Chapter 4: Of Things to Come

Arashi liked most people in general, but not everyone. There were two boys in particular that managed to vex her to the brink of tears.

One was named Aburame Akio. They met the first time when they were five years old and got into an argument over who was going to take a turn on the slide next. Ever since then, Akio had taken a liking to using the bugs that lived inside his body to bully her into submission. It humiliated the girl so badly that she shed tears every time and because of that he referred to her as Crybaby.

The other was named Kurama Daisuke. Overall, he was not hard to deal with. Most of the time he was content playing with other people or painting in his spare time, but sometimes he went out of his way to tease Arashi. Not even that would have been unbearable for her, but he liked to paint on her arms and back when she was not paying attention. She went out of her way to take care of her clothes and made sure that her appearance was impeccable – something her mother instilled in her. The paint stained her clothes and was hard to scrub off her skin and that not only left Arashi upset, but it also made her mother angry.

When her mother was angry, no one was happy.

Arashi had the day to herself. Her parents gave her permission to play and after getting lost for a while and correcting her course, she found her way to the playground. She was elated. Her studies were going well, she was learning and becoming stronger, and her mother was finally giving her more freedom around the village, despite her direction impairment.

Life was great for her.

She entered the playground with a skip in her step. Her pack bounced against her back and the contents inside clicked together in an upbeat rhythm. She was going to go straight to the swing set and swing until she was sick of it. It was her favorite thing to do.

She was almost to the swing when she felt a signature she knew all too well. Akio. She could never confuse him with anyone else that often came to play. His body was full of insects and they each had their own chakra pool, even if theirs was miniscule. Most people were put off by the Aburame clan, but she could sense the insects moving inside their bodies and that made her skin crawl. At least most people did not have to deal with that.

Despair washed through her. Arashi turned on her heel to walk back the way she came. It was hot outside and she needed to study, anyway. By the time she was done, Akio would probably be gone.

"Hey, Shi-Shi-chan!"

She froze and looked over her shoulder at Daisuke. She hated it when he called her that.

"Aren't you going to stay and play?" The boy asked, holding paper and paintbrushes against his chest. "I'll let you play with my paint."

"Not r-right now." She eyed him, suspiciously. "I need to study."

"That's all you ever do." He crinkled his nose. "You just like looking at naked bodies."

Her mouth fell open, "Nu uh! It's anatomy."

"You're a bad liar, Shi-Shi-chan."

Her face burned and she marched away. Her lips trembled and she clenched her fists into balls by her sides. Daisuke was manipulative and Akio was a bully. This was the first time in weeks she had tried to have fun and they had to be there.

It was not fair.

The little girl adjusted the straps of her backpack and continued walking. When she was a ninja she would no longer put up with stupid boys. She would be too busy helping people and doing important stuff.

She marched until her eyes fell on the entrance to a library. She had been there many times and knew that they had a lot of medical textbooks. With a shrug of her slim shoulders, she entered the building.

It was cool enough inside to make her regret wearing shorts that day, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind and started browsing through the book selections. A lot of the medical textbooks were advanced, but she liked the challenge, so after several minutes she decided on a few to look through.

Most of the tables were already occupied by adults, but one table to the side had only one occupant – a young boy. The decision should have been simple, but Arashi had terrible luck with boys around her age.

She pursed her lips. She could sit with the boy or slide in between a group of adults. Everyone appeared busy reading, so she doubted they would take much notice of her, but she felt uncomfortable. With a hum she focused on their signatures. No one in the room felt malicious in any way – but one in particular stuck out to her.

He burned like a flame and the space around him exuded a patience she had never encountered in anyone else. He felt kind. Not even Minato felt as welcoming as this person. It resonated with her and before she knew it, her feet had taken her over to the person that possessed the lovely signature.

It was the boy.

He stopped reading to look over his shoulder at her. Even if he had not been wearing a gray shirt with the telltale fan on the back, she would have guessed he was an Uchiha. His skin was pale, his hair was black, and he watched her with gentle, dark eyes.

"Um, can I sit with you?" She tried to hide behind her hair.

"Yes."

She went to the other side of the table and put the medical books down. After several minutes of reading, she peeked up at the boy. He was engrossed in his own literature. The librarian walked by the table and arched an eyebrow at the children. The books surrounding them were altogether too thick, too dry of a read, and too tedious for their age group. Her lips thinned into a bemused line and she went about her own business.

Curiosity got the best of Arashi, "What are you w-w-reading?"

"History." He replied without looking up.

"There's a lot of histowy," she whispered, "Who or what are you w-reading about?"

"The clans that founded the village."

"Oh, uh," She blinked, "Like the Senju and Uchiha?"

He nodded and his lips curved upward, "Do you like reading about history?"

"I like other things better," she swallowed over a lump in her throat, "B-but I'd like," she paused, "I'd like to learn more."

"I can help you." He motioned for her to sit beside him.

Arashi abandoned her medical texts and slid into the seat beside the boy. He pointed to a few names in the book and whispered to her everything he knew about them. She tried to remember as much as she could about what he told her, but it was hard to keep up with all of the information he had memorized.

She started to wonder if he would ever stop talking. She had not thought he would be the talkative type, but then again, her mother always said the quiet ones have the most to talk about, it's just getting them to open up that's the challenge. It was okay with her if he wanted to talk all day, though. She liked being near him.

Her stomach growled and the boy went quiet. A few adults looked over at her. Arashi covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. The Uchiha's eyes darted around and then he produced a rice ball from the bag by his side. He was sure to keep it out of sight, since no food or drinks were allowed inside.

"Do you want to share my onigiri?" he whispered.

She nodded. He pinched off a part of the rice and put it in her hand. Conspiratorially, a smile spread across her face. Both of the children watched the adults around them and snuck bites of food – appearing to be the epitome of innocence the entire time.

"How old are you?" Arashi whispered.

"Five." He replied. "My birthday was a few weeks ago."

"Oh. I'm six." She informed him. "I'm in the Academy. Are you going to be a ninja?"

He nodded, "Father is going to enroll me."

"It's mostly boring." She shrugged. "You'll pw-probably be top of your class. I heard the Uchiha usually do really good."

"Why do you want to be a ninja?"

"I want to help people." She swung her feet under the table. "I noticed a lot of people never came back from the war. It makes me sad, so, I, uh, I want to learn to be a medic to help."

An expression of understanding crossed his face before it faded back into being passive, "But you'll have to hurt people, too."

"Yeah, I guess so," she shrugged, "But if it means saving my fw-fw-fwends, then I'll do whatever it takes."

"Ahh," his lips curved upward again, "My little brother will be born soon. I want to protect him." He ran his fingers across the pages in front of him. "So much bad can happen."

"M-maybe," she twisted a lock of her hair around her finger, "Maybe we can both look after him together? What's his name going to be?"

The boy's lips parted into a smile, "Sasuke."

"I like that name," she whispered. "Hey, do you want some juice? I have some in a canteen."

He thought for a few seconds and nodded. Both of the children had, of course, been told to not eat or drink after others, but an exception was made that day. Arashi fished it out of her pack while no one was looking and passed it to the boy under the table. He took a sip and passed it back to her.

"You've got paint on your back," a laugh found its way out of him.

Arashi's face scrunched up and she looked over her shoulder, "No way. When did he?" Her lips trembled. "Not fair."

He tilted his head to one side, "Someone put paint on you?"

"He's stupid and mean." She pouted. "I try to be nice, but he doesn't listen and he doesn't care that I don't like it."

"From what I read, sometimes you can't always not fight."

She blinked and looked at him. He was watching her with an awareness that did not suit someone his age.

"Yeah," she bit her lip and changed the subject, "You going to tell me more about Konoha's awchi-architecture?"

He grinned. For a long time after that she listened to him ramble about Konoha and many of its more notable citizens and buildings. She did not keep up with all of it, but the sound of his voice soothed her. There was no doubt in her mind that he was a very, very special person.

When it came time for him to go home she resisted the urge to pout.

He gave her an apologetic look, "We can see each other again."

"Okies." She perked up at that thought. "Hey? Are we f-friends?"

"If you wanna be."

"Yes!" She bounced up and down, "My name's Ran Arashi. What's yours?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

"I'll see you later, Itachi-kun!" She hugged him.

He squeezed her back and the librarian let out an audible, "Aww."

"Okay, Arashi-chan."

They grinned at each other and Arashi skipped out of the library. She shouldered her pack again and turned her attention to finding the playground again. She had spent hours in the library and she was determined to enjoy the day in her own way. There was no telling how long it would be before her parents let her go out on her own again.

This time it was not as hard to find her way back. The heat of the day had faded, but it was still warm enough to feel nice on her bare legs. The library had been too cold for her liking. Once again, her pack bounced against her in an upbeat rhythm.

"Shi-Shi-chan! You're back!" Daisuke waved at her.

He was sprawled on the ground under a tree in order to enjoy the shade. She ground her teeth. He always acted nice like he wanted to be her friend, but then he would ruin her clothes and make her walk around looking like an idiot. She squared her shoulders.

She had a plan.

His eyes glinted with amusement as she walked over and sat on the ground in front of him, "Do you wanna paint with me?"

"Mhm."

"Do you like these colors?" He pushed a few tubes of paint toward her.

She picked them up and examined them, her lips pursed, "Do you have any others?"

When he turned his head she scribbled tiny seals on the bottom of the red and purple tubes. It took all of her self-control to smother the smile that tugged at her lips, but she managed by the time Daisuke turned back to her with other colors.

"Do you like these? I thought you'd like the purple or red. You wear those colors a lot." He muttered. "Or does your mommy make you wear them?"

She smiled. It was a barb and she knew it. Arashi was proud to choose her own clothing and dress herself every day. She was not half as helpless as Daisuke treated her.

"No, silly. I like those colors, but I want to paint with others."

"Okay."

They painted together for a while, but she paid little attention to what she was doing. Daisuke muttered a complaint or two under his breath, but she ignored it. He was critical of anyone who painted with him, but he hated being alone. She could have considered him a friend if he had not been the murderer of more than a few sets of her clothes.

"There! All done." Daisuke announced.

Arashi crinkled her nose at their project, "It looks bad."

"Not my fault." Daisuke sniffed.

"Well," Arashi stood, "I'm going to go swing before I have to go home."

The boy shrugged, already disinterested, "Alright."

As soon as she felt the chains in her hands, her stomach did a flip. She always swung as high as she could in order to feel like she was flying. For just a while she could feel like she was free from everything going on in her life – albeit there was nothing bad for her, but she could forget about genjutsu and the fact that she was still too short to reach most things. When she closed her eyes and focused on the lives around her it was like she was soaring through a constellation.

The stars around her fizzled out when she opened her eyes and looked down to see Akio watching her. She scowled. Even though he wore sunglasses, she knew he was looking at her. It made her skin crawl.

She hoped he would leave her alone.

Instead, he reached out, grabbed the swing, and jerked her to a stop. The force sent her flying forward. Unable to do anything, she landed on her hands and knees. The impact shredded the skin from her legs and her ears rang. At first she was in shock, but within seconds the reality of her situation settled like the dust around her. The playground went completely silent.

Her breath hitched in her throat.

Sometimes, you can't always not fight.

Bugs swarmed her body.

Can't always not fight.

"Crybaby."

Fight.

Her body tingled as she stood. All of her senses came into focus at once. The Kikaichu that would have normally made her stomach tie itself into knots only added kindling to the rage building inside of her. They crawled inside her clothing, through her hair, and clung to her face. They were taunting her, telling her to run away. She took one deep breath.

Instead, she twisted and threw her entire body into a punch that caught the Aburame in the teeth and floored him.

She jumped on top of the boy while he was stunned and delivered a flurry of punches. A group of children gathered around and watched in disbelief.

"I'm not scared of you! I'm not! I'm not, you know!"

"Shi-Shi-chan! Stop!" Daisuke yelled.

Her eyes flicked to him, "You."

Her hands formed a seal and the trap she set before was sprung. The red and purple tubes blew up in his arms and splattered Daisuke and the crowd around him with paint.

Akio tried to get up, but was met with another fist. Her mind did not even register that the skin covering her knuckles had been split open or that the red on his skin was her blood. His glasses fell off his face to reveal bugs crawling out of his eye sockets.

"You freak! Freak!" She shrieked. "I hate you!"

She crushed the bugs on her cheeks in her fists and smeared them across the boy's face. Every beetle that she saw coming out of him to swarm her she destroyed with a well-aimed smack. She ripped them out them out of her hair, and clawed at the ones on her shirt. The feeling of crushing them brought a rush of bloodlust the little girl had never experienced in her life.

An arm circled her waist. She knotted her fingers into Akio's hair and when the person pulled her back, she ripped a tuft out of the boy's scalp.

Her attention snapped to the person responsible for getting between her and her vengeance. It was Kakashi. He was in his casual attire and there was a stern crease between his eyes.

His hand closed around hers and he led her away from the playground.

"Don't tell my mommy or daddy," she whispered.

One dark eye settled on her. The girl's eyes normally danced in amusement, but they were now staring straight ahead and cold. Her shoulders were squared, her free hand was clenched, and her breathing was even. Instead of a grin her lips were drawn into a thin line, like there was a bad taste in her mouth.

She had beaten a boy senseless and scattered an entire crowd like a hurricane. For the first time since meeting her, he saw not just a little girl, but a kunoichi. Not that going on a rage induced rampage was acceptable.

"Why were you in the playground?" She asked in a hoarse voice, off-handedly.

Shrieking like a banshee tended to make a person's throat raw.

"I was in a tree reading." He deadpanned.

"Why?"

"I was avoiding someone."

"Why?"

"He's annoying."

She accepted that answer, "Are you going to tell on me?"

"No."

She nodded and continued to stare ahead, "Was I bad? Did I do a bad thing?"

"What do you think?"

"I think he deserved it."

"He did."

"Where are we going?"

The boy sighed, "I'm going to clean you up and take you home."

They walked for a while before he led her into a small apartment. He sat her down on a chair, poured water into a glass and handed it to her. She emptied the glass in several gulps and held it close to her chest. Kakashi expected her to be shaking by this point, but she was inert. He dabbed away the blood covering her legs and glanced up to gauge her reaction.

The grip on the glass was tighter, but she was otherwise unresponsive.

"I'm going to disinfect it now." He informed her. "Put the glass down or you might break it."

She put the glass on the floor and clutched the edges of her seat. After several moments of her face being scrunched up and hisses sliding through her teeth, the deed was done and Kakashi was wrapping bandages around her legs.

"Thank you Kakashi-san."

He glanced up at the shell-shocked girl, "No problem, but you might want to get rid of that boy's hair or your parents might wonder."

She looked down at the dark strands in her hand and blanched.

The walk back to her home was quiet. She held onto his hand with the same vice grip, but this time she was no longer carrying evidence of her fight.

Red Threads of Fate

"And that's how I met Minato and fell in love with him." Kushina finished her story.

Arashi's eyes were bright, "All because of your pw-pw-pretty hair!"

Kushina giggled, "I guess so. Red threads of fate."

The girl's head fell to one side, "Huh?"

"Oh, y'know, every person has a red thread connecting them to the person they're supposed to be with. Hasn't your mother told you about it?"

Arashi shook her head, "Do I have a thread?"

"Everyone does."

"How can I tell? Wh-who am I supposed to be with?" Her expression shifted to horror. "What if he's nasty?"

"Hey, it'll be alright, y'know!"

The girl chewed on her lip, "If you say so."

Kushina laughed, "I say so, y'know." Her eyes widened and her hands went to her womb. "He's kicking. This child is so energetic I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with him."

Arashi's hands found their way next to Kushina's and her brown eyes grew to the size of saucers, "Does it hurt?"

"Not really." She leaned toward the girl, "You know you'll have to help me look after him when he gets a bit older."

"Like a big sister?"

"Just like a big sister."

"I'll pw-protect you, teach you, and help you with everything," the girl whispered. "I hope I grow up to be like your mommy and marry someone like your daddy. You're a lucky baby, Naruto."

To say that Kushina was flattered would have been an understatement, but the nagging feeling in the back of her mind had not eased. The closer she came to her delivery, the worse it was – and she was getting very close. It was like there was a premonition hanging over her and she had a hard time rationalizing it.

"You know, people used to give strands of hair to friends and loved ones." Kushina commented.

"W-W-Really?"

"Yes, really." She separated a small section of her hair and began to braid it together.

"Why?"

"To show affection or to give them something to remember them by if they ever, um, went to heaven. It was an old tradition."

"Ohh."

Once Kushina was done braiding the strands together, she went into another room and came back with the tiny braid in her hand, "So, I thought maybe I'd share mine with you."

The girl accepted the hair, "Nothing bad's gonna happen to you, right?"

"Of course not!"

Alright, I meant to have this posted a day or two ago, but I got busy. To make up for it, it's a bit longer than the other chapters! I apologize if anything is misspelled or if my grammar is atrocious. If you have any thoughts on Arashi or any of her interactions, then do share them! :) Next chapter is the last one featuring her as a feisty six year old! Then onwards to Genin-Chuunin Arashi.