Chapter 1
She came from the Azure Sky
“A rainbow.”
“Strange. Hasn't rained in five days.”
Izumo Kamizuki shrugged. Stranger things have happened. “An omen?”
His partner and best friend, Kotetsu Hagane, also shrugged. “Naruto just came back...”
“Don't tell me you think trouble's brewin'.”
“Just sayin'. It's like trouble is drawn to him. Must be the orange.”
Izumo laughed. He thought about wearing orange to see if that would elevate their boredom. But so far, not even a game of jan-ken-pon could placate it. Lady Tsunade ordered them to guard the main gate, but nothing of interest had happened. Aside from the rainbow.
“It's rare to see green and purple in a rainbow.” Izumo stared up at the sky. A six colored rainbow hovered above Konoha like a halo. He felt like a Nara, just staring at the sky.
“Why don't you ever see black or white in one?” Kotetsu asked only to realize Izumo was staring at him. “What? I was curious! You asked Ichiraku if he could make saké flavored ramen!”
They battled for several minutes, each throwing insults. But it actually helped with boredom, if only a little while. They tossed out all the dumb and silly things the other said at times. From getting drunk, to accidentally detonating an explosive tag during their academy years. After a moment, silence grew. They had no idea what to talk about. Izumo was actually thinking of starting a conversation about who will be the next to date.
He took a glance back at the sky. If he didn't know any better, he would say the rainbow was moving. Not back and forth, but... expanding? But there was no alert or panic, so everything seemed to be well.
“Isn't there a festival happening nearby?” Kotetsu asked, sniffing. Izumo smelled it too. A strange odor that could only be defined as something very tasty.
“Yeah. Next town over. Asuma took his team there a few hours ago.” Izumo answered. He didn't know how they, of all the other genin and chuunin in the village, got stuck with guard duty. Could be worse, he thought, at least they didn't have to guard down at the jail. Some real freaky inmates and stuff down there that tended to get under your skin. Some, quite literally.
Before Kotetsu could respond, a deafening sonic boom forced both of them to hold their ringing ears in pain. It sounded like thunder, despite there not being a single cloud in the sky. It sounded like a war broke out while they were dying of boredom. If that was the case, they were so screwed. High in the sky, a swirl appeared in the rainbow, blending three colors together.
An object flew out from the twisted, warped rainbow. A colorful trail flowed behind it. The two friends didn't know what happened next. The object struck a mere few feet from where they stood. The impact was powerful enough to send up a small cloud of dust. Izumo held his ground though, so did Kotetsu. The force caused them to move back a few inches, but once it was over, their shinobi instincts kicked in. They might have been lazy, but there was a reason they were chosen to guard the gate.
Standing back to back, the duo surveyed their surroundings. But nothing appeared out of place. Izumo thought maybe a genjutsu might've been placed around them, but he didn't sense any chakra usage. Just a small imprint the object left. It was at least a foot deep with light smoke billowing from it. Once they could see inside the crater, their eyes widened.
A girl lay in the center, unconscious. She appeared to be no older than sixteen. Her hair matched the rainbow in the sky almost perfectly. Her skin was tanned, as if she lived in the sun. Her hair was short. But the most shocking thing was her state of dress... or lack thereof. She was completely bare.
Izumo knew what would happen soon. And like magic, they didn't have to wait long. Several masked men and women appeared next to them. They were the ANBU. Something akin to a Special Forces division that guards the village. He once tried to become one of them, but it appeared that they frown when you trip over your own feet while tree running.
He kinda figured Kotetsu would say something perverted, but was surprised by what his friend said.
“I wonder who she is?” he asked. Then his friend had to open his mouth once again. “Is that hair color all natural...”
Glancing to the girl, he cursed Kotetsu for putting that thought into his head. Her knees were bent and near her chest. Making sure the ANBU and Kotestu weren't looking at him, he brought up a hand and gently wiped the blood from his nose.
One of the ANBU, who wore a cat mask, barked out some orders. He knew who she was, everyone did. Yugao Uzuki. She looked at the girl with careful and studying eyes. Even with a mask on, he could tell.
“No external injuries,” she whispered to herself, her surprise was evident. Under her mask, her eyes took in everything. Through the chatter on her radio, she knew Tsunade was on her way. She wondered if she should move the girl, but Tsunade told them to wait. The girl could be contaminated, or worse, had internal damage.
Just as Tsunade burst onto the scene, Izumo had one final thought. Guarding the village truly is the best mission.
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Tick
Tick
The sound of the second hand on the clock echoed off the hospital wall. It was loud enough to wake the lone occupant. A pair of cerise eyes gently blinked open, only for them to squeeze close in pain. The morning light shone brightly through the window.
Her vision was blurred. She blinked a few more times to get them to adjust, and when they did, she was met with familiar white walls. She knew them anywhere. The Hospital. But why? Why was she even there? She tried to rack her memories of what happened, but...
“Uhg!” Pain shot through her. She instinctively raised a hand to her head. And just as quickly as it came, the pain subsided. Maybe she ran into a wall, at high speeds, and got knocked out. It explains the pain in her head, and the hospital. Applejack and Rarity did say she had a hard head, and now she just proved them right. “I'll never live this down...”
She found speaking strange. Like she swallowed an apple whole, and it was still lodged in her throat. She coughed, and tasted something strange. If she didn't know any better, she'd say it tasted like blood. A sudden commotion outside her door startled her. It sounded like an argument.
She figured Pinkie Pie was trying to get into her room, only to get blocked by the nurses. Deciding to look around, she noticed that she wasn't hooked to any machines. The last time, it was constant 'beeps' and other annoying sounds. And to make matters worse, she didn't have a book. Or did she? Looking to the bedside table, there was just a glass of water. She unconsciously licked her lips.
As she reached for the glass, she paused in shock. Something strange entered her vision. Something where her hoof should be. She wanted to scream for help, but instead, she brought the appendage closer. Maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks on her. She rotated it left and right.
She was confused, and part of her thought she may still be asleep. Her hand automatically flew to her mane, only for her eyes to widen. Instead of a long and thick mane, it was short and confined to a certain spot. “No, no, no!” Numbness began to spread through her very being. She threw off the covers, and gulped. “A spell... has to be...”
Her hand went to her face, and stayed there for a good minute. Then, with a burst of movement, she threw her hands forward in disgust, only to slide off the bed.
She felt the air leave her lungs as she landed hard on her back. Slowly, she managed to get on all fours. It felt weird. Then she saw the floor. Despite being very hard, it was also very clean. Her breath hitch when she saw her own reflection. She couldn't breathe, nor move. Her hand shook as she gently touched her reflection. Her eyes widened as her expected reaction happened.
“Ah!” The sound traveled outside the open window, and could be heard all through, wherever it was that she now found herself in.
The knot in her stomach grew. She now knew this couldn't be a dream, could it? It had been over twenty minutes, and she was still there. In a strange body. She had pinched herself, ran headlong into the wall, and even tried to force herself to go back to sleep. Nothing worked.
Slap.
Her face became red, and it stung. She slapped her face once again. “Come on, wake up!” She pulled on her hair, and even pulled at her cheeks. And that was when her heart dropped into her stomach. Where were her wings? “Oh, Celestia...” She turned her head, ignoring the pain, in order to see if they were there. She ran to check on her reflection, but there was no sign of her wings.
“Think, Dash, think!” She tried to calm down, but once again, “Ah!” She gripped her rainbow locks with both hands. “This. Can't. Be. Happening!” She decided against going through the door, no matter how much she wanted too. She was willing to punch, kick, punch some more, and maybe bite anypony that got in her way. But several thoughts stopped her; was she in Ponyville? What if her friends don't like her new appearance? What if... she was kidnapped by some maniac?
“Like hell I'm playing a damsel in distress!” As she yelled that, she found herself at the open window. The warm air felt good on her skin, and the smells were strange. She placed both hands on the window, and slowly leaned forward. At least five floors up. If she were dreaming, a drop like that would certainly wake her up.
She gulped. No, probably wasn't such a good idea. Her eyes took in the large city. It looked vastly different than Ponyville. She held in another urge to scream, no telling who might come to check out the noise.
She was unaware of a shadow moving up the walls and towards her room.
Exasperated, she turned around. Thoughts continued to plague her. What would Daring Do do? She held in a laugh, now wasn't the time for that. Daring Do would keep her cool, and face down the challenge with eyes of steel.
Her eyes grew hard, then she took a nice look at herself. Only to realize that she was wearing fabric. She didn't pay it any mind, but they were kind of itchy, especially along the chest region. With a frown, she decided to get rid of the aggravating fabric.
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Sakura Haruno yawned. It had been a busy couple of days. Her patient was bound to be awake by now. A smile lit up her face. Her patient. She loved the sound of that. Her teacher, Tsunade, never bothered to give her full responsibility like this before. It was exciting.
Until her patient stayed in a coma for three days.
The girl, no older than she was, had no clothes, no items and large amounts of chakra. Tsunade was forced to sedate the girl since her chakra was developing at a fast rate. It was almost like she was sucking the chakra from the air.
“Sakura. I'm putting you in charge.” Tsunade had told her. When asked why, all she said was that it was too much to deal with.
In other words, she was feeling lazy and passed off the strange patient to the closest person. A pink haired young girl. And what was up with that hair? Was it all natural?
She coughed as her mind drifted. She nodded to her fellow staff. They notified her that they were forced to stop Naruto from entering her patient's room several times. He hated hospitals, so him trying to break into one was something she had to tell Shizune about.
She yawned again. The sun was just now over the village, and she hadn't been to sleep in two days. She grew an awkward smirk as she thought about earlier. She just came from a meeting with Tsunade, going over the rainbow haired girl's information, and she fell asleep in a chair... while her teacher was talking. She hoped Tsunade didn't notice.
Two ANBU stood guard near a doorway. Normally they weren't assigned to guard doors, but Tsunade felt this was a special case. Izumo and Kotestsu were suppose to be assigned to guard the door, but she felt they would just slack off. At least with the ANBU there, Naruto wouldn't be trying to sneak into her patient's room.
She hoped the girl was at least awake now. They could easily force her to wake up, but with her chakra increasing at an abnormal rate, they couldn't risk it. With a smile, she entered the room.
But as soon as she stepped in, she was met with her patient ripping the gown off. The girl met her eyes, and froze. She had to admit, the girl was very attractive, and not a single tan line. It was like she was nude at all times, bathing in the sun. That was kind of brave. You do that in Konoha, and the perverts will come out. From the corner of her eyes, Sakura saw something moving at the window. Her hand automatically beginning to draw a kunai, until she recognized who it was.
“Naruto?” the girl slowly turned, and also met Naruto's eyes. Said eyes were as wide as saucers. Then with a slight nosebleed, he shot backwards. She would scream since he fell from far up, but she didn't know if it was because of her recent laziness, or the fact she didn't want to startle the young woman before her.
Ignoring that thought, she looked at the girl with a smile, looking into her eyes, and avoiding the breasts. “Sorry about that idiot. He lands on his feet.” It looked as if she was trying to speak, before closing her mouth.
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Naruto landed with a grunt. His nose still dripped red, which he quickly wiped. Last thing he needed was for people to think he's a pervert. His teacher, Jiraiya, one of the biggest perverts he knew, would have a field day. He frowned when he saw that some of the blood got on his orange jacket.
He scratched his head. He had no idea what just happened. Then like a punch in the face, the confusion cleared up, and all he could picture was the naked girl. She appeared to be his age, but from he learned over the years, appearances can be misleading. Just take Tsunade for example...
“Do I even want to know?” the laziness in the voice, the familiar shadow that appeared over his fallen form, and... well, even the shadow seemed lazy. “Haven't been back for a week, and already causing trouble?”
“Took me by surprised,” Naruto coughed. It wasn't far from the truth. He had been trying to three days to enter the hospital room to see the mysterious girl. He was always a curious person. One could even say the fox sealed within him had a hand in that. Curious as a fox.
Or was it sly as a fox?
“Did you get any information?” Shikamaru wouldn't admit it, but Naruto knew he was curious as well. Past that bored expression, and past the boredom that lay within that, there is a curious nature that matched his own.
After being booted out by the doctors on the first round, he had tried to dress as a doctor. That was a total failure. Then he used his Sexy Jutsu, henged into a sexy nurse, only for Tsunade to send ANBU to guard the door. The Rasengan through the door was a failure as well. And so was screaming 'fire' in a hospital. And then, on the ninth and final round, he had just tried to create a distraction by making the ANBU laugh, but the ANBU stood still, completely stoic. Not even arguing with them seemed to work, but it sure ticked off the doctors.
After running out of ideas, his prankster roots took over, and he scaled the building with a wide smile. And when Shizune opened a window, it was time for some intense evasive action! It wasn't hard to dodge her, but Shizune was crafty. And when he finally reached the room where the mysterious girl was, he expected her to have tentacles for hair, to be seven feet tall or even blue skinned. Instead, he was met with a rainbow haired girl his age, ripping her hospital gown off.
He quickly wiped his nose before standing up. “I-I can't tell.” Yeah, she was totally nude. Cute. Nude. “She was cute... I mean weird!” It wasn't his first time seeing someone naked, he had Jiraiya to thank for that, but it was the first time an image actually stuck to his mind. The short rainbow hair, the tanned skin, her light red eyes, and her pink-
“Nice slip up,” Shikamaru said, shaking his head. He almost forgot that Shika was even there.
Naruto took another glance to the window. He quelled the blush that threatened to come up, and decided against going back up there. He knew Sakura saw him, and the beating that was probably bound to happen, was something he would like to avoid.
Some first impression, he thought with a grimace. Last thing he wanted was for a future friend to think he was a pervert.
“My team are meeting at Yakiniku Q. Wanna join?” Shikamaru asked.
Naruto had to wonder if Shikamaru was actually looking for him the whole time. He had just arrived from his three year trip only five days ago, and yet, he didn't have time to spend with his friends. He saw Sakura and Konohamaru on the first day, along with Kakashi. Had a brief run in with Shikamaru and Gaara's sister, Temari. Other than that, he was off training with Kakashi and Sakura.
Naruto's stomach chose that time to rumble. Even the passing civilians jumped. Shikamaru threw his hands into his pocket and walked away with a smile. Before joining his friend, Naruto took a glance at the window.
He couldn't explain it, but it felt like a spark. Like he was drawn to her.
XXXXXXXXXX
Tsunade looked at the medical report before her. Her brow furrowed. She had sent an encoded message to the Kazekage by means of carrier pigeon. And when a reply came back, it was what she predicted. They didn't know anything either.
When the rainbow appeared in the sky, it was sudden. No warning. Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was one. It lasted for a second or two.
“A sonic boom,” she mumbled. The noise sounded like thunder. Almost as if Jiraiya or Naruto had summoned Gamabunta. Gamabunta was the chief summon, but it had been awhile, perhaps Gamabunta's son was now a boss. She shook her head as she found her mind drifting. Could it had been a summon that brought the girl here? And when the object appeared, a louder sonic boom was heard.
“Master?” A voice snapped her back to the present. Sakura stood there with her hands behind her back. She completely forgot her student was in the room.
“How is your patient?” she decided to ask. Sakura probably thought she was lazy, and just passed it off to the nearest person. But that was far from the truth. She dug through the archives, in search of anything that could help. But nothing came up.
Maybe it was just all a coincidence. The girl probably fell, from somewhere, high above the village. At the same time a strange rainbow appeared in the sky.
Who was she kidding? This was one of a hundred reasons she didn't want the job of Hokage. She had to stop herself from reaching in the drawer of her desk, and pulling out a bottle of sake.
“On the preliminary tests, her chakra system was still being formed. It was like a newborn with chakra showing the early signs of forming. At least that was how Shizune put it. But on the more recent tests, it was like two powers were battling for dominance inside her." Sakura replied. “We had a Hyuuga use the Byakugan, and they confirmed that.”
Jinchuriki, she thought with a frown. No, that is unlikely.
"As with the first report, there are no injuries. Internal or external."
“This report doesn't mention how her mental state is.” Tsunade said. It was probably best not to have a Yamanaka enter the girl's mind. It was both an invasion, and would loose the girl's trust.
“I talked with her for ten minutes. She was... frightened.” Tsunade wasn't surprised. If she somehow woke up, nude, in a strange place, she would likely feel the same. Well, she would probably blame everything on Jiraiya. “She went through several phases of denial, and kept mumbling something about a dream.”
Dream, Tsunade thought. She suddenly remember that her student fell asleep during their earlier meeting. She filed that for later.
“Aside from speaking a mile a minute, she kept ripping her gown off. I assume she hates, or is not used to wearing clothes.” Sakura said, blushing slightly. Tsunade laughed at that.
“What do you mean, 'went through several phases of denial'?” Tsunade asked, locking her hands together. Sakura still hadn't mentioned the girl's name. That was one detail they were missing.
“First she was frightened, then laughed, suddenly started crying, was about to jump out the window as if she could fly, then ran into the wall. All while... bare.”
Despite the situation, Tsunade couldn't stop the grin. But as the conversation drifted, she realized something. Where could the girl stay? They would need someone to watch and monitor her. She doubted the girl would want to stay cooped up in the hospital. Any normal person would dread that thought.
“Naruto?” she said, her grin widened. From what Sakura said, Naruto accidentally peeked on the girl. Said girl didn't mind, but was confused. Her staying with Naruto was quickly thrown out the window if Sakura's sour look was anything to go by. A kunoichi was a must.
Several names popped out, but Tsunade lingered on Kurenai Yuuhi. It was fitting, and the woman was kind and sincere. But at the same time, Kurenai could come off as intimidating. She didn't want to scare the girl, so, who...
If it was possible, her smirk got even wider as she thought of the perfect candidate.
“Master?” Sakura said, with a raised eyebrow.
“She'll do.” Tsunade said, nodding. Sakura looked questioningly at her teacher.
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“What time is?” her voice was hoarse. The house was empty, and the only occupant was buried under a mountain of blankets on a small bed. “Uhg, what day is it?”
She didn't expect an answer, and if she got one, she would probably be too sick to react. Or she would be dead from the shock. Or the intruder would be dead with three hundred kunai buried in an unsavory place.
Black hair poked from under the blankets. The hair had a slight purple tint to it, making people confuse it as full on purple hair. Not that she complained about it, she loved it that way. She threw the blankets off, revealing that she was wearing only a single white t-shirt.
Her stomach rumbled, signaling that it was time to eat. And despite the protest of her bones and muscles, she managed to finally stand. She had been sick for over a week. On the bright side, it was actually good. She hardly had any missions lately, just a few escort missions that she found annoying.
“A genin could do those,” she mumbled, with a slight sneeze at the end. Because she was a Tokubetsu Jounin, she usually worked with other teams. So, she blamed her newfound sickness on either that noble she escorted, or Kurenai's team. She knew one of them sneezed during that mission. At least this way, she could take a week off from those boring missions. And if she played her cards right, it could be longer than a week.
Maybe I should invite Kurenai over, she thought with a smirk, which was interrupted by a sneeze. She quickly wiped the snot with her t-shirt, which lifted up, revealing she only had panties on. Purple panties. And on it was 団子.
She knew a place just down the street that did custom clothing. It was embarrassing, but she got it done. Not like anyone will ever see her naked or in panties only. 団子 was the kanji for--
“Dango,” Anko finally reached the fridge. To her, it felt like miles, and she was almost to the point of crawling. “Dango? Where could it-” she paused. The fridge was empty, well, borderline empty. A moldy cheese, milk carton, and some stuff that she didn't remember seeing before. And then she saw it. Behind the milk carton, with only an inch left in it, was the source of her hunt. She threw the milk carton to the side and snatched the dango up.
She quickly placed the stick in her mouth, and enjoyed the taste. Within seconds, the three dumpling balls were gone, and only the stick remained. Maybe she could post a mission up at the Hokage Tower.
S-Rank Mission: Buy more dango.
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His sword sliced through the tree like butter. The light blue glow that coated the blade gave it an ethereal appearance. The young man stood in the center of at least four toppled trees. His blade was held tightly in his right hand.
He was on the border between the Land of Sound and the Land of Fire. No matter how hard he tried, he could never go too far away from his home. It was like a string pulling him back there, no matter how hard he fought it.
Due to the heat, combined with his training, sweat glistened down his shirtless form. He rested the cold steel blade against his shoulder, nearly flinching at the sudden coldness. Even after slicing through tree after tree, the blade was still cool. He wasn't the least bit surprised.
He surveyed the surroundings. The feeling of being watched was strong. It was probably one of Orochimaru's goons making sure he didn't do anything. Like what? Betray him? He swung his sword, and felt at ease when it sliced through the ground. Deciding to test what the watcher wanted, he rushed forward. The blade sliced into a tree. There was no resistance. Before the tree could fall over, he was already moving onto another target. Bark struck his face.
He needed two swords.
With his training, he learned how to fight one handed. He held his blade with his right hand, and stared at his empty left. With a smirk, he yanked out a kunai from his pouch. He touched the blades together, then ran forward. Dust kicked up. The blue glow on his blade looked more like lightning as he weaved through the trees. It was like a dance. In his eyes, the bark and sap that flew up were in slow motion.
When he stopped, he was breathing heavy. And he hadn't even used a single jutsu. From the corner of his eyes he saw movement. It was like he planned. Draw out the rat, then swoop down for the kill. He spun the kunai around his finger, then launched it forward. It struck the tree with astonishing force.
“I know you're there,” he said, turning to face the tree. He aimed his sword, which glowed blue with lightning. Even the mark on his neck glowed.
Instead of an answer, he saw what he thought to be the tree's shadow move. It slunk back into the darkness. He stayed in his stance, waiting. His breathing slowed, so he could hear everything. It was quiet, but a single rustle stood out. No, not single.
To the left? No, right? His eyes flicked all around. He didn't know whether to smirk or frown.
Surrounded, he thought. Just as he slowly reached into his pouch to produce another kunai, hundreds of tendrils shot out. They were all around him. But as they reached him, he swung his sword.