Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, no matter how much I want to.
Rated T to be safe
Summary: This is a oneshot drabble about my own character. If you don't like OC's, you don't have to read it, but I think it's okay.
Genre: Humor/General
Pairings: None really, but a little GaaOC, slight NejiTen
Set sometime after the time skip, kinda
The Impossibly Long Road
Nari walked down the road that led to Konoha. She was coming back from a mission, and was supposed to report to Tsunade-sama. She sighed and ran a hand through the fringe of hair that framed her face.
As she drew closer to Konoha, she came across Kakashi, the white-haired jounin known as the Copy Cat Ninja. He looked up from his book and practically jumped up from the tree he was leaning against. "Nari! Hi," he began.
"Um, hello, Kakashi-san," Nari greeted him nervously, edging away slightly. She had only gotten to know him a few years ago, and he still acted strangely sometimes.
"You like to read, don't you?" Kakashi asked eagerly.
"Yeeaah," Nari drawled out, feeling her anxiety grow.
"Then you've got to read this!" he exclaimed, showing her his book. Nari looked at the title and picture.
"Eeew, Kakashi! Icha Icha Paradise? Hello, I'm only seventeen!" she pushed the book away, laughing slightly.
"You have to read it!" he exclaimed. "Otherwise I'll lose my bet with Gai!"
"You made a bet with Gai?" Nari had seen the crazy jounin running around Konoha before, flashing bright smiles that panged into people's eyes.
"Besides, you're a jounin, isn't that good enough?" Kakashi continued, ignoring her question.
"I only just became a jounin," she reminded him. "And no, I won't read your perverted book!" She resisted the urge to use her special ability and shapeshift out of the situation. Just because you have a power doesn't mean you should use it, she told herself. Especially since you're the only one who has it! Suzuki Nari was the first person in 300 years to have the ability. Having the three-tailed cat demon Kashira imprisoned inside of her didn't exactly help, either.
Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Nari turned on her heel and ran away from Kakashi as fast as she could, aware of him chasing her for a few minutes before giving up.
Kakashi finally gave up. Sighing, he went back to Konoha in search of someone to read his book.
Nari stopped as soon as Kakashi stopped following her, bracing a hand against a tree as she caught her breath. Turning back to the path, she jumped as Gai popped up out of nowhere in front of her. "Youthful young Nari!" he exclaimed.
"Gai, it's bad grammar to use 'youthful' and then 'young,'" Nari reminded him wearily, knowing he wouldn't listen. He didn't.
"You must look into this mirror and see your youthful face!" he exclaimed, shoving a mirror in her face. "It is the Mirror of Youth!"
Nari obediently observed her features. A slightly feline face stared back at her, with a fringe of black hair. The rest was tied back in a low ponytail. Her eyes were green, with the irises slightly large than they should be. The pupils were slightly oval, as if they wanted to become slits.
Nari raised a fist and broke the mirror as calmly as she had looked into it. Gai fell to the ground, crying. "Oh, valiant Mirror! Such dreadful fate!" he cried. Snorting, Nari continued to walk on the road.
"Hi, Nari!" Naruto cried out. Nari rolled her eyes, wondering if the road was cursed. Maybe it's only cursed for me, she mused as the overly hyper boy ran up to her. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked.
"Walking," Nari replied steadily.
"Really? Well, later, then!" Naruto ran off. Nari shrugged as his teammates ran past her. She had met them all a few months ago, and she had sensed that Naruto had a spirit within him as well as herself. They seemed alright, if a bit silly at times. Half-smiling at the useless encounter, Nari continued her impossibly long walk to Konoha.
A lone figure was walking in the opposite direction of Nari. What now? she thought in exasperation, shaking a mental fist at the author, who merely cackled and continued typing. He wore traditional Kazekage garb, which probably meant he was the Kazekage. Except for that he had a gourd on his back.
"Hello," she said amiably.
"Hn," the figure replied.
"You're the Kazekage, right?"
"That's right."
"Well, I'm Suzuki Nari."
"… Nice to meet you."
Nari blinked. She hadn't expected an answer. The boy tilted his hat up, and Nari got a good look at his face.
He didn't seem to be much older than her; he could have even been younger than her. He had reddish hair and a red tattoo reading 'love' on his left forehead. Nari personally thought he was cute.
"Gaara." His introduction was short and flat. Nari smiled a bit at his stoic demeanor.
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you, Kazekage-sama Gaara. Or maybe I won't." As she walked away, he stared at her in puzzlement for a moment. Then he continued walking on his way.
Nari continued on the impossibly long road. She considered dubbing it such; because it didn't seem to ever end. She was considering taking to the trees despite her struggle with chakra control, when she came upon Gai's team's training ground.
"Hey, Tenten!" she called out cheerfully. The kunouchi waved at her, then returned to her target practice. Nari had met the weapons mistress about a year or two, and they had become fast friends. They trained together occasionally, and Tenten was a close enough friend to admit to Nari that she had a crush on Neji.
Neji was training with Rock Lee. Lee was a mini Gai, and it fair freaked Nari out. With nothing better to do, Nari decided to rest there awhile. Sitting down against a tree, she watched the three train with half-lidded eyes. Soon she fell asleep, despite all good intentions. And so the impossibly long road to Konoha grew longer.
A few minutes later, Nari woke to the sound of "Lee!" "Gai-sensei!" "Lee!" "Gai-sensei!" Opening her eyes irritably, Nari saw the two freaks- ahem, I mean, shinobi, hugging in front of a sunset background. After five minutes of the hugging and crying and name-calling, Gai stood up and struck a pose. Nari, Neji, and Tenten sweatdropped.
"Tenten! Glorious flower of youth! You must observe your youthful self with the Mirror of Youth junior! It is better and more youthful than the Mirror of Youth senior, may he rest in pieces!" Gai held up another mirror, this one with a flowery frame. Tenten looked at the mirror, and then smashed it with her fist. As Gai cried out in dismay, she grabbed the broken mirror from his hands and stomped on it with her foot. Then she attacked it with a kunai, ending Mirror of Youth junior's oh-so-short life.
"NOOOO! TENTEN, HOW COULD YOU?" Lee cried, rushing to comfort his sensei. Tenten smirked.
"Alright, Tenten! Whoo-hoo!" Nari crowed, holding her hand in the air. Tenten slapped it, looking incredibly pleased with herself. Even Neji wore a slight smirk.
"Don't worry, Gai-sensei! We'll revive the valiant mirror!" Lee cried. "Even if we must bring it to the Hokage-sama!"
Hokage. Shit. Nari slapped her forehead as she remembered that she still hadn't given the Hokage her report. "I've gotta go, Tenten. I'm late to the Hokage-sama's office." Tenten waved goodbye and returned to training with a chuckle. Neji grunted and began to meditate. Lee and Gai continued to sob over the hapless mirror. Nari smirked and left the scene, taking the time to take to the trees.
"You do realize you're late?" Tsunade asked, putting Nari's report on top of her pile of paperwork.
"Sorry, Hokage-sama," Nari responded, "but I was being constantly interrupted. I met the Kazekage, though. He seems nice."
Tsunade smirked. "Well, then, I suppose you're excused. Although, as punishment for your lateness, you must train with Gai and his team tomorrow."
Nari stared at Tsunade with wide eyes. When she realized Tsunade was serious, she dropped to her knees. Flinging her arms open wide, she threw her head back and yelled to the ceiling, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Tsunade looked at the ceiling, then at Nari. "Who are you talking to?" she asked curiously. Nari sweatdropped.
The End