A/N: I updated quicker than I usually would have. I'm quite proud of myself. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed.

3rd POV

Words, written in blood- her own blood. Seven year old Raven momentarily paused in her writing to dip her fingers back into the crimson puddle in her right hand.

"A protector must sacrifice everything for their charge."

The wound was really starting to sting, but Raven was oblivious to all pain.

"They must bite their tongue and stand by while their master makes all the decisions, and they must live to see those decisions through."

"It is unforgivable to breathe if the master is dead. The protector must give every fiber of their being to stand in front of the master and take the blows. Should they die, they would do so knowing that their life gave their charge at least a few more seconds to breathe."

"In protecting, there is no right or wrong. There is only the will of the master."

Raven stopped and admired what she had written so far. Then she continued.

"To be a protector is to never stop."

"To be a protector is to throw away all selfish desires."

"To be a protector is to live, die, kill, sin, and give everything."

Raven woke up suddenly from the almost-pleasant dream.

She stayed there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, debating on whether or not the dream was a nightmare or not. It was almost peaceful, just standing there and writing the scarlet lettering on the stone face with Itachi watching from the background. The wound didn't even hurt that much.

That was when she had started. That was when she had sworn to give up her life.

Besides, what was there to live for if not the Uchihas? There was no other future for her anyway. With her life like this, she would always be busy, never know the sin known as idleness. It was a lifelong commitment and with it came a certain bliss that no one else seemed to realize. To have her destiny all written out on that rock in her blood, no surprises, no drama. It was peaceful.

Then Raven started. She really had to get going. Today started her first day at the Academy.

She leapt out of bed, quickly folded the blankets, and changed into fresh clothing. Brushed her teeth, ate breakfast, and came out of the door braiding her hair with a hair tie in her teeth.

The kunai rattled in her holster, and Raven drew comfort from the constant sound. It was a sound of security, of safety. As long as she heard that sound, she knew she was armed and ready for anything the day could throw at her.

She felt perfectly brilliant, euphoric, even. The same intoxicating happiness as yesterday, when she had finally found and entered Konohagakure.

There was a little skip in her step as she headed towards where the Hokage had described where the Academy was.

It was a simple arrangement of buildings, surrounded by a few trees. Tied to the nearest one was a swing.

Gripped with a sudden wave of nostalgia, she lay down on it, letting her legs dangle and folding her arms beneath her head.

This was it.

As soon as she entered the doors, her real purpose began. It seemed that everything that led up to this point was merely a prologue to a book, or a prelude to a movie. As soon as she put a step inside that building, she gave up everything.

She decided to lie down a little longer and savor the brief seconds of freedom that she had left. The sun felt so good on her face. She closed her eyes. She felt at peace with the world.

"Hey! I know at you!"

Raven felt a twinge of annoyance. Right now? She was enjoying her last moments of liberation. Just leave me alone.

She felt a shadow cast over her face. Scowling, she opened her eyes to see a face.

Tanned, with spiky blonde hair and startlingly bright blue eyes.

She knew that face. That boy from yesterday. Nar-something? Naruto. That was it.

"You're that new girl that I met yesterday! Hey, I owe you one for not ratting me out to the ninjas while I escaped."

"You're welcome." Raven closed her eyes.

"What's your name?"

"Raven."

"I'm Naruto Uzamaki! And you'd better remember that, 'cause I'm going to become the Hokage!"

Raven laughed as she opened her eyes again, surveying the kid in front of her with an amused disposition.

He wasn't tall; rather short actually. And he certainly didn't strike her as the "most talented ninja" type. More of a troublemaker. Besides, after the stunt he had pulled yesterday, he couldn't be pegged as anything else.

"What are you laughin' about?" Naruto bristled immediately, glaring at her.

"Nothing. It's just... got a long way to go, don't you, kid?"

His face broke into a grin again.

I can barely take his radical mood swings.

"Yeah, I know, but I'm going to do it no matter what! Then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me!"

Raven cocked her head to the side. "Disrespecting you?"

"Yeah! Everyone treats me like dirt! But I'm going to show them!" Naruto yelled.

"What about your parents?"

Naruto looked down, grin fading again. "I don't have any." He muttered.

Raven felt her heart give a pang. On an impulse, she put an arm around his shoulders. "I can feel you there, kid."

"Seriously?" He looked up, surprise evident on his face.

"Yeah. I grew up the same way. You're gonna go far, kid." Raven grinned.

Suddenly she realized what she was doing. Making a friend! Ugh, she really had to give up those old habits. She couldn't make friends anymore. That was for normal kids. She was a protector now. She couldn't afford friendships.

"Well, I got to go now..." Raven retracted her arm and started to walk away, leaving Naruto with a pensive look on his face.

Sasuke's POV

It was terribly boring to wait, but that was normal.

My fellow classmates were all messing around- chatting idly in groups all around the room, killing time before Iruka showed up. They were all trying to act cool, but I could see the nervousness in their faces and hear it in their voices.

My lip curled momentarily as I realized that most of them were absolutely terrified of what was going to happen next.

Sometimes, I thought that this academy was just a waste of my precious time. The techniques they taught us were decent enough, and the instructors weren't too bad, but it was all too slow. One kid didn't get what was going on and the entire class had to stop. I was stuck in a classroom with a bunch of no-talent kids, and the girls were usually more interested in me than in becoming a ninja.

Speaking of which, two of them had just entered the door (Sakura and... Ino?), seemingly racing each other and both exclaimed, "I WON!" And then proceeded to argue about who actually did ("I got here first!" "No, I did!" "You cheated!" "Shut up, you porker!" "Billboard brow!").

I felt like taking a kunai and driving in through my skull. I was dying of boredom.

Now the fangirls were all arguing over who got to sit in the empty seat next to me, in between Naruto and I. I saw Naruto sending me a death-glare, which I promptly ignored. Judging by the way he was acting, he seemed to have a crush on Sakura, and was therefore angry at me for stealing all her attention.

It's not like I was trying.

I saw her by chance. The door swung open, drawing my attention towards it for half a second, and I saw her.

I had never seen her before. She was new, to the class at least. She was tall and athletic-looking, with attentive silvery eyes. Her skin was snow pale, except for her eyes, which was hooded with shadows. Deadblack hair, snake-braided and tossed carelessly over her shoulder. She was wearing a black tunic with a collar that was higher than normal. A bronze chain glinted from around her neck.

Something about her reminded me vaguely of... the Uchihas. The way she walked, confident, with her head held up high, almost arrogant but not quite.

But she can't be an Uchiha. I told myself impatiently. They were all killed. This is nothing but wishful thinking. Besides, she doesn't even look like an Uchiha. It's just the expression.

Even so, something about her just seemed to draw me towards her. I couldn't take my eyes away.

She seemed familiar somehow...

Then her eyes suddenly found his.

3rd POV

It was him. Raven felt her hand stray inexorably towards the bronze locket around her neck. She gripped the cold metal in her fingers and felt her heart rate speed up.

She would've recognized him anywhere. The black eyes, so reminiscent of Itachi's and iconic black hair that looked so much like a duck. His skin was pale, and Raven absent-mindedly noted that he had grown into quite the eye-candy.

She wasn't the only one that noticed. By the look of things, almost every single girl in the class was arguing over who got to sit next to Sasuke.

"I was here first!"

"No you weren't, you pig!"

"Billboard brow!"

"What did you call me?!"

"I get to sit next to him!"

"BUT I WAS HERE FIRST!"

"I was here before either of you set foot inside the building! I get to sit next to him!"

"No, me!"

And then World War III commenced.

Raven laughed quietly to herself as she thought, Well, look who's mister popular. And to think that he's just sitting there.

Sasuke seemed oblivious to the entire battle. He sat in the chair with his elbows on the table and fingers folded. The picture of impassiveness.

But Raven had known the Uchihas for almost three years. If someone had been paying attention, then they would have noticed the almost nonexistent tightening of the jaw, or the way he stiffened oh-so-slightly whenever another girl joined the argument.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Raven slipped into the chair at the very back of the room, in the very corner of the room, some two rows behind Sasuke.

This, she decided, would be the most strategic place to guard him, as she had her back to two walls, therefore eliminating the nuisance of constantly looking over her shoulder for threats, and the entire room was spread out in front of her. Nothing would move without her noticing.

Call her paranoid, but now that she was Sasuke's protector, she knew that she now had to assume that there was an axe murderer behind every door, an assassin in every room, and a lethal plot behind every friendship.

Naruto was in the other seat, on the left side of Sasuke, glowering at his neighbor, obviously jealous at all the special female attention he was getting.

A puff of smoke in front of the classroom announced the arrival of a man with dark brown hair tied up in a spiky ponytail and a long scar across his nose. He held a sheaf of paper in one hand, and Raven assumed that he was Iruka, the main instructor. The class silenced themselves almost immediately, scrambled for their seats, and continued to shiver with apprehension.

"Okay, children, settle down. I know you're all excited, and I also wanted to say congratulations for making it to genīn." He smiled, then put on his serious face again. "I will now assign you into three-man cells... that have been pre-selected." He added, stopping the flurry of children waving and pointing at their friends from across the room. They all groaned.

"What a drag." Raven heard a boy murmur.

"Oh! I hope I get put in Sasuke's group!" Exclaimed every single female present in the class besides Raven, who rolled her eyes.

Sorry, girls, but there's only one of you who will be. Sakura Haruno, if I'm not mistaken. Raven chuckled as she remembered the pink-haired kunoichi.

Suddenly, Raven became aware of all the stares she was getting.

Well, it was to be expected; after all, they had absolutely no idea who she was.

"Who the hell is that girl in the corner?"

"She wasn't in my class..."

"Nor mine."

"Not in my class either."

"Screw classes. I don't even think she's been to the Academy before today!"

They weren't being very discreet about the whispering, and Raven just flashed them all a mysterious smile before focusing back on Iruka, who finally seemed to notice her.

"Oh, yes, class, this is Raven. She's an addition to the Academy, as of today."

Instantly, the room burst into protests.

"That's not fair!"

"She didn't even take the exam, did she!?"

"How come she just gets to join, even when she didn't attend any classes or do any homework!?"

"SILENCE!" Iruka roared, and silence fell. "Listen to yourselves! Fine, you can protest, but she's been recommended here by the Hokage himself, so if you wan't to argue, talk to him!"

More whispers.

"The Hokage?"

"She must be really strong if she's managed to skip all those grades..."

"Recommended by the Hokage?"

Iruka interrupted their speculating and gossip by starting to announce the cell arrangements. Raven dozed off until she heard the names.

"Naruto Uzamaki." Naruto looked up.

"Sakura Haruno." Sakura groaned and Naruto cheered.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Now it was Sakura's time to cheer and Naruto's turn to groan.

No one was expecting my name to be said next.

"And Raven."

"WHAT!?"

"Hey!" A boy with red paint on his face yelled (A/N: Kiba). "I thought that these were three-man cells! Not four-man cells!" The white dog on his head barked in agreement.

"Raven is visiting from another village clan where things are done differently, and she wants to experience Konoha culture. Since she's only staying for a limited time, she's an addition to the group. Don't worry, she won't be part of that group for long."

Raven felt vaguely insulted as the class gave a sigh of relief.

"You will now go to your assigned rooms to await your sensei. Dismissed."

The room was filled with the sound of scraping chairs, complaints about group assignments, and cheers about group assignments.

"How come I got put in a group with two of the biggest losers in the Academy!?" A girl, Ino (I think), said in disgust.

"Maybe because you're a loser too." The "what-a-drag" boy suggested in a dull voice.

Raven left as quietly as she could, although more whispers followed her everywhere.

She could deal with whispers, though.

She had dealt with worse. Raven closed her eyes momentarily and remembered the dark memory.

~Flashback~

"C'mon, demon girl, how come you're so weak all of a sudden?"

"She's always been weak! Every just thinks she's strong because she's with Itachi all the time!"

Raven felt kicks at her back as she curled into a ball. She whimpered pathetically, realizing that she had no strength to fight back. Yes, Itachi had trained her, but she was too scared to actually engage the children.

Too scared that she might accidentally hurt them so badly that they wouldn't get up again.

The blows were beginning to hurt. Yes, they were only children, but they were Uchiha children. Which made a world of difference.

Why do they like to do this so much? What did I ever do to them?

"Demon girl! Demon girl!"

Why do they treat me like this?

"Demon girl! DEMON GIRL!"

The chants were growing, both in venom and volume.

I don't want to hurt them.

"THAT'S IT! I'M NOT GOING TO STAND FOR THIS ANYMORE!"

Raven only remembered their terrified faces before her world was plunged into black and red.

Blood. She wanted blood.

~Flashback End~

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