Welcome my comrades! Board your windows and load your guns because the Power of Fear is breaking in with the latest chapter! Last we left off Naruto had just begun his year at the Academy and met a pervy Hinata and a brooding Sasuke. How will life continue on for our resident fox boy? Read on to find out! First however, like last time I received a few questions, and I answer all questions given!
ZJohnson asks what is it that's going to tick Naruto off to where he's gonna go all nine tails super saiyan on these people? Will anyone be able to stop him? Is Hinata involved?
I can't go into too much detail without fear of spoiling the story, but everyone has a breaking point, and seeing as Naruto's already dangerously close to his it wouldn't take much to push him over. What's going to do it however, I can't tell you, just like I can't tell you if Hinata is involved.
As for anyone being able to stop him, yes of course. This isn't a fic where Naruto is god mode. He's also only an academy student, though a more powerful one, but still an academy student. Plus, it doesn't matter how much power you have if you don't know how to throw it around.
Zander24 asks if Hinata is a pervert.
Hahahahaha yes….yes she is.
Sorry for not being able to answer your questions definitively, but I can tell you that Hinata will become someone important to our red head. Whoever else gets close to Naruto also….Hehe maybe I'll let yall decide.
On to the chapter!
PREVIOUSLY:
He turned and stared directly at the duck butt as the ball sailed in a lazy arc, a small trail of smoke showing its every move as it descended on the unsuspecting training dummy. As soon as the ball made contact it exploded in a giant ball of smoke and embers. Unlike high lord duck butts fire ball, which cratered the landscape as well as burning everything in the area to a crisp, Naruto's ball of smoke's deadliness came from the sheer heat emitted. The dry heat was so high in temperature that it sucked the moisture from everything caught in the blast before pretty much baking it.
It only took a few seconds for the smoke to clear, and when it did students and teacher alike jaws dropped. The ball of smoke didn't dent the ground, but everything in the blast radius was now a charred black color and when a slight breeze rolled in, the once proud training dummy blew away into ash. At the sight of the duck butt's completely shell shocked face Naruto couldn't help the crazed laughter that exploded from him.
You know, he just might like it here.
NOW:
Naruto couldn't keep the malicious grin that had spread across his face at bay as he crouched atop a building watching a trio of drunken humans stagger home, the full moon's light casting the alley below him in shadow. His tail lashed behind him viciously and his ears twitched with excitement as he watched the group meander into the alley below him, completely unaware of the impending doom perched above him. The redhead's slitted blue eyes shifted into scarlet and black as he prepared to impart justice unto the drunkards, slinking down the buildings walls as he recalled what the trio had done to gain his ire earlier that day.
Naruto groaned in annoyance as he made his way out of the academy doors. His first and last year of school had been exactly what he thought it would be, aggravating and a waste of his time. He already knew everything that Scarface was teaching thanks to Kure-nee and Hana-chan pretty much beating the information into him, and projectile throwing and sparing were things that he and Anko had done on a regular basis since as long as he's known her. Seriously, when would knowing the Shodaime Hokage could use wood jutsu save him in a fight? If that wasn't bad enough the teacher's assistant that Scarface had was constantly trying to sabotage him by placing Genjutsu over his written test, and fighting him harder than he would the others in spars.
The Genjutsu's might've worked….if his older sister wasn't known as the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha and already drilled into him how to dispel low level Genjutsu like the ones being used on him. Not to mention that he could easily see through them with is special eyes. As for the sparing….well three years under some of the most powerful kunoichi the village had to offer meant Naruto was easily stronger than the average academy student. He couldn't afford to be weak like most of the other students in his class. Seriously, these pathetic humans were going to go get themselves killed, save for a select few.
Suddenly, a large force on his back made him stumble forward before a large blush spread across his face. He could feel two mounds pressed up against his back as slender arms wrapped themselves around his waist and pulled him into a tight embrace. Naruto knew damn well who it was doing this seeing as she did it every day they got out of the academy, and despite all these times she's done it he still can't help but blush like an idiot.
"Oooh Naruuu-kuuun," purred out Hinata as she relished the embrace she was giving the fox boy, "You weren't going to leave without little ol' me now were you?"
Naruto tried, keyword tried, to fight down the blush that marred his face, but with the Hyuga heiress nibbling on one of his ears that was proving to be a futile effort…and if he was honest with himself he didn't know if really wanted her to stop.
The other students that made their way out of the school along with some of the adults, namely the shinobi parents, watched the two interact with varying faces of embarrassment, envy, amusement, and pity. The civilian adults however just watched on in disgust at the interaction between the perverted heiress and the fox boy. They couldn't understand how the Hyuga clan could even tolerate their heiress being around what they saw as a demon, let alone flirting with it, but hey as long as it wasn't their daughters they were fine with just glaring at the pair.
Naruto finally having had enough embarrassment at the hand of Hinata and fed up with the glares from the silly mortal civilians detached himself from her embrace and schooled his expression into one of irritation. He turned to his wayward companion, his ears and tail twitching in annoyance.
"Would you cut it out you kami damned pervert," he growled out with an embarrassed glare as he began walking again, "Seriously, can you go one day without feeling all on me?!"
When Naruto had met Hinata on the first day of the academy oh so long ago, he knew from the first words she spoke to him that she was different from the rest, namely that she was a pervert when he told Kurenai of his encounter with her she merely chuckled and said that she sounded like a nice girl much to his dismay. He had been hoping that when he showed up the next day and glared at her when she spoke to him that she would get the picture and she would leave him be and he could go train in peace. Hell, normally doing that was enough to make most people steer clear of him. It worked on the other girls that had approached him to ask him on dates because of his "mysteriousness". It worked on all the cannon fodder that had tried to speak to him. It worked to a lesser extent on Kiba and Sasuke, but the two were so kami damned stubborn it'd take nothing short of physical assault to get those two to leave him alone, and he was pretty sure the two didn't mind fighting him. Naruto really didn't mind either; they were some of the few in the class that could match up to him.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you see it, it had been made quite clear time and time again that Hinata was not like most people, and was either immune to his death glare or just didn't give a shit because she was undeterred by it. Over time without him really even knowing the two had grown close to each other. Often going off to spar when school was over or grabbing a bowl of ramen together, well for Naruto it was several bowls.
With a grin reminiscent of his old one, Hinata skipped up till she was side by side with Naruto and wrapped her arm around his much to his ire and giggled.
"Aww but I like spending time with my little Naru-kun!"
Naruto just sighed and continued walking through the village. The two were an odd pair. Naruto's blunt, sarcastic, and somewhat angry disposition matched up next to Hinata's cheerful, carefree, and perverted one. As different as they were after months of the two bickering, well more like Hinata making perverted comments and Naruto growling back angry retorts, they bonded and became the best of friends, despite the fact that she constantly got on his nerves with her perverted crap.
To his sisters it was a godsend; someone besides them had been able to make it past the fox boy's barriers and became friends with him.
To Hana the feelings were mixed. While she was glad that he'd made a friend, she couldn't help this ugly feeling that bubbled up in her chest whenever she saw the two together. She knew the feeling was mutual because she'd caught Hinata giving her glares whenever she and Naruto were in the village together and they happened to cross paths.
Over the past eight months he'd built his toleration for being in the village for extended periods of time. Not because he wanted to of course, his sisters made him go, saying that they refused to let him sit and mope in the forest of death all day. He begrudgingly relented, and had been slowly acclimating himself to the village ever since, using the training grounds and eating ramen, something he didn't have much of in the forest.
He also liked scaring the humans that glared at him. Just a quick flash of his eyes and he could feel the fear surround them, and the red head loved it so very much. Recently though he noticed that the glares and whispers that were usually aimed at him were starting to slide onto the perverted Hyuga latched onto his arm that he called friend, just like with anyone else who was closely associated with him. Like now, as much as the people hated him, some of that hatred was moving off onto her, and he didn't like that one bit.
He glanced over at the girl walking next to him and wasn't surprised to see that she wasn't smiling, but glaring just as heatedly back at the villagers glaring in their direction. She even went so far as to flare her Byakugan at some of them! Naruto let a small genuine smile grace his visage every time she saw her do that. He remembered seeing her doing that and thinking that if she could glare down villagers like that then she'd earned a little respect in his book. He turned to her with a sly grin,
"Don't worry about the humans. It's not like they matter or anything," he mock whispered to her causing her to giggle and the civilians around them bristled.
"H-hey who th-the hell you t-t-talking about d-doesn't mat-matter!?" slurred a drunken civilian as he stumbled up to the pair with his stupefied friends behind him.
"Yeah you damn demon brat!" growled out a woman that came stumbling up besides the man, "The only one that doesn't matter is you!"
"He he yeah," laughed the last man in the group as he pointed down towards Naruto and Hinata, "Y-you're w-worth less than t-t-the shit on t-the b-bottom of a v-villagers boots! And y-y-your little girlfriend t-too!"
Naruto had to try really hard to suppress the killing intent that was building inside of him, a low growl escaping from his clenched shut mouth. He could deal with people insulting him; they'd been doing it all his life. He's heard it so many times he didn't really give a shit what they had to say about him anymore, but he'd be damned if he let them insult someone else just because of their association with him.
A large smile split his face and he scratched the back of his head before letting a chuckle escape his lips much to Hinata's amusement. She'd seen him use that smile on many villagers before this and it was always amusing what became of the situation. It was a smile that promised pain if whoever was causing it didn't back the fuck off. The thought of Jyukening them into the hospital like she has many times before had crossed her mind multiple times, but Naruto's hand gripping hers and the cold aura that was surrounding him was reason enough to control herself. He was planning something, and she could tell it wouldn't be good for them, but hilarious to watch.
"Oh worthless are we?" Naruto chuckled good naturedly as he slowly released his hold on Hinata and dipped his head low, "Hehe sorry I don't think so…"
One of the drunkards moved forward to grab Naruto, but stopped when Naruto slowly looked up and glared at him, his eyes shifted into their nightmarish black and red form. The smile on the red head's face took on a chilling look causing the villagers surrounding them to stop cold. The killing intent spilling out began spilling out of him getting a few whimpers from the crowd. Hinata grinned and added in her own making even more whimper and a few fall to their knees.
"The only worthless things here, human, are you all for trying to scare a few academy students. Hehe and oh how the tables have turned, and you all are the ones with fear in your hearts! I'm going to tell you one time, and one time only. You may have been able to bully me before, but not anymore. I'm not the same kid I used to be. I couldn't fight back then, but I will now. So I suggest you. Don't. Test. Me. Understand? Good! Fucking humans."
With that Naruto grabbed a giggling Hinata's hands and they continued forward on their journey to one of the many training grounds, matching grins on their faces as they left a wake of terrified villagers behind him. Naruto wasn't done with the trio, oh not by a long shot. He would have to teach them a lesson.
You don't wake a sleeping demon.
As the duo and their killing intent left the area the civilians began to move and resume their daily life, albeit a bit shaken. Unbeknownst to the duo, the Hokage and a group of Jonin were watching the entire confrontation. Hiruzen could only sigh and shake his head at the whole event. He didn't know who to be mad at, Naruto for scaring the shit out of the civilians again, or the civilians for letting their hatred blind them and starting it.
"Those two are becoming genin tomorrow?" sighed a bearded man as he took a long drag on his cigarette, "They're going to be a handful."
"I know it's not his fault, but I thought I told him to stop messing with the villagers months ago," muttered Kurenai as she stood with her hands on her hips shaking her head.
"Haha that's my little brother! He makes me so proud," cheered Anko with tears in her eyes as she watched him depart, all the others surrounding her sweatdroppping at her exclamation.
The Sandaime Hokage turned to the man next to him. The man seemed to be nonchalantly reading a small orange book, but Hiruzen could tell that the man wasn't paying attention to the book, but rather the redhead walking down the street.
"He certainly will be interesting," drawled out the man in a lazy tone before flipping to another page in his book.
The third Hokage could only smile. It seemed like the copycat had taken an interest in the fox boy.
It was now five hours later, and time for Naruto to exact his vengeance on the poor fools. Sliding to a stop behind a dumpster thirty feet in front of the trio, Naruto put his hands into the ram seal and inhaled as much as he could before slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke that quickly filled the alley. The three drunkards noticed the smoke and stumbled to a halt, their unease growing as the smoke surrounded them, its wavy tendrils swaying in an almost enticing manner.
Their unease turned to fear when they began hearing hurried footsteps sounding around them, and scattered laughter that sent chills down their spines. Wordlessly the three latched onto each other and started to inch backwards back the way they came, until they were halted by an echoing, amused voice.
"Oh I wouldn't go that way if I were you….hehehe."
The three whipped their heads around and caught sight of something that would haunt their dreams for weeks to come. It was brief, only for a moment, but the three saw the silhouette standing near the entrance of the alley. The silhouette wasn't what terrified them, it was the eyes. The two slitted eyes seemed to gaze into their souls, glowing a burning red orange as if they were made of flames. They could see the rage and excitement in their crimson depths, promising terror and pain to those on the receiving end.
Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. The haunting visage fading away as if made of the smoke that surrounded them, their gaze still locked on the spot it had once been. Silence descended on the alleyway. The three wanted nothing more than to sprint back the way they had came, but something told them that it wasn't a good idea.
They couldn't move even if they wanted to, their bodies not responding to their commands. This wasn't a matter of fight or flight; their bodies had slipped into a response that was the death of shinobi and civilian alike.
They froze
They had frozen in what to them was a smoke filled death trap, and they were afraid of what else inhabited it. The silence was shattered by a pair of sounds that sent dread into their souls. A low whistling tune could be heard coming from the alley's opening, accompanied by the sound of heavy foot fall, and metal scraping across the earth. Their eyes still trained in that direction, they watched as the figure of their nightmares shambled out of the abyss.
Leathery skin wrapped around its thin rail like frame and giant round pitch black pits took up half of its face. The other half was taken up by a stitched closed grin that literally split its face in half. Giant metal wristbands scrapped across the ground as its unnaturally long arms trailed behind it .It stood at least ten foot tall, dwarfing the trio, but it's true height was unknown due to the boneless manner in which it moved. It would use its long slender legs to walk forward while its upper body stayed stationary in the position it was until was horizontal with the ground, and then it would slowly raise its upper body until it was hunched over its legs, the arms still trailing behind it.
Tears were streaming down the men's faces and whimpers escaped their throats, as the creature made its way towards them. Thought of running and escape had voided their brain as they exuded fear from every fiber of their being. One by one they slowly slid to their knees as the creature stopped and stood towering over them. The whistling stopped, and for what seemed like hours the creature just stood and starred at them, its head cocked to the side as if it was contemplating something.
The men's terrified stares were fixated on the nightmare creature as metal scrapped across earth while the creature raised its lengthy arms. Slowly it raised them until they were high above them and placed its long spindly fingers on its mouth. It worked its fingers in between the stitches before turning its head to look down at the men. For a moment it stilled, as if turning into a statue, and then it began.
It started as a dull whine that barely reached the men's ears before it slowly intensified, growing louder and louder by the second as the creature started pulling down on its jaw. The sound of slowly ripping flesh sounded through the entire alley as the beast forced its mouth open and pulled it open wide, stretching it to impossible proportions as it let out an earth shattering bellow. That was the last straw for the three, as raw terrified screams ripped out of the men's throats and they retreated into blissful unconsciousness, the last thing they saw being the gaping maw of the creature coming closer and its nightmare bellow.
Naruto couldn't stop the chuckle the escaped his mouth as his eyes returned back to normal, his gaze still on the three now unconscious drunk men. He dispelled the genjutsu around him, the smoke clearing and the beast disappearing in a fine smoke that dispersed soon after. He let out a satisfied sigh before leaping onto the building next to him and speeding off to the Forest of Death, his revenge exacted. Moments later a shaken pair of Anbu appeared and grabbed the downed civilians before disappearing again. They had something interesting to report to the Hokage.
Naruto chuckled evilly as he slowly opened the door to his tree house and slunk inside. Another successful night of messing with the villagers, no one was any the wiser, and tomorrow he would become a genin. He was so busy thinking about how awesome a ninja he would be that he didn't notice the company in his midst, at least not until they flipped on the lights. Naruto nearly leapt out of his skin when his clear blue eyes landed on the forms of Anko, Hana, Kurenai, and the Hokage. His evil chuckle turned to one of nervousness as he scratched the back of his head with one thought going through his head….busted.
"H-hey everyone! F-fancy m-m-meeting you here," he stuttered out as his eyes darted around desperately looking for an escape route.
Before he could even find one, he felt something slithering around him and lock his arms into place before he could even react. Looking down he came face to face with a full sized reticulated python. Gulping he looked up at the faces of those present, and they did not look happy. It was the Hokage who decided to speak first.
"Naruto, where were you tonight" he asked, and before Naruto could answer he spoke again in a tone that brooked no argument, "And don't lie to me. I know all about your little midnight excursions, or did you think the Hokage didn't know what was going on in his own village?"
Naruto opened and closed his mouth as he tried to find something, anything, to say to his grandfather figure, but nothing came to mind. Before he could speak, he was interrupted again.
"Naruto," whispered Kurenai in a tone that made the fox boy feel like shit, "You took it too far tonight."
"They deserved it," he growled in defense, his tail lashing in anger and his hands clenched into fists.
"I tolerated the pranks because for the most part they were harmless," sighed the Hokage, "I turned the other way when you got into those brawls with those drunken villagers, but this is unacceptable. You put three men in the hospital for mental trauma they will never get over."
"They deserve worse…" Naruto muttered.
"How can you say that?!" yelled Kurenai, "Stop acting like you don't have a conscious! Like some sort of monster!"
"BUT THAT'S WHAT I AM!" he roared back in a rage that shocked the others, "A monster! A demon! That's what those pathetic human villagers see me as! It's what I am! They want throw their hatred at me because of it, well I'll throw it back tenfold!"
"You're not a monster or a demon!" yelled Hana with tears in her eyes, "How many times do we have to tell you that before you get it through your thick head!"
A dry chuckle escaped his throat as he closed his eyes and shook his head before looking up at the group, pain, hatred, and sadness swirling in their azure depths.
"You don't have to kid me anymore. I know what I am, hell the villages have been telling me since I could remember. These ears aren't for show," he grumbled as he looked down and clenched his fists, his ears flattened and his tail ceased its movement, "I hear all the whispers, all the humans talk about when I come around is how I should've never been born…that I'm a monster. I hold the fox that attacked all those years back."
Silence reigned as Naruto dropped that bombshell. He wasn't supposed to know. He wasn't supposed to know until he was a Jonin level ninja or at least sixteen.
"Hehe honestly….I felt stupid I didn't realize it on my own. I mean, I have fox ears, fangs, and a tail! I became the damn thing for a little bit when that mob attacked me! They will always hate me!"
"Naruto…you can still change the way they see you," said Sarutobi, trying to regain control over a situation that had rapidly spiraled out of control, "You can still make them accept you."
"I DON'T WANT THEM TO ACCEPT ME!" roared the fox boy with righteous indignation, "I WANT THEM TO FEAR ME, AND FEAR ME THEY SHALL!"
"Why?" asked Anko, trying to understand, "Why do you want them to fear you so much?"
"They hate me now, and in that hatred they become stupid enough to think they can attack me and the things I care about. It's only talk now….but what if one day they attack!" he ranted as he paced side to side, his tail lashing angrily behind him as the others slowly caught on to what he was talking about, "I won't let it happen! I'll make them fear me….I'LL BECOME SO FEARED THAT THEY WON'T DARE TO HARM ME OR ANYONE I CARE ABOUT!"
"Naruto….all the pranking…the fighting, and tonight were because of us?" Hana whispered, asking the question on everyone's mind.
"Yes!" he yelled out, throwing his hands in the air, "I couldn't care less about what those pathetic humans think about me, but when they started talking about you all and Hinata they crossed the fucking line! Anyone who even thinks of harming any of you will be dealt with."
Everyone stood quietly around the now panting Naruto as they digested the information he just gave them. Everything, all of the pranks, and fighting, and scaring people shitless wasn't because they insulted him, but in his own twisted way to protect them. The three girls were fighting back tears while Hiruzen had sighed and pulled out his pipe, lighting it and taking a long drag.
Naruto stopped his pacing and looked at the group, and instantly his ears drooped as a sad look crossed over his face. He didn't mean to snap at them like this, and he definitely didn't mean to make them sad. He tried to find the words to make them happy again, but no matter how much he searched he couldn't seem to find the right thing to say. His gaze lowered to the floor as he grit his teeth. He was supposed to be protecting them, not making them sad!
With his gaze lowered and lost in the sea of his emotions he didn't notice Kurenai, Hana, and Anko walk up to him, but he sure felt the pain as they simultaneously punched him on the top of his skull. He hissed in pain and grabbed the top of his head, and then glared up at his attackers. The glare melted of in zero seconds flat and a small whimper escaped his throat as he gazed into the eyes of death himself.
Death being three angry women of course
Anko grabbed him by the front of his coat and yanked him towards them, a squeak of fear sliding out as he was drug forward.
"Do you think we are weak Naruto?" asked Kurenai with a hard edge to her voice that sent chills down him and the Hokage's spine.
"N-no of course not! You three are some of the strongest people I know!" he yelled back, afraid they were going to hit him again.
"You think we can't handle ourselves gaki?" growled Anko.
"NO! I know you can!"
"Then what in that thick skull of yours made you think that we needed you to protect us? From the words of villagers of all things?" sighed Hana.
Naruto sighed and mumbled out, "I just didn't want you guys getting hurt because of me."
"We are perfectly capable of fighting our own battles Naru-chan," chuckled Kurenai as Naruto bristled at the name he was called, "I know you just want to protect us, but you don't have to get all worked up over the words of the villagers. Let them talk, unless they try to physically harm you let them stew in their ignorance. I don't think you realize how close you came to not being a ninja tonight."
"What!?" shouted Naruto, his eyes going wide in terror.
"Naruto, I may be fond of you, but I'm still the Hokage. If it wasn't for me covering this up for you then the civilian council would've found out and you'd be in jail and you would have no future as a ninja. If it was anyone else then I wouldn't have lifted a finger," explained the Hokage as he exhaled a crowd of smoke, "I told you the pranks were fine since no one really got hurt and Kurenai always made you clean up whatever you messed up, but this was too far Naruto. If this happens again, I'll have no choice but to punish you."
Naruto hung his head in shame. All he'd wanted to do was protect those precious to him, and he'd ended up pissing them all off.
"Sorry….." he whispered out, fully chastised, "I didn't….I wasn't trying…. to cause trouble."
Kurenai smiled and pulled the boy into a warm embrace before replying,
"It's ok. I know you weren't trying to cause trouble. From now on though, control yourself ok. I know it's hard to sit there and listen to the villagers talk trash about you, but you have to let it go. Alright?"
When she received a meek nod in reply she continued,
"Good. Now go to bed otouto. You have a genin exam to pass tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning."
She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead bringing a small smile to his face before she turned around and walked down the hall to her bedroom. He received his respective hugs and aggravating head rubs from the old man and Anko before they both departed, the Hokage back to his estate and Anko to her room, leaving just Hana and Naruto in the room. The two of them locked eyes for a few moments, their faces impassive, before Hana let out a playful growl and held her arms out,
"You just gonna stand there or are you going to give me my hug?"
The smile on his face grew as he walked forward into the bone crushing hug that Hana gave him. He could feel the blood rushing to his face as his cheeks turned red and his tail slowly started wagging. He didn't know why they did this. He could hug Anko and Kurenai with no reaction, but whenever he was near Hana he couldn't help himself. Unlike with Anko and Kurenai, he's never thought of her as a sister, and the reason why was unknown to him. She was more like a cool older best friend, one of the only ones he had and one of his most precious people. She may not be a sister to him, but he knew he would kill for her just like the other two.
"You're going to be the death of me you know that?" the brown haired teen muttered into the top of his head, at which he could only give a sheepish chuckle and sorry as a reply, "Go get some rest. You have to go pass your test tomorrow, and you know you're not a morning person."
Chuckling in reply as he stepped back out of the hug, have was petrified moments later when he felt her lips touch his forehead. It was brief, nothing more than a friendly peck, but it was enough to set his face ablaze and make him dart out of the room. In his haste he never noticed the matching blush Hana sported on her cheeks, or the quiet snickering of Anko and Kurenai as they watched from the darkness of the other hallway.
The classroom was abuzz with energy as students flitted around in excitement as they waited in anticipation for the test they were soon to take. The general atmosphere was penetrated when the door was slammed open getting everyone's attention, and a perpetual cloud of irritation entered the room and sullied the mood. Underneath said cloud of irritation was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, the crimson haired fox boy of Konoha, tail slowly lashing side to side in anger as his ears twitched erratically. He stormed up to his normal seat and sat down with a huff and then leaned forward and buried his head in his arms.
A few minutes later the mood swung back to a positive one and the general chatter and noise rose back to its previous level while Naruto glared into space, mimicking the look of a certain Uchiha sitting across the classroom. The reason for Naruto's sour mood was of course the villagers. The day had been great up until he made it to the village, and the scowls and whispers hit him. It was especially bad today, because of the night before hand, and he was having trouble not slicing out their throats when they made lewd comments about his sisters and Hana, but he made a promise to let them handle themselves and he would keep it. So fifteen aggravating minutes later he made it to the Academy.
No one in that room was brave or stupid enough to approach the irritated fox boy, at least until one grinning Hinata Hyuga entered the classroom. She stopped and swept her gaze around the room briefly, coming to rest upon Naruto. Her grin never wavering she walked up the stairs and made her way to her seat next to Naruto. He could feel her presence drawing closer and before she could sit down he turned his glare upon her, as if trying to burn a hole into her face. Everyone watched in shock as Hinata didn't even falter and sat down, and then proceeded to pull him into a hug that made him look like an angry cat.
Naruto's neck creaked as he slowly looked up at a grinning Hinata and growled out,
" . ."
Hinata's simple response was to lean down and bite one of Naruto's angrily flicking ears with a mischievous glint in her eyes. The minute her bite connected, a massive shudder shot down his spine all the way to the tip of his tail, and his face turned as red as his hair. His previous irritation was replaced with burning embarrassment as he freed himself from Hinata's grasp. She raised her hand to her mouth to try and stifle the giggles coming from her, but the amused noise made it to the ears of everyone in the room. Naruto's gaze turned towards the rest of the room as they tried and failed not to laugh, and he fixed them with a volcanic glare that silenced all but the cause of his embarrassment.
"What's the matter Naru-kun? What's with the glare?" she asked with a large cheeky grin.
As much as he'd like to be angry with his pervy friend, he could feel his anger quickly dissipating as he looked at the smile on her face. He never could stay angry at her, no matter the kinds of pervy things she did. He sighed and then leaned back in his chair with a resigned smile on his face,
"Nothing you perv. Just a bad morning is all."
Hinata nodded and stood before walking over and sitting down in the fox boy's lap, causing the blush he'd finally fought down to resurface. He opened his mouth to shout at her, but then just sighed wrapped her arms around her waist, and resigned himself to his fate. It wasn't like this was the first time she'd done this, and it damn sure wouldn't be the last. That was the scene Iruka and Mizuki walked into, and honestly it was more normal than they wished it to be.
"Alright everyone sit down and shut up! The exams are starting now!" yelled Iruka getting the rooms undivided attention, "When I call your name come into the back room and we'll commence with your test."
With that the two walked into the back room and began calling kids in. Naruto zoned the voices out and leaned forward pressing his forehead into Hinata's back, completely uncaring on whether or not the other kids passed. The only people that he cared if they passed were himself and Hinata, who was sitting on his lap with a content look on her face. Fifteen minutes and many broken dreams and shining victories later, Hinata was called. He could feel her nervousness as she shakily stood in front of him.
"You'll do fine Hinata-chan. Just do your thing," he said as she turned to look at him with a worried look on her face.
"You think so?" she asked while looking down and poking her index fingers together.
The look on her face tugged at Naruto's heartstrings. He really didn't like seeing her like this. He racked his brain trying to figure out a way to cheer her up and instill her confidence back into her. Then his mind stopped on an idea. He remembered something that Kurenai and Hana used to when he was about to try something. He hated it, but knowing who Hinata was, he knew she'd have no problem with it. Sighing he stood up and grabbed her shoulders, steeling himself and trying not to blush as he was about to do something he'd never done before. Hinata looked up in shock when Naruto grabbed her shoulders, and that shock furthered when he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
A blush exploded across her dazed face, and she stared at Naruto's equally blushing face as he looked her in the eyes and muttered,
"That was for luck…Now go and pass your test, and when we're all done….we'll go get ice cream….or something."
Hinata nodded distractedly and walked down the stairs to the room to take her test, oblivious of the shocked stares being sent at her and especially Naruto. Naruto for his part just sat back down and resumed ignoring everyone else. A few minutes later Hinata emerged from the room with a headband tied around her neck, her eyes clear now and a large grin on her face as she practically skipped her way up to her seat next to Naruto. Naruto was called next, but before he could head down the stairs Hinata stopped him.
She grabbed him by the front of his jacket and before he could even register what was going on pulled him forward into a long kiss. Naruto completely froze, not expecting this, and when Hinata disconnected the kiss he still stood as still as a statue. She grinned at his state, and leaned in close so her lips were right next to his ear and whispered,
"That was for luck, and you owe me some ice cream."
Naruto had moved so fast that it would make a kage jealous and was in the testing room with his back pressed against the door he just slammed shut, his eyes wide and his hair standing on end. The two chunnin instructors looked at the boy with surprise and worry in their eyes.
"Naruto," asked Iruka, "Are you alright?"
Naruto, hearing his teachers voice, calmed down and schooled his face into his normal look, one of mild annoyance, though the blush wasn't completely gone.
"I-I'm fine. Let's just get this over with," he grumbled.
"A-alright then. Your written test and weapons test has already been graded so the last thing you need to do is the jutsu test. Show me the three jutsu, henge, substitution, and bunshin."
Naruto nodded and put his hands into the ram sign and summoned up some of his chakra before initiating the first jutsu Iruka listed. A large puff of smoke later and standing where Naruto used to be was a miniature nine tailed fox. Shocked and fearful shouts escaped the two's mouths before Naruto released the henge, a large mischievous grin on his face. He instantly launched into the second jutsu replacing himself with an irritated Sasuke for a few seconds before he switched back, the grin still plastered on his face. He placed his hands back into the ram sign and pulled up some more chakra.
This last jutsu was a lot more difficult for him than the last two. Anko and Kurenai had said it was because he had such an abnormal amount of chakra so it was hard for him to do genjutsu. Luckily, Kurenai had been drilling chakra control exercises into him ever since they started training him, so while he was nowhere near perfect, he could at least pull it off. He initiated the jutsu, and eight Naruto's appeared behind him. He smirked as he looked at his bunshins before dispersing them. He didn't have the control needed to only summon one, but he could summon them in larger numbers.
"Alright Naruto! You passed with flying colors!" exclaimed Iruka, genuinely happy that the boy had passed and missing the dark look that flashed across Mizuki's face as he stared at the fox boy, "Step up and claim your hitai-ate."
The redhead walked up and picked out a hitai-ate with a black cloth, and wrapped it around his upper arm before turning and walking out of the room. He slid his gaze around the room as he looked at the rest of the humans conversing with their friends, and stopped when it landed on the dazed smile of one Hinata Hyuga as she stared into space. Naruto walked up and claimed his seat next to the girl and waited for the rest of the class to finish testing. Thirty minutes later and the two were walking out of the Academy as ninjas of Konoha.
Just as he was about to ask Hinata where she wanted to go for ice cream, something caught his eye. Mizuki was walking shifty eyed with a sad looking Academy student back behind the school, a sense of malice hanging about him. Naruto never liked the guy, and seeing him now set off an internal alarm that something was amiss. His instincts had never steered him wrong before, so he saw no point in ignoring them now. He turned to the confused looking Hinata and gave an apology,
"Sorry Hinata-chan, but that ice cream is going to have to wait. Mizuki is up to something, and I need to know what."
Aaaaaaand that's a wrap comrades! Mizuki is up to some shifty eyed no goodness and Naruto is determined to find out what! Want to know more!? Well then you'll have to come back for the next chapter of the Power of Fear!
READ AND REVIEW!
Solo Gamer Logging Out.