On the fifth hour, of a rainy day, of the eleventh month, Michiko's eyes landed on a baby painted with spirals of ice. Surrounding the child was dozens of other infants, frozen and no longer breathing. As the child cried and with every exhale, a frosty mist came out of her mouth. Only an umbrella protected her small body. The shinobis that previously had these children under their care were knocked out by Michiko and her comrades. As the air grew colder when Michiko approached the child, Michiko felt herself begin to shudder. But the baby's eyes brightened up when she saw Michiko made the female shinobi see the child as more than a test subject.
"It's a sad but not an unusual lifestyle for a child to suffer so. But fortunately we should be able to collect samples from the child-" A man approached Michiko from behind but immediately, the woman kneed her comrade hard in the stomach. He reeled back and clutched his stomach, looking at her with confusion, disbelief, and anger. "What was that for, you wh-"
"I'm not giving up on this child. She's more than a sample. She was born to be an experiment but I will raise her to be a human. " As the baby's chakra flowed out of her like water, Michiko took out her earrings and began to chant while making hand signals. They were shaped as crosses and gave a silver shine. She then grabbed the baby's purple hand and forced her to clutch the earring.
"Seal!" Michiko winced as pain from the extreme coldness of the infant's hand bit into her own. She watched the blood from her open wound on her palm drip into the earrings, and then the ice covering the baby got drawn into the earrings until both earrings turned red. Then Michiko sighed in relief as the baby warmed up slightly, still icy to the touch, but warm enough that it wasn't turning baby then fell asleep and rested in Michiko's arms. Michiko smiled softly, for the first time anyone had seen her done so in years as she leaned forward and kissed the girl's forehead. Her ice coloured hair touched the girl's now rosy cheek.
"She's safe," Michiko pierced one earring into the baby's left ear and then placed the other in the back of her own ear. Soon enough, both earrings flashed before the cross returned to their silver glow. Michiko glanced down at the girl's hand which remained purple and ice cold. She narrowed her eyes as she finished off her sentence: "At least for now."
"I pick a peck of pickled peppers but Peter Piper p-" A girl with long hair braided bit her own tongue after her mother slapped the girl's head with two lunch bags. "What did you do that for, you old hag?" A woman in her late twenties smiled menacingly at the girl, before passing the second bagged lunch to Sasuke who was waiting by the doorway. He had stopped by the pair's house to wait for Aria and then head to the school together. It had become a daily routine that not only would he be walking with the girl, but also witness a comedic act at the doorway early in the morning.
"It's because you're not even saying the proper tongue twister." Sasuke responded. He wasn't fazed by her stupidity in the slightest anymore. As classmates and friends, he had reluctantly accepted the fact that he was acquainted with a not so bright kunoichi.
As the adult nodded in agreement, she rubbed her temples in an attempt to calm herself down. The woman, also known as Michiko Akimoto, was alway triggered by any word related to old age. Although kind hearted and a brilliant Jounin kunoichi, she was incredibly sensitive about age and appearance, something a shinobi doesn't have the liberty and time to care about. "I'm still young and beautiful. If you don't shut your fat mouth I'll just kick you out of the house with no food and Sasuke won't share his with you either."
Aria crossed her arms defiantly as she sharply turned her head towards the Uchiha boy, waiting for his response and support. Unfortunately for her, the boy didn't offer any aid and simply stood by the side of her mother. "I won't Michiko-san. Idiots like Aria won't starve to death by skipping a meal or two." A look of disbelief and "well fuck you too" crossed Aria's face as she flipped her middle finger at him. "Well, I'll shut my big fat mouth Mi-san." She stormed out of the house, snatching her lunch and umbrella while muttering curses under her breath. Michiko smiled triumphantly and waved goodbye while Sasuke nodded goodbye and followed the green eyed she-devil.
"Don't you think you're being too childish?" Sasuke asked Aria. Aria twirled the umbrella in her hand around and smiled instead. She answered with a question instead. "If I don't act like a child now, when will I ever get the chance when I grow up? I'll eventually have to act mature and carry all the dull responsibilities. Might as well enjoy what I can now."
"Hn." He acknowledged her answer, but his lack of a solid reply signalled to Aria that he wasn't completely on the same page as she was. She didn't blame him. He was an avenger and although Michiko acts as a guardian, it was only on paper. He refused to be adopted, to move in, and to accept full support from her. Although he was thankful that Michiko was willing to watch out for him, he preferred to be independent. Aria remembered he mentioned something along the lines of being at risk of softening his will.
"Anyways, aren't you slightly nervous about the orientation? What if I get stuck with incompatible people?" Aria shuddered, changing the topic. The idea of being stuck with someone that she had zero tolerance towards was very suffocating. Surprisingly, Aria cared a lot about the people around her. Not necessarily affectionately but she paid a lot of attention to them. She valued the relationships with others and especially those she could click with. On the contrary, Sasuke preferred to keep to himself and he favoured those who won't drag him down. Although he doesn't admit it, Aria thinks that he also craves amicable human interaction.
"Do you have a blacklist or something?" Sasuke arched his eyebrows, slightly curious if the easygoing girl actually had people she hated spending time with. Aria squinted her eyes in silence, a habit she does everytime she thinks. "Uh. I don't think so? But I'm worried that once I spend a day with them, I find all of their pet peeves and it turns out that they're little assholes. What about you?"
"I could care less, as long as they don't drag me down."
"Of course you would say that. Your ego enables you to say such snobby things." Aria rolled her eyes, not even surprised at his answer. "I wouldn't say that if I had the same marks as you." Sasuke commented, smirking.
"Lil' shit." Aria picked her nose and attempted to wipe it onto his shirt, attempting to soothe her angered soul while being incapable of winning the argument. The look of disgust emerged on Sasuke's face as he dodged and grabbed her arms, trying very hard to push them back. After a short while, when he saw the fighting spirit in Aria disappear due to boredom, he let go and shook his hand.
"Your arms are still as cold as ice." He grunted. His hands continued to sting from the iciness and Aria gestured for him to stick his hands underneath his armpits to warm his hands up. Reluctantly, he did as she instructed. He then glanced at her gloves and then her umbrella. Aria Akimoto was a strange one. Ever since he first met her, she was always holding an umbrella and hypersensitive to the sun. Not to mention, her skin was always extremely cold, not a normal body temperature for any animal. He and the Akimotos had agreed on comparing her to an ice cube.
"I guess that's how I avoid getting kidnapped." Aria shrugged as the Academy came into view. Although some argue that they had unpleasant memories in the Academy, Aria quite enjoyed her time there. She would spend most of her time with Sasuke, Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji, Ino, Raiji, and Sakura. In addition, she had played numerous games with the boys who disliked the idea of a girl joining them at first, but just got used to her presence. Sasuke often complained that they weren't leaving the Academy fast enough but Aria would respond with a shrug and an empathetic pat on the shoulder. As they entered the classroom, Aria placed herself behind him, so she didn't find herself as an unwilling participant in the battle of females. She grinned when she saw Shikamaru next to her and greeted him.
"Shikamaru, you're looking as dead as always."
"How bothersome." The boy rolled his eyes before they exchanged fist bumps. People continued to file in and Aria rocked in her seat back and forth anticipatingly. Soon enough, a horde of females led by Ino and Sakura, began to fight for the position next to Sasuke. Naruto stumbled forward and climbed onto the table in front of Sasuke, glowering at the Uchiha survivor. Aria tilted her head, watching the tension silently grow between the pair before he suddenly fell forward and kissed Sasuke.
"Oh~" Aria exclaimed in surprise, not bothering to hide her laughter. She slammed her hands against the table and whistled: "Isn't that your first kiss? Naruto, Sasuke?" The girls all looked at her in shock before turning towards the pair and approached Naruto in hostility. "Naruto…."
"It wasn't my fault! I swear it wasn't on purpose, I wouldn't want to kiss a guy like him anyways!" As the girls knocked him out, Iruka stepped into the classroom, tapping the edge of his table to gather their attention. "Okay kiddos, settle down. As you already know, today is orientation day. I will be dividing all of your into groups of three and you will be studying under a Jounin. Understood?" He looked around the class, people beginning to sit down and Sakura winning the seat next to Sasuke. Frustrated, Ino sat next to Aria and tapped her desk. "Let's see who's going to be on Sasuke's team…"
"Now then, I'll be announcing the groups. First off we have…." Iruka began to list the groups. When it was finally Aria's turn, the girl stopped twirling the end of her braid and swallowed nervously.
"Team 6 we have Aria Akimoto, Fuukuri Ichi, and Raiji Hogosha."
"..."Aria glanced over at her new team members. Raiji returned her dazed look and Fuukuri looked disinterested as always. Aria sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Great. We have a sadist and a drama king." Shikamaru shrugged in response before jabbing a finger at Ino. "At least you're not stuck with Ino and Choji. We're basically a second version of our parents."
"That's my line! I wanted to be with Sasuke...ugh." Ino buried her head in her hands. Aria crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair contemplating the situation. As the students were sent off for lunch Aria pulled out her bagged lunch and her umbrella. Sasuke walked up to her table and waited silently for her to leave her seat.
"What? You're not going to eat with your team?" She asked. Sasuke glanced in Naruto's direction before his face turned pale. Understanding, Aria quickly greeted Fuukuri and Raiji. "Sorry guys, Mr Emo is too shy to eat with his new boyfriend so I have to babysit him."
"Aria!" Sasuke hissed, obviously not enjoying her joke. Fuukuri smiled and responded sweetly: "I understand. A first kiss is a big deal." Raiji crossed his arms, nodding in agreement. "That's okay. Go."
"My….I can tell we will get along!" Aria blew a kiss in their direction as Sasuke pulled her away, his face turning red in embarrassment. "You little brat. What did you mean you were too anxious for orientation? You seemed to hit it off with your new teammates right away."
"It's no surprise. Raiji and I hung out before with the other guys. Fuukuri is very easy going. But of course, I didn't get along with them as well as you and Naruto did."
"Quit it." He groaned as they found an empty classroom to eat in. He unwrapped his onigiri by the window while Aria sat down against the wall. "But I think it'd be interesting. Your group I mean. All jokes aside, you and Naruto would probably get along pretty well."
"Huh?"
"You sympathize with him to a certain level don't you? You both grew up alone. Like you said, it's only on paper that Michiko is your guardian. But you refuse any help and support from her and you live by yourself. Other than the occasional meals you accept."
"Hmph."
"Don't act all snooty. It's because you're like that you don't have any friends. Other than me of course because I'm a gentle and caring soul."
"Ha! You, gentle? If you're gentle and caring, there would be no such thing as war in this world."
"Hey. I'll seriously turn you into an ice cube." Aria threw her wrapper at him. Sasuke caught it with his free hand and tossed it back, easily into her bag. Suddenly, Naruto flew through the window, knocking Sasuke back. Aria's green eyes widened in shock before she opened the window, climbing out.
"I'll give you guys some alone time."
"Oi, Aria!" Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance as he kicked Naruto back.
The girl propped up her window and skipped along the roof, where Ino called her out. "Hey, Aria? What happened there? Is Sasuke okay?"
"Uhh. He'll probably be okay."
"You're right. No way Sasuke would lose to Naruto." Ino nodded, reassuring herself. Aria smiled to herself and enjoyed the rest of lunch by watching clouds with an umbrella shielding her from the sun.