Dear Readers,

Please note that I don't have that much inspiration. This explains the incredibly long waiting period and the short length of this one. A little love (reviews) are very much appreciated. I've yet to decide whether or not to continue this one.


"Sachi?"

Seven pairs of eyes followed the troubled girl up the stairs and into the room she disappeared into.

"You better get in there before…" Sasuke trailed off, glancing meaningfully at Sakura as a door was slammed in the background.

"Got it." Sakura muttered, panicking and getting up immediately to dashing off to where her daughter hid.

The rest of the occupants of Itachi Uchiha's abode exchanged worried glances. They had seen a shadow at the door evaporate the moment Sachi's door flew shut and knew exactly whom it had belonged to. It had to be the only other person who knew and was responsible for such an event- Riko Hyuuga. His parents decided not to push; they would talk to him as soon as they got home.

"I believe an apology is called for…" Risami started remorsefully, but Hinata waved her off.

"I don't think it's anyone's fault in this case. They've had millions of fights." She stated casually, clearly undisturbed by such drama.

"That may be so, but Sachi's getting worse and worse at taking these blows." Sasuke said, being the ever-bearer of negativity and earning a glare from Risami.

"We're just concerned about her way of coping- it was my way of coping." Itachi amended calmly. Before anyone could inquire about this, footsteps came from the winding staircase.

Sakura emerged with an arm around her tearstained daughter.

Sachi's eyes visibly widened as they took in her guests and soon darkened and hardened into steel.

"I'm truly sorry for rudely interrupting." The twelve-year-old murmured emotionlessly, looking down at her feet.

Naruto looked around at the Uchiha's and noted the look of horror in their faces with increasing apprehension. What's the big deal? She may not have sounded as repentant as her words would've indicated, but that was normal adolescent behavior. "Oh, that was nothing, Sachi. You should've seen my tantrums at your age. Please… join us."

Unruffled Naruto was by her previous statement, he was not ready for how she responded to his kind response.

Merciless silver orbs cut through his calm and froze his insides. Those eyes lacked a thread of humanity, a soul.

"No. I would prefer to take my leave at this time of the day." The smile she shared was eerie and obviously just plastered on her face. The way she said her next words challenged her shaken listeners. "I hope you don't mind."

It was inevitable that no one would challenge her silent order.

The exact same shred of memory came into each of their minds- the cold, haunted, heartless eyes of murderous Itachi Uchiha…

Then they blinked and they saw that it was Sachi and not Itachi who was retreating into the confines of her darkened room.


"Tell me something, Akina. Why do risk being my friend?" Riko breathed, not even looking up to properly acknowledge her presence. He made quite a sight, brooding on the right side of his bed. That side faced the window looking out into the street from the second floor. It allowed the sunset to wash over him with a special kind of color scheme- pinkish shades that made his skin look radiant despite the shadows under his eyes.

Yep, Aki thought, he'd make a prettier girl than I'll ever be. With that, her new greatest wish was for adolescence to make him look more like a man later on. Desperately did she try to shake these kinds of thoughts away…

Akina had already known, by the way he stared out that cursed window, what was bothering him. "Because your parents requested that I come."

He shook his head impatiently. "That was not the question and you know it."

His only nice cousin cleared her throat a couple of times to occupy the silence and buy her some time to think straight. Is there any use for lying?

Aki finally cleared her throat and said, "Because it's the only thing I can be."

"Thank you for being honest." Riko told her softly, after offering few suspense-filled seconds of thought himself. A ghost of a smile appeared out of nowhere. "But you know… you might want to work on how obvious you can be."

She slapped him playfully before taking the space next to him with newly-reddened cheeks. From this position she could see what he was looking at and it hurt. There she was, her silhouette at least, peeking out of shady curtains the color of pinkish sunset. "Look who's talking, Mr. Boy-next-door."

She had envied this little fact forever. Imagine getting to live next door to the one you loved… She'd have observed him hovering mysteriously around his pale blue chamber for hours, not caring one bit if he minded. She'd make the greatest stalker, bringing cameras and a journal of every single thing he did on his own.

She loved the posters- of great ninjas, of course- that lined twenty-five percent of his walls, the few misplaced articles of clothing, the books he piled on the desk on his bedside to keep up with Sachi Uchiha, the thriving indoor plants he kept where sunshine could be found, and, most of all, the quirky, mysterious boy who kept her on her toes.

He shrugged at her teasing accusation, relocating her focus (from him to what he was saying). "That's different. She's known for years."

"And you know this because…?"

"Because I have been obvious." Riko reasoned obstinately.

"Not good enough. Does she know that you-" Akina was cut off abruptly.

"Did you know that we tried using sign language to communicate through our windows? Yeah, it never worked." Riko grinned wistfully, seemingly hiding another meaning behind his words. "We just settled on using good old paper and big lettering. Unfortunately, that meant having everyone on the street know about your secrets."

His cousin snorted. Deciding her attempts at advising him were hopeless, Aki sighed. "What are you going to do? We both know she'll ice you out tomorrow."

"Well, maybe I'll get to hang out with you for once." Riko stated matter-of-factly, and even though Aki felt rather than heard the bitterness in his tone, her heart couldn't help but flutter childishly.

See you later, Heartbreak, Aki thought miserably.


Jiro Hyuuga is not a totally evil kid. He's known for his loud and, shall we say, aggressive behavior; but, really, there is nothing completely sinister behind it all. He's just a little boy who once had the favor of his 'oh-so-great' clan leader. For this reason, Risami couldn't quite comprehend the situation he put himself in. He was brought into her office, completely bound in what could be a straightjacket, with a bored-looking Jounin. They both look well enough, with nothing but minor scratches and bruises here and there.

"He was trying to escape our borders, Ma'am." The Jounin announced, feeling important now that he could address the ANBU leader even for such a trivial matter.

"Why, I didn't realize I was demoted to guidance counselor." Risami exclaimed, giving the slimy little man a preview of her infamously sarcastic humor. She was a tall woman, this Risami, so almost every man in this town would cower under her 5' 11" frame. "Please… leave."

The Jounin nodded stiffly and fled, leaving the door slightly ajar. This only irritated the Captain further.

"The door." Risami said in an almost whisper, and smirked when she saw the tiny man shut it completely soon after.

Jiro had been observing the whole time and had decided that it was in his best interests not to displease this woman.

"So… They probably thought you were a threat because of your heritage." Risami stated conversationally, walking to the only window in her dark (the way she liked it) office. She rolled her eyes at the huge group of new-jounins gathered on the street in front of the building. They were probably fame-seeking, ANBU-wannabes.

Crossing her arms lightly, she then turned to the Hyuuga. "Are you?"

"A threat?" Jiro shrugged. "Not to you, I'm sure."

"Flattery… huh, uncalled for on your part. Still, I like that you're being somewhat amicable." Risami commented wryly.

"Flattery? If I wanted to flatter you, I'd start with the most obvious thing- your beauty, for one." Jiro replied with a cheeky grin, daring to test her reaction.

He was ready for an outburst, but received a hearty laugh instead. What a strange creature, he thought. She barely resembled Sachi physically, but they had very similar personalities. Jiro had been observing the younger Uchiha for quite some time now… for purposes that will be divulged.

"Witty. I think I might just let you out, Mr. Hyuuga." Risami told him with a small smile. "And not for your good looks too. Just make sure that I don't catch you loitering around the borders again or the next time they send you to me there will be less time for flattering and more time for begging."

"It's about clan rivalry, Ms. Uchiha, I think you're very much aware of what that can do to a person. You cannot believe how incredibly self-absorbed some of my cousins can be. Ever heard of Riko 'I-think-I'm-so-cool-with-my-evil-byakugan' Hyuuga?" Jiro said, surprising himself with such an outburst.

Why would he want to talk about this with this person? Did he see some of himself in her? "He's the worst kind of cousin, and I know you've seen awful ones."

Dark eyes sparkled mysteriously. "My cousin murdered almost every single member of my clan and I forgave him. Why can't you?"

"It's not in my place to forgive your cousin, Ms. Uchiha." The Hyuuga replied unabashedly. He honestly didn't mean for the words to spill out like that.

"It's not in your place to be evasive and backstabbing, Mr. Hyuuga." Risami said, gritting her teeth, not surprised at the sudden change of atmosphere. Unlike Sakura, she didn't expect there to be much good in people. "How old are you? Twelve? I could easily have this kind of malice beaten out of you in ten minutes, would you like that? Or would you rather forgive your cousin for unintentionally stealing a selfish bastard's love?"

"You did not just call him that." Jiro whispered, reeling between awe, fury and astonishment.

"I didn't realize I was dealing with a deaf kid. Well hear this…" Risami said, getting in his face in a flash before turning her head to whisper in his ear. "You're the self-absorbed cousin, Jiro. Now… leave before you'll lose consciousness, and maybe a few body parts."

Once the door had closed, Risami sank into her seat wearily. Nope, she thought to herself grudgingly, he really is evil. There can be no other explanation.


"I like you."

"What?"

"I like you."

"You're insane." Sachi yawned, stretching out in one of the front seats of the classroom. It was her first time to take up any kind of space near the board.

"Well, you asked me why I offered you a seat right next to me and I'm giving you a straight answer- I like you."

The Uchiha rolled her eyes. What is Jiro up to? She knew- perhaps more than anyone- of the devious plan behind his actions but it suited her purpose. It was extremely risky, she knew, but she was not in the right mind to give it much consideration.

Earlier this morning she had noticed Riko with someone else. It had shaken her to her very core. Riko? With another human being? Unimaginable. And just now she had caught herself trying to make her way to her usual seat at the back of the classroom only to find that it was already occupied... by the other girl.

Well, she was in a position of power now, taking up the Jiro Hyuuga's right and it felt wonderful.

Deciding there needed to be a digression, Sachi made an effort herself. "Why do we even need to get back to this school? There really is no point if we've already been sorted into teams."

"Why? Do you really want to spend more alone time with Riko Hyuuga right now?" Jiro taunted with slowly forming grin. It was his signature move, one that made at least a dozen girls sigh when it appeared.

Sachi's lips twitched into an almost-smile- she was a strong female to resist. He was not the kind of handsome she was used to, and it was somewhat refreshing. Thinking immediately of Riko and the much lighter colors he rocked twenty-four-seven, she could understand why. Still, they both had the same type of eyes, and she could almost pretend she was looking into Riko's. "Am I that transparent?"

"Only to one who observes your every move." Jiro assured her smoothly- attempting successfully to give her more reason to believe he was smitten with her. "You're usually at the back, by the window. No one has ever dared to take that spot from you."

Sachi grimaced, getting a quick sideways glance at the offender. "She has now." She didn't even bother looking at Riko, convinced it didn't matter.

"Oh, don't worry about my sister- she's harmless." Yet, in spite of his words, Jiro was frowning at his sibling's actions. "She just doesn't know what she wants yet... much like you."

"Oh?" Sachi raised a brow. This conversation interested her, but she couldn't quite figure out if that was a good or bad thing. All she knew was that the sudden attraction for Jiro Hyuuga was a good distraction from all the crap her family and friend was feeding her.

She knew of his visit to dear aunt. Risami had hated his guts right after and demanded that Sachi evade him at all costs. Oops, Sachi thought wildly, don't tell your unstable teen not to do something.

Still... did he truly like her or did he, like her, want to feel gratified by the pain this association would cause Riko? At this point, she couldn't care less.

"I do honestly believe you're not like most girls." Jiro said, leaning in closely after taking a discrete glance at the clock above the board; he had enough time for this.

"Really? I didn't think it was that obvious." She stated sarcastically, eliciting a smirk for her spunk.

Sachi kept her perfect posture, not shrinking back at the nearness of him. She was enjoying the envious looks she was getting from all directions.

"I do think that you like a little bit of a bad boy to have fun with, to challenge you, to equal you." Jiro suggested playfully, and the mood was lifted somewhat.

"What do you suppose I should do?"

"Hang out with me- skip Team X training for once." Jiro told her with a wink.

"But I've only been to one session." Sachi said incredulously, bad girl persona slipping for a second.

"So?" Jiro replied mischievously. "I think you need a break after four whole years of him... Has he ever showed you around the Hyuuga compound? No? Well, we'll go today, after class."