Greetings! This is my sequel to "All I Have Is Yours," which introduced my OC, Atsuko. It has been some time since the last story, maybe a month or two. Upon her agreement to live in Konoha, she was still under slight suspicion, so her path to becoming a shinobi is more difficult. She was required to attend the Academy to familiarize herself with how the shinobi work in Konoha. Since she'd already had some basic training, she picked things up fast and had little trouble moving through the classes quickly. She may have shared her knowledge with other students...

This story picks up with graduation, and life after the Academy. I'm using a different approach than I normally do: typically I write the entire story then put it up on FFN but this time, I'm going to try putting it up as I go. I have a general idea of where I'm going and certain things I want to happen, but who knows what happens in between? We'll just have to see.

My goal is to take this through her stint as a genin, the chunin exams and her subsequent (likely) promotion, and what happens after that with her friends. At the same time, the Naruto universe keeps going and she will be in Konoha by the time Naruto returns. She'll likely be involved somehow in all the major Konoha events after that. In the meantime, keep an eye out for familiar faces, as it were. Expect Genma, Iruka, and probably other characters. Most of the main characters will be of my own creation, so again, if you don't like OC's, then this probably isn't for you.

Please review, let me know what you think. I think it's off to a great start, but I'd appreciate any input that would help give me ideas.

"…and that's the basic principle behind the jutsu," finished the instructor with a flourish of chalk. Iruka glanced behind him at his class. Half of them were staring out the window, a handful had fallen asleep, and the rest were either passing notes or whispering to each other. He sighed. It was late afternoon and the end of the school term was nearly an hour away.

"All right," he said finally, tossing the chalk. "I know a lost cause when I see one. Close your notebooks and go home." With a combined cheer, there was a sudden flurry of movement as the children crammed their way through the classroom door. "Just don't forget to attend your graduation tomorrow!" he added loudly.

In moments the room was empty save for one person in the back, a young woman who remained seated.

"Not going to join the others, Atsuko?" Iruka asked as he began collecting notebooks left on the desks.

Atsuko laughed. "I'm a little old for that," she replied and began helping him. Atsuko was fifteen, several years older than her classmates. Iruka watched her for a few moments.

"You know, I think this year I had the best average scores since I started teaching here," he said. Atsuko gave no reply. "I've never had so many students perform this well in a single term."

Iruka saw the corner of her mouth curl up. "I'm glad. I realize the process is supposed to be more selective, to let only the best graduate, but we need all the ninja we can have trained and out in the field."

"You've thought a lot about this, I see."

She shrugged. "I've overheard some conversations. Also any village that receives an attack like Orochimaru's would have suffered a severe loss of trained ninja."

"That is a valid concern, and it is to your credit that you recognize it as such. The fact that you took that a step further and personally tutored those who wished to improve speaks to your character." He gave her a wide comforting smile. "You will make a fine ninja."

Atsuko's cheeks colored and she stared at the floor awkwardly. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

"Well, you are graduating tomorrow," he reminded her, "then you'll be a genin and it will only be a matter of time before you make chunin."

"Graduation," she repeated slowly as her face brightened. "One step closer to calling myself a ninja of the Leaf."

"You've earned it, but the title comes with a difficult path. So far you've proved to us that you're capable. Now you must learn to fulfill your potential and become greater." He gestured for her come closer. "Now give me those notebooks and enjoy the rest of your day."

Relieved of her burden, she threw him a smile as she left the room. "Thank you, sensei, for everything. I'll become a great shinobi!"

=/=

Graduation was a bit awkward. Ignoring that she was by far the oldest graduate, the fact remained that the ceremony was for the benefit of the parents and to a lesser degree to show the villagers another generation of young ninja on their way to inheriting the fate of Konoha. It was sort of hard to get into the spirit when you had no parents and weren't even from Konoha.

Nobody would have prevented her from skipping—and she almost had—but in the end she decided to attend. She thought about doing it for her father; he would have attended, had he still been alive, but he wouldn't have needed a ceremony to be proud of her. She even thought that she could show those who had initially doubted her how far she'd come, but everyone had been remarkably kind, probably out of ignorance of her origins, and she couldn't think of anyone in particular who didn't believe she could do it. So, in the end, she came for herself. She had nothing to prove to anyone but herself—she'd learned that from Naruto. That boy with the incredible strength had helped her out of the darkness caused by her father's death and the loss of everything she'd known. Now she had her dream, which was to become a shinobi and call Konoha home. Today she would wear her headband proudly, proclaiming herself a genin. She was one step closer to her dream.

The whole thing was over by midday. Apart from a nice inspirational (in a sort of scary way) speech by the Fifth Hokage, and the scores of beaming faces in the crowd, everything went by in an unimportant blur. Her headband was tied securely around her forehead, giving her such pride that she never wanted to take it off, and everything else faded into the background.

While the graduates mingled with the parents at the conclusion, Atsuko slipped away to enjoy her success in solitude. Tomorrow she would join her 3-man team and begin the next step of her training.

"Skipping out on the post-graduation party? Jeez," said a voice. Atsuko spun and saw a shinobi with a senbon in his mouth leaning casually against a tree.

"Genma! What are you doing here?"

"You left too abruptly for me to give you this," he replied, handing her a small package.

Atsuko accepted the package, feeling her cheeks warm. She'd assumed no one would care if she graduated. But Genma had been there at the beginning and had played a critical role in her decision to become a shinobi. She was ashamed that she hadn't expected him to be interested in her progress.

The package wasn't very large and lacked the hardness or corners of a box. She unwrapped the plain brown paper and found inside a standard shinobi equipment pouch. The fabric was sturdy and the interior was already packed full with kunai knives, smoke bombs, shuriken, and every tool a shinobi would need.

"Thank you," she said, surprised at how overwhelmed she felt by his gift. It was plain and useful, but the fact that he had been the one to give it to her made it all that more meaningful.

Genma remained stern looking but she saw the corner of his mouth turn up as he nodded his acknowledgement. "Do you know how to use them?"

"Yes."

He nodded towards a tree several meters away. "Show me."

She knew Genma had seen her rudimentary skills when they had fought the Sound assassin together. Since then, she'd practiced, knowing full well the importance of an accurate throw of a weapon. She'd been in the upper percentile of her class.

First she attached the pouch to her waist. Then she removed four shuriken, each one on a finger through the hole in the middle. Crossing her arms in front of her, she took a deep breath and threw all of them at once. They slammed into the tree, forming a tidy line down the trunk. Then removing eight kunai knives, she performed the same maneuver. The knives formed two parallel lines of four, flanking her shuriken. She turned to Genma proudly but his face was impassive.

"Do it again while running towards the target."

She did as he asked. The lines weren't as neat, but the pattern was preserved. Without comment, Genma then had her attack the tree from above, had her change the pattern they made on the trunk, and a dozen other criteria that she managed to meet. She began to feel the strain of a workout but she maintained her concentration and level of intensity, doing everything Genma asked of her.

She didn't dare ask when to stop. She knew he was testing her and she wanted to impress him with how much she'd grown.

Finally, her muscled tired and her breathing started becoming ragged, Genma put up a hand.

"That's enough for now. Gather your weapons and let's go back to the village."

She'd expected some other kind of test when they exited the forest, but Genma led her to a restaurant where he bought both of them lunch. His field test had been extensive and it was far into the afternoon, as her stomach reminded her. Still, Genma's presence confused her. He was a jonin and wasn't even an instructor of any sort, so she couldn't understand why he was putting her through these tests.

They ate in silence, for which she was grateful, hungry as she was. She'd been curious if he would eat with the senbon still in his mouth, but he'd soundly stuck it upright in the wood table as they ate.

Finally, after pushing the empty dishes out of the way, the senbon went back in his mouth and he put his elbows on the table, fingers crossed in front of his face so only his eyes showed.

"You've taken your promise to become a shinobi seriously," he said.

"It is my dream," she replied.

"Your weapon skills are adequate and Iruka has spoken well of your ability to learn and retain information. Who is going to be your jonin teacher?"

"Hayama Shirakuma."

Genma nodded. "I know him. Shirakuma is quiet and good at strategy. You will get along with him. Do you know the other two genin?"

Shaking her head she said, "Iruka-sensei told me that considering my skills and age I was joining an established team since they are closer to my age and they lost one of their team members recently."

"I see. That is good for you; you need to be around others your age and with similarly developed abilities. Have you learned any other jutsus besides your chakra shield?"

"I've been able to better control and manipulate the shield but most of my effort was put into my classes and improving my weapons skills."

"Also tutoring other students," added Genma, his hands still obscuring his face.

She frowned. "Iruka-sensei told you, didn't he?"

"It was not a criticism. Being able to teach means you understand how to do it well."

Atsuko blushed and said nothing.

Genma continued. "What element are you?" When she shrugged he grunted. "It is a disadvantage that you don't know your lineage, but not necessary. However, finding your affinity will allow you to learn stronger families of jutsus." He unlaced his fingers. "Meet me back by the tree in ten minutes."