Chapter 1: Acknowledgment

Rating: M overall but this chapter T for teens

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Naruto except for a few merchandise that I bought. I don't make money of off Naruto and I don't make money of off this. I own absolutely nothing except for Rin Nara and a few other OCs. Basically anyone who don't recognize is an OC.

A/N: I am Satan with updating but expect me updating this AT LEAST once a week and this will be finished! And whoops yes I just changed the narrative perspective. Hope you enjoy! Oh yeah I should also tell you now this is eventual ShinoxOC and a slow build fanfiction so bear with me please. Since these first few chapters will go by pretty fast since they are merely set up chapters.

Prelude

One out of ten, Rin looked out at the resentfully at the one kunai that had made it's mark at the bulls eye. She was the only one in the training area with everyone else scatter around the Academy courtyard for lunch socializing. Embarrassed as a boy with brown hair, red markings and a dog with a girl with long black hair started to come in my direction. She quickly took the kunai off and returned it Iruka –sensei, who let you borrow a kunai set during school hours to practice. Passing by the training area again her assumption was right as the boy and girl duo were practicing with the guy obviously trying to show off the darker haired girl. The girl obviously wasn't having it and didn't believe in the guys tough guy act but looked to appease him by listening patiently.

Feeling weird and out of place Rin continued on. Between everyone already in their respective subgroups, not wanting to bother her Brother and having already eaten her lunch she had nowhere else to go. Maybe she just wasn't cut out to be a ninja. She could feel her heart skip a beat as she thought about quitting. She carelessly watched the clouds roll across the sky silently laughing at the shapes they took on.

"Laughing to oneself is often a sign of mental instability," A voice came to her as a sort of shock. She stumbled shocked at the sudden mass in front of her. A boy with long dark brown hair and white eyes studied her for a second making her feel uncomfortable. She already knew who knew who he was: Neji Hyuuga. He was in the year above her and a proclaimed prodigy in his clan from what she had heard from her classmates.

With no words to explain herself, with its seemed to suffice she asked, "What?"

"You should allow yourself to go crazy just because you didn't get all your kunai on the bulls eye," He said simply looking her over. "If you want to be a ninja you have to learn to keep your emotions in check and your mind on what's in front of you. Now you can sit here looking pathetic and laughing to yourself or you can go throw kunai. Your choice."

He shrugged and walked off as if there was nothing to it. In that moment Rin Nara fell in love.

Little love did her, as she never talked to Neji again as for the rest of my days in the Academy. Well not really and not that she knew that yet. She would wave at him passing by on my way to the Academy but he didn't see her or would simply not acknowledge her. She sighed bitterly at the thought but instantly shook it off, he had talked to me….

Determined to change her luck Rin sat on the polar opposite of where her Brother was, as most days she would hover around him and his friends in silence. But unfortunately her luck turned for the worst as the quietest and weirdest guy sat in the chair two seats across from her. Thus no one sat next to her even though the room filled up pretty fast. Rin gritted her teeth in anger but refused to go head hung back beside her Nii-san.

She willed herself to look his way, and with his long coat and messy hair it was pretty easy to remember the guy. Shino Aburame.

Rin grimaced for a moment before looking around again. Kiba Inuzuka was sitting pretty close but a black haired, tanned skinned girl named Kai took the chair beside him already and he was the aisle spot. He caught her looking at him and made a silly laughing trying to make her laugh. Rin frowned, it didn't work. He was probably too dumb to hold a conversation anyway. There was also a free spot around Naruto but she couldn't will herself to sit next to him either. Not that her parents forbad it, in fact her Papa didn't care at all if she did talk to him, but Rin didn't want to associate with him not because of what everyone else's parents said but because he was such a pain. Always making a scene, always so loud, it always made Rin scoff. Why draw attention to yourself when you weren't any good? The one thing Rin knew was while she wasn't the worst at throwing kunai, Naruto was and Rin was trying to elevate herself not sink down to Naruto's level.

With no other seats available and determination beating through her bloodstream like blood she picked up her stuff and plopped herself next to Shino. The air between them was tense and awkward at the sudden movement. The world around them continued around them without a blink of an air but Rin felt as though everyone was staring. Was everyone staring? She didn't dare to look.

An intense shiver climbed up and down her spine as she looked to see the desk in front of Shino was full of bugs! Now Rin was so stranger to outdoor critters often helping her Papa in forest work outside Konoha just bringing him his supplies but never had Rin seen bugs to this quantity at one place before.

Rin was almost tempted to get up and leave but determined glint shone in her eyes as Nee-san's words repeated in my head a thousand times over. Don't you want to be your own person?

She was going to show him! She'd be better than him; she'll show him, Mama and Papa! She'll make better grades, be a better ninja, and make better friends. Shino glanced over at the small, pale, round-faced girl to meet stone cold determination. He leaned back offset by the sudden set of the messy haired girl's full forced attention. After a second he uncomfortably shifted away from her and his glasses glinted from the sun, "Do you need anything? You are staring am me implying you…."

Rin momentarily reconsidered her actions; was Shino who she wanted to associate with? The thought made her want to sigh; there wasn't exactly a group of people lining up to be her friend and beggars couldn't be choosers. She had tried to be friends with Ino when the Academy had started solely under the basis that our Fathers were but it didn't work out. She was way too brash and she told me I was too much of a know it all.

I wasn't though, Rin thought bitterly to herself. Ino was just plain dumb.

Shino had stopped talking and Rin found it a bit unsettling that they were now just staring at each other. Maybe she shouldn't have been dozing off but she quickly shook the thought away. "No one likes you, right?"

He quickly looked away with what I bet was a red face and explained, "I have no need of…."

"Well it's settled then," Rin simply stated not giving him enough time to make a long, awkward explanation. She settled in her seat and tired to avoid the massive swarm of bugs in from of him (but to no avail as she shuttered again as her eyes passed them). He looked back at her again questionably. "Then I'll like you. We're friends now."

"You can't tell people to be your friend. Just give up already, this is the third time I had to do this," Shikamaru said pulling another twig out of her hair. Rin hissed at the sudden tugging and glared at him menacingly. It didn't look like it but apparently Shino was pretty fast when it came to avoiding people; particularly Rin Nara.

After her little proclamation Shino decided that wasn't going to happen and for the next few days made it a point to try to sit away from her during class and avoid her during lunch and break. The rejection stung but she was adamant.

She was a proud Nara women, what would her Mama think if she knew the reason she had appeared at home with scratches and twigs in her hair? She would –was – mad but Rin knew if her Mama only knew she would be proud. But Mama hadn't been really sympathetic this week as on arrival her Mama would yell in shock at the appearance of her daughter and demand she get cleaned and remove all objects from her body. Her Papa could really care less what she was doing just as long as she was safe, which she was beside the small scratches and twigs.

Rin would always try to catch Shino during break or lunch but he would escape in the forest near the Academy. Not being a novice to the works of a forest Rin was sure she'd be able to follow Shino pretty easily. She wouldn't allow herself too run but that was her demise as she had lost him every time even running into a random bush three whole times this week.

Her Mama would scream and her Papa would laugh saying it was harmless fun. Her Mama would then turn on him and he would be quiet and tell Rin too stop as well but she knew by the gleam in his eye he found her antics amusing. Shikamaru didn't, as their Mama would snap at him to help Rin get ready for diner.

"How else do you make friends?" She hissed as he yanked another twig from her hair.

"By being normal," Shikamaru sighed and whispered how troublesome she was.

Lunch the next day, Naruto was practically animated around Shino annoying him to no end.

That's my job, Rin wanted to kick Naruto on the shin and tell him to buzz off.

"Come on Shino," Naruto begged, his hands clasped in front of him. "It'll be fun! It's not like you're doing anything else…"

Rin suddenly smiled mischievously to herself. This was her time! She was suddenly between them giving Naruto her best hard glare. He suddenly stepped back stumbling on his feat screaming, "EHHH! Hey what was that for?"

"He does have something to do, excuse you!" Naruto and Shino gave her a questionable look as she grabbed the bug boy. Through his think jacket she could feel a slow movement like a thousand little things moving all at once beneath her fingers. "He's with me."

She kept her cool until they had gotten outside where she screamed and fainted outside the Academy.

Shino was there when she had awoken from the Nurse's office.

"You're not really good at this, are you? You're breathing heavy and you almost came dead last." Shino said a matter a factly looking down at the gasping mess below him. Rin was grasping her knees catching her breathe after the mile Iruka-sensei made them run because Naruto was late for the third time this week.

One more time, Iruka-sensei had warned. And everyone gets punished.

We had made an effort to keep Naruto focused but he had been nowhere to be found this morning only for him to have toileted the Hokage's home. As everyone passed the door they made a conscious effort to glare at him, some even whispering empty death threats. Iruka had told her she was exempt but as everyone looked at her, she insisted she be punished with everyone else. By the time Rin was done running she was red with more than just embarrassment, though that was a big reason why. The only ones to have been slower that her was Shikamaru and Chouji though she didn't really take that as a good sign. Her brother had no drive or determination and she knew their parents – particularly their Mother - would have given him an earful if he didn't follow her around for this sort of this. And Chouji just followed Shikamaru around. The whole time Rin wanted to stop and kick them. Particularly Shikamaru, but then again she always wanted to kick her Nee-san.

"Not…particularly," Rin replied through a breath and grit in her teeth. Can't Shino see she didn't want to talk about it? She knew by now though that if she didn't expand Shino wouldn't pry so she let the conversation fall on itself. She didn't want to talk about her problems now. Or ever.

They made their way into the forest near the Academy as Rin watched the clouds and Shino picked out bugs. How Rin had managed to make it to her third year at the Academy her parents still raveled over but Rin knew she deserved it. Since bumping into Neji in her first year of the Academy she had aced every test, made every kunai, and controlled her chakra as one of the best in class. She could feel her cheeks burn a light red at the thought of Neji. The day passed on quickly and quietly like most days as Rin allowed her thoughts to wonder.

Rin wondered if it'd always be like this, passing her days with Shino in a sort of awkward but expected silence. Shino wasn't one to talk and Rin, well he was a boy. Why she never went out of her way to make more friends she didn't know but at least she didn't have to compete with Shino for Neji.

"We'll be broken up in teams," Shino cracked the silence. Her eyes continued to wonder the sky as her face crunched.

"Hmmm?" She asked.

"When we graduate I heard we get split up into teams," Shino explained not breaking away from his activity either. "Why I bring this up? We might be in the same team."

Rin smiled softly to herself, she hadn't even thought about graduation, she was way too focused on getting through the current year. She didn't say that she also wanted to be on Neji's team, but he was a year above her so that was out of the question. "Hopefully."

Rin didn't have to look at Shino to know his glasses glinted as he looked at her, "Yeah, hopefully."

They might not have talked much, but whenever they did Rin always felt better. Maybe I don't need other friends anyway.

I passed, I passed, Rin wanted to run home scream in her parents' faces and laugh menacingly as they held each other in acknowledgement of her prowess. But she knew that would take too much strain on herself so she settled on trying to settle her heart now. Iruka –sensei had the sheet of their future teams in his hands getting ready to announce them.

"Team 9 members are Nara Rin," Rin crossed her fingers; she just wanted someone good. "Keijō Kai." Ok, Rin took that back. She wanted someone good and not annoying. She didn't know much about Kai but she knew she was always with that Kiba guy and that was never a good sign. Kai looked back to meet Rin's gaze and spit her tongue out. Rin bit down a gasp, she knew it! This girl was absolutely no good!

Rin simply glared at the ugly, snotty girl and turned her face. The third person on her team couldn't be that bad. Well, not as bad as that Kai girl.

Sasuke and Shino had already been put in teams and some other good people in the class but there were still a few other people Rin could deal with so she crossed her fingers tighter.

"Anzen Tatsuo."

She could feel herself groan. She had spoken too soon.