By Falling Leaves and Raining Sky
Every theory, I figured, came with a good cause and effect. Just one step down and the final piece was already snatched. So which was the more preferable way to be done with it? As if my life the unknown x, then I'd be a bitter loser who could turn the tables. OC-Insert.
…
Disclaimer: Naruto story, characters, and original plot belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N:
Yo! How ya'll doin'? This, to me, seems to be all blabber with no real meaning behind. It sounds blurry, so writing advice is greatly appreciative. I barely passed my Language Arts/ English classes, since it's not my first language. This chapter, though, is my favorite because it's the first of all my fics to reach the 20k milestone. Yeah. Let's begin with the chapter, folks.
…
January sixth. Hang in there, me. One more day till my birthday. And one more day till I signed the genin forms. Argh…
"Oh? Naoki? You still alive?" Ameno asked in all seriousness.
I sighed. "This is so troublesome. Why can't the day go any faster?"
Sen giggled with a teasing aura. I shivered. The whole thing was too melodramatic, like something you could find in a manga. Creepy…
The class seemed to last eons. And, finally, when the hell of boredom was over, I shuffled out of it. I sighed. "How troublesome…"
Behind me, Ameno chuckled. "How indeed."
I grumbled. "You enjoyed my suffering, didn't you?"
The brunette didn't look a tad guilty.
An orange head popped up. "So… how did the day go? We are in separate classrooms, so I never really know what it's like there."
"All I hear is yelling and loud voices."
"Hn. Yeah, my class is full of the loud guys."
"No kidding."
And it was troublesome to deal with them. To think about it, Sen was the ideal model for a Shojo manga heroine. An air of innocence, fragility, cute hair, big eyes, sparkling teeth. Ameno was the laid back best friend, too cool and tough to deal with wimps (refer to the boys who apparently happen to love girls. Totally notwithstanding due to Shojo manga). And I… probably belonged in a Shonen manga. High school drama and romances weren't my thing. It was better to fight kishins, devil fruit users, and evil wizards. Shikamaru was in a Shonen manga.
-o-
I couldn't sleep.
I turned. I couldn't sleep.
I twisted. I couldn't sleep.
I tried sleeping on my chest.
I tried sleeping on my back.
I wasn't tired.
Okay then, try counting sheep.
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep, five sheep, six sheep…
-o-
I jolted awake. Yay! I fell asleep! Woo-hoo!
I had an automatic internal alarm that always made wake with the sun. But it was winter and the sun rose late. So it was tough to get out of bed.
"Nooo… Let me sleep a bit more…" I clawed the mattress, making an attempt.
"Naoki. Do you really not want to celebrate your birthday? A complimentary gift from your friends, lazy ass."
"Yosh! Let the springtime of youth avail upon any wishing wanderer!" Trademarked from Might Gai and Rock Lee tm, I shouted, pretending to be eccentric. My bed was made, fast, fast. I brushed my teeth, fast, fast. My hair was sort of brushed, fast, fast. My face was washed, fast, fast. My sleep wear was folded aside and my clothes changed, fast, fast.
Meanwhile, two lost kids looked about in the fray. "What the hell happened to Naoki?"
Heh.
-o-
"Happy birthday."
"Okay."
"Bye."
"See ya."
-o-
Birthday present: lollipops.
"Thanks."
"I know you like the panda and bunny shaped ones. So I got them."
"And I got the orange flavored ones!"
"Thanks. I'll get you something cool later."
"For our birthdays?"
I casually brushed my hand. "Sure. Something like that."
-o-
My name is Naoki Hino and I am seven years old…
I hesitated at the registration office door. But my resolve was clear and true, so I straightened out my lazy slouch and entered.
"Hi." He said. So casual!
"Um… H-Hi." This was harder than I thought it would be.
"Go ahead and do your thing."
"Huh?"
The middle aged man sighed. "I've been seeing a whole lot a' brats round these buildings, contemplating whether to come in or not. Most who do, though, are weak wimps. So show me your power and I'll see what score you get."
And he didn't look up from his papers at all during the whole encounter.
"Right! So, what do you want to see?"
The man sighed again. Rude. Maybe I shouldn't sigh as often? I didn't know what other people thought of me when I did.
"Just give me some chakra tests and taijutsu forms. And at least ONE jutsu. Understand?"
"Yessir."
-o-
I walked on the walls of the drab office. He cocked an eyebrow. Chakra tests were done.
I transitioned into other basic kata stances. He frowned.
I showed him the Henge, transforming into a perfect version of him. He rolled his eyes.
"Come on kid. Everybody knows the Henge. Show me something else." His voice wasn't very approving. I didn't like it.
"Very well, sir. It appears that it has come to this."
I sighed, shaking my head.
"Oh? A secret jutsu?"
I nodded mournfully. Truthfully, I had been working on it since day one. And after three years, all the imperfections were perfected. This was my ABSOLUTE best jutsu! And to think he'd be the first one to witness it. What a shame. I cleared my throat.
Focus the mind…
"Sexy jutsu!"
-o-
I walked out of the building, flaring an aura of pride. Ameno and Sen grinned. They bumped shoulders with me. "Knew you could do it, Hino."
I grinned back, cheeky.
"So. Then. Where're you gonna wear that?" Ameno glanced down at the hitae-ate in my hands. The cloth was black and had long straps, so it could be worn anywhere. Hmm. That was the question, wasn't it? I had a tendency to trip, so my ankles were out. I had an obsessive need to be symmetrical, so the arms were out, too. That left my hair, forehead, and waist.
I tied the hitae-ate to my waist, answering the question already. No words needed. My inside reasoning and practicality was good enough. Cool.
Naoki, I like being a genin.
I know, Naoki.
Shut up, Naoki.
Inside head debates was a sign of madness. Did this new ninja life finally get to me? Nah. that was the giddiness taking over. It would suck to be stuck in an asylum. Hi, strange white suited guys! We come in pieces!
I was a ninja. A ninja. My happiness was palpable and nearly tangible.
"Hey, aren't we the first all-girls team in history?"
"We'd be celebrities!"
"It doesn't work like that, Sen."
And to think, tomorrow, I'd start on D-ranks. Okay, they would be annoying sometimes, but the pay overall was pretty decent. I could save up enough money to buy ninja gear, mesh, and bandages. Maybe even purchase an apartment for when I got older. I was looking at the future with a good start. Ahead, the road would be tough and rocky, but I could see a good outlook for when I became a jounin. Well. I wanted two kids and a husband who was older than me. I would have two housecats and a nice Japanese styled home. There would be exactly seven koi fish in the pond. My husband wouldn't nag and I wouldn't really care less about looks and popularity. Eh.
My goal in life wasn't outstanding or cute. I didn't want to become Hokage (seeing how I enjoyed myself in Ame) or venture the continent. Eh.
"Oi. Oi! Are you even listening?"
Huh? "No."
Sen twitched. "So straightforward and blunt…"
Ameno sighed. Hmm, where was her limit? Staaaaare…
"As I was saying, we've been wondering who our jounin-sensei could be. There aren't a lot of elites like those around, so yeah…"
I blinked. Twice. "First things first, I'm visiting the library. Bye~!" I abruptly switched directions.
"He-Hey! Wait up! I wasn't done talking to you!" And her voice was muffled by Sen, who warned her of not disturbing the peace. I smiled. Those brats were cute. Then I used the Kawarimi, taking place with a broken metal pipe near the library. Why, I'd never walk all the way…
And nobody would mind another stray pipe. They were everywhere.
-o-
"Hello."
"Hn."
"I'm a genin now. I can access that room."
The person on duty glanced up. Then tossed the clipboard. I fumbled with the toss, but caught it nevertheless.
"You're kinda slow, aren't you?" This guy just had a feeling of making me pissed.
"I'm new."
"A fresh one, eh?"
"Sure." I tossed it back. After righting my name with a pen I so happened to carry. Of course. I wouldn't waste such precious energy and time. He half-heartedly caught it before reassuming his paperwork. Staaaaare…
A vein throbbed. "What do you want?"
"Show me to the genin files."
"Gee, you're pretty bratty. I don't like punks like you."
"Okay."
Another vein throbbed. Staaaaare…
He slammed his pen down. "Down the hall, first door on your right. Now shoo."
"Thanks."
He huffed through his nose. I walked past.
The genin library was small. It wasn't teensy weensy, like the pre-ninja shelf, but only having five shelves was quite pitiful. Where were the great, big, towering walls, mounted with books of knowledge? But it was better than nothing. Optimistic, was I? Apparently, nearly all the jutsu books were taken out. Everything left was the hard, elemental jutsu. But they all seemed of the same general level. Hmm… I couldn't promote to higher rankings if I didn't reach up and beyond. The only high ranking thing I had was the Wind Release: Gale Palm. A chunin level ninjutsu. But I didn't know how to use it. It was meant to be learnt when I became a genin. And here I was. My team needed a jounin-sensei. I was running on loose strings here.
I sighed. "Ah, well, it can't be helped." I grabbed the first random book off a shelf and flipped the pages. Then another. And another. Then another-.
Wait, what?
In my surprise, I pushed the book back to its original place. Once my head cleared, I took it out again. Holy…
What was a chunin level ninjutsu doing here?!
I searched all the books I scavenged. Chunin, chunin, chunin… I clutched them tighter and ran out. The door had a plaque on it. It read chunin section. Oh. Oh dear. I noticed the hallway. I was on the left side. Oh. Across from me was a big, big door that read genin. On the right side. Haha.
"There you are. I was looking for ya, brat." I froze. "In the bathroom, were you? I couldn't find you in the genin section. Well, I think I'm coming up with something, so the library's closing for the day.
He took a good look at the books I hugged tight to my chest. My knees trembled. This was the end of me; I knew it. Then the librarian turned the other direction!
"Come on. Shoo fly, don't bother me. Scatter." He dragged me along the floor. I was speechless. My mouth was the perfect contortion of an 'O' shape. Before I knew it, my voice was back.
"W-Wait! These books are-."
"Bye!" He locked the double doors.
It was, by now, a natural instinct to activate the rainproof chakra shield. That didn't apply so much as to handheld objects, only clothes and the body, so I stuffed the books under my shirt and started walking.
"Huh."
-o-
To say, at least, D-ranks were boring. The money was hard to split into three, so somebody had to get more. I was that person. The two older girls stated that I was the youngest and newest to being a genin, so they'd let me off for a year. Then we'd take turns. It was all decided by a few grunts and assortment of head turning. Mental connections were easy by now.
Our first mission was to repaint one of the buildings. The next day, we took care of the elderly and made sure "they didn't die of boredom just yet". And another was too clean the training fields. Unlike Konoha, or what I remember and wrote down for the intro arc, there was no babysitting. People didn't trust each other. If someone truly had to leave a child home alone, then they'd drop them off at a friend's or something. Amegakure wasn't the safest hidden village. There were pick pockets and thievery and drunken people all around. The whole village was a red light area. I didn't mind, though. No matter how messed up it was, I loved my home with a passion. But it was too troublesome to say so or otherwise.
How much did Pain love his village, I mused, apparently interested.
As a kami-sama, no doubt. As a citizen? Well, world peace (domination?) is a pretty high aim to forward.
Off topic. Change subject.
Hmm. Sen's been out of it lately. Staaaaare…
"Hn?"
Staaaaare…
"Um…"
Staaaaare…
"You're creeping me out, Naoki."
Staaaaare…
"Naoki." Ameno warned. I stared at her. She stared back. I tilted my head in Sen's direction. She got the picture.
We both stared.
Staaaaare…
"What are you doing?"
"Staaaaare… Bleh."
I stuck a tongue out. Sen frowned. "That wasn't very nice…"
Staaaaare…
"What do you want?"
"Spill."
"Huh?"
We stared some more. Sen was saved by the call of curfew.
Staaaaare…
-o-
I took a good look at the books I had (illegally?) collected (stolen?).
"History of the Shinobi World."
"Genjutsu Theory."
"Wind Release: Flower Scattering Dance." Oh? That looked interesting. The hand seals were tiger, rabbit, and dragon.
-o-
"Wind Release: Flower Scattering Dance!" A small vortex of flower petals was at my command. I willed it to move that a way. Then that-.
The jutsu broke. I huffed and panted, rolling onto the concrete ground. Wind Release techniques were always the most chakra consuming. And it was a low B-ranked jutsu, so the best I could do was hold it for three seconds. In my terms, that was good. At the library, the chunin section offered C-rank and low B-ranked jutsu. I think the jounin section offered high B-ranks and A-ranks of all kinds. S-ranks weren't so easy to access you could walk straight into a library. You had to be apprenticed to someone of that caliber for a taste.
I sighed, cutting the flow of chakra in my hands. It returned to normal.
"Whelp. Time to go home." I trudged along the streaming rain rivers. Just where did the water empty out? There were a lot of lakes here, but not in the village. You had to walk for miles to see the nearest one. The streets, yes, were filled with storm drains and sewer lines. But they never overfilled, miraculously.
I kind of ignored the Genjutsu Theory book, since I sucked at it. A random faceless boy asked to practice his on me, and I shrugged. The genjutsu… it was odd. I knew I was in the orphanage, but less well-known parts were hazy and made from memory. I knew all I had to do was disrupt my chakra and say "Kai!" but my chakra felt hazy and susceptible. It was like it didn't want me to break out of it.
The History of the Shinobi World was interesting, but not that much needed. I knew the important, basic stuff, like Hashirama and Hanzo and Madara, but who needed to know the last time a Takigakure ninja was ambushed on the great plain? Ninja were ambushed day in and day out. In wars, of course. It was a relatively peaceful time as of now. Only Ame was still recovering from both the great wars. We were trapped in the middle of the free-for-all zone, being surrounded by the Rock Country, Fire Country, and Lightning Country.
Dinner was something new: onigiri wrapped with nori. We had two each. It was pretty good. I gave one to a passerby on the street, later, since my appetite wasn't up. Though, I probably should have eaten that. Your chakra heals faster and you grow stronger with nutritious food. Though rice probably wasn't the most nutritious. White rice, at that.
Staaaaare…
"Stop looking at me all funny."
"Then spill."
"What?"
"You are uncomfortable about something."
Sen spluttered. Ameno and I shared a smirk. "See? You just proved it."
"So you were just guessing all the time?"
"Pretty much."
Sen rolled her eyes. I bumped shoulders. "What's up?"
The orangette blushed.
I turned my back. "You know what? Never mind." I didn't like dealing with romances. Whoever that girl had a crush on, Ameno was going to kill him anyways.
"N-No! It's not like that!"
I turned my head. "Oh?"
Sen blushed. "N-Never mind."
Ameno and I cocked eyebrows. "Yes? You were saying something."
Sen huffed, and crossed her arms. "Nothing."
Ameno and I shared a look. I muttered "lovey-dovey cowards" under my breath and walked away. Ameno smirked. Sen growled. Cute.
-o-
"Wind Release: Flower Scattering Dance!"
Seven seconds.
I improved by four whole seconds in a week. Man, I was good. Or bad, depending on how you looked at the situation. But I could feel my reserves growing. By now, I had a lot of chakra, enough to compete for the top spot out of all ninja who became genin at Hito. In my immediate age group. Ninja-nee-san had to be ten years older than me. Surprising that the laziest ninja in Hito also had the most chakra and endurance. So whoever created that wind ninjutsu had to have a whole lot of chakra.
Angel-sama now sent runners to talk in her place. The kids were miffed at how the beautiful lady was replaced by the wrinkled old fart.
You'd figure that a person like her would be busy.
Nobody could 'Naruto' this BS. Shadow clones were a forbidden technique, so Konoha was 'hush-hush' about it. And if someone who could rival him in terms of chakra and stamina, they'd be in the bingo book. Just saying.
(And not at all talking directly to the invisible back of Kisame Hoshigaki.)
Breakfast, now, was rice porridge with nori (seaweed). Lunch was some sort of sandwich. Dinner was onigiri (rice ball). With a variety of rather nori, fake crab, or bean paste. I chose the former most of the time. Fake crab tastes nothing like the real deal. And this bean paste was awfully sour. The money from our missions were helping out Hito a whole lot. The average income for a D-rank was ten thousand yen to two hundred thousand yen. Back in my old world, that would be about twenty dollars to a hundred-fifty dollars. Yeah… People would pay large amounts for anything. Two hundred thousand yen?! That's a whole lot, I tell you.
Mesh armor/clothing costs about twenty thousand yen (forty dollars) per large piece. The smaller articles, like arm protectants and leg bands were about ten thousand yen (twenty dollars).
Bandages were pretty cheap, since it was needed everywhere. Bandages could be used as a fashion statement, too. Since everyone got hurt some way or another, it was too much of a drag to take them off. Eh.
"Dango, dango, dango-."
"Stop singing the dango song."
"What a drag."
Ameno sighed. "Anyway, we have to be looking for a jounin-sensei. And start team exercises."
Sen popped out of the sky. "Meet us at three tomorrow at training grounds nine. Okay? Bye~!"
Ameno nodded. "Hn. Yeah. We don't really know what you can do besides the Henge."
Oh. That's right. I haven't been keeping up with them. But really, do I want them to know? Humans are naturally greedy and sinful people. I was selfish and liked to keep to myself. Neither Sen nor Ameno even knew what my favorite color is. Kind of sad, actually. I was a mystery, wasn't I?
Hmm. What should I tell them? Cross out the elemental jutsu. Maybe just the chakra exercises and the three basic ninjutsu. They'd definitely not get suspicious or anything. Naoki, to them, was too lazy to do any extra effort. Yes, I was lazy. But sometimes I wanted to change that. But then again, putting my life into the canon would only lead to a darker future, wouldn't it? If I was to involve with Konohagakure, then certainly as a nosy diplomat or spy. I was born in Ame and would stay in Ame. If I had been born in Konohagakure, then, maybe, all this would be a different story. But here I was, loving it.
Sigh…
Why couldn't I tell them! I wanted to, but…
What? They'd get mad? They'd get jealous? They'd freak out?
Why was I thinking insecure thoughts?
I didn't usually think like this.
Ah, well, I'd be going to sleep now...
"Good morning!" I yawned, stretching my arms.
They rolled their eyes. "You do realize that it's only three in the afternoon?"
I nodded. "Hn. I know. Like I said, it's early~."
Maybe I shouldn't get on my senior's nerves as much. Who knew what devious older brats had up their sleeves?
Sen cleared her voice. "Yosh! I'll start."
Her amber eyes closed with concentration. Sen performed the three basic ninjutsu. And chakra strings, latching all ten of them onto loose pebbles. By then, I found out that the two also knew Rainproof no jutsu. I named the trick myself, since nobody had the liberty of doing otherwise. Nice name, huh? Title says all.
Sen was sensor. Her eyes were abnormally big, and being a child had nothing to do with that. By adding chakra to the base of her retinas, she could see far, far away. Like the abridged version of the Byakugan. I wondered if she was a descendent or something. But she was prone to crying, since a lot of the bullies tended to call her an idiot. So whenever anything looked like that kanji character, she kind of… halted. Being sensitive wasn't bad, but it would prove detrimental to ninja life. Though, unlike the Byakugan, Sen couldn't see underneath ground level and through walls. Just plain sight with mixed up evolution.
Ameno could also perform the three most basic ninjutsu, and was learning the fundamentals of the tree-walk exercise. Of course, like everybody else, she knew the Rainproof no jutsu. And mastered it. It was pure instinct by the time you made genin. Had to be. Since rainy days never lifted. Never. Ever. You had to kill Pain, and nobody just waltzes in on Pain and says "I'm gonna kill ya!"
Jiraiya of the Sannin, well, died. Because of Nagato and Danzo's evil cronies. It's Danzo's fault. Blame everything on Danzo.
And it just naturally rains all the time, at least seven and a half days a week.
Ameno showed us a ninjutsu she had been working on (and was still a project in development).
Scorpion Hands. Ninja jutsu. Summoned chakra to your elbows down, creating scorpion hands. I thought they looked like crab claws. I didn't say nothing. And they solidified, even though the arms underneath were visible. So getting raked or punched by one was painful.
My turn. Now what?
"Greetings, ladies and unapparent gentlemen." I did a ninety degree angle, bowing to my two spectators. Audience didn't clap.
I cleared my throat. Awkward…
"I am now at your leisure to perform amazing, fantastical ninja skills for you all today."
"Get over it."
"Okay…"
I 'Henge'-d into someone they didn't know. I kind of knew him. I mean, well, all Narutards fangirled over Itachi Uchiha at some point, right? He was his twenty-one year old sight, sometime in the future. In my past. Seven years ago. He wore the Akatsuki cloak, so I was pretty glad that no members of that organization or people who were affiliated with the Akatsuki stuck around to watch three mischievous little brats train. My two teammates commented on how… interesting my imagination was. Nobody came up with that kind of fashion design without meeting the person or having problems. I think they thought it was the latter. Heh. My attitude was really that odd?
Then came the Bunshin. I made five, since any number lower than that I viewed unlucky.
The last of the three easiest and rarely used (for reasons I still couldn't really comprehend) jutsu was the Kawarimi. I substituted with Ameno, taking her by surprise. She huffed through her nose after losing her balance ("I love you, too."). At least the brunette didn't fall down onto her rear. That would have been embarrassing for her but amusing to the onlookers. And I did worry about my health. Daichi wouldn't be appreciative of my visit. He'd also want to investigate my right eyeball more, if he was a true scientist of medicine. I was fond of my vision, there. It helped me view the physical world with better clarity. Reality and evil dark plans aside. Not that kind of clarity. No seven year old had usurping dreams of nightmares and adult themes. Besides me. Don't ever count the reborn girl. She probably had seen things most people didn't even dare dream.
I stood there awhile, gazing into space. Ameno's voice jolted me back.
"Is that it?"
It was now or never.
"Uh."
"'Uh' what?"
We said all kinds of nice things to each other, didn't we?
Rhetorical question. Don't answer.
"Nope!" Ohgoshholyfrigginmeatballsauceoh! It was dared.
"I know one more thing that'll throw ya'll into a pinch." I winked. Inwardly, I was seen raking my eyes out of my corpse. Aaaggghhh!
"Water Style: Lizard Tongue!" A fast, thin, sharp stream of water was spit out over the horse hand seal. Good, good job me. Show them that you can utilize elemental jutsu, but only one. And your weakest one so far. Half and half.
I meekly glanced at the two. Their reactions were what I had expected, but on a safer, milder note.
Sen was drooling from her unhinged jaw with wide eyes. Ameno struggled with her eyes, like there was something in it. Or saw something she hadn't expected to see.
They were flabbergasted. Incredulous looks plastered over their faces. I rubbed the back of my head.
"So… How's that for an eye-catcher?" My voice sounded weak. Ah, let them think that I was tired from over exertion. Naturally, little brats weren't expected to have such large reserves for a jutsu.
"Oh. My. Gosh! How could you keep this from us? This is big, real big."
I blinked. Huh?
"I mean, you're that advanced? Gee, even though you have serious issues, your ninja ability is awesome!"
Ow. Ow. Ow. I think my ears were bleeding. But that would be worth it if Sen and Ameno didn't suddenly distrust me for being so far ahead in our studies. We were little kids, of course envy was a huge problem. I wouldn't blame them. I'd probably been slightly envious, no matter my maturity and mental age. It was selfish to think that way. I was a bad, bad girl. Growing up without parents to teach you proper discipline was catching up. No matter maturity, surrounded by brats would help in really becoming one. I should visit Nagisa sometime soon. He needed to know that his family was still intact. Ish.
Alive and well, here!
Or… separate myself? No! Bad Naoki! We discussed (mentally) to never ever abandon friends! Not everyone can turn into a Sasuke and live to tell the tale. Where was the root of all the bad, bad emotions? I didn't doubt like this usually. But I had no double personality or bipolar issues. I brushed it off as a second-life-y thing. Sometimes somber moments of nostalgia did it. Wasn't I the perfect example?
Anyway, mental health aside, it was proposed to have team training fall like this:
"Free time starts two in the afternoon. Then we get called back for dinner around six for an hour. Then until eight-thirty, we run laps."
"Sure. You got a good head on your shoulders, Ameno."
Basically, do whatever genjutsu, ninjutsu, or chakra powered training for four hours. Then eat to regain energy for the second round of taijutsu later. Ameno planned on us being drop dead tired when we finished, so she prepared a thirty minute walk from training grounds nine and Hito, even the walk in the crow's eyes took a little over ten minutes. Cool. Sounded cool to me.
...
Yo! How's life? I'm good, thank you for asking. I totally trolled my friends a little while ago with amazing bets that you will always win. Watch it on youtube. Don't own that. So, gotta go with... stuff.
