Chapter 1

The year was a first towards peace. Shinobi around had agreed to set aside their differences for the sake of a new goal - peace. Along with that peace came the establishment of hidden villages. Those who were like-minded banded together whilst stragglers chose to wander off.

"Today we come to christen the land that will serve as the foundation for Takigakure, the village hidden by a waterfall."

A crowd gathered around as their leader, Tatsuo, spoke in front of a massive tree. As the adults rallied behind him, a young eight-year-old girl with kinky navy blue hair stood behind her war-beaten father. There weren't many children in the crowd, however she spotted a familiar face on the other side. With a small smile, she waved at him, however the boy wore a sullen expression and ignored her. She wanted to approach him, but the crowd began to move and she lost sight of him.

The village was nearly built in the span of a week. Small huts sprung up sporadically, all while the village head's home was constructed. Their land was protected by nature - it stood on a large cliff surrounded by trees and the only way in and out was through an extensive cave system. Along with construction came the training of new shinobi. Although peace had just been established, it was only a matter of time before war would break out again and the village couldn't take any chances.

"Kakuzu-chan! Wait up!"

A nine-year-old young boy with short, unkempt brown hair and green eyes stopped walking down the dirt path of the village and turned around.

"Do you need something, Risa?"

The navy haired girl smiled as she caught up to him and the two proceeded to walk together. They were heading off to train in the main hall of the village leader's home.

"Did ya eat today?" Risa asked as she kicked at a loose pebble. "If not, I have an extra apple in my bag."

"Yes, I ate."

"Did ya get in a fight with a bear? Your hair's messier than usual…"

"If you don't like my presence then stop walking with me."

Risa laughed and clasped her hands behind her back. "Relax, I'm just messing with ya. Lighten up a little."

"It's easy for you to 'lighten up'. Both of your parents are still alive." Kakuzu frowned at her statement and continued walking.

"That's not fair." Risa grabbed his arm. "If you're going to get mad at me, at least let it be about something that's in my control."

Kakuzu's eye twitched with irritation and he yanked his arm out of her grasp, then promptly pushed her down into the mud. Risa stared at him in shock as he turned around before immediately getting up and shoving him back. She knew he had a violent temper that he never put any restraints on, however she wasn't going to excuse his actions. The two tussled with each other until the village head came out and stopped them, prying Kakuzu's hand off Risa's face and the latter's hand out of the boy's hair in annoyance.

Training went on as scheduled, however once it was over, Kakuzu and Risa had to sit outside Tatsuo's home on their knees in the gravel and hold a heavy rock over their heads as punishment until they were allowed to leave. Honestly, Risa was more annoyed that she had dried mud caked in her hair than the punishment at hand.

"There has to be a better way to manage your anger." She huffed. "Ever thought of meditation?"

"I'd prefer if you just left me alone."

"So you can continue acting like a grumpy old fart? No thanks."

Kakuzu glanced at the girl beside him. "What's it matter to you anyway?"

"We're a year apart and it's just us, some other kids, and a bunch of adults." Risa looked back at him, her arms hurting from the heavy rock. "Wouldn't that make ya gravitate towards someone ya have something in common with?"

"No, it wouldn't."

"Liar."

The two continued with their punishment until Tatsuo finally let them go after a strict lecture. Risa's arms felt like noodles and her knees were bruised but overall, she was happy to finally be done. Seeing Kakuzu drift away from her, she called out to him.

"Do ya want to come over and eat dinner?"

"No."

Risa smirked at his response. "I'll bring it to ya then."

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He's always been on the quiet side, but it was by choice. He was calculating, meticulous, and from what she had witnessed, down right intelligent. It made her admire him and his dedication. Unfortunately he had a bit of a rotten streak that seemed to be permanently etched into his DNA, however she could look past it since she found ways to counteract.

"Don't cha have any goals? What if ya became the village head one day…"

"When I grow up, my only goal is to get rich. That way, I can get anything I want on my own terms."

"Money wouldn't necessarily get ya a family."

"I'd rather not focus on things that are temporary."

Risa was sitting Indian-style on a tree branch, not as deep in meditation as she thought she would be. Peeking out the corner of one eye, she watched Kakuzu do his kunai training before moving forward with some ninjutsu. The two were left to train on their own while the village leader and elders had a meeting.

"Since you aren't busy, come spar with me." Kakuzu stopped what he was doing and made direct eye contact with the female, causing her to immediately close her eyes again and pretend she was still meditating.

"Sorry, can't. I'm centering my chakra."

The young boy narrowed his eyes and jumped up so he was on the same branch as her. Knowing he'd start pursuing her, Risa swung her body so she was hanging upside down and dropped to the forest floor. Unbeknownst to her, Kakuzu was right on her tail and threw a punch she barely had time to deflect. The two settled with the unspoken rule of only using taijutsu to spar until Risa decided to up the ante.

Performing a hand sign, she smirked as the ground under them started to move and roots shot up from the dirt. Kakuzu's expression was unchanging as he avoided them mid-air and landed in the clearing.

"You cheated."

"Oh come on, ya know I had to one up ya one good time." Risa laughed until she noticed his upper arm was bleeding from a gash. "Crap, I'm really sorry! I'm still working out the-"

Before she could finish, Kakuzu tackled her to the ground and the two wrestled around until he finally pinned her down and made her concede. "Teach that to me."

"Teach it to ya please?"

"You heard me the first time."

"Yeah… no." She pushed him off of her and wiped the mud off her clothes. "I'll think about it. In the meantime, your arm needs to be taken care of. We should go see the village doctor."

Kakuzu glanced at his steadily bleeding arm and shook his head. "I can do it myself."

Risa rolled her eyes at his obvious response. "Don't give me that crap. It looks pretty deep." She took his hand and immediately led him towards the village. She knew if it were up to him, he wouldn't ask anyone for help, quietly retreat to his abode, and disappear.

"Let go." Kakuzu pushed against her arm with his free hand.

"Tell me step by step how you're going to fix it then." She stopped walking and crossed her arms, fully prepared to still ignore his words and move on.

"I don't have to explain anything to you."

"Then stop wasting my time."

Risa pulled the boy along, lecturing him on the importance of proper medical care. In the end, she stayed in the room and made sure Kakuzu was compliant with the treatment. The village doctor had to clean out the wound and stitch it up so it could heal properly. Once they left, she took a good look at him before grinning.

"The stitch actually looks pretty cool, don't cha think?"

Kakuzu eyed the foreign material that was embedded into his arm. She didn't give him time to answer as she turned around and motioned for him to follow her. They could call training quits for the day and eat.