Summary: What if Iruka didn't come to Naruto's aid when Mizuki struck? What if he was unconscious at the time and someone else came instead? Watch, as Naruto defies all odds thrown against him and becomes the stuff of legends, with some extra guidance of course.
Time: Set after the Gennin Exams
Major Pairings: KakashiOCItachi SasukeSakura
Disclaimer: Sigh, as per usual, I really wish I own Naruto. =] DUN DUN DUN. THIS is where the real story starts. =D
Reviewers: Thank you for the reviews; you guys are my lifeline. COOKIES.
Extra
Need-To-Know Information:
I have pushed back the Chunnin
Exams to 4 years from the Naruto's Gennin Exam.
Naruto is
currently age 16.
Sasuke and Sakura are 16 too from this point of
the story.
(Ages of the other characters would be posted in the
bottom of this chapter)
Chapter
4
Returns
So it was time.
Four years ago she took him under her wing. Four years ago with three simple words she tore past his defenses and made him throw away his mask. Four years ago she started on this journey.
Four years later, here she stood, watching, waiting; proud of the way he had turned out. Proud of the type of person he had become. Proud to call herself his teacher. Proud to call him,
"Namikaze-Uzumaki-Meridain Naruto."
Her soft whisper could barely be heard as she knelt down, perched on a tree, strands of black hair that escaped her complicated chignon flaying in her face.
She barely noticed.
Instead, her attentions was captured by the boy, no, no longer just a boy, but a young man at the ripe age of 16, standing a distance not too far away from her, below the tree she had taken refugee upon.
The teenager stood at 5'10" with spiky blond hair with deep red highlights that he had grown out so that it flared across his back, giving him a sort of wild, messy, yet tentatively handsome look at the same time. His cerulean blue eyes gleamed, harden over the years yet still displayed a childish innocence, a determined personality. He had darkened whisker marks striking across each cheek, emphasizing his feral features even more. Dawned upon him was a black tight T which highlighted his sinewy good looks, tightening just at the right placed to reveal the contours of his taunt muscles. He wore loose long black pants, and underneath, black combat boots. Over all of this, very much like his sensei, he wore an deep crimson cloak that swept the floor as he walked, on the back the large kanji of the word 'Fox' and the Uzumaki clan symbol on the right sleeve with the Meridain clan symbol on the left.
She could scarcely believe this was the same boy came from Konohagakure so many years ago. Gone was the small, annoying brat that was renown as a prankster. Gone was the loud-mouthed, pathetic excuse of a shinobi. Gone was the weak, helpless boy that was on the receiving end of the hatred that plagued the brainless civilians. Even now, his growth surprises her. That same boy now replaced with this matured, powerful, smart young man- someone that she was just so glad had-
"ITAI!"
-Maybe not.
Meridain Akai smacked the front of her forehead in distress as she hopped off the tree that she was standing on, landing lightly in front of the fallen shinobi who had managed to trip on a large protruding rock that he did not see in his way.
The said shinobi quickly pounced to his feet, punching the rock, causing it to crumble beneath his fist.
Akai sweat-dropped.
"YOU STUPID ROCK!"
She sighed.
"Naruto…" her voice laced with warning.
The boy gulped.
"What did I say about stealth for the FIFTH HUNDRED TIME!"
The boy cowered, now slightly regretting the fact that he had just destroyed the perfect hiding place from the wrath of the hell he knew that was about to come.
"Bu-But Akai-sensei…" he whined, "It didn't have to-"
"BINDING WEIGHTS NO JUTSU!"
The blonde haired shinobi struggled as chains shot out of the ground and tied themselves around him. Ten chains, each weighing at least 100kg, wrapped around his arms, legs, waist, chest and feet. Naruto struggled to stay upright with the weight bearing down on him.
"Akai-sen-sensei." The boy panted from his excursion.
The sadistic woman just shrugged. "This would teach the lesson if nothing would. You are to keep up with me without falling behind. Every time you lose a meter on me another chain will warp around you, but you know the drill. So, don't fall behind." She winked at him and grinned ferally, before taking off at high speed towards the North, the general direction where a large city could be seen.
Naruto groaned loudly as he forced his body to move, trying to keep up with his cruel teacher. This was Akai's favourite punishment technique, adding the extra weights onto his already heavy weights that he had inside his clothing. The first time he went through it each chain only weighed 10kg, but after the years, it just got worse.
A chain shot up from the ground and successfully wrapped itself around his neck. Naruto gasped in surprise. The woman in front of him turned around, "you're falling behind." She taunted in a melodious tone before picking up the pace.
Naruto swore under his breath before forcing himself to move faster, adding chakra to his steps to give him that necessary boost to keep up with her.
The woman just laughed as the exercise continued.
However, the fun didn't last long. Too soon did the large village of Konohagakure came into view and Akai halted just out of sight from the guards at the gates. Naruto, not sensing her sudden stillness until a minute too late, came crashing to the ground due to the momentum gained from his heavy weights to avoid smacking into her. He landed unceremoniously at her feet, face in the ground. He groaned.
"Kai." The black haired beauty said, not paying attention as the chains dug themselves back into the ground. Naruto stood up onto his own feet, brushing off the dust and dirt and whatever not on his clothing before turning to his sensei.
"That was cruel Akai-sensei. I didn't really cause that much of a commotion. I mean, okay, maybe destroying the rock was-…" Naruto trailed off when he realized that his sensei had that faraway look in her eyes that she usually had when she was deep in thought. He frowned and followed her line of gaze, wondering what it was that caused his teacher to be struck dumb. He nearly smacked himself for not noticing the large village in front of him until now.
"Konoha…"
Akai nodded, shaking away the thoughts that had drifted into her head, before turning to Naruto. She smiled softly at him, all sorts of emotions flashing into her eyes at a million miles per second. Naruto looked back, a little surprised at how raw and vulnerable she looked, something he didn't get to see often, but he understood why she reacted that way. He turned his gaze back to his old home.
'Home…' he stole a sideway glance at Akai, who had yet to say anything, but resumed walking towards the village gates, nodding at him to follow. 'They always said home is where the heart is'
Naruto walked beside her, keeping pace with her steps. 'Is this my home then?' The boy shook his head.
The woman didn't know how much she meant to Naruto. How much that because of her, he was the person he currently was, how much he cherished her. There was not a single thing in the world that Naruto would not give up for Akai to be safe and happy.
'Wherever you go Akai-sensei, that shall always be my home.'
XXXXXXXXXX
The Sandaime of the Great Hidden Village of Konohagakure stood by the gateposts, anxiously glancing at his watch every now and again. Today was the day that she had promised to bring him home; today was the day that Konoha's greatest hero, although they did not know it yet, would return home.
But what if she didn't follow through with her promise? What if she had taken him to another side of the world? Then they would not know for sure right?
The Hokage frowned, no; the sister of Uzumaki Kushina would never do that. If Meridain Akai was anything like her sister, she would never go back on her word.
"I promise Hokage-sama. You have my word, that is just my ninja way."
Yes, he just had to believe her words and have a little more faith in that strange, yet familiar woman.
"Hokage-sama." An ANBU greeted formally with a respectful bow before standing straight again. "Two figures, much like the ones you've described are heading towards the village."
Sarutobi let out a great sigh of relief, before looking back at the ANBU with a new vigor.
"Allow them in as soon as they have confirmed their ID."
"Yes sir." The ANBU then vanished from view.
"Hokage-sama." The familiar silver haired jounin called out from behind him. Walking together with him were Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, Naruto's soon would be three-man team.
Sasuke and Sakura had lost their teammate in a misplaced C-class mission that turned out to be an A-ranked mission in the Wave Country. Hyuuga Karin- a mischievous yet benevolent girl, maverick and brave at the same time. This loss had spiraled Team Seven into depression, fortunately enough, they all managed to recover from this loss barely a month ago.
Sasuke now had the Sharingan and Sakura turned from the fan girl to a determined, strong individual. Although Karin's death was of a great loss, Sarutobi was glad that instead of suffering, the two gennins had improved both in personality and skill.
The Third Hokage smiled softly and nodded in greeting, before turning back to the gates that were opening, 'Welcome home, Uzumaki Naruto.'
XXXXXXXXXX
"Naruto. Wait." The young woman hesitated, stopping her charge at his feet. The boy looked at her quizzically.
"Yes Akai-sensei?"
"I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about your true powers, without my consent."
The blonde hunk of a thing rolled his eyes. "Yes sensei, I know, I know, not to let them see really what I can do, let them underestimate me, etc. Four years ago you were saying the exact same words sensei. I get it."
Akai grinned, shaking her head. "Fine fine. I'll give you some benefit of the doubt." Before he could take another step she stopped him again.
"What?" he asked, a little annoyed to being stopped a second time. The woman just gigged as she took out a piece of tissue out of her pocket and wiped down the dirt that was on his face from when he had fell to the ground previously.
"I don't want you to go into your new home looking a mess now would I?"
Naruto blushed, sometimes; sometimes it was easy to forget that Akai was more than just a teacher to him. Sometimes, she'd act so motherly that it hurt not to draw the woman into a hug. Their relationship, nephew and aunt, was a little strange. She held him, helped him through his pain, and yet was willing to grind him into the ground when she was teaching him. He smiled warmly at her. "Thank you Akai-sensei."
She just smiled.
"State your name and business." An ANBU called out from the guard posts above, his partner jumped down and landed in front of them. Akai handed him both Naruto's and her own passport.
"Meridain Akai and Uzumaki Naruto returning to Konoha after a four year training journey."
The ANBU took several seconds to look through their details, before nodding. "Welcome home Akai-san, Naruto-san."
Akai smiled, "Thank you."
As the great gates of Konoha opened, revealing four silhouettes just beyond the border. Akai recognized two of them- the old man Hokage and the jounin Hatake Kakashi. Her gaze then drifted to the two other people standing just by the jounin, a pink haired kunoichi that personally, Akai doubted could even pack a punch, next to her was-
Oh.
It wasn't hard to recognize the last, remaining (sane) Uchiha. His dark, brooding eyes stared hard at her, as though sizing her up. He was a mirror image, a doppelganger version of Uchiha Itachi. Younger, with a hint of innocence that Itachi no longer held, they both had the same aura of arrogance too. Akai swallowed.
She forgot that his younger brother was in Konoha. Hell, she forgot that he even came from Konoha. Akai quickly shook her head, suppressing the memories threatening to bubble in the surface. Instead, she ignored the dark haired boy and walked towards the Hokage.
"Welcome back Akai." The old man greeted.
The woman bowed formally. "Thank you Hokage-sama, Nice to see you again Kakashi-san."
The silver haired jounin stared wearily at the woman in front of him, even until now not forgetting the result from the spar he had with her four years ago.
XXXXX Flashback XXXXX
"You've got to be kidding me Kakashi-san. This is all you've got?"
Kakashi groaned as he heaved himself off the floor, ignoring the sharp prick of pain that stabbed at his side. He reached down his leg and pulled out the kunai imbedded into his thigh, before throwing it to the side. He gazed up at the sadistically powerfully woman in front of him.
Even though Kakashi was having one of his worse spars ever, it was without a doubt to anyone watching what the end result of this spar would be by the end of the day.
Kakashi looked beaten and half dead. Struggling to even stand onto his own two feet. His partner, however, only looked like she had a little worse to wear, but overall, barely harmed. Slight scratches here and there, but that was it.
And it was only five minutes into the spar too.
"I can't believe they call you a the copy ninja."
XXXXX Flashback Ends XXXXX
Kakashi nodded at the woman who put him into the hospital for three days straight after their spar. "Nice to see you too Akai-san. These two are Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, my gennin team."
Akai once again let her gaze wonder over his two students, stopping at Sasuke. The uncanny likeliness between the two Uchiha brothers really freaked her out. She nodded in greeting, "Nice to meet you Sakura-san, Sasuke-san, I'm Meridain Akai."
The pink-haired girl smiled and returned her greetings, the younger Uchiha however, just grunted.
Akai shuddered, 'Maybe a little too much like his elder brother.' Surveying him, it sent shivers up her spine.
The Hokage cleared his throat, catching their attention. "Now that familiarities are out of the way, where is Naruto?"
Akai raised an eyebrow as she turned around, only to be met by a blank space. She could've sworn Naruto was behind her two seconds ago. Her hand twitched before she sighed. "Sorry Hokage-sama. Naruto does that sometimes."
"NARUTO-BAKA. GET BACK HERE."
In a flash, Naruto appeared beside her, "Yes sensei?" his voice laced with boredom.
Sarutobi, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura all started. Several thoughts racing through their thoughts at the same time.
'Where on earth did he come from? He moved so fast! I didn't even manage to sense him- Oh my, and he's really good looking too.'
'He's strong. Is he an avenger too? Maybe he can help me achieve my goal.'
'THIS is my new student? Holy… hell.'
'My has he grown… Even I could barely sense his presence, and I'm not the Hokage for nothing.'
'Stupid brat. Had to show off that way. What happened to not revealing your true powers? Not that it even comes close to it. But still.' Akai sighed, realizing that the damage was already done; by the look of stupor on each of the ninjas faces she just shook her head. 'Baka.'
The Hokage was the fastest to recover from his shock and smiled at the blonde haired gennin. Aside from his obvious display of prowess and speed, the boy indeed has changed within the short four years that he had been gone. He wasn't that scrawny little boy anymore, he had grown out, pass his baby fat and now displayed a definite image of a powerful shinobi. And judging by the blush that grace Sakura's cheeks, he was good looking as well.
"Show more respect to your elders Naruto. I'm sure you recognize the Hokage-sama."
Naruto stood up straight and bowed respectfully. "It is good to be home Hokage-sama."
Sarutobi felt his eyebrows shoot into his residing hairline. Naruto had just called him… woah. Now that definitely was a change he was not expecting. He quickly shook himself out of his daze and smiled kindly at the boy. "Of course. This is your gennin team who you are going to be taking your Chunnin exams with; your mentor, Hatake Kakashi,"
"Yo." The man said with a two finger wave, his visible eye curved into an upside down U.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
The boy just grunted.
"And Haruno Sakura."
The pink haired gennin smiled and blushed prettily. Aside from Sasuke, she had never seen such a… good-looking boy before. Ever. He was the complete opposite of Sasuke. Sasuke was dark, broody, mysterious sort of handsome. But this boy, he was bright, excitable, respectful and just so damn sexy.
The boy who was no longer a boy nodded respectfully at Kakashi, nodded in greeting at the stoic Uchiha, unfazed by his emotionless wall and smiled handsomely to the flustered girl.
"Kakashi-sama, Uchiha-san… Sakura-san." He lingered slightly on the last name, voice sounding as though it was promising things, watching, as the poor girl turned into an even deeper shade of red.
Akai just rolled her eyes. She knew she shouldn't have taught him how to attract women; now the whole population of females would be crawling over the young blonde if he didn't reign in his libido. But for now, she allowed him to do as he pleased. Getting his teammates to like him after all would be a great benefit if he wanted to pass the Chunnin exams. She watched carefully at the pink haired girl nearly melted under his gaze-
Maybe not too much, she doesn't want the fan girl to be heartbroken after all.
She turned her attention back at the words that came out of the Hokage's mouth. He handed her and Naruto a key each. "Arrangements have been made for your stay. You both get a key to an apartment just by the Hokage tower. Naruto, why don't you go with your team to get settled down and get to know each other? The Chunnin Exam is within a week and you have a lot to do."
Akai and the Hokage watched as the blonde nodded and turned towards his team. He knew it wouldn't take too long for them to become familiar with each other, supposing that Naruto had not lost his social skills. The team of four waved good-bye with a respectful 'Hokage-sama' and 'Akai-san' with the exception of Naruto's 'Akai-sensei'.
Akai just shook her head. Sometimes she disliked how Naruto would retreat back into his shell when he was with strangers. Sure he was flirtatious and respectful, but he wasn't the Naruto that she knew and love. She only hoped that he would be able to trust them enough to work as a team with them.
"Well Akai-san. I assume we have a lot of things to discuss, why not come back to my office?"
The woman nodded in agreement, her gaze trailing after her blonde nephew as he vanished from view, before following after the Hokage.
Neither of them noticed a pair of blood red eyes following their every move.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Just how much has Naruto improved Akai-san?" The Hokage asked.
Once again, Akai found herself inside the same room four years ago when she had last came to this village. The small, unassuming office barely changed at all, aside from a new desk, it seems like the Hokage didn't do much redecorating. She shook her head. "I would say higher-Chunnin, lower-Jounin level?"
Sarutobi nodded, impressed. He had his doubts that a mere gennin could gain that much skill in the span of four short years, but then again this was Naruto they were talking about. The Hokage have yet to meet someone who was as headstrong or as determined as that boy. He kept his opinions to himself. The Chunnin exams after all, were a mere week away. He would be able to see how the boy has changed since then.
"What about his Jutsu skills?"
Akai scoffed. "Naruto would not be able to do a Genjutsu to save his life. Thankfully though, he is able to sense them and dispel most B-rank and below illusions. As for his ninjutsu and taijutsu, they excelled beyond even my own expectations. He indeed is an amazing boy of talent."
The old man nodded, "What about you then Akai-san? What do you plan to do now that is off your tutelage?"
"Don't get me wrong Hokage-sama. Naruto would never really be just a student. I-" she hesitated.
Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"
Akai, for the first time since the Hokage got to know her, blushed as she looked down at the floor. "I- plan on adopting him. As a son. As my son. If- if he wants to."
His eyes softened, a small smile graced his lips. So the unlovable demon has finally found someone that was willing to take care of him, to love and protect him. Sarutobi wondered if Naruto knew the extent of how much Akai felt for the boy. She was young, around Kakashi's age, a little too young to take on a son as her own. But four years definitely had brought them closer and the blonde was now a teenager, no longer a child. Maybe she was doing the right thing.
"I- I have not asked him yet. But I plan to… Tonight."
The Hokage nodded, understanding. "Of course. I will get the documents signed and ready for you tomorrow morning. If Naruto is willing to go through with it."
The young woman smiled thankfully as she nodded.
Maybe tomorrow would be a different day, maybe tomorrow the sun would shine brighter or the sky would be more blue. Maybe tomorrow…
Maybe tomorrow she'd be a mother.
XXXXX End of Chapter 4 XXXXX
Uhuh uhuh uhuh, I
like it. Uhuh uhuh.
=D Naruto is now. CHANGED. Teehee.
Will
reveal more about how he has changed, so on so forth on the later
chapters. =] This is more of less the start of the story (finally!) I
hope you like it. Because this is where it all begins, the
excitement!
I want a little more drama, a little more love in this. I don't want this story to turn into a pure adventure, naruto-kicking ass sort of story. We'll see how things go! =]
As said
previously,
Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and the rest of the Rookie Nine
– 16 years old
Neji, Tenten, Lee – 17
Gai, Kakashi –
28
OC (Akai) – 27
If you want to know who else just tell me
and I'd let you know. Hope you liked the chapter!
Be my hero and review?
x
