Whee! ^_^ Chapter 3 of "Fleeting" has now arrived to Fanfiction sites near you! ^_^
Thanks everyone! It means a lot to me~! ^_^
dregus: Oh yeah! XD
ddcj1990: Naruto will only be paired with Harribel, I'll guarantee that.
Nero Angelo Sparda: Thanks, and it shall be only Naruto/Harribel. Though there will be hints of other pairings as well.
Naginator: All shall be revealed this chapter! XD
ultima-owner: Sadly, yes. -_-
unrealwarfang: Oh really now? O.O Never knew I could be inspirational. But thanks! ^_^
PathOfTheWriter: I'm glad you took the time to read my story, even after so many times. ^_^ Thanks! :}
The Man: I'm glad to know that. ;)
andrew7303: Well here's more then! ^_^
Kevin: Thanks, and I'll keep an eye out for my mistakes!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach. I don't own the song I used. I don't own anything, OKAY? *Tears fall*
Exanime's Challenge Prompt:
We know that the Shinigami sealed the Kyuubi no Yoko inside of Naruto perfectly. But what if he made a mistake that would result in the birth of a new kekkai genkai for Naruto? We all know that Tia Harribel didn't die at least that's what the manga seems to tell us. What if she did die though? What if Kami offered her a choice at a new life? Born on or around the day of Kyūbi's attack on Konoha, Tia Harribel's new mission from Kami is to be a friend to one Naruto Uzumaki. To teach him how to control a kekkai genkai that they both now have. What will happen between them as they grow up to become Konoha's first living Arrancar and Konoha's first Arrancar Jinchūriki.
Enjoy Chapter 3 of "Fleeting"!
Valjean : One day more!
Another day, another destiny.
This never-ending road to Calvary;
These men who seem to know my crime
Will surely come a second time.
One day more!
Marius: I did not live until today.
How can I live when we are parted?
Valjean: One day more!
Marius & Cosette: Tomorrow you'll be worlds away
And yet with you, my world has started!
Éponine: One more day all on my own.
Marius & Cosette: Will we ever meet again?
Éponine: One more day with him not caring.
Marius & Cosette: I was born to be with you.
Éponine: What a life I might have known.
Marius and Cosette: And I swear I will be true!
Éponine: But he never saw me there!
Enjolras: One more day before the storm!
Marius: Do I follow where she goes?
Enjolras: At the barricades of freedom!
Marius: Shall I join my brothers there?
Enjolras: When our ranks begin to form
Marius: Do I stay; and do I dare?
Enjolras: Will you take your place with me?
All: The time is now, the day is here!
Valjean: One day more!
Javert: One more day to revolution,
We will nip it in the bud!
I will join these little schoolboys
They will wet themselves with blood!
Valjean: One day more!
M. & MME. THENARDIER: Watch 'em run amuck,
Catch 'em as they fall,
Never know your luck
When there's a free for all,
Here a little `dip'
There a little `touch'
Most of them are goners
So they won't miss much!
Student 1: One day to a new beginning
Student 2: Raise the flag of freedom high!
Student 1: Every man will be a king
Student 2: Every man will be a king
Student 1: There's a new world for the winning
Student 2: There's a new world to be won
All: Do you hear the people sing?
Marius: My place is here, I fight with you!
Valjean: One day more!
Marius & Cosette: I did not live until today.
Éponine: One more day all on my own!
Marius & Cosette: How can I live when we are parted?
Javert (overlapping): I will join these people's heroes
I will follow where they go
I will learn their little Secrets,
I will know the things they know.
Valjean: One day more!
Marius and Cosette: Tomorrow you'll be worlds away
Éponine: What a life I might have known!
Marius and Cosette: And yet with you my world has started
Javert: One more day to revolution
We will nip it in the bud
We'll be ready for these
Schoolboys
THENARDIERS (overlapping): Watch 'em run amok
Catch 'em as they fall
Never know your luck
When there's a free-for-all!
Valjean: Tomorrow we'll be far away,
Tomorrow is the judgment day
Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store!
One more dawn,
One more day
One day more!
~" One Day More" from the Musical version of the novel Les Misérables. I seriously recommend the musical/movie/book, or even listen to a version of the song. I like the 2012 movie version the best! ^_^~
"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever."
― Lance Armstrong, Every Second Counts
~ Konohagakure – 8 years Later ~
It was sunset, the most beautiful time of the day, or as many believes. In Konohagakure, the sunset was beautiful at a certain time. This day was no exception. The majestic sunset sent streaks of purple, red, and orange across the horizon. The breeze carried a brisk, clean air throughout the village. On top of Hokage Mountain, two figures sat on the Yondaime's stone head, enjoying each other's company and watching the sunset.
"Look at that…..it's beautiful!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he pointed the setting sun in the west. Harribel glanced at him with happy green orbs, bliss shining within them.
"Truly." She whispered as she sat back and watched the glowing sunset, reliving the memories Naruto and she shared since the past eight years, when they met and began going to the ninja academy.
~ Series of Flashbacks – Beginning One- 8 years ago ~
"Alright, class, today we shall learn how to properly spar!" Iruka announced as he looked down at his roll sheet. "Naruto, Sasuke, would you two come up?"
"YEAH!" Naruto exclaimed as he rushed up to the circle, and Harribel sighed from her spot. The fool never learned from the talks she gave him. Sasuke walked up with a happy grin, and prepared to fight.
"All right. To properly start a spar, the two opposing participants must shake hands." Naruto and Sasuke approached each other, and shook hands. "Good. Now one of you goes to each side of the circle, then the spar starts. Now we're going to do a test spar with you two. Taijutsu only and BEGIN!"
Sasuke obviously had an advantage, as he was from the Uchiha clan. As expected, he beat Naruto pretty quickly.
That was the day when a new rivalry was formed. A deadly, and fatal rivalry.
~ End of First Flashback ~
Harribel smiled at that memory. She remembered that day clearly. Naruto had sulked the rest of the day, and Hinata fussed over the scratches and bruises Sasuke left on the sunny blonde. Naruto never did get over that day.
In Naruto's head, he was mourning the loss of his old friend, the orange jumpsuit. It had done him well, until Harribel's personal teacher; a woman named Yūgao, had literally set the jumpsuit on fire, and held a small bonfire with hot dogs. Naruto had cried on end for hours, until Yūgao, Ino, and Harribel took him shopping for an entire new outfit.
~ Flashback- 6 Years Ago ~
"Naruto, get out of the corner!" Harribel said, stifling her laughter, as Naruto rocked himself back and forth in the corner of the room. Sobs escaped from his, as he turned around with a demonic looking face.
"NO! Not until you bring my precious jumpsuit back!" Naruto cried out, comedic anime tears streaming down his face. Currently, he was clad in only boxers, and he was making the residents of the Yamanaka household uneasy. Inoichi and his wife had left the room a while back, trying to flee the awkward atmosphere. Ino lounged on the couch, reading a kunoichi fashion magazine. On the opposite couch, Yūgao was laughing her own ass off.
"C'mon. How do you expect not to be killed in that thing? We need to take you shopping, and on me!" Yūgao exclaimed as she stood up, a maniacal and evil grin on her face. Naruto gulped in fear, and tried to melt into the wall. Of course, it didn't work.
"Ooh…..Can I come?" Ino asked, her blue eyes gleaming with mischief, anticipating Naruto's torture in her mind.
"Sure." Yūgao said as she stood up and stretched, and glanced at Harribel.
"How are we going to get him out of that corner then?" Harribel said as she motioned to the boy cowering in the corner, her eyebrow rose questionably.
"Simple task." Yūgao smirked as the three of them cornered the young boy, who let out a girly shriek of terror.
~ An hour later ~
"Try this on!" Ino demanded as she waved a kimono in front of Naruto's face.
Naruto made an awkward face as he stared at it. "But….But….it's pink…."
"Who gives a damn?!" Ino shrieked as she shoved it into Naruto's face. "Try the damn thing on!"
"Ino…." Harribel started, her tone was reprimanding. "Mother would hate for you to use that language you picked up from father. I would love to be the one to tell her about this." Harribel smirked at the end of that, and Ino let out another banshee shriek.
"Oh no you don't!" Releasing the horrid pink kimono, Ino lunged for Harribel's throat, but Harribel easily dodged, and Ino went flying into the wall. "Ow…" She moaned as she rubbed her sore head.
"I've got clothing!" Yūgao sang as she entered the dressing room. "Hey, where's Naruto?" She asked when she glanced around the small room, and saw no sign of the blonde.
"Look what you did!" Ino shrieked as she pointed an accusing finger at Harribel, who was innocently looking at her. "It's your entire fault!"
"Now, now!" Yūgao scolded Ino. "It's not nice to point fingers at people!" Ino sputtered in response, but she was ignored.
"I found Naruto…." Harribel stated blankly as she pointed her own figure at a ball hunched behind the door. Naruto somehow made him small and skinny enough to fit behind the door.
"Kid, you ain't escaping us." Yūgao scolded him as she pried him off the wall, and placed the poor boy at the center of the room. Naruto whimpered at the pile of clothes in Yūgao's hands, and hell began.
Several hours later, a whole lot of clothes, and anger, the three girls stared at the lone boy, who had an extreme look of fear on his face. He was clothed in a new outfit, and all three were staring with dumbstruck expressions.
"Girls, I think this is it." Yūgao said with awe, and Harribel and Ino nodded with somewhat dumbstruck looks.
"Never thought I'd see the day when Naruto looked decent." Ino gave her approval with a nod.
"…" Harribel didn't need to say anything. It was perfect on Naruto.
Naruto now wore black hakama pants, and a white sleeveless top. The top had a Chinese design to it, with a red collar, but the top also was loose fitting, so it would be perfectly suited for battle conditions. Naruto wore black shinobi sandals, armguards, and his normally spiky hair was tamed. It hung to his ears, in its blonde glory.
"We did well, girls!" Yūgao stated as the four of them did a group high five. Hell, even Naruto happened to like the outfit. It was a rather successful group action.
~ End of that flashback ~
Naruto let out a sniffle at the thought if his beloved companion, the orange jumpsuit.
"Rest in peace, Yolanda." He murmured in loving memory of his precious orange jumpsuit, who apparently was named 'Yolanda' now. He liked his new outfit, but it would never match up to his best buddy, Yolanda. It wasn't the same anymore, as he spent some of his best memories with Yolanda.
Harribel was now looking at the boy oddly, as he was muttering nonsense about a girl or something named Yolanda. It was her first time hearing about this, and she had a feeling she didn't want to know what he was talking about.
A certain memory worried her though. She could sense the building of spiritual energy in Naruto, and it was even more worrying last year, when he discovered something vital.
~ Start of yet another Flashback – A Single Year Ago ~
This certain day was a beautiful Sunday morning. The doves sang in the trees, and the village was at peace for once. The usually bustling streets of the village hidden in the leaves were silent, and all was peaceful.
But not at the Yamanaka household. Ino was screaming at her reflection, while she attempted to put her makeup on. Apparently she was going to spend her day competing against Sakura for Sasuke Uchiha's affection. Once all the girls in the academy hit puberty, it was like hell.
The guys were jealous, and perverted. The girls had mood swings, and chased after Sasuke Uchiha. Speaking of the Uchiha, he had gone all depressed and dark after the age of 8. Apparently, his older brother Itachi, a prodigy of Konohagakure, went maniac and killed his entire clan, minus Sasuke. Much to Naruto's chagrin, he lived, but was pretty much traumatized for life.
But back to the main story. Inoichi and his wife were calmly sipping tea as Inoichi prepared to go to work as a shinobi. Which, by his definition, was getting drunk with Shikaku and Choza. His wife, Mrs. Yamanaka, was preparing to work at the shop. Sundays were one of their busiest days, for some odd reason. No one bothered to question it, but it was their busiest day.
Harribel, however, was sweating her butt off. Yūgao had made her get up at around five in the morning, and begin training. First they did jogging, and a light Taijutsu spar match. Then they moved onto kenjutsu, and then ninjutsu. Now Yūgao made her sit down and recite the entire history of the village of Konohagakure, just for her sick amusement.
"Harribel-chan!" Naruto's extremely loud voice echoed off the Yamanaka clan household grounds, and Harribel winced when she heard it. She ignored it for the moment, and then continued to recite the complete history of the village.
She kept ignoring the screams of her name, until Naruto was virtually right in front of her.
"What?" She snapped, annoyed that he interrupted her training session. He didn't seem fazed by her irritation, but he then said,
"Look what I found lying beside me when I woke up this morning!" Naruto exclaimed as he held up a sword, and an unusual one at that. It was in the shape of a katana, but it was curved at the end. It was also double edged, a rare type a katana found. The hilt was midnight black, with some red and green lines that made intricate patterns.
Harribel eyed the katana with suspicion, as Yūgao and Naruto gawked over the sword, and jabbed over it. Harribel could sense the spiritual pressure just oozing from the sword. The spirit within the sword seemed menacing from the energy, as it was dark. It seemed as dark as Ulquiorra's Zanpakutō once was.
She knew it then and there. Naruto's kekkai genkai was going to start manifesting itself, slowly but surely.
But now all she had to do was to figure out when this was going to occur.
So for now all she was going to do was to sit back, monitor the boy, and enjoy her life.
It sounded simple enough for now.
~ End of Flashback ~
After that day, Yūgao decided to take Naruto under her wing as well. Inoichi, more than happily, agreed to add Naruto to the training roster with Harribel.
Now Naruto got the proper training he needed, as Harribel knew what the instructors, except Iruka, did. Naruto knew too, but he didn't bother to say anything or do anything about it.
"Naruto." She said quietly, and he turned to look at her.
"Yeah….?" He muttered as he turned his gaze to the sunset once more. Black tints began to show in the sky.
"Don't fail tomorrow. Tomorrow's the day we can graduate. Don't mess up. I can't move on without you. You know Hinata can't either." She said as she placed her hand on his back, and he sighed.
"I know, okay? It's just that the written test gets to me, and I can't do a damn clone! I have too much chakra, but I don't know if Iruka-san accepts the wind clone Yūgao-sensei taught me!"
"Iruka will accept it. I know he will." Harribel comforted him as she patted him on the back, and the two watched the sunset in silence, hoping for the best.
~ A Day Later- The Academy ~
"Alright, class. It's time. This is the final step in your time at the academy. It's do or die time, as this is the final boundary between the academy and being a shinobi." Iruka said all of this in one breath, and he was gasping for breath before continuing. "First we shall start with the written test."
Mizuki and he distributed the papers, and Harribel mouthed, 'good luck' to Naruto. He smiled back at her, and she felt comfortable. That is, until she saw Mizuki hand Naruto his paper. She felt undeniable anger when she saw Naruto's face crumple in confusion and anger, so she nudged her paper to Naruto, and swapped papers with him.
Harribel scanned through the fraud paper, and her green eyes narrowed when she saw the extremely hard questions.
She glanced over at Naruto, and saw he could easily answer the questions of the normal sheet. She sighed as she picked up her pencil, and filled out the questions without too much difficulty.
The first question asked something no academy student should have known. The question was, "What kekkai genkai is created with the Earth and Fire releases?"
Of course, Harribel knew the answer from the hours Yūgao spent drilling it into her head. Obviously, it was the Lava release.
Harribel glanced up at Mizuki, who seemed to be watching Naruto, with that same smug smirk on his face.
Her mouth turned to a frown as she looked back down at her paper with a sigh. It was time for her to get moving, unless she wanted to fail the test too.
~ An hour later ~
"Turn in your papers!" Iruka said as he went to collect the papers. Much to Harribel's relief, Mizuki stood back and watched, though he seemed rather smug. He probably thought he won against Naruto.
Harribel turned in her paper, and glanced at Naruto. He grinned at her, showing her that he thought it was rather easy. She gave him a small smile back, as Iruka began to speak once more.
"Everyone, I hope you all did well for this test. I shall be grading them as Mizuki takes you all outside for the ninja tools and spar test. Good luck!" Iruka said as he went to his desk, with his metallic black pen in his hand.
"Alright class, let's go out for the test!" Mizuki exclaimed, a bit too cheerful with his words. The class followed after him, everyone chatting to their friends, and the girls stalking Sasuke Uchiha's every word and step. Which wasn't much, as all he did was brood as he walked.
"How was the test?" Harribel muttered to Naruto, who grinned.
"It was easier than I expected!" He exclaimed, but not so loud Mizuki would hear it.
"That's good. Considering the test Mizuki originally gave you was at least mid-Chūnin level." Harribel commented as she glared Mizuki's back with fury.
"No way!" Naruto gasped as he blue eyes began to slit in fury. "That son of a bitch!" He swore as he glared at the silver haired man's back. "What did I ever do to him?!"
"No clue. But I'd watch out for him, if I were you." Harribel shrugged as she examined Mizuki. He didn't seem to be a strong man, but worked through deception and lies to reach a goal. He was just like all the other villagers, against Naruto for no reason.
The students crowded around Mizuki, as a breeze rippled through the trees. The leaves swung in the breeze, creating a calm and peaceful aura in the courtyard.
"This test is going to work by alphabetical order. You'll be given 4 shuriken, 3 kunai, and 2 senbon to aim for a target 12 feet away. You all shall be graded on how well you hit the target. First up shall be Chōji Akimichi!"
Chōji came up to Mizuki, for once not eating something, and gingerly picked up the first 4 shuriken. He brought his arm back, and threw the first shuriken as hard as he could. It hit the target, not in a vital spot, but the force of his throw was enough to crack the wooden board. The same was with the rest of the weapons, except the senbon. The senbon fell short.
Chōji retook his spot next to Shikamaru, and Shino Aburame came up. All of the weapons hit the board, but not on mark. Student after student came up, some not even hitting the board, or some nailing it.
Hinata managed to hit important spots with the shuriken and senbon, but could not use the kunai to their full efficiency. Sakura Haruno could not even hit the board with shuriken or kunai, but the light weighted senbon aided her score.
Shikamaru didn't even hit the board; Kiba barely hit important spots, while Sasuke Uchiha hit entirely different spots. Though an irritated Harribel noticed that the kunai, shuriken, and senbon looked newer and lighter than the ones the rest of the students used.
"Uzumaki, Naruto." Mizuki called, his tone held a somewhat sneer, and Naruto, who took a deep breath before stepping up, ignored his sensei's contempt. The rest of the students watched with bated breath, as Naruto's first kunai didn't even hit the board. Everyone burst into laughter, yelling insults and giggling madly. The rest of Naruto's weapons hit, but no one seemed to notice except Harribel and Hinata.
"Nice job." Harribel complimented him as she gave him a high five.
"It was rigged." Naruto muttered under his breath, and Harribel's eyebrow rose.
"No way."
"Yeah…." Naruto said reluctantly as he slumped against a tree.
"Well, you showed him up though. Look how well you did!" Harribel said, but then Mizuki called,
"Tier Harribel!" Mizuki called, and Harribel sighed as she came up. She tested the weight of the weapons given to her, and then threw all four shuriken with one fling. All of them nailed vital points, and she smirked as she threw the kunai. 2 out of the 3 kunai hit the targets, and both senbon hit the targets. Harribel dusted off her hands as she walked back to Naruto, who was gawking at her.
"Damn..." He muttered as he looked down, suddenly downcast. Harribel didn't say anything as she leaned back against the tree, folded her arms, and closed her eyes. She was going to enjoy the moment, and the peacefulness the courtyard seemed to have.
When that was done, spars began. It was a quick session, with the obvious top dogs winning their fights.
Harribel beat Sakura in less than a minute, Ino lost to Hinata, Shino beat Kiba, Shikamaru and Chōji both forfeited, and Naruto, shockingly, beat Sasuke.
With that final fight, Naruto nearly got murdered by Sasuke's fangirls. But Harribel protected him from the mad rampage.
The final part of exams came, and those were the basics of being a ninja. Everyone who had gone into the room came out with a forehead protector.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka called, and Naruto trudged towards the room.
Mizuki and Iruka sat behind a single desk, clipboards both in their hands.
"Alright, Naruto, first we need you to do a basic Genjutsu for us." Iruka said with a smile as he stared at his favorite blonde.
"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed as he put his hands together, and he tried to control his chakra. He could barely do it, but the Henge turned different than he wanted it to be.
Iruka scribbled something down on his clipboard, and then said,
"Now a clone."
"Are wind clones all right?" Naruto asked nervously, afraid of the response.
"Sure." An impressed Iruka said, and he leaned forward, wanting to see if the younger boy could actually do it.
Naruto did a hand sign, and the wind around him seemed to manipulate into a clone. Iruka beamed when he saw this, and began writing on his clipboard.
"Now all we need you to do is a substitution." Naruto paled when he heard this. He couldn't do substitutions. It required good control, more than the simple Henge technique.
Naruto sighed, and concentrated. After a minute, nothing happened.
Iruka's face became mournful as he looked down at his clipboard.
"Naruto, I'm sorry, but you didn't pass the exams. You must stay for another year." His tone was apologetic, and sad, but Naruto didn't let that stop him.
"It's all right, Iruka-sensei." He said quietly as he left the room, and retook his seat next to Harribel. She gave him a frown when he did so, until her turn came. She came out with a forehead protector tied around her neck.
Naruto walked home alone that night, pondering what he did wrong.
"Pst! PST! Naruto!" He heard a familiar voice from the shadows, and saw Mizuki-sensei.
"Mizuki-sama?" He questioned, his tone full of confusion.
"I know a way to get you to Genin!" Mizuki exclaimed, and launched into his explanation.
An evil plan formulated in Naruto's head, and he grinned widely.
It was show time, time to prove himself.
End of Chapter 3
Please review and vote on my newest poll.
I originally had an 6,000 worded chapter, but decided to split it into two parts. So here's part 1! ^_^