Eyes focused and unfocused, the ceiling blurred and cleared, there was nothing interesting going on. Look towards the door, there was no sounds behind it; thank the medics to place him alone in the room at the far corner, with, he noted, plaster peeling off the walls. Well, well, this can't be up to the standards right? The medics probably hoped to forget that he was even there, he saw the dust that was building on the floor and the streaked windows that haven't been wiped for years, bastards, all they did was throw him onto the bed. Oh wait, they also flung at him the bandages and some medical equipment and slammed the door shut, no word at all from his 'healers'.
They carted the Hyuuga to an opposite hallway; claiming that he had to get to the Intensive Care Unit quickly, for he might die soon, never underestimate what the Kyuubi-boy might have done to him. Hmph, no wound he inflicted was permanent, they were all standard injuries. As soon as Neji had rounded the corner, a couple adults had grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him, heels dragging on the floor, to the lesser known places of the exam building through endless hallways and stairs and more hallways and more stairs, in hopes of finding the worst conditioned part of the building. He couldn't protest since he was still spitting up blood.
The adrenaline was gone from his body; pain took over in a rush like a big tsunami the moment he collapsed on the bed and allowed his muscles to relax. Ok, bad idea. And there he laid, staring upwards, waiting for his head to clear. Ushi-kun's katana poked at his back, uncomfortable but not painfully. Injuries were noted: left side of the face was swollen, couple of torn muscles in his thighs, bruised up skin, damaged inwards, destroyed keirakukei, nasty concussion. His opponent did a number on his body, no mercy. He tried not to move much, but entertained his thoughts while his body healed itself, the feeling of warm, red, demonic chakra went to his most severe wounds and began to work. Eyes shifted to the darkest corners of the room, which was lit up by a single buzzing fluorescent light.
Was this a trap to kill him? Are there enemies waiting for him to drop his guard? He's already helpless, and it hurts like a fucking bitch to even flick a wrist. Damn it, he hates feeling helpless.
Buzz goes the lights. Brain runs on acid, there might be assassins waiting and waiting and waiting. Ugh, mind, think of something else- think of something else. How long had he lain on the bed, no one visited, he was drifting in and out of panic. Don't fall asleep, you might get killed, that's what they want you to do, fall asleep, so don't. Eyes widened, he's terrified and something around him was wrong. Paranoia gets to him. He wants his weapons back, having used them all up in the fight; his trench vest was on a bench unattended, no way able to give an adequate defense.
All alone. Heart's beating faster now, he growled toward the shadows, nothing responded. He can't keep these thoughts up; the hysterical feeling was on the edge of his conscious. Years and years meeting fear firsthand as a kid gave him some very bad experiences and a strange mindset so that he might survive his drunken pursuers. That's what they all claimed; it was the alcohol that was telling them to beat the demon up, and they listened to the alcohol, because that was the right thing to do. But they'll promise to show some restraint in the future, but don't bet on it. (My apologies Hokage-sama, I didn't mean to stab him five times.)
Expect the unexpected. Trust no one. Listen to advice. Be on your toes. Seek the shadows. Show no emotion. Look underneath the underneath. Just die…
That's it; he tested some joints, a finger, an arm, an ankle, a leg… stiff. Ugh. But the pain was beginning to lessen, he was sure that his face was not swelling anymore. It's satisfactory, he can't wait any longer. That's enough time to wait and heal, it's not like anybody's going to visit him: Sakura-chan won't, and Sasuke-teme and Kakashi are who-knows-where doing who-knows-what. So boring. He heaved himself forward and almost let out a yelp of pain, his stomach was screaming, what did Neji do to him? Kami, pissant.
His ragged shirt was set aside. Grabbing the roll of bandages and tape, he slowly wrapped his chest tightly, not too tight that he can't breathe, but that he has support, then down to his stomach. Then around the sore muscles in his arm, then his thighs, the pressure was like a massage. A slight pause for rest… ahhh, content. He wiggled his toes and closed his eyes. Hand dug into a pouch tied at his waist, he took out a small marble-like ball, the size of an eye. Some chakra was pushed into the ball and the object soothed his mind in return. Almost forgot that he had this. His fingers played with the ball, rolling it to his palm, the back of his hand, it glowed a dim purple.
He wished that someone would visit him and congratulate him, and hug him, and praise him, "You did well, Naruto. Sugoi. That was so cool!" Alas, it was not so, not even a slight amount of appreciation for his hard work was noted, though it would have been very therapeutic. Don't be sad over it, he should be used to it. Konoha's jinchuuriki. Konoha's outcast. Shut up, time to move, the ball was gently placed back into his pouch. Legs swung over the bed, a throbbing pain that starts from the feet up. The room starts spinning… and spinning… and stops. Ok, he hasn't fainted yet, that's a good sign.
He slowly puts his weight on a foot and immediately falls, arrgh, felt that one. Grab the bed; he slowly pulls up, breathing heavily. Must get out of here; mind yells frantically and he finds himself in an awkward position, sprawled on his stomach over the bed with his feet on the floor, knees bent, too tired and in pain to move or stay in this situation. Another brief glance at the dark corners, there's no one there, calm down, calm down. Deep breaths, isn't that what Iruka-sensei always said, you can do it. Calm down. In, out, in, out…
Try again, one foot down to the floor. Slowly, slooowly… ooh, felt that one too. His legs were barely taking the strain of his whole weight, but he was a veteran to physical hardships if nothing else. It takes him some time to recuperate before he can find the strength to limp/stagger his way to the door. The sword at his back helped as a balance so that he won't fall forward onto his face.
The halls were empty and he fancied that he might have seen some cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. "Hello?" He tentatively asked, "Anyone there?" The hall kept going on and on, and turns into another hall that's beyond his vision. Mahogany doors lined the sides, one patient room after another. Some noises from the crowd, from the stadium filtered through and echoed its way down the empty paths. That's where other people are, that's where he'll go.
He was limping, shit, his body better heal it or else. The constant pain from contracting and relaxing muscles in his legs kept his mind off of the worst panics. He busied himself with musings of different sorts.
His mind thought of Neji's ultimate defense, that Kaiten, it was like a greater Rasengan, or whatever that Sannin called it. He could feel the power from the little blue chakra sphere in his hand just as he can feel the power behind the defensive chakra circle. Hakkesho Kaiten, he made a face- that jutsu he attempted disfigured the rest of his tenketsu points and now he can't do a proper jutsu period until he gets two days of rest at most. Bummer, his plan was to not let the Hyuuga touch him at all. What a great idea, it was like saying that his plan was to defeat Sasuke using nothing but Kawarimi and Oiroke no Jutsu. But it worked didn't it? The chakra torn some of his clothing, but he's alive… and he won. Besides, he's really good at sewing and repairing, after all, that's how his previous jumpsuit lasted all these years and missions. It's not bad, could've been worse.
The secret to the technique was to let a constant stream of chakra flow out as one spins quickly, almost like the Rasengan. The chakra must flow out, but not shoot off in different directions. There was a sort of chakra net that must be placed over the whole system to contain it. And he wonders whether he can do that with the Rasengan or the Chakra Endan. Was it possible for the Rasengan to stay in his hand without him always directing his attention to control the chakra spinning around? Maybe if he added more chakra, so there will be a pressurized concentration and in turn, a constant movement from one spin to another, and then add a chakra net over it, and then direct pathways, yes, it just might happen. Chakra, such a fickle thing, it can be manipulated to stick, repel, move, manipulate nature, anything really. A million choices yield a million jutsus.
As soon as the theory is tested, he will be showing it off to his friends and watch their jaws drop. The power behind the Rasengan must be enormous. It'll be his first A-rank jutsu!
A grin and he turned into another hall. Doors lined the side in a uniform manner, but it was still empty. No movement, only his own shadows. The buzzing fluorescent lights above casted everything in an off white color, yet giving a whole metallic feel. Hands clenched and unclenched, no scars whatsoever and the skin was smooth, soft and unbroken. Sensitive ears say that the noise in coming from his right, he turns and makes his way to the public.
How is he going to fight in his next round if he can't do any jutsus now? No proper jutsus at least, well, he can direct killer intent. A small voice in his head noted that anyone will promptly surrender if he uses youki. Banish the thought, it's too risky. Maito Gai was a taijutsu master, he can help, give a few pointers, that is if he isn't hateful to him, or unhappy at how his student was beaten. A sigh escaped: what a depressing thought.
As soon as he gets out, he's going to get his trench vest and look for Ebisu-sensei. The man must have a couple of ideas up in his head. A fond smile made its way to his face; he ought to profusely thank the tokubetsu jounin too, for all his work and dedication to his cause. Heck, the crowd was so stunned that no sounds were made when he walked out of the arena. There was a satisfaction that warmed his body when he realized that he showed up the audience and all those people that hate him. The judges as a whole shouldn't be biased; they prided themselves of their neutrality. They might not even know who he is, that is if they weren't informed before they watched. Oh, he hoped that he was made chunin, he hopes that he showed enough skills and brains to get promoted, he wasn't close to the daimyo, but he knew that the leader was fair, above all else, (well, the fact that Team Seven is the only genin team of the three rookie teams to keep bringing back Tora unscathed should help the chances slightly).
In the end, the conclusion was that if he can't get out of the building by the side entrances, because of many reasons- hostile doctors and nurses, the endless maze of the building, he might as well go up. He climbed the stairs one level to another. Sometimes, the stairs stop at the specific floor and he had to wander through the floor to look for another set of stairs. The loneliness brought a sense of nostalgia onto his soul, back when he was little and when people weren't drunk, (only when they didn't act drunk), when they would all turn their backs to him when he walked up. The adults would stop laughing and glare at him till he backed off. The children were taught to not play with him and to drive him away. At that time, he had no one with him and consequently, his imaginations ran wild. In those days, he welcomed dreams where he killed everyone, feeling a sense of malicious revenge and punishment, before realizing why he had them… Revenge was an eye for an eye; punishment is to make sure that such things never ever happened ever again.
He wonders about his fellow genins, Konoha's Rookie Nine. With the amount of time he's taking, the exams might be over by the time he comes out of the complex, he thought ruefully. After watching the fight, will they still call him dead-last? Honestly, he won't be surprised if they did, people always did hate changes. He should get a bit more respect from them all though, maybe they'll be more than comrades, but friends who joke around, who have fun together, and who seek companionship. Are the other Konoha finalists doing a good job? Fingers crossed, he prays that Shikamaru did well enough to get promoted.
The lazy Nara was fighting the powerful, older, huge fan waving, Suna kunoichi. Shikamaru had a brain, he should win. Onto other people- Hanabi will be very happy to see him; he kept his end of the bargain. Ebisu-sensei will give him a smile and it'll be enough. Konohamaru and his mini-gang might jump on him, regardless of injuries and yell out loud that, "Nii-san is the best ever!"
He wonders about Team Seven. Sakura was a wild card; sometimes he wonders that if he was called Konoha's most unpredictable shinobi, she was Konoha's most unpredictable kunoichi. Rarely would she fret over his injuries, most times, she would be the one to dish them out, even when he doesn't do anything wrong. She takes everything the wrong way, always thinking lowly of him.
After this whole exam is over, his relationship with the Uchiha boy will be more strained than ever. The comradery between them, he's definitely not calling it friendship, was just getting stronger, but it's going to, almost like it's destined, (Hah, he's such a freaking hypocrite.) to fail. He tried to prevent it, but it's inevitable.
If neither of them will be promoted, the fact that the all-infamous Sharingan Kakashi, master of a thousand jutsus, gave one-on-one training to the Uchiha and literally handed him off to a closet pervert, will give a very bitter atmosphere to Team Seven for a long time to come. What had Kakashi taught the bastard? And what would have happened if he never met Ebisu before he became a genin? The tokubetsu jounin would've still called him a demon that gave bad influences to the 'honorable grandson'. If he's promoted and not Sasuke, he'll be free from the team, but Sasuke will be unhappy, very, very unhappy that the 'dobe' was stronger than him. And an angry Sasuke is a grudge holder. Seriously, that guy will remember every single big and small wrongdoing one did against him and will not rest till he exacts retribution. The Uchiha will be dangerous. And if Sasuke gets promoted and not he, he'll be stuck with Sakura and Kakashi, which he won't like at all, and the bastard will insult him more and more and call him a weak person and dead-last.
Catch-22. Another sigh escaped through his lips, he can't wait to be promoted and leave Team Seven. Team Seven is doomed to fail, he wonders if anybody sees it.
He's taking his time to walk slowly but surely out of the hospital, but he's still marveling at how long the medics must have taken him to ensure that he won't mingle with other patients. It was almost not worth it. Maybe this is all in his head? Are people taking some malicious glee from messing with his mind? No, it can't be a genjutsu, no prickly feeling at the back of his neck. A wrong turn? No, no, it's the right way, up a couple flights of stairs as there's no door, another hall, thoughts jumbled, probably a little lost. The noise gets louder, and his steps get surer, and the pain recedes even more.
There's a door at the end of the hallway which has no other path beside it. With great difficulty, he pushes it open, and finds himself above the top seats of the stands, on the concrete dome that partly covers and hinged over the place like an umbrella. The stadium was so far off; he was so high up that there was a strong breeze that whipped his hair back. He staggered back before regaining his footing. There were ANBU guards stationed at the top of the seats, at his eye level. Some had glanced at him and turned back to the fights in disinterest, others gave the slightest nod of greeting. He looked behind him and saw all of Hi no Kuni before him. He saw a rich, thick forest, like rows and rows of broccoli. "Naruto-kun." A voice reached his ears.
A puzzled glance, then, "Neko-chan!" A bright grin and a quick hug, "Did you see me fight?"
The ANBU gave a soft laugh as she mussed up his locks of hair, "You were excellent, I'm very proud of you."
"I did exactly what you said, I was fluid." He swept his arms out as to encompass everything, "I danced."
Both ninjas looked down at the hundreds, thousands of spectators. The kage box was at one side. The people gave the appearance of ants running around. The roar of the crowds was nothing but echoes that came up to where he was standing. There was peace of mind; no one knows that the demon kid is watching over them all. Look up, up at the bright blue sky painted with clouds.
But there were some dark clouds in the distance, slowly advancing over to Konoha, which was good because there hasn't been rain for over a month and the dry spell was getting some inhabitants rather antsy. The clouds rolled over, they were storm clouds and they smelled like rain and lightning, and he could hear the distant thunder. He can't stay here forever. "I have to go back down, Neko-chan." He said apologetically, "Sorry. I don't have all my stuff with me and people will start to wonder where I am and soon why I'm up here."
The cloaked and masked woman made a hand signal that signaled, 'wait' and pulled out a familiar trench vest and some odd number of kunai and shurikens and a roll of wire. Behind the mask, she has to be smiling. Gratitude flew out from surprise, "Wow! Arigato! Nobody…" Trailing off from the last statement he took his belongings and tucked away his weapons with tender care, and then he donned the long, orange trench.
"Naruto-kun." She addressed him, "There is someone who we think is a traitor to the Leaf. He is a genin, you might be acquainted with, called Kabuto Yakushi. We think that he has been spying for Orochimaru for years now and that he has been downplaying his talents. Just yesterday, he was wanted for questioning, but disappeared and has not been found."
Kabuto… white hair and glasses…that teenager was a traitor? Well! Face scrunched up in thought. He seemed perfectly harmless; then again, that was probably part of his job description. That partly explains his obsession with the nin-info cards. A quick shiver ran down, in the first exam, the elder genin had gone out of his way to provide a sense of security for the newbie genins. There has to be a reason for that. And then in the forest of death, Team Seven bumped into him alone, and he assisted them in the capture for the scroll. He was the help they needed after Hebi-teme bit Sasuke… After Hebi-teme bit Sasuke. No way, numb shock, he thought that Kabuto was friend material. Stupid! He hung around because he needed Team Seven to pass the second exam and for reconnaissance for his master. And then at the beginning of the prelims, he raised his hand and gave up… again… It all added up now, the effing fucker!
All this time he has been buddy-buddy with a traitor, the realization stabbed him repeatedly. Hand ran through hair, he slouched from his straight position, feeling weary and tired. When will it end? Don't complain now though, it's not over, he pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling like a mini Iruka-sensei. He still has work to do and must get down to join his comrades before anybody reports him missing.
With a quick hug and a "Sayonara," he made his way down by hopping from one level to another silently. Amusement: the spectators, especially the ordinary people, will only see a flash of orange appearing in and then out of their vision, leaving as quickly as it came, from one row to another. He loved the feel of his new clothes as the fabric was sturdy and able to withstand blows.
Farther and farther down he went until he was right above the stands. From there, he half walked and half ran to his fellow chunin wannabes. Shino was the first one to spot him, and then Kiba turned around and yelled out a loud greeting before the rest of them noticed. "Yo!" Hand rose slightly, "Missed me?"
His pink haired teammate rushed over, "Naruto! You look horrible!" She exclaimed. "Your new clothes and your injuries!"
The comment was brushed off, unimportant. "Nah, I'm fine Sakura-chan! Neji-teme couldn't beat me! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the best ninja there is, Dattebayo!" Thumb pointed to chest that huffed up in pride.
Kiba howled with laughter at the same time as she scowled, "Naruto-baka! You were hurt badly! Come on, I think the medi-nins weren't careful with you! Neji-kun was the top rookie in his graduating class you know." She urged and pulled on his sore arm at the same time. The wince went unnoticed.
They made their way over. Chouji grinned, Ino huffed, Hinata greeted him softly, blushed and profusely thanked him for all he's done, Shino nodded, Tenten smiled, Kiba gave the impression that he was about to slap him on the back but held back, and Shikamaru just scooted over. He gingerly sat down and inquired, "What did I miss?"
The Nara heir shrugged, "Shino won because Kankuro forfeited before the fight began."
He didn't expect that comment, "Eh? Why?" A close scrutiny towards the Aburame who was also listening, "Did you scare him off?"
Shino shook his head and denied, "If that happened, then he would've given up when he drew lots and were assigned opponents, though it is a possibility."
"That's because Shino's own presence is unnerving." Kiba slung his arm over his teammate's shoulder, "You probably gave him a good dose of fear to send him running away with his tail between his legs. That's Shino!" He tried to give the silent genin a noogie but found his arm suddenly hugging air. Hinata giggled at their antics.
A small bit of jealousy festered in his chest. Team Eight was truly held together by close bonds, they had real friendship between them, a sense of belonging. How he wished that his team had something similar. Kurenai-san did a very good job, being a newly minted jounin. It was a pity the Konoha council chooses the genin teams… "It was interesting." He heard Shikamaru murmur cryptically.
"Weird." He supplied. Another problem: Kankuro just suddenly giving up. From what he knows of the elder Suna genin from his episode with Konohamaru with the Sand siblings, the boy was ambitious and straightforward, there was no way he would just raise his hand and taken out of the running. Why would he do that? This is no good, the answer is at the tip of the tongue but elusive. It would come to him later.
Look up, the ANBU guards were still on their patrols high on the edges, there were also many of the masked ninjas mingling among the audiences, on watch with a cloak around them and a hood to cover their heads. They're preparing for something big that Hokage-jiji talked about, a possible invasion of Sand and Sound. It would all come to it. But how can he do his part, did Jiji really believe in his abilities so much as to trust him to stop a fellow jinchuuriki? A voice in his head whispered that something big was coming, so prepare. Feeling a rising tide of apprehension, he reached behind him and grasped the katana hilt before realizing what he was doing and lowered his hand back down, too suspicious.
Hanabi-chan was sitting a couple seats above him, her father wasn't with her, but she still held onto the image of a polished noble daughter. He caught her eye and winked. The edges of her mouth twitched as she winked back. He turned back around.
"Neh, Shika-kun." He whispered to his friend teasingly, "How badly did you do? Did you embarrass yourself in front of all of Konoha?"
The shadow manipulator had a sour expression, "I surrendered." He leaned back and hooked his elbows behind his seat back.
"Admit it, you did well, didn't you, Shikamaru-kun?" Both boys jumped at the sudden adult voice in their conversation. A glance up showed that it was Asuma-sensei, grinning through his cigarette, "It was quite a sight. He managed to trap Temari in his Kagemane no Jutsu with a combination of his jacket as a parachute, the hole you made in the ground, the light reflected off of the kunais, time as it was on his side, a Kawarimi and a sharpened stick before he surrendered."
An accused glance was directed to the laziest boy in Konoha, "Nani?! Why?" A wail, resulting in Sakura berating him and his loud voice and Shikamaru grimaced as his mesh shirt was grabbed and latched on.
Said boy rubbed the skin above his eyebrows, "Mendokuse. I ran out of chakra by the time I managed to get her."
A finger pointed to the Nara heir's chest, "You probably were positioning her into an ideal spot from the start. I bet that you mean that you were so lazy that you didn't feel like fighting the next round. Not to mention your bizarre rule on not fighting girls." Hand went up to clench his forehead, "Why do I even bother?" A quick peek around showed that the crowd was getting restless, they were waiting for a match to start between Gaara and Sasuke, one of the most anticipated of the entire event. As seconds passed, the noise level rose, some patrons and observers wondered whether the Uchiha would even come, if he was suddenly injured by some unforeseen force of nature.
"That's about it," the bearded jounin agreed. "But I'm positive that he will be promoted. If he doesn't, I'll eat my shouji pieces." Sarutobi Asuma took a long drag from his cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke, "We're on the last match. The youngest Suna genin, Sabaku no Gaara, is heading into the ring. We're waiting for Uchiha Sasuke."
At the name, Ino and Sakura gave out identical squeals. People in the general vicinity glanced at the pair in amusement. "I'm sure that Sasuke-kun will beat him." Ino gushed out, a cloud of hearts appeared above her head.
At the same time, Sakura affirmed that, "Sasuke-kun will definitely show to the judges that he should be promoted as a chunin."
Fangirls are so grating to the ears, he thought. A sly smile graced his lips, "That is if he comes on time. The patience of a mob of people can only go so far." He snickered. "Won't it be funny if he was disqualified because he was late? I bet that Kakashi would be waiting for the last possible second to arrive. A lot of strings have already been pulled for him."
The three jounin instructors surveyed him with bemused faces. Sakura knocked him over the head, "Itai!" A deep breath was sucked between clenched teeth as he rubbed the spot in slow circles. "What did you do that for?!" Out of the corner of his eye, Gaara stepped out into the open and looked around, waiting.
"Naruto! How can you say such a thing? Sasuke-kun is our teammate!"
Funny, that comment. He crossed his arms and viewed her between squinted eyes, "It's been done before," and left it at that. She opened her mouth to retort but the ring suddenly had two mini-swirls of leaves.
The crowd hushed as they saw Hatake Kakashi and Sasuke Uchiha arrive onto the chunin exam stadium. Sasuke had a scowl on his face and glared at the Suna genin who gave a small sneer in response. Neither of the pair really changed much in respect to appearance. The silver haired jounin scanned the crowd staring apprehensively at them, raised a single hand and gave a one eyed smile, "Yo. Sorry we're late; we got lost on the road to-."
"See Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme also changed his outfit so you don't need to-"
"Naruto, shut up!"
"Save it Kakashi," the senbon in Genma's mouth twitched, "We're behind schedule because of you and your antics." Two steps back, he ushered Sasuke to come forward to face the Suna jinchuuriki. "Ready?" Gaara didn't move, Sasuke bent his knees slightly and brought his fists in front. The position seemed familiar, a memory came unbidden, and the first time he met Rock Lee… Oh no… Head whipped back around to find his sensei, where was he?
Kakashi reappeared in the stands next to Maito Gai who abruptly pulled him out of the general earshot. "Kakashi," Gai hissed, "What did you teach him?" Tenten was alarmed at the grim expression that her sensei had. The other two jounin senseis walked over and soon all of them were in a low but heated discussion. Nobody else noticed.
Bits and pieces of the conversation were picked up by his ear. Other times, he resorted to lip reading, at least Kurenai's, as she was the only sensei facing him. Their voices often overlapped in a rather heated debate. Unusual, because it was usually assumed that the jounins had a close relationship between them as they stuck together, rising the ranks through thick and thin; now listening to the little snippets that passed between them, it seems not.
"-Lee's pride and joy and you didn't even tell-."
"-or else he'll get killed by that Suna-."
"-No permission or anything, this is all extremely unyouthful and as soon as this whole thing is over, I want a fu-."
"-Gai, keep it down-."
"-keep telling you, no choice."
The jounin kunoichi's eyes snapped up like a deadly whip, red gaze meets blue and he feels the slightest unease. Her eyes narrowed, showing her displeasure at his eavesdropping, but it wasn't his fault, the whole group contained jounin ninjas, they can be discreet if they want to. He was unsure about her stance on him as a budding ninja, being a jinchuuriki and all, but the fact that she didn't lace her stare with killer intent gave him a slight hope. The genjutsu mistress never went out her way to help him (the number of people who did, he can count with one hand) but she addressed him courteously, always with at least a nod of acknowledgement.
Acknowledgment, how much he craved it. A grin border lining subordination or plain cheekiness was directed to the woman, who huffed and immersed herself back into the conversation at her hand. "Naruto-baka, turn around! What are you staring at? Sasuke-kun's fight already started!" someone shouted to his right.
"Eh?" He was so caught up that he didn't notice the examiner yell out 'Hajime!' Kurenai dismissed him with a slight turn of her shoulder and he directed his attention back to the battle.
Somehow the battle reminded him of a time when he was six and he had crept into Training Area 72, seeking an animal to eat, a battlefield that was scorched with some wicked fire jutsus, where two Uchihas mock sparred. Not understanding the inner workings of the Sharingan, he thought that the two kunoichis could see into the future as they did systematic block-attack-block-attack exercises. Their bodies were lithe and long, they were not as fluid as they were fast, sometimes faster than what his eyes can catch as he watched and sat comfortably in the trees, willing for his stomach to not make any noise. Their feet made soft pit-pat noises when they ran, so smoothly that they flew. They danced, and he thought, 'I want to be like them,' but didn't dare give him position away. Later, he would be reminded of this experience while watching the Hyuuga cousins battle in the chunin exam prelims.
It was odd for this thought to appear, for Sasuke's movements were unlike the typical Uchiha's since the teme created too much sound while running. That's right: the Uchiha survivor was running around the stadium, almost phasing out in the air due to his quickness in the eyes of civilians, dodging blows of sand that would leave slight indentations on the tile ground. Of course, his eyes could follow all of his teammate's movements and wondered if Kakashi-sensei gave him weights for his training. Like Lee.
Assholes, it was wrong to take a fellow ally's fighting style without consulting. But it can't be helped right? He leaned forward to watch, without Lee's speed, Uchiha-teme wouldn't even be alive right now. He hates thinking of the differences between necessities and honor. Shurikens flew, the Rookie aimed some fireballs at his opponent but the shield of sand blocked all attacks. Genius or not, Sasuke was still young and a green genin, his fire jutsus weren't hot enough to do anything useful, like turn sand into glass and rendering it unusable. Indeed, Sabaku no Gaara had the ultimate defense.
Too bad Haku wasn't here, that effeminate boy could soak the sand with a water jutsu, making it heavy, then freezing it and rendering it unusable. Come on Sasuke, none of us wants to watch you die, just use your head! A powerful Gouryuuka no Jutsu or a Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu and Sasuke should have the edge. Come on Sasuke, you're a genius! You're suppose to be one… Ah forget it, hopeless, brash boy. He buried his face into his hands. At least one person is vocally her support.
"Oooh!" His female teammate cheered, "Sasuke-kun is going to win!"
This is where he adds in his two cents. "He'd better win. Go Teme!" He whooped, "When you advance, wait for me so I can beat your ass myself!" He got a bruise on his head, courtesy of Sakura, for his comment. "Itai!"
"Sasuke-kun will win especially against you, baka!" Sakura growled.
"How can he?" He grinned in retaliation, "I'm going to become Hokage when I grow up, and I'm going to be stronger than anyone in the world, even Teme!"
The pink haired girl muttered something along the lines of, "not this again," and resumed watching. He breathed out, ah the relationships of Team Seven, a true conundrum.
A scan showed that no one else of the genins paid attention to his conversation, used to the antics of dead-last. Feh. Besides him, Shikamaru shifted in his seat before yawning. Secret messages were passed under the sounds of the audience. A tap on the shoulder, a sigh, a motion of the head to the cloaked ANBU, a roll of the eyes, he already knows about the high number of guards. Damn guy is too smart for his own good.
And he dimly wondered why the Hatake Kakashi abandoned him to train the bastard in mastering an A-rank jutsu, an assassination technique. Kakashi had apologized, talking something about Sasuke having a more dangerous opponent and that he'll make it up to him somehow. He felt like something insignificant being set aside. So Sasuke-teme was fighting Gaara, big deal. Kakashi should also have time to train him too! Ok fine, then why didn't he even leave a couple of scrolls? Listen. Nobody was taking him seriously, he had to fight Hyuuga Neji and win! And all his jounin instructor did was smile and pat him on the head.
He had complained to Ebisu about this but the man just snorted like a good joke was being exchanged, "Look around, you would notice that among the team of genins, jounin-senseis, with perhaps an exception to Kurenai-san, would favor one kid above the rest. It can't be helped."
He had read from the Scroll of Sealing and had learned a technique from it. A look over to his sensei, the man was returning the eye contact. Avoiding him. Coward. A sigh. Calm down, calm down, Kakashi couldn't help it; he had no choice, right? Don't blame him. Don't blame him. It wasn't his fault. It better not be his fault.
Sarutobi-jiji wouldn't dare to assign a jounin who hated him to Team Seven- then what was the definition of a teacher-student relationship? No, the man did save his life at one point, but he was someone cold. Whenever he came near, coldness radiated off of him, as if to say, "You aren't worth my time."
A faint cracking sound reached the ears. Attention was back onto the fight, was he really spacing out that much? The Uchiha had something white and spherical in his hand and it had sparks jumping out. The crowd began to roar, louder and louder for action, but the crackling sound was also getting louder. The genin began to run. A sense of deja vu engulfed him as he heard sounds of birds chirping, a thousand of them, screeching and screeching. The C turned A rank mission to Wave… The jutsu. It was-
"Chidori!" Sasuke yelled as he ran forward, Sharingan eyes spinning. A thousand birds came running forward toward the Suna jinchuuriki, extended from a hand. The sand shield was erected. But Sasuke didn't stop; he intended to run right through it with the technique, crazy bastard.
An explosion, ears tweaked, the stadium's acoustics were ridiculously amazing. Un-fucking-ievable, Sasuke managed to pierce through the sand. The crowd hushed: anticipation, murmurs, silence, they watched like hawks. There was a crack in the ball of sand. He wonders and turns to find that the Sand siblings were pale and the girl was a nervous wreck. The crack extended. Sasuke pulled out his hand, revealing that fact that it was covered in blood, Gaara's blood.
Silence stretched.
He smelt it, blood and its coppery scent, the delicious liquid. Mouth went dry, due to the screams of the demon inside of him. Forcing his will, regain control, he's not the demon, he's not the demon, he's a container. Control the demon, jailer. Free flowing blood, strong too. It belongs to a fellow jinchuuriki.
Drip. On the stadium, the dark haired boy studied his hand, and then back at his opponent, waiting for him to emerge before delivering a final blow, his hands were already in preparation for a technique. Drip. Somehow, he got the feeling that the one tailed demon container was not used to the sensation of being injured. His hunch was confirmed when he heard a loud and high scream from inside the sand. The ripple of silence passed over the whole arena. An anguished cry echoed, "Mother! I'm sorry. Mother! What is this red substance in me? It hurts so much! Help me! Mother!" The sand gave way but continued to whip around a familiar figure.
There Gaara stood, clutching to his wounded side, his sky blue eyes wider than ever before seen. His skin was crumbling off. Understanding came; Gaara had an extra layer of sand as a last defense shield. The redhead's face twisted into something horrific. "Mother!" One last cry, then he screamed and screamed and screamed a sound that can freeze blood…
Feathers started falling from the sky. He blink wearily at the scene and sighed. This is so tiring; he should've stayed at the hospital to sleep more. Close your eyes; it's been a long day, just rest. Every part of the body felt heavy, he wants to sleep. Feather fall, soft and slight, light and dark. Blink once, twice.
"Hello?" There he stood and surveyed the stadium, there was nobody there. Nothing but the silence of feathers drifting down, but the alone-ness was comforting and it held him like a loving parental figure.
Stare up. Sky, white clouds, feathers falling from the sky. Look back. No one. Forget the world, fall asleep. He viewed the arena, to which there was none but a black hole, a chasm, an abyss. A breeze picked up. Alone, he felt alone but comforted. The hole grew outward, and he stood there watching it with interest.
The nerves on the back of his neck twitched, honed instincts battled for domination. Hands came up automatically to create a tora seal, concentrated, "Kai!"
"-attack us. Oto and Suna are assaulting Konoha. Red alert. Red alert…" Awakened, he abruptly sat up, only to fall back to dodge a fuuma shuriken by the skin of his teeth. Violently thrown back into the world of sound and he inwardly lamented the tragedy. Alarms blared and could be heard from the village to tell every non-fighting villager to evacuate or take shelter. He tried to regain his bearings. He had fallen asleep, yeah; there was probably a wide area genjutsu that was emitted. From his view from the ground, he saw the still sleeping civilians, but the ninjas were all engaged in battle. Leave the civilians be, they would only make things worse.
Wait, there was a battle! His comrades were gone, why didn't they bother to release him from the spell? Those, those, those… Aargh! Even his teammate didn't wake him. What? Was he too weak to help his village? Stand up and access the situation. He ducked under a cloud of shurikens and then had to parry a kick against another hostile nin with his arm. Leap away, keep distance from everybody. Where the hell were his team mates, they were suppose to fight together, as, you know, a team. "Stupid." Another leap back and another evasive tactic, move, move, move, once you're up, you're game.
The game is to fight or be killed.
An Oto ninja fell to the ground a meter away with half a leg missing, convulsing… still… dead. This was all madness; human against human, blood shed, screams of pain that were muffled by something even worse, all of this is fucking madness. "Repeat. Code red. Code red. All Konoha ninjas please subdue, kill any Oto or Suna ninja. Every enable fighter is to fight. Attention…"
He recalled the information of the puppet-user forfeiting against Shino only half an hour before. Kankuro was saving his energy for an invasion, for a war.
"Stupid conspiracies." Two kunais whipped out, weapons of choice, short, stable, efficient. Cursing the fact that he was unable to do any chakra required jutsus, he rushed forward with a battle cry. You think that you have what it takes to kill me? Well, I'm fucking Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage with the biggest will of fire in me that any of you bastards will ever see! Dattebayo!
He was surrounded by more than four Suna nins. Duck, kick, slash, entrails of a sand nin are red and red and the woman was screaming with wide eyes but he couldn't hear over the other screams around. First kills- it didn't bring a sense of horror, he deemed his feelings right now to be shock. Some shurikens and senbons nicked his body; two kunais were lodged in his thigh. It was painful to yank them out. Stab, kunai gone, grab the other one, hurl it to the right, through the head, kick to the left. Body maneuvers through the many katas that he had learned and perfected in month's time; kick punch cut punch kick leap kick twist punch cut kick kick… Cripes. The ninja grabbed his foot and… He's flying through the crowd of bodies and crashed into the back of a Sound ninja.
He was not a combat person. It takes him a moment, a moment too long, to recognize the shape of the hitai-ate, one symbol of loyalty that ninjas, due to some honor system that goes back to when the hidden villages were first created, refused to change, Sunagakure was an hourglass and Otogakure was a music note. The brain had only time to compute and comprehend, 'Sand? Sound? No? Yes?' Pause, something's coming…
A wide encompassing wind jutsu blasted him off his feet and into a side wall. Following him were many other shinobis and kunoichis, enemies and allies alike that followed. Rapid but weary glances were exchanged, between human and human, before, 'Enemy!' He snagged the man, teenager, probably only a couple years older than him, by the collar of his shirt and slammed his knee against the spot below the neck and hightailed out of the pile of bodies, tripping over an unattached limb.
'Efficiency is the key to surviving,' Iruka-sensei once said. Was Iruka here? Was he still alive? Voice still lecturing, "- between time and vital spots.' He ran up his opponent and stepped up her stomach and gave a clean mark through the neck. '-Under or between the ribs, the throat, the eyes, under the arms, between the neck and clavicle, the ankles, those key blood vessels nestled in the legs.' That was where his favorite teacher took out a dummy, different from the regular training ones that the students used for taijutsu, but one that had the countenance of a real, naked human. The whole class had snickered, but was choked off the moment Iruka-sensei began his demonstrations. By the end of the day, four girls fainted, one weak stomach boy was retching, everyone was pale, and the dummy was a cross between something from your worst nightmares and a pin cushion.
Experience was what he was gaining now and he can feel his instincts and his reflexes refined and quicken almost at an abnormal rate, which it probably is, courtesy of the reluctant Kyuubi. As he fought, dished out damage and received a fair amount in turn, he watched the flinging arms and legs, intending to hurt, in slower and slower motion. Eyes were wide to scan for ninjas, breath quickened for more oxygen, brain was running so quickly he felt that his eyes were pouring out steam, and his legs trembled from the force of the kicks he gave out repeatedly. Dance body, come on, be fluid, just dance, don't give up on me now.
He can't fight well though, his stances were still, due to many years of screwed up katas (thank you Mizuki-sensei), awkward as hell. His muscle memory was bad, his teachers were bad, and his sanity was probably teetering on the edge. Iruka had come before he was a total hopeless cause, but alas, one can only change so much after years of… that. Most of all, his experience was lacking, really, how does one suppose a friendless and hated orphan is suppose to train himself? In fact, how does one suppose a friendless and hated orphan is suppose to teach himself how to read, and speak, and participate in social interactions, learn proper etiquette, survive in the world of wolves? He never had a proper sparring partner, Sakura wouldn't fight, and Sasuke, on the rare times that Kakashi 'trains' them, would just beat him senseless.
Experience… right.
Speaking of Sakura-chan and the Uchiha, where are they? There was no pink at all among the camo-colors. He was so sure that the Uchiha would try at least one more of that assassination technique, but he heard no birds. Sasuke had to be fighting against Gaara, Gaara would make sure of it, insane psychopathic slayer. Blood was seeping into his eyes and soaking his clothes, all of it was his. Don't care, it was wiped off; being alive is what matters most right now. He can't die, he just can't. A dull boom shook the whole stage and the source of the explosion could not be pinpointed.
He was defending himself desperately against a bumbling form of a giant. Neither of them was much for conversation, though around them, he heard maybe a couple yells of, "Die!" or "Eat this, ugly!" In close combat battles such as this, there was just not enough time to form hand seals, manipulate chakra, and shout out the jutsu name. (Shouting out the name of an attack sounds stupid, pun intended, he had once thought, but Iruka-sensei told him that studies show that naming an attack increases concentration and speeds up the creation said jutsu by three fold.) Axe came down and took some of the skin off his knee. Teeth gritted in pain, concentrate damn it! The man was enormous and more powerful than he was at the moment. He aimed for the eye… and missed, out of kunais and shurikens. Self preservation instincts came in; he leaped up over the fist, shifts to the side, and ran away from the man, flinging some shurinkens behind him to cover his retreat.
Look left, look right, anyone he recognizes. On the other side of the stadium, he spots a hideous monster towering over some people, roaring, whipping his single tail back and forth, swirling his sand around. Tanuki, Shukaku. He runs over fallen nin, steps on someone's stomach and hears a grunt of pain, sorry about that, and weaves around the people. There, pink, in the distance, thank god, he can cry in joy. "Naruto!" Ahead of him was Sakura-chan, who was pinned to the wall with a near cocoon of sand next to the Uchiha who was on his hands and knees, dots and swirls around him, curse seal wasn't it… against a shifting, oh shit, transforming, morphing, and growing figure.
Closer and closer he got, he heard insane laughter of that of the one-tailed demon. "Free! Free at last!" Willed the legs to hurry up faster, got to the scene, and spotted a dog by his side.
It was a pug with an eternally down turned face and a Leaf headband wrapped around its head, "Hey kid. I'm Kakashi's summon, Pakkun." A talking pug, Kakashi does summon dogs.
He gave a distracted nod to the dog and turned toward his teammates, wondering what to do with them. Sasuke was dragged bodily away from the general fray and propped up against the wall, a couple feet from Sakura, who just coughed out blood, she can't speak anymore. A quick scan and a momentary, crucial pause for breath, they were far away from the Shukaku for a few moments as it finished its mutation, but close enough to it from being in the general vicinity of any wayward attack. Both of his teammates were in no shape to fight.
A proper, doubtful once-over, "What can you do to help me?" Is the pug going to help him attack the beast? What can it do? Bite it to death? Pee on it? Bark?
The dog scowled back up at him and said huffily, "Uchiha's curse seal is acting up. Pinky, I'm afraid, unless that thing is killed, won't last another few minutes since the chakra-laced sand will continually constrict her until she…"
Until Sakura-chan bursts into a million red little pieces. "I'm on it." Run to the monster and eye contact, seriousness gone, a wide smile emerged. The monster was as tall as a mountain, but he felt no fear, not of it, not of death, not anymore. A small piece of his soul bubbled up in maniacal glee. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm here to kick your ass to kingdom come!" He yelled to attract attention, once he did, he gave a mocking bow, "Kunoichiwa Shukaku."
Gazing down, he demon's eyes widened in their black markings, "Greetings brother, you too are trapped in an insignificant being?" The demon didn't inspect Naruto, but at his stomach, through the clothes at the seal. It threw its head back and laughed hard enough that he felt a difference in air pressure around him, "Sayonara Kyuubi."
A wave of sand fell upon him, but he leaped out of the way and onto the stands, crouching, staring, observing. "Kid, are you crazy?! Engaging in combat with a jinchuuriki?" His heart almost stopped, the cruddy dog was sitting between his shoulder blades without his knowledge.
Pride did not allow him to be scolded by a small animal. "Hokage's orders, I can handle this myself! Get off me, Baka-kun!" He raised his hand with the intention of yanking the inu off of his shoulder. Pain, "Hey! You bit me!"
"Tastes disgusting too," a mutter into his ear: he was about to open his mouth for another round when the pug cleared his throat, "Listen up, there is no way my master or I'm willing to let you die." He rolled his eyes, "I'm serious. You can't rush headlong into any battle anymore; you need a plan to follow through."
"Yeah yeah…" He stuck his pinky in his ear, pouting.
"You need a plan, kid."
"I know, geez," A loud complaint, "I have one." That I'll make up on the spot, they usually work the best. "Just let me fight." A sigh into his ear, and he grinned, "Good, now hold on." With a quick spin, Ushi-kun's katana was in his hand, he rushed headlong, jump, flick of the wrist, the katana went down… There was only a scratch on Shukaku's scales.
Shit, "Ah hah hah hah!" The demon howled, "It takes more than a measly knife to cut me, human." The huge tail of sand crashed down, too close, he jumped out of the way with the pug cursing him and his descendents as it hung on to dear life. Great, so his sword doesn't work and he can't do jutsus at all, excellent.
"Of all things you go over there and give it a frontal attack with only a katana? Brat, Hokage's orders or not, and I don't even know how he's expecting you to-"
Naruto, I give you permission to use it... Naruto-kun. If the situation gets out of control, you must go after Suna jinchuuriki first and foremost. It is what he must use, but can he? He had always known how, on an instinctual level, how to use it. It. A word used to describe something so horrible, it's unspeakable. He has a good deal of distance between the rest of the ninjas and the demon in front. Deep breath, he hopes that the ANBU knows and will give him adequate space, his fingers slowly sharpened into nails, Pakkun was yelling something but the dog was tuned out. Those were Sadaime's words. He gave the dog his possible last words, "Pakkun, you are lucky that my clothes are fire proof." Hatred, feel the rage, because one must fight with a purpose, feel the yellow chakra within this monster, this killer who took Hayate Gekko away from him.
Flick of the wrist, the sword glows red with his power as he concentrates on that familiar feeling that originates from his core. Amassing power: his next actions he had never done in the real life but watched himself doing it in his dreams. Back then, he was too
Close down the sight; embrace your inner demons, so cliché. He imagined the red power, youki, diverge from his stomach and down to the ground under him. As the heat created a violent updraft that caught onto his trench vest and hair, he imagined the youki expand into a wide encompassing circle just above the ground around him and the sealing characters that represents fire and dark and patterns, swirls and jagged edges that are formed in the circle: a sun and a crescent moon. He could feel a fox tail of hot chakra extend behind him, swishing to and fro gently, as the circle of youki lit up with flames that licked his ankles and reached his chest. A small bite was applied to his thumb bled and with it; he drew into the air three tomoes in a circle. "Kami no Inari: Makai Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Sanbi no Noburu."
The fire around him grew intense and hotter, something moved under his feet and the ground rose higher and higher, he was standing on burning fur. Demonic chakra thickened in the air, the three-tailed summon. The head formed out of the swirling red, and then two front legs slowly extended themselves out of the summoning cirlcle, the beast stepped out of the seal and threw back its head and roared its entrance. It rose above all and its voice held the lowest timber that was able to vibrate one's body, "I am Noburu of the Youkai Kitsune clan. What has a human called me for?"
The oppressed feeling of power made was like a two tone weight on his body. He had to be extra careful, dealing with a youkai meant that one cannot anger or insult the summoned being but achieve enough control for it to do one's bidding. His body shook from the overflow of adrenaline. A clawed finger extended and he spoke, "You see that? He's a jinchuuriki, holding Ichibi no Shukaku. Try to restrain yourself from destroying everything around you." He congratulated himself on keeping his voice steady. The air around them burned, second and third degree burns formed on his body, painful to touch.
The head he was standing on straightened up until they were eye level with their opponent, stories high above any other edifice of the town. "Tanuki eh? Any Sanbi can fight off him," it rumbled.
"How do I save the boy that resides in it, Noburu?" Tone of voice should be neutral and full of respect. He has some power over the Sanbi but he'd rather not take his chances.
The kitsune scoffed, "If you must know, Shukaku eats away at the dreams of his container. Waking him up should be sufficient to send him back into the sealing. Shukaku is mostly air, sand, and chakra."
"Understood." The summoned being was made entirely of demonic chakra and fire. It cannot physically tear into any thing but the force of its presence can overwhelm and push away anything that's in its path. Its fire can burn anything that it touches. Since Shukaku was made out of the sand, the plan between human and fox was that the fox would melt the sand into glass, making it fragile and unmovable, easy to break through.
Smart plan by the demon, problem is, his regular strength isn't enough to cut through the skin of the demon. Katana gripped tighter… yet, there was an idea. He had one dance taught to him by Ushi-kun. It will be enough. He had only one chance, no pressure. It better be enough. "Begin." He placed himself in position, thankful that the dog on his shoulder had stayed silent. He can do this; time and time again his determination had never failed him. Stomach dropped.
"Oi, whoa!" He yelped at the influx in speed.
The scene around him changed, they moved at an impossible, teeth-gritting speed toward Shukaku. A snarl, then Noburu rammed the tanuki over and both landed in the forest beyond the stadium which was like mini broccoli. "Shukaku, you coward, it's a pity I won't be able to eat you," sneered his summon. Wherever the burning fur touched the skin of sand, glass formed making noises that showed evidence of melting and hardening of crystals.
"Away!" Screeched the insane tanuki, "My freedom cannot be taken away like this!" Shukaku struggled long and hard, but the facts remained, he is an Ichibi, fighting a Sanbi. Balance was hard to maintain as the two demons fought over who is dominant and the only thing he could do was hold onto an ear until the result of the grapple was clear.
But slowly, the once sealed demon began to loose his strength. "Human!" Sounding like a low bark from the kitsune, "The jinchuuriki is embedded in this filth's forehead, between the eyes."
That was the cue. "Some no Mai." He whispered. Sword dances were originally, back in the days where there were no ninja villages, and created for art to amuse the lords and ladies of the ancient courts. Sword dancers showed off their grace and fluidity by doing almost inhuman acrobats through the air. Today, sword dances go by the basic theory that the whole body is a seal to unlock strengths.
"Turning one into a weapon, not only your hands and arms, Naruto-kun," Ushi-kun had told him while chewing on a stick of dango, "but also your torso and legs and feet. This is the basic dance of the Gekko clan, straight forward but able to increase speed and force. Sometimes, that much can make all the difference." The man extended his hand to playfully ruffle his hair. Ushi-kun… (I'm so sorry that you're dead.)
Dance: step forward, pivot, turn, jump, slash, twist, land, bring down the sword. "Tsume no Hi." Youki added into the attack, the katana glowed with red light that easily left an afterimage when swung. A clean cut through revealed the redhead with his eyes closed, looking like a panda. He aimed a swift kick to the jaw.
"Wake up!" Pale blue eyes snapped open as the world around the kid shattered and floated away with the whims of the wind. Ichibi was disintegrating and howling out pleas and curses as he slowly melts away. He pushes off and flips before landing securely on the ground below, right in front of Gaara.
"Human," He glanced up, red eyes. "What is your name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage." He replied.
The giant fox snorted, "Naruto… Interesting… How will it go?" The fox stretched his neck and scanned what was beyond the horizon, far above the tree line, looking like a dignified noble, "I must report back to the clan, things are about to get interesting, Naruto." The demon paused, "Kyuubi-sama."
His stomach burned red hot for two seconds before subsiding. A circular seal of fire youki surrounded Noburu, not different from the one he had drawn with is sword, a sun and a moon and sharingan eyes. He turned away from the sight of his summoned being returning back to its own world, but swayed slightly at the sudden loss of youki in his body. An unsure step forward, unable to fight, barely able to move, he has to bluff, and bluff he shall do, another step forward, his katana extended and the point poised at the Suna genin's neck. "For…" For killing Ushi-kun and attempting to destroy Konoha, the boy was begging to be killed. Gaara needed repercussions. His body shook. Deep breath, he didn't know the exact phrase by heart, but he'll have to improvise and sound important at the same time, "For your crimes of attacking Konohakagure, you are hereby enemy of the Leaf, Sabaku no Gaara."
"How?" His left eyebrow twitched, irritated at getting asked this question again. "How did you manage to defeat me? You are just like me; you must also prove your existence. How are you still sane with the beast inside of you?" The boy had tears lining the edges of his eyes.
Katana still out, he weakly grinned, "Because I'll be the strongest ninja in all of Konoha to protect the people I love. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and no stupid voices in my head are going to take over me!" yet… A dark voice whispered. He was like a steadfast piece of paper, trying to anchor itself to the ground despite being blown by the merciless wind. He felt like pudding. The urge to rub his temples was high, "look, we all get stronger by loving and protecting our precious people. I have my group, and you have yours."
A small mutter, "No. Not true, I am alone in this world, I have no one and I killed… Yashamaru." He choked on the last syllable, lost in his own world. "I must prove my existence that I am here. Nobody can ignore me, but everyone does, except for mother. Mother… Gomen… Gomen."
"Hey." He interrupted, bonking the flat side of his katana over the distraught boy's head, "Don't listen to Shukaku. He tells lies. Only lies."
"And how would you know?" Gaara bit back, knees against chest. Some grains of dirt started to fly around him. Teeth gritted together, oh please not now.
"Cut it out." The sharp order surprised both boys. "I know because…" He gazed off into the distance, "it's happening to me too ok? All the time, the whispering, I sleep, but am tortured too. But look!" Spreading his arms out wide, "I live with no regrets, I am human, not a monster. I have people I care deeply about and who care for me in return."
"And I don't." The genin bit back.
He rebutted. "Yes you do." Eyes flickered to a slight rustle of the leaves and narrowed, beyond the trees there was, "Your sister loves you. In fact, she's waiting right now for you to accept her and care for her." Katana flips up and sheathed, "Come out." He pulled out a standard kunai.
Temari-san emerged from her hiding place. She probably saw everything, he thought ruefully, hope this doesn't come back to bite him. "Please, don't kill my baby brother."
"Kunoichi-san, we are in wartime right now." He chided with his eyes in an upturned 'U' shape. He had almost no energy left… They could easily escape from their grasp- put up a front, keep bluffing.
Her posture stood more erect as she protested, "We are the Kazekage's children." Oh, right, royalty- he scratched his head awkwardly, inwardly cursing the privileges and protection that blue blood gives. That just makes things a whole lot more complicated and no one wants it to be any more so.
"Very well, you both are walking in front." His bluff is still going, the Suna kunoichi seems like she is still able to fight and if she decides to, then he is screwed beyond belief. He crossed his fingers behind him.
The girl ran forward, "Gaara!" She sobbed as she enveloped the boy in a hug. Head turned away to give proper respect, don't show your back to the enemy. The surroundings held no immediate danger, he'll wait.
He heard the redhead reply hesitantly, "Temari… gomen."
A bitter smile twitched at the edge of his lips as he wonders if having a family was really this wonderful. Loved despite what you are, unconditionally, no matter what. His heart broke. He would give anything, anything, to have a family.
He was alone in the world as Konoha's scapegoat, a cursed existence, but there is still hope. The trees are old and alive. They feel vexing on his very being, and in the distance, the sounds of fighting are gone, the alarms are silent, "Let's go."
The walk back into town was silent. In the distance, he saw parts of Konoha that were in shambles, the group of three had passed a large clearing of fallen trees. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, Temari sniffing, Temari whispered comforts to her baby brother, Gaara mumbling something back. Family bonds. Head tilted up, the sky was a dark gray, but it refused to rain. He sniffed; the air was heavy with water and something else filthy. Snake summons, Hebi-teme.
He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and felt around for his familiar sphere; cool to the touch like a marble, soothing to the mind. As they walked on, he rolled the ball around his fingers wishing that he had something more.
They arrived back at the stadium. Relief filled him when he realized that Konoha was successful in its defense. Hah, take that, nobody stops the Will of Fire. There were ninja medics everywhere, some silently coming out from the shadows clutching standard first aids, others already using green chakra to heal the wounded. Head cocked to the right, they call this 'triage', lessons from the academy. The noise was filled with the moaning of the injured and the shrill orders yelled out by the medics.
"-amputate that limb, give me the god damn saw."
"-ok. Calm down, it's going to be all right, you're going to live."
"Name? ID number?"
He winced in sympathy and turned to his two companions and made a motion of the hands and they both followed though the sea of dead and mangled bodies, was this, he wondered, war? This is what ninjas had to suffer during war and manage not to go insane? He searched around for a familiar face and saw the bandana wearing ninja with a senbon sticking out of his mouth making rounds. "Hey examiner!"
The man turned around, "It's Shiranui Genma to you, brat." He snapped back, but appeared relieved. "Everybody saw what you did, mixed reactions, and I got to say, good job." Read between the lines, the council is not pleased. Eyes flickered to his right and left, "Companions?" He inquired.
"Children of the Kazekage," He affirmed, "Jinchuuriki." He nodded to Gaara.
"I'll take them off your hands then." The referee nodded, "Come along you two."
As a last goodbye, he gave the Suna siblings a bright smile, "It's going to be alright." He assured them and was graced with a tiny smile in return.
Walked away from that matter, now where was everybody else? The ANBU were not to be disturbed as they carted off prisoners, everybody else was down in the running. The clouds rolled once, thunder, no lightning and no rain.
Hand came up to rub his face of dirt, if his apartment is still standing, he's going to eat bowls and bowls of ramen, then take a loooong bath, and then sleep. If it's not standing, well crap, he'll be homeless again would he? The training grounds do offer some nice comfortable areas if one knew where to look, a nice branch, a pile of leaves, he can deal, he always have. He'll have to eat at Ichiraku's, if that place is still standing, which should be because it's located at almost the center of the village. And then, he'll have to sneak past some adults to an isolated onsen. He's gotten too spoiled, wishing for a roof and ready to eat food, spending way too much time in a shelter, he had almost forgotten how it was in the wild: back in those younger years when he hid from all of those of the Leaf.
"Kid?" Oh yeah, the pug was still on his shoulder.
"Yes, inu-san?"
The dog paused, unsure. "Sarutobi Asuma is walking over."
A look up to confirm Kakashi's summon's words, "So he is."
"I have to report back to my master." The pug shifted his weight, "Good-bye brat." A small puff of smoke and a weight was lifted literally from his shoulders.
No matter what, he was not stepping a foot into the damn hospital. The one time he did to get treated, they left him to rot. If the administration saw fit to pile a bill (for grievances and complications the Kyuubi-brat did to our staff is unforgivable.) he would have to dig deep into his meager allowances. He couldn't even go to a consultation office or bank to take out a loan, assholes with glasses. They just sniffed down on his being and told him to get out or else they would not be responsible for their next actions. Shoot, he was already having a hard time paying his landlord. If his loft got any damage, it out be taken out on him. He sighed, the bill's tomorrow and if he didn't pay on time, the water, electricity, and heat would all be turned off. He would have to hunt again and beg to his landlord, on his hands and knees, head to the ground. Then, he can always wish for luck, his landlord had oddly a very mercurial temperament. Maybe he can do extra D-missions; the village needs them right now.
The bearded jounin was weaving through, careful not to trip over anybody. He noted that the man wasn't smoking and was sporting a couple of dirt smudges and one rip on his clothes but other than that seemed fine. "Sarutobi-san." He waved. "Where is everybody, I can't find them."
"All of them are at the hospital, but nothing serious."
"Even my team?" He told himself that he wasn't prodding, but needed to know.
"Yeah, they're fine." The tall shinobi assured him, "So," He began casually, "How does it feel after your first taste of a ninja battle? No fatal wounds? No broken bones? No teeth missing?"
Self examination procedure: Shuriken wounds littered his body, lots of bruises and kunai lacerations, deep stab wounds, burns all over his body, but he didn't need a hospital to treat those. The fox was useful for something. "None that's life threatening." He gave a slight tug on the man's sleeve, "Neh, Sarutobi-san, what's going to happen now? What's Jiji going to do?" Awkward silence, he fidgeted a little under the scrutiny. Was Asuma-sensei mad at him for some reason, he couldn't fathom what he had done to warrant such anger. He gave a bright smile.
That only seemed to make it worse as the atmosphere around them grew even heavier. But the man simply said, "My condolences."
His response was almost frantic, "What? Who got killed. Sarutobi-san! What's going on? All of this, what's happening?" Almost, he caught it at the last second. The man's tone of voice still couldn't be determined and he was puzzled. "For what?"
The reply came flat with no emotion. "The Hokage is dead." It was the voice of a broken man.
Time stopped for him. "N-nani?" He managed to stutter out, body numb. Another precious person killed. Jiji left him? But… But… He's alone in the world, nobody could help him.
Save him, no please, no… no…
He's gone. Aftermath of a war, he clutched his head and cried loudly. Between sobs, screams, sniffing, and moaning, Asuma-sensei gave him a one armed hug and led him away from the bloody scene. He can't think or else his mind will break apart.
Jiji was his first protector always there always near. Nothing bad happened to him when the Sandaime was here, though there were some close calls. 'Angel,' he had looked up those words in the dictionary, 'guardian.' He concluded that Angels wear funky hats and long robes and smoke from an aged pipe. Jiji laughed when he reported his findings.
It was a day after the Invasion. Two birds where flying blissfully in the sky, which was shit ugly. He glared up at the clouds, first wishing for them to make up their minds, if they want to rain, go ahead and rain and stop suggesting ominousness. The clouds displayed themselves like beer guts, rolls and rolls of fat layering upon one another, squeeze once, and it'll rain.
The whole village was in mourning, some bodies that were crushed collapsing buildings, courtesy of Oro-teme's snake summons, were still to be found, but ANBU couldn't detect any survivors. The tombstone was just there and underneath was a body of an old man. Jiji's up there too, with Ushi-kun. Are they looking down on him now, watching, pondering... He wanted to wave goodbye to the sky, but that'll just attract attention.
Numbness, there was no sensation when Iruka-sensei touched his right shoulder, nor could he hear anything, the remarks of the honorable Sadaime, the old man at the front chanting something long and boring, the burial ceremony music, nor could he see anything behind his hair. He fingered the sleeves of his white kimono, the one that he had worn for Ushi-kun's funeral. Neko-chan was on his left with her extended family, Ichiraku and Ayame were behind him, the Hyuuga clan was in front.
Out of his peripheral vision, he saw the rest of the clans of the Leaf. Eyes to the ground- affected by dread, like something was going to happen soon. They… they don't understand what it's like to have someone, who has been there since… since…
Who would take up the next mantle as the Hokage? The Toad-sennin? Some jounin or ANBU commander or… heaven forbids, Hatake Kakashi? He resisted the urge to shudder. This was his second time at a funeral in less than two weeks, he lives a cursed life.
He tried to bury his tempestuous feelings underneath a rock for now, to be let away as soon as he returns back to his apartment. Nobody was allowed to view the dead body. The body inside was probably already mutilated, after it was revealed that Hebi-teme had taken the bodies of the beloved Shodaime and Nidaime, the new techniques for a shinobi burial was similar to the techniques of a hunter nin. The closed casket lowered slowly into the ground, earth piled back on top… A tombstone, people gave their last respects and began to leave. The people jostled past him, each one with no face, each one a shadow of recognition, or not, but there he stood, unmoving.
'Good bye Sarutobi-jiji, thank you for all that you had done for me,' he thought, utterly dazed, still light-headed from the sudden use of all that youki. He had done what Jiji had told him to, then why did he still die? Was it because he was too weak? It's common knowledge now that the Hokage was defeated by his wayward student, but so many things didn't add up, like why the Hokage didn't receive any help, and how, with all the planning, were they, everyone, were thrown off course. He berated himself for not practicing his youkai skills before the Invasion, of which he was actually informed about. Baka! Because of his stupidity, his body took in too much youki, he won't be able to generate the demon's spiritual powers at least for not another two months. Because of his stupidity, one of his precious persons had to die.
Why was the village, even with the reports it had received, not better prepared? Why wasn't he? He could've saved the old man. Oh, please… Tears started to fall. If only he was stronger. It's his fault; it's his own entire fault, if only…
If only…
How long had he stood there? The people were leaving, but he stayed till only Iruka-sensei was by him. Was it minutes? Hours? The ground would be soft from the fresh burial; he wished that he had Hyuuga eyes to look one last time at the body. He didn't even have time to… to… Hands agitatedly wringing together, he imagined the old man sleeping in his comfortable bed, able to wake up and resume whatever duties he had for the day, able to smile at his subordinates and gaze mournfully at his paperwork.
"Naruto-kun, how about we finish this pile and then go to Ichiraku's for lunch? I'll pay two bowls."
"Make it five, Jiji, and we got a deal! Dattebayo!"
There were so many things he wanted to tell the Sadaime. The way he feels about the village, pride and sorrow, love and hate. The way he found new precious persons called Ebisu-sensei and Shika-kun. The way that he's enjoying life and hating it. The way he's too ashamed to show his feelings to people. The way the demon's corruption is getting harder and harder to endure with each death that he witnessed. The way he'll continue to fight off the demon that dwells within him.
The unfairness of the world, he lives a cursed life. He made another unbreakable promise, feeling the chains bind his words. I'll become stronger to protect this village, Jiji, just like I always told you. I won't be weak any longer.
"Naruto?" He was pulled out of his reverie. On his left was a ninja from ANBU wearing a dog mask, "the council of Konoha would like to see you now."
Another trip
Another fall
Voices whispering
kill them all
Keirakukei. Meridian System. Chakra Pathway System.
Kagemane no Jutsu. Shadow Imitation Technique.
Gouryuuka no Jutsu. Great Dragon Fire Technique.
Chidori. A Thousand Birds.
Kami no Inari: Makai Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Sanbi no Noburu. God Inari: Demon Realm Summoning Technique: Three-tailed Noburu.
Some no Mai: Tsumi no Hi. First Dance: Fire Claw.
Author note: I don't own Naruto or the word 'comradery.' I stole that word and some quotes from Transition Anchor. Look at it, read it, worship it, that story is the reason why I'm writing this, it's so… original. Please give reviews! I love them. But I don't know how to reply to them. And also, I know shit amount of Japanese, if anybody can help me translate some jutsus, please?
