"What?!" Shiro leapt onto her feet and slammed her hands on the table. "She did what?!"

"Like I said," the student assigned as a messenger panted out, "she challenged the whole sixth year to a duel. If she loses even one, she's prohibited to be a shinobi ever again, but if she wins, nobody can question her right to be one."

Shiro was lost for words and her classmates' excited chattering surrounded her.

"She's so full of herself," said a boy. "I'm surprised they haven't expelled her yet."

"It's her connections," replied his friend. "The things I could do with an influential family like that."

"She can't seriously think she can win against all of us?"

"Let's knock her down a peg."

"The smartass, I'll show her."

At that moment, the opening of the door silenced them and all of their blazing eyes landed on Suzume. Temari came in before her sister and didn't have the slightest reaction to the tension stifling her classroom.

"I'm taking an educational guess and suppose you've already heard of the situation," Temari said to the room at large. "However, the duel is not mandatory. Anybody who doesn't want to fight can sit this out."

Only a couple of people, lows mostly, took the offer and after sharing a staring contest with Suzume, Shiro also stood down.

"Alright. The people who are participating head directly to the sparing ring, everyone else get a seat in the audience," Temari instructed.

The entire school was gathered there. Teachers and students alike were at the edge of the ring, waiting in suspense for the show to start.

Suzume stood next to Temari, her gaze unwavering and cold. Temari cast her a worried glance. Even she was surprised at the lengths the school board would go through to pay Suzume retribution for her display of attitude and cheek as well as the supposed "bribing the examiner" deal. Suzume provided them a beautifully prepared stage that'll put her in her place, who were they to reject such an offer?

"You sure about this?" Temari said out of the corner of her mouth. "You know they're just playing with you."

"You've heard the saying, Temari."

Temari was shocked to see an ominous intonation seep into Suzume's voice.

"Play with fire and you get your fingers burned."

Before she could reply, Suzume was already standing out on the dusty sparing ring and awaiting her first challenger. It was someone from a different class.

She felt achingly calm, composed, bored even. Her mind was empty of all useless thoughts and she became deftly aware of her body.

She could do anything.

The referee signaled for the match to begin and the boy was pinned to the ground before he could blink. The arena was seized by a dumbfounded silence and the referee stuttered out the end of the bout while Suzume got off the stunned student.

It was nothing more than a one-sided massacre. It took Suzume less than a second to pin her opponents in a death position and half of the sixth year class was already defeated within five minutes.

Down goes the girl who hit her head with a soccer ball, along with the one who stole her food. There's the group of guys who beat her half to death on the streets. The ones who tore up Kankuro's files, the ones who killed Hisoka. All of them were pathetic. Every one of them.

It was only when sand enveloped her, constrained her movements and ripped her out of her trance that she realized that she was breathing heavily, that her body was sore and her muscles crying out for reprieve.

"Suzume," Gaara's voice reached her buzzing ears. It was quiet and also something Suzume couldn't place. "That's enough."

Her harsh breathing and the ringing in her head gradually quelled and the sand withdrew. Suzume hung her head and looked down at the welts and blisters forming on her hands. She became aware of the sweat that made her clothes cling to her body, the way her lungs were cursing as she breathed in raspy breath after raspy breath.

She lifted her eyes to see the spectators and challengers all staring at her like she'd grown an extra head.

Suzume faced the group of teachers. "I'll see you in class."

_ _ _

Two people were left over after school in classroom 6-3. The teacher was leaning leisurely against her desk while her student stood across from her at attention and only after she told her to take a seat did the girl relax.

"I was thinking, Shiro, about how many mistakes I've made already in this school. After all of my self-righteous talk about how the shinobi system should change and how the way we did it previously was barbaric and basically brainwashing, I ignored the exact problem that should've been addressed with no less than swift urgency because I was uncomfortable with it."

"I'm very uncomfortable right now, Temari-sen," Shiro said.

"Are you?" Temari grinned. "Good. Because you shouldn't be comfortable with this."

Shiro rolled her eyes.

"I want to do something about this before the school year ends and I know how late it is but I can't just sit back anymore," Temari continued. "I'm announcing an end to the Ace and Low relationship."

Shiro tensed at these words and she looked at her teacher, leery. "And why are you telling an Ace about this?"

Temari shrugged. "I thought you'd be able to help."

"Shouldn't you be asking the poster girl for rebels instead? Your very own little sister?"

Temari snapped her fingers and Shiro jumped at the sudden sound. "You're right." Temari was swept up in an epiphany. "You're right. I should ask her too."

"Too?" Shiro wondered if her teacher just lost her mind.

Temari walked over to her and Shiro leaned back as she invaded her personal space. "You two are friends! You, an Ace, befriended the rebel. You two can set an example!"

Shiro's face hardened, no longer bothered by the present situation. "She hasn't told you?"

Temari raised an eyebrow in question and Shiro told her brusquely. "We're not friends anymore."

The teacher instantly retreated and placed her hands on her hips. "Why?"

"Stuff happened."

"Stuff happened." Temari didn't look convinced. "Like what?"

"Is this an interrogation?"

"If that's what you want to think it is."

"I exercise my right to speech," Shiro declared.

"Fair enough," Temari relented and dived right into it. "Do you still think she's not a shinobi?"

"After that performance last week, she's every bit of a shinobi we aspire to be," Shiro said dourly.

"And that upsets you?"

"No comment."

"You were the one that spread that rumor." Shiro opened her mouth to argue but Temari spoke over her. "Not the first one, the second one."

Shiro's lips pursed.

Temari scanned her and Shiro felt the urge to take cover under her desk. "You want Suzume out of the Institute because you don't want her getting hurt. Am I right?"

Her eyes darted down. "No comment."

"From what I can tell, you still care about her, so why can't you be friends?"

She swallowed thickly. "No comment."

"Do you hate her?"

Like a switch had been flicked, all of Shiro's nerves shut down and she looked Temari dead in the eye. "The sight of her face makes me sick."

. . .

Once Shiro was out of sight and into the semi busy streets of the market, she emerged out of the shadows as a grown, disheveled man. Keeping her eyes straight forward, she let her frown sink into her weathered façade. She was out of the crowd as soon as she entered it and absentmindedly reached into her pocket for a pack of cigarettes and her lighter.

Lighting her cig, she took a drag and then released the smoke into the air, feeling the soothing weight of the tar in her lungs. The sound of a loud clang drew her eyes to its source and then she felt someone hold fast to her arm and drag her along.

"Uh-excuse me? What do you think you're doing?" After blinking away the cloudiness in her eyes, she recognized the person. "Hey! Let go!"

Suzume's grip was iron. The girl led her to the side of the building and threw Shiro around until she was in front of her with strength Shiro wasn't expecting.

"What's the meaning of this?" Shiro continued her masquerade as a male adult. "What's a little girl like you trying to do, huh?"

Suzume didn't bother answering and plucked the cigarette from Shiro's fingers, let it drop onto the ground, and snuffed out the light with the sole of her shoe.

"Oi—"

Suzume released her hold on the man and started back. "Look at your surroundings before you commit a felony."

Shiro stood in bemusement for a moment then went to the edge of the alley to see Suzume returning to a trash can with its cap thrown carelessly on the ground. She finished putting the bag of trash into the can and dusted off the cap to shove it over the stash, then ducked into the...

Shiro's disguise was gone and her face was covered with shock. The Kazekage Mansion! She was smoking in front of the Kazekage Mansion!

"Such an idiot!" she berated herself. But, wait. She ran back to where the trash cans were lumped together and looked into the yard to search for Suzume.

All Genin level and even some Chunin level couldn't tell she was using the transformation jutsu, so how did Suzume...?

. . .

Shiro was standing in the middle of a group of aces in the alleyway between the remedial building and the fourth, fifth, and sixth year building. The sun was setting and the alley was dimming. The sand, as ever, was getting everywhere.

"Can I go home?" Shiro groaned. "I'm too tired for this shit."

"We need to figure something out about that bitch first." Otaki: head honcho of the group who's more inclined to cross moral lines. All of the lows who left the Institute was because of him.  Filthy mouth, surprisingly plain, unremarkable features, but ugly enough in attitude. Best in taijutsu, at least—Shiro's mouth twitched—until he was decimated by Suzume that is. "She's taking us for idiots."

An obnoxious laugh howled into the air. "She really showed you, Ota! The way she flipped you in the air like a hamburger!"

Otaki slammed a fist down onto a crate and it splintered into pieces. "Cram it, Honami!"

"Not gonna listen to you." Honami stuck a tongue out. Honami: lone wolf, refuses any partnerships or followers. A bit of a simpleton, but you wouldn't want to stumble into her alone at night.

"It looks like you've taken a liking to her, Honami." Toru narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"Well, I don't dislike her."

Toru: grandnephew of a Kazekage advisor. Even after being charged with a malpractice because of an attack on Suzume— a civilian at the time— was only saved from a blacklisting because of his relations. He always wears some sort of scarf with a weird ass pattern. Like a clown.

"She's the reason we're a laughingstock," Toru said. "Our alumni are already calling us the Doomed Year." 

"Your panties are just in a bunch because you got held back a year." Honami shrugged her shoulders. "Who cares about the alumni? We won't be dealin' with 'em next year. We have the Jonin team caps."

"Don't you have any pride?" Toru hissed.

"Come on, cool your head." Yuudai pulled Toru back with a hand to the shoulder and Toru unwillingly did as he was told.

Yuudai: asscheek.

"I'm done giving her slack." Otaki looked like his jaw was locked permanently in an unpleasant grimace. "I'm doing things my way now."

"Aces are only allowed to act if all members have consented," Honami said with an air of importance. She wiggled a finger at Otaki. "Nobody is allowed to move on their own. You should know these things, Ota~"

"I'll break that finger off your hand!"

"I'd like to do as I like, too," Toru said. "I have my own vendetta."

"You're not getting in my way, Toru!" Otaki roared. "That bitch is mine!"

"Huh?!" Toru snapped back. "She's fair game! Don't go monopolizing!"

"Heeeeeeey," Shiro said lackadaisically, drawing all attention. "Aren't you guys obsessing over this too much? It's a waste of time isn't it?"

It was cute how confused they looked.

"Whatcha on about?!" Otaki said.

Shiro shoved her hands in her pockets and sighed. "What I'm saying is, I think you guys are acting immature and pathetic."

Otaki lunged at her but Yuudai got in the way. After calming him down, Yuudai turned to Shiro.

"You've grown soft, Shiro." He gave her a look she didn't like. "Ever since that solo mission."

"No, I'm being rational." She blew her hair out of her face. "We should just move on already."

"Shiro, you failed your mission," Toru spat. "And even after you did, we let you have one more go at throwing the freak out and look where that got us now."

"I'm very sorry." She didn't sound sorry.

"Why're you acting all high and mighty?" Otaki stomped around Yuudai to loom over her. "You made the mess and now we have to clean it up."

"By doing what?" Shiro sneered. "You're no match for her. She proved it herself when she wiped your ass all over the sparring ring."

Yuudai had to wrestle back Otaki before he tried to bash Shiro's head in.

"You're crossing a line, Shiro," Toru said, eyebrows knitting and wrinkle waves lapped across his hairline. Yuudai was having trouble with Otaki in the background.

"Let him do what he wants, Yuudai," Shiro said to the shock of the person she addressed and the chagrin of the ignored Toru. "He can't touch this."

"You're out, Shiro!" Otaki screamed, still trying to get away from Yuudai's grip. "We'll make your life a living hell, low!"

"You think you can do that to me?" Shiro scoffed, but the humor slid away the next second. She curled her lip into a snarl. "Try me."

Her appearance fluctuated from man to woman; small mouth, big mouth, doe eyed, freckled, black hair, brown hair, blonde hair; she became so many people that the gathering watching could only feel nauseous at the dizzying show. It was bizarre to see so many people contained in a 4'10 frame of a twelve year old girl.

She finally settled into the skin and the bulky frame of Otaki and the boy saw his own reflection smirk at him. Shiro returned to herself and then smiled sunnily, "I think you've forgotten who you were dealing with."

"I'm just saying this because we've known each other ever since we were in the first year, take it as a favor between associates," she turned her back on them and nonchalantly strutted away; "if you don't change for the better, the world will give you a severe whiplash."

_

"I guess we both disappointed Suzume, huh?" Temari said.

Shiro stared obstinately at her. "We can't go back. I made sure of it."

_

A mountain of cigarettes grew atop an ash tray, the young girl who added to it shrinking substantially. She leaned back in her bed and the smoke furled out of her nostrils. With the windows closed, the smoke was left to hang in the air.

Shiro stared unseeingly at her wall as she pressed the cigarette to her mouth. Another drag, another exhale.