D: I do not own any Naruto copyrights.
Standing in Gai's apartment; I was suddenly struck with how different it was from the one I had shared with Junko. Besides being nicer and bigger (it had two bedrooms instead of one), this place had a much less personal feel than what I was used to. Junko, however cold towards me she might have been, lived in her home.
Gai, well it wasn't all that hard to tell that he did not.
The sparsely decorated apartment wasn't dusty from neglect though; in fact it was clean to almost an insane level. Wandering around the living room, running my toddler's hands along dust free surfaces; I couldn't help but wonder if the spandex-clad ninja only returned just to clean the place.
In the kitchen, Kakashi and Gai's conversation (most likely about me) didn't break even once as I stumbled about; probably in an unnecessarily loud way to their sensitive ears. Taking the lack of response as a reassurance that I hadn't broken some unspoken rule; my exploration became a bit braver and more widespread.
Toddling down the hallway on short legs, I tried to open the few doors I passed; only to discover with disappointment that I wasn't tall or strong enough to even begin to accomplish that. With a huff and a childish pout; I instead settled for peaking in the one door in the hall that wasn't closed.
Honestly, what I saw in there didn't surprise me in the least.
It was an exercise room; or at least, it was the second bedroom that Gai had probably converted into an exercise room somewhere along the way. Complete with several worn punching bags, sweat (was that blood?) stained matted floor, and the various other weights and bars; this room was the most lived in I had seen of this place by far.
Though being a Taijutsu Master; the guy probably was in this room more than the rest of his house combined.
Floor length and occupying the entirety of the back wall; a huge mirror suddenly caught my eye, erasing all my previous thoughts within an instant. To be more accurate, it wasn't the mirror that captured my attention exactly; only the little girl that stood within it.
She stared out at me with dark cinnamon eyes set in a pale face; soft black ringlets framing the young features before it cascaded down the back of her too short dress. My eyes widened instantly at the sight; recognizing the dress (Junko had bought it for me about a year ago) but not quite willing to acknowledge who she was.
How could this be me? There's no way.
Then again, I don't know why it surprised me so much; it wasn't like I had ever had a valid reference before. Junko hadn't possessed a mirror that I could reach; and even before then, at the hospital, I had never seen one. The me before had always been a blank face actually; no one, not even my mother, had ever wanted to show me what I looked like.
Looking back, it actually made quite a bit of sense; giving a terminally ill girl a mirror wouldn't have been the most motivational thing in the world.
Did this girl really come from Gai? Came the errant thought as I continued to study my new features; my chubby hand now moving to examine both my eyes and lips. Junko was easy to see, (all you had to do was spot the spring-like hair and the brown eyes); but Gai seemed to be a different story altogether.
His hair was black and so was mine; but that was the only similarity I could really spot right off. The eyebrows, thin and petite; were thankfully not cut from the same cloth as his own. To be honest, I probably would've shaved them off if they had been; looking like a scared deer would have been preferable to having those honking things on my forehead.
Now nearly nose to nose with the cool glass; I leaned in intently, determined to see something that disproved what Kakashi said. I didn't want to be the daughter of a spandex wearing ninja. I wanted to have a cool ninja for a dad; someone to offset Junko's personality like Asuma or (Shikamaru's father) Shikaku.
Maybe if I couldn't find a resemblance; the whole thing wouldn't turn out to be true.
"Oh what youth!" Gai's voice suddenly exclaimed as he appeared behind me; scaring me halfway out of my skin. "To admire one's appearance is a sign of becoming a great ninja!" Striking a strange pose; I swear his grin literally 'pinged'.
"Actually Gai," Kakashi commented from where he leant against the doorframe; flipping idly through a suspicious orange book. "I think she was trying to spot the differences."
In a way that was both overly dramatic and unnecessary; Gai burst into a river of tears. "Do not be afraid Kaori-chan!" He cried; suddenly embracing me as I stared back with shocked eyes. "You are most assuredly my daughter; there is no way to be mistaken!"
Well that didn't just prove my greatest fear.
"Thank you?" I let out in a way that almost made it sound like a question; the childish voice making me come across shy. Just to get him off, I threw in a sudden and random question.
"Where's Junko?"
It worked, both ninja stiffened; Gai putting me down as he knelt down to my level. Seeing his uncomfortable expression, I felt a twinge of guilt; this couldn't be easy to explain to a child.
"Junko is. . ." He paused awkwardly; throwing a pleading look at Kakashi but frowning when the other ninja only shrugged. "Going on a long and strenuous journey in order to become a better woman!"
He finished with such sudden vigor; packing in so much enthusiasm on the obvious lie (I mean really, all he had to say was 'mommy's going away' and I'd have been fine), that I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
"A long journey?" I questioned with fake uncertainty; really only teasing the man now. "That doesn't sound like Junko."
Finally relenting to Gai's desperate gaze; Kakashi sighed and closed his book. "Junko acts differently around us." He said simply, leaving no room for discussion. "So what you think she sounds like isn't what she sounds like around us."
Deciding to give the ninjas a bit of a break, I nodded; earning a sigh of relief from Gai.
Come to think of it. Kakashi's explanation could've even had a grain of truth to it. I mean, the woman had viciously attacked one of them and dated (or at least had a fling with) the other; actions that were so far from the Junko I knew, that you might as well call the sky green.
"Am I going to live here?" I asked; watching warily as Gai sprung to his feet, grinning like my words alone had just made the world a brighter place.
"Why yes you are Kaori-chan!" He beamed, once more striking a pose. "And with my inherited youthful spirit, I promise to make you're upbringing an enlightening one!"
Slowly absorbing the entirety of what he just said; I suddenly got the feeling that the guy was alluding to something. Now suspicious and wary; I took in all of who my 'father' was with a single critical look.
"I won't have to wear the suit, will I?"
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
If there was one word to describe living with Gai; that word would be 'interesting'.
Within the first few days, everything was fine; though Gai did take 'youthful parenting' to the extreme. The entirety of the exercise room was relocated (we didn't exactly have a living room any more) and a veritable flood of my newly bought things was brought in to fill the void.
I was overwhelmed. The guy didn't have the slightest clue on what I'd actually need so he bought everything; if it had the words 'baby', 'child', or 'toddler on it, it ended up stacked somewhere in my new space.
It was so different from anything that I'd experienced before; whether it be the hospital bed or the cramped basket, that I had absolutely no words.
It was only afterwards, when the dust had settled and my 'room' was actually livable (though it had turned out to be a rather bizarre matchup of furniture); that I truly began to realize what living with Gai would really be like.
To put it simply; the guy wouldn't know what to do with a two year-old if one hit him in the face.
He expected me to like a mini-adult; a carbon copy of his mature ninja comrades. When he went for his insane (I swear this guy had no off switch) amounts of daily training; I was expected to be there training right beside him. I wasn't an athlete though; hell, I doubt I'd ran a mile once in either of my lives. Just an hour of Gai's warm-up had me tired; half the time I never even made it to the training itself.
This frustrated my ninja father to no end; prompting endless inspirational speeches of 'youthfulness' and 'eternal strength' while he continued to grind me into the ground. By the time I turned three and found out that my first ever birthday present was training kunai; it was blatantly obvious that Gai expected me to be a ninja.
This brought me to a new dilemma entirely. With Junko I had never had to even think about eventually joining the ranks of Konoha's shinobi. The woman had hated them with a passion (probably because of Gai, now that I thought about it) and would have sooner shot me in the head than allowing me to go with her blessing.
Gai however had been one of the prodigies in the war; he had even graduated at seven. With him it was ridiculous to even think of me not becoming a shinobi. In his mind, it was as clear as if it had been written in stone.
The thing was; I wasn't really sure I wanted to be a ninja. I mean, back in the old world I had seen quite a few things in the 'Naruto' Series; things that I most assuredly did not want to live through. I was under no illusion of being strong after all; how would I survive Orochimaru's invasion, the Fourth Shinobi War and Danzo?
I wouldn't, if I became a ninja then I'd probably be dead before I even turned twenty.
But then again, I did have a healthy knowledge of what was probably the future (I still hadn't been able to place where I was on the timeline); maybe I'd be able to do something positive with it. In the end I decided to just postpone the actual decision until Gai brought it up himself.
There was after all, quite a few more things on the 'Gai doesn't know how to raise a little girl' list.
Such as shopping; something that became a nightmare when I flat out refused his green spandex costume on that first day. I really shouldn't have expected Konoha's self-proclaimed 'Sublime Green Beast' to give up that easily; if anything, that question alone made him both persistent and determined.
From the first shopping trip with him (one that had resulted in my everyday outfit of a green tank top and capris) to every one after that; he was right there, needling me about the pros of his outfit of choice.
When the present on my fourth birthday turned out to be the suit itself, complete with blue leg-weights; I was ready to strangle him. Eventually, as a compromise of sorts, I removed the weights from the suit and put them on alone; the sheer heaviness of them coming as more than a surprise.
Even though I could barely walk for days; Gai seemed to accept that I would never see things his way, backing off with every air of disappointment he could muster.
It made me sigh at yet more of his dramatics; but I kept the weights on out of the desperate want for him never to resume his whining. To my surprise, though they were heavy at first, the weights actually did help out when I was training; slowly but surely, I became slightly faster both on and off of the training fields.
Two days before my fifth birthday, I took a break from Gai for a bit; wandering around the city on my own as I weaved expertly through the feet of those around me. Ninja's weren't too concerned with their children running around on their own here; probably because what was considered an adult here (12 for ninja) was ridiculously low. Gai (who was usually a dramatic mother hen) didn't even think twice when I wandered off.
To me this was nothing short of a blessing; my choice was getting nearer fast and I needed time to think.
In Konoha there were two main schools; one being the civilian elementary and the other being The Academy. Both schools started around five; though at the Academy that age line was fairly blurred. After all, depending on your individual talent as a ninja; you could enter and graduate from The Academy much sooner than a normal school would have allowed.
Gai, I knew, was planning on entering me into the Academy at five just like everyone else; as it wasn't like I was a prodigy myself. Finding an abandoned park near the outskirts of town; I headed over to the benches with a heavy sigh. Should I stay a civilian or become a ninja; that was the main question here. Or rather, should I stay safe and allow Konohana to fall; or become a ninja and try to change things.
Remembering an old Saw movie that a nurse had once watched with me on Halloween; I smiled morbidly as I sat down on one of the cold stone benches.
"To live or die." I said out loud, silently marveling at the irony. "The choice is yours."
"That's cool." A quiet, yet young voice suddenly cut in; making me jump even though it was barely audible. "Is that a ninja saying?"
"No, it's not a-" I began, explaining subconsciously as I half-turned toward the speaker; the words dying instantly when a flash of blond caught my eye. Those very eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as I stared; the Naruto Uzumaki's sheepish grin wavering a bit under my intense gaze.
He looked down, bright blue eyes beginning to well as his grin disappeared completely. "Do you hate me too?" He muttered in a voice so broken; I suddenly found myself wanting to hug him, all shock gone.
This boy looked no more than a few years than me and yet had lived through years of hate that he didn't even understand. Even up until now he had only been a character or a time marker; my heart went out to him.
"Come here." I said, patting the seat next to me; the simple gesture alone making the boy's eyes go wide. When he gingerly sat on the very far side of the bench; I scooted closure and draped my arm over his shoulder. It must have seen weird, having just met him and all; but I knew he needed it.
"Why would I hate you?" I asked carelessly; throwing a side glance to a Naruto who seemed beyond words. To give him time to recuperate from the shock, I continued. "You just look like someone who really needs a hug."
"Everyone else hates me." The boy finally said, seemingly regaining both his voice and confidence. Like it had been conquered from thin air, a wide grin was slowly spreading across his childish features; disappearing again when a thought seemed to occur to him. "Even the kids at the Academy hate me."
The Academy? I wondered; giving the boy besides me a long look. Was Naruto older than me than? By how much? How old would I be when the cannon story line finally began to happen?
"Well I don't hate you. In fact I'll be your friend." I told Naruto firmly and suddenly, this time really earning a surprised smile. "And I might be going to the Academy next year."
Naruto's smile turned into the grin that had threatened before. "Really?!" The boy looked positively delighted. "You'll be my friend? Really!?"
"Yes, really." I laughed, raising my hands to bat down the boy's enthusiasm. Remembering my earlier problem suddenly, I frowned. "I don't know if I'll actually be going to the Academy though."
"Why not?" The boy asked, honestly interested. "Don't you want to be a ninja?"
"I do, I think I could do something really amazing as a ninja." I responded quietly, a little bit ashamed at what was coming next. "But I could die too; I don't want that."
"Don't die then." Naruto replied simply; looking at me like it was the easiest answer in the world.
I sighed, about to reply when Naruto cut me off.
"Dying is like giving up, and I don't think anyone should give up." He looked at me; an amazing amount of determination now burning in his eyes. In a very positive way, I was reminded of Gai.
"If you think you can do something great, then you will do something great! Believe it!"
Tears gathering and lip quivering; I suddenly gathered the boy into a real, full body hug. "You know," I commented, half laughing, half crying. "I don't know your name." Well, I knew his name; but he didn't know that I knew.
Naruto laughed, probably realizing the same thing. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the next Hokage!" He exclaimed. "Believe it!"
"And I'm Maito Kaori." I replied using Gai's name as I had been since I first met the guy. Coming to a sudden decision, as I sat there, embraced by Naruto; I smiled brightly. "You know what?" I told him. "I think it'll be fun to go to the Academy with you, even if we're not in the same year."
Naruto beamed. "You mean it?"
"Yeah," I said, still smiling. "I mean it."