Rin was lost, quite literally. She knew that she should have let her mother lead the way to the academy but as usual, Rin was stubborn.

"I can find my way by myself!" She remembered herself saying as she slipped on her shoes. Ignoring her mothers protests she had quickly ran out the door bursting with excitement.

Now, that excitement was no where to be found, fear replacing it as she wandered around on the empty streets of Konoha. Where had she gone wrong? She could have sworn that this was the way to the academy, after all she knew Konoha well. Yet here she was, tears starting to make there way out of her eyes as she circled around the same place for the fifth time in the last thirty minutes. She not only feared that she was lost but she also feared that she would be late. Kids on there first day in the academy that are late don't get acceptance forms and kids who don't get the acceptance forms can't be accepted in.

Rin let out a wail as she came to a stop and sat down on the grass next to a statue of a big wolf. She pressed her back against the statue, closing her eyes before letting another sob slip through her lips. She buried her face in her hands, sniffling once before another sob shook her body. If she couldn't go to the academy, she couldn't be a ninja. If she couldn't be a ninja then all her dreams would be crushed.

"What are you doing here?" Rin froze as an unfamiliar voice came from above her. She slowly looked up to see the source of the voice, a young boy about her age with silver hair and a green patterned scarf around his neck. She also noticed that the bottom half of his face was masked. Steely grey eyes met her hazel ones as he held out a hand. The five year old took it, standing up. She brushed off her skirt, rubbing her teary eyes in embarrassment.

"Why are you crying?" the silver-haired boy asked, hands shoved in his pockets. He looked at her with indifferent eyes, leaning his weight to one side as he waited for an answer.

"I-I'm not crying!" She protested, doing her best to brush away any stray tears that were left on her face. She wiped her face with her sleeve, not caring if some of her purple facial paint rubbed off. She stopped sniffling, arms crossed. She noticed that the boy was taller then her and tried to stand on her tip toes with out him noticing so that they would be the same height.

"Liar," The silver-haired boy looked at her appearance, "I could hear you bawling all the way from my house." He pointed towards the large building in the distance. Rin's eyes widened at the size of it, it was twice as big as her house!

"Why are you crying?" The boy repeated impatiently once more.

"I got lost on my way to the academy," she explained, embarrassed that she was telling a mere stranger about her situation, "I'll be late if I can't find my way soon and if I'm late then I won't get the acceptance forms! If I don't get the forms then I can't be a ninja!"

The boys bored facial expression never changed much to Rins frustration. He simply stared at her with his stormy grey eyes before removing his hands out of his pockets. To her surprise he started laughing.

"What's so funny?!" Rin demanded, hands in fists. How dare he laugh at her?! This was a serious situation, didn't he understand that? Or was he so stupid that he couldn't see how important this was to her?

"You're getting all worked up over that?" he asked in disbelief. His tone made her feel stupid, making the five year old cry once more. The grey eyed boys laughter died down as Rins sobs replaced it. Seeming to realize his mistake, he pat her on the back awkwardly, not knowing what would comfort the brown haired girl.

"Why don't I show you the way? I'm going there anyway," he reassured. Instantly Rin became quiet, big hopeful hazel eyes meeting his. She clung onto his arms in desperation.

"Really?" she asked, hoping that he would not burst out laughing again. Instead of laughing in her face the boy smiled. Rin let out a squeal of joy, hugging onto the stranger.

"Thank you, Thank you!" She said over and over again. She wouldn't be late, she could be a ninja after all! The boy awkwardly pushed her away gently, not knowing how to respond to the young girl who had lept into his arms. Rin simply smiled up at him, joy radiating off of her in waves. She gripped his hand, grinning. The silver haired boy seemed startled for a second before he smiled back at the cheerful girl.

"Thanks again-" Rin stopped, thinking back to see if he had mentioned his name. As if he knew what she was thinking he replied.

"Kakashi," he told her, "My name is Kakashi."