*Detailed apologies at the end of chapter*
Also for old readers; I've changed chapter 3. I'd suggest you guys take a look there also because a few minor additions there will affect Hiruzen's point of view on Ned here. Slightly, but still. :))
Interlude: The man who created the girl who survived
She was half a human and half a hurricane; a half that's living to destroy, and a half that's trying to survive.
- Vazaki Nada
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.
The Professor, liked to believe he was quite old and wise. After all he had lived longer than the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama himself!
He liked to believe that he has seen everything life could throw at him.
Almost everything.
He had, after all, lived through all the three Shinobi world wars; experiencing many shocking, difficult and unexpected events in the course of it all.
Now contrary to popular belief, he did not think this because he was arrogant.
No.
He just genuinely believed he has had enough experience of the unforeseen that nothing could surprise him anymore.
From losing his successor to the Kyuubi attack to returning back to Hokage's post after retirement to uncovering his own student as a traitor; what else could life throw at him to surprise him anymore?
He believed nothing.
But that was BEFORE the Universes decided to prove him wrong.
And so very wrong he was indeed!
He was sitting there in the Academy waiting for his newly graduated Genin to submit their registration forms; to judge the little soldiers personally before shoving them into the life of Shinobi.
When a new presence appeared behind the door, he expected another mini ninja with bright eyes and bubbling excitement.
He was expecting another wave of nostalgia and sadness to pass over him while watching yet another child about to lose all that innocence in a matter of few months.
It was always hard to see such naive faces and then look at them again when they return with blood on their hands and hollowness in their eyes. He had seen countless of those cheerful children turned into cold killing machines in his lifetime and it always made him feel old and tired.
Which he was by the way.
Old of age and tired of the way life was going in general; he really needed retirement.
Maybe in some restless paranoid corner of his trained mind, he was even expecting some shinobi to rush through the door and break to him the news of yet another war ready to break out.
But out of all the things that could have happened, he wasn't expecting an emergency signal in the knocking, a team of ANBU to enter with a child in ragged state, and a news that was going to make all the Kage do a double take when they find out about it.
'An unusual girl that fell from the sky; talking in a language unheard of and alive without a trace of Chakra in her system!'
Even the ANBU reporting to him about her was unnerved by the situation; his shock apparent in his twitches and raised heartbeat.
This was serious.
While listening to the unrealistic report and signaling his hidden guards to apply the security seals, Hiruzen himself tried to sense the girl for chakra but found nothing.
Not a trace of chakra when even dead bodies have some amount of natural chakra in them!
She was like a living contradiction to all their knowledge.
And like THAT wasn't enough! When the girl understood and tried to reply in their language, she broke all the beliefs on which the world; the society was made.
'A Universe ended and the only survivor was her.'
Well the 'only survivor' thing needed to be checked, yes, but the main point was-
A world, a whole Universe existed out there that no one ever knew about!
No he was not expecting something like this to happen that morning.
He doubted anyone had ever expected something like that to happen ever in the history of mankind!
And the worst part was, he didn't want to accept it.
AT ALL.
He wanted to believe that it was some joke; some conspiracy or a move of his enemies.
He was ready to believe it was part of some war-plan rather than truth.
How could he accept it was the truth?
How could he accept that a whole civilization was flourishing in another world, unheard of by all his ancestors?
How could he believe that he and all those who ever existed in this world weren't the only beings created by the Creator; one of a kind, unique, irreplaceable?
No he didn't want to believe it, but the proof was right there in front of him. Looking him in the eyes; breathing, existing and proving to him that his people, history and existence were never special in the orchestra of the cosmos.
That he and his world are just another pebble in the worn road; just another drop in the endless ocean, just another world in who knows how many!
Irrelevant and expendable like hers.
How could he agree to THAT?
So he stepped forward and closed the eyes, calmed the breathing and ordered the anomaly to be taken away from him; he needed time to absorb all that.
He put his best medics, most excellent sensors and even used the Byakugaan to check and recheck the anomaly for any chakra or chakra system, but failed.
She wouldn't heal with the Iryo-ninjutsu, she wouldn't respond to the chakra pills, she would appear more than dead in the eyes of Byakugaan, and to top it all up there was her appearance!
She looked so different. So utterly different!
Like someone decided to personify everything unusual before creating her.
Along with her round face, full lips and plump cheeks, she also had a thin high-bridged nose and a pair of unusually big deep-set eyes of an atypical shape.
Her short straight hair were a deep brown bordering to black; like the Nara and her eyes, he remembered were of the darkest shade of brown.
But the most unnatural thing about her wasn't those foreign eyes, nose and features, but her skin color.
It was darker than any Kumo nin he had ever met and darker than a tan anyone can acquire in their 11 years of life; which was the biological age of the anomaly.
(Thank Kami for small mercies!)
She had skin the color of earth; when rain has just hit it after months of summer.
Her skin was unusually dark and without any blemish; giving her the most exotic look.
She was like someone straight out of an over-imaginative author's fairytale.
A girl falling from another world, distinctive in every aspect, saved by a hero and ultimately married to him with a happily-ever-after.
Perfect bestseller.
But he couldn't understand where he fitted into that plot.
He wasn't the hero definitely so why was the anomaly placed in his hands, what was HIS role?
Those thoughts filled his mind for the whole time the anomaly remained unconscious.
He had decisions to take; big decisions to take, but he couldn't understand what to do.
The council, the elders and almost everyone in the village had seen or heard about the incident and wanted answers.
And that was what he couldn't find.
What should he do with her? Should he disclose the truth to the people or hide everything behind some Jutsu-experimentation or such ploy?
Should he keep her living, or end her life? He was a shinobi after all, and killing people wasn't that hard for him; but should he?
What if it was some sign of the Universe; saving her out of everyone else and then sending her into their world?
He was missing Minato a lot lately.
Had he been alive, all this thing would have been his problem instead.
As he neared the room she was kept in; the one farthest away from his, he hoped against hope to find her already dead due to stress, shock or whatever spontaneous reason her alien body could come up with.
He just didn't want to have anything to do with her.
Whatever mistake or mystery of cosmos she brought with her, he didn't want to get involved with it at all!
She reminded him too much of the insignificance of his world; his whole WORLD, and he couldn't bear it.
With all the revulsion he could muster for the anomaly for ruining the fabric of his beliefs and tormenting him with unanswerable questions, he opened the door of her room and again found himself shocked.
(How the Universes might have been laughing at him at that moment he always wonders!)
He had expected to see that ALIEN-ANOMALY sitting there, waiting to destroy the basic foundation of humanity with her very existence.
But what he actually found was a little GIRL sitting huddled in a corner of the balcony, crying so dejectedly, it hurt even him; a hardened shinobi to see a child in that state.
He doesn't know why exactly, but he couldn't call her an Anomaly after that. She was too alive, emotional, fragile and too human to be titled as an unknown organism.
Her hair were disheveled, her skin covered in bruises that won't heal by Iryo-jutsu, thin knees brought up close to a body shaking violently as she wailed into her hands; eyes reflecting the hollowness of that black-hole that ended her world.
She looked so similar to all those children who got orphaned during the wars, Kyuubi attack or just missions went wrong; so similar to those whom he himself had tried to sooth so many times.
Iruka, Hayate, Kakashi and so many more, including his own grandson Konohamaru; in that moment she looked just like them.
He couldn't help his own self as he called out to sooth her. He was after all a father and a grandfather deep within those rough layers of Shinobi.
What followed after a few kind words made him stop and think back on all his musings till then with such disgust; he was flabbergasted.
How a single monologue could change him so much, he still couldn't understand.
The girl instead of being afraid, instead of panicking for herself, was actually lamenting for the people who died and didn't get a chance to live like her!
She cried for being left alone not only because she was scared, but also because she wanted them also to live.
She was crying for all the strangers, history, knowledge and dreams lost; she was crying because she never got a chance to thank people and appreciate everything that was now lost.
It was the most extreme case of survivor's guilt he had ever seen; and that was saying something.
It was so unusual, to find such a young child regret and cry for such losses when anyone else might have panicked more for their own life!
For a second he even doubted her misery and tears, but he was a Shinobi. To recognize true and false emotions was an ingrained ability of his, and her tears, he could tell were real.
He couldn't help but wonder if everyone in her world was like that; so selfless and sensitive? Or was it the loss of her world that made her like that.
After all he wasn't experienced in losing one.
Her tears, her words; he could only describe her as different.
Somehow different from everyone he had ever met.
Even her sadness and tears were different; so innocent and so alien in his world of Shinobi.
He couldn't help but calm her after that.
She strung chords of his soul that were rusted for so long because of his profession; the proposal for her becoming a refugee also coming straight from those chords.
Yes she was different; but how and why he couldn't tell.
He could never forget the brightness, the happiness and relief that shone in the little girl's eyes when he told her that she would be provided with everything to live in the mansion and a teacher to learn about their world so that she could live here.
He could clearly see all the emotions roaring inside her; the shock of not expecting the news, the relief of being able to fit in and the childish amusement that shone in her red face as he teased her, like a parent does to their child.
She wasn't some Shinobi, or sleeper cell or any of those ridiculous things Danzo came up with in his meetings.
She was just too alive and fragile to be one.
Anyone who meet her would say she was not made for the hardships of Shinobi.
And yet she came out of her depressed state like a survivor, with her spirit still intact. Better than any shinobi he had seen in his life time, even himself.
And that was the reason why he couldn't send her to some far of facility and ignore her existence forever.
Her spirit, her innocence, her simplicity demanded attention, interest and interaction.
And he couldn't help but give that to her.
Though somewhere in the back of his mind, she was still an alien for him.
Not an anomaly but surely someone who didn't belong in his world; but still he couldn't behave like such with her.
And he blamed it all on her.
The news spread like wild fire.
'A chakra-less girl fallen from a dead world straight into Konoha!'
He couldn't help but snort with amusement at the thought of what all the other Kage might be thinking.
Konoha does always seem to get all the thrill and exciting people fate has to offer.
He couldn't help but wonder if his old sensei jinxed the village or something while creating it. He couldn't help but wonder what his sensei might have done to bestow such weird luck on Konoha.
Though he personally didn't want to let the news of the girl out so fully, but he couldn't have done anything else.
The girl had made quite a 'Dynamic Entry' into the world and due to Chuunin Exams being held soon, a lot of officials from other villages and nations were present in Konoha and had witnessed her falling from the sky.
(Though it wasn't such a big surprise seeing as the 'hole' from which she had fallen was reportedly visible from even the far off parts of Land of Fire)
He could have painted it all as some Jutsu-Backfire but keeping back things would have only led to wild speculations and suspicions which could lead to wars if not taken seriously.
Letting the truth out was his best bet.
And obviously Konoha giving shelter to a weak chakra-less civilian was way less war provoking than Konoha experimenting Jutsus able to open humongous holes in sky.
And the thought of the Raikage chocking on his own spit, listening to the breaking news from Konoha was too good an opportunity to let go.
One declaration and the chaos it caused among his own ninja was example enough to know what might have been happening all around the village, nation and world basically.
Shock.
And although after the first wave of shock and excitement died out, to the civilians the girl became just another tea-time gossip; but among the shinobi she remained as the news of the hour quite permanently.
They were more than intrigued.
After all who would appreciate the impossibility of Chakra-less existence better than the bunch who basically survived on Chakra?
The number of applications he received for becoming the girl's teacher and the many more by the clans and powerful families to get their hands on her as adoption was proof enough of how much she had affected the Ninja.
Rumors were that there was buzz even among the ANBU about who would be chosen to become her guards.
Yes. To say that the shinobi all around were just intrigued was the understatement of the era!
He would often look at her through his glass ball; flitting about in her room, listening to every word uttered by Iruka during her classes or looking awestruck at the ninja roof-jumping.
This was becoming his favorite pass time unknowingly.
He had expected her to become cold towards him, Iruka and his world after that incident in the market with those girls; after all she was just a child, but she didn't.
She never let that incident affect her behavior towards him or Iruka.
She became more guarded but never cold; her eyes turned older but never lost their shine.
'Survived yet again with her spirit intact.'
It often made him wonder how positive she was; how utterly hopeful, expressive and different she was.
She would believe so easily, trust so readily, hope so earnestly; it was so refreshing for him to meet someone like that, to see someone who so untouched by the cruelty of life.
He couldn't imagine how much different her world might have been to create such a person as her. Because in his world even the most ignorant and well-off civilians were wary of wars, deaths and life's struggles.
But she was so innocent and gullible even after losing everything, even after crying night over night, even after knowing she was an alien refugee.
She was like a fresh breeze in his decaying world.
And he wasn't going to let that gust of wind go to waste; he was a shinobi and shinobi use every resource to their benefit.
His plan was to see how other people would react towards her.
That was why he suddenly decided to send her on a D-rank mission; to see the behavior of civilians and shinobi towards her in an uncontrolled environment and then decide for what to do with her.
While all the teams and Genin came and went, he precisely judged their reactions towards her; all the while waiting patiently for some team to come that might treat her as more than just an interesting art piece.
He personally preferred Asuma's team to assign her with. The Nara in the team was sensible, the Akimichi was kind, and though the Yamanaka girl was a bit loud and dominating, he had faith his son would manage.
Yes, he believed that was the best choice, but the Universes had decided something else; something to surprise him with AGAIN.
He wasn't expecting Team 10 to be late that day; neither was he expecting Team 7 to be so early. But what he wasn't expecting at all was to find familiar glances being exchanged between the girl and the genin.
Surprised to find the genin already familiar with her and not treating her like some interesting new species, he decided to play along with fate and assigned her with the team.
What he wasn't expecting at all, was the girl to have such an affect over a certain revenge obsessed child.
Just one meeting and the girl was able to make the indifferent and cold Uchiha heir warm enough to help her!
He couldn't help but be surprised to see it, and decided that very moment that she would be assigned with Team 7 for more missions; he was definitely going to put that fresh gush of wind to use.
Even though he himself was the one to recognize her potential, it was still a surprise for him to find the Uchiha become such good friends with the girl.
And that also so soon!
It was almost as close a bond as the boy had with Naruto. And he could clearly see why.
The boy had found a companion in her; someone who not only treated him like a normal person and was not infatuated by him, but also someone who has suffered an almost similar pain as him.
It was a rarity for the young Uchiha to bond with someone so fast, and it showed the girl's potential as being a healer of some sort.
(He still wasn't able to come up with a word; a description for what the girl did with people. The magical way she affected people, even for some time; it was a quality that needed its own name.)
Maybe he had finally figured out how to use that gush of wind to sail his boat.
He didn't want to give Team 7 that C rank mission just because he didn't want the only conscious bond made by the young avenger to break so early.
He wanted to see how much more she can affect him, change him.
He wanted to see how much more potential the girl had.
And maybe a part of him; the part that was just human and not a shrewd ninja leader, wanted to preserve what the two children had created. Because true bonds were rare in the world of ninja, and held the potential of changing destinies and whole worlds.
The making of his own village was a very good example.
And maybe that was why he was trying so much with the girl.
Because even though attachments and bonds couldn't be created with a recipe, but a person's innocence and sincerity could be placed in appropriate places so that bonds could form accordingly.
At least that was his theory behind the plan for the girl.
And for that he needed to place her at the right place and for the right amount of time.
But Naruto's tantrums were his weak point since forever and Team 7 needed to have more experience before chuunin exams.
The lives of his ninja won over discovery of new ways to utilize the gift of universes to his world.
He saw the sadness in the girl's face when he asked her to leave the room for mission briefing, but the excitement on Naruto's face and prospect of him and his team getting stronger dwarfed it all.
He saw the interaction of the Uchiha and the girl that night through his Glass ball and couldn't help the mirthful smile that graced his old features.
They got along famously.
Sarcasm, teasing, understanding unspoken words and all; they both seemed to turn into different individuals when together.
He saw the raven haired boy joke (as much as his Uchiha genes would allow) openly with the girl, and she showed her worries openly to him; so different from the cold Uchiha heir and the shy refugee.
He saw them discuss about the mission; the girl worrying herself about the dangers of their mission.
The Uchiha tried to calm her in his own arrogant way but failed.
But then entered Naruto; with his obnoxious self and bright smile, creating a trio that he was starting to believe would go a long way.
He prayed to heavens above that this time his intuition was right.
Just like he had promised to himself, he decided to be the shinobi he was and use the resources given to him to his benefit.
She had worked miracles on the Uchiha boy, he expected similar results on the Hyuga too.
But it all backfired, and in the worst way possible.
As the girl ran through the streets of Konoha, shedding tears along the path, something inside him broke.
Was it the heart of his human part, or was it his dream plan?
He had hoped for it to work again; the magic of the girl's refreshing simplicity and aura, but instead of her mending the Hyuuga boy, the boy broke her with words too close to reality.
The reality that he had created around the girl, obviously. He was a ninja after all, he couldn't let his plans out in the open.
So obviously the only reality he let out to the whole world was of a useless wonder of science kept by the Hokage just for entertainment and to increase the status of Konoha as a strong yet ever generous village.
But real reality or not, the words had affected the girl a lot.
And he couldn't do anything but evaluate his decisions and course of action while waiting for the girl to come out of the emotional turmoil like all those times before.
He had faith she will, eventually.
He couldn't help but question if his dreams were too far fetched? If it was even possible to play with complex things such as human emotions, reactions and fate? Or was she not strong enough to bear the weight of his expectations and strategies?
'The Girl Who Survived'
That was the name the world has given her.
The girl who constantly survived whether however the hardships.
You wouldn't believe by looking at her that such a fragile looking creature could be a survivor, and the most surprising thing was that she wasn't just a Survivor, but a Thriver.
He had himself seen her rise above the ashes of a dead civilization, with weak hands and a strong will.
Every time the world tried to push her down the path of hatred, she turned back with a smile, a hope and a trust unbreakable.
He had expected she will again.
But she failed.
The room remained locked for 2 days straight and no one interfered just as he had ordered.
He had plans for the girl; too far fetched to seem possible, but the reward for his world was worth a try.
And for those plans he needed the girl to be strong; stronger than what she already was. And if his own miscalculations give him a chance to mold that strength into her; he will use it.
This; what he was letting her go through, would either make her come out stronger than before or break her permanently, proving she wasn't worth his dreams.
And though he was a practical person and a ninja at that, he hoped the former would be true.
He really liked the child the way she was.
And he still blamed it on her.
AN- I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for this long a delay! Especially to Guests that were reviewing for updates, really sorry guys! I passed and got selected in my state level exams and then there was the whole mess of taking admission into colleges allotted by government until the final list of allotment came. Then there was the whole mess of getting accustomed to hostel life, the studies that were rushing by and I had no clue how to handle all the new subjects. Then there was the drama of being freshers in the college so there were 'intros' we had to attend every month along with all the problems that come with being in the lowest strata of food chain of college ( a.k.a. 1st year students) I finally got time this month when temperature rose above 45C and students started to faint and stuff because of heat so our college gave summer vacation.
So yeah.. a hell lot happened in this time. I'm now in a medical college,yay! No yay! Its been a mess and is going to remain a mess until we don't pass to next year and our juniors don't arrive to become the next prey.
I hate social structure and unnecessary norms that youth create in their world. -_-
Well still, I'm NOT gonna leave this story, I'll never give up this story. Rest assured guys.. its just that updates might be far off and irregular.
Now for review replies-
A Love So Strong- OMG Indian! Its so rare to find Indians here! And, nope I never said there won't be any pairings. There might or might not, but who can be a prospective candidate I'm not gonna tell. ;) Its just that its not Ned's motive, so romance wouldn't be that big a thing in here. And you like Ned so much, that's a very big thing! Thank you! :))
AmuletSugar1- Thank you so much! Your words mean a lot! ANd yes, OCs with unique racial background are really rare out here, sad. But I'm trying to make a good story with one to change the track! ;)
All other reviewers! Thank You for reviewing, sorry again for not updating! Hope you guys will enjoy this! DO share your views! :))