Thanks for answering to my first chapter everyone, sorry if a lot of you didn't like it. ): Before I give up, I posted this chapter (which is mostly original material) to try and change some of your opinions. Please tell me what you think...!

Chapter 2

Ninja

NARUTO

I didn't understand what I had done. I had tried to encourage her, and she shot me down flat. Yet, even though I was so angry at her, I couldn't shake the image of her crying from my head.

Chiasa cried a lot. She didn't usually like anybody else to see it, but it was pretty hard to miss. Usually, though, I could tell why she was crying.

She had just become a Ninja. That was her dream. So… why was she so upset?

"Naruto? Naruto!" Iruka Sensei's shouts broke my train of thought and reminded me where I was. I came back to reality with a start, knowing full well that what I was about to do would change my life forever.

I had to forget Chiasa for now.

Alright, I thought, clearing my head. I can do this. I took a deep breath and put my hands together, ready to send my energy on a wild frenzy.

"Clone Jutsu!" I yelled, and my energy responded. It swirled throughout my entire body and made a light blue spherical cage around me that looked like it was made of fire. My hair was blown back from the wind of the Jutsu, and I could feel that rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. That was the best part.

Too soon, it stopped.

I looked at Iruka Sensei's face, not daring to glance at the clone beside me. My heart skipped a beat when I saw his eyebrow twitch and his face fall. When he sighed in frustration, my head started spinning.

Stupidly, I peeked at my own creation.

I wanted to hurl.

There, lying on the floor, was a… I don't even know what it was. It resembled me… sort of. It's skin was almost as white as Chiasa's chalkiness, its tongue fell out of its mouth because it looked like half of the muscles in its face didn't work, and it just lay there on the floor, like a big, unfortunate blob. When I saw that its jumpsuit was pink, I knew that I was hopeless.

After a few moments of dead silence, Iruka Sensei screamed the words that would end my entire life and goal of being Hokage forever.

"Disqualified! Absolutely not!"

I felt faint. For the first time in my entire life, I got the feeling that nobody would ever acknowledge me.

I felt a stabbing pain from somewhere, and realized that I had fallen on the floor. I looked up at Iruka Sensei and Mizuki Sensei, pleading with them from the bottom of my heart. What had I become?

"Iruka," someone said gently in the distance. I was pretty sure that it was Mizuki. "His physical coordination and stamina are better than almost all of the other student's. And look, he did manage to make something of a clone… Isn't that enough for him to pass?" My eyes widened instantly. I shot up and looked at Iruka Sensei, who seemed to be deliberating this, feeling a heavy weight be lifted off of me

"Mizuki Sensei," Iruka Sensei sighed, "all of the other students created at least three clones. Naruto only created one… and it's practically useless. I can't pass this, I'm sorry."

And my world came crashing down.

A thousand emotions were swirling around inside me, each giving me a different glimpse of my future as it went. Hatred, sadness, anger, defeat…

I started walking out to face the Ninja like a zombie, and I barely realized what I was doing.

CHIASA

Everything happened too fast.

One minute, I had finally calmed down and my head was up. I was waiting for Naruto to come out. When he did come out, however, I wanted him to go back inside.

He was empty handed.

He had failed.

My jaw dropped and I tightened up. I was actually hyperventilating. There was no way I could be a Ninja without him! There was no way I could go on like this! Something had died inside of him. He wasn't the hyperactive Naruto that he had been yesterday. He walked slowly like the living dead, looking slightly and solemnly towards the floor.

He was just like me now; dead, yet somehow living.

Instead of my heart exploding in a rush of beats like usual, it shriveled up in pain. All of his dreams… his whole life… gone.

Half alive, he sat down next to me.

Then something occurred to me.

Was this… my fault? Had I been too cold to him? Would he have passed if I had just kept my mouth shut? Without thinking, I turned to apologize and tried to meet his eyes.

"Naruto, I-" But the look he gave me shut me up like I was a safe, and I didn't feel like I'd ever remember the combination.

That glare was burning in his eyes, the one pair of eyes that I never expected to see it in.

We got that glare a lot, the two of us.

Can you imagine someone hating you for being alive? You might have never said a word to them, you might be three years old, you might not even know their names, yet… they despised you with every inch of their body. Even if you were in a hall of two hundred people, every single one would hate you, and you'd still be completely alone.

And you were terrified. You wanted to disappear, go hide somewhere where no one would ever find you or glare at you again.

That's exactly how Naruto was looking at me.

Except… it wasn't towards me, it was towards something much bigger, something with much more power.

The next minute, Iruka Sensei came and refused to let me stay in stasis.

"If you've already been tested, you're dismissed. Don't forget to grab a Shuriken Holster on your way out if you don't already have one." I could feel Hibachi stand up from all the way across the room.

I glanced at Naruto and his pained face, then back at Hibachi, then back towards the door. The Shuriken Holsters were on a table easily within reach if I was running out of here.

A pouch full of weapons… perfect. I turned to Naruto one last time, refusing to look into his eyes.

Hibachi was coming closer, staring right at me, smiling.

"I'm sorry, Naruto!" I whispered quickly and turned away, pushing myself out of my seat and bolting to beat the crowd of kids that were about to clog the exit.

"Get after her!" Hibachi whispered to his friends, not thinking that I could hear him.

At least I was faster than them.

I was already catching my breath while I was running as I charged faster. I grabbed the thick strap of a dark blue Shuriken holster, and then I was out.

Frantically, I looked around the cramped wooden hallway for an escape. All I could see was door after classroom door, and there wasn't a gateway outside in sight.

Hibachi's thoughts were getting closer.

Without anywhere else to go, I tried to find a crowd of kids to blend into. Of course, with my luck, the people behind me were the only ones.

So, because the only thing that I could ever really do well was run, I thrusted myself down the hallway, trying to ignore the agonizing running cramps in my ribs. It was hard trying not to crash into anyone while looking over my shoulder to see if they were on my tail, but when the class turned the opposite way that I had, and Hibachi and his three goons emerged from the rest, I can honestly say that I didn't care anymore. I stopped looking at them and focused on keeping my breathing even, at least until I got back to my house.

My speeding heart skipped a beat.

Did I really want to lead them towards Naruto?

So instead I- after a lot of turns and cramps - found the back door and escaped down a light dirt path that would lead me to the main road. There would be plenty of people filling the streets in high noon, but I knew better then to think that they'd help me. I could be screaming at the top of my lungs, flailing my arms down that street being chased by a blood-thirsty killer, and not one of them would even turn their heads.

Now, my instincts were typically pretty spot on, and I usually listened to them. Right now, they were telling me to find safety, like they always did when I was in danger.

Because I couldn't just stand there and decide where to go, I ran and thought at the same time.

Home was safe enough, but I had already ruled that out. The only other place in the world that was safe at all was the forest, but I couldn't go to my clearing because it was in the other direction.

All this was shooting through my head while Naruto stayed in the background, that glare burning in his face.

In the back of my mind though, even with everything else going on, I already had a plan. On the main road, if you kept going in either direction, eventually you'd hit forest. I remembered that there was a large group of trees right next to the Uchiha Village, and if I could just manage to disappear into them for a while, they'd never find me.

The problem, however, was coming up with the energy to run that far.

When I hit the dirt street, I looked over my shoulder again.

They were gaining on me.

Impossibly, I managed to pull energy from somewhere and ran even faster. By the time I was blurring by the ignorant pedestrians, my whole body was practically on fire, but I kept pushing past building after building.

Eventually, I was getting dizzy. If I passed out, it would all be over. So instead, I did the dumbest thing I could possibly do.

I turned the corner and ran into a dead-ended alleyway. The cracked, red brick wall all the way at the end that I slammed my palms into was caked in dust, but I pushed on it with all of my strength as though it would move.

I was shaking like there was some inner earthquake exploding inside of me. I wanted to scream, but the relief of standing still was so comforting that it distracted me from my cravings.

I closed my eyes. Each deep breath was beginning to feel like a knife being shoved down my throat, but I took as much air as I could.

For all I knew, my breaths were numbered.

"Need a breather, Uzumaki?" A voice came from the end of the alley. When I opened my eyes and spun around, I saw him. He was standing there with that stupid smug grin tattooed on his face, proud that he had won. The light from behind him was almost blinding, and it was so bright that all I could see were four silhouettes.

"J-Jerk," I spat, wheezing so loudly that I was barely intelligible. He laughed his snobby, uptight laugh and took a step forward. His bitches followed him. As he walked into the darkness, I could make out his features better.

Everything about him was just totally disgusting. From his baggy, barf-yellow sweater to the purple beanie on his head that squished his sweaty brown hair to his face, he made me want to throw up.

"Why do you have to be so mean, Chiasa? We're all friends here." He said as he clenched his hands into fists. At that I actually laughed, humorlessly of course. His sneer grew impossibly wider, and that killed my dark smile in a second.

"Get away from me." I was trying to sound threatening, but the fear of the moment and Naruto and the exhaustion and the adrenaline… it just made me sound like I was pleading with him.

He kept walking forward, and by then I could make out his four-eyed, snot nosed brats coming along with him.

"Aw, what's the matter?" He spoke like he was talking to an infant, except his voice was soaked in venom. "Are you scared?" No shit. My hands were shaking by my sides, and my teeth were chattering. I wasn't cold.

"P-please…" I stuttered, finally giving into him. "I d-don't want to… to…" I scrunched my eyes shut, looked at the ground, barred my teeth, and started crying again. My own thoughts started bouncing around in my brain, echoing and sending chills down my spine.

Why am I so… weak? I was pathetic, helpless. I was standing here, waiting for them to come walk all over me, and I knew it. I knew it, but I didn't do anything to stop them.

"To what?" The closeness of his voice startled me, and I let out a whimper and jumped back. Unfortunately for me, I had forgotten that I was basically two inches from a solid fucking wall. When my skull slammed against the brick, my world really started spinning. I could feel my breathing getting heavy, and I found myself forcing my eyelids up.

Something warm that reeked of iron dripped and slithered down my cheek. It made me even dizzier; so much that I could only vaguely hear the laughter sounding in the distance.

It was sick, coldhearted happiness.

This is it… I thought, though I had thought those words many times before. This is the end...

Something grabbed my wrists and pinned them up against the wall right beside my bleeding head. It used so much force that the Shuriken holster and my headband fell right out of my hands, clanking on the floor. A little anger shot through me, and it gave me enough sanity to see straighter.

It was Hibachi, of course. He was still smiling evilly, and the look in his eyes said it all.

Look at how weak she is, he was thinking to himself. It took every ounce of my being to fight back more tears. Look how light… I could probably pick her right up and bend her, and she'd break. She'd snap right in half. He started chuckling silently as he entertained the thought.

The sad thing was, he was probably right.

When he leaned in closer with his revolting face and smile, looking right into mine with his bloodthirsty eyes, my body went rigid. His head veered off to the side a little bit, and I, once again, scrunched my eyes completely closed. It was almost innocent, like he was going to tell me a secret.

"Do you know what I'm going to make you do?" He whispered, and my willpower started melting away in his grip.

Scream, something told me, but I ruled it out. No one would come.

"I'm going to make you wish that you never saved him."

NARUTO

In front of the academy, there was a wide open field that we all waited at before going inside for the day. In the corner by a picket fence, there was a tall, full tree that cast a good-sized shadow, perfect if you didn't want the sun beating down on your back.

Nobody typically went there, because it was my spot. Chiasa was the only one who ever even wanted to share it with me.

There was a swing dangling from the longest, strongest branch. It wasn't that high up, but my feet still never touched the ground as I sat on it. The wind was blowing me back and forth, pushing me like the parents that I never had to play with me.

I rested my bare forehead on one of the ropes that held up the swing. I didn't put on my goggles that day because I was going to wear my headband for the first time. I wondered where it was now, probably lying in a trash can somewhere.

I stared into the grass, watching a lonely ant crawl his way up a blade. I wondered idly if there were any other ants nearby, and if those ants were ignoring him. I wondered how sad that ant must feel, how much pain the others were putting him through.

"I'm a Ninja now!" Someone was laughing from the crowed a ways in front of me. There was a huge group of people in front of the academy door, full of new Genin and their parents.

"I'm proud of you, son." I gripped the rope, not out of anger, but just for something to squeeze so that I wouldn't start crying. I could feel the hysteria crawling up my throat, making its way to my eyes.

Crying was Chiasa's thing. I hated doing it.

Chiasa… Her name was almost strange to me now. It was impossible to think that only yesterday, she was my best friend in the entire world.

Now I didn't even have her.

"I'm so proud of you!" A mom was crying in her own pride. "I'll cook whatever you want tonight! Whatever you want!" My hearing was selective. It wasn't as good as Chiasa's, but I could still hear every conversation going on between every person there.

"Look at that kid." Someone said in a low, disgusted voice. It was a woman, the mother of one of the academy kids. I had never seen her in my life, yet she was talking about me. She was staring right at me with that glare… whispering to her friend.

"I heard he's the only one who failed; they even passed the other one." Now I was really squeezing the life out of the rope. If Chiasa was here, I wouldn't mind them. They'd be glaring at her, too. I wouldn't be so alone… I didn't think.

"Thank God… could you imagine what would have happened if they passed him? I mean, he's the-"

"Shh! We're allowed to talk about that!" I knew better then to look up in confusion. People always said stuff like that about me, like I was a monster or something. The whole village was keeping something from me. If it weren't for the fact that they did this to Chiasa too, I'd be beginning to think that she was in on it with them.

I looked back down at the ant, wondering if he was accepted yet. Sure enough, he was still there. He was just resting on the blade of grass, not even moving. Just as I was beginning to wonder if ants could cry, my train of thought was interrupted by a foot. Instead of at the ant, I was starring at a blue sandal that could've belonged to anyone.

I looked up to see a white-haired man in a Chunin vest, and I recognized him as Mizuki Sensei. He was smiling down at me, not knowing that he had just crushed a helpless, lonely little bug under his foot.

CHIASA

I was about to lose it. Barely hanging onto reality by a thread, I forced my body to relax and I let my head hang low. Hibachi was still pushing me against the wall, and I could just barely see my headband on the floor through the splotches in my vision.

"Some Ninja you are," he scoffed, and I peered up at him through the curls falling down in front of my face. "You know what I think?" He was fighting back laughter so that he could finish his thought. I didn't ask him what, somehow hoping that he wouldn't say anything else.

"I think that if I killed you, not a single person would miss you." And with that, he freed one of my wrists and placed his sweaty hand on my forehead. With hardly any effort at all, he slammed my head back up against the wall.

I can't really explain what happened next.

I went practically blind and numb when I heard my skull crack, and I tasted a warm, salty liquid boil up in my throat. With nowhere else to spit, I coughed my own blood up and spat it right at him. I could barely see that I missed his face, but I could tell that I had gotten it all over his clothes. Absentmindedly, I smiled.

"Try not looking like a suspect, then, with my blood all over your shirt." For once, his smile vanished. I was going to close my eyes and wait for the next blow, but then something caught my attention. I don't know where I got the strength, but I piped up wide-eyed and stared into the distance.

There, on the top of an archway right across the street, was the lantern that I had seen on the back of Sasuke's shirt.

The Uchiha Village!

I had been so close to the forest… how did I not realize it?

When I looked around the alleyway and realized where I was, it was like someone had breathed life back into me.

I knew this place.

With that lantern sticking out in the distance and memories flooding back to me, I felt something that I hadn't felt in a long time.

Strength.

The adrenaline was released automatically, but for once I welcomed it; it would keep me going.

I looked around for an escape, forming a plan in my head. If I could build up enough courage to injure Hibachi somehow, I knew his little friends wouldn't touch me.

At the time, I couldn't really explain what was putting all of this fight in me. Nevertheless, I bowed my head one more time and waited for Hibachi's confused face to smile again.

He must have seen the light in my eyes, because when his smile returned it wasn't as confident as before.

If he thought that I was giving up again, that I was going to let him lay another hand on me, he was sadly mistaken. Without thinking, I thrusted my skull square into his chest, letting all of the Chakra flow up to my head so that I didn't snap my own neck.

I could feel the wind get knocked out of him, and I heard him cursing me out in his head as he staggered back. When I lifted my head up up and my Chakra had gotten proportionate again, I bent down and picked up my headband and Shuriken holster. Hibachi was reorienting himself, and that gave me time to strap the Holster around my leg and put the band in my back pocket.

Standing up straighter, I found myself smiling at them. I wiped the blood from my mouth with my forearm and took my defensive stance.

At that one moment, though I was scared out of my mind, I felt better than I had in a long time. I knew better then to tell them to come at me because I would probably pass out, but I managed to keep myself from shaking as the four of them made an unsure wall, blocking me from running out of the alleyway.

Hibachi's good mood was shot to hell, and he was snarling at me. I got out of my defensive position and tried to mentally prepare myself to escape.

Getting a little too dizzy, and with wobbly legs, I jumped.

I could naturally jump higher than most people because I didn't really weigh anything. As my body easily lifted up and soared a good thirty feet into the air, I felt free. Even though it was just for a second, and even though I had to focus more on landing on the roof of one of the buildings, it was still the best feeling in the world. I felt like there would be warmth spreading through me even if there was a blizzard outside.

When my feet hit the concrete roof, I didn't stop to look down at Hibachi or his idiots. I just bolted, feeling queasy.

All of the good feelings were gone, and I was back to myself.

My heart was hammering down on my chest, and my head was spinning. All I could think was, who was that girl?

I kept running on the roof, keeping my footsteps light until I was parallel with the forest. Just to be careful, I made sure that they weren't waiting for me on the street. Sure enough, I could hear them still standing, dumbstruck in the alleyway.

Now's my chance to disappear. I thought, taking a few steps back. Wishing that I could close my eyes, I threw myself forward and jumped off of the building, preparing to land in the trees.

NARUTO

"Iruka Sensei's not trying to be mean to you." Mizuki was trying to reassure me. Admittedly, though, I felt a little better here. We were sitting on the balcony of the building that he lived in, and it had no railing so I let my feet dangle off the side as I took in the Village beneath me.

Streaks of red and orange painted the sky, but the sun was hidden behind the plateau. Everyone was settling down as the day was ending, and the silence was calming. I could think clearer now, take in the fresh air of the forest and try to hear Mizuki out.

It wasn't so easy though, because no matter what was laid out in front of me, I couldn't shake this complete and total hatred that I felt towards Iruka Sensei.

"If that's true, then… why only me?" There were plenty of kids that used to be in my class that would die out there, and he knew it. If I had been running around pranking the entire village for as long as I could remember and never had gotten caught, you'd think he'd realize that I had a better chance of surviving.

"Iruka wants you to be strong more than anything." I would've laughed had I been in a better mood. "Do you know something? He can relate to you better than anyone else." I actually looked up at him in disbelief. I was nothing like Iruka Sensei. I refused to believe it. If a kid had stood in front of me today with a dream stronger than anyone else's, I would have passed him. I was sure of it.

"We're nothing alike!" I felt the anger surge inside of me, and I have to admit that I scared myself. Even though I yelled at him, Mizuki still kept his expression calm and smooth. His smile was effortless, something that I'd never seen before.

"Did you know that he was an orphan, just like you?" It was like a shock had run through my body. My eyes shot wide open and I sat up straight, but I couldn't look into his eyes. I just stared down at the dirt roads and colorful buildings of the Leaf Village. There were so many things that I could've said to that… I could have said that that was no excuse, or that Chiasa was one, too… but I knew that he'd argue for Iruka Sensei no matter what, because all Sensei were biased.

I still wasn't going down without a fight.

"Well, no… but I really wanted to graduate!" There was nothing that he could say to argue with that, and I wouldn't listen to him no matter whathe said.

"Fine then," he sighed, peering at me through his long hair. I just looked at him for a second, confused, waiting for him to continue. "I guess I have no choice but to tell you." He was smiling, and he had my attention.

"Tell me what?" I asked suspiciously. I trusted him, but it was hard to understand what the hell he was talking about. If it was anything to help me graduate, I'd do it.

"I'll let you in on a big secret, but you can't tell anyone."

CHIASA

Things didn't get better no matter how far I pushed into the forest. It was almost nighttime, and I had no idea where I was. I wasn't breathing right, my head was spinning, I wanted to throw up, and I could barely walk. It didn't matter how far I went from the main part of the Village, I was still shaking just as much as I was when I was Hibachi's little prisoner.

I figured that I should stop soon, if I wasn't going to turn back, and rest. When night fell and I was still wandering, I'd be lost for sure. Of course, if I kept walking I'd eventually make it to the village gate. It was a fifty foot maroon wall that circled all the way around the village, and I could follow it back to the main entrance.

Even still, I'd end up taking so long that I'd miss my graduation.

I kept walking until I found a place where the trees were a little bit more sparse, and leaned on a beech tree. As I was catching my breath, I looked around the forest and took it all in for the first time.

I had never been to the west half of the inner forest before; it wasn't any more or less beautiful then the east half, but I still felt like I was trespassing. The east half was-or at least, used to be- my home. I couldn't tell what was so different about this side, maybe that there was less water and more grass, or maybe because this side was mostly Spruce and Beech while the other side was mostly Oak and Pine, but something about it just seemed… strange. Not unwelcoming, just… different.

Where I had stopped turned out to be very peaceful. There were too many trees to consider it a clearing, but the space in between the trees left room for the intricate shadows of their leaves to decorate the grass…

It was weird, but I didn't notice the giant boulder in the center of the small haven until a subtle sound woke me up from the trance that I had fallen into and I realized that I was staring right at it.

It was almost as tall as the towering trees, and it probably weighed at least two tons. There was one crack in it somewhere closer to the bottom that for some reason sent a shiver down my spine. I started to stand up, only then realizing that there was something way too eerie about this place.

It felt like my legs were going to fall from under me, but I had the tree to help support me. As I was coming to what was kind of a complete stand, I accidentally kicked something. The sound was hollow, yet instead of easily brushing whatever it was aside, I stubbed my toe on it.

"Ow!" I cried out, almost losing my balance. I looked down to see what I had hit, and I found the strangest little multi-colored target under my feet. I had the feeling that I wouldn't be able to pick it up, so I just bent down and looked at it more closely.

It was dirty, and it looked like it hadn't been new in years. There were strange markings all over it, and in the most random places. Carefully, I brushed my fingers over them to see if I could recognize them by touch.

They were in the oddest places. There was one mark in the bull's-eye that looked like it had been hit many times, but there were also three or four marks around it and about ten marks placed randomly throughout the entire board.

When I realized what they were, I felt my face go pale and I jumped back. I was on my feet in a second, breathing so fast that I swore I'd hyperventilate.

Kunai marks.

Would my past never stop haunting me?

Some of those marks were fresh. Someone trained here, and I didn't know how often. They could be lurking around the corner, and if they were stealthy enough, I wouldn't even hear it.

"Yo," called a cold, deep voice. I backed up into the tree and gasped, looking around for my company. Even though the tree didn't even touch my head, my skull still sent a twinge of pain throughout my body. I was usually quick to heal, but I had hit my head pretty hard on the brick.

As the dark figure emerged from the shadows of the forest and let the light ignite his features, a thousand emotions shot through me.

He was probably the last person that I wanted to see right now, and I didn't even know why.

"I'm sorry," I breathed, fighting to keep the pain out of my voice. "Were you training here, Sasuke?" It sent another chill through me when I realized the total oddity of him alone. Even with my ears, I had barely heard him coming, and I was only just now subtly picking up his thoughts. He was too… stealthy. It sent a warning wave of danger throughout my body, and I knew I had to run."I didn't mean to intrude."

He chuckled, though it sounded more like an arrogant grunt, and the ghost of a sneer started playing at the edges of his lips. I knew that he was trying to act cool, but it honestly just made me more queasy. When I picked up Hibachi's name in his thoughts, though, that's when my heart started racing.

"Not at all," he began to walk forward, not taking his eyes off mine as he came.

Why me? I complained, though I wasn't quite sure who I was talking to. Why him? Why now?

As of now, I hated him. I hated him for watching me like Hibachi did, like I was some fresh piece of meat waiting to be devoured. I hated him for holding my eyes in his stare and running a blush under the skin of my cheeks. I didn't care what I ever did, this was the worst kind of weak.

I knew he must've been the one training here. I lowered my eyebrows to try and make myself seem angry, and I would've backed up had there not been a tree behind me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. As he got closer, I started shaking. It took everything I had just to sound nonchalant when I answered.

"I…" He already knew why I was here. He had seen me run from them, I was sure of it.

"I-" He stopped walking when he was about five feet away from me.

"Did you come here to train?" This was the kid who never said a word to anyone else, even when they were talking to him. Of all the days and of all the people to decide to be sociable, it had to be him, and it had to be today.

I sighed, looking for an escape. No matter which way I went, it seemed like he'd be able to tackle me in a second.

No sudden movements, something suddenly whispered. He was like a wild animal. Calm until I started running.

"No, I was just passing through." I assured him. It was, in reality, true. I had never aimed to even come here, but fate had forced the two of us together.

Great, I groaned internally.

"If you'll excuse me, I should be getting back. Naruto will-" I was nothing special when it came to lying, but I had never made myself so obvious before. I was blushing so badly that I could feel hot blood running around under my face, an immediate lump grew in my throat after I said Naruto's name and cut me off mid-sentence, and I couldn't even look him in the eyes.

"Wait, train with me." He said suddenly. I jumped, startled at his abruptness, and found myself lost again in his mysterious black eyes. He was scrutinizing my every move, like I was a game of shogi and he was finding the quickest way to checkmate.

"What? I-I… um..." I felt like covering my face. I was terrified. It was probably the aftermath of being so brave in the alley, but I still wanted to shriek. Whenever I showed even the tiniest sliver of courage, which, admittedly, wasn't often, I always ran home, slammed the door behind me, and cowered in a corner.

"Are you scared to fight me?" My jaw dropped and my eyes opened so wide that I thought they were going to pop right out of my head. My arms started shaking at my sides and I stopped breathing.

The very word paralyzed me.

"Get away from me." I snarled, still looking at the ground. I stepped to the side to clear a path behind me. When the time was right, I'd run.

Sasuke Uchiha was stronger than me, stealthier than me, more skilled than me, and bigger in every way, but I would always be faster. I was the fastest out of everyone in our class; that's why I was so good at escaping.

I could hear the thoughts going through his sick head; he was trying to figure out how to crack me. He didn't want to break me like Hibachi, but for some reason that I can't explain, he wanted me to fight him.

We were back to being the safe.

I was Naruto's safe. I'd only open up to him. By some twist of fate, though, I had fallen in Sasuke's grasp. Now he was trying to figure out how to open me, and I was trying desperately to stay shut.

"I'll go easy on you." He sneered, lowering his stance like he was going to pounce. By this point, I had had enough. In five seconds, I would turn around and sprint, refusing to look back.

Before I could even set my mind on running though, I had pushed my entire body off of the ground, soaring to the right, back to standing in front of the tree.

Sasuke's fist had missed me by two inches.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I was panting, my whole body was shaking all over, and I could hear myself breathing. It took everything I had to just stand there and not bolt for the Village.

Hmm, he thought. I wonder… I braced myself, waiting for what was coming next. One of the main reasons that I had the fastest reflexes is that I could hear what my enemy was going to do in their mind a second or two before they actually did it.

"Sorry," he smirked. What the fuck was this kid? I was barring my teeth at him. The total rage that was making my blood hit its boiling point was making the small hairs on my arms stand up.

"I don't want to start trouble with your idiot or anything, so go home." He stuck his hands in his pockets, closed his eyes, and smiled at the ground.

All of the fear inside of me was killed in an instant.

"What did you just call him?" My voice was so threatening that I was scaring myself. I balled my hands into fists, ready to lash out at him at any second.

"Your idiot." He spoke matter-of-factly, as though I actually hadn't heard him. I had never met a more childish, nauseating, and just all around messed up person in my entire life, and he still managed to make it look cool.

"Try saying that again."

"Oh," He chuckled, and his shoulders, royal blue clothed with the sleeves of his shirt, moved up and down in his laughter. "That loser's the biggest idiot in the entire village, you can't deny that." Before I knew it, I was off my feet again.

"Fucking bastard!" I shrieked, holding out my fist and tearing through the air, heading straight for him. He was still looking at the ground by the time I could barely graze his face. He looked up just in time to see the anger in my eyes that reflected in his.

For the second time in my life, I had actually punched somebody. It only hurt, no doubt, because I was going at him so fast, but he still fell to the floor in shock, skidding one or two inches across the grass. I landed on my feet, one on each side of him.

"Don't say another word about him, do you hear me?" My voice was dark, and all of the hatred that I had managed to bury over the years came right back up.

He arrogantly grunted again, and I looked at him like he was insane. That's when I realized it.

I had let him crack me.

"Damn it…" I muttered, backing up to let him stand. As he got up, I noticed the big red mark on his cheek.

"Are you going to fight me now?" He asked, jokingly impatient. I sighed and folded my arms, pursing my lips and looking the other way. "You are a Ninja, aren't you?" Just the sound of the word surprised me.

Yes, I was a Ninja. I might've been the most cowardly, pitiable, weak one in history, but I was still a Leaf Village Kunoichi.

It was the first time that anyone besides Naruto had acknowledged me as something more than garbage before, and he didn't even realize it.

"Um..." I didn't know what to say. He smirked at me like he was expecting me to react like this, and I reached my hand around to my back pocket and clutched the metal plate of my headband.

Yes, I was definitely a Ninja.

"If you're a Ninja, then act like one." I had trained my whole life for this, so I couldn't let myself down. He was right; if I earned that headband, I should prove that I deserve it.

Steadily, I pulled it out of my back pocket, put it up to my face, and tied it around my forehead.

I nodded at him, and we started.

It was all pretty hectic from there.

He took the first move, inevitably, and tried to punch me in the face again. I easily moved out of the way of his fist, and smiled at him when he stumbled forward with his own momentum.

"It's not going to be so easy, beating me." I warned him as he caught himself and charged for me again, this time for a body slam. I simply stepped to the side, still smiling.

"Damn it!" He gasped as he fell forward again. He looked back over at me like I was some kind of monster.

"To you, it probably looks like I'm disappearing and reappearing out of reach, right?" I chuckled and smiled at the ground, mocking his position from earlier. He barred his teeth in anger at me, but I just laughed back at him.

"Well, I may have a solution to your problem…" He raised an eyebrow, and I had to keep myself from laughing. Slowly, I raised my left heel and pushed myself off of the ground with the tip of my toe. It felt like I was flying at light speed as I brought myself around behind him.

I was going to keep up with the "acting cool" ordeal, but right as I was in mid-punch, he turned around. Even though my fist was going so fast that you could only see it blur down through the air, he jumped back and dodged it.

"And what would that be?" He asked, heating up. I almost felt bad that I had made him pant a little. Almost.

"Get faster."

And I charged at him.

For a while, we followed a pattern. One would swing, one would dodge, then the other would swing, and the other would dodge. I was so tired by five minutes of it that I had to end up running completely on adrenaline.

Finally, he swung his foot around so high that it'd hit me right in the face had I just stayed there.

Of course, my body moved of its own accord and ducked under it, only to stand right back up and jump.

I was going so high that Sasuke had to crane his neck to see me, and I probably could've gone higher if this headband wasn't weighing my head down. I did, however, land on a long branch of the beech tree that I had been leaning on before he showed up. I placed my hand on it to support myself, thankful for however long I had where he couldn't get me.

"Running again, Uzumaki?" He snickered.

It was like he had landed a shot on me. I almost staggered back, but I knew it meant that I'd fall 20 feet, and, knowing me, I'd black out after falling five.

Yes, I was running. I was so sick of it, yet, as always, I had fled. Running is what I had always done. It's what killed one of the first people to ever acknowledge me, but it's the only thing that I've ever been strong enough to do.

"Shut up." I said, darker than I had ever been before. My headband cast a shadow over my eyes as I looked down, and tears started cascading down my cheeks. "You don't know anything about me." He actually laughed at that, as though he had the nerve to disagree.

"Why were you running before, Chiasa? Why were they even chasing you?" I clenched my fists and punched the tree from the side, not leaving a dent in it.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He frowned and picked up his hands. My heart skipped a beat.

"We can do this the hard way, if that's what you really want." When he started weaving hand seals, that's when I realized that I shouldn't have challenged him.

He was going so fast that I couldn't even put names to the symbols. It was undoubtedly a real Ninjutsu, and I was at a loss for words. I had thought that I was the only Genin in our year who could use one, but I was clearly wrong.

"Fire style!" He called, making a circle with his fingers and bringing it up towards his mouth. "Fire ball Jutsu!" I gasped and jumped away right when I saw him lift up his shoulders, throw himself into the circle around his lips, spew orange flame, and felt warm air whip across my face.

As I was airborne, going back towards a different, colder tree branch, I saw it.

It was the biggest fire that I've ever seen, and that's an understatement. Burning waves of auburn blaze were bursting out inside of it, and it looked like a brilliant ruby that was slowly eating away at the tree. I knew I'd never stop bawling if I ever saw a forest fire, because the tree being killed was already making my cry.

Just as I landed on the other tree, the pyromaniac stopped and turned to me, ready to do it again. The tree ceased to burn, luckily, when he left it alone. It was still half died black, though, and it was permanently charred.

When he started to make the first hand seal, I almost keeled over.

"Stop!" I begged him, my chest getting more sore with every heartbeat. He smiled at me and resigned himself, waiting for me to come down.

This… pain… It was forcing me under its control, drowning me in its waves like the ocean. I clutched my shirt and the skin of my chest with my hand, taking deep breaths.

It brought back so many memories.

"Naruto…" The soft-spoken girl murmured, her neon white face drenched in rosy pink. Carefully, she peered at the boy walking triumphantly in front of her. At his name, he stopped in his tracks and turned around worriedly.

"What's wrong?" His brow furrowed in confusion, and his wide smile began to fade. She looked at the ground sadly, biting her extraordinarily light pink lips as though to prevent herself from saying anything. The last thing that she wanted to do was disappoint him.

"I-I… I have a bad feeling..." She mumbled, looking up at him again. Slowly, her ears began to burn as brightly as her face. "We should go to the playground another day."

Naruto pursed his lips at his intuitive best friend, trying to figure out what he wanted. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he had really wanted to play with her...

"What's the worst thing that could happen?" He asked in all seriousness. Once more, her face fell and her heart rate shot through her chest.

"O-Okay…" She gave in, trying to hide her shakiness the best she could.

She, with her seven year old eyes, stared up at the mid-day sky in fear. Not knowing what she was waiting for, she sat there on the rubber swing glancing at Naruto playing in the sand box. The wind was rocking her back and forth with ease, sending a shiver up her spine.

Nothing ever went along this easily.

Clutching the handless that held her to the swing set, she closed her eyes and listened to everything around her. The birds were singing an afternoon song, breathing easily on a Saturday. There was no one else at the playground, and the only sounds among her and her easygoing companion were the sliding of sand and the creek of a swing.

That's when she heard the footsteps.

She guessed that they were around the corner, but she couldn't be sure. Not that it mattered; She'd know that sound from a mile away.

Her muscles tensed as her mind went blank with the cool air that she had sucked in. She wanted to scream, get up from the swing and run towards Naruto, and tell him that they had to get out of there.

As much as she wanted to protect her friend, she was frozen, and she hated herself. Subtly, she heard the others walking behind him. He was getting closer, and she gripped the swing more and more tightly.

With eyes drenched in pain, she looked at care-free Naruto. She wished she could be like him, oblivious to so many things until they came and stared him in the face.

The footsteps were so close that they started echoing in her head. If she had the power and the courage, she could probably turn her head and see him there at the gate, ready to break them.

Naruto looked up in an instant, but only out of purely innocent curiosity. She could see the monster's reflection in his eyes, and his ever-standing sneer was tainted blue with their ocean color.

"Hey, yellow hair!" Goosebumps exploded across her arms, and she'd be shaking if she was strong enough.

Naruto… She pleaded futilely in her head, Run… Please run… Hibachi and the three small looking boys behind him walked over to the sand box, and she sat there staring at their backs.

Naruto looked at Hibachi almost angrily, clenching his fists and standing up to try and see eye to eye with him. A faint whimper escaped her throat, only to be covered up by the roar of the wind.

He was about five inches shorter.

"What the hell do you want?" He puffed out his chest, trying to look tough. Hibachi roared with laughter, and before Naruto could do anything, he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up off of the ground until he was tall enough to stare at the boy's nose.

One of the three boys automatically came around to Naruto's back and took his arms captive. She scrunched her eyes shut, feeling cool, calming tears slide down her face.

I'm sorry, Naruto… She whispered in her mind, I'm really, really sorry… There was a stabbing pain in her chest that took her breath away, one that she knew that she'd never forget.

She was back to hearing sounds.

The first sound she heard was like an electric shock; the sound of Naruto being thrown to the floor.

It remobilized her.

The second sound was the sound of flesh being beaten; they were kicking him.

Suddenly, though she couldn't explain it, she wasn't scared anymore.

All of her fear had been knocked out- or at least overcoated- and her eyes shot open. Her heart pumped anger through her veins- all of her blood had boiled away at the hot feeling of it.

He was just lying there helplessly and taking it, not knowing what he had ever done to them.

With her forehead pounding and eyes dark, she stood up from her swing and let herself fall six inches to the floor.

She landed on her feet.

With her little hands balled up into fists, she ran as fast as she could, as easily as though she never had to force herself forward.

She couldn't name the feeling at the time, for she had never felt it before… but whatever it was, to her it felt indescribably good. So good that, had she been happier, she would've smiled.

The shallow sound of her feet hitting the mulch made Hibachi's ear twitch, and he stopped beating Naruto and turned to face his new threat head on.

"Who're you?" He looked at her just like everyone else had; like she was garbage, laying there for the sole purpose of being thrown away. She clenched her fists more tightly and bit her lip once more.

Taking one last deep breath, she pushed herself towards him with the toes of her right foot, then started ripping through the air.

He never saw her coming.

Because she couldn't comfortably reach his collar, she thrust her left hand into the middle of his sweater and grabbed, hoping that she had snagged some of his skin. Shock filled his face; he thought he recognized her, but the determined look in her eyes threw him off.

"Y-You're…" He squinted at her.

"Stop hurting Naruto…" She glared up at him, and he saw the whites of her eyes through the shadow cast down on them by her forehead. Without letting go of his sweater, she picked up her other fist and squeezed it so tightly that the vein in her hand bulged out. She didn't know why he was here or why he was doing this, but for the first time ever, she didn't care.

Trying not to think about it, she pulled him down by his shirt- relying on her speed to give her the strength- and plunged her tightly clenched fist into his face. When she felt skin hit her fingers and her knuckles twinge with a spasm of pain, she let go of his shirt and Hibachi went flying.

As he thudded in the ground, he coughed and let himself get covered with dirt. When he had the strength, he looked up at her with the same, horrified expression as the three who had come with him.

Somehow, being looked at like that instead of with the glare didn't feel any better to her.

I didn't even bother to look at him. I could hear that something had clicked inside his mind… like if I was a jigsaw puzzle, he had just snapped in the last piece.

"Come down from there…" He murmured, trying to hold my gaze again. I was too determined now; I wouldn't fall into his hands and be his puppet.

So, without looking at anything besides his feet, I jumped off of the branch and waited to hit the ground.

Falling was something that used to scare me.

As I landed, I reached for my leg to see what they had put inside of my Shuriken holster. When I found my hand around the handle to a Kunai Knife, I knew the tables were about to turn.

I landed holding it out like a sword, ready to tear through him. Then, trying to hold his gaze, I smiled up at him one last time.

"Fine, then. Let's finish this."

He didn't even bother to take out a weapon; he was that sure of himself. We ran towards the center, right towards the boulder, ready to put an end to this.

It wasn't like I didn't have anything up my sleeve.

Now that I had the knife, he wasn't just carelessly throwing himself at me. I kept trying to swing for his vulnerable points-nothing vital, of course- but he was too hard to get.

I stopped to catch my breath for just a second, but that second could've cost me the entire fight.

He brought his fist around one last time, and, for the first time in my life, I had been hit. He had only hit my wrist, though, and the Kunai went flying out of my hand.

It zoomed past my face and all the way back towards the trees, stabbing in to one.

We both froze in that position for a minute.

I was leaning back a little, as his blow had pushed me, and he was leaning forward, putting all of his weight into the hand that was now clutching my wrist. My arm was extended up well over my head, and my palm was vulnerably flat in the air.

It felt like it was on fire.

I glowered a good six inches up at him and he met my eyes with one just as intense.

Then, because he refused to be anything other than obnoxiously confusing, he chuckled arrogantly again.

"You can't kill me," he said coolly, as though challenging me. I can't explain why I did it, but I let my lips curl up into a sneer and I smiled back at him.

"I know." Quickly, before he could even react, I brought my free fist around and jumped so that I could reach his face. I only grazed his cheek though, but I still got him to free my other hand and move back a little.

I wasn't going to waste any more time.

I ran forwards to meet him head on and swung my leg up to roundhouse kick him in the face. He moved his body inwards, letting my leg soar all the way back to the ground.

I was suddenly thanking the dead for teaching me Taijutsu.

When my foot landed on the floor, I was facing the other way for less than half a second. I swung back around, letting the adrenaline power me, held out my right fist, and stabilized my arm as I went to punch him in the stomach, knowing that trying to reach his face would take too long.

Apparently someone had taught him Taijutsu, too.

He was already there, grabbing my arm and securing it in his grip. He grabbed me by the wrist again, so that my hand would become useless.

"Damn…" I muttered, looking towards the ground. There has to be a way out of this, I thought critically. As I lost my focus and my mind began to wander, I almost fell into another trance.

Before I could doze off, however, one of the main Shinobi rules was hurled back into my head.

When in battle, especially one of close range, never take your eyes off of your opponent.

I could start to feel my speeding heart beat come back a little, and I knew that my time being brave was almost over. I'd lose for sure if I didn't end this before all of my aggression wore off; I'd be the most pathetic thing you'd ever see.

I couldn't think of much more on that, though, because Sasuke's grasp on my arm tightened, and I was suddenly whipped off of my feet. He was pulling me towards him, ready to finish me off with a final blow to the face.

There was no way that I could run this time.

So, instead of closing my eyes and accepting defeat, I somehow managed to grab his fist in my hand and put all of my Chakra into keeping it away from hitting me.

I was pushing it away so hard that I actually pushed myself back to the floor.

For about another minute, he tried to push past my defense. After that, though, I guess he decided that he was going to store up his Chakra to finish things when he had the chance.

We stood there again, frozen in action for the second time. Now, though, we weren't even looking at each other. We both looked down, catching our breath.

If one of us didn't make a move soon, we'd be here all night.

"Neither… of us… can… use Ninjutsu… like this…" I breathed. As I looked at the ground, I noticed that there was about an inch between both of our feet, and both of our clothes were drenched in sweat.

"Yeah." He agreed, starting to turn back into his usual one-word response self.

Simultaneously, we both slowly looked up. It would never end if no one let go, but whoever did would lose without question.

There was only one sensible answer, really.

He relaxed his shoulders but stood up straight, losing his hold on me ever so slightly. I nodded at him, and in only a moment, we broke free.

We both jumped back, leaving a good two yards in between us, and braced ourselves again.

There was only one way for my plan to work.

SASUKE

I had finally gotten her to fight. I could see something in her eyes that told me that she was serious now; the trick was clearly to insult Naruto.

I had no idea why she was so protective over him, nor did I have any intention of finding out. All I knew was that I was wasting Chakra by going easy on her, because she could take it, and I knew that for a fact.

Yet, no matter how much I despised it, there was some very small part of me that just couldn't really hurt her.

If this was going to end, I'd have to silence it.

The amazing thing was that after all this time, she still did this to me. Around everyone else, she was scared. That much was obvious. She still acted cool, though, and made sure that no one came near her, trying to hide the fact that she was afraid.

Here, though I was almost sure that she didn't realize it, she wasn't hiding her fear at all. In her defensive position, her frail body shook, and the teeth that she barred were chattering. She was so angry, yet impossibly pathetic at the same time. Had I really thought her to be my enemy, she'd already be lying on the floor in a million broken pieces without a doubt.

"H-Hey…" She breathed darkly, letting her stance fall. "Sasuke…" Her hands rested suspiciously by her sides, and I could swear that her grimace formed the ghost of a shaky smile.

"Think… fast." There was a moment of silence, and I was embarrassingly tense as I waited for her to do something.

The Shuriken flew at me without warning.

She threw them so quickly that I could only see the reflection of the moon shine on their metal spikes for a split second, and that she had transferred from standing straight to hunching over, holding her hand outwards with the pouch of her Shuriken Holster open.

I dodged them easily enough. I simply jumped out of their way.

When I managed to calm down, I looked at her still standing there. What did she take me for?

"What kind of an attack was that?" I asked, dumbfounded. She had thrown the Shuriken at me for almost no reason, as though expecting that she wouldn't have missed. Then, as though that wasn't enough, she didn't react at all except by getting out of her lunge when she saw that her attack had failed.

Suddenly, she was coming towards me. I could tell by the way that she ran that she couldn't take much more of this. With her stamina, I was surprised that she had made it this far. It looked like her microscopic frame- composed entirely of skin and thin bones- was about to crumble under her.

I was going to feel sorry for her when she surprised me again.

Instead of trying to punch me again (which I had been ready for), she stopped a couple feet short and changed her stance entirely.

Silently, she shifted her weight to her other foot and swung her leg up to hit me right in the face. Without having anything else to do in such a short amount of time, I jumped back and swung my leg up to block hers.

She grimaced as they crashed against each other, and together they made an X in the air.

"CHIASA"

Something wasn't right. Not only was I at half my previous strength-which wasn't very much to begin with- but something about this just felt… awkward. Like there was a force greater than just the other's legs keeping us both from putting our feet down.

There was a weird aura flowing in between us that was whispering something in my ear. Neither of us would fall while the other was still standing. At this point, we were both pushing on the other's leg so hard that if one of us pulled our leg away the other would come crashing to the floor.

As of now, we were dependant on each other.

I was forcing all of my Chakra to my leg to keep our strength balanced, as he wasn't using any of his Chakra at all. I was staring right into his eyes with what I knew must've been such a pained expression, but he only answered with coolness.

He pushed on, trying to make me fall, and I coughed out a little cowardly whimper of pain.

I can't lose now, I was telling myself, it's been working to well for me to fall here. So I summed up every ounce of strength in my body and put it into finishing him and slamming his leg to the floor.

Before that night, I had never actually seen my own Chakra before because I had never been pushed this far. I had assumed that it was a natural light blue, just like everyone else's.

Oh, how wrong I was.

The first thing that I noticed was Sasuke's face grow an unnaturally pale white, and then he began to stand out entirely amongst the rest of the forest that stood under the crescent that was slowly making its way up the sky.

Then, as his eyes widened, I got the uneasy feeling that it wasn't him that was glowing.

I let my gaze cautiously drift down to my leg, and I nearly fainted at what I saw.

I would never stop being different, would I?

It was Chakra alright. It was big, exotic, flame-like, brilliant neon white Chakra that sent chills across my skin. It was freezing, yet it gave off the most unpleasant warm feeling that filled me with this rotten false happiness.

I was just as shocked as he was.

"Chiasa!" He called, seeming distant. Something was wrong- I couldn't hear his thoughts anymore. I must've been wasting too much Chakra. I idly met his gaze, but I could hardly hear him- or feel his presence at all- because none of the muscles in my body seemed to work.

Even so, I kept my leg up and it somehow kept pushing.

I might've been too out of it to see straight, but I think that I was even winning. Because I was too numb to feel anything specific, it just pushed me further into my idle state.

"Y-your hair!" Someone was shouting, over the roar of something louder than my heart beat or the shaking of my trembling body.

Absent-mindedly, I reached my hand over my shoulder and grabbed a handful of curls.

I brought them into my view, and then gasped back into reality.

The jolt of surprise made me lose whatever focus I apparently had, and what was left of my Chakra was spread thin back over the rest of my body. My medium-brown ringlets had vanished. More than that, they were the complete opposites of what they should've been.

Lying flat in my clammy palm, resting easily like they had always been there, were countless strands of dead straight platinum bleach blonde hair. It was nearly white, like the Chakra that had burnt out.

Sasuke recovered while I was still frozen in place, and he took his leg away and let me lose my balance for half a second. I jumped and the hair flew out of my hand, but he was already in my face, grabbing my shoulders and turning me around.

It wasn't part of my plan, but it was still working.

I braced myself as he took both of my wrists in his hands, just as Hibachi had done, and I closed my eyes as I easily flew back with his momentum.

We stopped when my back hit something hard, and I opened my eyes to look straight into a dominating smile.

He thought he had won.

"Nice try," he said smugly, trying to hide the fact that he was out of breath. For whatever reason that he wanted to fight me in the first place, he looked like he had gotten what he came for.

However, I wasn't quite finished yet.

"That's funny, Sasuke." I smiled sarcastically, though it hurt the muscles in my face. His grin faded immediately, and he peered down at me like I was insane. "I didn't think that a Shinobi such as you could be beaten by something as simple as Clone Jutsu." And, because I had gained enough Chakra back to hear his thoughts again, I waited for the climax of his confusion and vanished into a cloud of fog.

CHIASA

It was funny, watching him stand there shocked for a minute. When my clone disappeared and some Chakra came back to me, it barely gave me any more strength.

However, it was easier to go downhill than up.

I was standing on a tree branch, overlooking the semi-clearing. Sasuke was still frozen, standing in front of the boulder that he had pushed my clone into.

Oh Sasuke, I thought to myself, fighting back laughter. Didn't you know? When in battle, especially one of close range, never take your eyes off of your opponent.

Knowing that I couldn't wait too long, I lowered myself into a lunge and jumped down, speeding towards the Uchiha symbol on his back like a rocket.

He turned just in time for me to knock him over by pushing my whole weight on his shoulders with my hands.

As we were falling, I smiled tiredly into his eyes, seeing the fear and adrenaline displayed plainly in mine as they reflected off.

I had won.

When we hit the grass, I was forcing myself up to a plank with wobbly arms. It was a little awkward at first because I was literally on top of him, but any feeling at all ended after about a second.

It was the most bizarre thing that I had ever felt.

It was like there was this electric current running in between the two of us in an endless cycle. It circled through us, entering our bodies between my hands and his shoulders and the tips of my shoes and his lower legs, just below his knee caps.

I knew that he felt it too, whatever it was, because my shocked face was burning brightly in his mind and his expression was a clone of it.

My hair, wavy and dirty blonde, not getting the full impact of my Chakra from my clone, draped down on both sides of my face like a thick curtain. It almost reached down to his.

My body was going up and down with his breathing, and something about its sound relaxed me. It was wiping away the emptiness that I had felt after making the clone Jutsu, replacing it with something that I had never felt before.

"When did you…?" He breathed, trying to find the answer in my eyes somewhere. Suddenly, without my saying a word, he realized what I had done. "The Shuriken…!" It was all starting to add up; why I had pointlessly thrown the Shuriken, why I looked so tired as my clone ran towards him. The Shuriken were a diversion, and my clone was suffering because it was running on almost no Chakra, as it had just been created.

"But…" he continued, staring abstractly away from me with a scrutinizing look on his face. "Clones can't make physical contact, so… how…?" At this point, nothing would surprise me.

"I don't know," I said, so carefree that I didn't sound like myself.

We were back to the intense silence when I heard it.

It was low, almost undetectable with everything going on, but it was undoubtedly there. It was a tiny voice that came from extremely secured thoughts, and I didn't recognize it.

I went tense and I felt my pupils shrink. Sasuke was immediately alarmed by my face, and he was about to get up and react.

I silenced him, shaking my head, signaling for him to be very careful.

"We're being watched." I whispered.