The Uzumaki
A/N: Just so you know, heavy changes. Example: Itachi is about ten years older than Sasuke. There's a lot more but that would be spoilers. Hope you can enjoy the hilarity! :3
It wasn't unusual for clans within Konoha to have meetings. On their own, it was only natural and even meetings between two entirely different clans weren't all too unusual. The Inuzuka met on regular basis with the Aburmae to inform them of problems that came up with their ninken and the reactions they had to the Aburame's new breeds of bugs. The Sarutobi clan, which consisted of no more than father, son and grandson, had regular meetings with the Nara and Yamanaka clan, who in turn met weekly with the Akimichi. These meetings, however, were far from anything formal and most of the time Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi merely went out for the sake of going out, calling it a clan meeting just so their wives couldn't nag them.
It was unusual, however, for the Hyuuga to have a meeting with another clan. They kept strictly to themselves, rarely reaching out to the other clans in the village. The very same could have been said about the Uchiha, who had been more or less been marginalized since the second Hokage relocated them into the outskirts of the village and left them in charge of the military police. And while that was indeed a position of power, it had merely been done to keep them from anything else.
Anyhow, the Hyuuga and the Uchiha were the two strongest and most numerous clans in Konoha, all the while the most reclusive ones as well. So, one could say it was most unusual that just those two clans would have any kind of meeting.
Hyuuga Hiashi, the clan head of the Hyuuga ever since his father stepped down about two years prior to this meeting, was, surprisingly, not sitting at the small square table that stood in the very center of the brightly lit room that had, for whatever reason, not a single window to speak of. In Hiashi's stead, was his wife, Hitomi Hyuuga, boasting a quite obviously pregnant belly. She smiled serenely at the woman that sat across from her, who was in fact not the Uchiha clan head, but his wife, Mikoto Uchiha.
"Hitomi," Mikoto said, smiling gently at the pregnant, raven haired woman, "How is your little daughter doing?"
"Eagerly awaiting her little sister," Hitomi responded, patting her belly. She was just over six months pregnant and Hitomi just knew that it was another baby girl for her to spoil. "How is Itachi doing?"
A small frown crossed Mikoto's beautiful features. "Fugaku is trying his best to make him into a warrior. My poor boy is strong but... he may not be strong enough."
"Worry not," the Hyuuga assured, her pale eyes conveying her empathy, "Itachi is strong. Is young Sasuke well?"
Immediately Mikoto's face lit up. "Oh he is sooo adorable! He's basically living on Itachi's heels!"
"I'd imagine he'd be," Hitmoi laughed softly. She smiled before her worry let it ebb away. "But it is not why we are here today."
Mikoto sighed, shifting in her rather uncomfortable chair. "No... Have you heard anything new?"
Hitomi's face was almost sour. "The streets are harsh on her and it's barely been a few months. Thankfully, she will be fine for now, the ANBU and the others are doing everything they can."
The Uchiha women sighed. "To think our teammate's daughter would end up on the street..."
"She's but four years old...," Hitmoi lamented. "She shouldn't have to put up with this."
"There is only so much we can do," Mikoto said, frowning at the dark wood of the table. "We can't risk some kind of boycott with the civilians, not after the village has been weakened like this by the Kyuubi."
Hitomi's Byakugan twitched to life. "Thrice damned fools!" she hissed under her breath.
Mikoto wanted to laugh at the uncharacteristic outburst but was closer to joining in than anything else. She choose to growl instead as her laughter faded. "They are simply ignorant. In time, they will learn."
"We might as well teach them," Hitomi proposed, drumming her fingers on the tabletop. The idea was just the slightest bit ludicrous.
The Uchiha hummed. "And I know just the thing." She turned around in her chair, looking at the apparently blank white wall behind her. From said wall, a masked man emerged, wearing a mask depicting a raven and a peculiar tattoo on his bare upper arm, which identified him as an ANBU. "My eldest should go to the park with Sasuke, the one near the training grounds."
The ANBU vanished without a word.
"Now," Mikoto began as she turned back to her friend. "Let's talk names! I say we call her Miko!"
Hitmi's smile soured only the tiniest bit. "We have to adhere to tradition."
"What do I care about tradition! I say we call the little one Miko!"
Hitomi sighed. Well, this could take a while.
Itachi smiled gently as he evaded the little hands of his baby brother once more, causing the four year old boy to pout.
"No fair!" little Sasuke whined, stomping his feet as hard as he could on the ground, "Stand still, big brother!"
He laughed, quickly stepping forward to gently tap two fingers against Sasuke's forehead. A quick smile hushed over the boy's lips before the pout returned.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, trying to catch Itachi's hand.
"It's not going to be that easy," the older brother chided, "Come on, show me how fast you are."
"You bet I will!" Sasuke promised and ran after him, as he merely skipped a few steps backwards.
It was a warm Friday afternoon in Konoha and the two Uchiha brothers had gone out to play in a park not far from the Uchiha district, the one closer by the training grounds. Given that Itachi was already fifteen years old and almost halfway to graduating from the ninja academy, it was of course him who had to look out for his little brother since Shisui had suddenly ditched said duty. Itachi back flipped away from Sasuke, something that annoyed and amused the little boy to no end, and landed on the sand field of the playground. Looking down, he found that he had apparently stepped into a little pile of sand with some round stones arranged into it.
Oh, had he just stepped into a sand castle? He turned around and found a girl sitting right behind him. She had to be about Sasuke's age, maybe even younger given how tiny she was. She had long, red hair, pale skin and disturbingly violet eyes. And... was she glaring at him? Oh, what a glare that was! It actually made him uncomfortable. Her clothes were dirty and appeared to be too big for her, a simple white shirt with a spiral on it and baggy blue sweat pants.
He knelt down in front of her. "I am so sorry, I didn't look where I was going."
It didn't appear to appease the girl at all. Kami above, why was her glare so terrifying? Initially he wasn't sure why she unsettled him in the first place but maybe it was the guilt.
He looked around and found that there was no one else in the park. How very strange... Was this little girl all alone here? Sasuke ran over to him and looked from the destroyed and castle to the scary girl then at him. "Brother!" he accused, "What did you do?"
He sighed. "It seems I have accidentally stepped on this little missus creation here," he admitted.
"Oh you fool!" Sasuke exclaimed, chin held high and hands at his hips. Was he trying to emulate their father? "We have to help her build it back up! Our pride as Uchiha is on the line!" Yeah, he definitely was.
Itachi allowed a smile. "Of course," he said evenly. He looked at the still glowering girl. "May we help you?"
Her glare became more of a pout and she seemed more like a child to him than an apparition of the shinigami. After a moment, she nodded hesitantly. Sasuke smiled and simply sat down on the ground besides the remains of the sand castle. "We gotta make it big! Bigger than any before, don't you think so, big brother?"
He chuckled and crouched down across from his brother. He looked at the girl, whose eyes kept darting warily from him to Sasuke. "How big should we make it?"
She didn't say anything but eventually raised her hand as high above her head as she could reach, jumping a bit to get eve higher. Gods, that was so damn cute! How could something that cute level a glare at him that would have the Hokage quake in his sandals?
Itachi laughed. "Alright, we can do that." He had an earth affinity strong enough to allow that height, so why not.
So they began building a sand castle with this lonely girl. She didn't do much at first, the apprehension she seemed to harbor was unsettling Itachi greatly, but eventually she handed them stones and helped Sasuke dig out a moat. By the time it was half as tall as her, she actually smiled and once it was about as tall as her, with thirteen towers, three gates that actually opened and closed, a courtyard with a snowman (because why not) and a stick figure with a strip of red cloth atop the highest tower, she was giggling and bouncing away happily. Sasuke insisted on carving the Uchiha fan into a wall and the girl didn't have anything against it.
"It's awesome!" Sasuke stated seriously, "We will live in this once we grow up, right?" He looked at the girl who nodded quickly in response, her face red from all the laughing.
The sun was beginning to set, Itachi noted. They would have to return home soon. "Sasuke," he said, ruffling his younger brother's hair, "We will have to go now or mother will be angry."
Sasuke pouted. "Muuuh," he whined, "I don't wanna! I wanna play with-!" He stopped, blinking a few times before turning to the redhead. "What's your name?"
The girl was silent as she regarded both him and Sasuke before she got closer to his little brother and whispered something into his ear. He grinned, nodded and then tugged at Itachi's shirt. "Come on, we need to hurry home! Tomorrow we come back and keep building!"
So she wasn't going to tell him her name? Well, he would find out eventually. He waved to the little girl and he and Sasuke went their way. He looked back once they were at the edge of the playground and found an ANBU with silver hair crouch at the girl's idea. How very curious...
The little redhead crept silently into the small lodge at the edge of the merchant district. It was currently vacant, so no one would bother her there. But, to her immense surprise, there already was someone inside, sitting on the wooden stool she had dragged in just the day before. But the intruder's long purple hair changed the surprise to joy and she ran up to jump the woman.
She laughed quietly and placed the girl in her lap. "How was your day, Naru?"
A toothy smile was all she got in response. The woman shook her head. "You can talk to me, Naru, you know that right?"
The smile faltered and in a quiet, very quiet voice, she said, "But... they said I- I shouldn't speak..."
"Don't listen to them," the woman said and began combing the girl's long red hair, "They don't know what they're doing."
The redhead frowned sadly at the ground. "And... when will the old man tell me?"
"Soon," was the answer, "once you're ready. And me and your big brother will be right next to you then."
The little redhead smiled brightly at her. "Okay!" Hopping from the woman's lap, she ambled over to the cot that stood underneath the window and pulled a stuffed doll from the mass of blankets. "Now we play!" she ordered, thrusting her worn plush fox into the woman's hands. She liked this plushy. Her big brother had given it to her years ago, so long ago that she couldn't even remember! She'd hold onto it forever.
After a while, the little redhead was almost asleep on her bed, the woman asked, "Will you go back to the park tomorrow?"
"Mhm," she mumbled, snuggling into the blankets that were wrapped around her. "Made a friend."
The woman smiled. "And you will make many more. Goodnight, little one."
"What happened here!?"
When he and Sasuke returned the afternoon of the following day, they found the little girl again but their castle lay in ruins. She was kneeling besides it, pushing the sand back and forth listlessly. She was glaring defiantly at the spot but Itachi's eyes could see the moisture collecting in hers. He frowned and scanned the park. Back at the swings that stood at the edge of the clearing the playground was in, was a group of snickering boys who pointed at the little girl every now and then only to laugh even harder.
Sasuke was kneeling at the girls side, asking her what had happened. She didn't answer but her glare kept shifting to the group of boys. Even Sasuke seemed to understand what that meant. He turned around to him. "We can't let them get away with that!" he stated angrily. "They destroyed our castle!"
Itachi frowned as he looked at the boys. They appeared to be older than Sasuke, maybe eight, and seemed to be oh so very delighted by what they had done. Of to the left, where a few benches and tables were placed, Itachi saw what was most likely the assembled parents of those brats. He told Sasuke to stay put and walked over to them.
"Excuse me," he began with a polite bow,"but could it be that you saw what happened here?"
A rather wide bodied civilian woman spoke up eagerly once she saw the clan symbol on his arm. "Oh my, Lord Uchiha!" Itachi almost rolled his eyes. He really hated being addressed like that. "We did indeed. It was just our boys playing a bit."
"Yes, yes!" a woman - thin as a rail and with enough makeup to supply the entirety of the red light district - giggled, "They just so happened to go over that castle! Red menace shouldn't be there in the first place!"
Itachi frowned, not that they noticed, ranting as they were.
"Awful child, that is," the third woman at the table spoke up, fanning herself with a bright pink fan, "How they let her roam free is beyond me!"
"I see," he said, "Still, I must ask that your children apologize to her."
They all scoffed as one. "And why would they do that?" the wide bodied woman exclaimed, "The little monster shouldn't be here in the first place!"
"Yes!" the thin one agreed, sniffing primly, "Letting that demon child have contact with our precious children after it destroyed our home! What was the Hokage thinking!"
Itachi had heard enough to guess what they were talking about. He was about to glare at them with all his Sharingan given might when the silver haired ANBU materialized out of thin air atop the table.
"Ladies," he drawled in an utterly bored tone, "I must ask you to accompany my colleague here-,"He lazily pointed at a woman with deep purple hair that had soundlessly appeared besides Itachi, "-to be delivered to the proper authorities."
They all shrieked an wailed in protest but a simple genjutsu from the woman with the cat mask had them all nice and quiet in under five seconds.
"Law is law, ladies," the silver haired man drawled, "And you just broke one. Our young friend here is just a bit too young to hear that, isn't he?"
Itachi nodded once. He knew what this was about. Served these woman right.
As the cat ANBU left with the woman and their bawling children in tow, Itachi remained to talk to the silver haired man. "You look after her?" he asked. The man shrugged but Itachi took it as a yes. "Is it always like this?"
"Every single day," the man said, the laziness replaced by a grave and sad tone.
"Is she always so quiet?"
"She talks to me and Cat just fine but those fools taught her that they don't want to hear her speak." He stepped down form the table and walked, indicating for Itachi to walk with him. "Can I ask you and your little brother to spend time with her? You two aren't ninja, not yet at least, so there is no reason you can't talk to her."
Itachi nodded. If this girl was what he thought she was, then ninja where forbidden from having any kind of relationship with her that could sway her loyalty to the village. In retrospect, the law was more likely to cause the exact opposite, with the civilians acting like they did. The ANBU were generally prohibited from largely interacting with civilians outside of their duty in the first place. Her unique status also made it impossible for her to be adopted by a civilian household, not that these blind fools would have her.
"We will," Itachi promised, "And when I am no longer allowed, my brother shall continue on. We owe her that much."
Itachi could have sworn that the eye visible under the dog mask was smiling at him before the ANBU retreated into the shadows.
Naruko Uzumaki was the heir to the Uzumaki clan, a clan no one had seen or heard from since they secluded themselves on their island near the end of the third shinobi war. The only one that anybody actually knew about had been Kushina Uzumaki, the girl's mother. But it seemed that even her mother's standing as one of the most powerful kunoichi of all times, on par with Tsunade of the Sannin, couldn't spare the daughter the ire of the villagers of Konohagakure.
Even Itachi, who had not been specifically told about the circumstances, knew that Naruko Uzumaki was the container of the Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox, the monster that had attacked Konoha almost five years ago. It killed her mother and, because only an Uzumaki could possibly contain such a monster, the Fourth Hokage sealed the beast within the newborn girl, dying in the process.
The third Hokage was reinstated after his successor died and announced little Naruko, daughter of Kushina Uzumaki, as the beast's jinchuriki to the village, the savoir of the village and their heroine.
But it badly backfired. The ninja understood just fine, they knew of the Fourth's ability with seals and many even knew her mother, so they knew that the girl was all that stood between them and a walking calamity in the form of a fox as big as the next mountain. But the civilians did not. They couldn't grasp that the girl did not become the monster that was sealed inside her.
Kushina Uzumaki had been sent to the village by the matriarch of the Uzumaki clan, Izana Uzumaki, to establish a firmer connection between Uzushiogakure, the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools, and Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaf. There was, however, a reason no one was told about, which was the fact that Mito Uzumaki, the jinchuriki at the time, was getting too old to contain the nine tails much longer. Because Kushina possessed the same chakra restraining ability as her, she had been selected and hence sent forth to Konoha under the guise of improving the relationship with the village.
The fact that Kushina was Naruko's mother was no secret, the father however, was another story entirely. Because no other than Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage himself, was Naruko's father and because he had enemies far and wide across all of the Elemental Nations, it was decided to keep this particular detail a secret. Only a few people knew of this and that had been Kushina's and Mianto's closest friends.
Kakashi Hatake, the ANBU behind the dog mask, was one of those and had watched over little Naruko ever since she had been born and brought to the orphanage. On the first day he had been on duty a grand total of forty-seven villagers had tried to kill the infant girl, which caused the Third Hokage to decree it law that any harm done to the girl was punishable by death and that speaking of her status as jinchuriki to their children was severely punished as well.
That, of course, only ever did so much and Naruko grew up with the hateful and fearful glares from every villager she crossed paths with when she wandered the streets in search for something edible. The ninja that passed her would slip her scrolls filled with food and clothing, but interfering with a civilian's live was forbidden, even if said villager was bound to become a military asset to the village, so it was difficult for them to outright act without attracting the ire of the villagers.
The ANBU and other ninja, however simply never caught anyone at such an act. It just so happened that they looked away in that particular only was a problem when one of those fools caught them and they began acting up.
Itachi wandered though the busy market early in the morning, tasked with fetching the vegetables that his mother was missing to make her stew. Which meant he had been sent out to purchase pounds upon pounds of tomatoes. Two full bags of the big, round and red vegetable were in both his hands when he spotted a mop of red hair that could put the tomatoes to shame.
Little Naruko was just a tad off in the scene of this perfectly normal market. For where everyone else was perfectly happy and no worries seemed to cloud their minds, the redheaded girl was going though a trashcan that stood behind one of the food stalls. Her clothes were dirty and she looked like she hadn't slept in days.
Itachi almost never scowled, not in a way someone could tell he was doing it, but the sight angered him greatly. Naruko was, by law, just one of the poor kids that fell though the system when the orphanage was just too full and couldn't support them anymore. There weren't many street rats like that, but they were there. And that Naruko had to be one of them made Itachi angry. Kakashi was out on a mission, he knew that, and Yugao, the Cat ANBU, was probably somewhere nearby, probably scowling just as much as he did. There weren't many ninja on the market, the civilians however mad up almost all of the people present. Had it been the other way around, Naruko would already be on her way with food for days. No one would be the wiser.
But there already had been an incident where a bunch of people reported that a ninja had meddled with the normal life of a civilian. Of course it was just Kurenai Yuhi, a young chunin, getting Naruko some new clothes, but law was law and because the civilian part of Konoha made up more than half of their economical income, not even the Hokage could act like nothing happened lest he'd risk a boycott. It almost happened, after all, and the craftsmen all refused to do their work for a week, canceling weapon delivery, repairs and other things.
It was a shame, Itachi thought, that even though the Hokage was the most powerful men in the village and simultaneously he was just as powerless as the rest of them.
Naruko ducked into an alley, out of sight of the busy market she had traversed before. Her hunger was growing by the minute, hurting her poor tummy. She needed food... But she had used up all her money already... She shouldn't have bought all these tiny tarts from that old bearded guy. They had tasted terrible, just as terrible as they had been expensive. In fact, they hadn't tasted like anything edible at all!
Her stomach growled loudly, accompanied by a spike of discomfort, just short of pain. She moaned quietly and pushed on. Somewhere! Somewhere there just had to be some food! She hadn't seen Cat or Dog in days, they were probably out on a mission. Actually, there were a lot less ninja in the village than usual, which only served to elevate the amount of hateful glares from a lot to a terrifying lot.
Maybe she could eat with Sasuke? Mmh, then again... she wasn't allowed to enter the Uchiha clan district. They always escorted her out, the Military Police that is, but most of the times she found some sort of snack in her pockets that hadn't been there before. Naruko liked ninja. They were always nice to her, always helped her out. She didn't know what she would do without them, without Cat, Dog, Sasuke and Itachi, without the old man. Ninja were good people, strong people. She wanted to be like them. Naruko wanted to pay them back, all of them, for all the kindness and compassion they had shown her.
With but seven years of age, Naruko resolved to become a powerful kunoichi, just like the old man said her mother had once been.
Deep in thought, Naruko found herself in an almost deserted street, shops for ninja tools and supplies lined the cobblestone path. She smiled when a chunin, that exited a store with a wooden box, smiled at her, giving her a subtle nod. Her responding smile was so wide it hurt and she almost forgot that she was still terribly hungry. The dark haired man chuckled quietly at her. He reached into one of the many pockets that were sewn onto his dark blue pants and retrieved something Naruko couldn't see but out of the very same pocket something dropped right in front of her feet (which was amazing, given that the ninja stood about fifteen feet away from her). The man walked away without a second glance back, humming a slow tune that Naruko had heard from many ninja before. The Symphony of Fire, the old man had told her, it was called.
Naruko picked up what the man had left for her. It was a lollipop! And even her favorite flavor! She tore the wrapping off, savored the taste of sour apples and shouted after the man, "Thank You!" The ninja didn't stop, just waved his hand in a dismissive gesture without turning around.
The lollipop served to distract Naruko from her ever growing hunger for about five minutes. It was late in the afternoon, soon she would have to head back to her current hideout, a small house at the edge of the red light district. If she was too late, someone would probably spot her and she'd have to move away. She frowned, thinking about that. Naruko had grown to like the bed she had managed to assemble out of furs and a pillow that mystically appeared under her window one night. As she passed a stand she hadn't noticed from the distance, eyes downcast so she wouldn't meet any hateful eyes, a mouth watering smell enveloped her, forcing the redhead to stop dead in her tracks.
She spun to the left, her nose twitching lightly as she inhaled the hearty smell of whatever was being cooked up the the small stall. There was a sign proudly displaying a name, but Naruko couldn't read it. Not all of it, that is. Yugao and the old man had begun teaching her some time ago but they were busy people so all that Naruko could read on said sign was the last word. Ramen.
Kakashi had said that her mother more or less lived of that stuff so Naruko found herself longing to try it as well. Coupled with her empty stomach it was enough for her to forget that the civilians tended to try and usher her out. She passed underneath the flaps of cloth that provided the barest of privacy to any customers and hopped onto one of the many red stools that lined the wooden counter. To the far left of her, a man dressed in simple beige robes raised his head upon her entrance. The second he spotted the redhead, his eyes narrowed. He rose from his seating place and took a step in her direction. Naruko was staring at a pot of noodles that was cooking right in front of her and did not notice the man.
Right before the civilian could open his mouth, an man with a forehead protector stuck his head in through the cloth flaps. It was, however, not one of Konoha's headbands, but rather a horned one with the symbol for oil on it. His hair was stark white and red markings were seemingly tattooed under both his eyes in a fashion that greatly resembled tears. He was tall enough to have to bow his head upon entering and stared coldly at the beige clad man.
Said man immediately faltered, took a step back only to excuse himself and leave a wad of cash on the counter. The ninja, satisfied with the result, took up the stool at Naruko's side, who had yet to notice anything aside from the smell and sight of food. The white haired man smiled at her almost sadly.
"Hey there! Chef!" he called loudly, badly startling Naruko out of her trance. "Two big helpings of your best ramen!"
Naruko had not even noticed the tall man enter! She almost fell off her stool! Her eyes immediately found the headband and even though it did not have the leaf symbol on it, the mere fact that he was a ninja put her at ease. Now she felt quite uncomfortable, sitting there with no means to even order food. She squirmed, not knowing what to do, her hunger was constantly drawing her eyes back to where a middle aged man was now chopping vegetables and some meat.
With a heavy, sad sigh, Naruko was about to slip of the chair. She didn't want to endure the glares right now. And then... a bowl of steaming hot ramen was placed in front of her. What? She looked up, the cook with squinted eyes smiled kindly at her.
"Here you go, little lady," he said, placing another bowl in front of the ninja besides her before he returned to his stove.
"B-But I don't have any money!" Naruko stammered, pulling her pockets inside out to prove her point. "I can't play for this!" It wouldn't be the first time some merchant had sold her something only to charge thrice of what she even had.
"I'm paying," the tall man said from her right, "No worries, kid." Naruko looked at him with wide eyes.
"Nonsense!" the chef exclaimed, and Naruko's half smiled faltered immediately. "That's on the house! Someone who can look at my food like she does, is entitled to a bowl like that at least once a day!" He grinned at the girl.
She blinked a few times and furrowed her brow in confusion. "W-What?" she squeaked. Had she misheard him?
The man laughed. "You don't have to pay me!" He stirred the noodles in the big pot. "Feel free to dig in!"
Her eyes grew misty and she swallowed harshly. "Thank you!" she pressed out before shoveling the delicious dish into her mouth, savoring the rich, salty taste in her mouth before feeding her empty stomach with it. It almost hurt, so much food after being hungry for so long and she never noticed that she was crying.
Naruko returned to the ramen stand, Ichiraku's Ramen, almost every day and made fast friends with Ayame, the daughter of the owner, Teuchi. She didn't meet the man with the white hair again after that.
Many laws that had seemed unrelated to the matter began backfiring on the Third Hokage. The law, stating he had to be impartial in all matters, prevented him from taking the girl in after the orphanage had become too full to feed her. The law, that banned ninja from interfering with the civilians, prevented any of them from taking the girl in or helping her outright, lest they'd risk inciting the civilian's anger. No clan could take her in, even though they were allowed to scout talents among civilians, because she was a jinchuriki and could not be "possessed" by one clan specifically lest the power balance would tilt and spark a revolution, something that had almost happened even without Naruko's indirect involvement. The Uchiha's almost-coup had been quelled by returning them to a more central position of the village. The details, however, were an A-Rank secret.
Naruko could not possess a house for she was under age, not even when the Hokage had managed to slip her name into the ownership of one in a ninja area. It was just waiting for her there, collecting dust until she would either be of age or become a ninja of Konoha. She was there, occasionally, and every ninja that saw her merely acted as if they hadn't seen her, would "drop" food, clothing and other things at the doorstep and then just go their way.
But aside from that, Naruko Uzumaki was but a street rat, one that most of the civilians couldn't stand the sight of, even if she was probably better off than most of the other street dwellers. So she'd live her live like this until she would be old enough to enter the academy. On that day, she would be granted a tuition and housing in student dorms that were more or less empty anyways. Not that anyone would want to live there after she moved in, for mostly civilian students would never even use these housings, given that they lived close by. The academy had been built very close to the residential area of Konoha, the one that housed mainly civilians, so not even a student living as far away as possible had more than a twenty minute walk to the academy.
It would take some time until Naruko could move into the dorms for she was barely eight years old and the enrollment age for the academy had been set to twelve since too many genin of the former generations were no more than emotionally crippled maniacs (Kakashi had been a very good example when the change was called for), for in their generation genin still graduated at the age of twelve or thirteen. It had been changed ever since the Fourth Hokage reformed the academy system to produce shinobi that were properly trained and educated to face the harsh ninja world.
Naruko huffed loudly to herself, crouching as she was. She could do this! She wasn't a scaredy cat! She'd show Kakashi! It was just Itachi! He was Sasuke's brother and she could talk just fine to him! She was a big girl! She was-
Psyching herself up, hiding behind the slide of the playground while the Uchiha brothers were attempting to build a new sand castle, one that "would shame even the Daimyo's castle!" or so Sasuke claimed. Taking a deep breath, she grasped a stand of her far too long hair for support and began marching out to meet them. Her determination didn't waver - that was until he lifted is head and smiled kindly at her. She tripped over the plaster stones that lined the sand field and ate a mouthful of it.
Damn!
"Naruko!" she heard Sasuke call but someone was already helping her up again. It was Itachi, a look of amusement on his face, helping her up with one hand and wiping the sand out of her hair with the other. She blushed, opened her mouth and... squawked unintelligibly.
Fuc-!
Mhn, no, Yugao had forbidden her from using that word. Apparently it was a bad, bad word that only bad and stupid people like her big brother Kakashi used. Which... confused her. Greatly. Itachi merely smiled some more and just as Sasuke reached her side he rose to stand, still smiling, and returned to the half finished castle.
She ignored Sasuke and reached out to grab Itachi's pant leg, pulling him back. "I-!" she squeaked quietly before taking a deep breath and trying anew. "I w-want to be your friend!" She had stuttered in the beginning but found her strength in the end.
The Uchiha smiled. "Of course," he said bending down and pinching her cheek. "I'd be happy to call you my friend as well."
She squeaked, batting his hand away. "Hey! I'll get you for that!"
"Yeah," Sasuke chimed in. "Let's get him!"
Tenten's tongue poked out of her mouth as she peered down the range she had set up behind her father's shop, aiming to nail the target dummy that stood in between the trees at the edge of the property. The kunai in her hand was the one she had made herself, the very first one that didn't crumble away into dust and actually looked like one. She was just about to let it fly when a blot of red popped out of the underbrush surrounding the target. Tenten, who had taken a running start (because an eight year old couldn't possibly throw a kunai almost one hundred meters away from her), let out a startled breath and planted her face in the soft grass as she tripped over her own feet in an attempt to stop abruptly.
She chocked pieces of grass out of her mouth, spitting and blowing it away furiously. For a split second she glared at the green-brown spot the grassy ground had left on her cream colored shirt before she focused on the red distraction. Said distraction was currently wrestling with what appeared to be a dog. A pug, to be precise. The second the brown canine spotted her, it jumped off the redhead and sped into the woodwork.
"Hey! Come back!" the redhead shouted but made no move to follow. Instead, she pouted at the target that happened to stand just a tad to the left of where the pug had disappeared into the underbrush. Did Tenten imagine it or was the practice dummy, a straw filled one, shaking in fear? Couldn't be... She picked up her kunai and jogged over to the redhead, a girl, or so it seemed.
The red hair was distinctive. Very, very distinctive. It didn't look natural at all, the deep and intense shade of red glinted in the sunlight like an infinite amount of crystalline threads of blood that pooled around the little girl. She seemed to be a bit younger than Tenten, maybe even a fair bit younger for she was quite short. Her clothes were worn and the light brown jacket she wore was at least five sizes too big for her.
"Excuse me?" Tenten called out, "You are sitting in front of my practice target."
The redhead squeaked in surprise and jumped at least five foot high into the air, grabbing onto a tree branch overhead. Wide violet eyes stared fearfully at her and Tenten had to blink a few times. Her hair almost reached the ground! Just how did she even walk around with it!? Tenten took a step back, the redhead appeared actually scared of her. Was it the buns? It must have! She brought a hand to the two balls of hair that crowned her hair, squeezing experimentally to see if they were still whole after her fall.
It elicited a giggle from the girl that still hung on the tree, causing Tenten to whip her gaze up again. "You look like a panda!" the redhead cheered suddenly. "Can you do my hair like that?"
"A... A panda!?" Tenten exclaimed in shock. She didn't look like-! There was no way-! Her face soured. That would explain the bamboo staff that her father had given her, deeming it "fitting". She pouted. Damn him! "I- uh, don't know," she told the redhead. Was she supposed to be insulted or happy that the girl wanted to have buns?
Abruptly, the girl dropped, flipping midair and landing on all fours like a giant red cat. In two steps she was in front of her. "Pleeeeeaaseee?" she begged, her lower lip trembling impressively while her eyes watered dramatically.
"Oh, uhm, okay?" Tenten was totally overwhelmed but it wouldn't hurt, would it? She didn't have any friends and her kunai could be thrown when the redhead possessed two buns of her own. Hm, maybe she was starting a new trend!
...
...
...
Maybe not.
Tenten scowled fiercely at the mass of her at her hands. How could she possibly...? There was just too much hair! The buns would be the size of her own head! "I'm sorry," she said, "But... I can't do your hair like that, there's just so much of it!"
With slumping shoulders, the redhead turned around. "Oh...," she let out, as if Tenten had just crushed her every hope and dreams.
She hastily backpedaled. "But I, uh, could braid your hair?!" she quickly suggested.
"Would you?" the redhead asked, smiling widely. Huh, her canines looked quite sharp.
"Yup," Tenten confirmed and let the mass of red hair fall down freely once more. And while she was busy sorting though the stands of red, an important question came to her. "Say, what's your name?"
The redhead turned, undoing the bit of work Tenten had done with the simple motion, and grinned almost shyly. "I'm Naruko! Uzumaki Naruko!" She grasped Tenten's hand and shook it enthusiastically, but her grips was still a bit hesitant. "And... your name?"
"I'm Tenten Higurashi," she introduced herself, "Nice to braid your hair."
Naruko giggled and settled back down. After a while, the braid was about half done, she asked, "What is that scarecrow for?" and pointed at the stuffed target dummy.
Tenten shook her head. "It's not a scarecrow! It's a target! A dummy!"
Naruko's head titled to the side. "A... dummy? Did it do something stupid?"
Tenten blinked. "Uh, no? I mean... it doesn't do anything it's-... No, it's a target. One you can practice on," she explained.
"Practice what?" Naruko inquired further.
Tenten hummed. "Things like Shurikenjutsu."
"Shu-... Shuriquen?" Naruko said, trying to repeat the unfamiliar word.
"Shurikenjutsu," Tenten repeated with a small smile. "The art of throwing weapons!"
Naruko gasped and she almost spun out of Tenten's grasp. "The stuff that ninja do!?" she asked excitedly, bouncing up and down a little.
"Yes, yes!" Tenten laughed, "Exactly like ninja!"
"Do you want to be a ninja?" Naruko asked excitedly.
Tenten nodded fiercely. "Yes! A great ninja like Princess Tsunade!"
Naruko hummed loudly. "A ninja princess?"
"Mhm," Tenten confirmed, "She's one of the strongest kunoichi there is!"
"Like my mother?"
"Who... who is your mother?" Tenten asked.
Now Naruko managed to spin out of Tenten's grasp. "My mom is Kushina Uzumaki, believe it!"
"Really!?" Tenten had heard of her, mostly in comparison to Tsunade's battle prowess. She was said to be one of the most powerful kunoichi ever, if not the strongest! "That's awesome!" And then she remembered that the woman was long dead and winced quietly.
"Yeah!" Naruko agreed fervently, apparently not at all bothered by the fact, "And I wanna be as strong as her one day!"
Tenten grinned. "I'm sure you will be."
In the end, it turned out that Naruko's hair was too long to braid for Tenten's small hands.
Naruko always liked sitting in the Hokage's office. It was warm, it was comfy and no one bothered her when he was with her. This time, however, the atmosphere in the office was almost heavy enough for her to bolt, had not both Kakashi and Yugao been with her in the room. She sat in between them, glancing from Kakashi to Yugao and then back at her lap. What was going on? Did she do something wrong? Had someone charged her with theft again? She felt the need to scowl. She was no thief! But... she had indeed stolen once before. She just had to! Was that why the old man looked so serious? Because she stole an apple!?
"Naruko," the aged Hokage spoke, causing the redhead's eyes to snap up to his own. "There is something I need to tell you."
His tone was grave, his eyes hard. Naruko swallowed thickly and blindly reached to hold on to Yugao's shirt. "Y-Yes?"
Hiruzen leaned onto his table, as if to steady himself, and took a deep breath. "I have been keeping secrets from you," he admitted, "secrets that I had planned to keep from you for a very long time. But...," he looked at both Yugao and Kakashi, "it has been brought to my attention that I have been quite... foolish in dealing with this." A smile hushed over his lips and he met Naruko's confused gaze. "Yugao and Kakashi, as well as the rest of ANBU and just over two dozen ninja have come to talk to me about this and it appears I have been reasoned with."
Kakashi made a nervous noise, looking out of the window and Yugao smiled somewhat sheepishly. Naruko didn't understand. "What... secret?" she asked.
The Hokage sighed. "The very reason that most civilians look at you with disdain and fear."
"Really?" Naruko gasped, tugging hard at Yugao's shirt. The woman took her smaller hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze. So this was it... She had waited so long to hear this...
"Yes," the aged Hokage confirmed, "It had been my plan to keep you from the truth until you graduated or became a chunin but... as I said, I have been reasoned with." He managed a tired smile. "It seems my shinobi all have a soft spot when it comes to you, Naruko."
Naruko smiled. Ninja were awesome! "So, uhm, what is, uh, it?" she asked nervously. "Why do they... hate me?"
"Because they're ignorant fools!" Yugao suddenly hissed. All eyes were on her and she cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Lord Hokage."
"No need, young Yugao," Hiruzen laughed, "for it is quite true. They are ignorant, for they do not understand, maybe because they cannot understand. We have attempted to explain but they wouldn't grasp it so they decided to take the easy decision, which was to hate you."
"But for what!?" Naruko exclaimed.
Kakashi took her other hand in his gloved one. "Naru, do you know what happened on the day you were born?"
She nodded. "My... mom died protecting me and fighting the nine tailed fox," she said sadly.
"And fight she did," the Hokage said, "Without her adamantine chains, the beast would have gouged a deep wound into our village. You may have been told that the tailed beast has been defeated by the Fourth Hokage, but such a monster is, in fact, not a living thing, but a construct of sentient chakra. Therefore, it cannot die but only be restrained. Or... sealed."
"Your mother," Yugao said, continuing on, "was in Konoha for one reason alone, which was to become the container of the Kyuubi, who had, at that time, been sealed into Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage."
Naruko's eyes widened. "My mother had that big bad fox sealed inside her?!"
"Yes," the Third confirmed, "And she would still hold it, if not for the fact that the seal that held the fox grew weak during childbirth, during your birth, Naruko. During the labor, the fox broke free and began attacking the village. We do not know how it broke free, the Fourth Hokage had been there to keep the beast at bay, but it escaped."
"What... what happened then?" Naruko asked, feeling so very small. Had it... been her fault? That the fox broke free? Was that why they hated her?
"After your mothers hold on the fox slipped, we engaged it in battle," the Hokage said, rubbing his forehead, "It destroyed a good part of the outer residential area before the Fourth teleported it away from the village. When we found him again... he was with you and your mother. And the Kyuubi was gone."
"And... what happened to it?" Naruko dared herself to ask. She didn't know where her thoughts were going or why she was so afraid, but both Kakashi and Yugao were still holding onto her and she drew a great deal of comfort from the contact.
Sarutobi remained silent, instead gazing intently at her, before exchanging looks with the two ANBU. Yugao scooped Naruko up and drew her into her lap, holding her tightly. Naruko didn't know why, but she felt like crying, so she clawed onto Yugao as a lifeline.
"I was the first to arrive," the Hokage began. "Your mother was holding you close, still protecting you even though she had already passed." A tiny sob escaped Naruko but the Hokage carried on. "The fox was gone, there was no trace of it and we knew that the fourth had to have done something. And..."
"... the only way t-to defeat it was to... to... s-seal it?" Naruko stammered, clutching her stomach. She wasn't as stupid as many thought and the clues were all there now. It would also explain the weird drawing, the seal, probably, on her belly.
"Indeed," Sarutobi sighed quietly. "We found you crying in your mother's arms, a seal still glowing on your tiny body. I knew without checking that it was now sealed in you, Naruko. You are the jinchuriki of the nine tailed fox. And because of all the grief and pain that the beast caused,the civilians decided that you were the monster reborn and poured all their pain and loss into their hate for you."
"A-Am I?" Naruko sniffled, "Am I a-... a monster?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Kakashi suddenly exploded, jumping out of his chair in a display of emotion so very unlike him. He knelt in front of the redhead and took her face in both hands, his thumbs swiping the tears away. "You are no monster, Naru," he told her, far more controlled than before but still more emotional than he usually was. "A bit loud maybe," he drawled with a smile.
"You are my little, feisty redhead," Yugao added, pulling her closer and kissing the crown of her hair, "One grumpy fox in a seal doesn't change that. We all love you."
Naruko smiled a teary smile, hiccuping ever so often. "Really?"
Kakashi caught her nose between his thumb and index finger. "Really," he confirmed with a smile as she squealed and batted at his hand. Yugao smiled as well and leaned down to blow Naruko a raspberry on her cheek, causing her to squeal even louder.
The Hokage smiled. Maybe all these ninja that had bugged him about this had been right. This was the right decision.
Kakashi was looking for Naruko. He never had much trouble finding her, though this time she seemed to have wandered a bit farther from the village than usual. He could sense Bear out at the training grounds, who was currently the one on duty. But once he got close enough, he could feel another chakra there.
Gai, his eternal rival.
"Oh kami, no," he muttered, speeding up considerably.
He found Bear in a state of shock, leaning listlessly against the tree he was perched on. Down below on the training ground that he had been watching was Might Gai and his mini-me-apprentice Rock Lee. They were training. Clad in tight, green spandex suits, shouting the word "Youth!" in ever increasing volume. And then, much to Kakashi's eternal and soul rending horror, a third, a female voice, squeaky as it was, joined in with them.
"YOUTH!" the little Naruko bellowed at the top of her lung, hopping and jumping as she trailed after the two training men, trying to imitate their kicks and spins. Had Kakashi not been shocked out of his mind, he would have had to admit that little Naruko wasn't even doing it all that bad. But his mind couldn't register that. Not even his Sharingan could have had he used it. For Naruko was clad, from head to toe, in a green spandex she had obviously put on over all of her regular clothing. It clashed horribly with her hair and was far too big for her small body, causing both sleeves and legs to flail about as she twirled and spun, laughing madly in the ever ongoing chorus of "YOUTH!".
Kakashi dropped to is knees in despair. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Never had Kakashi been closer to accept the offer of the Yamanaka counseling sessions.
December was not a month Naruko liked very much. Her clothes only did so much to protect her from the cold and the way to her apartment (not really hers yet) would usually lead through the weird winter market the villagers were holding. She didn't want to be bothered by them so she took the long way around it, going though one of the parks she usually frequented with Tenten to do target practice, trying to hit acorns and other fruits off trees.
She grumbled under her breath as the snow began to wet her boots, causing the cold to creep into her feet. Damn it! Her feet had already been cold! If only being a jinchuriki would offer some kind of cool abilities to keep her warm. Sharp teeth were not useful at all! And her hearing didn't protect her from the damn snow!
But... she could hear something. Over the crunching of snow under her boots and the wind howling though the trees, she could hear voices. She raised her head out of her scarf and immediately regretted it. Fu-! It was cold! But over the whistling of the wind she could hear one word very clearly.
"-Monster!"
It echoed loudly in the park. Naruko whirled around to see if anyone had followed her but there was no one. She frowned and moved into the direction of the voice, intending to find out what was going on. Up in this direction was, as far as Naruko knew, the playground that she and Sasuke often visited. Since she always was there, others tended... well, not to be there.
"White eyed freak!" someone called, followed by a thud and a weak sniffle that carried painfully loud in Naruko's sensitive ears. "Bow and apologize!"
She scowled immediately, a fierce mask of disdain that had been forged in the years of her hard childhood, one that could even scare Itachi Uchiha, the prodigy that made ANBU barely a year out of the academy. Naruko did not tolerate bullies. She did not tolerate them! Fueled by a deep anger she stalked up the small slope that separated her from whoever would fall prey to her death glare.
Three boys, probably a bit older than her, maybe ten or eleven, were surrounding a girl with raven hair that seemed to tint blue in the winter sun. The girl was on all fours, cowering at the feet of her tormentors, who seemed to take an inordinate amount of glee in her suffering. Naruko bared her sharp teeth with a low growl.
"Hey!" she shouted angrily, "Let her go!"
All three of them turned around in surprise before they laughed at her. "Hey, look at that!" one of them crowed, "The freak has a freaky friend!"
The tallest of them kicked some snow into the cowering girls face. "So what? That freaky Hyuuga is-"
He spoke no more, for Naruko had already pounced. She slammed her forehead into the boys's nose with all her might and weight so hard that she could hear it crack and felt the blood splatter. As he fell back with a howl of pain, one of the other two grabbed Naruko's hair and pulled her off his friend, only for the redhead to jump, elbow first, into him as well. The air was driven from his lungs and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. The third boy hadn't acted at all, obviously too stunned to do anything. When Naruko rounded on him, blood covering a good bit of her face with bare teeth, wild red hair and dangerously glinting violet eyes, he turned and fled, tail between his legs and way on his way to wet himself as an aftereffect.
Naruko took a few deep breaths as the adrenaline subsided. Just because, she kicked the tallest of them one final time before helping the girl to stand. Huge silver eyes with no pupil to speak of blinked owlishly at her.
"Wow," Naruko breathed, "You have really cool eyes!"
The girl blushed and sputtered. "O-Oh! T-Thank you!" Then she suddenly bowed at the waist, bumping lightly into Naruko. "I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga! S-Sorry to bother you!" she squeaked.
"Oh, uh, no problem," Naruko said, pushing Hinata back up. "I don't like bullies," She kicked the one closest to her for emphasis, "at all! So it was only natural. I'm Naruko, by the way."
"I-It's nice to meet y-you!" Hinata stammered, bowing again.
Naruko laughed as she pushed her up again. "You stutter a lot, you know?"
Hinata bowed her head in shame only for Naruko to push it up by the chin. "And you bow a lot as well!" she giggled. "But your eyes are really cool!" A blush bloomed once more on Hinata's pale cheeks but she smiled this time.
Naruko dragged her away from the two groaning idiots. There was no need to be anywhere close to these fools when they got up. She took Hinata's hand and led her without so much as a thought or a word from said girl to the apartment that would one day be hers. They passed a very confused Hyuuga but the man said nothing and let them move past his guard post. He nodded in the direction of Kurenai, who was also on guard duty in this part of the town, who took this as her cue to cast a genjutsu over them to hide them from prying civilian eyes. It spared them the hassle of explaining why they didn't stop children from entering the ninja residential area.
The apartment was located very close to Kakashi's own home and Yugao's was even closer. Naruko had spent many nights in either home whenever they were in the village for a predictably long time. Even though Naruko's apartment should be empty, it was by now fully furnished. The furniture all mysteriously appeared overnight but even Naruko could have guessed who she owed the nightstand with the Uchiha fan on it to.
Hinata was dragged into the apartment that was located at ground level of a three story complex that extended half a mile into the district. In said complex, both Kurenai Yuhi and Anko Mitarashi lived, along with Genma Shiranui. Kakashi would have moved here as well, simply to be closer to Naruko, but found that the council, namely the elders, frowned disapprovingly at the favoritism that was obviously performed by almost every ninja in Konoha when it came to Naruko. The elders, in their function as advisers, were also the ones responsible for the relation with the civilian part of the population. Apparently it wasn't that easy for them to hide the blatantly broken laws, the ones that kept ninja from interfering with civilians, that well.
Naruko pushed her new friend onto the bed and hopped onto it as well. As the Hyuuga recovered from the wild ride to the apartment, the redhead grinned at her. "You okay?" she asked, tilting her head a little. Hinata, trying not to bow, just nodded and instead mimicked the angle Naruko's head had. The Uzumaki tilted her head further. "Are you from some kind of clan?"
"I-I'm from the Hyuuga clan!" Hinata confirmed, also tilting her head.
Naruko's head was now almost horizontal. "Knew it!" she laughed. "There was just no way that so many people had these cool eyes without being a clan!" She had met many Hyuuga that stood guard at various places in the village. Though... they never seemed to smile.
Hinata tried to mimic Naruko's posture but found her balance lacking and fell into a pillow instead with a startled "Uff!". Naruko laughed loudly, falling sideways as well, again face to face with a smiling, albeit blushing, Hinata. "Your eyes a more pretty- I mean, prettier, though!" Naruko assured her. "You actually smile! The others never do," she huffed," they are soooo boring!"
Hinata smiled wider than before and nodded enthusiastically. "T-They really are b-boring!" she agreed in a rather small voice, as if someone could overhear them.
"Yeah, we gotta change that," Naruko said, suddenly all serious. It didn't make much of an impression, however, for she was still laying sideways in the bed, her hair messily sprawled out all around her. "So... Have you ever... been tickled until you peed yourself?"
Hinata blinked. "Excuse me-? EEEEEP!" She squeaked as Naruko's fingers dug into her sides, tickling her mercilessly while the redhead crackled madly.
At the age of nine, Hinata had set the record for doing the youngest walk of shame ever, going home without her panties, which had not survived the tickle war.
A/N: That's a one shot for now. Please do point out if I wrote Naruto instead of Naruko anywhere or some other grammatical deadly sin. :3
