The Nari Clan Chapter 1: Tsuya, a naruto fanfic

This is not denial.

Non ninja families never wound up marrying or even dating ninja. If you weren't some sort of prostitute you most likely never even knew one personally, and if you stayed out of trouble the most you'd find out was that they actually had ranks. That's just the way things worked.

My chances were lower still. Not only was I not a part of the Konoha defenses, but I was born into a different house which did teach ninjitsu but wasn't recognized in Konoha and didn't want to be either. This was one of the few instances where it did hurt to hope.

Kakashi was the ninja in mind. Beautiful, handsome, pretty, hell whatever it was looking at him just made me happy. He had beautiful silver hair and a personality I'd eavesdropped on and heard about. If it had just been eye candy I would have been perfectly okay with it, no harm in looking certainly. But he was nice too, and funny, and all that other sappy junk that made me dream of sitting and reading with him as well as the bedroom fantasies.

It wasn't the brightest idea for someone like me to fall for someone like him. Although it would be a perfectly brilliant idea for any other single female other than me, and there were a few brilliant females in Konoha like that. It would be competition except if we couldn't get together because then he'd probably find out, the house's secret would be blown and no one would live happily ever after. It didn't stop me from being jealous though. I couldn't even join his fan club damnit.

Instead I contented myself to dumb little fantasies and subtle glances at his wonderful physique when I could afford it. Pretty much like every other girl who lusted after the jounin.

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There's trouble now though. Instead of me scanning the crowds for him, he's the one scanning them for me. Well…maybe not for me in particular or my seat in the tea house would give me away horrifically. No he was part of a specialized ANBU squad mobilized for locating the whereabouts of my house, our techniques and the ones who used them. So technically I was what he was searching for, just not whom. It sounded nicer that way though.

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, they knew we existed. Maybe not exactly who and where and why, but there was too much evidence to overlook us. Too many convenient disappearances when people came too close, too many coincidences when things involved the clan. They could turn a blind eye to us as long as there wasn't any solid proof and our actions agreed with each other.

Now they were looking for us. The new Hokage, Tsunade, had pretty much declared us flesh and blood and bone, and therefore existent. Behind closed doors of course though.

She would announce it publicly as soon as they had one of us to shake hands in public.

Truth be told, we've had it coming. Not being bound by laws or in some cases honor and pride has really gone to our heads. We've been given free reign…no, we've taken free reign over our actions and because of it we've dealt in a lot of bad things. We are naughty naughty ninjas.

From what I've told you so far, you can probably guess we're not the nicest people on the block. Frankly if anyone told you they were it would be a lie. Nicest is one of those paradox words, there is no nicest, someone can always be nicer.

Honestly, we're scum.

We have the abilities but never stick our necks out, unless they're gonna be bared anyway. We hoard rather than share knowledge, we keep our very existence as secret as we can and when we can't, we make sure the stories are so riddled with fear and awe they're practically fairy tales. We are the big bad wolves that live in the deep dark forest. Which forest and where in it exactly is confidential information given on a need to know basis only.

Marriage is not need to know, several cousins of mine have married out of the clan and their spouses are blissfully ignorant. None of them are even remotely ninjas though.

The effect isn't that difficult though, wear black, work at night and be as unidentifiable as possible. Only one of us are ever visible at a time so if we're working in groups it appears like our clan spouts out impossibly talented powerful ninja. We literally warp from one place to another it seems. Actually the one of us hides and the other appears wherever is convenient. Makes for a wonderful advantage.

Now with the pressure of missions petering down and more ninja freeing up Tsunade was preparing once again for war. Preemptive retaliation or some funky term that meant their next attack on Konoha would be a suicide at best.

More than that though, the clan had been somewhat active during the last attack. In the chaos who's gonna notice a few 'civilians' wiping out the enemy ninja it's just fighting back right?

And then Tsunade happened to look at some of the copses and find one or too odd, as in died by forbidden unknown technique. That ruffled everyone's feathers. The possibility that we existed and were powerful was fine, proof that there were unknown ninjas in your own village was a threat to the village's safety.

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But it's okay, act normal, go shopping. In fact get everything you've ever wanted out of Konoha because we're leaving next week. On the ninth.

One place was just as good as another in my opinion, hey when you're born into a clan, money is not an issue. However money couldn't get me everything, and Kakashi had already been offered more than I would dare spend on a single night…maybe. Either way the tactic had been proven ineffective. I suppose in a way it shows off a good side of him that bribery doesn't work, at least it kept the other girls off him.

Doesn't that bring up some wonderful images…

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Taka's hand blocked my view drawing my gaze back to her face. She was partially amused that I'd picked such forbidden fruit for myself but also felt a bit of pity for the same reason. The amusement ticked me off and the pity ticked me off even more. I scowled back at her. She just grinned and shrugged.

"If you want I'll paint a life sized picture of him on your body pillow."

I considered it for a heartbeat without changing my expression. "No."

"Then I will complement you on your good, if unreachably good taste."

Sigh. "Thanks."

"Damn I wouldn't mind getting a hold of him either. Silver hair, that's so damn sexy."

"I bet it's like silk, soft and cool."

"Makes you want to run your hands through it." She laughed.

"Mmm hmmm."

"I bet it makes a great forcehold too."

"Definitely a danger for a throat slash, a little longer and you could at least tie it out of the way."

"I was thinking of during sex."

Whoops…wrong area of thought. "What you've never heard of violent intercourse?"

It wasn't unheard of for us, especially the highly trained to use their skills in the bedchamber. The knot tying came in handy. Actually fighting was rare, but not unheard of.

I shrugged, dismissively. "You're right, hell I'd even let him be on top some of the time."

That explains Taka's personality pretty well. She's got sleek black hair that she keeps tied up at the back of her head like a banner that flutters when she walks. She talks big, loud, and usually has a following of the local males. Usually they're under 10. She makes a mean cookie.

Taka was one whose corpses had been discovered and initiated the search. You couldn't blame her though, after being hit with the 'shredder' cleanup is really difficult without a shovel.

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"Heh never though we'd be investigating the Nari clan. When I was a kid my mom used to threaten me with them to make me go to sleep."

Kakashi smiled and grinned. It was difficult to believe that you could create a clan on the ideal of rogue ninjas, it kind of went against the grain to inspire that level of loyalty and secrecy with a group that believed no rules applied to them.

He'd seen the corpses, helped guard the area while Tsunade and several other medical nins determined cause of death and slowly eliminated all possible attacks and jutsus until 'unknown' was the only option left. They hadn't wanted to settle for that, but they'd checked twice and none out of all the scrolls Sarutobi the Third had left, matched the carnage.

What was left of the sound ninjas were scraps of flesh, as if many wires had cut him at intervals from head to toe, but the area showed no wear from wires, and you would have to use some sort of pivot at one end to get that type of pressure. Also the slice was too clean. You could have made steaks out of the remains. Except not all slices were wholly connected, the ribs had held firm but the organs contained within them slid easily out of their containers spilling their contents and smearing the area with human had-been.

It was disgusting and horrifying. But it had been done, and done well. It was precise, accurate, neat, quiet, and up until the actual attack…clean. No one had heard seen or sensed it during the battle when ninjas were swarming through the village. Only days later when the smell had begun to leak onto the nearby walkway had it been found. It was an ultimate assassination technique, and it proved the existence of an immensely powerful assassin.

Not cruel but powerful. Not myth but reality.

Jutsus of that caliber could easily restore the village's power, even raise it above the other villages in terms of advancement. Except for centuries the Nari clan had been pointedly noted for not wanting to be found. And they were deadly serious about it.

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"So do you think we should have them shivering in their booties by tomorrow or the day after?"

"Let's not be too mean, after all they do take care of Konoha and all that."

"That doesn't excuse the fact that they're poking their noses into other's businesses."

I twisted a little in my chair to get a better look at his back slowly undressing him with my eyes. Sleek firm muscular shoulders, but not too much, just right. "Since when have you considered them a threat?"

"It's not the threat, it's the example. This way other potential threats won't even consider it."

"Taka we lay low for a while, act normal and nothing will happen. They can't possibly trace it back to us."

"Still though, them poking around is a direct insult to our information sources, clan honor demands we punish those bold enough to make such a move against us. Trying to track us down, it's like a passive hunt. We're letting them get close to us."

"Because we're powerful enough that we don't care, remember? By not doing anything it's like laughing at them."

"You're just saying that because that silver haired jounin is part of the assignment."

"And you're just saying that because I like one of the ninja's in the inquiry group."

"Inquiry group, what bull. They're trying to stuff collars over our heads, free labor. That's what."

"Maybe."

"Are you even paying attention."

"Yes."

"Why in the world are you staring at him so? He's not gonna die tomorrow and he's not going to strip on the street."

"I like to stare."

"And you like to laugh, to people's faces no less. Since when did you turn into such a sap, you used to be such a sadistic little bitch."

"I still am."

"Yeah right, in any other situation he'd already be tied down onto your bed begging to cum. Even here you'd have at least done something unnecessarily mean to me."

"Like eat your ice cream?"

"Exactly."

"I did."

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Yeah, yeah, just a little farther…damn. With a resounding slurp the noodles fell back into the soup. Zuki sighed, and grinned.

"Ya know pops, I don't think I've ever gotten the hang of these stick thingies."

The ramen seller smiled and nodded amiably, enough that Zuki was sure he wasn't listening to what his patron was saying. Scowling at the chopsticks he set them aside, lifting the bowl to his lips. Maybe without the soup those damn suckers wouldn't be so slippery.

At home, he was usually first to the dinner table. Snatching up an assortment of easily edible foods, all dry and solid. Unfortunately he had a deadly addiction to tofu in soup. Humiliation was avoidable though by drinking the soup and leaving the tofu until last. Some ate it that way, not most, but it wasn't seen as out of the ordinary.

Eating ramen that way was. And soba, and udon, and every other noodle that slipped and slid and eluded his chopsticks.

For this reason, he always ate noodles away from home.

"Gotcha!" laughing maniacally out of the side of his mouth he slurped up the slippery food. "Yeah! Who's laughing now!"

The chef, if he thought anything, kept wisely silent. Good man, he'd have to remember to eat here again. Silence was always rewarded by patronage when it came to his meals. Cackling to himself he poised the chopsticks and snatched at another noodle, muttering to himself when it broke in half.

"Yosh!" Zuki seven Ramen three. He triumphantly shoved the bundle into his mouth sucking up the noodles with satisfaction. As he tried to chew and keep the rest of the noodles from slithering down his throat he became aware of people staring at him.

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He swallowed the lump, washing it down with a draught of green tea and smiled at them. "Good day, and what are you ladies up to?"

It was outright flattery, and it usually worked. The two girls broke into cute little smiles. The day was looking up.

"We're just having lunch."

"By yourselves? What a shame. Here, let me pay for your meals." He peeled a few extra bills off his roll and handed them to the Ramen chef, who was conveniently right there. More points to the guy for good timing. At this rate he'd never eat ramen anywhere else.

"Oh no, that's perfectly alright!"

"Yes, were ninja now, we can earn our own money."

He smiled knowingly, carefully examining the two forehead protectors that adorned their…hair and waist. Well no one ever said you had to wear them on your forehead…it was just implied. Probably a secret village secret tradition or something. Yeah!

"Consider it a personal thank you for the services you've done for my home village."

"Thank you…."

"Zuki." He supplied helpfully.

"Thank you Zuki san!" They chorused.

"Not at all!" Two bowls appeared before the two girls. Perfect timing! "Now eat up and train hard! Or else…the Nari clan will get you!" He waved a finger threateningly.

The blond one scoffed. "Come on now, Zuki san, we're genin. We know that the Nari clan is just a myth."

It was the wrong thing to say at the wrong time.

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The mischief wheels in his mind started to turn, as a smirk bloomed behind his stern frown. "If you're genin you should know that the Nair clan is a clear and present power. There have been centuries of fights and victories that account for their existence."

Hair band forehead protector one spoke up now. "Not necessarily, the RedGrass incident during the Ninja war and the Crescent battlefield are both accredited towards 'jutsu mishaps'. It's a new branch of study."

Dang, they were pretty smart for little thirteen year olds. And it was true that both instances could have been jutsu mishaps, Justus that had been so poorly cast that they backfired on the caster. But the probability of that happening with the scale and precision of both the RedGrass and Crescent Battlefield incidents were less than a percent. It was all that new hokage's fault. Backing everything with a scientific explanation.

Just because she didn't know how it happened didn't mean it was a measly screw up instead of a honed jutsu. Battle was art!

"Come now, you and I both know the probability of those events is infinitesimal." Yeah! Impress them with the massively sophisticated vocabulary. "The crucial timing of both circumstances as well as the situational coincidence is more than enough evidence to push the existence of the Nari Clan beyond reasonable doubt."

They'd seen the bait, now it was time to slowly pull it away. Draw them in. Cocking his finger he motioned them closer. "If you can keep quiet about it, I'll tell you a secret." He whispered.

They both leaned in, ramen forgotten.

"I was out searching for flowers one day…"

"Searching for flowers?" The blond one interrupted incredulously.

He scowled, little upstart interrupting him like that. "There was this girl I liked okay? Anyway, I was walking pretty deep into the wood because flowers are always in the clearings and I couldn't find a really pretty one so I'd gone pretty far. Anyway I walked into this clearing and there was this…"

…Young girls, he better make it a Kunochi.

"-This amazingly beautiful woman there…I all but forgot about the girl I was getting the flowers for, she was that beautiful. I was so transfixed I was halfway across the clearing before I noticed what she was doing."

He glanced at their faces. Open mouthed and wide eyed with interest. Good. "You know about the water walking charka exercises right?"

They both nodded mutely.

"Well, she was hovering, walking on the air currents. Right before my eyes."

They gasped in wonder. Oh yeah, you've still got it man.

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"I was amazed, it wasn't a trick either. She wasn't even touching the grass, just floating above it, perfectly still. And when she walked she slid across the meadow, like a boat would across a lake. You could see swirls of blue at the soles of her feet so it looked as if she was held aloft by electric blue storms."

They were drinking it up, hook line and sinker. It was time for the Nari clan to get some more credit.

"She must have been training so hard she didn't notice me until then, but at that moment she did. She didn't even bother to look my way, she just knew I was there. I was still a good hundred feet away too. But she knew, and she merely waved her hand and then I was flying, backwards into the wood and in the space of a few seconds I was at the gates it had taken me two hours to walk there from."

"Wow."

"Amazing."

He leaned closer, bending almost double at the waist, and staring them each in the eye. "Do you know what though…I saw…her armbands had crimson letterings down them…do you know what it said. Nari. No doubt about it."

He leaned back, seriousness written across his face, and calmly turned back to his green tea. "Don't let science get the better of you. Some legends are false, but it would be foolish to think that all are so."

"Zuki san!"

He arched an eyebrow in response. "Yes?"

"Are you sure it wasn't some typical Jutsu."

"Miss, I am a jutsu connoisseur. Even though I am not a ninja in service to Konoha I do know some things. Sand has developed many wind techniques but they've never been able to completely harness such an unstable and violent element. Konoha can spout and shoot flames, but we've never been able to mould flames, or stand upon them. She was in complete control. There is no doubt."

"Where was that clearing?"

He took a lengthy draught of his green tea. The cup was empty but it made for a good effect. "South-west of the West gate, two hours easy walking. Although if you merely want to see Nari work you could check out North of the monument, about two miles deep."

He pretended to tip the last of the tea down his throat and sighed in appreciation. "Excellent meal, you can expect my patronage again." The ramen seller nodded happily. "Good day Ladies, if you'll excuse me I have some business I need to attend to." He performed a short bow and turned, tuning out their excited planning as he plotted.