AoD: Hey everyone! I've got a Naruto fic here for you to read! It's rated Teen… because… well… I don't know why… It's going to have cursing… So I guess that's why. The rating might go up to M, but I'm still not quite sure about that...
AoD: Obviously, this is an OC x Naruto fic. If you don't like that pairing, just please give it a chance! I'll give you a cookie if you do!
AoD: Oh, and so nobody asks me about this later…. This takes place before just about everything in the anime…Well, everything except for the Genin exam.
AoD: Pretty much no manga/anime related events will occur in this fic except for the occasional encounter with one or two villains of the series.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters/places/etc. They belong to their creator.
The final flames of the burning houses were finally dieing down. Dead bodies were scattered across the land and blood was still flowing out of the corpses. A young, five-year-old girl was hidden near the edge of the forest, where she sat crying. Her entire family was murdered. She was the only one left. She was the sole survivor of her clan… Or so she thought…
Chapter 1
A twelve-year-old girl who had shoulder blade-length, dark blue hair, held back by a black headband with the symbol of the Hidden Sand Village on it, with sapphire eyes, wearing a blue and black outfit, was jogging down the slightly crowded dirt road. She was new in the Genin class of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She had been a Genin in the Village Hidden in the Sand but was transferred to Konoha. It was only her second day there, so she had no idea as to where she was going.
Deciding to ask for directions, she looked around and spotted a girl with light pink hair. She decided to go over and ask the girl where the school was.
"Excuse me," she said, "But do you know where the class for all of the Genin-ranked ninja is being held?"
"Oh! Are you new here?"
"Yes, I am. I am a Genin, transferred here from Suna, the Hidden Sand Village."
"Cool! I guess that you're in my class then! My name's Sakura," Sakura said happily, "What's your name?"
"My name is Emiko," she responded.
"Well, Emiko-chan, how about we walk to class together?"
"Sure," Emiko said with a shrug, showing that she really didn't care, even though she knew that she would need Sakura's help to find the school.
As the two girls walked down the road, Sakura pointed out important places to help Emiko find her way around the village, as well as told her all about some of the teachers and students that she would meet.
"However," Sakura said, "The most annoying person you will meet in our class would have to be-"
However, she was cut off by a loud voice coming from on top of one of the buildings.
"Hey, Sakura-chan!"
"Ugh… Naruto…" Sakura didn't seem too pleased while saying that.
Emiko and Sakura looked up to see a blonde boy in an orange jacket and pants standing on the roof of a nearby building. The boy jumped down and landed in front of them. He turned to Emiko and began to speak.
"I haven't seen you around here before. You must be new! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! What's your name?" he asked.
Before Emiko had a chance to answer, Sakura interrupted.
"It's none of your business who she is, Naruto! Now leave us alone!"
Naruto looked deeply hurt by this statement. Not physically, but mentally. Emiko could easily see it in his eyes that he cared deeply for Sakura and wanted nothing more than for her to accept him.
The two girls then walked off. Emiko looked back just in time to see Naruto kick sadly at the ground then jump back onto the roofs of the buildings to continue on his way to school.
"He seemed pretty upset," Emiko said when she turned back to Sakura.
"Well he deserved it," Sakura stated, "Trust me, Emiko-chan, you have no idea how much trouble Naruto has caused this village. Everyone is much happier when he's not around."
As they continued to walk toward the school, Sakura began to talk about this one boy in the class, who's name she conveniently forgot to mention, that she fancied. Emiko decided to remain silent as she spoke, not wanting to give Sakura any more topics to annoy her with.
"And he is so cute! One of the best-looking guys in the class, that's for sure! Sure, he doesn't speak much… But when he does," she sighed dreamily, "His voice is to die for."
"But let's forget about the guys here for now," Sakura said, "Were there any guys in your village that you liked?"
"I didn't like any of them," Emiko responded, "They were all full of themselves. They think that the world revolves around them and that everyone else is insignificant. Either that, or they believe that all of the other people in the world should be killed. I don't care for people who think like that."
"Oh… Well… Were there any guys that you thought were cute? You know, appearance-wise?" Sakura was surprised by the fact that they boys in the Village Hidden in the Sand were so cruel, but she was still interested in how many of them were good looking.
"Most of them look decent," Emiko said shortly. She then thought for a minute and one person's face came into her mind. "But there is one person whom I think looks much better than the rest."
Sakura squealed with delight.
"Really! Who is it?" she questioned excitedly.
'I'm beginning to really dislike this girl…' Emiko thought after Sakura had squealed.
"Well, his name is Gaara. But, of coarse, he's one of those guys who just wants to kill everyone." Emiko stated.
"Figures… Why do so many guys have to be either complete jerks or clowns?" Emiko was about to reply, but Sakura continued talking. "But anyway, the boy in our class is such a hottie! Come to think of it…" Sakura looked at Emiko. "You sort of look like him, except, well, you're a girl. But you two can't be related to each other! I mean, how could you? He's lived here his whole life and you've been living in Suna."
"Yeah, it's probably just a weird coincidence."
"And adding on to all of that, you can't be one of his relatives because his entire family a while back. It was so sad…" Sakura said.
"His whole family?" Emiko said in surprise as her eyes widened, "How could his entire family, except for him, be killed?"
"I'm not sure… Only a few people know what happened." Sakura responded.
"How old was he when it happened?"
"He said that he was only six. Just imagine, losing all the ones whom you cared about, who cared about you…"
"I don't have to imagine. I lost my family when I was five…" Emiko stated gloomily as she looked down at the ground. They had just stopped in front of a large building.
Sakura let out a small gasp and covered her mouth. "Do… Do you mind me asking how it happened?"
Emiko shook her head. "To tell you the truth, I don't know… But what I do remember about it is the worst thing of all…"
"You mean, your family being killed?"
"No… there's something worse than watching someone's death. And that would be to see them all dead moments later… Have you ever seen a battleground after the fight is over?"
Sakura shook her head in response.
"Well it's not pretty… Houses on fire. Blood everywhere. Dead bodies scattered across the ground; their eyes open, empty. The sight of that can turn the strongest of warriors into crying babies." Emiko said this as she closed her eyes, looking at her memories of her walking around the battlefield, looking down at all of the corpses, closing the eyes of any whose were open.
Sakura bit her lip and looked down at the ground with a loss of words. Emiko sighed, opened her eyes, and looked at the building in front of them.
"Is this the academy?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, yes, it is."
"Do you know where I can find Sarutobi-sama? The Hokage?" Emiko questioned as she looked back at Sakura.
"Oh, umm… Just go down this walkway, and it is the third door on your right," Sakura responded.
"Okay, thank you, Sakura-chan. I guess I'll see you later."
Emiko then ran off to find Sarutobi. She slowed to a stop as she reached the third door that was on her right. She knocked three times and listened.
"You may enter," and old man's voice said from inside.
Emiko slid the door open and cautiously stuck her head into the room.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Hokage-sama," Emiko stated, "But I was told I should see you before I went to class."
"Ah, yes," Sarutobi responded, "You must be Emiko, the Genin transferred here from the Village of Sand. Come, come in."
He motioned for her to come completely into the room, and Emiko complied. She stood motionlessly in the middle of the room, facing the Hokage, waiting for him to speak.
"Now, before you can earn the title of a Konoha Genin, you must first pass a test. A test that all Konoha academy students must take before becoming and official ninja," Sarutobi said as he folded his hands and looked at Emiko.
"Alright," she responded, "What do I have to do?"
Emiko was very confident. She felt ready for anything the elderly man could throw at her.
"You must create… at least three duplicates of yourself."
Emiko had to bite her lower lip as hard as she could to keep herself from laughing hysterically. She had perfected the Bunshin no Jutsu during her first day at the Sand academy.
After calming herself, Emiko created the hand signs for this simple Jutsu and shouted "Bunshin no Jutsu!" After the large cloud of smoke that had formed disappeared, it could be seen that Emiko had created at least fifteen copies of herself, five times what was asked.
"Well, you certainly have proven yourself better than most of the students here," Sarutobi said with a small smirk on his face and a slight chuckle, "So, it gives me great pleasure to present you with the Konoha headband."
The Hokage held out a navy-blue headband with a metal protector and the Konoha insignia on it. Emiko removed her Sand Village headband and retied it to her upper right arm. She walked up to Sarutobi, bowed gratefully as she took the headband from him, and then tied it around her head. She smiled as she looked at the Hokage.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" Emiko said with another small bow.
"You're welcome," he replied, "Now, you should head to class. Iruka, one of the Chuunin here in Konoha, will put you onto a team with three other Genin and a Jounin sensei. You and your team will begin missions tomorrow."
"Alright. Thanks again, sir." Emiko bowed once again and quickly left the room. It was not until she was almost at where she left Sakura, that Emiko realized something…
"Oh no! I forgot to ask where the class was being held!"
Emiko sprinted back to the Hokage's office. She was about to knock on the door, but an elderly voice stopped her.
"Go back the way you came, turn left, and it's the first door on your right," Emiko heard the Sarutobi say from inside.
"Oh, um, thank you, Hokage-sama."
Her face pink with embarrassment, Emiko turned around and walked toward the classroom. When she got there, she slowly slid the door open, stepped inside, and closed the door behind her. One by one, the other Genin grew silent and looked at Emiko. Emiko noticed one of the boys glaring at her. Shrugging that off, she looked around and spotted Sakura and the one called Naruto, both waving at her. Emiko smiled slightly at them, and then turned to the Chuunin in the middle of the room, whom she assumed was Iruka. He had also stopped talking and looked around at who or what everyone was staring at: Emiko.
"Oh," he said, "You must be the transfer student from Suna," Emiko nodded in response. "Well, come on in and I'll put you on a team… How many copies did you create to pass?"
"It was somewhere around fifteen," Emiko responded as she shrugged and walked into the center of the room, "I could have done more, but I'm still a little weary from my journey here."
Everyone's jaws dropped and their eyes widened in amazement.
"Outstanding! Not even our best students could create that many duplicates during their exam. Very impressive," Iruka said. He was just as astonished as the Genin. "Well, since you are so skilled, you would probably do the best on… Team 7 with Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke."
Emiko heard a loud "YES!" and turned to where it came from. She saw that Naruto was standing up with his arms in the air. He looked around and saw everyone giving him weird looks, and then slowly sat down again. Emiko couldn't help but chuckle a bit at this. It was then that she realized that the one called Sasuke was actually the guy that was guy who was glaring at her, as if she was his greatest enemy.
"Okay… Before you sit down with your team, how about you tell everyone your name?" Iruka asked politely.
"Oh, um, sure," Emiko replied tentatively as she turned to the Genin, "My name is…" She hesitated for a moment. "Emiko Uchiha."
A wave of conversation swept over the large group of Genin. They all seemed excited, but mostly confused. However, Sasuke looked more like he was about to spit flames. He stood up and everyone grew silent once more as the looked over at him.
"You're a damned liar!" he said furiously.
"And how is that!" Emiko spat in return. Nobody ever believed her when she said she was one of the surviving Uchiha clan members. It made her so mad that she wanted to use a fake name while in Konoha. But pride overcame her anger and she stuck with her original name. She did not want her deceased relatives to believe that she had to honor towards her clan, her family, and, most importantly, herself.
"Everyone of the Uchiha clan was killed many years ago! How could you be an Uchiha if they're all dead!" Sasuke yelled, hatred beginning to fill his eyes.
"Well, obviously not all of them are dead if I'm standing right here! Besides, how would YOU know if everyone died or not!" Emiko's temper was beginning to rise at a fast pace. She walked over to where Sasuke was so they were face to face.
Everyone was in shock due to the intensity of the quarrel. But nobody made a sound. They had never heard Sasuke speak a word about his past, and they wanted to hear every word.
Sasuke's fists tightened. He looked as if he was about to explode. He was getting really, REALLY angry.
"I know because I was there when it happened! I may have only been six when everyone was killed, but I still remember it perfectly! And I know that there were only two survivors! They were Itachi Uchiha and myself! Sasuke Uchiha!" He paused for a second as a single tear began to form in one of his eyes. "And I really don't appreciate using my deceased sister's name! So shut up and start telling the truth!"
Emiko's facial expressions softened as she looked into Sasuke's eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing… This young man was her brother that she thought was dead for all these years… Her brother was alive, and he was standing right in front of her.
"S-Sasuke?… I… You… You're alive! You're actually alive!" Emiko tried her hardest not to start crying, but failed quite miserably. She saw him giving her a weird look, and tried to explain herself. "Sasuke… It's me. I'm Emiko! Your sister! I was never dead! I've been alive this whole time! Please believe me, brother."
Sasuke looked into Emiko's bright sapphire eyes and saw the five-year-old girl he remembered. His expressions softened as he realized that the girl in front of him was telling the truth. The young ninja's eyes moistened and he pulled his younger sister into a tight embrace.
"Emiko," he muttered, "It really is you… Itachi didn't get you after all… I thought I had lost you, just like I lost everyone else…"
Emiko did not say anything in response, but just cried into Sasuke's shoulder.
After the Uchiha siblings calmed down, everyone requested for Emiko to tell them about how she got to the Hidden Sand Village and how her studies brought her back to Konoha. They were all so intrigued by her story, that nobody, not even Naruto, realized that they talked straight through lunch time, that is, until Emiko finished.
"OH NO! WE SKIPPED LUNCH!" Naruto shouted as he stood up and ran out the door, "DON'T WORRY, RAMEN! I'M COMING!"
