A/N: His stats at the end of this chapter (age 6 or 19): Ninjutsu= 2: Kinju techniques, a few water techniques. Taijutsu= 1: Not so good. Genjutsu= 0: No chance with this one. Intelligence= 3: He knows a lot more than children his age. Strength= 1.5: Ninjutsu, good. Taijutsu, ok-ish. Genjutsu, zero. Speed= 2: Something he practices every day. Stamina= 1: The early morning start and late night ending is not helping him. Hand seals= 2: Same with 'speed'. Total: 12.5

It's average I think. Hiruzen has a total of 34 and the highest one can get is 40. 12.5/40 this doesn't sound bad... it reminds me of my first Algebra test.

You can only be young once. But you can always be immature.

~Dave Barry

\( - _ -)/

"Congratulations, you all passed the chunin exams." Hiruzen beamed at us.

I smiled, which caught Kakashi's attention. This was probably the first time he saw me smile ever since I started training with Root, so I guess he was surprised.

When the other kids left I followed them thinking of how late I am for training, but Kakashi pulled me back in.

I growled at him annoyed. "Kakashi I'm going to be late for training, let me go." I said scowling, half-heartedly pulling my arm from his grip.

He ignored me and turned to the Hokage's direction as I felt a chakra signature appear. "Hokage-sama, I would like to request a day off for Takeshi today. I don't think he's getting any sleep." I heard Minato say.

I scowled again. "I've had enough sleep, Minato-san. What I really need to do is to head over to my mentor before-"

"I think a day off would be a good idea, Takeshi," Hiruzen said.

"But-"

"I'll talk to your mentor about this. You don't need to worry about anything, rest for the day. That is an order."

I sighed. "Yes, Hokage-sama," I can't really disobey an order from the Hokage, can I?

"Good, now please leave I have an important meeting to attend to."

"Let's go kids," Minato said with a smile as he took hold of Kakashi and I then used his Flying Thunder God Technique to take us to training ground 5.

"Takeshi, how many sleepless nights have you had?" He asked still smiling.

"I don't know... what I do know is, I didn't sleep last night." I answered not caring what he would say.

"What? Why?" Kakashi asked.

"I was just looking through the scrolls that dad left for me and tried to master some of the techniques on it. It was a piece of cake." I said enthusiastically.

"You were training in the middle of the night alone, outside?!" Kakashi questioned.

"Yup! Don't worry the forest is my home base. No one can kill or capture me as long as I'm near a tree. You worry too much Kakashi-wait! Didn't you say you were going to talk to the Hokage? How come it was Minato-san that went to converse with him?"

"He gets very talkative and dangerously honest when he's deprived of sleep." Minato noted to himself.

"I don't know about dangerously honest but talkative could work. Hey what if I visit Obito or Rin today!"

"No, you are not doing that; you're going to rest," Kakashi said.

"I wonder how bad I look. I'm guessing terrible because of the way you're acting. I remember saying something about not getting enough sleep once we're ninjas, I was right about that!" I exclaimed as I punched the air above me.

"Kakashi, we are taking him back to your house before he collapses," Minato said as he placed me on his back.

"Minato-san, are we going to do the very fast travel thingy again?" He laughed at my nickname for his one of a kind technique.

"Yes, yes we are. I won't take long, stay here and wait instead Kakashi."

"Yes, sensei,"

Then we were off again. I fell asleep before he placed me down on the futon.

"As a chunin I am now giving you your first mission as a member of Root." I wonder if he's going to send me to kill someone. Dark, yes but not impossible.

"I want you to become a spy and live at Kirigakure." He ordered. Kirigakure? Why there...? Did he just say live there?!

"Excuse me, Shimura-san, but did you say that you want me to live at the village?"

"Yes,"

"But wouldn't someone get suspicious?"

He didn't say anything and instead began to think quietly to himself as I did the same.

Kiri... Kisame is from the Hidden Mist. He's one of the most loyal members of the Akatsuki... Madara did tell me to make connections with important people... or maybe I should avoid Kisame... what about Kakashi? What do I tell him?

Then an idea suddenly hit me. "Oh, maybe that could work." I thought out loud.

Danzo opened his eyes to look at me. "What could work?"

"I can make a clone that would infiltrate the village. If I do that I might be able to spy on village without needing to leave Konoha."

"Show me," I nodded and made the hand seals for Leaf Puppets Technique. I concentrated on the important details as I made the figures.

The Mist spy was a small child no older than 5 with long blue hair and black irises with pale white skin. He wore a tattered white shirt and black shorts. He looks like an orphan in the streets.

I transferred half of my chakra to the figure. After finishing the preparations I let go of the clone as it began to twitch.

It blinked a few times before stretching and talking. "Wow never tried this technique before. You think this would fool them?" It asked in English as it turned to me.

"Of course, now shut up for a while, the old man here gives us his orders." I answered back liking the way my voice sounded when speaking in my native tongue.

"What do we have here?" Danzo asked intrigued.

"This was what I was thinking. We send him instead of me."

"Him? You created a fully functional human being?!" He asked surprised. Oh this is priceless.

"Actually, he's closer to a combination of Shadow Clone Technique and Transformation Technique. He does not have a mind of his own he just has the same memories, personality and abilities as me. I transferred half of my chakra into my creation in order for him to use ninjutsu." I tried to explain.

"That is a rather handy technique. I was right about you being an expert with infiltration."

"Thank you, Shimura-san. Do you mind if I ask, when exactly are you planning on sending him away?"

"Today, I am going to send a Root member over to the border that separates the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. You say that he has the same abilities as you so I am assuming that he can turn into leaves as well," I nodded confirming his statement.

"So when the Root member reaches the border I'm on my own?" My puppet asked.

"Yes and we will leave the rest to you. You only need to remember one thing, never get caught." Danzo said.

"I see, so what is my name going to be?" At this Danzo left the room to assign a member.

"Harumi," I said blankly, while chuckling in my head.

"What? But that's a girl's name!" He protested.

"Correction, Harumi is a unisex name, although more commonly used for women but it can also be used for men. The way you write it is like this." I controlled the leaves and wrote 晴海 on the ground. "It means sunny, sea. Not that bad, right?"

"It's still a girl's name," He continued to argue.

I decided to speak in English. "But think about all the mind screwing you can do."

He considered it then maniacally laughed. "I shall trick them all. Mwuahaha."

I started to sweat. "Ok then, you do that." That's me, all right.

"Have you finished with your
preparations?" Danzo interrupted opening the door.

"Yes, Shimura-san,"

A Root member wearing a cat mask landed in front of us then said, "I shall now head to the border. Harumi come with me."

Harumi turned into a pile of leaves then went inside Cat's pouch. He/She bowed before heading outside.

"Continue your training, Takeshi." He said as if nothing happened.

I shrugged and did as I was told. Minutes later he interrupted me with a question.

"The words that you and Harumi spoke, did they have meanings?" I was caught off guard.

This is bad. What do I say? "Yes they do. It is a code that I created for myself. In case I was captured I can speak to my clone freely without anyone knowing. The code is not perfect yet so I rarely use it."

The room remained silent until he spoke. "You are the first person I know that does that, Kinju Takeshi."

~(Near the Border of "Fire" and "Water")~

"Thanks for the lift, Neko-senpai." I whispered to the Root member.

After traveling 3 days with the guy/girl I've come to like him/her. I still don't know what his/her gender is but I really didn't care, he/she was quiet and helpful.

He/She nodded and jumped away leaving my by the beach.

Now what do I do? Damn it! I should have asked Neko-senpai for directions before saying goodbye.

I looked around to see trees, trees, trees, cottage, water, water, water, port, water, wat-... Port! I grinned then slowly and carefully made my way to the boat filled with lumber. When I reached it I sent chakra to my feet then jumped into the boat and landed on the deck without a sound. I didn't see any place where I could fit so I turned my body into leaves then went through the small cracks and waited there.

After about 15 minutes of waiting I felt the boat move and heard two men talk.

"Hey, where are we supposed to take this again?"

"Idiot, I already told you it's going to Kirigakure."

"Sorry... You need to loosen up."

"Shut up!"

Two men having pointless arguments... not what I was expecting.

I decided to ignore them and stayed quiet for a very long time.

Our voyage lasted for four days. I haven't eaten anything ever since I left Konoha. This is an advantage because people will believe my homeless kid persona but also a disadvantage because I lack energy. I stayed as a pile of leaves the whole time.

I did not regret drinking all of their water, it made them argue and blame each other which took my attention off the fact that I was hungry and sleepy.

The time finally came the boat stopped and docked by a port. I heard the anchor drop and the sound of crickets chirping. Night?

I materialized my hands and did the rat seal. My hands transformed back into leaves as they took the shape of a rat.

I scurried out of the boat as fast as I can and dashed through the forest. I searched for chakra signatures and found them all crowding in the middle of the forest. I continued to run to the direction of the village and found the gates open letting in resources so I jumped in a cart filled with wood and stayed until I smelled food before returning to the outside world.

The sun was shining faintly in the sky and the vendors were opening their small stands. Oh... it's actually daybreak.

Everything around me was edible. My stomach rumbled as I looked around. The temptation was slowly winning me over so I ran to a small space between two buildings where there were barrels that could hide me and released my jutsu.

When I opened my eyes I was already back to my normal self.

Long blue hair, pale skin, tattered clothes, and worst of all... An empty stomach. It growled again demanding food but I wasn't ready to come out yet. What if someone saw me?

I curled into a ball and buried my head in my knees. I haven't realized how cold it was until a few seconds ago. It wasn't as cold as Amegakure but cold enough to make me shiver uncontrollably, winter is right around the corner.

Why did, Danzo chose this time to send me on my first mission? This temperature is killing my nerves, seriously my fingers are beginning to numb.

I suddenly felt chakra in front of me and if it wasn't cold I would have frozen on the spot but luckily the cold was unbearable. Never thought it would be an advantage.

The kid was a boy around the "same age" as me, if not older. He stared for a couple of seconds, which made uncomfortable so I fidgeted and played with my hair.

As he began to walk closer I scooted away from him and kept my head down. He didn't stop, he continued until he had me cornered. Corners are bad. Damn cold, disturbing my thought process.

"You shouldn't let anyone corner you..." I stayed unresponsive.

"What's your name?" I didn't answer and kept my head down. "Hey, you there? Can you talk?"

"Yes," my voice sounded dry.

"What's your name?" He insisted.

"Harumi,"

"Harumi... what are you doing here?"

"Hiding,"

"From what?" He sounded confused.

This was definitely unexpected. I never thought that a kid would be the first to interrogate me.

"I'm hiding here because it's cold and there are people." I answered truthfully.

"Where do yo-"

"GET BACK HERE BRATS!" He was cut short by a man running after a group of kids carrying a handful of apples.

The boy covered his ears annoyed by the sudden shout. Screaming won't help you mister. Do you really think they'll stop?

The kids reminded me of Konan, Yahiko and Nagato so I decided to help them. I looked around and saw a rope not far from the stands and quickly went over to it.

"Where are you going?" He asked. I ignored him and as the three children ran past the rope I waited for the man to come closer then I pulled on it.

The man fell on his flat face on his face. I could hear silent chuckles as the man stood up with an angry expression.

"Who did that?!" He asked completely forgetting about the other kids.

"Why did you do that?" The boy whispered to me.

Before I could answer the man turned to us so I panicked and pushed him back behind the barrels. I was about to follow him but the man had already snatched me by the collar.

"Was it you little girl?" He asked with malice. I nodded in reply. No use in lying now. Good news, my disguise is working!

"You annoying brat! You're one of them, aren't you? I'm going to-" he lost his grip as an orange was propelled to his head.

"Run!" It was the boy. I didn't listen, instead I went over to him and grabbed his arm and pulled him with me into the direction of the forest as the man started using a lot of colorful words.

When I was sure that we were deep enough to be hidden, but not lost, I stopped to look at him. He was panting a bit but other than that he looked perfectly normal.

"You... have a strong grip... for a girl. Why did you help those kids? Are they your friends or something? Why did you hide me?" He asked not caring if he was talking too fast.

"Instinct?" I answered unsure.

He looked at me as if I was crazy. "You live in Kirigakure and your instinct says that if someone was trying to kill you, you save a stranger first before you flee." He stated incredulously.

I stared at the ground. "Is that bad?"

"No... It's just... new, I guess." He said looking away. I finally decided to look at him.

My eyes were as wide as plates and my breath hitched. Holy crap!

He seems to notice. "What's wrong? Are you all right?" I didn't respond and continued to gap silently.

No way in hell! "W-what's your name?" I asked stuttering a bit. I thought he'd be younger.

"Hozuki Mangetsu, I'm 4 and I already joined the academy." He answered with a hint of arrogance.

Judging by his appearance I am sure he wasn't lying. Shoulder-length, white hair was a dead giveaway, in my opinion. He wore black sleeveless shirt and light-coloured pants, with a white scarf on his neck.

It's Suigetsu's brother, he's already alive... and he's wearing a scarf... damn, I want one it's cold.

My stomach pulled me out of my thoughts as it rumbled. My eye twitched and I flushed a bit thinking of how rude it was. His last name does mean winter cherry.

"Are you hungry, Harumi-chan? I can give you some food if you want?" He offered as my eye twitched. Harumi-chan?! No way he's going to call me, that!

"Uh... I'm not-"

"Don't think about it so much, my parents probably wouldn't mind."

"That's not-"

"And you could really use a change of clothes. Come on our house is this way." He said pulling me to the deeper parts of the forest. He's not listening.

"Mangetsu-san, do you live in the middle of the forest?" I asked flatly.

He froze then started to sweat. "Which way is out again?" I pointed to the opposite direction of where he was headed.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway... come on our house is this way and don't call me Mangetsu-san, I'm only four and so are you."

"I'm not 4 yet," I lied. "Can I call you Mangetsu then?"

"Maybe..." He said thoughtfully.

As we emerged from the forest we carefully made our way through the market. Hiding behind stalls to avoid the man earlier, he told me he had to stop by a shop to buy some rice; because that was the main reason he was at the market in the first place.

When we reached the end he kept held my wrist so I wouldn't get lost. We walked for a few more minutes until I saw a compound up ahead. It was surrounded by an, estimated, 20 feet deep moat, but the water only filled it halfway, and there was a bridge too.

Once at the bridge I hesitated. "Mangetsu, I didn't know you lived in a clan compound. Maybe I should just go." I said trying to avoid his offer.

I really don't think waltzing into a Kiri clan compound would be the best choice at the moment.

"No, you helped me so I'll help you. An eye for an eye, right?" I sighed.

There's no way I'm getting out of this without making him suspicious... I thought in Kiri it was "eat or be eaten". Who taught him that?

"Yeah I guess... but didn't you help me first?" I insisted but he answered it with a deadpan look. He obviously doesn't care.

"Um... bridge?" I said changing the subject.

"No, no, no, no," he said shaking his head forgetting about the conversation.

"Then how are we going to get inside? Are you going to leave me here?" I asked him, careful not to have any hint of hopefulness come out.

"What? Of course not! Did someone do that before?" I nodded lying. "Well I don't do that, especially to girls..."

"I'm not-" I tried to tell him again.

"The reason we're not going to cross the bridge is because it has traps." He explained ignoring me. This guy's not a listener.

"Why? How do you get to the other side?" I asked.

Note to self: Clans from Kirigakure are paranoid. Although, I admire their defensive attitude.

"It's a trap for outsiders if ever they try to get in," he said. "In our clan you won't be able to get in or out of the compound unless you know how to use chakra." He explained.

"Chakra? Isn't that what ninjas use when they fight? You're a ninja?" I asked him again.

"You ask a lot of questions..." He crouched down and motioned me over. "Hop on I'll carry you."

I hesitated. "Am I even allowed to be in there?" I tried a last attempt. And seriously, a piggyback ride?

"You have my permission. Just accept it and stop being so cautious. It doesn't fit you," he said with a serious tone.

"Huh?" Where did that come from?

"I said being cautious doesn't fit you. You're younger than me and you're not even a ninja. Now enough talk just hop on." He said slightly annoyed. I now just realized how ridiculous he looked. Why is he so persistent?

I scratched the back of my neck. "Sorry..." I said while holding on to his shoulder.

He didn't say anything he just adjusted me then jumped to the other side, which was about 8 feet away, and started running, to his house.

I didn't question him and just kept quiet and remembered the time when Kakashi brought me back home. I just don't want to feel helpless again. I sighed. I guess I'm back to level 1... I have terrible luck...

Luckily not a lot of people are awake yet so only a few gave us weird stares. We finally stopped at a house with a black roof and wooden walls... actually, all houses look like that. The front yard had a bush and a path leading to the backyard.

Mangetsu placed me back on the ground and headed for the door. I fixed my shirt; even if it is tattered and dirty it wouldn't hurt to fix it a little, right?

"Wait here," he said as he went inside.

Who would have thought Mangetsu of all people would be the first one I meet. I don't know a lot on what happens in Kiri during this time line, so my stay should be quite interesting. There is just one problem...

Mangetsu is going to die and I don't know how or when. Should I change that? Can I even stop it? How would it affect the future? Mangetsu could die because of a heart attack for all I know or maybe during a mission...

I remember a bit about some sort of dispute between Kirigakure's kekkei genkai users and average ninja... what was it that happened? ... I need to investigate...

"Tell her to come in," a woman said before the door slid open and I was greeted by Mangetsu's parents.

His mom had long light, blonde hair tied in a high ponytail with bangs framing the sides of her face and purple eyes. She wore a simple white blouse and knee-length skirt, and a gray apron.

His father looked the same as him but older, with white hair and a blue-ish tint on the tips. He wore a pin striped light blue turtle-neck under his gray flak jacket and black pants, and a waist guard. His forehead protector was placed on his left arm.

I felt awkward looking at them so I decided to say something. "Hi... my name is Harumi..."

They continued to stare at me one with concern the other looking... uncomfortable?

"Mangetsu... why did you bring her here?" His father asked refusing to look away from me.

I am not a girl! I know I pretended to be a girl before but now it's just weird... too weird for my liking.

"An eye for an eye, that's what you thought me, right?" The man winced then sighed and walked back in the house. His father taught him that? But that doesn't make sense. Judging by his attire he's a ninja of Kirigakure, a jonin at the least.

"Don't worry, Harumi-chan. I'll make sure Mangetsu keep his promise," she said kindly.

"He doesn't really have to and uh... Hozuki-san, I'm not a girl." I said.

"What! But your name and long hair!" Mangetsu said incredulously.

"My name, Harumi, is more common for women but it could also be used for men. My hair is long because I don't have anything to cut it with." I answered.

His mom started laughing awkwardly. What the hell? She cleared her throat regaining her composure. "Your mother where is she?" What was that all about?

"Uh... I don't have one... am I supposed to?" I asked tilting my head.

She sighed shaking her head while muttering something about the government. "Come in."

A ninja must see the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings. In this case hidden meanings are acting and lying.

I followed her inside; I didn't even care if I looked around. They had 2 rooms, 1 bathroom, a kitchen, a dining area, and the backyard.

She noticed my curiosity and raised a brow.

"Sorry, Hozuki-san, but living in the streets made me somewhat paranoid. I always look for exits if I was ever in a building." I shrugged.

She stopped and turned to face me. She went down to my level and held me by the shoulders.

"Harumi, I'm going to make a deal with you." I blinked.

"Ok?" I said unsure.

"I will let you stay in here with us," Trap! Big trap! 100% trap!

"Why?" I asked narrowing my eyes.

Mangetsu's father made a reappearance. "Your chakra... do you know anyone named Yuki Toshiaki?" He asked, a hint of hopefulness could be heard from his voice.

"Yuki? The Yuki clan? Sorry, but this is the very first clan I've ever been to... am I supposed to know him?" I asked tilting my head.

He sighed and looked at me as if I was a long-lost friend. "No," he again walked out.

Madara might not be lying about father...

I was washing the dishes with Mangetsu keeping me company. I told his mom that it was the least I could do to repay them. At first she was hesitant but decided that learning early was a good thing.

So now Mangetsu's quietly scolding himself about being so persistent earlier.

"This is not one of the best decisions I've ever made. I wouldn't be learning how to do housework if I didn't find you." A few seconds later his eyes widened as he smacked himself on the face.

"Let me guess, that came out wrong?"

"Yes, very," he said looking away. "You're not offended?"

"Am I supposed to be offended?" I asked tilting my head.

"Is that some sort of tic?"

"What tic?" I asked looking over to him. He sat on a chair, legs on either side, with the back of it faced towards me.

"Saying, 'am I supposed to', then tilting your head," he asked. This guy might not be a good listener but he's an observer.

"I don't know... anyway, don't get so worked up about doing housework, you're a ninja. They don't stay inside much. I on the other hand am not, meaning that I would have to stay... But I'm a boy; shouldn't I learn how to fight a little?"

"Of course, if you don't know how to fight then you have no future in this village."

"That is true... say, if you learn something useful can you maybe teach me?"

"If I have time, then maybe," he considered.

"Thanks," I turned off the faucet and carefully went down the box I was standing on. Mangetsu helped me push the box beside the sink.

"Why did your parents take me in? I don't understand it. It's... not the most believable thing in the world... absurd, even."

He shrugged. "All I know is when I went in the house there was something... off with father."

I need to investigate this 'connection'...

"On a completely unrelated note, why didn't you tell me you were a boy?"

"I tried to tell you 3 times." I deadpanned.