First of all I wanna say thanks for all the support and positive feedback. I feel great knowing that a lot of people are actually enjoying my first fic so far. Just an FYI, I'm gonna try and keep the characters' personalities as close to canon as I can without making it predictable and boring. Anyway, as I said, thanks for the support and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Konoha's Orange Comet!
Chapter 2: Beginning of Something New!
Namiko groaned as she opened her eyes. She had a splitting headache and the bright light in the room she occupied did nothing but make the situation worst.
"Hn…look who finally decided to get up."
Ignoring the pain that would come, Namiko's eyes snapped open and she sat straight up. Over to her left sitting on a chair was her male teammate, who seemed to be perfectly healed.
"Sasuke! You're not dead!" She jumped off the bed and enveloped the Uchiha in a hug. Of course, the Kyubi had told her that the Uchiha had survived but seeing was believing after all.
"Tch, get off me dobe."
She let go of the Uchiha and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry…can you blame me though? I passed out thinking you were dead." She frowned at him.
Sasuke shook his head at the blonde and huffed. "Do you really think that senbon can stop an Uchiha?" He asked matter-of-factly.
Namiko rolled her eyes. "Considering you looked pretty dead I'd say yea." She shrugged before tilting her head. "Were you watching me sleep?"
Sasuke dug his hands in his pocket before responding. "Yea, you've been out of it for a few days so Kakashi made Sakura and I take turns watching you while the other helped out at the bridge," He explained. "Should be a couple more days."
Namiko glared at the Uchiha, and for some reason – he didn't know why – there was something about the glare that made him feel dread.
"You didn't do anything…perverted…to me while I slept did you?"
Sasuke face turned a color of red she didn't think was possible for the stoic Uchiha before he glared back at her. "Like I'd ever do something like that!" He barked at her.
She pouted and looked at him cutely and began twiddling her fingers much like their academy classmate Hinata. "So you don't think I'm pretty?" She asked softly.
"What? No!"
"So you think I'm ugly?" Her voice was dark.
Sasuke began panicking. Namiko had never before made him scared. He always saw himself as the superior ninja and quite frankly the superior person, being from the famed Uchiha clan after all but for some reason…he was scared of this part of Namiko.
"Wait…I…um…" He began sputtering out nonsense and Namiko couldn't hold her composure much longer and broke into a fit of laughter. The oh so great and oh so composed Uchiha was sputtering like a schoolboy in front his crush.
"Oh you're too easy teme."
Sasuke could only glare at her before it turned into a smirk and he chuckled. Seems like the blonde didn't let anything get to her, not even being unconscious for three days.
Oh…that reminded him.
Sasuke grew serious. "Namiko, just how did you manage to beat that hunter nin on your own?"
Namiko flinched slightly, something Sasuke noticed. The thoughts of the fight came back flooding her memory, especially the end when her attacks had been enough to kill the hunter nin. Of course, she had to come up with a lie, she couldn't just tell Sasuke that it was the help of the demon fox sealed within her…and she wasn't sure how he would react to the news of her kekkai genkai.
"When I saw you stop breathing…I went all out…and I think the adrenaline helped a lot." She lied.
Sasuke only nodded, he could sense that she was hiding something but decided that questing it then and there would not be wise, he'd store that in his mind and bring it up at a later date. His inner musings were cut out however when both Kakashi and Sakura walked entered the room.
"Namiko! You're awake. How do you feel?" Sakura voiced her concern immediately.
"I'm feeling great Sakura-chan! I just needed some sleep." Namiko grinned at the rosette who gave her a smile in return.
Kakashi offered his blonde student one of his famous eye smiles. "Great to see your up and about already…because for the next two days, you'll accompany Tazuna to the bridge. He should be done soon." Namiko internally groaned, she had just woken up and was already being thrown on work.
"Yes sensei." She sighed.
Kakashi smiled. "For now though, I need you to come with me." He turned around and walked out the door, beckoning for Namiko to follow him. She looked at her teammates who in turn looked at her with uneasy smiles…even Sasuke.
Then it clicked in her head, before she had passed out Kakashi had told her that they needed to talk. No doubt about her using the Nine Tail's chakra and her newfound abilities. She followed Kakashi through the door and down the stairs, stopping to say hello to Tazuna and his family on her way out.
Kakashi lead Namiko into the forest in relative silence. The only noise that could be heard were the occasional chirps of the birds in the forest and their footsteps. As they walked Kakashi dwelled on his short time as a sensei. Realistically speaking, if it weren't for Namiko and her using the Kyubi's chakra he didn't think they would have made it out of there.
The hunter nin had already taken care of Sasuke and would have probably made quick work of Namiko had it not been for the Fox. No disrespect to her abilities, but Sasuke was easily the better ninja of the two and he had been taken out, and of course Sakura was behind both in terms of ability so had the hunter nin taken out Namiko as well and come to aid Zabuza he was unsure if he could take them both.
For Kami's sake, it had taken a jonin level missing nin's interference for him to teach them the tree walking exercise! Something he probably should have done within their first week. He made a mental note to grill them into the ground once they returned to Konoha, he couldn't let a repeat of this mission happen again.
And if Guy ever found out that he had been so lackadaisical with his genin he would never hear the end of how his 'youthful flames' had died out.
He internally shivered.
As Kakashi and Namiko reached a clearing he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind for now, he would revisit them once he was done. Kakashi walked to the center of the clearing turned to face Namiko, who started back at him.
"How do you feel?" Namiko was slightly startled by Kakashi question, she was sure he would be scolding her for using the Fox's chakra or something along those lines. "A ninja's first time killing is never easy, even the most hardened veterans had trouble with their first kill." Kakashi explained.
Namiko turned her attention to floor, which had suddenly become more interesting.
She was silent so Kakashi continued. "Namiko, taking a life for the first time isn't a walk in the park. However, it is our reality as shinobi. It is something that all shinobi has to go through, and deal with…you first kill was inevitable."
At this point tears were forming in the corner of Namiko's eyes, the reality of what she had done settling in. "Does it…does it get easier?" She softly choked out and Kakashi sighed as he looked up to the sky.
"Does it get easier? No. But eventually you do learn to live with it. Like I said when we all thought Sasuke was dead, at the end of the day we are Shinobi, but we're only human," Kakashi explained as he took a step closer to Namiko. "I still remember my first kill; it was on the cusp of the Third Great Ninja War and all the nations were on edge. Mission were harder, and much more dangerous…because back then if you saw an enemy ninja there was conflict on sight, nowadays enemy shinobi pass each other on a daily basis, there's no conflict unless there's interference with one another."
Kakashi reached out and placed a hand on Namiko's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, an action that caused her to look up at him with teary eyes. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi eye smiled. "Of course. What's necessary is understanding and recognizing when killing is required, and to never take pleasure in it, that's how we as shinobi keep the balance between being human and being a tool. People like Zabuza are terrible examples of that." Kakashi explained. "And I have no doubt you felt worse when you woke up and saw that Sasuke was alive." Namiko could only nod. "Feel free to take however long to come to terms with what you did, I'm always here to talk and I already spoke with Sasuke and Sakura, they know what you did and don't see you any differently. I'm sure if you prefer to talk to them they'll listen within open ears."
Kakashi's visible eye widened when he was suddenly taken into a hug by the blonde haired genin. He ruffled her hair. "I'll always be here for you Namiko…it's the absolute least I owe sensei and Kushina." The jonin and his student hugged for a few minutes before Namiko pulled away, embarrassed.
"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi chuckled. "It's quite alright Namiko, but there is more we need to discuss. Like, you using the Kyubi's chakra and moving at inhumane speeds." Kakashi said seriously.
"Right," She began as she scratched her head. "I got access to the Kyubi's chakra when I saw Sasuke 'die', something inside of me snapped and all of a sudden this chakra that felt dark and sinister was pouring out of me," She explained to her sensei. "When I saw the hunter nin's face that's when the chakra started to go away, and I was back to myself…and as for the speed thing, the Kyubi said – " Namiko was then cut off by Kakashi.
"Wait…you spoke with the Kyubi?"
Namiko nodded slowly and frowned internally when she noticed that Kakashi's entire demeaner had change at the mention of speaking with the Kyubi.
"We'll have to speak to Lord Third about this once we get back to the village, got it?" He asked and she nodded in understanding. "Alright, carry on."
"It said that it was sort of a kekkai genkai that most likely came from my chakra and lifeforce mixing together with its chakra, and that seeing Sasuke 'die' was the trigger for me. It explained that it lets me to push insane amounts of chakra to my limbs, amounts that shouldn't be possible, allowing me to move at superfast speeds." She finished.
Kakashi nodded. A kekkai genkai that made it's user extremely fast, he'd never heard of such a thing. The only way he knew shinobi could move that fast was either by the shunshin – and only one ninja had ever been able to master it to the point to move almost as quick as Namiko did – or by the Hiraishin, the jutsu the Nidaime Hokage had created and his sensei had mastered.
"Can you activate it at will? To give me a demonstration?"
Namiko nodded and began focusing chakra to her appendages. Kakashi could only watch in awe as his students hair took on that glow he had seen a few days prior. In an orange blur she began running around the clearing, her speed causing the wind to pick up and Kakashi actually had to use chakra to stick his feet to the surface.
After a few seconds she was once again standing where she been prior, the wind and leaves around them still spinning. Kakashi watched her in awe before she fell to one knee and began coughing, her hair falling to its original position. His awe turned to concern.
"Are you alright?"
"Yea, I'm fine. It's just the fact that I'm still a bit worn from the fighting, and the fox said that in order to use this without a backlash I need to increase my chakra control." She explained.
"What else did it say?" He asked as he helped her to her feet.
"It told me that in all it's years of existence, it's never seen or heard of an ability like this. Apparently I'm the first to ever wield an ability like this and it told me to name it."
"And what name did you choose?"
"Jinton," She said with a proud smile but her face soon turned into one of confusion. "But what I don't get is how my chakra and lifeforce are 'special' enough to create this ability."
Kakashi looked at Namiko in silence for a while before he cleared his throat. "Namiko, have you ever noticed anything about the symbol chunin and jonin wear on their flak jackets? Have you noticed it's the same one your jumpsuit?"
"Of course I have! I'm not that stupid. I just figured it was a Konoha symbol and Old Man Third had it sewn in when he gave me this jumpsuit." She explained.
Kakashi looked perplexed. "The third gave her this atrocious jumpsuit?!" He asked himself incredulously. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he sat down on the forest floor and gestured for Namiko to do the same.
Kakashi took a deep breath before making eye contact with Namiko. "The reason you see chunin and jonin with this symbol on our back is in remembrance of an old ally of Konoha, the famed Uzumaki clan. Another part of it was that the Uzumaki were distant blood relatives of the Senju clan, one of Konoha's founding clans." The simple mentioning of the words Uzumaki and clan together was all it took for Namiko's eyes to turn into saucers.
"Uzumaki…clan?"
Kakashi nodded as he continued. "The Uzumaki were a strong ninja clan that were extremely proficient in Kenjutsu, Fuinjutsu and were known to have extremely strong lifeforces. There was a place called Uzushiogakure where the Uzumaki's had made a home and welcomed people from all over the Elemental Nations that were seeking refuge from other places." He explained.
Namiko frowned. "You said were sensei…what happened?"
"During the Second Great Ninja War, Uzu was destroyed by a combined effort from Iwagakure and Kumogakure. At the time of that war, Konoha's forces were stretched thin and couldn't afford to send assistance to Uzu, and in the end Uzu was no match for both Iwa and Kumo. Not being able to help such an ally is one of the Konoha's biggest regrets, one of the few stains on Konoha's sheets." Kakashi said, a downcast look on his face before continuing. "The whereabouts of any remaining Uzumaki members, if any, are unknown, they could be far and wide across the Elemental Nations."
"Wow," She said, astonished by what she was learning.
"Wow indeed," He eye smiled. "Going back to your ability, I think what the Kyubi said about your lifeforce and chakra playing a part could be correct…you have the blood of two very powerful shinobi clans – the Senju and the Uzumaki – coursing through your veins, mix that with some Tailed Beast chakra and the Kyubi's hypothesis makes perfect sense."
Namiko pondered over what she had been told in silence before tilting her head at Kakashi. "So…I guess since I'm the only Uzumaki in Konoha, that either means my parents were the only Uzumakis in Konoha when the Kyuubi attacked…and the Old Man told me they died during the attack, or during the Kyuubi attack all the Uzumakis in Konoha died…right?"
Kakashi smiled at her beneath his mask. "There was only one Uzumaki in Konoha when the fox attack," When Kakashi said that Namiko was on the edge of her seat, figuratively of course. "Your mother."
Kakashi was pretty sure Namiko set a world record for largest eyes after surprising news, her eyes were as wide as dinner plates when Kakashi mentioned her mother. She flew to her feet, excitement clear on her face. "You knew my mother Kakashi-sensei?!" Excitement clear in her voice as well.
Kakashi nodded. "One of Konoha's best and brightest jonin, she was skilled in Ninjutsu and Fuinjutsu. At a young age she was sent to Konoha because of her special chakra, some of which no doubt was passed on to you during her pregnancy."
"Wait…why was she sent here just because her chakra was special?"
"She was sent here because Konoha needed a new Jinchuriki of the Kyubi." Namiko's eyes widened. "Did you think that you were chosen at random to become the host for the fox? Being an Uzumaki played a big role in choosing you for the sealing, because Uzumakis are the best candidates to be jinchuriki because of their strong life force and special chakra. From what I learned from your mother, The First Hokage's wife; Mito Uzumaki, was the first Jinchuriki then your mother the second and now you the third."
Namiko was furious. They took her mother from her home…to become a jinchuriki?
"I know what you're thinking," She turned to Kakashi as he spoke. "I'm not defending what was done, but if you're mother hadn't come to Konoha for the reason she did, she might not have survived Uzu's destruction, she most likely wouldn't have met your father and you wouldn't be here."
At the mention of her father Namiko perked up. "You knew my father too Kakashi-sensei?!"
Kakashi stood up as he nodded. "I did, however I'm not allowed to tell you about him, that responsibility belongs to Lord Third and only the Third," He put a hand on Namiko's shoulder – something he found himself doing a lot lately. "For now, let's head back to Tazuna's house and get you some food, no doubt you're hungry."
She nodded and they began the trek back to Tazuna's.
"When we get on our way to Konoha, I want you to tell Sakura and Sasuke about your Jinton, this way you guys can better function as a team and work on covering each other's weaknesses, got it?"
Another nod from the blonde. She couldn't really find words to respond to Kakashi, her mind was racing. Today she had not only found out about having a clan, and being related to the powerful Senju clan, but she also learned about her mother!
But all that information was temporarily forgotten, as she was mainly focused on one thing. The knowledge of her father was something only the Third could tell her…
Just who in the hell was her dad?
"Make sure to come back and visit!" Inari exclaimed as he took Namiko into a hug. The blonde grinned back at him as she ran a hand through his hair.
"Of course I will! You just be sure to keep being brave and protect Wave with all you got, alright?" Inari nodded happily as he let Namiko go. The blonde, along with the rest of her team waved goodbye to the people of wave and began their trek back to their home – missing the moment Tazuna decided to name the bridge; The Great Namiko Bridge.
Team Seven walked in silence for a few hours before Kakakshi turned to the group, opting to continue walking backwards.
"Namiko, if you would be so kind?"
Sasuke and Sakura turned to each other in confusion, before directing their attention to their teammate.
Namiko sighed. "Kakashi-sensei wants me to tell you how I was able to defeat the hunter nin," She explained and at this, both of her teammates perked up. "Turns out, when I saw Sasuke 'die', it was kind of like a trigger for a power I had…my kekkai genkai." At the mention of kekkai genkai Sasuke almost face faulted and looked at Namiko incredulously. The dobe had a kekkai genkai?
Sakura turned to Kakashi with a tilted head. "Ano, sensei. I thought kekkai genkai were only passed down through clans…how can Namiko have a kekkai genkai if she's not from a clan?"
"Oh ho, but she is Sakura. She's from the Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure. A close ally of Konoha and distant relatives of the Senju clan." Kakashi explained, and while Sasuke and Sakura didn't know about the Uzumaki clan, they sure knew about the Senju, I mean…who didn't?
Being as inquisitive as she was, however, Sakura had more questions. "So…if the Uzumaki clan has their own village, how did you end up in Konoha?" She asked Namiko and both genin noticed that their teammate was now clenching her fists.
"During the Second Great Ninja War, the village was destroyed by Kumo and Iwa…the only reason I'm here is because my mother had moved to Konoha." She explained dejectedly, but in true Namiko fashion, she turned to them with a grin and a thumbs up. "Don't worry though! Kakashi-sensei told me about my mom, and she was a total kick ass ninja, just like I'm gonna be!"
At her declaration, Kakashi smiled at her, like mother like daughter he thought. Sakura offered her female teammate a warm smile. She knew that Namiko was an orphan and had never met or learned about either of her parents, so she felt some warmth knowing Namiko had finally learning something about her parents.
As for Sasuke, even though he didn't show it on the outside, he too was happy for his teammate. Sasuke had had a loving mother before she was taken away from him, and though his father was often harsh he knew that he was loved by him. Namiko never knew that feeling, and he couldn't imagine what that had been like. He didn't dwell on it too long however, because there were more important things at hand.
"About this kekkai genkai…what is it?" He asked, he wanted to know what power his teammate possessed.
Namiko turned to Kakashi who offered her a nod. All four ninjas stopped walking and Namiko began focusing her chakra. Just like Kakashi had been before, Sasuke and Sakura were shocked to their cores when Namiko's hair began to glow gold, and seemingly levitate. Then, she disappeared in an orange flash, leaving Kakashi and his remaining two genin looking around.
Sakura was the first to speak. "Where did she go?"
"Give it a minute Sakura." Kakashi said.
They were quiet for a few more seconds when suddenly the air began to pick up and Namiko reappeared holding four bento boxes.
"Sasuke! Sakura! I present to you my kekkai genkai, Jinton!" She exclaimed, handing her teammates and sensei each a bento box. "There's a town about twenty minutes from here, I ran up and got us some grub so we wouldn't have to stop." She explained.
Sasuke looked down at the bento box in his hand then at his teammate. "You ran twenty minutes…in twenty seconds?" He asked, completely mystified.
She nodded.
Kakashi explained on her behalf. "From what she's told me, the Jinton allows Namiko to channel amounts of chakra to her legs and arms that would be harmful for other ninja, the few issues that lie with it is that A; The amount of chakra being used depletes her reserves at an alarming rate, and B; as far as I know, it's never been seen before. Maybe Hokage-sama knows about it but if he doesn't…chances are Namiko is the first to ever possess this kekkai genkai." Namiko nodded in agreeance.
Wait…hold on…Sasuke and Sakura turned to each other…some of this didn't make sense. A kekkai genkai only seen in Namiko.
"Yea doesn't make much sense," Namiko said, noticing her teammates expressions. "Even if I am the first person to use it, by definition it's a kekkai genkai. Don't take away my moment!" She huffed and crossed her hands across her chess.
Both of other genin rolled their eyes at their teammate's antics. Just Namiko being Namiko. Deep down they were both glad that she wasn't letting the killing of their opponent get to her.
"Well, I'm happy for you Namiko," Sakura said with a smile. "I'm glad you finally learned about your mom too!"
"Thanks Sakura-chan!" Namiko exclaimed and everyone turned to Sasuke.
The Uchiha rolled his eyes.
"Hn, kekkai genkai or no kekkai genkai I'm still the better ninja. No doubt about it." Sasuke said with a smirk.
Kakashi smiled at his students' interaction before turning on his heels to start walking again. "For now, we're going to keep Namiko's abilities between us and the Hokage, at least until we know more about it." Kakashi explained. "When we get back to Konoha I'm going to give you guys' a day's rest, then, the real shinobi training starts. I'm going to push all three of you into the ground and then some, understand?"
While Namiko grinned, and Sasuke smirked at their sensei's declaration, Sakura only nodded. She was now walking behind her sensei and teammates.
She looked at their backs, Kakashi walking at the forefront with Sasuke and Namiko on his left and right respectively.
"Just how far behind these two am I?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was many things. A shinobi of excellent caliber, even in his advanced age and a man of great wisdom, which he acquired with his advanced age. That being said, there wasn't a lot that could take the Third Hokage by storm…yet here he was, absolutely dumbfounded.
Kakashi and Team Seven had just relayed their mission report to the aging Kage. From being attacked by the Demon Brothers, to finding out about the true nature of their supposed C rank mission, to deciding to continue, the altercation with Zabuza and the final fight as well as the revelation of Namiko's special ability.
Of course, prior to the part about the Jinton, Kakashi had requested that the Hokage order the Anbu hidden in the walls to leave, to which he obliged. Upon hearing of the ability, and Namiko giving a demonstration – something she had found herself doing for the third time this week – Hiruzen admitted that he had never seen nor heard from an ability like this before.
"Anything else I should know about?"
Kakashi simply nodded and gave the Hokage a look and took a glance at Namiko, giving him the impression that it was a private matter that involved Namiko.
"I'm getting too old for this…scratch that, I've been too old for this for a long time." Hiruzen sighed as he interlocked his fingers in front of him. "First and foremost, Kakashi you're going to be reprimanded for continuing that mission despite knowing it's dangers," Team Seven was about to protest on his behalf, but a look from Kakashi told them not to interfere. "You endangered the life of your genin by continuing that mission, and for that you will face punishment."
"Of course, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said as he bowed.
Hiruzen then turned to the genin. "I'll ensure that you three are paid for the actual difficulty and level of the mission you endured, I'm glad you're all safe. For now, Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan you may leave…Namiko-chan please stay." Both Sasuke and Sakura bowed to the Kage and left, offering Kakashi a look of sympathy and Namiko a look of encouragement as they left.
Once it was the Hokage, the jonin and the genin left Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Go on." He ordered.
Kakashi gestured for Namiko to talk.
"During my fight with Zabuza's apprentice, I accessed the Kyubi's chakra, and after we dealt with Gato's thugs, I passed out and met with the Kyubi."
At the mention of the Kyubi, Hiruzen perked up with concern etched on his face.
"Are you okay Namiko-chan?"
The blonde haired kunoichi nodded.
"Well, as far as I know, the seal that keeps the Kyubi at bay isn't supposed to allow you to access the Kyubi's chakra for a few more years, I'll have someone come to Konoha to take a look at it soon," Hiruzen said as he relaxed in his chair. "What of this kekkai genkai, do we have any ideas from where it came?" He asked. As far as he knew Kushina never possessed such speed, and Minato's speed was a result of Ninjutsu.
Namiko nodded and relayed to Hiruzen what the Kyubi had told her and what she had told Kakashi. Hiruzen listened intently, stopping her at bits and pieces to ask for clarification of something or to raise a question or concern. When she was done, Hiruzen turned to Kakashi.
"I know I'm going to regret this but…anything else?" Kakashi's nod proved his assumption correct.
"When Namiko mentioned to me that the fox said the Jinton could have originated from her life force and chakra mixing with the Biju chakra, I told her about what made her lifeforce and chakra special. I told her about the Uzumaki clan, Uzushiogakure and…" Kakashi took a deep breath. "…and Kushina-sensei."
Hiruzen looked at Namiko, who looked back at him with pain filled eyes. Pain he was sure came from him not telling her about her mother sooner.
"Namiko-chan, I know you probably hate me for not telling you about your mother…given how many times you've asked about your parents, but I do believe I had good reason. Your mother was a very powerful shinobi who had a lot of enemies, and I couldn't risk word of her having a daughter get leaked out, at least not until I was sure you could defend yourself."
As much as it pained her to know that the Hokage knew who her parents were but refused to tell her, she knew that he was right. What he said made perfect sense.
"Of course, Jiji. I don't blame you," She admitted. "Kakashi-sensei told me about my mother but said that you were the only one who could tell me about my dad."
Hiruzen nodded his head. "Namiko, you're father…"
She was on the edge of her toes, waiting to hear a name…but it never came.
"…was an extremely formidable shinobi who had ten times the number of enemies as your mother. Any questions you have about Kushina I will be glad to answer, but as for who your father is, that's going to have to wait until I think you're ready, understood?"
She could only nod as the Hokage offered her a smile.
"In terms of your Jinton, I hope you're prepared to go through a lot of hard work considering that you have to figure it all out on your own. I'll hold off on registering the Jinton with the kekkai genkai archives for now, I think it's best an ability like this be kept secret for the time being."
Namiko nodded and looked down at the floor.
"Kakashi, you're dismissed. I expect to have your written report on my desk by three tomorrow afternoon. Not a second late. Am I understood?"
Kakashi gave Hiruzen an affirmative nod before he bowed and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the Hokage and the Kyubi jinchuriki alone. Hiruzen stood from behind his desk and began walking towards the door, Namiko still standing in her spot looking at the floorboards, which had surprisingly become more interesting.
"Come Namiko-chan, I know you're probably exhausted from your journey back to Konoha, not to mention explaining yourself countless time. How about I treat you to some ramen and tell you all about Kushina?"
Namiko's head snapped towards the Hokage with one of her signature grins.
Ichiraku ramen and learning about her mom?
She liked the sound of that!
Namiko entered her apartment a little after eight at night. She let out a huge sigh as she collapsed onto her couch. She kicked off her sandals and put her foot on top of the coffee table. The past few weeks had been extremely eventful, and she had no doubt the coming weeks would be just the same…if not worse.
She had finally met the powerful Tailed Beast that occupied her body, she awakened an ability that no one in the world had! Kakashi-sensei and the Old Man had told her loads about her clan…and her mother.
The Third had explained to her that on her first day at the Konoha Ninja Academy, her mother had blurted out that she would be the first female Hokage. Something she remembered saying on her first day as well. She was still a little pissed that her mother was taken from her home and sent to Konoha to have a tailed beast placed in her, but something the Hokage said when she voiced that concern stuck with her.
He had said, all the jinchurikis of the Nine Tails have been Uzumaki women, which just proves that they were strong.
Namiko smiled to herself as she dug into her jumpsuit pocket and withdrew a photo. After getting ramen and talking about her mother, her and Hiruzen had doubled back to the Hokage Tower where he dug around in the office for a few minutes before he found the photo she was holding.
It was a photo of Kushina on the Hokage Monument. She wore the standard jonin outfit for Konoha shinobi with blue shinobi sandals and a matching blue hitai-ate. Her long and luscious red hair was done in a high ponytail with two long strands coming down either side of her face. In the photo she was sporting an all too familiar grin with a thumbs up.
All in all, her mother was gorgeous.
Namiko took the photo and placed it a little safe she had in her bedroom. This was now one of her most prized possessions, it was the closest she'd ever get to seeing her mom so she would make sure that this picture was always somewhere safe.
The blonde haired Uzumaki then proceeded to create a few shadow clones to tidy up her apartment – which had been left unattended for almost a month – before she jumped in the shower.
Once her cleaning up was done, she changed into some regular clothes and decided to relax on top of her apartment roof for a while. Once she got up there, she took in the night sky, dozens on top of dozens of stars riddled the darkness.
Her attention then turned to the Hokage Monument, to which she had a good view. There were four faces that overlooked the village, the Four Hokage whom had done everything in their power to ensure that the people of Konoha had a safe place to call home.
She had some sort of connection to all four of those faces. Since she was an Uzumaki, she was distantly related to the Shodaime and the Nidaime, with the Sandaime being the first person to ever showed her she mattered and the last one was her idol, the Yondaime. The man who had sealed her fate thirteen and a half years ago by sealing the Nine Tailed Fox within her.
A while back, when the traitor Mizuki had broken the news to her that her idol and hero had sealed the demon fox within her she hated him…for a few days. It was as the Third explained to her, he didn't seal it within her to spite her. He did it in the hopes that she would be able to use its powers for good, and of course now she knew that being the jinchuriki to the Nine Tails was an unofficial job of the Uzumaki clan.
Then and there, as she overlooked the parts of Konoha she could see, Namiko Uzumaki made a decision. No more was she going to be the brash knucklehead that got herself into trouble, she was going to change for the better. Her mother had been a formidable shinobi and she had to live up to that standard, not for anyone else but for herself.
On top of that she had a clan to represent.
She had a dream to accomplish. Friends to fight for.
"I have to get stronger; I have to be better. For my precious people. For the Ichirakus, for Iruka-sensei, for the Old Man, for my friends from the academy…heck even for the teme. My mom couldn't live to fulfill her dream…so it's on me to do it for her!" She thought with determination.
She turned looked directly at the Hokage monument and gave it a thumbs up.
"I'm gonna be the first female Hokage," She said, in more of a whisper to herself. Then her volume increased. "You hear that Konoha! I'm gonna be the first female Hokage!"
She had made a decision. From tomorrow, there would be a new Namiko Uzumaki.
Tomorrow…tomorrow would be the beginning of something new.
Well ladies and gents, how'd I do? You had no idea how many times I rewrote this chapter, for some reason I just couldn't get the emotions I wanted out of it but in the end, I think this is as close to what I want as I can get. In this chapter there was some character development, Namiko learning about the Uzumaki and her mother, and coming to terms with the fact that she needed to better herself.
I tried not to get too OOC with the characters, so I hope I did a good enough job. Anyway, let me know what you think of the second chapter.
Until next time.
- AlphaZulu99