Chapter 1: New Beginnings
Okay, so… I said that I would wait 2-3 weeks, but I couldn't make myself wait any longer. Dx I'm too excited to start this.
Well, here's chapter 1 of Part 3! I still can't quite believe I'm finally here. When I initially began writing this fanfiction, it was because I wanted to write the content of this part and then part 4. I knew that Arashi would need to be developed before I could even begin writing her into canon events, though, so I started her off as an overly sweet, air head of a girl and got to work. Over 180k words later, and I'm finally here.
Chapter Song: Beirut – Nantes
Chapter Summary: Years after the Uchiha massacre, Arashi meditates on how much has changed, and witnesses the start of many new beginnings.
Chapter 1
Arashi could not say what form of madness took her after the massacre. With a driving fury, she dug through every report on the incident that she could get her hands on. As always, her connection to Ibiki made a little more available for her, but she found no answers to her questions.
One night, her dearest friend single handedly murdered his entire clan and then escaped the Village before anyone knew what happened.
Nothing she was able to find contradicted that report. There was no evidence that suggested anything else happened that night.
The more she vexed herself about it, the more she tore herself apart at the seams. The issues she had with the shinobi lifestyle with all of its traditions were no longer the melancholic thoughts of a child growing up too fast. They stole her sleep, her appetite, and her peace. Not only had she been groomed into a weapon from a young child – an innocent creature that never wanted to do harm – she watched as her brother followed the same path. Her eyes were opened to the truth – they were all caught in a never ending cycle of violence. Each Land was pitted against the other, every person was a pawn, and the minds of the most promising children were the ones that the elders warped the most.
She grew to hate it.
Arashi should have given up on Itachi. She had a family, a career, and friends – even if they were dysfunctional. She should have written him off as a madman and went on with her life – but she could not.
"It is unwise to be so lost in thought."
She blinked, "I know, Itachi. Just thinking."
"Of your family?"
"Every day," she admitted. "But I couldn't abandon you."
"You are foolish."
He was no longer the warm person she knew – but sometimes, whether it was a trick of her mind or not, she would catch a glimpse of the person he used to be.
"I know."
He turned away from her and continued walking through a crowded street. They were far from Konoha, but they still had to keep a watchful eye. Being in the Bingo Book made them highly sought after – Itachi far more than Arashi.
She shrugged and followed after the Uchiha.
Ultimately, she was selfish when it came to him.
Arashi jerked awake, drenched in sweat. She sat up in her bed and pushed a floral blanket away from her body. It took several moments for her breathing to return to normal.
She was home and in her room – not on the run as a criminal.
The kunoichi rubbed her temples and slid out of bed. It was nothing more than a recurring dream that refused to go away for long, and each time it came back it rattled her.
Losing Itachi had not been easy, but it was made worse by his last actions in the village. The weeks that followed the massacre were hard and she filled them with looking into what happened. She was convinced that there had to be some explanation that would prove his innocence in some form or fashion, so she searched and questioned until she was at her wit's end. Each day turned into a week and then weeks turned into months. She never found what she was looking for.
There were questions that would never be answered – and she came to accept that. If she ever came to know everything that caused the tragedy or not was out of her hands. In the end, she re-devoted herself to her studies, her research, and doing what she originally wanted to do with her life: help the people of the Land of Fire.
She knew that the dream was a manifestation of questions she pushed to the back of her mind and the desire to save her old friend. Still, the idea of leaving her family, her friends, and the Village – for a person that murdered his own family – was beyond her. It made her feel dirty that her subconscious would conjure up such a situation and then force her to reenact it once every month or so.
Arashi was no longer a love sick fourteen year old girl, crying in the rain. She was eighteen now, and scheduled to help with a few procedures in the hospital that day. There was no time for her to lay in bed, vexing over a dream. She had places to go, things to do.
With a deep breath to steady her nerves, she stepped onto the rug she bought to cover the deep scratches on the floor from when she pushed a bookcase across it to barricade the door. One positive thing from that was that she never stepped onto cold wood straight out of bed, anymore. She stretched and walked over to the window. Some fresh air always helped her move about better in the mornings. She pushed the floral curtains out of the way and froze.
There was paint all over the glass.
The familiar signature of Uzumaki Naruto stood outside her home, on the street.
She jerked the window open and yelled, "Naruto, I thought we were cool!"
Below, the boy ran back and forth, a bucket of paint swinging in one of his hands and the other pointing to his forehead. She squinted at him. In the place where his goggles always sat was a hitai-ate, instead.
"Sis! Sis! Look, look, look!" The boy yelled up to her. "I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!"
Arashi's mouth fell open, "You passed? I thought you failed! Was Iruka-san sick of you flunking all of his tests or something?"
The boy squinted at her, "No – and that doesn't even matter! I'm a ninja!"
"When do you meet your new Sensei?"
"Today!"
"Well," Arashi rubbed some sleep from her eyes and glanced at a clock in her room, "You need to go or you'll be late! Hurry!"
His blue eyes widened and he dropped the bucket of paint on the ground. Without any other words, he dashed away to get to the Academy.
Several civilians that witnessed their exchange gave her and the boy a strange look. She shrugged and closed the window.
Her parents were going to be furious, but she would clean the paint off that evening. She was proud of Naruto. The boy was on cloud nine, which she could not fault him for. She had been ecstatic, too, until she learned who her teammates were.
He was in for a surprise when he discovered that the hard part had just begun – if the Jounin even agreed to take Naruto's squad on as students. Jounin typically tested their would-be students the day of meeting them or the day after. She would find Naruto and ask him how everything went the next day. Knowing how difficult everything was for the boy, she made a mental note to say a few prayers for him.
She chuckled and moved away from the window.
Arashi had a long day ahead of her and she needed to find the time to order flowers.
"Hey, everyone. Sorry about how long it's been since the last time I visited."
Arashi scrubbed some dirt from the surface of a grave's marker. The name: Uchiha Fugaku was carved into the stone, easily legible now that it was clean. She replaced the dead flowers from her previous visit with new ones she had picked up that morning.
"Yesterday, I had that dream again. I always know it's been a while since I checked on you guys when I start having it," she explained to the graves. "Not much has really changed, though."
Arashi went to another marker to clean.
"Akio's still in ANBU. I don't see him as much as I used to, but he makes a point to touch base with me. Daisuke landed a permanent spot in the Torture and Interrogation squad about a month ago. No surprise there. Ibiki Sensei worked hard preparing him. We all still meet up to get something to eat and we'll take turns training with each other when we have the opportunity."
She sighed.
"So, they're both members of ANBU. Akio for a little over a year now and Daisuke just recently. I'm still a chuunin."
She placed a flower at another grave and moved on.
"I told you all about my studies a few years ago. Those are still going well. I might just be a chuunin, but that doesn't really bother me. I help people in the hospital, take some B ranked missions here and there, and I work on learning and perfecting jutsu. It's a more passive role than I originally planned for myself, but that's okay."
Her words sounded hollow to her ears. She did not feel like it was okay. Both of her teammates had left her behind, not that she expected to walk the same path as them. When she was fourteen, she wanted to believe she would achieve a Jounin ranking in four years' time.
Then the massacre happened.
Ibiki never addressed her sudden lack of motivation, but she was confident he noticed and knew why. She feared the darkness that waited for her if she delved too deeply into the ways of the shinobi. If it swept Itachi away then she doubted she could withstand it.
Then again, she did not dismiss the possibility that her strange friend had been crazy all along and she had just not seen it because of her naiveté.
She cleared her throat, "I'm not sure how long it's been since Sasuke last visited. Even if he doesn't come here often, I'm sure he cares. He hasn't been the same without you guys."
Arashi left the comment at that.
Sasuke was a distant and angry child. When she went to him to offer her condolences, she was met with only hostility. He never explained why, but she knew. She reminded him of Itachi. He had since pushed her away until she no longer tried.
It made her feel bad, but he was not her responsibility. It was his decision. If he did not want to have anything to do with her, then she was more than happy to stay away from him. She had too little time as it was, and too many people to divide it between.
"But yeah," she shrugged. "Nothing is really different. I'm going to find out if Naruto is a Genin today, or if he's going back to the Academy." She snorted, "And I know, Fugaku-san. You warned me to guard my reputation by avoiding him, but that's not in my nature. He's not the brightest and no one's safe from his pranks. Not even me. He made my mom angry yesterday – by painting something about being a ninja and being on his way to Hokage on the side of our home. Thankfully, it all came off. He's got a good heart, though and I appreciate that, even with his personality flaws."
Arashi shook her head. She sometimes wondered what went through Naruto's mind.
"Dad works all the time, so nothing new there. Mom keeps herself busy with her salon, but she loves it. Kazika's still in the Academy and doing very well. He enjoys it even more than he did at first. I mentioned that they started letting him use his tanto again after the last incident, didn't I? Dad was furious. I don't think I've ever seen him so mad."
She circled through the area, making sure that all of the markers were clean and decorated with a flower. Once she checked each, she returned to the first two she visited.
"Hey, Mikoto-san. I still try the recipes you showed me, but I'm not as good at cooking as you were…" she trailed off. "I wish things could have turned out differently."
She gathered all of her things together.
"Oh well! I'll see you all next time. Maybe I'll have something new to talk about."
Arashi walked through the village, following after Naruto's signature.
As much as she questioned the benefits of being a shinobi, she was happy for him. Unlike her, he had no family waiting for him and no friends to help him through rough times. For reasons that were out of his control, the inhabitants of Konoha distrusted and despised him. One of his only hopes for having a life was to be a ninja and earn the respect of his peers, even if it was dangerous.
Her years in the Academy were now a little vague to her. She studied hard, applied herself, and breezed through most of the tests. For Naruto, it was much more difficult. Ookami taught her good studying habits at a young age and groomed her into being a medical shinobi while the other students were focused on generalized studies.
That difference in focus was one of the main differences between a student that came from a family with shinobi in it and a student with a civilian family. While it was more notable for clans to train their offspring outside of those classes and to guide them in their traditions, children from shinobi that did not belong to a clan also received special attention from their parents. Naruto's life would have been much different if his parents were alive; instead, he was left to fend for himself with loose guidance from the few people in the village that were kind to him.
She had hoped he would make friends in class, but that did not happen. Now that he was a Genin – she assumed he passed – he had a chance to form bonds with his teammates. If she managed to befriend Akio and Daisuke, then Naruto would be able to manage whoever else was in his squad.
Arashi tingled with excitement for him. She wanted to rush to him and congratulate him. From what she could tell, he was close to Ichiraku's – no surprise there. The smell from the restaurants in the area wafted through the air, pushed along by the gentle breeze. It should have made her hungry, but the idea of ramen still turned her stomach. She never thought she would hate anything that much.
She could have closed the distance between them quickly, but she held back. There were three signatures with him. She assumed they were his squad. One was Uchiha Sasuke – they would be fighting as much as she fought with Daisuke. The kunoichi wished that amount of antagonism on no one. The second was familiar, but not enough for her to connect a face to it. It was the third signature, the Jounin's, which made her pause.
His chakra shot through him like electricity – invigorating and disciplined. She had felt his presence countless times, but always at a distance. It had been years since she last laid eyes on him, though. She rationalized that it was because he was often busy on missions outside the village. That he had taken students surprised her – most shinobi as engulfed in their careers as he was often found the prospect of working with Genin too much responsibility or too troublesome.
Kakashi? Naruto's on a team with Sasuke and his Sensei is Hatake Kakashi? Well. This is going to be interesting.
The first person to come into view was the Jounin. His three students were already inside and seated. He was about to join them, but paused when he noticed Arashi approaching him.
He stood almost a head taller than Arashi, even without taking his hair into consideration. Half of his face was covered by a mask while a hitai-ate covered his left eye, but she could still make out the sharp angles of his chin and nose. He was no longer a young boy, but an established shinobi - one that was hard to read. The bored, half lidded way he watched her did not reveal his thoughts and the laid back manner that he held himself only hinted at an underlying confidence. Without knowing which subtleties to look for, she doubted she would have noticed even that.
When she was still several strides away, she opened her mouth to greet him, but was cut off.
"Well, if it isn't my little fwend, all grown up."
His tone was overly sweet and the skin around his eye crinkled in a smile.
Her cheeks burned.
Oh kami, he remembers me as a spoiled six year old.
Arashi was mortified.
This was the first time he had spoken to her in twelve years and he was teasing her – within earshot of the Genin. If they overheard the exchange, they would possibly have questions and there was no way she wanted to go through the embarrassment of remembering herself as a child that cared more about making sure the bow in her hair was perfect rather than knowing how to handle a kunai properly.
From years of Daisuke's goading, her instincts automatically flipped to being defensive. She almost crossed her arms and threw her nose up in the air, but that gesture would have announced that she was uncomfortable with what he had said. She refused to give him that.
Instead, Arashi forced her lips into a grin to feign that the blush on her face was from amusement.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she took a step toward him; placing herself a little closer than what was appropriate. "Looks like I'm not the only one, though. You've finally grown into those awkward knees and elbows of yours."
He arched one silver eyebrow at her.
"You still need to grow into those ears, though," She added and poked his chest for good measure.
For a brief second, the sensation of his signature tingled across her skin and made her hair stand on end. Arashi pulled her hand back and touched her scarf. It was still cold, but warmer than it had been before and there was something else about it that had her pinned to that spot. It was like a breath of air to burning lungs. For the first time in years she wanted to wrap herself in someone's aura and be consumed by it.
Before she had much time to consider it, Naruto crashed into her, "I'm a Genin!"
She stumbled a few steps before she regained her balance, "I see that!"
He released her waist and shot a grin up at her that split his face from ear to ear. When Naruto was happy, his expressions showed it in spades.
"Congratulations!" She turned to face him, "It took you long enough, you know. I was starting to worry that you'd be in those classes until you turned eighteen."
"They don't have classes for people that old," a pink haired girl commented.
Sasuke smirked, but remained quiet. He did not greet the Chuunin that was once his brother's friend or acknowledge the glance that she threw in his direction. They had long since come to a silent but mutual agreement to treat each other like strangers.
Arashi turned her attention to the girl and snorted, "I know."
Naruto pouted and crossed his arms, "Oi! I've got this. I'm going to be Hokage someday, y'know! Nothing's going to hold me back."
"Yeah, yeah," Kakashi sighed. "We know."
Naruto disregarded their previous statements, "Eat some ramen with us! Sensei's treating!"
Kakashi gave the boy a flippant look.
Naruto, this should be something involving just your squad… like a bonding thing.
Either Arashi was a better liar than she gave herself credit for, or Naruto was the most oblivious person in the world. Out of all the times he coerced her into paying for his food there, she had managed to not eat a bowl of ramen in two years. The smell alone made her ill.
"Um, I'm not really hungry right now."
Naruto grabbed her arm and pulled her to a seat. Her shoulders sagged in defeat. She was a push over and he knew it.
Kakashi sat at the opposite end from her, beside Sasuke. The pink haired girl placed herself between the Uchiha and Naruto.
"This is Arashi. We're not related or anything, but she's like a big sister to me, y'know!"
"Hi," she leaned forward to see everyone. "Well, I know all of your names, I think." She pointed to the girl with pink hair. "Sakura, right?"
Her eyes lit up from the recognition, "Yes, Arashi-san."
"Naruto's mentioned you a bit."
Naruto blushed. Some days, he went on about her for hours.
"Oh, really?" She laughed, uncomfortably.
"Don't worry. Only good things." Arashi informed her. My teammates couldn't stand the ground I walked on. She should be happy.
Despite trying to tune it out, Arashi was aware of the love triangle between the three. She wondered if Naruto's version of the ordeal was the most accurate, but it was all she had to go by. From what she gathered, the Uzumaki had a crush on Sakura, but she was only interested in the Uchiha. In turn, Sasuke would have nothing to do with her.
I'm glad that wasn't going on in my group. She cleared her throat, "Could I have some water? Tap is fine."
The owner's daughter, Ayame, nodded at her request.
"Neh, tell them about yourself! Like, y'know, Kakashi Sensei had us talk about likes and dislikes, dreams, and hobbies. Stuff like that!"
Arashi accepted a cup of water from Ayame with a whispered thanks.
"He also poked you in the butt and threw you in a pond," Sakura mumbled.
The medic nearly snorted water through her nose, "What?"
Naruto groaned in embarrassment – momentarily forgetting the ramen in front of him.
Arashi leaned forward so that Kakashi could meet her gaze, "I really hope you washed your hands before coming here."
"Ew." Sakura covered her mouth.
Sasuke snorted, quietly.
Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed at the Chuunin.
"Okay," Arashi leaned back. "I'll answer your questions, Naruto-kun. I like stuff. I dislike things. I've had all sorts of dreams this week, and I guess breathing is my favorite hobby."
The three Genin squinted at her.
"Neh, Sis? You're not as funny as you think you are, y'know."
"Pfft, fine! I like learning and developing new jutsu. I dislike a lot of stuff, but nothing worth mentioning. My driving motivation isn't really a dream. I just want to be as useful as I can be as a medical nin. As for hobbies? I go through spells of reading a bit, I help my mother with her salon – which isn't much of a hobby, I like collecting mementos from missions, and hmm… talking about myself is weird."
"That's more than what Kakashi Sensei had to say!" Naruto informed her through a mouthful of ramen.
"Naruto, don't talk with your mouth full!" Sakura scolded him and then added, "Yeah, we just got his name."
Arashi glanced over to the Jounin. His bowl was completely empty and he sat with his nose in a book, ignoring them.
Wow, he eats fast – oh kami, is that what I think it is? Her eye twitched. He's openly reading smut in front of these kids?
She never would have pegged him as that kind of person.
Naruto followed her stare over to the Jounin and to the empty bowl, "If you're so hungry, have some of mine!"
He thrust his noodle laden chopsticks in her face and she barely managed to choke back a gag.
"You idiot, ramen's one of her dislikes," Sasuke stated, flatly.
His blue eyes widened and he stared at her, as if to say "No. Not ramen. You can't betray me like this."
She stared back at him with her best poker face.
Sakura giggled, "Oh, Sasuke-kun!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. She could almost see an aura of loathing around the boy as he turned to glare at the Uchiha.
"Sasuke, don't call me an idiot, you dumbass!"
Sakura gasped.
Arashi finished her drink and stood.
"Well, I have some stuff to do," she shrugged at Kakashi. "Good luck with your new team. I think you're going to need it."
She waited a moment for him to acknowledge what she said, but he continued reading. The first meal Team 7 shared together quickly deteriorated into bickering. Arashi stood behind them, picking at her scarf because it felt inappropriate to just walk away, but she felt awkward hovering.
Her lips thinned into a line, "Um, I'll be going?"
Kakashi blinked and finally regarded her, "Huh? Did you say something?"
Her eyes narrowed. She knew he heard her just fine.
"Oh, it was nothing," she replied, sweetly. "Now, if you'll excuse me.."
She ducked out of Ichiraku Ramen and made her escape. She had no interest in pulling the two boys apart that day. She figured that was Kakashi's responsibility, now.
That was very, very awkward. She shuddered. Oh well. Heh, now that I'm away from Naruto, I might as well find something to eat that doesn't make me sick.
Hiruzen sat at a table with a cup of tea in front of him. Another cup waited across the table, unattended. The herbal scent mingled with the smoke from his pipe, permeating the room with a rich smell.
Arashi eyed the old man, suspiciously. It was rare that he ever waited for her in order to share a drink. Normally, she would enter his library, research until her brain felt like mud, and then leave for the night without exchanging a single word with anyone else. The ANBU members that monitored her kept to themselves while the Hokage was busy with his own affairs to such an extent that she often wondered if they forgot she was a regular visitor.
"Take a seat," Hiruzen motioned toward the cup with his pipe. "I hope you don't mind tea this evening."
"Thank you, Sandaime-sama." She blew on the hot liquid. "You're thoughtful."
"Mm," He exhaled a cloud of smoke, "I wanted to discuss Naruto with you."
She swallowed over a lump in her throat, "What did he do?"
"He became a Genin." He replied. "I didn't want to be hasty, so I waited until now to speak with you about this topic."
She nodded. The tone of his voice made her nervous. This was not a lighthearted banter.
"You know what happened with the Kyuubi?"
"It attacked Konoha," she answered.
"Yes, it did, but do you know what became of the beast after that?"
She shifted in her seat, "It was sealed inside a child. A Jinchuuriki."
"Yes and that child was Naruto." His weathered face never appeared as serious to her as it did then. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
It was a taboo subject to discuss. By the Hokage's own orders, it was to be kept a secret and never be spoken of. The punishment for disobeying that order was severe.
"Yes," she replied, quietly. "I already knew."
"Good." His mouth quirked into a half-grin and he continued, "That will make the rest of this easier. The Yondaime sealed the demon inside Naruto using the Hakke no Fuin Shiki. It is a powerful fuinjutsu and has since performed its function well, but the drawback of the technique is that with time, it weakens."
Her back stiffened, "Yeah – erm, that goes for most fuinjutsu."
The response jumped out of her mouth before she considered the situation. The Hakke no Fuin Shiki was one of the forbidden techniques contained in the Scroll of Sealing, which was one of the texts in the library that she assumed was off limits. She had been caught with it before, but not in such a way that it revealed how much she had really studied from it.
"I mean," she mumbled into her cup, "I sort of looked into it some time ago."
"I see." The old man chuckled, "I would be lying if I claimed that allowing you privileges here was solely for the benefit of your own projects."
Arashi stared at him, "What do you mean?"
"My interest in the Fuin Shugotenshi did not only pertain to the concept of a new medical jutsu. When your notes were first shown to me, my interest in what you could be was piqued. Watching your progress has been interesting."
She had no idea what to say, so she settled for a simple, "Oh."
"Sensor types are rare. Since your aptitude in that area was first discovered, we have kept an eye on your progress. Ibiki did well cultivating it while you were under his tutelage." He placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "My point is this: your sensitivity to chakra and your knack with fuinjutsu can be of great use in the mission I'm assigning you to."
"Mission?" She blinked.
"I have confidence in Kakashi's ability to look after Naruto, but after the tragedy that occurred twelve years ago, I feel that caution is wise. As the seal is now, we have nothing to worry about concerning the Kyuubi breaking free. With time, though, it will be a real threat. Naruto is now stepping into a different lifestyle – one filled with violence. I'm not sure how struggling for his life will affect the seal or how much influence the Kyuubi will have over him." Hiruzen explained. "Do you understand?"
"I believe so, yes."
"The mission is this: shadow Naruto, observe his chakra and how well the seal is functioning. Study how it is affected as he takes missions and is faced with new hardships. If there is any strange or negative reaction, manage it and then report to me." He took a draw from his pipe. "Not all Jinchuuriki are able to manage the demons contained within them and some have been known to become very dangerous to those around them."
"Does Kakashi know about this mission, yet?"
"I will brief him on it later this evening." He replied.
"How long will this last? What about my duties in the hospital?"
"The duration is indefinite, but don't worry. Right now, as a new Genin, Naruto will remain within the village. The only missions he will be trusted with will be D ranked, at first. That means you will be able to continue much of your usual routine, as long as you are able to still monitor the seal. Keep in mind, Kakashi is one of Konoha's most capable Jounin, so you are not alone in this."
Arashi nodded, "I'll begin preparing, immediately."
"Good. This mission, even if it will appear boring and tedious, is of an A ranked importance."
Her eyes widened. This was her first A ranked mission.
"I suggest studying fuinjutsu that could contain or suppress the immense strength of the Kyuubi's chakra. You should have ample time to do so – and something tells me you have a head-start in familiarizing yourself with some of them."
She cleared her throat and picked at the scarf around her neck, "Sorry."
"I also suggest discussing all of this with Kakashi. It would be wise to build a good working relationship with him. This mission is to be confidential, so keep it a secret from Naruto and the rest of the Genin on Team 7."
"Yes, Sandaime-sama," her lips thinned into a line. "What am I supposed to tell them? When they start taking higher ranked missions, I mean. The traditional conformation of a group is comprised of the three Genin and their Jounin Sensei."
His face creased with amusement, "For all they know, you're simply a Chuunin shadowing after her senpai. What you tell them is your choice, but I suggest consulting Kakashi before you spin your tale."
She nodded, "Yes, Sandaime-sama."
He finished his tea and stood, "I will leave you to prepare, then."
Arashi sat, staring into her tea until long after it was cold. The entire time she thought that she was allowed admission there because her projects showed promise was a deception – not to say that her projects did not show promise – but the truth of the situation was that it allowed them to mold her into something more useful to their causes.
How long has he had me in mind for this mission?
No one could deny the favor that the Third Hokage showed Naruto. He pardoned the boy's vandalism and pranks, and he protected him as best as he could from the people that would harm him out of fear for the demon he contained. He even went so far as to give the boy one of Konoha's most elite as a Sensei to look after him. The revelation that he had secretly been grooming her to keep a watchful eye on him, as well, was of little surprise once she thought about it.
Her lips curved into a half-hearted smile. A shinobi's worth was judged by usefulness.
That's okay, though. If I can help Naruto deal with some of his hardships, then I don't mind.
For the first time since she was given permission to use the Hokage's personal library, she walked directly to content she was cautioned away from. She had looked through several of those texts before, but always as secretly as she could - which turned out was not secretive enough because they were onto her antics from the beginning. It reminded her of Ibiki's test. They were instructed to not get caught cheating, because cheating well was one of the points of the test. She was told to develop her fuinjutsu, but as she researched, she delved into forbidden techniques in order to get her projects to work correctly.
Looking back, it felt like just another test.
By sharing her notes and progress with Hiruzen, she showed him the ingenuity she possessed while also unwittingly revealing which forbidden fuinjutsu she based certain parts of her works after.
That's what they wanted, wasn't it?
As long as it was reasonable, most did not care what a shinobi did as long as it was profitable for their Land. Realizing that a shinobi ceased to matter once they were no longer useful was often a defining point in a ninja's career.
Arashi was not well suited to battle, but she was determined to never be a discarded tool.
She would mend the wounds of her allies, track her enemies to the ends of the world, and use her life as kindling for the Will of Fire to continue burning, if need be. Now she would devote herself to this task.
"Ahah!" She found what she was looking for.
Hiruzen's collection of texts covered many things from techniques, history, and sciences to political correspondences and much more. The scroll she placed on the table held information on the previous Jinchuuriki that contained the Kyuubi, as well as the scant bits of information collected about the Jinchuuriki of other villages. She had avoided looking into this for a long time, because it was painful to link bright and lively Naruto to a demon, but Ibiki taught her that knowledge translated to power when used correctly. She needed to know as much as possible so that she could better deal with what was coming.
Arashi's eyebrows knit together.
Each of the Kyuubi's three Jinchuuriki were from the same clan. Uzumaki Mito, the First Hokage's wife, was the first. The second was Uzumaki Kushina.
Each Uzumaki and two were married to a kage. I get that their clan was huge with fuinjutsu. Almost all of my seals are from their creations or somehow derived from some of them in one way or another. But why just that clan? She went to where a collection of information on different clans was kept. Ahh, here we go. Hmm. Strong life force, known to have huge chakra pools, feared for their fuinjutsu. Well, I guess they're strong enough to make resilient hosts.
She went back to the table to continue what she was reading before.
There was a plethora of side effects connected to having a demon sealed inside one's body and they all seemed to vary from person to person, which tailed beast it was, and which seal was used.
Arashi snorted.
Well, it looks like these people got creative with their seals...
The way in which the Hakke no Fuin Shiki operated was much more effective than most of the fuinjutsu used by other villages, but it also meant that Naruto would be more guarded earlier in life from the influences of the Kyuubi. It gave his body time to acclimate to the gradual changes of the seal weakening, but it also meant that the path in front of him would be long and hard. In the years to come, a can of worms would slowly open and dealing with the demon would become increasingly difficult.
Oh, my poor Naruto-kun...
She rested her face in her hands. The Third Hokage said that the mission was indefinite and now she realized why. It would last until either Naruto learned how to deal with the Kyuubi after the seal had weakened altogether or until they were forced to transfer the demon into another host.
Even the favor of a kage could not make up for the hardships the boy had faced and those that were still to come.
That's it for Chapter 1 of Part 3!
I'm a dirty, filthy troll. I never intended for Arashi to leave the village at any point to be a criminal. I've put too much work into trying to make her a decent character and not a full-blown Mary Sue. If she ran off to be with Itachi, that would undo all of the hard work I've put into Part 2. I hope I didn't scare you guys too badly. xD
I meant to wait at least two weeks before I posted this, but I gave in.
castielshumanheart: I did, indeed, like your review! And I will also go ahead and apologize for the trolling I did with the sneak peek (I'm a terrible person).
I enjoy highlighting darker aspects of the series in my fanfiction, but I don't intend to keep it too serious and sad. I feel that a good story should mirror certain things from real like - such as having both ups and downs. Without those bad times, the good times wouldn't feel quite as great, you know? Beyond that, I'm very happy that you liked Arashi's character development and that you approved of a lot of the things I went for in the fanfiction. :) When I went through with cutting her throat, I had decided that I really wanted her faults or weaknesses (not being as able in battle as others, being outwitted to some extent, etc) to come back and bite her in a way that lingered and followed her for the rest of her life.
It's hard to not be jaded after going through some stuff and having a hard time swallowing some of the harsher truths in the ninja world, but future updates will show whether it changes her into something she hates and fears or if she'll simply grow stronger.
I never intended for the friendship between Arashi and Itachi to have so much focus in the fanfiction, but it sort of happened and I'm okay with that. Choosing an ending to their friendship that didn't quite have that closure of knowing everything that went through his head is probably what helped me go through with it and not scrap it early on because I was afraid of it being too cliche.
Team 7 really was a bunch of drama, drama, drama. xD I'm glad you liked Akio and Daisuke. I often worried that they were boring or tedious, but I didn't feel right not giving them a chance to develop a bit. Sure, the storyline was focused on Arashi, but I didn't want all of the other OCs to suffer to the point of having no depth or substance. Their attitudes and progress also show that I like dysfunctional characters, I think. lol (I had too much fun writing them terrorizing the other teams in the Chuunin Exams). I'd like to think that Ibiki was proud, even if he kept it to himself.
Oh my, I've enjoyed your review and I appreciate it. :) Don't ever think it's useless or ranting.
Windschatten: You flatter me! I'm not even sure what to say other than that I know that you're a wonderful writer, yourself, and I hold your story in high regards. :)
Sometimes, it felt daunting to finish Part 2 with the massacre because it was something everyone knew was coming. I worried that it would feel too much like rehash (which I will worry about tenfold more for Part 3)! But your words do comfort and encourage me a bit, so thank you.
I can't say how happy it makes me that you enjoyed so many of the OCs and their interactions. xD Ahh! Life brings many ups and downs and those good times and bad times bring about change. With time and more updates, it will be shown what has changed with Arashi after all of this (even though I will miss certain aspects, myself).
There will be so much Kakashi in Part 3… it's going to end up being overindulgent. Hahah More so in the next chapter, though.
Thank you for your support and all of your kind reviews! I've loved them all and I think you're fantastic. :)
Misora Asuka: I apologize for being a terrible troll. Arashi's heart is in Konoha, even if she questions her career and she is not entirely happy at this point. I suppose I would call her jaded.
It blows me away that you liked Arashi so much as a character. When I started her out, I found her to be so very annoying, which was what I was going for. At some point, she sort of just decided she was going to develop into something completely different. One of her early concepts was to be a parody sue, but that didn't quite happen. xD
The issue with having a lot of OCs is that it's hard to give each the time they deserve in order to develop. Add in other canon characters with them and, well… I always tried to touch bases with them, but I do wish I had a bit more content for them in Part 2. :D Oh well. Part 3 offers a little bit of time to further develop them.
Don't worry! I intend for there to be plenty of Naruto, Kakashi, and Kazika (even if Kazika is busy in the Academy and will take a back seat for a little bit here and there).
Thank you so much for your reviews, your input, and your support! I appreciate it all!
osnapitzlivia: I don't know why I decided to troll everyone and make the sneak peek a psyche out. Hahah But I am happy that you don't think she is a Mary Sue! That's always been my main concern.
Early on, I found Daisuke, Akio, and Ibiki much more enjoyable to write than Arashi. :) A bunch of snarky and gruff people, they are.
I debated which kind of animal I would choose for Arashi's summon for a while before I settled on Sukai. At first, I planned on him taking on an almost fatherly role with her, but that was too fluffy. I decided he would look after her, but have absolutely no manners at the same time.
Itachi wasn't meant to have such a large part, originally. It sort of just happened. I wanted to focus on how kind he was before the massacre, since there was precious little of that in canon.
xD Thank you for your reviews! Haha And there will be plenty of Kakashi from now on. I hope you enjoy Part 3.
a Wiccan: I'm glad that you liked that jerk of a bird and Arashi's dysfunctional team. :) And I realize again right now that I'm drawn to writing characters that are very mean to each other…
Thank you for your review and I hope you enjoy Part 3!
Guest: Shhh, it's okay. It's going to be okay.
Guest: I was just trolling. xD Arashi wouldn't betray Naruto that way and she loves her family too much to abandon them.