A/N:
Sorry that I didn't keep true to my word. I know that it feels like I'm such an unreliable person, but I'm still sorry. I will try to update often to make up for it.
Also, for the polls thing about interviewing characters of this story, only one person reviewed about it so I don't think that we'll be doing any type of interviewing. It's such a shame though...you could've asked anything and you'd actually have some form of answer.
BUT! I'm going to keep the poll open for two more days, and if people are just not interested, then no interviews.
STILL! ENJOY!
Warning! Grammars, as always...
Pairing: Not sure. Maybe implied ones?
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO AND I AM NOT MAKING ANY MONEY FROM THIS. NARUTO STRICTLY BELONGS TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO.
Leaving Behind
Chapter Five
Naruto had not expected a written exam.
Nor did he expect for so many competitors to pass the exam.
It was fairly easy to see through the actual test. However, the blonde did admit that he stumbled upon the answer quite coincidently. He'd been thinking why a written exam would ever be needed out of a shinobi when he realized the irony of a shinobi given a test that stopped them from cheating when he remembered thinking how weird the proctor had phrased his wordings. Ibiki had said that anyone caught cheating would immediately be called out which wasn't all that suspicious. Many instructors usually say that before an exam, but the Chuunin Exam was all about taking risks. Many people came with the knowledge that death was a very possible outcome, and for people that thought that way...would they shirk at a little cheating?
Probably not, Naruto sighed getting a headache all of a sudden. They were shinobi and they weren't honorable fellows. There was always a shadow to their light. Asking them not to cheat was like asking a fish to live on land. It was incomprehensible. More than that, it was impossible.
The blonde already knew what he needed to do, but he was uncertain. He knew how to correctly answer most of the questions. However, it was also crucial that he look like an idiot, but would being an idiot allow for his team to pass? He wasn't certain at the many possibilities that awaited him and as much as he wished he was privy to such information, he was not. It was well known around Konoha that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, which meant that if he correctly answered questions that he wasn't supposed to be able to figure out, that would raise a few unwanted questions.
Trying to buy time, the blonde boy looked at his test questions. They were certainly hard—hard enough that even a small portion of the current jounin force may not be able to solve, but he was certain he could answer a few of them correctly, if not more. He was taught many things when he'd stayed with Aki and from then on, he only furthered his own education.
Scratching his head, he pulled at the soft strands angrily. Time was running out and he needed to make his decision soon. No one else would be looking at his paper except the proctor, but he didn't trust the proctor nor did he trust the white haired genin that smelled of a diseased snake that called himself Kabuto. Yet, the possibility of failing wasn't all that appealing. He had a lot riding on a single exam.
"Naruto-kun," A soft voice whispered from his right. The blonde turned. "You can copy mine." The girl, Hinata, the blonde could faintly recall, was a shy and soft-spoken girl. He was surprised that she was willing to help him despite the fact that they were in different teams. Admittedly, it wasn't the question on the papers he was having trouble with.
"Thank you." He said, flashing her a smile, "but I'm alright."
Turning back to his papers, the blonde took a deep breath. The written portion was two hours of their time, in which case, Haru and Kiyoko would've already graduated.
Naruto smirked. It wouldn't hurt to use his clone as a substitute, would it?
…
The blonde rushed towards the academy and fumbled with the blood red obi he had around his waist. He had chosen a red yukata embroidered with a sakura tree from the bottom and its petals flying up to his chest. His hair was down, creating a messy look that drew more attention than Naruto had wanted. His cerulean blue eyes popped out even more with his choice of clothing, giving him an unintended smoldering look. The blonde wasn't going to wear something so casual as a yukata, but at the moment, it was the easiest thing to put on. He had wanted to go with something more formal to show Haru and Kiyoko how big the moment was for him, but he didn't have the time to put it on. He had to switch back with his clone in less than an hour.
With a roll of his ocean-like eyes, he finally managed to get the obi tied correctly. Honestly, Naruto thought as he drew the eye of an older women that was giving him a flirty look, they didn't give him that much attention when his hair was held back by his hitai-ate and his body covered in an orange jumpsuit! Did he look that different? With a snort, Naruto ignored the looks of adoration that was sent his way. He couldn't say it didn't make him feel smug or even a little bit good, but it stung a little that no one bothered to look past the outer appearance.
When he arrived outside of the academy, many parents were already littered there along with their child. Some had proud tears streaming down faces while others had disapproving looks. A few parents were comforting their child, encouraging them to do better next time. It was a wonderful sight to see and it warmed the blonde's heart to see how parents cared for their children. With a small smile, blue eyes scanned the crowd eagerly for the familiar faces of Haru and Kiyoko. He was disappointed when he couldn't spot them. He knew that they were close to him. He could feel their chakra resonating with his own.
Figuring that they might still be inside, Naruto walked towards a swing set and sat down. The little playground brought many memories of the academy days. Both good ones and bad ones. He'd never been accepted by his fellow students, and they made sure that he knew that by being extra cruel with him.
"Excuse me." The blonde looked up and saw a nervous woman with short brown hair hovering over him. She had a hesitant look and she had a little girl beside her that was an exact copy of herself, albeit much younger and with longer hair. "Are you waiting for your siblings?"
Naruto frowned at her. "No, I'm waiting for my son and my daughter."
The woman gave him a shocked look that made Naruto itch in annoyance. "B-but you're so young! You can't be much older than my own daughter!" She gestured to her daughter who was looking at Naruto with stars in her eyes.
"Daddy!" The blonde shifted his eyes towards the voice and smiled before turning back to the woman and giving her a polite tilt of his head.
"Excuse me." He said as he walked towards Kiyoko's excited form. His daughter didn't wait for him to reach her before she flung herself on him. With a smile, Naruto wrapped his arms around her and swung her around.
"I'm a genin!" She yelled excitedly when she finally let go of him, waving the hitai-ate in the air like a trophy. "I got called before Haru did, but I passed the exam! I'm the top kunoichi of my year!" She was jumping now, unable to contain the joy running through her body.
Naruto laughed at her enthusiasm. He was happy even if a part of him was filled with dread. He never wanted them to become shinobi, but they made their choice and they not only did well, they excelled because the blonde knew for a fact that if Kiyoko passed the exam, then it was with clear certainty that Haru also passed. They had worked hard to get at where they were. Since they started at the academy, they've never once lazed around nor did they slack off at their training.
"I'm proud of you." He told her sincerely. Kiyoko grinned.
"Of course—"
"Dad, I passed, too." A distinct voice whined behind Naruto. When the blonde turned, he was met with messy red hair, bright green eyes, and a playful pout. "I did better than Kiyoko." Naruto grinned and went in for a hug that the redhead immediately returned.
"It was even!" Kiyoko hissed at the red tufts of hair that was the only visible part of Haru. "We both got a ten out of ten on the practical exam and a hundred on the written exam and—"
"Yes, but mine was much more accurate and consistent while yours wasn't and I finished my written exam waaaaay before you did. The only reason you got out first was because they called your name to perform the—"
"We had the same score!"
Haru pulled away from the blonde and shrugged. "So?" He flashed his father a smile before giving his sister a bored look. "That's not what matters in real life. Truth is, I'd be able to cause more damage than you simply because I can throw faster than you and with much more accuracy and dad, people are staring at you."
The blonde gave his surroundings a glance and people were indeed staring. Whether they were looking at him or his family's dynamic was lost on Naruto. It could very well be because he had two kids calling him 'daddy' when he didn't look old enough to be one, or it could be the way he dressed, or it could even be how odd the three of them looked together, but the blonde chose to ignore it. He had better things to do than analyze the mortified look on people's faces.
"You're not studying to become a hunter-nin." The girl replied with an eye roll.
"Don't be jealous, dear sister. Dad will still love you no matter how talentless you are."
Naruto smiled as he watched the exchange between brother and sister. They'd always had a rivalry with each other. He didn't know why or what started it, but it was amusing to watch. It was clear that Haru had Kiyoko beat verbally and physically, but the amber eyed girl was still the only person that could get under the green-eyed boy's skin.
"I'm very proud of you, Haru." Naruto whispered with a grin as he ruffled the younger boy's hair. "It won't be long before you become a chuunin."
"Hey!" Kiyoko cried indignantly. "How about me?"
"You'll never become chuunin." The red haired boy stuck his tongue out at her playfully.
The blonde shook his head and lightly tapped the green-eyed brother's nose in reprimand. "You'll become a chuunin in record time also, my dear." He reassured his daughter. "Now, what do you two want as a reward?"
Brother and sister looked at each other. They sported an uncertain look that made Naruto curious. What were they going to request for? Haru's bright eyes hardened in determination and Kiyoko nodded. The blonde bit his lip nervously. It wasn't going to be something he liked, was it?
"Can…" Kiyoko spoke quietly, looking at the ground while Haru looked at his dad with a resolute expression, challenging his father to oppose his decision—whatever it was. "Can we meet your teammates?"
Naruto's heart dropped. He was hoping to keep his teammates as far away from his kids as possible. They were a disaster waiting to happen. It was going to be a fact that Kiyoko would not like Sakura and the way he allowed the pinkette to treat him. It was going to be a natural disaster just waiting to happen because if Kiyoko didn't like someone, she wasn't going to keep silent about it.
Then there was the orange jumpsuit he wore on a regular basis. They still didn't know about it, nor did they know about his idiotic personality. The first thing that Haru would demand would be to burn the orange eyesore and anything that Haru demanded was usually seen to. Then his boy would have an issue with every member of Team Seven. Especially his sensei.
It was a bad habit, but Haru usually looked down on people, which made many people see him as a snobby child. And if both children had a problem with his teammates then they were bound to cause quite a stir and it was not limited to insults or pranks.
Honestly, it was best if the two parts of his life never met each other.
"Well?" Haru asked. "Can we meet them?"
Naruto blinked rapidly, trying to find a way out of the situation. "Hypothetically," the blonde started with a wince, "what would you guys do if I refused?" He received two confused stare. "J-just hypothetically, of course!" He stammared.
Haru frowned and gave his sister a look. "Then we would spy on you."
"Or trail you and then introduce ourselves." Kiyoko added.
"And what if hypothetically, I never talked to them about you two?" Both children narrowed their eyes in suspicion.
"Do you not want us to meet your teammates, dad?" Haru bluntly asked.
Naruto inwardly winced. He was at a dilemma. He knew that eventually, the two parts of his life would surface and everyone would know, but he hoped that it would still be a long way off. However, would it be better for them to meet each other now or later?
"I—" Naruto stopped and snapped his head up. His clone had just popped and a rush of memories assaulted him. Images of large trees, and dense wildlife flashed. Brief images of Sasuke and Sakura, then of a large snake. Dread filled him as he realized the consequence of his actions. "I have to go." He whispered urgently to Haru and Kiyoko. He grabbed both their shoulders and gave them a serious look. "Get home and don't wander, do you two understand?"
Scared, both nodded quickly. Relieved, Naruto sent them on their way as he rushed towards the direction of the Forbidden Forest. He'd only created one shadow clone and now that it had popped, Naruto couldn't replace himself with it. He had to sneak into the exams and hoped that he reached his team on time before some disaster tried its luck with them.
The blonde sent a pulse of chakra as he reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. There were about five ANBU scouring the area, but they were a decent distance from him. Naruto took a step, before immediately stopping again. In his rush, he almost didn't notice the seal embedded on a tree. It was a seal that stopped any intruders from bypassing the perimeter without permission.
Naruto gritted his teeth. There were four ways to disable the seal. The first was to get whoever created it to disable it. However, that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. The second was to break the seal—hack it in a sense, but this option took the most time because if Naruto made even a single mistake, it would immediately emit electricity and create a force field around the perimeter it guarded and it would stay that way till the creator disables it, which brought him back to the first option. The third option was to grab a key that was no doubt given to every ANBU to allow entrance, but that would cause unwanted attention. The fourth option was to overload the seal with enough chakra to cause it to collapse on itself, but it needed a lot of chakra since it depended on the area it covered and if Naruto's guess was correct, then the seal was put all around the edge of the Forbidden Forest. That would mean a lot of chakra, but that was also the easiest option since it took less time and less hassle, provided you have the chakra to spare for it.
Naruto looked into the forest. He could feel the restlessness among the ANBU. Their chakra was erratic and hostile which meant that whatever was in there with the examiners was more than just dangerous. His teammates were in there with it and he needed to get there as soon as possible. He had no time to spare.
Decision made, the blonde pressed his hand against the seal and pushed a vast amount of chakra in. Sweat beaded down his brows as he continued to push in more chakra. Slowly, the seal dissipated and left a scorch mark where Naruto's hand rested. Panting, the blonde rushed towards the feel of his team's chakra signature. Every second that passed by felt like an eternity. On his way, Naruto saw a few genin teams, but none tried to chase after him and the blonde was grateful for that. He didn't have time to deal with them.
When he arrived at the scene, all Naruto felt was anger. Sakura was on a branch further behind Sasuke, frozen in fear at the malicious aura that permeated through the air. Sasuke was knelt on a branch, in the same condition as Sakura, but the only difference was that he was trying to break free of the heavy chakra pressed on him.
Standing in front of the last Uchiha was a pale women with long hair that smelled of sickness and death. Her snake like eyes were full of amusement and desire. Desire of what, Naruto wondered as he landed next to Sasuke. In a single action, he grabbed a kunai from Sasuke and leaped towards the enemy nin. He faintly registered the surprise on the woman's face, but he ignored it.
The blonde missed his target as she flipped back and instead, stabbed the ground in a kneeling position. Naruto took a deep breath and slowly rose up. He flooded the immediate area with his chakra, awakening Sasuke and Sakura from their frozen state.
"Who are you?" The blonde hissed angrily towards the enemy nin. His hair was standing on end, telling—warning him that the shinobi standing in front of him was dangerous.
"Kukuku…" The nin smirked. "What do we have here? A comrade?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes and without giving a glance back, he asked, "Sasuke, who is the nin?"
Breathing heavily, Sasuke pushed himself up and studied the newcomer in front of him intently. The blonde boy in a red yukata looked familiar—sounded familiar too. How did he know who Sasuke was? If only he got a glimpse of his face then maybe all the pieces would fall in place. "She calls herself Orochimaru." He finally answered.
"Orochimaru?" The name was thrown out with deliberate anger. "You are one of the Sannin?"
Sasuke saw a flicker of surprise register in the enemy nin's eyes before it was covered with the same look of amusement that made Sasuke beyond frustrated, but he didn't dwell on that. If what the newcomer said was correct then they were fighting one of the Legendary Sannin and Sasuke was more than happy to have help even if it killed his ego a bit. Now, if only Naruto made his way back then Sasuke was sure that they had at least a small chance of escape, if not more. He had an ally in the blonde boy, no matter how much it irked him to admit such a thing, but the raven haired boy could tell that the newcomer was a force to be reckoned with. He only hoped that the boy was as strong as he looked.
Sasuke grabbed a kunai from his pouch and crouched in a fighting position. He realized what a fool he was when all he could think about was giving up against a stronger opponent. In some cases, you may not be able to leave unscathe even after you offer all the information they want. Not that Sasuke was sure he'd do that, but there would come a time when he'd be faced with that same decision and Sasuke would learn from his mistakes.
The last Uchiha observed as Orochimaru egged the newcomer on only for it to fall onto deaf ears. Before the snake-looking nin could utter another taunt, in flurry of red flashes, the blonde boy attack from all sides. The speed and precision of the attacks left the raven haired boy in awe. Even with his Sharingan out, he still couldn't see the movements. He could tell that Orochimaru was starting to feel flustered, if the deep cut on the Sannin's face was anything to go by.
To quick for the eye to catch, Orochimaru was flying into trees with pain overtaking the Sannin's feminine features. Slumped, the snake-like nin was helpless to block the kunai that flew straight towards her eyes. Then suddenly, the newcomer was beside Sasuke, stealing another kunai and crouched defensively. Sasuke turned, ready to berate the boy for not coming prepared to a battlefield when his words got caught up in his throat and his eyes widen astonishment.
"Nar-Naruto?" He whispered incredulity. He was met with bright blue eyes that couldn't be compared with any earthly treasures. The blonde tresses that was always held back by a hitai-ate was let down, and the never ending orange jumpsuit that accompanied the blonde wherever he went was gone and instead, a blood red yukata filled with the petals of sakura blossoms took its place among the beautiful, red canvas, making his blue eyes pop out even more in its brilliant shade of blue.
Naruto was really good looking.
Why wasn't the blonde in his orange jumpsuit garb? When did he have the time to change?
Then all of a sudden, Sasuke was hit with the realization that this was a part of Naruto that he wasn't privy to. Yet, the idea behind the reason of Naruto's horrible fashion sense and his fashion sense now, just didn't quite connect. Why did the blonde dress with such offensive colors that demeaned him rather than flatter him? Then offhandedly, where were Naruto's weapons? What the hell happened when the blonde got separated from them? And when did the blonde get so strong? Was he always this strong or did something else happen in the past few months that they've been a team?
Who was Naruto?
"Sasuke," The boy that looked like Naruto spoke, because the raven still couldn't quite believe that that was Naruto yet, "grab Sakura and run. Don't look back no matter what!" The raven stared, too flabbergasted to comprehend what the blonde was ordering him to do. "Go, Sasuke!"
Instinctively, the raven obeyed. He grabbed a frozen Sakura and headed opposite of Orochimaru. We have to get help, Sasuke thought as he jumped from branch to branch.
"Sasuke-kun isn't going anywhere." I slippery voice chuckled darkly as the last Uchiha disappeared from view. "He and I are the same. We both strive for power and that goal cannot be accomplished in a village that hides its darkest under the cover of the light." Orochimaru hissed. The nin was shedding now, looking more male-like with yellow snake-like eyes, long black hair that went straight down, and a creepy smile.
The blonde didn't deign the man with a response, instead, he went for the snake-like man's throat. Orochimaru blocked it and they exchanged a few blows where Naruto managed glancing injuries. They weren't serious at first glance, but it was deeper than the eye could see. Naruto had channeled his wind chakra into the kunai, making it sharper and deadlier than the regular ones.
"You're smart." Orochimaru smiled as he licked blood off his fingers. "How about joining me? You are Konoha's jinchuuriki, correct?" Naruto frowned. "They can't treat you well here. Come with me and you'll never have to suffer again." The man whispered coaxingly like the blonde was a bad child in need of guidance.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. He knew better than to believe the words of a traitor and with first hand experience, the blonde now knew why so many fell victim to the man's poisonous words. Hands raised, Naruto summoned pure chakra. He disappeared and reappeared behind the androgynous man, slammed the ball of energy on the snake man's back and flipped backwards.
The blonde had avoided most of Orochimaru's hits, but he was already tiring. He'd spent most of his chakra breaking the seal, already. He was starting to see black spots at the edges of his vision which meant that soon, he'd be in too much pain to even lift a finger. He didn't have much longer…
Slamming the pure and condensed chakra into the man would only help him so much. If Orochimaru managed through the pain of two chakra systems fighting for dominance inside his body, then Naruto wasn't sure what to do. Even now, he was starting to feel his arms beginning to feel heavier and his legs locking together. His chest was closing in, making him work extra hard for the much needed oxygen and his vision was starting to fade in and out.
Shaking his head, Naruto focused on the scream the cut through the air. The Sannin was kneeling on the floor with a murderous look aimed towards the blonde's still form. "What did you do to me?!" The snake man bit out in between anguished screams.
"I gave you my chakra." The blonde answered simply. "Since I'm not a medic nin, I can't change my chakra to match yours. The pain you are feeling is just your chakra fighting against mine."
Naruto tightened his hold on the kunai and imbued it with his wind element. Faster than Orochimaru could react, the kunai was lodged deep in his heart. "I could've...saved you…" Orochimaru gasped out as he fell to the ground.
As soon as Naruto deemed that the threat was over, he collapsed on his knees and threw up. Looking down with blurry vision, the blonde could see a sticky, red substance on his hand. Head ringing, the blonde boy tried to grab onto any kind of anchor to keep the pain at bay, only to reach the quickly cooling hands of the man he had just killed.
"I'm...sorry…" Naruto whispered to the corpse, feeling wet, hot tearings streaming down his cheeks. "I'm...sorry…" With a final sigh, the world collapsed on him and everything was black.
A/N: So I'm not sure why Naruto is apologizing. It's as much of a mystery to me as it is to you, but if you think you know why he apologized, leave a review and give me an insight on your thoughts and opinions. SORRY FOR THE GRAMMARS! I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT!
Ahh! Interview poll! Two more days open! Pick a character and ask your question on the review.
REVIEW and tell me what you THOUGHT!
