Chapter 1: Konoha's Welcome
The sun had risen to its highest and beamed down burning hot rays of golden light upon Konoha. Kushina walked with her eyes trained upon the hot, crisp slabs where her tiny feet trod. A feeling of nausea swept over her as she bit her tongue, trying to think of anything but where she was going or who she was to become…but no feeling of happiness or relief would come to her now.
Whoever held her small hand high above her fiery red hair had come to a halt and with almost overwhelming reluctance she raised her glistening eyes upwards to meet those of the Third Hokage. When he looked her over her heart fluttered for a brief instance.
Maybe, just maybe, they had got the wrong child.
She stood there, held in suspense as a flower of hope just began to blossom inside her chest. Then the Hokage nodded and the flower snapped shut with such a brutal force that it shattered all the petals into a thousand pieces. Kushina let her eyes glaze over the Hokage's residence that towered over her and all beneath it, feeling only numb with helplessness now. Of all the things she could fight, this path of destiny was not one of them. The firm grasp that held her hand now pulled her forwards, as if with blunt confirmation, that there was no escaping what awaited her inside.
Two large wooden doors, still lined with nature's rings and patterns in their old age, were pushed open by the Shinobi who accompanied the young Uzumaki girl. At first the bright light that poured through their entrance dazzled her and her eyes vaguely noted various items that lay beyond the doors with little interest, until they fell on an elderly lady garbed in a soft white dress. Her brown, graying hair that might once have held a colour of red so vibrant it would put most Uzumaki to shame, was tied neatly up in buns either side of her face. Her brown eyes gazed softly at Kushina beyond the wrinkles of age that lined her once fair features.
"Lady Mito, this is Kushina Uzumaki," the shinobi spoke, bowing his head in respect.
The Lady simply nodded and when she spoke her voice was somewhat worn down by time yet still assertive, "Leave us."
Quickly as they opened, the doors began to close behind Kushina and she forced her eyes to meet those of the Lady in front of her. She tried to maintain strong, fighting the burning feeling that made her stomach churn.
A slight smile touched the lips of the elderly woman, wrinkling the corners of her mouth as she reached out to take her hand, "Please come closer my dear."
Kushina bit her tongue, trying to stem the nerves that caused her pale hand to tremble as she reached out. She felt like she was going to burst with the anguish that wrapped her saddened heart in heavy layers.
But she would not.
She would remain strong, if only on the outside now.
Though despite all the might inside her young form it simply wasn't going to last.
As Lady Mito watched the young child's outer shell crumble away before her she pulled Kushina gently into a tender embrace and held her as she trembled quietly, her head turned away from site to hide the tears than tumbled down her rosy cheeks.
After a while the tears became less as the trembling slowed and the girl from Whirlpool slowly sunk to her knees with exhaustion, her heart crushed with worry.
Still Lady Mito would not let her go. Instead she ran her fingers through the long red hair, stroking the child's head gently to comfort her form what lay ahead, speaking softly as she did so.
"We are alike, you and I. I was brought here to be the nine tails vessel too. I can only imagine the shock you felt when you learned of it, how sad you must have been and how you have suffered. My dear you can tell me the truth. You don't have to hold everything inside."
Calming her breathing, Kushina replied, her voice no more than a faint whisper, "Yes…" For she knew now the Lady understood all too well of the chaos that had made a home inside of her, from the moment she had learnt the truth. As young and as wild as Kushina's mind was even she would not dare to try and enter the realm of Mito's life as a Jinchūriki. She had already lost hope in living a happy life now and her dreams were slipping from her grasp with each moment, as the sealing grew nearer and nearer.
As if sensing the young child's turmoil and despair, she spoke softly, hoping her next words would hold true to this young heart.
"Listen closely. Neither of us could escape our fate as the nine tails vessel, however, there is something that you must understand. There is a way to find happiness if you must live even as a Jinchūriki."
"The first step is to fill ourselves with love. Then, even if we have to live as the nine tails Jinchūriki, we could still find a way to be happy."
Kushina's eyes flared for a brief moment in time as Lady Mito spoke of love, but the light died just as fast as it had came and she quickly forgot all hope of ever finding such a thing. Especially here, in Konoha.
Yet deep down inside her, Lady Mito had planted a seed of hope that could one day blossom…if the right spark would ignite the fire in her heart to give it life…
Kushina felt like she was drowning, trapped between the ruthless waves of a stormy sea that could snap the ribs of anyone it bore down upon.
Everything was a blinding white around her.
White with pain.
White with heat.
Oh, the heat!
It felt like her very skin was being ripped from her bones by the fire the encased her body. All around her white hot irons glided down her tiny form.
Kushina withered in absolute agony, thrashing out her burning limbs with all her might as a bloodcurdling scream tore from her lips and echoed down the halls.
Then there was the hate. Hate so strong it threatened to consume her soul in its omnipotent wrath of pure evil.
Surely no torture in hell could rival the seething anger of the beast as it ate away at her insides, piece by little piece.
The girl fought and fought until her heart nearly burst from the sheer weight of the chukra now trapped inside her. Her fragile lungs heaved and her vision blurred, unaware of her golden chains finally managing to barely restrain the beast as the darkness took her and dragged her down into the black world of fitful nightmares.
Quickly untangling her mass of hair as best as she could Kushina threw her lunchbox into her pack and swung it over her narrow shoulders before launching herself outside into the blazing sun.
Determined not to be late Kushina sped towards the academy, weaving in and out of the early risen people and dodging the occasional shocked cat until she skidded to a halt at the academy entrance. Her eyes trailed the great arch above the door, taking in the whole building for the first time since she had arrived at Konoha.
Slowly she started forwards, surrounded by the loud conversations of energetic children that were closer to bouncing to class than walking. Suddenly she felt intimidated and each step she took brought a new pang of nerves shooting down her spine, making her stomach turn somersaults that could rival a gymnast.
What if they didn't like her? There might not be any seats left for her in her class. What if they realized she was different? Then a darker, more terrifying thought raced through her mind… What if they all knew she was the Kyuubi'sjinchūriki?
The last thought made her feel sick. Staring downwards at her tiny feet, she fought all of her fears and mind nipping worries to the back of her mind, locking them deep inside her for now. Burning with determination, she looked upwards, straight ahead and continued walking to her class. She would not be brought down by these thoughts, she was an Uzumaki and she had dreams of her own she wanted to fulfill!
Kushina arrived at her class and stood face to face with a fully grown shinobi, garbed in the leaf's traditional forest green flat jacket and Kohana's gleaming silver headband. She had to crane her neck upwards just to meet his eyes.
"Uzumaki Kushina? I am Takumi and I will be your Sensei here at the academy. The rest of your classmates are already here," he explained, a slight warm smile showing through his serious expression.
Kushina stared passed him as he lead her in, trying to slow her breathing as she battled a new bout of nerves and excitement too, that surfaced within her heart. Takumi stopped at the front of the class and turned to face them, indicating she should do the same. Slowly, she looked up at the children in front of her, her bright eyes taking in a number of the blank faces that stared straight back at her. There was a brown haired boy with green eyes, a dark haired girl wearing a chestnut coloured jumper and looking at some notes plastered to the desk in front of her. Kushina tried to maintain her confidence; her eyes flickered quicker and quicker between each one: two hazel buns, liquid chocolate eyes, thick eyebrows, blue top, spiky blond hair and white jumper.
Her bravery fled from her and her eyes sought the floor for comfort as she felt their gazes cutting into her skin. She took a deep breath to clam herself as anxiety began to tug at her heart, beginning to overwhelm her. The turmoil of chaotic panic rose and rose until-
"Okay everyone, we have a new transfer student that will be joining us today-"
"I'm Kushina Uzumaki, ya' know!"
The voice shocked her. The class froze.
Suddenly, she realized with absolute dread that it was her own voice!
Embarrassment washed over her like the sea's waters over sand and her little cheeks began to burn red. Her hands shot upwards to cover her mouth of their own accord in an attempt to stop her saying anymore.
But it was too late.
The class erupted in laughter.
"Look at the ugly colour of her hair!" One student cried out.
"Yeah, who would… ever…want hair like that. It's s-so gross!" Another jeered, fighting to get his response out in between fits of laughter.
Kushina looked up at a strand of her bright red hair and pulled it over her face to cover one of her eyes. All she wanted to do right now was hide behind her hair and conceal her unwelcome face from them all.
Beside her the class Sensei called silence, sternly ushering the group to quiet down.
But Kushina was burning inside. She had promised herself she would remain strong no matter what.
"I'm gonna…"
Clenching her young fists and digging her nails into her palm she shot her gaze up to face them all and yelled back at them: "I'm going to be the first female Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village!"
Silence cut through the room like a knife through butter at her words. She waited, for their response, though no laughter came.
"Me too," said a blond haired boy, rising from his seat and placing a closed fist over his heart. "I want to become a great Hokage the whole village respects and bring peace to the people."
Kushina looked straight at him, stunned by the response she got.
He hadn't laughed at her.
The spiky haired boy with soft blue eyes stared straight back at her. He looked at little bit girly and not very reliable but he didn't laugh at her.
'Idiot', she thought, averting her eyes in anger.
Nobody laughed at him.
The girl from whirlpool soon found out why after their class when a group of both girls and boys swamped around him like magpies to a coin until she couldn't even see him anymore.
Gathering her belongings she stood up and left the room, the flames of her red hair flickering out behind her before they too vanished beyond the door frame. It has only been a few hours and she already felt like an outsider. There was no point in sticking around.
Minato simply watched the beautiful hair flow out of the room and wished for a moment that he could go after her and at least introduce himself properly but the crowd of chattering students blocked his path.
Something intrigued him about her strange accent and rare red hair. It brought a strange since of pride to his heart to know that she was different, although in what way he could not yet say for sure.
Although little did he know in the months to come he was going to find out just exactly how different she really was…