Hello, my dear readers! =D Sorry for the wait; life got in the way!

Thank you soooo much for all of the reviews! I'm glad that people are able to enjoy this story, even though it is a little different from its prequel.

Okay, I don't have much to say this time, other than OMFG NARUTO IS GETTING GOOD OH MAN L/AKS;NFG;.

I don't own Naruto. If I did, there would have been a ShikaTema moment already. Come on, Kishi, I'm DYING HERE.

There was something about her that was different—Kenji just couldn't put his finger on it.

Her looks were the obvious answer, what with her tanned skin, lightly freckled by the sun, and her intense cerulean eyes. Her hair was a plain brown, held in a spiky ponytail at the nape at her neck, but that was where her plainness stopped. Ferocity just seemed to radiate off of her, despite the slightly lazy way she carried herself.

"Go on," Ino-sensei gushed, clearly resisting the urge to glomp the girl in her giddiness. "Introduce yourself."

The girl sighed. "Nara Shikari. I just moved back here from Suna."

Ino-sensei squeezed her shoulder affectionately. "And we're glad you're back."

The girl smiled softly back, the hard edges of her face smoothing out. "Can I sit down now, ba-chan?"

"It's Ino-sensei," Ino reminded, pointing to the seat next to Kenji. "You can sit there."

She meandered her way over—clearly in no hurry, but each stride purposeful—and slid into the seat next to him.

Even without his Byakugan, he knew she was looking at him. He could feel her calculating gaze on his skin, could practically feel her breath. Kenji squelched the urge to play with the end of his braid and turned to meet her scrutiny. "Hi!" he said cheerily. "I'm Kenji."

She nodded in acknowledgement, still studying him.

Kenji would have found her strange, but he was the Hokage's son—and also had flaming red hair—and thus was used to being stared at. "Why'd you move?" he asked. "Suna's nice. I've been there a couple of times."

She blinked. "I'm from here."

His eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "How come I've never seen you before, then?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "My parents had an extended mission there, so they took me with them. I've been gone a while." Her cerulean gaze finally lifted from him, seemingly satisfied, and she leisurely turned her attention to the front of the room. "Technically I have dual citizenship, but Konoha's my home."

Kenji tried to pay attention to what Ino-sensei was writing on the board, but it all looked like scribbley gibberish. The girl next to him intrigued him. There was still something about her, something he couldn't figure out, and he couldn't concentrate knowing that she was right there. Impatiently, he turned slightly back to her. "Hey," he whispered.

Her gaze flicked back to his.

"Does that mean you used to go to the academy in Suna? Is it like the one here?"

She shook her head. "I was homeschooled by my parents. Sometimes my uncles."

Kenji leaned towards her, interested. "So this is the first time you've gone to school?"

She smirked. "So nosy, Kecchan."

He started, but she didn't seem to notice, yawning widely and laying her head down on the table. "Hey, wait—"

"Kenji!" Ino-sensei barked, glaring at him. "Leave Shikari alone and pay attention!"

"Sorry, sensei," Kenji mumbled, too preoccupied with his thoughts to pay Ino any mind.

Only one person had ever called him that, and he hadn't seen her since…

He blinked. He had been five so...it had been six years. She had been a little girl with a sharp mind and a quick mouth. He grinned to himself. He used to have so much fun playing with her!

But one day she didn't come out to play, and she didn't the day after that, either. Or the day after that.

Kenji had always wondered what had happened to her. His mother had told him that she had gone on a vacation, but she never came back.

He smiled nostalgically. Shika-chan, his first love.

The new girl snored, loudly enough to wake herself up. She looked around sleepily, but, seeing no danger, lay her head back down.

Kenji leaned back in his chair, amused. The new girl is so weird.

It would take the Hokage's son three weeks to connect the dots.

A/N: Someone takes after their daddy in obliviousness. XD

Just a little drabbly thing. More insight later. ;D

Let me know.