Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series. Itachi (7) and Shisui (9) are not my characters. I only own the characters Karasu Ren (23) and Uzumaki Fuyu (7).

{ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ } Chapter 1: Team Thirteen { ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ }

Karasu Ren is just a shinobi broken by war. So when he is told that he is being demoted from ANBU in order to teach an exceptionally skilled genin squad, he glares. But he realizes one thing: he doesn't have a choice. The swirling red tattoo on his shoulder is a promise of loyalty to the Hokage, and to step down is a direct order from Sarutobi Hiruzen himself.

Thirteen is the number that his squad is given. No happy thoughts brighten his mind. Instead, shadows of doubt consume him, and all he can think is: thirteen is a bad omen.

{ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ }

Their first official meeting is on a snowy December evening. Ren's already there when the first two students arrive together.

One bows politely, and the ghost of a small smile grazes his lips. That's when Ren decides he doesn't mind this one, so long as he keeps quiet.

The other one, however, has a grin on his face that shines ten times brighter than the sun. Ren isn't particularly fond of the mischievous look in his eyes, and for a moment he wonders how two brats can look so alike but be so different.

The third member arrives exactly thirteen minutes late, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. Ren expects to see an apologetic look, but instead he's met with deep pools of blue-eyed pride as she explains that a kitty was stuck on a tree and she felt obliged to help it.

Team Thirteen's members choose to sit in a circle on a frosty tree stump in what would later become their own training field. Ren doesn't feel like testing their skills, he realizes, so instead he tells them the story of the tree whose very stump they're sitting on. The tree that loved a boy so much that it gave, gave, gave until the tree had nothing left to give. In the end, the boy had given nothing in return, and all that was left of the tree was a stump.

Ren's two male students wear contemplative expressions. The girl, however, tugs on a strand of red hair and asks in a somewhat disappointed tone: "That's it?"

The ending is sad, she decides, and perhaps the boy is cruel.

The boy with the longer hair quietly confirms that, indeed, the boy in the story left the tree and only ever returned when he wanted to take something. Their third teammate just huffs dramatically and hopes to never find a love like that, because isn't the meaning of love not only to give but to take as well?

Ren sighs and waits. He doesn't really know what he's waiting for, but when the silence turns five minutes long, he realizes that perhaps the brats are too young to grasp the concept of the Will of Fire. Maybe they won't at all — after all, what are the chances that the clueless Uzushiogakure refugee will ever accept Konoha as her home and that the two Uchiha will ever transcend the limitations of their clan?

So he shakes his head, and tells them that perhaps one day they'll understand.

{ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ }

A/N: What do you think? Should there be a main pairing, should it be a love triangle or should I just leave the romance out completely? Do you think Ren is too grumpy? The story will be in third person, and most of the chapters will be from his point of view.

This is a short story. I won't immerse myself in much detail: just enough to get the team dynamics and bonds down. It'll be kind of drabble-esque, I suppose, and updates will be every Wednesday. I'll try to keep you updated on their ages at every disclaimer.

In Ren's story, the boy depicts the village while the tree depicts the shinobi who harbour the Will of Fire. I used the story of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein to illustrate this belief.