II. Conceited Loneliness

If there was one thing Hyuga Hizashi hated, it was chaos. Hizashi was a child who loved order. He lined up his pencils neatly on the desk in academy, despised other children who broke the rules and hated creases in his clothes. To a child who was destined to a life of servitude, order was a source of comfort. Life was one simple linear pattern to Hizashi. He would live, serve and die. That was it. Anything that happened along the way was simply an added bonus.

So when Hizashi was put in a team with Uzumaki Kushina of all people, that perfect order had been shattered. Kushina was the very personification of chaos.

She was a fiery whirlwind of disorder. Her hair a tangled mess, clothes ripped and stained, knees adorned with scabs and bruises. Kushina probably hadn't washed in months and her language could make any jonin blush. To top it off the girl had somehow disposed of her forehead protector as it was absent every training session and only ever materialised during missions, much to Sensei's chagrin.

Yet what Hizashi found most irritating of all was her fighting style.

"Hizashi," Sakumo called. "I want you to spar with Kushina today."

Hizashi cast his pale eyes on the White Fang. "I sparred with her last training session," he stated flatly.

"And you'll spar with her again," Sakumo told him. "You two can learn a lot from each other."

"Like what?" Kushina scowled.

"For a start you can learn some finesse from Hizashi," Sakumo sighed. "Taijutsu isn't just about brute force." Before Hizashi could flash a smug look at Kushina, Sakumo continued, "And Hizashi your moves are far too predictable, even for someone who's not familiar with the gentle fist. Training with a creative fighter like Kushina will do you some good."

"What about me Sensei?" Joji asked as he stared at the ground while Kushina glared at Hizashi. "I'm not that great at taijutsu…"

"I want you to watch them," Sakumo told him. "You're a long-distance fighter, Joji. You need to be able to spot your opponents weaknesses on the battlefield."

Joji sat on the edge of the clearing while Sakumo leant against a tree with his hands in his pockets. With a great sigh as if sparring with Hizashi wasn't even worth her time, Kushina hauled herself to the centre of the clearing.

Inwardly grinding his teeth, Hizashi followed her.

"I'll beat you this time," Kushina snarled at him.

"Don't count on it, Uzumaki," Hizashi told her as he slipped into the Hyuga fighting stance.

Kushina let out a guttural growl, something you would never have expected to come from a ten-year-old girl. In one smooth motion she positioned herself into the Whirlpool taijutsu posture, ignoring all of her Konoha academy training. Hizashi couldn't help but wonder whether the White Fang was going to bother correcting her at all but then again, the first time they had sparred the Whirlpool taijutsu had taken him by surprise. After all who knew that Uzumaki Kushina could be graceful.

Each country had its own standardised taijutsu style. Konoha's was based on the leaf, of course, combining powerful spinning kicks with razor sharp punches. Kumo's lightning style relied on deadly speed and blinding strikes. Whirlpool's? Academy had never taught Hizashi about Whirlpool's taijutsu style but what he had learnt from Kushina was that it was more of a dance than a fighting style. Like the sea it was beautiful, with fierce and unpredictable attacks that left your head spinning.

Kushina suddenly launched herself at Hizashi with a war cry. Immediately Hizashi spun away, his hair swishing as his byakugan spotted Kushina's weak spots.

That was another thing that was so unsettling about Kushina. It was the sheer amount of chakra she had. The girl somehow had a surplus supply that Hizashi could only dream of.

Suddenly Hizashi slammed his palm upwards aiming a deadly blow towards Kushina's chest. In one fluid movement Kushina swayed, ducking underneath Hizashi's hand as she danced away from her opponent, crimson hair swirling round her in one protective whirlpool.

It appeared Kushina was actually learning since the last time she had kept up an endless barrage of attacks rather than opting for the defensive.

Hizashi spun on his heel aiming a chakra powered punch at Kushina's chest yet all his fist met was thin air. Kushina slipped away from his attack in her liquid dance and swooped upwards to deliver a darting punch.

Hizashi began to duck but sudden realisation hit him a moment too late. Kushina's attack had been a feint and as her fake punch dissolved, his teammate twirled on the spot to slam a kick into Hizashi's chin. The sheer force caused the boy to stumble backwards and all he could do was block another kick from Kushina as the girl surged forwards.

How was it possible for the dropout to be this good? Frustration creased his brow as he rotated his jaw experimentally. Maybe listening to Sensei was a good idea after all. What was it he had said? Be creative?

Hizashi's byakugan bulged as he forced himself to memorise Kushina's movements, relying on the flow of her chakra to help him guess where his teammate would strike next.

Suddenly Hizashi hurled himself at Kushina, aiming a strike at her shoulder. Just as he predicted the girl didn't fall for his feint and she spun on her heel to send powerful roundhouse kick at him. This time Hizashi didn't bother to dodge Kushina's attack, instead he channelled as much chakra as he could into his left palm and blocked the blow.

The sheer force could Hizashi's arm to tremble and Kushina's leg to shake but it was the momentarily surprise written all over Kushina's face that gave him the advantage. With his right hand, Hizashi moved at a blinding speed blocking off Kushina's vital chakra pathways.

Immediately the girl buckled and as Hizashi released her Kushina collapsed to the floor.

"Damn it," Kushina snarled as she struggled to stand. "Damn it!"

"I wouldn't bother trying to get up," Hizashi told her coldly. "You'll only end up on the floor again."

"Shut up!" Kushina yelled as she dragged herself to her feet. "You think I'll become the first female Hokage if I just give up?"

"A foreigner like you would never be allowed to become Hokage," Hizashi responded in a matter of fact tone. "It's against the rules."

Hizashi was one of the few who had never harboured ill feelings towards the Whirlpool refugees. After all Whirlpool had had a long-standing treaty with Konoha that dated back to the time of the First. So it was natural that Konoha would give their allies refuge.

However Hizashi lacked the sensitivity to know that stating the obvious could be seen as a racist comment to Kushina.

"You think I'm not good enough to be Hokage, just because I'm from Whirlpool?" Kushina screamed.

"That not what I said," Hizashi answered. "It says that to fully qualify to be Hokage, you have to have been born a citizen of Konoha."

"I don't give a fuck about qualifications," Kushina spat. "I'm going to prove to you and every other ninja in this place who think they're better than me, that I'm good enough to be Hokage!"

Hizashi was thoroughly irritated by his teammate and utterly baffled by her. Why was she so upset? The rules were the rules.

Kushina suddenly let rip a feral snarl and tore towards him, her fist raised. Hizashi drew himself into a fighting stance, waiting for her attack.

It never came.

"That's enough," a soft, firm voice said.

Hizashi found his wrist to be held in an iron grip as the White Fang appeared in between them. The boy's eyes dilated. How had Sensei moved so fast? Even his byakugan hadn't been able to track Sakumo's movements.

"Let go," Kushina scowled as Sakumo held her by her collar with his other hand.

"Kushina what did we say about your anger management?" Sakumo sighed as Kushina wriggled in the vain attempt to escape.

He then cast a long-suffering look at Hizashi. "Both of you were doing so well," he told them. "Kushina your Whirlpool style was coming along beautifully. Hizashi that was some really good creative thinking there when you used your chakra to stop Kushina's attack."

He let go of his pupils. Hizashi rubbed his wrist while Kushina simply glared at the White Fang.

"Both of your taijutsu is really coming along but you've got to stop turning an every day sparring session into a brawl," Sakumo told them, his eyes gleaming with disappointment. "You're teammates. If you can't work together on the field then your entire team could be killed. Understood?"

The two nodded but it was clear that neither had any intention of getting along. Kushina spat at Hizashi's feet and said, "You may be my teammate but I will never be friends with you."

With her crimson hair whirling after her, Kushina stormed away.

In the vague attempt to salvage the situation Sakumo half heartedly called after her, "See you tomorrow! And for god sake wear your forehead protector!"

Hizashi watched her leave with the only thought in his head that his teammate was just plain psychotic.

"Joji, let's call it a day," Sakumo called as Hizashi's other teammate peered out from behind a tree. Joji nodded and he too left the training grounds.

Hizashi turned and said, "Can I leave too, Sensei?"

"In a moment," Sakumo told him. The White Fang then sighed and ran a hand down his masked face. "Hizashi, do you know why Kushina was upset with you?"

Hizashi shook his head.

Sakumo decided to change tact and then asked him, "If someone insulted the Hyuga clan you'd be upset, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," Hizashi nodded. "But what has this got to do with-"

"Because you insulted Whirlpool," Sakumo cut in. Seeing Hizashi's face he then added hastily, "Unintentionally of course."

"Oh…" Hizashi frowned.

"Sometimes the rules aren't always right," Sakumo told him softly. "I've seen people mutilated and hideous things committed just because ninjas were blindly following 'the rules'. Be your own person Hizashi."

"I still don't understand why Uzumaki is so upset," Hizashi said. It was frustrating because Hizashi was thoroughly unused to not understanding things.

"Imagine that Konoha was destroyed," Sakumo said carefully. "You're living in a strange country where the people had weird accents and the food is even stranger. Your family is gone and all you have left is your memory keeping Konoha alive. Saying that Kushina could never become the Hokage is like insulting that memory."

It was terribly complicated but Hizashi's quick mind soon grasped his mistake. Lacking in sensitivity he may be but Hizashi knew what it was like to have so many expectations thrust upon you. Though he hated to admit, Kushina was strangely like him. Except people expected her to fail as a poor foreigner. In a way Hizashi envied his teammate for trying to fight those expectations by proclaiming that she would be Hokage. He had merely given up and had accepted the life as a branch member.

"I see," Hizashi said.

"Best go talk to her," Sakumo's eyes crinkled into a smile. "Though I'd wait a few days for her to cool off…"

With that the White Fang body flickered away, leaving Hizashi with strange and liberating thoughts that he had never had before. Who knew that Habanero could have so much depth? And who would have guessed that there was a possibility of having an identity outside of your clan?

Three… Two… One…

Kushina opened her eyes to find herself lying on a beach, the sand gloriously cool beneath her. She curled her hands; the grains digging beneath her fingernails and all she could hear was the soft swoosh of the undulating waves.

Slowly Kushina lifted up a hand and she slowly twirled it in the air, allowing shafts of sunlight to dance in and out of her fingers. The sun continued to pulsate in the painfully bright sky. First golden, then a sickly yellow, blinding oranges until it transformed into a bloody crimson ball.

"Kushina!" A soft voice called. "Kushina! Where are you?"

Kushina sat up with a confused expression. "Mum?" She yelled.

She struggled up and gazed around at the now darkened beach. A diseased moon had replaced the sun, pockmarked and bruised in colour. It hung in a dark bottomless void, so black that even the stars could not shine through.

Kushina sprinted across the grey sand until she reached a sandy bank. Somehow it had transformed into a huge hill, so steep that it was barely climbable.

"Mum!" Kushina shouted and her voice was swallowed by the darkness.

"Kushina," her mother's voice was growing more and more forlorn. "Come home, Kushina."

"I'm coming!" Kushina called and she began to climb the hill. When she reached halfway, Kushina suddenly slipped and the sand clawed at her, tearing the skin from her hands.

Tears traced their way down Kushina's cheeks and by the time she reached the top her hands were bloody and raw.

"Ah you're here Kushina," a voice suddenly said.

Kushina stared around her, realising that she had somehow crawled into her father's office. She struggled her feet, blood from her hands dripping onto the wooden floor.

"Dad?" She said to the figure that had his back to her.

"There are some people here who will take you to safety," her father told her and he continued to stare into the fireplace.

"People?" Kushina frowned. "Safety?"

Suddenly there was a loud shriek and a kunai broke through a window. Outside Kushina could see Uzushigakure burning. Places she had known all her life were being destroyed before her very eyes and tortured screams filled the air.

"Hurry," her father said and not matter how much Kushina willed it, he refused to look at his daughter.

"Where's Mum?" Kushina asked him.

"She's… She's gone ahead," her father said even though Kushina knew it was a blatant lie. "Now be a brave girl and go with them.

A gloved hand grabbed Kushina's shoulder and spun her around. Her eyes dilated with horror as she saw two mutants dressed in Konoha ANBU uniform before her. The first had a snake's head and it hissed angrily as it surveyed Kushina with yellow eyes. The other man had a lion's head, with a lolling tongue and huge fangs that were stained with blood and maw.

"Don't make me go," Kushina begged. "Please. Where's Mum?"

But it was too late. The mutants whisked her away from Whirlpool until all Kushina had left was the sound of her mother's screams in her ears.

Kushina woke with a jolt; perspiration staining her brow and her heart beat wildly. She sat up and wiped the sweat away with the back of her hand.

There was so many times where Kushina wanted to collapse into puddle of depression. It didn't matter how many times she cried herself to sleep at night. Her parents were dead. Whirlpool was destroyed. Nothing was ever going to change.

Kushina silently leapt from her bunk in the orphanage dorms and dressed in the only clothes she owned. After brushing her teeth and grabbing her weapons pouch, she slipped out of the dorm.

It was still only six in the morning and on a cold November morning like this the sun still hadn't woken from its sleep. With practiced ease Kushina opened a window and leapt free from the building. Fresh, icy air bit into her limbs and immediately Kushina wished she had something slightly warmer to wear than just a pair of leggings and a tunic.

Yet the chilly temperature was a welcome change to the suffocating air of the dorm. As she climbed up onto the rooftops the height gave Kushina a vague sense of freedom. Her crimson hair suddenly whipped around her: the locks clawing at her eyes and biting her cheeks. In one furious moment Kushina grabbed her hair. She tugged at it, again and again until tears of pain poured from her eyes.

No matter how hard she pulled the strands refused to tear. Uzumaki hair was known for its thickness and durability but Kushina took it as a sign of the gods trying to spite her. Her hair that had been so envied back in Whirlpool had turned into a constant source of misery.

Kushina didn't care about being thought of as a freak for her hair. Those Konoha idiots knew nothing… No what bothered her so much was what her hair reminded of. Every night before bed her mother used to sit and comb those thick locks. It used to take over an hour but Kushina had loved every moment of it. Brushing her hair without her mother had seemed so wrong that Kushina had neglected it. She had let the famous Uzumaki mane grow greasy and tangled to the point where it was matted.

Yet what Kushina hated most about it was the colour. Those crimson tresses were the same colour as the blood that had run through the streets of Uzushigakure. So many nights after the Whirlpool genocide Kushina had woken up screaming thinking that her hair was blood upon her pillow.

As she stood high upon a roof of an apartment building, Kushina gazed at her hair. Then, with slow deliberation, she reached into her weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai.

A feral scream ripped its way from her lips and Kushina began to hack at her hair until all that was left was a jagged bob. Staring at the mound of hair in her hand was like staring at a dead body, causing bile to rise up in Kushina's throat.

She hurled hair from the rooftop and stood for a moment as she watched it float down onto the streets below. Kushina sheathed her kunai and closed her eyes as a fresh breeze caressed her now naked neck. She imagined all the nightmares and terrors floating away with the hair. Each strand contained a terrible memory and the further the breeze carried the hair, the lighter Kushina felt.

Opening her eyes Kushina climbed down from roof and leapt down into an alley. The market stalls were beginning to open up and the tantalising scent of food hit Kushina's nostrils. Although she was a genin now, Kushina was saving up for an apartment of her own. So in the meantime she had to scrape by on the bare minimum.

Hurrying down the main street of Konoha, Kushina spotted a food stall that looked like it would sell cheap food.

"Hi," Kushina peered over the counter. "Could I have a bowl of steamed rice?"

The stall owner turned and scowled at her. "With what?" He asked her. "Egg? Pickles? Vegetables? Fish? Natto?"

Kushina's stomach growled and her mouth began to water from the smell. "Err natto," she decided.

"Sure you got enough money, boy?" He gave her a suspicious.

Kushina bristled and exclaimed, "Course I do! And I'm not a boy!"

"Fooled me," the stall owner muttered and he turned away to prepare her breakfast.

Kushina hopped about as she tried to warm up her cold limbs. Hopefully after when she had breakfast down her she would warm up a little.

"Twenty-six ryo," The man slammed down a carton with her breakfast inside and a pair of chopsticks.

Kushina reached into her pocket and pulled out her coins. Just as she reached over to give the money, the man suddenly retracted his hand at the last second and the coins clattered onto the counter.

"Now get lost," the man told her and he returned to his cooking.

Kushina opened her mouth to shout abuse at but suddenly found that she didn't have the energy. All she could do was walk away.

Though her breakfast was piping hot, the natto tasted bland in Kushina's mouth. Her appetite had vanished and all Kushina could do was force herself to eat. Hurrying along before anyone could bother her, Kushina found a small-secluded yard behind a clothes shop and sat on a dustbin to eat her breakfast. Had the man treated her like that because she was foreign? Or was it because she was just a dirty orphan? Kushina gulped and recalled Hizashi's comment from their training session yesterday.

She shook her head. There was no use dwelling upon it all.

Her father had told her to be brave… Yet Kushina had never thought that it would refer to the abuse that the villagers gave her. Kushina shrugged to herself. It didn't matter. None of it did. The main thing was not to let it show. As long as you kept up a hard façade then it was ok to crumble inside.

A sudden shout broke through Kushina's reverie. With a frown Kushina gulped the last of her breakfast then slid off the bin. Out of pure habit that had been drilled into her when she was younger, Kushina lifted off the lid and threw away her carton.

Another yell punctured the morning air. Kushina crept out of the square and masked her chakra. Peering round the corner she saw three boys surrounding a girl. The four were around the same age as Kushina, perhaps a little older and all of them wore forehead protectors marking them to be Konoha ninja.

"My dad said that your Sensei is a drunk," the first boy sneered at the girl.

"Yeah," his friend laughed. "Is it true that he had to be carried home from a bar yesterday?"

"Someone like that isn't fit to teach," the last boy told her.

"Take that back!" The girl yelled. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"My dad reckons he'll get demoted soon," the first boy snickered. "You'll have to get sent back to academy then."

"Takeshi he's your own clan member!" The girl's cheeks had turned pink with anger as she shouted at the first boy. "How can you even say that about him?"

"Because he's a weak man and you're pathetic for even protecting him," Takeshi spat at her. "The Uchiha clan doesn't need weaklings."

Uchiha clan? Kushina scratched her head. Which clan were they? The one with the dogs? No… That was the Inuzuka clan because that freak, Tsume, from her class was in it. Wait wasn't that idiot Inoichi in the Uchiha clan?

Kushina sighed. Maybe she should have listened when that old bat Biwako had tried to teach her about Konoha's clans. Then again that had been when Kushina had first arrived in the village and she had most certainly not been in the mood to learn about clans when her own had just been annihilated.

"Come one lets see if your precious sensei actually taught you anything," Takeshi taunted and the three boys advanced on the girl.

For a moment Kushina stood there, wondering if she should get involved. After all it wasn't her fight and no one had ever helped her. Then the image of Namikaze Minato flashed through her mind.

There was nothing worst than a coward like that who just stood by and watched people get bullied. Kushina may hate Konoha but she'd rather be damned than turn into someone spineless like Minato.

Having learnt about the alien concept of negotiation from Sakumo, Kushina decided to fight the urge to beat the boys to a pulp.

"Hey!" She called as she stepped out from the corner. "Leave her alone!"

Takeshi threw her a withering look and one of his friends laughed at the other girl, "Hey looks like you need some jumped up academy student to help you!"

"I'm a genin," Kushina snarled.

"Oh yeah where's your forehead protector?" The boy sneered.

Kushina sighed, "At home, idiot."

The boy gave a shout and charged at her. Kushina danced away from his punch and spun to land a kick in his gut. The boy doubled over wheezing and to her left Kushina was aware of the girl taking care of Takeshi's other friend.

"Enough!" Takeshi yelled. He glanced at his friends. "Call yourselves members of the Uchiha clan?"

"Sorry, cousin," the groaning boy in front of Kushina muttered.

Takeshi faced both Kushina and the other. Slowly his dark eyes began to swirl until they transformed into a crimson colour.

"What kind of technique is that?" Kushina stared curiously at him.

The girl gave her an incredulous look. "Haven't you heard of the Uchiha clan?" She asked her.

Kushina scratched her head. The name did sound familiar… She then spotted the insignia sewn on Takeshi's sleeve. "Wait!" She snapped her fingers together. "Aren't they the bunch of idiots who run the police force? Man the amount of time I've managed to out run those-"

Her sentence was suddenly cut short as Takeshi launched himself at her. His speed to her by surprise and Kushina was forced back as she parried his blows. It was as if the boy was predicating every move of her Whirlpool style and just as she was about to duck from an attack, his knee suddenly slammed upwards into her nose.

A sickening crack wrought the air and Kushina collapsed her knees as she clutched her streaming nose.

Takeshi bore down on Kushina, his red eyes glowing. Then not a moment too soon, the other girl jumped in, aiming a powerful kick to Takeshi's back.

Before Kushina could stagger to her feet, Takeshi suddenly paled and cried, "Fugaku-san!"

Fugu-what?

Her eyes watering from her stinging nose, Kushina glanced around to see three Uchiha policemen blocking the exit of the alley. All three had dark hair and even darker eyes like the younger boys, however these members of the Uchiha clan were older than the genin: probably around fifteen or sixteen in age.

"These girls were insulting the clan name!" Takeshi pointed at Kushina and the girl.

"So you'd thought you'd teach them a lesson, huh?" The policeman nearest Kushina raised an eyebrow.

Takeshi gave a fervent nod and then directed his gaze at the policeman standing at the centre. "Fugaku-san I was doing it for the good of the clan," he said.

For one horrible moment Kushina thought Fugaku was going to praise the boy. Fugaku observed Takeshi with cold eyes and said softly to one of his colleagues, "Masanori, would you escort Takeshi and his friends to the station?"

Kushina would have laughed if she wasn't in so much pain. Wailing about what his father would do to Fugaku, Takeshi was towed away by Masanori with his friends trailing behind him.

"What about these to?" The remaining policeman asked Fugaku.

"We'll go to the station and collect their statements," Fugaku said. His eyes flicked over to Kushina. "Can you stand?"

Kushina nodded and she struggled to her feet. A sinking feeling that had nothing to do with her broken nose filled the pit of her stomach as they trudged towards the Uchiha police station. When they reached the station Fugaku would probably realise that Kushina was on the police records as Konoha's number one vandal.

Just as they were about to leave the alley a flash of yellow suddenly caught Kushina's eye. She didn't even have to guess what that yellow flash was.

A savage sense of pride filled her. It didn't matter if she had a broken nose or was about to be charged of numerous crimes. At least she wasn't a spineless coward like Namikaze Minato.

Luckily the Uchihas never mentioned any of Kushina's crime when they got to the station, however Kushina's entire morning was wasted there. After giving her statement she had been forced to sit in the waiting room with tissues stuck up her nostrils. Due to the kyubi, Kushina's freaksih healing abilities had ensured that her nose was well on it's way to being healed without out any need for medical attention.

Suddenly the door of the waiting room flung open and the girl who had been the cause of all of this trouble stormed into the waiting room.

"Didn't go well?" Kushina asked her as the girl threw herself opposite her.

"That Fugaku is a complete stuck up, emotionless prat," the girl spat. "I can't believe he won't help Sensei."

"So your sensei is an alcoholic?" Kushina raised an eyebrow.

"That's none of your business," the girl snapped.

Kushina scowled. After all she had done this girl was just throwing it back in her face. "Err I think it is seeing as I stopped you getting beaten to a pulp by those boys," she said.

"I didn't ask you to," the girl snarled.

"Yeah well I didn't ask to move this stupid village but you know what, that's life!" Kushina yelled.

The two glared at each other.

Finally the girl's curiosity won over and she asked, "You moved village?"

"None of your business," Kushina stuck out her bottom lip petulantly.

The glares suddenly eased into smiles and the girl slid off her chair. "I'm Mikoto," She smiled offering a hand. The smile stunned Kushina. It was one without pretences: just a genuine, beautiful smile that warmed her to the core. Never before had someone from Konoha given her a smile like.

Kushina stared at Mikoto's hand in amazement. She had forgotten what it was like to receive a sincere gesture of friendship. For too long she had been fighting against conformity with Konoha. Kushina had assumed that it was better to live a bitter life of loneliness than to search for friendship.

There was a second where Kushina was tempted to slap away Mikoto's hand. She wanted to scream at her, scare her away so Kushina could shroud herself even further in her protective hatred. Yet that smile… Kushina had been starved from human warmth for so long that not even her pride could stop her.

For the first time since she had moved to Konoha, Kushina found a slight smile creeping across her lips. "Uzumaki Kushina," she smiled taking Mikoto's hand. "Please to meet you."

Ever since becoming a jonin, Sakumo had developed the perfect morning routine. With a 5 AM start he would go for his usual ten mile run around Konoha. Next, after showering, he would saunter out to meet his team for their usual morning training session. After despairing at his students' teamwork and his lack of teaching ability, Team 6 would troop out to the Hokage Office to receive their D-rank missions of the day.

Though Sakumo recalled hating every moment of when he had been forced to take part in D-rankers, as an instructor he took strange pleasure in them. It was nice to see Hizashi and Kushina bond in mutual boredom. Joji was an amiable lad whose confidence was growing in bounds. He took part in every task with enthusiasm and could soothe arguments between his teammates.

Sakumo, who knew that teamwork was the most important thing, never shied away from taking part in the menial tasks. He knew that it was best to savour these times. With their ability, his students wouldn't stay genin forever and soon the Third would send them out on a C-rank mission.

When their missions were finished the team would disperse and Sakumo would go home. He'd practice his sword skills or sometimes work on a technique if he was feeling creative. When he had finished his training, Sakumo would make his dinner. If he had time to spare after that he would summon his ninja dogs or go to the pub with Jiraiya. When the day had finally ended Sakumo would stumble to bed and fall asleep while reading a book.

The security of the routine was such a comforting change from ANBU that over the four months he had had his team the nightmares had vanished.

So when Sakumo had completed his usual morning run that morning, he hadn't expected Uchiha Fugaku to turn up on his doorstep. Nor had he expected the heir of Uchiha clan to inform him that he needed to collect his student from the police station.

"You were involved in a brawl with one of the grandsons of the Uchiha elders?" Sakumo raised an eyebrow as he stared down at his student. It pained him to see Kushina in such a state. Her wonderful hair had been brutally shorn and her nose was broken. Clearly all his attempts at getting Kushina to embrace Konoha had failed. Sakumo had saved so many people as the White Fang, yet his student was drowning before him and he had no idea how to save her.

Kushina scowled. "That idiot started it," she muttered. "He was insulting Mikoto's sensei."

"Fugaku has informed me of everything that occurred," Sakumo sighed. "Takeshi will be suitably punished by his clan and who's Mikoto?"

"Just a girl," Kushina shrugged. "We're going to train together tomorrow."

Sakumo stared at Kushina for a moment and he felt a sudden surge of pride. "You made a friend?" He said, a slow smile spreading across his masked face.

"I wouldn't call her a friend," Kushina said quickly but the smile upon her face betrayed her excitement.

Sakumo grinned, "Hey what's this? Is Uzumaki Kushina smiling?"

"Shut up Sensei!" She huffed but her smile simply grew wider.

As they walked out of the station and down the steps of the buildings Sakumo said, "Well, for what its worth, I'm proud of you for helping another person. Takeshi probably needed bringing down a peg or two anyway."

"Yeah but I lost against him," Kushina cast a disappointed look at the ground.

"The boy is two years older than you, which means he had two years more experience," Sakumo told her. "Anyway from what I heard you put up a pretty good fight and with Mikoto's help you would have beaten him."

"I guess," Kushina shrugged and she kicked a stone sending it shooting ahead of them.

"Come on," Sakumo said as they slowly walked up the path that led them to the central part of Konoha. "I'll treat you to lunch. What do you fancy?"

Kushina suddenly stopped in her tracks and stared at the White Fang. Inwardly Sakumo cursed. Kushina had probably never had been offered lunch by someone in Konoha before. The gesture to the girl was huge. Sakumo wished he hadn't said it so casually as he knew how mistrusting his student could be.

"No?" He said. Sakumo then shrugged and put on a dramatic air. "Ah well… Guess I'll just have to go to the ramen bar all by myself…"

Just as he began to walk away, right on cue Kushina suddenly yelled, "Wait!"

"Changed your mind?" Sakumo asked innocently as she jogged up to his side.

Kushina shrugged and muttered, "Bet it won't be as good as Whirlpool ramen."

Sakumo simply smiled.

Half an hour later at the newly opened ramen bar, Ichiraku's, the smile had faded and all Sakumo could do was stare at his student in pure incredulity.

How? How was it possible for so much ramen to fit into such a small girl? Sure she was an orphan who couldn't afford a lot of food but this was just plain ridiculous. Kushina had managed to eat more than a starving teenage boy. She had hoovered up the noodles and inhaled her soup.

Money had never been much of a problem to Sakumo due to the amount he had racked up on his high level missions. Yet he severely doubted that he could afford to take Kushina out to lunch everyday.

"That… Is impressive," Sakumo said slowly as he stared at the mountain of ramen bowls in front of his student. "I take it you liked it?"

"The noodles were great," Kushina, who was clearly a ramen connoisseur, nodded. "But the seafood could have been more fresh."

"Spoken like a true Whirlpooler," the owner at the counter nodded appreciatively.

After going through the painful process of paying the bill, Sakumo and Kushina left Ichiraku's. He couldn't help but notice that his student hadn't given him so much as a 'thank you' for departing with so much cash.

"Sensei," Kushina suddenly asked him as they walked through the village centre. "Why'd you treat me to lunch?"

From the scowl she was giving him, Sakumo knew he had to be very careful about what he said next. "Because you're an orphan," He said. Seeing her face, he then added quickly, "Not out of sympathy but because I know how terrible the food can be in the orphanage. My friend grew up there."

"Oh…" Kushina fell into a thoughtful silence.

Sakumo couldn't help but muse that friendship was a strange thing. If he had told his eight-year-old self that he would be best friends with the class idiot, Jiraiya, his younger self would have probably laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the idea. Yet here he was, twelve years later, with said class idiot as his only friend.

Kushina reminded Sakumo a lot of Jiraiya when he had been younger. Both were brash, uncouth and foul mouthed. Yet both were misunderstood orphans who were lost in loneliness.

Sakumo knew that the idea of shrouding yourself in protective isolation always seemed like a good idea. Sometimes the very thought of emotional pain gave you the impulse to run. Other times you would be so choked up on hurt that words would become tangled in your mouth, leaving only the instinct of violence to save you.

Loneliness like that was just another vanity. It was pure cowardice. Sakumo had felt it himself when his team had been killed during a mission. Yet… Jiraiya had saved him, just as Sakumo had saved him when they were children. You were a fool to think that you're better off alone.

Sometimes Sakumo wondered what would happen if he had never untied Jiraiya from that stupid post. He had been training in the Third Training Grounds when he had heard a strange wailing. Out of pure curiosity, Sakumo had followed the noise to find a recently graduated genin who had been tied to a post by his sensei and abandoned by his teammates. His teacher had always scolded him for being so soft-hearted but Sakumo hadn't been able to help himself. The boy had looked so miserable that Sakumo had used a kunai to cut him free. From that day onwards, Jiraiya and Sakumo had been best friends.

"Well I better get going," Sakumo said as he snapped out of his daydream. "Let me know how your training session with Mikoto goes."

Kushina nodded and Sakumo turned, walking away.

Suddenly, just as he was about to body flicker away, Kushina called, "Hey Sensei!"

Sakumo stopped and glanced over his shoulder to be met by a beautiful smile.

"Thank you!" Kushina smiled and with that she bounded away.

Sakumo shoved his hands into his pockets and his eyes crinkled into a smile. Being dragged away to the police station and spending a month's wages on a food bill… All of it had been worth for just those two words. Maybe he wasn't such a failure as a teacher after all.