Hanako sat alone at her desk, staring at the bento—a real life bento!—Kakashi had packed for her. It was a sweet gesture, and one that she appreciated, but she found herself in a quandary.
How the hell was she supposed to eat with her mask on?
Kakashi had been surprised when she asked if she could wear one, but he'd supplied it without question. She was thankful. The first time she saw her face in a mirror without bruises or bandages, she almost screamed. The face in the mirror was the face in the water, reflected back at her with black, black eyes, pale freckled skin wet and glistening and dead. It wasn't her face. Not the one she remembered having. Not the one her real mother gave her. She didn't want to see it if she could help it—didn't want anyone else to see it.
Hence the mask.
The anime had never covered how Kakashi ate without exposing his face and Hanako had completely overlooked that when she left the apartment that morning. Normally—if anything could be considered normal anymore—she ate at home with Kakashi.
She sighed.
"Hey, new kid!"
Oh, boy.
She looked up at the taller girl, very much aware of the hush that had come over the classroom. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't expected to be confronted in some way, but not quite so soon.
"What's with the mask?"
The banality of the question surprised her, but Hanako answered honestly. "My dad wears one, too."
Her dad. Dad. Even now, months after officially joining the Hatake clan, that word gave her shivers. Mentally, she was probably older than her new father, and embarrassing memories of self indulging fanfiction would likely keep that word tainted for a very long time.
"Why?"
Hanako shrugged, not really certain, herself. Despite her debilitating crush on the man, she'd never cared about his mask beyond 'it looks cool'. "I don't know. Does it matter?"
The other child's face twisted in a sneer. "I bet you're both ugly."
Ha! As one of the few people alive to have seen her father's face, she could proudly attest that thirteen year old her had very good taste in men.
Eugh, she wasn't allowed to think like that anymore! Dad!Kakashi was not for ogling! Bad Hanako! Bad!
She shrugged, her lack of reaction visibly taking the wind out of her would-be bully's sails. "Think what you like."
The other kids in the classroom were beginning to lose intertest, turning back to their own lunches and conversations. Hanako herself was already thinking of how to eat when two little fists hit her desk with a bang.
"Ugly little kids shouldn't be in this class," the bully girl shouted, her face flushed with anger. "This class is for serious shinobi only!"
Hanako stared blankly at the panting child, thoroughly confused by the leap in logic. They were the center of attention again, though, and the bully seemed pleased by this.
"Wait," Hanako said slowly, choosing her words carefully. Mysterious rebirth aside, she was still the adult in the situation and she would like to avoid hurting a child's feelings if she could help it. "You're mad because I'm ugly and little?"
Someone snickered behind her and Hanako winced internally as the little girl flushed even brighter.
"You're too young to be in here," she huffed. "You'll just hold the rest of us back."
Ah.
"You're right."
"So just go back—what?"
"You're right," Hanako repeated with a sigh, shrinking under the stares of her classmates. "I wanted to start from the beginning, but my dad wanted me to take a placement test, instead. This is where it put me." She looked at her hands, so much smaller than the balled fists on her desk. "I have some catching up to do, but I promise I'll do my best to keep up with everyone. Please be patient with me."
She met and held the bully's gaze, keeping her expression as earnest as possible. She didn't want any trouble, and the less attention she attracted the better. There were people whose radars she'd rather stay under, after all.
Alas, the girl seemed even angrier with her, her face twisting as she opened her mouth to speak again.
"An inspiring declaration!"
A hand was thrust into between them, and Hanako followed its arm up to...
Rock Lee!
There was no way it was anyone else. Not with those eyebrows. His face was round with youth and his hair was pulled into a long braid down his back. Black eyes sparkled above a wide smile and Hanako found herself returning it.
"Please, allow me to welcome you to our class," he said exuberantly. "I am Rock Lee!"
"Hanako Hatake," she replied, just barely remembering to bow. "It's nice to meet you, Lee."
It was like a dam had broken. After Rock Lee's introduction, several other students came up to her and welcomed her to the class. While she was glad they no longer seemed to be avoiding her, she was still a bit—ok, a lot—uncomfortable socializing with children. The months she'd spent learning to read Japanese had been fairly isolated. Kakashi was the only person she really spoke with at length, and she liked it that way. He, at least, didn't try to dumb himself down, and she could speak freely without worrying about sounding too mature. Plus, sometimes he summoned Pakkun for her and the little pug was quickly becoming something like a friend—she still couldn't quite accept the whole 'talking dog' angle, but she was getting there. She purposefully limited her exposure to other children her age, trying not to change too much. She'd read way too much fanfiction to risk that.
Even if it did break her heart a little.
After school let out, a few children waved goodbye. She reciprocated, sure to keep a friendly smile on her face. The instant people stopped looking at her, she relaxed her expression and sighed. It wasn't a bad first day—it certainly could have been worse—but she was still glad it was over. She shuddered in the January chill, pulling her puffy jacket closer around herself. Many children were greeted by their parents, but several others simply left the academy.
Hanako was going to be one of them, it seemed.
She chewed absently at the inside of her lip, mentally retracing her steps as she tried to remember the way to Kakashi's apartment. The roads in Konoha weren't really made with walking in mind, winding and riddled with dead ends. Even Kakashi had gotten lost while walking with her, so used to just jumping across rooftops.
The odds of getting back before the winter sun set behind Hokage Mountain were beginning to look quite slim.
She sighed, light setting her foggy breath aflame. Her bento sat uneaten in her bag and she resolved to find a private place to eat it before getting helplessly lost.
"Hey!"
Oh no.
Mentally bracing herself, Hanako turned toward the voice only to find she wasn't its target.
Oh no.
A young, gangly Naruto shrunk under her gaze, blue eyes looking at anything but her. His clothing all but swallowed him and Hanako felt anger welling up in her chest. She may have resigned herself to avoiding other children, but Naruto had never been part of that plan. She looked sharply at the group of bullies—hers among them—who came up behind him, faces twisted with a sick cruelty no children should ever wear.
"Hey, freak," Naruto flinched. "What do you think you're doing here? I told you not to come back!"
The leader of the group pushed Naruto to the ground with unnecessary force, and Hanako ran forward, placing herself between them with her hands outstretched.
"Leave him alone, you jerk!"
The sneers slipped from their faces, but the bully from her class stepped forward.
"Move over, new kid. This isn't about you."
"It doesn't have to be," Hanako replied sternly, willing all of her anger and outrage into her eyes. A Sharingan would have been perfect right then. "Leave him alone."
Behind her, Naruto was scrambling to his feet. She kept her glare trained on the kids who shared confused whispers and glances, looking to their leader for guidance. The boy was taller than her—but so was everyone, it seemed—and he sneered.
"You're new, so you might not know, but that's not a kid. It's a freak of nature and it doesn't belong here. The Academy is for shinobi, only."
How familiar.
"You guys really need to come up with better material," she scoffed. "That one already used that line on me."
The other kids followed her pointing finger to the other girl who bristled under their attention.
"W-what?" She demanded. "She's a freak, too! Her face is so ugly, the Hokage makes her wear a mask!"
What?
A laugh bubbled up in her chest but before it could spill out of her Naruto leapt in front of her, hackles raised.
"Back off," he shouted, all his earlier timidity replaced by righteous fury. "You can pick on me, but leave other people out of it!"
Oh, my sweet boy.
"Don't waste your energy on them," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder and ignoring the way he flinched at the contact. "They're not worth it."
He turned to look at her over his shoulder, blue eyes hard. "No, they can't get away with this."
"They won't," she said, a devious plan forming in her mind. "You know their names?"
"Uh, yeah, but," he shrank in on himself. "Telling won't work."
The bullies laughed and Hanako bristled.
How dare the system fail like this. How dare it.
She turned a furious gaze on the lead bully, fully prepared to use her adult intellect to bring a child to his knees, when a heavy hand landed on her shoulder.
"Hey, now," Kakashi said lowly. "Don't tell me you're starting fights on the first day?"
She whirled on him. "Daddy, punish them!"
His one eye widened in surprise, then narrowed. The group of kids shifted uncertainly, their confidence gone in the presence of an adult. Naruto also fidgeted, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"And what am I punishing them for?" His tone was light and playful, but there was an air of danger around him
"Bullying," she answered confidently. "And discrimination."
His eyebrow rose in amusement. "Discrimination?"
She nodded, playing up her cuteness with exaggerated movements. "On the basis of age."
He snorted, covering his masked face as he tried to keep from laughing. "Ahem, that's no good. I can't punish bullies on Academy property, kiddo. But," he added, quieting her protests. "I can tell your senseis about this. How does that sound?"
Hanako nodded, relishing the fear on the bullies' faces. "Good! Come on," she took Naruto's hand in her hers, dragging him behind her as she walked past Kakashi with her head held high. "Let's ditch these losers."
Kakashi didn't bother hiding his laughter, this time.