Akeboshi here! I hope you enjoy this as much as you have enjoyed the rest of my stories!

Her footsteps echoed down the hallways as she rushed out of her home. The five year old was late, very late. Well, not very late... She was just your typical little panicking shy girl after all so she was worried about being late. Her glowing silver eyes scanned over everything she passed by as she ran. She waved at her father as she slipped out the front door. She ran down the pathway leading to the gates of the compound, only skidding to a halt upon seeing the clan leader and his wife. "Hiashi-sama, Hinori-sama." She greeted and the two of them offered the little girl small smiles.

"Ivara, be careful today." Hinori said and Ivara smiled and nodded to the violet haired woman.

You thought this was another one focused solely around Hinata, huh? Nope, this story is about her cousin.

Her name was Ivara Hyuuga, eldest daughter of Hizashi Hyuuga. She had the typical dark brown hair that the Hyuuga had. Her eyes were more silver than white, and this was in the manner of saying they appeared metallic instead of the usual flat grey. The curse mark adorned her forehead, but she didn't mind, her bangs covered it up for the most part. She didn't care that she was part of the branch family, that didn't matter to her in the slightest.

She was a shinobi; she wasn't going to be labeled because of her family's petty views.

The small building at the end of the road came into view and she smiled brightly. She slowed her run and reached for the door to open it, only for her to run right into someone. "S-sorry." She stammered as she stood and helped the other person up. She looked the girl in the eyes and they blinked in confusion. "Whoa... you look just like me." the other girl said and Ivara blushed and fumbled with her fingers. "E-except our eyes..." she said softly and the other girl grinned. "My name is Izumi, what's yours?" the darker eyed girl asked and Ivara opened her mouth to speak but she clamped her mouth shut once more.

"I-Ivara..." she managed and Izumi grinned at her. "Bow of the hunter?" she asked and Ivara nodded. "It's pretty." Izumi said and Ivara stared at her in awe. "Would you wanna be my friend? You're joining the academy aren't you?" she asked and Ivara nodded softly. "I w-would like that..." Ivara whispered and Izumi grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the building. "Mitarashi-sensei!" Izumi called and the dark haired man turned to face her. "I found Ivara-chan!" she said and the black haired man smiled lightly, running a hand through his somewhat short spikey hair.

"Ivara Hyuuga, right?" he asked and Ivara fumbled over her words in her panic. Izumi giggled and nodded at him. "Yeah, she's Ivara Hyuuga." Izumi said and he rocked his head to the side in an iffy manner. "Jinn-san." Another voice called out and Ivara hid behind Izumi as the older man walked into the academy building. "Ah! Fugaku-san!" Jinn Mitarashi greeted and the older man smiled slightly. "This is Itachi. I brought him down because I thought I would take a look at the group, seeing as these kids are starting younger than the others." Fugaku said and Jinn nodded in understanding. "Itachi-kun!" Izumi chirped happily and the boy looked her way and smiled lightly.

"Izumi, I heard you were coming today." He said softly and Izumi grinned. "This is going to be so much fun!" Izumi chirped happily. "Oh! This is Ivara!" Izumi said forcing the other girl from behind her. Itachi watched the girl in confusion, his gaze shifting from Izumi to Ivara. "You look alike..." he said and his gaze lingered on Ivara, who was struggling to breathe. Her face was turning red because of the attention she was getting. "Oh no... Ivara." Jinn began and reached for the young girl, only for her eyes to roll up and she hit the floor. "Izumi, what happened?" Jinn asked and Izumi blushed.

"I was just introducing her to Itachi-kun..." she whispered and Jinn sighed. "Her father warned me this may happen..." Jinn sighed and rubbed his brow. "Is she going to be alright?" Itachi asked and Jinn nodded. "Yeah, she will be just fine once she wakes. She's just shy is all." Jinn laughed and Fugaku chuckled. "When you go to choose teams put her with an Inuzuka, she'll get over the shyness after a while." He said and Jinn chuckled. "Well, I suppose that may be true, seeing as we have the pleasure of having Hana Inuzuka here with us this year." Jinn said and Fugaku looked over where Tsume sat with her feet propped up on Jinn's desk, Hana sitting with her legs hanging off the desk.

Ivara sat up and looked around, her cheeks still tinted pink. Izumi and Itachi were crouched in front of her and she blushed deeper. "We can move further away if it's personal space issues you have..." Itachi offered and she slowly looked up at him. "U-um... no it's o-ok..." she whispered and he offered her a hand. She took it and he helped her up. "Oh, Ivara. Here. Take this back to your father and have him go through everything and make sure this is ok. You're all younger than the last few groups of academy graduates and I want to make sure all of your families know the risks and are alright with them." Jinn said and Ivara bit her lip and took the packet.

"You all won't start until next year, but I want to make sure all the paperwork is in order now. You will be able to come here during the week and train, seeing as I want you all as prepared as possible for when you actually do start. However, we will not be going in depth in anything just yet, it will be chakra control training and kunai/ shuriken training until next year when you all officially start." Jinn said and all the young potential students chattered amongst themselves excitedly. Ivara looked down at the packet in her hands and sighed.

"Hey... Ivara." Izumi called and she looked over at the other girl. "What is that on your forehead?" Izumi asked and Ivara almost dropped the envelope in her grasp. "Izumi!" Fugaku's scolding tone cut through the silence and Izumi looked over at her clan leader in fear. "F-Fugaku-sama?" Izumi stammered, fear in her dark eyes as she looked up at him. Itachi's eyes were glued to Ivara now. "It's not polite to ask about things like that." Fugaku said with a frown. "Forgive me, Ivara." Izumi said, her tone saddened and Ivara frowned.

"It's alright..." Ivara began, but Fugaku cut her off. "It's not, forgive me for being harsh, Ivara, but that isn't something you randomly ask about..." Fugaku said and Ivara offered a small smile. "I promise, it's ok." She said and she slowly pulled her bangs away to tuck them behind her ear and show off the marking on her forehead. It was slightly different in color than most of the curse marks he had seen. It was a lighter shade of green than they usually were, it was so light of a green that it looked blue. "I'm not ashamed of my c-curse mark. I'm not ashamed that I am of b-branch family..." she said softly and Fugaku stared at her in confusion.

"T-this mark does not define me. It does not d-define how strong I could be, and it does not define w-who I am or who I w-will be..." she whispered and Fugaku placed his hand on her head and crouched before her. "Good. All the Hyuuga I know are ashamed and angry. They hate that mark and everything it represents." He said and ruffled her hair softly. He looked up at Jinn, who held a smirk. "She's going to be a good one. Teach her well." He said and Jinn nodded. "I'm s-sorry you got in trouble Izumi..." Ivara whispered and Izumi shook her head. "I shouldn't have asked. I didn't know what it meant." Izumi said and Ivara opened her arms to the other girl, who hugged her in apology.

"I think it is very pretty though." Izumi said as she stepped away from her new friend. "T-thank you..." Ivara whispered and Izumi laughed, causing Ivara to look up at her. "We should come up here every day so we can get really good at being shinobi." Izumi suggested and Ivara nodded at her rapidly. "O-of course! That way we can get s-strong together!" Ivara said grinning at her new friend. "What about you Itachi, you wanna join us?" she asked and he offered a small smile. "Of course." He said and the girls beamed at each other. "Ivara." A woman's voice called and Ivara looked up and saw Hinori Hyuuga standing in the doorway.

Ivara's eyes went wide and she bowed swiftly. "Auntie Hinori." She greeted and the woman brushed the hair out of Ivara's face. "Come dear, your father was beginning to worry." She said and Ivara looked up at her in horror. "I'm so sorry I took so long." She stammered in terror and both Itachi and Izumi looked at her in confusion. "Ivara?" Izumi called and Hinori looked over at the two Uchiha children standing there. "You made friends." Hinori said softly, a small smile adorning her lips."Uncle isn't upset is he?" Ivara asked and Hinori shook her head. "Hiashi isn't upset, I just wanted to come see if you were alright, as I said your father was worrying again." Hinori said with a small smile.

"Daddy worries a lot doesn't he?" Ivara asked softly as she turned to Izumi and Itachi. "This is my Auntie Hinori." She introduced softly then turned to her aunt. "Auntie, these are my new friends..." she said and took a quick breath. "I-Itachi, and Izumi-chan... they're Uchiha." Ivara said softly and the woman smiled at the other two children. "Pleasure to meet you." Hinori greeted and the two Uchiha children bowed in greeting. "We must go, but I look forward to seeing all of you around." Hinori said and Jinn smiled as he waved at her. Ivara ran ahead of Hinori, but remained within the elegant woman's field of vision, although that wasn't an issue either way, seeing as she had Byakugan.

"Jinn sent me a note by Pidgeon saying you fainted today... What happened, dear?" she asked and Ivara looked up at her aunt in shame. "I try so hard not to..." she said and Hinori smiled. "I know, dear. I know." Hinori said and Ivara looked up at her. "Would you believe me if I told you that I used to faint as well?" Hinori asked and Ivara shook her head rapidly. "N-no way. Not you auntie, you're so strong I don't believe that." Ivara said and Hinori laughed. "Ah, dear, but I did. I was such a panic stricken teen that I'd send my mind into overdrive. I fainted more often than not. I think it's a thing for some of the Hyuuga women." Hinori giggled as Ivara trotted backwards in front of her, her eyes holding a keen interest.

"Why do you t-think that?" Ivara asked softly and Hinori smiled brightly. "I think that we panic when we feel some type of way. You'll understand when you're older, but for now I'm going to tell you that your uncle was the cause of most of my fainting spells." Hinori said and Ivara tilted her head to the side. She didn't quite understand. "Uncle made you faint?" she asked and Hinori nodded. "Yes, your uncle was the reason for my fainting spells. So what made you faint today?" Hinori asked and Ivara shook her head.

"I... I don't know... I thought I was doing ok, but t-then Izumi-chan introduced me to Itachi-san and I don't know what h-happened." Ivara whispered in embarrassment and Hinori bit her lip to attempt to hold back her smile, but the mirth in her eyes was unable to be hidden. "Ivara!" Hizashi called and the little girl ran right to her father and latched onto his leg. He laughed and pulled her from his leg and hugged her tightly. "You worry too much, daddy." She giggled and Hizashi sighed. "I worry just enough, thank you." He chuckled and adjusted her so that she was on his hip.

"You're getting so big." He sighed and she giggled. "How was your day?" he asked and she grinned at him. "She made friends already Hizashi apparently you had nothing to worry about." Hinori said and Ivara grinned at her father. "They are Uchiha none-the-less." Hinori added and her father gave her an impressed look. "Is this true?" he asked and Ivara nodded rapidly. "Izumi-chan and Itachi-san." She chirped and her father nodded. "Good for you, so are you going to practice with me and your uncle today or are you going to take a nap?" Hizashi asked and Ivara thought about it for a moment then smiled.

"I wanna do gentle fist with you and uncle." She said and he nodded. "Alrighty then, my little Kunoichi, lets head on over to uncle Hiashi's then." Hizashi said and set her down. Ivara pulled her hair into a low ponytail as she trailed behind her father. They arrived at the main branch's dojo and Hizashi averted his eyes away from all the main branch members. They didn't care for him, which angered Ivara. She watched as her father held his head and shoulders low, but she did the opposite. She turned her nose up at the main branch members and set her shoulders to a position of confidence she knew she didn't have. They wouldn't say a word to her because she was a child, and the first born out of the two brothers.

The adults wouldn't say anything to her, but the older main branch kids were sneering at her. They would be the ones to do something, Ivara knew this; but she didn't like the fact her father was treated so badly. They entered the dojo and Hiashi was already inside, sending rapid hits to the training dummy across the room. "Hizashi, Ivara." He greeted and Ivara rushed over to him and tried to hug his leg like she always did, but someone appeared before her uncle and sent her flying backwards at the floor. She picked herself up off the floor and looked at the person who had hit her. He didn't look but to be about twelve, but he was bigger than she was. "