AN: Ha! I promised, didn't I? I promised to post another chapter in a week... okay, it took eight days to be exact, but it's here! Man, it sure feels nice updating so soon after the last chapter, it's like answering to all of you, kind souls out there, who took their time to read, fave, follow and/or review my story. Many, many thanks to all of you, be sure that it's thanks to you this chapter is out so soon.
Also, this chapter marks an end to the first Introduction Arc and marks a timeskip about three weeks forward. I'm sorry for that, but I feel like if I don't move forward soon, I'll get stuck here forever and this story deserves some action already. So next chapter starts the infamous Wave Arc with Zabuza and Haku as the main antagonists... right? :)
Just to remind everyone, your thoughts/opinions/constructive criticism are always welcome and appreciated, even a single word is important. So please take your time to hit that cute little "Review" button down there and tell me what you think. The more input I get, the better I can make this story. Flames will be put to fuel the spirit of youth!
Disclaimer: Question for fifty thousand ryō - who owns Naruto? Yup, you guessed it - not me!
Chapter 7 – Clouds coming
(…)
(Early morning twelve days later, usual meeting ground for Team Konoha, Konoha)
"I can't believe Asuma-sensei didn't drop this idea already," groaned Shikamaru. He still felt half asleep and was actually carried to the training area by his childhood friend Chōji. "He usually gives up on any extra training and we just play shogi or do some low missions that don't require too much moving."
"My entire body hurts. It started about twelve days ago and didn't stop since then," complained Chōji while he kept eating his early breakfast. That was the only positive he saw in the whole training regiment – getting up sooner meant more food for him and Gai-sensei only kept encouraging them to eat as much as possible.
"You think you boys have it hard?!" Ino's eyes were almost flashing lightning while her body slouched against a nearby tree, carefully rubbing her sore muscles and giving Kiba nice show without even realizing it. "We're training here too, you know! It already cost me my year-long supply of moisturizers just to keep my look presentable." She groaned, pulled hands above head and stretched one more time, making Kiba fume silently before he got slapped on the back of his head by his girl teammate.
"Ouch, Hinata-chan! Can't I at least appreciate a nice girl's body once in a time… Hinata-chan?" Kiba's eyes narrowed when he saw his teammate no longer paying any attention to him. He never got any respect around here!
Hinata didn't answer to her friend's nagging and just kept looking around, finding something eerily strange about their surroundings. Most of her strength and speed were gone and had to be rebuild from the start, but her experience remained and right now she knew that something wasn't right. Kurenai was usually already present, making sure that every one of them remembered lessons from the previous day and was ready to explain anything unclear. Anko was usually present too, if only to either yawn loudly, munch away her dango or grin sadistically at everyone, making them shiver and wonder quietly what torturous things she has thought up for them today.
But today was as lazy morning as possible. No sensei from any Team, no crazy snake lady, not even Gai's team. In short, this morning seemed to be the calmest one of the entire week they spent under the tutelage of five different senseis and their varying teaching methods.
She quickly looked around, wondering what could have settled her off. Shikamaru and Chōji were just lazing around and eating, Sakura was arguing with Ino over something, probably their dear Sasuke, who in turn was eyeing everyone just as she was. Shino was standing calmly and resembled an ice statue, Kiba went back to playing with Akamaru and Naruto probably practiced his stealth skills, since she had to search thoroughly to spot him in a shadow of a nearby tree. That alone looked completely normal, yet still…
The only warning she got was a slight rustle of bushes around the clearing before she noticed several shadows quickly moving around them. They were surrounded!
"Ambush! We're under attack!" Hinata yelled just a second before three ninjas in dull grey clothes without any village marking jumped into the clearing, running straight at nine Genins present.
Those were stupefied at the very moment, unable to do a thing. Ambush in a middle of Land of Fire and even in their own home village? That was preposterous! Konoha was supposed to be the best guarded place in the entire country, with the sole exception of Fire Daimyō. How could anyone get here unnoticed and ready to attack was above their understanding.
One of the grey ninjas jumped right between Shikamaru and Chōji, kicked one of them aside and then twirled on his right leg, sending the other member of Team 10 in the opposite direction. Once they were separated like this, he cast a quick glance at them before running at Chōji, whom he clearly identified as a bigger threat. Chubby Genin quickly brought his hands up, ready to defend himself, but two more kicks sent him stumbling back, both strikes coming from very unexpected angles.
The second grey ninja appeared next to arguing Ino and Sakura and, after an almost unnoticeable moment of hesitation, brought forward two closed fists. Ino barely had time to register him, but still managed to cross her forearms in front of herself just in time. She yelped as the force sent her skidding backwards, but looked relatively unharmed. Sakura, on the other hand, received a full force of the blow in her stomach and collapsed on her knees, holding the hit place and gasping for breath. Ninja readied for another strike, but was instead forced to defend himself as Sasuke appeared behind him and attacked him with a strong kick to his midsection, something that the attacker easily fended off.
The third grey ninja jumped right before Kiba. Akamaru growled and jumped in front of his master, ready to defend them both. Ambusher paid almost no mind to him as he swiftly kicked the white dog aside, sending him flying through the air until he hit the bushes. Akamaru's painful whine made Kiba seethe with rage and he jumped on his feet instantly, showering the ninja with a barrage of punches and kicks, but against the grey-clad guy he seemed almost slowed down. The superior snort was easily hearable to everyone around.
"Don't engage them alone!" Hinata was just as surprised as everyone else, but she regained her bearings in a second. Ambushes were something she got used to during the last Shinobi War. "Everyone, group together! Team 7, Team 8, Team 10 together! Separate them, force them into three on one! Don't engage them on your own!" As she kept yelling this, she was already running to Kiba, again losing sight of her blond teammate, but this time, she was sure he would show up just at the right moment.
Her plan was heard by both sides, but luckily for Konoha's shinobi, their part was easier to execute than the enemy's one. In the moment that Hinata shouted out her plan, the three grey shinobi were spread out on the clearing, each one quite away from each other. They first looked at Hinata, then at each other, but before they could react, all three Teams finally pulled themselves together and forced them to focus their attention elsewhere than on their grey friends.
(…)
"Ino, back behind us! Wait for your chance!" shouted Shikamaru, quickly catching on Hinata's plan. Their team was strongest when they could pull together their special combo, which was the main reason he, Chōji and Ino were in the same team. His fingers formed the seals quicker than he ever remembered as he whispered the word that only he and his father ever said: "Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique)!"
From under his kneeling body, shadows suddenly came alive and shot forward to the ninja still fighting with Chōji. Unfortunately for Shikamaru, Grey noticed it and at the last second jumped away, dodging the merging of their shadows by mere inches. Right at that moment he also drew three kunais and threw them with deadly aim straight at exposed Chōji.
"Chōji!" yelled Ino, her heart stopping for a moment. She was already in position, but couldn't risk using her signature technique until the enemy was bound by Shikamaru or held by Chōji. She tried to reach for her own kunai, but she already knew she wasn't going to make it.
Luckily for all of them, Chōji's speed was much better than it used to be, something he proved right there and then by using two techniques in a rapid succession.
"Baika no Jutsu (Expansion Technique)! Konoha-Ryū Taijutsu: Nikudan Sensha (Tree Leaf-Style Body Technique: Human Bullet Tank)!"
Before the kunais managed to hit their target, Chōji's belly expanded at least three times, making the Akimichi boy look much larger than usual. But before that has even finished, he already started to rotate around his pivot, making the deadly ninja tools harmlessly bounce off his body. Right after that, he sped forward like a living cannon ball, forcing Grey further back if he didn't want to end like a flat piece of former shinobi. He drew and threw more kunais at speeding Chōji, but all weapons proved harmless against the fast-rotating expanded body.
"That's it, Chōji! Circle him! Draw him closer to us!" shouted Shikamaru, retracting his own shadow, but not cancelling his technique yet. Hiding in the forest was no use facing the strength Chōji now possessed and it was only matter of time before either Grey got hit or ended too close to Shikamaru and got caught in his shadow technique. After that, Ino could possess him and end his threat once and for all.
'Of course, that only applies if he doesn't manage to dodge him until Chōji runs off his chakra. It's highly unlikable with Chōji's stamina, but still…' He nodded at Ino and dispelled his technique fully, running after Chōji along with his teammate. Instead of waiting for Chōji to do all the work, they were going to create an opening themselves and force their opponent into a situation where he would have no choice but to get caught by one of them. One way or another, they were going to win this.
(…)
"Let's see what you are made of!" growled Sasuke, throwing a fake punch at his enemy, quickly followed by a real punch from the other side. He wasn't exactly lazing around either and was very confident in his fighting abilities. He was sure that grey nin was going to end on the ground in a matter of seconds.
That was why it came as such a surprise to him when both his punches were blocked swiftly and almost effortlessly. What more, when he hit the other ninja's forearms, it felt as if he just punched a solid iron wall. His face contorted in slight pain as he decided to rather use his legs, dropped on one knee and performed a low kick, aiming to get his opponent on the ground.
Grey simply jumped over his strike, his head turning around several times while his eyes, the only visible part of his body, kept darting right and left to analyze the situation. As he softly landed back on his feet, he ran back at Sasuke again, throwing a punch of his own.
Sasuke smirked as he easily blocked it – and growled in pain as another metal strike almost shattered his bones. He punched three times in a quick succession, giving into them double the strength he gave into his last hits, but it only got him the same painful results – it felt like Grey had bones strengthened by some extra dense alloy. Realizing that this could easily end with his injury, he dodged his opponent's next punch, ducked under his high spinning kick – and was sent flying upwards as a hard kick from downside came crashing into his jaw.
"Sasuke-kun!" yelled Sakura. She was still shaken by the first blow she got, but she forced herself on her feet despite the throbbing pain in her stomach. Feeling like she was about to throw up, she gulped few times, then ran to the place where Sasuke and the masked ninja were fighting. She didn't know exactly what could she do, but she was determined to do something.
Sasuke didn't even get a chance to turn in the air and land on his feet as another strike mid-air sent him straight against the ground. 'Impossible! How can anyone be so quick?' His eyes widened when he saw Grey descending from the sky, his knee ready to go straight through his stomach and end their fight with one blow. Quickly rolling aside, he barely scrambled to his feet as the strike, intended for him, shook with the ground so strongly he felt it even when not hit by it.
Deciding to end this fight with his ace in sleeve, his hands flew forward, two shurikens quickly speeding forward. Grey jumped back, but his action was meaningless – both sharpened stars missed him by wide margin. He relaxed his posture, only to gasp under the mask as Sasuke pulled hard, the secret ninja wire tied to both shurikens forcing them backwards and quickly circling around him, pinning his hands to sides in just two seconds. He pulled at the sharp wire, but it only bit painfully in his arms, not giving in to his attempts to get free.
"End of game," smirked Sasuke, ignoring Sakura's victorious yelp and eyeing his opponent with superior look in his eyes. He won this fight in just under two minutes without any help from his teammates. He was just as good as ever and just as above everyone else as he always believed. He didn't need teammates, he didn't need any team – he was plenty strong on his own, exactly like he should be.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't get enough time to dodge when Grey suddenly threw himself backward, the wires in Sasuke's hands forcing the last Uchiha to follow, then dropped on the ground and kicked Uchiha with both legs so hard he sent Sasuke into the air again. Right after that he jumped back to his feet, ignoring the fact that his hands were still useless, and prepared to attack the stunned Uchiha with just his feet.
"Sasuke-kun!"
(…)
"Kiba, go get Akamaru! I'll handle this!" shouted Hinata, finally appearing next to her teammate who was still trying to land a single blow on his enemy. She was afraid that Grey was just waiting for a good opening and didn't want to risk her teammate's health in a meaningless fight. She was going to protect her team now, not the other way around!
As Kiba nodded and jumped back, Grey turned to her, his black eyes frowning with something that Hinata considered to be displeasure or even contempt. But before she could engage him, a voice interrupted them both.
"K-Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"
'Naruto-kun!' Half pleased and half worried, Hinata watched around ten copies of her boyfriend engage Grey before she managed to do so. Realizing that Naruto just gave her a chance to activate her Byakugan and observe her enemy's fighting style, she stepped back and watched the fight closely.
Grey looked surprised for a while before he smirked under his mask. The first Naruto who got in front of him was quickly dispelled with a single strike of his index and middle fingers into the clone's throat. Sensing another clone behind him, Grey quickly ducked under the blow and kicked backward, dispelling that Naruto as well. Two more Narutos attacked him from front at the same time, he got rid of them by catching them by their wrists and sending them backwards, where he crossed his hands sharply and both clones stumbled into each other, disappearing in poofs of smoke. Right after that, all six remaining clones attacked Grey at the same time, trapping him in a circle. Instead of drawing some weapon or jumping away, he kept smirking, made a small step back, pushed his right hand forward and turned around in a swift motion, hitting each clone just once and dispelling them without receiving any kind of injury in return. More smoke filled the area from their deaths as Grey turned back to Hinata, his stance showing superiority in his every movement.
'I don't understand. I thought that Naruto-kun knew better how to fight than this, especially after all the training we… oh, I see!' Hinata's eyes widened when she finally noticed all the smoke around, created from the clone's deaths. She realized Naruto's tactic just as more clones jumped into the fight, followed by one Naruto who kept slightly more behind them. 'He didn't really fight him, he just wanted them to dispel so that he could trap him in a smokescreen! Now he's practically blind and his defense against multiple opponents should drop considerably. Great job, Naruto-kun!'
As much as the plan was good, Grey kept fighting just as well as before. Not being any visibly bothered by the large amounts of white smoke all around him, he kept dodging, attacking and dispelling Naruto's clones just as quickly as before. He was barely turning his head even when attacked from front, behind and all remaining sides. One Naruto even managed to jump above him and attempted for an axe kick right into his head, something Grey dodged with so little effort Hinata couldn't help but stare. That showed not only a good amount of awareness of his surroundings, but it also pointed at the fact that their opponent was quite skilled in taijutsu and practiced it for much longer than they did.
'In a short,' summarized Hinata as she saw a second wave of Naruto's clones dispelled, 'we're against a guy whose fighting skills highly surpass our own.' She couldn't help but smirk at this. 'Or at least that's what he surely thinks. And he's so in for one big surprise.'
"Naruto-kun, fall back!" she shouted, hoping that her blond friend would listen to her. "Kiba, how are you and Akamaru?"
"Fine and ready!" came an immediate answer from next to her as Kiba appeared there along with his puppy.
"Good." Hinata's eyes blazed with Byakugan as she focused on her enemy, now fully surrounded in a white dust cloud. "Let's take him down!"
(…)
'He's more skilled than I thought,' Shikamaru frowned as they kept chasing after Grey with Chōji clearing the way for them. But it only took him a minute of chasing to realize that they were lead by the nose.
After several more kunais, shurikens and other curious weapons, Grey almost gave up on attacking Chōji with his weapons, instead focusing more on dodging and running away from his attack. As he kept doing that and running deeper into the forest, it seemed like he had no other plan than to keep running until one of them exhausts himself too much to keep going and attack right then. At least, that was what Shikamaru was thinking for a few first seconds before his brain started to count flaws coming with this tactics.
'Those three attacked us in a coordinated way, not shouting out anything when seeing our abilities or looking surprised by them – that must mean they know us well enough to at least be able to take an educated guess. Yet he still kept firing his ninja tools at Chōji even though it clearly had no effect at his current form. He didn't try anything new since then. And no really stupid person would get over Konoha's outer defense so easily. Which must mean…' his eyes slowly widened as he finally noticed through where they were running now, 'that this is all part of the plan, leading us somewhere, somewhere where he can defeat us!'
"Hey, Shikamaru! What are you doing?" shouted Ino, doing her best to keep up with Chōji's cannonball pace, as she saw her genius friend jumping higher and higher to the tree branches.
Not having enough time to answer, Shikamaru finally jumped high enough to see forward over Chōji's massive form. About thirty feet in front of him was Grey, still running and occasionally turning around and throwing few weapons at the colossal ball wreaking havoc right after him every now and then, probably to make sure that he was being followed.
And, be it by sheer luck or by focusing his sight as much as he could, Shikamaru saw a small glimpse of ninja wire far in front of them. A ninja wire that was stitched in many places over the small opening they were bound to pass through and which ended in many small, white, red-bordered places.
Nara boy had no doubt that they were explosive tags, prepared to set off when Grey passed around them and catch his whole team in one big explosion that would tear them apart.
'We can't stop Chōji right now or that Grey ninja just turns around and makes pincushions from us with his weapons. Plus, who knows how many traps he has around here, we know of this one by pure luck. We have to stop him right now before we reach it!'
He never did his thinking posture when running before, but time was of the essence right now. Time and his friend's lives. Besides, should they fall here, that bastard would surely run back and finish other teams as well. Maybe they were already finished, or at least in a tight spot and needed their help. This was clearly no sudden strike, no accident; this was all an elaborate attack plan, carried out to defeat them without them being able to fight back. They had to survive and they had to win this!
Seeing the trap spot coming closer at merciless pace, he put his hands together, each of his fingers finding its counterpart as if trying to hold a large grapefruit between his palms. It was awkward to run like that, his sense of balance slightly thrown aside, but he kept doing it, ignoring Ino's yelled questions and swipes of neighboring's tree branches. He had to come up with something, quickly, very quickly, and it had to be good enough, or otherwise…
He quickly drew a kunai from his holster and threw it forward, aiming directly at Grey's speeding feet. Just a week before, he would be sure he wouldn't be able to hit his target, aiming from quite a difficult angle with all the trees in his way, not to mention he was still trying to come up with an idea. It was slowly coming up to him, but he needed more information, he needed some solid base.
Grey, looking over his shoulder just in time, dodged the kunai by speeding forward just a bit, the kunai embedding in the ground just behind his left foot.
The trap spot was now barely one hundred feet away and was approaching quickly.
'I see!' His strategy becoming clearer to him now, he drew two kunais and threw them quickly, one after the other. The first was aimed at Grey's feet again, the second just a bit above that.
This time, Grey already knew what to expect, and he jumped forward two times, dodging both kunais by mere inches.
'I got it!'
Only fifty feet away from the place of their end.
"Ino!" he yelled, looking back at his teammate. "Jump up here and keep running next to me. And when I tell you, use your Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique) exactly two feet ten inches above where that grey guy is running through." He didn't worry about Grey hearing them, they were running fast enough for the wind to tear all noises away quickly. And even if he did, Shikamaru hoped that he wouldn't understand it – just as Ino seemed to.
"What?" Ino looked baffled by that. "But that will miss him for sure. What's the point of-"
Twenty feet away.
"Just do it! Quickly!" Unable to wait any longer, Shikamaru took out three kunais from his holster pouch and threw all of them in the exactly same manner as the two before. One aiming exactly at Grey's legs, two others just a little bit above the previous one.
"Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique)!" Ino's eyes focused as she put her hands in a hand sign unique to her clan and activated her technique, aiming exactly where told to.
Grey, noticing three kunais flying at him, just smirked under his mask as he simply sped up, dodging the first kunai easily. Then he sped again, dodging the second one – but realized that there was no space for him to go any quicker than he already was. He couldn't dodge the last kunai by doing what he already did and stopping would get him crushed in the next second by the large Akimichi rolling up behind him.
So he did the easiest thing he could instead of making himself quicker to dodge the kunai. He jumped up.
And that was exactly the moment when he felt something hit him softly in the back, like a gentle pat – and his body stopped obeying him.
"Nice one, Shikamaru!" he yelled, his voice strangely high and full of enthusiasm as his consciousness was forced back into the depths of his mind, suppressed by Ino's own consciousness. Her technique worked – aimed at the exact spot where Shikamaru predicted the ninja to jump, Ino sent her mind forward, hit the ninja and took a full control of his body. It was a big gamble – should she miss, not only Grey would slip them, but her own body would be without anyone to control it, falling limp right then and there until her mind would return to her body. It would leave her vulnerable for too long and Grey would get a serious advantage over them.
'But that didn't happen! We won!' Ino smirked in her new body, stopped running, turned around – and shrieked when noticing that Grey wasn't the only one who didn't hear Shikamaru's plan.
"Chōji, stop! Stop! It's me! It's…" not having any more time to make her teammate stop his devastating technique, Ino threw herself aside into the thick bushes along the way, hoping that Chōji at least heard her now. It wasn't that she was worried about this assailant's body – it was that when she was in his body, any injure that would happen to his body would mirror on her own. That was why using this technique alone was such a bad idea. It only worked in conjunction with her teammates, hence the reason their team supplemented each one of their members so well.
Chōji didn't hear Shikamaru's plan, having some difficulties processing sounds when rolling at such a high speed. However, he noticed the difference in Grey's behavior and managed to hear at least something to conclude that their target was caught. That was why, instead of chasing Ino when she jumped with her new body away from his path, he kept rolling on it, deciding to slowly come to a stop…
… too slow to stop before he hit the trap spot filled with ninja wire and explosive tags.
"Chōji!" Ino noticed them at the same time that her chubby teammate sped forward aside her. With wide eyes, filled with fear and panic, she noticed that pretty much all of their surroundings was filled with papers designed to blast in a very explosive way, destroying everything in its path. She jumped up, quickly patting this new body's pockets to come up with something that would stop her friend from killing himself, but there was just not enough time. She could only watch in horror as the giant ball of human's fat and muscles rolled right into the biggest concentration of explosive tags she have ever seen…
… to suddenly come to such an abrupt stop that it created a strong breeze all around them.
"Ka… Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Jutsu), s-success!" Shikamaru grunted, kneeling several feet behind Chōji with his shadow stretched forward directly to his friend – and holding him in the most awkward position ever. Sweat was dripping off his forehead and arms, the sudden decrease of his chakra so big that the technique almost slipped out of his grasp, but the knowledge that his longtime friend's life depended on it, he managed to keep him safely in it.
Just a few inches away from the explosive tags.
"G… g-good work, Shikamaru." Ino collapsed on the ground, breathing in relief when seeing both her friends okay. She watched Chōji slowly return to his normal form and very carefully backing away from the trap until he was in safe distance while Shikamaru sighed and slowly dragged himself back for Ino's body. Finally able to relax a bit, she also felt quite angry at this weird ninja who almost killed them all and even though she knew this was going to hurt her too, she prepared to punch his grey-clad body. "You stupid idiot, wait until I get my real hands on y-oooww!"
"Ino? What happened? Are you hurt?" Chōji quickly hurried to his blonde friend who only managed to hit her borrowed body once before doubling over in pain. He was afraid that the technique got canceled, but when he saw the brown eyes looking at him in immense surprise, he recognized his teammate still behind them. "What is it?"
"I… t-this body has breasts!" squeaked Ino while rubbing the sore part she just hit with her fist.
(…)
Despite being surprised by his enemy's sudden assault, Sasuke still had enough conscience to defend himself. When Grey jumped up to him, prepared to kick him, he pulled sharply on the ninja wire he was still holding in his hands. The sudden pull made the other ninja near him too quickly to manage his kick in time to really hurt Sasuke; instead, it gave Sasuke opportunity to kick him himself while also using his body as a platform to propel himself away from him. Sadly, he had to give up his ninja wire for that, but he deducted that he didn't need it anymore.
'Better finish him from a distance,' he thought as he drew kunai and threw it just as he landed on the solid ground. He was sure that his enemy, with his balance still disrupted from both the kick and his pinned hands, was in no shape to really dodge his weapon. Maybe it would imbue itself in just his side or shoulder instead of heart, but that would surely slow him down even more. Two or three more kunais and it would be all over.
He never counted for Grey to be able to deflect his kunai with a mere leg.
"What?!" he could only stare as his kunai got pushed aside, hit with a neat precision and at unbelievable speed while his opponent didn't seem bothered by his unusable arms at all. He still struggled a bit after he kicked the kunai away, but didn't waste any more time at this as he ran back at Sasuke.
If Sasuke wasn't at least one thing, he wasn't a coward. A normal person would think twice about engaging an enemy who was clearly superior to them even with his hands useless. But Sasuke only welcomed it. He finally met someone strong, someone whose defeat he would enjoy a lot. Someone who would get him really stronger.
But before he could engage him again, someone stumbled in front of him, kunai held a bit awkwardly in both hands.
"I-I'll protect you, Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura, although she felt anything but brave inside. She saw those two exchange harsh blows and kicks, something that she was sure had to hurt a lot, especially Sasuke. Her own strength, or skills for that matter, was nowhere nearby them, she always considered herself the smart type who took advantage of her enemy's weaknesses and defeated them through that. But she couldn't find any in this new ninja that attacked them, he seemed unstoppable even when his torso was wrapped with a hard steel wire.
Despite all of that, she was determined to protect the boy she believed she loved and who would surely love her back someday.
Grey's eyes widened a little bit when noticing her. Sakura also noticed that his attack pattern changed immediately as he leaned left, probably going to try and run around her and attack his real target, Sasuke.
'Great! I can surprise him and, hopefully, cut the muscles in his thigh or side. That should slow him down enough for Sasuke-kun to finish him!' Feeling a new wave of confidence building up inside her, she jumped forward, slashing with the kunai at the designated target – only to yelp in surprise as Grey pivoted on his heel, instead turning to his right. He effectively rounded her up without any difficulty or even using any jutsu!
As she hit the ground and grass smeared her hands and chin, she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment for falling for such a cheap trick.
'Chm. Useless!' thought Sasuke, angry at Sakura not only for jumping in his way, but also for wasting his time. He was just about to use his prized fire technique to burn this ninja alive, but now he was too close for that matter. He drew another kunai, counting on the fact that no matter how tough his enemy's skin could be, it couldn't resist a sharpened edge of a weapon…
Then gasped in surprise as they were both pushed back by a black cloud forming between them – and descending directly on Grey, covering him completely with a loud buzzing sound.
"My apologies for joining the battlefield so late after its start," said Shino as he slowly came up to them, observing his team casually, "but it took me some time to prepare my hive for combat and increasing their numbers enough to be of an effective use."
"Hn. No matter, I would get him," frowned Sasuke, angry again that that bug boy dared to steal his moment. Now it looked like it was Shino who actually won and not Sasuke. Like if it wasn't him who fought Grey the entire time and managed to incapacitate him… well, mostly. But maybe he could still defeat those other two attackers. After all, other teams couldn't possibly deal with them just on their own, but he could…
As he turned back, his attention was immediately turned back to his former foe when Shino said in a slightly raised voice: "Careful. My bugs are… experiencing some difficulties absorbing his chakra." He almost sounded surprised when he added: "It's almost like…"
He never got a chance to finish as all of his bugs were blown away from Grey who suddenly stood straight. The ninja wire around his torso snapped as he stared at both members of Team 7, his eyes suddenly much bigger than before.
In a sudden outburst of power all around him, both boys missed the words he muttered to himself. "Kaimon (Gate of Opening), open!"
(…)
"Tsūga (Tunneling Fang)!" Kiba almost didn't even wait for Hinata's order, he was already angry enough that someone attacked Akamaru as viciously as that grey ninja. He was determined to wipe the floor with him.
And if he was counting on any protection from the smokescreen Naruto created for their battle, he'd better double check. He might not know it, but Kiba managed to sniff his scent well enough to go after him now without any use of his eyes. That damned arrogant scent was everything that the canine boy needed to target him and hammer it on!
Or that was what he thought.
Grey heard his shouted technique, turning around to spot a small but violent tornado created by the enormous speed Kiba was spinning around while flying straight at him. For a second, it seemed like Inuzuka was going to hit his target and tear through him as if he was made from paper. But at the last moment, Grey simply stepped around and Kiba flew straight next to him, hitting the ground and tearing a large chunk out of it out before coming to a stop, standing on all four and growling.
'He missed,' noted Hinata, but she was more concerned with the way how this strange ninja dodged Kiba's attack than the fact that Kiba's technique missed. She knew that there was something familiar about it, something that she should readily knew. She cursed her slow memory, but decided to use something that would prove her theory immediately – and put as small risk on her teammates as possible.
She was going to strike him down personally.
"Kiba, one more time!" she called out at her friend while looking at Naruto and quickly forming a hand sign that didn't belong to any technique. It was a simple code she taught her friends after their test exam with Kurenai. She realized that they could benefit greatly from at least a basic way of communication while under observation and signs were the safest way. Even if someone saw them, they shouldn't be able to understand them.
That was what she hoped for as she ran at the masked ninja while Kiba started to spin again, shooting at him from the opposite side.
Everything set up perfectly for her plan.
"Tsūga (Tunneling Fang)!"
Almost as in slowed motion, Grey turned himself towards her, blatantly disregarding Kiba's assault on his person. It was a clear sign that he considered the girl a bigger threat than the boy, something that angered Kiba greatly and made his attack even wilder than before. As Hinata neared her enemy, he flew right at his back – and couldn't believe his eyes as he missed yet again, Grey fluently moving his body out of the way of his attack as if just bending around a motionless pole.
'Almost certain!' Hinata was, for some reason, unable to see through their costumes, but it didn't really matter for her, actions spoke volumes in this battle. She reeled her right hand backward, palm open and shining with soft blue aura, invisible to anyone but her. She prepared for strike, from this distance not only knowing but also seeing Grey's eyes on her. Now she had his full attention…
… and allowed herself a small grin as she saw Naruto appear behind the enemy ninja, down on all four, kicking hard at his leg. He had no way of seeing Naruto or even noticing him fast enough to react and defend himself. Even sensor types wouldn't be that skillful. That attack was simply bound to hit.
Her eyes widened as not only Grey pushed aside her palm, but also jumped back at the same time, dodging Naruto's kick as easily as if he knew about it all the time.
'I got you now.'
"Jūkenhō:Hakke Kūshō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm)!"
Both Kiba and Naruto could only stare as a violent wave of condensed air raised, swirled around Hinata's open palm and shot forward at immense speed, crashing into the grey-clad shinobi who only now realized that he had no way of dodging while in the middle of a jump. He brought his hands forward to protect himself, but was still propelled backwards at such speed that when a tree got in his way, he hit it with an audible cracking sound. He dropped to the ground then, still standing but visibly winded and grunting from pain.
'And bullseye.'
"Oh my, I guess some punches are harder to dodge than others, aren't they… Neji-niisan?"
"What?" asked Kiba, staring warily at their opponent. "What do you mean, Hinata-chan? That can't possibly be your cousin… can he?"
"Oh, he is, Kiba," said a familiar voice so close behind him that he jumped up in surprise. Kurenai smiled at her three students just as she signalized remaining Jōnins to end the fights and gather everyone together. "And I think we can end this assessment of your progress and start marking your grades."
(…)
(Twenty minutes later, usual meeting ground for Team Konoha, Konoha)
"I don't get it!" complained Kiba, pointing first at Team Gai's members who were undressing from their grey clothes and putting back on their old ones, then on five assembled Jōnins and finally on his own team. "Are you saying that this whole mess with ambushing and attacking us was just to mark our progress with training?"
"That is right, Kiba," Kurenai nodded, slowly examining every Genin to make sure their wounds weren't too serious. "We had to justify our new training to Hokage and I thought that this was the best way to show how most of you matured and managed to keep their heads cool in a dangerous situation… or, at least we are going to mark it now," she added, eyeing her canine student sharply enough that he quickly became quiet.
"I don't see much to grade here," said Asuma, lighting up his favourite cigarette. "My team pretty much passed with flying colors. Not only they managed to stop Tenten before she spruced her trap, but they also took her out without receiving any injury."
"Yes, except that the last thing happened quite narrowly," countered Kurenai. "Not to mention she managed to separate them from others. If she had a back-up hidden in the woods, your team could get easily overpowered."
Asuma only shrugged at this and took a deep breath from his favourite treat.
"Still, I think Asuma's team did the best job out of the three," admitted Kurenai, noting it in her notepad. "How about your team, Kakashi?"
Kakashi shrugged just as Asuma, but before he could speak, Anko decided to do it for him. "They got their asses handed over quite well if you ask me. Duck-butt just burst in without waiting for anyone and frying forehead was pretty much lost in the whole fight." She eyed all three students sternly. "What did you teach them again, how to be late for fighting?"
"They won, didn't they?" said Kakashi, clearly interested more in his book than in his team's grade.
"I admit Lee got a little bit too worked up in the end, but I'm so glad that his flames of youth were fanned so high!" boomed Gai as he patted his student on back. "And don't give Kakashi's students too little credit Anko-san, they fought valiantly against an opponent who more than matched their taijutsu skills!"
"Yeah, but where Asuma at least made his students know teamwork, Kakashi probably just told them some hippy-yippy and let it be," frowned Anko while playing with her kunai again, undoubtedly to show how would she make her team listen to her.
"Just one more thing to work on until we have to take any serious missions," finished Kurenai, writing some more in her notepad before eyeing her own team. "And now for you three…"
"They were splendid!" Gai took the word again, surprisingly patting both Kiba and Naruto so hard they ended up in the dirt. "I saw so much enthusiasm in these two it almost made me cry in happiness! And their tactic worked perfectly on my cute student!" this time he patted Neji, who in turn tried to look as impassive as ever, but his eyes were glaring daggers into his cousin.
"Enthusiasm, but only one of them managed to even hit Neji at all," said Kakashi calmly, turning a page in his book and smiling at its content.
"Mwahaha, I consider even that a success! Neji is very skilled in taijutsu and to hit him is an honor, especially from his clanmate!" this time Hinata received the pat, forced to do a lot to not end up down next to Naruto and Kiba.
"Well, I got mostly lucky," she said, although she knew Neji wasn't going to believe her. No, he was probably going to ask questions after this fight, maybe even her father. Her technique wasn't exactly one to learn at such a young age. Neji knew it and she knew it and they both knew that the other one knew… or something like that. She just hoped that she could slip out of her father's attention for some more time.
"No need to question my team. I think I know them well enough to say that these shared training sessions are giving them a lot. We will happily continue with them, Kurenai!" proclaimed Gai, stopping any and all markings of his own team's performance before they even begun.
"It's clear that they still have a lot to learn, but I believe this training is showing fair results so far. Probably not much at ninjutsu or genjutsu, but using what you know best at the best time is important for every fight." Kurenai finally closed her file and nodded at everyone. "I think they all deserve a break for the rest of the day. We trained them hard these last two weeks and if Hokage-sama allows, all following weeks will be like this one, so let's them recover a bit. I'll go and present this to Hokage-sama meanwhile, along with all of you if you can come with me," she turned to other Jōnins.
"I'm going anywhere as long as you buy me some dango, Kure," whispered Anko, already hugging Kurenai around her neck. Asuma merely nodded and Gai gave his agreement so loudly all the birds around flew in panic. Kakashi simply disappeared with them.
"Well, that was interesting all right," yawned Shikamaru, eyeing his other classmates lazily. "Which one of you managed to figure out it was just a test?"
"I kind of thought of it when I realized that we were fighting Neji-niisan," admitted Hinata, seeing that Team Gai was already packing.
"Wow, great job Hinata-chan!" Kiba moved closer to give her a proper hug, but when seeing her face, settled instead for smiling at her.
"I realized it when my bugs broke through the genjutsu seal placed under their clothes. My guess is that those seals were the reason neither of us recognized Team Gai even though we spent last week with them," said Shino, pushing his glasses forward. "Why? Because not only my bugs are familiar with them, but Kiba and Hinata should have recognized them too."
"Yeah, for some reason, their scent was altered too," complained Kiba while patting Akamaru. "Still, Neji didn't have to kick Akamaru that hard. It was only a test!"
"Tell that to Tenten! She almost led us in a trap full of explosive tags! How dangerous is that?" said Ino, shaking her head and carefully rubbing her chest. She should have known better than to hit the borrowed body while she was in it.
"Or to Lee! His punches really hurt, he didn't have to be so hard on Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura, eager to defend her love interest. It only made her sadder when she was still being ignored by him.
"I believe that was the point of this exercise," said Shino. "A weak or half-hearted attempt for a test wouldn't produce nearly as usable results as when Team Gai was as serious as they could be."
"Not nearly enough," came Neji's cold voice, startling all nine Genins. "We went on you very easily. Should we go on you seriously, none of you would last even a second."
"Wow!" giggled Hinata, facing her cousin directly. "What a luck fate has bestowed upon us that you pulled your punches, right Neji-niisan?"
Neji's features hardened even more, if it was possible. "Yes, fate was with you this time. In the real fight, it won't." He took his backpack and went in the direction of Konoha, followed by apologetically-smiling Tenten and enthusiastic Lee.
"A fate? What the fuck is that?" asked confused Kiba.
"That's just my cousin's excuse for most of the things. Ignore it," said Hinata, then grinned at other two teams. "Well, me and my team need to take advantage of our free day, but if Kurenai-sensei passes this to Hokage, I'll treat you all to lunch tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah! We surely accept!" grinned Chōji, exhilarated by the mention of free food.
"Well, I'm going to take advantage of it too and sleep what I missed during these last two weeks," yawned Shikamaru and slowly dragged his feet away, followed by agitated Ino and hungry Chōji.
"Oh, and don't you two think this excuses you from our own evening's training," whispered Hinata to her teammates. "I'm just going to check on dad, Neji-niisan probably reported everything to him and I'll have to bear another of his lectures about whatever he wants. So after lunch at the usual place," she winked, gave a quick nudge to Naruto and ran away before they could do anything.
"And I'm going to help my mom, today is a big shopping day for our ninken (ninja dogs)," grinned Kiba as he picked up Akamaru and received a happy lick in return. "See you later, Naruto!"
"A whole free day… that means we could go for a lunch together, right Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura, hoping for a nice, private food with her teammate, but only being disappointed when she couldn't find him around anymore. "Huh? Where did he go? Sasuke-kuun!" she called, searching around for him.
'Left alone again…' a small storm cloud formed above Shino's head, perfectly reflecting his current mood. 'I don't like when they do it.'
Neither of them knew that Sasuke had enough of how Hyūga and her team got praised while his own actions got so neglected and simplified. He knew about teamwork, he just considered it useless. Three weak people didn't make a strong team, one strong man could do much more than them. And he was just about to prove it… not with a strength, of course, but with a bit of charm and cunning.
That was why he left early to catch on one person he was sure was now ready to help him exact his revenge with just a little bit of sugar-coating from his side.
"Sasuke-kun?" said his target while turning around, confused face quickly turning into a smiling one.
(…)
(Ten minutes later, two streets away from Hyūga compound, Konoha)
'Yes, this goes perfect so far!' Hinata grinned as she kept walking home, a happy smile plastered on her face and a light step in her feet. 'All of us training together is helping everyone really good! Even Sakura and Ino seem to get along together and that's something. Now, if this just keeps up, the Sound invasion should be much easier to repel than before.' Her smile turned into a slightly worried frown as her current trail of thoughts lead to less cheerful things. 'I wonder if I really should ask someone for help in making it work better than, well, before. Maybe Shikamaru could help me? Only thing is, before I manage to think something clever enough for him to not realize what am I really talking about, he'll already know everything.'
She sighed and turned into the next street, so lost in her thoughts that it took her two steps before she realized someone was standing before her. She narrowed her eyes and prepared to switch into the Jyūken stance, but right before that she realized who it was and eased down.
"Naruto-kun! What a nice surprise to see you here!" she said, meaning every single word of it. He probably waited here to talk with her, twice this week already. This was starting to look very good for their relationship.
"Umm… H-Hinata-san, I… I want to talk with you about s-something…" said Naruto, carefully avoiding her look.
'H-He wants to talk with me!' Hinata had to suppress another one of her sudden blood rushes as her imagination brought to her thousands of things they could talk about. The training, their team, sensei, food, weather, relationship… she would give up a year-long supply of her favorite cinnamon rolls for it to be the last one!
"Oh, that's great! You can talk with me about anything you want, Naruto-kun." Damn, was she imagining things now or was her voice starting to shiver? 'Calm down Hinata, you're starting to act like your old self again. Just calm down, play it cool and everything's going to be just fi-'
"I… I-I don't want to be on your team anymore."
That single sentence just shattered Hinata's images of happiness with a force of a wrecking ball.
"You… y-you what?" She couldn't keep surprise out of her voice, but she didn't feel nearly as much surprised as confused. Confused and scared. "Why do you say that, Naruto-kun? Why wouldn't you want to be on my team? Did… did I do something?"
That last thing scared her the most.
Before answering, Naruto slowly turned around slightly, now only half-facing the white-eyed kunoichi, his sad gaze on the boards of a nearby fence. "You… y-you do remember our c… conversation twelve d-days ago?"
"Yes, yes I do. Was it something I said back then?" Hinata quickly waved her hands. "Naruto-kun, you mustn't take me too seriously. I can be a real blabbermouth sometimes-"
"N-No… t-that's not it. You asked if, if you ever hurt me before."
Hinata's throat tightened more than a constrictor's grip around its prey. She was unable to form a single word and could only wait in dread for Naruto to continue.
"I… I-I kept silent about it, I h-hoped that I could ignore it… b-but I can't. Because…" his lone eye looked up to her face, a scared, fearful sky-blue eye, "b-because I am afraid of you."
'No. No! I'm not like this, I wouldn't hurt you Naruto-kun! I could never hurt you!' Hinata screamed, but then she realized it was only in her mind. She tried to cough and make her throat obey her, but her whole body felt like carved from a stone. The only things working were her ears and eyes.
"Y-You don't care about others. Y-You always hurt those around you. You b-believe yourself to be a-above everyone else." Naruto seemed to sob and that lone sound in otherwise eerily quiet street made Hinata's heart shake under its weight. "I-I just can't be around a-anymore… I-I am sorry."
"No… no, this isn't true," Hinata finally found her voice, only to step back and stare at Naruto with disbelief. And shock. And fear. "This, this is some kind of a trick! You aren't Naruto-kun, you are some kind of an imposter! A-A clone or someone under the transformation jutsu. You are just some damned bastard trying to ruin my relationship with the real Naruto-kun!" She put her hands together so fast that the clap stung her palms, but she cared none about it.
"Byakugan!"
The world turned black and white, her vision malformed and expanded, her blazing white eyes pierced right through the person in front of her… and saw nothing. The blue chakra pathways were fine and working, no genjutsu was in place. The gentle blue aura around the body also showed no signs of any active technique. She could even identify the usually hidden Eight Trigrams Seal on Naruto's stomach, holding away Kyūbi's chakra. With a greater focus, she even recognized tiny bits of red chakra circulating in his system.
This was real Naruto and everything he said was from his own will.
"I… I-I am sorry," whispered Naruto with tears in his eyes, then he suddenly turned around and fled. His sandals raised small clouds of smoke as he kept running away through the street and far into the village.
"N-No! Naruto-kun, wait! I can explain, please wait!" Hinata reached after him, then started running as well. Her feet got caught behind a small rock on the ground and she stumbled, her mind too distracted to stop the fall from happening. She hit the ground hard and coughed as the dust found its way into her lungs. With her Byakugan deactivated from the unexpected hit, she suddenly lacked the strength to get up. She could only watch as the orange-clad figure was slipping from her sight, before everything started to blur. The ground got stained with fresh, hot tears.
"N-Naruto-kun… Naruto-kuuuun!" Her scream of despair hurt her throat a lot, but a much sharper pain found its way in her heart, a pain that couldn't be relieved with any ointment. She continued in her calls until her lungs gave up on her and then she burst into a fit of sobs and crying. The pendant around her neck seemed to gain a thousand times of its weight, keeping her pinned down as she could do nothing but give in to her despair.
(…)
(Two minutes later, five streets away from Hyūga's compound, Konoha)
'This… this cannot be. W-What have I done?' Naruto's eyes widened in horror as his distraught mind replied for him what just happened. He just went through the street on his way home. Then, suddenly, it seemed as if someone just pushed him, not with any force, just a light push – and then everything got covered with some sort of half-transparent black blanket. And his body stopped obeying him.
His legs moved on his own as he jumped through the streets. His hands acted against his wishes as they kept grabbing on the roof's drainpipes to help him swing above them. And his own mouth betrayed him, telling Hinata all those things he just remembered that forced him to stumble back. He felt himself hit the wall of a house behind him, barely able to keep himself on his feet.
"I… w-what did I tell her?" He gulped, but realized that his body was obeying him now. He didn't know for how long, but right now, he was in control. "I… I h-have to go find H-Hinata-san and…"
"And do what, Uzumaki?"
Naruto's eyes widened as he saw another person in an otherwise completely abandoned alley. One that seemed to gloat over him with eyes that showed no happiness, except the one of the worst kind.
"S-Sasuke?"
"I said, what do you think you can do, Uzumaki?" Sasuke's voice seemed to be overabundant with satisfaction. "Do you plan on running back to your girlfriend and tell her everything? What can you even tell her? That you 'felt weird', or that you were 'not yourself'?" His smirk, if possible, got even wider. "You saw her, she believed your every word. She even knows no one was controlling you. How can you explain something that you don't even have an explanation for?"
"I… I…"
"You just can't. You have no way of explaining and no way of clearing up this mess." Sasuke's eyes got back their dangerous glow. "It seems to me like you're all alone, Uzumaki – again."
Naruto's eyes watered, but deep down, he felt something else beside the horror of realizing that Sasuke was telling the truth and the sickening pain of ruining yet another thing that could go well for him. He felt… sparks?
"Y-You… y-you made me do it, s-somehow…"
"My my, don't you even have a brain in the end, Uzumaki?" Sasuke's smirk stayed on even when he moved forward, his face inches away from Naruto. Then his face hardened. "I feel really generous today, so I might as well tell you that it was my doing indeed. I'd love to see you prove it though. No visible jutsu, no hand signs – it seems you have nothing to go after. But go on, amuse me. Perhaps your tiny brain can make a miracle happen and think of at least something. Hah, as if! You'll probably just crawl in some corner and cry there to sleep."
Naruto really felt hot tears enter his eyes, but the sparks in his belly only kept flashing. Absentmindedly, he put a hand on his stomach. "W-Why are you d-doing this? W-Why are so… so e-evil?"
"Why?" It seemed that the question surprised Sasuke for a moment. Then his face contorted with anger. "Think of it as a lesson for you, Uzumaki, you and your Hyūga bitch. Both of you are nothing, you hear me, nothing!" A smirk returned to his face as he got up. "Now, I have things to do and you probably have a river to cry out. Don't let me stop you, Uzumaki." He looked at Naruto with disgust one more time before jumping on the roof and away.
"S-Sasuke…" Naruto kept looking after him. The pain in him was only growing, just as his sadness from failing Hinata and making her feel so miserable because of him. And to add to that, that strange heat in him wasn't subsiding at all. It felt almost like… like…
'Anger!'
"Huh? W-What?" Naruto looked around, certain that someone just whispered in his ear. But he saw no one around. Was he imagining things now too?
'Feel it… feel that deep, boiling power… feel the anger!'
Naruto gasped as the voice suddenly grew stronger. At the same time, his stomach started to burn with such intensity that it felt like his skin was being fried on an open fire. He quickly unzipped his jacket and rolled up his shirt, only to stumble back against the wall. That black demon painting was back and it seemed much more real than ever. What's more, it seemed like it was oozing something. Something dreadful and sinister.
"W-What are you doing? W-Who are you?" He put his hands on the mark, trying to stop or disrupt it somehow, but it ignored his tries as if he were a mere fly in a thunderstorm.
'You hate that Uchiha brat… let me out… let me out and kill him!' Sparks turned into a fire, so strong that it sent Naruto to his knees. His eyes widened in horror as small red bits of energy started to flow out of the seal right into his body. The hot wave kept on growing and he could feel sweat appearing on his body.
"N-No! I don't h-hate him! G-Go away!" Naruto tried to clench the symbol tighter, to focus on something else, but his mind was shredded to pieces, his concentration non-existent. He felt like there was a pair of eyes, big and hateful, that kept glaring at him from behind. He quickly turned around, but saw nothing except the damp wall. He was completely alone in the alley…
"Hey! What's happening over there?"
Almost alone.
Seeing that someone just took notice of him, Naruto did the only thing that made sense to him. He jumped up, intending to flee this place and find some shelter to survive and chase away that weird voice. But just as his feet left the ground, enormous burning sensation hit his whole body.
He screamed as he fell back down on the ground, hitting hit hard and fast. His right shoulder got it worst and he gasped as it seemed that the fire burned stronger and hotter with more pain he felt. He didn't dare to look to the front of the alley right now, he was afraid of what others might see him like…
"Hey, it's that demon's brat!"
"What's happening to him?"
"He's transforming! He's going to kill us all!"
"N-No!" protested Naruto, but almost no sound left his clenched throat. He tried to rub his neck to make the muscles loosen up, but stopped in dread as he saw his own hand. It seemed to be covered in a transparent red cloud…
"Quickly, grab something! Don't let him kill us first!"
"Everyone, get him!"
'Those fools!' Another roar in Naruto's head made him drop to the ground. 'Kill them… make them feel a real terror… obey me!'
"No!" This time Naruto screamed, trying to hold both his head and his belly at the same time. "I don't want you, please, go away!"
'You stupid brat… I'll show you who I really am! I'll show all those-'
"What the hell is going on here?!"
Suddenly, the voice in his head disappeared. The burning in his body subsided to an almost invisible level and two tall figures appeared between him and slowly growing crowd of people. He noticed it at the same time as someone grabbed him from behind. He tried to jerk away, but the feeling he got from the touch wasn't threatening at all.
"Whoa, slow down there Naruto. I'm Kiba, your teammate. You remember me, right?"
"K-Kiba-san?" Naruto turned around again, slowly this time, but he really recognized the taller boy from an Inuzuka clan, along with Akamaru who seemed to growl at the people in front of him.
"Really, drop the –san Naruto," Kiba shook his head, then frowned as he looked at Naruto's rolled up shirt and opened jacket. "What happened here? I heard some people screaming and-"
"He's a demon!" shouted one of the people in the alley. "He was going to kill us all! We can't let him do that!"
Naruto froze, the words striking him with another jab of fear, but that weird voice was gone again, along with its surge of anger. It seemed to disappear right after Kiba touched him. It either didn't like his presence, or…
"Who, Naruto?" Kiba looked at them with disbelief in his eyes. "Are you guys blind or something? He's the most harmless guy I've ever met."
"Just look on him! He has a demon's mark!" the man kept shouting while pointing directly at the orange-clad boy.
"I took a good look and saw nothing on him," one of the tall persons spoke up. Her voice was high and feminine but carried very dangerous edge with it, her short spiky hair and Inuzuka clan markings on her cheeks only adding to her wild appearance. "And what kind of people beat down on a kid, especially when he's down and not fighting back?" Her voice lowered to a threatening growl. "You fuckers make me sick!"
"Mom, do we really have to talk so much?" the second person spoke, her voice a bit higher but not less dangerous at all. She tossed around her long auburn ponytail and flew a bang of hair out of her face. "Let's just teach them a lesson and be on our way."
Kiba smirked at that, before turning his look at his teammate. "Can you get up, Naruto? Did they hurt you or something?" He frowned as he looked over his friend's disheveled state.
"You are not taking him away!" The man shouted and charged back, only to be struck back with a hand full of sharpened claws. He gasped as five bleeding scratches appeared on his chest.
"Take him home, son," said Tsume, matriarch of the Inuzuka clan, as her eyes narrowed when looking on the suddenly backing mob. "And you… I really don't want to bother with killing you, so I'm just going to shred some blood out of you – and I'm so going to enjoy it!"
"You really don't want to see that," whispered Kiba as he grabbed Naruto and jumped with him on the roof, then on another, leaving behind terrified cries of pain and hurt. "Mom can be really wild when she gets angered, and she got all strange when she said that she smelled something weird. We were just shopping nearby, so we went to take a look with her, but we only found you and those gu – N-Naruto?"
Naruto couldn't handle it anymore. The hurt he inflicted upon Hinata, the mockery from Sasuke, and now that terrible demonic voice in his head. He wriggled out of Kiba's hold and ran away, the roof tiles behind him sparkling from the tears that kept dropping out of his tears.
"Hey, Naruto! Wait, dammit!" Kiba ran after him, with Akamaru in tow. 'Mom's going to skin me alive if I lose him now!'
(…)
Two streets away, Fish carefully clenched and stretched his glove-covered fingers. Even he was powerless in this situation. He could jump there and try to do something, but a lone ninja against an entire mob was a lot less intimidating than two Inuzukas, not to mention his mission was supposed to be kept secret. He was at least glad that his Akushuu no jutsu (Sharp Stench Technique) to attract the Inuzuka family to the blond boy has worked. Now the blond was safe – more or less – and his own undercover was safe as well.
Sighing quietly under the porcelain mask, he put his hands together and disappeared in a thin air.
Preview:
Sarutobi: You are asking for a C-ranked mission, Kurenai? So soon?
Kurenai: I'm afraid I have to, Hokage-sama.
Sarutobi: While I could look for something for you and your team, I'm not going to do so without an explanation. What caused this sudden need for a bigger challenge, Kurenai?
Kurenai: (sighs) My team members… are not getting along very well. Nothing I say or do seems to have any impact, I feel like I'm only driving them more apart. I know this may sound cruel, but I have to put them in at least some danger and see if they can act like a team and work with each other when it really matters.
Sarutobi: … and what if they cannot, Kurenai?
Next time, on Tales of Konoha: Chapter 8 – Painstaking path
Kurenai: In that case, I will have to ask for your permission to disband Team 8, Hokage-sama.
