Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Slight AU warning.
Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!

Summary: What if Konoha was a destitute, paltry city that bred nothing of worth within its walls? The people of this miserable community barely keep going every day. The shinobi are no different. However, the dreams of two ninja triggers a feeling of rebirth within their hearts and now they strive to reach their own dreams. Will they find themselves on the right road...or lost forever?

Note: Italicized lines often mean thoughts of a character or in some cases dreams. Bolded lines often mean Inner Sakura's dialogue. Bolded italicized lines often mean flashbacks.

The Author Speaks: There will be multiple couplings, but romance is not what is this fic is completely centered around. Despite this, you won't be disappointed come romance time. Look for the teenage ninja angst however! I will warn you, there will be heavy amounts of violence, swearing, blood, substance abuse, molestation, you name it! I don't like flames, but I do like constructive criticism. Also note; money! I have no idea what the equivalent to a dollar is when it comes to ryo, so I'm just doing it simple. 100 ryo equals 1 dollar. I'll trust you're intelligent enough to be able to perform equivalents with that piece of information given.There will be limes/possible lemons in this fic, mentioned rape and explicit scenes. This chapter, 7, contains a use of language demeaning towards women, so be wary and I hope my female readers aren't personally insulted.

Timeline: Being as how it's slightly AU, the time period is the same except most of the characters are fifteen instead of thirteen. Also, Otogakure is the main village of the Land of Fire, the biggest city with the most powerful army. It's located where it is in the series, except the Land of Rice Fields is no more; it's part of the Land of Fire. And yes, you guessed it! The Otokage is Orochimaru. Kakashi never lost his eye.

Definitions:
souba – thin, grayish-brown noodles made from buckwheat flour
ochazuke – soup made from green tea, dashi (soup stock), or hot water over rice

Songs:
"Welcome to My Life" by Simple Plan (for Chouji)
"Hate (I Really Don't Like You)" by Plain White T's (for Ino from Shikamaru)
"Same Cry" by Jin
"What About Your Friends" by TLC

Show Me a Hero

Chapter 7 – For the Unfortunate, I Give You Nothing

For a midwinter's day, it was comfortably warm with the temperature reaching up to the sixties. The snow was melting into small rivers that poured into the sewage grates and down streets, making everything slick and wet under the sun.

Kakashi was one of the few people not outside enjoying the scarcely good weather and instead was sitting at a sticky bar counter with an ice-cold glass of beer and his friend Shikaku Nara who was feeling the effect of pulling an all-nighter at a cheap bar. His money spilled over the counter and he'd pluck out a few crisp ryo every time his glass emptied and would throw it at the barkeep barking for more.

The bar was lit with only a few dark lamps and was a typical style—wooden everything with no air-conditioning other than two old creaky fans hanging from the low ceiling. The door to the basement was chained off with a 'do not enter' sign—the barkeep didn't want drunkards wrecking the place where he lived.

Kakashi had been with Shikaku all night, dreading the meeting that would be held in the afternoon concerning the Chuunin exam selections. Unable to sleep, he had climbed out of bed and gone for a walk at four a.m. and ended up on the red cushioned swivel seat next to his ranting friend.

"So I was in the kitchen doin' nothin' important," Shikaku drawled in his slurred tone, "An' Shika-ka...Shika...my son was watchin' TV, an' Yoshino, well she started buggin' me. 'Didja take out the garbage?' she asks me an' o' course I dint an' she starts naggin' me to 'take out the garbage you lazy brute', an' I says 'don' talk to me like that I'm sorry I jus' don' feel like it' an' she goes 'you never feel like it and I'm gettin' sick of it so you go do it now' an' I says 'later when I wanna' an' she gets fed up and yells at Shika-ka...my son to do it and he says he's busy watchin' TV which issa good excuse aint it? And she starts screamin' at him to 'get off his ass an' take it out how can you treat your mother this way an' how you is worthless' an' I get pissed an' say 'don' talk to your kid like that' and then I sorta punched her in the face and she starts cryin' and callin' me horrible and Shika-ka...my son turns up the TV yellin' that we're too loud an' he can't hear nothing an' she throws somethin' at me tellin' me to 'get the hell outta here you worthless piece of crap an' to think you used to be a ninja' an' now I'm here an' I love her I really do well I think I do and if I go home will she forgive me cuz I'm thinkin' she's tired of doin' everythin' but it aint my fault if I don' wanna do it right?"

Kakashi stared at the unshaven brunette disbelievingly. Usually he would shrug, agree with him, and ask for another round. However this was the first time he had been in a bar and not drunk and he actually heard the bullshit Shikaku complained about. "Why didn't you just take out the garbage?"

"I already told you." He hiccupped. "I dint wanna. Don' gotta do it. Free world." He threw more money at the barkeep. "Get me some more! An' don' go tellin' me I've had too much cuz I'm already throwin' up over the hill here."

"You're an adult. Can't you at least act like one? Your farm is a mess, your son is a lump and your wife hates you. I don't see how you can brush that off without even a little bit of it bothering you." Kakashi carefully sipped his beer. He didn't want to overdo it, not after Tsunade's threat to take his teaching license away.

Shikaku's playfully nonchalant look darkened. "I don' see why I can't nomore. S'not like I could do nothin' for Chouza. I tried to help him, I sure did, an' look what a fat load a' good that did. Figure if helpin' someone jus' leads to their brain dyin' then what's wrong with letting someone else do the goddamn garbage?"

"For the last time, Chouza's brain wasn't damaged because of you," Kakashi consoled. "Stop blaming yourself."

"Oh please, you was jus' a kid when the war went on. Don' think you know nothin'." Shikaku grabbed the drink from the barkeep. "Thanks."

Kakashi leaned over to the barkeep. "Please, don't cater to him anymore. He'll die of liver cancer if he doesn't stop."

The man shrugged. "He's paying well; I don't have anything to complain about."

Kakashi's hand curled into a fist. Greedy son of a...

There was a crash in the deeper part of the bar followed by whooping and hollering. The keep turned toward the ruckus as people began to crowd. Shikaku drunkenly got up and teetered over, a curious Kakashi following. A ring of people had formed around a man who was being assaulted by a heavily drunken woman.

"Don't call me trash you bitch!" she screamed, throwing a chair at him.

He caught it and threw it to the ground. "Then don't try and steal my beer, you garbage! And that's exactly what you are! Go and get a job like the rest of us!"

"I don't need no fuckin' job! All you do is slave away fer hours an' get paid shit! I get all I need fer free!" she spat.

He let out a harsh laugh. "You think so, huh? Crappy as it is I at least have a roof over my head!"

"Fuck you!" she grabbed another chair.

Kakashi acted in a moment, rushing in and grabbing her arm, covered by a dirty shirt sleeve. "Stop it," he said, the only one not amused by the fight.

"Come on, she was about to throw another one!" someone in the crowd yelled, cheering.

"Let the garbage get her ass kicked!"

"Yeah!"

"It's funny!"

"Get outta there! You stupid?" Shikaku asked.

"Stay out of this!" the teacher barked. He yanked her away from the chair. "I'm getting you out of here."

She smacked him with her free hand, ensuing more cheers and whoops from the eager crowd. Her coal, bloodshot eyes shook in anger, face smeared with days, possibly weeks of dirt and a crusty residue that looked very much like dried vomit coating her chin. "You can't order me 'round, I'm older'n you!" Her teeth were a horrible shade of yellow and her breath smelled of rotten meat and alcohol

"Damnit Shizune, stop acting like you're ten!"

"That's enough!" the barkeep yelled, holding a bucket. "Move out of my way!" He pushed through the ring. He grabbed Shizune by her oily black hair and dragged her out of the bar to the sound of people's laughing and Kakashi's protests.

He threw her in the street in the broad daylight, right into a pile of melting snow. Citizens walking down the street stepped over her, whispering and casting glances at her. He threw the contents of the bucket, water, at her, soaking her and causing her ripped, putrid dress to cling to her skin.

"And don't you come in here anymore unless you have money!" he spat, walking back into his bar cursing under his breath.

People stood around her and laughed for awhile until they got bored of her and departed. Shikaku hiccupped and patted Kakashi on the shoulder.

"Well, I gotta go see if Yoshino's cooled down. I'll see ya later bud." The father walked down the street, wobbling like a broken board in the wind.

Kakashi leaned down and offered a hand to Shizune. "Come on. I'll clean you up. I got a shower and everything you need."

She moved away from him, shaking. "I d-d-don' need your help, Ka-Kakashi." She began to retch and turned away from him, throwing up in the street. People glared at her in disgust and rushed past her.

"You don't need my help?! Look at you! Goddamnit, I used to look up to you, and now you're just a useless lump of...of nothing!"

Shizune laughed. "Oh, suddenly you're willin' to help me? How about ten years ago when you used to laugh at me and throw trash in my face? 'Member that?"

That shut him up. He remember it, all right. Still, the past wasn't something to dwell on. Not anymore. He shook his head. "If you ever need help, just come to my house. You know where it is. I have a meeting to go to."

He heard her retching again, but didn't bother to turn around. Why is everyone in my past screwed up?

XxXxXx

Chouji checked his wallet before leaving his father with stale episodes about koalas from the Animal Channel and instructions on how to microwave soup cans. He had a good amount of money from collecting Chouza's latest paycheck. Unfortunately, he'd been a bit lazy this week so he hadn't made any money for himself. He decided to discipline himself by not buying his usual bag of chips from his favorite junk/grocery/furniture store, Minamo's.

He checked his grocery list and sighed seeing that Chouza sloppily wrote 'souba' on it. Looks like no noodles tonight. I guess I can try to attempt to make ochazuke.

He stuffed it list back in his pocket and headed down the slushy roads, avoiding puddles of snow melted by the morning sun. He walked to Minamo's and cruised through the aisles for all the food on the list. He ran into Sakura Haruno in the fruit section, a bag filled with tomatoes swinging gently from her elbow.

He was pleased to see she was out of the hospital and looking well. "Sakura, good to see you out and about!"

She smiled at him. "Thanks! Believe me; I'm glad to get out of that dump. I really hope Tsunade gets it cleaned up."

"It's great that she's going to help us. It's really boosting everyone's confidence," he remarked. He ogled her bag. "That's a lot of tomatoes."

"It's for Sasuke. He loves these things."

"What, he's got you running errands for him now?" Chouji frowned.

She sighed. "I don't think you have a good impression on him, but you gotta give him a chance. Really, you don't know him well enough. He's getting a lot better lately. I think living with him will help him out of shell, really."

Well, he sure hadn't expected that answer. "You're living with him?!" Who'd have thought Sakura would fall for the emo boy?

"Not like that! It's...complicated. I couldn't afford my apartment, so Sasuke took me in. Okay, maybe it wasn't that complicated. Anyway, is everything going alright with your team?" she asked.

"Even you aren't immune from problems," Chouji sighed, avoiding her question. "What will your parents say?"

"I wrote them a letter telling them what happened. When they come back they can take the apartment back, but they'd better not sign me back onto the resident list. I'm sick of it. I feel much better living with Sasuke. It's less stressful. I've been able to focus on training more too. Oh! Chuunin exams meeting is today. I hope they get it done in time so they can tell us who made it in."

Chouji was grateful for her excitement, knowing that she'd completely forgotten about asking the condition of Team 10. "Well, I hope everything works out for you."

"Tell your dad I said hi," she nodded. "I'll see you later. Naruto's coming over later and Sasuke's freaking out. He's never had anyone over before."

"Good luck with that."

"Thanks!" she walked down to the vegetables section and Chouji blew through the fruit, picking up everything he needed. When he was done with the list, he went into a corner and added up what everything would cost.

Seventy-five hundred ryo. He had eighty hundred exactly. Shaking his head, he went back to each aisle and put something away, knowing that he had to be careful with what his father put on the list, knowing that some of it wasn't mandatory. He added again and smiled when the cost came out to be fifty-five hundred instead. Saving twenty hundred ryo may not have sounded like much but adding it to the savings jar would boost up their savings and there was nothing wrong with an extra twenty dollars.

He paid for everything and stepped back into the sunlight, shielding his face from the blinding rays, and headed home. Dropping his stuff at home, he saw six soup cans littered on the ground. Sighing, he approached his father. "Dad, you know what you do with garbage."

"Yeah," he hung his head, "but there was this really cool thing on TV! Did you know that Otogakure is the number one exporter in persimmons?"

"Oh, really? That's really cool," Chouji said in the voice of someone complimenting the scribbles of a four-year old's drawing. "Now, can you throw away the garbage and put away the groceries? I'm going out for a little while."

"You were just out," Chouza complained. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," he ordered. "I have to train. You want me to be a good ninja right?"

"Oh, I shouldn't keep you from that. Sure, I'll put everything away! Um...when will you be back? Cuz I think the oven's still mad at me." Chouza shuffled his feet in guilt.

"You're still scared of it? Alright, I'll be home by lunch. If I'm not, don't worry, okay?" Chouji grabbed his coat and zipped it up, leaving with a wave at his simple-minded father.

He walked down to the forests nearby, going towards his favorite training spot. It was secluded and a perfect spot to train without commotion in the surrounding area. It took a little while to get there, but he didn't mind the walk much either. He always took his time, conserving as much chakra as he could.

What Sakura had asked him before covered his mind. The truth was that there was no Team 10. He hadn't talked to Asuma once in three months and Shikamaru would never leave his house for any reason, and Chouji never liked schlepping across Konoha to see him. Ino was the only team member he saw often, dropping by her flower shop to see her pretty face.

He never saw her without makeup. She even wore certain kinds to bed he heard. What he hated the most was seeing her at night, sitting at a street corner with a large bag and the skimpiest thing that could fit a baby. Once, he saw her talking to a man and walking off with him. He nearly punched the bastard.

Ino, why do you do this? And why can't I make you stop? he thought sadly, not paying attention to his trek and a little girl of around seven who was tugging at his shoulder.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

He stopped and looked down at her. "Huh? Oh, yes?"

"My ball got stuck in that muddy water pit over there, and I can't swim. Those boys have been trying to get it out, but they can't." Her eyes were large and her face small, making her amazingly adorable with her little florid dress. She pointed with little hands towards a bog full of thick, muddy water where some older boys just starting their double-digits were crowded around.

Chouji smiled gently at her. "Of course. Don't worry." He followed her to the bog. The boys looked at him and exchanged glances. "It's in there?" he asked.

A boy with fiery hair nodded. "Yeah, I saw it."

Chouji took off his coat and discarded it on the ground along with his shoes. He stepped into the bog, immediately grossed out by the mud squishing under his feet and the freezing water coming up to his waist.

"Okay, where did you see it?" The large boy's skin was prickling. He had a feeling he'd have to wash up somewhere later—the bog's stench was overwhelming.

"It was deeper in," the girl said, shuffling her feet and looking at the ground.

Chouji noticed that she had the same expression as Chouza when he did something wrong. This saddened him a little, not knowing if his father would really be all right the rest of his life. He waded further into the bog, feeling underwater plants scratch against his bare legs.

I hope I don't have to throw away a good pair of capri's for this. He reached down into the bog, completely disgusted by the feel of who-knows-what against his arm. He couldn't feel anything that was ball-shaped.

"Over to the right a little more I think," another boy shouted.

He complied and his foot hit a rock. He gritted his teeth in pain. After searching again, he sighed. "I'm sorry, I think it's lost."

"No!" the girl sniffed and pouted. "It can't! That's my favorite ball! Can't you do a jutsu?" Her teacup-sized eyes darted to his headband.

"I don't have ball-searching jutsu," he said. Still, he started to feel guilty from the look on her face. He sighed and began to search again, grabbing at anything that he felt.

"I'm sorry, I really am. But I still haven't found it." Chouji was ready to step out and console her, when he suddenly felt a very sharp pain on his upper leg. Bursts of pain erupted all over his body and he shrieked, cursing under his breath. He grabbed the edge of the bog and began to pull himself out when a boy smirked and kicked his throat, sending him back into the bog.

"Fuck! What was that for?" He gripped his throat and landed on his rear, causing even more pain. Feeling his leg, he felt something rubbery and slimy attached to it. He stood up and lifted up his leg, and screamed.

Leeches had suctioned themselves to his legs, all the way up to his thighs. He began to thrash, trying to get them off and the boys burst into laughter watching him.

"I can't believe he fell for it!"

The girl smiled; except this time, it was a cold, cruel smile. "Yeah, he's so stupid. I've seen him go around helping people so it wasn't hard to reel him in."

"Look at him! Oh, grooooooss!" They all jeered when he took off his shirt, freeing his large belly covered in leeches.

"Keep it on; we don't to see the rest of your fat!"

"Yeah, there's already enough on your face, fatass!"

"Fatass! Fatass!" they chanted.

Chouji's eyes burned. "Why did you do this?!"

"It's funny!" The little girl kicked some mud at him.

"And you call yourself a ninja? You can't do anything! Fatass!"

He climbed back onto somewhat-dry ground and desperately tried to get the leeches off him, tugging at them and groaning in pain when they dug their teeth further into his skin. The children watched him for a little while, snickering and splashing water on him until they realized he was ignoring them and left, bored with their game.

Deciding his attempts futile, he gathered up chakra and heated his body up. The leeches dropped off him one by one and he collapsed to the ground, weakened from the cold, the bites, and using half his chakra just to get the bloody things off.

The bites hurt like hell, and he knew one place where he could get some free medicine. Grabbing his shoes and putting them on, not caring about the mud caked on his feet, struggling to get his wet shirt back on, and throwing on his coat, he trekked to the Nara ranch which was much closer to the bog than his house.

His eyes stung with bitter tears as he walked past the dead pastures where deer were sitting and watching him with large beady eyes. He felt himself getting lightheaded and began to shiver. Coming up to the door, he rapped it heavily.

He heard yelling and Yoshino opened the door, looking worn out. She looked down at him and smiled wearily. "Chouji, come in. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Thank you ma'am." He danced around lightly, trying to throw off the pain. "Is Shikamaru around?"

"Oh yes, he's in the living room watching TV. He hasn't moved all morning," she said acidly.

Chouji followed her into the living room and she left into the kitchen, where he heard Shikaku snoring.

Shikamaru was staring placidly at the television, looking hypnotized by the action episode he was watching. He looked over at the chubby teen. "Hey."

"Shikamaru, I need some of that herbal medicine you make for bites," Chouji said, flinching from a surge of pain in his stomach.

"Herbs?" He stared dumbly at him.

"Yeah!" the other boy replied hastily. "Come on, you know that stuff your dad used to sell."

"We don't have any of that," Shikamaru said. "Dad stopped making it and Mom and I don't know how."

"Are you kidding? Shit!" He swore. Feeling dizzy, he collapsed on the couch, breathing heavily. His throat began to ache.

The lazy teen stared at him. "...Is that all you wanted? I'm busy."

Chouji looked at him, noticing that Shikamaru was multiplying into two people in his eyes. He rubbed them and sat up, and told a brief summary of what happened. When he was done, Shikamaru shrugged.

"That's good for you, but I'm missing my show."

Chouji paused. "What?"

"Well, this is a good show..."

"I've been bitten by wild leeches and I think I'm getting a fever! Don't you think you could show a little more sympathy? At least tell me where the gauze is or some pills." Chouji's head was hurting and he suddenly felt very vexed by Shikamaru's carefree attitude.

"I don't remember, ask mom."

Chouji couldn't believe his friend. "Goddamnit Shikamaru! Peel your eyes away from that thing for a second! What's with you lately? All of a sudden you have no time for anybody! Fine. I guess I'll walk to Ino's. She's much more of a help than you."

This got Shikamaru's attention. He grabbed the remote and shut off the TV, standing up and turning towards Chouji angrily. "How dare you mention that bitch's name around me. You'll just abandon me for that tramp?"

"What? Abandon you? You're the one who I haven't seen in weeks just because you'd rather watch that freaking box than take five minutes to talk to a living person!" Chouji yelled. "Ino pays attention to me at least!"

Shikamaru paused, frowning. He then smirked. "Oh, I get it."

"What?" Chouji asked, annoyed.

"It's obvious, really. You've never had any luck with girls, have you? After all...look at you, it's not pretty. All of a sudden you've got a pretty little ass that comes within ten feet of you and you get all excited."

Never had Chouji heard Shikamaru be so straightforward and cruel. His insides went from aching to panging from the hurt his words caused. "Ino's sweet and she's fun to hang around."

Shikamaru let out a sarcastic laugh. "Are you kidding me? You hated her a few months ago, but once she started paying attention to you you run to her for everything."

"The only reason I hated her was because you did and I don't want to follow you anymore, I've got a brain," Chouji insisted.

"What makes her better than me? She's a filthy slut!"

"Well, she sure as hell isn't a heartless bastard like you!" Chouji barked. "I know you used to go out with her, and I remember when you used to be a great guy!"

"So she told you about us huh? Suddenly you're her secret-keeper." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Why do you hate her so much? What did she do?" Chouji noticed that Shikaku's snores had ceased.

A look blazoned over Shikamaru's face, something that was a cross between regret and frustration. "What she did doesn't matter. She's a dirty piece of shit, a low-class bitch."

Chouji laughed angrily. "You have no time for me or anyone, and then you slander the one person who tolerated all the shit you did. Well, do you want to know something? If she's a dirty piece of shit...she's much classier than you."

Shikamaru growled and punched him in the face. Chouji fell into the couch, his nose dislodging blood, which didn't help his condition. Surprised, he stared up at the trembling boy, fist curled tightly.

"How dare you," Shikamaru hissed. "How fucking dare you even compare me to that cunt. I'm the only goddamn person who would talk to you when we were kids. When everyone laughed because you were the last one to be picked during gym or during taijutsu training, I was the only one who acknowledged you. I freaking saved you from becoming a depressed freak and how the fuck do you repay me? You spit in my face and go running to a huge rack and a pussy. You know what? Thanks for the giant 'fuck you'. Get out."

Chouji's eyes burned again. His nose was bleeding profusely and beads of sweat began to form on his brow. The bites were beginning to enflame and his temperature could be compared to a pig being roasted over a fire. Still, he felt nothing but a pain inside, the pain of his heart crushing. He slowly came to a realization that Shikamaru was not the friend he thought he was. The caring, amusing boy that lightened up his childhood was gone, replaced by this miserable, uncaring lazy asshole. And frankly, Chouji hated it.

He slowly stood up from the couch, shaking a little. "...Alright." He didn't want to put up a fight. He'd heard enough from Shikamaru to get the impression of what he thought of the chubby boy. "Alright," he repeated, "I'm going."

He headed for the entrance to the living room, nursing his nose, and stepped into the frame. "...If you want to think of me like that, then that's fine. So, go back to watching your TV. I'm sorry I wasted your time. Next time I need to go to a friend, I'll go to Ino. Because if you think I'm the one who spit in your face, then you need to find a mirror and find the real bastard in your life."

Without looking at him, he left the house, not bothering to answer Yoshino's question if he was alright when she appeared in the front hall with a drowsy and hung over Shikaku who staggered into the living room where he heard the TV being turned on once more.

He walked slowly, freezing and sick, with a sore throat coming and a splitting headache from the punch. People turned and stared at him, whispering and wondering out loud if he was in a fight, and no don't go near the bad boy, oh but isn't that Chouji, Chouza's son? Oh poor dear it's no wonder he's troubled I mean look at his father, the man can't function properly. I feel so sorry for him, no don't help him, its better if we leave him alone.

Chouji could've laughed. If you feel sorry then help me you morons. An agonizing hour later he found himself at Ino's shop. Looking through the glass, he saw she was applying makeup.

"You'll just abandon me for that tramp?"

Ino looked up and noticed Chouji. Through the flowers, she couldn't see his blood or his paled face. She smiled and waved at him.

"What makes her better than me? She's a filthy slut!"

At least she gave up five minutes of her time to say a freaking hello to him. Chouji raised up his hand and faked a smile, before passing her shop and beginning the extra fifteen-minute walk to his house. It was way past lunchtime, that was for sure, and if he didn't get home soon Chouza would start to become antsy.

He arrived home. Chouza looked up and squealed, running over and hugging his son in a crushing embrace. "Chouji, I thought you were dead or something!"

Chouji gasped for air. "Dad, let go."

He complied and jumped around. "I was scared. What took you so long? How was training? Hey, what's wrong? You're bleeding and you look all hurt. Hey, you're really hot," he observed, feeling his arm.

"Training's a bitch," he muttered under his breath. "Look, I'm sorry but can you have soup for lunch too? I gotta take a bath."

"Aww. Well, cuz you trained so hard I won't bother you."

Chouza went to make himself some lunch and Chouji locked himself in the bathroom, filling the tub with hot water slowly and dumping as many significant ointments as possible into the tub. Undressing himself and slipping into the water, he let his head rest on the edge of the tub, the hot vapors making him even drowsier. He felt his bruise, and a tear slipped down his face as he curled up in the water, staring at his bruised reflection.

"Yeah, there's already enough on your face, fatass!"

"Fatass! Fatass!"

"You call yourself a ninja? Fatass!"

"It's obvious, really. You've never had any luck with girls, have you? After all...look at you, it's not pretty."

"Fatass! Fatass!"

"All of a sudden you've got a pretty little ass that comes within ten feet of you and you get all excited."


"Fatass! Fatass!"

"You know what? Thanks for the giant 'fuck you'. Get out."

Fine, Shikamaru. I'll get out. I'll get out of your life. I'll get out of everyone's lives.

XxXxXx

It'd been three agonizing hours in that small, cramped room next to Sarutobi's office that was called the meeting room but was just about the size of a storage closet, and Kakashi was finding it harder to pay attention. His beer or two that morning had made him a tad lethargic, and the fact that no one was getting anywhere with decision-making wasn't helping.

"So we've ruled out Teams 1 through 6 as being unable to compete in the exams," Sarutobi reviewed, organizing the declination papers and handing them to the respective teachers to file away in their file cabinets. "Now we've still been stuck on this Team 7 issue."

"Before we go back into that," Asuma said, puffing on a cigarette which was making the whole room smell like tobacco and didn't to anything to wake up Kakashi, "I'd like say that Team 10 will not compete in the exams this year, so you can hand me my papers and let's call Team 10 over with, okay?"

"You aren't confident in their abilities?" Sarutobi questioned.

"I'll make this clear. Ino's a prostitute who spends her nights screwing around and her days in her flower shop and has no room for training and frankly she's refused my help so I don't believe she cares one way or another. Chouji's out of shape, he's got no stamina and has little talent, and Shikamaru would sell his soul if it meant he could do nothing but watch TV and have people feed him so he didn't have to get up. Shikamaru hates Ino and they could never handle teamwork or the missions being a Chuunin would offer." Asuma sucked on the cigarette like it was a delicious lollipop.

"How would you know if you haven't seen them?" Team 3 leader Matsushira wondered out loud. "Since you've been so busy with Kurenai-san, I mean."

Asuma slammed his fist on the table. "Are you saying something, Matsushira-san?"

"Actually," Kurenai said, thinking out loud, "he hasn't been over in a long time. It's been a while since we did anything together. I kinda miss him." She winked at Asuma from across the table.

"While we're on the subject of Kurenai-san," Sarutobi cleared his throat, handing papers to Asuma, "is Team 8 expected in the exams? They're a versatile team, molded for tracking and survival."

"Um..." Kurenai chuckled nervously and glanced at Asuma, who rolled his eyes knowing that she had no idea how they were doing. "Well, Kiba's looking strong, but the other two...Shino has a lot of problems, concerning, er...his...focus. Yes, and Hinata's just a weak little darling..." She stared at her boyfriend, crimson eyes pleading for help.

He made a quick head movement towards her team file. She opened the file and gulped when she noticed she barely filled it out. Grabbing a pen and scribbling stuff down while making it look like she was reviewing what she had written, she listed down things she observed from them when she met them. "Um, Kiba's tough but reckless, and..." she noticed his sister's name listed in the 'Related Shinobi' section. "Can I have his sister's file? She's on Team 14."

Sarutobi reached for her file and handed it to the female teacher. She nodded as thanks and opened it, noticing Asuma drag out a sigh. Looking through her file and then at Kiba's, she decided something that was a good excuse.

"He hasn't improved as much as his sister did when she was a Gennin, and I know the Inuzukas pride themselves with family ability. I don't think Tsume Inuzuka would be pleased. And Hinata, the poor dear is just too soft for combat. She should be hardened up more. Shino, he's just so...quiet. I really don't think he's trained once." Kurenai smiled. "So, could you do a little thing for me and not put them in the exams?" She shook her chest playfully, and a few teachers' eyes snapped down to her cleavage.

Asuma huffed and folded his arms. "Can we continue?"

"Team 7 is a major problem," Matsushira explained. "Naruto Uzumaki is on it. He's the kyuubi holder, and if he's thrown out into missions his seal might weaken; who knows if he's ready?"

"I can sure that the seal won't weaken; it was done by the strongest ninja I'd ever known," the old man defended.

"Still..."

"It doesn't matter if he's got a fox or a freaking cancer bomb in him," Kakashi grumbled, "he's a strong little guy and I want him in the exams."

"He's the kyuubi holder! He could release it during the exams!" Matsushira barked.

Kakashi was tired of the teacher. "He's not going to release anything! He hasn't before and he won't! The exams aren't going to make him go into a furious rage you moron! Don't you think I've had those worries too?"

"Have you done anything to train him so it doesn't happen?" a new voice asked. Tsunade's chair was propped on the back two legs, her feet on the desk and her fingers intertwined.

"No," Kakashi professed, "but I was with my team when we fought those bandits. Naruto did all he could to keep one ninja preoccupied so he wouldn't go after Sakura. He aimed to protect her first. He couldn't care less if he couldn't beat the ninja, what he cared about was defending his weaker teammate. The mistake of Sakura's injuries was partly my fault. I could've gotten her out of there, but I was too busy paying attention to my opponent and not to my students. You saw the end result."

"I unfortunately did," Tsunade sighed. "Well, I have no objections with Naruto going into the exams. Sasuke Uchiha's definitely ready, that's a given. After all, he was the only one you bothered with."

The silver-haired teacher wished she wouldn't poke at his mistakes every minute. Koharu Utatane, Sarutobi's former teammate and now village council elder, cupped her hands together. "What of Sakura Haruno? She was injured greatly during a mission, you claim from freezing up when the enemy attacked. We cannot have that happen during a higher-stakes mission."

"It was because she was under tutelage of Sasuke Uchiha who couldn't give her battlefield experience," Kakashi proclaimed, "and because I didn't teach her what I should have."

"She is also the first in her line of family to be a ninja," Homura Mitokado, Sarutobi's other teammate and also council elder, read in her file.

"That doesn't hinder any of her skills other than not having been exposed to ninjutsu at an early age. She actually has a gift for chakra control; complete control without any difficulty, no training required." Kakashi noticed the interested look on Tsunade's face.

"Really? That's the same gift I've got," the blond said, sounding impressed. "I never would've guessed it."

"Those three ninja have the drive and potential that we all should have. They're like, the rare case that appears in every generation. The last ones were Obito, Rin, and..." Kurenai quieted when she noticed Kakashi glare at her.

"Look what happened to them," Homura pointed out. "All of them."

"I knew Obito and Rin very well," Sarutobi said. "They were almost like my assistants, doing all they could to help Konoha. They were the only heroes I've met."

"Heroes?" Kakashi asked. "How could they be heroes when they failed? What they strived to do hasn't lasted. They're in the past, can we move forward here? It's been three hours."

"It's a touchy subject, isn't it Kakashi-san," the nominal lord said, "but you must stop referring to them as they. You know as well as I do that you once had the same dreams that they did. Don't disrespect their memory by cutting yourself out of it."

"Just put Sakura on the exams list too. Team 7's going to be in it," Kakashi said.

Sarutobi nodded. "I have no problems; in fact, I'd be disappointed if you kept them out of it." He handed Kakashi papers to fill out for the information lists.

Kakashi put a pencil to Sasuke's paper as they started discussing Team 11. Sighing, he began to write, glad that he was able to get through his team without too much trouble. Except, when he looked down at the three papers splayed out in front of him and at the portraits, he didn't see Sasuke, Naruto, or Sakura. He saw Obito's playful, grinning face, Rin's smirk, and his own covered face with a solemn stare.

He didn't want to think about what happened to them happening again. The past was in the past, he tried to convince himself that.

XxXxXx

Naruto could tell Sasuke was nervous. The air was so thick with anxiousness he could cut a solid block of it with a shuriken. He jiggled the cup of nonfat milk in his grip, Sasuke looking like he was about to die, slumped slightly in his seat and holding an ice cold glass of tomato smoothie. Sakura cleared her throat loudly.

"So, have you been keeping up with the Blue Winds lately?" she asked, thinking that a good baseball subject would carry them on for an hour at least.

Much to her dismay, her two teammates weren't normal boys. "I hate sports," Sasuke muttered.

"I hate the Blue Winds, it's all about the Twilights," Naruto piped up. "Hey, could you direct me to the bathroom?"

"Um, sure. It's through the kitchen into the back hall, third room on the left," Sakura directed.

He excused himself and put his milk down and went through the kitchen into the bathroom. Smiling to himself, he began to do his business as he looked up at the ceiling light. If there was one thing he was glad about, it was Sasuke even inviting him over. There was something about a friend asking him to come over that made him so happy. He'd never had anyone to call a friend, unless those gangbangers he used to hang out with counted. Perhaps, but they only hung out with him so they could use the kyuubi as a threat against other gangs.

He pulled up his sleeve and traced a long slash mark that had become a scar that trailed down his inner arm. It was from running from the police and catching a sharp rock on his skin.

The police. The Uchiha Police Force. Now, they were all dead.

"The Uchihas. They're all prissy bastards. I hate them all. They think they're too good for use, too proper to come mingle with the 'little people'," Amino hissed, long blue hair swept in front of an eye, staring at a switchblade he was flicking open and closed in his head."

"Didn't you sneak into their district once?" Kiaro inquired, sitting cross-legged on a pile of discarded wood planks.


"Yeah, they chased me out with some fancy jutsu. I've heard they have one hell of a rice crackers shop though," Amino replied.

Seven-year old Naruto was watching Amino and his switchblade with innocently large blue eyes. "How'dya hear that?" he asked the teenager.

"The Uchiha coppers were talking about it. Bragging almost. Well, if they think it's so great I gotta get myself some crackers, after all they're practically inviting us by keeping it out-of-bounds. Naruto," he said, throwing the switchblade to him, still open.

The fox boy shrieked and caught it by the handle. The blue-haired teen smirked. "Alright, he's got skills. This shouldn't be hard."

"What do you want me to do? Sneak in there and get some?" Naruto handled the blade carefully, not wanting to cut himself.

"Shit yeah. I've been hungry lately. Mom left so all dad's doing is breaking shit and complaining about how I never bring food home, so at least I can get something out of the Uchihas and their prim little shops!" Amino patted Naruto on his spiky head. "You can do it. Use some of that crazy fox power of whatever shit you got in that body of yours."

"Bring some extra for me," Kiaro egged.

Naruto sighed and cleaned himself up and left the bathroom stall. "Yeah, thanks a lot you bastards."

"Get him! Thief!" an Uchiha with a sword yelled, slashing the air.

Naruto was running with a bag of crackers, sniffling and pushing through the Uchihas that were trying to corner him. Mothers were coming out of their houses and watching him, children staring curiously from behind legs.

'Please don't catch me. Amino, Kiaro you bastards you weren't at the meeting point,' he thought angrily, dodging a man and heading into an alley, using an arm to catapult himself over a chained fence, a rock jutting from the building catching and shredding his arm. He swore loudly.

"It's the kyuubi boy! No wonder he's so fast," one of them said.

"Relax, I'll handle him," a younger voice said calmly.

He kept on running, when a teenage boy appeared in front of him. He looked around twelve, not much younger than Naruto's two supposed friends and had two imprints under his eyes, with a bloodred gaze that made Naruto's blood turn cold.

He started to shiver; afraid the scary Uchiha was going to hurt him. He held out the bag. "F-Fine, you win. Please don't arrest me, I'm just hungry..."

"...Then you picked the wrong place to rob," he replied in an ever-pleasant voice that sounded like it had never risen or faltered once in its life. "Those rice crackers are the pride and joy of my aunt and uncle's shop, and it's appreciated if you pay them for the hard work they put into making those."

Naruto gulped. He had no money. "U-Um...I-I don't have anything...but..." he untied the turquoise goggles around his head and handed them to the boy. "It's not much, but they're durable and in good shape. Good quality too, I think. If you sell it, maybe that'll pay for the crackers."

The boy took it and Naruto wasn't pleased by the look on his face. "U-Um...maybe you can wear them too! Uh...i-if you a-aren't wearing your headband that day," he noticed it around his forehead. "But...please..."

"Just get out of here."

Naruto looked up in confusion at what he had said. "Huh?"

"Leave. If you're discovered I'm not covering for you again."

"W-Why are you being so nice?" He didn't get it. Weren't Uchihas all mean?

Those crimson eyes traveled from the crackers, to his bleeding arm, to his face. "...I've got a little brother too, you know."

Naruto washed his hands, looking at himself in the mirror. He had grown up since then, his face had grown into his eyes and made him less innocent, and his whisker marks spread further across his face.

The Uchihas are one big mystery.

Eight-year old Naruto was watching the adult ninja picking up bloody people and hauling them to the cemetery. He had grown up hating the Uchiha, because they were bad, mean people, but when he looked at it from another point of view, they were just doing their job. Policemen are supposed to catch bad people. And they thought Naruto was a bad person because he broke the rules. They didn't know he was poor.

Everyone was dead.

He even recognized some of them. Patrolling around, giving him and his friends dirty looks, constantly tailing suspicious-looking people...but now that they were dead, they seemed so helpless. Now they couldn't catch rule breakers. But...who would?

He saw a woman with canine eyes and markings on her face observing the corpse collection. Two other ninja were holding the arms of a boy his age, with large raven eyes and equally black hair. He was shaking, pale, and staring at the ground like no one was around him.

"He saw the whole thing. Only one alive," one of the ninja said.

"Poor thing..." the dog woman leaned down and smiled at him. "Hello, there. Could you tell me who you saw do this?"

"...He was acting strange after he came back from Otogakure," he muttered.

"Who was acting strange?" The woman asked patiently.

"...Itachi. My brother..." he sounded like he was talking to himself. "Why did you do this?"

One of the ninja, a much younger one with two diagonal scars on his face, lifted up a blanket showing a boy who had just entered his teens, with an insane smile frozen in his face and red eyes with black dots in them. Naruto recognized the face markings in an instant.

A hand closed around his shoulder. Naruto looked up at an eighteen-year old Iruka, staring at the scene solemnly. "Let's go. This isn't something you should see," he said gently.

"Iruka, I know that boy. I met him."

"Sasuke Uchiha?"

"No, his brother, Itachi. He let me have rice crackers. Iruka, why did he kill everyone?" Naruto asked, tugging on his sleeve.

"...Let's just get you home, okay?"

In the living room, Sakura was consoling a crazed Sasuke.

"He doesn't hate it; personally I think he's glad you invited him for a day of fun and friends. Besides, I cleaned the whole house for him and made all the snacks and drinks so he'd better like it," she grumbled.

"He's been in there for ten minutes!"

"Oh come on, you know Naruto's always got stomach problems." Sakura leaned back and drank some smoothie, noticing Sasuke had already gone through seven glasses. "Lords, do you eat when you're nervous?"

"I tend to gravitate towards anything involving tomatoes," he confessed.

"That can get you fat!" Sakura chastised. "I think..."

Naruto appeared in the kitchen doorframe. "You two having fun?"

"Sasuke's nervous," Sakura tattled.

He threw a pillow at her. "Thanks a lot. Next time I have issues I'll just go back to hiding in my room angsting."

"Don't do that," Naruto said. "I just got to know you. Don't turtle out on me." He smiled. "I don't hate this. In fact, this is probably the most fun I've had in years. To sit down with people I can call friends and people who don't ask me to steal shit for them is good enough for me. Plus, you have the most delicious milk."

"It's the same brand you buy," Sasuke pointed out.

"Well your fridge isn't ten years old."

The doorbell rang and Sakura launched herself up from the couch. "I'll let you guys be manly somehow, and I'll get it." She left them looking at each other awkwardly and headed for the front door, opening it.

Kakashi was standing there with a smile obviously hiding behind that mask of his. Surprised, she leaned against the door. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sakura, good to see you. Is Sasuke there?"

"Yes, he's with Naruto in the living room. You need something?" She was eyeing a manila folder he had tucked under his arm.

"Good, you're all here. This saves the trouble." He stepped into the house. "I need to speak to you three."

The pinkette nodded and walked into the living room, the teacher not too far behind. Sasuke and Naruto, who had been talking excitably, paused and looked at their sensei. Kakashi smiled again, and opened his mouth to tell them the good news, knowing that if there was a moment that would make them happy, this was it. And he was there to witness it...again.

"...You're going to the Chuunin exams."

XxXxXx

Yay, the end for now! It ended abruptly but I thought that'd be a good time to stop. By the way, I don't think I'll be putting down chapter previews down here anymore, not with my story veering off my original outline. Let's just say it'll be longer than I originally planned.

Shizune's an even bigger drunk then Shikaku and Kakashi combined, plus she's got hygiene issues. More expansion on her later, though she'll probably have her story told as a secondary character, rather than her own point of view, kind of like Shikamaru.

Doing that to Chouji was hard to write. I felt so bad for him. And what with Shikamaru being a complete ass, it's not easy on the poor boy's mind. I didn't originally intend to have Shikamaru be so mean, but I decided it'd fit well with his lazy character. Plus, you'll find out why he's such a prick later.

As for Kurenai, she probably came off as a complete moron during the meeting. I intended it that way, because she's not exactly intelligent. She's not completely stupid, but she's air headed and doesn't really make her own decisions without someone's opinion first. She runs to Asuma for all her questions; don't you think Tsunade should be looking at her credibility, not Kakashi?

I decided to add more Naruto expansion, because I've been neglecting him lately. Plus, I've got plenty of Sakura going down so I can relax on her.

Chuunin exams next! Who's excited? I sure am!