Well, here's a new chapter!

Enjoy!

. . .

Someone knocked on my door.

I didn't reply.

The knocking persisted.

I rolled over in my futon, hugging my arms close to my body. Even though I was sure that it was boiling outside, (I mean, hello! Land of Wind here!) it was pleasantly chilling in my room.

And the fact that I was only wearing a shirt heightened the cold.

The knocking grew louder.

My eye twitched, and then-

'WHAT?!" I screamed, finally sitting up.

I glared at the door, and when it slid open to reveal a somewhat sheepish looking Takashi, I glared even harder.

"What do you want?" I groaned, reaching my hands up to my face and rubbing my eyes.

Ugh, I was so tired.

Just why did Takashi have to barge into my room at such an ungodly hour?

Then I remembered.

Today was the day that I entered the academy.

Fuck.

I cannot believe that I forgot something as huge as this.

Shit.

Right now, I don't particularly care if my cursing causes anyone or anything to get faint heads, because OhmygodI'menteringtheacademy!

Takashi opened his mouth to reply to my question, but he was abruptly cut off when something rudely shoved past his leg.

And I think I have an idea as to who that is...

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

"Yūyū!" A voice cried out as something tackled me to the ground.

I fell back onto the matteress of my futon, my baby brother's tiny body pressing uncomfortably against my chest.

"Hey there, Akito," I managed to say weakly.

The toddler/baby cooed in response, taking hold of my huge shirt in his hands and fisting it between his chubby fingers.

"Hey, Yū-chan," I gazed up my big brother curiously, and I found that I was still amazed at the sight of his jōnin flak jacket.

Yes, you heard me right.

Takashi is a jōnin.

Did I also tell you that the third Kazekage retired and that his replacememt is Hiroshi's cousin, Sunako?

Nope.

Speaking of Hiroshi, I haven't really seen him around, but since the starting age at the academy is six, I'm sure I'll see him there.

Yay.

Take note of the sarcasm, okay?

... anyway, I'm going to start getting ready for my first day at the academy.

First thing I need to do is kick my brothers out while I get dressed.

On second thought, I think I'll let Akito stay since he's only a baby and he doesn't know any better.

I pushed Akito off me, ignoring his whine of, "Yūyū" and setting him gently on the ground beside the futon.

He shot me a reproachful look, tears shining in his big black eyes, and his bottom lip quivering.

Despite all of my attempts not to, I positively melted.

Well hey, who can ignore such an adorable pout?

I know I can't.

But only if it comes from my little brother.

I sighed lightly, turning my gaze to the other brother.

Takashi was still standing by the door, a somewhat amused glint present in his eyes.

Amusement.

That seemed to be the only emotion other than anger that Takashi could express.

Anger...

I shivered, remembering that night all those years ago when Takashi had accused me of lying about Orochimaru.

He had been so cold and unresponsive that night, but I could still sense the furious anger bubbling beneath the surface.

Maybe I should have told him the truth...

No!

I shook my head fiercly.

If I told someone, there was always the chance that the information could fall into the wrong hands and something catastrophic could occur.

Besides, who would believe me, anyway?

I know Dad did, but that's beside the point.

"Yū-chan?"

I raised my head to see Takashi looking at me in... wait, was that concern I was seeing there?!

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I am!" I snapped, then regretted it at how harsh my voice sounded.

"Anyway," I continued awkwardly, "Could you, uh, pleaseleavetheroom?!" I blurted in a rush. "I still need to get dressed."

Takashi smirked, "Sure."

I flushed in embarrassment, then practically kicked him out of the room.

That'll teach him, I inwardly grumbled.

"Yūyū?"

Oh, that's right, Akito.

I can't believe that I forgot about him.

I turned to face him, and he smiled at me so sweetly that I forgot to breathe.

That was Dad's smile.

I peered closer at him, a faint smile twisting my lips as he gazed back at me with wide eyes. As the months went on, Akito began to look more and more like Dad, and it astounded me how much one person could look another.

I placed a hand on his bright red hair, ruffling it slightly.

Akito drew away in discomfort, pouting. "Yūyū!"

I smirked, obviously Akito doesn't like having his hair messed up, then.

Well, at there was something that I could take amusement in and live.

That is: ruffling Akito's hair and knowing I can get away with it just because he's a baby.

"Yūyū," Akito whined, his eyes wide and teary.

My hand ceased its ruffling and I shushed him by placing a finger on his lips.

"Yūyū's going to get dressed, okay?" I said in a faux, over-exaggerated sugary tone.

If Dad heard me, I'm sure he would be rolling over in his grave right now.

He had never treated Takashi and I the same way that I had just treated Akito.

And for that I was glad. I didn't need, nor want to be babied.

I sighed, turning Akito to face the wall, ignoring his whines and cajoling.

As quick as I could, I grabbed my clothes, and just as I was about to strip, I remembered that I really should take a shower.

"Shit!" I cursed, and at that very moment, I never knew that "Shit" would become of Akito's favourite new words.

"Where going, Yūyū?" Akito asked, tilting his head.

Akito's vocabulary was expanding, but right now his grasp at Japanese wasn't very good. But he was only one, I guess.

"Yūyū's going to take a shower, do you want to come?"

I wouldn't really mind if Akito joined me in the shower, he's only a toddler and he doesn't have anything that I haven't already seen.

"Yeah!" Akito chirped, looking highly enthused by the idea.

"Cool."

With that said, I draped my clothes around my neck like a scarf and prompty scooped the red haired baby into my arms.

Akito seemed to nearly squeal at the sudden lift off, but I paid it no mind and hurriedly stopped at the room that he and Mum shared. I swiped some of his baby clothes from the lone bed and dashed to the bathroom.

When I ran past the kitchen, Mum called, "You have about half an hour to get ready, Yū-chan. Don't be late!"

"I won't!" I yelled back.

"And find your little brother while you're at it!"

"Already did," I automatically yelled back. "He's having a shower with me!"

"Alright, keep him safe, Yū-chan!"

"I will!"

When I stepped into the bathroom, I immediately turned and locked the door. I then set Akito gently on the ground and began to slip off my clothes.

When I was finished, I said, "Lift your arms, Akito-chan."

"'Kay, Yūyū," he immediately chirped, raising his arms high in the air.

I gazed at him fondly, before reaching down and slipping his shirt over his raised hands, carely not to let the collar snag onto his hair.

In the end, I decided to leave him in his pants, it was his frst shower, after all.

The entire time I was in there, Akito clung to my leg, looking at the dropping water in wonder and awe. When I lathered his hair in shampoo and conditionor and began to vigourously scrub at it, he immediately squealed, thinking that I was ruffling his hair.

"I'm just washing your hair," I explained soothingly. "Kaa-chan does this for you all the time, remember?"

Akito merely whimpered, not deigning to reply. He pressed his cheek against my leg, and he continued to cling to me even after I finished washing his. After I finished that, I washed my own hair, marevelling at how much it had grown in the last two years alone.

When I had been four, it had only reached my chin. Whereas now, it reached to just about my shoulder blades.

I finished washing my hair and stood under the shower head, letting the water rinse out the extra suds of soap in my hair. When I was finished, I scooped Akito into my arms, cradelling him close to my chest.

I toweled myself and Akito dry, then I helped him dress before slipping into my own clothes.

My clothes were slightly different, consisting of: a dark grey shirt and mesh armour. As usual, my hands were wrapped in bandages [I had taken the time to wrap them after dressing Akito], black shorts that fell to my knees and open toed sandals.

I grinned, flicking my wet hair out of my face.

I was ready for my first day at the academy!

. . .

The academy wasn't what I had expected.

I admit that I was expecting a building as huge as the Kazekage's mansion, but certainly not this!

Like every other building in Sunagakure, this one was big and dusty and was coloured like sand.

A dull, half-hearted wind blew, messing up my hair and blowing it into my face.

I scowled, and from his place beside, Takashi attempted a grin. But it looked horribleand stretched with the long ass scar on his face.

"Wow, sure brings back memories," he remarked softly, an odd glint present in his eyes.

I looked at him sharply, and with a heavy sigh, he began to speak.

"When I turned eight, I became a Genin. Now, you might find that cool for lack of a better word. But it was horrible. Almost as soon as I was promoted, I was drafted to fight in the Second Shinobi World War. It was hell, Yū-chan," he said softly. "I hated it. The war, the fighting- I hated every single bit of it."

I took my hand in his, gazing up at him with wide, wide eyes.

"I hated it so fucking much, Yū-chan," he whispered, and I was shocked to see tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

I squeezed his hand tighter, murmuring, "E-Everything's going to be fine, Onii-chan. I promise I won't die, everything will be fine."

Takashi merely gripped my hand tighter, and he held it throughout the entire ceremony where the Kazekage welcomed us to the academy.

I caught Sunako's eyes as he spoke, and I was shocked when the new Kazekage smiled at me faintly.

"And I welcome you to Sunagakure's ninja academy," Sunako finished.

There was a burst of applause, and the crowd of people cheered. I didn't bother cheering, besides, what was the point?

I was in the academy, and that's all that matters.

And due to my inability to use chakra, I'll probably end up as the dead last.

Who knows?

After that "enlightening" speech, I found out what class I was placed into. I kissed my mother and two brothers goodbye and made my way to class.

My navigation skills weren't the best, and after about ten minutes, I grudgingly admitted that I was lost.

So I was now stuck in a waze of corridors with no way of finding my way around it.

... yeah, not the best situation to be stuck in.

I looked around nervously, biting my lower lips as my fingers fisted the fabric of my shirt.

I didn't know how long I stood there, but it must have been a few minutes, because, suddenly, a soft chuckle pierced the almost eerie silence .

"Hey..."

I turned around sharply, and I found the source of the soft laugh- a grinning girl. She looked to be only a few years older than myself, with shoulder-length sandy blonde hair and a somewhat stylish scarf wrapped around her neck.

She looked familiar.

"Are you lost?" She peered at me with slightly wide eyes, grinning sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah...?" I didn't know who this was, but I wasn't taking any chances.

The girl's grin softened into a smile, and she held out a hand, "Hi there, my name is Karura. Do you need help finding your way?"

Karura?

Holy shit, this is Gaara's future mother standing in front of me!

I glared at her hand in suspicion, and she replied by laughing softly.

Seriously?

When was there a time where Karura wasn't happy?

She was even happy at her death bed.

I sighed, looking down at my feet.

I could still feel Karura's expectant gaze on my face, but I refused to look up.

Fuck it.

I looked up, piercing her eyes with mine, "My name's Yū," I mumbled almost shyly. "Could you help me find my way?"

Karura grinned, "Sure!"

With that said, Karura grabbed my wrist, briefly paused to ask what class I was in, then proceeded to drag me through a maze of corridors.

When had Suna's academy been this big?

I don't know, so don't even bother guessing.

When we finally, finally stopped, it was outside a shoji door.

"Go on, then," Karura said, "knock."

I did as she wanted, rappping on the door politely.

I nearly had a heart attack when the door abruptly slid open, and I was met with the sight of a man's scowling face.

"Yes?!" He snapped, fixing his fierce eyes on me.

"U-Uh, I'm late for this class," I stammered.

He gazed at me hard before snapping, "Name?!"

"Yūmaru Kishi, Sensei," I answered softly.

He frowned, then gestured for me to come inside, then barked, "Karura, get to class!"

Karura attempted a hasty bow, "Of course, Sensei."

I watched as he blond dashed in the opposite direction, but that was all I saw before I was shuffled into the room.

"Hey, Sensei," one kid called, "who's that?"

"A student who is late to her own class," Sensei replied curtly.

I felt myself flush at his words, all the while jeering laughter echoed around the room.

Seriously, is this going to be a repeat of high school?

Sensei then ushered me to my seat, and I found I was on the end, seated next to some kid with sandy blond hair.

Sensei then cleared his throat, and every single eye was on him. I tried not to shiver at the sight of the three ghastly looking scars cutting through half of his face.

"Listen up," he called in annoyance, "There are some very important points I need to address before we even think of continuing. Firstly, the life of a Shinobi is not fun and games. It's not an "adventure" as some of you brats seem to think it is. And it's certainly not like the games of Ninja that you play in the street. Let me tell you something,' he gazed at us all deep in the eyes, "this class will weedle out all the weaklings who don't deserve to be a ninja. So by the time graduation rolls around, three quarters of you will be gone."

Gone.

I tried not to shiver at the implication of that threat.

Trust me, I really did try.

So I shuddered.

The boy beside me eyed me in annoyance.

I blinked.

Why did this boy look so familiar?

Hm, come to think of it, he looks a little like Karura, but his hair was shorter- barely touching his shoulders.

"Hey," I whispered, "What's your name?"

The boy didn't so much as blink, merely murmuring, "Yashamaru."

Huh.

Why do I keep meeting canon Naruto characters?

First Sasori, then Chiyo, then the Third Kazekage, Sunako, then Karura, and now Yashamaru.

These characters are never really mentioned in the manga, but I've had a strange liking for them since they were frist mentioned.

I've especially liked Karura since she never stopped loving Haara, even if the demon that had been implanted in her womb eventually led to her death.

Death...

Karura didn't deserve to die like that, and Gaara didn't deserve to grow up the way he had, either.

But I couldn't change anything.

I sighed, pressing my cheek against the cool wood of my desk, completely tuning out the class.

That proved to be a mistake as Sensei issued the class with sort of pop quiz.

I could barely read, let alone write.

I would probably be the dead last by the end of the week.

. . .

By the end of the week, Sensei had ceased teaching us theory and made us apply our knowledge in the field as he called it.

That involved shuriken and kunai practise.

And let me tell you, I was absolutely horrible at the entire thing.

I half-heartedly threw the kunai at the target, and my mouth burned with a bitter taste as it completely missed its target.

"Kishi-san?"

I turned, nearly throwing the extra kunai in my hand. My heart swelled with relief when I saw who it was.

Yashamaru.

"Yeah?" I answered, distractedly.

"Do you even know how to grip a kunai properly?'

I flushed, glancing at how my fingers wonkily gripped the handle.

"Uh..." I trailed off, uncomfortable at the sudden attention.

Yashamaru had never spoken to me before this, so why was he doing it now?

He sighed in exasperation, before taking a step closer and adjusting my grip on the kunai.

"Throw it," he ordered.

I blibked, looking at him then the kunai. Then, I obeyed, swinging my arm back as far it would go and releasing the metal knife.

A moment later, a dull thunk sounded.

Did that mean that I had hit it?

"Take a look at the target."

I peered past Yashamaru and fixed my gaze on the target.

Huh?

Wait...

I actually hit the target!

Hah, take that, bullies!

The kunai that Yashamru had adjusted had barely clipped the very edge of the target, but it held fast.

I grinned, proud of my untimely achievement.

"Hey, Aka-chan!" A voice called.

My grin faded, and I grumbled, "What, Kame-chan?'

Yep, Kame-chan, A.K.A. Kimiko, was in my class.

The worst thing about this class, despite it having Kame-chan in it, was that there was no trace of Hiroshi. I barely saw any traces of him, but I knew that he was in the other class.

I turned to face Kame-chan, my face twisted in an unhappy frown.

The blue-haired girl smirked at me smugly, and I watched as she threw a kunai into my target.

It hit the centre.

My jaw dropped.

And my frustration turned to outrage.

"Since when could you hit a target so perfectly, Kame-chan?!" I fumed.

Kame-chan giggled, yelling, "Aka-chan's the dead last! She needed help from Yashamaru-kun just to hit the target!"

A few of my fellow academy students laughed and jeered at me, but I paid them no mind, merely gazing at Kame-chan hard.

"Did you know that Kame-chan looks like a sea turtle?!" I suddenly yelled. "That's why her hair's blue, because she was reincarnated as a sea turtle!"

From his place beside me, Yashamaru chuckled softly, and after a few moments, his chuckles dissolved into full-out laughter.

I blinked.

Yashamru was usually so grim and quiet, and now he was laughing?

But I giggled, too, when Kame-chan's face turned bright red.

I was startled when Kame-chan shrieked, "Aka-chan's hair is such an ugly red, that I'm surprised people don't turn away when she speaks!"

She didn't.

"Did you just insult my hair, Kame-chan?" I voiced out, my voice sickly sweet.

Kame-chan just insulted my hair.

My red hair.

Why did I suddenly feel so vicious and pissed off?

Oh, right, Kame-chan just insulted me.

I didn't give Kame-chan any time to reply, because I tackled her!

Kame-chan gave a vicious squeak, and I growled, pulling on her hair. My fingers buried themselves in her curls of blue hair, and I tugged.

Kame-chan shrieked in outrage.

In return, she pulled on my hair.

"Your hair is so ugly!" Kame-chan spat. "I wanna cut it off!"

"Likewise!" I growled.

Our fight was eventually put to a stop by Sensei, who shoved us away from each other.

"That's enough," Sensei growled. "Just for that, you two will receive detention. The academy has time for such uncouth behaviour."

I flinched at his ire, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Kame-chan do the same.

"I hate you," Kame-chan whispered harshly as she brushed past me, roughly shouldering me on her way back to the classroom.

"As I said before," I murmured, "likewise."

I think I just find my rival.

And it was Kame-chan.

Does the world hate me or something?

And I was still the dead last.