Disclaimer: I do not anything from Naruto but my own characters. =] My first Naruto story so… enjoy.
Scroll One: Meet Natsu Arashi
How I hated Konohagure. The place that had nurtured me into a ninja, but it had only abandoned me later. My name was Maya Kanazawa. I had a family, but they shunned me throughout my life. I never understood the hatred in my parents' eyes. I had a small hunch that it was for becoming a better ninja than my older brother could. No matter how hard I tried, father and mother would only praise the eldest and glare at my small accomplishments. It was after I became a jounin that I officially lost my home, family, and attachments to Konoha. When I was younger, I had layered black hair that reached my neck and violet eyes that could be mistaken for ebony. I stood at 4'9" that I thought was normal for an age of a 12 year old. However, this was all in the past 4 years ago. My name is now Natsu Arashi. I am now 5' 3". I had my hair grow longer to my mid-back, and my bangs slanted to the left side of my face. I am a chuunin, who will take part in the jounin exams soon. My team is now a team of three ever since the loss of cheerful Ayako. On her trip with some family members to visit other relatives in Rice country, some foreign ninjas ambushed her when passing through Grass village. They may have been after her bloodline limit. She had potential to become more powerful than Ruka and I, but we will never know now. Ruka and I had since vowed to avenge her death after we figure out who her killers are.
Matsuya-sensei is currently on a mission with Ruka to Sand village to exchange documents for our new Hokage, Tsunade. I am currently under the alias of Hirota Satou with a mission to retrieve a powerful jutsu scroll in Rain village. I disguised myself as an average looking male traveling the country. I decided to go to a local pub to have a few drinks and find information pertaining to the lord in the area. However, I returned to my hotel room because none of the Rain nins were exchanging information to one another tonight. The only information I retrieved was that there was an out-of-town celebration tonight and the lord was invited. I sat on a gray cushioned chair next to the window. As I stared out at the pouring rain from the windowsill, I had a sudden trip down memory lane.
I recalled the day when my family kicked me out. I came home after a successful C-rank mission with my team; they were Ruka Zaraki, Ayako Mira, and team leader Matsuya Umei. Ruka Zaraki was a year older than Ayako and me, and he was exceptionally talented with ninjutsu and genjutsu. Most of his family and relatives were part of the Anbu for many generations, so this path practically influenced him to follow. Ayako Mira was a specialist in ninjutsu and had a bloodline limit called Kyorei. Kyorei activates the chakra circulatory system to power up the user in combat. It drastically improves taijutsu and ninjutsu. Matsuya Umei is a jounen who used to be part of the Anbu, so it is a given that he is very skilled and experienced. We have yet to see his jutsus and combat in battle.
When I returned home after parting from my team, I walked towards my house. However, my brother came out of the front door smirking. My brother is Kirei Kanazawa; he became a chuunin at 15 years old. He used to be nicer to me when we were younger. It was only a few years ago that he became meaner to downright evil to me. He smirked at me as I stared at him questionably. He spun and played with a kunai with his fingers.
"Hey squirt. I'll just tell you now so you don't be in a big shock. Mom and dad were talking, and I just happened to overhear that they're going to disown you."
I gaped at him and suddenly ran into the house, leaving the door ajar. My brother laughed after me and went on his way to his team meeting. I quickly went into the living room and saw both of my parents sitting on the couch. They looked up at me when I came in and stood at the doorway to the kitchen.
"Mom, dad. Kirei-ni-san is just joking right? Ha ha… you couldn't possibly be disowning me. I successfully finished my mission with my team today. Tell me you're ju—," my mom interrupted me, her eyes fiercely glowering at me.
"No, he is not joking. We have decided that you are no longer needed in this family."
"But mom—"
"No, nothing! Ever since you were born, your brother has slacked off in becoming a powerful ninja." She got up from the couch and walked towards me just to slap me on my cheek. I held my stinging cheek, tears threatening to fall. However, I held back because they would just cause more pain to me. My dad looked at me, and in his eyes, I could see that he thought I too was a failure for the family. Unlike mom, he did not need to say anything. His expression told me everything. It had finally clicked…I was not supposed to be born. All those years of resentment and hatred from my family, I was a mistake to them. An unwanted child. Kirei was supposed to be the only child. I looked down, my hair covering my eyes, and my jaw slacked then tightened.
"I wasn't an expected child, huh? Nii-san was supposed to be the only one…the only one to have your love. And yet, here I am! Your own flesh and blood!" I screamed at them; I looked up with tears streaking down my cheeks. Unknown to us, my brother was eavesdropping who now had wide eyes and gaping at this unforeseen event. 'I thought they were just going to disown her like any other adopted kid…I did not expect them to disown their own child. They told me she was adopted…' Kirei looked at me in shocked and in shame, for mistreatment and being the biggest and meanest naïve older brother.
Meanwhile, mom and dad left the room while I walked to my room upstairs. I grabbed my portable suitcase because I always knew it was going to happen eventually. Those late night talks that they would have when they thought I was supposedly sleeping. That should have been the biggest hunch to me. Well, I guess it happened sooner than I thought. I packed all my clothes and essentials with me. I also grabbed my collected savings under my floorboard, which would last me for a few days. I stared at the picture frame on my drawer that held the family picture. It had dad and mom in the back while Kirei was in the front arm locking me. We were all smiling at that time; however, I could now see that dad and mom were faking their smiles. I stared at it for a few minutes and decided not to bring something that would cause me pain. Instead, I grabbed a random permanent marker and drew a big X on my picture where I was. Then, I threw it into the trashcan. The picture frame cracked, and coincidentally, the line of the crack divided the family from me.
After collecting my belongings, I gave one last look at my room. I walked downstairs to an empty living room. I assumed my parents were in their room towards the back of the house near the kitchen because I could hear mom talking to dad. I decided I should leave now than face mom's wrath and have them throw me out the house. I closed the door quietly behind me and walked towards the academy; maybe Iruka-sensei could help me. About 5 minutes of walking, I heard heavy running behind me. I guessed it was Kirei.
"Wait, Imouto!" My brother ran towards me, so I stopped to wait for him. I wanted to hear what he was going to say; probably something mean again. He slowed down and took a few minutes to catch his breath.
"Um… look, I know we have our differences, but I swear I didn't know mom and dad were going to disown their own child. They told me that you were an ad-"
"Shut up. What would you know? Me, adopted? Don't make me laugh. You had plenty of years to figure out if I were your real sister or not. You're old enough anyways. Don't go try turning into a good brother because you NEVER BEEN ONE!" My voice was calm in the beginning, but it eventually became a yell towards the end of my exclamation. I glared at him and the house that used to be my home.
"I know I haven't been the best brother, but I'll make up for it. Maybe I can try to convince them to ta-" Still, he tried to persuade me with all he could. I walked up to him and smacked him. He stared at me bewildered.
"I'm not an idiot, Kirei. Don't think for a second that I could be persuaded by such a spoiled person. You, who has been sheltered and loved, would never understand how I felt with the loneliness and insults from this family. …Oh wait, what family? I didn't have one to begin with. Goodbye, Kanazawa-san." I left my brother abruptly as he just stood there absorbing what I said. Even as a young child, I was always considered mature and smart for my age; which always made me wonder where my intellect came from. I continued walking and made it to the school in 20 minutes. I guess mom and dad did not care enough to look for me. I looked at my school. The classroom door was open, so I assumed Sensei was still inside.
'Just great, you know? Didn't think my life would turn out this way…' I peeked inside the door, only to find out that it was empty. The rows of the classroom looked so empty. I sighed at my misfortune and decided to see my best friend. Sasuke Uchiha is my best friend; we managed to keep that on low profile. How that began was pure accidental and maybe coincidence.
In actual time, I sighed at that time. I got up from my chair and walked towards the bed. I rummaged through my bag and took out some food. My stomach had grumbled, which made me 'pop' out of memory lane. I also pulled out some scrolls to review and ate some melon bread as I went through them. As I flipped through my notes, a picture fell down. In it held Sasuke, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi-sensei. I grinned slightly at it, and another blink brought me back into my memories.
I was running from my mom's daily beatings. She was mad that I had spilt grape juice on the floor in the kitchen, so she took this chance to hit me. I managed to escape the house with minor injuries, but her hits still stung my arms and cheeks. I think I had some cuts too. I walked to the lake that I found coincidentally. I sat on the edge of the water and tended to my many scrapes and cuts inflicted by my mom. While I was doing that, I did not notice someone else being in the same vicinity.
"Oi, what are you doing?" The sudden voice spooked me, and I turned around quickly to find an arrogant spiky haired kid with dark colored eyes. I quickly pulled my sleeves down to hide my wounds.
"Nothing. I'm just sitting here to enjoy the scenery." I lied straight-faced at him, and he could only stare knowingly. My scratched face and torn clothes was a dead giveaway.
"I see. Well, if you want help bandaging, just ask. I'm Sasuke Uchiha by the way." He smirked at me. I looked down at my arms and saw that the blood leaked through my poor bandaging skills. Cheekily smiling, I kindly asked him to help. He did not question how I got these cuts, which I was thankful that he did not.
"I'm Maya Kanazawa. Thanks for helping me, Uchiha-san." He tied the last bandage and nodded that it was good enough. He then turned and faced me.
"It's okay. Just try to get help next time. See you later." With that, he walked away while waving his arm. I stared after him and smiled at his back. 'I guess rumors about him being cold aren't true after all.'
It took me 20 more minutes to reach Sasuke's house. I walked through the deserted compound until I reached his house in the center. I knocked on his door, but after 10 minutes, I figured he was not home. I sat on his patio outlooking the area.
'My luck seems to have gone to zero.' I decided to stay until he came home. His mission couldn't be out of the village, right?
Right.
.
.
.
Oh, how wrong I was because it turns out that Sasuke's team managed to get a C-rank mission to Waterfall Village a few days ago. During my duration of waiting for Sasuke, my stomach grumbled.
"Heh, guess I should eat some dinner and train somewhere secluded. There was no doubt that my brother will try to find me." I told myself to make myself feel better. It was lonely without your best friend to try to cheer you up, even if he sucked at it. Walking into town, I went to Ichiraku's ramen stand and ordered beef ramen. It is always a wonder to me that Naruto's favorite dish was here. As I ate, I could not help but look at random families happily walking the streets. I paid for my meal and left to the lake where I first met Sasuke. I ignored the stares from the owner and his daughter Ayame.
When I arrived at the lake, I pulled out some shurikens to practice throwing. My aim was not as great as Sasuke, but it was still good. Practice makes perfect is what I learned from Sasuke. After 30 minutes, I switched to taijutsu, which was one of my stronger attributes. I punched, kicked, and did many flips at random trees. All the trees I hit had left marks of my training. Some of my knuckles were either bleeding or red. Next, I practiced my ninjutsu. I practiced cloning, chakra control by walking up a tree and the lake, and small summoning jutsus. What my family did not know was that I inherited a bloodline that obviously ran in the family. It may have skipped mom, dad, and Kirei, but I discovered it when I was training with Sasuke.
"Ne, Sasuke. Let's train at the lake again!" I tugged at Sasuke's right arm. He looked at me and smirked. I smiled brightly at him and started to drag him.
"Okay, okay. We don't need to rush, Maya." I continued to drag him, and he decided to keep up with my pace because I would not slow down even if he tried to ask again. When we reached the lake, I jumped a few feet back and prepared myself for close combat training. Sasuke got into his fighting stance too. After a few seconds of silence, I attacked first to try to get the advantage. I ran towards him and disappeared in front of him. I reappeared behind him to punch. He quickly blocked my punch and aimed a counterpunch to my stomach. I maneuvered out of the way and kicked towards his torso. He flipped back and sprung forward to give me a series of punches and kicks. Luckily, I managed to come out of that with few bruises and cuts.
"Heh, you sure improved a lot since we last trained."
"Well, I can't have you beating me everytime."
We both smirked and once again began our attacks and counterattacks. Finally, I distanced us, did quick hand seals, and summoned a fireball at Sasuke. He countered with water bullets, and some of them managed to hit me. I could not sense Sasuke or his signature chakra after his last attack. I put up my guard and searched for him. Suddenly, my face ate the dirt because he caught me from behind with a kick to my back. I got up slowly and tried to trip swiftly. He managed to jump away and pulled out a kunai. Likewise, I pulled out a kunai. We were now engaging in a kunai close combat. He charged at me first and swiped at my face. I blocked his kunai with mine and proceeded with a sidekick. With his other hand, he caught my leg and threw me towards the lake. I slid on top of the water but did not fall into it.
"Seems you've improved in chakra control as well." He said to me, smirking.
"Well, if it means doing everything to beat you, sure."
"Well, you're not exactly winning. Heh."
I glowered at his last comments and ran towards him. He did the same. We did another parry of attacks, but Sasuke still managed to get more hits on me. I was tired now from attacking and defending from him. I was almost out of chakra too. Not to mention that I did not have any other jutsus that would work on him. I finally noticed that Sasuke was about to finish me off with a fire jutsu.
'Damn. If only I could do something.' I stared very hard at Sasuke that with such intensity I did not notice I was glowing. Sasuke stared wide eyed at me. I did not notice, but I knew I felt a lot better than a few minutes ago. I suddenly ran towards Sasuke. It was amazing that I could see and evade his attacks. I also managed to land hits on him too. Sasuke panted hard as he held his right arm to his side. His injuries were either scorched or smoking. He tried all that he could to parry my attacks.
"Seems you had an ace up your sleeves after all, Maya." I looked at him confused. He noticed my confusion and pointed in the water. Curious, I walked towards it and saw my reflection. My eyes had changed into a bright blue color that was close to whitish blue.
"Wow! What does this mean, Sasuke? You think it's a bloodline limit?" I excitedly told him while clasping my hands and jumping up and down as we walked back to land. We decided to call it a draw.
"I suppose so. You should ask someone. Maybe your mom or dad." He replied to me, and finally the fatigue of training hit us. My blood limit wore off, and I fell to the ground. Sasuke followed suit.
"Maybe. But for now, I will train and see what else I can do with it." I turned my head at Sasuke and smiled. He turned to face me too and smirked as we breathed in much needed oxygen.
"Of course."
I activated my blood limit after mumbling the word. There was no need for anyone to overhear. I decided to keep it a secret until I participated in the chuunin exams. I had learned of the rest of the skills I can do from reading about my family's history. After activation, I began to practice a series of many jutsu. I quickly did hand seals in the order of horse, rat, dragon, rat, dog, bird, monkey, and back to horse. Instantly, a bright blue and red falcon came from the smoke as it flew towards the sky and then back to me. It perched on my shoulder and awaited orders.
Kuzo was from an ancient falcon family who rarely associated with humans. I was lucky to get a C-rank mission with my team to Rice country, where some foreign ninjas wounded him. He escaped when my leader went after the enemy, and my teammates and I rescued the bird. However, two more enemies came after us, and Ruka told me to escape with the bird towards the village. This was how I saved his life, and he offered to aid me in battle after a contract, of course. Matsuya-sensei taught me all the basics about summoning contracts, and my team trained with it. Sensei thought it would be good practice for us all. I had yet to summon Kuzo with one seal.
"We are going to practice some duo attacks in case of ambush. I am still training to summon you with one hand seal, but for now let us train, Kuzo-kun." I said to my friend as it nodded its proud head knowingly.
"Let's see how much you've improved, Hime." Kuzo swiftly flew off as I summoned some clones. I thought five Doppler gangers would be enough for a warm up. They quickly dispersed as I prepared myself for attacks. Almost 10 seconds had passed from the jutsu, and I swiftly side jumped a barrage of shurikens aimed at my previous standing. I shushin'd away and attacked a clone in the trees. Kuzo immediately was in combat also, as I heard a series of jutsus aimed at him. Fireballs and water bullets flew up at him as he swooped down to pierce a clone. He lit fire upon himself and dived at the clone in the middle of the other two clones. This meant I had two clones coming after me. Leaving Kuzo to his devices, I jumped away from a kick from the side and leaned back fast enough to dodge a kunai piercing to my front. I quickly pulled out a kunai myself and attacked the clones with kicks, stabs, punches, flips, and parries. Luckily, I caught one clone off guard with a fake punch, and stabbed her with a kunai. She disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The other clone almost kicked me, but I blocked with both my arms. That really stung my arms. I pushed back, and twisted my body fast for a kick to the torso. She jump away and fled.
"Che. I better help Kuzo."
I shushin'd towards the crash I heard a few meters away from me. Two clones outnumbered a weary Kuzo. The third clone joined the group, and now they began to attack. I decided to summon a lightning tornado at them. I knew this would drain most of my chakra, but I had to try. I did another set of hand seals, and put my hands together as the monkey seal.
"Lighting Tornado Jutsu!" I yelled as a ferocious gust of wind began to spin. Soon, it spun so rapidly and formed a mini tornado. Dark clouds formed above the tornado and sparked with streaks of electricity. It struck the tornado, and now it formed into a lightning tornado. This all formed within a minute.
"So time-consuming! I need a way to do this faster."
With the given time, the clones now aimed at me. I maneuvered the tornado to go after the clones. It swiftly spun to the clone on the right. The lightning struck the clone, and the clone puffed out of existence. I could not hold onto this jutsu for any longer, and the clones were closing in on me with kunais. The clone on the left threw kunais and shurikens at me, while the one on the right ran full speed at me with kunais in hand.
"Kuzo, quickly get the one on the left!" I yelled at the falcon as my jutsu blocked the stars and dispersed to a calm breeze. The weapons fell to the ground in a heap. I engaged in combat quickly after the Kuzo deflected one of the clones.
'Maybe we should tag team this.' I ran towards Kuzo's blind side, and my clone followed me.
"Kuzo, let's do this!" He let out a piercing cry and dived at my clone while I swung the kunai at his. The sound of the kunais connecting rang through my ears. I flipped backwards when she tried to kick me. However, on Kuzo's side, the clone parried his attack, punched me on the back, and proceeded with kicks at my torso and legs. Both clones had joined to attack me together. I backed up with a fighting stance. I lost my spare kunais from her kicks. Kuzo immediately flew with blue burning wings at the clones and managed to cut one on the shoulders. Luckily, there was enough overall damage to her, and she disappeared from his attack.
"Glad you can make it. I thought for sure I would lose." I called out the Kuzo, who held his distance from being barraged by shurikens.
"Couldn't let you have all the fun, now can I?" He retorted back and pierced through the sky.
I ran at the clone and we began to trade fists and kicks. Kuzo decided to summon a fiery tornado and began to collect the winds by flying swiftly in a circle. I rolled backwards after a hard kick from my clone. She smiled and did quick hand seals. After recognizing it, I jumped into the trees in a nick of time to avoid ice shard spears that pierced the ground.
'Damn, why didn't I think of that?' I jumped onto another branch as fireballs scorched my previous standing. Kuzo finally made his tornado and set it aglow with his fire. He had chakra infused it with the tornado and now guided its destruction toward the clone and me. He glowed brightly with red and blue as he flew to us. By using her confusion, I quickly kicked her into the path of the tornado and watched as she instantly disappeared. Kuzo quickly dispersed his summon and flew to me.
"Kuzo, that's a really nice tornado. Much more efficient than my lightning one." He chuckled at my statement.
"If it were raining, yours would be much powerful. You had to summon both the winds and lightning, Hime."
Kuzo perched on my shoulders once again as I walked to the now scorched clearing. I looked towards the sky and realized it was very late.
"Time to rest up, Kuzo. I will see you again for the next time we train."
"Very well. Have a good night, Hime." He nodded and poof back to his domain. All the while we were training, a hidden nin smiled at the development from the trees. His gold eyes sparkling before he disappeared just as quickly as he appeared.
I continued to walk through the training area and decided to go check if Iruka-sensei returned to the academy. As I walked, I could not help but wonder how messed up my life was. Luckily, I did not have to dwell long on it. I saw Sasuke and his team returning by the gates. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei parted from Sasuke as he walked home. I ran towards Sasuke and patted his shoulder. He looked over and smirked.
"Hey Maya. What are you doing here?" He continued walking in the direction of his house.
"Well, I was wondering if you would mind letting me stay at your place for awhile, so I can find a home of my own. Turns out I got kicked out of mine this morning after my mission."
I told him very nonchalantly while looking ahead of us. He frowned and motioned me to follow. I complied, and we silently walked to his house. To lighten the mood, I started another conversation.
"So, how was your mission to Waterfall country? Anything exciting? Did Naruto-san kick your butt? Hehe." He smirked at me and began his short tale of his adventures with Team 7.
"Turns out it was a B-rank mission instead." He stared at the trail.
"Ehh! No fair! I only went up to C-rank." I poked him on his arm a few times and frowned childishly.
"Heh. Guess Dobe did something good for once. Anyways, we managed to save the bridge builder, the Dobe got the bridge named after him. Che."
"Haha. Someone's jealous. What's it called?" I chided to him.
"…The Great Naruto Bridge." He mumbled and looked away.
"Hahaha. You're jealous at that? Pfft, not like the name The Great Sasuke Bridge would sound as good."
He glared at me and I laughed pathetically as I put my hands up in defense. We continued walking as I told him about my day. Little did we know, Sakura had followed Sasuke. She frowned significantly and clenched her dress. She never knew this side of Sasuke, and she was on his team. She had found her new rival in getting Sasuke, but she did not know the girl with Sasuke is his best friend. Sakura left quickly and began her trip home. She began to devise a plan to humiliate me, so that her Sasuke would not like me.
'Grr. No one but me is going to get Sasuke!' Her inanimate mind crushed a poorly disfigured doll of Maya.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and I entered his home. I took off my shoes as he walked into his kitchen. I joined him soon after and saw him preparing dinner of fried fish, rice, and miso soup along with sliced tomatoes. Seeing him fry the fish too much, I bumped him away from the stove and proceeded to cook. I smiled at him and swatted him away…
A loud knock on my hotel door brought me out of my thoughts. I got up from the bed after unsummoning the documents. I walked to the doors and opened to see the hotel manager. He smiled and said that dinner is being served now. I nodded and thanked him for telling me.
"I'll be right down. Thank you very much, Manager-san."
"It's no problem at all, Satou-san. Just make sure to come before everyone else eats it all. Ha ha ha. Have a nice night." He bowed as I did the same.
"Of course, you have a wonderful night as well."
After I closed the door, I went back to my bed and noticed my uneaten bread. I took a couple of more bites and thought back to what I was reminiscing. Another picture was beneath Team Seven's. I took it and saw that it was my team's. Ruka, Ayako, and I were either smiling or smirking, while Matsuya-sensei smiled widely behind us with his hands on Ruka's and my shoulders. Ayako was in the middle of us all. My eyes now held a faraway look. The two pictures were lying side by side on the bed. My thoughts continued the last memory…
"You were burning the fish. I don't want to get indigestion tonight."
Sasuke merely mumbled and set the table. I brought over the plate of fish and sat across from him. His table was a rectangular shape that could fit six people. He began eating his portion, so I copied him and began to eat. We ate in silence as usual when I came over. It was not a bad silence; it was peaceful and comforting. After we ate, I washed the dishes. We decided to talk in his living room, since it had the sofa and all. I sat on the long sofa and told him of how my parents resented me ever since I was born. He took note of everything, and it seemed to make him only angrier. I also told him that my brother actually tried to get me back into that foreboding house after all these years of mistreatment. The family had kicked me out just because there was no use for me. Therefore, I told Sasuke I planned to change my name when I saw the Hokage. Sasuke stood up and walked to another room. After a few minutes, he walked back out and handed me a towel and some clothes.
"C'mon. I'll show you where you'll be staying. I'm sure you need to shower like me, but you can go first. The bath is already heated."
I smiled with tears in my eyes. When he turned his back, I ran at him and hugged him from behind.
"I don't know where I would be if you weren't here, Sasuke-kun." He slightly smiled warmly and patted my head to comfort me. He let me cry on his back for however long it was. Eventually, I released him and followed him to my new room. He excused himself, and I went take a shower. After I was done, Sasuke took his shower, and I unpacked whatever I had carried with me in my room. While unpacking, I think I fell asleep because I woke up the next morning in the bed. A note was on the drawer next to the bed.
'I already prepared breakfast for you and left to meet up with my team. You should probably hurry to yours.' Sasuke U.
I read the note twice and looked at the clock.
"Holy sh-! I better hurry." I quickly did everything, ate breakfast, and ran out the door after locking it. I ran to my team's meet up spot. I think I was 5 minutes late. Ayako and Matsuya-sensei were ridiculing each other while Ruka remained nonchalant. After noticing me, Matsuya-sensei lectured about tardiness and proceeded to make me do extra sparring with him. Today, we were sparring with each other and winner would pick the place to eat. Ayako and I were to fight first; there was no doubt that Ruka was the strongest of us all. Matsuya kept Ruka busy with trivial questions as he kept watch of our fight. After 10 minutes of taijutsu, I managed to knock Ayako out after dispelling her genjutsu. Ruka got up and stood in front of me. He was not arrogant, but he knew he was stronger. We smirked at each other challengingly and waited for Sensei to tell us when to begin. I stretched my body as Ruka observed his surroundings.
"Don't go easy on me, Ruka-san."
"Likewise, Maya-san."
We got into our stances and Sensei called out to us.
"Begin!"
I jumped a few feet back immediately to distance us. Ruka had the tendency to attack first without giving any chances. He looked at me and smirked.
"Seems you're on edge against me, as always."
I did not comment but immediately performed the needed hand seals to summon ice spears. Ruka became very cautious and decided to do his own jutsu of summoning fireballs. The spears and fireballs cancelled each other out as Ruka engaged close combat with me. I parried and dodged most of his attacks, but he managed to punch me a few times. I countered with a fierce kick to his abdomen and he slid a few feet back.
"You've been training more, Maya."
"Of course. I like a good challenge."
Ruka immediate performed a genjutsu on me. I became more cautious as the landscape changed into another scenery. My eyesight could not be trusted, so I had to rely on my hearing. I closed my eyes and listened intently for any kind of sounds. I heard some metal clinking and jumped back to avoid a barrage of shurikens as they were embedded into the ground. Then, I was attacked with kicks and cuts. Ruka was really good at pressuring me; I had to dispel his genjutsu fast.
"You're not going to beat me Maya. Just admit defeat."
His taunts irritated me, but I was not going to risk exposing my bloodline limit. I drew out a kunai and cut my right arm. Luckily, for me, Ruka did not use a very strong illusion. The landscape changed back to the training field.
"I didn't think you'd inflict pain on yourself to cancel it out. Bravo."
He smirked at me and ran towards me. He aimed a swift kick to my head as I lean back to dodge. I caught his leg and threw him towards a tree. This had caught him by surprise. He flipped backwards and steadied himself.
"You're not going to beat me forever. I think we should end this now."
"That we should. Prepare yourself, Maya!"
We ran towards each other and began a kunai combat. He kicked me roughly on my shin, but I managed to cut him on his shoulder. He then proceeded to swipe at me with his kunai, and I dodge them by moving my body left and right. He spun rapidly for a deadly slash, so I met his kunai with mine and kicked his stomach to get some distance. He glared fiercely, and I threw several shurikens at him. He parried them away with the kunai. Little did he know, I had connected wires to them. I performed the hand seals and summoned a big fireball. I pulled the wires and managed to trap his legs. His eyes widen at his mistake, and he tried to escape. I set the inferno loose aimed at him with the wires directing its path. The attack connected, and I grinned. However, I frowned when I saw a burnt log instead of Ruka. He had switched places with the log, and now I did not know where he was. Suddenly, a hard kick to my back threw me forward and I rolled a few feet away on the ground. As I got up, Ruka smirked at me.
"You almost had me. There was one flaw however."
"And that was?"
"The time you summoned the fireball gave me enough time to perform a kawarami no jutsu."
Just as we were about start another brawl, Matsuya-sensei stopped us.
"All right team. That's enough for today. Good work Ayako, Ruka, and Maya. Ruka, you won, so you can pick tonight's dinner. You're all dismissed today, except you, Maya." I groaned at my misfortune. Ruka and Ayako waved goodbye as they went home. I turned towards my sensei as he contemplated the mess Ruka and I did.
"Maya, I'm not here to spar with you actually. It seems you had something to talk about with me."
He looked at me sternly. Matsuya-sensei had slightly dark-blue hair that reached his neck. He also had sharp golden eyes that pierced through most people, which meant he was good at reading people's emotions and body language. He dressed similarly as Kakashi-sensei, but wore his headband on his upper arm. He also wore a unique necklace that resembled something familiar. I just could not place my finger on it.
"Well, I was wondering if you could come with me to see the Hokage."
"Oh? Why? Did something happen recently?" He inquired me. He put his face very close to mine, and that made me uncomfortable. His eyes were piercing too.
"Hai, Sensei. It's a very important and personal matter, but I thought that maybe…you could…help me with…" I told him very awkwardly as I turned my head away while blushing. He looked at me for a few seconds and laughed. I looked up and waited for him to answer. He held out his left hand to me.
"Of course. After all, you are part of Team Six. C'mon, grab hold of my hand. It'll be faster this way."
I grabbed his outstretched hand, and we immediately transferred right outside the doors of the Hokage's office. Matsuya-sensei knocked on the doors and a gruff 'enter' was heard. The two guards opened the door and Sensei led me in. Inside, Sarutobi Sandaime sat behind a large oak desk with his hands crossed on top. His pipe was in his mouth as he lightly smoked. A few other ninjas were inside, looking through scrolls and orders. I walked with Sensei to face the Hokage, and we bowed. The Hokage dismissed everyone from his office.
"I'm surprised to see you here so soon. What can I do for you, Umei-san?" He lifted his pipe with his left hand to exhale the smoke.
"My student, Maya Kanazawa, wanted to discuss something with you today. She required that I also attended." Matsuya formally reported to his superior. I looked onward nervously. Who knew that this would be so nerve wrecking! The Hokage mauled over this for a few minutes before he addressed me.
"I see. What is it that you wish to discuss, Kanazawa-san?" He looked at me questionably. I looked up at him determinedly.
"I wish to take myself off my family's roster and change my name." This caught both my sensei and the Hokage off guard. They both stared at me questionably, and the Hokage asked the question that was on both their minds.
"Why do you want to do that? Did your parents do something?"
I looked down angrily at the floor. Just thinking about my family brought unwanted hatred and thoughts to my mind.
"They decided that I am no longer needed. They threw me out just yesterday. Currently, I'm residing at the Uchiha compound with Sasuke, since he is my best friend."
Now, this was news to them. They never thought the Kanazawa family would do such a thing like this. They also did not know Sasuke had formed such a strong bond, besides his team, after his family's massacre. Each pondered over this new information before saying something. Sarutobi decided to break the tension.
"Hmm, that is indeed a great shock and loss. I will look into this matter for you, Kanazawa-san. You may stay with Sasuke Uchiha, until I have spoken with him. As for name changing, we will discuss that another time. I have some things I need to discuss with Umei-san, so you are dismissed."
I bowed towards the Hokage and nodded at my sensei. He would want to talk some more after this. I left the building and decided to look for Sasuke. It did not take long because I found his team and him at the training ground near the one I sparred at with Ruka and Ayako. I walked quietly and stood next on the other side their leader. Sakura was on his right side, so I was on his left. Sakura was too busy cheering for Sasuke, so she took no notice of me. Naruto and Sasuke were sparring, and as far as I can tell, Sasuke was seriously fighting against him. Kakashi-sensei was reading that Icha Icha Paradise book, but he glanced down at me for a few seconds before returning to his book. Sakura sat down on the grass and finally noticed me. I think she glared at me for reasons unknown. I turned my attention from Kakashi to the end of sparring match. Sasuke came out as the victor, which was expected. They both walked over to us and noticed me standing next to their sensei. Kakashi put away his book, while Sakura congratulated Sasuke for winning. Sasuke smirked, but he made no comment. Naruto greeted me with a goofy smile.
"Heya Maya-chan. What brings you here?"
"Nothing really, Naruto-kun. Just came to check up on Sasuke here. I was hoping that he would get his butt whooped." Sasuke glared at me for the comment. Naruto laughed, while Sakura glowered in anger.
"Don't worry! Next time, I'm going to beat Sasuke-teme. Believe it!" I laughed at his declaration.
"Not a chance, Dobe." Sasuke crossed his arms and smirked at him.
"What did you say, Teme!" Naruto shook his fist at Sasuke, and Sasuke stared back challengingly.
"Naruto! Stop picking on Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura decided to end this argument by punching Naruto harshly into the ground. I awed at her amazing strength. Naruto was awkwardly upside down and twitching in the crater. Kakashi could only sigh and form a sweat drop at this reoccurring mishap among his team. Naruto got up and argued back at Sakura for being unfair and always choosing Sasuke's side. She threatened to hit him again. Sasuke did not do anything at all. Kakashi and I gave knowing looks to each other and sighed because it seemed too troublesome. He decided to dismiss the team now.
"Okay team. You all did very well today. We will meet up tomorrow at the usual place, so I can tell you our next mission."
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei." Team Seven responded. I waved good-bye to Kakashi as he disappeared to wherever after nodding. Naruto tried to invite Sakura to eat with him at Ichiraku's, but she turned him down as always. She wanted to walk home with Sasuke, but Sasuke and I were already walking away. She stared in disbelief, and then she frowned meanly at my figure. Naruto left to eat, so Sakura decided to put her plan into action. She immediately ran towards us.
"Wait, Sasuke-kun! I'll walk with you." Sakura did not say my name, so I took note of that carefully. Sasuke seemed to have noticed too. She then brushed me aside and walked between us. She even grabbed onto his right arm. Now that rather irritated me. It was fine by me that she did not greet me, but who does she think she is? Sasuke seemed annoyed as I did at her pathetic attempt to get his attention.
"Sakura, don't you have better things to do?" Sasuke decided say something. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.
"Uh…no! I just thought it'd be nice to walk together with you home." Sakura replied, hoping he was not upset or anything. She walked very close to my best friend. I could see the distance gathering. They were starting to get slightly ahead of me. I kept quiet, but it seemed to me that she did not me here. I frowned slightly at the corners of my mouth, which Sasuke caught despite the distance.
"Look, Sakura. I'm busy right now. Do you think you can leave for today?"
Sakura frowned at him, but then she turned around to glare at me. I looked up in surprise and gave her a puzzled look. I haven't the slightest idea as to why she was mad at me, let alone do anything to her. Almost doing a 180-turn, Sakura switched back to a sweet girl.
"But, Sasuke-kun, I can help you with whatever you're having trouble on. It's no problem at all to me."
Sakura continued to banter at Sasuke, and he sighed.
"Stop being annoying, Sakura. If you haven't noticed, you've intentionally pushed Maya away. What concerns me does not concern you."
What he said brought tears to Sakura's eyes. She slightly cried and said sorry. Then, she ran back the other way and glared at me while doing so. I looked at her retreating form, but I gave no comments. Sasuke slightly smiled at me to cheer me up, and I smiled back at him. I caught up to his pace as we continued back to his house.
"Well, I didn't expect that at all, Sasuke. I thought she liked me. Who knew Sakura hated me all this time?"
"Hn."
I looked at him and smacked his head slightly. I shook my head when he stared at me questionably for hitting him. I then began retelling him of what transpired after my sparring session with Ruka and Ayako. He kept quiet and absorbed this information. He did smirk when I told him that his sensei was reading a perverted book called Icha Icha Paradise. It seemed his team and he already knew. I chided at him innocently that maybe the book influenced him to become perverted. Sasuke whacked my head softly for having such thoughts as I laughed. We finally reach home, and Sasuke decided he would see the Hokage after meeting his team tomorrow.
As that memory ended, I snapped out of it as hard rain pelted on the glass window. I decided to call it a night. I had much to do tomorrow night. I packed my bag and dressed more comfortably. I never did go down to eat dinner in the dining room. I hope Manager-san does not mind. I unhenged and got into bed. I blew out the candle and slept. Thankfully, I was a light sleeper. The rain was a constant reminder to keep my ears alert.
Next chapter will be out soon. =]. Leave reviews/comments.