Hello!
This is my first fanfic so don't be too harsh! Also this prologue does not correspond to actual events in the manga as to what happened that dreadful October night because I wrote this before that information was published, so don't judge it too harshly!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its characters, or its plot line Masashi Kishimoto does. I only own my OC Maiko and a few other OCs that I will mention briefly.
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Prologue
Carnage was everywhere you looked. The streets were littered with dead bodies and crushed buildings. Maiko Senju twisted her head left and right trying to find her teammates and sensei. Fear raked through her slender frame, only relieved once she heard her sensei, Ayame, call to her. She ran to the blonde haired teacher.
Her teacher of two years was the closest thing she had to an older sister she ever had. Both of Maiko's parents died young, leaving her without any siblings or family other than an estranged second cousin named Tsunade. So Maiko looked up to her sensei and adoptive sister.
Ayame Namikaze was 5'8" and also very slender, but her body was toned. Her golden locks rippled down her back in pig tails. Cerulean blue eyes locked on the Kyuubi ahead. Then she looked at the three chunin in front of her.
Maiko was about 5'2" and body wise was a lot like her sensei, toned. But, Maiko had long chocolaty brown hair and striking green eyes. Her face so animated and cute usually, but tonight it was dirty with smudges of smoke and exhaustion filled her eyes. The girl was truly like the little sister Ayame always wanted. From day one the little girl captured the jounin's heart through her sweetness. And the girl's resemblance to the 1st Hokage, her great grandfather, was startling. She not only adopted his looks, but recently she also has tapped into the Mokuton Hijistu. Or more commonly known as a Secret Tree Element technique. Maiko may be in the first steps of developing this jutsu, but Ayame hoped that it will be just as strong as the First's.
The two boys on the team are Haruka and Hideaki Hyuga; twins from the branch family of the Hyuga clan and both boys were identical with their pale skin, lavender eyes, and midnight blue hair. At least to everyone but Maiko, who could tell which one was which based on their stances and demeanor. Hideaki like most Hyuga's specialized in taijutsu, obviously the Gentle Fist style his clan was known for. But Haruka on the other end excelled in using the Byakugan for tracking purposes, mostly using genjutsu during a fight. It hurt Ayame to know that both boys might not fully reach their potential because of the Caged Bird Seal they had on their foreheads. But both boys accepted this, much to the dismay of Maiko, who vowed to find some way to get rid of the curse.
Ayame loved each of her students, and hoped deep down to never lose one of them during her lifetime. But she knew, that it might just happen tonight. She could never understand how her own twin, Minato, or the fourth Hokage, could have pulled through when his student, Obito, died during the Third Great Ninja War and then it happened again claiming his other student, Rin. She knew how much her brother loved and cherished his students, and yet he was able to move on after their deaths. She hoped she could be just as strong if that happened tonight. Deep in thought, Ayame didn't hear Maiko until tugged on by the sleeve.
"Sensei? What's wrong?" The perceptive little girl asked.
"Nothing's wrong Maiko-chan. Now huddle close, I will tell you our next plan of action." After she was done explaining, she saw the tension and hesitation in their faces. But like true shinobi, they all nodded their heads in acceptance. Ayame prayed to Kami that she wouldn't lose anyone tonight.
Maiko saw the emotions her sensei tried so hard to hide and once Ayame-sensei told them the plan, she knew why her teacher was so anxious. The plan, basically, was to engage the nine-tailed demon fox from behind. Hopefully distracting it long enough for the other team to either kill or maim it.
The team ran towards the Kyuubi, trying not to trip over the wreckage the demon left in its wake. Maiko looked at her sensei and teammates and briefly recalled the day she met them. When she first met the twins at the Academy they were quiet and inseparable. She was okay with leaving them alone, but then she got put on a team with them.
Haruka and Hideaki acted just the same as they did at the Academy. But Ayame Namikaze changed all three of them by opening up to them and tried to truly get to know the twins. See the two of them, being members in the branch house, were used to being ignored unless ordered to do something for the main branch. This attitude continued in the Academy years, where no one talked to them because of how naturally quiet they were. So, when this strange jounin asked what were their dreams and goals were, they were stunned. They didn't have a response, and when they said so they were jumped on by their new teammate, Maiko Senju. She said that, "Everyone has to have a dream".
Ever since that day Maiko continually got them to open up and express themselves and to Maiko's surprise, they had quite a lot to say. Maiko would have never thought that these two quiet twins were so vocal and strong. All of this happened because of their new sensei, and Maiko has tried to take this lesson to heart; always be open and unafraid to anyone or anything new. That is when Maiko tried to be more like her sensei, and became so close to Haruka and Hideaki. Or at least as close as two boys can get to a girl at that age.
Maiko, Haruka, and Hideaki, soon came to a stop at clearing when Ayame-sensei raised her hand. There they were greeted by none other than the Yondaime himself, and his team. To his right was a silver-haired boy about Maiko's age, his face was masked except for his left eye. This young boy was the genius of their generation; Kakashi Hatake. Every time Maiko looked at him she couldn't help but remember her close friend, Obito. But instead of focusing on him, she looked at the two flanking ANBU; one had the mask of a bear, the other an owl.
"How is Kushina-chan?" Ayame-sensei asked her twin.
"She is still in labor." The solemn faced Hokage replied, looking in the direction of the hospital.
"She is strong, Yondaime-sensei." Said Maiko. Ever since her vow to remove the Caged Bird Seal, Maiko has been getting lessons on seals from the Hokage. He also shared the little girl's views on the seal, and was quite impressed with the girl who took to seals like a duck to water. However, no matter how much he taught her, and the knowledge he himself had, they could not find a way to break the seal. Either way, they had a good relationship together as sensei and student and kept the same pretenses.
But even with the reassurance, Maiko was puzzled at her former sensei's face. He looked in pain, his eyes filled with sorrow. As if he knew how this night would end. When Maiko looked at Ayame-sensei, she saw the same look in her eyes too. It was identical between the siblings.
"Arigato Maiko-kohai." The Fourth said to her and then to Ayame-sensei, "You briefed your team, correct Imouto?"
"Hai, Minato-nii-san. While we distract the demon, you and your team will sneak up and kill or maim it." Ayame-sensei aloud, all emotions erased from her voice. Only the subtle nii-san showed her affection and worry to her brother and Maiko. The Hokage nodded, and then he and his team vanished using the Kage Bushinn no Jutsu.
Ayame-sensei, again, raised her hand and they left as well. The group headed to the North Gate where the Kyuubi was causing serious damage. Like the plan, as soon as they got to the North Gate they dodged behind the demon fox. Its tails were lashing out everywhere, on cue they all threw their kunai. But unlike the plan, the Kyuubi just turned its head. Upon seeing the group of shinobi, it just took one of its massive tails and hit all four of them.
Maiko, Ayame, and the twins were just too slow, compared to the Kyuubi, to dodge its massive tail. They all went flying, hit by pure and evil chakra. All of them hit a crumbling building. But, it only seemed that Maiko was not affected much by the hit. It felt like the tail went through her then the brick wall her team felt. So when she got up and saw all three of her teammates and sensei dead, she snapped.
Kakashi Hatake saw the whole thing with his sharingan, which he exposed right before the attack by Ayame-sama's team. He saw them throw their kunais, and he saw the Kyuubi hit them with one of its tails. Next his amazing sensei used the Hiraishin no Jutsu to teleport to his sister who carried the tri-kunai like all of his closest friends and family. He saw the girl, Maiko Senju, get up and scream the most horrible shriek he has ever heard. What then happened next stopped him and the ANBU agents beside him, mid-track.
The demon fox immediately froze at Maiko's scream. It was as if her pain and anger controlled the beast. In those few milliseconds it stood there, staring at the girl, doing nothing. But out of nowhere, while Minato-sensei was looking at the Kyuubi, a shuriken hit Maiko in the back. When she fell over, the nine-tailed fox walked slowly towards her. This got Kakashi and the ANBU agents moving again. But to Kakashi's surprise, Minato-sensei did not move to attack the demon fox when it got close, so close that it bent down and removed the shuriken from her back using its teeth. It then proceeded to touch the very spot with its nose. Afterwards it reverted back to its old self and ran off to destroy another part of the village.
Kakashi used all of his speed to get where his sensei was. By the time he got there Minato-sensei was checking for pulses. Kakashi could see sorrow grip his teacher's heart when the Yondaime hung his head after checking his twin sister's pulse.
"I'm so sorry Minato-sensei." Was all Kakashi could say while putting his hand on his shoulder.
"Arigato Kakashi. Can you please check Maiko-chan's pulse. I haven't gotten to her yet." The grief stricken Hokage said, staring at his dead sister's peaceful and battle worn face. Doing what was asked of him, Kakashi walked to where Maiko Senju lay. The girl was unconscious, but her face brought back memories for him.
They were memories of picking on Obito and telling him off about the rules of a shinobi. How real shinobi were never late, or were never as weak as him with a clan heritage like his. But every time this happened Maiko would jump out of nowhere and told him "youshould never judge the true strength of a shinobi on how he acts and how he follows rules". How true were those words, and how much Kakashi wished he listened to them before it was too late. When Obito died, Kakashi couldn't stand to look at himself, Rin, Minato-sensei, and most of all Maiko. She was so close to the kid, always laughing at his excuses and his fiery personality. He wished that he could have seen what she saw. And truth be told Kakashi was ashamed that he didn't and ridiculed her for seeing it.
Maiko's chocolate brown hair was strewn about her face, and the emotion of sorrow was etched in her face; her eyebrows furrowed and the tips of her mouth turned down. Kakashi stretched his trembling hand to her neck, about to check her pulse, when all of a sudden she jolted up with another scream. Although this time Maiko muttered something in the scream, only it was incoherent. But, as quickly as she woke up, she collapsed again. This time, Kakashi caught her in his arms.
Stunned was Minato, the ANBU agents, and Kakashi, that Maiko survived both the Kyuubi attack and the shuriken hit. So, Kakashi turned her over on her side to assess the shuriken wound, and instead found a burn mark. The burn mark consisted of a paw print similar to a fox's, with nine claws coming out of it. Kakashi traced the mark with the tips of his fingers, shocked to realize that the Kyuubi healed Maiko. Not knowing if there was any serious damage internally, Kakashi picked her up.
"Maiko Senju is still alive, take her to the hospital. We will take the others to where we are piling the bodies." Minato-sensei choked up a bit at the end of the last part. Kakashi did not know what say since he never had any siblings. The closet thing he had to a sibling would have been Obito. So, all Kakashi did was nod and run to the hospital. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more loses tonight.
Maiko was lying down on a cot; sterilized white walls greeted her when she woke up. The only thing Maiko remembered before she blacked out was intense grief and something snapping inside of her; like breaking a rubber band. She felt heat radiating from her right shoulder, and was about to moan when she heard a commotion on the other side of the curtain in the hospital room.
"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but Kushina-sama did not make it. She just lost too much blood from her previous wound." An unfamiliar voice said. By the outline of the body and how gruff the voice was, she guessed a male medic-nin.
"Thank you. Can you please hand me my son and leave?" The Yondaime replied grief plagued his voice.
"Sure, here you go." The medic-nin handed over a bundle to the Hokage, "Please call me if you need anything Hokage-sama." The medic-nin then left. It was silent for quite some time until, Maiko heard the Fourth whisper to his new born son.
"I'm sorry for what I have to do to you, Naruto. But this village will see you as a hero for this sacrifice I am going to do. I'm just sorry I won't see you grow up to become a great shinobi like I know you'll be. Just remember that your mother and I loved you." After that Maiko heard some rustling and then nothing. She slowly got up and hobbled to the curtain. She hissed in pain with every step, but she pushed the curtain out of the way only to see no one there, except for the window wide open, allowing the breeze to blow onto her face, drying the tears running down her face.
