Disclaimer: Nope don't own Naruto, and I never will. I'm only saying this because I'm at gunpoint. I do own Naruto…I mean I don't!
Story: Fem!Naru Minato tells Kushina to flee to Suna, if something were to go wrong in Konoha after his death. Because of this, somehow Naruto is raised in the Sand.
Set as an AU.
Spoilers: …Probably?
Warnings: The usual stuff? I mean, most people who read my stuff are repeated readers, so they should know…otherwise…eh…
Pairings: Yondy!Kazekage/Fem!Naru
Suna no Hoshi
Chapter Eleven: Clones and Masks
Rasa was roof-hopping towards the Hokage Tower, pondering the clone he'd left behind. He was still rather confused and off-balanced by the oddness of its actions and behavior…And had it really been competing with him? He hadn't realized it at that time, but that was what it looked like, when he looked back at its actions.
When his clone unexpectedly dispersed in Wave, Rasa should have been concerned with the how and why.
Instead, he was assaulted and horrified by the memories of the clone, as he received them.
He –It! –had kissed Naruto. Kissed!
The unfortunate stumble as he kept processing that fact only served for him to trip and slam head first into a wooden pole.
He heard various exclamations of "Kazekage-sama!" and "Kazekage-sama?!" around him from his Anbu, but he was still stuck on what he'd learned. Of course, now he knew why Naruto had been so flustered at that village they'd stopped at before heading to Wave.
And when he's gone and out of the way, that blasted, rebellious and insubordinate clone of his goes and kisses Naruto out of nowhere! How the hell was he going to explain that one to her?! Especially since it was as Tenoh, her friend (her best friend if he may be so bold as to say), who she hung out with, talked with regularly, and spent her time with aside from her team.
As the Kazekage, that odd encounter could have gone on without further notice, but she knew Tenoh. Most of their time together…most of his time was spent as Tenoh and with her.
Thinking uneasily, most of his days had been spent being Tenoh and being around her…
Regardless, most of their time spent with each other she knew him as Tenoh, and that mutinous clone just messed up everything.
"I'm alright," he said gruffly, getting up slowly and shaking off his guard. He wouldn't admit he was still a bit dazed, but more from the memories (more so on what they entailed) rather than the collision.
He continued on his way to the Hokage, which would be his final meeting with the old man. However, he was still dwelling over the…mischief (that was putting it lightly) his stupid clone had gotten up to, in his absence.
When Naruto went to infiltrate Gato's base, that his clone had followed and…went all weird on her was another slight against him. Nuzzling her neck…saying all those things…And then after the mission…
"Come on, Naruto. I've come to bring my mikan-hime home."
And then that morning, sleeping next to her…
Rasa didn't even want to linger on how his idiot clone had gotten dispersed in the first place.
He put more speed into his travel, cutting time away from his journey and most importantly his thoughts. He was hurriedly let into the Hokage's office, and was once again face to face with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Ah, Rasa! Sad that it's our last day together, eh?" Hiruzen greeted him cheerfully.
He plastered a polite smile on his smile. "Yes, of course."
Resolving to put his errant clone in the back of his mind for now, he spoke about their current matter at hand. They traded talk about the political negotiations they'd been going over for the past few days, settling the final agreements. Nagi thought that would be that, until Hiruzen hesitantly brought up something he hadn't expected, but should have.
"I…I would like to request that Kushina's body be brought over to Konoha," the Hokage looked solemn.
Rasa stiffened up and even frowned, but didn't let any of his thoughts cloud his face.
"I apologize, Hiruzen," though he didn't really sound too sorry. "I cannot do that."
Hiruzen looked surprised. "I don't understand. Why not? She should be buried with Minato and here, in her home."
Rasa's frown deepened. "She ran from Konoha, and came to me. She sought sanctuary from me and my village. Even in death, I would honor that sanctuary."
Hiruzen opened his mouth to try and persuade him further, but Rasa shook his head firmly. "And again, she ran from Konoha. Whatever her reason, it must have been important and it had been her choice. As she ran from you, even in death, Kushina is no longer your concern."
And that was the fact –Kushina had run from Konoha, and if he hadn't known why, he still wouldn't return her body because there had to have been some reason for her to do so, and he would never let them have her back since she had cut all ties with them in that way.
As it was, he did know the reason and was very attached to that reason. He would never involve Naruto in this, and he would definitely not put her in such a situation and where she could get hurt.
He wasn't surprised that Hiruzen didn't elaborate on Kushina's reason for leaving Konoha, despite that Nagi already knew (not that Hiruzen knew that he knew).
"I understand," though Hiruzen didn't look too happy about it. "Kushina…she had a baby with her. Did you…did you see him?"
Rasa kept any telling hint off his face. If there was one thing he prided himself on, one thing that most of the other kage he could proudly say he beat them at, it was his poker face (that and his observation skills).
"She did arrive with Naruto, as she told me. However, she left him by the walls, and died before being able to retrieve him or lead us to him," he stuck to the fiction of Naruto being male. And given that Hiruzen probably knew about his searching, he continued. "I have been continuing to search for him, however I fear either someone may have grabbed him or that he might have died in the time it took trying to look for him."
He ignored the flinch Hiruzen gave at the mention that Naruto might have died. Besides, it wasn't true, thank Kami.
"I see. Thank you for the information, Nagi. It would greatly relieve me if you could keep me apprise of that situation," Hiruzen kept a straight face and tone, but Rasa knew that he really meant that.
"I will," Rasa lied.
He couldn't. He hadn't so far.
Besides, Naruto was his kunoichi. His citizen. His…friend.
Rasa cleared his throat awkwardly and asked the only person who could probably enlighten him about the subject.
"Prior to his death, Minato had taught me a jutsu that was very appreciative and useful. Lately…it's been…giving me an attitude."
Hiruzen blinked. "A jutsu…giving you an attitude?"
Rasa twitched. "He taught me the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. I…I, er, have been using it extensively. The first time I did it was on a mission, and I had it as a double of me. It went fine, nothing happened. This last time was just the second time. It's been…doing and acting…beyond its scope, basically."
Hiruzen furrowed his eyebrows. "I…Huh. If I recall, if a Kage Bunshin exists for longer use without a firm specification –a bit of idleness, you can say –they tend to act out. The longer it exists like this, the more culpable it is to gaining a sort of fake personality. It is still fake and a copy, but it still forms itself."
Rasa shifted. "Longer existence, as in…days?"
The Hokage stared at him. "…Days?"
Rasa cleared his throat again.
Hiruzen looked unsure. "Yes, most definitely then. And anyway, the Kage Bunshin generally takes on characteristics of its user in the first place, but the extensive use would make it start going beyond that and manage to make it seem like a person itself. Or even that longer use of it, would bring the clone to take a specific characteristic of the creator it took on, and form a personality around it or generally make that aspect of the creator they are based on become amplified."
Rasa realized one thing about that irritating clone. "What if it started out that way from when it was formed? I created a clone and it was already like that."
Hiruzen looked thoughtful. "Well, in that case, supposedly if that happens, then it's a clone taking on the repressed desires of the creator. The longer it exists, the worse it becomes and the repressed desires are the specific characteristics of the creator they take on and form a personality around. And more time makes it worse and amplified, as I said."
Rasa looked and felt dumbfounded. "Repressed…desires?"
"Yes, that was what I said –"
"No! No, no, no," Rasa shook his head vehemently. "Absolutely not! You're wrong."
Confused and worried, Hiruzen eyed his fellow kage in bemusement. "I'm just telling you –"
"No! You don't get it, Hiruzen! That blasted clone's been competing with me! With me! The original! It's a copy of me!" Rasa was standing up now, and waving his arms about in a panic with his words. "And saying and acting all weird around a girl who's supposed to be my friend! It can't do that! It's not supposed to do that! She's not going to get it!"
There was snickering in the shadows and Nagi twitched. And he knew it was his Anbu too. Hiruzen's was just frozen and in shock.
"Idiot Anbu!" he yelled. "Out! My Anbu, get the hell out! Hiruzen's will do fine!"
When he felt them gone, still snickering, he slumped back into his seat and had a sour look on his face.
"…Rasa?"
Rasa looked up at Hiruzen with a glower.
"What?" he asked rudely.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "I believe you should reevaluate your friend then."
The red head scowled terribly at the other. "No, because there's nothing to evaluate –" and he shut himself up and refused to go any further on that train.
"Hiruzen, I'm going to just go back to my room, crawl under my covers, and hide there," Rasa deadpanned. "Better yet, smother myself with my pillow."
Hiruzen stared.
"And if I live, then I'm going to finally just go home. Thank you for the enlightening conversation, and glad to have made peaceful negotiations with you. I'm going to leave now, and hopefully not pull out all of my hair. Goodbye, Hiruzen."
"…Goodbye, Rasa."
He stalked away and headed straight to his room in the hotel he was staying at, before proceeding to actually try to smother himself with his pillow, stopped by his (once again) unhelpful Anbu, kicked them out before crawling under his covers and hiding under them completely, and then curling into a ball and clutching painfully at his hair.
The next day, Hiruzen briefly visited him in the morning (he was very aware he looked horrible and irritable with red eyes, hair that stuck up everywhere –a rare occasion where his hair misbehaved –and rumpled, slept-in clothing). His answering the door must've been terrifying.
Further information about the Shadow Clone jutsu was imparted on, of that it was a B-rank jutsu, while its more expansive related jutsu, the Multiple Shadow Clone jutsu was an A-rank kinjutsu. Well, at least he knew the exact difference now.
Hiruzen told him, having incorrectly guessed that Minato might have taught him it (okay, so Rasa might have untruthfully implied that when Hiruzen had poked around for information in the beginning of his visit, but since Naruto used it on a daily basis on an unhealthy level, he had to find out something), that it was very dangerous to use and the reason it was a kinjutsu was that not many would be able to use it, as it required the user to create an unbelievable amount of clones with an equal splitting of the user's chakra reserves, which could be very deadly and costly to the user.
A kage, like the two of them, could probably create at least twenty to thirty (maybe even forty, at their best) clones using this jutsu, but it was a jutsu that could create, and was supposed to, up to hundreds of clones, which was deadly for most of everyone. Only a very few could probably successfully utilize the jutsu to its maximum potential, like jinchuuriki, Uzumaki members, and people with monstrous chakra reserves. Which, according to Hiruzen, didn't apply to anyone, as there were no Uzumaki members left, and no jinchuuriki and people otherwise knew the jutsu (or even its safer B-rank version).
But he didn't know what he was talking about, as Nagi knew a person who fulfilled all of those requirements. He reluctantly gave his silent blessings for Naruto to use that jutsu.
Afterward, Rasa was finally on the trek home. There was a detour he had to take first, though. Having obtained a map of the Land of Fire, he traced the outskirts of Konoha on it, and had his Anbu report to him about the Uzumaki shrine he had them scout out, while he was meeting with the Hokage and kept a few on the lookout. He remembered Kushina talking about it a long time ago, and had hoped to stop by and be able to pick a little something up to give to Naruto as a keepsake, especially since it was from her mother's family.
Plus, maybe it'll help him when the time came to tell her the truth about things (Not that he hadn't thought of the shrine and keepsake as something he had just wanted to do for Naruto…but thinking about wanting a little backup and help when it was time had been an inevitable thought. He was just saying.).
A little bribery and flattery never hurt, right?
Funny enough, they managed to find the shrine pretty quickly. There was just…oddly a ton of creepy masks.
"Um…Kazekage-sama? Why are there a lot of masks?" one of his Anbu asked.
"…I don't know…"
Rasa inwardly shrugged. Well, lack of choice and all, he guessed that a mask was indeed what he was going to bring home to Naruto.
He looked around, trying to find a good mask, when his eyes spotted a specific one. He cringed.
He remembered the days when Uzumaki Kushina carried that mask around, and tended to scare the hell out of everyone she could with it (Baki was a frequent and exacerbated example).
Rasa had also been one of her more favorite victims.
He stared at the mask, and though it would be fitting to hand it over to Naruto (as her mother once had it), all he wanted was to take it and create a bonfire around it.
He could still recall being creeped out by the mask (still was), and how Kushina would sneak up on him and scare the crap out of him with it. Or just generally carry it around him, or wear it when he was in the vicinity or the group of them were hanging out.
He wanted the mask to burn.
And that mask in front of him was definitely that mask. He couldn't forget it. He would never be able to forget it (not with the amount of time and the memorable scares from it). There was no way he could mistake that mask. That was It.
"You!" he pointed at one of his Anbu. "Retrieve that mask," he then pointed at It.
The Anbu stared at him and then at the mask. The poor guy trembled and slowly walked over to it, and once near it, he reluctantly reached out. With a quick thrust, he flung it off of its hook and it sailed into the air.
Rasa twitched. Whether in annoyance at the Anbu or the nervousness of coming into contact with that mask, was not to be answered.
He whipped out a spare rag and held it out, waiting and catching the mask with it. Avoiding touching it, he tied up the rag and then tossed it at an Anbu.
"Put it in a bag," he ordered.
And then his Anbu was panicking and freaking out, shoveling the covered mask at each other and never touching it for long.
"You put away!"
"No, you put away!"
"I don't want to take it!"
"Somebody hurry and take it!"
"I'm not touching it!"
"Get it away, get it away!"
"Grab it already!"
"It's EVIL!"
"Shut up!" Rasa snapped. "Just put it away already."
The Anbu looked at each other.
"Kazekage-sama, do we really want to bring this?" one of them asked in a hushed voice.
"It's evil," the same one who said that before reiterated in a dark tone.
"It is, it is," one of the others agreed. "I can feel dark energy from it. You never know what's wrong with it."
"It'll draw Yuurei to us," another one exclaimed in a horrified voice. "I'm telling you, I bet it can do that. Doing it right now too!"
"Yuurei," the group of them whispered anxiously to each other.
"We'll get Onryo haunting us!" one of them shrieked. "Vengeful ghosts who come back from purgatory for a wrong done to them in their lifetime! They'll smother us with their negative energy!"
"Or even…Ikiryo," one of them gasped. "This mask will attract even living people who have souls separating from them into spirits things that haunt everyone because of their intense jealousy and rage!"
"Don't they only haunt those they have grudges against?!"
"You never know with this mask!"
Rasa shivered. "E-enough," too bad it sounded so weak. "Just…shove it into my bag and let's get going."
"We should exorcise it, Kazekage-sama!"
"Yes, exorcise it!"
Rasa swallowed nervously. "Right…We need…we need an ofuda. Who has an ofuda?"
Everyone looked at each other. No one, unfortunately, did.
"That's…fine. I'll just…write one up," Rasa muttered.
He searched in his bag, found paper and a pen (ink and brush would have been better, but he didn't have those, damn it), and then crudely made one up quickly. Then they unraveled the covered mask and Rasa quickly stuck the ofuda on the forehead of the oni-mask, muttered a quick prayer, and rushed in tying up the cover again and slinging it into his bag.
"Let's go," he muttered.
Dreadfully, he felt the mask weigh heavily on him, from its place in his bag on his back. He wasn't sure if he was imagining that or the evil laughter he was hearing in the back of his head.
The heavy weight of the mask felt like those folklore urban legends that said vengeful ghosts haunted a person, and could even drape themselves and stick onto the back of a person, creating excessive and horrible weight on that person being haunted.
Rasa didn't want to know if he was being haunted.
The rest of the journey was spent freaking out (for all of them, but especially Rasa), and Rasa wondering and uneasily thinking about the suspicious weight on his back, of which the mask was in the vicinity of.
He stopped and took his bag, flinging the covered mask out of it and at his Anbu behind him.
"I'm Kazekage! You're supposed to protect me and do as I say! YOU take the freakin' mask and carry it!" Rasa screamed out in a panic.
He then proceeded to speedily rush forward, and continued to lead them by a distance.
Started 8/18/13 – Completed 8/18/13
A/n: Honestly, this was supposed to be where he tells Naruto everything, but the catching up to Rasa part took longer than I thought. Sorry this chapter took so long though. Been really busy, and then the past week I've been depressed about all fanfiction stuff (I ran across a stupid article by some guy named Lee Goldberg talking crap about fanfiction writers), and then about Cassandra Claire/Clare and getting paranoid about her and plagiarizing (I really don't want to be like her and what she's been accused of). I'm pretty sure I'm not, but then I get easily bothered and paranoid. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please review!
To Elsie: I can promise you that Zabuza will be back! And clones existing too long are bad news XD Jinchuuriki under the influence are definitely dangerous, and the Rikudou Sennin would probably let them at it –too much work!
To montypie: Eheh, glad you enjoyed it! The surprise kiss does definitely add problems :) Naruto's reactions will be in the next chapter.
To ksecc1: Bad clone. Baaaad clone! XD And thank you!
No Omake! this time :(