Fate, Destiny and Existence
Chapter 4: Three years later
Koomahana
minor grammer editing, sorry I didn't notice it sooner (primaerly the scene with Mizuki, Iruka and Naruto)
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site
Thoughts
Paragraphs are flashbacks
…
…
Graduation day
Three years after the girl's 'death'
…
In their final year of the academy, Iruka offered to take Naruto to Ichiraku to celebrate getting second place in the academic tests but the blonde said no and walked away. That day Iruka realized that the blonde trouble maker he knew was gone, the boy had been replaced with someone that he didn't know. Iruka looked at the principle nearby and saw that the old man had noticed the change as well and after having a talk with Naruto's other instructors, Iruka found that all of them had noticed a change in the boy as well; though good or bad none of them could decide. Instead of making spitballs and traps involving orange paint, making a ruckus in class and being a general nuisance to society, the boy stared out his classroom window regardless of who was teaching and studying during lunch when he was supposed to be eating. He didn't talk to the other students, he didn't answer questions when he was called on, he didn't socialize with anyone older or younger then himself (escorting orphans home seemed to be his only pass time after school). Naruto stopped talking all together, focusing on his books and tests, studying as if he had to relay the information back to someone. With a pair of glasses on and a book in hand, Naruto sometimes resembles the late Yondaime Hokage, especially when he's drawing little circles and random lines on his sheets in boredom. He wasn't even wearing his normal screaming orange jump suit any more, he was wearing simple dark slacks and a black long sleeve shirt with a dark jacket. Naruto separated himself from people, kept quiet and did all of his work like he was supposed to, silent and alone like a ghost in human form.
Strange how everyone ignored Naruto when he was loud and boisterous but when he went silent everyone suddenly noticed him
The day of the final test for the hopeful graduates, Iruka sat beside Mizuki and both of them graded the kids on their performance of the illusion clone. Almost every one of his students made at least five illusion clones, only Sasuke could create six without breaking a sweat and Hinata created ten that left her sweating and a little pale. Naruto walked into the room silently, as if he didn't even want to be there, and stared dully at them. After receiving the go ahead from Iruka, Naruto carefully went through the hand signs and concentrated on his chakra coursing through his body. After a moment of silence and it appeared that nothing was happening, Iruka was about to fail him when he saw the wind pick up around the boy. Iruka sat a little straighter in his seat, watching a little closer, then there was a hug cloud of white dust around the blonde and Iruka wondered briefly how many illusions there were.
"Iruka," Mizuki breathed, his eyes wide as he stared at what was in front of him, Iruka waved his hand around in front of his face before daring to open his eyes and see what the knuckle head did. Standing side by side were two calm Naruto Uzumakis, both as bored looking as the other. There was only one problem with the illusion clone, he was made in black and white, as if someone forgot to color in a picture.
"You fail," Iruka sighed heavily, he was really homing that the boy's good grades were a sign of his mastery of the illusion clone
"How?" Naruto asked tilting his head to the side
"You forgot to add color to your clone," Iruka answered bluntly. The two Naruto's looked at each other blankly
"I see nothing wrong with him," the two said at the same time, pointing at the other. Iruka blinked dumbly and rubbed at his brow tiredly, as if something just occurred to him and he was berating himself for not seeing it sooner.
"I want you to go to the nurse's office and hand her this note," Iruka ordered, writing a quick note and then passing it off to him easily. Naruto dismissed his clone and took the note, walking out of the room as if nothing happened. Outside the hall was full of kids ready to test and those who already did, all grew silent and watched him leave without an expression or headband. The nurse took his note with a smile and then did a few tests on his eyes and even checked his temperature. Then she sent him outside with another smile, saying she'd gather up some more data and double check a few things before she gave him the results. Outside he sat on the swing attached to the oak tree, book in hand and glasses on the edge of his nose. Closer to the doors were all of his classmates, all giggling and laughing, thrilled they passed the test to become shinobi. Naruto calmly flipped a page in his book, ignoring the glares he was receiving from two women and their low whispering that was undoubtedly cursing him for something he didn't do.
"Ha! Ha!" he looked up and blinked slowly as Hinata stood between the two women who were glaring at him, her eyes fighting to pulse with her bloodline. The two women were crumpled on the ground, holding their sides with their faces pinched up in pain, as if someone just slammed hammers into their bodies. Hinata's stance suddenly drew Naruto's attention and he realized quickly that she had attacked the two women, easily taking out the use of their legs with one hit each.
"Wha-what was that for?!" one woman gasped out, glaring up at Hinata
"That's my mom!" one of the boys shouted throwing a punch at Hinata, she spun on one foot, stopping mid kick, letting her foot hover inches away from the boy's throat. The boy froze, his fist stopping just passed his face, his brown eyes locked onto the pale foot stationed just below his chin.
"Witch!"
Oh no! Hinata's eyes widened and she turned to see the other woman's son throw a kick at her head, she retracted her foot from the other boy and tried to curl up to avoid the kick but she wasn't moving fast enough, she was going to get hit.
"What's going on here?" Hinata gasped, opening her eyes she realized that she was slightly further back then where she was in the beginning and both of her feet were on the ground. She felt someone release her hood and she looked to her left to see Naruto standing calmly, as if he had been standing there since time began; holding the second boy's foot in the air like it weighed nothing.
"N-Naruto-san!" the first boy gasped, stepping back with slightly wide eyes
"Are you going to stare at me or answer my question?" Naruto asked patiently, ignoring the unsettling silence of his other classmates; everyone turned to look at them, watching curiously. Naruto usually ignored people who argued near him, if someone got in a fist fight he'd watch for a little bit then leave, he never got directly involved in anyone's life. And as each of his classmates stared at him, they each slowly realized that he went from the swing under the tree to the Academy doors in seconds. The dust from his sudden stop had barely settled around his feet before he asked the question that silenced both boys before him. Now he was staring at them with unsettling blue eyes, as if he didn't care for the staring of the students and their parents, all watching him as if waiting for a fight to happen.
"She… she started it!" the first boy stuttered out, "she attacked my mom for no reason!"
"No one does anything without a reason," Naruto drawled in boredom, dropping his eyes down to the two women still sitting on the ground, "I heard every insult you spoke of me. If you're going to insult someone make sure you're not within that person's hearing range." Naruto looked at the boy whose foot he still held in the air, "you should be ashamed of yourself Kaito. Attacking someone who has their back turned to you is a cowardly act and you," he turned his eyes back to the boy who attacked Hinata first, "Shiori, should be ashamed for attacking first and not asking questions. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. You would go further if you think first and act last, consider everything possible before deciding how to act."
"How dare you insult my son!" one woman hissed at him, "you motherless orphan! You know nothing! She attacked us randomly! She—"
"Has a kinder heart then you could ever dream," Naruto interrupted, "unlike you she actually represents the future, you only hold it back. I should hope you're not Kaito or Shiori's mother, if they had any brains they'd be embarrassed with your behavior. As for me being a motherless orphan…" Naruto closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, as if to steady himself for the coming words. The woman before Naruto shivered, her eyes widening in fear as she watched Naruto's closed lids open to reveal glacial blue orbs, eyes cold enough to freeze a demon's heart.
"My mother died with honor, you should know better than to insult someone who did what you could not. She sacrificed a future with my father and me to protect your future with your son, and for what? To let people like you call her names even though she took your place at death's doorstep? If you were a real woman you would acknowledge the sacrifice of every mother who died thirteen years ago instead of cursing them." Naruto spun on his heal and walked away, he heard someone turn to follow him so he stopped and looked over his shoulder just enough to double check their identity. "Hinata-san," Naruto spoke evenly, stilling her rushing steps after him, "you are the heiress of the Hyūga clan. You cannot socialize with someone the entire village has deemed to be less than dirt." Hinata jerked at the words, her eyes widening and her back straitening, "Thank you but for your safety, don't concern yourself with me anymore."
"But—!"
"Don't Hinata," Naruto ordered as he started walking away again, "Sunlight dose not greet the night. Nor should you sully your future for a mistake like me." He disappeared beyond the gates of the Academy, never seeing the frown of his teachers or the watchful eyes of the Hokage.
"Are you happy now?" Hinata asked softly, head bowed and fists trembling at her sides
"Good riddance," one woman murmured under breath, rising to her feet with one arm wrapped around her belly
"I—"
"Hinata," her father's voiced called out warningly
"What would you do if Kaito and Naruto were switched?" Hinata asked, her shoulders relaxed and her fists loosened, "what would you do if Naruto was your son and Kaito was him? Would you still curse him? Would you still hate him for something he had no control over?" Hinata lifted her face and stared miserably down at the woman, eyes over flowing with tears, "what mother hates her own child for something he didn't do?!" Hinata ran away before the woman could answer, she dashed for the exit and skidded around the corner.
"Naruto-san!" He looked up at her, surprise on his face, a tear freed itself and then a gust of wind strong enough to make Hinata cringe with its icy touch appeared. By the time it was gone and she could look at her crush again, there wasn't a trace of his presence left. Nothing was before her, the street was empty, only a single bouquet of flowers set at the base of the academy mural. Hinata stared at the flowers for a moment, her mouth trembling as painful realization crept up from her belly. She felt the heavy hand of her father settle on her shoulder and she leaned against him, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.
"He still loves her," Hinata whispered, "even after all this time, he still loves her." Her father sighed as she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. "How daddy? How can I compete with her? She's dead and he still loves her! How can I compete with that? How can I compete with a dead girl?!" Hiashi closed his eyes, trying to beat back the memory of hinata's mother and carefully reached out to his eldest, turning her slightly so she could cry on his chest instead of in her hands.
"Your mother once told me that love is like a field of wild roses," her father answered slowly, "no two flowers look the same but they all have thorns, some more than others. In the end only you can decide if the scars from the thorns are worth capturing the rose." Neither saw that Kaito and Shiori had followed Hinata, several kids from their class did, but stopped at the edge of the gates, listening to Hinata with blank expressions.
"Do you see that Iruka-kun?" Hiruzen asked softly, watching how some of the children looked at their patents and walked away from them, leaving the adults behind at the academy.
"Sir?" Iruka questioned
"Ah, there you are Iruka-kun," a familiar nurse called out, smiling as she approached him, "I've been looking for you—oh! Lord Hokage! Please excuse me for not seeing you!" She said loudly, bowing deeply to him, earning an amused chuckle from the old man.
"No harm done Nao-Chan," Hiruzen smiled warmly at her, "please pretend I'm not here."
"Um, okay," Nao said slowly, "uh, as per your request Iruka-kun, I double checked Naruto-kun's eyes and compared him to a few other test results and discovered that your suspicions were correct."
"I was right?" Iruka asked in surprise
"Yes," Nao nodded, "Naruto Uzumaki is color blind. Yet contains a twenty-twenty vision, from close range, middle range and even long range, his sight almost appears to sharpen on farther objects."
"So he's color blind but literally has perfect vision," Iruka murmured looking at the file, "I knew he had keen sight but this is… not what I was expecting."
"Hm, since he is color blind I do belief there is an exception to the rule for producing illusion clones, yes?" Hiruzen asked no one in particular, "ah yes, they do, only one or two Illusion clones in perfect physical description of their person is required. Being color blind they are incapable of adding color to clones, which is why they only have to focus on details and not colors."
"Ah if that's the case then Naruto passed the exams!" Iruka shouted in realization, "I have to go tell him!" He was gone before he realized that the two mother's Hinata hit earlier were scowling at the ground, their sons were staring at them with blank expressions, as if they didn't know what to say or do in regards to their mother's anger towards the boy they knew as sunlight.
"Lord Hokage," Nao called softly with a playful smile, "What are you thinking about?"
"The future," Hiruzen answered with a heavy sigh, "it's a complicated mess of knots and tangles."
"What are you worried about lord Hokage?" she asked, tilting her head to the side curiously, "surely two heads are better than one, three are even better, can you tell me? Maybe we can help"
"Little Nao you are by far to kind for your own good," Hiruzen chuckled, smiling at her, "You needn't worry about me but perhaps you should stick close to Iruka-kun or Naruto-kun."
"Y-Yes sir!" Nao blushed brightly, her summer blue eyes widening in excitement as a girlish, almost childish, giggle escaped her. Hiruzen smiled at her more than obvious crush on a certain Chunin, now he just had to make sure Iruka figured it out in time.
…
…
Sitting alone on his apartment building balcony, Naruto watched as the sun began to touch the distant horizon, tinting the sky in shades of gold and pink. He had been sitting there since he left the Academy because he knew the girls would be disappointed in him, it didn't help that there was a person following him. In order to protect the girls like he promised, he would have to avoid the girls; the length of separation would depend on how long the stranger kept following him.
"Hello Naruto-san," he looked up at his follower, surprised that it was his math teacher and not someone who wanted to start a fight.
"Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto questioned curiously, "how'd you find me?"
"I looked up your address," Mizuki answered with a chuckle, "I wanted to talk to you after the testing but you left faster than I expected."
"Oh yeah? What did you want to say to me?" Naruto smiled cheerfully up at his teacher, his eyes closing as he smoothly hid his thoughts on the matter. He knew for a fact that wasn't right, the academy didn't know where he lives. He told the principal that he was moving and the old man took his file and kept it in his desk, waiting to be updated. After he paid off rent a year ago (the manager sat down and counted it all out, the amount paid his hospital bills, the six month debt he had and the following five years), he decided that he only crashed there when it was convenient for him, which meant that whenever he decided not to spend the night with the girls.
"Please don't be mad at Iruka," Mizuki requested as he sat on the edge next to Naruto, startling him with the sudden friendly attitude. "Because you're his favorite, he has to be that little bit harder on you. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair to the other kids, right?"
"I'm not mad at Iruka-sensei," Naruto replied, turning his attention back to the sunset, watching it paint his village in hues of orange and yellow. "I'm disappointed in myself. Sakura-Chan was the best at Illusion clones, she could pull off five of them when everyone else could barely produce one... I just... I just wanted to produce one clone she could be proud of."
"So the rumors are true," Mizuki sighed beside him, "you really were in love with one of the girls who died three years ago."
"I didn't know there were rumors about me," Naruto replied softly, his shoulders slumping a little as he stared at the ground far below himself. If what his teacher said was true then it's possible that the adults were paying closer attention then he thought they were. Naruto's eyes narrowed a little in thought and his lips twisted into a frown; he'd have to be extra careful from now on, epically if he wanted to keep the girls safe.
"Hay I know a trick you could use to pass the Academy," Mizuki said suddenly, drawing Naruto's attention back onto him, "if you're still upset about that I can tell you how to pass."
"Really?" Naruto asked curiously, wondering briefly why this alternative option wasn't discussed earlier, "how can I pass the academy without the illusion clone?"
"By mastering one technique from the scroll of forbidden jutsu," Mizuki answered, "if you master one thing from that scroll, then you can become a genin."
"If it's a forbidden scroll then isn't it kind of illegal to look at any of it before I'm of proper rank?" Naruto asked, Mizuki's smile turned a little stiff, as he hadn't expected that kind of response.
"Only if you get caught before you master the technique," Mizuki answered with laughter in his voice, "so long as you master one technique, you'll be fine."
"Where is it?" Naruto asked curiously
"In the lower level of the Kage tower," Mizuki answered, "in the room just below the Hokage's office."
…
…
Shikaku knocked breathlessly on the old wooden door, hoping the adult inside was still awake. The sudden crying of a baby made Shikaku flinch in sympathy, more than once Yoshino was ready to kill him for a sneeze in the next room over when Shikamaru was still a toddler. The door opened to a middle aged man with wild white streaked golden hair, sleep deprived agitated green eyes glared at him.
"Inoichi?" Shikaku questioned in surprise
"Shikaku?" Inoichi asked, adjusting his hold on an infant, pulling the little blonde higher on his hip.
"I knew you quite but I thought you still ran the flower shop," Shikaku shook his head ruefully, "who knew you would work at an orphanage?"
"I don't work here, I run it," Inoichi replied, pulling a bottle out of his pocket and sticking it in the kid's mouth, effectively silencing the toddler, "why are you here? Is the village in danger?"
"Ah, no—well, maybe," Shikaku answered, Inoichi stared blankly at him. "Um, this is Naruto Uzumaki's first home, I was wondering if you've seen him recently?"
"Yeah, he comes by every day to help with the kid's homework," Inoichi answered, "though he didn't come by today, is he in some kind of trouble?"
"We're trying to figure that out," Shikaku answered, "he stole the forbidden scroll—"
"Liar!" Inoichi and Shikaku flinched at the shrill shout, the toddler started fussing again, as if getting ready to wail with renewed vigor, "Naruto-nii would never steal!"
"Moegi-Chan," Inoichi groaned as he turned to address the orange haired little girl standing just behind him, "you're supposed to be in bed, young lady." He stepped aside to reveal the pouting little girl to Shikaku, in response to seeing his scares Moegi stepped back, as if considering him a threat.
"I was thirsty," she pouted at Inoichi and then shook her head, "don't distract me!"
"I didn't, you did that yourself," Inoichi sighed, "this isn't a conversation you need to worry about, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."
"It is a misunderstanding because Naruto-nii has told us countless times that if we want something we have to earn it!" Moegi shouted, "He'd never resort to stealing!" Inoichi sighed, his shoulders slumping as the toddler on his hip started wailing loudly in his ear, undoubtedly waking others upstairs as well.
"Moegi-chan?" a voice from upstairs called sleepily
"What's going on?" another asked, tiny feet started to move down the stairs
"Later," Shikaku said, leaving before his old teammate could stop him.
Hiruzen sighed as he watched Shikaku disappear before Inoichi could crab him and made his crystal ball sweep through every location he could think of that could contain Naruto. When he didn't find the blonde at the western forest where he watched three girls get killed, Hiruzen began to worry that perhaps no one in the village really knew the young boy. Was there no one in the village the boy turned to? No one he considered a safe place? No one he considered an ally? Where could Naruto go that not even his crystal ball could see him?
Realizing something, Hiruzen quickly double checked on Nao and Iruka. The later was racing through a dark forest in a blind panic, his thoughts clear on his face. Nao was… Hiruzen straightened in his seat, staring into the crystal ball with widening eyes. The young blonde was standing outside a plain cement wall, staring into a broken section, its pieces scattered out to make a half ring outwardly from the broken wall as well as a very well made arch overhead. Her sapphire blue eyes were staring at the arch dully, her head tilted to the side as if curious, one hand out stretched to hover against the air just over the scattered wall pieces on the ground, contacting only a single teal colored barrier. Did Nao find Naruto? Even if she did, what was she (and him for that matter) doing at the old abandoned Uzumaki compound? How did Naruto even find out about it?
Hiruzen took a steady breath and tried to see if the crystal ball could show him the inside of the compound, sadly nothing but static greeted his vision.
…
…
"You did what?" three voices sounded at the same time
"I stole the forbidden scroll," Naruto repeated sullenly, staring at the three unimpressed looking girls
"You're an idiot," Sakura replied first, after realizing that he was serious, "you're going to end up in jail and we're going to go insane with only each other as company."
"Nice imaging there Sakura-chan," Ino looked at her friend in mild annoyance, "You don't think we'll end up killing each other first?"
"Sakura has a point," Ami sighed, "if you go to jail we'll gonna go nuts and kill each other. Return the damn scroll before we're all screwed for eternity."
"But Mizuki-sensei said that I'll be fine so long as I learn one jutsu in this scroll before I'm caught," Naruto pouted, "I really, really want to pass this year."
"Stealing is stealing, Naruto," Sakura sighed in disappointment, "it's bad, wrong and can get you into some serious trouble."
"What if he can return it without anyone noticing him?" Ino asked curiously
"Ten bucks says they're already searching for him," Ami drawled, slouching against the table, "So why'd you bring it here anyways, Naruto?"
"Oh yeah," Naruto blushed and looked down at the scroll sheepishly, "I thought if I could learn something from it, maybe you guys could too…"
"What could we possibly learn from it?" Ino asked
"It's a forbidden scroll Naruto," Sakura reminded him, "Anything in it is at least Jonin level, at least. Do you seriously think we have the ability to do something in it that wouldn't take a week or year to do? You seriously think we can do it in a single night?"
"Well… maybe not but we can give it a try and if you guys still haven't mastered yours by the time I've got my chosen one down then we can make copies so you can keep trying," Naruto suggested, the three girls looked at each other, as if measuring their thoughts on the matter.
"How about we just make copies," Sakura suggested, "but only one technique each, that good?" the other shrugged or nodded their agreement with Sakura, earning a blinding smile from their blond guard.
"Pick a number between one and a hundred!" Naruto said loudly, nearly vibrating where he sat before them
"We're doomed," Ino sighed heavily, thumping her head on the table, "Ten."
"Why not? Fifty," Ami shrugged
"…uh, between one and a hundred?" Sakura repeated, frowning at the table thoughtfully, "how about a hundred?"
"The last one in the scroll?" Naruto asked, blinking at her, "Okay!" Sakura felt like a fool as Naruto put one end of the scroll beside Ami for her to hold onto as he went running around and around the room, unwinding the scroll for all to see the hundred plus length of paper containing different jutsus from end to end.
"Do you really think we can do this in one night?" Ino asked Sakura, her voice dropping to a whisper
"Nope," Sakura answered, "but if we can make copies we should be able to practice them without much worry about being caught and killed for treason."
"Sakura, everyone thinks we're dead," Ami reminded her bluntly, "Doubt anyone cares."
"Naruto cares," Ino snickered, "we wouldn't be here if he didn't."
"Enough teasing Ino," Sakura reprehended her, "Let's find our numbers and get this over with." She stood up just as Naruto stopped at the edge of the doorway, pinning the end of the scroll in place so it wouldn't roll back up
"Oh, uh, guys I miss countered!" Naruto shouted from the end, "There aren't a hundred jutsu in here, there are a thousand! You wanna change your numbers?"
"No," Sakura answered, "might as well roll it back up, stop at a hundred so I can do mine."
"Kay!" and around he went, rewinding the entire scroll till the three got dizzy watching him run around and around in perfect circles. "Done! Here you go Sakura-chan!" The tree girls stood up on the table and looked out around their stone room, slumping at the sight of the dozen rows of unending chakra paper waiting to be read.
"Alright, Naruto get over here and help Ami and Ino find their numbers!" Sakura ordered, "I'll get to the end somehow…" Naruto grinned at her and stepped onto one of the lines of the seal carved into the floor, instantly little stone pillars as tall as the scrolls all shot up in random spots, pinning the unraveled scroll in place and giving Sakura an almost perfect line straight to the end.
"Sweet," Ami grinned at the standing scroll sheets, "Can you get them to tell us which ones are numbers ten and fifty?" Naruto shrugged and jumped up onto the square piece of stone holding the end of the scroll in place, he looked around at the circular pattern and wondered if the placement holders could tell him which ones contained jutsu numbers fifty and ten. The response was that two taller prices rose up and pinned the scroll tightly in place, small round decals appearing on their top.
"You're a little show off," Sakura said suddenly beside him, startling Naruto into yelping and wobbling dangerously on his perch. "We already know the seal obeys you," Sakura snickered at him, "no need to rub it in."
"Sakura-Chan you scared me!" Naruto whined at her, earning an amused chuckle from her
"Thanks Naruto," Sakura said jumping down from the stone clasp and looking up at him with a smile that could melt hearts, "and I mean for everything you've done for us. You've kept us sane all this time. I don't know if Sasuke-kun could do that."
"I'll get the paper and pencils so you guys can write them down!" Naruto cheered in response, unable to contain his over flowing energy at the compliant from the pinkette.
…
Ino hummed as she jumped from pillar to pillar, easily finding her chosen number she slid to the ground with her grin widening. She stared up at the title of the jutsu and couldn't help but to cock an eyebrow at the title.
"What's Nature chakra manipulation?"
…
Ami landed before her number fifty, smiling to herself as she looked up at the technique, clasping her hands behind herself while she was at it.
"Chakra stones," Ami read aloud, "their uses on and off the battle field... blaw, blaw, blaw… huh?" Ami looked a little close to the creator of the technique she was going to use, her eyes widening as she gasped loudly. "Holy cow! This is the shodaime's technique for his healing chakra-stone pendent!"
…
Naruto looked up at the sound of an excited gasp, deeming it to be Ami being overly excited with her given technique, Naruto shrugged and returned to reading the first sealed away technique.
What is with everyone's obsession with clones? Naruto thought with a heavy sigh as he continued to follow the instructions of the technique.
…
…
Nao examined the broken wall, walking around its perimeter with her hands clasped behind her. As had been requested of her by her Hokage, she followed Naruto home and watched him carefully. Just as she felt Mizuki's signature approach she ducked a little lower behind the raised edge of the roof she hid on. She peeked over it once and saw that Naruto seemed to be addressing thin air and the moment he agreed to do something he disappeared too. Nao narrowed her eyes over the edge, she ducked back down and formed a few hand signs; activating the tracking seal on a slip of paper that she placed inside Naruto's jacket from when he left her office earlier that day. She followed the seal for a few blocks, making sure she wasn't within anyone's sensory range and then stopped when she felt Naruto slow down; a little while later she was able watch Naruto leave the Kage building with a large scroll strapped over his back. Just as she was about to follow him the alarm went off, she told the nearest Chunin to check it out and then dived after Naruto, hoping to catch up with him before he went too far. However she discovered that the boy was faster than she previously thought and fought hard to keep up with him, only when he entered the old clan compound did she feel trapped. She couldn't return to the kage tower because then every chunin and Jonin in the village who still hated Naruto would come tearing into the forest after him, deciding that he was a traitor first and innocent never. She had to remain waiting patiently outside of the clan walls and hope he would come out soon; otherwise she would be forced to inform Lord Hokage of his location and watch helplessly as he tore down the walls.
Where is Iruka-kun? Nao thought, turning to look back at the vast forest just behind her, standing like a dark sentry little less than a dozen feet from the wall. Doesn't he know where Naruto-kun is? Nao sighed and slumped, walking to the edge of the entrance through the wall; she sat down and meditated, trying to concentrate on the location of the seal she placed on Naruto. Sadly every time she thought she got a location on him his seal would suddenly duplicate into a dozen others then drop back down to a handful only to jump back up to a dozen. It was as if the seal was fluctuating, she felt as if she put chakra into a rope and then someone took it apart and spread the finer hairs everywhere and was constantly re-weaving and shredding the rope repeatedly just to confuse her. Shaking her head Nao sighed heavily, she was getting a headache trying to locate the seal, it would be best to just wait for him to come out on his own.
In the mean time she could practice her meditation
…
…
Several long hours later
…
…
"I DID IT!" Naruto's shout was enough to make the girls nearly jump out of their skin, they all jumped up to their respective stone pillar to look at the center of the great seal they still stood in. Greeting their disbelieving looks were a dozen Naruto clones, all of them grinning like little mad clowns... or mischievous foxes. "Well how about you guys? You done?" the three looked at each other and promptly slumped together, answering his question.
"The only reason I'm not gonna thump him is because Mizuki-sensei said he can pass the academy so long as he masters one technique," Ino grumbled, climbing down from her post
"Well at least we don't have to worry about helping him learn his technique," Sakura chuckled, sliding down her post to start re-reading the inscription with bright glowing eyes. The girls returned to work copying everything down as it was written in the scrolls, ignoring the ecstatic blonde's giggling and dancing horde of clones.
"Shut up! I'm trying to work here!" Ino screamed, slamming a fist into Naruto's head, her anger didn't even dent his enthusiasm but it did disperse the clone. "Naru—"
"Is everyone done copying?" Sakura asked loudly, interrupting Ino's angry growl
"Gi'me a sec!" Ami called
"Almost!" Ino shouted hurrying to copy the last of the details, once the three were done Naruto ran full speed around the room, rolling up the scroll, each stone clasp disappearing seconds before he reached them.
"Alright I'm off!" Naruto cheered, flinging the scroll onto his back, "I'll be back tonight I swear!"
"Tonight?" The girls repeated, watching Naruto disappear beyond the doorway. Naruto raced across the field and jumped out the entrance, eyes gleaming and smile wide.
"I can't believe I did it!" Naruto cheered and then ate a mouth full of dirt, "ow~" Naruto pushed himself up and shook his head, pushing himself back he landed on his rump and breathed heavily for a moment, "I think I used... too much chakra."
"Naruto!" He had enough time to look up and yelped loudly as Iruka's fist landed atop his head, nearly knocking him out. "You idiot! What were you thinking taking the forbidden scroll?!" Naruto remained still as Iruka blew up in his face, the young man's own scared face red with anger, "did I teach you nothing?! You should know better than to steal! Do you know how much the village is in a panic because of what you did?!"
"Iruka-san,"
"What?!" Nao jumped back from him, tears flying to her blue eyes as she sniffled, looking like she might start crying. "Ah, I'm sorry Nao-san, I didn't mean to yell at you," Iruka said softly, looking like he regretted yelling in the first place; the blonde warmed up immediately, smiling goofily at him.
"It's okay Iruka-kun," Nao smiled warmly, "I was only going to say that Naruto-kun is hurt." Iruka blinked and turned back around to look at Naruto as he rubbed tenderly at his head with the newly growing bump on his head. True to the blonde's words, Naruto was scuffed up, looking as if he got caught in a rock slide and tangled with a few wire strung kunai knifes.
"Let's get your wounds tended too," Iruka sighed heavily, slumping as he crouched in front of Naruto, "If you want or need help with something, don't be afraid to ask someone, Okay Naruto?" the blonde stared at him with a pout and teary blue eyes, teary because his head still stung from the hit, nodding softly when Iruka gave him a look that said 'answer now!'
"Ah wait a moment Iruka-kun," Nao called crouching beside him, "do you feel that? His signature isn't as strong as it was this morning, it's awfully low now…" Iruka glanced at her before looking down at Naruto, focusing on the blonde's signature a little closer than he did before and frowned when he realized that he actually had to concentrate to feel the blonde's over powering chakra signature. "He's been practicing all this time, that smile he wore a minute ago, it must've been because he accomplished his clone jutsu."
"A clone jutsu from the forbidden scroll?" Iruka questioned softly, "Which clone jutsu is that?"
"The Kagebunshin," Nao answered with a warm smile, "hay why don't we—" Nao's voice cut off, her eyes wide as she watched blood spray between her and Iruka, partially covering Naruto's face. Then she was laying across Naruto's legs, her eyes clouded as her blood continued to pour out, forming a thick and heavy pool beneath her.
"Nao!" Iruka screamed as Naruto jerked his legs out from under the woman, staring horrified at her body. Iruka jumped forward to put his hands on her bleeding neck, hoping to stop the bleeding before she died from blood loss. However his hand was thrown back by another blade and he soon found himself blocking a dozen more blades just to keep Naruto from suffering the same fate as the medic.
I'm sorry Nao, Iruka thought as he batted away the last Kunai and readied himself in front of one terrified little blonde, trembling helplessly behind him, please forgive me…
"Not bad Iruka!" A familiar voice shouted from the top of a nearby tree
"Please, heaven no," Iruka lowered his kunai blade, disbelief sounding in his voice and a look of betrayal twisting his face, "Mizuki?" Before Iruka could comprehend the betrayal enough to realize he was a threat, Iruka found himself coughing as five kunai buried themselves into his body.
"Now didn't our teachers teach you better than that? You're not supposed to block with your body Iruka~," Mizuki mocked as he grinned down at him, leaning dangerously over the edge of his branch. "Oi! You wanna know a secret brat?" Naruto heard Mizuki's voice and the following secret passed to him but he could barely comprehend the words as his world fell apart; the conversation he remembered over hearing the year before surfacing in his mind like a torrent of wind. At the time he had been too busy to really stop and think about the girl's conclusion and had easily forgotten about it. Now their words were surfacing in his mind again, their conclusion of his parent's fates spinning round and round in his head as if it were some big clue to their identity. There were moments in the past year were his anger got the best of him and he repeated what they said and there were moments where he simply didn't want to acknowledge the demon's existence inside of himself. But no matter what he did or how he distracted himself, in the far back of his mind Naruto knew the Youndaime sealed the demon into him and that the villagers hated him because he was the keeper of the demon's cage. Yes, he knew and understood the reason for the cold glares, the spiteful whispers and the mistreatment but not once did he dare to belief that someone would spit the words in his face as if they were weapons.
"you are the nine tailed fox!" Naruto vaguely heard Mizuki's deranged laughter, he was so focused on the pooling blood reaching out to him from beneath Nao that he stopped listening to his teachers all together. Now Naruto was busy staring at his academy nurse, staring into her glazed sapphire eyes and the warm crimson liquid leaking from her neck. He remembered the first time he met her, the constant worrying and smothering over scrapes, the scolding for pranks and cheering during spars... and then the lessons, the gentle coxing, the soft encouragements. When Kado tainted the forest red, she tended to his wounds, when the demon pulled away from him, she had been there smiling like sunlight. When he rejected the demon, she scolded him for it, when he wanted to learn to fix what the demon broke, she smiled and led the way.
When his world turned into darkness, she stood up and blinded him with sunlight
"NARUTO!" Iruka cried, Naruto's blue eyes flickered to him, saw the shuriken and the panic on his teacher's face... and knew Iruka would not be able to save him in time, not without hurting himself. With a sudden burst of power, Iruka was suddenly on top of him, pushing him to the ground and allowing the weapon to burry itself into his back. Naruto stared up at his teacher, staring into his dark brown eyes over flowing with tears of memory and pain. For a moment he was confused, wondering what was wrong with his teacher but when he coughed and trickle of blood spilled past his tightly clenched teeth, Naruto felt his world stop. Before Iruka knew it, he was flying backwards as a power burst around Naruto, making the earth rumbled and the air tremble. Mizuki flinched as the power of the Kyūbi awakened and threatened to smother him in its fury, Iruka coughed as he landed and rolled, his world darkening as the image of a four tailed fox roared miserably at the sky imprinted itself in his memory. In the village, the shinobi flinched in memory, their eyes widening in terror; the Hokage jumped out of his office in a blind flurry of white robes and a sinking heart; and the newly graduated students all turned towards the waves of demonic power, unable to do anything more than stare in terror. The shinobi of the hidden leaf turned and rushed towards the haunted forest, readying themselves for the demon they were going to face, fearing for their village and the family they were leaving behind. A scream of agony echoed through the air, forcing over trees and forcing shinobi to skid and stumble to a stop, surrounding the four tailed jinchuriki like wiry animals. The four tailed mini Kyūbi didn't move from where it awakened, choosing instead to sit beside the paling body of a blonde medic, screaming miserably at the sky as if lost unable to understand what it should do next.
"Naruto!" Hiruzen shouted desperately, "Wake up boy!" The mini-demon didn't even look at him but looked towards the white moon high overhead and cried out again, a sound like heartbreak and misery. "Naruto!" Hiruzen cried, "You're not the demon inside! Wake up and remember who you are!" again the demon gave an ear shattering scream, suddenly the shinobi froze in their formations, their eyes widening as they each took closer looks at the small demon sitting beside the body of a woman. They watched hypnotized as tears started roll out of the demon's round eyes, searing the black scorched cheeks of the out of control child, and with every agonized cry of the demon another tear, larger than the previous, would drip down its face.
"Is… is it crying?" a chunin asked in disbelief, "Why would a demon cry?"
"The demon and the child," a kunochi whispered, "they're not… they're not the same…"
"Naruto!" Hiruzen shouted again, "Wake up now or you'll never be my successor!" the demon cried again but a tail did begin to shrink and the black skin receded into an orange cloak. Inside was Naruto, sitting on the ground, scrapped hands rubbing at his face as he screamed again, his tears tinting teal as little by little his third tail slowly began to receded.
"…That seriously worked?" a shinobi asked, staring incuriously at the orange glowing boy. It was then that the third tail disappeared but the two remaining orange tails remained behind, one tail curling around Naruto protectively and the other reaching out to the bleeding woman beside him.
"N-Nao!" Naruto cried out, "Nao! Nao!" Hiruzen sighed at the wailing child in the field, he stepped forward slowly, not wanting to startle the little boy who's changed so much in the past three years. "Nao! Nao!" Naruto wailed again, his eyes closed as he rubbed at his face, trying to remove the tears that refused to stop flowing, "I-I-Iruka-sensei!" the sudden name change made Hiruzen stop, he sent a sharp look at a nearby Anbu agent and watched as the young man disappeared in search of the academy instructor, "Iruka-sensei! Nao!" Hiruzen took in a deep breath and started walking again, he heard movement behind him but thought nothing of it, a sudden shout and the sound of whistling had him snapping around and blocking a large shuriken only to have kunai and shuriken fly past just out of his reach.
"Naruto!" Hiruzen shouted, looking over his shoulder to see that one of Naruto's tails had reached up and blocked the kunai, letting it slide inside of itself. Naruto sniffed and looked at Hiruzen, his blood red eyes dropping to shallow cut on Hiruzen's arm, in a second the blonde's tears stopped flowing and his eyes locked onto the man who had attacked him. Mizuki stood panting at the edge of several knocked over trees and a team of chunin, Naruto and Mizuki stared at each other a moment and then before anyone could blink, Naruto regained his third tail.
"You!" Naruto bellowed out, his eyes narrowing as he snarled at the white haired man, "you killed Nao! You killed Iruka-sensei!" The group of chunin closest to Mizuki looked at him with blank faces, hands drifting over their kunai pouches, readying to attack or defend. "You hurt Jiji!" Naruto lowered himself into a crouch, as if readying to attack his once-teacher, "it's your fault they're dead!"
"What are you talking about monster?!" Mizuki shouted in growing panic, "You killed them! You just don't want to admit it!"
"Liar!" Naruto bellowed, appearing before Hiruzen in a flash, flinging the giant weapon away and crouching protectivly in front of the only man he considered to be his family. "You who's surrounded yourself in misery and hatred have no right to call me a monster!" Naruto crouched lower, his chin nearly touching the ground, "Hatred strengths the demon! And you've given him plenty of food!" Naruto burst forward, his three tails acting on their own to block weapons from Mizuki and the few meant to distract him by other ninja. With a roar Naruto leaped into the air, evading three jonin who tried to stand in the way and belted out a roar that pressurized the air and turned it into a bullet. Mizuki cursed and tried to dive out of the way but found himself restrained by two Anbu agents while a third erected a mud wall between them and the orange glowing boy. Naruto growled and took in a deep breath, ready to belt out a roar that would shatter the wall but stiffened as a white clothed form suddenly stood in his way. Hiruzen stood atop the mud wall with a gentle smile and arms spread wide, Naruto's eyes bugged comically as he tried to swallow the air he took in to perform the instinctual jutsu, he ended up landing in Hiruzen's arms and forcing up his lunch instead of a wind bullet. The agent behind the wall was less then pleased to be covered in second hand ramen, he was even more annoyed when the boy above him wrapped his glowing hands around his mouth as if to stop a second wave of puke from rising. Hiruzen snickered, ignoring Mizuki who tried to struggle in the agents hold, as he turned Naruto to face the other side of the wall where he could hurl freely without it hitting someone. While Naruto emptied his stomach for performing the wind bullet jutsu incorrectly, Hiruzen re-examined his surroundings; frowning at the concentrating medic hovering green palms over Nao's neck. Nao was a chunin medic, she was a splended healer but her true talent lied in her ability to deceive her opponents; for Mizuki to land such a fatal hit, she had to have been heavily distracted. only evSighing heavily, Hiruzen turned his attention to the Anbu commander he sent out earlier and was relieved to see Iruka braced against his side. The academy instructor was hurt pretty bad but was conscious and smiling at Naruto; looking like a father relived at the sight of his unharmed son.
"Naruto-kun," Hiruzen called when the boy was done hurling, his orange tails shrinking as his cloak slowly faded. "What you said about the demon…wait, how do you know about him?!" Naruto turned and whipped the drool from his mouth, his tiered blue eyes rolling towards Nao thoughtfully. Naruto watched as the medic pulled his hands away from No's neck with a heavy sigh but from the distance and dark of night he couldn't make out the man's expression and therefore couldn't tell if it was a good sigh or a bad one.
"I figured it out years ago," Naruto admitted, he didn't technically lie, he just didn't say the exactly when or how he figured it out. "When I questioned his existence inside of me he said that the fourth used me to seal him away to make me into a weapon for the village. He also mentioned that he was able to grow stronger because of my negativity but it didn't hold the same taste as the emotions of those who surrounded me." Naruto looked up at Hiruzen and gave him a sad smile, "the darker the emotions the stronger the demon."
"That's why you don't socialize with anyone," Naruto blinked and looked down at the familiar voice, tears sprang to his eyes at the sight of his favorite teacher. "you've been trying to starve him all this time," in an instant Naruto was flying through the air, crash landing in Iruka's arms and burying his face in the man's bloody chest. "That hurt Naruto," Iruka chuckled, gently patting the blonde's head with his free hand. Naruto sniffled, his arms tightening around the man as his hands wrapped around his back carefully, glowing gently in soft jade; brightening the dark night with his desperation to heal the man who showed him no hatred or loathing.
"You've mastered it," a soft voice whispered, "about time." Iruka looked over and saw a chunin medic carefully holding up Nao, who was smiling sleepily at them. Naruto sniffed and tilted his head towards Nao, his shoulders shaking as a new wave of tears tumbled down his cheeks. "It only took you six months," Nao chuckled weakly, "thank you Naruto-kun, thank you." Naruto went to pull away from Iruka but the man's heavy limb prevented him from pulling away completely before Nao was glaring at him. "A medic heals one patent at a time!" Naruto jumped at the anger in the older blonde's voice, "you've healed me enough, now tend to your teacher." Iruka chuckled at Naruto as he gave him a pathetic look of pleading.
"Go on," Iruka smiled, patting his student's head affectionately, "see Nao-chan for yourself." Naruto nodded and left Iruka to the Anbu agent who was still holding him up, ignorring the other shinobi around him, Naruto hurried to Nao's side.
"Nao-San," Naruto called as he slipped into a kneeling position beside her, even taking up her hand and holding it close. "Are you okay? Should you really be talking right now?"
"It was a shallow wound," Nao informed him, "your friend healed me enough to stop the bleeding and close the wound. I was only unconscious because of shock and exhaustion." Naruto frowned at the information, he wasn't aware that the demon could heal and he was even more baffled as to why the demon would bother with healing Nao of all people.
"What were you exhausted over?" Naruto asked, choosing to ignore the curious bit of information and focus on the more important info. "I get that your body went into shock because of the severed artery but…"
"I spent the entire evening trying to sense for your location," Nao answered him with a disappointed look, "you are too damn good at hiding your presence."
"I learned from the best," Naruto smiled at her, "besides if I known you were trying to follow me I would've led you to my special place."
"I did follow your tracks Naruto-kun," Nao huffed at him, "why did you hide there? Why not the orphanage?"
"The orphanage is in enough trouble because of me," Naruto murmured as he looked away, "I knew bringing the forbidden scroll to them would only bring it more trouble, I couldn't do that to Tomoe and the others."
"The children wouldn't have gotten hurt for your actions," the medic propping Nao up frowned at him, Naruto gave him a sad smile
"Clearly you've never been to the orphanage," Naruto commented, "if you have you'd never assume that. I go to the orphanage every day to find someone with a broken arm or a black eye. I escort the children home so they don't get into fights with other kids but also so no one can mistreat them."
"Oh Naruto-kun," Nao spoke, her voice soft and sad, "you can sense them can't you? People's emotions…" Naruto turned his face away from her, staring at the dark bloody grass at her feet, it was quiet as those who dared to get closer to them wandered over silently.
"Naruto-kun," Hiruzen called softly, drawing the boy's attentions towards himself. "Can you sense people's emotions?" Naruto didn't speak for a while, just starring at the dark grass with a blank expression. "Naruto," Hiruzen called softly, like a heart broken whisper. Naruto closed his eyes and nodded slowly, promoting a sad sigh from his grandfather figure.
"The darker the emotion… the clearer they are," Naruto admitted, "that's why I hide every October, the village becomes stiffing with negativity. Thick and dark enough that I get headaches and can hear the Kyūbi cackling in joy as he grows stronger and stronger. Sometimes he gets strong enough to test the seal and I run here to this forest because… to me it's like this forest eats up the negativity and makes him too weak to fight the seal." The surrounding shinobi shifted uncomfortably, looking meek and submissive as they glanced around each other, like scolded children who didn't know what to do. Hiruzen sighed and ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately, both watching with sad eyes as the medic tending to Nao lifted her up and disappeared into the tree line; deeming their presence unneeded. He turned to address a nearby shinobi but instead found one of his agents carefully bringing forward a limping Iruka, blood still dripping from his leg. He was about to scold the man for not taking the chunin to the hospital sooner but stopped when Iruka gave him a smile and softly addressed Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, can you show us your clone jutsu?" Iruka called out, surprising the boy, "Don't look at me like that. I know you've been practicing all night, now hurry up and show us. Produce as many clones as you can," Naruto blushed and made his hand sign, in less than a blink of an eye the field was filled with white smoke. When the wind blew through and removed the white cloud, it revealed an army of embarrassed looking Naruto's all standing around in confusion.
"Oh my," Hiruzen breathed with wide eyes
"Lord Hokage," Iruka smiled at him knowingly, Hiruzen glanced at him and nodded, smiling as the real Naruto stood to his full height. "Come over here Naruto-kun," Iruka instructed, "and close your eyes." Naruto frowned at him but did as instructed, standing before Iruka with closed eyes and a confused expression, when he was ready Iruka stepped away from his student with the Anbu agent's help. "Okay now, open them," Naruto did and he found himself staring at his teacher, finding it strange to see the man without his headband but noticing how there wasn't a single mark or bruise on Iruka's forehead.
"Congratulations Naruto-kun, you're a genin!"
…
…
So I know its been a while but I did what I could without a laptop and only a two-hour access at the library, plus its cold out and I have an hour walk home from the library, not something I usually do for the hell of it
I'm sorry for the wait, I know it must've been annoying I know I was
please tell me your thoughts and opinions, especially about the sealed away talent that Sakura ended up getting to learn because I honestly only wrote about Ino and Ami finding there's and I've yet to come up with a possibility for Sakura's sealed away technique.
I'm working on my other stories as much as i can but like I said, two hours (even daily) isn't enough to work on all of my stories, I can only do so much
I hope you liked this chapter
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