Naruto; Did you pray for my soul?
Kami; I got no such prayers. You will go to Hell.
LC; I'll let you have sneak peeks of my stories if you let Naruto into heaven!
Kami;...You drive a hard bargain but I am a fan of your stories so...DEAL!
*Goes back to palace in sky to read new sneak peeks of various fics*
Naruto; Not even Kami is on my side.
LC; There there, at least your famous and awesome and strong and awesome and cool and awesome and awesome and awesome.
Sasuke; Aren't you done yet? The crowd is getting antsy.
Crowd; WE WANT KIDA AND WE WANT IT NOW! WHAT DO WE WANT? KIDA! WHEN DO WE WANT HER? NOW!
LC; Oh...your right. On to my story!
Crowd; !
Disclaimer; No, I do not own Naruto. If I did I'd be chased by rabid fans every day who would no doubt beg to have me made as a major diety of some sort. Diety of Awesome maybe.
Chapter 4; But the Present is a Gift!
She was walking through the village, fire rained all around yet she felt no fear. Shinobi all rushed around, trying to evacuate villagers and still all she felt was a dreadful calm.
She walked through the village and into the hogake tower. Inside, she found the Yondaime writing something in a scroll. The scroll seemed to be filled with seal designs, though she didn't know what they did. In on of his arms, was a small pink bundle.
Kida watched and followed as Yondaime ran to meet the dreadful monster attacking their home. The Kyubi no Kitsune in all of it's well earned horror fought the shinobi valiantly trying to save the lives of the villagers.
Minato summoned forth a giant toad and was joined on it's head by the Sandaime hogake.
Kida some how found herself close enough to listen.
"Minato, are you sure you can handle this?" The Sandaime asked his successor, he seemed to be staring sadly at the small bundle, which had begun to cry.
"There's no other way. I'm sure Kushina will raise her to be a fine young woman." Minato said tearfully, obviously trying to hold back his sobs of regret.
Kida watched as the Sandaime used a surprise attack to temporaily knock the Yondaime unconcious. He cought the bundle and rushed off to face the demon while the giant toad made sure Minato was safe.
She found herself following the old man this time as he went to a strange ware house. Inside, a complex seal had been drawn in blood.
The bundle was placed directly in the middle, and seeing her chance, Kida rushed forward to see the screaming child.
"I am sorry Naru, but you will need both of your parents." The old man said, performing the seal. Kida instinctively knew that this child was the child of Minato and this Kushina woman.
She could almost see it's face now, just a few more feet.
The seal array lit lick a fuse, causing her to pause in her endeavors. The light died and the old man fell. Into the room burst the Yondaime and he cried out in grief and loss as he saw his old friend die.
Kida by now had reached the bundle and was stunned to see who the infant was. The child had short red hair, sparkling blue eyes once again hidden by her eyelids, but the feature standing out most fervently in her mind, was the infant's whisker marks.
"Naru, I have subjected you to this fate." He picked up the child and walked away from the battleground. Kida watched him carry the infant to an orphanage and leave her there.
Kida knew this orphanage. This was where she had been raised. This was where she'd been adopted. This was where her father had left her to fend for herself. Here is where her life began.
Kida woke with a start as the alarm clock on her nightstand cried out to the morning light. Sweat dripped from her brow as she remembered the dream.
Silent tears rolled down her eyes as she faced the truth. Her hero, the Yondaime hogake that had saved the village, was her father, and he had abandoned her. Her kaa-san came in to find Kida huddled on her bed with her knees tucked to her chest, still crying.
Iruka remembered the times following her adoption when Kida would wake in the morning crying from a nightmare. She hadn't had one in a while, but it seemed they had returned.
Iruka held her daughter until she stopped crying and then told her to come down for breakfast. Kida gathered herself and dressed into her shinobi clothes, following her kaa-san down the stairs.
She made a promise that morning, to never again allow herself to be left behind, but to put the past behind her.
It was a new day.
TIME SKIP; FOUR YEARS LATER; DAY OF GENIN TEST!
The next four years did in fact pass quickly. Between training with her new friends Neji, Lee, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji, she was amazed to find how fast the time had passed her by. Her fanclub had grown exponantially, to her chagrin, and she now had a gaggle of boys awaiting her every morning to walk her to school.
It seemed Iruka's advice had had the opposite affect, drawing more boys to her.
"Shika today is the genin exams!" Kida said, unnusually energetic that morning. She was almost bouncing on the balls of her feet waiting for the first bell to ring.
Shikamaru had only ever seen her this happy and energetic that day Tome had exchanged her tea for coffee. Needless to say it had become a sort of unspoken law to keep Kida as far away from caffeine as humanly possible.
"Kida, please tell me you didn't sneak into your father's coffee!" Kiba said nervously, remembering how Kida had actually shaved Akamaru last time. Speaking of whom, Akamaru was currently hiding inside Kiba's jacket.
"I'm a little excited, not on a sugar rush." Kida sweatdropped. She had changed since first entering the academy. Her red hair she had cut into a cute bob in order to counter the rumors of Sasuke liking girls with long hair. No way was she being accused of liking that emotionally retarded prick.
She wore a blue sleeve-less top and dark red jean jacket. For pants she wore tight fitting shinobi pants cut at the knees to be made into shorts. Her fox pendant and white fang hung proudly around her neck.
Tucked into her belt was her ninjato. On her arms she had bandage styled fingerless gloves. With regulation blue shinobi sandals, her look was complete.
It helped she was a little more 'developed' then most girls.
Shikamaru realised he was staring and turned away from the troublesome girl back to the academy doors, still firmly closed.
He wondered if he would get on her team. It would make sense since he was the dead last and she was the best kunoichi. Although that would also mean being on the same team as that troublesome Uchiha.
Looking again at the red haired masked girl, he decided it wouldn't be too troublesome.
Finally the bell rang and the test began. First came the written test, which Kida had no trouble with at all. Next to her sat Sakura Haruno, a girl who had proclaimed Kida as her eternal rival for 'Tome-kun's' nonexistant heart.
On her other side sat Sasuke, who had by then finished as well and was wondering when he would be able to leave to train.
Tome sat in the row below as he struggled through his test.
Why on Earth was the test this hard if they were only going to be genin!
"Alright, next we have the accuracy test." Iruka-sensei announced, proud that her daughter had passed with a higher score than the Uchiha.
She led them all to an academy training field where a series of targets had been set up. After training with her friend Tenten, Kida had some of the best accuracy in the class. She would pass this with a snap.
"Next, Kida Hatake!" Iruka announced, after Sakura had managed to get five out of ten kunai and six out of ten shuriken. Iruka was not overly optimistic about this year's batch of kunoichi.
Kida walked up and drew out her kunai and shuriken, an early graduation gift from her tou-san. She threw them with practiced skill and speed, hitting the target nine out of ten with kunai and ten out of ten with shuriken.
Satisfied with her scores, Kida retrieved her weapons and took her place next to her friend Shikamaru as he waited for his own turn.
"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru muttered, watching other kids one by one fight in the taijutsu tournament for that part of the test. One more after this one and they would see who had passed and who had flunked.
What seemed more strange though, was the fact Kida seemed almost eager to beat Tome to the ground. It was well known that they almost always ended up fighting in the last round, but before, Kida had always acted like she didn't care.
Today it seemed like she had some personal grudge.
Most of the genin hopefuls wouldn't be able to tell, but Shikamaru was pretty good at spotting something like this. The underlying tension in the air around her, the way she kept her book firmly in her pouch.
The subtle tremor that ran through her muscles every time Tome so much as twitched. Yes, she was excited at the prospect of defeating Tome.
The only question, Shikamaru knew, was why.
Kida had gone through the academy, valiantly ignoring the fact Tome was her half brother. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew that dream was no dream. It was a memory.
She'd always known before that she felt a rivalry with him, but now that she knew the truth, the little taunts of sibling rivalry stung.
She performed a round house kick right off the back, catching Tome by surprise as he was used to starting their spars. She did not allow him time to recover and kept harrassing him until he reached the edge of the ring.
The class was awed and confused by this sudden act of aggression and had more than one wondering what prank Tome had pulled to piss Kida off. No one liked an angry Kida Hatake.
Tome didn't know what he'd done this time but he was not about to let her have an easy victory. If he was nothing else, he was stubborn.
He fought back with fervor, trading punch for kick and back again as he tried to nail a direct hit. Neither was losing ground, but neither were gaining it either. In a surprise move Tome vaulted overhead and managed to block Kida's counterattack with minimal trouble.
Everyone watched in coarse silence as the two 'secret siblings' fought with everything they had. Kida used her reduced stature and speed to her greatest advantage while Tome threw around his height and weight, trying to squash her.
Tome managed a lucky punch and used this as an oppurtunity to follow up. He threw her over his shoulder and landed with his knee on her back, knocking the breath out of her lungs. He was thinking on what to do next when Kida flipped them over, pinning him to the ground.
"Admit defeat." She urged, a glint in her eye suggesting she didn't really want him to. Kida was drawing on frustration and anger for four years to show Tome once and for all who was strongest.
She did not want this to end.
Tome got a foot hold and propelled Kida into the air, while she was recovering he stood up on shaky feet and prepared his attack.
When Kida landed she immediatly jumped back into the air and over his head to avoid the powerful punch he had thrown her way. She waist kicked him from behind, knocking him out of the ring.
"You've gotten stronger, but so have I." She said monotonously. Iruka called the match and congratulated her daughter. Next came the ninjutsu exam and she would graduate.
The class released a breath none had been aware of holding and followed their sensei back into the building for the final test. Only then would they know who had passed and who had failed.
Kida's turn came sooner than she would have liked, but she couldn't do anything about that. She walked to the next room and began her test.
She first turned into the Sandaime, who had died in the Kyubi attack. Iruka thought for sure she would have changed into her hero, the Yondaime, but passed her on that part. Next she substituted herself with Mizuki, who had been sitting in a chair behind the desk.
"Alright, now just perform three clones and you pass!" Iruka said excitedly, she could hardly believe her little girl was almost a ninja! She was so proud!
Kida gulped, her worst technique just had to be on the exam. Iruka knew the clone technique was difficult for Kida, but she also knew with her scores she would pass regardless. Kida however despised stains, and this one on her academy record had always irked her.
"Bunshin jutsu!" She cried, making the handsigns and trying to make her chakra as percise as possible. For her efforts, she was rewarded with two good clones and a sickly one that poofed away right after being made.
"Congratulations Kida-chan, you pass!" Iruka assured her, showing the already filled out exam papers with a big 'pass' stamp on it. "Your scores were good enough to get you through even if you had failed this part."
Kida heaved a sigh of relief but vowed all the same to figure out a way to perform the clone jutsu. She left the room with her headband tied proudly around her forehead, much to mutual happinness of the boys in the room.
Later, Tome went inside to take the same test. Like Kida he had always had problems with the clone jutsu. Unlike Kida he had not done as well on the exams and was worried about if he would pass or not.
When he performed the jutsu, all he made was one sickly clone, that lasted five whole seconds. He'd never been so devastated in his life!
"Don't worry Tome, you still have enough credits to pass." He looked up to his 'aunt' with relief. She handed him his new hitaite and he wrapped it tightly around his own head.
Mizuki watched the exchange with a practiced eye. He knew Tome would do just about anything to surpass Kida, all he had to do was provide the bait.
He'd get that scroll to his master in no time flat.
He met with Tome later that day as he walked home. "You know Tome, there is a technique that you could learn that is better than regular clones." He informed him pleasantly. "It's inside the ancient Forbidden Scroll in the hogake's office. It sits there as part of a test. If you can manage to take the scroll, you are allowed to learn from it."
Tome scoffed at the idea, but mentally he was hanging onto every word. If he could get that scroll, he'd be tons better than little Kida.
"I'll let you in on a secret." Mizuki decided, bending close to whisper in his ear. "Kida can not perform the clone jutsu either. If you got the scroll and learned from it, you'd surpass her exponantially."
Tome's eyes shined as he put together the makings of a plan. Getting into the hogake's office was easy if you knew what to avoid, and if you were hogake's son.
It would be child's play to get the scroll! He'd do it tonight!
Elsewhere in the village, Kida entered her home to be greeted by her little silver haired brother. His name was Sakumo, after his grandfather, a hero of the village. And like all Hatakes he wore a face mask.
"Onee-chan did you pass!" He asked excitedly, for all his three and a half years he was truly a genius. Heaven forbid he become a second Kakashi. What kind of family was this anyway? Was it normal for little kids at three to talk so fluently? Maybe it was some kind of genetic mutation.
"Of course not, what do you think this thing on my forehead is?" She mocked him playfully, tossing him into the air. "Silly boy, how can you ever be a ninja if you don't know one when you see one?"
Sakumo ran down the hall, leading his sister out the back door and out into the forest on their lands.
"Come on, I want to watch you train at the secret grounds!" He yelled over his shoulder, urging her on.
LATER THAT SAME NIGHT! HOGAKE TOWER!
Tome sat outside his father's office, in the ventalation shafts. Finally Minato decided to head home for some food and rest.
"Now that Tome is a genin, I guess I can give him some more private training." He pondered aloud. "It's not unusual, he is my son so I'm allowed to train him. I wonder if he'd be strong enough to handle the rasengan yet."
Tome smiled in anticipation of this new training before dropping into the room as the door snapped shut. There was the scroll, sitting on the shelf with no guards at all.
Easy pickings for sure.
He took the scroll deep within the forest to the old training ground Mizuki-sensei had told him about. When he got there, he was stunned to see Kida lying in the grass, passed out.
Approaching quietly, mischeaf in mind, he walked over to the sleeping girl. Tonight was the greatest night of his life. Not only would he get to learn new techniques, but he would finally get to see Kida's face!
He had never before seen it, but here was his chance and he was not passing it by!
He put the scroll by his side and reached over to her face slowly. He grasped the edge of her mask and froze when she mumbled something in her sleep.
With sweat dripping from his brow, he slowly drew the mask did she wear the thing anyway? This is it, he was going to see Kida Hatake's face!
"Hey, who are you!" Tome jumped out of his skin and turned around to see Kida's little brother, Sakumo walking over with some food. "Hi Tome!" The little boy greeted him, recognizing his blonde hair.
"Sakumo, what are you and Kida doing here?" Tome asked curiously. Mizuki-sensei said this place wasn't used anymore. Was he lying? (No duh dipshit)
"This is the secret Hatake training ground!" Sakumo said excitedly, gesturing with his free hand, the other stacked high with food. Kida opened her eyes while Tome's back was turned, seizing this as her only chance, she pulled her mask firmly on her nose. No way was she letting Tome see her face! Only lovers or family were allowed to view a Hatake's face.
And in no way did Tome qualify as the first, and he sure as hell wasn't family either!
"Why are you here with that scroll Teme?" Kida yawned, pretending to have just woken up. She knew that scroll from the many times she had been in the hogake's office, she also knew only jounin were allowed to see inside it.
"I'm going to train with it, duh!" Tome snarked angrily. Everytime it seemed he had one upped her she got lucky and found out or turned out to be stronger! It wasn't fair!
He'd do anything for the village, yet this lazy GIRL was always better than him! He was the one to be hogake, not her!
THIS IS THE END OF THE CHAPTER I'LL SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME!
LC; Okay, now we're really getting into the thick of the story!
Naruto; I'm liking this so far.
Sasuke; Not bad but you didn't give me a lot of screen time.
LC; For this chapter I wanted to focus primarily on Kida and Tome's relationship as rivals.
Naruto; Why is that so important?
LC; Did you miss the whole, 'the council is secretly engaging them to be wed' part or should I run that by you again?
Sasuke; Dobe.
Naruto; Oh...right. Ew.
LC; Relax, I don't like incest unless it's in TMNT.