Naruto's POV

I was arguing with Kiba that ramen was better than meat until I saw Nue-chan walked in the room. My eyes went wide when I saw her hair. She looked amazing! "Nue-chan!" I called. She looked at me and smiled. Kiba and I ran over to her.

"Nue-chan, you look amazing!" I said to her. Nue-chan blushed. She looked cute when she blushed. "I like your new hairstyle." Kiba said. "Thank you, Kiba." She said, a little shyly. I shot Kiba a glare. He noticed it and smirked.

"All right class, settle down." I heard Iruka-sensei say. We all took our seats and listened to what Iruka-sensei had to say.

Nue's POV

I took my seat next to Naruto after Iruka-sensei told us to sit down. Iruka told us that we had a test next class. We had to do the Clone Jutsu in order to pass. That sounded pretty easy, considering how many times Sharon made me do the jutsu until it was perfect.

Class ended rather quickly. Probably because I dozed off for the rest of class. I got up from my seat and went to the door. "So, what do you wanna do when we get home?" I asked Kiyoshi. "You wanna get sssssomething to eat?" He suggested.

"Already?" I asked. He gave me a nod. "No, thanks. I just wanna get some sleep." I said before yawning slightly. "SSSleep? Are you sssssure thossssse ssssleeping pillsssss are doing the trick for ya?" Kiyoshi asked. I shrugged.

"To be honest, I really don't know." I answered, truthfully. I accidentally bumped into someone... again. I sighed into the person's chest. Man, I sure have a habit of bumping into people these days.

"Are you okay?" The person I bumped into asked me. I looked up, seeing it was a boy with black hair in a shape of a pineapple.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered, taking a step back so my face was no longer in his chest. I pulled away from his chest. "You're... Nue, right?" He asked. "Yes, I am." I said. "I'm Shikamaru Nara. Nice to meet you." He introduced, extending his hand.

I took it and shook his hand. I know about the Nara Clan. I hear they're pretty popular with their Shadow Possession Jutsu. "Hey, Shikamaru," I said. He hummed in response. "This Sasuke guy... What's he like?" I asked.

"Oh, great. Don't tell me you have a crush on him, too?"

"No, not at all. I was just wondering what makes him so popular in this class."

"Probably because he's the number one rookie in the academy."

"Number one rookie?" I repeated. He nodded his head. "What makes him number one?" I questioned. "He gets the highest scores in the class." Shikamaru answered. "So? Anyone can get a high score if they study. It doesn't sound like he's all that special to me." I said.

"Oh, yeah?"

Oh, shit. I turned around. Of course. Why am I not surprised? It's the rookie himself, Sasuke Uchiha. I heard Kiyoshi laugh. "Pardon?" I asked Sasuke. "You think it's that easy?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, yeah. Anyone can become number one if they study. Take Naruto, for example. If he were to study hard, he'd be the number one rookie instead of you. I'm sure he has just enough knowledge as you do. Maybe even more. I mean, from the looks of it, I think he might be even stronger than you." I said.

Sasuke glared at me. Oops. I didn't mean any disrespect by it. I was just trying to make a point. Well, that went well. "Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Sasuke demanded. "I wasn't trying to. I was only making a statement." I said.

"Look, Sasuke. I'm sure Nue didn't mean to offend you. Remember, she's still new." Shikamaru defended. I was tired and sleepy, but for some reason, I felt like fighting. "If you can prove me wrong, then fight me." I challenged.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru whispered."Just trust me, okay?" I whispered back. "Fight you?" Sasuke asked. "Yeah, fight me. If you can beat me, I'll take back what I said before." I said in a serious tone.

"No, thanks. You'll just be wasting my time." Sasuke said, walking past me.

"Coward." I coughed loudly.

"What was that?" Sasuke glanced back at me with a glare.

"Nothing," I answered quickly. He began to walk away again. "Too weak to fight a girl." I coughed again. Shikamaru tugged my arm. "Will you quit trying to bait him? And what's with the sudden change in attitude? Just for a second, you didn't want to start something with this guy!" He whispered/yelled.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." I said to him. "Are you trying to test me?" Sasuke demanded. "That's the plan. Is it working?" I asked, cockily. Sasuke roughly grabbed my wrist and yanked me out of the classroom. I guess it's working.

"Nue!" Shikamaru called after me. When we were outside, Sasuke roughly threw me forward, nearly making me trip over my own feet. I turned around so I was facing him. "Well, that was rude." I mentioned. 

"You said you wanted a fight, right? Well, now you got one." Sasuke said, getting in a fighting stance. I smirked. "That's what I'm talking about, Uchiha." I said, smirking. What the hell am I saying?! Why do I sound so confident now?! 

Then, out of nowhere, kids showed up. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" They chanted. "Let's go, Sasuke! Beat her down!" One of his fangirls shouted. I rolled my eyes. "Like he could. He refused to fight me in the first place." I said out loud.

Sasuke frowned again before running at me, getting ready to throw a punch to my face. I blocked it and punched him in the face. He took a step back as he held his nose. I wonder if I broke it? "Are you all right? Did I break it? Or is that all you got?" I asked, smirking.

'What the hell is going on with you, Nue?!' I thought to myself. Sasuke glared at me before running at me again. We began to go at each other with taijutsu. Well, he was throwing punches and kicks at me while I was just basically dodging and blocking them.

It was like this for the first three minutes until I grabbed both of Sasuke's wrists and stared at him emotionlessly. "I'm getting a little bored, Uchiha." I said to him. I head-butted him in the head, then threw a hard punch to his stomach.

He took a few steps back while holding his stomach. "Weren't you throwing your punches before?" Sasuke asked me. I blinked and cocked my head to the side. "You think I was?" I asked, innocently.

"You mean, this whole time you weren't on the offensive side at all?" Sasuke demanded. "Of course not. So, you could say I've been toying with you." I explained. "Stop playing games and come at me with all you got!" He commanded. I shrugged.

"If that's what you want." I said casually. I smirked as I ran at him with full speed. I punched him twice, then drove my knee into his stomach. Oh, I wasn't done yet. I did a backflip, my foot hitting him in the chin.

Sasuke flew back and slid across the ground. I casually began to walk towards him as he was still on the ground. I stood over him and kneeled down so I was almost sitting on his stomach before taking out a kunai knife.

I smirked and made the kunai come down on his eye. Well, almost. I made it stop just in time as Sasuke turned his head so the kunai wouldn't hit his eye. I calmly smiled down at him as the kunai was just inches from his eye.

Sasuke looked at me, but I could see the fear and disbelief in his eye. "I... give up." He mumbled. Apparently, some of the kids heard him and gasped. I got off him.

"That's what I thought. But seriously though, Sasuke. I'm going to give you some advice for the future," I put my kunai knife away. "Don't go asking for a fight when you're clearly not ready to face someone who is stronger than you." I advised before walking over to Shikamaru.

I saw him standing next to Kiba and Naruto. They smiled at me until their faces turned into alarmed expressions. "Nue-chan, behind you!" Naruto called. I raised a brow, then turned around. I gave a small gasp when I saw Sasuke about to throw a punch to my face.

There was no way I could dodge this one in time. So, I just stood there and closed my eyes, deciding to take the punch.

But it never came. I opened one of my eyes, then blinked, seeing a young woman standing in front of me, her back facing me. I looked over her shoulder and saw Sasuke on the ground, coughing a bit. "Ano... Miss?" I asked.

"Are you alright, Nue-sama? You're not harmed, are you?" She asked, her back still facing me. "Nue... sama?" I repeated. Why did she call me that? Do I know her? "Just who are you?" I asked. She turned around to face me and smiled at me.

"I am Maria Asanaki. Your mother, Luna Satori, sent me to look after you." She explained. This is the person who Okaa-san sent to look after me? I took a look at Maria to examine her.

She had blue hair with red eyes and pale skin while she wore a purple maid's outfit with a red bow and a golden medallion in the middle of her neck. She also wore black and purple striped socks along with a pair of black boots. (See pic) 

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Nue-sama." Maria said with a closed eye smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Maria." I said, smiling back. I'm already starting to like her. "Nue, that was amazing!" I heard Kiba say.

I turned around and got bear hugged by him. "Aw, the dog boy caresss." Kiyoshi cooed. I giggled slightly. "That was awesome, Nue-chan!" Naruto said. "Thanks." I replied. "Who's that?" Shikamaru asked, pointing at Maria.

"This is my new maid, Maria Asanaki." I introduced. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nue-sama's friends." Maria said, bowing to them with a smile. "Uh, Nue. You might wanna get out of here now." Kiba said. "How come?" I asked him.

"Because a bunch of Sasuke's fangirls are about to kill you." Shikamaru answered, lazily. I hummed in confusion, then turned around. Oh, man. He's right. A lot of girls had glares on their faces, along with Pinky and Blondie.

"Uh-oh." I mumbled. "Hahahaha! Hissss fangirlsss look pretty pissssed!" Kiyoshi hissed, laughing his tail off. "Gee, thanks for the help." I said as I rolled my eyes. I yawned. I was too tired to fight Sasuke's fangirls.

I could already feel sleep trying to take over my body. "Are you okay, Nue?" Kiba asked. "Yeah, just a little tired." I admitted. "Nue-sama, if I may," Maria gave a small bow before swiftly scooping me up, bridal style.

"H-Hey!" I screamed as Maria began to jump from rooftop to rooftop while carrying me. After jumping off a few more rooftops, we entered my apartment and Maria set me down on my feet. "Are you unharmed, Nue-sama?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for your assistance, Maria." I thanked. "It was my pleasure." She said, giving a bow.  When I was about to ask her a question, a messenger bird flew by my window. Maria went over to the window and took the message off the bird's back, then read the front.

"It's a letter from your sister, Nue-sama." She informed. She handed me the note and I began to read it: 

"Hey, imouto! How do you like your new maid, assuming she's there with you right now? She is there to protect you. Why you need protection, you ask? Because we found an Mist ANBU in the library today and he somehow got ahold of your information, and now he might be on his way to kill you. So, Mother sent Maria to you so she can look after you. She is very skilled and is a master at taijutsu."

Where did they even find Maria if she's new? My question was answered when I continued reading the note:

"We found Maria in a market and we overheard her saying she needed a job. She said she used to be a maid back at the Hidden Stone Village. Mother talked to her and evaluated her. She passed with flying colors! Anyway, hope she comes in handy. Love you, miss you!"

                                                                     Your onee-chan,

                                                                                                Iri

When I was finished reading the note, I looked at Maria. "Damn, sssshe's hot!" Kiyoshi said with hearts in his eyes. "I'll admit, she looks beautiful." I said to him. "SSSShe's more than beautiful. Just look at her chessst!" He said as he began to drool.

"You perverted snake!!!" I said. I began strangling him by the neck. Maria giggled. "Julia-san and Sharon-san were right. You are adorable." She said smiling. I tried to hold back a blush, but it didn't work. "Your blushing makes you even more adorable." Maria added.

"That'ssss what I keep sssaying!" Kiyoshi said. I was too tired to strangle him again. "I'm going to bed. Thanks again for helping me, Maria." I said to her. "Anytime, Nue-sama." She said, giving a bow. I went to my room and flopped on my bed.

"It'ssss only five in the afternoon." Kiyoshi said. "I know, but I just want to rest." I said before falling asleep.

(Meanwhile at Luna's House)

Luna's POV

"Ne, Mother. Are you sure Nue's okay in the Leaf Village?" Iri asked me. "I don't know. Seeing her last message, she didn't sound so happy." I said. Things were pretty quiet without Nue here. I miss her so much, but I had to let her go.

If I didn't, that ninja would've come back and killed her. Right now, we were cleaning up the living room. Turns out, a bunch of Mist ANBU came here and demanded where Nue was. When I refused to tell them, they attacked. 

But we managed to fight them off for a good four hours. We killed a few of them while the rest retreated. I had Julia and Sharon burn the dead bodies. I sighed as I picked up a half-burnt photo.

I saw Nue smiling while Iri had her arm over her shoulder. I stared at Nue as the smile was plastered on her face. I placed a hand over my mouth and began to cry, not wanting anyone to hear me, but it was useless.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Iri said out of worry. She headed over to me and looked at the picture in my hand. "I miss her, too." Iri said, quietly, as a tear rolled down her cheek. I wiped my tears and looked at her.

"I know. But crying over it isn't going to bring her back. For now, all we can do it hope for the best." I said. I have faith in the new maid. I know she's going to protect Nue. Iri sniffed and wiped her eyes so no more tears wouldn't fall.

"Are we ever going to see Nue again, Mother?" She asked. "We will see Nue again. I promise." I assured her. "What about that Orochimaru-creep?" Iri asked.

Ever since Orochimaru came to visit, I've grown a little suspicious. What got me really worried was that he knew Nue before I did. What does he plan to do when he finds out Nue is living in the Leaf? "Let me go to the village." Iri said, grabbing my attention.

"What?" I asked.

"Let me go to the village and make sure Nue is safe. And if that Orochi-pedo gets ahold of her, I'll fight that asshole myself!" Iri said with determination. "For someone who doesn't enjoy foul language, you sure do say them a lot." I stated.

Iri laughed sheepishly while she scratched the back of her head. "Sorry." She apologized. "Although, you do have a point. We can't let Orochimaru get anywhere close to Nue." I said. "But Nue will avoid him, right? She has to. She knows he's bad, right?" Iri asked.

I was a little debatable on that part. According to Julia, Nue and Orochimaru have stricken a friendship in just one day. It was almost strange. No... It was strange. "Iri, clean up the rest of this mess. Then, go check on Julia and Sharon to see if they're done burning the bodies." I ordered. "Hai." She replied before getting back to work.

I headed to the library and took Orochimaru's profile off the shelf. I got this from Lord Hokage after what I told him about his last visit here, before I adopted Nue. I understand Orochimaru was one of the Legendary Sanin, but when did he visit Nue?

More importantly, when could they have met when Nue was with me?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sasuke got his butt kicked by a girl. He must feel pretty embarrassed. >:D hahaha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Vote and comment if you wish to see more. Stay awesome.

Kureiji out~