How to Break a Mask
Author: Kinomi Akai
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the characters would solve their differences not with epic ninja battles, but with epic ninja dance offs.
Summary: An incident at the festival on Oct. 10th reveals that there is a lot that everyone doesn't know about Naruto. Smart!Naruto, Sasunaru/Narusasu, Rated M to be safe
Pairings: Sasunaru/Narusasu, mentions of KakaIru, as of now.
Warnings: Shonen-ai, yaoi, boy x boy, whatever to want to call it. Sakura "bashing" in earlier chapters; starting to be toned down now.
Author's Note: It's been a while again, but that's because I refuse to post a chapter until I have the next one written. School's brutal again this year, I know I always say that haha. I'm also attempting to make the chapters longer, not sure if it's working, but I am XD
Anyways, enough of me, I hope you enjoy~!
"Blah" – talking
'blah' – thinking
'blah' – Kyuubi talking
Last time:
Sasuke turned back to the now seemingly unconscious blonde boy. Guilt washed over him in waves, but he threw it away, now was not the time for such things. He needed to figure out how to move Naruto without injuring him further.
Chapter 7: The Office
"Wait, they did what?" Tsunade growled angrily, and Sakura stared at Kakashi, confused.
"They brought out an empty plate, and acted as if it was normal," the jounin repeated, this time continuing on. "I went back into the kitchens to talk to the staff. You really have to do something about the prejudice here, Hokage-sama. It's not right."
"Of course it's not right!" She exclaimed, but Sakura interrupted.
"But I thought Naruto just ate quickly...that's what he said, isn't it?"
"He tried to play it off?" Tsunade asked, incredulous.
Kakashi nodded, and stated, "It means he's used to that kind of treatment."
Sakura kept her mouth shut and tried to shun the guilt that was threatening to overflow. Naruto...most people had matured over the years, but Naruto had stayed the same. So had Sasuke...so she had done the same. Sasuke was still handsome and Naruto was still annoying, but she did seem to automatically act differently around them then she did around others, or, that is, the same as she always had. It hadn't even really occurred as a problem until just now...was she another one of the people who made him "used to that kind of treatment"? Was he always treated like this? How could she be so blind?
She was supposed to be his teammate, and she was just another part of the village who tried to drag him down. On the other hand, he was so clumsy and weak most of the time...
Sakura's internal battle went unnoticed to the two adults in the room.
"Where is Naruto, anyway?" Tsunade asked in a defeated tone, slumping down to rest her elbow on the table, and hold her head up with her hand.
"He got lost, Sasuke's finding him." Kakashi told her.
Tsunade's eyes snapped up and she stared at him. "He got lost." It wasn't a question.
Kakashi frowned and nodded, the hope in him that Sasuke was overreacting dimming. Before he could speak, however, the doors were crashed open, and several bodies fell through, onto the floor.
"Whew," said Pakkun, standing on top of a pile of unconcious bodies.
Sasuke ignored everyone but Tsunade, strode up to her and gently placed the beaten Naruto on her desk. He didn't have to say a word before she leapt to her feet and began to examine him.
Sakura had frozen, and nearly fallen down in shock. "Wha-what happened to him?" She asked.
Sasuke didn't reply, instead keeping an intense gaze on Tsunade, who was rapidly working away.
Kakashi had begun to quietly speak with Pakkun, who was gesturing to each of the men with his head. The jounin's expression was cold.
"He'll be alright," Tsunade spoke for Sasuke's benefit, "he's already starting to heal."
As if on cue, Naruto's eyes flickered open - but they opened to reveal eyes that were red, not blue. Tsunade gasped and quickly moved backwards, shifting into a defensive position. Kakashi followed her lead warily. Naruto, or maybe not Naruto, slowly sat up enough to gaze around the room. Sasuke and Sakura were completely confused, while Tsunade, Kakashi and Pakkun were poised ready to fight, if needed. The unconscious men were still bound, left piled on top of each other. The red eyes stopped on them for an extra moment.
"Na-naruto?" Sakura spoke for the first time in a while.
"Naruto's asleep right now," Not-Naruto said. It was Naruto's voice, definitely, but at the same time, it wasn't. It was as if his voice had been magnified: imbued with power and strength. Kyuubi sneered, which looked horribly out of place on Naruto's face, and spoke, annoyed:
"Oh calm down, all of you! I'm not about to eat you, for crying out loud," Naruto's body turned to face Tsunade. "Now, it's you who I need to talk to."
"What is it?" She asked guardedly.
"The kit doesn't want to leave your village. He'll likely never forgive me if I made his body do such a thing," the eyes of those in the room widened. Sasuke and Sakura, out of shock that there was someone else in Naruto's body, and Kakashi and Tsunade at the relationship Kyuubi was implying she had with Naruto.
"But," the fox continued, Naruto's voice now getting deep and dangerous, "I will not just sit by while this village treats him this way for any longer. It is disgusting and shameful," Kyuubi's red eyes narrowed at the thoughts she realized they must be thinking, "And yes, perhaps it is all my fault. But it is mine, then. Not his. We are two separate beings, he just happens to use my power. That is all. Now staying like this is extremely strenuous on my chakra, and I need to heal the kit fully, so Naruto will wake up soon."
Kyuubi turned to face Kakashi. "You're a good man, just not as good at looking underneath the underneath as you'd like to think. You should also be grateful that I was here to correct the gaps in Naruto's education, when you completely ignored them in favour of thinking him stupid. Still, I thank you for looking out for Naruto."
Sakura was spoken to next, with a wide foxy grin that showed all of Naruto's teeth. "You were almost the top of your class in the academy, and every day I am further convinced you must have cheated." She paused for a moment. "But book smarts and street smarts are very different, so let me educate you, girl. You are killing what you could have before it is born. Stop focusing on the Uchiha and focus on yourself."
Finally, Kyuubi turned to Sasuke, and his gaze turned serious, and soft.
"Uchiha Sasuke," the demon fox spoke, "it won't be long until you know who I am, but let me tell you this. Of all the people Naruto has known, and all the secrets he has kept, you have come the closest to knowing everything. I thank you." And as Sasuke was still the nearest to the table, Kyuubi felt a playful impulse to reach out and gently stroke Sasuke's cheek, before she laid back down and closed Naruto's eyes. Naruto's consciousness had started to wake as Kyuubi had said thank you to Sasuke, and now he was yelling various threats and obscenities that Kyuubi happily ignored. Kyuubi sank back into their mind with a smile still on her face, and let Naruto's consciousness rise.
Naruto's eyes flickered open, and this time it was the bright blue that everyone was used to. He tried to sit up quickly, and then groaned as the felt the newly healed injures complain. He grimaced, and breathed out slowly, before looking up.
"Um, hi?"
Silence reigned, and they all stared at him. Sakura broke the silence by bursting into tears.
"What...?" Sasuke still had a hand to where Kyuubi had touched him.
Naruto put his head in his hands as a response, and mumbled something. Tsunade cleared her throat, and he looked up at her.
"I think it's time for you to tell them, Naruto,"
He grimaced, and put his head back in his hands.
"Tell us what?" Sakura asked.
Naruto didn't reply.
"A kit is a baby fox," Sasuke spoke quietly, "so there is some sort of fox spirit inside of you..."
Naruto smiled bitterly into his hands and looked up at the ceiling before speaking. "Close. Kyuubi no Kitsune. You all know the story, right? The Yondaime fought it in order to save the village."
"But he didn't kill it." Sasuke watched Naruto intently.
The blonde boy in question tilted his head to look down at Sasuke, "No, he didn't." Suddenly, he straightened up and pulled his tattered shirt over his head, revealing the markings on his stomach. "This is the seal that was used to bind Kyuubi into my body when I was just born, the seal required a sacrifice, so the Yondaime gave his life in order to complete it. But Kyuubi...she's not as evil as the storybooks tell us, you know..."
'I wouldn't be so sure about that.'
"She?" Kakashi asked, startled, and Naruto snorted.
"Yeah, Kyuubi's a girl. And um, she didn't start it." He finished quietly.
"Start it?" Asked Tsunade.
'Kit, you don't have to do this.'
"Konoha killed her mate. Her, um, husband, I guess?" Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know who did it, but it was supposed to be a show of power or something stupid like that. They took her here and killed him right in front of her. He let himself die because they said they wouldn't harm her if he did. It was sick."
The look on everyone's faces said they agreed.
"How do you...know this, Naruto?" Tsunade asked hesitantly.
"She showed me her memories."
There was quiet for a moment, before Pakkun spoke up. "Is there a way to hoodwink memories?"
Kakashi was thinking along the same lines. "A genjutsu..."
"She wouldn't do that!" Naruto almost yelled. Kyuubi was quiet.
Tsunade put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think she did. But the council will need proof, and it will have to be perfect."
Naruto's eyes widened. "T-the council?"
Tsunade smiled, a cold, hard smile. "Of course. I daresay some of those who ordered the mission might even be on it." She snapped her fingers. "Kakashi, I'll need help in going through old mission records."
"Understood."
"Good."
Sakura suddenly interrupted them, tears still on her face. "Why haven't we seen the seal before? I've seen you swimming...and..."
"It only shows up when I'm using Kyuubi's chakra. She's still healing my injuries right now, so it will likely stay visible for a while," Naruto explained.
"Um...so can she...can Kyuubi just take over your body whenever she wants or...?" Sakura seemed nervous.
"Not whenever she wants," Naruto answered, "only if she has my permission. Before I passed out I told her she could take over my body, if needed."
'I thought you'd have to run away for me.'
Tsunade had sat back down at her desk, and was currently reaching for her favourite drink. Kakashi spotted this, and quickly took over Shizune's job, who was still at the festivities, in stopping her.
"Hokage-sama," he spoke, "perhaps you should give another speech or take care of this problem before you get...inebriated."
She stared at him, and then a smirk crossed her face. "I suppose you're right," she said as she put the sake back, "I wouldn't get the full enjoyment in punishing these bastards. When are they going to wake up?" She asked, turning to Sasuke.
Sasuke shrugged. He hadn't been thinking of how hard he hit, he was too busy trying to stop himself from killing them.
Pakkun answered for him. "It shouldn't be for another four hours, at the least."
As if guessing his thoughts, Tsunade snorted. She looked around the room once more, and then sighed. "I'm going to have to make a lot of changes around this village, aren't I..." It was a statement, more than a question, and no one answered her.
Sakura suddenly raised her voice. "Wait, what did K-Kyuubi mean when she said that Kakashi-sensei didn't correct the gaps in Naruto's knowledge, but she did?"
Naruto sighed as they all turned to look at him. "Um, Kyuubi has been sort of been my Sensei for a while now."
"What?" echoed around the room, coming from several different sources, but Sasuke wasn't one of them. His now dark grey eyes narrowed at Naruto. Having the nine-tailed fox demon as a teacher could not possibly result in a weak student. Naruto had been hiding his power, and judging by the looks on everyone else's faces, they had realized it as well.
Naruto interpreted the looks correctly, and his voice went slightly quieter; "so, yes, I am a lot stronger than I have let on,"
Sasuke's eyes suddenly brightened and his regular smirk spread across his face. "I want to fight you at your full power, then."
Naruto looked at him, and matched his smirk. "If you think you can handle it, teme."
Sasuke nearly said something, and then leaned back and crossed his arms. "Well, I can't really call you dobe anymore, can I..." it was a statement, more to himself than anyone else, but for some reason, warmth spread across Naruto's chest. He didn't know why Sasuke acknowledging his power made him so happy, only that it did.
But Sasuke continued, "then again, I don't have proof yet, do I, dobe?"
"Tch," Naruto smiled, "we'll wait until the fight then."
"One more thing, Naruto," Tsunade continued. "You are a powerful ninja. Most of us can feel your chakra from miles away...why didn't..."
Naruto shook his head. "I don't use my chakra against them," he answered quietly.
"Why?" Sasuke's jaw was clenched.
"I'm not...I don't..." Naruto swallowed. "I don't want to prove them right."
"P-prove them..." Kakashi breathed.
Surprisingly, it was Sakura that reacted first. She marched over to Naruto and pointed her finger right in his face. Her eyes were red and angry, and she looked like she was going to cry again.
"Uzumaki Naruto," she started, "I have never wanted to hit you for being an idiot more!" She raised a hand and Naruto braced for her punch yet again, eyes closed - but the hit never came. Instead, he felt her hands circle around to his back.
"Y-you idiot," her breath hitched. "How could you possibly..."
She sniffled and pulled back before she could start crying on him, turning away. Naruto blinked at her.
"Naruto," Tsunade called his attention to her. "If anything even remotely like this happens again, I want you to flare your chakra in an S.O.S. manner. You know how to do that, yes?"
"Y-yes," He breathed.
"Good." Tsunade suddenly stood, and wrapped her arms around Naruto. "I realize you're not exactly the person we all thought you were," her voice was muffled slightly by the hug, "but you still mean a lot to us; especially me." She pulled back and looked at his face. "I'd like to get to know you better, if possible, Naruto-kun."
Naruto nodded, his throat suddenly dry. As much as he acted in front of her, he knew Tsunade cared for him, and he cleared his throat to whisper; "It's just Naruto, you old hag."
Tsunade smiled tearfully, and ruffled Naruto's hair. "You're dismissed. Have Pakkun stay. I need to speak with him about something I found in Naruto's bloodstream," a thought seemed to pass her mind, and she added, "you lot have the week off. I think you all need a chance to redo the whole get-to-know-me bit, hm?"
Just before they went out the door, the Hokage spoke again. "Oh, and Naruto? Happy birthday."
Author's Note:
Huzzah, the plot is finally on its way~
Realistic? Yes, no? Comment & criticize me :) Hope you liked the update!
- Kinomi
Edit: (Feb/18/2016) That one was a marathon to edit for some reason. Whew!
