うずまき

The five-year-old redhead sat at the back of the Academy classroom, propping her chin on her palms and watching the instructor teach.

It's soooo booooooring! They're not even teaching us to fight! I'll be weak! This is the weakest village! I hate this place! Damn it!

Izuki-sensei paused in his writing, and gazed his eyes across the classroom. There were two students sleeping, which he ignored when he powered up his arm with chakra and shot his piece of chalk at her's head.

"Ow!" Her hands flew over her forehead as she narrowed her eyes. "What was that for, Sensei?!"

"You're making a dumb face again, Karin Uzumaki-" Izuki-sensei said, "Then again, outsiders are too dumb to learn anyway."

Every student in the classroom laughed and Karin's face reddened.

"I—I'm not an outsider!" She stood up, clenching her fists. "My name is Karin and I'm a shinobi of Kuso!"

"HAHAAHAH, you, a shinobi? You haven't even graduated yet, if you even will," Izuki teased, and that only encouraged the others to.

"Yeah, you're not from Kusa! You're an Uzumaki from Uzushiogakure!"

"Heh, your clan was so weak that it got wiped out."

"Serves your people right for focusing only on Fuuinjutsu! Why are you even in the Academy, you're no good at fighting, just sealing shit!"

"I'M NOT AN UZUMAKI!" Karin screamed. "MY NAME IS KARIN, THAT'S ALL I AM!"

"Uzumaki~Uzumaki!"

"Shut up!" Karin tackled the chubby boy and started punching him, before someone else grabbed her hair from behind.

"Look at this weird red hair! You are an Uzumaki! Weirdo! Tomato-Creep!"

"YOU'LL REGRET THAT!" Karin yelped as she was ganged up on. She fought back but then again she'd never been trained. "I'M GOING TO BECOME THE BEST AND BEAT UP ALL OF YOU!"

That was before everyone grouped into a mob and started beating her up.

In the end, Karin suffered a humiliating loss against the class (at which the teacher joined in occasionally) with bruises all over her body and a bloody nose.

"Tch! I hate this tiny dingy town and everyone in it! I hate it so much! I wish—I wish it would just burn down! When it does, I won't warn anyone to run!" Karin shouted at the sky, then she noticed people staring at her and shut up.

Adults gathered around the academy entrance, taking her classmates' hands or carrying them home.

Karin felt a churning feeling at her stomach, and bristled with so much jealousy. She was alone while those mean classmates had moms and dads to take care of them! She looked across the horizon where the gloomy sun was about to set, before biting her tongue and walking home by herself.

Parents…I wonder what mine would have been like…

…Maybe they were Uzumaki…maybe they have red hair just like I do, and they're off doing amazing missions and saving the world….who am I kidding…do I even have parents?

It was a gloomy path home as she entered the Red-light district of town. Casinos and brothels lined the streets as Karin snuck into an alley and crawled into one of the cardboard boxes beside the trash bins.

A 60-year-old homeless man (her neighbor) took one look at her and sneered. "Yer lucky ya get to eat free lunch everyday at the Ninja Academy."

"Why don't you join then?" Karin retorted, curling up inside her mini-cardboard-box house.

"I'm not from a famous clan," the man answered, leaning his back against the wall. "They accepted you because you're an Uzumaki, expected to excel and be of use to the village."

Karin had no idea what the old man meant by that, but she did know being an Uzumaki was a bad thing. "Okay. Good night."

"Mn."

The homeless man was a good "neighbor" who'd been looking out for her ever since as far as she could remember, which was probably only a couple of months. He was kind of like a parent of sorts, one that she spoke to a few minutes each day. Such a nice elderly man being homeless was everything that modeled the wrongness of this corrupt tiny village! Even before then, she could vaguely remember red-hair from someone else and a bed to sleep in, until she never saw that redness again and someone else took that home.

And Karin had to sleep somewhere- and this place was the only place police didn't patrol- the only place where it wasn't against the law to sleep on the streets. Although, that casino music and those drunk guys were so loud.

Curling up into a ball, Karin shut her eyes and fell asleep.

うずまき

The next day, Karin realized she stunk and hadn't showered in a while. The hot springs were supposedly free for shinobi, as they were funded by the village. Karin surmised that Academy students counted as shinobi of the lowest rank, but still ninja, plus hot water would clean her up, and there was no other place to bath.

No wait, what if they don't let me inside because I'm an Uzumaki?

Clicking her tongue, Karin made a few hand seals and her body faded enough to blend with the background. It was the Transparency Jutsu, a genjutsu she painstakingly developed to avoid the angry mobs of drunk adults chasing her home. Apparently, they held some grudge against the Uzumaki clan (claiming the clan killed their kids or were on Konoha's side during the war that claimed their family's lives) and mistook her as one of them, even though Karin was definitely not Uzumaki! Grrrh!

She snuck into the hotsprings, took her clothes off and grabbed one of those free towels, slipped into the warm water and relaxed. Her bruises slowly healed themselves.

Rejuvenated, Karin grew curious about why there was a men's side and a women's side of the hot springs, why a tall wooden wall was dividing the warm pool of water. What could the other side be hiding...?

After taking off her glasses and rinsing them with water, Karin slipped them back into her eyes and got up, approaching the wall and scaling it. In the end, she climbed to the top of the wall, and sat in a frog-like crouch, observing the nude men.

Then she gaped. They looked aesthetically pleasing.

Karin decided to come back tomorrow with cameras.

-Unknown amount of time passed-

"Fufufufu," Karin held in her mischievous chuckles as she peeked over the wooden divider-wall at the men's side of the hot springs.

Those abs…those lean flexy muscles…shinobi men are so cool! Karin squealed and started drawing her sketches of their bodies on her notebook- because she couldn't afford that camera. She peered through her glasses at them every now and then, and drew.

She ended up sitting herself on top of the wall, keeping her back faced against the men's side so that she wouldn't be seen as peeking. That was ineffective, however, as a few men were already disturbed and getting up to leave.

Bright red hair had its drawbacks.

Ten minutes later, and the men's side of the Hot Springs was completely cleared.

"What the hell!" Karin growled. "Okay, you know what—screw this!"

After throwing her unfinished drawing to the floor and stomping all over the pages, Karin flung up her arms and left the staring women behind. Then, she paused.

No wait- I forgot to apply my Transparency Jutsu- UGh I'm such an idiot!

Facepalming, Karin fled the scene to give it time and hope to be forgotten.

うずまき

Two days later, Karin returned, and repeated the process.

This time, the men didn't leave.

"Heheheh, I guess my new transparency jutsu has its merits," Karin mused with an evil grin on her face as she sat on the wall, facing the nude male bodies with her sketchpad.

Well, I mean—it was totally worth experimenting with genjutsu—so that now I'm blending with the background. Now I can safely get a closer look!

She jumped into the men's area of the hot springs, and approached some of the sleepier, more relaxed older men. Karin peeked around and stared at a weird bulge at his crotch area as it was pointed to her face.

Freaking out, Karin screamed.

うずまき

For a while there, Karin was traumatized and didn't return for weeks, but then she realized she'd gain a new insight. There were more than surface differences between the male and female bodies, and there were so much inspiration—so much romance that could be derived from those differences.

Hmph! I guess I got my sex-ed earlier than the other brats my age.

Karin got back to her feet, and returned to the hot springs.

Once again, Karin perched atop the wall dividing the men's and female's sections of the hot springs, a transparency technique cloaked over her body. She crotched like a frog, and watched through analytical red glasses.

Then, her imagination ran.

Positions, aerobics, reflexes, taijutsu, martial arts, nudity—

Karin slowly smirked like a pervert.

What she didn't know, was that there was an older white-haired man, sitting right beside her, facing the opposite direction she faced, using the exact same transparency jutsu, and peeping.

They were inches apart and they didn't notice the other's presence, their focuses elsewhere on more important matters (like the bodies of the opposite sex) and their transparency techniques infallible.

Super Perverts, they both were.

Until, Karin felt a bit tired from all the heat and wanted to lie down.

All she did was…lean a little to her left—then she hit something: a body that tensed and convulsed with fear upon contact, a heartbeat exploding in speed, and an explosive jutsu stimulated from self-defense.

The wall exploded into debris and everyone panicked and attempted to evacuate the danger.

うずまき

Jiraiya had a hobby along with his job, and they worked together nicely. He had a spy-network that required a lot of traveling, and he had a hobby of "researching" for his Icha-Icha novels that benefited from his travels.

It was a nice arrangement, and today was a research day. He'd heard the women at Kusa were marvelous creatures—all females were.

So, he put on one of the most astounding techniques a spy master could dream to have—the transparency jutsu—and entered the hotsprings.

Then, finding a suitable spot for peeping, he began taking notes and giggling. No one was within range and none of his enemies would notice him before he noticed them, Jiraiya had falsely assumed.

Then, something hit his side, shocking him off-guard. His immune system went overdrive because absolutely no one and nothing has touched him by surprise within a decade! The fact that someone could possibly be stronger than him, the Great Toad Sage, to even get past his defenses undetected—it was just plain impossible!

But it happened, and his mind automatically registered it as a threat, for only enemies would touch him without warning, so he cast off an explosion that would separate his enemy from possibly stabbing him. Then, they could fight at a considerable distance.

Jiraiya didn't kill, he captured for information….Until his eyes saw his target…

うずまき

Karin was blown back by the explosion and crash against the stone wall at the other side of the hot springs, her glasses flying off her face into the clouds of smoke rising from the newly scattered debris.

Thump. Crash. Hurt.

"OWW!" Karin shrieked, feeling pain all over her butt and arms and back. No doubt bruises would form! Angrily, she stood up and faced the man who dared attack her—my peeping wasn't that bad was it?!

It was a man with long white hair and red clothes, and he was staring at her, flabbergasted, as if he was seeing a ghost.

Something about that just made her feel confident, as if she had control of the situation despite the man probably being five times her age. She was physically hurt and she needed a good ego-boost, even if it meant breaking this shinobi down. He looked pretty strong—even better.

"Hmph, well, you just attacked me out of the blue—you should be scared!"

Not to mention, you were at my spot, which could only mean…

Karin raised her fists, marching towards the man who appeared stunned to move. "NOT ONLY DID YOU ATTACK ME FOR NO REASON—YOU WERE PEEPING ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE OF THE HOT SPRINGS, DAMN YOU!"

Karin's tomato-red hair started flying with angry-chakra like octopus legs as her eyes had fire in them, looking exactly like a demon from hell.

"YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THAT MESS?!"

Punch.

Karin's eyes widened as she stared between her face and Jiraiya's bruised face—I actually did it—but I thought he'd dodge or block or something! OHmygodwhat have I done!? I hit too hard!

Karin gulped in guilt, wondering if there was anything to do to make up for this injury. Uhnn...maybe I should let him bite me…

Karin glanced around and found her glasses lying on the floor. She picked them up and slipped them on, before turning back to observe the man's injury.

There was a large bruise that threatened to bleed on Jiraiya's face now, and that seemed to have snapped him out of his trance.

Surprisingly, the man grinned. "Feisty, aren't youf? Youf know you're not one to accusef me whenf you're peepingf too," his words seemed muffled by the enlarging bruise blocking his mouth.

"Me-peeping? Uhh, I wasn't!" Karin pushed her glasses as they glinted through the fog. "I was, uh, researching!" She stammered out, totally embarrassed. So much for acting like a boss!

"HHAAHAHAH," Jiraiya's laugh was booming. "Researching, eh? Well whaddya know, two great minds think alike. I'm the One and Only Great Gallant Toad Sage, Jiraiya! What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Uhh, Karin." Karin looked thoughtful. "You're just 'passing by' this village, right? So when you leave, take me out with you."

Jiraiya snorted. "Gain a few years on you then ask me again—"

Karin's eyes flashed with demonic hellfire and Jiraiya's survival instincts kicked in again.

"ON SECOND THOUGHT, I'LL TAKE YOU!" Jiraiya blurted out too fast. "But what of your parents?"

Karin narrowed her eyes. "I don't have any—and I've always wanted to get out of this hellhole but never had the resources—but now I do! You don't live here, so let's get out of here!" Karin spoke in rushed tones. If I stay here I'll attempt to murder everyone, I swear!

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. The little brat looked just like a mischievous Kushina when she was younger...it was impossible to reject her. And the shame at letting Minato die...and the guilt that he couldn't take on Naruto... He was the least suited, being constantly on the move between enemy villages for reconnaissance missions. It was the best decision for Naruto to grow up in a hidden village, protected with lots of friends rather than being babysat by a single old man like him.

He could say the same for this girl, but a closer look, and the little redhead looked malnourished. She was skinnier and smaller, boney. And Jiraiya realized the Uzumaki were scattered around the globe after their clan disbanded, and most of them were outcasts to the villages they were in. This girl didn't even have parents, so she must've had it worse.

Karin reminded him so much of Kushina that Jiraiya wondered what would happen if she ever met Naruto.

Plus, she seemed to have the same refined tastes as he did.

It was on a whim when Jiraiya nodded and reached over, ruffling her red hair and smiling with nostalgia. "Ah, very well, you can come with me, so long as you follow all my instructions regardless of what they are!" His eyes hardened, then. "It's going to be really dangerous."

Karin swallowed. Judging by his expression, she didn't have a choice- Now that she'd offered to follow him, she had to go- or Jiraiya would react badly. As if, she'd triggered something inside him that dug deep into the past.

Karin snorted, arrogance returning. "I have to start somewhere, don't I?"

Jiraiya contemplated her for a few seconds and smiled. "That's...a...good answer," he glanced around suspiciously. "We should...leave the village...right now," Jiraiya lifted her from under her arms and set her onto his back, before vanishing in a body flicker.

If this whole thing hinders my research, I'll just dump her in Konoha's Academy.

That's what he thought.

うずまき

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Karin didn't arrive to the Academy again. It was the 7th day she was absent, and Izuki-sensei erased her name from the attendance list.

"She was annoying," the students agreed. "And much worse."

Someone like that...wouldn't be missed.

うずまき