A few months passed and the new school year was beginning. Usually this wouldn't matter to me – or to Tobi-sensei – but this year it was decided for me to join others my age to broaden my skills and to learn how to work in situations that call for teamwork. It was a skill that even Tobi-sensei said was vital for the mission he was going to give me.
I was eleven, making me younger than everyone in the final year at the Academy. But my skills were beyond theirs, and I was only here to learn teamwork. Apparently, next year I would be given a mission – my first mission – and I needed to be able to blend in with others my own age.
I arrived at the Academy early. Tobi-sensei led me through the halls of the building and soon we arrived at classroom 6A. It was the only graduating class, and even then, most of the students in the class will either fail the graduation or genin tests, or not make it past their first year as a shinobi. It was a cruel world indeed.
Tobi-sensei stopped in front of the door, turning to face me. "Remember the reason you're here, little one. And it's not to make friends. You don't need any more friends outside of Ena."
I nodded and Tobi-sensei slid the door to the classroom open, making the chatter die out as the students in the room stopped to see the strange, masked man with a short girl standing behind him. The teacher, who had been sitting at her desk reading the class syllabus looked up, her glasses shining in the light. Her blue eyes widened when she saw the masked man.
"Can I help you, sir?" she stood up, prepared for a fight if necessary.
"I have brought you your newest student. I believe God informed you that she would be arriving today," Tobi stated and the woman's eyes widened as he stepped aside to reveal me.
"Oh my, it's God's Treasure," the woman gasped out before giving me a bow, my classmates following quickly. "I didn't realise you would be joining us. Please, come here and introduce yourself to your classmates."
I nodded and Tobi-sensei nodded to me, before disappearing. I walked to the front of the class, just as the bell rang for class to begin and bowed. "My name is Takara. Please look favourably upon me."
"Welcome, Takara-san. I am Domon Akina, please take a seat and we will begin todays lesson," the woman introduced herself properly to me, and I nodded, walking to a seat near the front, slightly left of the middle. Domon-sensei paused before beginning todays lesson, going over the syllabus for the year before starting with the theory behind chakra.
A few hours later, I stood in the training grounds of the Academy with my classmates. Domon-sensei was calling us up to spar, and I watched everyone carefully, noting the ones who had the most potential.
"Takara, you're up against Botan. Please remember, you're only to use Taijutsu," Domon-sensei explained and I nodded, stepping up as a large, bulky male with olive skin and black hair stepped into the centre of the sparring circle.
He eyed me with disdain before snorting. "Do I really have to fight a girl? She's so... scrawny."
There were gasps throughout the area as he disrespected me. No one knew much about me, but what they did know was that I was Pein-sama's ward and – somehow – that led them to believe that disrespecting me means your disrespecting God.
"I can handle myself," I replied, getting into a fighting stance with my fists raised and legs shoulder width apart, one behind the other and the heel slightly raised.
Botan scoffed but got prepared. Once Domon-sensei said so, we began the spar. He charged at me, raising a fist that I easily dodge. Using his momentum against him, I used my palms to move him towards the edge of the circle. He managed to regain his balance in time. I didn't give him a chance to attack me again, and shot forward, kicking him in the shin and landing an uppercut to his chin. This shot him backwards out of the circle and onto the muddy ground.
"Takara-san wins!" Domon-sensei announced and there where whispers amongst my classmates as I walked up to a groaning Botan. I knelt down and held out a hand, making him look at me in confusion.
I shot him a shy smile. "I thought you could use some help getting up. I also wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings about me winning."
Botan eyed me before scoffing and slapping my hand away, pushing himself up and storming off to a crowd of boys, all of whom were watching our interaction wearily. I frowned, but stood up, following my classmates and Domon-sensei back into the classroom. It turns out, making friends was going to be harder than I thought.
Three months have passed and most of my classmates were civil towards me, but they never made a move to become close. It actually saddened me. I spent my lunchtimes with Ena and his friends – they were in the class below ours but we shared lunch together. His friends didn't really trust me, but Ena, he treated me the same as always.
Because we spent more time together, we became closer and I've started to develop a crush on him. I didn't tell anyone. I mean, who could I tell? Itachi-kun was gone now with his teammate on missions for the Akatsuki, and whilst Konan-sensei taught me about puberty and relationships, she's wasn't exactly the type you could go to for advice.
Plus, who knew how'd Tobi-sensei – or even Pein-sama – would react if they found out. I'd probably be taken out of the Academy and locked up in the tower again. I was hanging with Ena in our usual spot at lunch. His friends were hanging out in a different area when Ena grabbed my hand and turned me to face him.
"Takara, I have to tell you something," Ena stated and I looked at him in confusion, wondering why he was so nervous and why he was red as a tomato.
"What is it, Ena? You can tell me. I won't judge," I replied and Ena shot me a shy smile.
"I-I like you. A lot. More than just friends. I understand if you don't like me back, but I just wanted you to know," Ena stated, his blushing getting worse.
I too started blushing at his confession. Ena? He liked me as a potential girlfriend. I felt my heartbeat increase as excitement bubbled in me. I let out a wide grin and tackled him onto the ground. "I-I like you too, Ena. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to make things awkward between us."
Ena grinned and went to say something when I felt a familiar chakra flare and Tobi-sensei appeared behind Ena. My eyes widened in fear as Tobi-sensei grabbed Ena by the throat, picking him up. My classmates and the other Academy students all stopped, staring in shock at the masked man who was letting off killing intent in waves.
"What did I say about making bonds?" Tobi-sensei growled out and I watched as the teachers all came running out, all freezing as they saw Tobi-sensei and flinching back.
"You said I could be friends with Ena!" I argued, standing up as my heartbeat raced in fear. Something in me told me that this was not going to end well. For anyone.
"The keyword in that sentence is friends. But you, you just confessed to him. And he to you," Tobi-sensei stated, his voice calm but I could hear the underlying anger beneath it.
"Sir, you do not have permission to be here!" one of the teachers ordered and Tobi-sensei grabbed a kunai, throwing it at the teacher, piercing him right between the eyes, making the students all shout in shock.
"Leave!" Tobi-sensei ordered and all the kids ran away as the teachers ushered them as far from the scenario as possible. "You. You can't have such a bond. Not with anyone!"
I growled, activating my Sharingan, glaring at Tobi-sensei. "Why not? What's so bad about having a crush or being in a relationship with someone? I'm eleven, not seven! I should be allowed to experiment with my feelings!" I shouted out and Tobi-sensei threw Ena onto the floor, making Ena cough up blood as a crack appeared on the floor below him.
"Are you challenging me, Takara? You know that won't end well for you," Tobi-sensei warned and I spat at the ground, charging towards him, raising my fist.
I aimed a punch towards his chest, only for him to grabbed my fist and squeezing it tightly. I shouted in pain as he cracked the bones in my fist before he pushed me away, onto the floor next to Ena.
"Don't test my patience, Takara. From now on, you won't be allowed to leave the tower without someone escorting you. You won't be allowed to attend the Academy, and you will be training until you collapse every day of the week," Tobi snapped and I felt tears in my eyes as I cradled my hand, looking down at Ena who was slowly recovering from the throw.
I crawled to Ena and put his head in my lap. He groaned and looked at me, giving me a sad, pained smile. He raised a hand and put it on my cheek.
"I'm fine, Takara," he whispered.
"Takara come with me. Now!" Tobi-sensei ordered, his back to me and I stiffened.
"Don't let him tell you what to do. You're your own person," Ena whispered and I felt anger and hatred burn in my chest.
"No," I muttered, and Tobi-sensei spun around.
"What?" he snapped.
I met Tobi-sensei's gaze. "I said no. I'm done. I don't want to be your experiment anymore! I'd rather be dead than listen to you!"
"Rather be dead?" Tobi-sensei muttered as he made quick steps towards us. "No. I worked too hard to get you to this level. It's this boy that's twisting your mind. He has to go. I'll make it simple. I'll let you leave the tower whenever you want, if you kill him right here right now."
My heart stopped at his words. Kill Ena? My best friend? I felt tears in my eyes. "No. I won't do it!"
Tobi chuckled and pulled out a kunai. Before I had time to act, he threw it and it pierced Ena right in the heart.
My eyes widened as Ena gasped.
"Ena!" I screamed as I tried to stop the bleeding, but I was pulled back by Tobi-sensei, who threw another kunai, this one piercing Ena right between the eyes, killing him.
Pain shot through me, landing on my eyes, but I didn't care as I screamed for Ena. I felt the familiar sensation of Tobi's teleportation and soon I found myself in my room in the tower. I tried to get away from Tobi, but he placed me on my futon as I cried and screamed in pain at the loss of my first – and best – friend.
"You bastard! I hate you! I hate you!" I screamed, as I grabbed a kunai and threw it at Tobi-sensei.
Tobi-sensei easily dodged and the door was slammed open, revealing both Konan-sensei and Pein-sama, both of whom were looking at us in surprise.
"Tobi, what happened?" Pein-sama snapped as Konan-sensei rushed over to me and tried to calm me down, but I just moved out of her reach and tried to attack the bastard before me.
"Chuza Ena is dead," Tobi stated and Pein-sama's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"He confessed to Takara, and she confessed right back. She doesn't need bonds like that weakening her," Tobi growled out and looked at me as I phased right through him as I had tried to attack him whilst he was distracted with Pein-sama.
Tobi grabbed me by the arm and threw me back onto the bed.
"She'll hate you forever," Konan-sensei stated as she stopped me from lunging for Tobi.
Tobi scoffed. "She activated her Mangekyo Sharingan. She'll thank me when she learns what strength those eyes will give her."
I sobbed as I collapsed onto the futon. "I hate you. I'll never forgive you for what you've done. You're dead to me."
"Make sure she doesn't kill herself. It would be a shame to lose such a successful experiment," Tobi ordered before leaving, Pein-sama following him as Konan-sensei tried to calm me down.
I cried myself to sleep for the first time in my life that night. Getting nightmares of Ena's murder over and over again.
The next few weeks were painful. I was locked in my room, anything I could use to hurt myself were taken away from me. Tobi visited every other hour, trying to get me to listen to him. Each time he appeared; I would try to kill him. He would just sigh before leaving. Konan-sensei brought me my meals, and I spent my time planning my revenge against Tobi and sleeping.
My nights were horrible. I had nightmares of Ena's death, and I kept dreaming of a woman with long blonde hair and amber-brown eyes. I couldn't make out her features, but she often cuddled a younger version of me to her and hummed a tune. All I could see was her hair and eyes.
It's been a month, and I realised that if I ever want to get revenge against Tobi, I'd have to train harder than I ever had before. This time, when Tobi appeared in my room, I just looked over at him from over my shoulder as I sat in the window seat facing the village.
"What? No attack, little one?" Tobi questioned in a teasing tone.
I just scoffed, turning to face him fully. "I realise now it's pointless."
Tobi hummed, nodding his head in agreement. "Are you ready to start training again? Or do you want to be locked up in here all the time still?"
I sighed, looking back over the wet village. "You killed the one person I loved. It hurts. I have nightmares of it every time I sleep. I hate you for what you've done. And yet, I still want to prove to you that I'm strong. That the experiment wasn't wasted on me. What's wrong with me?" I let out a bitter laugh.
"It appears, little one, that's you've become almost dependent on me. I gave you a gift, and you subconsciously realise this fact. You want to prove yourself as a person, and as a shinobi. If you want to, we will start your training right now," Tobi replied and I stood up, nodding and he turned and unlocked the door with the key he carried around. "Let's go. You have a month of training to catch up on."
"Yes. Tobi-sensei."