Suzume stared down the machine's red eye and made sure not to make even the slightest movement.

She was trapped in a blindingly white room, a break of reinforced glass dividing her from the spectators above. Her siblings, along with some other teachers stood there, watching her. The engineer who had asked her to do this was there too. Supposedly, he'd invented something that will revolutionize the way a shinobi is trained and he wanted to test it out.

Suzume drew a breath... then, in a flash, she whipped out a kunai, twirled it through her fingers, and tossed it into the air. The machine diverted its attention away from her, its red eye following the thrown weapon, and it was enough for her to bullet to the wall and run up the vertical slope.

A moment of alarm coursed through her when the machine snapped onto her again and triggered its fellows into a formation. Multiple kunai revolvers honed onto her and began to shoot its projectiles. She flew into the air and the kunai all ricocheted off of where she had been a moment before. The red eye lifted up to lock onto her again and a huge whirring and clanking of gears sounded as the machines adjusted to her change in position.

Suzume unsheathed her blades and her eyes flickered around as she deliberated her calculations. The shuriken came into play and they worked together with the kunai to attempt to shoot her down.

Her arms moved blindingly and there were sparks as the weapons were diverted from their path. They were sent flying in premeditated directions and began to attack their comrades in manipulated friendly fire. What was produced was a choreographed pattern that left the machine with its hands tied.

"My word..." the engineer goggled along with the others as they watched the spectacle.

The shuriken and kunai were deflecting each other and flying around in a perfect diamond around Suzume, completely missing their target. The ones who lost their momentum rained down and clattered to the floor while most others embedded into the walls. Suzume was still in the air when something caught her attention. She snapped her head to the side just to see a kunai a centimeter from her face, a bomb tag fluttering behind it.

The explosion engulfed Suzume in plumes of inky smoke and the machines all paused in their relentless firing, ending their cycle of futile offense and wiring down.

The spectators held their breath as the seconds snailed passed. Then something escaped out of the smoke and landed gracefully on the floor. The shinobi sighed in relief as Suzume dusted off her soiled clothes.

"Alright," the engineer said through the microphone. "I got enough data. You can come back up, Suzume-san."

Suzume nodded up to him and took a step to the exit when something stopped her in her tracks. A crazed and riled droning surrounded her and the machine began to lurch around in its place, huffing out exhaust. Suzume's eyes narrowed and the entirety of the invention was released. The walls opened to reveal all of its hidden artilleries and they were all pointing at her.

"Suzume!" Kankuro roared as the machines fired.

"Doton! Mineral Egg!"

A thunderous echo of metal colliding against stone which was followed by a vibrating silence.

Gaara stepped forward, his jaw going slack as he shared his horror with his family. Suzume was being guarded by a shell of earth, the weapons sticking out of the hard surface. A part of the egg cracked and fell to the floor and Suzume's stony eye pierced through. A memory from long ago clashed with the scene in front of them. Gaara's crazed eye replaced Suzume's, sand swapped with the earth, and the kunai and shuriken were gone to be exchanged with needles.

The engineer hurried to shut down the engine while repeatedly apologizing to the teachers and Suzume. Suzume, meanwhile, had deactivated her jutsu and was calmly walking out of the room.   

Gaara took in a breath and released it slowly. The other two looked over at him.

"What're we supposed to do?"

The question was left hanging in the air until Gaara turned and headed to the door.

"We keep going."

The homeroom teachers weren't allowed to be present for the graduation examination but information about Suzume's performance spread as soon as she was given her forehead protector.

She was a lightning user.

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were standing in an empty corridor as the sun set lethargically into the horizon. Gaara was peering down at the ground from a window, following Suzume as she dragged her feet across the courtyard.

"Katsuo told me she's been training at least since the beginning of the month," Kankuro said. "He doesn't know where she got the information."

"So she's a multi-nature user." Temari stood leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "She used an earth jutsu the other day and she used a lightning jutsu today."

"This doesn't make any sense." Kankuro pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not possible. It shouldn't be possible."

"She's done the impossible many times over," Gaara said. "I'm surprised we're not expecting it by now."

Suzume vanished from Gaara's line of sight and he faced his siblings. "Suzume is now an official shinobi."

Shadows stretched until the last of the light from the setting sun was extinguished and Gaara turned again to the window to see the last rays of light swallowed up by the horizon.

What would Uzumaki Naruto do?

"Looks like you guys are in a pinch."

Gaara spun around at the voice.

_ _ _

Suzume was walking to nowhere in particular thinking about food. She was hungry.

She was passing by some stalls, eyeing up the menus. Stopping in front of an udon booth, she remorsefully patted her empty pockets as the smells from the stall wafted around her.

A hand landed on Suzume's shoulder and a second later the owner of the hand was locked in an arm hold. The tight lines of Suzume's face receded when she recognized who it was. She hurriedly let go and bowed apologetically.

"Sakyu-sama."

The old man massaged his shoulder and smiled through the pain. "Maa, maa. I'm fine, Suzume. I should have expected a skilled shinobi like yourself would have reacted as such."

Suzume peeked up at him then sharply dropped her gaze again.

"I said it's fine. You may raise your head."

Suzume did as told, her eyes still trained on the floor.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Suzume. I shall purchase some udon for you as a reward."

Without waiting for a reply, the elder entered the stall. Suzume practically flew in after him. "Sakyu-sama! You don't need to—"

"Hm... it's quite... quaint inside these boxy restaurants." Sakyu couldn't have looked more displaced. The owner of the udon stall looked like he'd lost half of his life in shock.

"Now," the councilman seated himself on a stool, "how do I order?"

After a rather hectic exchange with the owner (who jolted out of his disbelief to bow again and again until he looked like a rattling springboard and then proceeding to insist on serving food to the gracious elder and his guest for free) they ate the noodles and Suzume escorted Sakyu to his estate. It was during the walk when Sakyu managed to pry out of Suzume her situation with her siblings.

"It's just as I feared," he said grimly causing Suzume to look to the man in worry. He met her gaze evenly. "They're scared of you because you've grown strong."

Suzume's mouth spread into a thin line. "I'm not strong."

"Suzume, you have the potential to surpass every single one of the Sand Siblings," Sakyu said. "Should that happen, they will lack the power to control you as they do now."

"They don't control me."

"You don't know any better," Sakyu persisted. "You are just a child." He grabbed her by the shoulders. "I need you to trust what I say, Suzume. Those three are using you. They want to be seen as kind benefactors to a hopeless, weak child like you once were. But I trust, you are smarter now, you can leave their shadow. I can help."

Suzume stepped out of his reach. "That's not true, Sakyu-sama. We're a family."

Sakyu frowned, disappointed. "I understand. But know this, Suzume, I will always be here to help."

Suzume avoided his gaze and turned her feet toward the Kazekage mansion in the distance.

Sakyu left her in a jumble. Why would anyone think that way? Surely someone as smart as Sakyu wouldn't. Her siblings were good people, they were the best. They were strong and nice and they loved her.

Kankuro was just worried and the others were too. She might've overreacted. Suzume nodded to herself. That's what it is. She just needed to talk to them-

Her eyes cut in half. She noticed the prickling feeling of being followed. A feeling she's felt before.

Wait... Suzume stared down at the ground sliding passed beneath her. She's felt it before?

When?

When she ran out of the house the day after Hisoka died.

Not only that, there's been countless times before... and a few times after?

Suzume cringed at the sharp pain that shot through her head.

She thought back to the day she ran away. What happened right after? Konata found her.

And what happened in between?

Suzume cried out and crouched down until she was curled in on herself, clutching at her head.

There are... blanks in her memory? How?

They were closing in on her.

Suzume broke into a run.

Get away.

She leapt onto the roofs. They kept close to her.

Get away.

She sped up until she was only a blur.

Get away from me!

Next thing she knew, she was heaving and coughing underneath the Japanese maple. Her stalkers were skirting around the edges of the Kazekage grounds but none of them dared a step closer.

The moon was high in the sky and the stars were scattered across the dark surface. Suzume gazed up at them until her breathing evened out.

Her lips started quivering and she brought her knees to her chest to rest her head. Her hands tangled in her hair as she gripped the strands tightly.

She spent the night with a cat's ashes and the tree that should be dead.