Sorry I took a while.

Here's a new chapter for Shades of Red!

. . .

You probably thought that my Genin days were exciting and filled with all sorts of adventures.

No.

Now that's where you're wrong.

My Genin days were anyhing but.

Most mornings, Kazuki drove us into the ground with training.

And after training came our D-ranked missions.

Oh, joy.

Notice the heavy sarcasm used there?

You probably think that I enjoyed it.

Wrong again.

I hated it.

Like really hated it.

"Ugh," I muttered, "now I know what Naruto feels like."

Yashamaru shot me a somewhat curious look, but when he saw that there was nothing to be curious about, he let his indigo gaze linger elsewhere.

Right now, we were doing yet another D-ranked mission.

That is, cleaning someone's house.

My grip tightened on the broom, and as I swept across the dusty ground, my teeth clenched tight together, "Really," I gritted out, "why can't they do it themselves? Nice showcase for them, because it just goes to show how lazy they are!"

Yashamaru glanced at me again, but this time the glint in his eyes were that of bored amusement, "That's why they're called D-ranks, Yū-san," he noncomittedly drawled, "they're simply too lazy to do the work themselves."

"Careful," Sasori muttered from his side of the room, nimble fingers tightening on the mop in his hands, "or the client just might take that as an insult."

I rolled my eyes, knowing that Sasori didn't care either way, "Good," I muttered.

Sasori didn't reply, merely continuing to drag his mop across his piece of dirt-encrusted ground.

I felt a sigh coming on, and before it could be released, I painstakingly dragged the bottom of my broom along the ground, sweeping up dust and dirt as it went.

This continued on for another few minutes before I completely lost patience, and knocking my broom to the side, I growled, "Fuck the client, then!"

From his corner of the room, Yashamaru snickered at the use of such vulgar language.

Sasori however, didn't really say much, simply murmuring, "Pointless."

My eyes slightly widened.

Sasori was calling me pointless?

He didn't even know me!

"I'll show you pointless," I muttered, my eyes narrowing to the point of slits.

I was angry.

But I wouldn't let it take me over like that one time in the park.

I began to sweep with a renewed vigour, and soon enough, my side of the room was near spotless with a pile of dust nestled snugly in the corner.

I turned to face the boys, a grin tugging at my lips, "Beat that!" I cried.

Then I noticed that their corners were even cleaner than mine.

"The fuck?" I muttered.

Yashamaru raised a dirty-blond eyebrow at the use of my vulgar language, a smirk blooming on his lips, "Looks like I was quicker, Yū-san," he drawled.

I silently fumed, but my anger cooled down slightly when I noticed what a mess he had made.

I snickered, "Yashamaru-san," I giggled, "I can still see streaks of dirt, and the water isn't doing much help, either."

Yashamaru simply frowned, "I did the best I could," he replied simply, casting a critical eye over my corner, "as for your corner, I can still see streaks of dust. Not to mention the footprints from your sandels."

I looked at the ground.

Yashamaru was correct.

There were sandel shaped footprints, and there were streaks of dust still visible to the naked eye.

A scowl bloomed on my lips.

He was completely correct.

With one mighty heave, the broom in my hands swept across the ground, picking up what I hoped would be every inch of dust on my side of the room.

It took me a few minutes.

But I managed it.

Meanwhile, my two team mates worked alongside me.

Soon enough, we had the room looking spotless.

"One room down," I announced cheerfully, "and-"

"Six more to go," Sasori announced dully.

My mouth snapped shut, and I turned my glare to the only red headed male in the room.

He just smiled that lazy half-smile of his and exited the room, but not before calling, "My side is cleaner."

My teeth clenched.

Why that little...

"Ugh," I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air, "I give up!"

"If you give up now," Yashamaru informed me lazily, "then you won't get your share of the pay."

I brushed off his casual reminder, choosing to say, "No, I give up with speaking to Sasori."

Yashamaru smirked, "He's a difficult one, isn't he?"

I groaned, "You have no idea how much he ticks me off."

My team mate's smirk widened, "Well," Yashamaru began, "he is a prodigy, and you're just the dead last."

Great, more reminders.

"Ugh, don't remind me," I groaned, burying my face into my hands.

Yashamaru's smirk turned playful, and he said, "You're probably not the weakest in our entire academy class, but you still are pretty weak."

Without missing a beat, I retorted, "So are you."

Yashamaru's smirk dropped, and his expression became grim, "I know," he said, "and even Sasori-san can be weak at times. But you forget, Yū-san, that we're all only seven years old."

"I didn't forget," I mumbled.

In a strangely gentle voice, Yashamaru murmured, "We really are too young to be Genin. The rate of death is higher than normal, but-"

"We can get through this," I interrupted, shooting him a somewhat uneasy smile, "You and me both."

"And Sasori?" my team mate prompted softly, gazing at me with deep indigo eyes.

I hesitated, "I don't know," I finally murmured, clasping and raking my fingers into the fabric of my shirt, "I-I barely know him..."

Yashamaru surprised me by chuckling softly, "Then get to know him," he murmured, "and me, too."

He smiled at me gently, and for some strange reason, I felt my own lips twitching- struggling to keep a smile down.

"Thank you," I said sincerely, and when he tried to protest, I cut him off, sternly saying, "and don't try to put it off as nothing, either. I mean it. So, thanks," I said softly.

Yashamaru still looked bewildered, but after a moment, a faint pinkish colour began to appear on his cheeks.

"Uh, you're welcome," he murmured, refusing to meet my gaze.

He was so cute.

I raised a hand, and made a habit of patting his cheek before leaning up and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

I pulled away, a heavy blush staining my cheeks.

Why the hell did I do that?

If it were possible, Yashamaru's face was even redder than mine, even the tips of his ears!

But most of all, he looked stunned.

His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly agape.

My eyes drew together in concern, and for a split second I wondered if I had done the wrong thing.

But then Yashamaru raised a single hand to his forehead, palm pressing into the exact spot where my lips had touched his skin.

A single whisper escaped his lips, "... why?"

I didn't hesitate, "Because you're my friend," I replied simply, "and friends stick out for each other."

. . .

First Person's POV- Yashamaru

I was peturbed.

Yūmaru Kishi was a very strange individual, I concluded, though not grimly.

I could easily see why Karura enjoyed being around her so much.

Mostly because Karura liked a lot of very strange people, even more so than Yūmaru herself.

My fingers still lingered on the exact spot her lips had touched, though I couldn't really understand why.

Or why she had kissed my forehead in the first place.

It was only something my mother would do before I went to sleep, and that was only when I was younger.

So why...?

I shot a discreet glance at her.

She was sweeping a pile of seemingly neverending dust into neverending corner of dust.

Her long red hair was pulled out of her face, the thick strands painstakingly tied into a braid.

Her dark eyes were focused on the task at hand, and every so often, her tongue would peek out for a short time as she concentrated on what she probably thought was a near daunting task.

Sasori was in his own corner, silent as usual.

"Yū-san?" I hadn't realised I'd spoken until she glanced at me.

"Hmm?" Yū glanced at me, her expression one of deep concentration, "Did you want something?"

Yes, I thought, I do want something. I want you to tell me why you... why you...

"Why did you say all that to me?" I suddenly blurted, and when she looked confused, I elaborated, "Everything. Why did you say "thank you"?"

Yū suddenly looked shy, and as she clasped her hands behind her back, she murmured, "Because you're my friend."

That's all?

I raised an eyebrow, then impulsively whispered, "Why- why did you kiss me, then?"

Yū grew red faced, and she dragged her toe along the ground as if she regretted it, "Uh, I dunno, really," she whispered, "I guess it was just an impulsive action. I didn't mean to, really! If it makes you happy, then I'm sorry!"

I think I surprised her when I laughed softly, and reaching out, I rested a hand against her cheek, "It's okay. You don't need to apologise for something that's in the past."

Heat swiftly rose to her face, and when I realised that it was my hand on her face, I felt my own face flush.

I swiftly withdrew my hand, stammering out apologies as I went.

"It's okay," Yū mumbled, and her face was still as red as her hair.

I nodded, and from his corner, I could have sworn that I saw Sasori roll his eyes.

Wait, I don't think Sasori does that sort of stuff.

"Five rooms," Sasori said quietly, and at our inquiring expressions, he elaborated, "there are five remaining rooms left to clean."

I nodded, "I know. So can we please hurry? I really want to get out of these clothes.

. . .

First Person's POV- Yūmaru

"Yūyū!"

As soon as I opened the door a pair of arms latched around my legs, and I looked down to see the grinning face of Akito.

I grinned back, and I used my free hand to playfully mess up his bright red hair.

"Hey!"

My little brother looked so cute with his face scrunched up like that, and resisted the urge to coo over him.

Instead, I reached down and gathered him into my arms.

The weight was unexpected, "God, Akito," I grunted, "you're getting really heavy these days."

As Akito grumbled, I bent my head and dropped a kiss to the top of his head, "Hey, Akito," I murmured against his hair, "have you seen Onii-chan anywhere?"

"Taka-chan went to train his team, Yūyū," Akito piped up, "he went to training field three!"

"Cool," with much protest on Akito's part, I carefully set him on the ground, then turning to him, I said, "I have to ask him something, but if you wait for me to change my clothes, then you can come with me."

Akito clapped his hands together in glee, "Yeah!" he cried, "I'll wait, Yūyū!"

I ruffled his hair, "Good."

After that, I left him to his own devices while I headed to the bathroom.

When I was safely in there, I quickly stripped off my sweat soiled clothes and hopped into the shower. When the hot water hit my skin, I sighed in pleasure. But remembering that I had a little brother waiting on me, I set to washing the dust from my skin and, unbinding my hair from its braid, I gave that a thorough wash as well."

I stayed in there for a few minutes than normal, mainly because the water felt so good on my heated skin.

But after a period of five minutes, I finally stepped out.

I quickly wrung my hair dry, wrapped the towel snugly around my form and left the room, cautiously travelling down the hallway in case my little brother might pop out and be traumatised for life.

Luckily no one popped out, and I reached my room safely.

After that, I swiftly dressed myself, bandaged my hands and exited the room, finding my brother waiting for me near the door, his sandels already on.

I opened the door and stepped outside, the dry, humid air being the first thing that greeted me.

I swiftly knelt down, beckoning Akito closer, "Climb onto my back, okay?"

Akito did as I asked, pressing his weight firmly onto my back and draping hia arms around my neck.

I channeled my vile, acidic chakra to my feet- the slightest trickle needed to push me off my feet.

A moment later, I was flying through the air, and I landed with a thump on the nearest roof.

Akito whooped with joy and, tightening my hold on his legs, I swiftly hopped to the next roof.

A few minutes later, I was nearing my brother's training grounds. But before I reached it, I had to set a few ground rules for Akito.

"I need to set a few rules," I stated sternly as I jumped, "rule one: no getting in the way of their training. Rule two: no touching sharp, pointy things, and rule three: no complaining. Am I understood?" I said, squeezing his legs for reference.

Akito winced and said sullenly, "Yes, Yūyū."

I let a smirk bloom across my face, "Good."

I let another few minutes pass in silence, and then I was there.

I landed on the outskirts.

Takashi's team was already training when I arrived, and I felt sort of sympathetic for them when I saw how hard my brother was driving them into the ground.

But once I saw a glimpse of Kame-chan, my sympathy went right down the drain.

The blue-haired girl was panting harshly, sweat clinging to her skin and her face flushed a healthy red.

They had obviously been training all day.

I hadn't, though. I'd been doing that stupid D-ranked mission, and since it took most of the morning to finish, Kazuki had given us the rest of the day off.

"What're they doing, Yūyū?" Akito questioned excitedly, "Genin stuff?"

"Yeah," I answered quietly, "Genin stuff."

Suddenly, Takashi called, "You can come out now," his tone was lazy, "I know you're there."

I rolled my eyes. 'Course Takashi would know I was there.

I half-hearted jogged into the open, and when Takashi saw me, his eyes narrowed slightly, "Why did you come here, Yūmaru?" he questioned seriously, "Why aren't you with your own team?"

I didn't hesitate, "Kazuki-sensei gave us the rest of the day," I said, "I guess I just got bored, so I just came here to see what you do with your team. So can I stay? Pretty please, Onii-chan!"

Takashi rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure-" he cut himself off, his eyes going wide, "did you bring Akito here?"

I, too, rolled my eyes, "'Course I did!" I snapped, "Kaa-chan was asleep so I couldn't just leave him there!"

"Hey, Aka-chan," Kame-chan said suddenly, "fight me."

I blinked. What?

"Fight me," she repeated, and when I was about to say no, the cocky look in her eyes made me stop.

"Fine," I said, much to the shock of everyone around me, "I need to fight a person of equal strength, otherwise the humiliation of getting clobbered by Sasori will become even worse.

"Jutsu allowed," Kame-chan said.

She smirked at the dismayed look on my face, because she knew that I only had a limit of three jutsu before something bad happened to me.

Namely the fact that my chakra will conk out on me.

I nodded stiffly, and then we took our positions.

We circled each other for about a minute, until I grew fed up and decided to make the first move.

Bad mistake.

My fist met with air, and I was abruptly knocked backwards.

I landed heavily on my butt, and I raised my arm to defend myself in the case of another sudden attack like that one mere moments earlier.

I was right.

A foot collided with my back, knocking me foreward. But I caught myself at the last second and did some sort of awkward flip to right myself.

This time, I was ready for the next attack.

Kame-chan reappeared, and her arm snapped out, but I intercepted it with my own, looping it around her neck and pulling her close, At the same exact moment, my leg rose and caught her stomach, pressing into it with ugly force.

I could hear Kame-chan choke, but abruptly, her form exploded into sand.

It pelted my face and slivers ran down the length of my torso.

It was a sand clone.

How the fuck did she learn that?

We've only been Genin for a month, dammit!

Well, if she's using ninjutsu, then I guess I have to, as well.

I formed the signs as fast as my fingers allowed, whispering, "Clone jutsu."

A clone poofed into existance besides me, looking marginally realistic despite the creepy grin present on its face.

"Fuck, that's creepy," I muttered.

I suddenly had a great idea.

While clones weren't solid, they could still copy you.

So I made Clone Me stand in the open despite the fact that Kame-chan was probably still behind me.

I planned to subsitute once my clone made it close to her.

Then BOOM, I would win.

Sadly, my plan was easier said than done.

Kame-chan easily anticipated my clone, and with a single strike, it was destroyed.

Swirled out of existance.

Letting out a frustrated sort of sound, I ran at her, pumping my acidic feeling chakra to the tips of my fingers.

It was sloppy, and I was sure that it cost me one limit.

But I didn't care at that point.

When I was within striking range, I swung the chakra-coated fist at her.

Kame-chan dodged it at the last second, but my attack grazed her side.

And before I knew it, she had my arm twisted into her grip.

With one swift tug, a sickening pop was heard before pain lanced itself up my arm.

What the fuck did she just do?

"What the hell?" I managed to choke out, "did you- did you just break my arm?"

If the pain was anything to go by, then I'd say that she did.

Kame-chan was in just as bad shape as I was.

The graze on her side was bleeding, and it soaked the side ofd she white shirt.

Blood ran down her lip.

"Face it, Aka-chan," Kame-chan said, breathing heavily, "you're done. I just broke your arm."

No.

"No," I breathed, surprising myself, "I'm not finished."

"Are you an idiot?" Kame-chan suddenly snarled, taking me by surprise, "When will you just lay down your pride and admit that you're done before you get injured any further?!"

I bowed my head, "Fine," I murmured, "we're done. Finished."

I was just too arrogant to realise that.

That arrogance cost me a possible broken arm.

And my pride.

I knew better now.

This world- the Narutoverse, was harsher than I originally thought.

While I knew that there was a low survival rate, it just went to my head that I could win any and every battle that I fought in.

Arrogance.

That was one of the many faults that I possessed.

Arrogance could kill me, and there wasn't anything I could do to stop it.

So I would have to stop being arrogant if I it meant that I wanted to stay alive.

If I wanted to live.

And I would do it.

For them.