# Action Pack Issue 2
June 24, 2008, 9:45 am-Konoha Hospital
Kira sat at the side of a bed with a red-haired woman on it, his eyes falling on the too short locks ending at her shoulders. He remembered it being ankle-length, but then one day he came in and the staff had sheared it off. He knew that when his mother woke up she was going to be pissed.
He looked down at the transfer papers and they're had been surprisingly little hassle from the medical staff, most of which eagerly gave him the papers. He bitterly realized that they wanted him gone as much as he wanted to leave. And because of the resignation form he'd signed, he'd be 'retiring' from his ninja career and wouldn't be marked a missing nin when he left.
Then he came to the obvious obstacle. He loved his brother, and he'd taken to leaving the village well so they're mother could get better treatment, but it was the 'when' they were coming back to the village that had presented the problem. He hadn't taken it well to giving up being a ninja after so long for working at becoming one when Kira had told them that they were not coming back.
Naruto hadn't yelled at him, but he did give him a hurt look and excused himself from the breakfast table to 'take a walk' and think about it. Before he'd left though, Kira had offered another option: he could leave with their mother and Naruto could stay if he wanted to.
Granted, Kira didn't like that one, and neither did Naruto, but at least it'd make him think hard over what he wanted to do. Kira had already made his choice, and in hindsight and in the present situation, it was the best option. He wasn't about to let their mother die simply because the council didn't like her.
Kira looked back down at the transfer form in his hand and looked over the information before deeming it acceptable and headed down to the fax machine in the lobby. The people ignored him as he faxed the form and waited for the reply, but his attention was diverted to the blond boy walking into the entrance.
He'd told Naruto that he'd be here until ten, but he didn't think that he'd come here. Naruto hated hospitals even more than him.
"Kira-nii, I need to talk with you." He said looking at the ground.
Kira nodded and waited for the blond to continue.
And soon enough, Naruto did. "It's about the Chunin exams you told me about; they start tomorrow."
Konoha Bridge, 9:30 am
Naruto had taken a walk after hearing what Kira had told him at home. He agreed whole-heartedly that their mom should be taken somewhere that she'd be looked after, but he didn't like the fact he was gonna have to give up being something he'd worked so hard at.
He wasn't jealous of Kira's rank, or his control over his chakra, but he did find it unfair that his brother had such better control over his chakra than he did. Kira though had told him it was apparently in his gene pool as their mom had large chakra reserves as well.
Knowing that it was a genetic thing left him torn over whether this was a good thing or not.
He'd eventually stopped at the bridge to think when he saw his teammates walking up. "What are you doing here?"
"Kakashi-sensei told us to meet here, which you would have known if you'd stayed behind yesterday." Sakura snapped and looked like she wanted to hit him.
"I left because Kira-nii was going." Naruto said simply.
"Do you always follow your brother around?" Sasuke sneered.
"At least I know my brother would never abandon me." Naruto shot back hotly, and Sasuke scowled at him before looking away and glaring at the ground.
"Now what's going on here?" A male voice questioned.
"Sensei, you're here early." Sakura said amazed.
Kakashi rubbed the back his head. "Don't sound so surprised, I had to be on time to give you these." He said handing the three students a piece of paper each.
"What are these?" Sakura questioned.
"Those papers hold the date and time of the Chunin exams." Kakashi explained.
Naruto looked up in surprise and his expression became a little amazed. "The exams are tomorrow?"
Kakashi raised his one visible brow. "You know about it?"
Naruto nodded his head. "Hai, Kira-nii told me about what his was like and what you had to do."
Kakashi held up one finger and waved it in a conspiratorial gesture in front of Naruto. "Well no spoiling the surprise." He said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Naruto though seemed to realize that the exam was tomorrow. 'Oh no, that's when Kira-nii's taking Kaa-chan to New York.' He thought and his thoughts of advancement and making his brother proud flew out the window as they were replaced with hesitance and worry.
Sakura looked at Naruto expectantly as she put her hands on her hips. "Well, what are the exams about anyway?"
Naruto furrowed his brow in annoyance. "Didn't you hear Kakashi-sensei?" he asked, more so from the fact he had to think over whether or not he should tell his friends he was going to be leaving. He needed to talk to his brother, and remembered the brunet said he was going to be at the hospital filling out forms. "I gotta go, I'll be telling you both something later though. Here, at…" he paused for a moment. "Let's say 10:15 am." He said before jogging away.
Naruto disregarded Sakura yelling for him to come back and tell them now, but he kept on running, deftly dodging the villagers that gave him merely neutral glances and as he entered through the glass doors of the hospital, he lucked out upon finding his brother by the fax machine. "Kira-nii, I need to talk to you." He said glancing at the ground, but he knew better than to assume his brother was going to give a verbal reply.
His brother never spoke unless he had to after all. It was a quirk that had been frustrating to deal with when he was very young, but his brother also listened to him. And he knew that his brother was ready to do that now. "It's about the Chunin exams you told me about; they start tomorrow."
Kira's expression creased slightly at that, the only emotion he'd show towards annoyance. He gestured for Naruto to follow and the blond did, all the way back to their mother's room. The blond looked toward the comatose redheaded woman and sighed, as he always did upon seeing her severely cut hair. The first time ever he'd seen it, it had been long, and he liked the color, even to the point of thinking of dying his own hair red to look more like her.
Kira though had shot that idea down as he didn't trust the dye products. He did though say that Naruto could change his hair color when he mastered the Transformation Jutsu.
Kira stopped at the desk by bed and picked up the papers, handing them to Naruto, who looked one over that was a resignation form for one Uzumaki Kira, and he noticed that the other form was also a resignation for, this one though was blank.
It took him a moment to realize what Kira was implying. "You want me to resign, don't you?" he asked softly.
Kira's expression didn't change. "This isn't about what I want; this is about what you want. I've always been there from day one to make the decisions for you, now it's your turn. As I said before, you can stay here, or you can come with us. It'll be your decision." His expression softened a little. "But I'll always be one call away."
Naruto remained silent as he thought over what Kira said. He knew Kira always kept his word, as when they were growing up, he'd make promises and go to great lengths to make them come true. Like giving him a normal birthday. That had been a hard order to fill, but he'd managed to do it, and he loved him all the more for it.
It also said just how much Kira trusted him with this decision. He'd stopped making more and more of Naruto's decisions for him as he'd entered the Academy, but stopped all together when he'd officially become a ninja. He'd didn't even object when his team got their first C-rank mission like Iruka-sensei had.
"I…I need to think about this." He said faintly and Kira nodded.
Naruto didn't know why, but he grabbed the second, blank form and walked out the room with it in hand.
Konoha Bridge, 10:09 am
Sakura waited on the bridge, looking down into the water as she morosely thought of better things she could be doing than waiting for information from Naruto of all people, but while the blond wasn't the best source to get information from, his brother wouldn't lie to him about something like this.
The pink-haired girl felt something fierce stir in her chest. She knew, along with everyone else in the village, that the elder Uzumaki was only Naruto's adopted brother and a demon to boot, but she still couldn't help but feel a sense of jealously as she'd seen them interact back in the Academy.
When Naruto had passed his test, a miracle on itself, the brunet had merely patted him on the shoulder, but Naruto had looked so damn happy that it made her realize that the pat on the shoulder simply alluded to a bigger celebration that no one else was privileged to see. She was sure that only Naruto ever saw the guy smiling.
She'd felt jealous for more than the iron-clad relationship those two had, but also for the fact that no matter what, the older boy always seemed to give Naruto everything he wanted. Naruto would tell Kiba or Choji about how his brother made him all these fantastic meals that actually didn't consist of ramen and take him out to eat whenever he wanted to go out.
Even her own parents wouldn't let her wouldn't buy her everything she wanted like Naruto's brother did. He'd talk about wanting one thing one day, and then the next day he'd have it, and so on and so forth to the point where it made Sakura despise him for having these things, even if it was just food-related.
The pink-haired girl looked up from the pond and spotted her dark-haired teammate, a blush covering her cheeks instantly. "Hello, Sasuke-kun! So you're here for Naruto's information too, huh?"
"Hn." The Uchiha grunted and leaned against bridge.
Sakura wondered if the boy was trying as aloof as Naruto's older brother before brushing it off; that brunet could never be as awesome as Sasuke-kun, he was just a poser.
She purposefully disregarded the fact the elder Uzumaki had been like this first.
Sakura looked past Sasuke to see the chatting members of Team 10, with the exception of Shikamaru, who was just staring lazily off into the distance. "Ino-Pig."
"Forehead." Ino said glaring at her rival and waved coyly at the Uchiha. "Hey Sasuke-kun."
"Hn." Sasuke grunted again.
"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Choji questioned.
"We're here because Naruto's going to tell us about the Chunin exams." Sakura replied huffing.
Ino laughed haughtily. "Naruto? You're seriously desperate to take advice from him?"
Sakura bristled. "He said his brother told him about the exams and what to expect."
That got Ino to stop talking, and Shikamaru looked vaguely interested in the conversation. "His brother told him?" Ino asked tilting her head. "Hmm, maybe we'll stay then to hear this." She looked ahead and saw another blond approaching. "Oh look, here he comes now."
Sakura looked back and put her hands on her hips. "Well Naruto, what's going to happen in the Chunin exams?"
Naruto frowned as he looked at the extra additions. "I never said I was going to tell you about the Chunin exams, just that I had something to tell you."
Ino laughed harshly. "I can't believe you thought Naruto would know something!"
Sakura bristled as she glared at the girl. "Well you stayed after I said that it was about the Chunin exams."
Shikamaru sighed loudly. "This is such a drag, Naruto, is what you were going to say about the exams or not?"
The blond shook his head. "No."
"Right." Shikamaru replied before leaving, Choji following.
"Hey, get back here!" Ino yelled after them before glaring at Sakura and marching after her teammates.
"Well that was humiliating." Sakura growled and really wanted to smack Naruto on the head, but only restrained herself as she knew that after the blonde's brother saw her hit him, he'd likely ask, and Naruto of course would tell him. "What dumb thing did you want to say that could be used for more productive things than waiting around for you? I have life you know!" she snapped.
For the first time though, she noticed the paper that was clenched in one hand crinkle as his fist shook and Naruto's face became neutral. "I can't participate in the Chunin exams with you tomorrow."
Sakura laughed as she held her stomach and even Sasuke smirked. "That's it? We don't need you, Sasuke-kun and I can past just fine without you, right Sasuke-kun?" she asked beaming over at the Uchiha.
"Hn." Sasuke grunted before walking away.
"Wait for me, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted and followed after the boy, while she saw Naruto looking at the piece of paper in his hand, but thought little of it as she ran after her crush.
#2 "Burning Bridges"
Hokage Tower, 11: 12 am
"This wasn't an easy decision, but I hope you'll understand." Naruto said to the old Hokage.
Sarutobi looked over both resignation forms and sighed heavily. He'd lost what respect Kira had for him, and he had been determined to keep what respect Naruto had for him. He knew Kira would never believe him when he'd said that he had no choice. He really did have none as the Council, the civilians any way, had pressured him to fold on the free continual medical treatment that Uzumaki Kushina was allowed.
He knew for a fact that none of them wanted her awake because her temper transcended generations and they feared her, and the fact her children were mistreated certainly wouldn't help their case.
He truly did regret not doing more to help then, that's why he was letting them leave, whatever misgivings the council had about this were irrelevant as these forms were going right to acceptance. "You'll be able to leave tomorrow. That will give you time to say goodbye." He said more to Naruto than to Kira.
Naruto nodded and Kira just turned away as he walked back out the door without a word. "Thanks old man." The blond said brightly before following his brother, and noticed his dark expression. "Come on Kira-nii, you have to be cheerful. We're leaving tomorrow."
"You can be cheerful for the both of us." Kira retorted grimly. "I'll relax when we're away from this hell."
Naruto frowned at the slight against the village. He'd never liked the way Kira down talked the village, but he also knew that Kira was the way he was because of this village. Had everyone not hated him or treated him like dirt, then he might not be so 'eager' to insult Konoha.
"So, what do we do until we go?" Naruto asked after they had left the Tower.
Kira looked down at him from the corner of his eye. "You heard the man, go say goodbye; I'll be at home packing the things we'll need." He said before flickering away.
Naruto sighed at his brother's sudden disappearance and continued walking on. He had no idea who to say goodbye to, as he was sure that his goodbye to the old man had been that meeting. He felt a sense of guilt stir in his chest. It really had been a difficult decision, but he was not going back on it.
Konoha would be just fine without him, and he knew that they had constantly tried to get rid of his brother; to the point where his idealism had stopped in favor of thinking it was just a horrible string of coincidences. Kira didn't believe in coincidences and it seemed that the same belief was starting to rub off on Naruto too.
He'd though about the factors he had to take into consideration with all the seriousness he expected of himself to be able to make his own choices now. The first were the people; he had lots of 'acquaintances,' but no real friends. And he thought about the fact Kira was the only one he knew without a doubt would never hurt him in any way.
He might be a little emotionally distant, but his affection was still genuine.
The rest of the factors had simply been a pro-con deal as he thought about the village's view of them, and whether their departure would mean anything. The factors had all been eventually whittled down until only one thing really mattered.
What did he want?
The answer was surprisingly easy to grasp after all the rationalization he thought about and found himself to be too analyzing, but in this case it wasn't a bad thing.
Simply put, his family was the one factor that he would always need. He'd always pick his family over anyone else.
After that it had been him just filling out the paper and telling Kira his decision.
Now he had to look for his teammates or someone he knew would relay the message. He looked around and as he passed the fence, he saw one part of the fence peel off and start following him. He sighed and decided to get it over with by telling his the boy first. "I know it's you Konohamaru, no rock is so square."
The 'rock' fell back to reveal three kids and Konohamaru grinned. "No fooling you, huh boss?"
Naruto rolled his eyes as he looked at the other two kids with him. "Who are they?"
"I'm Moegi, the sassiest girl in the Academy!" The redheaded girl said.
"And I'm Udon, the smartest." The boy with a perpetually wet nose said.
"And we're the Konohamaru Corps!" The three of them shouted.
Naruto smiled slightly and Konohamaru asked the obvious question, "What up's boss?"
"I'm leaving." Naruto said, his voice more blunt than he intended it to be.
Konohamaru didn't seem to understand the real meaning behind the words. "Oh? When are you coming back?" Naruto didn't answer and the young boy seemed to finally understand what the words meant. "You are coming back, right?"
Naruto shook his head sadly. "No, I'm not."
Konohamaru looked up at him in disbelief. "But what about everything you told me! What about your nindo?"
Naruto sighed as he thought about the answer. "Sometimes, something comes up that makes you face a difficult choice. I'm choosing what's best for me."
"So you're decision is just to leave?" Konohamaru asked in disbelief.
Naruto stared at him critically. "Konohamaru, it's my mother…"
"Big deal, that shouldn't make you want to leave!" Konohamaru retorted thoughtlessly.
Naruto froze as his face twisted up for a moment before going neutral. "You're seven, what do you know about any of what's going on?" he asked harshly. And while he knew that it was a bit unfair to be so hard on the kid, he was the one who undermined the importance his mother had in the blonde's life, even if she was in a coma.
"Naruto, what are you doing?" The female voice of his teammate asked.
Naruto glanced at her and decided that as long as he was 'saying goodbye'… "I'm leaving tomorrow."
Sakura stared at him before she started laughing. "You can't leave you idiot. If you do that you'll be marked a missing-nin."
"That's right, so you can't leave boss!" Konohamaru piped in.
Naruto decided not to dignify that with an answer. "Just tell the teme that I'm going." He knew that this was all he'd have to do, as word would spread around and everyone would know by tomorrow anyway.
Restaurant District, 12: 30 pm
Naruto's assumptions had been sadly spot on as the whole village now knew about him leaving, some speculating how much money would be put on his bounty, others wondering if the 'demon' was also leaving. The one person who was taking it harder than most though was the shy Hyuuga Hinata as she saw with her teammates eating lunch and having a team meeting, which had brought up the eventual subject of Naruto's upcoming departure.
"I thought that guy wasn't about giving up, and he plans on running at the first sign of trouble, and the Chunin exams are right around the corner." Kiba said shaking his head in disgust.
Kurenai frowned at the heir, as most of the Jonins had heard about Kira's plan to move his mother, a very wise decision considering the circumstances. "Do not speak of things that you do not understand, Kiba." She warned.
Kiba frowned back, but Hinata spoke up shyly. "Why…do you think he's leaving?"
"You are aware of the fact his mother is in a coma, correct?" she asked and they nodded. "He is leaving because the Council will no longer pay for her life support and his brother is moving them out." She explained.
Hinata couldn't fault Naruto for wanting to be with his family. "I hope he's happy wherever they go." She said quietly.
"I still don't get why his brother can't just leave Naruto here and go." Kiba grumbled.
"We can't comprehend their situation and therefore we have no say in the matter." Shino pointed out logically.
Kurenai gave the boy an approving nod before looking at Kiba. "He's right, imagine if that was your mother and you were Naruto's situation with Hana in Kira's. Would you let her leave with your mother if the Council was going to take her off life support?"
Kiba balked at the thought. "No way! I'd go with them…and…." He trailed off as he understood the reasoning behind Naruto's actions. He'd never believed the blond when he said he had a mother and that had frayed what little connection they had. And when he'd found out it was actually true, he had been to prideful to apologize.
"Well, at least his teammates will be there for us to beat." He said changing the topic.
Kurenai grimaced, but didn't reply to that. Since Naruto was 'out' as it were, the chances of his teammates being able to compete were gone.
June 25, 1:30-International Airport
"Don't be nervous." Kira said as they boarded the plane, their mother being looked over by the medical personnel from the New York General Hospital.
Naruto bit his lip and they took their seats. "But what about a home? Things? Money?"
Kira looked at him sardonically. "You don't honestly think I never thought of that, right?" he asked and Naruto flushed. "I managed to do a lot in a little while. We'll be staying in a place in Forest Hills, Queens. The hospital won't be that far away, but there is the matter of schooling."
Naruto let out a small whine, but the look from Kira silenced it. "Why though?"
"Because it is apparently the law to go to school for months on end and only have the summer months off." Kira replied dryly. "I will be going to school as well, if it makes you feel better."
Naruto thought it over for a moment. "Yeah, it does make me feel better." He nodded. "When would we have to start this schooling anyway?"
"In the fall." Kira replied.
Naruto smirked. "That gives is more than enough time to scout out our surroundings then."
Kira nodded in affirmative turned to look out the window. "And don't worry about our stuff; I didn't leave anything behind that you would miss."
Naruto nodded and took the Chunin exam paper out of his jacket as Kira leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes. He truly did appreciate everything Kira had ever done for him and though that the brunet deserved some rest. He looked down at his paper and ripped it in half.
'I'm not a Konoha ninja; this doesn't mean anything to me anymore.' He thought, and couldn't help wondering how his teammates were doing on the exams.
Konoha Ninja Academy, 1:35
'I am sorry, but you can't compete unless all three of you are present, and when I found out Naruto had resigned from being a ninja, I got here to stop you from embarrassing yourselves.' Kakashi had said just before Sakura and Sasuke were about to go into the building.
The news had left them both shocked and embittered at their teammate for bailing on them, likely knowing full well that this would happen. It was just like Naruto to never take anything serious and always making such irrational decisions.
Or at least that's what Sakura thought, Sasuke's thought were darker and angrier.
Naruto had robbed him of the chance to become stronger and kill Itachi, and he would never forgive him for that. He wanted to sneer and call Naruto weak, but the effect wouldn't be the same knowing the dobe wasn't around to listen and probably already half-way around the world by now.
But because there were no specifics about where the blond was going, he had no idea the distance, he could already be there for all he knew.
Then came to the fact Naruto had left because he'd wanted to be with his family. That really did bring a scowl to the raven-haired boy's face. Why did Naruto get such a loving and supportive brother and a living, albeit comatose, mother? And the fact he was the late Yondaime's son just added salt to the wounds.
He would never ever admit to being jealous of Naruto, but when he thought back to how his own brother had treated him and how Kira treated Naruto, the difference ticked him off. When his own brother would ditch him, he'd go out and spy on Naruto interacting with his brother. He figured he'd been spotted more than a few times by the older boy because they always changed locations.
He knew he was spoiled, as the last Uchiha the villagers had given him everything he was entitled to, and he also knew that they'd continue to bend backwards to please him. But then he thought about how Naruto could be so nice and still be given everything he asked for from Kira.
His hatred turned to Kira as well as Naruto, as he'd deny ever saying it, but he'd demanded that Kira teach him to be stronger, and again, he'd deny the implication, treat him how he treated Naruto. The brunet had just stared at him coldly, before brushing him off and leaving the Uchiha with a bruised ego.
If he ever found either of them, he was going to make their lives hell.
(# Action Pack Issue 3: As the Uzumaki brother's settle down in their new home, and they learn they have the most interesting choice of a neighbour. In Konoha, the shockwaves of the brother's departure takes its toll on the Sandaime.)