Scars of the Past

Chapter 3: Sparks Fly

A/N: I'm sorry about the mix-up with Hinata and Sakura; I changed the document shortly after I posted it, but I forgot to replace the previous chapter 1 with the new one. Also, the names I use are from the Anime, not the Manga; Thus, if, say, Sasuke were to use the Fireball jutsu, it would be Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, not Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique. Speaking of which, in the anime at least, Sasuke knew the fireball, it's true, but he hadn't mastered it; when he did it it looked like a flamethrower, and a fairly small one at that, as opposed to the giant ball of fire that Itachi created. Sasuke's now looks like an actual fireball, though still much smaller than Itachi's. Also, I gave them those jutsu on the assumption that defensive/movement jutsu are easier to learn than offensive ones. Besides, Naruto learned the Rasengan in less than a month; compared to that, the Dark Swamp should be nothing.

A/N2:I appreciate the reviews I get, don't get me wrong, but it'd be nice if I got some constructive criticism, so I know what to work on improving.

As usual, I do not own Naruto. Enjoy!

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Naruto practically vibrated on their way to the gate. This was his first time outside of the village, so, naturally, he was excited. He thought about the kunoichi that would be traveling with them, and blushed. She sure was easy on the eyes... He shook his head, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. The Pervy Sage must be wearing off on him... Sasuke was excited as well, though he did a slightly better job of hiding it than Naruto. He'd be able to see new sights, meet new people, and, since they would be relatively isolated on their journey, maybe he and Hinata could... get to know each other better. He smiled. His other teammate was a shy girl, but that's what he liked about her; it was a well-known fact that both boys absolutely hated fangirls. It was nice to have someone who liked him, but respected his privacy. He looked over to her. Her eyebrows were scrunched in thought, and there was a small scowl on her face. "What's wrong?" She started, then blushed. "It's nothing, I... I just have really bad memories of Cloud ninja..." Sasuke nodded. He'd heard about the failed attempt to kidnap her, when she was four; Though it wasn't required reading, it was in their history textbook, and he'd read the whole thing, just in case. Naruto, however, had not, and he was confused. He was about to ask her what she meant, but Sasuke elbowed him in the ribs. He leaned over and whispered "Later." Naruto nodded, and waved to their client as they came in view of the gate. Five minutes later, Kakashi showed up, and they set off for Cloud.

That night, they set up camp, Kakashi and their clients sharing one tent, and everyone else sharing another. Hinata blushed furiously when she saw that Sasuke was in the sleeping bag next to hers, and soon passed out. Sasuke sighed. "We have got to get her to stop doing that..." Naruto nodded. "So, what was it that she was talking about earlier?" Sasuke's expression was a somber one. "Eight years ago, there was a man, a delegate from Cloud. He had come to negotiate a peace treaty between Cloud and Leaf. However, that was not why he was there; his actual mission was to somehow get his hands on a Main Branch Hyuuga, and take him or her back to Cloud, so they could obtain the Byakugan by breeding." Naruto grimaced. "I'm guessing Hinata is the one he tried to kidnap?" Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. Her father killed him before he could get away, though. Cloud demanded his head on a stick, so the Hyuuga gave up Hizashi, Lord Hiashi's identical twin brother. Ever since then, Hinata has been viewed with extreme contempt in the Hyuuga clan, especially by the branch members. If they got to know her though..." He smiled, and Naruto chuckled. "Sounds like you're in love, bro." Sasuke blushed. "Maybe... I think I am." Naruto laughed quietly. "You better make the first move, then. She's gotten a lot more confident recently, but she still faints every time she gets near you. I doubt she'll be able to." Sasuke sighed. "Unfortunately, you're right. I just can't figure out what to say..." Naruto shrugged. "Sleep on it. I'm going to sleep. G'night." Sasuke lay back on his bed, and soon, soft snores filled the tent. Hinata, having awoken a few seconds after she passed out, was red as a tomato. Sasuke liked her? Really?

The next morning, Naruto awoke to the smell of breakfast. He smiled. Stepping out of the tent, He saw the rest of his team waiting for him, along with Raimaru and Yugito. She turned away from him, trying to hide her blush. Sasuke noticed, but said nothing. Naruto finished his food quickly, and they set off for Cloud. On the way, Naruto managed to strike up a conversation with Yugito. "So, what's your village like?" She shrugged. "It's on top of a huge mountain. The air is pretty thin, and the sunrises..." She smiled. Naruto nodded. "What are your friends like?" She bit her lip. "I... don't really have any. I've never really met anyone, aside from my instructors." Naruto saddened, but then he looked to Yugito, a comforting smile on his face. "I know what that's like... kinda. Tell ya what, I'll be your friend!" Her eyes widened, but then she smiled at him gently. "Thanks." He rubbed the back of his head. "No problem!" She bit her lip, and stared at the ground for a bit. Would he still like her, even after he found out about her... tenant? Naruto was smart for once, and didn't push her. He stared into the sky thinking. Would Yugito still want to be friends with him, once she found out about the Kyuubi? As he thought of the beast, it opened its eye, sensing a familiar aura coming from the girl. He thought about warning the boy, but decided against it. The loudmouth probably wouldn't listen to him anyway...

Meanwhile, Sasuke was attempting to get Hinata out of her shell, but every time he got too close, she'd turn red, and he had to back off so as not to make her faint. There were no bandits attacking them that day, and they made good time. As they were setting up camp, Raimaru remarked, "We should reach Cloud tomorrow afternoon if we keep this up." He smiled. "It will feel good to be home." Yugito scowled, but Naruto was the only one to notice. He resolved to ask about it the next day.

When Naruto awoke, he looked over to find Hinata's sleeping bag snuggled up to Sasuke's, and he took a picture. He chuckled. He'd have to get these made into an album soon, they way things were going between those two. He left the tent, and sat with the three adults, enjoying his breakfast. Raimaru's eyes widened at the speed at which Naruto was shoveling food in his mouth, and Kakashi laughed at the look on the diplomat's face. "He does this all the time. He doesn't like to wait for anything, meals included." Naruto wiped his mouth, and glared at Kakashi. "Yeah, and I especially don't like waiting two hours on the training ground for you to show up, Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi shrugged. "I get lost on the road of life often." Naruto, Raimaru, and Yugito sweat-dropped simultaneously. Just then, Sasuke left the tent, an unconscious Hinata draped over his shoulder. Naruto laughed, and Sasuke sent him a death glare. "If I find out that you had anything to do with that, I will ensure that you die a slow, painful death." Naruto fell to the ground, clutching his sides. "It wasn't me! You did that one all on your own! Or should I say, together? Hahaha!" Sasuke twitched, and Naruto got up and ran, Sasuke shortly behind. Raimaru and Yugito looked to Kakashi questioningly, and he sweat dropped. "Naruto is somewhat of a practical joker, though if I'm right about what happened, it, surprisingly, wasn't his fault this time." Raimaru raised an eyebrow. "What do you think happened?" He looked to the still-unconscious Hinata. Kakashi sighed. "Hinata is easily embarassed, and she faints alot. She also happens to have a crush on Sasuke, a feeling I'm beginning to think is mutual. They probably got rather... close last night, in their sleep, and when Hinata woke up... well, see for yourself."

A few minutes later, Sasuke and Naruto collapsed against each other, exhausted. "I'll" huff, "kill you" huff, "later." Hinata had regained consciousness a few minutes earlier, and, remembering how she'd awoken, fainted again. When everyone finally gathered themselves at the campfire, the sun was just peeking over the horizon. They set off, Kakashi leading the way, Naruto and Sasuke bringing up the rear, and Hinata flanking their client along with Yugito. They could just see the mountain that Cloud was built on in the distance, and the terrain was getting rockier every step they took. They passed two large boulders, and Kakashi took note of the shinobi hiding there. Inwardly, he sighed. There were three of them, two chunin and a jounin. "Everybody, get into a defensive formation!"

The four genin formed a diamond around Raimaru, who, surprisingly, wasn't showing any fear. Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he saw the enemy team detach themselves from the boulder. The jounin smirked at him, kunai at the ready. The three were heavily muscled, and wore the symbol of the Hidden Stone. "Heh, this doesn't look tough. You two, take those brats. I'll handle the monkey." Kakashi twitched. Concealed underground, Jiraiya smirked. "Well, looks like I get to see how my student's doing... or at least hear about it."

Kakashi sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to be serious on this one. I was hoping to not have to use this, but it looks like I have no choice." He reached to his headband, but he was forced to leap back as the Rock jonin slammed the ground in front of him, opening a deep chasm where the copy-nin had been standing. Standing up, he smirked. "Earth style: Impermanence." Kakashi glared back at him, uncovering his Sharingan as he landed. Sasuke gasped. "How did you get the Sharingan?" Kakashi launched into a series of handseals, his tomoe spinning wildly. "I'll tell you later! this really isn't the time for it!" Naruto tensed as one of the chunin began a chain of handseals. "Earth style: Earth Pillar Prison!" He slammed his hand into the ground, and several stone columns rose from it, surrounding the genin completely, and cutting them off from their sensei. The two Stone-nin melted into the pillars, and an ominous laugh seemed to come from all sides. "Pathetic. You're shaking like leaves!" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Seriously, is that the best you can come up with? I've heard it said that Stone-nin were dumb, but come on! Shaking like leaves!?" One of the chunin growled. Suddenly, a torso emerged from a pillar right behind him, and the Stone-nin lashed out with his kunai, only to have the chakra points in his arm shut down by Hinata. Before he could retreat into the pillar, she landed a palm strike on his forehead, knocking him out immediately. The other jumped out behind Yugito, his arm hardening. "Earth style: Stone Armor!" He punched, expecting to hit Yugito, but Naruto leapt in front of the attack, and the Cloud kunoichi could hear an audible 'snap' as his collarbone broke. He flew into a pillar, breaking it in two. Yugito grabbed the Stone-nin's arm, and her hand burst into blue flame. The fire consumed the chunin, killing him almost instantly. She ran over to Naruto, who'd passed out from the pain. She could see a fist-shaped mark where the Stone-nin's punch had actually cut into him; it was pulsing faintly with red chakra, and steam was rising from it, the wound sealing itself as she watched. Her eyes widened. Could he be a jinchuriki as well? Inwardly, Raimaru smirked. The reports were true after all...

Kakashi leapt to the side, dodging yet another punch from the stone-nin. "And you're a jonin? Pathetic." The stone-nin twitched. "You're going down, monkey man!" He roared, and charged at Kakashi, fist raised for another strike. Kakashi jumped into the air, sending a Fireball rolling towards his opponent. The stone-nin simply walked through it, his stone armor protecting him from the heat. He smirked. "Is that the best you got, monkey man?" He looked around, but did not see Kakashi. "Oh, so it's a game of hide and seek, is it?" A voice came from below him. "You're an idiot." He felt a sharp tug on his ankle, and then he was neck-deep in the ground. He looked over to where his subordinates had been fighting, only to see the genin emerge with their client from a mass of fallen pillars; all of them were unharmed, save for the blonde, who was draped over the Cloud kunoichi's shoulder. Kakashi squatted, and looked him in the eye. "Who sent you, and why?" The stone-nin smirked. "I ain't telling you a thing." He stuck out his tongue, then slammed his chin on the ground. Blood poured out of his mouth for a few seconds, and he died, his expression frozen in a defiant smirk.

Kakashi made a few handsigns, and the dead jonin's head sank beneath the ground. "We'll camp here, for now." Raimaru shook his head. "We could make it to Cloud by nightfall, why not continue?" Kakashi looked him in the eye. "While it's true we could easily make it to Cloud under normal conditions, Naruto is wounded, and carrying him would slow us down. It's better to wait until morning, and besides, I need to check out his wound to make sure the bones set properly." Yugito gently placed Naruto on the ground. "I can take care of that. I've had medical training." Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but he nodded. "Okay. Hinata, Sasuke, set up camp."

Yugito used a basic scanning jutsu to find out the extent of his injuries, and she winced. The punch had not only broken his collarbone in two places, but dislocated his right arm as well. She also found a small amount of poison in his system. The stone chunin must've covered their fists with it. It didn't look deadly, but it'd take a few days for a normal person to get over it. If her theory was correct, and he was a jinchuriki, then it would only take one night. She gently grasped his arm, and popped it back into its socket. Naruto groaned, but did not wake. Carefully, she bound his shoulder to keep the bones in place. She set him down on top of his sleeping bag, and smiled. He looked so cute when he was sleeping... She blushed. A part of her hoped that he was a jinchuriki; normal ninja just couldn't relate to the loneliness, the fear, the hatred... Sitting back, she began to think. Which biju, if any, lived in Naruto-kun? She knew it couldn't be the two- or eight-tails, as those belonged to Cloud. From the reports she'd heard, it probably wasn't the one-tail either; that Sand genin that was the terror of his village was said to be able to manipulate sand itself, which was a known power of the Shukaku.

She thought back to the history she'd learned in Leaf. If a biju had been sealed inside of him, he would've had to have been incredibly young; if it was one of the more powerful ones, it only could've been sealed in him when he was less than a year old. Then, she remembered a story her guide had told her, and she gasped. He'd told her about the heroic Fourth Hokage and his defeat of the Nine-Tailed Fox... twelve years ago.

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I've discovered a new (to me) Anime called Kaze no Stigma; I wrote a large portion of this chapter while listening to the closing theme, which is awesome. It's called Hitori Kiri no Sora.