Author's Forward: You don't usually find these at the beginning, but I wanted to give readers a chance to skip over the story if it isn't their thing. This is an alternate universe, as though you couldn't guess that already. As such, differences from the canon Naruto are to be expected. Since I prefer to use the original artist's vision of a world, this will be based more on the manga than the anime. It's also a lot easier to re-read a volume in the manga to refresh your memory than it is to watch several episodes to see an entire fight.
I haven't read the first volume in a while so I'm not sure I remember correctly, but I believe Naruto and his class became Genin at age eleven and entered the academy at eight, so that's what I'm running with. Also, the story's Alternate Universe is in place to add an Original Character, Forgefire Rose. Due to the need for a location which borders both the land of fire and the land of earth, The Tetsu no Kuni(the Land of Iron) is located in the northern half of the Land of Grass. It's not terribly important that you know this, but I don't want anyone complaining that I don't know my geography. I am not planning this to be a romance-focused work (these kids are eleven!) but pairings and relationships will be determined at a later date. Now, on with the show!
Additional note on name suffixes:
Since there's some understandable confusion, I'll post this here. I don't always use these, only when I want to make a point about the relationship between two characters.
-san: implies respect and formality. Used with strangers and people who are not considered close friends.
-chan: used to imply familiarity and friendship, usually used with girls, though sometimes with boys as a subtle tease. Can be insulting if used with someone who is not that close or is male.
-kun: similar to -chan, but usually for boys. Also used by teachers when addressing students.
-sensei: a teacher, doctor, or other professional. Implies respect.
-sempai: a person who is higher in rank or class standing. For example, a ninth-grader would use -sempai for a tenth-grader.
-sama: great respect. An emperor would rate a -sama from anyone. Also used when a shopkeeper is addressing customers. May be used teasingly when talking to someone who dislikes the formality (ex: naruto teasing sakura)
-dono: used by an older servant to refer to a young heir. Sasuke would rate -dono from a family retainer, as would Hinata from adult Branch Family members, with a -sama used occasionally.
(blank): often forgotten, not using a suffix indicates advanced familiarity, like family. It is very insulting to not use a suffix if you haven't earned the privilege (outside of a very serious situation, where there might not be time for honorifics).
.oO0Oo.
Fizzy Pop, Inc. Presents:
Yet another crazy idea by Natimus Prime!
Naruto: Forgefire Chronicles
Chapter 01: Stoke the Fires
.oO0Oo.
Three years ago, Kengakure, in the Land of Iron
In the exact center of the solid iron walls of the Village Hidden in the Sword, just south of the central tower, sat a sprawling complex littered with smoking chimneys. Covering an entire block of the small town, the District of the Forgefire Clan was the site of the original founding of the ninja village in what had come to be the Land of Iron, a very minor land sharing a border with the great forests that made up much of the Land of Fire. Bustling about the complex were dozens of the Forgefire clansmen--from the youngsters running errands for their parents to the elderly who were shaping intricate patterns into ornamental armor and weapons.
To the untrained eye, it appeared a normal blacksmith's compound. But the eyes of the citizens of Kengakure were anything but untrained, and those visitors and apprentices who watched the Forgefire clan at their craft could not help but wonder at their mastery over the metal they worked. On a typical day, the people of the village would often come watch the craftmasters at their work. Here, a brawny man with hands the size of dinner plates simply grabbed a bar of heated copper, and pulled it through his fist to form a thin wire. There, a woman lifted a steel rod from a rack, and rolled it through the burning coals before bending it into a series of chain links with no seams. The old men putting patterns into the Daimyo's new suit of ceremonial armor simply traced over the plates with their fingers, furrowing the metal behind them with a delicacy born of decades of practice in their craft. All went about their work with a smile on their face and a bounce in their step, for the sheer joy of the shaping is all that mattered to them.
The Forgefire clan was the founding clan of Kengakure for the same reason they had earned their family name: in their blood was the ability to shape metal with a touch, with no more difficulty than soft clay. They had customers from lands as distant as the Wave, far to the east, with their primary competition coming from Takumi no Sato, the village of Craftsmen. It was widely said that Takumi made equipment that was just as good as the Forgefire work, but you had to pay through the nose to get it. Oddly enough, that was true.
The Forgefire were wealthy, beloved by the people, and fair in their administration of the village and its small corps of ninja. Though not a part of the Five Kage, the Forgefire clan head was well respected by those men, and his word carried much weight with them. On a typical day, the elder Forgefire would be overseeing work orders, checking shipping records, and otherwise occupying himself as best he could.
Today was not a typical day.
None of the workers smiled. All wore a deadly serious look of concentration.
None of the work was frivolous or for mere joy. All hands shaped and folded steel, even those who had long since retired from the harder metals for the ease of soft ornamentation.
None of the products were beautiful or wondrous to behold. All products were simple, fearsome implements of war: swords, shuriken, kunai, armor, and many less recognizable forms.
The elder still sat at his desk, but his paperwork was gone. Instead, maps, battle plans, and messages from scouts and spies littered the inches-thick slab of iron, some of which were carved into its metal surface. Around him stood the clan heads of the rest of the village ninja, all looking gravely serious.
"So it is true then," one stated, his eyes covered by a strip of bandage. "We are betrayed."
The elder Forgefire sighed, and nodded his head. "By my youngest son, no less. He has sold our secrets to the warlord Setsu of the Mountain, who even now marches toward the capitol."
Another ninja, this one with a waxy pale complexion, frowned. The action seemed to stretch his skin farther than it should. "How long do we have?"
"He is but one man," another said. "Even if he is the most skilled of his generation, he can only do so much in one day. We will have time."
The Forgefire shook his head. "He can do as much in a day as any of my best may do in three. He took no stock with him, so we have a week, at most. We must move to protect the capitol immediately if we are to succeed. With travel, and leaving ourselves rested for the battle, we must depart in four days. Only the oldest civilians and the children will remain behind."
A tall, lanky man with his hair in long spikes shook his head. "We will call our brothers of the fang and claw to aid our flight. The tigers of the Ama clan have always stood with the Daimyo, and they will do so again, even if this is to be the last time. The chariots and carts will be ready in three days, and the tigers in four. Their armor was seen to just before this mess, and all is in readiness. We can make the journey in only two days."
Another man grunted, just as tall but much more massive and with earlobes stretched down to his shoulders by heavy earrings. "The elephants of the Omana clan are also with you. We have two new mothers who must remain behind with their youngsters, but the remaining mother's bull is of age, and the elder bulls are ready for some excitement. If you can spare a man to refit some of their armor, they will be ready to go in five days, and can make the journey in two."
The Forgefire nodded. "Thank you both. I would never presume to order your clans' animals to what will surely be their deaths, but if they are willing we can certainly use them. Between the Omana elephants and the more numerous Ama tigers, we will be able to move much more material to the battle. I have a man who can be sent to handle the elephants' armor, our stock of swords is sufficient to completely rearm the village and the army and he is unsuited to the more detailed work."
Four other clan heads stepped forward. One, with dark brown skin and a blindfold wrapped around his bald head, said in a deep voice, "Our nins stand ready, Forgefire-sama. All the shinobi of the village have been briefed, the infirm and elderly have been sent to our allies in Kusagakure, and the children are being organized by the civilian mothers. They should be ready to depart within two days."
Another nod from the village leader dismissed him. "That is good. I am glad that we are ready early, it means my people will have more time to prepare the remaining siege defenses. My eldest wishes to complete his little project."
"If he succeeds, we will have a potent weapon," one of the assembled shinobi remarked.
"Yes," responded the Forgefire, sighing heavily. "But the art has been lost to time in these years of peace for our family. When we ran from the first Nin War, many of those secrets were sealed or destroyed to prevent our rivals from learning them. Still, even partially complete there will be a great advantage to us. For now, I can use anyone you have to spare down in the forges, we need more people to move raw material and finished product so my people may focus on their work."
The assembled shinobi all bowed, and left the office quietly. The Elder Forgefire, who was starting to forget his own first name now that he had not heard it for nearly forty years, slumped in his chair. "I can only hope I am not ordering them all to their doom."
.oO0Oo.
Two days later
The Elder Forgefire lay in his bed, unable to rise from the pain and weakness wracking his body with spasms and coughing. By his bedside were his last healthy subjects, the only other people to have avoided the rapid, deadly poison that had swept through the village in a cloud of smoke. He knew his traitorous son was behind the act, having taught him how to expel the most dangerous fumes and toxins from metals as part of the clan's safety practices, now used to deadly effect. Wheezing, he turned to his niece, who was kneeling by his bedside, her face pale. "There is not much time, Nozomi. I'm afraid I must cough cough send you on one last mission."
Forgefire Nozomi bowed her red-haired head. "Uncle, I can't-"
"I will not argue with you!" the elder interrupted voice strong and forceful, before collapsing back into his bed. "cough We must safeguard the clan scrolls. You and Rose are the last able-bodied members of our clan. cough cough wheeze Run, take the scrolls, and get away from here. My son will come to finish us all soon, you must not let him get his hands on them!"
The long, dark red tresses of Nozomi's daughter Rose were lifted in a slight breeze. "But what about you, grandpa?" the six year old asked, fear in her brilliant green eyes, now glistening with tears. "We can't just leave you here!"
The elder Forgefire lifted himself into a sitting position, leaning against the wall by his simple bed. "Don't worry, little Rose. Grandpa's going to stay here, and make sure that your Uncle Akama gets what he deserves. I ought to last that long." Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he turned to Nozomi. "The scrolls are in the box under my bed. Take them and go."
Tears streaming down her face, Nozomi nodded, bending down to retrieve the large aluminum box, three feet long and a foot square on each end, no seams or openings. Taking a handful of steel nails from the elder's bedside table, she shaped them into a small harness, and put the box across Rose's shoulders, shaping it with her hands until it settled easily on her child's strong frame.
"Come on, Rose. Grandpa has to gather his strength, and we need to gather some money and supplies. But we need to be quick."
Rose glanced back at the elder, now resting against the wall in a lotus position, eyes closed in meditation. A smile graced his face as she turned back, walking out the door for what she knew would be the last time.
Two hours later, as Nozomi and Rose left the town by way of a temporary hole in the solid iron wall, they heard a commotion from the elder's tower. Turning back, both watched in horror as the tower--which was itself made of solid iron--suddenly imploded, collapsing into a solid lump of metal barely the height of a man. The metal began to glow red hot, then spread out in a puddle of molten iron that enveloped the whole town. Of the Elder or his son, there was no sign.
.oO0Oo.
A few hours later, the border of the Land of Iron leading to the Land of Earth
"Hurry, Rose! The Warlord's men are right behind us!" The older redhead was gasping for breath as she desperately worked a set of pedals on a four wheeled vehicle, frantically trying to push more of herself into the contraption's chain drive.
The tiny young girl beside her, barely six years old, was straining against a second set of pedals, doing her best to add to the pedal-cart's speed, but only barely able to match her mother. Their conveyance--shaped out of a chunk of Kengakure's very walls and reinforced with what lightweight metals they had found along the way--was a sturdy, lightweight vehicle, one which had given them a serious lead on their foot-bound pursuers.
At least, they thought it had.
The warlord had sent men on horses ahead of them, preventing them from reaching the southern border with the Land of Grass--and thus their planned escape through there to allies in Kusagakure--and with more men arriving from the east--the direction of the border with the Land of Fire, and within it their allies in Konoha--they had been forced into enemy territory.
The Forgefire clan had once been members of the Stone, before the first great Shinobi War. After the war, they had declared that they would no longer use their bloodline for battle, preferring to support others with their forge work instead. The Tsuchikage at the time had exiled them, stating that if they ever set foot in the Land of Earth they were to be killed. To this day, no one from the Land of Earth bought Forgefire goods, and Nozomi knew that entering Iwa territory was as good as death, but they had no choice.
Approaching the well-marked border, she saw that, indeed, a trio of Iwa nins was headed straight for them, but let out a sigh of relief when two of the nins took up a guard position behind the car, halting the warlord's men. The third landed on a cross-brace and bent to speak to the two Forgefires.
"We've heard about the warlord invading Kengakure, but we didn't expect survivors. The Tsuchikage has allowed any refugees safe passage through the Land of Earth, so long as they are not of the Forgefire. What is your clan?"
Nozomi shivered, but spoke. "Clan Ama," she lied, hoping what little training she'd had would be enough to fool the distracted Iwa nin.
"And your bright red hair? Green eyes?" the nin asked. It was one of the Forgefire's biggest traits, red hair and green eyes.
Nozomi realized the shinobi wasn't fooled, but tried to recover. "M-my mother was originally from Konohagakure, her hair was p-pink, and she had green eyes." Indeed, one of the Haruno clan had visited them not long ago, on duty from the Daimyo to commission a new set of armor. "Father had brown hair, so the c-colors just sort of m-mixed." She knew this wasn't working, so she began building chakra to transmute the cross-brace into a spike through the nin's heart.
"Lies." The man's smile was hidden by a cloth mask, but Nozomi could feel it anyway. "Perhaps we can take your bloodline from you, as payment for breaking our laws, Forgefire," the shinobi chuckled.
Nozomi sent a pulse of chakra through the metal, but the transmutation went awry as the Stone Nin stabbed her in the shoulder with a kunai. The spike of metal killed the nin, but also dissolved, along with the entire cross-brace, as Nozomi slumped in her seat, shock setting in along with chakra drain. Rose was the only one pedaling, and the other Iwa nins were turning to catch up to them, having dispatched the warlord's men. Rose, panicking, ignored the pedals beneath her feet. She was young, but the Forgefire clan started training their children in their blood abilities as soon as they were old enough to talk. Accidentally cutting yourself on a knife is one thing, but turning a spoon into a knife and ending up holding the sharp end of the blade is quite another!
And so, using the control and training she had developed, Rose thrust her power into the wheels and cogs of their little cart, and set them spinning as fast as she could, turning the cart around to face due east, where the slowly setting sun would be behind them. Nozomi clutched at her shoulder, but managed to add her power to her daughter's, and the iron cart suddenly shot across the barren plain, leaving the Iwa nins far behind.
.oO0Oo.
The next dawn found an exhausted pair of people rolling slowly across the border of the Land of Fire, one unconscious and the other pedaling feebly. The Iwa shinobi had given up the chase once the pair had crossed back into the Land of Iron, their alliance with the warlord forbidding them from interfering. The warlord's men were mounted, but the horses were tired from their hard ride, and also fell behind quickly. With their speed, they had quickly lost their pursuers in the rolling hills of Tetsu no Kuni, rolling along a well-used travel trail which hid their tracks.
Nozomi's wound had been bound up with some cloth strips torn from her shirt sleeve, held in place by a metal plate smoothed over her skin and under her arm. Still, the exhaustion of depleting her chakra to escape the Stone combined with her blood loss had knocked her out hours ago, leaving a tired and sore Rose the increasingly difficult task of pedaling the cart. Her small shoulders still bore the case containing the Forgefire clan scrolls.
A trio of ninja swept up to them through the trees, their hitai-ate bearing the mark of the Leaf. One stepped forward and raised a hand. "Hold up there, girl. Who are you?"
Trembling with exhaustion and fear, Rose whimpered, "I'm Rose. Please, momma's hurt!"
Trading glances, the ninjas relaxed their guard. "Don't worry, we'll help her if we can. What happened?"
Rose suddenly felt lightheaded, the exertions of the day finally catching up with her. "Village... dead... grandpa... running... warlord chased us... ninjas attacked us... help..." and with that, Rose collapsed, unable to do anything more, but still half-awake.
The ninjas quickly secured the two girls to their seats, and two began pushing the cart to the closest town, while the third, their leader, checked the girls over for wounds. Seeing blood seeping from under the plate on the older girl's shoulder, he tried to remove the obstruction but met with no success. Finally, he managed to cut away the band under her arm, and winced when he saw the state of the wound.
"Kunai stab, deep. This one might not last much longer, looks like the wound might be infected." Looking closer, he added, "Might be poisoned too. Poor kid, her mom might not make it after all."
One of the ninjas pushing the cart interjected, "They're Forgefire, no mistake. My money's on Iwa nins attacking them. Not like the country's stable right now."
The leader nodded. "Yeah. We got word of the attack in Tetsu no Kuni yesterday. Setsu of the Mountain even sent men around the village ahead of time, to kill the evacuees heading to Konoha. These two are probably the only survivors of the Forgefire clan." Noting the paleness of Nozomi's face, he added, "Let's step it up, gentlemen. This one's in seriously bad shape. The village is only an hour or two away at a fast run, but we'll have to carry them. Kuma, you keep with their cart and get it to the village when you can. We'll get these two to the hospital." The leader and one of his subordinates carefully picked up the two exhausted Forgefire clanswomen and immediately disappeared into the trees.
.oO0Oo.
Rose awoke in an unfamiliar room that stank of disinfectants. Trying to sit up, she felt the peculiar bone-deep weariness that only comes with chakra exhaustion. Managing to glance around with her eyes, she noted the multitude of metal instruments, including several objects that could only be scalpels. With a bit of relief, she noted that the clan scrolls were safely stored by her bed. Someone came in shortly, confirming Rose's guess that she was in a hospital. Judging by the Hitai-ate the medic-nin was wearing, she'd reached the border with Konoha after all.
"Where's my Okaasan?" she croaked, throat dry.
The medic-nin glanced away, not meeting Rose's green eyes. "She was in very bad shape when she came in. The kunai wound itself was simple enough to treat, but the poison in the wound had already done its work, and her chakra levels are lethally low. I'm very sorry. We did all we could, but she won't last the night."
Rose managed to force herself upright slightly, tears stinging in her eyes. "I wanna see her! She can't be dying!"
The medic-nin frowned sadly, but nodded. "I'll get you a wheelchair and take you to her. She's been drifting in and out of consciousness, but there's no reason why you can't be with her. Just don't try to get up when we get there, okay? You really wore yourself out, and you need to rest."
Rose nodded, and when the woman returned with a small wheelchair, she allowed herself to be gently strapped into the thing. She barely had the energy to hold her head up, but seeing her mother laying lifeless on the hospital bed in the next room caused to to let out a mournful sob. Nozomi's eyes opened, and she gave her daughter a weak smile.
"Rose..."
"Momma!" Rose managed to embrace her mother, who was unable to do the same.
"I'm so sorry, Rose," Nozomi whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Momma isn't going to make it back from this one. You know the vow our family took about being shinobi when we founded the village, right?"
Rose nodded, confused. "Yes Momma. 'As long as the village stands, the Forgefire will not be shinobi, only craftsmen.'"
Nozomi nodded, then coughed, blood staining her lips. Rose wiped it away with a tissue the medic-nin handed her, and Nozomi smiled. "The village stands no more, Rose. You, and possibly your traitorous uncle, are the only Forgefire left. Kengakure is gone."
Rose felt the tears falling, and did nothing to stop them. "But you're still alive Momma! You'll get better! You have to!" She buried her face in her mother's chest, sobbing.
Nozomi couldn't feel anything below her neck, and thus was unable to comfort her daughter. Her breathing was beginning to come in sharp pants, and her time was running out. Voice straining, she wheezed out her final words. "Listen to me, Rose. This isn't your fault. There's nothing you could have done. Not now. But someday, you WILL be strong. And when you are, don't let revenge cloud your mind. Vengeance won't bring them back, and it will only make you suffer more in the end.
"Live a full life, find someone who loves you, have a family. Don't let the flames of the Forgefire be put out by scum like Setsu of the Mountain. That is the way for you to be happy. That's all I want for you, my sweet Rose. Be happy, so those who can't be with you and share your happiness will smile on you from heaven..." Nozomi trailed off, her body slowly growing limp, as her eyes began to glaze over.
Rose continued to sob into her mother's breast, even as she heard Nozomi's heartbeat begin to fade. The medic-nin quietly left the room, having seen this heartbreaking scene all too often in a village full of shinobi. Sliding the door shut, she left the youngster to her grief.
.oO0Oo.
Rose fought down her tears as her mother's ashes were brought to her in a small metal vase with a carving of a sword with flames behind it, the symbol of the Forgefire clan. It had only been a few days, but the final rights had been delayed while Rose had read through her clan's history scrolls to find the proper traditions for burial.
It had not been a pleasant experience, rereading her clan's history and knowing that it had all come to an end. Still, she fought down her tears. 'Momma said I should be happy since the rest of the clan can't.'
The Hokage himself handed over the silver urn, made by a recovered Rose from a bit of her mother's jewelry, according to the directions in her family scrolls. Rose had wanted to make sure that at least one of her family got buried right, since those at the village would never get the chance.
Old man Sarutobi smiled sadly as he gave over the little urn, crouching down to look Rose in the eyes. "It's all right to cry, you know," he said. "It's better to let your sadness go, so you can be happy again."
Rose nodded, but her eyes cleared, the tears that had threatened moments before banished. "I'm done crying now. Momma's gone, but she wanted me to be happy, for all the people who can't anymore."
The Sandaime Hokage nodded again. "That's a good way to honor them, Rose." He smiled a little brighter, and said, "Now, what will you do? Your village is gone, but if you like, you can stay here in Konoha as long as you want."
Rose smiled shyly. "Can I?"
Sarutobi just grinned. "Of course you can! In fact, I believe I know someone who would like to take you into his home. Tekkou Toushou, our village's best weapon smith, has a daughter a year older than you, named Tenten. Why don't we go meet him, eh?"
Rose nodded, smiling happily. "Hai!" she agreed.
The old man stood up, knees protesting the movement slightly. Then, holding out his hand, he led the small girl through the village streets. 'So young, to have lost so much,' he mused. 'In a few more months, she'll be ready for the shinobi academy if she wants to go. If that is her decision, I'll see to it she is enrolled.'
Not long after leaving the crematorium, the pair arrived at a narrow storefront near the village forests, with an enormous chimney in the back. A banner over the door declared the place to be the 'Heaven's Forge,' which made Rose giggle. Entering through the open doorway, they were greeted by a young girl not much older than Rose, who bowed and said, "Welcome, Hokage-sama!" Straightening, she saw Rose and exclaimed, "Ah! You must be Forgefire-san! Otousan is working at his forge in the back." Bowing again, she said, "Follow me, please."
Following the girl with the twin buns in her hair, Rose and the Hokage found themselves in a simple but efficient forge room, where a tall man with coal-black hair and steely gray eyes was hammering a kunai on a small anvil. Seeing his guests, he made a half-bow and said, "Greetings, Hokage-sama, Forgefire-san. Just a moment, I'm almost done with this one." A few more strikes, and he doused the hot steel in a bucket, before tossing it onto a pile with a half-dozen others.
Rose giggled at being called 'Forgefire-san' like her father, then quieted as she remembered that he had died in the village, victim of her uncle's poison cloud. She managed to keep her smile though, as she thought of him watching over her, and how happy he'd be to know she would be living with someone so much like him.
Toushou took a towel and cleaned the soot from his face, then turned to regard Rose. "So, my little flower, Hokage-sama tells me you're looking for somewhere to stay?"
Rose nodded, her smile broadening. "Hai, Tekkou-san."
"Well then, I think you'll fit in just perfect here," he said with a grin. "I studied my art under a Forgefire from your grandparents' generation, it's part of what makes me the best in Konoha. It would be an honor to repay my old master by taking in one of his own." He held out a bar of steel, one of the lumps he used in making kunai. "Why don't you show me something, eh? As I recall, they start teaching young over in Kengakure."
The Hokage hummed to himself. "Yes, I've heard about your family's Kekkei Genkai, but never gotten the chance to see it in action. Would you please?"
Rose bowed to the Hokage, then took the lump of steel. "Sure! I just started doing pre-forge work last month with my uncle. We apprentice for a year just doing the basic shaping while the master does the final work." Focusing on the metal in her hands, she folded her hand around it in several seals, then murmured, "Kinzokuton: Tankou."(metal release: metal worker)
Grasping the bar on the ends, Rose pulled it out, stretching and thinning the bar, before folding it back over itself. Kneading the bar like bread dough, she folded the steel over and over, until it was so tough to pull it wouldn't stretch any more. Then, running her fingers over it, she squeezed the metal until it took the shape of a tube. Squeezing some more, then pulling, she formed one end into a ring, then a handle, leaving an uneven lump for the blade. After smoothing the ring, she pinched the tip of the kunai, pulling it out to its proper length. A quick brush of the fingers over the surfaces formed the distinctive squid-shaped blade, and running pinched fingers over the corners sharpened the edges. Sweating visibly, Rose held the new kunai in both hands, formed a few seals around it with her fingers, and intoned, "Kinzokuton: Rakusei." (metal release: be complete) The kunai took on a dull shine as its surface polished itself, the edges hardened, and Rose gripped it, checking its balance.
Toushou held out his hand. "May I?" Gently lifting the kunai from Rose, he tested an edge against his thumb. When it drew blood at the slightest touch, he raised an eyebrow. "How do you get it so sharp?" He took a length of gauze from Tenten, who had fetched it from a medical kit on the wall.
Rose blushed. "It's part of our ability. Stroking the edges while using chakra aligns the crystals in the metal so the sharpest edges are along the cutting edge, instead of every which way. So it's sharper and doesn't get dull as quickly. But you can't sharpen it like a normal kunai, or you ruin the edge. You have to take it back to a Forgefire to have it sharpened."
Toushou nodded. "This is very finely made indeed." Tossing the kunai to his daughter, he said, "Tenten, what do you think?"
Tenten's eyes lit up as she hefted the kunai into a throwing stance. "This is perfect!" she exclaimed, then hurled the kunai at a convenient target on a tree in the yard. It stuck dead center on the bullseye, and Tenten turned to Rose with a huge grin on her face. "You're way better than Otousan! Can you make shuriken too?"
Toushou laughed. "Easy, Tenten! I'm sure she'll have time to make plenty of things for you once she settles in." He turned to Rose. "You are going to move in with us, aren't you? It would be an honor to have you here."
Rose smiled, wiping some of the sweat off her face. "I would love to, Tekkou-san."
Toushou waved an admonishing finger at her. "Now, now, we can't have you being all formal if you're moving in. If you're not comfortable with calling me Otousan, at least call me Toushou."
Rose bowed, smiling shyly. "Arigato, Toushou-san."
Tenten giggled, and grabbed Rose's hand. "Come on! I wanna show you around the house! Then we can go see the village!" As the two of them raced off, the Hokage chuckled. Toushou smiled, pleased. "It'll do my Tenten good to have someone else around the house. Ever since her mother passed on two years back, it's been real rough on her, since I have to work the forge and man the store at the same time."
The Hokage smiled back. "And you knew her village, even if it was a decade ago. I think that little sense of home will help her adjust. Not to mention, you are one of the few people in Konoha who can help her with her Kekkei Genkai, being a metal worker and having some experience with the Forgefire abilities."
Toushou nodded. "Do you think she will want to become a shinobi? Tenten is really enjoying her lessons at the academy."
Sarutobi nodded. "I have a feeling she'll want to join the academy. Tenten's enthusiasm is infectious, and I expect to see Rose in the academy classes when the new term starts."
Toushou smiled, and gestured to the doorway into his home. "Can I get you some tea before you go back to the tower?"
"Thank you, no. I should go check on Uzumaki while I am already out, and I'm sure he'll want to go out for ramen."
Toushou smiled. "That kid. Tenten's in the academy already, so she's to busy to play with him, but maybe Rose would be good for him. After all, she won't have grown up with the prejudices of the rest of the villagers."
Sarutobi lowered his head with a sigh. "Let us hope. Naruto needs all the friends he can get."
.oO0Oo.
As the Hokage made the walk over to Konoha's Number-One-Loudmouthed-Brat, Tenten was showing Rose the spare bedroom that was soon to belong to the redhead. "We usually use it for storage," the bun-haired girl explained, "but it won't take long to move the boxes out back to the shed. Then we can put some things in it to make it feel more like home!"
Rose smiled, then noticed a picture sitting on a shrine tucked into a dust-free corner of the room. In it was a smiling woman with her hair in buns, and a Konoha Hitai-ate. A small stick of incense had mostly burned away, revealing its purpose: a memorial for the dead. Rose's smile faltered.
Tenten noticed the direction of her new friend's gaze and felt her mood darken. "I guess we've got that in common too," she said sadly.
Rose nodded solemnly. "Your mom was a kunoichi?"
"Yeah. She was a chunin, a weapons mistress, and her team was specialized in combat and bodyguard missions. Two years ago, they were escorting a nobleman and his entourage, but he hadn't told them he was being targeted by a rival. They were attacked by a squad of Jounins from Kumo. The noble got away safely, but she and one of her teammates died in the fighting. We were lucky no one on her team had a Kekkei Genkai, so the enemy didn't take their bodies. We had her ashes to bury in the family tomb, at least."
Rose nodded. "A part of her is always with you. Just like my mom."
Tenten brightened a bit. "So, let's get these boxes gathered up and put them outside. We can put the shrine in the main room again, and both our moms can watch us from there."
"Sure. I think they'd like that. I bet they'd be best friends."
.oO0Oo.
A few months later, Rose was sitting on her bed, listening to Tenten talk about her classes at the shinobi academy. "So Lee got all upset at Neji for saying that taijutsu is no replacement for a good ninjutsu, and they started fighting right there in class. Neji cleaned his clock, but Lee just shook it off and told him that someday, he'd beat Neji and prove him wrong."
Rose's eyes were wide as she bounced with excitement. "What happened then, Oneechan?" She'd taken to thinking of Tenten as the older sister she'd never had, and the older girl had agreed that they were sisters in the ways that really mattered. "Did Lee do something silly like run ten laps around the school?"
"No," Tenten said with a giggle, "he did fifty! I mean, half the class can't do ninjutsu or genjutsu yet, I don't see why he's so worked up." Then, her eyes narrowed. "So, Rose-chan, are you going to come to the academy too? Otousan says he's got the paperwork done, and the Hokage is holding a spot open for you in case you want to go. There's only a week left before classes start, you know."
Rose frowned. "Our clan took an oath not to be shinobi, only to defend ourselves so long as our village stood. I guess, since it's gone now, I could be a shinobi. But Momma wanted me to live a long life to spite the warlord, not try and get revenge..."
Tenten nodded knowingly. "Your mom's right. But that's not all being a shinobi is about. It's about protecting the village, and helping people. Sure, some of the time you might have to go out and kill, but that's a long way off for us. Heavy combat missions are for Jounins. Even really good shinobi don't usually get there too quickly."
Rose smiled. "I could be a support-nin, and just teach at the academy and help Toushou-san with his work."
Tenten grinned. "Speaking of work, are you going to make that shuriken set I asked you about? No offense to Otousan, but yours are way better. Even Neji asked me where he could get a kunai like mine, after I sliced a hair off Sensei's head during practice today."
"Did you tell him he'd have to pay in blood and ryou to get them?" Rose asked.
"Yep, just like you said. He asked how much, and I told him it would depend. I think he might visit later." Tenten was giggling now. "But seriously, these kunai are amazing. Who'd of thought putting a bit of blood inside would make them so much more accurate?"
Rose nodded. "It's one of the things I found in our clan scrolls. A few drops of the user's blood folded into the metal makes it easier for them to channel chakra through it. That makes it fly straighter, since you can sense just the right time to let it go."
Tenten nodded. "Makes sense." Then she said, "So, are you going to ask Otousan?"
Rose thought about it a bit more, and nodded. "If I decide I don't like it later, I can always drop out and work at a forge, right?"
"Great!" Tenten grabbed Rose's hand, and pulled her up off the bed she was sitting on. Together, they rushed down the stairs to where Toushou was serving a customer.
Rose giggled at the sight. A blonde boy about her age, barely her height and dressed in a horrible orange jacket and pants, was buying kunai, shuriken, and the other academy starter kits that the shop had been selling for the past month or so to new academy students. While Tenten just sighed and shook her head, Rose spent another moment looking over their customer. Walking down, she giggled again, and smiled at the boy. "What kind of ninja wears bright orange?" she asked, trying and failing to keep a straight face.
The boy turned to her and said in a loud voice, "Hey! I like orange!"
Tenten sighed. "Naruto, you know you hate that outfit. Why do you still insist on wearing it?"
Naruto scowled. "'Cause I don't have nothin' else," he muttered.
Rose looked upset at that. "Why not? Won't your parents buy you something else to wear to class?"
Naruto's scowl deepened, as Tenten made warding motions to try and keep Rose quiet. The Uzumaki boy growled, "Don't have parents. And the stupid shopkeepers always kick me out, except Tekkou-ojisan here."
Rose frowned. This little ragamuffin was starting to remind her a bit too much of her own situation, only worse. "Well that's rude of them. How could anyone be so mean to an orphan? Don't you live with someone who takes care of you?"
Naruto looked away. "I can take care of myself, thanks!"
Rose frowned. "Well, do you have any friends? They could get things for you."
Tenten sighed in exasperation. "For some reason, most of the adults in the village don't like him," she explained, as Naruto grimaced. "They don't let their kids play with him, so I'd say we're the only friends he's got. And since I started at the academy last year..."
Naruto smiled slightly. "It's not your fault you can't play with me Tenten-chan. You're busy training, and studying, and stuff. I'll manage."
Rose snorted derisively. "Well, if we're going to be in the academy together," she said, looking Naruto over once more, "you're getting some new clothes. I won't let my first friend in the village get picked on by a bunch of idiots."
Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean it?" he said, quietly. "You'll be my friend?"
Rose shrugged. She'd tried to talk to some of the other girls her age while she was at the park one day, but they had all seemed afraid of her for some reason. 'Probably because I'm a stranger,' she thought. The boys had just laughed and run off when she'd asked to join their game of tag. "Sure. None of the other kids our age seem to like me too much, and it looks to me like you need someone to look after you anyway." She turned to Toushou, who was putting together the rest of Naruto's basic shinobi package. "Toushou-san, get him one of the specials."
Toushou raised an eyebrow, but smiled fondly at his adopted daughter. "I was hoping you might say that." He turned to Naruto. "Naruto, please follow Tenten and Rose to the back."
Naruto, curious, followed the trio to the forge in the back, where Rose ran her hand over the pile of stock bars used for making various shinobi weapons. pulling a few bars off the rack, she set them aside, and pulled out a smaller bar for making shuriken. Then, she turned to Tenten, holding out a palm-sized bowl with a notch on one side. "Oneechan, fill this please." Rose grabbed the smaller shuriken stock first, and put the three kunai bars near the forge to warm up. Heat wasn't needed for a Forgefire to shape the metal, but warm metal was easier to work with. Rose had been practicing for the past month, but doing a full set of kunai and shuriken, especially with blooded steel, was a lot of work for someone her age.
As Rose selected and prepared the metal for the workings, Tenten pulled one of her kunai from a pouch, and turned to Naruto. "Okay, Naruto, Let me cut your palm. I need to get some of your blood."
Naruto recoiled, stammering, "W-what do you need that for!?"
Rose called over her shoulder, "If we put some of your blood into the metal, they'll be more accurate, and stay sharp longer."
Naruto held out his hand reluctantly, but asked, "So who are you anyway? I don't think I've seen you around the village before."
Rose turned to him, holding the small bar of steel in her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't think of it. My name is Forgefire Rose, the last of my clan. Toushou-san was kind enough to take me in after my mom died getting away from an attack on our village."
Naruto winced, both from the cut Tenten had given him while he was distracted, and the information rose had shared. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Sorry about your mom."
Rose sniffled a bit, but smiled. "It's okay, I'm dealing with it. Toushou-san is very nice, and at least I have Tenten-oneechan some of the time. Now, let me show you why my clan is called the Forgefire."
Placing both her hands on the bar of steel, she focused her chakra and called out, "Kinzokuton: Tankou!" She rapidly sectioned the bar into four equal pieces with her bare hands, Naruto staring in awe. "Hey, how're you doing that?" he asked, watching intently.
"It's her Kekkei Genkai," Tenten explained, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't distract her sister. "It lets her work with metal like we'd work with clay. Otousan told me the Forgefire clan used to start training its children as soon as they can walk, so they don't accidentally hurt themselves."
Meanwhile, Rose took each of the lumps of steel, and burrowed her finger into the center of each one, leaving a small hole. Taking the bowl, she carefully dripped a few drops of blood into each of the future shuriken, leaving some in the bowl for the kunai. Sealing the holes closed by pinching the metal, she took one of the lumps and began drawing it out, flattening it into a square about six times the size of a normal shuriken. Then, she began meticulously folding the metal, like a strange form of origami. When it was done, a flat square of the proper size remained, and Rose pinched the center of each side toward the middle, creating the four-pointed star favored by shinobi. She poked a finger through the center of the star, forming a hole to grip the weapon more securely, and used the extra material to reinforce the center. Then, pinching and stroking the edges, she got them razor sharp, and finally held it in both hands once more. "Kinzokuton: Rakusei!" The surface of the tool smoothed and polished itself, leaving a perfect shuriken. Putting it on the table, Rose smiled and wiped away a bit of sweat. Shuriken were easier than kunai, but not by much. "Now, I just have to finish the rest, and we can get you some new clothes."
An hour later, Rose put the last kunai into a bag, grinning. "There. That was good practice!" She handed the kunai and shuriken holsters to Naruto. "These should last a few years unless you get in a real fight, but let me know if you need one fixed."
Naruto nodded happily. "Thanks, Rose-chan!"
Rose grinned, and pulled a tape measure off the wall. "Now, let's get some measurements so I can pick up something that fits."
Naruto submitted meekly to this treatment, until Rose hung up the tape and told him, "Now don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a flash."
As she skipped out the door, a grin on her face, Naruto turned to Tenten. "She's scary, Tenten-chan."
The girl just nodded. "She's trying to help you because it'll make her feel better about her Okaasan, I guess. I've only known her a little while, since we took her in after her Okaasan died, but we're already like sisters. She's... driven, I guess. Bound and determined to make sure her life has meaning, and the best way she knows is to help people."
Naruto scratched his head in confusion, but shrugged. "At least I'll have a friend at the academy. Maybe it won't be so boring that way."
Tenten winced, and looked down at the little boy who'd often come pester her, or hide out in the shop after a mob of drunken old men tried to attack him. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. But when Okaasan died, I had to help Otousan take care of the shop, and then there was the cademy..."
Naruto just grinned his usual happy grin. "Don't worry about it Tenten-chan! I understand, really!" Looking at him though, Tenten could see that his smile didn't reach his eyes. She sighed, and ruffled his hair.
"You don't need to try and make me feel better about it, Naruto-kun. And you're a terrible liar."
Naruto pouted. "Hey! I'm good enough to fool the old man!"
Tenten just sighed and shook her head. "Come on, why don't you try out your new shuriken? There's a stump out back you can use."
That cheered up the blonde quite a bit. "Yeah! I'll show you how awesome I am!"
.oO0Oo.
Rose returned to the shop, a large bundle in her hands, only to find it empty. Going back toward the forge, she saw Toushou sorting a pile of scrap metal, mostly broken or cracked shinobi tools. "Where's Naruto-kun?" she asked him, looking around for a flash of orange.
Toushou chuckled, and pointed out the back door. "Tenten is trying to fix his throwing technique."
Nodding her thanks, Rose walked quietly out the back door, to find Naruto glaring at Tenten's practice stump like it had killed his favorite puppy. The orange-clad blonde gripped his kunai, and made to throw. Tenten grabbed his arm, and adjusted his grip on the dagger. "I keep telling you, you need to hold it more firmly, and closer to the ring!"
Naruto whined, "I'm trying to! But my hands want to hold it higher up!"
Rose shook her head. "That's why it's called 'training' Naruto-kun. So you can teach your hands to do it the right way, and they'll just do it instinctively."
Tenten nodded, and let go of Naruto. "The more you practice just holding the kunai properly, the faster your aim will improve."
Naruto threw the kunai, planting the razor-sharp point deep into the center of the stump. "Yatta!" Jumping up and down ecstatically, he turned to Tenten and Rose, a huge grin on his face. "Did ya see that!? That was perfect!"
Tenten smiled, and shook her head. "Close enough anyway, for kunai. Now, let's see what Rose got for you, hmm?"
Rose set down the bag, and pulled out a wad of dark blue, gray and green. "The ninjas back in Kengakure always wore camouflage prints, but they don't have that here. So, I got some of each color and you can match them to what's around. Or..."
Naruto asked, curiously, "Or?"
"Or, I can take these clothes I bought two sizes too large," she said with a grin, "cut them up, mix the colors, and put them back together as a camouflage suit. It'd make it harder for someone to aim at your vitals, because your outline is fuzzy."
"You'd do that for me?" Naruto asked, somewhat astonished.
"Unless you'd like to do it yourself," Rose replied. "I even got a hat to hide your hair."
Tenten nodded. "Nobody in the village would recognize you in this getup," she said. "As long as you didn't say so, they'd never figure it out. Could come in handy for shopping and stuff."
Naruto looked longingly at the fabric, and said slowly, "But... I don't wanna hide... just..." He shook his head. "If they're gonna be mean, who cares about them?"
Rose gathered up the clothes, while Tenten put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "That's the spirit! Think of it as a really good prank! And this time, you won't even get in trouble for it! Just don't wear it to class, or they'll figure it out."
Naruto grinned, his eyes narrowed in malevolent glee. "Stupid shopkeepers won't know what hit 'em!" he declared, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. He followed Rose into the house, where the redhead immediately set to work.
.oO0Oo.
A week later, a redhead and a blonde stood outside the doors of the Konohagakure no Sato Ninja Academy. Both were armed to the teeth, sporting kunai and shuriken pouches on each thigh, wires coiled in pouches on their wrists, and retractable metal spikes on their sandals. Rose was particularly proud of the last one. The soles of their sandals were double thick, with the bottom layer removable by slipping a small catch on the instep that would let it fall away, revealing screw-in spikes. For sparring, like they would do in the academy, rounded studs replaced the spikes, at least on Naruto's sandals. Rose simply used her Kekkei Genkai to switch hers one way or the other. In a show of solidarity, she had managed to find an identical orange jumpsuit, and had her long red hair separated into thin strands that ended in small metal beads she'd wrapped around the tips. Where Naruto's outfit had the Uzumaki clan spiral on the shoulder, Rose wore the fire sword of her clan etched into pure silver, made from some of her mother's jewelry. The only other difference in the friends' dress was the sword Rose wore at her hip: a katana sized to fit her small frame, carbon-steel edge dulled to be non-lethal, in a brass scabbard attached to a belt of similar brass chain.
Naruto whistled his approval at the weapon. "Looks nice, Rose-chan!"
Rose shrugged, blushing slightly. "It's traditional for my clan to carry a sword once they begin shinobi training. Even after we took our vow to stop being shinobi, every Forgefire still carried a sword to break up fights. It's also a really handy source of good metal in case you need something, like a rope or handcuffs, or more shuriken."
Naruto nodded, impressed. "That's pretty cool! So, you ready?"
Rose nodded, and swallowed the sudden nervous lump in her throat. "Yeah. Let's go."
And with that, two orange-clad students entered the academy. Life in Konoha would never be the same.
.oO0Oo.
End of Chapter 1 .oO0Oo.
Author's Notes:
Well, here we go again.
This getting finished means it will likely be the second thing ever posted to my FFnet account, despite it being the 20-something-th piece I've worked on, and the seventh I've completed a full chapter for. I just get so many ideas, and the plot-bunnies won't leave me alone until I work on them. With luck, though, I can keep working on this one long enough to get a good chunk of story done.
Some things to point out: Rose is very mature for her age. Part of this is due to her being the last member of her clan, and watching her entire village die a lingering death from poison. However, the greater part of it is the fact that she has been sternly disciplined in the use of her chakra as part of her Kekkei Genkai for at least six years, and that she has already learned how to use her art to created deadly weapons of war. The Forgefire clan aren't pacifists, exactly, they just don't go looking for trouble. But when it finds them, they are prepared for it.
As explained in the fic, not controlling their ability could lead to serious injuries due to accidents, and unlike, say, the Byakugan, handling metal isn't something that can be avoided until the child is more mature. A lot of the early teaching is done in the form of games and songs to make it fun, but eight-year-old Rose has chakra control as good as Sakura does after graduation, nearly three years later. This is a survival trait, not an attempt to overpower the character.
As far as Rose and Naruto hitting it off so early, do not take this as a sign of a future romantic pairing. I have someone picked out for Rose, but it isn't Naruto, nor is it Sasuke (who's too busy angsting by graduation to date anyway). All other relationships are up in the air. Some will be based on manga canon, others not. Also, for those who might complain: Rose's mother just died, most of the local kids don't want to play with her, and her only real friends are her foster father and her new oneechan. Of course she'll latch on hard to the first person who accepts her. All humans do that.
If you didn't understand a japanese word, you shouldn't be reading anime fanfics. I only use the most common words, and if you haven't figured them out yet then get a dictionary, or watch more subtitled stuff.
Anyway, updates will likely be sporadic, but positive reviews are likely to speed things up (I'm a glutton for praise, sue me.) Flames will be dismissed out of hand, and constructive criticism will be perused and considered, so long as it is technical in nature (grammar, pacing, suggestions for better imagery etc) and not related to the plot. It's my gorram story and I'll do what I please with the people in it! You don't like it, write your own.
That about wraps it up for this chapter. Stay tuned for chapter two: Pump the Bellows.