Man of Storms
A/N: Started and stopped so many times. Also, ever since it was revealed Rin's last name is 'Nohara', I've been pretty…let's say…intrigued by that. Anybody who follows me prolly knows why.
Rated: For some language—no mature scenes or anything.
Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto! Thanks ff dot net.
Genre: Mindfunk involving those crazy crack theories of the Hatake clan. Enjoy, DIN. I really didn't mean to go this far, but…shut up Caliko, the story is starting…
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Jiraiya was singing.
It wasn't the type of sound that was pleasant in any sort of way. In fact, it was hurting the young girl's ears as she walked down the sidewalk slowly. She turned and stepped onto the dirt road to avoid his path as he brought his song out onto the pavement for all the world to hear. He did not see her—or if he had, he was not paying any mind. His long white ponytail in back was circling the cosmos behind him as his head swirled in a happy maelstrom, shouting the gleeful noise of nouns and non-matching verbs in a slur Lady Tsunade would be proud of. Rin watched him, swinging from left to right on the walk from the odenya he had just exited. His backpacks were loose and moving with him in a crazy, quirky beat. His entire form was in motion and smelling like that of deep-fried food. The big blotches on the front of his attire were from sake. Eventually, he would fade away into darkness from the overhead street lamp near the little establishment. Then Rin noticed something falling out of his back sling. Master Jiraiya did not even feel it. He continued on, rambling, singing, and dancing hap-hazardly, in the moonlight.
When he was out of sight, Rin came back onto the pavement and picked up the item. It was a writer's notebook. The pen had also come out with it. She picked that up too. And strangely, both items smelled like they had emerged from a swamp somewhere in Kusa. The smell was faint but a very wretched one. The young girl held them at arm's length by her side and she returned home to her room. It was there, alone, she laid the items on the floor near her desk and opened the book to the first page that had been blessed with black ink.
Because really. Who can resist?
Rin kicked her feet up behind her and intertwined them comfortably in the air, reading the first line;
Surrounded by the high and spiraling flames, the man stood in the circle, determined. Sweat poured off his face as he heard his opponent continue to mock him, continue to threaten him with oblivion. That shadowy figure remained just out of reach, and our hero, steadfast, called on the storm like at no other time in his life. With every ounce of remaining strength and desperation, his hand reached for the stars, calling the clouds instead, knitting them together with every ounce of life energy. "…What's this?" the enemy exclaimed. Our hero, the one standing there firm in the crushing heat suddenly held the shining blade high in the air with the other hand. Lightning crashed down. Thick enough to crush any man to dust. Loud enough to seal him away, into hell, where fires such as that never die.
The man of storms, depleted of energy, fell lightly to the ground on his knees, as if angels riding that bolt had come briefly for that purpose. Thick plumes of smoke continued vacating the scene, and they returned upward to the stars. His eyes closed, slowly, watching the beleaguered orange glow fade and dimmer to thin strands of grey, like a tail, leaving this earth forever. Finally. Upon his cracked lips he felt rain drops begin to soothe his pain and melt the embers before he succumbed to the blackness of space in his heart and consciousness.
It continued on the next page.
We found him as such before dawn, when the rest of us returned. My gift of mind learned his final battle just as I laid my hand on his back. The light touch was static, and it was relief: he was still alive!
We rejoiced…
There was a space of a few pages before ink appeared again;
A hero, he was. Again and again, performing miracles of rare invention and bravery. Eventually, he tried to settle down in his dearest comforts outside the busy city, in the cradle of the wheat field on his land…But even there, he could hear the cries of anguish and starvation in the night. So he would rise again to fight another battle. Again and again; he did so until the day he died…
It happened one night, near the camp of the enemy…
The rest of the page was blank. Rin searched the next few pages, but found nothing. Then, towards the back, another long passage had been written,
The man of storms began the journey once more. He had no one by his side but his faithful companion, the dog. The canine hopped and trotted happily in a zig-zag motion, flashing white fangs in a healthy grin, reminiscent of his master. Called by his leader, the man of storms was on a light colored road of shade and sun. Tree leaves danced along the path in a special motion, echoing a familiar dance and tune. The man of storms understood the language. For he had once asked. It was—
Rin jumped as a small bird pecked at her window.
It did so deliberately, making itself known as a carrier pigeon. The bird's neck wobbled back and forth in the fashion of the dog's path she was just reading about and the girl opened the window silently, and read the note:
Rin, secret mission begins in half an hour. Bring your ninja gear. Don't be late.
Pursing her lips before frowning a little, she dusted off her clothes and lifted her high socks. She hadn't changed into her robe yet anyway. The wobbly bird flew off finally after seizing a bug on the pane and Rin corralled her gear near the desk. The girl combed her hair and calmly attended to the notebook and pen last. Rin gathered each and put them on her desk, in plain view. After all, it was an honest mistake and it was going to be an honest return. Then, she washed her hands thoroughly and decided to spray a little refresher on her face to make sure the smell had gone. She also sprayed it on the notebook, and grinned at the idea of spilling some pink glitter over top of it too. After all, a young, silly girl had found it and took it to a young, silly girl's room where such stuff often was found.
But she decided against it, and let it sit there.
She hopped out the window silently, conscious of the other people all asleep in the complex. They valued rest greatly, and she made efforts never to cause trouble. The young girl came to the designated area where her team always met and grinned as she saw the outline of another silver-haired ninja. A young one. Except he was already chuunin. "Oh, hi Rin," he said as if he were repeating a telephone number.
"Hi, Kakashi-kun," she nodded, smiling at him warmly. His eyes however drifted off in the dark horizon, scanning for movement. He was wearing his mask, but she could still hear him stifling a yawn. He soon stretched his arms behind his head and then his legs on the lawn, bouncing his weight and ready to sprint off in any direction as soon as…
"Hi Sensei," Rin acknowledged. Her sensei grinned and smiled, "Hi everyone. I guess we're just waiting on…"
"Don't say his name, sensei."
"Kakashi-kun…that's not very polite."
The young man shrugged.
Rin smiled between the two.
Eventually Obito did come, along with, "Sorry—you will never guess who was out late tonight, doing late-night shopping at one of those late-night shopping shops, it was—"
"Sensei, what's the mission?" Kakashi interrupted.
"Well, everyone, it's—"
He did not get the chance to finish, for another person joined their group, waltzing in from the shadows he had previously disappeared into, bringing with him the heavy scent of deep-fried food and the sight of sake painted on his robe. Only Rin was alarmed. She concealed it however, as master Jiraiya weaved in between the group of kids, swinging around Kakashi quickly and literally stumbling up to Minato, "Zere you are my student!" Jiraiya grinned, resting an arm on Minato's shoulder like a coat rack. "Beautizfel night, iddn't it?"
"Sensei…what…This isn't the time for…Sensei, we have a mission."
Jiraiya pulled back grandly, "Az mission!" He leaned back over on his student. Minato flinched and Obito waved his fingers back and forth in front of his nose, biting back a grin. Kakashi looked absolutely horrified, and Rin noticed her silver-haired teammate stepping backward, giving the illusion of Obito being in front. Rin thought the maneuver was a very unnatural and a very curious one. Jiraiya continued, "I 'ave a mission for you!" he said, giggling at length before he calmed down. Then he looked around pretentiously. He whispered something in his student's ear.
Minato deadpanned, "Jiraiya-sensei, we really don't have time for—"
"AH, but it's…" Jiraiya added some adjectives, inaudible to Minato's team.
Minato sighed.
Jiraiya nodded absently, his legs shifting weight repeatedly as he chuckled again.
"Sensei, I can't really leave them…"
"Ats okay! You don't 'ave to! I'll just take one of um wid me! Surely you don't need all of zeese fine young…Holy shit, I didn't know she had a twin…!" Jiraiya's gaze focused on Rin, being the closest of course, and the girl concealed even more apprehension. "Zey look so alike, Jesus! They're identical!"
"Yes…Rin's sister…Din," Minato supplied, offering an embarrassed, apologetic look to the young medic-in training.
"I'll take her, 'zen."
"But she—"
"It'll only be a while…" Jiraiya chuckled. He stumbled off of Minato, obviously looking at the wrong girl as he petted air. "Come!" he said. "I need to find nomething. I pay time and a halfz!" and then proceeded to laugh riotously.
Rin looked at her sensei quickly with as much quiet pleading in her eyes as she could. But Minato-sensei shrugged. Clearly, he wasn't about to help her out, or understand the nature of her unease. So, Rin nodded slightly. She followed the sage uncomfortably, dutifully, all the way back to the little odenya he had exited. "Atz where I waz," he nodded. "An' I dalmost wud home tefore I knew I'd zlost zomething."
"…What was it?" Din ventured.
Jiraiya lowered his voice confidentshully, "Az notebook. Andz my penz, too."
"…Oh," said Rin quietly.
"I booked, but I can't find it."
"…Oh," she said again, debating. He was still incredibly drunk. But she didn't know if it was the kind where she should or should not say anything. True she was going to be honest about it, but she hadn't planned on him noticing it right away for God's sake. And two, she wasn't done reading the damn thing.
"So?" Jiraiya wobbled, looking at the girl(s). He was beginning to make an effort to count them again when Rin spoke up softly, "Well…Jiraiya-sama…I think…I might know where it is."
"Youz dooo?!"
She nodded meekly. "I…found it."
Master Jiraiya became sober in the span of two seconds.
His brow lowered, and his eyes darkened like night, just like Kakashi's often did in front of an adversary. "Oh…" he said slowly. "Which one of you?"
"I found it," Rin said. "Nohara, Rin."
Suddenly Jiraiya grabbed her by her collar, "NEVER ZAY THAT NAME GIRL!"
He let go all of a sudden, shocked he had done so. "I'm very sorry…" he mumbled, scratching the back of his head carelessly, "I ferget…you're not him either…"
Rin blinked.
She showed him the way to her apartment house. "South-side…" she mentioned. And master Jiraiya soon disappeared.
He reappeared at her window. She opened it at once. The notebook was there in plain view, a light scent of lavender overtop a Kusa jungle. Jiraiya entered inside, and looked at it for a while. "Youz didn't tull me you found two."
"There's only one, there, sir."
"Oh…Ohh…right. Right. I ferget I'm drunk…Zo…how many of there are you?"
"One."
"Right."
All of a sudden, Rin felt sorry for him.
Jiraiya looked down at her. "Youz must forget zis ebber happened. Do you underdand?"
She nodded. "Yes sir, I do."
"Zo…'Dow much do you want?"
"…What?"
"How much doz you want?"
"For…what?"
"For this!" he pointed to the notebook. "For your zilence!"
"Um…"
"Don't tell me Minazo hasn't taught you all 'ow to bargain yet…" Her uneasy silence informed him. Jiraiya made a noise, cursing his student. The tall sage was silent for a while, looking at the faded cover of his thoughts. "Rin…right?"
"Yes sir."
"You have no idea who you are."
Rin's face paled in shock and question.
"But you know, now…who I am?"
At first she was about to shake her head, until she realized the importance of the piece. "I know…you knew…" Jiraiya raised his hand not to say the name. Rin stopped. No one ever spoke the name of Hatake Sakumo anymore, Kakashi's genius, powerful father. No one at all. The White…Fang…Then all of a sudden like a bolt of white lightning from the man of storms himself, she blinked her eyes twice, "You…You are…?"
He didn't have to say his last name. He head simply inclined forward, in the fashion of a grieving younger brother. The tall, powerful sage was still. The white and wild mane of his silhouetted in the moonlight was like a crown, hinting his lineage better than any insignia.
Rin processed the information in a trembling silence.
"Kakashi and I do not speak," stated Jiraiya quietly. "And for your szilence, you fust—I mean must promize me you will never tell. Zo how much do you want?"
"Well…" she had to ask for something. She knew now it was the only way he'd leave. "…Advance copies of all your books?"
After a second, he chuckled. It was not the endless, shit-faced laughter in front of Minato-sensei. It was a soft, deep, low laugh like he'd give another member of the sannin. "You're a tuff zell."
Rin held her ground, exchanging glances with him.
"Rezmember our deal," he said finally, and left with his book and pen. His trip out the window however sounded like an anvil hitting the ground. He groaned in pain, and Rin was even prepared to render medical aid, but he soon disappeared again. The young girl flinched as she saw lights flickering on in the other rooms. She closed her window at once and vanished quickly too.
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She rejoined her team.
She viewed Kakashi a little differently.
In return, Kakashi seemed to keep an eye on her too. It was not the look she wanted: sweet, vulnerable, and willing to go out on a date with her. It was one of suspicion, with a twinge of guilt and embarrassment that soon led his gaze toward the enemies they encountered. At which point, the look turned dark within a matter of minutes, menacing and black…just like his sage uncle. Cold and alone.
The only thing now she didn't understand was…herself.
Her surname provoked sudden volatile madness in the sage, had he not checked himself. "I forget…you're not him, either," he'd told her.
Rin shuddered to think.
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It wasn't until a year later, shortly before Minato became hokage that she began to understand when she read with curiosity, Jiraiya's latest tale. The preface even read, 'for Din'. The tale was once again about the man of storms, using a fake name to reach into a dark place in a dark town hell bent on destroying him. The man of storms met a woman there. And though the man of storms was totally unlike Jiraiya in the sage's usual colorful novels of mischief, Rin had to wonder at all the subtle hinting.
She got up when she was through. For she read the entire thing in one sitting. It must have been one of his best page-turners. The young girl once again left her apartment without a sound, and this time, walked toward a training field in the dark.
She sometimes went there just to look at the stars, for it was nearly the only place in town besides the hokage tower with an adequate stargazing view. But just as Rin arrived, she felt her feet ache in the direction of the little odenya. Even though she seemed to know the answer now, as to who she was, she still felt an odd desire to see the sage. If only that establishment were open to minors… If only Jiraiya could just come…somehow…
Well.
Like a flash of lightning, she turned behind one of the training stumps, and then peeked out when she felt something strange: it was Jiraiya, taking a midnight stroll through his old stomping grounds. He had all his gear on his back as if he were returning from another mission. His wild white hair glowed at the edges in the night and the tallest of the sannin noticed her. A chunnin would have had the same luck. Rin showed herself formerly. The two met on the sod.
"Jiraiya…sama…" she greeted quietly. She didn't know what to expect from the sage, but he appeared calm, and most of all, sober. "…Thank you," she spoke up again, with as much impulse as her first greeting.
He acknowledged her, towering over her with so much age and experience in his eyes, trimmed with tears of red.
She looked down, smiling, "Thank you…now I know…who I am."
Jiraiya waved his hand, relieving her of her comment and the thought. "So did you like the book?" He was obviously fishing for a much broader compliment. He was a writer, after all.
Rin looked up. "Enormously so."
Jiraiya seemed to accept the answer with a slight nod. Rin could see Kakashi in his eyes, so clear tonight and sad. She understood the feeling of emptiness as well. It reflected in her eyes just as much.
And then the sage turned and disappeared…almost, for an instant…just like
…a brilliant flash of white light.
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-Kariko Emma, Caliko