I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
AN: Haha, I've been gone so long no one expected me to start a new story, huh? Well, for my part Over the Rain isn't a huge project. I simply had the idea of looking up fanfic challenges, then came across the good old Ultimate Fanfic Challenge of 100 prompts. Unlike My Life Would Suck Without You, Over the Rain is open to any (reasonable) pairings. It's pretty much just a jumble of stories set in the Naruto world. I doubt I'll get around to all 100 prompts but I figured it'd be a fun ride. I don't have time to write much these days so I'm hoping I can just whip up a short drabble whenever I've got a few moments. Reckon I'll be more active that way?
So here's the first one. I'll be doing the prompts out of order but it's always good to start with a beginning, right? I'll post up a reference table of the prompts on my writing blog (link is in my profile) after Over the Rain is up and running so it's easier to see which ones I've done. If this project gets on its feet, we could probably have some fun with requests - but that's further down the road.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Beginnings
He had always had the impression that a writer's debut would become their most renowned work. Never mind that his didn't make the bestselling list that month, year or decade, its only public feature was in a small space in an unremarkable magazine, overshadowed by cooking recipes written by a grandmother twice his age. It was quite a crushing failure, but even as Jiraiya sank deeper into the cold, murky tide, with the silhouettes and ghosts of the boy who had inspired The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi dancing in the fading light, he didn't stop believing that it was his best.
"I really liked it."
"R-Really now?"
"Yup. The protagonist is just like you."
"Ah Minato, that's not much of a compliment seeing as it didn't sell at all…"
"Don't say that. We want our child to grow up to become just like the shinobi in your book – one that never gives up. That's why we've decided to name him after the main character. What do you think, Sensei?"
"Eh? Wait a sec! It's just a random name I came up with when I was eating ramen. Are you sure you don't want to think it over?"
"Absolutely. Kushina loves it. Don't you, honey?"
"Yes, it's a beautiful name. And for the last time, Minato, if you're going to call me something so embarrassingly sweet, I'd prefer Tomato. Honestly!"
"You cook very sweet tomatoes, honey…"
Naruto.
Jiraiya closed his eyes with a smile. No, nothing that had helped raise something so brilliant could be a failure.
The frog at the bottom of the well drifts off into the great ocean... There. The epilogue was done. It was a good ending. The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya was complete. Now all that was left was to start on his next book. It was always safe to begin with a title. What would he call it?
Let's see… ah. Got it.
The Tale of Uzumaki Naruto.
