Thank you to everyone who's read this so far. Thank you as well to those that have favorited this!

Chapter 4: Becoming Ninja

This morning is fresh, a brand new day, 'And a new chance for chaos!'… and another voice in my head. 'Hey, Inner, morning.' 'Hey, Outer, thanks!' 'Now, a question. Why the hell didn't you remember when your graduation is?' I asked with as much venom as I could muster. 'uhhhh…' He replied with all the brain power left in his head. 'Really? That's a wonderful reason' I continued, dripping sarcasm. Inner chuckled nervously.

"All right, we should probably get to class." 'Right!' "Let's meet up with everyone on the way."

The way down today was pretty uneventful. First was meeting with Ken outside his house. "Hey! Ken!" I called, walking steadily towards him. He had just left his house, and locked the door. "Naki, hey." The sickly boy replied. We walked together, continuing downwards. When we reached the bottom floor, we saw Suzu walk into an open area. "Suzu!" I called to her. She seemed pleasantly surprised. "Naki! Ken!" She called back.

The three of us crossed the waterfall and passed the bridge.

The classroom was filled with students, but missing Mabui. We entered our seats, listening to the chattering and… swooning? "Kyaaaa! Aoi-Kun!" Or, maybe it's screeching. The trio looked to see a few girls drooling at a boy that just entered the room. 'Black hair, pale skin, and indifferent scowling. Welcome, second coming of Sasuke!' Inner said, cackling. 'Are fan-girls and bastards just… everywhere in Naruto?' 'For our sake, I hope to hell not.' 'Oh, hey, blue eyes. That's different!' 'You aren't excited just because of that, right?' I grinned.

Suzu scowled briefly. "I don't get it, what do they see in that guy?" She asked. "No clue." Ken responded, shaking his head.

The class door slammed open. In walked and irritated Mabui. "All right class, sit down." He said. Like usual, only two or three students listened. He grew just a bit more upset. "Sit down brats!" He yelled. Every student was in their seats in moments.

"Thank you. Now, we are only a month away until graduation." Many of our peers brightened heavily at this. Mabui's eye glinted. "Oh, don't get excited just yet. We'll be covering everything that'll be on the test, with a bit more… enthusiasm." He continued, evilly. Those happy faces dropped, instantly. 'I'm actually a bit impressed. Well done, Mabui!' I thought. 'I didn't think anyone could ruin this day. I guess I was wrong' Inner replied.

Ken and Suzu, for what it's worth, only seemed slightly panicked.

True to Mabui's word, the rest of the day passed by quickly, filled with henge, bunshin, taijutsu, and throwing weapons training. With the training Ken, Suzu, and I have been doing, we were much better with all four. Enough that even Mabui was impressed.

After class, Ken, Suzu and I left for our training area for a few hours before heading home, sweating, bruised, and content.

The rest of the month progressed the same way. A few things interesting did happen within the month. For one, Suzu and I learned that Ken is actually part of a clan. The Utataka clan. He was able to convince his parents to buy some chakra paper for all of us. Unfortunately, they were low quality. It showed ever so lightly, so it wasn't a viable resource to tell what our affinity is. Although, it got me itching to know what my, and their, affinities are.

Suzu was also a little weird for a week or two, but she returned to normal eventually.

We also met the Utataka clan around a week before graduation. Ken lived with his parents in the outer village just because they preferred the view. The full Utataka compound was in the inner village towards the center of it. The compound was eight buildings of similar styles, with three stories each, and with varying sizes. The walls were a Taki-teal, the paper doors were a faint blue, and the ceiling tiles are black. A small waist high white wall separated the compound from the rest of the village. The two center building were the largest and were connected by a covered walkway.

Ken's mother is a kind, caring woman with long black hair that reached her hips. She seemed far healthier than her son, with healthy, tan skin. Her name is Ai. She wore a pale green dress that reached her mid shin, and exposed a complementary dark green tee shirt. She also wore a pair of strapless, green shinobi sandals. She radiated calmness and a happy vibe. I haven't seen her frown once. From what Ken told me, she used to be a high ranking jounin, but decided to retire before her first child was born. It seemed that Ken got his eyes from her.

His father, on the other hand, seemed to be just as sickly as his son. They both carried a form of chronic fatigue. Kensora gave Ken his light brown hair. He gave a feeling of comfort to everyone he was around. A very nice man all in all. His skin was paper white, and carried permanent bags under his eyes, deeper than his son's. Above the bags were a pair of bright green eyes. He only ever managed to make chunin, but he retired around the same time as his wife. His brother is the only reason they could do this. Kensora is the younger brother of the current clan head. Thankfully, both Ai and Kensora kept training, even after they retired. Kenso, as his wife likes to call him, may be at a low-jounin level by now.

Ken's family wanted to visit everyone else that day, so everyone came. Kensora decided to wear a short-sleeved, pale green shirt tucked into dark brown hakama and black combat sandals. The moment we crossed through the opening in the wall surrounding the compound, a taller girl came rushing towards us. "Kenkona!" Ai shouted. She and Ken ran towards the girl and engulfed her in a hug. Kenso chuckled while walking towards them and joined in on the hug.

Another sickly looking man walked out of the main house with a tired smile on his face. The four broke away and looked back to Suzu and I. "Guys! This is my big sister, Kenko!" Ken called to us. "Kenko, this is Suzume Mizutori, and Hanaki Sora." Ken introduced. "Hey, there!" The girl called with a bright smile and tired eyes.

The girl looked to be around sixteen, and tall for her age, standing at 65 inches (five foot five). She has her mother's hair, but her father's skin and fatigue. The bags under her eyes seem to be a bit lighter that her father or brother. That said, they are still quite deep. Her hair was tied into a loose bun at the base of her skull, with two long strands framing her face, as well as short, cute bangs. Her eyes shone violet like her mother and brother with a surprising amount of mischief. She must have been in the middle of changing before running out the door. She wore the standard chuunin uniform sans forehead protector, vest, and shoes.

"Heya! Nice to meet you, I'm Hanaki, and she's Suzume." I said, pointing to the shorter girl. "Yo!" Suzu replied. Kenko waved back. "Hi, there." She said tiredly.

We heard a man chuckle from the house. "Oh! Uncle!" Ken yelled. Kenso nodded amicably towards them man. "Kids, this is my brother and clan head, Kenkobi." The man said. The man looked almost exactly like Kensora. The only difference is his hair and eyes. Instead of his younger brother's bright green, his was a dull yellow with slightly deeper bags. His hair was dark brown in a large bun on the middle back of his head. Instead of the calming effect his brother gives, Kentobi exudes an air of geniality, even with his fatigue. He wore a dark brown kekogi under a tan haori with some form of symbol sewn into the back. Tied over his kekogi was a pair of black hakama.

The symbol was most likely the Utataka clan symbol. It looked like a simplistic taki-teal waterfall with five pale green bubbles floating around it. Kensora had the same insignia at the bottom sides of his hakama. Ken also had it on the bottom of his back skirt.

"Please, come inside." Kentobi said, genially.

The rest of the day was spent interacting with the family. I could feel a bond form with this family. Suzu confided in me later that she felt the same way. At one point Kenko asked about the scar on my arm. It took a while, but I was able to divert attention away from it. That is a can of worms I do not want to open. 'I did kind of throw Ken under the bus to do it though.' 'Yeah you did. 'Did you know? Ken has a crush?' His sister hounded him the rest of the day! That was evil, man. I don't know what this feeling is… But I think it's pride.' Inner said with false tears.

I also got into fishing! The rods were easy to buy. It was only a couple hundred ryo. I was also able to buy an ice box and a ton of bait and fishing string. I was able to get a few decent sized fish over the last week. There's a nice fishing spot on the bottom floor. I've heard that the best way to get some of the best fish is using a special pole on the top layer… I don't know how that works, but this is a world filled with magic ninja… Comparatively, a hundred foot fishing pole wouldn't surprise me. 'Lord, I hope the pole isn't that long.' 'Seriously…'

Finally, I decided on the weapon I wanted to train in. I can't remember any shinobi of this world using it. 'That means it's either a diamond in the rough, or it's a really shitty idea.' Inner commented. "Well, you're helpful." I replied teasingly. I could feel Inner sticking his tongue out at me. That was a weird feeling.

After waiting and training for so long, the graduation exam is finally here. Suzu, Ken, and I are sitting in our usual seats, waiting for Mabui to start class. "Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your last days as academy students! Well, for most of you anyway." Mabui said with an evil glint in his eyes. A few students cringed away. He grinned at those specific students.

"Anyhow, after Taijutsu and Bakijutsu, we'll give you some time for lunch, then we'll do your three jutsu." Mabui said. "If anyone has any problems with this, just know. I don't care. Now, let's start." He finished. 'And there goes the evil look again.' 'He's really got it down pat.'

Later

After a full day of fighting, throwing, and destroying my chakra system, it finally ended. Around fourteen of us had a forehead protector. 'I'm sure at least two teams are gunna lose those protectors.' 'That'll be fun!' 'Yep!' Until I figure out where I wanna wear my protector, I'll just wear it the standard way.

Suzu received a light-blue cloth for her protector. For some reason, she decided to wear it as a belt. Ken had a black cloth and wore it around his neck. I was able to commission a purple cloth… Until it arrives, mine is the standard Taki-teal.

"All right, my almost former students! Good job on passing! Now, we'll give you your team assignment tomorrow. Until then, get some rest." Mabui sent us off amicably.

I grabbed Ken and Suzu's hands. "Please let us be a team, please let us be a team, please let us. Be. A. Team." I chanted. Suzu smirked with a bit of pink on her cheeks. She pated me on the head, then slugged my shoulder. "Butter me up, then beat me, huh?" I said, cringing out of the hit. She grinned. Ken laughed at the two of us. We joined in shortly.

The three of us walked home, chatting and laughing. 'If this is our last day together, I wanna make it worth something.' "Do you guys wanna stay at my place for a while?" I asked. The two seemed surprised. "Yeah! Just let me tell my parents." Ken said smiling. "Uh, sure!" Suzu said, cheerfully. The two shared a genuinely excited look with me. I was… surprised. Happily surprised.

On our way, Ken dashed into his house. Ai and Kensora gave their blessing. Soon, we stopped in front of a familiar Taki-teal building. "Well, guys. This is home!" I said gleefully. I grabbed their hands and pulled them along. They allowed themselves to be dragged along. Once we entered, I let them go. "Go ahead and relax, guys. I'm gunna make some food." I stated, moving to the kitchen. Ken moved to the couch, while Suzu joined me in the kitchenette.

"Can I help?" She asked. "Um, yeah, sure!" I replied. She smiled happily. "All right, Naki. What're we making?!" She asked excitedly. I smiled. "Pull on some gloves! We're making fish teriyaki!" I replied eagerly. "With some fresh caught fish. Three of them." I continued.

"So… Gutting fish?" She asked, smirking.

'Gutting fish.' Inner said.

"Gutting fish." I said, nodding.

"Cool." Suzu finished.

We stepped outside to do the gutting to keep the smell out of the apartment. 'I'm glad I got that bucket.' I thought, taking an unintentional whiff. 'No! Outer! Stop breathing! I'm gunna die from that putrid oder!' Inner wailed pitifully. I smirked. 'Putrid! That's a big word for ya!' I called jokingly. 'Yeah, yeah.' He returned, irritated. I grinned. 'I win!' 'Whatever.' Inner said, amicably.

After gutting the fish, we began cooking them inside. While they cooked, I found some seasonings and relishes to add to it with Suzu's help. While in the middle of the fish's sizzling, we added a bit of lime, some lemon, some cumin, and other herbs to them. Finally, we made some fresh teriyaki and poured it over the three fish the moment we pulled it from the oven.

"All right! Dinner's ready!" I called. "Thanks for the help, Suzu." I continued. She beamed at the praise. Then, she slugged my arm. "Yep!" She replied happily. "Okay, I'm surprised. That smells good." Ken teased, walking into the kitchenette.

"Yeah, thanks Ken…" I drawled. Suzu was much more energetic. She slugged his arm hard enough to leave a bruise for a while.

"Right, forgot. Watch for the right straight. Ow." He continued holding his arm. She smirked triumphantly.

"All right, I wanna eat." I stated with false authority, as I shoved a plate of food into both of their arms. I grabbed the last one and sat at the table. The two sniffed the fish and grinned at each other before joining me at the table.

I dealt some chopsticks between the three of us. "Let's eat!" I said. They nodded and began eating.

Later

Suzu and I made some amazing food. Our stomachs were full and contented.

"So, what teams do you think we'll be on?" Ken asked, enervated.

"We'll be on a team together!" Suzu said confidently. "Right?" She continued, hesitantly.

"I hope so… I really hope so." I said. 'Brighten up! Let's party! We gotta make today count!' Inner called. 'You're right…'

"Wait here for a minute. I'll be right back." I said as I left the chair. I walked to a linen closet at the end of the hallway to pull out a board and board pieces. On my way to the fridge, I departed the board on the table. Suzu and Ken gave me… Interesting looks. At the fridge, I found the one thing I've wanted to drink since day one. A bottle of Sake.

'Finally! I haven't had any booze in MONTHS! I miss my liquor! Now, we're ninjas!' I thought excitedly. 'I can legally drink~ I can legally drink~!' I sang in my head. 'Oh… My… Lord… Yeeeeeeeesssss!' Inner yelled.

I grabbed a few sake saucers, before rejoining my friends at the table. They looked a bit perturbed. "Um… We're only thirteen… Well, I'm thirteen at least." Ken said. "Twelve." I stated, dryly. "Thirteen." Suzu taunted. I glared at her. "There's almost no alcohol in this. It would take five bottles to get a two year old buzzed." I drawled. 'Though, we don't condone underage drinking, at all.' 'Right. This is essentially a virgin drink, or a non-alcoholic drink.'

"This is only here for the taste. Plus, we're shinobi now. Eventually, this is gunna be our best friend. Might as well get used to the taste now." I continued. My friends shared a glance. And shrugged.

"All right. Let's try it." Ken replied, slightly convinced. "Let's!" Suzu shouted, fully convinced.

I grinned. The rest of the night, we talked, and laughed, and played, and drank. I learned a bit more about my friends. Ken aspires to be, not just a medic, but the best medic. Better than even Tsunade Senju. His family even has a kekkei genkai. Though, we didn't ask what it was. He's obsessed with reading. Absolutely obsessed. Now, I love reading, but he goes faaaar beyond that. He also has a surprisingly passive aggressive sense of humor.

Suzu is, obviously, a tom boy. She's very inquisitive. I said that she was Shikamaru smart earlier. She might be a bit smarter. She aspires to learn as much about the world as possible. An adventuring scholar, I guess. Though, her language is course "By choice," As quoted. Disspite her aspirations, she wants to get strong. Strong enough to be a kage, just so she can turn down the offer. "It'd be friggin' hilarious!" She "explained." Like me, she's also an orphan.

I honestly love these guys. Ken is a closet prankster with dry, or aggressive, humor. Suzu is amazingly compassionate. She fussed over Ken and I whenever we, somehow managed, to hurt ourselves. Though, the moment she found out we were okay, she would tease us relentlessly. Or slug us. I guess if she was the one to hurt us, then it was okay… somehow.

She confided in us that her biggest dream is to start a family. Either a small one, or a giant one. She doesn't want an "Average" family. One that's at least a little crazy, but a comforting and happy one. 'That doesn't sound too bad actually.'

Ken wants to change his clan. Apparently, some old traditions in the clan are causing some major problems, but the bastard elders are too stuck in the past to change things.

I confided that I want to be a father… I have my own aspirations as well. I want to change this world. But after that, I wanna get married and be a father. Suzu seemed happy about that.

Finally, the clock showed eight o'clock. So I asked a question. "Do you guys… wanna stay over, tonight?"

They looked shocked, but excited. "Yeah! I'd love to!" Suzu shouted. Ken nodded. "I'll let my parents know real fast." He said, as he stood from his chair. "I'll grab a change of clothes from home!" The green haired girl stated, rushing out the door. Ken and I shared an amused glance before he left the apartment as well.

While they were gone, I retrieved a few futons from the linen closet. Moments later, Both Suzu and Ken returned. For the next few hours, we just enjoyed each other's company until we finally decided to go to bed.

I set the three futons in different areas of the living room. 'I haven't had a sleep over since long before my parents died. I kind of miss this.' 'This really is… kinda fun!'

The three of us laid in our futons for a few minutes, just waiting for sleep. "I'm kind of nervous…" Suzu broke the silence with a worried tone. "What's gunna happen tomorrow… I don't want to be split up." She continued, rolling on to her side, staring out of the closed window by the balcony. Ken mumbled in agreement. I thought for a while. 'I really don't want to be split up either.' "I'll think of something." I stated. "But… I might need your help." I continued, hesitantly.

Their answer was instantaneous. "Whatever you need, I'll do." Ken drawled.

"You don't need to ask. I've got your back Naki!" Suzu called, moving to look at me confidently.

I could feel a sense of joy welling within my chest. A comradery and familial ache in my stomach. 'There's no way we're losing these people... No way.' Inner and I conversed simultaneously.

"… Thank you." I probably sounded overcome with a sort of tearful joy.

I could feel their sincere smiles from where I lay. I never had this sort of friendship. In such a short time, I found a genuine bond that felt inseparable.

I was fully overjoyed.

'We only have a few hours to make this work, so we'll have to do this carefully, but quickly.' 'I'll wake you up at six or seven, so we get as much time as sleep will allow.' 'Thanks, Inner. Now, what to do?' I felt a wave of determination flow through me as Inner and I bounced ideas. It came down to using Ken's pranking skills and Suzu's brains to make this work. I am filled with determination and a sense of comradery and joy.

That feeling stayed until the three of us fell asleep.

The Next Day

'…up!' My drowsy head heard a faint cry. '…ke up!' And again. 'I wonder what that is.' I thought as I rolled over. 'Wake up, dumb ass! It's time to start operation: "Keep Suzu and Ken!"' Inner yelled excitedly with a try at an authoritative tone.

'Really? We're going with that as the name?'

'Yes, because it's badass!' He yelled confidently. '… And it's the only name I could think of.' I think he sounded kind of sheepish. 'Or… we could call it operation: Team Rig?'

"All right. I guess we'll go with that name… I probably couldn't think of anything better, honestly." I thought aloud. "Anyway, time to wake sleeping beauty and the beast." I raised myself from the futon, stretching my body as much as possible.

'Which one's which?' Inner asked, teasingly. 'Which do you think?' I returned. Inner snickered at that.

I carefully walked into the kitchenette and stepped towards the fridge. The refer box is connected to a freezer. My freezer makes some of the coldest ice-cubes I've ever had, even back home. I could feel inner's excitement.

I filled three glasses with cold water, and placed ice-cubes into two of them. After letting them sit for a while, I meandered over to my sleeping friends. 'This is another thing I missed about sleep overs.' I thought as I slowly began tipping the glasses. 'The night full of pranks, and the morning full of agony after a painful wake-up call.' I quickly splashed the freezing water over both of them.

Without a shred of hesitation, the two bolted from their futons, squealing and screeching. I received shocked and mutinous glares. All I could do was give them a manic grin. Suzu returned made me falter.

'Uh oh…'

She slowly sauntered close to me with a friendly smile, and placed a hand on my shoulder. Her other hand, meanwhile, was cocked back. The only sound I could manage was a very intelegent, "uh," before I was sent flying onto my back with a fist sized bruise on my stomach. Ken smiled mischievously.

Ken burst into laughter. I snickered and began laughing as well. Finally, Suzu joined in. "I deserved that. I definitely did!" I stated through chuckles and giggles.

I quieted myself and took a deep breath. The two saw this and sat down in front of me. "But now, let's start with operation: Team Rig." I grinned fanatically. They shared the look. Excitement bubbled within me.

'I wonder how the Akatsuki wake each other up.' And just like that… He ruined the moment. '… Dunno…'

Omake

Somewhere far away, in a slightly distant future (about three years) sits a small, quant place. This place is filled with the loving and happy members of the Akatsuki, the most peaceful creatures on earth.

"I will sacrifice the shitty person that ate my damn cookies! I was saving the fucking things for some sake!" Hidan yelled in "righteous" anger.

All right. Maybe not peaceful, but loving?

"If you touch a single ryo, Hidan… I will kill you." An irate Kakuzu stated menacingly.

"Ha! It wouldn't even work, shitty geezer!"

Screw it. I'm the narrator for children's books, not this crap. Get someone else. A pushy, and now unemployed, narrator stated.

This is the story of a single day in the Akatsuki base.

Kakuzu rarely slept for long, "Time is money," and all that. But today was a rare occasion. The old man was sleeping in. This was the perfect day to get revenge on the man after he stole the last of Hidan's cookies. Not a single person ever claimed that the Akatsuki weren't petty.

Hidan sneaked into the old man's room with a bucket of freezing water, quietly snickering. "This'll teach the old bastard." Hidan thought aloud.

He creeped towards the head of the bed, shaking with excitement. "One, two, THREE!" He shouted as he spilled the entire contents onto the older man's face.

Hidan laughed manically. "Take that, you old shit!" He shouted laughing. Kakukzu growled, before losing some thread from his arm. In the following moments, Hidan's head was separated from his body. "Damnit, bastard! That shit hurts!" He called.

Itachi and Kisame heard the noise and peered into the room. Kakuzu seeing the confused faces of his comrades, pointed to the empty bucket. They nodded and left.

Kisame smiled and laughed. "I'm glad we're not that pissy!" He said, openly laughing. Itachi chuckled. "Indeed." He stated before pulling a small box from his robe. "Care for some pocky?" He asked. The fish-man grinned and took one. "Don't mind if I do." He replied.

The two partners continued walking, slowly leaving the sound of an angry miser and immortal screaming and yelling, and explosions with wooden plinks from a pair of artists from further away.

A/N

Sorry for the long wait, but I'm a college student. Plus, I'm also working on my novel.

And don't worry, the good stuff is coming soon.

The story will really take off at the Chunnin exams. (Also, what's the official way to spell chunnin? I've seen way too many different ways.)

Anyway, did you guys like my omake? If so, should I keep doing them?

Thank you again to everyone who's read this. As well as the few who have followed and favorited "To Fix a World."

Arcami

VarigatedMosaic

Voltrasin

Wede

FuKu01

Annehaglider11

Thank you.

Thank you, everyone, once again!

See you soon!