First things first: The main character has taken the Naruto Mary-Sue test. Her result is- The Non-Sue Your character is a well-developed, balanced person, and is almost certainly not a Mary Sue. Congratulations!
Hello there. This is a new story that a plot bunny attacked me with and would not leave me alone. Now, this is the first of it's kind, so please bear with me. I've got a lot of this planned out- again, the plot bunny just attacked- so updates should be fairly regular. I'm currently working on chapter 2, so it should also be up fairly quickly.
For those who have me on Author Alert: All other stories are still on hold, because I'm still editing them whenever this story isn't begging to be written. Thank you for your patience.
DISCLAIMER: This applies to all chapters. I do not own the series Naruto. The only thing I own are my OC's and their village. Thank you. Another note shall be written if I create something else.
She wouldn't forgive them for what they had done. Never. Blinded by their need to control, they had destroyed possibly they're greatest ally. Their secret has been burned out of the histories, but she remembers. She remembers, because they missed one. They missed her. She is still alive, and her goal is set. As she rises from the ashes of the old, she remembers, and her hatred burns.
3 young girls, and a woman ninja walked together through the streets of Konoha. All of their faces were controlled into non-nonchalance, as they were trained to do. They walked confidently, and purposefully. These 4 females were comprised of 3 genin, and their teacher each with a symbol of an eye on their headbands, indicating they were from the village of sight. They were here for the chunin exams. The teacher, Mariko, wore a simple non-restricting shirt with loose pants tied down at the ends with extra bandages. Her headband was proudly worn on her head. She had blue eyes, and blonde hair cut in a boyish fashion. When prodded, she had said to the younger genin that she had no time to be worrying about idiotic things such as that.
Shortly after that, Maiko, the more exuberant and tallest of the three genin, had decided to chop her brown hair in the same fashion. However, she had realized her mistake, and after a few weeks, her hair was now just past her ears. Maiko herself was normally a happy-go-lucky type of girl, her brown eyes shining with happiness. However, she had enough self awareness to know when to become serious. This was one of those times. She wore the same thing as her teacher, but in bright, headache inducing colors such as the pink shirt, and yellow pants. How she had gotten a hold of bright pink bandages, none of them could ever figure out.
When Maiko started to hum without realizing it, the girl next to her- Kimiko- quickly pinched her in the side. Maiko ceased humming immediately. Kimiko was the pure opposite of Maiko. She was raised of noble birth in her family, being her father was the leader of their village. She had red hair, and blue eyes, as was standard for her family. Although outwardly, she seemed to be unapproachable, she cared deeply for others. This was shown in how she had cut off her long hair to shoulder length in an effort to make Maiko feel better. It had worked. Like the other two, her headband was strapped to the top of her head, and she wore a thin jacket, with her family crest of a diamond imprinted on the back integrated with intricate designs, zipped up and capri pants. Around her legs, she also had wrapped bandages.
The last girl was named Riko. She was the most standoffish of the group, but also the hardest worker. She was shortest out of her group, and often spoke only as minimally as she could. Riko had refused to cut off her hair whenever Maiko had squealed that teams should do everything together. The top was tied back, allowing her full advantage of her sight without having to worry too much about it getting in her way. The black hair reached to her lower back, and she could often be seen twirling some of it around her finger whenever she was thinking. Her eyes were blue, and, like her teacher, always seemed to be processing information on the world around her. Her headband, unlike the others was tied just above her waist. She wore a black kimono type shirt with capri pants. Where the shirt flared out around her arms, you could see she bandages wrapped around the entire length of her arms.
"...Cold." Riko said as they approached the building where they were supposed to sign up for the chunin exams.
"Of course it is. You are used to the heat." was Mariko's clipped answer. As they reached the entrance Mariko waved them off, stating she needed to meet with the Kage of this village to give notice of their arrival. The building itself was normal, and they walked through with ease, heading up to the third floor. However, as they walked up the stairs, all three of their guards went up. Genjutsu. It was meant to make them think they had arrived on the third floor, when, in reality, they were on the second. When they stopped in the middle of the hall, they were met with two Konoha residents that were a few years older than them, and they weren't giving off the friendly vibe.
"Oh lookie here. 3 genin alone, without their teacher, and from a different village no less!" One of them had a bandage around his face, and he walked forward, continuing in a taunting tone whilst looking down on them. "Do you think you can really pass this test? We've taken it 3 times and haven't past yet. You should go." His comrade, with a cloth tied around his head barked a short laugh. At this, the taunting man, quickly sent a quick kick towards the girls who jumped into action.
Maiko caught his leg, sending a flurry of chakra to her feet to stop his momentum, while Kimiko flashed up to him with a kunai pointed at his neck. Riko on the other hand, had just stepped forward, staring his friend down with her hand hovering over her pouch, ready to attack. They were all calm as they looked at them. Kimiko, with her kunai pointed at the man said lowly "Lower the genjutsu."
Maiko came in with a higher voice saying "Yeah! We have places to be!"
The environment wavered, and both of the people disappeared in a cloud of smoke as the genjutsu broke. Maiko immediately giggled, and jumped in the air happily, which caused Kimiko to smile softly. Riko simply continued walking. Unbeknownst to them, that had been their first unofficial test, and the two chunin, who had returned to their original, elder selves, watched them as their backs disappeared.
"I guess they passed." It had been a long time since anyone had seen a team out of their particular village, and they were interested to see what kind of ninja they were.
When they passed through the doors, they were met with an entire room full of stares, and talking. Each expression was different, but all of them were sizing them up. It seemed the doors they walked through led to the back of the classroom. As taught by their teacher, they controlled their expressions into nonchalance, and walked to the first three seats available. It was at that moment, as soon as they sat down, that another team came in, and started being loud. All three of their heads turned. It seemed that some genin were getting into a verbal fight.
As her two other teams members observed the happenings, Riko's gaze slid over the challengers, feeling animosity coming particularly high from the people from the hidden rain. When someone named Kabuto pointed it out, Riko's gaze slid back over to the genin. Apparently they were rookies.
"...Idiots."
"Hey! Who said that!" It came from the loud blonde she had noticed before. Riko immediately stood up, and stared him down.
"Me." It was said without feeling, but seemed to hold a promise of violence.
The blonde opened his mouth to say something, but was held back by a girl with pink hair that was quite a bit less bright than Maiko's choice in colors. Turning back around, Riko sat back down, and laid her head on her hand. Her teammates were staring at her cautiously, wondering what brought on such behavior. They hoped that kid wouldn't do anything else to irk her. Not many people could get under her skin, but those who did-
"MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI! I WON'T LOSE TO YOU BASTARDS! YOU GOT THAT?!"
Well, so much for that. Riko's head whipped around, and she sent a glare towards him. One that he didn't notice, but wasn't unnoticed by others. Her anger rolled off her in waves, and her teammates looked at her worriedly. It was then that three ninja jumped into action towards the genin, and surprised all of them.
Maiko gasped, and Kimiko gritted her teeth while Riko's body immediately started to warm with the oncoming adrenaline. At once, each of them went after the other two ninja's. Using their speed to their advantage, Maiko and Kimiko landed in front of the girl , whom they now recognized as sound ninja, and Riko landed in front of the other male, effectively cutting him off while the other, larger one went after Kabuto who seemed to dodge his attack.
The other boy was the first to speak "You aren't from the same village, yet you defend them anyway. How... touching." His eyes flickered over to Kabuto, who's glasses broke, and was now vomiting on the floor.
Kimiko's voice was clipped, head raised in a way that spoke of how she looked down on them. "Only an idiot would attack in a situation like this." Maiko nodded fervently.
The other two looked angered but the one in the middle, who had gained Riko's attention, spoke, seemingly ignoring the girls as if they meant nothing to him. "Write this down on your cards. 'The three hidden sound ninja, definite future chunin."
These guys are dangerous.. Riko thought to herself.
"Quiet down you worthless bastards!" There was a poof, and then the entire front of the room was filled with chunin. Two of them the three genin recognized as the elder versions of the two they had met in the hall earlier. They each connected the dots in their heads to what had happened, and Riko settled on glaring at the two chunin while Maiko pouted, and Kimiko smirked. The chunin caught Riko's glare, and they smirked in return. She responded by noticeably raising her chin, and looking away. The message was clear: You are not worthy of my attention.
When the leader introduced himself as the chunin examiner, all three girls got nervous. Especially when he pointed in their direction, however their mood slightly lifted whenever he only addressed the sound ninja.
At this point, Riko and her other two teammates went back to their seats- sending a brief glare over to the sound ninja- whilst listening to the guy lecture about how fighting wasn't permitted unless permission granted by a chunin, and if it was, they weren't allowed to kill their opponent. Of course as soon as they sat down, he told them they weren't going to be sitting in their current seats. Riko, Maiko, and Kimiko looked to each other with different varying degrees of irritation.
When it was explained what the process would be, that annoying blonde, as Riko had dubbed him in her mind, started shouting in outrage about it being a paper test. In the back of her mind, she hoped she would be pitted against him. Just so she could knock him around a little bit.
As Riko walked to her seat, she noticed that the one she was going to be sitting next to a red head. Immediately he spiked the same kind of annoyance she had with the blonde, and as his gaze slid over to her, she looked away calmly. Something about his gaze made her uncomfortable. Having two warring feelings like that wasn't something she was used to. This did not bode well for her exam.
Sliding the chair backwards, and sitting next to him, she felt his eyes burning a hole into the side of her head. Her irritation spiked, and she sent him a look of annoyance. He didn't react, he didn't flinch, he simply increased his stare. When the proctor started speaking, he turned his gaze away, and Riko's tensed muscles in her back that she had not known had reacted relaxed.
When the proctor mentioned rules, her gaze sharpened, listening closely to what he was saying. The girl with pink hair interrupted a few times with valid questions that got the wheels turning in Riko's head.
1. Test takers start off holding the perfect score of 10 points. The test consists of 10 questions, and one point is subtracted from your initial total for every question answered incorrectly.
2. The test is a team event. Meaning that passing is determined by combining each teams total score.
3. Those caught cheating will lose 2 points for each offence.
The man with a bandage across his face spoke up, his eyes directly on Riko as he said "We'll have our eyes on you guys..." She sent him a particularly vicious glare, to which he smirked at before looking back to the proctor.
4. Those that lose all their points during an exam (through cheating) and those that fail to answer any questions correctly will fail along with their teammates.
Damn. That last rule is particularly harsh. Riko thought to herself. However, as she turned the page around, one thing he said was stuck in her head. 'Be proud ninja's.' As she looked over the questions, she noted that a lot of them she would not know the answer for, and that the ones she might have a chance at would take all her mental capacity to answer. The last question stated that it would be given 45 minutes from the start of the test from the proctor himself.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and leaned back on her chair, her fingers starting to curl around the ends of her hair as she turned over everything that was said in her mind.
This test was specifically designed to be extremely hard, and even though cheating seemed to be the better option, they had specifically set up a rule against it. 'Be proud ninja's' Unless... Riko's eyes snapped open, and she stared hard at the proctor. It was at that moment a girl got up and asked how many people would pass this test. His answer unsettled Riko, and probably everyone else around her.
Testing our informational gathering skills. That is what this test is for. Riko caught Maiko's eye, who had come to the same conclusion, and had already signaled Kimiko who seemed to come to the same conclusion a little bit after Maiko, and Riko had.
Riko's eyes flickered over to the chunin who had been staring at her before, and his lips lifted in a knowing smile when they saw the determined gaze she held with him. Her eyes slid back down to her test, but not before she noticed that the boy next to her was doing something.
Sand? Hmm, so he had figured it out, too. A smirked lifted on her lips, as she casually lifted her hand to her face, as if to cover it in deep thought, before biting down hard, piercing the skin.
Alright. Let's do this, girls.
Reaching back, as if to scratch the back of her neck, she smeared the small amount of blood over the tribal marking on the back of her neck. It was soon after that she felt Kimiko's chakra reach her body, and noted that she had already connected with Maiko. It wasn't much of a connection, but risking anything more would get them caught.
Bringing her hand back down, she noted that the small cut was already healed, and picked her pencil up again before closing her eyes. A small string of chakra immediately attached itself to her arm. Apparently Kimiko could see her very well from where she was at.
Alright Saber...Lend me your sight!
She felt her gaze immediately switch from what was in front of her to a paper that was being written on. She could see the answers as they were being written, and saw a lock of pink hair. Ah, so it was that girls work. Her hands started writing down the answers, and from the pulling on the chakra string, the others were as well. After writing down a few answers to the questions, making sure to veil her test with her hair, there was a telling whoosh of a weapon being thrown, and her concentration broke, along with the jutsu, giving back her sight to where she sat. It seemed someone had been caught, and by the guy who had been watching her no less.
"Irritating..."
He had broken her concentration. Thankfully, Kimiko's stayed in place, but she cast a glance her way to let her know that she had to use the jutsu again. The chakra strand retracted from her hand, and as she was about to start it up again, she noticed the same guy looking at her with knowing eyes, his pencil at the ready.
Shit.
He would noticed what she was doing if she did the same thing again. He would mark it down as cheating. She wouldn't do that. Quickly, she tried to think of something to do. Her eyes slid over to Maiko, before flickering back to the man. Maiko got the message, and her eyes became glazed over as she went through in her mind how to trick the proctor into thinking that Riko wasn't doing anything. Riko could tell whenever she formulated the plan because she glanced over at her, rolled the pencil in her hand as if about to drop it and flicked the hair that was around her ear loose.
Riko got the message.
Yawning, as if tired, Riko reached back, and the man's gaze sharpened. However, she just let the top of her hair loose, and flipped it in a way that sent her pencil rolling to the ground. Putting on a slightly irritated expression, she reached down, and grabbed the pencil by the sharp edge, once again ripping that wound open and little droplets of blood started coming out slowly. Transferring it to her other hand, she pulled herself back up, with her hand hidden behind the cascade of her hair and quickly retraced the mark on her neck. Immediately the wound closed, and she wiped her hand off on her pants leg, thanking that they were black in that moment before grabbing her pencil again.
The chakra string attached itself to her arm once again as her hair tumbled on the desk around her when she leaned forward.
Saber, lend me your sight!
Her vision changed back to a different part of the room than before, and immediately she started to write the answers that were before her down. When she was finished, she thanked Saber with her mind, and stopped the Jutsu, feeling the chakra string disappear from existence. Putting down her pencil, she turned over her test, and looked over to the one who had been staring at her. Once she caught his gaze, she smirked, getting one back. Now, she could relax.
It was then that people started being called out for failing. She was only mildly surprised by the amount being called. It was then that she started to notice her partners movements. So as to not get caught, she leaned forward enough to cover her face, and watched him from the peripheral of her eyes. Sand started moving around him into a compact-
Is that an eye?! It looked over to her, and she immediately closed her eyelids, feigning falling asleep. There was no way he could see her eyes past her thick curtain of black hair, but just in case... There was a whooshing sound, and she slid open her eyes just the slightest bit noticing sand going everywhere.
That's... interesting. Why'd he wait till now, though? The test is almost over.
Her question would go unanswered, she knew that, but it nagged at her nevertheless. When someone asked to go to the bathroom, her gaze slid back over, and landed- unfortunately- on the blonde. She could tell from his body language that he was having a hard time. Had he not realized what this test was meant to do? What was he doing just sitting there? Was he going to bring down his entire team-
Oh. That's what he's doing. Riko looked up at the clock. 5 minutes until the last question is given. Great. He's relying entirely on an unknown factor to pass. Holy hell, this boy is stupid.
She didn't know why this Naruto irritated her...He just did. It was the same kind of irritation she felt with the boy sitting next to her minus the eerie gaze.
It wasn't long until she heard the proctor speak up. "Okay. We will now start with the 10th question." Riko's gaze sharpened on the man at the front of the room, and nearly growled when she heard him say there were more rules. As if the first four weren't hard enough, he was adding more? The door opened up to reveal the genin that had left for the bathroom before.
"Heh. Nice timing. Was your doll playing beneficial?"
Riko's face took on a confused look, and she looked to Maiko, who was staring up with surprised, and slightly impressed eyes at the man. Riko made a mental note to ask Maiko about it later before looking back towards the front of the class.
"I'll now explain. These are... The rules of desperation..."
Well, isn't that pleasant sounding.
Shock, and apprehension, pulsed through her. Choose not to take it and fail, or take a chance on getting it wrong, and never getting the chance to take the chunin exam again.
Shit. Riko immediately looked to Maiko, the more emotional of the group. She was trembling, staring at the proctor, scared out of her wits. This is the first chunin exam their village had sent ninja's out for in years. Though Maiko was smart, she often was emotional. The idea that she might contribute to them losing was tearing her apart. Riko's eyes turned towards her other teammate, Kimiko, who looked like she was going to vomit. If she lost this question, and was unable to take the exam again, it would bring dishonor to her family. If they left in the middle of the test, then they would bring dishonor to the entire village.
Shit! Riko needed to figure out how to bring their confidence up. This was bad, very bad. What should they do?
They were given the option to get out of it, and she saw her teammates pale. There was a long tense silence, and then the first person to quit stood up. With this she saw Kimiko's resolve start to waver until she caught Riko's eyes. Riko sent her a gaze, mustering up her entire confidence into that gaze. Kimiko's eyes filled with tears, and Riko started to glare, her eyes flickering to the others around her. They were not allowed to show weakness here!
Riko clenched her hand into a fist and raised it slightly, conveying what they had all done before as others started to get up, and leave. Her eyes flickered to Maiko's and she saw the girl staring at her fist, her resolve slowly coming back. Yes, they would do this together. Once they were all in agreement, Riko allowed a soft smile to come across her expression before turning back to the proctor. However, not without seeing a trembling hand raise.
Surprise shot through her system. It was the boy who had yelled before. Then what was all that about not losing to any of us? Figures, he's just- SLAM! His hand hit the desk.
"Do not underestimate me! I will not run!" Her eyes looked on in pure shock. "I'll take it! Even if I'm a genin forever! I'll will myself into becoming Hokage anyway, so I don't care! I am not afraid!"
"This decision is one that can change your life. If for any reason you think you should quit, now's your last chance." The proctor had a scary look on his face, and it was then that it occurred to Riko. He was trying to intimidate him. Now that his words didn't apply to her, she could see it clearly. She smirked. Interesting.
"No way, I never go back on my word. That's my ninja way."
With those words, it seemed that a lot of the ones who were left had regained their resolve. Nice, kid. However... Her eyes looked back to the proctor. It doesn't change the fact that you are now in a bed you made yourself. You'll need luck on your side.
The proctor looked at us, before continuing. "Good decisions. Now to everyone still remaining..." Riko's attention was fully on the man in front of her, the apprehension in her back building.
"I CONGRATULATE YOU ON PASSING THE FIRST TEST!"
Riko's pencil fell.
W-what?! Pure shock enveloped her.
Shock quickly was replaced by seething rage as she listened in on the explanation for this. Apparently the actual questions didn't matter. The test was made to get them to cheat, and those who were caught were obviously not ready to be chunin. However, all that rage drained when the proctor took off the wrap around his head to reveal the scarring all over it.
He was...tortured...
As he went through the reasoning behind the tenth question, which turned out to be the choices of whether to take it, or not, she only half listened. She would ask Maiko about it later. Those scars. She touched the back of her neck. Proof of suffering. She clenched her hands, remembering everything she had learned, and leaned her head forward.
For what happened... For what they had done... She wouldn't forgive them, because... Her eyes flashed with pure hatred.
I am the phoenix. Rising from the ashes, I remember. I will never forget, and I will never forgive.
That was the first chapter! I hope you like it, and feel free to review. Those make my day, and let me know that you actually like my story. They might even make me post the next chapter sooner. ;)
By the way, there will be no character bashing in this story. Riko's irritation with Naruto- and Gaara- comes with a reason, though not yet known, even to herself.