I smirked slightly as I flexed my knuckled in my fresh bandages, throwing on a t-shirt that went past her knees. Once again, Aiko didn't know my size, so she bought a larger one just in case. It was faded purple, and I almost instantly rolled my eyes at the color. Now I looked like a fucking miniature sunrise, thanks to my hair color I slid on my sneakers, not a proper shinobi gear, but I was four. A tiny ass kid in a way too big village.

I scratched Hinata between ears, and walked through the door down the stairs. Aiko was fast asleep in her silky robes, sprawled across the cough in a not so lady like matter. Her purse was laying open on the cofeee table, her pills out. I shook my head, realizing that my mother was probably hooked on sleeping pills by now. I slid my hand inside, and pulled out her wallet. I went through it, taking out as much as possible. Fuck being noticed. It wasn't like we had a good relationship, so nothing could damage it more. And I need to buy some gear, if I was really to start training. My survival matter more than her new manicure. Yet I placed it the wallet back just where it was, only it was a bit lighter.

Aiko stirred in her sleep and she slowly opened her eyes. She pinpointed me, and I sighed. Now that wasn't what I needed this early in the morning, especially after my last night's success and Mito's lovely speech.

"Kinnosuke, what are you doing up so early?" she muttered, and I noticed she didn't use honorifics with me. I was no chan for her, just plain Kinnosuke. I didn't know I it bothered me or made me ridiculously happy that she didn't have any connection with me. While it made a lot of things easier, I still kind of expected her to like me at least to some extent.

I shrugged. "Early birds and all of that." Which was a blatant lie. I loved sleeping in past lunch time. I just couldn't afford it these days.

She was slightly groggy, and I had my suspicions that she was out drinking her pretty ass off yesterday's night. 'Buy me some painkillers, my head is killing me." She gestured to her bag, and I smirked. I guessed fate loved me, at least a bit.

"Sure, mother." I nodded, grabbing the whole wallet.

I walked out of the house, slamming the door shut behind me. Hinata was already beside me, proudly striding by my side like he knew it was his place, and his only. I moved towards a weapon shop, and I chose the most rusty looking one, cause I knew there weren't many places where they would sell weapons to young children who weren't from prominent clans and such. Civilians still questioned it when a four year old came asking for sharp objects.

I pushed the curtain open, and got inside. The shop smelled like metal, and I immediately fell in love with the smell. It was all dark wood, and curtains embodied with Konoha's symbol. I stood on my tippy toes while examining the sharp tantos and katanas.

"What are you doing here, little one?" An old man, walking on a wooden stick, came up to me, a slight wrinkle on his forehead. His face was adorned with wrinkles and scars, and he had long faded out brown hair that reached past his knees.

I turned my head to him, and decided that it was better not to hide. I didn't know why, something about him gave off the vibe that I shouldn't. I stared at him with my black eyes wide, and smiled the most appreciative, shining smile ever. "I'm looking for few things, mister."

He looked at me dubiously. "I understand that there are young kids trying out for the shinobi path these days, but aren't you a little too young?"

"I'm four." I exclaimed, slightly offended.

He chuckled. "You look like you are two." He said, gesturing to my small built.

I crossed my arms over my chest, slightly offended. "Who are you calling two, old jeezer?" Well, there goes my good impression. Then, I cocked my brow at his weird laughter. 'Why aren't you scared?"

"Scared of what?" he wheezed, "A tiny midget?"

"My eyes." I stated plainly.

He shrugged, leaning against his walking stick. "I've seen weirder things in my life. Come on kid, there are people whose eyes turn red and can copy your moves, you don't faze me."

I let out a chortle. So this guy was a retired ninja, and didn't much like the Uchiha clan. "That's… some pretty good logic."

He shook his head. "Okay, back to business. I assume you are here for the wepaons. So… practice kunais?'

I nodded, thrusting my hands into my pockets. "yeah,"I turned my head around to get a better look at the shop. "And also maybe som real ones, just so I don't have to come here eveyr second day. I need to stock up as long as I have money. Heavens know it's not often."

He eyed me strangely, as my cute speech was long gone, and I was all natural, as if this was my environment. It wasn't, but it was an old habit to play an act when you didn't know what to do. "You from a shinobi family?"

I shrugged. "Something like that. Complicated family, let's say." It was partly true, as my mother sold weapons. But had I came to her with a request, she would screech and run, because a demon child who can throw sharp objects was every woman's worst nightmare.

"Okay, I can give you a whole box, just wait a second. I assume you would want a weapon pouch, too…" he trailed off, already on the move, and seemingly deep in thought. But I didn't care much, after all, child prodigies were a thing here, and I certainly wasn't the only four year old running around with knives.

"And maybe some shuriken too, and wax for me to take care of it." I called after him as he was strolling away.

He turned around, an amused smile on his face. "I'mm bring you the whole set… but you don't wax kunai, kid."

I shrugged again, seemed to be doing a lot of it these days. Instead of commenting on my lack of experience, I started moving around the shop, touching every steel thing I could touch, amazed. It was like the steel was calling out to me, like every single weapon had a soul, and it was talking to me in a language only I could understand. It fascinated me.

I passed the katanas after good five minutes of cooing, as it was something I clearly wasn't ready for. Fans didn't appeal to me, and neither did the daggers. I went towards the back door to which the old men had disappeared, and put my head in, ready to tell him to hurry the fuck up, when something caught my eye.

It was a bõ stick, made of slick metal. It seemed old, with carvings and scratches, like someone had been using it for a long time before it got here. The carvings were beautiful, s true piece of art, and I must have imagined it, because it was whispering to me.

I passed the door, and found myself standing in front of it. I raised my arm, my fingertips twitching as I touched the metal, tracing one of the carvings.

"You like it?" The old man asked, carrying various items ranging from kunai to weapon maintenance kit. He stopped past me, to examine it. "We've had it for quite some time, and no one ever wanted it. Apparently, Bõ sticks are considered old fashioned and not very useful in this generations. Really, nothing that's sharp enough is good for the kids nowadays." He shook his head, and marched to the counter. He let all the items fall on it, and was back in a blink of an eye. He took the bõ from its place, and offered it to me.

I tentatively took it, and smiled when I the foreign weight seemed almost familiar, like it belonged to my hands. I swung it, flicking my wrist a little, and noticed it was a bit too heavy for a bõ. I would have to work on that, but it was a minor disadvantage.

I glanced at the man with a shit eating grin on my face. "How much?" I asked, cradling the bõ to my chest.

He humphed. "Please, I'd be glad if someone'd take it off my hands. It's been here for longer that I have been tuning the shop."

"So…" I quirked a brow. "A discount?"

He outwardly laughed, a belly laugh that suited him. "What's your name, youngling?"

I walked out of the storage room, and to the counter. Placing the bõ on top of the items, I smirked at the man. "Kinnosuke." I introduced myself, thrusting my hand outward.

He switched his gaze from me to the outstretched hand, and then allowed himself to smile, small wrinkled appearing on the side of his face. "Temiru." He said, shaking my hand with a strong grip.

He quickly checked in all the items, and threw them inside a large paper bag. He pushed it towards me with the bõ in his other hand, and I gleefully took it. He handed me the receipt, and grinned. "Hope to see you soon, Kinno-chan. Also… good luck with your training." He eyed me up and down. 'You need it."

I growled. "Stupid old man." I muttered, and walked out of the shop with a half wave.

Only few blocks away, when I was checking the receipt, I noticed he didn't count in the bõ at all.

By the time I reached the training grounds, I had bought four sticks of dango, two iced coffees and a tiny jar of black face paint just because I could. I really did have no sense whatsoever when dealing with money. It might've been because I was finally able to buy something, not steal or scam it. Having money sure was awesome, and I was contemplating on shitting on a shinobi career and just start a business, or maybe marry a daymio. Hinata, who waited patiently outside the shop and was now happily bouncing beside me with dango stick hanging out of his mouth, wagging his tail. I scratched his head absentmindedly and then jumped in surprise when something moved behind me. I really needed to work on my sensor skills. Or at least not to space out all the time.

"Fucking hell, what the actually fuck?" I turned to have a look at rather smug Kakashi who was leaning against one of the wooden pillars. "Hello there." I added with sarcasm just for the hell of it.

He eyed all the stuff in my hands. "You brought lunch?" he seemed to be rather sceptic about my paper bag, and I was mildly offended. Also, he skipped the hellos. That was just rude.

I sent him a cringe worthy smile. "Actually…" I trailed off, and then spilled the contents of the bag on the ground. "It's training supplies."

Kakashi nodded, a bit surprised. I knew he was about to get better with his emotions, but right now, he was easy to read by face, but nothing by words. It slightly aggravated me, but I wasn't getting anything better anytime soon, and was actually happy with having at least someone to train with. I was a newbie by all means, being born a civilian, and had little to no idea what to do with all these things.

I smirked. "Let's get started." I unwrapped one kunai, and positioned myself in front of the pillar. Without as much as waiting for Kakashi's instructions, I threw it.

My face sunk when it didn't as much as hit the pillar.

Kakashi actually had the audacity to snicker at me from behind his stupid mask. "You cannot direct your muscle strength at all." He commented, his arms crossed over his chest.

I sneered at him. "Very helpful, really."

He shook his hand. "What can you do?"

The sentence was a verbal jab at best, but I let it slide. It was Kakashi after all, a four year old asocial kid with emotional range of a teaspoon. So, instead of getting mad, I started counting off things on my fingers. "Well, I know about my chakra, I meditate," once again, a blatant lie. I did it like, once. But he didn't have to know that, "I have decent flexibility and I can make use of my surroundings. And… I bought a bõ." I added with a way too giddy expression.

He eyed the metal stick suspiciously. "That's… not at all impressive." He commented flatly, and by that time, I really wanted to punch him. Deep breaths, Kinno, deep breaths. "Your taijutsu is nonexistent, you get tired easily, your speed is… well, it needs work, and your muscle mass is like toddlers." I wanted to comment that we both were, generally speaking, still toddlers, but he seemed pleasantly ignorant of his age.

"Why do you even work with me?" I asked, finally honest.

He shrugged. "Dad says it's good to practice, and he doesn't really have time to train with me anymore. Plus… most of people in my age group are infuriating, you at least talk in normal way."

I cringed. I was sure there was more to that, but for Kakashi, I guessed it was enough. After all, not everybody could be a four year old prodigy. And while I was pretty much useless by this point, I at least had the vocabulary and maturity. I was an adult, after all.

"So, what should we start with?"

He sighed, watching me through his sharp eyes. That kid was sure something, like he was already tired of me. " I don't know… you are saying you can use chakra already?"

"No," I corrected him, "I said I know about my chakra thanks to mediation. I cannot do shit with it."

He sighed once again. For a kid, that was way too often.

"Fine, then… let's do some stretches and stuff, so we can start building up your stamina." He said, putting hands deep inside his pockets.

I quirked a brow at him. "I haven't done any physical exercises, well… ever." I wanted to say for foiur years, and with different body, but that didn't seem like a good topic. "Except, well, climbing with a help of dog."

Hinata, who took it as a clue to finally let his presence known, cautiously approached Kakashi. He watched him with narrowed eyes, ears upturned. Kakashi shot me an incredulous look, then bended down to a crouch and turned his hand out. Hinata waited for a minute, unsure what to do, then sniffed it softly. Suddenly, a giant shit eating dog grin stretched across his face and he jumped at Kakashi, who had only a second to react. But the dog was nearly as big as he was, so he toppled him ovet to the ground, and licked his face. I would have piad millions to see the schocked face of Kakashi choking on his own spit ever again. He let out a strangled sound, and waved his hand around. "Can you just get it off, please."

I barked out a laugh. "He likes you." I said, positively amused.

"That's nice. Now get him off." He deadpanned.

I sighed. "Hinata, buddy, come here. Let the boy breathe a bit." Hinata perked up at the sound of his name and gave me one sad look before getting off of Kakashi and coming to my side once again. I scratched his fur between his ears, giving him a small kiss on the temple. "Good boy." I wazs getting more and more affectionate with this dog. It was a problem.

"We'll start with laps." He said, rather grumpily.

"You are using shortcuts." Kakashi commented, leaning against one of the pillars as he drilled me thought various workouts. It's been two hours of intense stamina workouts and running, well, as intense as they could be for a four year old, by which I had thrown up multiple times. Of course, we started my half hour long stretches, but my muscles still burned. He was obviously enjoying tormenting me, the bastard.

"Isn't that better?" I snapped, exhausted. "It's innovation."

"No, it's cowardly." He told me blankly, almost childishly, like I was totally stupid, straightening up. He walked up to me, something strange flicking over his face. It was odd, being scared of such a midget, but I felt a surge of fear running through me. "Fight me."

I blanched. "You can't be serious." I muttered incredulously, wondering if someone had dropped him on his head when he was a baby.

"Why would you think that?"

I threw my arms in the air, getting fed up by this training. "I am nearly dead, unable to stand properly, and you ask me to actually try to fight when I don't know how. There's something seriously wrong with you."

He shook off my insults, most likely because he didn't care, or maybe because he trusted his father's judgment more than he hated me. I didn't know, and didn't even want to know which the truth was. All I'd learned about him was that he was one stubborn little prick, and when he set his mind on something, it was impossible to wear him off. Maybe that was the source of his future grand friendship with Gai.

I humphed. "Fine." I said. I took a stance that I remembered from my past life. Actually, moves were not the problem, I knew some basics, but the problem was my stamina. I was unable to perform whatever shit I had thought of.

He charged at me first, and I managed to block his fort move, simply by reflexes. But the fist came too close to my face for my comfort, and I twisted, trying to pull a punch on him on my own. He grabbed my wrist, and flipped me to the ground.

My back hit the ground with awful crack, and suddenly, all the leftover energy poured away from me, leaving me breathless and in pain, with weeds sticking to the fabric of my shirt. That little fucker, I mused inside my head.

Kakashi eyed me with something akin to disgust. "You are weak." He said, and I wanted to pummel him to the ground. I suddenly wished I was still in my adult body, so I could toss him to the ground like a bag of rice. "You need to work on your strength and stamina." He sounded like a miniature teacher, but I couldn't take him seriously with that whiny kiddy voice.

I rolled my eyes. "I know." I muttered under my breath. I tried to get up, but I only flopped unceremoniously to the ground. Again.

He suddenly changed his facial expression, and his eyes looked almost… earnest. He finally looked his age. "Will you… be back tomorrow?"

I gritted my teeth, and forced out a smile. "Sure."

"Goodbye, then." He bowed his head slightly, but politely enough, and strolled away, leaving me beaten to death on the dirty grass.

I gripped the grass underneath me tightly, and when I assumed he was out of earshot, I freaked out. "Ouch, ouch, mothefucker, ouch, that hurts, fuck you, you little dweeb, fuck, that's so much pain, shit!"

It took me a while to walk without wincing every step. That kid did me good; he literally had no mercy while training me. I was slightly horrified that he went through something like that in the morning, but it was probably something light in eyes of shinobi, that they made a four year old to do.

I shook my head. I suspected this was about to turn into my own morning routine, at least the laps. I really couldn't do shit these days.

Hinata nudged at me, then winced. I glared in hurt. "Yeah, I knew I was totally an undignified loser back there, but come on, have some sympathy for an injured kid." Hinata shook his doggie head and then scrunched up his nose. "Shit, I must smell, don't I?" I pulled on the hem of my shirt, noticing the dirt and weeds sticking from me, not to mention the grass stain and something I really hoped wasn't puke. I ran a palm over my face, and Hinata scooted further away from me. "You really are too fancy sometimes." I said, glaring at him. He didn't even have the decency to look apologetic one again.

"Fine," I concluded, "we are getting me some new clothes. Aiko's wallet's screaming to be used."

I walked, or rather, dragged myself through the street until I found some approachable looking clothes shop. I walked in, slithered between the mass of people, including two very noble looing women in Kimonos that must've cost more than my shinobi gear. I rolled my eyes as they casted me the most offended looks ever and fanned their makeup clad faces. Jesus, try running five laps and puke ffrom exhaustion after the last two of them, and look pretty in the same time.

It took me legit fifteen minutes to find a shinobi section in the back of the store, and I did a double take. The kunoichi section was just all too… laughable. Impractical long skits, bright flashy colors, and… was than a chest armor? What was this, a video game fanbase? I sighed, and went to the only three items in black I could spot. Dark brown leggings, that were passable for black, and thankfully were made in kid's size, were my favorite shit at the moment. But I fell in love with something totally different.

A small raincoat, that would normally be barely fit for a teenager, was hanged right at the back, and I wasn't sure which section was it, but it was perfect. It had way too many pockets and was all black, even the buttons. Like, literally, no color whatsoever. It was perfect in comparison to my overly colorful hair. I touched it gingerly and a smile stretched over my face. Hinata howled in protest, nudging me towards the more bright pieces, but I shook my head. "You ain't talking me out of this. There's no way." I took it to my chest and cuddled the cloth. "This is my new favorite thing in the world. I just need to do some permanent stitches and it will fit me when I roll the sleeves few times. It's just fucking perfect. He casted me a look, which reminded me that he didn't know that I could saw. "Yeah, I actually can hold a needle, don't worry." When he still wasn't quite convinced, I sighed. "Come on, let me this one stupidity. Please." I couldn't believe I was talking to him like it actually mattered what he thought. He was a dog, for fucks sake. "Oh, fuck it, dog's don't have a sense of fashion."

He still managed to force me to buy a white shirt. That fucker.

….

When I walked out of the store, my new clothes on and my old ones dumped in a trash can, I was nearly giddy, bouncing each step. I was on top of the world. New weapons, a bo stick strapped on my back, new clothes, my first training done… I felt like a real deal, and managed to silence that rational part of my brain that told me that I was nothing more than a kid playing dress up.

I was so giddy I didn't notice my surroundings until it was too late, and my head slammed straight into someone's belly.

"Shit." I swore at the impact, and damn, that guy had some abs.

"That's no way for a small child to speak." The man rumbled, and I immediately took a large step back, putting as much distance in between us as possible. Then I looked up, and swore that white hair would be the death of me.

…..

A/N

Heya guys, the point of this is to show that while Kinnosuke is adamant on learning how to be a ninja, she has literally no clue what she's doing, her only help being Mito (and there's going to be some shit about that, too. Did you really think Mito was just helping a nameless child like no problem? That chick is a veteran, not your friendly neighborhood grandma.) and Kakashi, who, albeit good, is still four. Now… this new incomer is obvious, we've heard about him before a chapter of two back… who do you think it would be? Come on, I hinted it. I really did.

Bear with me when I toss Kinnosuke around like a rag doll. She is good at climbing and using shortcuts, but not as much in actual techniques.

Also… I really fucking need a beta, or at least some good reviews. I have no idea what I am doing most of the time, if I am to be honest.