Things were different than before. Not so clear-cut and concise. The fine line between Black and White had spread, grown like a wildfire, giving way to gray. The line of gray was quickly growing to encompass all that the young child saw. The bright and sunny boy named Naruto Uzumaki had yet to give up on his lifetime goal, but the method of achieving wasn't quite as naive. He knew that he wanted to become Hokage, but in order to do so, he needed to be strong.
The blonde frowned, not for the first time, as he watched his kunai drift off-course. At present, the eleven-year-old-ninja was training just on the edge of the village in a shadowy corner that few ventured more for the practicality of urban life than it being seedy. After all, a ninja village couldn't afford to have seedy areas. Nonetheless, Naruto was here in the privacy afforded by it, with the sole exception of the girl hiding around a corner, stalking him. He, of course, was totally unaware.
With a grumble, Naruto walked into the grass and bush to retrieve his kunai. He only had a few of them with his small pittance, and replacing even one was going to be murder on his food and repair supply cash. It took him a little while as the overgrowth of trees was casting too many shadows, but eventually the young blonde did find kunai. It was embedded in a wooden chest that seemed to be glowing with vines encasing the box.
"Ooh, a treasure chest," cheered the young boy, imagining some pirates stashing their goods out here. Of course, he never considered the fact that some ninja might have brought it back here and stashed it for the same seclusion that Naruto wanted. Be that as it may, it had lain here for many years both abandoned and forgotten until this one moment. With the grace of an eager child, Naruto ripped away at the ancient lock, somehow not rusted, and pushing the lid open. A rush of red energy swept through the area, blowing a gust over Naruto who smiled like a loon. "Cool!"
Hinata, hiding as she was behind a tree, fidgeted, sensitive to the energy as it washed over her. It wasn't Chakra whatever it was, but it was just as powerful and it really scared her that it could be sealed into a chest in the first place. But, even with that slight fear, Hinata wasn't willing to abandon the boy she desired and she sat to watch Naruto open a book.
"Hokuto Ryuuken," Naruto puzzled as question marks drifted over his head in his puzzlement. The writing was ancient script, but precise and legible, seemingly printed by machine, but with the age of the chest and its overgrowth that would have to be impossible! Yet and still, Naruto began reading the book. The author claimed to have compiled all of the original training scrolls' methods, forms and training regime, something that made Naruto all the more excited.
The blonde boy looked over, into the chest and spied some armor with a horned helmet. "wow, his is amazing!" he crowed as he lifted the armor, wasting no time he started to put it on and stood, feeling like a superhero. However, he hadn't considered the fact that the armor was intended for a full grown man, and one that greatly surpassed most men in height at that. So, he was wearing baggy pants that bunched up at his feet and belt that was way too large and even the tightest belt-notch wasn't anywhere near his waist and the black leather shirt hung like a dress on him. "Awww, man! So much for that idea," he grumbled as she took the clothing off, but laid it out on the ground to study what it should look like.
As Naruto studied the patterns, he considered the fact that it would so much better with orange highlights and started producing an image in his mind (Essentially Shippuden outfit on leather instead of cotton with a golden-colored chestplate, high-calf boots, wrist-guards, and a faceless helmet with bull horns turned to the front). With a little laugh, Naruto banished the thought, knowing he could never afford something like that. At least not until he became a real ninja.
Hinata, as self-conscious as she was couldn't stop herself from wondering about the origins of the chest containing armor, books and who knew what else Naruto hadn't brought out. "Naruto-kun," she whispered softly.
However, the blonde boy was far too enraptured with his find and he pulled out a second book, the image of a horse on the cover. ""Ey?! I gotta get a horse," the boy cried out loudly as he looked at the book. "Where the hell is gonna fit in my apartment?"
Rather than returning to his kunai practice, Naruto opted to turn to the first of many training forms. "Oh man, this looks to complicated!" His complaint was well-founded, as he wasn't one that had learned to follow forms, but he grit his teeth and set about the first one. Hidden away to the side Hinata watched and memorized the form Naruto was going over and fixed them in her own mind as Naruto was obviously off-balance several times.
Hours went by as the blonde practiced, slowly coming to match the perfected form Hinata had created in her mind, and the girl smiled beautifully as she Naruto finally went through the kata perfectly. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest as Naruto jumped up and down in victory. But this was only beginning and Naruto knew it. He was determined to master this fighting style, it would make him into the ultimate ninja!
Hinata watched Naruto until the sun fell, the blonde still going over that first form, now so confident in its use that he no longer referred to the book. Yet, he continued regardless. Sadly, the heiress to the Hyuuga Clan rushed away, leaping through the trees on her way home.
Every day continued in this manner for a week as Naruto drilled the form into his mind. Strangely enough as he mastered the balance and movements, the blonde began to gain a better sense of balance in his daily life, no longer tripping over his own two feet except when overly excited. Hinata could only feel pride as she watched Naruto progress.
It helped that there was no school over the course of the week, in fact there was another month before school started again for the final year of the academy students. Because Naruto was so entranced in his practices and studies, and Hinata with watching him, neither had been paying any attention to the normalcy of the village. The day to day odds and ends that made life worth living, as such neither knew about the gathering of students to pull a major prank on the new teacher they would be having. While it wouldn't bother Hinata all that much, Naruto would cry himself to sleep at the missed opportunity. But, that was neither a concern at the present, nor was it important.
Naruto sighed as he looked at the next lecture. "Geez, everyone wants me to meditate! It's so freakin' boring tho'-ttebayo!"
Hinata barely suppressed a giggle at Naruto's outburst, but she watched along any way. The blonde boy sat in lotus form and read the book, trying to decipher its meaning; meditation being unique to the individual, the boy was rather vague, but described in detail the results of doing it right versus wrong, no that Hinata had sneaked her way into Naruto's apartment and read the book or anything... No.
The Hyuuga girl blushed clear to her toes as she recalled the image of Naruto sleeping in his bed, sprawled out after a particularly hard day's training session. It had been the first time she watched Naruto return home before sunset, and she was curious about what Naruto studying. She didn't get very reading, as her lecherous nature kept her gaze on Naruto's form, hoping for that next bit of skin to reveal itself. She had seen his whole tummy and nearly all the way up his legs before she ran away, fainting dead upon arriving at home, her brain overheated.
A sharp crack filled the air, stealing her attention from her internal thoughts and returning to Naruto's figure in lotus. A steady flow of green waves began to rise from the child's form, surrounding his body with an unholy light.
Hinata balked.
The book had spoken of this aura manifesting, but that wasn't for several chapters, after building up a pool of Motoki (translated as evil battle aura). To think Naruto had enough Chakra to manifest his aura already brought the girl aback. She flashed her hands through a few seals and activated her Byakkugan, the veins surrounding her eyes thickening to gross proportions as she took in the scene. While she was nowhere near a master, nor was she as talented as her older cousin or little sister, she could make out the energy flowing through Naruto.
It was strange, yet fascinating. This Motoki the book had described worried her by its name alone, but as she looked at Naruto, it was literally his Chakra flowing, much more controlled and dense than usual. Where most people radiated small wisps of Chakra, Naruto usually dumped excessive amounts, though completely unfocused. Yet, at this moment, the energy within his pool was tightening, swirling to a crescendo and flowing through his body with precision.
It was unfathomable. The boy thought a nitwit was controlling his overly-abundant Chakra in ways she hadn't seen Chuunin capable of. The green waves drifting off of his body were the residual excess, so tightly compacted and dense that it was within the visible spectrum, not unlike medical Chakra. Yet, there was none of that healing property, she realized as a stream of the Chakra drained the life of the grass under and near the preteen.
Naruto snapped out his trance with alacrity, his vision wild as he looked left and right. "Man, I feel way too hot," he cried out as he got up, tucking his book in his back pouch and took to the trees, the glow still around him, yet slowly fading. Hinata waited a few moments before following along. "Gak!" What she arrived to had her fainting with a blush and overheated brain as Naruto was just pulling off his undershorts, back to the girl's point of arrival. With his last bit of clothing gone, Naruto jumped into the lake in front of him with a cheesy grin. "Yeah! Time for some R and R!" The boy was used to playing alone and enjoyed splashing the water people he imagined to be in the lake with him for a few minutes before his face softened to one of loneliness.
"That's enough of that," he addressed as he slapped his own face a couple times, wiping away the depression. He clambered from the water and dried off quickly before dressing and returning to meditation at the edge of the lake. It wasn't like anyone came to this side any way, as it was reserved for the blonde pariah.
While glowing green, Naruto felt something, a pinprick at the edges of his senses. Someone was around him. He didn't know who or why, but he was determined to find out. "Hey! What do you think you're doing watching me-dattebayo," he shouted into the treeline a distance away. There was of course no reply, so the blonde stood up and stomped his way towards the presence.
He still wasn't sure how he had felt the presence in the first place, but he chalked it up to being awesome and let the thought die. There it was. The person he felt lingering on the edge of his senses. He rounded a tree and found a slumped Hinata, a goofy grin on her red face as blood slowly leaked from her nose. "Aye?! Hinata? Hang on, don't die!"
***line break***
It had been another week, and as Hinata found herself being coached by Naruto in the initial kata form of Hokuto Ryuuken, the Hyuuga heiress wondered how this happened. She flushed with embarrassment as Naruto spotted her placing her feet the wrong way. He wasn't a cruel taskmaster and didn't call her useless as her father other instructors did, instead he would do as he was about to do now.
She fought hard against the faint threatening to claim her as Naruto placed his body against hers and changed her stance slightly, working through the kata as one entity, not aware of the rapture the girl was going through. Naruto flowed through his first mastered kata with an ease that made it appear beautiful. In fact, had one watched the way Naruto, with chest against Hinata's back, led the girl about the forested clearing, they have thought the two were dancing rather intimately.
Hinata allowed a small smile to grace her lips as her body flowed like water when Naruto touched her. His presence, not to mention his radiant energy, flowed over the girl, giving her a sense of being owned; what's more, being owned by someone that actually wanted her around. As they brought the kata to an end, she gave life to her voice. "N-Naruto," she began weakly, the words dying on her lips as she mumbled something.
Naruto frowned as he looked at the shy girl, his first and only friend in the village. He was ecstatic to have her in his life now, and though he had no clue she had always been there, Naruto was assuring himself that he wouldn't let this slip from his fingers. "Sorry, what was that, Hinata-chan?"
"... I want to pledge myself to you," she whispered softly, a bit more strong than the first time, but barely at the level of a whisper.
Naruto frowned, confusion in his eyes as he looked the girl over. "I'm not very smart, Hinata. I don't understand things like that. At least not yet anyway," he informed, his joy coming out in waves near the end. "But, if you stick with me, we'll become the best ninjas ever! After all, I'm gonna become Hokage one day and I'll need someone that can keep me on my toes," he cheered, not really understanding the meaning behind his words for the love-struck girl.
Hinata blushed beet red and had to sit down in order to prevent her faint. Naruto was used to the girl taking breaks like this after he went through a kata with her. At first, he thought he may have done something to anger the girl, but he had quickly learned that Hinata loved his hands-on approach and even seemed to get the forms easier. As she took a break, Naruto, worked on his second kata, the third chapter of the book emphasizing the need of Motoki to accomplish it correctly. Naruto frowned as he focused on tightening and balancing his Chakra while going through a complex series of punches and kicks, releasing energy at certain points that created some amazing special effects.
As Naruto went through an uppercut, channeling his Motoki, he marveled as a spiraling swirl of energy followed his hand and forearm. His hand glowed brightly as he finished the strike, pushing more energy at the crescendo, followed by a low roundhouse kick, glowing from knee to toe that cracked the air with its power.
Hinata sat in lotus, meditating. It was as she began to actual train with Naruto that she truly grew to respect the boy. The first chapter's forms were actually just a series of strikes to be repeated a hundred times daily until the body moved on its own, yet Naruto had developed it into a kata, something anathema among the ninjas outside the Hyuuga Clan and the practitioners of a few styles that still remained from before the warring ages. She had no idea how Naruto had learned to create a kata on his own, but the way he flowed through the strikes was graceful and powerful, and Hinata, for the life of her, couldn't master the forms just yet. Already a week into her training and she still made simple mistakes.
If not for the way Naruto would hold her to himself and move with her through the perfectly, the girl would have given up and labeled herself a failure. But Naruto was different; he think along the lines of failures. He saw only his determination to become Hokage and let nothing stand in his way to achieve this goal. She watched Naruto as he stumbled a bit and shook his head. Apparently, the kata he was building wasn't coming together so seamlessly as the prior, or maybe it was the mixing Chakra with strikes? It sounded so similar to her Jyuuken, yet the amount of energy, unfocused as the chapter stressed, was incredible. No Hyuuga would waste so much Chakra on a simple strike, yet Naruto was throwing attacks with wild abandon.
Hinata sighed and reclaimed her feet, her center once more balanced and began going through the first kata, her body recalling the warmth of Naruto holding her. She smiled. It wasn't he first time this week either, but as she flowed through the movements, her body led her and mind settled into a state of euphoria. Time held no meaning for her and the demeaning words of her family didn't exist in this state of mind. All she saw was Naruto's promise to keep her at his side, even when he became Hokage.
The sounds of hand-clapping shook Hinata free of her euphoric mindset and she paused to turn and look a Naruto. He was giddy, smiling brightly and looking directly at her. "N... Naruto-kun?"
The blonde boy made his way right next to the girl and patted her shoulder proudly. "That's it, Hinata-chan! The way you let your mind relax and your body take over," he said proudly. "That's how you gotta do it! Let your body work so your mind can focus on your surroundings."
Hinata looked at the boy that was the same size as her and nodded firmly, her slight figure firming. "Yes... I can do this," she said with a conviction that Naruto totally believed in.
"Alright, Hinata-chan! I'll be here rooting for you!"
Hinata blushed but allowed herself to find that set of mind once more, her body taking over in ways she never imagined she could move. Her arms and legs lashing out in violent bursts and flowing int the next series of strikes. Her mind relaxed and she just moved...
Naruto watched her flow perfectly a few times before nodding to himself. "She's finally got it. Not she's just gotta do it a hundred times a day until she doesn't have to separate her mind from the movements," he assessed. He was lucky to have achieved that level the first day and went into his hundred kata that same night, followed by two hundred kata everyday his first week. After all, he had more energy than most the kids that he knew and no one to go home to, so staying out late wasn't an issue for the blonde.
Naruto went into his new kata, blasting Chakra wildly as he tried the strikes described, but it was way too hard to focus on the forms as well as the Chakra bursts. As he watched Hinata moving gracefully and superfluous, an idea struck him. He went through the kata with just the strikes a few times until he was able to do so without the needing to think on them and just let his body move, taking him through the kata with perfection.
Hours went by as Naruto added one Chakra burst at a time, his body starting to understand how to accept the strikes. It was going to take him a long time to get this kata down, but it was a start. He paused as he looked into the sky, spotting the stars. The grunting of Hinata surprised the blonde boy, as the girl usually left before the sun went down.
He looked over to the girl covered in the glow of the moon, a sheen of sweat covering her skin and adding to her glow. "Wow, she looks amazing like that," Naruto mumbled as he took in the vision of the hard-working girl. He shook his head, clearing his mind and approached the girl. "Hinata-chan," he called out softly, breaking the girl's mindset, though she continued to flow through the kata precisely.
"N-Naruto-kun?" As Hinata became more aware of her surroundings, she drew her strikes to a close and panted lightly. She took a towel and wiped her arms and forehead weakly. Her limbs were sore and her legs felt like jelly. She had never worked her young body this hard before and she was certainly paying for it now! She fell to her knees feebly and smiled up at Naruto sweetly. "I... I think I over did it a little," she offered as he eyes started to close.
Naruto smiled back and knelt in front of her, his back being displayed. "Here, I'll take you home. Just hold on tight," he commanded as the girl wrapped her limbs around his body, her face a bright cherry red as steam blasted from her ears. "Yosho! Let's go," he thundered loudly and took to the trees with more energy than Hinata thought should be possible.
'To hold Naruto-kun like this,' the thought to herself, her body relaxing into his warmth. Before her perverted mind could latch on to an image, she succumbed to her fatigue and fell asleep, all the while Naruto kept his pace, keeping the girl from being jostled too roughly.
It only took a few minutes for Naruto to reach the Hyuuga compound, but arriving and entering were two very different things. Four young ninja guarded the entrance and each turned to him as he settled on the ground and walked up, a warm smile on his face. The four sneered at the blonde boy, but said nothing. At least until he revealed the girl hanging over his shoulder. "Hey, Hinata-chan fell asleep at a training ground-" he started before one of the guards snatched her away from him and shoved Naruto to the ground.
"You don't touch her you little monster," he barked harshly, his pale lavender eyes boring holes into Naruto's chest. As the blonde looked around, he noted that the other three were doing the same.
Growling under his breath, Naruto barked back at them, "you know a simple 'thank you' wouldn't hurt, assholes!" Turning his backside to the four, he slapped his butt a couple times and leaped away. His mind raced as he considered what would happen if the Hyuuga Clan, which all seemed to hate his guts, found out Hinata had actually been training with him. He shook his head to banish the thought of new friend being taken from him and went back home, bathed and changed clothes.
***line break***
Unknown to the boy, the original owner of the 'treasure chest' was watching him with intrigue, his hands moving in patterns around a crystal ball. 'Most interesting. To think that Naruto would actually be capable of mastering the only style I couldn't wrap my mind around,' Hiruzen Sarutobi contemplated with a warm smile.
He leaned back as he packed his pipe and snapped his fingers producing a flame. Puffing a few times, the elderly ninja known as The God of Shinobi, also the Professor and Third (Sandaime) Hokage, reflected on to the many scrolls he had compiled into a series of books. The concept of a new energy had halted Hiruzen's training in its steps as his mind and body refused to accept a new type of energy. Yet, as he stared Naruto, sitting in his bed, meditating and allowing energy to flow from his body, the old man could only shake his head.
"Well, he's certainly the son of /that/ man and her," he assessed fondly, an image of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki floating through his mind, "but, I wonder how this will affect his schooling?"
***line break***
Hinata quietly approached the training ground Naruto liked to use, her face pensive and nervous. It had been two days – TWO DAYS! - since she had been carried home. The first was spent sleeping as she greatly overtaxed her body, but the second she was awake, to sore to move a muscle, but awake nonetheless.
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto cheered out as he stopped his kata and ran over, his bright sunny face instantly quelling the girl's doubts. She had assumed Naruto would think her abandoning him after two days of no contact. Yet, here he was, happy as ever to see her. "Hey, I guess you really overdid it then?"
Hinata nodded demurely, her nervousness slowly fading as Naruto led her over to where he kept his book on a stump. "I finally got that second kata down! It was hard, but I just finished before you got here," he announced proudly, his hands glowing with waves of Chakra as he held them up, looking at each in turn.
Hinata marveled, gaping in awe as she looked at the raw energy being tossed about. "That's amazing," she cheered as her face came so very close to Naruto's hands. The Hyuuga heiress reached out to touch the wafts of green Chakra, feeling Naruto's determination emanating through it. "So warm..."
Naruto grinned as he allowed the energy to dissipate and rubbed at the back of his neck. With a cheesy grin on his face, he looked at Hinata. "Hey, Hinata-chan, wanna go play in the lake?" While it seemed a simple request, and it didn't show on his face, Naruto was so nervous, his heart beating a mile a minute as he waited for her to reject him. All he ever wanted was someone that would play with him.
… And to become Hokage, of course!
Hinata blushed as she nodded her head, her black hair dancing in time. 'Does Naruto-kun want to see me like that,' the girl pondered as she looked at the cheering blonde idiot, a soft smile spreading on her face. "I would like to... I want... Go Swimming, yes," she mumbled before the blonde boy grabbed her by the arm, his own interlocked with hers as he led them over to his book and pocketed it. "Alright, I brought my swim trunks with me since I was already planning to go, but if you need to go grab yours, I'll wait where I found you that day," he offered, the smile on his face reaching a new level of brightness.
Hinata nodded softly and raced away, towards her home. Internally she was grateful for this opportunity, she wasn't sure if her body was ready to go back to training yet, and good swim would help limber her body up. With her mind set, she raced along the trees until she reached the village proper and walked at a hurried pace.
"Hinata-chan, wait up!" The voice was familiar, but Hinata couldn't place it as she didn't regularly associate with anyone, at least until recently. It was Ino Yamanaka, the blonde prodigy of the Yamanaka Clan and pride of her father, Inoichi.
Hinata paused in her walking and waited for the girl to catch up. "Hello, Ino-san," she greeted softly, her voice more firm and tight than she would like to admit. Dare Hinata say it, she sounded like a normal girl.
Ino was taken aback as well before she glomped the Hyuuga affectionately. "Hinata, you're talking normally! Oh my god, that's so great, I'm gonna tell everyone! Hang on, give me a minute," Ino cheered as she turned to doorway she just left from. Within was a gathering of a dozen kids their own age, a few she knew as Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara. The rest, she had never met, being made of popular girls that frequented Ino's circle.
"Hey guys, get over here," she crowed, waving at her assembled gang of friends. "Hinata can speak normally! Check it out," she enthused.
Hinata blushed, being the spotlight, but waved her hand, fondly. "It's not that serious, Ino-san," she said softly, but easily understandable and lacking in a stutter.
"Wow, she sounds so cute," gushed one of the girls, her hands squeezed together as little hearts danced in her eyes. She latched on to Hinata, dragging her into the group. "You gotta tell us what happened," she demanded, the rest of the group just as excited and leading the girl away.
Elsewhere, Naruto was splashing in the water, thinking of how great it would be to get splashed back for once, his smile never faltering, but as the sun began to fall that joy began to wan. Seven hours had passed already, and at first Naruto thought the girl might have been delayed by something important, and went into some meditation to increase his Motoki pool.
He had discovered the exercise while peeking at chapter four, irritated as he was earlier in the week at not being able to master the second kata. After five hours of expanding his pools, Naruto had jumped back into the water and played around by himself again, still determined not to give up on Hinata arriving. But now, after seven hours, with the sun on its decline, he made to leave the lake.
The blonde boy wiped at the water on his face, not that he was crying or anything. Ninjas don't cry. It didn't take long for him to get dressed and he made his way back to his secluded forest area, picking up a kunai along the way. He had no idea who it belonged to, but he would keep it. It's not like that person would miss one simple dagger. The blonde boy raced away, heading for his personal training ground and went back to his kata, adding his Chakra bursts to each strike, following the kata right through.
An entire week it had taken him just to learn the forms while adding Chakra, and now that he knew how to do it correctly, he was determined to memorize this one much like the previous.
Unseen by Naruto, as he was training, Hinata had just arrived at the lake, finding it empty. 'Of he would e gone, you idiot! You let those people drag you around all day,' she mentally chided herself, her eyes falling in glum despair. 'If he didn't hate you after abandoning him for two days, he will now, after you've stood him up.'
The Hyuuga girl felt the tears running along her cheeks as she turned away from the lake, her towel in hand wearing a blue robe over her one-piece swimsuit. Silence followed the girl as she made her way home. As her heart broke, she decided she let Naruto be, and stop being a disappointment to him. She would talk to him when school started in a few days.
***line break***
Naruto glared with hatred at a tree trunk, his now-four kunai ready, he let loose with his throw. One struck true and embedded deeply into the tree while the other went wide, clanging uselessly. Naruto frowned as he walked up to the tree trunk where four other holes were punched. Yet again, that kunai he had found struck the tree while his other ones never came close. "You must be a lucky charm," he addressed the weapon, once more alone.
He eyes sagged as he listened to the sound of wind rustling leaves. There was no longer the welcome sound of his friend Hinata training. Instead, he was just here by himself. Back to how things started so long ago. With a tired sigh, he shook his head and pulled the kunai free. Not for the first time, he wondered why and how this one kunai could hit every time, but the others went elsewhere.
He shrugged, his mind unable to stay focused on such a task for so long and he went into the overgrowth to retrieve his other three weapons.
"This is the only way, Itachi," came a hushed voice. Naruto didn't recognize the voice nor the mentioned name.
"Shisui... I can't accept that. If there can only be one way out of this situation, then we have to report it to the Hokage and the Council," came a second voice, it sounded tired and miserable.
"Who's there?" A kunai and four shuriken sunk into Naruto's body, piercing his legs and shoulder with perfect accuracy.
"YAA-" Naruto only had time to cry out in pain as Itachi appeared at his back, a kunai over the boy's throat. Naruto began to sweat bullets. This just wasn't his week!
Itachi closed his eyes slowly, blinking them back open, as Shisui smiled at the blonde boy. "Naruto-kun. I'm sorry about that, but there's some really bad people out here.," the older teen addressed as Itachi released Naruto. The pair pulled the blades from Naruto's body and marveled as the boy healed, his skin smoking with wisps of green and red Chakra.
Exchanging a glance between one another, Itachi nodded and vanished in a whirlwind of leaves. Shisui sat in front of Naruto, a bright smile on his face. "S, what have you been up to, my future Hokage? Have you been training real hard?"
Naruto grinned and nodded. Shisui had never been one of those that glared at him, and while the Uchiha never really spoke to him – thus Naruto not recognizing his voice – the young elite had often retrieved extra food and clothing or 'mistakenly' dropped off too much food money for Naruto. "Yeah! I was throwing kunai... I got one to hit the target though," he grumbled, his joy giving way to bitterness.
Shisui smiled softly. "I tell you what, I'll help you for a bit, until Itachi returns, then I have to get back to my rounds," he offered the boy, smiling warmly as Naruto eagerly agreed. "Let me see your kunai, gaki," he asked fondly. As Naruto handed the older male a set of four throwing daggers, the Uchiha instantly frowned. He took the three Naruto originally had and put them into his pouch and pulled out seven of his own, handing them to Naruto. "This will be my gift to you since I haven't gotten you anything in awhile," he said fondly.
Naruto eagerly and greedily clutched the kunai and grinned like a devil. As he watched the boy, Shisui imagined what it would be like to have a brother like Itachi did. His best friend had the good life, while he himself was alone, his family dead while on some mission or another. Seeing the bright grins of the blonde boy had made the super-prodigy feel a love for the village he hadn't ever felt before. It was this love that had turned him away from siding with his clan to overthrow Hiruzen.
"You're a very special boy, Naruto. I hope you never change," he whispered softly so that only Naruto could hear.
"Hey, are you ready to teach me to throw things, or what?!"
Shisui laughed jovially and nodded, ruffling Naruto's hair and setting about showing Naruto how to throw with accuracy. He frowned momentarily as he sensed a presence watching, but since they chose to remain hidden, he would leave it be. Naruto, as a Jinchuuriki and the village pariah would probably never get this type of opportunity to again. Whoever was calling out Shisui could wait.
***line break***
Hiruzen smiled warmly as he watched Shisui taking time out of his day to help Naruto. While the Hokage was fully capable of scrying through his crystal ball, he was as yet unaware of the impending threat from within. The thought of monitoring his loved people was not something he ever considered. Honestly, he only used the ball to check on Naruto from time to time. Thus, it came as a surprise, when Shisui's gaze hardened and he glanced to the side. Hiruzen used his ball to locate a figure dressed as an ANBU but with a marking that denoted the man as ROOT, a separate branch of underground ninja Danzo Shimura raised and employed.
With speed few knew the man was capable of, Hiruzen vanished from his room, six ANBU dogging his heels as he raced to where Naruto was. He gave a silent prayer he wasn't too late.
***line break***
Naruto marveled at the six out of seven bullseye shots he had just thrown, the seventh was a hairsbreadth out, having skirted from the target after tapping an embedded kunai's handle. "No way! DID YOU SEE THAT?!"
Shisui smiled warmly as he patted Naruto's shoulder. "Well, Naruto, I'm sorry but you're gonna have to go back home now and forget that you ever saw me here," he said softly, using a Genjutsu to force Naruto do exactly what he was told. He sighed as Naruto turned to leave, the seven kunai still in the tree where he had thrown them.
"You can come out now," Shisui addressed as he stood in a relaxed stance, hand in his kunai pouch, ready for a fight. He frowned inwardly, realizing that all he had on him were Naruto's off-balance kunai. He pulled one out and determined not to throw it as he was met by a man in a black cloak that charged him rapidly.
As the man in the cloak pulled out a short sword, Shisui held up the kunai to deflect the blade. There was a flash of light and a spray of blood...
***line break***
Hiruzen zipped by overhead, passing Naruto as Itachi led him and the six ANBU to Shisui's last location. The violent movement went unnoticed by Naruto as he walked unerringly towards his apartment.
It was as he walked, under the effects of a genjutsu that Hinata found him, having worked up her nerve to approach the blonde before school started. "N-Naruto-kun," she addressed softly as she stood to the side. Naruto continued his trek, never looking her way. Hinata, feeling courageous, spoke up. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to stand you up yesterday," she called out proudly.
What Naruto said next gutted her to the core and she sagged to the ground, unable to comprehend the reason behind it. Her heart plummeted and she like she could just die right then and there. "It's time for you to go home now, and forget that you ever saw me," he ordered, his voice flat and even, no signs of the warmth he usually displayed as he ventured on through the trees, leaving behind a shattered Hinata.
'Forget I ever saw you?' she thought in pain, clutching at her chest tightly. "B-But Naruto, I-... I love you!" she shouted with force, her voice shaking and trembling as she admitted her feelings. Her face red and cheeks filled with tears, the girl sat on the ground miserable. She closed her eyes and just let herself sob.
"I thought I told you," came a soft, warm voice, "I don't understand that kind of stuff," Naruto said cordially, having shaken off the Genjutsu at the sound of Hinata in pain, even if was only emotional pain. He squatted beside Hinata and offered her his hand, his eyes warm and inviting as they were long ago.
Hinata blinked, confusion in her eyes. Gingerly, as if unsure of herself, Hinata accepted the blonde's hand. The strength in that hand transferred to the girl and she was able to reclaim her feet. "N-Naruto... I... I tried to come back right away," she whined as tears continued to fall, her heart pleading for Naruto to listen and forgive her even if her words betrayed her now when it mattered most.
Naruto smiled at her as if nothing had ever happened and he shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I was heading home, but now I'm hungry. You want to grab a bite to eat with me," he asked, hoping the girl would accept.
Hinata nodded cheerfully, her face still a mess and as she wiped it with a cloth, the two headed for Ichiraku's Ramen stand...
"So then I told that idiot-" Ino was saying, only to pause in her monologue as her eyes fell on Hinata and Naruto heading for ramen. "Hey, what's she doing with the loudmouth?"
No longer the focus of attention, the gathered girls around Ino, turned to look outside as well, spotting the strange sight. Naruto was laughing as he spoke, walking backwards and punching the air as if he were fighting or something. Ino was the first, but the last of the gaggle of girls to chase the pair, spying terribly on Naruto and Hinata. "Hey, Chelsea, you don't think," Ino asked of one of her friends, a redheaded civilian directly beneath her in their stacked totem pole of heads.
The girl shrugged and turned back to the pair. "Naruto looks different for some reason," Chelsea addressed, her eyes roaming the preteen. Indeed Naruto looked a little more filled out, not so scrawny and he moved gracefully where before he walk like a country bumpkin, kicking his legs every which way.
"Hey, is he wearing new clothes?" asked Sakura Haruno, Ino's best friend and soon-to-be greatest rival for Sasuke's attention.
Ino blink-blinked as she took in the white shorts with an orange belt, the black ninja sandals and the tucked in white tank top. While she hadn't recalled him dressing such a way before, she could remember Naruto wearing each item on separate occasions. Shaking her head in the negative, Ino inched closer. "I'm gonna listen in on what they're saying, you girls hang back," Ino directed as she approached the pair casually.
"Ah, Ino-chan," Naruto enthused as he spotted the popular girl. Ino looked surprised, her acting beyond professional as she walked over. "Hey, we're gonna get something to eat. You wanna join us?"
Ino looked at the pair, Naruto was silly as ever, but Chelsea was right, he was definitely more solid than before, and the way he was moving, it sent shivers up her spine. It was like watching some kind of predator on the prowl. She fought away a blush as Hinata sent her a glare for staring, but she was intrigued! "Um, yeah sure why not?"
Hinata released a huff of air at the blonde girl joining them, but didn't say anything otherwise, after all she had only just returned into Naruto's good graces. But, she wouldn't let Ino sit anywhere near /her/ Naruto! "Hey, look, there's exactly three seats left," she cheered as she raced over and sat in the middle seat, her heated eyes on Ino. Sadly, her glare just looked like a normal girl's welcoming gaze.
As such, Naruto popped up on her right and Ino to her left, each smiling warmly at the girl. "Man, LUCKY! Hey, Oji-san," Naruto called out excitedly as he bounced in his seat. "I want a beef and shrimp ramen," he called out eagerly.
The old man looked up from where he was making six bowls of ramen and smiled at Naruto. "Hey, brat, you're lookin' healthy. Where you been, Naruto?"
Several patrons grumbled about the blonde boy, but none were willing to leave their ramen unfinished, so they just sat and stewed in their annoyance. Naruto never noticed this reaction as it was normal for him, but both of the girls did. "I've been out training! I've gotta get strong before class starts so I can show off my new moves-dattebayo!"
Ayame, the daughter of the owner, Teuchi, grinned like a cat at Naruto, the boy she saw as a cute little brother. "Oh really? When were you gonna show /me/ these sweet new moves," she teased, knowing how much Naruto loved showing off.
Naruto grinned like a fox as she stood on the counter, his finger pointing at Ayame. "You'll get a sneak peak right here, right now," he crowed until Teuchi swatted him for standing on his counters. Now standing on the floor, Naruto grinned even wider, making prideful little chuckles as he took the initial form of the first kata and began to move.
There was silence. Complete and total silence in the restaurant as all eyes fell on Naruto. The way he was moving, his arms and legs lashing out with power, control, precision and a grace that only a dancer would dream of, stunned them. Sure, they had seen the antiquated kata from time to time, but this was Naruto. The boy that couldn't even perform the Academy Basics correctly, looking more like berserk with a hard-on for the Inuzuka style. As he drew to a close, he grinned up at everyone, the silence still permeating the air.
"So, what'ja think, Ayame-nee-san," Naruto asked, desperate for approval. He wasn't winded in the least and actually looked like he was restraining himself, stopping himself from truly showing off, and only Hinata knew just what he wasn't revealing.
Ino gaped like a fish out of water but recovered quickly, hopping from her seat and glaring at Naruto. "Is that why you've been off on your own lately? Were you copying the Hyuuga Jyuuken for your own style?"
Murmurs were raised as several thought about it. No one had seen Naruto for the better part of a month, and while many people were happy about that little fact, hoping he'd be found in a ditch somewhere, the very thought of him learning from the Hyuuga Clan terrified them.
Naruto looked around at the gathered in consternation, his cherub-like face screwed up in a huff. "NO! Why would I want to copy some stuffy style like that?!"
Ino crossed her arms, unconvinced. "I don't where you're learning this style from, but if it's not the Hyuuga, you'd better start talking," she demanded, her eyes hard and unrelenting. Hinata stepped up to Naruto's defense though. "Um, Ino-san," the shy Hyuuga called as she stood to Naruto's left, her eyes firmly on the blonde girl, "Naruto's not using my family's style at all. We don't use fists as it's an open hand art and we rarely if ever use kicks. Naruto's kata relied heavily on kicks and fists. It's fundamentally a different art form."
Ino felt the wind go out of her sails, but held her glare any way. "I still wanna know where he learned it," she grumbled.
Naruto grinned widely at Hinata and patted her shoulder with affection. "Thanks, Hinata-chan!" As the boy bounced back into a seat, the middle this time, Hinata felt her face flush red and the room began to spin. 'N-Naruto actually relied on me to defend him,' she thought as her brain began to melt. "Oy, Hinata-chan, your ramen is getting cold," Naruto called out, his voice trembling as if a crime were taking place.
Hinata shook away the blush and ran to her seat, clapping her hands in prayer before indulging.
"Wow, did you see that," remarked Chelsea as she looked at her gaggle of friends and gossipers. "That Naruto... He's getting better... A lot better," she noted as she looked through the tent flap.
Sakura nodded, looking down at her own hands. "I wonder if I should train with him," she mused quietly as she considered that her physical skill was in the bottom of the class. She the knowledge for things, but not the Chakra reserves, nor did she have the stamina to sustain elongated spars.
The other girls considered the idea before throwing it away. "We'd rather train with Sasuke-kun," Chelsea bit back, hearts in her eyes as she went off in search of the black-haired ninja.
***line break***
With lunch being finished Naruto was more than a little annoyed at the fact that Ino was following him, a glare on her otherwise pretty face. "Come on, dattebayo! Stop following me around, Ino-san," he whined in annoyance.
Ino frowned at the way that Naruto addressed her and swatted him over the head. "Naruto-kun, I told you earlier. I want to know where you're getting this training. There's no way you suddenly get good at taijutsu," she thundered in aggravation and pointed at Hinata suspiciously. "And despite what you said, Hinata is following you to train, so I don't believe you aren't using her Jyuuken."
Naruto frowned, looking like a confused kitten as he crossed his arms under his chest. "How many times do I gotta tell you, that I'm making up my own taijutsu based on some old scrolls," he whined drolly. While he was busy complaining to himself as Ino was no longer listening, Hinata was looking around at the random people looking upon the scene in curiosity.
"Umm, Naruto-kun, Ino-san... Maybe we're being too noisy?"
Naruto managed a tired sigh and nodded his head in agreement before looking to Ino. "Look, if you really want to learn it, then give me a couple weeks to master this kata and then I'll catch you up. Deal," he offered, still unhappy with the way things had turned out.
Ino frowned prettily but nodded her head, her ponytail bobbing in time. "But, I'm warning you Naruto, if you try anything funny I'm gonna kick your butt!"
Naruto shrugged as he went back to walking, Ino and Hinata still following him around. After nearly thirty minutes of wandering through the village, Naruto finally gave in and led the pair of girls to his training grounds. As he sighed, he pulled out his book from his pouch and started to read the fourth chapter again, it illustrated Motoki control exercises and stressed how important it was to increase one's pool before continuing the book. Unfortunately for Naruto, he had no idea how big of a pol was needed for the next section and wasn't willing to crack open the next chapter just yet. At least not until he had a bit better control.
Ino watched as Hinata fell into the pattern of dance she had witnessed Naruto use in the ramen stand, only Hinata seemed a bit hesitant with certain steps. "okay, what's she doing, Naruto? It's like she's in some kind of trance," Ino noted as she waved her hands in front of Hinata's face.
Naruto looked over, a smile on his face. "She's still trying to master the first forms. If you really want to learn my style, that's where you have got to start. At the beginning with Hinata," he enthused proudly, hoping to deter the blonde girl.
Little did Naruto know just what he was inspiring...
It was a bit over three hours later when Hinata brought herself from her trance, her mind coming back to the fore of her movements. Her body was still moving on its own fluidly, but she was now aware of what was going around her. The sound of giggling was the first thing that Hinata heard. She turned her head slightly to see where it was coming from and spotted its source, freezing her solid, her movements grinding to a halt.
Ino was pressed, back to chest with Naruto as he led her through the first kata, the two embraced in the manner he had only done with herself up to this point. "I-Ino-san! What are you doing," she asked, raging loudly in her opinion, her question sounding warm and expressive to the other two.
Ino moved a little away from Naruto, a grin still on her face as she looked at Hinata. "This first form is way harder than I thought," she retorted as she walked up to Hinata. "Hey, Hinata-chan, since you're not supposed to technically train with Naruto, we were thinking that you should meet up with me at my dad's flower shop and then we'll come here together," the blonde girl asserted.
Naruto shook his head, having shot down the idea several times already, yet the Yamanaka wouldn't accept no as an answer. "Hinata, I keep telling her that it's fine for you to come here on your own. We've been doing this for a long time now, Ino," he argued, turning to his fellow blonde.
Ino shook her head. "Yeah, but it's only going to become more and more obvious when Hinata starts walking around like you do now," she pointed out, earning a confused frown from the two. "Oh god, don't tell me you haven't noticed the way Naruto walks now? I thought you had a crush on him or something," Ino drawled, the last under her breath where only a furiously blushing Hinata could hear.
Hinata shook her head, but couldn't trust her voice. Naruto on the other hand looked at the two girls strangely. "Man, I'm so lost-ttebayo!" He cast a pleading look at Ino, begging for some kind of explanation causing the girly-girl to sigh and shrug before answering.
"Naruto, the way you were walking over here it was like looking some kind of jungle cat or something. Your balance and coordination seems to be fixing itself and you don't trip over your own two sandals anymore," she pointed out, ticking the points off on her fingers as she looked at the boy. "As for Hinata-san, she used to be really shy and run away when we would speak to her until like three days ago. People will notice these things, especially in a ninja village," Ino added with a smirk.
Naruto had stopped listening awhile ago as he walked around the clearing, looking at his own backside to see if he really looked like a jungle cat, but as he couldn't find a tail, he gave up. "Whatever. I just want to train really hard so that I can pass the exams," he stated proudly.
Ino smirked and crossed her arms under her bosom. "With me to help you, there's no way you can fail! I've got the second-best Chakra-control in our year, only two points behind Sakura-chan," she praised with a grin.
Naruto nodded and looked at Hinata. "Hey, Hinata-chan, do you think we should keep her around to train with us? I suck at using Chakra," he admitted with a sheepish grin, a hand behind his head as he laughed weakly.
Hinata looked pensive but nodded. She wasn't all that great at Chakra control either and could use the assist. "I suppose it could help a lot with our ninjutsu skills," she offered, earning an emphatic and victorious nod from Ino.
"Absolutely," Ino cheered. "Now, let's get back to the first kata, Naruto-sensei," she crowed, tossing her body into Naruto's chest, practically purring at the warmth. Suddenly Hinata was changing her mind, but she couldn't voice her protest after just consenting.
***line break***
Naruto strolled into the classroom with an air of confidence that few others had ever achieved in life and as he neared a desk on the third tier of the auditorium, he slipped and tumbled his way to the floor, squawking the entire way down. Coming to a halt on the floor, he quickly popped up and rubbed the back of his head.
The classroom erupted with mirth, the tension of the first day eased so quickly. Naruto sighed at the loss of his super cool entrance, but eventually gave into the laughter as well. Besides, there would be plenty of chances to awe everyone with his presence! With a large grin plastered on his face Naruto made his way up to his seat again and sat down comfortably.
Gazing around the room, he looked for any familiar faces and spotted many. There was Kiba Inuzuka, looking rough and ready to brawl in his gray shorts and white t-shirt, Shikamaru was next, ignoring Ino as she blabbed on and on about something he didn't care about. Next was Naruto's crush, Sakura; she was dressed in a cute white skirt with pleats and a loose top that didn't restrict her movements in the least.
Naruto let out a sigh as the rest of the world faded away. It had been an entire summer of training alone and he hadn't spotted the pink-haired kunoichi the entire time. It was rather depressing. But at least he got some decent training in.
The sound of the door closing made Naruto look forward as spot two new teachers. The first was a young man with a scar across the middle of his face, while the second was a slightly taller with long purple hair and a gentle smile, even when turned on Naruto. The men spoke to each other animatedly at the front of the classroom while they waited for the students to all settle in.
A gentle poke at Naruto's left side made him look over to spot a girl he knew from the previous year, Meixing. Meixing was a pretty girl of Chinese descent, two years older than all of the other students in the class, yet she and Naruto were on their third attempt. She was wearing a long blue cheongsom with white accents and the image of a chrysanthemum on the back in gold thread. She had long black hair that was typically tied in twin odango and then braided the rest of the way down, ending at her buttox.
She smiled warmly at him and waved, the permanent fixture of the academy as she had become lately. Naruto smiled back at her and inwardly swore to himself that this was going to be his year. He was going to graduate the academy with no problems! "Hey, Meixing. Ready to pass this time?" he asked the older girl who nodded with hope-filled eyes.
"Hello, class. My name is Umino Iruka, and I'll be your primary educator," he informed the gathered children. Mizuki waved to everyone and introduced himself as well before turning the class over to Iruka. The many gathered kids were exceptionally excited to move forward and Iruka finally felt like he had found his calling...
End Chapter 1