Naruko: The Story Redone

By: dbrame91

A/N: I just want to say thank you to recent reviews who brought up some things I could do to add to my previous chapter and lemon scene. I was actually going to start this one with the more awkward conversation between the three.

As for things like Kushina and Zabuza going more than one round, I do agree that they probably would for the reason of them both being ninja. I disagree with one reason being they work in/for a brothel, Zabuza is pretty much security and Kushina is one of the Garden's Lillies as well as a Daffodil, not a Rose. Thinking about that scene now, I do agree that having them go again would have made the morning a bit more awkward, especially after Naruko hands over the scroll if they had been busy all night.


Prologue 4: Naruko

Zabuza looked up from the scroll in his hands. "When did you take this from my room?" He questioned the blonde girl slightly impressed that she was able to sneak into his room without being noticed. The swordsman also made a note to find a way to lock the door, at least while he is there with Hitomi. Rolling up the scroll and tucking it into one of his pockets, he continued to look at his young student waiting.

"I don't know what time exactly. It was after midnight when I first got to your room. Then I had to wait for you and Kaa-san to fall asleep after you finished sparring. Oh, that's right! Why were you both sparring naked? And when do I get to learn to fight like that?" Naruko looked up innocently, her deep blue eyes shining in wonder before she noticed the shocked/embarrassed faces of Kushina and Zabuza. "What's wrong? Did I fail my test?" Her face changed from happiness to questioningly sad, actually dipping her head to look at the floor.

Zabuza hurriedly recovered his composure and shook his head. "No, you passed. You actually did better than I could have imagined you would in that situation." He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair a bit, making her giggle happily at his praise. After letting her lover commend Naruko, it was Kushina's turn to speak up. "Yes, you did very well. Neither of us knew you were even there. Now about what you saw... that wasn't something you can learn until you are older." Hoping that explanation would curb away any more questions she reached her arms around Naruko and took her into one of her big momma bear hugs congratulating her before another question turned her solid as stone.

"Why do I have to be older? It looked like you both had fun. And I should learn everything I can if I want to be a ninja someday." Naruko turned around in Kushina's arms looking at her expectantly. Her mouth set in a small frown and cheeks puffed up a bit. 'Oh Kami no, please don't pout, it's not fair when you do.' was Kushina's thought as she tried to figure out a suitable white lie to tell her before they were interrupted by one of the Garden's ruder Roses, Junko.

"Just tell her the truth. You two were fucking like a pair of bunnies." Junko said before laughing out loud making them all turn to her. Zabuza just taking note that she was there now. Kushina was glaring daggers at the woman, this was already embarrassing enough for her without other Flowers knowing and voicing their opinions. Naruko just looked over, hoping that someone would explain what Junko had just said. The looks made the Rose laugh more before she continued on. "Kid, your mom was having sex with the Garden's, big strong, security chief. Judging by the look on your face, you have no idea what that is." She laughed even harder before going on any further. "Sex is where two people get naked, usually a man and woman but it can be woman and woman or man and man, and use their particular 'equipment' to get the other to cum," Junko explained. " A man's 'equipment' is called many things including penis, cock, dick, meat stick, manhood, and many other fun names. Women have their own special bits as well. Ours have a few names too, vagina, pussy, cunt, cunnie for younger girls by some, love tunnel, baby cannon. Honestly most of them aren't as fun to say as what men have." She had a grin on her face as she sat back in one of the club's plush chairs. "And just let me say it now, sex is not only the most fun a person can have, it is also an exchange of power."

With all this new information Naruko was left confused and overly embarrassed. She knew about men and women having different anatomy, that was something Kushina had taught her when she was being potty trained. All this new stuff was too much for her to take in at once. Once her head had stopped spinning and she knew what her next question was going to be she looked up at Junko, about to ask how and why adults had sex, Kushina approached her fellow Flower and lead her from the room whispering threats to the Rose if she ever talked to Naruko about sex again. When her mother returned Naruko looked at her and asked, "Why did you make Junko leave? She was just trying to help."

"Naruko, Junko has her own opinion on these matters. I don't agree with them, and I want you to be older before you make those kinds of choices," Kushina explained. When Naruko nodded her head, she was wrapped up in another hug which she returned happily. "Tonight we can talk about what Junko said to make it more appropriate." Kushina pulled away from Naruko and smiled, with her eyes closed, and kissed her forehead. "Now go outside with Zabuza-san for your lessons." She turned Naruko towards the door and patted her rear end, pushing her forward.

"Okay Kaa-san. I will see you later." Stepping out from the Garden, Naruko looked around everywhere she could. Zabuza had made a habit of attacking her randomly, he said it was to keep her on her toes. Once she knew the coast was clear she proceeded around the building and found her teacher under the same tree he had left a sleeping clone on her birthday. "Zabuza-san, I was wondering something." At her call the Swordsman looked up and gave her a silent 'go ahead'. "I was hoping that maybe we could skip the rest of stealth training and start working with chakra." She was looking down, her eyes closed, as she hoped for his okay.

Sighing Zabuza ran a hand through his hair thinking it over. "Okay. However, we are only going to do chakra one day a week until the end of the month. After that we will work it in every day like the rest of your training and lessons." Naruko's head shot up, a smile on her face as she stared at her teacher. "You earned this with how well you did on my test. Before we begin actually trying, I want to teach you about chakra itself." He then went on to explain that chakra was the combination of energies created through mental and physical training, which is why he worked her so hard during training. "Now that you know what chakra is, I want you to try and unlock yours. Using the tiger hand sign," He then demonstrated the hand sign for her, "you try and focus your chakra into your center, and then you push it outwards." With the end of his explanation came a wave of energy that was easy to feel. "Now, I want you to try this for an hour before we take a break. It may not seem hard but it can tire out most inexperienced people who attempt it.

Naruko put her hands in the tiger sign and closed her eyes as she tried to focus her energies. She evened out her breathing and shut out all the noises around her. Deep in her stomach Naruko could feel what she could only call a storm raging inside her. It felt like it wanted to be set free, allowed to crash into whatever tried to hold it back. Slowly, Naruko exhaled and tried to push the energy away. It was starting to feel more like a beast than a storm, a beast with no desire to be controlled. Suddenly she was pulled from her thoughts as Zabuza woke her up. "That's an hour. We will try again after you have something to drink and rest a bit." At her attempt to shrug him off and deny the need for rest, he gripped tighter and looked her in the eyes. "That is an order brat. You are shaking and need the rest."

Naruko gave in and decided to ask him if it should feel like it did. "Um, Zabuza-san what does it feel like when you push out the chakra? You never really told me what it was supposed to be like. When I tried it felt like a storm gathering when I collected it, then it felt like a wild animal trapped in a corner when I wanted to release it." She was looking at the water bottle in her hand, watching for shaking in her hands. Her teacher's response came after a short internal analysis.

"That I can speak of from my own experience, no. Releasing your chakra does feel difficult at first but it shouldn't feel like a beast with its own mind. The part about a raging storm in your stomach is common in people with large amounts of chakra, but usually it was more with people from a certain lost clan." He looked over at her and put a hand on her head, just trying to express a willingness to help her, even if just by listening to her. "Hitomi once told me she had a somewhat similar feeling when she tried to use her chakra. Maybe she can help you with that tonight." He held out a hand, giving her a bit of help getting up. "For now, we still need to run through your forms and your laps."

Naruko nodded before letting Zabuza hoist her to her feet. "I want to try once more first," Naruko insisted, getting ready for her second attempt. As soon as she started she could feel the storm in her gut, she let herself get used to the storm, working her way to its eye. From there Naruko began to push on it, forcing it to the surface so she could let it all out. Grunting a bit as she continued, "It still feels like it is fighting me back." With a deep breath she pushed harder, feeling it give but not break to her will. Her chakra was just as resilient as she was.

Suddenly it snapped back, swallowing her attempts. When she opened her eyes she was on her back. Zabuza was standing over looking down, reaching out and calling to her. When she responded he exhaled visibly, counting his blessings. He did not want an angry Hitomi on his case. "Do you want me to carry you inside?" His voice was gentle as he questioned the blonde. She shook her head and looked right into his eyes. Carefully sitting herself up she thought for a second and took up the tiger hand sign one last time for the day.

"I will do this. Namikaze Naruko does not back down!" She exclaimed forgetting to use her fake last name. She instantly found her way to the center of her storm and instead of fighting it, let it sink into her more. The effort became less and her breathing became easier compared to the last two tries. This time instead of trying to push it out at all she just opened her eyes and found herself alone. She was sitting, with her back to a blackboard and desks in front of her. 'Why am I in a school class room?' She looked around but felt too weightless for this to be real. 'Maybe this is a genjutsu. But who could have cast it Zabuza-san hates them.'

Looking around the room more she noticed someone at one of the desks. It was a girl in a white sundress and she was sitting on the desk, her legs kicking slowly. Taking a step closer, Naruko noted her steps made no sound on the hard floor. Even without her steps making a sound the other girl looked up, making Naruko gasp. It was her, but it also wasn't. This version of her had a head of short hair, the color was a mix of her own hair and her mother's, like a setting sun in the Land of Fire. The girl's eyes were the same shade of blue as her own, but the pupils were more oblong vertically almost like an animal's but not as stretched. The most concerning issue was that the girl had fox ears on her head and a tail, both matching her hair color. "Who are you and why do you look like me?" Naruko's voice was soft with confusion and worry.

The other girl tilted her head and shrugged. "I don't have a name. I know what I am, but not who. As to why I look like you, that is part of what I am." Her voice was also just like Naruko's. She hoped off of the desk and circled the girl once. "I am a fragment of the Kyuubi that Kaa-san carries. Well to be exact, I am a fragment of his chakra that has mixed with yours." She turned around on one foot, her dress billowing up gently. "And this is my 'room'. It was made from your ideas on what the Academy in Konoha is like." The nameless girl sat on her desk again looking at Naruko, waiting.

"No name? That can't be. Everyone has a name." Naruko looked at the 'fragment', her face scrunched up in thought. She sat down, a bit harder than she had wanted to, again making no noise and with no feeling to her. 'So this isn't a genjutsu. It is a part of my mind then?' "Do you know the Kyuubi's name? Maybe its name is yours too." The other girl shook her head slowly, she was at a loss as what she could be named. "Wait, you said Kaa-san like she was your mom too."

Naruko's phantom smiled at her and nodded. "Yes. I know what you know, so to me she is my Kaa-san too." She then stood up on her desk and paced along the top of it. "Also, I don't want you to use your chakra. It is scary for me, I don't know what might happen in here." She hoped off the desk and approached her counterpart. "Is that okay?" In a 'too proud for this crap' attitude Naruko reached out and slapped the other girl, not hard but enough to get her attention.

"Not using chakra will keep me from my dream. If you know what I do, then you would not ask me that. You should help me. I won't make you help me but if you keep trying to fight me over it like you have, I will find a way to take charge." With her cheeks puffed up and her arms across her chest Naruko stared the other girl in the eyes, daring her to challenge her. Naruko hadn't actually expected her opposite to challenge her and was surprised when she was backed into a corner of the room. The other girl was angry, that was obvious.

"I don't have any control over your chakra dummy. I am just a fragment of a monster, trapped in a little girl by myself." The phantom's eyes held tears and rage. She just wanted to be her own self. It was tough being a tiny presence in another person's mind. She had to watch the girl's entire life not being able to grow on her own. "Why should I help you anyways? You just want to go and be a ninja. Me, I want to stay here at the Golden Garden where we are safe." The phantom's purpose was to be the counter point in Naruko's thoughts, like a conscience, but about everything. She was the one who had to hold the less starry eyed beliefs of the girl.

Sighing at this phantom in front of her Naruko reached out and hugged her now. "You should help me because if my Kaa-san is your Kaa-san too, then you are my sister. Maybe you are more of just a part of me but you have your own desires and thoughts like a real person." Naruko let go of the other girl when she could tell she had calmed down. "I'm sorry if I said anything that was mean. This is just new to me." She looked at her fragment again, staring into the slightly off mirror image had made her realize that she had been here for a while now. "Umm, Yoko-chan, do you know how I can get out of here? It must be getting a bit late outside and I don't want to scare Kaa-san."

"Yoko-chan? If you mean me then I do, but outside it has only been a minute or two. Your body is still trying to release it's chakra." Naruko blinked at this information and nodded. 'Yoko' took a step back from her real world self and smiled as she thought about the name. It was a nice one but she wanted to know what Kanji to use for it. Suddenly embarrassed by what she had done early, forcing Naruko into the corner and being mean, she bowed and began to apologize. "I am sorry about my earlier behavior...onee-chan." Thinking it over there was one way 'Yoko' could make up for it, but she would use that to get her name's kanji from Naruko. "I think I know why you were having trouble with your chakra. I can tell you, but I want to know how to write my name." Being a facet of Naruko's personality left her with the same type of attitude as her 'sister', meaning she was too proud to just let things go or seem like she was being nice for no reason.

"Oh, that is easy." Taking a piece of chalk from the board Naruko wrote out the figures as big as she could. Soon the kanji '洋子' was on the board. "I used this one because even though you have always been with me Kaa-san would see you as a "foreign child." Naruko explained it simply and with pride, her eyes closed and her nose in the air like she was a genius, come to give a lesson to a preschooler. "Now, why do you think my chakra was being funny?" She put the chalk down and patted her hands together, cleaning off any dust.

"You were not actually in sync with yourself. Do you remember what you said before your third try? 'Namikaze Naruko does not back down!' The reason you came here was because you let yourself admit that you are not 'Kobayashi' Naruko. Even if it was just a fake name, it is something that kept you off balance. You are proud to be our Otou-san's daughter." Yoko said, returning the superior attitude she had just received, her hands were on her hips as she said it, nose in the air and chest puffed out.

Nodding her head Naruko could understand where Yoko was coming from. Zabuza had said that a person could have problems with their chakra for too many reasons to count but included emotional distress, intoxication, poisoning, and even just being angry. Naruko focused back to Yoko again and hugged her. "Thank you Yoko-onee-chan. I think I am ready to go back now." Yoko returned the hug and turned Naruko to the room's door.

"Just go through that door and you will be back in reality Naruko-onee-chan." Yoko said before returning to the perch of her favorite desk. "When you get back, don't fight your chakra, let it sink in more. You will get it, I know you can...And make sure you tell Kaa-san about this. She deserves to know." With that Yoko began to happily hum to herself, her feet kicking the air and her tail swishing back and forth slowly. Though she wasn't going to say it to Naruko, this was the happiest Yoko could say she had felt.

Naruko nodded and walked through the door, instantly snapping back to reality she felt her chakra struggle against her will and pulled back, letting her chakra become a part of her as it continued to gather. Once she felt she was as connected to it as she could be, Naruko exhaled slowly while easing her chakra out. The effect was like Zabuza's demonstration, a sudden wave of energy rushed from the girl and even had Zabuza stunned at how much he could feel it. It could have easily been at Jonin levels as far as quantity was to be considered. 'I guess I should ask Hitomi about that when I get the chance. As well as why Naruko used the name Namikaze just now.' Zabuza felt Naruko's tension and chakra subside, drawing his attention back to his student wary of her passing out. When she stayed on her feet Zabuza went over and patted her head. "Good work brat. We can take the rest of the day to ease you into releasing your chakra until there is no effort in it for you." Naruko nodded as she hugged her teacher's leg.

"What happened to doing laps and forms drills?" She asked innocently, her arms still around the swordsman's leg. To her it was a fair question as Zabuza had never backed down from things like making her run laps. She was ecstatic to not have to do them, she was sure her legs would pop like over filled balloon animals if she tried.

"Well I thought you weren't going to get it today after the first attempt so I had made that my plan." His explanation held no sympathy for her troubled attempts or her possibly hurt feelings at his lack of confidence. Looking back down at Naruko, Zabuza picked her up with one hand by her shirt collar and set her back down. "I want you to gather and release your chakra 10 more times before I set you free for the day." He took a couple steps back, giving her room to help her focus.

Her following tries had taken a bit longer than Zabuza had thought they would so he went back to his post at the front door, after her 5th, keeping his senses aware for the sudden spike in chakra coming from her direction behind the Golden Garden. The swordsman felt the 10th wave around 5 o'clock and went behind the building to find her panting and exhausted. "Good, the tired state you are currently feeling is called chakra exhaustion. It happens when a ninja uses up their chakra reserves. Honestly I thought you would hit this point on your 4th." Zabuza then picked up his blonde student and carried her inside on his back, setting her down at the bar. "Get something filling and salty. That will help a bit," he explained as he went to find Hitomi.

Jump to the next day

Naruko woke up at 5 like every day but regretted it immediately. Her body ached and while her bowl of ramen had helped with the chakra exhaustion it didn't stop her head from hurting. The only day she had felt this bad was her first day with Zabuza as her teacher. On that day she had been run so far into the ground she felt like she could have been buried in the hole.

Thinking back to yesterday the last thing she remembered was eating her dinner and being carried to her and Kushina's room by her mother. As she was carried she could hear Kushina and Zabuza talking. Zabuza had been asking her about Naruko using her Namikaze name during training. Kushina had stopped and invited the swordsman into the mother/daughter room. At this point Naruko had passed out in her mother's arms.

Naruko looked around the small room, looking for either adult. Besides her, and all the Uzumaki duo's possessions, the room was empty. Naruko got to her feet, carefully climbing out of the bundled blankets. Stretching out languidly, she tested just how much she was hurting. After stretching for about ten minutes she started getting ready the same as always, wash the face, get dressed, and brushing her hair.

She walked through the halls of the Golden Garden, her path straight to the kitchen clear in the rumble of her stomach. When she rounded the corner into the main room she found her mother passed out on one of the lounging couches. Zabuza was sitting upside down on one of the chairs, left leg over the back with his right leg over the right arm of the chair.

Naruko gently woke the adults. Kushina had gotten very little sleep last night, she had been up with Zabuza explaining everything she could. Zabuza was by far the worst off, he was heavily hung over having drunk 4 bottles of sake by himself, and with his awkward sleeping position he suffered from highly achy joints. "Hn. Brat, I'm giving you the day off. I am in no mood for anything loud or exhausting." Naruko cheered before being silenced by the swordsman's stare.

Once both adults were awake, they caught Naruko up on what happened after her lessons, although it was more of Kushina who was explaining as Zabuza was still angry about being lied to for the past few months. When Zabuza had agreed to come in and sit down Kushina had begun to tell him the truth, all of it. Everything was laid out for him, from 'Kobayashi Hitomi' being a fake name to Kushina being Uzumaki Kushina widowed wife of the 4th Hokage. The level of deception had made him angry, and so, Zabuza went to the bar and began to drink while Kushina continued her story. She even told him about the times she had to do less than appropriate things in order to keep a roof over her and Naruko's heads, to which the swordsman asked for what villages and the names of the men so he could get rid of them.

After telling Naruko about Zabuza knowing everything, it was Naruko's turn to tell them about Yoko. "Kaa-san, do you know that the Kyuubi is still sealed tight?" She wanted to find out what she could about the demon fox's chakra before she brought up Yoko. Kushina only gave her daughter a nod, she knew it was still there because she could feel the tailed beast. When asked why she wanted to know Naruko let the story out. "Yesterday, when I was trying to unlock my chakra, I met a fragment of the Kyuubi's chakra that was mixed with mine." This immediately brought new worry to Kushina, which Naruko tried to relieve. "The fragment wasn't the Kyuubi though. It was its own self, it was a part of me that was different. It looked just like me but with ears and one tail. Her hair was shorter and was the color of a sunset. And she didn't feel like she was made of anger and hate either, she was just scared. She didn't even have a name at first, but when she told me that, to her, you were her Kaa-san too I knew she wasn't bad so I gave her a name." Naruko had rushed to get all of that out, using only one breath to do it.

"What name did you give her?" With Kushina's reluctant reply Naruko looked at her a bit shy to admit it now, and chose to whisper it in her mother's ear. Kushina nodded, accepting the name. "That is a good name for her." She wasn't going to trust this fragment of the Kyuubi as easily as Naruko had, but she would give Yoko a chance when she could. The only way Kushina could think of doing that though would be with the help of a Yamanaka clan member, all of which where back in Konoha.

Time skip: Next October 10th

For the past eight and a half months Naruko trained every day with Zabuza. There was a bit of distance between her and the Swordsman after her mother had revealed their lies to him. Kushina had noticed the Mist Ninja's slight withdrawal from both of the Uzumaki ladies, she was hurt by this but understood his reasons. The awkwardness between the three eased after a month mostly thanks to Kushina, who one night while slightly intoxicated had chosen to go to his room chew him out. The interaction quickly turned from a verbal confrontation to a long night of physical intimacy between the two. The next day Kushina had asked for the day off due to a hang over and spent her time with her daughter.

Today was Naruko's 5th birthday. When she had gotten to her and Zabuza's training area the man had told her that lessons would become one, day long lesson a week, instead of shorter ones every day. This was to give her the time she would need to learn from the Flowers in the Garden. Since she was 5 she had to become a Poppy so she had to learn to play an instrument. Naruko had decided to learn the shamisen ( traditional 3 string Japanese guitar, played with a plectrum).

The upside to her lessons being one day a week was that she got move on to learning jutsu, of course Zabuza only knew Suiton jutsu. Because she was excellent at stealth, the first technique he taught her was the Kirigakure Jutsu. This gave her the perfect cover for any sneaking she needed to do. After she was capable of using it to his satisfaction he then taught her how to counter skills like his own Silent Killing. She was going to start learning her second and third jutsu today before she had to go to her Poppy lessons. The new techniques where going to be Suiton: Teppodama and Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu. Both required the user to gather chakra and turn it into water before firing it from their mouth, Teppodama were balls of water while Suidan is high powered streams of water. Zabuza wanted her to learn these due to her naturally high chakra reserves, which should make it easier for her to use them in any environment.

Both techniques were easy to use as they needed very few hand signs. Teppodama only needed the user to make the Tiger hand sign. Suidan needed a few more than that, Tiger-Ox-Tiger-Rat. Naruko was told to run through several tries with each. Her Teppodama was powerful, but until her chakra control improved she could only get out one shot with each use. Using Suidan was easier, Naruko just had to gather a lot of chakra to get a lot of force behind the blast of water. Lessons ended after Naruko could use both jutsu to dispel one of Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin.

After changing out of her training clothes Naruko went to the main room to meet with Orchid Ayame. Ayame was going to go over everything Naruko would need to learn, from how she would have to dress to what songs the blonde would learn to play. Naruko was also going to be responsible for helping her fellow Poppies get ready with their clothes, make up, and hair. Instrument maintenance was solely on the person who played it, that meant that Naruko would only have to keep her shamisen working and no one but Naruko could take of it. If the blonde's instrument was broken, she wouldn't be working, and would not be earning any money. Naruko didn't need money, but she did want it so her mother didn't have to buy everything for her.

Ayame then told her Garden's newest Poppy that sometimes, while very rare, some Poppies had to play for the Roses and their customers. The Poppy assigned to playing for a Rose would be behind a screen to give privacy to the customers. She then told the young girl that as the youngest Poppy, she would not have to do it for another few years. In fact Naruko would most likely not be performing for any customers until she could play her shamisen to the satisfaction of Orchid Ayame.

Time skip: 5 months

All of Naruko's lessons had been going great over the past few months. She was still trying to get used to her shamisen, it was a bit tough for her to remember all the songs, she still had to memorize five more of her fifteen songs. Her lessons with Zabuza were going a bit easier though. Kushina had helped her with chakra control so she could now use her Teppodama to make six consecutive shots. Each of her Teppodama's shots were strong enough to dispel a Mizu Bunshin. As for Naruko's use of the Suidan jutsu, she could easily hit any target Zabuza asked her to with enough force to tear it apart.

When it came to her shamisen, Naruko was trying her hardest and getting better, but she had to learn all the songs played at the Garden as she was the only Poppy who played the 3 stringed instrument. The only other one had turned 15 and chose to become one of the other Flowers, Naruko thought she had seen the girl in Lily make up. She was actually pretty good with the shamisen too, she liked how it could go from a almost whining noise to a deeper solid sound. The hardest part for her was having to sit through the weeks with only one day of lessons with Zabuza to break it up, she was not meant to be sitting on her knees for hours on end.

Her lessons with Zabuza had gotten better though now that they were only once a week. Every week she would get to learn a new skill or jutsu, last week had been the start of water walking, and this week she was going to be learning how to perform Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu. Daibakufu no Jutsu was one of the few techniques she had to practice near a significant body of water, as even she had difficulty making enough water for it with just her chakra. The closest large body of water was a small lake, more like a deep pond, an hour away from Koriyo Village. This gave them a secluded area with plenty of trees to use as targets for Naruko's practice with the Daibakufu no Jutsu.

Naruko had learned the hand signs on the first day: Tiger-Ox-Monkey-Rabbit-Ram-Boar-Ox-Horse-Monkey-Tiger-Dog-Tiger-Snake-Tiger-Ox-Monkey-Rabbit-Bird. So far it was the longest sequence she had to remember. Between the hand signs and gathering her chakra it was the first jutsu that she actually had trouble with. Having water already present made the jutsu much easier to handle, all she had to do was gather the water around a central point before letting it surge forward. So far the most she could do was tear up the soft muddy ground near the lake, resulting in a shallow gouge and slightly torn up trees. Zabuza had even given Naruko some praise for that, it was an impressive attempt for a 5 year old (even one with the chakra reserves of a trained Jonin).

Sometimes Kushina would watch, or even help teach, and make a lunch for all three of them. Every time she had a lesson with Zabuza, Naruko would take two hours to connect with Yoko. This use of time was at Kushina's request. During her time in Yoko's room Naruko tried to connect with her "sister" and figure out what she could do. So far all they had found out was that Yoko could see and hear everything Naruko did, but remembered it all easier. As a result of her better memory she had begun to play the shamisen as well, though Yoko's was a mental construct. The three had also figured out that Yoko had her own chakra which is what allowed her to make her room and shamisen.

Time skip: 2 months before Naruko's 8th birthday

'August is probably the second to worst time to live in a stuffy brothel.' Naruko is sitting with her back to a wall, pulling on the front of her kimono while waving a cheap fan in front of her. "Fuck it's hot!" As soon as the words leave her mouth she is assaulted by a wave of anger that she knows belongs to Kushina. "Sorry Kaa-san, it slipped! I didn't mean to say it!" Naruko tries to explain before making a rush to the main room, knowing her mother won't attack her in front of Garden patrons. Naruko quickly slips into the readying room behind the small stage and asks one of the other Poppies for help with her make up. 'If I can just stay on stage long enough, Kaa-san will calm down.'

Over the past two years Naruko had gotten used to her role as a Poppy. Eventually she was even able to get an extra day off to train with Zabuza more. Most of the other Poppies that had been in the Garden before Naruko were older than her by a few years, so they had chosen to take on other roles after they turned 15. Before they all moved on to their new roles there had been 5 Poppies, now there was Naruko and two other experienced girls with a forth still learning before being put on stage. The two experienced girls were both a bit older than Naruko. However they had been Poppies for 4 months less than she had, so Orchid Ayame relied on her to act as the lead Poppy.

Naruko got into her usual position on her thin cushion, followed by the two older girls. Shortly after, a Daffodil stepped out onto the stage and got ready as the curtains were pulled to the sides. At the Daffodil's signal, her left hand behind her back and palm out, Naruko began to play the requested song. Naruko knew every song she needed and could even play a few that had been asked for by customers. With her barely moving fingers doing all the work for her, Naruko could focus on the rest of the music around her. Keeping her face down, as she and the other Poppies were supposed to do when a Daffodil or Lotus was on stage was always annoying for her, she just wanted to keep her neck from getting stiff while she played.

After the first song started Kushina walked into the room and looked right at her daughter, still angry. Naruko continued to play the songs asked of her by the Daffodil for an hour, keeping Kushina in the corner of her eye the entire time. As soon as she was done the young blonde went back behind the stage and got changed, she chose to get out of the Garden and practice her Jutsu. Naruko had not learned a new one in a while, instead running through the ones she did know to get better use of her chakra with each; at this point she knew Teppodama, Suidan, Mizu Bunshin, Daibakufu, Kirigakure, and Suiryudan. She could get 10 Mizu Bunshin at one time as well as get a dragon just smaller than one of Zabuza's from her Suiryudan. When not working on her Jutsu Naruko had been studying kenjutsu, the sword she used was a smaller version of her teacher's infamous weapon that the Kiri ninja had gotten her for her last birthday, as well as a copy of the first two practice scrolls. With her shamisen in hand, Naruko headed back to her and Kushina's room to drop off the 3 string instrument, as well as grab her miniature Kubikiribocho.

On her way to the room she saw an older man approach her mother. The man was wearing a dull green men's kimono under a red haori and wooden sandals. He was approaching Kushina from the front and had seemed to scare the older woman. Naruko not knowing where Zabuza was decided to step in. Walking up behind him quietly, Naruko slipped into his 4 o'clock position and threw her plectrum just before his neck, stopping him. As she was getting ready to throw her spare picking tool the man disarmed her without her even noticing until she was on her backside missing her instrument. Glaring at the man the blonde got back onto her feet and walked over to her mother, this sight told the man everything he needed. This young girl in front of him is the child of his own student, the Yondaime Hokage.

With Naruko's approach Kushina regained her composure. "What do you want Jiraiya?" That was all she chose to say for now. It had been seven years since she had left Konoha, and through all that time there had been a few close calls to Jiraiya finding her. Most of these had occurred since she and Naruko had moved to Koriyo Village. Naruko had taken her shamisen back from the man when he offered it to her, before trying to kick him in the shin. Kushina had put a hand on her daughter's shoulder and pulled her back towards her before she could hit him though.

"Kaa-san, is this the same guy who taught Otou-san?" Her question didn't really need an answer, from all the stories she had heard from her mother the man could not be anyone other than the legendary toad sannin. Everything from his clothes to the way her carried himself helped to support her belief on the issue. Giving her shamisen a few plucks to make sure everything was still working she eyed the man. "Looks like just another pervy customer to me. I bet he is just someone pretending to be him." She wanted to rile him up, make him show her something that proved he was Jiraiya, she was really hoping to see him summon a toad.

"Oi brat! I am not just some everyday pervert. I am Jiraiya the Gallant, world famous super pervert." With Jiraiya's unashamed reply came the usual showmanship. The only response he got though was a blank, bored stare from the young blond. She was hoping this would drive him to anger, angry people often let things slip. "I am a great ninja from Konohagakure. Student of the Sandaime Hokage, and teacher of the Yondaime. And my skills as a ninja are not my only claim to fame. I am also an author of award winning caliber, writer of the Icha-Icha series."

"Student of who? Teacher of the what?" Naruko wasn't fond of insulting the two great men of Konoha, especially her father, but she wanted this old man to slip. "So what do you want with Kaa-san?" She walked over to her first thrown plectrum and picked it up. "I would speak up quick, the guard here at the Golden Garden doesn't like when people mess with the Flowers." Kushina's hand comes down and rests gently on her daughter's head, silencing her gently. "Kaa-san?"

"Naruko, please just let him talk." Naruko crossed her arms and nodded, her cheeks puffed up. Kushina then lead Jiraiya and Naruko to an unused group room, and had Naruko send a Mizu Bunshin to get Zabuza. "As you can see Jiraiya-sama, we have done fine over the past 7 years. We would like to be left out of the politics of Konoha as much as possible."

"Kushina, I did not come looking for you. I have kept my feelers out for any sign of you so we could talk, but Sensei and I both wanted to respect your wish to be left alone." Jiraiya's face had taken on a solemn quality as he took out a scroll and opened it. In the scroll were ten sealing arrays, each one it's own sizable pocket capable of carrying items bigger than Jiraiya. After applying his chakra to the seal closest to the end a small puff of smoke dissipated in the air and revealed two smaller scrolls. One scroll was the same shade of red as Kushina's original hair color, the other was a blue just like Naruko's eyes. "These are for the two of you. The red scroll is a letter from Sensei asking you to return whenever you want. The blue is a letter of recommendation to the Academy in Konoha, there should be enough room for Naruko's name so you can just add it in if you want." Rolling up his scroll, Jiraiya looked at the two Uzumaki females, sadness in his eyes. "I will be in Koriyo for the next week, after that I will be leaving to take a report back to Konoha." In a swirl of leaves that should not have been in the Garden the older man disappeared in his shunshin.

Just as Jiraiya left the door opened and in comes Zabuza, only to be dragged out by a slightly angry Kushina towards the Swordsman's room. Naruko gave them a minute before she followed after them, thinking they would be talking about everything that happened, but when she tried to open the door the blond found that it was stuck closed and had a strong feeling of chakra infusion. The two adults only did this when they wanted to be intimate, something that Kushina preferred when ever she was too angry to think. Shortly after trying the door Naruko heard the confirming moan of her mother taking the Kiri ninja roughly into her womanhood. 'I guess I could read the letter to the academy. It is about me, and Kaa-san always said I could only read a letter that concerned me.' Another loud moaning call came from the closed door, just loud enough for Naruko to hear; "Oh Kami. Keep going Zabuza-san, do it harder." Naruko knocked on the door and quickly called out that they forgot the silence seals his time. They were always forgetting one of them, usually the silence one, and this had lead to a couple awkward occasions where Naruko had walked in on them.

Later that night, after Kushina and Zabuza locking themselves away for three hours, Naruko and her mother were sitting at the bar eating dinner. "Kaa-san, do you really want to stay here at the Garden?" Naruko looked up on her left side, searching Kushina's eyes. The older Uzumaki sighed and shook her head gently, she missed Konoha and the friends she had there. However she knew that if she returned she would lose her lover Zabuza, there was no way a shinobi from another land would be allowed into Konoha as a resident, especially when they were a nuke-nin charged with the attempted assassination of his own Kage. "I want to go back, but I could never leave Zabuza so easily." A tear came to Kushina's eye as she thought about that loss for both of the two adults. Naruko simply nodded, Zabuza was her teacher for the past 4 years almost, he had even kind of become a father to her, so she knew what it was like to not want to leave him behind.

The next day Naruko and Zabuza sat behind the Golden Garden, relaxing after going over her kenjutsu for an hour. "Zabuza-san...how much do you love Kaa-san?" She knew it was a very forward question, and that he wasn't the type to easily give that information up. His growling voice seemed to soften a bit, knowing why she was asking. She wanted to know how he would feel if they went back to Konoha. Naruko would never want to hurt anybody with her actions if she could so the blonde would rather try to find a happiness at the Garden than easily find it out in the ninja world.

"I love her a lot brat. But I don't know how to feel about you two going back to Konoha." Running a hand through his hair, he used his sword as a leverage point to get himself back on his feet. "I think you should both go though. The two of you need a safe place you can live, a place that isn't just a brothel. I don't want you to get hurt here when I leave." When Naruko looked over at him he nodded, "Yeah, I am going to leave. I've heard word about unrest in Kirigakure, and I should go, try to help the cause. I was actually going to talk to Kushi, about it after your lessons." Naruko laughed to herself, Zabuza had been trying to find a cutesy nickname for her mother for a few months now, and 'Kushi' was his best attempt. It was a failure but it was his least terrible one.

That night Zabuza had taken Kushina out of Koriyo for the evening, to a neighboring town. In the town Zabuza told his lover of his wish for her and Naruko to return to Konoha. He didn't want to leave them with no protection at the Garden if he died during his next attempt on Yaguya. He wanted to be free of his nuke-nin status, and if he helped the rebelling clans of Kirigakure they had promised to clear him of it. With a clean slate he could even ask to leave his village's ninja forces and make a life for himself with Kushina in Konoha. He hadn't said it was what he wanted to do, but Kushina could hear the underlying desire. He wanted to be good enough for her without having to worry about hunter's looking for him. The black haired woman agreed, but demanded he come back to her some day.

The rest of the week consisted of Naruko and Kushina putting away what few possessions they had into sealing scrolls, working a few last shifts, and Naruko trying to get more training in with Zabuza. All of their stuff was put into two small scrolls for Naruko and one larger scroll for Kushina. Their last shifts had been rough on them. Naruko used them mostly to get the newest Poppy ready for her first time on stage. A few times during this period Rose Junko asked for her to provide music for her and her customers. Kushina just took on whatever she was needed for, but with one of the Daffodils sick, she was mostly on the stage. Naruko wanted to get one more jutsu in before she left for Konoha, she claimed it was because to 'be the best damn student kunoichi' at the academy, however she couldn't pick one.

Since she was unable to pick one more jutsu to learn they stuck to working on her kenjutsu. She was getting better with her sword now that she had gotten used to the size of it. It was still a heavy weight, but Naruko would not give up.

On the day they were leaving the two person Namikaze/Uzumaki family went to Zabuza's room, only to find it empty except for two gifts, one for each of them. The larger one was in a wooden box and was meant for Naruko. Inside was all of the original training scrolls for the Kubikiribocho and a note; "Hey brat, you better keep up on your work. If I hear you went to Konoha just to slack off I will hunt you down myself. Make sure you take care of your Kaa-san too, she will need you there." Kushina's had been a very small box, one that could actually fit in a single hand. Inside was just a slip of paper that said; "I promise to find my way back to you." Kushina couldn't help but cry at the gesture before she tucked the paper away into a locket the Swordsman had gotten her for last Christmas.

Time skip: First day of the new Academy year

Naruko is standing in front of the Academy. The very place that her mother had met her father. The school responsible for some of the greatest ninja ever known. 'I might become such a legendary ninja my name will terrify enemies like Otou-san. Or maybe I will find my soul mate like Kaa-san.' Suddenly the blonde's hair flies up around her as she shakes her head. "Well gotta go inside if I want anything to happen."

With a deep breath in Naruko walks into the building where it will all begin. She is wearing her normal training shorts under an orange skirt that stops just above the knee, a pair of black ninja sandals, and a black shirt with the Uzumaki spiral near the collar on her front left side. In her shorts pocket was a scroll that Kushina had bought for her to keep her Kubikiribocho on her. The blonde Namikaze girl looks around the classroom a bit shocked. 'This is just like Yoko's room!' Finding a spot in the front row between two other student she heads over to the free seat, sitting her next to a boy with dark eyes and a girl with pale eyes that make her look frail and blind. Turning to the girl Naruko smiles, "Hello, I am Namikaze Naruko. I love your eyes!"

The new girl blushed and stuttered out, "H-hello, m-m-my name i-is H-Hyuuga Hinata." Naruko smiled even more and giggled. All the students looked over at the door into the room as who they assumed was their teacher entered and walked to the front of the room.

"Hello everyone, I am your instructor, Umino Iruka. While here you will be taught the basics of ninja abilities until your 3rd year, after that you will all pick a primary field of study such as medical, interrogation, or infiltration and will spend one day a week in classes for those while the rest of your classes will be with me. Now why don't we go around the room and just tell a little about ourselves. Just your names and what your parents do in the village is okay." The man now identified as Iruka was in the standard Chunin gear with his hair pulled back and up, and a scar across the bridge of his nose. "As I have said, I am Umino Iruka, your Chunin Instructor while you are in the Academy. My parents were both Konoha ninja. Sadly they are both deceased, they died on a mission in Iwa that went bad."

Slowly the rest of the class shared their backgrounds. Naruko paid attention to a few of her classmates. Uchiha Sasuke, son of the head of the Uchiha clan. Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga clan heiress, daughter of two Konoha ninja. There were several other clan heirs as well. Haruno Sakura was the daughter of two ninjas, but not from a clan. Then it was Naruko's turn.

"My name is Namikaze Naruko. My Otou-san was the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. My Kaa-san is Namikaze Kushina, the current head of the Uzumaki clan, though it is just her and I. For the past few years, Kaa-san and I lived in Koriyo Village on the edge of the Land of Fire. While living there I was taught by a ninja from Kirigakure who became like a second Otou-san to me," Naruko knew it was a better idea to not say the name of her teacher. After her introduction, longer than most of the others, Naruko sat down in her seat again and watched her teacher, accidentally slipping into Yoko's room where she was kicked out by her annoyed sister. 'Ugh, Yoko is so grumpy when she wants to learn. Could have at least said hello.'

After the introductions were done Iruka gathered the students to go outside for an inconsequential test to see who had any practice with ninjutsu. Only a few stepped up to demonstrate. Naruko was the first to go, she was overly excited to use one of her better techniques. She decided to show off her Suiryudan jutsu as the school didn't have a body of water close enough for her Daibakufu no jutsu. Iruka had taken note of her use of such a strong technique with just her chakra, such a feat at her age meant her reserves must be even greater than his own.

Chapter end

A/N: This ends my 4th chapter, as well as the end of the prologues. So many damn issues with this one, including internet issues. Have to say I am glad it is over now. Over 9000 words in this one chapter, that is more than double what my first three chapters have together. Now I know why most people keep their chapters on the shorter side, it gets rough. Next chapter will be after a significant time skip. If you want to, please PM me with who you want to see Naruko paired with, I am still thinking it over myself. The only pairing I will refuse is NarukoXSasuke, I will actually be making moves to eliminate that possibility.