A/N: Greetings! You may all call me Kei, and this is my first FanFic, so, of course, reviews are loved. Of course, I cannot control your mind set about my OC, but, ya know. Please don't be TOO harsh. I try not to make Originals similar to Cannon characters, so, I think I've done pretty well with this one.
But first, before I get started, an age clarification-
Temari-19
Kankurou-18
Gaara-16
Sadako-18 (she's come in here and there later on, so, you might as well get clarification on this tidbit. )
And you can probably figure out the age of anyone else (Originals at least : P) I throw in there xD
-O.O.O.O.O.O.O-
DISCLAIMER:(I only do this once, so pay close attention) Kei(I) do/es NOT own Naruto, including all relations to the title, along with characters, merchandise, etc. But I DO own Kujo, Shouko, Hagiya, and any other random made-ups I toss in there. : P If I did own everyone else, Kujo and them would be part of the show and not just part of a FanFic. lol
A/N: Alright, now to begin! (Kei: This chapter may be a bit on the short side, just because of how lazy I am. .. Shouko: You're right, you are lazy. Kei: Thanks for the encouragement. T.T)
'Kujo or any other character thinking'
'Annon or Shukaku thinking'
"Normal speech"
-O.O.O.O.O.O.O-
Prologue (Very short)
The funeral was a sad say, and everyone in Kirigakure seemed to be crying, all but one. Kujo, now 16, had made her father a promise she intended to keep. He made her promise not to cry for him because he neglected her so much as a child and that it was his fault she did a lot of the things she did. He blamed himself and therefore surmised that there was no reason for her to care if he was gone. Despite the occasion, she was still in her usual clothing. Black, long sleeved mesh shirt overlaid with a deep blue tube-top that reached her hips, then a dark, slate blue colored wrap covered her abdomen from right below her bust to her hips over top of that, not making her already thin, 108 lb. body seem any bigger or bulkier, oddly enough. Her pants were rather simple. Dark blue, probably a bit too wide, stopping about an inch above her knees. Not very form-flattering, but, that was it. Well, she has a kunai holster on her right leg, but, that was about it. Her shins were covered in now soaking wet black-blue knee high wrappings that seemed to lengthen her 5' frame. Traditional, black shinobi sandals covered her feet, not adding that burst of bright blue that most ninja had. Crossing her arms, one covered by a black, elbow length fingerless glove and the other by a wide sleeve that matched the color of her blue shirt, she let her mind wander freely.
-O.O.O.O.O.O.O-
The young woman stood silently in front of the crowd, her headband wrapped tightly around her Alexandrite eyes, currently in their 'green' state versus the remaining 'red-violet' state, hiding them from the world for good reason. Not a tear streamed down her porcelain face. Kujo's face was set in its usual blank stare, on account that she hadn't truly smiled since... Well, a while. Some call it odd, ask her, it's called innate. Well, almost. It seemed that when she began becoming 'whole', all the emotions that her other 'selfs' experienced were transferred into the real her. Almost like how information gathered by Shadow Clones return to their creator when the jutsu is dispelled. But this was quite a bit different because it's all the emotions that they had gathered over many years. And it was much too overwhelming. So, instead of showing all my emotions, she chose to show none. After the grueling service was over, Mame approached her.
"Kujo-san," she began in her small, slightly scared voice, "you will be leaving for Sunagakure in 1 hour."
After an uncomfortable pause with Mame visibly fidgeting, the younger girl finally found her voice. "Why?" was all she said, her voice possessing an unusually wistful tone. Haunting may be a better word, actually. Kujo almost always seemed to be feared, probably because her clan, and everyone else, assumed her to still be unstable.
"You see, your father and the Fourth Kazekage had an agreement that if anything happened to him, you would be under the Fourth's care. But since the Kazekage passed away several years ago, the duty was asked of his oldest child, Temari, who said she'd take you in. You do remember her, don't you?" the woman asked, her eyes cautious through her dark goggles.
"Faintly..." It seemed that she only ever answered in one word if she could help it.
"Well, she is now your care taker and is expecting you in six days."
Without another word, the young woman returned to her now previous home and shoved her minimal amount of clothes, dark curtains, thin navy blue sheets and other belongings into a large black backpack before slipping on a long, dark blue traveling cloak with a large hood that was pulled quickly over her thick mass of quickly pulled and twisted back blue violet shoulder-length locks. Her 'third eye' (actually her 'mind sight') darted around the room to make sure her bony hands had grabbed everything of importance before leaving her room for the last time.
'Ugh. I don't know why I can't just live by myself? I'm a Jounin now, and I'd do fine alone...'
'You forget dear, you're never alone.'
'I know Annon... Mentally I'm not, physically I am. I can take care of myself.'
When she finally left her home, who else was waiting outside for her but Sadako. Kujo couldn't help but wonder what she was doing here.
"Hey Kujo. They want me to take you there, just to make sure." The 18 year old said cheerfully, brushing a strand of ice white hair from her face. All the younger of the two could do was raise and lowered one shoulder as if agreeing. It took her a few moments to register where 'there' was, but then it hit her full force.
'Suna... Of course. Hot, sandy, dry. Great... The exact opposite of this place.'
"Let's get going, we may get there a bit early." Sadako added in the same cheerful tone before setting off, leaving the younger kunoichi to trail along.
-O.O.O.O.O.O.O-
5 days later (Kei: Yes, I AM feeling lazy today. Well, this morning since it's 1:30 a.m. and I have nothing better to do. xD.)
After a long, uneventful trip, complete with several run down inns and dark forests, the duo arrived in Sunagakure, both equally exhausted. The sun was bright, as always, and Kujo already hated it.
'At least the nights are supposed to be cold and dark.'
'Hellz yeah. It better be or I'll NEVER forgive you for dragging me here.'
'Oh, just shut up. I'm not in the mood.'
Despite how much the younger of the two hated the weather, Sadako, on the other hand, loved it. She even took off her usual un-ANBU uniformed blue jacket, revealing a tank top that perfectly matched her skirt.
"It's a wonder I don't have sand in my boots yet." The older of the two mumbled as she headed towards the Kazekage tower, leaving her 'responsibility' to walk along a step or so behind her.
The 16 year old showed no signs of the heat bothering her, and it didn't, but, she still wasn't quite used to the climate yet. And she also had a feeling it would take a while.
"The Kazekage can be quick tempered sometimes… I met him only one on an ANBU mission, and he probably won't remember me on account that he didn't see my face." Sadako said, finally breaking the silence. She wasn't the captain of the ANBU. Well, not yet, in her opinion.
After a moment of silence, Kujo finally spoke up. "I thought the Fourth was dead?"
"Oh, he is. This is his son. His youngest son." The one to whom Sadako was speaking didn't seem to be listening, as her eyes were focused on the ground, and she actually questioned if Kujo had heard her.
"I heard. And honestly, I really don't care how hot tempered he is. I don't want any of that 'I'm superior, bow down to me' shit. I won't take it. I'll put him back in his place." That was the kunoichi's final answer. Sadako nodded, knowing this wasn't the time to disagree.
Only a little while later, Sadako lead her up through the tower, first brushing past a flustered secretary. Along the way, several of the guards actually recognized her and let the two pass without a fuss. Anyone who didn't got a taste of her temper. When they reached the last door, Sadako knocked and only a second passed before a female's voice called a cheerful "Come in!"
Smiling, Sadako went in first and Temari greeting her with a hug. They obviously knew each other relatively well. "Well, are you ready to meet your temporary underling?" Kujo's companion finally asked.
Temari smiled, calling Kankurou, who stood off in the corner, to her side. "Come on Gaara." She said, slight impatience showing in her voice. The 'underling', meanwhile, was leaning against the wall outside the door, the large bag on the floor beside her and said person's ears listening to a phrase here and there. Her arms were kept crossed over her chest and her head lowered in thought until her name was called.
"Kujo, can you come in here?"
Sighing, the female pushed off the wall and walked through the doorway, standing beside Sadako and looking at the three faces before her through the Kirigakure headband that covered her eyes, but only a basic outline of their bodies was formed in her mind, their aura fillinging in the gaps.
"This is Manako Kujo." Sadako said, giving as formal an introduction as her much too playful personality would allow.
Temari, being the only girl, and the mass of pale pink-red aura from Kujo's point of view, pounced first.
"Hey Kujo-san. I haven't seen you since before, well, you know." She said, wrapping Kujo tightly in a hug. Of course she knew what Temari was talking about, and highly doubted anyone else did. After all, Kujo hadn't truly been out in the world since she was admitted. Caught off guard by the quick display of affection, Kujo stood stiff in her arms, not liking personal contact to any extent, and Temari let go, so, she had obviously sensed the hostility.
"This is Kankurou, my first little brother, and this is the Kazekage, my even younger brother." She said, motioning to each of them as she introduced them. "I think you may have met Kankurou before, now that I think about it." The older woman added quickly.
'So this is the Kazekage Sadako mentioned…'
She looked over said person through her headband. The red aura wasn't very inviting. The female's eyes then went to Kankurou's blueish form, who she sensed was staring her a bit odd. And the reason why was soon revealed.
"Hey Kujo, are you still hiding beneath your headband?" he asked, moving closer and ducking down so that he could see beneath the young girl's hood, but he was met with a blank face and the headband that covered her eyes, which were all but melting through the metal and fighting the urge to knock him out for being so close. She don't like people being too close to her. And he was definitely pushing it. Kujo probably would have hit him, but Temari beat her to it.
"Baka! That's no way to treat a guest, especially because she'll be staying for a while." She shouted, a welt forming where she had hit him. He straightened up and stepped back into line, rubbing the spot where he had been whacked. The last one to react was Gaara. He merely nodded before returning to his desk.
"Thanks for bringing her, Sadako." Temari said, a smile forming. Kujo felt slightly like she had been forgotten, which wasn't unusual.
"I'll be going then." Sadako said simply, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
"Well, Kujo-san, would you like me to show you to the house?" Temari asked, motioning towards the door. Kujo merely nodded, following the blonde haired kunoichi into the hall and grabbing her backpack as she went past.
"I think you'll like it here." She commented, again leading Kujo into the dry desert town. She followed her elder until they finally arrived at a large, tan house. Well, mansion was a better word to describe its massive size. It was absolutely huge. Temari lead the younger girl inside, showed her around the lower level of the house, and then up stairs, pointing out the bathroom, then each of the Sand Sibling's rooms, then at last, where Kujo would be staying.
"Remember, my room is all the way at the end of the hall, so, just knock if you need anything." She said before leaving the girl to redecorate.
The room was large, too large in her opinion, and equipped with a large dresser, a Queen sized feather bed, a night stand with a small lamp upon it, a closet, large arm chair and a low coffee table in front of it, and several other niceties that she really didn't need nor want. But, she would deal. So, Kujo started out by spreading out her belongings onto the bed, and began the room's reorganization. The sheets were replaced with her own dark blue set, and the thin white curtains that currently covered the large bay window in the center of the largest wall with thick black curtains that she had brought with so that she could at least remove her headband and open her eyes in her own room during the day. With that being said, the female unplugged the lamp and set it on a shelf in the closet, since she highly doubted that she would need it, and placed a large red candle in the previously barren spot. She then packed her clothes into the dresser, well; they would have taken up one drawer if she hadn't taken the time to separate them so that there were three or four articles of clothing in each drawer, before sitting on her bed. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but, it must have been pretty long because soon, the red haired Kazekage walked up the stairs and stopped the opening in the wall know as a door, which she hadn't bothered to close.
"I see you've begun to adjust, Manako-san." He said is his usual, inattentive yet oddly knowing voice, his eyes faintly scanning over the room. The female turned in his direction before nodding.
"I am. Thank you for your concern Kazekage-sama. And don't call me Manako. My name is Kujo." She corrected in a low, slightly angered tone, looking over him once again from beneath her headband, but just getting the same solid, red, body-shaped mass.
'Lucky. Why do you get to be the dominant personality!?'
'What are you talking about?'
'Just look at him. He's not half bad looking.'
'Just shut up. My head hurts already and I don't need you bothering me more.'
"You needn't be so formal." He pointed out, his face still cool and composed despite the female's previous rashness as he continued staring back at her through those aquamarine eyes that were so thickly outlined by black.
"Then how may I address you?" she asked in her usual cool tone, already forgetting her most previous tone and emotion, finally pulling her hood back to let her hair hang loosely.
"Gaara." He said simply. "Just Gaara. Kazekage makes me feel old."
"Alright." Was all she murmured. "Gaara it is." After she spoke, her fingers began shaking her hair loose and back into its usual messy state as her head returned to staring at the wall across from her, and the young man disappeared into the room opposite her own. Getting to her feet, she solidly shut the door and pulled her headband down so it hung loosely around her neck. Kujo saw her room for the first time. Shrouded in darkness to anyone but her.
'Not bad…'
'Yeah. It's okay.'
'Nobody asked you!'
-Now to Gaara's room!- (Because we all love being stalkers... )
'Why did I feel like that…? It's like she was looking right through me. And I couldn't even see her eyes. Not to mention her temper… I can't believe she just out and disrespected me like that… '
The young Kazekage's mind wandered from topic to topic as he sat down on the edge of his bed after his longest lasting interaction with their new house guest, his head resting limply in his large, wind burned hands as he combed over the details of their second meeting. The first was very bland, a simple introduction, but not much more.
'Yeah. I actually agree with you kid. I felt like she was looking not at you, but at ME. And I do not like that feeling. But I happen to like her temper. It's odd for a woman to have that quality, not to mention it reminds me of you, pup.'
'No one cares what you like. And how does her temper remind you of me.'
'Eh. Just as ready to pounce, rip you to shreds and make you regret saying something you thought they hadn't heard.'
Letting out a sigh, he again got to his feet. Crossing the room, he peered out the window, taking in the sights of the familiar city and then turning his youthful face to the sky. It was bright, like always, but beginning to dim as the sun started setting. His window faced the west, and he's always had a liking for sunsets, so, it's no wonder. As he thought everything over, today seemed… Odd.
'It was… peaceful today. Not a lot of paperwork, no big mess ups, nothing.'
'It's too peaceful if you ask me.'
'Well, I didn't ask you. So shut up. I don't need you commenting on all my thoughts.'
'Well, you're lucky I'm only commenting on the thoughts you know you're thinking. I could be commenting on the thoughts you don't even know about.'
'Wait… What?'
'No. I'm shutting up. Just like you wanted.'
'Well, knowing you, that won't last long…'
'…'
'Eh. Whatever. I'm done talking to you.'
With that, Gaara stood at the window, facing the sun as it sank behind the sandy horizon.
'This girl's gonna be trouble… It's just, something about her isn't normal. Well, technically, I'm not either…'
'Got that right.'
Shukaku was ignored that time and the male kept his eyes focused on the darkening sky.
A/N: Kei: Alrighty. That's the end of the short and somewhat pointless chapter 1.;-; I'm hoping for it to get better as the story continues. I tend to beat around the bush and procrastinate, but, I have nothing better to do, so, maybe an update every two days or so. Maybe sooner if I'm not entirely busy.. xD I hope to continue., so,( bet you saw this coming...) REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Or else Kujo may go on a spree and kill you. O.O Kujo: I never said that!! Kei: But you were thinking it. Kujo: SO?! Kei: Well, to the readers, I hope I may have sparked your interest and you want to keep reading. And remember, constructive criticism is nice, but the kind that goes ""You're doing it wrong" is no help to me. In my humble opinion, there is no 'wrong way' unless you have no clue whatsoever about which you are writing. And I apologize ahead of time if I make someone seem a bit OOC. But, you know, it's easy to do and happens to the best of us. Well, the worst of us in my case. xD Anyway, thanks for reading. I'm really looking forward to feedback. Thanks a bunch!
Sincerely, Kei (And Kujo, of course. Even though she won't readily admit it. )