Set after Gaara's rescue in Shippuden. I have no idea as to who she's going to be endgame with, but for now, the starting ship will be Rei/Gaara, until I see otherwise!
Let me know what you think. :) xx
I DON'T OWN NARUTO. ._.
The sun –it was beginning to set as a blonde haired girl with highlights as white as snow began making her way through the empty forest. Her hair whipped back and forth as she adjusted her headband which represented that she was a shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Beads of sweat began dripping from her forehead as that voice rang in her head once more. 'Oh Rei! Isn't it time to let your good old friend out?' she heard him hiss in his usual sweet voice. She shook her head, smiling only slightly as she continued to run. "Sorry, Neko. Not today." she whispered under her breath, passing by a few stray animals –though not paying much attention to them for she had no time to waste in getting to the Village Hidden in the Leaves to send an important message to the Hokage from the Raikage.
Rei wasn't your typical shinobi. She was more than just hardworking, and harsh. She was hopeful, dedicated, and she never stopped until she's reached her goal. Another thing that made her different was the fact that she was the Raikage's daughter. Her father was a very respectable man in all of Kumogakure. She was never treated like her father was treated though. Because of her secret, Rei had always been treated like garbage. However, it was never done within ten feet of her father, because if it was? They'd be in big trouble, so they did most of their talk behind her back. It made her strong. Neko made her strong. He forced her to see reason, to realize that none of those people mattered, only she did. And in the end? It would always be Neko and Rei. Together forever. Or at least that's what he had been telling her for about ten years now.
'It was a Spring morning when a six year old Rei Hasegano began rummaging through the forests of Kumogakure, not very far away from her village, which was quite literally hidden in the clouds. She managed to make her way down the small mountains and into the forest in order to find the special berries her mother always spoke about finding. She had eyes black as coal, and hair as yellow as the sun. A smiling Rei got down on her hands and knees and continued her search, wiping the beads of sweat from her face away with her sleeve, shaking her head as she began crawling and crawling, not exactly taking notice to where she was going exactly as she made her way into a dark cave. She looked up immediately as her vision went a little black but before she could turn around she heard a soft voice that was as sweet as honey. "Hello, little girl. Who might you be?" she heard it say. She saw nothing though. "W-Who's there? I can't see you!" she cried out, trying her best not to let the nerves get to her as she began backing up, her footing almost making her fall to the ground. She pulled out her kunai just in case she'd need protection. "Oh, little girl. A silly kunai won't protect you against me. But I won't hurt you. I promise."
"Who are you!" she repeated, flailing her arms in front of her face as she seen a cat engulfed in blue flames slowly walking out of the shadows. Her eyes widened and she was truly shocked. She had never seen anything like it before. The way it moved, and spoke, it was all so unreal, yet so real to the six year old. She held out her kunai, swiping it around in defense before squinting her eyebrows. "What are you?" she asked defensively, perfecting her stance in case she had to strike. "How rude of you. You haven't even asked me my name yet, little girl."
"What is your name?" she asked, breathing heavily as the two tailed beast took a few steps closer.
"My name is Matatabi, but you may call me whatever you'd like, little girl." he smirked, which made Rei a bit uncomfortable. "M-My name is Rei Hasegano. I want to become a student in the Academy, and I'm training to be the best shinobi in the whole entire world!" she said proudly, pulling her hand back as she sat down, cocking her head to the side as she stared at the beast.
"Really? The best Shinobi, you say? I could help you get there, Rei. I could help you get there easily by teaching you everything I know about the Shinobi way, about how to feel, act, fight." he paused, which made Rei even more curious, causing her to lean in a bit. "But I can only do that if you trust me."
'Why are you thinking of that again?' she heard that sickly sweet voice whisper in her head. She merely kept going, continuing in her path as she jumped from tree to tree, making sure her sword was in place. She forgot that Neko could hear her thoughts sometimes. He's been with her for ten years, so it felt almost natural nowadays to speak to him, considering he did show her everything she knew about being the shinobi she was today. He helped her pass all of her written tests while in the academy, and helped her perfect every jutsu she knew, along with her hand signs, her stances, and the way she judged people. He turned her into not only a good judge of character, but one of the most powerful shinobi that has ever walked foot in Kumogakure, and for that –she was extremely thankful. Neko kept his promise so far, but at times she couldn't help but be doubtful of his intentions, but she would never tell him that. She couldn't. It would make him mad again, and Rei didn't like it when Neko was angry with her. He would constantly remind her that they were on the same side, and always would be, for she had no reason to doubt anything he said or taught her, but Rei's father didn't like Neko, and neither did her grandmother, or anyone else that knew about him for that matter. Growing up she realized who and what Neko actually was. He was one of the legendary two tailed beasts, and she hated Neko for so long for lying to her, but there was nothing she could do about it, not until Neko fulfilled his promise.
"Finally! You can stop complaining Neko! We're here." she announced, taking a few breaths before knocking on the village gate, being greeted by a few of the guards who were also Shinobi. "Hello there, boys. Just dropping something off for the good old Hokage!" she said loudly, her smile bright and beautiful as she held up the scroll from her father. The guards gave her a look of approval before letting her pass through. She flashed them a smile before continuing on her way. "It's good to see you again, Hasegano!" she heard one of them call, which made her chuckle, she turned giving them a peace sign before turning on her heel and beginning a slow paced walk into the streets, wanting to get a real feel of the village hidden in the leaves for once. She usually just made a quick stop and go, but for once she wanted to enjoy herself, give herself a rest and maybe even get something to eat. She was pretty hungry.
As the sun shone down on Konoha, Rock Lee couldn't help but smile at all of the people passing by him. He knew they felt sorry for him, he obviously couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutso, which obviously put a damper on him becoming a shinobi, however that never stopped him or his talents for taijutsu. It was always one of Lee's favorites, and he was quite good at it, however after his fight with Gaara, the medics prodicted that he's never be able to continue with his practices on being a Shinobi, however –once again, this didn't stop Lee from training and proving everybody wrong. He couldn't help but thank Lady Tsunade their Hokage. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be the shinobi he was today, and by God he couldn't be happier. As he waved to the people of his village he couldn't help but spot a girl about the age of fifteen, or maybe even sixteen sitting at the local ramen shop. She was beautiful, and he had never seen her before, which was strange to Lee, considering he knew everyone in Konoha. He bit his lip only slightly before walking closer to her and taking the seat next to her. He watched as she turned her head to him to only notice how striking her green eyes were. They were absolutely marvelous to him, and he couldn't help but catch his breath at just the sight. "May, I help you with something?" he heard a sweet voice chime into his ears. He shook his head, getting out of the trance he was in before smiling and nodding his head. "O-Oh, hello! I am Rock Lee, a member of team Guy, and Chuunin for this village!" he paused, looking up to her forehead to see the headband she was wearing. She was from Kumogakure. That was quite obvious. He knew he hadn't seen her there before.
"Rei Hasegano, Chuunin from the Village Hidden in the Clouds." that sweet voice chimed into Lee's ears once more.
"It's very nice to meet you." he heard again, but this time he nodded his head, wondering where he heard that name before. "I know you. You're the Raikage's daughter!"
"Yes, that's right." she said grimly.
"Don't be so negative about it. It's a truly great thing. Maybe you'll even become the next Raikage."
Rei couldn't help but laugh a little at this. She knew her older brother would want that spot first hand, and she doubted she could ever display that type of responsibility anyways. "No way. I couldn't handle that type of responsibility. I just want to become a great Jounin, and live my life." she whispered which earned her a mental slap of some sorts. It was Neko, trying to make contact with her again. 'Don't fratrernize with his kind. He's no match for you –for us. Just eat and move on so we can leave this retched place, Rei.'
Rei sighed, turning back to her ramen and taking a few bites, ignoring this questionable glances she's earned from Lee.
"So, tell me something. What are you doing after eating?" he asked, giving the girl before him a bright smile.
"Well, after this I must complete my mission to deliver something to the Hokage, and then I must leave and go home." she muttered, fearing she had already said too much for Neko's liking.
"Really, well, maybe you and I can have another bite to eat together before you have to go..." she glanced over to him, seeing how red and hot the flesh coating his cheekbones were. She had never had a 'bite to eat' with another boy before, considering she was always more focused on training than boys, however eating with Rock seemed like a good idea to her, even if it was going against Neko's wishes.
"I-I would love too..." she murmured, taking one last bite of her food before standing up and giving him a nod. "I shall see you here in about two hours!" and with that, she was running –she was gone, and frankly, Lee couldn't want to see her again.
"Bye..." he muttered, swallowing hard before taking another deep breath. What had he gotten himself into? He had to stay loyal for Sakura. But this girl. She was so enticing, so different –so lovely, like her name.
After about a few minutes of thinking, Lee stood up, gave the cook a nod and headed off to see Guy Sensai, maybe he could help him out a bit, or a lot.
A little new to Fanfiction, so please be nice, however constructive criticism is completely and utterly welcome! Any flames will be scoffed at. :).