Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.
Summary: Chloe Sullivan wakes up after the events of S06E22 "Phantom" to find herself a newborn babe in the Naruto universe, memories distorted. Eventual Rinnegan!Chloe. No pairings.
A/N: I couldn't think of a proper title for the fic, so if anyone has an idea feel free to PM it or leave it in a review. :)
Chapter one:
She had been in the dark for so long. Her last memory had her crying over the bleeding form of her cousin, white glow enveloping the tall brunette and the world slowly blurring, slipping away into a colourless void.
And then she was awake, and it hurt! Raw hate and anger filling all of her senses, malicious energy washing over her in a sea of red, screams surrounding her tiny form (Why was she so tiny?) and leaving her frozen, unable to even scream in the face of such monstrous power.
Warm hands lifted her, wind whipping about as she was carried, blurred eyes taking in the determined visage of a handsome blonde man, piercing blue eyes set on the distance. They stopped and she felt other hands lift her, foreign words washing over her as he turned, running back in the previous direction.
Long black hair flitted about the edge of her vision, soft brown-black eyes looking down at her as the woman (Japanese?) gently rocked her. Even with the fear that her helplessness and the malevolent energy was giving, she still found herself drifting off, the world blackening around her.
("Who is that?") The voice swam on the edge of her consciousness, foreign yet still somehow familiar.
("I don't know, the Fourth gave it to me before he went to...")
Silence, and then; ("I see, then the ni..-.") Finally she lost the fight, her senses losing any cohesion.
"NARUTO!" She was jolted from her thoughts on the past by the loud voice, a pineapple-haired man in a flak jacket dashing past the window following a group of similarly dressed individuals. She couldn't hold her smile back as they vanished around the corner, a section of the fence crinkling and dropping to the floor to reveal a grinning blonde, Caucasian features twisted into a fox-like grin. "MN!" He stuck out his tongue childishly, looking in the direction the people had left.
Biting her lower lip, Chloe watched as the person that had been following dropped from the roof above, hands on his hips as he glared at the smaller figure. "NARUTO!" He yelled louder than before, startling the blonde into dropping the bucket of paint he held.
"Gah, Iruka-Sensei!" He started, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I-!"
"What do you think you're doing?" The brunet queried, eye twitching in irritation, though she spotted the edge of his lips struggling to stay firm.
"Yuu," A voice started to her right, and she scowled, turning from the scene to face the figure. "What are you doing here?"
She huffed, refusing to admit the childishness of the action as she did so. "My name is Chloe." She spoke stubbornly.
Chuckling at her obstinate behaviour, the black-haired woman that had addressed her patted her blonde locks, earning a deeper scowl. "Chloe, then. Shouldn't you be getting ready?" She humoured, giving her a look.
"I'm ready! I shouldn't have to go, though. I'm smarter than the other kids." She didn't mean to sound like she was bragging, but the words needed to be said. "I mean, come on; Maths? Languages? I already know them!"
"You may miss an art session, or even sparring." The woman smiled gently, hands folding into the sleeves of her tailored kimono. Despite preferring to write her own way, Chloe couldn't deny being enamoured with both seals and the martial arts. (Though when it came to hand-to-hand, she was still barely in the middle of the class.)
Although her adopted "parents" were just merchants, they were still well off enough that they could afford such luxuries as fine tailoring and exotic foods. Thankfully, however, they hadn't let this affect their behaviour, and both were kind and good people.
Looking over the younger girl's shoulder, the woman's smile dropped slightly as she saw the blonde youth outside being dragged away by his teacher, protesting all the way. "I hope you haven't been hanging around with that Uzumaki boy again." she pressed, narrowing her eyes.
Chloe grinned with insubordination, green eyes sparking. "Of course!"
Sighing, the older woman shook her head bemusedly. "What am I going to do with you...? Don't you want the other children to like you?"
"No!" She huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "They're all loud and annoying. I'd rather read or write."
Her "Mother" shook her head in exasperation. "What am I going to do with you?" She repeated resignedly.
"Let me stay home?" She asked hopefully.
Giving her a return of her previous look, Chloe found herself quickly being ushered out the door. "Come on!" She whined, nonetheless throwing her backpack over her shoulder and turning in the direction of the academy.
She looked around the village as she walked, taking in the surrounding buildings and people milling about, everyday life as ordinary. She preferred waiting to leave because it meant that if she slowed her pace just a little bit, wandering down the specific route she was at present, then sometimes...
She pouted at the silence, a little put out as her entertainment didn't come along as they sometimes did. Maybe they were out on a miss- "STOKE YOUR BURNING FLAMES OF YOUTH! COME ON LEE, IF YOU CANNOT DO THIS THEN I SHALL RUN AROUND THE VILLAGE 10 TIMES ON MY HANDS!"
"GAI-SENSEI!" Another voice returned with just as much enthusiasm, joy evident in his tone. "IF YOU CANNOT DO THAT, THEN I-" "Hi!" She chirped, quickly waving to get their attention as they nearly ran past.
Drawn out of their imminent scene, two green-clad figures turned to her, grins blinding. "Good morning young lady!" The taller of the two boomed, slightly quieter as he noticed the looks he had drawn. most not amused by their vibrant display. "How are you this fine morning?"
"Great, how about you Gai, Lee?" She asked both at once, smiling fondly.
"I am fantastic this morning Chloe-San!" Lee replied respectfully, pumping his fist and stretching in preparation for his standard team run.
"As am I!" Gai beamed, giving her an eccentric thumbs-up.
"That's... Good." She finally decided on her word of choice. Though she was fond of the two of them she couldn't help being a little uncertain on how to respond whenever they spoke to her. "So what lap are you on now?" She queried in morbid fascination, unable to deny her curiosity.
"We are on our seventh! Perhaps you would care to join us on our youthful run!?" Gai said spiritedly, friendly visage grinning down at the petite girl.
"No thanks." She denied, flinching. Somehow the Jounin had discovered that Chloe had a bloodline that actively healed any damage to her body, and as such took every opportunity to invite her to improve her physical condition and Taijutsu. "Thanks for the offer, though."
Lee happily grinned in the same manner of his mentor, mimicking his earlier gesture of a thumbs up. "If you are sure of this Chloe-San!"
"Yeah." She quickly nodded, biting her lower lip to hold back the giggle that threatened to escape at his puppy-dog expression. "I've gotta get to the Genin exam." She offered as an excuse.
"Yosh, very well then!" Gai nodded seriously. "Lee, we must run enough to cover both our own laps and Yuu-Chloe's for good luck!" He proclaimed.
She snickered at the declaration; For some reason Gai was utterly terrible with names, unable to differentiate between nicknames, last names and real names.
"Ho!" He heaved, spinning and turning to sprint down the street, and much to her amusement and the onlookers horror, Lee repeated the gesture and followed.
As she continued on her way she vaguely heard someone mutter; "Oh god, there's two of them."
"Atsuko, Sakuya!" Iruka declared, calling up a tall girl with strange red-brown hair. "Perform the Transformation technique please Sakuya-San." He urged, pen at the ready.
Chloe turned her attention to the surrounding people, watching everyone from the indifferent Sasuke Uchiha, to the plain lazy Nara Shikamaru, all the way down to Naruto and Ami, both on opposite ends of the spectrum yet acting so alike.
"Yuuka, Sullivan." He stumbled slightly on the unfamiliar last name, drawing her attention.
"Sullivan", a strange name to choose, but as soon as it had been discovered that she had a bloodline (One never documented in the history of Konohagakure.) they had asked her of her clan's name. Despite not knowing her actual clan for some reason the 'name' had just stood out.
The blonde stepped into position, stance firm and hands pressed into the 'Ram' sign and channelling her chakra. "Transformation technique!" She intoned.
In her place there now stood an exact duplicate of Mizuki, slightly easier to transform into due to both his lighter colouring and wilder hair.
"Very good!" Iruka praised, smiling lightly. "Next, the clone technique."
She grimaced as she always did when she performed the technique, though she was unable to say why. "Clone technique!" She intoned in Mizuki's voice, knowing that detail was key.
Three Mizuki's stood on the podium, stance exactly the same.
"Great, and finally, the replacement technique." He gestured towards a log sitting off to the side of the room.
She didn't speak the words or perform the sign this time, her appreciation of the technique having led to master it as best as was possible; One of the only things other than her love of seals, higher than average chakra levels and bloodline that set her apart from her classmates.
"Excellent!" Iruka grinned proudly. "Here's your forehead protector, I hope you make Konoha proud graduate." He handed her the metal protector emblazoned cloth and, as she had requested, it was dark blue and wrapped in such a way that she could fit it around her wrist as felt right.
She smiled and released her techniques, cheerily bounding over and grabbing the improvised hitai-ate and grabbing it. Scant few of them had been modified in such a way, however she could see a chain on one that would allow the wearer to do so around their neck, and another fitted onto a curved piece of metal slimmer and less protective in comparison to her own.
The village had been alight for much of the night, the ninja occupants speeding from rooftop to rooftop, scouring the alleyways and searching suspicious places with a hurried frenzy that could only mean something bad had happened.
She'd hardly noticed it as she celebrated last night, nonetheless practising her penmanship and drills as always. Now, however, it was easy to see; Some of the people that lived nearer the centre of the village looked exhausted, and when Iruka came in he was unable to completely hide the wince that came as he took a seat.
As he called out their last name-call she mulled over whether to ask where Mizuki-Sensei was, but the decision was quickly taken out of her hands by one of the louder kids in the class, a shaggy-haired boy named "Kiba" with red marks on his cheeks that signalled his being a member of the main Inuzuka household; He walked around with a cute little white dog tucked into his hood. Where ever he went "Akamaru" went with him. "Iruka-Sensei, where's Mizuki-Sensei?" He near-demanded, gruff as always yet tone still both cheerful and friendly. Apparently the Inuzuka clan were infamous for their boldness.
"Unfortunately Mizuki was unable to make it today, as he was injured during last nights proceedings. Team one-" He moved on before Kiba could continue his line of inquiry, but Chloe caught his momentary hesitation and narrowed her eyes at him, taking in the way he shifted uncomfortably as his jacket pressed against him. Every lie was better made when told with a grain of truth.
She couldn't remember where she had heard that, but somehow she knew that it applied here.
"-Team six," Chloe jolted, thinking. Weren't Team six still in rotation? "Due to an injury on their squad Haruno Sakura shall take the place of their previous member." She winced at this, wondering what kind of injury was so severe that they would have to replace him/her. It was times like these that everyone was reminded that they lived in a ninja village, where death could be an everyday occurrence; The only time you were replaced in squad was when the wound was either fatal or crippled your career. "Team seven, Sullivan Yuuka," Chloe. She thought with a grimace. "Uchiha, Sasuke and Uzumaki, Naruto." He finished the team assignment, continuing on to announce the next Ino-Shika-Cho trio even as she received glares from the rest of the clueless fangirls.
"Clueless" because any of the girls with half a brain knew that she didn't 'like' Sasuke, meaning that it was mostly just specific stupid individuals glaring at her.
She wryly noted that both Sakura and Ino, alike in many ways, seemed to be making plans to have her introduce them to Sasuke already; With her chakra control Sakura was excellent at imbuing seals exactly, and Ino owned the local flower store, many of the chemicals excellent for use with both certain seals and poisons.
While seals was an exact and little-known art the combat and stealth uses were a lot less demanding than true arts. In fact there were six levels to it.
Level one; Combat. It was easy to store a kunai in a scroll, and just as easy to later release it, it was all in the wrist. A lot of Genin used this. Most ninja did, in fact.
Level two; Sabotage. Placing a scroll underground or in vents and releasing specific chemicals could break up the earth or allow poisons to spread, among other things.
Level three; Stealth. Everything from allowing yourself to be summoned or stored via scroll all the way to time/proximity/remote release smoke and flash bombs, and more.
Level four; Augmentation. Storing fire on or in a blade to be released when swung at a certain angle, imbuing electricity into a metal and allowing your weapon to shock others, and more. Supposedly the seven swords of Kiri were among the greatest achievements of this art, surpassing even Konoha's legendary weapons.
Level five; Creation. Using seals to create effects from themselves. Most people assumed that this was the base of seals because of the explosive tags, but they didn't realize the sheer precision and forethought required to create such a thing. To date she had only managed to create two basic explosive tags; It was why every ninja didn't just become a walking armament. That and the chakra requirements.
Level six; Alteration. Everything from skin seals to transmogrification. According to an old scroll she'd read only a "sage" or equivalent could utilize this in proper function and even then it was risky.
Chloe was drawn from her musings by a grunt, and turning she noticed that while she had been reviewing the teams had been read off and left. Only her, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura remained.
"Ah," Before she could speak a man with rugged features and a harsh scar curling around his neckline opened the door, calling Sakura over.
"Bye Sakura-Chan!" Naruto waved, eyes wide and face seemingly fixed in it's permanent friendly expression.
"See ya." Chloe said with a little less fanfare, watching the girl hesitantly follow, sending them a small smile in return before she went. "So, Sasuke. How's it going?"
The reason she asked was because, surprisingly, the Uchiha was actually interested in Fuinjutsu.
The brooding youth reached into his pocket, withdrawing one of his own works. Sasuke focused on the destructive capabilities of seals, mostly in conjecture with steel wire, shuriken and fire techniques. (The few he knew.)
She looked over his work with a keen eye, frowning slightly at some of the calculations. "Not bad." She spoke after a moment to the seemingly uncaring teen, rubbing her chin. "But an odd-numbered seal can't be placed over an even; It won't improve the destructive capabilities, it'll just fizzle out." 'If you're lucky.' She left that part unspoken.
"Hn." He acknowledged.
"But if you could find a wind-user to channel some elemental chakra into it then you could cause some serious damage. Here." She carefully channelled chakra into her index finger, lightly carving a series of symbols and handing it back.
"How'd you do that!?" Naruto jumped over, startling her. "The finger thing!" He pressed at her befuddled reaction. "C'mon, you gotta teach me!" He pleaded.
The blonde didn't notice the Uchiha scion's own mild interest, watching the hyperactive blonde. "Alright." She shrugged. "What you have to do is channel chakra into your index finger; Feel it flow from your core into your hand and then disperse it and press it through a single finger." She instructed.
He followed her instructions, and to her side so did Sasuke. After a moment of watching the other blonde look constipated she chuckled and shook her head. "If you can't get that try expanding the area."
"Wha?" He spoke eloquently, flummoxed.
"Use more than one finger, maybe use three or four to do it." She suggested. "You can do it through your palm as well, but that's... Risky. No nail to act as a conduit. When you get it down you can actually use the tip of your finger."
Kakashi Hatake walked in to find both male students sitting in front of the female member, watching as she carved a series of symbols with the finger-carving seal method and then, surprisingly, repeat the method. 'Interesting.'
"My first impression of you is..." He trailed off and allowed the three teens to jump, wide-eyed as he announced himself. "Interesting." He voiced his thoughts. "Meet me on the roof ASAP."
"Team seven, Sasuke Uchiha..." The silver-haired man started, staring at the three and going along. "...Naruto Uzumaki..." He added, turning as he did so. "...And Yuuka Sullivan. Why don't you introduce yourselves?" He urged.
The three looked at one another, though in Sasuke's case it was more a minor incline of his head. "Why don't you lead by example, Sensei?" Chloe spoke for the trio, raising an eyebrow.
"Hm. Alright." He said non-committally. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like things, and I guess I dislike things as well." He shrugged. "My dream... Hm, I don't think you're old enough for that. Your turn."
They blinked, though Chloe narrowed her eyes as the cycloptic ninja's own sparkled mischievously. 'All we got was his name...' Unknown to her, the thought was mirrored by her two team-mates.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, awesome jutsu, Sakura-Chan, and I guess... Yuuka-Chan?" He almost seemed to be asking for permission at that, turning to the girl as he did so. Thankfully she realized that the over-familiarity was just a result of his upbringing, and she'd never really been one for honourifics anyway.
She gave a small smile and his face lit up with glee. "I dislike the three minutes it takes to make ramen, people judging me and Sasuke!" He growled, though she could tell that he didn't mean the last part by the lack of true vitrol in his words. "Oh, and I like Iruka-Sensei!" He added, adjusting his headband. "My dream... I'm gonna be the next Hokage!" He declared determinedly, thrusting out a fist at his proclamation.
"Alright." Kakashi didn't respond to the statement, turning from Chloe to Sasuke and then back. "How about... You." He inclined his head at her, getting a half-hearted shrug in return.
"My name is Chloe Sullivan," She said pointedly, his only response a crinkled eye that somehow conveyed his amusement. 'Bastard.' I like seals, writing, increasing my chakra levels and control, dango and coffee. I dislike tea and cabbage and people who try to judge me by my bloodline limit or being adopted." Kakashi nodded at this.
In a clan oriented place like Konoha this was an actual concern. In fact the only reason marriages to integrate bloodlines were not allowed was because of seal practices like the Hyuuga's, blood conflict like that of the Uchiha, Hyuuga and Inuzuka and missing-nin. (There were even rumours that arranged marriages were the reason why the Yakumo clan women started to grow increasingly volatile and unstable.) Even so, there were reserves of blood hidden and stored in a secret location within Konoha known only by the Hokage just in case.
The main reason behind Yuuka's (Chloe's, he corrected.) outcast status wasn't because of her blood status, but because it wasn't actually her blood that allowed her this... Ability, rather a strange green substance that seemed to litter her major organs and veins, as well as factors that even the best of their minds couldn't discover.
"My dream... I guess I'd like to be a seal master and a "Sage"." She spoke decisively, causing the tall jounin's eye to widen in surprise.
'A sage? Jiraiya's the only one I've even heard suspected of being a sage, and even then he's more of a hermit...' "Alright then, and broody." He nodded at Sasuke, earning himself a minor glare.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I don't have many likes, and I've got a lot of dislikes, my dream is to restore my clan and... To kill a certain man." The duck-haired youth spoke precisely and to the point.
Chloe raised an eyebrow and despite the seriousness of the statement couldn't hold the small snicker that escaped as Naruto reared back, eyes wide in horror and clearly worried that he was the target. "H-Hey, you know I was just messing around earlier, right Sasuke?" He referenced his introduction. "Old buddy old pal? Hehheh..."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and the entire situation seemed to diffuse. "Well, then." Kakashi clapped his hands together, eye-smiling. "Now that that's over I'll see you tomorrow for your test."
"HEH!? But we already passed our Genin exams, aren't we already ninja!?" Naruto complained, waving wildly.
"No, you've passed the academy's test. If you want to be on my team you'll have to pass my test. And I should inform you that of the Jounin's team testing, only 33% of teams ever succeed. Of the twenty-seven of you only nine will pass." The Jounin revealed ominously. "Oh, and don't eat. You'll just throw up."
'What have we gotten into?' The teens swallowed simultaneously, faces revealing their dread.