Chapter 2

A New Life

Amari groaned in pain as she awoke from unconsciousness. Everything hurt. Her ribs ached and throbbed, her left eye and the surrounding area of skin burned and tingled…but what hurt more than all of that, what truly left her incapacitated now was the pain residing in her heart. She refrained from opening her eyes to prevent herself from seeing what new, foreign world she was waking up to this time. But it didn't matter if she opened her eyes or not, not when she remembered everything that happened in the forest between herself, Ryu, and Kasai.

Even if she were to lay here forever with her eyes closed, the memories would persist and never stop playing on the back of her eyelids as they did now. The memories would torment her with the sights, smells and all the sensations of pain dealt to her, both the physical and non-physical wounds.

Waking up in the orphanage with no memories had frightened her. It left her with an ache in her heart as she waited for her parents or someone else to come pick her up and tell her it was all a mistake that she ended up there. That she wasn't abandoned like a piece of trash. She waited for a long time for someone to arrive, silently weeping to herself at night when no one would know how bad it was hurting her to be forgotten and to not know her own history.

But now all she wanted was to have her memories wiped. She wanted to forget the familial relationship between herself and the two boys. She wanted to forget the ache in her heart over losing them both. She didn't want to remember anything about her past.

No.

It was a lie. Amari didn't want to forget all the smiles, all the laughs and good times they shared. To do that would hurt exactly as it had when she awoke with no idea of who she was or where she came from. She would be left again to wonder if she was just a piece of trash thrown to the side of the road, and she didn't wish that upon anyone.

I won't throw away the only memories I have left. I may have lost both Ryu and Kasai, but I won't lose their spirits.

To the young girl, the Kasai she knew and loved as a brother was dead. He died along with Ryu and part of her heart back in the forest they trained in at the hands of that damned imposter.

One day…One day she would make him regret heartlessly murdering her best friends. For killing the amazing grin Kasai had and his intoxicating laugh that could keep her in giggles until she was crying, and for killing Ryu's soft smile that made everything feel okay even when she was hurting inside, this new Kasai would pay a thousand fold.

That wasn't today, though. Today she had to figure out what new life awaited her, and what kind of pain it would bring.

Unable to avoid the inevitable any longer, she creaked her right eye open and nearly slammed it shut again as blinding white light pierced through the fog of her vision. A hospital, she deduced. How nice for someone to care enough to bring her to medical care to spare her pathetic life and give her medical bills to pay.

I'll need a job.

Another problem to solve along with the lack of housing, food and experience to actually have a job that didn't involve humiliating herself or being treated like she wasn't even human. I hate my brain. Why did she have to actually think like this? Calculating every problem and trying to come up with solutions that would need kami's intervention to succeed, it was like her brain wanted her to know how screwed she was.

Stupid brain. Ryu and Kasai—

The thought of her dead friends sent a sting of pain into her heart, halting the thought as she tried not to let any tears fall. Ryu and Kasai aren't here to bail me out anymore. I have to figure this out…alone. She feared that more than death. Loneliness wasn't fun. It was painful, and dark, darker than the monstrous black heart of the new Kasai.

Contrast to the looming dark cloud hanging over her was the sterile white room finally coming into view. Her left eye was shielded by her bandana still, thankfully, but as her awareness increased she felt a presence in the room…the presence of a powerful shinobi.

"Troublesome," she cursed under her breath when her ribs screamed in agony at her for trying to sit up.

"I wouldn't try sitting up right away if I was in your position. Broken ribs can be quite painful, but I suppose I don't have to tell you that," a familiar voice called from the right corner of the room. Annoyance was the first emotion to hit Amari—because seriously? Did the voice really needed to have that air of amusement to it? Here she was, broken ribs on top of a broken heart, and some shinobi was making light of her situation.

If I wasn't a weakling…I wouldn't even be here in the first place.

Internally resigning to defeat at her own thought, Amari lazily rolled her head across the pillow under her to at least look at the silver-haired ninja that had found her in the forest. "Hey," he greeted in a cheerful manor with a wave that betrayed his serious body language.

Sheesh, it's like he thinks I'm some master escape artist. Every inch of his body was tensed and at the ready as if she would spring out of the bed and dash out the window faster than he could react. "No need to play nice if you're going to look all serious," she told him. Any other day she might have appreciated the attempt to be friendly…just not today.

Today shouldn't have even existed the way it was. I should already be sneaking out with Kasai and Ryu to go train today. But she wasn't. She was stuck in this stupid hospital without any of her friends or any semblance of solid ground to stand on.

Amari rolled her head back to its natural position and stared up at the ceiling with a solemn look. "Not like I have the chakra to do anything anyways. Even if I could I'd be too weak to make a difference."

"Pathetic girl who isn't ever going to be good enough to be a ninja."

Kasai was right, wasn't he? She was too weak. Too weak to save Ryu, too weak to do anything but cry like the pathetic waste of oxygen she was.

I am weak…

"Then you will become stronger."

Ryu's words hit her hard. Tears pricked at her eyes, forcing her to shut her eyes to keep them from falling. His words…his parting smile, she could almost reach out and touch it. Just…just one last time. I just want to hug him one last time and tell him how much I appreciated everything he ever did for me.

This one wish…she would give up her left eye and the ability to become a shinobi to have him in her arms again one more time. Not as a crush, not even as a best friend, but as the brother he would always remain to her.

I'm…all…alone.

"Stay strong for me Amari…I'll be at your side to the end, I promise."

No. No. She was not alone. Ryu was still with her in her heart, fighting to get her to stand back up and fulfill his dying wish.

Maybe she was too weak to defeat Kasai…but for Ryu she would pick herself up and grow stronger. She would prove that his trust in her wasn't misplaced, that his sacrifice wasn't a waste.

"Who says I look serious?" the ninja asked still feigning his playful tone.

"Your body language," Amari answered in a flat voice to conceal her inner turmoil. At least this shinobi was offering some sort of distraction, even if she didn't really want to partake in a conversation. "You're tense, your eye looks bored but under it you're analyzing every detail about me. Your eye checked the distance between this bed and the window three times when I looked over, and even though you're sure you could stop me easily, I noticed you shift in your seat to make sure you could launch if you needed to."

Her right eye had caught every movement he made and picked it apart to the tiniest details. From there her tired mind went to work in putting together the pieces of the puzzle to make a coherent analysis on her watchdog.

"All that from one glance?"

Crap. Opening her mouth was a mistake. How had she forgotten her current predicament so damn easily? She was an unknown to these shinobi, and none of them had any reason to keep her alive if they didn't need her. Stupid, stupid, stupid! They were probably keeping her around to gather information. The more she talked the less valuable she was.

"You just went rigid. Something wrong?"

"Just worried I dug my grave quicker." She tried to imitate his light tone and conceal the truth in her fear. She failed spectacularly. I'm testing my luck when I have no way to fight back? Nice work, Amari, nice. Why not just cut your wrists, you may bleed out before they send you into interrogation.

"Do you really think we'd waste our time trying to heal you if we were going to kill you?" the silver-haired ninja asked.

In one hand Amari understood the logic of his statement. Why would they waste resources such as medicine, time and a room when there were others of their own village they could use it on? It made logical sense that they were indeed trying to help her if she looked at it from that angle.

On the other hand, if she was dead then they had nothing to go on for why there was a fight, who Kasai was or if they were going to take the eye away from her. They needed her alive for interrogation if that was the final destination of this all.

"I…I don't know."

Everything she knew had ended up flipped upside down on her. Knowing what these ninjas really wanted with her was so beyond her depth of knowledge, the Shadow user didn't care to attempt to figure it out. Regardless of what they wanted, she would cooperate willingly. No sense in making things harder than they already were.

For the next hour Amari struggled through her pain to sit up so she could get a better view of the room. The ceiling was just so boring. The least she wanted was the ability to see outside to distract her from the memories. Every attempt was met by failure. Her ribs would scream unpleasant things at her until she fell rather unceremoniously back onto the bed, and then scream more from the landing.

It wasn't until the ninja, Kakashi, helped adjust her pillows to rest vertically against the wall after helping her sit up that her mission was a success. The young girl muttered a thank you then rested her head back against the pillow as she gazed out the window. She couldn't see much outside of a blue sky and a few buildings, but it was enough for her right now.

Neither Kakashi nor Amari felt the need to fill the silence with useless conversation, or at least that was her assumption on why he kept silent as it was her own.

What did they have to talk about anyways?

He was obviously here to watch her for one reason or another and talking about what happened in the forest seemed pointless if someone else was going to come question her. Initiating small talk didn't make any sense considering her severe lack of social skills.

The only question she could think to ask was what book he was reading, but she honestly wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. At a glance it looked like some kind of pervy book Kasai would read, which gave her even more reason not to ask. Not only did she not want to know the contents of the book, but the reminder of the old Kasai was troubling.

Silence seemed best.

So they sat in relative silence. The silver-haired Jōnin was nose deep in his book—and was he giggling? Amari shook the thought off and continued to wonder about the meaning of life and her purpose in it.

Actually she was thinking about sending a fire ball at the ninja after she found a way to regain some chakra to destroy the book in his hand, but if anyone asked that was her planned answer.

The door suddenly sliding open broke the Nara from her stewing thoughts of destroying the book to see the other three Jōnin from the forest walk in.

…I wish I woke up with amnesia. At least I wouldn't feel this pang of worry at my chances of survival and I might believe they aren't going to hurt me.

A fourth man joined them, a man whose chakra was stronger than each of the Jōnin currently in the room. His presence alone was enough to make the young girl instinctually repress herself and begin backing into her pillows as she tried to shrink away. Her right eye darted across his outfit, taking it all in to try to figure out who he was. He wore a full length kimono, a hat and haori with the kanji for Third Hokage written on it.

Her eyes widened at the sight of it. The…the Third Hokage was in her room. The Hokage, leader of the Leaf Village and the strongest among them, was in her room.

Oh…I am so screwed.

As the young girl began damning herself for being able to sense his chakra and showing how scared she was in the presence of four Jōnin and their leader, she mentally wished for her death to be quick and painless.

His eyes held no hostility in them despite her reaction, but she had to be in deep trouble. The Hokage was here, in her room! She was just some orphan, a nobody of no particular talent or interest. No logical reason existed for him to be here; none that she could think of anyways and she was thinking really hard.

The Jōnin, minus Kakashi who had yet to look up from his book, made themselves comfortable across the room. As they did, the Hokage began to regard Amari with careful eyes. It took her hand clenching the sheets of the bed out of view of his eye sight not to tremble. Intimidated didn't cut how she felt. This man was the strongest in all the Leaf Village. That was what the title of Hokage meant. If he wanted to, he could kill her before she even flinched.

Despite his title, he was actually short statured compared to the other four and a lot older than the blue-haired girl imagined he would be. Wrinkles and age spots marked his weathered face and was paired with a grey goatee, showing he had seen far more years than she had, and a lot more fights, too. Even if he was old, the strength he possessed was far greater than she thought was humanly possible.

His eyes stared at her thoughtfully yet suspiciously, like she was going to spring some sort of trap on the room. Are shinobi just that naturally paranoid? And why did they have to stare at her silently? Didn't they realize how uncomfortable that made her? It didn't help that it felt as if he could read her mind just by maintaining eye contact. She was vulnerable and defenseless, but she had to keep herself from having a panic attack.

Amari brought her right hand to her left arm and held onto it to try to soothe her own nerves. He was strong, but having four Jōnin in the room with him was for a mission debrief as much as it was for protection.

Against what?

The young girl wasn't sure.

She wanted to believe four Jōnin and the Hokage weren't scared of her, but the suspicious part of his gaze and the way the two male Jōnin stared at her as if she could strike them down made her heart pound against her chest.

"I- uh-…" Amari gulped nervously and tried again to form a coherent statement. "You're really strong and all of you are staring at me like I shouldn't exist, which really worries me because I don't know why and its making me really nervous…" And she always babbled when she was nervous. It was such a pain. "…I'll just stay quiet."

Smooth Amari, the young girl chastised herself. She sounded like a bumbling idiot and nothing she had said helped her case. Keep digging. Maybe someone will eventually pull you out…or fill in your grave, might be easier that way.

A chuckle came from Kakashi. "You're not very good with people, are you?"

Seriously? Was he seriously doing this now? She was already having trouble trying to keep a level head. Pointing out her terrible skill at conversing with other human beings wasn't helping! And he can't be one to talk. He met a girl crying in the forest and he decided it was good idea to quiz her on what happened. On top of that, that jerk knocked me out! She hadn't even figured that last part out until just now, but still! Troublesome adult.

"Says the man who knocks out children and reads pervy books," she mumbled.

To her utter surprise, each ninja chuckled or smirked at the words she hadn't meant to be heard by anyone, bringing on an embarrassed blush. Why do I keep doing this to myself? At this rate, she was going to die via being a smartass. At least I'll make the old Kasai proud if I do.

The Hokage approached the bed and sat down near her legs. He offered her a comforting smile and said, "Let us start from the beginning."

"I- I don't know where I'm from. I woke up in the orphanage," the young girl replied nervously. It sounded like she was trying to hide something, but she wasn't. It was the truth. That was the only beginning she knew of.

The Hokage nodded understandingly. "Then start from there."

Amari went over all the details of her time in the orphanage to how she ended up being found in the forest. She managed to make it through without falling into tears thanks to the comforting nature of the Hokage, who was far nicer than she expected.

After explaining all of that, the Hokage showed her two symbols on cards asking her if she knew either. She did but that was thanks to the ratty old history books at the orphanage. When she first woke up, those had been her go to guides on figuring out where she was and the history behind the Land of Fire.

The first card shown to her was the Uchiha Clan crest; a fan with a red top and white bottom. The other was a far more intricately designed crest belonging to the Nara Clan; a circle with three swerving lines going from the top right corner to the bottom left plus three shorter vertical lines, one at the top connecting the first swerved line to the top of the circle, the second connecting the middle swerve to the top swerve, and the bottom connecting the final swerve to the bottom of the circle.

She knew little else about the two Clans. The books back at the orphanage were missing pages, and even if they hadn't been she doubted they would have explained anything else about them. One didn't put the secrets in a book anyone could pick up, especially children at an orphanage.

"So…I'm of Uchiha and Nara blood," she stated rather than asked. She didn't really need to. What other reason would the Hokage show her these two symbols for?

"Yes," he answered anyways.

"Is it…possible my family is still alive?" She wanted to hope, but the last three years of waiting made it extremely difficult to. Amari wasn't even sure how she would react if they were. Happy? Angry? A mixture of both?

The deep sigh of the Hokage deflated any chance of hope reigniting. Her eyes fell to her lap as he explained the fate of the Uchiha Clan. Every single member, save for a young boy in the village, was slaughtered in one night…three years ago. Worst part about it, the birthday she had been celebrating was the anniversary.

A hand gently resting on hers brought her attention from her lap to the sorrowful eyes of the Hokage. "I am deeply sorry, Amaririsu."

"I…eventually accepted I would never see my family again. I just…" There were so many feelings she harbored over the past three years. Feelings she never aired to anyone…but to find out that the family she couldn't remember had been killed…it hurt. Badly. Amari swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice from being the broken sob it wanted to be, and attempted to redirect the conversation. "That's why you all have been staring at me like I shouldn't exist. Because…I shouldn't…be alive."

The hand holding hers squeezed it, unconsciously she held on tighter. "What matters is that you are alive, and you have finally made your way back home after three years."

Awe filled her eyes as they returned to the kind eyes of the old man. "…I can stay?" She hadn't dared to hope, but…if she could stay, she would have access to their shinobi academy. That was all she needed to fulfill Ryu's last wish.

The Hokage nodded and smiled warmly. "Of course. Konoha is your home. And from what I have heard you intend to become a shinobi."

Yes, yes she did. Amari immediately moved to bow, only for shooting pain to tear across her chest. "Argh!" She retracted her hand and grabbed at her ribs, her features contorting to show the agony she was in.

"Easy," the soothing voice of the sole woman in the room reached through the pain to her ears as her hand rested on her shoulder and forced her to sit back. "It will take time for your ribs to heal, so don't push yourself."

"Th- thank you. Both of you," she thanked through her pain.

They didn't owe her anything, not kindness and not open arms back into what had once been her home, but she appreciated it all the same. The woman offered a kind smile and a small nod, but when she met the eyes of the Hokage, his were far more serious.

"You are welcome, but know this is also for your own safety for you are now in possession of two highly coveted powers."

"Two?"

He nodded and went on to explain the two powers resting in her left and right eye. In her left was the gift from Ryu, his Byakugan eye. She considered asking if she was allowed to keep it, but decided against it. If she didn't bring up the possibility of removing it, maybe they wouldn't either.

What she did learn was her right eye held another dōjutsu called the Sharingan. It was her Kekkei Genkai, or bloodline limit, and it had been unlocked from the immense pain of losing Ryu right as Kakashi touched him. It had a different set of abilities according to the Hokage, but he didn't go too far into explanation. He chose instead to warn her of the same people Ryu had: the power hungry.

"…I have a bigger target on me than I thought," she murmured.

"Yes. It is in your best interest to never activate it around others, and to keep the Byakugan covered under your bandana as it is now," the Hokage explained.

"I'll keep them hidden," she promised. For Ryu…and for my own safety.

After informing her she would be discharged in a few more days and that for the time being she would remain under guard, the Hokage and the Jōnin departed from the room. The next few days were a mixture of boring and emotionally draining. Dreams of Ryu and Kasai haunted her sleeping hours and followed her through the rest of her day stuck in the dreaded hospital.

Nothing felt right. Even though this village had once been her home and was now her home again, it was all so foreign to her. She should have probably known different locations or landmarks, but nothing she could see from her window registered in her mind.

When she was finally discharged, Amari was guided to the Hokage's office by the Jōnin Kurenai. The meeting with the Hokage was about her new living arrangements. According to the doctors she was underweight by several pounds; a point Amari tried to protest since she had some muscles. The doctors didn't have any of it, and neither did the Hokage.

Because of her lack of weight, the fact everyone rightly doubted she wouldn't eat properly without supervision due in no small part to depression, her eyes and how much training and school work she would have to catch up on before being admitted to the Academy, sending her to a different orphanage was out of the question.

The solution to this problem: Amari would temporarily share housing with a shinobi who would serve as both her guard and her caretaker. Who was said shinobi? None other than Kurenai Yūhi, the first person to volunteer for the mission.

Her schedule for the rest of the week consisted of a bunch of running around to gain the materials needed for training, studying and general necessities, like spare clothes. She was also to meet with the Hokage again in two days for a special meeting, whatever that means.

After being dismissed, Kurenai showed her the way to her home while trying to engage the blue-haired girl in conversation. They were going to be sharing the same housing for a while so it was best they got to know one another to make it more comfortable, right? Amari did her best to be respectful and answer her questions, but being social with a stranger was a bit intimidating; something the older woman ended up thinking was amusing much to the embarrassment of Amari.

Eventually they arrived at a cozy looking two-story house a bit of ways away from the center of the village. Timidly, Amari entered behind her new caretaker, removing her sandals at the door before she was given a short tour of the first floor. The living room was nice and spacious, far more spacious than anything back at the orphanage, with a love seat and a couch awaiting use. The kitchen was neatly organized with a dining table that didn't seem to get as much use as the owner intended.

Life as a shinobi does keep people away from home, I suppose.

Everything was neat and clean, though. Hardly a speck of dust anywhere, no clothes or other items left sprawled across the floor or countertops. "I'm happy you're neat." Her voice was barely a whisper, but Kurenai paused at the sound of it, almost as if she already had training with shy girls who didn't speak above whispered levels.

"Oh?"

Amari immediately began blushing in embarrassment at revealing one of her quirks. "…everyone else at the orphanage didn't really care to put things away or clean up after themselves. It drove me crazy sometimes, to the point I'd start cleaning up after them. Ryu and Kasai would inevitably join in…but not without a few complaints."

Kurenai's lips pulled into a warm smile. "Well, I'm happy you like it here so far." She dipped her head towards the stairs. "This way. I'll show you to the guest room."

Silently, Amari followed her up the stairs and to the right to what was meant to be her temporary room. She didn't place her expectations too high. A guest room probably was rarely used so it wouldn't have the best furniture or a lot of space, but she didn't really care about either of those. The orphanage was crowded and the furniture couldn't really be called furniture.

Anything was really an upgrade from that. Even a carpeted floor would be an upgrade. I wouldn't mind a carpeted floor.

Kurenai reached the door first and opened it then motioned her to enter first with a wave of her hand. Amari entered cautiously then went rigid at the sight before her. "This will be your room," the woman behind her said.

Amari barely even recognized her voice. Her eyes, even the one under her bandana, were wide with shock. "This…is my room?" It had to be a mistake. Surely the Jōnin was pulling her leg and the couch was really her bed.

"Yes…is something wrong?"

The young girl found her footing and walked to the queen sized bed that had pillows, real pillows, comforters and sheets all on it. She placed a hand on it and felt the comforter. So soft. She cast her eyes across the room as she held onto the bed; there was a closet, a desk with a window looking out to the rest of the village and space.

"I…" This was too much. Too much for her to take in, and far too much for her to accept. "Miss Yūhi…I can just sleep on the couch. You…you don't need to use this room for me."

"Nonsense. This room hasn't been used since I moved in. It's yours for as long as you need it." Amari felt her move to her side but she dared not meet her eyes and reveal the tears welling in them. "Do you not like the room?"

"…we didn't have beds at the orphanage. They were worn out cushions on top of wood." Painful and uncomfortable to say the least. "Because of how many of us there were, we had to share everything with each other. Food, beds, everything. Ryu, Kasai and I used to be squished together all the time." And she was actually going to miss that. Having them close by always comforted her against the despairing feeling of loneliness.

Amari saw rather than felt the sad look Kurenai was giving her as she realized the internal turmoil the girl was having. She hadn't asked to sleep on the couch because she didn't like the room; she asked because she never had these simple luxuries before and felt she didn't deserve them.

Overwhelmed by everything, tears streamed down the Nara's cheeks as she turned and fell to her knees, bowing her head before the woman who had volunteered to take her in. "I swear I will repay your kindness!" she sobbed. "I- I will keep track of everything I cost you and repay it all when I become a shinobi. I promise I won't be a burden! I won't—"

A hand rested gently on her shoulder, cutting her off and making her lift her eyes from the floor to see Kurenai kneeling in front of her. "Amaririsu, you won't have to repay anything."

"But—"

"All you need to focus on is getting healthy, training and catching up on your studies." She shook her head. "Don't worry yourself one bit about repaying anything. This was my choice, and I have a good feeling about it." She smiled warmly. "Call it a hunch, but I think a lot of good is going to come out of this."

More tears streamed down her cheeks along with a few broken whimpers and sobs until finally Amari couldn't restrain herself any longer. She tackle hugged the woman for her kindness and let out all of her tears. The comforting arms of Kurenai wrapped around her and held her tightly as she sobbed into her shoulder.

Overall, her first day out of the hospital was a good day.

Kurenai was an immense help in getting Amari settled in to her new home, but even with the soft bed, warm showers and healthy food, it wasn't easy. The bed felt too empty, the house was silent as a graveyard and the food actually had taste to it. The last one wasn't a problem she wanted to solve, but the other two would take time to get used to. When things seemed to quiet, she would hum to herself, and when she couldn't sleep because there wasn't another person breathing next to her, she would hug one of her new pillows and pretend it was Ryu or Kasai.

Nightmares still chased her, leaving her to find her pillows soaked with tears in the morning after a long night of reliving the loss of her best friends.

Amari was early on the day of the meeting with the Hokage, but the old man didn't seem to mind. Together they went for a walk through the village towards a set destination he did not inform her of. Their walk was as peaceful as it was insightful to Amari in how popular the Hokage was among the entire village. No one had a cross word to say to him; all greeted him with wide smiles and sparkles in their eyes at being graced with his presence.

Honestly, it made her feel honored just to walk with the man.

Over the course of the walk he would ask her questions ranging from how she was settling in to her recovery. The Shadow user did her best to answer honestly, but some questions were just too soon for her to talk about. The Hokage understood, and also seemed to get the answers he was looking for even when she didn't say much.

The true purpose of their walk came to light when they reached their destination: the head of the Nara Clan's home. "We're here because of my knowledge of their techniques, aren't we?" she asked.

"Yes, but fear not, you are not in trouble." Relief filled her at the reassurance. "While Kurenai's skill is irrefutable, she will not be able to teach you anything in relation to the Nara Clan Hiden Jutsu's. For that, you must learn from your Clan."

"O- okay," was her shy response. Not that she wasn't excited to learn more about a technique she knew relatively nothing about, but learning more from the Clan meant more interactions with strangers—her worst skill.

The Hokage went up to the door to knock while Amari hung back and stared shyly at her toes. She did her best to mentally prepare herself for social interactions with a new face, but the door opened before she could even formulate a good motivational speech. "Ah, Lord Hokage. Welcome." There was a space of silence the blue-haired girl assumed was filled by a bow, though she couldn't be sure due to the nerves keeping her eye pinned on her toes.

"Shikaku, I would like to introduce you to Amaririsu. Amaririsu," the voice of the Hokage beckoned her to raise her eye to meet the stranger. Their eyes met, and in the eyes of the man she saw a sudden flare of…recognition, perhaps? Maybe not. "This is the Head of the Nara Clan, Shikaku Nara."

Amari bowed deeply. "Sir." Silence followed as she remained in the bow, uncertain of how to continue without sounding like a babbling fool.

"Amaririsu, huh?" A short chuckle her ears sensed was equally amused as it was strained by something she wasn't sure of. "A fitting name for a shy flower like yourself." Pink tinted her cheeks as she raised herself from her bow and resumed staring at her toes. "Care to show me what technique you know? I would like to see for myself if you truly know our Clan Jutsu."

Without speaking a word, Amari focused inwardly on her chakra and on the instinct she relied on to move her shadow. Sure enough, her shadow extended forward and captured the man. "Impressive. You can use it without handseals, but is that out of laziness or lack of knowledge?"

She let her shadow recede and shook her head. "I don't know any handseals for it. It…It's hard to explain. I don't have any memories of my past, but when I woke up in the orphanage, I ended up using it on fear filled instinct." She shrugged helplessly. "I just latch onto that same instinct to use it."

"Seems we'll be starting at the basics then."

Amari raised her eyes from her toes again to meet his. "You'll train me?"

Shikaku nodded. "I will as much as I can, but I have other duties to the Village that may get in the way." He hummed thoughtfully then suddenly smirked. "But my son could learn about responsibility and leadership from teaching you."

The Hokage shared a knowing smile with the man then politely asked for Amari to wait outside for him as he went inside to discuss important matters with the Head of the Nara Clan. Amari obeyed and sat herself down on the front porch to stare up at the clouds. It was relaxing and one of the few things she could still find enjoyment in.

"I wish I could be a cloud," she murmured.

"You and me both," a lazy voice agreed.

If she could have jumped out of her skin, she would have. Instead she embarrassingly squeaked and moved to hop off the porch only to end up tripping and falling into the grass with an oof. Looking up from the grass, she found a boy that seemed to be about her age with his hair pulled into the same fashion as Shikaku. Based on his eyes and facial structure, he was his son.

The boy was staring at her with an amused smirk and an eyebrow cocked up in confusion. It only furthered her blush. The boy came down to her level, but instead of offering a hand to help her up, he sat next to her and laid all the way back. "Sorry about that. But the clouds look better from down here anyways, so I guess it works out."

Hazarding a glance up, she found that he was right. "I'm Shikamaru. Just found out I'm going to be teaching you about our Clan Jutsu." He didn't sound all that enthusiastic about it, but she couldn't blame him. His father had sort of thrown them together and it was mostly her fault.

"…I'm Amaririsu. Sorry about…this."

"About what?"

"Me…intruding on your life." Because that's what she was doing, wasn't it? Being an intrusion on his life because she didn't know the mechanics behind her own Clan Jutsu?

"Ah, don't beat yourself about it. As long as you don't be a drag, we'll get along fine."

"I'll do my best…" She glanced down to the boy, who had his eyes closed, and consider her next actions carefully. This was her first chance at making a new friend…and he was a clan member. "Can I…watch clouds with you?" she asked timidly.

"I don't mind. Make yourself comfortable. Knowing dad it'll be a while before he's done talking with the Hokage." Amari beamed with pride internally at her first successful interaction with another kid her age while lying down next to him. Maybe she wasn't a hopeless cause.

Thus started her relationship with Shikaku and Shikamaru Nara.

As Shikaku expected, he hadn't been able to always be there to teach her. On those occasions she would be taught by Shikamaru. The boy thought the whole affair was troublesome, but Amari took no offense once she realized he thought everything that required exerting more than minimal energy was troublesome.

Shikamaru was, however, in possession of the information she was supposed to know at their age since they were both ten years old. When he would go cloud watching she would tag along for the very slow walk and listen to him explain what she needed to know in detail.

He taught her how to use it tactically in a battle, how to train to become better with it and keep a hold of a target longer. Amari soaked up that information every time he spoke that way he wouldn't have to repeat himself. He hated that.

Troublesome in his words.

Upon reaching their destination they would watch the clouds go by. Amari believed he enjoyed having her there despite his insistence that teaching her was such a drag. Just lying down silently with him, both of Nara's getting lost in their own thoughts or not thinking at all gave both of them a peace of mind.

The Nara family wasn't the only one she was bonding with. Kurenai was an active part of her life for the following five months. She helped her get healthy physically before they started any sort of training and offered her help with her studies when it was needed. The five months weren't without their strife or struggle. Between the nightmares and the voice in her head telling her she would never be good enough to be a shinobi, Amari's self-confidence hardly existed.

Through it all, Kurenai was at her side doing her best to help her rebuild a foundation to stand on, but it wasn't something that would be fixed over five months. The more they were around each other, though, and the more they worked together, the closer the pair became. Amari began to see her as a mother figure, and she hoped the woman hopefully, maybe, saw her as something like a daughter.

The time they shared together became precious to the Shadow user, to the point she felt pain in her heart anytime she thought of the inevitable day that would come when Kurenai's mission to watch over her was over. She…she didn't want to lose their connection. Their bond, it gave her something to hold onto when everything else was hurting.

Maybe someday I'll gain the courage to ask her to adopt me…someday.

Today wasn't that day. Today was the day she began attending the Ninja Academy. Kurenai entered Amari's bedroom just as the young girl finished adjusting her bandana to cover up her left eye. "Are you ready?" Kurenai asked.

Amari nodded. "As ready as I can be."

In truth she was nervous. Five months around the Nara's and Kurenai hadn't changed her lack of skill in conversing with new people. Going into a class of complete strangers who had been in the same class for who knows how long made her anxious. The young girl had a feeling she would be the outcast, but she had hope there would be other outcasts who wouldn't mind her being around.

Maybe Shikamaru will be there. At least he'd be nice. Kurenai smiled at her and poked her forehead, in turn making the young girl smile after falling into a worried frown. The gesture was something she herself had started doing to show the Genjutsu Master she cared. Having it reciprocated made her feel more comfortable, easing her nerves from the troubling thoughts she had.

"You will be fine."

"And if anyone asks about my eye, I say a crazy orphan cut my eye, blinding me and leaving a nasty scar so I keep it covered." Amari spent time repeating the story when she was alone to sound believable in her half-truth.

That was if she didn't have a nervous breakdown.

Kurenai walked Amari to the Academy. Due to Amari's habit of waking up early and internal desire to always be on time, she was one of the first kids there. Kurenai guided her to the classroom to give her the ability to soak in the layout of the Academy without the fear of getting lost along the way.

Her new sensei was waiting in the room already drawing on the chalkboard what appeared to be the lesson of the day. Fundamentals of Chakra and Jutsu…It sounded incredibly dry, but she would apply herself to become the best. That was the only way she would catch up to Kasai and avenge Ryu.

Her new sensei had long brown hair kept in a ponytail, dark eyes and a scar running across the bridge of his nose. He wore the standard Konoha shinobi outfit, though his sleeves were rolled up a quarter of the way. He stopped writing on the board once he noticed Kurenai and Amari enter the room. "You must be the new student I was told to expect," the man greeted with a warm smile.

"Amari, this is Iruka. He's your new sensei," Kurenai provided introductions for the shy girl who was doing her best not to look to her toes.

"Hello," the young girl greeted, her quiet voice barely making its way out of her as she bowed. A pat on the head from Kurenai gave her some small comfort to keep her shyness at bay.

Trying not to be rude, Amari looked to the board to see what he had written with the hope of showing she wasn't a complete waste of time to teach. A lot of the information written down she had learned over the past five months of studying and training. The reason she was even here was because Kurenai believed she was ready to join the others, having caught up in four months and excelling just a bit more ahead of the class in the fifth.

She…she was just trying really hard to prove her worth to everyone, especially herself.

"Is it too early for Nature Transformation? Like Fire Ball Jutsu?" Amari questioned quietly.

Iruka's eyes widened at the question and Amari swore she could sense pride irradiating off of Kurenai. It hadn't been her to teach her how to use it, but it was because of her training she didn't feel faint after one use. Three was about all she had in the tank. "Fire Ball Jutsu? Kids your age don't have the chakra for that jutsu."

Apparently that was three more than she should have been able to do.

Amari raised an eyebrow in confusion. "They…don't? But I…" Kasai and I both can use it and he was preforming it long before I was.

Her new sensei raised his eyebrows in genuine surprise. "You can?" She nodded. "Interesting. How many?"

The question was simple, but her voice died in her throat. How was she to explain her abilities without sounding like she was boasting? She didn't want to sound arrogant. More importantly, she didn't want to walk in and graduate the same day to be sent out into the field. There was no way she was ready for in the field work yet.

Nerves gripping her heart left Amari gripping her mesh covered arm as she tried to find her voice. As all hope seemed lost with Iruka still waiting for an answer, Kurenai swooped in to save her. "Five months ago it was barely one. Now she is fully capable of using it two times to her full ability, the third is weaker and leaves her vulnerable."

"Incredible!" Her new sensei sounded genuinely impressed as he was shocked. "Does she have large reserves or is it all chakra control?"

"Both," Kurenai answered. "Her reserves exceed most kids her age, but she's been working hard on controlling what chakra she has to its full potential." Another proud smile sensed. "She continues to exceed my expectations; I have no doubt she'll do the same here."

"No pressure," she mumbled. Troublesome woman.

Iruka nodded then offered her a kind smile. "I look forward to teaching you, Amaririsu. By the sound of it, though, I don't think it's going to take you long to find your footing here."

"I...hope so."

"Do your best," Kurenai said before pushing her forward to give her no say in the matter.

Once everyone arrived for class, Iruka immediately started the class by introducing her to the rest of it. Horrifying didn't scratch the surface of what it felt like to have everyone's attention. Her quiet voice earned her a few hecklers, making it even harder for her to speak in front of so many people. Others, the more invasive, asked questions about why she was covering one eye while a few others asked why they had seen her walking with the Hokage.

Where was she from? Was it another Village? Why was the Hokage taking interest in her? Who was she, and this time speak up. The bombardment of questions left her on the verge of breaking into a sweat. Then she was saved, not by Kurenai or Iruka, who did his best to try to field off the bombardment, but by another student. He didn't realize he was saving her, due in no small part to being dropped off by another ninja who looked angry, but that blond-haired kid's interruption was all she needed to slip into the shadows and find a seat.

Shikamaru, who was in this class, waved her over and let her sit between him and a girl named Ino; a choice she couldn't say she regretted because it was next to the only person she knew that was her age, but when she found out she was next to the gossip monger of the class…well, it deflated her optimism of being left alone pretty quickly. But at least Shikamaru is here to ride it out with me.

Her first day went over well, for the most part. She did her best to learn everything while also being engaged by Iruka with questions like he did with other members of the class. Being the new girl was bad enough, being the new girl who answered questions that stumped the smartest members of the class didn't help her situation at all.

At lunch she brought all of her studying materials with her to avoid any further interactions. She ended up choosing the shadow of a tree with a swing hanging from it to hide behind. Finally alone. Amari exhaled a sigh of relief for surviving half the day and went to work getting out her lunch and textbook to continue studying.

She finished her lunch and devoted the remaining time left to studying more about chakra control in her peaceful sanctuary…until it happened.

"Hey!" The shout earned a squeak of shock out of her. Peering around the tree next to her was the blond-haired boy from earlier, wearing a bright orange jacket and pants. His eyes were a bright cerulean color and he wore a confused look on his face. "What are you doing hiding back here? No one hangs around here."

"I…I was just studying," she replied timidly.

"I've never seen you around before." He moved around the tree and knelt down to her level, leaning in close into her personal bubble to seemingly analyze her.

"…I'm a new student."

"New student?" the boy questioned.

Amari nodded. "I was…saved by the Leaf shinobi after I was left for dead in the forest nearby. The Hokage allowed me to stay." Because this was my home once. She left that part out. The Hokage had told her to keep her Uchiha heritage a secret for her own safety; she wouldn't second guess his judgment.

"That sounds rough, but at least the Old Man let you stay. He's pretty cool." He leaned back onto his haunches and out of her personal bubble. A grin suddenly pulled onto his lips as he jabbed his thumb to his chest. "Not as cool as me, though! All I have to do is get stronger and then I'll be the next Hokage! Naruto Uzumaki, that's my name and don't you forget it!"

His enthusiasm was…contagious, admittedly. His grin was bright and warm and filled her with a bit of confidence just being on the receiving end of it; it reminded her of the past Kasai as well as someone else she couldn't quite recall. Naruto Uzumaki, huh? A small smile pulled onto her lips. "That's a good goal. I hope you succeed in it."

Enthusiasm and confidence disappeared to be replaced by honest confusion and what looked like hope. "You…do?"

"I do," she affirmed with a nod. "Just make sure you don't forget to be kind and generous like Lord Third when you do become one. I may be new, but even I can see how much everyone cherishes him." Because I do, too.

The boy's bright grin returned as he chuckled. "All right! You bet I will! Uh…" He opened his eyes and she noticed a hint of embarrassment in them. "I never asked you what your name was. Do you have a name?"

"Oh. My name is Amaririsu."

Naruto extended a hand to her with his smile returning. "Nice to meet you, Amaririsu!"

Amused by his energy, Amari took his hand in hers and shook it. "Likewise, Naruto Uzumaki."

And that was how she met the boy who would become her best friend; a boy who would end up inadvertently teaching her about the Will of Fire and push her to become stronger than she ever believed she could be.

The next two years consisted of going to the Academy and training heavily with Kurenai when she wasn't out on another mission. Life at the Academy was…difficult at first. She was able to improve her social skills, but two small factions ended up forming within the class. One group consisting of all girls absolutely adored her because of how much they enjoyed playing with her hair and her shyness making her sooo adorable in their eyes.

It was such a pain.

The other group formed out of social mistakes she made. At first it was caused by her smashing the pride of one of the boys by turning him down when he offered her protection. She made it abundantly clear she did not want protection and that he couldn't protect her even if he wanted to. Too weak, too focused on being cool instead of real training.

His faction of friends became her tormentors, and it only grew as she continued to grow in strength and skill. Eventually it encompassed a legion of fan girls belonging to the only other Uchiha besides her when she started out shining them and catching up to him. They called her names like one-eye and did their best to put her down at every corner.

Sometimes they succeeded. It wasn't an unknown fact to anyone close to her that words could tear her down. But Amari was not without defenders. Naruto had latched onto her as much as she latched onto him and stood up to the male bullies as much as he could. Even Shikamaru joined in after they started referring to each other as cousins.

The two years weren't without their good memories, though. One of her happiest moments was given to her by Kurenai. A few months before her first year anniversary, the amazing woman surprised her by doing what Amari secretly wanted with all her heart: she adopted the young girl. Amari cried her first happy tears because of her and hugged her so hard for it.

Not only had Kurenai given her a place to stay, but now she was giving her a home and a family. No longer was she just the orphan child with no home or family to speak of; she was Amaririsu Yūhi of the Leaf Village. That was something no one could take away from her, not even Kasai.

Graduating was her next goal, and it was right around the corner. While she had no fear of passing it, Amari was worried about Naruto. For all his enthusiasm and effort, he couldn't perform the simple Clone Technique. After brainstorming hard on it, and with advice from the mysterious Kakashi who had popped in every now and then over the last two years, she decided there was only one way to get him to pass: he was going to have to create solid clones instead of illusions.

Amari made a promise to Kurenai and herself to get him to pass this way. All she had to do was learn the technique and show him how to do it then everything would be fine. He would get to pass and maybe they would be lucky enough to end up on the same team.

Most adults would have laughed at her for the idea of creating real clones at her age, but she proved her inner demons wrong by pushing herself to her limitations to reach the goal. The moment she created one she rushed to teach Naruto how to do it too. It was in his hands to learn it from there. She couldn't train for him or create a clone in his place for the exam.

The difficulty of the technique was going to push him to frustration and pain just as it had done to her, but Amari knew in her heart he would be able to do it. What was left in her hands to handle was keeping him inspired and motivated, and to do that she did something her shyness went into panic mode over: the young girl announced to the class she would create one hundred thousand Shadow Clones for the exam. A chorus of laughter was what she received, rightly so considering the ridiculous levels of chakra necessary for it, but Naruto was quick to up her ante by saying he would create two hundred thousand.

That was her entire intention and in the end it worked. Now all they had to do was pass the exam and then they'd be real ninjas, bringing him one step closer to his dream of becoming Hokage.

A dream Amari wished to help him achieve someday.

Someday.