-1Chapter Two
Kurenai stood with Kiba, Shino, and Hinata at Naruto's funeral. Something about this gave her a strange feeling that couldn't be explained. Where was Naruto now? He was dead. Simple as that. She looked at the grave, but it changed to a tree with a little boy holding a kunai out for protection. His eyes were wild and full of fright, but he wasn't about to back down. Shaking her head, the images disappeared like they were burned away from her memory.
"Kurenai-sensei, are you okay?" Hinata asked. Kurenai looked at her, but she didn't see Hinata. She saw the Chunin exam stadium floor, and a boy with snowy hair letting blood drip from his mouth as he died. He reached up to catch a tear. Kurenai squeezed her eyes shut and opened them once more. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were looking at her with worry. They shouldn't worry about her. Kakashi came over as the group was starting to disappear.
"Kurenai, can you help me with something?" Kakashi asked. The red-eyed woman nodded and waited. "I asked to clean out Naruto's apartment, but we'll be taking care of it after the exams are over. I have to teach Sasuke for the month, so I'll see you then." He walked over to his remaining team because what else could he do. He had students that were still able to learn. Kurenai knew that all shinobi were like that. As long as there was someone still alive, there was still hope. She had to look at her students and move forward. She had no other way to live beyond this. He was dead, never going to live again.
***
Naruto walked down the endless halls in the darkness. He didn't know where he was going, but his legs moved on as if they had a mind of their own. He didn't care because everything was numb and quiet. Soon, he came to the only door with a light bulb hanging from the ceiling. He was tired now and didn't want to go inside, but his legs moved on their own again. He was brought to the front of the Kyuubi's cage. He wanted to sleep now.
"Boy, you feeling sleepy?" the Kyuubi demanded. He was in a human form, which was Naruto only with crimson hair and eyes. Naruto nodded and sat down. "Don't go to sleep. You sleep, you die. I'm keeping you in a partial dead state at the moment. In a few days, you'll be able to breathe properly. Get back to the surface and live." Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't get the words. "The poison has been removed. While you were in the hospital, I was countering it, and then you, being an idiot, decided to fight. I couldn't keep the poison from speeding up, but I kept it from killing you completely. Wait and you'll be okay." Naruto was too tired to think why the Kyuubi wanted him alive. It was better if he kept moving to stay awake, so he went to explore the halls, wandering the darkness without purpose.
***
Kurenai walked back to the cemetery two weeks after he died. She looked at his tombstone and laid flowers on it. Saying a small prayer, she sat down and looked at it. Why did she kept coming to visit him was beyond her? Every time she looked at the stone with his name, she'd see a little boy standing in front of a tree. She'd see the kunai cutting his throat, and she knew the Kyuubi kept him from going mute. She didn't know why she cared.
When the hand popped out of the earth, she jumped back in fear and reflects and readied a kunai. The hand pulled up a body, and the body was Naruto. He looked at her with a dirt-streaked face and panted. In shock, she pulled out her water bottle that was for emergencies and gave it to him. He downed it in seconds. Gulping the air in, he looked at her.
"I'm back," he said. Standing up, Naruto stretched his muscles and looked around. "Two weeks. I have two weeks left to train. Better get a move on it. Hokage has to know first." Naruto stumbled off towards the Hokage's Tower. Kurenai rushed after him and helped him when he needed it. She smirked at all the looks they received because everyone was seeing the living dead.
***
Two weeks later, Naruto was standing with the other Genin in the exams, and all of them were in shocked. Apparently the rumors were true. He looked different because he didn't have a bitter look on his face anymore. His face was blank and almost as if he lived in his own world. Genma sighed and looked at the boy, who trained for only two weeks. These kids trained for four weeks, twice the time as this kid.
"First match was Dosu vs. Hyuga Neji, but, seeing how the first Genin went missing during the month, Uzumaki Naruto will be taking his place. The other Genin will have to wait in a special area. Hyuga. Uzumaki. Get into starting positions," Genma said. Naruto moved forward, and Neji looked at the kid.
Naruto wore black cargo pants and an open black vest. There were bandages all over him, and he looked like he didn't care to be there. Neji figured he wasn't strong after his display of flame jutsu with a cigarette. At the moment, Naruto had an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. Neji could see it was Naruto's fate to lose to him.
"Might as well give up, Uzumaki. It's your fate," Neji said. Naruto shrugged and took out a cigarette lighter. "Are you going to take me seriously?" The scarred boy only smirked and looked at Genma.
"I'm allowed to smoke, right?" Naruto asked. Genma only shrugged. What did he care? "Hyuga, I take no one seriously. If you don't mind, there's a demon I've got to fight, and your weak Genin self is standing in my way. I'll treat you like the rest of my victims. Come and fight if you must." Neji didn't realize it was a trap and took the bait. He charged as he activated his eyes. Naruto smirked and lit his cigarette before throwing it up into the air. Neji didn't see it coming, for Naruto went through the seals quickly. The cigarette exploded, giving the ultimate smokescreen of black and mint scent.
"Coward!" Neji shouted. He looked around and saw a figure running at him from the side. A bunch of clones began to attack him from all around. Once he defeated them, the smoke was starting to clear up. Naruto was smoking another cigarette. "Don't you know they're bad for your health?" Naruto smirked.
"Don't you know fate is a bunch of bullshit? Fate said I was to die when I slit my own throat at four because I pissed her off when I didn't die when I jumped off the top of the Hokage's tower at three. Fate said I was to die a lot, but each time, I pissed her off by living," Naruto said. He began walking forward. Neji was getting extremely angry. He had enough of this battle.
"You have no idea of what it's like to live with an unbreakable curse! This is over anyways. You are with the boundaries of my eight trigrams," Neji said. He got into his stance while Naruto sighed. He was going to need the brat after all. "Gentle fist style! Eight trigrams, 64 palms!" Naruto briefly wondered how he was going to show this noble the shit he was dealing out. Neji hit Naruto with enough force to shock the boy. "Two palms, four palms, eight palms, sixteen palms, thirty-two palms, sixty-four palms!" Naruto went down laughing. Here he was, back from the dead and on his knees holding his stomach. No one believed he would stand back up. No one, but slowly he struggled to stand. That was when Neji told him about his curse.
"You know what I think about your sob story? It's shit!" Naruto said. Neji came in for another strike and hit above Naruto's heart. "Curses are the most amazing thing. You want to meet mine?" Neji's eyes widened when Naruto tried to gather chakra and succeeded. The only difference was that his chakra was red. Naruto's blue eyes became red. "Let's go, Hyuga! I'm bored now." Naruto got down on all four and charged. Neji knew his only chance was his rotation. As Naruto came in, Neji started it. Surprised, Naruto was thrown back. The red eyes were still there though. Genma knew he had to interrupt soon. "I've met a Hyuga like you once. His name was Hyuga Hizashi. I just finished my finest jump yet from the Hokage's monument. I was three years old and lying on the ground for the entire night. He found me at dawn. I was healed and everything, but I was ready to hurt someone. He sealed my chakra points like you, and, as I laughed on the ground from the pain, he asked me why. I could only answer the same answer I gave the Hokage. I told them that I like it. It's amazing. He took me the hospital to get me all sorted out and told me that I can only live my life once and not to waste it. That was my last jump." Naruto looked at Neji and shrugged. "It's over now."
"Liar!" Neji shouted. He was prepared for Naruto's charge, but what he wasn't ready for was Naruto's increase in speed. The boy's punch hurt like hell and sent him back several feet. Naruto was there to deliver a painful roundhouse kick. Neji could feel several of his bones snap.
"Are you ready to prove Fate wrong, Hyuga!" Naruto shouted. He was grinning sadistically as he kicked the poor noble around. Neji didn't see anything coming and was in a lot of pain. "Give up on Fate, kid. Life only happens once, and if you live by Fate, you're living a lie! Wake up!" Naruto sent a powerful kick to the Hyuga's head. Neji went down, and Genma was prepared to step in. "Only losers live in a fantasy. You don't want to be a loser like me, okay?" The strangest thing happened then. Naruto began healing Neji's wounds.
"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma shouted. Naruto looked at Neji in the eye and smiled. "Naruto, why are you healing his wounds? There are medics around to do that." Naruto sighed and stood up straight. He looked at the special Jonin.
"He's my comrade. As a shinobi, I must respect my comrades. I guess I'm asking for forgiveness for the pain," Naruto said as he walked away. A sharp pain went through his brain, and no one noticed him wincing. The Kyuubi was pissed and wanting blood. The bloodlust just started all of a sudden. You need to calm down. I can't have my comrades getting hurt by you. Naruto stopped in the hall just to cry. He didn't understand what was wrong with him. Why couldn't he suck everything up inside him like he use to? Damn it! It was his fault for attaching himself to the village like a puppet. "Get up, Uzumaki. You aren't like him, yet. Don't worry. You'll be okay." Naruto wiped away his tears and put his mask on. Shikamaru was passing through onto his own match and nodded. Naruto simply ignored him. No more attachments. Feel the loneliness. Naruto fell to his knees and knew he was sick of the loneliness and wished he had someone to care for him. He bit his lip as he could no longer hold the tears in. He missed Shikamaru's surprising forfeit and Sasuke's entrance. He was too busy sitting against the wall with his face in his hands, crying for all his wasted years. Who was he to Konoha?
"Naruto? Are you okay!" Shikamaru ran over as he spoke. Naruto looked up at him with red rimmed eyes and couldn't muster a fake smile. He just looked back down. "Naruto, let's get out of the hall. It's not that bad. Victories aren't supposed to be emotional. Only defeats." Naruto laughed at the choice words the shadow user said.
"I'm not crying over the battle. I'm crying over what a fool I am for the way I've lived. I lived from suicide attempt to suicide attempt and made many people afraid for me. I don't have friends because of what I did, and I've always wondered why I was alone," Naruto said in a child like voice. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "Shikamaru, do you think I'm a demon?" Shikamaru looked at the crying boy. He was never Naruto's good friend, but he knew the boy had it rougher than others.
"No," Shikamaru said. He saw Naruto smile and sighed. "We better get up there to watch Sasuke's match with Gaara." At the mention of Gaara, Naruto nodded and stood up. Shikamaru smirked. "You looked horrible." Naruto laughed and wiped his eyes. "Let's go. No worries, right?" Naruto nodded. He followed Shikamaru up the stairs and into a gory mess. Gaara was in the middle, so Naruto stepped in front of Shikamaru. His face was completely serious.
"Sabaku no Gaara, as part of the assassin squad and guardian of the village, I'll ask you to step down and come with me," Naruto said. His voice changed to that of a seasoned Jonin, and Shikamaru knew this was the side-effect of his training. Gaara only looked at him before walking passed them. "I see. I guess I must report this." Gaara didn't appear to care, for he kept on walking. Naruto began walking too, but in the opposite direction.
"Are you going to let him go!" Shikamaru demanded. Naruto nodded and didn't glance at the blood. "Why? He just killed two people! Two innocent people in cold blood!" Naruto turned around and grabbed Shikamaru by his collar. There was shock in both of their eyes.
"I can't stop him. They were shinobi, gambling shinobi. They do it every year for a little extra cash. I would know. I once was one. Shikamaru, they know all the risks of each Genin in the exams. They knew about Gaara, but they do their job with all their heart. I can't stop him because I'm Konoha's pariah while he's the Kazekage's youngest son!" Naruto said. He let go of Shikamaru and sighed. What did he do wrong? Everything was wrong. He did everything wrong. "Look, I'll deal with it. Just leave it to me." Shikamaru opened his mouth. "I've got a secret that'll take care of him. He's not going to go unpunished. Don't worry." Shikamaru nodded and walked behind the other Genin. He had to trust him.
***
Naruto and Sakura continued to chase after Sasuke and Gaara after Shikamaru stayed behind. Inside Naruto, he could feel the demon beat against the seal. It was painful for him. Sakura was following Pakkun while Naruto went by his own nose. He figured out why his demon was acting up. It was because Gaara's demon was an old rival and the host used the demon almost all the time. The chakra was affecting him.
They found Sasuke and Gaara, who was already transforming. Naruto fell into the range of demon chakra and felt the Kyuubi coming out. He trembled in his place as Gaara quickly captured his teammates and looked right into his eyes. He lost it and saw everything go black as soon as Gaara transformed completely.
Sasuke watched as his teammate turned into the Kyuubi with all nine tails flowing behind it. The chakra coming off of them was amazing and made him sick. What was his teammate? He tried to figure it out on his own as he watched the demons battle it out. In the end though, Naruto overpowered Gaara after the sand shinobi delivered a cut to his right eye. Only Gaara changed back to normal. A whistle went through the air, and Naruto looked around. A white haired man jumped out of the trees and planted a paper seal upon Naruto's forehead. Sasuke and Sakura watched their teammate go back to normal except his skin was red as if burned.
"Don't worry. You won't remember a thing," the man said. He knocked the two out and looked up at the branch Temari was perched upon. "I think I don't have to worry about you. Take your brother, and go." Temari and Kankuro did as told. Gaara was unconscious, so it was easy, but he woke up.
"Thank you," Gaara said. He went back to sleep, but the demon didn't come out. What the heck is Uzumaki Naruto to change Gaara? Kankuro looked at Temari worriedly, but they continued until they met up with Baki at the border.
"Damn it, Minato. What do you think happened?" Jiraiya said. He looked at Naruto's skin and at the cut going from Naruto's hairline to his jaw. The eye was okay, but the cut wasn't healing like the skin. "Great job, kid." Summoning a frog, Jiraiya took Team Seven back to the village. He was careful to avoid causing more harm than good to Naruto's injuries.
***
Naruto woke up in the hospital only three days later. He was covered in bandages and felt something new about his face. He touched where Gaara got him at. A new scar. Great. Naruto sat up and sighed. Looking around, he saw a few cards sitting on the stand and a vase full of flowers. He was surprised at this because he had no friends.
"Looks like you've got a lot of people worrying about you," a familiar voice said. Naruto looked over at Kurenai. She smiled at him. "Shikamaru told me what happened after your match. Naruto, are you afraid to live?" Naruto felt his heart tightened. She befriended him slightly when he was four, and he loved her. He told her so. She acted no different since he came up from the grave. She trained him, but that was all she every really did besides care.
"Yes. Living is a dream. I don't know what it's truly like. With the suicide attempts, I've gotten closer to understand what it was to live. Then came those life and death battles, and it makes everything feel alive. The rush. You don't understand," Naruto said. He looked away as he spoke. His eyes would give him away.
"Naruto, the council wanted me to give you this. They said as soon as you're awake," Kurenai said. She gave him a scroll and watched as he opened it. His eyes briefly scanned the contents before sighing. "What is it?" Naruto rolling it up and climbed out of the bed. He had to find his clothes. "Your clothes were burned because of the demon chakra still attached to them. Some spares that Kakashi brought are in the cupboard. What do they want you to do?" She wasn't supposed to ask, but she was curious.
"It's a mission. S-classed. I'll be back in a week, I think," Naruto said, finding the clothes. He took off the hospital gown and didn't care that Kurenai was still in the room. She looked the other way. He slipped into the dark t-shirt. "It's just an assassination. Nothing horrible. Kurenai, don't worry. I'm a shinobi and must follow my duty to Konoha. We can't let everyone see we're weak!" Naruto slipped into his black cargo pants before strapping on his kunai/shuriken pouch. He searched his pockets and found what he was looking for. A brand new lighter and pack of his cigarettes. "Kakashi-sensei knows his stuff." Naruto looked at Kurenai and sighed as he grabbed his sandal shoes. Putting them on, he said, "I'll come back. I promise. Team Seven did stuff like this all the time. Only it was a team effort. I can't let the village down." Kurenai looked at him. He looked older than thirteen.
"Naruto, that's not what I'm worried about. When you battled Gaara, you were under the influence of demon chakra. It brought the Kyuubi out of you. You're lucky to have lived! People from your class worry about you! I worry about you. When you talked about your jumps, you act like they weren't big deals. Dying is a big deal when you're only a kid!" Kurenai shouted. Naruto looked at her and erased all the emotions on his face. He looked at her with his icy eyes.
"Kurenai, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a Konohagakure shinobi. I can't afford to let someone see me as weak. Besides, I need the money to buy a new apartment. Mine was destroyed in the invasion," Naruto said. He walked over to her and blushed. "I'll see you again soon." Before he left, he kissed Kurenai's cheek. "Love ya." Naruto disappeared in a swirl of minty smoke.
Yes! I've got a fluffy little moment between Naruto and Kurenai. If you haven't guessed it, that's the main pairing. This whole story is AU in a way. This chapter is longer than the first because I've had a lot to put into. Naruto is starting to develop from ice man to nice man! Sorry, but that rhymes. Until next time, here's a preview:
"Yes, I'm leaving."
"I understand. When you come back, do you think you'll be ready for the Jonin exams."
Since this chapter was on the Chunin exam fights, the next one is Naruto's first solo mission, Tsunade, and part of the Sasuke retrieval. See ya! – Kyuubi no Kitsune0101