Disclaimer: By the writers above, and by the readers below, I own neither Green Lantern nor Naruto.
Will of the Green Flame
Chapter 12: Heartaches
~~Searth~~
"And that's the story," Naruto sighed out, rubbing his head as he was flushed in the cheeks. Behind him, occasionally glancing at his posterior, Arisia was still leafing through Jiraiya's book. The white haired man was scribbling furiously, seemingly ignoring the blonde Lantern. Naruto's green eyes shut and a tick formed in his left brow, "Are you even listening to me?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, you were forced into being a Lantern and met this fine little number," Jiraiya said as he continued to scribble, "Now was that 'Sapphire' with two Ps or...?"
"GIVE ME THAT!" Naruto snarled as he snatched the notepad with a green hand, flipping through it and his face heating up as he saw the contents. Naruto handed the pad to the nearest person without looking (it just so happened to be Arisia) before rounding on his 'godfather' and cocking his fist back as willpower cloaked it.
Jiraiya held his hands up and whimpered, "Please, anywhere but the face, it's my money maker!"
"Really? Anywhere but the face?" Naruto asked incredulously with surprise. The blonde lantern suddenly smirked evilly, making Jiraiya sweat, before he said, "All-right then..."
Then a green foot slammed upwards into Jiraiya's crotch. Jiraiya's mouth opened and a high-pitched scream filled the arena, stopping all the resisting prisoners of war in order for them to see what had happened. Immediately, they surrendered when they saw a giant green boot stuck between a highly renowned man's legs. Whatever village had that kind of shinobi was too strong for Orochimaru most of the Oto nin mused.
"THE JEWELS!" cried the writing Sannin as he cupped himself and fell to his knees before passing out to the side. Hikari floated over and crouched down next to the downed Sage, poking him with a hopeful stick that she manifested just for the occasion.
"Was that necessary Nii-san?" the youngest Lantern asked, getting a blushing blonde Searthling to nod back.
"Naruto, what does the phrase, 'Gah-Ang Bah-Ang' mean?" Arisia asked as she looked at the Green Lantern. The boy restrained himself from beating on his godfather any further and simply started walking away, before bursting from the scene into the sky covered by a green light to clear his head.
He made sure to keep his glowing red face hidden from view before he did so.
Hours later, Hikari and Arisia were walking around the village, helping where they could, while Jiraiya spoke with the injured Kage. Their true intentions were to find the blonde Lantern that had wormed his way into their lives, but that search wasn't going as well as they wanted it too. Not to mention Arisia had the feeling she was being watched...Well, she was, but the feeling wasn't referring to the many perverts of the town. To distract herself, she pulled out a book she had obtained from her love.
"Arisia-neechan," Kari suddenly spoke, getting the Sapphire's attention, "Why are you reading that book? Naruto-niisan says it's bad."
Blushing lightly, Arisia smiled and snapped the book shut, "It's...Something I'll explain when you're older."
"Does it involve reproduction between two humanoid species?" the Blue Lantern asked curiously, making Arisia Rrab speechless and mimic an aquatic life-form as the girl hit the nail on the head. Giggling, Kari looked away and continued, "Ok, I'll wait until I'm older, Neechan! Let's find Niisan!"
Naruto was sitting on the porch of his old apartment and lazily stirred a cup of instant ramen with two Willpower forged hands, his head resting on his real left hand and his Lantern uniform hidden. Passerbys would whisper softly amongst themselves or greet him cheerfully, making him wave back lazily with his free hand. He had a lot on his mind right now, but it had nothing to do with his friend/partner's newfound affection.
He was thinking about his parents.
Ero-sennin knows who my father was; Hell, everyone knows who my tousan was... thought the young Lantern with a mild amount of depression, But no one's stepping up and telling me anything about her: My Kaasan. Is it so wrong to want to know who she is? Am I a bastard child the Yondaime had fathered after a one night stand? Did...Did my Kaasan abandon me after Yondaime did what he did? So many questions...but no answers...
Naruto sighed and lowered the hands emerging from his necklace and grabbed the ramen cup. The hands dispersed and Naruto began slowly eating his warm ramen. Keyword being 'WARM'. A shadow loomed over the Lantern and Naruto lazily glanced up.
"Sup, Ero-sennin?" he asked the white haired Sage, who immediately fell to the ground on his face after being labeled such, "Want something?"
"A few things, actually," the man said as he dusted himself off from his fall, "Mind if I take a seat?"
Naruto wordlessly scooted down on the steps and Jiraiya sat with a small grunt, the transition from standing at six-two, to sitting at solid three-one tended to make gravity a bit of an enemy. The white haired Sannin glanced at the green eyed blonde as he slowly ate his ramen. Naruto ignored the lingering gaze, despite feeling uneasy due to it.
"Ever think of using that...Chakra-" "Willpower," Naruto instantly corrected as he ate, getting a curious glance from the white haired man, "My Corps uses the Green Light of Willpower, an energy source from the Emotional Color Spectrum. Arisia-taichou uses the Violet Love. Kari-chan uses her Blue Hope...And Karu-Sil-teme, she uses the Yellow Fear."
"Any other...energies I should know about?" Jiraiya asked, mentally reminding himself to look into this Karu-Sil person. Naruto snorted as he finished slurping up the current strand of noodles he had.
"Yeah, we've got a bad one on our planet at the moment," the young Lantern grumbled as he stirred the ramen in his hand, "All I know is he's got the Orange light of Avarice...Whatever that means..."
"Greed," Jiraiya said, getting the blonde's attention via sideways glance, "Avarice is the same as Greed. One who can never have enough...Oh don't look at me like that, I'm a damn writer. I'm supposed to know these things."
"Huh, funny," Naruto snorted out with a small smile, "I thought you were just a perv."
"HEY! I am NOT a pervert!" Jiraiya growled, before exclaiming in pride, "I'm a SUPER PERVERT!"
"Yeah, shout that right next to your pervert-ass-kicking godson," the blonde muttered as he took another bite of the noodles, "That's a sure way to get another boot to the balls."
Wincing at the memory and crossing his legs at the phantom pain, Jiraiya coughed once to change the subject, "Erm, sorry...I mean...So, we've got another Lantern on the planet?"
"Tch, hell if I know," Naruto growled, "The Guardians ain't telling me jack-shit and my supposedly 'omniscient' gauntlet isn't giving me the info I've been requesting."
"Correction, Lantern of Sector 2815 hasn't asked for any information. Lantern of Sector 2815 has fallen into a depression over the identity of his female parental genetic donor," the necklace chimed in. Jiraiya and the blonde glanced down at it, the former with wide eyes and the latter with a frown.
Traitor... the blonde thought as he angrily stuffed the chopsticks he was using into his ramen cup before chucking it at a waste-bin near the edge of the street.
"...They haven't told you about Kushina yet?" Jiraiya asked softly. Naruto's attention turned to him fully.
"You knew my Mother? Who is she? Tell me!" Naruto exclaimed with desperation as he grabbed the Sannin by his gi. Jiraiya stared down into the desperate emerald orbs and his heart sank to his stomach.
Naruto...How long have you been alone?
~~Unknown Planet, Unknown Sector~~
"Fascinating," Gaara mused as he and a transparent purple Tanuki looked down at a small flower with seven points, "Don't you think so, Shukaku?"
"Indeed...The simplicity of its evolution is overlooked by the sheer complex beauty of it," the forged tanuki said to the redhead as they carefully extracted nectar from said flower, "Should this calm Larfleeze?"
"Kaasan-Ichi says it should," replied the redhead as he carefully wrapped the flower in a purple fabric, "But we still need one more thing if we're to assist Uzumaki with the protection of our planet."
The redheaded boy used his staff to stand fully before he carefully stored the flower in a brown satchel on his left side. His attire had changed only by the removing of his shirt and his white sash that held his gourd being replaced with a dark purple one. The once black Tanuki-like marks from his insomnia were now a vibrant indigo, as well as the red mark on his head now being the same color as his eyes. The cold aqua-green they once were now reflected compassion and the desire to understand in the shade of a light purple.
The redheaded Tribe member looked in the direction of his home world and smiled slightly, "Soon...We will go back soon."
"Meh, so long as I get to enjoy the nice chakra, I don't care," replied the manifested Biju as it yawned, "Totally beats killing people on a regular basis...Reminds me of a past life..."
Gaara chuckled, understanding the joke the Tanuki gave as he turned around to walk away before looking back to the stars. His non-existent brows furrowed in confusion and concern.
What troubles you so much that I can feel you here...Uzumaki?
~~Searth~~
"Settle down, gaki! All ya had to do was ask," Jiraiya said to the blonde, grabbing his shoulders and lightly pushing him back. Naruto released the Sannin and stepped back in barely contained anticipation, waiting eagerly for the answers he had questions for.
"Now," the man said, "Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina. She was...She was the last Uzumaki...Before you, of course. Now, before I continue, I want to explain why we gave you your mother's name, and don't interrupt me because I'm going against so many laws that I could be held in jail for life or sent to my death for treason, so I want to get this done quick. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Naruto replied with a nod as he switched from energetic preteen to obedient soldier. He understood the importance of his Godfather's words.
"Good," Jiraiya replied with a smile, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a flask, "The old man and I decided in an effort to keep you safe from your father's enemies, we'd give you your mother's name. Not only that, but you were born when neither of them found themselves married to the other, not out of wedlock per say, but it was a marriage without written approval. They were going to announce it to the village-"
"Then the Kyuubi attacked," Naruto finished, clenching his fists, "He killed Mom...Didn't he?"
"...We don't know..." Jiraiya answered after a moment, making Naruto snap his head up and look at him. The man took a swig of his flask. Naruto's eyes stayed on the white haired man before a roar of anger escaped his mouth and Jiraiya found himself being thrown through the apartment building.
"YOU DON'T KNOW?" Naruto exclaimed, "YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE MY MOTHER IS?"
Jiraiya groaned as the infuriated Lantern stormed towards him, "Gaki, I can-"
"SHUT UP!" Naruto cried as he flashed bright green and became the Green Lantern. He roared in anger again, a green fist emerging from his thrown right punch to the standing Sannin, making said Sannin fly backwards onto the street.
"Naruto..." Jiraiya groaned out, "I can explain..."
"I DON'T WANT EXPLANATIONS!" the Lantern cried as tears slowly trailed down his cheeks and he grabbed the collar of Jiraiya's shirt, bringing his fist back to punch him, "I WANT-I WANT MY MOTHER! ALIVE, DEAD, I WANT HER FOUND! I WANT ANSWERS!"
"We looked for her for four years!" a new voice called. The Lantern's head pivoted and locked on the cloaked form of the Sandaime Hokage. He had a frown on his face. Naruto panted heavily and released the collar of his bruised godfather. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
"W-What?"
The Hokage sighed and went to the distressed orphan, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Naruto...We searched for your mother for four years...And we couldn't find her. Which means either someone covered her death up..."
"Or she didn't want to be found..." Naruto whispered, looking at the ground. He clenched his fists, "Didn't she love me?"
"Of course she did," Sarutobi said, kneeling down to the blonde's height, "Every day I saw her pregnant with you she would always be happy, a glow about her and how excited she was to be your mother. Your mother loved you so much, Naruto...I just don't know why she would vanish."
"I have an idea," Jiraiya muttered from the ground, earning their attention, "That is, if it's not too much to ask for a break from the ass kicking..."
Despite himself, Naruto smiled and dismissed his facemask, running his arm over his eyes to dry them. Jiraiya smirked and pushed himself to his feet. With a wince of anticipation, the white haired Sannin braced his back before pushing it in and straightening himself, a loud crack rewarding him for his effort.
"SHIT! Damn...You really are your mother's kid, Gaki," Jiraiya said with a smirk to the green clad blonde, who grinned in return despite his reddened eyes.
"Anyway!" the Toad Sage said with a smirk as he clapped his hands together, "What if, Kushina managed to see what no one else did, something that will threaten you later in life, or something that will threaten you today?"
"To protect him...OF COURSE!" Sarutobi exclaimed smacking himself in the head, "Oh what a fool I've been..."
Naruto furrowed his brows, "So...She might have vanished to protect me?"
"Just a theory," Jiraiya said, with a lifted finger, "There are darker ones, but you looked like you could use the pick me up...Speaking of pick-ups, your girlfriend is coming to get you."
"What does tha-OOF!" Naruto slammed forward onto his stomach as a violet light slammed into his back, the glow dying down and revealing Arisia tightly hugging him from behind.
"I've been looking for you everywhere!" cried the Star Sapphire as the dazed blonde groaned, "Where've you been?"
"...I don't remember...Wake me when we're at the hospital," Naruto said as his head thumped down and he slipped into the darkness of being unconscious. Jiraiya and Sarutobi laughed heartily as Arisia fretted over him, quickly flipping him over and performing a damage assessment.
"Hehe, Niisan's got a funny look on his face, Neechan!" Kari chimed in as she landed next to the Sandaime. Looking up at the old man, she smiled at his awed face, "Ne, Oji-san, can you wake Niisan up? I wanna go home and sleep for a bit..."
The young Lantern pouted cutely, making the grandfather within the light hearted Hokage come to surface as he smiled, "Of course I can, Kari-chan. Hm, seeing as he knows his heritage and Jiraiya had the brilliant idea to make Naruto-kun mad...I guess it's time we go to his parents' home."
"What do you mean, 'Jiraiya's idea to make him mad'?" the Toad Sage screamed in outrage, "I DIDN'T PLAN ON GETTING MY ASS THROWN THROUGH A BUILDING!"
"Yes, and I simply wanted you to ask him to help you bring Tsunade back," the Sandaime countered, making the man face plant, "Now you'll have to wait until he is conscious and explored his home. In the meantime...Why don't you pay a visit to your teammate?"
Jiraiya's scowl turned into an evil smirk, "Oh...Oh yes I believe I shall. Now...To use the TYP or not..."
With a newfound activity, the Sage set off to interrogate the traitorous snake. Sarutobi chuckled and locked his hands behind his back. Looking down, the man felt a pang of envy when he saw just how the girl holding his pseudo-grandson was dressed.
I'll be damned if I didn't wish Emiko dressed like that at least once... the Kage thought with a grin as Arisia kissed the blonde softly on his head. He grinned widely when the blonde was helped to his feet by the Star Sapphire, But I'm happy you've got another precious person Naruto. Thank Kami...and whoever these Guardians are...
~~Searth's Moon; Juubi~~
"Damn Lantern," Karu-Sil growled as she rubbed her still healing leg, "It will have to do."
The Graxion IV native patted the head of one of her reformed pack-mates as she glared down at the planet. She had been recovering for a while now and was prepared to resume her assault when suddenly her ring beeped urgently. Karu-Sil straightened herself and held her ring out to activate the holographic message. Sinestro appeared in all of his glory with a scowl on his face, which made the feral woman fall to a kneel before him.
"Lord Sinestro...How can I be of service?" she asked curiously. Sinestro smirked slightly before it fell into a scowl once again.
"We have made a temporary alliance with the other Corps. You have a new assignment," he spoke urgently, stopping her before she could burst out in a fury over being allied with their nemeses. Sinestro crossed his arms over his chest and ordered, "It seems the Orange Lantern of Avarice has left his designated sector. According to our information, Agent Orange, Larfleeze, is now loose in your sector. You are to meet with the Green Lantern of Sector 2815 immediately and discuss the elimination or capture of Agent Orange. Am I understood?"
Biting her tongue (figuratively of course), Karu-Sil's head bobbed once in understanding as she gritted out, "Of course, Lord Sinestro. By your Might."
"That is all."
AN: Well...SHIT...I wonder how that conversation is going to go. 'Hey, I know we fought to the death recently but now I want to team up with you so we can find Agent Orange. No hard feelings, right?' That ought to be hysterical!
You know the drill my friends.
By the Order of the Universe, REVIEW!
