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

Chapter 12: Of Resolution and Fire

In my life Before, I had been terrified of heights. I hated going to amusement parks since my friends would hop on all the roller coasters and I would be left sitting on the benches outside the ride alone, waiting for them to finish. I couldn't even walk near the edge of a second floor mall walkway without feeling the slightest bit woozy and nauseous.

Even elevators made me nervous, and don't get me started on escalators.

I didn't scream, couldn't scream, as I plummeted down the cliff side and towards the rocky river below. It seemed to go by too fast and too slow all at the same time. I couldn't see or hear anything, my eyes clenched shut, the rushing wind blocking out everything else. This would be the sight my parents came back to, if they ever came back. My shattered, broken, drowned body in the river.

All because I had been so upset.

Time was warped as I fell. It felt like I was falling in slow motion while the sounds and air came rushing at me in an nonstop loop. There were no flashes of my life before my eyes, just the bleak darkness of my eyelids. The last thing I would ever see.

Reality came crashing around me when something crashed into me, gripping me with a tightness that caused my eyes to shoot open. My arms automatically wrapped around the object, something in dark fabric that scratched against my face. Rocks and debris fell around us as the descent continued before coming to a jarring and sudden stop. My arms were locked around the object which shook in my hold as we hung suspended in the air.

Something muffled came close to my ear. When I lifted my eyes from the darkness, all I could see were bright red eyes, dotted with a pair of tomoe in each. Shisui.

He gave me squeeze to get my attention. I blinked blankly up, mesmerized by the sharingan.

"-right, Junko-san?" His voice came strained and faded as my hearing returned. He had one arm wrapped around my midsection while the other was tightened around a rope that extended to a higher point on the cliff. In my mushed up mind, I was slightly amazed at how far I had fallen; I couldn't even see the top of the cliff.

"W-why…?" I wheezed.

He gave a strained smile. "Why not?"

I shook my head, a shiver traveling through my bones. This boy was crazy. It wasn't like we were friends or anything like that. Why would he risk his life to save mine? He went to speak when more debris from the cliff side began to fall around us and something gave way.

And we fell.

This fall was much shorter, and a lot less deadly, and we fell into the ice cold water of the river with a splash. It was deeper than it looked from the fall and Shisui and I quickly clambered onto the bank, shaking. The calm flow of the river accompanied our panting as we fought to catch our breaths. Coughing up some water, I looked to the Uchiha who had just composed himself. Who had just saved my life. I was still shaking.

My lips trembled as I spoke.

"W-what w-were you t-thinking? You could've d-died!" I sputtered. The boy gave me an incredulous look.

"W-what, do you think I s-should've just l-let you fall to y-your death?" he stuttered back as he clumsily rose to his feet. I didn't have an answer for him, at least one he would have no problem with.

I couldn't answer it myself.

I looked down at my shaking fingers, our fall into the river having cleaned away some of the blood, revealing the torn skin. I didn't know how I was going to explain this to Aunt Mei. Maybe I could find Akane and she could patch me up. No, no I couldn't do that; it would only worry the girl and I didn't want to burden her with that after missing our trip to Tsukuda's.

So caught up in my muddled thoughts, I jerked back in surprise when a hand was thrust into my line of sight. I looked at it vacantly before a sigh came from overhead and Shisui grabbed my arm, pulling me onto my shaky legs. Once I was steady, he stepped away to give me space to compose myself, for which I was thankful. I took a deep breath and centered on my core, letting more chakra flow through my system and stabilizing my thoughts.

That was incredibly stupid of me; I was a Hyūga, I should be paying attention at all times. I could've died. If it weren't for Shisui, I would've hit the water much faster and harder. And lucky for us that it was autumn too, which meant the river wasn't as fast as it could be. We would've been swept away otherwise.

With a shake of my head, I realized that we were in the Naka River. Fate had a twisted sense of humor.

Once I collected myself I looked at my savior, instantly noticing how he tended to his right arm. He cradled the appendage, the exposed skin of his forearm littered with angry red rope burns and he winced every time he tried to move his shoulder. Oh no.

I moved in his direction before hesitating, his dark eyes connecting with mine in the orange afternoon light. Steeling myself, I silently stumbled over to him, activating my byakugan in the process. His muscles tensed minutely as I scanned his arm; the muscles surrounding his socket were starting to swell, though luckily enough, the bone hadn't come out of its socket. Thinking quickly, I pulled the damp obi from around my waist and using a kunai from my thigh pouch, which had by some miracle not fallen out, cut it into thinner strips. I looked to Shisui for permission, to which he gave a nod, before wrapping it around him in a makeshift sling. I could at least do this much.

Thanking Akane in my head for the first aid lessons, we stood quietly as I finished tying it around his shoulder, the remnants of heat in the air slowly warming our bodies. I pressed my fingers lightly into the tenketsu surrounding the injured muscle, forcing a bit of chakra into them. I couldn't heal it, but at least I could numb the pain a bit and jumpstart his own chakra, which seemed worryingly low. The sharingan must've taken a lot out of him.

He winced but smiled when I finished. "Thank you Junko-san."

It was my turn to be incredulous.

"You shouldn't be thanking me. I'm the reason you're injured," I wheezed with my raw throat. That infuriating smile stayed on his face as he shrugged his good shoulder, looking towards the skyline.

"We should get going, it's going to get dark soon," he said, shaking his waterlogged bag. I did the same. Everything was wet but not unsalvageable.

I was tempted to stay on the bank of the river. Nothing good would come from me returning to the compound. But Shisui was injured and low on chakra, and it was all my fault. I nodded with a sigh. Getting Shisui out of the forest and to a healer had to be priority now. I could deal with my personal issues later.

We followed the river into another forested area. The dense overgrowth of trees overhead caused our surroundings to become almost pitch black, the dying rays of light unable to penetrate the leaves. I led the way, byakugan at the ready as I tugged a tired and reluctant Shisui with me with one hand, my kunai in the other. Once it became clear that traversing the forest would be almost impossible with the lack of light, I had activated my dōjutsu and grabbed his hand. He had protested with a blush on his face, but I quickly forced him into my way of thinking. With his busted arm and lack of chakra, he wouldn't be able to do much on his own, and at least with my byakugan I could still see.

Boys were silly.

We trekked on mostly silent and I broke the silence only to inform the boy of hazards he couldn't see. A question bubbled in my brain, and once I did focused scan of the area, I let my attention drift to my companion.

"Shisui-san, how did you know where I was?" I was facing forward but I could see how he stared at me before ducking down. He was silent for a moment before speaking.

"I saw you walking through the village, and it seemed like something was bothering you." That was an understatement. "I just wanted to see if something was wrong, so I followed you."

"So you're a stalker now?" I teased lightly, and the boy ducked his head again. "I know you've been following me around the village."

His chakra moved slowly but anxiously, probably because I just outed him. I sighed but gave his hand a little squeeze.

"I appreciate it Shisui," I said, carefully maneuvering him around a fallen tree branch. "Really."

He looked up at me in surprise, before a small smile spread across his face.

"You're welcome," he said bashfully. Then another question popped in my head.

"Why were you following me anyway?" At my question, he looked down at his soggy knapsack. I followed suit, looking through it. There was a familiar bag, crushed by the look of it, tucked between his school books.

"An anpan from Tsukuda's?" I realized, turning my head to make eye contact with the Uchiha. He blushed, his chakra churning through his pathways.

"I made you drop yours that day on the bridge," he mumbled as I helped him step over an upturned root. "I wanted to get you another one in return, but I kept missing you."

A pressure built in my lungs before it burst into laughter. It was ridiculous. Astonishing. This boy had followed me over the edge of a cliff to give me a sweet roll. Well, kinda.

Just what was it about this world that created such self-sacrificing people?

Was it the Will of Fire? Who knows.

My laughter faded as I composed myself, Shisui's hand in my grip twitching. I wiped away the tears that had formed in my brief stint of hysteria with the back of my free hand.

"You are a very strange human being Shisui-san," I said, a few giggles escaping as the thought passed through my mind again. He had jumped over a cliff to save me and give me a sweet roll. Absolutely ridiculous.

There was a hint of amusement in his voice as he spoke.

"I could say the same about you Junko-san."

I shrugged, the endorphins and adrenaline running through my body sending me into giggles again.

"That's fair."

Up ahead, I could see a clearing on the edge of my extended vision, and I tugged the Uchiha's hand as I rid myself of my giggles.

"There's a clearing just about twenty meters out from here." He gave a nod in return and we moved quicker through the forest, both of us gaining our second wind.

There was the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel as we broke into the clearing, when we were met with a raging fireball flying in our direction. For me at least, as Shisui couldn't, wouldn't be able to see the threat that loomed over us.

Just our luck.

Without thinking, I pushed Shisui to the ground and threw myself over him to protect him, condensing the chakra in the tenketsu in my back to form a barrier around myself. The heat was intense as it passed quickly overhead, surely burning a few stray strands of my hair as it exhausted itself a few feet away, singeing the bark and leaves of the trees around us.

Burning leaves and smoke surrounded us as I quickly rolled off the Uchiha, running my hands through my hair and over my shoulders to make sure I wasn't on fire.

"Junko-san are you alright?" Shisui gasped as he pushed himself up, eyes glowing red as they scanned the perimeter. I nodded with a shaky breath; we just couldn't catch a break could we?

But that had been a Grand Fireball jutsu; Yasu and Katsuo used it enough for me to recognize it right away. I strained the limits of my byakugan as I searched for the enemy who had attacked us. Nothing appeared on my radar, until a figure with a large amount of chakra appeared, suddenly with a whoosh of air.

Right in front of us.

Shisui gave a shout of alarm as I brought the kunai still clinched in my hand up offensively. The enemy easily, too easily, grabbed my hand in a vice grip. I swung my other hand, adrenaline and fear pulsing through my body, trying desperately to incapacitate them, do something. But their other hand came and grabbed my wrist, careful of my pulsing palm. I tried to form a barrier, to release their grip but I was drained, my byakugan fading as I reached my limit.

I screamed.

"Junko-chan calm down!" A deep, familiar voice called out. I opened my eyes- when had I shut them?- and plunged into deep blue eyes.

Minato Namikaze stared down at me worriedly as my knees gave out and I dangled from his grip.

Just perfect.

It took several moments for me to calm down and by that time the rest of Team Minato had joined us. I might've hyperventilated a little beforehand, but neither Minato nor Shisui would tell anyone. Minato rubbed my back in circles as my heart calmed down. The two of us must've been quite the sight, a pair of dirty, damp, injured children surrounded by burning forest. Rin and Obito had stood in shock for minute before the girl rushed to Shisui who sat beside me while the other Uchiha remained still, their last teammate only showing surprise through a slight widening of his eyes.

Several things were certain. One, in flight or fight situations, I was surprisingly a fighter that much was sure, though maybe I shouldn't be; I wasn't very effective. Two, I must be the most unluckly human being on the planet. And three:

Obito Uchiha should never be allowed near small children. Ever.

"What happened?" Rin asked as she carefully unwrapped my makeshift sling to tend to Shisui's injuries.

"It seems as though these two were caught up in Obito's wayward grand fireball." His cerulean eyes drifted from my noticeably raw and bruised knuckles to Shisui's reddening forearm. Obito had the decency to look apologetic.

"Though I'm sure something else happened beforehand."

Shisui and I locked eyes. Although we hadn't spoke about it during our trek through the forest, it was obvious I didn't want anybody to know about my outburst. Honestly, now that I had almost died twice now, I didn't feel anything about my parents continued absence, just empty acceptance.

I was more worried about Shisui.

"It was a training accident," Shisui spoke first, wincing when Rin moved onto his shoulder with her Mystic Palm. "We were practicing on one of the cliffs near the Naka River."

I nodded, inwardly amazed at how fast he had come up with an excuse. "I had fallen over the edge. Shisui-san stopped my fall but we ended up falling into the river after part of the cliff gave way."

That sent another wave of surprise over the group and they took a closer look at us, and I realized that I was always lying around these guys.

Minato frowned as Obito gaped widely at us.

"Why were two kids like you training in a dangerous place like that?" The older Uchiha choked.

I gave a blank look. He was one to talk; he had ran into me twice, crushed me, and almost burned me and Shisui to death. He couldn't say anything about danger when he was a walking catastrophe even without the help and brainwashing from Madara.

"We were practicing for Ikeda-sensei's taijutsu test next week," Shisui said as Rin finished with his arm, the bruising on his arm and shoulder fading as she pulled away.

"Wakana-senpai is a sensei?" Minato blinked in disbelief. Shisui and I shuddered minutely; we couldn't believe it either.

"Wait, you're in the same class as Shisui? Isn't that the graduating class?" Obito squinted down at me as Minato moved so Rin could take a look at my hands. I flinched at the feeling of foreign chakra, fighting the urge to push it away with my own though I didn't have much in reserve. I forced myself to relax when it entered my system, watching with a bit of fascination as the damaged skin healed in front of my eyes. I thanked her as Shisui spoke.

"Junko-san is one of the best students, at the top of the class."

At Shisui's declaration, I looked at him in surprise, and so did Obito and the others to a certain extent. Kakashi, although silent, seemed the most interested, abandoning his apathetic façade to stare down at me.

"I am?"

"You don't check the monthly rankings do you?" Having been in the academy for about four months at this point, it didn't seem important since those things changed all the time. Maybe in the later months closer to graduation, but not now. Even then, those type of things didn't matter to me as long as the elders were happy with my progress. I shook my head.

Shisui had a look in his eye that I was soon becoming familiar with, one part amused and the other dubious. He went to speak when a gust of wind blew through the area, causing the both of us to shiver. Our clothes were still damp from our tumble into the river.

"We should get you two back home," Minato said, taking charge. It was late, peaks of orange barely visible over the peak of the Hokage Rock I could see in the distance. Had we really been gone that long?

"Your families must be worried about you." I frowned but said nothing as I looked down at my discolored knuckles.

The adrenaline of the afternoon had faded, leaving us exhausted and unable to move. Minato split us up, Obito and Rin escorting Shisui back to the Uchiha compound as it made the most sense, as the former, obviously, lived there and the other lived close by. The Nohara helped lift the boy onto the older Uchiha's back and that left the other two to deal with me.

There was no way in hell Kakashi would give me a piggyback ride, so Minato knelt down for me to climb on. I hesitated for a moment but was too tired to argue and so I wrapped my arms around his neck. The jōnin easily stood to his full height and I was painfully reminded of how father would let me sit on his shoulders when he'd work in the backyard. He had quite the green thumb.

I missed him. And mother.

"Alright, make sure you get plenty of rest tonight for our mission," Minato ordered, looking over his team as we stepped off the training grounds Shisui and I had stumbled onto. They gave their affirmation, the Uchiha boys and Rin walking off to the right as Minato carried me off in the direction of the Hyūga compound, Kakashi at his heels.

The walk was silent as night slowly fell over us. In the back of my head, I was slightly amazed that no one had gone looking for me but with one of the twins back, it made sense. My importance stood on the fact that Hideyoshi's sons didn't make it back from the war.

Other than that, my usefulness was nonexistent.

I closed my eyes with a sigh, resting my head on Minato's shoulder, his body heat soothing my tired muscles. The blond turned his own, his spiky hair tickling my cheek. It was soft. He said something, but it was muffled as my awareness slowly waned. I could only focus on the vibrations coming from his back as I was lulled to sleep by the smoothness of his step.

Author's Notes

Posted/Edited: October 17, 2016

Minor edits: February 2nd, 2017

...

As always, thanks to everyone who has favorited and/or followed this story thus far. Also, thanks to those have followed/favorited me since I haven't done so before.

Thanks to starthedetective, k123, Guest, 372259, korohoshi, MylaUchia, mewtwosangel, and dorkysora for reviewing on the last or previous chapter. I appreciate it!

I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter; I'm sure that all you Junko/Shisui shippers did. I love hearing what you guys think about Junko and her interactions the canon cast, as well as my other OCs and especially the writing itself. It gives me life. I don't have much to say this time around and there weren't any questions, so see you all next time.

Next time on For a Chance at Happiness:

Chapter 13: Of Consequence and Soil