Chapter 2
It hadn’t been long until the village had indoctrinated her as one of their own.
She had provided the village with her loyalty and a copy of the entire catalog of jutsu that her clan had. It was priceless and worth more than several S class ninja’s bounty. Once the Ninja and Sandaime had gotten over the fact that she had infiltrated their village by sheer will, they realized just how much her presence would help.
As it was, she was already skilled enough to become a genin. No doubt with her bloodline and personal words from the great white snake sage, she would become an S class shinobi far sooner than most. This would bolster their ranks, and give reason for other countries to not attack them and bring about another shinobi war.
It also meant that another clan with a strong kekkei genkai would be established in konohagakure. Reina would have no reason to go back to her village- as it was destroyed- so the best bet was to lie down roots in fire country.
There were two issues though.
While the news of the only Ryuuchi heir would surely bolster the village, the Hokage had ordered her unusual arrival and origin to be classified. She was under no circumstances to reveal her true sage form- as it was a distinct marker of her clan.
They didn’t want to attract assassin ninja specialists to come after her at such a young age, so for now, she was just Reina- an orphan from outer fire country that the sandaime had found promise in.
In addition to banning her true sage form, the hokage had also tried to limit her from using senjutsu at all.
Not only were her chakra coils clearly in a busted state from prolonged stress, the snake sage had snuck in a note about potential madness side effects. It had been a long argument, but she had protested and reminded the sandaime of why she was in konohagakure.
I’m only here to learn my family's jutsu and the basics in the other core jutsu to supplement my own.
I have to bring balance to my clan.
The second issue was, while it was not unusual for outsiders to join a foreign village, it was still not normal for a young child to appear alone. If her story of infiltrating the village had gotten out, she would be shunned not only by the traditionals, who didn’t like outsiders, but the non traditionals as well.
The issues of her identity and jutsu aside, the 10 year old had a . . . different temperament. She was calm by Ryuchiin standards, but for Konoha, her attitude could only be described as a silent rage. Her face often between the line of murderous and contemplative.
Because of this, she was not forced upon a host family, and was given a small subsidized apartment. While Reina thought it strange, she couldn’t say anything in complaint because she was made aware of at least 3 other kids in a similar situation as her.
While she was mature for her age, she still had never lived on her own. Reina had had a family, and unlike Konoha, no one really grew up on their own in her clan. They were so removed from society that death wasn’t normal.
Or at least it wasn’t normal about a week ago.
Luckily, the sandime had recognized her struggling, and had sent a housekeeper to teach her the basics. Unluckily, the woman had snorted at the sight of Reina and told her that she would only be coming around twice a day to provide her with meals and reading materials.
So, in her first week of acclimating to the new city, she was left alone to read about the village and various other topics. All her knowledge of how to interact in this new place came from a page, and not a person.
Despite this, Reina greatly enjoyed this form of learning. Most likely, because the knowledge she gained was truly a strange juxtaposition when comparing the new information to what she had thought was normal prior.
In her village, arguments were won by the strong. Every disagreement led to anger and wraith. Fatal blows to a colleague were normal- well at least they would be fatal, but the ryuuchi were almost constantly using senjutsu.
Reina had hated to watch the arguments that would happen all day. She had preferred to solve issues with her own versions of objectivity, but her village had preferred the way of he fist.
And the foot
And the knee
And the tail.
And the water release.
And the chakra drain.
Well, you get the point
Konohagakure was much more nuanced. They had a government and a whole number of civilians. While there were ninja battles, it was almost impossible for the fire country people to be using chakra all the time.
Unlike them, she didn’t have to think about it. It was normal for her people to be on edge at all times, constantly using natural energy despite their bloodline drawbacks. It may have been a response to the constant attacks on their clan several hundred years prior to her birth, but it could have just been due to her clan’s apparently genetic bullheadedness.
Maybe that’s why the snake sent me here. Maybe the balance is to train your physical senses first?
Dropping all her use of the natural power around her, she felt like she had dove into a pool of water. All of her senses dulled an alarming amount.
Almost too disoriented by the change, Reina unceremoniously fell out of her chair; the history and traditions of Konoha book that she had been reading slid to the floor and onto her head.
“Ow” she rubbed her head in disassociation.
Maybe I’ll try again later.
Quickly, reina reactivated her senses and sat back up in the chair- the book in hand.
It was actually quite interesting, because Reina thought her own nature fit in better with the polite guidelines of the city. Albeit, she could admit that her anger levels were a bit higher, and her facial expressions needed taiming, but all in all- she had a better base than most Ryuuchi. She had been made fun of in her town for being soft, but-
Her mind flashed back to the ruins of her village, and her heart squeezed. While she didn’t show it, It hurt a lot to think of her village. It just reminded her of her family. While the White Snake Sage said that her brother had slaughtered the village, she held no ill will towards him.
She had loved her brother, and she knew the village's destruction was not just her brother's fault. Everyone had had bloodlust and rage, and it was not fair to only Blame him.
—
The week came and passed in an instant for Reina. The woman had largely left her to her own devices, and unsure of what she was allowed to do, She had not left her apartment once. It wasn’t like she was a coward per say… but the differences in how she was used to acting and how the books had described were just to great.
Apparently, this thing called “money” was important here, and Reina had no idea what it was and how to get it. The concept of currency was new to her, because the ryuuchi had largely just bartered between themselves for the things they needed. The concept of electricity and running water was also a shock. She could stay up all night reading about the marvels of this town. How convenient!
But that just made the whole thing more foreign to her. And it kept her from exploring on her own.
She was tempted once though, because she had noticed throughout the day that there was a large amount of chakra leaving and returning from the apartment next to her.
She wasn’t sure, but, based on the levels of chakra- and quite honestly the inhumane amount of sound that she was being witnessed to- she had felt an odd familiarity to her own people.
It was easy to tell it wasn’t one of her own though. The chakra had a weird taste to it, and the yelling was never angry. It was almost… energetic?
When the woman who was supposed to teach her about the village had arrived that previous morning, Reina had asked about it. Much to her dismay, the woman had quickly told her off.
“You do not want to get involved with that monster.”
She had said, eyes going wide.
“He is just a nuisance, and I don’t want IT to influence you. At least YOU are a quiet heathen.”
Reina assumed that this was a compliment, but if had been to her brother or mother, she would have gotten her lights knocked out.
The girl held in a snicker, and asked the woman about when she would finally be made an official ninja of Konoha.
At this, the woman smirked and dropped off a letter from the hokage. Quickly dropping off Reinas food, she left in a poof of smoke.
Carefully, the girl opened it and read the letter, her fist clenching as she read it.
“Dear Ryu-Chan,
I understand that you have a goal that you are working towards that would be benefitted by moving up the ranks as fast as possible. However, as a young child, and a foreigner, I cannot supply you a teacher just yet. The village would not appreciate someone who has just joined learning our most secret jutsu, so I will have to delay your advanced training. Please try to blend in at the academy as much as possible until then.
Take note of how the other Konoichi act, I know despite your supposed balance, that you still hold a lot of rage. Take that rage and hide it for now, try to seem calm- I already know that you are very analytical, so this should be a very convincing cover.
You are young, and deserve to be young. Take this time to learn of the village and make some friends. Tomorrow I will be sending one of my favorite students to come pick you up to show you where to go.
I appreciate your patience,
-Hiruzen Sarutobi”
Reina didn’t know what to make of the letter. While it made her angry that she would be forced to downplay her skills, she understood the situation.
Outsiders were not commonly treated with the Courtesies that she was given. It was rare to train up someone who was not loyal to your village, and while Reina wouldn’t ever hurt konoha- she was only here because her sensei had told her to.
But still… the academy?
If it were anyone else in her situation they would have been miffed, but she was called a sage for a reason. The White Snake Sage had said she was different, that her temperament was ideal to fight off the rage of her bloodline, so she tried her best to quell the feeling of anger and replaced it with passiveness.
When in doubt, the way to balance would be to control her emotions- not through repression- but through understanding and practice.