Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Chronicles of Kakashi & the Kunoichi from Thunder Country ❯ A Visit to the Academy ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto" which was created by action God Kishimoto Masashi. I do not make any money off of any of my fanfics related to Naruto. I do own any original characters I created for my stories for what that's worth (nothing).

 

Summary: Follow Kakashi's relationship with a kunoichi who gives new meaning to the term "Makeout Violence" (umm, not actual that type of story). The strongest member of Kakashi's new genin team is a girl who is not quite what she seems. She and her sensei have dark secrets that intertwine, reaching back to Kakashi's ANBU days.

 

Notes: Starts off with Kakashi's new genin team but ends about ten years later. I started writing this after the third chuunin exam preliminary round so the Third Hokage is still around. I think the second half is stronger so please be patient.

I use Dr. as a title instead of sensei for actual medical doctors although in Japan, doctors and other professionals are usually addressed as sensei. I only use sensei to mean teacher/mentor.

Thoughts are italicized within single quotes.

 

 

THE CHRONICLES OF KAKASHI AND THE KUNOICHI FROM THUNDER COUNTRY

 

BOOK I: KAKASHI AND THE KUNOICHI FROM THUNDER COUNTRY

 

 

PART I

 

Prologue: The Night Visitor

It was the middle of the night and darkness prevailed in Konoha despite the half moon luminescent in the clear sky. All was deathly quiet except for the slight rustling of the air caused by a black shadow leaping from roof to roof. It appeared to be carrying a small bundle no larger than a loaf of bread. The shadow abruptly stopped at a house near the outskirts of the village. It was a modest, respectable house, somewhat larger than the others around it. The dark form then slipped in silently through a window half opened to let in a summer breeze.

 

 

A Visit to the Academy

 

“Teaching is much harder than I thought,” Iruka muttered ruefully after suffering through another day of spitballs. Classes had just started a week ago and it was his first time teaching. `Some of the kids in the class are just…impossible!' Iruka thought as he rammed his books into his bag. `Especially that blond spikey hair brat Naruto,' he added to himself as he finished packing his stuff, ready to go home for the day. Iruka yawned and stretched his limbs. `It will be better tomorrow! I'll put my foot down and keep cool and they'll listen to me,' he thought positively and smiled. `Annoying, but cute brats.'

 

As Iruka exited the school, he spied a young girl wandering around the Shinobi Academy grounds apparently in search of something. Being the super nice guy that he was, he felt immediately compelled to walk over and introduce himself, “Hello there little miss, I'm Iruka sensei, I teach here at the Academy. You look a bit young to be a student here. Are you lost?”

 

The girl stared up at him with dark voluminous eyes. “No, I'm just looking for the library. You do have one here, don't you?” she asked matter-of-factly.

 

Iruka wondered if at her age she could even read. She looked to him to be about 4 years old. `But even children should be treated seriously,' he thought. “Well, the library here is really just for the students. Have you been to the village library?” Iruka suggested.

 

“They don't have what I'm looking for.” She punctuated that with a slight frown.

 

“Oh, what is it that you're looking for?”

 

“I want to know what I will be learning as a shinobi.” She gave him a smile.

 

“Well,” Iruka mused, “I guess it's all right for you to take a look. Are you here by yourself?”

 

“Yes,” she admitted hesitantly.

 

“Where are your parents?” he asked as they walked over to the library.

 

“They're at the office. My father is Dr. Otori. My name is Rikako,” she replied, anticipating his next questions.

 

Iruka was surprised since the village doctor lived in the outskirts of the village proper, at least two miles from the school. “How did you get here?”

 

“I walked on the main road. How else? My parents w…couldn't bring me.”

 

'I see, she's here probably without their permission. I'll have to contact them.' Iruka walked with the little girl while pointing out the various Academy buildings and training grounds on the way to the library. The pint-size-would-be kunoichi listened attentively to his tour information, then stopped to take out a small notebook from her backpack and began to take notes.

 

'Strange child,' Iruka thought, `She looks about four, but acts older.' The girl spoke with the maturity of an adult and always with a smile which seemed in contrast with her dark serious eyes. She was dressed in a simple sunny yellow T-shirt with matching shorts, which was also in contrast with her dark hair.

 

At first look, all one could say was her eyes and hair were dark and no color came to mind but black. But in the sunlight he observed just a hint of green reflected in those oversized dark eyes and a hint of violet in her hair, which was braided erratically in the back. The loose wisps across her face also seemed incongruous with her precise speech. She was pretty enough, but pale and thin, thinner than what a child of a well established doctor should be. Dr. Otori Hiroshi, Iruka recalled, had been the Head Shinobi Medic at the Academy for a few years and before that he was an Anbu medic. He had married a civilian girl from the village and retired about 6 years ago.

 

“Well, here's the library,” Iruka announced as they reached the small building next to the Hokage's administrative building. Iruka smiled at the pretty blonde librarian working at the checkout and returns desk. He blushed when she smiled back. “Umm, well…the books and scrolls for the younger Academy students are in this section,” he managed to say, directing the girl to the back. If you need any help, just ask the nice lady here.” He blushed again. “Stay here until I get back, all right?”

 

Rikako smiled, nodded and bowed formally, “Thank you Iruka sensei for allotting a portion of your invaluable time to assist me.”

 

“Sure…er…no problem,” Iruka stammered as he made eye contact with the pretty librarian again. “Hikaru-san, can you do me a favor?”

 

“Anything for you Iruka-sensei.” The blonde winked at him and smiled.

 

“Umm…can you keep an eye on that girl? I need to contact her parents.”

 

“No problem. She seems very well behaved. We rarely see any of the Academy students here, much less a child her age.”

 

“Yes, she is…interesting,” Iruka said thoughtfully.

 

-…-…-…-…-….-

 

'A child that age should not be wandering around so far from home.' Iruka shook his head disapprovingly as he concentrated chakra to his feet. He easily ran the two plus miles to the village doctor's office while still thinking about the strange dark girl. Within minutes he stood by the entrance to an annex of the doctor's private home. The novice Academy teacher rang the doorbell and waited patiently, while observing that the old house could use some exterior refurbishing. The roof was missing a few shingles and the stairs were cracked, but the windows looked new.

 

His observations were interrupted by a weary looking woman who answered the door. She might have been quite attractive once, but now she was obviously past her prime as the gray hairs at her temple betrayed her age. “May I help you?” She looked at Iruka quizzically. `The Academy has its own hospital and teams of medics. Why would a shinobi show up here?

 

Iruka bowed in greeting as he said, “I'm Umino Iruka, teacher at the Shinobi Academy. I found a young girl wandering the Academy grounds…”

 

“Rikako! She left without permission again? She was told so many times not to go up there. Damn it! That girl is more trouble than she's worth!” Her haggard face now became animated with color.

 

“Well,” Iruka started to say, surprised at her over reaction, “she hasn't been any trouble at all. She said she just wanted to visit the library. I brought her there and she's probably still there.”

 

“We don't have time to get her right now. The waiting room is full…that's what she's been waiting for! That little sneak…”

 

“I just came by to let you know that everything is fine and I'll bring her back home soon,” Iruka added to appease her.

 

“Yes, if you can, that would be greatly appreciated.” The woman sighed and ran her fingers through her mostly brown hair. “I'm sorry, Iruka sensei, is it? I'm Rika, her mother. It's just been a tough morning.” `More like a tough life,' she thought sadly to herself. “Please bring her back as soon as you can.” She managed a small smile before returning to the patients.

 

Iruka bowed again as he concentrated chakra to his feet.

 

-…-…-…-…-

 

When Iruka finally stepped foot back on Academy grounds, he realized he still had his bag with him and decided to return home first. `That kid will probably want some more time at the library. It's only been about 10 minutes.'

 

Iruka sighed as he unpacked his lecture material. His apartment was empty and silent. No other living soul, human or animal. He liked the noisiness of the young shinobi wannabees and looked forward to class every morning despite his complaints. `Did that girl really want to be a kunoichi? Seems her mom wasn't happy about her visit here. Well, that was kind of weird,' Iruka thought. `Seems her mom's really stressed out. I always thought being in a doctor's family would be…nice. No worries about money, saving lives instead of taking them. She's lucky, she has two parents. So many children have only one or none at all.' Iruka sighed again, thinking back to his past and the loss of his own parents. `Has it already been eight years? That nine-tails kid, Naruto, is in one of my classes.' He frowned at that thought. `Well, it's not like I'll be seeing him that often or socializing with him. He's just another student. I mustn't blame him for my parents' death. But still, looking at him disturbs me…'

 

Iruka continued to brood over teaching at the Academy and whether he was a fit sensei as he set up his lecture material for further study that night. `I promised her mom I'd bring her home soon, and she's probably tired of books by now, kids have short attention spans,' Iruka thought while on his way back to the library twenty minutes later.

 

“H…hello, Hikaru-san,” Iruka said, turning red again as the pretty blonde raised her cerulean blue eyes to meet his greeting. “S…so how is Rikako-chan doing?”

 

“Well, she's already gone through most of the junior books. She's on the second year books now.”

 

`Oh, she must be looking through the pictures,' Iruka thought, but to his surprise, he found her at a large desk with a stack of books, reading and taking notes from “Basic Techniques Level 2.”

 

“Hi there, how's it going, are you finding what you need?” She nodded and thanked him. “When you're ready I can take you back home, maybe another 10 minutes?”

 

She looked up and thoughtfully negotiated, “Twenty minutes please, I should be done by then.”

 

Iruka nodded and walked back to attempt small talk with the attractive librarian, trying hard not to blush too much. `One of these days, I swear I'll get up the nerve to ask her out!'

 

…-…-…-…-…-…-

 

The paths through the Academy grounds and toward the gates of Konoha were well tread, but the doctor lived far to the east of the Hokage monument and the paths there were rough and often covered by overgrown vegetation. A young child would normally have some difficulty making her way through it all, but the girl walked confidently, side-by-side with the chuunin.

 

As Iruka walked the miniature future kunoichi home, he asked, “So you want to enroll in the Academy. Most children start around 8 years old, but some with great potential start younger. How old are you?”

 

“I turned 5 a few months ago.” She looked up to meet his eyes and smiled at him.

 

“You seem to know a lot already.” He couldn't help but smile back - smiles were contagious.

 

“My father has taught me a few things. He also has many books. I watch him with his patients. Sometimes I even get to help him.”

 

“Oh, how do you help?”

 

“Mostly by staying out of the way.” She laughed at her own joke. “But I help steru-ster-ilize e-quip-ment and run errands.”

 

'Her stumble over the longer words makes her seem more like a regular kid,' Iruka thought. From the long walk home, Iruka gleaned that her parents had already taught her to read, and the basic principles of chakra, especially as it pertained to medicine. Her father was always busy with his patients and her mother, Rika, acted as receptionist, nurse and mid-wife. But mostly, the girl asked him questions: How do you sign up for classes? What weapons do you use? What techniques can you do? Can you show me any?

 

“Well, I can show you the transformation technique,” Iruka replied as enthusiastically as the little girl. He was feeling better, shaking off the loneliness he had felt earlier. `Kids just love this!' Iruka transformed into the librarian.

 

Rikako's large dark eyes widened into saucers. She shrieked in delight and asked him to repeat it again and again as different people and animal forms, laughing in delight after each time. Iruka happily obliged and laughed along with her. Before they knew it, they were already standing on her parents' doorstep.

 

Her mother answered the door again. “Thank you so much for bringing her back. I'm sorry that we were too busy to retrieve her.” She gave Rikako a stern look, but her daughter seemed completely unfazed by the possibility of any punishment and entered inside without a word of apology.

 

Iruka nodded and replied, “Well, my pleasure, she's going to be a fine kunoichi one day.”

 

Rika's entire face furrowed and frowned. “No, she's not. Not ever. I'm sorry, but it's just not an appropriate profession for a girl.”

 

“But her father was a shinobi. He should know that...”

 

“My husband feels as strongly as I do that she will not be a shinobi.”

 

Iruka nodded, “Well, of course I can understand why...but it's a shame...”

 

Her voice turned ice cold. “Well, thank you again Iruka sensei. I would invite you in for tea, but we still have patients at the moment.”

 

“Of course, I understand...”

 

“Well, goodbye then.”

 

“Good- b...” Iruka started to say, but Rika closed the door before he finished. Iruka sighed and shook his head. `There's going to be trouble in that house tonight.'

 

-…-…-…-…-…-…-

 

'End of another week, I'm sure I'm getting better,' Iruka insisted to himself. He dutifully filled out his weekly report. There were notes on all the students in his class and their relative progress including:

Haruno Sakura - attentive in class, a bit shy, needs encouragement to participate

Uchiha Sasuke - good all around student but uncooperative in group activities

Uzumaki Naruto - disruptive and inattentive in class, but shows great enthusiasm in physical activities

 

He also included his encounter with the strange dark eyed-dark haired girl: “A five year old girl (Otori Rikako, daughter of the village doctor) was found wandering the Academy grounds on Monday after classes. She asked to visit the library. I gave her a quick tour of the Academy buildings on the way to the library. I left her there while I informed her parents. I returned her home about an hour later.”

 

The next day, to Iruka's surprise, he received a summons from the Hokage to meet after classes. It had been a rough day with more spitballs and snoozing students. He was in no mood to face his superior, but he had no choice. `Geez, I hope I'm not in trouble for yelling at the students,' Iruka thought nervously on the way to the Hokage's office. All thoughts of the girl had already been packed away.

 

Iruka hesitantly walked into Sandaime's office. The old man sat in his large comfortable chair, wearing his official white robes and red hat. He looked pensive as he took deep puffs from his pipe.

 

Standing by the Hokage's side was a masked shinobi with grey hair that stuck up at all angles. He wore his forehead protector slanted down, covering his left eye. His mask covered his nose and mouth, leaving only his heavy lidded right eye visible.

 

“Hokage-sama,” Iruka said as he bowed respectfully.

 

“Your report on Dr. Otori's daughter - what was she like?” asked the Hokage directly.

 

“Well…polite, very curious, quite advanced for her age,” Iruka said, relieved as it seemed he was not in trouble after all.

 

”What did she do in the library?”

 

“As far as I know, she skimmed through the first year books. I saw her taking notes from a second year book.”

 

“Which book?”

 

“Basic Techniques Volume 2.”

 

“Did you notice anything unusual about the way she looked or acted?“

 

“No, she looks pretty much like any child her age, maybe a bit smaller. She already knows a lot about chakra control from her father. It's a shame that her parents won't let her enroll. I mean, her mother seemed quite adamant about it.”

 

“Hmm, it's a shame, but... it might be for the best. What did you discuss with her?”

 

“She asked me a lot of questions about how to enroll, what I do and what shinobi do in general. Nothing strange.” Iruka was confused by all the questions and how serious and attentive his two audience members seemed to be. `Why is the Hokage so interested in her? And who's that masked shinobi?'

 

After a few more questions along the same vein, the Hokage finally dismissed Iruka who was more than happy to escape the inquisition. Sandaime then turned to the masked shinobi next to him. “I thought you would want to know.”

 

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you Hokage-sama for keeping me informed.”

 

-…-…-…-…-…-

 

Author's Notes: Rikako is NOT reading college level books! She's just reading books for 8-10 year old kids, which is not that unusual. I swear she's not a Mary-Sue.