A/N: Before you get started I just wanted to make a few more things clear. This story will take a few chapters to reach where it starts in the series. As some of you may have realized in the last chapter Naruko does not live in Konoha, she travels around with Jiraiya. The first few chapters will cover times Naruko visits the village before she finally stays and becomes a ninja. Again please review, I would love to get some feedback. Also, I have a busy weekend coming up and I start my internship next week so the next update might not be until November.
Declaimer: I do not own Naruto the series. I do however own all my OCs so please do not use them.
Text examples:
"Hello." Biju or jinchuriki using biju's powers speaking
'Hi.' Person thinking
'Hi there.' Person speaking through mental link
'Howdy.' Biju speaking through mental link
Chapter 2: First Real Friend
Naruko had always wanted to go back to Konoha. It was the place that her father grew up and where the legendary Sannin came from. Naruko still did not believe her gramps when he told her that he was the same Jiraiya from the stories. Kurama did not help any because he agreed with Naruko. He could not believe it either. Konoha was a dream for Naruko, a place where ninja lived together, trained, did missions, and even had families. It was even supposed to have the greatest ramen shop in the world, Ichiraku Ramen. Truly it seemed like a wonderland to Naruko. So it was understandable how excited she was when she saw the gates.
"We're here!" Naruko jumped up into the air and was about to run into the village when Jiraiya grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her up into the air.
"Calm down kid. No need to rush, we actually managed to get here early so we still have plenty of time to go check into a hotel. Besides that, you need to hide those ears and tail before we get any closer to the village." Jiraiya knew that there were other half-demons in the village, but most of them choose to use the transform technique to conceal their heritage rather than face persecution at the hands of some of the more hateful villagers. Jiraiya did not want Naruko to go through that and lose her love for Konoha.
"I hate having to hide who I am. When I revive my clan and become the head I'm never going to hide who I am again." Naruko pouted but made the hand signs for the transformation anyway. There was a puff of smoke as Naruko completed the jutsu. She was still in her orange sleeveless shirt and her black shorts with her shoulder length red hair, but her tail was gone and her fox ears were replace by regular ears. She didn't bother to hide her whisker marks.
"I'm sure you will kid. Now let's get in there before it gets any later. I want a nice dinner before I go out tonight." Jiraiya was tired of the travelling provisions and wild game that they had been eating for the last few days. He wanted a real meal before he went out tonight to do research. He would go see the Hokage in the morning.
"Can we get ramen?" Jiraiya sighed. Of course she would want ramen. Whenever they stayed in a town she always wanted ramen.
"Sure kid, let's just get checked into the hotel first." Naruko made a cheerful shout and jumped in the air. When she hit the ground she started doing her ramen dance.
-Konoha Hotel-
"Hello sir. How may I help you?" Jiraiya walked up to the beautiful blond and brown eyed girl that was standing behind the counter. He put on his best charmer smile.
"Well hello there. Aren't you a lovely sight? There are a few things you can help me with, but I think they will have to wait till you're off tonight." The blond had a blush on her face. She was not used to this kind of thing. After all she was only nineteen. Jiraiya was having a blast. Her reaction would be perfect material for the new book idea that he just got about a very interesting hotel. Jiraiya's smile faded as he felt a tug on his pants. He looked down to see Naruko.
"Daddy, don't forget that Mommy wanted a luxury suite for the week and to make sure that it had two beds, one for you and mommy and one for me." Jiraiya looked back at the girl behind the counter. Her eyes had narrowed and she had a scowl on her face. She was giving him her best death glare. After a few moments she put on a happy face as she looked down at Naruko.
"You got it, one luxury suite for a week with two beds." The girl rang them up on the register and Jiraiya paled when he saw the amount.
'This kid is going to be the death of me.' Not only had she just cost him a small fortune she probably just cut off all hope that he had of doing any research in the hotel. 'I have to ditch this kid soon otherwise I'll never get any research done.' Jiraiya looked at Naruko as he took the keys to the room. She was sticking her tongue out at him. As he looked up he saw a shapely woman just leaving the hotel. He got a stupid grin on his face and threw his stuff at Naruko along with some money.
"Take the bags to the room and there is some money for food. I'll see you around kid." With that Jiraiya took off out the door. Naruko frowned and walked back to the desk clerk and put down the keys.
"Is there any way that I can switch this to two rooms, one luxury and one cheap one?" The clerk looked at the girl.
"He isn't your father is he?" Naruko shook her head.
"No. He is my godfather and guardian though. Sorry about lying, but if I didn't say that then he would have tried to pull the whole single father who is looking for companionship card. You would be surprised how often that works." The clerk could only frown at what she heard.
"Let me take care of that for you." She took the keys from Naruko and gave her back a different set. "That is to the single upstairs. I'll have someone bring your bags up. You can leave his in the corner over there with the other key. Now is there anything I can help you with?" Naruko had a smile on her face. She liked the clerk, so she read the girl's nametag.
"Thanks for everything Rika! And there is one thing you can help me with. How do I get to Ichiraku Ramen?"
-Ichiraku Ramen-
"Damn kid, you sure can eat." The small girl that was sitting at his counter was already on her fifth bowl of ramen and had paid for five more.
"Thanks pops! Your ramen is great! That and I am a growing girl. Growing girls need to eat." The man could not help but laugh at the girl. She seemed so bright and cheerful.
"Well thanks kid. I appreciate the complement. I'm Teuchi and this is my shop." Naruko looked up at her man, temporally forgetting her ramen.
"You can own a ramen shop?!" Naruko had never heard of such a thing. How could someone own a sacred temple that was a ramen shop?
"Sure you can kid. Anyone can if they put the effort into it. This shop has been in my family for years and it's my hope that my daughter Ayame will take over for me. She's about your age actually, maybe a little older. You might like her, she loves cooking." The red head was ecstatic. She now had a new goal in life, a new dream, to own a ramen shop and eat ramen all day every day. Kurama heard the thought and let out a laugh.
'Kit, what happened to reviving your clan? I thought that was your dream.' Kurama knew that the girl was getting her priorities mixed up again.
'Thanks Dad! I almost forgot. First revive my clan and then buy a ramen shop!' Naruko had a bright smile on her face as she looked back at Teuchi.
"It's great to meet you Uncle Teuchi! My name is Naruko Uzumaki and someday I'm going to revive the Uzumaki clan!" Teuchi smiled because the girl called him uncle and laughed because of how confident she seemed to be that she would revive her clan. He would guess that bringing back a clan was a very hard thing to do, but something told him that this girl might just be able to do it.
"It's great to meet you too Naruko and when you do revive your clan make sure to bring them all here for ramen." Naruko practically jumped out of her seat as she nodded her head up and down. That sounded like a great idea. Naruko finished off the next five bowls of ramen and said goodbye to Teuchi as she made her way down the street.
-Near the Hyuga Compound-
"Hey Hyuga!" A small dark blue haired girl turned around when she heard her family name. A group of boys a few years older than her were walking towards her. Based off of their looks they seemed to be Uchiha.
"W-what do y-you want?" The small girl did not like to be around people and she often stuttered when she had to talk to them. One of the boys approached her and pushed her into the wall. She let out a little cry when she hit the wall. She was not pushed that hard, but it still hurt.
"I want you and your whole clan to go away. You no good Hyugas are nothing but weaklings and should be kicked out of the village." The other boys behind the apparent leader let out voices of agreement as they moved to surround her. The girl backed up against the wall as fear gripped her. She saw the boy who had first called out to her draw his fist back and she closed her eyes in anticipation of the hit. The blue haired girl heard the sound of someone being hit, but she felt no pain. She opened her eyes in her confusion. The boy that was about to hit her was on the ground holding his bloody nose. The blue haired girl saw a girl with red hair and an angry look on her face standing near the boy on the ground.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Naruko had been trying to figure out how to get back to Ichiruka's so she could find her way to the hotel. In her search she had come upon these bullies who were about to beat up a little girl and she could not stand for that. It did not even matter to her that there were more of them or that they were older then her. What mattered is that they were doing something wrong and she was going to correct that very shortly.
"We're putting this Hyuga girl in her place." The voice had come from behind Naruko so she turned around to face the other boys that were still standing. The boy that she had hit was on the ground crying and did not seem to be getting up anytime soon.
"Oh yeah? Well how about you leave her alone before I put you in your place." The red head let out a very fox like growl. She really did not like bullies. There was no point to them. They just hurt people for no reason.
"Try it!" Naruko smiled at the boy's invitation. She pushed off the ground and closed the distance on the boy who just talked almost instantly. He was surprised by her speed, but did not get the chance to react as a fist slammed into his jaw and sent him tumbling backwards. The two boys that were left were shocked. They had figured the girl got lucky the first time since she caught them by surprise, but now they were thinking otherwise. Naruko faced the next boy and kicked him sharply in the shin, causing him to let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground. The last boy wised up and ran away when the red head locked her eyes on him. He swore that her eyes had turned red. The other boys picked themselves up and followed their friend. The blue haired girl was wide eyed at what she just saw. A girl around her own age just took out three boys who were older than them and made a fourth run away in fear. She could not help but be a little afraid too as the girl turned to look at her.
"Are you okay?" The shy girl was surprised by the concern and compassion that she saw in the red head's eyes. All she could do was nod. "That's a relief. I'm glad I got here when I did before things could get worse." The blue haired girl lowered her head and kept her eyes on the ground.
"Th-thank y-you for helping m-me." Naruko looked at the other girl and smiled at her. The girl was obviously still afraid if she was stuttering so much.
"Hey now, there's no need for that. Those jerks are gone and you're safe. I'm Naruko." Naruko put on her best smile and held out her hand to the blue haired girl.
"My n-name is Hinata." Hinata took the girls and shook it.
"There, that's better. Well Hinata, let's get you home. It is getting kind of late." Naruko turned and started walking down the street. She never let go of Hinata's hand. After a few blocks Naruko stopped while scratching the back of her head and turned towards the other girl.
"Um, where do you live?" Hinata had barely heard the question. She was blushing over the fact that her hero was holding her hand still. When the question finally registered she looked up.
"The Hy-hyuga compound." Naruko looked to be in serious thought for a second as she rubbed her chin. Then she looked at Hinata blankly.
"I have no idea where that is." Hinata smiled a little at the omission. She liked that the red head was honest. Hinata used her free hand to point Naruko in the right direction. The two continued to walk hand in hand the whole way while Naruko talked about how those boys were such jerks and that Hinata should go try Ichiraku Raman sometime. After about ten minutes they were in sight of the gates of the Hyuga Compound right as a woman was making her way out of the gates. She looked over at them and broke out in a sprint. She ran to them and dropped to her knees as she enveloped Hinata in a hug.
"Hinata, thank Kami you're alright." The woman looked relieved and let out a sigh releasing all her pent up anxiety. Then her face got serious as she held Hinata at arm's length. "Where have you been young lady? I went to your room and you weren't there. When I saw the latch on your window open I almost had a heart attack thinking someone had kidnapped you, but then I realized your shoes were gone too so I figured you snuck out. You are so lucky your father hadn't noticed. He would have been furious." Hinata looked on the verge of tears as the woman spoke. Naruko was about to snap at the woman for making Hinata cry, but Hinata spoke up first.
"I'm sorry m-mother. I just. I just w-wanted to get you a p-present for your bi-birthday." Hinata was crying by this point and her mother just smiled as she took her daughter into her arms once again.
"Shh, it's okay my little sunflower. I'm sorry for raising my voice. Mommy was just really worried about her little girl. Do you forgive me?" Hinata hugged her mom back as she nodded her head. Her tears stopping as she leaned into the embrace. Naruko was smiling at the display of love and she was a little jealous too. She had not gotten a chance to hug Hinata yet. Hinata's mother stood up and looked at the two.
"So Hinata, who is your friend?" Hinata hesitated for a moment as if she was trying to work up her courage. Naruko saw this and took her hand again. Hinata's blush went up to her ears.
"This is Naruko." Hinata's mother was pleasantly surprised. She had never heard her daughter say anything without stuttering before. She instantly liked the red head.
"Hello Naruko. I'm Himeko Hyuga, Hinata's mother. It's a pleasure to meet you and thank you for bringing my daughter home." Himeko and Naruko smiled at each other.
"Nice to meet you Lady Hyuga." Naruko gave her a little bow while still holding Hinata's hand. The action surprised the two Hyugas. The red head did not seem the type to bow. Naruko stood up still with a smile present. "And it was no problem bringing her home. She was actually the one to show me the way. I'm just glad I came across her before those jerks could do anything to her." Naruko felt her hand being squeezed tightly and she looked over at Hinata, who smiled at the red head.
"What jerks?" The elder Hyuga was curious as to what happened. Naruko turned back towards Himeko.
"A bunch of boys had her surrounded and one of them tried to hit her, but I hit him first and beat the others up." Himeko was surprised to say the least. This small girl not only brought her daughter home, but also saved her from a possible beating.
"Is this true Hinata?" Himeko had no cause distrust the girl, but neither did she have a reason to trust her. Hinata still had a smile on her face as she nodded her head. "Well I think a reward is due to you Naruko, for your brave actions in protecting my daughter. So what would you like?" Naruko rubbed her chin with her free hand as she thought about the question. Then she snapped her fingers and looked at Himeko.
"I want to hang out with Hinata tomorrow!" Himeko giggled at the girl's choice. Naruko really did seem to be a very good natured little girl.
"Well I think that can be arranged. Hinata has lessons in the morning, but she is free in the afternoon. Why don't you come by around then and the two of you can have lunch together, how does that sound?" Hinata and Naruko looked at each other and smiled.
"That sounds great Lady Hyuga. I can't wait!" Naruko did a little bow to show her thanks. Himeko giggle again.
"Please Naruko, just call me Himeko." Himeko really felt strange having such a small girl calling her Lady. Even if it was a proper title it made her feel old.
"Thanks Aunt Himeko." Naruko turned towards Hinata and hugged her. "I'll see you tomorrow Hinata." Naruko's voice was a soft whisper in Hinata's ear that set her blush off again. Naruko let go of Hinata and backed up a little. She was about to let her arms drop when Hinata caught her hands with her own.
"Good night Naruko." Hinata had her head down to try to hide her blush.
"Good night Hinata." Naruko squeezed both of Hinata's hands before she turned and started to walk away. She got about half way down the block before she stopped and ran back to the gate. "Do you know how to get to Konoha Hotel from here? I have no idea how to get back there." Himeko laughed a little as she shook her head.
"I think we can do better. Hinata? Can you run inside and get a map for me?" Hinata nodded and went inside. "I'll mark it on the map and you can keep it so you know how to get back here tomorrow."
"Thanks Aunt Himeko." Naruko bowed again. Himeko crouched down so she was at eye level with the girl.
"You're welcome Naruko and thank you again for protecting my daughter." Himeko leaned forward and hugged Naruko tightly. The red head was frozen for a moment. She had not expected to be hugged by the woman, let alone how natural it felt. She felt protected and cared for. It amazed her how caring the woman could be to someone she just met. Naruko picked up her arms and hugged Himeko back, a grin was on the red head's face.
'Naruko. I wish to speak with her.' Naruko was surprised at the unasked request. She let go of Himeko and took a step back.
'Are you sure Dad?' Kurama was quite for a moment.
'Yes kit. We can trust her.' Naruko nodded her head and looked back at Himeko, who had stood up again.
"Dad says he wants to talk to you." Himeko was about to ask what Naruko meant, but she stopped when she saw the girl bite her thumb. Naruko did a series of hand signs and then slammed her right hand on the ground creating a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared there was a red-orange fox with nine tails sitting on its hind legs next to Naruko. "Aunt Himeko, Dad. Dad, Aunt Himeko." Himeko was speechless.
"Hello Lady Himeko. Kit, why don't you go inside and see if you can find Hinata and give her a hand. Ask the first person you come across to take you to her. I don't want you causing trouble." Naruko smiled and went off inside to look for Hinata.
"Who are you?" The fox was clearly a demon because he could talk and he had just been summoned through the use of a summoning jutsu. 'Naruko called him dad so does that mean that Naruko is a half-demon? Hiashi would have a fit if he found out about this.'
"I am the Kyubi and my name is Kurama." Himeko's eyes went wide.
"And you're Naruko's father?" 'Was Naruko really the child of the Kyubi?' Himeko was flabbergasted.
"Yes and no. I am not her birth father. He was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Her mother was Kushina Uzumaki. I was sealed in Kushina during the length of her pregnancy. As such Naruko was exposed to demonic chakra since her conception making her a half-demon. I was sealed inside Naruko shortly after her birth and have been with her ever since. I have taught her and raised her like she was my own, which is why she calls me dad." Kurama smiled as he thought back on the last few years. It was a blessing to watch the child grow.
"Why are you telling me all this?" It did not make sense to the Hyuga woman. If this was all true why would Kurama reveal himself and reveal that Naruko was a half-demon. If the information got out it could lead to Naruko being hunted down and possibly killed.
"Because I want you to know what you are getting into by allowing your daughter to be around mine." Kurama knew that he could trust Lady Himeko. She had a kind and understanding aura about her. He knew she would be able to accept what Naruko was so he decided to not keep it a secret from her. Himeko did not respond for quite some time.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that Naruko is a good girl and she makes Hinata smile. That's all I care about." She smiled at the fox.
"Thank you. Now if you will excuse me, I can sense Naruko approaching. It was been a pleasure to meet you Lady Himeko." Kurama bowed his head and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Himeko bowed slightly at the spot Kurama just was. She turned around as she heard the girls approaching. Her eyes shot open wide.
"What happened to you two?" The two girls were soaking wet. Hinata looked embarrassed and could not make eye contact, while Naruko had a sheepish grin on her face.
"Nothing." Naruko keep the grin on her face as she handed the map to Himeko. Surprisingly enough it was completely dry. Himeko just shook her head as she took out a pen and marked down how to get to the hotel.
"Here you go." She handed the map to Naruko. "The street we're on is the one right there on the map. You can take the same route to get here tomorrow." Naruko looked down on the map trying to memorize the way.
"Thank you so much Aunt Himeko." Naruko bowed and turned towards Hinata and hugged her quickly before running off. "I'll see you tomorrow Hinata!" The two watched as the red head turned at a corner down the street. Himeko turned and took her daughter's hand as they walked inside.
"So why were you two all wet?" Himeko looked down at her daughter and saw the blush on Hinata's face reach all the way to her ears. All the Hyuga woman could do was laugh.
-Konoha Hotel-
Naruko walked into the hotel with a huge grin on her face and she was practically skipping as she walked. Thankfully she had dried off quite a bit on the walk back otherwise she would have stood outside till she was dry.
"Have a good night?" Naruko stopped mid stride and turned to see Rika still standing behind the desk.
"I'm surprised you're still here. I would've thought you'd gone home by now." Naruko made her way over to the front desk. Rika lifted a hand and waved at the girl.
"My family owns the hotel so I actually live here, so technically I'm already home." Naruko thought this was interesting. She never knew you could live where you worked. It made her wonder if she could live at a roman shop when she owned one.
"That's pretty cool. It must be nice to be able to work so close to where you can sleep. Once you're finished you can just go straight to bed." The desk clerk had to nod at the statement. It was nice to just walk twenty feet to your bed once work was over.
"That's true. Hey, I just realized that I never got your name." The red head scratched the back of her head as she realized that Rika was right.
"Sorry about that. I'm Naruko." Naruko reached out and the two shook hands.
"Well Naruko, did you have a good night?" The smile that appeared on Naruko's face was one of the biggest Rika had ever seen.
"Yeah I did. It was great. Not only did I taste the best ramen in the world today I also got to make a new friend." Naruko was fondly thinking about the night she had and got lost in her memories for a moment.
"Oh, anyone I might know?" Rika knew a lot of people in the village so there was always a chance that she knew who ever it was that Naruko had met.
"Not sure. Do you know any Hyugas?" Rika was shocked to say the least. The Hyuga did not often associate with ninja outside of their clan, let alone civilians. Naruko must have met one of the nicer branch family members.
"I know a few. What was his name?" She did know a few of the workers at the Hyuga Compound and they were Hyugas even if they were of the branch family.
"Her name was Hinata. I met her mom, Himeko, too. They were really nice and I get to hang out with Hinata tomorrow." Rika was almost floored. Here was a little girl talking so casually about meeting the wife of the head and the heir of the Hyuga clan. Not to mention that Naruko was actually allowed to see the Hyuga heir as if the two were friends. Just who was this little girl?
"I've heard of them before. They are pretty important." That was an understatement. The Hyuga was one of the two most influential clans in the village, the other being the Uchiha.
"I got that feeling from them. They didn't act like it though. Hinata was really shy and Aunt Himeko seemed just like a caring mother." Rika looked incredulously at the girl. Did she just say aunt?
"Aunt Himeko?" Rika could not believe Naruko was calling the wife of the Head of the Hyuga Clan aunt.
"Yeah, she didn't seem to mind." Naruko let out a large yawn and then laughed. "I guess it's bed time. Good night Rika." Naruko waved and then made her way to the stairs. Rika stared at the red head's back as she walked away.
"Definitely time for bed." She walked to the front door and locked it while trying to convince herself she did not just see Naruko with a tail.
-Stairwell-
Naruko made it about three steps up the before sliding to the floor asleep. Kurama let out a sigh and took over her body as the red head slept in his forest. Kurama got Naruko's body to stand up and make its way to Naruko's room. Once inside he made Naruko's hands perform the fox summoning jutsu. The red head's hand hit the ground and smoke appeared. As the smoke cleared a brown fox the size of a horse with seven tails was revealed.
"Aika. Get Naruko cleaned up and into bed. She's had a very exciting day." With that Kurama went back to his forest and Naruko started snoring a little. She dipped slightly but Aika transformed quickly and caught her. Aika was a tall slim woman in her thirties when she was in human form with fox ears on top of her head and her seven tails swayed back and forth. The brown haired woman wore a white kimono with a red sash around her waist. She had been helping take of Naruko for the last three years, Jiraiya none the wiser. She sat the girl down for a moment and went over to her bag and grabbed some sleeping clothes for the girl. Aika picked up Naruko, taking her into the bathroom and she washed the girl's face. Aika then changed Naruko's clothes and took her back into the sleeping area where she folded down the sheets to put Naruko on the bed. Aika smiled at the girl, she truly did think of the red head as her own kit. Realizing that it had been quite some time since she was last summoned she decided to stay for the night and curled up next to the red head. Soon she was sound asleep.
A/N: And that ladies and gentlemen is chapter 2. I hope you like my first two OCs Rika and Aika, whose names are quite alike now that I think about it, but oh well too late to change it, I'm attached to the names now. Both will make an appearance in the later chapters as well so look forward to reading more about them. Also, there does not seem to be an actual name for Hinata's mother so I just picked one. I stuck with the H theme with the family if you hadn't noticed. Till next time.