Namikaze Menma was a lot of things.

But a lot of people always seem to think that he was a perfect little mix of the Handsome Minato and Fiery Kushina. Menma was the child of their dreams, the perfect little happy sunbeams whose existence was there to complete Minato and Kushina's happiness. Menma was there, Menma was happy. Menma was showered with love and affections and everything was never wrong for him, because he had Minato and Kushina.

Wrong.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

People could never be more wrong about things in his life it actually disgust him a little.

Namikaze Menma was not a happy sunbeam. He was not the mix of Handsome Minato and Fiery Kushina. Menma was not someone who's everything never seemed to go wrong for the sole reason that he was the son of some powerful ninjas in Konoha.

Did people know that Kumo assassins are within his earshot every day? Or the fact that he actually read about what happened to Uzushiogakure? Or how he still couldn't accept that he ended up with Kyuubi sealed into him because Minato and Kushina thought that it was a good plan to redeem themselves for letting Kyuubi no Kitsune out in the first place and let the Fourth Hokage die to seal it within their son?

Sure, everyone didn't treat him any different than they treat other children of the village, but it still bothered him a lot. They didn't treat him like he was his own person, they treated him as if they were an extension of Minato and Kushina and he really hated it.

That was why the moment he was made genin, he rushed away from the graduation ceremony to dye his hair. Brownish black suited him better than the blond menace anyway. He discarded all the orange garbs people gifted him ("Son of Yellow Flash, and Red Habanero! It's gotta be orange, right?" yeah right, he was a fucking ninja not some civilian kid eager to be walking target) with and changed them to a plainer brown and gray.

Even as a genin, Menma trained hard. Hard enough that the guys over at Torture and Information division just look at the kid training on the grounds near their place find it strange on the days that he wasn't there. Hard enough to warrant a pat on the back by Mitarashi Anko herself. Hard enough to actually kill a Kumo ANBU in front of the Hokage herself.

Senju Tsunade had always find Minato and Kushina's son to be somewhat of an enigma. He wasn't like his father, who smiled and appeared calm and quiet as he think of the finer things in shinobi life. And he certainly wasn't like his mother who rush head first into troubles that seemed to always find her. Namikaze Menma was quiet, but not calm. He didn't rush into things, but prefer to finish things quickly. She realized long before everyone else that Namikaze Menma was his own person and not just his parents' children.

That was why after seeing a mere 12 year old genin managing to kill a Kumo ANBU, Tsunade offered him a deal that none of his parents had gotten before.

"Do you wish to be a part of the black ops?" She didn't say the word ANBU out loud, but the boy looked at her with a knowing smile on his face and he nodded. "It would be an honor, Hokage-sama." There was a cold glint on his eyes that Tsunade herself didn't understand. But she offered him a mask, and a chance to be out of the spotlight he seemed to hate with passion.

Unlike Namikaze Menma, Hyuuga Hinata loved the spotlight she had managed to work hard to earn.

Being the heiress of Hyuuga had been a birthright, and yet little Hanabi had come and exist and was more talented than her.

But it wasn't talent that made great ninjas, it was ruthlessness. So when a practice fight that was somehow witnessed by the entire member of Hyuuga clan was issued, Hinata showed more tricks than just Hanabi's masterful art of Gentle Fist. Shinobi with great array of jutsus and no kunai in their holster is not more brilliant than a shinobi with fair amount of jutsus and a holster full of kunai. They are in even standing, or the latter was even better.

(Did they think Hinata was stupid? Why else would a practice fight had so many spectators? They wanted to show everyone that Hinata was unworthy of her birthright!)

And so when Hanabi kicked her on the stomach, Hinata had drawn her kunai and made them explode behind Hanabi's back. Her little sister fell unceremoniously onto the floor, screaming and crying and shouting about how much it hurts. Hinata had hurt her hand when she pulled the stunt, but she got up anyways. Her stomach hurt very bad; Hanabi kicked her without any restraint, but at least she wasn't shouting indignantly in front of the esteemed Hyuuga clan.

During the entire fiasco, she could see a figure watching her with great interest on top of the Hyuuga estate's roof. The entire clan was panicking about the injury of their beloved Hyuuga Hanabi, so nobody saw him except for Hinata. Blue eyes too cold for concern, only reflecting amusement and curiosity and a yellow-colored blur followed his disappearance. It wasn't hard to notice who it was.

But first, Hinata had to deal with her clan. Her birthright. After Hanabi was taken care of, her entire clan had demanded explanation to her ruthlessness towards her own sibling. Hinata had stood proud with her chin up as she stared straight to her father, who looked sterner than ever. But she wasn't afraid, not anymore.

"It isn't masterful arts and jutsus that defined shinobi, father," Hinata had answered, her voice deadly calm and without any stutter. The front of demure lady so shy and beautiful had worked dismally for her and she will never want to wear the same mask ever again. "It is ruthlessness and willingness to commit something dreadful. Please do not consult me over the matter, I am sure that you know better than anyone else about sacrifices and ruthlessness, yes?" Talking about Uncle Hizashi was always somewhat of a sore spot for her father, but Hinata was smiling the politest smile she ever managed. Her father fell into silence before turning away in shame.

And the practice fight remained a practice fight; no changes of heir had occurred. Hinata was still the Hyuuga heiress, with ruthless as one trait of many she will be spoken of. And after that she began to find comfort and solace in someone who stopped wearing a mask also.

Namikaze Menma was no longer blond, and yet Hinata thought it suited him just fine. Blue eyes, still so cold and uninterested peered at her and everyone else in the world with curiosity. It attracted her. So very much. It was odd in all its reality but she fell utterly and completely for them.

Maybe it wasn't love, but really? She didn't care. She wanted those blue eyes to gaze at her and her alone. No matter what, no matter how.

Trying to attract Menma with all she had, that had been her childhood days. She used all resources she could, until finally, when a Kumo ninja came to kidnap her. She didn't fight back. She knew ANBUs are all in her detail, and she so wanted one particular ANBU with a particular mask to come for her.

And he did.

And he killed the Kumo ninja without mercy. Blood and all.

After that he slapped Hinata square on her face.

"You could do better," Menma's voice was that of complete and utter disgust, as if the thought of Hinata being a damsel distress revolted him. "You could do better than let a Kumo ninja take you. You could have killed him bloody and dirty. I had been interested in you but it seemed that I was wrong." The moon shone so bright on the sky and all Hinata wanted was to gaze at the man before him. She ignored his rant, took off his mask, and kissed him on his lips. Demanding, harsh, begging. She wanted him so so much it was breaking her apart.

Namikaze Menma had jolted with surprise at that, clearly not expecting the kiss. But then he gave in, domineering and rough in all his glory. Chest to chest, face to face, tongue to tongue. Until they had to break apart to catch a breath. The sight of Hinata's satisfied look and the nonchalance she displayed to the mangled corpse of Kumo ninja he had just killed….

Clever little minx.

"If I wasn't taken, you will never approach me. I was one of the actors playing on your stage, you were a spectator who will never come into stage. Now, I can be a spectator, just like you." He wasn't who people thought he was. Never once did Hyuuga Hinata think that Namikaze Menma was just his parents' son. No. Namikaze Menma is Namikaze Menma and nothing else. She found that it was beautiful and irresistibly tragic, that Menma always had to live in the shadow of his parents.

Menma was cruel and ruthless, Menma wasn't flaky or kind or brash or hotheaded. Menma was… Menma.

Then it took months for Menma to accept Hinata into his life. It took three years until Menma realized what he felt for Hinata, and another year for him to return Hinata's feelings.

And now, in present day of Konoha, they were known as one of the borderline psychotic and obsessive couple of ninjas who were impassive at best and violent and worst.

And this is where our story will begin.