Got the idea from reading rebirth/self-insert fanfics and always wanted to do a Naruto one.

Astonishing. It's not a word someone would use to describe death, but it suited this moment exactly. I could have died in so many ways: peacefully, painfully, quietly, or screaming bloody murder. Yet, the way I ended up was just astonishing.

I had always wondered what it would be like to die, just to experience it. (Odd, right? Wanting to die?) But I knew better than to commit suicide. It wasn't a game where one had multiple lives or could just reset it and I knew I couldn't leave behind the people around me, so I decided to just wait until my time came. I didn't have to wait long though, when I went on a trip to Australia with some college friends of mine.

I am… well, was 21. My birthday was a week ago and my friends wanted to celebrate so, off we went. They knew I had always wanted to go surfing and one of my friends claimed to know the perfect spot. Unfortunately, that same spot just so happened to be near seal mating grounds. Anyone who has any common sense, knows that seals and sharks go hand in hand. Lucky little me, though, was drunk thanks to my friends.

I'd get into the details, but that has little to nothing to do with this at all and I'm sure a few people would rather I didn't. Besides, either way I died. No need for the details. It's what happened after that, that had me gapping, open-mouthed. I was in nothing. Absolute darkness, just floating around.

I assumed that I was on my back because, above me, there were flashes of scenery. First, was my family and friends. I watched as they all attended a funeral and how each of them went on with their lives. Then, I watched the life of shark that had attacked me. I hadn't expected that part, but it made sense to see what happened to my attacker. It also explained how ghosts were made. They were forced to watch as their attackers went on with their lives happily. Sadly, my fishy friend wasn't so lucky.

After I had died, he went on for a mostly normal life until he was captured by some supposed fishermen. They removed it's dorsal fin and dumped it back into the ocean where it was left to die. As the scenes stopped, I was somehow able to sit up on the inky blackness that surrounded me; as though I was on solid ground. Mentally, I wondered what made people do such cruel things to such beautiful creatures.

"Some would call it jealousy, but most would say it's greed."

Looking behind me, a man stepped forward. Simply clothed, with just ripped jeans, a button-down shirt, and a pair of sandals. He didn't look like much and his dark hair was in need of a trim, but it was his statement that intrigued me.

"What would you say?"

He gave me a glance and looked up at the stars that were now splattered across the shadows.

"I would say… fear."

I nodded in agreement as I turned to the stars. "Fear of losing their place in the world, fear of being attacked, fear of losing their lives… There are many things to fear in the world. It's a shame people always pick the wrong ones."

"They are fear filled creatures, always living their own lives instead of someone else's."

"Yeah… So what now?"

"It all depends. What do you want to do now?"

I furrowed my brows and looked back at him to find him sitting in front of an easel with a lop-sided beret. Getting up, I went to look at his drawing. The odd thing was, it kept changing scenes as he painted.

A grey desert scene with dead trees littered about and a single crescent moon; a Japanese town lying underneath it. An elegant old English mansion with vines creeping up the side and a butler bowing in front of a parked carriage. Another grey scene with bones littering the ground and odd looking demons rolling dice. A violet shaded church with an expanse of waterways and even a bright pink mansion-looking school with people walking in and out in yellow dresses and periwinkle suits. Then, there was one that caught my eye. A single boy sitting on a swing in front of a school, dejectedly, as children were picked up by their parents.

My hand reached out and touched the painting without my knowing, slowly dragging itself down the boy's cheek as if to brush away the tears.

"People do such spiteful things without even knowing." Looking closer, I saw that the parents were glaring at the boy as they herded their children away from him. "And the people who do those things while knowing are even worse."

"Is this your choice?"

I nodded, not really paying attention to what I was agreeing to exactly, but it felt like the right answer. He smiled gently and stood as the painting and easel disappeared. His index finger tapped my forehead and a sudden blinding white pain erupted behind my skull. I fell into the black and stared up at the man standing above me, barely hearing his last words before I lost consciousness.

"Take good care of him."

My head pounded and my body felt like there was liquid fire pumping through it. Every twitch of my muscles sent a wave of pain to my skull and soon, I was just lying on the ground in agonizing pain. Staring upwards, I looked through the canopy of trees above me. I breathed in deeply, noticing that this wasn't the same smog filled air I was used to back home, enjoying the simplicity of things.

As the pain receded, I managed to sit up and get a good look at myself. I was now wearing a black shirt with a single long sleeve, the other one missing to show off my left arm, a pair of black pants, and a blood red scarf that covered my neck and lower part of my face. That, accompanied by a pair of black sandals completed my look and I shrugged, liking what God (that's who I was assuming that guy was) chose for me. What I wasn't happy about, was where he dropped me off.

"Yes. That wasn't very nice at all, leaving me lost in a world that I have no idea about."

I could swear I heard the man chuckling, but when it didn't stop I turned to find the source. That was when I suddenly decided that God had a really cruel sense of humor. The man in front of me looked more like a snake than I could've hoped for and I was suddenly reminded of Adam and Eve and the serpent. An odd thought, but hey, I had the trees and the snake all I needed now was for God to get his butt down here and save me. But wait, that doesn't happen until after the snake. Crap.

"A different world? Hu… Interesting."

I stayed quiet, hoping he would lose interest, but that didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon as he slowly creeped forward. I got up to my feet quickly, searching for an escape since he obviously wasn't a 'good guy'.

"Oh, there's no point in trying to escape. You obviously aren't capable of such a thing seeing how you can't even control your chakra."

"Chakra?"

His grin grew in size and I mentally smacked myself for giving him proof that I wasn't from here. So, I did the best thing in this situation, I ran. It was exhilarating for the ten seconds it lasted. Apparently, my speed had increased greatly, but not fast enough to outrun snake man. I was hit hard in the stomach and doubled over as my vision started blacking out.

"Hopefully you'll last longer than my other experiments since you're not from around here."

I mentally cursed and slumped over in the man's arms.

For two years I was trapped in that dark place as Orochimaru—I learned—experimented on me. Sometimes I wondered where that God from before was and I'd curse him for dropping me off in this kind of situation, but I would swear I saw him sitting in my cell with me, painting. Then again, maybe I was hallucinating from whatever crap Orochimaru was giving me. But that gave me hope and I soon stop reacting completely to Orochimaru and his experiments. He even started to seem bored with me at one point and decided the next day would be my last, simply because I wasn't interesting to him anymore and because the experiments weren't working.

Truth was, they were working. I could feel them working, but I held them back and it somehow didn't give Orochimaru the result he was looking for. Unfortunately, that just shortened my death date. I was ready though. I would leave here and not even he could stop me.

That night, I sat in my cell and focused my chakra into the palm of my hands. Both hands were covered in lightning and as I brought the bar between them and breathed out intense heat, I was able to warp the bar accordingly. Now, don't think I just learned this all over night. Like I said before, I was trapped here for two years and experimented on. Orochimaru made it a point to find out my chakra natures to find out what experiments would work best on me. Needless to say, it gets boring sitting in my cell waiting for the next torture so I had begun planning and strengthening myself for this precise moment. He actually had this room sealed off so that I couldn't use chakra, but I noticed a year ago that these cells hadn't been kept up to date and I could use a little chakra. After another year preparing, I figured out how much chakra I needed to overpower the seals and kept it stored in my left arm before using it to get through the bars.

Anyway, now that I was out of the cell I needed to find a way out without attracting any attention. Luckily, attention grabbing was something I was not good at. I swiftly ran away from where I knew Orochimaru stayed, assuming that he would want to be further back in his hideout should he be attacked. Assuming correctly, after getting lost a few times, I hurried as far from the hideout as possible. I knew there was someone who made rounds and the moment they learned I was gone, they would come after me if only to destroy the secrets my body now contained. It wasn't even a minute before I could smell people following me.

Ah, that's right, I never mentioned what experiments Orochimaru did on me. I won't go into detail, but he seemed to have a fondness with animals and liked calling me his mutt. So, I now had several wolf attributes such as heightened sense of smell and hearing. Other than that, he mostly did chakra and poison experiments which left me drained by the end of the day. Like today, for example.

The ninja caught up with me and I snarled from under my scarf, the one thing Orochimaru let me keep undamaged. One attacked with a chain weapon of some sort while the other two stuck to swords, kunai, and shuriken (weapons I had learned from my testing). Stopping in a small clearing, I faced them and didn't bother giving them any time to prepare before I killed the first one barehanded, taking his sword to use to fight the other two. I watched their movements, waiting for one of them to attack first and smirked when I guessed which one would attack first. Kunai were thrown and dodged as I went after the man but, just before I got to him, the chain weapon wrapped around my neck pulling me back. I did not appreciate this and gathered enough strength to pull the weapon from his hands, swinging it to clobber him in the head. I turned towards the last one with murder written in my eyes and the man ran off.

I didn't bother to chase after him and just hurried off before more Sound ninja came. I ignored the chain for now and soon reached a different plot of land. I wasn't familiar with the map of this world, but I assumed that this had to be another country of some sort and hurried to the closest sound of civilization.

The civilization I thought I'd found turned out to be nothing more than the crashing of a waterfall with two stone figures standing on either side. I didn't have much choice and jumped over the side into the water below, swimming to the opposite side of the waterfall where there was a small indent big enough to shelter me from my followers. I sat cross-legged and focused to make my chakra as small as possible. It fought against me, but I managed just as voices travel down from the top of the waterfall.

"Did you lose her?"

"Yeah. I lost her scent and I can't find her chakra source at all."

"Orochimaru's not going to be very happy."

"You think?! We're better off deserting like she did! Orochimaru will kill us for failing!"

I ignored their rambling as I listened to the crashing of the water before me. As the sun began to rise, I assumed that the men had left and came out from my hiding place. I removed the chain around my neck and fixed my scarf so that it was covering my nose and mouth again, before giving the chain a glance. It wouldn't hurt to keep it. May come in handy. I wrapped the chain around my exposed arm, made sure it stayed in place, and dashed off away from the torturous country of the Sound.

It was only a few days, before I found myself working as a cheap bodyguard for a group of travelers. They didn't pay me much, but I ate with them and slept with them and they didn't seem to mind my quiet nature nor my short answers. They mentioned that they were heading towards a hidden village called Konoha near the center of the Land of Fire. When I told them I wasn't educated of the ways of this world, they were more than eager to teach me.

I learned about the different countries and villages as well as how common 'ninjas' were. They taught me about what to expect should I go to these places and I was surprised at how little I truly knew. Ninjas, villages, chakra, I knew little to nothing about any of these and now I feel as though I could fill a book with my knowledge of them.

During our travels to Konoha though, we didn't encounter much trouble. There was a small group of bandits that attacked us, but aside from that, nothing. We were even able to reach Konoha in a little under a week. It would have been sooner, but we had run into some heavy rain at one point which waterlogged the roads and caused their carts to get stuck more than once.

The moment we reached the gates, I was in awe, having not seen something this big ever in my life; most of my life before this forgotten. The travelers I was with had explained to me before about the kind nature of this village and had told me time and time again that I should settle down here and become a ninja of this village instead of traveling for hire. It was only now that I'd seen the beauty of this place, that I actually considered the offer.

"Um, excuse me. Can I see your pass, sir?"

I didn't know the man was speaking to me nor the fact that he'd mistaken me for a male, being too focused on taking in the surroundings. Even if I did notice, I probably wouldn't have cared for the fact that he thought I was male. The travelers did as well, until they got to know me in our short time together. I suppose short, cropped hair and the scarf and baggy cloak covering my features weren't exactly lady-like. Oh well.

One of the travelers clapped me hard on the back and I somehow managed to keep steady as he laughed brightly.

"Ahaha! You shinobi must be getting worse, these days! This is the best damn woman bodyguard I've ever seen and she's with us, so there's no need to ask for her papers."

The two shinobi at the desk blushed and rubbed the back of their heads nervously.

"Sorry about that!"

"Yeah. We didn't know but, uh, welcome to Konoha!"

I nodded silently and walked with the travelers to help them unload their stock. The village was a nice change from the forest and smaller towns I had passed through, too. Different shops lined the main street and I passed quite a few houses as well on my way to deliver their goods. When we finished, it was only mid-afternoon and the head of the traveling group paid me and told me to head up to the 'Hokage's' building to see about finding a place to stay. I was reluctant, but didn't have much of a choice and started walking towards where he pointed. Lucky little me, having never been here before, got lost standing in front of a ramen stand.

I looked around at the people passing by, but didn't have the courage to actually go over and ask for directions. Then again, maybe I was just stubborn. Yeah. Let's go with that. With a small sigh, I started walking again, heading towards the giant mountain in some hopes of finding the building I was looking for. Instead, I found myself being ran into by a young kid wearing orange. He looked up at me as I looked down at him and we held each other's gazes before I suddenly recognized him from the painting.

"Hey you monster! Get back here!"

I looked up to see an angry older woman wielding a wicked looking broom as she headed in our direction. Looking down at the kids' frantic face as he searched for somewhere to escape, I couldn't help myself and ruffled his hair, surprising him. Just as the woman got closer and the kid was about to run, I pulled the kid behind me and stared back at the furious woman with a blank expression.

"Who're you? A traveler? Buzz off. I have some unfinished business with this brat."

I shook my head and she widened her eyes before hardening them into a glare.

"Fine! Then you take responsibility for that monster!"

I felt the boy flinch behind me and frowned behind my scarf before shaking my head once again. The woman did not take kindly to that and slapped me hard across the face before walking away in a huff. I sighed in response, rubbing my cheek, and turned to the kid behind me who looked at me with shock and admiration in his eyes. I knelt down to his level and ruffled his hair before handing him the sheet of paper with the traveler's horrible directions on it.

He took it and gave it a look before cocking his head to the side.

"You want to find the Hokage's office?" I nodded and he smiled brightly. "Sure! I'll take you there! As thanks for helping me with the old hag."

I rose a brow at his language, but shook it off as he started leading me in the opposite direction I had been going.

"Neh, neh, what's your name? I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna be the next Hokage! Believe it!"

I looked at him for a moment, blankly. I couldn't remember my old name and never associated myself with a new one. Naruto looked up at me in confusion.

"What? You don't have one or something?"

I nodded and his eyes widened. "What?! Are you serious?! We gotta come up with one then!"

He furrowed his brows as he thought and I silently wondered what would cause him to care so much about giving me a name after we had only just met.

"How about Ichigo?"

I shook my head, not wanting to be named after a fruit.

"Um… Dashi?"

That's a soup. I shook my head again.

"Okay then, Higashi?"

Seriously? We're moving on to sweets now? I like the ending though. I shook my head but pulled out a marker and wrote Shi on the back of my directions. He looked at it with an odd look.

"Shi?"

I nodded.

"Are you sure you want to use that character though?"

I nodded again. You see, the character I used was the one for death and I thought it suited me well, seeing how I had already died once. Naruto shrugged with a smile.

"If that's what you want. It's a cool name."

He opened a door and we walked into a large building, completely bypassing the man at the front desk and walking up a set of stairs. We arrived at a set of doors, but instead of knocking, Naruto just burst in yelling.

"Yo, old man! I brought someone who was looking for you!"

The elderly man at the desk looked up, annoyed at Naruto for interrupting, but curious as to who I was and what I wanted. Naruto turned back to me and smiled as he headed towards the door.

"Later, Shi! Thanks for helping me!"

I nodded and watched the Hokage silently as the door shut. I was a bit uncomfortable standing alone in this room with the supposedly strongest ninja in the village, but didn't show any signs that I was, hoping to stay on his good side in order to find a place to live here. The Hokage set down his work and sighed before gazing over at me.

"So what is it that you need from me, Shi is it? And I see the woman left her mark. Thank you for helping out Naruto."

I nodded, ignoring the stinging of my cheek and not questioning how the man knew what had happened, and instead held out the piece of paper that the traveler told me to give to him, since my traveler friend knew about my speaking problem. The Hokage took the parchment and looked it over before giving me a glance.

"You wish to live here?"

Nod.

"It says here that you don't have any paperwork, is that true?"

Nod.

"That may be a problem then. What village do you come from?"

A quick flashback of my time in the Land of Sound had me tensing up and I shook my head at the Hokage.

"Hm? You don't know or you don't have one?"

I tried to figure out how to tell him it was a bit of both without speaking, but there wasn't much I could do.

"Both."

He smiled softly. "So you can speak… Interesting. Ahem. So you have no knowledge of where you came from. You may have some form of memory loss but there is nothing we can do about that, unfortunately. How far back to you remember?"

I held up two fingers and he started guessing.

"Days?" No. "Weeks?" No. "Months?" No. "Ah, years then. How old are you?"

I flashed both hands twice and then held up three fingers.

"Twenty-three. Old enough to be a jounin, but you do not have much chakra so a civilian then."

I shook my head and he rose a brow. I took a deep breath and released my hold on my chakra, surprising the man and apparently someone else as well. I tensed at the sword at my throat, bringing my chakra back down to a civilian level and trying not to attack whoever was behind me, should that effect my chances of living here in the safety of the village.

"Let her go, Bird."

"But Hokage-sama—"

"Bird."

I slowly breathed in and out as I felt the sword slip away from my neck, and worked on clenching and unclenching my fists as I struggled to relax. The man behind me disappeared in a cloud of smoke and I struggled to control myself. I did not deal well with things like that.

"I apologize about that. The Anbu can be a bit overprotective, but I am impressed with your chakra. I would appoint you to jounin level, but just because you have a high level of chakra does not mean you have the skills. Therefore—"

"Genin."

"Hm?"

"I-I am at genin level."

He looked surprised, but gave me a small smile in response.

"I see. In that case, I will have you join one of the new genin squads after graduation tomorrow as long as the council believes it is okay for you to stay here."

He began ruffling through his papers and seemed to have found the one he wanted, signing it and holding it out to me. I grabbed it to find directions to an apartment and permission for me to live there.

"Now, I just need you to tell me your full name."

"Shi."

"That's it?"

I nodded. "Naruto gave it to me. I don't have a name."

With that, I walked out, leaving a baffled Hokage sitting in his office. Once I got outside, I tried to follow the Hokage's directions, but ended up lost once again. I sighed and looked around. There were a few shops closing up now that dusk had fallen and bars were opening up, but I saw something in the nearby ramen shop that caught my attention. Sitting in one of the stools, was a familiar orange-clad kid. Stepping into the shop, I sat down next to him and decided to order some food.

"Shi! What are you doing here? What did the Hokage tell you?"

I graciously took my food and started eating from under my scarf as I handed Naruto my directions. He looked at them and sweat dropped.

"You got lost again?!" I nodded. "Gah, Shi! I really gotta take you on a tour of this place. It great that you're going to live here though! Now we can talk all the time!"

I smiled at his enthusiasm, but he didn't see it because of my scarf. It didn't matter though, because he started telling me all about where we were going to go tomorrow on our tour of the village. I listened, for the most part, mentally laughing as all he talked about were the best places to buy food, but soon we were finished eating and he showed me the way to my house. I waved to him as he left and handed me 'easy directions' to the academy where we were to meet for my tour.

That kid is pretty enthusiastic for being the same kid in that painting. I went to the owner of the apartments and they handed me the key after I gave them the Hokage's seal. When I did reach my apartment, I noticed that it wasn't much but it was certainly better than the cell I stayed in. There was a decent sized kitchen already stocked with food and an actual bed in the bedroom, which I was grateful for, but I didn't know if I could actually sleep in it. Two years in a stone cell and a few months in the forest does that to you.

Yawning, I grabbed the blanket off the bed and went into the main room, where I curled up in a corner that was facing the door. I was tired, but my mind had a different idea and wouldn't stop thinking. When I finally did get to sleep, I was riddled by nightmares and woke up every few hours until the sun rose and I decided to just stay awake. I showered—the first since bathing in a river a few days ago—and made a quick breakfast before heading out early to try and look around, and maybe even find the academy by the time school got out. The school probably hadn't even started yet but, as you know, I have a horrible sense of direction.

My wandering ended up taking me to the middle of a forest and I relaxed while enjoying the sounds and smells of the forest. It was a first, seeing how the last few times I was in the forest I was running for my life or on high alert for attacks. I continued my stroll when I came upon a clearing with a dark colored stone. Leaning towards it, I noticed names written on it and assumed it was a grave site of some sort so I silently paid my respects. It was then I got a whiff of someone approaching and I hid up in the trees out of habit.

Glancing at the man who walked into the clearing, I looked him over carefully to determine if he was an enemy or not. He had silver hair that stood up and his left eye was covered by a Konoha headband, the lower part of his face hidden by a mask. He wore the typical green flak of a high level ninja and I guessed he was a jounin, which meant that he knew I was here. So why hide?

I jumped down and walked right past him as I exited the clearing. He didn't say a word, but I could feel his stare on my back as I headed back towards the sound of the waking village. I still had some money with me from being paid by the travelers yesterday and I was desperately in need of a change of clothes. Luckily, the owner of the store was a friend of the traveler I stayed with and she gave me a discount on my clothes leaving me with a little left over cash so I dropped them off at home, along with my traveling cloak, and I walked until I found the ramen place from before ordering some take out ramen. He gladly gave me some and pointed me in the direction of the academy since it was just about time they were let out.

I somehow made it there only a little bit late and I hopped on the wall to find Naruto. I found him on the swing, just like the painting, and I frowned when I heard the women below me speaking about him.

"Hey, that kid is the kid. He was the only one who failed."

"Serves him right."

"If he becomes a ninja, it's only going to cause trouble."

Deciding enough was enough, I charged myself with electricity and jumped off the wall behind them. All I had to do was walk past them and their hair stood up on end from static electricity. They screamed and tried to calm their hair down as I smirked under my scarf and headed over to the swing with my hot bowl of ramen. I sat down in front of him and he immediately perked up at the smell of ramen.

"Is that ramen?!"

I nodded and handed him the bowl and a pair of chopsticks. It took him maybe seconds to finish the bowl and he licked his lips, smiling when he saw the two women from before.

"Ahaha! Did you do that, Shi?!" I nodded again and he laughed harder. "You gotta teach me to do that!"

I smiled slightly behind my scarf and stood up only for Naruto to frown and rub the back of his neck nervously.

"Um, Shi, I'm really sorry but I promised Mizuki-sensei that I'd talk to him later and—"

I cut him off by ruffling his hair and nodding. I understood.

"I promise I'll take you on a tour later, Shi!"

He got up and hugged me, surprising me, before running off with a wave.

"And thanks for the ramen!"

I waved back, still in a bit of shock at the unannounced form of affection and barely noticed when someone tapped me on the shoulder. Standing behind me was a man around my age with brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and a scar across his nose. He was a chunin or jounin and I blinked at him blankly.

"The Hokage wants to see you."

Nodding, I walked over to where the Hokage was watching the group of kids with this newcomer. I was cautious of him, but he seemed nice enough so I relaxed a bit. The Hokage smiled at me and I nodded in return as he spoke to the two of us.

"Iruka, this is Shi and she will joining one of the new genin teams this year."

"Um, okay, but why a genin team? Shouldn't she be with the jounin?"

"I would have done such, but she claims to be genin level so I will have her train with them. Shi, I want you to meet with Iruka here at the academy tomorrow morning to be sorted into a team. You will train with your team and do missions with them as well, but I want you to take extra training sessions with the jounin. They will be informed of your circumstances. I also wish to confirm something with you, but it would be better to do so in my office. Iruka, I wish to speak with you as well, but could you wait until I finish with Shi?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

He bowed and I walked off with the Hokage discovering that the academy wasn't that far from his office. I'll have to note that for later. We entered his office and he sat down behind his desk while I stood across from him. Suddenly serious, He looked up from his paperwork and stared me down.

"There are rumors of a man in a red scarf with a chain wrapped around his left arm and a sword running in the Land of Fire from the Land of Sound. While you are not a man, the description fits so I ask you, what were you doing in the Land of Sound?"

I took a step back, the flashbacks hitting me like a tidal wave, and shook my head. He sighed and his stare relaxed slightly.

"If you do not tell me, I will have no choice but to retract my previous statement and put you in confinement."

My eyes widened as the image of my cell returned and I tried to find a way out of this. I couldn't go back into a cell. I didn't know how I would react if I did so the only thing I could do was tell the truth. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists before nodding at the Hokage.

"Good. Now tell me what happened, Shi."

"Orochimaru."

The Hokage tensed and his hard stare returned. "What did he do, Shi? I need everything you can give me."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and lifted up the bottom of my shirt to expose the scars that lined my stomach and side. The Hokage stared wide-eyed before his whole face softened.

"Experiments. Kami, Shi. I'm sorry."

I dropped my shirt and shook my head and held my scarf down so he could see my sad attempt at a smile, large canines peaking out from under my top lip and a scar trailing up the side of my face. I let go of my scarf as the Hokage sighed.

"You've been through quite a bit, Shi. Is there anything at all that you could tell me about him?"

I shook my head. I'd been kept in a cell and Orochimaru was sure to keep me out of any conversation he had. I literally knew nothing.

"Well, that shouldn't change much. I'll still allow you to become an official ninja of Konoha, but I'll have to inform the jounin in charge of your team—"

I shook my head and he frowned.

"I have to, Shi. Should your team get attacked by Orochimaru, I would want your jounin to be informed."

I lifted my shirt and pointed at the scars and shook my head again.

"If you wish, I will not tell them about the experimentation, but you will still be treated as someone who needs to be watched."

I nodded and he informed me that I could leave since it was getting late and he still needed to talk to Iruka. I left without a problem and wandered around searching for my apartment. The moon got higher in the sky and I frowned, searching for the familiar scent of the apartment complex. Instead, I spotted several shinobi jumping across the roofs. One of them jumped down in front of me and I recognized him as Iruka from before.

"Shi, right? Have you seen Naruto?"

I shook my head and he sighed, getting ready to leave when I grabbed his sleeve. He stopped and turned towards me confused until I handed him the paper with the directions that I kept on me, despite the fact that they don't help me at all. He looked at them and sweat dropped.

"You're lost?" I nodded and he sighed. "Okay. I don't really have time, but I'll drop you off at your apartment. Grab my arm."

I did as he said and in a puff of smoke we were in front of my apartment. I seriously need to learn that. I bowed in thanks and he dashed off, leaving me to wonder why he was looking for Naruto in the first place.

The day after next, I woke up a little late and forgot my directions to the academy so I had to try and find it myself. I was doing pretty good, but—Ah, who am I kidding, I was lost. Again. By the time I got there, I was two and a half hours late. As I walked into the classroom, Iruka smacked his face.

"Shi, you're two and a half hours late." I nodded. "You got lost, didn't you."

I nodded again and he sweat dropped, as did most of the class when Naruto slammed a foot on his desk and pointed at me.

"SHI?!"

I waved and Naruto's jaw dropped. Iruka told him to sit down properly and handed me a black Konoha headband which I tied around my head before he cleared his throat to get the students' attention.

"Now class, this is Shi who will be joining us for the little time we have left together, as the Hokage ordered. Shi, you will on Team Seven."

"Yosha!" Naruto yelled with a fist pump. "Shi! Shi! Sit over here!"

I rose a brow at Naruto, but sat behind him only for Iruka to say that we were to all go on break until the afternoon. I stood up and Naruto smiled brightly at me. I looked down at him and ruffled his hair before heading out the door.

"Neh, neh. You wanna help me take down Sasuke-teme?"

I shook my head, guessing that Sasuke was the dark haired boy that just left when my stomach growled, causing Naruto to laugh at me.

"Didn't you bring any food, Shi?"

I shook my head and he told me to wait as he hurried to his bag. I stood there a bit confused until he returned with an onigiri and a big smile.

"Here ya go, Shi!"

I pointed to him and he just smiled again.

"It's okay Shi! I got another one!"

I took the food from him and ruffled his hair in thanks before he dashed off saying something about finding Sasuke. I shrugged and decided to walk around the school, so as not to get too lost before our jounin instructors came to get us. Unfortunately, I got pretty lost just inside the school and ended up not finding the classroom until late. What can I say, it was a huge school.

When I did find the classroom again, a chalkboard eraser fell on my head and I stared blankly at Naruto who was laughing. Glancing around the room, I noticed that we were the only ones left and I picked up the eraser, chucking it at Naruto. It hit him in the forehead, knocking him off the desk he was sitting on and the other two genin laughed; or in Sasuke's case smirked.

"Shi! What was that for?!"

I shook my hand through my hair and let the chalk dust fall, telling him I wasn't exactly happy about his little prank. He chuckled a bit before going to replace the eraser in the doorway. I sighed quietly, knowing that Naruto had not learned his lesson, but I didn't remove the eraser and just sat on a desk to try and get more chalk dust out of my hair. It wasn't long before someone poked their head through the doorway, earning the same fate as me. I looked up and was surprised to find the same man from my walk a few days ago closing his eyes in thought with a hand on his chin.

"Hm, how should I say this… My first impressions of you guys is… I hate you."

Everyone was unamused but we headed up to the roof as the jounin disappeared in a puff of smoke. When I reached the top, I leaned up against a tree while the others sat on the stairs and the jounin sat on the railing.

"Let's see, why don't you introduce yourselves."

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?"

The jounin held out his hands, palm up. "What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies. Something like that."

He folded his arms and Naruto spoke up first.

"Neh, neh, why don't you introduce yourself first?"

"Me? Hm, I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream… I have few hobbies."

The pink haired girl scowled. "So all we found out was his name."

Kakashi ignored them. "Now it's your turn. You first."

He nodded towards Naruto and I barely paid attention as all he talked about was ramen. The girl, Sakura, wasn't much better, stumbling through most of it with giggles and blushes at Sasuke; though she did mention hating Naruto at one point. Sasuke went next and the atmosphere turned tense as he spoke about getting revenge on someone. Everyone was quiet until Kakashi spoke up again.

"Alright, um, next?"

He pointed at me and I just stared back blankly without a sound.

"Neh, Kaka-sensei? Shi doesn't talk."

He tilted his head slightly and stared at me before giving, what I assumed was, a smile.

"Well, it's going to be hard to be a team without communication, now isn't it?"

I knew he had me there and I sighed.

"I am Shi."

The whole group turned dead quiet with shocked expressions on their faces aside from Kakashi, who was still smiling, and Sasuke who didn't react much at all to begin with.

"Shi! You spoke!"

"Let Shi finish, Naruto." Kakashi said.

"I like…food." Cue sweat drop. "I dislike… snakes. Hobby… I have none. Dream…"

I grew quiet, having never really thought of a dream my whole life. I never knew what I wanted to do in the future and even now I wasn't sure. The only thing I could come up with was, "To live."

They all gave me a look, but I could care less what they think. They would learn soon enough just how hard it is to just live and enjoy the life you were given.

"Okay. You four all have unique personalities. I like that. We are going to begin a mission tomorrow."

"What kind of mission is that?!" Naruto shouted with a salute.

"First, we are going to do something that we five can do."

"What, what, what, what is it?"

"Survival training."

I sighed quietly to myself as the other three began questioning why.

"This is no ordinary training."

"Then what kind of training is it?"

Kakashi began laughing and I raised a brow in confusion. He obviously found something amusing, but I couldn't quite fathom what it was.

"Well, if I say this, I'm sure you four are going to be surprised."

I doubted anything he said could surprise me and even if it did, I wouldn't show it. I silently watched as he grew deadly serious and stared at us passively.

"Out of the 27 graduates, only nine are going to become genins. The other 18 will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of 66%." He then made fun of the other three's expressions. "See? You three are surprised! Shi's expression is the only boring one."

I stared at him blankly and unamused as the others started freaking out.

"No way! I went through so much trouble… Then what was the final exam for?"

"That? It just picks out those who are qualified to become a genin."

"What?!"

"Anyway, I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring your ninja equipment and meet at 5AM."

I mentally scowled at the time and the place, knowing that I was going to be late since I got lost so easily. I knew that if I wanted to be on time I would have to leave now and try to find the training grounds, but then I wouldn't get any sleep; not that I got much sleep to begin with. As I thought that over, Kakashi ended the meeting but then turned around for a last minute instruction. I didn't hear it, completely absorbed in my thoughts, and didn't even notice that the others had all left except Kakashi.

"Hey. Shouldn't you be heading home?"

I blinked out of my reverie and looked up at the man before handing him the directions I did bring. He looked them over and gave me a confused glance. I sighed and took them back, heading off myself to try and find my way back without his help. As I did, I noticed he was following me, recognizing his scent as the wind changed directions. Ignoring him, I started walking around until I was lost again and he finally decided to help me.

"You took a wrong turn back there."

I nodded and turned to go back the way I came, but he blocked my way.

"I'll take you back. It's over by where I live anyway."

He took me home and I bowed my head as I went upstairs to my apartment. I was tired, but I knew that I needed a head start if I was going to arrive at the training grounds on time. And by head start, I mean leaving now and hoping I get to the right training ground by dawn. I sighed to myself and started walking through the village in search of the designated meeting area and, of course, it wasn't long before I realized I was lost. I can see it now. Me on a mission and I end up being found dead, countries away from where I was supposed to be because I got lost. I sweat dropped and squatted on the ground a bit further away with a little cloud of depression hovering over me.

"U-Um, e-e-excuse me? Are y-you okay, S-Shi?"

I looked up, recognizing my name, but not the timid girl standing in front of me. She had short dark hair and pale eyes, and was wearing a tan jacket with her headband sitting around her neck. Cocking my head to the side, I gave her a confused look and she seemed to understand.

"I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga. I w-was in Iruka-sensei's class. U-Um is there something w-wrong? Why are y-you sitting here?"

I searched through my pockets before pulling out a notepad and a marker, writing '3rd training ground' on it before showing it to her.

"A-Are you lost?"

I nodded and got up, pocketing the pad and marker as she offered to walk me to the training grounds. She was extremely quiet and didn't say anything, but it was a comfortable silence and I didn't mind; not being much of a talker myself. By the time we reached the grounds, I was able to find a nice place that I could nap. I waved her off with a short 'thanks' surprising her when I actually spoke. She timidly waved back and left as I settled in for the night.

"Good morning…"

"Hey…"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all met up in the center of the training grounds half asleep. After a few hours, Sakura seemed more awake but Naruto was still dozing off. It was then that Sakura noticed something. She nudged Naruto's shoulder.

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Huh?"

"Where's Shi?"

"Hm?" Naruto looked around before throwing his hands up in the air. "Ah! That Shi! He totally ditched training to sleep in! I know it!"

Naruto, being the clueless guy that he is, didn't know Shi was a woman and thus neither did anyone else aside from the jounin, her traveling friends, and the Hokage.

Sakura seemed confused. "He wouldn't do that."

"You don't know him, Sakura. He'd do just about anything to sleep in. I tried to wake him up so I could take him on a tour around the village and…"

Naruto trailed off as a dark cloud settled over him. Sakura, and even Sasuke, was curious.

"Uh, what happened?"

Naruto turned his head to look at her, skin deathly pale. "He pulled out a kunai and threatened to…"

He placed his hands over his crotch and turned away. Sasuke paled a few shades and Sakura looked scared to death as to the truth behind what Shi was really like. Kakashi decided to show up then and the three students stood up angrily and yelled.

"You're late!"

"A black cat crossed my path, so—"

The three glared at him and growled, showing their displeasure as he cleared his throat.

"Let's move on… Huh? Where's Shi?"

There was a loud 'thud' heard behind them and they all turned around to see Shi upside-down on the ground with leaves falling from the tree above her.

"Ouch."

She blinked her eyes open and noticed the group looking at her confused. Kakashi spoke first, probably the only person able to speak at the moment.

"Uh, did you sleep here?"

She righted herself and nodded, rubbing her head as she yawned.

"Mm, tired."

The four sweat dropped and Kakashi just decided to move on. Setting an alarm clock down on a stump, he pushed the top down.

"Alarm set at 12pm." He then held up three bells. "Today's topic is to get one of these bells from me. Whoever can't, will have no lunch."

Naruto's eyes widened and he took a few steps back from Shi, pulling Sakura with him.

"Naruto! What are you—"

He shakily pointed at Shi and Sakura followed his sight to find her standing there normally, but the amount of killing intent radiating from her had even Kakashi swallowing a lump in his throat. I think I found her motivation… so I should probably not mention that I will eat lunch in front of them.

"But why are there only three bells?" Sakura asked, finally coming out of her fear of Shi.

Kakashi smiled. "Since there's only three, at least one of you will have to be tied to the log. That person will fail since he failed to complete the mission. That person will go back to the academy. It might just be one or all four. You can use your weapons. You won't be able to get this unless you have the will to kill me."

They all felt the killing intent rise from Shi and they suddenly knew who their main competition would be. Sakura, once again, spoke up first.

"But that's dangerous, sensei!"

"Yeah! You couldn't even dodge that chalk eraser!" Naruto laughed.

"In society, those who don't have many abilities tend to complain more. Just ignore the guy with the lowest score." Naruto frowned. "We're going to start after I say 'Ready, start'."

Shi gave Naruto a glance, just as he dashed towards Kakashi. The other two genin were surprised, but Shi just watched carefully. Kakashi twisted Naruto's hand that was holding the kunai around and grabbed his head.

"I didn't say 'start' yet."

He released Naruto and the genin took a step back. I couldn't even see him. Sakura thought while Sasuke smirked. So this is a jounin… Shi simply stood and started thinking. He's fast, but bored. They're not enough of a challenge for him. I'm possibly faster, but I have very few jutsus to work with and I mostly used taijutsu and tricks to get past previous foes. So I need some help from someone who knows jutsus. Sasuke is stubborn and probably will be the hardest to team up with despite that he's my best option. Sakura's too infatuated with Sasuke to be of much use and I don't know about her skills aside from book smarts. Naruto's my only bet.

"Start!"

Everyone seemingly dashed off and hid, but Naruto and I stayed where we were. I, though, was quite a bit quieter than Naruto.

"Come and fight me!"

Kakashi gave an exasperated look. "Hey, aren't you two a little weird compared to the rest? I can guess why Naruto's standing out here, but why are you standing here, Shi?"

"No point in hiding from an enemy that can easily find you."

Kakashi brought a hand to his chin, nodding. "I see. I suppose that makes sense."

"Shut up! What makes no sense here is your haircut!"

Naruto charged, but stopped when Kakashi reached into his weapon pouch. He was cautious, but I didn't sense any threat from Kakashi yet.

"Ninja tactic know-how number one, taijutsu. I'll teach you that first."

Kakashi then pulled out a familiar orange covered book. I blinked as Naruto stood there confused.

"What's the matter? Come and get me. You're welcome to fight me as well, Shi."

"Wait, wait. Why'd you take out a book?" Naruto asked.

"Why? I got curious as to how the story is going to develop."

"Is it any good?"

He looked up at me in surprise. "What?"

I pointed to the book. "I almost got it."

"Well, uh, yeah. I think it is anyway. Most… uh, people like you wouldn't like it though. Anyway, don't worry about me reading. It's the same whether I read this or not."

Naruto charged, offended by that statement but every attack of his was either blocked or dodged. He suddenly stopped though, when he didn't have a visual of Kakashi. I didn't move as Kakashi spoke from his crouched position behind him.

"A ninja should not let the enemy get behind him multiple times, idiot."

I saw him making a fire hand sign, but Kakashi has kept his word so far regarding the rules he created and I doubted that he would give any extensive damage to a group of kids. Me on the other hand, I'm not too sure about. If he goes weak on me though, I'll kill him. I heard Sakura shout and frowned at her for distracting her teammate during a battle and exposing her position. The easily distracted are always the first to get killed. Kakashi shouted some attack name and shoved his fingers up Naruto's… well… butt. That even caused me to sweat drop and I slowly began walking towards the small lake that Naruto had fallen in. Bypassing Kakashi on the way, he asked me a question.

"Why didn't you help him?"

"He must learn."

I hopped onto the water and walked over to where Naruto was. I nearly got impaled by a couple shuriken, but I reached in and pulled him out with a scowl, covered up by my scarf. He chuckled a bit and apologized while I dropped him off at the shore in front of Kakashi.

"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't get a bell by noon, no lunch."

My killing intent increased again at the mention of no food. You learn to be very protective of food after hardly being fed for two years. Deciding to see how this turns out between the two of them, I jumped towards a tree and took a seat on a low branch and waited as they spoke of the food that I really wanted, until Kakashi turned his back to Naruto.

"I'm going to become a ninja!"

Bunches of Naruto's jumped out of the lake and attacked Kakashi, but I smelled Kakashi's scent above me; being cautious enough to not let him know I knew he was there. Surprise is always the best element. The Naruto clones started fighting and I waited patiently, ignoring the glare of light flashing on the bell Kakashi let fall to the ground. When Naruto finally released the jutsu, he stood there confused for a moment until he saw the bell. I knew he was a bit thick, but really Naruto?

He reached for the bell and a rope wrapped around his ankle, lifting him so that he was hanging upside-down from the branch I was sitting on. Kakashi jumped off the branch and I watched as he lectured Naruto and picked up the bell. Some shuriken came out and hit him, but he had 'substituted' again.

Now, I don't know much about the basic ninja arts. I know about the elements and the clones but, other than that and the ones I know, I don't know about these 'substitutions' or most other jutsus he decides to use. In other words, I was at a major disadvantage and only had my two years of torture to use against him. The only thing I could do was team up with someone who had some idea about what they were doing.

I sighed again, as I watched Naruto mumble to himself as he cut the rope to the first trap. I say first, because he immediately fell for the second one. I sniggered and jumped down from my place above him, kicking him once so that he spun around in a circle.

"Shi! Don't just spin me! Get me down!"

"You'll help me?"

"What?! I gotta go get that bastard for makin' fun of me!"

I frowned and started walking away. I mentally counted down the seconds when he finally yelled.

"Wait! Wait! I'll help! I'll help! Just get me down!"

I gave him an innocent closed-eye smile and swung my sword at the rope, easily cutting through it and dropping Naruto to the ground.

"Ouch! Shi! What was that for?!"

"Falling for the trap. Both of them."

He pouted and rubbed the back of his neck as he sat cross-legged on the ground.

"So, what do you need help with?"

I wrote the plan on my note pad and he smiled brightly.

"Yosha! Then let's go!"

I nodded and tracked Naruto's scent as he went to where the lunches were, in order to wait for me. Sasuke's scent was a bit further off so I made a clone to get him and headed towards Sakura's to find her under a genjutsu. I immediately knew it was a genjutsu because so many had been used on me and I shivered at the memories. I didn't know how to release her from it though, so I put her on my back as my clone informed me Sasuke was buried up to his head, which was an odd picture. I checked for Kakashi's scent as I carried Sakura back towards the main area and groaned when I discovered him to be right by Naruto's scent. That idiot. Probably went to eat the lunches and fell for another trap. I got to the clearing just as Kakashi finished tying Naruto to the log, gaining his attention.

"Oh? Shi, you decided to show up? I thought you were going to end up not doing anything."

Setting Sakura to the ground, I saw Kakashi raise a brow. I ignored it and pulled out my long sword. He still had his book out, but I'd make sure he'd put it away. Crouching low to the ground, I took a more animalistic stance, then, I charged.

Instantly, I was in front of him and swung my long sword vertically upwards just barely getting a nick on his chin. His eyes widened, as did Naruto's, but I didn't give him a chance to react as I twisted the sword in my grip and swung it horizontally just above his knee caps. He dodged again (putting his book away) and I spun around, launching my kunai in his direction before stopping. He had easily dodged it and raised a brow as I stopped.

"You missed."

"Not quite."

I put my fingers in a cross formation, exactly like Naruto's kage bushin. The only difference was, Naruto was the one who spoke. Kakashi turned around, realizing that I had been aiming to free Naruto this whole time as a group of Narutos grabbed him. He simply smirked.

"You really think I'm going to fall for this a second time?"

I shook my head and smirked devilishly, charging towards him. He easily did a substitution, but I was ready for that and threw my sword at the tree where his scent turned up. He dodged to the left like I had planned, and was met by me as I grabbed the three bells and ripped them off. He grew serious and managed a good kick to my stomach only for me to explode into water and the bells falling down to the actual me, who was waiting below. The timer went off, just as I dangled them up for him to see and his visible eye widened in shock.

"Water clone."

I nodded and tossed one of the bells to Naruto. He smiled brightly and I noticed Sakura was awake and still in shock at witnessing me fight. I tossed her a bell as well. Sasuke walked into the clearing; my clone having informed me that it had helped dig him out of the ground. He glared at me, but I threw the last bell to him as well and went to sit on the stump Naruto had been tied to. The three of them stared at me as I sat there and yawned.

"Uh, okay then. It looks like none of you are going back to the academy." Kakashi said.

All of them were happy for a moment, except for me, as Kakashi shot them down.

"Does that mean we all…"

"Yup, all four of you should quit as ninjas."

They all sat in shock at what he just said, but I still looked unperturbed. I technically had a side job I could return to if needed.

"Quit being ninjas?! What do you mean?! Shi got the bells! Why do we all have to quit?!"

"It's because three of you are just kids who don't even deserve to be ninjas and you, Shi, are an adult who shouldn't have even tried at this level."

I flinched, but said nothing. Sasuke, on the other hand charged at Kakashi and was just about to be pinned down when I jumped between them. Sasuke wasn't able to stop in time and his kunai went straight through my left palm. The only reaction I gave him that I'd been hit though, was a small wince as I glared at the Uchiha.

"You're proving his point."

Kakashi glared as well "Do you guys think being a ninja is easy? Why do you think we're training by breaking up into groups?"

"What do you mean?"

I growled as I walked away from Kakashi and Sasuke, pulling out the kunai in my hand.

"Teamwork. The bells were to turn us into enemies."

Kakashi nodded. "That's right, but it's too late to notice now. If all of you came at me at once, maybe you could have gotten a bell. Shi was the only one who even tried. Sakura!"

"Y-Yes?!"

"You only cared about Sasuke and fell for a genjutsu trap easily, which left you vulnerable. You should be glad that Shi returned to bring you here. If that was a real mission, you could've died without Shi. Naruto! You just tried to do everything by yourself. Even when Shi asked for your help, the only reason you didn't turn her away was because she was forced to blackmail you."

"Wait! Shi, you're a girl?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Never asked." I glared at Kakashi for the slip up, but he just continued.

"Sasuke! You assumed everyone else was going to burden you and did everything by yourself. And Shi."

I looked at him blank faced as he sighed.

"Shi, I understand why you didn't work together with Naruto in the beginning in order to teach him a lesson, but in a real battle, that move could have cost him his life. You also abandoned Sasuke while he was fighting an enemy he couldn't handle."

I nodded, somewhat eager to learn from my mistakes but knowing that not all mistakes are worth the price of the knowledge.

"But—" I looked up in interest. "—you were the closest to knowing the meaning behind this training. You also have some very unique skills that I wouldn't have expected from you. I also, am glad that you took the initiative to risk yourself by going back for Sakura. The only question I have for you is… why did you give up the bells instead of keeping one, if not all of them, for yourself?"

I looked at the three genin and then down at my bleeding hand. I had thought about that as well the moment I thought up the plan to get the bells. What would I do if I got them all? What would I do if I only got one? Would I give them away or keep them for myself? Looking back up at Kakashi, I stared back at him completely serious.

"They are the future."

He looked surprised at my answer, but continued with his lecture.

"I see. Well, teamwork is what is important! An individual action that disrupts the teamwork will result in danger or even death for the teammates. You just saw an example when Sasuke here rushed out. Shi was put into danger and then there will be other situations. For example…"

Kakashi took out a kunai and pinned Sasuke down to the ground with the kunai at his neck.

"Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!"

She gasped, finally realizing the kind of situation she could have ended up in.

"These kinds of situations will happen."

He removed the kunai, but continued to keep Sasuke pinned as he spun the kunai.

"After getting someone taken hostage, you will be faced with a difficult decision and someone will die." He put the kunai away and stood. "In every mission, you put your life on the line"

He walked over towards the black stone nearby and continued.

"Look at this. The numerous names carved into this stone. All these names are those praised as heroes in this village."

Naruto started getting all excited, but I stayed quiet. Even I knew that this was a gravestone despite being in the village for no more than a few days.

"But they were no ordinary heroes."

"So what kind of heroes were they?"

Kakashi was quiet for a moment, but Naruto pushed for an answer; ignoring the tensed atmosphere around us.

"Those who were K.I.A."

"Killed in action." I muttered as I started bandaging my hand.

Naruto immediately sobered up and Kakashi spoke in a softer tone.

"This is a cenotaph. The names of my friends are carved in here as well."

Naruto struggled not to cry and Sakura stayed unusually quiet.

"I'll give you one more chance. However, the battle for the bell will be much harsher after lunch. Eat lunch only if you are up for the challenge… But! Don't let Naruto have any."

"EH?!"

"This is punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat lunch early. If anyone feeds him, the person will immediately fail. I'm the rule here, got it?"

Naruto was retied to the post and the bentos were handed out. I stared at mine for a moment before setting it down and getting up. The others looked at me confused and Sakura spoke their thoughts.

"What are you doing, Shi?"

I put a finger to my lips and they went quiet. I sniffed the air and listened closely, ignoring Kakashi's scent nearby once again. I found what I wanted and pulled out a kunai, throwing it before going after it. The genin stared at me in shock until I came back with a rabbit. I carried it with me for a moment before returning to the clearing with a small assortment of wood. After easily starting a fire, I skinned and roasted the rabbit as well as threw a kunai at Naruto's ropes; freeing him.

"W-What are you doing, Shi?!"

I looked at Sakura and gave her a closed-eye smile, pushing my bento towards Naruto.

"B-B-But we're not supposed to give him any food!"

I shook my head. "We cannot give him our lunch. This is my lunch, not that."

I took the rabbit out of the fire and started eating from under my scarf. Sakura and Sasuke also started to share their food with Naruto when a sudden cloud of smoke appeared, snuffing out my small fire. I didn't care though, I was too busy trying to protect my food. Kakashi came out as the smoke and wind died down.

"You three! You broke the rule. Are you prepared for the punishment?"

He did a few hand signs and dark clouds appeared overhead with thunder and lightning lighting up the sky. The storm made my blood pump excitedly, as though it was giving me energy and I was eager to be a part of it.

"Any last words?"

Sakura was shaking and Sasuke looked ready for a fight, while Naruto sat there trying to protect his friends.

"But! But! But! But!…You said—that's why Shi and them…"

"We're a four man team, right?"

"Yeah! We four are one!"

I gave Sakura an odd look at the weird phrasing, but shrugged it off.

"Don't abandon a teammate."

"Is that so?"

Kakashi started forward and Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and I all stood together ready to fight if need be; myself still eating my rabbit. He gave us a once over and smiled.

"You pass!"

"Pass? Why?" Sakura asked, confused.

"You four are the first." Kakashi said as the clouds cleared. "People I had previously were blockheads who just listened to what I said. 'Ninjas need to think beyond the normal.' In the world of ninja, those who break the rules are called scum… but those who don't take care of their friends are even worse scum."

Sakura was beyond excited, while Sasuke just smirked. Naruto though, looked ready to cry.

"H-He's kind of cool."

"The training ends here. Everyone passes. Team Seven will start doing missions starting tomorrow!"

He gave us a thumbs up and everyone celebrated as he turned around and started walking away.

"Let's go home."

I nodded and caught up with him. He started eyeing my rabbit though and I frowned, pulling it further away from him. He raised a brow at the action, then laughed.

"Heh heh. I'm not after your food, Shi. How's your hand doing?"

He reached out to grab my injured hand but a large shock traveled up my arm the moment he touched me. His eyes widened as a bolt of electricity wrapped around our arms, sparking occasionally. He suddenly let go and gave me a look.

"What's your chakra nature, Shi?"

"Fire, water, wind and lightning." Thanks to the experiments.

"Four chakra natures? That's extremely rare. Anyway, you should get that hand checked out at the hospital. I'll take you there if you want."

I nodded, when I noticed the looks I was getting from Naruto and Sakura. The two of them seemed to be plotting something, separately for now, but I would be sure to look out for them in the future.