the great pretender

namikaze nami

her eyes scanned the room, desperately looking for an escape route but to no avail. she had been in the countless of times and knew it inside out. the hokage's office had only one way in and two ways out: the door, and the window which was now locked to ensure she didn't attempt to escape. 

"nami, yet again, you attempt to leave the village, and you failed." the hokage looked at her in disappointment; despite his efforts to make her content, nami seemed to escape and leave the leaf, a place she once called her home. "you're a shinobi, a genin! you've refused every single squad we've offered you and you've given us no choice. you're now 12, so we're making you join a team. you can cry and complain all you want, but you're not going to force your way out of it this year."

"fine! I'll fight for the stupid leaf. just leave me alone!" tears began to form in her eyes. hiruzen only wished to try to keep his promise that he made minato. he wanted the 4th's kids to live a stable life, free from stress, but he couldn't. his duties as hokage were greater than ever and he had too many troubles to deal with.

nami let out a shaky sigh and stood up, leaving the room. she ran outside the building, heading full speed to her small apartment where she had everything. it was the only place in the leaf she could call her home. her vision was blurry, but she could see an orange blur heading her direction. nami paid no attention to it and turned away from it. little did she know, that orange blur was uzumaki naruto.

•

kakashi lazily watched as the other jonin picked out their genin squads. he wasn't at all worried, all he wanted was a group that got along so he could read his smut in peace. he leaned forward to grab the last slip of paper, but another jonin took it right out of his hand, leaving him the only one with no paper. he looked at the hokage looking for directions. perhaps someone took two instead of one, but that seemed unlikely.

"you're all dismissed. pick up your teams in exactly 4 days in their classrooms. kakashi, stay."
hiruzen spoke, eyeing kakashi. the room began to empty itself. kakashi leaned against the wall waiting for instructions. at this point, he could feel something was wrong.

"kakashi, i assign you to team 7. it consists of 4 genin, unlike any of the others. you can decline the squad if you'd like." hiruzen spoke, he waited for a response from the taller man.

"i'll accept it. who's in the team?" kakashi made immediate eye contact with hiruzen.

"haruno sakura, uchiha sasuke, uzumaki naruto and namikaze nami." hiruzen could feel the tension growing in the room as kakashi heard the name namikaze. no one had spoken that name in ages.

"i see. about nami, she graduated a few years ago, correct?"

"that is correct, but she never willingly joined any other group. she's turning 12 and we're forcing her to join a team. nami's intelligence is far greater than many jonin in the leaf. she's a great addition to anyteam. her strength and abilities aren't the greatest currently, but her chakra levels really show she's part uzumaki. I should probably mention, nami isn't a jinchuriki, i hope it makes it easier for you. on the other hand you have naruto, but his seal is still in great condition."

"i understand. i'll be watching them to collect some information." and as that, kakashi disappeared a cloud of dust. hiruzen knew he made the right decision for the kids, but he was unsure if kakashi would be able to handle it all.

•

nami headed towards a small training ground that was covered in trees. she felt at peace as it was often unoccupied. she held her kunai in her hand and aimed for several points around her. she took a breath in and swiftly moved. she threw each kunai in an instant and they all hit the target spot on. kakashi, who had been watching her, was impressed. he could see minato in her. any movement she made was perfect, in fact, the hidden leaf thought nami was completely perfect. she was smart and a was also a well-rounded shinobi. nami, who by now managed to feel another chakra in the area, put her guard up. kakashi didn't bother to hide his chakra. he didn't expect her to be able to sense it.

in the blink of an eye, a kunai was thrown in the direction where kakashi stood. if it wasn't for his quick reflexes, he may have been hit. nami sprinted towards kakashi. she had figured out his location and was ready to fight, but she hadn't managed to figure that he was a jonin just yet.

nami kept running forward, but suddenly a hand pulled her back. she turned to find herself face to face with a tall grey haired male. kakashi was now able to see her facial details better. nami, with her short stature and long, sleek hair that fell around her face, bore a striking resemblance to Kushina, but with a different palette. her hair, a smooth blonde, contrasted against her somewhat pale complexion, noticeably lighter than her brother's. unlike naruto and minato, her eyes held a subtle allure, a soft icy blue reminiscent of the byakugan, catching kakashi's attention. dressed in black pants and a matching long-sleeved shirt adorned with the uzumaki symbol, commonly worn by seasoned jonin, she opted to keep her headband secured on her thigh, finding relief from the heat without the need to adorn her forehead.

"nice to meet you, nami."

nami's eyes widened. he was a jonin, which just meant that she couldn't fight back even if she tried. nami stared at him, completely helpless. their noses were basically touching now. nami attempted to turn around, but was unable to as kakashi out her against a tree. snapping back to reality, her eyes grew fierce. she threw a kick at his shin, but missed due to the weird position they were in.

"w-who are you?" she asked, her voice shaky as fear began growing in her.

"there's nothing to worry about, nami. i won't hurt you."kakashi stepped away from the female, seeing that he was making her extremely uncomfortable.

"who are you? tell me."

"well then, i'll be seeing you in a few days then, nami."
the way he said her name sent shivers down her spine, and he disappeared. her body was aching as her back was still against the tree. she looked up to see the sky getting dark. nami couldn't afford staying out too late, her time had come to go back home.

of course, nami has no idea what was about to come.