"I knew you would cheer me up, Sekaita." I grinned when he just looked up at me and blinked. I continued to think about the whirling conflicts in my head and then eventually fell asleep, foregoing dinner.

"Very good, Renzo-chan. You're a quick study." Iruka sensei smiled down at me. I grinned back up at him and then down at the notes I had been taking. I answered a question right in a class of children who were all much younger than me, but I was still proud.

Unlike the other students, I hadn't been a ninja since childhood. I was new to the idea. But I was soaking in the lessons like a sponge. I was in my element. Regular school subjects had always come easy to me, I enjoyed listening and learning, and the Leaf Ninja Academy was very similar to normal schools… except for the ninja factor, of course.

And I had eaten a nutritious breakfast to start my day so I was in a glorious mood! I had eggs, toast, and bacon.

Mmm… bacon…

"Iruka sensei… I don't understand the whole thing about chakra!" A loud little girl spoke without raising her hand (blasphemy!). Iruka stopped his lecture and thought for a moment.

"Well… It's like this; let's say you have a garden hose. That hose is your body and the water flowing through it is your chakra. If you simply let the water pour out by just holding the hose, you're wasting it. If you tie up the hose, the water won't come out at all. But if you put your finger over the end and control the flow, then you can use the hose to its full and practical potential. It's all about control Miruma-chan."

Iruka explained it like he was a child himself so she could understand. His way of teaching was inspiring.

"Any more questions?" everyone shook their heads. "Then class is dismissed." Iruka closed the textbook in his hand and the bell rang at the exact moment it closed. The little children chattered gleefully as they ran through the halls. I walked along at a slow pace, soaking in the environment.

I love school…

I nodded to myself, agreeing with that strange voice in my head. She had become a regular visitor now, commenting on people and things. She would also tell me when I needed to go see Sai for my 'need' as I called it now.

That need had gone unnoticed for a few days actually. It was odd, sometimes I felt weak and woozy every hour nor so, and sometimes it took days before I felt it again.

This week was one of the longer ones. It had been six whole days since I last saw Sai and got high. I shook away the thoughts from my mind and focused on getting home to the Hyuuga compound. I still wasn't very used to the city and got lost frequently. Luckily for me, no thugs or creepers had confronted me since the night Sai saved me.

You think about Sai a lot…

You talk a lot.

It's not like there's much else for me to do…

You could get out of my head.

Where's the fun in that?

I ignored her question and walked on, stopping to look at a shop window that caught my eye.

"Red curtains!" I grinned and skipped into the store. It was a relatively old looking place, some of the merchandise was dusty and the woman behind the counter looked ancient. I couldn't quite figure out the main purpose of the store, but I didn't care. I walked over to the curtains and took them in my hands, rubbing the fabric with my fingers.

It was so soft! I couldn't help but give a silent cheer as I sauntered to the counter, the curtains balled up in my arms. The woman was my height and we could both just barely reach across the counter and exchange money and change, but the transaction was made and I cheered again.

She smiled at me and giggled. It was then that I noticed she was the old woman from the lake. But where was her husband?

"Excuse me… but are you a ninja?" I asked hoping she'd answer. She nodded and pulled a head band from her yukata pocket and held it up for me to see. It was old and worn and the corners of the metal plate were rusty.

"Is your husband a ninja too?" she made a face at my question, a little taken aback. But I guess she recognized me from the lake as well and smiled again.

"Yes, he is. And our son is a ninja too; he's a teacher at the Academy!" Her face beamed with pride as the words spilled from her trembling old lips.

I smiled brightly at her and asked, "What's your name, ma'am? I'm Enkichi Renzo."

She paused for a moment, as if to think.

She must be really, really old…

I ignored the rude voice of my mind and awaited her answer.

"My name is Umino Zensari." I gasped and hopped a bit when she said it.

"Oh my gosh! You're son is my teacher! He's Iruka sensei!" I clapped and grinned and fluttered about, glad to have met the mother of my awesome teacher. She simply grinned back at me and nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Iruka is my dear son. I'm s proud of my dear, dear son…" Umino-san trailed off as she shuffled over to a chair and sat down… she then fell asleep.

I stared at her for a moment and then giggled. She was such a cute old woman. I grabbed a blanket that was hung over some old knick knacks and placed it over her small, thin form. That way she would be warm and my mind would be at ease.

I grabbed my curtains from the counter and walked out of the store, struggling to see around the red, fabric mass in my arms. That's when I felt a familiar breath on the back of my head.

"Need some help?"

For some reason, my heart skipped a beat when I heard his voice.

Must be that bacon…

I turned on my heel and came face to neck with Neji. I tilted my body back a bit to look up at his face and he had an eyebrow raised at me. I looked back down at the rolls of soft fabric on my arms and then held them out to him. He took the corners of one end and I the corner of the other end and we proceeded to fold them on the side of the street.

"Thank you!" I smiled shyly at him and tried not to blush when he smirked back.

There was just something about him that got to me…

Neji walked along side me as I talked about school and meeting Iruka's mother. He silently listened, nestling his hands in his pockets and nodding every once in a while.

I glanced up at him and almost tripped over a pot hole

He wasn't looking at me, but at the road ahead of him, and from the angle I was looking at him he seemed to shine. His head was obstructing the sun and it made his whole face glow, and his lavender eyes looked completely white. The dramatic shadows brought out the sharp angles of his face, making him look delicately rugged.

He was so beautiful like this.

I blinked myself back into reality and blushed. I clutched the curtains closer to my chest and placed my shin on them to feel the softness of them. Neji turned his head a bit and looked at me before rolling his eyes and smirking. I smiled at him and skipped a bit as we walked.

We were like a picture perfect couple.

You're boy crazy…

Shut up. We're just friends.

Then why did you say you're like a picture perfect couple?

I don't know.

She didn't speak again after that so I decided to pick up a conversation with Neji.

"How's Ten-Ten? I haven't seen her around lately." I looked up at him and hoped I wouldn't walk into another hole.

"I don't really know, I haven't seen her at all since I broke up with her." He replied, sighing a bit. "She's such a bitter bitch."

"You broke up?" I just stared at him, wide eyed. "Why would you break up with a girl who 'gives it out' like candy?"

Neji stopped walking. I stopped too and looked at him, puzzled. He raised his eyebrows at me and crossed his arms.

"You think guys only ever want girlfriends just for sex?" he asked, almost laughing.

I nodded and blushed. Was I really so naïve that he had to explain relationships to me?

"Sure sex is a great part of being with someone, but I also want someone to talk to… That's why I broke up with her; she stopped being Ten-Ten and only ever wanted to fuck because she thought it made me happy."

I twitched a bit at the thought of them having sex.

"And also because I like someone else…"

I looked up and caught him looking at his own feet, trying to hide a blush behind tresses of loose hair. I smirked a bit and put my hands on my hips, holding my bundle of curtains against my side.

"Oh really? Who?" I snickered, waiting for him to say Ino or Sakura or even the name of a girl who isn't a ninja.

"…It's you."