Summary:
Eight years since Sasuke left Konoha has seen dramatic changes to Konoha village. The village is protected by the unstoppable Shadow, a mysterious ninja who has taken countless lives for the Hokage.
Pairings:
Itachi/Naruto, Sasuke/Naruto (onesided)
Chapter Two
Returning Light
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Naruto fell down onto his bed. He sighed, digging his nose into the pillow. He was grateful for what Tsunade had done. He needed a rest. Five years of haunting faces had to get to you sometimes, even when on the missions.
He had planned on unpacking his very few possessions but he couldn't move from the bed. He muttered a quick goodnight to the fox then fell into a deep sleep.
He was woken by the sound of the door being thrown open. He frowned and rubbed his eyes. The sunlight poured into the room from his curtain-less window.
"Hey, who's there? What gives you the right to stay in someone's apartment? Just because they're not here..." The voice trailed off as the man eyed Naruto.
"Iruka-sensei!"
"Naruto...?"
Naruto beamed at his old teacher. The man grinned back then, without warning, grabbed Naruto in a ferocious bear hug.
"Where have you been? Everyone wondered where you were! We've all missed you!" Iruka slackened his grip for a millisecond before crushing Naruto's ribs even more.
"Aagh..." Naruto winced. He was still tender from the attack.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Iruka let go of him, a sheepish look on his face.
After a moments silence Naruto yawned.
"You hungry? Shall we go get some ramen?"
Naruto almost winced at the idea of food but he couldn't afford to act out of character.
"Sure! You're treating right Iruka-sensei! I want Miso!" He continued this hyperactive chat all the way until they reached Ichiraku's.
When they sat down, Iruka ordered two bowls of ramen. After a few words they turned to their bowls. Iruka started at once, leaving Naruto feeling nauseous and uncomfortable. He had no choice. He wouldn't be able to rely on Kyūbi this time (at this moment the fox was encouraging Naruto to eat, saying that if he refused, his old teacher would know something was up,) so he really had no choice.
He sighed and pulled on a fake smile. Breaking the chopsticks in half, he gathered some noodles. Tentatively, he raised the noodles to his mouth and forced them in before he could change his mind.
His whole body screamed at him and he fought the urge to throw up. He gritted his teeth and waited for the noodles to settle. He went to collect more noodles when he winced in pain.
Dropping the chopsticks, he clutched his stomach.
Iruka's worried face turned to Naruto. Naruto shook his head and indicated that he was having stomach problems. He made a show of the fact he needed the bathroom. In reality he didn't but Naruto needed the man to think he had diarrhoea so he would be excused from eating.
Iruka understood and took Naruto home instantly. He left quickly after promising that he wouldn't tell anyone Naruto was here.
Sighing, Naruto performed the necessary hand seals to collect shadows for Kyūbi's body. The fox appeared and rushed over to plastic bag Iruka had mentioned before he ha left. Inside were various items of food. The fox nosed through everything and chose a few things to eat. He returned to Naruto's side with a full belly and a glint in his eye.
There's a note on the side, from the Hokage woman.
Naruto steadily rose up. His sickness had subsided and he felt merely tired now. Picking up the piece of paper, he scanned it and confirmed his worst fears.
Naruto,
Tomorrow Team 7 will be introduced to their 'new' team member. You shall meet Hatake Kakashi outside your apartment at nine then meet your team at ten. (Kakashi will no doubt be late to meet you therefore making him late for the other two). They won't know anything about you, not even Kakashi (I'm sure you know that though) and they don't even know when you're scheduled to be back let alone that you're back now. Take care to hide your abilities; I know it must be hard for you.
I'll be in contact soon
Tsunade
He closed his eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a tiring day.
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Sakura frowned and turned to her team mate, Uchiha Sasuke. Since he had returned from Orochimaru to find Naruto gone, Sasuke had become even more of a recluse that he previously had been. He was friendly enough but, if anyone asked him to go anywhere; he merely looked at them then shook his head. Naruto's disappearance had had that effect on most people who knew him enough to call him a friend. The village seemed quieter without him and the sun really didn't shine as bright.
She sighed and Sasuke followed suit.
Strictly speaking, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi were equal team members so they didn't need an extra member for missions, only for the jōnin exam that Kakashi had already passed. Apparently, Tsunade had said that they needed to get into practice with the new addition to the team and, albeit rather reluctantly, Team 7 complied.
The two shinobi sensed and heard two footsteps behind them.
"FINALLY!" Sakura shouted, "You're late Kaka..."
Her eyes widened as she saw the man with Kakashi. Sasuke, a little uneasy about Sakura's sudden silence, turned to face the pair. He too stopped in shock, mouth wide open.
Kakashi smiled. Well his eye turned up at the corners and his cheeks tightened under his mask.
There stood a taller, more muscular Naruto. He no longer wore his forehead protector on his head, at least not at the moment. It was pushed down on his neck, the leaf insignia pushed to the back. His hair had grown a little and spiked downward now, rather than all over the place. A few clumps fell down onto his face and into his eyes. Sometimes he brushed stray hairs away with a smooth, tanned hand. He had a short-sleeved black top on with black shorts and the customary black shoes. A few accessories broke up the continuous black. A blue gem hung on a necklace by the knotted black fabric that attached his forehead protector to his neck and a pure white bandage circled his muscular arm.
His face had lost all traces of infancy and his 'whiskers' had grown lighter, contrasting against the tanned gold of his skin. His cheekbones had become more defined and Sakura found herself staring at Naruto, not just in amazement, but with a weird feeling in her stomach. She remembered it from her days when she had convinced herself she was in love with Sasuke.
"Well... this is your new... old... team member. I give you the rest of the day to get used to each other, have fun!"
The two chūnin glanced nervously at the newcomer. Sakura hadn't seen Naruto (that she'd been aware of) for five years while Sasuke hadn't seen him for eight.
The other two haven't really changed, mused Naruto.
Did they have to go through what you did? Sure they've grown older and grown up, but were they forced to grow as you were? I doubt it Naruto, I truly believe that it's just you and me in that category.
Naruto thought about Kyūbi's words and realised how true he was. He was the equivalent to most people's nightmares and almost everyone felt a sensation of fear and awe pass through them when the name Hikage was whispered.
"Where did you go Naruto? You came back for a week or so then you just... disappeared. I missed you so much."
For the third time in two days, Naruto was suffocated in a bear hug.
"Sakura..."
"NO! I'm not letting you go again. If Sasuke hadn't returned, I think I would have broken down. I missed you so much, even more than you'll know."
Eventually, Sakura was forced to let him go, as Naruto had turned an unhealthy colour of greyish-purple due to lack of oxygen. Naruto smiled at Sasuke who, surprisingly, smiled back.
"I owe you a thank you. You helped me escape." That was all he said about his time with Orochimaru. Naruto realised he wasn't the only one with secrets.
"So you think you're up to jōnin standards yet dobe?" Sasuke jeered, as usual.
"Hn, teme, you have no idea." Naruto realised he was going to have to be careful. He could already feel the urge to peel the bandage off and reveal his ANBU tattoo.
During the training, Naruto managed to act like his skills were still developing at a chūnin level and he did well to control not only his power, but his speed and accuracy. He told Kyūbi that it could be considered useful when fighting an opponent who underestimated them. Now they could play for a little bit before the kill.
He was startled, for a second, as he realised how calmly he had thought of murdering someone while he was in the company of his friends. Kyūbi reassured him that it was just an isolated incident but Naruto himself was wary for the rest of the training period.
They finished and each realised how much the other(s) had improved. For Naruto, he was disappointed. He had hoped, by some miracle, that Sasuke had become even stronger than he had, even though he never wished that training for anyone.
They tramped back to the village and paused at a crossroads. Instead of splitting, like Naruto expected, he was seized by a hand and was being dragged towards a restaurant.
Crap, Naruto thought. Food.
They stepped inside the open-plan room. It had about thirteen medium-sized tables dotted about the room surrounded by sturdy chairs. The smell of cooking food floated through the room from a hidden kitchen.
Inside, Naruto's stomach had already started flipping and he tried hard not to let the pain show on his face. If he ate once in a few weeks, he could usually stand the smell without it causing too much damage, but his short meal with Iruka had only been a few hours ago.
Naruto... Be careful... I'll try and help but it seems impossible.
A few seconds later, when they were seated at a table in the corner, Naruto's stomach relaxed a little. He nodded lightly, thanking Kyūbi for whatever the fox had managed to do.
He looked up, remembering he had company. Smiling through the bolts of pain flashing through his stomach, Naruto convinced the two that nothing was wrong. A serving-boy came over to the table and asked for their orders. Naruto broke into a sweat, what would he say? The Naruto they knew would have asked for anything and everything, but now... he couldn't even stand the smell of it.
The three people around the table looked towards Naruto, expectantly. He was about to stutter an answer when a familiar voice broke through the restaurant. Turning around, they saw a white-haired man. He smiled, but only with his mouth. His crinkled eyes remained still and emotionless.
"Naruto, Tsunade wants to see you with a proper... report I guess. She wants you to go now." He turned to the other two shinobi. "Sorry, it's urgent apparently."
Naruto hastily stood; glad to have an excuse to get out of the restaurant. He practically fell against Jiraiya's side to which Jiraiya commented on his 'usual' clumsiness.
"Thanks Ero-sennin." He gasped.
"Anytime. Tsunade really does want to see you so I guess you shouldn't thank me."
Together they walked towards Tsunade's office. Naruto's stomach settled as he got farther away from the smell of food and, by the time they were standing before Tsunade, he felt almost normal again.
"Ah, Naruto. Good to see you again in such a short time. How 'ya feeling?"
"Fine thanks Granny. Oh and thanks for calling me here, Sasuke and Sakura had just taken me to a restaurant."
"I see. Well, is Kyūbi hungry?" She spoke in way that showed she was innocently questioning him, only to have an alternative motive.
"Is it a mission, Tsunade-sama?"
"Heh, you caught on then. Yeah, only you don't have to accept the missions that come in for you. I'll send ANBU teams, five men or so should be able to take one down at least. Take longer but we can deal with time."
Naruto considered this. If he still carried on his missions, he would be able to improve his skills without holding anything back, as he would be with Team 7.
"I'll do them."
Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at each other, clearly shocked.
"B... but your holiday...?"
"Why should the Hikage of Konoha rest? People's lives are on the line and if I didn't do anything, I could never forgive myself. There is a slight problem though; my clothes were ripped beyond repair."
Tsunade ginned evilly. "Already sorted. New top, trousers and shoes over there... And here is your new mask." She beamed as she handed it to Naruto.
He took it, admiring its simple beauty. It was like his old ANBU mask with the exception of the colours. Instead of red on white, deep greys entwined with lighter greys to form markings that distinguished themselves a fox-shape. It was set on a midnight black moulded mask. He looked over the clothes. They too had intricate grey patterns weaved into them
He was amazed. Something of this quality would surely be worth a fortune, why was it in his possession.
"Hokage-sama, I cannot possibly accept this. For someone of my work, it would only be wasted."
"You don't seem to understand Naruto. This was made for your purposes. It was meant for you when you took the most dangerous missions but I feel they have surfaced without us knowing. Its power will only truly work for you and Kyūbi. It isn't just clothing but a defensive weapon that is practically unbreakable, in its hour of need."
He nodded then bowed his pale face. Tsunade smiled sweetly and, with a hint of regret and guilt, handed him the necessary files. Naruto took them, scanned through them and pulled on his new attire.
It surprised him how at home he felt in these new clothes. He felt completely at ease, something he never had before. On all his previous missions, he had felt something close to fear before he set out but now, his mind and body were calmed and he truly felt like the demon the town made him out to be.
His blue-violet eyes faded to a light shade of purple before he slipped on the mask. Blonde hair was visible but he doubted that anyone would recognise him by his hair.
The faceless mask turned to face the Hokage. She flinched at the sight of the man she had watched grow. He deserved the name Hikage for he was just like a shadow. The clothes appeared to ripple as he prepared to move and both Sannin stepped closer together, equally frightened and amazed at the power radiating from the figure before them.
"Good luck..." Jiraiya whispered as Hikage slunk into the deepening shadows outside and vanished.
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Notes:
Thank you for reading, reviews are always appreciated.
