Another Nari centered chapter. Sorry. :/
I leaned against the wall of the academy building, crossing my arms. The genins had already gone inside. I stood silently until someone approached me. I heard the familiar voice of Kakashi's mind as he exited the building. His thoughts were heavy with the fate of his team.
"They're going to be alright," I reassured him. "You have a strong team." Kakashi glanced up. "Well, you do."
"I hope so," he muttered. Then, "The Hokage wants to see you in his office. I think you've been assigned to a team."
"Thank you," I said. "I wish them good luck, my team and yours." Kakashi found that amusing. For some reason, he assumed I wouldn't be very good with a team. I could see his argument, though. If my chakra exploded with them close to me, they were doomed. Ugh, I just have to have this gift! Still, it was useful. It meant that I rarely lost a battle. But now, I was coming face-to-face with more people that could beat me. It was almost scary.
I bounded off, heading towards the red dome that contained the Hokage. Slipping past the guards, refusing to sign in when the desk clerk called after me. I was excited. Today, I was considered a true ninja. I was going to be on a team. I wouldn't be all alone anymore. There'd be others, others who may or may not understand me, but at least they'd be there. I stopped at his door and knocked. "Come in," the old man called.
"You requested my presence?" I asked, stepping in.
"Ah, Nari," he sighed. "I did. Come, sit. This may take a while." I came forward but I didn't sit. I was bouncing on my feet. I had way too much energy to rest now. He didn't comment on it, seeing my excitement. "First off, I need to talk to you about your heritage. I have a set of scrolls that are your inheritance by birth." I cocked my head to the side, thinking about the scroll I kept tucked between my headband and my body. Why would the Hokage have a scroll like that?
"You mean, like, something about nine-tailed ninja?" He didn't need to answer that question; I could already hear his answer in his thoughts.
"Yes," he muttered, watching me carefully. He wanted to see my reaction. I took it upon myself to learn more about these scrolls. Searching through the Hokage's mind, doing my best to ignore separate information, I found the section of memory I wanted to evaluate. I was the young Hokage, sitting at my desk, puzzling over a set of scrolls. They had all been bound together with a thin rope. I slipped out the top scroll that read, "For the Hokage's Eyes Only."
The scroll was strange and, at first, didn't make much sense. It talked about tailed-beasts and the extinct Mayona clan, a family with mind reading abilities. It then went on to explain how this clan had encountered the nine-tailed demon fox. Most of it made no sense at all and I found it quite tiresome to read. Then, it began to talk about the history of the nine-tailed fox.
According to the scroll… I shook my head and snapped myself out of the memory. I could be there all day if I kept that up. All I needed to know was, at that moment, the third Hokage knew a lot more about nine-tailed foxes than I did.
"The other scrolls in that pile, are they for me?"
"So you searched my memory," he assumed. "Yes, they are for you." The old man stood and pulled a bundle of scrolls out, setting them on the desk. "I was told not to read them, they're not for my eyes, but I'm sure they'll answer your questions." I hesitantly took the scrolls, staring down at the titles. "History and Treaties", "Chakra Control", "Transformation", "Hidden Jutsus", "Important Information", and a smaller scroll labeled, "Mating". I blushed at that, wondering what the "Mating" scroll could possibly contain.
"These scrolls contain top secret information about your race. You should share them with no one and keep them safe. Here, I have a bag that you can carry them in." He handed over a small, tan bag, much like the ones I saw strapped to ninja's legs. I opened the bag, giving the Hokage a small thank you. It was divided in half. I imagined one side was meant for things like shuriken and kunai. I shoved my scrolls into the right side.
"I'm truly honored to receive such gifts." The old man gave me a soft smile.
"They are your birth right. It was simply my duty to see them safely to the next nine-tailed ninja, as I'm sure other Hokage will have to do in the future."
"Truthfully, I hope not. I hope I am the last of my kind." He did not find that surprising. He understood what my childhood must have been like.
"Alas, I have held you here long enough. Your team is waiting for you."
"Thank you, again, Lord Hokage, for making me a ninja of your land." He smiled softly as I bowed my head.
"They are waiting for you in the training area. You should not hold them any longer. Tokomo is not known for her patience." I bowed again and promptly disappeared. I stopped at Sakura's house, slipping into the guest bedroom. I traded my bag of scrolls for my staff and then went to the training grounds. A group of three was assembled there.
A woman with long, violet hair, whom I assumed was Tokomo, stood leaning against a tree. She had green eyes and was dressed in light blue dress with bandages wrapped around her legs. A girl with short, silver hair was also there. She had dark brown eyes and a soft pout marred her features. She was pretty but it was obvious by her tight-fitting clothing and her stance that she was vain. The final member of Team Tokomo was a tall boy. He had dark green hair and eyes to match. He wore the average clothing of a Konoha ninja. All three were waiting impatiently for my arrival.
I jumped out of the tree and landed directly in the middle of the group. The two children jumped back in surprise. "So you finally showed up," was the girl's snarky comment.
"Miu, you should respect your fellow ninja," our sensei scolded the girl lightly. The boy stood back in silence, studying me. He, at least, understood the need for evaluation of the enemy, or new comer as our situation entailed.
"I apologize for my tardiness. I was only just informed of our team's formation," I spoke up for myself. Miu's jaw dropped. She just found out! That means she didn't go to the academy. How's that fair? I tried to hide the smirk from my lips. I was sure I'd easily outmatch the shallow genin. The boy, though. He worried me.
"Why don't we introduce ourselves," Tokomo said softly. "Sit down, you three."
"Yes, Tokomo-sensei," the other two replied, sitting. I said nothing and only stood in between them. I didn't think I could sit if I tried. Even as I stood I tapped my foot to try in burn some of my energy. I didn't know where I got it from.
"You don't listen very well," our sensei gathered.
"I have too much energy to sit right now. I'm sorry." She sighed but nodded. A hyperactive one, she thought grudgingly. Lord Hokage said it'd be difficult to take control over her but I was hoping that would be more of an attitude issue. You can fix an attitude. I wanted to warn her that she might face that issue too but I kept my mouth shut. My gift, my secret. It wasn't on a need-to-know basis yet.
"Well, I'm Tokomo Sarutobi. I enjoy midnight walks, and dislike pranks. One day, I hope to be an elder that helps to advise the Hokage." We all nodded. She pointed to Miu to go to next.
"I'm Miu Shimura. I like ponds and I dislike people who think they are better than me," she gave me a pointed glare. "I want to become a well-known kunoichi admired for her strength and beauty." I was right. She's as shallow as a pond, I thought to myself. I was trying hard to stay out of everyone's heads and, so far, it was working. But then Tokomo turned the center of attention to me.
"My name is Nari Ninetails." I paused and realized none of them knew the significance of that last name. "I like challenges and dislike being used. If I had to think of a dream, I'd say it was to prove to Konoha that I am an ally." So, she's an outsider, both my sensei and the unnamed boy thought. Miu was too busy being irritated by the attention I was being given.
"I am Takeo Fuma. I enjoy birds and dislike traitors. I simply wish to be a reliable ninja." I nodded, liking that answer. He would do well.
"Well, according to Lord Hokage, all three of you have a permanent spot as genin." Which I find irritating. You should be tested to see how well you cooperate as a team. "Therefore, in order to test your abilities as ninja, I'm going to give you a series of tasks. Your first task is to uproot a tree." She got off of the tree behind her and pointed to it. "But you can't touch it." I smirked.
"Don't worry," I told my teammates. "I can do this one myself. Just back up a little. I don't want to hurt you in the process." Miu and Takeo frowned but did as I wished. I stepped very close to the tree. I have enough energy at this point that just about any jutsu I use will be explosive. Still, let's try one that should knock the tree down even if I don't explode. I performed a series of hand signs I had learned from the only rogue I had met from the Land of Wind and said, "Wind element: great wind blast jutsu!" As I had suspected, my chakra exploded, and my original jutsu knocked over several trees by itself. The forest in front of me was pretty much flattened. I heard thoughts of exclamations from behind me.
"Where did you learn that jutsu?" Miu demanded, deciding I wasn't so bad after all. I smiled confidently.
"I've had a lot of sensei in the past. One of them specialized in wind techniques." Tokomo was amazed. After discovering the extent of all of her student's jutsu, she moved on to more primal things, like throwing kunai and chakra control. We trained together for over a month, perfecting all of our techniques. I learned how to use normal ninja weapons but I still carried around my staff.
I also became increasingly closer to my teammates. Despite first impressions, I liked Miu and Takeo was a good listener. I was very pleased with my team.
The next one is more interesting. I promise. Not Gaara-centered, but interesting...