Disclaimer: ...Haha I created Naruto! ... Not
AN: Wow... it's been a while since I've updated. Deeply sorry. I'll skip the excuses and try to get on with the story that I have "abandoned" for a while P Plz note that it's not my best writing...
Chapter 9:
The gleaming metal came close to the man; the edge slowly getting closer... "AH!" A girlish scream filled the room.
--snip--
"SAKURA-CHAN!"
"NARUTO!"
"KAKASHI-SENSEI!?"
Naruto backed away from the man lying on the ground hiding the scissors quickly. Sakura turned to glare at him, "I was so close to seeing his face!" She hissed, blaming him.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Naruto rolled his eyes.
Kakashi couldn't move much but he could still sense something amiss. He looked to Naruto to see that he was innocently smiling back at him- "Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura was looking at him curiously. "Is everything all right?"
Sasuke who was sitting off in a corner (Not really a corner but somewhere away from people) had turned his attention towards them.
Naruto saw the man sit up and looking troubled. About time... Several days before -after Naruto had to carry his sensei to Tazuna's house- Kakashi had mentioned how a Hunter-nin finished their job before he rested.
"..." The Jounin (Jonin) placed his hand on his head, thinking. "Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura called to him yet again.
"Hmm... Of course..." Kakashi mumbled. "I think—"
"Zabuza's still alive, isn't he?" Naruto said out loud with a hint of impatience.
Sakura swung at his head, Naruto avoiding it easily. "Baka! Of course not! Zabuza's dead! Ne, sensei?" The girl turned to her sensei for reassurance.
Kakashi, however, was staring wide-eyed at Naruto. "Usou!" Sakura gaped. "It's not possible..." None of her words were heard by him.
Naruto...? Kakashi was still eyeing the boy, Isn't he just a loudmouth brat?
"Senbon..." Sasuke carefully said, "...! No way!"
After the lengthy conversation about the acupuncture needles, Kakashi announced that he was going to increase their training schedule. "Training?" Sakura had the expression of disbelief on her face. Does she ever shut up? Naruto thought solemnly.
"Nice! We can train while we wait!" Naruto exclaimed, desperate for some action.
"It won't be nice for you." An unfamiliar voice sounded at them. They turned to see a boy with a hat worn nearly covering his eyes.
"Inari, greet out guests properly!" Tsunami told the boy sternly.
Inari looked Team 7 over and pointed towards them while glancing up at his mother. "They're all gonna die."
"What?!" Sakura gasped a bit surprised.
The kid ignored her, "No one can beat Gato and his men." He turned away, "Not even a hero." And went upstairs.
"Inari!" His mother called after him.
"Daijoubu." Kakashi told her softly. Tsunami could only sigh and headed off to the kitchen with her father in tow. The Sharingan-user ruffled his hair and... ruffled it again... something was wrong. Looking around he saw some very familiar silver strands of hair on the wooden floor. "N-n-nani?" He turned to the culprit. "Naruto!"
The ANBU scrambled out of the room laughing. Glancing roughly where he was, noticing that he was upstairs. About to go back downstairs he heard someone crying. "Dad." Without a word he descended back down the steps.
"So, so, so! What kind of training are we doing today?" Naruto cried out excitedly. He was walking far away from Kakashi who had tried to cut him into shreds the night before.
On crutches, Kakashi made his way towards a tree. "You'll be climbing trees." He seemed to manage to gel other pieces of hair together to make it seem that nothing was cut.
"Climbing... trees...?" His eye twitched but it didn't show much. Usou!
"How would that qualify as training?" Sakura asked in a disbelieving voice.
Kakashi made his way towards a tree, "Listen up. You won't be allowed to use hands. Instead..." He concentrated chakra on his feet and began to climb up the tree. "You will need to control and have enough stamina to maintain your chakra when using any kind of jutsu." He explained as he swung upside-down. "It's harder than it looks."
"Yosh! Easy stuff!" Naruto exclaimed as he picked up the kunai that was thrown down by their sensei.
"Less talk more action. Choose your trees and do your training." Kakashi simply said.
It was easy as it was breathing. Next moment he could see the bridge in the distance as well as the town across the vast forest. "Nice breeze up here." He loved the nature. It seems random but every so often he would garden some plants here and there; more like a secret hobby.
"Where's Naruto?" He heard his sensei from below.
The ANBU jumped down several branches and perched himself a couple feet above Sakura. "This is easier than I thought." He stuck his tongue out. He could sense the Uchiha getting frustrated.
Kakashi had dropped down from his branch and was gazing up towards the two of his students. Both Naruto and Sasuke contains such massive chakra within them that it should be more difficult for them to manage, but Naruto...he can already master his chakra control!? Sakura and Naruto joined them on the ground. He really is the number one most unpredictable ninja.
"Did you use your hands or cheat?" Sakura asked accusingly, afraid that Sasuke would be mad at her for being able to get up the tree before him.
"Uruse ne!" Naruto shouted at her, offended by her comment.
Sasuke looked away from them in silent anger.
They trained till it was time for them to head back for dinner.
"Naruto!" Kakashi called for him to come over.
"Hai..." The Kyuubi-container answered in a long drawl.
"You stay here and keep working on the training tomorrow with Sasuke..." He avoided the reproachful look from the child, "Instead, try going up and down the tree at least 10 times without stopping." (AN: Stupid I know)
"Heh?" Naruto made a face, "Do I really have-"
"Sakura, you will go stay with Tazuna while he works on the bridge tomorrow."
"Hai, sensei!" Sakura said brightly.
"Mou...!" Naruto pretended to act in agony.
The next day, Sasuke could only go halfway up the tree with many marks along the way. Naruto had already finished his training and was planning to make a clone so he could scour the village before Sasuke interrupted them.
"Oi, dobe," He walked nonchalantly over to him.
"Dobe, dobe, dobe... So annoying." Naruto whined waiting to see what Sasuke wanted.
Standing in front of the blonde ninja, Sasuke had a stern look on his face. "I want to fight you."
"Hm." Naruto pierced through Sasuke's stare, "Are you kidding me?"
If Sasuke didn't have strict discipline in not allowing to show his emotions, he would've taken a step back at Naruto's sudden change in his attitude.
"Mah!" Naruto seemed to regain his happy-go-lucky self, "I want to fight you too later." His teeth shone in the sun, reflecting a glare into Sasuke's eyes.
That night, they were enlightened with Inari's loss of a man that was as close as a father's connection. "Gato, ka?" Naruto slid off his chair and went outside
The ANBU watched a man in a black suit sporting black sunglasses walking in front of two bodyguards who look tough but really isn't. Is he blind or something? The street was quiet, it wasn't surprising but out of the corner at his eye he could see small figures running around on the street trying to steal the purses from those who dare stray on the road.
The three men turned the corner and Naruto silently knocked out the two bodyguards. "Zouri. Waraji." Gato called out to his guards. "Zouri! Waraji!" He turned to find he was alone. "Where are those idiots?!" He growled.
"Before you call others idiot," The short man was thrown into the wall, "I see a big fat one right here." Gato was faced with someone in a kitsune mask. "Now I don't really make threats but..." He bent the man's left forearm, "... I don't want to say much now... you'll see later." A loud crack filled the air accompanied by a man's scream.
The night sky was misty but Naruto could still make out the stars. Lying on the grass, his face still displayed a grim expression. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and listened to the silence.
Birds chirped nearby with the morning glory. Someone was coming. Creating a clone wearing his orange jumpsuit, Naruto (still in ANBU gear) hid himself. A figure walked onto the clearing, bent down and started picking some herbs. He- Naruto decided of their gender- saw the clone lying nearby and made his way over.
The birds flew away in alarm. "Hey, wake up you'll catch a cold lying in the open like this." The boy shook the clone.
"So... How's Zabuza doing?" Naruto asked as he walked up to him.
The boy looked momentarily alarmed but he smiled, "He's healing." He studied Naruto, "I feel very exposed, now that you know what I look like."
Naruto reached for his mask, "It won't be a surprise." His hair turned blonde and not gelled letting wisps of hair fall into his visage. His skin was slightly more tanned and his face seemed sharper and less round.
The "Hunter-nin" widened his eyes but looked a bit shyly away. "You're cute."
"What?!" Naruto sputtered. The boy laughed at his reaction.
Several moments later they were both seen picking some herbs. "Do you need these herbs too?" Naruto asked while showing Haku- he told the ANBU his name- the leafy herb.
Haku studied the plant and nodded, "Yes, thank you." His smile was very angelic. The basket was filling as they conversed. "So you have been acting as an "idiot" for the past 3 years? Because seeing you now, you don't seem to be as stupid as you seem." He studied the blonde with interest.
"I'll take that as a compliment. But, yeah, you can say that I suppose." Naruto answered solemnly.
"I wouldn't know how it would feel like but it must be hard..." Haku responded.
"I think you know how it feels." Naruto quickly countered his comment, "You really aren't a blood-seeking killer like Zabuza wants you to be."
Eyes narrowed towards Naruto, "How would you know?"
Giving a minor shrug, "It's a feeling because... somehow I can tell whether or not someone has suffered in the past." Naruto said lightly, tossing in more herbs into the basket. "Zabuza was the one who– if I must use a word- "saved" you, am I right?"
"Yes." The simply reply was enough to say that Haku felt more than loyalty towards the mist ninja. "Do you have someone special in your life? Someone you want to protect?"
Naruto nodded slowly thinking back to Nozue and Nawata-sensei who he had failed to protect.
"I have a question. Why don't you attack me?" Haku asked innocently, "It's obvious I don't have any weapons on me right now."
Naruto laughed, "I bet that you don't even need weapons to inflict damage on me. But I could sense that you're purpose right now isn't to fight but to get Zabuza healed as soon as you can and I don't mind having him hanging around for a while longer." Haku giggled, which made Naruto's skin crawl. His ears perked up, Sasukes coming.
"I'll see later then." Haku gracefully got up and carried the basket in his arm, "I won't hold back when I face you again." He left the forest.
That night there was an eruption at the dinner table. "Why do you try so hard!? You'll never be able to match up with Gato's men even though you act all cool and tough!" Inari yelled at them, specifically towards Naruto.
"Uruse ne, chibi-ske." Naruto quietly said.
"You don't know anything! You don't know a thing about me because you don't know a thing about suffering or loneliness or what my life is like!" The room went silent.
"So you assume that if you keep talking like that, things are going to be seen in your point-of-view? You think nobody's life can be as pitiful as yours can it?" Naruto mumbled into his arms. "Keep crying, kuzo. Just keep being a cry-baby." He shoved his chair away from the table and went outside with Sakura hollering after him.
Naruto was lying on the rooftop when Inari came out to crouch on the dock. Not long after, Kakashi joined him. What's he doing out here? Naruto curiously watched. "Naruto can be an ass sometimes but it's not on purpose." He rolled his eyes. "He, too, grew up without a father or any other relatives, not even a single friend," Kakashi continued, "But he never uses his past as a handicap or a weakness but instead he tries harder to have people notice him."
Naruto was about to leave, "I used to think he was just a loud, hyper-active ninja who had a silly goal of becoming a Hokage. But he proved me wrong." Kakashi spoke his mind out loud, "That's why I've decided to see him in a different light because he caught my interest."
So cheesy man, but... I guess the guy could be pretty cool sometimes. Naruto's smirk could be seen in the moonlight,
AN: The ending was like blah! Haku so O.O.C...I'm hoping I can satisfy you with this much first because this actually took me a month to write. Next chapter will have the fight!!!!On this site or something it says that Naruto loves gardening or something like that, so I used it in the story cause it might be used in the future. The writing is not very flowing, sorry about that. I made it so that Haku didn't break Gato's arm instead Naruto did and I made Haku have an interest in Naruto.