A/N: I should warn those of you who plan to continue reading this fic (and hopefully review it) that the theme is going to be rather angsty. And dark. And horrifying. And tragic. There will be many mature themes and some readers may not appreciate that. I do promise to go about this in a mature and sensible manner, being aware that the themes could be offensive in nature. I want to show that there is a way through the horrors the characters will face and have a "moral of the story" type of thing. Violence will be common and I have often been told that my best stories were the extremely descriptive ones. (This will be noticeable in my next fic). So I apologize in advance if any of my stories make anyone vomit. (Though I'm quite sure most of you have strong stomachs, since you have to deal with so many poorly written and poorly edited fics on such a regular basis lol).

You may also notice that I changed the rating. The M rating will not really apply to language, but to the mature themes and content as well as any violence.

Part 2

"Baka-sensei!" Sage was furious, but this entire problem had been ongoing since she first became a Konoha ninja. She was already at jounin level, she knew that much, but now she was going to be stuck on gennin teams and have to feign total incompetence. The thought made her want to break something, mainly a certain jounin's mask-covered nose.

Sage noticed that she was now walking through the busiest streets of the village, and her stomach started its twisting dance of nervousness. She wasn't entirely sure why she hated crowds. She just did. She found the huge number of people pressing up against her made it difficult to breathe. Sage wrapped her arms around her middle and stared at the ground as she walked, letting her hair cover her flushed face. As she turned the corner Sage noticed a strong chakra presence was about to run into her. Glancing up slightly she twisted her body and gracefully sidestepped and spun around the lone figure. She noticed the person was tall and most definitely male with long dark hair.

"Gomen-" she started to whisper.

"Watch where you're going, woman," a low voice hissed.

Sage stopped where she was, annoyed. How dare he! Who did that teme think he was? The Hokage? She snorted indignantly. Sage turned to stare at the rude jerk, her volatile temper flaring.

"On second thought, I'm not sorry, and you're a chauvinistic snob! So why don't you watch it before you get my foot in your pretty-boy face!" Sage hissed right back. The irony in her statement struck her head on as the man turned to face her. 'Neji Hyuuga!?'

Silver pupil-less eyes regarded Sage with disgust as the Hyuuga's lips twisted in a smirk. Neji stepped toward her until she was forced to tilt her head to meet his gaze.

"Your foot in my 'pretty-boy' face, hmm?" The coldness in his voice could've made it snow in the deserts of Suna. Sage involuntarily shivered, but then forced her stubbornness to take over. She would not be intimidated by a Hyuuga.

Staring him straight in the eye, Sage snarled right back. "Are you deaf or just chronically stupid? I meant every word. Do you want the footprint to prove it?"

The scene was beginning to draw a lot of attention that Sage didn't want. Neji's eyes narrowed as his anger spiked. "Do you know who I am, you foolish brat?" He snapped. "I happen to be a Hyuuga. You would do well to apologize for your insolence and leave!"

Sage snorted. "Of course I know, baka! And someone from the lesser branch of the Hyuuga clan shouldn't dare lecture me about insolence. You wouldn't be able to touch me anyway!"

The young Hyuuga's pale face suddenly flushed with rage and his eyes glittered dangerously until he noticed the growing crowd. He spun around and was about to leave when he decided to toss out one last barb. "How could an orphaned freak without a clan possibly compare her skills to mine?"

Now it was quite obvious that the young man had no idea of the affect that his remark would have, but Sage didn't care. As soon as he said it, Sage was overcome by rage and hurt. Snarling, she lunged at the teenager and kicked him in the side of the head. Neji was stunned and sent flying against a wall. Sage threw a vicious right hook and sneered when it connected with the boy's jaw. Everyone cringed at the sight and many were stunned at the ferocity of the attack and the fact that Neji hadn't been able to stop it. However several of the people in the crowd were also ninjas and had noticed the incredible speed at which Sage had moved. The fight wasn't finished though.

Sage flew towards the boy who was now slumped against the wall and punched him again, feeling his nose break under her knuckles. "How dare you, you teme! I'LL KILL YOU!" Sage screeched, sadistically enjoying the feel of his blood on her fingers. In her blind fit of rage Sage didn't notice the mixture of slight fear and total astonishment that flickered in her victim's eyes, nor did she notice that tears were trickling down her cheeks from the pain in her heart.

Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around her tiny waist and Sage was yanked away from the bleeding ninja. She started fighting against her captor, wanting to pummel the boy until her pain subsided, but then Sage heard a soft voice whispering in her ear.

"Calm down Sage. Everything's ok now. Just calm down," a man murmured soothingly.

Sage felt her body relax and she slumped against the man, tears still stinging her eyes. "Kakashi. . . sensei," she whimpered as she collapsed in her friend's arms.

Kakashi picked her up and continued to comfort her. Neji was watching the exchange and wiped the blood from his sore mouth and nose. Kakashi sent him a chilling glare before turning and walking towards the hospital.

'What the heck was that all about?' Neji wondered as he stared at Hatake's retreating form. He'd never expected the girl to attack like that over one little insult. Her tear-stained face flashed in his memory. 'Why was she crying? I mean, so what if she's an orphan, so are a lot of people in this village. I was only guessing when I said that anyway. '

Now usually Neji Hyuuga was looked upon as a rookie prodigy and a total genius, but he was a disaster when it came to understanding girls or emotional issues. Unless they were his own of course. Some people would say he could be sort of selfish that way. But if he didn't look out for himself, who would? That was his philosophy, and it worked for him.

'Man, she's fast. I couldn't even sense her coming. I wonder who she is,' he thought. Now that he really considered it, he'd only seen the slender girl around the village a few times. 'I wonder if she goes to the Academy?'

Then Neji caught himself. Why on earth did he care who she was? She had attacked him and humiliated him in front of all those people. She could die a painful, nightmarish death for all he cared. "Hn," was all he said as he continued down the street, gently rubbing his bruised jaw.

To be continued...

Please review, or I'll send Sage to hunt you down.