Hi everyone. I decided on a pre-weekend update because, well, I'd rather do this than the list of things I really need to do. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, and I really appreciate the reviews I have received. I have my preexisting script that I'm working off of, but now that I've almost completed the story it's fun to go back and spice things up here at the beginning. Enjoy the return of Team 8!

A few days later, Beki's father left Konoha for Getsugakure. Beki felt uncomfortable being cut off from him, but she hadn't seen Seiichiro since the dinner with the Hyugas. It was just a lingering thought in the back of her mind: if something goes wrong, I'm all on my own out here. Since he was going home, she had asked him to bring some things she realized would come in handy.

Hinata was excited because word had been sent ahead that Shino and Kiba were on their way home from their long term mission. She hadn't seen her teammates in months, and for Hinata it was like being separated from brothers. She couldn't wait for them to meet Beki, but Hinata also wanted to get some time with her old friends.

Hinata waited until they had been home for a couple of days for them to catch up with their families. On the day Hinata was supposed to go meet them, she baked chocolate chip cookies and little bone biscuits for Akamaru. Beki walked into the kitchen with a puzzled look on her face.

"Are these for something special?" She asked, eyeballing the cookies.

"Yes," Hinata said. "My squad mates have finally returned from their long term mission. I was going to go see them this afternoon. I'll probably be out late, so you'll have to have dinner in the main house."

"Maybe I'll just hit up the diner or Ichiraku," Beki shrugged and stealthily snatched a cookie. "I'll go study now. Holler in there when you're heading out."

"Happy reading," Hinata called after her.

…

Hinata had been spending time with her teammates for the last two days. Beki had wandered around town trying to keep herself busy, but she didn't know many people. Without Hinata there to make introductions, Beki just floated from place to place. People thought she was just another outsider passing through. She had finished the textbook on the history of Konoha and brought it by the school shortly after it let out for the day. Beki wandered in to find the halls were empty, so she stuck her nose in a few classrooms until she found a man sitting at a desk working on what looked like grading papers.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt you, but I'm looking for Iruka sensei?" Beki used her best grown up voice, but something about being in an academy made her feel like a little kid again. This feeling betrayed her and made her voice sound like she was asking for permission.

The man looked up at her and smiled pleasantly. He had an interesting scar across his nose, but Beki tried not to stare.

"You've found him," He said. "Sorry, I don't believe we've met."

"I'm Tsukimori Beki. Hyuga Neji borrowed this on my behalf and I'm here to return it," She handed the book to him.

"Oh, did you get through the whole thing already?" Iruka asked.

"Yes, it's been very helpful," Beki smiled. "With the culture shock and all."

"Oh," he frowned almost imperceptibly. "Are you adjusting okay?"

If I were to design the most teacher-y teacher ever, it would be this guy, Beki thought. The way he looked at her, the soft but encouraging voice he used, and his kind and professional demeanor were the ideal for an academy instructor. Beki wished she had a teacher like him back when she was at the academy. Her teachers were always snippy and short with her because they felt the only reason she got a spot was her father's position as ambassador. They thought that other more deserving children had missed out on the opportunity because of good old fashioned nepotism. It didn't matter that Beki had the endurance and pain tolerance of an adult at the age of five. It didn't matter that she picked up skills quickly and had a naturally disarming aura. All that mattered was that they didn't like her, so they were blind to anything that made her worthy.

"Yes, I'm adjusting well," Beki lied. "The Hyugas are taking good care of me and I'm making friends with some of the other kids my age."

His face lit up.

"Oh, really? Who have you met already?"

"Um, well I'm staying with Hinata, so I spend most of my time around either her or Neji," Beki explained. "I've met Rock Lee and Tenten, and they're both very nice. I've met Ino and Sakura in passing. That's about it."

Iruka smiled, remembering them fondly. "They're all great kids."

He thought for a moment.

"You would probably get along well with the rest of Ino's team. See if she'll introduce you to Shikamaru and Chouji. It's a shame," He said. "One of my favorite students is actually out of town training. He would have jumped at the opportunity to take you under his wing."

"Who is it?" Beki's curiosity was piqued.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka said. "He's befriended pretty much everyone your age here in Konoha."

"Hinata sure thinks he's the bee's knees." Beki said.

He chuckled at that.

"Iruka-sensei!" A boy said as he ran in the room. "I forgot my homework!"

The boy had a blue scarf that trailed behind him like a tail.

"Oh, Konohamaru," Iruka fished in a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a manila folder and took out a small packet. "Here you go."

Konohamaru took the paper but his eyes never left Beki.

"Hi kid," Beki gave him a friendly smile.

"Konohamaru, this is Tsukimori Beki. She's from Getsugakure and she's visiting Konoha for a while. Her father is an ambassador. Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah, it's cool," Konohamaru parroted, still staring at her.

Iruka looked at Beki.

"Konohamaru is the grandson of the third Hokage, so he knows all the ins and outs of the village. If you ever need anything, he's a good fellow to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind," Beki smiled at Konohamaru again. "So what do you say kid, you'll rescue me if I get into some trouble?"

"Well, I mean, it depends," Konohamaru flushed suddenly. "I mean if you do something stupid and get in trouble and need help, you should fix it yourself. But, I mean, sure. Yeah. I'll help you."

"I'll hold you to that Konohamaru. A shinobi is only as good as his word," Beki recited, a twinge of sadness hitting her when she heard her father's words come out of her mouth.

Konohamaru looked at her like she had imparted some great wisdom to him and then ran off.

"You're good with kids," Iruka offered. "Have you worked with children much?"

"Not really, but I know they like feeling important," Beki replied. "Just like adults. That's something I learned from my dad. Everyone wants to feel important."

Iruka thought for a moment.

"I know you aren't from around here and you might not be interested, but we have kind of a half day kindergarten Monday through Thursday. If you need help keeping busy, we could always use a hand."

Beki was a little shocked.

"But I'm not even from here,"

"I have known a lot of kids, Beki," Iruka smiled gently. "I know a good one when I see one."

Beki couldn't help but smile back.

"If you say so," she thought about it. "I'd have to ask the Hokage if that's okay."

"Just let me know Ms. Tsukimori," Iruka said. "If you're interested, the position will be waiting for you."

…

Beki made sure that she walked out of the school, but as soon as her feet hit the street she broke out into a full on bolt. Now that Hinata's friends were back, she would start going on missions and spending time with them. The thought of hanging out around Hinata's house by herself was painful. Beki prayed the Hokage would give her the go ahead on helping out at the school. There were a million reasons why she might say no, but Beki hoped Tsunade would make an exception all the same. She started to rehearse her case in her head, anticipating Tsunade's arguments and coming up with good counterpoints. She was so fixated on her imagined argument she didn't register the people walking out in front of her until it was too late.

Team 8 was now directly in her path. If she tried to stop or change direction now, it would only cause her to ram into them without any control for how it went down. There was only one thing she could do. She called out the universally accepted command all shinobi responded to immediately:

"DUCK!"

All four of them dropped low, just low enough for her to execute her plan. Beki planted her hands on Neji's shoulders and vaulted over his head, knocking him face down into the ground. Gai sensei and Lee immediately jumped up and cheered her.

"That was amazing, Beki chan!" Lee's eyes shimmered with admiration. "A dash of youth followed by a vault of triumph! A 9 out of 10!"

"I knew you were worthy of the tights," Gai sensei's smile sparkled. "Wait, why aren't you wearing the tights?"

"I uh," Beki caught herself responding but then remembered she had essentially curb stomped Neji. "Neji are you okay?"

"He's dazed," Tenten looked up her with exasperation. "Why did you do that?"

"I was lost in my thoughts and I didn't see you guys coming," Beki's voice wavered. "Neji?"

He sat up and shook his head. Neji turned to face his attacker, and his eyes narrowed for a moment. He heaved a sigh and shakily regained his feet.

"I should have known it was you."

"Sorry, Neji." Beki apologized.

"You obviously had something important to get to," He waved her off. "Don't worry about it. Get going."

"I'll make it up to you later," Beki called out over her shoulder as she ran away, prompting strange looks from both Tenten and Neji. Lee and Gai sensei were too busy discussing how to incorporate vaulting into their training to notice.

When she arrived at the Hokage's mansion, the guards nodded at her as she jogged up the steps. The guard outside the door held up a hand for her to wait. He popped his head inside and announced her in low tones. Beki heard Tsunade's voice, but she couldn't make out what she had said. The guard slid back out and closed the door.

"The Hokage wants to you wait out here for a few minutes."

"Okay," Beki stepped back a little to give him personal space. "So, um, what's it like being a guard?"

"Are you trying to make small talk with me?" The guard stared her down.

"It's that or stand here awkwardly in silence with me staring at my feet and you pretending to gaze at nothing." Beki shrugged. "Silence it is."

"Look, kid, standing outside a door all day is a pain, but it's my job," The guard used the same low tones he had to announce her. It must be hard to hear through walls. She was going to have to try it when she got home.

Shizune stuck her head out and smiled at Beki.

"You can come in now, Tsukimori san."

"Thank you," Beki bounced inside.

Tsunade looked tired. It was cumulative exhaustion, like she hadn't had more than four hours of sleep in weeks. Beki realized all her counterpoints might be mute. With the way Tsunade looked, her best bet was to plead her case, and do it in as few words as possible.

"I know you're very busy," Beki started. "Thank you for seeing me."

Tsunade heaved a deep sigh and waved her hand for Beki to finish.

"I was wondering if I could help out with the preschool class at the academy," Beki tried not to fidget. Her father said fidgeting made you look weak. "Hinata's going to start going on missions, and since I can't go on missions I thought it would be a good way to keep busy. Would that be okay?"

Tsunade and Shizune exchanged an uncomfortable look. The Hokage heaved another sigh and adjusted her shirt before she replied:

"While I appreciate you taking the initiative to contribute back to society, unfortunately you aren't a Leaf ninja," She explained. "Parents wouldn't be pleased to have a kunoichi from some faraway village handling their children."

"So the problem is I haven't proven my worth," Beki was fidgeting behind her back.

"In a sense, yes." Tsunade "Regardless, you've brought up a valid point. These talks are taking an eternity because of the paranoid king's demands all messages be brought in person. Your father and I are going to have to come up with something for you to keep busy."

"Can you promise not to let him apprentice me to a weapon smith?" Beki blinked back her childish fears. "He keeps threatening to do just that."

Tsunade gave a weak chuckle.

"Sure, kid. Weapon smithing is off the table. Now get out of here, you bother me."

Beki bowed and turned to leave. She waved at Tsunade and Shizune as she closed the door and started heading down the stairs. About halfway down, she got self-conscious and gave a shy wave to the guard at the door. He promptly ignored her, but she felt better for acknowledging him.

The potential volunteer work having ended in a bust bummed Beki out. On her way back to the compound, she picked up on the savory aroma of ramen. Her stomach growled; it had been hours since her last meal. She remembered Hinata would be out with her friends, so she shrugged and headed over to Ichiraku Ramen. The counter was full except for the squeaky seat at the end. She took it and pursued a childlike fascination with the way it squealed as she swiveled her hips back and forth.

Teuchi paid her infantile behavior no mind as he took her order. Beki liked him. He was one of the few people who didn't double take when they saw a Getsu nin running around. He also arranged her toppings into smiley faces. Beki was always under so much pressure to act grown up and mature that it was refreshing to have someone do something fun for her. It was as delicious as usual, its curative powers filling her belly and lifting her mood. She paid for her meal, took one last swivel on the chair, and started for home.

Beki was only a few feet away from Ichiraku Ramen when she saw Hinata waving her down. There were two boys with her around their age and a dog the size of a horse. Those must be her teammates, Beki thought as she approached the trio. Hinata had a big smile on her face, the boy with the dog looked unsure, and the third boy's face was completely concealed by his hood and sunglasses.

"Guys, this is my roommate Tsukimori Beki." Hinata said with a smile. "Beki, this is Aburame Shino and this is Inuzuka Kiba."

"And who's this guy?" Beki beamed, more interested in the dog.

"That's Akamauru," Kiba said with unease. "Be careful he doesn't like it when strangers-"

Beki was scratching his chin and Akamaru was stamping his foot with joy.

"Pet him," Kiba finished quietly.

"We were going to go train," Hinata offered. "Would you like to join us?"

"I probably should," Beki sighed. "I've been kind of neglectful of doing anything more strenuous than laundry."

Surprisingly, Hinata did most of the talking as they walked. Shino was silent, but Beki recognized it as a listening silence. Her father employed the same strategy and found it fairly effective at getting people to spill all they knew. Kiba was the next most talkative, arguing with Hinata about how events had transpired and trying to take control of the conversation. After about fifteen minutes of walking at a casual pace, they arrived at a large open field just outside of town.

"So how are we doing this, girls vs. guys?" Beki asked.

"We could do that," Shino replied. "Or we could square off one on one."

"Or two on one, in our case," Kiba gestured to himself and Akamaru.

Hinata looked at them all in turn before she said:

"Maybe teams would be best."

"So boys vs. girls it is," Beki stretched.

They all got into fighting positions and Beki took a deep breath. It had been some time since she had sparred with kids her age. Usually, her dad let her come at him and just gave her suggestions on how to keep her guard up. The way the boys were looking though, they would be taking this match seriously. That made her nervous. She closed her eyes and felt the underground river flowing beneath the training field. If things got tight and her chakra got low, she could always utilize the existing elements to aid her. It was a lot easier to manifest a jutsu using what was around them than converting the moisture in the air into something suitable for ninjutsu. Once the match began, Akamaru turned into Kiba and they started charging the girls, bobbing and weaving so it was hard to tell who was who. Shino hung back.

"Watch out," Hinata said as she dove out of the way.

Well that's silly, Beki thought as she dodged, but then she saw what Hinata was really warning her about. Kiba's charge had masked the cloud of insects Shino sent in behind him. They swarmed around her face and got in her ears and nose. She started coughing but it made it worse. The insects got inside her mouth. Beki used a water jutsu to gush water out of her mouth, expelling the insects from her lungs, windpipe, mouth, and nose. It was unpleasant as hell and gave her a headache, but it got the job done. She looked back up to rejoin the fight and saw one of the Kibas coming for her. She did her best to deflect the onslaught of blows he laid upon her, but he was fast.

Beki was tiring out. Using that water expelling jutsu wore through her reserve and dulled her senses. She was also severely out of practice, having not trained consistently for over a month.

This is just a sparring match, she thought. You can't get your ass kicked the first time you match up with these guys. You have to at least put up a decent fight, otherwise at best they'll think you're a loser and at worst you'll make a mockery of Getsu shinobi everywhere.

She jumped back to put some space between her and the Kiba. She looked over to Hinata to see her fighting the other Kiba and Shino.

"Water prison jutsu!" Beki cried, locking Shino in a sphere of water. That will incapacitate his bugs, Beki thought as she assumed a more balanced stance. Hinata took the opportunity to clock her Kiba with a set of blows so fast Beki couldn't track them. Beki released the water sphere, allowing Hinata to seamlessly refocus her attacks onto Shino.

Kiba came at Beki again and swung a roundhouse kick toward her chest. She leaned back as far as she could and his leg swept harmlessly just out of range. Beki snapped back up. Kiba was in too close and his body was still following the momentum of his kick. She punched him across the face as hard as she could and he went down facing away from her on all fours. Quick as a flash he had thrown his foot back and caught her on the chin. The blow knocked her off her feet and she smacked down on her back hard. Her head came down on something hard, probably a rock, and she saw stars.

"Kiba what did you do?!" She heard Hinata yell.

"I was aiming for her chest," He said apologetically. "I didn't know I was going to clip her on the chin like that."

She heard them all come over to her but she kept her eyes closed. When she opened them the world spun and made her sick to her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked, her voice full of concern.

"I'll be fine just as soon as the world stops spinning," Beki groaned.

Akamaru whimpered with sympathy.

"I'm okay boy," Beki tried opening her eyes. Things were finally steadying and she couldn't feel her ramen creeping up her esophagus anymore.

That's when she noticed how far they all were keeping their distance. Their looks of concern were no longer necessarily for her. She sat up and the hair that had come loose from her braid fell in her face. It was an inky black instead of her usual silvery blonde. Oh no, she thought. Not now.

"It's okay," Beki laughed nervously as she sat up. "It's just how my body reacts to incaps."

"Your hair changes color?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's, I don't know, like a dog puffing up its fur?" Beki started struggling to her feet.

"Is that all it does?" Shino's voice was full of caution.

"There are...stages," Beki said evasively.

"Beki," Hinata said steadily, her voice still filled with concern.

"Look, it won't ever be an issue unless I get taken hostage or tortured or something super gruesome like that." Beki was desperate to change the subject. "It's no big deal. That was a good kick, by the way."

Her hair was already fading back to its usual color, but the other stayed silent. They were watching her every move.

"You know what, you guys can keep training," Beki started stalking off toward the road. "I'm not feeling so hot. I'm going to go home,"

"I'll walk you," Hinata started after her.

"No, it's okay. Finish your training," Beki waved her away and continued off on her own.