Ohayo Readers, I'm back with another chapter. I know it's been a while, but I do know where I want to take this story, its just getting translating it from my mind to paper. A few things, if you haven't noticed, I'm not keeping up withe NarutoVerse timeline with several things. I'll try for the most part to try and keep timelines and facts close, but for other things within my story, sorry. ^_^
Please Read and Review.
The next few months, Minato and Sarutobi pushed Ryuu's abilities while teaching her to better control her crystal Kekkei Genkai. As she progressed, they noticed that the dragon marking on her brow slowly started to disappear as she became less afraid of herself. At the academy, she started becoming friends with the students and hung out more with Choza, Shikaku, Inoichi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Iruka. She stayed away from Anko and Rin because they annoyed her just because she sat next to Kakashi.
Graduation was coming up at the academy and Ryuu worried about what team she would be put on, if she was even put on a team. No matter how teams were placed, there would be one odd man out or one team that would get a fourth student. She was getting training outside of the academy and wondered if she would just be kept getting trained separately. These thoughts kept her up at night but she didn't want to bother Sarutobi who was also helping Minato adjust to being the fourth Hokage. Instead, she just went to the training grounds and practiced by herself when it was pitch black with the ANBU that on guard duty for her safety at that time.
Sarutobi asked her about these late nights out training after a month of her constantly doing it and ANBU reporting everything to Minato now that he was Hokage. She kept brushing him off, saying that nightmares kept her up but she knew he didn't believe it though he remained quiet and didn't push her excuses. He just told her to be careful when she went to the regular training grounds if in fact people were still hunting for her.
Was he disappointed? Or hurt that she wasn't trusting him with the truth? It was a possibility but Ryuu wasn't sure that her worries about the upcoming graduation were big enough to be mentioned to the former Hokage.
"Ryuu, you're going to be late!" Choza yelled as he, Inoichi, and Shikaku dashed past the bridge she was on reading and she mentally slapped herself as she put her book in her bag and dashed after her friends. "Did you forget today was graduation?"
"I've been busy," Ryuu frowned as she easily stayed up with them. "And haven't been sleeping well."
"What would you have to be too busy doing to remember that today is the last day at the academy? You're two years younger than us," Shikaku snorted before a yawn interrupted him. "Besides, today is still technically a school day. You are usually there already."
"Any of you notice that if we are all split up into groups of three, there will be one student who may be left behind?" Ryuu asked, finally mentioning the fact that she was worried about graduation.
"You think they'll keep you in the academy because you're younger?" Inoichi asked as they slowed to a walk as the academy came into view. Ryuu could only nod and Choza laughed loudly as he put an arm around her shoulder. "You are at the top of the class. They wouldn't hold you back just because of your age. If it was something like there being an extra student, they would have a group of four or hold back one of the students with bad scores. Besides, there is more than one class graduating to genin level."
"That's true. Thanks Inoichi," Ryuu smiled as they reached the academy doors and hurried inside with some of the other students of their grade level.
Ryuu slid into her seat in a rush as Riku entered the room with a pile of papers and sighed quietly as Choza, Shikaku, and Inoichi got reprimanded for being late. She felt eyes on her and turned to see an amused look in the masked boy's eye as he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. She smiled back as Riku started the last lecture they would have which was about how teams would work once she teamed them off and their new sensei's came to take them for the first team meetings.
Ryuu glanced at Kakashi and saw that he had turned his eyes back to the book in his lap. Over the last few months, Kakashi and Ryuu got a long a little better. They both liked books so they'd talk about them before class began, while all the time feeling daggers being glared into her back from the fan girls on the other side of the room when they came in. They didn't talk too much other than that, but it was enough for there to be no bad blood between the tablemates.
"Alright, it is time to announce teams," Riku announced and Ryuu glanced up and felt her heart fall slightly. This was why she didn't want to come to the academy today, no matter how much Inoichi convinced her that she'd be fine. "Asuma, Kurenai, and Raido, you are now a team. Your sensei, Kiru, wants you to meet at training grounds 5 tomorrow morning. A mission she was coming back from got extended a few hours. You are excused. Inoichi, Choza, Shikaku, you're sensei will be Rouni Sarutobi and he is waiting above the Hokage monument on the cliffs." Choza gave Ryuu an encouraging smile before he left with Inoichi and Shikaku. Ebisu, Guy, and Genma, please go to training grounds 9 and your sensei will announce themselves."
Ryuu looked around and her heart fell even more. Only Rin, Obito, Kakahsi, Anko, and two other boys who she never really talked to were left besides her. A man came into the room with long black hair and his eyes were yellow, reminding Ryuu of a snake. Riku greeted him and Anko and the two boys left with him. Three besides her were left as Minato and Sarutobi entered the room with smiles.
"Ryuu you will continue your training with Sarutobi and the rest of you will be training under the Hokage personally," Riku smiled.
Ryuu frowned as Kakashi passed behind her and touched her shoulder once as he followed Obito and Rin out of the room with Minato. Ryuu didn't move from her seat, making Sarutobi frown and he came to the back of the room and sat next to her as Riku smiled and left. Sarutobi remained quiet and waited patiently while Ryuu sorted through her thoughts.
"Was this why you pushed training harder?" Sarutobi finally spoke and Ryuu nodded quietly. "Why?"
"I thought that either someone would be left in the academy or become a fourth. I don't know how a lot of things are done within your village, but I just kept feeling like it would be me left behind because I was from a different nation and was younger than the rest," Ryuu sighed, finally letting him know her thoughts. "If I'm training under you, isn't the team still short two?"
"You'll be training with ANBU as well. Your abilities are far more advanced than those in your class. Besides, when Team Minato goes out on a team, I'll be leading it while he cannot afford to go out on missions now that he is Hokage. You'll be an extension to their team and Chunin Exams are coming up this next week and I've put your name in."
"But I've only been in this village for half a year…"
"You are ahead of your peers, but you do not have to accept to go to the exams if you wanted to wait for the next exams which are in six months. With how much you have worked with ANBU, several of those in control of ANBU have expressed curiosity about you and wish to see you progress to work fully under them," sarutobi spoke calmly.
"If there was going to be times I join another's team, wouldn't it have been better to just put me on a team?"
"Minato and I thought about that at first but while training with you, we've closely observed and Minato didn't feel like you would have worked well with a full team constantly. ANBU works in pairs of two for most of their missions. If you were worried about your new found friends, there would be plenty of that outside your training with ANBU and myself."
"I guess," Ryuu murmured as she glanced outside the window.
It was barely past midday and Ryuu was far from excited, even though she had passed the academy and became an official Genin, even if it was through another nation. She felt like she had been shoved into a corner to be kept out of the way so it didn't inconvenience others. She knew that Sarutobi wasn't doing it on purpose, but Ryuu couldn't help the feelings of being pushed aside because she was not born in the Fire Nation.
"Care to go get something to eat?" Sarutobi broke her out of her thoughts and she nodded as she got to her feet quietly.
Sarutobi had become the father she had always wanted, but she still could not fit in. She sighed quietly as Sarutobi led the way away from the academy towards the ramen shop. She hoped that one day she would be able to fit in completely and be able to call herself a Leaf Shinobi.
10 years later:
Ryuu dashed through the streets with a grin across her masked face as her former teammate struggled to catch up. Kakashi and she had been always completing for the best in the team the moment they both joined ANBU, even when it was just getting from one side of the village to the other. It was nice to have a friend to talk to on missions.
Kakashi had joined up with ANBU about eight years ago after a horrible accident took the lives of both of his teammates and Kakashi came back with a new scar and one of Obito's Sharingan eye in place of one of his own. Ryuu had been in ANBU for three years by the time she had run into him again and it took months for him to even start talking to her. Now he was retired from ANBU and had students of his own.
"Dragon," Kakashi muttered as he appeared next to Ryuu several seconds after she had entered the Hokage offices. Dragon was her ANBU alias.
"Good day to you too," she chuckled at him and saw his one eye roll in annoyance as his students entered the room.
Ryuu was 20 now and had a well-developed body. Her chest didn't quite rank up with the legendary Sanin Tsunade's but she had a pretty good size. Her body was still quite small otherwise but she was well toned for her 5'1 height. Her crimson hair was hidden by a black scarf wrap but when it wasn't hidden, it went below her waist. Her mask was white and the only markings were of a dragon that mirrored the marking that appeared on her brow.
"Hi Dragon," the young blond Jinchuuriki smiled and Ryuu nodded her head to him as she stepped aside since they had come for Sarutobi to give them a mission.
"Will you be home for dinner tonight?" Sarutobi asked as Team Kakashi left, escorting a bridge builder back to the Water Nation.
"No. HQ is sending me out for a four to six month mission this afternoon. I stopped by to say goodbye before I leave," Ryuu answered, slightly sad she would miss many months of evenings spent with him.
"During the Chunin exams? That is a shame, I know how much you loved to watch the genin work to get through them."
"I'll be back in time to stand by you for the next one," Ryuu smiled as she pulled her mask up so he could see her smile.
"You sure have grown into a fine young woman the last ten years," Sarutobi chuckled as he pulled out his pipe and lit it.
"All thanks you, you old man," Ryuu laughed as she came over and hugged him. "I'll see you when I get back papa."
"Be safe," Sarutobi hugged her back before she disappeared with a genuine smile as she pulled her mask back down to cover her face.