I only own my OC.
Thankfully the quarrel between Minato and Kushina simmered down before things escalated to violence. If they had come to blows, I don't know what I would have done.
…Okay, that's a lie; I know exactly what I would have done: get the hell out of dodge and sift through the wreckage later.
Since then, the two of them seemed to grind against each other like opposing gears. Constantly switching between cold aloofness and verbal sniping at each other became the norm, and whenever there was any sort of competition, those two would rise above and beyond in an attempt to one-up each other. If this happened on the anime and I was watching it from behind the safety of my computer monitor, I would probably find these antics of theirs to be amusing, possibly even cute. But caught in the middle and forced to play the referee, I only found the whole affair tiresome. If they were ten years older, I would probably throw those two into a closet until they kissed or killed each other. Hell, I have half a mind to do it now.
Now I'm sure you're wondering, if they despise each other so much, why do they not just ignore each other like in canon? Because of me, I'd say. Disregarding the future lovebirds' mutual thorniness, I was the only one who really nice to Kushina. And what with the other kids appropriating Minato's insulting moniker "Tomato" and throwing it in her face – and receiving their due punishment – she wasn't exactly making new friends, so she drifted towards me for lack of a better option. And since Minato and I were a package deal, and vice versa for him…yeah, you get the idea.
Most of the classes remained as boring as ever. Taijutsu class started spicing things up recently when the teacher finally started letting us spar instead of just practicing the various katas. The rules were pretty simple: we were paired off, and the first one on their back loses. I was paired up with some schmuck whose name I don't remember. Beating him was actually pretty easy. After getting my ass beaten every day by Sunshine, this kid's moves were so telegraphed he was practically waving a flashing neon sign. That combined with my shorter height meant that I easily dodged his first blow. A punch to the stomach stunned him and a sweep to the legs brought him down. Easy as pie.
One day, about three weeks after she first arrived, Kushina and I were walking down a road surrounded by blooming cherry trees. Minato had eaten something that disagreed with him, so he stayed behind to deal with that. She had just discovered Ichiraku Ramen, which is apparently the bestest restaurant in the whole wide world what with how she had been waxing lyrical about the place's virtues for almost an hour non-stop. Her sermon was interrupted by two figures emerging from behind a tree. One of them was one of our classmates, a punk that kept harassing Kushina, and getting pummeled every time (poor dumb kid just never learned). The other was a tall, burly teen with a Konoha forehead protector wrapped around his head.
"So, you're the brat who's been making my little brother cry?" he asked as he cracked his knuckles threateningly. I resisted the urge to groan. I vaguely remembered this episode and this scene in particular. Which means that any second now…
"That's what he gets for bothering me all the time!" Kushina shouted back. She added softly, "And besides, he wouldn't be crying if he weren't such a wimp." Goddammit, Kushina, I don't want to have to fight a guy half-again my size. I stepped in between the two to try and defuse the situation.
"Okay, let's all just calm down for a minute here," I said as I held out my arms to keep them separated.
"Shut up, shrimp!" the genin snapped, slapping away my outstretched arm. "You Uchiha, always thinking you're better than the rest of us. I think I'll give you a piece of my mind too," he continued threateningly. Well shit, I wasn't expecting that. So, what should I do when facing down someone who's bigger, stronger, and better trained than me?
Run like a little bitch, that's what.
Fear-fueled desperation gave me a head start, but Kushina's longer legs quickly caught up with me. Unfortunately, that also meant that our assailant was close behind.
"To the trees!" she shouted before leaping upwards onto the branches above us. Using the technique that we had recently learned, I focused chakra into the soles of my feet and used it to propel my jump to the height I needed to follow her. The three of us leapt from tree branch to tree branch; it wasn't long before our pursuer flung a pair of kunai at us. They both missed, but as one passed by, I saw a few short, black hairs flutter away in the wind!
Fuck!
Kushina landed on the side of a particularly tall tree and used it as a springboard to catapult herself fist-first into the genin's stomach, as per canon. I followed suit, making sure to grab one of the kunai on my way down. The bastard threw a sharp knife at my head, I wasn't taking any chances. When Kushina and the genin fell, his body disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by a log. While she stared at it in confusion, I darted my eyes about frantically, trying to find where he would be attacking from next.
WHAM!
Pain flooded my mind and stars flooded my vision and I dropped to the ground like a stone courtesy of a fist to the back of my skull. When I could finally make sense of the world again, I saw Kushina struggling to get away while the genin held a fistful of her hair in one hand and a kunai in the other. I couldn't hear what he was saying, and I didn't care. I had just had my life threatened, gotten my head bashed, and now saw my friend in pain. I was mad as hell.
Oddly, I wasn't filled with white-hot, berserker rage like one would expect. Instead I felt a chill wash over me, like a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped over my head. I felt calm, like I was in a trance. My mind was clear, devoid of all thoughts except to neutralize the target of my ire as quickly as possible.
Blade in hand, I charged forth without a word, aiming towards the hand grasping Kushina's hair. A warning from his brother prompted my target to release his grip and dodge, narrowly avoiding having four inches of sharpened steel buried in his hand. Flipping the kunai in my hand, I tossed it in his direction. It was poorly aimed and easily dodged, even at the close range I threw it in, but it served its purpose as a distraction well enough while I buried the heel of my hand into the spot right beneath his sternum. While he was doubled over in pain, I hooked my foot around his ankle and brought him down to his knees. Then I yanked his forehead protector down around his neck, buried my knee in his back, and pulled. He desperately clawed at the cloth compressing his windpipe, which only made me pull harder.
"Riku!" I heard a voice shout. I looked up to see Minato standing next to Kushina. Both of them were wearing looks of shock and horror. "Let him go!" he demanded. My hands automatically released their grip on the cloth and the genin threw me aside as he gasped for air like a drowning man. He ripped off his forehead protector, revealing the ugly purple bruise forming on his neck.
"Freak!" he rasped between heaving breaths. "Monster!" he cried out as he fled like the hounds of hell were chasing him, his brother not far behind.
"Well," I quipped cheerfully as I turned to Kushina, "I guess it's safe to say he won't be bothering you anymore." This seemed to shake the two out of their shocked stupor.
"Can someone explain to me what just happened?" Minato demanded. Pointing at me, he continued, "Because I came in to find you strangling someone and honestly, you looked pretty scary doing it."
I frowned in annoyance at him. "He tried to kill Kushina and me, I just responded in kind," I retorted flatly. Honestly, it was only fair. Kushina expanded on my brief comment, explaining how we were accosted by the genin. Minato seemed to understand my reaction now, though he still seemed rather wary of me. I don't know why, it wasn't like I was going to try to kill him or anything. "Well anyways, I got to get home, so I'll see you two tomorrow," I said before excusing myself to head home.
I thought about what happened back there as I walked home. A voice in the back of my head insisted that I should feel guilty about almost killing someone – a kid at that – but I keep thinking back to that moment when he threw the kunai at Kushina and I. I keep my hair pretty short to keep Obito from grabbing it – a few inches at most. So for a kunai to actually cut my hair, it would have had to just barely miss my head. So no, I can't feel guilty for trying to kill someone who would have buried a four-inch steel blade in my brain if not for his shitty aim.
Minato and Kushina may not see it that way though; they seemed pretty freaked out about it when I left. I'll have to talk to them about it tomorrow.
I arrived home without any further delay. I had barely taken two steps into the hallway when a blue blur streaked across the floor and I found a baby trying to climb up my shirt. I set my bag down and bent down towards my clinger.
"Did you miss me, buddy?" I asked him as I picked him up. Obito giggled in response and began to clap his hands against my cheeks. I pulled him away when my face started to sting; who knew that babies could hit that hard?
"Looks like it," Mikoto said with a chuckle as she rounded the corner. She took Obito from my arms, allowing me to pick up my bag and head into the living room. Her eyes drifted to my head and widened. "What happened to your hair?" she asked in shock.
"Why? What's wrong with it?" I asked in response. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small rectangular mirror to show me. In my reflection, I saw a section of hair a bit above my right ear about two fingers wide that was noticeably shorter than the rest of it; it looked like someone had swiped me with a hair clipper.
"A friend and I got into a disagreement with one of our classmates today, but it got resolved," I said vaguely. "Things got a little crazy." I decided that it would probably be best not to mention the genin I choked half to death. I was pretty certain that after my little…freak out, that he wouldn't be bothering me or Kushina again, so no need to worry Mikoto any more than she already is.
Obito started fussing in a way that I recognized as him being hungry, so took him from her arms and carried him to the kitchen. Putting a small pot of water on the stove, I reached into the fridge and pulled out a large jar. Obito was at the age where he could start eating solids, so I decided to try my hand at making baby food. I just boiled the crap out of a bunch of carrots and mashed them into a paste with a pinch of salt for flavor. The kid seemed to like it, so I consider it a success; probably a hell of a lot cheaper than buying it too.
But I digress.
Carefully balancing Obito on one hip (not an easy task considering he was half my size), I scooped some of the orange goop into a teacup and placed it in the now steaming water to warm. Once it had been heated to a satisfactory temperature, I took the cup of food and the baby over to the table and feed him one bit at a time. He ate with gusto, devouring two-thirds of the cup before he refused another bite. Dropping the dirty cup into the sink, I wetted a towel and used it to wipe away the mashed carrot smeared across his face. I picked him up and held him close to my chest; the kid was already halfway asleep.
"Riku-kun, are you sure you're alright?" Mikoto asked when she saw me exit the kitchen.
"Why? Am I bleeding or something?" I asked. When she shook her head, I sighed and continued, "Look, Miko-nee, I'm fine. Everything's under control. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to put this guy to bed so I can report to your boyfriend for my daily beating." She glared at me for my remark, but I ignored her. I gently laid the drowsing Obito in his crib. Slapping together a quick meal for myself, I made way to the training area where Sunshine was waiting for me with a long staff in one hand and a shorter one in the other. In an unusual display of a non-pissed emotion, he cocked an eyebrow at me.
"Interesting hairstyle," he said dryly. I gritted my teeth and rubbed my bald patch self-consciously. I definitely need to fix that when I get home. Ignoring my irritation, Sunshine ordered, "Today I will be teaching you how to use a bō. Take this so that we may begin." I took the shorter staff from his hand and got into position, bracing myself for another night of pain.
"What happened to your hair?" While Minato and Kushina seemed nervous about me when I approached, their apprehension melted away to stifled amusement when they saw me.
"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up, you two…" I grumbled as I rubbed my stubbly scalp. I've never been a fan having super-short hair, let alone baldness, but with how short that kunai shot has shorn it, it was either look like a complete dork with a bald stripe on one side of my head, or cut everything to match and look like Aang without the blue arrow. The laughter died down and the two seemed nervous again.
"Look, Riku-kun, about yesterday…" Minato began uncertainly.
"That genin tried to kill me and Kushina because his brother couldn't take his lickings like a big boy," I retorted flatly. "I merely responded in kind. I won't do that to either of you if that's what your worried about," I assured them. After a moment's thought, I added, "Unless you try to kill me first. Then all bets are off." This seemed to be what they wanted to hear, since they both visibly deflated.
"That's a relief," Kushina sighed. "We were kind of worried about that."
"Hmm," I hummed vaguely. "It's nice to see you too getting along," I said to divert the conversation elsewhere. "You look good together," I added with a teasing grin. Their relief immediately shifted to horrified shock.
"M-me, with that scarlet-haired witch?!" Minato choked out, face ashen. "You're nuts!"
"Me, with that spiky-haired loser? You're out of your mind!" Kushina exclaimed simultaneously, her face red with fury.
"Minato and Kushina sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N—"
BONK!
"Shut up, you little twerp!" she shouted, teeth bared and eyes white with rage while I buckled under the force of her fist impacting the top of my skull. That really hurt, and I deserved it, but their reactions were so worth it.
"C'mon, let's go before we're late for class," I said while rubbing the sore spot where I had been punched. The other two looked around and noticed that we were almost alone in the schoolyard, with everyone else already making their way inside.
Word about our little altercation yesterday must have spread, because throughout the day I noticed that people were treating us…differently. They would avoid looking at us directly and when we walked through the hallways, they would give us a wide berth. I would hear hushed whispers throughout the day, but it wasn't until lunchtime that I figured out what they were whispering about. I didn't hear a single mention of the Red Hot Habanero, which I suppose is a mercy on Kushina's part. But it seems that fate demanded that someone gain an unflattering reputation that day, and in her absence, I took her place. What did I hear the other kids call me?
Akuma. Demon. Apparently, my little freak out yesterday left quite the impression. It's a cruel name; if I were actually six years old, the nickname and associated stigma would probably have messed me up for life. But I'm not, and they're going to have to try something harder than calling me names to get under my skin.
"Can you believe those jerks?" Kushina growled under her breath, her chopsticks creaking ominously under her tightening grip.
"Settle down, Kushina," I said to her as I dug into my lunch. "It's not that big a deal."
"Not that big a deal?!" she hissed angrily, causing me to raise an eyebrow. Again I wondered if Kushina was already a jinchūriki at this point. "Do you hear what they're calling you?" she continued in righteous fury.
"I do," I replied calmly. "It doesn't bother me that much. If they're trying to hurt my feelings, they're going to have to do better than this."
"Well, we'll stick with you, no matter what," Minato assured me with a smile. Kushina nodded in agreement, though she looked displeased; whether she was still upset by what people are saying about me, or just annoyed that she was forced to agree with Minato, I wasn't sure.
"Thanks, you two," I said softly, touched by their declaration of loyalty. "It means a lot."
"No problem," Minato said with a shrug. "Besides, between my genius, her foreignness, and your…you-ness, it's not like people are lining up to be our friends anyway," he added glibly. Kushina frowned, clearly thinking she had just been insulted in some fashion. To be honest, I felt the same way.
"My 'me-ness?'" I repeated dryly. "Care to elaborate on that?"
"Well, you're not exactly the most outgoing or friendly person to begin with," Minato explained to me, "and with yesterday's…incident, you're probably not going to be very popular here." I pondered his words for a moment, then shrugged and continued eating in silence. It was a fair cop.
The next couple of days were pretty uneventful. I would go to school, drag my way through the day, and then go home for my evening training. On the third day, however, there was shift in the routine. About halfway through history class, a guy poked his head into the classroom saying that the principal wanted to see me. Grateful for the distraction, I followed the man to the principal's office. The school headmaster silently beckoned me to take a seat, which I did.
"Uchiha Riku," he said neutrally as he opened a file and began to scan through it. "Top marks in mathematics, above average performance in physical classes – impressive, given your age – and above average on theory." Okay, is there a reason why you're reading my report card to me? Closing the file, he linked his fingers and continued, "Now as I'm sure you are aware, there have been some…interesting rumors concerning you these past few days." I know where this is going…. "Now, I normally don't pay much mind to the whisperings of the children, but considering the nature of these particular rumors, understand that I felt compelled to investigate." He then leveled at me a…I wouldn't exactly call it a glare, but it certainly wasn't a friendly look. "Now, why don't we discuss your altercation with genin Matsuhara Daisuke three days ago?" Ah, so that's his name.
"He attacked me, I attacked him back, he bailed," I summarized with a casual shrug. "What else is there to discuss?"
"Care to elaborate on that a bit?" the principal asked as he drew a piece of paper from his desk and held a pen, poised to write. "Perhaps start with why you had this confrontation with Matsuhara-san?" I sighed but complied. I told him about Matsuhara the younger had been picking on Kushina and getting punished for it, so he called in his brother to deal with her for him. I told him about my attempt to defuse the situation, and about how Matsuhara the elder attacked us. All the while the principal was taking notes. "I see," he hummed softly as his pen scratched across the paper. "And how did you manage to subdue Matsuhara-san? Forgive me, but I find it hard to understand how someone not even a year into the academy – even one as prodigious as you – can defeat a fully-trained genin."
"He was distracted; I got a lucky hit," I replied modestly.
"I dare say it was more than just a lucky hit, from what I've heard," the principal said wryly. After jotting down a few more notes he said, "I believe I've gotten a clearer picture of what happened. I will have to interview Uzumaki-san and Matsuhara-san to confirm your story, but it seems to be a clear case of self-defense." Thank you for pointing out the freaking obvious, Professor. "Furthermore, while your defeat of a genin was definitely impressive, based on your current scores and your description, I do not believe that it is sufficient cause to accelerate your graduation." Whew, dodged that bullet. "I believe that will be all, Uchiha-san. Thank you for your time." Taking the dismissal for what it was, I stood up and left with a polite bow. The guy who escorted me in took me back to my class, calling Kushina forth after I had taken my seat.
The rest of my school day happened as normal. I went home and played with Obito for a bit before reporting to Sunshine. That's when another pattern in my routine was broken: he actually started a conversation with me! For several minutes, we went through our normal routine of him telling me what I was to do and then remaining silent except to bark corrections at me. About fifteen minutes in, he spoke.
"How did you get that mar in your hair the other day?" he asked. It wasn't demanding, but the fact that he was inquisitive at all put me on edge.
"Incident after class," I answered casually, swinging my staff through the prescribed motions while he lazily blocked them with his bokken. "It's been taken care of, nothing to worry about."
"I see," he responded lightly. After another minute he asked, "Would this 'incident' perhaps involve you and the Uzumaki girl being attacked by a genin?" In surprise I stumbled and nearly sent my staff flying from my hand, but managed to straighten myself before I fell on my face and made a fool of myself.
"And how would you know about that?" I asked neutrally as I resumed my movements. I doubt that a police report wasn't filed concerning the matter, so I figured that was where he heard it from. Sunshine gave a derisive snort.
"You are not the only Uchiha currently attending the academy," he pointed out to me; guess I was wrong. "Word has been spreading about you, including your new moniker of 'demon.' Word of this reached their parents, who in turn informed me. I looked into it and found out what happened. Now, the only question is…" Suddenly he lunged at me, knocking the staff out of my hand. Snatching it from the air, he swept my legs out from under me, knocking me on my back. Placing a foot on my chest, hard enough to restrain me without suffocating me, he continued, "…Why did I not hear about this before now?"
Struggling to get out from underfoot, I gritted out, "I didn't think it was necessary. He tried to kill me, I tried to kill him back; it didn't seem like he was going to try again, so I figured the matter was settled." Sunshine seemed rather displeased by my explanation.
"'Settled?'" he echoed as he pressed down a little harder. "And what if the matter wasn't settled as you so believed, but rather he was retreating to try again later? Did you think of that?" I opened my mouth to retort, but slowly closed with a grimace when it occurred to me that no, I didn't think of that. "You are the youngest Uchiha to have manifested their Sharingan since before the founding of this village," he said as he took his foot off my chest, "and that blessing gives you more potential than most of your peers." He extended the end of my staff to me, which I grabbed so he could pull me to my feet. Once I was up, he brought his bokken down on my shoulder hard enough to sting. "You are also childish and arrogant," he continued bluntly. That stung worse than the blow, but I couldn't disagree. Looking back, I can see that since I realized I could influence the flow of canon, I had been slowly becoming careless.
Sloppy.
Arrogant.
"You do not seem to be very fond of me," Fugaku continued, ignorant of my introspecting. "I do not know why, nor do I particularly care. I too have things that I would rather be doing with my evenings than training you. But it has been decreed by the head of our clan, and his word is law." He gave an irritated sniff at that. "And furthermore, since she has started caring for your brother, Mikoto-chan seems to have taken a shine to you. So for her sake if nothing else, I will do my best to train you so that you can survive. But I cannot do that if you continue to pull such prideful stunts like before, am I understood?" he demanded.
"Yes, sir," I capitulated. As much as it irked me, he was right.
"Good. If any similar…incidents happen in the future, I expect to be notified immediately," he said before handing me my staff. "Now, resume your position and begin from the first step," he ordered.
"Yes, Sensei," I said before moving back to how I was before. As I went through the motions, my mind stirred. I was reminded of something I had learned before in my old life, but had evidently forgotten:
Actions have consequences.
I had planned on just sidling through life with little care or regard to the happenings around me until I found an opportunity to flee with Obito somewhere far away from the ninja life. That option wasn't completely off the table, but this conversation showed me that I needed to put more thought into my actions than I had been. I had gotten cocky and, while nothing had come of it this time, the next time I may not be so lucky. I'll have to be patient, methodical, calculating; three things that I've never been particularly good at.
Let's see how well that works out.
I hope you liked this chapter.
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Classes start back up tomorrow (for college at least), so to all my school-going readers, I bid you good luck in your classes.
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