One.

"I wish you congratulations on your promotion. I pray you can live up to the new title." Her tensed voice matched the forced smile on her red-painted lips, and her brown eyes twitched and glared holes into the newly appointed chunin's head, hoping he'd simply implode before her.

"Thank you Lady Hokage." He replied with a bratty tone making her take a deep breath trying to control herself, she gripped the wooden desk tighter and tighter until a splintering crack sounded.

"Dismissed!" She hissed before the boy strutted out, a cocky smirk stretched across his face as he slammed the door shut. She let out a snorting growl before flopping back into her blue high-back chair. She turned slowly to look out at her bustling village, the anger melted away and her eyes filled with sorrow and she gave a small head shake.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, hanging her head in the process, sending a prayer to the heavens that this action wouldn't cause the turmoil and chaos she was imagining. "Stay strong kid."

Outside the cocky child walked from the office building and stopped in front of his teammate and sensei.

"Congratulations." His sensei commented, unlike the woman upstairs his voice was filled with pride, not anger.

"I knew you could do it Sasuke-kun!" His teammate cheered before throwing her arms around his neck, he sneered pushing back, and adjusted the green flak jacket.

"Hn." He replied.

"Well Naru was supposed to meet us here, let's go find her and have a celebratory dinner," Kakashi said, Sasuke smirked and walked forward followed by the others to hunt for their missing teammate.

On the west side of the village, beyond the bustling city stood a large area of training grounds used by various teams and ninjas between missions, the Naka river flowed through the woods making it an oasis for humans and animals. The open field was currently occupied by Uzumaki Naru who was busy working on her jutsu. The rasengan, a high-rank jutsu only known to a handful of ninja, its creator, and her hero the Yondaime Hokage created the jutsu and passed it on. So, when her part-time teacher offered to teach her the jutsu she was determined to master the jutsu and surpass him. Taking weeks to master the chakra forming of a perfect ball of blazing chakra was a true feat and it was no wonder it took him three years to master this.

After mastering those steps and successfully using the jutsu in battle, she was determined to expand the jutsu's use to make it her jutsu. Burn marks appeared on her hands and arms from the overuse and explosions of chakra in her hands but she couldn't stop yet, she was almost there!

"Naru!" She yelled, breaking her concentration and causing the growing ball of chakra to explode in her hands, throwing her back a few feet. She groaned, rubbing her throbbing head turning and giving a nasty glare to her pink-haired teammate who distracted her.

"Brilliant, loser." She fixed her glare on her cocky Uchiha teammate preparing a retort before her eyes landed on the green vest on him, he threw a cocky smirk in her direction and brushed an invisible piece of dirt off the side.

"Wha..?" She murmured.

"What? Isn't it obvious, I was promoted to Chunin, Shikamaru was too but that's it." He boasted making an emphasis that she was not getting a vest anytime soon.
"But… how? Why?!" She questioned.

"The council was impressed with Sasuke's actions in the forest of death during the exams, he stopped Orochimaru after all!" Sakura chirped. "You could say congratulations Naru."
"You stopped him huh?" Naru questioned, Sasuke glared at her before shifting the vest again watching her eyes stare at the material she wanted. "That's not how I remember it." She murmured.

"Shouldn't you be happy? You've all grown up and will be making fine ninjas, you two will have to study and practice hard and may be able to take the exams again in six months." Kakashi praised and insulted at the same time. Naru felt her eye twitch and a subtle burn of tears building, she quickly stuffed her hands in her pockets and balled her hands into fists digging her nails into the blisters, breaking the sensitive skin until she felt the blood slip between her fingers.

"But, we're here to head to Yanuka Q for a celebration dinner, on me." Kakashi finished and ushered them along.

Naru followed behind until the jounin didn't turn again, she slipped away, fading into the growing crowd. She followed her feet until she arrived at the playground of her childhood. The equipment rusted and squeaked in the spring breeze, but most importantly it was free of people. Since the success of missions the village was able to afford more things and one was a new playground placed closer to the academy with bigger and better equipment, and since its reveal, this left her childhood playground usually empty.

Naru trudged her way up to the double swing sitting on the plastic seat and heaved a heavy sigh before brushing her hand up her head and freeing her bangs from behind her forehead protector letting it dangle on her thigh.

"Why do I bother?" She pushed back and forth gently letting sand fill her sandals and between her toes.

'I'm not crying over it. I'm n…no…' Her inner voice quivered before she let out an audible sob and hunched over pressing her fists into her eyes trying to prevent the tears from spilling more than they already had. 'It's hopeless no matter what I do- I'm nothing.'

She wiped her nose free, dropped the forehead protector into the sand, and looked at her arm. She glanced left and right before sliding the sleeve of her jacket up revealing fair skin marred with red lines in various directions, some white and puffy showing their age and their depth.

'I'm sorry, I …I'm breaking my promise… but I just can't,' She pulled out a single kunai spinning it around her two fingers before she looked at her reflection before she slowly and gracefully brought it down to the middle of her forearm and let the sharp tip touch her skin, goosebumps rising from the cold metal. She began to press down, letting out a broken gasp before cringing in anticipation and pain as a bubble of bright red appeared tiny at first then growing bigger ever so slowly at the press of the blade.

"Ahem.." She jolted and looked over her shoulder finding the tall form of Morino Ibiki in the entrance of the playground, a pack of cigarettes in his hand. "Mind if I join ya?"

"Ah… No." She sniffled and quickly replaced the kunai and yanked her sleeve down again.

"Are you okay?" He questioned.

"Nothing, I mean what do you mean? I'm fine."
"Someone who is 'fine' wouldn't be crying in the playground alone."

"I'm tired…. Tired of …. Tired of trying my hardest and no one believes me, they don't think I can do anything." She blinked rapidly and let out a broken chuckle. "It's stupid."
"You stopped Orochimaru didn't you." She looked up at him in shock before letting out a quiet sigh but didn't tell him differently.

Ibiki looked down at her arms lying limp in her lap and landed on the end of a scar before she shifted, he took in a deep breath. "I found it quite unbelievable that the boy who was ready to quit in a written exam could suddenly beat a sanin-level ninja." He shrugged. "But it's not my business." He shrugged and sat on the swing seat next to her. "Can I ask you a - well some questions?" Naru nodded and began to push back and forward again. "Where do you see yourself right now?" She came to a sudden stop and stared at her feet.

"I… I don't know... Really." She sighed heavily. "It's hard to explain." Ibiki tilted his head waiting for her to try. "I guess I'm tied between two points, one I could break myself to work hard, to push and push until I reach… well… reach the top, I guess. Or I could give up and throw down my forehead protector and be… be… sigh ."

"Could I ask you some questions?" She looked up at him and nodded once. "Do you believe you can get stronger?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe when they call you names? When they call you a monster or failure?"

"They say that I'm not normal… they call me a monster. Do you think the same?"

"Right now, only people in our village are talking about you. Soon word of you will spread to other villages. It won't be long before other nations will know about you too. Everyone is going to say the Hokage this time is amazing! She's stronger and more beautiful than all previous Hokage, she's a monster!"

"Yes and no, someone once told me …. Well they told me it was good I had the attention here and one day it would spread to other nations." A ghost of a smile appeared. "But sometimes I wonder." She laughed.

Ibiki smirked before letting out a sigh. "Are you loyal to your village and Kage?"

"Of course, despite things I've been through I still love my village and my Hokage, that will never change." He nodded and flicked the unsmoked cigarette to the sand. "Well, to me it sounds like you need a new path as a shinobi, a more productive way to serve your village and Kage. You proved you have the drive, encouraging others during the written test, while only answering half." Naru blushed and bit her lip. "Anbu."

"Huh?"

"Anbu, it could be the way you could get the motivation and path you need. A way to leave the judgment of the village and to only be your strength and achievements."

"But, I mean you think so?" She smiled, he nodded and stood up.

"I formally invite you to join the Interrogation and Torture department that I run."

"Really?"
"Right now, I need to evaluate you and you'll need to be trained and tested, but if you as an inexperienced academy student could stop a village breach, I'm sure you could handle it."

"Okay!" Naru launched to her feet and chuckled, he nodded standing up.

"Tomorrow morning, meet me at the anbu compound."

"Okay! Thank you!" She yelped throwing her arms around the man before yanking back and bowing. "Sorry!"

"Get plenty of rest." He touched her shoulder before walking away.

Naru smiled as stayed bowed and stared at the forehead protector. 'Thank you, thank you.' a tear fell on the plaque before disappearing into the sand.

As night fell Naru slipped up the stairs of her apartment paused at the final set and took in a deep breath before jumping up them and landing in a low crouch. She half crawled and walked to her apartment door and quickly fought with the lock before darting in and shutting it as quietly as possible before engaging the three locks and leaning against the wood listening to the silence. A creak of another door had her take in a deep breath and watch the shadow that shone through the crack at her feet before it disappeared and a door latched shut.

She let out a relieved sigh before walking as softly as she unspooled wires laying them along the hallway, a pile of cans that she set precariously on the edge of the stairs of her hall before setting further wires attached to kunai set to shoot at the slightest touch. Once she finished she crawled onto her bed leaned against the wall stared out at the top of her boarded window and stared at the crescent moon. 'I promise I will try my best and I won't let myself fall. Tomorrow is a new day.'