Nara Shikako was smart. Ridiculously so, and made me feel like I was an absolute idiot at times. Which made me simultaneously love her and hate her. I'd never met a person that could challenge my intellect before, and I found it strangely exhilarating and annoying. Exhilarating in that I could finally let my words flow like I'd been forced not to in my last life, annoying, because she consistently challenged me on things I had always taken for granted.
One thing she challenged me on, was my perspective of things ever since the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
The village had mourned for about a month, and she told me that Sasuke hadn't been in class for a few weeks after it, but when I told her that things were getting dangerous in Konoha without the police around, she told me it wasn't true. Things were always dangerous in Konoha, she insisted. We're surrounded by slightly unstable, trained, professional killers at all times. Why wouldn't it be dangerous to live in a ninja village?
I had stared at her, wondering at how naïve she was. Then I remembered. Clan head's daughter. Clan heir's sister. She's never been to the bad side of town. Despite the Nara Clan's free clinics and such, I had searched extensively for them in the poor sectors around Konoha, and not found a one in them. The poor were forced to leave their home for quite a distance in order to find medical aid.
I wasn't quite in the red lamp district, but I was close enough to know several strippers and such that complained about how far they had to go to get checked for pregnancy and the like. On the one hand, I was glad Shikako had never known the realities of life that I took for granted, on the other, I felt the need to open her eyes. But I didn't feel comfortable doing that with our current physical ages. Perhaps in a couple of years. Maybe I'd teach her the taijutsu style I'd created? Her Shorin-ryu was good, but I mentally questioned what would happen if one of the gangs in my neighborhood decided to use extreme force.
I'd been on their radar for a while now, being the best at the Academy among the orphans bringing me attention I didn't want. In other words, all the local gangs wanted me to be their 'secret weapon' during turf wars, which had become bloodier and more dangerous in the two and a half months since the Uchiha Police ceased to be. Rusty, and dull ninja knives were being brought into fights, and blood stained walls and alleys were becoming common. The old ladies that had given the Uchiha their meals had retreated into their apartments, their windows no longer open during the day. Doors were now locked at all times, instead of merely at dusk and unlocking at dawn. People had to be aware at all times. Children no longer played in the streets. And it showed no signs of getting better any time soon.
Someone needed to step in. Something needed to happen. And I couldn't just fight everyone. There were too many of them, and only one of me. But I could bring attention to it…
I resolved to tell Gramps about it at my next meal with him.
A week after meeting her, Shikako introduced me to her brother, who seemed rather bewildered that his sister had befriended someone on her own. That was also when I met Choji, who was cloud watching with his best friend. The larger boy had offered me a chip, and when I accepted it, the swirl cheeked boy had smiled widely, while the two Nara had given each other knowing looks that I barely caught out of the corner of my eye.
Shikamaru had challenged me to a game of shogi, which required me to come to his house, since it was obviously too troublesome to carry a shogi board around. The rules of the game were about as straight forward as chess, which is not at all by the way, and he explained the game to me. It took five straight lost games before I fully understood it, and Shikako's input of strategies were not helping. If anything, the distraction made me do worse, which only seemed to amuse Shikamaru. Choji was a silent spectator, crunching away on a seemingly endless supply of chips, which he would periodically offer to us.
Nara Yoshino came out after that, offering us pocky sticks, which made the Nara twins' eyes light up like Christmas had come early or something. I was offered a couple, and Yoshino actually had to reprimand the pair of them, who seemed perfectly intent on hogging the small pile all to themselves. Choji didn't even ask for one, though Shikamaru made sure the plumper boy got a couple as well. I made sure I thanked Yoshino profusely for the treat, seeing as how I never really got to have any on a regular basis, but when she smiled at me and said that it was no problem, there had been a quaver in her voice.
What…?
She left quickly after that, though when I looked questioningly at my hosts, they looked as bewildered as I felt. This was a mystery that I needed to solve. Fast.
There was a laundry list of things that didn't add up, and the next monday, after classes let out, I intercepted the twins.
"How do you feel about a little research?" I asked them, easily peering for eavesdroppers without making it obvious. Much.
"What kind?" Shikako asked, her brother seemingly slumping even more.
"I'll tell you at the public library." I stated. "There be some sketchy shit going on around my life in general, and I need other perspectives to pick up the pieces that I miss."
The twins looked intrigued, and since Choji was coming over, I figured I could let him join. Us geniuses had a hard time seeing what was right in front of us. Not to insult Choji, but he probably had less activity going on in his brain, which meant that he would see the obvious. I was always looking for the unusual angles and such, and if there wasn't one, I would obsess over finding one, and completely ignore the obvious. Choji though. Choji would see the obvious, and help us simplify theories to something that would actually make sense. He wasn't dumb by any means, but to him, life was black and white. There was right and wrong. Good and evil.
I wished that I could remember life being that simple. Unfortunately, observing the unobserved, thinking the unthought, remembering the unmemorable, I had never seen anything as purely black or purely white in almost two and a half decades, between this life, and my last.
Hell, even Shikako seemed to be a black and white thinker. I didn't have the heart to make her see otherwise. But judging by the spark of anger and knowing I saw in Shikamaru's eyes, I knew that he hadn't thought in black and white since sometime after he started down the path to being a ninja. He didn't want his sister to know what he had figured out himself. What I had figured out, and knew, and lived.
But he let his sister drag him with her as we traveled to the library, me letting them take the long, tedious routes because I didn't want them to see the things I was used to seeing. No matter how genius Shikamaru was, I didn't want him to see the things that he had figured out. Better he knew, and not see, then know, see, and have the nightmares I suspected any normal eight year old would have upon seeing them for the first time.
I'd seen plenty of bodies lying in alleys since the Uchiha were all killed. They didn't need to see that yet.
The library seemed to be a place that Shikako was familiar with, though I had never seen her before in there. Then again, I usually sat in a secluded corner near the bookshelves concerning chakra and chakra theory. She was interested in seals long before I was, and history before that. Or so she said, as she lead us towards the history section, going automatically to a particular book on a particular bookshelf.
"This book," she said. "Contains a record of every major clan that ever existed before the Elemental Nations and the Hidden Villages were formed."
"What, you think I'm from some clan?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "And I bet that you have some distinguishing marks that could help us identify which one."
I shook my head.
"I wasn't talking about who my family was when I said there was sketchy shit with my life." I said. "I'm talking that there's some kind of fucking conspiracy against me."
I got looks from the three other kids, but I went on, ignoring them.
"When I was two, I had to blackmail an older kid into bringing me here, and I learned how to read using all the kids books in the kids section on my own." I began. "Nobody at the orphanage would let me near books. Or teach me how to read or write. I'm completely self taught on reading and writing. Also, I didn't know what I looked like until I got here. We have no mirrors at the orphanage for us to see what we look like. All of the teachers glare at me, even though I'm the class Rookie of the Year, and they keep removing me from activities because I'm taking our training seriously. I'm not allowed to play tag, I can't play ninja because nobody can hide from me, but I can hide from anyone indefinitely, and I'm not allowed near the throwing balls."
Shikako looked mildly horrified, and Shikamaru was looking rather intrigued. Choji just munched on his chips, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"My Shorin-ryu is perfect when I actually decide to use the style, but after I broke Inuzuka Ronguteru's arm, Kata-sensei banned me from sparring. When I happen to be wandering past the Hyuuga Compound, I get mean mugged from the instant I'm in natural vision sight, all the way until I leave it. Before they were all killed, the Uchiha Police that were always near the orphanage outright ignored me, much more harshly than they ignored the other orphans. And yesterday, your mother sounded like she was about to cry when she saw me. There's something going on that has to do with me, but I don't know what."
Shikako and Shikamaru looked at each other, the only sound between the four of us being Choji eating his chips. The twins had one of those silent twin conversations with their eyes, and then they turned to me.
"There's a couple of theories that come readily to mind." Shikamaru said finally, turning to speak to me. "The first one, is that since you're an orphan with no last name, people from ninja clans and people from ninja families but not clans that are established ninja themselves, hate the idea that a random orphan is capable of being a better ninja in training than anyone from the clans or families, or even civilian born that do have family."
"Another theory," Shikako said, drawing my attention to her. "Is that your parents were ninja that did something really bad, and were forced to kill themselves to regain their honor, but people still hate them, and take it out on you."
"That sounds more likely, we'll keep that one." I said. "Continue."
"The third theory," said the male Nara. "Is that one of your parents was from a clan, and had you outside of marriage with an officially and unofficially 'disapproved' person. Or, a variation of that, is that both of your parents were from two different clans, and their relationship was disapproved by both clans, and your parents were forced to give you up, and when they didn't, they were quietly taken out. Or another variation, their relationship was totally secret, and they couldn't keep you because doing so would have raised questions and gotten you killed."
"Or," said Shikako said, giving her brother an exasperated look. "One or both of your parents were foreigners from a country Konoha was directly opposed to during the last war, and then got killed during the Kyuubi attack, leaving you as the son of two unaccepted members of society. Meaning that all of the suspicion they dealt with was then shifted directly onto you."
"And again, you make a reasonable theory." I stated. "Any other ones?"
"What if neither of your parents were ninja, but both were from a foreign village?" Choji questioned.
"That," I said, staring at the Akimichi. "Might actually be it. I swear, if your theory is the one that's right, I'll buy you an afternoon at your favorite restaurant."
The two Nara looked at me with horrified expressions, while Choji grinned so widely I thought the swirls on his cheeks were going to become squares.
With that, though, we threw ourselves into research, and when the clan kids had to go home for dinner, I would disappear into the streets and shadows of Konoha. It was time I started working on some real life skills.
The final month of our third year of the Academy came to an uneventful end, but I was finding it more and more difficult to split my time up. I was continuing with my chakra control exercises, and Hayate had deigned to be my sparring partner so that I could practice my taijutsu style on someone who could actually give me a real fight. Shikako did her best when I allowed her to fight me, but it typically ended up being more of her attacking, and me shutting her down, or me attacking and her not even having a chance to fight back. It hurt her confidence, and I didn't like doing it, so I did the next best thing, and asked Yugao to 'accidentally' find Shikako some time while she was training or something, and offer to help her with her taijutsu.
I was disappointed when Shikako turned down Yugao's offer, but at the same time, I could respect it. She wanted to earn her way through everything.
I had to force down my cold hard logic which pointed out that one should take advantage of anything that promised improvement. I wouldn't force things on her. I wouldn't.
When I wasn't working on chakra control, or sparring with Hayate, I was tearing through the library archives on clans and their identifying features and skills, and not coming across anything that sounded remotely like my own features. And when I wasn't doing any of that, I was spending time with the street urchins, the pick pockets, and the scam artists.
It was fairly simple. I was learning how to read people, like the street urchins. I learned how to steal from the pick pockets. I learned how to con people out of money and other valuable items from the scam artists. And, most importantly, I learned how to get away without notice from all of them.
I already knew how to read a person's body language pretty well, but that wasn't the only thing the urchins taught me. They taught me how to identify people's class, their income and expenses, habits, schedules, and a million other things that allowed the urchins to approach the right people at the right time, and figure out how to beg some food off of people. The urchins walked away with enough money for a measly meal nine out of ten times. It was fascinating, and I dedicated myself to it when I wasn't working on my other street skills.
The pick pockets were very cut throat. After all, if they were caught, they would be thrown in jail. The good ones could lift twenty wallets in an hour without anybody seeing, or noticing, and they would only take enough money to pay for a few days worth of meals. Then they would move to a different sector of Konoha and repeat the process. Some of these pick pockets had real jobs, and used this as a supplement so that their family could keep food on the table while the job kept the roof over their heads, but they had to be extremely discreet about it, or else people would question it and when things got questioned, people disappeared.
The pick pockets had me practice on them until they deemed I had enough skill to begin lifting wallets from unsuspecting civilians. My work with the urchins had taught me how to identify on and off duty ninja, and I avoided trying to lift their wallets for the simple reason that they would more than likely feel it, and get me thrown in jail.
The scam artists were the ones playing shell games on street sides, card games on corners, or could work a crowd into excitement with minor chakra tricks while pick pockets worked over the crowd. I learned how to count cards, and how important long, baggy sleeves were to shell games. The ones that had a stone under one of them? I learned how to keep track of the right one, while also learning how to discreetly throw the stone into my sleeve, and use a bit of chakra to keep it there. I learned from other scam artists how to convince people that this piece of junk here was worth more than that very expensive watch they were wearing, but I supposed I could trade it with you, if you insist.
I approached the gangs, and convinced them, one at a time, to teach me some skill set they considered important to their members. One gang taught me how to disarm someone of their knife, be it a kunai, or a regular civilian knife. Another taught me how to figure out the best way to break into a place without leaving any trace of doing so with but a simple glance. Yet another gang taught me how to identify all the exit points(something I already knew and did, but they did it even more efficiently, so I learned their way) of a building within thirty seconds, and how to get out, blindfolded and deaf. And yet another gang taught me how to blend in with any crowd within seconds.
The final gang, taught me the importance of bolt holes, secret passageways, and how to disguise them perfectly, without a hint of a clue indicating the entrance.
Through all of this, I learned how to create a deep cover for myself. I taught myself how to spy, after all, if any of the gangs learned I was learning stuff from the others, they all would've come after my head. And though I was proficient in all the skills they taught me, they were all better than me in all ways that they had taught me. I wouldn't have a chance.
Shikako and Shikamaru always asked what I was up to when I was leaving them at the library, which I evaded easily by simply not replying. They didn't need to know.
I was introduced to Ino and Sakura that summer, Shikamaru dragging me along since he was being dragged by Shikako to the Yamanaka flower shop for whatever reason. It was interesting, to put it lightly. Part of me from Before didn't want to be anywhere near that pollen colony, but another part didn't want to go because I remembered when I'd gone near the Yamanaka Compound years before. I was afraid of the same thing happening to me at the flower shop. On the other hand, maybe this was a new skill set I could learn. In school, the lessons had included how the Yamanaka who were not proficient at Mind Walking usually took to medicine(hence their presence in the Nara clan clinics around the village) or poison making. That last was what I wanted to learn. Nothing too complicated, just some basic paralysis, maybe a fear inducing agent, something along those lines.
I was slightly surprised though, when I saw that Sakura was there as well, and both she and Ino had short cropped hair. I could only ever remember Ino having a long high tail in the manga, with the exception of the chunin exams when she cut it off to trap Sakura. I didn't know that her hair had been short when she was in the Academy. Her pupil-less blue eyes stared at me as I entered with the twins, and I saw that she wore a pink sundress with some kind of purple apron over it around her waist.
Sakura, who stood nervously next to her, wore a purple ribbon on her head to pull her hair up and out of her face, the ends made to look like bunny ears. Her pink shirt fell to her knees, a pair of leggings barely making it obvious that she was wearing anything under it, and she was fidgeting, half behind Ino.
"Shikako-chan!" Ino called excitedly, pulling Sakura with her as she approached us. "How are you? Who's this guy with you and Shikamaru?"
Shikako pulled Ino into a quick hug before turning and introducing me as the guy that won the taijutsu tournament. After the expected explosion from the loud Ino, and the rather quiet Sakura, we got along rather well, once I got them to understand that I was top of my class, and Rookie of the Year in it as well, and felt that it was best to maximize my training by never holding back. It seemed to be enough for them, and the rest of that afternoon was spent talking and getting to know one another. When it was near sunset though, I disappeared between one word and the next, needing to get back to the orphanage, stopping only to lift some wallets and grab some food to eat on my way to it.
I got back just in time to see a mugging go bad, and I was forced to turn my head and continue on, even as I heard the gurgling of the girl choking on her own blood.
'Fuck it.' I thought to myself, turning around and heading back towards the center of the village. 'The shit needs to stop. And I know just how to do it.'
I took to the roof tops, not caring that I would be exhausting my body and my chakra reserves to use something we had only barely covered the theory of in class.
I made it to the Hokage Tower in ten minutes, and I slammed harshly into the window to Gramps's office, startling him, and putting an ANBU at my back with a sword to my throat. I ignored it, in favor of meeting Gramps's startled eyes.
"Gramps, I just saw a murder near the orphanage." I stated calmly. "And there's more I need to tell you besides."
There was a flutter of chakra from the ANBU behind me, and I suddenly found myself in front of Gramps. I was disoriented for a moment, wondering if I'd just experienced a Shunshin, before shaking the feeling and the thoughts away. There were more important things going on.
"Kasai," Gramps said, kneeling before me, putting his gnarled hands on my shoulders. "I need you to describe to me exactly what you saw, and where. I need you to be detailed."
Looking him directly in the eyes, I began talking, easily recounting the way the Futekigo Chiku, or Incongruent District, had been before, and now after the Uchiha Massacre. I explained the escalation of violence, the bloodiness between the gangs, everything of that nature. Throughout my time, I continued seeing ANBU flicker in and out of the office, barely seeing their armored forms before unknown (probably ANBU specific) hand signs were flashed too fast for me to make out, and they disappeared once more.
My chakra sense, that was still getting more sensitive, insisted that the tower was absolutely buzzing with high power chakra signatures, though I couldn't physically see them. There seemed to be more coming, but I ignored it, instead talking about my experiences with each gang, and how they were organized, who was who, what was what, what the status quo was and how it was best changed. There was one ANBU in the corner behind me, and when I looked back, I saw that it was a woman, judging by the body, and her hand was flying across a scroll as I talked, probably taking down my statement word for word. Good. I wasn't repeating anything.
I talked for hours, and at the end, Gramps sat back in his chair, rubbing a hand over his tired face.
"Take Kasai to my family house, tell my son we are putting him up until further notice." He said to an ANBU that appeared out of nowhere. More hand signs flew, none of which I comprehended, and the ANBU nodded before clasping a hand on my shoulder. A sensation of moving without moving, and I pitched to the ground, trying to keep my last meal down. It took me a bit before I regained my bearings, and spent much of it trying to figure out where I was.
Judging by the street, that building over there… Yup. Rīgarudisutorikuto, or Regal District. Cobbles looked freshly cleaned. Smelt like it too.
Looking ahead, I recognized the house, it was one I'd considered investigating once before, due to its rather dilapidated appearance. Gramps lived here? Wait. Chakra buzz. Non human. No, partially human. Half human, half something else. Not natural, not unnatural. Something between. Radiating. Epicenter dead ahead. Approximately twelve to fifteen meters. Stationary, consistent chakra flow. No waves or grooves associated with chakra pulse. Not ninjutsu. Semi-genjutsu.
"Seals?" I questioned. "The house is hidden behind seals that create an area of effect genjutsu on casual passersby, right?"
The ANBU cranked his neck to stare at me behind his mask, the animal escaping me at the moment. Then he nodded, and I started forward towards the house. As I approached the gates, I felt a tickle in the back of my head, that odd chakra trying to invade my system, making my skin itch in a non-physical way that irritated me.
Didn't I have something to do else-
No, that was the seal, trying to get me to leave. It was powerful, I'd give it that much, but the key to overcoming it was intense concentration and total focus. Something I had to spare. I stopped only a step away from the gates, an invisible threshold right in front of me. Turning my head, I squinted, and barely made out a faint haze in the air that curved around the property. Facing forward again, I stepped forward, feeling a thin membrane of chakra break over my skin like the surface tension of water in a still pool, and with a little wave, the once dilapidated house reappeared as a rather nice looking, classic Oriental house. The wood was expensive looking, the rice paper doors and walls painted with delicate, intricate patterns that made your eyes get lost in the complexity.
The ANBU had been keeping pace with me the whole time, and knocked on the door frame when we came to the front of the house. There was a lantern lit up out on the veranda, since sunset had come and gone while I was talking with Hiruzen. A young man came to the door, an eyebrow raised, the lone visible hand flashing those incomprehensible signs again, the ANBU responding in the same way, no words spoken aloud. Then there was a pressure at the back of my neck, and darkness took me.
The month following me reporting the goings on in my home district, saw me staying in the Hokage's home, where I met a toddler named Konohamaru, and followed by ANBU everywhere I went. It was annoying, to say the least. Though, I think I gave them the most relaxing job, since all I did was go to the library, and train with Hayate and the Nara twins. I occasionally would pick pockets for a meal on the street, and though I never got caught, I knew the ANBU were taking note of what I was doing. People's chakra would kind of twist whenever they were intrigued or interested, and despite how well their chakra was suppressed, I would still be able to feel it. Whenever I stole money, the ANBU, no matter the different signatures, would all twist in a certain way, and eventually, I took it to be a sign of intrigue, or interest.
Shikako eventually asked me about my various tails, and refused to release me until I told her. We had been having a quiet Sunday afternoon, her and her brother having dragged me to a small clearing in their clan forest for cloud watching. The ANBU watching me had hesitated, before following us into the forest, at a much slower pace than before.
It was a rather chill summer day, rather unusual in Fire Country, and as a result, Shikako had pulled me and her brother close to her when we flopped down, sandwiching her between us. I didn't mind, and Shikamaru had murmured a quiet "troublesome" under his breath before relaxing. It was only after I felt his chakra drop to a rather low, uniform humming, that Shikako sprang her trap, clamping her arms around my arm closest to her, and whispering to me, her voice a little panicky, asking if I knew about my tail. I had laughed, patting her on the head in a mock condescending way, which made her pout amusingly, while I told her that it was for my safety. She questioned why, threatening to wake her brother, which was when I pinched a pressure point beneath her carotid artery, making her seize, her body freezing as she stared at me wide eyed.
"It's nothing you need to worry about." I'd said. "I'll let you know what it's about when you're old enough."
And with a slight twitch, the pressure point I was holding knocked her out. I arranged her so that she was cuddling her brother, and moved her hair braid to cover the tiny mark left on her neck. It wouldn't hide it for long, and it was small, so hopefully it would go unnoticed until it was almost gone, but I didn't want to chance it too much.
Jumping up towards my tail, I took a place not ten feet from him.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were afraid of this forest, ANBU-san," I stated just loudly enough for him to hear. "Is there something you'd like to confess?"
There was a flicker of chakra, and as I turned to look at my tail, there was that semi-familiar feel of moving without moving, and I pitched over in the Hokage's office. I regained my bearings faster than the last time I had been transported via shunshin, in time to see the ANBU finish flashing signs to Gramps. Gramps had one eyebrow raised as he looked curiously at me, his chakra, large as it was, gave a minor little twist of intrigue as the ANBU finished his hand signs.
"It would appear, Kasai," he said. "That you have skills you haven't shown before?"
I blinked in surprise.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You are a chakra sensor, and, apparently, a very good one." Gramps, no, Sandaime said.
I cocked my head. I knew what I could do, but I didn't think anything of it. Never heard a term put to it. What was so special about it? Shouldn't everybody be able to sense chakra?
I voiced these thoughts, only to get a head shake from the Sandaime.
"Kasai, according to Bird here, my ANBU stealth specialist, you were capable of sensing his chakra signature when it was suppressed to a level I myself find difficult to sense when he is right next to me." Sandaime stated, staring hard at my bewildered face, his words striking me hard. "You managed to sense him at a distance of approximately twenty meters, and according to all reports regarding you ever since you brought those situations into the light a month ago, you have been able to sense all of them no matter what."
"You call that suppressed?" I asked incredulously. "You couldn't get more obvious unless you waved a bright red flag in front of a bull!"
The ANBU and Hokage traded glances, subtle signs flowing from the former.
"Why have you been researching all of the clans in the Elemental Nations?" Sandaime asked, completely flipping tracks, probably in order to put me off balance. I was, but I wasn't showing it.
"Because I want to know why everything I've learned, I've had to do on my own, and why it seems like nobody but Hayate-nii seems to like me." I replied.
This time, it was the Sandaime's turn to cock his head and stare.
"Explain." He said tersely, and so, I delved into my life, starting with my early years in the orphanage, how I learned to read by blackmailing another kid, how I never knew what I looked like until I got to the library… Chakra control, meeting Hayate, getting tips, and through it all, getting thrown dirty looks by people who seemed to know more about my past than I did. How, despite my efforts and top ranking in classes, the teachers other than Kata-sensei seeming to hate me, and intentionally kept me out of activities.
I even willingly told him about my extracurricular activities, seeing as how apparently ANBU had already told him, so there was no reason to try to hide it from him. He seemed more amused by them, than upset, so I figured that those things were fine, but he seemed perplexed as to why I faced such discrimination for seemingly no reason. In the end, he agreed with my original hypothesis that the answers lay in my medical records, but I was reluctant to go there, because an eight, going on nine year old boy asking for his records would get me laughed out of there.
I was sent back to Sandaime's house, with orders to return at noon the next day. I didn't sleep that well that night. I was finally going to have answers. It at once terrified and excited me. I was going to have answers!
At noon, I arrived at Gramps's office, nodding to his secretary who smiled at me, before she knocked on the office door, announcing that I was there.
"Send him in!" Came through the door, and he woman smiled pleasantly at me as she showed me in. I think it's the first time I entered the room through conventional means.
Gramps sat behind his desk, a weary, but good natured smile on his face as he gazed fondly at me. I didn't know what to expect, when there was that much of a difference between what his attitude had been when I left yesterday, and what it was today.
"It would seem," he said to me, once I was seated across from him. "That your friend, Nara Shikako, had a good idea of checking the records of all clans first, though your search would have proven futile in the end."
"That tells me, what, exactly?" I asked, one eyebrow raised. Gramps chuckled.
"To put it simply, there are certain clans that were so strong, multiple villages came together in order to put them down." He said.
"The Uzumaki clan!" I breathed.
"Among others, yes." Gramps smiled. "Due to… Circumstances we need not delve into, Konoha is in possession of nearly every genetic sequence relating to clans that the Elemental Nations has ever seen. Due to this, we can match anybody to any clan, provided there is even a question of heritage."
"But every newborn has a blood draw in order to put their information into the system." I supplied.
"Correct. However, in the event where the father is nowhere to be found, and the mother dies in childbirth, like your own did, it is standard procedure to use that system to find relatives to place the infant with before we consider the orphanages of Konoha. The Third War ended shortly before your generation was born, so currently, the village is overwhelmed with orphans from, not just ninja clans, but also the children of non-clan shinobi who died on the front lines, or due to complications in birth."
"Where are you going with this?" I questioned suspiciously.
"Kasai, you are related to arguably the two most dangerous clans this continent has ever seen, both of which driven to near extinction by village alliances long dead."
"I swear to the gods, if you say I'm related to the Uchiha, you might as well kill me now."
That elicited a laugh from him, and I felt the ANBU 'hidden' around the office flicker their chakra, which I assumed meant that they were amused by my words.
"No, no, you are not," Gramps said to me. "You mentioned one of the two clans you are related to earlier, but the other clan has almost been lost to the pages of a forgotten history that I myself was forced to refresh myself on."
Did I hear that right? I mentioned one of the two clans I was related to earlier? But the only clans is mentioned earlier were the Uchiha, which Gramps said I was related to, and… the… Uzumaki.
Holy.
Shit.
Gramps laughed again when he saw the realization dawn on me.
"I'm related to the Uzumaki clan?!" I exclaimed.
"Ten generations removed, actually." Gramps stated. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. "We can determine how long it's been since the blood was purely of that clan. Judging by the blood work, and simple supposition, we were able to determine that the last full-blooded Uzumaki in your direct line of ancestors, was ten generations ago. The blood of an Uzumaki is extraordinarily potent, and we estimate that it would take another fifteen generations before we would be unable to see any Uzumaki blood in you. As such, you do retain some of the traits of the Uzumaki clan, though awakening the gifts inherent in your blood is entirely up to you, and chance.
"Wait a second." I said. "Isn't there another guy named Uzumaki in my round of classes?"
"Ah, I was wondering how to bring that up." Gramps said. "There is, in fact, an Uzumaki Naruto in your round of classes, and it's funny you should mention him. You see, when the blood results came in, there was an Uzumaki called in. She was the only Uzumaki in the village, by the name of Kushina. Ah, she was ecstatic to hear of another Uzumaki, only to despair that your mother passed in the process of giving birth to you. To hear that you might not make it either, due to the fact you were born a month and a half premature, scared her significantly, and she raised hell in the hospital, making sure you would survive, paying for your treatment until such time as she could adopt you.
Whoa. She… I mean…
"What?!" I squeaked.
"Mm. She tried to adopt you, as her sole clan member that we knew was alive."
"Then why didn't she?!" I questioned loudly.
"Because, the day she gave birth to her son, Uzumaki Naruto, was the day the Kyuubi attacked. Despite orders otherwise, she used a special ability of hers that she attributed to her heritage, to restrain the Kyuubi until our dear Yondaime, was able to kill it.
It was an epic retelling, completely false, but believable enough that nobody would question me if I spouted off with it.
"So, she would have adopted me?"
"Yes. She came and visited you almost every day while you were in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. She wanted to take you home the instant you were approved to be taken out, but the doctors insisted on two weeks more in the hospital to make sure you would survive the outside world. Unfortunately, a week later, the Kyuubi attacked on the day of your prospective younger brother's birth. As such, the adoption process ceased, and you were diagnosed with something two days after the attack.
"What was I diagnosed with?"
"Chakra Hypersensitivity. And not the good kind, were one is simply an exceptional sensor, but the bad kind, where simply having chakra causes intense pain. Everyone assumed that you were crying constantly because you had to be physically removed from your mother to keep you alive. Then, during the attack, you were so quiet everyone feared you had died. But once it was over, you resumed crying, only louder and more insistent. Nobody knew what to make of it, except for one doctor. About three weeks earlier, he had diagnosed another child, one, Nara Shikako, with the self same disability, down to the type. He ran tests, and confirmed the suspicion he'd made on hearing about you. That is why you stayed in the hospital until you were eight months old, it was to allow the doctors time to see if it would be better to put you out of your misery, or let you go into the orphanages."
They thought about killing me?! I was glad they hadn't. It was obvious why Shikako hadn't received the same treatment, seeing as how she was the daughter of a major clan head of Konoha, but why did they think about doing that to me?!
Hiruzen must have seen the fear, and questions on my face, because he continued talking.
"Kasai, it was nothing personal," he said. "The problem is that you and Nara-chan are anomalies. All other cases have seen hypersensitive children reduced to mere vegetables by the time they are six due to the pain their own chakra causes them. It would have been considered a mercy to end that suffering."
I slumped down in my chair, mind awhirl with all the information I'd just been given. It was… overwhelming, to put it lightly. I'd just been reborn, but I'd already been that close to death again?! I needed to get my mind off of this.
"W-what's the other clan that I'm related to?" I asked after a moment of silence.
"That," Gramps sighed. "Is where it gets complicated."
"How?" I asked. "How is it complicated?"
"Because, Kasai," he stated. "The other clan you are related to is a clan that single-handedly destroyed an entire battalion of Konoha shinobi and their support elements in a single battle during the Second Ninja World War. The battalion was made up primarily of Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara. Their support elements were made up almost entirely of civilian born ninja, or second generation ninja, all of them considered for ANBU status if that mission had been successful."
I felt a pit of despair sinking into my stomach, and I let myself fall back against the back of the chair I sat in.
"The clan's name was Kaze, and their ability with their namesake was unparalleled. No hand seals required, they could use the air itself as a mere extension of their body. Their ability with wind was what allowed them to destroy the battalion in mere moments, using, according to the lone survivor, a mere four men, and four women. It is the worst defeat in Konoha's history, and a closely guarded secret.
"Who was the lone survivor?" I asked.
"Nara Yoshino's mother. Her father was killed by one of the Kaze clan members. Yoshino-chan was old enough at the time to feel the full impact of that massacre, and has harbored a grudge against that clan ever since."
So that's why… Things were falling into place in my mind now. But I still had questions.
"What happened to the Kaze clan?" I asked, trying desperately to distance myself from them as much as I could.
"The clan was loosely associated with Sunagakure, but after hearing of the massacre, the Sandaime Kazekage declared them enemies of the village, and forged an alliance with Konoha, and Kirigakure, and as a whole, we destroyed the clan to the last man, woman, and child."
I buried my face in my hands, trying to reconcile the village I knew, with a three village alliance that destroyed half of my heritage in an attack reminiscent of how Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan was destroyed. Or rather, set the example for. In a way, my home was responsible for why I had no family. Or, very little of it.
"We were not as successful as we had once thought, obviously," Gramps said, gesturing to me. "For which I am grateful. The destruction of families and clans is always a terrible thing, and, had I been the one under this hat during those events… Well, I'm not sure what I could have done under the circumstances."
The office was silent, and I rubbed at my eyes, finding them suspiciously wet, which I quickly hid as best I could.
"How far back before I'd be a full blooded Kaze?" I asked.
"Only four generations," Gramps sighed. "Leading me to believe that your great- great-grandparent was a civilian child of two ninja, and left the clan shortly before we destroyed it. Who knows what happened after that, but somehow, your Kaze heritage father found your Uzumaki heritage mother, and you were the product of that union. The child of the first two clans that were wiped almost entirely out of existence, here, in the village that helped destroy one, and provided the example of how to do the same to the other. I cannot express my sorrow at what this village's past mistakes has done to you."
"How does everyone know that I am a descendant of the Kaze clan?" I whispered hoarsely.
"The Kaze clan was known for two things;" Gramps stated. "The first, is their tri-colored, pupil less eyes, and the second, is their incredible intelligence, which was said to rival the Nara clan, which is attributed to their perfect memory, which competes with the Sharingan for memorization purposes."
Well… Shit!
"Wait, you mean I'm as smart as a Nara?!" I yelled, getting a chuckle out of him.
"I dare say you can be, if you continue applying yourself as you have been." Hiruzen chuckled. "But you must continue to learn, if you hope to continue to, at the very least, match your friends in intelligence."
I yawned, and looked out the window behind the Sandaime, only to realize that the sun was in the process of setting. My eyes went wide, and my stomach rumbled, as I realized it's been hours since I last ate. Gramps laughed, and a rather large chakra signature I'd ignored approaching, bounced into the office, yelling loudly.
"Old Man, Dog told me you wanted to have dinner with me! We're going to Ichiraku, right?!" The voice shouted.
I twisted in my seat to see who it was, though I had a pretty good idea of who it was, now that I had a voice to listen to. And I was right, it was Uzumaki Naruto, wearing black cargo shorts, and a bright orange shirt with a yellow swirl on the front. He was dirty, his clothes a little rough in places, but his smile, and violent yellow hair were just as bright as I'd seen it in the anime. Just as spiky too.
Gramps laughed loudly, standing from his chair, and coming around to give the blonde a hug that was accepted eagerly, and gratefully returned.
"Yes, I did want to see you for dinner," Gramps said. "And of course we can go to Ichiraku, but first, I'd like to introduce you to someone."
I'd stood, preparing to leave, when I'd heard that last phrase, but upon hearing it, I turned back towards the two greeting each other. I waved at the boy, feeling uncharacteristically shy for some reason, only to get an enthusiastic smile and wave in return.
"Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and one day I'm gunna take his place!" He yelled, pointing at the Sandaime with his thumb, a fat smile on his face the entire time.
"H-hi?" I said. "I'm… I'm Kasai. You must be the best in your class if you're saying that you're going to take Gramps's place one day."
The smile fell, but quickly returned.
"I'm not, but that won't stop me!" He yelled, punching a fist out at me.
Feeling a little inspired, I punched my own fist out at him.
"Well I'm the best in my class, and I beat Sasuke in that taijutsu competition last school year." I stated, making Naruto gape at me. "I could teach you how to fight like me." I offered.
"W-what?!" He yelped.
"I sometimes study with Nara Shikako, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji, and I don't think-"
"You know Choji, Shikamaru, and Shikako?!" He yelled. I blinked. "How have we never met before?!"
"I dunno." I said. "I guess we just hang out with them at different times without realizing it?"
"I guess."
"Well, with introductions out of the way, shall we go get dinner?" Gramps asked, his usual grandfatherly smile upon his face.
"Sure."
"Yatta!" Naruto shrieked, jumping up, punching the air as he did so. Gramps held out his hands, and Naruto immediately latched onto one, the other hand open and waiting. I hesitantly slid my hand into Gramps's, and then, together, we strolled through the still open door, and made our way out of the Tower. Naruto knew exactly where Ichiraku's was, and tugged Gramps along, pulling the both of us forward slightly faster than a regular walk. I didn't mind though. Gramps's words were still echoing in my head, and I kept hearing 'she was going to adopt you' over and over again in my head.
Naruto would've been my younger brother. Adopted son of the Red Death of Konoha, and the Yellow Flash of Konoha, if they'd ever gone public about their marriage and subsequent status as parents. Would they have had more children? How-
I had to stop thinking though, as we arrived at Naruto's favorite ramen stand, and I placed my order with my two compatriots, and Gramps quickly got down to business, telling Naruto how he actually did have living family. His reaction was quick, and predictable, with much shouting, hand waving, and righteous indignation. I waved for Hiruzen to tell the story, the words of our earlier conversation still rattling around in my brain. Naruto was actually pretty quiet during the story telling, silently slurping up his ramen, five bowls disappearing into him in the time it took me to eat two. He shot me looks when Gramps told him how close we had been to being brothers, but I hardly noticed, being too busy thinking, slotting puzzle pieces that only existed in my head into holes that had once been fuzzy at best. So many questions answered, and while that was good, it left me feeling lost. I was actually a clan kid. I'd prided myself before on being a clan less civilian born, and doing better than anyone else my age in training, but now I knew I was a descendant of not one, but two clans, both of which had been wiped from the face of the earth almost entirely, due to how powerful they'd been. Granted, neither of my parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents had been ninja from what I'd understood, but the fact that I had that much potential for utter destruction because of my heritage terrified me.
On the one side, seals, reality altering, time-space distorting, fancy writing, on the other, seal less wind jutsu powerful enough to take out a battalion of ninja renowned for their teamwork and ability to overcome any obstacle, and all of their support elements. My heritage was enough to make everyone related to the incident fearful of me, or at least, wary of me. Fear and wariness easily turns into anger in the minds of a crowd. I'd dealt with that too many times in my last life to not know that.
Thankfully, Naruto seemed to be as stunned as I was when Gramps finished his explanation, and we both wandered away from him after he paid for our meal, a request to meet him in his office tomorrow at noon echoing in my mind. I vaguely noticed the invitation did not extend to Naruto, but I assumed I'd be seeing him again soon. I knew it. Now that he knew he had living family, he would be coming to see me every chance he could. Especially since, at one point, his mother had meant to adopt me. I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. I'd gotten so used to being an orphan, with no parents or siblings, the idea that I was related to Naruto of all people was almost enough to make me light headed.
Gramps must have still had paperwork back at his office, because he didn't accompany me back to his home, and I ignored the ANBU trailing behind me as I wandered home the long way. Or, the regular way for anyone but me.
I didn't want to sleep when I got home, my mind was still bouncing off the insides of my skull, but sleep crept up on me, swallowing me down into the darkness.