Enter: Riyame Uchiha

Naruto’s foot tapped impatiently. He, Sakura, and Sasuke had been standing there for nearly three hours without speaking each other. Kakashi-sensei had told them to meet him there, but per the norm, he was late. Each of them wore varying masks of irritation.

Naruto was the first to break the long silence. “Man! Why does Kakashi-sensei always have to be late?”

You’d think he could be on time for once, but no...He’d probably give them the same boring excuse: he was “lost on the journey to life.” All of them were sick of his excuses, but especially Naruto.

The least he could do was get a more creative one, Naruto thought bitterly.

“Don’t know, don’t care…” There it was. Sasuke was always quick to comment with something cool in that monotone of his. And of course, Sakura agreed with him, nodding like an obedient little fan girl. How she fell for the jerk Naruto would never understand. What any female would see in Sasuke was a mystery to him. He just kept telling himself that they just have horrible taste in guys, and pretty boys always get the girls.

“I just wish he wouldn’t make us get up this early,” Sakura sniffled. Naruto rolled his eyes. She was in one of her whiny moods today. That meant if he badmouthed the perfect Uchiha she’d punt him across the village. Not that he was afraid of that or anything.

“Oh! I’m glad to see that you’re all here.” That voice spun Naruto around, ready to pounce. He stopped only when he saw a girl with him. His anger at his late sensei didn’t disappear. Curiosity just pushed questions to the front of his mind.

“Who’s this,” Sakura asked. Even Sasuke looked mildly curious.

“Oh, this?” He motioned to the girl beside him, “This is…Riyame.” He hesitated on her name, but his team seemed not to notice. All of their attention was on the newcomer.

Naruto noticed that she looked a lot like Sasuke, with obvious differences. Her hair was longer, though it was the same raven color. Her eyes were just as dark, but they were rounder and more passive. Her complexion was paler than Sasuke’s, and Naruto thought she needed a tan. She was kind of pretty, but she didn’t seem like she wanted to be here.

She didn’t smile, wave, or make any effort not to look utterly depressed. She kept herself at a distance from the conversation. Not to be rude, or at least it didn’t seem that way to Naruto. More like she was lost in thought. Her eyes never left the ground, and he wondered if they intimidated her. She did look a little younger than them.

A few seconds of awkward silence surrounded them; then, Kakashi-sensei bent down and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes flickered to him then to—who seemed to be—Sasuke and then they were on the ground again. Kakashi gave her a tiny nudge.

“Hi.” Her voice was soft, and it reminded him of a whisper. Naruto wasn’t exactly sure if he heard her correctly. He guessed that she mustn’t have liked talking much.

“What’s up, Kakashi-sensei? Is this why you were late?” Sakura asked a question that Naruto hadn’t even thought of voicing. He had been too busy staring at the girl—which seemed creepier the more he thought about it.

“Right, I forgot to explain.” He rested a hand on her shoulder, “Riyame, here, is going to be an extra edition to our squad for a little while. Her sensei is on a long-term mission, and he asked me to take her under my wing until he got back.”

“And he couldn’t have gotten a substitute? Our team is crowded enough as it is,” Sasuke grumbled. Naruto was about to pounce, but the heartbroken look on Riyame’s face grabbed his attention. Then she began to chew on her lip, something Naruto knew usually meant people were nervous. Her reactions confused him.

“He and I are practically family, and I owed him one. Besides, he cleared it with the Hokage, so Riyame is a member of team seven until he returns. And, she’s to be treated as such.” Naruto knew who that comment was aimed at, and it brought him petty enjoyment.

“Welcome to the team, Riyame,” Sakura said sweetly. Riyame gave her a tight-lipped smile.

“Why don’t I let the four of you get acquainted? I need to take care of a thing or two and then I’ll be back,” Kakashi chimed. He looked like sun standing next to Riyame, who looked at him with a horrified expression. He gave her a masked smile and walked away.

My body tensed as I watched Kakashi’s retreating form. That traitor! He promised me he wouldn’t leave me alone. I ignored the sting of betrayal and turned to face my temporary team.

Every eye was on me, fueling the ball of anxiety that sat in my stomach. My mouth was as dry as a desert, and I kept trying to think of ways out. I could feel Kakashi-sensei’s presence retreating further into the village. I wanted to be angry, but my fear was the top emotion in the chaos of my head.

Caguna-sensei hated me. That was the only explanation. He knew why I avoided Sasuke, yet it didn’t stop him from sticking me on team seven. Don’t get me wrong, Kakashi is amazing, and I was honored that he accepted. I just…I wasn’t ready to face him yet.

The blonde boy gave me an ear to ear smile that sent my thoughts into a flurry. He seemed nice. Not to mention he wasn’t bad looking…In fact, especially with a smile on his face, he was kind of cute.

“Riyame, that’s your name right?” I nodded, not trusting my voice. “Alright! Tell us about yourself.” It wasn’t very much of a question, but it wasn’t exactly an order either. That didn’t help me with choosing whether to speak or not. It felt like I’d forgotten how.

The girl with pink hair seemed to sense my distress. “Sorry about him, I’m Sakura. The knucklehead is Naruto, and that’s Sasuke.” My first instinct was to point out that I knew who Sasuke was, but she didn’t exactly know that. Plus, I didn’t want to open my mouth for the fear of getting sick.

I settled for nodding.

“Why don’t you start with the basics,” She said with a kind smile, “Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams?” I could do that…right? Yeah. I could say that much without losing to my nerves.

“I-I…” I cleared my throat, realizing they wouldn’t be able to hear me. “I-uh,” I stuttered, “I don’t really do much.” Maybe it seemed a little farfetched, but it was true. I couldn’t remember the last time I did something I actually enjoyed.

“Boring,” Naruto half-shouted, “Come on! There has to be something interesting about you.” That was a blow I wasn’t expecting. Not that I thought he meant it in an antagonistic way, but I couldn’t help feeling a little defensive.

“So you’re insinuating that I’m boring?” It was out before I stopped to really think about the words.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I swear!” He put his hands up in a soothing motion. I gnawed on my lip as I choked down my embarrassment.

“Who cares? She answered, drop it Naruto,” Sasuke spat. I flinched like I had been slapped. When did he become so…cold?

Naruto shot him a glare, “I care. Why don’t you go somewhere you’re wanted jerk?”

“You seem a little young to already be a ninja,” Sakura said, cutting across her teammates—who looked like they were ready to kill each other.

“I graduated a little early,” I said, shrugging.

“What, really?” Naruto looked beyond excitement, “Why didn’t you say so sooner? That’s awesome! How’d you do it? Did you study really hard? Were you smarter than everyone? What? Tell me the secret to your success!”

“Don’t hound her, Naruto,” Sakura scolded, “This isn’t twenty questions.” She gave me a warm smile, “That’s really cool, Riyame.” I gave both of them a tiny smile, and it felt…genuine. Neither of my teammates was very impressed that I’d only graduated a year earlier. Very few were, actually. I wasn’t really above average, so Naruto’s exuberance went far to uncoil some of the tightness in my stomach.

“There’s a smile!” Naruto gave me another huge grin and a thumbs up.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke roll his eyes. Smiling after that felt like a chore, so I stopped bothering. Naruto and Sakura both noticed the change and Naruto even recognized the cause of it. When he turned on Sasuke, I tried to protest, but nothing came out.

“Really, Sasuke? Why do you have to ruin everything?” Naruto pointed at him.

“I have better things to do with my life than hang around here with the three of you. This is wasting valuable time that could be spent on training,” He sneered, his glare shifting to me, “Some of us look like we could use it.”

A pang echoed through my chest. The ball of panic in my stomach writhed painfully. I began to gnaw on my lip, hoping the discomfort would bring clarity to the rush of unwanted emotion that threatened to smother me. It didn’t, but it made them bearable.

Any plan that my sensei made for my confession went completely out the window. Even Kakashi had to know that. If they didn’t they were fooling themselves. Sasuke was too distant. He was more likely to call me a liar and leave me even lonelier than I already was. I wasn’t a person who could take that kind of rejection. He obviously didn’t recognize me, so I might as well leave it at that and avoid the heartache.

We waited at that spot for another two hours. I found myself counting the time between awkward sessions of attempted small talk with Naruto and Sakura. Relief was like a bucket of cold water when I could sense Kakashi’s presence come within the range of my senses.

“I trust the four of you have gotten to know each other a little better?” The question was aimed at me, and his visible eye even flickered to me for a moment. I gave a subtle shake of my head, but it didn’t seem to dampen his mood. When no one else spoke, he continued.

“We’re going our first mission with Riyame this morning.”

“This morning,” Naruto shouted.

“It was the morning three hours ago,” Sakura barked. Kakashi apologized, but I doubted he felt that bad about it.

“Meet me at the mission reception-“

“You mean you’re going to go off to do whatever it is you do again, right?” Sasuke grumbled. I cringed away from the acid in his voice. Kakashi-sensei took it in stride. He just ruffled his hair and waved us goodbye.

Naruto shouted, “And don’t be late,” as he walked away from us.

Kakashi smiled to himself as Naruto called after him. He glanced back at Riyame when he was far enough away for them not to notice. She distanced herself from the others—which told him that she was avoiding speaking to any of them, especially Sasuke. He felt bad for breaking his promise not to leave her alone, but she needed a chance to interact with them without him breathing down her neck.

Muscle memory carried him to the memorial stone. He sighed as he looked down at it. This was going to be a very awkward time for team seven.

“Heard your team gained a member.” He wasn’t very surprised when Jiraiya joined him, “How’d they take to her?”

“It’s hard to tell. Naruto and Sakura seemed to take to her just fine, but Sasuke is as anti-social as ever. It’s pretty much the only way that they’re alike.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, “She wouldn’t even speak at first.”

“You think she’ll tell him of her own accord?”

“No. She’s too afraid,” Kakashi sighed, “When Caguna came to me and asked me if I would take Riyame under my wing, I never expected it to be so tense. I’d hoped she would just fess up or he’d recognize her and get it out of the way. It sounds ridiculous now that I look back at it.”

“Did Caguna tell you anything about her?”

“She feels like she’s spent years watching him grow, and she has nothing to show for it but loneliness. Her words apparently.” Kakashi hoped that she’d at least find friends in the two more amiable members of his squad. He guessed correctly that she and Sasuke wouldn’t get along, and now he greatly doubted Riyame would ever fess up.

“How about her sharingan?”

“’No clue. I know it’s activated, but that’s about it,” Kakashi replied, “Caguna tells me that she has a lot of potential, and I believe it. Yet, he’s also admitted that he hasn’t been the greatest teacher, so her confidence is lacking because of it.”

“You have your hands full with that one. I don’t envy you,” Jiraiya sighed, sounding as exasperated as I felt. “You think she’s ever going to tell him?”

“Not without the proper provocation,” Kakashi said. That girl was an anxious, self-derogatory mess. She thought she was a hindrance to everyone around her, and her own squad had done nothing but drive that point home. Caguna had admitted that much.

Her fear of Sasuke was mostly irrational. Not that Kakashi didn’t understand it. For a kid as insecure as Riyame, rejection was a scary thing, but this was just kicked into overdrive. Not that he blamed her. He would be the first to admit that Sasuke could be a brat. He was a loner, and that was how he preferred it to stay. Had they been reunited after the massacre, it might be different.

“I’m running late,” Kakashi huffed, “I’d better meet them before they get too impatient.”

“Good luck,” Jiraiya muttered. He mumbled thanks and set off to meet some very impatient genin.

About ten minutes passed as team seven and I waited for Kakashi-sensei. Lady Tsunade sat at the center of a line of officials, watching us as Naruto paced angrily.

“How many times can you be late in one day,” Sakura complained.

“Your sensei will be here soon enough,” The Hokage said dismissively.

“You always say that grandma,” Naruto spat. I looked at him in awe. Did he really just disrespect one of the three legendary Sannin? He was either very brave or very stupid. I hadn’t decided which yet.

“I told you never to call me that,” She growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously. My mouth went dry, and I averted my eyes in an attempt to keep myself out of firing range.

“Sorry, I’m late.” Kakashi’s voice sent a wave of relief over me, easing some of the tension in the room.

“There you are, Kakashi.” Irritation still lingered on her face, but her voice was calm. Naruto seemed to have a lasting effect on a lot of people. “I presume you’re here for a mission?”

Kakashi shot us an apologetic look before replying, “You would presume correctly.” Naruto and Sakura returned his glance with molten glares; whereas, Sasuke could have cared less.

Tsunade began to read off mission possibilities, all of which Naruto shot down. I wouldn’t have minded most of them; they were small tasks that anyone could have done. That meant he wanted nothing to do with them.

“Give us something better,” Naruto demanded.

“Fine, deliver a message to Kumorigakure. Do you think you can handle that?” She finally spat out.

“Um…Lady Hokage,” Sakura hesitated, “That’s a little far, isn’t it?”

“It’s only a D-rank mission. It’s not that important, just trade agreements. The distance shouldn’t be too much,” Tsunade replied evenly, “Sasuke or Riyame could finish this mission alone.”

Her words were supposed to be reassuring, and though they worked for Sakura, they did the opposite for me. I could feel my cheeks heat, and Sasuke’s displeasure at being measured beside me was obvious. He and I both knew that I was no comparison.

“I doubt that,” I huffed under my breath. I hoped it would go unnoticed, but I wasn’t that lucky.

“How’d you become a ninja with that attitude?” Naruto pointed at me dramatically, and every eye in the room was on me. Self-conscious didn’t begin to describe how I felt.

“You’re just as strong as any of us, believe it, Riyame.” Naruto sounded so confident in his words that it was hard to disagree with him—which I did. He’d only known me for a few hours. What did he know?

Reactions to Naruto’s words varied around the room. Sasuke rolled his eyes—not very surprising, though it stung, Kakashi was disappointed—which was almost as bad, and Sakura looked at me like someone might a wounded animal.

We ended up accepting the mission, and by the end of the briefing, I felt like I was going to gnaw a hole in my lip. The team parted briefly to pack for the short trip. I didn’t waste any time because I would just end up wallowing in self-pity if I did.

Everyone managed to reach the village gates at the same time, including Kakashi, which I was quickly figuring out was a miracle itself.

“Is everyone ready?” Kakashi was oddly cheerful.

Naruto and Sakura were in unison as they said, “Yeah!”

“Whatever.” This was apparently Sasuke’s response to everything, and that bothered me more than it should.

Kakashi’s eyes were then on me. I peered at him sheepishly through my lashes. I didn’t expect my opinion to matter, so my chest thickened with emotion.

“Would you take it into consideration if I told you I’d slow you down?”

“Scared of a little walking?” Naruto teased.

“I’m not scared.” My objection sounded more childish than I meant it to be.

“We’ve established the fact that you’ll slow us down. If we can drag Naruto behind us all the time, I’m pretty sure we can manage a light weight like you. We’re stuck with each other. Suck it up.” Sasuke’s words dripped with disdain. I had to swallow to wet my throat. A mix of chaotic emotions swallowed me again.

My teammates would be begging to leave me behind. Sasuke made it clear that he didn’t care whether I existed or not, and that was worse. I began to think that it didn’t matter whether he could recognize me or not.

“That was uncalled for and rude, Sasuke. Either accept her or keep your mouth shut,” Kakashi scolded.

This was the second time that it felt like an ice bucket had been dumped over my head. Caguna-sensei was much more passive whenever either of my teammates made snide comments. Not that they’d get away with it completely, but there was only so much a half-hearted reprimand would do. Kakashi and Caguna were two very different people. If it wasn’t clear before, it was absolutely clear now.

He then turned to me, “If you don’t stop downing yourself, I will make you do basic training exercises until you can’t stand. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sensei,” I muttered. He just scolded me, yet I felt…relief? What was wrong with me today?

We wasted no time in continuing with the mission. I managed to do well despite myself, and most of the team was determined not to let my—or Sasuke’s—negativity ruin their excitement. I kept to myself throughout most of the mission, and it went without difficulty.

When we rested sometime during the night, Naruto fired off questions at me. I dodged them whenever possible because I hated the spotlight, but I found it oddly endearing that he and Sakura seemed so determined to make friends with me. Even as we continued onward into the territory of the Shadow Village, Naruto kept going. He was like a machine. A stubborn, goofy machine.

Once we reached the village, we were intercepted at the gates, so we never went inside—much to Naruto’s disappointment. Once Kakashi-sensei handed over the trade agreements, we were on our way home. We made it back by noon of the next day.