A/N: *I just felt that I needed to discuss this so this is what goes on in my head for Kiri*

Kiri clans:

Isn't Kiri a bloodthirsty and sadistic village? Why did those clan people help your OC?

Mangetsu is taught the customs of clan kids and street kids, but after all that he's still a mischievous little devil that doesn't listen. It's hard for him to find kids his age that don't know about his prodigious skills, or to simply put it, a friend. (He's still a kid after all.)

How did they get inside so easily? Harumi has blue hair, dark eyes and pale skin while Mangetsu has white hair, violet eyes, and pale skin. He is made to fit in Kiri, all of the known Hozuki clan members have light-colored hair and Harumi has a baby blue kind of shade.

Mangetsu's Parents:

Mangetsu's mother, whom I named Hamako, is a housewife her attitude is similar to Mikoto but colder. She listens to what her husband's says, believing it's the best thing to do in their situation... but if something goes wrong she will do something about it.

Mangetsu's father is a jonin, not well known but respected for having a prodigy.

The greatest pleasure in life is doing what other people say you cannot do.

~Walter Bagehot

\( - _ -)/

The following day someone knocked on the front door.

"I'll get it," Hamako said as she walked towards the door.

"Hamako-san, we ask of yours and your husband's presence at the head office... and the child as well," The man from the door said. He had the Hozuki clan's symbol stitched to his pin stripped turtle-neck. A clan guard?

"Mangetsu?"

"Not your child, we mean the other one. Blue hair," He said with a hint. I have to say... I really admire Kiri's clan's security unit. They're fast and their timing is great.

"We will be there in 30 minutes." The man nodded then jumped away.

Hamako closed the door and sighed. "Harumi we will be talking to the clan leader and he wants you to be there, ok?"

"Ok, Hozuki-san... but what about Mangetsu?"

"He's at the academy; he can handle himself just fine, let's go." I nodded.

This is a clan compound in Kirigakure; if the Uchiha clan was strict then obviously this one would be just as bad... or worse.

The only people present at the moment were Hamako, Mangetsu's father, me, and the leader of the clan... plus, 20 guards hiding behind the door and about 40 more surrounding the building, a total of about 60 guards.

I love the security unit. Konoha's unit is too relaxed... well there is Root and ANBU and the Uchiha Police force... but still, this was a meeting with a "3-year-old". In Konoha it would probably just be the Hokage, and one or two ANBU watching from outside, because the Hokage can handle himself.

But here even if the leader was powerful they still have reinforcements... and a murder of them. Plus, this is just a clan leader.

Everyone was quiet for a long time two adults with stoic faces, a kid examining the floor, and clan leader thinking.

"Is this red or white oak?" I asked whispering to Hamako as I touched the floor.

She glared at my direction and I gave her a shrug in return. It was irrelevant, but at least I got a reaction. This is boring.

'Leader' finally decided to talk. "Tell me everything that happened yesterday."

"I was sleeping by the watermelon stand when Mangetsu appeared and started to question me. Then I saw three kids being chased so I decided to help them by tripping the man... he didn't appreciate it so when he turned to our direction, I pushed Mangetsu behind the barrels so he won't get caught."

"Why?" he asked. I saw his hands move underneath his cloak. Already looking for a weapon? Intimidated by a "child"... smart.

I blushed and played with my hair as I answered. "Helping is in my nature."

Which was... true, I've helped many people. Dad, Sakumo, Madara, Danzo, Kakashi, Konan, Nagato, Yahiko, Guy, the Hokage, Mangetsu, and those kids... I know it's not the best group but I helped them nonetheless.

'Leader' turned to Mangetsu's father; I still don't know his name.

"Is this about Toshiaki?" He lowered his head and 'Leader' sighed.

"Partly..." Mangetsu's father answered. A lie... and a really bad one.

Leader sighed again rubbing his temples. "Do you really believe he's still alive? It has been more than a decade ago."

"No, but..." he turned to me desperately looking for something.

"Uh..." I said. What does this guy want from me? If it wasn't for the relevance of my father I wouldn't even care about any of this.

"What is your name?" 'Leader' asked.

"I'm Harumi," I answered.

"What is your last name?" he insisted.

"I don't have one... am I supposed to?" I tilted my head again. Mangetsu's right it's becoming a tic... a tic that has to stop.

"Even if he does have a full name he is still not allowed in the compound. I will let this one slide but the child has to leave as soon as possible, preferably this afternoon." 'Leader' said.

"Yes, sir," they said together. I don't know if I'm happy about this or not.

Mangetsu's father had to leave immediately for a mission so now it was just me and his mother. Our walk back to the house was silent but my mind was a different story.

If I stayed I would be able to interact with Suigetsu and Mangetsu, but... Suigetsu's not born yet so maybe staying away from the family would be a good idea. But then where do I go? I can't just... maybe I could build a tent at the forest...

No too much risk. I might get caught using my kekkei genkai or get arrested for sleeping there... It's not impossible it just has a low possibility rate, getting arrested for sleeping in a dangerous area, I mean.

That's the main problem finding shelter. Winter is closing in I can't sleep outside... Well I can but, I might die of hypothermia... hehe, dying... what a funny thought.

When we arrived at the house I stopped. They assume that I don't know how to use chakra... How am I going to get out? I turned around and pulled my hair.

"Uh... Hozuki-san, I don't know how to use chakra." I stated bluntly.

"Well... I can't leave the house for very long, you know why, right?"

"Yes," I answered. In Kiri it's as if there was an unspoken rule that says you can only stay out of your house for an hour. Abandoning it for too long wouldn't be a very smart choice.

"Just wait for Mangetsu," she ordered.

"Hey, Harumi-chan, guess what?" Mangetsu said excitedly.

"Don't call me that, Mangetsu," I interjected.

He ignored me and continued. "I saw this white hairless puppy, I thought it was adorable. But it didn't like me very much... it tried to bite my hand off."

Mangetsu was against the idea of me leaving, but orders from the leader, obviously can't be disobeyed.

"You like animals?" I asked.

"Sure do! But mom doesn't and dad doesn't care."

"Are animals the only things that you like?"

"No. I have a dream; I want to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."

"Really... good luck then I'll be rooting for you." Now I remember, Mangetsu was one of the sword guys.

"Say... why don't you try? If you pass the test we could be a duo of some sort," he suggested with a grin.

"I don't think that's my calling... maybe a hunter-nin would suffice?"

"That's close enough; some of the current members are from ANBU."

"Uh... ok?" Mangetsu needs his little brother, Suigetsu's is the one that's as motivated as him... What if because of my existence Suigetsu turns into a slightly different version of Sasuke?

"Hang on, the river's up ahead." I climbed on his back and he jumped to the other side.

"So where are you going now?" he asked as I returned to the ground.

"I can always go back to the alley or join a group of kids."

He took his scarf off and handed it to me. "Here, you'll need it; winter will be very cold."

"Are you su-" He narrowed his eyes.

I raised my arms in defensively. "Ok, ok, I'll shut up," as I accepted it Mangetsu looked over my shoulder and grinned.

"Hey look, it's the dog I told you about," I turned and saw a white hairless puppy.

The temperature was cold but it didn't seem to affect the animal at all.

"You're right, it is adorable." I said walking over to it.

"Harumi don't do that, it's cute but it might maul you." That's exaggerated.

I was 3 feet away from the animal and it was enough to get a good look at it. White skin, 6 inches long, yellow eyes, kind of chubby actually... is that... no way.

I crouched down and stared at the animal. It walked closer stopping a few inches away. I poked it on the forehead then whispered. "Zetsu?" I was about to explode due to extreme happiness when suddenly Mangetsu looked over my shoulder.

"What do you know? It likes you... was I not good enough?" He asked dramatically in a joking manner.

Zetsu, I'm assuming, growled at him. He backed away from the dog and froze comically in a weird defensive pose. "Apparently not..."

Zetsu's here...! I think. Finally after a year of pure insanity, I have someone to talk to who's not boring.

"Do you two know each other?"

"Yes," I answered. If this wasn't Zetsu then I'll just make it my pet.

"I guess you do have a guar-" he was about to pat me on the shoulder but stopped when the puppy growled angrily at him.

"Nice friend you have there," he said sarcastically.

I picked up the dog and placed it in my new scarf. Its head popped out and it bit the scarf. This thing is adorable... I swear if this was Zetsu...

"Thanks for the help Mangetsu, I hope to see you again," I said giving him a close-eyed smile then walking away.

"Wait!" I looked behind my shoulder. "You said you would prefer to be a hunter-nin, right?" I nodded slowly. "How are you going to be a hunter-nin if you're not even an academy student to begin with?"

He's right-wait... becoming a hunter-nin is not even my dream. My dream is for everything to go back to normal, which obviously will never happen, even in my previous world.

"Oh well, I'll find a way... somehow... see you later, Mangetsu." I waved as I walked away.

"Yeah... sure," he mumbled.

I was back at the alley near the watermelon stands, hiding behind the barrels once again. The dog didn't do much, it just looked around.

"Hello, Zetsu-nii... I think." I said while holding the dog in front of me.

The dog barked in reply and tried to lick my face. I sighed, disappointed. "I guess you're a real dog after all... sorry little guy I really thought you were someone else." I must be desperate for a familiar face.

It barked again and wagged its tail happily. It cuddled up to my scarf and slowly fell asleep.

I took in air but slightly coughed because of the cold. I looked up and I could see some snow falling. Winter is already starting, I don't have anywhere to stay. This means... I'm going to have to deal with it. I sighed deeply letting out frosty, white air.

Fortunately, Mangetsu's scarf was big enough to pass as a small blanket. I used it to wrap around me and the small animal. It didn't completely warm me up, but it was better than freezing.

The weather was becoming worse. The temperature dropped every night and heated a little during the day.

Mangetsu would stop by at times and give me food then leave after Kiiro wakes up and barks at him. Kiiro is the name I picked for the puppy because of its eye's color.

Kiiro and I would usually steal food from the stands with small items, such as fruits and sweets, three times a day. At this point I didn't care, food is food. Yes, I admit that we steal. I can't say borrow in this case. Weird how clones can feel too... the wonders of chakra know no bounds!

The dog was helpful as a distraction for any person. Cuteness was helpful to some degree I guess.

Light snow... but extremely cold temperature.

Kiiro and I are lucky there was no snowstorm. If there was one, we would have been a giant popsicles by now. Mangetsu found us early in the morning by the alley and gave me a blue pin striped turtleneck and a pair of black pants. I didn't have the energy to argue so I just accepted it then went back to sleep.

My birthday came, December 31st, more snow fell from the sky.

I took in air. The smell of snow and wood filled my system. Winter.

I was positioned on a crib as my head hit the pillow I opened my eyes again and saw a man with spiky black hair, pale skin and chocolate-brown eyes.

I hugged Kiiro remembering the day I was born. It was snowing, which was rare in Konoha... rare, but not impossible.

Konoha... I wonder how everyone else is doing...

The sky was gray, almost black, snow kept on falling, slowly and gracefully landing on the ground. The sky was gray... Kakashi, Obito... Even Gai and Rin, I miss them.

Great... I made connections with even more people. Just great, this definitely won't change your thinking and actions. No, no, of course not, you'll stay as one of the "bad guys". A part of me sarcastically thought.

"Homesick..." I said to myself.

Kiiro whimpered, sensing my mood. I scratched the back of his ear to let him know everything was all right. He licked my hand. He's not buying it... smart dog.

I smiled at the animal. "I can't get anything past you, huh?" It barked in reply. I searched for chakra signatures, careful for any hidden ones, and luckily found none.

"Why don't I tell you a story? Does that sound good?" I asked it while lifting it in front of my face. It replied with an enthusiastic bark while wagging its tail.

Honestly, this was only my way of letting out everything that I hid from everyone. The dog didn't ask for it, I just want to tell a living being how messed up my life was. Yeah, that's how desperate I am.

A hairless little puppy is not what I need. What I need is a psychiatrist, but I guess this would suffice, for now.

"On the 31st day of December a young... 'girl' was born and her mother named her... 'uh'... 'Akira'." I made tweaks with the names and places and I'm also speaking in English.

I made sure that no person in this village would ever understand my stories. Paranoid you say? Why yes, yes I am.

"She was born... different from other kids, she was smarter, I guess... her memory and understanding progressed faster than other children..."

I am a very awkward story-teller. I mentally noted.

~(Inside Dreamscape)~

"So how's it going back there?" I asked.

"Not much. Guy graduated, he's a genin now." He replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Anything important happen that I can report to the old man?"

"I've made a few observations. For one in my opinion their security is better, especially with the clans."

"How do you know that?" He asked suddenly interested with the conversation.

"I might have visited one of them." I answered scratching the back of my neck. "The Hozuki clan to be more precise,"

"Hozuki that sounds familiar," he paused to think. "Is the surname supposed to make some bells ring?"

"Yup, Hozuki Suigetsu, a member of Sasuke's little group, the guy who gets punched by the red-haired girl, remember?"

"Ah! Water bottle boy," he beamed. "How did you get in?"

"I was literally carried into the compound and got kicked out after a day, so now I live by an alley with a puppy."

"Harsh... who let you in?"

"Mangetsu, Suigetsu's older brother. He's like Suigetsu, but kind of weird."

"I'm not even going to ask for an explanation," he rubbed his temples then sighed. "Any other observations?"

"Yes, the lifestyle is somewhat the same as Amegakure. Orphan children steal and clan children train." Let's see what else. I thought trying to remember all the information I have gathered.

"Kirigakure's buildings are shaped like cylinders and the Mizukage's office was the widest and largest. Most of the taller buildings have trees on the rooftops. The village is surrounded by a thick mist all the time, the mist gets thicker at night. The standard attire of the village is a pin striped sweater type thing and over it would be the standard grey flak jacket."

"That's a lot more information than I expected. What about clans?"

"So far only Hozuki and Yuki," He flinched at the mention of the latter clan as I continued. "You know, Madara might be telling the truth about father."

He stayed silent and stared blankly. "Is that it?"

"Yes," I answered with a sigh.

"Talk to you in a couple of months then."

"Right," I might have a split personality... if that was even possible. Haha... this is me Harumi the clone speaking, unbelievable! I'm the clone and I'm thinking this?!

Somehow Kiiro always remembered my stories and wouldn't fall asleep if I didn't continue. Like children demanding their parents to read them a bedtime story.

One time, a little over noon, I got so focused on telling the story that I didn't notice Mangetsu eavesdropping.

"When she was 6 months old, Akira and her father met a man named Takuya. Takuya-san was a respected man. He-"

"What are you two talking about?" I jumped a bit and looked up to see Mangetsu.

"Hello, Mangetsu. How long have you been there? What's in the bag?" I eyed the plastic bag.

He kneeled down in front of me and narrowed his eyes. "A few things mom told me to pick up... be honest though, what were you saying to the dog?"

"I was just bored so I decided to tell Kiiro a story. I sound crazy don't I?" I retorically asked with a grin.

"A story... what is it about?" I really didn't expect a kid to interrogate me.

"Uh... it's about a girl who was born with very good memory and adult-like understanding." Telling him about it could help, or it might blow my cover. Though as long as he doesn't-

"Where did you get that idea from?"

I sighed. "Let me think for a moment." He kept quiet and waited patiently. Say something childish, say something childish! I snapped my fingers.

"I remember thinking. What if kids ruled the world? We can do anything we want! We could live peacefully. No fights whatsoever. None of us would starve anymore! I can finally eat this dango I keep hearing about." I said punching the air. The innocent and playful mind of a child... it's as complicated as maths.

"You didn't answered my question!" Mangetsu whined.

"Huh, which one? I answered all of them, didn't I?"

"Where did you get that idea from?" He repeated.

"What are you talking about? Didn't I just-"

"You said that you thought, what if kids were the leaders of the world? Why would you think that?" He explained. I guess Mangetsu's one of those types of people, he's smarter than he looks.

"Honestly, I don't know. It just randomly popped in my mind while I was eating an orange during my birthday." I lied with a shrug.

"Your birthday? When was that?"

"One week and 4 days ago," I answered truthfully. That probably was the first real information about me that I gave my friend.

~(Konohagakure)~

About a year and a half has passed since I sent Harumi over to Kiri. Training was getting more and more bothersome. I rarely get any sleep or have a talk with anyone other than Danzo; which really isn't much of a conversation but sadly it's the only thing I've got to entertain myself.

My expectations for entertainment has dropped so low that I considered talking to a deranged, stoic old man, something good enough to keep me from dying of boredom for a whole year. Unbelievable!

I also started to wear my goggles all the time like Kakashi does with his mask but with limitations, like when sleeping and bathing. Always being in a dark area, while wearing goggles, has increased my eye's vision and sensitivity to light. Both an advantage and a disadvantage.

So I asked the mirror guy to make me another pair and carried it around with me if ever my current one's brake for some reason.

Kakashi rarely talks to me because he's busy training and following the rules and even reading them so he wouldn't forget a single one. He is starting to sound like an obsessed student council member, or a Geek of Rules.

Minato, Kushina, Mikoto, and even Fugaku was getting a little concerned for my well-being. They all tried to persuade me to take a break every day. When they found out that I only listened to the Hokage when it came to resting they requested a monthly rest day so I had no choice but to listen.

During my monthly rest days I always look for Guy. Yes, Guy. Kakashi's 'rival', although very one-sided he still insists that Kakashi recognizes him as one. The reason why I look for him is because of our monthly race around the village. There was only one simple rule... no chakra. I always wear weights when racing him so it always ends with me losing by a minute or 2. He wears weights too but mine were a few pounds heavier and I wear them all the time, except while sleeping or bathing, like my goggles.

He kept track of our time and he always encourages me to beat it or finish the same time. If the record didn't help me I would say he was weird, but it did so there was no problem. I see Guy as a friend while he sees me as his first best friend and, of course, his "rival's 'youthful' little brother".

Almost 3 years of training with Danzo helped me cover most of specialties and the techniques that hate my guts.

My number one speciality was Ninjutsu, which was good because I had three elements and a kekkei genkai that specializes in that category. A reason why I trained every day with hand seals, it helps my fingers become more flexible and move faster to finish the hand seals for the Water Prison Technique in a matter of 5 seconds.

Next to it was Bukijutsu and Shurikenjutsu. So to simply put it, weapon handling/throwing skills, judging by how I won the chunin exams I think I have a fairly, good grasp with the human anatomy.

Some of my half decent skills are Taijutsu and Kenjutsu. Close-combat is not my best friend but I can handle myself just fine. Advantages that help are my speed. Considering my familiarity with weapons I would say Kenjutsu could be my surprise side skill.

Techniques that hate me are Fuinjutsu and Genjutsu. I'm telling you, these two are after me they both tried to assassinate me. Fuinjutsu almost turned me into a pile of dusts while genjutsu was trying to melt my brain.

My mind is already screwed enough, no need for further damage.

Today the Hokage requested a meeting with Danzo and me for some reason which made me cautious.

Once the office was cleared with any ANBU and Root members the three-person meeting began. I wonder how important a conversation between two old men and a kid is.

"Danzo, it is time that I take the boy off of your hands." What?! I turned to Danzo for an explanation but he remained emotionless and unresponsive.

"Already?"

"We had an agreement that when the boy reaches the level of a new jonin or an experienced chunin, you will drop your training with him and hand him back to me... but he has already surpassed this rank since almost a year ago."

"Yes I am fully aware of that... I didn't know that his ability to absorb knowledge was extremely high and his maturity is already well developed."

"That's not the problem here. What I'm trying to understand is the reason, why didn't tell me sooner?"

"I wanted to see how much more he would develop if we added a few more months to his training."

"You could've at least informed me about your plans with the boy," Hiruzen reminded him.

I can't take it, listening to all these things they assume I am; they treat me like a toy.

I raised my hand like a child from the academy, about to ask. This surprised the Hokage, catching his attention and temporarily shut him up.

"What is it, Takeshi?" he asked puzzled.

"If you don't mind me asking, Hokage-sama, earlier you said I'm as skilled as a newbie jonin. But I've never been on any mission, much less work with a team, so my experience level is, nearly, zero and the only fighting I ever did was when I took the genin and the chunin exam." I lied.

"During the chunin exams I've had suspicions that you were not completely focused on the fight and I received information from Kakashi saying that you were indeed half asleep while you were fighting and that he had to carry you all the way back home. Even though you were in the midst of collapsing you were still able to defeat a chunin and hit a precise point from a fair amount of distance from the target. You were also successful in keeping him alive." He reasoned.

So he knows that I wasn't taking the fight seriously... wait a minute. First Danzo and now the Hokage, why is everyone stalking me? Am I that suspicious?

I sighed then decided to ask another question. "If you're going to stop my training with Shimura-san, then what am I to do after? Are you going to place me in a team?" I know I sounded confident with my choice of words but trust me when I say, the elderly Uchiha is more intimidating than the monkey summoner.

"Originally, yes. I was going to put you on a genin team but now I am starting to reconsider." Hiruzen said.

"Hiruzen, perhaps it's best if the boy stays with me." Danzo offered. Yeah, maybe in a different dimension, but here... hell no.

"No, I have decided that he would be transferred to the main Anbu unit." I feel like a doll being passed around by a bunch of 5 year olds.

I raised my hand again. "Hokage-sama, before transferring I have a request."

"What is it?" He asked looking straight at me.

"Can I take the 'jonin exams' first?" I've heard of the exam... but Kakashi hasn't. Why is that?

Danzo decided to voice his opinion. "I think that is a good idea."

"Why, Takeshi?" Hiruzen asked giving me a calculating look.

"To test my abilities, I want to know if I really am capable of being an Anbu. If I pass then I would consider joining if not then I would just become a gate guard or an academy teacher, if that was allowed," I said with a shrug in the end. "Even though being a guard is boring and being an academy teacher is a pain someone still has to do it."

The Hokage chuckled at my ridiculous dream job. "I see very well then, I will grant your request. Will there be anything else?"

"Yes, I need to go back to the training room first I left some of my water scrolls there, I was not expecting this news."

"Of course, you are dismissed."