Author's Note: Hello there! I hope that you all become my faithful readers! This is my first fanfic...EVER! So I really hope you enjoy it, and please...be gentle with my feelings! At least for a few chapters...
Ikuji
Birth of a Beast
Naruko sat atop a wooden crate, worrying at a bone that had been her only sustenence for a week. She wore little more than rags, a tattered pair of shorts under a shapeless shirt reminescent of a burlap sack. Her eyes, a pair of brilliant crystaline blue orbs, flecked with specks of emerald green. They sat above a pair of heavy bags, the result of many sleepless nights. Sleep was hard to come by for an eight year old girl, alone in the streets. Even in a village like Konoha, which was supposedly the most friendly and caring of all the hidden villages, there was no refuge for the village pariah.
Naruko sighed, a weak wind blew a lock of reddish-blonde hair into her face.
"YOSH!"
A chill shot down Naruko's spine. Never had she heard such a spine tinglingly horrifying cry in all her short life.
Living in Konoha as she did, one wonders how she had escaped the cry of Konoha's Sublime Green Beast for as long as she had.
"I WILL RUN ONE THOUSAND LAPS AROUND KONOHA! AND IF I DO NOT DO THAT, I WILL CLIMB UP AND THE HOKAGE MONUMENT ONE THOUSAND TIMES USING ONLY ONE HAND!"
Naruko's lip curled up, revealing an overly developed canine tooth, not unlike the teeth of the Inuzuka clan. "The fuck?" Being eight years old doesn't shield one from the crude language of the backstreets of Konoha. With a jerk of her jaws, she snapped her bone in half, secreting the jagged halves in either hand. She assumed a defensive posture, making herself as small and unassuming as possible.
Being small and unassuming was no defense against the ever youthful eyes of Maito Gai.
Maito Gai was a complex man. Able to alternate rapidly between outbursts of borderline maniacal exuberance, and somber, almost sagelike contemplation. On the surface, he appeared a somewhat dimwitted, if undeniably talented shinobi. Beneath it all...
Well, there was a reason his rival was the infamous Sharingan Kakashi.
So when he came across the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune crouching on top of a crate in one of the worst parts of Konoha, desperately attempting to make him think that she was not there, that she was not a threat to him, that she did not, in any way shape or form, exist, he felt compelled to show her that he saw her, and that he was not afraid of her.
"Yosh! Good day to you miss! How are you this fine day?" His greeting was most youthful, and he inwardly smirked as the small bundle of rags and spindly limbs that was Naruko Uzumaki shuddered as his most youthful greeting washed over her.
The girl shifted, and Gai was acutely aware of the sharp bits of bone she held clenched in her small fists. "Get fucked freak."
Gai flashed a most youthful grin at the girl, "Such language is most unyouthful miss...?" He left it hanging, hoping that the girl would volunteer her name. He knew it of course. He made it his business to know as much as possible.
Knowledge was most youthful.
"Miss Noneya."
Gai grinned widely, he knew this joke well, he figured he would humor her. "Noneya?"
"Noneya fuckin' business." Her eyes locked on his, "Fuckin' eyebrows."
Gai took offense to that one. He was rather proud of his eyebrows. "There's no need for such language miss. I'll give you my name, if you give me yours. That's how things work here right? Give and take?"
The blue eyes narrowed, "Not always. Seen some shit. Kids...my age. fuckin' taken away from what little bits of home they had...sold off to god knows where. All because they accepted bread from the wrong goddamned asshole. I don't do that. I steal what I need...never enough though. Naruko. Naruko Uzumaki. At your fuckin' service. You gonna try and fuck me over? Last prick got a fuckin' rock jammed into his eye."
Gai nodded sagely, that explained what happened to Komasu-san. Gai would reprimand the Chunin personally. Likely in a very painful manner. Regardless. Time to turn up the youth. "YOSH! I AM MOST PLEASED TO MEET YOU NARUKO-CHAN! PEOPLE CALL ME KONOHA'S NOBLE GENTLEMAN! I AM THE SUBLIME GREEN BEAST! MAITO GAI!"
He held out his hand, his thumb pointed towards the heavens, the sun glinting off his obnoxiously wide smile.
Naruko blinked owlishly, her lip curling again, "Fuckin' freak."
Gai only grinned, "Perhaps. Are you hungry Naruko-chan? My treat."
Naruko backed as far away from Gai as she could get without falling off her crate. "No thanks. I don't need your handouts. Fuckin' freak."
Gai stepped forward, his hand outstretched. He knew what would come next. He was prepared. The spindly arm of Naruko Uzumaki darted out, and even as she sunk the jagged spar of bone into his forearm, he could not help but marvel at the natural speed the small child possessed. Unflinching, even as the bone sunk into his flesh, Gai pulled the girl closer to him. Her eyes were wide with panic.
"No, go away, lemme alone you fuckin' freak! LEMME ALONE!" Her other hand snapped forward, driving the second jagged bone into his arm again and again. Gai had felt worse pain. He would manage. His arms wrapped around the child, and he soothingly stroked her hair. He could feel her heart beating like a rabbit hopped up on cocaine.
"W-what the f-fuck man..." Naruko was paralyzed with terror. Never had anyone, man, woman, or child had ever touched her in a friendly manner, much less given her a hug.
Gai released her, a wide grin on his face, despite the shredded meat that was his arm. "So, Naruko-chan, are you hungry?"
Naruko felt a flush creep up onto her face, "Y-yes. Fuckin' freak."
Naruko was not a trusting person. Her rough and tumble life had taught her to err on the side of caution, as more often than not, the person smiling at you wanted nothing more than to harm you in the most horrible ways they can imagine. So after eating with Gai, she quietly excused herself, and made her way back to her favorite resting spot.
When she arrived, she discovered a backpack full of simple clothes and hygiene necessities, a box full of canned food and assorted junk food, and a frog-shaped wallet full of money.
For the first time in her life, her tears were from happiness.
She stuffed all the food she could into the backpack, and ate what didn't fit, tucking the wallet safely away in the the recesses of her new jacket, Naruko slept soundly.
When she awoke, she returned to the crate where she had met Gai the day before, and waited.
Thankfully, she did not have to wait for long, the green clad man ran at a steady pace, his bright smile growing wider when he spied the small girl perched atop her crate. The man increased his pace, and stopped before the girl.
"Ah, Naruko-chan, I see that you found my present! I must say, orange suits you!"
Naruko felt her lip curl up, but in a completely foreign way. The smile spread across her face, showing off her impressive teeth quite well. "What's up Gai-san?" Gai's smile was infectious. She hoped his crazy was not contagious.
Gai crossed his arms, suddenly serious. "Naruko-chan, have you ever thought about becoming a shinobi?"
The girl bit her lip, unintentionally drawing blood. "Well, yeah, but everyone hates my guts. So I would never even get into the academy, though I should have started this year. Isn't my life fuckin' grand?"
Gai's expression hardened, then softened as he smiled, "I don't hate you Naruko-chan. I will get you into the academy at the start of next year's term. Until then, you are more than welcome to train with me."
Her eyes narrowed. "You're like, totally shittin' me, right?"
"Not at all! That would be most unyouthful!"
"Tch. Whatever you say Gai-san." The girl stood up and stretched her back. "So, what are we doing?"
Gai smiled his blinding smile, "We are running five hundred laps around the village! And if we cannot do that, we will walk one thousand laps around the village on our hands!"
The girl's smile fell, but Gai saw that burning determination in her eyes, that stubborn refusal to let anything get the better of her. "And if we can't do that, we shall do two thousand lunging laps around the village."
Gai smiled again, he wondered if this is what a Jonin Sensei felt like.
Author's Note: Well...this is the end of chapter one of Ikuji, which means Guts in Japanese. I figured it would be appropriate. Ok...long note. Gonna explain some backstory...
This Naruko...is a bit jaded. She grew up in the back alleys of Konoha, exposed to the seedier elements of the village. As a result, she had some deep rooted trust issues. The only person she trusts at this time is Gai, and that's mostly because he simply accepted her for who she is, and how she is.
This is because I think that, to put it simply, Gai is a genuinely kind person.
So um...I want to know what you guys want. There are three options:
A) Gai gets Naruko into the academy, and acts as her sponsor, allowing her to graduate early and get tacked onto Team Gai. She could either replace one of the team, which is up to you, or be tacked on as an additional member.
Or
B) Naruko goes into Team Seven.
Or
C) Naruko doesn't go into either team, and instead gets an apprenticeship with Gai, while he remains Jonin sensei of Team Gai
And...If you have any ideas for pairings, please, feel free to let me know. I'm open to yuri suggestions as well as hetero suggestions. But...no yaoi will ever be in my stories...I'm not a yaoi fangirl.
Anways! THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINIONS!