Title: Making A Friend

Summary:Kokoro meets new people and finally figures out how to interact with Kirigakurans.

For once the day was bright and the sun was able to shine through a few cracks in the clouds. It was rare weather for Kirigakure, and many residents were taking advantage of it. More people were outside moving about than ever before. It was the increase in volume that awoke Kokoro that day. Kokoro woke up in better spirits than usual and began humming cheerfully. She opened her curtains a bit and basked in the beautiful day. She closed them once she got enough vitamins and moseyed over to her closet to get dressed for the day. She rummaged through her fridge and found a container full of leftovers from last night. She heated it up and put the kettle on for tea.

In the corner of her humble abode were two plants begging for water. They were watered dutifully and words of praise were given to them. One particular plant had a slight shading of blue-green that reminded her of someone she missed. HIs letter was endearing and made her swoon just a smidge when she read it. The fondness she read from the letter was strong and unexpected, and she wanted to reciprocate it. Hearing how hard Gaara had been working was motivating, and she was so proud of him for taking the chance to show everyone the amazing and caring person he really was. Now that they were on good terms with one another, Kokoro felt like she had her best friend back. It was weird thinking of him as her best friend. The amount of time they spent together was slim, yet she felt so connected with him. She couldn't help but to care for him and to want him to succeed. She wanted to tell him everything that happened with her, she wanted to help him through his times of need, she wanted to be there by his side.

She slapped her cheeks as they heated up with a blush. She knew what she was feeling, and she was utterly mortified by the thought. What kind of person had a crush on their best friend? It felt like she was crossing an invisible boundary. She filled a cup with tea, dished out her leftovers, and sat down to try to clear her head. It wasn't hard to do so. She was excited to start her day. She finally had a day off from her training to do whatever she wanted to do! It felt like a once in a lifetime chance to explore the village more and interact more with the community. She knew it would be hard, but she wanted to put her best foot forward to be on friendly terms with the people of Kirigakure.

Kokoro wasn't exactly sure how she should. It was one thing to go up to people and start conversations with them when they were friendly enough, it was another to do the same thing when the people despised your entire being. It was like trying to crack open a rock with just your hands. It'd be better if she had a jutsu that could cut open even the strongest materials; she needed leverage. Leverage was usually seen as a bad thing because it meant you had dirt on someone. It meant you knew something no one else should know. Maybe it was an affair with the next door neighbor, maybe it was a trade with an illegal dealer, maybe it was a murder, maybe it was theft of an important item. Everyone had secrets. And no one wanted them to be aired out. If a civilian used leverage against another citizen, then they were considered evil. In a civilian's eyes, you weren't supposed to use leverage against someone. You were considered manipulative and cruel. Kokoro didn't understand civilian logic. If you were a shinobi, though, other shinobi didn't particularly like it when you used leverage against them, but they respected you for having found that information and for using it when you could. Using leverage, trading secrets, and bargaining were positive things in the shinobi community. It was kind of like a touché.

Leverage would help significantly with infiltrating the shinobi community in Kiri. She'd have to find something to help her make her way into their ranks and into their trust. She needed to trade information. The problem was that she didn't have any information. She didn't have any connections to anyone to gossip to or to exchange anything. If she got in with the shinobi, it'd be easy to get in with the civilians. In Kiri, the civilians use the shinobi to measure who is trustworthy and who is not. If you fit in with the shinobi, you were trustworthy enough to fit in with the civilians. That didn't mean the civilians would want to talk to you, it just meant they didn't give you death stares every time you came around.

While that wasn't her end all goal, it would be a major improvement from the behaviors acted towards her now. It would take time, which meant she'd be spending many years in Kiri. At first, that would have scared her, but she was committed now. She had a goal to work towards, a very important one that mattered to a lot of people. After experiencing just a taste of what the citizens of Kiri go through, she wouldn't leave Kiri the way it was. She wouldn't leave it crumbling to shambles.

She put her shoes on and ambled out of the door, determined to get something done. She left her housing building and went on her merry way. She took in a breath of air and began walking around. She began with a cheery pep to her step, but after getting weird looks, she dimmed down her excitement and played it cool. She still smiled, albeit smally, and she still nodded her head along to an inaudible beat. She stopped along the way at a small merchant selling fruit. It was expensive because it wasn't native to Kiri, but it looked delicious. She studied the delicious and ripe-looking delectables and settled on a peach. It was more humid than usual, signaling that it was indeed summer, and she needed something refreshing. Even if she had just eaten, it wasn't near as fulfilling as eating a juicy fruit. Besides, it was something light. As she perused, she could feel the disdain coming from the merchant. Quickly, she picked one and paid for it. As she paid, she decided to strike up a conversation with them.

"These are beautiful peaches," she said. "Where do you get them from?"

"Why?" the man barked. "So you can steal from me and make your own business? I don't think so girly."

"No, no!" Kokoro denied vehemently while waving her hands back and forth. "I was just wondering, is all. I didn't think peaches could grow here, seeing as how little sun we get here."

"You complaining about the weather now?"

"Um, I, uh," Kokoro stumbled through her words. She didn't know what to say to get a positive response. Everything she said was only met with opposition and negativity. At that point, she just wanted to stop talking and go on her merry way.

"Ain't got nothing to say now, huh. That's right. Shut your trap, you-"

"Hey, Butami," a woman said as she dropped down. She had dark hair that shined a glossy purple. Her eyes were pitch black and her incisors, which she bared at the man, were sharp. Kokoro never wanted to know how sharp they really were. The woman's eyes were pitch black, and made so even more by the black rings around her eyes. Her eyebrows were shaved off and were replaced by a series of purple dots, and her mouth was made up by a handful of vertical, purple stripes.

"Akane," Butami acknowledged. "What do you want?"

"I can't just stand by while you're grilling into this young lady, now can I?" Akane said. She grabbed Kokoro by the shoulder and squeezed it with her hand in warning.

"You like this brat?" Butami asked gruffly.

"She's not half-bad. She just hasn't gotten her spikes yet."

The man harrumphed and eyed Kokoro warily before dismissing them with a turn of his body. Akane took it at face value and steered Kokoro away from the stand. She took the peach in Kokoro's hand and bit into it, all the while Kokoro stared in shock and sadness. She really wanted to eat that peach. Akane led her into an isolated place between two buildings. She let go on Kokoro and leaned against one of the buildings, chewing slowly and assessing Kokoro.

"Ao has given you so much praise, and he seemed genuine about it, but I can't help but feel he was being sarcastic then," Akane said off-handedly.

"Ao praised me?" Kokoro asked, surprised.

"Surprisingly, yes. I don't know why, though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kokoro asked. She didn't like the way Akane was talking to her.

"It means that your stupider than Ao gives you credit."

"Is it because of the whole interaction with that man? Because he wasn't giving me any room to try and make it better," Kokoro complained. "And why'd you steal my food? I bought that for myself, not for someone to mooch off me."

"Two lessons can be learned today," Akane said around a mouthful of peach. She held up two fingers and said, "Lesson number one, know who you're talking to before you approach. Lesson number two, always be mindful of the things you have. You never know when someone has," she wiggled her fingers, "sticky fingers."

"Did Ao send you to help me?" Kokoro questioned. "No offense, but no one here is the type of person to help out willingly."

"Quite perceptive," Akane complimented. "You are, in fact, right. I owed Ao a favor, and he simply cashed it in. Of course, I didn't think I would be approaching you. And Ao didn't even tell you about me, So, I had to step in. Does that make sense to you?"

"I guess," Kokoro shrugged.

"You guess?"

"I mean, I don't know you and I don't understand the situation, so yeah," Kokoro said lamely.

"Where do you think they grow these peaches?" Akane asked as she inspected her almost-eaten fruit.

"I don't know. Somewhere outside of Kirigakue," Kokoro answered, her voice lilting towards the end of the sentence in a questioning manner. "Where do you think they come from?"

"They come from a village on the outskirts of Fire country," Akane said simply.

"Really?" Kokoro asked. "Which village?"

"Momokawa. They have the most beautiful lands filled with peach trees," Akane gushed.

"I can't believe I've never heard of a place like that before," Kokoro said in amazement. "I'll have to visit sometime."

"I'm sorry, but you can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I was lying."

"What?" Kokoro said in disbelief.

Akane shrugged and pushed off of the wall. "I made all that up. You think I know where they get these expensive-ass peaches from?" She shook her head. "I have no clue, and I don't care either."

"Then, why did you lie?"

"Rule number three, never say "I guess"," Akane said in a mocking manner, "or "I don't know". Always answer confidently, and never give too much information at a given time."

"Why not?" Kokoro asked curiously.

"Because they'll know you're lying. It'll seem like you're nervous, and they'll catch your lie. Keep it short, simple, and to the point."

"Why are you teaching me this?"

"Because you need help in earning the trust of those around you," Akane scoffed, like it was the most obvious answer in the universe. "Trust me, if you can worm your way into the hearts and minds of those in Kiri positively or even neutrally, then you can worm your way into the hearts and minds of anyone."

"So, instead of having my day off," Kokoro said, "a day off I haven't had in a while, you want me to do more training?"

"Isn't that what you were going to do today anyways?" Akane questioned boredly. She inspected her fingernails and found a hang anil, so she peeled it off and continued to inspect her other fingers. Meanwhile, Kokoro couldn't figure out if more training on top of her already arduous work was even feasible.

"Wait," Kokoro said, stopping all her internal thinking and causing Akane to look at her, "how did you know my plans for today?"

"It was obvious," Akane said. "You never talk to anyone around here. Then you suddenly decide you need to strike up a conversation with someone randomly. It's not hard to decipher."

"What should I do instead, then?" Kokoro asked.

"Finally asking for some help?"

Irritated, Kokoro said, "Yes, that's what I just did."

"Calm down, Hatake. I'm glad you asked for help. Most people around here don't, but you're going to need it if you want to blend in with society here in Kiri," Akane said as she started walking towards the entrance of the alleyway. She motioned for Kokoro to follow her and jumped on top of a nearby building. She looked behind her to make sure she was following her, and continued to move quickly. She was impressed that the girl could keep up with her. She stopped at the edge of a building practically filled with plants and greenery. She waited as Kokoro weaved through the plants with a disgusted look on her face.

"How does anyone move around up here?" Kokoro asked. "There's no set path, and there's webs everywhere!"

"Stop being such a priss and come one," Akane told her. Kokoro stood next to Akane, but kept some distance between them so as not to get into her personal space. Kokoro had learned with Masumi and Ao that people from Kirigakure loved personal space. They loved it so much that their personal bubbles were almost twice as normal; unless you were a close friend or family, or you were buying from a merchant like Kokoro had, you weren't welcomed being near someone.

"Other than the annoying bugs, this is a great view," Kokoro said as she looked on in amazement. She could see a lot of things from her point of view, like how the villagers interacted with one another. She could see almost all of the merchants lined up in the market selling their goods, she could see the stray shinobi jump from a building and meet up with a fellow shinobi, she could see stray cats and rats playing tag while simultaneously avoiding humans, she could see the Mizukage's building and how guarded it was from the outside, she could see a group of children trying to hit a pot dangling by a rope from a tree with rocks. They were, surprisingly, happy.

"I like to spend time up here when I'm not on active duty," Akane confessed.

"Why?" Kokoro asked.

"Not important," she dismissed. Then she gestured to the world around them with an open hand and asked, "What do you see?"

"I see Kirigakure."

"Elaborate."

"I see how Kirigakure works. I used to think that everyone was miserable here, but they don't all seem that way."

"Exactly. While you may not have noticed it, there are pockets of love and happiness," Akane said. "We operate on a different wavelength than Konoha. We don't openly show our love because so much has happened in our history telling us not to. You have to earn trust here, and you have to earn the right to see just how much we enjoy living. It's not perfect here, and there are plenty of things we can change, but Kiri isn't a nightmare that you can't escape."

"Why did you show me this?"

"Because I don't think you truly understand what Kirigakure is. You've lived here for almost 3 months yet you haven't seen anything there is to this place. You haven't given it a chance."

"I have!" Kokoro protested.

"You haven't!" Akane insisted. "You might have heard from Ao and Masumi and the Mizukage about how things are here, but you haven't lived it! And you can't fully understand anything unless you've lived it - lived through it."

"Well, how can I live in Kirigakure if no one is giving me a chance?!" Kokoro shouted. "Everyone here just writes me off because I'm a foreigner and I wasn't born here. I thought that having a piece of Kiri, having this kekkei genkai and having a mom from here, would connect me to this place, but they haven't."

"Just because you have something does not mean you are that something," Akane said. "You are not from Kirigakure just because you have a part of it inside of you. You haven't learned anything about it if that is how you feel, especially with how you refer to it as "this place"."

Kokoro opened her mouth to retort something, but she knew Akane was right. Kokoro couldn't defend herself in this situation. She kept referring to Kirigakure as some place she didn't want to be in. She needed to refer to it as some place she wanted to be. She couldn't keep acting like she was still living in Konoha when Kirigakure was her home now. She couldn't complete any mission the Mizukage wanted her to do if she wasn't acting like she belonged here. She'd stop just thinking about all the good she could do and she would start acting. So, she turned towards Akane and said, "You're right. Can you please show me how to act then?"

Akane smiled and said, "Of course. Watch and learn." She pointed towards a boy walking in the streets. He looked like he was going nowhere in particular, just moseying around. "I have never talked to that boy in my life. I swear on it. However, I'm going to show you how to interact with him and any other kid in Kirigakure."

Akane jumped down and made her way towards the boy casually. She started behind him and began walking quicker than he was, using long strides to catch up with him. Instead of slowing down beside him to talk, she whizzed past, turned around with a frown on her face and said, "Pick up the pace, kid. You're too slow to be walking here."

The boy screwed his face up at her and said, "You're just too fast, old lady."

"You wanna repeat that?" Akane asked.

"Sure, if it means it gets past your clogged ears," the boy retorted.

"Keep it up and we'll see how well my fist fits inside your big ass mouth."

"Oh yeah? Why don't you go crawl under a bed and hide your ugly mug. No one wants to stare at it all day."

"I could say the same thing to you."

They stared one another down before relaxing. Kokoro was weirded out by it. They had just been insulting each other yet they were smiling at each other and acting like nothing was wrong! Akane rolled her eyes and asked, "Where ya headed?"

"I'm buying a couple things for my mom."

"Is she working?"

"Yeah," the boy said. "Dad got hurt, so mom had to pick up an extra long shift."

"That sucks. You have enough for everything?"

"I think so," the boy shrugged. "Mom only gave me what she could."

Akane paused for a moment and pretended to ponder something before she gave the boy a proposition. "If you do something for me, I'll give you some extra cash."

"What do you want me to do?" the boy asked cautiously.

"I need someone to find a friend of mine. She's new to Kiri and hasn't gotten acquainted with many people."

"Why not? Is she scared or something?" the boy asked.

"She's just not used to it here," she said. Then she whispered, almost conspiratorially, "She's from Konoha."

The boy gaped before he said, "Well no wonder she's scared. They're all a bunch of pansies over there!"

"They're not used to what we got going on over here, so she's been hiding in her shell. But I know she's got some riot in her, so can you find her and show her we're not that scary?"

"How much money are we talking?"

"Enough to cover your expenses for today. It's gonna be a hard task. I'll even give you extra if you find her within the next ten minutes."

"Then I'm your guy!" the boy agreed. "Do I get a hint?"

"She's somewhere green," Akane hinted.

The boy thought about it before his face brightened. He ran off and made his way to the closest rooftop using his chakra. He was pretty adept at scaling the wall by channeling his chakra to his hands. He rushed through the foliage before rushing to the next rooftop. It wasn't long before he was on the same rooftop as Kokoro. Her heart raced as she heard him speed past her once or twice before he made his way in her direction. Finally, he crashed into her. They fell to the floor in a heap.

"I found you!" the boy exclaimed. He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her up. Kokoro let out a squeak and pulled her arm out of his grasp. "You don't gotta be scared," the boy said. "C'mon."

"Let go of me," Kokoro said sternly.

"You're not about to make me lose some money," the boy said.

"And you're not about to make me lose my arm," Kokoro shot back.

The boy huffed and said, "Look, I got a deal with your friend down there, so I need you to follow me or else."

"Or else what?" Kokoro asked. She thought about it for a second. She thought about the way the boy interacted with Akane before she said, "What are you gonna do with those chicken arms?"

"Chicken arms?" the boy asked incredulously. "You call these chicken arms?" The boy showed off the small amount of muscle he had. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to inform strangers he was training. "You have the acidity to talk about me but look at your old lady hair!" he shouted as he pointed towards her gray hair.

"I might have gray hair but at least I'm smart enough to use the right words!" she shot back. "Acidity? I think you meant audacity."

The boy narrowed his eyes at her and said, "Touché. So, what's your name?"

"She didn't give you my name?" Kokoro asked.

"Of course not! Names are important. We don't just give out information all willy nilly."

"So, if I give you my name, will you give me yours?"

"Looks like you're learning pretty quickly," the boy smirked. "Sure, I'll give you my name."

"Kokoro Hatake."

"Junichiro Arai. Now come down with me so I can get paid."

"Yeah, yeah," Kokoro said as she rolled her eyes. She filled him down until they were in front of Akane. She was standing with her arms crossed and an expectant look on her face.

"Did she pass?" Akane asked Junichiro.

"Yeah, she's not too bad," he said.

"Good. I'm glad the two of you met," Akane said mysteriously.

"Why's that?" Kokoro asked.

"No reason," Akane said. "Aren't you in your last year at the Academy?"

"Yeah," Junichiro said slowly. "You're weird. Where's my money?"

"C'mon. Pay up, Akane," Kokoro backed him up.

"Yeah, whatever kid," Akane said as she reached into one of her pockets and pulled out the right amount of money. Then, she held up a two-finger salute and said, "See you later."

"Is she always like that?" Junichiro asked skeptically.

"I don't know," Kokoro answered truthfully. "I just met her today. Ao-sensei is vouching for her, so she must not be too bad."

"Sure," the boy drawled out in disbelief. "Hey, Hatake. Since you technically helped me get this money, you wanna tag along with me?"

"You sure?" Kokoro asked. "Not many people like me."

"Who cares," Junichiro said. "My mom says that you don't know people till you've held a conversation with them. I did that, and I think you're not half bad. So, what do you say?"

"Sure, Junichiro."

"Don't call me that," he said. "Only my mom calls me that. Why don't you come up with a code name or something."

Kokoro thought about it. She didn't know much about Junichiro to give him a nickname based on his qualities. She had just met him! Usually, nicknames came after at least a month or two of being friends. Sometimes friends didn't even want nicknames. Take Sasuke for example. He hated nicknames and he hated being called anything other than Sasuke. He was Sasuke, and if you called him anything but, he had a problem with you. Kokoro really couldn't think of anything to call Junichiro, so she opted to shorten his name.

"Okay, Juro," she replied.

"Juro?" Junichiro said with a screwed up face.

"What? You don't like it?"

"It's not bad I guess. Sure. Juro it is."

"Now come up with a nickname for me," Kokoro demanded.

Junichiro tsked and said," Why should I?"

"It's weird calling you by something other than your name when you call me by my name. I especially don't want you calling me by my last name. I'm tired of being referred to as a Hatake when I'm Kokoro. And sometimes I don't even want to be Kokoro. So, give me a nickname," she vomited out.

"Okay, okay!" he whined. "Jeez. What about . . . . . Koke?"

"Pass."

"What? Why?!"

"I'm not a sham, or temporary!"

"Kokoke?"

"You suck at this."

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder!"

"Fine! How about Roke?"

Kokoro hummed and said the nickname a few times before she nodded her head in agreement. "That works."

"You're so hard to please," Junichiro groaned.

"You're just bad at nicknames."

"Whatever. Let's get going before mom wonders where I am."