DISCLAIMER: Yesterday I opened a fortune cookie. It said that I do not own Naruto.
A/N: I wrote this on a whim :D It's my first time writing. I hope it's not confusing or hard to read. Also English is not my main language. A little warning… Even though the first couple of chapters will be safe to read, this will probably turn out Yaoi Naru/Kiba, but then again I'm not certain. Don't be bitchy about it, if you've seen GoT, you'll have no problems reading this.
Chapter – 1
My Ninja Way
My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm 19 years old and a fully-fledged ninja. But… what does it mean to be a ninja? My late master would say 'a ninja is one who endures' and that's what I believed… until now. Here I am, kneeling in front of his grave, doubting myself. A single drop fell onto the grave stone and shattered, then came another one and another one… little streams started forming, filling the cracks and creating little pools. Ah, it had started raining. I don't know why, but the sound of the rain had a soothing effect on me. But, it will take more than this to calm me down. There on the grave stood the first book my master wrote, which didn't sell at all. But it was a good book nonetheless, the only book I finished reading. I picked it up and placed it on my lap, and I leaned forward sheltering it from the rain. In this book were his adventures, hopes and dreams.
It was about a hero who saves the world from hatred. Hero… 'The hero who brought peace' is what people called me, some still do. The forth great ninja war ended long time ago. There was peace and mutual understanding between the villages… at least for some time. Two months, only two months, that's how long that so called peace lasted. That's how long it took them to forget about all those people who sacrificed their lives for peace, and things went back the way they were before the war started. I wonder what my master would say if he was here now.
"Are you disappointed in me… master?" I muttered, hoping to hear an answer. But there was none, of course there will be none. Tears welled up in my eyes as I tightened my hold of the book, a sob escaped my mouth. I could hear the far away thunderstorm, getting louder with each passing second. I looked up at the dark sky; flashes of light were temporary revealing the shape of the clouds. What a sight… I wonder if Kakashi-sensei likes it too. I wonder if he still thinks that I haven't noticed him, hiding behind the trees. Granny Tsunade probably realized that I wouldn't stay put and sent him to watch over me, well she was right. I looked at the trees through the corner of my eyes, I don't know why but suddenly I smirked. White light stretched across the sky, for a moment I thought the sky cracked and in that instant, another shadow appeared next to mine.
"Phew… I'm getting too old for this," Kakashi-sensei complained. I only steered my eyes towards the grave in front of me. The rain finally gave up. Slowly I returned the book to its place and stood up. I closed my eyes and clapped my hands together to offer a prayer to my master. I've decided. I still don't know the answers to the questions that my master entrusted me with, but one day I will definitely find them. "Since when did you realize that I'm following you?" Kakashi-sensei asked in his own playful tone. I opened my eyes just as I finished the prayer and turned to face him.
"The same time I left the hospital," I answered. I could see the surprise in his eye. I bet he didn't expect me to notice him so soon. Over the last couple of years I've improved. I'm currently a Jounin, thanks to the effort I showed during the war, some effort... I stopped carrying for ranks the moment I left the hospital thirty minutes ago. If ranks alone could change the world, then granny Tsunade would've brought peace long time ago. Some things change easily and some don't. I looked down, my eyes skipping across the wet ground. I felt embarrassed for deceiving my friend. "Kakashi-sensei, I'm sorry… I just couldn't wait," I apologized.
"You… don't tell me that you're a…" Kakashi-sensei asked while taking a step back.
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Flashback
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Loud knocks on the door woke me up. Someone was calling my name, few seconds later I realized that it was Sakura. I jumped off the bed and dressed. Slowly I made my way to the door and grabbed the knob to open it, "Naruto!" she yelled. It was so loud that I half-closed my eyes and placed my hands on top of my ears. When I opened the door a fist came flying towards my face, it knocked me down. "Oh sorry, I meant to knock," she apologized while helping me to stand up. She knocks with that much force? I felt sorry for my door. Something was missing, she didn't have that fake smile she would put in a situation like this. Her expression was dead serious, snapping me out of my playful thoughts. Just when I was about to ask her what happened she interrupted me. "Lady Tsunade is calling for team seven, she's waiting in the hospital," she explained before she dashed through the door. I quickly followed after.
"Sakura, what happened?" I asked as soon as I caught up with her. I was surprised when I realized that we were standing in front of a hospital door. Was I that much consumed in thought, that I ignored my surroundings? I sighed. Sakura didn't answer my question, but she raised her hand to knock on the door. No… something like that to this fragile thing, I can't allow it. I instantly raised my hand and knocked first. We waited couple of minutes before granny Tsunade gave us permission to enter.
Sakura entered first and I followed after. As I entered the room I noticed Hinata lying on the far end bed, my eyes instinctively shifted to her chest. I wasn't having any perverted thoughts. Instead I was looking whether it will rise and fall, signaling that she's breathing. Phew… I finally exhaled the breath I was keeping inside, she's alive. My eyes instantly switched to the second bed, I couldn't really tell who's there because of Kakashi-sensei and granny Tsunade blocking the view. Again I surprised myself when granny Tsunade yelled at me. "Will you hurry up or you'll just stand there?" How long did I stand there? I made my way towards the second bed. Round black glasses was all I could see. On first look you would think there are glasses on the pillow, why are there glasses on the pillow? But as my vision adjusted I noticed that it was Shino, his entire body comically covered in white bandages.
"Shino, are you alright? What happened?" I asked the questions so fast that made me doubt whether he understood me or not. Granny Tsunade placed her index finger in front of her nose signaling me to be quite. Apparently Shino was sleeping. How could she tell? I waved my arm in front of the black glasses, I was a little skeptical that Shino was actually sleeping. This earned me glares from granny Tsunade and Sakura, while Kakashi-sensei let out a sigh.
"Now getting to the point," Kakashi-sensei said. "Team eight was ambushed twenty-five kilometers north of the village by ninja's. Their symbol doesn't belong to any known village, there is a five sided star engraved onto the head protector." He explained. Did he say team eight? Then where is Kiba and Kurenai-sensei? Once again I scanned the hospital room in case I've missed them, they weren't there. Suddenly goose bumps covered my arms. "Their substitute team captain died in action," Kakashi-sensei added. Oh, that's right… Kiba told me yesterday that they have a new captain. Kurenai-sensei is visiting the sand village. My eyes fell on the ground, I was relieved that Kurenai-sensei is fine but I was also sad for the fellow Konoha ninja, even though I didn't know him. Then it hit me… wait, where is Kiba? Why is there still no mention of Kiba? I felt my stomach tense and twist in knots. Cold sweat started gliding on my back, I froze in place. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, that feeling you get when you're anticipating an answer, light dizziness struck me as I watched the mask that covered Kakashi's face for any movement. "Kiba was kidnapped," he said in low tone.
"K-kidnapped?" Sakura and I asked at the same time. It took me a while to process the information. Suddenly I found myself at loss for words. What surprised me even more was my reaction at all this. Kiba is my friend, but somehow, subconsciously I thought that he'll always be around, with his stupid grin plastered on his face. Now I began to slowly understand, when someone suddenly disappears from your life, only and only then you realize how important they were to you. I got a similar feeling when I learned that Sasuke left us, I guess I had forgotten… since he came back to the village, and actually took on three students to teach. I shook my head and clenched my fists. "So granny Tsunade, you called us to get Kiba back," I said with determination.
"That's right, team seven is to wait for Sai to return, the moment he gets back you move out," she commanded. Did she say when Sai gets back? But, he is on a mission and he's supposed to return tomorrow morning. That's seven hours from now… I raised my voice to protest but was instantly shut down by the old hag. "I'm not going to send an incomplete team on such a mission." She declared, and I was getting inpatient. Anger started to well up within me. My friend is kidnapped, and I'm supposed to wait seven hours before we go on a rescue mission. Not happening… I let out a sigh and faced granny Tsunade.
"I'll wait in my apartment," I muttered while I climbed on the window. I jumped on the roof and started heading towards the village gates. I'll be damned if I'm going to wait that long before I help my friend. I'll probably be demoted to Genin after this, and I don't care. Several seconds after I exited the hospital I sensed Kakashi-sensei sneaking and following me. I raised my hands and made the sign for shadow clones. Two of us came out from the white smoke. The first me turned right towards my apartment, and the second me turned left towards the village gates and from there I turned to head straight to the graveyards.
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Flashback
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"You… don't tell me that you're a…" Kakashi-sensei asked while taking a step back. "So the 'original' actually went in your apartment."
"Kakashi-sensei, tell me… what does it mean to be a ninja?" I asked while scouting the ground in front of me. Several seconds passed and there was no answer. I let out a sigh. So, he doesn't know… Until I find the answer, I guess I'll keep doing what I've always done best. I raised both hands and crossed my fingers, forming the sign for shadow clone. I yelled, "Release!" For a moment I felt proud, being able to deceive a ninja of his level, but I also felt sad. My vision darkened. Small speck of light appeared, its volume started increasing faster and faster, suddenly I opened my eyes. I was jumping from one branch to the next, heading north of the village.
"They'll be coming after us," Kurama chuckled.
"I know," I replied.
A/N: Please rate and review. Criticize, don't hold back.
A/N: Have any ideas to further the story? PM me.
A/N: Also, do point out any grammar mistakes, I think there is a lot of them. Especially comma placement. And If you're interested in Betaing PM me.