Interlude (Ch 1.5)
Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger 'Goukakyuu no jutsu' ('Great Fireball jutsu'). Biwako molded Chakra in her mouth, inhaling to fill her stomach with air, along with Chakra. Then, she immediately blew all the air and Chakra back out, turning it Fire-natured as it left her mouth.
Unlike what was -had been- usual, something went unexpectedly wrong or right in that last step, though.
(WHOOSH!)
The lake Biwako was aiming at had nearly boiled… or rather it would have, if it weren't so deep and somehow unnaturally resistant to fire and Fire ninjutsu, even for water. There was a sudden improvement in the power and reduction in the Chakra cost of her Great Fireball jutsu, and Biwako couldn't for the life of her figure out why and how.
She couldn't just accept her good fortune; an unknown factor like that might come back to bite her – her brother's changing behavior ended up-
'No, I won't think about that!'
Naruto was also someone she had a hard time predicting, but in that case, it might be a good thing; she needed someone in her life to keep her sane -she didn't want to snap and become like that man-, and Naruto was perfect for the job. The fact that he was an excellent rival, with talent of a level she could never have expected, was the cherry on top.
He makes you weak, whispered a voice that sounded a lot like Ita- like that man.
So much so, that she repeated her hand seals, letting out a Great Fireball that created even more steam than before, leaving her panting.
Without meaning to, her mind went back to simpler times; her father teaching her the Great Fireball, to be exact.
As expected; you are my child, after all.
'Dad,' Biwako thought, a few drops almost but not quite falling out of her eyes. She longed for those simpler times, of piggyback rides on a brother who didn't seem to be a psychopath, of a mother and a father and an entire clan of relatives… and hated herself for it.
"Oi, Biwako! Time for lunch!" A voice shouted, making Biwako start.
Naruto was behind her, in the place where her father had been standing when he had acknowledged her, waving at her and asking if something was wrong.
"Coming!" Biwako said, laughing without humor under her breath.
Food was ready; it was Naruto's turn to cook, as usual. The both of them were about equally as good at cooking… which was to say decent, maybe even good but not great; they had split the jobs that way for good reason, though.
After they had eaten, Biwako had a question for Naruto, something she had been curious about for a while. So, she said, "so, Naruto, I told you about who I hate the most. But who is the one you hate the most?" Very interested in his answer.
Naruto didn't even think it over and said, "Yamanaka Maifa!" His face twisting into an ugly expression.
Biwako was surprised. "The Academy's Deputy Headmistress? What did she do?" She said, smelling a story behind this.
Naruto nodded and started speaking again. He said, "you see, it started when Ami and her two cronies tried to bully me. I had weird hang-ups then, like avoiding hitting girls, so they beat me up when they saw I wouldn't react to their taunts the way they wanted. That's when I fought back, hitting Ami in the arm and accidentally snapping it, but a teacher saw the last part and brought me to Maifa's office. Ami's cronies tried to run away, but the teacher -one of the assistants, Mizuki-sensei- was thorough and took everyone to Maifa.
»Maifa questioned us, seemingly to understand what had happened; Ami tried to be excused to go to the hospital, but that woman wouldn't let her. Even the teacher wasn't allowed to leave or tell Ami's parents. It still seemed like I was going to be blamed for everything, though. But when Maifa was told that nobody else had seen what happened, a gleam appeared in her eye.
»Suddenly, none of us could move; I only heard a whisper of 'Shinranshin no jutsu' ('Mind Body Disturbance jutsu'). The teacher asked her what she was doing and why, and I still remember her words. She said, and I quote, 'this boy is an important military asset. I cannot let a lowly bully from a minor clan ruin that. If need be, I will make the girl "disappear" and make her family forget about her'. She… did something to all of them, and afterwards, Ami and her cronies remembered nothing, and she now thinks she broke her arm in a fall. Mizuki-sensei doesn't seem to remember, either – but the man has been- different since then.
»I broke out of the jutsu holding me still in my anger. Maifa simply looked at me with a smile, complimenting my power, for breaking her Shinranshin. For some unknown reason, she didn't try to do anything to my memories, but she did tell me nobody would believe me if I told on her. That might mean she was working alone, but I'm not gonna trust a word that comes out of her mouth. After what happened that day, I realized what Konoha is really like. I've let Iruka-sensei believe that I'm going to protect Konoha's citizens, but the only reasons I haven't left yet is because I have nowhere else to go and Sensei himself. Recognition from them? Ha! Who cares! Sorry I haven't been very open with you."
Biwako was looking at Naruto wide-eyed. The bitterness she saw from him reminded her of when she asked herself, 'why didn't the ANBU or the Hokage notice on that night?'
She asked him, "are you going to take revenge on her?" Looking at him in a new light.
Naruto shook his head. He said, "what's the point? If she's working with the higher-ups, then what am I going to do? Kill the Hokage too? He's the Headmaster of the Academy, after all. If she was working on her own, then she was trying to help me in her own twisted way. Very, very twisted. I still don't get the crap about military assets, though."
"You know what this means, though, right?" Biwako said, smirking, "we need to go to the Uchiha library so that we can research exactly what that bitch meant."
After all, while the main thing the library contained was information on the ninja arts and jutsu, hence it being called the Uchiha Jutsu Library or Uchiha Shinobi Library, it had more than that. Information on various clans, even Konoha's -for some reason, especially Konoha's- memoirs of various Uchiha and more.
Naruto said, "Biwako!" Looking at her with his mouth open; was it that rare for Biwako to use that kind of word? She smiled, or rather smirked again, smug for having flustered Naruto. He then smiled at Biwako shakily and hugged her tightly, chuckling under his breath.
'He's starting to grow on me,' Biwako thought, 'like a fungus,' which made her smirk wider.
