Obligatory Disclaimer: The series Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto; I only own the OCs, picture, and this story.

Chapter 10: Of Autumn Hills and Boomerangs

Weeks and months passed by without incident as I incorporated and rescheduled my life around my time in the academy.

It became more comfortable as the novelty of my youth wore off and I was able to enjoy my school days. Well, 'enjoy' would be a very loose term. I still studied and trained at home but it was mainly for byakugan related matters, though the elders scheduled more training days after learning of my fight with Shisui Uchiha. Any other material I studied on my own time and at my own discretion as Aunt Mei seemed to distance herself more and more. She was there in the mornings, during practice, and dinner, but in between those times I rarely saw her.

But that was alright.

I'm alright.

The addition of my cousins to my training sessions at home caused me even more stress. Training with Satomi and Kenta was…awkward to say the least. The first time I entered the training building in the main part of the compound, I was slightly terrified. Of course, I didn't show it as any expression of distaste or worry would not fly with Hideyoshi and the other elders. The man himself was already waiting for my cousins and I as we entered, the other two as nervous as I was. He didn't really speak, simply motioning me to the center of the marked area while he and the others, including Aunt Mei, watched.

Yep. Absolutely nerve-racking.

The clan head called out the forms and I completed them all without fail. Satomi and Kenta went next, the boy unable to overcome his nerves as he fumbled over the last of the kata. That had earned him a disappointed look from the elder and earned me a glare from Satomi, as though it was my fault. And then came the sparing.

While Kenta and Satomi had me in regards to strength being twice my age, height, and weight, I was pretty quick and the byakugan and jūken more than leveled the field. It wasn't as though I was better than them using the dōjutsu, but since I was so small and my chakra manipulation was top notch, if I do say myself, it was easy to duck around my cousins' strikes. Kenta was wary about fighting me regardless, most likely worried about hurting me, but Satomi had no such reservations.

Let me tell you, having your tenketsu manipulated hurt a lot more than one would think for such tiny, invisible points. However, chakra was basically the lifeblood of this world, affecting every muscle and organ in the body. Satomi had got me in the arm one time and the muscles around it were sore for an entire week. Of course, we didn't practice with the byakugan all that often as it could be damaging. It wouldn't do if we gravely injured ourselves. Just enough so that we knew the consequences and strength of our dōjutsu and clan technique.

We couldn't be Hyūga if we didn't show off to ourselves.

Most of our jūken practice consisted of nonlethal striking each other's vitals to become familiar with the most vulnerable parts of the human body. In this, Kenta dominated since he was a practicing iryō-nin and I came in second since all I did was study. Satomi came in last which made our fights against each other even worse, and all of this was done under Hideyoshi's watchful gaze. Aunt Mei would tend to our injuries with fervent care, tending to the others just a little more while the clan head drilled me on all the mistakes I made and everything else he decided I needed to work on. That my forms weren't as clean as he wanted them and that my hand seals weren't as fast as they should be.

But that was fine too. I got better and better and soon I could activate my byakugan with a single snake seal.

As time passed, I also found myself numb to my parents' absence. I hadn't forgotten about them, couldn't possibly, but the nightmares and the teary nights waned as I distracted myself with my newfound friends and studies. As well as planning for the future's disasters, I couldn't find the time to mope around waiting for them. The thought of them dead or dying in a field or a forest somewhere far away would often try to nudge its way into the front of my consciousness, but I distracted myself by burying myself in the present and planning for the future.

I was coping alright.

I think.

It was one of those rare afternoons where Noburu and Akane were off doing other things and not stuck to my shadow as usual. Don't get me wrong, I loved their company. It had gotten me through the worst of my random bouts of homesickness and feelings of abandonment but I was an introvert through and through. I needed the time away to clear my head of all those scrambling thoughts of evil organizations and world destroying entities.

I sat on the railing of one of the many bridges that were scattered around the village, eating an anpan from Tsukuda's. I kicked my feet lazily as I chewed, enjoying the solitude. It was Sunday so I didn't have class and had made it a point to thoroughly explore around the village on my own once I had bid Mei farewell after breakfast. I had remained unbothered throughout my little adventure but I had a feeling that someone was watching me. It could be just paranoia but I wouldn't put it pass the clan to do something like that; I was valuable property after all.

I could hear the distant calling of a bird somewhere and a gust of wind wrestled with the leaves of the trees. It was a slice of peace in a hectic world.

Goosebumps rose from my arms before a voice called out.

"Hyūga-san! Look out!"

Several things happened at once. I reacted, dropping my anpan and throwing my body over the railing, attaching myself to the underside as something flew fast overhead. A boomerang, I realized as I activated my byakugan. A smallish body rushed to the edge of the bridge where I had been.

It was Shisui.

So much for a peaceful afternoon. Shifting the chakra at my feet, I launched myself back onto the railing causing the boy to scramble backwards to avoid getting kicked in the face. His chakra flickered anxiously through his pathways as I stood above him. I didn't know how a four year old could cause fear in anyone, but I guess the bulging veins of the byakugan could be very unnerving to others. I crossed my arms over my chest.

It wasn't as though I disliked the boy, but the way he always teetered on the edge of my peripheral annoyed me a little. After our first spar, the Uchiha seemed to always want to say something but could never get the words out. Maybe he was just shy.

At that thought, I let my arms drop and my byakugan fade with a sigh. I gave him the deadpan look that I usually reserved for Noburu when he did something stupid. My heart was just starting to calm down as I spoke.

"Weapons are usually meant for the training field, aren't they Uchiha-san?"

I was surprised to see a light reddish hue stain his cheeks as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry." He looked down. "I just got that boomerang today and got a little too excited."

He seemed embarrassed to have to admit it and that made me feel a little bad for him. I didn't know much about his background but I knew he had been Anbu, you know, before he had his eyeball ripped out and sacrificed himself for the village. With him being in the same graduating class, I could only assume that had to mean that he became a child soldier in the series. Unless I had more weight than I realized in this universe.

I looked over my shoulder to where the boomerang had landed on the bank of the river below before turning back to him.

"Maybe you should stick to the tanto," I commented eyeing the weapon strapped onto his back.

Shisui shuffled slightly in his spot. He didn't seem like the martyr type. He was just a kid, a silly boy with a new toy. But of course, those ideals took time to develop. It would take years before he became the self-sacrificing man who would give his life in hopes of protecting the village from his own clan. The longer I thought about it, the more it solidified my opinion that this world was all sorts of messed up.

The more people wanted to protect others, the more life seemed to screw them over.

Letting out another sigh, I turned and leapt onto the surface of the river, sinking slightly. I still haven't perfected water walking yet. Quickly skipping to solid ground, I plucked the weapon from the muddy shore, wiping it off on the grass. I made my way back to one of the posts holding up the bridge and took a running start to cling onto it with chakra before rushing to get back to the top. Shisui watched with a mixture of surprise and awe as I walked back to where he stood. I handed it to him.

"It'd be best to hold your enthusiasm for the training ground next time, okay?"

He didn't say a word as he took it from my outstretched hand and stuffed it into the knapsack around his shoulder. Shisui remained quiet as I collected my own bag and wrapped up my poor fallen sweet roll into its packaging. I'd give it to some birds later. He was looking at me with a slightly constipated expression on his face, as if he wanted to say something.

Don't ask me why I did what I did next- nostalgia maybe.

I jabbed him in the forehead with my index and middle finger before he could look away. Shisui let out a little squawk and stumbled back a step, throwing his hands over it as he stared at me with wide eyes. I dropped my hand with another sigh, a little smile spreading across my face.

"Just let it out, Uchiha-san."

Shisui rubbed the reddening spot in the center of his forehead, staring at me. He dropped his hands to grab at the strap of his bag, looking very much like the child he was.

"Why did you decide to join the academy?"

It wasn't the question I was expecting so it took me aback a little. It was so innocent too. There were a lot reasons, the most obvious ones out of my control. But I wanted a happier future for the people I cared about, even though I had so few. To save those I only knew in fiction, some of which weren't even born and others I haven't met yet.

But why go through that trouble at all? Will I even be able to change anything?

"My clan has many expectations for me," I said, looking up at him, focusing on my companion before I could sink into my thoughts. Man, I couldn't wait for my growth spurt; I hated being shorter than everyone. "It is a duty and an honor that I must uphold."

I'm sure it was something he understood coming from a clan himself. He nodded.

"Is that the only reason?"

There was an analytical gleam in his eyes as he stared at me, seeming to have overcome his nervousness. Unless it had all been an act; it was theory I couldn't ignore, ninja paranoia and all.

"What other reason would there be?" I tilted my head to the side, intertwining my fingers together in front of me underneath the long sleeves of my yukata. It was the façade I needed others to believe, the obedient heiress of the Hyūga; nothing else was acceptable.

Shisui must've not liked my response because he frowned, something flickering in his black eyes. He shook his head, bowing slightly.

"I'm sorry for almost hitting you, and thank you for getting it back for me, Hyūga-san."

"It's Junko," I corrected, causing him to rise. I must be throwing him for a loop. A girl had to have her fun somehow.

"Junko-san," he repeated slowly.

I smiled. "If that is all, I have other things to attend to."

Like getting another anpan.

He didn't say a word as I began to walk away though I paused before I got too far.

"Just so you know," I turned to look at him over my shoulder. He perked up. "I'd appreciate it if you just came and talked to me instead of concocting this random encounter. Easier that way."

I left as Shisui's eyes widened. Caught him.

If anything, my encounter with Shisui caused me to see him everywhere. The academy was a given, but I found him staring at me during lunch, during class, while walking around the village on my free days. It definitely wasn't a coincidence.

"Maybe he likes you!" Akane said unhelpfully as we sat around our tree for lunch.

I gave her a blank look before stuffing my mouth with a piece of fish from Noburu's bento, gracefully of course. Noburu grinned, ruffling my hair which I took in resignation as I swallowed my mouthful.

"They grow up so fast."

"There are so many things wrong about that statement that I can not fathom how to begin."

His grin only widened. "No amount of fancy words will change the fact that somebody likes you!"

Before he could continue in his singsong voice, I jabbed him violently in the side, causing him to yelp and roll away in pain. Idiot.

I looked over to Akane who was eating one of Aunt Mei's onigiri.

"This is all your fault." I had mentioned my Uchiha problem during one of our outings at Tsukuda's and she just had to mention it to the last member of our little group. He hadn't stopped talking about it since.

"I think it's cute Junko-chan," she smiled, the hopeless romantic. Too bad I had to crush her hopes and dreams.

"The clan has decided my future spouse." I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, so for now it was a lie; it wasn't something I was all too worried about now. Once puberty hit, if I survived that long, I'd worry about it. "The possibility of me being married to any of the Uchiha is laughably small."

She slumped, instantly deflated. "Don't you have any dreams?"

I shrugged. "Of romance, no. I may never get married."

It wasn't a complete truth; it just seemed so long ago that I felt anything like that. Besides, I was four. I had other, more important things to worry about. At my words, an almost horrified expression rose on her face though I knew she was just kidding. Akane was one of those types who were shy when meeting new people, but once you get to know them you learned they had a bunch of weird quirks. One of Akane's quirks was that she loved to play cupid; she had a vivid and overactive imagination.

It was nice to see such innocence, though she could go a bit overboard at times.

"Once you find someone to marry, I will personally plan your wedding!" she declared, blowing her long bangs from her face with a huff.

"I thought you wanted to be a iryō-nin, not a wedding planner," I chuckled as Noburu pushed himself upright.

Akane grinned. "I could be both."

"You guys are ridiculous," Noburu interjected, plucking another rice ball from my bento.

After we finished the remnants of lunch we decided to head to class early so we could go over notes for ninjutsu class. Just as we were making our way to the school building, a boy with styled black hair blocked the doorway. Noburu instantly stiffened and Akane reverted back to her shy self, shrinking behind the boy. A scattering of other boys and girls about the same age crowded around us.

The beginnings of some old school bullying by the looks of it. This wasn't good.

"What do you want Taro?" Noburu glared as he stood firmly in front of me and Akane.

The boy in question grinned nastily. "That's not the way to greet an old friend."

His lackeys laughed though I didn't see what was funny about anything he said. Taro looked to be well off, I could only assume that his family had connections to the capital by the cleanliness and quality of his clothes. He definitely didn't come from a clan or ninja family that much was certain; his clothes were completely impractical, the material valuable in wealth but not in durability. Most of the others didn't seem as well off so I assumed they were normal civilians, possibly being paid to be this guy's friend.

"I'm surprised you two are even still enrolled in the academy. Especially after what happened last year."

My friends tensed up even more so as the boy spoke. Just what happened? I could feel the way their chakra shriveled and shrunk inside themselves, as if they wanted to disappear, unlike how vibrant they were usually. Akane's bright and bubbly chakra and Noburu's swift and overly confident flow both stifled.

This wasn't right.

Noburu huffed. "Of course we are! We're graduating this year and we'll be ninja."

His voice was full of false bravado. Unconvincing. He didn't seem to believe his own words. Where was the brash boy who ran over lakes and grinned in the face of explosions?

This is wrong. My skin crawled, and I intertwined my fingers together to stop my hands from becoming fists and took a deep breath. I reminded myself it wouldn't help the situation if I got worked up, even though my patience was beginning to wear thin as Taro continued to speak.

"Sure you will," Taro chuckled with a roll of his eyes, which drifted to where I stood just to the left of Noburu.

"I heard that you guys were babysitting some kid." His green eyes looked me up and down briefly. I stared blankly at him in return. "A Hyūga huh, doesn't seem like much."

"J-junko-chan isn't just some k-kid!" Akane stammered as she went to stand by Noburu, her hands gripping her pigtails tightly. "She's nice, and kind, and really smart! And she's a princess too!"

One of the girls in Taro's group stepped forward, with the same shiny black hair and green eyes, sneering at my friend as though she was nothing more than dirt. I briefly recognized her from kunoichi class, a suck up who sat in the front row. I had noticed the girl made Akane uncomfortable sometimes but never knew the extent of their relationship as the blonde reassured me that it was nothing. I had foolishly chalked it up to girl drama.

"As though bumping elbows with a clan kid will make you less of an outsider," she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Not even your mother-"

Noburu jerked forward as tears sprung up in Akane's eyes. "You shut your mouth you spoiled-!"

He was pushed back before he could get close, knocked to the ground by a few of the lackeys.

Akane rushed to his aid until she was pulled back by the other girls in the group, who began to hassle the girl.

This needs to stop. They need to stop.

Before I could make a move, the green eyed girl walked up to me, staring me up and down much like her sibling did. She snorted, her slight pointed nose stuck in the air.

"A princess huh?" The look of a sleazy business man crossed her face. "Well, I'm Tomiko-"

"I don't care who you are." My words came out light, and I even added a smile at the end. The rest of the group went silent, their eyes focused on us. Apparently, this pair really needed a dose of reality. Akane managed to break away from the other girls and tugged Noburu from the ground.

The girl seemed startled. "What do you mean, 'you don't care'? My family has ties to the damiyo-"

"You do realize none of that matters out in the field, don't you?" I interrupted. "In fact, most enemy nin and bandits would see that as a bounty, and you would be targeted right away to be held for ransom."

Tomiko froze and I continued, a small amount of pity seeping into my voice.

"I hear that kunoichi get it worse in hostage situations as well," I supplied. It was an unfortunate reality of this world. "So I do hope you planned on doing more than count on your family's privilege to sustain you on the outside because you will not last long otherwise."

The girl's face went pale then bright red. She stomped her feet.

"You little brat! How dare-"

Taro stepped up next to his sister, quieting her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't let yourself get worked up Tomi-nee. It's unsightly."

Tomiko huffed and hugged onto his arm. "Taro-nii make her apologize for such crude behavior!"

Crude? Akane and Noburu had made their way to my side as the siblings' group stood behind the pair. Taro looked down at me, a haughty smile on his face.

"Our family has much pull in this village," he grinned, patting his sister's arm. "My sister and I came to the academy in order to-"

"I don't care," I interrupted, and his smile instantly dropped. Something tinged in the air, sharp and cold.

Killing intent or some watered down version permeated the space around us as he pulled away from his sister who huddled together with their little bullies.

I wasn't impressed. I got it worse from the elders almost daily.

"You should Hyūga-chan," The muscles in his face twitched as his grin returned. "We have many resources and connection that could be-"

"You must have misheard me," I interrupted again, stretching lightly onto my toes. "So let me elaborate."

I smiled at him.

"It would take the Damiyo, Hokage, and the Sage of Six Paths to convince me that your little power play here is anything worth paying attention to."

I ended with a little shrug and an angry blush identical to his sister spread across his face as I continued.

"You are aware this is a ninja academy in a ninja village, correct?" I tilted my head questioningly. "The shinobi of Konohagkure fight under the philosophy of the Will of Fire, seeing each other as comrades in arms in order to fight against those who would dare threaten us."

"What does that even matter?" Taro sneered. The group behind him shuffled nervously as little by little, my own killing intent seeped into the air. This boy was pissing me off.

"It means that you do not belong in this village and are undeserving of becoming a ninja if you think you can use your ties to the damiyo to 'threaten' me or anyone else."

The boy went to speak but I wasn't done.

"The shinobi of Konoha are a family." While it certainly had its own issues, it was certainly one of the better ninja villages, one that I loved. And one that I would protect.

"We may have our differences but we work together to uphold these ingrained beliefs."

I stretched my arms behind me before intertwining them at my back in a snake seal, one index finger pointed out.

"You can't speak to me like this, you're just a baby," he snarled taking a step closer. "The Akiyama won't stand-"

My vision intensified sharply and it filled me with the slightest bit of glee when his chakra and the others behind him froze in fear. Little beads of sweet began to accumulate on their foreheads.

Good.

"Let me clarify," I said, taking a step forward, and he took several back. "You and your sister are nothing more than scum. Now move."

Taro's pose scattered out of the way but the male Akiyama stood still, a glare on his face even as his knees shook.

"I will not be talked down to by a toddler!"

"I am Hyūga Junko, daughter of Hyūga Daichi and Senju Kimiko, as well as an heir to the Hyūga clan." If he wasn't pale before, he was white as a sheet now as the names and title registered in his brain. "I believe that I'm a little more than a baby, don't you think?"

Clips of noise trickled from his lips as he gaped at me before stumbling backwards and out of the way. I let my byakugan fade and turned to my friends.

"Let's go."

They followed me silently as I led the way into the building, not once looking back and not saying a single word.

Posted/Edited: October 4, 2016

Minor Edits: February 1st, 2017

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Thanks to all who have favorited and followed this story so far. As always, I really appreciate it!

Reviews

Thanks to k123, Mari, Anaphore, UniCryin, one who reads too much, 372259, Love Stories00, Peon, and Annayla for your lovely reviews on the last chapter.

-UniCryin wanted to read a bit more Junko's training with the clan, and so I added a page and a half to this chapter at the beginning covering a bit of her sparing with Kenta and Satomi. I hope this was what you were looking for, and expect more in the future.

-Peon wondered how Junko will stop an 'unstoppable beast' which I believe is referencing to the Kyūbi?

Well, the most effective way would be stop it from happening in the first place, but the future doesn't have the nicest plans for our little protagonist. And while the Lightning cloak would indeed work well with her jūken and her own defensive style, her affinity is primarily earth and secondarily water so it wouldn't work. Also, thanks for the compliment!

-Annayla wanted more scenes with Shisui, and here you go! If you liked this one, you'll definitely like the ones have in the next couple of chapters.

I'm glad you all enjoyed the interlude chapter, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much. Junko, for all her patience and compassion, has absolutely no chill when it comes to bullies. If only she could handle her own problems as well as she handles others.

Next time on For a Chance at Happiness:

Chapter 11: Of Emotional Missteps and Homecomings