Chapter 5
“She was about to beat up Iruka sensei! Believe it!”
Naruto and Reina sat in front of the hokage, the man in question standing behind them with his arms crossed.
“Her eyes went all wacko! I saw it, I saw it!”
Apparently, Naruto’s moment of cowardice was gone, now that the hokage was in front of them. He had traveled the whole way to the office with hesitant looks at Reina, but with this man in the way of her ‘beating’ them up, he looked more defiant.
Reina wasn’t a fool, she knew she wasn’t stronger than this man, but she hardly thought he could hold his own against a senior member of the Ryuuchi. Her clan was often underestimated, as they were a very secret community, and many had no Idea how strong they used to be.
Not to mention that most of the top ninjas in Konoha were men. It wasn’t in any of her books, but this society seemed to be more of a- to quote her mother, a “boys club”. Since her mother was not originally from the caves, Reina had heard a little about how the ryuuchi were different in this regard.
While there were strong women here, they would have been completely surprised at the amount of elite women warriors her clan had held- because everyone, regardless of gender, had been trained as a shinobi. Reina almost laughed at the thought of this man trying to spar with her mother.
Normally, the humor Reina found with the thought of watching her mother beat the living snot out of a foreign leader would make her scold herself. Mostly in the effort to not find joy in fighting like the other Ryuuchi. But unfortunately, she was too focused on the fact that Naruto had called her a wacko.
‘If only I could slap that motherfu-’
Stopping the train of thought before it could appear, but still feeling petty, Reina tilted her head up and away from the loud boy. If he had accused her of trying to kill someone in her village by accounting what had just happened, they would have laughed at him for worrying about something this trivial. If she had really been trying to hurt the guy, at least a kunai would have been involved.
Reina didn’t think that defense would make sense here though. Their village's differences were greater than she could have ever thought. She was known as the calm one, but here- it was getting harder and harder to control her frustration.
Venting her thoughts, Reina tried to bring up the subject from before. “Yeah, well, at least I don’t have a dem-“
Apparently, that was not the right move. Because once again, Iruka slapped his hand over her mouth. It was almost like the older ninja had learned nothing from their previous encounter, because Reina had once again felt trapped.
Despite the Hokage being in the room, Instinctively, she felt a pull in her stomach to fight. In any instance her body would always choose ‘fight’ instead of ‘flight’, so what she did next showed extreme control for anyone of her kind.
Quickly, almost if his hand had never been there- she ripped his hand off her mouth and moved out of reach.
Silent anger seeming to seep from her until she spoke in a low tone,
“I do not CARE if I am forbidden from using my full abilities- if that man touches me one. More. time.”
Breathe. Reina heard in her inner mind, Breathe. They must be stopping you from saying something of the boys' chakra.
Just think for a second
Cutting off an insult her dad would have been proud of, she sat back in her chair and folded her hand over the other. It took effort, but she calmed her shaking fists and furious energy. It was unfair of the supposed teacher to treat her like any random person, if he wanted to stop her from saying something they should just tell her instead of trying to trap a person who had wildly different instincts from theirs. They hadn’t even thought to educate her, even though she had no Idea what she had been doing wrong.
For fuck’s sake they hadn’t even checked in on the woman who was supposedly teaching her. They didn’t even confirm that she understood how to act in konoha before throwing her in a room with a bunch of children and a man she could probably hold her own with in a fight. She probably wouldn’t win due to his experience, but she could get damn close.
Despite Her shortcomings when it came to book smarts, she couldn't help but think these people were incompetent. She shouldn’t have to apologize for having a natural response, but it seemed they expected her to bend from her culture, while they could remain ignorant.
Reina stared straight at the hokage.
“I will NOT apologize. My people do not like being restrained, living with nature makes our reactions more hostile in that regard.”
Iruka and Naruto looked at her blankly, but the hokage just nodded his head, gesturing for her to elaborate on the situation.
“I think I may have come across a topic that is taboo, and would like to discuss further.”
Iruka and Sandaime exchanged looks, but then they both nodded. Naruto looked at this exchange with incredulous eyes.
“What! H-hey! Is that it? Isn’t she going to be punished? What even was that anyway, and what does she mean abilities?”
Reina cringed at his words, he hadn’t even tried to see the situation from her point of view. But what was even worse was that she had only been in the village for a little over a week, and one of the least perceptive people she had ever met could already tell that her story wasn’t on the up and up.
The Sandaime sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Naruto…. I will tell you a secret if you promise not to tell anyone-and if Reina is ok with it.”
Reina shrugged, the secret could really only be about her origins. She could see Naruto knowing as a way to get closer to him(and for him to understand why what just happened was so straining for her), but also as a way of her identity getting leaked.
Reina may have good instincts, but if the leader of one of the greatest hidden villages in the continent trusted this boy, then she would have to as well. Her trust in Konoha might have faded a bit, but realistically there was little she could do against his words.
Also, If her secret really did come out, and people came for her, she would just have to train harder.
Naruto saw her shrug and propped up on the chair in excitement. Eyes sparkling, his previous worries about safety gone.
‘Man his personality flips like a pancake’
“YES! Please Grandpa! You can trust me!”
Iruka looked over at Reina to see a surprisingly blank face on the girl. It was a stark difference to what she had looked like just minutes prior, but that had also been the most expressive look she had had all day. He wasn’t sure whether he’d be so neutral about some person other than him sharing his secrets, but then again, he knew little about her.
“Reina does not actually come from fire country,” the hokage started.
“What! But that’s what she sai-“
The hokage raised his hand in silence, shutting Naruto up (but not without a little pout at being stopped).
“That is her cover. However, she is actually a descendant of a very strong village. She came here for asylum, and to become a member of the village, so she can learn to protect herself.”
Naruto looked at him with a slightly constipated look, Reina figured she could simplify the message. Since she had also just learned what the word meant in her ‘introduction to hidden village politics’ book, she assumed Naruto wouldn’t know much about asylum either, or really anything about politics…. Which was similar to her knowledge, because why would anyone want protection from a homicidal clan that feeds their young to a giant snake?
In hindsight it did sound pretty problematic.
“I have a special family power that makes me a target. Without the safety of this village, I would become an easy bounty for rogue nin.”
Naruto’s look didn’t seem to hold any more understanding than it had before she had spoken, so she tried again.
“I have the potential to be a warrior so strong that I could change the course of a war in the matter of weeks, but right now I am literally just a kid with above average ninja skills.”
The Hokage Snickered at Reina’s statement, but Naruto seemed to grasp this concept, as his mouth opened to a slight gape and he nodded his head, confirming that he understood.
“So why is it just you? Didn’t you mention a clan?”
Reina sighed, but luckily, Iruka sensei took this one.
“Let’s just say that she is more like you and me than you think, Naruto. Why do you think you walked her to school this morning and lives in a one bedroom.”
This was something the boy could easily understand, he also had nobody. It was a miracle, but somehow the boy had the sense to look embarrassed by his question.
This shocked Reina, she hadn’t expected this response from him. In the short period of time she’d known him, he had made lots of noise, chatted her ear off, looked at her like a psycho, and then called her a wacko.
She couldn’t help but remember her brother… She had compared the two, but this reaction? It was entirely Naruto’s own. He was not Jugo. Jugo was gone, and so was her clan.
Swiping her hand to wipe away tears, she found her eyes dry.
Reina had found it weird that she had no residual feelings on her clans death. In the days following her arrival to Konoha, she thought of them often, but now. . . She only felt sorrow for her family. Her feelings on her village were only on how different it was to Konoha, and the intent of learning their jutsu and passing it on.
It was most likely due to her being different from the rest of the clan- her ability to stay sane better than most- but she still should have had emotions like the boy beside her?
Speaking of him…..
“What is the taboo subject that I have been restrained from saying twice now?”
Once again, the two older ninja shared a look. Iruka seemed more hesitant, but the hokage had nodded his head after a few seconds of their staredown.
“Iruka, escort Naruto back to Taijutsu training. I think it’s time to have a chat with Reina about the village. I was foolish to think she, a natural born sensor, wouldn't notice.”
Naruto, now over his shame of asking a clearly orphaned girl where her family was. Didn’t seem too happy at being told to leave.
“Hey! What are you guys even talking about! I want to hear it! Especially if it is about my new friend Reina-chan!”
‘Oh-ho. So they were friends now?’ Reina laughed to herself, He had called her a wacko just minutes ago!
Dragging the protesting child from the room, the Hokage and Reina sat in silence until they were sure they were alone.
“So what is it that you have been trying to ask?” The old man folded his hands and leaned forward. It was obvious Reina wouldn’t get a straight answer if her question wasn’t close to reality- this was apparently a village secret- so she hoped her eyes were right.
“Ah… well. I am not as good a sensor as my mother was, but it seems that Naruto has tenfold the chakra reserves of his classmates. I am aware of certain kekkei genkai that contribute to this, but the fact of the matter is, that his chakra has a red glow behind the normal blue. It’s…. It feels demonic, like my teachers.”
The old man nodded his head slowly,
“You mentioned how Naruto isn’t normal, does that mean you can see everyone’s Chakra? Can you distinguish them?”
Reina shook her head,
“I can normally only notice if the person has a lot of chakra, because I am used to my clan- I noticed that what I think of as a normal amount is skewed. That’s why the tint of Naruto’s made me curious”
“Would you say that Naruto has a lot, given the standards of your clan?”
Reina brought up her hand to her chin in thought. She was used to seeing large amounts of chakra- given that her people could absorb as much natural energy as they wanted (Without turning to stone, of course), but even then- She could tell that Naruto had a lot.
Reina nodded her head, this caused the Sandaime to sigh.
“Well I guess it’s of no use keeping it a secret. Naruto is a Jiinchuri.”
Reina widened her eyes. She had been joking about the almost demon comment to Naruto, but now it just seemed in poor taste.
“That boy has a demon inside of him? I thought that was just a myth my parents used to scare me into doing things!”
She wasn’t even lying! Her parents threatened to seal snake-sensei into her and her brother if they didn't do their chakra training. They had said that the Ryuuchi would have their own Jiinchuri to rival clouds. . .
“So does this mean Cloud’s Jinnchurri is real??”
The sandaime paused at this- either she shouldn't know this, or he didn’t know of their existence. Either way, she kept her mouth shut.
Skipping her last question, the hokage went on to explain the attack that had happened 8 years ago, and how imperative it was to not tell Naruto. Reina didn’t really understand why they should keep the secret from him, but she understood why keeping his parent’s lineage secret from outsiders was important.
She probably knew better than anyone. Coupled with the fact that Naruto wasn’t nearly as skilled as her, it made sense that the hokage would want to keep him safe and unknown. Coupled with the fact that he was a loudmouth… well maybe she did understand why they wouldn’t tell Naruto.
Assuming the conversation was done, she went to leave the office. As she was about to shut the sliding door, the Hokage stopped her.
“Just a minute, Reina.”
She turned around to face the old man.
“Yes, Hokage-sama?”
“Unfortunately, I have realized through today's events that it is unwise to leave you to your own devices. I’ve been informed by a third party that….” The old man pinched his brows in frustration, “the teacher I had assigned to you has been less than helpful. I will reassign you to Said individual as she requested you specifically. She is an expert in her area and has noted that you have a large chakra presence, and that if we do not dampen it- you will most likely not be able to walk around the village freeley.”
Reina tilted her head in confusion. Why would it matter that people knew she was strong? It was obvious that nothing had been done to dampen Naruto’s Chakra, so why her’s?
“The villagers will know that you are an outsider of sorts, since they have never seen you or anyone that looks like you. It will be obvious you are not from here. Not to mention your…. Um… cultural differences.”
The Hokage looked down at the floor by her feet and she followed his gaze. His eyes seemed to be full of humor, and that was when she realised that she wasn’t wearing shoes. What shocked her even more, was the fact that she had definitely left the house in them. At some point in the day she must have kicked them off for comfort, and never put them back on.
Opps.