So, I'm no Naruto expert, but I've been trying to research all the multiple ways there are to unlock a Sharingan. I recall something about life and death situations, but I also remember in Kakashi Gaiden that Obito awakened his because of his need to protect Kakashi, so I'm assuming it comes out with an overwhelming emotion over something greater than oneself, like life/death/savingothers/well I dunno.
TO clarify, I sort of see Naruto's Sharingan kind of like Harry Potter's ability to have parseltongue. He wasn't born with it, and you could almost say he stole it. Voldemort unintentionally gave it to Harry, a boy who, without that, wouldn't have been able to carry it. Same with Naruto. Except Kyuubi intentionally gave it to him. Because there is a… transfer of powers? I'm actually confusing myself a little.
Anyway…. Onwards
Hiding from the beast
But the beast was always there
Watching without eyes because
(the beast is just my fear)
"Uh," says Naruto, eloquently. "I feel the need to point out that, you know, that would require me to be an Uchiha."
And then, with a snort he added; "And contrary to popular belief, I am not actually Itachi 2.0."
Or the 'Itachibot' as Towa so endearingly referred to him as the other day. Actually though Naruto found that one quite funny. Anyway it was different when his teammates teased him; he knew they were just being lousy fucks because that was their way of showing affection.
He could feel Kyuubi's exasperation. "Yes, I may have noticed that." Was his acerbic response. "But that is utterly irrelevant."
"Actually," Naruto interjected. "I'd like to make a case to the contrary. How exactly do you expect me to access a bloodlimit when I don't actually have the blood to begin with? You know that's kind of impossible, right?"
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," mused the demon fox. "You see, the Uchiha were not the original owners of that particular power; they stole the Sharingan just as conclusively as your teacher stole his Sharingan."
Naruto blinked, brain not quite connecting the dots on that one. When his mind had finally rebooted itself, he found himself gaping in shock at the implications. Of course, Gaara took the inopportune moment to swipe his enormous tail in the blonde's direction.
Naruto ducked out of the way, ignoring the redhead completely in favor of his own problems.
"And just what exactly do you mean by that?" The blonde demanded.
The way he'd heard the story—which was probably unreliable at best, completely wrong at worst, considering how much he paid attention to his history classes—Konohagakure as a whole was founded by the Uchiha and the Senju. And that was like practically ancient history already. The Uchiha have had the Sharingan longer than anyone has ever cared to remember—or write down, for that matter.
"This iteration of it, perhaps," the fox agreed when he voiced this aloud. "But the doujutsu you see in your teammates' eyes today is the product of a millennia of evolution."
And after a beat, "And not a particularly useful evolution, either. If anything, it has become far more diluted in power than what it once was."
Naruto raised his brows, unwillingly impressed. The Sharingan was already a pretty crazy thing to have; he couldn't imagine what it was back then, from the way Kyuubi described it.
But all this talk of Uchiha and Sharingan lead his attention to his teammate, dodging through Shukaku's strikes with Naruto, but with considerably less energy. The beast struck again, and Naruto darted out of the way without much thought, more intent on reaching the Uchiha.
"And you expect me to be able to get it—" Naruto paused, frowning. "And you want me to get it, don't you?"
"Obviously. Otherwise, why would I have even told you in the first place?"
The blonde glowered darkly at that, absently watching Shukaku tear apart the local fauna. Naruto didn't delude himself into thinking that the fox was doing this out of some sort of sudden and arbitrary sense of benediction. Even thinking of the fox as anything approaching benign was utterly ridiculous. No, he was quite clearly doing this for his own gain—Naruto might just get to benefit from this particular event, but that didn't make him any happier about going along with the fox's commands.
There was a sting of irritation in the back of his head. "Are you truly contemplating ignoring this ability out of some misplaced stubbornness?"
He glowered further. Damn, well when he put it that way…
"Fine," he heaved a great, dramatic capitulation, rolling his eyes. "I'll do it for you—but don't think for a second that I'll let you get away with this without an explanation."
He could feel the demon king's amusement in the back of his head, only souring his mood even more.
They both knew that Naruto wasn't going to get an explanation unless Kyuubi deigned to give him one.
He finally brought his attention to the raging demon in front of him. Unfortunately for Gaara, his personal problems were a fucking shit show. And when his persona life was a mess, his professional life was brutally efficient. This new form of Gaara's was far too large and burly to move with anything approaching coordination, and the demon knew it, too, roaring about in anger as it turned round and round in circles, searching for its prey.
It found Naruto easily enough, if only because he wasn't trying all that hard to be stealthy, and lifted a great paw to swipe at him. The blonde jumped over the attack, using the raccoon's arm as a useful access route to its head, running up the length of it to get to its back. Shukaku yowled at this, attempting to claw Naruto off in a most ineffectual manner. The blonde snorted—bigger is not actually better. He'd learned that the hard way; being big and flashy was normally just a huge waste of energy.
Naruto scrutinized the expanse of it's spine, searching for a weak point—searching for Gaara, actually. He had a sinking suspicion that the boy was the weak point in this enormous tank of a monster. But Naruto's best guess was that the boy was buried under layers and layers of sand; so, completely inaccessible. Just in case, Naruto stomped his foot into the demon; it sunk a bit in the sand, only confirming his theory that this whole form was made from sand. There was no way he'd manage to get to Gaara through all of that. Not unless he managed to find a way to break through all this sand—which was borderline impossible, when the sand would simply shift into another form the moment he attempted it.
The blonde paused for a moment, a thought occurring to him.
If he wanted to break through the sand, he'd simply have to find a way to make the sand into something breakable.
Shukaku rumbled beneath him, finally coming to the conclusion that Naruto was going to be inaccessible to him unless he got the blonde off his back. The surface beneath the blonde shook with the graceless movement of the beast lowering itself onto its belly.
Naruto realized what it was going to do just in time to jump off of it, before he was crushed under thousands of pounds of sand.
Shukaku rolled over onto his back, just as Naruto jumped into the air for safety.
The blonde blinked. Rolled onto his back—and completely exposed his less protected underbelly.
His hands seemed to move with a mind of their own, nimble fingers masterfully moving through hand seals he didn't know, in patterns he didn't know, to make a Jutsu he didn't know.
For a moment he noted that it was probably inadvisable to try out a Jutsu that you didn't actually know, but then decided his circumstances might allow for it.
Even if he no clue what this Jutsu even did.
"Well," he mused to himself, soaring through the sky, "You wont know until you try it, right?"
And then a grand, amazing looking—okay. A rather malnourished, mangled looking dragon of fire promptly regurgitated its way out of his mouth.
The blonde choked and almost made to swallow before he thought better of it, breathing out a blazing trail of cinerous fire that tore out of his mouth and shot towards the demon. The flaming dragon struck Gaara dead on, eliciting an enormous, blinding explosion of light.
Naruto covered his eyes, flipping back down to the ground and lowering his gaze to prevent himself from the brilliant light.
"Well shit," he said to himself, impressed. That was pretty cool.
Aside from the fact he also managed to light most of the forest on fire. Whatever, as if this whole damn town wasn't made entirely of trees anyway. While the great beast was down, Naruto made for his ex-teammate on the other side of the clearing.
"You okay?"
The Uchiha glanced at him with a look that relayed just how much he appreciated his concern. "I'll live." He grunted, not at all enthused.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Well, if he was feeling well enough for his usual snarky responses, than he couldn't be all that injured.
In front of them, tendons of sand began to mend themselves back together, as Shukaku began to pick itself up off the ground.
"Even after all that—not even a scratch." The Uchiha noted. "Shape up, will you?"
The blonde's mouth dropped open in outrage. "Did you not see my awesome fire dragon Jutsu just now? How is that not 'shaped up'? And for the record—I did totally hit him, he just… put himself back together very well."
They watched for a long, incredulous moment as all the damage Naruto had managed to induce with his fire dragon healed itself in front of their very eyes.
"That hardly constituted as a fire dragon," retorted Sasuke, belated and at great length.
"What?" Cried Naruto, affronted. "What the hell else would you call it?"
"An anorexic looking lizard."
"It was awesome, okay?" He cut in, mutinous. "Awesome and—and fucking majestic."
Sasuke snorted at that.
Even though Naruto privately agreed with him, there was no way he'd admit to that aloud. Still, he took a moment to marvel in this strange camaraderie between the two of them. Strange—but not unwelcome.
They weren't how they were before, he observed, as he regarded the boy beside him. Antagonistic, constantly at ends, too prideful to admit to anything else. He doubted Sasuke was taking his promotion very well, but whatever he felt was suppressed and well-hidden. This was actually mildly concerning; Sasuke's insecurities had a way of erupting out of him and manifesting into really problematic situations. But he was going to save that for another day.
"Hey, listen bastard," Naruto started, quietly.
The Uchiha did not reply, but he did tilt his head slightly to affirm he was listening.
"Um, that time, you know…" He paused, awkwardly. "In Wave?"
It was clear from the stiffness of his posture that Sasuke was equally as uncomfortable with the topic as he was. "Yeah?" He answered at length. And then, with no small amount of hostility; "What about it?"
"How did you unlock your Sharingan?"
There was a long, bewildered moment of silence.
"You're asking this—now?"
Naruto scowled, feeling greatly uncomfortable and mildly annoyed. "What does it matter? Just answer the damn question!"
Sasuke looked away, expression curiously unreadable. "It came from… great emotional distress."
Naruto scowled further—as if that was at all helpful. Could the boy be any more ambiguous? What the hell did that mean? What, exactly, constituted as 'great emotional distress'? Naruto felt 'great emotional distress' whenever Ichiraku ran out of chicken miso ramen; he didn't think he'd be manifesting a Sharingan because of it. Okay, he was exaggerating. But seriously, what did Sasuke mean by that? Like being angry? Or upset? But what could have effected Sasuke so greatly that his eyeballs physically changed form? Haku, besting him so effectively? Zabuza, calling them all worthless, taunting them all?
Naruto paused.
Or was it…
"Hey, moron," Sasuke started, after an endless beat of silence had passed. "Sakura—you've got to save her no matter what. I know you can. Get her as far away from all this as possible."
The blonde found he had no words to say in response. Did the other boy genuinely believe he was about to leave him? Or that this situation was so dire that Sakura's life was really in danger? Granted, it probably was for him; he did not have the safety net of having a powerful, incredibly skilled alter ego to rescue him if he fucked up.
He furrowed his brows, intent on finding a very tactful way of pointing out the fact that he was totally overreacting. "Uh, look, Sasuke—
"I already lost everything once before," Sasuke was saying, effectively derailing whatever thoughts Naruto had. "I don't ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again…"
Naruto floundered for something to say in response. Fortunately he didn't need to get so worked up over it; Sasuke took that moment to leap away from him, directing Gaara's attention far away from where Sakura was.
The blonde black-ops ran an absent hand through his hair.
"I get it…" He smiled wryly, to the cold, silent air.
In Wave, Sasuke had saved Naruto. He had activated his Sharingan in the process of saving the blonde's life. He had been angry at Haku, at himself for not being strong enough, and at his death, which seemed imminent.
Like strength, his Sharingan was awakened through his need to protect others.
Naruto leapt off his branch, moving towards the tree line while Sasuke was distracting Shukaku. A miserable looking Pakkun stood guard beside Sakura's limp form, wagging his tail when Naruto approached. The ANBU appraised her form with a clerical eye, wishing he knew anything about healing or anatomy at all to be able to accurately survey her condition.
"How is she?" He asked to the dog, uncharacteristically austere.
Pakkun pulled a face. "Not too sure. She's still breathing, though."
Well, small blessings and all that.
He crouched down, reaching to gently brush stray blossom-colored hair out of her face. There was one long, thin cut on her cheek, and a few similar ones on her arms; a deep gash from a hard collision with something; a dark, clotted bruise besieging most of her right arm; and her right wrist was bent at an abnormal angle. Pakkun was right though—she was still breathing.
He consciously reminded himself that none of these injuries were even approaching fatal; painful, but not lethal. But this did nothing to assuage the unending tide of emotions that swelled within him at the sight of her, something hard lodging in his throat.
He was supposed to be protecting her.
The blonde snuck a hand under her knees, and another around her torso, careful to move her arms as little as possible. He picked her up slowly, listening for any sounds of discomfort. Her head was a heavy weight against his chest, and she murmured slightly, but otherwise made no sound.
A great crash erupted behind him, but he did not pay it any mind, slowly walking away from the clearing. He wished he could conjure up some kind of wooden cot, like he'd seen Yamato do in situations similar to this one, but unfortunately he had no Mokuton Jutsu in his repertoire. He placed her snugly between two overgrown roots, resting against the back of the tree.
"Naruto?" She murmured, just as he'd disentangled himself from her, a low rim of lashes leaving nothing but a slip of virescent eyes beneath.
"Hey," he whispered, smiling. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got run over," was her unhappy, mumbled response.
It pulled a startled laugh out of the blonde. "Well, try not to move too much." And then, with a depreciating grin, "I'm afraid that's all the medical advise I can give you though; I don't actually know anything else."
"Water, bandages," Sakura helpfully supplied, head lolling against the tree. "Soldier pill."
Her eyes were closed, but a slow smile spread over her face. "That's basic medical care—didn't you ever pay attention in class?"
"Of course not." He returned, roguishly.
She sighed.
He caught Pakkun trotting up to them in his peripheral, turning to the dog and intending to put him to good use. "Yo, you think you can go and find some water and a couple bandages?"
"Do I look like a delivery dog to you?" Retorted the dog, flatly.
"Yes." Was Naruto's equally flat response.
Pakkun sighed theatrically, before he erupted in a cloud of smoke, hopefully using that reverse summoning thing Kyuubi had been talking about to go somewhere and grab the stuff and come back.
"Are you okay, Naruto?"
The blonde turned back around to his teammate. Her long, rose colored hair had fallen loose from its tie, sliding down her shoulders and getting into her eyes. He'd heard that she was going to cut off all her hair, but to his relief Sasuke—Sasuke!—managed to talk her out of it. His opinion was that it was stupid to cut off her hair as some sort of misguided way of showing her maturity and dedication to her training. Secretly, Naruto thought this was all just a front and really he probably just really liked her hair.
He chuckled. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He pointed out.
Sakura's response was only a small smile. "And Sasuke?"
"Alive—unfortunately." Was his token reply.
He crouched low, until he was eye level with her. "Don't worry about anything, okay? Everything's going to be fine." He wished he could convince himself of this as well.
"But, Gaara—
"Is being taken care of right now." He stood at that, something decisive and cold in his tone that Sakura couldn't recognize.
"I'll be back soon, okay?" It was starting to sound like Sasuke might be succumbing to exhaustion over there, and he'd taken enough time as it was. With that he darted back through the forest and into the clearing, intent on making good on his word.
He burst through the tree line just in time to lodge a solid kick to Shukaku's snout, effectively knocking him off his course to eat Sasuke.
"You have… the worst timing." The Uchiha panted, rolling back onto his feet.
"I think you're confusing 'worst' with 'greatest'," retorted the blonde, smugly.
"Sakura?"
"Okay," And then, quietly. "For now."
Who knew what was lying in wait for them in the rest of the city. He hadn't heard any updates from his team, and he'd never been one to think that no news was good news. He was itching to get back to them, to start helping with the invasion—he knew that restraining Gaara was actually a far more important task, but that did nothing to assuage his incessant need to see his team and make sure they were okay.
"Fuck this," he cursed quietly, to himself. If he wanted to do that, he'd have to take care of this first.
Naruto leapt back into Gaara's line of sight, surveying the raccoon with an appraising eye. He had a few seconds to think up a line of attack, before the beast charged at him.
Naruto wasted no time ducking under his guard, unsheathing his wakizashi and stabbing it straight through one of its forepaws. The demon howled in pain, as Naruto shoved it in as far into the ground as it could go. He did the same to one of its back paws, effectively immobilizing it. The demon collapsed with its own momentum, falling face first into the ground.
The black-ops jumped back to face the beast, landing right by its snout.
"Sorry Gaara, but there are people counting on me right now," he said, vacuous and cold. "I want to help you, honestly, but I can't help you if you won't even help yourself."
The demon's eyes snapped open at that, the beast snarling angrily, the only sign that it was even aware of the words. But the redhead had to be conscious somewhere, in there, deep inside the demon. But if Gaara wasn't even fighting for his own freedom, how was Naruto supposed to help him?
"Come on," he tried again, something plaintive to his tone. "I know you've got to be in there somewhere."
But it seemed to be in vain; the demon roared at him, struggling against the swords nailing him to the ground. He gave it another moment, until Shukaku finally dislodged one of the swords out of place, making to tear out the other one.
The blonde didn't spare a second; he leapt onto its nose and stabbed it straight in the eye.
Shukaku's shout was deafening, its scream of agony enough to shake the very earth itself. This did not deter Naruto from grabbing one of the dislodged swords and blinding its other eye. He'd been looking for a weak point in the demon's armor—and that was certainly the most obvious one. Shukaku might be able to regrow entire limbs, but he didn't think the demon would be able to recreate its eyes with sand.
A long, high-pitched wail of pain followed, almost enough for Naruto to want to plug his ears.
The great beast thrashed about, limbs thumping about as it snarled and screamed, clearly intent to seek retribution but incapable of doing anything else but flailing mindlessly.
Naruto drew his hands up once again, fingers deftly working through hand seals at an alarming rate. This Jutsu, at least, he'd actually seen Kyuubi preform a few times. He'd never used it himself, but it was clear his body remembered how to do it.
He didn't know the name of this one either, and instead just threw the final hand seal onto the ground.
The earth shook violently, before an enormous spear of rock splintered out of the ground and erupted through the foliage, impaling Shukaku right through. If he'd though the demon's howls unbearable before, then he didn't even have a word to describe what it sounded like now. The beast stopped its thrashing, stilling quite suddenly. And then it began to shudder apart.
The sand cleared away, melting off its form in heaps of dust, leaving nothing but a battered boy in its wake, doubled over on his knees.
The boy looked shocked, as if he couldn't comprehend the fact that his supreme form had just been bested. He simply looked down at himself, stunned into immobility.
This did not last long; his head rose, wide eyes focusing in on Naruto.
The blonde didn't have any warning as the Sand Gennin dove towards him, barely having the presence of mind to jump out of the way. He backpedaled into the forest, the redhead close on his tail. Naruto ducked and darted his way through Gaara's attacks—though it was clear to see he was sorely lacking without his sand.
Naruto stopped suddenly, catching the redhead by the fist and maneuvering his projectile until he crashed into the ground.
Gaara rolled through the dirt, righting himself to pierce Naruto with angry green eyes.
Naruto's returning look was just as livid; cold, and indifferent.
The redhead charged, Naruto slid out of the way with ease, allowing the Gennin to furiously throw punch after punch, unable to connect any of his hits as the blonde dodged through his strikes with a practiced dexterity.
"You…" He growled hoarsely, disengaging from his Taijutsu to distance himself from the blonde. "I'm going to kill you!"
"You could try." Naruto agreed, blandly.
He made for Naruto again, but the blonde moved under his guard and threw him into the ground. The redhead grunted, pushing to start an offensive again, when the slight touch of metal brushed against his neck. He looked up to see a long, glistening line of light bleeding down the side of a sword, blinding, almost obscuring the black-ops from view.
"I understand you, you know." Naruto confessed, and there was perhaps something slightly softer to his tone. "Being alone, it eats at you, doesn't it? Being hated, shunned, ignored… I understand that pain."
His eyes narrowed. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you walk all over my city, or hurt my friends."
He drew close, feeling as if his very blood was boiling with his fury, his determination to protect his friends, and an unsettling, overwhelming urge to kill this boy for even attempting to harm them.
"I don't care. Jinchuuriki or not, you touch any of them, I won't spare you."
Gaara looked up at him, conflicted, something wary and cautious held fast in his features. "Who—who are you?"
"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied. "The nine-tailed Jinchuuriki."
The redhead's eyes widened.
Naruto's gaze snapped to the side, where rustling in the bramble drew his attention. Gaara was still staring up at him, unwaveringly. "You're eyes…" the Suna Jinchuuriki began, quiet, almost mesmerized.
Naruto blinked, startled, turning back to look at him. His eyes widened, and he whipped out a kunai from his pocket. And there, in the shimmering reflection he could see the bleeding red of his eyes, the intricate pattern of the Sharingan inlaid upon the crimson.
The change caught him completely off guard. All he could feel was an overwhelming satisfaction, and then his whole body seized up. Two Suna Gennin leapt out of the forest, setting their sights on the surprising scene in front of them. It was very rare indeed to see Gaara bested by anyone; even ANBU.
And yet he was quite clearly defeated, lying in the dirt, a short blonde pinning him there with his sword. The boy's look of indifference was disconcerting.
The blonde tilted his head at them, a vacuous and facsimile smile playing upon his lips.
He said nothing, however. He sheathed his sword in one fluid motion, pivoting away from them.
"Keep a better eye on your teammate, would you?" He called to them, bored. "I might not have the patience to spare him next time."
Temari gritted her teeth. "Why you…"
But her anger died a still death when the blonde studied her over his shoulder. The look of cold disregard seemed to right into her heart; catching each and every blood vessel in a seizing immobility. She shivered. It reminded her of… —her eyes drifted to her younger brother, who scrutinized the blonde with a complicated expression. It reminded her of Gaara. Of the darkness that gripped him so fiercely.
The two dropped into the defensive when another figure caught them by surprise, darting out of the foliage with a remarkable grace.
Temari scowled, moving to grab Gaara when she realized it was another Konoha ANBU. She couldn't imagine them getting out unscathed from a fight like this—especially not with Gaara so conclusively out of commission. He looked on the brink of exhaustion; that in and of itself was deeply disturbing. She had thought Gaara unbeatable. Her gaze turned towards the blonde again.
What was he?
"If you value your lives," the blonde called over his shoulder, off-hand. "I'd suggest a timely retreat."
She growled low at that, hating how patronizing his tone was, but incapable of doing anything about it. She wouldn't dare chance a fight with someone so formidable. The blond Gennin dragged Gaara farther away, sparing her other brother a dark look. "Let's get out of here," she whispered low, to Kankuro.
The puppet master nodded, not needing to be told twice.
"Is it wise to just let them go?" Yugao appraised at length, after they had disappeared back into the shadows of the forest. And then, tilting her head towards him, "…Kyuubi?"
"They may prove useful in the future," he murmured in response, tying his sword back onto his belt, looking for all intent purposes as if he had simply been going for a stroll through the forest.
Yugao normally would have had at least an incredulous look to give him, but as it was she felt hollow and cold, and incapable of feeling anything at all. More movement in the bushes, and then Sasuke was hurtling into the clearing, out of breath, looking wildly between the two of them.
Kyuubi ducked his head the other way, tying his mask to obscure his futures. His Sharingan had long since burned away, before it could draw undue attention. He was almost feeling… indulgent right now, as triumphant as he was. It seemed there was more to Naruto than he had first assumed; he'd actually managed to accurately assess the quickest way to unlock the Sharingan and then proceeded to execute. It was surprisingly… pragmatic of him. Kyuubi wondered absently if perhaps he was rubbing off on Naruto more than the boy knew.
The fox took a long breath, sniffing the air. The scent of a city drenched in blood drifted over him.
He opened his eyes. "Something's wrong," he observed, before turning to the amaranth-haired ninja. "He's dead, isn't he?"
Her shoulders stiffened. "Yes," she faltered slightly, before shaking her head. "H—Hokage-sama's been…." She trailed off. "The ANBU have all been summoned for a meeting immediately."
"Wait—what happened?" Sasuke jumped in, gazing between the two.
Yugao spared him a long glance. "You'll find out soon enough," she concluded after a long moment, as if debating whether she should tell him or not. "But for now, there are a lot of injured Gennin in this forest; as Chuunin, it's your duty to make sure they're alright."
An irritated, conflicted expression crossed his features, and for a moment it seemed as if he might fight her on it.
In the end, he simply took a breath, steely composure masking his anger. "Right, of course."
Kyuubi watched him leave with detached interest, before his attention returned to his teammate. "How many casualties?"
Yugao turned to the demon fox, appearing surprised that he'd even bothered to ask. "It's hard to say," she answered at length. "No one's had the time to do a full count yet. But it's sizeable."
The fox nodded absently. "Yamato?" He asked, surprising her further.
She blinked rapidly. "Probably taking someone's head off right now—he's in a rather foul mood."
The fox hummed. "Yes, I can imagine."
And with that, he dove into the sky, leaving Yugao floundering for a moment before she jumped after him. The two darted across the roofs as blurs of color, making full speed for the crowd of black-ops crowded onto a destroyed roof.
"Yugao, Naruto," Kakashi greeted, but even he was missing his usual cheer.
Yugao nodded once in greeting to her old captain, searching the somber crowd. "Kakashi-sempai. Have you seen Yamato-taichou?"
The silver-haired Jounin jerked his head to the side, where Yamato, true to form, was berating some poor rookie to the verge of tears. Foul mood indeed. Fortunately for the rookie, Yamato's rant died down when he saw his team approaching. He shoved the boy away, stating he'd have him suspended if he disobeyed orders again.
"Naruto," he ushered them over. "Do you have a report?"
"The Jinchuuriki is neutralized, if that's what you mean."
Yamato sighed. "Kyuubi," he amended, suffering. It appeared he was in no mood to entertain the fox's acerbic tongue.
But it also appeared the fox was in no mood to indulge in a bit of mean-spirited fun. "His siblings retreated with him," and then, to the unspoken question, "I let them go."
Yamato looked at him sharply. "I'm assuming you have a reason for that?" He hazarded after a moment.
"He will prove useful in the future," the fox appraised. "He seems to find a kindred spirit in Naruto—and considering that the Kazekage is dead… that might just prove to be a very beneficial connection."
"I see," Yamato said, woodenly.
The demon paused for a moment, his gaze turning to the upturned roof behind them. "How did he die?" He asked, quietly, and if Yugao didn't know better, she'd have thought there might have even been something like respect in his tone.
"Orochimaru." Yamato replied, anger seeping into his tone. "The bastard ran off after—but Sandaime-sama did manage to render his arms useless. He'll be defenseless."
"We'll find him." Yugao swore. "And get revenge."
.
.
.
.
The sky spat out torrents of rain, like glossy sheets which pelted the roof of Yugao's apartment wave after wave.
As he sat on her couch, waiting for her, he wondered for a few moments that; if he had been a Gennin still, would this be his first time wearing anything but orange? If Kyuubi hadn't burned all his jumpsuits, and had he never joined ANBU, there'd never be a reason for him to wear anything else. It was a warped thought in the back of his head, and one he'd rather not dwell on. There were many uncertain things in his life, and most of them he realized there was very little he could do about it.
But there was one thing he was certain of.
Yugao couldn't be left alone.
The Sandaime had been important to him—perhaps more so then he was to most people. He was almost like Naruto's grandfather, watching out for him without ever fully interfering. Naruto was aware that it was the Hokage who made his teammates keep a close eye on him, who had placed him on Yamato's—one of the most reputedly docile ANBU captains available—team.
And while there was something incredibly unnerving about his death, he knew that whatever he was going through Yugao must be having it almost a hundred times worse.
Naruto hadn't the chance to talk to Kyuubi directly, as for most of the day ending the Chuunin Exam fiasco he and the other ANBU struggled without their leader, relying on each other and other shinobi in the village to repair the damage. Naruto wasn't sure what the village would have done without strong leaders like Yamato and Kakashi-sensei stepping up to control the chaos.
For the most part his Gennin friends seemed lost and unsure of what to do, helping to repair some of the damage and doing what were normally considered D-rank missions for free.
This was part of the reason why he was where he was, waiting in Yugao's sitting room, watching her bedroom door anxiously for when she would come out.
All the pictures of Hayate remained glimmering in the dull foyer, as if losing their brilliant memory with the relentless tousle of clouds out in the sky. Naruto wondered what it felt like to lose someone so close to you, and thought of the separation of his teammates. Compared to this, it seemed to meager.
"Sorry about that," she closed the door, and Naruto had to almost lean to hear her soft voice. "I didn't think it would take this long."
Naruto had never seen her in anything other then Shinobi slacks and ninja attire, so the dress sort of threw him for a loop.
"Uh—its fine." He stammered, quickly getting up and walking with her to the door.
The two of them—actually, the whole village—looked unnaturally somber, dressed entirely in black. Figures made their way to the roof where the ceremony was going to be held, moving like black ghosts across the streets. Naruto wasn't sure where Yugao was going, but he followed her through the downpour nonetheless. In her hands were white flowers, looking fresh compared to the bleak world around them.
Eventually, they made their way to a familiar looking stone, cleared away from the trees. Naruto couldn't quite place when he'd been there before, until he saw a dulled figure, also in black, hovering before it.
"Kakashi-sensei…" He whispered into the rain, surprised.
His teacher had his hands in his pockets, poofy hair somehow tamed by the elements and almost looking droopy. Of course, he still had his mask on.
"Are those for Hayate?"
Naruto wasn't entirely surprised that Kakashi could hear them over the rain.
Yugao moved closer, laying her flowers onto the stone engraved with names. "The ceremony for the Sandaime is about to begin. If you don't…" Whatever she was about to say, she stopped with a side glance to Kakashi. Naruto could guess it had something to do with his notorious reputation for being an all around slacker.
"Kakashi-sempai," She started anew. "You're here for Obito-san, right? You're always late for examinations. Is it because of some special cause?"
Naruto had never heard of this before.
He had always just sort of assumed Kakashi was late because he was a lazy ass.
"I actually was always very early." The man looked down. "But I didn't know what to say when I got there. I used to be foolish, and did meaningless things all the time…"
He pushed his hands deeper into his pockets, suddenly reverting back to his usual slouched posture. "Maa, and how are you, Naruto-kun?"
The blonde started. "Uh—good, I guess."
Kakashi's expression when he turned around looked no different then it had ever been, but Naruto wondered if it had changed before, when he had been speaking.
"You seem to be healing fast." He remarked, taking a look at all the bandages over Naruto's face.
"You didn't see me before." Said the blonde flatly. A day ago he clearly looked like he'd been mauled by a couple attack dogs and tomahawked in the back. He didn't look very different today, either.
The three made their way to the Sandaime's funeral, which was a solemn affair, quiet aside from the pelting rain which scoured the vigilant watchers. The Sandaime's coffin was open, drenched, and empty, aside from a picture of his smiling face. Even the many bouquets of flowers, looked like dulled blotches of color.
Naruto had a certain understanding of death—vaguely, in the back of his head. Killing people was one thing, a normal thing, as the job description of shinobi comes and goes. The death of a loved one, of someone close, was something that shook Naruto more then he liked. Many people died in the invasion—Hayate, Yugao's boyfriend, dozens of ANBU, of Chuunin and even civilians—including the beloved leader of the leaf.
Naruto wasn't sure what to feel.
Yugao was a still presence beside him, her eyes sightlessly watching the misty rain in front of them crawl wraith-like through the crowd.
The Sandaime had given up his life to save Konoha—to stop Orochimaru, to save his village, his people, and his friends.
Naruto vowed to do the same.
.
.
.
It didn't matter how much he grew or how far life took him, Naruto would always be at Ichiraku Ramen.
This fact was what essentially made him so easy to find for Jiraiya.
"I heard this is where you go all the time." The Sannin smirked. "Huh, and to think that they were right…"
Naruto paled considerably, and cringed.
"Oh—no…" He spat out his ramen. "It's you!"
A pause, and then,
"The Perverted Sennin!"
"I don't appreciate that…" The Sannin sighed.
Naruto watched him apprehensively, slurping his noodles. "Is there a reason that you're here?"
"Yeah," he jerked an imposing thumb towards himself. "I'm here to take you on a training mission!"
Naruto blinked, and then frowned, placing his bowl down. "A training mission?" That sounded a little complicated. "But what is my ANBU team gonna say to that? I can't just up a leave them. And I don't want to go on a training mission with you anyway! The last time you promised to show me something cool, you taught me how to summon a frog."
"Toad." Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "And yes, that's true. But this time, I swear I'll teach you a cool technique."
Naruto chewed thoughtfully. "I wouldn't mind learning something like the Chidori…"
"I'll teach you something better!" Jiraiya promised.
Naruto watched him skeptically, as Jiraiya mentally pleaded for the boy to lose a little common sense and just come with him. The last thing he needed was for Naruto to start throwing a loud fit where the Akatsuki could hear him.
The blonde seemed to think about it, before agreeing. "Okay, let's go."
Jiraiya mentally cheered.
"Ah—hold on," For a moment, the blonde seemed to be in a completely different world, before hesitantly returning to his home planet. "Actually, could you give me an hour or two to get ready? It won't take long?"
"An hour?" Jiraiya grumbled under his breath, rubbing the back of his head. Jeez…what kind of ninja took that long to pack? "Sure, I guess…"
"Okay!" Naruto leapt up. "I'll meet you at the Northern gates in an hour!"
"Meet you there." Jiraiya nodded.
After the Toad Sannin had left, Naruto whirled on Kyuubi.
"So what's the big issue?" He asked the fox, who had been restless in the back of his mind since Jiraiya had announced the training trip.
"Someone's here, Naruto." The urgency to the fox's usual laconic, goading tones made anxiety coil in Narutos gut.
Naruto gulped, hurrying along faster. "What do you mean, someone? And why do you sound so freaked out?"
"No one good." Replied Kyuubi. "Hurry, and do as the moronic human tells you."
"You want me to go on that training trip?" Naruto echoed incredulously. "You're kidding. Why?" And then, darkly. "What are your motive?"
"Believe me when I say I have our best interests at heart." Kyuubi scoffed. "The question of whether you are strong enough to face these adversaries or not isn't an issue at present—you're not. I may have been attempting to train your weak human body—
"Hey!"
"—as diligently as possible, but it would only be detrimental for our general well being for these intruders to be aware of our…. Connection."
"So …stop talking to you?"
"Stop allowing me to use your body." Corrected Kyuubi. "For now, at any rate. Speak of our connection to no one; especially those who don't already know. Leave quickly and keep your guard up…"
The demon trailed off.
"They have come for you."
And Naruto sure didn't like the sound of that.