1 Guren's Beginings

The wind around me calmed my mind — a welcome contrast to the fiery nature of this village. But I wanted a break from it all. I grabbed my kunai and tossed it into the air, making sure to add an explosive tag on it. It exploded around thirty feet away from me. But, more importantly, sent another blast of air toward me. I would have to move away before the heat from the explosion hit me. But, for someone like myself, it's an easy task.

I left this space and entered the village on my way back home. But, I needed to enter the market place as the battle versus hunger is endless. Naruto kept talking about a place called Ichiraku ramen. I roamed the marketplace until I found the small stand. A girl with brown hair called out to me. I smiled and approached the store. Thankfully, this place is not cheap with fans. From every angle, air flowed around naturally. I complimented the stores' arrangement of fans and ordered a bowl. I loved cold things, but oddly, I disliked cold foods.

Once the girl served me, I licked my lips and gazed at the hot food. My belly roared as I grabbed the chopsticks and devoured noodles. It had flawless texture — something I could not understand. But, the taste of the right amount of salt. The feeling of the meat, eggs, and vegetables felt just right. "Thanks for the meal, misses."

The girl nodded and said, "My name's Ayame. Please come again." I nodded and left the small stall. Before I could return home, I needed another outfit. My shirt was too short, and the other villagers are starting to gaze at me too much. Perhaps, I should get some advice from Ino? No, Hinata might be best. Her outfit looks cute and does not draw attention. I headed toward my apartment and found myself on my bed in moments.

This place is heaven on earth. All around me were fans cooling the air around me. I closed my eyes and fell into a blissful slumber. The best part about it was that no fan would hit me directly, making me feel like a queen of the wind. I hoped later on, and I could master wind nature. Or got sent on a mission to the village of the wind or the land of lighting might be best as it's high in the sky and surrounded by the wind. Perhaps, I wanted to travel. Or stop my mind and go to bed already.

The next day, I woke up and cooked myself a small meal: eggs, bacon, and rice. It might be considered odd. But I needed carbs. Or, maybe that is what my heart required. Either way, as a ninja, it's nearly impossible to gain weight. We needed fats and carbs. At least, if we wanted to be any good, we did. Other girls like Sakura and Ino would focus on that. But, such a thing felt stupid. Any woman who is active at the level we are should not need to diet.

It was my first year in the village. So, they placed me in the academy due to my age. I meet with Naruto, the only other villager I found that was an honest sort. Naruto was not a skilled ninja by any means, but anyone could tell he practiced hard. Perhaps he's not a talented ninja, but he would be a loyal friend. From what I have seen, he's the only boy around here who has a real goal. Perhaps, it's out of sight, but there are many ninjas like Might Guy, a jonin who does not even use much ninjutsu. Who knows about the boy's future? Naruto can't even read, yet he is only forty points below the smartest student in class, Sakura.

I caught myself staring at Naruto and wondered if I had a crush on him. But that's not likely. I approached the boy and extended my hand. Naruto interested me more than the rest of the class though Shikamaru is a close second. With Hinata and Ino being two of the only girls that had a brain. But, for some reason, when it comes to Sasuke and Naruto, the two lost all sense of purpose. Perhaps that's what it's like to be a child with a crush.

Naruto grabbed my extended hand and shook it. I smiled as the young boy's energy warmed my heart. Something's different about him. Is this what a mother feels like around a child? "Naruto, let's find someone to prank; I'm sure you have many ideas." Naruto nodded and hit his chest. I followed the boy as he led me on the greatest prank of all time: we're going to tag the mountain of the hokages. Naruto brought some paint a few weeks ago and stored it in his apartment. I grinned as adrenaline rushed into my body.

He took out a map. The guards were stick figures, and he drew out their lines of sight. But, all in all, we would dress up like ordinary villagers, enter the forest and pick fruit around to the top of the village, which is only around a half an hour walk toward the mountain. From there, we would camp out and built a tent and some homemade decorations. This would make us look like a set of healthy kids with pure intentions, but little would the guards know when they stopped watching us at night, we would strike.

I smiled as we tossed around ideas on how to improve the face of the third Hokage. After a long debate, we decided we would put loser on his forehead, some tears from his eyes, and the final touch, a mohawk. Sadly, my idea of placing a heart on each of his cheeks was shot down. But, I did get the mohawk, so it's all good. Naruto did the planning so that he can have one more choice than me.

Naruto prepared the tent. I ran around the forest looking for fruit and other goods. After I prepared a meal for both us, Naruto had finished the tent and decorated some of the nearby plants with signs and other things, establishing our cover. All the guards should be aware we are camping out here, which means once we paint the mountain, all we have to do is get back here without any witnesses, and we won't get punished.

Once night fell, we grinned and carried some paint toward the mountain. We would not have much time. Naruto and I would jump down and splash paint in the middle of his head for the mohawk. He would draw the tears, and I will jump to the top and write loser in bright pink paint. From there, we would sprint back to our tent. We had considered making a tunnel from the mountain to a safe spot near the shelter. But we figured we would get spotted at the peak anyway or that the tunnel would give us away.

We rushed through the forest and headed over the mountain. Everything was as Naruto planned it. All the guards changed their shifts and would give us a small moment to sneak past them. With the cover of the night and Naruto's map, we found ourselves above our target. We jumped down and painted the third's face. His blue and pink mohawk would warm my heart in the morning. We used the famous hedge technique and rushed back up the mountain from the outskirts of the village. But, once we saw our tent, there was a ninja near it.

Naruto grinned and held my hand. I gazed at the boy for a moment and held it back. He led me toward the tent and started yelling. "Get away from our tent!" The ninja's head rocked back.

"Naruto! What are you doing here!" I exhaled, grabbed my new friend, and smiled.

"A boy a girl alone in the mountains. What do you think is going on?" Naruto opened his mouth, but I tightened my grip and lowered my head and whispered, "Play along." The boy nodded and grabbed my waist. Then I yelled, "Pervert! Go away! Can't you see we're busy!?"

The ninja bowed and ran off. Likely going to report us or something, but for now, we got away with everything. We slept together in the tent and waited for the sun to rise again. Once morning came, we headed toward Naruto's favorite ramen stall and smiled. The same girl from the other day fed us both. She did not say much but sneaked us a thumbs up after gazing at our handiwork. I gazed at Naruto and sighed.

"Naruto, the best part of a prank, is that no one knows we did it." The boy nodded his head and confirmed next time; he would not tell anyone. We bumped fists and headed toward the academy. Today is our final exam. I had never attempted the exam before, but Naruto had told me about it. I would have no problems with it, but Naruto might give his raw amount of chakra. Though, my friend should be able to figure it out.

I entered a small room Iruka and Mizuki two teachers of mine were waiting inside. They handed me a test with five questions, and I had to answer in sixty seconds. Thankfully, they were simple questions such as who is the first Hokage and things of that nature. I solved all the problems in ten seconds. This was likely to see if a student would panic, given the lack of time more than anything else. Iruka measured my heartbeat and then ordered me to run around for a few minutes. Once I was done, he tested me again. The final test is a simple clone jutsu. The trick for this jutsu is simple, use the smallest amount of chakra I can.

I suspect Naruto is like myself as some of the other students had problems practicing this for a long time. But, Naruto never got tired. I would only get exhausted after hours of training. Naruto might be the same, later on, we should train together. It would be nice to have a rival with a similar amount of stamina. I passed the exam and left the room with a new headband. I'm now a genin of the leaf village, and more importantly, I'm considered an adult.

I waited for Naruto to finish the exams with Shikamaru if I can befriend him, my future pranks with Naruto would be awesome. Though even if I did, it might not be possible given how lazy he is. But, given the payoff, Shikamaru must be recruited. With his brain and Naruto's creativity, no one could stop us. But, I wondered what did I bring to the table? I trembled. Water flowed from my eyes. Shikamaru gazed at me and asked, "What's wrong?"

I replied, "I'm a weak ninja." Shika tilted his head and exhaled before leading me outside. He even complained about what a drag this was, which made me feel a little better. He entered a fighting stance and waved me over. I pouted. What is the point of sparing now? But, I rushed toward him as he cast his famous shadow, Jutsu. The shadow under him grew and rushed forward. If it hit me, I would be immobile. I stepped to the side and sped forward with the shadows closing in on me from all sides. I leaped into the air and tossed a few kunai around him, forcing him to stay still. Unable to escape, he became a target. I closed in on him and abused my height advantage in melee combat ending the spar in my victory.

After our spar, I laughed and said, "Think you can still pass your exam?" Shikamaru retorted with his classic line: what a drag. But, oddly, Iruka tossed him a headband a moment later. I said, "Sorry, it looks like your stuck with me."

Shikamaru giggled and said, "Only if we get placed on the same team." I doubted we would be placed on the same team but offered him a wager. He squinted and said, "If I win, you become target practice for my Jutsu."

I nodded and said, "When I win, you help Naruto and me with a prank." Shikamaru agreed. But, he might not have factored that my real goal is to interact with him more. I laughed and felt a little silly playing mind games with the boy and said, "I hope we can be friends."

The boy smiled and said, "Naturally, why do you think I do all those favors for you in class?" I hugged the boy and thought back to specific moments in class. Like when Sakura would try to hit me. She would always miss it. Or how Sasuke's fangirls ran away from me. I kissed Shikamaru's cheek and smiled.

The boy blushed and rubbed his cheek. I ran off to find Naruto and yelled, "Thanks, Shikamaru! Welcome to team Naruto!" The boy sighed and headed home. I waited for Naruto in class and rushed towards him when he lacked a headband. Stupid teachers! Naruto has too much chakra, which makes it much harder for him compared to other students. I grabbed my best friend's hand and rushed him away. Naruto followed along with dead eyes but did not fight back.

We found ourselves in the forest. I grinned at Naruto and thought of a new method. If we have too much chakra, let's create more than one clone at a time. I told Naruto my idea, and he tried it once more. When he created five clones, they appeared more lively than before. "Naruto! It's working!" Try using less chakra or creating more clones." Naruto nodded and created twenty clones. I grinned and grabbed Naruto's hand once more. "Naruto! It's time to start pranking people. Make as many clones as you can. And, have them run around down yelling, I'm a demon fear me."

Naruto smiled and nodded his head. Naruto then created two-hundred more clones while I created around one hundred fifty more. We sent them into the village and bugged everyone. "Naruto, remember if the Hokage asks, say you failed the exam's, so this is impossible for you." Naruto giggled and offered up his hand for a high five.

Suddenly, the Hokage appeared before us. His face all wrinkled up. For a ninja, that's an impressive thing, his vast experience, his aura, suffocated me. Naruto yelled, "Hey, old man!" The Hokage smiled and approached us.

"Naruto, I'm impressed you created that many clones." I shook my head and said, "Naruto can't create clones, let alone this many. This is my work." Naruto squinted and grabbed my shoulder.

He whispered. "It's ok." I trembled. How is he so calm? It's the Hokage!

But, I yelled, "If you hurt Naruto, you answer to me!" I summoned more clones and began a dance. In an attempt to hide. "Naruto, it's time to beat the Hokage!" Naruto smiled and joined me in attacking the old man. With all our clones, we charged forward. The old man grinned. But, broke past our clones and flicked both our heads.

"Impressive, but why not make sure I'm an enemy before attacking me?" I stopped my attack and glared at the old man.

"If you make Naruto suffer, you're my enemy."

The old man retorted, "If I was an enemy, would you be alive?" I exhaled and fell to the ground. I attacked the Hokage of all things. I gazed at Naruto and smiled. I guess it's true. When a girl has a crush on a boy, we lose all reason. I hoped it was a crush. If not, I might be a stupid girl in general. Though maybe that is not so bad, being Naruto's fangirl could be fun. Hopefully, he becomes the next Hokage.

I trembled as the Hokage approached me. Each of his steps made my heart beat faster. My vision became blurred. I placed my hands together and yelled, "Kai." But nothing happened. Naruto rushed toward me. My legs weakened. I felt the blood in my move around. My legs trembled, and I fell onto my knees. Sweat poured out of my body. And, finally, I fainted.

Once I woke up, Naruto held my hand and sat beside me. I asked, "What happened?" Naruto informed me that the Hokage had forgiven everything. I wondered what Naruto was talking about. The fact that we painted the mountain or that we sent a ton of clones to mess with the villagers. Perhaps, it was our attack on the old man. Either way, it did not matter. I found myself content with the boy beside me.

Naruto's smile, the way he rubbed his head, and the oddly terrible way he comforts me, warmed my heart. I pushed myself off the bad and asked, "How long has it been?" Naruto told me it had only been a few hours. I nodded, jumped out of bed, and ate dinner with Naruto while plotting another prank. At first, I was scared, but Naruto seemed only to suggest minor pranks. Nothing on the same level as earlier. And, more importantly, he obtained a new Jutsu. He did not go into detail about the events, but something about them seemed to bug him.

I smiled and said, "Thanks for being my friend." Naruto blushed and nodded his head. I hugged him and waved him goodbye. Tomorrow, they will tell us which team we will become a part of. I hoped for Shikamaru and Naruto, but the teams are not based on friendship, which broke my heart, but at this point, I'm lucky to be alive.

The next day, I rushed toward the academy and waited for Iruka to declare the new teams. The first student called was Sasuke Uchiha, the second was Sakura. She leaped into the air after being paired with Sasuke. However, once I heard Naruto's name called out. My heart broke. As for my other hope, Shikamaru, he ended up paired with Ino and Choji. I fell into my seat and waiting for them to call my name. But, Iruka told me to meet with the Hokage.

I exhaled. Perhaps, everything not forgiven. Not only did I not get assigned to a team with my friends, but the old man also did not even give me one!. I left my school and entered the Hokage's mansion. He sat behind a crystal ball and smiled as a woman appeared before me. I knew this woman she often ran around the village and brought tons of dango. Yet, somehow, she had a great figure.

The woman grinned as two white snakes appeared from her arms. "I'll be your tormentor. Ah! Sorry, I mean, instructor." I exhaled. This is my life. At least, I'm still a ninja. I bowed toward my new teacher and turned toward the Hokage.

The Hokage said, "Guren, you have shown great loyalty, talent, and drive. But, other times, you have shown me a reckless nature and a lack of foresight and overreactions." I sat down and nodded my head. Given I attacked him, his point is clear. My new teacher's snakes hissed as they gazed at me. I stared at them for a moment and smiled. After dealing with whatever the Hokage did to me, these snakes are a joke. Besides, she won't kill me. If they want me dead, I would be.

The lady controlling the snakes introduced herself as Anko. I had no idea if that's a fake name or not. But, I said, "Greetings." One of her snakes slithered around me and licked my cheeks. While it's a little gross, it did not bug me. And, knowing that Anko disliked that fact, made me enjoy it. The Hokage nodded and told me that I'd be training under Anko for the next few years. He told me that he hoped that I would grow up as a person and a ninja. I gazed at the old man and said, "If Naruto is neglected as a ninja, this village will suffer." He nodded his head and dismissed us.

Anko licked her lips and peered into my eyes. "Your life is going to be hell." I exhaled. It's not like I would be left off easy for what I've done. Anko's first task was a simple one: climb a tree with only feet. The problem was every time I failed; she would have a snake poison me. Of course, she would cure me afterward. But that also happened to be painful. Sure, one could say that it would make me immune to poisons, but her method is not efficient! And, it's always on the most painful part of the body. The nipples!

After two more days of torture, I learned tree walking. Was it worth it? No, not at all. Anko decided she would not torture me this time. Instead, she would toss an electric wire into the water each time I failed. Fuck, water walking, can't I avoid the land of water? Anko looked at me and smiled. Could she read minds? Or is the nut job enjoying my torment more than I thought? Tomorrow, I'll bribe her, with dango. And, it worked. The problem was, it only worked so long as she was eating dango. And, given the rate she would eat, it would cost around a thousand ryo a day to keep her off my back.

At first, getting the Ryo was hard, but once she taught me how to summon snakes, I created a horror house in the village which earned around five thousand ryo a day. I did have the advantage that snakes of my creation handled labor. Of course, I'd have to work every day after training, but that's a small price to pay to avoid Anko's evil methods. Once I was in the swing of things, Naruto entered my little store. I smiled as he did not know I ran the place. I summoned more snakes and had them cover the floors and slither around his feet and had them hiss for a moment each time he took a step. One time, I even had one nibble on his pants. But, for some reason, Naruto only reacted with disgust and not fear.

Once he got through my horror house, I met with Naruto at the exit and treated him to some ramen. He told me about his trip to the land of waves and how he battled with Zabuza and Haku. I told him about Anko's training and my business. Naruto suggested the snakes should hang off the roof. I grinned. Naruto's a creative genius. We trained for a bit. Naruto has not improved at all, I exhaled. I knew Naruto was talented, he learned the clone jutsu almost instantly, and he had learned the real clone jutsu too.

I showed Naruto how to walk on water and stormed into the Hokage's office. "Old man! I agreed to train with Anko once you promised to take care of him! Not only did you send him on an A-ranked mission, Kakashi, his instructor, only focuses on Sasuke! Using Naruto and Sakura as cannon fodder!" The Hokage glared at me for a moment but called for Kakashi. The copy ninja, so to speak, entered the room and gazed at me for a moment before bowing toward the old man. The old man inquired about the status of Naruto's training. Kakashi reported that Naruto's working on walking on water to improve his chakra control.

At this moment, I yelled, "Naruto has never suffered from chakra exhaustion in battle! Hokage, while the basics are important! Naruto can't defend himself with only one jutsu. And, Kakashi did not show Naruto how to water walk, I did. Also, Naruto mastered tree walking while on the mission! In short, you had only trained your students when your life was in danger and ignored them otherwise. You are also known to be late for training every day." I gazed at Kakashi and said, "You're known as the copy ninja, yet have imparted no jutsu to any of your students. And, don't tell me that Naruto can't learn them as he has mastered a forbidden jutsu in a few hours!"

I kept yelling at the one-eyed bastard for another hour. Until the hokage smiled and said, "Kakashi, you're demoted to tokubetsu jonin. And, are now removed as the jonin leader of team seven."

I roared. "That's a slap on the wrist! Might as well give him a paid vacation while you're at it. Kakashi has been a jonin from thirteen years old he already has money. And, it could be considered a candidate for hokage alongside Tsunade and Jiraiya. I demand he teaches Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, but if they fail to pass the chunin exams next year, he give Naruto his eye as payment for betrayal. And, I mean, the one is given to him by Obito."

Kakashi glared at me, and I returned his glare. "What? Sasuke has the Sharingan, Sakura has excellent chakra control, and Naruto can master A ranked jutsu in hours. If you can't help them, you betrayed the village. For that, your eye is required.