Reply to: Cisk Kazzarch

it's a secret

Also, FFnet keeps messing up the format of this chapter; I can't seem to keep it in a proper format for more than a few minutes before it goes back to messing itself up. I want to die. Sorry if I'm a shitty writer.

On to the story~

Chapter 4

I felt something weird and soft slap over my forehead with so much force, the back of my head dug deeper unto where I lay, back-first. My eyes shit open before I came face to face with Hanei's summon, Kyuri, with her foot a few inches away from my forehead again in an effort to hit me. Gently, (or as gentle I could get a rabbit that just hit me in the forehead in what was supposed to be a wake up call) I pushed her off of me before standing up and stretching.

I rubbed my forehead, running my other hand through my really short hair to get the knots out of my fringe. I decided earlier on that although I hadn't messed up with the original plot by being a boy in a girl's body, I still wanted to pay homage to my old life and gender by cutting my hair really short in the back and keeping the front long enough that I could still be recognised as a girl. I put the top half of my fringe tied up in what Hanei called the apple hair, and leaving the bangs at the side of my face hanging. They weren't obscuring my vision anyways. Hanei was already putting his notebooks and pencils into his bag, a soft smile on his face.

"About time you woke up, Rin! You'd be late for the Academy." He said before patting Kyuri, who was demanding to be petted, on the head before turning around and petting my hair down. "Mou, we're going to different schools, Rin! I can't always wake you up on time!" He pouted, before shoving me out of his room. I grumbled under my breath, before pulling myself together and stretching on the hallway, where no one else was to be found. It was still quite dark outside, (which may or not be because of the huge ass trees that lines the outside of the orphanage) but if you listened very closely you would pick up the sounds of people and birds outside. Right, it would be my first day in the Academy.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the civilian academy with me?" He asked, intent on changing my mind. I sighed and pulled on his hair playfully, before poking his forehead like what Itachi did to Sasuke. Heh, now I'm the owner of this poke. He swatted my hand away before pushing me to my room so I could get ready. Immediately, he was laying on my bed and playing with Kyuri. I rolled my eyes; opting to grab my towel to take a shower before going to school.

I pulled my clothes off, before standing in front of the full body mirror that I manually installed to the back of my bathroom door. I stared into my brownish-green eyes (I was baffled the first time, because Rin didn't have a green tint to her eyes and maybe my genes were mixing into hers) and I was pretty sure my case was sectoral heterochromia, where my eyes was divided into two colours. I had become quite the bully 'victim' by the time it became prominent and easily spotted, but fortunately, they still feared my kekkei genkai (or secret jutsu? I wasn't sure) seen only by people who bullied me, my dead eyed stare. It made people uncomfortable and I was perfectly happy with having weird eyes. Besides, the Uchiha and the Hyuuga has freakier eyes than me and they were famous for being attractive. I didn't see what the problem with my eyes were.

I stared into my reflection, before noticing a few things that weren't there before, or were originally not on Rin's face in the anime, but things I had on my first life. It seems that overnight, a few moles (or beauty marks, whatever you call them) popped up out of nowhere in my face, situating themselves in various places. One was on the middle of my bottom lip, where someone was bound to notice immediately. Another two were directly under my right eye, where the under eye bags where supposed to be. One appeared on the side of my button nose, just a little to the side of the tip. I sighed, before my eyes went lower. On my throat was another mole, this one less noticeable as it was only as big as a speck of dust. I checked my lower back, twisting my body so I could inspect if there were any other moles on me. There was one on the back of right knee and the rest of my body was clear. I had so many questions as to why that happened, and I didn't have anyone to answer then, so I just kept them to myself. My fringe was up to my eyes now, and the back was cut (as I had requested Shiokaze to cut it) as short as the boys, even shorter than some.

I pulled on the hair tie before taking the fastest shower of my whole two lives; the water was absolutely freezing. I quickly dried off, and wore the outfit that I had my eyes on for quite a while now. It was different from what Rin wore but people didn't know that. I laughed inwardly, feeling like a complete prankster.

Alright, it wasn't that different from what male shinobi wore in the anime, so it's not completely original; I'll admit that. Another that I do admit is that I didn't want any scratches on my new body though. I exchanged her short lower garments for the more safer clothes, a long black pair of loose high waisted pants, similar but not really to what Hinata wore. I kept the thigh part loose before wrapping the lower hem of the pants meant for the legs with bandage to keep them from fluttering about and tucking it into the standard shinobi sandals, the shin high ones. Kinda like how ANBU operatives style their pants. My white "tree" drawn shirt had been cropped, courtesy of Totsuka, when she noticed me keep pulling my shirt down every time it rode up my ribs. It fit perfectly with my pants. I didn't bother brushing my hair off, but did slipped a few hair ties on each of my wrists. After almost 20 minutes at most, I got out of the bathroom, only to find a note on my bed, neither hair or hide of Hanei present inside my room. I picked up the note, turning it over before snickering to myself. The note read as follows; in his 'unique' font.

You've been inside the bath for too long. Kyuri and I got hungry. I'm probably finished with both eating and brushing my teeth by the time you're reading this. Civilian school has an earlier start so I went ahead, since we're not even schoolmates. Don't forget to pack your lunch.

-Hanei

He at least put a note and a reminder, so I let it slip. I came down the stairs, only to find out that I was one of the late ones to come. "Ah, Rin! Come sit with us!" One of the older kids said, (I vaguely remember her as that girl I went to help during Shiokaze's test) and quietly I got food and sat next to them. They were all half way finished with their food but I wasn't in a hurry, so I kept a moderate pace, keeping track of their and the two tables next to ours' own conversations, silently looking over who would and might be my classmates.

Looks like I didn't have anyone to trust my back with, here. They had little to no care about what they had to go through before they become 'bad ass' ninjas. All they talked about were the fame and the fortune and not the lives they could save if they were stronger. Perhaps I wasn't one to judge, considering I had been born to quite the wealthy man, and thus, never wanted the finer things in life because I had been born with a silver spoon in my mouth and snot wiped with a silver tissue. Perhaps I didn't really understand how one would want a better life, when they would so obviously take the wrong path by dying before they even reach half of a fifty.

I quietly slipped away and went to the Academy by myself.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Due to us being orphans, (chosen as shinobi candidate among others by the Sannin themselves, and by passing Shiokaze's test, who was, albeit a retired jounin, still once was a member of Konoha's veterans, who by all means still had power and right to enter us into the Academy) I and a few other orphans got into the Academy without any entrance exams, contrary to what Gai and Kakashi experienced. To them, we were cannon fodder, insignificant children who had no value because we had no clan or esteemed shinobi to back us up except for Shiokaze Haru and a few medic school dropouts. People who no longer had any over the table connections, but I didn't hope for the jounin to pull any under the table strings to keep us safe. One person couldn't possibly save us all from our inevitable underaged deaths.

I shook my head to rid myself of the dark thoughts, before I spot two green clad males, the other perched upon the older's shoulders, making their way to the Announcement Bulletin. I slipped through legs upon legs of people trying to see and get to the front but finally made my way to the front. I scanned the list of names of those that had passed the entrance exam, and did not bat an eye when I spotted one Hatake Kakashi at the very top of the list of passing kids. I scanned the list more thoroughly and saw a few vaguely familiar names.

Gai wasn't there, as I had expected.

He got into the Academy as an alternative/special student, where they only focus on one specialty. I ran over to the duo, where Gai was sadly looking at his father. My heart broke and it hurt. I loved Gai, no homo. Or wait, was it still considered homo if I'm a guy in consciousness, but not in body? I'd guess not. He was that one sibling who made you do stupid things and supported you, while Hanei kept me alive by telling me what was stupid and what was dangerous.

They balanced each other out.

I have Gai a hug from the back as he wiped a few tears, before Dai started his speech about youth. I let go before I got dragged into their sunset genjutsu. A few meters away from us stood two gossiping and pointing chūnin who looked really familiar before something clicked inside my brain. They were the same ones that day when we first met Maito Dai. I let a growl rip from my mouth before I pulled myself away from the father and son duo, barely even noticed by them. I creeped toward the two chūnin before unleashing all of my five year old wrath.

I clawed one of them, and using chakra as enhancer, jumped on his shoulder and wrapped my legs around his neck, preventing him from breathing. The other shrieked in shock before trying to prying me away from his friend. I tightened my hold on his friend by pouring more chakra through my legs before twisting my upper body and pulling the other by the hair, intentionally ripping strands upon strands of his brown hair. A scream ripped out of my throat before I clawed at his face, making sure one or two or five of my fingers dig right into his face. I heard choking noises before I continued my chūnin beat down.

I was forcibly ripped off of the two idiots and two huge arms wrapped around my waist. "I'm not done yet, you bitches!" I screamed, kicking at the person holding me and successfully escaping. I launched myself at the one I choked before grabbing hold of his hair with one hand, the other being held back by someone, most likely his friend. I opened my mouth and chomped on the idiot's ear, mouth immediately filled with the tangy taste of blood. Oh well, that's extra human content.

I shrugged inside my mind as I got ripped away from the chūnin once again. Together with the force of the pull and the strength of my grip, I effectively ripped lots of hair from him, the bald spot at a very noticeable place. Someone was holding me in place and it spurred me on to do more damage.

"Rin! Snap out of it!" A familiar voice called out and I stopped resisting. I stared at the bloodied face of one of the chūnin, deep gashes, deeper than one would get from a cat, ran from his forehead down to his jaw. His hair was slowly falling, strand by stead and he clutched on his bleeding face. His friend was not in a good condition either. He was slumped next to someone's fence, catching his breath and a huge bruise starting to form on his neck.

His ear was missing and I just then remembered to spit out his ear, and I did, purposefully spitting it right at him. He had a bleeding scalp and when his gaze landed on me, I barred my teeth in an aggressive manner. He backed away. "Better sleep with one eye open, motherfucker." I growled as someone pulled me away from the two bloody men.

"Rin, watch your language." Another familiar voice rang in my ears and I spit one more time. "Sorry, Totsuka." I sweetly say, before continuing.

"Please sleep with one eye open tonight, motherfucker-san." I say before I heard Totsuka's quiet laughter. I turned around only to find that we, somehow in the span of almost 3 to 5 minutes, managed to get an audience.

There were whispers. Whispers everywhere. I was used to that. But what I wasn't used to is seeing Hanei so, so disappointed. I tilted my head to show my confusion before he moved so close, his mouth was touching my ear. "I thought we talked about biting people." He said before I laughed out loud, bloody teeth and all. He laughed with me, and that was all I could ever ask for then.

Maito Dai was not amused, whatsoever. Not even a bit. He gently pulled me away from my friend, before crouching down low so he could level his gaze with mine. "Why would you, a really nice girl, do that Rin? Why?" He said, disappointment shining through his eyes. I gulped, mouth opening and closing a few times in search of an answer before staying quiet as I looked at Totsuka quietly healing the chūnin to the best of her ability, (and by best of her ability, I meant doing the bare minimum so they don't get infected but still get nasty scars) and Hanei, together with Gai, herded the civilians away from the scene. I turn my gaze upon Dai once again, and I had the answer he wanted, now.

"Bullies should be left dead in a ditch." I say honestly, picking at my teeth that still tasted like blood. Dai visibly cringed before shooting me a warning look. "You'd be lucky if the Academy still accepts you. You'd be a miracle if they don't send you straight to TI." An unknown voice quipped before Dai has the chance to say anything. Growling, I turned around only to meet eyes with Hatake Sakumo, or more commonly known by both civilian and shinobi as the White Fang. My eyes narrowed before I realized Kakashi was nowhere to be seen around him. Then a memory hit me. This was when Gai and Kakashi were supposed to meet, where Kakashi defends Gai from two bully chūnin. I ruined something that could turn into a major issue. I sighed.

"Well, those chūnin better toughen up. It's not my fault a kid not even in the Academy could deal that much damage to them." I retorted as the Hatake crouched down in front of me, claiming the space next to Dai who was also still in the same position.

"That's true, but it doesn't mean you're still allowed to attack a fellow shinobi of Konoha." Dai chastised before shooting me another disappointed look; I shrugged it off. "You even threatened them to watch out in their sleep. If we were in Kiri, someone might have encouraged that behaviour but this village values her soldiers' Will of Fire and teamwork. What if you and those two chūnin get assigned the same mission?" Sakumo asked, before I realized I had a little girl persona to act out. I was supposed to act how Rin would have acted. But this time, I didn't want to follow my own rules. They were making fun of someone special to someone I consider special to me, they get their asses handed back to them, beaten and bloodied. Like those two chūnin.

"Rin," Dai started, "—do you understand what we're trying to make you see here? You're a very smart girl, I know you could figure it out." He said, before staring at me. "I know what I did was wrong," Sakumo forced himself to chuckle before murmuring very under his breath, "—very wrong, yes, biting an ear off is bad, I know," both males looked at me before I crushed their hope.

"—but they started it. They may not have done anything to me, but Gai gets hurt every time they do that, and that hurts me too." I said, feeling every bit like a child whining to one's parents. If this attitude was what I had and this confidence was a trait I had for Before, my famiglia would've been proud of me, and not tried to hide my connections to them and to the rest of the world. Scars may heal and not hurt themselves, but there is such thing as phantom pains. I was a huge hypocrite. How could I judge all those mourning people when I myself couldn't even move on? What's done was done and I felt like I was trying to compensate, albeit it was over the top, for the things I couldn't do before. In my first life, I couldn't protect people, and they had to be burdened by protecting a 12th grade repeater with a really weak heart, so weak that he gets out of breath just trying to climb the stairs, I couldn't even handle the recoil of a gun.

"Doesn't mean you can attack anybody." I almost tasted the disappointment and disapproval in the air. It washed all over me, all at once and I couldn't help but blame myself. I didn't have anyone else. I felt my shoulders drop slowly and I hung my head in shame. I was overcompensating, when in reality, I had nothing and no one to hold onto in the world Before, and they, meaning the Naruto cast, wouldn't know or care about it anyways. I was Nohara Rin now. I am Nohara Rin. They saw me as Rin and not—not some kid riding his father's tail coat. I saw the tears fall on the ground before I felt them rolling down my cheeks. Dai picked me up and used the sleeve of his green body suit to wipe my continuously falling tears, before I lost myself and just cried. I realized the situation I was in and I only realized now. I thought it was a blessing, but it was also a curse. I had nothing to use as proof that this is my second life and I had no one to share the burden with. I was losing my identity and I was scared. I was so confused, I was beginning to mix up two very different lives.

So I cried. I cried for my father, I cried for the famiglia, but most importantly, I cried for myself. The pressure and sadness got to me, and I didn't have any outlet for it. So I overcompensated, used two other people to be the victim of my frustration and vented it all out on them. I was unconsciously trying to get praise for what I also unconsciously thought this second life would entail.

Like a beast, I lost control. Worst, I lost to myself. I had been fighting and confusing and pressing myself too hard and for too long, it was a wonder I had not snapped any sooner. I cried, knowing I messed up. I cried knowing nothing I could ever do would ever change what I just did. I cried knowing that it was all my fault.

It always was.

It was my fault my father let me die, it was my fault I was weak. If only I tried. If only I had the strength. If only I had the confidence. The world was shaking.

It was my fault Gai probably hated me. Kakashi was probably traumatised now. Hanei was probably disgusted with me. Totsuka might have been laughing at me.

itsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfault

"Rin! Snap out of it!"

itsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfault

"Rin!"

itsAllyouRfaultitSallyOurfAultitsAllyoUrfaultItsaLlyourfAUltitsallYourfaulT

"Snap out of it! Breathe! Breathe!"

IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT

"Rin!"

I felt someone slap my forehead and cheeks, before cradling me to their chest. It was warm. It was warm and soft. Quite humid, but comfortable. I felt thrumming all over my body. It was being born all over again. It was a huge deja by moment. My eyes shot open before I closed them back again, as my eyes landed on Hanei and Gai who were standing so so far away, and they were out of my reach and even Totsuka didn't want me anymo—

"Rin!" I clutched the warm clothes and pushed my face onto it. I felt my body being transferred into someone else's arm and I felt disgusting, even my saviour didn't want me—

"Rin, it's Totsuka. Can you open your eyes for me?" I stayed still for a few seconds, processing what I just heard. Slowly, I opened my eyes and that's when I felt the strain on my chest. "Breathe." I gulped in as much air my little chest could inhale and I felt my eyes water at the unexpected comfort it brought me. I was hyperventilating. "That's right, breathe slowly for me now." I slowed down my breathing and I felt a warm, open palm press into the space between my shoulder blades, pushing a warm comforting thing into my back. "Good girl, Rin." I closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling of Totsuka's arms around me, and I felt my hand stop shaking. I felt my whole body slowly stop shaking.

I felt stares on me, and it made me feel vulnerable. In my first life, people always whispered around me. I would know, everybody did so. My eyes snapped open; my breathing picking up. But they never outright stared while they whispered. They never made a spectacle of me. I saw red again.

I made a move to do it all over again when I was suddenly falling, and all I saw was black.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Rin lay unmoving on the ground, breathing a stable tempo. Totsuka stared wide eyed at the infamous Hatake Sakumo, shocked that a man known as a compassionate person hit a child, even though it was to just knock her unconscious. He picked her off of the ground with ease and turned to Totsuka, frown settling into his face. "As a shinobi of Konoha, of the rank Jounin, I have the right to demand to talk with her parents to see and check on her mental state. You, miss, obviously know her enough to speak on a first name basis, and I will assume you know her parents or guardians personally. Bring me to them." He demanded as he sent his own son home alone, if not for Hanei and Gai offering to come with him, which he surprisingly accepted. The kid was a stuck up brat.

She nodded dumbly, mute by her own accord. She didn't have the guts to be sassy or to be rude to one Hatake Sakumo, for she feared he'd cut her down, strike her for even speaking to him or worse, hurt Rin who was still in his arms. Silently, they went to the Orphanage building, together with the man who was famous for all the wrong reasons, Maito Gai. She had seen him around many times, and he even did a few volunteer work to fix a few parts of the orphanage during the age when he was still young and it was still acceptable to be a genin. Totsuka was still but a mere child herself, back then. She pitied him whenever she saw chūnin or jounin picking on him, but never came to his rescue for fear of getting hurt.

She only allowed Rin to hurt those men because she didn't have both the heart and confidence to beat down two bullies. It was also the cause of her downfall. She snapped out of her thoughts when they arrived at the gate of the orphanage, and she silently signed to the civilian guard to help her open the gates. Once they were all inside the property, she led them to the private lounge for the important people that visited once or twice a month, thrice if the Orphanage was stuck between discontinuing the the service or risk starving/overworking/selling/renting themselves to feed the children.

Totsuka's guests sat on the slightly dusty couch as she hurried to call Shiokaze. In her hurry, she fell twice and scraped both her knees in such a fashion that looked like it hurt really but it was just that it made it very bloody. She picked herself up and pushed herself to barge into Shiokaze's room, where she spread paperwork onto her bedroom floor (the Orphanage did not have the luxury of an office, so they had to make do with what the building had) and immediately uttered "Hatake." before her superior was gone in a blink of the eye.

She felt her knees buckle under her own weight, before she felt the shivers and tears wrack her body. She put a hand over her mouth before a sob broke out and ran her chakra over her bloodied knees. This was why she couldn't graduate to become a medic. She was too scared to get hurt and even more scared of confrontation. She hit her own throat in an effort to stop the sobbing; to forcefully make her swallow the fear.

She heard the stern voice of Shiokaze flat out denying that Rin was mentally unstable, not when the kid showed so much talent and was a terrifying prodigy in the ninja arts. Hatake Sakumo retorted that if she was so sure they'd let one of the doctors in the hospital to check up on the child, just to be really sure that she was okay mentally. Shiokaze was bristling in barely contained annoyance, knowing that the kid she personally watched over was not one bit a psycho.

"Do you even know what she did? She bit someone's ear off! Clawed a chūnin's face then ripped their hair straight off their scalps. She attacked without warning, and considering that's an act against the Village, I, as a jounin, have the right to investigate the matter." Sakumo said all in one breathing, refusing to back down from his senpai. "You'd regret not trusting me on this, Hatake. I didn't lose an eye and a limb trying to save two of your squad members only to be repaid with this kind treatment and of lack of trust in my ability to see through a person." She growled, before turning around and telling him to handle all the expenses, making him sigh in relief and for Dai, who was surprisingly quiet, put a hand on his shoulder and offered to shoulder some of the expenses, before the man refused; it was his idea to get the child checked over, anyways.

Shakily, she scrambled to run after the two shinobi who, without any one to restrain them, went to the hospital full speed. By the time Totsuka reached the hospital there were no sign of the two men and her knees and lungs were about to collapse on her. She ran up to the info desk and knocked on the wood to get the person's attention.

Black eyes turned towards her and she gulped audibly before meekly saying "Nohara Rin. Was with Hatake Sakumo." The person over the desk arched a brow before telling her to go to the third floor, room number 027 before they went back to whatever they were doing. Without saying her thanks, she sprinted up to the third floor, using her well polished evasion skills, (it helped when kids starts fighting and start throwing whatever they get their grubby hands on) and dodged every person in order to get to the room as fast as she can. She reached the room labelled 027 and heard screaming and things being knocked over violently inside. She opened the door only to see Rin thrashing violently against the hold of Sakumo, a Yamanaka trying his best to inject Rin with a sedative. To no avail, of course, as the little spitfire kicked and screamed and threw anything she wrapped her fingers around. Dai was nowhere to be found though, she thought, as she looked around frantically for the green clad man.

"Totsuka! Help me!" Rin screamed as the Yamanaka got a hold of her head and made a move to bite his fingers off. She rushed to the five year old, snatching her from Sakumo's hold and cradling the sobbing child against her chest. She did her best to stop the crying but the little girl just wouldn't stop. Shakily, stood up on her wobbly feet and did her best attempt of a glare at the dangerous shinobi infront of her.

"As N-Nohara Rin's default guardian, I-I can get you arrested for child abuse." She said as she backed out of the still open door before she turned tail and ran with the child still in her arms.

Once she reached the outside of the hospital, she looked down and swore.

Maybe they really ought to get Rin's mental health checked. The slightly deranged look in the child's eyes that bore into her own made chills run down her back, and fear to creep on her heart.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Rin woke up to a Yamanaka about to put their hand on her head. She screamed. They couldn't just roam around her head! She thrashed against arms that held her and tried to bite when the Yamanaka got too close. The door opened to reveal Totsuka, panting as if she just ran a marathon. She screamed for help.

They can't see her past and their futures.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

In the end, word of a child, not even an academy student take two veteran chuunin down, all by herself got out and spread all through out Konoha, and obviously, the Hokage had learned of this predicament. The child was not tested for mental instabilities but apparently one war veteran, (a jounin, retired from the Second Hokage's personally assembled ANBU force) looked over the young lass, and saw nothing different about her, except maybe for her being a prodigy in the ninja arts and being slightly more mature than her peers. So he did the most plausible and obvious thing to do. He ordered the child to be brought to his office so he could talk to her, one on one. He was surprised to see a midget- a little girl not even tall enough to reach his hip (he was quite the small person) enter his office only to bow curtly and introduce herself before even the Hokage tried to make her.

"I am Nohara Rin, five years old. I'm from the Orphanage currently run by Shiokaze Haru." She said before bowing again. It surprised, Hiruzen, it really did, because even the most bravest nin under his jurisdiction had the gall to speak before he did. He almost sputtered as she sat on the chair right in front of his table without him even prompting her to do so. He became even more surprised to see that the confidence was not a bravado. She really was confident. He took a hit on his pipe and watched how her features scrunched into annoyance and disgust, and soon turned to become quite the judgmental look (that was high praise coming from Hiruzen, since he has quite the fair share of people who he knew had a look that topped hers, cough Danzo cough) when he blew it all upward.

"So how are you?"

"Pretty mango." (1)

"What were you doing before you went here?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff? Playing ninja, helping out in the orphanage or training?"

"Things."

"What kind of things?"

"What? Did you say something?" (2) He stopped himself from sighing.

"I reckon you know why I had you called in here?" The Hokage asked, scrutinizing the little human who sat in front of him with such confidence. He leaned forward so he could study the child's features a little bit better. She had brown hair, which was cut like as short as one would their son, eyes that had green and brown fighting for space, cleanly cut in the middle, making it clear that the child had heterochromia. She had a two moles directly under one of her eyes, a mole on the side of the tip of her nose, and a mole on her bottom lip. She wore earring the same style as the Nara clan had. She wore a black top and a jacket far too big for her, it practically swallowed the child. She had black standard pants and bandaged shins tucked into her sandals. She didn't flinch when they met gazes and it made Hiruzen's stomach churn slightly as he saw the glint of what looked like a piercing at the side of the child's neck. She shook her head at the question before Hiruzen tore his gaze away from her neck. Who would let a five year old child get a neck piercing? He suppressed a shudder as he schooled his features.

"Alright. Can you tell me what happened during the altercation? Why you did it?" Patience, he reminded himself, even if you're looking at a person that took down two chuunin using bloody means, that someone is still a child. "They were badmouthing my taijutsu trainer. That same man is the father of one of my friends." She said, voice level and calm, as if she's just talking about gardening. "Also, they should have seen it coming. I was screaming when I attacked them." She said, almost as an afterthought, before shrugging and slightly slouching. Hiruzen sighed, he knew he was starting to get a migraine. He was too old for this. "Can you tell me what happened during your confrontation with the chunin? I'm afraid I don't really have a credible source of what truly happened there." He said, before pulling up his 'professor' mask, so the child would think twice about lying to him.

She wasn't scared. She didn't lie nor did she exaggerate as most children are wont to do. Hiruzen was sure of it. She kept eye to eye contact during the whole time she told him what happened, even putting a few morbid jokes about 'extra carbohydrates' when she got to the part where she bit off someone's ear. One thing he also noticed was, she didn't seem to be scared of repercussions, (not that there was, for goodness' sake, she attacked chunin, not a pair of genin, they should've have been able to fight her off or defend themselves.) and strangely, she almost looked relaxed. Relaxed. The only person he ever knew that relaxed when talking to him as a Hokage was his wife and a few exceptions, like the Sannin, as they were his students. Even ANBU and his former teammates were never relaxed around him, even Danzo, no matter how stand-offish he tried to act around the man. No one was truly relaxed, as if talking to a person of equal footing. It made him tense up. It was rather, dare he say, refreshing, as he listened intently to the five year old's story. "And thus, they should have never talked bad about Maito Gai. Thanks for coming to my ted talk." She finished as the Hokage stared at her. What the hell was a ted talk? And was she insinuating that he was the one that adjusted for her?

"As much as I want to know what ted talk means, I appreciate you being protective of family-why are you raising your hand?"

"Ted talk means an inspiratio- you know what? Never mind." She said, slouching even more and puffing her cheeks out. The Hokage pointedly looked at her like she was being weird (which she was), and instead, opted to ignore her show of slight crazy. He cleared his throat before asking if she thought what she did was right. She looked at him incredulously, and if this wasn't such a serious time he would have had laughed at such a look from a little girl. She pulled herself together and gave him a very straight to the point answer, "Yes. They were bad guys anyways, going as far as to even go bullying someone that they knew wouldn't retaliate." before clenching and unclenching her hands that were laying limp on her lap.

His eyebrows rose, and she raised one of her own. "You have quite the opinionated moral compass." He said, clearly challenging her to correct him. She did.

"I don't. I'm just being a decent human being." She retorted, crossing her legs.

"And how do you know how to be one? You're not even a decade old, yet you preach about being one." He challenged once again, intrigued with how sharp the child was, where little by little he was finally starting to realize why such a famous jounin such as Shiokaze Haru would call her a prodigy. A genius among cannon fodder.

"So you would say, but remember, if dealt the right cards, even a crow could beat a hawk." She said, a dangerous glint in her eyes, and it took all of his self-control not to snarl at her, his basic instincts telling him to tie the girl and interrogate her, for her smile showed knowledge of something he didn't know. He didn't act upon that train of thought though, as she wiped her face of any signs of a dangerous person and schooled her features to be of a little girl, unsure of the world.

"But what do I know right? I'm only a measly five year old with no experience whatsoever." She said as she shrugged in what was an attempt to be cutesy, completely negating what she just said mere seconds ago. Then he realized, this little girl had been playing with him since the moment she stepped foot in his office, no matter how subtle it was. It made him bristle with slight annoyance. How dare this little girl play him like that? She smiled at him, mismatched eyes glinting playfully, knowing full well he realized she was messing with him. Complete insubordination. This was going on her records.

"Do not test me, little girl." He said, massaging his temples once again.

"That's what he said." (2) She said to no one in particular before Hiruzen barely stopped himself from sputtering. How indecent!

"You shouldn't be saying that."

"So that was what I forgot to tell those chunin! Thanks." (3)

"I'm afraid we will have to talk at a later date, Rin." He said, shooing the little girl out of his office. She gladly did so, even going as far as intentionally skipping out, loudly saying "Phew, it smelled like old man and boredom in there!" outside where one ANBU was stationed, before he heard "How do you deal with having to watch an old man with smoking problems all day, Mole-san?" and a choking laugh that followed soon after. The laugh was very familiar, and it made Hiruzen want to slam his head on his table. Jiraiya was here.

Just his luck.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

(1) Pretty mango= pretty peachy. You know, both are fruits?

(2) That's what he said= you already know, don't you? ;)

(3) So that was what I forgot to tell those chunin! = i know you get this

So that was that, I just wanted to show how fragile a person's mind is, if it is under constant pressure. Sometimes, snapping goes little by little. Also, ignore the last 27 or so words, I just wanted to get this chapter over seven thousand words. Also also, a wild Hatake Sakumo and his floof of a son, Kakashi have appeared! What will happen now?