Author's Note: For first time readers, Naruko starts kicking ass in chapter 3 or 4. Try and have patience, as the earlier chapters are important, but aren't focused on fighting. Naruko will probably seem like a goofy kid here, but that goofiness is a big part of what makes her a genius later on.
Naruko's age: 14
Location: Just outside of Konoha's Main Entrance
POV: Sakura
Flashforward No Jutsu
Sakura smiled. Naruko had finally returned. In the years she'd spent training away from the village she had blossomed into a beautiful woman. Gone was her gaunt skeletal frame, her features were now gentle and beautiful, her skin radiant, and that warm smile even made Sakura's heart flutter. But she'd covered up her body in what could only be described as an oversized burlap sack.
"You know Sakura," Naruko said condescendingly, looking her up and down with a smirk. "If Sasuke saw you all exposed like that he'd think you were a woman of low character. The wise sage says it all the time: Men are only attracted to virtuous women who hide their bodies."
"Thanks, but I think I'll take my chances," Sakura said firmly. She had a firm grasp over Inner Sakura now, and she would no longer bully Naruko. Not after all she'd done for her. It was a vow Sakura had made to herself, but during their time apart she'd forgotten how stupid and annoying Naruko could be. "You must have learned a lot of new jutsus on your training trip. You can probably take on the Akatsuki no problem!"
Naruko deflated, and wore a small frown. "The wise sage only trained me how to run away. Half the time we spent training my speed and agility, and the other half we spent learning one dumb jutsu, which he didn't even know."
"What's it do?"
Naruko sighed. Then she was gone, and Sakura was standing by herself by the arched gate of the Konoha's entrance. Several nearby ninja had fallen to the ground. Not too surprising if they hadn't been given a warning. Pop! Naruko burst back into existence, her hands cupping some water. "Go ahead. Take a sip Sakura."
Particles of sand swirled in the water, and a little bug was sputtering around. Sakura wanted to conk Naruko on the head, but she remembered her vow. She licked the water, and wasn't surprised to find it salty. The nearest sea was hundreds of miles from Konoha. So Naruko had learned a teleportation technique? Sakura wanted to disagree with her friend, wanted to console her and tell her it was an awesome technique, but she couldn't bring herself to say something so dishonest. Still though, it would be useful for evading the Akatsuki, and Sakura couldn't fault Jiraiya for spending his time teaching it to Naruko. She wanted Naruko to be safe too.
"Call it Instant Transmission," Naruko said intensely, hands on her side. "The wise sage keeps insisting that I call it the Her-shin jutsu or whatever, but that's stupid. Don't you think it would be better if it were-"
"Have you learned any other jutsu? Or do you still only know shadow clones, the power pole technique, and the dragon ball jutsu?"
"Those are all I know," Naruko said, looking at her feet. "I'm sorry. I know I promised to get strong enough to bring back Sasuke but-"
"Naruko," Sakura said, putting a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Last time I asked you to save Sasuke, you were all alone. But we're a team. This time, you'll have me and Kakashi at your side."
"Thanks Sakura. I'm gonna need all the help I can get."
"Naruko… Should we go check on that?" Iwagakure ninja were stumbling out of the village. They kept on yelling 'He's back', whatever that meant. Naturally, it was their duty to go inside and help mitigate the threat. Sakura just hoped it wasn't the Akatsuki.
Naruko nodded, and was gone in a yellow flash. Sakura sighed and followed after her. If only Naruko could have learned something that would actually be useful in a fight.
XOXOXOXOX
Naruko's age: 11
Location: Konoha Ninja Academy's Classroom
POV: Naruko
Naruko felt her eyelids getting heavy, as Iruka droned on and on about catch-ruh or whatever. She was tempted, ever so tempted, to skip ahead into what she liked to call the Mizuki pages. She'd ingeniously placed an issue of the great Shounen Jump's newest manga, Dragonball, near the back of her textbook, so she could do something interesting while Mizuki blathered about nothing. But no, she would force herself to pay attention to the boring lecture so she could become a splendid kunoichi who everyone respected.
"Chakra can be split generally into two forms, physical and spiritu-" A paper airplane smacked into Iruka's head. Naruko looked around, and as the only girl standing on a table with a page of their textbook ripped out, everyone was looking at her as if she'd thrown it. Awesome!
"You'll have to be more alert, sensei," Naruko said condescendingly. "If that had been a kuna-"
"Physical and spiritual," Iruka continued, regaining the attention of the class. "Physical chakra improves a shinobi's speed and strength-"
"But not their reflexes," Naruko laughed. Look at me, she thought, look at me, look at me, look at me! "Believe-"
"Meanwhile spiritual chakra helps a shinobi with ninjutsu and genjutsu. This is maybe, probably, almost certainly going to be on the ninja entrance exams." Iruka chuckled good naturedly, making a hand-sign. A slight breeze silently blew Naruko's paper airplane into a trash bin. "So you might want to write it down." Naruko heard the collective scratching of pen on paper and groaned. Okay, what had Iruka said? She'd been too busy being awesome to listen to the boring man's boring lecture. Whatever, it probably didn't even matter, she was the great Naruko Uzumaki afterall, and she'd pass those stupid ninja exams easily this time, and start her journey to being the next hokage!
After about an hour, Naruko had learned almost everything about ki and kamehameha waves, but not that much about catch-ruh and jutsu. Whatever, reading a buncha books, listening to a buncha lectures, none of that stuff really mattered when it came to being a ninja. It was all about how much catch-ruh you had, the jutsus you could do, and how good you were at fighting.
Iruka clapped his hands. "Let's move onto ninja techniques." He had all the students line up and create clones. Blegh! Definitely annoying, it was the trick she was least good at.
Ino Yamanaka was up first, and she created three more arrogant beauties. She flipped her hair and gave a slight smile, trying to act all cute and girly and stuff.
Sakura squealed. "Those clones are textbook!"
"Good work Ino," Iruka said. "You're lucky to have such a great friend."
Sakura grinned cheerfully. Naruko puffed out her cheeks. What a suck-up! And it was totally beneath Sakura's dignity. She was the coolest, smartest, girl in the entire class and she wasn't even in a clan! And someday, Naruko would surpass even Sakura and earn the pink-haired girl's respect.
She climbed on top of the nearest table, and pounded her chest. "Someday I'm gonna be hokage, believe it!"
"It's good to have dreams," Iruka murmured, not even bothering to look at her. Then he turned to Sakura. "You're up."
The pink-haired girl stepped up in front of everyone and crossed her fingers. Spirals of blue catch-ruh surrounded her, and three identical clones popped into place.
"Those are the best clones ever!" Naruko gushed, giving Sakura a big thumbs-up. "Not even the old man hokage could have done better, believe it!"
But Iruka didn't congratulate Naruko on being such a great friend, he didn't even comment on it. The rest of the class ignored her generous proclamation as well, and of course it was because Konoha's favored son Sasuke Uchiha was about to show off in front of everyone.
Sakura brushed her elbow. "You should be more respectful to the hokage Naruko," she said cooly.
Naruko dipped her head. "Sorry Sakura. I was just trying to be a good…" Sakura had taken her place back in line. The class suddenly erupted in cheers.
Sasuke was slinking back to the line like he was some stoic badass, like he was Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star. He'd created three clones. They were good clones. But were they really that much better, were they worth all the excitement? Wait, whose voice was that, cutting through all the commotion?
"...Not even the hokage could have done better!" Sakura screamed. Ino was looking at the pink-haired copy-cat sideways. Probably because of the blatant theft of Naruko's clever compliment.
"Those were the best clones ever Sasuke," Ino said, glaring tiny death lasers at Sakura. "Not even the Sage of Six Paths could have done better!"
The rest of the girls clamored in with their own praises of the clones, while Sasuke, the object of their affections fidgeted and stared at the clock, looking like Oolong when Bulma yelled 'piggy'. None of his fangirls even noticed. Naruko pinched her chin. She just didn't get it. What was so special about Sasuke?
"Um, obviously it's because he's totally hot," Ino explained. Naruko moved to sit next to the girl at the cafeteria table. Ino extended her arm, blocking the seat. "Any girl with a set of eyes knows that. Wait, are you a lesbo? Get away from me creep, I'm normal!"
"I'm not," Naruko blushed, stammering. Ino didn't look convinced and Naruko wasn't even sure it was true herself. She'd begun to be able to tell the difference between girls who looked pretty like Ino and Sakura and plain girls who looked like herself, but she didn't feel any kind of way towards them, so that meant she was straight right? But she didn't really feel that kind of way towards any boys either. Maybe she was just pretending to be… Well, it didn't really matter, being true to yourself was only a nindo for rich clan kids anyways. Everyone else had to pretend.
Naruko found Sakura. She should've just asked her first anyway, because Sakura was the number one coolest kunoichi in all of Konoha, the prettiest, the smartest, and just the overall best girl to talk to. "Why aren't you sitting next to Ino?"
"Because Ino-pig is being such a-" Sakura stopped and seemed to realize who she was talking to. She stared down her nose at Naruko like she was a bug. "What do you want?"
"It seems like all the girls really like Sasuke," Naruko said, tapping her finger on the cafeteria table nervously. "Why? He's handsome and all, but he never says anything. Just sits there staring blankly like a wooden board. He's kinda boring donchya think?"
"Well yeah," Sakura said, creasing her eyebrows. She seemed contemplative, searching, at least for a moment. "That's true actually. But-"
"I mean, personally, I think Kiba is way funne-"
"Kiba?" Sakura cried, gaining the attention of all the students. "Did you just say Kiba was funner than Sasuke? First of all, funner isn't a word idiot, and secondly, Kiba? Really? What, are you into dogs or something? Freak! Pervert!"
"N-no," Naruko stammered. She had to think of something fast. "I like Sasuke. It's just, a plain girl like me doesn't stand a chance next to you Sakura."
Sakura frowned thoughtfully. Then her lips curled, and she patted Naruko on the back. "You're just a regular girl aren't you Naruko? A weirdo, sure, but you're just like all of us. Listen. A true kunoichi fights for her heart. Don't give up no matter who you compete with. From now on, we're rivals."
Naruko smiled and held out a fist. "Rivals." Sakura bumped her fist and walked away. Naruko wasn't sure what had happened, but being acknowledged by Sakura was pretty friggin' sweet. And all she had to do was pretend to like that boring plank of wood. She collected her state-mandated cup of instant ramen from the cafeteria and decided to save it for dinner, so she could eat with the rest of her family. She felt like she'd made progress towards her goal today, despite her still shabby clones, and it deserved celebration!
As soon as the last bell rang, Naruko ran to an abandoned alley near the ninja academy. It'd be cool to be able to rent out a training ground, to be able to practice kunai throws with real kunais and actual targets, but only rich clan kids could do that, and how different could it be from throwing rocks at old beer cans anyways? And yeah, she practiced her clones too. It had rained recently, and she could totally use the puddles as mirrors. That way, she could use her reflection as a model. She'd heard that some of the rich clan kids had actual mirrors in their apartments, but that was probably just Ino bragging again, and who needed mirrors when you had puddles? After training her catch-ruh techniques and ninja tricks, Naruko moved onto physical training. She brought out the Dragonball manga and used Goku as a reference. She'd tried using technical manuals before, but they were boring and didn't have enough pictures. Using Shounen Jump to train was just another of her brilliant schemes. She noticed the sun was setting, making the alley dim and hard to see. Reluctantly, she abandoned her training and moved onto phase two of her daily regime. Study at the library. She checked out an action book, Gundam Naruto, to prepare herself mentally for her ninja days. While she liked that the main character's name was similar to her own, she was hesitant to get too into the story. The author was a total asswipe who'd bailed on his last book, The First Firebender midway through. Sure, sure he claimed the character arcs were completed so the story was over, but that was a total artsy fartsy move. Who did that asshole think he was anyways? It wasn't like he'd written Dreaming of Sunshine or Konoha no Senkou Arashi. Her disrespectful, and completely unwarranted musings were cutoff when the librarian told her that they'd be closing in ten minutes. Against her better judgement, Naruko checked out the obvious masterpiece and trudged back to her apartment.
She checked her tap and sighed. She had water at least, but it was as cold as winter. She went to the complex's public bathroom, and filled up her instant ramen with hot water. Then she wandered back to her room, and placed the styrofoam cup on a stolen street sign she'd fashioned into a table. "Would you like some mom?" Asked Naruko, as the delicious salty aroma of the noodles wafted into her nostrils. Her empty stomach hurt, she hadn't eaten all day, and she could literally feel her skinny body eating itself, but the most important thing in the world was family.
"You know I don't need it." Her mom said, and brushed a lock of shimmering red hair from her pale face. The scars on her cheeks curled as she smiled. Naruko's mom was the only other person in all of Konoha who shared her whiskers. Without her, Naruko would have been ashamed of them, but instead they represented the unbreakable bond between mother and daughter. "Tell me about your day Naruko."
"Well Iruka sensei was lecturing and it was boring and so I tossed a paper airplane at him," Naruko said proudly.
Her mom frowned. "You should be more respectful, Naruko. If you don't study hard you won't become a splendid shinobi. You'll be stuck here forever."
"You sound just like old man hokage," Naruko complained bitterly, slurping up some noodles. They still had a bit of a crunch, and they were no Ichiraku's, but she could never not love ramen.
"Well he's right you know," her mom said. "You should listen to him. He's the only one who cares about you."
Naruko put down her chopsticks. She put down her ramen. It toppled over, the splotches of dirt and mildew on the sign murked up the broth, turning it from gold to a muddy brown. "You care about me mom, right? You love me? No matter what I do? No matter how I mess up? Even if I keep failing the ninja exam and never become a genin?"
Her mom smiled at her sadly. "Of course I do Naruko. I will always love you. Even if nobody else does, I will."
"Right, right, I know that," Naruko said, using her hands to cup the dirty broth back into the bowl. No sense wasting a perfectly good meal. It got all over her orange jumpsuit, but who cared? This was a time to be savored, eating with all the family she had. "You know Sakura, today she acknowledged me as a love rival for Sasuke. It felt really good to be included like that. To be acknowledged."
"That's good Naruko. You've admired Sakura for a long time," said her mom gently. "But you don't actually like Sasuke. You're lying to Sakura. Friends don't lie to one another. It's wrong."
"Who cares?" Naruko asked petulantly, lapping the last drops of broth from the styrofoam bowl. "It's not like it's hurting anyone."
"You're nervous," her mom said.
"I am." Naruko admitted, tearing little holes in the ramen bowl. There was no point in lying to her mom, she could always see straight to Naruko's core. "What if I pretend to like Sasuke, and everyone finds out?"
"Just try your best," her mom said gently. "Perhaps with enough effort you will fall in love. No matter what you do though, I will always love you. If you fall for him and he breaks your heart, I'll be there to wipe away your tears. If Ino calls you names and bullies you, I'll beat her up. If Sakura finds out your deception, you can always play with me."
As always, her mom knew what to say to make her feel better. And as her mom tucked her into bed, as she sang a sweet melody to put Naruko to sleep, the orphan couldn't help but wish for one thing.
She wished, with all her heart, that her mom was real. But as always, the clone Naruko had created, the clone of her mother, shimmered into nothingness as soon as she fell asleep.
XOXOXOX
Naruko's age: 11
Location: Konoha Ninja Academy's Cafeteria
POV: Kiba
Stupid Sakura, and to think he'd actually liked that pink-haired bitch. Kiba had never said anything bad about her, and she'd implied that any girl who liked him was into bestiality. He wasn't a damn dog, he was a boy! Everyone had left the school cafeteria after lunch had finished, everyone but him. He knew he'd never be popular like Sasuke, but he thought if he trained hard, he'd be able to find...
"I-It's okay," Hinata murmured, patting Kiba's back. "I-I think yo-you're f-fun. And A-Akamaru too."
Kiba glanced up at the bluenette and really looked at her, for the first time. Hinata was pretty. Hinata was kind. And she didn't make him feel like a pile of dog shit whenever he was around her. Sure she wasn't popular like Sakura or Ino but maybe…
Kiba noticed his heart thundering against his chest. Uh-oh.
XOXOXOXOX
Naruko's age: 11
Location: Konoha Ninja Academy Classroom
POV: Naruko
The next day Naruko hopped onto a table so she could thoroughly inspect Sasuke's face and discover what all the other girls saw in the little emo bastard.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, obsidian eyes glaring up at her. His pale skin was pinkening, but it was still pretty smooth and stuff. Naruko pinched his cheek, and found it to be as soft as a baby's butt.
"I've totally fallen for you," Naruko declared aggressively, challenging anyone to disagree. "Now I must investigate to understand why. You've got good skin, I'll give you that, but does that make up for your complete lack of humor?" The rest of the girls were staring. "Obviously, obviously," she murmured looking closer, looking for anything to redeem the boring boy. "You've got soft lips."
"Hey Shino!" Said Kiba, behind her. "I took the biggest dump yesterday! You shoulda- Oh, my bad!"
That stupid oaf had pushed her, and she'd fallen, and now she was on top of Sasuke, and was that his tongue? Eww! She rolled off him and started hacking, trying to get his gross saliva out of her mouth.
"You kissed me you blonde idiot!"
"That was my first kiss you stole you damn emo bastard!" Then Naruko realized the rest of the girls had crowded around her. And then Naruko realized she was supposed to be in love with the little shit. She touched her lips gently, and put on what she hoped was a maidenly smile.
All the girls seemed to want to know one thing: "How was it?"
Kinda like sucking spit out of a bowl of ramen. Pretty gross honestly. Naruko felt sick to her stomach, although maybe that was cuz of the dirty ramen she'd eaten yesterday. "Heavenly," Naruko said boldly. "Like all my life had been leading up to that one moment. Believe it!"
"I do, I do," Ino said, grinning. "That must've been awesome. How did he taste?"
Mostly like spit. His teeth had been slimy, like algae-covered rocks, with an eel-tongue thing living inside. "Only like the best thing ever," Naruko said, inspecting her fingernails and absolutely soaking up the attention. "Ichiraku's miso ramen is probably the closest thing to it, but Sasuke tastes like a million times better. Believe it!"
"L-like ramen?" Hinata asked. "Th-that do-doesn't make sense."
Naruko's stomach dropped. She'd been called out and- why hadn't she thought of something better? Like ramen, really Naruko? What naive fool would believe-
"Cha!" Sakura said angrily. "Naruko is the expert and she says Sasuke tastes great so you can butt out Hinata." She looked at Naruko hungrily. "Tell me more."
Naruko smiled brightly, surrounded by friends. Her chest felt warm, and a deep hunger within herself was sated for the first time ever. And she couldn't stop smiling! All because of one kiss.
It seemed that she'd actually fallen in love with Sasuke for real.
XOXOXOX
Author's Note: While I plan on continuing this story for at least one more chapter, I'm launching it in direct competition with another, Azula's House of Cards. Leave a review if you'd like me to prioritize this story, or read House of Cards and if you like it better leave a review on that one. Or do nothing. Even just reading the story contributes.
