The ghost and the obviously crazy child

What if Naruto hadn't been left alone as a child? What could a woman with only the vaguest knowledge of Naruto, who didn't try to hold onto her memories so now they were more like dejavu, do to change things? Existing was a huge start. OC with a twist, Pairing undecided. Heavy messing with the timelines (expect everything to happen to people when they are few years older). Canon what Canon.

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The Naruto manga that ...she had known..was vague. Most important things, most memories were vague. She knew once her name had started with a V. Once she'd lived in a world of computers and internet and weapons of mass destruction. Of great generous souls who taught by example, often killed by the people they protected. She remembered the language English and the countries and small things. Foods mostly, and textures, and morals considered acceptable though often they fled. There were snippets of a school system and work and being almost middle aged but single..she'd had a bad relationship or two and no children. She remembered blonde hair and blue eyes and being soft..voluptuous others had said.

V knew those things. They'd just always been in the back of her mind, where some other children daydreamed she'd had these. They just were. They were true and it was something she knew. She also knew there'd been a manga, an anime perhaps..though to explain it was something that escaped her completely. But the point was she knew it had mimicked this world just enough to make her pay attention more then she would have without those dreams that she knew were real. And what had remained of V, had instead of dragging up anything it could possibly recall...instead had nudged her. Forced her to focus, to pay attention, but faded.

You can only live in one world at a time after all.

These days, and perhaps always..always..V was instead known as Anrui. Or Rikka-chan to some. The Ikiryo clan were distantly related to the Inuzuka, enough that they were usually thought to be the same clan. Actually, Anrui was used to being called Rikka Anrui- Inuzuka-chan. Which..was a mouthful. Only the few who knew better, and her Inuzuka cousins, called her Ikiyro. The Ikiryo were wanderers, lone wolves who explored and traveled. They were not more akin to Ronin then Shinobi, they still owed their loyalty to their clan and lesser extent their village after all. However, they were a breed apart. The cousins were rare, and known to be unable to harness the Inuzuka clan jutsu's and similar. They instead had their own specific clan traits and jutsu's that were useful. Anrui's father, Ryo, had been relatively unknown. He'd found a mate though, as her clan thought of partners, in a beautiful fiery Inuzuka who had lost her Nin-dog.

They'd bonded well and Anrui was the result. She carried Rikka's name as her middle name, and the Inuzuka tended to call her Rikka-chibi-chan. The little girl had greatly disliked it. Anrui was a bright if often..quiet (compared to the inuzuka kid's)..child. She read, and read voraciously. She studied and thought, often drew images that made no sense in an effort to calm her torrential minds. After all she did have V that was still settling into her memories. In the end, however, despite the blue markings on her face rather then Inuzuka red, they were Ikiryo blue, and her golden eyes that were undeniably wolfish. Anrui's hair was a brindled gray and blue coloration, bits of black and white against dark slate blue in many wild patterns set her apart. She was the wild wolf to the Inuzuka's dogs. Somehow, this did not trouble her.

V once remarked that she'd never heard of the Ikiryo though she knew the Inuzuka..barely..but the voice had faded over the years. Whomever she had once been as V, she was no longer. The whispers of thought and emotion though still were privately labled V to her, a friend, if one doomed to be forgotten. You could only live one life at a time..

Anrui found herself irritated most the time outside her clan. People spoke but didn't mean their words. They acted, they smiled or laughed, and meant none of it. Things were straightforward with Inuzuka, and though far more reserved, most the time, same with the Ikiryo. Though, there was only herself and her sire in Konoha, because of the Kyuubi. All the other known Ikiryo had perished that were not out exploring, and due to the ongoing conflicts there were few of those remaining. It was entirely plausible the only Ikiryo left were the two of them. Her mother was Inuzuka, and a breed apart, not having their bloodline jutsu's, instead having her own. It was the sole reason Ryo had spent hours pouring over scrolls explaining every idea, theory, and possible jutsu of teir family he'd ever heard even passingly referenced..just in case. Though her sire tried he could only prepare her so much for what came next. The academy.

It wasn't as if Anrui was that old. She was barely seven, it was the same year the Kyuubi had attacked, and yet because of the recent horrors, the academy was in severe teaching mode still. They were desperate to replace the lost teams, the lost manpower. So many ninja had been forced into desk jobs or retirement due to trauma that the able bodies were high in demand. It meant the pressure on students was much more strict. And Anrui, really blamed it on her bloodline and V..that she had issues with authority.

Which would be why she was currently tussling with a Hyuuga a year above her for trying to 'correct' her substitution Jutsu. Only he'd used it as an excuse to apply too much pressure to her hands. Huh. Seems Ochi-whatever she didn't care what his full name was- was still furious he couldn't beat her in Taijutsu. The problem lay in the fact that unlike her Inuzuka cousins, Ikiryo tended to be reserved and wait for their moment to strike. When they did have tempers set off though, they'd release it in a torrent that made even the Inuzuka cower with their tails between their legs and Ochi, had just always pissed her off. The smug Hyuuga stank, he was acrid and oily and all his special eyes did was make the stench worse. So when he'd applied pressure to her hands, which were still sore from his jabbing at her chakra points even if he didn't actualy close the points off, she'd snapped.

She could feel the startled eyes of her yearmates, and hear vaguely a number of her fellow students cheering her on. Her cousins being very loud about it. Still they knew better then any that when Anrui snapped, it was seemingly with no warning. They'd heard the faintest of growls, the tell tale stillness of her form that was a predator preparing rather then a ninja observing. Her favorite cousin, Tsume, was currently hooting loudly despite being a few years above her. She was about to graduate, but she was screeching out encouragement for her baby cousin who was utterly -thrashing- the Hyuuga. When Anrui leapt away finally, with a disdainful snort and started walking towards her teachers, she didn't even watch her back. Hyuuga Ochi wasn't going to be able to stand on his own for a while.

Where most clan children were open mouthed, and weren't the other Hyuuga and Uchiha and Yamanaka just horror filled..the Inuzuka all gave a soft chuffing sound as she passed by. They wouldn't express approval, not here, but it was no scolding Anrui would go home to. That is why she met the gaze of the angry teach with a smirk.

Ikiryo did not back down.

They also tended to get smacked around by fate for it. So it seemed to go hand in hand.

"Inuzuka Anrui..." The teacher began, his voice was frustrated. Young, new to the job. Anrui just gave him a look, not bothering to correct him. This was a favorite tactic of theres, scolding in front of peers. Shaming. It was effective. Well. On most. "You have disobeyed a crucial academy rule and.."

"Suspension over the fact that I had interference from someone who although skilled is not authorized to teach, nor was instructed to do so by one of the teachers?" Anrui interrupted casually. She could feel the silent 'Oooooh' from her classmates but she didn't do it for that, her eyes narrowed instead on her teacher. Her suspicion's had always been a good influence, and instinct was saying something was off. She wriggled her nose then and what she had missed before..

"KAI!"

The genjutsu broke and her eyes widened, looking around with a deep growl. "When I get my hands on you..Ibiki..."

The shaved head of her friend was there suddenly as the older man grinned down at her. "Yes, chibi?"

Anrui's huff and turning away spoke volumes, much to Inochi's amusement. They were far from T and I, and some of the only ninja who knew about her. "Do you have to do that?"

"Yes." Unspoken was the 'if I don't seem to pick on you people may forget your cover.' His monosyllabic answer caused Inochi to roll his eyes even as the three resumed drinking their tea. To anyone else, anyone outside of the highest level of trusted authority..which was essentially the Hokage and the two men with her, thought Anrui had dropped out of the academy. She'd never had a genin team, she'd been snapped up for specialized training. Not one of Danzo's, though he was curious about what of her abilities there were they were specifically needed to tie into her emotions and thus useless for his highest level of Anbu. Instead she was a very specific sort of information gatherer. She'd be assigned to very few Ninja, both of the two with her had been her partners at times..providing the heavy hitting while she did the true stealth. She was the secret within the secrets of a secret village. It was complicated.

As far as everyone else in Konoha knew, she was one of those didn't make it to graduation but still had some skills Civilian's. The Inuzuka adored all their clan, but since she didn't have a Nin-dog she lived on the farthest edge of the compound, abutting the forest. She'd help out with the dogs and generally was thought to be tolerated with love, the strange cousin in the group.

"You should come to dinner next week.." Ibiki commented, Anrui listened, curious as she scented Inoichi freeze up. "Blondie found a girl.."

All the best friends harassed each other you know? Anrui took another sip of her tea, and chuckled faintly. "He's not serious, just wants in her pants." She tapped her nose, both Ibiki and Anrui smirking at their blonde friend who rolled his eyes. He could get into people's minds, but Ibiki was capable of twisting your thoughts around in a sick demented way..and Anrui's nose was ridiculously sensitive. She was heavily sensitive to all energies as well, not just chakra, which meant as a trio they were..

Well, no one knew that the devilish duo had a literal third component. The other two who were acknowledged special Jounin, were thought to just be keeping in touch with a pretty former classmate. They'd kept the illusion of being friendly after Anrui 'failed' to the point no one blinked these days. Ibiki and Inoichi were two you just didn't mess with, for all the two had skyrocketed to advancing once in Torture and Investigation.

Anrui was just their bizarre little friend who would bring food and demand company. Ninja's looked underneath the underneath, but they so often forgot to suspect that things were in plain sight. Anrui finally sighed and looked up, eyes locking with her two best friends.

Two slight nods, not at the same time and barely even movement to sip their tea alerted her of the truth. She'd been called back to active duty. Peculiar.

Not that she found out anything until she went over to Ibiki's later that day. It was a private joke, even as the three walked towards their bald friend's apartment, that people didn't think he lived in a normal home. Ibiki was a neat freak though, and his home was so comfortable it was clear he refused to take his work home. Privacy seals slammed into place as the window shut, that the other two had gone through while Anrui, to keep up appearances, went through the door. She went to raid her friends chocolate stash and then sat down in the oversized couch, waiting.

"The Hokage is...worried." Anrui just waited, Inoichi, the hair fiend that he was, sat behind her to undo the long braid she wore and started to play with her brindled hair. "The creature attacked not that long ago and.." he grimaced, running his hand over his uncovered head. Around them, he had no need to keep up his walls. "We may have heard one of the other villages sealed one..better..copying..able to harness it properly. It may be a rumor."

Anrui leaned back into Inoichi, these two..they were pack. They were family. The rest of the Inuzuka didn't know, no one did. Just these two, her former special operations teammates..and the Hokage. Inoichi still playing with her hair as the woman looked up at her equally young friends. They weren't hardly teenagers..not anymore..

"You can't go?" Anrui finally spoke, her voice as soft and sweet and seemingly unsuited to her as ever. Ibiki sank into the floor at her feet, his head on her knee as her nails, slightly longer with her heritage, ever so carefully ran over his damaged skin. From a mission she hadn't been on..neither had Inoichi. It was the last Ibiki went into the field without them..and it was a long time ago. Every year was a decade to a ninja. Her question wasn't really, but it was confirmed by the silence of the two with her, making her sigh.

"Who?" Her voice was soft, resigned. Briefly Ibiki tensed and she scented Inoichi's distress. It was understood. Both her packmates were possessive, fierce, they claimed her as their packmate, their sister, as much as she did them. Others saw what they presented, but since the death of her father on a mission these two..only a few months out of graduation at twelve, had decided she was their sister. She was theirs. Their wolf. Their Ghost.

The Sadistic One, Ibiki who terrified even his own predecessor.

The Unavoidable, One from whom Your Thoughts weren't Safe, Inoichi, who excelled at his clan's bloodline gift to such a level that anything Ibiki couldn't force out, he was able to rip away.

And in her place in the shadows, forgotten as fitted her role. Anrui.

The Ghost.

The one who couldn't pass the academy tests because she couldn't use Chakra like other's did, but held her own utterly fearsome clan jutsu's that used her specialized chakra in ways that couldn't be duplicated. The Ikiryo were named after all, because they could literally become like ghosts. She could be intangible, unscentable, inaudible..in great rare situations though it was utterly draining she could even pass unseen. The mere intangible aspect had meant if Ibiki could find a way in, and Inoichi could allow for keeping an eye out, Anrui had been able to get in and out of anywhere. But since she couldn't use her chakra as others did, she required someone else to take the hits, to protect and defend. Perhaps others had been better suited, but only her two older friends had been accepted by her instincts.

The three of them, unknown to all but the Hokage, had gotten information in and out of places that would have quite literally, never been possible otherwise. Anrui had learned ways to use her jutsu from Ibiki's twisted thoguhts that her ancestors had never considered, such as going intangible and then solid to rip out hearts, or collapse windpipes. She could phase certain things with her, but it wasn't easy and the longer she'd had them on her person to coat in her usual chakra, the better. So Anrui always was covered in senbon and the like.

They'd actually pinned her down and wrapped her carefully in chakra wire once...she'd not forgotten it since.

But it seemed this time, her Mind and her Nerve as she personally called her packmates, would not be with her.

"thank you." Anrui's voice was soft, neither of the three spoke often when it wasn't needed. They'd made sure she knew ahead of time, they'd been there to comfort her, and to receive it.

That deserved to be vocalized.

"Tomorrow, Ikiryo..you go back in the field." Inoichi spoke the words, Ibiki so rarely was in need of comfort but this time he was. It spoke enough about the mission he couldn't share with her. Not officially, not yet. So Inoichi would take this burden. "It'll be with Anbu..we will brief them..we'll make certain all is good but.." There was a slight tug on the brindled hair and Anrui's eyes were then locked with Inoichi's, clear, amber eyes met his own blue and he smiled faintly at his 'little sister'. "You know."

She nodded. They were shinobi. Nothing was a guarantee.

"Stay." Ibiki spoke again from his spot on the floor and two chuckles were his only answer. Even Ninja, needed their friends. Anrui was just touched both of them cared so much. She'd never found a dog to bond too, her nature preferred the wilds and the wolves but these two, from the first time they'd demanded to know why she couldn't perform the jutsu they'd been learning..they'd been forced to be tutors to lesser grades to make up for some horrid thing they'd done..had been there for her. They were her pack.

A sense of 'danger's coming' nudged her as she slipped into unconsciousness that night, curled up around her two packmates in a pile of blankets and cushions on the floor..the two had long since realized she needed physical contact with them and after some very funny 'I like girls!" from both of the young men had adjusted. Still, her instincts were never wrong. Tomorrow things would change. She rather pitied the Anbu her two 'brothers' warned about working with her.