A/N: some of you may notice I changed the title, this is due to me discovering that the title I chose originally had like 5 other five under that name. I hope the new title stands out enough.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Birthdays and Learning
In the days leading up to the girls' birthday Jiraiya was panicked trying to get everything perfect down to the invitation cards, the cards he ended up settling on were ones with an orange toad in a birthday hat griping about Tuesdays. He made sure to get tents in the appropriate colors for the campout the girls wanted, Jiraiya even got orange and pink party streamers to hang from branch to branch. Tsunade on the other hand was up at night trying different cupcake recipes after her shift at the hospital. On the nights Tsunade would stay up so would Jiraiya, he wanted to keep her company. Often when keeping her company the two would end up on the couch passed out together.
At a different house just the day before, a woman with raven-colored hair was checking the mail with her two sons one appeared to be around the age of six also with raven-colored hair, and the other looked to be around 13 with straight medium-length black hair. Opening the mailbox the woman who can only be assumed to be their mother looked excited.
Speaking toward the boys she'd excitedly say. "Sasuke look, the Senju girls want you over for a birthday party. Isn't that exciting!"
A smile stretched across the younger boy's face. "Really kaasan? I don't really know them but I'd love to go"
After hearing his younger brother's excitement the older boy would speak up rather calmly. "I can take you if you'd like Sasuke."
As they walked down the street to what was probably back home, Sasuke would speak up once again. "Hey Itachi, what do you think I should get them? I hope they are also entering the academy soon, they would make the best rivals for me!"
The older boy Itachi would speak up with a chuckle. "I mean they are Senju, perhaps they'd want some ninja supplies Sasuke. If you want I'll go in on their present too so you get them something great."
A look of pride could be seen on Sasuke's face as his chest puffed up. "Of course, we need to get them something great we're Uchiha!"
At the park two kids were seen playing together, one boy and one girl. The boy had messy brown hair and was wearing a grey coat with a fur collar. The girl had purple-black hair and was wearing an oversized tan coat, her eyes were a pupilless light lavender. The two kids were interrupted during a game of tag by a tanned woman in the normal green shinobi flack jacket, beside her an old black and grey dog with his left eye missing.
The woman shouted at the playing children. "KIBA! HINATA!"
The two kids not wishing to get in trouble would run up to the woman. Running out of breath on their way up by the time to her, by the time they arrived they were panting and had their hand on their knees. The first to speak up was the boy Kiba. "Is it time for us to take Hinata home already?"
"No Kiba, even better. I just ran into Lady Tsunade her girls are inviting you two to their party." The woman said simply.
The girl who could be assumed to be Hinata would then shakily speak up. "You mean Naruko and Sakura want us to come?"
"Yes exactly, they want you two there at the Senju compound overnight for a sleepover," The woman said.
Hinata's face would become an intense shade of red at the thought of spending the night at the Senju compound. Eventually fainting on the ground in front of Kiba who'd worry that she is ill and needs to go to the hospital, this would just make the woman laugh at her stupid son's reaction to the situation.
Back at the Senju residence Sakura and Naruko were playing and climbing some trees when Jiraiya would notice something odd. Naruko's fingertips and the ends of her toes would become claws as she unknowingly would send chakra into them. It also appeared while playing Sakura was doing something else spectacular, whenever she'd touch a plant while playing a pink flower would sprout. This shocked Jiraiya visibly captivating him. Thinking to himself that Sakura has wood style, and Naruko as per usual is showing signs of housing the Kyuubi first the whiskers and now the ability to sprout claws. This was spectacular he need to tell Tsunade as soon as possible.
Naruko would look at her sister with excitement and quickly dart her eyes back and forth from the flowers to her sister's face. "Sakura those flowers are so pretty! How are you doing that? It's so cool!"
Sakura would just shrug toward her sister. "I don't know, I just do"
Around this time Tsunade was coming home from work at the hospital just to find her idiot of a husband staring at the girls with his jaw wide open, Naruko bouncing off the walls quite literally, and Sakura growing pink flowers from a bush next to the tree. The sheer absurdity of the situation was enough to annoy Tsunade, why wasn't Jiraiya talking to the girls about what he was seeing?
"EVERYONE UP STAIRS NOW" Tsunade would shout toward them in a frustrated manner.
Hearing this Jiraiya gulped and stood straight, not wanting to get hurt. the girls took off running up the stairs at full speed scared they were in trouble, Naruko at one point running on all fours and outpacing Sakura. Jiraiya seeing the girls run would do the same causing Tsunade to face-palm at the reactions they all had. She'd soon follow after her family although much slower than the rest, shocked at the reaction they all had to her raising her voice. Once upstairs Tsunade would lock the door behind her wondering what her next action would be, deciding to sit the girls down and explain what she was seeing, starting with Sakura.
"Hey girls would you mind sitting down, I need to talk to you two." Said Tsunade
The two girls in question would go to the living room and sit on the floor facing the couch, Jiraiya and Tsunade would sit down on the couch in front of them. Letting out a calm breath and holding each other's hands. Tsunade would then make eye contact with Sakura's emerald eyes.
"Sakura you beautiful girl, do you know how spectacular you being able to grow those flowers is? We haven't seen something like that since your great-grandfather's ability to use wood release do you know what this means Sakura?"
"Oh is it one of those bloodline thingies tousan told me about? Like I have a family ability?" Sakura asked intuitively
Tsunade would nod gently as she'd go on to explain. "Yes, you have the ability with your chakra to manipulate and create plants. It is extremely rare and extremely powerful, your great-grandfather Hashirama was able to fight off any opponents that challenged him.
Naruko would speak up enthusiastically. "Wow, Sakura-chan you are so cool! I'm so lucky you are my sister and..."
Naruko would be interrupted by Tsunade. "Naru, you have a special power too. You have a special source of chakra that is more potent than regular chakra, I've also seen you grow out claws while playing..."
It was now Narko's turn to interrupt. "Of you mean Kyuu-kun is a special power? He's so nice to me, well sometimes he is, he calls me a brat a lot and that isn't very nice. I wish in my dreams he'd stop calling me stupid, I'm no dummy!"
This news shocked Tsunade and Jiraiya, prompting Jiraiya to speak up with a heavy tone. "Naru-chan listen closely. You cannot let other people know about the fox 'Kyuu' people are scared of your friend."
"HEY, I NEVER SAID HE WAS A FOX! Tousan how did you know?" Naruko shouted before calming herself to ask the question
Jiraiya panicking slightly would reply with an obvious lie. "Because long ago I knew a shinobi with the same power and she was bullied for saying she had a friend who was a fox, so I just assumed," he said while sweating bullets.
"Oh, okay then." Replied Naruko.
Tsunade was dumbfounded that Jiraiya's terrible lie actually worked. "So girls compounding onto today's news, I have decided to enroll you two into the ninja academy. I only ask you to go for one year, I don't want to force you. However, it seems like the smart thing to do as your father and I are both shinobi." She said sharply
The next day after the intense discussion they had the day prior happened to be the day of the party. Orange and pink cupcakes were laid out on a small wooden table outside, and the table next to it had several wrapped presents color coded to the girl's respective favorite colors of orange and pink. Up above hanging from the trees were colorful ribbons with flowers hanging onto them in several colors, underneath the flora was several sleeping bags also color-coded to the clans that were invited. Jiraiya could be seen setting up kunai and shuriken targets for the kids. Tsunade on the other hand was upstairs busy putting candy into bags for each child that they invited, it may be a large village but clans try their best to make sure their kids are friends. Jiraiya and Tsunade were honestly super lucky that their sensei and third Hokage agreed to take the girls out for a little bit.
Lord Third decided to take the girls on a little 'date' with Jiji, well at least to lunch. He took the girls to his favorite place to eat in all of Konoha, 'Ichiraku Ramen' he told them to make a light order so they don't ruin their cake, however, Naru instantly ordered the largest possible bowl of ramen she could. Eating it all effortlessly and shocking the Hokage. After their hardy meal, Lord Third promised to take them shopping at their first ninja store. Eventually going to the 'Higarashi Supplies and Weapons', once inside they saw a large muscular man cleaning kunai behind the counter. Sakura found the large man intimidating and even hid behind her sister.
The man looked at the Holage and put on his toothiest smile. "Welcome Lord Third, how may I help you today?"
The Hokage would return the smile although in a softer manner. "Well, I'm taking Tsunade's and Jiraiya's daughters on an outing with me today, it's actually their birthday today. I want to get them their first specialized equipment today, they are going to start training soon!" He said with mirth in his voice.
The large man behind the counter replied intrigued. "Do you have any ideas? Are you looking to get them chakra weapons to last their entire career?"
The Hokage would think about it for a moment before replying. "You know what, yes, I would. I'm sure it'll drive their parents crazy." chuckling at his twisted payback for all the heartache they've caused him.
"Hiruzen, that's evil. I love it!" the store owner said chuckling to himself as well
Just after the small conversation, Hiruzen had with the shopkeeper he'd start to take the girls around the store explaining the purpose of each weapon and each type of armor specializes in. Eventually, he'd take the girls past a curtain that usually only shinobi could enter, inside were the most valuable items. One, in particular, caught Sakura's eye it was a black bo staff with fuinjutsu seals carved down the sides of it as well as a cherry blossom design. Naruko didn't seem as interested in anything until she saw a small golden dagger that looked as if it was meant for holding someone's hair in place. Naruko was the first to point out what she was interested in.
"Jiji this one looks pretty! What is it used for?"
"Well, Naruko that dagger is typically used as a hidden weapon for a kunoichi, some missions require you not to carry weapons on your person so they have to be disguised or hidden. Although if it is in this area of the store it must be special." Hiruzen said in a simple tone
The large man running the store would speak up. "Yes, it is a very special weapon, it can channel wind chakra and act as any weapon you can think of, I've had trouble selling it as no one really wants to put the time in to learn wind nature if I'm honest."
Naruko puffed up with pride. "Well guess what old man I'm not afraid of work! got it?"
Hiruzen and the shopkeeper would have a small chuckle together about the young white-haired girl's brash behavior. The shopowner would unlock a glass case and hand it to Naruko warning her in the process that it is a dangerous weapon. He would then make eye contact with Sakura.
"Are you interested in anything? Because I noticed you eyeing up that old staff."
Sakura startled will reply. "Well yeah, I think it's super pretty and it doesn't look sharp, so I thought it would be nice because I don't want to hurt people."
"It is indeed blunt and I think it's the perfect weapon if your goal is to help not hurt people. It can seal away items, these can be anything including medicine." The shop owner stated.
"Then this is what I would like." Sakura would reply
Grabbing the staff the man would walk to the front of his store, directing everyone else to do the same. At the front of the store, he'd tell Naruko to put the dagger on the counter and then write down the price of the two weapons. Showing the note of the price to the Hokage, the Hokage would look shocked at the price before taking a considerable amount of money out of his wallet. Then the shopkeeper would hand the two items for the girls to keep ahold of.
The third Hokage would walk the two girls toward the clan district to get them back home, it was almost time for their party to begin. The homage made sure to take the long way around, so the girls could see the academy and the training grounds on their way home. The girls wouldn't protest seemingly happy with the outing they had with their Jiji. Once back outside the gates of the Senju compound, the Hokage leaned down to get a hug from the two girls before sending them off.
Once inside Naruko and Sakura were ecstatic, everything looked perfect to them, and the ever-growing table of presents caught their eyes. Besides the present table, they noticed an unfamiliar raven-haired boy who was dressed in blue, the Uchiha clan symbol on his back. This would prompt Naruko to be the ever-outgoing sister to walk up to him.
Reaching out her hand to the boy she'd say. "I'm Naruko Senju! And you are?"
The boy happy that he wouldn't be ignored at the party grabbed her hand in return. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, I am so happy to meet someone my age!"
Sakura seeing her sister be comfortable with the boy would move up to meet him as well. "Hi, I'm Sakura." she would say softly
Eventually, more and more clan children would show up and place gifts on the table. The game that the kids played the longest was to see who had the best aim with shuriken, although it wasn't even close all of the kids were okay with that Sasuke got the highest score. At one point the children even played ninja and had an absolute blast. When it came time for the presents to be opened Tsunade directed the kids to all sit in a circle. Once gathered she'd call up the kid who got the present for the girls.
"Hinata, would you come to grab what you got the girls please," Tsunade called.
Hinata stood up shyly before grabbing a small box off of the table meant for the gifts, turning and handing it to Naruko and Sakura before quickly sitting back down. When the girls opened the gift they saw two books, one was a guide to chakra for beginners and the other was a book full of pressed flowers. The girls said thank you in unison for the kind gift.
"Sasuke you ready?" Tsunade asked.
Sasuke standing up went over to the table with some quick steps excited to give the girls what he bought. Grabbing the two rather heavy boxes and walking over to the girls he'd sit on his knees in front of them before handing them each a box. Naruko opened her gift first inside was a black battle kimono with orange accents that had seals on the inside so that the fabric would grow with the wearer in addition, adjustable leather bracers as well as Kunai with the Senju clan crest were at the bottom of the box. Loving her gift Naruko would give Sasuke a hug causing the boy to blush before she let go. Sakura opened her gift from the Uchiha next, finding a matching kimono and bracers, though her box contained various poisons and senbon. Sakura blushed intensely and thanked Sasuke just a little flustered.
The other gifts the girl received were; Guides to Nature from Kiba, a non-lethal bug repellant from a tall quiet boy named Shino, a shogi board from a boy with hair like a pineapple named Shikamaru, from a rotund boy named Choji they were given coupons to every restaurant they could think of in the leaf, and finally from a slender girl with platinum blonde hair named Ino they were given accessories for their hair and body. After all the gifts were given to the girls and the people not wishing to camp over left, the only non-Senju still there were Sasuke and Hinata, the four kids stayed up way later than they ever should've eating junk and playing games well into the night. Discussing their collective excitement to go to the Academy in a month.
A month after the girl's party they stood in front of the academy excited to learn more about being a ninja. Today was their first day and they had no plans to make it anything short of an amazing one. Outside of the academy also stood several students and teachers as well as the Hokage, while outside the Hokage began to give a speech.
"Starting as of today you are all attempting to become shinobi. Though the curriculum is tough so tough that some of you may drop out after the first year, the rest of you are determined to see it till the end. I believe if you work hard for the next 6 years and 3 months of your lives you will be excellent shinobi destined for greatness. So work hard and build great bonds with your future comrades, I believe in every single one of you to be great! Now you all have your class numbers go and meet your instructors."
Unknown to everyone all of the clan-born shinobi were put into a single class serving as a shock to many of the parents and students alike, though Naruko and Sakura were thankful for this as it meant all of their friends were in one class. The instructor for class 106 was a young brown-haired chunin who wore his hair in a short ponytail and had a scar across the bridge of his nose, his name was Iruka Umino.
A/N: At the time of posting this we have six favorites, I want to say thank you to everyone who is enjoying the story!