Warning Signs
Written by: Hayling
Beta: Marquis Le'Quack
Note: Thank you for the reviews.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of the stories I write and possible original characters.
Chapter 02:
A few minutes ago, Naruto had been wondering what in the name of Kami he had been smoking when he accepted Yugito's request to fight and see what he was made of.
Even seeing Sasuke suddenly return to Konoha while wearing a bright pink pair of hot-pants and tank-top, proclaiming that he forgave Itachi for all his sins, would have made more sense. The horrible image had caused Naruto to shake his head fiercely to get rid of it.
Now, the only thing going through Naruto's mind – at this particular moment in time – was his attempt to figure out how the hell Yugito was able to find him in the mass of clones he kept summoning through the Kage Bunshin technique.
She didn't find him right away, but after literally clawing her way through several of them, she simply stopped, focused for a moment, and, without fail, zoned in on his position and beat the living daylights out of him. It wasn't so bad in the beginning of the fight; Yugito had been amazed by the number of clones he was able to create, but as time wore on, her effectiveness in detecting the true Naruto increased.
This was why, he supposed, that he currently found himself sailing through the air before crashing harshly into a tree with his back and let out a groan of pain.
"Oh come on, Naruto, you can do better than that! Get up and get serious!"
Of course, Jiraiya's bout of cheering now and then didn't help matters much either.
"Shut up, ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled, before his eyes widened and managed to create a shadow clone to quickly perform a kawarimi with. This proved to be a prudent course of action as Yugito's razor-sharp nails pierced through the replaced clone's head where his real one would have been a split second later.
It did him little good, though.
"Guh!" He exclaimed, spittle flying from - and blood trickling down the side of - his mouth as he caught a particularly violent kick in the side that sent him skidding across the ground, spewing up dirt haphazardly.
"You're making me look bad here, brat! Stop playing around!"
"SHUT UP!" Naruto bellowed; catching a knee before it sank into his gut and then flipping to his feet backwards when Yugito's fists tried to pummel his chest.
The boy had stopped playing around after he had charged up his first Rasengan ten minutes ago. But the two he made after that one had about the same impact as the first – all three being completely ineffective.
Well, not on Yugito at least – all they served to do explode the trees he landed the technique on – fun sure, but not very helpful.
It didn't matter what he did, the Jounin from the Hidden Cloud managed to counter everything with just taijutsu. Needless to say, this infuriated Naruto greatly. Especially as she never said anything, seemingly content with beating everything aside that the boy could throw at her...
Without any conscious thought, wisps of red chakra began to leak from his body and float around him in a haze. Naruto crossed his fingers in an all too familiar seal.
"Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Dozens… hundreds of clones exploded into existence. They swarmed the immediate section of the forest; crowding the ground, standing on and clinging from branches, anywhere there was enough space, there was a perfect copy of Naruto.
"Now it's my turn!" They chorused; their stances cocky.
Nii Yugito slowly rotated her head to take in the vast amount of Narutos and let a gloved hand hang over the weapon holster strapped to her right thigh. Naruto recognized it all too well from when she had grabbed a kunai to stab him early in the fight.
The real Naruto, hung back on a particular thick branch high above the ground, and grinned as the kumo-nin crouched and tensed. Then she sniffed once… twice… and, much to the boy's shock, honed in on his exact location.
"Shi-!" He managed to utter before she appeared before him and punched him solidly in the stomach. "Grrngh, h-how…?" He groaned, gripping her shirt.
"The scent of your blood from the wounds I gave you, you haven't learned how to pass it on to your clones yet when you summon more." Yugito stated simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Naruto looked incredulous, then grimaced and let out a hacking cough before his world went black.
The clones' faces betrayed the same kind of shock before they disappeared in a massive cloud of smoke.
Yugito lowered her arm from where she had given a quick chop to Naruto's neck and caught the boy as he keeled over. Making sure he was securely in her grasp, she performed a shunshin to appear next to Jiraiya who had a broad grin on his face.
"Not holding back much, were you, kitten?" He laughed as a frowning Yugito carefully laid Naruto on the ground.
"I needed to see what he was capable of, Jiraiya-sama."
"So, what do you think?"
Yugito's frown didn't die down. "He can't control it yet, and I don't doubt the same goes for his gifts."
Jiraiya sighed. "I know, but that's why I contacted you, after all."
The young woman nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose so…"
When Naruto finally clawed his way back to consciousness, he noticed Jiraiya and Yugito conversing softly near him. The sun was setting rapidly and a bright camp-fire had been erected while he was out.
"Ah, Naruto, I was wondering when you'd be awake." Jiraiya murmured, waving his hand to Yugito absently as he stood up from a large fallen log he and the Cloud-nin had been sitting on, and strode over to the blonde. The Jounin, who had apparently been inquiring something of the sage, scowled when he brushed her off.
Naruto couldn't help but frown as he saw his would-be teacher again.
"Now now, Naruto…" Jiraiya picked up on his student's expression and placated the boy. "Don't be upset that she beat you, she is a very capable ninja after all."
"I know." Naruto said at length and moved to a sitting position. He didn't quite feel up to the task of meeting Yugito's strange eyes, instead focusing on his own balled fists in his lap.
"This was just a test to see what you were capable of." Jiraiya continued.
"Well, I guess now we know, don't we?"
The older man didn't quite like his student's flat tone. "Naruto, you don't really think you've suddenly become as strong as a Jounin in just the span of a year and a half, do you? I thought I drilled some sense into you, boy!"
Yugito watched the interaction between Jiraiya and Naruto with muted interest.
"You've become stronger, without a doubt." The hermit continued on, kneeling beside Naruto. "But you still have a long way to go, never forget that, and try your very best."
The Genin nodded at that and grinned slightly.
"When I see you again, I want to hear nothing but praise from my little kitten over there." Jiraiya laughed and pointed at Yugito over his shoulder, who once again scowled at the mention of her impromptu nickname.
"Jiraiya-sama…" She growled threateningly, at which the sennin only laughed all the louder.
"Oh relax, Yugito-chan." He smirked and patted Naruto on the head before standing up to his full and impressive height. He began brushing down his strange garb and adjusted his one-of-a-kind forehead protector. He returned to the log, grabbed his large backpack which leaned against it, and slung it on his back. Jiraiya sighed and blinked slowly before nodding to Yugito. "I entrust my student to you, Nii Yugito. Take care of him for me."
Yugito stood up as well and bowed low, her long ponytail slipping over her shoulder. "I will, Jiraiya-sama. Please take care during your travels."
Even though he had woken up shortly before, and as tired as he still was, Naruto couldn't help but feel more than a little sad at the thought of Jiraiya leaving.
Jiraiya smiled broadly as he saw Naruto's distress. "Don't worry, Naruto. I'll meet up with you soon; just send Gamakichi to me when you two have figured out where you're going to go." He let out a bark of laughter when his pupil flashed a small smile of his own. "I'm just going to sort out a bit of business. To think you'd miss an old man like me – it's flattering!"
"E-ero-sennin…"
"Catch you later, Naruto, and get stronger." The hermit turned on his feet and walked off into the darkness. "Don't disappoint me now!"
"Yeah!" Naruto shouted after him.
"Damn that brat…" Jiraiya blinked away a bit of moisture from his eyes and disappeared from view.
Yugito frowned in his direction for a few moments longer, and then spoke softly to the blonde across the camp-fire. "You really care for him." She stared at Naruto, her tone making it a statement rather than a question.
"Stupid pervy geezer, who cares about him!" The boy objected petulantly and settled on his thin mattress, stomping an imaginary pile flat with his fist before he covered himself with his blanket and turned away from the Cloud-nin. "Probably off to do more research anyway."
Yugito's eyes glinted with the light of flickering flames as she studied the young jinchuuriki. Naruto hid it well, but there was no denying the fond undertone of his words.
"Naruto…" She spoke softly, almost uncertain. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"
The teen grumbled a little, but turned on his side to face his new teacher. "What is it?"
"Before we go to sleep, there is something you must know, and the reason Jiraiya-sama asked me to help you."
"Yeah?" Naruto's interest was piqued. He had been wondering why on earth a Jounin from the hidden Cloud was willing to train someone from Konoha of all places. He propped himself up on his elbow and gave her his full attention. "What is it?" He asked again.
"I know about the demon contained in your body." Yugito stated bluntly and watched as a mixture of shock, anger and… fear flitted across the boy's face in rapid succession.
"H-he told you?" Naruto ventured, uncertain of what to say.
Yugito shrugged. "Even if he hadn't, I'd still know."
"Huh?" The younger blonde was taken aback by that. "I-I thought it was a big secret!" He protested, growing wary.
"Hmmph, you'd be surprised at how much villages really know of each other." Yugito couldn't help but grin at the boy's naïveté. "Hopefully you're not one of those ninja's who think everything is about fighting..." She looked at him intently. "Are you?"
"Of course not!" Naruto yelled crossly. "I'm going to become Hokage one day, believe it!"
Yugito was momentarily stunned by the boy's vehemence. Then, slowly, her previous grin died down to an honest smile. "Hokage… huh?"
"Hell yeah!" Naruto crowed earnestly, balling his fist and shaking it vigorously. He never got tired of sharing his dream with anyone who'd bother to listen… or those that didn't really want to, as well.
"I'm going to become Hokage, and then everyone will acknowledge me!"
"Hmm, you need a little more work before you can become a Kage, though, Naruto."
The boy nearly face vaulted at that. "I know that!" But then he smiled happily as he noticed that Yugito hadn't necessarily said that he couldn't become one. That was something at least and earned her a few points in his book.
"But that isn't how I know, Naruto." Yugito continued on almost hesitantly.
Naruto remained silent, but narrowed his eyes slightly.
"The reason is because… Like you…" Yugito pointed at her stomach and Naruto knew then exactly what she was going to say. "I have a tailed demon sealed inside me."
Silence settled on the pair like a suffocating blanket, and Naruto opened his mouth several times before snapping it shut. He cleared his throat and swallowed. "R-really?" He stammered.
"That's right." Yugito's pale blue eyes seemed to flicker gold for a split second, and Naruto was sure it had just been a play of light from the flames of the campfire. "Inside of me resides the nibi, the Nekomata."
"And…" Naruto went still before he finally whispered. "You became Jounin?"
"Yes, I did." Yugito cocked her head, wondering why that of all things would seem so important.
She grew slightly worried however when Naruto clenched his fists tightly and almost seemed to… vibrate in place.
"Are you alright?" Yugito asked at length.
"Alright?" Naruto choked. "Of course I'm alright!"
The Kunoichi's eyes widened when the boy leapt up, nearly throwing his blanket into the fire, grinning and raised he arms into the air.
"You made Jounin! That's freaking awesome!" He yelled happily. "If you became Jounin, I'll definitely become Hokage!"
Yugito did the only sensible thing. She slapped her hand over her eyes and shook her head slightly. 'Of all the things…'
Shock, she would have expected. Fear as well. But not a boy that for all appearances seemed to simulate a rabbit doped up on just a few too many soldier pills at the news that a jinchuuriki like her had attained the rank of Jounin.
Yugito watched with mild amusement as Naruto finally ran out of energy to flop back on his thin mattress, still all smiles.
"We'd best get some sleep, Naruto." She suggested. "Tomorrow will be a big day. I have a lot of things I'd like to explain to you and we need to decide where we will be going next."
Yugito watched him nod and shed most of his clothes before crawling under his blanket. She settled in herself, and was fast on her way to the land of slumber when a small voice called out.
"Goodnight, Yugito… sensei…"
"…goodnight, Naruto."
Naruto awoke with a startled yelp as something poked him in the side harshly. His eyes sprung open and he looked around him franticly. "E-ero-sennin?!" He stammered.
"Rise and shine Naruto."
'Oh…' The boy thought as he remembered the fact that the biggest pervert he had ever met left the night before, leaving Naruto with a ninja from the hidden Cloud - one who would be his teacher no less.
While he still didn't know her all too well, he couldn't help but give her the benefit of the doubt. She was a fellow jinchuuriki - like himself and Gaara. Naruto couldn't help but grow excited as he thought about the possibilities his training might bring as well.
Another poke in the ribs from Yugito awoke him fully and he shifted restlessly, staring at the smiling face hovering over him.
"Good morning." Naruto growled, slightly irritated that Yugito felt the need to awaken him so rudely - early, too.
Yugito nodded. "Good morning, Naruto. I'll have to teach you some basic techniques to improve your sleeping habits, I see."
Naruto opened his mouth to protest that he didn't need it. Besides, Jiraiya wasn't exactly known for getting up quite that early. It was usually Naruto who, with an eternal desire to improve his skills, woke up with enough energy to take on the day.
Though while he was usually the first of the two to get up, that didn't mean he got up at a time most would consider early.
"Uh, yeah… I guess." Naruto mumbled and threw his blanket from his chest. He grumbled continuously as he got up while Yugito got to her feet and tended the camp-fire.
With a sigh he grabbed his clothes. Over the time he had spent with Jiraiya, his orange jumpsuit had been replaced by a black and orange outfit. Even the cloth of his forehead protector had been replaced due to the gruelling conditioning the ever sadistic Jiraiya had put the boy through.
Naruto spared a glance at Yugito who seemed to be grilling several fish on long iron pokers over flames, and then stumbled bleary-eyed into the woods to a nearby stream. By the time he freshened up and returned to camp, the Jounin had prepared a small meal for them to share.
"Eat up, Naruto. You'll need your energy today." She said seriously, and handed the Genin one of the grilled fish on a salad bed. When he sat down, she handed him a cup of rice with chopsticks.
Naruto would have complained about the lack of ramen, but somehow, after the beating he received yesterday, he doubted that his new teacher would take too kindly to it - especially when she had gone through with the effort to prepare some fish for him. For some odd reason he couldn't quite place, a brief flash of warmth pulsed through his stomach. Naruto blamed it on one of the numerous blows he'd received in the gut the day before.
They ate in silence, if you discounted Yugito's cheerful humming as she consumed her fish (actually eating up to a third helping). When she put her own cup, lined with a few stubborn specks of rice, on the ground beside her and the lacquered chopsticks on it with a dull clink, she patted her stomach contently.
"So, Naruto." The kumo-nin began, eyeing the blonde carefully. "From our fight yesterday, I noticed something."
"Mmyeah? Wazza?" Naruto mumbled as he practically inhaled his own rice.
"You're a bit lacking in diversity." She deadpanned.
Naruto blinked, and wiped his mouth. "Huh?"
Yugito scratched the back of her head and smiled uneasily. "Um, not that I doubt that Jiraiya-sama's a great teacher, but… What did he teach you?" Jiraiya had given her a brief rundown the evening before, when Naruto was out, but she thought it best to hear it from the boy directly.
"Uh…" Naruto's eyes turned to slits as he formulated his answer. "Well, mostly it's been about my speed and taijutsu. Other than that… Power, I guess…"
"I… I see." Yugito tried hard not to sound disappointed. "And ninjutsu?"
Naruto grimaced. "Ero-baka hasn't really taught me anything cool!" He folded his arms over his chest and pouted. "I have a summoning contract with toads, but I can't really use it all that well. Not in fights yet anyway. And we took the Rasengan to a new level, but…"
Yugito tapped her chin thoughtfully as she mulled over this information. "Show me."
"Er…"
The nibi jinchuuriki smiled deviously. "Oh come on, don't you want to impress me?"
Naruto jumped up at the challenge, and a clone, a shout, and a new crater a short distance from the camp later, Yugito had to admit, she was impressed.
"Okay, that's pretty impressive." She nodded and peered down the edge of the large hole left behind by the Odama Rasengan. "That's a lot of destructive power."
"Heh heh." Naruto chuckled, lacing his fingers behind his head and tried not to look too pleased. He failed abysmally.
Yugito noticed and scowled. "Don't get complacent. This power doesn't mean anything if you can't hit anyone with it."
Naruto mirrored her features. "Yeah yeah, I know!"
"Well... good." The platinum-blonde turned on her feet and strode back to the camp-fire. She motioned for Naruto to follow her and when they were once again seated, proceeded to pick apart his strengths and flaws carefully.
"Now, like I said, I don't doubt Jiraiya-sama is a great teacher, but I think he shouldn't just focus on training your raw power."
"Bu-"
Yugito held up a hand to silence him. "Let me continue." She cleared her throat. "You've got a good grasp of tactics; I saw that in our fight yesterday. But you're so focused on your clones and Rasengan, you're hardly the number one most surprising shinobi Jiraiya-sama harped on to me about."
"Hey!"
Yugito bulled on. "You're great with your clones, I'll admit. You pulled off some fancy things with them that I wouldn't have thought of that quickly, but… Against the people after the likes of you and me…" She said, referring to the Akatsuki which Naruto knew all too well. "…that really won't matter too much - especially if they have a good nose, like mine." She tapped the aforementioned organ and Naruto nodded, remembering how she had found him with relative ease, despite the amount of clones he had used in their fight. "You still have a few things to learn about Kage Bunshin."
"And that Rasengan – it's very powerful; but it is something that you actually need to hit your opponent with. Not every opponent will be sitting still for you to come at them with that loud, bright spinning ball of death." The Kunoichi took a deep breath. "I don't know who taught you when you were younger than you are now, but your taijutsu is still terrible, and your speed isn't too good either. Relying on the Kyuubi will only get you so far; and with a demon as volatile as yours, it's a very dangerous thing to do."
Yugito interlaced her fingers and furrowed her brow. "I don't know too much about your toad summoning, but I know Jiraiya-sama is a master at it – so I'll leave that particular part of your training to him." She finally stopped with a heavy exhale.
"…" Naruto stared at Yugito for a few long moments, not quite sure what to say.
The Jounin broke the silence and locked eyes with the teen. "For the next few months, we'll focus on your taijutsu and speed, seeing they still need work. We'll do it on the move. Where we go depends on this..." Yugito reached into a pouch of her backpack and took out a small rectangular piece of paper.
"What's that?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
"This," Yugito pointed at the scrap of paper, "is a special kind of paper. Shinobi use it to determine what elemental affinity they have."
"Uhm…" Naruto narrowed his eyes as he observed it dubiously. "Okay…"
Yugito smiled as she recognized her own reaction in his. "This chakra paper, it lets you literally see what elemental type you belong to."
"How?" He questioned.
"Simple." She focused on the paper in her hand and poured a little chakra into it. Naruto's eyes widened as he watched the paper crumple up instantly before bursting into flame.
Yugito dropped it and let it burn up completely.
"Whoah!" Naruto exclaimed and leaned forwards eagerly. "So what does that mean, huh? Huh?!"
The Kunoichi grinned. "My paper crumpled up and ignited. That means I have two affinities. Lightning and fire."
"Wow…" The boy breathed in wonder. "That's awesome! Can I try? Can I?"
"Of course!" Yugito fished out another small piece of paper and handed it to Naruto who took it with glee. "Just focus a little amount of chakra into the paper."
Naruto nodded excitedly and unconsciously poked out his tongue from between his lips as he followed his new sensei's instructions.
Within in a second, the paper split in two and the two pieces drooped over, soggy and with moisture dripping from their edges.
"W-what does that mean?" He asked, a little bit disappointed he didn't get something similar to Yugito's result.
"Huh, that's an odd mix." The Kumo-nin rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"What? Why?"
"Well, it seems like you're leaning towards Water and… Wind affinity."
"…" Naruto blinked. "…is that good?"
"Well, like I said, it's an odd mix." Yugito explained. "Last I heard, the only ones who had that… didn't come out of Konoha."
"Where did they come from?" Naruto asked, confused.
Yugito cleared her throat and brushed his question off. "That doesn't matter. Anyway, water users shouldn't be too rare in Konoha, but wind users are. The only place that has a lot of them, relatively speaking anyway…"
"What? What place has a lot of them?"
"It's all in the name, Naruto." Yugito pointed out as if it was obvious – which, with that kind of logic, it was. "The Wind Country."
"Hey!" Naruto's grin threatened to split his face. "That's where Gaara lives!"
"Gaara?" Yugito inquired, although she knew who he was already from what Jiraiya had told her.
"He's like us! I fought him during the Chuunin exam and…"
With that, and to Yugito's amusement, Naruto was off into a lengthy rendition of the events that surrounded the exam, occasionally acting out some of the events with his own shadow clones. Time passed quickly and his story carried well into the better part of the morning.
"…and then, in the end, with the last of my energy, I woke him up with a head butt!" Naruto laughed and did just that to his shadow clone who, with a convincing illusion of the redhead, was pretending to sleep.
Yugito clapped enthusiastically as the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Naruto bowed dramatically to his audience's response, flashing a broad smile.
"But what happened to Gaara after your fight with him?" Yugito frowned as she stopped clapping. "It seems to me he's a little… homicidal…"
"I…I don't really know..." Naruto hesitated, his smile tapering off as he took a seat in front of the young woman. "He was always alone… I'd like to think I got through to him, to show him he didn't have to be the way he was because…" Naruto smiled sadly and grasped his jacket over his stomach. "We're the same you know?"
Yugito nodded thoughtfully. 'Uzumaki Naruto… You're something else.'
"I just hope he's happy, and maybe his brother and sister won't be so afraid of him anymore." The boy added softly.
He looked up when Yugito reached over to ruffle his spiky hair.
"I think, whatever he's doing now, he's happy."
Even as she spoke those words, far to the south west, in a village hidden in a vast and unmerciful desert, events took place that, sadly, proved her wrong.
Gaara shifted uneasily and sighed in a dark corridor of the Kazekage tower. His movements were so slight however, that anyone who did not know him intimately would have missed it completely.
His sister was one of the few who did notice and couldn't suppress a smile. To see Gaara portray any emotions at all was a small miracle in itself.
The two had just finished attending a meeting with the chairman of the Suna council, and Gaara couldn't help but wonder if he had been elected for the position because he seemed to be the oldest one. His jittery movements and shaky, gravely voice had irked Gaara to no end; and even though these days he kept a tight leash on Shukaku, the redhead could not help but wonder what sound the old man's fragile bones might make if he broke them one by one.
His eyes barely betrayed his thoughts as he calmly spoke to Temari. "You do not have to do this."
"Little brother…" Came her soft reply as she stepped closer to him. "This is your dream, I won't stand in the way of it."
"…" Gaara pondered this response and decided on a course of action. "I could kill them."
Temari's smile grew a little wider, but she adjusted her forehead protector with just a hint of nervousness of the old Gaara shining through. His tone didn't exactly make it a question. At least it was "could" and not "will". Easy and amusing it might have been, slaughtering the entire council of Sunagakure would, in the end, not be very beneficial to Gaara's goals.
She shook her head and chuckled. "No, Gaara."
Gaara stared at her for several heartbeats. "I... I do not understand." He admitted and averted his eyes to look at the ground.
Temari stepped forward and enveloped her arms around the smaller sibling's neck in a gentle hug. "I'm doing this of my own free will." She whispered into his ear. "I'm doing this for you because you are my brother."
Gaara stood silent, but finally after a few long moments, wrapped his own arms around her waist.
He didn't see them, but felt her tears drip down the crook of his neck.
"Thank you, sister…"
Chapter end.