1 Return to Konoha

An Unpleasant Welcome Home

Well, this is it. If what Sensei said was right, this is where I was born... Stopping in the path to adjust the way her weapon rode on her back, the girl wiped a bead of sweat from her face. Konohagakure-no-sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She cupped a hand next to her mouth to amplify her normally quiet voice. "Good morning! I humbly request entrance to your village."

A tired-sounding reply could be heard from the other side of the gate. "Who goes there?"

"Kotori, of Clan Yamataki," she called back. From where she stood, the girl could sense the presence of three sentries in the immediate surroundings outside the gate, as well as at least two behind it. She knew that she was being scrutinized carefully, from the travel dust on her boots to the red hair that marked her as a foreigner to the giant blade she bore as a weapon. "My father is Yamataki Katsuo, my mother Yamataki Emi, originally of the Mist Village. May I enter?"

There were muted sounds of disagreement from just beyond the gate, and Kotori bit down on a sigh. They have every reason not to believe me. The whole story itself seems kind of fishy... But she was careful not to show her surprise as one side of the gate was pushed open just wide enough for her to pass through. As she did, one of the sentries on the inside gave her a cool nod. "Welcome to Konoha. Forgive our inhospitality, but we're mourning the death of one of our respected elders."

Kotori blinked. "Really. Which one?"

It was the sentry's turn to look surprised. "You mean you don't know? Yamataki Osamu, the patriarch of your clan. Isn't that why you came...?"

"N-no, it isn't." No matter how hard she tried to stop them, the tears began to slide away down Kotori's face in hot trails. "Grandmother must be devastated. When did this happen?"

"Just yesterday. The rites will be held tomorrow at dawn." Giving her a sympathetic look, the sentry patted the girl on the shoulder and then jerked his hand away at the disgusted glare this got him. "Would you like me to take you to Ren-san?"

All business again, Kotori nodded. "Yes." At the gesture from the sentry, she began walking beside him, ignoring any further speech from him as he told his fellows where he was going. She missed the question aimed her way, her thoughts were swirling around so quickly in her mind. "...I'm sorry, did you just say something?"

"I was saying how nice it is to see someone else from your clan here. You, Takeshi-san, and Ren-san are the only survivors of Yamataki. Katsuo-san would be proud to see that his daughter's turned out so well." Oblivious to the impact his words were having, the sentry continued. "Maybe you will make jouninjust like your father did, and like Takeshi. Did you know they just gave Takeshi-san permission to take on students?"

Kotori shook her head. "No, I can't say I did. What happened to my father?"

The sentry shot a suspicious glance back over his shoulder at the girl. "You mean you don't know that either? Where have you been hiding all this time, under a rock?"

"I've been training abroad," Kotori grumbled. "My teacher only saw fit to let me come back now."

"Abroad? Whereabouts?"

Feeling irritation beginning to well within her, the girl once again forced her features to be calm. "That is not exactly any of your business, sir. I have come home to be with my family, and that is what counts, is it not?" She paused for a moment, then repeated, "What happened to my father?"

"He... he died in the fight against the nine-tailed demon fox Kyuubi no Yoko. That was twelve years ago."

"With all due respect, I wouldn't remember. I was taken from this village the day I was born, and have not returned since." This time Kotori forced herself to be calm, not letting a single bit of the darkness show that threatened to overtake her. My father and my grandfather... both dead... I can't believe this. Why didn't Sensei tell me?

"That's right." A patient shrug from the sentry as they approached a small single-family dwelling surrounded by a neatly tended ornamental garden. The plate hanging by the door to the home read Yamataki Osamu in neat characters, and at once Kotori felt a stab of grief that was altogether different from the gloom that now clouded her heart. "Well, here you are. I am sorry for your loss..." The sentry fumbled for the name that the girl had given. "...Kotori-san." A quick bow, and the sentry was gone.

Sighing once again, Kotori picked her way up the path. Putting her sword and pack down on the ground next to the landing, she removed her boots and regretted her travel-worn appearance as she knelt in front of the sliding door that formed the main entrance to the dwelling. "Ren-san, are you there?"

There was a brief moment of silence, then a weary response from just beyond the door. "Who is it?"

"It's your granddaughter. I've come home."

The response to this was immediate, with a flurry of movement and then a hasty sliding of the screen. "Miyuki? Is it really you?"

That's what they called me? Miyuki? Bowing low out of respect, Kotori answered, "Yes, Grandmother."

An astonished cry. "We thought you were dead! Where have you been?" The older woman nudged the girl with her foot to get her to stand up. "And why did you wait so long to come back?"

"I can't tell you that, Grandmother. My sincere apologies." Kotori rose and followed her grandmother inside.

"It's a shame you couldn't have grown up here. The apprentices will be going through their genintests next week, and you're probably so far behind them that you'd never pass." Ren allowed Kotori to pour her a cup of cold tea from the jar the older woman had brought from the kitchen area. "So if you won't tell me where you've been, Mitchan, can you at least tell me what you've been doing?"

"Well, Grandmother, it will suffice to say that I would have no problem passing the genin test if I were given the chance." The girl poured herself a cup of the tea and took a calm sip. "My abilities, though they may not be the same as the students here at Konoha, are certainly up to par. I might require some minor cross-training, but that should not be difficult." Ren had taken this moment to consider the profile of the girl sitting across from her, and Kotori raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"No." A quiet smile. "You just look so much like your father when he was your age – it's all in your face, the way you carry yourself. The coloring, though..." the smile turned to a wince "...is your mother, through and through."

Kotori frowned. "Is that bad?"

"No, not bad at all. She was an excellent shinobi, very intelligent, and beautiful also." A heavy pause, then, "After you were taken from us... and your father died... she left us. We don't know where she went, or even if she's still alive."

"I... see." Another sip of the tea, and Kotori gathered her thoughts. "Is my coming back at this time a bother for you, or for anyone else?"

"No, not at all." The smile returned again, laced with sadness. "Just that this family has been needing something to smile about for some time now. With both Katsuo and Osamu gone, this clan has lost a lot of its strength. You are just what we've been looking for. Welcome home."

As told by the sentry, the funeral rites for Yamataki Osamu were held the next day, and with the village in its somber mood its denizens barely noticed a new addition to their number. Kotori took this time to familiarize herself with the home that she'd never known. If anything, she garnered a brief glance because of her bright copper hair, but other than that the citizens of Konohagakure passed her over as just another apprentice. Those who had spotted her at the funeral looked a moment longer and muttered something to themselves or whoever was nearby, but Kotori ignored these comments just as easily as she did the stares. Let them stare. If they really knew who they were looking at…

Her steps led her to a small park-like clearing with a memorial stone in the center, and she found herself tracing along the names etched into it, searching for something familiar. The blue-green eyes widened a little bit at the few mentions of the Yamataki clan she found, and she moved on down the list. Finally, even though she didn't want to see it, Kotori saw what she'd been looking for: Yamataki Katsuo. Unconsciously, she reached a hand out to touch the characters, and her shoulders twitched as she pushed the emerging sob back to whatever depths it had come from. "I won't let anyone see me cry," she hissed under her breath, letting her hand linger a while longer before a new voice on the edge of her thoughts broke her focus.

"If it's something worthwhile to cry about, then why worry?" A slightly older male speaking in cool, laconic tones. "You're human, you have emotions." Kotori whirled to see who it was and blanched when she saw a tall, lanky man with a shock of silver hair barely constrained by his headband, which in turn was pulled down to cover his left eye. Any facial expression that he might have had was in turn covered by a mask, and his one visible eye was darkly unreadable. Recognizing the insignia on his vest as that of a jounin the girl then flushed at her childish display and dashed away, well aware that she was being observed as she ran and really not caring. As for the stranger, he watched her until she was no longer visible and then simply shrugged. Before starting his own visitations, he glanced to see which name the newcomer had been looking at and raised an eyebrow. "Interesting," he remarked to no one in particular.

"And lastly, we have Yamataki… Miyuki, is it?" The pale-haired instructor grinned at this. "We're one letter apart." When this joke faltered and failed, he hurried on. "Well, in spite of the fact that you just arrived here yesterday, Iruka and I have decided to let you try your hand at this anyway. If your grandmother is right in what she said, it will be interesting to see what Katsuo's prodigal daughter has to offer our village. You do know what the task to graduate is, don't you?" This was met by further silence and a simple nod from the girl standing in front of the instructors' table. "Iruka, shall she?"

"Go ahead, Miyuki." The instructor known as Iruka turned a watchful eye on the new girl as she assumed a posture of careful focus. Interesting is only a shade of what I'd use to describe this one. She hasn't trained around here, so maybe we can tell where she's from by what form she uses. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he saw her hands flicker into a seal, and her lips formed the silent phrase: "Mizu bunshin no jutsu!" Iruka heard a faint astonished noise from his counterpart as the contents of an earthenware vessel on the desk behind Kotori oozed out of their own free will and formed three perfect clones surrounding the girl, all mirroring her stock-still pose and statuelike concentration. He nodded his approval, at the same time mentally noting, She takes after her mother… what was her name, Emi? That woman was from the Mist Village… "Even though it isn't a Konoha technique, it still demonstrates the same type of control and focus. I'd give you a pass. What about you, Mizuki?"

There was a pause as Mizuki gave the clones a critical look-over. "Agreed. Pass." Kotori dispelled the clones and bowed to the instructors. "Thank you."

"Our thanks to you for your willingness to try," Mizuki replied smoothly. "I would ask that you find a mop, though." He gestured to the small puddles on the floor where the clones had dissolved. A nod from the girl, who then walked out of the examination room to find the required cleaning tool. "You didn't see her bring that cup in here, did you?" Mizuki asked Iruka, with a puzzled gesture at the cup that had held the water Kotori had used in her exam. "I didn't."

"Can't say I did either," muttered Iruka, frowning slightly. "There's definitely more to this one than most of our students. Do we assign her to a cell, or should we watch her further?"

"I'd keep my eye on her, and her away from everyone else until we find out more. There's still so much that we don't know, and passing this wild card off on two inexperienced students would be a disaster." As Mizuki said this, the door to the exam room opened again and Kotori entered, bearing a mop. The two examiners were silent while the girl cleaned up the water on the floor and waited for her to leave again before resuming their conversation. "Her mother was from the Mist Country, right?"

"That's just what I was thinking. And wasn't Miyuki taken away right after she was born?"

Mizuki nodded. "Curious. So someone kidnaps a newborn child whose mother just happens to be from the Mist Country, and then takes the child away from her homeland for other training…"

"Stranger that they would take her away at birth. Did anyone ever figure that one out?"

A laugh from the pale-haired instructor. "Are you saying we should check her body for a Jinchuriki seal while she's sleeping? That's ridiculous."

Iruka shrugged. "Anything could happen. I've learned not to be surprised." The door opened again at this juncture, and Kotori returned to her place in front of the table to await further instruction. "Congratulations, graduate. Normally, I would give you one of these," he pointed to the few remaining headbands arranged on the table, "but your father had other instructions." Reaching inside his vest, Iruka removed another headband – the plate still graven with the spiral leaf design of Konoha, but the metal worn and pitted from years of use and the fabric slightly faded from repeated washings. "This belonged to Yamataki Katsuo, and to his father Osamu before him. Katsuo-san made it clear that he wanted this passed on to you when you finally graduated and became a genin" He motioned for Kotori to step forward, and when she did Iruka rose from his seat and neatly tied the band around her head. "Looks good on you."

Stepping back, Kotori made a self-conscious adjustment to pull some of the strands of hair loose to hang over the headband. "Thank you, both of you." Another bow. "I only hope I am worthy of your confidence."

"That remains to be seen," murmured Mizuki, sideglancing Iruka. "I'm done with her. You?"

"Yes. You are dismissed."

Solitary in the mass of celebratory students, Kotori was quick to make her way through the throng and get away from the school. She once again felt the observing eyes on her, and she shrugged them off as she had before. So I don't have anyone here to cheer for me like you all do. Bug off, why don't you? Almost as if sensing her hostile vibrations, the gathered all searched for something else to mutter about amongst themselves, and their eyes settled on a blonde boy dejectedly perched in a rope swing hanging from a tree not far from the school entrance. A failure? Oh, that's right. He couldn't even sustain a single copy, much less three, or so I heard. Better luck for him next time, I guess. The boy looked up, hearing the comments directed towards him, and Kotori caught the hurt in his blue eyes as he slunk off into the shadows. She quelched the faint tremor of pity she felt, reminding herself: Pity is just a shade of kindness, and kindness is worthless and wasted on the weak. Pity does nothing to assist those in need, but rather aggravates the injury…

Making her way back to the memorial she'd visited the previous week after the funeral rites, she stopped and looked at the stone until she found her father's name again. The tears came again as she considered it, but this time they brought with them a victorious smile. "I'm on my way, Father." Then, impulsively, she bowed low to the stone. "Thank you for the gift. I'll wear it well, and I'll make you proud." Straightening again, she wiped the tears away from her face and trotted away to find her grandmother and to tell her the news.

Postscript: That's the first chapter! So what do you think of Kotori? There are many chapters yet to come, and I will answer questions and clarify things as they come to my attention. Please Read and Review this fanfiction. However, any flamers can just stop right here. I know that this isn't canon Naruto, and it was never intended to be so. It was just an idea that my friend and I came up with one day. So any thoughtless reviews and the like will be met with the severest penalty I can think of. That is to say, I will have my co-author inflict her unique brand of pain and suffering upon you. Anyways, thanks for reading the first chapter!