oOo
CHAPTER II
(Crystalline Tear)
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=(^^)=
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Things only have value if there is someone who wants it. An object seen as trash by so many can be a hidden treasure to the right eyes. And sometimes, just on occasion, trash can become treasure…
To those who find a different perspective.
oOo
Having not eaten before joining her Sensei on the bridge, turned out to be beneficial for Sakura. Otherwise she would have wasted Tsunami's delicious cooking. As it was, it took everything she had to keep from bending over and dry heaving her stomach inside out. The surreal smell of raw meats and coppery blood, was just a depth to the gore that was hard to not focus on.
What had just happened?
One minute she is staring in horror at her Sensei putting a fist through her stupid teammate and the next, said teammate shreds the man that single handedly monopolized the trading industry in Wave country. Her teammate, who should be dead, killed a man in cold blood without so much as a twitch to his furry tail.
Yeah… that was weird and brought up a whole slew of questions, ones their Sensei had no answers for. Even more odd was the fact that Naruto's long hair was now silver, several shades lighter than their Sensei! Her hand halted in an aborted twitched toward his unconscious body when a hand landed on her shoulder. Nearly jumping out of her skin, her head snapped up to look at their towering Jonin leader.
"He's just exhausted, where's Sasuke?" He asked. Her expression wilted, turning sad as she mentally cursed herself for momentarily forgetting about the boy she loved.
"I heard that fake hunter-nin say he killed him, Kakashi-Sensei..." She trailed off, not missing the older boy flinch as she stood from crouching next to Naruto.
"My name is Haku…" The boy said taking a couple steps out of Zabuza's reach, even for the Kubikiribōchō, with its impressive length. "And your teammate is still alive."
"Damn it brat, how many times do I have to tell you to quit going soft on people." Zabuza growled, managing to grab Haku around the neck and mess his hair up, though his words didn't hold any heat in them. "And what was with that stunt you pulled, huh? What good is a tool that's dead?"
If his voice cracked a little, Sakura wasn't sure if it was from emotion or all the yelling he had been doing. Haku's sad smile was telling enough, it was Zabuza's way of showing he cared without ruining his tough-guy image.
He wasn't fooling her, no matter how strange it was to be staring fondly at a man who had just been trying to kill them…
"I'm sorry that I failed you Zabuza-sama." Haku hung his head and earned himself a lump on the noggin for his troubles.
"We're alive, that's all that matters." Sakura heard the former Kirigakure shinobi say as her Sensei returned carrying a dead looking Sasuke.
"What will it take to revive him?" Kakashi asked and she hated how pale her love was, unnaturally peaceful looking…
Yet it wasn't quite as urethral as whatever happened to Naruto. His tan skin warm looking and his silver hair almost translucent if you were to look closely enough. The two boys, laid side by side were polar opposites, light and dark, yin and yang, crunchy and smooth… not wait, that last one was peanut butter…
Oh.
Her appetite had returned.
"If I may?" Haku asked, explaining to Kakashi which senbon to remove first to cause as little pain as possible.
Finally carding her fingers through Naruto's hair, they found one of the strange ears hidden among the strands. It felt just like a dog or a cat ear, it was soft and yet rigid enough to stand on its own. His normal ears were gone, she noted, as she felt around the smooth flesh at the juncture of his jaw and skull where they used to be.
"Sensei, is Naruto and Sasuke going to be alright?" She asked, pulling her hand from his hair and looking to the silver haired Jonin.
He sighed, running a hand through his own unruly hair, the other one stuffed in his pants pocket. "Sasuke will be fine with a little rest. As for Naruto, I'm not sure. I can honestly say I've never seen anything like this before."
"Because I'm just awesome like that." Naruto groaned, his hand going to his head as he sat up with a wince. "Ow, what happened, my head hurts?"
"What do you remember?" Kakashi asked, looming over them and Sakura stood, dusting her dress off.
"Huh… that jerk in the mask, he killed Sasuke!" Naruto panicked, looking to Sasuke and then spotting Haku, he jumped to his feet as if to lunge at him, only to pause when their Sensei grabbed his collar.
"Sasuke is alive, he was just in a death like state." Kakashi explained calmly and Naruto visibly sagged in relief.
"Oh." Naruto said lamely, standing up straight, there was a visible shift and he stepped out of their Sensei's grip, turning to look forlornly at Gatō. "I remember now… I'm glad everyone is alright."
"Naruto, I'm sorry for-" Kakashi began to say and Naruto shook his head, cutting him off.
"It's not your fault and it isn't Haku's either. I hadn't planned on getting dragged along for the ride when I tried to stop Haku from going, but I don't regret it either."
It was the most serious Sakura had seen Naruto, almost as if he were a completely different person. The two former Kiri-nin, who had wandered off to gather their weapons, seemed to finally notice that Naruto was up and Haku hedged just close enough to carry polite conversation, but by no means close enough to be considered welcome company. Naruto gave him the most stunning small smile, one she had never seen him make before. It was gentle and far from the boisterous one he usually gave her.
He actually meant it, she realized.
"I'm sorry I made you believe your friend was dead." Haku said meekly and Sakura tilted her head curiously at the boy… huh, usually she liked the pretty boys, but she felt nothing for the fake hunter-nin. Maybe it was because he hurt her Sasuke-kun.
'Cha! I'll never forgive him!' Inner-Sakura ranted.
"It's alright, he isn't dead and all is forgiven." Chuckling, Naruto scratched the back of his head and the smile she was used to returned, the one where you could hardly see his eyes.
That smile just pissed her off and she couldn't believe she might have thought, even for a second, that Naruto was handsome.
'Like Naruto-baka could ever be on the same level as Sasuke-kun. Who is he to decide that we're just going to forgive that cretin! I'll show him!' Inner-Sakura pounded her fist into the palm of her other hand.
"Naruto, do you know what happened to your appearance?" Sensei asked, though he looked hesitant to do so in front of someone who was an enemy.
"Yes." Picking at the dried blood and frayed edges of his destroyed jacket, he didn't look as if he were going to continue.
"Care to elaborate? Because it's very odd that you suddenly have cat ears and a tail." Kakashi intoned, it sounded accusing despite the calm, mild, almost bored manner he asked.
"I'm no cat, I have more in common with your canine friends than I do felines." Naruto sneered and it was almost strange seeing the look on his face.
It was something she expected from an Hyuuga or Sasuke-kun.
"You're going to make this as difficult as possible, aren't you?" The friendly air about their Sensei was gone and Naruto sighed.
'Cha! Just spit it out already!' Inner-Sakura snapped and she couldn't help but agree with herself.
"No." Naruto fiddled with a strand of hair between clawed fingers before dropping it. "That wasn't my intention, but what I have to say isn't easy to explain and likely to be taken in the worst possible way. Considering who I am, what I am, can you honestly believe I am going to be welcome back to the village looking as I do? The irony, this isn't even the fox's fault, but genetics."
'Huh?' Inner-Sakura blinked in confusion, but outwardly could only stare in dumbly at them.
Sakura looked between her teammate and their Sensei, they were talking about something and she wasn't quite getting it. Did Naruto have a kekkei genkai? And what did that have to do with foxes?
"What do you mean, Naruto?" She asked, finally fed up with the silent staring contest the two males were having with a shy Haku stuck in between.
"I am a Jinchuuriki, do you know what that means?" Naruto asked, suddenly breaking eye contact with Kakashi and looking at her sadly when she nodded. "I hold the Kyūbi no Kitsune and Kakashi-Sensei is likely thinking the fox has taken over my body."
"WHAT!" She shrieked, looking to her Sensei in a panic, hoping that Naruto was making it up. The solome expression was answer enough. "B-but I thought the Yondaime Hokage killed it!" She challenged, logic hadn't failed her yet and Naruto flinched.
"She, Kyūbi is a vixen, all nine tailed foxes are." There was a playfulness in Naruto's eyes when he said this, but how was she to know what was so amusing? "And the Yondaime could not kill a Bijuu, they are chakra constructs, they have no physical form and can only be contained, hence the Jinchuuriki."
It made sense in a twisted way and Sakura wondered how she had never figured it out before. They taught about the Bijuu and their Jinchuuriki in the academy. Now that she thought back on it, she was sure the texts stated the Yondaime defeated the Kyūbi, no where did it say he killed it. Naturally they had all assumed defeat meant death, drawn their own conclusions to the half truth and omission of information… likely, that was the point.
"Is that why the villagers stare the way they do? Why my mom, oh Kami, my mom knew!" Sakura raged, not at her annoying teammate, but at her own parents! How could they have encouraged her to treat Naruto so badly when he had been nothing but nice to her. Sure, some of it was her own stupidity, for not seeing and allowing his abrasively blunt way of looking at things to bother her. "What kind of parents let their child be used for something like that?" She demanded hotly at no one in particular and didn't expect an answer.
"The dead kind." A scratchy voice replied and she looked down, startled, at Sasuke who was attempting to sit up.
"Sasuke-kun, how long have you been awake?" She asked, crouching down to help him, only to be brushed off.
"Long enough to hear we've been lied to our whole lives." Dully he ran his fingers under one of his eyes. "Not surprising really, part of the shinobi life is covering up how things really happened. We lie to gloss over the atrocities we perform to keep people from panicking." He huffed, pushing himself to his feet, or attempted to and gave Haku a withering glare when he failed.
"I'm sorry, you were stronger than I expected, there shouldn't be any lasting damage." Haku mumbled encouragingly.
"Hn."
"Well, I can assure you all, my new appearance has nothing to do with the Kyūbi, Sensei can check that the seal is still in place for himself." Naruto lifted his shirt and channeled chakra, making the seal appear.
"So what, you're trying to say you inherited a kekkei genkai? Last time I check Uzumaki were known for their sealing abilities, not their bloodline." Sasuke snorted in disbelief and Kakashi seemed to be less wary seeing the seal still in place, though he was no expert it looked undamaged.
"Well in a manner of speaking, yes." Naruto said with a mysteriously playful smirk. It made it hard for Sakura to stay mad at him, not when she wanted to know what he was hinting at more than her urge to pummel him. "The Uzumaki were known to have longevity and such vast chakra stores that some were able to manifest them into physical weapons. It wasn't as obviously a kekkei genkai as say, the sharingan, but it was passed down through genetics, so there is that..."
'That has nothing to do with why you have a tail!' Inner-Sakura growled, frothing at the mouth in frustration.
"But Naruto, your appearance changed." Sakura pointed out timidly, ignoring her inner and was secretly pleased when their Sensei nodded in agreement.
"That and how do you know so much about the Uzumaki? A week ago you didn't even know what the tree climbing exercise was." Kakashi accused and Naruto just continued giving them that small smirk.
"That's because I didn't inherit just the Uzumaki kekkei genkai, of course, though it does play a large factor in my recently physical appearance, no doubt. Unless you knew who my parents were, Kakashi-Sensei… then I guess we'll never know."
'The bastard is leading us around on a verbal goose chase!' Sakura mentally growled at her inner.
'Cha! Show him who's boss Sakura!' Inner-Sakura agreed. Sakura was ready to launch herself at her teammate and shake him for information, but was saved the chance when Zabuza joined them, standing just behind Haku.
"Come on kid, we shouldn't hang around any longer, the villagers are bound to show up if we do and I don't want to get into another fight today." The man said and Haku's bottom lip trembled looking back at Naruto, before the slightly older boy slammed her teammate into a bone crushing hug.
'Where did that jerk get off touching her teammate!' Sakura was a little confused at her inner's jealously, but sort of agreed. Weren't they trying to kill each other not ten minutes ago?
"I'm going to miss you Naruto-kun." Haku said, pulling back as a tear slid down his face, he reached up and caught it before it could fall too far. "I want you to have this, to keep sight of your nindo." He handed over a clear-blue gem, almost the same shade Naruto's eyes had been and Naruto leaned in really close.
"Thank you Haku-chan, we'll meet again, it's a promise."
The last thing Sakura saw before passing out from a nosebleed was Naruto kissing another boy on the cheek!
'Cha! Life is good!'
oOo
Naruto turned when he heard a thump to see Sakura on the ground out cold, looking to his Sensei and a traumatised Sasuke, mouth open and eyebrow twitching.
"What's her problem?" He asked, Kakashi shrugged and Sasuke floundered for a moment before pointing.
"Do you make a habit of randomly kissing guys?!" He demanded and Naruto scratched his head.
"You mean when Shikamaru bumped-"
"-Not that dobe, why are you kissing Haku?"
Oh, how to explain that one…
However, Naruto was saved explaining when Haku gave a stunning, if a little impish, grin.
"I lied, I'm not actually a boy." Haku declared happily, pecking Naruto on the cheek in return and turned to trot after a quickly retreating Zabuza.
"Eh… Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto asked tentatively when the Uchiha remained frozen where he stood, the scarecrow that had replaced their Sensei swaying in the cold breeze next to him.
"Hn." Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Sasuke turned and walked off.
'Huh, when did our Sensei leave?' Naruto wondered, looking at the scarecrow, the empty spot Sasuke had occupied and then down at Sakura.
That meant he was the only one left to carry Sakura-chan…
Grinning, he lifted her up and draped her limp form over his shoulder. He had his memories back and got to chivalrously carry a beautiful woman back to the residence they were staying at, hopefully earning him her favor.
'Ah, life was good.'