"My name is Hinata Hyuga... Hello." Hinata shook Kanon's hand, introducing herself softly.
Just as the two girls finished their greeting, Iruka's voice rang out from the front of the room.
"Team 8: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame."
Hinata and Kanon both blinked in surprise.
"You're in Team 8!" Kanon said with a bright smile.
"Yes. Please look out for me in the future, Kanon."
Before they knew it, the orientation was over. Everyone had been assigned to their squads and Jonin instructors. With the official reporting scheduled for tomorrow, the Academy had no further plans for the afternoon.
Once class dismissed, Kanon headed to the Konoha market to buy groceries. To celebrate both her and Sasuke becoming Genin, she decided to cook a grand feast for her brother.
Stepping out of the market with a large bag of tomatoes, Kanon sighed. "Did I buy too many?"
On her way home, she paused, watching "Sasuke" walk past her.
"Naruto, why are you transformed into my brother?" Kanon called out, stopping him. She inspected the Transformation Jutsu—it was a perfect likeness, making her curious about what Naruto was up to.
"Shh! Kanon, don't yell so loud!" Naruto hissed, his face paling as he realized his cover was blown.
(Kanon tilts her head in confusion.jpg)
"Agh, just don't expose me yet! I've got things to do. See ya!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder as he jogged away.
"Wait!" Kanon watched him go, feeling uneasy. She decided to follow him and see what was happening.
Sure enough, Naruto had transformed into Sasuke to flirt with Sakura. However, just as they were about to kiss, Naruto's stomach acted up, forcing him to bolt for the bathroom.
When the real Sasuke arrived at the scene, he was looking for someone. Kanon arrived just in time to witness the encounter.
"Nii-chan, what are you looking for?"
"Kanon, have you seen Naruto?"
"I saw him once."
"That brat actually dared to ambush me! I'm going to make him pay."
Seeing Sasuke's uncharacteristic irritation, Kanon just smiled. Her "cool" brother and Naruto really were the classic pair of rivals-turned-friends.
Sakura, her face flushed red, walked up to the siblings and spoke in a hushed, fidgety tone:
"Kanon, Sasuke-kun, just forget about that Naruto guy."
"He's always pestering you two. It's obviously because he never had anyone to raise him right!"
"I mean, look at him. He doesn't even have parents."
In an instant, the atmosphere shifted. Both Sasuke and Kanon fixed Sakura with a freezing stare.
But Sakura didn't notice the change. She continued rambling to herself.
"He just does whatever he wants. If I ever acted like that, my mom and dad would scold me to death. Since he's all alone and has no parents to discipline him, that's why he's so ill-mannered. We shouldn't even bother with people like—"
Before Sakura could finish, a blur of motion cut through the air. Kanon had reached into her bag and snatched a tomato with the speed of a projectile.
Splat!
The tomato flew like a shuriken, exploding directly against Sakura's face. The impact was so heavy and powerful that even Sasuke was stunned.
Kanon stood there, the thrower of the fruit, as Sakura remained dazed, her face covered in red pulp and juice.
The Kanon Uchiha everyone knew was gentle, sunny, and perhaps a bit hot-blooded. But now, Kanon's expression was ice-cold. Having experienced the agony of losing her parents, she would not tolerate anyone making light of that pain.
Whenever she remembered coming home, after her desperate battle with the masked man, only to find the cold bodies of her parents, the hollow ache in her heart felt like it happened yesterday.
To hear such words directed at her best friend... She and Sasuke were the only ones who truly understood that brand of loneliness, yet Sakura had used it as a weapon in the most callous way possible.
Sasuke had never seen Kanon look so lethal. Sakura, now slumped on the ground, looked at Kanon with genuine terror.
"Loneliness is not a tool for you to use to trample on others!"
Kanon huffed coldly. Without a second glance at anyone, she turned and walked away.
Sasuke turned as well, his eyes reflecting a frigid disdain. He delivered the final blow to the trembling Sakura: "You're annoying."
With those words, Sasuke left to find Naruto for his own revenge. Before long, only Sakura was left sitting on the ground.
A breeze brushed against her slightly swollen cheek, leaving her in a heavy silence. In that quiet, her heart felt the sting of two "blades" cutting through her. For the first time, she felt a sliver of what Naruto felt—the crushing weight of being hated and loathed by others.
…
The next day.
In the Ninja Academy classroom, after a sincere apology from Sakura and much confusion from Naruto, Team 7 officially gathered.
Kanon wasn't one to hold a grudge; since Sakura had apologized, she didn't press the matter. She simply told Sakura not to say such things again, and they acted like the friends they had been just the day before.
However, as the other squads were led away by their instructors, only Team 7 remained in the room.
"So slow! Hey, Kanon, do you think the teacher is late because he has diarrhea too?"
"I don't think that's it..." Kanon replied, though she privately wondered if Naruto might be right.
Naruto, huffing in annoyance, began messing with the classroom supplies to set a prank.
"Hey, Naruto! Cut it out!" Sakura shouted, moving to stop him.
"Kanon! Help me find something to prank the teacher with!" Naruto whispered loudly.
Kanon reached over and handed Naruto a chalkboard eraser. "If you wedge this in the door frame, it should have a great effect."
"Great idea!" Naruto immediately set the trap.
"Kanon! Why are you helping him?!" Sakura cried, exasperated. One was the mastermind of the prank, and the other was the willing accomplice.
Naruto finished setting the eraser and turned back to Sakura. "It's the teacher's fault for being late."
"As if a Jonin would fall for a cheap trick like that," Sasuke commented from his seat.
"Yeah! Are you two idiots sharing a brain today?" Sakura teased both Kanon and Naruto.
Before she could finish, the door slid open. A man wearing a mask pushed his way in, and the chalk-filled eraser dropped directly onto his silver-white hair.
Thump.
The eraser hit the floor with a dull sound. For a few seconds, no one moved.
Sasuke and Sakura stared at Kakashi in disbelief. He was a Jonin, how could he fall for a clumsy trap set by Naruto and Kanon?
In the dead silence, Naruto burst into laughter, filling the classroom with a sense of triumph.
"Hahaha! Hook, line, and sinker! We got him! High five!"
"I-I'm so sorry, sensei! Naruto did this all on his own!" Sakura stammered.
"Naruto, high five!" Kanon ignored Sakura and slapped Naruto's hand, officially confirming her role as a co-conspirator.