Naruto Alternate Story: A Different Beginning

Ch 1 'Hurry up and grow My Little Rose'

"Kuchiyose...Edo Tensei no Jutsu?" Kabuto repeated.

"The Second Hokage originally developed it, but he sealed it away as a kinjutsu. That was such a waste, so I restored it. Naturally, I've made quite a few improvements from the Second Hokage's original Jutsu." Orochimaru said.

"You became enamored by another's jutsu, Orochimaru-sama?" (Kabuto)

"But there's still much I can do with it. And I must have more material containing individual data." (Orochimaru)

"What do you mean?" Kabuto asked.

"Oh, like blood and flesh...from legendary shinobi," Orochimaru replied.

"I understand, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, and beside him stood Nariko who stayed silent, as she always is.

"We shall perfect this Jutsu." Orochimaru stated.

On that day, it was earlier when Orochimaru took Nariko and Kabuto to an impoverished village. The conditions were so bad that there were deaths every single day. Orochimaru wanted to show them something, and it wasn't strange that he needed corpses.

In an underground cave where the dead bodies lay to rest, a young girl cried over a corpse, she called out for her mother. It took her moments before she noticed the three figures behind her. When she did she jumped back in fright. Most likely because of the evil glint in Orochimaru's eyes.

Immediately, Nariko knew exactly what Orochimaru was going to do. Nariko blocked the little girl's view.
The little girl looked into the calm blue orbs of Nariko and felt at ease for an unknown reason.

"You shouldn't be here, go." (Nariko)

The little girl nodded, she knew that it was best to listen to the beautiful girl or else she would face a fate worse than death by the scary snake looking guy, he was looking at her as if she were prey.
She quickly scattered away.

"You're no fun, Nariko," Orochimaru smirked.

"Didn't you have to show us something?" (Nariko)

"Yes..." (Orochimaru)

Orochimaru proceeded to do a jutsu on one of the corpses and after he held up two of his fingers, a light surrounded the corpse. Flakes of sheets overtook the corpse and then revealed someone of the undead.
Kabuto and Nariko were left speechless.
That was the first time they witnessed the Reanimation Jutsu.

Nariko 'was' five when they began their project of perfecting the Reanimation Jutsu. The Jutsu worked every time, but there was never once where they revived the right person. It was always someone of a distant relation to the person they wanted to revive.
Orochimaru never lost his patience, he seemed to have enjoyed the time of experimentation.

Throughout the process, Nariko didn't feel any emotion of fear or hesitation as if she were used to this, but that didn't mean that she never felt guilty.
She was used to seeing death and blood, from the moment she was born she has witnessed it herself. And as she grew she was fiercely trained and shaped into a deadly weapon.

She was only trained for a short amount of time, a year and a half because she was a prodigy in all types of jutsus and combats, there was not much left to teach her.

The Masked Man left her in the care of Orochimaru when she was four years old. Orochimaru off the bat liked her, obviously, he had great use for her. She also met Kabuto. Kabuto didn't exactly like her from the start, he'd ridicule and shrug her off. But gradually as they got to know each other on a deeper level their relationship became close. ("deeper" meaning personal)

Now, Nariko 'is' eight years old. Two years ago she settled in the Hidden Leaf Village and became one of their citizens. With the influence of Danzo, she became the youngest ANBU member. The Uchiha clan's plot against the Konoha leadership was put to a stop, bloodshed was avoided.

The main reason that Nariko resided in the Hidden Leaf is that she was ordered by the Masked Man to keep an eye on the Jinchuriki, Naruto, her younger brother.

She follows the orders of the Masked Man because he is the one who raised her, fed her, clothed her, and sheltered her. She owed him a lot for that even though her life was everything besides pleasant.

Nariko's identity in the Hidden Leaf is Nari Uzumaki, an orphan refugee of the Uzumaki clan, recognized for her prodigal skills and intelligence.

On one of her solo missions given by Danzo, she used this opportunity to meet up with Orochimaru at one of his hideouts.

If people knew of this they would think that she was a spy for Orochimaru, but in truth, she isn't. She isn't on anybody's side, she keeps secrets and information to herself.
Even when Orochimaru asks, she doesn't reveal anything, and that doesn't anger Orochimaru. He finds it fun to wait for the day when she does slip up.

After giving her greetings to Orochimaru and Kabuto she decides to take a shower.
Wearing a buttoned-up white shirt and shorts she exits the bathroom while drying her hair with a towel.

Kabuto laid leisurely on her bed, he kept his eyes on the bathroom door the entire time, waiting. He finished his work earlier than usual today, as he always did when she came by.
Sitting up he held out his hand.

"Give it here, I'll dry your hair." (Kabuto)

Without hesitation, Nariko gave him her towel and sat between his legs.
A known fact about Nariko is that she is lazy, at any chance that she doesn't have to do anything she'll go for it.
Drying her hair was tiring because of how long her hair was, but she couldn't bring herself to cut it, so there were many times where she'd leave her hair wet. However, ever since she made a small deal with Kabuto she dried her hair every time.

"Has there been a successful one yet?" Nariko asked.

Kabuto knew exactly what she was referring to, "Unfortunately, no. However, we have a new theory on how to make the jutsu perfect. We'll be testing it out in a few days after we get the ingredients."

"I see..." (Nariko)

"What about the Jinchuriki? Anything new occur?" (Kabuto)

"...Nothing." (Nariko)

"You're returning early tomorrow and you should get some sleep." Kabuto was done drying her hair. Nariko nodded in agreement.

Putting out the lights, she went under her covers and Kabuto followed after too.
It was normal for them to cuddle together, ever since they rarely saw each other.
In fact, Kabuto suggested this, admitting honestly that he likes to cuddle with her. And with no reason to refuse Nariko complied.

Kabuto gathered her into his arms so that there was no space between them, but also making sure that he didn't make her uncomfortable. He took a big whiff of her sweet honey milk scent, her scent comforted him and it made him feel warm on the inside. He felt that with her he could act and be who he really wanted to be. The day when he realized his feelings he found that he could never let her go.

Nariko soon breathed evenly meaning that she was sleeping. Kabuto looked at her with a rare softness and warmth in his eyes.

'Hurry up and grow My Little Rose'