Phew! I was a bit worried about last chapter, truth be told. It'd been so long since I'd worked on this that I was worried I'd lost my touch, which I somewhat did I think. Though that's normal after being inactive for so long. But here we go! Time to continue! Note, I'm also going to make a small apology if I jump back and forth between english and japanese terms for villages and such. I try to catch myself and keep it one way or the other but it slips sometimes.
The arena was silent, with everyone trying to think of something to say, of what to comment on what they witnessed. Everyone knew that something had happened to Naruto after graduation from the academy. Excluding a few, none knew of the fate of his team, and even fewer the Kyuubi awakening within Naruto.
Sarutobi had watched the fight with a stern face, at first he had been immensely relieved after seeing Naruto break free from the sand coffin, but what emerged spoke of a worst case scenario that had been plaguing the Third Hokage since the Wave Incident. He had felt as though he was witnessing a different person below on the arena floor. Everything from his stance to his aura spoke of a child whom had, ironically, emerged reborn from a cocoon. Even more troubling had been when he saw the fate of the Kazekage's son unfold. Letting forth an exhausted sigh, Sarutobi lowered his hat to cover his gaze as he started to think of what to do next.
Sasuke looked on in dread fascination, seeing the fight unfold. Even though he could care less for the dead-last, he had to admit he'd felt some relief seeing him survive the death trap the Suna-nin had unleashed. What he witnessed next, brought forth a troubled mix of fear and jealousy. Fear of the foreboding chakra that made it hard to breath from the amount of killing intent that it contained, and jealousy of such raw power that Naruto had shown. His pride was still wounded from the loss he had suffered at the training ground, not to mention the way Kakashi had looked and talked down to him afterward. Now he had to live with the fact that Naruto had grown seemingly exponentially since then, obviously blowing past him in terms of strength.
He thought of the strange mark that the mysterious ninja had cursed him with in the Forest of Death, and began to wonder if the dark power it gave was more of a hidden opportunity rather than something to be avoided.
Kurenai had been having to hold herself back the whole match, watching her student face death more than once. She had almost risked everything to save the blond genin, having almost unleashed a genjutsu to stop Gaara. But just as she had, the sand cocoon had began to give, then burst. The events that followed had made her stop dead in her tracks and watch every move he made. She watched as her blond knucklehead had turned into something different all together. She knew the culprit, it was the spirit he held jailed within him. She could see it in his face, the amount of will he had to use in order to keep the power in check.
Glancing down at Shino, she felt concerned at what he might be thinking of his teammate. Before she could speak though, he spoke.
"Sensei, would that red chakra have anything to do with why my insects find Naruto's chakra to be repulsive?" Shino asked simply, if he was concerned about it, his stoicism hid it well.
"I can't answer that." Kurenai responded, carefully choosing her words. The info pertaining to Naruto was still on a need to know basis only, and those who did know were held to silence by threat of execution.
Shino nodded, then added, "It seems as though the preliminaries are finished with this. Shall we go see how Hinata is doing? I imagine that is where Naruto headed as well."
Indeed, Kurenai briefly noted Hayate announcing the end of the preliminaries along with an added footnote of the tournament, which would constitute the third portion of the exam to be held in one months time. She looked around at the rest of the remaining ninja, most being Konoha genin. All of them had troubled looks and were sharing hushed discussions about what just transpired. Kurenai knew that nothing good could truly come from what happened here getting around. Though this generation may know nothing of Naruto being the Kyuubi's jinchuriki, others would draw the conclusion after hearing about the fight.
Looking over at Shino's retrating form, she began to speak, "Shino. . ."
"Sensei," Shino interrupted, "It's okay. I can understand that something is going on with Naruto that I can't know about. But, he is my teammate and more importantly my friend. No matter what is going on with him I won't turn my back on him. He's still Naruto."
Kurenai was taken aback by her student's honest speech, not to mention the fact he had spoken more than a few words. She smiled, feeling pride of her student swell in her chest, and walked to catch up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're right, let's go see them both. I'd say it's time for a congratulations, Team Eight is headed to the finals."
Further in the arena's halls, away from prying eyes, Naruto had collapsed onto the floor. As soon as he had gotten out of eye sight from the main hall, he'd almost fell, as unbearable pain coursed through him. He'd managed to limp further in, using his sword and the wall as bearings to keep himself up right. Trying to avoid the Medic-nin's, and the obvious questions that would arise from his current condition, he'd moved towards the least likely spot they'd think to look for him, where he currently found himself.
His breathing was labored, and almost every other second Naruto was silently screaming, mouthing the motion, but refusing to let the sound out. The demonic chakra was taking it's payment from his body after using it as much as he had. His chakra pathways felt like someone had shoved needles through them and were now violently jerking them about. Every inch of his skin felt white-hot, and he was sweating enough to drench himself and the floor. He clawed at his stomach, where the pain was the worst, cursing everything he could to try and relieve himself of the pain.
Stupid goddamn Fox, this shit is your fault! Naruto screamed in his mind.
I didn't see you complaining when you cut the Ichibi container up.
Naruto gasped out, looking around for where he heard the voice. It was the Kyuubi's, but he wasn't in his mind scape, so how?!
Confused? Thanks to your rampage with MY chakra our bond is closer now than ever. With this much of my essence coursing through you being able to speak to you directly is simple. It will pass though, assuming you survive the detoxification of your weak body from my chakra. The Kyuubi laughed out, his mocking voice echoing in Naruto's mind.
Naruto grit his teeth as another wave of pain coursed through him, a large portion of it emanating from his right eye. The pain began to intensify, enough to the point where Naruto bit down on his arm to muffle the screams he could no longer contain. His vision began to shift, and from the right side of his vision, he was horrified to see colors morphing, what he knew to be a white tiled floor and white beige colored walls, morphed to various shades of black, and the air took on a red tint. Shutting his right eye, Naruto found a modicum of relief seeing that the effect was only limited to his right eye.
B-Bastard Fox, what the hell did you do to my eye?!
With a triumphant growl, the Kyuubi answered, "Just as your arm was claimed by me, so too did I take your eye. Though, claim may be the wrong word. More like I'm able to speed up the process of converting your body to a more suitable host to me."
Naruto didn't want to think about the implications of what he just heard, but understood enough that if he wasn't able to fight off the Kyuubi his whole body would end up like his arm and eye. Glancing down at the polished tile, he was able to make out a hazy reflection of himself. Chancing a quick look, he opened his right eye and almost went into shock at the foreign object now inhabiting his eye socket. The image of the black and red eye triggered a memory of his nightmare and the exact resemblance his eye bore that his 'other's' self eye did.
Shutting his right eye again quickly, the ebbing pain took a back seat as he started to feel himself shake. He knew now, beyond a doubt, that the dream was more than a dream. It was a promise of the future if everything failed. Which meant that Hinata would die by his hand.
Hinata.
Naruto felt like punching himself, he'd completely forgotten about his female teammate and the fact she had been horribly hurt in her last match. With a strength he found from within, he pushed himself off the ground. Shakily, he stood, his legs begging to crumble. Naruto just shook his head, using his previous method of wall and sword to steady himself down the hall. In the back of his head, he could hear the Kyuubi taunt him, and continue to remind him of his nightmare, making sure to narrate every minute detail.
Goddamn Fox. I swear one day I'm going to tear that tongue you love to wag so much from your mouth and beat you to death with it.
Struggling with every step, but refusing to let himself fall again, Naruto continued down the hall.
Taking special care to avoid the medical staff roaming the halls, Naruto found his way to the rooms reserved for injured contestants and was able to locate Hinata's room, which was indicated by the clipboard containing medical information hanging next to the door. With shaky breaths, he began to reach for the door handle, but stopped just as his hand hovered over it.
He knit his brow and pursed his lips, as he began to wonder, should he really go in? Thankfully, the Kyuubi's voice had vanished, either from him finally giving up on taunting him or his chakra was diluted enough by his own that he wasn't able to speak directly to him anymore. Naruto knew he had to make his choice and soon, one of the medics could come walking by. Was he truly in control of himself? What if. . .
Naruto clenched his left eye shut, having made sure that he always kept his right eye closed, and almost felt like screaming in frustration. He wanted to see her so bad, he had to know she was okay. With a sigh of resignation, he grasped the handle and slowly opened it, deciding he could at least peek in at her.
The light from the hall poured in to join the patient room which currently was only illuminated by the sunlight from the window, currently being blocked by white curtains. Naruto felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw Hinata peacefully sleeping on the bed, fresh bandages having been applied recently to her wounds. A blanket had been drawn up to cover her up to her shoulders, her arms resting outside the blanket and to her sides.
Naruto lost all his willpower to avoid seeing her for now, and stepped in, closing the door behind him quietly. Feeling a light breeze, Naruto couldn't help but feel fatigue set into his body, as the relaxing wind was comforting against his hot and sweat caked body. It was a sweet siren call that wished to lull him into a blissful slumber. Limping over to the side of the bed, Naruto rested his sword against the wall, and took a seat on a stool that had been left by her bedside. The feeling he felt, was surreal to him. Not moments before he had been fighting for his life, killed a crazed genin out for his blood, and was hit with more pain than he'd ever felt before. Now, he sat here, a gentle breeze comforting him, and the cool air allowing him to relax as he watched the Hyuuga princess sleep soundly without so much as a frown crossing her face.
Naruto smiled, as he gingerly reached out to grasp Hinata's hand. How she had such an effect on him he couldn't understand, but when he was with her it was as if any problems he'd ever encountered simply did not exist. He knew he was overstepping his right, grasping her hand as he was, but he wanted to feel her warmth, to know she was okay. Feeling a tear start to well in his good eye, Naruto quickly rubbed it away. Everything that had happened to him suddenly caught up to him in a wave, as did the realization that he had taken a life in the heat of combat.
Though he knew he'd done so before in Wave, even though it had been the Kyuubi using his body to do so, and the artificial ninja Kurenai had fabricated within his dream, this was real. It had been someone he'd made a conscious choice to slay his opponent. Looking down at his right hand, discolored from the rest of his skin, he gently dropped Hinata's hand, now feeling disgusted with himself for dirtying her with his tainted flesh. He wanted to rip his arm off and cut his eye out. Deny everything that the damn fox had been doing to him. But he knew it would more than likely just grow right back.
Clenching his fist, Naruto started to stand, berating himself for being stupid enough to think he could allow himself the comfort of her presence. He no longer deserved it.
As he rose though, he was startled by a warmth being pressed against his hand. Looking back up, he saw Hinata smiling at him, looking at him through half-lidded eyes.
"Hinata. . ." Naruto managed to breath out.
"Naruto-kun, I'm glad you came." Hinata responded, her hand still resting on his. It was clear she was on some form of tranquilizer, something the medics probably gave her to help her sleep and stave off the pain.
Naruto felt himself go weak in the knees as he was completely entranced by her lavender eyes, locked solely on him. Seating himself again, he scooted closer.
"How. . . how are you feeling?" Naruto managed to ask, his voice feeling hard to bring forth as various thoughts and emotions flooded his rational thought.
"Better, thank you." She responded quietly, her speech reflecting her fatigue. She was still looking directly at him, her eyes seeming to have their own luminescence within the darkened room. After a moment of silence, where Naruto tried to rack his brain and think of an appropriate way to speak, Hinata finally noticed Naruto's state of undress, and the fact he was keeping his eye shut. Letting go of his hand, Hinata reached up and stroked his cheek, a bold move that she would normally never attempt, but the drugs coursing through her system kept such thoughts at bay.
"Naruto-kun, what happened to you?" She asked, her voice betraying her worry for her secret love.
Naruto broke eye contact with her, reminded again of what had just transpired. After a moment of silence, he looked back towards her, her face still warm and her eyes still locked onto his. "I . . ." he began, trying to find the words to confess his sin, but swallowed it, not able to find the courage to speak out his crime loud. "I won my fight." Was all he was able to say.
"Your eye, Naruto-kun, what happened to it?" She asked, her hand starting to slip, and her voice becoming drowsy again as sleep threatened to take her again.
Naruto almost smiled as he saw how she fought the drugs effect to keep her asleep. Grasping her hand and laying it back down on the bed, Naruto shook his head. "It's okay, we can talk about it when you're out of here, okay?" he told her.
She managed to nod and murmur something with a happy tone, but she was already snoring slightly again, as she fell back asleep.
Naruto couldn't suppress his smile anymore as he stood back up, his legs steady underneath him. Grasping his sword, he was surprised to find that he was able to walk without his limp. The Kyuubi's healing effect must have doubled since I took so much demon chakra into my system, Naruto thought, wondering if that was a good thing or not.
Walking over to the door, he took another glance back towards the sleeping princess, before opening the door silently. Looking up, he stopped in his tracks as he locked eyes with the last person he wanted to see at the moment.
Sarutobi kept his eyes trained on Naruto's with a firm but even look. "Naruto, we need to talk."
Kurenai and Shino had to argue with the Medic-nin's before they were allowed to see Hinata. Currently they didn't want anyone to visit with her due to the heavy anesthetic they had administered in order to keep her from feeling the pain of having her entire arm regenerated. It was turned into something akin to hamburger from Tenten's savage blow in her match, and repairing said damage was no small feat.
They finally gave in after giving them the run around from Medic to Medic, allowing them access but asking them to keep it short so that she could rest up, if she woke up at all.
Thanking the Medic, the two hurried to see the heiress, only to find she was already awake and staring out the window, sitting upright in the bed. The curtains now drawn open, revealing a troubled look on her face. Hearing the door open, she looked over with surprise and some hope, but seemed crestfallen after seeing Kurenai and Shino.
Kurenai noted the change in expression, but didn't let her know she saw. "Hinata, I'm so proud of you." Kurenai spoke, walking forward towards her student. Though she had been initially concerned for her student for the amount of damage she had taken, Kurenai had to admit that the Hyuuga heiress was no longer the wallflower she had been when they had first met.
Hinata gave a small smile, "Thank you Sensei." She replied, sounding troubled.
Shino, allowing a moment, came forth. "Are you feeling well, Hinata? You seem troubled by something."
Kurenai gave a curt glance to her other student, wishing he hadn't been so blunt about it. She knew something was up with Hinata, but didn't want to ask right away.
Hinata seemed to try and think of a way to phrase her answer, chewing on her lower lip for a moment before looking at Shino. "Shino. . . did something happen to Naruto-kun?"
Her question took both off guard, wondering if she somehow knew something about his current predicament. Not being one to lie, Shino answered, "He was injured in his previous fight, it was quite intense, but he seemed well enough." Shino had to think of the best way to answer her, without outright lying to his teammate. He knew she would find out sooner rather than later.
Hinata looked down towards her sheets, and clenched them in her fists gently.
"Hinata," Kurenai started, "Who told you something happened to Naruto?"
"He visited me earlier," she started slowly, a slow smile spreading on her face, but it was quickly replaced by a frown. "But. . . but something was wrong with him. I wasn't able to understand what at the time, I was too out of it to make it out. Did. . . did something happen to his eye?"
Kurenai kept her composure even, as she began to think of the proper way to phrase what had transpired without overly upsetting the girl. In the end, she figured it best to only answer her questions in a limited sense until she was out of the care of the medics. "Yes. It was injured in the fight." She decided to omit the fact it was more than injured, it had been completely destroyed.
Hinata could sense something was amiss. They weren't telling her the whole story. She knitted her brow, hating the fact that she couldn't go and find Naruto now, she knew there was something wrong with him. Looking back out the window, she prayed the medics would clear her for release soon.
Naruto felt uncomfortable, sitting in one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. Sarutobi had brought him here straight from the arena, not telling him more than they needed to talk. Now in the privacy of the Hokage's office, Sarutobi was lighting his pipe while Naruto waited, feeling like he was about to get chewed out.
Striking a match and getting a draw on his pipe, Sarutobi looked at the boy with a careful glance. Seeing how nervous he was, Sarutobi blew the smoke out of his mouth. "You can relax Naruto. I'm not here to reprimand you."
Naruto did feel a bit relieved about that, but didn't think this was going to be a pleasant conversation all the same. He hadn't been allowed time to run home and get a change of clothing, meaning that whatever it was the Hokage wanted to talk about couldn't wait.
"Let me see your eye." Sarutobi spoke, staring intently at Naruto.
Naruto took a deep breath, feeling nervous about revealing his eye. Slowly opening it, he let out a small gasp as his right eye's odd vision was taking in Sarutobi's form as a mixture of bright red orange and some dull blue.
Sarutobi closely studied Naruto's new right eye, it was indeed all black with red iris' as he had noted at the arenas. "Is there anything odd that you see with that eye?"
"It's. . . hard to explain." Naruto decided it would be easier if he simply shut his left eye, in order to block out the weird mixing effect it had if he tried to look through both. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he started, "Right, well everything is either black or red, black seeming to be the color of any object and red being the air. I can't make out your face but your body is appearing in this weird pattern of reds, oranges and some blue, it moves around."
Sarutobi closely listened to his explanation, making a small nod with his head from time to time. As Naruto finished, Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe, seeming to take in the information and analyze it in his mind.
After what seemed to be too long to Naruto, Sarutobi spoke again. "It sounds as if you've acquired a type of heat tracking vision that some types of animals possess. I've heard of it before."
"Heat tracking?" Naruto asked, feeling confused. He'd remembered briefly hearing about it before in the academy, but didn't quite understand it then.
"It's a mode of vision where the eye is able to register heat signatures given off by creatures or objects. Humans emanate heat. Thus why you see me as those colors. Same with any warm blooded creature."
Naruto ingested the information, looking around, seeing that he could faintly see outlines of creatures outside the Hokage's window. A nifty trick, he supposed. Though he hated admitting that anything he received from the Kyuubi was anywhere near good.
Just as he feeling better about why the Hokage had asked to talk to him, Sarutobi spoke again. "Have there been any other changes that you've noted?"
Naruto frowned, not liking the way that question was asked. Sarutobi caught it immediately however. "Naruto. I have to ask these questions. I trust you implicitly to control your prisoner and to furthermore accept and understand the position you're in."
Naruto almost felt like arguing, but was honestly too tired and far too drained. That, and he had to admit the Hokage made a very good point. He went on to explain his talk with the fox, and how the demon chakra had completely replaced his own and what it had done to his body. He also noted the faster regeneration he had experienced.
Sarutobi again, listened intently to all the information he heard and then nodded, allowing himself a small bit of relief seeing that for now nothing major seemed to be urgent. "It seems as though you're getting better at controlling the Kyuubi's chakra Naruto. But don't ever underestimate the demon in you. It may very well be trying to lure you into thinking as such."
Naruto nodded solemnly, knowing what he said was true.
"And," Sarutobi spoke, causing Naruto to meet his gaze. "Congratulations on clearing ahead to the Chunin finals."
Naurto felt honestly surprised hearing the praise from the old man, "But. . . what about. . ." Naruto started stumbling over his words, wishing he had never hinted towards what he wanted to speak about. Especially when he wasn't even sure what he felt about it exactly.
Sarutobi closed his eyes with a deep breath, placing his pipe down. To Naruto it seemed as though the lines on the Hokage's face had grown deeper if nothing else. "Naruto. You, better than many know that the ninja world is harsh one. Death is our constant companion." Sarutobi started, opening his eyes and looking into Naruto's, ensuring that he would listen to every word. "Though I would like to try and instill in all that killing is wrong and should be avoided, reality isn't so kind. The truth of the matter is that Gaara was out for your blood. If you hadn't broken out of his technique you would be dead. You had to defend yourself as best you could, and I myself don't see much else of a way you could of stopped him non-lethally. He was obviously unhinged and lost reason long ago."
Naruto listened, his jaw slightly agape. He truly had not expected the Hokage to almost approve of how the fight had gone.
"But take a good, hard lesson from this Naruto." Sarutobi continued, "This will not be the first time, as much as I wish it were otherwise, that you will have to kill. Gods know I have taken many lives in the time I've been alive. It isn't something I'm particularly proud of, but it isn't something I regret."
Naruto nodded, leaning forward in his chair.
Sarutobi stood, and walked around his desk towards Naruto. "Remember this Naruto. Never forget that you have taken a life, and the weight that such an act carries. To devalue or disrespect what you have done will do nothing but bring shame to yourself. Now, head on home and get some rest. You've more than earned it." Sarutobi finished, giving the genin a parting hug as Naruto stood.
Naruto smiled as he felt the embrace of the man he considered a grandpa more than a Hokage. He knew that the Hokage's words rang more than true, they were words spoken from true experience. With a final few parting words, Naruto left the office, his thoughts now focused on his bed.
Awww yeah, two chapters in two days. I'm cooking now. I hope everyone enjoys this! I truly enjoy each and everyone of the reviews I get. I'm constantly checking every hour to see if I have a new one lol. Also, I want to thank many of my consistent reviewers, you guys are rock stars in my book.
Also, I got a suggestion from one of my reviewers about an idea for an outfit for Naruto, but sadly you left the review as a guest so I don't have anyway to contact you! So, if you want, go ahead and leave your idea in a review format and I'll definitely take it into consideration! Naruto is up for a wardrobe change as is.