Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Red

By TCNL

Chapter 1: Lightning

A boy, no more than the age of twelve, was in a forest.

Silence resonated throughout the area. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional snapping of twigs, fallen leaves being flattened, rustling of clothes due to movement, and the steady flow of a small stream to the ocean.

Rai was no ordinary boy.

Of course, everybody is special in their own way. It's just that Rai's situation was quite complicated.

See, Rai was not exactly born. He just appeared in the forest in the outskirts of the Land of Waves. Rightfully confused, he thought he was having a vivid dream. So he did what he could.

He explored every inch of the place. It didn't take long before he found a house, accompanied by the sound of waves rolling on the seashore. He presumed that it was very early in the morning since there were no lights in the house. Following a path from the house, he arrived at what seemed a village.

He continued down the path some more and soon found himself in front of an impressive bridge. There was a plaque with a carving that read 大鳴門橋, which meant, The Great Naruto Bridge. He grinned and traced a finger over the characters.

Accept my power and prevent the calamity. Should my sons falter, you shall be their aid.

He blinked at the voice that he heard. He looked in all directions, seeking the person who spoke. Before he could take another step, he felt heat clawing from his insides. He fell on his knees, trying not to scream. He clutched at his head in pain, as he did not want to claw at his eyes because they felt like they were melting off his face.

Unknown to him, a villager saw his predicament. The villager saw the boy's form glow with an otherworldly aura before the poor thing fell unconscious with a strangled whimper.

"Oh crap," I cursed as I noticed the sun was setting. I was meditating all afternoon and lost track of time. Meditating helped me grasp familiarity with chakra and I realized that I wasn't dreaming anymore so I poured my time on getting stronger.

I have a strong feeling that it was Hagoromo-sama who was talking me before I passed out. Who else could he be talking about? And I mentally broke down when I woke up in Tazuna-san's house.

I got up from my position, wobbling because my legs were stiff. Dusting off the dirt from my clothes, I started going back to the house.

"Haha!" I couldn't suppress the laughter when I moved my legs. 'If anybody else saw me, they would probably think I need to be locked in a room with padded walls', I thought as I tried to ignore the prickling feeling crawling through my lower limbs. I trekked down the narrow trail in the forest and soon found myself in front of a familiar sight.

I slid the door open. "I'm back."

"Welcome back, Rai-kun! Come, dinner is ready," the middle-aged woman greeted.

"Thank you, Tsunami-san. I'll be at the table after I clean myself," I responded and went straight to the bathroom.

After I collapsed by the bridge, I was brought by a villager to none other than Tazuna-san. Tsunami-san, his daughter, was more than happy to take me in after I told them what happened. It was astoundingly hard to make-up a story on the spot but I didn't have a choice. I just couldn't tell anyone, 'Hey I'm a foreigner and I know about a future where all messed up things will happen and I don't know what to do about it.'

The first few days after I woke up was difficult. Inari would look at me with jealousy, but I could see that he restrained himself. It made me smile, thinking that meeting Naruto taught him a lot of things. He started treating me better after a week, and I'm still not sure what brought it on.

I splashed water on my face before drying with a towel. I could never get over how small I am when I look at my reflection. For some reason, I looked around when I was in seventh grade. So that's around twelve to thirteen years old. At least I didn't end up as half my original age. And I also look like a typical Uzumaki. Long red hair that hung till the middle of my back and pale skin. I guess it will be safe to say I'm a remnant of the clan.

And my eyes bothered me the most. They were soft, dull, lilac in color with successive rings surrounding the pupil.

The Rinnegan. I'm still not used to the new way I see things. I tried my hardest to keep my eyes closed when other people are around. I couldn't hide it from Tazuna-san and his family. After all, they were the first people I saw after waking up.

Honestly, I don't know what to feel about my situation. Of course, I just had to be dumped with the sort of power that can get me hunted down for or even killed. I'm already endangering Tazuna-san and his family just by being here. If somehow, someone saw me with these eyes… I really hope no one did.

Sometimes, I wished that I'll wake up to the sound of my alarm and everything will be back to normal. I'll go eat breakfast and get ready for my classes. Or just play video games the whole weekend, procrastinate on homework on a Sunday night and feel like crap for waking up after less than four hours of sleep. My life was a mess, but it was a manageable mess.

But here… I don't even know where to begin. What's going to happen? Why was I even here? I know what happened in the series. Everything turned out okay in the end. His sons never faltered. Well, maybe Sasuke did, but Naruto was there to make it right. Everything was fine, everyone was safe and happy. There was no need for back-up. Uzumaki Naruto's tale was done.

Clank.

The sound of plates and bowls being set down brought me out of my thoughts. I gave my face a final wipe before stepping out of the bathroom. Tazuna-san came through the door right when Inari and I sat down by the table. Even though he was obviously tired, he grinned when he saw us.

"Ah, Inari, Rai-kun, how was your day?"

"We both did some chores, Grandpa," Inari cheerily replied.

I nodded. "I trained after helping Inari and Tsunami-san with the household chores."

"Again? You somehow remind me of Naruto, kid. That perseverance is amazing," Tazuna said, laughing good-naturedly. Tsunami brought in a steaming pot and the we started digging in the good food.

"I hope Naruto-nii-chan will come visit soon!" Inari exclaimed with a mouthful of fish.

"Chew first before talking," Tsunami-san reminded him. Inari looked apologetic and chewed.

I asked, "Who's Naruto?"

Inari bubbled in his seat and excitedly answered, "Uzumaki Naruto is one of the shinobi that helped get Grandpa home safely! He and his team saved us from Gatō. Which is why Grandpa was able to complete the bridge and the village started getting better!"

"I see. So that's why the bridge was named that way." I paused. Am I even sure on how I'm going on with this? "You said that he's a shinobi. Which village is he from?"

This time, Tazuna replied, "Ah, Konoha, if I remember right. Why do you ask?"

"He might be a relative. My name is Uzumaki Rai. I was hoping that I could meet him," I said before taking another bite from my food.

"R-Really? He's your family?!" Inari exclaimed.

"I'm not sure. But I would like to meet him either way. You speak highly of him, so I bet he's a good person," I said and smiled a little. Inari brightened up more.

"Are you planning to travel, Rai-kun?" Tsunami-san asked.

"Yes." I didn't say more.

"Don't you worry kid – I'll get you nicely packed when you're going to leave," Tazuna said and he gave me an assuring pat on the shoulder.

A sincere smile bloomed on my face. "Thank you, Tazuna-san."

Chakra was something new to me.

It nearly drove me insane when I woke up and there were too many colors. I couldn't tell if I was just hallucinating. I woke up to a face with a small outline of blue. I wasn't frightened because the I could faintly sense that the person felt calm and warm. When I took a glimpse at the window beside me, I saw too much green, mixed with flickers of brown and blue. I had a panic attack and passed out.

A few days later, which brought me here, out in the forest near the sea, trying to stick this fifth leaf on my finger. I looked down at my hand and glared at the loose leaf on my pinky.

I tried making it stick again.

Seeing the chakra on my arm, I carefully segmented the chakra flow. Little by little, I let a miniscule amount come from my pinky. It felt like meticulously putting a sample on a slide, just enough for it to not spread over. I grinned as red flittered together with the small green.

I still can't get used to the fact that people, each and every single one, has a different chakra color. Inari has chakra with the shade of cyan, and it felt light. Tazuna-san has muddy-brown chakra that felt spread out. Tsunami-san was the one with the faint blue that felt calm and warm. Then again, Tazuna-san and his family only have faint chakra since they're civilians.

My chakra was something a little different. When I look down at myself, I could see dark red. It was probably a normal red when spread out. And sometimes, I could see a mix of black in it.

Closing my eyes, I relished in the experience of seeing without literally seeing.

Did that even make sense?

Five different points of green connected with red. Finding another leaf, I slowly trickled chakra from my thumb. The green stuck on my red and I repeated the process until all my ten fingers had a leaf on each. I breathed deeply as I tried to keep my mind focused while continuously channeling my chakra.

For some reason, practicing with chakra made me a little nervous. I don't know what's up with that, but every time I channel my chakra, I have an apprehension that I might put too much. Or too less, to the point that I would be pulling chakra away instead. The latter happened to a small brown rabbit that approached me. I was surprised that it wasn't running away.

I was fascinated with rabbit's flat chakra and I brushed a finger against its soft fur in between its ears. Feeling a slight tug, I got too fascinated and the next thing I know, the poor thing flopped uselessly to the ground. Its beady eyes stared straight through me. I remembered the flat chakra turning red when it passed through my fingers. The feeling that came with it is a different story.

I still haven't forgiven myself. I hated the feeling of leeching chakra. I could feel myself getting energy, but the wisp of death when all chakra was absorbed from the rabbit was fleeting and uncontrollable. I hated how powerless I was to stop what I was doing.

Putting too much chakra on the other hand is quite more bearable. I'm not even sure if it's actually putting too much chakra. When I had my palm out, I tried putting out some red from my hand. It felt cold and there was another sensation that I could only describe as getting pushed out.

I'm guessing that it was the ability to manipulate gravity.

And so, I practiced on expulsing the same sensation from different parts of my body. I remember Nagato doing something similar. Too bad, I didn't look much into his abilities. I still can't push a field from myself completely, since I had a hard time pushing it from the soles of my feet. Can't blame me if I didn't want to go launching myself into the hard ground.

Pulling things towards me was fun. Well, not entirely fun. I can still feel the phantom pain from pulling a rock too hard and getting hit right on the forehead. It bled a lot. After that, I was more careful in speeding up the pull. I'm not really sure how I would do if someone tried to throw a kunai at me or something.

I was pulled from my memories when the sun's warmth dropped a little. Opening my eyes, I let the leaves fall from my fingers. The sun was setting again. I stood up and dusted off my clothes. I hoped I could get better at this tomorrow.

I still need a lot of practice if I want to make this work for me.

A whole month passed before I was able to say that I was fit enough to go to Konohagakure.

I had a routine that that I kept to faithfully during the past weeks. I ran laps around the village during dawn until I was wheezing for breath. After that, I would go back to the house for breakfast, help with the chores and go out again to practice with my chakra control and gravity manipulation.

Tree-walking was easy because the chakra from the tree is similar to the chakra from the leaves. Except it's denser and had more surface. On the other hand, I wouldn't have progressed in water-walking at all if not for the fact that I love the water. I worried Tsunami-san a lot during the days when I would come back soaked.

And of course, gravity manipulation. I only got a little better after I managed to walk on the water's flowing surface. I somehow overcame my fear of expelling chakra from my feet and applied it. I was able to stay in mid-air while expulsing a force from my body.

There was still much to practice, but I have to go and see what's happening with Naruto.

Tsunami-san was tightening the strings on my pack while fussing over the food that she packed for me. Tazuna-san came into view, and was holding a beautifully crafted cane.

"Here kiddo," he said and handed it to me, together with a soft, black strip of cloth. I held my breath as I took the cane carefully and I stuffed the cloth in my pocket. The curve of the handle was elegant and the wood itself was quite heavy. Its color was dark-reddish brown. I felt a hand ruffle my hair, making long strands stick out awkwardly.

I saw his outline brighten up. "I'm glad you like it. Since you said that you can't let anyone see those eyes of yours, what's much better than pretending to be blind, aye?" He explained. Of course! I ran to him and hugged him by the waist. I was red in the face for acting like a kid… But hey, I'm technically a kid right now.

"Thank you, Tazuna-san! You're brilliant! Thank you," I gushed as I held the cane. He patted me on the head and went by the side with Inari while Tsunami-san secured the pack on my shoulders. I tied the blindfold around my eyes and I checked myself over. I was wearing a similar outfit to Tazuna-san. Everything were dark in color but I had my sleeves long, just in case it gets a little too cold at night.

"There you go. Be sure to always check your supplies," Tsunami-san sternly said. I nodded in acknowledgement. I felt the warmth of sunlight as it started pouring in through the windows. I guess it's time to go.

"I appreciate everything you have done for me." I bowed down to my waist.

"Don't mention it, kid. Now go, before my daughter and grandson tie you down and never let you leave," Tazuna said, giving me another affectionate pat on the head. I nodded respectfully to Inari and Tsunami-san.

"I'll make sure to mention you to Naruto when I meet him," I said. Inari's frown turned into a grin.

"Yeah! Take care Rai-nii!" Before I could slide open the door, I was engulfed in a hug by Tsunami and Inari. Even with my eyes closed, I could see them dim with sadness.

"Make sure you eat properly. I will know if you don't," she threatened jokingly as she let go of us.

"Will do, Tsunami-san. Thank you. Let's fish together when I come to visit, Inari-kun. That's a promise." I smiled at the boy.

"Un!" He nodded with a strained smile as he tried his hardest not to cry. I looked away, my eyes stinging a little.

I bowed to them once more before I stepped outside. I could see their gazes on me until I turned by a corner and out of their sight. I looked on the road ahead and kept walking.

The Great Naruto Bridge, as huge as it is, looked so small compared to the things that were going to happen.

"That kid. It's hard to believe he's just twelve years old," Tazuna muttered under his breath. Inari already left the room to prepare for that day's carpentry lesson.

"He's very polite, yes. I understand what you mean. It's like I'm talking to someone my age when I talk to him. I still can't help but worry, you know?" She chuckled sadly, glancing at the direction the red-haired child disappeared to.

"Aa. He'll be fine, you saw how the kid moved. Brat is confident and knows what he's doing."

'This is fun!' I thought with glee as I zoomed through the forest. I lost track of how long I was running. I'm betting it's been quite a while because I think I just passed by Port City. Since it was still close to the sea, I figured I should go up north some more before going west to Konohagakure. If I remember correctly, there's another city ahead and that will be my stop.

And who knew that leaping from branch to branch could actually be fun? I thought it looked a little silly, but it takes skill. I grimaced as I remember how painful it was when I missed a step and hit my shin hard on a branch. Man, that was bad.

I kept on running, or leaping, while I reviewed the background story I made up. I tried to make it as close to the truth as possible. I didn't really like lying, especially to good people.

Alright, the plan is to keep it short and simple.

I'm an orphan. I don't know who my parents were. Megumi-obaa-chan took care of me until she was killed by passing bandits. I was able to run away. I wandered the Land of Waves until I collapsed and was taken in by Tazuna-san and his family. They told me of a team of shinobi that helped him to finish building the Great Naruto Bridge. And therefore, I'm here in Konoha, hoping to find a living relative.

Not to mention, I have a cooked-up genjutsu for them. As I told myself, simple and subtle is how you channel chakra into the person's mind without forgetting the purpose. I'll scare the crap of anyone who tries to mess with me.

"Heheh," I chuckled, already imagining reactions.

Refocusing on the road, or trees, I kept a steady pace until I arrived at a clearing with an archway.

Otafuku Gai

You've got to be kidding me.

I… Uh, I don't know what to feel. I remember faintly that this is where Jiraiya and Naruto stopped to gather intel on Tsunade. Pfft, I bet Jiraiya only wanted to see the women at the brothel. I already have a bad feeling about this place.

I didn't ignore the pang of hunger and immediately looked for a place to eat in. I went in what seemed a barbeque house and ordered myself two full plates of grilled meat and a cup of hot tea. Not long after, the food was brought and I happily ate everything. I don't see the point of staying around, except to ask for directions, just to be sure that I won't get lost.

After I paid for my meal, I bowed my head respectfully to the lady who took my order. I saw her chakra flicker in surprise. She was courteous enough not to treat me like an incapacitated child. I went on my way with a small smile.

At the corner of my eye, I saw a group of three men with unsettling smiles on their faces as they followed me. Geez, do I look that feminine? I brushed off that thought and continued walking. Heh, let's see what will happen.

Hmm, let's see. There! I turned right into to a dark, narrow alley. They followed suit. I kept walking until I was tackled to the ground. Ouch. My pack brushed roughly against my arm and my cane fell. They snickered as their leader, who was on top of me, fumbled for the hem of my pants.

In broad daylight? Really?

Time to act.

"W-What are you doing, mister?" I asked, making my lips tremble and did my best to look confused. Ugh.

"Aww, she's so innocent, Ganju-san," cheered goon number one.

"Yeah, you sure you wanna ruin the goods before selling her?" That was goon number two. So they have some human trafficking going on.

"Shut up! I wanna have some fun. The last brat was screaming too much," this Ganju-bastard responded. I felt my jaw clench. Really? So they're specifically looking for little girls to rape and then sell? I don't know where this feeling is coming from, since my sense of justice wasn't really well shaped before. But I didn't like it when they talked about easily destroying someone like that.

My breathing became harsher.

"She's scared now," cackled goon number two.

I barely heard it. I was too busy looking at the trash on top of me. There was something mixed in with his chakra. It was a strange color, like purple mixed with something I can't describe. The trash stayed still when I reached out to his face.

Information flooded me. How he raped his previous victim. How she cried for help, even though nobody was there to help her. How this trash just laughed in her face for her attempts. How he was planning to have fun with a blind 'girl', thinking that she is oblivious to what's going to happen. How he was going to have so much fun when that blind girl won't know until she's already being ravaged. How–

I closed my eyes and gave in to the heaving pull from my fingers.

"W-What," was the last thing he could say before he completely stopped moving. My eyes widened under my blindfold. Shit! It was his soul! Quickly grasping my cane in my left hand, I slammed the malformed mass into it.

He fell sideways, and I scrambled to my feet. My blindfold came loose.

"Ganju-san!"

"Why you!" The other goons attacked me. I grinned at how things were turning out.

"You'll get what you deserve." Seeing the same strange color on goon number one, I grasped at it and ripped his soul. I put their souls together within the cane. It hummed with energy… and something sinister.

Crap. I forgot to ask for directions. Better do it now.

"I'll kill you too if you make any noise," I lowly said as I pushed him down to the pavement with chakra. I felt strangely satisfied when he shuddered in fear.

"Which way is Konohagakure no Sato?" I asked. He sobbed pathetically. I pressured more force on his chest when he didn't answer.

"W-West! West of here!" He replied. Finally. I grimaced when the stench of urine wafted over my nose. How pathetic could he get? He did all those disgusting things, and now he's practically begging to be spared? Sighing, I abruptly tugged at his soul and let it join his companions in my cane. The body fell with a soft thud to the ground.

I looked around. Three dead men were lying by my feet. By then, it just started sinking in.

I pulled out their souls. Of course they would die. But… to think that they would go for me, who appeared as a disabled child. To think that even in my condition, they would take advantage of that just to satisfy their sick needs.

I just fucking killed three people.

Do I regret it? No. They deserved it. I left it at that.

"What a mess," I said as I rubbed my face tiredly. Oh right my blindfold.

I was about to tie it back around my head, but I didn't do it. I want to see this world with my own eyes. With nothing in the way. I guess a genjutsu would do for now. Starting on the illusion, I nudged chakra around the outer corner of my eye and bit by bit, I visualized my eyes without the rings. I maintained the color and added white to separate my irises from the sclera.

Grabbing a knife from the pants of one of the goons, I peeked at my reflection. Huh, I actually look like a normal person. I fixed my pants and secured my cane and pack, leaving the alley with calm composure.

Before finally leaving Otafuku Gai, I paused.

"Too much power corrupts, huh," I mumbled to myself. Hagoromo-sama, I'm sorry. It seems that you picked the wrong person. I chuckled bitterly at the thought.

The sun cast a shadow behind me.

"To the West it is."

I pushed my body as hard as I could.

When I stopped for the night, I camped out at a branch on a massive tree that I found. The next thing I know, I'm waking up as the rays of the sun flitted over the dark sky. Careful not to drop my pack, I yawned and stretched like a cat. I was satisfied enough when I heard cracks from my back. Breakfast was pretty much uneventful. I chewed on the dried fish that Tsunami-san packed for me before leaping down from the tree.

"Shit!" I cursed as I saw the distance of the ground, zooming to meet my face.

Crap! I'm going to–

I managed to suppress my panic and forced out a small gravity field from my palm. It contradicted the direction of my fall and I bounced mid-air. I was able to put myself upright before I landed on the earth in a crouch.

"That was close," I muttered as I dusted myself off and exhaled loudly. 'Damn. I'm such an idiot sometimes. How could I forget that I slept on a high branch?' I thought as I rubbed my face in an exasperated manner. I regained my composure and fixed my grip on my cane.

…

That sounds weird.

…

Hahaha! Alright, that was so immature, but I couldn't help it.

I leapt onto a low branch and regulated my chakra to let my steps launch me onto the next one. Little by little, I increased my speed. I was hoping to reach the main road to Konoha by noon.

I wasn't disappointed when a few hours later, a wide road came into view, and the shade of the comforting shade of the forest was abruptly cut by the open space. I heeled myself to a stop and turned to face the sight before me.

Two humungous gates stood not too far from me. Seeing it in artworks was nice. But this is totally different. Holy shit.

Checking that my chakra was suppressed to a civilian's level, I started making my way to the gates.

Holy crap. This is way too cool. I felt like a little kid in a museum.

…

Oh wait. I am a kid. I rolled my eyes at myself.

I walked a little to the side to not catch too much attention while gawking. The gates were colossal in size. The symbol of the village was proudly carved on the middle of the gateway. The wide berth of the entrance is just a peek on how huge the village is. Holy crap. I could see so many buildings down the road and the Hokage Mountain loomed in the back. I could also faintly see the Hokage's office.

I stopped gawking when I saw one of the gatekeepers approach me. Kamizuki Izumo, right?

"Hey kid, are you lost?" Well then.

"No, mister. I was wondering if I could stop by a place to eat?" I inquired politely. As if on que, my stomach let out a soft rumble.

His eyes widened for reasons unknown to me. "It's alright, I suppose. Where are your parents?" He asked while looking around. I saw his eyes go over my face, down at my cane, and at my pack.

"I'm all alone," I answered before he could notice that I was observing him too. My shoulders slumped a little as that realization hit me. Homesickness hit me hard as my answer sunk in. I wish there was someone or anyone who could tell me that everything's going to be alright, even if just for a moment.

"…Sorry. Just following protocols. I need you to write your name down and you can be on your way," he said apologetically as he went back to the desk. I followed after him. He extended out an arm that had a clipboard and a pen.

Uzumaki Rai

I handed back the clipboard to him.

"U…zumaki? Rai?" Izumo voiced as he wrote on his clipboard. Discreetly channeling more chakra to my eyes, I saw that he was putting in my physical description.

"Yeah, Rai. Like lightning," I responded childishly while gesturing in the air. There was a pause between them.

"That's a name I haven't heard in a while," Kotetsu said as he leaned forward.

GROWL.

"U-Uh, sorry." I couldn't control the heat that worked its way up to my face. This. Is. Fucking. Awkward.

Izumo's eyes flickered to the Hokage's office. No, no, no. Not now!

"Mister, could you please suggest a good place that serves noodles?" I inquired, successfully cutting of his thought on sending me to the Hokage's office.

"Ah, there's a popular place called Ichiraku Ramen. Just go down the main road and turn left by the street before the flower shop. Turn left again and you can see it right around the corner." I thanked them with a bow and followed the directions he gave.

"I think we just gave old man Teuchi a steady income," Kotetsu said jokingly as he nudged Izumo in the ribs. "Did you see how wide his grin is? Yeah." I grinned at that.

Also, I think I heard him say 'Itachi' before I was out of earshot.

I excitedly made my way through the main road. I was giddy. Like, holy crap. Never in my life that I expected to see Konoha in person. Much less tour in it! My eyes hungrily drank in the sight of Konoha and her citizens.

There are live, breathing people. I saw mothers tag along their children while they stopped by shops. I saw a couple of more kids hanging out by a dango shop, their parents looking miserable as they ate too much. I kept on walking and passed a pastry shop. There was a man who looked like he was about to have aneurysm on choosing which flavor he was going to get.

Konoha was truly alive, especially when you can see those small outlines glow with happiness.

During my walk, I noticed that some adults were giving me weird looks. I shrugged it off. Can't have my mood dragged down, especially when I was having too much fun.

The flower shop came into view. The sign read, Yamanaka Flowers. Huh. I never realized that it was actually close to Ichiraku Ramen. I was about to turn left when something in the opposite direction caught my eye.

I'd recognize that huge-ass fan and that puppet anywhere. Unable to stop myself, I approached the group. It was unreal to see people I've read about in the flesh. It's hard to absorb that they're actually in front of me. However, my pleasant thoughts were diminished when I saw Konohamaru struggling in Kankuro's grip.

I… Man, that's just uncool. Konohamaru is half his size, geez.

"Please stop before you make more of a fool of yourself," I said as I approached them.

"Tch! Another brat?" He glanced at my form. "Heh! What do you think you can do?" With that, he threw Konohamaru at Naruto and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. I furrowed my brows when I saw my pack and cane fall to the ground.

This dude is… "So uncool." I grunted as he threw me down. I saw Naruto's group stiffen up in apprehension. Sasuke stayed unmoving on his tree.

"Huh? What did you just day?! You need to know when you're in the presence of someone better than you!" Oh crap. Of course he's not going to stop. I just had to run my mouth. I grinned, despite my situation. This is going to be interesting.

He started to unwrap his puppet's cover. I saw his chakra flow increase around his arms and hands.

"You're going to use Karasu for this?" Asked his sister.

"These kids need to know who they're dealing with," he said with an arrogant smirk. He sneered down at me and I stared up at him defiantly even with my eyes closed. He then moved to unleash his weapon.

"Kankuro, stop. You're a disgrace to our village."

There were multiple gasps of surprise.

"Hahaha!" It's so amusing to see him freeze in fear at the voice of his baby brother. Oops. Now they're giving me weird looks.

"Thank you. I was afraid that this was getting out of hand," I said while picking up myself up. Gaara leapt from the tree and right in front of his older siblings. I had to look up just to see his face. The symbol of the word 'love' stood out in his visage. Now that I got a closer look, it must have hurt when he got it because it was a scar.

"What's your name?" He asked. He was making eye contact with me.

THUMP.

My heart almost burst, but I remembered that I had genjutsu over my eyes. I tried to calm down, realizing that he wasn't attacking me.

"I'm Rai," I said with a neutral tone, although I was shuddering inside. If I had accidentally given him a hint on my abilities, he might go after me. And I don't want to deal with a bloodthirsty Gaara. Nope. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, his eyes never leaving my face.

He's scarily good at unnerving people.

"Sabaku no Gaara. Mother says you feel familiar." I held my breath when his hand ghosted over my face. I saw his chakra, tainted with Shukaku's malevolence, brush against my face. His sand also started moving. Shit.

"Let's go," he ordered his siblings and they disappeared at the corner.

I blinked.

What?

There were collective sighs of relief. Sasuke leapt down from the tree and glared at me. Um, okay. Now that I have a better glanced at him, his chakra was dark blue and it felt cold. Hm.

"Thank you. That was very brave of you to stand up to someone older," said a feminine voice from my back. I turned around and faced Sakura. Her chakra was light orange in color and it radiated warmth… and imbalance? Huh, oh right, she asked me something. I mentally smirked.

"It's no problem. Thankfully, Gaara-san showed up. I didn't want to hurt him," I responded. The shock on her face was amusing. Are extremely polite kids very rare nowadays?

"O-Oh, and um, where are your parents?" I almost rolled my eyes at her question.

"I don't have parents anymore, miss." She was once again shocked.

"How old are you?" I tilted my head at Sasuke's voice before answering.

"I'm twelve. And who are you, mister?"

"Hn. Uchiha Sasuke."

"Sorry, I'm Haruno Sakura, Rai-chan. This is Naruto, Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi," she said as she gestured respectively. My eye twitched at the honorific. Rai-chan? Really?

Remembering what she said, I took that as a cue and asked, "Naruto? The Great Naruto Bridge?" Naruto's expression changed from shock to a grin.

"Yeah! I'm gonna be Hokage one day, believe it!" Sasuke scoffed. I swear, Konohamaru had stars in his eyes.

"It's an honor to meet you. My name is Uzumaki Rai. Inari has told me stories about you and your team," I said as I bowed lightly.

"U-Uzumaki?! And Inari!" I couldn't suppress a smile at his enthusiasm. His impressively bright chakra glowed even more.

"Yes, Naruto-san. The Land of Waves is doing extremely well. I've been travelling for quite a while, but as I've seen, it's worth it. Could you possibly be a relative?"

"Yatta! Another Uzumaki!" I sweat-dropped. He wasn't listening at all. I yelped as I found myself on the ground and a hyperactive Naruto clinging to me. I yelped when I felt his hands on my chest.

What the hell?

Naruto's excitement was cut off by a scandalized gasp and a whack to the head. I even saw Sasuke's eyes widen a little.

"Stop molesting her, idiot!" Sakura screamed as she kept hitting Naruto when he was frozen. A second later, he seemed to realize what he was doing and whoa. I've never seen him move that fast before. He was back on his feet and was staring at me, eyes intensely focused in concentration.

"Y-You're a guy," he whispered. "You're a guy! I thought you were a girl!"

My eye twitched at that, but I decided to tease him.

"Aa, Naruto-san. Are you perhaps a homosexual? Even if so, I wouldn't look at you any differently," I said and couldn't help but smile at the end. He was a sputtering mess of denial and blushes.

"I-I'm not, dattebayo! I like girls! And you just look too girly!" My eye twitched again. I saw silver form for a split-second before a voice came with it.

"Ah, there you are." It was Hatake Kakashi in the flesh. Holy crap. That hair is awesome.

"Konohamaru, you and your friends should go back. Iruka is not happy," he smiled with an eye. With a chorus of a frightened 'hai' they scrambled and ran. Back to the academy I guess.

"Who's your friend here?" He asked, tilting his head a little to the side.

"Uzumaki Rai," I responded. I thanked Naruto when he helped me get up and pick up my things. Kakashi-san was deathly quiet as he looked at me, as if trying to find something. Err. No. I looked back at him and furrowed my brows in mock confusion. He finally looked away and spoke to the three genin.

"I've signed you up for the Chūnin exams. I think you're ready. Just show up at this address a week later. Ja!" He mock-saluted as he disappeared in a blur of leaves. Oh.

GROWL.

I felt like my head was going to explode out of embarrassment.

"I, uh, um," I wasn't able to finish as Naruto started dragging me to Ichiraku Ramen. I barely had time to get my pack and my cane. I watched as Sakura get rejected by Sasuke when she asked if she could train with him. Sasuke in person is something else. He's impossibly rude.

"Naruto-san, how about…?"

"Nah, Sakura always says no and bastard won't want to come," he replied with a grimace. Huh. He wasn't as… carefree as he was depicted. But then again, he's a real person now. Not just a fictional character. I also observed his chakra dim a little when he answered. How was he able to go through that kind of treatment like it was nothing? Even when we started walking out the street, I saw a couple of villagers look at him like he's unworthy dust in their shoes.

I was lost in thought until Naruto started talking again.

"Teuchi-ojii! My usual and a beef ramen with extra beef!" I stared up at Naruto in surprise.

"You need more meat, Rai! You're too small!" My eye twitched. I… I'm actually a little shorter than Naruto. Just you guys wait for my growth spurt. Tch. I sighed and let it go.

"Make that two bowls for me please, Teuchi-san."

A/N: Rai has some issues lol. Thanks for reading!