Weight of the World
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Chapter 10
The Decisive Decision
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We slipped quietly back into Konoha, through a route only known to a handful of ANBU, according to Jiraiya. Of course, now that there was a new Hokage, all the old routes would be changed, twisted up and made differently. Protocol dictated that such a thing had to happen apparently, so who were we to say otherwise?
Huddling into the soft cushions of one of the plush sofas that were sat in Tsunade's office, I allowed Sasuke to remained half pressed against my side, instead of insisting that he shuffle over a bit so that I wasn't squashed by Jiraiya's large bulk as he too took a seat.
Now primly positioned behind the Hokage's desk, Senju Tsunade stared back at the three of us, Shizune stood faithfully by her side and holding the pearl wearing pig.
The image of the Third sat behind that very same desk overlapped for a few seconds. Had I been standing, it would have been a perfect mirror of when I'd received my first B-rank mission, a man with light hair and a Uchiha by my side. My heart throbbed painfully at the thought, the time that had passed by and left me for daydreams and whimsies.
Then I was looking back into the sharp honey brown of Tsunade's eyes once again, watching her lips lift upwards in a small smirk as she picked up the Hokage's hat and proceeded to place it atop her head, until only the curve of her lips was visible.
"How do I look?"
Beside me, Jiraiya gave a thumbs up at the same time a low key wolf whistle passed from my lips.
At that, Tsunade scowled, throwing one of the desk's paperweights at Jiraiya.
"You've ruined her already."
I didn't smirk, because that was be juvenile, but the twitching corners of my mouth probably gave away my amusement.
"Give me some time with the Uchiha and I promise to return him in a more fun state too."
Scowling, my fellow blonde proceeded to rub wearily at her temples, signing herself in on the paperwork as the new Hokage, officially accepting the title, job and all that came with it.
Drumming my fingers against my thigh, I looked over at Sasuke, who had one hand held out before him, medical green chakra flickering into existence every second or so before it disappeared. Tsunade had shown him the correct way to heal a broken bone, something that Sasuke had memorized with his Sharingan. Now it was just a case of him working for the right amount of control. He'd never be a medic nin -mostly because he didn't want to be- but he'd most certainly be able to patch up his broken limbs while out in the field. You know, after a bit of practice that was.
With the green glow twinkling in and out of existence, his skin seemed even more pale, long thin fingers curling through the seals needed for beginners.
"Alright brats, show me to your sensei. I'll worry about dealing with the council afterwards."
Shooting up to my feet, I pulled Sasuke along as I went, the dark haired teen stumbling slightly before he righted himself. "Come on, the sooner Kakashi-sensei's in working order again, the sooner we can get back to team training." Sasuke snorted under his breath, but nevertheless took the lead, even going so far as to snatch up my arm and sharply drag me along after him in a mood that could almost be called, well, playful. Fighting down the warmth that was flooding my insides, I sped up after him, grinning the whole way.
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I suppose we were an odd group walking into the hospital reception, two Genin, two Sannin, and an assistant with a pig. The nurses seemed to think so, because every single one that caught sight of our group stopped what they were doing to stare for a few moments, even those that walked with the grace of a highly trained ninja. Then again, the return of legendary medic Tsunade was sure to gander some attention I guess.
Shuffling closer to Sasuke's side until our upper arms were pressed together, we moved as one, trailing after Tsunade's purposeful strides towards the front desk, Shizune fluttering around her like a particularly stressed butterfly. Jiraiya, no surprises here, was busy chatting up a nurse.
"How long until you master healing broken bones then?" I asked, nudging Sasuke in the ribs and watching the boy scowl, dark eyes rolling in their sockets. I'd asked him this question every day so far, and everyday he'd given me the same answer.
"I'll master it when I master it." And then, so quiet I could barely hear it, "maybe when I start breaking your bones to practice on."
Grimacing, I retrieved my limb from where it was in arms length of Sasuke, puckering my eyebrows. Broken bones were not cool, and I wouldn't put it past Sasuke for an 'accidental' break to occur. Ha, no thank you.
Rubbing wearily at my forearm, I took off after our little group, Tsunade having gotten the directions to Kakashi-sensei's room and leaving the receptionist looking especially haggard, a glint to her eyes that seemed to give the impression of a woman who'd just been dragged through hell and wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve such a thing.
"How long did you say you've been apprenticed under Hatake brat?"
Instinctively knowing that Tsunade was addressing me, I jogged forwards and away from my violent teammate, forced to power walk in order to keep up with the impressive woman.
"Since I graduated, just before I turned seven."
"Nearly six years then."
Chewing my lower lip, I gave a shallow nod. It would be the sixth year anniversary in a few weeks, that was very true.
Warmth bubble in my stomach, Kakashi-sensei had put up with me for six years, had dragged me back from the borders of antisocialism, forced me to interact with another human being. He was my most beloved person in this village, though Sasuke, Kiba and Shisui were now successfully nipping at his heels. Hell, Neji, Jiraiya and Tsunade were up there too. Even some of the rookie nine, along with Team Gai. My circle of friends was growing ever more, Haku and Gaara in that number for certain. I should really write to the two at some point in the future, that much was clear.
"So you're close then."
"Yes." I put as much feeling as I could into the word, unable to truly express how much the silver haired menace meant to me. Kakashi was perpetually late, was almost always reading a dirty book and had no regards for social cues. But he was my sensei, he'd taught me almost everything I knew, taken me under his wing and nurtured me, even if my face was constant salt in the wound that was the loss of Namikaze Minato. He still looked after me.
And it was time I started repaying the favour.
"I'm glad."
Tsunade's response puzzled me for a second, but I nevertheless trotted after her, entering the small private room after the busty blonde, the rest of our group tailing behind me.
Kakashi-sensei looked, tired. Laid out in the bed like he was. His mask was off, but some thoughtful person had been kind enough to pull the sheets up to cover the lower half of his face, leaving only his scarred eye visible where usually it would be hidden. What was surprising though, was the visitor.
Haruno Sakura stared back at the lot of us, having clearly just finished placing a new batch of flowers in the vase upon the bedside table.
Blinking slowly, I offered up one hand in a hesitant wave, watching the brilliant green eyes dart to look over at Sasuke for a second, but then return to me.
"Ah, hello Uzumaki-san."
Mind whirling -because why was Sakura here? Kakashi wasn't her sensei, so why would she show up with flowers for him?- I offered a polite nod of my head.
"I think you can address me as Naruto now, Haruno-chan. Not to sound rude, but why are you visiting Kakashi-sensei?"
The pink haired girl blushed, looking nervously away, though her eyes did dart to Sasuke for a second once again.
"Kakashi-sensei saved me from a Sound nin during the invasion, and with the two of you out of town, I wanted to make sure he was okay. God knows that Kiba wouldn't be thoughtful enough to bring flowers, even if he has been visiting."
I snorted. It was true, Kiba wouldn't think to bring flowers, even when he was stopping by. To know someone was looking after Kakashi while I wasn't in the village though- I gave Sakura my best bow, formal and very thankful.
"You have my thanks Haruno-chan. Kakashi-sensei means a lot to me."
A fist came down on my head in a gentle reprimand, Sasuke standing beside me and retracting his arm.
"He means a lot to us, you mean." It wasn't really a question, but I nodded along anyway, smiling in a pleased fashion. Sasuke had admitting to caring about someone, if that wasn't a step in the right direction, I don't know what was.
"I was glad I could help Sasuke-kun… Naruto-san."
Smiling, I edged around Sakura, stopping by Kakashi's bedside. He looked smaller, so very much unlike his aloft, usual self.
My heart clenched painfully in my chest at the image before me, even as Tsunade's glowing green hands came down on the sides of Kakashi's temples, the low thrum of healing chakra echoing through the room. Kakashi's eyes opened slowly, one charcoal black and the other ruby red, before they slid shut again and a low sigh passed from between his lips.
No longer able to contain myself, I crawled up onto the bed beside him, curling into Kakashi's side even as he reached to pull at the fabric of his mask, dragging it up to cover his face beneath the covers. As soon as that was done, his good eye, his none Sharingan eye, flickered open to look at me as I placed my head hesitantly on his shoulder, clutching at his arm as I did so.
"Kaichō-chan."
"Kakashi-nii." My voice didn't wobble, my cheeks weren't wet. I would never admit to it as I pressed my face into Kakashi's collarbone, feeling his hesitant arms come up to wrap around me. I doubted the man would ever be fully comfortable with physical contact, as much as I'd like him to be anyway. But for now it'd do.
There was a dip in the mattress and to my eternal surprise, Sasuke's dark head of hair nestled into the free space between Kakashi's arms, inviting himself into our hug.
I knew why he was doing it. Had he just left it as me and Kakashi, it'd have been obvious that there was something more to us than sensei and student, that it was a very clear sibling bond. With how Kakashi had been pretty much adopted by the Fourth, it wouldn't have taken too long for everyone to put the pieces together.
By squirming in as he had, Sasuke had made this a team hug, only missing Kiba. He was protecting me. I squeezed him extra hard in hopes of showing my gratitude. I would do the same thing if I could, I would protect Sasuke's family bonds with Shisui.
And if I got lucky and things worked out well, I'd be able to repair his bond with the somewhat innocent Itachi. I would help Sasuke as he helped me.
"Maa, and where have my cute little genin been?" Kakashi's voice was somewhat hoarse from disuse, but neither of us mentioned it, Sasuke instead worming his way free of the hug. I remained pressed up against Kakashi's side, even if his arms were no longer wrapped around me. To have seen him in such a vulnerable state, even if it was only for a moment..
I didn't like it. Not one bit.
"We went to find Tsunade, she's going to be the Fifth Hokage now. Jiraiya-sensei's been teaching us some stuff too." Kakashi hummed low in the back of his throat, a signal I knew to mean he was tired.
"Okay brats, I want to see you in the Hokage tower after I've asked your sensei a few questions."
Nodding, I gave Kakashi's hand one last squeeze before slipping off the bed, cheeks burning as Sakura stared. She didn't say anything though, wilting slightly under Sasuke's heavy gaze.
The dark haired boy had gotten steadily more and more protective since we'd ran into Itachi and Kisame, and that solid attachment made me feel warmth deep inside my chest. He'd been the one I'd been worried about, he'd been the one that seemed so untouchable in the manga.
But here and now, I'd judged him too quickly, that much was obvious. Neji was my best friend, but Sasuke was as close as a brother now. Maybe it was because I, this Naruto, was a girl, maybe it was because I was an early graduate instead of a dead last.
But Sasuke cared.
And for now, I'd be happy with that.
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We made it back to the Hokage tower rather quickly, considering the two of us walked down main street Konoha at a casual pace. Several of the children we passed by waved at us, and it was only upon hearing one child excitedly talking to his mother that I learnt why. They were part of the class Sasuke and I had saved in the invasion.
We were just outside the Hokage tower when one of the kids drummed up the courage to come over, eagerly dancing towards the two of us as his worried mother puttered around behind him.
"Hi! You two helped Iruka-sensei, right?" He rocked back on his heels, dull red hair shining in the bright sunshine of Fire Country. His mother frowned, but she wasn't outright glaring at me. This, well, this was an improvement.
"We did," Sasuke confirmed before I could say anything, and then seemingly on a whim, reached out and ruffled the kid's hair.
The boy squealed, then shot forwards, catching Sasuke, and then myself, in a hug. I stiffened at the same time the civilian mother did, but quickly returned the gesture.
"Well if you're in the academy, maybe you'll be the one protecting everybody someday. That is, if you train really hard." I paused dramatically, cocking my head to a side and assuming an exaggerated thinking pose. "I mean, you are training hard, right?"
The kid nodded so hard I was afraid his head might detach itself.
"Hell yeah! I'm gonna be as strong as you someday!"
Smiling, I bid the kid a goodbye, the mother ushering him away and offering me a thankful, if mightily confused, look.
"Well, that was strange," I grumbled as Sasuke jerked my arm, pulling me into the Hokage's tower after him, a snort escaping his lips as he did so.
"You're good with kids," Sasuke noted drily, ducking past the flustered looking receptionist and climbing up the stairs, finally letting my arm go when it became obvious that I was indeed paying some attention to my surroundings.
"I guess I need to be, what with Konohamaru an' all."
Sasuke gave a sharp nod, but didn't say anything else on the matter. Following after him, I wondered what was going through his head.
Was he thinking about how he'd have handled kids? I knew for a fact he'd been the youngest Uchiha at the time of the massacre, the only survivor outside of Shisui. Was he perhaps thinking of the possible Uchiha children that could be running around now, had their parents not been killed before their time? I found the topic uncomfortable.
They were traitors, willing to plunge the village into a civil war for the sake of their wounded pride. But they were also people, people who'd been hurt, people who'd loved and hated and lived. They'd been prepared to throw their lot in with the Clan elders, to put their lives on the line for the clan.
But they'd wanted to bring war down upon the village. While I'd have preferred to figure things out through negotiation, and while the gun had certainly been jumped in regards to what action to take, when it boiled down to it, I think I'd have made the same choice as Itachi.
The clan would have never managed to take over the Leaf. They'd have all died anyway, just taken a whole lot of villagers down with them. Itachi had looked at it objectively and done the best with what he had. I couldn't hate him for that, not when I understood.
For Kakashi, for my teammates, there was very little I wouldn't do. Of that, I was pretty certain.
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We waited in Tsunade's office for a few minutes, a startled Shikamaru joining us three minutes in. When it'd been just Sasuke and I called in, I'd been cautiously hopeful that Tsunade had something important to tell us, maybe something to do with the curse seal. But now with Shikamaru here, that clearly wasn't the case. In fact, the only thing that really link the three of us together was, well, the Chũnin exams.
Were we all getting promotions? I'd not really gone into the exam expecting to be promoted, I'd been so focused on making sure my teammates would both be okay that I'd actually forgotten the original purpose of the exam. Looking back on it though, both Sasuke and I had done well. We'd both made informed choices -Sasuke decidedly not engaging Lee in Taijutsu and I knocking Temari out as fast as I could- and afterwards during the invasion we'd both gone to the places that would need us most, we'd preformed well under pressure, as any good Chũnin should.
I could see the realization also hitting Sasuke, who turned somewhat stunned eyes on me, just as Tsunade re-entered the room, Jiraiya dogging her footsteps and whining about how she'd made Shizune stay at the hospital. Thus, he only really had one piece of eye-candy in the office now.
"Right you three. I've got the reports, from council elders, from the Third and from those you performed under during the invasion. Congratulations."
Tsunade threw a green vest at each of us, though I already knew I wouldn't be wearing mine. Too bulky for my form right now.
Beside me, I could swear that Shikamaru let out a whimper of displeasure and defeat; when I turned my gaze on him it was to the sight of his horrified face staring down at his new flat jacket. He looked very unhappy.
Snorting, I threw the jacket over my shoulders, shoving my limbs through the relevant holes but leaving the front unzipped, unlike Sasuke, who was quick to pull the heavy-duty fabric on and close it up over his shirt. I caught his eyes once he finished admiring his new garment, unable to help the amused smile when his cheeks flushed a light pink.
"You're all Chũnin now, so go do whatever the hell you want, I'll let you know if I need you."
And with an exaggerated shooing motion of the Sannin's hand, the three of us were quickly expelled from the office by ANBU, forcibly body flickered back onto the street outside.
For a moment, the three of us just stood there in a daze, sharing confused looks before Shikamaru finally sighed, pulling the Chũnin vest on like it weight fifty times what it actually did.
"My team's going to be insufferable," he grunted, coaxing a smile from both myself and Sasuke.
"Maybe, but look on the bright side, you don't have to run that exam again Nara-san."
Shikamaru paused for a second, running the thought through his head before he grinned.
"Good point. And it's Shikamaru, Uzumaki-san."
"Then it's Naruto to you. I guess you'll be celebrating with your team?"
I waited long enough for Shikamaru to confirm my question, and when he did, I took off down the street, waving goodbye with my left hand, my right clutching Sasuke's wrist tight.
"Come one, we'll find Kiba and then we're going out to celebrate."
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It's wasn't that hard to find our final teammate and his canine partner, he'd clearly been looking for us too, probably having heard from the grapevine that we were back in town.
"There you are!"
An arm came down over my shoulders and I buckled slightly under the weight -he'd without doubt done that on purpose- before righting myself.
"Kiba!" I grinned, pulling the burnet into a hug, ruffling Akamaru's fur and then noticing who was currently holding Sasuke in a choke-hold.
"Shisui-sempai."
We shared a quick greeting, the older Uchiha cooing over our newly acquired vest before declaring that he'd treat the three of us to a meal in celebration, something none of us had a problem with.
Following after the Jonin, I noted all the little old ladies that greeted him in the street, the welcoming smiles of all the civilians. Someone had no doubt been helping out as many people as he could. Shisui was a good guy, the more time I spent with him the more I was thankful I'd accidentally saved him from his previous fate. Uchiha Shisui was a gem in Konoha's crown, and I would not be told otherwise.
The dark haired male didn't seem to be showing any after effects of knowing his best friend had been so close, but then again, the Uchiha had been given a month to digest Itachi's sudden reappearance. I know for a fact that if Sasuke had committed some unspeakable crime, but was actually somewhat innocent…
Well, had I been in the same position, I'd have been torn, horribly so.
Admiration for Shisui rising, I ducked into the restaurant he'd chosen, unable to keep the grin from my face.
Right now, life was good.
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Once we were done with our meal, I waved goodbye to the two Uchihas and Kiba, whom were all heading off to their relevant homes. Kiba had thankfully been thoughtful enough to update us on the current situation within the Leaf Village, and had managed to mention the fact that Lee was currently in hospital, as a result of pushing himself too far within his training. Id' been unable to help but roll my eyes at such an idea, but nevertheless decided to visit before I retire to my own home for the night. Going so far as to even pluck up a selection of wildflowers that grew around the outskirts of Konoha's training grounds, Lee's favourite kinds of flowers if one discounted the lotus flower, I made my way back into the hospital for the second time today.
Very aware that I was no longer walking in with Tsunade of the Sannin, I approached the front desk cautiously, never having really needed to come in here on my lonesome before today. Coughing quietly to gathered the receptionists attention, I offered up my best polite smile, feeling it turn a tad more sincere when she didn't so much as twitch.
"Yes?"
"Could you point me towards Rock Lee's room please?" The scent of the wildflowers was strong under my nose, their sweet aroma disguising the artificial cleanliness that seemed to seep out from all of the surfaces of the hospital.
The nurse hummed, flicking through her sheets of information before she looked back up at me.
"Room 307, he's on bed rest." I highly doubt that.
Nevertheless, I offered my goodbyes, twisting on my heels and making my way over to the stairs. There were fewer people about than I'd been expecting, but it had been almost a month since the invasion. Only those that the medics were struggling with, only those with incredible injuries, would still be here, and they certainly wouldn't be navigating the stairs in such a state.
Grimacing slightly at the reminder of the invasion, I strolled out onto the third floor, walking down the corridors and stopping before the open door. Inside were three people, and certainly none of them looked to be on bed rest.
Hyūga Hinata was sat off to one side, clearly having just stammered through some warning or reprimand or whatever the Hinata version of such a thing was, while Neji was stood with his arms folded, having obviously given up trying to calm his erratic teammate down and just settled for starring disapprovingly at him, as if that weighty glare would cower him into submission.
Lee however, probably didn't even notice the stare, up to his sixtieth squat and struggling more than I had ever seen before.
"I thought you were suppose to be on bed rest?" My voice carried through the room, cracked like a whip, and instantly three heads turned towards me, the Hyūgas looking quite thankful and Lee abashed.
"Naruto-chan! You have returned from your most youthful mission!"
"That I have Lee, now get back in bed."
The boy stammered slightly, but thankfully obeyed my orders without putting up too much of a fight, allowing me to slide into the room and drop the wildflowers into the vase upon the bedside cabinet.
"Naruto, will you have time to spar within the week?"
Eyes dancing over to look at Neji, I gave a small shrug of my shoulders, rotating them a second afterwards.
"Should do, now be a good little genin and officially introduce your superior to your cousin."
Neji snorted, eyeing the heavy duty vest I had yet to take off and offering me a nod of acknowledgement.
"Naruto, this is my cousin, Hyūga Hinata. Hinata, this is Uzumaki Naruto."
Grinning, I bounced forwards, offering my hand up to the dark haired female.
Hinata was exceptionally pretty, with her startling pale eyes and thick dark hair. Traditional Japanese beauty, not that all the Hyūgas weren't themselves. There was just something, softer, about Hinata in comparison to all the others. Not in her personality -even though that at the moment seemed quite meek- but in her appearance. Something tender, that reminded me of all the ideals of a warm and caring home.
"It's nice to meet you Hyūga-chan!"
Hinata blushed, stumbling over her reply and I watched curiously as she refused to meet my eyes. I know back in the manga the girl had housed a rather large crush upon Naruto, but here and now, that couldn't be possible, could it? I'd barely met her, certainly not made as great of an impact to gander this sort of reaction from her. Or at least, not that I could remember at any rate.
"A-Ano, it was n-nice meeting you U-Uzumaki-sempai, but I h-have to go and meet K-Kurenai-sensei."
And with that Hinata was gone from the room before I could formulate a response, her face burning a brilliant red as she disappeared.
Frowning, I turned to look at Neji, raising a questioning eyebrow as I did so.
"Did I do something offend your cousin?" I couldn't think of any other reason she'd flee from my presence otherwise. Nor could I remember any kind of incident that would lead her to behave in such a way towards me. But clearly there had to be something.
"It is not your fault Naruto. The Hyūga clan elders were, insistent, that if another young girl the same age as Hinata could graduate so early, especially one they see as a clanless orphan, then the Hyūga heiress should be able to reach such heights too. They have been comparing Hinata-sama to you at every turn for a good many years." Oh.
Clenching my fists, I stared down into my lap, trying to stem the bubbling anger. That wasn't fair. No two children were the same, for the elders to expect the same thing of Hinata that they did of me, what ridiculousness.
"That's insane," I grumbled aloud, snorting when Lee let out a scandalized gasp. Even Neji raised an eyebrow at my blatant disregard, but it didn't do anything to stop the guilt that was swimming about within my stomach.
It was my fault that Hinata's confidence was practically nonexistent. Or at least, I'd played a partial role, the elders had done the rest of the work when it came to making sure Hinata was very much unsure of herself.
Grimacing, I stood up, brushing down my pants and turning to Lee.
"Sorry Lee, but I'm not really in the mood to make pleasantries right now. To be honest, I just want to go hit something. I hope you get well soon."
"Yosh! Go and pour your most youthful emotions into your training Naruto-chan!"
Reluctant to expose Lee to what those 'youthful feelings' really were, I just offered the older ninja a nod of my head, turning on heels and offering Neji a wordless goodbye my with my eyes for a second. I needed to go and find someone to spar with.
Hopefully Tenten wasn't up to anything important right now.
"That one?"
"For the last time, yes! That's Uchiha Sasuke."
The red head, the only female among them, pointed to the dark haired boy who was currently running through a series of hand seals, flaring out a brilliant wave of controlled flames across the surface of the lake. The Uchiha had just returned to Konoha that several days ago, and the four of them were here to extract him from the village at all costs.
But first came peaceful negotiation. It was the easiest way to start off with, even if none of their numbers actually liked it. Work smart, not hard was the motto of the day. And it would be so much harder fleeing with the Uchiha if they had a full pack of ANBU on their tail.
Tayuya of the Sound Four stared down at the dark haired boy, trying to figure out what Master Orochimaru found so important about him. Sure, he wasn't bad looking, she guessed. You know, if she was the kind of girl that went for those idiot men that looked too pretty, too delicate. So not her type. But apparently that was what Master wanted when it came to his new body, so who was Tayuya to question the wisdom of Orochimaru-sama?
She'd heard good things about the Sharingan, how Uchiha Itachi was the genius Uchiha that'd murdered all the others with his especially advanced Sharingan. He was strong, an S-ranked missing nin, so if this boy before her supposedly had the potential to rise to such heights, then who was she to say otherwise? She was here to get the job done, and then move on to the next mission.
Looking at her supposed comrades, the pink haired girl fought to keep the sneer off of her face. The Sound Four wasn't so much of a team as it was a mash up of the most skilled ninja that Orochimaru-sama had to offer. If one were to discount the lack of Kimimaro that was. She had no respect for them outside of their abilities as ninja, and she highly doubted she ever would. It'd probably be the same with the Uchiha when they brought him to Sound.
And the boy would be brought to Sound, one way or another.
"Let's go," she hissed, flashing down to stand upon the lake before the Uchiha boy.
At the exact moment another landed beside him, bright red eyes spinning viciously and Tayuya swore under her breath. The older Uchiha was not suppose to be so close by. He'd been on the other side of the village a minute ago, what the hell was he doing here now?
"I thought I sensed intruders," he mused, voice quiet and dangerous intent poured into those emotionless words. It was then that Tayuya recognised his face and another cuss slipped from between her lips. Uchiha Shisui, Shisui of the Body Flicker technique. She was not ready for this at all. God damn it all.
As if things couldn't get bad enough, another two bodies flashed in, one with brilliant silver hair and the other blonde. Even in the dark of the night, the full moon still glowed perfectly off their lightly coloured hair, Tayuya focusing upon the only other female they were facing off against.
She stood tall, her arms folded across her chest and beside their target. The deep whisker marks on each cheek though, that was what Tayuya was able to identify her by. Orochimaru-sama had warned them all about the possibility that they might come into contact with the Kyūbi Jinchuriki. Orochimaru-sama himself had stated he'd be hesitant to tangle with her if she ever managed to tame the beast that rested within her.
But as far as the pinkette could see, she was nothing more than a little girl, even if the sharp muscles of her arms suggested she took her career a little more seriously than any of the others.
"Good to see you Naruto-chan, Kakashi."
Tayuya grimaced. Of course, the silver haired man had to be one of Konoha's most feared Jonin, as if enough hadn't gone wrong with this night. They'd also been briefed on that man, seeing as he was the Uchiha's Genin instructor. A highly respected, highly feared Jonin. But then, they were Orochimaru-sama's best ninja. They would be able to take the man, even if it took two of them to take him down. That just meant only one of them would get the chance to thrash Orochimaru-sama's new body and his doll of a teammate.
"Identify yourself." The older Uchiha, Uchiha Shisui, spoke in a cold tone, one hand already reaching for the strap on his back which held a worn looking tantō. Clearly well cared for, the man was evidentially quite proficient with it then.
"We are the Sound Four," Jirōbō sneered, prompting Tayuya to roll her eyes.
"You idiots decide which one you want, the brats are mine."
She'd leave them to the Jonin of Konoha, if she just so happened to be the only one to return with Orochimaru-sama's new body, then far be her to worry about her 'teammates'.
The pink haired intruder seemed confident she'd be able to tackle both himself and Naruto on her own. Though, they would probably need the extra person to deal with Kakashi and Shisui.
Grimacing, Sasuke once again laminated over the fact the Uchiha district was so far away from the centre of the Leaf village, and thus, out of the range that most ANBU patrolled at. In the past, that hadn't been a problem, because the Uchiha police force had been the ones to patrol these parts.
But now there was no police force to patrol with, and the ANBU had only changed their routes slightly, not enough that they'd notice what was going on over here. Especially with the Fūinjutsu work that masked most chakra, which had been a gift from the First Hokage's wife to the compound.
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke ducked under the fist that came at his head, backing up and already well aware that the female was trying to drive both himself and Naruto back and away from their older, more experienced comrades. He didn't care though.
Together, he and Naruto had managed to take down Kabuto, and that had been when Naruto wasn't using the Kyuubi chakra. They could handle this measly girl by themselves.
Looking over at his blonde hair teammate, Sasuke suppressed a smirk at her lopsided ponytail. Since they'd returned to the village from looking for Tsunade, Naruto had developed what she had lovingly dubbed a 'distress seal'. He'd simply sent a pulse of chakra into the syntaxes, and it'd resonated in every matching seal within a mile radius.
Unfortunately, the only ones she'd managed to make a seal for so far were herself, Kakashi and Kiba. The latter of whom lived right on the other side of Konoha, and unfortunately, just outside of that mile radius.
Regardless, Sasuke had confidence in their teamwork, enough to take down one of Orochimaru's little pets that was.
"Uchiha!"
Looking up as the pink haired stranger addressed him, Sasuke instantly closed ranks with Naruto, the blonde haired girl copying the movement until they were in an easily defendable position. This just seemed to amuse the intruder more, as if they were nothing more than children to her.
Teeth clenched, Sasuke kept his eyes on her, well aware his Sharingan would be blazing bright in the dark.
"My name is Tayuya of the North Gate. Come with me, and Orochimaru-sama will give you strength."
Strength? Itachi had once hinted that he would need to kill the one closest to him to even hope to attain the same eyes that he held. But the person closest to him-
Naruto's face stared back at him over her shoulder, though she always kept this 'Tayuya' in sight. There was something in the depths of her eyes, something that seemed to recognise what was happening right now even more than he did. It was as if he were at a crossroads.
Orochimaru could give him power, Sasuke would concede to that. So could killing Naruto. So could training under Jiraiya.
Out of those three options though, only one was really acceptable.
Orochimaru's method would be quick, but it would mean betraying the village, leaving it and accepting tainted power. Corrupting power. And there was no promise that power was what he would receive should he follow this pink haired girl. Why would Orochimaru offer him power was the question, because he certainly wouldn't give it for nothing.
Sasuke wasn't about to go running in head first given that reasoning. As for killing Naruto-
He didn't even need to look at the girl to feel the weight of her gaze on him.
When they'd first met, he'd disliked her, then disliked the idea of her. Hadn't liked that she was so close to Kakashi and Shisui, the two people who were suppose to be helping him on his quest for power. But, he'd been wrong.
Together- they worked so well together. They'd grown strong when they spent a month in one another's company, they'd trained together, bled together; she was perhaps the person he felt closest to.
Shisui was family, and no one would replace him, but Shisui hadn't been there when Orochimaru had attacked, he hadn't been there when he'd had to confront Itachi again. Naruto had.
The idea of killing her, was completely unacceptable.
He wouldn't get power from Orochimaru, and he wouldn't get power using Itachi's methods either. He'd go his own way, he'd get his own power, and he'd beat Itachi using it. So really, there was only one option.
"Not a chance. Didn't you hear? Jiraiya of the Sannin is training the two of us, and now that your master can't use jutsu anymore, he's clearly nowhere near my standards."
That's what the toad sage had been implying these past few days, even on the way back from their little trip. He'd casually enquired how Sasuke felt about spy networks, had been teaching him a new fire jutsu. Had promised to teach him how to control natural energy. A force that Orochimaru was apparently unable to use himself, having experimented on his body for so long he'd become unable to handle it.
Really, the toad sage was the only one who would be able to give him the training he needed in reality. He'd be training with Naruto, whom he seemed to grow stronger alongside.
He'd been venomously against having one, but it still seemed like he'd ended up with a best friend. With the bright minded blonde girl, of all possibilities.
Tayuya snarled wordlessly from her position on the other side of the clearing, but Naruto's steady hand on his shoulder was all that he needed to know they were going to win this.
"I guess I'll just have to drag you to Orochimaru-sama then."
Snorting, Sasuke readied himself to attack.
No way in hell was that happening.
.
Ducking low as one of the… Creatures reached out to grasp for him, Sasuke lit his palm up with Chidori, the technique that Kakashi had taught him during that little training period before the Chũnin Exam final. To his right, he could hear the telltale whirl of Naruto's Rasengan as it began to tear through the flesh of their opponent, the flute playing Sound Nin swearing viciously at the motion.
They needed to take her out now, before she could summon any more creatures for them to fight. Though it appeared her endurance and speed was strengthened with this strange new stage of the curse seal, she had yet to engage them in hand to hand combat, avoided it as best she could actually. It was a distinctive weakness.
Grunting, Sasuke flicked a bit of chakra into the seal on his wrist, releasing the windmill shuriken that resided there, something he'd taken to carrying around everywhere since Wave. Though it wasn't until they returned from their mission to retrieve Tsunade that he'd started wearing seals on his wrists.
For now he only had two, the shuriken storage one and the magnificent punching one of Naruto's own creation, but for now, those were enough.
"Naruto!" He didn't need to say anything else, the blonde would know what to do now that he'd thrown the shuriken towards their enemy, watching in satisfaction as the young redhead leapt up and over the low flying shuriken to dodge.
She clearly wasn't expecting Naruto to substitute herself with the weapon, and in mid jump, was unable to do anything as Naruto ploughed her fist right into the girl's spine, sending her crashing to the floor.
It was a crushing blow, perhaps rupturing some organs, maybe even paralysing her from the waist down. Sasuke wasn't too picky, because it was obvious that their enemy wouldn't be getting back up.
Straightening from his crouch, Sasuke checked himself over for injuries, but it was only a broken upper arm, the right one this time. Thankfully, he was able to fix that on his own now, it'd only take him five minutes tops.
He didn't even get to start the hand seals though, because suddenly he had an armful of Naruto, her lithe arms, wrapped around his shoulders and her face buried in his neck.
He didn't doubt that she breathed a quiet thank you into his neck, but as he tightened his good arm around her waist, Sasuke wasn't too sure what she was so grateful for.
Stood with my arms wrapped around Sasuke's neck, I tried not to make it too obvious I was putting as much of my weight as I could on my left leg, in order to keep it from my right, which had seen the shin bone snapped like a twig at some point during our fight. Already I could feel the fox's chakra setting to work upon it, purring and whirling as it worked around the break in order to fix it right up. It'd be done in a quarter of an hour at most, but certainly not within the next five minutes.
And I honestly couldn't see Sasuke letting me hug him for such a length of time.
Swallowing down my pride, I began rummaging through the secret compartments within my pockets, withdrawing the chakra compression seals I always kept upon my person.
"You need to go slap this on her," I put the seal in question in Sasuke's hand, dropping down to sit down on the ground and whine over the throbbing pain that was my broken leg.
Thankfully, Sasuke did as asked, slapping the seal down on Tayuya's forehead before she could awaken, having no doubt passed out from the damage I'd done to her spine. Enough to paralysis her, but not enough to kill. No doubt the T&I department would be happy to see her, that I didn't doubt for a second.
"Guess I'm not the only one to break a bone this time, huh?"
Scowling up at Sasuke, I patted the grass beside me, well aware that neither of us were in fighting order. Kakashi and Shisui were highly skilled, both geniuses among their generation. I had no doubts that they'd be able to deal with the rest of the Sound Four.
"So," I began hesitantly, well aware of the pleasure that was bubbling in my stomach because- "you didn't go to Orochimaru."
Sat down beside me, Sasuke offered a duo of raised eyebrows, but nevertheless accompanied by a teasing smirk. He seemed, well, almost tired. But victorious, proud of what he'd accomplished tonight.
I'll admit, I'd panicked for a second when Tayuya had offered Sasuke Orochimaru's power. Even though I'd seen the change in him over the past few months, even though I'd seen him slowly accepting the fact Itachi and Orochimaru grew strong here and that he could too.
Even though he was my best friend, I'd still doubted him. I'd never felt more ashamed of myself, because Sasuke had stuck it out. It'd damage the timeline vastly, I'd have no idea what Orochimaru would be up to from here on out, seeing as Sasuke may never get the opportunity to 'kill' him, nor Itachi get to seal him.
But to know that I still had my best friend, my teammate and one of my most precious people, I think I was prepared to face anything and everything that came my way.
"No, I didn't," Sasuke mused quietly, green glow of medical chakra surrounding his arm and slowly setting the bone that he'd broken. I gave a twist of my ankle, cringing slightly at the pain, though lesser than before, that shot through my leg. Still a bit of time to go then.
Looking back over at Tayuya, a girl I'd now paralysed from the neck down, I glanced over at Sasuke for a second time before shuffling closer.
"Good choice?"
He paused for a second, looking at the downed Sound Nin before his lips twisted up in a tired, pleasant smile.
"Yes, the best choice."
Grinning, I took a careful hold of Sasuke's head and drew it to rest on my shoulder, wrapping one of my arms around his back as he copied the movement, allowing my head to rest on his.
I was tired, the fight had been more draining down I'd thought. Not chakra wise, but emotionally. The worry, the panic that Sasuke might say yes, that he might actually leave me and Kakashi and Shisui and Kiba behind had been almost overwhelmingly powerful.
But he hadn't and now that the adrenaline wasn't racing through my veins, I could appreciate just what had happened.
Sasuke hadn't left. maybe it was a fluke, maybe it was because Shisui was still alive, but the reason didn't really matter I guess. Sasuke had stayed. Sasuke had stayed in the Leaf village. He stayed.
"What are you smiling over?" Sasuke's quiet question drew my attention and I paused in my thoughts, turning to look at the dark haired boy and quite unable to help my grin expanding even more.
"Just thinking. You're my best friend, you know?" Sure Neji and I were close. But it was really that month trip to find Tsunade that'd really cemented it here. Sasuke was my best friend. Fighting against two members of the Akatsuki together, facing down Tsunade and then fighting Kabuto together, we'd really bonded. Jiraiya had confirmed he was going to be taking us both on as his last official students. We were both apprenticed under the same legendary ninja, even if we would be learning different things.
Not to say Kiba wouldn't get any training, if anyone could teach him some new tricks it was Kakashi, but for Sasuke and I, this was a special thing. Because I knew we'd be leaving the village soon, so no one would know where we were and wouldn't be able to target us as easily. Jiraiya would be defending us against Akatsuki and Orochimaru. And no doubt in that time we'd end up bonding even more. We'd have a working partnership, like those two Chũnin that often guarded the gates.
And oddly enough, I trusted Sasuke as much as I trusted Kakashi to look after me in battle.
"I know, you're my best friend too Naruto." We sat in silence for a bit longer, the sounds of the fight in the distance having halted.
"Just don't tell Shisui."
Snorting, I registered both Kakashi and Shisui flaring their chakra to let us know they'd won their fights, and neither of them were critically injured. It was by this point that my leg had finally finished healing, allowing me to stand, even if it was somewhat shakily.
"Alright then, help me lug our Guard of the Northern Gate to T&I."
.
We met up with Shisui and Kakashi not a minute later, each of them holding a bound and captive Sound Nin over their shoulders. What happened to the third one was pretty obvious, going by the huge blood stain that disappeared into the fauna just west of our meeting point. Together, the four of us had made our way over to T&I, Sasuke valiantly taking the weight of the prisoner from me and I spent the time on guard, just in case another Sound Nin popped up out of nowhere to attack us, unlikely as it was.
A part of me argued though that it was indeed a very real possibility, considering the fact we had yet to see head or tail of the bone guy. Kimimaro? I think that was his name at least. If I remember correctly, he was incredibly strong, the strongest of the Sound Four -Five?-, and it had taken both Gaara and Lee to beat him, and even then it was only because of the disease that had been eating away at his body. Did this mean we would still run into him in the future, or would sickness still steal him from the land of the living in a few short weeks? Questions, so many questions.
Jiraiya's spy network would hopefully mean we could keep track of Orochimaru's movements, but would we ever get a chance to take him down? That was another question to add to the ever growing list I guess, but it was something I could push to the back of my mind for now, I didn't need to worry over it right away. I just needed to focus on getting stronger right now, getting prepared for what was to come.
Clenching my fists, I looked over at the trio I was walking with. I needed to be strong enough to protect Shisui and Kakashi and Sasuke from the Akatsuki when they would inevitably strike. I needed to be strong enough to protect myself so they wouldn't have to.
These people, they hadn't been characters to me for ages now. They were as real as the friends I'd made in my previous life, if not more so. Because these guys loved harder, fought harder, trusted so much more than my old friends had.
They would quite literally die for me.
The bonds I'd made here, they were stronger than any I'd had in my previous life. It was strange, how this world was starting to seem like the reality and the one before it nothing more than a dream.
Chewing on my lip, I returned my attention to Kakashi as he casually strolled into the T&I department without so much as a blink, making his way past the ANBU on guard as if him bringing in prisoners was a regular occurrence these days. Well, considering we were still recovering from an attack by an enemy nation, maybe it was.
Frowning, I scratched at the back of my head, holding my hands out in an invitation to carry Tayuya's still form the rest of the way into the department. Sasuke handed her over with little fanfare, stretching his recently healed arm back and forth, offering me a small nod as he did so.
Lugging the mouthy red head up onto my shoulder, I turned on my heels, following after Kakashi deep into the bowels of T&I.
.
We didn't get to leave, surprisingly enough.
Oh, we'd been close, Shisui had even managed to make it out the front door. But two hands had swooped down upon us, grasping a fistful of fabric in each and hoisting both Sasuke and I up off our feet to dangle by material of our shirts.
"Greetings brats."
Pausing, I cocked my head back to see Jiraiya's grinning face, nose wrinkled up slightly under the force of his… Joy.
"Jiraiya-sensei?"
"Come on kiddo, we have three curse seals to mess around with. You too brat," giving Sasuke a shake to re-gather his attention -like he'd lost it or something- Jiraiya began to walk back into the building's depths, holding tight to our shirts, "you need to see what could have been. You know, had you not had such a smart little teammate and my fabulous self watching over you."
Behind me, I could hear Shisui give a low snort of amusement, but he nevertheless followed after us, whistling cheerfully as we went.
For a moment, I got the sense that we weren't the first genin that Jiraiya had manhandled everywhere. Considering the fact the veterans of T&I were watching with smug, wistful smiles on their face, I felt my conclusion was indeed a solid one. I'd long since learnt to stop fighting against older ninja's who seemed to think they could carry me wherever they wished. Sasuke was still struggling though, even if it'd degraded into an undignified little wiggle after more than a month on the road with the Toad Sage. Someday, in the hopefully not too distant future, we'd be able to escape the toad sages clutched.
Today, however, was not that day.
.
"So, they were crazy."
Twisting my neck back to get a better look at Shisui's face, I raised an eyebrow.
"No kidding," Sasuke grunted, looking over his shoulder, glancing back to the T&I department we'd just left from. The three remaining Sound Nin had been… Disturbing.
Once Yamanaka Inoichi, Ino's father, had finished rooting through their minds, both Jiraiya and I had been given the go ahead to do whatever we wanted regarding their seals. The Leaf had all the information we could get from them now, which meant they were not useful for a whole lot else, unless we counted all the money we'd waste on keeping them alive.
Tsunade had took some samples of their DNA and blood for her own studies, but then it'd just been Jiraiya and I in the room, Shisui and Sasuke safely behind the one way mirror as we went about studying the various stages of the curse seal.
Since I'd taken up this profession, my stomach had become something resembling steel, steady and hardly tempered to revolt against me.
I had to swallow back bile when Jiraiya managed to induce a tier of the curse seal that tore one of the males body's apart by turning his own chakra against it.
The final two had been turned to stone, Jiraiya getting a feel for how much natural energy the seal could absorb before breaking down. He'd made a quick note of the two numbers, factoring in the gender differences along with all the other variables. Chakra types, chakra quantities, blood types, any other information that could factor into Fūinjutsu was noted down.
Sasuke still looked a little green around the gills himself after witnessing that.
"Well, I think we can agree Orochimaru's version of the curse seal is bad. But your version brat!" Jiraiya's giant hand came down on Sasuke's small shoulder dwarfing it. Never before had the Sannin resembled a bear to me more than in that moment.
"Yours will be better, more fluid, and much less damaging. Two little sages for Konoha!"
Jiraiya second paw- hand, a hand no matter how big it was- came down on my head and ruffled the blonde locks. As expected, the hair tie I'd been using all month broke under the strain, the last to die and I watched it flutter to the floor with something resembling sadness. I had a feeling I was going to have to learn to fight with my hair unbound, because it appeared Jiraiya wasn't going to stop ruffling my hair any time soon.
"Are you really taking Sasuke on this training venture too?" Shisui asked, head tilting to a side and- and was that a pout? Blinking in surprise, I stared a bit more at the older Uchiha, mouth popping open as an closer inspection confirmed what I was seeing. Shisui was pouting. Quite magnificently too.
Wow.
Could Sasuke pull that face? He'd have no trouble working information out of people if he could. From the contemplation on Jiraiya's face, he was thinking the same thing too.
"I am. Naruto'll need someone to train with, and no one else will be able to help the brat with that seal on his neck. So be grateful that the magnificent Jiraiya is taking you under his wing brat!"
"Wing? I thought you were a toad sage?"
Jiraiya's fist bopped against Sasuke's skull, almost sending him face first into the dirt, but he managed to recover magnificently.
"Quiet brat. We meet at the main gate and six in the morning. Don't be late."
And then he was gone, no doubt to badger the snake summoning scroll from Anko. Blinking, the three of us share a look before I shrugged my shoulders.
"Looks like I'll be sealing up my house then. Do you need me to slap any seals over the Uchiha compound?"
Shisui and Sasuke shared a look, before the elder shrugged.
"Not really Kaichō-chan, I'll be nice and safe while you two are off learning Jiraiya-sama's perverted ways."
Snorting, I rolled my eyes, before offering a casual wave as we split off to our respective homes. There was nothing in the manga regarding the training trip with Jiraiya. None that I could remember anyway.
Looks like I was going to be winging it from here.
Omake; Packing
"Have you got underwear?"
"Yes."
"Kunai?"
"Yes."
"Condom?"
"Ye-" Sasuke cut off, choking when the question actually registered. "Why the hell would I need that?!"
"You're going on a two and a half year long training trip with the most perverted ninja in the village, the one who managed to turn an emotionless Kakashi to the porn side, and your female teammate who's genetics scream 'future bombshell'. No new Uchiha's until the Akatsuki is dealt with."
His entire face burning red, Sasuke smacked at his older cousin's head, storming off. He wouldn't have time for-for that! He had training to do.
This chapter was suppose to be about 2,500 words longer than it actually is, but I ran out of things to write about, and for that, I am sorry. Hopefully the next one will be longer.
And praise the heavens almighty, Pre-Shippuden is complete. Horrar!
Parings; I've decided who I'm going to pair Naruto with in the end. There will be a bit of dating, because I don't think the whole first person you like is the one, is very accurate. So you'll know when it's the end game pairing because we'll be at the final paring just as we're getting over with the Kaguya arc. Yeah, this isn't really focused on romance I guess.
Tumblr; I've got a little bit of tumblr up for this, with art and previews on new chapters. And will probably end up with musing regarding my idea for this later on. So, there's a link on my profile if you want to take a look.
Tsume
xxx
