I don't own Naruto or Marvel comics.
Sorry about the long absence. My first minor crossover took longer than I thought it would. But I will not abandon my stories. Don't ever think I will. But you all must understand that my day to day life has to take precedence. I hope you will all enjoy this little crossover idea I had. This story has been buzzing around in my head for weeks. But now that I've finally found the time to actually write and post it, I hope you readers will like it.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Dreams/Flashbacks
Chapter 1: Becoming the Animal
…………
We all have a beast inside of ourselves. It's something that claws at us when we're left alone with nothing but our thoughts. Something that can keep us up at night because we're afraid of what nightmares it will show us. Something that, if we're not careful, can make us lash-out at others.
For some, this beast is a source of strength. It gives us the power and the courage to keep fighting. To keep living even when it seems like we have no reason to continue on. For others, it is a curse. It's a source of shame for ourselves and a source of pain for those around us. But no matter how hard we try to fight it. No matter how much we want to deny it. It will always be a part of us.
For me it is both. It is the cross that I must bare every day of my life. It keeps me alive through great pain. However, it is also the reason I must endure this torture.
I've lived with this beast all of my life, it's given me a strong will and a near unbreakable body. It is the reason that I'm lying here now, unable to move. I'm restrained, lying almost naked on this cold metal table. I look around at the strange stone walls of this barely lit room, and I can't fight the overwhelming sense of dread that I feel. This feeling only rises as several figures move into my field of vision. They are standing on a catwalk some ten feet above my position, staring down at me. I can't make out any of their faces in this gloomy darkness. The only thing that I can tell definitively is that of the two in the middle, one has long dark hair and the other has a gray ponytail. They also seem to be wearing similar clothes, gray shirts, purple pants, and headbands with metal plates on them.
"Has he been prepared for the procedure?" the dark man asked.
"He is as ready as we can make him my lord, though I still think it would be more humane if we were to give him anesthesia first," was the response of the gray man, the servant.
"I agree, however, anesthesia doesn't work on him…and I have no interest in being humane. You still don't believe he will survive the procedure?" the dark man inquired.
"My lord, I think it is a miracle that he has survived as long as he has. Given what other experiments you have already performed on him. But no, I do not believe even YOU could survive this procedure, let alone him. My lord, I know he is your favorite pet, but even his body and its regenerative powers have their limits. He is so close to the perfect vessel for you. Don't waste him on this experiment," the servant pleaded with his master.
"We'll soon find out if he is truly the perfect vessel, won't we? Begin the procedure," was the final word of the dark man.
With reluctance, the servant began pressing buttons on the console in front of him. And the table I was laying restrained on was lowered into a tank of water beneath me. I take in a quick breath just before I'm fully submerged. When the table reached the bottom of the tank, several strange mechanical arms moved to hover over it.
At the end of each arm was an eight inch needle and they were all moving closer to me. I struggle in my restraints in a vain attempt to get away from these approaching devices. But all too soon I feel them pierce every part of my body. This brings a stinging sensation to my whole body. But compared to what I was about to feel, I would come to prefer this feeling.
Though my hearing is muffled by the water, I can still hear the dark man give the order, "Begin the procedure."
Moments later I hear the sound of something rushing through the metal arms and into the needles embedded in my flesh. Then I feel it, like a jolt of electricity suddenly passed through me. Every nerve in my body is lit up like a Christmas tree. Like liquid fire is being poured into my skin. My joints ache, my muscles spasm, and my bones feel like they are liquefying. The pain is so terrible that I thrash in my bonds, splashing water from the tank onto the floor. I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, but I'm muffled by the water. The pain is so excruciating I fear I will go mad. I can't take this anymore, I want out of this tank, this room, I want to escape. I WANT TO DIE.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH," I roared at the ceiling as I bolted up in bed. Fists clenching the sheets of my bed, and a horrible stabbing pain moving in my forearms.
Looking around I see the apartment that I had been living in for the past month. I let out a great sigh of relief as I realize I was only having a nightmare. I take a moment to catch my breath and ease the pounding in my chest, as I try to calm myself.
Soon I throw the covers off and climb out of my bed and head to the bathroom. So I can shower and prepare for the day ahead. Realizing what day it is I think to myself, 'How the hell did I get talked into this?'
With a towel wrapped around my waist I exit the bathroom of my small apartment, and I head to my closet to get dressed. While pulling on a pair of jeans and a black muscle shirt I can't help but wonder if this is a good idea. 'Going to the academy wasn't my idea. The old man is the one who thinks I should be a ninja,' I think to myself as I move to the cabinet. Pulling out a bowl and some silverware, I sit down to eat a bowl of cereal. 'I've only been in this place called the leaf village for a month. But it feels like a lifetime,' I think to myself.
As I slowly eat my cereal I allow my mind to wander over what little I know about my life. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm thirteen years old and I don't have any memories of my life before my most recent birthday. All I have is the nightmares that I have been experiencing. Or at least I hope they are just nightmares. They are so vivid I sometimes think they are memories. But if that's true then I'm not sure that I want to remember anything else. I look down at my hand to see that it is still shaking from the intensity of my nightly torment. I've had so many nightmares since I got here, each one worst then the last, I should be used to them by now.
My only memories that are solid start just over a month ago in the leaf village hospital. I woke up, with some bandages wrapped around my hands and forearms, to the face of an old man named Sarutobi. He said he was the third Hokage of this village. What I didn't understand at the time was how he seemed to know who I was. He said that he had known me for years. But I didn't have the slightest clue who he was. When I told him that, he was shocked to say the least. He began asking me questions to see what I could remember. Questions like, "Do you recognize this place?" or "Do you know what village this is?" and with each negative response he grew more and more concerned.
Finally, after an hour of questioning me and getting nowhere, Sarutobi got up, told me to stay here and that he would be right back. Half an hour after he left he returned with two men. He introduced them to me as Inoichi Yamanaka and Ibiki Morino.
Ibiki spent the rest of the day asking me questions, none of which I could answer. Inoichi attempted this weird thing he called a mind walk; key word being attempted. As soon as he finished the hand seals he was blasted off the chair he was sitting in. Of course my concern for him was distracted by his crashing into Ibiki and Sarutobi, and all three of them ending up in a tangled heap on the floor. I did however manage to keep from laughing at them. After Sarutobi and Ibiki picked Inoichi, and themselves, up off of the floor he explained what he thought happened. He said that there was a block, like some kind of a barrier, inside my mind. He said it was probably the reason why I couldn't remember. Inoichi said that he would look for a way to remove this barrier.
In all honesty, I'm not sure if I'm happy about that. It would be nice to have my memories back. So I would know, for myself exactly who I am and where I come from. However, ever since I woke up I've felt this deep pounding in my chest. Like some animal inside me is clawing at that barrier. Trying to get out or take control. I could feel it, every time I closed my eyes, whether awake or asleep, I could almost see it. And that barrier is all that is stopping it.
I've woken up in the middle of every night since that first day, feeling like I'm tied up in knots. I believe that the beast is what triggers the nightmares, like it wants to cause me pain. It is why I've woken up every night for the last month roaring at the top of my lungs. Sweat would be dripping off me and I would be panting like I was missing one of my lungs. And on many occasions I have felt this stabbing pain in my hands and forearms. I don't know why that is, but it is happening more and more frequently.
In my nightmares I've seen these terrible images of being trapped in that tank of water. Dozens of metal needles all puncturing me at once. And finally, screaming as something is injected into me. The pain of this is excruciating, as if my body were torn open and molten rock was being poured into me. This is not the only nightmare that I have had. There are others where I am strung up by my shackled wrists in a stone cell. In one nightmare I am trapped in a steal chair. Held there by manacles on my wrists and ankles and the dark man is putting some strange metal helmet on me. Then I wake up and realize that I'm in my bed at my apartment. But I'm still unsettled.
After finishing my cereal, I put the dirty dishes into the sink, so I'll remember to wash them later, and I head out the front door. As I turn the key to lock it, my eyes land on my most treasured possession, the ring on my right hand. It is a simple little thing, well wore. It doesn't have precious stones or gold imbedded in it. Its only decoration is the blue circle with the kanji for void written on it. Yet it is the most important thing that I own, because it is the only possession found on me before I was brought to the leaf hospital. For all I know, it could be the key to what happened to me and why I can't remember anything. But I don't have the slightest clue where it came from.
After I lock my door I walk down the stairs and head to the academy and ignore the glares and harsh looks I seem to be getting. I have been getting similar reactions from almost every single person that I meet in this village. At first it unsettled me since I had no idea what I could have done to deserve such animosity. However, when I realized that nobody was going to take any kind of offensive action, I just dismissed their looks as suspicion. 'I can't really blame them, this is a shinobi village. Around here when people disappear for long periods of time, it's never for a good reason.'
I allow my mind to wonder. I'm not worried about not watching where I'm going. I seem to know the way to the academy by heart, even though I can't remember ever even being inside of the building. That is one of the many things that just don't make sense to me. I can't definitively remember anything about my life from before waking up in that hospital bed a month ago. I don't remember my family, my friends, or if I really did live in this village when I was younger. But I seem to know this whole village like the back of my hand. Sarutobi said that is because this village is where I was born and lived in until I was twelve.
At the time that didn't make sense to me. Because Sarutobi said it was my thirteenth birthday when I woke up a month ago. If what he said was true then there was at least a year's worth of my life that even he couldn't account for. When I asked him about this discrepancy in his story he explained exactly what he knew. He told me that I was born here on October 10th and that I lived here and attended the academy. He said it was my greatest wish to become a shinobi and protect the village. But on my twelfth birthday he said that I had vanished with no indications as to where I went, why I left, or even how I got out of the village. He said I just didn't show up for the academy on October 11th and I hadn't been seen since. Sarutobi said when he realized I was missing he had a search of the whole village done. When they still couldn't find me he had all of fire country searched with no luck.
It all makes me very uneasy. If this old man and I knew and cared about each other so much, then why can't I remember him before that day? I can remember my name, and what a shinobi is. I can even picture in my mind a perfect image of every shinobi village, their respective kages, and even their most famous shinobi's faces and skills. All as if I was reading the information right out of a bingo book. I can remember general information, but nothing about myself or my personal life. It's all so frustrating that sometimes I feel like screaming.
The only thing that is more annoying is that Sarutobi is still keeping things from me. He knew everything about me from my favorite foods to the exact design of the spiral tattoo on my stomach. But when asked questions like "why do I have this tattoo" or "who were my parents" he says he doesn't know. And every time he says that I can tell he is lying because his scent changes.
That is another odd thing about me. I seem to have highly acute senses that, according to Sarutobi, I didn't have before my disappearance. During my questioning with Ibiki I grew hungry. That was when I noticed the scent of dango and red bean soup, and asked Ibiki if I could have some of the lunch I thought he was carrying. Ibiki said that he wasn't carrying any food, and the last time he was around dango and red bean soup was dinner last night with some lady named Anko.
'It just doesn't make any sense,' I think to myself as I enter the academy yard and head towards the front door. The thought that there are things about my own life that people are keeping from me is so maddening that it's almost unbearable.
'There is at least one bright spot,' I think to myself as I walk down the hall to my assigned classroom. 'I may no longer have the same desire to be a ninja as Sarutobi said I had, but at the academy I'll get to see the friends I made there,' I contemplate, with a certain satisfaction.
'If I really did attend this academy for two years before my disappearance, then my friends should be able to tell me more things about myself that I can't remember,' I think to myself as I open the sliding classroom door.
…Sarutobi…
"I am a senile old fool," I say aloud as I sit in my office smoking my pipe and reading the latest Icha Icha novel. All the while I was trying to calm my mounting anxiety. Normally I would find these actions relaxing and a fun past time. But today the tobacco of my pipe tastes bitter sweet. What's more not even Jiraiya's best work yet could take my mind off of the boy I consider one of my sons.
"Today is the first time he'll have been to the academy since he disappeared. I hope that this turns out well," I say aloud as I attempt to relax for a few brief moments.
'Naruto never had a lot of friends at the academy. I hope that the children and teachers there don't put him off the idea of being a shinobi,' I think as I begin to remember that horrid day.
I was shocked when Iruka came into my office a year ago and asked if Naruto was out sick. When I told him that I had not heard from Naruto sense the night before, he suggested that we check in on him at his apartment. But when we arrived, there was no sign of Naruto at all.
Suspecting that he must have skipped class and was probably out playing a prank in the village, we went searching for him. After all, we couldn't let him get away with skipping class …or whatever he was going to do to torment some poor soul.
But after hours of searching the village, Iruka and I had not spotted a single sign of the boy. We assumed that Naruto had played a prank and was still hiding from who he played it on. In which case, we should see a mob of pissed off villagers run by any minute now.
'That boy may not be a ninja, but he has stealth skills that could fool most Anbu,' I think with no small amount of amusement. My thoughts quickly turn sour as I recall the rest of that evening.
When dinner time hit, Iruka and I went to Ichiraku's. We knew that Naruto never missed a chance to have dinner with Ayame and her father. Taking a seat at the counter, Iruka and I have a nice chat with Ayame and Teichu about Naruto's pranking antics while we wait for the boy. But as time went by and there was no sign of Naruto we were all getting worried.
By eleven o'clock I had become so concerned that I called in every ninja from genin to the Anbu who weren't out of the village on missions to the tower. I immediately sent them all out to search the entire village to find Naruto. The ones that showed reluctance to bother searching for the boy, I "convinced" to do their best.
But after hours of searching, and no reports of a Naruto sighting, I told the ninja to widen their search to the surrounding forest. Eventually, when that proved insufficient, I had teams searching all of the land of fire. But still they found no sign of Naruto.
I never called off the search, but after a year I had just about given up hope. That's when it happened, Naruto had apparently reappeared.
I had been sitting at my desk tackling some paperwork (the bane of all kages) when a messenger bird flew in through my office window. It was with some depression that I opened what I knew was another report from a border patrol. Ever sense Naruto's disappearance I had insisted on reading the reports of all the patrols about the outskirts of fire country.
But this time I was not to be disappointed. Neko and her Anbu team reported that they had a confirmed sighting of Naruto. I, and a team of my best jounin, double-timed it to the area he was spotted as fast as possible. Although, nothing could have prepared me for what I found when I got there.
We waited in the trees after arriving and watched him. He was just slowly walking along one of the many dirt paths of fire country. His hair was dirty and had twigs and leaves in it and had grown past his shoulders. His clothes, which had once been bright orange, were shredded and gray from all of the dirt and filth in them. And what shocked me the most was that he was holding a severed arm by the wrist in his right hand. He was just dragging it along, like he didn't even realize he was holding it.
As an experienced shinobi I should have known better then to charge into a situation like that. God only knows what must have happened to Naruto to make him look the way he did. But my rapture at seeing him again forced my better judgment aside.
I jumped down in front of him and waited for him to run up and hug me like usual and start babbling away about what happened to him. But it never came. When I jumped down in front of him he didn't stop, speed up, slow down, or anything. He gave no reaction, just kept shuffling along like he didn't even see me, and I was beginning to think he couldn't when he walked right into me.
I knelt down so that I could look him in the eye. Not that I really needed to, Naruto seemed considerably taller than the last time that I saw him. After a year an increase in his height was only to be expected. But this was considerably more than the one or two inches that a normal person would grow between their eleventh and twelfth birthdays. He had shot up to just south of six feet, and his shoulders were broader than before. If I didn't know he was thirteen, I would say I had been looking at a sixteen or seventeen year old young man.
But I was going to worry about that later. When I looked in his eyes all I saw was a blank stare. I had seen that stare before on shinobi who had seen or done something so terrible that their minds had shut down. That's when I realized that Naruto wasn't even conscious; his body had only been moving out of shear will power. Grabbing his shoulders I begin shaking him and calling his name, trying to get a reaction out of him.
I feel some hope when his eyes move to focus on me. That hope was shattered when he pulled his left fist back and tried to throw a cross punch at me. I lean back, dodging the blow, but I become sidetracked by the leaf shinobi that suddenly left their hiding places in the trees and moved in on the boy who they thought was attacking me. That distraction nearly cost me my head. A quick flash of light reflecting on metal in the corner of my eye was my only warning before Naruto swung a blade at me.
'That was a close call,' I contemplate as I bring my left hand up to my cheek. Absentmindedly I run my fingers over the scars there. I almost couldn't believe that Naruto had attacked me. But in hindsight I shouldn't have upset a traumatized shinobi in training to begin with.
Thankfully, my jounin and Anbu saw it that way and only restrained the boy instead of outright killing him. Not that they needed to restrain him. It seemed that Naruto only had enough strength in him for one or two swings, because after he nearly took my head off he collapsed.
We quickly rushed him to the leaf village hospital. Once there I ordered a complete examination of Naruto too discover what had been done to him. As well as to discover where the blade Naruto used to nearly take my head off had come from, and where it disappeared too. To my shock, I would find that the real question was, 'What hadn't been done to him?' Naruto held no out ward signs of torture. His abnormal healing factor almost guaranteed he would never bear any scars. But the numerous chemicals and toxins in his blood told the whole story.
A blood screen showed that Naruto had been given vitamin supplements instead of food. Probably as a test of his body's endurance or a means of keeping him too weak to escape wherever he was. There were traces of highly acidic compounds in his blood that would normally dissolve human flesh. The doctors surmised that this was meant to test his body's regenerative powers and his threshold for pain. And there were numerous other chemicals that they couldn't even identify. But I could, I had seen similar tests done before. And they were conducted illegally right here in this village. But all of this paled in comparison to what had been done to the boy's bones.
I knew that other shinobi villages conducted experiments on their shinobi (more often on other village's shinobi); all in the hope of gaining some new advanced weapon. But this all felt far too familiar to me to be the work of another village. I could feel it, Naruto's disappearance and the experiments that had been performed on him could only have been done by one man. A man who's treachery this entire village knew very well.
'But how could he have gotten into the village, let alone gotten his hands on Naruto?' I question for the thousandth time. It was quite worrying to think that he had found a way to get in and out of the village unnoticed.
"But it doesn't matter now. All that matters is trying to get Naruto's life back on its previous track," I say aloud. I hoped that speaking it would make me finally believe that it was really for the best.
......Naruto......
'Why are they all just staring at me?' I ponder.
The second I stepped through the sliding door the first thing I saw was a man in a chunin vest with a scar over his nose. He looked like he was about to start some lecture. The attention of every genin hopeful sitting behind the raised tables was focused solely on him. At least until I walked into the room.
As soon as I opened the door, the chunin turned to me and abruptly stopped talking. The blood drained from his face at an alarming rate and made him look as white as a sheet. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and his jaw dropped like a lead brick in the ocean. A minute passed before he finally spoke.
"N-Naruto, is that y-you?" He finally managed to say.
The students that had been staring at me in confusion suddenly turned to the chunin with looks of disbelief on their faces. Apparently they weren't expecting to see me. I guess the news of my disappearance spread through the entire village.
"Who were you expecting bub? The Fourth Hokage?" I asked with obvious sarcasm.
"Baka, don't speak to Iruka sensei like that!" came the sudden shout of a pink haired girl sitting next to a moody looking brat in the third row. "You can't just walk in here acting all cool and expect special treatment. I don't care how different you look or what you were doing out of the village. And what the hell happened to you anyway?" she ranted. "What kind of freak goes from barely over four feet to almost six in a year? What the hell did you do to yourself? And what's with the change of clothes, I thought an idiot like you loved orange jumpsuits. If you think wearing black makes you cool like Sasuke is then you better…"
"SAKURA, that is quite enough." Reprimanded the chunin that I now know is named Iruka. He had apparently gotten over his shock at seeing me. Now he was staring at me like everybody else.
"Naruto… you do look shockingly different," he mumbled to himself. "What are you doing here?" Iruka asked.
"I'm here to take the final exam," Was my short response.
"Ha, like you could actually pass after you ran away and skipped a year you baka. You acted like a spoiled brat. If you want to be a ninja then you have to take it seriously," was the obnoxious declaration of the pink haired Sakura.
For some reason, everybody in the room slowly turned to stare at Sakura like they couldn't believe what she just said. 'I wonder why everyone's looking at her like she just told a bad joke.' I quickly decide that whatever hypocrisy she was talking about didn't matter. I don't care what foolish rumors this little girl had heard about my disappearance. But clearly she thought I had done it on purpose for some self-centered reason. The bottom line is, 'I am seriously starting to dislike this girl.' And my inner animal must not like her either, if the sudden growling in my chest was an indicator.
"Naruto, I'm happy to see that your back but Sakura is right. Maybe it would be best for you to wait and take the exam next semester," Iruka gently pointed out.
I could see that he was worried about me, and was only trying to help. But I was determined to fulfill Sarutobi's request that I take the test. "No thank you. I was asked by the third Hokage to take the final exam and become a ninja of the leaf village. Here is a note from him if you aren't willing to take my word for it."
I pulled a note out of my jean front pocket and took a step towards Iruka. Iruka took the note with some hesitation and read it carefully. Finally, he let out a sigh and put the note on his desk. Then he turned to me and said, "Fine Naruto, you can take a seat. We were just about to begin."
Taking his advice, I turn to the rows of students and look for an empty space. There was only two that I could see. One was next to the Sakura girl who was now looking at me like I just committed a crime. I quickly throw that option out the window.
The second was right next to a girl in the back row with short dark hair and pale violet, almost white eyes. Realizing that was my only other option, I began my ascent up the steps to the seat next to the girl.
As I'm walking up the stairs, I quickly run over what I know about some of the more interesting students I spotted when I entered. A boy with diamond shaped pupils, facial tattoos, and a puppy on his head was clearly an Inuzuka. Sitting next to him was a boy with sunglasses and a high collar. And if those things didn't show he was an Aburame, then the fact that he was currently holding a conversation with a fly resting on his finger proved it.
If my abnormal encyclopedic knowledge of shinobi is to be believed, then there was also a Yamanaka, an Akimichi, a Nara, and an Uchiha in this class. And I am currently walking towards a Hyuga. This class would definitely prove exciting.
Now standing next to the empty seat beside the Hyuga, I take a closer look at her. And she is staring at me with her eyes wide and a heavy blush forming on her face.
"Can I sit here?" I ask her.
She doesn't say anything. She just swiftly nods her head, turning redder the whole time.
As I sit down I turn my attention back to Iruka. I listen as he talks about the duties and responsibilities of shinobi (A boring lecture if ever there was one). While waiting for him to finish, I begin to mentally prepare for the test. I know how it works, first, the written exam where the students have to answer detailed and in-depth questions about the village and its history. The next part is the oral exam where the instructor asks each student a handful of questions about general shinobi information. And finally, the students undergo the practical part of the exam. The practical portion consists of a test over the basic academy jutsu and a one on one spar with another student.
It was a simple task to answer the questions on the test Iruka past out. Fifty questions over the various Hokage's and most famous shinobi of the village. This part of the test was so tedious it was a wonder anybody bothered to answer the questions. After all, it's not like village history or the exact amount of strength needed to throw a kunai so far was ever a question that would actually come up on shinobi missions.
Overall, a written test for shinobi seems like the most foolish idea in the world. Looking across the room I see that the Nara boy is fast asleep with his head on his desk. He doesn't appear to have answered a single question. Frankly, I think that he has the right idea. If Sarutobi hadn't asked me to take the test to the best of my abilities, I would probably be fast asleep by now as well.
Eventually, Iruka takes up the test, and begins a brief summary of the oral exam. Not being particularly interested, I lean back in my chair and shut my eyes while I wait quietly for my turn to answer.
My mind had just begun to wander when Iruka called on me to answer the questions for the second part of the exam.
"Naruto, pay attention. The oral part of the exam has begun," He declared with some heat.
Looking into his eyes, I nod my head and stand to show that I am ready.
"Naruto, please name and detail the three main forms of jutsu," He fired off.
This is an easy question. "The three main forms of jutsu are ninjutsu, genjutsu and Taijutsu. Genjutsu is the ninja art of illusion and manipulating the flow of chakra in the victim's brain, thus causing a disruption in their senses. Ninjutsu is the technique that utilizes chakra and allows the user to perform actions that a civilian would otherwise be incapable of doing. The most notable ability is to command the elements. Taijutsu is basically the different forms of hand-to-hand combat," Was my monotone response.
After I answered Iruka's question I stopped to look around the room. Everyone was again starring at me like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Even Iruka was looking at me strangely. I was beginning to think that I had given a completely wrong answer when Iruka finally snapped out of his trance.
"Um, that's right, very good Naruto. Now tell me about the five kages," He stated with a pleased look on his face.
With some hesitance I answer, "A Kage is the leader of one of the five most powerful Hidden Villages and generally is also the most powerful ninja in their respective villages. The Kages stand equally with the rulers of their countries, overseeing the activities of their villages, and are the leaders of ninja society. They typically are the ones who send the ninja teams out on their missions and make the decisions regarding the safety of the village. The five Kages are the Kazekage of Sunagakure, The Mizukage of Kirigakure, The Raikage of Kumogakure, The Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, and the Hokage of Konohagakure."
Again, everybody stared at me like I grew a second head. I could hear Sakura muttering about me cheating to pass the exam. That's when I realized that the reason they are all shocked is I had gotten my answers right. 'Those are simple questions that any academy student should know. What kind of moron do these people think I am?' I think to myself.
"That's correct Naruto, you can sit down now. Shino your next…" Iruka said, turning his attention to the Aburame.
As I sit back down, I can't help wondering what kind of moron I was if my own classmates were shocked that I could answer a simple question. I shut my eyes and lean back in my chair while I wait for Iruka to finish the oral section of the exam. The whole time I'm questioning what I was like before I disappeared.
Suddenly I feel a tingling sensation run down my spine. Wondering what the origin of this feeling is, I open my eyes and survey the room. Out of the corner of my left eye I notice the Hyuga girl I'm sitting next to staring at me intently. She doesn't move a single muscle, just keeps staring at me. Very soon I begin to grow uncomfortable under her unblinking gaze.
Eventually, when I could no longer stand her scrutiny, I decide to address her.
Turning to face her I ask, "Is there something the matter Hyuga-san?"
She must not have realized that her staring was so obvious. She jumped at my question, and a bright blush was quickly forming on her cheeks.
"I-I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't m-mean to stare," was her timid reply.
She was so quiet that I could barely hear her. "That's fine. Is there something that you wanted to ask me?" I inquire.
She rapidly shakes her head no. She was now looking down at her desk as if she was afraid to look at me. 'Is this girl scared of me?' I wonder.
This didn't make any sense. I thought that if I came to this academy and met people I was supposed to have known, I would be able to learn about who I was before I went missing. But with every action I take, I seem to elicit conflicting responses from the other students. First that Sakura girl treats me with open contempt when I introduce myself. Second, when I answered a simple exam question every person in the room acts like I suddenly grew another head. And now this Hyuga girl is acting like she is afraid to be sitting next to me.
'Anger, fear, and expected stupidity, if these are the traits of who I was do I really want to remember?' were my melancholy thoughts.
"Alright class that's it for the third part of the exam," Iruka's voice suddenly broke into my thoughts. "Now lets all head outside so we can perform the physical exam."
As I stand to leave the room with the others, I can't help feeling that I now have more questions than answers.
...Hinata...
'He's back. He's actually come back,' were my thoughts as I walked outside with the others, for the next part of the exam. The whole time I am stealing glances over my shoulder, trying to sneak another peak at Naruto.
I've had a crush on Naruto since the first day I set eyes on him. His strong spirit and unbreakable will served as inspiration to me. He was the example of a courageous person and worthwhile shinobi that I wanted to be.
When I heard that he had gone missing, it nearly broke my heart. He was no longer there to be the pillar that held up my spirit. I moped for days, crying in my room and hardly ever leaving. The only times that I left were when my father had the branch family members drag me out to train or to eat something. And even then I had little to no appetite. And my already pathetic performance in my family's gentle fist style had plummeted with my hopes of ever seeing Naruto again.
My father, realizing that something must truly be wrong confronted me about it.
I was lying on my bed in my room, wearing my simple blue shirt and pants with mesh wiring in the lining. I was again crying over my lost love.
'It's foolish of me. I didn't mean anything to him. I never got to tell him how I feel. And now he'll never know.' These were my morbid thoughts as I continue to lie on my stomach and try to bury my head deeper into my pillow.
The sound of my door sliding open and then closed reaches my ears. But I make no attempt to turn over and see who would enter unannounced. 'Probably more branch members sent by my father to make me eat something,' I think.
As I listen to the sound of footsteps, I realize that there is only one person coming towards my bed. I feel a weight press down on my mattress. This person is sitting beside me now. Then, the last thing I would have expected happened. He placed his hand on the middle of my back, and my father spoke quietly to me.
"Hinata, I do not know what has happened to you," He began softly. "When you began to show less and less drive in your training I thought that you had given up. When you almost stopped eating, I began to believe that you had some kind of death wish. Because you had given up on being clan head and were terrified of living with the caged bird seal. You would not have been the first to feel this way," He continued with a stern whisper. But then his words took a turn I never would have believed.
His voice took on a sad tone, almost like he was trying to keep from crying. And he said to me, "I was a fool."
I was so shocked by his admission that I forgot my sorrow for a brief moment. He is Hiashi Hyuga, head of the most powerful and prestigious clan in all of fire country. As far as the people of the leaf village were concerned he is infallible. If he were ever wrong his pride would never let him admit it. 'So what has changed?' I wondered as I turn my head to look at him.
"Last night, I came to the conclusion that you would never be a proper clan head. And I was on my way to your room to inform you of my decision," At those words I became very afraid. Was this the reason that he was here, to inform me of this decision. Was he going to have me dragged off to be branded with the seal? He must have noticed how still I had become because he quickly calmed my rising fright.
"That however is no longer my intention," He spoke quickly. "When I was outside of your door, I heard you talking in your sleep."
I trembled at his words. I had been having nightmares recently of confessing my feelings to Naruto. And then he would disappear before he would respond. I would search, but I would not be able to find him. If I was talking in my sleep and my father heard me, then he would no doubt think I was being weak.
"I listened to you outside your door for… I'm not sure how long. But it was long enough that I could tell that you were grieving over the loss of somebody very important to you," He said with some compassion. "I should have realized it sooner. I acted much the same way, after your mother passed."
I was stunned. He had not spoken of mother in years. 'He must find it very painful,' I quickly realized. Father used to be a different man. He was strict but friendly, and he was even warm on the occasions we were together as a family. But after she died, he became cold and distant for weeks. My training was supervised by a member of the branch family for some time after that. When he did return to teaching me he was harsh and condescending.
Thinking back, I often wondered if he hated me for resembling mother. I was like a constant reminder of the person he had loved and lost. I couldn't really blame him for thinking of me as a reminder of her. Sometimes when I look in the mirror I will see her face as well… and it makes me sad.
"I had become so obsessed with treating you like the heir to the title Clan Head that I had stopped treating you as my daughter," He admitted sadly. "I did not realize what you were going through, and I only made it harder on you. I was a poor father."
"Hinata, I don't know who it is that you have lost and I will not make you tell me. But I promise you that I will do everything in my power to help you through this. I will be a better father to you," He concluded.
I didn't know when I started crying again. But I became aware of the moist tears on my cheeks. And for once, I was not concerned with how my father would view them as vulnerable. Lifting myself onto my knees, I throw my arms around my father and embrace him for the first time in so many years and cry into his chest.
After that things got better. Father was more like the man that he used to be. He was still strict, but he was no longer condescending or harsh. With his encouragement, I was able to put my broken heart together again. I was doing better in training and I didn't have to be dragged to the table at meal times to eat anymore.
But I still missed him. Naruto was and would probably always be my source of inspiration. I had decided to be a better kunoichi so I could honor his spirit. I suppose I had accepted that I would never see the first boy I ever cared about again.
And then, he reappeared. When he first walked into the room, I almost couldn't believe it. I had thought that he was dead. And then he walked into the academy like he had never left, like there was no difference between the day before he vanished and today.
But there were major differences both to him and myself. He may still have been my inspiration, but I no longer needed him to give me courage. I had grown since he left. And I longer had the same feelings for him that I once did, or so I kept telling myself.
The truth is, when he walked into the room I could feel my heart begin to flutter, my cheeks flushed, and I suddenly had trouble breathing. And this was not just due to the feelings I have for him. Naruto had change significantly.
Naruto was very different physically now than before he vanished. He used to be the second shortest person in the class, next to me. Now he looked to be just south of 6 feet. His hair was slightly longer but not as spiky. And in the skin tight black shirt he wore, it was easy to see that he had become significantly more muscular. He was no longer a skinny little boy with traces of baby fat. He looked like a well-built fifteen or sixteen year old young man. All of these changes lead me one important fact.
'Naruto has become HOT,' I think, as another blush rises to my cheeks.
I pull myself from my thoughts as I realize that the crowd of students around me has stopped moving.
…Naruto…
Once we entered the training yard, Iruka had all of us move into a circle around him and another chunin with silver hair and holding a clipboard.
"Alright class, for the physical part of the exam you will each spar one on one with another student in the class. Mizuki will be over seeing this part of the exam," here Iruka stops talking and gestures to the silver haired chunin standing off to the side. "He has already assigned everybody in the class a partner. When he calls your names you will both move into the center of the yard and begin. And remember, this is Taijutsu ONLY. You are not to use ninjutsu or genjutsu at all. That said; I'll leave you to your test," Were Iruka's final words. Then he turned to walk back inside. Probably to start grading the written exams that we just finished.
Drawing every bodies attention back to himself, Mizuki looked down at his clipboard and shouted, "Now the first to spar will be…"
……………
And so the mock battles began. Many matches were between virtual no names with little talent. These were the children who didn't come from a shinobi clan and had no real fighting style to draw on. And as I watched them throw half hearted punches and kicks at each other, I couldn't help thinking, 'I bet watching wallpaper dry would be more exciting.' Although, the few that were from the more prominent clans did show some impressive skills. I had high hopes for the match between the only Nara and Akimichi in the class. I was sorely disappointed when this Shikamaru Nara went down after one pathetic punch from Choji Akimichi. But seeing how they walked next to each other to the back of the crowd afterwards, I realized that the Nara threw the match to avoid fighting his friend.
I could respect a man who didn't want to fight his friend. But the match was still a letdown. I had hoped that two clan heirs going one on one would break the tediousness of the previous matches. However, I was happy to see that stuck up Sakura girl get her ass handed to her in the next match by the only Hyuga in the class.
When their names were called, Sakura and the quiet girl I now knew was named Hinata, both moved to the center of the circle of shinobi hopefuls. Mizuki told them to face each other and bow, which they did. Well, Hinata did. Sakura it seemed for some reason was trying to get the attention of the lone Uchiha in the class. The little shrew was so preoccupied with trying to get this Sasuke kid to watch her fight the 'weak Hyuga weirdo' as she called her, she never heard Mizuki count to three and start the match. Nor did she see Hinata move like a blur and strike her with dozens of lightning quick attacks.
Sakura was on the ground unconscious before she even realized the match started. And after the on-hand medic revived her, she threw a temper tantrum about not getting the chance to show off for "her Sasuke," Watching Hinata leave the center of the courtyard, I came to the conclusion that this one match more than made up for the disappointment of the last one.
Seeing her heading in my direction, I remember that Hinata seemed afraid of me in the class room. I quickly realize a way to help fix whatever relationship problems she and I must have had. As Hinata passes me to walk back behind the circle of students, I thought I could compliment her on her victory. Grabbing her by her right elbow, I gently turn her around to face me. With a bewildered look on her face, I tell her, "Congrats on your victory Hinata. You did a good job against that pink haired banshee."
I guess I caught her off guard, because she didn't say anything back to me. She just nodded her head and quickly turned around and speed walked to the back of the circle of students. 'I thought I was being friendly,' were my only thoughts as I see her rush off.
The remaining matches did little to improve my mood. Watching the Inuzuka nearly maul some pathetic ninja wannabe was mildly entertaining. And the match between the Yamanaka and the Aburame was downright hilarious. This Ino girl looked to be just as annoying as Sakura when she started shouting to the Uchiha how she was going to show off for him. Of course she had to eat her words when she started running all over the court yard, screaming the whole time. All of this was a futile attempt to get away from a swarm of Shino's bugs that were comically chasing her everywhere. Honestly, what self-respecting kunoichi is afraid of bugs? This match would have been pathetic if it wasn't so funny.
I was broken from my attempt to conceal my laughter as I heard the names of the next competitors.
"Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, you're next," Mizuki announced, with a strange, almost sinister look on his face.
As we both approached to middle of the yard, I hear loud cries from the female half of the class for this Uchiha to beat me. And shouts from some of the males that he had gotten lucky to have such an easy opponent. Clearly this Sasuke was considered the class favorite. But I, once again, found myself a little hurt at the fact that everyone in the class clearly thought little of my skills.
When we were both standing in front of Mizuki, he begins talking.
"Alright, you both know the rules. I expect a clean fight. Now both of you face each other and bow," He ordered us. Turning to face Sasuke we bow to each other. Well I bowed, Sasuke just stood there like a statue. Obviously, he didn't think any better of me than anybody else in the class.
Seeing Mizuki raise his hand, Sasuke falls into a stance I recognize as the Uchiha's intercepting fist. Like the previous matches, Mizuki begins counting down from three.
However, patience must not be one of Sasuke's strong points because Mizuki had only said two before Sasuke charged at me. But even with him coming at me I still waited for Mizuki to lower his hand, and start the match. Strangely, Mizuki makes no attempt to stop Sasuke and reprimand him for failing to wait for the start of the match. As Sasuke is charging at me with his left fist slightly back I prepare for the attack. Taking a shot in the dark, I tilt my head to my right just as Sasuke is with striking distance of me. And my hunch paid off. Sasuke's left fist passed harmlessly over my left shoulder.
Sasuke stood motionless for a moment. I suppose he was stunned by the fact that I actually dodged his first strike. But as I stood there, head tilted slightly to the right, he pulls his left fist back, and keeping up his momentum, he spins around and tries a spinning left kick to my ribs.
Seeing this coming, I bring my left arm up and block the shin that would have bruised my ribs. Instead, I see Sasuke's face contort in pain when his leg hits my bare forearm. Seeing that Sasuke is off balance from the failure of his attack, I jab my left fist right into his exposed ribs, and feel them crack beneath my knuckles. But I must have somehow hurt myself in the process because again I felt that familiar stabbing pain in my forearms.
My attack sent Sasuke rolling backwards. But as he slowly climbs to his feet, all the while holding his fractured ribs, I turn to look at Mizuki to see if he was going to stop the match. Despite my own pain, I know I cracked Sasuke's ribs, and I could see an ugly bruise beginning to spread out from under his leg wrappings. If he continued he may risk permanent injury, it was strange that such a clearly frail kid was treated like the best of the academy crop. But Mizuki made no attempt to stop the match. In fact, if the angry look on his face was any indication, Mizuki seemed livid that Sasuke wasn't doing better.
'Why is he risking a student's health in a mock battle? Does he have money wagered on Sasuke winning or something?' I question as I stare at Mizuki in disbelief.
But I shouldn't have allowed myself to be distracted. Because Sasuke took advantage of my focus being off of him and charged me. By the time I realized what he was doing; Sasuke had sucker punched me right in the face. I was knocked back and fell on my side some ten feet away from where I had been. But Sasuke didn't wait for me to get to my feet before attacking me again.
I was on my hands and knees while trying to rise to my feet when he delivers a kick into my ribs. Another quickly followed the first, but I barely felt that shot in my ribcage. However, even though he wasn't doing any significant harm to me, the fact that he was being allowed to pull under-handed stunts like this was making me angry. I was beginning to again feel the beast inside of me growling. It wanted me to get up, to fight, and too destroy my opponent. I could hear it howling in my ears. But I refused to succumb to it. And with all of my will, I forced it back down and returned to focusing on the match.
Normally cheap shots like that are looked down upon by the instructors of the final exams. But I finally came to the realization that Mizuki wanted Sasuke to win this fight. 'To bad for them that I have no intention of losing,' I decide. I was beginning to feel the growling of that beast inside of me. It wants me to lash out, to hurt Sasuke far worse than I should. But I won't do that, because if I let it out then I doubt I would be able to cage it again. 'I'll just have to keep a tight hold on it.'
That shouldn't prove difficult seeing as I didn't need the strength of that beast to overpower Sasuke. I don't know what it is that makes my bones so much tougher than Sasuke's. But from the blood that was starting to soak through the wraps on his legs, it was clear that he was doing more harm to himself with each strike then he was to me.
Finally, I decided that I had been on the defensive long enough. As Sasuke sends a right jab at my face, I send my right fist crashing into his. His fingers snap open on impact with my knuckles, and the crowd around us all winced at the sound of the loud crack his hand made. As Sasuke steps back cradling his now broken right hand, he attempts a wild haymaker aimed at my head. Catching his arm at the wrist, I again drive my fist into his ribs, breaking what I had previously cracked. And as Sasuke is reeling from my shot to his ribs, I finish him with a heel drop right into his solar plexus. Sending him skidding back to lie at Mizuki's feet.
Seeing my opponent defeated, I look around at the crowd who had been cheering for Sasuke sense I had dodged his first punch. And they were all booing me. Of course the loudest was Sakura who was screaming at the top of her lungs. She didn't stop until her and Ino both shouted in unison, "CHEATER, THERE IS NO WAY THAT LOSER COULD BEAT MY SASUKE," Hearing this they both turn and start glaring at each other.
"Agreed, Naruto you are disqualified for cheating during an academy exam," Mizuki suddenly declared.
Outraged at this clearly unfair call, I turn to Mizuki and growl, "What do you mean cheating? You were watching the entire match, how the hell could I have cheated?" I couldn't believe this. This jackass was trying to railroad me with false accusations. Well I'm not going down without a fight. "If anybody should be disqualified its Sasuke. He's the one who attacked me when I was down and he started the fight before you said to begin."
"An enemy in the field won't wait until a bell sounds or you get to your feet to attack you. In the real world anything goes."
"Well if anything goes in these matches, then how the hell is it possible to cheat?" I inquired with some heat.
My question must have caught Mizuki off guard because he had to stop and think for a second before answering. After he didn't respond for a few seconds I thought I had cornered him. But he must have given up trying to play fair.
"That's beside the point. Naruto you are exempt from the rest of the exam. Leave now," He nearly shouted at me while pointing at the entrance to the academy courtyard.
"Fine, I was only here because Sarutobi asked me to take the exam. But if you are a measure of the shinobi of the leaf village, then I would rather be a civilian," I declare with as much conviction as possible. I turn to head out the gate and go home.
'The only reason that I'm here is to fulfill the old man's request. I don't have any desire to be a shinobi,' I reason as I walk home.
I was a few hundred yards from home when I decide that I would feel better if I blew off some steam. So I turned and started heading for the woods to take my frustrations out on some poor tree.
…………
Hours later, after I had sufficiently vented my frustrations (and thoroughly demolished half a dozen oak trees); I was sitting at the base of a tree, that I had yet to pulverize, while staring up at the night sky.
"Why does it even matter if I become a shinobi? Why is Sarutobi pushing for this?" I ask nobody in particular while I try to catch my breath. As usual, when I have more questions than answers, I wonder what the old man is hiding from me.
I'm pulled from these thoughts as I hear the sound of hurried footsteps coming towards me. 'They're approaching fast. What is someone doing in this part of the woods this late at night? What is this person running towards?' I think as I bolt to my feet. As I stand waiting, the person almost upon me, I ball my hands into fists.
Suddenly, from between the trees, Mizuki comes running out to stop about ten yards in front of me. 'I guess I should have asked what he is running from,' I consider as I notice that he is clad in his chunin vest and was carrying two enormous shuriken on his back. He is panting hard and there are small tears and cuts on several parts of his clothing. All in all, he looked like he was running from a battle.
Then I notice a rather large official looking scroll hanging from his back. 'Wait a minute. I've seen that scroll before in Sarutobi's office. What is he doing with…' sudden I understood what was happening.
"Your stealing that scroll, aren't you?" I ask him calmly. Mizuki, who had been silently trying to catch his breath until this point, smiled at me.
"So what if I am? What's the village demon going to do about it?" he asked sarcastically.
"Demon, what's that supposed to mean?" I question.
"What, you mean you still don't know?" he says, the whole time sounding like he was try to keep from laughing. "And here I thought the reason they took you away was because you snapped when they told you," He said as he finally began laughing.
Since the moment Mizuki ran into this clearing I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. If all the laughing was any indication, Mizuki was making some joke at my expense. And I really had no idea what he was talking about when he called me the 'village demon.' But in truth, that isn't what got my attention. One thing he said keeps repeating in my mind, over and over again.
'They took me. They took me? Who is 'they' and what is he talking …' that is when my mind jumped to the most obvious conclusion.
"Who do you mean by 'they'? Are you talking about Sarutobi and the other leaf shinobi?" I shouted at Mizuki's form that was currently on its knees laughing.
I had to know for sure if the accusations were true. If they were then the actual implications were horrendous. If I was right, and Sarutobi really was involved in my memory loss, then so many things would suddenly make sense. Why I'm in the leaf village in the first place. Why people who I thought knew me were afraid of me, or treated me so badly. And why Sarutobi had been keeping things from me sense the day I woke up in that hospital bed.
It would even explain my memory loss and all of this strange information that was filed away inside my brain. Some of those things I knew weren't in any public documents. But it would make sense if I knew classified information on other villages. Then any shinobi village would want to get their hands on me. And there are easier ways to get someone to divulge information then interrogation.
'Like wiping there past clean and convincing them that your there friend,' I think as my anger rises. Again I was feeling the beast within. But it was no longer just roaring it was pounding in my chest. Clawing and hammering against the doors of the cage that I used to hold it back. It wanted revenge. Revenge on those that had taken my life from me. And as my fury rose I became more and more tempted to let it out and claim its vengeance.
"It doesn't really matter who did what to you," Mizuki said to me as he climbed back to his feet. "After all, what does your past matter, WHEN YOU WON'T EVEN LIVE BEYOND TODAY?"
With that declaration he grabs one of the giant shuriken on his back and lunges at me. Taken completely by surprise at this sudden move, all I can do is to take hold of two of the points on the shuriken and try to keep him from stabbing me with it.
The force of Mizuki's charge knocked me on my back at the base of the tree that I had been previously sitting on. Standing over me, he was using his whole body weight to try and drive the point of the blade the last few inches into my heart. I need to think fast. Mizuki is older and stronger than I am. If I didn't think of something soon then I'm finished.
"You know, you can't really blame Sarutobi," He began in a mocking voice. "A creature like you should never have existed in the first place. I just wish I could be there when he finally puts you down like the animal that you are."
That was the final push that I needed. The tentative control that I had managed to keep over my inner beast shattered. I could feel it stoking the fires of my rage to an inferno that was quickly consuming my thoughts. My vision was turning red, my muscles were tightening, and I could feel my teeth growing longer. It was also becoming much easier to force the shuriken away from my heart, even with Mizuki's body weight on top of it.
But before I could force him away from me, I once again felt the by now familiar pain in my forearms. But this time was different, something had changed. It was no longer just a pain in my arms; it was almost as if the bones in my arms were shifting. I didn't know what exactly was happening. All I knew was that the pain was making it harder to hold off Mizuki.
Luckily, he had become so distracted by my sudden transformation that he was caught completely off guard when I brought my feet up to his chest and kicked as hard as I could. I sent him flying across the clearing to land hard on his right side.
While Mizuki was trying to get his head to stop spinning, I had risen to a kneeling position and was staring at my aching hands. At this point I could no longer deny it. The bones in my arms were shift. In fact, it felt like something was forcing it way up my arms and out of my hands. But I didn't realize how truly accurate that was until six metal blades, three in each of my hands, shot out from between my knuckles.
For a few short moments I just sat staring at these "things" protruding from my hands. It seemed almost impossible that metal blades could be hidden inside my body, it should be impossible.
Over and over I kept asking myself, 'How could this have been done to me?'
Finally, my mind arrived at the only logical, and horrifying, conclusion. 'The dreams, they aren't just dreams. They ARE memories, they DID happen. WHAT THE HELL DID THESE PEOPLE DO TO ME?'
Looking up at Mizuki, who by now had gotten to his feet, I remember what he said to me, "I wish I could be there when they put you down like the animal you are." This is when I came to a decision.
'If I really am an animal, I'll just have to show them what kind I animal they pissed off,' I decide as I stampede towards Mizuki.
'And I'll start with him.' This was my last thought before I leaped into the air. My claws extended in front of me, ready to shred the bastard that dared to attack me.
…………
Well that's it. My first shot at a crossover and a Naruto fanfiction. Let me point out that this is a minor crossover. There will be no characters from the Marvel universe at all in this story. But I do plan to give some of Naruto's enemies' mutant powers later in the story. As for my story Code Geass R0: I've already started on chapter 4 and I plan to update it next. I'll try not to make you wait for it much longer. That said, I hope that you liked this chapter and will keep reading. Next time, Naruto deals with Mizuki and confronts Sarutobi for answers. I haven't decided yet which one, if either of them is going to live to see chapter three. Let me know what you think. Read and review please.