"This is for the pain you caused me, and this is for leaving me! Hahaha!" A broken beer bottle was dragged across scarred flesh. The woman looked down to the body prone on the floor in front of her. "Aahhhh!" Her high-pitched screech rang throughout the house as she snapped out of it. "Get out, get out, get out!"

"Get out of my sight!"

Kuroko scrambled from his heap on the floor and ran away from his mother—glass bottles of empty alcohol crashing against the floor and walls as they were thrown across the house. He escaped the household and ran out into the streets, no passerby noticing anything out of place. Kuroko didn't get the chance to drop his stuff off or change before his mother noticed him. He just hoped that his mother would be better soon. Kuroko's vision blurred, he felt the lump in his throat hurt more as he held back his tears.

She will be better once dad comes back home. She will...

With a shuddering sigh, he was beginning to feel that his hopes were in vain, and with that, the tears began to fall.

And so, he learned not to hope for the best—he learned to accept things for what they were.

Hopeless.

After moving to Konoha, they lived happily as a family—the peaceful days of training with his father and mother, the occasional outing they would go on. That changed after their clan tracked them down. His father became distant, and the tension in the household rose up to its breaking point. The clan needed a new leader, Kuroko's father.

He would have to take the role of clan head, and in order to do that, he would have to leave.

His mother was enraged and Kuroko could clearly remember the argument they had.

"Jun... You can't just leave us now! You either choose your clan or your family, in this case, you can't have both."

"The clan needs me to take back the title of clan head, Hana! My brother was assassinated! I need to straighten things out, he corrupted the system."

"Then leave. Just leave! I don't care anymore—all those years were for nothing, wasted! We're through!"

His mother fell into depression and barely left the house, only leaving to go to the bar and get alcohol. Over time, she slowly went out more and more to do who knows what—but whatever she was doing caused her to spiral further into the black pit.

It consumed her—the cracks breaking her mind slowly spreading.

Until it shattered.

One day, Kuroko returned from school earlier than usual and witnessed her first major break down. The catalyst. Utterly despising the face that looked exactly like her husbands, despising the very person who had been causing her misery since he came into existence…

She vented.

Hana lifted her hand to strike at her child.

Kuroko took to wearing his mask at all times, hiding the face that she hated. It was on twenty-four-seven. It helped him feel safe, secluded from everyone else.

It was his shield.

Kuroko opted to find a job to support himself and his mother. He was a delivery boy, he would take food and parcels, bringing them to the specified destinations within Konoha. The owners were reluctant to hire him at first, finding him suspicious with his white mask, but gave in as he was persistent and they were understaffed at that point in time. His training helped him with the deliveries since he sealed the parcels and food in scrolls for easier travel. Kuroko gave two-thirds of the hourly pay to his mother while he kept the rest along with the tips he received from the kind customers. His workplace was both a restaurant and a mailing service. The owners used to be in the trade business since moving to Konoha, but they still had their connections to the trade, so they made a new business.

"H-have a nice evening," he bowed lowly to his last customers of the day. He looked to the sky with empty eyes.

The sun was almost gone, the sky was painted a varying number of colours from oranges and reds with the odd pink or purple further off into the horizon. He would go home to have a quick shower and change before his mother came back home. It depended on her mood. If she was drunk and he was seen, there would usually be a beating, and if she was sober, she would freak out and throw things.

Since he was often kicked out of the house—it became more and more frequent over time, and Kuroko decided not to go back unless absolutely necessary anymore—his ability came in handy those nights when he was desperate; to turn into a cat and find shelter. People were generally kinder to animals, so when he got kicked out, he would change into a cat. He didn't have the chance to eat before work, so he went around looking for a food stall that would be kind enough to give him food.

Unfortunately, his search was unsuccessful.

None. No food what so ever. No one heard his pleading meows of hunger. Dejected, he found a box near the trash bins of an establishment, curled up in it, and went to sleep.

That way the hunger pains wouldn't bother him.

• • • • • •

"Mummy, Daddy, why do I have tail? Why do I have kitty ears? Why am I different?" Kuroko at the age of three asked.

"Oh honey, yes you're different, but it's for a good reason." Kuroko sniffed, running up to his mother for a hug. Hana pet his head kindly, calming Kuroko down. "You're special, they just don't understand. You just have to find the people who like you for who you are."

"Find people to like me for me?" He asked, his ears perking up and tail slowly wafting back and forth happily. Hana nodded. "Then Mommy and Daddy are my specials!" He ran back to the park, trying to find that one person that liked him for himself and not his appearance.

Only to find no one to accept him.

• • • • • •

"Here Kuro, wear this," Jun placed something on his head.

"What is it, Dad?"

"It's a mask with a very strong seal and Genjutsu."

"A... mask?" His ears twitched in curiosity as he tilted his head, inspecting the thing, "But there are no eye holes... and I don't see a mask, I see right through." Kuroko took it off to find a pure white mask with an elastic black cloth band to keep it on his head, "How do I see through it?" He knocked on the solid surface of the mask.

"It has a seal placed on the inside of it so you can see through it. It's completely solid."

Kuroko beamed, "Wow! That's really cool! Thanks for the present Dad!"

His father made a few pairs, so as he would grow he would have backups in case one broke. Breaking one would be hard to do, as the seal also strengthened the material to withstand a lot of force. He was so happy to receive it that he didn't think of the reason why he was getting such a gift.

Kuroko's shoulders slumped as he looked at himself in the mirror, hollow expression veiled by the mask.

Even his father wanted him to hide who he was.

The mask's seals hid his ears and tail from view, invisible to the world.

• • • • • •

"Kaa-san, Tou-san, why... why can't I leave?" He wanted to leave the house and play outside but they only let him out in the backyard.

"People can do terrible things out of fear honey."

"It's to keep you safe son."

Kuroko pouted at the same words he always heard in response to his questions.

"Then I'll be strong! I'll… I'll become a ninja!"

His father took those words to heart and trained him, hoping that he could fulfil his new dream. His son deserved to see the outside world. This way he could be free to explore.

In reality, his clansmen were pressuring him to turn Kuroko into a shinobi. To become a ruthless machine for them to control.

• • • • • •

"Um, Otou-san... I just finished my Taijutsu and chakra exercises... Why are you packing?"

"Oh, your mother hasn't told you yet?"

Kuroko tilted his head, confused. "No?"

"Hmm, I thought Hana did already..." he thought absently. Reaching down, he ruffled his son's hair and smiled at his embarrassed pout. "We're moving to Konoha. You said you wanted to be a ninja, right? But you can't officially be one here since we aren't a hidden village." A lie, but Kuroko couldn't know that. Jun didn't want the elders to take his child away.

But was that really all?

"Son, you're nine now. You're old enough to be in an academy, but you shouldn't enter just yet. You need to work on your physical abilities. You will work on your speed, agility and reflexes, along with weapons."

"Yes, Otou-san."

"You will only enter when I think you're ready."

He entered the school a year later when he was ten.

• • • • • •

Kuroko woke up to clicking noises, a noise that humans usually made to get the attention of a feline. Looking up at the person that woke him, he meowed. The man looked at him and seemed saddened for some reason.

"Hey, little guy..." he put his hand out to let the cat know that he meant no harm. Kuroko cautiously sniffed his fingers. The man didn't feel like a threat. He butted his head against the hand. He liked kind people.

"You look like you need some food."

Kuroko meowed in reply, the man went to pick him up, and he let him. If he had to, he would scratch him and run. The man brought him to a restaurant, laughter could be heard from inside the stand.

"Hahaha! And then he was like 'Nooo, it was Akamaru!' Hahaha!"

The man entered the food stand to reveal one customer and a woman behind the counter. The boy turned around, hearing someone enter the restaurant.

"Oh, hi Teuchi! What do you have there?" He only saw black in Teuchi's arms and was curious.

Kuroko came to realize that it was Naruto, a classmate of his. They hadn't really talked before, no one really talked to the blond a lot other than Shikamaru, Chouji, or Kiba on occasion.

"This little guy was outside in a box, he needs some food and a good brushing."

"Aww, poor thing..." Ayame sympathized.

"Ooo a kitty! Can I pet 'em?"

"If he allows you to," Teuchi chuckled, putting the cat down.

Naruto neared the cat and put his hand out to pet him. Kuroko sniffed his finger and smelt no bad intentions, so he let Naruto pet him. He started petting his chest, and Kuroko put his paw on Naruto's hand, pushing it down. He didn't get the message and started petting his head and pulled on an ear. Kuroko meowed in pain and scratched him, after that he ran away and went to Teuchi rubbing up against his legs.

"Here you go," Teuchi placed a bowl of water and some fish on the ground. Kuroko meowed in thanks and ate, he was starving.

"Teuuuchi-saaan," Naruto whined, "The cat scraaaatched me."

"Hahaha, you must have done something it didn't like." He bent down and gently pet Kuroko's head before he went back to work.

Teuchi's ramen stand came to be a regular spot for Kuroko. The man was kind and would give him food and water. He liked him a lot.

• • • • • •

Kuroko didn't like school. The other kids avoided him because they didn't like that he was different. He didn't talk much and didn't engage in their normal childish activities. Kuroko was odd in their minds, so they didn't bother to befriend him to try to get to know him. They found him boring. Then there was Shikamaru. Shikamaru didn't care what he looked like, hell, he didn't care what he didn't look like. He accepted him for who he was and for that he was grateful. Shikamaru didn't ask unnecessary questions and just went with it. He didn't care that he was older than them. It was only a year's difference, but it was a rift between him and the other students.

Shikamaru was his only friend.

"Kuroko, give us a demonstration of the substitution technique!" Iruka shouted, startling him out of his nap.

Kuroko jumped with a start and almost fell out of his chair. He looked around, recognizing where he was, and his heart rate slowed. "Mmm," he grumbled with a frown—not that anyone could see it—and yawned, he lightly elbowed Shikamaru who was pretending to be asleep.

"Substitution," he mumbled.

Going through the hand signs at a rather slow pace, which ticked Iruka off, Kuroko thought of an idea. There was a small poof of smoke, and Kuroko no longer stood where his seat was—Iruka did. There was a larger drain on his chakra which surprised Kuroko.

Iruka felt winded and slightly nauseous, blinking in confusion at the sudden change in perspective, he looked around to see Kuroko standing where he himself once stood. He raised a twitching eyebrow and sighed, his irritation evident. "Good job Kuroko-kun. Now just give me a warning next time." He shouldn't shout at Kuroko, he wasn't a kid who took yelling well.

"Y-yes, Iruka-sensei," he started going through hand signs again, "Warning, Iruka-sensei."

There was another small poof, and they switched spots once again. Iruka sighed, he has a bit of mischievousness in him, doesn't he...? Iruka thought with mild amusement. He was expecting it that time, so he didn't get motion sick

"Ah! I didn't know you could substitute with other people!" Naruto yelled from his seat as he just realized what happened a few seconds after the fact. "That's so cool!"

Shikamaru snickered, "Nice one Kuro."

Kuroko smiled from beneath his mask, "T-thanks."

During the lunch break, Kuroko, Shino, Shikamaru and Chouji ate their lunches together in the schoolyard. The building was surrounded by trees despite being in the middle of the village—it even had a mini forest sectioned off just for the academy. The group was eating in a clearing of trees since it was quiet and no one bugged them there. Ironically Shino's bugs didn't really bug them.

"Is that all you're eating today?"

Kuroko nodded, all he had was a rations bar. It was basically a ninja's energy bar, he started buying them after realizing that they were less expensive than the other things he would usually buy. Plus, he could have them on him at all times.

"This gives me my nutrients," he said simply and took another bite from under his scarf.

"That's not all you eat us it?" Chouji asked in disbelief and slight worry. He couldn't imagine life without his munchies.

"N-no, it's just easier than to m-make my lunch every day," he half lied. It was easier than to make a lunch, but he couldn't afford to make said lunch.

"Doesn't your mother make you your lunches?" Shikamaru asked. Kuroko used to bring a bento lunch each day a few years ago, though he gradually stopped bringing them around two years prior. He remembered that Kuroko had missed a lot of classes about two years ago; they weren't in the same class at the time, but because of his mask he was a popular gossip topic in the school. He failed a year because of missing so many days despite his passing grades. Now he was itching to know why.

"She is... busy with work. I-I don't want Okaa-sama to overwork herself." Once again, another half lie, he just didn't want them to worry. They soon dropped the topic and chatted idly for the rest of their lunch break.

Though Shikamaru couldn't help but think that something was up with him, other than the whole mask and poncho thing. He had been wearing it since he joined the academy. No one has seen his face or even skin for that matter. He's always worn a black poncho with a scarf. Underneath, he always wore a black tank top with wrappings covering him below the clothes. He never wore shorts, only ever wearing long pants and boots.

Shikamaru could only think that Kuroko had anxiety towards his appearance which was very true with some other... issues.

• • • • • •

"Alright class, we are going to be evaluating you with an obstacle course and a spar today," Iruka said from atop the little stone stage in the academy's yard. "This will count as twenty-five percent of your physical education mark, so please try your best."

The class groaned, though the majority of which were the girls. They didn't want to get sweaty and ruin their appearance because of the school's heartthrob. Uchiha Sasuke. He was an arrogant bastard who thought he was the only one who knows true pain and suffering. Kuroko didn't like him very much.

He had tried to befriend him after the incident, but the boy just glared at him and ignored his efforts to be friendly. After that conversation, if it could be counted as one, he ended it by offering his condolences. Kuroko had thought that since they were similar that they would be able to be friends, but the Uchiha couldn't see past his own self-pity and could only think of Kuroko as the freak—as he always had.

After that, he gave up on trying to befriend people other than the few that he already had.

"Kuroko, come on wake up. It's your turn."

"Mmmnn..." he stretched, it looked like that he was the last person to go. The class sweat dropped at how he stretched, it made them think of a cat.

If only they knew.

The person he was facing was none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Inwardly he groaned, why him of all people.

"Begin!" Iruka shouted.

The rules were simple, if they fall off the stage, or fall onto their back, that's the end.

Sasuke lunged at him first, eager to fight. This would be the twelfth time that they have faced each other in a spar, but the first time where Kuroko would be pulling out the stops. Through his experience, Kuroko knew that Sasuke was hot-headed under that calm facade. He also acknowledged that he didn't have the strength to beat the Uchiha in a power fight, so he evaded him until his temper rose and his moves got sloppy.

With Sasuke as an opponent, Kuroko focused on avoiding him at all costs. Patience was key in this match. He needed to position him to the corner of the stage for his strategy, but he needed to get him agitated before that, because when one gives into anger, their thought process is typically thrown out the window and is replaced by what is familiar, in this case, it would be the kata of Sasuke's taijutsu. To make this happen, Kuroko dodged, evaded, redirected, and redirected Sasuke's attempts to hit him—and even when he did have a chance to strike back, he wouldn't.

That seemed to be the final straw.

Sasuke grunted in rage, "Stop running, coward! Fight me!" and he suddenly approached in a burst of speed.

An elbow towards his face was redirected to the sky which Sasuke followed up with a brutish kick. The kick was a feignt while the Uchiha's fist went to strike him in the abdomen. Kuroko leaned back to avoid the blow, landing into a bridge and lifted one of his legs to kick him in the chin. Sasuke grabbed his ankle and held it there and aimed a knee for his backside while Kuroko used his other foot to push down on the incoming knee, forcibly making Sasuke lose his centre of gravity and causing him to stumble back. Kuroko twirled on his hands, legs spinning to create distance before flipping off of the Uchiha's chest.

There was a tentative pause as Sasuke saw Kuroko land in a crouch. He grit his teeth, he hasn't even attempted to hit me yet. His fists clenched, and I haven't even hit him yet, where did this agility come from? He wiped his chin, and just realised that he was sweating. I can't get caught up in—

His thought process was interrupted as Kuroko ran in.

Finally!

Sasuke punched in retaliation to the kick Kuroko started, but it was just bait, because Kuroko used his punch to spin around him.

Kuroko couldn't let Sasuke have time to think. If he had time to think, then what Kuroko had in mind wouldn't work. He had to keep evading until Sasuke's form crumbled.

"Wow, I didn't know Kuro was this strong," Chouji said in amazement as he truly saw how acrobatic he was.

"He's finally showing his true colours... how troublesome."

"What do ya mean Shikamaru?" Naruto asked, not quite understanding the meaning of the saying.

"Just what you think it is. Kuro hasn't been using his full strength for the past two years."

Kiba sniffed in disdain, "Sometimes he would jump back or take a hit that I thought wouldn't hit—I thought it was a stamina thing, but now that I know it's not it pisses me off." He crossed his arms and Akamaru barked, agreeing.

"What! How dare he humiliate my Sasuke-kun!" One of the many rabid fangirls screeched—outraged that someone was trying to usurp the mighty Uchiha in the girls' eyes.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was getting more and more frustrated. He overheard parts of the conversation which fueled his anger. Holding back? I'll teach you to hold back!

"Kyaaaa! Go Sasuke-kun!"

At the high-pitched shriek, Kuroko winced and Sasuke took his chance with the small timeframe to land a heavyweight punch to Kuroko's torso. The nimble cat side of him let him keep balance as he slid back from the force. He coughed and cartwheeled further away to get a breather. The air was knocked out of him, and even though he was used to such pain, it still hurt.

Kuroko recovered as the Uchiha took another charge at him from across the stage. He let himself be pushed towards the corner of the arena with the powerful assault. Then Kuroko saw the chance he was waiting for as Sasuke lunged at him, overextending. He leapt above Sasuke and kicked off his back as he flew overhead and sent him tumbling off of the stage. Kuroko panted as he tried to regain his breath. While he did not have stamina, he could recover from hits quickly.

"Winner, Kuroko!"

"What!"

"No way!"

The girls in the class all ran to their precious Sasuke-kun to try and coddle him. He only clicked his tongue is distaste and glared, ignoring the hoard of girls following him around like moths to a flame. Iruka who had been judging the spar saw potential in Kuroko. Though a question came to mind—why had he been hiding that potential?

Next up was an obstacle course that the teachers put together. It was further out into the forest behind the academy, so they had some walking to do. The walk served as a cooldown exercise as they made their way to the next test.

"Ne ne, Kuroko?" Kuroko blinked when he was addressed and tilted his head slightly. He and Naruto didn't usually talk that much. "I was wondering… Why were you hiding your…? You're…" he frowned when he could find the right word.

"Abilities?" Shikamaru offered with a yawn.

"Yeah! That!"

"I find myself curious also. Why you may ask? Because Kuroko had accomplished a feat that no one else could achieve. Defeating Sasuke," Shino adjusted his glasses.

"U-um… W-well I wasn't t-trying to hide it… N-not really," he fidgeted with the end of his poncho, "I-It's just t-that I… um, wanted to s-stay in this class w-with you guys..."

Before any further questions could be asked, their attention was grabbed when the group stopped walking and Iruka started speaking, he was starting to explain the second test.

"Each of you will go one at a time. You will start off with one hundred points, and for every mistake, you shall have points deducted varying on the severity of said mistake. There is also a time limit, and for every five seconds over it, you will get one point deducted."

"What if someone as great as me does it faster than anyone else?" Naruto yelled with a heavy emphasis on his greatness.

Iruka sighed inwardly, of course Naruto would be like this, "The top five people will get bonus marks then."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto whooped and pointed a finger at Sasuke, "You are going down TEME! I'm going to pass you with flying colours!"

There was a snort of disbelief from the raven, "When pigs fly," he muttered.

"What was that Teme?!"

"None of your business Dobe."

Naruto started steaming from the ears as Sasuke walked away. Kuro and Naruto never really talked much, their social circles not really intertwining a lot, if Naruto even had a circle. He was a bit too loud and outgoing for him, but he was kind and that's what mattered the most.

Kuro approached Naruto. "U-um... Naruto?"

He turned to face Kuro with a scowl, seemingly pouting about Sasuke ignoring him. "What is it?"

"You're good with pranks, r-right?"

"Yeah! I love 'em!" He grinned, back to his usual cheer.

"An obstacle course f-for ninjas in training, what d-do you think it will have in it?" Kuroko wanted to help him. Yes, he was creative, but honestly, he wasn't that bright in the brains component. He thought that it would help to have a few hints or nudges to help him along.

"Traps?"

Kuroko nodded, "And they relate to you how?" Naruto grasped his chin in thought. Kuro continued, "Pranks are similar to traps, t-therefore you should have a good eye for them. Look for things that y-you would use to prank people."

The gears in Naruto's head started to turn. "So, I actually do have an... a..."

"A-Advantage?"

"Yeah—that! I'm so going to beat teme! Thanks, Kuroko, you aren't as bad as I thought!" he pat Kuroko's back with a hard slap and a large sloppy grin. He wasn't observant enough to notice how Kuroko tensed under the contact.

Iruka observed the exchange with a smile—and an unsettling feeling overcame him as he realised through Kuroko's words that Naruto would be a great traps specialist. If he just replaced those paint bombs with actual explosives, or the paintball launching pranks with kunai it would be quite the deadly arsenal. Even the tripwire could be attached to explosives instead of that wretched itching powder concoction he made, though the itching powder would still be a killer weapon in the right situations.

This time Kuroko had stayed awake to stand in line. The obstacles course started in the yard, having poles you had to weave around and platforms you had to balance across. Then it went into the patch of woods they had in the yard, that's where the traps must lay. Then it came out, and it was a mad dash to the finish.

Watching the people go before him, he noticed that in the last spurt of the flat run to the finish, almost everyone tripped. Trip wires. He narrowed his eyes, a playful smile dancing onto his lips.

This is going to be fun!

"Go!"

Kuroko sprinted through the first part of the obstacle course, weaving through the poles and running across the balance beam with a cat's agility and grace. He had to be cautious now, right off the bat he had to jump over a hurdle that popped up from the ground. It startled him, but he kept advancing at the speed he was going at.

Going around a bend, he had to flip over a barrage of kunai and senbon. Just as he touched the ground another set of weapons—shuriken this time—were on target to his torso and he had to leap into the air to avoid them. Kuroko's ear twitched, the Genin in the bushes cursed, they were hired to slow down the students, not maim them. The person didn't calculate their throw with Kurko's agility in mind and almost actually hit him. Kuroko kept going without a fault in his stride, even when his lungs burned and his muscles tired, he pressed further despite the fatigue.

Nearing the exit, he was startled when a log swung towards him from his left. He jumped onto it and leapt, suddenly he found another log coming from the other side. His reaction was late, and he bashed his head on the log, but the momentum kept him going. He was glad for his mask, it had just saved him from a broken nose. Once on the last part of the course, he sprinted faster across the flat plane, making sure to leap over the series of trip wires, and cleared the course.

After crossing the finish line, Kuroko collapsed in a heap on the ground, panting heavily. His vision went black for a few seconds before returning, and the tingly feeling went away too. He hadn't run at his top speed for that long before. He seriously needed to up his stamina. He unsealed a water bottle from his belt under his poncho and made sure no one could see as he downed the liquid.

Mizuki looked at the time on his stopwatch. "Two minutes and twenty-six point five seconds..." He was certainly going to be in the top five that would get bonus marks.

After Kuroko was Naruto, who actually managed to get the fourth highest time. Even though he was somewhat slow, he didn't fall for any of the traps, which placed him in the top tier. Naruto gave Kuroko a grin and a thumbs up.

Iruka decided that after class he would have to call Kuroko in for a meeting. He was astonished at Kuroko's sudden bout of speed when he heard the signal, not to mention that he came in first, though exhausted afterwards.

"Now Kuroko-kun, I need to know why you have been hiding your strengths."

There was a pause before he spoke, he fidgeted, "I-I wanted to graduate with m-my friends." He knew it wasn't a legitimate excuse for hiding his skills, but it was his reason. He stood up from his seat, "I-I didn't want to graduate e-early and leave them behind. T-thank you for your concern Iruka-sensei. H-have a nice evening," he bowed and closed the staff room's door behind him.

Iruka smiled, he never really talked to him much, but he was a good kid, even though he was quite... strange.