The Colors of Nothing and Everything-Chapter 10-Staring Down the Skies
Once again, I went to my mom's house for two weeks, but this time it turned out to be good for the story! I had a chance to pre-write this chapter (not completely, but it'll be enough). So basically, I can type this quickly! I also want to apologize again for taking such long breaks between my updates. Since I have only one story, this should be inexcusable. I also want to thank a reviewer who gave me the mindset to work faster (you know who you are, hopefully). And I want to continue to beg for your reviews, 'cause they really are helpful!
Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto, Naruto's storyline, Naruto's characters, or anything affiliated with Naruto. I'm just using them without profit or gain to write a fictional story.
Claimer- I own this storyline, and any OCs(Original Characters) that I invent.
"Naruto, give me your headband."
Naruto looked, guiltily, into the eyes of his Jounin sensei, Shiranui Genma. He could tell from the look that he remembered everything that had happened from the night before his test. There didn't seem to be any mercy in those eyes… He slipped into them, to see what they saw. He was shocked to see himself, changing from the Kyuubi-looking hybrid to an enigma: him dressed in his ninja clothes, the same as on the first day they met. Again, his thoughts conflicted, and he became a Naruto on fire, the flames dancing over his black hair, a glint in his blue eyes. He saw anger, confusion, and the pain of a lie years in the making.
"You know about my eyes, right, Genma-san?" Naruto asked. He received a stiff nod from Genma.
"Well, I can see you, seeing me. I can see how you perceive me. Can I ask you something?" Genma once again nodded.
"Why do you think of me as on fire?"
"I think that you are one of the few people," he said, "who possess the spirit of Konoha, the 'Will of Fire'. You can spread it to others, and you use it to forge new bonds."
"Well, can I say my headband is 'bonded' to me by my 'Will of Fire'?"
There was silence for approximately a second, before Genma exploded.
"That was terrible! Your jokes haven't improved at all! Seriously, do you even try?" Genma looked at the floor, chuckling to himself. Naruto managed a weak grin.
"You really are the same, aren't you?" Genma turned away. "Please… wait outside for a minute."
Naruto left with two ANBU, as the Hokage came in. Genma turned and wiped his eyes before he spoke.
"You were right, Hokage-sama. He is still Ryuusei Naruto, even after what happened… And his kekkai genkai (Bloodline Limit) is really amazing."
"I told you, Genma-san… He is Ryuusei Naruto, an Uzumaki only by blood. He has chosen this path, and we must allow him to follow it to the end. But that doesn't mean that we can't provide company and support along the way. Remember that you are responsible for his life, and from the way it looks, your decisions may affect the whole world of Shinobi. Think of the saying 'Treat others the way you wish to be treated.' But for you, it's more like 'Treat him the way you wish others to be treated.'" The Hokage paused to draw on his pipe.
"Now you have an indirect influence on many who will be affected by his actions. There is no map for the path he walks, and no prediction can be made with certainty about him. I think he is Konoha's maverick ninja, an unpredictable weapon. And he's in your hands."
Never had Genma heard such a steady, adamant speech. The Hokage was more serious than he had ever seen him, speaking in a gravelly voice that was laced with worry and anticipation.
"I'll make sure that Ryuusei Naruto is… guided to the right path. Under my care, I hope that their team will become one of the greatest… and unlike the Legendary Sannin, they will stay united… Naruto's bonds forged from his Will of Fire will not be broken so easily."
Shikamaru lay in his favorite spot, next to his friend Chouji. The day had passed them so quickly, and the night had been sleepless. Watching the clouds was the only thing that could provide him with the comfort that he needed now. He was glad that Chouji was there too, even though it was not his favorite thing to do.
"I wasn't totally honest with you before…" Shikamaru's eyes widened upon hearing the voice from behind him. He and Chouji both kept their eyes on the sky, but he could recognize the voice anywhere.
"I haven't told you all of my goals… I hope that one day… I will be able to outstare the sky." Shikamaru's eyes closed, and he began to chuckle, in the back of his throat.
"So now you decide to get all symbolic? Naruto, don't give up on your goal for anything… Unless you want us to beat it back into you."
"Okay guys, I'll keep that in mind."
"Just thought you would want to know," spoke Chouji.
"What do you think of him?" One shadowy figure asked another.
"He has learned new… tricks. There is nothing of consequence though," figure number 2 responded.
"His potential however… it could be a problem," a third figure spoke.
"Only for you… you are the weakest here, Hidan," Spoke another silhouette.
"Shut it, Kakuzu!"
"All you have going for you is that technique."
"Whatever, it's not like he can kill me…"
"You two know better that to argue," spoke yet another figure. "I agree with Hidan though. The boy has grown this strong in two years. We should attack before he can get stronger."
"Itachi and I can bring him… if we are ordered to," ventured the first figure.
"You will stay here until another team gets back. I have been given specific instructions from him," spoke the fifth shadow.
"We will comply, Zetsu-san," the second figure said. "Atraniveus was defeated, but he was surprised. He is strong, but not comparable to us… we can let the Kyuubi be for now."
"Whatever…"
"Then we will take our leave." Within seconds, all of the figures had disappeared from the room. The two in the room looked at each other with blank faces.
"Do you want something to drink, Itachi-ikkitousen?" Asked yet another figure, who had recently entered the room.
"Itachi, I still don't know why he bothers with such long honorifics… or why you keep him around."
"No thank you, Atraniveus." Itachi answered, pointedly ignoring his teammate's statement.
"Ok, Itachi-wakadaishou. I will ask again in one hour's time." Atraniveus turned and left the room.
"See! He did it again. And what really scares me is he always comes back in exactly an hour! I even timed it once!"
"Kisame," Itachi sighed, "Atraniveus is my responsibility, and he is of no concern to you. My reasons for keeping him here are… complicated. Chuuten is a special case."
"Chuuten?"
"I meant Atraniveus."
Kisame's face took on a grin. It was extremely rare for Itachi to let slip information like this.
"So, is that his surname?"
"No…" Itachi's face was still emotionless. "Atraniveus is not his real name. It is a chosen one."
"Ahh… I thought it sounded strange. But then again, he is strange, so I thought it fit him."
"The thing is… we are very similar, he and I. I see something between us that I haven't seen since Shisui."
"Really?"
"Yes… I hope he does not disappoint me when the time comes."
Genma grinned as his students recoiled from his sudden appearance.
"Okay, guys! I called you here because we're going on another mission! Everybody cheer!" Genma pumped his fist in the air, while his students sweat-dropped. Since their sensei's Jounin sensei career had began two weeks ago, he seemed overenthusiastic about, well… everything.
"Come on! These 'ninja' missions are crap! When are we going to get something cool?" Naruto had been very bored with the missions. Genma had a tendency to pick the most challenging manual-labor and retrieval missions, and the most mundane ones available.
"Shut up Naruto! We need to do these missions to…" Even Ino had lost the concept of the missions. She had been boiling over on the inside, but she still took the chance to oppose Naruto whenever she could.
"I'm fine with it… it's almost like training. But easier…" Chouji was frustrated with some missions, but he made it a point to make the best out of the situation.
"What a drag… Either way, missions suck. These are too easy, and the harder ones require too much effort. Can't we just take a break?" Shikamaru was torn between the problems of both types of missions.
"Jeeze… You guys can't show any enthusiasm, can you?" Genma rubbed the back of his head, a gesture that had been quite common for him since he became a Genin.
"I'll see what I can do in the way of a… bigger mission, then."
"Thank you Genma-sensei!" Naruto and Ino chorused.
"Well, we do have one more mission that you could probably do… please come in now." A sliding door opened, revealing a youthful-looking civilian. The man looked about twenty years old, and he had bright blond hair, not too unlike Ino's.
"So, these guys are all real ninjas? Cool!" All of Team 10 sweat-dropped.
"This is Kenichi Yuuzora. You are going on a C-rank mission to protect him. He needs you to escort him back to his home village of Byakko-ka."
"So… you're from Iwa?" Naruto asked.
"Why, yes I am! How did you know?" Kenichi exclaimed.
'Should I say lucky guess? That I've heard of it? Or maybe I should tell the truth…' Naruto quickly decided.
"Umm… I've been there, that's all."
"That's great!" Kenichi shouted. "I wasn't expecting us to have so much in common!" Once again, Team 10 sweat-dropped.
"Well, let's… GO!!!" Kenichi began to run out of the room, only to slam into a block being carried by two Shinobi.
"Hey Kotetsu, Izumo." Genma waved.
"Hey Genma." Kotetsu said.
"Genma, do you know this guy?" Izumo asked.
"I wish I didn't…"
"So Genma-san, when are we gonna get there?" Genma put his hand on his forehead for what must have been the thirtieth time since they started on their way to Byakko-ka.
"We'll be there eventually. Just stop asking please, Ken-san." He hadn't been this aggravated in years, he thought.
"Anyone want to play a game? We can play I spy, or 20 questions!" Ken exclaimed while waving his hands in dramatic gestures.
"Umm, Ken-san, we already said we didn't want to play a game with you. We've got to look out for you, so we can't be playing games." Ino lectured him, while the rest of the team sighed. They had only been on the road for a day, and from the start of the second, they had been on their breaking point. Shikamaru personally thought about taking an extreme detour to get earplugs, but, sadly, the mission came first. So for now, they had to put up with their clients playful and optimistic personality. But he could deal with that.
"So how about we play that one game, you know, where you…"
Maybe he couldn't.
"…read the signs, and spell out the alphabet…"
'This is really… troublesome.'
"Welcome to Byakko-ka!" Kenichi declared proudly.
"Wow…" Chouji breathed out. He hadn't been expecting this when they talked about a village. On his side of the street, there were abundant gift shops, restaurants, and even a barbershop. On the other side, there was a fancy restaurant, a somewhat shady- looking pawnshop, and a store that sold ninja tools.
Naruto nodded. "Yep, this is it. Hasn't changed much though." He took a look around, as his stomach grumbled. He slowly leaned forward, until he and Chouji were looking at each other across Genma and Ken and nodded. Chouji nodded back. Chouji grabbed Shikamaru's and Genma's elbows, while Naruto got Ken's and Ino's. Firmly, the six of them moved in a beeline for the fancy-looking restaurant.
"Genma-sensei…" Chouji began.
"Since this has been such a big mission…" Naruto continued.
"And since we made it here so safely…"
"Can you buy us dinner please?!" They chorused right as they walked through the door.
Genma sighed and put his palm on his face again. 'Do I really have a choice?' he asked himself, as a cheery waitress appeared to seat them.
"So, now that we're all broke," Genma hadn't had enough to pay for the meal, "shouldn't we take Ken-san to… where should we take you, ken-san?"
"Umm… I guess the big guy's place."
"Where might that be, Ken-san?" Genma was recalling a frustrating person from about two years ago, who had been similarly vague, and had made him almost as aggravated as he was now.
"Well, since it was there," Ken pointed, "the last time I checked, it's probably still there." Genma looked in the direction that he had pointed to see a large, Hokage Tower-style building standing in the center of town.
"That's huge!" Ino stood in shock of the tower.
"Really, how did we not even notice that?"
'Something is up with this town. They have a ninja store, a giant tower that happens to be bigger than our Hokage's, and I've never even heard of it.' Genma surreptitiously glanced at Naruto. 'Why do I get the feeling that you're connected to all of this somehow?'
"So Ken-san," Naruto began, "who is the 'big guy' now?"
"Oh, his name is Pennipes. He's been around for about a year now, and he's doing well." He paused for a second. "Naruto-san, are you ok?"
'God, not Pennipes…'
Yippee!! I updated after two months of inactivity! I wrote about half of this in two separate one-day periods, with about a month in between them. I'm a little stretched for ideas that won't have to wait ten chapters to start. So maybe I'll do a time-skip again, and blow over the Chuunin exams (everyone knows what happens anyways, right?) Not much will change probably. That way I can start writing new stuff! Also, I realize when reading over this, Pennipes sounds sorta like a mafia boss. Seriously, 'big guy'? What was I thinking? Still, school started, I had my birthday (I'm 15 now!), and a lot of stuff has happened since I last updated. Thank you all for reading, and I look forward to writing the next chapter much faster than this one (I got's some i-dee-yas). Well, please review, and I'll see you in my next A/N! Bye!
-Alexander Abeo