Rainstorm Chapter 12

Back to Normal. Kind of.

Wow. I never realized how inspired I would be to write after finishing the last chapter. I also find it ironic that the filler is about the orphans right now. And that apparently Hanzo was a decent person. Ugh. Well, I guess that's why this story is AU. I can keep the not-good Hanzo for the sake of because-I-said-so xD. Anyways, as always, follow, fav and review!

"… and that's what happened," Jiraiya finished, watching the Hokage for his reaction. His former sensei sighed and leaned back in his desk, rubbing his forehead.

"So Konoha was involved in the deaths of both the Tsuchikage and the Mizukage, and, luckily, the current Mizukage is offering out an alliance?" Sarutobi paused for a moment in thought. "You did complete the mission, and that's what counts for now. A new alliance is always good, and I don't think Iwagakure will consider attacking after we just finished the last war. Besides, since Onoki presumably took over the role of Tsuchikage, I believe he's level-headed enough not to want more bloodshed." He sat up and turned to Jiraiya's team, looking over all of them.

Konan had fared the best out of all of them. Other than a few bruises from falling from the sky, she was fine. They had to clear out some residual genjutsu from her mind, but everything worked out. Yahiko stood beside her, his entire chest wrapped in bandages, but the trophy of Akio's sword in the sheath strapped on his left side. He had been on the receiving end of a few gashes, and he had three broken ribs. From a pebble.

If he ever had grandkids, Hiruzen would be sure to tell them that story.

Nagato fared the worst out of all of them. He was sitting in a chair near the room's exit, unable to walk too far because of the chakra depletion he had suffered. He was pale and shaky, and his entire body was dotted with self-inflicted burns, showing that he needed to practice his fire techniques more. In fact, Sarutobi hadn't heard of him even using fire style before. His red cloak was torn up, but he returned the Third's gaze with pride.

The Hokage chuckled lightly to himself. "A C-rank mission with S-rank dangers. I'm not going to get you guys an S-rank pay, though. Too much paperwork to figure that mess out," he said, waving at the air in front of him. "What I would like to say is that you handled the situation well. Any questions?"

The congregation was silent for a moment, before Yahiko's expression suddenly turned grim. "I've got one. When are we going back to Amegakure?"

Hiruzen was at a loss to Yahiko's cold seriousness. The few times he had seen him, the orange-haired kid had been happy and easy going. But, this time, he demanded respect. The Third was about to respond, and probably make it worse, but Jiraiya cut in.

"You'll go back when we deem you strong enough. Now that you don't HAVE to live out you childhood in that warzone, we'd rather you didn't." Though guilt-trips weren't Sarutobi's favorite thing, he relented when he saw Yahiko didn't look swayed. "You've made friends here, right? Kushina and Minato, Tsume, and some of the other kids? What would they do if you just left and got yourselves killed? You don't seriously believe that Hanzo won't know your faces; he'll have you killed on sight."

Now he had him. Yahiko's solemn face broke into a look of fear for his friends, and then he huffed and lowered his head in resignation. Konan had looked like she was going to back him up, and watched him, waiting for him to tell her to speak. When he didn't, she took on the same defeated look. Nagato, however, didn't look to Yahiko for leadership; he merely sat with his hands clasped in front of him, spacing out.

Jiraiya looked over them, then returned his gaze to Hiruzen. "Now that that's settled, we need to move on to something else. I'm not these kids' permanent jonin-sensei. Who is?"

Seeing that the orphans were already downtrodden, Hiruzen decided to avoid this topic. It would be too much paperwork, anyways. "We'll give them a week of break, to wait for the other genin teams to have their first C-rank mission. Don't worry, it'll all work out. Why don't you let the kids have fun today? I heard that a few of the genin are off today; go let them socialize. After covering their visible wounds with a genjutsu. You're dismissed."

"Yes, sensei." Jiraiya pivoted towards the door, carefully maneuvering to herd the children out, while avoiding touching Yahiko. His hand was hovering precariously by his sword. Well, it wasn't like he could use it well, yet. Jiraiya would need to look into getting him a teacher in Konoha. While Akio's invitation was nice, Yahiko needed to know the basics first.

When Nagato stood up to leave, his purple eyes locked with Hiruzen's. They weren't angry like Yahiko's had been. They weren't exactly happy, either. They seemed more… relived. Relieved that they could have a life outside of the realities of war, if it was only for short time.

Once they were outside of the room, Jiraiya gave them a formal dismissal, put them under a strong genjutsu, and went on his way. He had a book to write, you know. Not to mention he had some teachers to talk to. They all had specific points they could excel in; skills Jiraiya himself couldn't teach.

Yahiko grunted as soon as their sensei was gone. "Damn it! Why does that old geezer have to be so RIGHT!" He slumped against the hallway's wall, arms folded.

Konan looked at him and tried to reply as consolingly as possible. "Yes, he was right, but he didn't say we couldn't go back! We just have to be patient."

Nagato nodded, and was going to reply before he was rudely interrupted by a gruff feminine voice. "Heh. Patience isn't really this guy's strong suit, is it?"

Nagato smiled slightly when he recognized the voice. "It's been a while, Tsume! How have you been?"

The Inuzuka growled at the red-head as she made her way down the hall. "Skip the formalities; besides, it's only been a week! And, also, I have a few people I want you to meet. We'll start with my partner…" Tsume put her fingers to her lips and blew a sharp whistle. Quickly, although not without tripping, a small black puppy with an underside covered in white fur came bounding down the corridor. The dog came and sat beside the wild brown-haired girl.

"This is Kuromaru. We'll be partners until the day we die, and don't you forget it!" she gave a feral grin, and Kuromaru barked in agreement.

"Wow!" Konan exclaimed, kneeling down in front of the puppy. The dog matched her stare, and Konan's smile slowly degraded into determination as the impromptu staring contest began. After at least a minute of awkward silence, Kuromaru barked at her, breaking her stare.

Tsume laughed. "Yeah, well, that was weird!" she said, patting Konan on the back.

"I was going to pet him, but… He stares into your soul…" Konan shivered, inspiring a laugh from the entire group, even Yahiko.

"So who else did you want to introduce us to?" Yahiko asked, breaking his previous silence.

"Oh, yeah, that. Well, they're my teammates. One of them is asking for assistance in a certain matter. He's a bit stuck up, so the fact that he's asking for help is a bit weird, but I love it!" Tsume cackled with the feeling of power that came from controlling that snob.

"So, what's the 'certain matter' you speak of?" Nagato asked, confused.

"That's the best part! It's a party!"

Needless to say, the orphans were confused at first. But, as Tsume showed them to her teammate's estate, she slowly explained who exactly they were helping. Apparently, he was a stuck-up snob by the name of Hiashi Hyuuga, heir to the Hyuuga clan. According to her, they had weird eyes, and were definitely not ones to throw parties, so she really wanted to meet the one who was hosting it.

"So, where have you guys been the past few days? I didn't see you around," the Inuzuka asked as they walked down Konoha's main road.

"We were out on a mission," Konan replied, before Yahiko could brag. He didn't brag out loud, but the boy did grab the hilt of his sword with a smug smile on his face.

Tsume looked at her with confusion. "A mission? All we've been doing were D-rank missions, inside the walls. Why did your mission make you leave?"

Nagato responded quickly and clearly. "We were on a C-rank mission-" Konan got Yahiko in a head lock before he contradicted that, "-near the border. Nothing big, but since we've been working together for years, the Hokage didn't think we needed to do much team-bonding over D-rank missions."

"So you didn't have to go through the hell of D-ranks?!" Tsume steeped in front of the three, cutting them off. Konan, being the furthest ahead of the trio, was the focus of her competitive anger. Tsume glared at her for a second, and then stepped back as Yahiko broke free from Konan's grasp and, with the same smugness as earlier, poked the Inuzuka on the nose.

"Damn right we didn't go through that! I even got this badass sword outta the deal," he bragged, turning show the sheath of the now-Mizukage's old blade. "It used to belong to-"

"Hey, Yahiko! Nagato! Konan! Where the hell have you guys been?!" Nagato sighed. Of course Kushina would save them like that. Knowing the current system of things, Yahiko would say something that revealed too much, not give out any more information (luckily), and then the curious people, who knew Konan wouldn't talk, would turn to Nagato. He just had to make sure Yahiko didn't make the same mistake in front of her. THAT would be hell.

Kushina ran over to them from one of the nearby shops, carrying a small bag. It seemed she finally had a stable wardrobe; she wore a robe-like cream colored dress over a short-sleeved shirt made of the standard shinobi armor-mesh, and long blue pants with a kunai pouch on her right leg. She wore her hitai-ate over her forehead and had her long red hair held back in a ponytail, which ebbed and flowed behind her as she jogged towards them, finally smiling as she stopped.

"Hey, cousin," she greeted, draping her arm over Nagato with a grin. "Minato recently told me some interesting information about a certain mission…"

Tsume grinned and followed the Uzumaki's lead, putting her arm over his other shoulder. "That's exactly what I was just asking them about. I'm sure Nagato will tell us. Right, kid?"

Of course it happened anyways. What the hell would Minato know about any of this?! Then again, he was practically a stalker. A bit more polite, but still technically a stalker. "Umm… What did he tell you?"

Kushina's grin turned sly, and she leaned close to his ear, whispering: "You bastard. Kages?! Really?!"

Tsume, luckily, didn't hear that, much to her annoyance. "C'mon, no need to whisper! Just tell me!"

Nagato, however, was too stunned to act. This was the ONE secret Jiraiya wanted them to keep, and Minato Namikaze already had it figured out! Nagato took a deep breath, calming himself. Konan was currently trying to keep Yahiko gagged with paper, so they were too distracted to bail him out. So, true to his usual demeanor, Nagato tried his best to improvise. "Uhh…. Ummm… How did he figure that out?"

"Tell me the complete details and I'll tell you his secret, deal?"

Oh Kami. Nagato's weakness… information that he could use later, or keeping a secret? Tough choices…

"Will one of you please repeat what Kushina said?" Tsume pouted, Kuromaru mimicking the pout from the ground.

Kushina merely gave a small grin and backed off. "It's okay. I know you won't be staying for long, but I hope I can get to know you in that time, and hopefully you start trusting me. " It wasn't very apparent, but she seemed somewhat sad, but Nagato couldn't pinpoint how he knew. He did know that there was an attempt at guilting him into admitting what he knew, but it was the first half of what she said that got to him. Just how much had Minato learned about them?

'What?!' Nagato thought. 'She can't know about that! We've never talked about it… I mean, Yahiko has, but not like we were leaving soon!'

Nagato gulped, eyes wide, before regaining his composure. "Where's Minato?"

Kushina regarded him through what seemed like a façade of happiness. "Oh, he's just meeting his sensei for the first time. He'll be held up for a few days catching up to us."

Tsume, realizing she wasn't going to learn anything, pushed off of Nagato, causing him to stumble. "Well, we're probably already a few minutes late, so let's go. Hiashi said that they wouldn't allow the party at his estate, so we're going to one of the training grounds."

Yahiko was struggling on the ground, fighting against the onslaught of paper, while Konan watched over him. When the blue-haired girl noticed they were moving on, she used the paper to place the boy on his feet before releasing him.

"Sorry about that," was all she said as she rejoined the group.

Knowing his place, Yahiko rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Yeah, yeah, no biggie. All's forgiven. Now let's get GOING!"

The training ground they arrived at was nothing fancy; a few practice targets on one side, a grass clearing in the forest for the actual training to take place. The group of genin entered quietly, being completely ignored by two of the three figures already there. One of them, a boy around their age, leaned against one of the training posts. He didn't wear a hitai-ate, and his long black hair flowed down his back before coming together in a low ponytail. His white, pupil-less eyes regarded them indifferently, before stiffly waving them over.

The other two people were apparently arguing over something. They were both sitting on top of their own training post, facing each other. One of them looked exactly like the one sitting in front of them, except his robes were more grey compared to the others white robes, and he wore a hitai-ate over his forehead. From his expression, they could tell he was pissed.

"C'mon, Hideki! You promised that if I held my own against you for five seconds you would teach me how to use your style of J yuuken!"

The teenager sitting across from him laughed, immediately coming off as quite smug. He, contrary to the other two, had shorter black hair. It was a very messy hairstyle, and he had no trace of the ponytail the others had. He wore a long black jacket, unzipped and with its hood down, revealing a dark purple T-shirt and a bandana around his neck; he also had dark blue jeans on. When his eyes opened after his laughing fit, it was revealed that he had the same white eyes as them, and also wore his hitai-ate as a headband.

"Well, that would be great and all, but you didn't last for five seconds. I could have taken you down in two, I just waited for a few seconds to let you wallow in your pride."

"My pride!?" the boy screamed, outraged. "You're the most annoyingly prideful person in existence!"

Hideki laughed again, but only under his breath. "Brat, I wouldn't be prideful if I couldn't back it up. The only statistics I brought up were true," he said, holding up two fingers. "Two seconds."

"I hate to break this up, but the guests have arrived," the boy leaning against the post mumbled, analytically scanning over the ones he hadn't seen before. "I'm Hiashi," he introduced himself, before pointing to the others. Starting with the boy that looked like him, "That's Hizashi, my twin brother," moving to the older boy, "and that's Hideki."

Yahiko stepped forward with a grin, pointing his thumb at himself. "I'm Yahiko!"

Nagato nodded, "Nagato Uzumaki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Konan bowed quickly, merely stating, "Konan."

Kushina didn't introduce herself, but she did acknowledge Hiashi with indifference, before glaring at Hizashi and Hideki. Tsume grunted and muttered something like "You already know me, idiot."

"Well!" Hideki yawned, leaning back before suddenly springing off of the log and landing in front of them. He smirked and gave an over exaggerated bow. "As you heard, my name is Hideki Hyuuga, and I'm your host! Seeing as I turned sixteen today, I thought to myself, 'Screw normal Hyuuga rules! I'm bored, so I'm going to throw a party!" Hideki shrugged nonchalantly, with a slight giggle. "Sadly, Mr. Clan Head doesn't like it when I disgrace the Hyuuga name, so he made sure that all of my friends had missions today. I could postpone it, but…" Hideki's head snapped forward and glared at each of them menacingly. "I haven't had any good spars recently, and don't really feel like waiting."

Hizashi spoke up at this. "What do you mean, you haven't had any good spars!? I just fought you!"

"And you didn't give me anything close to a challenge! I don't really have a problem with beating up genin, but I'm not sure how you even made it…"

"I passed at the top of my class in taijutsu-"

"That's expected from a Hyuuga."

"I can beat all of the others easily!"

"But I'm not the others, am I?"

"Screw you!"

"Aww, poor Hizashi ran out of achievements," Hideki said in a babying tone, leaning over to pat the child on the head. Hizashi glared at him, but didn't do anything about it.

Hiashi sighed, glanced apologetically at the guest group, and interrupted the two. "Hideki, your opponents are waiting."

"Of course!" he drew out the last word, sounding almost predatory. "I'll fight all of you at once, and win. Last one standing gets something special…"

Nagato tilted his head curiously. "Wait, when do we start fighting? Don't we have to agree?"

"Nope. Not really, anyways. Just come at me with intent to kill, because that's exactly what I'm doing! Three, two, one, go!"

Veins bulged around Hideki's eyes and he dashed forward, landing a strong punch in Tsume's stomach before the rest of them could react. The point of impact seemingly exploded in the blue light of chakra, and Tsume crumpled. Hideki was on to the next person, Konan, before Tsume even hit the ground. She was able to get a wall of paper up to stop his first attack, but the force of his fist dispersed the chakra holding the wall together, making it loose enough for him to cut through with a roundhouse kick, nailing Konan in the side.

Hideki was about to catch her with an uppercut before she hit the ground, but his hand was caught by what seemed to be a golden chain. Once he realized he couldn't break the chain, Hideki set his sights on the one holding it: Kushina. The golden chain seemed to be coming out of her hand, but she was still struggling to hold onto it.

"Ohh…. Interesting… I commend you, girl." Hideki pivoted and, instead of pulling her towards him, he grabbed the chain with his other hand and dashed toward the girl. Kushina's confidence faltered with the sudden attack, and she watched Hideki come towards her in shock. Hideki's attack was diverted when Yahiko's sword cut right between them, further scaring Kushina when she saw a strand of red hair falling from her head. She was about to go off on Yahiko, but Hideki twirled to avoid the sword attack, pulling her chain around Yahiko's neck before he could react and choking him from behind.

"Well, I think we might be at an impasse-" Hideki's premature gloating was cut short as he was hit by a bullet of wind from Nagato. The hit made him drop the glowing chain, and jump away, while Kushina shattered the chain.

"Sorry, Yahiko," she apologized, "and thank you, Nagato."

The redhead nodded as he came to stand beside them.

"Hideki, stop messing with them," Hiashi sighed. He still hadn't moved from his spot, just watching quietly.

"Aww! You're no fun! I just wanted to see what they could do!" He shrugged. "Oh well, you're the bratty heir."

In less than a second, Hideki had landed a punch on each of them, without them even seeing him move.

Nagato didn't even know what hit him. It wasn't a normal punch; the pain was even worse that Onoki's stone fist. It was like someone stabbed hundreds of shards of glass into his chest, each having its own unique pain.

Hideki was standing back by the training logs, with his hands behind his head, observing the five figures lying on the ground. "Hey Hiashi, should I?"

"Nah. I do want to have an actual party, not just have you beat them up and take them to the hospital. They should be fine in a few minutes."

"Fine. I'm not sure there's really any reason to have a party other than to fight."

Hiashi leaned back into a more comfortable position. "I opt, for one, to actually meet the other teams before the Chunin exams. I'm honestly curious about the three we haven't met yet; I heard they're orphans from Ame. Maybe they'll have some interesting stories. I don't even think you needed to hurt them. If you used Jyuuken right, you could actually efficiently incapacitate them and make it so they recovered quickly. That's what I would have done."

"Well, that would take precision, and that would be boring. Pain is where it's at, brat! You'll learn that… the more pain you cause, the more you teach people. They now know not to annoy me!"

"They didn't even do anything…"

"Shut up, heir. No one here cares."

Hiashi grunted. Honestly, he hated Hideki. He was a genius who didn't only use his power; he absolutely abused it, and loved doing it. He went completely against all of the Hyuuga rules, and was rude; not in a snobbish way, just flat out rude and arrogant. And, for some reason, his brother followed him like he was a god.

Hopefully he could find a sane mind to talk to in that pile of bodies. He liked his brother, sure, but couldn't take staying around those two. He needed a fellow genius that was a bit more… conservative with their pride.

Author's Notes: Yes, a new OC. I don't like his intro as well as I thought, and honestly I don't feel like I made this chapter flow very well, but can't find the specific reason. Review, if you see it?

Let's go over some things: Kushina's chains. I thought I could make that work into its own unique fighting style, so I made them not-harmful to her health to use them. I'm not sure if they were in the first place, but sure. Seems fun.

Minato's spy skills: To be explained in chapter, but I wanted him to use his Mini-Stalker skills to advance the story. There will be a flashback.

Hiashi and Hizashi's personalities: Neither of them are really exactly what their personalities are in canon. Hiashi is a bit shy and secluded, but not a completely arrogant Neji clone. Hizashi is very influenced by Hideki, who will be expanded on next chapter. This one honestly showed his negative side a bit too much; he may still be likeable by some of you. You aren't really supposed to love him though. For those of you who read my old story before I deleted it… some will be kept similar. If you know what's going down, don't spoil it. He won't be important for a looooong while.

Any OOcness: I'm sorry. I'm tired. My writing might not be very good right now. It shouldn't be too bad, though.