Altered Destiny:
Title subject to change, rating PG13 to be on the safe side.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I do own the plot of this story (for as far as there is one) and the extra characters I may or may not add.
Response to reviews at the bottom, be sure to read the A/N's.
Chapter 03 – Unveiling the Traitors:
The blonde girl sighed. "I just wish I had graduated…"
As he heard her disappointment, Mizuki gave her a sideways glance, and said something that perked Naruko's attention. "Well then, I'll tell you a special secret…"
(Warning: This is an unbeta-ed version of Chapter 03. I'm releasing it now, because I've taken too long without releasing a chapter already. Please excuse any errors that are undoubtedly here. The beta-ed version will be up as soon as possible, I'll put it on my page when it's uploaded.)
The evening sun, with its dying golden rays, sank slowly beneath the horizon. A lone figure sat atop a roof, knees huddled to her chest, watching it disappear completely. When darkness had engulfed her village, she stood up and jump towards her destination…
A short distance away, unnoticed by the figure, someone else stood, watching her disappear with a grim smile…
"Shit!" Naruko swore as she nearly slipped from the slick roof tiles, barely steadying herself by grabbing the tin drainage pipe which was fastened against a rather shabby looking wall.
She peered over the side of the narrow roof, and saw nothing but inky darkness. Naruko gulped, for she knew that instead of falling into a never ending oblivion she would have crashed on the hard cobblestones of one of Konoha's many alleyways. It was something she definitely didn't want to experience.
Not to mention that Anko would pound her into oblivion for attempting this rather stupid stunt. If she would have survived the fall anyway…
Naruko and Anko had done some strange and awe-inspiring things together, but her older sister had always mentioned that where she was going now, was strictly off-limits.
'Why Anko-nee-chan respects that old coot, I'll never know…' Naruko sighed and shook her head before making her way towards the centre-building of Konoha. The hub of all Ninja-related activity.
The Hokage's tower…
Half a dozen of death-defying long distance jumps and mind-boggling airborne flips and turns later, she reached her destination. As the girl held on tightly to the windowsill of what she guessed was the fourth floor, she looked up.
She still had quite a way to go…
Her nostrils flaring as she let out a resigned snort, Naruko gathered her chakra in her hands and feet. It had taken Anko years to literally beat the knowledge into the girl's brains before she got the hang of it.
Well, that was rather subjective actually… If you called a twenty-five percent chance that she would fail miserably and fall flat on her behind getting the hang of it anyway…
With a great deal of effort, she maintained a continuous flow of chakra. Gingerly, Naruko placed her hands on either side of the window. She pulled herself up some, testing if she wouldn't plummet to her doom on her first try to get to the top. She smiled in satisfaction as her hands remained sufficiently stuck to allow herself to move upwards.
Naruko still remembered Anko's lecture on the amount of chakra she was supposed to use…
"Naruko-chan, just think of chakra like it's bubblegum!"
"Bubblegum?" A much smaller Naruko questioned doubtfully.
"Yeah! A small wad won't stick to the wall…" The woman nodded sagely, apparently pleased with herself for coming up with such an exquisite metaphor. "…and it won't support your weight. Too much will make you drop like a ton of bricks!"
The muscles in her arms and shoulders straining to accommodate her weight, the blonde girl lifted herself off of the window-sill. She then placed her sandal-clad feet on the wall.
Heart jumping up to her throat when she slid a few inches down the gritty brick walls, she boosted the amount of chakra slightly and then sighed in relief. 'Oh man, that was close…'
She increased her efforts, and soon she was clambering up the side of the tower, occasionally sliding to the side to avoid a window. Naruko figured she must've looked really stupid, clambering like some hunched over frog, making its way awkwardly to the top of the building.
But after almost half an hour, Naruko halted at the correct window she had been instructed to enter. She paused for a few moments, allowing her breathing to a somewhat more regular pace.
When she had sufficiently recuperated, scrutinizing blue eyes scanned the edges of the window for any visible traps. Finding none, the girl opened it carefully.
With all the grace she possessed, Naruko hopped through the opened window and crouched in the semi-darkness of a long hallway.
Shifting her gaze to the left and then to the right, she tried to see if anyone had noticed her entry. After no-one had burst through any of the wooden doors that lined the hallway, Naruko breathed a sigh of relief.
"Damn, where is it!"
Whispering furiously to herself, Naruko rummaged through a massive open cabinet that dominated one of the walls of the room where the object she was looking for was located.
Throwing a bundle of scrolls –rather important ones too, if the official seals from various Kage's were any indication- over her shoulder, the girl let out a whoop.
"Found you!"
Buried beneath another few scrolls, was the scroll of forbidden seals, the cherished treasure of Konohagakure. Shakily, Naruko extracted it and balanced it with both hands.
The thing was huge. It easily reached to her chest. And she nearly dropped it as a voice suddenly called out behind her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Aargh!" Jumping to her feet, Naruko turned towards the voice.
It was none other than the Hokage himself, his balding head visible due to the lack of headwear.
There was no other choice. It was time to use the jutsu she had developed in supreme secrecy. Not even Anko knew about it. Hands rapidly formed several seals, and the girl smiled at the old man before she unleashed her technique.
"Oiroke no Jutsu!" (Sexy no Jutsu)
Suddenly, the young girl wasn't quite so young anymore…
Standing a fair bit taller, and in a somewhat enticing posture, was a perfectly nude, older version of Naruko. This time with two thigh-length pigtails, and curvature that some women would kill for. While a dispersing cloud of smoke -that had erupted during the transformation- died down to a few slender tendrils that covered her most personal areas, she shot the man a wink and giggled innocently.
And that was it. Like a dual hose, blood burst forth from the old man's nostrils as he surveyed the sight before him.
Not pausing to smirk in satisfaction at the massive nosebleed she had caused, Naruko dispersed the illusion, and left the old man twitching on the dusty floor as she dashed out of the room to the window she had used to enter the tower in the first place…
"Let's see, what's the first technique…" Naruko whispered to herself, sitting on the forest-floor and balancing the large scroll on her lap. "What the hell?" She cried out, thoroughly annoyed. "Kage Bunshin! Ah man, that blows…"
It had taken quite some time, but she had finally reached the rendezvous point, she and Mizuki had agreed to. She had been instructed to take the scroll of forbidden jutsu. If she did that, she would pass and become a full-fledged Genin.
'This had better be worth it…'
It was nearly four hours later that anyone found her. But it wasn't Mizuki…
"Na-ru-koooooo…"
There was only one person who could make her name sound so scary aside from her older sister.
Tired and slightly beaten up, the girl looked up from the ground, only to spot her teacher looming dangerously over her hunched over form, murderous intent radiating from his eyes.
"Iruka-sensei! What are you doing here?" She asked, genuinely puzzled.
"BAKA!" Without warning, Iruka had planted his fist on top of Naruko's head. "You've played horribly pranks before, but this is certainly your worst!"
"Ow!" Rubbing her head, the blonde girl stared at her teacher, not understanding at all. "What are you saying, I was told to come here. I've been practising this new technique the whole time!"
'What?' Iruka's glare died down to a confused look and his shoulders slumped slightly. 'Is that why she's so roughed up? Has she really been practising a new technique?'
Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that Naruko indeed looked worse for wear. Her shift and jacket were dirtied and considerably rumpled. Her skin, visible skin anyway, was mottled with cuts and bruises. All were clear indication of continuous exercise in a place like this.
"But…"
"Mizuki-sensei told me to get that scroll, and if I learned this technique and show it to you, I would pass for sure!" Beaming, the girl sent her teacher a thumbs up.
"Mizuki!" Slowly, Iruka was putting one and one together, but not before… "Look out!"
Without warning, he shoved Naruko to the side and was sent flying against a tree as a hail of shuriken and kunai made its way towards them.
"Augh!" Grunting, the academy teacher found himself nailed to the trunk of the tree. His shoulder, right thigh and his clothing impaled by deadly steel.
"Heh, what a shame, I was hoping that would have killed the both of you." A voice, frightingly cold, rang out through the darkness.
A figure jumped out from the crown of a nearby tree and crouched on the ground before lifting itself to its full height. Calmly, the figure made its way towards a bewildered Naruko and Iruka.
"Mizuki…" Iruka growled, ripping out the kunai from his shoulder. "So it was you!"
"Hehe…" Chuckling maliciously, the colleague of the kind-hearted teacher stepped closer. A stray ray of moonlight illuminated his face, twisted into a sneer instead of the normal friendly visage he normally donned.
'Wha… what's going on?' Naruko was trying to figure out what was happening. 'Why are Mizuki-sensei and Iruka-sensei fighting?'
"Naruko! Don't give him the scroll even if you die!" Iruka shouted frantically, ripping out another kunai, this one embedded in his thigh.
"Hey! What's going on!"
Iruka coughed, flecks of blood leaving his mouth. "That is a dangerous scroll! It has forbidden Ninjutsu sealed within it! Mizuki used you, in order to get his hands on it!"
"Naruko-chan…" Mizuki interrupted him, sarcastically adding the familiarity to her name. "There's really no point in you having it. I'll tell you the truth…"
"No! Don't!" The scarred Chuunin continued to pull out various kunai and shuriken from the tree trunk, desperately trying to stop his colleague from revealing something that had been kept secret for over twelve years…
Naruko's eyes widened slightly, while she picked herself up from the forest floor. "What are you talking about?"
Smirking, Mizuki stalked ever closer, grabbing one of the large shuriken strapped to his back. "You know about the demon fox being sealed right? Twelve years ago…"
"Huh?"
"Since that incident, a new rule was created for this village…"
"A new rule?" The girl piped up, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"But, Naruko, this rule was never meant to be told to you…"
"Not me? Why not?" She demanded.
Mizuki let out a dark chuckle, while Naruko kept pouring questions. "What kind of rule is it?"
Staring deeply into Naruko's sky-blue eyes, the traitor revealed the secret. "The rule is, that nobody is talk about the fact that you are the demon fox."
"STOP IT!" Iruka roared impotently, struggling against his remaining bonds.
Not letting up, and ignoring the girl's fallen face, Mizuki continued. "Iruka probably hates you, because you're the demon that killed his parents… And now…" He pulled back his arm, like a coiled spring, and with a thunderous roar, the traitor let the large shuriken fly. "…I'm going to kill you, you little bitch!"
The four-pointed star ate up the distance quickly as it whizzed through the air, but before it hit, a blood-matted mass forced her to the ground.
Iruka let out a shuddering moan as the weapon pierced his already wounded shoulder. Eyes wide, Naruko watched him in disbelief.
"What are you doing!"
"Run, get back to the village!" Iruka groaned in pain as he reached back and yanked out the large shuriken, blood quickly squirting out of the newly formed gap. "Get help!"
"Why did you…"
Despite their predicament, Iruka still managed to smile at the blonde as he shielded her with his body. "I never hated you, because you have truly become one of my most precious students…" With that, Iruka let out a soft sigh, and slumped over, unconscious.
Lower lip trembling, Naruko balled her hands into fists. "You moron! I knew that!" Her fists uselessly thumped against his chest before they grasped the Chuunin's vest tightly. "But… Thank you…"
Loud laughter interrupted them. "Awww, isn't that so cute. Did he get himself hurt trying to save you, little demon?"
"Shut up…"
Naruko's low growl resounded clearly through the night.
"Or what?" Mizuki responded, unclasping the second, and last, of the oversized shuriken and looping his fingers through the centre hole.
"I'll repay the pain you inflicted on Iruka-sensei a thousand times…"
Extracting herself from under Iruka's dead weight, the girl clutched him carefully and tenderly laid him on the ground. Her blue eyes flashed coldly like chips of ice as she fixed a steely glare on the cocky older man.
Unnerved somewhat by the intensity of her gaze, Mizuki quickly hid it under a vicious sneer. "Big words, for such a small girl…"
Naruko was unfazed by his statement. Liquid fire coursed through her veins, boiling the placid pool of emotions in her heart to a churning mass of fury. Almost unnoticed was the heavy presence in the back of her mind, whispering encouragements…
He had hurt someone she held dear…
He had to suffer…
With great difficulty, she contained that rage, that burning emotion…
Ever so carefully she balled it up, wanting to save it for later use. If she was going to have to win this fight, she could not allow herself to become a loose cannon.
Naruko raised her hands in front of her, her fingers resting in an unfamiliar seal; a simple cross with both index- and middle finger…
But the power that lay behind such a simple seal would astound even her, and everyone who would dare underestimate her in the future…
"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" She bellowed, yet purposely holding back on the amount of energy she poured into the technique.
Immediately a multitude of explosions and small pops burst forth from all around her. Hazy clouds of smoke surrounded tangible mass, slowly drifting away…
If Iruka had been hoping for reinforcements, he would have never predicted this.
Where once Naruko stood alone, next to an unconscious Iruka, were now five.
'How is this possible!' Mizuki questioned in his mind. 'She never managed the normal Bunshin no Jutsu!'
Apparently his confusion was apparent on his face as the Naruko -who stood in the middle, surrounded by four copies of herself- spoke up. "I've been practising hard, Mizuki-sensei…"
Silence stretched for a few seconds, until yet again, the silver-haired man let the last of his large weapons fly.
Naruko had expected this though.
Without words, the girl gave her clones an instruction to get Iruka to safety. The four copies obeyed her without question and each grabbed one of his limbs. While they did this, Naruko quickly grabbed the other throwing-star from the ground, holding it in front of her protectively.
An annoying whiz and a loud clang later, the thrown shuriken bounced off of the other, spinning drunkenly through the air a few seconds before falling uselessly on the forest floor.
The sheer force of the blow forced the blonde girl to stagger back and drop the weapon.
Not one to wait patiently while his opponent recovered, Mizuki let out a war cry and charged.
As he reached her, Naruko dodged the first hit, a fist aimed for her head, by ducking swiftly. But it didn't wave her from the second. An outstretched leg caught her squarely in the stomach and sent her flying.
"Aaargh!"
Meanwhile…
"Hey, is this a good spot?"
"Yeah, let's just drop him here."
With a heavy thud, Umino Iruka was dropped on the ground, some distance away of the brawl that had broken out between Naruko and Mizuki.
"Hey, don't drop him like that!"
"Yeah, you could break his neck or something!"
"Shut up!" With a forceful shout, one of the four clones had prevented what could have become an all-out catfight. "We need to get back!"
Grinning foxily, another one of the copies spoke up and rubbed her hands gleefully. "Let's get that bastard!"
The clone that had defused a possibly volatile situation motion for the other three clones to come closer. "Okay, this is what we do…"
Naruko was getting seriously tired. Her back still aching from the impact with that tree, and her legs and arms sore from blocking whatever punches and kicks she could, she was doubting she could keep this up for much longer.
Currently, she was huddled behind a reasonably sized tree trunk, waiting for yet another deadly barrage of sharpened metal to stop.
"Damn! Where do you get them all, do you pull them out of your ass!" Naruko shouted, attempting -in her own way- to stall for more time to recover.
"Shut up you damn brat!" Came the furious reply.
Lesson one in direct combat, Anko style: Annoy your opponents so they will get angry enough to make mistakes. Well that, and it is just really fun to do.
"Don't call me a brat, you pretty-boy pansy!" The girl shot right back, then smirked as she heard his enraged growl.
"I'm going to cut out your intestines and strangle you with them, little girl!"
"Hah, I'd like to see a wuss like you try!"
"Stop hiding and I will!" Mizuki taunted, then suddenly, sounded quite surprised… "Hey, what the hell are you doing! Let me go!"
Loud exclamations of victory followed.
"Take that!" One voice exclaimed.
"And that!" Another voice hollered, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a mouth biting down of something.
Naruko got up from her hiding place and met an unbelievable sight.
Four exact copies of the exuberant girl clamped down on his limbs, effectively pinning him to one place.
Mizuki looked fearfully at the original girl, wondering what she might do with him. If her past pranks were any indication, he was in a deep pile of…
"Shit, let me go you useless demon-spawn!" He struggled fruitlessly against his bonds, only serving to shake his captors wildly.
"Hurry up boss-lady!" The clone that held down his left leg yelled loudly.
"You know what to do!" The other on his right leg added. The other two muffled their support, their mouths filled with Mizuki's wrists.
Hesitating only for a split-second, Naruko quickly grinned impossibly wide at the man's struggling and ran towards him, arm pulling back like a cannon waiting to fire. "I already knew about Kyuubi!" She roared as the distance between the two was eaten up quickly by her amazing speed. "Nee-chan would never keep a secret from me!"
At the last minute, she jumped forwards, her leg jerked back…
…and she kicked him right in the family jewels…
Some distance away, a certain scarred Chuunin awoke just in time to witness the spectacle…
Iruka sucked in his breath as his eyes widened considerably.
The sight of Naruko taking her revenge on Mizuki was so ludicrous and utterly bizarre, he didn't know whether to laugh or to cringe in pity for his treacherous colleague.
Of all the things the small girl could have done…
This was certainly the epitome of her mean streak as far as he was concerned.
Still, it wasn't as if he could blame her. After all, the bastard had hurt him pretty bad.
"I wish I was the one who did that…"
His eyes widened once more as those words left his bloodied lips. He had never felt that way before… Maybe Naruko and her rather… fetching sister were rubbing off on him…
Now there was a scary thought…
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hands, he refocused on Mizuki again, just as the pain finally reached his brain.
"Ohhh…" The Chuunin moaned pitifully, his hands clutching his groin after the clones disappeared in a cloud of smoke –their duties performed to satisfaction- while his eyes rolled up into his head.
"Haha! Take that, you bastard!" Towering victoriously, and showing absolutely no mercy, was Mitarashi Naruko. She pointed at the man, a definite sign of warning. "Don't mess with me or Iruka-sensei again, I'll hurt you even more!"
Hearing this, Iruka shook his head slowly, a lopsided smile tugging at his lips. He wasn't sure if she was able to make Mizuki suffer more than she already had.
Almost as if on cue, a peel of exuberant laughter followed the girl's bold statement. Necks craning to focus on the source of the commotion, and ignoring Mizuki who had dropped on his knees and slumped forwards until his face hit the dirt by this time with a small trail of drool escaping the corner of his mouth, teacher and student tried to find out who was obviously spying on them.
"I can't believe you kicked him there!" Anko laughed, slapping her knee as she doubled over.
Folding her arms in front of her chest, Naruko nodded smugly. "He had it coming!"
"Hah! He sure did!" By now, the older woman was wiping away tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes as she surveyed the traitor lying on the ground, twitching every now and again.
If he knew what was good for him, he would surely not try and move while she was present.
"Anko-san, Naruko…" Iruka called out hesitantly,applying the last bandages of the emergency medical kit, Anko had brought with her and given to him after she had revealed herself to the two.
She had been watching the whole ordeal, and even though Iruka was slightly upset of her not intervening in any way whatsoever, he could still understand her need to see what her adopted younger sister was made of.
As he closed the lid of the small box that had contained several rolls of bandages and stood up, he focused on the girl and woman standing near him. "I think we should head back and report on the situation."
Exchanging knowing glances, Anko and Naruko nodded to one another.
"Oi! Iruka-sensei!" She shouted, moving closer towards him.
"Yes?" He replied, somewhat hesitantly.
"Buy us ramen!"
"R-ramen?" Iruka stuttered. 'She wants ramen? At a time like this?'
Anko glowered at the child before grinning wickedly at the cornered teacher. "You'll buy some dango for me, won't you? Iruka-kun?"
The slightly seductive whisper of the Jounin was lost in a startled yelp however, when Naruko jumped on her back from behind.
"Ramen!" She proclaimed imperiously.
"No way!" Anko shouted back, swiping the girl from her back before placing her in a simple, yet supremely effective, headlock. "He's going to buy dango!"
"Er…" Iruka could only stand silently, stupefied at the display of the two ferocious females before him, defending their respective favourite foods.
"Ramen, ramen, ramen, RAM-hurk!" Naruko choked, her jaws effectively stopped snapping futilely as she tried to bite Anko's arm in a desperate effort to alleviate the pressure. "
Anko turned to Iruka, a smug look on her face as she continued to exert a fierce grip on her little sister's neck. "Dango! Right, Iruka-kun?"
"Uhm, Anko-san…" The kind-hearted Chuunin pointed at Naruko's face feebly, which rapidly became more and more purple by the second.
"Hmm?" The woman responded sweetly, apparently unaffected by the little girl's struggling –though said girl's struggling was quickly dieing down.
"I think she can't breathe…"
"Oh." Anko dead-panned, and dropped her like a sack of potatoes.
Though instead of muttering curses of any kind, Naruko giggled…
Iruka gulped. When Naruko giggled, it was rarely about a good thing. And how the girl was able to make such a sweet and simple expression of joy sound ever so menacing, he would never know.
As she picked herself from the ground and motioned for Anko to lean down to whisper something in her ear, he muttered silent prayers to his ancestors. Especially when he saw the two females looking slyly at him, a feral grin mirrored by the wicked gleam in their eyes.
"Iruka-kun…" Anko purred, making her way over to him, swaying her hips just the right amount and pushing out her chest for added effect.
Already, Iruka could feel his defences crumbling, as it took every effort on his part to not stare at the sensual woman's chest, or other curvatures for that matter…
"Iruka-kun…" Anko repeated. "Why don't you buy ramen and dango for us?"
The faint feeling of something dribbling down his upper lip went unnoticed by Iruka. In fact, a battle of sorts was taking place inside of him. On the one hand, the logical part of his mind was begging and screaming for him to run away now, as it already sensed the impending doom of the content of his wallet. The passionate side however, betrayed its mental sibling and sided with the rumbling and rapid thumping of his heart, clamouring for him to accept her… gracious offer…
"S-sure…" Was the eventual croak, followed immediately by a mental whoop.
Anko grinned broadly and shot Naruko a wink over her shoulder. "Mission success!" She mouthed, then focused her attention on Iruka again. She grabbed his right arm and spun him around in the direction of her favourite dango establishment. Naruko followed suit, though pausing only for a minute to kick Mizuki once more for good measure.
Moments later, several figures jumped from the crowns of the trees surrounding the small clearing. All of them wore dark cloaks, specifically designed to hide their body. Though the thing that stood out, were the different masks each of them wore, depicting an animal of some kind.
One of them, large, burly and obviously male, despite being hidden by a mask and cloak, spoke up in a rumbling voice. "Poor bastard…"
Another, with a mask shaped like the face of a hawk, knelt next to the barely conscious teacher, who was still clutching his manhood as if his life depended on it. "He is a traitor, he will suffer a worse fate than this."
"Enough!" A third member interjected, pushing past the fourth who stood impassively a few feet away from Mizuki. "Our mission was to bring him back and the scroll. We already went past the mission boundaries by letting that Mitarashi kid taking care of him." The figure removed its mask, revealing a startlingly beautiful woman, and grabbed the front of Mizuki's vest, hoisting him up slightly.
Despite the pain he was in and his bare consciousness, Mizuki felt terror welling from deep inside of him as the woman's lavender orbs peered coldly into his own. "I think Morino Ibiki-san will want to have a word with you, traitor."
Naruko snuck through the darkness of her house. It was still very early, maybe five in the morning, she wasn't sure. Carefully she made her way through the hallway, stepping over the mess that littered the floor.
The events of the previous evening were still clear in her mind. After possibly turning Mizuki impotent, they had unwound by mooching off of her teacher.
Though these two things were undoubtedly good for Naruko, she still remained saddened. She went through all the trouble of stealing the top-secret scroll, incapacitated the Hokage himself –though she didn't really think that old man was much of a Shinobi to begin with- and taught herself a forbidden Ninjutsu; Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
On top of all that, she beat a Chuunin. But then again, Naruko really didn't know how Mizuki was ever able to become one. 'He was such a wimp!' She thought disbelievingly.
Closer and closer she crept towards the door of her older sister. She was being childish, she knew that, and there was a good chance that she would be yelled at. But still…
As silently as she could, she opened the door, with its distinctive dumpling-shaped nameplate, and stepped inside.
Like the rest of the house, Anko's room was no exception to the unwritten rule about the requisitioned border between messiness and near-tidiness. Both of them enjoyed the cozy feel of a slightly chaotic household, and keeping everything neat in order just wouldn't do.
Just like them…
After a brief glance about the room, Naruko spotted her target; a large bed –Anko wouldn't make do with a one-person bed, she insisted on having enough room- and its single occupant slumbering peacefully.
With her features straining in concentration, the girl tiptoed over to the edge of the bed and slid underneath the blanket.
'If pinky or matchstick would find out about this, I'd never live this down.' Naruko grumbled, and crawled over the thick and bouncy mattress. After a few moments of navigating in the darkness underneath the blanket, she noticed a familiar warmth and settled comfortably herself next to it.
"Naruko-chan?"
'Damn.' The twelve-year old winced as she heard the sleepy murmuring above her. She could've expected it though, Anko was a Jounin after all, a special Jounin at that…
"Yeah…" She sighed and poked her head from under the covers.
Anko, still somewhat asleep, smacked her lips and tilted her head slightly downwards, eyes still closed. "What's wrong?" She muttered sleepily.
"Nothing, I guess…"
"Mhmm…" It was painfully obvious that the older woman didn't believe her, but she let it slide. "C'mere…" She yawned and wrapped an arm around Naruko's shoulders.
A little surprised, but happy nonetheless, the girl scooted closer to her sister and closed her eyes. She would deal with the consequences of the previous evening a little bit later…
Dear Imoto-chan,
I had to leave a little early, another one of those crappy meetings. (They are so boring, I think I'll burn off Iwashi's goatee just to liven things up again. He finally got one again after I burned off his last one too.)
I'll be back late in the afternoon, evening if Ebisu-baka gets the chance to do one of his stupid long lectures again. There's some food in the fridge, make yourself some, okay?
When I get back though, we'll have to have a little talk.
Cya!
Anko.
PS: Touch my dango again, and your head is mine!
Naruko let out a shuddering sigh, slumping over slightly from her seating position, with a thick blanket covering her outstretched legs. She had reread this note four times already. It was a good thing that there was no mention of the fact that she had technically stolen one of the village's most prized possessions. And she wasn't carted off towards the prison after her fight with Mizuki.
But the girl dreaded the talk she was going to have with her older sister.
What was she going to say? That she failed the exam for the fourth time in a row? That once again, Mitarashi Naruko, prankster extraordinaire, had failed her academic responsibilities abysmally?
She had felt so uncharacteristically depressed, that she hadn't even left the bed yet. And –she glanced at the bedside alarm clock- it was already half past two…
Get a hold of yourself, useless girl…
'Yeah, that's right…' Naruko agreed with that small voice in the back of her head. 'I am useless…'
Stop feeling sorry for yourself…
'I'm not feeling sorry for myself!' Hands balled up into fists and blue eyes narrowed as she became angry and quite defensive all of a sudden.
You're weak…
'I'm not!'
Prove it…
Now that left Naruko without any response. She wanted to prove that voice wrong. She wasn't weak anymore, she had beaten up a Chuunin after all. That certainly had to count for something.
Snorting, the girl threw back the blanket and jumped from Anko's large bed. "I'm not weak!" She said aloud and stormed out of her sister's room.
"Oi! Naruko-chan!" Anko's voice drifted through their house, but elicited no response.
Slightly disgruntled, the dark-haired woman searched the house, opening every single door, only to be greeted by empty rooms, devoid of Naruko's presence.
"Where are you?" She tried again, closing the door to the girl's bedroom and walking down the hall. She moved towards the living room, her sandaled feet sliding lazily of the tatami-mats. "Where is she?" She repeated, more for her own benefit than anyone else.
Only then did she notice the faint sounds coming from outside, in what some could consider the front yard. Their house was situated in the forest, which made their yard rather large…
'Maybe I should consider going through the front door sometime…' Anko pondered this and got steadily closer to the source of the sounds. Expertly weaving through the cluttered furniture of their living room, then reaching the small hallway that led to the front door, she stopped to listen.
Someone was shouting? And… was that the clatter of metal hitting metal?
A smile appeared on the Jounin's face as she scanned the tree line. Darting through the leaf-cluttered crowns and stout branches littered with knotholes was a blonde figure.
No… Make that two figures… And one of those figures was definitely throwing a deadly hail of shuriken and kunai at the other.
Meanwhile, as Anko observed the fight, if you could call it that, Naruko was having the time of her life. That is, until a kunai grazed her cheek for the umpteenth time.
"Hey! Watch it!" She shouted towards a perfect replica of herself.
Apparently, the bunshin she was able to produce were dispelled with a single hit. Therefore, she decided on this little game. She had created only one corporeal clone –after many tries since her chakra control was still nowhere near perfect- and instructed it to chase her and try to stop her.
"Hey, it's not my fault that my aim is so crappy!" The clone shot back, scowling.
Naruko had to grit her teeth to ignore the obvious insult towards her abilities. Aside from taking on the appearance of herself, the girl's attitude also seemed to be copied.
"Yeah whatever, let's go."
The clone smirked and let loose another barrage. A poof of smoke later and every single of the kunai and shuriken clattered uselessly on the tree-branch before dropping down to the ground below.
"Your ever beautiful and super-cute sister is here! Hah!"
The clone gaped stupidly and the real Naruko felt a veritable question mark appear over her head. "Nee-chan, what are you doing?"
"What, I'm not allowed to join in the fun?" Anko asked, raising a single eyebrow.
"Eh?" That was all the girl was able to utter before jumping to the side, avoiding the Jounin's fist which had been aimed for where her head had been a moment ago.
"Come on, let's spar for a bit!"
"Ack!" Attention shattered, the single clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
There was one unwritten rule when in a fight with Anko. At least for Naruko there was. Dodge like your life depends on it, because most of the time, it really is. Anko tended to go a little overboard when fighting, and more often than not, Naruko had been limping to the academy the next day because of it.
Smirking, her older sister gave her a bit of advice. "Come on now, don't hold back, I'll hurt you for real."
'Urgh, she's serious…' Naruko thought, barely deflecting a punch with the flat of her hands… and was then kneed in the gut which sent her in a wild freefall.
With a mighty grunt, the girl crashed in the mossy forest floor. She did not have time to consider her impact though, for immediately the same knee that had sent her flying came at her once more.
She rolled to the side quickly, and flipped on her feet, narrowly dodging the knee and the sweeping kick that followed.
"Don't just dodge, attack me." Anko told her calmly, not sounded the least bit strained. "I thought you learned some fancy new jutsu?"
As a response, Naruko growled and back flipped out of the way of another punch that would have crushed her nose like an overripe grape.
Anko didn't let up though and merely continued a stream of punches and kicks that would have made any normal person dizzy. When Naruko blocked a palm strike which was aimed at her sternum, the sheer force of the blow sent her skidding backwards.
After she stopped some good fifteen feet away, she finally had enough space to us her new move. Her hands slipped into the middle-index cross seal. "Watch this!" She roared and gathered her chakra. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Immediately ten clones appeared all around her; each and every one of them sporting the same lop-sided smirk that framed her face.
"There we go!" Anko shouted her approval and dashed forwards, her long trench coat flapping behind her.
The clones tried to get away, but half of them disappeared as quickly as they had come in a hail of rapid jabs due to Anko's own tremendous speed.
Naruko had expected this however, and sent the rest after her older sister while she prepared another Jutsu. She was counting on Anko to at least play with the rest of the clones for a bit.
Watching the clones and Anko's skirmish out of the corner of her eyes, she distanced herself from them slightly. Hurriedly, she went through the series of seals required for the particular technique. As her fingers settled in the o-hitsuji (ram) hand-seal, she roared the name.
"Doton: Yamakuzure no Jutsu! (Earth element: Landslide technique)"
The earth seemed to move to those words and a moment later, a wave of mud speckled with bits of moss appeared to engulf her target.
The two clones not destroyed by Anko at this time continued fighting in an effort to keep the Jounin rooted to the spot. But they were quickly hidden from view as the wave washed over them.
Hearing the faint pops of the bunshins disappearing, Naruko let out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding.
The feeling of cool metal against the back of her neck quickly shattered that faint glimmer of relief…
"Eep!"
"You really thought I was going to be trapped that easily?" A voice said behind her, and ruffled her hair.
"Nee-chan!" She whined grumpily and immediately moved to straighten her spikes, for as far as she was able to anyway.
Rich and rolling laughter followed and the pressure of the sharp edge on her neck disappeared.
"I was good though, wasn't I?" Naruko asked hopefully.
"Eh, I guess so…" Anko put the kunai she had been holding back in its holster and folded her arms in front of her chest.
Pouting, Naruko turned on her heels and glared at her as best as she could. "Hmmph!"
"Aw, did Anko step on your widdle ego?" The dark-haired woman truly enjoyed pushing Naruko's buttons, and mocking the kid in a childish tone was one of her favourite ways.
The girl stomped towards her. "Grrr…"
"Hehe…" Turning away from Naruko, the dark-haired woman moved to one of the many trees and plunked down in front of it, patting the ground beside her with a free hand. "C'mere, we need to talk, remember?"
All mock-anger forgotten, the girl gulped. 'Damn, I was hoping she would forget…' Hesitantly, Naruko obeyed, and sat beside her sister.
Anko raised a single eyebrow at her odd behaviour, and it threatened to disappear into her hairline completely when the girl lifted her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly with her arms. "Oi, what are you being so depressed about. You kicked that pansy's ass, didn't you?" She asked her bluntly.
After a moment's pause, Naruko responded, her eyes drifting downwards. "Yeah, I guess… But…"
When nothing else seemed forthcoming, Anko prodded her in her side. "But what?"
"I failed the exam again…" Came the quiet reply and Naruko's face disappeared between her knees.
"Oooooh… that…"
The even response made her look up again, and saw her older sister grinning like the maniac she was.
"I'm guessing you don't deserve this then, huh?" She said, waving a rectangular box around.
Naruko's eyes grew wide like dinner plates. "Is that for me?"
"Hole in one, short stuff." Anko affirmed and patted the girl's head before giving it to her.
This certainly didn't happen often. It wasn't Anko's style to give something to her after she had failed anything. Instead she'd just say that she would have to try harder next time.
Surprise and elatedness quickly turned into suspicion. Scrutinizing the object in her hands, and giving the woman next to her a sideways glance, she carefully shook the box.
Gifts after failing were far and few between, but pranks weren't…
As far as she could feel, Naruko didn't sense any tension on the packaging that might give away a spring-loaded or tightly wound trap. She sniffed the box. Nope, no odd scents either.
"I didn't do anything with it…" Anko murmured, feigning insult. "Honest!" She added after Naruko's disbelieving stare directed her way.
"Hmmm…" Still not trusting her sister completely, the girl opened the lid of box ever so carefully…
…Then dropped it as she saw the faint glimmer of metal…
Of all the things… Naruko knew she had done something bad, but to stick what could be an assortment of deadly weaponry inside that harmless looking box?
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Anko picked up the box, ripped out its contents and thrust it into Naruko's hands. "Jeez, you dolt, it's not like I was planning to kill you!"
But all that was lost on the girl however, as she saw what it was exactly. Her mouth opened and closed on its own accord as she tried to formulate proper words.
"You like it?" Anko grinned and nudged her with her elbow, nearly sending the girl sprawling to the ground.
"I… I… H-how?"
"I had a talk with Iruka-kun." Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Anko explained. "He didn't any convincing. We both figured that Kage Bunshin could be counted as a normal Bunshin for your exam results."
Trembling, Naruko held up what was revealed as a plate of metal fastened to a pale-grey length of cloth. But on the metal was engraved the symbol of the village she loved so much.
Konoha's swirling Leaf.
"I put the plate on some new cloth, I hope you don't mind."
Naruko shook her head fiercely. "No…"
Anko wanted to tell her more. About what had happened during the meeting, and about the changes that were soon to come. But as the girl suddenly latched onto her, sobbing her gratitude in the crook of her neck, she decided it could wait until later.
Moving her hand to stroke Naruko's spiky golden hair fondly, Anko whispered her congratulations. "You did very well, Naru-chan…"
Just like Mitarashi Naruko the evening before, Hyuuga Hinata was in tears, though for a whole other reason.
Worried about the sudden disappearance of her friend, she had asked several people about where the blonde girl had gone. To her surprise, all of the people she asked grinned at her and told her Naruko had failed.
Yet again.
That had brought tears to Hinata's eyes, for the Hyuuga heiress had one major failing…
Her self-esteem…
While most of the members of the Hyuuga clan strutted around Konohagakure like they were Hokage themselves, Hinata did not. Something that her father did not shy away from to point out.
Case in point; a recent spar with her younger sister, which she lost. Rather horrendously so. The burning glare her father had sent her made her cringe every time she thought about it. Hinata's younger sister; Hanabi, did not glare at her, instead, she just couldn't figure out why her older sister was so weak. Which she asked about rather bluntly, too.
Sighing, the blue-haired girl tried to disappear inside her oversized coat as she made her way around a sharp bend towards the academy. There was nothing she wanted more than to be able to disappear without a trace.
A hyperactive, bubbling mass of exuberant energy quickly squashed that idea though.
"HINATAAAAAA!"
Jumping up and down, trying her best to defy gravity, none other than Naruko was flapping her arms madly in a desperate attempt to catch the shy girl's attention.
"N-naruko-chan…" Hinata whispered in surprise, barely catching herself as she nearly stumbled.
"OI! HINATAAAAAA! GET OVER HERE!"
A crimson flush made its way to her pale cheeks. The crowd that had already gathered in front of the entrance of the academy had literally covered their ears in attempt to avoid going deaf. One, a baby no more than one year old, even began bawling while its mother tried to cover her ears and comfort her child at the same time.
Naruko sure could be loud when she wanted to be…
Wanting to avoid any further embarrassment, Hinata hurried towards the over-energized blonde.
"Heh, you sure took your sweet time, didn't you?" Was the greeting that awaited her.
Aquamarine eyes trailed upwards and took in a dazzling grin, then went down again, just a tiny bit.
Gasping, Hinata pointed shakily towards a genuine Konoha hitai-ate tied loosely around Naruko's neck. "Y-you passed?"
Pouting, Naruko nodded. "What, you thought I couldn't make it?"
"N-no!" Biting her lip, the other girl tried to extract herself out of the hole she had dug for herself. "I-I asked s-several people yesterday a-and… they told me you f-failed the e-exam…" The last part trailed off in a near inaudible whisper and Naruko had to strain herself to hear it.
Thumping herself on her chest, the blonde girl grinned broadly once more. "Hah, like I'm going to be stopped by a simple exam!"
A brief glance revealed to her that the crowd had already dispersed, be it parents dropping off their children or the children going inside to their respective classrooms, and she threw an arm around Hinata's shoulders.
"C'mon, we'd better be going, I don't want to be late for the assigning of the teams! And wait till I tell you about this new technique I learned. It's awesome!"
"Team seven; Uchiha Sasuke…"
"…"
"…Haruno Sakura…"
"HELL YEAH! TAKE THAT, INO-PIG!"
"…and Inuzuka Kiba."
"Nooooo!"
A series of whining barks followed that last… complaint…
Standing upright, pointing a somewhat clawed finger at whom Naruko sometimes affectionately called; emo-retarded nitwit, was Inuzuka Kiba, glaring with his catlike eyes. "Why the hell am I being forced on a team with that Uchiha bastard and his pink slave girl!"
Coughing politely, Iruka gave the fanged boy a smile. "The purpose of today is to arrange balanced teams. Sasuke and Sakura were at the top of the class in academic results, while you on the other hand, were almost at the bottom as far as results go…"
Blushing in embarrassment, Kiba couldn't think of anything to say to dispute that comment -not that he could either way- and sat back down on his bench. Akamaru, hidden in the folds of his fur-lined, dark-grey jacket, gave his master a comforting lick on the chin and whined pitifully.
"Now then." The scarred Chuunin continued. "Team eight; Aburame Shino, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji."
The response of these new team-members was rather mixed. There was Aburame Shino, stoic as always, who didn't say a word, content with only nodding at his fellows. Ino was still in a heated glaring match that had started after Sakura's energetic proclamation of her victory over her blonde rival. The last member sent a friendly wave directed at Shino, all the while stuffing his face with an impossible amount of snacks he produced from seemingly out of nowhere. Chouji did however, throw worried glances every so often at a dark-haired boy seated next to him. But judging from the boy's casual demeanour, he either didn't seem to care, or was fast asleep.
It was hard to tell which of the two was the case.
A few benches in front, someone else was having a similar problem. Seated next to Hinata was a listless Naruko. Her excitement had long died down since their teacher had begun his lecture. Even faking to pay attention to Iruka wasn't working. Instead of her eyes glazing over like they normally did during long lectures, her eyelids inched downwards until finally they had closed and a gentle snore drifted through the crowded classroom.
Hinata did her best not to giggle. Only when her name was called out, did she snap out of it.
"Team ten; Hyuuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru and…" There was a lengthy pause here, and any murmuring died down to hushed whispers as the children saw their teacher's intent gaze focused on one spot. "…Mitarashi Naruko."
"Zzzhuh, wha?" Chin slipping of her palm, Naruko had jerked awake. Completely clueless, she stared at Iruka. Before she had the chance to ask any questions though, she felt a tug on the sleeve of her jacket.
All shyness forgotten, Hinata practically beamed at her friend. But as she was about to open her mouth to inform her of what she had undoubtedly missed, a certain someone made his presence known rather vocally.
"Sensei, you can't be serious!" Shikamaru shouted in indignation, his lazy attitude completely forgotten. "You can't put me with those two… those two girls!"
Iruka barely held back a smile. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru. But that's just the way it is. Now you and your team-mates wait here. Your Jounin instructor will be here shortly."
Naruko gave the boy a blank look, before directing her attention elsewhere. "Well I guess he's not too bad. At least he's not one of those dumbass bishi's…" Naruko jerked her thumb in his general direction, all the while staring pointedly at a certain raven-haired Uchiha.
'Did she…' Shikamaru stared at her disbelievingly. '…just call me ugly?'
"Everyone, you are allowed to take a fifteen minute break. After that, please wait in the classroom until your assigned Jounin instructor comes to fetch you, and your team-mates." Iruka straightened a pile of papers on his desk, and smiled at the arrayed assortment of fledgling Shinobi fondly. "It was an honour to be your teacher, make me proud."
"Man, I can't believe I'm not going to see Iruka-sensei anymore…" Naruko whined as she shovelled the last remnants of another cup of instant-ramen into her mouth.
Scoffing, Shikamaru dragged himself up to his feet, and chose not to reply.
"Uhm…" Hinata poked her index-fingers together nervously. "I'm sure you'll see him again, Naruko-chan…"
The brand-new team ten had decided to take their lunches outside to enjoy them under the cheery sun and a clear blue sky. Though Shikamaru was still opposed to having two girls on his team, he knew there was no use complaining.
Little did he know that things were about to become a lot worse…
A/N:
Imoto: Younger sister.
Doton: Yamakuzure no Jutsu (Earth element: Landslide technique): Ever seen a landslide? It sweeps away just about anything. Think of it like a rolling wave of rock infested, muddy water. Naruko isn't very powerful yet, so her ability is limited to a wave of about three meters high that won't reach very far.
So here is the unedited version. I hope you enjoyed it all the same. As some of you, slightly more fanatic, Naruto fans might have noticed. I'm altering the sequence of events. I won't incorporate everything from the original storyline into this story. I'm doing that because it has to be original in some way, and just reciting everything you can already read yourself isn't much fun, now is it?
I'm going to give you a few hints already, I think I already made it painfully clear who the Jounin Instructor is going to be. There's not going to be a bell-test, and there's probably not going to be a mission that deals with Haku and Zabuza. I'm not sure about that though, since Haku is really an awesome character, but I think it'd be for the best.
I gave the clones a bit more intelligence. I thought it would be a fun idea. And useful to boot! And I'm feeling a slight pang of pity for that traitor, aren't you?
Well, enough of my rambling, on to the review response. (I love you guys)
Thrice Crossed Fool: Thanks for the review man, I appreciate it. I hope we'll get to read more ADA soon.
Dragon Man 180: No, she doesn't know about Orochimaru just yet. That'll all come to pass during the Chuunin Exams, just like in the original storyline. As for your last question, that should've been revealed in this chapter. Thanks for the review, as always.
Chedving: Thanks for your kind words. And no, of course I won't get angry. Well… I won't unless you copy something literally without asking me first… Hehe, anyway, I enjoyed what you wrote so far. Keep up the good work! If you want to discuss some ideas or something, you can send me an email or something. Or maybe your ICQ number if you have it.
Seravy: Thanks, I always enjoy your reviews. The (anti?)Sasuke bits in this chapterare dedicated to you.
Yondaime-samaKazaraYume: Writer's block sucks ass. But hey, thanks for taking the time to review.
bill: I disagree with you there, buddy. Naruko is no genius, and has her faults. She did train with Anko, obviously, but I still think she would have failed. I don't want to make her overpowered, and having Anko teach her Kage Bunshin from the get-go would defeat that goal. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I hope you'll enjoy this story all the same.
BeautifulStruggle: Thank you! Reviews like yours make me feel all warm and tingly inside. (In a good way! Not a perverted way!) ;)
Raidin: Thanks again for pointing out those errors. I haven't gone back and changed it yet, but I will. And don't worry about it, if you find any errors here again, be sure to let me know!
FenrisLupus: Yeah, yeah, here ya have it. Now where's your new chapter, eh?
Kitsune-Itai: Hehehe, thanks, I appreciate it.
Cobra-100: Aye, I noticed the mistake. I'm sorry if I gave anyone the wrong impression. Thanks for pointing it out, I don't plan on writing a lemon or something just yet.
hmm: Uh, thanks, hehe. But he was right though, yuri usually entails sex of some kind. There are more shoujo-ai (girl-love) fics out there. Like one from Blood-Shinobi. He's always clamouring for more reviews, so go give it a try.
(yeah, you are, blood-shinobi, and you know it :P)
Puppet in the Corner: Anko rules, no doubt about it. Thanks for the review!
Skuld's Sentaro3: Thanks, I'm not sure when I'm going to update DYHM though. I've got more ideas for AD at the moment…
Kittfox: I was writing, it just took a long time. Sorry about that. And don't you worry, I'm still plenty motivated to keep writing!
Tales of Pwnage: Sure, I'll take a look at your story. You'll need to publish it though… Let me know when you have. ;)
Shibbles: I'm sorry if you're disappointed about the shoujo-ai, but I've got my own reasons for writing it. I hope you'll enjoy the story nonetheless!
Song Min Dao, shina-lim, EfrainMan, Mark Larson, Frank Moore, silverbluenchantress, Tsukamaru, thank you all for the reviews, whether they be encouragements or pleas for me to hurry up with writing. Believe it or not, it actually works!
Leave me a review with your thoughts about this fic so far, so I'll know what you all think.
Preview for the next chapter:
Shikamaru eyed the twirling kunai nervously. "She… She's not serious, is she?"
Shaking her head, the blonde girl gave him a mournful look. "She is…"
Hinata just stammered, her fingers poking against one another as usual. "M-maybe you s-should run, Shikamaru-kun…"
At that moment, the boy couldn't help but agree with Hinata's suggestion.
Finally; a shoutout for a fic similar to mine and one of an author I really admire. (remove the stripes from the links)
Crazy Bonds from Chedving
Once there was a hidden village. It was peaceful and nothing could've disturbed it...until a single event changed it drastically. The question is - for better or for worse?
-http-www-fanfiction-net/s/2219-061/1/
Give it a go, it's really entertaining.
A Deamon's Artifact from Thrice Crossed Fool
A Tyrant of the netherworld, a ninetails dealing with reaccuring nightmares of a tragedy to come and her container; an Ex-Anbu sent back to take the Jounin exam, What the hell is going on?
-http-www-fanfiction-net/s/2246-402/1/
A beautiful symphony of words I can never hope to match. Possibly the best written fanfic in Naruto fan-dom. And, as a large bonus, it features something along the lines of BitchKyuubi based on the art of croaky; a great artist on deviantart. I love it, er… her! "Hint, hint."