- Where the hell did you get that conclusion?" Sakura fumed. Ryo lightly laughed and hid behind Naruto. Ryo was a bit terrified of Sakura. Naruto flinched and pushed Ryo forward.

"I just..." Ryo trailed off as she looked into the distance and saw a cute puppy run across the street, following a stray cat. "Puppy?"

"What-" Naruto and Sakura began and were interrupted by Ryo running past them to chase after the dog.

"Isn't that Kiba's dog?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded. The two followed Ryo and Sasuke reluctantly trailed behind. Once they rounded a corner, Ryo was snuggling up to the little white dog.

"Awwww, you're so cute," Ryo stroked the puppy's head.

"Akamaru!" The group of kids heard from behind them.

"Oi, Kiba," Naruto waved. "We have your mutt."

"He's not a mutt," Kiba panted when he met up with them. He looked at Ryo quizzically. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ryo. I'm Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura's friend," The girl with orange eyes smiled while she held out Akamaru for Kiba to grab.

"You're Sasuke's friend?" Kiba stifled a laugh. Ryo was confused once again. 'I'm going to have to practice my socializing skills...' She thought to herself. Sasuke shot Kiba a look, which made the Inuzuka kid burst out laughing. "I'm gonna go tell the others!"

"I don't understand," Ryo looked up at Sasuke. The last living Uchiha sighed and ignored her.

"Sasuke is hard to get along with. He's a little emo loner boy," Naruto laughed.

"Shut up, you moron," Sasuke huffed.

"Little emo loner boy..." Ryo repeated quietly as she stared into the sky.

"Don't listen to him!" Sasuke yelled.

"But it's true!" Naruto yelled back.

"Guys... don't fight," Sakura said calmly. They ignored her so she yelled, "Shut up Naruto! Don't talk about Sasuke like that!"

"Ah. I see," Ryo began as she watched Sakura's jade green eyes lovingly gaze at Sasuke. "You're dating Sakura, right?"

"Eh?!" Sasuke and Naruto yelled. Sakura squealed at hearing the words, even though she knew it wasn't true.

"No," was all Sasuke said. Ryo frowned, she began thinking that she really needed to work on her socializing skills.

"You guys should come over for dinner," Ryo quickly changed the subject. "I always make too much food, and Kakashi doesn't eat that much... So there's always lots of leftovers..."

"Sure, that sounds great," Sakura smiled. When Naruto didn't answer and just stared at the Yamazaki girl, Sakura punched him.

"Y-Yeah, that's cool," Naruto winced in pain as he rubbed his arm where Sakura punched him. He pouted as he looked at the ground.

"Sasuke?" Ryo said hopefully.

"Yeah, I'll go," Sasuke said. He hasn't really eaten with other people since his family was murdered. And once again, her sad eyes made his heart tug and he went along with it, despite his mind telling him no. Ryo smiled and motioned for them to follow them.

"Kakashi, I'm home," Ryo said as she swung open the front door. "I brought friends."

"Oh great," Kakashi said sarcastically. He was reading his book on the couch.

"So this is your place, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked as she took a look around. She went into the kitchen and sat down at the counter on a barstool. Naruto sat down on the couch next to Kakashi and squinted his eyes.

"Are you reading a pervy book in front of a bunch of 12 year olds?" Naruto disgustedly asked. Kakashi sweatdropped.

"No," He said and he went into his room. Ryo laughed and then noticed Sasuke standing in the doorway. She went up to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the counter to sit next to Sakura despite his protests.

"Just sit and wait while I make dinner," Ryo said as she pulled out a bunch of pans. Shyly, she added, "I've never made food for anyone but Kakashi so I'm kind of excited."

"I'm happy to be the first outside of the family to try it," Sakura smiled. She dismissed Ryo as a potential love rival to Sasuke when she noticed how nice she was to everyone.

As the night passed by, Ryo quickly got close to the other kids. She had only met them that day but she felt like she had known them for years. She admired Sakura'a feistyness, Naruto's determination, and Sasuke's subtle kindness. She wanted to be more like them. The kids watched movies for the rest of the night, eating junk food, telling stories, just doing what kids normally do. She was still getting used to Sakura's outbursts, Naruto's rude comments, and Sasuke's aloofness but she was happy for the first time in a while to have finally made friends.

As time passed, Ryo increasingly got closer to Sasuke. She felt a stronger connection with him than anyone else. They both lost their family and had lived a lonely life. She often went to his house and the two would just sit outside and stare at the sky, neither of them knew what the other person was thinking but they found comfort in each other. Sasuke acted like he didn't really care but he knew he really appreciated her presence. Ryo had told him about her past, and her true family. That she was a Yamazaki, not a Hatake. She confided in him her deepest sadness, something that she didn't even do with Kakashi.

"Oi," Ryo looked at the Uchiha who was sharpening his kunai. Sasuke didn't even look up but she continued talking. "Can you teach me ninjutsu?"

"Huh?" Sasuke stopped sharpening his knives. "I thought you didn't want to learn."

"Yeah but... Seeing you and Naruto and Sakura do all these things makes me want to try. Plus if my uncle ever found out that I exist, I want to be able to protect myself."

"Okay," was all Sasuke said. He didn't like arguing with her. He wanted her to be safe and if this would help, he would do it. "I'm going to teach you an Uchiha technique."

"Wait, really? Wouldn't that be disrespectful to your family?" Ryo asked cautiously. She knew how defensive he got when it came to his family.

'I consider you family,' Sasuke thought.

"No, it's just a jutsu. First you start off..."

Ryo tried her best but all she could get out was a puff of smoke. Sasuke was patient with her and they spent days working on it.

"Firestyle: Fireball Jutsu," Ryo yelled. A ball of fire came out and swept across the same pond that Sasuke used to practice at. It wasn't a large ball, but it was something. Ryo's eyes widened and she smiled. "Sasuke, did you see that?"

"Yeah, good job," was all he said. He was sitting on the concrete where the pier started. Ryo ran to the concrete and threw her arms around the Uchiha. She tackled him and squeezed him tightly. "R-Ryo-"

"Thank you for teaching me!" Ryo squealed as she hugged him even tighter. Sasuke's face was turning red and he couldn't move. Either her grip was too strong or he liked being in her arms. He patted her back awkwardly and stroked her short hair, as if returning the hug. That's when Ryo let go and smiled at him again, making him choke and start coughing. "Oh, are you okay? Did I choke you?"

"N-No, I'm fine," Sasuke stuttered. He stood up and dusted himself off. "Anyway are you ready to- Ryo? What's wrong?"

Ryo was crying. Her hands covered her face but Sasuke could see tears hit the concrete. Her shoulders were shaking and she was making little whimpers.

"Ryo?" Sasuke kneeled down. Sasuke sat with her and listened to her cry for a few minutes until she calmed down.

"I'm-I'm sorry," Ryo hiccuped. "I'm just so happy."

"What?" Sasuke was so confused. 'Crying because she's happy? Why do I even love her? Wait, what did I just say? I don't love her,' Sasuke sighed.

"All my life I was alone. The past couple years it was just Kakashi and I... And ever since I met you and Naruto and Sakura, I feel like I've found something to live for. I'm so thankful for meeting you. You make me so happy," Ryo sniffled.

"Jeez..." Sasuke muttered as he stood up once again, holding out his hand to help her up. He couldn't help but blush at her words. He even thought her crying face was cute. "That's not something to cry about."

"I know... I'm sorry," Ryo smiled as she looked up at him through tears, grabbing his hand. Sasuke used his shirt sleeve to wipe away her tears.

"Don't cry," was all Sasuke said as he turned around and walked into his house, knowing Ryo would follow him.

"Sasuke?" Ryo whispered. Sasuke grunted in response. "I want you to know that you're my best friend... And even if the whole world is against you, I'll always be by your side."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He didn't know how to respond so he stayed silent. A few minutes later he finally replied with, "Thank you."

- The Day Sasuke Leaves Konoha

"Sasuke... Don't go," Ryo tugged on the hem of his shirt. The boy remembered the first words she said to him. 'Don't go,' was the first thing. Now it seemed like it was one of the last things she would say to him. Sasuke had made up his mind to leave the village. It was almost midnight, and she barged into his house as he was packing his things.

"I have to do this," Sasuke pushed her hand away. There was a gnawing feeling in his chest.

"Don't you dare leave me," Ryo yelled. Sasuke froze. She had never yelled at him before.

"You know exactly why I have to leave," Sasuke turned around and towered over her.

"If you go, I'll hate you forever," Ryo threatened. She knew her words wouldn't matter to him. He had been hell bent on revenge even before she met him. Her love for him wasn't enough to make him stay. Sasuke stayed silent. He closed his bag and swung it over his shoulder. "Don't ignore me!"

"I'm leaving now," Sasuke said as he stepped outside.

"I hate you, Sasuke. I wish I never met you," Ryo whispered. Sasuke heard this and turned around. He stepped towards the girl and pulled her into a hug. Her eyes brimmed with tears as he tightened his arms around her.

"I know you don't mean that. Good bye, Ryo Yamazaki," Sasuke said as he pulled away. He walked down the road, leaving the orphan girl sobbing in front of his house.