Disclaimer: The usual things. Naruto ain't mine. Drats.
ナルト
The crickets started to chirp as the middle of the night started to settle in. Naruto was seated on top of the face of his father's face looking pensive as he stared at the blackened sky – a position he was in for hours now ever since dropping off Hinata at the Hyuuga compound.
There was a sound of wind rushing from behind and he instinctively turned to look who it was. At first, he couldn't make out the face, but as the figure got closer, it was revealed to be his academy sensei, Iruka, looking at him with a somewhat concerned smile.
"Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, genuinely surprised. "I thought you had to grade some papers?"
Iruka didn't answer as he made his way over to Naruto's side and sat down. "Well, when I arrived home, I found all the papers miraculously graded." The scarred man smiled conspiratorially as if knowing a secret that Naruto didn't. "Besides, I noticed earlier at Ichiraku's that you weren't as… exuberant as you usually are, so I guessed that you would probably find your way up here."
Naruto grinned gratefully at Iruka, feeling thankful for the man's care and thoughtfulness.
"So, what's on your mind Naruto?"
At that, Naruto sobered. His earlier thoughts went back to plague him once more. He turned his gaze to the ground in contemplation, trying to think of how to explain what he had done. Heck, even he didn't completely know what happened.
"Sensei, you remember the jutsu# 2 I told you about earlier?" Naruto looked up and stared at the distance.
"Yeah, it was the one you used to distract, I think it was."
Naruto nodded and went silent for a while in contemplation. "And you remember the Kage Bunshin?"
"Yeah?"
He started trembling uncontrollably. He tried to stiffen his muscles, but it only ended up making him more agitated. "A-apparently, I can r-remember stuff from them…"
He found about that tidbit the hard way. While they were still en route back to Konoha, memories of the fighting inside the base were still fresh in his mind. Unfortunately, memories that didn't technically belong to him would surface occasionally. He found it odd since it felt like it was his, but at the same time it wasn't. His surreal feelings, however, gave way to nausea as a new batch of memories appeared.
He could feel Iruka's worried gaze upon him as the academy sensei said, "Naruto, where are you going with this."
"The jutsu# 2 that I was talking about? It made the clones explode." Naruto couldn't control his mouth as his thoughts kept spilling out. "And then-"
"So you remember blowing up!" Iruka interrupted with concern evident in the tone.
Naruto shook his head rapidly and continued what he was about to say earlier. "No, they don't return the explosions but…" He could barely feel a tear slide down from his eyes as memories of… Oh God those eyes… "They died sensei."
"…who?" Iruka sounded hesitant.
"I could see them." – Naruto continued, seemingly didn't hear what Iruka had asked – "Just before my clone exploded, they would have this look of surprise then… their eyes would have this look of terror, as if realizing what was about to happen.
"I know that it's either them or me, I know! But… but… what if they had a family?" Naruto bit his lower lip to try and hold back the angry tears. "What if they had kids? Did I make another me?" That was the thought that haunted him the most.
He knew that if he hadn't done anything he'd done then he'd probably die instead but… he also knew how utterly horrible being alone is, and knowing that he had possibly made a person out there somewhere experience such torture sickened him. That's not to say that killing didn't make him feel bad. It did, but not as bad.
There was a long pause, with the only sounds permeating the night being the chirps of crickets. The silence was broken when a deep sigh came from Iruka.
"I can't think of any way to make it sound… easier, but yes Naruto, there's a possibility that you may have orphaned somebody." Iruka said sympathetically. Naruto clenched his fists and felt anguished. "And you're right. It was either them or you." Iruka put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "But for your part, you did what you had to."
"So because I had to do it, I'm automatically in the right?" Naruto's stomach churned at the idea, his very being protesting at the idea.
"No, Naruto, that's not what I meant. Yes, you did something horrible, but it's in the job description. What you're feeling right now, actually, is good."
Naruto looked at Iruka like he was crazy. At his face, Iruka chuckled despite the situation.
"No no no, I didn't mean what you're feeling is good, but the reason why you're feeling that, is good." Iruka sighed once more and looked straight ahead. "Naruto, this world of ours is unforgiving and cruel, make no mistake, and there are a lot of people that give in and go along with the ways of the world.
"Kami knows I've had my fair share of friends like that." There was a reminiscent look that appeared in Iruka's face, and somehow, Naruto knew that the man was talking about Mizuki. "My point is Naruto, that along the line, you are going to be forced to do things that would make you feel sick to your stomach, but as long as you never stop feeling that way, there's still some hope.
"Loss of life should never be celebrated, no matter how detestable a person is. It may be that some people deserve to die, yes, but only do the deed if you know that you do it because you have to, not because you want to. Because once you start thinking otherwise, then you'll become no better than them."
When Iruka ended, there was another long pause between the two of them, but it didn't feel as heavy as it was earlier. This time, the silence was broken by Naruto who clicked his tongue in mock-irritation.
"Iruka-sensei, I'm not in the academy anymore, I don't need any more lectures!" Naruto jokingly complained as he turned to Iruka with a half-assed scowl. In contrast, Iruka had a fond smile and chuckled.
"As long as the fact that I was your academy sensei still exists, then I'm always going to be your sensei, and as long as I'm a sensei, then you can bet your ass that I'll be lecturing 'til all my saliva's wasted." Iruka jokingly chided before it suddenly turned serious. "Speaking of lectures, I also wanted to know by what you meant by CurtainandDrapes."
Naruto cringed at that.
I should have kept my mouth shut.
ナルト
Hiruzen was sitting at his chair in his office, his hands covering his tired expression. The things he had learned from Tayuya was… troubling to say the least. Thankfully, she was really cooperative; so that will give her a bit of leeway considering her circumstances.
"Hokage-sama, your orders?" Kakashi's voice came from in front of him.
Hiruzen removed his hands from his face and regarded the two jounins in front of him.
"Kakashi, I want you to call every jounin and tokubetsu jounin in the village. If they're asleep, wake them. This is a matter of extreme importance." Hiruzen ordered, his face, a stern visage. Kakashi nodded stiffly before disappearing in a gust of wind. He then turned to Yuugao and gave her a nod before she too disappeared.
There were a lot of things that he had to do in such little time that was given to him and he would not waste a second. But the next thing on his mind really made him wish that he could delay a bit. With a sigh he waved a hand. An ANBU appeared in front of him.
"Bring Naruto Uzumaki to me. Let him know that it's of the utmost priority." He didn't need to say anything more as the ANBU immediately disappeared after he finished his sentence. He clasped his hands together in front of him as he started thinking of ways to circumvent the upcoming disaster, because he was damn sure that there would be no preventing it.
And as a throbbing sensation passed through his head, he thought, and not for the first time:
I really am getting too old for this shit.
ナルト
Thankfully, Iruka's lecture wasn't as lengthy as Yuugao's but it was still pretty lengthy. But where Iruka lacked with length he made up for with volume. The big head jutsu really made Naruto think that Iruka was part of the Akimichi clan or at least had an ancestor from them.
Just as Iruka finished his lecture in decency, an ANBU appeared before the two of them and informed him that the Hokage was calling for him. Not wasting any time – since the old man never really had the ANBU collect him unless it was serious – he bid his sensei a good night and rushed to the Hokage tower.
When he arrived outside the Hokage's office, he greeted the secretary, Hanayuri, as per his usual. But unlike previous times, the secretary's smile appeared more grim than exuberant and it made him worry.
"Just go in Naruto, he wouldn't mind." The way she urged him was rather urgent as well. Nodding hesitantly, he pushed the doors open and saw the man he looked up to as a grandfather look older than he usually appeared.
"...hey Jiji, the ANBU said you wanted me here?" Naruto entered the room, closed the door, and made his way to the front of the Hokage's desk.
The Hokage just stared at him for a while, as if observing him, before letting out a resigned sigh.
"Naruto, I have a big favor to ask of you." – Naruto opened his mouth to immediately agree, but Hiruzen cut him off as he was about to do so – "While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I would like you to listen to what I have to ask of you and then think of whether you are fine with accepting it or not."
Naruto, a bit startled with his grandfather figure's face devoid of any emotion other than seriousness, nodded hesitantly.
"War is brewing Naruto."
Naruto stiffened and his brain shut down immediately.
His mind was racing in nervousness.
"N-no you're joking right Jiji?" As soon as those words came out of his lips, he immediately disregarded the thought. While it could be just a joke as a payback for all the times that he did pranks that caused the old man to get more paperwork, he didn't believe that the wizened village leader would be petty nor would he joke about something of this gravity.
The Hokage released a tired sigh and fixed his eyes above as if looking help from heaven.
"I wish it was. How I wish it was." There was a wistful tone in how he said that, his countenance suggesting that the Hokage was reminiscing. He then regained the hardened look he had earlier and looked back at Naruto. "Two villages are conspiring together to catch us by surprise during an upcoming major event in this village."
The Hokage stood up, went to the nearest window and looked outside at the village. "While I am sure that one of those villages wouldn't give up their plans and will definitely attack us, there's a chance for the other village to back down without needing it to be violent. But if worse comes to worst…" The Hokage trailed off.
Naruto perked up a bit at that. "So I'm going to be your bodyguard!?" He asked exuberantly, but when he saw the sad smile that was on the Hokage's face, his joy was numbed a bit.
"In a way…" The Hokage turned his whole body towards Naruto and gave him a leveled stare. "From what I know, the village that we're trying to dissuade has their own jinchuuriki."
Naruto stilled, his mind slowly catching up to what his surrogate grandfather was insinuating.
"There's a chance that they will use their jinchuuriki to threaten us…" Hiruzen trailed off, what was after the sentence was already a foregone conclusion: he was to be used as a political pawn, so to speak.
Naruto had mixed feelings about what was told to him. While he did want to minimalize the casualties, the fact that something unpleasant would be done to him because of the creature that was sealed into his gut.
"You would not be going alone should you encounter their jinchuuriki. Hinata and Satsuki would be going with you as insurance. With Hinata's Byakugan and Juuken, she could potentially cut off their jinchuuriki's chakra points, preventing the usage of the Bijuu's chakra. And I have also come across the information that Satsuki has acquired the Sharingan." – a cold look passed through the old man's eyes along with a reminiscent one – "There's a slight chance that she could bring the beast under her control."
"…but why couldn't you just bring Kakashi-sensei instead of Satsuki and a more experienced person with the Byakugan in place of Hinata?"
"It would certainly be more prudent, but it would also make me appear more threatening than I would like and I am doing my best not to aggravate the opposite party further considering our already… rocky relationship. Besides, if everything will occur without any turbulence, then no one would even need to know of your makeshift team's appearance there."
"…" There was a long pause after the Hokage's lengthy explanation before the Hokage let out another tired sigh.
"I understand that I am putting a lot of responsibility on you right now Naruto, for that, I am sorry, but this is a grave matter, and if I could help it then I wouldn't even consider it." At that, Hiruzen broke into a grandfatherly smile. "Just know that regardless of what you pick, I'd always be proud of you."
The tenseness on Naruto's body disappeared and he just stared at the ground in contemplation. He was rather upset about the position that was offered to him, considering who it involved. Out of all the things that he hated, he hated being used the most. It left an awful taste in his mouth. He did appreciate that he was told of the situation and was given a way out.
Putting his emotions aside, he knew that doing the mission would be mostly good. If the negotiations succeed then there would be no loss on both sides, but if it doesn't and the old man needed to resort to threats, then the other side would at least think twice before attacking. On the other hand, if their jinchuuriki happened to be more experienced than him and the need to engage arises, then it wouldn't be farfetched to say that they'd die.
No, if someone on his side needs to die, then he'll make sure that only he will go down, and if he could bring the enemy down with him, then all the better.
"I'll do it." While agreeing to be seen as a weapon did leave him feeling somewhat bitter, he couldn't deny that the overwhelmingly proud face on the old man's face alleviated the bitterness and replaced it with bashfulness.
"Thank you Naruto. You don't know how much this means to me." Hiruzen smiled gratefully as he made his way back to his chair. "You and your temporary team will be leaving for Suna in five days so that we can prepare a mission that can let you go in Suna and allow you to stay there until we finish negotiations.
"And seeing as Sakura is out of commission for now and Hinata's other two teammates followed a tip that forced them to recuperate," – there was a knowing smirk that appeared on the older shinobi's face as he regarded Naruto – "No one would question the sudden collaboration of your two teams. The jounin sensei that will accompany you will be Kurenai.
"Kakashi will be accompanying me along with Hiashi disguised as my ANBU guards. While I don't think that the Kazekage will try anything foolish, it's best to stay on the safe side."
Naruto started fidgeting from where he stood as the Hokage laid out his plans. "Umm, that's nice and all, but why tell me?"
There was a fond smile on the Hokage's face before he replied, "You've done me a great favor Naruto. It's only fair that I tell you what part you play." – there was a slight grimace that replaced the Hokage's fond smile. "Just… please don't give me too much paperwork."
At that, Naruto felt indignant. He wasn't that bad!
Yeah, he might have defaced the Hokage monument every now and then, and yes, he would sometimes coincidentally accidentally spray people he disliked with pheromones – sex pheromones, apparently, he honestly hadn't known – on certain days when the Inuzuka's would walk their dogs. And he maybe would sometimes forget that he left itching powder near the main water supply. How it got near there or in there he would never admi- know.
"Jiji, trust me, you won't hear my name." because they won't find any evidence that it was me. For what it was worth, he wasn't lying.
The Hokage let out an exasperated sigh. "I guess that's the best I'll get from you. Once again, I'm really grateful for what you've decided."
"it's no problem Jiji, if I'm going to be Hokage, then I'll need to make sure that I'll be a Hokage of something right?" Naruto laughed weakly as a thought came up. "Hey umm, Jiji." He started to say in an unusually serious tone.
Naruto saw the Hokage visibly stiffen. "Naruto, before you continue with that, please don't tell me you found out about another secret." Naruto flushed in embarrassment as he understood what the old man was implying. It wasn't his fault that he was nosy. He swore it was a character flaw. Now that he thought about it though, he rarely used a serious tone, and whenever he did, people just seem to get antsy.
"Naw, nothing… yet." Naruto gave a teasing grin. "I just wanted to ask about… I mean if it's alright with you and all… considering that well…"
"It's ok Naruto, just say what is on your mind. It is what you are good at."
Choosing to ignore the jab to his person, Naruto followed the old mans' suggestions. "Is it ok if you tell me where Tayuya-chan is right now and where she'll be kept?"
There was a look of realization that passed through the Hokage's face. "…I see, so that's what you were worrying about." He gave an apologetic look shortly after as he said, "I really am sorry Naruto, but considering that she's a prisoner, protocol dictates that she is isolated from outside contacts as much as possible." Naruto deflated at that, but immediately perked up at the sly smile on the old man's face.
"But should you ever come across the information, I wouldn't know how you would find out about holding cell 4 in the tower basement since to my knowledge, no one ever told you. And if by some chance, you find out that afterwards she'll be living in confinement in 504 Takase Street, the house with a red roof across the Ichiraku's house, then I'd have to be a bit concerned about who would be divulging this information to you. How you'd ever know, I would never admi- know." Sarutobi finished his rather believable spiel with a conspiratorial wink.
Naruto grinned widely and bowed gratefully before dashing outside the room. Before he was out of earshot, he heard the old man laughing boisterously, a far cry from his earlier countenance.
ナルト
With all things considered, Tayuya thought that she had gotten a good deal. So far, nothing unpleasant had happened to her, contrary to her expectations. While her lodgings for the night certainly could use some improvement – and definitely some more blankets – she was informed that she would be housed after finishing all the paperwork, which would take about a week.
She also found that despite being a prisoner, she was treated way kindlier than any of her previous "homes" – her mother and father excluded of course. It was a very surreal, a feeling that seems like it's going to be a recurring thing ever since meeting with the blonde haired idiot.
Another one of the surreal moments she's had with the blonde was on the night they were camping outside on the way to Konoha. Despite what everyone thought, she wasn't asleep and she certainly heard what the idiot said out of concern. Outside her family, she had never met anyone who had shown that level of concern, and hearing it from someone who, for all intents and purposes, is a complete stranger, made her feel warm, happy, and extremely uncomfortable.
And even on the way back, the idiot tried his best to talk to her, despite her seldom replies. However, her lack of replies weren't because she didn't want to converse with the boy, it's more like she couldn't, not without it sounding awkward. She had grown up kept away from society, and there was no one she could talk with amiably even if she had wanted to. Thus, her conversing skills were, to put it mildly, lackluster.
She felt bad about that honestly. While she hated being in debt to someone – past experiences made sure of that – her morals, or what's left of it anyway, wouldn't let her disregard her gratitude towards another person.
If she ever does meet him again, she'll try her best to make it up to him. But she wouldn't count on it. He probably was put out by her earlier attitude towards him earlier. She wouldn't be surprised if she never saw him again.
"Hey Tayuya-chan."
The sudden voice from appearing behind her made her jump out of her skin. As she was about to shriek in surprise, however, a hand came from behind her and covered her mouth.
"Shhh!"
Tayuya stilled and just let the hand turn her around to face the new arrival. When she fully turned around, she came face to face with the blonde idiot that was on her mind earlier. This was… unexpected.
"I'm gonna remove my hand, but promise you won't raise your voice. No one knows that I'm here!" Naruto whispered. She nodded hesitantly. Looking satisfied, the blonde slowly took off his hand from her mouth then flashed her his trademark grin. There was silence for a while.
SLAP
The sound of a smack resounded through the halls and both the occupants stilled as if in anticipation. When after a few moments no one came, they both looked at each other hostilely.
"Why the hell did you slap me!?" Naruto whispered loudly as he rubbed his reddened cheeks.
Tayuya raised an eyebrow before responding in hushed tones, "Me?! You're the idiot jumping behind people and scaring the living shit out of them, dumbass! Why are you even here!?"
"I came to visit you, you crazy bitch!"
"What for?!"
"Gee, I dunno, 'cause I was concerned!" At that, Tayuya stilled in surprise.
"Yeah, well…" – she trailed off, not knowing what to say before lowering her head, embarrassed – "Thanks."
"Uh… No sweat?" Naruto returned awkwardly.
Then what she feared earlier happened. An uncomfortable silence settled between them, their eyes darting everywhere except for the person in front of them.
"Sooo… Have you been ok?" The blonde decided to break the silence, and before she could stop herself, Tayuya already opened her mouth.
"What do you think dipshit? I'm in a cold-ass cell with thin blankets, do you think I'm ok?" She finished with a smirk before she winced at her volatility and sarcasm. It was like kneejerk reaction; she just couldn't help it.
Despite that however, the blonde just grinned in response. "Well considering that you're talking like yourself again, I'd say you're ok now."
While knowing that it was true, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance at the not-so-subtle jab at her characteristics. "What's 'talking like myself' supposed to mean?"
"I dunno, lively?" She raised an eyebrow at that. So he could give out normal compliments. "Foul-mouthed, you know, all that stuff." Never mind.
"Well excuuuuuuuse me for being too vulgar for your virgin ears."
"What!? My ears aren't virgins!" At Naruto's immediate response, Tayuya cracked a grin.
"But you definitely are."
At her burn, Naruto's mouth was left agape. Tayuya took a moment to revel and take in the novelty of leaving the talkative blonde speechless. It was rather satisfying in a way.
"…as if you aren't! With that kind of mouth, you probably made everyone run away even if you are beautiful!" Naruto bit back with a proud smile on his face.
At that, Tayuya had a weird combination of a blush and a scowl on her face as she started to bite back once more, never once remembering her earlier insecurities about the blonde nor did she once wonder how or when she felt so comfortable bantering with said blonde.
And as two ANBU guards finally heard their commotion half an hour later then forcefully took a thrashing Naruto away, a fond smile appeared on her face unconsciously as the day's activities finally caught up with her, making her eyes droop slowly until finally she slept.
ナルト
The moon shone brightly above the village of Sunagakure, offering a pale light upon those who bathed under its shine. Often, there were none who would even consider leaving their shelter on those cold desert nights, but there was one who would venture out to roofs every night without fail and just gaze upwards for the whole duration of the moon's stay.
Aside from the sounds of the howling winds of the desert, a lone shuffling of footsteps could be heard as they found its way to their usual place of rest in evenings such as the one they were experiencing. A lone figure sat on top of the highest point of the village, darkness hiding the figure's countenance.
"Mother… why have you been silent?" A soft questioning mutter was heard, but there was no answer except for the whistling of the winds.
The voice inside the figure had been silent for a while ever since they had felt that… unusually familiar chakra coming from miles away. It was comforting them in a rather familiar way and it just sort of left the both of them speechless and out of sorts; the aforementioned "mother" more so than the figure.
The voice had been quiet ever since, and it made the figure more uneasy than in the past… when it was still easy to care. And as memories left forgotten began to surface, the figure winced and shook away the memories and just stared back at the moon. Despite the anxiousness, there was also this indescribable calmness that settled, one that the said person had never felt before.
And as sand began to envelop the shrouded silhouette, bright turquoise eyes were seen glowing before they too were covered by sand. Then the figure was gone.
ナルト
Wheeeew, that was a bit of a doozy to get out. Sorry for the delay you guys, there just some personal problems that I had to deal with. I'm nearing the end of that ordeal so I can probably focus more on to this.
Also kicked university finals ass, probably the only time I'll ever do so. Oh, I was also distracted because a friend of mine introduced me to the world of Call of Duty. Black Ops 3 took my soul for a good while. My goodness, I was soo horrible when I started. (0 Kills, 13 Deaths, shameful man) Now I raised my KD ratio from .53 to .90. I'm proud of that, ain't no one gonna rain on my parade!
And as always, I'm thankful for the people who took the time to review this lowly story of mine .
monkiepawn – I'm thinking that the reason why people don't know much of the Uzumaki clan was because they were killed off a relatively long time ago. The only people who would still remember them would probably the older generations and even then I would think that they wouldn't try to involve themselves with Uzu considering that Nami is a commercial village and Uzu is a military village plus with the war that was going on during the time of Uzu.
As for Danzo, let's just say that there's a reason I mentioned him, but rest assured, I stay away from tragedy as much as I can.
Ilireanwri – Don't worry, like I said, I don't like dark stuff that much. But there might be a momentary parts of gloominess. Just momentary.
Anonymous guest – Hahaha, don't worry the reasoning has been on my mind for a while and it's been giving me a headache, but I had an epiphany in concern to that. I won't say as per your request but, I just hope that I'll manage to give it justice.
Mexcore – sorry buddy, I didn't really beta it so I didn't really notice it, but when I read it again you were right; it was confusing. I'll get around to it once I have the time, but thanks for pointing out.
Reasonable man – I will do my best to provide an explanation as to why they will settle for polygamy and I do my best to keep it as realistic as I can. I hope that people can keep pointing out the things that might not seem realistic. (I might be digging a hole for myself but it isn't four people… but nine. God I know that is stupid, I keep beating myself up for that, but I won't change it hahaha)
Ito Uchiha – I'm really sorry, but I'm not planning to put any crossovers in this fic, no matter how minute it may be. I also have the harem members planned out so I'm not planning to add or remove people from here on out.
So like always, please leave constructive criticisms, point out any realism/grammar/spelling/punctuation/expression/plot mistakes if you see any, and if you'd like to suggest better wording/expressions, please do.
xxxYin-Yangxxx, out.
