The Will of Wind

by Nadake

Rating: mature
Tags: Crossover, Human, Adventure
Length: 10596

Rainbow Dash finds herself into the Elemental Nations. Now she faces a choice. Adapt to this new, brutal world. Or accept that she will never see her home again.

Rainbow Dash is suddenly thrust into the thick forests of Hi no Kuni. Now, she must make a simple choice. She can choose to either learn from the murderous ninja, or face the chance that she might never return home. Can she survive in a world where each and every person seems to be a trained killer, and if she does, will her conscience?

A Naruto Crossover following Rainbow Dash.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-12-09 01:15:53 UTC

First Steps

“Hyuuga-san, what is it you see?” Rock Lee asked, coming to a stop a moment after his teammate. The branch creaked beneath him, and the young man quickly dropped to the forest floor before it shattered. Used to the constraints of his ally, Neji Hyuuga dropped down as well, not bothering to look at Lee.

“There is someone unconscious nearby,” Neji said. His gaze was directed somewhere to Lee’s left, and the green clad ninja turned to look through the tree’s in the same direction.

“A threat?” Lee asked, and quirked one bushy eyebrow as his friend shook his head. “Then we should investigate.”

“Lady Tsunade will be displeased at the delay,” Neji said, not quite disagreeing with Lee. His shoulders shifted forward slightly as he focused more chakra into his eyes, extending the range of his sight another twenty meters. “I can see no traps surrounding her body, and no identifying marks. She is likely a civilian who ran afoul of something.”

Lee ignored the subtle message, ‘as will we, if we linger’, and shook his head. “The Hokage will be even less pleased to find that we left a young woman alone in the forest. I must insist that we aid her, Hyuuga-san. Could you please tell me where she is?”

Neji shook his head again, but leapt back into the canopy, dashing off in the direction he had been looking. On the ground, Lee sighed, before leaping back into the tree’s. It took only a moment for the Handsome Devil of Konoha to catch up to his teammate, a small smile curving his lips.

“You know, Hyuuga-san, you could admit that you wished to help her.”

Neji’s foot slipped a little on the branch he landed on, and it took the new Jonin a moment to regain his momentum. “I do not know what you mean, Lee.” He said, words frosty.

Lee smiled, giving his friend a huge grin and a thumbs up. It was as close to the famous Nice Guy pose as he could manage while moving through the treetops. “You could simply have remained silent, and move on, Hyuuga-san. Instead, you stopped and drew my attention to her plight. Even when questioned, you could simply have lied to me, and continued on. You wished to help her.”

“Hn.” Neji grunted, a sound worthy of an Uchiha. Lee was far enough behind him that he couldn’t see the very faint dusting of pink on Neji’s cheeks.

It took the two only a few seconds to cross the hundred or so meters to their target, more than enough for Neji to reassert his self-control. Before they crossed the last few trees, Neji stopped once more. His Byakugan was still active, and he watched as Lee came to a stop behind him once more.

“What is it, Hyuuga-san?” Lee asked, hands flying through the intricate sign language, eyes scanning the dense forest. “Do you see a trap?”

Neji shook his head. His words were soft, but the sound eased some of the tension out of his partner. “Wait here for a moment, Lee.”

“Why?” asked the Chunin. If there were traps nearby, subtle enough to evade Neji’s divination, then it was unlikely that there would be any warning before they sprang to life. On the few occasions that the two had investigated a similar aberration, Lee was always the one to check. He was fast enough that most traps small enough to evade Neji would be too slow to touch him.

“Because,” Neji said, tense shoulders his only sign of discomfort. “She is without clothing.”

“WHAT!” Lee shouted, flames seeming to burst from his eyes. He took a step towards the clearing, but stopped when Neji raise a hand.

“She hasn’t been raped, Lee. Or at least, there are no signs to indicate that she has been. We will need to interrogate—“ He stopped talking very suddenly, as Lee simply appeared before him. Before he could react, Lee had grabbed Neji by the front of his shirt, lifting the Jonin several inches into the air. When he spoke, Lee’s voice was cold.

“You will do no such thing. She is innocent until we have some indication otherwise, and if you attempt to interrogate her, then I will break your fingers so badly that you will never be able to use the Jyuuken again.” Lee growled, holding Neji’s face close to his own. “Do you understand?”

“I was not going to hand her to Ibiki, Lee.” Neji said, still calm. A fast strike, one they both knew Lee could have dodged, made the Chunin’s arm go limp for a moment. Neji straightened, and looked Lee in the eye. “I meant only that when she woke, we would need to ask her what happened to her to cause her current state.”

Lee blanched, looking down. He felt a little ashamed at his rash actions. Without speaking, Neji reached out, pressing his fingers into the same point he had struck a moment ago, restoring the limb. Lee rubbed the injured arm with the other, bowing deeply to Neji. “I am sorry, Hyuuga-san. My reaction was hasty.”

“I understand, Lee,” Neji said, his voice slightly softer. “Now, give me a moment to cover her, and we can continue.”

Lee nodded his head, staring at the ground once more. Had they not been on a mission, he would be doing seven hundred push-ups as punishment for his actions, but it would have to wait until they returned to Konoha. As punishment for waiting, he would also do a thousand sit ups. If he could not, then he would run five hundred laps around Konoha on his thumbs.

Neji leapt lightly through the trees. A few moment’s later, and he landed next to Lee, now shirtless.

In his arms, carefully wrapped in the loose shirt to preserve her modesty, was a slim young woman. She was fairly short, enough that Neji’s shirt covered her completely. While she lacked the hard, rippling muscles of a shinobi, she had the light build of an athlete of some kind, likely a runner. Lee blinked as he looked at her, distracted from his embarrassed kicking of a nearby stump. After a few seconds of the man’s idle kicks, it was little more than splinters. Two features of the young woman stood out to the young man. The first was that she was even more beautiful than Sakura-san. They shared the same slim, some would call flat chested, builds, with the delicate features of face and hand that Lee found appealing. They both shared the thin, pink lips and he was sure that when she awoke, this woman would be as ‘troublesome’ as any woman he had met.

The second thing he noticed was that she shared another trait with his beloved Flower of Konoha. While Sakura’s hair had inspired her name, the same soft pink of new cherry blossoms, this girl’s name must surely be Rainbow. Her hair was long, almost long enough to brush the ground from where she was held, and it shimmered through every conceivable color. Lee looked to Neji, confused, but he shook his head.

“I do not know. But she is safe now, so let us go. We cannot afford any more delay, and she should see a medical-nin as soon as possible. There may be complications that my eyes cannot see.”

Lee nodded, and held his arms out to Neji. “Give her to me, I will not be slowed by her weight, and it will free your concentration.”

Neji nodded to him, gently handing the girl off to his friend. Then Neji leapt back into the tree’s, channeling chakra into his eyes to cast out his divination range to its maximum. He refused to allow the girl to come to harm, or, if she were a plant, to allow her allies to tail them back to the Leaf. Lee took off an instant later, trailing only a few feet away from his teammate, cradling the young woman gently to his chest, keeping his mind and body poised to react in an instant. For all his instance on the girl’s treatment, he wasn’t a fool. He would kill her if she were a threat to his home, but he doubted that would be the case. Together, the two shinobi and their new charge, sped towards home.

“Who approaches?” a voice called from one of the small, heavily reinforced bastions. The small covered boxes that bracketed the massive gate to the city would protect the occupants, at least enough for them to raise the alarm as they died.

Neji turned to face the speaker, eyes narrowing slightly. “Izumo. We are to report immediately to the Hokage for debriefing.”

“Hyuuga-san.” Izumo bowed at the waist, his partner, Kotetsu mirroring him from the neighboring bastion. Carefully, Izumo flattened a paper against the wood siding of the bastion. The message, written in kanji, was far enough above the wall that the Byakugan would be able to perceive it.

Neji tensed, and the veins around his eyes suddenly swelled as chakra flooded them. “Chidori, the Thousand Chirping Birds.” He spoke clearly, reading the small letters through the wood.

Kotetsu nodded. It was the fastest way to confirm the credentials of a Hyuuga. “Hyuuga-san, Lee-san, you are cleared for entry. But who is that?”

“She is injured,” Lee said, giving the man a reproving look.

Izumo grunted, and looked to his friend. Kotetsu nodded, and spoke firmly. “Then make sure she gets to Ward 3, before you meet the Hokage. We can’t risk a problem flaring up right now.”

Lee nodded, while Neji simply stared impassively ahead. The huge gates opened far enough to allow the two ninja and their passenger to slip through, before closing with a dull boom once more. The two shinobi didn’t bother wading through the few civilians still bustling through the streets so late. Instead, they both hopped up onto the nearest rooftop, and continued jumping through the village.

A few moments later, and both shinobi dropped lightly to the ground in front of the hospital. They walked through the doors calmly. The entrance was nearly empty, a cheerful testament to the efficiency of the hospital. A single nurse sat behind the front desk, head in hand, idly tapping the needle tip of a senbon on her desk. The metal spike twirled between her fingers when they entered, and several more needles seemed to materialize, each one gripped between her curled fingers. In the next instant, the senbon were flying through the air at the two ninja. Each one was flying for a vulnerable point, either their eyes, of the delicate skin in the hollow of their throats.

Neji’s eyes widened at the sudden attack, and the evident annoyance on the face of the medic. He twisted to the side, reflexively slipping back into the Jyuuken. A pair of sharp strikes snapped the steel needles, the third floating almost lazily past him as it sped towards Lee. The taijutsu specialist didn’t pause, twisting to bring one foot up with blistering speed, swiping through the remaining needles. The kick sent the senbon deep into the wall to his left.

“Higurashi-san!” Lee shouted, glaring at the woman. “I understand that you are unhappy with us, but you should not attack someone who is already injured!”

Ten-ten’s eyes widened when she saw the bundle in Lee’s arms, and she was over the desk and gently taking the girl from her former teammate in an instant. “Damn it,” she swore, brushing hair away from the girl’s face with a gentle hand. “What happened to her?”

“We do not know,” Neji said, words a little sharper than normal. “We found her in the forest half a day from here. She appeared unharmed, but there may have been some complications that I was unable to see. Until we can determine who she is, and from where she comes from, she is to be held in Ward 3.”

“Isolation?” Ten-Ten murmured to herself, medic training kicking in. She traced the smooth lines of muscle running the woman’s body. “She isn’t a shinobi.” She said with confidence.

“We know.” Neji replied, staring steadily at his friend. “But we cannot allow a risk to remain. Until she can be verified, she should remain in Ward 3.” He waited for Ten-ten’s nod, and then turned to walk out of the hospital once more. “Lee, we must report to the Hokage.”

“Yes, Hyuuga-san.” Lee said, falling into step behind his leader. At the door, he turned and gave Ten-ten a quick bow. “I apologize, Higurashi-san. Please take care of her.”

“Of course.” Ten-ten huffed, hair buns bouncing as she moved. Lee grinned, flashing her the classic ‘Nice Guy’ pose, and then dashed off after his teammate. The medic smiled to herself, and looked down at the young woman, still wrapped in Neji’s shirt. “Now, just what happened to you…

“Well,” Ten-ten murmured, rising with the girl held close to her chest. She glanced at the clock on the nearby wall. “Let’s get you to Ward 3, and then get someone to look at you.”

Several days later

Her head was throbbing with the kind of headache Rainbow Dash had long since come to associate with truly impressive crashes. She was used to the feeling by now though, the rhythmic jolt of pain in time with her pulse. After all, when you spent your free time practicing aerial stunts, any one of which put more raw strain on the body than most ponies experience in a year, pain is a given. And after the first few times you crash hard enough to sustain real damage, the ability to block out the pain is a necessary skill.

Rainbow Dash forced herself to calm down, to stop hissing in each breath with a grimace. Eyes still firmly closed, she waited for a long moment, before slowly inhaling, feeling her chest rise, and a slight weight pressing down on her front. The weight confused her for a moment, but she dismissed it for the moment. Slowly, focusing on calming her heartbeat, Rainbow exhaled. Inhale, hold for a count of three, exhale. Breath in, four, breath out. In, five, out. When she got to fifteen, both her breathing and heartbeat had evened out, and the pounding in her head had begun to subside.

Very slowly, she opened her eyes. She squinted up at the ceiling. The fluorescent lights gave the mare no clue as to where she was. It seemed like every hospital had the same lights, a few years old, and not really high quality, and there was always that one that emitted a low buzzing noise, where something in the mechanism that caused the magic to flicker through the tube, rather than flow steadily. The bright lights stood out sharply against the grey stone roof.

That too made Rainbow pause. Where was she? Something didn’t feel right about this. If she were in a hospital, and the heavy scent of antiseptic cleaners seemed to suggest that she was, then why was the ceiling rock? She had been to the Ponyville hospital often enough to recognize the few beds they kept for injuries, mostly hers, that required the pony to stay overnight. And none of them were buried underground. It was hard to describe, but every pegasus could tell when they were underground. Twilight had mentioned something about their magic reacting to air currents, or something. Rainbow had been slightly more interested in the treasure trove of Sky Diamonds at the time.

That wasn’t the only problem. Ending up in a new hospital would have been unusual, since the last thing she remembered was flying through the Everfree, but it wouldn’t be the first time her memory had been jumbled by a crash. But there was no reason she would be underground. Or on her back.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” A polite voice called. Rainbow turned, and felt her body stiffen. A human was walking toward her bed. The human, a female, had a bright smile, and brilliant green eyes. “Are you okay?”

Rainbow’s mind was racing. Twilight had, after constant nagging from everypony, and what turned out to be a scarily accurate guess from Pinkie Pie, revealed all of the events that had happened to her in the human world, as well as the details of just what she meant by ‘human world’. Whoever this was, she didn’t resemble anypony that Rainbow knew, or even the various human versions of those same ponies that Twilight had described.

If that was true, and this person was a human, then she was at least as smart as a pony. And hadn’t Twilight said that when she and Spike had come to the human world, Spike had become a dog, while she had…

Horrified, Rainbow looked slowly away from the human, and down at her foreleg. It lay there, pale and slender. And rather than the hoof she had been hoping to find, she saw that, just as she had feared, her foreleg, no, her arm ended in five, delicate fingers.

“TEN-TEN!” Sakura cried, rushing to pin the suddenly thrashing patient. Sakura managed to grab her flailing limbs, shifting her grip to hold both of the girl’s arms with one hand. Her fingers held Rainbow’s arms like steel bands, just short of crushing the delicate limbs like twigs, and she moved her other hand to touch Rainbow gently on the brow. There was a warm aura surrounding her fingertips as they brushed against Rainbow’s forehead, and in the next moment, the human girl was resting peacefully.

“Haruno-san!” Ten-ten called, sliding through the doorway, an array of kunai and senbon both held tightly. She kept her body low for a moment, brown eyes darting rapidly around the room, finally settling on Sakura “What is it?”

“I need you to call Yamanaka-sama,” Sakura said, gently releasing the sleeping girl’s arms, and tucking her in. “Something doesn’t feel right about this, and I want an expert to examine her mind.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to ask Ino?” Ten-ten asked, receiving a steady gaze.

“Ino doesn’t have the experience that a delicate mind might require. I won’t risk a girls sanity so she can practice.” Sakura said, her words growing frosty. “She can always practice knitting minds back together when Ibiki is done with them.”

“Yes, Haruno-san.” Ten-ten said, bowing. “Forgive me, I just wondered if your history had—“

Sakura held up a hand, stopping her friend. “Yamanaka-sama, Ten-ten. Please.”

The girl nodded, before turning to leave the room. When she was gone, Sakura sucked in a deep breath, running a gloved hand through her hair. “Why do I get the same feeling about you that I get around Naruto?” she muttered, looking at the sleeping woman. “Like things are about to become very… troublesome.”

Rainbow was having a wonderful dream. She had been invited back to the Wonderbolt Academy, and had wowed Spitfire so much that she had made Rainbow a Wonderbolt on the spot. They didn’t have any spare wingsuits, so Spitfire had given Rainbow her own, winking at the newest member of the team with a saucy smirk, flicking a flame colored tail as she walked back to the stands.

Rainbow had slipped into the suit, still warm, and felt herself quiver with happiness. If it hadn’t been for the tight suit, she was sure she would have melted into a puddle on the spot. Instead, she stretched her wings as the announcer began the countdown to the race. All of her friends were in the stands, cheering her on, while the other racers looked sick, seeing their opponent. Lightning Dust and Gilda were both looking a little green, greener in Dust’s case. Beside her was the only real competition, another blue clad pegasus. Fleetfeather wouldn’t know what hit her.

Just as the announcer finished his countdown, and everypony burst into motion, a tall creature appeared in front of Rainbow Dash. She didn’t have time to react, barreling into the stranger, and landing on the dusty ground in a heap.

Suddenly, the race vanished, and so did everything else. The wingsuit was gone, and the stands, and the source less announcer. Instead, she found herself in, of all things, a museum. Picking herself out of the tangled pile with the man, the only other thing that had remained, Rainbow read the nearest placard. It was shiny gold, below a golden statue of her idol, Spitfire, shaped like the mare’s signature Flash Burn.

“What are you?” a voice asked from behind her, and Rainbow turned to look at the man. He was a human, similar to the ones that Twilight had talked about. He had hair the color of old straw, and green eyes that were narrowed as he looked down at Rainbow.

“Um, I’m a pegasus. Duh.” Rainbow said, flaring her wings. “See?”

“Let me get this straight.” Sakura sighed, rubbing her forehead. One arm rested on the table, cradling her head, while across from her sat Inoichi Yamanka, who looked equally confused and exasperated. “She thinks she is from another world? That she is some kind of horse with wings, and she lives with several other species of intelligent animals?”

“No.” Inoichi sighed. “She really is a, pegasus.” He said, struggling with the unfamiliar word.

“How is that possible?” Sakura groaned, letting her head fall slightly. “I examined her myself. She’s as human as I am. All of her organs, everything about her, even her chakra, is human. How can she be a horse?”

“Don’t call her that,” Inoichi admonished absently. “She doesn’t like it. And she might,” he stressed the word. “Might be deluded. But if she is, it is at a level so deep it’s become a part of her subconscious. For any practical purpose, they are the same thing. Even if it is delusion, it can’t be fixed, so we may as well assume it to be true.”

“Well, then what are we supposed to do?” Sakura snapped. “Is she sane?”

“Barring the possibility of delusion, yes. She’s more balanced than most ninja I’ve examined, actually. Apparently her life was a very peaceful one. She’s never had to kill, never even really hurt anyone before.”

“Well, that’s something at least. Is there any way that she could be a plant?”

“Yes,” Inoichi said simply, then carried on absolute surety. “But she can’t harm anything. She believes she is a different creature with the core of her being, there is no genjutsu or seal I’ve ever heard of that can change the core identity of someone so completely. Even if there was, it would be irreversible. You needn’t worry about her triggering.”

“Some good news at least,” Sakura muttered.

“Indeed,” he said, turning to look at the sleeping girl. “But what should we do with her? When she wakes up, she will not be too distressed. I explained that she was a human, and after a minor panic, she started talking about a friend, ‘Twi’ and how she became a human as well. She seemed to accept the idea readily, but we will have to wait to see how she handles it while awake.”

“Thank you,” Sakura said, rising and bowing to the man. “Could you please inform Lady Tsunade about this?”

“I had intended to,” Inoichi said, smiling. “But I would be happy to debrief her on your medical analysis as well.”

“As far as I can tell, she is perfectly healthy, apart from what you found in her mind.” Sakura said, handing the thin dossier on her patient . “She appears to be in as fit as an extremely healthy civilian, and her chakra flows naturally, and is far more powerful than expected. Otherwise, there is nothing that stands out.”

“I will inform the Hokage,” Inoichi said, rising as well. “She should be awake soon. Oh, and her name is Rainbow.”

Sakura thought about the tumult of colors in the girls long hair, and rolled her eyes. “Really?”

Inoichi smiled, and nodded. Then he left to room, leaving Sakura alone with her growing headache. “I knew it,” she groaned. “Troublesome.”

“What are you implying?” Tsunade asked, resting her cheek on a hand. Her other idly flipped through Sakura’s debriefing. “That she isn’t just some random girl?”

“I don’t know, Hokage-sama,” Inoichi replied with a short bow and a grimace. “All I can say is that she is utterly convinced that she is, in fact, a small horse. As detailed in my report, she seems to see the possibility of one of her kind becoming a human to be well within the realm of possibility, but she does not register any kind of human body as her default.”

“Is there any chance that brain injury could cause this? You know more about that branch than I do.”

“I’m afraid that the only way for that to be true would be severe enough that your apprentice and myself would both have immediately recognized the injury. Apart from her convictions, she appears to be a very healthy civilian girl. She is mentally as stable as any girl her age can be expected to be.”

Tsunade grunted, thinking. “Dismissed.”

Inoichi inclined his head in another short bow, muttering “Hokage-sama” before quietly leaving through the window. Once he was gone, Tsunade turned to her assistant.

“What do you think about this, Shizune?”

The young woman tilted her head, coming to stand a few steps closer to Tsunade as she thought. “Well, I’m certain that Sakura is skilled enough to notice any complications that might be lying in wait for the girl. Inoichi was right, there is no way that both he and Sakura could have missed the kind of head trauma that would induce hallucinations so severe as to completely shape her subconscious mind. And Inoichi is likewise certain that there is no genjutsu powerful enough to cause that level of identity shift, or that if there was, there would never be a way to reverse it, making it useless on a planted agent. So I think,” she hesitated a moment. I think that she may truly be from a different world. It isn’t that hard to believe, considering Naruto has a demon in his belly, and that the summons themselves live on a different plane.”

“I was thinking something similar,” Tsunade sighed, letting her head droop. “I was hoping you had another explanation.”

“Why?” Shizune asked, reaching out to rub the Hokage’s shoulders. Tsunade purred.

“Because,” she mumbled after a luxurious few minutes enjoying her apprentice’s fingers. “I’m not sure how to deal with her. It’s not like we can reverse summon her.”

“Well,” she amended. “At least not without knowing where she originated. Then it would just be a matter of chakra.” Tsunade suddenly groaned, and slumped forward onto her desk. “Sensei, I hate you.”

Shizune giggled at the muffled oaths, before a sudden thought occurred to the med-nin. “Tsunade-sama?”

“Hm?” the older woman grunted, not bothering to lift her head. “I’ve just thought of something. Even if we could figure out where she came from, and reverse summon her there, wouldn’t we need to accompany her to do it? What if there isn’t chakra there, whoever went would be stuck.”

“Damn it.” Tsunade whined, leaning back to slouch in her chair. “You’re right. So she would need to reverse summon herself. Looks like we’ve got a new shinobi.”

One Month Later

“You need to form the seals faster.” Kumiko said, calmly. She walked over to Rainbow, slowly forming a string of hand seals. Seal after seal formed between the special Jonin’s fingers, speeding up with each seal. Soon her fingers blurred, each seal forming faster than Rainbow’s eyes could follow. “When you can form the seals at this speed, we will proceed to the next stage of your training.”

“I can already use magic,” Rainbow grumbled, once again going through the seals. “Monkey, Dragon, Rat, Bird, Ox, Dog, Horse, Tiger, Boar, Ram, Hare.”

“Snake,” Kumiko corrected calmly, once more showing the snake seal. “Again.”

Rainbow growled. This time, she made sure the snake seal was added to the list. Then she went through the series of seals again. The young woman noticed something flickering at the edge of her vision on the fourth repetition of the seals, and flung herself forward in a clumsy roll. The kunai sank into the ground where she had been standing, and she glared at her teacher. Kumiko slowly lowered her hand, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Driven by instinct, Rainbow twisted her body to the side, gasping as several shuriken grazed her arm. They opened up several thin cuts in her arm, but she did her best to ignore the small injury. Her teacher jumped forward lightly, arms raised in the Academy Style taijutsu stance. Rainbow winced, raising her arms into a rough imitation of the stance. While Kumiko’s body was loose and fluid though, Rainbow was a collection of tense muscles and tight joints.

“Sen—“ Rainbow started. Kumiko lunged, attacking the moment her focus wasn’t entirely on the fight, and throwing a hard punch at the pegasus. Rainbow brought her arms up in a block, grunting as her fist slammed into her injured one.

“Battle is as much a part of a shinobi’s life as breathing. Never allow your focus to wander in combat,” Kumiko scolded mildly. While her words were light, something flashed in her dark eyes. She brought a foot up in a high kick, knocking Rainbow’s blocking arms to the side. She followed the movement through its arc, like the Academy had taught them to, and brought her leg back around in a low sweep.

Rainbow had seen the move before, and jumped over her leg. Her grin was promptly wiped from her face when Kumiko slammed her palm into her chest. Without her legs to balance her, Rainbow was sent flying. She hit the ground a few feet away from her sensei, rolling a few times on the soft grass. She felt the air stir around her, and Rainbow flipped over onto her feet, just in time to avoid a powerful heel-strike the thudded into the ground where her thigh had been. She felt her lips twist up into some bastard offspring of a smile and a growl.

It took Kumiko a moment to correct her stance, giving Rainbow a second or two to think. It was clear that Kumiko was testing her, but not going all out. She had seen the woman train against another ninja, and both of them had been little more than a blur of motion. She was telegraphing her attacks and letting her dodge. That kick was one she shouldn't have used, it was too easy to dodge and left her open for a moment. With a smirk, Rainbow dashed forward, fist aimed to blow into her sensei’s stomach. Training or not, that kick would have shattered her leg, and she wasn’t about to play nicely.

Her fist was a few inches from Kumiko when the her lips twitched. Rainbow got a sudden, sinking feeling as her hand closed the distance, and slammed into her stomach. And passed right through her.

Magenta eyes widened for an instant, before a boulder slammed into her back. Kumiko’s fist sank into her side, just under the ribs, and Rainbow dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Her hands flew to the injury as she lay there, gasping. Above her, Kumiko watched impassively as Rainbow struggled to push herself up. Satisfied that she wasn’t about to start coughing blood, Kumiko began to lecture.

“You are a shinobi now. We live and die at a moment’s notice. If Hokage-sama orders you to lay down your life for the village, there can be no hesitation.” Kumiko spoke softly, eyes hard. “It may be unlikely that Hokage-sama will ask you to sacrifice yourself for the good of Konoha, but you must accept that possibility if we are to train you. Until a way is found to return you home, you are a Shinobi of the Leaf. There is more to being a ninja than memorizing hand seals and learning stances. Deception is the life’s blood of the shinobi, in every village. The Clone Jutsu is one of the simplest abilities, and it is part of every ninja’s arsenal. What did you do wrong?”

Rainbow sucked in a ragged breath, swearing under her breath. “I attacked you?” she guessed, finally pulling herself up into a sitting position on the ground.

“Allowing an opponent to dictate a battle is never a winning strategy. Attacking was not the cause of your failure.”

Rainbow paused, evening out her breathing as she stared back at Kumiko. Her eyes slid out of focus as she replayed the short fight in her head. After a moment, she spoke slowly. “The problem wasn’t my attacking, it was the attack itself. I left myself too open, just like you seemed to when your clone attacked. When the attack missed, there was not a way to recover before you counterattacked.”

“Correct.” Kumiko nodded to her. “It is unwise to devote your full attention to an attack, even one that can end the battle immediately. Never assume that you know everything your enemy is capable of. If he can avoid or somehow mitigate your attack, then such focus will leave you open to counterattacks, and you will die. Even the simplest jutsu can change the tide of battle. A distraction and a clone can divert your enemy long enough to slip a blade between his ribs. A well placed transformation can allow you to poison a mark. A substitution can allow you to trade places with a nearby object. If you can perform them when your enemy has lost sight of you, you can turn the battle to one in your favor.”

“The hand seals for the clone jutsu are Ram, Snake, Tiger. These seals will help you focus your chakra into the shape you need.” Kumiko said, eyes softening a fraction as she saw the impulsive woman think about her words. Rainbow nodded to her though, and closed her eyes in focus. Slowly, Rainbow ran through the sequence.

She couldn’t feel anything happening to her magic, but she completed the sequence. At a nod from her sensei, she formed the hand seals again, much faster. A third repetition had her forming the seals as fast as she could complete the full string of twelve seals she had been practicing all morning.

Kumiko nodded to her, stern expression softening a fraction further. “Indeed. These are the seals for the substitution jutsu. And the transformation jutsu.” she said, showing her student the seals.

Rainbow watched carefully, forming both hand seal sequences twice while her teacher watched.

“I must leave for a mission. I will return tomorrow morning. If you can show that you can form all of the seals at an adequate speed, and the three jutsu sequences, then I will teach you how to focus your chakra.” Kimiko said face resuming its usual granite features. Her hands came together into a tiger seal, and she vanished in a swirl of leaves and dark hair. She appeared in one of the nearby trees, watching her pupil.

When her sensei vanished, Rainbow let herself flop back onto the ground with a groan. Her back felt like it would soon be one huge bruise, and every muscle in her fingers and arms ached from overuse. She knew fatigue would make her fingers clumsier than they already were. Stupid hands.

Still, that clone thing sounded cool. Even Twilight hadn’t been able to create illusions like that. Hers were always faintly purple coloured, but Kumiko’s clone had been identical in every way Rainbow could see. A grin stretched her lips as Rainbow thought about getting her hands on something that cool. With a groan, she pushed herself up. And began making the seals again.

In her tree, Kumiko let one of her increasingly rare smiles show. This girl had potential. Unless she died trying. The dark thought stole the smile away from her, and Kumiko leapt from her tree towards the Hokage’s Tower.

The Ramen Cook

Rainbow Dash lifted a kunai gingerly from the small cloth pack lying open on the table. The kit  had been rolled tightly together when it had been tossed to her, bound by a thin piece of fabric. When she had pulled at the simple knot, the tightly furled pack had fallen open, with ten of the knives resting in individual slots. Each one was held loosely by a loop of cloth around the grip to keep the blades from falling out no matter how the ninja contorted their body, while the deadly edges of the kunai were sheathed in small cups of the heavy fabric, keeping the blades from slicing through the kit at some inopportune moment.

It took Rainbow a moment to figure out how to pull the blade from its holster, tugging hard from several angles before her instructor took pity on the girl. Slowly, the man had put his finger through the steel ring of the pommel, and pulled the kunai free from its sheath with a soft schnick. Without a word, he had slid the kunai back into its place, and stepped back to watch.

Now, with one of the heavy knives in her hand, Rainbow looked back to her instructor. The scarred man nodded his head behind her, and she turned to see a straw dummy, vaguely shaped like a human, a few meters away. It had several rings drawn on its body, one in the center of its chest, another on its head, and one on each thigh and wrist. It was the same set of targets that had been painted onto the dummy she had been told to practice her taijutsu attacks on, the vulnerable parts of the human body. The places she could most easily kill or incapacitate a target.

“Throw.” Her teacher grunted, his eyes closed. Rainbow froze for a moment, looking over her shoulder at the man. Then, shaking slightly, she lifted the knife and tightened her grip. She had seen a few ninja practicing with the weapons before. Even the children had tossed around the blades like they were toys. Each and every one of them had held the blades by the padded grip, tossing them with a single fluid movement of their arms. Taking a deep breath, Rainbow straightened, and force her arm to relax. She exhaled slowly, and flicked her arm out like she had seen the others do.

And nearly succeeded in stabbing herself in the foot. The kunai tumbled from her fingers with so little force that it simply fell. Rainbow barely had time to realize that the knife wasn’t speeding towards the target like she had wanted it to, and jerk her foot out of the way of the kunai.

The blade sank into the earth easily, burying itself almost to the hilt. Rainbow felt her pale, human cheeks flush red with embarrassment, and stooped to tug the knife from the ground. She tried again, throwing harder this time, and sent the kunai flying into the table a few feet away, were it stuck in the wood mockingly.

Behind her, her instructor sighed. “Look,” he said, lighting a cigarette with a glowing bulb of flame at his fingertips. He took a slow drag, and sighed out a cloud of smoke. “Have you ever thrown a ball?”

“Um,” Rainbow said, tugging the blade from the table with a grunt. “No, I don’t think so.”

The man opened an eye, giving her a skeptical look. Smoke curled from his nostrils as he sighed, letting his head droop. “Troublesome.”

“You’re holding the kunai wrong.” He said, reaching behind his back to grab one of his own kunai from a pouch. “Look at this? See how my fingers are just resting on it, barely tight enough to keep it from falling? And my index finger is lying along the grip like this?”

Rainbow nodded, shifting her grip to match his. She still wasn’t entirely used to her new fingers, but after days of practicing hand seals with Kumiko, she had achieved a slightly above average grasp of dexterity. The kunai felt odd, held like this, and it strained muscles she hadn’t been aware of, but she managed a rough mimic of her teacher’s grip.

“No.” he sighed, stepping closer to her. “Move your fingers back a bit, and let the ring rest against your palm. Like that. Your fingers are the fulcrum, you let the kunai’s weight keep it in your hand. Feel that?”

“What?” Rainbow said, focusing on the blade between her fingers.

“The way most of the weight is on your last three fingers?” He explained, waiting as Rainbow nodded. “Good. Now, watch my arm. Do you see how my whole arm straightens in one movement? Use your index finger to point where you want the kunai to go when you let it slip between your fingers. Now, try again.”

Rainbow tried again, doing her best to keep everything her teacher said in mind. Once again, the kunai slipped from her fingers, and she felt her face heating up. She glanced back at her instructor, who was watching her beneath lidded eyes, seeming tired. He made no move to correct her though, and she grabbed the kunai from the ground again. Her second try went a little better, with the kunai landing about halfway between her and the target. Pleased with herself, Rainbow snatched another kunai from the pack, and tried again.

This time, she added a little more power to the throw, and was pleased to see it zip through the air. She missed her target, and the knife thudded into a nearby tree, but the young woman practically glowed. Quickly, the rest of her kunai pack followed the first two, the seventh blade even managing to slice into the target dummy’s side. The knife kept flying, and sank into the soft ground several meters further, but the bright yellow of freshly cut straw was a sign of her improvement, and Rainbow was thrilled.

Quickly, she ran out onto the field, and collected her weapons again. At a nod from her teacher, she quickly threw the lot back out, only to miss the target with each throw. She was closer than she had been through, and grinned.

Most of the afternoon passed like this, with her teacher occasionally giving her advice in between long puffs of smoke. Mostly, he leaned against the tree with his eyes closed, or looked up at the clouds passing overhead. Meanwhile, Rainbow threw her new blades again and again, slowly improving her aim. Eventually, when eight out of the ten kunai struck the dummy, her teacher told her to collect her blades. When she got back, she found another dummy had sprung up, a few meters further away. Without a word, she started again, tossing the kunai out and trying to hit the new target.

By late that afternoon, Rainbow was exhausted. Her arms were trembling from strain, and though she hadn’t noticed until she stopped, the cloth grips of her kunai were stained pink from the blisters that had burst on her hands. Her fingertips were rubbed raw, and the pads of her palms were missing several layers of skin as well, bright pink patches worn in the pale flesh. Her teacher had, after she had begun to hit with the kunai more often than not, insisted that she learn how to throw with her other hand as well, and started the whole exercise over again.

Wearily, she trudged over to the target. With a wince, she wrapped her fingers around the handle, and jerked the kunai out of the dummy with weary motions, slipping then back into the pack. She rolled the pack into a tight scroll, tying it clumsily, and stowed the bundle in her own waist pouch. Then she stumbled back to her teacher.

The Nara had been asleep for most of the day, waking up every so often to check on his student’s progress. Now, the tired shuffle of her steps roused him, and he looked up. He glanced at the sky, and then at the tired woman stumbling towards him, sharp eyes noting the slowly beading blood dripping from her fingertips. He sighed.

“You didn’t have to train that hard.” He said, when she was close enough that he wouldn’t have to raise his voice.

Rainbow glanced at him in confusion, head tilted to the side. “I’ve always trained hard. I’ve always dreamed of becoming a Wonderbolt, and they only accept the best fliers. I used to practice all day, every day.” She paused, and added as an afterthought. “At least, when I wasn’t napping.”

The Nara snorted out a laugh, pulling out another cigarette. After a moment’s thought, he held out the pack to her. “Want one?”

Rainbow nodded, pulling one from the pack, and letting her teacher light it. She copied him, holding the small paper thing between two fingers, and lifting the filter to her mouth. She watched as he took a deep drag on the cigarette, watching as the smoldering tip glowed orange in the failing light. Her teacher held his breath for a moment, before exhaling slowly.

Cautiously, Rainbow lifted hers to her mouth as well. The paper tasted like… well, like paper. It took her a moment, but Rainbow realized that she was supposed to hold the thing between her lips, not with her teeth, and she took a small breath.

The acrid taste of smoke made her cough, hacking as the cigarette tumbled from her lips to the ground. Rainbow coughed again, wisps of smoke escaping her mouth, and glared up at her teacher. Voice rough, she demanded “What is that?”

“You’ve never smoked?” Her sensei asked, dry amusement evident. When Rainbow shook her head, he just chuckled. “It isn’t for everyone. I like it, helps me relax.”

Privately, Rainbow thought that if her teacher relaxed anymore, then he might just stop breathing. She didn’t say anything though. Kumiko had heard Rainbow backtalk her, once. Rainbow’s spine ached at the memory of the beating she had received from the annoyed kunoichi afterwards. Instead, she stomped on the innocent looking cigarette, grinding it into the dirt beneath her sandal.

“Not much I can teach you with kunai. Now, you just need to practice. Try to stop before you tear your hand to shreds next time.” He said, cigarette bobbing. He turned and began walking away, lifting a hand in a casual wave as he did. “Kumiko will be back in a few days.”

“Thank you, Sensei.” Rainbow said, bowing like she had been taught. That had been the third lesson her usual teacher had taught her.

“Sure.” The man said, not looking back. A few moments later, and he vanished, seemingly swallowed by the shadows beneath the trees.

When he was gone, Rainbow sighed, and began to walk back into the city. Konoha, being a ninja village, didn’t keep the same hours that most cities did. Many establishments, from markets to weapon shops, were open at night, to serve the ninja who might be more of a nocturnal bent.

Ichiraku’s Ramen was one such establishment. From what Ayame had told Rainbow, her father cooked in the morning and early afternoon, while she did the work in the evenings. From what Rainbow could tell, the two made a tidy profit, and more importantly, they made food that was as close to divine Rainbow had tasted since the last time she had been at the Grand Galloping Gala.

She had stumbled into the small ramen stand, literally, by accident one day after training. Kumiko had handed Rainbow her rump, yet again, and the sparring match had left the young woman angry and sore. When she had stumbled into the stand, the hostess had told her that she was going to sit down and have a decent meal, before she dropped.

It hadn’t taken long for the two women to become friends, Rainbow’s first since coming to this strange new world. Ayame was happy to have someone to talk to, since her little brother had gone off to train two years ago, and Rainbow loved the food, and the company.

Wearily, she dropped onto one of the stools, and let her head fall onto the counter with a thud. From the small kitchen, she heard a chuckle. “Hello Rainbow. Hard day?”

Rainbow groaned loudly, and lifted her head just enough to speak. “I was learning how to throw kunai.” she mumbled, hoping she was loud enough to hear. “Sensei said I worked too hard.”

From the kitchen, she heard a snort, and Ayame poked her head through the doorway, lifting the cloth flaps away from her face. “Out of curiousity, was he about this tall, with dark hair that looked like a pineapple?”

“Huh?” Rainbow asked, looking up. “You know him?”

Ayame snorted, and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know him. His name is Nara Shikamaru, and if you were moving at all, he would think you’re training too hard. He’s probably the only person lazier than Hatake Kakashi.”

“What? You mean Kumiko-sensei passed me off to some bum?”

“He isn’t a bum” Ayame reprimanded, bopping Rainbow in the head with a ladle. “He may be lazy, but Shikamaru is a genius. He was the first one of his group to be made a Chunin, even though he lost his fight.”

“What fight?”

“Oh, I forgot. You weren’t here for the Chunin Exams. They’re a really big test that ninja take to see if they are qualified to become Chunin. Last year’s test had a written exam, and then two fighting contests. They had so few teams make it through the written portion that they didn’t bother with a second phase. Shikamaru and Naruto both went through the exam together, on different teams. I was watching the fighting tournament that day, and even though Shikamaru lost his fight, he only did because he didn’t have enough chakra to win, and he knew it. He outsmarted his competition, and when the Hokage saw how he acted, he was promoted to be the first Chunin out of the twenty or so combatants.”

“Wow,” Rainbow murmured, feeling impressed. “So he’s dangerous?”

Ayame looked at her young friend with a raised eyebrow. “He’s a ninja.”

“Oh, right.” Rainbow blushed a little, and hastily tried to cover her embarrassment. “So, can I get some ramen?”

Ayame rolled her eyes, and ducked back into the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a large bowl of noodles and broth, setting it down in front of Rainbow. “Miso ramen, with carrots and lettuce, just like you like it.”

Rainbow let out a happy little “Squee!” and dove in.

“Hey, Ayame?” Rainbow asked, turning to look out at the city. It had taken her a few days to get used to the open and airy ramen stand. Kumiko had left her student with enough money to buy herself dinner when she was done with the days training, but had vanished immediately after handing off the small pouch of ryou notes. Rainbow had been left to wander around the village until she caught the delicious scent of lettuce and what she soon found was peanut oil.

Her nose had lead her into a small restaurant, where the man behind the counter was grilling an assortment of vegetables. The pegasus had found it odd that, time after time, she had found herself indoors. In Ponyville, very little was done indoors that wasn’t private. Eating, shopping, even most taverns were all outdoors, sheltered beneath an awning if there was a storm scheduled. It seemed that Konoha was the opposite, with all but a few places being bounded by four sturdy walls, and a solid roof.

Except the little ramen stand, which was as much a part of her love for Ayame’s business as the delicious ramen the young woman cooked. One of the reasons that she loved the lack of walls was the feel of wind on her skin. But the more practical part was that it gave the ninja-in-training a wider range of vision. There was usually nothing to see, only a few civilians going about their business as night fell, and a few of the shops for ninja turning on their signs. Tonight was different though.

“Yes,” Ayame answered, poking her head out of the small kitchen, one hand lifted to brush aside the strips of cloth that curtained the doorframe. “What is it, Rainbow?”

“Who is that?” Rainbow pointed out into the gloom, at a trio of small figures standing in front of one of the nearby shops. The figures were hard to make out in the darkness, but she could just make out a long scarf wrapped about the neck of the leader of the squad. They had several small boxes arrayed nearby, and were looking around furtively.

“Oh,” Ayame said, rolling her eyes and smiling. “That would be the Konohamaru Corp.”

“Who?” Rainbow asked, turning back to face the woman. She caught Ayame chuckling as she looked out at the trio. Briefly, Ayame lifted a hand, waving to the troublemakers, before turning to her new friend.

“Konohamaru Sarutobi, Moegi, and Udon. They are a genin team, and they are the local pranksters.”

“Pranksters, huh?” Rainbow said, rubbing her chin as she turned a speculative eye back at the three ninja. “What!?”

 By the time she turned around, the pranksters were gone, along with the boxes that must have contained various paints. They had left behind what, Rainbow supposed, would be considered graffiti. It was surprisingly… well, she hesitated to call it beautiful, but the artwork was most definitely striking. The front of the store, including the doorway and windows, was painted over to depict a massive, nine-tailed fox. It’s tails lashed out behind the creature, and fire leaked from between ferocious jaws. And standing before the fox, undaunted, was another figure in orange. A shock of blonde hair covered the figures head, and a glowing ball of blue and white rested in each of his palms. In the painting, the figure’s head was turned just enough for one piercing blue eye to glare back at whoever was looking at the picture, as if warning them not to interfere in his battle. three whiskers were visible on his face, and his mouth was contorted into a feral growl.

“How did they paint that so fast?” Rainbow asked, turning back to Ayame. Her mouth was opened to ask another question, when she saw the look on the young woman’s face.

Rainbow had never seen Ayame look so lonely before. Usually the young woman was cheerful, always ready to greet a passerby with a smile and a wave. But looking at the picture, at the storefront directly across from her little stand, she looked horribly sad. Rainbow could see longing in the woman’s dark eyes, and in the way her knuckles were white as she clutched her ladle to her chest.

Rainbow had never been the most observent pony, but after seven months of grueling training by ninja, she had been forced to pick up more than a little talent for it. She had been instructed in all sorts of expressions and body language, in listening to what was unsaid as much as what was spoken aloud. She had even been taught how to fake several of those reactions herself, though Kumiko had merely deemed her adequate at such fakery.

Ayame was a civilian though, and Rainbow doubted that the woman would have the training needed to fool even a student ninja. Everything, from the way the ramen chef was leaning slightly forward, as if about to run, to the slight crinkling of brow and eye told Rainbow what she needed to know. It was enough to make the brash young woman bite her tongue, and speak softly.

“You love him, huh?”

Ayame jumped, letting go of her ladle as she turned to face Rainbow. She opened her mouth, ready to deny the accusation, but saw the serious look on the normally cocky woman’s face. Ayame’s mouth snapped shut, and she nodded jerkily, almost as if she were afraid to admit it.

Rainbow nodded her head, and gave her friend a warm smile. “Who is he?”

“His name is… Uzumaki Naruto. He’s sort of like Konohamaru’s mascot, and his idol. He see’s Naruto as somewhere between a rival, a friend, a father, and Kami incarnate.” Ayame chuckled, and Rainbow felt her ears twitch as she detected a faint tremble in the woman’s laugh. Ayame looked down, worrying her ladle with both hands as she spoke slowly. “Naruto… he isn’t well liked in the village. Most of the civilians hate him, and while most of the ninja don’t hate him, exactly, they certainly don’t like him. The older generation, at least, ignore him. Even among his own age group, he only has a few friends.”

Rainbow nodded her head, keeping quiet as she waited for the woman to continue.

“It was… bad, when he was young.” Ayame whispered, knuckles going white again. This time though, Rainbow could tell by the harsh lines as the woman tensed herself, it wasn’t sadness. For the first time since she had met the woman, Rainbow saw her friend angry. “Most stores wouldn’t serve him, and the places that did charged him four or five times what they normally do. He had to eat scraps, and live in a horrible little apartment for years. He… from what he said, he had to choose between a roof and eating about half the time.”

Rainbow’s eyebrows jumped as she blinked in surprise. Then they too furrowed as she felt indignant anger boiling in her own chest. Slowly, her hands curled into fists.

“He was six when we moved to Konoha. He had been living on the street for a year, since his landlord had raised his rent again.” Ayame’s voice was trembling as she spoke, and Rainbow could see her eyes glistening with tears. The thick coils of anger and grief gripped the chef, and her breaths grew shallow as she tried to control herself. “The first time he came to the shop, he was so little. Daddy gave him some ramen for free, we felt so bad for him. Then, when he said how yummy it was, Daddy told him to come back tomorrow for the grand opening.”

By now, Rainbow could feel her own chest tighten in sympathy with her friend, and with the plight of a child she didn’t even know. In Equestria, foals were precious, and nopony would even think of treating one so horribly. Ayame’s words grew choked as the tears she had been holding back with her anger began to spill out anyway.

“He said he couldn’t afford it, that he had no money. That the restaurant he lived behind charged him almost all of his money to rent a box, and a blanket. And when I tried to give him a hug, he fell off his stool, trying to run away. He thought I was going to hurt him, and take the money he had left.”

With that, Ayame fell forward, catching herself on the counter. Her head was lowered, and the tight bun she had pinned her hair up into had come undone, hiding her face behind a brunette curtain. Her shoulder’s shook are she cried, but Rainbow could see her hands. She had dropped the ladle, it had clattered to the floor as she fell forward. Her hands had been splayed on the counter when she caught herself, but now they were curled into tight fists.

When Ayame spoke, words broken by her silent sobs, her words carried a venom Rainbow hadn’t thought possible from the sweet woman.

“He didn’t know what a hug was. He had never been held, been touched by someone who didn’t want to hurt him.” Ayame lifted a fist and slammed it down on the countertop. “Nobody had ever been nice to him before. They hated him, every adult in the village. They were cruel and petty, and they hurt a child. Daddy asked Naruto if he had anything in his box, and told him to fetch his precious things. He looked so scared, like he thought Daddy was going to take them from him, but he went anyway. When he left, Daddy told me to go home, and pull out an extra futon.”

By the time she had finished speaking, Ayame had calmed herself enough to speak without sobbing. She thudded her fist against the counter again, before taking several deep breaths. Then, as she exhaled, she stood straight. Brushing her hair back, she smiled at Rainbow. Even if it was watery, Rainbow could see that genuine happiness behind the smile.

“Since then, Naruto lived with us. Up until last year, when he left with his sensei to train. And ever since that day, I’ve never seen Naruto sad. Even when he’s upset, he always has a smile for everyone, trying to make everyone a little happier.” Her smile faltered for a moment, and melancholy stole over her features. “Except for the last day of the Chunin Exams. Konoha was attacked by Oto and Suna, and we almost lost. Konoha won the battle, and Suna sued for peace soon after. But the battle cost us our Hokage, the only person Naruto had before he met me and Daddy. And Daddy died in the attack. A giant snake crushed the stand before he could get out. I was watching the finals at the time. That was the only time Naruto stopped smiling.”

Rainbow stood, walking quickly around the counter. Before she could second guess herself, she reached out, wrapping her arms around Ayame. She could feel the woman shaking, and it took a moment before the pegasus realized that she wasn’t the only one. Ayame hugged Rainbow tight, squeezing her friend wordlessly. Speaking softly, the chef’s breathing began to steady out.

“Thank you, Rainbow. I… haven’t been able to talk to anybody about Naruto since Daddy… since he died. And Naruto left right after. I guess it’s been… on my mind recently. It’s almost his birthday.”

“He won’t be back for his birthday?” Rainbow asked, pulling away from the other woman. Silently, Ayame shook her head. To her surprise, Rainbow found herself grinning. “Well, that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate it anyway, does it? When is his birthday?”

“October tenth,” Ayame said, with an odd edge to her voice. She had tensed again as she spoke, as if she expected the words to anger Rainbow Dash.

“Well, we’re going to have a celebration. And you can tell me all about him, if you want. After all, I’d love to hear about how you two fell in love.” Rainbow said, before slapping a hand over her mouth. Her cheeks flushed a brilliant scarlet as she stared wide eyed at her friend.

“Don’t worry,” Ayame laughed, bending down to grab her ladle. “I won’t tell anyone that the big bad Rainbow Dash has a girly side.”

Rainbow, like the mature pony she had been before her transformation, did the only thing a self respecting ninja could do in the situation. She ignored her brilliant blush, and stuck her tongue out at the ramen chef.