Chapter 7

It had been five years, and Ayumi and Sasuke were twelve. Ayumi was the happy twin now, while Sasuke was quiet and mature. She was mature when she needed to be, but otherwise…she was like a second Naruto. She was sitting at the desk across from Sasuke, eyes closed, leaning back in her chair. She'd been training with Kakashi over the past five years, and had easily passed the Genin test. She noticed Sasuke's fan girls come in, and said, smiling, "Looks like your fan clubs here, nii-san."

"And so is yours." He said with a smirk. Her smile disappeared as she noticed her fan boys coming in through the door as well. "I hate boys…" She muttered, putting a book in front of her face. She heard a familiar voice say, "Hey, Ayumi-chan!" "Hey, Naruto-kun!" She said, putting down the book and smiling. Naruto was pushed aside by Sakura, who wanted to sit next to Sasuke. Ayumi got an anime sweat drop as she said, "Abusive fan girl in the building. Watch out, Naruto. You might lose your head." Naruto was mad, and stood on Sasuke's desk, glaring at him. Ayumi sighed, closing her eyes, when she heard a collective silence. She opened her eyes to see them accidentally kissing.

She was quiet…until the laughter building in her throat was too great and she nearly fell off the chair. The boys separated, Naruto yelling, "POISON!! MY MOUTH IS RUINED!!!" and Sasuke yelling, "NARUTO!! YOU LOSER, YOU'RE DEAD!!!" Ayumi's laughter was heard above the yells, and Sasuke said, "IT'S NOT FUNNY, NII-CHAN!!" Ayumi said, between laughs, "Oh…it's not funny…THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!" She was laughing uncontrollably again, and Naruto said, "IT WASN'T FUNNY, AYUMI-CHAN!!" "I'm…sorry, Naruto-kun, but…you have to admit that was hilarious…" He pouted, saying, "No it isn't…" "Fine, don't believe me…" "Fine, then I won't."

"Fine." "Fine." "Fine!" "Fine!" "Fine!!" "Fine!!" "FINE!!!" "FINE!!!" At that moment, as Sasuke looked at the two like they were idiots, Iruka came in.
"Okay…we're splitting you up into groups of three…except for one group, which has four members." Everyone was silent as Iruka read off the names. "Squad 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno," Naruto cheered as Sakura drooped. "Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto drooped as Sakura cheered, "And Ayumi Uchiha." Sakura's eyes widened as she asked, "You two are related?" "Of course! We're twins! We better be related, after all the pain we put our mother through." Ayumi said with a smile.

When all the teams were called out, Iruka said, "Okay, go wait for your new sensei." Soon, only Naruto, Ayumi, Sasuke, and Sakura were left. Ayumi was sitting on Iruka's desk, swinging her legs back and forth. Naruto paced, until Ayumi said, "Naruto-kun, before you wear a hole in the floor, do something productive." "What? And swinging your legs is productive?" "It's better than defacing public property." She countered teasingly. After a long time, Naruto put an eraser on the door, and Ayumi sighed, saying, "Naruto, this is a JOUNIN, not a complete moron. Nobody is going to fall for-" At that moment, Kakashi opened the door, having the eraser hit his head, "-that." Ayumi finished.

She stood, saying, "Kakashi-san, I thought you were a Jounin. Do you always fall for stupid things like that?" "No." He said indignantly. "Wait…you know him?" Sakura asked. "Yeah. He's my guardian. Kakashi Hatake." "Is he the one that's always training you?" Naruto questioned. Ayumi nodded, saying, "Yep." "Yeah, but she has a problem with taking orders…" "You know perfectly well why I don't!" Ayumi said icily. "Okay, okay! Don't have a mood swing!" Kakashi said. "Okay!" She said, brightening. "Well…let's go on the roof to talk…"

Ayumi was already at the door, asking, "Are you coming or not?" "It's freaky…how she always knows what's going to happen next…" Sakura said. "She's…special…" Kakashi said, following Ayumi. "Does he mean something's wrong with her or she's really special." "He means she's really special!" Naruto said, leaving as well, with Sasuke behind him. After a moment, Sakura followed them as well. Once on the roof, Kakashi said, "Okay, let's start off with some introductions." He started, then Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke went. Ayumi didn't really listen, already knowing what Sasuke and Naruto were going to say, and guessing what Sakura was going to say.

"Ayumi-chan! It's your turn!" Naruto said. "Oh…okay. My name is Ayumi Uchiha. I like animals and training. I dislike fan boys and fan girls. My hobbies are…training, helping woodland creatures, and…annoying family." She smiled as Sasuke glared at her slightly and Kakashi sighed. "My dream is to become a powerful kunoichi and show that girls can be just as strong…and stronger…than boys." "I know…you've told me for six years." Kakashi said, standing. Now that we've done that…you'll be taking a test tomorrow." Ayumi perked, asking, "What's this test?"

"You'll see tomorrow. Oh…and one more thing…" Everyone listened intently as he said, "Don't eat breakfast tomorrow…or you'll puke." Ayumi sighed, sitting back. "Well…I guess it wouldn't hurt for one day…" she said, uncertain. "Well, that's all for today. See you tomorrow." "Bye, Kakashi-san!" Ayumi said, waving slightly as he left. "I'm going to train. See you guys later." She said, waking to the door. "Bye, Ayumi-chan." Naruto said, not stirring from his spot. "Bye, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-nii-san." Sasuke waved slightly as she walked downstairs. She went to the training ground, and walked up to a stump. She breathed out slowly, and started pummeling the stump with kicks and punches.

Suddenly, images of what happened that horrible night and what her father had done flashed before her eyes, and her hits became more brutal, harder. Her knuckles began to bleed, and her legs grew sore, but she ignored the pain. Before the pain could take over, she punched the stump as hard as she could, and her fist went straight through the wood. She pulled her fist out, nursing it against her chest. She walked home, and Kakashi looked up as she walked in. "What did you do to your hands?" He questioned, seeing the blood drip onto the floor. "Training…" She said, grabbing the first-aid kit and sitting down at the table. She washed the wounds, gritting her teeth in pain as she sprayed on the disinfectant.

She tried to wrap her knuckles, but it proved…more difficult than she thought it would. Kakashi took the bandages from her, wrapping her knuckles. "…Thanks…" She said, as he tied the bandages. "Why do you hurt yourself?" "So I don't hurt others." Before he could question any further, she stood, saying, "I'm not hungry…I'm going to take a shower…" and left. She stripped her clothes off, letting them fall on the floor, and stepped into the shower. The water was steamy and soothing, and she sighed. The stinging had died away in her knuckles, and she said, "If I want to be powerful…will I have to do what nii-san did? Kill people close to me? If that's the only way to fulfill my dream…I don't think I could do it…"

After finishing her shower, she dried off, changing into pajamas, and went to her room. The room was actually HERS, and she was happy. She crawled into bed, whispering, "Maybe some rest will help me relax…" As she drifted to sleep, she felt depression weigh down on her shoulders. 'Four weeks…until the anniversary…' she thought, finally falling asleep.