"Oc in Naruto"

Chapter 8

The early morning sun caught the edges of Aria's silk eye covering – a practical solution she'd developed after one too many migraines from sensory overload. The finely woven material, infused with seals of her own design, helped filter the overwhelming flow of information her Ryūgan constantly perceived. Like ripples in a pond becoming manageable waves, it let her function without constant conscious effort to dampen her abilities.Her iridescent purple hair, another manifestation of her harmonized dragon chakra, shifted colors in the light as she moved through the Hokage tower's corridors. The transformation from white to this otherworldly shade had happened gradually over the past three years, each strand catching light like strands of twilight. A few civilians still did double-takes when they saw it shimmer between shades of violet, indigo, and occasionally a deep rose gold in certain lights."You're brooding again," Ryūō observed as she made her way to her usual post near Tsunade's office. "Your eyes are darkening.""Am not," Aria muttered, though she consciously relaxed, letting her eyes fade back to their usual deep purple from the obsidian they became when her mood darkened. "Just thinking about the patrol routes.""Mhm." The dragon's tone was knowingly amused. "Nothing to do with young Hyūga's rather obvious attempts to schedule his ANBU shifts to coincide with yours?"Before Aria could respond, a familiar chakra signature flickered at the edge of her awareness – one of her Hiraishin markers activating. In a flash of purple-tinged light (because regular yellow was "too boring," as she'd declared while modifying the technique), she appeared in Tsunade's office, just as a chunin messenger was raising his hand to knock."Message from the border patrol," she announced calmly, making the chunin jump. Her ANBU mask – a stylized hawk with purple markings – hung casually at her hip rather than covering her face. Within the tower, everyone knew who she was anyway."Show-off," Tsunade said fondly, accepting the scroll. "You know, most ANBU guards don't teleport around the tower just because they can.""Most ANBU guards didn't spend six months pestering the Second Hokage's great-niece for scrolls on space-time ninjutsu," Aria countered with a grin. Her mastery of the Flying Thunder God technique had become something of a running joke among the ANBU corps – especially since she had a habit of marking her favorite lunch spots around the village.A shadow passed over the window, and Aria's smile widened as one of her smaller hawk summons landed on the sill. Barely larger than a regular messenger hawk, Kaze was nevertheless one of her most reliable partners."Aria-sama," the hawk greeted formally, though his head tilted in that particular way that meant he had gossip to share. "Shinji-sama asked me to inform you that the great hawks have detected unusual movement near the northern border.""Shinji's being dramatic again, isn't he?" Aria scratched under the hawk's chin affectionately. The massive hawk captain, large enough to carry half a squad of ANBU on his back, had a flair for the theatrical that rivaled Guy-sensei's."Perhaps," Kaze admitted, preening slightly. "But he also said to remind you that you promised to help train the younger fledglings in aerial combat maneuvers.""As if I could forget. Last time I was late, he threatened to molt all over my apartment." Aria's scales flickered briefly visible beneath her skin with amusement. The great hawks had become like a second family to her, their sky-dance techniques blending beautifully with her dragon-enhanced abilities.Tsunade cleared her throat meaningfully. "Speaking of training, shouldn't you be meeting with your squad about that new formation we discussed?""Already handled," Aria tapped her temple next to her covered eyes. "Saw that conversation coming three days ago. Had the briefing yesterday." She paused, then added with a slightly sheepish grin, "Though I should probably mention that Training Ground Seventeen is going to need some repairs after Hawk Squad tried combining the Hiraishin with their aerial maneuvers.""Of course it does," Tsunade sighed, though her lips twitched. "At least tell me you didn't let them try it with Shinji this time.""No ma'am. Learned my lesson after the Great Cherry Tree Incident." Aria's expression turned momentarily distant, her covered eyes seeing something far away. "Though... you might want to reinforce the mission room's roof by next Tuesday. Just a feeling.""Noted." Tsunade had learned to trust Aria's "feelings" about future property damage. They'd saved the village considerable reconstruction costs over the years. "Now, don't you have somewhere to be?"Aria's covered eyes crinkled in a smile reminiscent of Kakashi. "Actually, in about thirty seconds, Shizune's going to burst in with that trade agreement you've been avoiding—"The door flew open. "Tsunade-sama! The Wind Country delegates are demanding an answer about the—""And that's my cue," Aria chirped, forming the Hiraishin seal. "Have fun with the paperwork!"She vanished in another purple flash, her laughter mixing with Ryūō's rumbling chuckle as Tsunade's creative cursing faded behind her. Freedom, she reflected as she reappeared atop the Hokage Monument, tasted like wind and lightning and joy."Show-off," Ryūō commented affectionately."Learned from the best," Aria replied, letting her eye covering shift just enough to watch the sun rise over her home, the patterns of the village's awakening spreading before her like a tapestry of light and possibility. "After all, what's the point of having all this power if you can't have a little fun with it?""Now that," the ancient dragon approved, "is true wisdom."The patterns shifted like wind through leaves, and Aria smiled beneath her ANBU mask. Right on schedule."Three... two... one...""KONOHA! YOUR FUTURE HOKAGE HAS RETURNED!"Naruto's voice echoed across the village with familiar exuberance. From her perch atop the gate, Aria watched the rippling waves of chakra that announced his arrival – bright as sunshine and twice as warm, with new depths and currents that spoke of his growth during his time away."Still as subtle as a paper bomb," Ryūō commented dryly."Would we want him any other way?" Aria replied, already forming the seals for Hiraishin. She had a marker placed near the gate specifically for moments like this.In a flash of purple light, she appeared directly in front of Naruto and Jiraiya, causing both to stumble back in surprise. Her ANBU mask gleamed in the sunlight, purple markings catching the light like scales."Welcome back," she said formally, though mischief danced in her covered eyes. "The Hokage is expecting you.""Whoa!" Naruto's eyes went wide, taking in her appearance. The iridescent purple hair that seemed to shift colors in the light, the silk covering over her eyes, the hints of scales that shimpered beneath her skin – none of it quite registering with his memories. "That's so cool! How did you do that? Was that the Flying Thunder God technique? And what's with the awesome hair? You kind of remind me of..."He squinted, trying to place her. "Hey, you look kind of familiar..."Jiraiya, more observant than his student, was already chuckling. "Kid, you might want to look a little closer."Aria removed her mask, hooking it to her belt with practiced ease. Her covered eyes crinkled in a smile that was equal parts Kakashi's mysterious eye-smile and her own dragon-touched mischief."Still dense as ever, Naruto?" she teased, her voice finally registering in his memory."Wait... that voice..." His eyes grew even wider. "No way... ARIA-CHAN?!"His shout of surprise sent a flock of birds scattering from nearby trees. One of them, Aria noted with amusement, was one of her hawk summons who would definitely be gossiping about this later."But... but... YOUR HAIR! And when did you get so tall? And what's with the cool eye covering? And since when are you ANBU? And was that really the Fourth Hokage's jutsu? And—""Breathe, Naruto," she laughed, the sound carrying echoes of Ryūō's rumbling amusement. "Three years is a long time. Things change.""Yeah but..." he gestured wildly at her entire appearance, "THIS MUCH?""Says the guy who's grown about a foot and finally traded orange for... slightly less orange," she countered, noting with amusement how his new outfit still maintained his signature color, just with more black mixed in."It's not that different!" he protested automatically, then paused. "Wait, how can you even see what I'm wearing with your eyes covered?"Aria's scales flickered briefly visible with amusement. "There's seeing, and then there's *seeing*," she said cryptically, channeling every lesson in dramatic timing she'd learned from both Kakashi and Ryūō."That doesn't make any sense!" Naruto complained, pointing accusingly. "You're starting to sound like Kakashi-sensei!""Thank you," she replied serenely, making him sputter more."Speaking of your teacher," Jiraiya interjected, eyes twinkling with amusement, "I hear interesting rumors about a certain dragon-eyed ANBU who keeps the Hokage's sake supply under better guard than the forbidden scroll.""Someone has to," Aria shrugged. "Though it helps that I can see about twenty minutes into the future when Tsunade-sama is about to try raiding her hidden bottles.""YOU CAN SEE THE FUTURE NOW?!" Naruto's jaw dropped."Sometimes. Usually just enough to avoid Guy-sensei's surprise training sessions." She paused thoughtfully. "Though that might be survival instinct rather than precognition.""Guy-sensei? You train with Bushy Brows' sensei too? What else did I miss?" Naruto looked like his brain was about to short-circuit from information overload."Well..." Aria pretended to think, counting off on her fingers. "I learned the Flying Thunder God technique, made a contract with the great hawks, mastered seeing through time, got adopted by a dragon, became ANBU, and..." she grinned, "I still remember exactly how many bowls of ramen you can eat in one sitting.""That's just... wait." Naruto's face lit up. "You still remember my ramen record?""Of course. Some things never change." She formed the familiar seals for Hiraishin. "Race you to Ichiraku's? I have a marker there.""That's cheating!" But he was already grinning, falling into the familiar rhythm of their friendship despite all the changes."Actually," she smiled as purple light began to gather around her, "it's just creative application of temporal-spatial manipulation. But you can call it cheating if it makes you feel better about losing!"She vanished in a flash of purple light, Naruto's indignant shout following her: "OI! GET BACK HERE! AND SINCE WHEN DO YOU USE SUCH BIG WORDS?"Jiraiya watched them go, shaking his head with a smile. "Some things really don't change," he mused, starting a leisurely walk toward Ichiraku's. After all, someone would need to explain to Naruto exactly how his old friend had ended up with dragon eyes that could see through time.Though maybe they'd save the story about the Cherry Tree Incident for another day.In the distance, he could already hear Naruto's voice: "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE KAKASHI-SENSEI'S FAVORITE STUDENT NOW?"Some things definitely didn't change. They just got more interesting.