Hanako bit her lip beneath her mask. Today was her first official kunoichi class, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She'd always taken a bit of umbrage at the segregated nature of the academy classes, but it was a little difficult now since the girls were technically learning more than their male counterparts. There were still fewer female shinobi than male, though, and the extra lessons they received were heavily geared toward enforcing societal gender norms. But there were also lots of shinobi who didn't conform, male and female alike.

So, should she really be mad?

Yes.

Why could be established later, when she gave it more thought. For now, she could honestly say the system as it was upset her.

At the front of the classroom, a kunoichi sensei stood in front of a grand display of the arts. There were musical instruments, flowers, calligraphy sets, and more. All the girls in their year were in the classroom, giggling and mingling among themselves. Hanako sat alone, just barely realizing that all her friends—aside from Momiji and Ino-chan—were male. Oh, well.

"Alright, girls," their kunoichi sensei said with a clap of her hands. "Pay attention. My name is Akari Tanaka and I will be teaching your kunoichi classes until your graduation. Let's take this opportunity to get to know each other, ok? Get into your seats and we'll begin introductions."

Ugh. Everyone's least favorite part of the school year. At least they would only need to this once, if Hanako understood it right. Dedicating one sensei per group didn't really sound like a good idea, but, if the dropout rate for female students was as high as the data indicated, then Akari-sensei would only have a handful of students by the time their year graduated.

The girl beside her nudged her and Hanako realized she'd spaced out.

"Ah, sorry," she scratched the back of her neck as the other girls laughed at her expense. "My name is Hanako Hatake. It's nice to meet you."

"Any hobbies you'd like to share with the class?" Akari-sensei prompted. It was likely more for her benefit as a teacher than anything else, but Hanako obliged.

"I like reading," she said with a shrug. "Mostly histories and chakra theories. Boring stuff."

The girls giggled again, but Akari-sensei silenced them with a glare. "What kind of theories?"

Hanako shrugged. "I just finished Himari Hyuuga's thesis on tenketsu and the inheritability of chakra capacity. She has some interesting ideas on the effects of epigenetics on chakra potential."

Akari-sensei's brown eyes widened in surprise, but she schooled her expression quickly. "I see. And what did you think of her conclusion on tenketsu stimulation during pregnancy?"

Hanako snorted. "Totally unfounded. Her sample size isn't nearly large enough and she just dismisses the outliers out of hand. She uses anecdotal evidence way too liberally for me to accept it."

Akari-sensei didn't even try to hide her delight. "Incredible. Have you read Umeko Mikado's Reproductive Chakra?"

Hanako smiled. "Yeah! Definitely a worthwhile addition to the literature, even if she did use a popular publisher."

The chunin kunoichi looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself. "Very interesting, Hatake-chan. Please, stay after class; I have a few reading suggestions you might enjoy."

Well, maybe these kunoichi classes wouldn't be so terrible, after all.

Once everyone had introduced themselves, Akari-sensei drew their attention to the collection of items behind her.

"Girls, I want each of you to come up and choose three things: one musical instrument, one traditional art, and one domestic skill. Don't rush, and remember, you can always change your mind if what you chose doesn't suit you. Begin!"

Hanako hesitated. Many of the other girls rushed to the front, clamoring for the 'best' items. There likely weren't even enough objects for each of them to take one. With that in mind, Hanako simply waited for the crowd to disperse before going up to make her choice. Just as she'd suspected, all the items were still there. They were choosing for their teacher's benefit, not because they were starting right away.

There were a lot of things Hanako didn't recognize on display—likely a result of her Wester upbringing—but there were a few things she could name. The koto and shamisen, a bunch of different sized flutes, drums, a sewing kit, a weird whisk, ink and calligraphy brushes, etcetera, etcetera.

None of them looked like any fun, if she was honest. She'd played piano...before...but she wasn't sure that knowledge would transfer to any of the instruments in front of her.

Maybe the koto? It was a two-handed instrument, right?

Right.

Decision made, Hanako turned to the other objects. The whisk was nagging at her. Where had she seen...?

Ah! Tea ceremony!

Thank you, Ouran Highschool Host Club.

Tea ceremony was fancy, in a tedious, unforgiving way. Again, not exactly her idea of fun, but it was the kind of thing clan heiresses learned, right?

Right.

Finally, she resolved to pick something that at least had the potential to be interesting. Maybe embroidery? Or cooking?

She picked up a miniature loom. Did people still weave their own cloth nowadays? Or was that just a skill kunoichi were expected to learn? Sounded pretty outdated to her, but...

Shrugging, she set it down and walked up to Akari-sensei. The older woman smiled.

"Made your choices?"

"Un," Hanako looked for her name on a list her sensei handed her, then wrote the koto, tea ceremony, and weaving.

Akari-sensei's eyebrows rose as she read her choices. "These are very traditional, Hatake-chan. Are you sure about these?"

"You said I could change my mind, right?"

The chunin nodded. "I did. Very well, go take your seat. We'll set up our study groups for the rest of the school year."

Hanako jumped into a puddle, humming happily to herself. School had let out a couple of hours ago, and the sun had almost finished setting behind Hokage mountain. Oh well, it wasn't like Kakashi was home, anyway.

Akari-sensei was easily her favorite teacher now. Not once had she questioned Hanako's ability to understand the subject matter, only suggesting new books and articles and even writing up a pass that would give her access to the more restricted areas of the village library.

Definitely her favorite.

She was so preoccupied with her own happiness, she almost didn't notice Momiji stop dead in her tracks.

Almost.

"What is it 'Miji?" She asked, walking back to where her ninken stood stiff as a board, her nose twitching frantically. "Are you ok?"

The dog looked her dead in the eye for a solid minute before scratching out a kanji in the mud.

Hanako's blood ran cold.

Yanking her partner up off the ground, she sprinted down the street. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she felt like her lungs had frozen in her chest.

There was no way. It couldn't be happening. Not yet. She wasn't ready.

Like the universe cared.

She slid as she rounded a corner, nearly dropping Momiji with a yelp. Ahead of her, the gates to the Uchiha compound loomed.

There was nothing she could do. She knew that. She could barely even use her chakra right, and the academy definitely didn't teach any jutsu worth using against Itachi. She'd probably die before she could try anything. She knew that.

Something squelched under her foot and she was glad she'd never let anyone cow her into wearing sandals. Closed toe shoes were a blessing.

She refused to look at the shadowy lumps in her peripheral vision, shutting out Momiji's whimpers as she tried desperately to remember that scene. It was an open road, probably near the main house.

Damn it, why couldn't the anime be geographically consistent?

She finally allowed herself to stop, taking in deep, body aching breaths. In her arms, Momiji squirmed.

"Miji," she gasped. "You need to go get help. You need to go get someone strong."

The dog didn't reply, but she did wriggle her way out of Hanako's grip and run back the way they'd come. Hopefully whoever she got would take her seriously.

Without Momiji's weight to occupy them, Hanako's hands began to shake.

No! Not yet! She had to find—!

Were those voices?

She quieted her breathing with some difficulty, but once she'd managed it the low murmur of a conversation became clear enough to follow.

She bolted.

She didn't even think as she came upon the Uchiha brothers, one in open anguish and the other hiding behind a mask of indifference. Her body moved on its own as she threw herself between them, arms thrown wide as she planted her feet in front of Sasuke and leveled her sharpest glare on the man who'd carried her mother's corpse to the village.

"Leave him alone!" She yelled, panting heavily. Her whole body shook with panic and exertion, shoulder rising with the force of her noisy gasps for air. Itachi regarded her with wide eyed surprise, the red of his Sharingan glinting in the moonlight.

"Hanako," he began, taking a step toward her.

"Don't come any closer," she commanded, channeling all as much of her adult bearing as her child body could project, keenly aware of the shaking fists taking hold of her shirt. "Just leave. Momiji's bringing back up, so go while you still can."

He regarded her oddly. "Shouldn't you be trying to stall me? I'll escape if I go now." He took another step.

She raised her chin defiantly. "Keep your distance!"

"Or what?" He laughed, and Hanako had to wonder just how badly the massacre had broken him. "What can a couple of kids do to me?" Another step.

Hanako resisted the urge to retreat, mind racing for some way to make him leave. She was so stupid. He wasn't gonna hurt Sasuke, anyway. Why did she have to insert herself into a problem that didn't need solving?

She grit her teeth as he continued his approach, reaching into herself and uncoiling her chakra. Neji would scold her for doing it wrong, but right then the results mattered more than the method. Her skin burned as her tattoos started to glow, the light shining through her clothing. Sasuke gasped and Itachi stopped an arm's length away, tomoe spinning lazily in his eyes.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but the braying of hounds interrupted him. He looked up sharply and vanished, the dirt beneath his feet puffing up into a little cloud.

Hanako was absolutely certain she would have fallen to her knees right then and there had Sasuke not beaten her to it, crumpling into a sobbing heap against her calves. She turned around and embraced him, tucking his head beneath her chin. She watched with watery eyes as Tsume Inuzuka and a pack of giant ninken burst onto the scene, all snarling anger and shock.

Too late. They'd come too late. But at least they'd come.