3 months later

Oni's P.O.V

"Oni-chan!" called Naruto as he ran to catch up to me. We had just finished today's classes and I was on my way home.
"Oni-chan why'd you rush off like that " questioned Naruto once he'd caught up.
"Because I want to go home"
"But Oni-chan don't you want to go to the park with me and play" asked Naruto as he pulled a pouty face.
"Not really".
Right now all I wanted to do was go home and train with Ookami, if I didn't train how was I suppose to get stronger.
"But Choji, Kiba and Shikamaru are going to be there" whined Naruto as he tugged at my arm.
"Sorry Naruto," I said apologetically "I'm tired, maybe some other time" The thought of having to talk to other people in the class made me want to train with Ookami even more, the only person I could stand was Naruto and maybe Iruka when he occasionally treated to meals.
Naruto frowned at crossed his hands over his chest.
"Fine but you have to make it up to me later on," I slightly raised and eyebrow at his stubborn behaviour.
"How?"
"A sleepover at your house of course!" he grinned.
"Sleepover" I repeated. I furrowed my eyebrows trying to work out what a sleepover was.
"When a friend spends the night at your house" informed Ookami
"Why would Naruto want to do that?"
"To have fun and play"
"But I don't want to play"
"Discuss that with Naruto"
"So what do you say Oni-chan a sleepover" beamed Naruto as she draped his arm around my shoulder.
" I don't like…"
"Please, Oni-chan" pleaded Naruto as he gave me puppy dog eyes. I let out a sigh of defeat before nodding my head.
"Whatever, I'm going," I muttered as I shrugged his arm off my shoulder.
"Ok then Oni-chan, the sleepover will be tomorrow after class" smiled Naruto as he ran off.
'Tomorrow after school' I repeated in my head. I guess it couldn't be that bad in fact it did sound somewhat interesting. A smile tugged on my lips at the thought of a sleepover however the smile was wiped off my face by the presence of someone following.
"Ookami can I kill him?" I questioned. I frowned when I heard the wolf release a low chuckle.
"A ninja should suppress their true motive and blend in with the crowd," replied the wolf.
I quietly cursed at his reply.
'How annoying' I thought as I continued on my journey 'home'. After a few minutes of walking, I came to a stop.
"Uchiha, come out. Your pathetic stealth skills are too painful to ignore" I said whilst looking in the direction I could feel Sasuke's presence. For three months that boy had been following Naruto and me to and fro the Academy and it was really getting on my nerves.
I watch as Sasuke jumped from the shadow of a nearby building and onto the ground in front of me. He landed with a light thud on the dirt ground before proceeding to stare at me.
We stood in silence for a few minutes, each of us assessing the other person's strengths and weakness, well in his case assessing what he thought were my strengths and weaknesses.
"Are you done?" I questioned breaking the silence. This caused Sasuke to glare at me.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked. I frowned, as he seemed to ignore what I just said.
"How Pitiful you have no hope as a ninja, I've been in your class for 3 months and you still don't know who I am. As for your second question, that doesn't concern you"
I stood my ground as Sasuke took a 'threatening' step forward.
"Who do you think you are and what do you want in Konoha" I crossed my arms in front of my chest and glared at Sasuke.
"I have no intention of telling you anything" I replied. This answer caused Sasuke to growl and grab a Kunai from a secret compartment in his sleeve.
"I know how to use this" he threatened.
"And so do I," I said proceeding to do the same but was stopped by Ookami.
"Oni don't"
"Why? Why can't I just kill him?" I asked.
"Because it's illegal," stated Ookami. I mentally scoffed at such weak reasoning.
Wouldn't it make life easier to send the Uchiha brat to where the rest of his pathetic clan were?
"Oni, look at him carefully and tell me what you see," instructed Ookami.
Following Ookami's instructions I looked Sasuke up and down.
"I see a boy," I stated.
"Now look into his eyes." I looked into Sasuke eyes trying to figure out what Ookami wanted me to see.
"What are you doing?!" demanded Sasuke who was still holding the Kunai tightly in his hands.
"Looking into your eyes," I replied coolly. After A while I decided that there was nothing that interested me with his eyes.
"Nothing worth taking note of. Why should I care about him,"
 "Oni his family is dead, murdered by his brother the one he looked up to."
"I know"
"Then why do you not see he has the same eyes as both you and Naruto. Why do you not treat him the way you treat Naruto?"
I scowled at Ookami's words
"Because I don't care," I responded.
Before Ookami could reply I shut off the mind link which enabled us to talk. I was sick of him trying to get me to befriend people. It was hard enough only being friends with Naruto, having to deal with so many new feelings and emotions, becoming friends with Sasuke would just be annoying and stressful. Returning my attention back to Sasuke I saw that he was staring at me intensely.
"Why are you still here?"
"You still haven't answered my question," responded Sasuke whilst pointing his Kunai at me.
"I'll answer your stupid question if you answer one of mine first and put the Kunai away, it's not scary" Sasuke looked at me indifferently then sent me a nod. After Sasuke had put his Kunai back where it came from I asked him my question.
"Who's your hero?"
I watched as Sasuke's usual dull expression seemed to morph into surprise and shock then his face paled and he suddenly seemed uncomfortable. Staring into his eyes I noticed that they were full of emotion. Anger, hurt, loneliness, sadness, betrayal and emptiness. He was probably thinking about his older brother. 'How pitiful he still held affection for the one who caused him pain'. Deciding that I got what I wanted I spoke again
"What do I want with Konoha was your question right" I started "I want to survive and staying in Konoha seems like the best method for survival".
I smirked as I saw Sasuke made no effort to cover up his conflicting emotions. How he had not broken due to his experiences was a wonder to me.
"Uchiha, I envy you and your strength." My smirk slowly disappeared as I continued to talk "I'm trying to regain what I lost in the nightmare I lived no still living through, you who has lived through a nightmare is still unbroken and strong… That's good for you. If you stay strong you'll succeed"
I stared at Sasuke who still seemed to be digesting and understanding what I had just said.
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked coldly.
"No reason," I said whilst turning to look up at the sky. It would be a few more hours until the sunset which meant I could still get a few hours of training if I left now.
"I'm going," I said but before I could start walking I heard Sasuke blurt something out
"I can't stand fan-girls!" A smirk grew on my face at hearing that, he seriously thought I was a fan-girl because I gave him advice... 'What an annoyance.'
"You really are stupid Uchiha, don't flatter yourself. I'm simply giving you advice so that you don't end up becoming a problem for me in the future. I'm not a fan-girl and you're not my friend but I'll consider you a comrade as I'll make life easier for me"
"Then the feeling are mutual"
"Also I'll call you Sasuke I can't stand calling you Uchiha" I added. Calling him by his last name reminded me of his clan who were so easily wiped out by one of their own. They really were a useless clan.
"And I'll do the same"
"Whatever," I said walking away but then stopped after a few steps.
"Also stop stalking me, it's weird" Sasuke's cheeks seemed to redden a little at the embarrassment of being caught.
"See you when I see you Sasuke," I said sending him a backwards wave as I walked away.
"Bye"

. . .

Once I was out of sight I let out a long sigh; finally, one problem was resolved but now it was time to face the other one. Turning onto my street I wasn't surprised to see Iruka standing by the complex. Shoving my hands into my pockets I decided that walking pass him would be the best thing to do however before I could reach my apartment I heard him speak.
"Oni, I'll treat you to a bowl of Ramen"
"Damn you Iruka" I whispered under my breath. How he'd discovered my love of food was still a mystery to me.
"Tch what are you waiting for Umino-san let's get going," I said whilst walking back in the direction I had just come from.

. . .

"11 bowls of ramen" gaped Iruka as he shook his now limp wallet. We were currently walking down the street back to the apartments.
"Why are you complaining it's fewer bowls then last time," I said. This cause Iruka to snap out of the puny state he was in and back to his usual still slightly less puny self.
"Heh heh, you're right" he chuckled. "Sometimes I forget you're only eight years old," he said whilst ruffling my hair. Angrily removed his hand from hair.
"Umino-san you know you really piss me off," I said whilst stopping in my path.
"Huh, what do you mean?" question Iruka as he too stopped walked and turned around to face me.
"I mean what I said, you piss me off"
I frowned as the smile which was on his face a second ago was no longer there.
"Oni…"
"You and everyone here, you're all so happy and cheerful" I turned my attention to the dirt path in front of me "I can't stand it. I can't stand everyone smiling so brightly because I know that I can never smile like them. They haven't endured what I've had to."
"Oni you haven't given yourself the chance to get to know them, If you…"
"Why? Why are you telling me to get to know a bunch of kids I know I have nothing in common with. I can't, it's not possible. It's even hard for me to talk to people I have something in common with."
"Is that so? You seem to be doing a pretty good job being friends with Naruto" Iruka smiled. I looked at him for a few seconds before replying.
"You don't know how hard it is for me…"
"Tell me, what's so hard about being friends with Naruto, he's probably the friendliest person in my class" I scrunched up my eyebrows wondering whether or not it was a good idea to continue to speak to him. Eventually, I decided it wouldn't hurt to open up a little.
"He makes me feel warm… I don't like it, it feels too good to be true" once again Iruka chuckled.
"What you're feeling is joy and happiness, I guess it would be hard for you to recognise it after so long" smile Iruka as he ruffled my hair again.
"If you tried to get along with others in the class…"
"NO! You just don't get it, I don't want to get along with them, they get on my nerves. Why don't you understand! Why don't you see things from my point of view!? You're just like Ookami, you want me to smile and become friends with everyone else" I yelled out "I can't, I really can't just stop forcing me I don't like it. I don't want to get close to anyone" I said whilst lowering my voice. I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to block out the memories of me and Emi together. I squeezed my eyes tighter as I felt tears beginning to escape and roll down my cheeks
"I don't want anyone else to die again. I can't protect everyone, that's why, that's why…" I stopped mid sentence as I felt arms wrap around me.
"It's okay to cry Oni."
"No it's not, crying is for weaklings" I cried. Iruka's arms around me tightened as I continued to cry.
"Oni, I know that you're stronger than many kids your age but from time to time it's good to cry and release everything you've kept bottled up until now," said Iruka.
Nodding my head I lowered my defences for the first time in 4 years and let myself be hugged. After a few minutes, my cry died down and Iruka released me from his hug.
"Are you ok now?" he questioned whilst crouching down to my level. I nodded my head.
"That's good" he smiled.
"Um… thank you Umino-san for everything you've done for me" I thanked. "It's ok you're one of my precious students" he grinned. I mentally scolded myself for letting my guard down and crying in front of him, I was a student, it was his job to comfort me.
"Oni I can read you like an open book" chuckled Iruka "Yes you're right, it is my job to make sure that my students are ok and stay out of trouble, however, I'm not required to spend my salary treating you to ramen, or to visit you or even talk to you outside of school. You're a special exception"
I stared at Iruka in shock.
"Why me, why?"
"I don't know, I guess I just feel protective of you like how an older brother feels towards his younger sister".
I watched as Iruka's face lit up like a lightbulb. "How about it Oni? You become my imoute" he smiled.
"Imoute" I repeated, "If I became your imoute would that make you my Onii-san then?"
"Yep"
"Onii-san" I repeated "Onii-san, Onii-san, Onii-san," saying it over and over again brought back a familiar feeling I hadn't felt since my grand-parents had been murdered.
"Onii-san," I said a little bit louder "Onii-san!". Iruka laughed as I repeated the word "Onii-san over and over.
"Well?"
"Yes, I'll become your imoute" I said with a small smile."Any you'll become my Onii-san" I smiled whilst pointing at.
"Yes" smiled Iruka. "So Imoute would you like to tell your Onii-san about this Ookami person who is forcing you to befriend people you don't want to?"
"Not really" I smirked whilst continuing on my path back to the complex.