Hello there, welcome to chapter 4. Still with me? Cool, cool. For you "Originals" that read the story pre-2020 this is where things are going to get majorly different from the original plot. Get ready for some Miyako establishing relationships with people fun! The Chuunin exams have begun~
Warning: Sorry, I should've put this in the other chapters, but expect cursing from here on out. There's no gore/ violence in this chapter, but that will be coming as well.
I forgot to clarify this in the other chapters, so I'll go back and do so, but from now moving forward this is the "key":
Thoughts are in italics
Memories/flashbacks are in bold italics
Bold if not for emphasis, is for my beginning/endnotes.
Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine, which is probably a good thing because it would be waaaaaay different.
Danger Zone
Miyako stared up at the ceiling and counted cracks, every part of her was tired, but she didn't want to see the dream-memory play out behind her eyelids over and over again. Deciding it wasn't any use to stay on the floor any longer, and since the sun was already peeking through the curtains of the living room, she crawled from under the coffee table where she'd originally fallen asleep and decided to make breakfast.
With the ingredients they had, Miyako robotically started to cook, her mind buzzing with thoughts on how to move forward. Gaara and the siblings clearly didn't recognize her, which she decided was a good thing. Gaara also, apparently, had some sort of interest in Sasuke Uchiha, which didn't bode well for either party. She also had to dredge up enough useful information for Baki so that he'd keep her around which sounded taxing, but it could prove to her benefit.
Gaara clearly didn't want to execute his part of the plan, whatever that entailed. Miyako bit her lip in thought, if she had to guess, they wanted him to utilize the Shukaku against the Leaf, they hadn't made him that way for nothing. But she got stuck in the why. Why didn't Gaara want to help Suna infiltrate the Leaf village? To be vindictive to his father? Because it didn't fit his own agenda?
To find out she was very well aware that she'd have to establish a relationship with her own master all over again. Did that entail telling him who she really was?
I wish you were in the lamp and couldn't come out
On second thought…maybe she would keep that to herself, for now. Once she figured out how bad off Gaara had become, then she'd decide what to do from there and if/when telling him was a viable option.
For now, she had to establish a new bond with him, and she doubted her original tactic was going to work. He wasn't five any more, kindness didn't seem like it was going to get her very far.
But Sasuke Uchiha on the other hand. She barely held back a groan, as she covered the pots to retain heat until the Sand team woke up. Uchiha were…not her favorite people, and the idea that she would soon be surrounded by them had her gritting her teeth. But she knew that the fastest way to garner Gaara's attention would be to pique his interest with information about his new obsession.
'Seriously, couldn't he have picked someone from a more pleasant clan? The Sarutobi? The Senju? The Hyuuga?'
Sighing, she straightened out her rumpled skirt and fluffed her hair, not that anyone would be seeing it this morning, but you never knew. First thing on the agenda, pay the Uchiha district a visit.
G/M
Miyako was operating on a hunch established 100 years ago, but the Uchiha seemed like possessive creatures and she was certain they hadn't changed much. She recalled when she "worked" with the Senju, that the Uchiha had blocked off an entire territory in the Land of Fire as their stronghold and fought tooth and nail to make sure the Senju couldn't take even a single kilometer away from them.
It was almost like retracing ones steps, once she'd seen past the myriad of buildings that definitely hadn't clustered the land before, the way to the Uchiha district was easy, her body moving her there entirely based on muscle memory. And it ought to remember with all the times she'd had to lay siege here.
She felt it before she saw it, as if passing through a veil some 50 meters before the entrance was the cold permanence of death sinking its fingers into her skin. She grit her teeth to its grip on her mind and plowed forward, more curious than ever.
At the entrance was a sun-worn sign that marked the district as Uchiha, with weathered yellow tape woven across it to deter any curious individuals. It was obvious to Miyako that an Uchiha hadn't stepped foot in this district in years. But what happened?
She phased her body through the tape as if it wasn't there, the only sign being the soft flutter before it settled again. She coolly surveyed her surroundings: broken and hanging signs of shops and fan symbols, little drops of coppered red like beacons on sandy streets, and arcs of it marring the uchiha symbols on several walls.
Murder. Possibly genocide.
The farther she paced into the district the more she started to feel it, the brushes of anguish, despair, anger, all mixed together with frigid air to brush against her. Calling her, begging her.
Miyako ignored them, the ghosts. She couldn't see them but that's only because she didn't want to. Once you opened your eyes to the restless spirits they latched onto you, they would follow you and never leave you alone until you somehow brought them peace. If she was a selfless creature she might consider it, but genies and ghosts didn't mix, a master's wants and desires trumped all.
Only two living auras were still steeped into this environment, one of them felt like that familiar darkness cradling a flame- Sasuke. So she felt him that day when she was tracking Gaara, which meant the other two presences, outside of Kankuro and Temari and the 3 small hummingbirds, were Naruto and Sakura.
She stopped abruptly, eyes widening as the memory of that sheer power washed over her, momentarily banishing the constant cold carress of the dead.
If Naruto was the other chakra there and present at the time of their meeting, and he felt like that, then he must be a jinchuriki. To make matters worse, he felt stronger than Bee, the 8-tails' Jinchuriki, which could only mean he had Kyuubi, and this is where the conundrum began.
Who cared about Sasuke Uchiha when there was a container for the strongest demon walking around? Could Gaara not sense it? Could none of them?
You can't mean Naruto or Sakura. Kurenai's words run through her head and her brow pinched. It was a mystery to her that even advanced ninja didn't consider the boy a threat, would even demean him in the face of others in fact. Did they just not know?
She sighed, rubbing her fingers over her temples.
'Okay, this is…an interesting development isn't it? Obviously the biggest threat to this operation isn't an Uchiha, its Naruto. Now, I could reveal this information to Baki and the others, it would certainly help me get into their good graces, but this boy seems to be highly underestimated, they'd be just as likely to laugh in my face.'
Regardless, Miyako had to focus on one thing at a time. At this point, until she decided what to do with this information, she would see what she could find in the Uchiha district to bring to the others and then maybe she would find Naruto and see what made the boy tick.
G/M
Baki trekked into the living room of their temporary abode to Kankuro trying to drown himself in a pot on the stove. He paused, observing three pots on the stove, a rice cooker that was set to warm and a covered plate all spread out.
Baki pulled Kankuro out of the pot by his hair, eye twitching in slight irritation as he whined and picked up a note with his right, already knowing by the heavenly scent and the lack of other awake members of the household that it had to have been Miyako, their unlikely addition.
Be back later, please enjoy ~Miyako
He had to admit that it not only smelled delicious, but also looked pretty delectable. Two pots were simmering with a miso soup hearty with eggs and chunks of tofu, in a stouter pot were four perfectly grilled salmon, and on the plate were gizzards lightly coated and fried up.
It was a typical breakfast, outside of the gizzards, and this is what made Baki narrow his eyes. Gaara loved gizzards, but very few people knew this, fewer knew exactly how he liked them, and yet this girl they hadn't met before last night had managed to know both.
It could be excused, if she worked as closely with the Kazekage as she claimed she had, it wouldn't be that difficult to figure out what Gaara enjoyed. But still, her presence didn't totally sit right with him even if she had already brought them valuable information. It nagged at him that the Kazekage would send a spy only days before the exams started, if they wanted their own eyes and ears wouldn't it have been more valuable to send her at least a month in advance? Unless he didn't want to cause friction with Orochimaru? Baki had too many questions, but he knew that Miyako was just like this food, though it appeared mouthwateringly appetizing, there was a strong chance it was poisoned, or at the very least, bait to lure them into a false sense of security.
Unfortunately he was dealing with a bunch of deprived teenagers.
Kankuro had weaseled out of his hold while he was deep in thought and was already moaning around the taste of the fish, cheeks stuffed to capacity with every flavor available.
While the idiot struggled to swallow Temari had made it downstairs and was eyeing the scene now, warily.
"Baki? Did you make all of this?" She approached the pots and inspected them, and even she, with all of her practiced stoicism, couldn't hold back a sigh of pleasure.
Kankuro had managed at this point to make his esophagus swallow and burped, causing Temari to wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Pff, as if Baki could be this good a cook." He retrieved a bowl and quickly ladeled the soup inside, slurping it obscenely in lieu of using a spoon. Baki's eye, despite himself, twitched in agitation.
"Ah, that hits the spot. This is better than any of the maids at the Kazekage mansion." He set down his bowl to retrieve a smaller meant for rice and helped himself to a generous portion.
Temari blinked as it dawned on her, "Then if it wasn't you, and it could never be Kankuro-"
"Heigh!" He protested through a mouthful of rice.
"Then Miyako…?" She eyed the pots now with distrust, Baki was glad at least one other person had sense enough to do so.
Kankuro paused in stuffing his gut and swallowed, raising his chopsticks and taking on a lecturing tone. "Now, I know she just got here, but is that anyway to treat a comrade? Hmm?" Temari scoffed, shooting her brother an incredulous look.
"You can't be seriously ignoring the red flags here?"
Kankuro shrugged, "Maybe she isn't totally trustworthy, or maybe we're being paranoid." He talked over his sister's loud snort, "Either way, the food isn't poisoned, so you can't let it go to waste."
Baki had to reluctantly admit that if Kankuro couldn't detect any poisons and he'd eaten it and had no symptoms, then it most likely wasn't poisoned. He was the same idiot kid after all who would had tried to build up an immunity by ingesting as many as he could.
"Besides," he continued around another mouthful of rice, uncaring at Temari's smack to his arm, "if she came back and the food was untouched, she would know that we're suspicious of her. It's better if she feels comfortable and doesn't have her guard up right? That way if she does try something, we'll know." Baki and Temari hummed in noncommittal agreement as they filled china with a serving of the food and sat down at the low table in the kitchen, Temari hauling Kankuro to the table with her, grumbling under her breath about how he should learn some manners and eat properly. Kankuro placed the plate of gizzards in the center of the table, knowing that it was odd Miyako made them. Though he normally didn't care for them, like many others, he reasoned that everything else she'd prepared tasted like the finest ambrosia. With a resolute nod, he popped a gizzard into his mouth and groaned. "Damn, I don't even like gizzards, but somehow these taste divine."
"Gizzards?" A quiet voice pierced through the happy sounds of munching, and the whole team froze and shot their gaze to Gaara, who was lounging against the foot of the stairs with a pensive look on his face.
After recovering from the shock of seeing him willing in their living room, Kankuro put on a brave face and laughed in an attempt to cover up his nervous energy. "You joining us for breakfast little brother?"
"Good morning, Gaara." Baki greeted, also recovering from his shock to go back to savoring the dishes.
"Who made it?" The boy grunted, pacing closer to the still warm food, face looking almost pleased, but still guarded. Kankuro nodded to himself sagely, there were a few times that Temari could make something smell pretty damn good and yet it tasted like rat shit wrapped in an over-ripened, trash juice covered banana peel.
"Miyako," when Gaara didn't react, Kankuro found it necessary to throw in, "the girl from last night."
Gaara turned his gaze from the soup to the gizzards in the center of the table, eyeing his favorite treat with undisguised hunger that made the other three occupants shiver in confusion.
"Ah, do you want some?" Kankuro lifted the plate in his brother's direction and barely held back a squeal as sand snatched it from his hands.
He picked one of the fried gizzards up, inspecting it with the same gaze he gave to enemies just before he sand-coffined them. The three watched with baited breath as he popped it into his mouth, still with the same intense gaze, and chewed.
Aside from the momentary stiffening of his posture, which was gone just as quickly as it came, Gaara made no reaction for a few moments.
"Ah, um," Kankuro was first to recover, as per the usual, "do you not like them? I, myself, thought they were pretty good, so if they aren't to your satisfaction..." Kankuro trailed off as Gaara calmly turned around, plate still in hand, and made his way back up the stairs.
Temari and Baki resumed eating while Kankuro pouted, "but I only got one," he grumbled under his breath. Baki and Temari tried to hold back their snickers.
"Be happy you got any at all." Temari chimed, amazed that anything Gaara did had her laughing at all.
G/M
Miyako expected the Uchiha to disappoint her at this point. Needless to say there wasn't any leftover clues as to what happened to the once prosperous Uchiha clan, and the only thing she knew is that Sasuke definitely didn't live here—no one did. She gave up after a couple of hours of searching, eager to get away from the ghost fingers scrambling at her clothes and the cold pressing into her person and seeping into her veins the longer she stayed.
She breathed a sigh of relief once she was passed the veil, and stopped her running somewhere around 75 meters to come up with a new strategy. Now, she thought, she could try and find Sasuke, but in a village this large attempting to locate him might be like finding a needle in a haystack. Did he stay close to the old clan grounds? Did he move as far away as possible to avoid the memories? Who knows honestly.
Or, she could attempt to locate Naruto. Which, after a few more moments of thought, might actually be easier considering what a massive presence he possessed. She was sure his chakra signature probably left clear indicators all over town, like a dog marking its territory. Or would it be more appropriate to say fox?
Either way, if he was a creature of habit, his aura would be blaring in the spots of town he frequented, "hotspots" if you will. Miyako knew it would be much harder if she were trying to find someone more normal, say like Kankuro and Temari, but for Jinchuriki like Naruto and Gaara it was like they were wearing signs that said "HERE I AM".
She expected more of a challenge, but after only searching for half an hour, the signature nearly knocked her over. She tucked herself in a nearby alley, pretending to straighten her skirt, when really she was trying to fight through the intense radius of his presence to lock into his specific location. The whole street reeked of what Miyako, now that she was facing it head on and not dampened through another person, would call wild blossoms. If being connected to Gaara made her feel like she was on a caffeine high, feeling Naruto's chakra made her feel like she was on ten different uppers. Like she could race across the country and back and she'd still be shaking with energy.
She had to close her eyes and breathe, once, twice. In through the nose, out through the mouth. It was so overwhelming and she had to scrunch herself into a ball to keep from approaching him, her fingers twitching and her feet shuffling in his direction on autopilot.
Finally she was able to fight through the desire to get closer, and thus through the outer ring of his presence. The streets were littered with little shops and businesses, but further down, bathed in his aura, was what looked to be a stall, some sort of eating establishment. She could faintly detect 3 others drenched in Naruto's aura as well. Two of them felt ordinary and tasted of aromatic broth and a hint of sweat, the stand owners most likely. The other was enwrapped in Naruto's aura firmly, someone most likely who had more contact, it didn't feel like Sakura, who she assumed was the tears and licorice she felt that day. This person felt more like comfort and strict love; Miyako was reminded of the time her mother was teaching her self-defense, and had swatted her right in the mouth for disregarding her lessons. Right after she had said, in her always smooth, even tone, that she wouldn't always be there to protect her, and that Miyako had to take keeping herself safe seriously so she wouldn't worry her father.
She had the faint taste of lemon squares in her mouth as moved from her spot, casually walking down a street parallel to the previous, before jumping onto a roof just adjacent to the shop.
Again she had to re-adjust to Naruto's aura, being so close to it made her so heady and dizzy all over again that she had to put her head between her knees and clutch her fingers to them just so she wouldn't scramble inside and give herself away. It took a little longer, but when she was calm enough, she enhanced her hearing and crouched down low to avoid being seen from any angle.
"Ah, Naruto, slow down." She heard a man say, though through his scolding he sounded fond. The comforting lemon-square presence then, she guessed.
Unintelligible mumbling met the man's concern, causing him to sigh.
"Naruto! You shouldn't overeat, the Chuunin exams start tomorrow and you don't know what they'll have you do. You wouldn't want to miss anything because of an upset stomach."
A gulping and satisfied sigh then Naruto said, "but Iruka-sensei is treating me, so I have to make the most of it!"
So lemon-square must be an old sensei Naruto was close to, most likely an Academy teacher, and they were close. It was kind of cute to Miyako.
"Baka! I won't treat you anymore if you don't pass the exams!" Iruka proclaimed, causing the boy to whine about how he was "growing" and that "Iruka-sensei was so unfair", but still promising that he was going to "crush these exams" because nothing would stop him from "becoming Hokage, believe it!"
'Perplexing, if this Iruka has known Naruto since early childhood, than surely he must know about the Kyuubi? Assuming Naruto has housed the demon all his life.' What was even more interesting to her was how intertwined their auras were, in not only that it seemed Naruto cared for Iruka, but that Iruka cared for and was protective of Naruto.
Her thoughts instantly turned bitter, a dark shadow looming over her face at how…different the two Jinchurikis lives she was now faced with had turned out. Naruto was harboring perhaps the most dangerous demon of the nine and yet, he seemingly had the love of this man despite this. It reminded her of what Yashamaru and Gaara's situation should've been like—Gaara was owed that love just as Naruto was, and yet no one in Suna could step up and give it to him? No one in Suna bothered to try as this man must've. If he knew about the Kyuubi, than Miyako knew that he must've fought through his own prejudices, and everyone else's judgments, and seen Naruto for Naruto. So why— her brows pinched, her knuckles tightening on the roof's edge as the two departed the stand, an older man in blue and green, Iruka, gave Naruto a brief squeeze that Naruto, a kid in orange of all colors, playfully fought—why did Gaara have to find a lamp and wish on a genie to receive that same recognition?
She let out a long breathe as the two separated into two different directions, Naruto jogging off right and Iruka watching him a few seconds with undeniable fondness you'd have to be blind not to see, before about facing and walking off left.
Miyako let out a long breath as soon as she couldn't feel Iruka and then set off in pursuit of Naruto, curious on where he would go next.
G/M
'I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but it's become obvious to me now why the Jounin think Naruto isn't much to sneeze at.'
Miyako had been following Naruto for a good hour, first watching as he went to the convenience store to buy copious packages of instant ramen and milk.
'No wonder he's so short, does this child not eat vegetables? Can he not afford vegetables?' But her pitying thoughts soon took a turn when she saw how fat his wallet was and her eye starting twitching. 'Typical teenage boy.'
Then on his way back to his apartment he'd gotten sidetracked by the a pink-haired girl who's presence let her know that this was Sakura. They spoke for a few minutes, with Naruto pleading at the end that they should go on a date before the exams for good luck.
"Baka! As if I'd want to go on a date with a loser like you!" And then Sakura's aura had changed from tears and licorice to an overwhelming cinnamon that had Miyako slightly gagging at its sudden strength. She bopped Naruto on the head so hard he developed a knot before stomping off, taking her cinnamon spice with her.
The boy whined pitifully, rubbing his head and moped all the rest of the way to his apartment. Miyako idly wondered why the boy would take that sort of abuse from a girl who wasn't even that cute.
'I'm sure if anyone thought of calling Gaara a loser now they'd be choked by sand.' She also lamented that maybe the boy was a glutton for punishment and had bad taste, he seemed to favor ramen too much so that had to explain it. 'I hate boys, how the hell is he not bloated with all that sodium?'
After that he made his way to the training grounds, nearly careening into a small child who felt slightly familiar to Miyako. After a few minutes of study she surmised this must've been the boy Kankuro bullied when they'd first entered the village. It made sense because together they sounded like two airhorns fighting for dominance. Kankuro, if she remembered correctly, hated excessively loud obnoxious people- actually, the Sand siblings seemed to all hate excessive people. Which was ironic considering Kankuro seemed like he'd become pretty obnoxious himself. Thoughts for another time.
The child seemed to revere the ground the blonde walked on, calling him "boss" and even unconsciously mirroring his movements as they practically shouted in each other's faces about how excited they were for tomorrow. The blonde eventually excused himself to get in some last minute training, but not without shouting out goodbyes and "believe its" all the while.
'Finally, now, let's see what you can do.' She made a home on a tree, high enough to see, but not even to be seen. The next half an hour was the boy practicing hand-to-hand combat with…well himself, using the shadow clone technique, and weapons training.
'Is this all he knows how to do? No advanced techniques?' She tried to keep herself from judgment, it could be possible that the boy had something else up his sleeve, and the Shadow clone technique was technically advance for a Genin. He seemed tireless, and he certainly had the chakra for it, but if this was all he could do, she could understand why the Jounin didn't think he'd pose much of a threat to the other students participating in the exams.
At this present state she'd be no match for Gaara, but she couldn't deny the boy was a hard worker, and there was something…attractive about him.
Even now, just under her skin, her instincts were pushing at her to do something stupid, like introduce herself to him. And how would that look? What would she even say? She doubted the child was too fond of Suna ninja after his run in with Kankuro.
But she noticed while following him that it wasn't just her that was being pulled to him, discounting the people who already seemed wrapped around his finger— Iruka, the small boy, and to some extent Sakura— everyone he'd passed by had a lingering stare for him, the convenience store clerk, random people passing by, and not all of them looked like wariness or fear. A good handful of them were annoyance, but a large chunk of them were also wonder, fascination, quiet study. Even if these people never approached or talked to Naruto they noticed him, and it was hard not to because he had taken on the role of village idiot quite well, and was, again, loud. But even when that boy was minding his own business, people's eyes still followed him, there was something magnetic about him, and she wasn't entirely sure if it was the demon's doing or if his personality just commanded that much attention.
She would've continued to try and figure him out if she hadn't felt the familiar presence of melancholy right on top of her.
Knowing it wasn't a good idea for Naruto to notice she'd been following him, she launched herself off the tree and quickly through the foliage, tearing through the forest until she was back in civilization and then abruptly stopped.
She backed her own self into a fencepost, hands in sheepish surrender as Kakashi appeared in front of her, one eye blazing in controlled contempt.
"Okay, okay. Chase over, see?" She waved her upheld palms in emphasis.
"Why were you following Naruto?" He crowded her into the fence, shoulders tensed despite the hands in his pockets in an attempt to make it seem to the outside world that they were just having a casual, albeit close, conversation.
Miyako rapidly calculated how long she thought the he must've been following her to figure that out. Could she get away with lying? Saying she merely went to the nearest training grounds and happened to see Naruto there and couldn't resist taking a little peek?
But, she hadn't sensed Kakashi until he was within yards of her. It was possible that he'd been concealing himself until he wanted to be found, which meant he could've been tracking her the entire time and had only decided to act because he thought that she was either going to see something she shouldn't or that she was a threat.
The best thing to do, she reasoned as he lorded over her, one arm trapping her against the fence, was to endear herself to him.
"You caught me." She splayed her palms against the fence by her hips, looking up at him innocently. "I was spying on him, just gathering intel is all. I didn't think it would be such a…sore subject." She titled her head down and lowered her eyes. "Sorry."
Kakashi was still tense, obviously not totally buying her act, she guessed she needed to lay it on a little thicker. "Were you hoping to have something to bring back to the Sand team?" He grunted.
"Well, I was originally looking for Sasuke," that wasn't a total lie, "from the way you four talked I was a little intrigued. But I found Naruto instead, and was curious about why exactly no one took him seriously."
"How would you know how to find Sasuke?" Kakashi's left arm twitched, presumably towards his kunai pouch.
"I…may have asked the siblings for a description." She shrugged. "Truly, I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers, I just wanted to see what had garnered such admiration." She pouted a little. "I mean, when you're a foreign nation surrounded by eyes assessing you and your power, it's only fair to even the playing field a little, right?"
Kakashi grunted, but rocked back, something in her answer seeming to assuage him, but only a little. "We have a treaty." He reminded.
"Still, we all know what the Chuunin exams are really for. Anything that can be used to raise the…opinion of those who hire us should be used to the fullest advantage." Miyako watched as Kakashi stuck his hand back in his pocket and mentally noted that the way to deal with him from now on would be to go the route of logic.
"I really meant your student no harm," she continued to promise, "and I don't intend to put any…strain on Suna and Konoha's relationship." She relaxed slightly, leaning back on the fence to appraise Kakashi as he appraised her. "You don't seem to like me very much."
Kakashi further deflated, rolling his shoulders back some and pointedly looking away. "Too much foreigh power in the village tends to put a man on edge." He excused.
"I understand." She soothed. "Perhaps we started on the wrong foot, maybe if I make my intentions clear you'll feel a bit more…at ease?" She let a little note of hope float in there, though she wasn't foolish. Kakashi seemed like the type of person who wasn't eager to go around making friends with just anyone, especially not "foreign powers" as he called it. The man was more perceptive than he even knew.
"I welcome your attempt." He countered, though his posture screamed "not going to happen".
"Yes, I was sent to…assess the other countries power, in an effort to be prepared for the future. We all have to know what we're competing against right? Even if we are on friendly terms, there's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. I expect no less from the proctors who are about to administer these exams. Your shinobi will be taking careful report of our shinobi, therefore I will do the same." Miyako shrugged.
Kakashi, it seemed, couldn't argue with that logic and backed up completely. She could see the wall he was building up, now that he'd gotten an answer, albeit an answer she knew he didn't really believe in the slightest, he was going to make sure she was at arm's length at all times. Miyako felt a strange little tickle in her gut, something that was pushing her to ensure he didn't get too far from her.
"I really do want you to know that as an ally to the Leaf I am more than happy to lend a hand in anyway." She pushed off the wall, chasing him just slightly. "How about now? Is there something I can help you with?"
He eyed her coolly, hands back in pockets, seeming to be in thought. "Not at the moment." He drawled.
As Miyako was preparing to open her mouth to continue this little game of cat-and-mouse, an exclamation from an all too familiar voice interrupted their moment.
"AHA! I Have Found You At Last Kakashi!"
Gai was at the intersection, halting all onlookers with his display of, what he would probably describe as "youth", hand on hip, finger jabbed in their direction in manly triumph. Miyako looked back at Kakashi to see that he had deflated, shoulders visibly sagging in annoyance. She barely held back her mirth.
"What about me, Gai-san? Am I being ignored?" She teased, sending the fired-up man into a more contrite posture.
"Ahh, Miyako-san Forgive Me! I Was So Intent On Finding My Rival That I Forgot My Manners!" And then he bowed, manly tears cascading down his cheeks in rivers all the while.
"Well," she mused as she felt Kakashi making a quick escape, "I guess I can overlook it just this once."
'You totally owe me for that later, Hatake.'
Gai gave another blinding smile and looked back up to continue challenging his rival, but paled when there was no sight of the man.
"KAKASHIIIIII!" Gai's knees hit the ground, and Miyako was sure his wails could be heard across Konoha.
"Now, now, Gai-san, this is totally unnecessary." Miyako sympathetically patted the man on the back. "Up with you, what did you need Kakashi-san for anyway?"
The man dejectedly followed her instructions and she led him off, figuring now would be a good a time as any to learn more about Kakashi, the man who wisely didn't trust her and needed to be watched like a hawk.
"As My Eternal Rival, We Often Issue One Another Challenges." Gai puffed up like a peacock, "Right Now We Are Tied, But With These Chuunin Exams, I Know I Can Pull Ahead!"
Miyako tried to imagine the man, who just fled at the mere sight of Gai, issuing the flamboyant man a challenge, but her brain did not compute such an impossibility.
"Right," she drawled, "and what kind of challenge were you planning to issue him that had to do with the Chuunin exams?"
He stopped in their walk to pose once again, finger pointed to the sun and leg propped up on a conveniently placed stone in the pathway. "I Was Going To Challenge Him By Way Of Our Precious Students! I Know That More Of My Team Will Pass The Exams!" Then he shot her a bright smile and a thumbs up.
Miyako tilted her head while Gai continued. "Not That I Underestimate Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan, But My Team Simply Has More Experience And Is Bound To Excel!" He fist pumped and a wave crashed behind him out of nowhere, but somehow after nearly 24 hours to digest it, Miyako wasn't surprised any longer at how Gai was able to make these things happen. Maybe it was a Genjutsu? Who knew really.
"More experience?" Gai nodded enthusiastically.
"I've Held My Team Back For The Recommended Year So They Can Gain The Experience Necessary To Go Into The Chuunin Exams. Kakashi, Kurenai And Asuma Have Recommended Their Teams With Only 6 Months Of Experience." He nodded sagely, finger in the air as the recommenced their walk.
'Huh, so maybe that's why Naruto didn't seem to have advanced ninjutsu? But I didn't get to observe for very long, maybe Kakashi apprehended me at that time because he thought Naruto was going to reveal something he'd rather I not know.' The possibilities swirled in her head, but she knew she wouldn't get the answers unless she tried to outsmart the man, and that seemed like it would be both difficult and time consuming.
"There's still plenty of time to find him and challenge him Gai-san, I'll even help you." Miyako offered, because truly Gai was a wealth of information on his rival, and seemed more than willing to share to any sympathetic ear willing to listen.
So she naturally asked him all about Kakashi, under the guise of questions to fluff his ego. "Who came up with the brilliant idea to issue challenges?" "How long have you the two of you been locked in this constant battle of youth?" "Does Kakashi-san think he's better than you or something?"
That last one really got him fired up.
"My Rival Is A Genius You See, A Prodigy From a Young Age. He Made Chuunin At Only Six Years Old, And He Is Known Throughout The Lands As The CopyCat Ninja."
'Jackpot, where could this Copycat ninja title have come from Kakashi? Someone sounds like they have a thrilling past they aren't willing to share.' Miyako was starting to understand where the little brushes of death that traveled through her consciousness like jolts when Kakashi was around meant. If this man was as gifted as Gai's rant would have Miyako believe, then he'd been staring down and spitting in the face of death before he even made it through puberty.
'Reminds me a bit of someone else I know.' But she couldn't get sidetracked on thoughts of Gaara right now.
"I suppose you're not going to elaborate on that nickname?" Miyako at this point had her arm linked with Gai's as they skipped through the village, an exercise Gai had proposed that would not only stretch their muscles, but "open up the gates of youth" by "embracing the glee of childhood" or something like that.
"That Is A Story For My Rival To Tell Miyako-chan." The "chan" had been naturally added at some point in their conversation and Miyako wasn't going to correct him, the more he trusted the better.
"Gai? Miyako?" The duo halted their skipping in front of Asuma and Kurenai, who were, surprise, surprise, together.
"Do I want to know what you two are doing?" Asuma mouthed around his cigarette.
"Actually, we're on a mission, Asuma-san." Miyako said quite seriously, causing the two to blink in curiosity.
"A mission…to find Kakashi-san and challenge him!" She crowed, attempting to copy the signature Gai pose, which she had learned was coined Nice Guy©.
Gai was elated, praising her posture, giving her small pointers on making the sparkle a bit larger next time, showing her the perfect way to lunge in her next attempt, which she absorbed with rapt attention.
"Uh…" Asuma scratched his head, looking between the two quite nervously. If Gai managed to ruin another kid with his antics they'd never hear the end of it.
Miyako nodded quite seriously and after the mini lesson was over, she addressed their additional companions with renewed vigor.
"Yes, we're going to challenge Kakashi-san—" She suddenly detected his presence, and whirled around to find him frozen at the end of the street, seemingly detecting them the same time she detected him.
"THERE HE IS!" She cried happily and Gai took off like a cheetah in his direction, the ensuing chase was hilarious to Miyako who was crying she was laughing so hard.
"I…need a drink." Asuma mumbled underneath his breath.
"Asuma-san, it's only 2 p.m." Miyako deadpanned, her look slightly judging.
"Hey, hey, it's the day before the exams, the bars are open early!" He protested. "Come on, call those two over here and they you can watch Gai challenge Kakashi to another drinking contest and lose."
Miyako's eyes sparkled at the possibilities of the information she could pull from the two of them when they were drunk, but mostly the blackmail material she would inevitably have for future use.
"Oh Gai-san, Kakashi-san~! Let's go!"
G/M
Despite Miyako having nothing to drink last night afternoon, wait, when did she come back? Nevermind that. Being that she's a minor and all, she still groaned the next morning when she was harshly shaken awake. She cracked her eyelids open to find Baki grinning mercilessly down at her.
"Wake up, I have an errand I need you to run."
She slowly pushed herself up from the mat she'd been so thoughtfully provided last night, she guessed they appreciated her breakfast, and rubbed her eyes.
"What kind of errand?" She grumbled sleepily, last night being just as un-kind to her as the one previous, with happy memories of she and Gaara dancing in her head, only for his voice to repeat that damned wish and rip everything apart.
"I need you to take this down to Temari at the Academy, that's where they're holding the first exam."
She wasn't going to ask the obvious, which was, why can't you do it? Even with a sleep-addled brain she knew this was a test. Did the tiny scroll he was holding out to her contain any actual information of use? Probably not, but that wasn't of consequence, it was clear that they wanted to see if she would tamper with it and look at the contents.
"Fine. Just let me shower first." She hobbled away before he could speak, knowing that the warm spray would wake her up enough to help her formulate her plans for the day.
Yesterday had been…mildly successful. Sure she had the information that she wanted, but if her goal was to keep Baki off her back she couldn't really present him anything.
As she loofah-ed her skin mechanically she went through her options, sleepy grunts being the only commentary in the otherwise empty bathroom.
'Let's see, what do I know so far? The Uchiha clan has been massacred, but I don't have a "who", aside from the fact that it wasn't Sasuke. But this could already be common knowledge. If I take the risk of presenting this to Baki, it could make me look incompetent, so that's out of the question.'
She grunted as she stretched her limbs to scrub her back.
'But what I do know for a fact is that the Sand team doesn't seem aware that Naruto is a Jinchuriki, despite the fact that they've already had a run-in with him and his team. This is invaluable, warning the Sand now mitigates whatever risk Naruto might pose, allows time for higher ups to plan a counter-strike should the need arise. The only issue is, Naruto isn't seen as a threat by…well anyone. Even if they bought into the idea with no proof, they'd reason that Naruto doesn't know how to handle the demon enough to pose a threat, which from what I've seen may be true.' Still, information didn't necessarily have to be presented with reasoning, she shouldn't have to argue with anyone about the validity of a general claim. What someone did with the information they were presented with was their own prerogative.
The only thing that held her back was how alike but different Naruto and Gaara were in their situations. Naruto was free and determined, Gaara was resigned and set in his ways.
'Is it possible…to influence Gaara into seeing things Naruto's way?' In theory it had to be, Naruto lived on his own, so Miyako surmised that he was an orphan, and yet he was so much happier than Gaara who, aside from his mother, had been surrounded by family. She didn't know how Naruto had done it, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that it must be connected to the people that loved him, despite the demon.
She turned off the water and dried herself slowly, staring her uncovered face down in the mirror as she thought. She finally shook her head at several intense minutes of study.
'I can't do anything yet, I have to gather more data before I attempt to make any sort of plan.'
Miyako returned to the ground floor fresh not only in cleanliness, but fresh in mind and spirits. This errand would be good, she decided. She clearly needed to be involved in these Chuunin exams as much as possible, so she could achieve what mattered to her more even Gaara's wish.
'I understand you alright, and I'm going to get you out of this senseless killing haze and back to the sweet boy I knew if it's the last thing I do.'
G/M
Getting to the Academy and up to Temari wasn't hard. There were constant streams of Genin traversing the floors before the allotted time, so she just breezed in with them like it was nothing. The siblings were leant against one of the long tables towards the middle of the room. Gaara had his eyes closed and his now normal perma-scowl etched onto his face. Temari was tightening the screws on her fan to his left, a look of intense concentration on her face. To Gaara's right, Kankuro was sighing, clearly already bored. The room was filling up quickly, though the siblings were given a wide berth, obviously sensing Gaara's clear malice.
Miyako could've pretended to be looking for a seat and slipped the scroll to Temari undetected, but she was feeling rather playful this morning, so she hopped through a few open spaces and landed on her haunches right in front of the three, giving a cheeky wave in response to their obvious horror.
"Miyako, what the hell?" Temari hissed, very aware of all the eyes on them now.
"You didn't even say bye to me before you took off this morning!" She whined, smoothly sliding to sit on the table, despite Temari's clear warning glare.
"So I came to wish you good luck!" She finished, eyes arching into "u"s as she grabbed Temari's hand between the two of hers, stealthily slipping the scroll inside her sleeve in one fluid motion.
Temari groaned in irritation, but resolutely nodded her head. "Thanks." It obviously wasn't for the good luck.
"Oh, I never got to ask." She hopped back into a crouch on the desk, smiling a little too widely in Gaara's direction, who had popped one eye open to assess her, though he still looked very bored.
"How was breakfast yesterday? Did you like it?" She made sure to look at them all equally with as much interest as possible.
Kankuro easily stretched forward and grasped her shoulders, Miyako tottered a bit, but managed to maintain her posture despite how much Kankuro was shaking.
"Please, if you can, make breakfast every day." He nodded vigorously. "And lunch." He thought about it for a second. "And dinner."
Miyako cheerfully pried his hands off of her shoulders, "no promises, but thanks!" She gave Temari and Gaara expectant looks, and Temari only grumbled that it was fine and she wasn't going to go overboard by asking her to be their maid or something, she wasn't Kankuro.
But who is she kidding, all she cared about was Gaara's opinion.
She was very well aware of how…risky it could've been to make gizzards when it wasn't necessarily a popular dish. Hell, she knew most people didn't like it, including herself. But her motivation had been to make Gaara smile, and if she wanted him to establish some sort of relationship with her, it was best to cater to at least some of his whims.
Yet, Gaara gave no mention of what he thought, only opened the other eye to gaze at her steadfastly for a few tense moments, mostly tense for everybody else, before turning his head away.
"Go, you're attracting too much attention." He mumbled in that sudden gruff, dark voice he'd developed. Lord help her when he finished puberty, because if he sounded like that now.
"You're no fun." Miyako pouted, but sighed and gave them one last parting wave at Gaara's insistent glare, still beaming as she skipped away.
G/M
Leaving the Academy should not have been the issue.
Miyako had just made it down the stairs to witness a boy in green spandex get knocked to the ground. 'This must be Lee.' Though she arched her brow, if the kid was supposed to be a Taijutsu expert, she doubted he would just let himself be pushed around without reason. She moved back slightly to watch from the shadows, interest definitely piqued.
Helping him up was a girl in pink, Tenten, and a boy with the most luscious locks she'd seen and those famous Hyuuga eyes, Neji.
She missed what the girl said, but she was knocked to the ground as well, just in time for three others to waltz up the stairs.
She was immediately hit with Naruto's presence, forcing herself not to bow to its intensity, she squinted and made out the others with him, darkness and licorice, Sasuke and Sakura.
She blinked back the haze that had come over her vision momentarily and surveyed the scene again. She immediately knew that Sasuke was an Uchiha, the dark eyes, the dark hair, stereotypical handsomeness' haughty attitude. Oh, and he had the Uchiha crest taking up half of his back.
The aggressors, two Chuunin who had mischief dancing between them like friends who were as close as brothers and clearing pretending to be genin, exchanged words with the Uchiha, he turned to Sakura, and she exclaimed that it was after all only the second floor. Something happened out of Miyako's sight, but it had the rest of the crowd exclaiming in wonder.
'But why are two Chuunin pretending to be Genin anyway? To weed out people?' Konoha ninja sure got their giggles from strange things.
She blinked and suddenly one of the Chuunin was aiming a kick at Uchiha, just when the Uchiha was going to attempt to counter with a kick of his own, Lee appeared amongst them, holding each offender's leg on either side of him.
'Well he's certainly as fast as Gai proclaims he is.' She casually moved closer to the scene to better hear the exchange between the two genin teams. After all, these were the Konoha ninja the senseis seemed to agree would take the whole exams.
"You said you didn't want to attract attention, this wasn't the plan." Neji's voice was melodic even in reprimand.
"I know but…" The mini-Gai suddenly looked straight at Sakura, blushing intensely and Miyako had to hold herself back from banging her head against the wall. Kids these days.
"I'm Rock Lee, your name is Sakura, right?" When Sakura made no move to agree or disagree, Lee continued on with his speech, striking the Nice Guy© pose with perfection. "Please go out with me! I swear I can protect you with my life."
Miyako had to hold back her laughter at Sakura's blunt rejection, claiming the boy was too intense. She huddled herself into a corner to stifle her giggles, wondering if Gai was around so she could poke fun at him about his student's absolute lack of tact.
She missed some of the conversation at this point, but it looked like now Neji and Sasuke were conversing, Lee and Naruto were pouting against the wall, and Sakura and Tenten were both just ready to get this over with.
Sure that nothing interesting was going to happen past this point, Miyako made to leave, passing by the group casually as if she hadn't just been eavesdropping the entire time. So lost was she in her thoughts on teasing Gai, she didn't realize the Chuunin wanted to play with her too until he was suddenly grabbing her arm.
"Hmm, already giving up? I thought Suna genin were more tenacious than this." The same instigator that moved to strike Sasuke was now sizing her up. Miyako turned her head to see that the remaining genin on the floor were watching the scene with rapt attention, and she sighed.
"Perhaps that would apply to me if I was a Suna genin, however, I am a Jounin, and I would advise you to take your hands off of me, Leaf Chuunin." She smirked at his little sound of disbelief, though he didn't lift his transformation.
"Don't you know it isn't nice to disrespect your elders, brat?" He sneered, tightening his hold on her arm.
Miyako sighed heavily and then, with barely a twitch of her magic, ran a current of electricity up her arm and straight through the man, who dislodged himself from her with a cry.
"Don't you know that bugs get zapped?" She purred, pulling her hair over her shoulder and winking down at the fallen boy, who gaped up at her from the ground.
She turned her head to regard the various reactions of the two Leaf teams, shooting them a wink of their own.
"Good luck Team Kakashi and Team Gai, you're going to need it." And then she walked down the stairs with a dark laugh.
G/M
Kabuto pulled his eyes from the unbothered Sand team, brows creasing as he recalled the interaction they shared not ten minutes ago with that strange girl.
'It seems Baki has not kept us informed of this new…development.' Kabuto didn't know this girl, which in and of itself wasn't much of a problem, but to appear so close to the Sand siblings, a vital key to their plan, he had to wonder how she'd managed to slip under their radar and accomplish that. She didn't seem to be a genin participating in the exams, and was shacked up with the siblings if their conversation was anything to go by. She was a potential problem that needed to be solved, and quickly.
'But', he sighed to himself, throwing a sidelong glance at the gathering of the Rookie Nine at the entrance, barely containing a grin as Naruto made his loud declaration. 'I can't just go and investigate right now, can I?' The things he did for his Lord Orochimaru.
Oh well, there was still time, he'd find out exactly who this new pawn was, and crush her himself.
Oooooh, Kabuto making plans y'all. Eeek. Let me know what you thought of the chapter with a review please. I love constructive criticism, lol. See you in the next one!