There it was.
My death coming in hot. The wall of water I was diving into didn't really seem appetizing. The car I was in splashed into the water, taking a few seconds to start sinking. I started panicking as it sunk farther towards the bottom of the Northumberland Strait. I tried prying my door open, but the pressure against it was too much. I would have to let my car fill up in order to try that again. So I opened the window a crack, the water cascading in and soaking me entirely. It filled passed my knees, around my waist and up to my neck.
I took a deep breath before all the air was forced out and pushed the door open. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I pushed myself off of the roof trying to get a bit of extra speed to reach the surface. I tried and tried and pushed myself so hard, but I was running out of breath. I gasped, inhaling water and choking on it, only to breathe in more. I stopped trying to get to the top, not sure of what to do anymore, other than struggle with getting the water out. Eventually I let the darkness overcome me, lack of oxygen knocking me out.
That was really stupid.
I eventually came to consciousness, but everything was dark. It felt as though I was floating, floating in a warm liquid. Did I wake up, still in the water? Then there was pressure from every side. Cue muffled screaming. I struggled to push back, but I only felt myself move ahead. Maybe down? I couldn't tell. Then cool air wrapped itself around me and I cringed against it. I curled up and shivered, then noticed how small I was. I opened my eyes to get a better look, and my god, was I surprised. I was a tiny child.
I was whisked away to a small bath, where I was washed off of the blood and mucus that covered me. The doctor then covered me in a small yellow blanket and walked me over to the bed where I had just been birthed. He handed me to a frail woman with long brown hair and amber eyes, and she smiled at me. A small laugh escaped my tiny lips before I heard a door open and a man's voice.
"Is everything alright now?" it asked, concern and nervousness laced in his tone. The woman holding me, my new mother I guess, nodded in his direction, with a small smile. I heard steps then myself being held out. The man lifted me into his arms and I saw him. I stared wide eyed at him, not saying anything. The iconic hairstyle from a graphic novel, and the robes to match his role, staring me right in the face.
The Third Kazekage.
His eyebrows lifted in confusion, and he looked to the woman who sat on the bed, and she giggled a bit. "I don't think she likes me…" The woman sighed, bringing her hand to wipe the sweat from her brow. "She will grow to like you, like I had to." His yellow eyes moved back to meet mine. I didn't want him to think his own child hated him, so I tugged on his side bangs and brought his head down closer to my face. I held both of his cheeks, pushing in and making him do the fish lips, making me laugh. Never in my lives had I thought I could make the strongest Kazekage in existence make a face like that.
"What did you say about her not liking you?" mother asked him, one eyebrow raised. He laughed, looking down at me happily. "Well, Suchiru, welcome to the family."
Three years passed. During that three years, I found out that my name quite literally meant steel, which I felt a little abnormal for a girls name. Mother just told me that father had the iron sand, and wanted to relate my name to it. I rolled my eyes at her, making her laugh. Father also started teaching me about chakra wielding and my kekkei genkai, magnet release. He realized I inherited it when the first time I held a metal spoon, it dissolved in my tiny hand, and the lessons for controlling that ensued. He also taught me the history of the village, given that he thought I was more mature for my age instead of a twenty-three year old in an infant's body.
I learned how to write in kanji, and speak Japanese, which was a lot harder than I thought. Eventually I got the hang of it, though I still had some trouble writing. My mother would take me out every morning for a walk around the village, where I often saw characters that I knew from the series, like Granny Chiyo, and Rasa, the next Kazekage, but minus the children, though Karura was pregnant with Temari I assumed, at this point.
There was one day, though, that I remember clearly. It was just after my second birthday. I was in father's office, playing with a couple toys next to his desk while he worked, when I heard the door open quietly. Then one of my toy balls started floating. I grinned at it, trying to catch it as it flew up and down and around the room. I heard my father laughing quietly as he watched me. Eventually I caught it, and look to the person at the door, fully expecting Granny Chiyo to be there.
Instead, a familiar redhead stood in the frame. I gasped and hid behind my father, only peeking out to meet the brown gaze of Sasori. It was odd, seeing him still human. Father laughed, ruffling my hair with his hand. Sasori kneeled down, attempting to be level with me. He used his chakra strings, making them much thicker than when he did while moving my ball, and attached them to the ball again. He held the ball out in front of me, but just far enough away that I needed to move out from behind father to get it.
"Come on, Suchiru, go ahead." father said at my hesitation. "It's alright, you can trust him." 'Oh how wrong you are though, daddy dearest.' I exhaled through my nose, and stepped out from behind him, trying not to be too suspicious of the puppeteer. Sasori smiled gently at me, making himself seem so innocent. It reminded me that at this point he was still fathers subordinate, not an evil killer from an evil organization.
I walked out, going to grab the ball, but only to have it move just out of my reach. I grunted in frustration and moved forward, as fast as my little legs could carry me, trying to grab it again. I missed again, the ball moving backwards again. I moved again, stomping my feet, making it known I was frustrated, and I heard the two men laugh. I pushed my dark teal hair out of my face and behind my ears, determined to get my ball back from the man. I looked up to him, noticing his smirk. 'Jeez, I didn't know Sasori liked to pick on little kids.' I thought to myself. I then mirrored the look and watched his expression change to confusion.
I waddled, full tilt towards him, jumping at him and pushing him backwards. I stood on his chest, raising my arms in victory as father laughed and clapped his hands in applause. "Well Sasori, if my two year old daughter can take you down, maybe I need new students." I jumped off him as his chuckling sent me off balance. "I was caught by surprise." He simply stated. I crossed my arms and smirked at him, and he ruffled my hair, making it even more tousled than it already was.
I never thought that I would ever meet the puppeteer, let alone 'beat' him. At the current moment in time, I was playing with some rubber ninja tools, tossing them around pretending to be my father. Hitting targets around the room, spinning and jumping around, making my brown dress swirl around me.
Then all of a sudden, the door bursts open in my playroom making me jump, the elders and my mother running in. My mother grabbed me, hauling me up into her arms and running back out into the hallway. I tried to look around, to see what was going on, but was ushered down by mothers' hand, holding my face into her chest. I tried to think what could have been happening during the time of the Third Kazekage. The Third Shinobi War was ongoing of course, that's why I barely saw father lately.
'Oh my god, he's gone.' I came to the realization that this was the day that Sasori kidnapped father, and was going to turn him into a puppet. I lifted my head, hitting mother's chest. "Where's Otousan?!" I demanded from her. She looked down at me, tears running down her face, eyes wide, trying to figure out how I knew.
"We don't know, Suchiru." she told me softly through her tears. I felt the moistness of tears running down my own face, unable to hold them in. I put my head down, sobbing to myself quietly as mother rubbed my back in attempt to sooth me. We didn't stop running, and even some of the anbu had joined us, protecting us all the way to the village entrance. We stopped there, waiting for something.
I heard the quiet chatter, my mother asking what we were going to do and where we were going to go. I picked up on some words that sounded familiar. Konoha, hiring someone, we need to get to the land of rivers, they'll meet us there. I looked to my mother, and she had a panicked look on her face.
"Okaasan, where are we going?" She hugged me closer before answering. "Konoha. At this point in the war we aren't fighting them, so we count them as allies." I nodded in understanding. We waited for a wagon, one that reminded me of a pilgrim's wagon. We piled ourselves in, getting situated and we started to move almost immediately.
The trip was tiring and boring. We didn't have any time to grab things before we left, except for extra clothes, so I was stuck with nothing to play with or do. Mother tried her best thought, telling me stories of gallant heroes, (some of which I'm sure were about father) and running over theories that I would need to know for the academy, which I was to start earlier than most because I was so 'smart'.
When we finally reached the border of the Land of Rivers, we stopped. Mother peeked out, speaking and nodding to someone, before getting out. I got up from where I was sitting, moving towards the opening of the wagon. I lifted the flap to see mother talking with someone who was just around the corner from where I could see. Hoisting myself up and over the gate, I dropped down to the ground with a thump.
I rounded the corner, my heart stopping as soon as I saw the man mother was talking to. I wasn't sure how to act, considering one of my favourite characters was standing in front of me. Mother looked down to see me, and put her hand on my head. "This is the one we are paying you to protect." I looked up at her curiously, wondering how much she actually had to pay him.
I grinned up at him, only to get a scowl in return. "What's your name, mister?" I asked as innocently as I could. He continued his glare before answering.
"Kakuzu." My grin got bigger. It was as if the glare was permanently stuck on his face, as it hadn't faltered once. He wasn't wearing the classic Akatsuki cloak either, just what he wore underneath it. "We need to get moving." was the next thing he said, and my mother nodded. She guided me back to the carriage, lifting me back into it before stepping back.
"Come on, Okaasan, or he'll leave without you!" I said jokingly, even though some part of me wouldn't even doubt its accuracy. But instead of climbing in, she just smiled sadly, and kissed my forehead. "I can't go with you, Suchiru." My mood dropped as soon as that left her mouth. "Why not?" I asked her, tears forming in my eyes.
"Because, there are people following us. We need to drive them off, so they don't get you." I looked down sadly, letting the tears flow out. "Oh…" She lifted my head, smiling at me. "Don't worry though, we'll see each other soon, ok?" I smiled back, nodding my head. I could hear the old man tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for us to finish up.
"Okay Okaasan, on three!" I said to her. "One," she started off. "Two!" I shouted as I saluted to her, and she mirrored me back, the two of us laughing. The carriage started up again, almost making me fall out, but I held on tight.
I waved at mother until I couldn't see her and the other sand shinobi, then crawled to the side of the wagon and lifted the cover so I could Kakuzu as he walked beside it. I put my chin in my hands and looked at him. "So you're a shinobi, right?" He hummed a yes. "Where are you from?" I asked, and waited for him to answer. It took him a bit of time, as he was trying to keep his temper down. I knew I shouldn't prod him too much, but I couldn't help it much either.
"Takigakure." he said eventually. I could hear the annoyance in his voice already, and I snickered to myself silently. I moved back into the carriage and moved to the front where I could see the long road ahead of us. "How long is it going to take us to get there?" I yelled out.
"Three days." came the simple answer. I sighed to myself, knowing that I wouldn't get much else from him. I moved the blankets that we had all into one corner and dropped into them, trying to get some sleep. I watched the road disappear behind us through the flaps of the back, expecting something interesting to pop up, but nothing ever did.
I was jolted awake to metal clangs and screeches. I lifted the cover a tiny bit against my better judgement and gasped at the sight. The old man covered in blood, whether it was his or not, I couldn't tell. He held an Iwagakure shinobi by his throat, choking the life out of him. I felt someone grab the back of my dress, pulling me out of the carriage from the other side.
"Kakuzu!" I screamed for him, hoping he heard my small voice. I heard him grunt from the other side before a body dropped and he came sailing over the wagon. I struggled against my captor only to get a kunai to the throat. I ceased immediately, trying to be as still as possible. I felt the tears start, and tried to blink them away. Then I got an idea. I knew Kakuzu was fairly observant, so I hoped this work.
"K-Kakuzu," I said, getting his attention. The grip on me tightened. "On t-three." I saw a knowing look cross his face for a second. "One," he said lowly. "Two." I said before the kunai at my throat flung out of man's hand, making him drop me. Kakuzu grabbed the kunai that flew beside his face and jumped over me and at the man, stabbing him in the chest.
The Iwa man stopped moving, and I stood behind my protector just in case. Everything was still for a moment before Kakuzu decided to stand up. He turned to me, wiping the dirt and blood off of him. "Grab whatever you can carry from that thing." He said, pointing towards the carriage. I nodded quickly and jumped into it, grabbing a bag and stuffing some clothes and a blanket into it.
When I jumped out, he waited for me to join him at his side. "Don't move." He told me, before bringing his hands up to make a familiar hand signs. " Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu." I stepped back even further, watching a fireball engulf the wagon. My eyes widened in amazement, the heat radiating off of the attack.
It cut off, and the wagon burned. He turned to me, taking my bag and shouldering it. "It will be faster if I carry you." I nodded excitedly, practically jumping into his arms. He settled me on his waist, one arm supporting me as the other helped guide him through the trees that surrounded us. I held on tightly, gripping at his shirt in the front, and the backpack in the back, unsure if it was alright to hold onto the masks.
This was going to be a long trip.
So I wanted to try my hand at one of these 'reborn' stories. Also, if you want to know the exact color of Suchiru's hair, since it's kinda hard to describe, here is the color code: 3f5f6b. And her eyes are the same shade of yellow as the third kazekage's.