Well, I decided to start a new story, and here it is. Dragon and Phoenix is still in progress, I'm working on that one as well.
This is set a few years into the future, and Sasuke has returned. So they'd all be about 18 or 19.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It's way too awesome to be owned by me. *Sniff*
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Prologue: Enter, Reiryuu Emi
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The sun streamed through the thick leaves on the trees in the forests around Konohagakure, and wind caressed the green leaves gently. The trees swayed. Little animals scurried hurriedly along the dirt path leading into the forest's leafy depths, and one lone cat stepped cautiously down this same path. Its pure black fur shimmered like gloss under the sun's rays.
The cat continued, forever on alert for the slightest hint of danger.
The pathway loomed ahead, and it gracefully, stealthily crept down it. Tail twitching, its green eyes shifted over the many plants and flowers surrounding it. Ever moving forward, it headed silently towards an opening in the dense forest.
Paying no notice to the chirping of startled birds and the squeaks of surprised mice, it came to a field. In the middle, a huge tree stood. Sakura petals softly fell from its branches, falling, falling through the gentle, welcoming breeze. Water reflected the silent flight of the petals, a small pond sparkling beside the tree.
The cat crouched. Underneath the tree, it saw what it was seeking.
A sakura petal floated gracefully down onto pale skin soaked in a thick red liquid. The cat sharply inhaled, catching the scent of blood again. It slowly padded through the flowing green grass towards the figure lying in stained grass.
Coming close, the black cat gently nudged a bloody hand. A bloodstained kunai lay beside it. The hand stayed still, deathly still. Nudging it again, the cat pricked up its ears. Rustling. Watching carefully, the hand twitched.
Slowly, a girl opened faintly glowing, sparkling red eyes and her long black hair cascaded down onto her shoulders and down her back as she sat up slowly. Black cat ears twitching on her head along with sharp fangs and claws clearly indicated she was not of pure human blood.
The cat softly rubbed against her hand. It purred.
She looked down to see the little cat staring cutely at her. Giggling, she smiled and stroked the cat's shining fur.
"Where'd you come from?" She quietly asked.
It simply purred louder.
The mysterious girl stood up. The long, concealing black cloak she wore was pulled tighter, and the hood was pulled up so as to hide her face and ears. The cat silently followed as she started moving out of the field. Together, they walked from the field through the lush forest.
The girl paused as a welcoming scent of a nearby village reached her sensetive nostrils. It would be risky, but if it meant food, she was willing to go for it.
Bounding forward, she unleashed a sudden burst of speed that sent her flying forwards, towards the direction of the scent she picked up. Following it intently, she didn't notice the little black cat still following her.
She stopped suddenly. Gates stood before her. The gates to Konoha.
She smiled beneath the hood. If she could pass through without revealing her identity, she would be very pleased with herself. Food and a warm place to sleep for the night was a very welcoming thought.
Swiftly, she moved forwards. Reaching the gate, she was stopped by two ninja.
"Halt! State your name and your purpose!"
"I am merely a traveller. My name is Emi... Reiryuu Emi," She calmly said in her soft, sweet voice.
"So you're passing through?" One of the ninja cautiously asked.
"Hai. I mean no harm- I seek food and shelter for tonight. Nothing more."
"Then why do you wear a concealing cloak and hood?" The other suspiciously pressed.
"I wish to keep my appearance secret, mainly due to personal reasons. I tell you the truth when I say I mean no harm." Her voice was like honey, ringing clear like a bell.
"Alright... I suppose we can deal with that." The two ninja stepped aside to let her pass.
"Arigatou."
She moved forwards, gracefully and perfectly balanced. The cat silently followed.
She flicked her ear back under the hood to hear the two talking.
"... I've heard that name somewhere. Weren't they a clan somewhere?"
"I don't know, but we better keep an eye on that one. Something's not right."
She smirked to herself. 'They have no idea how right they are...'
***
Emi silently moved through the village, people stopping to stare at her as she passed. It was slightly unnerving.
She frowned as she continued to walk down the streets towards the Hokage's office in the huge building ahead.
"Hey! Who are you?" A loud voice yelled from her left.
Turning her head, she stopped.
A boy of about 18 - her own age - with blonde hair, cerulean blue eyes and what looked like whiskers on his face stood, a suspicious look on his face. A girl with pink hair and aqua eyes stood beside him, and another boy was with them. He had raven-coloured hair and onyx-black eyes. They were watching Emi carefully. All of them wore ninja headbands.
"My name is Emi. I'm a traveller, simply passing through," she said cautiously. "I actually needed to speak with the Hokage." She could smell it- this blonde boy was a Jinchuuriki. The Kyuubi was sealed inside him and she could smell the foxy scent of malicious chakra. It made her nose sting uncomfortably.
"Oh, alright. My name's Naruto dattebayo! These are my teammates! This is Sakura and that annoying bastard is Sasuke!" The blonde introduced himself and his teammates, flicking a vicious glare at the raven-haired boy, who shrugged it off. 'Sakura' and 'Sasuke' both nodded as their names were said.
"I see. Well, I have to go. Important business and all that," Emi said with a smile.
"Wait," Naruto stopped her just as she made to walk away. "We'll go with you!"
"Why? I know where I'm going so there's really no need," Emi blinked.
"Yeah but we're friends now so we'll come with you anyway!" Naruto obnoxiously grinned.
Emi smiled sadly. They didn't know what she really was. If they did, she knew they would immediately regret talking to her, and shun her... Just like everyone always did.
"Come on, what're you waiting for?!" Naruto called.
"I really don't think this is a good idea..." Emi started.
"Just come on. You said you needed to go see the Hokage, right?" Sasuke said impatiently.
"Yeah, come on!" Sakura joined in.
Emi sighed. She might as well get this over with. "Alright, let's go."
Naruto cheered and started bouncing around her, asking questions.
"Do you like ramen? I love ramen!" Naruto happily exclaimed.
"Idiot, shut up. She might not want to hear your annoying voice in her ear all day," Sasuke calmly said.
"Bastard!" Naruto rounded on him.
"We're here," Emi quickly said to stop them from fighting.
Sasuke and Naruto look up after glaring at each other and sure enough, the Hokage's building stood in front of them.
"Come on!" Naruto ran into the building, Emi, Sasuke and Sakura walking behind him.
They made their way to te Third's office, and Emi knocked on the door. A quiet 'Come in' was heard from inside.
She opened the door and went in, closely followed by Team 7 and the little black cat who was still following Emi wherever she went.
"Ah, a traveller," Tsunade greeted. "And Team 7 too! What brings you here?"
"I was hoping to speak to you, Hokage." Emi bowed.
"No need for that, you may speak."
"Um... Is it really a good idea to have Team 7 here?" Emi nervously looked at them from beneath the hood.
"Hey! We can handle whatever it is you came here for!" Naruto indignantly said.
"It's not that... I'm sure you could. It's more... personal," Emi apologised.
"Well I'm staying!" Naruto promptly sat down, intent on staying.
"Oh fine... Have it your way." Emi turned back to Tsunade, who was watching with an amused expression on her face.
She walked forwards, and a clawed hand came out of her cloak and grasped her hood.
"I need your help, Hokage-sama."
She pulled back the hood and tore the cloak off.
She wore a short, black spaghetti-strap top with a loose cloak-like jacket on top, covering her arms and knee-length shorts that clung to her figure. Her stomach showed and her skin was slightly tanned. Red, tattoo-like marks covered her skin. At first glance they looked like plain stripes, but upon further inspection it was easy to see that it was a lot of writing in the shape of spirals and stripes. She wore black leather fingerless gloves, and her nails were sharp claws. Fangs rested on her bottom lip, exposed. Long black hair fell down her back. Simple black ninja sandals adorned her feet, which were also slightly clawed. Blood stained her clothes.
"So... The myths are true." Tsunade looked at her closely. "Reiryuu Emi - last of the Reiryuu clan."
"Yes. I was 'created' by someone unknown even to me, to become the world's most dangerous killing machine. Recently, after running away from my 'creator', I have been on the run from every village seeking power. I also came across an unknown organization, who I heard talking about the Bijuu. Naturally, I originally thought they were Akatsuki, but I've had run-ins with that lot before and I can smell the difference. I heard two of them talking. This is a new villainous organization that are now planning to attack for the Bijuu, like Akatsuki did before them. Only, this team's intentions are far more vile than Akatsuki, and they will stop at nothing to get the Bijuu.
"I don't know what they are called or who is part of it. I couldn't hear their plans either because I was discovered. The two I overheard gave chase and I barely managed to escape. As you can guess, I didn't get out without a few scratches."
"Scratches?! You're covered in blood!" Naruto protested.
"Hush, Naruto. Let's hear her out before we make assumptions," Tsunade scolded.
"We fought briefly, but I still didn't manage to see their faces - both wore masks. One was skilled with fire jutsu and the other with water. I ran, and ended up beaten and wounded. Last week, I remember reaching a meadow in the forest with a sakura tree in the middle, and I fell into a healing sleep. I woke up this morning, more or less recovered," Emi motioned towards the marks on her body. "Except, I found these on my body, and a few wounds refused to heal." The young cat-girl pushed the sleeves of her jacket up, revealing several gashes along her forearms.
"Those look nasty. Were they made by a particular weapon of some sort? They look like they're infected but it's spread across too quickly to be made by any normal kunai or katana," Tsunade observed, frowning.
"Yes, the water-nin caught me with some sort of water jutsu," Emi frowned slightly. "It was like a whip made entirely out of water- I'd never seen it before. It probably had some sort of odourless poison in it to stop wounds healing. It smelled like ordinary water at the time though."
"Yes, most likely. I'll fix up an antidote for that later." Tsunade turned to watch out the window.
"Now I've explained a bit, I need to ask you for help, Hokage-sama," Emi started. "I know of the disadvantages I would bring to Konohagakure, but I also have advantages. I swear allegiance to you if you should accept it."
"Well... That was..." Naruto blinked.
"Unexpected," Sakura finished.
"I see... So that's why you appeared before Konoha. I wondered why someone from myths in which they trust no village would come here," Tsunade mused. "I can definitely see many advantages Konoha would have if you were our ally... However, the dangers it would put us in are great."
"I would not have come without good reason," Emi agreed. "I may still be young but I have the wisdom of ages. I may be able to provide Konoha with useful information."
"Hmm... The dangers it would bring... This is very risky." Tsunade spoke more to herself.
"Aw come on Granny Tsunade!" Naruto pleaded. "Please let her become a leaf-nin!"
"Irritating..." Sasuke turned away from Naruto.
"Who're you callin' irritating?!" Naruto turned on him.
"Calm down Naruto," Tsunade chided.
Emi's ear twitched, though no sign of impatience showed on her face.
"Alright, I'll make you a deal," Tsunade said to Emi. "I'll let you become a full-fledged Konoha Ninja if you temporarily become Team 7's sensei."
"Alright! You'll be teaching us!" Naruto yelled.
"Naruto, she didn't say she would," Sasuke pointed out to Naruto, not in the kindest way possible.
"Shut up Sasuke!"
Emi looked down and thought for a moment while they bickered. Being this team's mentor would prove difficult... She didn't have much knowledge on how to behave around groups of people, let alone teach. Still, she'd done worse things, and Konoha would welcome her as a ninja...
Her red eyes snapped back up to Tsunade's brown ones. "Deal."
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This author would be very happy if this author would receive reviews. They make this author very happy. *Hint hint*
This is a very long prologue compared to my usual, feel happy! =D I'll try and make Chapter 1 even longer, promise!
~FireWingedWolf