Nobuko awoke to her father's smiling face, his straight red hair framing his face. Today was Nobuko's first day at the Ninja Academy, and it was an understatement to say she was nervous. Wanting to make a good impression on her peers, Nobuko did her hair as nice as possible, adding two clips to keep her bangs out of her face. The two buns on her head were as neat and even as Nobuko could make them, though little hairs still were visible. The rest of her red hair was combed neatly, the straight red strands reaching her waist. She wore a sleeveless purple shirt that was so pale it could be mistaken for white, had dark blue lining down the middle, and had a collar. On her arms, Nobuko wore black fingerless gloves that went to her elbows and she wore shorts that went down to her knees the same shade as her shirt with dark blue lining. Her ninja shoes were black, matching her outfit. Her father had bought her clothes that made her fiery hair stand out.

She was confident and she loved her red hair. Not once had she thought about disliking her hair, and she never planned to. Walking through the doors of the Ninja Academy, Nobuko wandered around the building lost before she found the right room. Knocking politely, Nobuko played with her hair to calm her nerves. The door opened, revealing a kind-looking man with a scar across his nose.

Iruka stared at the girl curiously before making the connection that she was the new student. "Welcome!" He gave her a smile, his eyes closed. Her let her in and the class stared at the girl- some with curiosity, others with boredom. "Please introduce yourself." Iruka's kind voice calmed her and she smiled widely.

"I'm Nobuko Uzumaki!" The girl said, complete confidence in her voice. The class stared at her confused as to how the new girl shared the same last name as the blonde knucklehead. "I hope we all get along!" Nobuko didn't realize just how loud she was being. She was practically yelling, making Iruka sweat-drop, I see the resemblance between her and Naruto, Iruka thought. Regaining his composure, Iruka assigned Nobuko a seat next to her blonde relative.

Naruto hadn't been paying attention, but when Nobuko sat next to him, he turned to her, surprised, "Nobuko-Chan?! You go to the Ninja Academy?" Naruto's loud voice echoed throughout the classroom, making the whole class sweat-drop except for Nobuko. Nodding enthusiastically, Nobuko smiled at him, making him smile just as wide as her. "Yeah! That's great, ya know!" Nobuko was too immersed in conversation with Naruto to listen to the lesson.

"We should get ramen after school, Naruto-Kun! It's so good!" Nobuko drooled at the thought of ramen, her eyes gaining a certain glint to them. Naruto nodded and they began to talk about other things, "Naruto-Kun? Why's your hair blonde? Isn't our clan famous for red hair?" Nobuko's head tilted to the side curiously, and Naruto though about the answer.

"I-I don't know. I wish I had your red hair Nobuko-Chan! It's so pretty!" Naruto exclaimed, nodding as he readjusted the green goggles on his head. Nobuko giggled, "So, Nobuko-Chan, are we cousins or something?" Naruto said, realizing that they had just identified themselves as family. 

Nobuko was at a loss of words, Are we cousins? She thought. Shrugging, she smiled at him, "I don't know, so I'll just call you Naruto-Nii, okay?" Her bright smile was radiant and contagious, making Naruto smile in return as they continued talking. Soon, class was over, and Nobuko and Naruto had learned nothing. They were busy catching up, and Nobuko was new, so Iruka let it slide. The two Uzumaki's exited the school, bright smiles on their faces. About to walk to Ichiraku Ramen, the two kids were stopped by a group of three boys. They had cruel smiles on their faces, and Nobuko gripped Naruto's hand, not having any experience with bullies.

The boys let out a laugh as they saw the nervous look on Nobuko's face, "Hey weakling!" One boy called out, addressing Naruto, "What are you doing with the new tomato? Are you guys friends or something?" Their voices rang in Nobuko's ears as she grew angry. Her face showed her anger as the boys continued mocking her. "Is the tomato mad?" Nobuko looked down, not wanting to cause trouble as her anger and confidence faded.

"Come on, Naruto-Nii..." She looked at him with pleading eyes, and together, the Uzumaki's ran away from their problems.