Miyako was excited. It's been just under two years since she started at the academy and, along with everyone else in her class, she was given the chance to try and graduate early. The exams were two days ago, and only Miyako, Takeo, and Hisoka passed the exam. Of course, Miyako and Gina had cried when they heard the news, both complaining about being separated, but made promises to hang out when they can.
Miyako had turned seven on the day of the exam, and Takeo and Hisoka were both going to be ten by the end of the year along with Gina. She and her friends (Takeo and Hisoka) hope they'll be placed together. Takeo thought it was bound to happen (what with all three being the youngest in the graduating group and already knowing each other and their moves he figured that the placement of them on a team was beyond obvious).
They were in the classroom with the other graduates, most were twelve or thirteen, but there were some who were eleven and one who was fourteen and had to be kept down in previous years. No one paid any mind to others outside of those that they knew, so when Miyako, Takeo, and Hisoka arrived in the designated orientation room they decided to sit together near the front of the room, closest to the doors.
"Do you think we'll be placed together?" Hisoka questioned his friends making Miyako smile at her best friend.
"I don't see why not. Like what Takeo said previously, we're friends and have been in the same class for most of our schooling. We already work well together, they'd be silly not to let us be a team," Miyako explained.
"I hope we get to be together. I don't think I can handle being without you, Miyako," Hisoka stated and Takeo shot a smirk to his friend.
"What? You wouldn't miss me?" Takeo questioned making Hisoka flush red.
"Ah! Of course, I would miss you! I just mean..." Hisoka babbled on whilst Takeo sat back in his seat, smirking at his flustered friend.
"Come on guys, the teacher is here," Miyako hissed out, making the two boys fall quiet and bring their attention up to the male teacher who just walked into the room.
"OK then, I'm here to give you your teams. Once I announce them, you will wait here for your jōnin instructor. Now first up is Team 1." Miyako shifted nervously as she listened intently as the names were called. There were cheers from some and complaints from others as the teams were called, though nothing overly distracting.
"Next, Team 4... Fuchigami Takeo, Uchiha Hisoka, and Haruno Miyako," the teacher announced, and the three friends gave each other a high five as the teacher continued until all the teams were called out. "Now then, your jōnin instructors should be here soon. Maybe take the time to get into your new teams and meet each other," the teacher explained before he sat down at the desk and started doing some paperwork.
"Yes!" Miyako stated she brought her friend into a group hug, not noticing the red tinge to Hisoka's cheek. "I'm so happy we didn't get separated. Too bad Gina couldn't be here with us."
"Even if she passed, we would've been separated," Takeo stated and Miyako sighed.
"I know, but I feel like we're leaving her behind. From now on we won't have time for others outside out team like we used to," Miyako stated and the two boys nodded in agreement.
The three sat, leaning back on their chairs as they thought about their future. As they sat in silence, jōnin instructors arrived taking their new teams with them. Soon enough, with only three teams left, a man with dark brown, curly hair stepped into the room.
"Team 4?" he called and the three friends shot out of their seats before walking up to their new teacher. He looked down at them with almond-shaped, dark brown eyes. He didn't seem all that happy with his team. "Come with me, we will find a place to converse."
The three genin shot glances to each other as their teacher turned on his heels and walked out of the room. The genin followed him as he led them out of the Academy and towards a training field. The man sat on a boulder, playing with a kunai as the genins sat in front of him on the green grass in a semi-circle.
"I am Higa Tsuneo, and from this day on – if I think you're worth it – I will be your jōnin instructor. Because of this, you three will be sparing with me to show me your skills. If I like them, I won't send you back to the Academy," the jōnin explained in a dull voice, his gaze flicking over the three awestruck genin. "Now then, which one of you is the oldest?"
"I am, Tsuneo-sensei," Takeo stated, holding up his hand. "I am—"
Tsuneo held up his hand, a frown on his face. "I have no interest in your names until you pass my test. Now then, I will test you first," Tsuneo stated simply before looking at his other maybe-students. "You two are to watch from the sidelines. If I am to test you all individually, the others can't interfere. Understand?"
"Yes, Tsuneo-sensei," Miyako replied as she and Hisoka got up, dusting themselves off before stepping to the very edge of the training field, the friends giving Takeo a smile and a thumbs up in encouragement.
"How do you think this is going to go, Miyako?" Hisoka questioned and the girl frowned, her eyebrows furrowing.
"I'm not sure. Make sure to pay attention, I have a feeling you'll be next up," Miyako stated and Hisoka nodded in agreement as the two watched Tsuneo and Takeo talk for a minute before the match began.
...
It was two hours later that Miyako's turn finally arrived. As she had suspected, she – being the youngest – was the last to go up against Tsuneo. This gave her an advantage, having seen how her teammates fought the man gave her insight on his fighting styles. She stood in front of Tsuneo, a blank look on her face – one that she may or may not have spent hours in front of a mirror perfecting.
"Now, the girl," Tsuneo stated in a bored tone of voice.
"Don't underestimate me, Tsuneo-sensei," Miyako stated and the teacher smirked.
"I read your scores; you got the third-best of the graduating class. Impressive for someone four years younger than everyone else. You got the best scores for kunoichi and outdid your teammates," Tsuneo stated before he shot towards the girl.
Miyako had expected Tsuneo to move and stepped aside before throwing down a smoke bomb. Before the smoke cleared, she created a clone and jumped into a nearby bush where Tsuneo wouldn't be able to see her. When the smoke cleared, Tsuneo attacked the clone, only to go straight through it.
"A clone? So, you're hiding?" Tsuneo called out as he realised, he couldn't sense Miyako's chakra. Is she really a Haruno? Her skills are beyond the other Haruno's I've worked within the past.
Miyako did not respond as she formed a hand-sign from her spot, setting off a circle of paper bombs, right where her clone had been, and where Tsuneo was still standing. Tsuneo barely had a chance to dodge the bombs, having not expected her to use them as her other teammates had stuck to throwing weapons and basic jutsus.
Miyako – whilst the bombs were going off – shot in the air, intercepting Tsuneo as he had jumped to avoid the bombs. She shot out with her kunai, surprising the teacher. Tsuneo blocked the attack with his own kunai and the two jumped apart before they landed.
Miyako didn't give Tsuneo a chance to plan his next move as she shot forward, pulling out some senbon. She threw them at Tsuneo, who easily dodged them and shot towards her. Miyako barely had time to block Tsuneo's punch with her arm, and even then, he shot out his leg, knocking her to the ground. Before she could get up, he had her pinned, a kunai to her throat.
"I believe I win," Tsuneo stated and Miyako nodded in agreement, puffing at the energy she had exerted whilst sparring with her teacher.
He got off her and helped her up before leading her towards her teammates, both of whom were grinning from ear to ear at the girl's skill. They brought her into a hug before they turned to face Tsuneo, who still had a blank look on his face.
"For fresh out of the Academy genin your skills are quite good. Though I should expect as much considering that you all graduated early," Tsuneo stated, "one of you graduated earlier than the others." His gaze flickered over to his female student. "So, what are your names?"
"Wait, does that mean we are staying on as your students?" Takeo questioned and Tsuneo nodded and Takeo grinned. "I'm Fuchigami Takeo."
Hisoka grinned. "I'm Uchiha Hisoka."
Miyako giggled at her teammates. "Haruno Miyako, sir."
"Nice to formally meet you three. Tomorrow, meet here at 8:30 in the morning we'll do some training. I won't be doing any missions with you three until we've trained for at least a month. Understand?" Tsuneo questioned, expecting the genin to complain but they all grinned.
"Yes, Tsuneo-sensei!"
...
"I'm home," Miyako called out as she removed her shoes before stepping into the house itself.
"So, how did it go?" Kizashi questioned, coming out of the kitchen as his wife was on a mission in the Land of Wind and wouldn't be back for a week.
"It was fine. Takeo and Hisoka are both on my team," Miyako stated with a grin. "Our sensei is very serious, his name is Higa Tsuneo, have you heard of him, Kizashi-ji?"
"Hmm. I have heard of him. In fact, I've worked with him on a mission once, though I doubt he'd remember," Kizashi replied. "Anyway, do you mind picking Sakura up from kindergarten?"
"Sure thing, she'll be excited to see me," Miyako stated as she put her shoes back on and made her way out of the house and towards Sakura's kindergarten.
As she walked, she couldn't help but think back on the day and wondered if Hiruzen had told Tsuneo that Miyako was Shinjitsu yet. Miyako stopped and looked up to a building where she saw the familiar form of Itachi watching the streets below.
"Itachi-kun?" Miyako called and the Uchiha looked down to the girl he had gotten close to over the years.
He smiled before jumping down from the roof. "I was actually looking for you. I heard you graduated, so I got you something."
"What? Why?" Miyako questioned in surprise as the young Uchiha smiled and pulled out a beautiful necklace.
Miyako gasped in awe as she studied the necklace. It was silver with leaf designs on the circle locket, inside the leaves there was a beautiful moonstone. Miyako took it off Itachi, gently, and flipped open the locket to see a picture of her and Itachi that they took during the Winer Festival last year.
"It also acts as a late birthday present," Itachi stated and gently took it off Miyako before putting it around her neck.
"it's beautiful Itachi-kun, thank you," Miyako whispered as she pulled him into a hug.
"I wish I could stay to chat a bit longer, but I need to go home," Itachi stated and Miyako nodded.
"I have to get Sakura," Miyako stated before she gave Itachi a kiss on the cheek. "I'll come over and visit soon, OK?"
Itachi frowned as he stepped away. "It's best if you stay away from the compound for a while. There are some problems within the clan, and I don't want you to get caught up in the mess."
Miyako sighed but nodded. "I understand. I won't come over."
Itachi smiled before leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. "See you around, Miyako."
With that, Itachi left, and Miyako sighed as she fiddled with the necklace. She shook her head clear before walking the rest of the way to Sakura's kindergarten. As she expected, Sakura was excited when she was Miyako and the two left for home, Sakura telling Miyako about the day she had.
"And then Ino-san his Shika-Shikamaru-san because he told her she was annoying," Sakura explained, staring in surprise as she noticed her cousins' necklace. "When did you get that, Mi-chan?"
"Hmm? Miyako questioned, having tuned Sakura out two blocks back. Miyako followed Sakura's gaze and then blushed. "Itachi-kun gave it to me for my birthday and graduation gift."
Sakura sighed in awe. "I wish my boyfriend will be like that."
Miyako froze and stared at her cousin in surprise. "Itachi-kun and I aren't dating."
Sakura frowned. "'Course you are. Why else would he get you a gift?"
"Because we're friends," Miyako stated simply and continued her walking.
Sakura went back to telling Miyako about her day, dropping the subject, as they arrived back home. The two entered and saw Kizashi waiting for them with a warm smile on his face.
"That took longer than I thought it would, Miyako-chan," Kizashi stated, his gaze falling onto the necklace. "Oh? A gift from a certain Uchiha Itachi I take it?"
Miyako blushed. "So what? We're just friends."
"Mi-chan is in denial!" Sakura announced cheerfully, making the older girl glare at her cousin playfully.
"OK you two, let's drop the topic and come have dinner. I made you both my famous sweet and sour pork," Kizashi stated and the two girls grinned as they ran into the kitchen and took their places at the table, Kizashi following them with a large smile.
...
As the Haruno's were having dinner, Tsuneo was walking to visit the Hokage for his report, and assessment of his team. He walked up to the door leading to the Hokage's office, knocking and entering when he was told to.
"Ah, Tsuneo-san, how was your day?" Hiruzen questioned as he leant back on his chair, a pipe in his mouth.
"Well, the genins you put me on to train show signs of being quite exceptional. The Uchiha is the one lacking, I'm surprised with his lack of skills considering his clan," Tsuneo stated simply. "But I see potential in them all and decided to accept them as my students."
Hiruzen smiled before letting out a puff of smoke from his pipe. "I'm glad, but that also means I have to bring you in on a heavily guarded secret. So guarded that only me and the people involved know the truth about it."
Tsuneo raised an eyebrow. "Is it about the girl? She seems too skilled to be from the Haruno family."
Hiruzen chuckled. "I had a feeling you'd notice. But yes, it is about Miyako-chan. You see, I had placed the Haruno's in charge of her upbringing and safety after she arrived at my office during that blizzard a few years back."
"Why would she need to be protected?"
"If word got out of who she truly is, some people, those inside the village included, will stop at nothing to get her."
"What makes her so special?"
"Her real name is Shinjitsu Miyako, Princess and Heir to the Shinjitsu Clan. Also, the only one left. As her teacher, it's your job to ensure her safety both inside and outside the village, as well as ensure that she becomes the best that she can be. Do you understand?" Hiruzen explained, surprising the man with the information.
Tsuneo smiled. "Well then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?"