Chapter Two

Haruko came outside sadly. She looked as if she would cry any second.

"Haruko-chan, what's wrong? Did you graduate?" Raisuke asked.

Haruko was silent. She looked down to her feet.

"I…I…am now an official female ninja!" she replied excitedly.

She pulled out her Konoha hitai-ate and smiled.

"Good job, Haruko-chan!" Tanaka-sensei smiled.

"Yea, good job," Raisuke smiled also. "Hey Kaizen, aren't you going to congratulate her, too?"

"Yea…yea whatever…" Kaizen replied.

Haruko walked up to him smiling. Kaizen blinked, as she got closer to him as if she would hug him. Instead, she hit his head.

"Kai-baka! I hate you!" she yelled, kicking him.

"Ouch! Stop it, will ya?!" he yelled.

"Now you two should play nicely. Haruko, don't hurt him too much; he doesn't mean any harm…" Tanaka-sensei suddenly picked up Haruko gently.

She kicked and screamed like a little girl until he put her down.

"I hate you! I never want to see you again!" she cried as she ran off.

"Kaizen, I think you should apologize," Tanaka-sensei said.

"I wasn't trying to be mean! She just made it seem that way!" Kaizen yelled before running off to find her.

"Tanaka-sensei, just once, I'd like to see him fit in with the others… But, it never happens…he's just too different," Raisuke sighed.

"That's why we have Haruko. She's going change him, you'll see. I know these things," Tanaka-sensei replied.

"Do you really believe that?"

"It may take a while, but you'll see. He needs Haruko-chan."

Haruko sat under one of the many trees in Konoha. She couldn't stop her tears from falling any longer.

"He's just like the others! They're all the same!" she cried.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. Kaizen walked down the street, kicking rocks. A tear fell down his left cheek slowly.

"I'm a wreck!" he yelled.

"What's he doing here?" she thought.

"I might as well disappear for all gods' sakes. Then Haruko won't even be in this situation, so as Raisuke. I can't believe he actually took me in. For all I've done, he still stands by me." more tears streamed down his face as he yelled into the empty streets.

"Fine, I'll disappear." and with that he ran off in the direction of the forest.

Haruko still hid herself as she watched him run. She couldn't believe her ears; the guilt began to weigh down on her.

"No, I mustn't allow him to do this!" her mind screamed.

Her feet began to lead her to him. She ran as fast as she could; she couldn't stop if she wanted to.

"Kaizen, stop please!" she thought.

The words were trapped in her throat. She couldn't speak; she continued to follow him as he set off traps in the woods; even with his arm scratched and his shirt torn, he continued to his destination.

"Tanaka-sensei, I just don't know what to do with him. He's more emotional now than ever," Raisuke said.

"He's maturing, Raisuke. You shouldn't worry. I know what I'm doing; you must trust me," Tanaka-sensei replied.

"I don't know if I should…" Raisuke mumbled.

"You two are going to make me old…" Tanaka-sensei said.

"Okaasan! Okaasan!" a voice screamed. She dropped her flowers and ran towards the sound. A small girl held on to a rock for dear life. There was a landslide, and she would fall down the cliff if Haruko didn't do something soon. Carefully, she walked over to the girl, dirt falling around her. Slowly, she crawled towards the rock.

"It's alright, I'll save you…" she said.

The little girl looked at her with red, teary eyes. She shivered and looked frightened. Haruko grabbed her hand as she almost slipped and fell. Quickly, she pulled her up and sighed, but soon after, they began to fall. The small girl screamed, but Haruko held on tight. She pulled out her kunai and stabbed the dirt, stopping their descent. She used her chakura to walk up the cliff carefully and get them to safety. The little girl hugged her as she sobbed tears of joy. They were both covered in dirt, and Haruko managed to rip her dress. A giant cut oozed blood down her leg.

"Nee-chan, you're hurt!" the little girl cried.

"Don't worry about me, just don't play around here…"Haruko replied smiling.

The little girl nodded and ran off. Haruko looked back to the cliff; she had an eerie feeling. She shivered as she stood up.

"I…can't help but think I've forgotten something important…"she thought.

Fortunately, Kaizen stopped when he reached the cliff. Unfortunately, he skidded down into a cave in the cliff. Haruko stopped at the cliff and sunk to her knees.

"Kaizen…Kaizen…KAIZEN YOU BAKA!" she cried.

Suddenly, a bunch of Kaizen's clones ran in different directions. Haruko stayed in the same place; she knew they were fakes. Inside the cave, Kaizen cried as well.

"I just wanted…I JUST WANTED TO APOLOGIZE! WHY ARE YOU BEING SO DIFFICULT?!" she yelled.

"It's not your fault… If I didn't exist, we wouldn't be here…" he replied, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Kaizen, without you, this world would be boring! Don't you get it? We want you to be with us. I just wish…you didn't hate me."

"Boring? Keh, who said I hated you? I'm just a wreck, so leave me alone!" Kaizen commanded.

"You aren't a wreck! Don't put yourself down anymore! Just come back with me! Come back to your friends, Kaizen!" Haruko argued.

"Tanaka-sensei, I think that you need to know something," Raisuke said.

"Yes?" Tanaka-sensei asked.

"Did you ever see his report? It was a forge by my parents. Trying to give Kaizen a normal life, unlike Sasuke long ago, Kaizen never knew. He was just four for god's sake. Ever wonder his last name? Well it's Uchiha." Raisuke said taking off.

Tanaka-sensei blinked. He never knew such a secret existed.

"So, are you coming? I have a bad feeling about this. He never knew about his true life, and he still doesn't know," Raisuke added.

Tanaka-sensei followed him.

"We'll find him and fix it," he replied with a smile.

"Kaizen, I know if you try harder…if you stop being so distant all the time! Please, don't hate me anymore…" Haruko sobbed.

"I don't hate you… I just…I just don't want to lose anyone else…" he replied.

"You won't…unless you stay the same. I promise you…if you stop being so distant, things will change."

Kaizen went deeper into the hole.

"Such a stubborn boy...that's why you'll never get a girlfriend... Stop acting so distant!" the words rang in his head.

He suddenly climbed out of the hole as Haruko tried to descend to get him.

"Kaizen, please…I want you to come back, too…" she said as she tried to grab him.

He slipped trying to grab her hand as began to fall. He attempted to stop himself by forcing a kunai into the rocks, but he was unsuccessful.

"Stinking world…What a life it turned out to be…" he thought as he fell to the ground.

He fell unconscious, but luckily, he wasn't dead.

"Haruko-chan!" Tanaka-sensei and Raisuke yelled to her.

She was sliding down the rocks trying to get to Kaizen. She finally reached him and fell to her knees. The tears continued to fall down her cheeks and onto his body.

"Kai-baka! I hate you for being so stupid!" she cried loudly.

Tanaka-sensei and Raisuke jumped down behind her. They didn't say a word.