Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, etc. Borrowing for the purposes of entertainment, procrastination, and basically, escapism.
Warning: Possible spoilers. This chapter as written before manga chapter 244 was released, and everything before is fair game.
Chapter 2: Uzumaki Naruto
Uzumaki Naruto was his name, twenty years old. He had no impressive lineage to boast of, but he was an elite ninja of Konohagokure no Sato. He was neither genius nor adonis, but he was happy that afternoon, for he had friends, mentors, and, of course, ramen in abundance.
One of the said friends was Hinata, who seemed so profoundly sad when he found her in the trail to the western training fields, the one nearest the sprawling Hyuuga property. He knew she wasn't off to train, for her clothes were too delicate for that. In fact, he rarely saw her out of uniform. He wondered why he never remarked on the change the whole time they were together at Ichiraku's.
But of course. He had been the one who talked mostly, and mostly, he talked about himself.
Iruka-sensei once said that having a conversation with Naruto required a skill for hollering. All his friends knew talking with him meant boisterous exchanges and wild antics, which was probably why he was invited to virtually every party and rarely to solemn gatherings.
Hinata was different. She listened to him as if she was interested in, not only what was coming out of his mouth, but in what he was saying. That was not saying that everybody else took him for granted. Hinata simply listened to everyone. She understood well what simple acknowledgment meant to ones soul. Now, that was what many people took for granted.
Naruto had walked her home afterwards. As always, the gates of Hyuuga eventually blocked their path, colossal and forbidding jaws of death that used to intimidate him as a child. Since the Hyuuga estate was a bit more to the northwest of the village, most of the trees surrounding it were evergreens. They towered, too, like mute guards, as if ready to pummel impudent intruders to bits.
Neji had been watching them as they approached. Of course, he knew Neji was watching—he could sense the genius's presence well as they had been comrades for years. For some reason, Naruto had been placated by that; it seemed Neji took his job seriously. Then again, Neji always took his job seriously.
Hinata had started to invite him in, but then had stopped and apologized. Her father would have been displeased if she had visitors at that hour. Furthermore, they were going to dine formally tonight, for they had visitors, nobles from a neighboring fiefdom.
Instantly, Hinata had been engulfed by that inexplicable sadness. Her white eyes became almost... murky. Naruto had bopped her on the elaborate plaiting of her long black hair to snap her out of it, chiding her and telling her not to sweat it since he had other obligations that night, anyway. She had giggled then, but in retrospect, he should have talked to her seriously instead of acting goofy. Tsunade-obaachan would probably smack him for such an insensitive deed.
But Naruto knew that, sometimes, one had to be left alone with ones sadness. One had to experience sorrow in all its entirety, before one can emerge out of its noxious cloud. That's why, instead of vituperating Hinata, he coaxed smiles out of her. Even if her smiles were tainted with sadness, they were still seeds for later happiness.
Satisfied, he was now heading for another estate, one that was located across town. He had been surprised find a note pinned on his apartment door when he got home. It was from Sakura, telling him to go to Sasuke's house that evening. Sasuke never invited people over. The few times Naruto hanged out there were the results of forced entries and fellow drunks in a boys' night out. Team 7 usually gathered at Sakura's house to catch up on each others' lives, where her mother graciously prepared mouth-watering snacks. Of course, a considerable percentage of their missions were accomplished together, anyway. Old genin teams were often put together so as to not waste the team work and dynamics that had years in the making.
Naruto's mission that day, however, the one he grandly and explosively retold to Hinata, was spent with Shino, Lee, and another older chuunin. It was the first mission Naruto lead as a jounin, and all in all, he was fairly satisfied with his performance.
Now that he was jounin, Naruto idly wondered what he'd do next. It's too bad Kakashi-sensei wasn't around to bug anymore. Naruto suspected the gray-haired masked pervert actually took that long mission to escape his daily visits for career counseling (obligatorily free of charge, of course).
As the afternoon dwindled to twilight, Naruto found the people in the streets become progressively thinner. A few blocks later, he was alone. That was how he knew he was nearing Sasuke's house.
Sasuke.
Nowadays, the brooding boy's solitary ways weren't merely self-imposed. People went out of his way reflexively. The fear and suspicion weren't even conscious for most of them, Naruto thought. It was their inner gut feeling that told them to stay clear of Uchiha Sasuke-the same way they stayed clear of Uzumaki Naruto. Of course, with Sasuke they still remembered what happened years ago, how he became missing nin, how he became a minion of Orochimaru, how he almost became Orochimaru. With Naruto, the younger generations did not know about the Kyuubi he carried in his navel, but they inherited the hate they grew up with. Naruto knew it lurked in people's hearts, even as they acknowledge him a hero for playing a major role in the defeat of both Orochimaru and the Akatsuki. But those were just stories for the ordinary people: the Kyuubi, the Uchiha avenger... Truth mixed potently with half-truths and borne monsters that lurked just there under the surface of people's consciousness...brooded there with their secret fears and nightmares.
The aftermath of the Sand's attack from eight years ago had the village reeling. For a while, there weren't even any chuunin or jounin qualification exams held. Naruto himself trained with the sennin of the legendary three, Jiraiya, for three years, simply trying to get stronger and better for Sasuke's second rescue and for his own protection against the S-class missing-nins that plotted to get him and the demon he held prisoner. The others did the same, preparing for the eventuality of Orochimaru's and the Akatsuki's mobilization.
But that was over now, had been for almost five years now. Naruto and Sasuke became jounin the same day, but Sasuke almost didn't make the cut. Understandably, there were still some who didn't trust him.
Naruto shook his head as his blue eyes trained on the lilac skies. The important thing was that they were jounins now. Who cared what people thought? Of course, there was the question that still boggled him: what was he going to do next? He didn't have any ideas. The next step was obviously ANBU, but... he wasn't sure he wanted to be an assassin. But the ANBU were responsible for a variety of things, weren't they? He didn't have to be a killing machine.
One thing's for sure: he couldn't go off gallivanting with the ero-sennin now. Even when he had still been a chuunin, it pissed off Tsunade-obaachan when Naruto suddenly disappeared from the village and she had a mission for him. As jounin, he'd have to be more reliable, Naruto thought to himself solemnly.
The sun was gone now, totally extinguished from the firmament. Yet, there was a sort of leftover glow that eased the transition of day into night. Naruto stood at the empty gardens of the Uchiha property, among the neatly trimmed flowering bushes that lined the lanes that connected the various buildings of the sector. He wondered curiously if that was where Sasuke poured his free time, wondered why his friend chose to associate with ghosts instead of real people.
Lights were flickering on in the various parts of the village, now. Here in the Uchiha sector, there was only one street lamp lit, the one in front of the entrance of the main house. It was another of those giant doorways that were almost gates. It was here Naruto knocked.
Moments later, the door opened. Naruto nearly doubled over in pain.
There was no moon yet. If there was, it was faint and far off and unreal. There was, however, that white light of the lone street lamp, which was touched by the subtlest hint of lavender. Ethereal was the effect, that mix of shadows and artificial light, and she looked even more dreamy and alien and unreachable. For a moment, she was marble come to life, wan and delicate and all sweetness. The unique rose-color, that framed her face gently, contrasted with the little frog earrings of jade, their crystal eyes peering through locks of hair, his gift when she turned twenty-one last March. Somehow, they brought attention to her liquid eyes, those gems that shimmered as they recognized him, anticipating and regal...
And his mind zeroed in on the pain, the tender, fleeting, and unforgiving pain that roiled in his stomach and threatened to bludgeon his heart to oblivion and to the ends of the-
It was foolish and he recovered quickly.
"Sakura-chan!" he whooped triumphantly. "You're wearing gama-chan!"
"Stupid," she replied, sticking her tongue out at him. "If you stay put long enough in this village, you would have noticed earlier."
"How much earlier?" he asked, scratching his head sheepishly.
"Like months?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're taking after Kakashi-sensei, mou! We're already almost finished kneading the third batch."
"Third batch?" he echoed as he entered after her.
She glanced at him askance. "For the cookies, silly. What's wrong with you?"
He was still puzzled, but he laughed, anyway. "Cookies for me?" he joked. "That's great. Really appreciate it."
"You should," she said to his further bemusement, waving him away. "But you know, I was afraid you were out on some adventure with Jiraiya-sama again and that you won't get my note. Hokage-sama was ranting about that just yesterday. You should have seen her."
"Wha!" he burst out indignantly. "Tsunade-obaachan nearly killed me the other day already! What did she want this time?"
"That you stay put, Naruto," she explained patiently. "And how was your mission, Mr. Jounin?"
He grinned broadly. "Excellent, of course. As expected from Uzumaki Naruto!"
"That's great." Then she slapped the back of his head. "Stupid, that's not enough! It's hard enough trying to pry things out of Sasuke-kun. And I here I thought I'd never have to beg you to elaborate. Tell me ever single thing! I'm dying with boredom. You have no idea..." She paused. "But you have to hold the wild horse-chase stories for a while, ne? I was trying to memorize cell counts when you came, and Sasuke-kun couldn't be bothered, so I opened the door for you."
"Cell counts? But-"
"Well, cell counts used in Konoha Hospital is different from the ones used in the field. In the field, medics are forced to do emergency heals. In the hospital, the doctors' goals are different. There are several theories on regrowth of massive tissue obliteration, so there are several sets of cell counts used by various schools of thought..."
She stopped, a vague expression coming to her face. She continued her walk to the Uchiha kitchen, cloaked in utter self-absorption.
Naruto gazed at her back, allowing her to walk a few steps in front of him, ignoring her scholarly mumbles. It imbalanced him greatly, the way the pain blossomed in his chest by simply seeing her that way. To knock on the Uchiha door and see her open it... It was disconcerting.
It was inevitable.
Naruto knew she was the most constant thing Sasuke had in his life. He shouldn't begrudge his oldest friend that, should he? And he had always known, anyway, that Haruno Sakura was and always would be in love with Uchiha Sasuke.
Or was she?
Ironically, if love meant endless chasing and glomping and preening, then Sakura no longer was in love, not the way she was as a pubescent love-struck girl. Somehow, the day Sasuke left-or rather, the day Naruto came back without Sasuke-Sakura decided there were more important things than pining away for a sullen boy, like becoming a medical specialist. Nowadays, she treated Naruto and Sasuke the same, bossed and babied them the same way
But what did that say anyway, thought Naruto. He didn't endlessly vie for Sakura's attention anymore; neither did Lee. Did that say anything about what they truly felt? Even now, he got tempted by the casualness of Sakura towards him—what was there to lose if he dared court her again? And then moments like this woke him up. Don't be stupid, his guts would say. You're over her. But he knew he wasn't.
Sasuke was sitting there, alone in his kitchen, molding dough in his hands with a curious single-mindedness that was almost laughable. Flour dusted his dark, unruly hair, the sleeves of the black shirt he wore under the flak jacket, and the simple midnight blue apron he wore that had—what else?—the emblem of a fan in front. He scowled as the damp mixture stuck to his rolling pin and tore a yawning hole on the dough he was flattening. Sprinkling more flour all over the place, he scraped the sticky mixture off the rolling pin and kneaded it into the dough once again. This time, the flour and egg mixture flattened out prettily on the table, and Sasuke began cutting out various shapes from it. Naruto was staring at him in fascination.
"Dobe, they're raw," he spoke up suddenly. "Don't get any bright ideas."
Because Naruto was Naruto, he flared up at that. "Like I want to be poisoned!" he retorted. "Essence of Sasuke, ewwww..."
Sasuke merely continued punching out shurikens and leaves with his cookie cutter.
"You know, you're pretty good at this," Naruto observed moments later, as Sasuke laid the cookies on buttered trays of aluminum.
"..."
"Where did you learn to bake, huh, Sasuke?"
"..."
Naruto was leaning back against the counter behind the avenger. Bored at the lack of response, he began looking around the kitchen instead. It was then he noticed they were the only two people in there. "Where's Sakura-chan?" he asked.
"Out of my way, wherever she is," replied Sasuke with an indifferent shrug.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at him dubiously. "Out of your way and studying. Uh-huh. So you volunteered to do her baking project."
Sasuke was staring at him. "This is my contribution, you dobe. Or did your bird brain already forget?"
"Everybody keeps saying that," Naruto growled in irritation.
"..."
Forced to concentrate, Naruto thought hard. Then blinked. "Oh, yeah, it's the 9th today!" he crowed excitedly. "Then what are we doing in your house, Zazuge?" Panic spread on his whiskered face. "Holy shit, we gotta do some serious preparation in my pad!"
"Didn't she tell you?" his companion muttered unenthusiastically.
"Tell me what?"
Grumble, grumble.
"What? Speak up, bastard!"
"Your birthday party will be held here," Sakura's voice suddenly came. "Sasuke-kun volunteered to hold it here, since his house is much bigger than mine or yours or Iruka-sensei's."
"Whoa." Naruto was honestly speechless. Afraid he'd break down like a little girl, he pulled himself together and plunged on, cheekily batting his eyelashes at the glowering Uchiha. "Wow. And Sasuke-chan's even baking me cookies!"
"Hey, don't forget about me." Sakura sauntered to the oven. Taking a mitt from the wide pockets of her dress, she opened the oven door and the glorious aroma of freshly baked cookies permeated the room. Naruto swooned.
"Essence of Sasuke," he said weakly, mouth watering.
"Yummy, huh?" And she laughed wickedly.
"Both of you useless scum," broke Sasuke's voice in irritation. "Get out of my way." He stood up, took the hot trays from Sakura, and motioned her away. He laid the pastry-laden tray on the cold counter beside the stove and proceeded in loading in new trays into the oven.
Naruto saw how their hands brushed subtly, how she bit her lip at his icy rejection, how she smiled secretly when he didn't complain about her assistance from behind. But then, she was giggling again. "Isn't he possessive of his kitchen?" she asked Naruto with a smirk. "Only shows how much time he spends here."
"Woman, go away," Sasuke snapped as he transferred the cookies to cooling racks. "Finish what you're supposed to be doing so that you can be useful here."
Sakura sniffed. "He's flaunting it," she complained to Naruto. "Listen to him order us around. Order me around, anyway." She sighed. "Behave, you two."
And she disappeared.
Unlike the two of them, Haruno Sakura was chuunin. She didn't take this year's jounin exams, for she was busy studying for a major exam for medical specialists. She had been preparing for more than a year now. Team 7 supported her all the way, did their best to help her in their own ways.
Speaking of exams...
"You didn't tell her," Naruto suddenly said.
"Tell her what?" Sasuke replied shortly.
"About the jounin exam."
"Why should I tell her?"
"Because it's the sort of thing friends do."
"... she doesn't need to know."
"They weren't fair to you, you know."
"Doesn't matter. In the end, it's the result that counts." He paused. "And it would have been different if I had taken the test alone."
Silence. Naruto decided that this night had given him too many surprises. And this was the scariest. Never mind Sasuke baking, but Sasuke saying... Sasuke telling him...
"Stupid bastard," Naruto finally croaked, breaking the awkward moment. "The words of the Kyuubi kid doesn't weigh much. Where's the Uchiha pride when you need it?"
Sasuke huffed indignantly. "Just shut up and wash those trays, dobe," he ordered instead. "I have other stuff to do. Noodles don't just fall from the sky, you moron."
Naruto did a double-take, jaws hitting the floor. "W-wha?" he said in disbelief. "We're making ramen, too?"
"..."
But Naruto was already doing the victory dance around the kitchen. "WHOOHOOHOO! I knew you guys would see it my way! Life is good! WHOO!"
"..."
"Hey, hey! Who finally convinced you guys to change the menu? Was it Iruka-sensei?"
"..."
"I know, I know! It was Kakashi-sensei. It was his advanced birthday gift to me!"
"..."
"Hinata-chan, then? She's so nice, nobody can resist her! Right? Right!"
"..."
"AAAAH! It has to be TSUNADE-OBAACHAN!"
"Shut the hell up, you're disturbing people!"
"Stupid Zazuge, you don't have neighbors, anyway. Whoo! Do you realize what that means? We can party till dawn tomorrow! And nobody would give a damn! Bwa ha ha! Life is good."
Uzumaki Naruto, age twenty, soon to be twenty one. He had mentors, friends, ramen in abundance, and a party that was going to rock Konohagure no Sato.
Life was good, indeed.
It was said that the night sky was the parchment on which the destiny of men was etched, a glib oracle that prophesied with a certainty that was spear-deep and a duplicity that left one with riddles instead of answers. They would start at a twilight like this, start their days like the beasts of the woods at a time when ordinary men ended theirs, and sit outdoors till the beginnings of morning stained the horizon. Years were spent charting the movement of the planets and constellations across the firmament, through the nights that skittered quickly under the moon and its phases, through the passage of the seasons in its unalterable course. Men had wasted lifetimes trying to decipher the mumbling of the mute stars, trying with all their wisdom and acumen to best Fate in her own game, trying to predict and forestall the inevitable.
Neji himself made it a point to keep his famous eyes on earthly matters, preferably on things that were at his eye level; it was foolish to strain ones neck unnecessarily, after all. Even without activating his Byakugan, the house of Hyuuga loomed large behind his back, as it always would, as he sat atop the walls of the huge property. He had gone there to await the return of the Hyuuga heir, knowing confidently he need not hunt the streets of the village to find her. True enough, just a few minutes ago, before the sun had started setting, he sighted Hinata-sama coming out of a forest trail. With her was none other than Uzumaki Naruto.
Neji had found himself watching them with something akin to interest. Hinata had been barred from going to missions just yesterday, so understandably, she wore civilian clothing, the white fabric of her kimono glowing under the dwindling light. Her face was upturned toward her companion's, watching his animated gesticulations, listening to the chatter that Neji could only hear as a sonorous, sinuating rumble. Naruto was in full-uniform, whiskered grin undiminished by the growing darkness.
A ninja protecting his princess; the image was amusing enough to make Neji snort lightly. Ninjas and princesses were segregated into two different worlds. That was simple fact.
Hinata-sama bowed low in apology as the two reached the gates. Naruto would be a allowed entry, as always, but tonight a servant would respectfully request that the heir's honorable guest change to an attire more suitable for a formal dinner. As expected, Hinata had spared her friend the humiliation, spared herself the implacable stare of her displeased father. As expected, too, Naruto took it all in stride, easing her guilt by rapping a knuckle at the top of her head. The tinkling tones of her laughter floated up to where Neji sat, before dissipating into the wide space of the courtyard below him. Then the two parted, but not before Naruto waved in his direction. Neji simply nodded in acknowledgment.
He had a deep respect for the younger man. To Naruto, he attributed the clarity with which he looked upon the world, the liberty from years and years of bitterness. "Your eyes are better than mine," he had said once to the blond jounin, but it wasn't only that. Naruto had a quirky way of instinctively understanding the most complex, most intangible concepts in the most ridiculously simple terms. Best of all, he could believe-quite stubbornly, in fact.
That was why Neji knew he was going to be trouble.
The ability to dream, to dream and act on those dreams, to face the infinite blue of the skies and see possibilities instead of being overwhelmed by the hindrances was a lesson he would always be indebted to Naruto. Still, Neji was a pragmatist at heart. A bird wouldn't simply slam its body repeatedly against its mesh cage in hopes of tearing it down with force. He knew that some things were slow to change, sometimes didn't at all. Neji thought Naruto would have learned this simple lesson by now. But then, Naruto rarely let things like that get in his way.
And again, Neji felt in his bones that the incorrigible man was going to be trouble.
Hinata was obviously angry about being assigned a bodyguard. She had always been mild-mannered, of course, and to many, it would appear she accepted her loss of freedom stoically. But he saw how she walked out of the house early that afternoon, saw how her eyes were a distant murky gray, saw the hard-set of her jaws, saw the willful pace that hinted at an emerging desperation to run away. Beyond that quiet anger was sadness; she had uncharacteristically donned the white kimono as a sign of mourning.
Neji neither liked nor disliked his assignment. There was a possibility of a conspiracy against the Hyuuga heir afoot. Therefore, the heir had to be protected at all costs. Obviously, Hinata-sama did not believe these conspiracy theories circulating the clan, but she was wise enough to give them the benefit of the doubt. She attributed her near deaths to her weakness, foolish enough to think that others would overlook her, that they would see her in the deprecatory way she saw herself. Ergo, Neji thought, she was angry at herself and sad at her perceived inability to change. Classical Hinata.
But then, it would be interesting to see if anything could actively anger his cousin, particularly concerning her love life. Hinata more than liked Naruto, but the latter was as dense as a rock and Hinata would never make the first move. But that didn't even matter. The question was as simple as what would Naruto do when he found that his friend was going to be commanded to marry his genin cellmate Uchiha Sasuke.
Neji never forgot what Naruto said that time they fought each other in their first chuunin exam. He'd change the Hyuuga, he said. He wasn't Hokage yet, but had that time come?
As compelling as the question was, Neji was wrenched from his reveries. A man was coming out of one of the side gates of the mansion. The man wasn't trying to hide, but he certainly wasn't flaunting the fact that he was out this night of all nights.
Hyuuga Hanatarou was important in the clan. He had strong connections to the village government. He was entrusted to take care of the Hyuuga's interests and was involved in the political ventures of the clan-as that banquet tonight obviously was. Neji himself was expected to be there.
The banquet was going to be held in honor of a prince from the country of Rock and his entourage. He was most likely in search of a wife, like some other noble visitor they have had in the past. And in the past, Neji saw that Hyuuga did not give its daughters up so easily. Which is why he noted how the family was suddenly throwing the heir herself at the feet of the sole-surviving Uchiha.
Neji was ANBU. Needless to say, he could kill a man without that man even knowing. He needed information now and he was going to get it.
He followed Hyuuga Hanatarou as he made his way to the center of the town.
In an alley, as the moon was slowly engulfed by a thick clump of clouds, Hyuuga Hanatarou stopped. Neji tensed, awaiting what the man was going to do next.
"Neji-kun, please show yourself," the older man requested mildly. "I am too old to be jumping up at rooftops."
Neji was impressed. Somewhat. The rooftop was an obvious choice; the alley was narrow, straight, and clean.
"You are wondering why I know you. Indeed, who knows not of your genius?"
Neji smirked. Merely a quick mind, after all, this Hanatarou person. He was wrong about Neji wondering. Neji did not wonder. He waited and observed.
"You want to know my business, of course. Understandably, I seem quite suspicious. But I am only on my way to the home of Uchiha Sasuke, for reasons you already know. Would you like to accompany me?"
Obviously, Neji did not. He was just standing there, a few feet away from him, as he probably discovered when the clouds finally uncovered the moon.
"And you must also be wondering why I stopped here, of all places." He sounded embarrassed. "Mitokado-sama lives just on the next block. He will accompany me as I fulfill my duty to clan and village."
Neji simply turned around.
"It is none of my concern," he said and disappeared, now sure that the stars had nothing to do with Hyuuga Hinata's unfolding destiny.
4:30 011805
Thanks to Seiyo and Midnightcrow for betareading. (Happy birthday, Yachiru ♥)
Thanks to those who commented in Prologue and Chapter 1. You've given a good picture of how this fic reads so far. Thanks, kaiyrah, for the info on Team Gai.
To Bronwen Stx and all readers, welcome. I'll be honored to have you along for the long haul. :D lol
Comments, constructive critisicism, complaints, etc. very welcome.
