Tales of the Fox Clan: Beginnings
By perfesserkai
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the other characters and places created by Misashi Kishimoto. Kinda sucks, but oh, well.
Part 1: Awakening the Beast
Chapter 2
Haruno Sakura had been trying to relax and enjoy herself. Two weeks earlier she had been assigned by the Hokage the task of teaching some of Konohagakure's more advanced medical techniques to the doctors and nurses in the Land of Waves. While the mission was not a particularly dangerous one, aside from the fact that she had to fend off some fairly determined admirers, it was still mentally strenuous, and the pink-haired kunoichi had been looking forward to a nice, leisurely return trip to her village.
All that changed when, only a few hours away from the village gates, she felt a sudden chakra surge.
Stopping on the trail she had been following, Sakura scanned the area, trying to pinpoint the direction the surge had come from. It seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't quite place it. Nevertheless, whatever had caused the surge had to be pretty powerful, and if it was already this close to the village, it was up to her to investigate, and if necessary, stop it.
So much for her peaceful, relaxing trip home.
When the chakra surged again, Sakura managed to get a bead on it. She bounded into the forest, mentally readying herself for battle. While she didn't possess her friend Naruto's massive chakra reserves, she more than made up for it with her precise control, and could more than hold her own in a fight. Whoever, or whatever, was causing trouble near her home was about to find out the hard way that Haruno Sakura was not someone to be trifled with.
As she moved through the trees, she began to get a better sense of what was causing the sudden flare-up of chakra. It was, indeed, familiar to her. In fact, she had prayed many times that she'd never have to feel that chakra again. The last time she had felt it, Naruto had been fighting alone against three jônin from one of the smaller hidden villages. Then, as now, she had been a good distance away from the fight. By the time she arrived, though, Naruto had managed to mangle two of his opponents pretty badly, and the third was being tossed around like a rag doll. But more troublesome to the young kunoichi was the reason Naruto had managed to completely devastate his opponents. He had called upon the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox, but had used too much of it, and lost control. It was sheer luck that Sakura had been given a copy of Jiraiya's seal, the one used to suppress the Fox's chakra, by Kakashi. The Copy-nin had given it to her once he semi-retired from field missions, knowing that Sakura was more likely to be able to use it than he was. It had taken her awhile, but she had finally managed to place the seal on Naruto's forehead, causing the Fox's Cloak to recede, and returning Naruto to normal. It had been one of the scariest events in her life, not because of any personal danger, but because she almost lost her friend to something more powerful than either of them. Again.
Fearing the worst, Sakura increased her speed. Hopefully she would get there in time.
As she neared the clearing where Naruto was busy fighting the Rock-nin, Sakura slowed her pace. If Naruto was truly enveloped by the power of the Nine-Tails, the last thing she wanted to do was surprise him and make herself a target.
When she reached the edge of the clearing, Sakura stopped and surveyed the scene before her. Naruto was treating his opponent to an impromptu physics lesson, bouncing the man from point to point above the clearing, before finally sending him crashing to the ground. To Sakura's relief, the blond ninja did not seem to have called fully upon the power of the Nine-Tails; she would not need the seal after all. He was still in a dangerous state, however, and she would have to be cautious in approaching him.
As Sakura watched Naruto raise his fist above his now helpless foe, though, she decided it was time to reveal herself. Stepping out from the trees, she called out, "Naruto! That's enough!"
She stopped a few feet into the clearing, close enough for Naruto to recognize her, but far enough away for her to take action if she needed to. She watched him intently as he raised his head from his now-defeated opponent to look at her, hoping that he would calm down enough to recognize her. As she stared at her friend, the pink-haired kunoichi saw something unfamiliar flash through his eyes, something … primitive, almost lustful. It was gone as soon as it appeared, though, leaving Sakura to wonder if she had imagined it. She shivered, then shook her head; Naruto had never looked at her in such a fashion before, at least not to her knowledge. He had too much respect for her to do that. It must have been her imagination running wild, nothing more.
As Naruto's eyes faded from red back to blue, Sakura felt the Fox's chakra recede. Soon, Naruto spoke. "Sakura-chan? What … what are you doing here? Aren't you on a mission?" he asked.
"I was, but I finished early, and was on my way back to the village when I felt a chakra surge," replied the medic-nin. "I decided to come investigate." Realizing she needed to change the subject, lest she make her friend uncomfortable, she glanced at the body laying on the ground, and gave Naruto a questioning look. "Looks like you've been having a good time. What's his story?"
"Ah, he's been terrorizing some of the smaller settlements in the area, so baa-chan sent me to investigate," said Naruto. He was slowly coming back to himself after the fight. Looking at the Rock-nin on the ground, he managed a sheepish look. "I was supposed to bring him and his buddies in for questioning. Guess I over-did it, huh?"
Sakura merely shook her head as she walked over to where her friend was standing. When she reached Naruto and his foe, she bent to inspect the unconscious shinobi. Judging from how beat up the man looked, Sakura guessed that Naruto more than 'over-did it', as he put it. From what she could determine, the man was nearly dead. Feeling a sudden surge of anger, she rounded on her friend. "Baka. You used the Fox's chakra again, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but …" started Naruto.
"Tsunade-sensei warned you about trying to use it too much, you know," continued Sakura, ignoring Naruto's protest. Placing her hands over the Rock-nin's chest, she began working to stabilize the man's wounds.
"But, Sakura-chan …" tried Naruto again. Sakura was having none of it, though. She turned her head to face Naruto, an angry look on her face.
"No, Naruto! You know how dangerous using the power of the Nine-Tails is! That's partly why you were transferred out of the ANBU: none of them could control you when you used the Fox's chakra. It was becoming dangerous for everyone."
Naruto, now fully in control of himself again, spat out, "But I'm better at controlling it now! Believe it! I didn't even kill this guy, even though he probably deserved it!" He looked down at the body again. "Er, he is still alive, right?"
Sakura, turning to continue her work on the Rock-nin, sighed, and said, "Yes, he's alive, Naruto. But only just. If I hadn't come along, you'd have …" She stopped short, realizing what she was about to say.
Naruto grew silent. After a moment, he said, "I'd have what, Sakura-chan? Killed him? Is that what you were going to say?"
Sakura remained still, not knowing what to say. She knew that Naruto disliked killing, and used it only as a last resort. But when he was possessed by the Fox's power, it was a different matter. He was different. She nodded, unable to bring herself to vocalize what she was thinking.
"Sakura-chan," started Naruto. "What happened before is never going to happen again. I only used enough chakra to take this guy out before anybody else came along." As he spoke, something clicked in his brain. It must have been Sakura whose presence he felt during the fight. But she had been too far away; Naruto hadn't realized it was her. If she was that far away, then the sudden flood of chakra from the Nine-Tailed Fox must have been stronger than he thought. And that meant …
"You knew, didn't you? Before you even got here, you knew what happened."
Sakura turned back to her patient, not wanting Naruto to see how upset she was getting.
"Sakura-chan, please look at me," asked Naruto. Not getting a response from the pink-haired kunoichi, Naruto moved in front of her and squatted down. "I'm not moving until you look at me, Sakura-chan."
Slowly, Sakura brought her head up to meet Naruto's gaze. She knew he wasn't going to leave her alone until she answered him. With a small sigh, she said, "Yes, I knew." Still Naruto remained squatting in front of her, peering intently into her eyes. She stared back at him, trying her best to keep her composure. The last thing she wanted was for Naruto to start hiding behind his goofy grin again. She's had enough of that when they were both genin on Team Seven.
Although, said her inner self, it is a cute grin.
Naruto stared at his friend a moment longer, then stood up, intending to move away so Sakura could work in peace. As he turned from her, however, he heard her say, almost too soft to hear, "I just wish you wouldn't use that chakra so much. I'm getting worried about you."
The blonde Leaf-nin paused briefly, taking in her words. Over the years the two jônin had grown closer, even after the disbanding of Team Kakashi, and while his crush on Sakura had evolved into a solid friendship, he still had some non-platonic feelings for the young medic-nin. Normally he kept them buried deep down, though, especially on the rare occasions that the two shared missions; the last thing he needed was to become distracted in the middle of a dangerous situation. His time with the ANBU had taught him that.
Looking back over his shoulder at Sakura, Naruto said, "I'm going to check the area. This guy wasn't alone, and my squad hasn't checked in yet. There might still be some danger."
Sakura scowled, before returning her attention to the wounded ninja before her. Stupid baka, she thought. Doesn't he realize how dangerous the Fox's chakra is? How much he changes when he uses it? It's like Sasuke all over again!
She continued her work on the Rock-nin, grumbling under her breath every so often about stupid men and their stupid bull-headedness.