Chapter Text
Chapter 1.
Ryuusuke PoV .
Ryuusuke had never been the type to bother with other's opinions. He usually went by his day, completely ignoring looks or whispering comments about him. This particular morning however, people were more aggressive than usual.
The villagers had never liked him, probably never would, but it never got physical. Sure, there had been some occasions where he was pushed out of a shop, dragged off by the arm or something like that, but no one actually hurt him.
Today, they just weren't that discreet with their opinions. Sure, it was mostly because October was coming up and they loved to remind him that his birthday was the most hated day of the entire year.
They muttered, knew he could hear them. Occasionally a kid or two would throw something at him, a rock or anything else, they also knew that their parents wouldn't berate them or yell. No one cared what happened to the "Demon kid."
Sure, Ryuusuke did hold a demon, no doubt about that. Just a year or two ago, he discovered the deep dark secret of Konoha. Host of the Kyuubi , Jinchuuriki , Demon. He knew the difference between a true demon and a jailor by now though. When he discovered the truth, he was distraught. He couldn't figure out why anyone would do that to him and why the Hokage would keep it a secret. Although it did make sense, the looks, the whispers – his treatment in general. They all just confirmed that what he saw wasn't just a dream.
He hadn't talked to the Hokage about it. He didn't know how to bring it up, but he didn't see the point either. What he was and what he contained didn't matter and until the Hokage saw fit, he would just let it be.
Well, regardless of his personal problems he had something else to worry about.
Genin exams.
He wasn't a bad student, far from it. Neither was he bad at the practical parts of the curriculum, but the teachers weren't exactly fond of him. The only teacher who treated him kind of fairly was Iruka-sensei, but even he didn't look at him that much.
Perhaps Ryuusuke's lowkey smart-ass personality hadn't helped him much in the long run. Iruka usually reminded him that things would be easier if he had interacted more with his classmates, at least tried to make friends. Ryuusuke knew that was a no go, sure, some of his classmates tolerated his presence, like the Nara kids, but most of them usually stayed away from him.
Ryuusuke knew that it was their parents who told them to keep away, but he also didn't make an effort to interact with them. He was used to being alone, he wasn't going to go out his way to change that.
Though, he supposed he would have to get used to it soon. Genin exams. Graduation, soon-to-be ninja. Three-man cells.
Well shit.
He wasn't fond of anyone in particular in his academy class, but he didn't dislike anyone either. Well, except for some of the girls. There was a particular group of them who just couldn't seem to understand that they were trained to be soldiers, and that as soon as they leave the village walls, their life is at risk.
One of them, some civilian girl Ryuusuke couldn't even name, had barely learned how to throw a kunai properly and the basic Academy Style katas , no less know how to use them. She never threw straight and her taijutsu was downright miserable. Ryuusuke could beat her with an arm tied to his back.
Speaking of the academy, he was late.
Like super late.
Well shit.
He could've run, might still be way too late, but not as late as he will be now that he's just casually strolling down the streets. Some random kid who skipped school was shouting behind him, but Ryuusuke paid him no mind as he saw the academy around the corner.
At this time, everyone was in class or behind the building at the training area. That just made it easier for Ryuusuke to go down the hall in continued silence, but the closer he got to the classroom, the more he heard the ruckus his class made.
Sighing, he opened the door, making the class fall into total silence as he entered. The others stared at him for a second before turning back to their books, they didn't resume talking at once though. Shikamaru Nara, looked tiredly up at Ryuusuke from his spot in the back of the class.
"Well done, finally some silence." He drawled sleepily. Ryuusuke shrugged. He headed over to a free spot closer to the back, he didn't really want to have excessive eye contact with Iruka. Speaking of teacher, the chuunin was staring at him.
" Ryuusuke . You're late," he stated. His voice loud and clear with the newfound silence in the room.
"Thank you for stating the obvious, Iruka-sensei. I was being slightly occupied on my way here." Ryuusuke replied calmly. Iruka continued to stare at him for a while before turning back to the others.
"As I was saying, the genin exam is tomorrow." Iruka started and began writing down some basic info on the blackboard. Ryuusuke didn't really pay attention, this was the only thing they had talked about the entire week.
The thing was, seeing how genin teams were made up of three genins and one jonin instructor, everyone couldn't pass. There are limited jonin in the village, not everyone can be used as genin instructors either. The village needs them to do higher class missions and other tasks as well, alt h ough that could also be given to chuunins .
So, considering that not everyone can pass, Ryuusuke made a list of those he believed would, which mostly consisted of clan children, with the exception of perhaps himself.
First of all, Nara Shikamaru . That was a genius hidden underneath a lazy endeavour, the kid was sleeping throughout all the classes, but he always and Ryuusuke could swear to the gods, he always had the exact average score. Barely enough to stand in the middle of the class all the time during the entire year.
Shikamaru had a cousin, who also had a higher percentage of passing than most. When you have a lazy Nara, you get a genius, when you have a motivated one … you have a monster. Nara Eon was such a monster. Ryuusuke was sure of it.
Other than that, you had Inuzuka Kiba. He was lacking in the theoretical part of the academy, but he was an adrenaline junkie – very efficient with his clan jutsu and already had good cooperation with his ninken , Akamaru.
Akimichi Choji , best friend of Shikamaru and fellow clan heir of their respective clans, was another powerhouse. The Akimichi strong built gave him an edge in taijutsu , he also had some good ninjutsu under his sleeve, not too shabby in the theoretical part, but not by any means good at it. He wasn't that good at showing his skill though, being frightened of hurting friends and comrades, even when just sparring with them.
Yamanaka Ino, clan heiress of the Yamanaka clan. Pretty smart, not too bad in ninjutsu, especially clan stuff, but not very good in taijutsu . She spent more time on looks and popularity, but still held quite a high position in class rankings.
Uzumaki Yuki, rivaling Hinata Hyuuga in shyness, efficient in studying, ninjutsu and has the most incredible stamina for an ordinary person. She's stronger with ninjutsu than taijutsu , but can outlast mostly everyone in the class if not knocked out early on. Yuki's mother came to Konoha before the fall of Uzugakure , along with some others although unknown.
Hinata Hyuuga , heiress to the Hyuuga clan, although her position is presumably being threatened by her younger sister, according to some rumours among drunken Hyuugas from the branch house. She's excellent in taijutsu forms, has flexible movements and rarely gives up, but she doesn't have much power behind her strikes and is also afraid of hurting anyone – literally anyone, regardless if there is a spar or not.
She also have above average chakra control, she usually ranks amongst the highest in theoretical stuff in addition to an above average ranking in taijutsu . Why her position was threatened was above Ryuusuke's understanding.
Aburame Shino... there was not much to say about him. He's the clan heir of the Aburame , keeps to himself, very logical, among the highest in theoretical, average in taijutsu and ninjutsu.
Ryuusuke wasn't a clan heir, like many other's in his class. He didn't even come from a clan as far as he knew. Orphaned the day he was born, the day he was sacrificed to be the jailor of the Kyuubi . The Third claimed that he didn't know Ryuusuke's parents, not even their names.
Ryuusuke called bullshit.
Why the Third seemed to like keeping secrets about him was a mystery, but Ryuusuke wasn't one to question the Hokage either, the old man probably had his reasons, although debatable.
"Meet here tomorrow as usual, bring your gear and be as well prepared as you can. Remember, the Academy three; Bunshin no jutsu , Kawarimi no Jutsu and Henge no Jutsu . There'll be a small taijutsu test against Mizuki -sensei or me, along with an accuracy test with kunai and shuriken."
There was no other classes, no more revisions. Barely an information meeting and the possibility to prepare for the test with available academy instructors the rest of the day while the academy was still open. Most of the clan children went home, others figured that some last minute practice couldn't hurt. Not that it would help them.
Ryuusuke stood up and walked towards the door when Iruka halted him.
" Ryuusuke , come here." He called. Ryuusuke complied with a sigh. He walked down the stairs towards Iruka's desk, his eyes resting calmly on the teacher.
"Yes?" Ryuusuke asked. Iruka's face showed concern, but mostly a mask of neutrality. He usually did that when addressing Ryuusuke , treating him like a student rather than a person. Not student as in someone you want to nurture and care for, but student as in someone you simply have to learn the curriculum to and berate them for bad behaviour. There was a slight case of objectification, but Ryuusuke didn't comment on it. It probably was Iruka's way of coping, for teaching the kyuubi jinchuuriki .
"Tardiness is not a proper trait for a ninja, this is not the first occasion that this has happened. Also, what did you do? Look at yourself." Iruka stated.
Ryuusuke took in the appearance of his short and trousers, sure, they weren't clean. Dust and dirt was scattered across him, probably due to those kids who threw stuff at him on the way here.
"I was busy training, lost track of time." Ryuusuke said absentmindedly. Iruka's eyebrows furrowed. He stacked his papers on his desk, leaving them neatly on the corner.
"Is that so? Well, I hope you do well on the test tomorrow then." Iruka stated. Ryuusuke looked at his teacher, nearly guilty.
"Iruka-sensei."
"Yes?"
"Do you hate me?"
The question hanged in the room, bringing a complete silence. Iruka was frozen on the desk for just a moment. He looked up at Ryuusuke , whose head was hanging, eyes on his feet.
"What makes you think that?" He asked carefully. Ryuusuke shrugged slightly.
"Everyone else does, I mean I understand but- I just wanted to know." Ryuusuke grimaced, he looked up and gave Iruka a stupid grin. "This is not like me is it? Sorry for wasting your time, I'll be sure to not be late tomorrow." Ryuusuke said before Iruka could reply.
He hurried towards the door, leaving Iruka alone in the classroom.
'Well, that was stupid' . Ryuusuke thought as he sped towards his apartment. It wasn't often he questioned his relations with others, he knew he was absent, a cold and mostly uncaring person. But there was some kind of comfort with Iruka, the only adult to actually do something about his wellbeing.
The only one who might care.
Ryuusuke just wanted to know, for sure, if Iruka was just pretending or not. It was stupid, he knew that. A childish wonder of some sort of belonging. He knew, as a jinchuuriki , that was most likely not possible.
Information about jinchuurkis was kept a tight secret in most villages, but with some digging in the restricted sections in the library, reserved for jonin or ANBU, but not that well-guarded, helped Ryuusuke understand more of his condition.
Another look in some scrolls hidden in the Hokage tower, gave him even more information. He almost got caught when he was there, he escaped a certain capture by slipping out of the room with the transformation jutsu .
For some reason, he figured that the Hokage knew it was Ryuusuke and that he had been there, but he wasn't sure. If he knew, wouldn't he have summoned Ryuusuke and yelled at him or something? Or didn't he have the time to deal with the him?
There wasn't much about the jinchuuriki though. Usually isolated, hated by most. Jinchuuriki meant human sacrifice or something like that. Weapons and tools for their village.
The only comfort Ryuusuke had was that the Jinchuuriki and the Biju they contained were not the same. He had been scared, that he was actually just a demon. For a while, he contained himself to his room, pondering about this, it was then he had his first real conversation with the kyuubi .
He had met the Kyuubi once before that, after getting lost in the woods and passing out due to the lack of water and heat coming from the warm Konoha summers. He had seen the Kyuubi , knowing how it looked like due to illustrations seen in academy books. It was nowhere near the illustrations, but the nine tails and angry growls was more than enough for Ryuusuke to know. He believed at first that it was a dream, but then he started digging. It was after many books and legends not seen as important enough to hide them away from the public, that Ryuusuke figured out it was possible to seal a biju .
He just went up from that, more and more rumors , more and more legends and information. In the end, it just lead to that. Jinchuuriki .
The second time he met the Kyuubi , during his meditation, they'd argued.
A lot.
Ryuusuke had been rightfully pissed, and the Kyuubi came back at him with pure fury. The kyuubi refused to give him any answers, but nonetheless tried to tempt Ryuusuke into opening the seal so he could get his 'revenge' on the village.
It was a little tempting, but a horrible decision. He knew better than to trust a demon.
And with that, Ryuusuke slammed the door to his apartment behind him. Emotions swirling inside him. He looked around, an empty silence filling the place.
He should probably talk to the Third, but it could wait till tomorrow. Right now, he wanted to take a long nap before maybe doing some light training to prepare for the test tomorrow.
Eon PoV .
Mornings w ere n't Eon's strong point. She wasn't as lazy as her family counterparts, but regardless, the Nara genes resided within her, helping with her wants to stay in bed and just forget about the academy for one day.
Yoshino, her aunt, yelled loudly though. It was aimed at Shikamaru , she knew that, but it helped her motivation to get up in the mornings.
Living with her aunt and uncle wasn't that bad. They lived at the Nara compound, the clan heads house. The compound was old, and there was actually a section which was usally given to servants the clan heads used to have, but as of late, it remained empty.
This had become Eon's home. An entire part of the clan heads house, built like an apartment for four. There was a small kitchen, middle-sized bathroom, three bedrooms and a suitable sized living room. One of the bedrooms had been turned into a small training hall, private for Eon rather than using the training ground outside, where most of the clan practiced at numerous occasions. Another room had been turned into a study, books and scrolls, along with a large desk used for Academy homework and additional studying.
The last bedroom was of course, her bedroom. It was quite spacious, but not as much as the clan head and heir's rooms. Although, an entire apartment was way more than enough for her. She had dinner and breakfast with her aunt, uncle and cousin, but she usually didn't spend time there. It was, a little weird. She didn't quite feel like it fit her, being with them.
Her parents had died during the Kyuubi attack, amongst many others. She knew that several of her classmates had lost parents or siblings in the attack as well. It didn't bother her that much anymore. Sure, it was sad and she sometimes wished her parents was alive with her, but she had grown used to it by now and had no lack of affections from her fellow clansmen.
Yet, the hollow feeling of not actually having a family was there.
Dragging herself out of her bad, she quickly did her normal morning routine. She usually just got ready for the academy and used whatever spare time she had to train or revise for a test. Tomorrow was the genin exam, so revising the academy three had been a part of her morning for the last week.
After some light training she headed for breakfast. Yoshino and Shikaku was sitting there, although Shikaku looked barely awake.
" Mornin '" Eon said as she sat down at the table, helping herself with the breakfast Yoshino had so kindly prepared.
"Good morning, Eon." Yoshino replied sweetly before turning the other way.
"SHIKAMARU! WAKE UP!" She hollered. Shikaku rubbed his temples tiredly. Eon smiled slightly. It was not unusual for Shikamaru to oversleep, rather, it was the usual. If Shikamaru was actually on time... well the moon could just fall from the sky that day.
She didn't spend much time at breakfast, she preferred to be one of the first at the academy, it was quieter, calmer. It gave her time to think.
So , there she was, walking down the streets of Konoha. It was late August, soon October. At October 10 th , a festival of a kind was held to honour the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice and all the others risking their lives or losing them defending the village against the nine-tailed fox.
Most of the children nowadays didn't know the reason behind the festival, so it was treated like just that, a festival. The adults let them have their fun. It wasn't as if people wanted to keep the sorrow alive, but most dropped by the memorial stone during the day anyway.
Eon was at the memorial stone in the mornings, but didn't spend much time there either. She traced her parents' names on the stone, offering a small thought or prayer before heading home or to the Academy, depending if they were allowed to have the day off or not.
None of her classmates was particularly fond of the date, seeing how many of them lost relatives they never got to know. Several of them was orphaned due to the attack as well.
And sooner rather than later, she found herself in front of the academy. It was eerily quiet at this time of the day, most of the others usually wasted their time as much as they could in the morning. Eon could bet that Shikamaru wasn't even awake.
She walked into the building, heading towards the empty classroom . She wasn’t surprised by the lack of other people, occasionally she could hear some teachers walking to their offices or classrooms chatting cheerfully as they started the day.
It wasn’t that long before other students started to enter the room. Some civilian kids who were only good in theory. Eon had no doubt that they wouldn’t be able to graduate. Book smarts won’t help you if you can’t aim or do a simple replacement technique.
The kawarimi, something Eon had mastered quite early considering her age. Replacing herself with other things took some chakra depending on the size and distance, but not as difficult as she’d imagined. Many others followed, but the ones far behind was the Uzumaki kid and that no-name orphan Ryuusuke .
Both seemed to have the chakra control of toddlers, but when they first released chakra it was a huge mass of it. It took them long before mastering the jutsu .
Eon didn’t have so many opinions about her classmates, they weren’t that noticeable, really. Although she was quite annoyed with several of them because of their behaviour.
Take Kiba, for an example. The adrenaline junkie, never know when to stay quiet. Brash, reckless, late, skipping class. He had no discipline and always went up doing stupid things. If it was one thing Eon couldn’t stand, it was when people behaved stupidly.
Speaking of stupid… Kiba just came in, carrying with him fifty percent of the noise which was ever present in this classroom. Eon fought the urge to groan.
After another ten minutes of utter chaos, which always was followed by when the civilian boys joined in on Kiba’s ruckus, Iruka-sensei came in.
“Finally.” Eon muttered. She straightened her back as Iruka stood before his desk, waiting for the others to find their seats. Futilely.
After a couple of minutes, he finally gave up.
“BE QUIET AND FIND YOUR SEATS!” He shouted. She could almost feel Shikamaru’s sigh as he woke up from yet another nap. Eon could swear that Iruka and Yoshino shared the same genes, both having really loud voices and being one of the few who could actually wake Shikamaru up.
Iruka started explaining that they didn’t have much school-time today, because he and the other teachers had to properly organize the test tomorrow. That they would be given time to practice at home or with available instructors after school here until the academy closed.
He then started to revise shortly the subjects the exam would cover for about ten minutes, which had been like the hundredth time this week, before he was interrupted by the door.
The class, which had previously been talking over Iruka and ignoring his lesson, had turned silently towards Ryuusuke who was now standing in the door.
‘ stupid. ’ Eon thought before tuning them out. She knew most of the things the genin exam covered, although it didn’t make her less worried. She wasn’t nervous, but some nerves were getting to her. She wanted to do well, which was a given, but she had a small feeling that those ten percent chances of her messing up something could shake her score up completely.
She wasn’t worried due to the standards of her class in general.
Sure, the clan children could hold their own, but they weren’t by far especially good compared to other genin or ninja. Compared to academy students, they might be one of the strongest batches for a long time.
It wasn’t before Iruka had explained the test simply again for who knows how many times by now, that they could leave. Eon and Shikamaru was to head home, because Shikamaru had to train with Ino and Choji due to the Ino- Shika -Cho formation. How they were so sure they would come on a team was beyond Eon, but she didn’t care that much. It was a logical tactic, seeing how successful the previous teams with their parents before them had been.
Eon joined them for the training, it was light but a completely different thing than training by yourself. She got some insight on the fighting style of two other clans which probably would help her on, especially considering Shikamaru being a tactic, Choji being a powerhouse and Ino being a genjutsu /long-ranged fighter.
Although they weren’t that good at those things yet.
Shikamaru was lazy, barely wanted to do this at all. Usually gave up before he had even begun doing anything. Choji didn’t want to fight and Ino was more busy of not getting her clothes dirty. In the end, Eon was mostly doing katas or practicing the academy three.
Although, regardless of their flaws regarding the academy. Ino, Choji and Shikamaru were her first friends. She didn’t hang with them that much, but whenever they came with their parents due to the Akimichi , Nara and Yamanaka friendship, they had a good time together.
That usually what happens when you grow up with someone.
Other than that, Eon didn’t have much contact with other people her age. She preferred to be alone actually. When she headed back to the compound, she started to wonder who she would be on a team with, who her instructor would be and so on.
It was those thoughts that occupied most of her evening and night.
Yuki PoV .
Yuki had quiet mornings. She lived in a moderate sized apartment with her mother in the better parts of Konoha , which were really quiet most of the time. Her mother was much like herself. Quiet, reserved, but her mother was also very kind.
Her mornings were usually just of preparing for the academy and eating breakfast, nothing too much yet enough to satisfy.
She knew that the genin test would most likely be hard, and uncertainty was not an uncommon feeling. She wanted to make her mother proud, and her late father as well. Her father, Uzumaki Takumi , was a good shinobi. Proud, strong and on the front line when the Nine-tails attacked the village.
Yuki didn't know him. There were several pictures of him though, and her mother told some wonderful stories about him. A small part of her still wanted to get to know him though.
After eating, she headed towards the academy. The cool air of the later parts of autumn hit her as a well the moment she stepped out of her home. She usually wasn't late, but she never went too early either. She liked staying in the safe and warm comfort of her bed, but she liked being on time as well.
Yuki had noticed all the people in her class, noting who they were and how they act pretty well. 'Know your friends, and your enemies.' Her mother had said once when their conversation had turned a little more serious due to the upcoming genin exam.
She took it to heart, but had gotten to know her classmates pretty well. Her fellow female students was always kind to her, so were the boys. Although their affections went a slightly different way. The only ones she hadn't talked with all that much was Shikamaru and his cousin, Choji , Kiba and Ryuusuke . The four boys usually skipped class, but Ryuusuke didn't hang with them. Shikamaru's cousin Eon was just a little bit more reserved.
They had talked, but only briefly before Yuki was dragged of f with her female friends, not that it bothered her all that much. Although she did feel slightly sorry for Eon being alone all the time.
Regardless of that, the class had grown together, whether they liked it or not. She remembered the time when some of the boys would pick fights with Ryuusuke and the boy would gladly accept, usely standing victorious in the end, although being gifted with several detentions or other tasks.
As she entered the classroom, she wasn't surprised by the number of students already filling the seats . There weren't many minutes left before the class started, after all. Iruka was already seated at his desk, neatly stacking papers which probably covered what they were going to talk about.
The class continued to chat and create the normal ruckus they usually had, it wasn't like Yuki made lots of noise coming inside. She sat down next to Hinata, one her closer friends. They had connected due to them both just silently standing by, occasionally chatting with each other after spars.
Considering today was their last day as a class, Yuki could already feel the small feeling of loss. She had grown close to these people and after tomorrow they probably wouldn't see each other that much at all.
Being a genin wasn't just some childish dream, it was a job. A job that required risking your life. Not many had realized it yet, but it was something Yuki was told by her mother early on. It was a decision you would have to stick with for life, you can't just retire from being a ninja.
There might not be a war now, but there had been certain tensi ons anyway. They say that this generation doesn't know war, which might be true. But the fact remained that the other nations still held grudges against each other and smaller nations held grudges against the large ones.
Yuki sighed, she usually stayed as positive as she could, but the upcoming exam had her on edge. Her thoughts were interrupted when Iruka yelled loudly to silence the class. He told them about today's plans and where and when to meet tomorrow.
Yuki were going to stay at school after they were allowed to leave. She had promised some of the civilian kids to help them get in some final practice. She honestly felt like she should be practicing herself a bit more, but couldn't help saying yes to her friends.
Sakura Haruno was one of these friends. Sakura was a bright girl, in addition to her pink colored hair she had emerald green eyes. But she could be really loud and demanding. She usually didn't bother Yuki or the other girls, but she was rivalling with Ino and others for the 'hottest guys in class'.
Yuki wasn't usually bothered by them due to her not actually pursuing guys, not at the moment anyway. Surely, when they're twelve turning thirteen, thoughts like that do occur. The thing was that knowing that they're in the middle of pursuing a life- long career and that this test was actually a key point to when they could start... Well the priority weighed towards her studies rather than the pursuit of some short- lived love.
Sakura wasn't that good at the practical parts of the academy. Her taijutsu was barely passable, but her traps and her aim weren't that bad. She was very smart though, probably one of the smartest. The smartest if you didn't count the Naras.
Yuki wanted to help her, but Sakura didn't really seem into it anymore. As children, everyone was determined to become ninja. It was like a dream to become a superhero. Sakura had been very motivated by a crush she had on Uchiha Sasuke , but when Sasuke suddenly quit the academy she had been much less enthused.
Some people said Sasuke quit the academy because of his clan's extinction. That he couldn’t handle the pressure anymore. Others say that his brother Itachi came back to finish the job he started, to kill all the Uchiha.
Yuki didn't have an opinion. She figured that Sasuke could do whatever he wanted to, but it wouldn't be nice if he was … dead.
Her thoughts was once again interrupted, this time by the door opening. Looking back, she noticed Ryuusuke standing in the door. He wasn't looking to well, if she had to be honest. His bright blonde hair was even more tangled than usual. One could see traces of dust lingering on his locks. His clothes matching. It looked like he had decided to lay down on the road, rolling the entire way here.
Everyone could tell that it defin ite ly wasn't just being occupied. The one thing that was for certain, was that Ryuusuke and Eon were the mysteries of the class.
Eon with her calmness, how she always seemed on top of the situation. She occasionally seemed like this otherwor l dly being. Yuki wasn't sure if she had ever been bad at anything during their time at the academy. Sure, she might not be a high-level ninja yet, but it was as many said.
Naras are pure monsters when they have a goal.
Ryuusuke sat down on the desk behind her. She could almost feel Iruka's gaze on him, seeing how Ryuusuke was right behind her, Iruka's gaze was sent her direction, almost.
Ryuusuke was another mystery. Everyone knew he had no parents, but he had no clan or last name either. He was just Ryuusuke . He was treated badly by children and adults alike, no one pretended to like him. Yuki didn't have anything personally against him, but he didn't exactly seem nice either.
He always got in fights, always had some bruise or injury. He had even gone out his way to fight with a chuunin once and got a severe reprimand from the academy's principal and Iruka, seeing how attacking a ninja was a pretty severe offence, but one can't exactly put charges on a kid.
She heard that he nearly got expelled, but for some reason the Hokage had been brought into it and Ryuusuke was back in class the next day as usual.
Ryuusuke had mentioned once when he and some of the other boys had been talking about families that the Hokage was the closes person he had in his life. Yuki knew how busy the Hokage was, so that did say a lot about Ryuusuke's connections.
He was the only one in their class who lived completely alone. Shikamaru explained that Eon lived in a pretty excluded part of his house, and that they didn’t exactly live together – but it still wasn't the same. Yuki figured, that she knew quite a deal about most students, but if they knew anything about her, that was unknown.
Soon Iruka dismissed them, allowing them to leave. She could hear Ryuusuke being called back as they went to the doors.
She met up with Sakura and some other kids at the training ground behind the academy. They were chatting happily together, gossiping about things that had happened or their excitement for being a genin .
Yuki joined in soon enough, although she tried to remind them that they had to train. They waved her off and told her that they would start in just a minute, so Yuki started. And she had trained a good twenty minutes before they joined her.
She tried to explain the jutsu and academy katas to them as well as she could, but it was a little late to start practicing this stuff when the test was tomorrow. It was about using your body and energy in ways that it wasn't quite used to yet – which meant that they couldn't just start the very day before they absolutely needed it. Regardless of the futility of the situation, Yuki continued to explain and help.
She got home around seven in the evening. Her mother was preparing dinner as she walked in the door. And thus, came her evening routine. Eating a lovely dinner with her mother before practicing for the test a little bit more, reading a good book and then falling into the safe and warm comfort of her bed.
Ryuusuke , Eon and Yuki woke up with a start. The three of them sitting across each other somewhere unkn own , somewhere dark. It was only lit by a candle looking light in the middle. It didn't do more than giving the three a possibility to look at each other.
Or what they believed was each other.
Ryuusuke was only in a pair of pants, a seal visible on his stomach which glowed eerily red. On his chest was another mark, a circle with a vertical line across it. One half was black while the other was white, split horizontally in the middle.
Eon and Yuki's hands were both stuck in front of them, their palms open and showing the insides of their hands towards the candle. Eon's hand had a cresc ent moon, black in colour, while Yuki's was like a sun which was coloured white.
The three of them stared at each other before they blacked out.
The next time Yuki opened her eyes, she was back in her bed. Although slightly shaken by the weird dream, she checked her right hand awkwardly . There was no mark. She wasn't surprised really, but some part of her felt like it was more to the dream than what she could understand at the moment. It didn't take long before she fell asleep once again. The next morning, she didn't remember a thing.
--
The person who did remember, was Eon.
Eon had studied many things, but the marking on her hand in that dream was simil ar to the one Yuki had on hers and the mark Ryuusuke had on his chest, those were in style. The mark that wasn't in style, was the elaborate drawing on Ryuusuke's abdomen.
Which she now later had figured had to be a seal of a sort. And of that size and complication, containing something huge. Not only did it glow red, but it seemed like something no academy student could do, perhaps not even a genin or chuunin .
If she remembered correctly, the only ones in the village capable of doing seals with that kind of difficulity , was the sannin or the Hokage .
Whatever Ryuusuke was hiding, she had just been given a piece. Now she was curious. And a motivated Nara is a fucking monster.