Red Waves
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Chapter 1
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Disclaimer: I own nothing.
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Naruto's eyes widened in fear as his best friend fell. He was dead, and it was his entire fault. They were surrounded by ice mirrors with no way to escape. And because he couldn't protect himself, Sasuke was dead, a sacrifice. The ice shaft sticking through the Uchiha's unbeating heart glinted with malice.
"Is this the first time you've lost a comrade in battle?" Haku inquired from his sheets of ice, "That is the life of a shinobi."
Naruto just clutched the corpse, as if he could undo the damage. The weapon of his demise was melting, glistening, pure water trickling down, mixing with blood, red spiraling in, tainting it.
Red… he felt it coursing through him, unbridled power; a thirst for revenge. Power… anger… yes, he would make him pay…
"Shut up," Naruto barked, "He was more than a comrade; he was my friend. And for killing him, I will kill you!"
Naruto sprang forward, foreign crimson power coursing through him. Haku saw those eyes; red eyes that could only belong to a demon. He moved from mirror to mirror, trying to avoid any attack from the feral genin. But the chakra, the pure anger was too overwhelming, and staying in his mirrors would only bring about his death.
Canceling the jutsu, Haku jumped away from the blond. As the mirrors shattered, fragments flew in all directions, piercing the blond. They merely shot out with another wave of impressive chakra, wounds healing almost immediately.
Haku was beginning to panic. He had no clue what to do. Then an idea came to him. Using all the chakra he had left in him, he summoned a wave from the ocean, crashing it forward into his opponent, sweeping him off the bridge. He may have overacted, but with an opponent with that much power, you could never be too careful.
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It was all a dream, just a dream… Sasuke was just asleep and would wake up after the battle was over… Just a dream… The wave crashing ahead isn't real. The amazing demonic power wasn't real. Everything was just a dream…
"Stop denying the truth," a voice growled, "You know as well as I do that everything is very real."
Naruto closed his eyes, chanting his wishful thinking. Only a dream… Only a dream…
"You need me Naruto; you want my power to destroy that which has changed the course of events…"
Only a dream…
"As Kyuubi no Kitsune, I can give you the power, a sense of belonging… Isn't that what you want?"
Only…
"Stop your denying. You know what must be done. Feel the power of anger… revenge…"
Naruto surfaced from the ocean waves, unsure of what to do, despite what the Kyuubi had said. It was true; he felt the need to avenge his friend, the need for power to do so. He didn't know where this feeling came from, but there was no time for that.
A dark voice chuckled in his head.
"It's time to kill…"
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Naruto sat on the bridge, legs dangling off the edge, head in hands. What had he done? What had he become? His eyes, blue once again, were closed, refusing to see what he had done. Blood… it was everywhere… And the corpses of Gato's hired men lying dead and unmoving. Haku was beyond recognition; it was probably for the best that he had been lost in the crimson-tinted waves below.
He kept trying to convince himself that it was the Kyuubi who had done it, who had done all the killings, but it was no use. Naruto knew the truth; it was all him. He had killed them all with vigor, attacking without restraint, not stopping when he got wounded, just kept on killing…
"Naruto," an emotionless voice said.
Naruto turned around to come eye to eye with Kakashi.
"D-did you find it?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi nodded while the sound of Sakura sobbing in the background. The kunoichi was crying, saline dripping onto the white, waterlogged, lifeless body of Uchiha Sasuke.
Reluctantly, the blond looked up. Water and blood everywhere… Corpses littered around… A wave still tinted with blood washed up, drenching the blond. He jumped, wide eyed. The water; it had killed his best friend, and it had tried to kill him as well. He could never look at it the same way again.
The two remaining male members of Team 7 walked up to the grieving girl.
"Sakura, a shinobi should never show his true feelings," Kakashi said.
"But he's gone Kakashi-sensei! Dead!" she sobbed, "My dream, everything I had hoped for in life has been destroyed!"
Naruto felt like his heart was being stabbed for the second time that day. The girl he cared about, her dreams were ruined, because of him.
"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry," Naruto whispered.
"Sorry?" she yelled, "I bet this is all your fault! If it weren't for you, he'd still be alive!"
The blond felt tears well up in his eyes. He held them back, not wanting to show his emotional weakness. It wasn't fair for her to say that, although it couldn't be truer.
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Team 7 returned to Konoha almost immediately after Sasuke's death. The funeral was soon after their return, where almost the entire village came to pay their respects to the last member of their most treasured clan. Naruto went, but couldn't stand being there for more than a few minutes as the guilt was too much for him to bear.
He left the ceremony and retreated to the Hokage Mountain, as it was the place he went to clear his mind. It didn't work this time.
"It's all my fault," he said, "It's all my fault…"
"N-Naruto-kun?"
The blonde turned to see Hyuuga Hinata behind him.
"What're you doing here?" he asked.
"I s-s-saw you l-l-leave and I-I came t-to see if you w-were alright."
A small smile graced his face for a second before disappearing.
"It's my fault he's dead," Naruto muttered, "If I hadn't been so weak… He would still be alive. That's what everyone tells me anyway."
The Hyuuga girl's heart went out to him. As she watched him since academy days (not stalk, watch, mind you) he had been shunned by everyone for some unknown reason. And that reason, now, was putting the blame of Sasuke's death on his shoulders.
"Naruto," she said, trying to keep herself from stuttering, "It's not your fault."
She sat down next to him, looking out over the mourning village.
"I know you don't… know me well," she slowly began, "But if you need… someone to… talk to…"
"Arigato, Hinata-chan."
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A few days later, Team 7 met in the Hokage's office, as they were short one member. Sakura was clearly beaten by her beloved's death; it looked as if she had cried all night. Although he wore a mask, Kakashi felt the same way, though one couldn't tell except for the weary look in his eye. Naruto, Naruto was a different story. His face was cold and completely emotionless. His eyes held a blank stare. The blond knew it was his fault that his rival and best friend was dead, and the constant reminders and curses the villagers yelled at him didn't help either.
The three members of Team 7 were seated in the Hokage's office, waiting to meet the person they would be working with.
"Although we mourn the loss of Uchiha Sasuke, we cannot halt a ninja team from operating," the Hokage began, "That is why you are to meet your new teammate, Kiyoshi."
The doors opened and a boy who seemed to be about their age walked in. He wore all black, not an inch of his pale skin showing, save for his face. It was freaky, the way he looked, he looked almost like Sasuke. Same blue-black hair, same pale skin, and although he held no self importance in his sea green eyes, one could tell by looking that he held a tragic past.
"Kiyoshi is around your age," the Hokage continued, "He has only been in the academy for a year and is an excellent student although lacking in genjutsu. Despite all this, he is still genin level."
"Hello, nice to meet you," he greeted, "I have read the files the Hokage has given me and I believe that we will work well together."
"Well then, you three get to know each other better," Kakashi instructed, "I have things to do today, so I can't train you or go on missions."
The three genin nodded and left the room.
"Kakashi," the Sandaime began, "I know this is not what you expected, but I can assure it's for the best."
The jonin had originally requested that Naruto be removed from his team, even if it meant switching genin around with the other rookie teams. Ever since his favorite student died, Kakashi had had resentment towards the blond, although he tried not to let it out.
"We can't switch the other teams as they are just starting to work well with each other," he continued, "And I cannot give in to your personal preference."
"I understand," Kakashi said, "Although Sakura will not work with Naruto any longer as she puts the blame of Sasuke's death on his head."
"As do you."
Kakashi grimaced underneath his mask at the truth. The Hokage was biased towards Naruto as he was the closest thing to family the blond had, that's what he thought anyway. But he was firm about his decision on the teams, and that was that. But there was a way…
"What if I held a team exercise like the one I held with the original Team 7? Then you can truly see if they work well as a team or not."
"Fine Kakashi, tomorrow morning, but afterwards, my decision is final."
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Naruto felt uneasy. This Kiyoshi guy was too much like Sasuke, it was creepy. The three walked into town, no destination in mind. As they passed by Team 10, the whole team did a double-take. In fact, wherever they went people gave them a second glance, hoping that their prodigy was still alive.
"Sasuke?" Ino said, "You're alive?"
Upon hearing that, Naruto froze in his tracks. He couldn't help but feel guilty, especially when Ino's hopes were crushed. It was all his fault…
"No, I'm Kiyoshi, the new member of Team 7," he replied.
Her expression dropped in an instant.
"Oh…" she said.
"I'm sorry if I ruined the moment for you," he replied.
Ino said nothing as she walked back with her team.
"It seems that I resemble your former teammate, correct?" Kiyoshi asked.
Sakura just got a distant look in her eye at the thought of her' true love'.
"You can look like him, and you can be our new team member, but," Naruto began, "You can never replace him!"
"I don't plan to. I just asked a question," he stated.
"Stop being so damn emotionless! It's driving me crazy!" Naruto exclaimed.
"You wouldn't understand," Kiyoshi replied, "There's a reason why I only was in the academy for a year, a reason why I'm like this, and the same reason why I don't have a family or even a last name. A person like you would not understand."
"Try me."
The two were eye-to-eye in what looked like a glaring contest. It hadn't even been ten minutes and the two were at each others' necks. Suddenly, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere in front of his team.
"Meet me in training ground 7 tomorrow at six, and don't be late," he instructed.
They didn't even have time to respond as their sensei left soon after giving his message.
"Since we're going to be working as a team," Sakura began, "You should tell us about yourself Kiyoshi-san. I'll go first. My name is Haruno Sakura, I like… I dislike Naruto and the fact that my true love is… I like to… My dreams are…"
She wasn't sure what to say. Normally (as she had when she was first put on Team 7) she would just say Sasuke but since he was dead, she had nothing to fill in her answers.
"Well, I'm Uzumaki Naruto," the blond began, "I like ramen and training. I dislike you and… myself. I like to train and eat ramen. My dreams are to become Hokage so everyone will respect me and I made a promise to kill someone… And I never break my promises."
"Uzumaki," Kiyoshi began, "You and I are a lot more alike than I had first thought. Most of what you said also applies to me as well."
"I doubt that."
"Believe what you want."
'We're not the same though. I bet he doesn't have a monster sealed inside him,' they both thought, not knowing how wrong they were.
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Sakura and Naruto showed up at training ground 7 at eight o'clock. Surprisingly, Kakashi was waiting for them. When Kakashi was on time, it had to be important, REALLY important.
"You're late," he stated, "Today I'm going to hold the same test I did when this team first formed. You have until nine to take these bells from me. But, unlike last time, failing to get a bell means you'll be kicked off the team."
"You're bluffing sensei," Naruto said, "Why would we get a new team member if you were going to kick one of us out?"
"We need to have our team work effectively to avoid another death."
The blond looked away, trying not to make eye contact.
"Go! You only have an hour."
The three jumped into the forest, concealing themselves and formulating a plan.
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Sakura wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't let herself work with Naruto (she blamed him for Sasuke's death, if not a little) and she wasn't sure if she could rely on Kiyoshi. Maybe it would be best if she was put on another team, or even stopped being a shinobi in the first place.
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Kiyoshi waited in the trees. He didn't want to risk leaving when there was a chance that he could actually befriend someone. Should he use the power of the sanbi? If he were to though, they may not accept him. He could easily be killed or banished like what had happened back in his original home.
'What I need is to get over to that water source…' he thought.
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Naruto wasn't sure what he was going to do. Last time, they had barley passed at all, and this was under different circumstances. The most he could do was to give it his all, but he wasn't sure if it was enough for him to go in without a plan.
"I'll help you out."
He jumped; it was the same voice he had heard back in Wave Country.
"No need to worry," the demon began, "I'll just take over your body as I did before and teach that human a thing or two."
"W-why help me?" Naruto asked.
"It's all cooped up in here, and I have a lust to fight that needs to be quelled."
"No. I can't let you do that to Sensei."
"Can't you tell?" the fox growled, "This test is his chance to expel you from the team; he wants you gone, just like everyone else."
"I… still won't let you."
An evil laugh echoed in Naruto's head.
"Who said you had a choice?"
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Kakashi waited out in the open field. Ten minutes had gone by and there had been no attempt to take the bells. The jonin jumped back as a kunai flew down to hit him. It was a sloppy attack that was meant to fail. Even the explosive note on it was too obvious to work. What he didn't expect, was for his blond student to be behind him and send out a kick.
'He's faster than before,' he thought as his student sent out kick after kick.
Naruto suddenly jumped for an aerial attack. That's when Kakashi noticed the red eyes. If it was the Kyuubi he was fighting, then he'd have no problem beating him into the ground.
"You think you're tricky," Kakashi asked, "Using that power."
"Are you kidding?" the blond responded, "This is my own ability, and I'll use it as I like."
"H-how?"
If the Kyuubi was able to possess Naruto, then the seal may not be strong enough to hold the beast for more than a few years. But how was it possible?
"It seems the death of his closest friend and the guilt given to him by everyone has affected the seal. I'm not sure why, but I won't complain. Kaen Tsume (Flame claw)!"
His hands were engulfed in flame as inferno claws came to kill the jonin. Kakashi dodged and threw a chakra enforced punch to his forehead. His hand was caught in the flames.
"Human, don't mess with my fun," he hissed.
The flames disappeared and Naruto sagged to the ground, panting heavily.
'Damn, it took everything I had to force him back,' Naruto thought.
Kakashi lifted him by the collar of his jumpsuit and was about to kick him away with quite a bit of chakra behind it (as he didn't know the Kyuubi was actually talking to Naruto before) when a jet of water shot out, stopping him.
"How do you like my mizu soujuu (water manipulation)?" Kiyoshi asked.
The dark haired boy was currently standing on a small pond, holding said weapon. He wasn't sure what had happened between his new teacher and team mate, but it had allowed him a chance to reach the water, where he was strongest. Although the sanbi couldn't talk, Kiyoshi could tell that something had gone on that made it uneasy. Could it be…?
Naruto slowly got up from the ground.
"Thanks, but don't think I need saving," Naruto said.
"I wouldn't dream of it," he replied, "We need to work together if we ever are going to get those bells."
"What about Sakura-chan?" the blond asked.
"If she's not willing to fight, then I'm not going to just give her a bell."
Secretly, she was waiting in the trees, ready for him to give the signal for her to activate the genjutsu.
"Naruto, stay back and come in when you've got your strength back," Kiyoshi instructed, "Mizu bunshin (water clones)!"
Several copies of him appeared on the pond surface. Each had water at hand and began to rush the jonin. The original stayed on the water, as it was easy to tell the original from a copy. Because of this, Kakashi went past the clones and threw a punch at the original. The dark haired boy didn't move, a plan in mind. But right before the punch made contact, Naruto jumped in front of it before turning into smoke.
"Like I'd just sit by while you get pummeled," the blond said from the sidelines, "We're a team, and we need to work together!"
Just as he finished his statement, at least three dozen shadow clones jumped out of the trees. All at once, the clones rushed the jonin in an attempt to get the bells. Kakashi, however, switched places with a log.
Sakura, who was still waiting in the bushes, got soaked from the splash created from almost forty clones.
Naruto found himself falling headfirst into the water along with the rest of his clones. When he finally hit, a wave panic swept over him. The water reminded him too much of the battle in Wave Country, of everything. He wanted out, but couldn't. The blond tried to stay calm as he moved for shore but found it increasingly hard to do so.
'It's only water,' he told himself, 'I'll be ok.'
Except he didn't plan on Kakashi coming up from under him while he was in his vulnerable state. Luckily for him, a cry of, 'Suiton: Daibakufu no justu!' (Water style: great waterfall jutsu) was heard and a giant wave of water came crashing down on the jonin. Naruto was also swept away, but he landed more gracefully on the ground instead of in a tree.
"Naruto, are you alright?" Kiyoshi called, "I forgot that you were in the water too."
He nodded dumbly, still frozen from the water. He didn't like water; it reminded him of blood for some reason. In his paralysis, a kunai shot down towards him. But before it could hit, someone jumped in the way.
"You should be more alert," Kakashi began.
But he didn't get to finish as his eye widened to see what had happened in front of him. The kunai was sticking through his torso, blood spilling all over the place. But most of all was his face; it was Sasuke. And although Kiyoshi looked similar to him, it most definitely was Sasuke.
"You should watch it dobe, Sensei…" he said before collapsing on the ground.
The body just laid there before bursting into red water, trickling back to the pond. The two just stared at the spot for a moment.
"It was a genjutsu," Kakashi stated, "Combined with a mizu bunshin. He had us completely fooled."
Naruto just kept staring at the spot, even when his two teammates emerged from their positions in the forest.
"We have the bells," Sakura stated, "And time's almost up…"
"Sakura," Naruto mumbled, "How could you… how could you use that genjutsu after everything?"
She remained silent.
"She used her ability to get to the goal, as all ninja do," Kiyoshi explained, "Don't you want to pass?"
Naruto scowled at him.
"Not at the expense of his memory! I don't want to relive that again!"
"That is trivial," Kiyoshi replied, becoming emotionless once again, "From what I hear, he'll always be thought of as a hero, although not doing anything but living. If what I assume is correct, that is a privilege neither you nor I will ever have."
"I knew it," the Kyuubi chuckled, "That idiotic sanbi has been sealed just like I have."
"I don't give a damn," Naruto said darkly, "If you're going to be like that, then I'm glad I'm no longer part of this team."
"Naruto," Sakura said, "You don't have to-"
"Sakura, you may be fine with using cheap tricks like that, but I'm not."
The kunoichi's embarrassment turned to anger.
"You're one to talk," she retorted, "Using him as a shield so you could live."
The blond said nothing as he left the training field, leaving the three behind with their regrets.
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A/N: I finally have gotten focused and finished this chapter. Well, as you can probably tell, I've been writing this on and off; the bits that are angsty were probably written on an angsty day… Heh, my inner moods aren't very constant.
Anyway, tell me what you think. I just felt like writing this as I haven't come across a fic yet that has Sasuke dying in Wave so I wanted to see where I would take this…