Hello my loves! I am SOOOOO sorry I didn't update this story my notebook full of ideas and chapters got ruined and so I got really behind. But here's a new chapter for anyone still reading! If you have any ideas for the story feel free to let me know I'll take all into consideration!

XOXOXO

Pain. That was the first thing that registered in Maya's mind when her eyes fluttered open. The events from training with her father the night before flooded back to her, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was really aiming to kill her.

Groaning, she rolled onto her side and pushed her body up into a sitting position. Wondering how she was supposed to train with these injuries, she unwrapped the bandages from her knee to inspect the damage.

There was a large gash on the outside of her knee that went almost to the bone and was about an inch and a half long. Hissing, Maya slipped out of her bed and limped to her bathroom using the wall to support her weight as she went.

Flicking on the light, she opened a new pack of bandages and gauze before sitting on the counter to wrap her knee tightly so it couldn't move too much. Turning to the mirror, she winced at her reflection that stared back at her. She had a cut on her chin, and her left eye was bruised along with the temple.

'Why does he do this to me?' she thought to herself as tears filled her eyes. It had been this way since she was six and her mother had passed away. Her father never really loved or cared for her but at least he tolerated her when her mother was alive, but now she was starting to wonder how much longer he was even going to let her live.

'He will not be able to kill you child, I will not allow it.' The demon in her head whispered to her. For a split second she wondered if maybe she should just let the demon out and end all of her suffering but she shook that thought away as soon as it came.

Ignoring the demon, she slipped off of the counter and brushed through her hair, leaving it down and pulling her bangs over the bruised eye although she knew it wouldn't hide it the whole day. Going back to her room she grabbed some clothes from her closet and set them on her bed. She pulled on a bra and underwear before going back to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she came back she slipped on a pair of maroon training pants and a black tank top.

Wrapping her arms in bandages, she sighed at the horrible color of her skin. Almost every part of her body was either blackish blue or a sickly yellow and she hated it. But what could she do? These were her people she was going to lead them one day and then they will respect her.

After she slipped on a black pair of ninja sandals, she made her way to the kitchen to get some breakfast, completely ignoring her sensei's warnings. She ate a bowel of cereal and a piece of toast before leaving the house as quickly and quietly as possible so she didn't wake her father.

Once out into the crisp morning air, Maya took a deep breath and smiled softly at the barely lit sky. She could still see a hint of the stars and the sky was a mix of purple and dark blue.

Taking her time, she made her way to the training grounds. She knew she would probably be the first one there and that was okay with her. Using the walk to practice walking without her limp, she slowed her pace to make it easier.

Even with the slowed pace she made it to the training grounds first, so she sat under a tree to rest her leg. Closing her eyes, she hummed softly to herself to occupy her mind until the rest of her team got there. It didn't take very long before she sensed another person's chakra heading in her direction making her crack her eyes open to see who it was.

Walking down the path with his hands in his pockets and watching the ground was Sasuke sporting a emotionless mask as always. He paused when he noticed another person was there already and looked up. Onyx eyes met sparkling purple and for a moment they both just stared at each other before Maya dipped her head mumbling a quiet 'good morning.' She got a grunt in return as Sasuke went and leaned against a tree with his arms crossed.

'His eyes hold so much lonliness and sorrow...' She thought to herself, closing her eyes to try to rid the memories of all the emotions she saw in the dark depths of the Uchiha's eyes. She had to focus and figure out a way to survive the day without getting sent back to the acadamy. She didn't want to have to tell her father that she failed before even getting started.

They sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes before they could hear another two sets of foot steps coming their way. Naruto and Sakura joined them soon, both looking horribly tired.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, yawning at the end. The Uchiha in question chose to ignore her and cross his arms.

"Morning Maya-chan!" Naruto said, smiling a tired but excited smile, making Maya blush a deep crimson, not expecting to be spoken to.

"G-Good morning N-Naruto-san..." she said, returning his smile with a small one of her own. They all sat around in silence for a while as they waited on their sensei who was late. Closing her eyes, Maya rested the back of her head against the tree hoping to relax and will some of her pain to the back of her head.

A small gust of wind blew by, making her hair sway in the breaze and she enjoyed it until she remembered the horrible state of her face. Pulling her hair in front of her eye again, she glanced around to make sure none of her teammates had seen. When she was satisfied no one was paying attention she lowered her head and continued to wait.

*Sasuke's POV*

Arriving to the training grounds, Sasuke noticed that there was someone already there. Seeing it was the small shy girl on his team, he inwardly sighed. She was so small and meak, he didn't understand why she even decided to become a shinobi.

She suddenly looked at him, and he froze for a moment when their eyes met. They were so different, a deep purple with flecks of silver that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. They were filled with so many different emotions as well. Lonliness, fear, sorrow. She lowered her gaze, and Sasuke found himself wishing he could have analized her eyes some more.

"G-Good morning.." she whispered, her voice soft and musical, like wind chimes. Shaking his head and wondering where those thoughts came from, he grunted in response before leaning against a tree. Ignoring the presence of his other teammates, he continued to descretely stare at the smallest of them as she sat with her back against a tree.

Maya Toshiro was a complete mystery to him, which annoyed him a great deal. She never really talked in class unless the teacher called on her, she was always trying to blend into the background unlike the other girls who flocked him or tried to show off. He had no clue how strong she was or what kind of techniques she had, the only thing he knew was that she was the heiress to the Toshiro clan. He didn't even know if the Toshiro clan had a gekkei genkai.

He was pulled from his thoughts as a breaze went by, making Maya's hair blow around softly. His breath hitched slightly as her bangs were brushed away from her face and he was given a glance of what was underneath. Her eye was surrounded by a blashish bruise as was the entire length from her eyebrow to her cheakbone.

'Where did that come from?' he thought to himself as she fixed her hair in a haste, looking around quickly. He remembered her face didn't look like that yesterday, meaning that it happened between then and now.

'Why do I even care?' he mused, looking away from the distracting girl to continue waiting for his sensei.

*Maya's POV*

Maya and her teemmates sat around for another two hours, growing increasingly impatiant, when their Sensei finally arrived. Maya stood up quickly when she saw him there, flinching slightly when she put pressure on her leg. Catching her sensei glance at her with a light hint of worry in his eyes, she averted her gaze to the ground.

"Sorry I'm late, there was a little old lady that needed help crossing the street." Kakashi saidm rubbing the back of his neck chuckling.

"Liar!" Naruto and Sakura yelled together, pointing at their sensei. He chuckled again, shaking his head as he pulled three bells out of his pocket and jingled them.

"Alright the test you have to pass is getting these bells from me in a time limit, you will have until noon to complete your task." he said as he pulled out a timer and set it for noon.

"But Kakashi-sensei, there are only three bells. There are four os us." Sakura pointed out, making Maya tense up. That meant that one of them was going to fail no matter what. Kakashi quickly voiced her thoughts himself, making the small girl sigh softly.

"Alright, do your best. GO!" he yelled, making all his students disapear into hiding places. Maya hissed softly, gripping her knee tightly as she sat in a high up branch of a tree. She leaned her head back and tried to figure out what to do.

She knew for a fact that she wasn't skilled enough to fight Kakashi, even without her injuries. She may be slightly above genin level thanks to her father's training but her sensei was a skilled ex-ambu. The Copycat Ninja. Groaning softly, she shook her head. The only way to even have a chance was if they all attacked at once, but to do that they would have to work together, which was only a dream.

Maya glanced out into the clearing just as she saw Naruto get slung upside down in a tree by a trap. Stiffling her giggles, she waited until Kakashi was gone to move quickly and silently to where Naruto was pouting. Taking out a kunai, she cut the rope and kept a hold on it as she lowered the blonde to the ground before jumping down, making sure to land on her uninjured leg before setting her other foot down.

"Thanks Maya-chan! You're the best!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up to hug the small girl. She blushed a dark red, and patted his back, trying to ignore her pain. He pulled away and Maya opened her mouth to ask him to work together with her to get the bells when he cut her off.

"Thanks again, but I gotta go get a bell!" he yelled, taking off into the trees. She sighed, deciding to move on to the next person she was teamed with. Taking off into the woods as well, Maya clenched her teeth tightly as she pushed the pain in her leg down. She couldn't let her wounds drag her down, she had to pass today.

Finding Sakura was easy when the girl in question let out a scream to Maya's left, making her switch directions to get to her. She skidded to a stop next the the unconcious body of her female teammate and knelt down next to her. Grabbing her shoulder, she shook her softly.

"Sakura..wake up.." she said, biting her lip as the girl's eyes fluttered open. She sat up gasping, calling Sasuke's name. Maya smiled, sitting back slightly to let Sakura gather her bearings before speaking.

"Sakura, we need to work together if we're going to defeat Kakashi..we can all team up and-" she was cut off my Sakura standing suddenly, pushing Maya onto her backside as she went. The pinkette scowled down at her, her hands on her hips.

"The only person I'm working with is Sasuke-kun!" she yelled, making the smaller girl flinch slightly before nodding. She stood as well and walked in the opposite direction of Sakura, trying to think of where Sasuke would be. He would no doubt be better at hiding himself then her other teammates, so this was harder.

Maya made her way to a clearing and stopped short, focusing on the head of the boy she was looking for sticking out of the ground. She giggled softly, covering her mouth with her hand as she did.

Sasuke looked up at her, a scowl on his face. 'I shouldn't laugh at him. But it is slightly funny...' she thought to herself as she forced to laugh down. Kneeling down next to his head, trying not to groan at the protesting pain from her knee, she started digging him out.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, making her stop and flinch back at his tone. She hated it when men sounded or looked aggressive, it made her anxiety spike. Looking down, she continued to pull the dirt from around him.

"I-I'm digging you out.." she mumbled, not looking at him as she continued her task. He didn't say anything else as she finished and stood up, offering her hand. He took it with a scowl, and she pulled hard on his arm, helping him out of the hole. He straightened up, looking down at her as she stepped away, her knee almost buckling before she caught herself.

"S-Sasuke-san, I was thinking...i-if we all work together.." she started, averting her gaze as she heard him scoff. She sighed, already knowing he would be the most difficult.

"Look, I work alone. I don't need teammates slowing me down, especially weak little girls like you." he growled before disapearing from the clearing. Maya gulped, trying not to let his words affect her.

"You shouldn't let people talk to you like that."

Whipping around, Maya fell into a fighting stance as she faced her sensei. Narrowing her eyes, she assessed him. He was relaxed and didn't seem to be expecting anything. She slowly stood up straight just as the bell rang making ice run through her veins.

She had failed. She would be returning to the acadamy. Her father's disapointed face flashed through her mind and she shivered slightly. He would be furious.

"Let's head back to the posts, Maya." Kakashi said, and she nodded, following him back to where they had originally started. She slowing sat down a bit away from the rest of her team, laying her injured leg straight out as she bent her other one to her chest.

"Now it seems that all of you, except one has failed this test." Kakashi said, looking at all of them. Confused looks crossed all of the teams faces but Sakura was the first to speak.

"But sensei, nobody got a bell. Who passed?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. Kakashi looked over at Maya, and smiled.

"M-Me?" she asked softly, confusion clear in her tone.

"How did she pass? She didn't get a bell either." Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes at the other girl.

"This excercise wasn't about the bells. It was about how well you would work in a team. Naruto! Maya cut you down from that tree and you couldn't even stick around for her to ask you to work with her. Sakura! She woke you up when you were unconcious. In a real mission it takes only seconds for someone to die. If it were a real mission she would have saved your life by waking you. But you denied working with her because you only wanted to work with Sasuke. And finally Sasuke. She dug you out of a hole. She offered teamwork and you threw it back at her calling her weak. She saved all three of you. That is why she passed." Kakashi explained, narrowing his eyes at his three remaining students.

The three in question all glanced at Maya to find her face flushed and her eyes on the ground.

"I will give you three one more chance. Eat first, but no food for Naruto. If you feed him, you all fail." he said tossing everyone but Naruto -who was tied to a stump- a bento. After he disapeared, the three who were not tied up began to eat as Naruto explained how he could go for days without food. His growling stomach seemed to differ.

Sighing, Maya scooted closer to him, holding her chopsticks with food up to him. Sasuke glanced at her and did the same. Naruto looked shocked at them and then teared up as Sakura offered too.

"I'm on a diet anyway, here." she said, shoving her chopsticks full of food into Naruto's mouth. A dark cloud started to form as Kakashi apeared, yelling at them.

"You said we had to work as a team! We couldn't let out teammate starve! We're one!" Sasuke yelled, and Maya nodded along with him.

"YOU! Pass!" Kakashi said, smiling out of no where. All four kids looked stumped for a minute before Naruto started to cheer. Maya smiled, relief washing over her. She wouldn't have to go home to her father and tell him she failed. She cut Naruto loose and he laughed, making Maya smile brightly.

She could really get used to him. He definitely brightened up her mood.