A/N: Decided I would try something entirely different from the usual SI/OCs, and instead have the story be told completely from the perspective of outsiders instead of the person who is, without a doubt, reborn from another world. Basically, this is my wish-fulfillment story and lacks realness and the touch of drama I usually inflict on my characters. Also why these chapters will be super short. In short, this is my shit fic, please check out my other SIs for the real deal.

I do not edit until story completion.

dancer

chapter one

prod·i·gy

(n.)

As Rin Nohara knew it, Yuko Morino grew up surrounded by people of all sorts, in a family home that wanted only the best out of her, but demanded more out of her than she could give out. From time to time, as Rin had heard, her parents would be quick to anger when faced with her ineptitude. As Yuko would later say, they were not above physical abuse to get her to do what they wanted, even going so far as to starve her out. It seemed to get especially hard for Yuko, although the full story had yet to ever get out, when she had first announced that she didn't want to take the family tea house as her own.

Yuko was meant to live a respectable life as a simple mere citizen of Konoha, meant to be quiet and serve customers until her knees went sore each night—meant to dance until her legs gave out if her parents demanded it of her.

It was why they had paid for her dance lessons after all, or at least that's what was rumored.

She was especially pretty, and so many naturally flocked to her, but she was also very harsh (perhaps misunderstood, Rin thought) so many naturally left her after a short time, perhaps even moments after they'd laid eyes on her. Yuko seemed to always cause a certain level of mayhem everywhere she went, which was probably why it became the talk of the village when that very special dancer decided to join the Academy.

People had been upset—

"How could they have let their daughter go out like that when there's a war coming?"

"You know how their daughter was though; she has a terrible temperament. Always so angry!"

"How selfish of that brat! Leaving her family without an heir."

—but it hadn't been their choice to make.

It had been Yuko's, who despite having spent most of her life in dance classes and learning the ways of making tea and the many ceremonial rules that went with it, had wanted to join kunoichi classes as soon as she had turned nine. Which had been around the time Rin had joined the school as well, although they'd never shared any classes and soon it would be a moot point; Yuko would far exceed all of their expectations within the year.

The rumors around her flew everywhere, it was all Rin could hear be talked about for months.

She hadn't known why it was such a big deal though, especially as she watched her senpai plow through the school books as if they were like learning simple kana. It was clear to see that she deserved to be there, with all the hard effort Yuko put in. But apparently, as was explained to Rin later, Yuko had cut ties with her family completely, even going so far as to file for the Orphan's Stipend, living on her own in the lousiest side of town. Which was evidently not so much a good idea when it came to what was socially acceptable.

Yuko, although Rin hadn't had the awareness at the time to know it, was breaking the rules that had never been directly stated as she broke out of her rank in life and sought for something more.

At first, when Rin had been going through her own school work, she'd never paid the most attention to Yuko, who seemed to like being on her own. But then later, when Yuko began to pop back up on everyone's radar, Rin had to be pay attention.

Because it seemed to be the birth of a miraculous prodigy.

Skipping two years ahead of where they had placed in her in a single exam meant to briefly test her, Yuko had nearly killed the chūnin who had sparred with her when it came to the taijutsu section. Like a whispered about legend, Yuko's name became likened with the word 'prodigy'.

(Only later would Rin get the full story; she hadn't actually almost killed them, she had merely knocked them out very quickly and had managed to deceive them with quick actions that had stunned the over viewers. Rin thought this just made her senpai look all the cooler in her eyes, favoring the simplicity instead of the overdrawn stories that people had made up.)

Rin thought that might have been the time where everything began to change.

More kids were passing the chūnin exams, the death rates rising as quickly as an ocean tide. Even Yuko, after little less than two years at the Academy, had graduated to become apprenticed with a jōnin sensei. Her name, in that timeframe, had slowly died out to whispers as more pressing matters came up.

Like how Konoha had officially announced their participation in the fighting that was taking place across the mass of their country. Rin had grown up used to the idea of war; she had grown up discussing it at length with her parents and why she needed to stay. They were civilians turned shinobi after all and they didn't want her in their lifestyle the more they realized what was going on.

But she could not live with herself if she didn't give back to her village.

More importantly, she could not live…not live knowing she could have been involved and done something better with her life.

At her vehemence, they settled with her looking into the medical profession instead—"It'll keep you safe, Rin-chan"—and much to all of their surprise, Rin was very fond of iryo-ninjutsu. It allowed her to apply her ability to study and seemed to be a special in the way that people with smaller reserves could use it more effectively. It her think the ground was leveled just a bit more because of that. But more than that, it would have meant she would need to work her body more than she was used to.

Still, despite that small detail, Rin couldn't wait until she was ten to finally begin working with chakra, instead of the knives and needles her after-school teacher wanted her to use in the meantime. Although, it certainly was helpful. Her hands had grown accustomed to staying still, and were fast with needles as she learned to complete stitches as quickly as possible.

Rin would later be pleased by how much Yuko praised her for them.

But more importantly, she never would have expected that this person would be the one to save her when she had been so sure she would die. Even more so, every time Yuko showed up it almost felt like a heaven sent, especially when she had showed up to save Obito that day at Kanabi Bridge.

Almost like…she could tell the future.

prod–i–gy: end

to be updated: whenever i feel like it