Suki glared up at the cloudless sky that mirrored the blue of her irises. The swaying trees and vibrant green leaves dancing in the breeze worsened her dizziness, but she kept her eyes open anyways. If she closed them, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to open them again. They felt suspiciously heavy.

Kakashi was reading off to the side, leaning against the tree, clutching the same book he brought every day they met. He only ever put it down when he was showing her handsigns or became particularly interested in something she was able to perform on her first try, which happened surprisingly often.

"Get up," called his lazy monotone. She didn't comply right away, but tensed as soon as she felt his gaze leave his book and land on her prone from. She wished she could see his facial expression to judge how much trouble she actually would be in if she didn't obey his command. His half mask made that impossible.

She struggled to her side, then her stomach, then tried to push herself onto her knees. Keyword try.

As soon as she had to move, her lungs began heaving. It felt like they were half full of water or some sort of thick jello that kept her from inhaling completely. Her sunburned arms were wobbling dangerously, threatening to send her into a faceplant, but she brought her knee up under her chest nonetheless, ready to push herself up.

Kakashi only watched as she held her breath and lunged, taking a few strides. It was the only way she could get on her feet when her muscles were this exhausted. His gaze never left as she paused, and he thought for a moment she would keep her balance, but she proved him wrong as another cool breeze rippled through the clearing. It brushed against her sweaty skin and a shutter racked her small body, right before her knees locked and she fell backwards.

She fell to the ground hard, slamming her elbows into the earth with a resounding smack. Black spores invaded her vision. The pain, coupled with the pain in her lungs and her entire musculoskeletal system, was too much. She only barely managed to turn her head as a stream of bile projected from her lips. Her sweaty black hair wasn't saved, but thankfully, only some of the tips were caught.

His coal gaze cringed away. "Alright, we're done for the day. Just rest for a while."

She waited for him to leave, like he did every day after he said they were "done for the day", but he sat still against his tree with his book open in his lap.

Suki almost felt intruded on, like he was hovering, invading her space. He couldn't possibly be able to tell that he was making her uncomfortable, but she felt like he could anyways, and was doing it on purpose. A cloud drifted into her view, and she focused her blue glare on that instead, trying to ignore the acidic taste and smell of bile that surrounded her.

She had been training under the great Copy Ninja for only a week, and it was definitely a learning experience. Suki learned her new teacher obviously had no experience with children, let alone knowledge of effective training methods, and she learned that she really hated him.

She knew it was unjustified. He was teaching her admirably, if not a little too hardcore, but she felt that's just what she wanted at the moment. Something to throw herself into. It's just that every time he corrected her in his lazy drawl she couldn't help but think of how much she preferred Kota-sensei's warm explanations. Such thoughts always led to her wondering what torture method he might've been undergoing at that very moment. Such thoughts made her sick to her stomach. Such thoughts were often hard to pull herself away from. There has been no word on the status of her teacher, and while she hadn't expected to be kept informed, she almost expected him to be home by now. She felt like things were taking too long, and the longer they took, the more hope she lost. He may not even be alive. Every day he was gone his chances decreased. They learned the statistics in the academy.

Another thing that was weighing on her mind was an academy student she knew as Sasuke Uchiha. He had been included on one of her therapy sessions with Inotsu last week, where they had been formally introduced. She rather liked the man that was confirmed to be her sensei's old teammate, and also her appointed therapist, but she didn't think he read the room correctly when it came to the two young Uchiha.

Suki never knew how to act around people younger than her. It's been so long since she's actually been a child herself. She couldn't remember a lot of the specifics of her previous life but she remembered enough technicalities that the world didn't have the same "new" feeling that real children felt. Chakra and how it made things all slightly different was the only thing that she was really passionate to learn about.

She didn't get the impression he disliked her, exactly, but they were quiet for the entire hour and parted ways quickly afterward.

Inotsu probably thought she was just being shy, but she honestly just couldn't think of anything to say. Every time she looked at the pale boy, she felt guilty.

Suki knew, being the older one, she should take charge and be a good big cousin, comfort the boy who lost his family, let him know he's not alone anymore. But she couldn't bring herself out of her grief enough to manage it at the moment.

She hoped he needed to process everything too, and that he wouldn't resent her for taking her sweet time. Logically, he would also be put under Kakashi-sensei when he graduates in six months, the only other person in the village (excluding her) with the famous ruby eyes and therefore only one that's able to train them. Her apprenticeship might be over by then, but it might not. She might even be placed onto his team.

The realization made her panic, and she pushed the thought down for later analysis. Kakashi has started lightly tapping the hard cover on his bright orange book with the pad of his finger, she could hear it loud and clear, despite the faintness. He was getting impatient.

Suki attempted to move her sore muscles again, this time succeeding. She pulled herself up and paced back and forth down training ground 7, trying to work out the lactic acid buildup in her muscles that was undoubtedly the culprit of her discomfort. She never learned that in this life, but knew it nonetheless.

Kakashi explained that she was much too slow to keep up with the potential of her new eyesight, and Suki agreed. She remembers the first time she activated her sharingan and watched the way the rain drops froze in midair around-

Masao Jun Masao Jun Masao Jun-

If it was possible for her reaction time to get that fast, to the point of where the very rain stood still around her, then she had a long way to go.

Speaking of her pretty new dojutsu, she could only activate it for more than a few minutes without straining her eyes unnecessarily. Maybe, had she discovered it a tad younger, she could have avoided this side effect, but for the moment the influx of chakra through the unused passageways in her eyes irritated them to all hell. Her doctor promised her that it would fade in time, as long as she kept practicing.

"Why don't you want the sharingan?" Her mentors lazy drawl snapped her out of her thoughts. It wasn't really a secret that she didn't want to be an Uchiha, but she didn't mind the perk of the dojutsu. She had actually considered why she detested the idea of being a "bastard child" a lot during her recovery period. She knew there were more reasons, but she could only think of one. And she didn't want to think about it right now.

She didn't know exactly how her new mentor came into possession of his sharingan, but she new it wasn't a pleasant story. He must be wondering what's wrong with her. Her disappointment must seem odd to him.

Pausing her stride, she turned her attention to him. His soft looking white hair was spiked and wild, contrasting with his calm black coal eye. His other eye was covered with their village headband, but she knew what lay underneath. She sounded small, and they both knew that half the words that left her mouth were a lie. "I don't mind the sharingan. I mind what it comes with. I went from a nameless orphan, in control of her own destiny, to the child of a noble clan who will probably be forced to marry her cousin." That wasn't why she hated it, but it was a good enough reason.

He stared at her, unblinking. "Doesn't it open up a lot more possibilities, too?"

She held his eye, although she wasn't exactly sure why. She didn't want to give up that small portion of control, she guessed. "There's nothing I can do with these fancy eyes I couldn't have figured out without them."

Her answer seemed to please him. He closed his eye, nodded, and snapped his book shut with a smack. "Your taijutsu is good, for your skill level. We'll still work on your speed and reaction time, but you can work everything else in your free time. Tomorrow we'll start on something different. Bring a notepad and a pen. Or, maybe a pencil would be better?"

The tall jonin trailed off at the end, putting his hand to his chin in a familiar way that made Suki's heart pang. Kota always did that when he was thinking. He shook himself out of his trailing thoughts enough to call out goodbye as he left, but she didn't bother answering him. He probably wasn't paying attention anyways.

Suki prepared herself for her journey back to her apartment, bracing herself from the stares she would undoubtedly receive. Not only had word traveled that an Uchiha bastard with Yamanaka eyes (she scoffed at this) managed to evade the massacre, but she was being trained under the Great Copy Ninja. Walking home tired and beaten will no doubt bring attention.

The expectations she was now forced to meet felt like boulders resting on her shoulders, and she suddenly held a bigger respect for Atlas. She wasn't used to it. She would have achieved it all anyways, of course, but now it actually mattered if she failed, now people would actually care when she didn't meet her (their) goals, and it felt suffocating.

Just as she thought she would make it home without incident, she rounded the corner to her apartment building, and saw who was waiting outside the spikey and rusted metal fence that might've once been painted black.

Inwardly she groaned, kicked and screamed, complained that she didn't want to deal with this right now, that she couldn't. Outwardly, she gave the boy a weak smile and gestured for him to follow her in. He obviously wanted to talk, and she didn't want to just stand around in the street for her neighbors to gawk at.

When they were finally inside the safety of her apartment, only half of the tension eased from her shoulders. Her voice was too raspy when she tried to speak at first, she had to clear her throat and try again. "Hi, Sasuke. Make yourself at home while I clean up. Sorry, I've had a long day."

He nodded, staring at her as she disappeared into the bathroom of the small studio space. She paused, listening behind the door. It sounded like he was standing in front of her crowded bookshelf, judging by the squeaks from the floorboards. Silently she hoped he wouldn't pluck out the wrong book and send a stack of them falling.

The halfblooded Uchiha wasted no time in rinsing off the grime and brushing her teeth and hair, checking her appearance as she did so.

She had trimmed her hair again a few months back, leaving the right side brushing her jawbone in a tame frame compared to the left which was longer and more unruly, tickling her shoulder and hiding the corner of her icy blue eye, which was rimmed with black.

Not from makeup, but from insomnia. Some nights she slept, some nights she didn't. It was a toss-up, really.

Banana yellow and brown bruises dotted her arms and legs with small scratches decorating them. What wasn't bruised or sliced was burned an unhealthy red. She cursed herself for grabbing a T-shirt and shorts instead of something with more coverage. Suki padded her way back into the main room of her apartment, trying to ignore the eyes on her back of her head as she started on some tea. "I hope I didn't take too long. Any tea preference? I have jasmine, chamomile, and lavender."

"Jasmine is fine," he commented shortly. Suki didn't know, but he was trying to chase away a familiar image of his brother coming home from training, beaten and bruised, covered in scratches and scrapes. When the tea was prepared, they sat across from eachother at her low wooden table.

She was thankful she kept her apartment clean even if she never had visitors. He was the first to speak, something she was also thankful for. The entire time she prepared their drinks she was trying to come up with some sort of conversation starter, but failed miserably.

"Sorry for showing up unannounced. I guess I just want answers." He seemed almost ashamed, like waiting at her front gate was some sort of impulse and he would have walked away had she not rounded the corner. He was still and awkward, sitting ramrod straight with his head lightly bowed.

Suki paused, wondering where to begin with her explanation. She considered often how he felt about her and this was her chance to make a good impression. Anxiety bloomed in her chest. Noticing her quietness, he elaborated on his curiosity. "I guess... how did you find out? That you were half Uchiha?"

But that wasn't something she was ready for. This wasn't even something they had covered in therapy yet. Things had been slow moving. As she looked into his confused, vulnerable face, she knew she had to try. She folded her hands in her lap and hoped her voice wouldn't shake.

"I'm only a year older than you, but I graduated a year and a half ago instead of just six months with the rest of my class. Six months ago was our first chunin exams,"

"In Amegakure," he interrupted. She nodded. She got the impression he already knew what happened, and just wanted her side of the story.

"In Ame. I don't remember what happened exactly, we were poisoned, but we still passed. It was all really confusing. Sensei called one of his summons to heal us afterwards and she's the one who discovered it, although I figure I would've found out either way. Ame knew I had it before I even did." The words came easier than she expected. She rolled with it, telling the entire story, punctuated by small explanations of what the chunin exams entail.

Sasuke looked entranced by her words, like he was commiting every syllable to memory. Suki quickly realized that even though it felt like eons, it was actually quite a short story. She only faltered when she told him of how she stumbled on her teammates.

"One of my team was... out of commission," she hoped the relentless beating of her heart wouldn't make her voice shake. "I went to track down the enemies, but I only found one of the two remaining. When he was taken care of I went back to find my other teammate, but the last Iwa nin got to him first."

Her blue eyes were swimming, so she avoided blinking. She just let them tear up and block her vision. A few drops betrayed her and fell anyways. Sasuke paid them no mind.

"And next thing I knew, we were running. I was riding on another one of sensei's summons while he and an ANBU were dealing with the pursuit. The ANBU fell, and then I watched sensei get captured. I fled with the summon, we traveled a little over a week before finally reaching the gates."

It was silent for a while as they both processed everything. The halfblooded Uchiha rubbed her face clean of tears. Sasuke relaxed somewhere during her retelling, now staring at her with wide, curious eyes.

"Im sorry about your team," he stated awkwardly, almost as a second thought. "Can I... see them? I just want to see the proof."

She hesitated, staring at him with her wide oceanic irises. Inotsu warned her about this. "Are you sure?"

He nodded with a conviction Suki couldn't deny. She closed her eyes, channeled her chakra, and opened them again slowly.

The world sharpened again. Colors became more vibrant. She could see the pattern of the thread in their clothes. She could see the grain in the wood of the table their teacups rested on, and she was able to see a plethora of drifting plant matter within the porcelain bowls. She observed her cousin with her new eyes. His eyes were more of a dark indigo blue than a black like she originally thought. His hair, which was a matte black before in the low lighting, had a deep blue tint now.

She could see the most minute expression of fear on her cousins' face as he looked into her eyes, something she doubted she would have noticed regularly.

His smooth, pale skin was now riddled with tiny imperfections she would have never noticed before. When her eyes drifted downwards, she noticed his hands were shaking, and she deactivated it right away, staring at him with concern. With her sharingan gone, she could no longer notice his shaking hands or distant eyes. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head 'no,' but didn't elaborate. She didn't press him. The silence was awkward, but not unbearable. Suki waited patiently for his recovery. Before long, his deep (for an 11 year old) voice filled the silent room once again. "Yours are different. They're not as red as I remember... everyone else's being."

"My new doctor said the same thing. He said maybe it's because my eyes are different from... a pure bloods." She replied, trying to word herself carefully. Sasuke didn't need to know of her conflicted feelings about her heritage.

He gave her an odd look. "Dr. Lao Ming?" He questioned. At her nod, they shared a similar shutter. The man had apparently been one of the Uchiha's few non-clan-member medics. They had been placed under his care for that reason. He was a nice enough man, just a little... odd.

The silence was about to turn awkward again, but this time Suki didn't allow it. She made small talk, getting to know her new (and only) family member. They talked about school and fangirls, what restaurants he liked, and how he was training for graduation in a few months. Suki shared her thoughts and doubts about her famous teacher, which led to a discussion about all the attention they receive.

"I'm just glad I'm not the only one anymore. After a while you get tired of people looking at you like you're some ghost." The boy shared, looking ashamed but thankful.

"I don't know how you've put up with it for so long." Suki groaned, rolling her eyes. Sasuke gave her a look that said 'I don't either.'

The black (but actually blue) eyed boy went quiet for a moment, and Suki waited patiently for whatever was on his mind to voice itself. It was the last thing she expected, but the question lightened the mood. "So... are you really part Yamanaka too?"

She couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped. His cheeks dusted a pale pink, but he held his ground, waiting for an answer.

"I don't think so, but I guess I might have some Yamanaka ancestor. You don't tend to know those things as an orphan." He nodded at her explanation, looking annoyed at her laughter but shaking it off anyways.

They talked for a small while longer before Sasuke left for some of his own training. Suki wasn't prepared for the small empty feeling she got when her apartment was quiet again.

She didn't hate that as much as she expected. He was easy to get along with.

The next day rolled around quickly, and Suki stopped by a calligraphy store for a pencil, pen, and notebook before making her way to Kakashi's regular training grounds. The humid sky was steadily filling with clouds, darkening, and the small girl had to push down a nauseating feeling of foreboding nostalgia she got every time it rained.

She realized in her first few days that Kakashi Hatake likes to take his sweet time, so she did too. He was already there when she arrived, looking mildly annoyed, but not as mad as a teacher would typically be at a tardy student.

She lifted the shopping bag she was carrying, displaying the contents. He nodded, and motioned for her to follow him. Most of their communication was nonverbal, something Suki appreciated, particularly after a talkative session with Inotsu.

Their therapy sessions had dwindled from once every few days, to once a week, to bi-weekly. The blonde man assured her she was doing well, but it didn't feel like she had improved much from the day she arrived at the gates on Buro's back. Without having these hour long talk sessions, she had much more energy for conversation during her training with Kakashi. Despite her general dislike of having a new sensei, she was still curious about the supposedly super strong S-class jonin walking in front of her. And perhaps she was a little starstuck, even after a week of knowing him to be the laziest, most immature adult she's ever met.

The man reads porn in public, for Kami's sake.

Without realizing it, the two had walked almost completely out of Konoha. They were about to exit the West gates when Suki finally started to get anxious. Perhaps she should have been more suspicious of him. "Wait, are we leaving the village? Do we have permission for that?"

"Maa, we don't need to worry about that!" He said, giving her a closed-eye smile that gave her doubt.

Suki pretended to adjust the pouch on her hip, using the motion to slip one of her brand new (metal) tessen into her hoodie sleeve.

She had trained with her tessen since she arrived back in Konoha, even when she was advised against training by Dr. Ming. Kotaro's lovely aunt Kiko was happy for the company and a new way to waste time, since her favorite tenant to nag hadn't yet returned. She was the only person who hadn't seemed to completely give up on Kotaro. Visiting the lively woman was one way she kept her own hope alive. Kiko was convinced Kota-sensei was just "taking his sweet Nara time on his way home."

Anyways, if this was just some sort of trick to ambush her, she would be ready.

"I hate tessen. Such useless weapons," he called behind his shoulder. She blushed at getting caught. Noticing her embarrassment (and slight anger) at his words, he continued. "You won't need it anyways, today we are training something different."

They walked out of the gates, breezing past the guards that normally would have taken their passes. Suki stared back at them, puzzled, but they were paid almost no mind. Shrugging it off she turned back to her teacher. "We're training my sharingan finally, aren't we?"

"Hai, hai, my little student. I think you'll enjoy it."

He led her far out to a rocky wasteland that looks like it hadn't seen rain in months, miles from the clouds that were hovering over the village. There was a weight that lifted from her shoulders as soon as the clouds were gonna. There were tall spires of rock jutting from the ground, and Suki had to wonder if they were made naturally or if they were from some sort of extreme jutsu used decades ago.

The ground started to incline, and soon Suki was standing on the edge of a cliff, maybe four or five stories tall, that overlooked more curiously formed columns. You could see the beginnings of the Great Konoha Forest in the distance, a sea of green that was a sharp contrast against the orange and yellow rock. The sun was high in the sky, throwing a maze of long, dark shadows behind the cliff and every pillar that stood inbetween them and the forest. She couldn't help but think of how much fun Kotaro would have had training team 13 here. He would have had a field day with all of those shadows.

The orphan heard pebbles clanking together, and turned to Kakashi with a curious gaze. He had gathered a handful of small rocks and held them in one giant hand.

He presented a single orange stone to her. "I'm going to throw these into the air, and I want you to flash your eyes as fast as possible. On and off. I'll let you try a few times to get a hang of it."

Confused, but curious, Suki obeyed. He threw the bundle of rocks in the air, Suki flashed her sharingan, and cut off the chakra as soon as she could. It was a struggle, she couldn't cut the flow right away.

"Good enough, for now. One more time. Pay close attention." He threw the rocks just like he did before. Her chakra flashed and receded.

He was staring at her expectantly. She stared back, confused. "Now what?"

He sighed, with only a hint of exasperation. "Well, did you notice anything?"

She paused, trying to figure out what he wanted her to notice. She was drawing a blank though. Noticing her struggle, he gave her a hint.

"What's one thing that the Uchiha prided their eyes on? What was everyone really afraid of?" He gazed into her eyes, waiting. She stared back, hoping to find the answer written somewhere on his face mask.

All he did was toss some rocks. What did her expect her to see?

It clicked! "Its predictive capabilities? Right? Everyone thought the sharingan could really see into the future or something similar, but that's not the case at all. I couldn't tell where all those rocks were going to fall, but it was going slow enough that if I had a few more seconds I could have predicted where they would land, based on their movement."

"Well, that's part of it" he explained. "Predicting and mimicking your opponent is the best way to get under their skin. If they think you can see what they're going to do next, they're going to panic. Half the battle is in the mind."

He shook his head, holding up a single digit as if to scold her. "But that's not what I wanted. It's something not even medics or master fuinjutsu users understand."

Suki learned forward from her seated position, fascinated by the direction this lesson was taking. This was the most she had heard Kakashi talk, and he was surprisingly good at keeping her attention.

"The sharingan can let you manipulate your own time, to a degree. Your personal time slows minutely when it's activated. That's the most common theory anyways, and the one I believe is most likely." Her blue eyes must have shown confusion, because he didn't hesitate on elaborating.

"The Uchiha were known for their speed. They can travel at a greater velocity than most shinobi can, because their eyes can keep up with the rapid movement naturally, something others would have to chakra enhance, which is a tricky thing to do on delicate eye nerves. But the real trick is that the sharingan is able to slow your own body's time enough to comprehend and react within a normal time frame that just seems lighting fast. That why we need to train your speed. The faster you are, the more you will be capable of.

Suki cocked her head, "Wait, could someone with sharingan theoretically pause their own time altogether then? To stop aging, or something?"

He shrugged. "If you could, it would require a Kami's level of skill, attention, and energy. If you haven't noticed, the sharingan sucks chakra like a vampire. I don't think it'd work, there's too many unknown variables and possible paradoxes. Thinking about all that gives me a headache."

He gave her a moment while she tried to wrap her mind around this new piece of information. The sharingan was actually a time-space jutsu. Well, that was the theory anyways. It was hard to believe.

"Today you're going to practice deactivating. And then we're going to extend the amount of time you can use it. Without a solid foundation, everything you build will end up crumbling." He gave her a close-eyed smile. Or, she thinks he was smiling, judging from the way his eye crinkled slightly.

She didn't need that particular speech, though. She had a Nara for a sensei, it was something that was already well understood.

For a couple of hours, they just threw a rock back and forth, like a balloon toss. Kakashi would give her only the slightest movement to guess where the rock would go, and she had to flash her sharingan lighting fast to catch. The more she practiced, the easier it got, and they increased their speed and the number of rocks.

By the time Kakashi called for them to stop, they had been juggling seven of the sharp orange stones as fast as she could keep up. She had dropped three in rapid succession before Kakashi finally let her rest. The sun had started to set, turning the sky into a brilliant orange that contrasted against the dulled colors of the dusty landscape that surrounded them.

She heard rustling, and turned her head from the view to see Kakashi holding up the notebook and pens she bought earlier that day. Her eyes were pulsing from the strain.

"I think it's about time for the next stage of training." He led her to the edge of the cliff and set with his legs dangling over the edge. Suki settled next to him cross-legged with her book turned to the first blank paper balance gently on her knee, a pencil at the ready.

She was surprised when he produced his own notepad, one much older looking than hers. She hooded her eyes, lowered her head, flashed her sharingan, and peeked at the rapidly flipping pages as he tried to find a clean spot. Apparently the notebook was more full than he remembered it being.

Some of the pages were only half-filled, and some were jam-packed with the smallest of details. She could recognize some of the landmarks of Konoha etched into the pages, with the Hokage Monument being his favorite thing to sketch. Some of the pages were filled with people, some beautiful women, some small children. She glanced an elderly man looking exhausted after work and a pair of lively young boys playing knockknuckles together.

There was a lot of flora and fauna. Dogs, birds, and amphibians decorates the aging paper. Random plants, some she recognized as poisonous or having aphrodisiac qualities were traced with the utmost care. They were all amazing, detailed, and true to life.

He finally found a page, near the end of the book. Deft fingers smoothed the part where the paper met the spine of the notebook, and he turned to her, by which time she was able to deactivate her eyes. She felt like he knew, despite her sneakyness. He probably did.

"This was my favorite way to train my sharingan. I still do it sometimes." He readied a pen.

He raised his headband, and Suki's blue eyes went wide as saucers as she studied what lay underneath. His eye was still closed, allowing her to see the way the long scar connected.

It started at the bottom of his browbone and ended right above the bottom of his eye socket. She studied the way the bottom of his silver eyebrow and lashes were missing hair where the dark, puckered skin rose.

Suki, flustered, turned to face him fully instead of looking at the fire in the sky. She knew she probably had pink dusting her cheeks. Sensei was pretty cute.

'Woah, 'sensei'? Calm down there, Suki.' She thought to herself. She had been desperately trying not to call him her new sensei.

That implied she had a previous sensei, and Suki refused to believe that Kotaro has nothing left to teach her.

When people ask, she'll specify that she has two. It's not uncommon, after all.

Kakashi opened his eye, and the sharingan was already activated. She only saw the flash of red before it was closed and his headband was once again covering the corner of his face. A moment later his hand was ghosting across the paper.

He drew the sun as it was slowly dipping under the horizon, coloring the occasional cloud a brilliant golden topaz, although the color couldn't be mimicked with simple graphite. The already tall shadows from the rocky orange pillars were growing longer, and birds were perched along their rocky tops, building their nests far from where most predators can reach. Desert foxes started popping their heads from their dens in the hard, cracked ground, which looked like a shattered glass pane that was only one touch from falling apart from their view. He didn't miss a single detail as he transferred it to paper.

Suki knew she could do this easily. She had never considered the sharingan could help her art, too. She could have brought her drawing pad to training instead. She used to do this for fun. Her eye for detail had always been impeccable. Maybe she could even impress him.

Whipping to the first page and readying her pencil, Suki activated her ruby lenses and observed the beauty before her. The sepia filter that had previously clouded her vision vanished, leaving a crystal clear view of the rich colors around her. She took it in for a moment, studying where the light and shadows clash harshly and where they faded into a soft ombré.

It was easier than ever. Her hand flew across the page, and she could feel Kakashi's eyes watching her. She had to deactivate her sharingan when it became too much, but the image was already burned into her mind.

This was the first time she had drawn since Ame, she realized. The memory sent a pang through her chest, but she buried it, or tried to. The tightness never loosened.

It didn't take long before she was installing her finishing touches, but before she could call it done, a drop of water splattered onto the page. Shocked, Suki looked up to the sky, void of rain clouds, only to realize that the water had come from her. Her pale hand wiped absently at her cheek, confirming that it was, in fact, damp.

The page hadn't been completely ruined, but there was a giant smudge of black now. It would be useless to finish. Kakashi's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Well... that was a pretty good start. I'm, uh, sorry?"

She looked at him, still wiping at the tears that she couldn't stop from falling. His facial expression almost made her giggle. He looked panicked, like he had never seen a crying girl before, or he was trying to figure out what he did to make her cry. Instead of giggling though, she just cracked a smile.

"No, I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I don't know why I'm crying." Her voice came out clear, thankfully. The white haired man gave her a few minutes to collect herself, which she was thankful for. When he finally replied to her, it almost made her jump. She didn't expect a reply. She really wasn't used to him being so talkative.

"My sensei was the fourth Hokage," he started, glancing at her as if waiting for a reaction. She already knew this, though. "It was just an apprenticeship at first, like we are now. And he wasn't Hokage at the time. But he was still quite the skilled shinobi. Particularly after he developed his Hiraishin seal."

Suki didn't see where he was going with his story, but she was entrapped. Having a glimpse into the life of the great Kakashi no Sharingan was probably not very common.

"He was often sent on dangerous missions, or long ones that could took weeks." He trailed off. She caught his drift. He was trying to tell her that he could relate to how she felt, that it was alright to feel this way about Sensei. Suddenly she was glad for the days they had spent together with very little communication. She could read him well enough to know he was trying to comfort her, as tactless or awkward as it was.

A new wave of tears began to fall, and she gave up on trying to contain them. She turned and watched as the last of the suns' bright rays dipped below the skyline. A subject change might be in order. "Does that mean you might be sent on long or... dangerous missions? While I'm apprenticed to you? You're quite the skilled shinobi, yourself." Despite her previous dislike of him, the thought of him leaving on a mission discomforted her for some reason.

He shrugged, relaxing. "It's possible, but right now, you're one of Konoha's number one priorities. My mission is training you up to be 'worthy of the name Uchiha'." He gave her a side glance that she didn't miss, and she was sure he didn't miss the way her mood darkened at his words. "But I've decided I'm going to train you to be worthy of the title of the Great Copy Ninjas' apprentice instead. Believe me, much better than the name Uchiha."

It was her turn to shoot him a side glance, a strange feeling of hope bubbling up at his words. She was sure her face was crimson, and she couldn't hold back a cheek splitting smile. "I'll do my best!"

His words gave her a confidence she hasn't felt in months. He saw her as something more than just a surprise Uchiha that Konoha found in their happy meal.

They decided to leave before the sky lost all of its color. Her eyes were slightly sore, but not as bad as she expected them to be.

Once they entered the forest though, it was a completely different story. The canopy blocked out almost all light. The darkness intimidated her. It was darker than even the Ame bamboo-

Stop remembering that.

Kakashi noticed her hesitation right away. His eye-smile was back, but this time, it seemed slight sadistic. "I never said training was over, did I? You may have done well at the last exercise, but I think this one will be much more difficult." She gulped.

The next four hours Suki spent activating her sharingan for as long as she could, trying to see in the dark to make it back home. The colors sharpened, and the shadows lifted slightly, but it wasn't enough to avoid every root or stray tree branch. When the pain behind her eyes became too much, she had to fly blind, occasionally crashing into a tree or slamming into a hidden branch. Every time she deactivated her sharingan, her eyes would have to readjust to the darkness. It was a living hell. Eventually she learned to play it smart, activating it in small intervals and memorizing a clear path, but once Kakashi caught onto her cheat, he started using earth jutsu to try and trip her.

She crashed into countless trees, tripped over countless roots and earthly jutsu projections, and even ran into a deer at one point, which was when she knew she was nearing the village. They must've entered part of the outer Nara territory. The animal and his family scattered before she could even call out an apology, although they wouldn't have understood it, anyways.

Eventually, the flickering lights of the lanterns on the village gates illuminated her path enough to where she could see the ground, and Kakashi called for her to stop running. She kept walking towards the light and Kakashi came up from behind her, ready to catch her in case she fell.

The white haired man had learned from their first day of training that Suki doesn't show any outward sign of exhaustion, she works her muscles at full capacity for as long as they would hold. The makings of a true Taijutsu master, something even Gai probably hadn't accomplished so young. The potential he saw in the "Uchiha bastard", as she liked to call herself, was much higher than the potential he had ever seen in himself. And he knew his potential, it was made clear to him at a very young age as the son of the White Fang. If anyone was to be blessed with the Sharingan, he was glad it was her.

As he neared, he could see the tears of blood dripping down her face, a sign of heavy dojutsu overuse. He sighed, pushing down the urge to rub his face in frustration. This girl didn't know how to communicate what her limits were, if she even knew them herself. "We're going to the hospital. Want me to carry you there?"

Suki shook her head, and regretted the action immediately. A migraine sprung from her eye sockets like stabbing knives. The rays of artificial light that had been relieving to see moments before were now too much to bear.

Before she knew it, they were sitting in some uncomfortable plastic chairs in a rather empty waiting room. After a few minutes of watching her head sway side to side, Kakashi became nauseous himself, and placed a hand on her sweaty dark grey locks to hold it in place. The poor girl might've concussed herself.

Other than an elderly Akimichi patiently waiting a few dozen seats down with an empty baby stroller, the waiting room was deserted. He considered that a good thing and tried to ignore all the flashing memories of the numerous times he's seen the very same green and white floor tiles splattered with blood.

Thankfully they didn't have to wait long, as another heavy set Akimichi woman with a child cradled in her arms strode out with a doctor. They both looked up and saw the girl at the same time, one uttering "Suki?" in shock, the other in beckoning.

Suki dazedly turned her head towards the two rather heavy set individuals at the door, despite the weight still cradling it. Kakashi had to hold back a chuckle as she nearly went cross eyed trying to focus. "Pardon her, Akimichi-san, she's had a long day of training."

Cheeks painted with the signature Akimichi tattoos flushed red as she noticed him. "I-Oh! Hatake-san, it's a pleasure. Pardon my rudeness. Suki is..." she flinched. "Was my teammate's student. Thank you for taking care of her. I'll get out of the way, so she can be seen. You've obviously been working her very hard. Tell her to stop by sometime, will you? The girl knows I'm always home."

He tried not to flinch at the subtle assessment of his teaching skills. He had been working her very hard. He should pay better attention. This was an important assignment for him. She just followed all of his orders without hesitation, disregarding her own limits. It reminded him of the days he spent in that dark place, being trained specifically-

He flushed the memories from his mind like he always did when they arose. He only let those out when Cat was around.

He awkwardly helped Suki into a nearby examination room and onto a cold table with a thin sheet of paper that he was worried he would rip as he set her down, but surprisingly, it held strong. Her doctor, Lao Ming, hurried into the room with a clipboard. "Sorry for the wait, Hatake-san. If you would like, you can wait outside."

Kakashi didn't know the man, but he knew that Ming had a lot of experience with Uchiha, which was why Suki was placed under his care. While he didn't seem threatening in any way, shape, or form, the innocent question sent a shiver of anxiety up his spine.

He didn't want to leave the poor girl. He doesn't know why. He hates kids, but this kid didn't seem like the rest. She imprinted herself on him, without having to do anything.

She was understanding of him, without him having to say a single word. She could read his body language like a book (when he allowed her to). It was outright fascinating. She followed his every direction, considered his every word carefully, reminding him once again of a familiar Cat. And she didn't complain once. It was like she didn't know she could, or hadn't even considered it.

She reminds him of himself, he realized. His mindset at that age was almost the exact same. They both just wanted something to do, something to distract them. Literally anything was better than the broken glass they had to walk on to reach that point. Where as was his teammates' death and introduction into ROOT, hers was most likely the death of her teammates (along with the subsequent kidnapping of her sensei and only trustworthy adult figure in her life) and the discovery of her linage. And he felt like they both blamed themselves for the heartache they've experienced.

So he stayed in the too-small plastic chair and waited patiently for the examination to begin. If Dr. Ming was surprised to see him stay, he chose not to comment on it.

Despite her quietness, her voice barely above a whisper, she answered the doctors questions easily. Yes, she felt dizzy. No, she didn't feel nauseous. Yes, she was very tired. Yes, her eyes hurt, and no, it didn't hurt worse when he pressed into her temples like that.

"Sometimes the pressure of chakra on specific areas of the brain can become too much when your sharingan is activated for long amounts of time, causing a concussion. It doesn't seem like that's the case, this time, but it was very nearly to that point. Please try to be more careful, Cho-chan. And Hatake-san."

He added on the other name as an afterthought, and the silver-haired sensei once again had to hold back a flinch. He didn't appreciate the judgement he was receiving, but at the same time, he couldn't fault them. Now he knew her limits much better, and could train her accordingly.

They were shooed out of the waiting room, which now had a few more people waiting to be seen. Kakashi walked her all the way home, all the way up to her apartment, and all the way into her bedroom. Once he was sure she could undress by herself, he excused himself and went home.

He didn't want an apprentice at first, but then again, he wasn't expecting Suki would be as pleasant as she is. The day had first been a way for her to get away from the rain, as every time the sky darkened, she had major setbacks. But maybe this whole teacher business won't be so bad.