Out of breath, the girl navigated between the different colored stands of the main street. The various smells of spice and fruits engulfed her nose even as little red threads of hair stuck to her face. The sun was warm against her back, tanning her skin as she tried to run faster. She needed to be quicker if she wanted to lose them! She looked back at the yelling boy, his hair almost burned off from her explosive seal.

Her laughter run through the air as she saluted the different merchants, ignoring the yells of her name behind her.

"MI-"

Pain exploded at her side as Ushio was thrown back in the mud. Her vision blurred as the pain resonated and malevolent laughs resonated around her.

"Get her Goro !"

She tried to stand up even as the ground was slippery and her body seemed so weak. The redhead glared back at her opponent as he spat at her feet.

"What are you going to do, tomato ?"

Crying out she run, her fist closed as she tried to touch him but Goro was bigger and older than her. A six-year-old wasn't worth much in a taijutsu spar against children twice her age but their sensei stood back, his eyes cold.

Ushio had been advanced for a reason after all and if she couldn't keep up then there wasn't any reason to keep her at all. Never mind her "prodigious" tendency the graduating exam was in a few weeks, getting rid of her now assured a better chance later.

As she tried to absorb the shock of his kick into her stomach, she grabbed his leg to make him lose his standing. As he fell, she run to him her mouth on his neck and her blunt teeth into his skin. Her little body pressed against him to keep him down, her nails scratching the skin of his arms. His body resisted as she hardened her grip, blood filling her mouth. After a few seconds of no resistance, the boy's body shaking slightly as he tried to hide his sorb, she slowly went back to her feet. Ushio could feel the salt on her lips.

"You never leave a comrade bruised without the seal, Ushio."

She spat on the ground even as she saw his hand going to his throat. She smirked.

"There is no pride in a fallen comrade."

The smile left her red lips and with an annoyed huff, she crouched to the older boy, her hand out to help, middle and index finger forming the seal of reconciliation.

Her body was pulled forward as a closed fist met her jaw.

Ushio was thrown back, body unable to get up a final time.

XxX

Ushio was born and raised in Kiri. As such she knew how to navigate the sea of merchants, tourist always presents in the streets. Knew with which kids she could play with, and which one was better left alone, teeth too sharp in their smile. Kira was colorful too, she thought. Of course, the everlasting mist bathed the city in a sad grey, but the road was always full, an ocean of colorful hair, from the white snow to the softest blue with an array of colored skin. Even with her plum-colored hair and purple dot, Ushio liked to think that she blended easily.

"Hey, Tomato-chan !"

Or not so much. Her face reddening in aggravation the redheaded continued on her way refusing to turn. She knew he will follow.

"What do you want?"

Her voice tried to stay hard and cold, but her annoyance was more than clear. A nasty rictus was her only answer. Huffing she stomped her feet as she finally turned. Pupils less eyes glared at the taller boy; with his height, he could easily keep up with the others of their class even if they were almost the same age. He may be tall but he is as skinny as me! She thought but didn't go on her usual rant, she had enough for the day. Her head hurt and her eye was already swelling up, she just wanted to go home. And yet her eye caught the way he tried to keep his mouth shut, lips closely glued together and yet the corner were going up, trying to contain a smile. She gaped, dark eyes widening.

"No way…" she murmured.

Only then did Zabuza's lip split into a grin, bright newly serrated teeth in full display. The sight left a bad taste in her mouth as she willed a smile on her lips. More than a simple weapon showing the devotion to the shinobi path, it also symbolized the union between the civilian born and the various clans's naturally sharp teeth. Cutting its teeth was a mark of great talent in Kiri and usually allowed once a student found a master.

As usual, Zabuza was smug of his achievement, his little dark eyes almost maniac in their glee. It was no simple chunin or jonin, Ushio knew the orphan to be too ambitious and more than happy to use his weapons to pave his way. Who could have taken in the little terror?

"Who?" She didn't have time to play his game, her mother was surely waiting for her. Being late for her stupid writing exercise and etiquette practice was never a good idea, no matter how much she hated it. Rolling her eyes, she concentrated again.

" Jûzô Biwa."

"No way !"

Stomping her feet as she turned around, the redhead started her usual rant ignoring the smug boy on her right following her.

"One of the Seven ! You ! You mad dog! I can't believe this!" fist clenched only the multiple bruises adorning her body stopped from lashing out. Zabuza never pulled his punches, and "friendly spar" was not part of his vocabulary. " I-It's so unfair! I work my ass off too, I got more chakra! Why not me?"

Zabuza rolled his eyes but did not comment on it. They had known each other long enough to develop a friendship but they also understood the ambitiousness of the other. Growing up in the refugee district was no easy life and they had learned early on that if they ever wanted to leave it, they better make themselves important. In Kiri, only the strong can survive, the graduation exam was just one of the more obtuse ways to assure that.

Kiri was one of the last countries still refusing to join the war and as such has become a true beacon of hope for refugees around the elemental countries, but it wasn't an easy life. The compulsory enrollment of the foreign children assured that only the best of those newcomers will stay but also helped stop overpopulation.

"You should talk to the grandma." Muttered Zabuza, interrupting her rant.

Ushio huffed, kicking a pebble on the street.

"As if. She would prefer eating Witane-san's soup than to let me sharpen my teeth. You know how she is."

Her mother was well known in the neighborhood for being a stuck-up, one of those that refused to fit in. Watching the pebble ricochet, it slowed down a few feet away, at the feet of an old man. Nodding mindlessly at Zabuza's response, Ushio frowned. The refugee district was small and formed a tight-knit community because of it, everyone knew each other, and it was rare to see strangers wander around. And yet two men stood into the street, passing them without a single glance. Brown eyes and hair. Eyebrows a little too long, almost not fitting in the older man's face.

Against herself, she giggled and tried to capture Zabuza's attention. The boy on the other hand seemed focused on something, a frown marring his face.

" Ushio, you should go."

Following his gaze, she saw her own house. She sighed; her mother was surely waiting on the other side ready to punish her once again. Mood souring, she bid Zabuza's goodbye, if her mother saw her with him, she would surely get stuck in seal exercises for two weeks. His new teeth surely ending up in one long rant that she wasn't in the mood to withstand.

Dreading the yells, Ushio tried to enter quietly even if her mother surely already sensed her chakra. Eyes closed in preparation she was surprised when utter silence met her. Where was she?

At almost sixty-three years old it was rare for her mom to go out and she was more than happy to stay at her house; far from Kiri's fishes, she would say. Paper covered every wall, her mother's masterpieces, but Ushio was shocked to find stack and stack of paper littering the ground, various unknown seals painted on them.

She walked down the corridor, kunai in hand.

Ushio was born and raised in Kiri. As such, she knew its tradition and its people. So, when she saw her mother's body, her blood sipping into the sealing papers around her, her head nowhere to be found, she knew what it meant.

Traitor.