Hi no Ishi, Scroll One: Kannabi
Full Summary: As Orochimaru and his allies threaten to topple Konoha, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto are becoming the leaders of their generation. The question is, will they survive the Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen or end up like the previous Sannin – broken? AU at the chuunin exams, FemNaru because I can, Team 7-centric.
A/N: Will somebody beta this? Pretty please?
Glossary
Hi no Ishi – Will of Fire
Kannabi – Where the Gods Do Not Help
Daiyonji Ninkai Taisen – Fourth Great Shinobi World War
Doton – Earth Release
Katon – Fire Release
Raiton – Lightning Release
Suiton – Water Release
Nami no Kuni – The Land of Waves
Uzushiogakure – Hidden in the Whirling Tides
Uzu no Kuni – The Land of Eddies
Daisanji Ninkai Taisen – Third Great Shinobi World War
Iwagakure – Hidden in the Rocks
Fuuinjutsu – Sealing Techniques
Fuuton – Wind Release
Yuurei no Mori – Forest of Ghosts
Konoha no Kiiroi Senkou – Konoha's Yellow Flash
Look, it takes a lot to get me worked up, but this time my boiling point's as low as it's ever been. The Kopi Ninja no Kakashi, the man who copied one thousand techniques…is about to go on rampage!
- Hatake Kakashi
Chapter Four: Iridescent
Kakashi sighed as he stood in front of his genin team within the woods that surrounded Tazuna's house. "In two weeks, I want to have all three of you to have the ability to survive an encounter with a jounin. In other words, the next two weeks are going to be Hell with a capital 'h'. To start off with, I need you three to tell me what you observed during my fight with Zabuza and how you think you could survive a second encounter with him. Sakura, you're first."
"Umm…while he had long-ranged ninjutsu, he seemed to prefer close-range combat. So we could work on distance-type combat?" the Haruno suggested tentatively.
"Exactly. Sasuke, go."
"Doton is one of the main defensive elements, so I could learn how to create walls and such."
"Good. Naruto, shoot."
"Since he seemed to be very good with moving soundlessly, we could work on improving our sensory abilities."
"All three of you have good ideas, but since there is barely enough time to teach you how to specialize in one of these things, I'm going to have each of you specialize in something similar to what you said. Your abilities should then mesh together reasonably well, which will enable you to at least protect yourselves from somebody of Zabuza's level. Sakura, your job will be to keep him dodging with ranged katon ninjutsu. I'll also be working on your speed so that you can keep the distance you'll need. Fire isn't really a defensive element, but there are a few defensive techniques I can teach you. Sasuke, since water is weak to earth, you will neutralize Zabuza's suiton ninjutsu to the best of your abilities. Your element doesn't have the power of Sakura's katon or the speed of Naruto's ration, but it's has huge potential for defensive techniques, so that's what you'll be learning. Naruto, you'll be working on your speed so that you can dodge Zabuza's taijutsu and kenjutsu attacks. Lightning has even less defensive potential then fire and there are only one or two defensive techniques that I can teach you as of now as opposed to the ten or more I can teach Sasuke. Unlike Sakura who can fight pretty easily at all ranges, you specialize in mid- to short- range techniques, which is well within Zabuza's reach, especially with his speed, so it's best if you have the ability to dodge.
By the time I'm done with you three, you'll have all your bases covered; Sakura for long-rang attacks, Sasuke for defense, and Naruto as a sensory and speed-type. Anyways, let's get started," Kakashi said as he quickly formed two Kage Bunshin. "Each of you will be with one of my clones. Let's get going."
The original Kakashi indicated that Sakura should follow him while his clones took Naruto and Sasuke into separate, deeper areas of the forest.
0o0o0o0o0o0
"All right, Sakura," Kakashi said once Sasuke, Naruto, and his clones had disappeared. "The first order of business is improving your stamina, since, as I'm sure you know, you have the lowest chakra reserves on this team."
Sakura looked down at this, ashamed.
"However, your chakra control is definitely above average. This will be helpful once I get your chakra reserves up to scratch. For now though, we'll work on your stamina and reflexes."
As he spoke, Kakashi fished a kunai out of his pouch and twirled it lazily around his finger. "You might want to start running now," the man said cheerfully.
Sakura gulped and ducked an instant later when a kunai slammed into the tree behind her, just where her head had been a second ago. 'I'm so screwed,' she realized.
0o0o0o0o0o0
"What we're going to do now will increase the speed of your hand seals and your reaction time," Kakashi said.
Sasuke kept his silence, but listened to what the Hatake said.
"Zabuza won't tell you what he's going to attack with, and neither will I. Just make sure you only use your doton ninjutsu." With that, Kakashi's hands blurred through hand seals and he intoned softly, "Suiton: Teppoudama!"
Sasuke swore violently as he wove his own set of seals, hoping that he would be fast enough to block the high-velocity water bullets flying this way.
He wasn't.
0o0o0o0o0o0
"Since you mentioned sensory abilities, I'm assuming you know a little bit about them?" Kakashi asked.
"A little," Naruto shrugged. "I just know that you can increase your hearing and sense of smell by focusing chakra to the proper areas. I've also heard a little bit about chakra sensing, but not enough to be able to recreate it."
"Okay," Kakashi chirped as he smiled in his usual way and formed a half-tiger seal. A thick fog formed a moment later, obscuring Naruto's view completely.
Only the slight whistle of metal gliding through air saved Naruto from being impaled by a good twenty kunai.
Kakashi's evil chuckle resounded throughout the mist.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Needless to say, by the end of the day, all three genin were exhausted, bleeding, and bruised. When dinnertime came around, they all ate like ravenous animals. Tsunami wore a bemused expression on her face as she brought third helpings for the three genin.
When they were done eating dinner, Naruto moved to heal the major cuts on her teammates' bodies. After Naruto had finished with Sakura's injuries and moved on to Sasuke's, a picture hanging on the wall caught Sakura's eye.
"Hey, Tazuna-san?" Sakura asked quietly. "Why is this picture torn? Inari was looking at it throughout dinner. Somebody's face was torn out. Was that deliberate?"
All three members of Tazuna's family twitched slightly.
"That was Inari's father," Tsunami replied, her voice blank.
"A while ago, this whole country called him a hero," Tazuna continued.
Inari stood up from his chair and walked away. "Hey, Inari, where are you going?" Tsunami asked worriedly. When she got no response besides a slammed door, she practically shouted, "Inari!" before whirling around to face her father. "I've told you not to speak of that man in front of Inari!" she snapped.
"So whatever it is you're talking about is what makes Inari act so strangely?" Sakura mused out loud.
"Sounds like there's a story there," commented Kakashi.
"…The man in the picture was not actually Inari's birth father," Tazuna said. "But they were as close as any father and son could possibly be. Inari was such a happy child back then." Tazuna trembled slightly, and tears built up in the corners of his eyes.
Sakura immediately looked at the old bridge builder and wondered, 'What could have happened to make him react so strongly?'
"But Inari changed after what happened to his father. Our people – and especially little Inari – lost all hope after what happened on that day."
"What could have possibly happened to change Inari so much?" Kakashi asked curiously.
Tazuna wiped the tears from his eyes before continuing. "I might as well start from the beginning so you can really understand why that man was our country's hero.
"One day, a group of bullies stole Inari's dog, Pochi, and threw him in the ocean from a pier. They pushed Inari in as well. He probably would have died if that man hadn't found him. The man's name was Kaiza; he rescued Inari and taught him that to live a life without regrets was to live a life protecting what is precious to you. He was a wandering fisherman who had come here to find his fortune in the rich waters off of this country. From that day forward, Inari's affection and admiration for Kaiza grew and grew. It probably had something to do with the fact that Inari's real father died before he could remember him, but still, those two were always together. He was just the kind of man the world needs more of.
"Several months later, the river overflowed to such an extent that it forced open the locks that were built there to prevent it from flooding the season. Nobody would go in to close it – it was practically suicide with the currents being as strong as they were. But Kaiza managed to do it. It was this deed and many others that made him so popular in this land. With a father like that, Inari could hold his head high. But then Gatou came to town."
"And then this incident you've been alluding to took place," Kakashi said. "What was it, exactly?"
Tazuna's expression hardened before he took a deep breath and said, "Gatou had Kaiza put to death in front of the entire city."
"What?" Sakura gasped in shock.
Naruto sighed slightly and looked away while Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly and Sasuke's widened.
"He said that Kaiza had been committing terrorist activities and sentenced him to death," explained Tazuna. "Ever since that day, Inari was never the same. And it wasn't just him – Tsunami and everybody else in the country changed. Nami no Kuni is a small place, so word gets around fast and almost everybody knew everybody else…Kaiza's death was a huge blow to this country's morale."
"It's always the dreamers that die young," Naruto muttered as she finished closing a slice along Sasuke's forearm. "If you stand out like that, of course somebody's going to want to kill you. If you kill somebody's hope, you kill their resistance. However, the hope of this land isn't dead, is it? You're their hope now, Tazuna. You and your bridge. That's your resistance."
"Y'know, I think that's the most you've ever said at one time," Sakura commented, smirking.
"Hm. Don't get used to it."
Even Sasuke snorted at that.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Five days later, Naruto was up at the crack of dawn, carrying nothing but two sets of scrolls. She was about to walk out the door when Kakashi caught her wrist.
"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto hid her surprise with her signature biting sarcasm. "I'm going to visit the brothels," she sneered, retracting her hand from Kakashi's grip and reaching towards the door again.
"Both of us know that isn't true, Naruto. Where are you going?"
"Why the hell do you care? You gave us the day off to rest up and I can do whatever the fuck I want with that time."
"Naruto," Kakashi said, his tone of voice making it a reprimand. "As you pointed out a while ago, we are up against at least one jounin-level nukenin, if not more. I'm asking because I care; I don't want you to get killed."
Naruto clenched her jaw involuntarily at Kakashi's last sentence. She had just woken up from a particularly bad dream her imagination had cooked up about Madara and Itachi slaughtering everybody in Konoha, all the while mockingly telling her that it was her fault.
The dream had also served to remind her of why she had purposely distanced herself from people after the Massacre. 'Whoever said time heals all wounds was a damn liar,' Naruto thought, grimacing inwardly. The pain of Itachi's betrayal hurt just as much as it had five years ago. And then there was also the fact that everybody around her would inevitably be brought to ruin by the simple fact of what she was. Naruto wasn't stupid enough to think that everything revolved around her, but it was true that everything she touched seemed to break. And then there was the matter of the Akatsuki…if what Madara had said was true, then in three years she would be a walking target for a group of shinobi that were probably around S-Class, which made her even more of a danger to those around her.
The last reason she had never gotten close to anybody again was rather selfish. When Itachi had left the village, it had hurt like nothing else, and it wouldn't go away, no matter what she did. It had dulled over the years, but only slightly. Even now, she could feel the dull ache in her chest, reminding her of what she was: a danger. No matter what, she never wanted to feel that pain again. She wasn't sure she would survive the experience. And if avoiding that pain meant keeping people at arm's length, then that was what she would do.
"I'm just going to gather some herbs in the forests," Naruto replied finally. "There are some rare species here that can be made into both poisons and antidotes."
Even somebody as inexperienced as Naruto could tell that Kakashi didn't want to let her odd behavior slide. He let her go anyway.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Kakashi blinked once as he watched Naruto leave. 'What the hell was that all about?' he wondered uneasily.
He had seen the uncertainty, fear, pain, and resignation in Naruto's eyes. All ANBU were taught how to read body language and emotion; he was no exception. The emotions disturbed him because they made Naruto look older then she really was; they made her look even older then Sasuke when he thought of his clan.
Kakashi added another note to the ever-growing "Mysteries of Naruto" list.
0o0o0o0o0o0
As soon as Naruto was inside of the woods, she opened one of the scrolls she had brought with her to reveal a detailed map of Nami no Kuni. The blonde quickly raced up a random tree and used the sun to get her bearings before setting off towards the northeast.
She was heading towards a small island that held the remains of a ruined village named Uzushiogakure. The island was practically covered in rare plants that could be used for poisons and antidotes, and Naruto was a bit curious about the village itself.
When she had asked Anko about it, the older kunoichi had said that it had been Nami no Kuni's shinobi village when the country had been known as Uzu no Kuni. It had been destroyed during the Daisanji Ninkai Taisen by Iwagakure. Apparently, it had been famous for its shinobi's prowess in fuuinjutsu. In the end, it was the other villages' fear of those same abilities that lead to Uzushiogakure's extinction.
It took close to four hours of leaping through trees and running over the surface of the ocean to reach the island. Once she had walked a little bit inland, Naruto reached a large clearing and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
There was a giant patch of hemlock to her right, a birch tree to her left, and was that a five-foot clump of fire vine? 'Holy shit!' she thought, 'This place is a medic's heaven!'
Without further ado, Naruto began to harvest the plants.
0o0o0o0o0o0
A good three hours later, Naruto pushed aside a web of vines and branches to find a giant, destroyed city stretched atop the cliffs, facing the ocean.
The ocean itself was churning violently, splashing spray across the cliff walls. Even from her relatively distant position, Naruto could see the jagged rocks poking out of the ocean's surface. 'Hidden in the whirling tides indeed,' Naruto thought with a dry chuckle.
Naruto ghosted through the ruins. 'It's a shame something so beautiful was destroyed,' Naruto thought idly.
Even now, it was obvious that Uzushio had once been a beautiful place. The building were made of a combination of stone and wood, and tended to be circular in shape. Pillars were not an uncommon sight; many times they had spirals carved in to the stone as a form of decoration. A river cut straight through the middle of the city, falling off of the cliffs to form a majestic waterfall.
Naruto walked around a collapsed building and was suddenly flung backwards by a long object slamming into her torso. She hit the wall behind her at an awkward angle, nearly breaking a couple of ribs.
Naruto got up immediately and slipped out the senbon she had hidden up her sleeve as she slipped into a defensive stance.
She raised a single eyebrow when she saw that the thing that had thrown her into the wall was in fact a brown bird with golden eyes that was easily triple her size. Its left wing was extended, indicating that that was what she had been hit with. The bird glared fiercely at her and snarled out, "Get out of here, intruder!"
Naruto's eyebrow rose higher. 'So it can talk too? Great, just what I need. A talking bird that wants to kill me,' she thought. "Look, I'm not taking anything except for the plants this island is populated with," the blonde said.
The bird let out a furious screech. "I am a member of the Falcon Clan, summons of the Uzumaki Clan! I will protect the remnants of this village!"
Naruto's eyes widened at that. 'Uzumaki Clan?' she thought in utter shock. "What the hell do you mean, Uzumaki Clan?" she demanded.
"The extinct masters of fuuinjutsu, the leaders of this village!" he shouted. "Not that you would know anything, outsider!"
"Aki! That's enough!" came the shriek of another bird. This one was even larger, but its feathers were an unnatural blue and its eyes copper-colored and its voice sounded feminine.
The brown falcon, now identified as Aki, bowed its head slightly as if he was ashamed. "Sorry," muttered Aki.
The blue falcon sighed before turning to look at Naruto, who barely noticed it. She was too busy trying to solve the mystery of her surname and what it had to do with a destroyed village. 'Uzu, Uzushio, Uzumaki…they all mean similar things. But what could this mean? Did I really come from this Uzumaki Clan of Uzushio? If so, how is it even possible? Uzushio was destroyed almost thirty years ago!'
"Oi, blondie!"
Naruto's head snapped up and she glared darkly at Aki, cruel words on the tip of her tongue.
The blue falcon sighed and asked, "What is your name?"
"It's considered polite to give your name before asking for another's," Naruto sneered, successfully covering her uncertainty and confusion.
"I'm Umi," the blue falcon replied.
"Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde relented.
Both birds started violently when Naruto introduced herself. Aki's eyes filled up with fury and he protested, "She's got to be lying!"
Umi, on the other hand, just looked at the blonde thoughtfully. "Let's bring her to the elders and see what they say. We can always have her test blood seal anyways."
Aki grunted unhappily before lunging forward and snatching up the back of Naruto's vest in his beak, causing the kunoichi to growl at him. He twisted his head and dropped her on his back, snapping, "Hold on tight."
0o0o0o0o0o0
Despite Naruto's irritation at being practically kidnapped by a pair giant talking birds that claimed to be summons of a clan that she somehow belonged to, she found herself enjoying their flight. The feel of the wind rushing through her hair and the incredible view somehow managed to relax her in a way nothing else had. It ended too soon.
Umi and Aki had landed on a relatively large island a kilometer or so off of the one Uzushio was situated on. Falcons of all sizes ranging from the size of a human to that of a five-story building populated the island. Naruto even saw one that had silver feathers, of all things. Silver!
As soon as Umi and Aki landed, all attention turned towards the two birds. Mutters spread throughout the crowd of birds when they noticed Naruto's presence.
"What's she doing here?"
"A human? We haven't brought any humans here since Kushina-chan died."
"Is she a survivor?"
"But she doesn't have red hair…"
'Who's Kushina?' wondered Naruto. 'Was she a survivor of the Uzushio Massacre? And what does red hair have to do with anything?'
Suddenly, the crowd of falcons parted to allow a massive bird pass through. He was very old, judging by the limpness of his snow-white feathers and the wisdom in his bright yellow eyes, but his size made up for it – he was easily half the height of the Hokage Tower. "Who's this, Umi, Aki?" the white falcon asked sharply.
"We found her in the ruins of Uzushio," Umi replied.
"She claims to be an Uzumaki," declared Aki.
Immediately, the muttering started up again. This time, the birds' tone was more hostile, and Naruto quickly sought a way to diffuse the situation. 'So these are the summons of the Uzumaki Clan, who were specialists in fuuinjutsu and a major clan in Uzushio. Most of their anger seems to stem from my clan name, so that probably means that they think I'm lying and only claiming to be an Uzumaki. If red hair was a trait of this Uzumaki Clan, then the fact that I have blonde hair fuels their suspicion that I'm lying,' she analyzed. "I'm an orphan," she declared among the cacophony of shouting and muttering. Immediately, the falcons fell into silence. "I have no idea who my parents were. It could be coincidence that I have the same surname as the clan you used to serve."
"Why were you at Uzushiogakure?" the white falcon queried suspiciously.
"I was gathering herbs. That island is covered with them. I saw the ruins and got curious."
At that moment, the small silver-feathered bird that Naruto had seen earlier landed in front of the white-feathered elder. It was probably a female, judging from its voice. She carried a plain scroll that she dropped in front of the white-feathered falcon. "Shiro-sama!" the small bird squeaked. "I brought the scroll you asked for!"
The elder bird nodded. "Thank you, Hikari," he said before returning his attention to Naruto. "This is one of the scrolls we managed to save from Uzushio's destruction. It is sealed with a technique that will only allow somebody of Uzumaki blood to open it. Smear some of your blood across the surface and apply a little chakra, and we will see whether you belong to our Uzumaki Clan or not."
Naruto shrugged. 'I hope this at least fills in some of the holes in this whole thing,' she thought dryly. 'If my knowledge of Uzushio was a ship, then I'd be sinking at an alarming rate.' She bit her thumb, molded a little bit of chakra into the appendage, and kneeled down to press her bleeding finger against the scroll.
It flashed with blue light for a moment before unraveling part way. Naruto raised a single eyebrow and thought, 'Okay…so I now know I belong to an extinct clan. As a Nara would say, how troublesome. But how did this happen, exactly? One of the birds mentioned a Kushina. Could she have been a survivor of the Massacre? If so, could she have been my mother?'
The thought of a family was foreign to Naruto; ever since Itachi, she had refused to think about anybody as family. After all, her real parents were dead, and she had learned at an early age that people were not to be trusted. But now, the proof that she had actually belonged to a clan – albeit an extinct one, ironically – was just about biting her in the face. The whole experience was rather novel.
The muttering started up again among the crowd of birds, but this time it rang with hope and happiness.
"She is an Uzumaki!"
"Amazing!"
"This is wonderful! We have a summoner again!"
Shiro blinked once before inclining his head to Naruto. "It would appear you belong to the Uzumaki Clan we served years ago. As such, it is your birthright to sign the contract of the Falcon Clan."
Shiro stepped aside to reveal a large black scroll. "Just unravel the scroll, sign your name with blood, cover all the fingertips of one of your hands with blood, and press your hand into the scroll. Each summoning requires a blood sacrifice and the seals for the summoning technique Boar, Dog, Monkey, Bird and Ram. After you're done with the seals, just place your palm on a nearby surface and channel your chakra into your hand. The falcon you summon will be determined by the amount of chakra you use."
Naruto nodded and signed her name on the scroll before following Shiro's instructions. She channeled a small amount of chakra into her hand to make sure she summoned something controllable. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto muttered. The silver-feathered falcon named Hikari appeared in a puff of smoke and almost seemed to smile up at Naruto. "Hello!" the young falcon chirped. Naruto's mouth twitched up into a small smile at Hikari's cheery tone.
Shiro chuckled, an action that rumbled deep in his chest. "It's tradition for an Uzumaki to take a single falcon as a partner. Most of the time, it's the first bird that the Uzumaki summons becomes their partner. Little Hikari here will be good for you, I think. She balances out your serious attitude."
Naruto's small smile morphed into a scowl at that, but it only caused Shiro to laugh harder. "You two will be able to work together well. Welcome to the Yuurei no Mori. What is your name, little Uzumaki?"
0o0o0o0o0o0
Several hours had passed when Shiro was finished explaining everything to Naruto.
Iwagakure had all but tortured most of the Uzushio citizens before killing them. That pissed her off.
Her mother, Uzumaki Kushina, had been the previous Kyuubi jinchuuriki, and said Bijuu had escaped during childbirth. She could live with that.
Her father had been Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and Konoha no Kiiroi Senkou, the man who had sealed the Kyuubi within her when he had the ability to seal it within a Kage Bunshin or jar of some sort…still processing.
"Ugh," Naruto groaned. "This is gonna give me a headache."
At that moment, Hikari decided to land in front of the blonde jinchuuriki, a brand new hitai-ate carrying the symbol of Uzushio on it tied loosely around her neck. A larger copy of Hikari's hitai-ate was held in her beak. "This is for you," the bird said quietly, dropping the symbol of Naruto's homeland at her feet.
Naruto's hands definitely did not shake as she picked up the hitai-ate and placed it in her pouch. Proper kunoichi did not shake from emotion. That was what it said in the twenty-fifth shinobi rule, and Naruto had always been a stickler for the shinobi rules as long as they didn't put another Konoha-nin in danger.
"You know, we should probably be going, Naruto-sama," Hikari commented. "The moon has risen. Your teammates will be worried about you."
Naruto sighed. "You're right, of cour – wait, did you just call me Naruto-sama?" she asked incredulously.
Hikari looked up at Naruto, her expression practically screaming innocence. "You are a strong person, Naruto-sama. I respect you for surviving with your village's hate for so long. For that, I think you deserve the title."
Naruto snorted. "I should probably get going, or Sakura will strangle me," she muttered.
"I'll take you there," Umi offered from her position a few meters away from Naruto. "It will be faster if we fly there."
"Thanks Umi," Naruto said gratefully as she jumped, landing neatly on the falcon's back. "You coming, Hikari?" the blonde teased.
The silver-feathered female let out an indignant shriek, causing Naruto to snicker as Umi took off
0o0o0o0o0o0
Sakura's eyebrow twitched dangerously as she continued pacing in front of the rest of her team. Finally, she exploded. "Where the hell is she?" roared Sakura. "I swear, I'm going to kill her when she gets back!"
"You know, if you keep pacing like that, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," somebody remarked dryly.
Sakura turned around and frowned deeply at Naruto, who was slouching against the wall, a silver bird perched on her shoulder. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? I WAS WORRIED SICK!" Sakura raged.
Naruto raised a sarcastic eyebrow – how was that even possible, anyway? – and walked towards the other three members of her team. "Aw, I didn't know you cared," Naruto mocked with a smirk.
Sakura's eyebrow twitched again. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU'VE BEEN GONE ALL DAY!"
"Why thank you for stating the obvious."
Sakura let out a half-strangled scream of frustration. "Is it to damn much to ask that you actually think about somebody else for once in your life? Is it too much to ask for you to actually care about something?"
Naruto rolled her eyes. "There's nothing worth caring about," the blonde snarled, her voice unusually vicious and bitter. "Everything crumbles eventually, and all that is left is pain."
Sakura's eyes widened and she stumbled backward as if she had been physically slapped. "W-what?" she stuttered out. This was a completely new side of Naruto; she had always been sarcastic and a thorough believer of tough love, but she had helped Sakura and Sasuke whenever they were having trouble with something. She had healed their wounds and bruises. She must have cared. Right?
"Naruto," Kakashi said in a placating tone, "Sakura was just worried about you because you were gone for so long."
Naruto snorted before turning to leave. "I'll be back inside later," she muttered as she exited the house again.
Sasuke frowned. "Hey-," he called.
"I'll talk to her," Kakashi said before he stood up and followed Naruto outside.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Naruto was sitting on the dock a few meters away from the house, allowing her feet to sink into the freezing ocean water. Kakashi walked up behind her and commented, "Y'know, you could get frostbite like that."
Naruto spared him a single glance, but looked back at the moon rising over the ocean without saying a word.
"So what's with the bird?" Kakashi asked in a rather pathetic attempt to start a conversation.
"I'm a falcon, for the record," the silver-feathered bird piped up.
Kakashi started slightly when he heard the bird's voice. He turned, intending to examine the bird closely, only to find that Naruto's shoulder was in his line of vision. "Does this falcon have a name?" Kakashi questioned with fake cheerfulness.
"Hikari," the bird answered.
"…Aa."
'Why does the idea of a falcon summon seem familiar?' wondered Kakashi. His eye widened slightly. 'The Uzumaki Clan had the Falcon Contract. Fuck.'
If Naruto had the Falcon Contract, which meant that she probably knew about her clan and her parents. 'She must have visited the ruins of Uzushio. Shit, this is bad.'
"Naruto…" he said hesitantly.
"Why didn't you tell me about my parents?" the blonde asked quietly, her voice blank and robotic. "You knew. You were his student. There's no way you didn't know."
Kakashi sighed and looked away, avoiding Naruto's piercing gaze. "Sandaime-sama thought it would be best if nobody knew who your parents were. They had a lot of enemies, as I'm sure you know. You would have been murdered as an infant."
"Was I ever going to be told?"
"When you reached jounin or the age of sixteen."
Naruto was silent after that.
"Naruto…" murmured Kakashi, "Please try not to hate him. Minato-sensei did the best he could."
The Uzumaki snorted. "You know just as well as I do that he could have sealed the Kyuubi within a container or jar. He wanted Konoha to have a weapon."
Kakashi winced slightly. 'She's right, of course,' he thought grimly. 'But…' "I doubt that. Minato-sensei wasn't the sort of person who condoned turning humans into weapons. He probably just wanted you to have a special power of some sort that would allow you to survive without parents. Besides, a jar is a lot easier to steal then a trained kunoichi."
Naruto snorted at that, this time in amusement.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Three days later, Tazuna's family plus Team 7 was gathered around the dinner table, eating. Of course, the genins' usual antics couldn't be quelled. Sakura was flicking Naruto's nose in an attempt to get a reaction out of the apathetic kunoichi, and an amused smirk teased at the corner of Sasuke's mouth.
Sasuke's smirk quickly morphed into a small frown as tears built up in the corners of Inari's eyes as the young boy watched Naruto and Sakura interact.
"Why do you try so hard?" Inari shouted suddenly, standing up and slamming his palms down on the table. "No matter how hard you try, you'll never be a match for Gatou's thugs! You act cool and talk tough, but big, strong guys like that are always too much for weaker people! He'll destroy you!"
Sasuke raised his eyebrows slightly. 'Brat,' he thought.
Naruto didn't even glance up when she said, "Gatou's just one man. He feeds on your fear. He's only stronger then you because you let him be. After all, he has to hire other people to do all of his work. If he was as strong as you say, he would have come here and fought us himself."
"Just watching you ticks me off!" Inari snarled, tears running down his cheeks. "You guys don't know a thing! This isn't your town! You don't know a thing about me! You're always goofing off and having fun! You don't know anything about loneliness or suffering!"
Sasuke had to forcibly repress the burst of killing intent he let out reflexively. His eyes narrowed into a withering glare. 'How dare he-!' he raged mentally, gritting his teeth together. 'How dare he say such a thing!'
Naruto didn't react at all, as usual. "Go ahead and throw yourself a pity party, brat," she sneered. "See if I care."
Inari let out a choked sob and ran away from the table.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Suiton: Teppoudama
English: Water Release: Gunshot
Rank: C
Classifications: Ninjutsu, Long-Range, Offensive
Description: After the necessary hand seals are completed, the user spits out several high-speed bullets formed out of water. Like most C-Rank ninjutsu, the effectiveness of this technique can be increased with a larger amount of chakra.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu
English: Lit. "Spiritualism Technique." Translated as Summoning Technique
Rank: C
Classifications: Ninjutsu
Description: After a contract with an animal clan is signed, the user completes the hand seals and places the palm that they signed the contract with on the ground. An animal from the contracted clan will be summoned. The size of the animal depends on the amount of chakra used.
The title of this chapter is Iridescent by Linkin Park.