Don't own anything.
Sorry again for not really being able to pm anyone back. I'm still hella busy with work and schools.
Anyways, thanks for the reviews! Remember, I still haven't chosen all of the swords yet so they are still open for suggestions.
Sorry, but no Neji fight this chapter. Next one for sure though!
Please enjoy chapter seven.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Demon"
'Gilgamesh'
"JUTSU"
As Naruto jumped off of the cliff, Ino clamped her eyes shut and waited for the fall and then the splat that would inevitably come shortly afterward. She couldn't believe he was going to kill them! Why did she always like the crazy ones?
She waited for the splat, but it never came. In fact, it didn't even feel like she was falling at all.
"You can open your eyes now Ino-chan." Naruto said with amusement in his voice.
The mind walker did as she was told and locked eyes with her crush. "Look." He said as he motioned away with his head.
Ino turned her eyes downward to see they were a few hundred feet above the earth. The girl instantly tightened her grip around Naruto's neck and wrapped her legs around his midsection so tight he lost feeling in his lower half. "Ahhh!"
"I…Ino-ch… chan. I can't brea…" Naruto sputtered out.
She didn't listen to his cries and opted instead to claw at his back until she felt something strange. Her grip lessened and Naruto let out a happy breath.
"This is your secret?" Ino asked as she reached over Naruto's shoulder and grabbed a firm hold of his wing.
They shook a little bit from her disruption of his course, but no real damage done. "Yeah." He said sadly.
"You're serious?" She said sarcastically. "This is what you were afraid to show me?"
Naruto looked at her with surprise. "Huh?"
"This is probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen and you're all mopey about it." She looked down and shivered at how high up they were. "I mean we're freaking flying for Kami's sake!"
"We're not really flying. More like gliding. There's a really strong air current around Konoha that could keep us up all night if we wanted." He said as the wind picked up and they began to ascend.
"You're missing the point." She deadpanned.
It wasn't until he adjusted Ino into a more comfortable position that he noticed how close they were. Her strong legs were still wrapped around his waist and it didn't look like they were going to loosen any time soon. In addition, he still had his arm wrapped under her firm, although plump, butt.
He quickly tried to think of other things to keep his blood from rushing somewhere inappropriate. 'Dead kittens. Dead kittens. Dead kittens.' He thought over and over. It worked even though it brought a small tear to his eye.
"The view from up here is amazing." Ino said softly as she looked down over the town.
Naruto looked at the smooth features of his friend. She looked gorgeous as the wind lightly tossed her silky blonde hair around. "Yeah… amazing." He replied awestruck.
Ino turned to him and smiled. "Thank you for showing me this Naruto-kun."
"I never should have hesitated in the first place." He retorted.
"That's right!" She giggled, but stopped when she saw him looking at her sadly. "What's wrong?"
He gave her a sad smile. "There's more I need to tell you."
For the next thirty minutes Naruto held Ino as they slowly floated around their village. They were on the outskirts so no one in town saw them as Naruto told her the truth about him. The mission in the wave, Gilgamesh, Sephiroth, and the Chuunin exams. He revealed everything to her besides the Kyuubi.
Ino stayed quiet the whole time to take the information in, but after an awkwardly long pause she found the courage to speak. "So that's where that sword you used to bust down the bank vault came from."
He nodded.
"And that's how you got this." She said with a gesture to the wing.
He nodded again.
She sighed. Seeing how depressed Naruto was being made her join in his melancholic state. Ino just wanted him to cheer up. In all honesty, she wasn't any more afraid of him now that she knew his secret. Naruto could never scare her.
"I can't pretend to know what you're going through because I can barely understand it myself. I can see that you're scared, but what are you really afraid of? Being taken over by this Sephiroth guy or losing your friends?" Ino asked.
Naruto looked away sadly. The answer was obvious anyways.
She put her hand gently against his face. "I can tell you right now you will never lose me. I will always be there for you and so will Sakura and Sasuke. So stop acting like a depressed old man and get over it!" She yelled.
He looked back at her and smiled. "A depressed old man huh?" He grinned. "You do know I'm the only thing stopping you from falling right?" He prodded.
She tightened her grip around him. "D…don't mess around like that!" She stuttered.
"Mess around like what?" He chuckled as he did a nose dive towards the ground. Ino screamed and he leveled them back out to return to his slow, comfortable drift around Konoha. "Just kidding."
She slapped him over the head. "That wasn't funny! I was trying to cheer you up!"
Ino felt his arms tighten around her slightly. "And I was trying to show you it worked." He said softly.
Even though the air was cold, she felt warmer than ever in his arms.
The wind began to die down and Naruto made a slow descent back to solid ground. The entire time he and Ino kept their eyes fixed to one another, and neither of them spoke a word.
As Naruto's feet touched the ground, Ino let her legs unwrap from his sides and gingerly set herself down. She had yet to remove her arms from around his neck and had no intention to do so.
She ran her hand through Naruto's unruly locks. The night seemed too perfect. Too many things were going right for her. Her crush was literally in the palm of her hands and now she was hesitant to take another kiss like she had so easily taken earlier that day at the exams.
Why? Ino knew she liked him. He was fantastic so why shouldn't she? Then it dawned on her. Maybe somewhere along the line her feelings had passed like.
Her heart pounded so loud in her chest she was afraid it would drown out their silence. Her nerves began to run so high that the hand tussled in Naruto's hair shook in anxiety. 'I… I think I might love him.'
It seemed ridiculous to her. How did she fall in love with a guy so quickly? Ino had been in relationships before without results like this. Actually, she wasn't even in a relationship with Naruto and for some reason she cared more about his well being than her own.
It felt like she was drawn to him. His elegant good looks. His charming deep voice. But more than anything it was his personality. Naruto had been nicer to her than any guy ever had been before. And he wasn't nice to her because he was trying to get something out of it; he honestly wanted to make her happy.
Did he feel the same way about her? It seemed like he did. Naruto already admitted that he will remember every moment they spend together due to his photographic memory that only seemed to work in the presence of Sakura or herself. The thought made Ino unbelievably happy except for the inclusion of another girl.
The pinkette was another problem. It was obvious that Naruto still liked her, but Ino wasn't below taking the blonde boy if she had the chance; unless it was already too late of course. It couldn't have been too late. Sakura was too much of a chicken to have made a move, but just to be sure Ino was going to have to have a conversation with her tonight.
"N… Naruto-kun." Ino said in a choppy voice because she was having trouble breathing correctly. Her hand around his neck tensed nervously. "I really like spending time with you."
He smiled at her. "And I love spending time with you Ino-chan."
She got so excited at Naruto using the word 'love' to describe their time together that she almost squealed like a happy toddler.
"I think it's time to go home now." Naruto said quietly.
"Yeah." Ino said sadly as she pulled Naruto into a hug. "Thank you for the wonderful night. And for trusting me." The mind walker regretted not kissing him again, but her shaky nerves left her stuck in place with twitchy lips. 'And I thought Forehead was a chicken.'
They slowly separated and he nodded to her. "I just wanted to let you know... you mean a lot to me." He said with a smile before quickly disappearing into the night.
Her high from earlier was even stronger now. "Naruto-kun…" She breathed out as she felt the chill of the midnight air.
(line break)
Naruto walked through Konoha with a wide grin after his encounter with Ino. He was so happy she accepted him despite his condition that he almost told her he held the Kyuubi, but he decided that maybe that piece of information would hit too close to home. No one else knew the Kyuubi like he did so no one else knew the fox wasn't really bad. They would only remember the destruction it had caused. Still, he was resolved to one day personally tell Ino about his other unfortunate prisoner.
For the first time in a long time he felt entirely alive and rejuvenated! He had friends who cared for him and that was all that mattered anymore.
Speaking of his friends, Naruto wondered how Sasuke was doing. He hadn't seen the Uchiha since his match earlier, but if the black haired boy was awake Naruto knew where he'd be; the Uchiha training grounds.
(line break)
On his way to see Sasuke, Naruto walked past the hot springs. The blonde stopped when he heard a small chuckle coming from one of the bushes so he decided to check it out. He didn't like perverts very much and this wouldn't be the first time he chased some creepy guy away from the bath houses. They seem to flock there like gnats to a flame.
Naruto pulled the bush back to see an old man with white hair giggling as he looked through a peep hole in the wooden fence that blocked out the women's bathing area. He was writing furiously into a notebook, which actually relieved Naruto because at least his pants were still up. The last guy he caught had his pants around his ankles and Naruto still hasn't got that image out of his head.
The sword wielding blonde didn't even give the old man a chance to say anything as he summoned the Buster Sword and charged up a blade beam. Naruto swung down the giant cleaver and the blue light of his limit break flew through the ground towards the perv.
The white haired peeping tom turned his head just in time to see the light explode in front of him. "OH SHIIIIIIiiiiiiiii..." Naruto heard the man's voice fade as he went flying into the clouds and disappeared with a twinkle of a star.
Naruto smiled and clapped the dust off of his hands for a job well done. He didn't really know who the guy was, but he could go without ever seeing him again. However, he had bad feeling that he would see him again. And soon.
(line break)
After only a few minutes of walking, the blonde haired jinchuuriki walked through the entrance to the deserted Uchiha compound and straight to the family training grounds. It wasn't hard to find where he was because Naruto just had to follow the sound of explosions.
The blonde watched for a few moments as Sasuke practiced his fire jutsu on small targets around his camp. The prodigy's accuracy was perfect and the size of the fireballs he spewed was immense for someone his age. Naruto used his wing to block some chunks of trees and targets that flew in the air from the Uchiha's intense session and, as he watched, Naruto found a new appreciation for his friend.
"Oi teme. Don't overdo it now." Naruto shouted as he tossed a bottle of water he kept with him to the training fiend.
Sasuke turned and caught the bottle. "This is not overdoing it." He said as he took a long drink of water.
"Well I'm afraid to see what it looks like when you're trying then." Naruto chuckled.
Sasuke smirked and motioned over to a downed log. The two members of team seven laid down and propped their heads up against the dead tree to look up at the stars.
Neither of the two said anything for minutes as they admired the night sky. It was such a nice night that neither of them felt like moving, let alone talking. But Naruto was there for an important reason and he didn't have the option of silence.
"Your opponent is going to be the sand ninja Gaara." Naruto said.
"Yes I know. Kakashi told me." Sasuke answered as he took another swig of water.
"Did sensei tell you anything about the fight he had against Lee?"
"No."
Naruto sighed. "Lee was crushed. He will probably never be a ninja again." The blonde paused for a few moments to let the info sink in, but he knew Sasuke wouldn't back down just because the redhead was dangerous. "Here's what you need to know. Gaara attacks with sand that comes from the gourd on his back. The sand is very fast, but it's even faster when he uses his hands to guide it. He constantly has a thin layer of armor around his skin so normal hand to hand won't work."
"Hmm." Sasuke hummed to himself.
"I don't really know what you can do besides ask sensei. I mean, I had another idea, but it probably wouldn't work." Naruto said exasperated.
"What is your idea?" The usual loner asked.
"Well…" Naruto said as he rubbed his chin. "His sand is good at blocking physical attacks, but what about ninjutsu? Lee didn't know any so I don't really know what would happen if you- I don't know- used a fire jutsu on him. I figure that, even if he were to block it, he couldn't help but feel the heat. So if you use a fire attack that is nonstop he might lose oxygen and pass out or he might overheat."
"That is a very interesting idea. However, my chakra levels are only so high. I'd need to build them to hold the fire continuously."
"Yeah I know." Naruto huffed. "It would've been a gamble anyways."
Sasuke eyed the blonde curiously. He was a lot smarter than he originally thought. His idea was actually very good considering the current abilities the Uchiha possessed.
"Your opponent is the Hyuga. Correct?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah! And I'm going to kick the living shit out of him too." He said as he threw his fist toward the sky.
"Alright dobe. Stand up." Sasuke said as he pushed himself off the log they were resting on.
Naruto put his hands behind his head. "I think I'm good down here." Naruto started to say before a kunai imbedded itself dangerously close to his groin. "Ah okay!" The startled blonde said as he rose and dusted the dirt off his cloak.
Sasuke settled into a low stance.
"What are you doing teme?" The curious blonde asked.
"This doesn't look familiar?" Sasuke said as he lifted his right hand in front of him and his sharingan activated. "From what I was told by Kakashi you saw this earlier today."
Naruto quirked an eyebrow. The stance did look familiar somehow.
"How about this." Sasuke said as he dropped his head. "You're within my field of divination."
The blonde cringed as Sasuke ran forward and delivered blow after blow using the gentle fist style of taijutsu. None of the hits were infused with chakra so they did nothing more than push him off his feet, but the point still got across.
Once the black haired boy stopped, Naruto picked himself off of the ground. "How do you know the Hyuga style?"
Sasuke pointed at his sharingan and smirked. "I may have accidentally witnessed a Hyuga training a while ago." He said non-chalantly.
Sasuke didn't want Naruto to know the truth. What actually happened was, as soon as Kakashi had sealed the curse mark and told him the blonde was going to fight against Neji, he ran to the nearest chuunin training grounds and watched a branch member of the Hyuga family as they practiced with their team. Sasuke sapped every bit of info with his sharingan that he could so he could help Naruto later.
He used the sharingan for the real reason it was made. Not for personal glory, but to help ones comrades by learning the enemies techniques.
"I don't like owing people favors and the way I see it I owe you a couple." Sasuke grunted. "So I figure I will give you one hour against the gentle fist style and we call it even."
Naruto settled into the academy style stance and smirked. "Sounds fair to me."
(line break)
Ino was desperately trying to get the blush off of her face that Naruto left her with, but so far she still looked like a ripe tomato. Every time she would lose a bit of redness, she would remember everything that had just happened. His breath on her face, the smell of his hair, his soft words. Her face went red again and she tried to cover it with her hands.
"Ahhh come on already!" She yelled at herself.
Ino looked up at the bedroom window of her competition for Naruto's heart. She thought that it would be best to get this whole situation out of the way and, since Sakura had a concussion too, Ino knew she'd be awake. The blonde smiled when she saw light coming from the room telling her the pinkette was home.
Ino gave herself a small slap on the face. "Alright. You can do this." She said as she jumped up to the second story awning and looked through the window.
Ino peered through the glass to see Sakura sitting in a chair and dozing off at her desk. 'I can't believe she tried to lecture me about staying awake!' Ino smiled. 'Well maybe she just needs a wake up call.' She evilly said to herself.
Ino slowly cracked open the window and silently crawled inside the pinkette's room. It wasn't very hard to sneak up on the other girl due to the fact that she was barely awake, but Ino still employed her skills as a kunoichi to stay quiet as she approached her from behind.
Sakura had shifted and propped her head up on her hand while she closed her eyes, so Ino moved to her side and pulled her arm out from under her chin. After a small startled squeak, Sakura's head slammed into her desk, which shocked her awake and caused her to tip back in her chair and hit the floor.
Ino openly laughed at the fuming pinkette scrambling to get up. "Ino-pig! What the fuck are you doing in my room?" Sakura yelled as she rubbed her face.
Ino waved her off. "Relax Forehead. I'm here to keep you awake. See?" The blonde said as she set a six pack of energy drinks on the desk. "I figured it would be easier to stay up if we did it together."
Sakura growled and kicked Ino's leg out from under her, which caused the blonde to fall flush up against the pinkette.
Ino pushed herself up and mashed her breasts into Sakura's face. "Oh. I only came here to hang out Forehead, but it seems like you have other ideas for me." The blonde purred. "I never knew you felt this way." Ino said with a smirk as she straddled Sakura.
The vein in Sakura's head was throbbing so hard it looked like it was about to burst. "Get off of me!" The pinkette yelled as she hit Ino in her right tit and knocked her over.
"Owowowowow!" Ino squealed as she rubbed her sore breast. "That was low Sakura. I think you bruised it." The blonde pouted as she took off her sweater and undid her top to reveal her bare chest.
Sakura looked at her in jealous amazement. "Put your shirt back on!" She yelled with red cheeks.
Ino looked up at her with her hand still rubbing her sore breast. "What?" She smirked. "Is it turning you on too much? I knew you wanted to do me!" She laughed.
"No! Gawd why are you so skanky!" Sakura screamed.
Ino gave her a fake frowny face. "Hey now Forehead. That hurt."
The pinkette crossed her arms. "I'm just calling it like I see it." She huffed.
"Oh yeah?" Ino challenged. "Well I think you're just jealous."
"What!"
"Yeah! You're jealous because my body is rockin and yours is flat as day old beer!" Ino said with a fist raised in front of her.
"My body is not flat! It's toned!" Sakura returned with equal intensity, but in all honesty she would kill for a body like Ino's.
Ino laughed again. "No guy wants a toned girl. Especially, not Naruto-kun. He wants a full figured woman like me." She said as she put her hands above her head and thrust her bare chest out.
"Will you just cover yourself up?" Sakura said through gritted teeth.
"Fine." Ino said as she put her top back on. "Prude."
Sakura sighed in relief as she stood up and cracked open an energy drink. "Well since you're here we might as well make a night out of it. We only have to stay awake for a few more hours anyways." She took a big swig and slammed down the caffeinated beverage. "So what'dya wanna do Skankerella?"
"Who are you calling Skankerella? I've seen the way you look at Naruto-kun. You're not exactly the picture of chastity either you closet slut."
Sakura put down her drink and lowered her head. She couldn't help, but to start laughing. Soon after Ino joined in until they were both holding their sides in pain. "It's like every time we see each other it's a fight." Sakura said as she wiped a tear from her eye.
"Yeah." Ino agreed. "It would be weird if we didn't fight just a little bit though." She laughed.
Sakura went over to her closet and opened the door. "Hey Ino. Why don't you just stay the night? I've got some sleeping clothes in here for you if you want them."
Ino nodded. "Sounds like a plan! We can stay up together until we're allowed to sleep again."
The two girls changed into some loose fitting shirts and short shorts. Ino laid down on Sakura's bed and impatiently waited as the pinkette ruffled through her desk.
"Ah! Here they are." Sakura exclaimed as she pulled as set of different colored nail polishes out of her drawer. She took the orange colored polish out and started shaking it as she handed the rest of the set to Ino.
"Orange huh? I'm going with red." Said Ino as she took out her chosen color and positioned herself across from her friend.
Ino set her left hand on Sakura's knee and Sakura did the same to Ino. They switched polishes and slowly started to paint each others nails while making small talk. It was something so simple, yet they hadn't done it for each other in years and it felt nostalgic to have their hands resting on the others knee again.
"So." Ino said as she started painting Sakura's index finger. "Naruto visited me before I came here."
Sakura didn't look up as if she wasn't surprised, but she was actually trying to keep her anger in check. She didn't like other girls around her teammate. "And?" The pinkette asked.
"He told me everything." Ino blew on Sakura's completed nails and the kunoichi switched hands.
"Explain 'everything.'" Sakura didn't want to accidentally bring up something Naruto hadn't told her.
"The swords he uses, both of the spirits in him, the wing... I think that was it." The blonde said as she looked up for a moment. "Yeah. That was the gist of it."
"How did you react?" Sakura asked non-chalantly.
"How did I react?" She asked herself. Ino put her hand over Sakura's and looked into her emerald eyes. "Oh I..." The blonde said as she put her head down.
Sakura let go of her hand. "What did you do? Did you upset him?" She growled.
Ino waved her hands in defense. "Whoa! It's nothing like that it's just... judging by your reaction I can guess how you feel about him." Ino said quietly.
"How I feel about him?" Sakura furrowed her brow.
"Yeah. You like him too right?"
"I don't really know." She said as her eyes darted downward. "Well… I know I like him but..."
"But?"
"He makes me feel so weird. I can't really explain it." She tapped her chin. "It's like when he's near me I feel so... I don't know." Sakura was trying to evade the question.
"I think I might know how you feel Sakura." Ino said sadly.
"You do?"
Ino eyes brightened considerably as she thought about Naruto. "It's like when he's near me I'm drawn to him. When he's sad I am too. When he's happy I'm happy." She said with a smile.
Sakura gave Ino a slightly worried look. The pinkette was afraid of what was coming. "Ino... what are you...?"
"I love him Sakura." Ino said affirmatively. "And I think you do too."
The pinkette was instantly saddened by the blonde's confession. Everything just became more complicated. "I... don't love him like that."
Ino chuckled softly. "Who are you trying to kid?"
"Ino..." She was grasping at straws for some leeway. The blonde was pushing too hard.
"Alright." Ino said as she put a half manicured hand up to silence her friend. "I want you to think for a moment. What would you do if Neji kills Naruto-kun in the final matches next month?"
Sakura didn't want to think about that. Honestly she had been doing all she could to forget the mortal peril Naruto would be in during the matches. Still, from everything she's heard about the Hyuga, the outlook was pretty bleak. She believed in Naruto, but that didn't stop her from worrying. "I'd probably k…" Her words faded as she mumbled them out.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you."
"I'd probably kill Neji." Sakura breathed out.
"You see? I bet you already know how you would do it too."
Sakura looked away in shame. She had already thought about it. She even had a rough draft for revenge in her desk that she had been working on. That reminded her, she should destroy any proof she had made those plans. Normally, the pinkette wouldn't get so worked up, but when she talked to Tenten at the hospital earlier and found out what Neji had said to Naruto she had a moment of blind rage. How dare someone threaten him! Chances are she wouldn't go through with her plans, but it comforted her to know that she was ready for any situation.
She had a similar paper drawn out for Gaara in case he was to hurt or kill Sasuke. It made her shiver to think that she would take life so easily for her teammates. Even though she was still only a genin, being a ninja had really changed her.
"So what? I would do the same thing for you Ino."
The blonde smiled at her friend. "Really? You would do something like that for me?"
Sakura face went red. "Well… yeah."
Ino smirked. "Well that doesn't change the fact that you love Naruto-kun." Sakura didn't try as hard to deny it this time. "In any case, I was just wondering if you had made you move on him yet and, since it seems like you haven't, I will."
"The hell you..."
Ino cut Sakura off again. "I'm through with arguing. I'm done with underhanded tricks and schemes to get him. I won't treat this the same way I did with Sasuke. I don't want to fight with you, but I will not give up on trying to get Naruto-kun unless you get him before me."
"So it will be a fair game then? No lying or cheating. Just us and him." Sakura questioned with a skeptical look.
"That's right. And no arguing either. If he ends up with you then so be it. But if he wants to be with me then you have to accept that." Ino held out her hand for an agreement.
Sakura grabbed the open palm and shook. "It's a deal. May the best girl win."
A sly smirk covered Ino's face. "Oh… she will."
Sakura scoffed. "You don't even know what you're up against Piggy." She laughed as she took the brush full of polish out of its container. "Let's just finish our fingernails up and then we can do pedicures."
(line break)
Sasuke and Naruto were heaving in deep breaths as they sat next to each other by the downed log they were by earlier. The one hour training session turned into a three hour session and now light was beginning to peak from behind the horizon as they both tried to catch their breath.
Sasuke pulled out a few water bottles from behind the tree and passed one to Naruto. The blonde nodded in appreciation and drank the whole bottle in one go. "Ahhh. That hit the spot!" He said with a huge grin.
Sasuke took a drink from his and leaned back against the log again. Naruto joined him and they looked up at the multi colored sunrise.
"So why were you still up anyways?" Naruto asked.
"Why are you?" Sasuke asked to avoid the fact that his curse mark was throbbing incessantly and he couldn't hope to sleep.
"Quit dodging teme. Is it that thing on your neck that's keeping you awake?"
Sasuke put his hand over the evil blight and cringed. Even the mention of the mark made it flare up. "No."
"Don't lie to me. I can tell when you do." Naruto said with a smile. "So what happened?"
Sasuke dropped his hand and sighed. "You saw Orochimaru bite me, but what we didn't know was he injected me with a curse. Whenever I get angry, this mark covers my body and it feels like my veins are on fire." He held a shaky hand out in front of him.
Naruto put his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder. "No problem. All we have to do is get rid of it. Easy!" He promised.
The black haired boy smirked and pushed the hand off of him. "I told you I don't like owing favors. I will take care of this problem myself."
The sun began to shine and the boys squinted as the light flooded their eyes. Naruto gave a quick look around to make sure they were alone before pulling his wing out from behind his cloak and using it as a shield from the burning rays.
As the wing covered Sasuke in darkness he could feel the pain in his neck recede to almost nothing. He looked over at his blonde friend with wide eyes to see him sporting a carefree smile. "I honestly don't care if you don't want my help. You're getting it whether you like it or not." It was a little eerie how he said it with such a large grin.
Sasuke turned away from the blonde, but without the pain from the curse mark to keep him awake the black haired boy found himself dozing off. After only a few seconds, the last of the Uchiha was fast asleep and dreaming about happier times.
Naruto stood and smiled at his sleeping friend before swooping him up with his wing and walking towards the main house of the Uchiha. "I won't call this one a favor, but next time you need a nap won't be free of charge."
(line break)
As the black haired boy opened his eyes he was not comforted to find he wasn't outside. Someone had moved him into his room instead. "Naruto." He said through gritted teeth. The thought of another person holding him while he was helpless made his pride sting.
The pale onyx eyed boy turned around in his king sized bed to see a boy slumped over in a chair next to him. It was Naruto and he was passed out in a sitting position as the sun peeked through the window behind him. Judging from the sun's position it was before noon, which meant they had only been sleeping for around five hours.
Even with the short amount of sleep, Sasuke felt more rested than he had in a long time. He also felt like his blanket was oddly scratchy. When he looked down he found out why. Naruto had draped his wing over him while he slept and let him use it as a blanket.
"I know what you're about to ask." Sasuke looked over to see Naruto's open eyes. "And it's really not what it looks like so don't get any ideas." Naruto said in a low voice.
Sasuke raised and eyebrow as he looked down the dark wing that he was wrapped up in. Slowly he took his hand out of the 'blanket' and pulled it off of him by grabbing the edge between his thumb and forefinger and peeling it off. "I have no questions because this never happened. Got it?" The black haired boy said with a threatening stare.
Naruto stood up and pulled the wing back under his cloak. "I couldn't agree with you more."
Sasuke felt the pain from his mark return when Naruto pulled away and he realized why the blonde did what he did. 'He must have seen me in pain and stayed so I could sleep.' The Uchiha ran a hand through his hair. 'Damn. I owe him again.'
"Here." Naruto said as he held something in his extended hand and looked away.
Sasuke grabbed the item from the blonde's hand and peered at it with a slightly angry look. It was one of Naruto's feathers. "I don't need this."
Naruto put his hand out in a stopping motion. "Just take the damn thing. It'll help you sleep."
"I told you." Sasuke said to protect his significantly dwindled pride. "I. Don't. Need. It." He dropped the feather, but as soon as he did he fell to the floor grabbed his neck as the pain flared up again.
Naruto sighed and picked the feather up off the floor before tucking it inside Sasuke's collar. The pain receded immediately.
"I know you want to do things by yourself all the time." Naruto said as he helped his friend up. "But I'm here to help you."
Sasuke leaned up and sat in the chair with his head hung low.
"We all have dreams." He sat in the bed across from the Uchiha. "Ambitions too. But maybe you didn't understand me earlier when I said I'd protect you with my life. Part of that means your ambitions are mine. I will help you today. I will help you tomorrow. And I will help you when you are ready to fulfill your ambition."
Sasuke quickly brought his head up and took a quick breath. "You… would help me?" No one ever offered to help with his goal before. He had never given anyone a chance to get close enough to him to ask, but he still didn't believe anyone would help him. It was his stern belief and upbringing that he was born alone and he would die alone.
The raven haired boy was trying to find something more to say, but the words were stuck in his throat. Lucky for him they were interrupted by a knock on the doorframe. "Hello you two."
The genin turned their heads to the door. "Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruto said with a big smile.
It warmed the old jonin's heart to see his student's giant grin. "I was actually looking for both of you." The one eyed jonin said as he walked next to the boys, his eyes deep in an Icha Icha book.
"Why is it you have come here?" Sasuke asked in a slightly more subdued tone than normal.
Kakashi turned the page of his smut. "You both have one month before the finals. So I decided to take you out with me for some private training."
"Sounds awesome!" Naruto said excitedly.
Kakashi sighed. "Sorry Naruto, but I won't be taking you out with us. I tried to get you both, but the Hokage said he already had another person who was going to train you."
"Another person. But who?"
(line break)
"You!" The same old pervert from earlier that day was standing in the Hokage's office as Naruto arrived to find his new trainer.
The old man dramatically pointed his finger at the young blonde. "You little brat! Do you know how far away I landed?"
The Hokage looked at his guest with a quirked eyebrow. "You've already met?"
"Yeah we've met!" Naruto yelled. "This guy was peeping into the women's bath houses and I knocked his block off!"
"Why you son of a…"
"Alright, calm down you two. I don't want a fight in my office today." The Hokage scolded.
They both slumped their shoulders and Naruto grudgingly took a seat in front of them. "So I heard I'm going to be trained by someone." The blonde said as he crossed his arms and looked away from the visitor.
If he would've looked at the pervert he would have seen him raking a hand through his hair in annoyance. "That's right. One of my former students volunteered to help train you for the next month." Sarutobi said.
That caught Naruto's interest. Anyone who was the Hokage's student had to be strong and honorable. Right? "So who is it?"
"I think he can introduce himself." The Sarutobi said with a hint of playfulness in his voice.
The pervert growled and stepped forward. "The name's Jiraiya." He reluctantly said. "And I'll be training you."
The blonde smacked his head down into his hand. "Great. I'm going to be taught by a pervert." He said under his breath.
"What was that?" Jiraiya yelled with steam blowing out of his nose.
Naruto stuck his hand out. "I said my name is Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you!" He put on the biggest fake smile he could.
Jiraiya squinted his eyes in question and crossed his arms. "Little faker." The old pervert pouted as he put his arm out and shook Naruto's outstretched hand.
"For the record..." Jiraiya let go of Naruto's hand and did a quick spin before thrusting his pointer finger into the air. "I am actually a super pervert sage!" He announced with a happy grin.
Naruto dropped his head. "That's not something you're supposed to admit to."
Jiraiya began to explain the reasons why it was cool to be perverted, but Naruto tuned him out when he heard Gilgamesh speak to him. The blonde's eyes went wide when he heard the voice speak the words he was dreading to hear.
'I… can't hold him much longer.'
(line break)
"Hey! Are you listening to me?"
Naruto looked up at his newest trainer. Jiraiya had taken them out right away to begin preparing, but since Gilgamesh had given the jinchuuriki the bad news he had been too distracted to really listen to the old man.
Naruto gave the old guy a big reassuring grin. "Of course I am Ero-sennin!" He said in fake excitement as he sat cross legged in front of the sannin.
Jiraiya grumbled at the new nickname. "Good. Now then…" Naruto tuned him out again the second he started talking.
What was he going to do? Pretty soon he was going to have to fight off Sephiroth all day every day. It wasn't impossible for Naruto to hold his own against him if he was allowed to concentrate, but there was no way he could function normally while pushing the malevolent spirit back. He was basically stuck in one place until Sephiroth stopped fighting.
A word from Jiraiya got caught in Naruto's ear. "…Kyuubi."
The blonde perked up and looked his new master in the eye. "What was that?"
The old man huffed. "I said I heard Orochimaru cut you off from the Kyuubi so the first thing I am going to do is fix that."
Naruto jumped up. "Are you serious? You can do that?" He said animatedly as he clung to the front of Jiraiya's coat.
He gave Naruto a weird look. "Well yeah. I said I was a sage didn't I?" He said like it was obvious.
Naruto threw his coat off without even caring that his wing was exposed. He quickly pushed the straps of the suspenders off of his shoulders and lifted up his dark purple shirt to show Jiraiya the seal on his stomach. "Alright then." He said with a smirk.
'Don't worry Gilgamesh. Help's coming!'
(line break)
There was no question about it. It was really just a matter of time before Sephiroth won.
He was lucky to have lasted as long as he had against the pale man.
Since the Forest of Death, Gilgamesh had been in a desperate losing battle with Sephiroth. At any normal time Gilgamesh was formless. He was only a spirit with no real body, but because of the danger Sephiroth posed, he had made himself take shape so he could defend Naruto's mind.
The appearance he took was that of a blue skinned, six armed man. He thought one hand for each of the six swords was an appropriate simile of Naruto's power. That wasn't the only thing he modeled after his container's person. The red cloak Naruto wore was now draped along Gilgamesh's newly created form in the same way the blonde wears it (for a visual image look up FF8 Gilgamesh). For the lower half of his body, he wore polka dot pajama pants that tucked into his shoes. No one ever said a spirit had to be fashionable.
For some reason this form felt familiar to him.
The blue skinned spirit held God Eater in his middle right hand and the Buster Sword in his middle left as he powered through the battle. The full power of the Gilgamesh may only be less than half complete because not every sword was awakened yet, but he was putting up the best fight he could.
"You have gotten in my way for the last time. I let you live until now because I thought you may be of use to me." Sephiroth said as he lifted Masamune above his head. "but I've changed my mind."
Gilgamesh wasn't given a moment before Sephiroth blasted at him at a speed that was faster than humanly possible. The sword spirit knew the silver haired man was strong, but even he didn't expect the kind of strength Sephiroth possessed.
The blue skinned spirit held him for as long as he could, but he was fighting a losing battle. He wasn't used to his body yet and couldn't mechanics of it, which made it easy for him to get overpowered. 'I… can't hold him much longer.' Gilgamesh sent out to his container.
"You've outgrown your usefulness." Sephiroth said as he slammed the blue skinned man to the ground by his throat and choked some of the life out of him. "And I thought a fellow god would have been a challenge. Oh well."
Gilgamesh winced at the new sensation of pain he was made to endure. As a spirit, it was unlike anything he had ever felt before. "A… god?" He questioned, but received no answer as Sephiroth squeezed his throat tighter.
The blue skinned spirit grasped onto the Buster Sword and let a blade beam explode into the ground beneath him, which sent Sephiroth back a few feet.
The silver haired man wasted no time in recovering and instantly came back to kick Gilgamesh in the stomach. Sephiroth raised his sword to finish off the nuisance once and for all.
As he prepared a downward strike with Masamune, a bright flaming chain caught his hand in midair. Sephiroth turned his head and cast an angry glare at the red metal wrapped around his wrist. "The fox." The pale man said as another chain wrapped around his neck and pulled him backwards until his back hit the ground.
Sephiroth didn't even try to struggle as more chains wrapped around his body and tightened around him until he was securely fastened in place. He only chuckled at the attempt to stop him. "These chains won't hold forever." He said as he busted through the first layer of metal just to be wrapped up by more.
A loud stomping signified the entrance of the Kyuubi. "I'm not letting you get out again!" The red fox growled in anger as he stormed towards the two spirits. He was still upset about being cut off from his host for so long.
The giant fox demon slammed his paw down on Sephiroth's gut and held it there. "You're staying right there!" He looked over at Gilgamesh to find him quickly recovering from his battle. "You can go back into your spirit form. I will take care of this from now on."
Gilgamesh slowly approached the paw holding Sephiroth. "It is my duty to hold him as well. I will not sit idly by and chance him wreaking havoc." He took God Eater and laid it across the pale man's legs. They could all hear bones cracking under the pressure as the heavy sword settled into place.
Then the blue skinned spirit moved toward Sephiroth's head to shove the Buster Sword into the ground next to his neck and hold it like a guillotine.
Sephiroth looked at his two wardens and let out a bone chilling laugh. "This boy is my vessel." He stated. "Even if you hold me here he will still do my bidding. There are more ways than one for me to create him in my image."
The watchmen stared down at the silver haired man with contempt. "Not if we have anything to do with it."
Gilgamesh nodded with the fox. "Now. Why did you refer to me as a god?" He said as he looked down at the prisoner.
(line break)
Jiraiya removed his hand from Naruto's seal to find the boy smiling as he held his stomach. "Thank you... Ero-sennin." He said quietly as he warmly rubbed the spot where the sage had just corrected the seal.
Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively. "Ah that was nothing. Orochimaru's fuin jutsu was easier to remove Tsunade's bra after she drinks too much tequila." The white haired sage went red as he thought about the night that happened. From that day on, he always kept some Jose Cuervo Gold on him just in case he ran into her again.
'Who the hell is Tsunade?' Naruto watched the old man snicker like a schoolgirl and he knew he was plotting some sort of perverted activity. "Ero-sennin." He said grumpily.
Jiraiya turned. "Alright keep your pants on kid." He said as he walked over to him and put his arm around his shoulder. "Just follow me and we can begin the real training!"
After a few minutes they stopped at a conspicuous spot that Naruto thought he remembered being near a giant gorge. He dismissed the thought promptly as he was sure it didn't matter.
The old man reached behind his back and pulled out a large scroll. "Here's the first step of your training." He said as he unrolled the paper.
"What is it?" The curious blonde asked.
"This, my boy, is the toad summoning contract... and now you are given the illustrious chance to join the select few summoners that have been a part of it!"
Naruto looked down and saw Jiraiya's name on the contract written in blood, but the last name on the list was what really shocked him. "Is that the Yondaime's name!" He said excitedly.
Jiraiya smirked at the boy's enthusiasm. He didn't even know that it was his own dad he was fawning over. "Sure is! I told you us toad summoners are damn illustrious."
"What do I have to do?" Naruto asked with glee.
"Just prick your finger and draw some blood. Then sign your name here." He said as he pointed at the empty space on the sheet. "And you're all set to start summoning."
Naruto did as he was told with a smile on his face. He couldn't believe he was signing his name next to the Yondaime's! He had been his idol since he could remember.
"Alright then. Repeat after me." Jiraiya made the seals. Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram. Then he slammed his hand down and a cloud of smoke covered the area.
When the white cloud finally dispersed Naruto looked forward to see Jiraiya smirking as he sat cross legged on a toad the size of a large bear. "I know. It's awesome." He said arrogantly.
Naruto wanted to disagree with him, but he was right. It was awesome.
In another puff of smoke the toad was gone and Jiraiya was back in front of the pale blonde boy. "Now you try. Just do it like I did... and try to put some chakra behind it will you?"
Naruto glared at the pervert before going through the signs. Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram. He slammed his hand down to the ground in hope and the same giant puff of smoke arose. However, when it cleared there was no giant toad for him to sit on and don the same superior smirk his teacher just had. Instead there was a little tadpole flapping around on the ground gasping for air.
"Nani?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.
Jiraiya slapped his head. "I thought I said put some chakra behind it!" He groaned as the tadpole dismissed itself.
Naruto turned to the old man. "I did!" He pouted. "Maybe my footing was off or something." The blonde grumbled.
The pervert sighed. "Footing has nothing to do with it baka."
"Who are you calling a baka? You pervert!"
"Super Pervert!" He corrected animatedly.
"It doesn't matter!"
"Look." Jiraiya said as he put his hands up. "You're not using enough chakra. You need to tap into the Kyuubi for more!"
"I don't know how to!" Naruto returned with equal fervor.
The old man smirked as an interesting thought came to him. The kid was going to be pissed after this. If he lives, that is. "I have an idea. But first why don't you get that junk off of your forehead."
Naruto crossed his eyes as he tried to look at his own forehead. "What junk?" He said as he rubbed his head to try to remove the 'stain.'
"It must be sap or something because it's not coming off." Jiraiya said as he scratched his chin. "Here I'll get it."
As the old man reached forward, Naruto could feel something was amiss, but he shrugged it off. The pervert stopped his hand right in front of the blonde's forehead and gave the boy a wide smirk. "Psych." He said as he flicked Naruto's head so hard he went flying through the bushes and out of the training area.
The jinchuuriki's eyes went wide as he went sailing towards a deep gorge that was on the other side of the bushes.
Jiraiya's initial plan was simple. As the boy fell into the gorge, he would get distressed enough to call upon the Kyuubi's chakra and would summon a toad large enough to save him. However, the sage had forgotten for a moment that this boy was special. Not because he was the Yondaime's son. Not because he was the most hyperactive knucklehead in Konoha. But it was because he... had a wing.
Naruto instantly expanded the feathers of his great black wing and slowed his horizontal speed to nil. At the same time he summoned the Buster Sword and shoved it into the ground to stop himself from reaching the edge of the cliff.
Jiraiya was just about to go through the bushes to check on the free falling boy when he heard the same frightening sound he had heard the night before. "Blade beam!"
The old man's eyes went wide a blue ball of energy exploded in front of him and sent him crashing into a tree. "You asshole! Why the hell did you do that?" Naruto screamed as he jumped over the bushes. "You could've killed me!"
Jiraiya waved his hands in defense. "You were supposed to tap into the Kyuubi's chakra and summon a toad to save yourself!"
Naruto waved his arms in the air. "That's why you did that? To make me summon a fucking toad? I only tried one time you douchebag! At least give me a redo before you decide to toss me into a bottomless pit!"
Jiraiya stood up. "Well I probably should have done that and I'm sorry!" The old man yelled even though he was apologizing.
Naruto pulled his head back and quirked his eyebrow in confusion. "Well..." He said in shock of the odd response. "As long as you know."
Jiraiya scratched his head nervously. "Uhh. You want to try again?"
The blonde looked at the old guy wearily. "Oh... yeah sure." He said as he dismissed the Buster Sword.
Jiraiya spoke up. "And remember..."
"A lot of chakra." Naruto interrupted. "Got it."
The blonde moved into position and adjusted his feet. "Watch this time." He said as he pointed at his boots. "It's all about the feet."
Jiraiya scoffed and folded his arms as the boy went through the same seals and slammed his hand onto the ground. Only this time, instead of a small puff of smoke, there was a mountain sized cloud. As the air cleared the smoke away, Naruto looked down to see he was now atop an enormous toad smoking a pipe the size of a semi-truck.
"Jiraiya." The giant toad bellowed. "What the hell did you call me here for?"
The old man's mouth dropped open in amazement of Naruto's success and his failure. 'Oh come on! Gamabunta? Jeez this kid's luck sucks.' Jiraiya said to himself as he scuffled behind a tree. The boss toad tended to be a little grumpy when he is summoned for no reason and he didn't want to get mixed up in that problem. He'd just watch this one play out. 'I can't believe changing his footing actually worked. That's just stupid.'
The Kyuubi laughed in Naruto's head "Footing! That's just stupid!"
"It wasn't Ero-sennin. It was me!" Naruto said as he thrusted his thumb towards his chest.
The old battle scarred toad crossed his eyes to look at the end of his snout. "Who the hell are you? Where's Jiraiya?"
Naruto looked around for a second. "I don't know where the old guy went, but I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm your new summoner!" The red cloaked boy shot him a smile.
Gamabunta laughed. "There's no way someone as puny as you could summon the chief of the toads! Now get off of me. I need to find that white haired bastard and teach him a thing or two about respect."
"Fuck you fly licker! I was the one who summoned you!" Naruto shouted.
The toad frowned angrily. "Get off!" He yelled as he shook his head back and forth to rid him of the blonde nuisance.
"Not until you accept me as your summoner!" Naruto shouted as he clamped down onto the slimy skin of the toad.
Gamabunta stopped flailing. "Fine brat! Get on my head. If you can stay there without me knocking you off for one full day I will accept you!" He thought it would only take a few seconds to knock Naruto off so he gave the boy a chance.
Naruto smirked. "And if you forfeit before one full day is up?"
The toad laughed. "That won't happen."
"But if it does." Naruto asked again.
The toad looked at the odd boy who wouldn't stop smirking and wondered what he could possibly be thinking. "Well then I guess you win."
"Good." The blonde said as he made his way towards the top of Gamabunta's head.
The toad could feel the boy's chakra spreading his back. 'He must be trying to use his chakra to stick to me.' The shinobi didn't know that his slimy skin wouldn't let him adhere to it. "That won't work on me boy." The toad taunted.
Naruto smirked wider when the toad tried to assume his actions. He decided it would be more fun to play dumb. "What won't work?"
"What you're doing. Here's a tip before I toss you around like a rag doll. You can't stick to my back with chakra." The toad lifted his brow. "And plus you're doing it wrong."
The blonde put an ignorant finger to his chin. "Oh am I? Why don't I just try and see what happens." He sat down and stuck his hand out. "God Eater."
The toad heard the boy say something, but couldn't quite catch it. "What was…?" Suddenly the giant summon slammed into the ground as an oppressive force enveloped his entire body. "What… the hell…?"
"That would be me." Naruto said as he made his way towards the toad's snout with God Eater in hand. He made sure to use his chakra to evenly disperse the fifty thousand pounds around Gamabunta's body so he didn't accidentally put too much weight in one place.
"You?" The toad choked out.
Naruto patted his stomach. "Yeah. I think I've been putting on weight recently. Can you tell?" He said in a fake sweet voice as he stuck his stomach out and patted it.
The toad growled in anger. "It takes more than…" He said as he struggled to get up. "a little fat kid to keep me down!" The boss summon defiantly stood onto his webbed hands and feet without too much trouble. Fifty thousand pounds was a lot of weight, but not enough to keep down a summon of his caliber.
Naruto sighed and threw his massive sword over his shoulder. "Just admit that I'm your summoner and I'll stop."
"No!" The toad yelled.
"Okay suit yourself."
Naruto jumped slightly into the air, but in that small moment he could see the look of fear in the toad's eyes. As Naruto's feet connected with the summon's head, the giant toad chief slammed into the ground again.
Naruto sat down on Gamabunta's snout. "So let's see. I jumped .15 meters in the air just now. Since gravity is at a constant 9.8 meters per second squared that means I was in the air for about .34 seconds and only .17 of those seconds were a gain in velocity. So I was going 1.715 meters per second when I hit you."
The toad being crushed could only marvel at the boy doing the crushing.
Naruto put a finger to his chin. "With a mass of about 22680 kilograms that made my momentum at impact 38895.5 newton-seconds." Naruto let out a long impressed whistle. "You toads sure can take a hit."
"What… are you?" The toad choked out.
Naruto smiled. "I'm just a kid looking for a summoning." Gamabunta didn't say anything for a minute so Naruto stood back up. "I wonder what would happen if I jumped a whole meter in the air? I could probably smash you into fish paste!" He said excitedly.
"NO!" The toad grumbled. "No. I got the hint. You're my summoner. Now get the hell off of me!" Not only was the toad very confused, but he was also quite humbled. No human ever had the power to actually crush him since he had been a tadpole. He was about to give the boy some respect, but then Naruto opened his mouth again.
"Owie owie owie! I hate having to think too much. It makes my head hurt." The blonde said as he dismissed his giant sword and rubbed his temples.
"I can't believe the kids these days…" The toad grumbled to himself. "However… this boy has potential." Naruto slipped on the slimy skin of the toad and fell onto his butt. "Well… with the right training of course." He deadpanned.
Chapter 7 is a wrap!
Love ya and I hope you all had happy holidays and wonderful New Year's!
Bee tee dubya I love me some reviews ;)
