Ok, technically, this isn't a new story since this is going to be the remake of my other story Calm before the Storm...
It's not that I didn't want to write it, just that the way I was going with it wasn't the way I wanted to go... I actually got the idea after watching the new movie Avatar... Damn that was a kick ass movie and I advise anyone that hasn't seen it to see it... it's really really really good!!!!
Anyway, this is going to get complicated because I have more than a few things to explain... Ok, here I go:
Everything before what you read is canon except for the fact that each shinobi wear a special bracelet... The bracelet has this special ability to give its owner metallic armor and weapons that represents their clan's animal... Its like... well, its like this metal band that expands and surrounds the user and gives them either metal claws, mask with fangs, tails or anything else that deals/represents their clan's animal [redundant but in simplest terms... I think]... For example, Naruto [Fox] will have metallic claws and a tail that's connected with his mind, moving at his will...
It's kind of hard to explain but if you still have questions then I'll be glad to answer... If this story becomes really popular, then I'mma be really surprised...
Ok, with that out of the way, i would once again like to say that this is a Semi-Dark Naruto fic... I'll explain later why he's dark but not now... Oh and he hates the Hyugas... just thought I should mention that... Don't get me wrong, this is a Naruhina fic but... *sigh* just please read it, they'll get together at some point, but not now...
"The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less."
~Eldridge Cleaver~
Chapter 1/Prologue: What the hell happened last night?
I don't own Naruto!
As I lay on my back, my blood seeping through my open wounds, I wondered how exactly I got myself in this predicament. It just didn't make sense; it was a simple recon mission and somehow, I'm on my back and am staring at the beautiful night sky with Death breathing down my neck, waiting for its payment.
How did I get here? Why am breathing my last breath? Why am I almost dead? And…
"NARUTO!"
Why is someone screaming my name?
[*.*.Naruto.*.*]
"Wake up!" My eyes scrunch up as I feel someone grab onto my shoulders and start to shake me violently.
"I said wake up!" I feel a stinging sensation on my right cheek as I wake from my slumber and open my eyes to a blurry world.
"You idiot, we're going to be late." I hear the same voice from before say. I turn my left and see my teammate, Sakura Haruno, removing her shirt and throw it to the open closet before looking for a clean shirt to wear. I grunt as I rub my cheek and sit up straight.
"Where's Sasuke?" I managed to ask, albeit a bit incoherent. She turns to me just as she pulls down her white tank top and straightens her pink sweat pants.
"He left with Kakashi-sensei to get our stuff ready for the mission with Team 8. They said something about too much ramen and not enough people food." I scoffed as I looked the other way, there was no such thing as too much ramen. The word 'Team 8' rang in my head and I scowled.
"Now hurry up and get ready, the mission starts in an hour." Sakura ordered. I snorted as I jumped off my bed.
"Tell my again why we have to do a joint mission with the Aburame, Inuzuka and… and… AH! You see, I can't even say the last one's name!" I yelled with my voice dripping with venom while Sakura giggled.
"Hyuga, the last one is Hyuga. And we have to because your dad, the Hokage, ordered us to." Sakura reminded me and I rolled my eyes, sometimes my dad was a major pain. "Please Naruto, for the mission's sake, don't start a fight with Team 8, especially with the Hyuga girl. You don't know her… hell, I don't even know her. All I know is that we went to the academy together, along with the other graduates." Sakura told me and I took in a deep breath. Team 8, for some reason, just thinking about it made me want to pull out my bright blond hair from my head.
It wasn't Team 8 in particular I had a problem with, just their family. You see, the village I live in, Konohagakure or Konoha for short, is a village that produces competent shinobi and kunoichi. We, as shinobi, use our unique skills to help the economy of our village by doing missions for just about anyone who is able to afford our services.
These missions range from assassinations and infiltrations to babysitting and gardening. The latter usually being done by fresh out the academy genin, which is something I am not. I am a jonin and… am sixteen. Very young, yes, I know, so I've been told but because of my… tenant… I'm a very, very special case. I jump off my bed and grab my towel while I head for the bathroom; I really need a shower.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand, because this is a shinobi village, we have many clans that have different abilities. However, even if we all have different powers, they are all labeled into the same category… animal oriented.
The thing is, Konoha shinobi are very spiritual shinobi and every clan has its own animal. For example, my clan, the Namikaze clan, has the Toads, the Haruno clan has slugs and the Uchiha clan has ravens. Our families have been on the same team since the beginning of Konoha and have always been friends. The other clans have their own animals but I don't really feel like mentioning all of them.
I turn on the shower and immediately get in, relishing the feel of hot water streaming down my body. Though I don't enjoy for long as I think about my village; it's terribly divided and that's not good.
Every clan and team hates each other and whenever we're in each other's presence, it just makes us want to knock each other's teeth down their throat. Me, I personally don't hate the Nara, Yamanaka, or the Akimichi clans but the Hyuga, Inuzuka and Aburame clans… that's something different. It's just that…
I grab onto my dog tag around my neck, looking down on it as I stare at the picture it holds. Small tears fall from my eyes. Why… why did she have to leave? Why did they take her away from me?
Knock knock knock
"Come on Naruto! We don't have all day!" I hear Sakura yell from the other side of the door. I smirk as I turn off the water.
"Yeah alright, I'm out already. Ya happy?" I ask and I hear footsteps walking away; not sure what to make of that. I chuckle as I grab my towel and start to dry myself off. I run my hand across my left wrist and feel the warm metal against my skin. I stare at it before I wrap the towel around my waist and exiting the bathroom. A sigh escapes my lips as I make my way to my room; why Team 8? What's so special about this mission that it needs my team and their team?
I put on a dark orange, sleeveless muscle shirt and black sweatpants before my socks and black boots. I rotate my foot before being satisfied with its flexibility; best boots ever! I stomp my feet on the floor before getting up and heading for the living room. However, I didn't see Sasuke's dirty shirt on the floor so I ended up tripping over it.
Boom
"Ow." I say as I get up and curse under my breath. I get up and throw Sasuke's shirt to his bed. "Stupid Sasuke." I commented and after which I left. I grab my backpack from the couch and open the door which leads to the outside world.
"Hold on Naruto, I still need to grab my stuff!" Sakura shouted but I don't reply I just wait outside. I look to the side and see civilians walking by my house, either scowling at me or minding their own business. They better mind their own business because one day I will snap and I will attack those who see me as my tenant. Fucking closed minded fools, they will get theirs one day, just not now.
"Ok, let's go, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke should be at the North Gate by now." I turn to Sakura as she locks the door behind her and then closes it. I nod my head as I start to walk to the North Gate. Sakura catches up to me and notices the frown on my face but I don't care; I never did. After she broke my heart by going out with Sasuke, I didn't care what she thought about me.
"Hey Naruto, you know that it doesn't matter what these jerks thinks, they're not your family," I feel her place a comforting hand on my left shoulder. "Team 7 is your family and as long as we accept you, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks." I smile as I close my eyes; she's always doing this.
"I know Sakura, I still remember when you told me this yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and…"
"Ok I get it; I say it all the time. I'm just letting you know that people do care about you." Sakura interrupted and I chuckled.
"Maybe but now's not the time to talk about this." I reply as I pick up my pace. I really don't feel like talking, I'm still a little pissed about the joint mission. The Hyuga clan is just a bunch of condescending asses that shoved their sticks just a bit too high for their comfort. Now, I have to go on a mission with one; oh joy, what fun I'll have.
"Oi, fox boy!" I growl as I hear my nickname from the village idiot; that must mean I made it to the North Gate. Man time flies when you're not paying attention.
I look to where I heard my nickname and see a smirking Kiba with his giant dog, Akamaru, looking at me. That smug look on his face makes me want to kick his ass all over Konoha. My eyes focus on his friend to his left, Shino Aburame. It was barely noticeable but I just saw him release one of his bugs just in case I decide to attack his teammate. They're both paranoid; even if I don't need their pathetic team to finish this mission, it's not like I have another choice.
I look to Shino's left and see a cowering girl with dark blue hair. She's red in the face and can't even look me in the eye. What the hell's her problem anyways? What did I ever do to her that she's too scared to look me in the eyes? Oh, I get it; she was told of my tenant and is too afraid to even look at me, thinking that I would kill her with my eyes only. Hn, pathetic.
"The hell do you want dog-breath?" I ask nonchalantly and already Kiba looks like he's about to have a meltdown; some shinobi he is.
"What did you say?!" He asked, clearly seeing red; even his dog looks like he's going to attack me. I smile as I see his bracelet light up; he can't control his anger.
"What's wrong mutt? Are you so deaf that you can't hear me or are you too stupid to understand my big words?" I ask, continuing my taunt. I know I probably shouldn't but I can't help not too.
"Naruto!" Sakura scolded me after hearing my comment but I ignore her, I usually do.
"K-Kiba-kun, calm down." I hear a meek voice say. I see that it was the Hyuga who said that. My mind freezes as I see notice shy posture and eyes; she's a Hyuga? No, she couldn't be; she looked to be the exact opposite of a Hyuga. She seemed shy, kind hearted and delicate not confident, impassive and fierce. Still, her Hyuga eyes were a dead giveaway and I couldn't risk dropping my guard around her.
"Stay out of it." I say coldly to the girl.
[*.*.Hinata.*.*]
I gasp as I hear him tell me to stay out of the conversation. Why? What did I ever do to him besides love him?
I still can't believe I do but it's true, I love him. I don't hang around him and he doesn't seem to like me or my family but… but I can't help it. Since the academy, he's been a huge impact in my life. He never gives up and doesn't care what other people think of him. I wish I was more like that but sadly, I'm not and I can't. It's just not in my nature to not care about what people think about me; I'm just so paranoid about it and its just plain annoying.
"Hey, don't talk to my teammate like that!" Kiba-kun yells, trying to defend me.
"Or what mutt? Are you going to do something about it?" Naruto-kun said with a foxy smile and then he looked into my eyes. I blush as I stare into his cerulean eyes and my world immediately melts. However, it slowly comes back together when I here flesh being hit and a body hitting the ground. I shake my head and see Kiba-kun on the floor wiping the blood from his mouth and Naruto walking away from us with Sakura on his tail.
"Kiba-kun, a-are you ok?" I ask as I crouch down beside him and he snorts.
"Why do you like that jerk Hinata?" I stop my movements and my blush darkens.
"W-What do you mean?" I ask him and he smirks.
"You know exactly what I mean." Kiba-kun says and I look away. "Look, just be careful with him, he really doesn't like your family and I wouldn't doubt that he'd hurt you just to get back at your family." I gasp loudly this time.
"N-No Kiba-kun, that's n-not true." I say, more to reassure myself than Kiba-kun.
"Whatever, all I'm saying is to keep your guard up with him. I don't know what's wrong with him but whatever it is, it's definitely having some bad side effect on him." I nod my head as Kiba-kun stands up. I look to where Naruto is and see him sitting on the bench talking to Sakura. I sigh as I wish I could be as close to Naruto as Sakura is.
[*.*.Naruto.*.*]
"…and you know what's going to happen now? Kurenai-sensei is…" I drift in and out of Sakura's rant; I'm not in the mood to deal with her rant. I don't know what got into me when I punched Kiba but it felt good. I'm surprised Shino let it happen but that girl, what was up with her? She seemed to drift into her own thoughts after looking into my eyes; she was seriously a weird girl.
"Are you even listening to me?!" Sakura shrieked and I flinch.
"Dam Sakura, you're too loud. And no, I'm not, I'm not in the mood." I answer her and she shakes her head.
"You're never in the mood." She commented and I chuckle which confuses her.
"You make us seem like we're married." I say and after registering it, she blushes.
"S-Shut up." She replied back which makes me laugh harder. "What?!"
"You sound like that weird girl on Team 8." I managed to say and felt Sakura punch my arm.
"Be nice! She's not weird, just shy." Sakura told me, trying to defend the weird girl.
"Heh-heh, sure, whatever you say."
"And her name's Hinata just so you know." My laugh dies down as I lie back onto the bench and place my hands behind my head.
"Not like I care." I'm pretty sure Sakura was about to say something but I only heard the sounds of multiple footsteps heading my way. I look to the side to see Kakashi, Sasuke, Kurenai, Shino, Kiba with Akamaru and Hinata walking over to me and Sakura.
"Yo!" Kakashi greeted and I smirk.
"Yo!" I answer back. I get up and bump knuckles with Sasuke and then put my hands in my pockets. "So what the hell is the point of this mission?" I ask and chuckle as I see Kurenai scowl at me.
"The point of this mission is to locate a dangerous group of S-ranked missing nins." Kakashi answered.
"But, I thought the Akatsuki was dead already." I say, saying what everyone was thinking.
"They are but this deals with different missing nins. With Team 8 as the tracking team and Team 7 as the combat team. We'll follow Team 8 as they locate the missing nins and then Team 7 will take them down and bring them back to Konoha; simple as that." Kakashi explained, eye smiling at the end. Kurenai nodded and I scoffed.
"Whatever." Everyone besides my team scowl at me, well almost everyone, Hinata didn't. Seriously, is she really a Hyuga?
"We should probably head out now; the sooner we get this done, the better." I hear Kurenai say and everyone muttered in agreement.
"Ok everyone, listen no because I won't repeat myself. We're going to divide into four groups; not now but when we know where the missing nins' HQ is. The groups are going to be me and Kurenai; Sasuke and Sakura; Shino and Kiba; and Naruto and Hinata." I suppress a groan; how the hell is Kakashi going to pair me up with Hinata of all people? We're opposite in terms of… well everything and now he wants to team us up? Oh I'm so going to get him back for this.
"Any problems?" I raised my hand after hearing Kurenai's questions but she ignores it. "Good, now that that's settled, let's go. Stay close to your partner and don't let them out of your sight and reach. Got that?" Again everyone mutters in agreement except for me. I actually ignore the rest of Kurenai's speech about team work and start talking to Sasuke.
"Man, I can't believe I'm teamed with Hinata." I say and he chuckles.
"Could be worse, you could have gone with Kiba." Sasuke joked and I fake a laugh.
"Ha-ha so fucking funny Sasuke." He punches my shoulder.
"I try. Come on, it's only for a week or so and besides, you just might end up falling for the girl." I glare at him like he told me that they were never making ramen again.
"Don't even play like that."
"Who says I'm playing?" Sasuke and I get into a glaring contest until Sakura grabs us from behind the head and makes us bump our forehead. I retract my head and hold it in pain.
"Ah, dobe, you have such a hard head!" I chuckle weakly.
"You're one to talk." I said through my clenched teeth.
"Let's go! We're burning daylight!" Kiba shouted. Team 8 was the first to leave Konoha as my team followed after them. I really didn't care, as long as we get this mission done and fast. I look down at my bracelet again and watch it shine from the morning sun. I activate it and metallic parts cover my entire right and left hand, giving me red metallic claws.
I close and open my hands, exercising the flexibility of it. The results are satisfying and I deactivate it.
"N-Naruto-kun." I get taken out of my thoughts when I hear my name being said. I look up and see Hinata walking beside me with that red shade in her cheeks and her eyes looking away.
"Don't add the 'kun', only my friends can say that." I see her become crescent fallen and I couldn't help but feel like crap for it; though it's not like I'd let anyone know that.
"O-Oh… o-ok then N-Naruto-ku… I mean, Naruto."
"So what do you want?" I asked her.
"I-I just wanted to k-know if you a-are ok. You seemed d-distracted by something." Hm, that's a first; someone who cares about me and a Hyuga no less. Ha, yeah right.
"What does it matter to you, it's not like you care." I said and she looked at me like I told her that she's going to die which isn't entirely a lie. She just has to hit the wrong buttons and I can make that lie a fact.
"B-But I do care." Now I look at her like she told me I'm going to die.
"What?" I think I said that too forceful because she took a step away from me.
"I-I do care i-if you're ok. Y-You and I are f-from the same v-village, so that m-makes us t-teammates, almost like a family." I instinctively glare at her, making her back away. I can't believe a Hyuga just told me that; they're the reason why I'm missing half of my family! I take in a deep breath and calm down; I'll deal with her after the mission but for now, I need her alive.
"What would you know?" I said that lowly but she heard me and shocked me with her reply.
"Y-You're right, I don't know." She paused as I stared at her in shock. "I-I d-don't know what a-a real f-family is… b-but I think my t-teammates are my family. A-At least, I see them a-as my f-family." As I looked at her remorseful face, I couldn't help but wonder what she meant. She was a Hyuga, they had tons of relatives living in one compound; how would she not know what a family was? Before I could ask her, she looked up at me with a fake smile.
"F-Forget I s-said anything, I-I'll just leave you a-alone now." After that, she walked faster so she would be five steps ahead of me. I look at her before sighing and thinking I was right, she was weird.
[*.*.*.*]
Later that night, I slept on my sleeping bag with Kakashi sleeping next to me and Sasuke on the other side. Kiba and Shino would be in here if it wasn't for the fact that they believed I'd prank them if they did, which wasn't a bad idea. Anyway, while I 'slept' I couldn't help but hear Sasuke and Kakashi talk about me. It wasn't anything I hadn't heard before and it wasn't bad, I just hated when people talked about me behind my back. What was it about me that made it impossible to talk about me with me there?
From my guess, it's probably midnight or so. I got up and quietly made my way outside to the cold night air. The cold wind hit my skin and I shivered slightly, getting used to the cold. I start to walk around the woods I was in, no use in standing doing nothing when I could just walk around doing nothing. My mind starts to wander on the mission; Team 8 finds the missing nins that are causing trouble for local stores and villages while my team knocks them out and brings them back, simple enough.
Team 8; ha, what a joke. They're nothing but weak shinobi wasting time playing ninja. Kurenai was probably the best in her team and even then, I had no doubt that I could take her out without a problem. Genjutsu, no threat at all. Shino's bug, they couldn't handle my dark chakra. Kiba and Akamaru, well they already know how strong I am and that I can beat them down at any time. Hinata and her family's fighting style… well she would probably give me a hard time but nothing I can't handle.
Besides, she lacks the confidence to be a true kunoichi and I know this with just the small amount of time I spent with her. I wouldn't say this out loud but if she grew a backbone, she'd probably give me a run for my money. At best, Hinata could probably specialize in seduction. I mean, she had a killer body even if she hid it under her jacket. I can vouch for her since I haven't exactly seen it but I can tell she does. She was a girl with low self-esteem and constantly belittles herself. Why else would she wear a jacket that big?
I tense up when I hear a splash and then a girl yelp in surprise. I run to where I heard the girl but stop short as soon as I see a silhouette. I hide from behind the closest tree and watch the silhouette get out of the lake she was in and stand on the water. My eyes narrow as I realize that the silhouette was a shinobi and by its figure, a girl no less. I activate the bracelet and metallic claws replace my human fingers.
I walk closer to the lake as I watch the girl shake from the cold and start to head for the shore. However the way she walked was strange; she walked like a four legged animal. I saw her tail twitch behind her and I felt a feeling wash over me. This feeling seemed to knock the breath out of me as I fell to me knees and gasped for air. I was slowly fading from my world but before I lost consciousness, I saw my bracelet glow an eerie red. Whatever was happening, this was the first I've seen of it.
[*.*.*.*]
"What the hell did I eat yesterday?" I asked no one in particular as I woke up with the sun's light in my eyes. I'm not sure what happened last night but whatever happened, I was seriously sore. I tried to stand but something heavy and warm was on top of me. My mind froze and my body tensed; whatever was on top of me, it was breathing. I was almost too afraid to look down to see what was on me but since my team was probably up and looking for me, I don't want them to find out before I do.
Slowly, my eyes and head look downward and the dark blue mop of hair makes me wish I never looked down. Sleeping right on my chest was Hinata and she was naked. Holy crap, what happened yesterday!
To make matters worse, I felt a breeze hit me where I should never feel a breeze. Looking beyond Hinata, I see my own body… without clothes…
"What the hell?!!"
Ok, so that's it... Like I said, I got this idea from watching Avatar... In retrospect, I don't know how I did since this didn't really happen in the movie but whatever... Oh and one thing I forgot to mention is that Minato is alive and Akatsuki and Orochimaru are dead... I'm not going to deal with them since I got something else planned... This 'thing' i got planned will make it so that the fact that there is no big enemy present won't be an issue...
OH and in the beginning where Naruto's dying at one point then waking at the next, that wasn't a dream... Half of the story is going to be like a huge flashback... He's basically recalling what happened before his incident....
Heheheh sorry if some things don't make sense, I'm a bit off today since I typed this at... well its 4 in the morning now so yeah... Also, please don't hate me because Naruto's a jackass to everyone, especially Hinata but that'll change... sooner or later...
Again, any questions, just ask in a review or Pm and if you gotta flame, be calm about it... I understand normal words like 'this sux' or 'this is pointless and no plot.' etc, etc... I don't need you cussing at me to tell me it sux... But yeah, do what you like...
Oh and if you're going to review/PM me, can you tell me if I should continue the story in 1st person POV or should I go back to my usual 3rd person POV? Please let me know...
Next Chapter: I hate myself like I hate you...
Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it...