Touketsu Tenshi
(Frozen Angel)
Chapter 2
Shared Warmth
Jiraiya hadn't slept in four days. He watched over the sleeping blond and continued to check his vitals throughout the night. He blamed himself for all of this… for the boy being hunted by mobs in Konoha. If he would have taken up Minato's place as Hokage then maybe he could have prevented it. God knows Sarutobi is too kind but he did his best: but was his best good enough? This is the child of a hero… a child of the greatest Hokage to ever live and no one even knows he exists. He knew life could be cruel but to what extent? This boy was like a son to him… and he wasn't going to let him die.
The days passed and finally Naruto awoke. He scanned the room and smiled while looking to his side. Jiraiya laid next to him sleeping soundly. The dark rings around his eyes were still thick but from the look of the smoldering fire he had been asleep for quite awhile. Naruto thought back to Haku and then he remembered everything. The appearance of Hyourinmaru… The Kiri shinobi... Everything came back to him in a single instant. Was he insane? Or did all of that really happen? The power he felt and the sword forming from simple snowflakes. Is it possible for him to have such a power?
'The soul is a powerful thing' a voice called to Naruto. He felt his body grow cold once again as his eyes flashed a light blue color. Before he knew anything he once again stood before the Dragon known as Hyourinmaru… his materialized soul… 'Do you wish to protect those you love?' the beast asked the boy with shining crimson eyes. Naruto could hardly speak but he managed to nod his head…
'You need not fear me…' the voice said softly… 'Now if you wish to protect those you love then… wake up Naruto!'
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Naruto shot from his sleep looking around the room. Next to him was Jiraiya who also shot up from his sleep feeling the boy move. 'W-was that a dream' he asked himself only to feel Jiraiya wrap his arms around the boy… the man was sobbing slightly as he gripped the child tightly. Naruto felt the warmth of his body and smile… "You're going to smother me Ero-sennin" Naruto said with a chuckle. Jiraiya released him and stared into his eyes… "You're back was bruised and your head was split open… what happened to you Naruto?"
Naruto's gaze fell from Jiraiya's and he concentrated on the smoldering fire. Should he tell him everything? What if he left him alone… what if he called him a monster… wait, was he a monster? He actually killed a man… 'I killed a man' Naruto said with shocked eyes…
"I-I killed a man…" Naruto said with tears in his eyes. He looked up to Jiraiya who look just as shocked. "H-He was killing Haku… I…"
Before Naruto could continue he felt Jiraiya pull him into a soft hug. Naruto simply let it all out as his emotions raged on. Sadness, confusion and depression all came out of the young child along with the tears that soaked Jiraiya's jacket. The white haired sannin simply sighed while patting the child on the back… "Naruto… tell me everything" and he did. Jiraiya was in awe as Naruto told him about the voice in his head. He thought it could be the Kyuubi at first but… there was no way he could of already weakened the seal… he was only 10 years old.
"You think I'm crazy!" Naruto said softly while looking away only to hear Jiraiya laugh. That was the last thing on his mind… "This has me wanting to train you more kid! I almost lost you… and whatever gave you power is practically my hero! Now… cheer up and get some rest, starting tomorrow we are training none stop on the basics!" Naruto nodded which to Jiraiya's surprise was strange. Usually the boy would be jumping up and down at the thought of training but… now… he just seemed determined…
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Six months have passed since the two began finishing his full extent of basic training. The boy knew everything from how to dispel genjutsu up to A-rank all the way to the basic Taijutsu. Jiraiya told him as he grew he would develop his own style of hand-to-hand combat. Jiraiya began scanning through a few scrolls he had with him and found a few that he thought would suit the boy perfectly.
"Naruto… first off I'm going to teach you a jutsu my last student was known for… the Shadow Clone Technique…" Naruto simply nodded while listening to his father figure… the boy hadn't been the same sense he lost Haku which was beginning to bother Jiraiya. All he wanted to do was grow stronger but… at what cost?
"From there you'll learn a lower level version of the Clone Great Explosion… we'll just call it the Clone Explosion, after that I'll teach you everything, from henging to kunai and shuriken cloning, better known as the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique. After that we will move onto elemental chakra training and, my personal favorite, my Hari Jizou no Jutsu (Underworld Spike Guardian Technique) but right now our number one objective is you learning the Shadow Clone Technique"
Naruto nodded while looking at the scroll. He quickly memorized the hand seals and began pumping chakra through his body…
"Once your chakra has calmed and is stabilized… release it with the hand seals…" Jiraiya said calmly watching his adopted son. Naruto had sweat dripping from his chin as he concentrated with his eyes shut. He told himself that he couldn't waste time, he needed to get stronger… but for what? All he had was Jiraiya now and he was fully able to protect himself… why was he fighting so hard to get stronger… he felt his concentration slipping and began to curse himself… frustration was overwhelming him as he thought about losing his only friend… 'Why am I fighting to get stronger?'
'Everyone has a purpose' a voice echoed through his mind… his own voice… he then remembered what he had told Haku…
'That's right… everyone has a purpose in life… I just need to find mine!'
Naruto's eyes hot open as his lips spoke the incantation of the jutsu. The area was filled with smoke which seemed to shock Jiraiya completely and totally… He looked to see an easy 100 clones smiling back at the sannin and he couldn't help but smile. The boy was simply remarkable…
"Well done… now… let's move on!" Jiraiya yelled, making nod the one hundred and one blond-haired boys. Jiraiya just sweat dropped and sighed…
'And I thought one Naruto nodding was annoying…'
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Another six months had passed since they began his advanced training and Jiraiya now stood smirking at the eleven year old boy. He stood across from his with his hair pulled back into a ponytail smirking at his master. This was the first time Jiraiya promised to actually duel with him head on but he couldn't help but be afraid to harm the child. Naruto looked on calmly while pulling a kunai from his pouch. Jiraiya noticed this and decided it was time to start. He vanished and appeared next to Naruto with a wide grin on his face. Naruto's eyes widened as he lunged a kunai towards his heart and was shocked as it broke through the skin… Jiraiya's eyes grew wide as he looked up at Naruto face only to see him smile… "A shadow clone?" Jiraiya said only to feel the area around him grow heavy… 'No! it's a…' before he could finish his thought the clone lit with explosive chakra and burst sending the sannin back with his cloths hard… He was flabbergasted as the child charged at him with a huge amount of water forming behind him.
The boy had mastered water manipulation in a total of five days using the Shadow Clone Technique. He seemed to resemble the Nidaime when it came to Suiton jutsu. Jiraiya inhaled deeply while spitting toad oil into the water giving it a brown tint as he jumped over the huge wave falling towards him. He then lunged a few kunai at Naruto but wasn't surprised when he dropped the water jutsu covering the ground in an inch of water just to deflect the attack. He was still a novice when it came to thinking on the spot. Jiraiya smirked while taking a deep breath and jumping up in a tree "Katon: Great Fireball Technique!" he yelled. Naruto was surprised that the attack wasn't directed towards him but in front of him… he then knew what he had done, he turned the area into fuel for a fire… he reacted as fast as he could but wasn't fast enough… Jiraiya watched as he mumbled something before the flames collided with the ground lighting he entire area…
'Did he…' Jiraiya paused while looking through the flames to see Naruto covered in a small layer of spikes… 'He did well but… it's over… Hari Jizou' he said to himself while sending his hair out. It wrapped tightly around the boy and pulled face to face with the sage.
"You've almost learned everything I have to teach… now all you need is experience" Jiraiya said with pride in his tone before releasing the boy. Naruto smirked while slightly hugging Jiraiya. "Thank you…" he said softly feeling Jiraiya arms wrap around him. "Now we need to make a trip before we return to the village… at this speed Sarutobi will get pissed when we are late"
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Naruto and Jiraiya spent the next few days traveling to the Kumogakure no Sato, the Hidden Village in the Clouds. Konoha was to be hosting the Chunin Exams this year and didn't plan on having more enemies than the ones they already had. Suna had signed a peace treaty and now all the needed was Kumogakure and possibly Kirigakure but he highly doubted that the civil war struck country would join. Finally after climbing high and high into the mountains they made it. The tower of the Raikage's mansion could be seen in the distance but… before they could celebrate a group of Kumo's ANBU Black Ops appeared around. Jiraiya sighed while holding his hands out. He didn't want any trouble…
"State your names and purpose…" a female voice called out from behind a blank ANBU mask.
"The name's Jiraiya, Sannin of the Hidden Village of the Leaf. I'm here to speak with the Raikage about a treaty. You should have gotten a scroll about it." The sage said with a hint of pride. Naruto stood silent as they turned their attention towards the boy at his side. His clothing was that of a shinobi's but he was only 10 maybe 11. He had black Shinobi issue pants and black straw sandals. His torso was covered in a black tight long sleeved shirt that ran all the way up his neck. He had a sleeveless white vest with a high collar and a orange spiral on the back of it. The women couldn't make out exactly what was underneath the vest but it looked like two orange straps that made and 'X' across his torso…
"And you are?" they asked
"Naruto Uzumaki… he's my adopted son…"
They all looked at each other and nodded before signaling them to follow.
The walk up to the Raikage's office was ridiculous. The tower itself was practically part of the mountain but finally they made it. The ANBU opened the door only to hear a very stern voice screaming…
"I can't believe you brother! Of all things unholy you would try you decided to teach her THAT!" the muscle man of Kumogakure no Sato yelled at his younger brother, the second muscle man in the village. Naruto felt the blood drain from his face as he glared at the men. They where monsters!
"WHAT IS IT!" the Raikage yelled to his ANBU only to see the two visitors… "Who the hell are they?"
"These are the men from Konoha that wanted to speak with you about the treaty" the women said while glaring back at them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Raikage-sama… I am Jiraiya" before he could finish the Raikage let out a growl. "Ahhh yes… so this is the man who trained the Fourth Hokage… that man was almost as fast as me…" the huge man laughed only to hear Jiraiya snicker… "Yeah… when he wasn't using his Hiraishin…"
"What was that?" the Raikage yelled only to feel his younger brother place a hand on his shoulder... "Calm down brother… please take a seat… our village is a bit crazy at the moment… I tried teaching my student how to control her tailed beast's chakra and… it ended badly" Killer Bee said while sighing, but little did he notice Naruto's attention was grabbed "Wait there is another container here?"
Killer Bee smirked while looking at the boy long and hard… "Yes… I'm one of them is there a problem?" he asked along to see Naruto smile… "Of course not! I've never met someone like me!"
The Raikage and his brother's attention was now on the child as Jiraiya sighed… "Naruto… can you excuse use for a little while I need to speak with them… I'm sure your ANBU here can watch after him" Jiraiya asked pointing to the blond women that escorted them in.
The Raikage nodded while Naruto sighed and walked from the room. Jiraiya knew were this was going and didn't want Naruto to be in the room. The last thing he needed was hundreds of questions about the Kyuubi.
"So your apprentice is the child in whom your former student sealed the most powerful of the tailed beasts inside? Wow…" Killer bee said softly.
"Yes… but that's now why we are here, so please… can we continue?"
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Naruto sighed while walking through the streets of the village. He could see smoke from the north valley of the village but paid no attention to it. The air here was very clean to his surprise and he felt like he could fly… maybe that's how those goons got so huge! He thought to himself while walking down the trail. He could feel the ANBU in the shadows but paid them no attention. Ahead of him he could hear a woman yelling and decided to go and see what the big deal was. He arrived to see a small girl in a dirty drown kimono that seemed to be burned slightly on the sleeves and ends… from the skin he could see on her she had a few burn marks but the main thing that caught his attention was the amount of sadness he could see in her eyes. The woman continued to curse her for a matter he knew nothing about until he approached her. He gave the woman a glare which seemed to work... she turned her nose up and began walking away from the two. The crying child looked up at the shadow over her. He couldn't off been anymore than one year younger than her but… he had a strong presence about him… which scared her. On the other hand Naruto couldn't help but blush slightly. After all, he had never seen a girl so beautiful… and attractive…
"S-Stay away!" she yelled shocking Naruto. He felt like he was looking in a mirror. The only different was the people here didn't rush to beat her ever chance they had but… why was she so scared…
"Stay away!" she yelled in anger. She didn't deserve this! She was just trying to make her big brother happy… but how could he ever be happy with her being so useless...
"Wow… I mean you no harm I swear!" Naruto said waving his arms around. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a container with a special cream of Jiraiya's. "I'm just going to help you with those burns… they look like they hurt… and a beautiful girl such as yourself shouldn't be crying" Naruto said with a smile. He noticed a blush on her face as he dipped his finger in the cream and placed a small amount on a burn she had on her cheek. "Is that better?" he asked while handing the container to her. She nodded while looking up to him and smiled… "My names Yugito Nii…" She said softly…
Naruto smiled while putting his hand down to her. Something about this blond-haired beauty seemed to make the child happy. He felt like his old self…
"My name's Naruto Uzumaki… why don't you come with me"
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"S-So you're from Konoha?" the girl asked softly. She couldn't seem to look up at him without blushing… Naruto smiled while placing his hands behind his head. It was nice to talk to someone that wasn't Jiraiya…
"Yea… born and… well born" Naruto said with a slight slow in his tone. She could feel the touchiness of the subject and decided to save it for another time. Before the two knew what had happened they were in the smoking valley walking away from the village. The ANBU woman following them paused only to hear an order come over her ear piece… 'Should I leave them?' she said only to hear a yelling tone in the background. The Raikage always did have a way with words… she vanished leaving the children alone after following them for 3 hours…
Yugito paused in her movement while looking over the area and gripping her chest. The destruction of this valley was all her fault… She shouldn't be around him or she might end up being hated by him, why was she with him anyways? Why did she feel safer and more comfortable?
"I know what you're thinking…" Naruto said softly while looking to the now cloudy sky. She glanced over to him to see him staring into the sky with a sad grin on his face… what was he?
"Believe me when I say… we aren't monsters…" His eyes lit with shock… what did he mean by we? And how did he know what she was…
Before she knew it they had been walking in silence for at least 20 minutes and her attention was pulled to the sky as her hair began to stand. The dark sky began to cry as the raindrops began to fall down on them. The young girl began to panic and gripped Naruto's arm, making the blond-haired boy blush slightly.
'She is so warm… and soft… what the hell am I thinking? I just met her some minutes ago! ' Naruto said to himself before Yugito interrupted his thoughts…
"We have to find cover… storms here are like death traps if you're caught outside the village… lightning will turn us to crisp if we don't find a place to hide…"
Naruto listened to the panicking girl and followed her. They weren't having much luck until Naruto came to a sliding stop… "There's a cave" he yelled as the rain drenched them to the bone. He looked to the sky only to see flashes of lightning skipping across the clouds…
"Oh no!" he yelled while gripping her arm tightly… She watched Naruto pulled her into his chest and held a hand out while closing his eyes. All the watch on the ground around them began to form an orb… he could feel the wet hair on his neck standing up as could she… 'Oh god' she thought as the sound of thunder echoed through the air and the flash of lightning blinded them. Naruto yelled while shooting the water into the air before pulling her from her feet and diving into the cave. All the lightning that was directed at them diverted to the water orb turning it into steam….
Yugito was clenched to the blonde's side while shacking in fear. Her hands seemed to tremble until Naruto made a grunting noise… she opened her eyes to see him on his back blushing heavily… and he had a good reason. The girl placed her hands on her face while yelling… "Baka!"
There was an echo throughout the cave of the girl's hand slapping across the chuckling boy's cheek… she sat inches from him her hands on her legs and a completely embarrassed expression. Naruto sat up next to her while smiling. The sun would be going down soon… he needed to find something to burn to keep them warm until the rain stopped… he quickly pulled out a hand full of empty scrolls and placed them on the floor…
"Oh crap! I don't have anything to…" before he could finish Yugito took a deep breath and released a small Katon flame from her lips catching the pile of scrolls on fire. Naruto tilted his head while smiling. "That works too… now why don't you tell me about your life since we should have some time…"
Yugito's expression fell from its embarrassed state into a depressed smile as she remembered her past… "I never had parents… my mother and my father both died sealing the beast inside of me. They hoped it would help me survive instead of me dying along with them, but they didn't know how lonely I would be. Even after Killer Bee found me I still felt emptiness in my chest. I would see other children with their families and feel like I would never be happy. I never made friends even with the Raikage and his brother at my side. They all said it was because I was like a time bomb… and today I proved it… all I wanted was to actually have someone to talk to and play with and…" Before she could finish Naruto interrupted her…
"I know… you wanted to feel loved…" he said while looking into the fire… "My story is pretty much the same except I never met my parents…" Naruto paused as she looked over at him. He didn't notice her hand on top of his as she moved closer to him… the cave was still cold even with the fire.
"My birth is on the 10th of October… the worst day of my life"
"What beast is inside of you?" she asked softly still looking into his eyes that stayed glued to the flame. "The Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi inside of me…"
Yugito felt her body tense up… the thought of the pain she felt when losing control of her beast and multiplying it by 100 was almost too horrible to imagine.
"On my birthday every year the villagers would blame me for the deaths of their families, for the death of m… the Fourth Hokage. I never knew why up until Jiraiya saved me. I was actually ready to die. All I wanted to do was dream about my family and sleep forever, but then I met a boy named Haku in the time I have spent with Jiraiya…"
Naruto explained everything… except the power he had inside of him that is… Naruto felt his eyes growing heavy as he stared into the fire… he could see his breath and was beginning to shiver until feeling someone leaning against him. His eyes began to shut but before he managed to welcome his dreams he felt a huge amount of heat on his chest… It felt nice…
Yugito had fallen asleep and unconsciously pulled herself over to the boy for warmth… and to feel… something else… She smiled while mumbling in her sleep… "I'm so glad I met you… Naru-Kun…"
TBC
