The morning was bright and full of potential, or so Estella hoped. She had been instructed by her Sensei to meet up with him at the school with Daemon for their next mission/assignment. Estella grumbled and rolled out of bed, cursing the early morning sun under her breath before she began to dress herself. Lazily she pulled a navy blue shirt that bore her family crest on the sleeve over her head, ruffling her already messy hair before she slipped on a pair of black cargo pants and her black open toed sandals. She then moved her way to the mirror, where she diligently brushed her onyx locks of hair before tediously placing her metal plated headband in her hair, just like her mother did at her age before a gentle knock adverted her eyes from her own reflection.

"You're up early." Sakura's sweet voice filled the room as Estella turned to look at her, a smile creeping across her youthful face. Estella loved her mother and furthermore loved looking at her, it was simply amazing how little both her parents had aged yet even still, she found in comparison with old photographs, her parents only seemed to get more handsome and beautiful as time went by.

"Yeah…" Estella replied before taking a moment to stretch vigorously. "Sensei requested Daemon and I meet him at the school to brief us on an assignment he has for us." She dropped her arms out of her stretch and sighed heavily, still smiling before returning her gaze to fall on her mother's gentle face.

"Well…" Sakura grinned "come eat some breakfast and say goodbye to your father and brother before you go gallivanting off." Sakura instructed before leaving her daughter with her privacy.

Estella did as she was instructed, taking her place at the breakfast table where her younger brother, Daisuke, had already engaged in rapid conversation about his studies at the academy. 10 years apart in age, Daisuke was a rival to his sister already in the art form of the Ninja yet it was all playful banter. They had many things in common in personality; however Daisuke had inherited his mother brash personality more so than Estella but all the same Sasuke was just as patient as he had been with Estella in their at home training and both their parents made a point to make them feel equally valued in all aspects of life. Estella smiled gently down at her brother who continued to talk, there was no doubt they were related yet the only thing either of them shared in looks was their fathers raven hair and though Daisuke had not yet mastered the Sharigan, that was another trait they would soon both possesses.

Daisuke was always pleasant natured and adored talking to anyone and anything that would listen and over the years he himself had become a good ear of sympathy. He was the spitting image of Sasuke, from his hair and eyes to even his bone structure, the Y chromosome had sculpted Daisuke after the man who created him, so much so that it was almost frightening. Yet all the same, despite their large age difference, Estella loved her brother and they had many fun and wholesome training sessions together and while Daisuke began to end his long winded story book of the action he was enduring at school, Estella waited patiently to inform her father of the mission she had today.

"Father…" Estella said gently, waiting for his black eyes to meet her green orbs. "I have a mission today. I'm meeting Sensei at the school so he can brief us over it before we leave."

"Can I come?!" Came the ecstatic voice of the young Daisuke who stared at his elder sister with adoration shining in his eyes.

"Nonsense, Daisuke. You'll have your turn when you graduate from the academy." Sakura attempted to reason with the strong willed seven year old who merely groaned in protest.

"Will Daemon be accompanying you?" Came the somber voice of Sasuke.

"Yes, Father." She winced, catching a glimmer of a glare flicker through his eyes before Sasuke looked up to see the stern expression of his wife that read "don't start." Sasuke coughed and Estella swore she heard him growl under his breath. She wasn't exactly sure why her father disapproved of Daemon, he was an exceptional ninja, kind, gentle, intelligent and if nothing else the 6th Hokage son! Estella sighed under her breath if someone like Daemon doesn't impress father…I'm almost certain no one will. Quietly she excused herself and grabbed her things to leave before a firm hand wrapped around her forearm, stopping her exit. Slowly she turned to see her father looming over her and gently he wrapped his arms around his fragile daughter and hugged her tight before pushing her back and gently kissing her forehead. Estella smiled, she loved her father, though she knew few understood his stand-offish ways and his sometimes over baring nature yet still she was in fact, for a lack of a better word, a daddy's girl.

"Be Careful." He whispered gently into her ear before sending her on her way.

She left quickly, wondering if Daemon was waiting on her. Quickly she made her way up the dirt path and weaved between people. The courtyard was crowded, as it always was and Estella cursed and scorned those who refused to get the hell out of her way. But one spot in particular seemed more swarmed than usual and out of sheer curiosity; Estella made her way towards the crowd in an attempt to see what all the fuss was about. It didn't take long for her to figure it out, for there, towering over a hoard of females was Daemon. Estella felt her face burn with unnecessary jealousy, she hated all those disgusting fan girls and she'd burn them all with the Fire-Style Jutsu her father had taught her if she for one second got the chance. However it was times like these that filled Estella with the uncommon emotion of insecurity, she knew very well Daemon could have any girl he wished and she saw no reason for him to simply "settle" on a girl so common looking as herself. Though the fact still remained, despite his upbringing and his hoard of fan girls he was still the most humble person Estella had ever met and she firmly believed (and hoped) that he was just as disgusted by the atrocious behavior of the other women as she was.

Frustrated with the flock of estrogen that surrounded her she began to shove her way into the picture, Daemon spotting her halfway through and when she looked up she distinctively saw him mouth the words help me while looking her straight in the eyes. That was the signal she needed to start shoving broads to the ground, her Amazon strength becoming more useful than she deemed at that point in time. She continued to forge her path until she felt his hand grab hers and she tugged him away from the horde of women that were beginning to over run him. Once Estella broke him free of their clutches they each made a run for it, Daemon using his father's shadow clone to escape the stampede. They managed to outsmart the rush of women and escaped to safety inside a small class room, waiting for them all to pass and get a good distance away before they promptly turned to the other and began to laugh excessively.

"I thought I was a goner!" Daemon exclaimed through his laughter while he attempted to catch his breath.

"Maybe I should be your full time body guard, clearly you can't take care of yourself!" Estella teased, smiling at him playfully, Daemon shoving her gently in response to her comment. She giggled and he chuckled and then their eyes met, lingering a moment too long to be comfortable. Estella felt the color begin to rise in her cheeks while she watched what seemed to be Daemon's white eyes study her face, his hand slowly reaching up to brush some wild strands of hair from her emerald eyes and resting on her blushed cheek. Daemon knew all too well he could lose himself in those green pools and he'd let himself if he could. But the mission came first, not love, they still had so much to learn and distractions were not an option. He cursed himself gently under his breath for letting his gaze linger before he quickly darted his eyes to the ground and cleared his throat before standing, extending a helpful hand to Estella while she casually rejected. He smiled gently, she was the not the kind of person to except even the smallest of help from anyone and he knew not to take it personally.



"We should attempt to find Sensei, I'm sure he's looking for us." Daemon spoke softly before looking down at Estella who nodded silently in response though inside she was screaming. She wanted to pin Daemon to a wall and kiss him more passionately than he had ever been kissed before, she wanted to tell him, longed to tell him. But the mission… her thought trailed, she didn't want to finish that over used sentence that controlled her life and for the first time in her life she hated being a Ninja. For beyond that metal plate that held so much significance was nothing more than a lonely, heart sick girl who longed to feel the embrace of her cherished comrade and best friend.

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AN: I'm taking this story slow…as far as updates go that is. I'm trying to limit myself to one or two a week. I have a terrible habit of uploading almost every day when I write a new story...lol. I'm sorry if the story seems slow right now...but I'm trying to build and get you attached to these two characters. Lets hope I succeed.