Alright, here's chapter two, not long after chapter one. I feel like a good person for uploading this fast.
To those that gave me reviews, thank you very much. I hope that you guys enjoy what I did with this, because I certainly like it myself.
Anyway, I'll leave you to your own reading devices.
And before I forget, like I did last time;
Disclaimer: Me owning Naruto is like Lucasfilms owning Star Wars. It just isn't true.
Konohagakure - Pathway to Aburame Clan Compound, one hour before the new Genin are to meet with their sensei.
"Huh...I wonder why Shibi-san wanted me to stop by...he knows how important today is..." Naru said, scratching her head through the hood. She was going to have to tell her teammates, but for now, it would be secretive...at least until they were all really acquainted with each other. As for her name...well, 'Naruto' just wouldn't do, considering the masculinity of it. However, she held it as one of the ties to her past family, the name given to her. So, she simply shortened it, removing the "to" to make it Naru. From now on, she would by Uzumaki Naru.
After the events of the night prior, Iruka had taken her out to eat at Ichiraku Ramen, her favorite food joint, to explain the responsibilities of being a full-fledged kunoichi, and all the dangers she would face. She knew about a lot of them, from death to capture to being taken and sold on the slave market...it was all something the class had learned about during academy days. It was even worse for a kunoichi, though, and they had all learned that separately...so, Iruka had to take the time to give her a short version, and tell about the horrible things that could befall a kunoichi.
It was a bit scary, to think about the atrocities that missing-nin would do just to satisfy themselves. It didn't matter to them how old a kunoichi was...as long as they were female, none of them were safe or sacred. But, that was the furthest thing from Naru's short attention span now. What WAS on her mind was what Shibi wanted, the words still echoing in her mind, relayed to her through Shino. In secret, of course.
"Naru-san...my father wishes you to come to the compound immediately. He claims to have a graduation gift for you..."
"A graduation gift...maybe he's got some uber-strong moves to teach me! Hehe~"
It took a few minutes, despite how close by the compound was, to get there, but anyone that even knew the village, and some that didn't, would know the place immediately. The outside was pretty normal for a Konoha clan - giant stone walls with the insignia, with a large number of rooftops seen from the outside...but there was a big difference. Enormous trees scattered throughout the compound, swarming with mass quantities of insects of all kinds, from the helpful ladybug to the deadly brown recluse spider. The Aburame raised all kinds of insect and arachnids, the main reason most people found them creepy. Most girls wouldn't go anywhere near that place, but because of the circumstances, Naru actually liked it all.
With a quick knock on the gate, the slide opened, a pair of sunglasses appearing in the viewport before it closed again, and the gates opened, giving Naru access to one of the more secretive clans in the entire village. It was custom to simply let her in once it was determined it was her...and thanks to their gatekeeper, that was rather easy to do. The gatekeeper's Kikaichu had the special ability to memorize chakra signatures, and just like every other kikaichu in the clan, they went absolutely ballistic upon tasting hers. But again, that's not what we're getting at here.
From all her visits over the years, Naru had the pathway to the main house basically memorized, and could get there without a problem. It varied from day to day, depending on how many times she got swarmed by insects, but today seemed...rather quiet. No one was walking the streets, no one was attempting to get a feeding...it was so strange. Until she figured out where they had all gone.
Each and every clan member was standing on the sides of the path that ran to the door of the Aburame Clan Leader home. Shibi himself stood in the open doorway, his position beckoning her to approach, despite appearing as indifferent as always.
"Shibi-san, what is t-"
"Come, Naru. Your gift waits within the Master Hive."
With that, he turned and walked into the house, disappearing into a staircase hidden in the shadows, leading to the enormous kikaichu hive beneath the home. Naru followed with a light jog, wondering just what the hell they could POSSIBLY have for her. She had been into the master hive before, and there were no scrolls or anything. Just the hive itself. And once they had finished descending the massive spiraling staircase, her thoughts were confirmed. Just a massive hive, swarming with millions of kikaichu.
"Ano, Shibi-san...I don't see a gift in here anywhere...why did you want me to come down here...?"
"Naru, your gift is right in front of you. We have decided, that after all the chakra you have fed our kikaichu with, after all the growth you have provided, that you deserve status as an honorary Aburame. As such, we are going to reward you...with your own personal kikaichu hive. The process to becoming a hive without having an Aburame body is painful, however. If you wish to do so, please sa-
"Oh. My. God. YES. THIS WOULD BE SO BADASS! Pleasepleasepleasepleeeeeeea se lemme have it! OhgodohgodohGOD I GET TO FIGHT WITH BUUUUUUGS. I feels soooo epic now," she shouted excitedly, her eyes glistening from under the shade of her hood. It was clear how ecstatic she was, and Shibi's ears certainly took the brunt of it.
Rubbing one of them gently, he looked down at her, pointing to a sealing circle that had been drawn on the ground. "Step into the circle, young one. Once you do, I will begin the process of changing your body to accept a kikaichu hive. It will take about twenty-five minutes to finish, and as I said, the process is painful."
Naru didn't care, however. Pain meant nothing after what she had gone through in her life, and the concept of having something so awesome was just thrilling. So, she practically skipped into the circle, plopping herself down on the circle in a cross-legged pose.
"Naru, if you could, I need you to remove your outer clothing. I need to be able to see the majority of your skin to do this accurately. You may still keep your underclothing, but it is necessary for your skin to be unobstructed, lest you wish me to have some form of mishap," the enigmatic leader calmly said, walking behind her and kneeling at the edge of the circle.
Now THIS is what began to make her nervous. Even if she did trust the man, she wasn't very comfortable with letting anyone see her in that state...not anyone. It was more of the fact that she hadn't let anyone see her without her normal, baggy clothes on...but...if it was necessary...and there was NO WAY she was going to give up an opportunity for something like THIS. So, albeit slowly and shakily, Naru stripped off her jacket outside of the comfort of her home for the first time in years, revealing that she had abandoned the white t-shirt she normally wore, wearing mere cloth wraps over her undeveloped breasts instead. The bagginess of her coat managed to hide it well enough without another layer, so she had decided for the comfort of something like the wraps. However, the one thing she hadn't given up since her time as a boy was her choice of wearing boxers. This was made clear as she slowly slid off her baggy pants, setting them to the side with her coat. Sitting back in the pose she was in before, she blushed slightly, a bit embarrassed to be in that state. However, she had no reason to feel that way, as Shibi obviously wasn't paying attention to her state of dress.
His hands flowed through many seals, as the insects in the hive behind him buzzed excitedly. Fifty, one-hundred, two-hundred consecutive seals before he finshed, slamming his hands down on the seal's edge. Upon doing so, it began to contract, slowly sliding to the center point that Naru was now perched on. However, before it could even contract halfway, Naru's change started, the second most painful change in her life. Arching her back, she opened her mouth in a soundless groan of pain, her eyes wide as she felt her skin moving about on her body. Muscles contracting without her consent, her innards moving about once more to accomodate something new. Soon, from the hive, a large cloud of kikaichu started to flow forward, crawling on Naru's body as Shibi continued to perform the technique. Naru wouldn't give up though, and forced herself back into neutral position, clenching her teeth and holding her eyes shut tight. It still wasn't as bad as that day, and she refused to let herself feel weak from it.
Visible only to an onlooker, the pores at the very beginnings of Naru's whisker marks started to widen, turning into perfect openings, exactly like those that the Aburame possessed. The insects covering her body started to crawl into the openings, as several more opened on her arms and legs, another set opening on her back. The kikaichu slowly filed into the openings, taking on their symbiotic role, taking Naru's body as a hive. As the seal finished contracting, Shibi pulled his hands off of the ground, in time for the kikaichu to finish their journey.
As the pain finally subsided, Naru relaxed her body, breathing hard. It was much worse than she expected, but she was able to handle it. Barely, but she was able. Getting up, she was a bit disturbed to find that she could feel the crawling of insects inside her body...but it was...actually kind of nice. It felt familiar, even if it was foreign. But there were several other things that caught her attention. The first was that upon opening her eyes, she was almost blinded by the lighting of the room, and was forced to close them again. Shortly, though, she heard a metallic clicking, and felt something with a little weight slipped onto the bridge of her nose. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see that she could actually see now...thanks to the pair of sleek sunglasses now shading her vision.
"The Aburame wear sunglasses for two reasons. The first is to hide our emotions," said the clan leader as he stood before her, "And the other is to protect our highly sensitive eyes. We can see more detail than others, but our eyes are very photosensitive. These sunglasses protect them. Now, come with me. You need learn the basics of controlling our insects. We suspect that you'll need it in your upcoming meeting with your sensei, and we do not wish you to go ill-prepared."
And without even waiting up, he started making his way to the stairs. Naru stared for a moment, before quickly realizing that he had just left, and got up to chase after him...before remembering her lack of clothing. Stopping dead in her tracks and blushing as she realized what she almost did, she doubled back and grabbed her clothes, hopping awkwardly into her pants and slipping her jacket on, zipping it up and taking off, hood still down. She managed to catch up to Shibi before he even got halfway up the stairs, though, and followed in silence behind him, wondering just what the basics were.
A few minutes later, Naru and Shibi arrived at a training room in the compound, spacious, with a dirt floor. Shibi made his way to the opposite end of the room, signaling for Naru to stay where she was.
"Alright...first things first...summoning your insects. This will take a small amount of time to learn, but once you have learned it, it will be simple and easy to perform nearly any technique you wish with the kikaichu. All you need to do is connect with the hive mind, and act as their queen. Then, order as you wish. Observe."
Shibi held his arms out, taking up a wide stance, as the insects began to flow out of his coat, a small number of them forming a large cloud around his body. Sliding back to his normal pose, with hands in pocket, he nodded at Naru to do the same. Gulping gently, she held out a single arm, afraid of what could happen if she failed.
Alright...hive mind...uhm...kikaichu, obey my word...come forth! she thought out, focusing on the bugs within her body. A moment passed, and nothing happened. However, soon enough, a number of the miniscule creatures flowed forth from her sleeve, hovering around her, awaiting orders.
"Good...now, command them into a wall in front of you. The Kikaichu Shield. This technique will help you form the basis for your shape commands, and give you a way to understand how to attack and defend."
Nodding, she gave the mental command, more insects rushing out and creating a dense wall in front of herself. Surprised, she stared at it in shock, but continued to hold the command. On the other side of the wall, Shibi made a few hand signs...before breathing in deeply, then exhaling, a large fireball flying out towards Naru. At the same moment, she began to retract the wall, and noticed the fire. Reflexively, she pulled it back up, the fireball hitting the wall and dissipating entirely. Surprised that she had not been hurt, she pulled the wall down again, the bugs retracting into her body. Shibi took the moment to speak.
"Your kikaichu are a special mutation of the species. We needed to give you one that would suit you most...these kikaichu are special in that they will instantly absorb any chakra that does not belong in their host's body. They are perfect for one such as you, who battles with such ferocity. I hope they will serve you well."
With that, Shibi reached inside his trench coat, pulling out a fairly large scroll. Walking back towards Naru, he held it out to her, waiting for her to take hold of it. She stared at it for a moment before reaching forward, needing both hands to hold the thick scroll, and bringing it over to herself.
"That scroll," explained Shibi, "contains a list of clan techniques that all members know. Practice them well, and when you have learned them all, destroy that scroll. It may only be a replica, but in the wrong hands, it means destruction for our clan. Now, go. You only have about ten minutes until your sensei is meant to arrive."
Giving a wave of his hand, he dismissed Naru, his high collar hiding a prideful smirk. To him, Naru was like a second child, a daughter he never had. And now it was almost official...as an honorary Aburame clan member, she could come and go into their compound as she pleased, and no longer needed the gatekeeper's permission. Naru nodded happily and took off, rushing towards her meeting.
Shinobi Academy - Sensei Meetings.
All the Genin had finally gotten to meet their sensei, and had already left with him. The new Ino-Shika-Cho trio with their Asuma-sensei, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino with their Kurenai-sensei...but two had yet to even see their sensei, and the third was late. That is, until she busted into the room, her hood up, as she panted. Sunglasses firmly in place, Naru sighed with relief that she hadn't missed it, as she sat at an empty desk...closer to one of her teammates, and farther away from the other. Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke...the girl she had been infatuated with since she was younger, and the emo prick that thought everyone should be bowing down and kissing his feet.
"Ah...haha...so I'm not late? That's good..."
"Can it, blockhead. You are late. Kakashi-sensei is just later. We've been sitting here for fifteen minutes after everyone else left," the pink-haired she-devil said, an angry glare set on her face, aimed directly at the blonde.
Though, Sasuke felt the need to chime in on this, intent on making the bane of his existence feel even worse. "Oi, moron...if you're going to be late, you may as well not show up at all. I don't see how you even graduated."
Naru took the opportunity to glare at him for this, though it couldn't be seen through her shades.
"Where the hell did you get those glasses, anyway? You look like you're ripping off Shino-kun, you dork!" Sakura said, her voice grating on Sasuke. Of course, not to say that she cared. To her, Sasuke was Kami's gift to man, and she'd do anything for him. Naru, though, wouldn't have any of it.
"You'll see, okay Sakura-chan? I got these for a reason, and you'll find out later, I can assure you."
Now was the time to play the waiting game, as Naru slumped back in her seat and stared at the ceiling.
Two Hours Later.
"OKAY, THAT'S IT. Grrrr...I am NOT gonna wait like this! That bastard is gonna pay for making us wait!" our blonde heroine shouted out, as she hopped over to the front of the room, grabbing an eraser. Heading over to the door, she slid it open slightly and wedged it between the door and the frame, lodging it in place for the next person unfortunate enough to walk through it.
"Naruto, do you REALLY think a Jounin is going to fall for that? He's a top-level shinobi after a-" Sakura started to say, before being cut off by the door opening. As soon as it was open, the eraser fell...straight onto the head of one Uchiha Sasuke, who had chosen a poor time to use the restroom. With an indignant twitch of his eye, he grabbed the eraser and tossed it to the side, glaring at Naruto, the obvious culprit. The girl in question, though, couldn't help but laugh at seeing the white dust covering his hair, making it seem multicolored. Sasuke didn't see the humor though, and instead continued glaring, even as a shadow fell over him...which promptly made Naru stop and stare.
"Well, well...I see I've got a bunch of troublemakers for a team. Meet me on the roof, five minutes. I'd like to really get to know my genin."
The door slid shut behind Sasuke, now frozen in place, as the man who had claimed himself as their sensei left. The fact that the man managed to get behind him, an UCHIHA, without even alerting him was either incredibly impressive or incredibly shameful to himself. But regardless, even though the man's voice was very mellow and calm, it radiated strength and confidence. That was definitely a Jounin...but he was still nothing compared to the mighty Uchiha clan!
Academy Roof
Well, the man certainly knew how to make first impressions. Two hours late to a meeting with his Genin, and right on time for a meeting he scheduled himself. Hatake Kakashi, Jounin level shinobi of Konohagakure, and the sensei for Team 7. He wore the standard shinobi attire of baggy, dark blue pants, a dark blue shirt, the green Chuunin vest, and blue shinobi sandals...with a dark blue mask covering the lower half of his face, his hitai-ate tilted downwards to cover one eye as the other stared lazily at the three of them.
"Alright...you guys haven't made the greatest of impressions...so lets try this again. Why don't you guys just tell me about yourselves...you know, dreams, aspirations, that kind of thing."
Sakura chose that moment to chime in, her voice already clearly irritating the spiky-haired sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, since you suggested it, why don't you go first? Show us what you want us to say, you know?"
"...well, alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the type of guy that doesn't really like to talk about his likes and dislikes. My dreams are...really, none of your business, and I just don't feel like telling you my hobbies. There, now it's your turn. You first, Pinky."
The three Genin stared at him in tandem, a disbelieving stare lodged firmly on each of their faces. Their thoughts were in complete sync too, so amazed they were at that introduction.
All he told us was his name...
That is, before Sakura finally decided to pipe up like she was told to. "O-oh, right! My name is Haruno Sakura! And I like...well, I love..." she said, trailing off and staring at Sasuke lewdly. She brought back her attention though, continuing with, "And I HATE Naruto!" The finisher to that part brought a look of disdain to the girl's face. She knew how much Sakura disliked her, but it was really hard to hear it flat out...again...
"Anyway. My hobbies are..." another look at Sasuke, "And my dreams for the future are...are..." she gave him another look, before blushing deeply and squealing. Sasuke glanced over at her from the corner of his eye, and the feeling of hate emanating from his body were too strong not to feel. But, they subsided as Kakashi gestured to him.
"My name...is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no likes or dislikes. My only hobby is training. And my dreams...to rebuild my clan, and to kill a certain man..." the last Uchiha said, his face stoic and still, portraying none of the emotion his voice did. Kakashi merely stared at him, his eye a little more solid in appearence than before. None of the Genin could tell what he was thinking, as his gaze stayed trained on the Uchiha.
"Alright... hood, you're up..."
Naru blinked for a second, unsure of what their cyclopic sensei was saying, before realizing that he was referring to her."Well...uhm...I'm Uzumaki Naru...I li-"
"Hey, Naruto, did you forget your own name or something? Kami, no wonder you did so badly in testing!" Sakura, the banshee, said, smirking arrogantly at having thought she caught Naru being stupid. But when the girl sighed, Sakura stared in confusion, wondering what was up.
"No, Sakura-chan...I didn't forget. My name is Uzumaki Naru, now, because, well..." she said, reaching up and flipping down her hood. Slipping her hands beneath her hair, she slid it out of her jacket, the long, flowing blonde lockes waving out behind her in the motion. Sakura and Sasuke could only stare in disbelief, their eyes wide, as Kakashi merely stared in mild surprise. New things happen every day, but this was something shocking.
"N-N-N...aru...when did this happen?!"
Naru sighed, standing up to look down at her. "A while ago, Sakura-chan. Years ago. I've hidden it all this time, 'cause, well...I didn't trust anyone enough to let them know..."
"Naruto..."
"No, it's Naru. Let the idiot revel in her failure."
Kakashi's one visible eye angled itself suddenly, anger clear on the portion of his face that could be seen. "Sasuke, quiet. Never insult your own teammates like that. You don't know the circumstances...if you were in the same position, I doubt they'd be like that towards you. But enough. I think we've all learned enough. Meet me at training field 43 tomorrow, 10 AM sharp. And don't eat anything, or you just might puke."
And with a final hand wave, Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the three to their own devices. But before they could say anything, Naru looked at them with sad eyes and a soft smile, and took off, hopping along the rooftops to her apartment. There were no words that could be said, as she left Sakura and Sasuke to realize she had suffered for her mistake already.
And there you have it. Naru gets the Aburame gift, meets the team, and subsequently makes them realize that they are a bitch and a prick, respectively.
Read and leave a review, as always! Any criticism is always appreciated!
Silver out.