Some of you might have seen in my profile I said I was starting a one-shot. Well, it was a one-shot. (Even though I never finished it WAS gonna be a one-shot.) I sent it to my beta, Star, who fixed some stuff, and then I fixed a little more stuff myself. Then I got bored with the idea and didn't do anything with it for a week or so, and now I decided to go more in-depth to the one-shot and make it a chapter story like all my others. If you want to know what the "original" idea was, you can ask me, since I'd rather not mention it here. (Embarrassment...) I like the idea more now, so I'll add some more stuff and turn it into a real story. But I have to make some notes before I actually write this.

1.) This is AU and modern-times!

2.) There will be some big OOC-ness at times.

3.) I may get some dates and birthdays wrong. I can't help it if the calendar can be confusing.

4.) Some cites in this story, like Casper, have never been visited by me. So the stores, streets and people in some cities might not exist. Deal with it. Sorry.

Enjoy...?

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Wednesday, March 30th, 2006, 2:54 PM

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"Ino, I said no! Hey! No touchy the backpack!"

"Come on Sakura! You know I can't do a single one of those stupid prepositions!"

"Look them up on AOL! Bug off, Ino...! I said--"

Ino huffed and put her hands on her slim waist as Sakura walked off the bus and farther away from her. She caught up, dodging between Shino, Shikamaru and Lee, and walked next to Sakura on the curb. "You think just 'cause you turned 12 a couple days ago you're stronger than me! Or better! You're not, you little half-pint!" She taunted. "Well, you should know that I've been working out! A lot! I could whoop your butt any day of the year!"

"You think you're stronger than me?" Sakura slowed her pace and turned to the taller blonde girl, amusement flickering in the green depths of her eyes. "You try standing on a bridge next to me and see how long it takes for you to start to fly, Ino!" Ino understood the insult, surprisingly. "You couldn't push me off a bridge if you had a boxing glove to do it with, pink-head! Get real!" Sakura smirked and glared up at her. "I am being real, Skinny-o. You don't stand half a snowball's chance against me, not even against Kankurou!" Ino's cheeks flared. "You wanna fight, shorty? Let's fight!"

"I wouldn't waste my time!"

"Why, you annoying little--!"

"Will you two shut up? I'm doing some pre-algebra here!"

Sakura glared furiously at Ino and moved onto the curb, walking carefully so as not to fall off. Ino went a bit farther off, walking near Hinata and shaking her head at the annoying younger pink-head. Sakura skipped a step on the sidewalk and jabbed an elbow to her right, shoving Kankurou and nearly making him drop his notebook and calculator into the street sewer. He shoved her back almost as hard, but she seemed to ignore the action. "Pre-al, my skull!" She snapped. "That's just fractions, idiot!"

Kankurou shook his head, not even bothering to counter her. Sixth graders! Tenten leaned over his shoulder from his left and looked at his homework he had in his hands. "Nah, some of it's algebra, Sakura. Pretty much all math is algebra in one way or another, you know." Sakura stuck her hands into the pockets of her zipped jacket and sighed. Ino pouted and Kiba rolled his eyes. The others merely watched.

"Well, do you have the same homework as him?" Kiba asked, rubbing the red tattoos on his cheeks. "I thought Kankurou was the one in advanced math." Tenten nodded. "He is, but I know what his class is learning. His math teacher is friends with mine, so we know what's happening in each other's classes." The brunette girl looked up at Sakura and Kiba, walking side by side like always. "So do you guys have homework today? Shizune wanted to take us to see that Happy Feet movie since we're off school tomorrow and Friday."

Kiba sighed dreamily. Teacher Work Days were the best! Sakura answered for him, "One worksheet on adjectives and prepositions...and we have to start reading a chapter book over the weekend. I'm gonna start reading Artemis Fowl. Kiba, whatcha gonna read?" After being jabbed in the ribs, he fell out of his dream world and replied, "Oh, uh...uh, maybe that one with the dog who gets killed?"

"Old Yeller?" Hinata asked softly. Kiba nodded. "Oh..." Hinata smiled. "That's a good book...I-I read it last month for the project in Language Arts. But the ending is the saddest thing ever!" Lee popped up from behind them all and put a hand to his eyes, the other holding his schoolbag in a murderously tight grip. "Yes, it was the most tear-jerking ending for a book ever! The poor dog had a brave heart and in the end he had to be--"

"Don't ruin the ending, for her." Shino warned. Shikamaru sighed from next to him, staring at the sky as usual. Ino slowed to be next to him. "Hey, Shino, don't you have Mrs. Renate for Language Arts, too? You got the worksheet, too, right? Can I please copy your answers? Just a few? I really need help with those prepositions, Shino!" Shino shook his head, pulling up his hoodie's hood to hide his face even further. Ino sighed and put her hands to her eyes as though she were about to start crying. "I hate these prepositions! I don't get this at all! Why can't we just do those short stories again? That Ransom of Blue Chief was fun!"

"Red chief, Skinny-o!" Sakura yelled. "Ransom of Red Chief! Geez, no wonder you failed the quiz on it! A whole 45 points down the drain for ya!" Ino clenched fists and her face burned red. "Stop calling me that! I don't need half a brain to know you're jealous of my great looks, half-pint! And I'm retaking that quiz, you know! I'll ace it on Monday!" Sakura scoffed. "Last time you aced a test you did it on accident, Skinny-o!" Just as Ino would have grabbed a fistful of Sakura's short, pink hair, the girl slipped away and dashed at high speed down the street to their home. Ino took off after her, her bright blue backpack laden with twinkling, girlish keychains rattling behind her.

"Wait up, Sakura!" Kiba shouted. He grasped Hinata's hand and tugged her along as he ran after his best friend. Ino was soon left behind and Hinata, Kiba and Sakura dashed at incredible speed to the big, three-story house on Highstone Drive. They ran up the porch steps and into the home of Tsunade and Jiraiya Hokage, and Tsunade's sister, Shizune Dan. Three adults and their eleven kids.

Every last one adopted.

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Tsunade Dan, now called Tsunade Hokage, loved kids. She really did.

But she was scared of actually giving birth to one.

She was scared of the pain it would cause her, and the fact that if she lived through the pain she might raise a terrible child. Before she married her childhood friend and highschool lover, Jiraiya Hokage, she told him this. He understood, and despite that, asked her to marry him. Tsunade hadn't considered refusing at all. Even right after the official kiss at the altar, Tsunade reminded Jiraiya of her not wanting to have a child. Jiraiya said they's use birth control. Thus reminding Tsunade of her lover's ever-present perverted mind, thus resulting in the comical action of Tsunade slapping her husband for the first time. At the altar. Her younger sister, Shizune, had practically spat wine on them in her choking laughter.

For many years, quite a few years, Tsunade and Jiraiya used birth control. Ahem. But they also lived happily, and Tsunade even asked her sister Shizune to move in with them for company. The three were a small and happy family. Tsunade lost her nagging fear of childbirth pain and child-raising consequences in her cheerful life. However, when she was around the age of 45, (when she still miraculously looked just 30) she began having "thoughts." These thoughts were caught onto by her husband, and after a few weeks, she asked him if they could adopt children.

Jiraiya loved the idea and took her to an orphanage in Casper, Wyoming, a nice, large town where they planned to move to. There, in late January, at Little Loved Ridge Orphanage, Tsunade adopted three kids.

Temari, the first, was a 9-year-old, bad-tempered blonde, the oldest of the three adopted ones. She was a stubborn and slightly rude girl, but had a good heart, and cared for her little brother, whom the couple also adopted. His name was Kankurou, adopted at age 8. He always wore violet face-paint, and liked to play with sock puppets. Kankurou's dearest friend was one who was adopted as the third. She was 8 years old, same as Kankurou, a brunette named Tenten, of Chinese descent. Her hair was perpetually in two Chinese buns, and she loved to play with sharp things, particularly the kitchen knives the orphanage superiors always tried to keep her away from.

For several months, Tsunade and Jiraiya cared for their new kids and loved them, and spoiling them at times, though giving discipline and limits when needed. Tsunade's fears of raising a kid the "wrong way" faded into nothing and she loved her kids more and more. Their bonds grew and it was no different than blood-related children. She claimed she could recognize each one of the kids by the sounds of their footsteps. Kankurou, young as he was, could take a slab of wood and carve it into a little puppet toy for Tenten and himself to play with, with just an hour and some safety scissors. Though she did like her friend's, or, her "brother's," puppets, Tenten preferred to fool around with butcher knives.

She was discouraged from that dangerous behavior constantly, though never gave up her "dartboard" game of throwing them at the backyard fence and nearly killing the birds that perched there. She and Temari had always seemed to have grudges towards each other, but none of the adults ever figured out why.

Temari was a cynical one, almost never giving a compliment but instead snapping rude remarks and taunting others. But she was no coward, as most bullies are. No, if Temari was challenged, she fought. She fought and she won. She won and she fawned on the victory. It took awhile for the adults to realize that to make Temari a nice person they simply had to give her a cute little fan to play with. Nothing else on Earth had ever worked.

Though, she could sense that though they had some friends in school and on their street, they wanted a bit more. Tenten, speaking for the three of them, even admitted that they wanted another sibling. Agreeing with them, the couple were about to leave for another orphanage when an old gambling partner of Tsunade's, Inoichi Yamanaka, came to their door, stopping them the minute before they left home to adopt again. He asked if they would take care of his 7-year old daughter, Ino, for he had to leave for war in Asia and knew he wouldn't be back for at least a year. Accepting, little Ino became part of the family, and though she could be a handful, she was loved just as much as the others.

Ino was a crybaby, tattletale, girly, slightly air-headed child, with a nose that was often in other people's business. Because she was a little kid, this would usually have been found just a small bit annoying, or even cute by some, but it was nearing impossible with personality she had. She ran to her parents whenever others accused her of trouble and could figure out little by herself other than which clothes were her size and what color makeup could perfectly compliment someone. She had plenty of friends at school, and was often scolded by the teachers for talking and not paying attention. Tsunade thought she had raised Ino wrongly and her fears nearly came back to her, but Jiraiya and Shizune together were able to coax her and remind her that it was just the way Ino was. On the inside, they all knew, Ino had a kind heart, and was a caring person who loved her family.

It was just, that piece of Ino seldom came up.

Ino became a part of the family around November, and more kids came soon after, though, like Ino, they were "given" and not "adopted" from an orphanage. Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi were put under the family's trusted care. The three boys were 7 years old when adopted, except for Chouji, who was almost 9. At that time, the family consisted of three adults: one 45 years old, one 46, and one 34, and 7 kids: one 9 years old, three 8 years old, and 3 little 7-year-olds. The boys had been close friends since babyhood, and their parents had all been "mysteriously killed". Though, since they were young and playful and their minds occupied with thoughts of games and food, were not traumatized at all.

Shino was the quietest boy any of them had ever seen. He was usually in the backyard, looking at ladybugs and bumblebees, or on the couch, sleeping. Or, he was likely sleeping. Since he had never taken off his precious, dark sunglasses no one knew what color Shino's eyes were, or if they were open or closed, with the exception of Shizune, who had looked at his adoption paper thoroughly enough to find his eye color. Shino was responsible, though, trustworthy and loyal. And these qualities could make him the babysitter at times, along with Temari, who could easily control them all with a snap of her sharp tongue. Shino often watched Shikamaru and Chouji in their odd antics of stealing snacks from the kitchen and watching TV shows their parents thought were innappropriate.

Shikamaru was easy to watch, though. One would think any 7 year old would be running around the house playing "tag" with their angry parents or rolling the mud in the backyard. Shikamaru only sat on the couch, watched TV, and slept. Eating was a side track, for which one had to drag him to the table and set him against his chair like a stiff piece of wood. Dead wood, usually. It was almost stupid that he was as intelligent as one twice his age. Jiraiya claimed he could do long division problems. Yet, he'd been affectionately dubbed "boring", by his new family, and also made the ideal best friend for Chouji.

Chouji was a plump little boy, but that made him all the more loveable. He'd been Shikamaru's best friend ever since he could remember remembering things, and he was the only one capable of making Shikamaru stand up without demanding it more than twice. However, the most notable thing about Chouji was...he liked to eat. A lot. At dinner his usual plate had at least as much as Jiraiya would eat, sometimes more. He stuffed it all, and thusly grew himself the chubby factor. But this didn't bother him one bit. No, Chouji was happy as could be. Only calling the boy "fat" could induce any actual temper he had. Only poor Jiraiya had seen young Chouji's temper, by accidentally slipping out the word "fatty."

Poor Jiraiya's hair still wasn't done growing back from the incident... It used to go nearly down to the backs of his knees.

The family of 10 lived happily still, with 3 adults to bring in a good supply of money, more than enough to keep their three-story house and home and buy some luxuries now and again. But, as they had guessed, the family got bigger yet again. Jiraiya and Tsunade had left for a resort in Denver to relax one April week, leaving Shizune and her kid-loving, rowdy boyfriend Genma to care for the children. On their drive around town, they found an old place called North Star orphanage. There, they saw an odd little girl and fell in love with her on sight. She was a small, 7-year-old little girl named Sakura.

Her neck-length hair was strangely pink as bubble-gum and her green eyes unusually bright. The caretakers of the building didn't know where she was from, nor how her weird hair color had come to be. When their mom and dad came home from vacation with a new little sister, she was accepted into the family as quick as anything. Temari, Tsunade and Shizune seemed to love her the most, feeling that the littlest and youngest of the kids got the "best" stuff, though Sakura opposed being treated like a baby for being smaller and "cuter" as Temari had said. Though Sakura detested being babied, she enjoyed her new life. The adults thought she would be a bit on the frail side and scared, though she was the exact opposite.

Sakura was a wild spirit, mostly, in a ridiculously small body. If anything interesting or strange-looking caught her eye, she'd almost always be after it without a second thought. Punishment or consequences forgotten. And following Tenten and Temari, she developed a taste for sharp, shiny objects, and, being hotheaded, easily got herself into fights.

And as you can probably guess, Sakura wasn't the end of the adoption line. More like the beginning of the end. In fact, she was the one that kept it going. After being with the family for exactly two weeks, she insisted that "that blonde thing over there keeps giving me a headache" and asked for another friend. With her almost evil, big emerald eyes Shizune and Tsunade had her up in a giant "mommy, daughter" hug and had agreed. At the God's Gift Orphanage in Casper, Wyoming, where the big family lived, Sakura had personally picked out someone to be adopted. In fact, she'd pointed to a boy with his tiny dog, ran up to him, and strangled him in a hug and asked to be his friend. He had agreed happily, saying that his big sister had left him here with a new puppy and he had no other friends here.

The boy's name was Kiba, and he was adopted quickest of all.

Kiba may have been one of the best adoptions in the list. Not only did he quickly gain the liking and respect of everyone immediately, (except for Temari, who was just a little too irritated at the time to care about him) but he loved them all like he loved his dog, Akamaru, who was also adopted. Kiba was a hard-headed, curious and strong boy with a nose for adventure, fitting qualities as he loved dogs, and owned one. It was probably that adventurous quality that molded Sakura and him together as best friends. He was everywhere with her, doing everything with her, playing every single game humans could create and tasting every food the kitchen could come up with. Often Chouji joined them in this particularl adventure.

Kiba's nose got him in trouble many a time, and he couldn't always blame his pink-headed pal for it. Perhaps Akamaru's quality of sticking his little black nose into everything had rubbed off on him, and he'd just been thinking like a puppydog when he'd gobbled up those gingerbread cookies that one Christmas. Maybe it was an accident he called Chouji fat and got his wrist sprained by his furious, chubby brother and pal. Nonetheless, he kept up the optimistic side. Injured or not, Kiba was a source of cheer...usually.

It was an ordinary day in June, 2002 when Kiba and Jiraiya had to go to Portland, Oregon to meet a "book client" of Jiraiya's. Kiba insisted on coming along, and that he would never tell anybody what the book was about if he could just get a peek at it. Denied, like every other day, he was. After selling a total of 11 volumes of Jiraiya's books to a tall man named Kakashi, Kiba insisted they check out an orphanage. Jiraiya almost refused, but after seeing the sorrowed silver eyes in the window he had to see the poor kid who owned them.

Running into the Five Sisters Orphanage, Kiba met and slowly befriended Hinata Hyuuga., a girl with violet hair and gorgeous silver eyes. Kiba claimed her hair was more gorgeous than Ino's glossy blonde hair, and after talking to Hinata a bit, learned her terrible story. Her father and cousin, both heartless people to the core, had left her at the orphanage, feeling she had no right to be in their prestigious family. Jiraiya knew that Hyuuga was a known business name, responsible for the training of many different kinds of martial arts.

Hinata was adopted on the spot without even a phone call to Tsunade and Shizune back home. Their hearts couldn't stand to let the poor girl suffer in this place for kids with nothing else in their lives. She needed happiness, and they had more than enough. When introduced to the family (after getting her to calm down from her fear of the plane ride there) Hinata could barely say her name without adding ten syllables for stuttering. So Kiba explained for her, and everyone was moved, even Temari, who was without a nice little fan at the time. Hinata was taken under the wings of Sakura and Kiba and became their second best friend. She was shyer than she looked, never stating her opinion, ever. Unless of course, one had to force the answer out of her with a fake threat. This took weeks to work through, and though Shizune, who worked as a nurse, suggested therapy.

No one liked the idea at all. It wasn't right for a child to be sent to therapy. Ever. Tsunade made sure her younger sister, Shizune, understood this. But it was Shizune who saw what really did help Hinata.

Only being with her friends seemed to help at all. In fact, her progress was so slow, that Ino tried to take advantage of her one day, forcing her to paint her nails and finish her homework. Sakura put this to a stop, by means of physical force, before Hinata could be persuaded to buy the snobby girl's lunch that day in school, which could have stamped her as Ino's slave for the rest of the school year. Hinata took much time, working up enough courage to one day tell Tsunade she didn't like her homemade bean casserole, which was more than an accomplishment for any of them. It was a nasty dish eaten by all of them at least once a month. It was at least 5 weeks before she announced that she thought that Temari was a jerk, for which everyone cheered for her, even Temari herself.

But while Hinata was still working on her shyness and self-esteem, the last adopted child came into the family, by the name of Rock Lee. Or, the "Green Beast", as he called himself quite a bit. Lee was found at the same orphanage as Kiba, God's Gift, on the outskirts of Casper, though he'd been put in there only a day or so after Kiba left. His father, a martial arts-loving man called Maito Gai, had been forced by Draft to leave for the same war that Ino's father was participating in, with a promise to his beloved son that he'd be back one day.

Lee, adopted as an 8-year-old, about Kankurou and Tenten's age at the time, was a cheerful, proud and odd individual. His hair had a bowl-cut and his eyebrows were huge, and he had a taste for certain jumpsuits. Basically, a copy of his father, if a lot skinnier. His personality seemed to fit his odd features. Lee was a fighter to the end, never giving up, and when he lost, he lost with honor, praising his opponent and wishing him or her luck forever after in a rather dramatic fashion. Lee loved to work, and loved to help, and when he failed his jobs he punished himself by making himself work out and exercise. Shizune, the family worrywart, fussed over him constantly, as he gave himself bruises and cuts, and, being the nurse, she had to treat them.

Not long after Lee was adopted, the public took a serious interest in the Hokage family, made up now of three adults and eleven adopted children all living in one three-story house in little old Casper, Wyoming. Reporters came to the door one December day in 2001, some three months after Lee was adopted, asking for interviews and photos. All the parents got five or six minutes each to talk on the News that was broadcasted almost everywhere in the state. Each child got a few seconds on airtime to say something about their lives--except for Hinata, who got so camerashy that Kiba had to talk for her--and even Akamaru got a chance to do a cute little "woof" on camera. Some generous people sent them money for having so many children, though it wasn't needed. The three parents had plenty of cash to provide for their family, as they were all successful in their work areas.

Lee, as Jiraiya personally told the interviewers, was the last adopted child in the line, and the family wasn't likely to adopt another. No, they were the perfect family...sort of. It was a great life for them, is a way to put it. They were family and friends at the same time, brothers and sisters and comrades and rivals. Each of the children were cared for and happy and were likely to never see any big problems in their lives with their moneymaker-parents caring for them. The News program had ended with the whole family--dog included--waving goodbye to the viewers. Many, to this day, had not forgotten the aforable faces of the little kids who were almost left to die in orphanages.

Many, to this day, did not see the crisis that would come at the family in the future.

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Timeline:

Many years ago, probably :... Tsunade and Jiraiya married, moved to large house in Casper, Wyoming. Tsunade's sister, Shizune moves in at some point.

January 28th, 2000:...Temari, (age 9) Kankurou, (age 8) and Tenten (age 8) adopted from Little Loved Ridge Orphanage.

November 9th, 2000:... Ino (age 7) given to Tsunade by gambling friend Yamanaka Inoichi who had to leave for war.

December 19th, 2000:... Aburame Shino (age 8) Nara Shikamaru (age 7) and Akimichi Chouji (Age 7) given to Tsunade, Shizune and Jiraiya by child protection agencies when their parents were mysteriously killed.

April 5th, 2001: Sakura (Age 7) is adopted from North Star Orphanage.

April 22nd, 2001: Kiba (age 7) is adopted from God's Gift Orphanage, per request of Sakura.

June 16th, 2001: Hinata (age 7) is adopted from Five Sisters Orphanage, after being seen and sympathized by Jiraiya and Kiba.

August 30th, 2001: Rock Lee (age 8) is adopted from God's Gift Orphanage.

EDIT: I fixed the adoption years. You may not have noticed, but they were too far ahead. If a 7 year old was adopted in '03, then now, in '06, they'd only be 10. The characters in this story are 12-13. So the years should be mostly correct right now.

EDIT 2: I have edited this chapter a little to include some more info than it used to, and to make it a little better. Some parts drawled on and some didn't have enough sentences to be really "good." Enjoy the edit.

IMPORTANT: Like many of my stories, this may go slowly for awhile at first. If you can't DEAL WITH SLOWNESS, you may want to stop reading. If not, PROCEED TO CHAPTER TWO.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I really think I will continue this. This is only the "prologue," I guess, where you meet the family and see a little of their interactions with each other. (Beginning of chapter.) Tell me whether or not you like it, or at least if you think anybody looks OOC so far.

Ta...Storm