A/N: So before this chapter gets underway, let me just say thank you to the 20 some people who have added this story to their alert list/favorites! I honestly didn't think anyone would bother with this story since this site is swamped with Naruto stories, like…? Holy shit, thank you guys so much for giving this story a shot! I know I mentioned this before, but the first several chapters will start off slow; mostly to setup the plot, characters, all that good stuff.
Thank you for your patience, and please review! On with the show~
"There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me." ― Jane Austen
Haruna,
I urge you to please reconsider, and to return to the Land of Earth capital as soon as possible.
Lord Daigo's health is fading more everyday. There are rumors he plans to name you as his successor, despite your legal status within the clan. You must come to the capital to help resolve this issue. The family is no position to have this kind of infighting, and you know why. Please respond at your earliest convenience.
Signed - Matsuno Ganza, 5th Daimyo of the Land of Earth
The brunette re-read the letter two more times before crumpling the piece of paper, and tossing into the nearby bin. This was the third letter Ganza had sent her, but her responses had all been the same - no.
"When will he learn?" Haruna mumbled under her breath. She was tempted to send yet another letter to her cousin, emphasizing that there was no way in hell she would abandon her duties in Konoha all for a family that barely acknowledged her presence up until a few years ago. She needed a much more compelling reason that just a few bickering cousins causing unnecessary drama.
Sighing, Haruna reached for a piece of paper and a brush, thinking of a response. Did she really want to bother? There was a chance Ganza would send an envoy, and drag her back to the Earth capital. Haruna chuckled at that; she would like to see Ganza try and pull that one off.
Screw it, she thought. What more did she have to lose? Maybe another piece of paper, and some ink, but those were easily replaceable.
Ganza-ojisama,
I understand the predicament you are in, but for the last time, I cannot simply abandon my duties - a job you and the Tsuchikage helped assign me to, no less - all for the sake of a few relatives who never cared for either of our existences till recently. I have no legal standing within the clan to take on the position you are asking of me. Lord Daigo would not willingly ignore his own heirs; he has nothing to gain from it, we both know that, so there should be nothing to worry about.
Whatever the situation may be, I am confident that you and Asuka can handle it. You do not need my help. Of that, I can assure you. Now, please, leave me be.
Signed - Matsuno Haruna, Ambassador to Konohagakure
She fanned the ink to make it dry faster, then quickly folded it before hiding the letter between a few folders stuffed with paperwork. The last thing Haruna wanted was someone nosy reading her personal correspondences. She was also thankful that she currently had the office to herself, though Haruna had no idea where Ikue and Kaname had gone.
Haruna sighed and rubbed her eyes. She felt tired from dealing with Ganza's letters, even though she had only been away from home for a couple weeks. It seemed as soon as she had left, things started going south within the Matsuno family.
She respected Ganza, and even though he was technically her cousin once removed, she had always thought of him as her uncle, due to how he and her father were fairly close. Ganza and Haruna had been burdened with the label of 'bastard' in the family, as their shared decedent was born illegitimate. Ganza had managed to overcome the stigma against him in the political field, whereas Haruna took the shinobi route and became a war hero.
It had worked to some degree, and some of the main family members had lessened the sting when they called either one of them 'bastard.' That still didn't stop some in the older generation from sneering at Haruna and Ganza, however.
Those old peacocks, Haruna thought bitterly as she crossed her arms.
Haruna had wanted to help Ganza, she genuinely did. He was the one of the few family members she liked, but her reluctance came from a place of bitter resentment against the main family. Years upon years of resentment, actually.
Taking the letter back out, Haruna debated once again if she should bother sending it or not. She felt like she was stuck between a rock, and a hard place. A knock at the door brought Haruna back to reality as Ikue poked her head in.
"Ah! There you are!" she stepped further inside, but still kept her hand on the doorknob. "I've been looking for you, Lady Tsunade has called for a meeting with the other ambassadors."
"Oh… I'll be there in a minute," Haruna tucked the letter away again, choosing to deal with that later. Ikue frowned, and tilted her head to the side thoughtfully.
"Is something the matter? You look pretty mad."
"Just some family trouble," Haruna smiled and waved off Ikue's concern. "Nothing I can't handle."
"Must be some family drama to make you look that angry," Ikue shrugged. She wouldn't press the subject, as she knew it wasn't her place, but she was still really curious. "We should head to that meeting."
Haruna nodded, and followed the Suna ambassador in silence, still mulling over her family drama. She tried to hide it by looking bored as she possibly could, with hands dug into her pockets. The two rounded a corner and walked into a large conference room where Tsunade sat at the head of the table.
From her left sat the ambassador from Kirigakure, followed by the ambassadors from the minor shinobi countries such as Grass, Waterfall, and Rain; Kaname was sat directly across from Tsunade, and the last two seats close to the Hokage's right were empty. Haruna took the second to last chair. Once everyone was seated, one of the chunin standing outside closed the doors.
"Thank you all for taking the time to meet with me," Tsunade started. "Now that all the ambassadors have been accounted for, I would like officially to welcome you all to Konohagakure." All the emissaries bowed their heads in the seats, and Tsunade mimicked the gesture.
"Now, onto the first matter of business: refugee settlement."
The one armed man carefully sat himself up on the cot, thankful that the abbot had shooed the other monks away so that he could get some rest. Traveling through the harsh desert had been taxing. But, of course, the one armed man was using this opportunity to come up with a plan. This was the largest monastery he had been to yet, and he had no inkling as to where the scroll could be.
His first guess would be the library, as that was where the past scrolls had been, but each monastery was different. The temple in Grass Country, for example, their scroll had been hidden in one of the dragon statues.
Not to mention the one armed man had a hunch that a few of the monks had become suspicious of him since his arrival. His exploits at the other monasteries must've caught wind, even though there was no one left alive to confirm that he had been the one committing the crime. It was suspicious that a specific sect of temples were being targeted, becoming the scenes of violent crimes.
One of the monks came in, carrying a tray of food and another glass of water. "Ah! You're awake. The abbot said to bring you something so you can regain your strength." The one armed man sat at the foot of the bed, and with some careful maneuvering, took the tray, and placed it on his lap.
The monk lingered for a moment, his curiosity getting the better of him, "So… what's your name?"
"Sen," the one armed man replied plainly while taking a bite from a piece of bread. Though the monk kept his face neutral, as he was very unconvinced.
That's a strange name, he thought. He also couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something felt off about this 'Sen' character.
"What brought you out here, to our monastery, if I may ask?"
"I'm an academic," Sen took a sip of water before taking another bite of food. "I'm doing research on ancient religions." The monk was genuinely surprised, hardly expecting an answer like that. Sen looked more like a tired warrior with his missing right arm, and heavy bags under his eyes.
"During one of my readings, I came across a passage that described a series of temples and monasteries scattered throughout the world, said to be devoted to a being called Sunita. While I'm still not sure who Sunita is," that was a complete lie, yet Sen had the monk seemingly convinced, "this was the closest temple to where I had been staying. Imagine my surprise to see there's still life in this temple!"
"I see," the monk replied. "So, you're a nomad, it sounds like."
Sen nodded and finished the last of his food, "Indeed, it's rare that I ever stay in one place for very long." Now that was actually the truth.
The monk took the now empty tray of food, "Thank you for speaking with me. I'll let you rest now." Sen nodded, and moved back so that he could recline on the cot. Once the monk made it back to the kitchen, his two other colleagues quickly pounced on him.
"So?"
"Did you find anything out?" they asked at the same time. Setting the tray down near the other dirty dishes, the monk looked at the others skeptically.
"All I could get out of him was that his name is 'Sen,' though I doubt that's his actual name, and that he's an academic. Another thing I also doubt…"
The shortest of the three nodded, "'Academic' my hide! We should-" he was cut off when the bells chimed, indicating that evening prayers were about to start. All three sighed.
"We'll deal with this after prayers. We're surrounded by desert, so even if he escapes, where would he go?" one of the monks replied, and the other two silently nodded. The trio left the kitchens and walked with the other monks to the main temple, taking their respective seats in front of a large, bronze statue.
As the prayers commenced, Sen took this opportunity to sneak out of the monks' quarters to find the library, thus, finding the scroll he was after. Keeping to the shadows, Sen passed by the main temple were the monks sat on their knees on top of cushions, chanting as the abbot chimed a bell every few seconds.
The statue had long since rusted and turned a brownish-green color, Sen noticed, and it looked neither feminine, nor masculine. It had ambiguous facial features, but there was a gentleness carved into their expression. One of their hands formed the vitarka mudra; the palm was facing out while the tips of the thumb and index finger touched, thus forming a circle. The other was held up with the palm facing out in the abhaya mudra.
There was a detailed talisman hanging from a long chain around their neck, carved into the statue. Sen thought the pattern looked similar to the Uzumaki clan symbol, though the difference between the two was that the talisman wasn't a complete circular whirlpool; it looked more geometric with a small circle in the middle. Other beads decorated the talisman, making it seem more tribal.
Sen narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the statue, shaking the feeling that it was watching him. After a couple minutes of mindless wandering, Sen finally found the library, and immediately started looking. All the scrolls kept here seemed to be ancient, but that still didn't deter Sen. He also silently thanked whoever lit the torches in the library so that he could see better.
Sen pulled scroll after scroll from the shelves, hardly bothering to put them back, but he was quiet in setting them down so he wasn't making too much noise.
"How could a temple have so many different recipes for spicy chicken?" Sen huffed, clearly annoyed at how he wasn't getting anywhere in his snooping. He moved to another shelf, took out several more scrolls, and sighed before placing them on the floor. Sen repeated this process more times than he could count before he finally started getting somewhere.
"Ancient sutras, the Ura Canon…" Sen whispered the titles to himself. Some of these did sound interesting, but they weren't what he was looking for.
"Looking for something?" a voice called out. Sen snapped his head towards the library's entrance, and saw a trio of monks looking none too happy at his intruding. Sen recognized one of the monks as the one who brought him food earlier.
Sen remained quiet, but stood at his full height. He wanted to let the monks speak first. They entered a stalemate of silence, it seemed, as neither one was willing to budge.
"Are you here for the scroll?" one of them dared to ask.
"What scroll?" Sen asked, feigning innocence. The supposed leader of the trio scowled, taking a step forward.
"Don't be coy. No one ever comes this far out into the desert for leisure, or academic purposes," he scoffed. "We know you're after the scrolls."
"Why would I be after a scroll?" Sen asked, still pretending to be innocent
"Why bother tearing up our library? Clearly nothing in here has interested you so far," one of the other monks grimaced, glancing towards the haphazard pile of scrolls littering the floor.
"Got anything you recommend for reading material, then?" Sen smirked.
That did it.
One of the monks charged, channeling his spiritual energy, and the energy around him, into his clenched fist before punching a blast of air at Sen. The latter quickly dodged, crouching his knees and getting low. His hand formed half the Tiger hand seal, thus churning the chakra in his belly.
"Katon: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" A series of fire volleys spewed from Sen's mouth, and the monks ran out of the library to skirt around them. All four leapt into the courtyard, the main part of the monastery.
The abbot and the other monks emerged after having their evening prayers interrupted, eyes wide as they watched gusts of air and fire blast between the monks, and Sen. Once the four landed on their feet, the leader of the trio stepped forward.
"It was you, wasn't it? You attacked the other monasteries!"
Sen smiled wickedly, proudly. "Yes. Yes, I was. And I am taking back what is rightfully mine." A hand formed half the Tiger seal again before Sen spewed a giant fireball at the abbot.
Haruna clenched and unclenched her fist under the table. The ambassador from Kiri, an old man named Juzo, was getting on her last nerve.
"Lady Tsunade," Juzo drawled out, "As a representative of the Land of Water, I simply cannot agree to those terms! There is a precedent when it comes to-"
"Dealing with outsiders, yes. We heard you before, Juzo-san," Haruna snapped, not even bothering to hide the annoyed look on her face. Didn't he understand that times were changing?
Tsunade shot Haruna a knowing look, silently telling the younger woman to back off. "I understand that the traditions of Kirigakure are important to your people, but there comes a time when past mindsets and attitudes have to change. Your own Mizugake is an example of that."
Juzo scoffed, "The Fifth Mizugake is far too much of an idealist to think rationally. There must be change in moderation!"
"With all due respect, Juzo-san, there is no such thing as 'change in moderation' after war times," Tsunade replied. "The change already happened, so now it is the duty of us leaders, and diplomats," she gestured to the other ambassadors with a hand, "to help guide those who became lost in the chaos."
"Even so, Lady Tsunade, Kirigakure has been isolated from the outside world for so long," Juzo's facial hair bristled. "It will be difficult to have my people adjust to so many new faces."
"Then that is your problem, not ours!" Haruna shouted, rising from her seat, slamming her hands down on the wood of the table.
"Matsuno-san, sit down, now!" Tsunade barked, also rising from her seat.
"Forgive, my Lady Fifth, but I cannot take this old man's whining anymore," Haruna practically snarled. Juzo looked taken aback, and narrowed his eyes at Haruna.
"What did you say?" he sneered.
"I know you heard me, old man! If you are so concerned about how 'your people'," Haruna even raised her voice into a mocking tone, "feel about refugees seeking shelter in your homeland, than that is no concern of ours. That is the fault of your ancestors, and their policies. Tell your people, your village, that times have changed. Tell them it's time to move on, and to help those in need!"
Juzo had raised to his feet in the middle of Haruna's tirade, and he looked as if a blood vessel were about to pop. He gritted his teeth so hard that he could feel the enamel fading away.
"I said enough, Matsuno-san!" Tsunade yelled.
"I will not take this verbal abuse from a piece of Iwagakure trash!" Juzo fired back. "Let alone one who has a brother classified as a-"
He didn't even get to finish his sentence as Haruna punched clean through the table, splitting it in half. The other ambassadors jumped and retreated against the walls, looking wide-eyed at Haruna whose face was contorted into pure fury.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence…" There was a calm rage in her voice that set all the others, except Juzo and Tsunade, on edge. "Don't you dare finish that sentence if you know what's good for you, old man."
Juzo smirked, but before he could fire a retort, Tsunade held up a hand. She, too, looked just as furious as Haruna, but for a very different reason.
"I said enough," she growled. Haruna took a step back, glad that someone had intervened. She was ready to break Juzo's hip. Tsunade turned to Kaname and Ikue. "Get Matsuno-san out of here." The two nodded, and silently complied.
Ikue placed a hand on Haruna's shoulder as she ushered her out of the (now) damaged conference room. Kaname followed, but not before bowing and apologizing on Haruna's behalf. When Ikue opened the doors, everyone inside the room was surprised to see that a small group had gathered outside the doors.
Everyone who had been caught eavesdropping jumped back, and pretended to be doing something else, or faking the fact that they weren't listening in. Tsunade sighed, smacking her forehead and cursing under her breath. Haruna stomped her way to her office, with Ikue and Kaname still following her.
"I think we should leave her alone," Kaname whispered to his colleague. Ikue looked between the two. Haruna opened the door to their shared office and slammed the door so hard the walls shook.
"Probably a good idea," Ikue sweat dropped.
Further down the hall, Kakashi idly walked towards the group that was still gathered around the conference room, curious as to what was going on. Being slightly taller than the average a man, he could see over the crowd, and into the conference room. He blinked at the broken conference table, and Tsunade verbally laying into the ambassador from Kiri.
"What the hell happened?" he asked. Wasn't it supposed to just be a normal meeting? Why was the table broken? Why was Tsunade yelling?
"The Iwa ambassador got in the Kiri ambassador's face over the refugees settlement program," the envoy from Kusa replied. "He said something that got her really upset, and she punched the table."
Kakashi felt even more confused by that explanation, and merely responded with a simple, "What?"
Haruna, after getting lectured by Tsunade and putting down a large payment for a new table, debated about retreating to her apartment, or finding a spot people would less likely come looking for her so she could skulk in peace.
Going with the latter option, Haruna wandered in her angry haze till she came across a grassy, hilly area where the Naka River cut through. It looked sort of like a park, but no one was around. Stepping down the incline, Haruna laid down on the grass with a sigh, resting her hands behind her head.
"I should've punched him," Haruna thought aloud. That would've saved her some money in the long run.
Sighing once more, she pulled her hitai-ate down so that it covered her eyes, as to help block out the sun. Instead of pouting like she originally planned, Haruna decided to take an angry nap to help cool down.
She had been on there verge of falling asleep when something kept poking her. Haruna swatted whatever it was away, but the poking continued.
"Hey. Hey lady, you sleeping?" a voice asked.
So much for my nap, Haruna thought, feeling a little surly. Raising her ate on one side, she peeked her eye open, and saw a pair of curious blue eyes looking down at her.
"I was, till you started poking me," Haruna said sullenly while sitting up. She started readjusting her headband.
"Why were out here sleeping out here in the first place?" the blonde asked.
Haruna shrugged lazily, "Just felt like it, I guess. Do you always ask so many questions?" Naruto chuckled nervously, and sat down next to Haruna.
"Sorry, bad habit," he said apologetically. It was then he got a real good look at her face. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"I fought in the war," Haruna started, "You might remember me as the person who summoned those giant bears when the Ten Tails broke apart?" That had been her moment of glory, so to speak, during the big battle. Her fellow Iwa nin had been cheering her on, while the other nin looked at her in awe.
"Ohhh, yeah! You're that bear lady!" Naruto looked excited as his memory started catching up. He recalled someone pointing out a giant black bear that was splitting one of the Ten Tails's separations in half, while an equally large brown bear was chomping another down. He thought it was one of the coolest things he had seen, and had shouted as much in the middle of battle.
"'Bear lady'?" Haruna asked, feeling mixed things at her new identifier. It wasn't the worst she had heard, but it still wasn't the most flattering of nicknames…
"I didn't know you were an Iwa ninja!" Naruto grinned, his smile taking up his whole face. "That's pretty cool you have such a unique summon! Are there others who can summon bears like you?"
"Not to my knowledge, no. I think I'm the first one in a while," Haruna lightly scratched her jaw. At least, that's what Kumaki had told her when she had signed the summoning contract.
"That's still pretty cool, though!" Naruto continued to beam. "I'm Naruto, by the way. Uzumaki Naruto!" He pointed to his chest.
Haruna gave a soft laugh, "I know who you are. There isn't a ninja alive who doesn't know your name at this point." Naruto blushed a little, waving off her comment with a laugh. "I'm Matsuno Haruna, the ambassador from Iwa."
"I think Granny Tsunade mentioned something about that," Naruto replied. Though he couldn't really remember since he wasn't paying attention when she mentioned it. His lessons with Iruka, so that he could become a jounin, made all the days blur together.
"Naruto!" a stern voice yelled out in the distance. The blonde's back stiffened, and he looked like he was about to get the biggest scolding of his life. A man a few years older than Naruto came jogging towards them. He almost fumbled his way down the incline, but quickly caught himself.
"I'm in trouble now," Naruto deadpanned. Iruka, red-faced and panting from running so much, glared at his student. He placed his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
"Did you runaway or something?" Haruna asked, looking between Naruto and the newcomer.
"Something like that, yeah…"
It was Haruna's turn to deadpan. Guess all students have the same habits, no matter where they're from.
"Break time," Iruka panted, marching towards Naruto and dragging him by the collar, "is over! Back to your lessons!" Iruka paused when he noticed Haruna watching the scene with mild curiosity, but mostly confusion.
"I'm sorry if he was bothering you, miss," Iruka smiled politely. The apology was clear in his voice.
"Uh… It was no trouble, really," Haruna replied, feeling awkward all of a sudden. "As a diplomat, I should be friendly with some of the locals."
"Diplomat?" Iruka repeated.
"Yeah, yeah! She's the ambassador from Iwa, y'know?" Naruto called, wriggling himself free so he could stand up. That didn't help Iruka feel better, as he now felt the need to apologize more.
Iruka started apologizing all over again, and Haruna had to calm him down once more.
"I said it was no trouble, and I meant it! Why would my answer change all of a sudden?" Haruna rubbed her temples, and Iruka was finally starting to relent once he realized he was going overboard on the apologies.
"If you'll excuse us, Madam Ambassador, we have a lesson to finish," Iruka bowed and started dragging Naruto away, who was now waving at Haruna's vanishing figure.
"Nice to have met you!" he called before disappearing from her sight. Haruna sweat dropped, utterly convinced that these Leaf ninja were an eccentric breed all on their own. While she did feel less angry than she did before, Haruna still felt the need to punch something.
There was also still the matter of her letter to Ganza, and whether or not she still wanted to send her response. It was better if he knew, rather than stay in the dark, as much as Haruna wanted to just ignore the problem altogether.
Shoving her fists into her pockets with a sigh, she made her way back to the Hokage's office. The sun had started to set by the time Haruna reached the building, which meant almost everyone should have gone home for the day. Haruna sincerely hoped that Juzo was a part of that group, as she had no desire to see him.
She had reached her office without running into anyone, thankfully, and her letter was still where she had left it. Haruna twirled the piece of paper in hands.
I really hope you can figure things out, Ganza-ojisan, Haruna thought. I don't want to be a pawn in our family's game.
Haruna pocketed the letter and locked the office for the night, hoping that her exit would be just as peaceful as her entrance.
"And she shows her face at last."
Goddammit, Haruna bit her tongue. She turned and saw Juzo glaring daggers at her.
"What do you want, Juzo?" Haruna asked, her face wooden.
"I am a man of honor, and today, you damaged my reputation."
Haruna wanted to laugh, but refrained from doing so. She shot him a feral smirk, "So sorry your ego is that delicate. I'll be gentle the next time I handle it."
Juzo looked ready to snap her in half. "I have had it with that foul tongue of yours!"
"Oh? I've never received any complaints about my tongue before."
"Clearly words are not enough!" Juzo yelled, looking very red in the face. "Kiri will not be accepting any refugees!"
"How spiteful are you?" Haruna jabbed back. "You would let innocent people suffer because of tradition, and paranoia?"
"You mock me, Matsuno! And you mock my people, my country! I will not stand for this any more!"
"Then stand up for yourself, and do something about it!" A moment of heavy silence fell between them.
"The training grounds, dusk."
"You're on."