A/N: Thanks to everyone for the response! Here's the next chapter for 'Eff you Canon'.
Trougue: I am starting of slow, plus I'm not used to writing long chapters since this is only my second fic. The starting chapters will be a bit crack-ish but I'm planning to really dive into the angst (not too much, this is a humour fic) around fourth chapter.
Also, to those who think that Emily/Nanaiko got used to being in the Naruto world too quickly, don't worry. Her head's pretty much in the clouds right now. I'm planning something really, really traumatic for her that'll bring her back to Earth fairly quickly (Lips sealed!)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 2: Forging Bonds
It doesn't matter which world you're in, school always sucks.
Aside from brainwashing us into child soldiers (and judging from the number of ninjas, it actually worked), we had mathematics, history and science (which we defied every single day).
The only subject I paid attention to was history. For someone who was working for a degree in engineering, the stuff they were teaching could not even qualify as mathematics. And science? Puh-lease.
No wonder I didn't put any effort in the classes. But it did give Akira sensei a chance to jump at my throat.
That guy was a freaking nightmare. He treated me and Naruto like dirt. Whenever we got an answer right, he would claim that we cheated and throw us in detention.
Luckily for me, I had someone to rant at. Hinata was the best BFF in the whole world (or worlds). Sweet and caring, she was a good listener and was perhaps the only person who could calm down an excited Naruto which immediately put her in my good books (not that she had to work very hard to get there).
While I grew closer to the Hyuuga heiress, Naruto found kinship amongst the 'Dead Last Gang'. Kiba and Naruto were both active enough to compensate for Shikamaru's laziness. Choji was like an oversized teddy bear. It took me all of my self restraint to not cuddle the crap out of him.
All six of us usually hung out together during lunch, either playing soccer or watching clouds. The real surprise however came about two weeks after our first day.
It was during lunch. We were cloud watching when I noticed a raven haired boy starting at us. The moment or eyes met, he quickly looked away and ate his lunch nervously.
An idea came to me as I walked up to the kid. "Yo!" I greeted. "The name's Nanaiko. What's yours?"
The boy looked at me shyly and mumbled "Sasuke Uchiha".
"Well Sasuke, would you like to be my friend?"
Sasuke stared at me, shock overtaking his features. His mouth opened slightly and his eyes bulged out, giving him a really comical look.
"I-Yes. Yes I would" he said, his eyes shining eagerly.
The thing about canon Sasuke was that he was lonely. Nobody had the guts to approach the Uchiha heir and as a result, he had no friends to share his burden with. By the time Team 7 came, it was too late. The little boy had already become a mess.
If I couldn't change the massacre, at least I could change the boy who had to go through it.
Plus, someone had to keep an eye on him and make sure his fangirls don't rip him apart.
I dragged him off to where the others were sitting. Hinata said a small 'hello', Shikamaru waved lazily in Sasuke's general direction, Kiba informed Sasuke he smelled of tomatoes (that must have made his day), Choji offered Sasuke chips and Naruto spared him one look and muttered 'Teme' which Sasuke replied to immediately with a 'Dobe'.
And that was how Sasuke Uchiha was officially inducted in our group of ragtag outcasts.
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Third week came with the firing of Akira sensei for sabotaging mine and Naruto's test papers. Our new teacher was Kurenai Yuuhi, the genjutsu specialist and future sensei of Team 8.
Kurenai sensei was a good teacher. She was unbiased and fair, not afraid of scolding the clan kids who misbehaved, unlike Akira sensei who used to worship the ground they walked on.
I personally believed Hinata and I were here favorite students. Her eyes always softened momentarily whenever she glanced at me and the same for Hinata.
However, that did not mean she showed favouritism blatantly.
"Are you sure Kurenai sensei likes us?" whispered Hinata after a particularly embarrassing scolding from the genjutsu mistress.
"Positive" I whispered back. "She looks like a fan of the tough love routine. I'm never wrong".
Another significant event in the third week was my ditching kunoichi class. Don't get me wrong, kunoichi class wasn't that bad. They taught some pretty interesting things. The only reason I didn't attend the class was because I had to brush up my shurikenjutsu and instead of learning how to arrange flowers, I could just practice.
The Academy had a separate building for practising with shuriken and kunai. It was also usually where the Dead Last Gang hung out while ditching class.
I checked to see if anyone was inside and stopped dead to notice a small girl practising. Her hair were arranged in two buns and she wore a Chinese style top and loose pants.
Oh hell yeah! It's TenTen!
I watched with fascination as TenTen hit bullseye again and again. Her aim was precise and she simply oozed confidence. This TenTen was really different from the TenTen in canon. Looking at her like that, I realised how absolutely underrated her character was.
Well, no more! As Naruto's sister and the other Kyuubi jinchuuriki, I hereby declare TenTen to be a not so minor character!
"Oh Kami, that was awesome!" I said the moment TenTen finished.
The girl jumped in surprise and stared at me like I was an alien.
I stuck out my hand and flashed my trademark smile. It wasn't the huge grin Naruto and Kushina have, but it was close enough."Nanaiko. Nice to meet 'cha"
"...TenTen" she said and shook my outstretched hand.
"So what, you training to be a weapons mistress out something? That was pretty good"
TenTen blushed in the most adorable way. "You think I'm good enough to be a weapons mistress?" She asked uncertainly.
I realised that this TenTen was just a little six year old, not the confident kunoichi she was in canon. Time to change that. "Hell yes!" I said excitedly.
TenTen looked stunned for a while and then laughed.
In the next one hour, I managed to get only fifteen minutes of practice, but I deemed the day successful. I now had a friend, fellow future kunoichi and training partner in the form of a weapon throwing girl with twinbuns, and I was pretty happy. We mostly hung out after school. We had target practice sessions. Sometimes, Hinata or Naruto would also join us. I was her ear, the only girl who was willing to listen to her rant about her problems.
Sometimes I felt bad for poor Hinata, hoping that I wasn't as... passionate about my rants as TenTen was. But still, it was fun anyways. At least now I had a friend in the future Team Gai.
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
My next interaction with another member of the Rookie Nine was two months later. Kurenai was gone for some mission so another teacher was substituting for her. The random Chunin whose name I didn't bother to even learn was running late and I was sitting in my seat humming 'Let it Go' when a scream broke my concentration.
The civilian girl (again, completely random and unimportant to the plot) was screaming her head off and pointing to the insect which was slowly walking on the floor.
"I-Its a cockroach!" She wailed.
I rolled my eyes at the girl's stupidity and walked over shielding the bug from the girl's wrath.
"Calm down. It's not a cockroach" I said.
The insect scurried away and, from my peripheral vision, I noticed it heading towards Shino. Well, that solves the mystery of how a kikaichu ended up in the class.
The girl I had talked to sneered at me. I belatedly realised that this was one of the popular girls in the school. She looked more like a doll than a future kunoichi with her pouty lips, huge eyes and delicate features. "Nobody asked for your opinion, demon"
I pretended to look behind me and said in a cold voice. "Is there a mirror behind me? Because, obviously, you were looking at yourself when you said demon"
Several of the girls looked torn between anger and shock. The boys were trying to stop their snorting. Meanwhile, I enjoyed seeing the girl's face change color.
"How- How dare you?! Do you know who I am?"
I thought carefully. "Er, Kieko Mashi-something?" I said, genuinely confused as to what her name was.
"Emiko Saruki!" She snarled.
I blinked my eyes and then shrugged. "Whatever. Nice to meet you Enumi. Not."
I ignored her as she shouted "It's Emiko!" from behind me and walked back towards my own seat which was right in front of Shino.
I sat down and leaned back on my chair before speaking. "So, why did you release a huge ass bug on the female populace, Shino-san?" I said in a low voice.
I could sense Shino's surprise at being caught, but it was quickly replaced by his once again impassive demeanor. When he didn't reply, I just chuckled and said softly "You're welcome to join us at lunch, you know".
After saying that, I closed my eyes and drifted off, not before hearing Shino say in his quiet voice "I would love to. Why? Because I believe you to be good company".
From that day we gained a new creepy stalker-ish friend. I also tried befriending Ino and Sakura. Emphasis on tried, because they were going through their 'Sasuke kun is so coool' phase. I had no idea how to cure them from the fangirl syndrome, considering the fact that I was barely able to hold it together whenever I entered the class and saw the cute Chibi Rookies.
Although my control over my fangirl tendencies was put to the ultimate test when I met him.
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
I stared at the amazing, awesome person standing in front of me, unable to believe my luck.
O my fucking god.
Itachi Uchiha, The Itachi Uchiha was standing right across from me, looking so adorably nervous.
Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. He can sense your excitement.
"Hi!" I chirped and held out my hand. "Nanaiko Uzumaki, nice to meet 'cha!"
Itachi shook my hand warily. "Itachi Uchiha" he said slowly in his rich, smooth voice.
OhgodohgodohgodOHMYFUCKINGGOD!
An awkward silence permeated the air.
"Sooooo, Sasuke's absolutely obsessed with you".
"Nanaiko!"
Yep. I'm the bestest friend ever.
Itachi's lips twitched slightly. He thinks I'm funny!
"I see" he said in that goddamned amazing voice of his.
Dammit, why do all Uchiha have such an amazing voice? Obito, Madara and now Itachi.
"Yeah. Hahaha" I said weakly.
Just then Kami sent an angel in the form of my adorable little brother.
"Nanaikooooo! Jiji wants to meet our friends! Where are you dattebayo?!"
Yeah, Naruto had already developed his verbal tick. It was annoying and really, only served make him more irritating.
I nearly sighed with relief. Oh Naruto, how I love you!
"Coming! Alright. Great to meet ya and all. You're awesome by the way 'ttebane! Ja ne!"
Oh crap. Why? Why did my verbal tick have to develop when I was meeting my favorite character in the entire world? Damn you Kushina!
I raced towards my brother, grabbed my brother's hand and high tailed out of there, wading through the crowd of parents collecting their children after a day at the Academy.
"Excuse me! Side please! Uzumaki coming through!"
That got people out of the way quick.
Finally, after wading through the crowds, we ran towards the Sandaime Hokage or, as we call him, Jiji Hokage.
"Jiji!" I said brightly. To be honest I was never a fan of the Third in the series. He obviously did not seem very bothered about Naruto in the series. However experiencing it in real life was very different. Turns out jiji was like a grandfather to us. An actual grandfather. He would buy us sweets and ramen, listen to our various exploits, amused and just relax around us. It was obvious from the way his eyes softened and his poisture relaxed that he loved us and trusted us, and I couldn't help but love him back.
"How are you Naruto kun, Nanaiko chan?" He said softly.
"We're great, 'ttebane!" I said, my verbal tick slipping out.
Jiji blinked then chuckled. "Really, now" he said, amusement glinting in his eyes.
I flashed him my most blinding grin. "Yep".
The rest of the day mostly consisted of eating ramen and talking about school. We also introduced our friends to our 'jiji' aka the Hokage.
Their reactions were pretty hilarious.
Sasuke tried to act a little like his brother, all cool and respectful and failing spectacularly.
Itachi was cool like always (squuueeeel!).
Shikamaru's eyes just widened for a while before he muttered 'troublesome' under his breath.
Choji nervously offered his chips to jiji, who accepted with a friendly smile.
Hinata blushed deeply and stuttered a tentative hello and then proceeded to give me a look which basically said 'How dare you spring this on me like this!'.
Shino nodded before politely greeting the Hokage in the most serious tone he could manage in his slightly high pitched childish voice.
TenTen just gaped, bowed quickly, and dragged me off to the bathroom to berate me for not telling her how the Hokage was my jiji. Even though jiji wasn't actually there, I was pretty sure he already knew what we had talked about, judging from the mirth in his eyes.
That day, as I feel asleep, I realised with a start that all these people were actually there for me and for Naruto. I had already started the process of creating those unbreakable bonds that bound the shinobi of this village together.
It was a good feeling, realising that you are making a difference for the better.
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
It was winter in Konoha when I found myself near a black kunai shaped stone piece. I recognised it easily. If the flowers and engraved names weren't enough, the silver haired man brooding man definitely have it away.
Sucking on my lollipop, I skipped towards the brooding figure and peeked at him. The man raised his head slightly and stared at me back, stiffening ever so slightly as he recognised me.
"Ne ne, oji-san, you look sad" I said. Digging inside my pocket, I pulled out a lollipop and handed it to him.
The man with the spikiest hairdo I had ever seen took it suspiciously and unwrapped it warily.
I smiled. "Ne, oji-san, what is this?" I asked pointing towards the monument.
The man's eyes got a faraway look in them. "It's a memorial stone. It's a tribute to all those who sacrificed themselves in the Third Shinobi War and the Kyuubi Attack few years ago".
"Oh"
The man tentatively licked the lollipop. "Oh is right" he said solemnly.
Something seemed to be stuck in my throat as I looked at the stone. A strange feeling, something I had not felt for so long that I had forgotten exactly what it was.
I stared at the stone for a second before closing my eyes and pressing my hands together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards.
"Look, I don't know you guys, but I know that what your sacrifice has resulted in. So, thankyou. For helping the village flourish. This is now a reality all because of you. Arigatou gozaimasu"
I opened my eyes and smiled sadly at the silver haired man. "So many lives lost in a war... I just wish another one never comes"
With that ominous sentence, I walked away from the clearing, contemplating this strange feeling in my gut.
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
A/N: Next chapter- more friends, more Rookie Nine, Uchiha, and *gasp* Danzo!
Meanwhile, I was thinking of writing a separate fic of one shots for all the plot bunnies that keep cropping up in my brain. These one shots may or may not have do with the main storyline, but they would definitely be more crack-ish. So what do you lovelies think?
Anyways,
Preview:She will be used as a weapon. For the good of Konoha. This was his promise to himself.
Dango for your thoughts?