I waited outside the academy holding my Dad's hand while mom held and incredibly fussy Sasuke in her hands. For the past year I had only been sent on 5 missions, I hadn't been used to being coddled and it took some adjusting. I had a remarkable amount of time on my hands, I was used to back to back missions and when I was home, I was used to doing most of Minato's paper work. So all of a sudden having so much time on my hands was maddening, I knew most Iryo ninjustsu so I couldn't even spend my time learning that. So for the past year I had been training alone since Kakashi was on back to back missions, I often envied him for it. I also studied, from molecular structures of things, to seals, to chemicals, to history. I toyed with a few tricks with plants, I could toy with their molecules and make them grow how I pleased. We had an excellent garden. I spent allot of time meditating I only had five more piles of paper to go through, though I still hadn't found out about my kekkei genkai I was able to use the temeture drop without feeling mad or like I wanted to kill someone. Progress.
Though thankfully that ridicules amount of free time would be filled. Itachi and Shisui were graduating today. Itachi probably could have graduated last year but he wanted to wait until Sasuke was older, and Shisui could have graduated when he was six the same year I had graduated but he was waiting for Itachi. Like Minato had promised me I was allowed to be on a team with Itachi and pick our third team mate, so naturally I chose Shisui. Maybe it was unfair for me to pick both of them since we were all prodigy's but I didn't really care, I knew we would make the strongest team Konoha had ever seen.
The pain of losing my Sensei dulled down to a constant ache, though some days would hit me harder. Like my birthday, he and Kushina had been to every single one separately celebrating mine, though the clan didn't ignore me any more in fact they where all very nice to me now, when my birthday rolled around I still felt empty.
Kids started coming out of the academy doors cheering and running to their parents waving their new forehead protector around. Itachi and Shisui where the last one's out considerably younger than the rest of their graduating peers they made their way towards us, both smiling with hitai-ate in hand. Dad proudly ruffed Itachi's hair while mom inspected Shisui's out stretched forehead protector.
"Good job boys!" I exclaimed excitedly pumping my fist in the air. Both where beaming proudly. "Lets go celebrate!" and by that I meant drink tea and have dinner with my family. I know we should probably simmer down.
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I sat at the front middle table with Itachi and Shisui on either side of me. I chose this table because than I couldn't see the whole class starring at me like I knew they were. A sensei I had never met in my time at the academy (I was only their a month cut me some slack) was giving a speech and kept glancing nervously at me so I tried to keep an encouraging smile on my face. He started calling out the team arrangements.
"Team three is Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Lady Kina Uchiha." there was a sudden gust of whispers amongst the other students at our obviously over powered team, but I was busy being mortified that 'Lady Kina' was how he said announced name. There was only two more teams announced after ours.
"Okay you can head out to lunch now and get to know your team mates! Congratulations!" he said cheerfully glancing at me, feeling like I should say something to him, I walked over to him as everyone was getting up to leave.
"That was a very nice speech sensei thank you." He smiled sheepishly at me scratching behind his head. Most people treated me like this, they held me up on a crazy high pedestal. Word of me even spread out of the village- Mujakina Uchiha the four year old you went toe to toe with a tailed beast.
"Thanks Lady Kina." I smiled then went to my brothers side ready to leave for lunch when I realised no one else had actually left they were all just standing gawking at us, also something I had become uncomfortably used too. So much for being treated like a normal-ish genin. I hoped who ever my jounin sensei was that they would be able to look past the hype about me. I felt a stabbing pain in my heart. It didn't feel right to have another sensei, I felt like I was betraying Minato. As we walked out of the classroom the other kids would quickly get out of our way, one girl turned to move out of the way getting her foot caught on one of her chair legs, both Shisui and I quickly grabbed her to steady her. When she looked up at us she quickly backed way bumping into a guy behind her. It was almost like they were all scared of us, Itachi grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and pulled me out the classroom door leading me away from all the other kids with Shisui at my heels, he only stopped pulling me along once we where outside.
"That was intense." Shisui commented wide eyed. I took in a deep breath.
"yeah I'm pretty used to being starred at but it seemed like they feared us." It troubled me a bit. Okay allot more than a bit.
"they probably just think our team is to powerful." Itachi commented blandly.
"well do you want to go to my office to eat?" I asked, Shisui eyed me suspiciously. My office was in the Hokage building a few doors away from Hiruzen, it was mostly his cover for getting me to do his paperwork, but I didn't mind the office was where I did all my research on cell's and chemical mixtures, half of it was set up like a science lap and the other half had a couch and an arm chair with book shelves full of scrolls of my own notes and filing cabinets.
"Last time I went to your Office their was a violent and vengeful bunny attacking everything." I had been working on manipulating chemicals of the brain, trying to induce panic. Panic comes from adrenaline and the fight or flight response. This bunny chose fight.
"pah, I'm done with Mr. Bun." I waved my hand around as though i was shoeing away a bug.
"The time before that I got attacked by large psycho plants." Shisui had very unfortunate luck in my lab. But even as he argued we all headed towards my office anyway.
"you also got accidently zapped with one of her experimental hormone therapy's and were convinced you where in love with her couch." noted Itachi. Ah endorphins are suck tricky things. Using them you can stimulate sadness happiness and love.
"yea! And that one time when you turned my hands green." I giggled at the memory.
"In all fairness I told you not to touch anything while I was out."
"well than you probably should have added, 'Shisui dont touch anything while I'm out because they could potentaily blow up or turn your hands green for a ridicules amount of time.'" he was speaking in a high squeaky voice imitating my own. I bumped him in the side with my shoulder.
"well you did ruin 4 weeks of work, so I think THAT was just karma." He gave me an apologetic look.
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Flash back.
I carefully examined the mixture under my microscope, it was successfully attaching itself to the pigment cells in the tissue sample I had put it on, I laughed gleefully as it finally reacted how I had wanted, now the only thing left to do is to mix the proper pigment colour into the mixture than solidify and coat it into small pills. Maybe I'll add a flavor to it too so its not just a gross bitter pill. Than I'd have to work on a pill that would separate and destroy the artificial cells. I went to grab my scroll pen to right down the outcome of this take (take 456) the scroll was full of my notes and diagrams, ugh.
"Shisui could you pass me another empty scroll?" Shisui often would sit in my office all day, talking to me though I usually ignored him due to my tunnel vision, he would call himself my assistant, where I lovingly referred to him as my test dummy.
"Your all out, and there is no way I'm going to go ask the secretaries for more scrolls for you! So don't even ask!" The secretaries and the real assistants didn't much like Shisui's habit of ruining my experiments. I dramatically got of my stepping stool (because I was way to short to reach the counter never mind look through the Microscope) and gave the Uchiha a pointed look.
"Don't touch anything, everything is unstable so just don't touch it. Don't even look at it." I told him sternly. He put his hands up in surrender, and I left skipping down the hall.
"Could I have some more empty stationary scrolls?" I ask the lady at the desk happily. She smiled kindly at me, her name was Bako, the only one who would bring me coffee so naturally I liked her best.
"Finally have success on your experiment Kina-chan?" She asked getting up to go to the back supply room.
"YES! The artificial pigment cells finally attached them selves to the indigenous cells, without fully integrating them selves into the DNA or attacking the existing cells!" I gushed happily running my fingers through my hair. If you told me in my last life science could bring me so much happiness in a world where magic existed I would out right call you crazy, but in this world I could happily maneuver through the field of science without being noticed by the general public. It's not like I didn't appreciate that the public thought so highly of me, its just that when people think your perfect they tend to just marvel at you instead of get to know you.
"Oh my that sounds exciting!" Bako knew nothing about science, but she was always really enthused about what ever I was working on asking me tons of questions. "Well here are your scrolls Kina, Also Renka just showed up if you want to wait for her?" Bako told me. Renka was my 22 year old assistant, she was brilliant, I was ready to approve her for her own research grants weeks ago but she insisted on staying with me. I nodded and waited for her, when Renka first came to me in hopes of getting an internship I almost thought she was kidding. I mean its not like I should judge people on appearances seeing how I'm an adult in a kids body but Renka did NOT look the scieney type. She looked like she should have multiple rich and famous men mooning over her while she sipped on a martini. On a scale to one to ten she broke the scale, she was all curves with a beautiful face you could just stare at endlessly. She had long wavy hair that looked good no matter what even when she half hazard tangled a pencil in it to keep it out of her face. Usually when I got interns I only kept them for two weeks, they where awkward and often had trouble learning from me because of my age most I would just recommend to another person as soon as possible, but Renka was nice, well actually she mean and crass but she talked to me like I was a real human which I honestly didn't get much so I was more than thrilled when she asked to continue to work for me so I officially made her my assistant, which also meant she would be getting a steady income.
"Oi! Kina! You finally got the right cellular sequence to the pigment pills!?" I turned around to see Renka comming towards me yanking on her lab coat. Her brow hair bobbing and swaying with each step. I started walking to the office once she was close enough to me.
"Wait until you see it!" I exclaimed swinging the door open to Shisui awkwardly leaning against my desk which was across the room from the door, his hand where suspiciously behind his back. "Shisui what did you do?" I looked around the room for something broken. My eye's landed on the now empty container that had held the green goop was empty. "what?" I ran over to the container.
"I'm sorry! I was poking it with that metal tick thingie and it looked all goopy and wierd so I put my finger in it and than it molded around my hands and soaking into my skin! My hands are GREEN!" I could feel my face switching in anger but he bore I could even react Renka was throwing varies object at him yelling something about removing his sticky bits. I quickly went through the scrolls of notes I made today, I didn't even write down what I had changed in the structure to make it successful. For some reason I started crying. I knew if I thought about it for a second I could easily remember what I did, but it was just the fact that something I had working on for the last month was gone, and probably the fact that I was up all night working on it, made be bawl Rank stopped trying to kill Shisui and the boy quickly ran to my side.
"I'm so sorry Kina! But look I have green hands." he shook his evergreen hands around like the goof he is and I laughed a bit, he reached a hand down to help me up of the ground where I had crumpled.
"DONT TOUCH ME!" I yelled as is hand approached me. He looked incredibly sad and mortified by my reaction. " I don't know if that spreads on contact." I said pointing to his hands. Shisui promptly started freaking out. "In fact its untested on human or even animals so I don't really know what's going to happen to you." okay that last part was lie I knew it wouldn't hurt him but it sure was hilarious to see him panic."
"Serves you right you little shit!" Renka yelled at him.
Evidently It didn't spread on contact but since I hadn't made a mixture to remove the artificial pigment he had to wait till it died on its own. He also make elbow high gloves a fashion statement.
End flash back
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We had gotten out of class at ten and told to meet at one. We had finished eating a while ago and both boys where laying on each of the couches in the left corner of my office where I usually had meetings with people, well that's a lie I usually used the couches for me and Renka to sleep on when we accidently worked to long. One if the filing cabinet drawers even held two pillows and blankets my mom kindly supplied.
"Where is Renka?" Itachi asked. Itachi spent almost as much time in my office as Shisui, with little Sasuke tagging along of course. Though now that Sasuke had finally started to walk he was becoming allot of trouble.
"I have her working with someone else while I'm away for the day, I don't want her to get less pay just because I'm gone." I said looking into the microscope.
"Whatcha working on?" Shisui asked head peeking over the back of his couch.
"I can't tell you." I said blandly
"oouuu a secret!" both he and Itachi sat up curiously. It wasn't really a secret, me and Renka where talking one day about how it would be cool to see how the Akimichi clans food pills work. Them telling us would be as likely as my father explaining how the Sharingan works to everyone, so we just bantered about how it could work. The next day Renka came in with a sly smile on her face and every colour of their food pills.
"One that could get me and Renka in trouble." I laughed at their facial expressions.
"Don't go mad scientist on us now, we can ignore the creepy laughs while you work but not you going full blown crazy." Shisui said dramatically probably not believing what I said. Apparently I had a habit of laughing while I was in work mode. Though I'm pretty sure they where just pulling my leg.
"well we should get back." Itachi said looking at the clock. I stepped down from my stool and took of my lab coat draping it on the back of the couch nearest the door. I had to get my coat specially made since they didn't have kid sizes.
When we got to the class there was five jounin already there in the front of the class waiting but my eye's landed on a Shikaku Nara and I smiled and waved, he smiled back waving a little with his arms still planted to his sides. I had a feeling he was going to be our jounin Sensei, and suddenly I didn't feel so bad for having a new sensei, not if it was going to be Shikaku.
We sat in the spots we had been in earlier, ignoring the whispers of the other kids.
"Okay the jounin's will name off their teams and you will follow them out." The chunin sensei explained. The Nara stepped up first.
"The three Uchiha's" was all he said as he began walking to the door. We all got up and followed him out leaving the horde of whispers behind us. He led us into the classroom beside the one we were all just in sliding the door closed behind us. "Well you three all know each other so no point in introducing your selves, I already know everything about you guys. So I'll just introduce myself, my name is Shikaku Nara and I will be your jounin sensei." He spoke lazily. "Obviously I pass you all, so no point in a test. Tomorrow we will go on a C-rank mission, just a simple guarding mission, than In a three weeks you will all go through the chunin exam that will be held in Iwagakure." I was a bit surprised, with the timeline he just gave us we would leave for the guarding mission that usually took 2-3 weeks than right away be setting off to the Chunin exams. That was no time at all to train. Though because I understood the Politics of it all I knew we where being sent to Iwa a month after they graduated to basically flaunt Konoha's power. Sending a team of three prodigy's was smart. I didn't much like that it was my team being used to do it since neither Itachi or Shisui had real battle experience, not that I doubted them because both of them where un dubitably strong, smart and fast but tests and spars are much different than the real thing. The chunin exams are not a cack walk that's for sure. "Ryo for your thoughts?" Shikaku asked starring at me.
"It's just. The war just ended and the goal in sending our team to Iwa for the exam is a scare tactic. Itachi and Shisui have never been on a mission, and a C-rank mission, especially for the combat we will be facing in the chunin exams, is not good practice. Now I know giving new genin higher than C is ridicules, but we are a great team who already work well together, I am very experienced and all three of us are good strategists. Not to mention we are all strong. I think we should do two B rank missions, and one A rank. If we mission stack It can fit in the time frame before the exams and give us the necessary experience as fast as possible." I thought of that all on the fly and was mildly impressed with how put together it all sounded out loud. Shikaku put a hand down on my head. "OH and we make sure they are all combat missions, always letting one person or just a witness get away to spread news about us. Also we make sure none of us get injured, not even a scratch. That will scare Iwa." The Nara gave a throaty laugh.
"As long as your team agrees that's the best course of action I'll go talk to the hokage right away." though by the glint in his eye's he already knew I would suggest this and had missions lined up for us.
"It sound like a good plan." Itachi said in his formal monotone voice.
"I think we need a scary name for our team then! Like Prodigy Uchiha's!" I crinkled my nose at that one, but before I could comment on why it sucked out new Sensei did.
"You want to be called P.U.?" Shikaku asked in a bored tone. Shisui's eye's widened than he burst into laughter.
"Well It's basically unheard of for there to be a team entirely made up of Uchiha's. The Uchiha three?" Itachi asked.
"you know usually a genin team is named after the jounin sensei." Sensei said to Itachi.
"Shikaku and the Uchiha three?" Shisui suggested. I snorted quite attractively (not)
"now we sound like a boy band."