Here We Go Again
Disclaimer! I don't, and sadly never will, own Naruto. The closest I shall ever come is in the form of graphic novels, original characters and my own demented dreams. Also, suing me is pointless, as I'm dirt-poor and not making a cent off this venture.
An Author's Foreword
I don't expect much of this fic. Much. I expect something, what I have no clue. I leave the response to you, the readers. All forms of review are accepted, from glowing praise and worship (preferred) to the hottest of flames (I'd rather avoid these). Most of all, I ask your honest opinion. Don't spare my feelings, as they by-and-large don't exist. If you felt this was a waste of your time, and that's the general consensus, I'd rather not waste mine writing crap. Domo arigato gozaimasu.
Chapter 1: The Lost Tears of Tomorrow
The rain fell hard. The dark night, accentuated only by lightning, seemed an omen of the sorrow that would exist the next day. Under the lightning-streaked sky, two former friends stood, face-to-face, for the first time in almost 4 years. Naruto breathed hard, his considerable stamina already taxed to no end. Perhaps a yard away, Uchiha Sasuke, once called the genius of his graduating class, stared at his former rival and friend. He raised his Sharingan eyes to look his former friend in the face. His hands blurring in a rapid series of seals, he grimaced.
"I'm sorry Naruto, but this is the only way it can end" he said in a low, level voice. That same infuriating voice that had always driven Naruto, now served as the Reaper's toll. The chakra around his hand was plainly visible to all, the resonant sound of the Chidori echoing throughout the desolate forest.
Haruno Sakura stared. She had watched the battle between two of the most important people in her life, and she was torn. Could she let Sasuke do this? Her tears were hidden by the downpour.
Breathing heavily, Naruto rose. "So, this is it bastard? The way it's gonna end? Bring it on" he said with his typical stubborness, his grin half-plastered on his face. Swirling his chakra in his palm, he grimaced. "Rasengan!" His call echoed through the forest. The rivals stood in the darkness, studying the changes that the last four years had wrought, their jutsus the only light source. Finally, the moment came. A single raindrop, falling ahead of all others, struck the ground. They charged. As they neared, four years of lost time closed, lightning flashed, striking nearby. Sasuke grinned, confident that his longer reach would grant him victory, and his greater power. Then a dark shape appeared between them.
Naruto blinked. He knew that something had darted between them, and he'd released the rasengan, afraid it was Sakura. Now he could only stare blankly as Sasuke's hand emerged from that form. The Uchiha quickly withdrew his hand, the expression on his face somewhere between ecstasy and abject horror. Lightning crashed. revealing the form of Hyuuga Hinata collapsing backwards into Naruto's arms. His eyes wide with shock, Naruto caught the falling girl, lowering her to the ground. Hinata coughed quietly, than smiled up at Naruto.
"I...I'm sorry...Naruto-kun. I... just wanted to... help the one I loved..." she said as the light faded from her eyes, a sad smile on her lips.
Naruto's Subconscious 'Hinata... loves...loved...me? Damn. Damn. Damn! Hey! Bastard fox!' A faint snickering could be heard in the distance.
"Well brat, had you finished this all those years ago, had you not denied my full power, the girl would still live. And now you wish my help in destroying the Uchiha! I love the irony" the Kyuubi laughed in Naruto's mind.
'NO! I want your help, but not to kill him. Death is too good for the bastard! I want him to suffer! I want justice!'
"Hmm. Not kill him... but let him instead suffer... what the hell, I'll help you brat". The arrogance of the fox astounded Naruto even now, but that didn't matter. He had some work to do.
Sasuke watched Naruto cradle the Hyuuga girl's body, his breathing slow. Then, his head slowly lifted, as he gently set down Hinata. "So, come back to the living, Naruto?" Sasuke sneered, not sure of his own feelings in this. "It was unfortunate, but..." "Shut up bastard" Naruto growled in a deep, near-unrecognizable voice. His chakra flared, the blue changing to a blood red.
"You really must think you're so damn good, don't you? Tell me bastard, just how much have you really improved in the last three and a half years? Do you know any power sealing techniques? Well bastard?" The Uchiha shuddered at the sheer hatred of the aura surrounding Naruto, his Sharingan revealing nothing to him.
'Damn. I still don't know what this is! Orochimaru and Kabuto wouldn't tell me anything, and there is no record of anything remotely like this in anything I had access to. What the hell is this?' Sasuke thought as he began the seals for Chidori again.
Sakura knew that Hinata was already far beyond her skill, and she was beginng to worry about Naruto. She had recognized the Kyuubi's aura the second Naruto unleashed that power, and now she was afraid of what it meant. Never had she seen this degree of intensity in Naruto, nor this much of the Kyuubi's chakra channeled at one time, and it frightened her.
'I want to help you, but I can't. I'm just too weak, always so far behind the both of you. You always supported me, of course I was too blinded by my feelings for Sasuke to care at the time. Then you became my friend, my true friend. But now, I can't bear this, I don't want to lose the one I love! Please don't die..' she slapped a hand over her mouth even as the name whispered through her lips. "Naruto".
"Well bastard? Whataya got?" Naruto roared at Sasuke.
"Against this, at it's fullest power, nothing. I don't know Naruto, I really don't. So why don't you tell me, what is this power of your's? Where does this enormous chakra come from? How do you heal even now from injuries that should, by all rights, kill you? Please explain" he said, his voice echoing hollowly through the forest.
"You don't know? You really don't? After Gaara, Orochimaru, hell Zabuza or our fight three years ago, you still haven't figured it out bastard? So much for genuis" Naruto laughed bitterly.
"You wanna know where this power comes from? You want a power like this for yourself I imagine. Well, you're outta luck bastard. Demons are in short supply for sealing these days. I got lucky that day, 16 years ago" Sasuke's eyes widened at the word demon.
'16 years ago, what the hell happened 16...years...' "The Kyuubi" Sasuke whispered, Naruto already behind him.
"It's over bastard" Naruto said quietly, as he drove a miniature Rasengan into the small of the Uchiha's back, causing him to buckle and collapse to the ground.
"Oi, Saukra!" Naruto called through the dawn mist. "Stablize the bastard, I need some rest before we head to Konoha". Sakura broke away from HInata to see Naruto leaning against a tree, Sasuke laying face-down nearby, a horrible wound in his back. Naruto, grinned, his fangs receding as the power of the Kyuubi faded.
"Looks like I finally beat 'im, huh? he chuckled, his voice raspy from the power he'd been channeling. The grin soon faded as had the fangs.
"Hinata's... gone... isn't she, Sakura?" Naruto asked in a hoarse whisper, his head sagging, Sakura's brilliant eyes clouded, and she nodded, unable to say the words she feared.
"I'll carry her back" came the fox-boy's voice. "It's only right. She died for my sake, and it's the least I can do for her. Besides, she's gotta be lighter than the bastard, right?" he laughed, a empty sound against what had transpired. Sakura could only begin to sob silently as Naruto slipped into unconciousness, as torn by the night's events as by her own revelations.
"Up ahead, half a kilometer at most. I see Sakura, she appears to be crying. Naruto's slumped against a tree, but think he's just sleeping. There are two bodies. One is Sasuke... wait he's breating shallowly. The other is... oh kami." Neji increased his pace five-fold. His team had been dispatched to track down Naruto and Sakura, and four days after recieving the mission, the had found their targets. Lee pulled alongside Neji, worried by the tone of his rival and friend's voice.
"What is it Neji? What?" he asked in a tone that may have betrayed the fears forming in the taijutsu specialist's mind and heart. "Who is the other body?" he said, already knowing the answer by the grim set of Neji's jaw. As Neji whispered that which Lee had already figured out, the Proud Blue Beast of Konoha slowed his pace to that of Gai and Tenten.
"Lee, what has Neji so worried?" Gai asked already full-well knowing by Lee's eyes. "It's Hinata-chan. She's dead."
-------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes
Well, I warned that Naru/Hina fans would be upset. I realize that this a bit a short first chapter, but that will change with later chapters. I also intend to lighten the mood soon, but not yet, so bear with me. Please give me as much feedback as possible, as I'd like to know if you feel my portrayals are OOC. Also, if you look at more recent chapters of the manga, the feelings that Sakura may have developed towards Naruto are justifiable. But anyways, read, review and enjoy!
Shun