3
Ryou stood in the middle of the training grounds.
Surrounding her were the three Genin from team 7 all passed out on the floor. She held her eyes tightly shut concentrating on a simple Genjutsu.
Genjutsu's were never her forte. However she could manage to muster a simple Genin level illusion. It took all of her concentration and effort to stay focused. Genjutsu was complicated for Ryou… due to a mental injury from several years ago- she could not allow herself to over do it.
Each one of the members remained tied up in a different imaginary cave. It was an extremely realistic situation. Chains would echo the cave and it felt moist and nasty.
"Step #5. This is one of the most important ones so please listen to me carefully. NO CRYING. Maintain your dignity." Her voice echoed throughout the imaginary dark cave.
Sakura was shaking with fear.
Naruto look confused and Sasuke was pissed off.
She really wasn't in the mood, her headache was worse than ever today.
Now wearing her ANBU mask and dressed completely in a dark cloak Ryou appeared in the illusion. She terrorized the team for some time.
The team continued fighting back.
Suddenly her voice echoed the cavern again in an eerie tone.
"Step #6: Attempt to develop a relationship with captor, Step #7: Ask for small favors. Make yourself human. And Step #8: Communicate."
This trial proceeded for hours. Sitting under a tree from far away Kakashi watched them carefully like always.
Then it was over. The three Genin stood up with a nasty headache feeling dizzy. Ryou collapsed to her knees panting. Genjutsus really took a toll on her mental health.
"T-That's it for today." The other Genjutsus with the other teams hadn't been this long. This one had been three almost four times as long (then again the other teams were more efficient).
"We will continue tomorrow-"
A quick flash of white suddenly blinded her.
Backed up by half of Obito's face starring at her.
"Gah…" Ryou rubbed her eyes and bounced to her feet. She remained hunched over holding her temples tightly. She felt her brain throbbing as if it were going to explode.
"Ryou-sensei!" Naruto cried out rushing towards the woman.
"I'm fine." She said coldly, holding a hand out to make everyone back away.
She wasn't fine.
The visions kept on invading her brain. There it was again a flash. She saw her smiling mother's face. Another flash it was Rin. Another flash, followed by another and another.
It was too much. She once again collapsed on the floor just in time for Sasuke to catch her and lay her down.
"Kak-" Sakura barely opened her mouth but her sensei beat her to it. He took the woman from Sasuke's arms and laid her on the ground with a hand motioned his team to step away.
The woman's hands were shaking violently. Her eyes were wide and body was petrified in a straight plank, her pupils had shrunk to dots.
And again a violent blank vision. Followed by darkness. Followed by complete emptiness. And again-
"Ryou," It was Kakashi, the same one holding her right now.
She looked at him and in her eyes saw him through the years. Younger, happy. Sad, hurt, in the sunlight, rain, in life and in death.
She gasped and then held her breath.
"Ryou!" Real life Kakashi spoke.
"It's happening again-" she coughed still eyes wide.
"Sakura! Get a medic!" Her sensei quickly turned back to his acquaintance who was still laying down starring at the sky above her.
"Doctor- what happened?"
Flash white. Flash black. Flash white. Flash back.
This happened for some time.
Until Ryou woke up at the hospital….
The first thing Ryou saw when she awoke was the doctor.
"Ryou! Ryou! Ah- nurse! She's waking up!-Thank Kami you're awake! How do you feel?" a man with brown eyes and a concerned expression rushed towards her. A stranger.
"Who are you?" She asked with a blank stare.
"W-What?" the man repeated and his hands rose to his temples in frustration.
"Oh, no… Not this again." He sighed exasperated shaking his head. "I'm your father!"
In that instant the nurse came walking back in alongside several doctors.
"Doc, I'm afraid it's happened again." The man with the brown eyes sighed.
"Again? Ah- Ryou you had been so good for so many years. I told you not to over do it with the mind games…" The male doctor clicked his tongue.
"I fell asleep?" She couldn't remember anything from the day before.
Suddenly the doctor turned off the lights in the small room and placed some head x-rays on a light screen. "A couple of years ago when you were in that accident the mental damage was so great that your hippocampus never fully recovered. A hit brought back your long-term memory. However, the strain of maintaining a mental focus for such a long time seems to have damaged it once again. We have done our best to compose it to the best of our ability, your memory might return soon. And from now on I would refrain from using Genjutsus or being under them at all costs. Understand?"
"Y-yes." She answered confused as she pieced together what a Genjutsu was.
"Am I correct? This is how this incident happened? Over use of Genjutsu?" A doctor said as he cleaned his eyeglasses.
"Yes." Answered a third voice.
She looked up there he was a silver haired stranger that didn't seem so strange at the moment. There was something familiar about him...
16 Years Earlier...
Age: 10
Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes. How could this have happened?
He starred at the number on his report. A big, fat, red number #2.
The number reflected on his dark eyes.
He didn't want to make this situation obvious. He couldn't turn around and scan the classroom for the imbecil that had beat him to the title of #1 Rookie of the class.
'Who could it be…' He thought with his eyes closed, both of his eyebrows put together. 'Was talent like that really written in the face?'
An image of Asuma crossed his mind, he quickly dismissed it… Gai?
He fought the urge to shake his head.
Who, here, was strong enough to shame him in such a way…
"Very well class, before all of you are dismissed for your week long break…" Their sensei began speaking. "I wanted to congratulate the rookie of the year, Ryou if you would be so kind to step forward."
His head instantly snapped to the back of the classroom. His dark eyes looked at the face of every boy in the classroom as he looked at their faces, he noted no expression in any of them- that is until a girl stood up.
'A girl? Ryou is a boys name…' he thought with a glare.
"Ryou, please step forward." The sensei called with a smile.
The girl had a round face which was framed by a pair of curly haired side bangs. Her hair was pulled up in two high curly pig tails which held up her voluminous dark curls. Her eyes were lime green with prominent dark eye lashes and a beauty mark under her right eye. Like the other girls in the class she wore a kimono. But hers was made of the finest silk and looked to be very expensive. It was composed of dark purple shades as well as black and had two large white camellia flowers on the left side. A pink sash was wrapped around her waist with a small golden string in the middle of it. Under her kimono which reached just below her hips she wore a pair of dark shorts. Her clan symbol was printed on the front of her fancy dress on her hips.
The girl's face was completely red and she tried to hide an embarrassed smile as she stepped forward in front of the classroom all eyes on her.
Kakashi couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't seen her before… If her skills were so much outstanding he was bound to have noticed, no one that was threatening flew under his radar.
"Isn't it great that Ryou-chan got the award?" said Obito, a local class idiot, turning to speak to Rin otherwise known as the class sweetheart.
"She's very talented. I'm glad she got it." Said Rin with a broad smile and a sincere nod.
'What? She's been here the whole time?' He couldn't believe it. I mean he never ever gave his attention to anyone else in the classroom, but he should've noticed…
The sensei put his hands on Ryou's shoulders and smiled.
"Congratulations Rookie of the year. Now, Ryou if you would be so kind to share some motivating words with your classmates, like- for example- what do you want to when your older?"
"When I'm older I-" She began with a soft gaze.
Sitting right in front of her was Kakashi glaring at her with a pair of dark hateful eyes.
Ryou didn't have to see under his mask to know he had a massive scowl on his face. She felt her knees weaken under his deathly glare.
"I-I-I…." She looked away avoiding his gaze and instead met eyes with Kurenai who was sitting in the back. Her eyes were wide and she nodded her head in encouragement.
"I want to make a difference in the world. I want to help people and use what I have for good." She said with a bright smile.
"Hokage perhaps?" The sensei said.
A scoff escaped Ryou's lips, "No. Something higher, better." She said nodding at her teacher suddenly forgetting her stage fright.
The teacher laughed and gave her a pat on the shoulder's before dismissing the class.
"Alright everyone, enjoy your week break you've earned it."
Before leaving the classroom Ryou gave one last look at her silver haired classmate and flashed him an apologetic smile, one which was not returned...
She swallowed nervously and finally left.
"Sensei. There must be a mistake." Kakashi said approaching his teacher.
"I know you're upset Kakashi and you are a brilliant student. One of the most brilliant I've ever had. But the numbers came in and Ryou was simply higher than you."
"I have perfect scores in everything. It's impossible that she could beat me-"
The teacher interrupted him, "Look both of you were tied and we brought it up for discussion. Ryou interacts and helps out the other rookies, maybe if you were to interact more with your classmates… You could tie up with her?" the teacher suggested.
Useless, absolutely useless. Being nice to the other kids in class wasn't going to get Kakashi anywhere in life. His only focus was himself and that's the way that it would stay.
Once outside he saw all the other children with their parents.
Did he miss his father? No.
Did he miss the man that stained his name and took the coward way out by committing suicide? No.
As far as Kakashi knew he had always been by himself and he would always be by himself. And he wanted it to stay that way.
He saw the girl approach her mother who had come to pick her up from school.
"Okaasan look!" She said waving the paper in the air.
Her mother, who held a graceful air of elegance, looked at the paper and smiled brightly at the girl saying something before taking her hand and walking away.
Several other parents and friends of the girls stood around and congratulated the number one rookie.
All his life the only thing that Kakashi had done was push himself. Push himself to the maximum. His only purpose as a Shinobi was to restore the honor and respect that his father had shamefully stained. To build his own identity he had being known as "the White Fang's Son," he hated people feeling sorry for him and pitying him for his heritage and his absolute loneliness. And now some rich prissy girl was stealing part of his mission…
"Hey! Kakashi-san, we are having a party at my house today? You are invited if you wish to come." She said in her most confident voice stretching out her arm to offer him a colorful paper with her clan sign printed on it.
He glared at the invitation in disgust before narrowing his eyes scowling at her.
"I don't need your sympathy," he sneered.
Frowning a little the girl put her hand down.
"It's not sympathy…" she began quietly. "I always invite you and you always say no. I was thinking it would be nice to have you be there with us for once," She attempt to give him a small smile again and once again raised up her hand with the lavender and gold letter address.
"Well you should learn to take a hint." He spat before storming away. Leaving the girl to stand there disappointed.
As Kakashi walked away he swore on his grave that he would surpass her. No matter what.
If you're interested here are 2 drawings:
10 Year Old Ryou: post/165344248709/naruto-oc-age-10
Ryouta from the last chapter: post/165344254429