The Red Maelstrom

PART I: The Seiche

Rated PG-13 for language, violence, mild gore, and human experimentation.

Dirt and dust stirred beneath shuffling feet and limping legs. A girl fell back upon the dry ground, bleeding from scrapes and cuts of varying size and severity. She was groaning, cheek cupped tenderly with a small hand as she collected blood and saliva alike to spit into the floor.

Uzumaki Naruto, shaken, but far better off than his classmate was, watched on with horror as a tooth accompanied Fuyu Kohana's admittedly impressive spit. They watched the wayward thing tumble once, twice, until it settled at Naruto's toes, leaving a thread-like trail of red in its wake. He looked back up at Kohana. Her hair was in such terrible disorder, covered in dust and sweat and perhaps even blood as it was, that even optimistic, freewheeling Naruto couldn't find it in him to laugh (still, he could remember her screaming hoarse curses as they attempted to pin violent, unfriendly Fuyu Kohana). The sight was so pathetic (so familiar), that Naruto felt a deep and irrational anger bubble up his throat.

"What'd you do that for?"

Kohana spat onto the ground again. There was more blood this time.

"S'ven 'gainst one ain't fair." With a little groan, she pushed herself to a wobbly stand. Naruto recoiled with a choked off gasp when Kohana ran her raw fingers through her hair. A clump the size of her palm stuck to her hand.

"Damn," she cursed, to which Naruto pursed his lips in mild distaste. Kohana was still too calm.

As if reading his thoughts, Kohana stuck her tongue out at him. "Stop lookin' at me like that, 'ya dolt—" She made a face, spat again. "This one's bad, but 'm used to it." And then, under her breath, Naruto swore he heard her curse again, followed by, "Sasuke's gonna kill me."

Naruto found himself getting unreasonably angry gain. "Sasuke's gonna kill me first!" This was the second time Kohana had saved him, and the first aftermath was distinctly unpleasant all because of Uchiha Sasuke glaring daggers at him for weeks. If he found out Kohana had lost a tooth and her (super duper cool) hair over Naruto...

"He won't."

"Yes, he will!"

"He. Won't."

"Yes, he will, and I'm never gonna hear the end of this! Believe it!"

Now, Naruto could tell Kohana's calm, easygoing demeanor was wearing off rapidly, and out came her infamous temper.

She threw her ruined hair at Naruto, who sputtered, shrieking in surprise.

"Where's my thanks, huh? I save you from gettin' killed because 'a those dumbasses and you give me shit for it—"

"Stop cursing!"

Kohana's ruddy cheeks were about as red as her hair at this point. "I'll curse when I wanna!"

Silence rang in the playground as the two children stared at one another, daring the other to back down. That was, until, they both threw their heads back and laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Naruto couldn't understand why he was laughing, but the moment Kohana's dirty, beat up face lit up from a quivering smile, something that had been pulled taut in Naruto fell apart. It wasn't funny; none of it was, but at the same time everything about the situation was unbearably hilarious. All his anger, his humiliation, and his endless gratitude had him falling over Kohana laughing his guts off.

When at last they both settled, Fuyu Kohana nudged his arm with her elbow, telling him, "I think 'ya owe me your life now." It was said in jest, obviously, even Kohana's goofy self-satisfied smirk (she really looked too much like Sasuke when she did that) told him so, but Naruto knew it wasn't an exaggeration. Those... bullies had been out for blood, and Kohana's sorry state was evidence of that.

"Why'd you do it?" Naruto asked again. It was a question he hadn't been able to ask her the first time. Why would she save him then? Why save him again now?

"Why d'you keep askin' that?"

Naruto avoided her probing gaze. "I just wanna know why." At that, Kohana sighed as though Naruto were asking a huge favor of her.

"Got sick of it. And you're kinda cool. And I think it might get me a smile from Sasuke. And... I dunno, I want another best friend."

Absolutely none of that made sense to Naruto, least of all Kohana's last two reasons. All he could do was gape at her (huh, he sure found himself speechless a lot this afternoon).

"Best friend?" Naruto parroted. He almost sounded like an idiot, even to his own ears, but... best friend?

Kohana smirked again. She even winked, which barely worked; the eye she winked with was practically swollen shut. "Yeah. Whaddaya say? Bein' my best friend's the best thing ever. I'll show 'ya."

Naruto scratched his head. What did that mean? What did best friends do? What was Kohana gonna do with him if he said yes?

"A-ha! You're smilin'. I'm gonna take that as a yes!"

Naruto failed to notice the grin splitting his face almost uncomfortably. His stomach was an explosion of-of light and butterflies, so much so that Naruto felt something pushing against his throat, a sensation he likened to vomiting and crying. But his eyes were dry and he didn't feel particularly nauseated. Was this what friends felt around one another?

Once again Naruto found himself unable to speak, capable only of nodding vigorously.

Kohana held her fist out and turned her nose up haughtily. From that angle, Naruto sighted her missing tooth. "Alright! As my best friend, you're now under my protection. If 'ya get hurt under my watch, I'll cut my awesome, beautiful hair real short! Now, bump my fist with yours, best friend!"

Naruto raised his own fist, pressing his knuckles gingerly against the wounds on Kohana's. She did not flinch, only stared with gleaming green eyes that reminded Naruto only of the safety of Konohagakure's deep forests.

So this was friendship.

"Cool. Now, will 'ya lend me your shoulder? My ankle's messed up and I can't walk, I think..."

Naruto didn't even spare a beat.

"Sure!"