A week had passed and I hadn't done anything differently. The entire week had been the same.

I'd get up and sneek to my backyard. Sasuke would meet me there and we would train. Well, more or less. Training isn't the right word, since it was more like a one-sided beat down. Luckily, he was fine with it, because he was learning. It also gave him a chance to be himself.

After lunch, I'd go and hang out with Naruto. We'd talk about the academy and pranks, ramen and normal things. We'd mess around for a few moments.

I'd get home and do the chores Miss Leiko had set out for me. They were usual things like dishes, or laundrey. It took up little time. After that, I'd sit in my room and think about my life so far and the things I wanted to accomplish. How strong I wanted to become, and the people I wanted to protect. After dinner was over, I'd go to sleep.

It was almost like a luxury.

I let go of my worries of this new life. I adapted into a new lifestyle, met new people and friends. It was peaceful. Beyond peaceful.

That's what got me thinking.

Peace will never last. As much as people like Naruto strive for a world with only peace and no war, it won't happen. It's impossible. There are far too many humans with selfish desires that are only in it for themselves.

Not that I'm one of those crazy psychos running around and killing every person till the world is less populated. It's in human nature to be greedy, so I can't blame them for that.

Even so...

People like Madara will always exist. Ready to disrupt the balance at any given moment. Even people like Itachi, who did what he thought was best, murdered his entire clan and drove his younger brother mad with power and revenge.

As happy as I am now, I have to realize that it will not last. The Uchiha Massacre will occur two years after I start the academy, according to my calculations.


I sat in the dining room, casually munching on a late breakfast Miss Leiko prepared for me.

Speaking of the hag, she was sitting in the living room, reading some old book. I couldn't exactly tell what it was, but I could have sworn it was The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja. Wasn't that Jiraiya's first book?

I had just finished swallowing my mouthful when a knock came from the door.

My head turned to Miss Leiko, but she motioned me to do it. I decided to play along and did as she asked.

I opened the door and my parents stood in front of it, smiling.

"You're back!" I exclaimed.

My mom laughed. She laughed a full, hearty laugh. "And just in time, too." She gave me a quick wink.

I cocked my head to the side. "In time? For what?" I inquired.

My dad slid his right hand through his long black hair. "For someone's special day."

Again, I raised my brow, not quite understanding. Someone's special...

Oh!

Oh.

"You came home just for my birthday?" I looked at them incredulously. Weren't they on a mission? Did they quit?

Masako frowned. "Of course, sweetie. We wouldn't want to miss. Especially this one." She spoke seriously while my dad nodded.

"It's your sixth birthday, Hikaru. In a couple of days, you'll be starting the academy." He said with a tone that said he couldn't believe it himself.

"What about your mission?" I asked quietly.

"Luckily, we were able to speed up the mission and finish it sooner." Isamu explained.

"We made it back as soon as we could." My mom added. She pulled her hair out of it's usual ponytail and walked into the kitchen. "We even bought a cake along the way!" She activated a storage seal and- BAM! Instant cake.

My dad stayed and chatted with Miss Leiko a little more. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it sounded kinda important.

Mom had cut up three slices of cake. (And an extra one when the devil incarnate was asked.) We sat in the dining room and finished our cake.

Once Miss Leiko and my dad finished talking, she bade her farewells and eyed me one last time. I couldn't say I would miss her. Finally, my biological parents were back!


I talked with my parents for the entire day. They decided to take me shopping for some standard equipment. In my opinion, my outfit was pretty darn awesome. I wore black fingerless gloves, black sandals, black pants, and a white shirt/robe thing that Neji wore in Shippuden.

Unfortunately, when the first day of the academy came, I was no where near ready.

For some reason, I was a nervous wreck. There weren't many times in my past life that I was this nervous.

Eventually, I got my things around and finished breakfast. My mom motioned for me to head off. I followed her lead, and we walked to the academy.


We made it to the academy in time. The teachers were explaining things to the new students. None of the information was useful to me in any way. Most of it just explained what we would be learning and how the academy worked. All of this I already knew.

The parents left and the kids were split up into their classes.

I chuckled as I saw Lee and Tenten in the crowd. Lee was as exuberant as ever, wasn't he?

I sighed when I spotted Neji.

Just my luck. I hope we don't come into contact until Shipudden.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a streak of white. I turned my head to find a girl around my age. She was much smaller than me, but I could tell because she was walking with my class.

Her face held a certain innocent youth to it. It gave off a strange feeling...

Familiarity? Was that it?

She had small markings above her eyebrows. Was that it?

As we walked, I slowly made my way over to the small girl.

I tapped her shoulder lightly to get her attention. She turned to me and narrowed her eyes. "Can I help you?" She asked politely.

"What's your name?" I asked hesitantly. I didnt want her to get the wrong idea and run off. "You look really familiar, that's all."

"My name is Katsumi." She answered. Her voice was soft and high pitched. It matched her appearance perfectly. "What do you mean by that? I am postive I've never seen you before."

"I'm not sure," I scratched my head, thinking, "but you are definitely familiar. What's your last name?" I asked.

She tensed up so fast I could have sworn I imagined it.

"I don't have one. I'm an orphan." She said, almost robotically.

"Oh." I didn't have much else to say. A few years ago I felt like one. Even though I did have a mother and a father, they didn't feel like they belonged. I feel better about it now.

"What is your name?" Katsumi asked, trying to change the subject.

"Hikaru Senju. Nice to meet you." I replied. "I hope we can be friends." I added.

A small smile formed on her lips. "As do I."

We walked into class and took our seats. Our sensei started class by explaining things. Most of it was already stuff I knew. When he began to talk about basic chakra theory, I looked over to Katsumi.

Her face was studious, but impassive. She seemed to be pretty good at hiding emotions.

Unlike me.

I was never good at controlling my emotions. Even now, I am not.

I felt pretty good, though. It was the first day of academy. This time is to be spent training. Getting stronger. Improving the people around me. If I am strong, than I can stop all the evil in this world.


Sorry, all of you! I've had this draft out for a while, but school started and I had to get in gear and apply myself. I finally was able to finish this chapter up.

Thank you for reading.