THE TOPAZ AMONGST THE JADE
Underlined - English
‘Italicised’ - Thoughts
In Text Bolded - Tailed Beast
TSUBASA NOA
With a satisfied groan, I roll over into Stag’s warm side - the old bed creaking with the simple movement. The morning light persists just beyond my eyelids, insisting that I open my eyes. When I eventually - reluctantly - give in to the sun’s demands I can just barely see the wall of the disused room over Shika’s miles of tanned chest.
Worse things to wake up to, I’d think.
Knowing I had obligations (and Shika could only disappear for so long) I get up - dressing from the sloppy pile of various clothing items on the dusty floor. I frown lightly at the dirt stains on my vest, but resign myself to it. There were only so many advantages to ‘meeting’ in an abandoned Nara house on the edge of the property. Eh. Shika was worth it.
Speaking of the great lump of concentrated laziness and shadows, the man himself is finally stirring due to the sudden lack of my body heat next to him. Maybe a few years down the line we wouldn’t have to hide like this -
Stop that thought. After the war that only I knew was coming - only then will I allow myself to think about the future. Not now.
With a parting kiss from my sleepy boyfriend, I slip out the door silent as night and take to the skies.
HATAKE KAKASHI
When Noa shows up, all worries about trust and what she was keeping from us were thrown out the window at the sight of the disgusting mark on her neck.
“Chibi-chan-” I start, my voice dangerous as I begin to plot the death of various suspects. “Is that a hickey I see?”
Noa - who had frozen at my tone - doesn’t have time to stop her hand from flying up to cover the heinous mark next to her Seal. She aborts the movement too late but tries to cover it up with an awkward laugh. “Kakashi,” She tries to play off. “Don’t be so protective. It’s just something I got from sparring.”
As I begin to formulate the words for a ban from any such type of ‘sparring,’ the Aburame Heir shows up only to catch the tail end of the conversation.
“Speaking of, Noa.” Shino chimes in (and I feel my eyes bulge at the lack of honorifics. I had heard those rumors thank you, but -) “You and I should spar after this mission. I would much enjoy a rematch.”
Oh. A ‘rematch’ is it?
‘Not on my watch-!’
Noa just laughs and agrees, and I’ve already begun to plot the imminent destruction of the Aburame heir when Shikamaru shows up.
He takes one look at what I suppose must be a very dangerous expression on my face, glances at Shino and Noa, and takes a prudent step back.
“Troublesome …” The shadow user grumbles.
UCHIHA SASUKE
Just as my training demanded for the past six years, I rise before the sun.
However, I did not expect Naruto to be awake as well.
As I sip my tea, exiting the compound, I allow myself a moment to be surprised before settling down beside a meditating Naruto. As I peer at his stoic features, there’s just a hint of orange around the fuuinjutsu master’s eyelids.
Mediating to align with nature chakra, then.
I leave the Sage to do his Sage-y things as I sit straight backed, watching with nostalgia the view of the rising sun from the Uchiha compound. I’d missed this.
When I was in ANBU, it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was the little things you missed when you go dark. The taste of the tea Noa made. Naruto’s laugh. Meals after training, just the four of us. And the sunrise above my clan compound. I had wanted to watch this sunrise for six years.
‘And now I’m doing it next to my closest friend-’
- That thought caught me off guard. Did I consider Naruto the one I was closest to?
I guess so. Before … before the world ended and I lost everything, Noa and Itachi and my mother were the ones I turned to - who I went to for attention or comfort or to impress. But that was Before.
After?
It was both of them, at first - Naruto and Noa. Naruto and I were still rivals and didn’t always get along and Noa always knew what to say but was so distant…
But when Noa started to seek out Shikamaru, I started to seek Naruto - and I realized that as much as I loved Noa, I loved Naruto just as much … but differently.
I guess it took me six years with no true identity and only my thoughts for intimate company to realize it. Noa was family. Kakashi and Tenzo were family but -
Maybe Naruto was a little more.
But that doesn’t matter now. Neither of us are going anywhere, so I’ll live in the moment. Enjoy the sunset I missed next to the man I missed.
With a smile on my lips I don’t bother trying to hide, I sip my tea.
TSUBASA HIROMA
I look down at the Root operative kneeling at my feet.
Without saying a word, I hold out my hand and a scroll appears in it so fast that, had I not been jounin level myself, I would’ve doubted the figure had moved at all. Pity the meagre number of Tsubasa left were not so highly trained.
Hino was not a jounin, for one. And as I break the seal on the scroll and begin to read, my peripheral picks up her startle and the sway of her stick straight jade hair as she rocks back on her heels.
‘Green hair,’ I think idly as I scan the document. ‘Another indication that the demon child was a pest to begin with,’ I think as I tuck my own emerald locks behind my ear. ‘No true Tsubasa has dark hair.’
Pushing bitter thoughts aside, I turn to the message - ignoring the messenger.
… So the upstart girl was coming after all. Bringing a Aburame, a Nara, and Sharingan Kakashi with her.
That may be a problem. If indeed the false Clan Head - my rightful place - is Hisoka as I dread-
Well, they do not know our ways nor our jealously guarded Kekkei Genkai. The girl is not tied by blood, she cannot possess it. We shall overpower them easily.
After all, a chakra corrupted demon trash whore holds no challenge to a name as prestigious as the Tsubasa.
I have the backing of the true Konoha, after all.
NARA SHIKAMARU
Moeru is quiet when we arrive.
I immediately am on guard.
I think back on what I know about the town as I scan the barren remains of a market. Moeru … used to be a small village. More like a hamlet, really, before the last Shinobi war pushed too far past the borders into the nearby fields resulting in one of the most destructive battles in the Land of Fire, commonly called Red Earth for how much blood was spilt and how effectively Iwa tore up the ground with their assault.
With fields destroyed and too little time and resources to return them to a usable state, Moeru’s citizens cleared out, moving further from the front and into villages that needed labor for farming.
An empty village with no one to come knocking demanding its return. Clever, Tsubasa. Yet it begs the question of where the Tsubasa intend to go with their claim of Headship. Such titles are useless here.
At that thought I slouch lazily even further, falling back on the lazy Nara persona carefully cultivated by each and every one of my clansmen. The laziness was true, yes. But never on the field. Not as a jounin. Not with Noa at risk.
Shino falls in line with me, and I give him a friendly smirk. I like the Aburame - glad he tagged along - far more than I did in the Academy. He’s got a sadistic streak in him, and was willing to put it to good use to get the village off my back about Noa.
(If he wasn’t so head over heels for Inuzuka Hana, I would’ve almost be concerned He was a good actor.)
“These Tsubasa…” The Heir starts slowly, and I have to channel chakra into my ears just to hear him properly (Shino needs to remember that not everyone has Inuzuka level hearing …), “What do they look like? Shall we expect one such as Noa?”
The ‘Someone as exotic as Noa’ goes merely implied.
I hold the frown off my face, but still feel it tugging at the sides of my lips. Truth was, I didn’t know what to expect any more than Shino did. Noa, as always, was enigmatic about what she remembered of her family. All she said to look out for was -
“Green hair-” I find myself saying just as I locked eyes with a figure who appeared at the end of the road, not 20 feet in front of where Kakashi has taken point.
‘It’s a woman,’ Is the first thing I note. The second being: ‘Holy shit, she’s taller than GAI.’
The towering figure has hair the same shade as the new leaves of the Shodaime trees in Konoha, stick straight and hanging to her waist. Razor sharp bangs hang precisely along the line of her eyebrows, accenting the sharp angle of her yellow eyes and the milky paleness of her skin.
Pale to tanned. Yellow to deep blue. Straight to curly. Towering to petite.
There has never been two beings so alien to each other than the girl I love and this woman.
Noa falls just short of ten feet away from the green figure - Kakashi, Shino, and I all falling into a loose arc behind her. She stands tall, in the sort of quiet grace and defiance I have come to associate with her dealing with overly formal individuals she would much rather run through on her sai.
“Greetings, Tsubasa-san.” Noa begins, her voice level and clear. “We have come to Moeru to confirm rumors of the reestablishment of the Tsubasa Clan here. We wish to offer an opportunity to our fellow clansmen to join Konohagakure no Sato as citizens of the Leaf. May we arrange to speak with your Head?”
The woman inclines her head elegantly, but seems entirely too pleased about the height difference between herself and the rest of us - Noa especially. “Greetings, Shinobi. I am Tsubasa Hirona, the Lady of the Tsubasa Clan. I will arrange for you to see my husband, the Clan Head, in time.”
(Great, verbal volleying. Using her own title but not even gracing Noa with her surname. Arranging ‘in time’ for her to meet the ‘Clan Head’ even though there’s no paperwork to go with it.)
Noa doesn’t react to the insult of her lack of proper (Clan Head she may be, she didn’t take on the name until she was 12) name but instead nods gracefully. “Many thanks for arranging such a meeting, Hirona-san.”
(There you go. Don’t dignify that with any dispute, just turn it on her so that she has to do the work. Nice going with the form of address as well.)
‘Maybe I should be keeping Noa from spending so much time with Ino …’
Hirona’s lips twitch in irritation, but she pushes through, “Of course. May I have your names, Shinobi?”
Kakashi steps forward gracefully, assuming the role of herald - ensuring that although the Tsubasa had few enough numbers for her to meet them and introduce herself, Noa was at no such disadvantage.
“Of course, Hirona-san.” Kakashi allows, voice as sweet and dangerous as honey. “Might I introduce the Lady and Clan Head of the Tsubasa Clan, Tsubasa Noa-dono?”
Hirona’s eyes flash violently at the introduction, and I can feel Shino begin to gather his kikaichu -
“Well then,” Hirona bites out, all apparent presence of politeness gone. “With claims as dangerous as those, Noa - you are to see Hiroma-dono immediately.”
As Hirona whirls around to lead the way, something truly dangerous ripples through the air and I feel dread build in the pit of my gut.
HATAKE KAKASHI
There was a secondary, even stronger tension between Noa and this Hirona woman after those last two phrases. Hirona tensed at Noa’s title but Noa -
Noa tensed at the name ‘Hiroma,’ the apparent Clan Head.
Did Noa know this Hiroma? Why would she be so anxious if she did?
As I follow a stiff, regal Noa I catch a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of Team 7’s signed code - developed through rude gestures and the English writing system.
‘No English. Proceed with caution,’ She ordered.
Shikamaru falls back to inform Shino as I flank Noa, stomach sinking at the implications of such an order.
‘No English.’ ‘Demon.’ ‘With claims as dangerous as those.’
What were we getting into?
Tsubasa Hiroma reminds me very strongly of Uchiha Fugaku, when he was still alive.
Pale skin, regal mannerism, easy grace, and the kind of complete and utter confidence that only comes with firmly believing you are the most dangerous person in the room.
He looks eerily like Hirona - the same eyes, same face shape, same height. Same shade of hair, but his is pulled to a low binding and is elegantly cast over his right shoulder. With so few numbers and such highly valued blood purity, the two Tsubasa very well may hold a close blood relation.
(I hold back a shudder at the thought.)
And for all Hiroma moves, he may have been cast from stone - until he latches his sickly yellow eyes on Noa -
The effect is immediate.
His previous glimpse of grace dissolves in an instant and is replaced with derision and malice. This man holds no love for my Chibi-chan, my imouto, and I’m immediately on guard.
No one speaks. Noa settles a respectful - and safe - distance from the throne like chair Hiroma lounges in with the rest of the squad flanking her. Hirona leaves our side to stand beside her husband, affecting the impression of an obedient child.
It’s disgusting.
“And the Demon returns,” Hiroma mockingly greets after the tension stretches on, voice dripping with something truly foul. “Claiming our blood, as it has no such right.”
My hand nearly twitches, itching to put a kunai in Hiroma’s mocking neck.
I recognized the cold fury, the building burn, that raged whenever the village would scorn Naruto growing in my gut. I saw Shikamaru’s stance change from the Nara lazy grace into something much angrier and much deadlier. I process how the low buzz of Shino’s bugs rises and drops in tone dangerously.
But my eyes are on Noa. Noa looks just as carved from stone as this bastard was, but not in deadly anger or derision or disgust - in the elegant and deadly confidence of a bird of prey.
“Now now,” Noa scolds, her voice light and airy yet sharper and more deadly than a poisoned kunai. “There’s no reason for that.”
Hiroma begins to leak killing intent, making his wife nervous and sweaty, but Noa is unbothered. She stands tall and firm as Hiroma rises intimidatingly to his full height, a full two feet above Chibi-chan, in a clear mark of aggression.
“You would dare speak to me in my own house with such a tone, girl?” Hiroma growls, each word affected as an insult. “You are as pitiful as you were when you left this place, Hisoka.”
Noa freezes at the name and the feeling in my gut changes. Sharply, the anger is overtaken by dread as my fears shift into something much more tangible and much more worrying-
Because I know that as long as Noa had been in Konoha she had never been called that. Because I know that this is the exact thing I was ordered to look into and find the answer to by my Hokage. Because I know that Noa hid all this for what must be a good reason (I refuse to believe otherwise) and by being here, we are risking everything she sought to hide.
But I have no choice.
The moment of horrible, frozen time passes just as quickly as it came, and without warning Noa reaches out with her chakra in a brilliant flare of power: chains shooting up through the wooden floors, binding Hiroma and Hirona in place in a show of aggression and might.
“Now that -” Noa grits out, through exertion or anger, when the creak of the chains finally settles. “Was uncalled for.”
TSUBASA NOA
‘Hisoka.’
‘Secret.’ The Tsubasa’s shameful little wretch. The girl that no one wanted to believe that the beautiful Clan Lady - forced into marriage through politics and bribery - would have sired.
I looked into it. Of course I did - six years is a long time, after all. The Tsubasa numbered under thirty when I was born. When Kumo attacked their previous residence, a village far too close to the border to have been a sane choice, it was estimated that if any were to have survived the attack their numbers would’ve been less than ten.
My bitter bastard of a father just had to be one of them, didn’t he?
‘Hisoka’ he said. A taunt.
The Tsubasa’s little secret.
Not so little anymore.