LC; This is a new fic!
Naruto; She's calling it Legacy: The Next Generation!
Sasuke; And once again she is tormenting us before getting to the actual fic.
LC; I see nothing illegal about this therefore I do it!
Naruto; So even if it's morally wrong, so long as it's not illegal, you'll do it?
LC; Some illegal stuff to, but only some.
Sasuke; What do you do that's illegal?
LC; For one? I've never carried a house key. I just pick the lock since it's cooler and easier.
Naruto; And another?
LC; I know how to hot wire a car. I know people who sell weed and crack and all that good stuff. In fact I'm smoking a big bag of it as I write this! Everyone reading this knows they want to be me!
Both; That explains her crazy ideas.
LC; Anyway the one illegal thing I really want to do is steal anime but I haven't figured out how to do that yet!
Disclaimer; I do not own anything yet! I still haven't thought of how to steal Naruto from Kishimoto, but just you wait Kishi-kun, I'm coming for you!
Chapter 1; Godchild.
Jiraya didn't know what to feel. His student lie at his feet, cold and dead, holding his new born daughter in his arms with a smile on his face.
The child's cries rang in his ears but he made no move to pick her up. He didn't trust himself to just yet.
"We decided to name you as her godfather." He couldn't leave her alone like this, in the cold and among the bloodshed.
Slowly, almost afraid he'd break her, he picked the red haired child up and cradled her in his arms. She paused in her squalls to inspect this new man and wrinkled her nose in a rather cute manner.
He was hooked.
"Well Nora-chan, we should take you home, shouldn't we?" He asked, tickling the child underneath her skin. As her giggled filled the air he couldn't help but grin back. No need to worry Minato, Kushina, your daughter is in good hands.
"You're going to be quite the looker when you grow up." He predicted, carrying her back to the village and to where his old sensei was waiting for them.
There was no need to delay the inevitable, but he would be damned if he'd let the kid go through it alone. He had made lots of mistakes in his past; he wasn't going to let this be one of them.
"Word got out that Minato had to make a jinchuriki." Sarutobi looked every one of his near seventy years. By all rights he should have retired by now but alas, it was not meant to be.
"Damn, I was hoping we could keep it under wraps." Jiraya cursed, holding the sleeping infant as he spoke with his sensei. This meant all the negative feelings of the villagers would be directed at the little ball of happy in his arms.
"As was I, my student." The Sandaime sighed, straightening his posture. "All I could do was make a law that anyone old enough to remember this would be unable to tell those of the younger generation."
He just knew his student would take the next part hard. He looked somewhat happy holding the infant child.
"Jiraya, the council wanted her death." Seeing his students enraged eyes he quickly continued with damage control. "I managed to make a deal with them."
"What was this deal?" Somehow, Jiraya knew he wasn't going to like it.
"That the child be placed in an orphanage and treated as any other orphan." Hiruzen sighed, watching the horror flicker in his student's eye.
"I'm her godfather I should be allowed to take care of her!" Jiraya shouted. By doing this they were taking away any rights the child had to her clan!
"They do not know of her parentage." Hiruzen informed him. "I thought it best not to tell them lest they take matters into their own hands. As for the deal, this was the best I could do. The council has gotten too strong and gone unchecked for too long now."
Though he still steamed underneath his skin, Jiraya knew that his sensei had done all he could do for Minato and Kushina's daughter.
It would have to do.
"Furthermore Jiraya, I regret informing you but the council decided it would be best for you to leave the village for a time. They claim it is so you can gather more information but somehow I believe it's more likely they don't want you near the child." This was the ultimate blow.
Jiraya could take having the girl live in an orphanage. He could take her being treated like a pariah. However, he had only been mellow with these choices because he had thought he would be there to protect and guide her.
He didn't think he'd get sent away.
Two hours later Jiraya stood in front of an out of the way orphanage with a little bundle of joy in his arms. He thought that made it worse, the fact that the child was smiling and giggling, not knowing the strife she would have to live through.
"Be strong, Nora-chan." He whispered, setting her down on the stoop with a letter on top of the bundle.
He would not return for four years. Four years that Nora would spend trying to survive on her own. Four years to let Nora grow up on her own and hated.
He could only hope the damage could be fixed when he returned. As he faced the Hokage monuments for the last time before leaving the village, he muttered one last thing.
"The things I do for this village."
"Nora Uzumaki get back here!" As things turned out, it wasn't as bad as Jiraya had feared. It was ten times worse for the young now four year old.
She'd grown from the infant left on the orphanage door step. Her red hair was short and cut like a boy's, often confusing the villagers of her true gender.
She wore a black shirt with a red swirl sewn on the back, and a pair of tan shorts. On her head she wore a blue bandana.
As far as Konohagakure knew, the jinchuriki was a) a brat, b) weak, and c) stupid. However, her true identity was d) none of the above.
She'd learned painfully early on that being smarter than the other kids put her directly in the lime light and that was dangerous. She acted weaker so less people would be willing to beat her. She acted dumber so no one would punish her. She didn't like it, but it was essential to her own survival.
Back to her current predicament, Nora was being chased down the busy streets of the village after being kicked out of the orphanage earlier that day.
She didn't understand why she was so hated, but she knew it would be bad if she got caught. She kept running, praying that she could find somewhere to hide for the day. Praying she could survive to see another day.
As she ran, unshed tears blinded her eyes and she bumped into a man. She tried to get up to keep running but the man grabbed her not harshly.
"Hey, it's alright I won't hurt you." It was so unexpected. She almost didn't know what to say.
"You won't?" Jiraya had just returned from his spying mission only to be nearly run over by the bundle of joy he had left alone on the orphanage step.
"No, I won't hurt you." He said slowly, he picked up the four year old as he spoke. Some villagers looked at him strangely but none of them approached them.
He carried her to the hokage tower. It was time he started being the godfather he had promised his student he would be. There were no more excuses.
Half an Hour Later.
"What do you mean I still can't formally adopt her!" Jiraya roared. The entire village heard his anger filled declaration and wondered just who the world's biggest pervert wanted to adopt.
The poor girl would probably end up scarred for life.
Nora stood hidden slightly behind the white haired old man's leg, watching the two argue in steadily quieter voices.
They seemed very angry for some reason. She had a bad feeling that they were angry about her.
"The council doesn't want her adopted by you. Kakashi, Anko, Kurenai, and my own son Asuma have all tried adopting her but they will not allow it." The Sandaime was almost growling in frustration at this point.
Those damned council members always made things difficult for him. He was certain they did it on purpose because they enjoyed his anguish. He would not be surprised.
"I'm her godfather, I should be allowed to!" Jiraya raged against the stupid civilian council. Why those old codgers even had a say about this still confused him but he was never one for politics anyway.
"As I said before they do not know of her heritage." Hiruzen really wished on some days that he could just tell them.
He would love to see the looks on their faces when they realize they had been treating their Yondaime's daughter in such a matter. He would really love that sight.
After another half hour of both of them stewing over the unfairness of the stupid civilians, they made plans to make sure she was properly taken care of.
While she could not be officially adopted, who was to go against a young shinobi to be living with a shinobi?
It was a risk, enrolling her so early. However they also knew it was her only chance at having anything comparable with a normal childhood.
She would move into an apartment where Jiraya would be able to keep an eye on her to be sure she didn't get into trouble. When Jiraya wasn't around, either Kakashi, Asuma, or Kurenai would watch her whenever she was at home.
Anko would watch her whenever she was travelling through the village or training or at the academy.
It was the best they could do.
The start of the new term would be in less than a month and until then Jiraiya had a lot to do for the little sunspot walking next to him.
Really she had to jog to keep up with his longer strides, but he was a big picture man.
The first thing he was getting her was some real clothes, food, then he'd see about an apartment he could rent.
"Come on Nora-chan." He said happily, tugging the girl forward as they reached a shinobi clothes store.
"We're getting you some new clothes." He told her. Judging from her build so far she was pretty thin, he'd have to fatten her up a little.
"Clothes?" Nora repeated. Today was one surprise after another. First she'd been kicked out for knocking over a lamp, which was really Ami, not her, now she was getting new clothes?
"But sir, I don't have money." She tried to protest as they walked through the door.
"I'm paying." He assured her, pulling her towards the child section.
Jiraiya furrowed his brow as he inspected some of the clothes. Most of it was a couple sizes too big for the squirt.
He finally found some shorts and a dark blue shirt he thought might fit her and sent her to the changing room. She came out a minute later and he noticed how much like a boy she looked.
Why was her hair cut like that?
"Nora, I have an idea." He said, gesturing her to come to him. When she did he made her close her eyes before brushing her hair, straightening it out.
It reached her chin, he noticed. It was just long enough. He took a piece of ribbon in his hands, blue ironically, and tied it up into pigtails.
Nora looked in the mirror and gasped. It looked like a totally different person in the reflection. Tentatively, she smiled.
Soon she was giggling to herself, before being tickled mercilessly by the older man and bursting into a fit of laughter.
Jiraiya bought the clothes quickly. The clerk looked like he wanted to argue about selling clothes meant for Nora but didn't.
He didn't want a shinobi like one of the sannin angry at him. Even if the man was being nice to the Kyubi brat.
They left the clothing store and Jiraiya led them to another district. Then he stopped in front of a weapon store.
Nora would need some practice shuriken and kunai, he nodded at his decision before walking inside.
"What can I do for you?" A middle aged man with oil on his hands walked out of the back of the store at the jingle of the bell.
"We're going to need some practice shuriken and kunai." He ordered, gesturing to some pouches.
"A few smoke pellets and a couple pouches too." The man nodded, pausing for a minute when he saw Nora before shrugging his shoulders.
"Why does a little girl like her need weapons like these? Little early for the academy isn't it?" He asked, making light conversation as he gathered the order together.
"Yeah but she's a special case." Jiraiya said. This man's shop was new, meaning he had recently moved in.
That meant the man did not know about the Kyubi. Nora would not be mistreated here.
"Just be careful not to hurt yourself with these, alright?" He joked casually with the red haired girl hidden slightly behind the white haired man's pant leg.
"What's your grandgirl's name?" Jiraiya felt his eye twitch at the old comment but answered anyway.
"Nora Uzumaki." He answered, taking the gear and paying the man.
"See you around, come again!" The call on their shoulders, the two walked out of the store.
"You don't talk much do you?" It was near noon so Jiraiya decided to take the kid out to lunch. He'd gone to his old student's favorite restuarant, Ichiraku Ramen.
It seemed the girl took to ramen like a duck to water.
"Uh, no sir." Nora answered, looking down into her now empty bowl in shame.
"Don't call me that, it makes me feel old!" Jiraiya whined, pouting playfully. This kid was too serious.
"Are you still hungry?" Why did he feel such a chill coming from his wallet all of a sudden?
An hour later Nora was riding piggy back on the sannin as he walked around the apartment district. He hadn't needed an apartment since he made jounin during the second great war.
He had never stayed in the village long enough for it to matter.
If he stayed for a week or more he merely rented a room in a hotel. He couldn't do that now though.
Eventually he found a nice looked place with two bedrooms and one bathroom. The kitchen was already equipped, there was a couch and table in the living room.
Sure it was a little small, but it would be perfect for the little sunspot.
Nora looked around the room that would be hers in a sort of awe. She honestly had never thought to have such a large room all to herself.
At the orphanage she slept in the closet among the mops and brooms.
Sure, there wasn't anything in the room yet, but the man said he'd get her furniture. She felt a little bad though.
He was doing so much for her but she didn't know why. So far if anyone ever did anything for her, they wanted something in exchange. What did this man want?
"Um, excuse me?" She was poking her head around the corner to the kitchen, where the man was inspecting the cooking supplies.
It looked like he was trying to figure out how the oven worked.
"Yeah, what is it Nora-chan?" The man asked kindly, smiling at her.
"Um, not that I'm not grateful, but why are you doing all this for me?" She asked bashfully, afraid he'd be angry with her.
"What do you think I want?" He asked her, kneeling down to her height.
"I-I'm smarter than I look. I can make food like pancakes and eggs. I can work at whatever you want me to, and I swear I won't complain." He stopped her.
"I don't want or need anything from you." He said softly, drawing the girl into her first hug.
"Believe it or not, I owe you too much to ever want anything from you. All I want is for you to be happy kid." Nora could feel the prickling sensation that meant she was about to cry but held them back.
The man probably didn't want a cry baby.
"I know you've had a rough life so far, and I want to change that. I want to be able to see you do the things you want to do. I want to see you playing and laughing with your friends some day." No one had ever said such nice things to her before.
Nora bowed her head into his shoulder but didn't cry. She wasn't a crybaby!
"Someday I'll tell you why I want your happiness more than anything. I'll tell you about how your mother would kill all those fools who looked at you funny. I'll tell how your father would make cooing sounds while your mother was pregnant with you." He could feel his own throat choke up but kept on.
There were things that needed to be said.
"One day I'll tell you about how much they loved you and this village." He paused, feeling a dampness on his shoulder.
"Until that day though, I'll just try to love you enough for both of them." The flood gates opened and all other emotions were swept away with the tide.
Jiraiya's heart along with them.
A week passed and finally their new house began feeling like a home. It was late, and Jiraiya was standing in Nora's doorway, just watching her sleep.
She was clutching the doll he'd gotten her as a present. It had been a surprise to go with her new bed.
"Minato, Kushina, your little girl is strong." He said quietly, almost afraid to wake her.
"She's small for her age, and horribly thin. She's been starved. Though she doesn't have a single scar, she's beaten more times than she knows to count." Here he clenched his fists on the doorframe, leaving nail marks.
"She knows how to read and write though, she taught herself." He had been so surprised when he caught her writing her name in the dirt.
She had spelled Uzumaki wrong though.
"She has Kushina's hair, but your eyes Minato. She has three whisker like marks on each cheek. I wonder if that's the sign of a jinchuriki." He paused, thinking back.
"I don't think it is. Kushina, you didn't have those." He smiled, thinking of how alike the redheads were.
"She's a perfect mixture of both of you. Independent, loud once she gets used to you, and she's friendly." She made a friend earlier that same day.
"I think she even has a crush on a boy. He seems like a good kid, but don't worry. I'll take care of your little girl." He smiled, remembering seeing the two play together.
"She swears by ramen, you'd be proud of how she beat your record Minato." He chuckled lightly, remembering the face on Tsuichi when he changed the pictures.
"She learns fast and can already throw a kunai straight. Though she still misses the target." He watched her yawn in her sleep and roll over, still clutching the blue haired doll.
"Her favorite color is blue, and she likes to sing. She made up a little song earlier today." He remembered clapping and shouting for an encore.
"You'd both be so proud of your little girl." And watching her sleep tonight, Jiraiya knew he was too.
THE END OF THE FIRST CHAPTER SO GO AWAY UNTIL NEXT TIME PLEASE!
LC; Okay, now that was sweet.
Naruto; Geez, your going to make me choke on the fluff.
Sasuke; I feel ill.
LC; BE QUIET! I think it's cute!