- 10 - Starting over -
- 10 - Starting over -
-Minaru-
- A few days later -
Once Naira left for the night Minaru entered her mindscape and slowly approached Raya in her nest. Kneeling down in front of the nest she looked into the Phenix’s eyes. “You wanted to tell me something.” She reminded her.
Raya laughed lightly, straightening to her full size. You’re right. And with Tenzo-san keeping watch right outside the window we should have the time now. I hate being interrupted. She made a motion at the grass next to the nest with her wing. I think it would be best if you sit down. This will likely take a while.
Minaru sat down with her legs crossed and looked at Raya. “So. Why do you think that my sense of smell has something to do with my Clan?”
Raya blinked a few times, looking off into the distance. Do you remember how Kagome called my siblings and myself?
Minaru took a moment to think of it. “She said you are one of the Great Spirits of Nature, right?”, she asked then.
Raya nodded. Yes. We Spirits are old. Older than most of the Clans existing in the world. We were born in a time before chakra existed. Before Kaguya went mad and led her Clan to disaster. Each one of us can be attributed to one or more of the elements and has higher senses than normal. For example I have a very good sight and am attributed to fire. One of my brothers, Aslan, has an almost perfect sense of smell and hearing. It’s good enough for him to be able to sense any being in a circle of about 500 metres around him.
Minaru tilted her head, looking at Raya in question. “And you think that this brother of yours has something to do with my sense of smell?”
Raya laughed loudly. He is the ancestor of all the Spirits that belong to the family of the Cats of Prey. And since your family committed themselves to the Cats you are close to at least one of them.
Minaru was surprised. “What do you mean, we committed ourselves to the Cats?”, she asked.
Raya’s chakra painted a few figures in the air between them. I mentioned that we hail from a time before chakra existed. My siblings and myself were responsible for keeping the balance of nature. My eldest sister, Torta, lives in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean. She thrives in water and darkness where I am her absolute opposite. I am a being of light, sky and fire where she is darkness and water. She is death and I am life. But she has the best sensory skills of all of us. She doesn’t need to hear or smell anything, she simply feels if somebody is close to her. But she is bound to stay in the deep ocean. The picture of a giant kraken blinked a few times before vanishing. Our sister Sehelia is the fastest being I know. Her sight is also almost infallible, which makes her one of the most fearsome predators in this world. She lives in the mountain ranges to the north of Suna. She is a natural born hunter, if you notice her approach it is almost always already too late. The picture of a big falcon doing a nosedive blinked and vanished. Next a big wolf who was crouched down started glowing. This is Nox, a superb teamplayer and leader. His sense of smell is the best I know. He lives and hunts in the area around Kumogakure, leading his own pack of canines. The next one is Smaire, our youngest. She has a bit of a fiery temper but she is absolutely loyal and can take a lot of hits before she has to withdraw. This one was a big winged lizard. Minaru had never heard of such a being, in neither of her lives, but she could imagine that the lizard was a force to be reckoned with. After she vanished a Stag took her place, the head raised proudly. This is Barnabas, the King of the woods. he is a proud being but also one of the fiercest protectors I know. If you manage to gain his loyalty. And he is the wisest of us. And lastly… The picture of a massive Big Cat shimmered between them, a giant mane making it look even bigger. Aslan, the desert-lord. He is the most courageous but also the most stubborn of my siblings. He is a merciless pursuer, favored by his sharp hearing, good sense of smell and most of all his ability to see clearly at night. Raya paused, looking up into the blue sky of Minaru’s mindscape. We guided and used the energies of nature for centuries, keeping the balance in Nature intact. And then one day we met humans that wanted to learn from us.
It took Minaru a while to wrap her head around the new information so she raised her hand to interrupt Raya. The Phenix nodded and watched her, as she placed her hands in her lap and looked down at them. ”I can imagine you weren’t thrilled about that fact when they first approached you. One can never be sure what will be done with knowledge this powerful.”, Minaru said after a while.
Raya nodded with a smile. You’re right. But then a young woman went through the effort to befriend all of us. Raya once more looked up at the sky, getting a far off look. Then she suddenly let out a light chuckle. She was born into a nomadic Tribe that worshipped me as some kind of goddess. Since she was the first one to be born with golden hair, many of her tribesmen thought her to be blessed by me. That’s why she was named Rayana - daughter of Raya. She hated it, all of her tribe's expectations and manipulations. She would often come to visit us, most of the time to flee from the responsibilities placed upon her.
Minaru looked at Raya, leaning against her chest. “And one day you started teaching her.”, she stated.
Raya chuckled. Yes. But not without first telling her what kind of new responsibility that would mean for her. She accepted it and left her tribe, focusing solely on the balance of the elements, helping all of us whenever we needed her. Over time more pupils came to us following in her footsteps, but she was the only one to get taught by every single one of us Spirits. All of the others specialized and committed to one of us. But each and every one of them subordinated themselves to Rayana. Over time they began calling themselves Rayani. Rayana was an old woman by then and my siblings and myself had started to create our own families. Raya closed her eyes and sighed. When Rayana died the Rayani swore an oath that they would never let someone use the energies of nature for bad intentions. And according to all I was able to figure out and sense they still keep this oath.
Minaru fell silent, going over everything in her mind. This would mean that the first to teach Senjutsu were the Spirits. And her Clan consisted of Senjutsu-users? That was a force to be reckoned with, but also a danger to the Elemental Nations, if it became known. There were many who didn't react favourably when faced with such might. She would have to keep that in mind. “So, where did the toad sages learn to control the energies then, if it was solely the Rayani you taught?”, she asked.
Raya let out a loud laugh. Your toad friends belong to Torta’s family. The humans they teach don’t learn everything related to nature's energies, but enough. But it is not nearly as much as a Rayani related to the ocean would learn.
Minaru’s eyes widened in shock. Then she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. So this could mean… “So the Nara’s deer belong to Barnabas’s family. The crows and falcons to Sehelia. And the Nekos to Aslan?”
Raya nodded with a smile. Yes. Every type of summons can be assigned to our families. It is a big world and with just us Spirits it wouldn’t be enough to keep an eye on every corner. Sometimes you can’t see which Spirit a summons is related to, but when in doubt, asking them helps.
Minaru nodded. “So my family has committed themselves to Aslan and his family. You think my sense of smell is because of him?”
Raya nodded. Or from whatever Cat that keeps watch over you. I don’t know the specifics, but I know that especially the Rayani of the Cats are very close to the Spirits they represent. It’s very likely that you will gain the nightvision and the sense of hearing as well, when you get older. You are still very young. Raya fell silent for a second. It would benefit us if we could find a way to contact Akane. You will need help with your training. And your aunt will probably want to know what happened.
“You’re right.”, Minaru said with a nod. “Do you have any idea how we could manage it?”
Not yet, but I’ll keep eyes and ears open.
The day of Minaru’s release from the hospital dawned bright and she rose with the first rays of sunlight. After a quick shower she dressed, Naira had bought the outfit for her as a parting gift. It had skin tight yellow trousers and a black shirt with long sleeves. Over that she wore a sleeveless short red dress with slits up to her waist and two golden bangles, one for each of her upper arms.
“You look great, Minaru-chan. I had a feeling that these colours would fit you.” Naira came into her room, followed by Inoichi Yamanaka and Shikaku-san. Minaru smiled at her nurse and hugged her for a moment, before turning to her visitors.
Minaru tilted her head, looking to Shikaku-san. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit this early, Nara-sama?”, she asked. Her gaze locked onto Inoichi - whom she had to pretend to not know yet. She hated having to lie to all of these people she remembered calling friends and comrades. “And you even brought another visitor?”
Inoichi smiled. “I’m Inoichi Yamanaka. It’s nice to see you doing so well, Minaru-chan.”, he said.
She looked at him curiously. When she inhaled she caught a scent she had smelled not too long ago. “Were you there, too?”, she asked surprised. She hadn't noticed Inoichi in the room, but she was a bit preoccupied then.
“Where?”, Shikaku asked her.
She smiled slightly, then drew her eyebrows together in confusion. “In the laboratory. I recognize his scent from somewhere, but I can’t place it exactly.”
Inoichi smiled at her. “You are right. I was there, too. And I wanted to propose something to you.”
“Propose?” Minaru asked, curious.
“You need a place to stay and it would be best for you to stay with one of the Big Clans of the village.”, Shikaku said in his stead.
She frowned while turning to the Nara-Clanhead. “I don’t want to impose. And I am being hunted. That’s not really a good requirement to be adopted or something similar.”, she said while shaking her head.
“I might have a solution for this situation. I would like to take you on as my apprentice.” Inoichi said, surprising Minaru.
She looked at him with wide eyes. “As an apprentice?”
Inoichi nodded with a warm smile. “As head of the T&I department I often have to do mental evaluations and similar procedures. And from what I have heard about you I think that could be something you might be interested in. Am I right?”, he asked her.
Minaru blinked a few times, overwhelmed. “I… think I’m still too young to decide what I want to do for life.”, she said hesitantly.
Shikaku laughed lightly. “Of course. That’s why we came up with the following proposition. You agree to become Inoichi’s apprentice until you graduate from the Academy, learning from him and living with his family. After your graduation you are considered an adult anyway and can make your own decisions. You can start to specialise then, if you and Inoichi get along you can stay with him but you will be free to change your career as well.”, he explained to Minaru.
Minaru pulled her lower lip between her teeth, looking out of the window while she thought the offer over. This would place her under protection from the Yamanaka directly and subsequently also from the Nara and the Akimichi, since the three Clans were almost a unit by now, at least they acted like it. Plus, she could use the access to the T&I department when she had to go after Danzo. And she didn’t doubt that she would have to do that. He was as slippery as a snake, no way would the Hokage be able to catch him yet. It had taken them years to even notice how deep his betrayal went in Naruto’s life. That was a lot of advantages for her, but what would the three Clans gain from it?
“What will be expected of me?”, she asked. When both Inoichi and Shikaku shot her a surprised look she snorted. “Please. You’re a Clanhead. And I would never believe that your Elders and Clanmembers would accept you taking in an orphan loaded with problems like I am. Except they can hope to get some sort of profit from it.”
Inoichi smiled. “That might be the case for most, but not exactly when it comes to you.” Minaru tilted her head in question. “Before the Yamanaka joined Konoha we were allied to the Rayani. Many of my Clan hope that you could open the door for us to new negotiations with your Clan after some time has passed. We wouldn’t want to rush things like these.”, he explained to her.
Minaru looked at him. “And what about yourself?”, she asked.
The Yamanaka laughed. “Call it a gut feeling. Plus I like a challenge and to teach someone with your kind of intellect should be one in any case.”, he explained, still laughing.
The corners of Minaru’s mouth twitched in an amused smile. “All right. I would be a fool to turn down an opportunity like this. But I like to know the background of a decision like this one.”