Sigh.

Tora laid her head down on the smooth wood of her academy desk. As her instructor droned on and on about the history of chakra, she couldn't help but zone out. It was so hot inside the Academy, so she could only imagine how it felt outside. The only thing she could hope at this point was that Sensei would let them out early, because now was as good a time as any to take a nap.

It seemed like the teacher was reading her mind; well, either that or he was tired of wiping the sweat off his brow one too many times. Once he dismissed their class and left the room, Tora sat up and stretched. On the other side of the room, she could hear a bit of commotion. Darn it, she was too slow today. Turning her head, she watched as a couple females crowded around Itachi Uchiha, the top of their class and a member of one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha, and literally followed him out the door. Sheesh, the least they could do was fan him since they were radiating all that heat around him.

As she watched him leave, she let out a small regretful sigh. As much as she wanted to give him his personal space since it was so hot outside, she also wanted to be in that crowd in hopes that he noticed her. After all, he was the one who comforted her when she needed a friend; but the question was, did he remember that? Lost in her thoughts about the pretty Uchiha, she didn't realize that her best friend had come up behind her until one of her pigtails was yanked. Frightened, Tora jumped out of her seat and landed on the desk on her hands and feet, baring her sharp canines at the perpetrator.

"Are you ready to go now?" Hana Inuzuka was standing by the desk, smiling guiltlessly. She brushed her short, brown hair out of her face as the ends stuck to her damp neck. How she was still wearing that heavy orange coat in this heat, Tora just couldn't understand. "I've been calling your name for the past five minutes. Let's go to my house and eat popsicles."

Tora closed her mouth and pouted for a moment before getting off the desk. "So you pulled my hair? Hana Inuzuka is a bully." She teased her friend with a smile as she skipped out the room with Hana at her heels.

"Am not! You know, you should really pay attention more. You had your head down most of class." The Inuzuka mentioned as they left the Academy building.

Tora groaned, already annoyed with the conversation. Hana loved to study, whereas she liked doing things that were actually interesting. Listening to a lecture on the history of chakra for the fifth time in a row was not on her list of interests. "I'm trying to figure out how you can pay attention!" She leaned closer to the female and lowered her voice, as if someone around them was actually paying attention to their conversation. "You sit right next to the Itachi Uchiha. How are you not melting in his presence?"

Hana blushed, looking away from the female. "Well, um…" When her cheeks were almost as red as the Inuzuka clan markings on her cheeks, she pushed Tora away and took off running to her house, yelling. "Fine! Don't come over!" Tora laughed and followed after her, chasing her through the streets of Konoha.

•─────⋅ ⋅─────•

Hana and Tora sat on the front steps of the Inuzuka household, each eating a semi-melted popsicle and trying their hardest not to let the sticky juices get all over their hands. Hana opted for a sweet strawberry popsicle, whereas Tora bit into a sour lemon one. There was laughter coming from inside the house, no doubt from their mothers as the two women had become very close friends over the years.

"They'll wake Kiba-kun if they laugh any louder." Tora commented as she ate another bite of her popsicle, causing Hana to giggle. The said baby was supposedly fast asleep in his crib on the second floor of the home. Since they didn't hear any crying, they assumed he was still asleep.

The Inuzuka turned to her friend as she finished off her popsicle. "How come you get the same popsicle flavor every time you come over to my house? Are lemons your favorite food?"

Tora smiled at her friend. "You know what my favorite food is - beef kushiyaki. Especially when your mom makes it!" She ate the last bite of her popsicle and licked the stick clean. "I usually get the lemon ones cause I can't taste anything sweet. It ends up tasting like sandpaper, so I'd rather eat the sour ones since they taste like something."

"Ah…" Hana nodded in understanding.

"Brats! Get in here!" The head of the Inuzuka clan called. The two girls exchanged glances of curiosity before heading into the house before she could call them again. Inside the house, Hana's mother, Tsume, and Tora's mother, Jaga, sat at the kitchen table. Tsume's companion, Kuromaru, laid down beside Tsume's chair, resting.

Tsume Inuzuka and Jaga Dakuo were the definition of polar opposites. The Inuzuka was a loud, short-tempered woman with unkempt, dark brown hair, intimidating eyes, and a strong sense of empowerment. Jaga, however, was a sweet-tempered, graceful woman with neat, shoulder-length charcoal gray hair and warm, amber eyes. Despite their appearances and outward demeanors, the two tokubetsu jonin were quite a team and often shocked their fellow Konoha shinobi with how well they worked together. Even in the midst of Tsume's attitudes, Jaga knew how to handle the Inuzuka and maintain their close friendship.

Tsume eyed the two girls with a wild smile. "Ah, I never thought I'd see the day when cats and dogs came together. How are your studies going?"

"They're going well. They let us out early because it was so hot." Hana answered with a smile. "Tora was busy taking cat naps during class."

"Hey!" Tora fumed, glaring at Hana for having such a big mouth. "I do pretty good in school regardless! I'm still passing!"

Tsume smirked. "Just passing? Neglecting your studies, are you?" Although she was smiling, her demeanor spoke otherwise and sent chills down Tora's body. The poor child swallowed whatever saliva was left over from her progressively drying mouth and faced the Inuzuka head.

"N-no, ma'am!"

Jaga covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. "Don't be like that, Tsume. They're just being kids." The female waved her daughter over and gave the child a hug, saving her from the Inuzuka's wrath.

"You're always being a pacifist." Tsume rolled her eyes. A loud cry sounded from upstairs, signaling that Kiba was now awake. Hana immediately went upstairs to see about her little brother and Tora slipped out of her mother's grasp, following behind her best friend.

The rest of the night was spent in laughter as the two Dakuo members stayed for dinner. Not too long after a little down time from eating, Hana was asleep, sprawled across the couch with a sleeping Kiba on her chest. Tora was sitting up against the couch on the floor in the same state. Tsume and Jaga took a look at the kids before looking at each other and laughing.

•─────⋅ ⋅─────•

"Alright class, we're going to go ahead and split off into our separate sections. The boys will go out to the practice field and the girls will stay here in the classroom."

Tora laid her head in her arms and watched out of one eye as the boys got up, leaving the classroom. Sensei had stopped Itachi and held him back from the line. Once all the boys were gone, Itachi followed Sensei out the door, heading in the opposite direction as everyone else. Curious, she wanted to leave the classroom and follow them, however the next Sensei appeared, stopping her plans at the root.

"Who's ready to learn the art of ikebana?" The new sensei smiled. "I want everyone to move seats so you can get to know each other. After all, kunoichi have to stick together, am I right? I already have the new seating chart so you don't have to worry about sitting with friends!"

Collective groans were all that could be heard in the room as new seats were announced. Tora was chosen to sit in the seat that had originally belonged to Itachi Uchiha, much to her pleasure. Planting her butt in the seat, she relished in the feeling of being one step closer to her crush and ignored the ominous glares from the other females in the room. Hana smiled at her best friend as she was moved to the seat behind Tora, which actually wasn't too bad. The seat beside Tora was empty, which was fine by her, until a female sat down in the vacancy. Her long brown hair was secured in a ponytail.

"Hi, I'm Izumi Uchiha. I hope we can work well together." The girl smiled at her. Tora looked at the girl, her eyes widening slightly when she mentioned the name Uchiha. There was another Uchiha in her class? Her attention had been so focused on Itachi, she hadn't seemed to notice it before.

"Yeah, sure. I'm Tora Dakuo." Tora responded. It didn't matter to her whether this Izumi girl was a Uchiha or not, because at the end of the day, there were a lot of Uchihas in Konohagakure so chances were that they probably weren't close. Also, she never saw the two hang out before so she still had a chance. Turning her head, she laid it back down in her arms and looked out the window. As the new Sensei spoke, she wondered what Itachi was doing.

"Itachi-chan is taking his graduation test." A voice whispered. Tora immediately turned her head to the source of it - the girl next to her. Was she wondering out loud like an idiot? Wait… Itachi-chan?

Tora frowned as the girl looked back at her innocently, as if the information was common knowledge. Before she could question the female's validity, their Sensei had interrupted their conversation and grabbed a hold of the students' attention to the flowers that appeared in the front of the classroom.

Once school was over, the students began leaving out the classroom, ready to go home. Hana was about to do the same when Tora grabbed her arm and told her to hush. The brunette furrowed her brows, but followed her friend's lead anyway. Tora motioned for her to come along and began moving. The target of her eye was her seatmate for kunoichi lessons - Izumi Uchiha. While the female walked through the streets of Konoha, Tora made sure to keep her distance behind the unsuspecting girl as she followed, dragging poor Hana behind her.

After a while, Tora and Hana ended up in a tree, looking down at Izumi and Itachi sitting together by the lakeside. The two looked close, even going as far as sharing dango. Tora tried to listen in on their conversation, but she could only pick up bits and pieces, whereas Hana was completely lost.

"They look pretty close, don't you think?" Hana asked as she sat down, her feet dangling off the branch of the tree. Tora's heart sank out of her chest as she crouched down next to her friend, holding onto the branch with her hands. She didn't respond as she continued watching the two. Itachi had his hitai-ate, signifying that he had graduated only a year into the Academy and by the looks of it, he had a girlfriend too. How did she not see this? Did she miss the signs? Who was this Izumi girl?

"-ra? Earth to Tora?"

The female blinked as she noticed Hana's hand waving in front of her face. Turning her head, she faced her best friend. "Sorry. I spaced out." Tora responded sheepishly. When she glanced back, Itachi was leaving with some boy, possibly his new teammate and Izumi was waving him off with a smile.

"Wanna go to my house and eat popsicles?" Hana smiled at her.

Tora tilted her head in thought before smiling. "Yeah, I'll take a lemon one." The six year old waited for Izumi to leave before jumping down from the tree and landing on all fours. She stood and waited for Hana to follow. After a few moments, she looked around confused. Where did her best friend go? Looking up at the tree, she noticed Hana hugging the trunk, still seated on the branch. "What's wrong, Hana?"

"...I don't know how to get down."