Chapter One: Robin

"So, how was last night while I was working overtime?"

"None of your business. If anything, Temari and I finally got some peace and quiet without you and yours constantly interrupting our night like you always do."

I huffed; a strand of my black hair straying into my eyelash as it sashayed back and forth across my back as I glared at my longtime roommate, Shikamaru Nara. He stared down at me with the snidest face I had ever seen, and I stopped to fix my hair. The single braid draped around my forehead, much like a crown, was unique only to me. Braids were the defining style of the Nekomura clan, and I wasn't about to break tradition by letting my braid down, even though I often heavily considered it.

"You know what?" I fired back as I finally fixed my hair. "I was in my unit until the crack of dawn, delivering twins into this world, and you've got the nerve to tell me that I'm a nuisance! Also, how dare you refer to Kiyoshi and I in such a disrespectful way–!"

"You know, Kairi," Shikamaru had stopped, ignoring my spiel entirely, just like he always did with a lax smile plastered to his face. "You really need to stop taking my words so seriously."

I tightened into a relaxed, prideful pose with my hands clasped in front of my being, fearsomely staring up at Shikamaru, though my wide, gray eyes never really seemed to cause him to waver in the slightest. The black tattoos of claw marks adorned on each of my cheeks stretched in the reflection of myself in his eyes as I smiled dangerously.

"Well, you're just lucky Kiyoshi isn't here to let you know she doesn't enjoy being talked down upon as well."

The skies above us were only slightly dotted with the presence of clouds. The warm, summer day beat down upon us as we traveled back to Shikamaru home across town, side-by-side like we always did. At times, I couldn't help but smile when I thought of how we had first met when I had arrived at the doorstep of Konoha: with that same irksome tone that he often used around me. Though, I couldn't find it in myself to be mad at him for it – after our bond grew from strangers to near-siblings, that same tone had grown on me.

He's damn lucky that I tolerate it, too!

Shikamaru's home peeked out from behind the brush of the quiet outskirts of the bustling city of Konohagakure; its downplayed demeanor had always given off an air of calm in the hype city, and a blonde woman sat on the steps awaiting our arrival. I heaved a heavy sigh as I watched her deep green eyes dart from Shikamaru to me. The hostility in them was obvious.

"What the hell were you boneheads up to this time? Leaving me alone with that damn cub! I even had to relocate outside because I wasn't sure if it was going to eat me or not!"

Upon seeing the distress painted across her face up close, I couldn't help but laugh as Shikamaru let out a pained breath, pinching the bridge of his nose briefly before advancing toward the feisty woman.

"Temari, watch your language," Shikamaru sighed and rubbed the back of his neck briefly before offering her a hand to help her stand up, which she readily refused. "I was simply escorting Kairi back home before she fell asleep on her feet. You've seen how tiring it is being in the medical unit past posted hours – besides, you were the one who kicked me out of my own house to 'get some air', remember? Troublesome woman."

I briefly stopped laughing to wipe the budding tears out of my eyes, saying the first thing that popped into my head at the mention of Kiyoshi:

"Kiyoshi wouldn't eat you! After all, she's still a cub and wouldn't be able to take on such large game for a meal!"

Immediately, I realized the repercussions of what I had just said, and without waiting for the inevitable slap that I would receive, I quickly made my way around Temari and shut the door behind me, where Temari's unhappy grumbles slowly turned into angry ones:

"Shikamaru! Are you just going to let her get away with saying that to me? Useless!"

"I thought you could take care of yourself."

Shikamaru's deadpanned reply was so indisputably vicious that I stationed herself beside the door in curiousity, holding my mouth to keep the laughter in as Temari stuttered out her answer:

"I-I can! It-it'd just be nice to have backup for once, especially from the man that you put all of your responsibilities in your home village to the side for! Speaking of, why the hell can't we ever get any time for ourselves without her around to make my blood boil?"

"Well, in Kairi's case, she wasn't wrong. With Kiyoshi being as small as she is, it'd be impossible for her to eat you, Temari. In fact, it'd be statistically impossible for Kiyoshi to kill you in the first place, given the circumstances. I'm not going to back you when your stance is incorrect and impractical. Anyway, it's been months since you've moved in with us, Temari. It'd be nice if you stopped being so troublesome and got along with each other."

"Augh! Forget it! Why do you always have to baby her? Why does she have to stay here anyway? If she wasn't in my hair all of the time, maybe I'd make more of an effort to not hate the shit out of her!"

I had only just begun to step away from the door with the remnants of laugher on my face, but at Temari's sudden coldness toward my existence, the smile faded away and was replaced with my own genuine dislike for her as well. Ever since Temari had moved in with Shikamaru and I, the tenseness in the household had gone to astronomical levels. I couldn't help myself in teasing Temari, since she was such an easy target, but I never thought that I'd ever taken it too far – or at least, far enough to make the aggressive Sunagakure woman hate me.

I've never said anything outright horrible to her… just what the hell did I do to make her so angry with me? I've only been harmlessly jabbing at her… right?

I shook my head to clear it as I thought about the delightful bundle of fur that was probably waiting for me in the kitchen; Kiyoshi – my companion and best friend who just so happened to be a white tiger cub. In the Nekomura clan, it is custom to have a feline companion alongside of you, no matter what kind, and the white tiger cub had chosen me of her own accord. Having been separated from her family and nowhere else to turn, I had taken her in and cared for her, leading to the two of us to become nearly inseparable.

I reached the small kitchen, finding Kiyoshi lounging on the floor near her empty food bowl. The cub let out a yawn and pawed at her nose as if it itched, glancing at me with her icy eyes. Just the sight of her makes my heart melt every time – it was always calming to know that when I got home, not everyone wanted me to leave.

"You weren't actually going to eat Temari, were you?"

Just the thought made me smile as I put Temari's harsh words out of my mind and crouched to itch Kiyoshi's exposed belly.

She didn't mean it… or at least, I don't think she did… whatever. I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me upset over this.

Kiyoshi stared back at me, letting out a tired, quiet meow.

"Didn't think so!" I laughed at the relaxed reply of my companion. "I'll fill your bowl, but then I've got to go to sleep! I'm tired as hell."

As I stood to get into the cabinet where Kiyoshi's food was kept, the front door slammed. Light, quick footsteps faded up the stairs where another door promptly slammed shut. I could only roll my eyes at this point: this always happened when Temari and Shikamaru discussed my antics. Temari would always get angry and run upstairs and shut their door and cry for hours, and Shikamaru would do his thing and blatantly ignore her until she calmed down.

Rinse and repeat.

The front door closed quietly again and Shikamaru rounded the corner into our kitchen, looking exasperated.

"What a pain," he sighed, rubbing his face with his hand before searching for a glass in the cabinets alongside me. I had just pulled out the soft food that Kiyoshi had recently taken a liking to as he continued softly: "Why does she always have to be so temperamental all the time?"

"I'm sure she'll calm down like always." I slowly scraped the last of the soft food into Kiyoshi's bowl and stood up once again, staring at Shikamaru as he turned on the sink to fill the small, shiny glass that he had gotten out. Yet, I couldn't find it in myself to beat around the bush about their fight. "I heard what she said about me out there."

Shikamaru took a long swig of the water that came out of the tap, released a hefty breath, and dragged his eyes toward me. They were unreadable now.

"What; do you think I believe what she said?"

Shamefully, I brought my gaze down to Kiyoshi, who quietly ate her meal without giving any indication that she cared about the important conversation. I glanced back up at him before sitting beside Kiyoshi, who continued to feed.

"Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if your lives would be better if I just moved out. I mean, it can't be too hard to find my own place; just for Kiyoshi and I. I–"

"Listen to yourself. You're being ridiculous," Shikamaru had finished his drink and immediately began to wash the dish that he had dirtied without looking my way. "I offered you a place to stay and I don't mind your company. I don't know what her problem is with you, but I've told her time and time again that whatever it is, she needs to cut it out."

"After all," there was an awkward silence between us as Shikamaru began to dry the glass before putting it away. As he put the newly-cleaned dishware into the cabinet above his head, he paused before closing the cabinet door, muttering so softly that I almost needed to lean forward to hear what the last part of his sentence was: "She doesn't know why you're so reluctant to move out. I haven't told her the real reason why we're roommates. She doesn't understand."

I widened my pupils unintentionally, allowing them to nearly erase the presence of my irises, much like a fearful feline. Shock filled my limbs as I shot up from my spot next to Kiyoshi, whose hackles rose at my sudden movement before continuing to eat:

"She doesn't know? What do you mean she 'doesn't know'?! You haven't told her?"

Shikamaru shrugged, finally closing the closet and turning toward me with conviction present in his demeanor.

"No. I've been hoping that she would reform herself without that extra bit of information, that way when I did finally get around to telling her, it wouldn't feel like a guilt trip. Now, I'm seriously considering it. This is simply getting too out-of-hand. I mean, I love her, but she needs to realize that I'm not going to simply drop you because she told me to. I usually do whatever women want to avoid this situation, but I'm not bending that far."

I was quiet for a moment, mulling over Shikamaru's reasoning. Sure, he was usually right in situations like this one – a lesson that I had learned the hard way – yet I couldn't help but wonder that if I decided to let the couple live in peace… their problems might just go away.

I'm the cause of their grief. If I was out of the picture, Shikamaru and Temari might not fight at least once every couple of days.

"It doesn't help that you're always defending me – I don't want to be the cause for the end of your relationship," I finally closed my eyes and released the gross feeling of being a liability that I had always felt when discussing Temari and her inherent dislike for me. "I know that you two have been particularly rough these past couple of weeks. You don't have to defend me anymore."

Shikamaru opened his mouth to respond to me, but footsteps interrupted whatever he was going to say: Temari stood in the empty doorway to the kitchen, the porcelain skin around her eyes red with stress and those green eyes tainted with tears.

"Alright," the tough woman appeared to swallow the lump in her throat, though her gaze remained sharp as her eyes skated over me and finally found themselves on Shikamaru. "Just what the hell are you playing at?"

I stiffened at the coldness in Temari's voice, and Kiyoshi looked up from her meal, her large eyes on Temari's angry stance. Shikamaru slowly stood up straight, approaching Temari from the left side.

"What–?"

"Don't come any closer!" Temari shouted at him, causing him to freeze in place out of confusion. "Just tell me what the hell is going on!"

I opened my mouth to speak in Shikamaru's place, but Temari's gaze shot to me in an instant. "I'm not talking to you, so just stay out of it!"

With that, I slowly became a spectator, watching Shikamaru put his hand up to the bridge of his nose.

"Just what the hell are you on about now?"

"You know what I mean! Between you and her! I heard everything so don't think you can hide anything from me like you have been! And don't think I won't hesitate to walk right out if I think for even a second you're lying to me!"

Sensing the haziness of the situation, my eyes widened as I started toward Temari, against my better judgment.

"Can't we do this in a quieter–"

Without warning, Temari took off in my direction, her eyes glinting like an animal that spotted its first prey of the night as she rose her fist to my face.

"I'm not talking to–!"

I glanced to her left and right frantically, and upon seeing there was nowhere that I could quickly escape to, I immediately shut my eyes and covered my face with my hands like I always did, hoping somehow the danger would disappear if I couldn't see it. It was a last resort – a shutdown of sorts – that I always seemed to initiate when I felt that there was no escape from a situation or an idea.

Upon the moment of supposed impact, I held my breath, but only sounds of suppressed anger could be heard above the furious pumping of my own heart. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes to see Shikamaru restraining Temari with both arms tucked up as he locked both of her arms so that they were useless.

"Kairi, leave this to me!" Shikamaru shouted over Temari's slew of swear words directed in my general direction. "I'll talk to her! Just get out of the house!"

I was frozen in fear. I let my eyes shift frantically from Temari's livid face to Shikamaru's desperate one, and slowly all sound began to fade from existence out of pure fear.

During Shikamaru and Temari's fights, there were times when Temari would manage to slap me or curse me out, which never really was a big deal to me. Typically, I deserved some of the swears and some of the slaps, but this was completely different. Temari had approached me in a manner that showed her intent to injure me, and Shikamaru had never had to physically restrain her before.

What do I do? Holy shit, what do I do?

"Kairi! Dammit, did you hear me? Just get out of the house, okay? I can handle this!"

Shikamaru's voice finally broke through my system shutdown and I bolted past Temari's swinging fists to the front door and down into the forest behind Shikamaru's home without even looking to see if Kiyoshi had followed me out.

I didn't stop running until I felt myself stumble over my own feet.

"Shit!"

I hit the ground, falling onto my left side and pinning my left arm beneath my body, but instead of scrambling to get up and continue to run through the forest until I was met with the bustling city of Konohagakure, I couldn't find it in myself to move from my position on the ground. A wet tongue slithered across my forehead and Kiyoshi pawed at my nose like she always did, as if to wake me from sleep.

"It's alright, Kiyoshi. I'm just going to lie here for a while."

No matter how stressful the situation, I had pushed back tears from the beginning of this altercation. I wasn't going to let Temari be the reason why I wasted energy. Yet, now I could feel the familiar lump breeding in my throat.

"I knew today was going to be horrible." I laughed softly to Kiyoshi, who now sat beside my head as if to comfort me. The lump began to tighten in my throat. "My horoscope told me it would be especially tense today."

Kiyoshi whined a familiar answer to me, and I managed to laugh at what she had said, though my eyes had begun to fill with tears.

"You know I can't skip my horoscope readings, and you know how they're typically right. If anything, I should take this fortune-telling stuff more seriously!"

The words were meant to be a light-hearted jab at myself, but instead, the two sentences tasted bitter on my tongue and the familiar burning sensation seared my throat. To anyone else, the meaning of those words should have been just that – listening to the horoscopes. Yet, to me, these same words had a whole other meaning that took me back to a much scarier, tense time in my life.

In my mind, unlike Temari, it was this grim reminder of my past that was allowed to beckon tears rather than this situation. The more I knew this, the more I lessened my will to keep from crying.

Lying in the grass beside my companion, I finally felt those tears begin to run down my cheeks.

"Kairi! Are you okay?"

A deep voice startled me out of sleep. I realized the long night that I had had whilst delivering those twins must have caught up to me as I slowly sat up to see none other than Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru's best friend, staring down at me with a worried grimace on his face.

"Oh, hey Choji. Yeah, I'm good. Just taking a little dirt nap, if you get my drift."

Despite the reminder of my past lingering in my headspace, I managed to choke out the best line I had come up with. Even Choji couldn't help but laugh at that one.

"Man, I guess you really are okay, otherwise you wouldn't be joking like that! Shikamaru called me out and sent me over to get you and tell you to be on your way home. Want me to walk you over there?"

"Why not?" I stood and watched Kiyoshi blink her eyes open as well. When I stood, I glanced down at my feet to see wet dirt where my face had been… where I had cried. Quickly, I wiped my face and slid my foot over the dirt, trying to cover it up. "But, do you think we could take the long way… like always?"

Choji seemed to be one-step ahead of me, walking in the direction toward the busy streets, a certain pep in his step. When he finally turned back to me, the caring look on his face told me he had already put together the pieces.

"Like always."

Choji and I stopped by all of the usual spots – the infamous barbecue place that Choji loved for the pork, the Yamanaka Flower Shop that I loved because of my gardening fixation, and we even managed to pass by Ichiraku's before Choji stopped abruptly.

"Hey Kairi, think Shikamaru can wait a little longer than usual? I'm feeling up to some pork ramen right about now!"

Before I could even formulate an answer, Naruto Uzumaki and another individual stepped out of the booth.

"And I couldn't even believe that the fish was this big–! Hey, Choji, Kairi! Whatcha doing, hanging around here?"

Naruto turned his bright smile toward me, causing me to immediately feel better than I had earlier; though we were never particularly close, Naruto had always been friendly and nice to me and I couldn't fault him for that. Though he was sometimes a bit much and sometimes didn't get my jokes, I had always liked this kid.

"Naruto! It's a bummer that you've already finished eating – I was about to challenge you to a contest!" Choji shook his head shamefully, yet Naruto crossed his arms over his chest proudly. "Who said I was finished? I've always got room for ramen!"

I couldn't help but laugh along with the two old friends, but my laughter came to an abrupt halt when I laid eyes on the person beside Naruto. For the second time in twenty-four hours, my processing shut down as I recognized the sole object of my true fear:

Kiba Inuzuka.

With the blood-red tattoos of fangs upon his cheeks, much like the black claw marks on hers, ever since our first meeting, he had scared the living hell out of me.

Within the Nekomura clan, speaking of the Inuzuka clan was considered taboo, so naturally the only things that I had ever heard of the Inuzuka clan were terrifying nursery rhymes that ended with being ravaged by dogs. However, finally seeing one in person was all the more terrifying when the first thing out of his mouth was the dreaded name that he had come to know me by:

"Hey, pussy cat! I didn't think I'd have to see you today!"

As always, I felt myself get defensive. I could see the dangerous look in his eyes, akin to that of Temari's that she had sported earlier; the one that animals gave their prey before lunging for the kill.

It was because of the tensions between our bloodlines that I took every step possible to make sure that I would never have to run into the Inuzuka, simply because I was afraid of what might happen if we so happened to be alone together, though I knew the outcome: he would rip me apart if he had the chance. That easily-disguised hatred that he sported was only decipherable to the one it was meant for, and that was me.

Without waiting for my answer, as if I was going to even give him one, Kiba shrugged, his black jacket shining underneath the sun's blissful rays. The large, white dog by his side, Akamaru, had Kiyoshi hiding behind my right leg as if she were ready to flee the scene, but the dog hardly took much notice of the cub.

"Let's go, Naruto. I'm sure Choji and pussy cat have stuff to do."

With that, Kiba and his dog walked in the opposite direction that Choji and I had been heading, to my silent relief.

"I really don't understand that guy!" Naruto began his rant as Kiba disappeared among the citizens. "One moment, he's really cool and listens to what I have to say, and the next, he's ditching me and subtly talking trash! What's his problem, anyway?"

Before answering Naruto, I took a last glance around and inhaled through my nose, making sure all traces of the Inuzuka had disappeared before finally speaking out:

"It's because of me."

Both Choji and Naruto turned toward me in succession, as Naruto exclaimed:

"What's he got against you, Kairi? I don't think I've ever even seen you two have a legitimate conversation!"

I cut a glance at Choji, who had knitted his eyebrows together with obvious concern over the issue, but I turned toward Naruto as I took another cautionary glance around.

"Well, as you probably know, I'm from the Nekomura clan and he's from the Inuzuka clan. It's obvious that our clans don't get along – why do you think the Nekomura clan doesn't reside in the Land of Fire? I know for a fact he wants to tear me apart and that he would if ever presented with the chance. I just don't want conflict, but he's always trying to lure me into a confrontation."

"Please!" Naruto let out a relaxed laugh, slapping me on the shoulder with his open palm. "As if someone the likes of Kiba would have the guts to try something around me! Don't forget that I'm the one who kicked his ass in the Chunin Exams back in the day! I still can't believe that was so many years ago…"

The stress of the situation disappeared with the thought of the story, and I even brought myself to visibly relax and laugh along as well. While I hadn't been there, it was one of the first stories that Naruto had sat down and told to me about life in the village before I had arrived. It gave me comfort to know that people like Naruto wouldn't sit by and just let Kiba start an unwarranted fight.

"Kairi, don't you think you should be headed home?"

Choji prodded my shoulder with a gentle smile plastered across his face. The sky had begun to redden as the day began to come to a close, and I motioned to Kiyoshi, who had found a comfortable spot in the dirt to lie in once Kiba and Akamaru had finally left.

"You're right, Choji. I think I can find my way back from here. Shikamaru's probably going to give me another lecture about wandering off. I'll catch you guys later!"

With a wave in both Choji and Naruto's direction, Kiyoshi and I took off in the direction of Shikamaru's home. The citizens in the streets became a blur to me as I focused solely on the objective; returning home. Yet, a familiar scent crossed my nose seconds before a sudden impact. I hit my head onto someone's chest, and I bounced back onto my ass. Kiyoshi had let out a surprised yelp and stopped as well, cowering in front of me as I felt my heartbeat begin to speed up.

"What do you want?"

I asked the question quietly as the menacing glare of the Inuzuka bore into my face. The disgusting leer on his face told me everything I needed to know about this confrontation, and I knew I wasn't getting off easy. He knew I was afraid of him, and he took every chance he could get to capitalize on it.

"Just curious as to why you're particularly skittish today, pussy cat," Akamaru stood by his side and sniffed in Kiyoshi's general direction, causing the cub to race to safety behind me. "Did I scare you?"

I weighed my options and took a deep breath as adrenaline began to make its rounds through my veins and I finally met his sharp gaze. I bravely mustered up the courage to confront him today, but I was careful to avoid a direct altercation:

"I'm not scared! I-I'm just trying to get home."

The stutter obviously gave my fear away, and Kiba responded haughtily as a nasty smirk crawled up his face.

"Alright, I'll let you go, but you're gonna have to do one thing for me," he cracked his neck and reasserted himself through standing even closer to where I sat on the ground, giving me little room to escape. "Just admit to me that you're afraid of me and I'll let you go. That's not too bad, is it?"

It was nothing new when he did catch me off-guard to assert his dominance over me through these common fear tactics. To an outsider, they seemed like playful words that were used for teasing, but between us, members of the Inuzuka and Nekomura clan respectively, we both knew the weight of what was really going on between us.

"I'm not going to admit something so stupid that isn't even fact! Just let me go home already!"

I stood up and cautiously made sure to have my gaze firmly meet his, taking care to not waver it like last time. Adrenaline continued to fuel my more-than-likely bad decisions as I tightened my fists, even though I could feel my heart beating nearly out of my chest. Kiyoshi had backed away from the confrontation, watching Akamaru with extreme attentiveness.

"You're joking, right, pussy cat?" Kiba let out a laugh and stared down at me, attempting to intimidate me further, and I could feel it working. "I can see it on your face. I'm everything you're afraid of. I'm your worst nightmare. Don't forget you're the only one of your kind around here and my clan lives here. You're outnumbered."

"So what?" I backed away, allowing myself a possible escape route, as I stood up for myself. "I'm not afraid of you or your clan!"

"How long are you going to lie to yourself?" Kiba answered simply, crossing the distance that I had put between the two of us in three steps. "I'm not asking for anything special; I just want you to admit it."

I glanced at Kiyoshi, whose back-fur had risen in fear of the tense situation, and I stared back at my aggressor.

I'm putting an end to this.

"I'm not going to admit anything," I resolved, stepping past Kiba and putting myself between Akamaru and Kiyoshi. I'd protect the cub and let myself get torn apart if need be. "Stay away from me."

The adrenaline had begun to fade and was rapidly being replaced with fatigue, but it wasn't as if I could let that show at a time like this. Those prideful, slits of eyes that the Inuzuka analyzed me with had slowly become unreadable as he studied me.

If he notices that I'm about to fall asleep on my feet, he won't hesitate. That I know for certain.

"Tch," Kiba finally huffed, turning his gaze away from me and beckoning Akamaru away with just the tilt of his head. "Fine, whatever. Keep lying to yourself all you want – it's not like I care – especially when I know the truth anyway."

With that, Kiba began to walk in the opposite direction once again, but he turned to me one last time, sending shivers up my spine with the obvious hatred in his face:

"You're not as strong as you act like you are. I know that for a fact... and I think you do, too."

I kept one eye peeled behind me at all times, making sure that the Inuzuka wouldn't ambush me as I kept to a slow pace for the rest of the trip home. After all, this was a rare occasion; I had fought him off without any backup today. I hadn't cried, I hadn't panicked, I had answered him and refused without wavering… and I knew that it might not sit well with him.

Odds are, he knows I'm alone. I wouldn't put it past him to try and take me out now – especially after I mouthed off to him back there.

The sun had almost completely disappeared behind the trees by the time I arrived on Shikamaru's doorstep. I felt around the wooded face of the home until I found the crevice that housed the key to his home and I proceeded let myself in.

To my surprise, it was quiet, and a hissy Temari was nowhere to be seen or heard… but neither was Shikamaru. Curious, Kiyoshi and I peeked into the kitchen, but the lights were off and no one could be seen in there, either. Not a sound was heard, and not even Kiyoshi seemed to be suspicious of movement.

Realizing I was alone, I finally gave in to letting my guard down, sighing heavily and walking out of the kitchen and into the darkened living room. In the dark, I slid down onto the flooring and began to catch my breath. Yet, the calm in me slipped away in an instant when I quickly realized that I wasn't so alone in the dark room:

"Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting for you."

Side note 1: Anything that's in italics and underlined means that someone is yelling. I just don't like how it makes the page look if I capitalize every letter. Anything solely in italics is Kairi's thoughts.

Side note 2: I personally found it really difficult to find a place where this entire storyline can take place within the Naruto storyline, so we're gonna say that this is an AU sometime in Shippuden during a period where nothing plotwise is going on. However, rather than being 17, everyone is 18 years old unless otherwise specified.

Side note 3: Before classifying Kairi as a whiny, annoying character, consider the following: how do the people you know react under pressure? When they're afraid? What kinds of trauma have you or someone else gone through to cause extreme reactions to such stress? Just because this is anime doesn't mean that people are suddenly immune to fear and are therefore immune to having what I refer to as a "system shutdown". Every time I write realistic characters, people pick the humanity out of them until there is nothing left but a Mary Sue… and then they pick that apart because no one likes Mary Sues! I base all of my characters off of traits that I have seen people in my life exhibit. I don't make Kairi feel fear so she can look 'cute'. I make her feel fear because fear is a normal human encounter… and for some, fear is something they have to live with constantly. Wow, I hope that didn't come off as a rant…

Author's Note:

Okay, I know this whole spiel has been done a million times in the Naruto-verse, but this is a better, semi-rewritten version of an old story I wrote a long time ago. Need an explanation? Keep reading:

Four years ago, I wrote a Naruto fic with a premise similar to this and man, let me tell you, it was ass. I was in eighth grade going into ninth (middle school going into high school) and I wasn't very great at writing at the time. Now, I'm ready to attend college in the fall. However, I recently read that story again and I decided "hey, this story would be brilliant if I just rewrote it with the life skills and experience that I have now!" guess what? I'm doing just that!

This will also not be a traditional rewrite: I took everything that was wrong with that story and fixed it, therefore transforming this story into a brand-new masterpiece with a new plot and everything.

As for Kairi's backstory, I'll let onto that later so that it can be a surprise, so if it seems a little ambiguous right now, it was completely intentional! Totally-vague hint: it has something to do with "horoscopes", so that will be a recurring thing.

Also, if you can't already tell, I'm a fan of cliffhangers, so get ready for that.

I'm just here to have fun. Let me know if you like what you see!

~Teafully~