So sorry this took two weeks! I also apologize for the shortness in length. Class elections are going on right now and I've been a little busy campaigning for student class president. I hope this chapter is still somewhat enjoyable!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

For a while, Shisui and I walked home in surprisingly good spirit, and for a moment I almost doubted whether or not our meeting with the Hokage had really happened. It seemed like an outlandish dream; there was no way I could let myself get more deeply involved with the shinobi world as a whole.

I was already screwed enough as it was.

"Mai," Shisui called, breaking me out of another one of my pity parties.

"Hmm?" I hummed in response and looked down, avoiding his gaze.

Judging by the cautious tone he had taken up, I was about to be dragged into round two of the unwanted proposal. We had stopped walking and stood only a few yards from the entrance into Shisui's apartment. I briefly considered making a run for the home and using Naruto's presence as an excuse to escape the conversation, but Shisui had already started speaking again.

"How long have you and Naruto been together?"

The question took me by surprise. "Uh, a few years—so most of my life, essentially."

"Essentially, huh?" I flinched as Shisui echoed what I had said. "That's an awfully long word for a kid to know."

"Gee, thanks." I gave as bashful of a laugh that I could muster, feigning ignorance towards what he was trying to draw attention to.

He paused, and I took it as an opportunity to glance up at his face. Immediately I came to regret that decision, having made eye contact with the unusually inquisitive Uchiha. He made no effort to conceal the thoughtful stare, and I could almost physically feel him sizing me up.

"What's with that look?" I offered up another nervous laugh.

My voice seemed to have triggered him out of his little analysis, as the moment the words left my lip, Shisui moved. Within what felt like a fraction of a second, he had crouched down, now on eye level with me as he placed both hands on my shoulders.

"Mai, you don't have to be afraid of leaving Naruto behind." The kind smile accompanying his words silenced my protest and allowed him to continue. "You know, Itachi-kun was like that too; it took the entire clan's nagging to get him away from Sasuke."

Relief flooded my body. He only wanted to urge me to accept the offer, not confront me for having an abnormal amount of knowledge for a five year old. "I don't know…"

"Mai, I know it feels like you're abandoning Naruto, but you won't become a genin for a long while, and you'll still see him at home. I haven't seen Hokage-sama be this okay with a year skip since Itachi-kun! This is really a great opportunity for you to advance to a level that fits how gifted you are."

"If you're so excited about this then just do it yourself," I said half-teasingly, knowing the argument was illogical.

"I did."

His response made me wince. Here I was, insensitively acting like the option I'd been given—the same one that Itachi and Shisui had chosen without remorse—was the worst thing that could have possibly happened to me.

I lowered my head again, not being capable of looking him straight in his hopeful eyes as I declined the offer. There was absolutely no way I could do it—not as long as I had the slightest sense of self preservation. Speeding through my life as an academy student would just be me begging for a sooner deathwish. "I'm sorry but I just—"

Before the rest of my rejection could be said, I was tackled onto the ground by a blurry ball of orange and blond—Naruto.

"Eh?! Mai! That's what Iruka-sensei wanted to talk to you about?" Naruto's mouth moved rapidly as he pushed himself off of me.

I hesitantly nodded in confirmation, and was met with silence from Naruto.

I brushed the dirt off of myself as I got up and slowly turned my attention towards Naruto's face. 'Will he be mad that Iruka had singled me out to advance rather than him? Will he be heartbroken at the thought of me leaving and beg me to stay?' These kinds of questions ran through my head as my eyes focused on the expression on Naruto's face, but no kind of anticipation could prepare me for what I was actually going to see.

Rather than one of anger or hurt, only a look of pure admiration decorated his face.

"You have to agree to it then, Mai!" he exclaimed, startling me so badly that I almost fell to the ground all over again.

"E-Eh?!"

"See? Even Naruto agrees!" Shisui smiled in a satisfactory manner, clearly proud of me getting the offer and Naruto's enthusiastic reaction to it. The smile faded, however, as he took note of the panicked expression that had taken over my face.

Without a warning, Shisui got up from his crouching position, and now he stood upright, arching his back and yawning. "I'm a little tired from my mission though, so let's go inside and talk about this after we eat some of Mai's curry." He shot me a different smile this time; it was a smile of understanding, and though I wasn't sure exactly what Shisui thought he understood about my predicament, I was nonetheless grateful for it.

I could say no to almost anyone. Almost. The only exception happened when I was faced with Naruto's endearing pout that made me feel as if I had kicked a puppy. Thankfully, Shisui had saved me from that evilly pure look.

"Who said I was cooking tonight?" I raised an eyebrow, gladly playing along with Shisui's attempt to divert the conversation topic.

"What about Mai and the Hok—" Naruto's attempt at bringing the conversation back onto my dilemma was cut short as Shisui picked up the blond with ease.

"Come on, Naruto! Don't you wanna eat some of Mai's cooking tonight? It's been a few days since I've been home, and I'm pretty hungry."

Judging by the shock in his tone, Naruto hadn't fully comprehended Shisui's return until then. "Shisui?! You're back from your mission?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, twisting his body in Shisui's arms to face the Uchiha directly.

"Yep! Now let's go inside," he replied amiably.

"But—"

"We can talk more about it later." Shisui's voice lacked the enthusiasm it had had only moments before.

We stepped inside without any further commotion about my meeting with the Hokage, but something told me that definitely wasn't the end of that conversation. There was no way in hell that I'd be let off that easily.

I would prove to have been right, as not even an hour later Naruto casually brought up the topic again.

"So you're gonna do it, right?" he chirped so unexpectedly that I didn't even understand what he was referring to.

"Do what?"

Naruto leaned in, making gestures that indicated for me to be more quiet. The two of us were on one end of the couch, the other having been occupied by an exhausted Uchiha. Despite being the one who had been so adamant about having me cook, he had fallen asleep long before the food was ready, and both Naruto and I had decided to pass on waking the boy.

"Y'know, tell the Old Man 'yes,'" he clarified, looking up at me with big doe eyes.

I recoiled from his figure next to mine. "Of course not! I have to stay here with you."

Naruto turned away for a moment, visibly debating something in his mind. I had been with him for most of my new life, and yet I'd never seen such a concentrated look on his face before.

"You can go." It looked like it had pained him to say those three words, yet the resolve in his tone was easily heard.

I was taken aback by the selflessness of his words. He had grown up alone for the first half of his life, and, judging by what little I had seen during my few moments of inaction when I had first met Naruto, those years had been absolute shit.

Being alone was absolute shit.

"No way," I refused.

"Mai."

"Naruto."

"Mai."

Shocked by the sudden change in Naruto's personality, I took a few seconds to look at him—really look at him. I had been so preoccupied with fretting over the slight changes I had made to his history that I stopped paying attention to the smaller things around me. The battered boy who clung to me as tightly and as often as possible was gone. In his place was the clear foundations for a man who'd grow up to be a great leader one day—the future seventh Hokage.

I didn't understand it. Couldn't understand it. How had things changed so drastically without me having noticed in time?

He was so different from the hurt boy from the original storyline—too different.

And because of that difference, there was only one thing I had left to do.

"I'll think about it." Yes.

Leave.

I had altered too much of the original story, the original characters. If I didn't leave as quickly as I could, my close proximity with the main characters had the potential to be disastrous. The further I could get from Naruto and his friends, the better.

As much as I hated to admit it, I had grown attached.

He nodded vehemently, satisfied with my response. There was a clear sense of pride in his aura now—he was proud that he was able to sacrifice my constant presence in his life for what he thought was for my benefit. There was no way I could say no to someone who was so ready to put me first.

Shisui woke up shortly after I had sealed my fate, though I was highly suspicious of whether or not he had been asleep at all. Things had played out too perfectly in his favor for him to not have had some influence.

I picked at my food as Naruto and Shisui practically gulped their servings down. Between spoon-fulls of rice, Naruto paused to look at me expectantly.

"Shisui, can we go talk to the Hokage again… I think I'm gonna do it." The reluctance in my voice was easy to read, but both boys ignored it and high fived each other, earsplitting grins on their faces.

Despite the direness of my situation, a small smile broke my stoic expression too.

If agreeing to the Hokage and Iruka's request got a reaction like that from the two boys, then maybe I didn't mind it all that much.

The rest of that day, and the day following it, is blurred now.

I went to the academy as usual and avoided Iruka's expectant glances. Then I stood with Naruto and his classmates, adopting an uncharacteristic show of silence. A few times someone would look at me inquisitively, but Naruto would beckon for them to come closer so he could explain, and then all I would receive was some type of congratulations. Whatever it was, all it served to do was make me shrink further into my shell. Their words and gestures came with good intentions, but I could only think of how it reaffirmed my fate as a future kunoichi for Konoha.

My list of ways to escape this life would only get smaller and smaller as I moved up higher in their Academy system. It was normal for a few students to drop out after their first year, and it wouldn't have been questioned in the slightest if I had done so. Leaving after receiving special notice from the Hokage himself, on the other hand, was a whole different story.

The entire day at the Academy felt like it had lasted little more than an hour or two. Too soon, I was facing Shisui's disarming smile outside the Academy gates. I froze in place with every sensible part of me screaming for me to give the proposal a hard pass. My classmates gave me quizzical looks as they had to walk around me, none of them noticing the emotional turmoil I was currently experiencing.

"You ready?" Shisui's tone was almost disgustingly cheery as he strolled over to stand next to me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I grimaced at how easily I was letting my old life plan crumble.

"See ya later, Mai! I'm going with teme and Shika!" Naruto ran between Shisui and I to catch up to the aforementioned boys.

It was kind of irking; apparently he wasn't all that attached to me after all, if his eagerness to leave without me was taken into account.

Well, at least one of us seemed happy.

Hehe the ball's starting to roll! The next chapter should come out more quickly than this one did, but if it doesn't, feel free to PM me and yell at me to get to writing!

Have a great day, and please review! Seriously, whenever I feel unmotivated, I just reread your guys' reviews. They're like my bread and butter.