I already finished chapter 2, so I decided to post it up as well. I'm sorry that this is not as long as long as other chapters are, but I simply can not force myself to write too much. Again, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I don't know how I got there, but I awoke in a small room. I was tucked underneath the covers along with my panda. I threw the blankets off only to notice I was wearing a long white shirt. My fingers instantly went to my face only to feel that there was no more blood. I started to panic until the door to room opened. In front of me stood the third Hokage. I had only spoken to him a few times before when daddy took me with him sometimes to report on a mission. Suddenly, it hit me. Daddy and mother were gone. I sobbed uncontrollably onto my stuff panda. The older man walked over to my bedside and placed his withered hand on my forehead. I looked up slowly to see him smiling slightly at me. "It's alright Serena," he said soothingly, "You can cry all you want. It's good to let your feelings out." I sniffed loudly as I tried to wipe the tears away. He motioned for me to come closer. I don't know why I did it, but I threw myself into his arms. I simply sat there hugging him tightly. The Hokage chuckled softly as he patted my back. "There, there," he said, "It's going to be ok."

He turned out to be right. After the murder of my parents, that man practically raised me as another child. Sarutobi had made sure all the legal work with documenting the death of my family was taken care of. We had both thought the other clan members would be willing to raise me, but they were all old and not suited to take care of a young child. Some of them later on even blamed me for the killing! Nonetheless, I was able to find a new family with our leader. I was never officially adopted, but he treated me like I was. The third Hokage reminded me of my father in so many ways, causing me to miss him every day that passed. The older man knew he could never get rid of the pain in my heart, but he always reminded me that others loved me, too. He also helped me get started on my shinobi training. I was offered the best trainers in the village to help me understand the importance of taijutsu. Although I still had to wait a few more months to get into the Academy, that didn't stop him from educating me. Sarutobi drilled it into my mind that history was one of the most important things any person should know. By the time he was done teaching me, I could practically recite Konoha's entire history! We also discovered that I had a talent for healing. I would often come home with a wounded animal in my arms. He watched in awe as I tried to heal the poor creatures. He often took me to the hospital to show me how many of the successful shinobis and kunoichis healed their patients. Because of the third Hokage, I was on a great start to my future.

Being as young as I was, the man also wanted to interact with children my age. I was often teased by him on how often I studied. Sarutobi always used to say, "Now, Serena. I know I told you education is important, but you can't just ignore the other children! Go have some fun!" I would always obey him, so I did exactly what he told me to do. I often went to the park in my free time. I was naturally shy around others, but it didn't take long for me to fit in. I loved to play kickball with the others. I could be very competitive, and everyone always wanted me on their team! I established friendships with other kids very easily. One day during an intense match, one of the boys accidently hit the ball too hard, causing it to fly over my head. I yelled that I would go get it and ran off. As I followed the ball, I noticed that it landed by a young boy's feet. As I picked it up, I studied the boy's appearance. He had short black hair that was spiky in the back along with pale skin and black eyes. He looked sad, so I decided to introduce myself. "Hi!" I said cheerfully, "My name is Serena. Who are you?" The young boy stared into my eyes and simply said nothing. I was slightly annoyed, but I decided that he looked like he needed a friend. "Do you wanna play kickball with us?" I asked. He shook his head and returned to staring at the sky. I pursed my lips in disappointment and shrugged my shoulders. "Well," I said still looking at him, "You're welcome to join anytime." I ran off back to the group, never noticing that the boy watched my every move.

After the game was over, I was exhausted. I walked over to the water fountain to get a drink when I saw the young boy again. "Hi again," I said panting. "Hi…my name is Sasuke," he said softly. I smiled at him and held out my hand. "Nice to meet you, Sasuke, "I said happily. He cautiously took my hand and shook it. When we let go, an awkward silence formed. "Are you from the Niigata clan?" he said looking straight at me. I didn't know what to say. All I could do was nod my head yes. He smirked slightly, which would later drive girls and me insane. "I'm from the Uchiha clan," Sasuke said looking down at the ground. "Oh cool," I said interested, "I've heard about your clan! My daddy said you're one of the greatest families in the entire village!" The young boy muttered a few words I couldn't hear as he continued to stare at the ground. It looked like I had made him uncomfortable, so I decided to drop the subject. "Are you going to go the Academy this year, Sasuke?" I asked curiously. "Yeah…" he said looking up at me, "I'm guessing you are, too?" I nodded my head in agreement. "Well, I'll see you there, then," he said while turning his back to me. I watched in silence as he walked off. I had no clue at that point that he was the one who would bring me to my knees.

The time to enter the Ninja academy had finally arrived! I was more than ready that morning while eating breakfast with the Hokage. He smiled at my enthusiasm and even walked with me over there! I eagerly waved goodbye to him as the other children stared in amazement. Most of them hadn't even shaken his hand. Rumors already began to form early that day. I could hear them whisper behind my back wondering why I was with such an important man. They were never bad thoughts, but I never let them get to me. Instead, I focused tremendously on my school work. I wasn't the number one smartest shinobi in our class, but I'm proud to admit that I was up there. I easily excelled in taijutsu and ended up being number one in that spot. I was pretty decent in ninjutsu, and I had a fair grasp at genjutsu. Thanks to my early training, the academy wasn't hard at all. For the most part, I could relax in every class. Every now and then Sasuke sat next to me. It was usually to get away from the crazy girls who were obsessed with him. He knew I wouldn't talk much, and he appreciated that. Sometimes we had conversations, driving our female classmates insane.

I wouldn't say we were friends during the academy, but Sasuke and I respected each other. We wouldn't annoy each other, and I was happy I could sometimes have serious conversations with him rather than always having to go to an adult. He always seemed sad or upset, so I tried to cheer him up. I usually failed, but I think he appreciated what I tried to do. Sasuke also sat by me at lunch once in a while. We normally ate in silence, but it was quite nice. I still wouldn't say at that point that I had feelings for him. I enjoyed his company, but that was it. I wasn't going to be insane and obsess over him like others. The older we got, however, he began to alienate himself completely from everyone. It was rare that he even looked my way now. I was slightly sad at how he was turning out to be, but I never confronted him about it. He probably needed alone time anyways. When I later found out his entire clan was killed, I knew that was the true reason why he kept to himself. Sometimes I wanted to go up to him and tell him that I knew how it felt to see your family die. However, he started to become bitter, and I didn't think he would want to hear what I had to say.

Time at the academy seemed to fly by fast. Before we knew it, it was already time to graduate. I easily passed my final tests and waited in excitement on who I would be teamed up with in our new groups. Since there was an even amount of students who passed, only one group would be allowed to have four Genin. Of course, every girl was fighting over who would be paired up with Sasuke. I looked on in amusement and simply rolled my eyes. To me, there were more important things to worry over than some crush. I was teamed up with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. I received many death glares, which frightened me slightly. I didn't mind who I was with, but apparently my team mates did. Naruto had a crush on Sakura who had a crush on Sasuke. Sakura believed I was only getting in her way of loving Sasuke. Naruto hated Sasuke for getting all the attention and Sasuke hated everyone. Even our sensei, Kakashi, didn't like us that much from the start. It seemed like I was the only sane person on the team.

Through a rigorous training exercise, Kakashi sensei taught us to push aside our differences in order to work functionally as a team. I was all for that idea despite the fact that our team didn't really get along. Naruto was always happy when I stuck up for him, causing us to have an easy friendship. Sakura never wanted to waste her time with me. Sasuke, well, never wanted to spend time with anyone. I think Kakashi appreciated me for being calm at all times despite the heavy tensions. We often got along just fine, and he would often train me on the side when there was free time. I wasn't trying to be the teacher's pet, but there always needed to be someone to keep the peace when he couldn't. Our first missions were too easy, but I didn't mind starting from the bottom. However, Naruto and his big mouth couldn't stand it. We were eventually given a C- rank mission where our team would have to safely escort a man named Tazuna back to his home country. It would be there that my attraction to Sasuke would begin.