A/N: I played around with a character creator and made Jun! Well, as close as I could get to him. It's a bit older looking than twelve years old :3

The hokage had dismissed Tenten rather quickly. It was rather obvious that the troublemaker was Jun by the reports of the ANBU and his bright, mischievous grin. She’d been slightly hesitant to leave him, but knew better than to argue with the hokage.

In all, that mean that the raven-haired boy and the hokage, having dismissed the ANBU as well, were alone.

He was rather aware that the matter of his sneaking out of the hospital wasn’t what the hokage had in mind to talk about.

Jun’s bright smile had fallen away to a bored one, seeing as he felt no reason to put on a false face for a person who would no doubt see past it. After a few moments of silence passed, the Hokage pulled open one of the small draws of his desk and pulled out a small wooden box. Without a word, he settled it in the center of the desk and looked up at Jun, his expression rather unreadable. The boy simply stared back, not unsettled in the least.

“What’s that?”

“I saw what happened during the preliminaries,” the hokage commented, ignoring the boy’s question. “You lost control.”

Jun’s lips twisted into a humorless smile as he shrugged, shoving both hands in his pockets.

“Is that what it looked like?” he asked. “...I suppose it’d be silly to deny it. When I hit my head it went dark for a moment. I was in pain and a bit more invested in the fight than I usually would be. When I’m unconscious, or a state similar to it, and stressed, my grip on the ability loosens.”

“Like Yakumo,” the third commented.

Jun shrugged.

“Well, basically. I’ve never done something like she did, going crazy without blacking out for a second or two beforehand, but I’m not her, so I suppose that doesn’t mean much.”

“Kurenai is concerned,” the third added. “She believes, and I agree, that you wouldn’t tell us even if you had been experiencing the consequences of that bloodline limit.”

“I won’t lie, but yeah, I wouldn’t tell you,” Jun agreed. “I’d rather die than be stuck without the ability to be a shinobi. I’ve seen Yakumo, she’s a shell of herself. I don’t want that. Cut off from the ability to use my genjutsu… I’d rather die. At the same time, I’m fully aware of how the Kurama bloodline limit scares the hell out of most people- hell, even my parents were scared enough to seal it away when I was little.”

The third studied the boy curiously, aware that this was one of the few moments that Jun was actually being serious. Typically, Jun would have been being sarcastic- but his words felt anything if not truthful.

“I won’t seal you.”

“What?”

Jun stared at him in shock.

“I won’t reseal you,” the third repeated. “Not yet, not without proof that we have to. At the same time, I’m not willing to sacrifice the safety of the village to preserve your way of life. I have a compromise to offer you.”

The third placed his hand on the box, clicking open the latch on the side and pulling the top up. Jun only watched as the older man spun it around so that the boy could peer inside. There were two, simple golden bands with characters etched into the sides. Jun furrowed his brow, glancing back up at the third.

“What are those?”

“They were made specially the last time there was an incident,” the third answered simply. “They’re similar to chakra-sealing cuffs used for criminals. Effectively, they would cut you off from your ability to mold chakra.”

Jun stiffened, his face going slightly pale.

“But that’s…”

“The compromise,” the third answered, his face offering a kind, but firm smile. “To put it simply, when not on a mission or training, the request is that you wear these. They have a simple clasp on the bottom and can be taken on and off with ease. They’ll keep you from unconsciously activating the jutsu. You may not be of Yakumo’s level, but you’re getting there. I believe the only reason that an incident like hers hasn’t occured with you is because of the difference in your circumstances. She’s had much less training than you yourself and then there’s was the pressure she was under. If you had been in her circumstances, it may have been you who burnt down the house.”

Jun couldn't suppress the shudder that raked through his body at the thought. He may not have been overly fond of the family members who had taken him in, but the thought of killing them by accident like Yakumo had done her own parents… was unsettling. He’d heard the story. She started the fire with her genjutsu in a fit, but due to the overly real nature of their illusions, the house itself had actually caught fire, her parents inside.

“You can understand my concern, can’t you?”

Jun slowly nodded, stepping forward to pull the bands from the box. A closer look told him they were exactly the size of his wrists. The third hadn’t been lying when he said they’d been made specifically for him. He swallowed, then forced himself to slip them into place and lock the clasp.

Instantly, he felt as if the seal on his abilities had never begun to wear away. It was that familiar, empty feeling.

He hated it.

If it meant protecting the village, though, he’d live with it.

After all, Jun wasn’t his father. The last thing he would ever consider doing was betraying the village.

_______________________

When she returned home, it was late enough that even Hisoka was asleep. As such, Kazue was able to avoid running into anyone- Noriaki having left to avoid worrying his parents.

If she told her parents, would they stop all of this?

Staring up at her ceiling the next morning, she absently considered the thought, although she knew there was little chance of her actually following it through.

Her father would have probably gone and argued with his father if she told him she didn’t want this. Her mother would have a fit over the idea of it.

At the same time, her anger had faded overnight, and now she simply felt numb over it all. Logically, she knew that following through with her grandfather’s wishes was the best idea. It didn’t mean she liked it- nor did it mean she felt like forgiving Noriaki anytime soon. It did, however, mean that she wouldn’t complain or argue. She was supposed to do the best for her clan, it was her job as the heir, and right now the best for her clan was to make sure to keep good relations with the Hyuugas. She doubted that the current head would take kindly to her if she threw a fit over the idea.

Besides, it wasn’t like Kazue had anyone she was stuck on.

Perhaps this meant she should just let go of the childish dream of a prince charming and simply focus on her training. Not all girls got to be swept off their feet, and realistically, most didn’t. She’d accepted that sometime over the period of the night.

Whatever it meant, she would tell her grandfather the next time she saw him that she’d agree to the engagement. It rubbed her wrong that she was giving exactly the response he’d expected of her, but at the same time, he had been the head of their clan for sometime. If he was doing this, it was in their best interest… most likely.

She shoved her covers away and lurched her to feet, Kabuto’s words swirling through her mind. She doubted that there was very much credibility to the ideas- too many of her clan members adored her brother- but she couldn’t completely dismiss it. Did Hisoka really need to step down from the position? Was it a coincidence that she was in the position when they started discussing the possibility of an arranged marriage?

It took all she had to push the ideas once again as she dug around in her closet for her clothing. No one would be dragging her out to practice today and she- for once- didn’t feel like volunteering for it. Which meant her clothing ended up consisting of her usual maroon top, but with form-fitting pants replacing her skirt and her usual mesh leggings. Kazue also opted out of the mesh undershirt, deciding it’d look silly without the leggings. Finally, she strapped her weapon’s pouch to her lower right leg, well aware that traveling anywhere without that would be a bad idea. When she was satisfied, she took a deep breath and headed out. The moment she’d entered the kitchen, however, she immediately back-peddled and headed for the front door instead.

Perhaps, she mused. She should have skipped out on sleeping in until noon on this particular day.

“Kazue,” Noriaki called after her.

“Since you’re here,” she interrupted. “You can let everyone know I’m going out. I think I’d like to spend some time with my friends.”

Not waiting for his response to the rather cutting words, she slipped out the front door. Almost on their own, her feet took her to a popular flower shop. Pausing right inside the door, she hesitated, glancing at the pre-arranged bouquets. The small jingle of a bell as the door fell shut caught her attention and she froze, highly considering abandoning the idea that had come to her on a whim. He probably had plenty of people stopping by and dropping them off by this point- there was no need for her to grab yet another set of flowers. She’d also planned on stopping by Lee’s room, but the same no doubt went for him as it did for Jun, seeming as their friendliness seemed to be about the only trait those two shared.

Despite his sarcastic, witty attitude, Jun tended to get along with almost everyone he met. Which meant he’d no doubt had a good number of visitors, especially since he’d been in the hospital longer than anyone would have anticipated. She doubted by this point that there weren’t at least one or two people who were actually highly concerned about the boy.

Kazue had decided that Jun had probably done something he shouldn’t have and was only in the hospital now as a result of the spite of the hospital staff. Either that or something beyond what she’d heard about had happened.

“It was Kazue-chan, right?”

Spinning to face the desk laying towards the back of the room, Kazue spotted a blonde girl who she faintly recognized from the exam. Furrowing her brow, she attempted to pull a name from her memory, then realized that she’d never heard it.

“I’m sorry,” she told her sheepishly. “I don’t believe we were introduced.”

Her head propped up on her hand, the blonde girl offered a wry smile.

“Ino.”

Kazue inclined her head just slightly in an apologetic gesture.

“Right.”

Ino studied her for a moment before pulling her head up from her hand and moving out from behind the counter towards where Kazue stood. Her hands hung lightly at her sides as she turned to face the same flowers that Kazue herself had been studying. Her lips twisted up slightly in amusement as she switched her gaze between Kazue and the flowers.

“Buying flowers for Lee?” she guessed. “And for your teammate… what was his name… Jun?”

Kazue gave a hesitant nod and Ino’s amused smile grew into a bright one accompanied by a rather curious expression.

“He’s cute,” she declared, fingering through the bouquets in front of them. “Not as attractive as Sasuke-kun, of course, but cute all the same.”

Slightly surprised, Kazue cocked her head to the side curiously as Ino pulled a bouquet out from the rest.

“He is?”

Ino froze, giving Kazue a disbelieving expression as she barely kept herself from dropping the flowers.

“Of course he is!” she insisted. “He’s as cute as Sasuke is sexy!”

Taking a mental note to reevaluate her opinion of Jun’s attractiveness, Kazue simply nodded in response and focused on the flowers Ino had selected.

“Those are pretty,” Kazue commented.

Reminded of the task at hand, Ino nodded and selected another bouquet, holding both of them up for Kazue’s evaluation. The girl kept her head cocked curiously to the side for another moment, studying the flowers, before slowly nodding her agreement with the choices. After that it was only a matter of minutes before she’d paid and slipped out of the shop, her mind flickering over a different set of words than before.

Jun was cute?

Jun’s face flashed through her mind as she considered it, his lips twisted into that usual, smug expression of his he got after he managed to rile someone up. She shook her head a second later, amusement fluttering through her. Jun being considered “cute” just wasn’t something she could consider logical.

Both bouquets tucked under an arm, she quickly made her way to the hospital. At the front desk, however, she was surprised to learn that Jun had checked out earlier that morning- having finally been declared free to leave. Left with one bouquet too many, she debated about what to do, then sighed and simply went to visit Lee instead. Unfortunately for her, he was asleep when she arrived, which meant that after jotting down a note on the nearest scrap of paper she could find and leaving the flowers, she had nothing else to do.

It wasn’t until she’d started towards the training grounds that an opportunity presented itself.

“We meet again.”

Instantly recognizing the voice, Kazue paused and looked around, a small frown perching on her lips when she didn’t locate him. The resulting chuckle gave her another bit of sound to go off of and a second later she’d spotted Kabuto lurking in the shadows of a slim alley leading off of the main street. Raising a brow, she placed one hand on her hip, the other still holding onto Jun’s flowers.

“Are you trying to look suspicious?” she questioned. “Or does it just come naturally?”

“I’m hurt,” he retorted, his amused smirk a start contrast to his words. “I’d think you’d gotten used to me by now, enough that a few shadows wouldn’t matter.”

She couldn’t help but shake her head, her amusement growing to match his.

“It’ll take more than just a bit of ice-cream to get me to completely trust you.”

Reaching one hand up to adjust his glasses, Kabuto considered her for a moment, never budging from the shadows. The risk of being spotted by the ANBU or jounin who had heard of the incident in the hospital was too high. Meeting her at night had been one thing, he’d easily maneuvered them to a shop that was seldom used by those who might recognize his face and the dark of the night had helped as well. At the moment the sun was as bright as ever, however, so finding somewhere to handle her without suspicion being drawn was another matter entirely.

“I’d be willing to take that challenge,” he commented evenly, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb. “Are you?”

She frowned.

“Am I what?”

“Willing to let me convince you to trust me.”

Kazue hesitated, glancing around the street. Seeing no one she knew, she pursed her lips, debated her options, then nodded.

“I guess I might be.”

“Then follow me.”

______________________________________________

When Kabuto finally emerged from the alley and lead her to the edge of the village, she was surprised to realize that they’d ended up where she had been heading in the first place- the training grounds. When she raised a brow in his direction, he simply offered that same, self-satisfied smirk and gestured for her to join him in the center of the training area. She crossed her arms and continued giving him that look for a full minute before giving in and joining him as she tossed the bouquet aside, figuring he had no plan of explaining it to her while she kept her distance.

“Alright, so what are we doing here?” she demanded.

Kabuto’s expression never wavered, despite her tone.

“I thought perhaps offering to teach you something might make you trust me more. If I had intentions of harming you, I wouldn’t want to make you any stronger, now would I? I’d want to be able to beat you as quickly as I could,” he explained simply. “I heard you got beat rather easily during the preliminaries.”

She flushed red, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Only because Noriaki knows me,” she retorted. “Anyone else and I could have held my own.”

‘Maybe,’ she added on mentally.

His lips twitched in amusement, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Despite this, however, he didn’t call her out on her statement. Instead he simply shrugged, holding up his hand for her to see.

“Plus,” she cut in as he opened his mouth to continue. “You’re still a genin, too. You’ve been one for years. What could you know that would work well if you haven’t managed to pass by now?”

“I’m afraid circumstances have kept me from being able to pass,” he told her without hesitation. “When it comes to you, however, perhaps you’re right and you would have won if it hadn’t been him. But what if you had, had a skill he hadn’t seen a dozen times over and was easily able to counter? Wouldn’t you have liked to beat him and prove to your grandfather that you’re worthy of your position? Did you say the other night that he hadn’t even seemed remotely upset that you didn’t pass?”

She didn’t have a response to that and his smug smile returned even stronger than before.

“It would take a lot of practice, but I think you could do it, Kazue-chan. What do you think? Will you let me teach you something?” he continued, only pausing to allow for her hesitant nod. “Perfect. Now, watch.”

Within seconds of his order, the hand he held up began to glow blue from the jutsu. Her eyes widened slightly as she recognized the shape and feel of the chakra, even if she hadn’t been taught the exact method. It was the chakra scalpel.

“That’s medican ninjutsu,” she annouced, eyes darting from his hand to his face. “I’ve seen several of my family members use it when I’ve been allowed to stand in on operations. How would that be useful for fighting?”

“May I?” he asked instead of answering, holding out his other hand for hers.

A bit of hesitation swept through her, coloring her expression as well.

“You can’t feel pain, correct?” he questioned, expression never wavering. “With how quickly you heal, there’s no reason to be concerned about me showing you the uses, is there?”

She hesitated only a moment longer before slowly placing her left hand in his. Within seconds Kabuto had brought the chakra covered hand down next to her wrist, the blue color slicing cleanly through her hand. There was no bleeding or anything of the like, but instantly her hand felt unresponsive. Kazue could easily guess the reason, after-all, she was from a family of medical-nin. The chakra skalpel was used to cut through tendons, muscles and the like and in medical situations was used to cut back on the chances of infection, seeing as you didn’t have to open the person up in order to operate.

A moment later, the strange feeling that came with the action had disappeared and she flexed her hand, pulling it away from his. Throughout the entire exchange Kabuto had been watching her expression just as carefully as she was watching his hand. A sense of satisfaction had swept through him when he realized that she didn’t flinch as well as how short of a time it took for her body to fix the problem since there was nothing to get in the way of the healing process.

He’d been right in the way his thoughts had been running since meeting her in the first part of the test. The Asari bloodline limit was astounding.

If the gene could be isolated and replicated…

When her eyes flickered up to meet his, curiousity crossing her expression, he carefully filed his thoughts away for later. Instead, he released the jutsu and offered her a smile in return.

“Do you understand, now?”

She didn’t respond right away, that thoughtful, hesitant expression crossing her face once again. He’d quickly begun to recognize the meaning behind it- she didn’t want to give the wrong answer. Kazue seemed to be someone who hated letting others recognize the fact that she couldn’t do everything, even if she herself was completely aware of the fact. He’d begun to assume that it was due to her position in her clan- she couldn’t let the clan members view her as anything less than the perfect person she wanted them to see her as.

It was amusing, he’d decided at some point. It was almost enough to make him curious what expression she would make when caught completely off-guard. Perhaps that’s why teasing her seemed to be a rather entertaining endevour.

“If your enemy can’t move…” she replied slowly. “Then it doesn’t matter what state the rest of their body is in, the fight is over.”

He nodded, offering her a satisfied expression. He doubted she was aware of it, but her face flushed slightly, revealing that she was obviously pleased to have found the right answer.

“With your experience in medical ninjutsu, despite your age, I’m sure you’d be able to pick up the skill rather easily,” Kabuto explained, watching her eyes light up as he did. “Do you want to try?”

She nodded, no hesitation, nor that slightly uneasy expression she’d worn when they’d met earlier anywhere to be found in her face now. He silently congratulated himself, highly aware of the fact that it would seem he’d cleared the last barrier needed to gain her trust.

“Then let’s get to work.”

A/N: Well, lemme have it! What do you guys think of things so far? Jun's recent events? Kazue's development? Do you think Kabuto's personality is good so far? I've been debating how nice is too nice for his pre-reveal character. I think I like this so far, but I'd love to hear your opinions!