I had a dream. (He's got a dream~. He's got a dream~. No? okay...)

It was a very weird dream, I can tell you that. I usually don't have dreams at all. But this one was different. It seemed very much real. I was fighting in an alleyway, it looked like. I was using what I learned from Rain-sensei against men at least twice my height. I faintly saw a few blurs that were moving around very quickly. One was whitish gray and another yellow. There was the occasional pink as well. I felt panic rise up in my chest for some reason and my vision was filled with two bright blue eyes.

"ARICA!"

I felt a sudden pain in my chest as I snapped awake. I sat up just as my door opened. "Get up, girl." Said one of the staff. I never really care to learn their names. They change to often. "There's an adopter here."

I sighed and swung my legs off the bed, stretching my back and muscles. It was actually unusual for adopters to come here. They went somewhere else or had their own kids nowadays. Perks of being in an old orphanage. Whenever we try to go somewhere else, they bring us back. No matter where we go.

The door closed again as I got dressed in cleaner clothes. It was a special outfit I always wore just for our special visitors. A white and black designed shirt that looked like tree bark with a large grey hoodie over it. Jean shorts that went over my knees, long black socks and black slip-on shoes. (If I didn't wear the socks, the shoes tear into my feet. That took almost a month to heal from.)

I put my hands in the hoodie pockets as I walked down the hall. A few of the younger kids ran past me, moving around my and giggling happily. I don't think I was ever like that. At least, not all the time. I did have my times where I was honestly a cute kid. But that was rare. My first nanny here was a total jerk. So bad of a jerk she was arrested for child abuse. I didn't really think it was abuse though. But of course no one would listen to me. "The poor victim to traumatized to tell the truth."

One of my fun moments was when I learned how to be snarky at the age of five. Not total vocal snark and eye rolls. But with a single look. A look of "Oh really? Yeah right." Or "I'd like to see you try." Being snarky is so much fun, you have no idea! If your acting is believable, then the reaction is ten times better because they never expect it.

Anyway, that's off topic.

When an adopter comes, we all gather in the Mess Hall and we listen to their specifications or recommendations. Those who do not fit, leave to do their normal business. The goal is to try and narrow the whole orphanage down to less than twenty students.

"Okay. Is everyone here?" Came Ms. Angela's voice from the front of the room. At least she was running this one. Maybe I'll get to go back to my room immediately. "This young man here is looking to adopt one of you. His name is Kabuto Yakushi."

A young man was beside her, wearing a white shirt and a purple flannel. His silver hair was pretty long and behind his head in a low ponytail. He lifted a hand which wore a black fingerless glove and pushed up his round glasses. He gave everyone in the room a kind smile. "Hello guys." He said, his voice wavering slightly.

He was nervous. I smirked. He looked in his lower twenties, but older than a teenager. He went on, explaining a little bit about who he was. He had that geeky teenager look about him. I should know, I plan to look like that when I'm older and can fit into those kinds of clothes.

"His specifications are as follows." Ms. Angela said, holding up a clipboard. "No one younger than ten." Over half the roof stood up and left. I looked over at the man and saw he was looking around the room at those who remained. It was about twenty already. But some would come back because they were taking care of the babies who couldn't walk out themselves.

"That is all he wrote down." Ms. Angela frowned, looking at Kabuto. "Is there any specific gender? Size?"

"Well, not really." He laughed lightly, his eyes closing as he smiled. "Why don't I look at who we got and see if I can pick one out."

This was going to be a long day. With only above ten as his specification. I might as well go to sleep. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes stretching before crossing my arms over my chest.

"Her name is Arica, Mr. Yakushi. She's 12 with her birthday in less than a week. She has fair grades at the local junior high and goes to a Marital Art's studio in her freetime. She's been studying Japanese as a second language as well."

I cracked one eye open only to see Kabuto's eyes right in front of me. "Gah!" I sat up quickly, flatting my back against the back of the chair. I heard soft laughter and glared at Kabuto as he chuckled.

"It's nice to meet you Arica. It seems you didn't get a good rest last night. You should work on that." He smiled at me as he stood up.

I looked at him in confusion as he walked off to the next kid.

"This is Samuel Ret. He's 13 with his thirteenth birthday on August 21. He has good grades and is captain of his football team."

I couldn't help but watch Kabuto as he interacted with everyone he met. It was...different. I couldn't place why. I leaned back again, getting comfortable and acting like I had no care in the world.

"Hey, Arica." Said a soft whisper beside me.

I groaned loudly so the girl knew my discomfort. I opened one eye to glare at the teenager. Her name is Sabrina Ehen. She's ten, but acts a lot older. She was the kind of girl who tried to be nice to everyone. She failed in so many ways. And she seemed oblivious to it all. She wasn't your stereotypical blonde or anything like that, but a Hispanic woman in all ways. She was orphaned at age seven, so she had the accent and the memories.

"Who do you think is going to be adopted this time?" She asked in her soft voice that turned heads for miles around.

I shrugged. "Dunno. What do you think?"

"I don't know either. But from what I can tell, he's looking for someone else. He's just a messenger."

"What makes you so sure?" I asked, not trying to sound nice in any way.

"Because, he has a look in his eyes."

"What look?" I asked angrily. This better not be one of her stupid prediction things. She did this to almost everyone. She would look at your eyes and tell you what she saw. What she saw in my eyes was a broken soul, or something like that. I snapped at her, calling her mental. But her words have still bothered me to this day.

"I can't really describe it well...Let me think..."

I closed my eyes and went back to my half-sleep state, waiting for the loud clapping and orders to get going because the child has already been chosen and I should scram. Why haven't I run away yet? Oh yeah. I'm scared of what I'll face out there. I don't know how to deal with the real world. No one's ever taught me. The teachers don't bother answering my questions saying I was still young and I didn't have to worry about that. What utter crap.

So, what do you guys think so far? This is the same story, I promise. But I'm adding more detail and stuff like that. This is sort of Modern AU, sort of world-jumping as well. Because, how else would ninja get into our world and survive while staying the way we know and love them? If this doesn't make sense, it will in time. (Hopefully). I Have a plan and I'm writing it as quickly as I can so I can get back to where I was before.