I'm glad everyone was so pleased with the fast update. Between classes and dressing up like a pirate for national talk like a pirate day I was lucky to find the time to write this one. It jumps around a lot more than my other chapters but it is difficult to create suspense when everyone basically knows what's going to happen.
Even though I still don't own Naruto I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the previous eleven.
Human Contact
The next several days were spent in the same manner the only difference being whether Sasuke or Sakura took morning guard. Naruto's night time training sessions went well also, although he was sure to get back to the house in time to sleep. The scolding he received from Kakashi that first morning was hardly worth the trouble.
Inari had pretty much retreated to his room during meal times much to the dismay of his mother. Other then that everything had been fine for the Konoha ninja. As they gathered around the dinner table on the sixth day Inari joined them again. His mother had refused to serve his meals in his room that day and the hunger finally got to him. He sat at the table, sulking quietly.
Kakashi had recovered well by this point and had spent the day stretching out sore muscles and getting rid of kinks. He looked around the table. Sasuke was busy working on his second helping of food while Sakura chattered merrily with Tsunami about girl stuff. Naruto who had already inhaled four helpings sat with his head on the table, content to rest before his evening training.
"I'm very proud of the progress you three have made this week, but I'm afraid we've run out of time for preparation. Tomorrow all four of us will be at the bridge with Tazuna. He's reached the final stretch and Gatou's probably getting desperate, not to mention that if I'm better there is no doubt that Zabuza has recovered too."
Naruto looked up at his sensei with a lazy cast to his blue eyes. "No matter. We've all gotten a lot stronger this week. Between the four of us we should have no problem taking care of both Gatou and Zabuza."
Inari's fist clenched. Tsunami saw the movement and knew that trouble was brewing. "Why? Why do you work so hard for a fight you can't win?"
Naruto growled in irritation, this kid was getting on his last nerve. "Who says we can't win. What are you psychic, because you seem pretty sure of your predictions."
"I don't need to be psychic. I've seen what Gatou can do. You have no idea what it's like. You run around believing that everything will turn out fine and good will always win, but it doesn't! You have no idea what pain and suffering is!"
That was the last straw. He moved so fast that even Kakashi couldn't stop him from leaping across the table. He threw his hand out to hit the startled little boy but stopped centimeters from his face. It was then that the others realized his skin was exposed. They all tensed, terrified at what he was going to do, and preparing to drag him off the little boy.
"I've been through things that a little brat like you couldn't even imagine! If I were to touch you right now your mind would probably shatter from my memories. Don't tell me that I don't know what pain is when I've lived through it my entire life!
"So you lost your father, big deal! You still have people that love and care about you. He died as a hero and you should respect that, not wallow in your own self pity! Not when others have it so much worse!"
His fingers twitched menacingly as he glared at the terrified boy before him. "You should be proud that your father died trying to protect you and the people of this village. Stop acting like a martyr because people who give up and cry don't deserve the life they are given." He clenched his naked hand now centimeters from the boy's face.
Kakashi was about to get up and restrain his student when the fist returned to his side. "I'm going out to train, I'll see you all in the morning." Everyone could only watch in silence as he disappeared into the night.
Inari fell to his knees his wide eyes dry for once. Sakura put a comforting hand on the trembling boy. "Don't worry Inari, Naruto didn't mean that."
"Yes he did." Everyone's attention snapped to Kakashi. "I've never seen Naruto get so close to losing control like that. He meant every word."
The small boy finally began to cry again. "Why would he say something like that to me?"
"You have to understand that Naruto is a fighter Inari. He has spent his entire life alone and surrounded by people that wanted him to give up and die. Despite everything he kept going, he survived against all odds. Before he developed the Kagyaku I saw him beaten, spat at, and starved and now he can't touch people without hurting them; yet through all that I never once saw him cry. I think he just realized that the only thing tears achieved were wet cheeks. So listening to someone like you, who has given up despite still having so much, tell him that he should give up and run drives him crazy."
Kakashi stood and walked toward the door. "We will be at the bridge with Tazuna tomorrow morning and we will do everything in our power to win." He went to his room without another word.
Sasuke watched all this with a look of incredulity. "That is the first time he didn't ruin the moment by saying something stupid at the end."
Kakashi's head popped back in as if he had been waiting for it. "I may not have but you just did." As he pulled his head back around the corner he couldn't help but grin at the sound of both his students smacking themselves in the forehead. His job was officially done for the night.
Naruto ran into his usual training clearing his breath labored. He ripped off his gloves and mask, throwing the articles on the ground in frustration. He raked his fingers through his soft blond hair as he let out a huge sigh.
Blue eyes stared up at the night sky anger and regret fighting for dominance in their depths. The guilt was horrible. Sure he hadn't actually touched Inari but he had wanted to. He wanted to push his own horrible experiences onto someone who already had trouble dealing with his own issues.
He came to the conclusion that the only thing he could do was work of his frustration. He created a horde of clones and they all began running up trees over and over again. After an hour he realized that it wasn't enough so he and all his clones began a titanic battle on the ground.
Naruto was so preoccupied with his one man brawl he failed to notice a shadow lingering in the trees. As more and more Narutos disappeared the clearing was filled with smoke until one very tired one remained. That was when the shadow attacked. A senbon needle flew out of the surrounding darkness and buried itself in his shoulder. Naruto jumped as the sharp metal bit into his flesh. He pulled the needle out and studied it but before he could begin searching for the thrower he felt a powerful weariness overtake him.
On some level Naruto knew that something was wrong, knew he needed to stay awake. But the toxin on the thin projectile had been potent and despite his fighting he found himself slowly sinking towards the ground. Then everything went dark as he drifted off into a dreamless drug induced sleep.
Haku walked into the clearing and looked at the young boy that was so like him. "I'm sorry Naruto but your blood line is a variable that I can't allow on the battle field tomorrow. The poison I gave you should wear off in a few days."
He placed his hand on the sleeping boy's forehead but jerked it back immediately. In that second of contact he had been bombarded with images and feelings of pain and sadness. He saw what the boy had almost done and felt the horrible self loathing that had been weighing him down. "So even when unconscious your power remains. Interesting."
Haku left the clearing, he needed to prepare for the battle to come.
Kakashi and the others sat around eating breakfast the next morning. Inari had refused to come out of his room again although the lack of sobbing seemed a good sign. Sakura was getting antsy, not only was Zabuza expected to show up sometime soon but she hadn't seen nor heard Naruto since last night's dinner escapade.
The one eyed jounin noticed her discomfort. "Don't worry Sakura everything will be fine. I won't let any of my team members die."
Sakura sighed as she set down her fork, too nervous to finish her breakfast. Her stomach was busy doing acrobatics and throwing up before a possible battle did not appeal to her. "It's not just that. Naruto didn't come back last night and he knows that things could get bad today."
Kakashi understood all too well. He was troubled by Naruto's irresponsibility too but he refused to let his subordinates see that. "Naruto was upset when he left last night. He probably just overdid it and fell asleep outside. He'll know where we are when he gets back and join us."
Sasuke could tell what Kakashi was doing and decided to help. After all Sakura would be no use to them if she was a nervous wreck over Naruto. "That stupid dobe will probably show up yelling at us for leaving without him. There's no way he'd miss a possible fight."
Sakura laughed lightly at that. She never thought that Sasuke would be one to try and make her feel better. "You're probably right Sasuke. I don't know why I was so worried. Naruto can take care of himself, and there is no way he'd let us have all the fun."
Sasuke's lips twitched slightly in the hint of a smile but he quickly masked it. He didn't want people to think that he was going soft. Kakashi stood up and stretched. "Well I think it's high time we head out. Tazuna-san's bridge isn't going to build itself."
The four walked out the door leaving Tsunami to clean up. She placed all the dishes in the sink and started washing, humming a soft tune as she worked. The noise in the kitchen masked to sound of the door opening and stealthy foot steps. She didn't notice that someone had entered the house until she felt cold steal rest against the side of her throat.
"Scream and you can say goodbye to your pulse."
Naruto woke up to find himself lying in the clearing. His eyelids felt like sandpaper as he forced them open groaning as the bright sun temporarily blinded him and increased his headache. His mouth was dry and it was difficult to move, as if his muscles refused to respond to the commands of his brain.
He couldn't remember what made him fall asleep. His finger gave an involuntary twitch making him aware of the thin piece of metal under his hand. Taking much more thought than it should have he was able to fold his hand around the steal and pull it towards his face. Seeing the senbon reminded him that he had been hit with it before he blacked out. He took an experimental sniff at the weapon. His nose detected something sweet, poison probably homemade.
Either the maker was not well versed in the art or they had not been trying to kill him. But why would they only put him to sleep? If only his mind wasn't so foggy, then he'd be able to figure out this puzzle. His stomach grumbled in irritation reminding him that he hadn't eaten since the previous night.
He winced at the memory of dinner. He had almost touched Inari on purpose, but Kakashi had been telling them something before that. He growled in anger, the drug was definitely pulling a number on his head. He looked at the needle in his hand and suddenly it hit him. It was as if a wind had blown the fog right out of his head.
The hunter nin working with Zabuza had used senbon needles to incapacitate his partner. He must have attacked Naruto with the poisonous weapon to keep him from going to the bridge today. He immediately sat up finding movement much easier now. "The bridge!"
Naruto pushed himself onto his feet grabbed his mask and gloves and began running back to the house, his movements growing more fluid with each step. He vaguely pondered why the enemy ninja hadn't killed him but pushed it aside in the urgency of the situation. He wouldn't have been attacked if something wasn't going to happen today. It was a long shot but if he was lucky the others hadn't left yet and he could warn them of the danger.
When Tazuna arrived at the bridge with his bodyguards it was to find the few men brave enough to stay with him until the end lying there dead. A group of ten water clones surrounded them. Sasuke trembled slightly as he looked into the multiple faces of Zabuza waiting for Kakashi to give him the go ahead.
"So Kakashi you still decided to bring along the kiddies. They must be very strong for you to bring them here. Let's take a look at these powerful shinobi. We have a little girl, obviously lacking in stamina. And here's a little boy who can't seem to stop shaking. Oh, but where is the third? I'm surprised he isn't here, after all you two seemed so close and he did so well in our last encounter. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to him Haku?"
The hunter nin appeared next to the tall man. "That particular nuisance has been taken care of Zabuza-sama. I assure you he will not be showing up to save the day this time around."
Sakura gasped tears coming to her eyes. Naruto was dead? It just didn't seem possible.
Kakashi's fist clenched. Seeing the signal Sasuke decided to take out his own anguish on the clones. Kunai in hand he charged at the surrounding bodies. They were decimated within seconds leaving nothing but a ring of water.
Zabuza laughed. "So it seems the talent in your group is not centered around one individual. Go and play with the little speed demon Haku. You've earned a little fun."
The boy nodded. "Yes Zabuza-sama." He disappeared reappearing only to attack Sasuke. Sakura was about to go and help the dark haired boy when Kakashi stopped her.
"Sasuke is the only one who can compete with his speed Sakura. What you need to do right now is cover Tazuna. If you leave he will be open for attack." He uncovered his other eye and turned toward the demon of the mist. "I'll take care of Zabuza."
The tall man laughed at the sight of the red eye. "You really think your little parlor trick is going to work on me twice Kakashi? Haku is a genius at breaking down the abilities of others and he was watching our whole fight. He was able to tell me an effective way to counter your little eye." He created the thick mist he seemed so fond of using. "Now your late student, his ability posed a bit of a problem. Haku couldn't figure out how to negate his power beyond avoiding contact, and that would make fighting rather irritating. That's why I had Haku eliminate the problem."
Kakashi wanted nothing more than to run and search for the boy he had taken care of for the past three years, but now was not the time. He had trained Naruto well and he had to trust in his student's ability to survive. Even if Naruto had died he knew the boy would have wanted him to succeed in this mission and take down his killers.
"Do you really think this old trick is going to stop my sharengan? I proved during our last fight that my eyes can pierce even the thickest mist."
He could hear Zabuza's laughter all around him. "That may be true…" He attacked and Kakashi was only just able to dodge the lethal strike. As Zabuza disappeared once again he noticed something that made his blood run cold. His eyes were not open. "But what if I can't see you?"
Meanwhile on the other side of the bridge Sasuke was giving Haku a run for his money. Hand to hand combat was proving useless against the boy and they ended up with a stalemate. Weapon against weapon neither one ably to gain ground.
Sasuke smirked. "Looks like we're even."
"Not quite, with your arm occupied I have the advantage." Sasuke was about to question when his opponent began making one handed seals. He was only just able to dodge the hundreds of ice senbon needles that flew from the water around them.
"Stand down, I do not want to kill you."
"Like I'd ever do that. The only way I'm going to die in this fight is if I take you with me."
The masked ninja tilted his head slightly. "Why so determined? Surely this lowly bridge builder is not worth dieing for."
"I'm not doing this for Tazuna. I'm doing this for Naruto, the boy you took care of last night and my best friend!"
"So you want revenge?"
"No. Naruto would have finished this mission at all costs, and I will honor his memory by doing the same."
"Then I have no choice but to get serious with you." Haku made some quick hand signs and the water around them moved again. Only this time it didn't turn into senbon but mirrors. They surrounded both boys like a cage, blocking out the outside world. Sasuke watched in silent awe as Haku stepped into one of the mirrors as if it wasn't solid. Suddenly his image was reflected into all the other mirrors.
Sasuke got into a defensive stance. He didn't know what kind of technique this was but if this boy had taken down Naruto then it was sure to be something big. "Bring on your worst. I won't lose to someone like you."
Tsunami had never been so terrified in her entire life. Even if her attacker hadn't threatened her she doubted she could have made a sound. "Mommy?" Her mind screamed out for Inari not to come into the kitchen, to stay in the hallway or go back to his room.
The problem with screaming something in your mind is that most people do not have telepathic abilities. Inari walked into the room and froze as he saw the position his mother was in.
Seeing the terrified look on her son's face brought her power of speech back. "Inari run!"
The man behind her grabbed her arm and forced her onto her knees turning her so that his sword went across her neck. Inari couldn't move, he had already seen his father killed before his eyes and now he was watching the same thing happen to his mother.
He was about to break down and start crying when an image of Naruto flashed into his head. The small boy's stance became much more defiant, he wasn't about to lie down and let these people take another of his loved ones. "LET GO OF MY MOM YOU LOW LIFE SCUM!"
The man with Inari's mom simply grinned while his partner laughed. "Looks like the little kid wants to pick a fight."
"Inari don't worry about me and run!"
"You aren't going to take my mom away from me!"
The hostage free thug pulled out his sword. It was large and heavy signifying that he was either, stupid and likely to miss his target or compensating for something. Inari of course did not know this; all he saw was a very large and dangerous sword. "We only need one hostage you know. How bout I kill this one for fun."
"No!" Tsunami tried to jerk forward and protect her son but her captor tightened his grip on her arm pulling her back. "Leave him alone and I'll go quietly."
The apparent leader shook his head at his partner. "You heard the lady, the kid lives. Gatou will be much happier with a cooperative hostage."
The large thug grudgingly returned his sword to its sheath and they both turned towards the door dragging Tsunami with them. Inari wasn't about to just let them go with one of the only people he had left so he grabbed a plate from the sink and threw it as hard as he could towards the hired muscle.
It hit the big one on the head. Unfortunately the too stupid theory proved true as the plate caused little damage to his thick skull. But it did bring both men's attention back to the little boy. "I said let her go!"
The leader sighed in irritation. "Go ahead and kill the brat."
The big man smiled as he pulled out his sword again. Inari closed his eyes in fear as the large man charged. He could hear his mother screaming out his name as if from a distance, but the clang of metal meeting metal sounded all too near.
He opened his eyes to see Naruto standing in front of him blocking the sword with a kunai. "Hey Inari you did a really great job. Because of you I was able to get your mom out of that guy's hands."
The other samurai looked at the woman in his arms only for her to turn into one of Naruto's shadow clones who waved happily and then disappeared. "Dammit what did you do with her kid?"
Naruto smirked under his mask as he continued to hold off the larger man with his tiny little knife. A feat that he knew was pissing off his opponent. "Now why would I tell you that when I just went through the trouble of rescuing her?"
"Because if you don't we'll kill you."
Naruto pushed the large sword off as if it was nothing. Three years of conditioning with Kakashi had taught him that the body could do amazing things with hard work and the common sense to use the whole thing.
He playfully tossed his kunai up into the air and caught as he enjoyed the shock on the robust samurai's face. "Hasn't a woman ever told you that it's not the size of your sword that matters but how you use it?" He received no reply as the man just glared at him. "Oh, I get it. You must not perform well."
The large man charged at him, anger flashing in his eyes. Naruto through his weapon, which buried into the large man's thigh, this caused him to slow down considerably. Taking advantage of the weakness Naruto lunged forward and ducked under a wild swing. He jabbed his palm into the kunai making it slice through more muscle and jab into the bone painfully, then he went for a leg sweep bringing the large man down.
He stood up and faced the leader, stepping on the wounded man's arm when he tried to raise his weapon. "Now let's look at this again. We have two second rate swordsmen, one of which is injured, against a ninja from Konoha who has been training for seven years. Your chances don't look good."
The smaller samurai charged, though he showed much more skill than his partner. Naruto swayed to the side of his thrust and blocked the sword with the metal plate on his glove. Then gathering chakra to his palm he gave a quick palm strike to his opponent chest blowing him backwards. The samurai lay on his back gasping for air.
Naruto leaned over him his eyes sparkling with glee that his idea had actually worked. "Have you ever seen what too much chakra can do to a tree? It blows the bark clean off blasting the ninja back. This is what I just did to you. Hurts don't it? I imagine that a few ribs were broken in that shot along with a few very painful burns."
The beaten samurai tried to force himself up only for his nose to have a rather intimate encounter with Naruto's fist. He was instantly knocked out cold no chakra necessary.
Tsunami walked out from behind a tree and ran towards Inari. She hugged him to her chest rubbing his back to comfort him, but this time he wasn't crying. He was watching Naruto create a couple shadow clones to tie the samurai up to a tree.
He walked over to the small boy who looked down ashamed that he had been unable to do anything. Naruto placed his gloved hand on Inari's head and smiled. The little boy was shocked by the all encompassing warmth that came with one of Naruto's smiles and he looked into the sparkling blue eyes.
"You did a great job today Inari. You stood up to two men you knew you couldn't beat and fought for your precious people. You're turning into a strong young man and one day soon you'll be able to protect all the people you care about."
He pressed a kunai into the young boy's hand. "Every man needs a weapon to defend the people he cares about. Now I want you to stay here and make sure that nothing happens to your mom. I'm going to the bridge to help out my friends."
With that said he shot off toward his destination. He prayed to Kami that he reached his team before anything bad happened. He didn't know what he would do if one of them died.
I'm actually quite proud of this chapter. It was difficult to write what with all the scene jumps. I think that they really add to the suspense. I also had a lot of fun with all those sword jokes. It's only when I write things down that I realize just how awful my sense of humor is, but there is nothing funnier than making a guy insecure about his man hood. Like I always say there is no such thing as a masculine man, only an insecure one.
Thank you so much to: narsaksas (I'm flattered that I helped anyone survive the horrors of math class), nitrous, quivering quill (I tried to make her more like she is in shipuuden), Lady Silverhawk, wilkandrakar (it is shown in the anime that Naruto is extremely lucky at gambling I just expanded on it, and he had to have someway of getting money before he became a ninja), Twilight-Phantom66, HinduGoddess (I'm glad you appreciated my poker game and Kakashi's pride), Silverblade219 (I already have an idea for Naruto's hidden skills in the chuunin exams and I must say it's rather brilliant), Amei-chan (now you see, I did not know that, I'm glad the game worked for you I tried to make it convincing), missing-nin class-S (does poisoning work for you?), Hououza (Sakura seems more distant because she's never had to question who she liked before), ShivaVixen (I will try to make my horrible action scenes live up to your expectations next chapter), spedclass, Bubblegumcrazed (Naruto was wearing what he always wears, besides judging by the fashion sense in that show it accepted that ninja are rather eccentric people), DarkRavie, fmalover478, ZenNoMai (I notice all my reviewers it's just easy for one to fall through the cracks when I have so many names to type up. There will be more emotional moments when the action slows down. I don't believe that people consciously sort through their emotions when in a stressful or dangerous situation.), snowecat (I'm not sure yet if his power will effect anything on the bridge. The great thing about this story is that it isn't the power that's so interesting but the way it changes his life. One little detail can change an entire world like dominos), JadedDiamond (maybe I did mean to and you just don't know it? Maybe it is my purpose in life to make other people feel better with my work? Or then again maybe not. Glad it made you feel better), rickp2006 (The scolding had to come at specific time for me), frogger666 (I'm not sure if I can change that in a believable way, but I can try. I assure that if I do kill them off it will be a beautiful moment though), Denim88 (I haven't finished your second story yet, and even though I don't care for changing points of view I've found both really enjoyable so far. I'll send you a real review when I've finished but for now I'd like to say thanks. I wasn't so sure how people were going to take the real friendship approach but I did base it off of a bunch of my friendships which involve lots of insults and wit. I actually talk like that to my dad and thought it would fit them really well), Tim (with my overactive imagination I don't think you'll be seeing me running out of ideas soon.), MiseryluvsDeath aka Fidele, jere7782 (I considered it but touching an innocent boy just didn't seem Naruto to me), Katana King (I think my writing style came from people telling me I wasn't good. I've always been the girl who can make up an entire story on the spot, so I just started writing the way I think. I just have to read it a few times before letting it out), LonewolfBloodstorm (good idea but I don't really want Naruto dependent on armor, also I'm more about development than action so such armor would be wasted on my action scenes), Krymsom, Traekor (thank you for the complement. I really like the characters and changing them too much just seems wrong to me.), FreeTheKyuubi (You never cease to make me laugh. Spice girls brings me back to highschool, we always played it in the dressing room before shows. Partly because it was fun and partly because it drove the boys nuts), Boejangles, likes a good story (I loved his profile thanks for telling me. I don't know how I got that chapter out so fast it just kind of came to me.), HawkofNavarre (I hate when people gender bend him, as if he isn't confusing enough already. Personally I think he's a hermaphrodite because that just fixes everything), Gnosismaster (eventually but I doubt it will be any time soon), Kyuubi-Sama.
Thank you all for your reviews but I have one more shout out before I go. I was typing up all the names when this person popped up and I don't want another ZenNoMai incident so thanks to Nosferatum (I hesitate to deviate from the cannon because the small changes are what makes it interesting but that may happen further down the line.)
Ja ne
Yooso
