"You are the most super epic, kind, compassionate, youthful, kick-ass, awesome ninja ever. No one cares more than you do!"—Might Guy

Sixteen Candles/Guilty Until Proven Innocent

"You're gonna have to be a lot faster than that, Kanata!"

Guy's voice sounded light-hearted and maybe just a tiny bit cocky as I tried, rather feebly, to beat on him as much as possible. As he continually blocked or evaded my physical attacks, I hissed through my teeth, "Not everyone—can be a rocket booster like you." I cried out when I threw a violent punch toward his face, but he caught my fist easily.

"The key is lightness, energy, and anticipation," he said, ducking as I threw my leg out to kick him. "Well, I can tell you have the energy part down, at least!" Just as he caught my hand, Guy's arm shot up and caught my ankle as well, pushing me back. I hopped backward a few inches, but didn't stumble, even when Guy's fist shot out in my direction. Narrowly avoiding the attack, I half jumped, half flipped to the side to try to get him from a different angle. But once again he blocked me and elbowed me in the rib, causing me to temporarily drop to one knee.

"Ow," I muttered, clutched the spot where he made contact.

"We can keep going as long as you want!" Guy said, jogging in place while punching his fists in the air. "You know what they say—practice makes perfect!"

I let out a sigh of frustration. "I am never going to master Taijutsu."

"Hey!" Guy exclaimed, dropping to a squat and glaring into my eyes. "We don't use the word "never" around here, you got it? Just because something's more challenging for you doesn't mean you can't do it. In fact, that just makes it all the more rewarding when you do do it! I've seen you do Ninjutsu and your chakra control is some of the best I've ever seen. We can't all be naturals at everything!"

"Yes, thank you for the pep talk," I replied, still not feeling very peppy at all as I stood up and brushed myself off. "Now let's go again."

"Come at me, opponent!" he said, putting his arms up in a defensive motion. "You got this!"

At the sound of his words, I suddenly dropped my fighting stance. My arms fell and I glanced up at him. "Guy?"

"What's the matter?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Folding my arms closely to myself, I asked, "Do you think I'm a good ninja?"

"What?" His head lurched forward and he gawked at me like I'd just told him I broke his favorite toy. "Are you kidding? Why would you ask that? You're a great ninja!"

"Then let me ask you this," I murmured, "If someone offered you the opportunity to quit, would you?"

"Never," he said without a hint of hesitation.

Of course.

"Becoming a ninja is making a commitment!" he continued. "I could never even imagine quitting! What's all this about?"

All of the sudden, I felt sorry for even asking. I should have known better than to talk about this to the most enthusiastic Shinobi alive. With a shrug, I murmured, "I don't know. I was just wondering."

"Wait." My head shot up and I found Guy's face only inches away, studying me like a science project. "Seriously, you aren't actually thinking about that, are you? Are you?"

I retreated from the intensity of his stare and sighed in annoyance. "No, I—it's nothing, okay? Just drop it."

A few seconds of silence fell between us, which was more than I'd ever been graced with around Guy. His dark eyebrows furrowed and a genuinely concerned look crossed his face. "Hey, look, if you've got somethin' serious on your mind, you can tell me. I know I have a tendency to talk your ear off, but I'll listen. I promise!"

And now I felt really sorry. Sometimes Guy could be so boisterous and light-hearted that I forgot how loyal and sweet he actually was. Instead, I was just pushing away his offers to listen to my problems. And that made me no better than the man I was currently ignoring.

With an attempt to give him a smile, I said, "I'm sorry, it isn't that, Guy. I just—I guess I'm lacking in confidence right now is all. And I've been lonely and—on edge. I don't mean to take that out on you."

His expression seemed to soften, and then his eyes lit up as if he remembered something important. "Oh, that reminds me! Maybe this will cheer you up." Swiftly, Guy reached into his back pouch and pulled out what looked like a stiff folded piece of paper. "Here. Happy Birthday, my friend!"

I blinked. Although I wasn't about to lie and say I'd forgotten what today was, I hadn't thought about it much and I certainly wasn't expecting anything. But here was one of my best friends, giving me a card on my Birthday.

"I hope you don't mind," he babbled, laughing heartily, "I've been a little broke these past few weeks so I didn't get you anything fancy. But I didn't want you to think I forgot or anything either, sweet sixteen and all that!"

When I opened the card, inside was a drawing (mediocre yet expressive one) of Guy and me squaring off in a field. We were both poorly drawn, but they had their own colors and I could definitely tell who was whom. To top it off, he covered the top of the page in blue for the sky and then drew a yellow sun with a smiley face on it. Breathtakingly beautiful work of art or not, it certainly took my breath away for the sheer sentiment of the card.

"Wow, Guy," I said, smiling while trying desperately to hold back tears. "This makes my day. Thank you so much."

"Aw! It was nothing!" he dismissed almost bashfully, causing me to muster enough nerve to close the distance between us and hug him. I had to wrap my arms around his middle since this brute had shot up even more than Kakashi in the last year. But oddly enough, when he patted my back affectionately, the contact felt nice despite my tingly nerves. "You need to cheer up, all right?" he added, ruffling my hair as I pulled away. "It all works out, I know it! And guess what else? You are the most super epic, kind, compassionate, youthful, kick-ass, awesome ninja ever. No one cares more than you do!"

I sighed. Sometimes I think that's my problem.

"Hey!" he snapped, almost sounding frustrated this time. "No pouting, you! I just gave you the compliment of the century and meant it with my whole heart, so be happy already!" He pinched my cheeks playfully, turning my lips up so I had to smile. At that point, I couldn't help laughing even as I swatted his hands away.

"Okay, okay! Sorry, is this better?" I pulled back and gave him as huge a grin as I could muster.

In return, he gave me a thumbs-up. "Now, that's what I'm talkin' about! You look so much better when you're smiling. Hey, you know what we should do? Let's spar again and see who can keep up a grin the longest!"

It seemed like a pointless, ridiculous concept, but I put on my defensive stance and nodded in agreement nonetheless. "You're on."

After my morning training with Guy, which somehow despite everything managed to bring a genuine smile to my face, I spent the next few hours alone. Grams was at the flower shop for the day, although she promised to bake me a cake this evening. I had no missions because the Hokage still thought I needed more time to mentally recover from recent events. It really made me stop to think about how sorely I was lacking in the close friend department.

Normally, I probably would have spent my Birthday with Kakashi. But I didn't really feel like thinking about that.

Instead, I went to the bookstore and browsed for a while, even though in the end I didn't buy anything. I walked along the streets of town until past noontime, waving at the occasional passerby and listening to the sounds of the people and the birds. I half-considered going for ramen, but skipped it. While I originally planned on avoiding it today, I still ended up back at the memorial stone—the saddest spot in the village.

It was an unfortunate fact that all the people I actually wanted to talk to today were dead.

So I sat down in front of the stone with a short huff and smiled a little. "Hi, everyone," I murmured. "I guess—I don't really have much to say today."

Emptiness…

That's all it was—emptiness. Everything felt like a chore. There was not a single thing that caught my interest. Not even ice cream and my favorite book. What did that say about me? What did that say about my competence as a ninja of this village? I used to talk about knowing that there would be sacrifices in the Shinobi life, but I had no idea what I meant by it. I had no idea I would end up feeling so tired—so alone.

A soft voice brought me back to Earth. "Mind if I join?"

I looked up with start, immediately squinting from the power of the sun that invaded my eyes, then fixing them on the figure nearby. "Sure," I murmured, briefly observing the boy with nearly shoulder-length dark hair and a sag in his step. Well, I said "boy," but he was probably a little older than me. It was hard to tell. But I was fairly sure I must have seen him in the village before.

After I gave him my approval, he lowered himself into an indian-style position with a swift motion, slightly closer than I would have preferred, and stared straight at the memorial stone. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, only to notice that his expression was almost completely emotionless. His jaw was set just a bit, meaning there was something going on in his head, but otherwise he was unreadable from my position. I turned away for fear of being caught staring.

"D'you have people on here?" he asked.

Letting out a short breath, I said, "Don't we all?"

He nodded. "The dead have it easy. It's the rest of us who have to stay here and suffer." His voice was quiet, but there was nothing particularly connected about the words that made up his statement. I was taken unprepared by the bluntness of it and had to spend a few seconds in silence.

"Guess I never thought of it like that."

Looking at me with big, chocolatey brown eyes, he said, "Sorry, that wasn't appropriate, was it? People always tell me I'm too doom and gloom."

"Maybe honesty usually is," I said. "Still, I'd rather that than sticky sugar-coating. Not that I don't like sugar. It's one of my favorite things, but… well, you know what I mean."

The boy then leaned back on the palms of his hands, the tiniest smile gracing his lips. But it wasn't the kind of smile you get while trying to hold back a laugh. It was—something else. "I wasn't allowed to have sugary stuff as a kid. Well, that's not entirely true. My—my father made chocolate pie for my Birthday. But that was the only time."

"That sounds terrible."

"I didn't think much of it."

"I usually get a pie or strudel on my Birthday…" I muttered. "Actually, that's today so I suppose Grams has something in mind…"

"Your Birthday, today?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, Happy Birthday."

"Thanks."

He studied my face, a little too analytically for my comfort, with cold and lonely eyes. "Pardon the question, but isn't that meant to be a 'happy' occasion?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I just… I don't really want to talk about it." I'd hoped he would switch the topic after that, but instead he just nodded slightly and remained silence. But I hated silence around strangers. "What's your name?" I asked.

It was a simple enough question, I thought, but he took about a second longer to answer than I expected. "Touya," he said. "And you?"

"I'm Kana—Kanata."

Touya smiled this time, showing his teeth. "Nice to meet you." He reached out a gloved hand, which I took willingly, but instead of shaking it he surprised me by raising it to his mouth and briefly kissing my knuckles. No one had ever given me that treatment before.

I laughed nervously as I pulled my hand away, and he blinked at me with curiosity. "Was that—too forward or something?"

Naturally, him questioning it made me even more nervous and I shook my head vigorously. "No, it… I was just surprised."

"Hm…" he murmured. "Maybe I'm old-fashioned, after all."

With a short laugh, I said, "I take it this isn't your first time hearing that."

"Now and again. I meant it respectfully."

"I know," I said with a smile. "I appreciate it." Then, tilting my head toward him, I asked, "Have we met somewhere before?"

He eyed me closely in return, looking at me from top to bottom before answering. Then he gave me a one-shouldered shrug and said, "I don't know. Small village. I think I'd probably remember meeting you."

"Why's that?"

"You are quite—delightfully awkward."

"I'm not sure I've ever heard those two words used in the same sentence," I said with a laugh. I wasn't even sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.

"I think it describes you well," he murmured. "And it's a pretty distinguishing feature at that. Although, never been much of a people person so… what do I know?"

He then cleared his throat and cast his eyes down. "Anyway… I should get going." Then, rising to his feet in a swift motion she could barely register, he added, "I suggest you do the same. I don't do Birthdays much these days, but I think sitting in a field next to the big rock commemorating the dead probably isn't the ideal way to celebrate."

I pressed my lips into a thin line. "Right."

"Bye, Kanata."

"Bye, Touya."

Then he was gone, and I was left alone again. But still having thought of nothing to say to my friends, after a few moments I decided to take heed of Touya's advice. I'd find something to do, someone to spend my time with. He was right, however strange he seemed. I shouldn't spend the whole day alone. Letting myself shut down in the face of my problems wasn't the answer.

I got a little something to eat, then stopped by the library to do some reading (although I didn't end up reading much due to lack of conversation), and later met up with Shizune during her afternoon break from working. Much to my surprise, she was waiting for me with a gift. A new journal, in fact. Which was fine by me, as fast as I went through them.

"I'm sure this one will last you at least a few months," she said. "And look, it's even sectioned."

"Thanks, it's fantastic."

"That doesn't sound like excitement," Shizune said with a slight pout on her face. "I—I mean, I know it isn't great, but I thought—"

"No, no, it's fine," I interrupted. "I like it, really. Sorry, I'm just a little tired. But I really, really like it. I like having a place to doodle and write stuff down."

Shizune grinned and wrapped her hand around mine while we walked. "You're so good. Too good."

"Gee, thanks."

"Really. You are. You're so good that I know I won't even have to ask you to invite me over for pie with you and your Grams this evening."

I couldn't help my lips curling up into a tiny smirk as I pulled my hand away from hers. Passive aggressive much, Shizune? With a sigh, I made a mock half-hearted request: "Shizune, would you like to join Grams and me for pie this evening?"

Shizune's eyes lit up and she skipped a step. "I thought you'd never ask. You know how much I love her food."

With a laugh, I tossed my arm over my shoulder, letting my new book dangle behind me. Shizune's enthusiasm put a bit of an extra spring in my step today. "I'm sure she won't mind. She's always glad to feed anyone I bring over, and it is my Birthday, after all."

"Oh, so you finally acknowledge it! That's a step in the right direction. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone frown so much on their Birthday. You're gonna get premature wrinkles that way."

"Actually, you get wrinkles by smiling, too," I remarked.

"Well, at least those are a sign of life and happiness. Sorry, I shouldn't bug you about it. You're probably sick of hearing, 'be happy' speeches by now."

I shrugged. "I'm getting used to it."

"I wish I wasn't going away with Lady Tsunade again so I could stay here and keep an eye on you," she replied, her tone dulling down a few notches. But I certainly wasn't having her feeling guilty about leaving me to make herself better. That wasn't an option.

"I'll be just fine," I said, stretching my back out. "You gotta do what you gotta do. You have your own life. No reason to feel sorry about that."

"Maybe I could convince her to take you with us," Shizune said. "She likes you, you know. I bet she would."

I glanced over to peer into her eyes, hopeful even though she knew what my answer would be. "You and I both know Lady Tsunade's not that easy to sway. And anyway, I don't think I could leave even if I wanted to. I feel like—like I'm needed here. Even if this world is crazy and unpredictable and—lonely, I at least have that to hold onto." That and the fact that Lord Hokage would never let me travel that far from the village.

"But I do hope you'll at least stay in touch," I told her. "Write me now and then?"

Shizune smiled. "You bet I will." Then, all of the sudden something caught her attention and her face drooped. Somehow it seemed like the air got colder. "What's up with them?"

I turned to regard whatever puzzled her, only to see a man and woman in Anbu uniform approaching us. Like average people on the street. What the heck?

Shizune and I slowed down, realizing that they were aiming their attention toward us. I felt the tension in her muscles spike, despite being positioned several inches away from her. "Just act normal," I murmured, taking a deep breath. Of course, my nerves were tingling as well. It was never a good day to be approached directly by the Anbu Black Ops.

"Hello," Shizune said politely as they stopped in front of us. "Is everything all right?"

"Actually, this concerns Miss Kanata Fujibayashi," the woman said nodding toward me. "We hope you'll cooperate without causing a fuss. You're being arrested under suspicion of the attacking of a fellow ninja of the Leaf."

"This is ridiculous. Why would I hurt anyone?"

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us, Miss Fujibayashi."

We sat in an interrogation a room, a place I'd never visited and never dreamed I'd have to under these circumstances. The man across from me kept a stoic expression, while I was so bewildered I could hardly believe let alone comprehend what was going on. So much for my Birthday.

"I can't be here," I said quietly. "My grandmother—she'll be—"

"She's fine," the man said. "She'll be notified. But I need you to cooperate with me, all right? That's the only way you might have a chance of getting out of here."

I sighed. All right—this was yet another test of my strength of will and self control. Obviously I didn't do anything wrong, so as long as I did as I was told and stuck to the truth, this would be over in no time. Right? Oh Lord, I hoped so.

"Okay," I said begrudgingly, folding my arms in my chair.

The man nodded and continued. "Today at 1:30 p.m., a Shinobi named Rintarou Amano was attacked down in the crop fields about 3 kilometers from here. Did you have anything to do with that?"

"No, I didn't," I replied.

"Unfortunately, our sources tell a different story," he said, clearing his throat. "He and one other witness in the vicinity claim it was you. The ninja said you, unprovoked, lashed out at him and then knocked him out. When he came to us he had a bruise on the back of his head and cold damage to the skin. Sounds a lot like what you can do."

"Sounds sloppy to me," I said.

His eyes narrowed. "Well, I would be inclined to agree, Miss Fujibayashi. Nevertheless, there's only one ninja in this village who uses ice as an attack. And two people claimed to have seen your face. What say you to that?"

It didn't make any sense. He was right—no one else had my style of attack, and if they claimed to have seen me… they were either lying, or someone was impersonating my appearance. But why? What purpose would it serve anyone to get me in trouble? I dreaded to think.

"I don't know, sir," I said. "It—it wasn't me. I'm sorry he was attacked, but—"

"I'm aware you've been under a lot of stress recently, Miss Fujibayashi," the man said seriously. "Between losing your team members and the Fourth—"

"That has nothing to do with this!" I snapped, causing him to tense and place his hands defensively on the table between us. Catching myself, I took in a large but slightly shaky breath and said, "I would never take out my problems on someone else like that, so please don't—please don't bring it up again."

Having observed that I calmed down again, he briefly acknowledged my reply and then asked, "Where were you at 1:30 today?"

I looked away, trying not to fidget in my seat. Look confident… confidence inspires trust. "I—I was out sitting by the memorial stone. I go there almost every day." Yeah… failed the confidence part miserably.

"You were alone?"

"Well—not the whole time," I muttered, thinking back to the boy who'd sat and talked with me. "Someone else came by."

"Who was it?"

A few seconds of hesitation past. The man's eyebrows furrowed. "If you tell me, then maybe I can find you a proper alibi."

"I—I don't really know who he was. I'd never met him. He said—he said his name was Touya. Kinda tall, dark hair… I don't remember that much else about him."

He nodded. "All right… well, now we have somewhere to start."

Except that the team that brought me in couldn't find anyone named Touya with that description currently in the village. The person I was most likely talking about, according to records, apparently went off on assignment two days ago. Meaning I couldn't offer proof or witness of a darn thing. It just kept getting better and better as the evening wore on.

"I didn't do this," I said, holding my hands together to keep them from getting too cold. "I can't even think of—there's no reason. I don't even know him."

"I'm sorry, Miss Fujibayashi," the man said. "Whether your claims of innocence are true or not, we're going to do everything in our power to find out what happened. Until then, you'll have to stay in our custody."

I looked up at him with a glare. "Guilty until proven innocent, I see."

The man stood up and placed his palms on the table, glaring at me with just as much intensity. "I hope you realize how serious this is. This would be one thing for your average ninja, but for one of your abilities and lineage, we cannot afford to make mistakes. Meaning you may not like this, but frankly neither do we, and for now we're just going to have to deal with it. You understand?"

With gritted teeth, I said, "Yes."

Both of us were torn out of our only half-civil conversation by voices outside the locked door. By the look of genuine interest on the face of the man at my table, it was clear that he wasn't expecting anyone. The voices were muffled, but I could make out a quiet yet stern, "There's an interrogation in session—you can't be here."

And then, a statement made by a voice I recognized: "I want to see her. Now."

My head perked up immediately.

Kakashi.