Unsung Story of the Inconspicuous

A/N: Thankyou to my beta, Vanya Starwind- I don't deserve you. That being said, don't kill me.

I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, storylines or affiliates.


Several weeks after her impromptu escape and the lapsing of her teammates into a sort of uneasy peace, Raiku was called before the head of their family. Weeks of extra training and grueling physical punishment under the guise of preparation from Yamada had made even what seemed like an innocuous request highly suspicious, and she made her way to the official meeting point with her guard up and her paranoia in full force.

Raiku sat at the short desk, long spindly legs bent painfully to fit under it. She stared from her tiny chair up at the Gairano family patriarch, his brown eyes looking back without a shred of mercy visible within.

'Hey Dad,' she greeted.

'Raiku,' he nodded. He took a few casual steps towards the blackboard behind him, upon which was written a familiar list. The room they were in had no windows, a single steel door and almost painfully bright lighting to make everything look even more sparse than it already was. The room contained only the blackboard, the chair and desk that Raiku used now.

He extended the stainless steel pointer and gestured to the first item on the list. 'I think you've already forgotten several very important lessons during your short time as a shinobi. First duty of a Gairano is what?'

'"Use any means necessary to avoid the grasp of the Genematrix",' she supplied promptly.

His eyes glinted. 'Second duty?'

'"Stay away from that Naruto boy, we know trouble when we see it".'

'Good,' he said, jerking the pointer down to the third. 'Third duty?'

'"No brooding, but for in the compulsory brooding times of four until five every second weekday",' she answered.

'Fourth?'

'"Absolutely no shinobi Love Interests".'

'Fifth?'

'"Avoid all traumatic incidents and remain emotionally optimistic to avoid drama".'

'Sixth?'

Raiku opened her mouth, then paused. She frowned. 'There is no sixth duty.'

'There is now,' he said grimly, whipping the pointer up to the new role emblazoned on the blackboard. 'So the sixth duty is?'

'"Raiku",' she read, expression dubious. '"Keep your damn hands to yourself",' she sighed. 'Is that really necessary?'

'Clearly,' he said firmly. 'I got a message from Yamada today. You're going to be training this power of yours. Does that seem like a bad idea to you? Because it seems like a bad idea to us.'

She gaped at him. 'It'll let me stay as a shinobi! It'll allow me to maybe not have to dress like a nun!'

'It'll make you an unbalanced character,' he warned disapprovingly. 'Think about it.'

'I honestly don't see how this could be a bad thing,' she said stubbornly.

'Think of Naruto learning how to harness his Kyuubi power,' he prompted, collapsing the pointer and sliding it into a pocket.

'That's hardly the same thing!' she protested. 'That'll make him undefeatable! This'll just make me cooler in the summer!'

He studied her with shrewd eyes. 'That's all you want to learn?' he asked suspiciously.

'Yes!' she said, exasperated.

There was a long silence as they glared at each other.

'You've got an assignment,' he said eventually, looking away. Raiku relished the small victory, her own electric blue gaze still smugly resting on his face. 'Where?'

'Downtown. Family member gone AWOL,' he said, scratching the side of his nose absently. She nodded sagely. That was the problem when a member of the family decided to seize their own Plot- the ability to see them meant they could pick and choose the end they wanted, which may entail unpleasant means. The most dramatic Plots usually involved civic destruction and deaths, which of course the Gairano family was billed for.

In fact, the Gairano family was billed for everything. The destruction caused by the sealing of the Kyuubi? Billed. The funeral expenses of the Yondaime that fell that day? Billed. The only reason civic utilities were kept so inexpensive was the fact that the Gairano family was paying for most of them to be repaired constantly.

Naruto was undoubtedly the biggest drain on their resources. The Gairano accountants cursed the day that blonde boy got it in his head to be a shinobi, but nonetheless paid for his education behind his back and found themselves receiving countless bills for ramen once Ichiraku found out their mailing address.

The ability to pay for it stemmed from the endless supply of low-brow missions they made it their jobs to receive. And while every time a high-class missing-nin came to town there were more Gairano casualties than anyone else, that was an acceptable risk.

The only thing the Gairano asked of the administrative offices of the Hokage was the ability and freedom to pursue their calling when it didn't interfere with their job- the maintaining of the separation from the Genematrix. Which meant if this particular family member gone AWOL refused to reject or withdraw from their plot there was the distinct possibility that they would be killed, their body dragged to an unmarked grave and their family left uninformed as to their fate.

To leave the family didn't mean the family left you.

'Her name's Mura,' her father said, waving a dismissive hand to give her permission to escape the tiny, constricting desk. 'Typical A-motive, she's gone for a longwinded and dramatic plot.'

A-motive: the most common motive of any sort of Gairano Plot-thief.

Love.

Being a Gairano meant a life free from torture and drama, but it also meant a life free of great loves and captivating Love Interests. Being a Gairano could be lonely, especially when the Gairano chose to be a shinobi. Being a Gairano shinobi meant maintaining a huge emotional distance, simply because the average shinobi could transmit Drama over distances up to a hundred miles.

Raiku nodded slowly, absorbing the information. 'We have a lock on the Interest she's hijacked?' she asked after a moment. He nodded. 'Jounin by the name of Shiranui Genma. He won't get in your way, so you're not at risk. Early days of the plot,' he added by way of explanation.

'What do you want me to do?' she asked. He shrugged. 'She's a good kid- she just got lonely. Convince her to come home.'

Raiku had never been asked to kill anyone, but it was only a matter of time. She didn't view it with contempt- she'd been raised to not really have strong views on anything. Views, as everyone knew, led to Stances on things, and those were far more trouble than they were worth.

A lifestyle this boring took endless work to maintain.

Instead Raiku had been raised to believe that as everyone died, killing was simply speeding up the natural process. Human life had value, of course, because to believe anything else led to Angst-Plots and Drama Rankings, but that value was a matter of perspective.

Everything was a matter of perspective.

'I've gotten you the address,' her father added, sliding a piece of paper over to her. 'Anyone asks, you tell them the truth: you're visiting a family member.'

'Got it.'

'You can stop by after training.'

'I'm training late,' she reminded him instantly. 'Extra training, remember?'

He rolled his eyes. 'After that, then.'

'What if it runs even later?'

'Make sure it doesn't.'

'But what if it does?'

'Then wake her up!' he exclaimed in frustration. 'She knows you're coming, and seeing it's you instead of one of our Equalisers should be a relief for her!'

"Equalisers". Private equivalents of ANBU, who skulked around assassinating unbalanced characters and stopping the great Plot from coming to fruition until Naruto was ready. Equalisers, the personal enforcers of the Gairano family who quietly and quickly dispatched the cronies of each Nemesis to allow a dramatic confrontation to take place with their Protagonist.

Also, coincidentally, the silent dispatchers of Plot Abusers.

'Alright,' she said reluctantly, tightening the band around her wrist. 'Anything else?'

'Drink plenty of water. Today's going to be very hot and the last thing you need is another stay in hospital,' he advised, stifling a grin and receiving a vile look in response. 'We can't afford to keep replacing walls.'

'Got it,' she grumbled unhappily, yanking her forehead protector on with a distinctly disgruntled air. It was useless to try and point out that Yamada had broken the wall and every Gairano hated useless statements.

It came from years of exposure to monologues.

'Now get out of here before I change my mind,' he said, flapping his hands at her dismissively. She raised an eyebrow but complied, yanking the heavy steel open with some difficulty and squeezing through the small gap out into the hall.

It really looked out of place, this steel door in the middle of a normal home. But secret entrances and secret rooms were for the interesting folk that inhabited the rest of Konoha. She padded down the simple wooden hall, stretching in the wide rays of sunshine entering through the windows. She paused to put on her shoes, before she stepped outside.

Into the smog.

She choked in a mixture of physical incapacitation and indignant shock, hand coming up to tug her mask into place. Marginally appeased, she looked around. Numerous queasy Gairano family members were going about their business with masks similar to hers on green faces. 'Plot,' someone wheezed in explanation as they passed, catching sight of her horrified look. 'Big one. Careless puncture, you know how it is.'

She shook her head in disbelief, pushing the gates open and skidding down the rock face. A few metres down she broke out of the smog and into fresh air, the effects lost on her through the mask. As usual, her waiting teammate got showered with pebbles.

More unusually, so did the other one.

'Why don't you people buy some stairs?' Ryuu asked indignantly, brushing dirt clods out of his hair. 'You've got a fortress up there but you couldn't install an access point?'

Raiku stared at him, legs still bent to absorb the impact of landing, hands out at her side to help her balance.

'Well?' he demanded.

'It's no use, man, she'll just laugh it off,' Daisukenojo pointed out, casting her a dirty look. She stared at them in mute surprise.

'Let's go,' Daisukenojo said to Ryuu, turning and slouching off in the direction of the training grounds. 'Sure,' Ryuu agreed mildly, following after him with considerably better posture.

For a moment she simply couldn't bring herself to react, caught under the spell of the surreal that seeing her two teammates getting along had cast over her. Then it shattered when a loud and to her ears, suddenly obnoxious voice called back for her. 'Coming!' she called instantly, running after the two boys. 'Why did you both come to get me!?' she yelled after them, swerving around a corner only to see their backs vanish around another.

There was a muffled and unintelligible response.

She cursed and sped up, quick steps bringing her level with them just as they reached the grassy path to the training fields. 'I didn't catch that?' she pressed when they gave no indication of wanting to respond.

'We wanted to make sure you hadn't killed yourself,' Ryuu repeated slowly, as though talking to a small child.

'Yeah. Those toasters are dangerous things,' Daisukenojo deadpanned.

Raiku flushed with anger. 'I made one mistake and suddenly I'm the accident magnet!?' she demanded.

'Yeah, that's about right,' Ryuu answered, casually kicking a rock towards a group of rookies practicing with kunai.

'You're the one who feels the pathological urge to pick on rookies!' she protested.

'On purpose,' he pointed out. 'I've never terrorised them by accident.'

'One mistake,' she grumbled under her breath, shoving her hands in her pockets sullenly. 'One.'

"Good morning, ladies!" Yamada grinned at them over his shoulder, facing the wide, blank expanse of the training field. "I trust you all slept well? Didn't brain yourself with a toaster or anything, Speedy?"

'ONE! One mistake!'

"Good to hear it! Since our last taijutsu session was interrupted, not that I'm naming names, we're going to be continuing on that note today," he said cheerfully, easily brushing off her frustration. "For obvious reasons, Raiku's going to be one of the two fighting first."

Raiku cracked her knuckles menacingly. Daisukenojo swallowed, hard. Raiku wasn't strong, but she was fast as all hell and he just knew-

"Shorty, you'll be her partner, get me?" Yamada grinned.

Raiku shot an evil glare to her short teammate from the corner of her eye. She had a lovely suspicion this was going to be fun.

"Ryuu, I've got a jutsu I want you to practice until then, so over here. We'll leave the lovebirds to it," Yamada said, clapping Ryuu on the shoulder. Raiku noticed that to his credit, he didn't flinch upon impact, just nodded and walked to the edge of the field.

Raiku turned to Daisukenojo and assumed a look of truly malevolent intent, looking down at him as she stretched her fingers individually.

She stifled a surge of resentment as he simply scoffed at her. 'Bring it on,' he said, settling into an offensive stance and curling his fingers in provocation.

Raiku settled her feet, sliding them outwards to just outside of the width of her hips, bending her knees slightly.

There was a brief pause filled only with the wind rustling through the leaves of the tree surrounding them and the rustling of the long grass, before they both struck at once. She anticipated the low kick Daisukenojo used too often and slammed her foot downwards onto the side of his knee, immediately shifting her weight to his unprotected left side and sending her elbow towards his ear. Forced immediately onto the defensive, Daisukenojo blocked the blow with his hand and grabbed her sleeve, twisting her arm behind her back. Twisting violently in favour of the move, she used the momentum to yank him off-balance to the space immediately behind her.

He stumbled and recovered with admirable speed, cursing as Yamada called out, "one!" from somewhere behind them- one opportunity for the opponent to kill him.

Raiku danced back several steps, forcing her muscles to relax. She reminded herself someone of her build couldn't afford to rely on physical strength, and dragged her hands up in front of her. It went against what Iruka-sensei had taught them in drills, but Yamada would be watching her to make sure she was taking in his advice.

Daisukenojo's eyes flicked over her warily- she smiled freely under the mask, not bothering to alert him by creasing her eyes. That would teach him to mock her common sense.

Under the violently red hair, Daisukenojo was starting to sweat bullets. He knew she was going to be trouble, he just knew it. All that extra training Yamada-sensei was giving her… it had to be to make up for her lack of chakra with taijutsu! He maintained his shrewd expression, wanting nothing more than to just reach out and rip that mask off to try and catch wind of her expression. Anything to give him an inkling of what she was planning.

The sparring sessions went until one of them had accrued three losses. Ryuu was by far the most balanced, taking far longer for either side to win. Raiku had yet to have to fight Daisukenojo for more than an hour.

She feinted to her left and Daisukenojo instantly raised an arm defensively to the level of his chest, shifting to his right to intercept an attack that wasn't coming. She threw her own forearm up and hooked his wrist, pulling down with the left hand and sending the right flying towards his nose. He jerked his head to the side, her palm barely catching his ear. He grunted in pain, his captured arm bending to send an elbow into her chest. She choked, momentarily stunned, and grasped a handful of his hair.

He gave what to her sounded like an embarrassingly unmanly yelp, free hand coming up to grip her wrist so tightly she felt bone move against bone. Locked against each other, one each holding the arm of the other, they waiting for a moment, each trying to think of the quickest way free.

Raiku threw her head forward, forehead protector slamming into his own, unprotected head.

"Two!" she heard Yamada respond immediately as Daisukenojo fell backwards, almost dragging her to the ground as she suddenly took on half of his weight.

He groaned in pain, freeing her wrist to her profound relief and putting his hand on his forehead. The skin was already red darkening to purple- a sure sign of what was going to be an impressive bruise.

Raiku twisted her other arm free and stepped back, assuming her simple stance with slightly raised arms yet again.

He staggered, squinting at her. With a great deal of satisfaction, she grinned at him.

With a growl he lunged for her again.

The sun reached its peak and began to descend unheeded as the three continued to fight furiously, at one point forcibly pulled apart by Yamada when a casual spar turned into a personal vendetta. He watched them with a mixture of pride and amusement; he'd never believed in drills, finding them to encourage a standard response rather than what may have been more effective, but these three had responded to intense partner work with almost frightening rates of improvement. Daisukenojo was by far the strongest, built the heaviest despite being the closest to the ground, but Raiku was by far the fastest, a fact he no longer wondered about. Ryuu was the most balanced and held his own with admirable efficiency, possessing the greatest stamina. Though none of the three were good on their own, as yet only having untapped potential, they would one day make a truly formidable team.

The amusement stemmed from their absolutely vehement dislike of losing. Raiku's flexibility and speed kept the other two constantly frustrated, hands encountering air instead of flesh. Daisukenojo's advantage was the opposite, forcing the other two to give up their natural advantages to hit him as hard as they could by sheer refusal to lose. Ryuu simply found a weakness and ruthlessly pursued it with almost fanatical tenacity, only abandoning it when another was found.

They all, Yamada suspected, hated each other a little. However they refused to stop liking each other simply because it would give the others too much satisfaction to see them squirm, which left them with an interesting conundrum.

When the rays of the sun began to fade to red from brilliant gold, Yamada called for a halt. Exhausted, Daisukenojo and Ryuu dragged themselves away from each other. Raiku, who sat with her back to all three of them, let her head fall back to allow her to look at them upside down. "You all did well today!" Yamada congratulated them. Raiku felt a twinge of pride, only muted by the numerous bruises she sported. The burns on her stomach were throbbing ominously, her muscles screaming at her. To her weary eyes, Yamada's grin was frightening, a sign he was going to push them even harder tomorrow.

"You've all earned yourself some early leave- we go on a mission tomorrow, so you may as well get some rest anyway, get me?"

Raiku shuddered as the memory of the last mission surfaced. The remembered phantom drool cooled her forehead under the protector slightly.

"Go on, you two," Yamada addressed the boys. "Speedy's gotta stay for extra training."

They looked over at her with stares of demonic glee.

She shot them a poisonous, upside-down look.

'See you later, Yamada,' Daisukenojo nodded, putting his hands in his pockets and making his way back down the hill to the village with a pronounced limp.

Raiku noted the limp with savage pride. She'd made him pay for getting away early in advance. 'Bye Yamada-sensei, Raiku,' Ryuu nodded to them courteously, managing to convey a sense of boredom even as he turned his back and left.

He could exude it. It was a gift she suspected he'd cultivated.

"Well," Yamada said, rubbing his hands together briskly once the other two were safely gone, resembling the devil himself in the red light of the setting sun. "Let's get to work."

Raiku nodded shortly, standing and pulling her gloves off, dropping them onto the grass. She peeled her mask off her face and left it gathered around her neck, slipping her forehead protector off and rolling up her sleeves.

In the rapidly fading light, her skin glowed.

Yamada's face was set into uncharacteristic seriousness. "You got it, Speedy?"

She looked down at her hands, tilting her head slightly as she watched the glow steadily grow brighter, coalescing into streaks of lightning dancing over her skin. 'Yes,' she responded simply.

He nodded. "Push it down."

She pushed her shoes off and kicked them to a few feet away, sliding her leg bindings up to her knees. The electricity immediately started to crackle to life, scorching the ground around her toes.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, eyeing it. It took a lot of getting used to.

'No,' she said mildly, the faintly cheerful expression affixed to her face as always. It never hurt. She felt the truth of it pushing at the back of her mind and shoved it further away.

"Alright, Speedy," Yamada said quietly, stern gaze meeting hers head on. "No screw ups, get me?"

Raiku nodded.

"Good. Now," he said, turning to his left and eyeing a particularly provocative tree. "That one."

Raiku threw her hands out in front of her, releasing as much force as she dared in one blow. The force of it screamed through her arms and exploded into life as a bolt of electricity easily the width of herself shrieked through the air with blinding speed. The tree cracked open and vanished, splinters rending the air and settling into a blast radius of several metres.

Raiku let her arms fall to her sides, crackling faintly. Yamada looked at her from the corner of his eye, still facing the remains of the tree. "Anything?"

She looked down at her hands, still glowing. 'No,' she said eventually.

He nodded, more to himself than her it seemed. 'It's not throwing it out,' she explained after a moment's thought. 'It feels more like letting it out.'

It had taken weeks to get to the point where she could describe even that, she reflected. Then she caught the pity and yanked it up short, mustering a sheepish smile and scratching the back of her head. 'What do you think?'

"Look, Speedy," he said slowly, staring into the distance and deep in thought. "As far as I can see you're always producing it, get me?"

She nodded.

"So," he continued. "When you're not doing that-," he gestured to the tree at that point, "it's because you're telling yourself not to."

She nodded again, steadily drawing her own conclusions. "The ability to tell yourself not to let it out to your skin at all is gonna be something you do on your own, get me?" Yamada said to her after a moment of silence. "But the training should help. Teaching you how to use it better might teach you how to control it more in general."

He waited for her response.

She smiled up at him brightly, and not for the first time he noticed the faint blue glow from behind her teeth as electricity painted the roof of her mouth. 'Thanks, but I think I'll try it on my own,' she said cheerfully. That was a lie, it just wasn't wise for her to become too good at anything.

To her profound relief he seemed to accept the answer. "Well speedy, get a good night's sleep," he said, stretching his arms over his head and making himself momentarily taller than the rest of the forest in the process. "Like I said- mission tomorrow."

'Got it!' she said happily, giving him a proud, two-fingered salute. He rolled his eyes at her. Raiku started to pull on her various coverings as he walked away, already, fishing with one hand in a pocket for the Plot Abuser's address. She'd get as much sleep as she can, but for now she had a job to do.

Ruefully, she wondered if Naruto ever had this many things to take care of.


A/N: Read and review.