A/N: So it's been a long time, Naruto fandom! I may not have been active in this fandom for a while, but now I present the reason: this fanfic! I spent my NaNoWriMo writing this fic out, and although it isn't fully complete, I really wanted to get it out there! There's roughly forty chapters, this will be my main project for the foreseeable future!
Also, I really wanted to try this Soulmate AU: I don't usually like soulmate AUs, because I feel like having a soulmate is kinda...an excuse for the characters to be together? So I wanted to try it, see how I do with changing it up!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money from this fanfic. However, Amy is all mine, and all other OCs in this fic belong to me!
Amy Fusonako loved the idea of meeting her soulmate.
She grew up hearing stories about soulmates ever since she was a little girl, listening to the tales of how her parents and grandparents met.
It was all just so romantic to her: the thought of having someone out there who could understand her like no other. Somebody who could love and accept her, faults and all.
When she was four, she asked her father about the soulmate bond.
"Daddy," the young girl asked, pulling at his hand. "what's a soulmate exactly?"
Kousei hadn't been surprised by the question: living in their world, that was a normal question to ask. He knelt to his daughter's level and ruffled her hair lovingly, his gaze sneaking to his wife now and then. "Well, Princess, a soulmate is like a best friend but more. It's the one person who inspires you to become a better person."
Amy tilted her head to the side innocently, "How will I know who they are?"
Gently, Kousei lifted two fingers and prodded her in the tummy. "At some point, you'll hear a noise that's somehow linked to your soulmate. The noise will get louder the closer you are to them."
Her eyes widened in awe. "What was mommy's sound?"
An ear-splitting grin broke on to Kousei's face. "Your mother's was the sound of a whirlpool." Upon seeing his daughter's confused face, he let out a hearty chuckle. "It's like the sounds of waves spinning around."
Amy seemed to understand that explanation, and her eyes lit up with joy. "Aaah! I wonder what my soulmate will sound like Daddy!"
It was from that point on, Amy spent her entire life preparing to meet her soulmate.
She read books on the subject. She asked the villagers how they acted with their soulmates, and they gave her kid-friendly versions of their intimacy and just how in touch with each other they were. Amy loved hearing their stories.
Now she just had to wait around to write her own story.
When she was five, she heard the noise.
It came in the middle of the night. She'd been fast asleep, dreaming about playing with Sakura and Ino tomorrow at school, when suddenly her tummy grumbled so loudly it woke her up. Her tummy hurt, and the young raven could only sit there and rock herself back and forth to try and stop the pain.
Then, her head hurt. She gripped her head tightly and let out a small groan, trying her hardest not to wake up her brothers or parents. She would deal with this pain, it was probably only a headache! She lived a busy life as a five-year-old!
After a few more minutes, the pain subsided, and she could hear the sound of sand in her head. It rustled around her, almost as if somebody was walking through mounds of sand and kicking the sand into the wind as they did. It never stopped.
It only took Amy a few minutes to realise what this sound was, and she couldn't control her excitement.
The five year old immediately hopped off her bed and pounded through the hallways, into her parents' bedroom. "Daaadddy!" she wailed excitedly as she climbed onto his bed. "Daddy, Daddy, I hear it! I-hear-it-I-hear-it—"
Kousei woke up in protective father mode and wrapped his arm around his daughter protectively. "Hear what?" Even as he spoke, he was reaching for the kunai on his bedside table to attack if his daughter heard an intruder.
Instead, his daughter grinned and poked her tummy. "I hear the sound! The sound of my soulmate!"
Realization dawned on Kousei, and let his kunai fall to the table. Then, he grinned, matching his daughter's excitement. "Oh? You have tell me what it is, sweetie!"
Next to him, his wife shifted, opening her eyes groggily. "Kousei?" Her voice was still sleepy as she sat up. "Amy? What's going on?"
Oops. In her excitement, Amy had forgotten that it was the middle of the night! She couldn't bring herself to feel bad though, not when she had heard her soulmate!
"I hear the sound, Mommy!" She grinned, leaping into her mother's arms. "The sound of my soulmate!"
Immediately, Sayuri sprung up in bed, eyes wide. "Aaaah, no way! You need tell us what it is!"
With a proud grin, Amy began to explain. "It sounds like somebody's walking through a sandpit! And as they're walking—" she stood on her parents' bed and kicked her foot to emphasize her point, "they're kicking the sand into the air—" then, she lost her footing and tumbled down onto the bed. "oof—and it doesn't stop! They must have a long way to walk!"
Amy didn't realize that her parents were giving her ludicrous looks until they didn't respond. She pouted and stuck her hands on her hips. "Doesn't that sound amazing?!"
Kousei forced a grin, "Of course it does baby girl! And it means something else too!"
Amy's eyes widened with glee. "Really? What else does it mean? Tell me, tell me, tell meeee!"
Kousei chuckled and took hold of his bouncing daughter's hand to calm her down. "I can only assume, that since it's such a specific sound—the sound of a desert—that your soulmate is from Sunagakure."
"Suna-ga-kure?" Amy sounded out quietly, tilting her head to the side. "What's that?"
Sayuri pulled her daughter down, listening to her giggles as she cuddled into her. "It's another village, just like ours."
Amy's eyes sparkled with wonder. "There's more than our village?!"
Kousei and Sayuri shared amused glances.
"Of course, sweetie." Kousei chuckled as he lay down, with his arms wrapped around his two favorite girls. "Sunagakure is another village out there, with people just like us."
Amy's excitement picked up again. "I wanna go! I wanna go visit Sunagakure and then I can meet my soulmate! And then we can get married and I can wear a pretty dress and we'll have a big party and—"
"Haha, slow down there, tiger!" Kousei chuckled, a part of him wanting to stop that imagery in its tracks. His baby girl was five, he wasn't ready for her to grow up just yet! "We can't just take you to Sunagakure."
Amy tilted her head to the side. "But you're the clan boss! Why can't we go? Just ask the Hokage permission and we can go find them!"
He looked at Sayuri, both with worried looks again.
"Well," Kousei began slowly, "you see, baby-cakes, we're not quite…welcome in Sunagakure."
Amy tilted her head to the side again. "Why not?"
"We fought with them a lot in the past," Sayuri soothed, stroking her daughter's hair. "But that's not to say you can't ever go there. Just not yet."
Ever optimistic, Amy glanced up at her parents. "So I can go one day?"
They both nodded, and Amy grinned excitedly. "I can't wait! You'll see, I'll meet my soulmate and we'll live happily ever after and we'll outlaw the fighting between our villages! No fighting at all!"
Sayuri smiled gently and cuddled into her daughter. "That's a beautiful dream, Amy. But…I think we should all go back to our dream lands and get some sleep, okay?"
Kousei nodded in agreement and cuddled down into his bed. "Your mom's right, Amy."
"I always am," Sayuri whispered into her daughter's ear, causing her to giggle.
Amy nodded her head and cuddled into her parents.
But, she couldn't sleep. Even with her parents snoring next to her, she could still hear the sound of the sand in her mind, and it got her so excited. What was her soulmate like? She hoped he was kind and made her laugh!
She glanced at her parents and wondered about her soulmate's parents. Were they ninja too? Were they as kind and loving as her parents?
She was so lost in her thoughts, that when she eventually fell asleep, she dreamed of her soulmate and the sandy terrain he walked through.
The next day, Amy couldn't wait to tell her friends about the sound she discovered. The sound kept her distracted all day (although she did perk up considerably when Iruka-sensei mentioned other villages!), and she had to share her exciting news with someone.
As soon as class was finished for recess, she rushed to find Sakura and Ino, her grin unmatched.
The two of them were sat underneath a cherry blossom tree, Ino picking flowers and helping Sakura organize them into a bouquet, explaining the meaning of the flowers to Sakura.
There were a few other children sat near them, but Amy didn't care as she sped full force up to them and practically leaped into their laps.
Ino reacted by screaming, and Sakura threw the flowers at the young girl.
Amy's only reaction was a frown. "Guuuys! That was a bad way to greet me!"
"You scared us!" Ino argued, but her terror turned to smiles. "Come look at the pretty bouquet I made!"
"We made!" Sakura pipped up, playfully pushing her friend.
Amy shook her head, "No, no, no! I gotta tell you my news first!" She jutted her chest out proudly. "I heard my soulmate!"
Ino and Sakura immediately dropped the flowers to the ground.
"No way!" Ino squealed, clapping her hands together excitedly. "What was the sound like?"
Amy's grin turned into one of pride. "It sounds like sand! Daddy said my soulmate was from a different village!"
The talk began then; asking if she had any information on this different village; if she could remember the name (she had to shorten it down to Suna, but she still remembered!), if she'd had any other hints to who it would be. Other children crowded around her; they'd never known that you could get a soulmate from a different village!
"I'm going to ask Hana-neechan!" Kiba grinned, not wanting to be taken for a fool. "She knows everything, she can tell me if it's true!"
"And I'm gonna ask my father!" another child called out—another Fusonako, Amy noted momentarily, trying hard to remember his name. Oh, right, it was Kenji!
Amy giggled. "Do it! Daddy says I can't go there just yet because our villages used to fight!"
The children of only four years old didn't grasp the severity of the situation.
Ino swooned. "Aah, it's so romantic! I can't wait to meet my soulmate!"
"Mine's gonna be so powerful!"
"I want mine to be kind!"
The playground filled with the chatter of what their soulmates would be like, describing how their soulmates would look and running away with wild ideas of happily ever afters and big, grand weddings.
The talk of soulmates, and that sound whirring around in her head, made Amy feel so, so lucky.
For the next few years, Amy poured her heart and soul into learning all about Suna's culture. She learned all about their mythology, the way their people adapted to the desert heat, how the village was created and how their Kage was chosen—that in particular was so different to how her village chose their Kage!
By the time she was eight, she prided herself on the fact that she knew just as much about Suna as her academy teachers. And she loved the fact that her soulmate was from Sunagakure!
Amy was so, so open to the idea. She loved her village, but there was a desire in her to explore other villages and cultures, a need that only grew since she learned so much about Sunagakure. Kiba had asked his sister all those years ago, and it turns out you could have a soulmate from anywhere! It didn't matter where you were: the bonds that connected you were much stronger than the distance.
Sometimes, she would get weird looks from some of the older Chuunin. Amy was very open about who her soulmate was, she prided herself on it. It was all just so exciting!
But some of the adults didn't like it as much. With Suna and Konoha's history, she supposed she couldn't blame them. Regardless, she was determined to use her bond to her soulmate to help overcome that too!
"It's like a political deal!" She had told her mom one day while Sayuri was brushing her hair.
Sayuri frowned and shook her head, Amy noticing the motion in the mirror behind her. "Amy, sweetie," Sayuri began. "Your soulmate shouldn't ever be used for political gain. Your soulmate is about love; never let anyone use your love as a political gambit."
Amy blinked, "But I thought it was a good dream?"
"It is a good dream," Sayuri reassured. "It's admirable you want to stop the fighting. But don't ever lose your love with that line of thinking. Your soulmate is there for you to love and cherish, not use in some political gain."
She turned Amy around to face her, a firm glance on her face.
"Amy Matsuo Fusonako," Sayuri had used her full name, and Amy gulped a little, "you need to promise me you will never let anybody treat you like that, okay? Never let anybody use your soulmate in political gambits. And, regardless of what the older generation might think, we're on the path to friendship with Sunagakure. Never let anybody tell you to hide who you love."
Amy nodded her head. "I promise, Momma."
Sayuri smiled and kissed her daughter's head lovingly.
Sayuri just didn't know what was coming. Nobody saw it coming. Troops of Sunagakure ninja stormed the gates, swearing death on all Fusonako ninja.
Amy didn't see much of the battle—Jounin of the clan and village were called to whisk the three children away.
But she could hear it; the sound of kunai, swords, jutsu, shouts and screams and loud thuds.
The young girl put her hands over her ears and cuddled into her brother's shoulders. "Daichi! Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!" She begged, tears pricking at her eyes. "I don't like all this noise!"
Daichi couldn't do anything but run his hands through her hair lovingly in an attempt to soothe her.
Amy leaned into her brother's embrace and squeezed her eyes shut. She had to tune out the violence somehow!
The sound of sand still echoed in her mind, and that gave her the idea she wanted. She focused solely on the sound of her soulmate—the sound was still far, far from here.
That meant her soulmate wasn't grouped in with these attackers, and that made her feel a bit more comfortable.
Amy knew that these ninjas were from Sunagakure: she'd seen the logo on their headbands in passing. And, yes, her soulmate was from Sunagakure, but his sound was still so far, far away that he couldn't be with the attackers!
All of her research about soulmates had paid off: the sound got louder the closer you were to your soulmate, she knew that.
She focused on the sand, imagining what her soulmate was doing right now. Was he playing in his garden? Or was he training to be a ninja right now?
Could he hear her? All the tales said that the sound was triggered by a traumatic experience happening to your soulmate, a way for you to hear that they needed help—but Amy didn't believe that. After all, soulmates were meant to be a happy thing, right? So surely, through that logic, they should be triggered by something happy too!
If he could hear her, what was her sound? She'd never thought of that before, but she hoped it was something nice. Not the sound of cries or something!
The sound of the sand whirled inside her, and it brought a small smile to her face. Despite what was happening outside, there was good in this world.
She had her parents; they could take these ninjas out there! She had her siblings, with her through everything, and she still had her soulmate out there.
A soulmate from Sunagakure.
Fate wouldn't have put them together if their villages would continue fighting. The fighting would stop one day, she would meet her soulmate and unite their villages.
Her mom told her not to let people use her love for a political gambit, and she wouldn't, but she would use her love to bring peace to this world.
With that happy thought in her mind, Amy fell asleep cuddled into her brothers, protected by the Jounin ninja who vowed to protect her family, and the thought of the peace she could bring to this world.
The happiness didn't last long.
When Amy woke up, Daichi was talking to the Hokage in a hushed voice. Another Jounin was hugging Haruka—was she crying? And Asuma—the Hokage's son—was staring over Amy with a forlorn look in his eyes.
Amy sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "Asuma-san?" She asked innocently, tilting her head to look up at him. "What's going on?"
Asuma bit his lip awkwardly as he glanced down at the young girl.
She looked around the room. "The sounds have stopped. Are Mommy and Daddy back yet?"
Asuma shook his head slowly. He had to tell her; she deserved to know. "I'm sorry Amy…they won't be coming back."
Still, she didn't understand. "Why not?"
Asuma, with sad eyes, glanced over to where Haruka was crying into the Jounin's chest.
"Amy…your parents were killed in battle."
The next few months were hard for the Fusonako children.
At just sixteen years old, Daichi was made to become clan head. He had never mentioned wanting to be the clan head—Amy was sure that he never wanted the position.
Their clan head only took the position at age eighteen, when the clan believed children became adults—and they usually went through so many trials to test out the suitability of the new clan head. However, with Kousei and Sayuri dying in such a way, the clan elders were sloppy and hasty with the choosing regulations. The previous leader had been murdered and believed to be weak; they had to prove their family line was still strong.
In fairness to Daichi, he took the position with no complaints.
Most of the village came to the funeral, paying their respects to a beloved clan leader and his wife. Kousei and Sayuri were loved throughout the village; killing them was one of the worst things Sunagakure could've done to the village.
As soon as the funeral was over, their children fell under scrutiny.
The elders made more rules.
Daichi had to be strong, and so he had to attend training sessions with ANBU and Jounin to test his strength. Amy hardly saw him after that. It would be an insult to his father if he wasn't strong.
Haruka had to train to become her brother's right-hand woman, abandoning all her hopes and aspirations for life to become nothing more than her brother's servant.
And Amy herself became known throughout the village for who her soulmate was.
That was the con of being so open about who her soulmate was: everybody knew.
"Her soulmate is from the village that killed her parents!"
"Poor girl…"
"There's no way she seriously wants to find her soulmate, right?"
As if that wasn't enough, the clan became more protective off her. She didn't understand why; maybe some people thought she would run away to Suna to be with her soulmate, or maybe they thought that the tiny, youngest daughter of a clan head couldn't protect herself.
With Kousei out of the picture, it seems she was just seen as a weak, little girl.
Clan members followed her everywhere. She and Haruka were escorted to and from school, and she lost the normalcy of seeing her friends and being able to play with them like a normal child.
Over the years, her friendships with Sakura and Ino changed.
"It's not you," Sakura had tried to tell her, the nine-year-old pink-haired child looking at Ino for help. "Right, Ino?"
"Of course not!" Ino agreed. "It's just…your bodyguards." She motioned to said bodyguards with a wave of her hand. "They…they scare us. We don't want them watching over us."
"And," Sakura pointed up. "We talk about soulmates a lot…"
"Ooh." Amy forced a smile, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it! I understand."
She did understand, but it still hurt.
She vowed to stay hopeful. Things would change for the better, right?
After all, just a few months after the attack, Sunagakure had offered a peace treaty. That had to mean things were changing, right?
"The Hokage asked for our permission," Daichi told them, dark brown eyes bore into them. Below him sat the documents describing the peace treaty. "He wanted the opinion of anyone who lost a family member in the attack." And then, with a quiet voice, he added, "I have to agree. You guys understand right?"
"I don't see why we have you to ally with them." Haruka seethed, crossing her arms over her chest. "They attacked us! They took our parents from us!"
"Believe me," Daichi's tone matched his sister's, "there's nothing I want more than to storm the village and kill them all for what they did." He shook his head, almost as if clearing the mere thought of revenge out of his head. "But…the village is still recovering from their attack. It was only three months ago: if they attack again, I don't think Konoha will survive. This is the only way the Hokage can protect the village. This is the only way I can protect you two."
He glanced around to make sure no other clan member was eavesdropping. "But, I won't take it if you guys don't want me too. I'll tell the Hokage we refuse to accept the deal. He won't take it."
Amy shook her head. "No! Daichi, you have to take their deal! It'll protect us all!"
Daichi glanced between them. "Are you sure?"
The two nodded their heads, and Daichi added his signature to the scroll with a grunt.
Amy hoped this meant things would be changing for the better.
The people, while they understood their Hokage's decision, were rightfully furious. It wasn't just the Fusonako children who lost someone important that day.
Alas, Konoha needed to make this treaty, even if it was just to recover.
But Sunagakure ninjas became hated in their village. Over the years, their anger grew. Even the mention of Sunagakure ninjas became something that would rile the citizens up, cause them to brawl in the streets and try and crush out anyone who defended them.
Within the Fusonako home, the mere mention of 'sand' became something that was tarnished. Talking about Sunagakure ninjas within the Fusonako household was banned. Daichi himself didn't help: he always told his people not too trust the Sunagakure ninjas.
"They're our allies," he would say, "but they could turn on us again."
However, the anger directed at Sunagakure ninja did make Daichi worry about his sister. People knew who her soulmate was, but she couldn't stop her feelings. Would they attack her? What if she sought her soulmate out?
Daichi called her into his office one day and offered her a solution.
"I'm going to pass a rule," he told her protectively. "I discussed the issue with Lord Hokage, and he's agreed to pass this rule within the village. People can't mention who your soulmate is. If anybody asks, you don't know. You haven't heard them yet. The Sunagakure nin was just a rumor—a tall tale made up by a little girl who didn't know any better."
Amy raised an eyebrow, the twelve-year-old staring at her brother. "Do you think people will believe that?"
"People your age will," he reassured. "The older generation might not believe you, but you have to prove them wrong."
"Daichi, what are you implying?"
Daichi rubbed his temple. "Amy…you can't be with your soulmate. Ever."
"What?"
"Sunagakure ninjas are bad people, Amy!" he stood from his chair and glanced out the window. "We can't trust them, not after what they did."
As awful as it felt, Amy had to admit she understood where he was coming from. "So I'm meant to be single my entire life?"
Amy was a hopeless romantic. She wanted to fall in love. If she couldn't do it with her soulmate, the person is chosen by literal fate, who was she meant to fall in love with?
Daichi shook his head. "No, the clan elders wouldn't allow that. They'd want to marry you off."
"You wouldn't agree to that, right?"
"Of course not," he seemed almost insulted that she thought that. "But I know how much romance means to you. You'll just have to fall in love with someone else."
"That sounds easier said than done."
He turned to face his sister. "Amy, this is serious. I can't lose you. I forbid you from dating a Sunagakure ninja. Ever. They could kill you, turn you against us or use you for their selfish desire. No sister of mine will be with a Sand ninja."
Amy wanted to argue, but she understood where he was coming from. She had to comply.
"Fine," she bit her lip. "I won't seek out a Suna ninja. I won't date a Suna ninja."
Daichi pulled her into a tight hug, and she hugged back just as tight.
It was hard saying no to her brother, after everything he'd done to keep her safe.
But…it was also hard to ignore the sound of the sand that echoed in her mind in her mind daily.
On nights, she would look at the moon and ask why Fate would set her up with a Suna nin.
No matter how many times she asked, she still got the same reply; the sound of sand echoing from within her.
Another reason why I uploaded this: I wanted something to post for Valentine's Day, and the one-shot I was working one wouldn't be completed in time!
I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Constructive criticism is always welcomed-blatant flaming is not!