Blackbirds Follow

Don't Blink

My legs swung in the open air while I shifted in my seat, my hands holding onto the edge of the windowsill. The thinnest of smiles formed as I thought about the heart attack my past mother would have had if she saw me. A sigh was pushed from my lungs as I opened my eyes to stare at the glowing stars high above my head.

The sky was so similar to the one I had known. Even the Northern Star was as bright as it was supposed to be. I closed my eyes tightly, insistent on not dwelling in the past. I was in the Narutoverse and my cursed, precious America no longer existed. There was no changing that fact and, even if I could, I wasn't sure I would. I had adored my America until I finally saw her for what she truly was: a place where people were free to sue over burning themselves with hot coffee and others dished out hatred like it was candy.

Konoha was like that too.

My fingertips were like those of the dead as they covered my face, my palms lending what heat they had to my frozen nose. Blunt teeth caught my lower lip as it trembled. My hands curled into fists and my chest stopped while I held my breath.

Similarities; away from the propaganda that Kishi-what's-his-name spewed, I was capable of figuring out what Konoha was and what it was most diffidently not. The village was not the home of countless innocent civilians and a few hundred peace loving shinobi. Within its sturdy walls was a slowly boiling cesspool that hid under the pretense of the land of hope.

People of Konoha discriminated against one another over small things like family names or which parts of the village they lived in. Shinobi often overlooked it when a civilian was being harassed by another ninja or were being mugged by poorer civilians. You would never have known it, but Konoha had a rather large drug problem. It lurked underneath the skin of the village, always ready for the chance to burst forth and claim Konoha for its own.

I would have loved to say that most of the bad things in Konoha were done behind the Hokage's back but I knew that was wishful thinking. For all the brains he was supposed to have, there was no way that the man could be so utterly oblivious to what was going on. Yet, that meant that he was also aware of what the citizens of his village were doing to Naruto.

My shoulders slumped with another heavy sigh and I turned my mind to less depressing topics

The chilly air of the night cut at my lungs as I breathed, forcing me to tug at the edges of the blanket in order to protect my exposed throat and bare shoulders. My jacket hung on the clothes line Saki had hung up in the basement, drying after the harsh washing the older girl had put it through. She had nagged almost all night about the condition it had come home in, barely sporting a moment for the fact I was in a similar state.

My fingers closed around the aged scroll resting in my lap; it was the same one Hamaki had first given to each of us. That day he had lectured us on the importance of taking our occupation seriously since nearly all shinobi died in the field. The jonin had driven home the point that he wanted professionals at his sides because he would be placing his own life in our hands. Children could break, runaway but ninja did not have that option.

The lip of the scroll lifted slightly at my prodding hands as I turned the idea in my head. He had been giving us chances to give up and that had been another one. Had he wished he had been given the choice when he was young? Was that why he had made sure that we knew we could still quit without anyone looking at us twice?

At one point in my old life I had begged for a chance at doing it all over. I had wanted nothing more than to abandon my country to hide in the safety of another. The first time I was a child, it was my dream to die in the line of duty like the hero I was certain I could be. There were days when I would imagine the day away with thoughts of how I could accomplish my ambition. I had not realized that the loss of one girl would change that all so drastically.

"Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction," I muttered in English, completely uncaring if anyone overheard me. Without my ninja stuff, I looked just like any other child and ordinary children did odder things than speak in a 'made-up' language.

"What did you say, Tomato?"

I jumped at the words, nearly accomplishing the task of throwing myself out my window. It was with dawning realization that I came to the conclusion that Naruto was much better at tracking people down than anyone would have given him credit for. Then again, perhaps he was just lucky? Or maybe I wasn't giving him enough credit.

"Tomato," he tried again, shifting from one foot to another on the wooden fence that enclosed Fumio's backyard. His blue eyes dashed about the neighborhood, seeking anything that might have been lingering in the dark before scrambling up to where I was. He was careful in his approach but if that was from the monsters hanging about his head or me, I could not say.

"Whatcha doin out so late, Fishcake?"

I tilted my head to the side as he faltered; one hand on the windowsill to pull him up. Conscious of my every movement, I slid to the left so that there was enough room for the boy to sit down. He lost some of the tension in his arms as he took my offered seat.

"Nothing, what are you doing," he shot back.

I bit back a smile at the obvious deflection of my question while shaking my head a bit. Honestly, it couldn't hurt to tell Naruto the truth since he wouldn't understand or believe what I said. Looking at the blond watching me, I knew I would rather not plant the first seed of doubt in his subconscious about just how much he could trust me. That would be…problematic.

"Ah, thinking about what my first official mission might be tomorrow," I said.

"You passed?!"

I nodded at his question, unable to decipher if that was jealousy or pride in his voice.

"It wasn't easy since we had to fight our jonin for three hours before he decided we were good enough to become his genin." Ah yes, Naruto's gob smacked expression was quite worth all I had gone through the past week and a day; quite worth it indeed.

"You must be really strong," I did not get the chance to interject as he plowed on, "Train me!"

"Ah, no."

Not even crickets dared to chirp during the ensuing silence and I turned my head away, carding my fingers through my short hair awkwardly. The edges were still somewhat jagged, but I didn't mind that. Short hair had always been comforting to me and, though I knew the reason was buried in my past life, I never could remember why.

"Why not?"

I peeked at the boy's pouting face from the corner of my eye, careful not to fall for the 'eyes.' Naruto was not looking at me as I expected him to, but instead was watching his nails pick at the chipped paint of my windowsill. Why shouldn't I help out my fellow orphan? It wasn't like I would not be changing the future with my kunochi career.

"Well," his head shot up at the sound of my resistance cracking, a hopeful shine in his eyes. I flinched, ducking my chin into my chest as a different yet familiar face appeared in my mind. Neji, Gaara, Koyuki, Sai, Nagato: I couldn't take away the never-give-in attitude that saved them. "Genin."

"Huh?"

"When you become a genin I'll help train you."

"That's a long time from now," he pointed out with the barest sign of a pout.

"Well," I sighed dramatically, "If you don't think you can become a genin-"

"Wait, I didn't say that!"

I couldn't help laughing at the sight that Naruto made, bringing a fist up to unsuccessfully hide my grin. The boy was just too easy to rile up with the simplest taunt that I almost felt bad for whoever his teacher was. I knew for a fact that the kid at my side would end up causing Konohagakure more trouble than the creature sealed within his abdomen. Speaking through a small yawn, I drew Naruto's mind back to me, "Its late; you should head back home."

"Can't I stay here?"

Suddenly, any trace of drowsiness in my system seemed to evaporate at the mere suggestion, "And why would you want that? You have your own bed, don't ya?" The boy chuckled under his breath nervously and I could actually see it in his eyes when he made his decision. My hands had raised in preparation for protest, but Naruto did not seem to notice as he laid his head in my lap, pretending to sleep. I felt my irritation at him rise by thirty levels due to the fact that, if I shifted the wrong way, he would tumble helplessly towards the ground. Actually that wasn't a bad idea. "I should just push you off. You'd probably land on your feet since you are a shinobi in training."

"I haven't started school yet, so I'm as useful as a civilian," Naruto dropped his sleeping act long enough to correct me, but, when I shook his shoulder, he remained as responsive as the dead. Damn it, didn't the kid have someone to watch over him? Where were his ANBU when they were actually needed? A thought entered my head at that moment and I couldn't help thinking that the ANBU was probably someone like Kakashi: busy reading porn while his charge was making himself a nuisance.

It'd be an icy day in Sunagakure before I ever allowed myself to become anything like that man.

"Alright," I groaned as my legs began to lose feeling, "Become a genin and I'll let you stay over as often as you want."

There was a pause as the boy draped over my lap considered my words and I almost laughed when he finally turned to look up at me. His cheeks were puffed out in an obvious display of his displeasure, "Fine, but why does everything have to be about me becoming a genin?"

I dismissed my hesitance in indulging the need to tap his nose; Naruto's blue eyes crossing as they tried to follow the tip of my finger. His nose crinkled at the contact, "I want to see that you're serious about this dream of your's; you have to show me that you can do it on your own first."

I won't always be here for you, Naruto. You have to have confidence that you can do it without me first.

Heaving a world weary sigh, the boy lifted himself into a proper sitting position and prepared to slip down from the window ledge. My mouth twitched as I saw him hesitate and I knew that I couldn't let him delay any longer.

Time for some embarrassment.

"Aw, is little Naru afraid," I started to coo in my best baby speech, "Do you need me to walk you home and protect you from all the big, bad shadows?"

Shoulders tensed and knuckles turned white, these signs told me that I had pushed the correct button combination. He spun towards me with an accusing finger, "I ain't 'fraid of noth'n. I'll show you!"

Without further delay, the blonde shoved away from the window in a show of defiance and over shot the edge of the fence. A spark of concern tried to ignite a blaze of worry in my chest, but it was snuffed out as the boy rolled upon landing. Naruto stumbled to his feet with a quiet curse.

"Everything alright there, Sunshine?"

"Shut it," Naruto grouched, flapping one hand in my direction as he stumbled out of the alley and onto the street. I was left to snort in amusement at the fact that he thought he could ever silence me. Yeah, that was never going to happen.

Rolling my eyes, I crawled back into Jun's room and closed the old window behind me. It was past my bed time anyways.

The sounds of knuckles rapping upon the window dragged me away from dreams of flying above the land, lost in an ocean of clouds. I struggled to toss the beige comforter off of my body in my haste to get up and flopped regrettably off the side of the bed. Grunting in response to the unexpected pain, I managed to free myself with a tired yawn and stand up.

There was another knock, causing me to look up and curse loudly at the sight of my jonin outside my window. If it were possible, the man's already bland face grew more bland and I knew that he had heard me. Not that I particularly cared at the moment.

Oh, I hoped that we had a spar against him today because I was going to make him hurt. Even if I had to resort to kicking his testicles.

Mindful enough not to stomp less anyone else in the household still be asleep, I approached the window in order to open it. Hamaki did not wait for me to finish before he shot out a quick question, "Enemy nin are in your home and you are alone. You have ten seconds to find something to protect yourself with or you can run. What do you do?"

I blinked at him.

"Ten."

He couldn't be serious.

"Nine."

Damn it!

"Eight."

My mind was racing even as I turned to my nightstand in order to find my kunai or shuriken only to find neither.

"Seven."

Last night I had performed some much needed maintenance on them; they were probably still on the kitchen table.

"Six."

Aw, come on!

"Five."

Weapons; what could I use as a weapon. My lamp? No, it would only work for one shot.

"Four."

Should I run for it? But what if they were after something I owned or information?

"Three."

I took a step forward, eyes racing about the room in desperation. One did not simply fail Hamaki's test without at least trying. His punishments weren't so severe if he knew you had tried.

"Two."

Looks like I'm running. I snatched the backpack that I kept beside the bedroom door for long missions. It was always full of everything I could ever need for however long I was gone.

"One."

"This," I called out quickly, "I chose this."

My jonin remained silent as he eyed my choice, his face the blank mask I was starting to get used to. The man never gave anything away and his voice remained true to this fact when he asked, "What is inside it?"

Glancing at the seemingly harmless bag, I answered slowly, "A set of civilian clothes, a pair of geta, some ration bars, bandages, disinfectant, and." I actually paused as I realized just what else was inside my travel bag, "Kunai! I have a few spare kunai and shuriken in here."

For the first time since I had met him, Hamaki had a small smile on his face. He nodded at me, "That bag is useful for both escaping and defending your home. Not bad, but I expect you to have your room better prepared next time, understand?"

Red hair flew about as I nodded vigorously. His smile grew wider before disappearing all together, "Now, I want you to be at training ground 17 within the next twenty minutes while I fetch the boys."

My jonin didn't give me the chance to answer before he shunshined away. Grinning despite myself, I opened the bag and immediately blanched. The only things inside were the clothes and my geta; there wasn't a weapon to be found. Rubbing at the back of my neck as I realized I had just lied to the jonin, I shrugged and decided to keep that fact to myself while preparing for a long day of training.

"I don't want to do this anymore," Mitsuo gasped from his place somewhere to the right and behind me. His words were followed by the familiar sound of someone collapsing to the ground without much fanfare. My eyes screwed shut in a wince, wondering just how in the world the boy could do that without crying out in pain. I knew for a fact that both of my teammates were at least covered in as many senbon as I was. Honestly, I grouched within my mind, it looks like I was hit with the business end of a machine gun.

"Don't," the breathless word came from Satoshi who was bent over, "Don't talk to me."

While some part of me felt as if I should have expected it, I was a bit surprised to find that I was peppered with a bit less senbon than the other two. Of course, Satoshi had gotten the worst of it, but that probably had more to due with the fact that he was not dressed properly for our little outing. The poor boy had literally been dragged out his window when he had spectacularly failed Hamaki's test and was still in his sleeping boxers. I found this to be very amusing and I knew that, secretly, Mitsuo wanted to laugh as well. It goes without saying what Satoshi thought of the whole affair.

Of all the things that I would have guessed our jonin would start teaching us, I had never thought he would start with evasion training. Nature affinity? Unlikely. Weapons training? Possibly. Charka control? Probably. This? Never, not even a hint. I had to admit, it was kinda refreshing.

A loud clap had my gaze falling onto the evil man that dictated our lives, forcibly removing the last, stubborn senbon from my shoulder. The puncture holes were going to ache tomorrow.

"You all will be learning Tree Walking today," arms folded across his chest, Hamaki made it obvious that we had no choice in this matter, "You collect chakra into the soles of your feet and walk up a tree. I expect you to have this mastered in three days. After you are done here today, I want you all to collect the senbon and return them to the academy. There should be 800 of them."

With so few words, the jerk turned on his heel and leisurely walked away. Seriously, where all jonin in Konohagakure so lazy and vague? Was it some sort of tradition that they passed on to their students through the years? Tobirama probably started it all. Everything was that man's fault: the Uchiha, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato, Obito, Tobito, Madara, The Fourth Shinobi War, Danzo, Akatsuki, ROOT, Sai. Honestly, the list could go on and on. I mean, he's most likely the same reason Yamato hides that sexy face behind that awful head protector.

Knowing full well that I would only confuse my teammates, I turned and made the worst rude gesture I could in the direction of Mount Hokage.

"What-"

"Don't," Satoshi cut off Mitsuo, "Don't even ask. I don't want to know."

Neither boy responded to my glare, instead turning their attention to the trees that bordered our training field. Little did any of us know just how well we would get to know this new training area.

I eyed my target from a few short meters away, taking careful note of the small dents in the wood. My chest filled with air and a soft blue illuminated the soles of my sandals. Scarlet strands were brushed away from my eyes as I charged forward, successfully taking the first step in my vertical climb. One corner of my lips upturned with the second step; my chakra strained as I fought against the planet's claim on me. It reminded me of the feeling you would get when the aeroplane you were in was first taking flight. Your feet felt like they were surrounded in lead and that you just might tear straight through the bottom of the plane.

Gravity didn't hesitate to snatch the back of my sweater the moment my concentration was broken. Air was knocked from my lungs when the ground caught me in its rather harsh embrace. Sure, my fall could have been plenty worse, but a good blow to the back of the head was not kind on anyone. More so when you were trying to prove that you were good enough to move onto the next level in your training.

"Are you okay," a soft voice questioned from somewhere up and to my left. Instead of answering, I stared at the waving canopy above me. Despite the fact that winter had started nearly a month ago, the trees here were still clinging to their fall colored leaves. It was rumored that this particular section of forest was created by the Shodaime and that it was because of his chakra that they preserved longer than the others.

"Minori," Satoshi sighed when I failed to respond to his toe nudging my side and leaned over me. I stubbornly refused to meet his gaze and continued to watch the area just to the right of his nose. His arms crossed over his chest as he waited, causing my eyebrow to twitch just the slightest. Seriously, the boy had the incredibly irritating habit of knowing just how to get what he wanted from people.

"Fancy meeting you here," I murmured half-heartedly. A fine eyebrow rose at that, but he kept his silence, waiting for me to answer his original question. He had the irritating habit of ignoring the things I said to deter him. With the sigh of one who suffered more than all of humanity combined, I answered his stupid question. "I'm fine; just got distracted by the image of being in a metal boat that flies."

A snort of disbelief dragged both our eyes to our teammate. Arms and legs hanging over either side of a low hanging branch; Mitsuo resembled a lifeless doll. He blew the honey blond strands of hair away from his cheeks, but resigned from saying anything in particular. I met Satoshi's gaze only to find the same confusion there that I knew was within my own. For nearly a week, the cheery yet indecisive blond had slowly taken a turn for the worst.

When in the public eye, Mitsuo retained his meek and standoffish attitude, but when it was just the three of us, he began to become disagreeable. Everything Satoshi or I mentioned was met with a dismissive snort or an unkind smirk. The only time we saw the sweet boy that we had helped discover his chakra sensing ability was whenever Hamaki joined our group. At first, I had honestly thought that perhaps it had been something I had said or done that made Mitsuo this way. Those fears were cleared when Satoshi approached me after training to talk about our teammate's demeanor.

Now, I could only wonder when he would take his attitude to the next level; when would he start lashing out at us for something we didn't understand.

"A storm is coming," the soft voice broke through my worry and I tilted my head to peek past the leaves to where thick, black clouds had rolled in. Unbidden, my gaze wondered to where Mitsuo still laid up in the tree, but I held my tongue. No doubt he would be upset if I told him what to do.

"I'm going to go home," I brushed the grass from my sweater as I sat up, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Satoshi bobbed his head once in understanding, and I shoved my hands into the depths of my pockets. I did not bother to look up at my second teammate as I walked underneath his tree. Some small part of me feared what I just might find there while another was puzzled at what I would do about it. My feet automatically began to carry me on the path back to the more lively parts of the village.

Hamaki had told us that morning to take the day off from missions and training in general. I had a sinking sensation it had something to do with the sudden lack in our progression. Together, we were a force not to mess with as long as you did not know ninjutsu and were about genin level. There was only so much we could do with our taijutsu as we were, still growing into the adults we would be soon. I knew that the next step would be teaching us ninjutsu, elemental jutsu. We needed to start building up to what our specialties would be.

Hamaki had said that we would begin with that type of training if we mastered tree walking and then water walking. The only problem with that was that none of our chakra control was all that impressive. Satoshi had the best, given, but even he had not gone past ten feet yet.

I mean, it made sense that he wanted us to understand such basic shinobi skills first, but why did it have to be so difficult. In theory, we were only pulling chakra to our feet and sticking to the side of a tree. It wasn't like we were trying to disarm a bomb with a paper clip, a piece of twine and two junior mints!

"Why won't it work?"

The desperate shout was enough to break through my thoughts. A frown creased my lips as I turned off the beaten path in order to follow the sounds of something striking wood. The leaves of Hashirama's forest parted easily enough until I stood on the edge of a small, unnoticeable clearing. Standing in the center, throwing his fist repeatedly at a trunk was a boy. Black hair fell across his eyes in a straight sheet, but he effectively ignored it as he attacked again, flinching almost instantly. The crack that echoed about us spoke volumes and I sighed softly.

"Let me see it," I commanded, walking up to the child. He spun at the sound of my voice with shock upon his round face. In three long strides I reached out, gently pulling his hand away from where it was curled against his chest. Angry, red skin had split along two of his knuckles and, as a few droplets of blood stained the sleeve of my sweater, I noticed the odd shape the middle one had taken. He winced noticeably as my thumb mindlessly brushed over it, "You broke your knuckle."

"Are you a medic?" My mouth opened to say that yes, yes I was a medic when I remembered Minori. No, I was not a medic. I had been, after the failed mission in Haven, but that was a long time ago. Here, I was just another genin without anything to make me stand out in a crowd of kunai fodder.

"No, but I know a broken knuckle when I see one," he blinked at that and I smiled lightly, "I'm going to have to take you to the hospital; it wouldn't do for a shinobi to have a useless hand."

The hint of rebellion that had began to form on his face retreated almost as quickly as it had come. He tucked his chin into his chest with a soft huff, and I took his submissive posture as surrender. I let his hand fall back to his side, but kept my fingers securely around his wrist. While the boy did not look like he would change his mind and run for it, I was not about to take any chances. My experiences had long since taught me that boys were particular about getting help; well, prideful people were hard pressed to accept aid.

"Who are you," I glanced down at his question.

"Minori; jonin of Konohagakure." His nearly black eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. As the amazement began to melt into an expression that I knew would lead to a million questions, I laughed softly. "Just joking, I'm just another genin. I'm only eleven; who do you think I am, Kakashi Hatake? Anyways, you got a name, kid?"

"Rock Lee," he answered quietly with a pale blush of embarrassment, toeing the ground briefly before I tugged him on wards. If I came upon anymore kids that needed help, I was making it my new rule to ignore them completely. It honestly couldn't be healthy for me to have such high doses of the Konoha 12 in so little time. Even so, catching the slight frown the boy was trying to hide, I had to wonder if I could ever really hold myself to such a feat as resisting them. I had already made a compromise with Naruto despite my wishes, who was to say it was fair to not do the same for Lee? Then again, the child had never asked for my help, I just butted in without considering that my intervention would only hurt.

Our walk through Hashirama's forest was quiet from that point on, neither of us having anything in particular to say to the other.

A/N: What's this? A good chunk of chapter that was never there before? *Le Gasp* Rin, what have you done?!

I know, I know; you're welcome. I've noticed that I can't refuse making Kakashi the butt of several jokes or just referencing him in general. Strange. Oh, and Lee was originally supposed to be in the chapter that Team 4 learned Tree Walking. Can't recall why I originally cut all that out. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed Rock Lee and Uzumaki Naruto in the same chapter. *Good-guy Pose*