Legends Cephied Variable ============================|+|============================ Some years before he was named Hokage, Hokori Seiki found a teakettle in the middle of the desert. Several years later, the man known as the Yondaime Hokage fought a nine tailed fox demon to the death. Years after that, the favorite student of the Rokudaime Kazekage defected from the Hidden Sand and decades earlier, the village of the Hidden Mist had been attacked by a giant shark. Hokori Seiki never told anyone save his famous genin team of what he discovered in the desert and the Yondaime Hokage went to his death alone. He entered the forest at dusk, and by morning nothing remained of him but a crater and the blonde infant cradled in the arms of the healing nin, Naoru Tsunade. When Hokori Seiki ascended to the proverbial political throne of Konoha, his wife was already pregnant with their third child. Curiously enough, no one in all of Konoha has ever seen this child, although the Hokage's elder children are anything but discreet. There are threads here- weaves and knots and connections between all of these events. I have my suspicions, but suspicions only carry you so far. I've been thinking about my former teamate of late and these toughts leave me restless. He left clues and messages for me almost everywhere I look, yet I am unable to decode them. Someday perhaps if I train my eyes to see beneath the beneath, my comrade's secrets will become clear to me. Until then, his name will never be spoken again in this village. - from the personal log of Uchiha Itachi Chapter One "This is ridiculous!" "Don't complain- maybe if you had graduated with the rest of your class, you're situation might have been a-" "Hey, hey, hey, I didn't fail!" "Tell that to Gai-sensei." "I did, and he said that I didn't fail. Listen, Temari, just because I'm not some ANBU captain who earns her meal-check by doing some snazzy top secret missions doesn't mean-" "You know, I'm teaching my own Genin team this year." "Well la di da and good for you. You may think you're all high and mighty, but you'll get sick of those brats the minute they open their mouths." "Hmph, considering I have to put up with you twenty four hours a day, I think I'm prepared." "You put up with me!? Oh, that's just-" Hokori Seiki calmly pushed the door open and stepped into the path of his squabbling children. Kankuro cut himself off mid sentence and stumbled back a few steps before dipping into a clumsy bow alongside his sister. Seiki never failed to notice that his daughter bowed like a man- stiff angles and jerky movements. There wasn't much about her that was feminine, which was well suited for the life of a shinobi but ill suited to marraige. No chance to pawn her off on some local Daimyo's easily charmed son for political gain. "I do apologize for the commotion father," Temari simpered smoothly as she straightened, "Kankuro and I were on our way to visit our dearest brother." Seiki nodded sternly, "Gaara has been lonley these days." Kankuro rolled his eyes and looked as if he were about to say something until Temari subtly elbowed him in the side. She coughed and replied, "Well, I've been busy these days preparing for my new team. And Kankuro, of course, has been lost in his studies." His studies- puppets and poisons, defunct historical relics. Seiki often wished he'd had a larger hand in raising his children after their mother died. Temari was a fine ninja, but Kankuro was the first son of the family despite the fact he appeared to be utterly unaware of what duties the position entailed. Seiki sighed heavily and folded his arms acorss his chest. "Either way, it isn't wise to leave Gaara alone for too long. It's cold this time of year and he's read all the books in his library." "Then why don't you hire him a nanny?" Kankuro muttered snarkily, "Geeze." Temari shot her brother a shocked, incredelous look and Kankuro instantly paled beneath his face paint as he realized he'd spoken aloud. Both children glanced at their father furitively, nearly wincing in anticipation as Seiki's eyes narrowed and his mouth set itself into a harsh, disapproving line. "Gaara was expecting you over half an hour ago." he said simply after a poignant pause, "You two had better not make him wait any longer." Kankuro and Temari breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief and dutifully saluted their father before brushing past him and hurrying down the empty hallway. ============================|+|============================ Uchiha Obito groaned and let his forehead hit the counter. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." he repeated listlessly, halfheartedly lifting his head to stare at the menu. "What's wrong with you?" Ino tipped her face into his line of vision, eyebrow arched in what might have been confusion but was probably (knowing his luck with pretty blonde girls) disgust. Obito frowned and slammed his head into the counter again. He heard an exasperated sigh from somewhere above him as Ino leaned back behind the counter, "Oooor you could just ignore me. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend." "Hey!" Obito shouted defensively, whipping his head up and pointing at Ino dramatically, "That has nothing to do with it! All the popular boys ignore pretty girls like you! When my cousin does it, it makes you all crazy!" Ino giggled and shook her head, blonde ponytail catching the mornining light, "That's because your cousin is handsome, silly." Obito pouted, "Are you trying to say-" "Yes." Ino cut him off, "I am trying to say you're not handsome. Or polite, I might add. Are you going to order or what?" Obito sunk in his seat and eyed the menu wearily, clicking his change purse open and closed, "I dunno. I think I might be too depressed to eat ramen." "Too depressed? Or too poor?" "All of the above." "You know, Obito, no one likes a sulk. You're bad for business- either you order yourself some spicy kimchi in the next thirty seconds or I'm going to kick you out in exchange for more profitable- and attractive- customers." "You're really mean, Ino." Obito closed his eyes and mocked sobbing before clicking his change purse open and dumping it's meager contents onto the hardwood counter. Ino pursed her lips and leaned over to count the change. "... sixty... eighty two... that's enough for plain Miso Soup." "My life is plain Miso Soup." Obito retorted. "Now you're just being an idiot." Ino snorted. "I am an idiot!" Obito waved his arms as Ino rolled her eyes and gathered the dusty coins, "What made me think that I'd make a decent ninja!? I'm a failure as a Uchiha! I barely passed the genin exam and now here I am about to be put on some team when I can't even activate the Sharingan!" "The Sharigan isn't everything, you know." Ino chided, "My father told me that there's been plenty of notable Uchihas who haven't been able to use the Sharingan." "Yeah, but..." Obito twisted his mouth and rested his chin in his palms, "My cousin could use the Sharingan when he was nine years old." "Oh, would you just shut up!" Ino snapped suddenly, shocking Obito out of his sullen repose. He gawked at her wide eyed as she lectured, "Your cousin this, your cousin that. God, sometimes the only words that ever come out of your mouth are 'Uchiha Sasuke'! All of you noble clans are obsessed with your bloodline inferiority complexes! At least you passed the exam!" Obito inhaled slowly when she spun away from him to prepare his soup. Oh, of course. he ammended quietly, I'm such an idiot. He watched Ino's back for a few minutes before finally asking: "How did you fail the exam anyways? You could always outspar most of the other kids in our class." Ino laughed bitterly, but didn't bother to look back at him, "Well, that's exactly it- I scored nearly perfect on my practical exam, but I failed the book test by one percent." Obito blinked and attempted to do that math in his head, "Well... uh... that's really good then! Why don't you just try out again? I'm sure they'd let you retake the exam- they might not even make you wait the full year!" Ino's shoulders stiffened and she began to stir the soup faster, "Yeah, well. I'm not re-taking it." "But why." "I have my reasons." Ino said lowly and somehow, Obito knew that was the final word on the subject. He sighed miserably and slouched back in his stool when Ino suddenly twirled and shouted, "Duck!" Without thinking about it, Obito dived off his seat as two kunai whizzed past his head. Wide eyed, he leapt to his feet and assumed a fighting stance, wildly looking for the source of the attack. "You idiot!" Ino shrieked, but her outrage was only met with raspy laughter. Obito turned his head to the source of the chuckles only to see one Inuzuka Kiba standing with his hands on his hips, Akamaru on his head and a self satisfied smirk painted on his face. "The look on your face, Obito." he snickered and Obito immediately relaxed, throwing a dark scowl in his friend's direction. "Really funny, Kiba." "Aren't I?" Kiba practically bounced towards the ramen shack, slinging himself lazily across the stool beside Obito's, "But you ruined everything, Ino." "As much as I would have loved to explain to Gai-sensei how you two finally killed each other in the end, Obito dear is a paying customer and letting him die on my shift would be bad for business." Ino smiled sweetly and went back to stirring the soup. "Feh, I would have dodged it anyways." Obito insisted, catiously taking his seat again. "You totally wouldn't have." Kiba argued. "Yeah I would have." "No way." "Yes way!" "No way!" "Yes way!" "No-" "Didn't you two learn anything from all those detentions you had with Gai-sensei?" Kiba just barked out a short burst of laughter, "Are you kidding me? Gai-sensei wouldn't know how to give a proper detention if it bit him in the ass!" "Really though," Obito agreed, "He'd always set us to do some ridiculously impossible task, but ten minutes later he'd be sobbing all over the place and apologizing for smothering our 'flames of passion' or whatever it is that he's always going on about." "I can proudly say that I did not learn one valuable thing about passion or youth in my entire time under Gai-sensei's tutelage." "And I'm very proud of you," Ino chided, handing Obito a steaming bowl, "Are you going to order anything?" Kiba shook his head vehemently, "With you cooking? You'd poison me! I think I'll pass." Obito clasped both hands around his soup bowl and took a deep sip, "Mmm," he shot a sidelong glance at Kiba, "You're missing out, Kiba. She's an amazing cook." "Stop flirting." Kiba stuck his tounge out and ruffled Akamaru's ears, "You're embarassing us both." "Sorry Kiba," Ino batted her eyelashes, "But I'm so beautiful, he can't help it." "You know," Obito mused thoughtfully, "I always thought the three of us would be a genin team. Y'know." "Yeah, me too." Kiba murmered, "But then Ino had to go screw it all up and- ouch!" Kiba winced from where Ino had backhanded him with a wooden spoon, "But it's true! You did fail!" "I know. You don't have to keep reminding me." "Well, who knows." Kiba shrugged, "Me and Obito still have a chance, at least." "Oh, I doubt it." Ino said breezily, "They try to even the teams out, you know. You'd both tip the scales too far in the direction of 'sucking'." Kiba and Obito gave her twin hurt looks. Even Akamaru seemed to droop at her comment, "That was really low." Obito whined, "How can you just-" "Shh!" Kiba interrupted, slapping his hand over Obito's mouth, "Look who it is!" All three children turned their head to stare at the tall figure taking a seat at the cafe across the street. He was dressed in a long, tattered blue robe sewn with mismatched pockets and embroidered with a charming seashell pattern. His face was hidden beneath a wide, straw sakkat that was fraying at the edges and looked to have once been painted with a swirling black and white pattern. Once he was settled, he dug a wrinkled newspaper out of one pocket and began to read it. And his hands were blue. "His skin is blue." Obito squeaked into Kiba's hand. "You don't know who that is!?" Kiba stared at him in bewilderment. Obito shook his head, feeling more than just a little stupid. "That is Hoshigaki Kisame!" Kiba whispered grandly, "He's defected from the Hidden Mist several years ago. No one knows why, but I hear that he used to be a proffessional interrogator for the Mizukage." "No way!" Obito gasped. "Yeah way!" "Boys and their gossip." Ino muttered ironically, and left to serve another customer. "Anyways-" Kiba continued, "I hear that he's taking on a genin team this year." "Why is he blue?" "No one knows. But I bet he's gonna be the worst teacher ever." Akamaru whimpered from the top of Kiba's head. After a moment, the Inuzuka snickered and added, "Bet you get him." Obito grinned back, "Nu-uh- I bet you get him." "What? I'm totally not lame enough to have a weird teacher like that! I'll bet you six hundred yen he's your teacher." "You're on." Obito's grin widened. Kiba cocked an eyebrow, "You don't have six hundred yen." "Yeah, but I won't lose." "How can you be sure?" Whistling, Obito dug in his jacket pocket and produced a neatly rolled piece of parchment, "Because I already know my team placement." he snapped open the scroll and held it up for Kiba to examine. TEAM NINE Akimichi Chouji Haruno Sakura Uchiha Obito SENSEI: Hokori Temari Kiba scowled and turned away haughtily, "Yeah, well you don't win unless I actually am on Kisame's team." "I've got a one in three chance then." Obito retorted cheerfully, "Which is more than you ever had." "Yeah, yeah, shut up." they sat in companionable silence for a few minutes until Kiba chuckled beneath his breath, "The Hokage's daughter, eh?" Obito nodded, "Yeah. At least she's cute." ============================|+|============================ Hanabi watched as her sister bowed until her forehead nearly touched the floor. They were only two years younger than their cousin, but the heir to the Hyuuga clan held himself with such refinement and poise he seemed to tower over even those who were taller than him. He watched Hinata bow with merciless white eyes, only the faintest twinge of regret tugging at the edge of his mouth. Hanabi absently ran her finger over her own forhead, feeling the contours of the curse seal burnt into her skin. You know, Neji-sama she accused silently, It could have been the other way around. It would have been so easy for grandfather to have chosen our father over yours. It was useless, of course. No matter how many silent, bitter thoughts she threw at her cousin, she knew that nothing would ever change, least of all him. She was smart enough to realize he found the treatment of the branch house children distasteful (he'd told her so once, though not in so many words), but like all Hyuuga, he was bound by tradition and the heavy expectations of his father. "Hinata," he said slowly, "You have shamed this household." Hinata's forehead actually did hit the floor this time and she whimpered, looking as if she were attempting to curl into herself, "I'm sorry." she murmered, barely audible. "She passed the exam." Hanabi cut in, unable to watch her twin sister suffer any longer. Neji's sharp eyes fell on her and she shuddered. "That may be, but no Hyuuga has ever failed. She did, however, fall short of the house's minimum expectation." "Her written exam marks were nearly perfect!" Hanabi protested. "But she was three marks away from failing her practicals." Neji pointed out emotionlessly, "This is not a debatable issue, Hanabi. Hanabi opened her mouth to continue the argument, but she was cut short by Hinata's dry sob. "It's okay, Hanabi." her twin assured quietly, "I accept my punishment." Hanabi inhaled sharply and bit her lip. A wave of something that might have been regret passed subtly over Neji's face and he nodded sternly, closing his eyes and meshing his pale fingers together in graceful, complex seals. Almost immediately, Hinata's body tensed and a raw cry of pain was ripped from her throat. She writhed and twisted and although Hanabi couldn't see her from the front, she knew that the cruse seal was burning bright, a searing; sizzling light against her paper-white skin. She knew that her sister was digging little red half circles into her palms and that her Byakugan had activated automatically on instinct, fruitless self defense. Neji refused to look at her. ============================|+|============================ "Honey, you're going to be late!" "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Sakura shoved a sandwhich in her mouth and slung her practice bag over one shoulder as she desperately attempted to brush knots out of her long, cherry pink hair. Her mother's shadow fell across the kitchen and Sakura nearly bowled over her. "Mom!" she shouted, dropping both her hairbrush and sandwhich, "What are you doing?" "You know, dear," her mother scolded, crossing her arms, "A good konouchi is never late for her appointments." Sakura sighed melodramtically and rolled her eyes, "I know mom. And I also know I'd be less late if you got out of my way." Her mother shook her head sadly, "You teenagers never listen to any advice your parents give you." "Listen to you mother, Sakura." her father called uselessly from the living room, "She was an excellent shinobi back in the day." "I hear this story everyday." Sakura pleaded, "How you were both top class Jounin until you had me. How dad quit smoking. Ecetera, ecetera-" "Well, Sakura, maybe you aren't cut out to be a ninja afterall." her mother looked vaguely concerned as Sakura retrieved her hairbrush and began working through her knots once again. "I thought you guys wanted me to be a great kounouchi someday?" "Yes, but the truth is we'd just rather you be what you want to be. We don't want you to feel pressued to follow the path of the warrior just becase-" "I'm going to be late!" Sakura interrupted loudly, hastily pushing past her doting parents and slamming the door on the way out. She inhaled the mid-afternoon air deeply, relieved to have gotten away with only one third of a lecture. Sakura loved her parents and realized that she was lucky to have them in the first place considering how many of the children in her class only had one parent or, in some cases, no parents at all. But sometimes- I want to be a ninja, she told herself firmly, It's the only thing I've ever wanted to be. I want to walk the path of a warrior for the glory of the Hidden Leaf and in the service of the Fire Country. It's the most honorable job a girl could hold. Yes, that was what it was. The life of a ninja was one of devotion, bravery and duty. And romance! that other part of her brain (the less reasonable one) added, It's all about grand adventure and love and destiny and the day that they'll write about you in the history books! Whether you live or die in glory, the point is that everyone will remember you as a hero! Sakura grinned wickedly at the thought, "Hell yeah." she muttered under her breath, pleased with herself. The sun had begun to sink behind the tree line and presently Sakura realized that if she didn't hurry, she really was going to be late. She'd never actually met the Hokage's daughter, but the things she'd heard about Hokori Temari implied that she was a force to be reckoned with. They called her one of the most talented kounouchi in the entire history of the village. Many said there had been no greater female ninja since the days of Mitarashi Anko- her skills were simply unparallelled. Unfortunately, they also said that she had an equally unrivaled temper. Sakura would hate to be the last memeber of Team Nine to arrive. With this thought in mind, she began to jog towards the edge of the village, however something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. A dark silhouette, alone on the deserted street. It was a boy. He was sitting alone in the park, hands folded in his lap and head bent over his hands.His shoulders were shaking slightly and it took Sakura a moment to realize that he was crying. Her breath hitched and she stopped walking completely, silently debating whether or not to approach him. She couldn't make out his features, but he was dressed simply and his long, black bangs were hanging in his face. I bet he's cute. she mused, quickly correcting herself: I bet he's *hurt*. I should go help him. taking a deep breath to steady herself, she put on her best caring demaneour and went to tap the crying boy on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, trying her best to appear un-imposing and demure. She felt his muscels tense under her hand and he snapped his head around, his sobs cutting off abruptly. Sakura's eyes widened and she ripped her hand away from his shoulder when she got a good look at his face. Not only were his eyebrows thick and angular, but there was something weird about his eyes and he was wearing a pout that could kill a hundred men. Definitely not cute she ammended, B-but I need to be polite. Either way, this boy looks like he's in trouble so I need to be a strong konouchi and help him. she gulped back a startled noise of disgust and once again assumed her previous expression of angelic concern. "You looked like you were crying. I just wanted to know if-" "There's nothing wrong." he muttered sullenly and turned away from her, drawing his knees up to his chin. Sakura blinked, not quite sure how to approach him next. "Are you sure? You look hurt. Is there anything I can-" "I just want to be left alone." he replied quickly, "I don't want pity from someone as pretty as you." Sakura snapped her mouth shut and tried to decide whether she should be insulted or flattered. She went to reach for his shoulder again, but stopped herself, Why am I even bothering? He obviously wants to be left alone- and besides, he's weird looking. With a sigh, she spoke quickly, "Okay, sorry for bothering you." and spun on her heel, ready to sprint towards the tree line (she was definitely going to be late now). She tried to pretend that she hadn't heard him start crying again. ============================|+|============================ There was a polite knock at the door and Seiki reluctantly put down the ANBU report he was reading. "Come in," he called gruffly. The door creaked open and in glided Hakaisha Orochimaru, ever the perfect model of elegance and effortless dignity. He cradled a thick, black textbook beneath one arm and had the other arm tucked into his delicately embroidered kimono. He dipped into a gaceful bow before taking a seat opposite the Hokage's desk. His dark hair falling in his face always made him appear much younger than he actually was, which was only one of the many things about the scientist that unnerved Seiki. "I apologize for my tardiness, your excellency," Orochimaru spoke smoothly, a darkly unnatural charm dripping from every word, "But, as you know, I had some urgent business to attend to." "I'm sure," Seiki drawled, "I won't hold it against you this time, Hakaisha-san, but please be sure that it never happens again." "Of course." Orochimaru set his heavy book on Seiki's desk and rested his cheek in his palm, "How is Gaara today?" Seiki leaned back in his chair and stared out the window at the setting sun. Gaara's moods were difficult to decode even at the best of times, "His siblings came to see him today. He's always better when Kankuro and Temari visit, however-" he trailed off. "However?" Orochimaru urged. "You chose an opportune moment to return, Hakaisha-san. His seal is growing weak. Even Tsunade can't tell how weak, but just to make sure I haven't allowed him to sleep in over a week." "Ah, then I must apologize once again. Next time I leave the village, I'll be sure to make my business brief." Seiki shook his head, "Gaara has remarkable control for a boy of his age, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I do trust that whatever... business you had with the Mizukage was important." "Mmm." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, "The Hidden Mist has been... noisy these days. The honorable Mizukage is a terribly simple man, I'm afraid." "So they didn't have the three tails after all?" Orochimaru laughed huskily and shook his head, "Oh, no. The Isonade most certainly surfaced in the Hidden Mist, there can be no doubt about that. Unfortunately, I think that the village's posession of the beast is in the past tense." "That is unfortunate." Seiki mused, steepling his fingers, "Perhaps I'll have a talk with Kisame. I've heard that he and the Mizukage were close comrades." "Really?" Orochimaru cocked an eyebrow, "During my discussions with him, I got the distinct impression that the Mizukage was not terribly fond of Hoshigaki-san." "I suspect that has something to do with his defection. No one likes a traitor." Seiki fixed Orochimaru with a meaningful gaze, but the jounin only blinked expectantly. With a heavy sigh, the Hokage stretched, stood and gestured for Orochimaru to do the same, "Either way, we'd better see to my son. He's been complaining about itchy eyes lately." Chapter 2 ============================|+|============================