Eyes of the Broken Soul
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic (and some others).
Hey! It's the twentieth chapter! *Shakes Ass*
Ahem, anyway, Naruto's growth is tested in this one and the results are surprising! That's all I have to say... so read the chapter already!
Oh... and this is also my longest chapter so far (At about ten thousand words). Why do I write so much all the time? :)
I'd like to say thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far, I really appreciate the feedback! It means a lot to me.
Hope you enjoy the next chapter! XD
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Chapter 20 - The Growth of One's Heart
The showering rays of afternoon sunlight glimmered and flowed into the wavering ripples of one of Konoha's rivers, dancing among the shimmering waves of water that held the reflection of two lone figures as they moved atop it's brimming surface. The fine spray of mist caught the light in a sparkling haze as Naruto and Kurenai weaved in between each other, clashing against one another in a graceful display of flowing bodies and dancing light. Lee watched carefully from the waters edge, admiring the intricate display and mesmerized by the grace and fluidity of both Naruto's and Kurenai's form. Both had been caught up in their late afternoon taijutsu training and they would often spar on the waters surface in order to increase Naruto's chakra control and stamina while also helping to develop his balance and fluidity.
It had been three months since he had learned about his past heritage, three months since they started their new training regime and Naruto had come a long way since then. It had also been a very difficult time for the young boy, in both his time in the academy and the grueling training that came afterwards every day. But not only that, the villagers that glared at him as he walked down the streets of his village, did so with even more malice and cruelty then they ever had before. It was almost as though something had changed, like a sudden darkness was beginning to fall all around him, but even still Naruto always tried his best to weather the storm. After all, he had people worth living for now, those who cared for him and accepted him and showed him the warmth of their love. He would fight to keep that love, no matter the cost.
Now the fruits of his training were beginning to show both in his academy grades, much to the ire of his superiors who saw the rapid advancement as an ill omen, and in his overall well-being as a growing child. Even as they sparred together on the water's surface, Kurenai easily noticed the improvement in Naruto's overall physical condition. When they had first met, the boy was little more than a skinny shell of traumatic emotions and broken dreams, one who barely ever smiled and was almost always hurting deep inside. His small body and battered frame painfully displayed the signs of years of neglect every time they went out onto the waters surface for their training, his ribs often showing from the lack of nutrition given by his orphanage and his skin pale from the years of isolation and little exposure to sunlight.
But now everything was different. The boy was smiling much more often than he used to and his physical condition had improved exponentially. Iruka also made sure that Naruto had a healthy diet as well as the warmth of a new home to keep him safe. Other than the occasional treat to ramen, the boy was now receiving all the basic nutritional needs and much more every single day. His body had now filled out a bit more, no longer the painfully skinny frame it once was but rather a decent build fitting of a child of his age.
The fine muscle tone on his stomach, legs and arms stood in testimony to the training he had received and his skin was now a soft tan in colour from the afternoons spent in the sunlight. His eyes shone a crystal clear ocean blue and they were now filled with more life than they ever had been before, while his miraculous smile flashed like the shining rays of a morning sunrise, bringing with it all its warmth and comfort and the promise of a brighter future.
Of course, not all of the improvements were only physical in nature, the boy was also starting to grow more confident in himself as well and he was much happier than he had ever been before. There were still nights when he woke up sweating from the dark nightmares of his deepest fears that haunted his sleep and he was still wary of the cruelty those around him, but now he had something to believe in, something to keep him moving forward while holding him strong in his resolve... his dreams. Naruto had also opened up a lot more to his best friend, Lee, having now shared his most tormenting secret with the dark haired boy. There was very little the two couldn't talk about anymore, if anything at all.
He even began opening up to Hinata a lot more as well, who had since shared with their friendly company during every one of their school breaks. The once impossibly timid girl was also starting to open up significantly in her own right, especially around Naruto and Lee. She no longer stuttered as much as she used to when talking to them and she would often happily join in on the conversations that the two boys held between one another. The three had since become very close friends and although Naruto still avoided physical contact with her, the signs of their bonds were already etched deeply into his heart.
Some of the most significant changes, however, came about with the boy's time spent with his dragon companion, Ryuukimi. The energetically playful and confident demeanor of the said creature had started to rub off on Naruto during their time together and he now found his own confidence beginning to grow even more as well. His teachers had noticed how his grin had become more carefree and wild and his childlike streak of mischief was starting to show up more, often resulting in simple pranks being played on them or just him having plain old fun.
It was really sad though, because the only time Naruto really acted like a normal child was when he was with the completely abnormal creature. He never had friends to go and play games with at school other than Lee and Hinata, so enjoying simple pleasures like playing 'tag' and 'hide and go seek' with a group of children his own age were things he never had the luxury of divulging in. It was very difficult for Naruto to relate to the other kids in his age-group, especially after so many years of isolation, and it was even harder to trust them after how cruelly he had been treated.
But now after three months of both healing and training, the boy was finally starting to move forward with newfound hope. The taijutsu style that he learned from his ancestral scroll was now being refined into a graceful art-form of fluid movements and stunning motions. After working through the ins and outs with Kurenai as best he could, it was discovered that the style was actually not too dissimilar from that of the Hyuuga clan's Jyuuken, relying on agility and quick reflexes to deflect and avoid your opponents blows while retaliating with carefully timed counter attacks. The only difference was that instead of targeting a persons tenketsu points to stop their chakra flow and disable them, Naruto's bloodline gave him a different and rather unique edge in battle.
Using his doujutsu allowed him to see a person's spiritual energy as well as the ebb and flow of their life force. Working this in with the effects of his physical touch, the boy could inject small amounts of his own life force into his opponent with each blow, targeting their emotions and disrupting their overall concentration. This would also severely weaken and disorient them over time, causing them to fight far less effectively than normal.
Although it was even more defensive than even the Hyuuga's own taijutsu style, using mostly the palms to gently deflect an opponents movements rather than relying on aggressive pin point attacks, it would be severely unwise to regard it as harmless or docile. A well-aimed strike could disrupt a person life force completely and may even go as far as causing their heart to stop beating. Even in deflecting a persons blows, Naruto could inject a small amount of energy through their arms or legs, making his so called 'defense' an effective way to wear his opponents down before he even started to counter attack, something Kurenai and Lee learned very quickly during their sparring matches.
Today was one such practice bout and Naruto's well-learned chakra control from his teacher made it a lot easier for him to grasp his unique taijutsu styles unique properties. Kurenai traded blows with the sunny blond as they darted across the waters surface, both sweating slightly under the overbearing heat of the late afternoon sun as well as from the fatigue of their training. After a few more minutes of sparring, Kurenai eventually called it to a stop, relieving Naruto for a short break.
"Well done kiddo, you've really picked up on your form quite a bit." Naruto took the compliment with a small blush and a massive grin, scratching the back of his head with a tinge of embarrassment. Despite how much stronger he had grown, he still had a healthy dose of humility.
"Thanks Kurenai-sensei!"
The jounin walked over to where the boy stood on the water's surface and took him by the hand, causing him to take another gulp before blushing heavily. It was less visible to notice on his more smoothly tanned skin, but Kurenai could still easily make out the red cheeks and drawn lips and it caused her to smile. It also didn't help that his eyes were turning gold, something that he quickly hid away from her by staring at the small ripples on the water's surface, but Kurenai could still see them in his wavering reflection.
"Oi, Naruto-kun! She's a bit too old for you isn't she?!" Both Kurenai and Naruto turned to face Lee as he shouted from the shore, flashing a warm cheeky smile.
The two then looked back towards one another when Naruto realized they were still holding hands despite the discomforting situation. This only caused the boy to blush even more and the emotions running from his hands were almost enough to make the jounin touching him turn red herself from the exposure. Unfortunately, despite their efforts to suppress his emotions during such physical contact, it was discovered that it wasn't only his chakra, but rather Naruto's life-force that flowed into another person, so there was no real way to prevent others from linking with his feelings through touch. He would just have to be more careful around those he didn't know or learn to control his own emotions more carefully.
"D... don't listen to him Naruto, he's just teasing. Now come, lets go sit down for a while and we'll go over what we've learned today." Naruto gave an uneasy nod before finally allowing his eyes to return to his sensei's gaze. They eventually returned to their normal ocean-blue shade once more and the two made their way to the shore.
--
"Whew!"
Naruto's tired and battered form collapsed gently onto the soft green grass, his breathing now a heavy pant and his body filled to the brim with sweat and the marks of scratches and bruises.
"I'm... so tired..." Ryuukimi, who looked no better than his human companion slowly slouched over to where Naruto lay on his back and collapsed beside the young blond, having also been exhausted by the training they had just done. Even though dragons had higher stamina levels than their humans, or at least most humans that weren't Naruto, the small creature still couldn't keep himself on his legs any longer.
"Eh, Naruto-chan... can we go get some ramen now? I haven't had that in ages." Naruto just laughed at his friend's suggestion despite how much it hurt his aching muscles, while his stomach growled a low rumble in agreement.
"Yeah, maybe later, but that's only if she lets us."
"Hey, are you two done already?"
Naruto lifted his heavy head off the floor as high as he could and looked up to see Anko waving a kunai around her index finger. Her face was lit up with a sadistic grin that warned of the promise of pain to follow.
"I'm sorry Anko-sensei... it's just that we're really tired. We've been training non-stop for three hours straight and we haven't eaten all day..." Anko just let out a deep sigh and slipped the kunai away into her pouch, before walking up to where the boy lay.
If it was anyone else, she would have skewered them on the spot without a heartbeat and still forced them to continue training afterwards, but the woman found herself growing very fond of her young student during the last three months. It wasn't long before she eventually introduced him to the wonders of dango and they would often treat themselves to a helping following an afternoon of heavy training. Naruto still didn't know where she managed to pull it out from all the time, but he wasn't about to let his thoughts wander.
It even got to the point where the young blond started calling her 'sensei', rather than the colder formal reference he once used before. Of course, Anko admired the attention and appraisal she got from the wide blue eyes that held her in such high respects and she found her own heart beginning to mend from the darkness that came with the trials of her past. Every time she saw Naruto working so hard to achieve his dreams, while still managing to smile despite his overbearing hardships, it began to inspire her to move forward with her own life as well.
She now found herself relaxing a lot more than she used to and her psychotic demeanor had also lessened somewhat, although that didn't mean she wasn't still a wild canon. In fact, to assume such would be a grave mistake on anyone's part. The only difference was that now she acted that way because she wanted to and not just to hide her true feelings. Unfortunately, Naruto was always on the receiving end of that crazy streak and his training was always grueling to match.
To say that Naruto's exercises with Anko had been difficult would be like saying that Jiraiya was a bit of a pervert, both of course being complete understatements. The purpled haired jounin would run Naruto dry for all his worth, often training him until he could no longer walk or even crawl for that matter. Most afternoons ended with the original Naruto collapsing in exhaustion once his clones were dispelled due to the built up fatigue of his arduous schedule. But even still, despite the hardships, he never complained, or at least not often and that was something that Anko respected in the young boy.
It seemed as though Naruto understood the importance of growing stronger despite the difficulties that came with it. His and Ryuukimi's coordination had now become a lot more refined as well, as did the boy's movements and abilities when it came to stealth and weapon use. Anko found herself glowing with pride, knowing that he was probably the most well trained kid in his age group at the academy and the only thing holding him back was his still growing confidence.
Anko's wild chaotic grin slowly lessened into a simple warm smile as she looked down at the panting boy lying on the grass. Her facial features began to soften and her grey-brown eyes warmed at the sight of her charge. She slowly sat down next to the young blond and pulled out a box of dango, causing Naruto and Ryuukimi to both smile happily at the sight of food. The boy quickly shot up into a sitting position while his companion sat eagerly on his lap, both of their eyes pleading for a taste of the sweet offer.
Anko grinned and handed each of them a stick to munch on, gaining a small 'thanks' from them both along with a warm feeling in her heart. They all just sat there quietly, enjoying the sweat taste of their treat and the cool breeze that washed over them, it wasn't often that the jounin could share in the luxury of the genuine warmth she felt during these fleeting moments and she treasured every second of it. After a few moments of peaceful relaxation, Anko turned to the sticky faced blond and smiled in approval.
"You know kid, you're not so bad after all... for a brat." Naruto felt the undertone of sincerity in Anko's voice despite the added title at the end of her hard-pressed comment and turned to her with a cheeky grin.
"You're not too bad yourself either Anko-sensei... for a psycho." Anko's head was immediately adorned with an oversized blood vessel after that little comment and Naruto almost swallowed the dango stick that still hung out from his mouth.
"What did you call me!!!" The young blond quickly scrambled to his feet and placed Ryuukimi on his shoulders, before shooting away from the fuming temptress with a massive grin, his childish streak now getting the better of him.
"Ehehe... thanks for the food Anko-sensei!" Anko was hot on his heels soon afterwards, chasing him through the trees and into the open field while he giggled with a playful glee. Ryuukimi was still trying to hold onto his own food as well as the blond he rode on, while shaking his head in dismay at the shouts coming from behind.
"Get back here you little brat!!! If you want a psycho, I'll give you one!!!"
--
Iruka watched silently from under a nearby tree as Naruto came darting out into the field with a fuming Anko trailing very closely behind him. The Naruto that was reading with him looked up from his book and shook his head in silent dismay, before releasing a wavering sigh.
"I wonder what I said this time?" Iruka just giggled under his breath before patting Naruto on his soft blond hair.
"Well, if she manages to catch you, you may find out sooner than later, especially knowing Anko and her temper." The boy just shrugged at the thought of it and then leaned against his sensei's/father's shoulder.
"Dad, if she catches me, just knock me out okay, or better yet, just kill me and end my missery. I don't think I want to remember whatever she does to me..." The chunin smiled and moved his arm around his adopted son and pulled him closer, enjoying the warmth of their contact. They had already since been officially registered as a family, although Naruto still kept his surname, knowing it was the only thing that linked him back to the parents he never knew. Now the two of them found themselves growing closer than ever, acting like a real father and son would.
Iruka squeezed the young boy in his arms and allowed himself the subtle relieving tingle of the boy's emotions to flow into him, while his eyes scanned carefully over the rest of field. Kakashi was still training with another clone while Kurenai was sitting with her's and Lee, no doubt taking a well deserved break from their taijutsu matches and going over some finer details. Naruto's ninjutsu training had gone as well as the other areas and his newfound chakra control helped immensely when it came to performing the said techniques. The only problem came when he tried to narrow down his chakra expenditure to perform smaller jutsu, something that his overwhelming reserves made difficult to do.
The leaf cutting exercise was eventually met with great success, which was something that surprised everyone. Although they knew Naruto would eventually get it, they didn't expect him to do so in such a short space of time, especially considering it normally took years to develop that kind of elemental control. After that, they moved onto an exercise that had Naruto trying to part the water of a small runing stream by using wind to cut off it's flow. The boy would also practice this with running tap water when washing the dishes at night. After about a month of struggling with the more difficult task, he eventually had that down as well.
Naruto had since been working with Kakashi to develop his own unique wind base jutsu from what he had learned. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the wind element was the exact opposite and inherent weakness to the masked jounin's own natural affinity, Kakashi never actually used it himself, so he instead acted as a guide for Naruto as the boy came up with his own variations. In addition to that, he also taught the boy some of his own lower level jutsu as well and helped him practice with the academy basics, such as the 'Substitution Jutsu' and the 'Transformation Technique', which they were now forced to learn as well.
The scarred chunin could see Naruto forming hand seals in the distance before forming a small gust of wind in front of himself, picking up the leaves and twigs that were scattered across the grass and blowing them off into the distance. The boy would then look over to the masked jounin with a massive grin of accomplishment before receiving an approving nod for his efforts. Iruka often wondered how much he had actually learned, mostly because he never really had time to watch his other training exercises, but before he could think on it any further, Naruto suddenly jumped in his arm's hold and tensed up slightly.
"Hey, what's wrong kiddo?" Naruto looked up to his sensei with an expression of horror still etched on his face while his eyes filled with the terror of an unknown source.
"She... um... well, she caught me..." Iruka took a deep gulp, realizing what kind of memories would come with such a declaration.
"Let me guess, I don't want to know...?" Naruto just nodded his head silently, but then allowed a small nervous giggle to follow, causing Iruka to frown in confusion.
"So... that's what I said..."
--
After another long afternoon of training, Naruto eventually dispelled his clones and gathered the collective experience, as well as some awkward memories that caused him to blush slightly. The group then gathered at the centre of the field.
"Alright Naruto..." Kakashi began. "I think it's about time we tested your abilities. So far we've each only seen your development on an individual basis, but maybe it's time to see how it all stacks up together." Naruto scratched his head in thought, wondering how they would test him.
"But Kakashi-sensei, what type of test is it?" The masked jounin looked over to his fellow trainers as well as a curious Lee, trying to think of an exercise they could use.
"I know... how about a friendly match? A one-on-one battle between you and I to see how far you've developed. I have the most all-round skills out of the four of us so I'll be able to asses you on all your abilities on every level. What do you say?"
Naruto thought about the question for a brief moment, knowing that going head to head with a jounin would probably result in an embarrassing defeat, but the reassuring face of his masked sensei put his concerns at ease. The young blond flashed a big grin and then nodded his head in approval, finding within himself the confidence to face his fears.
"Alright, I'll do it!"
Kakashi eye-smiled as the boy pumped his fist into the air with deftly enthusiasm, something they hadn't seen often in Naruto when he wasn't with his only friends. He then walked over to the far side of the field while everyone else stepped aside to watch. Naruto turned to face Ryuukimi and Lee, who both flashed reassuring grins in his direction, the dark haired boy all the while giving him a big 'thumbs up'.
"You can do it Naruto-kun! Show him how far you've come!" Naruto grinned in return and then turned back to face Kakashi, who had since focused his attention on the young boy.
"Alright, come at me with everything you've got and don't be afraid to hurt me either, understand!?" Naruto nodded his head and then fell into his taijutsu stance, spreading out his legs further apart and loosening his hands into open palms.
"Hmmm, his posture and stance is very interesting indeed. It reduces his overall surface area when facing his opponent while giving him the widest possible coverage for deflecting and evading attacks." Kakashi then watched as Naruto activated his doujutsu, his eyes turning a radiant gold that reflected brightly in the warm sunlight. He focused his vision on his sensei, blocking out all other colours and light until only Kakashi's life force and spirit could be seen.
"Well, I guess I better not look directly into his eyes" The masked jounin murmured to himself. "Although I doubt he would ever use that technique on a comrade against his own will, I did tell him to go all out on me so it's better to be safe." Kakashi then prepared to attack, knowing that Naruto's defensive style prompted him into allowing his opponent to make the first move.
"I hope you're ready, because this is where things become difficult." The jounin then shot forward toward the young boy, although not at his full jounin speed. Naruto quickly fell backwards a short distance, efficiently predicting a kick coming down from his opponent. "What, how did he know?" Kakashi swerved with his movement and followed up with another roundhouse kick but once again found himself hitting nothing but air. Naruto ducked underneath the impending blow and moved into his opponents guard, preparing a well-aimed counter strike.
The young blond allowed a brief, victorious grin before slamming his readied palm into the man's chest, targeting the flow of his life force where it was the strongest, but as soon as his attack hit its mark, he found his palm slamming firmly into the surface of a wooden log.
"A kawarimi!" Naruto's ears pricked as the soft whistles of flying kunai sounded from the nearby trees. He managed to turn around just in time to deflect the attacks with well-timed flicks of his hands, before settling back into his defensive stance once more.
"That's pretty good Naruto. You managed to react quickly to a surprise attack while still keeping control of your form." Naruto felt his pride swelling up inside as Kakashi stepped out from hiding with a look of approval on his face, but then steadily pushed it back away again. He knew that the jounin wasn't really trying hard, otherwise he would have already been beaten.
"Your taijutsu is very well developed, but how are your other skills in comparison?" Naruto just allowed a sly grin in responce to the question, causing Kakashi to tilt his head in curiosity. Kurenai could see the confident look on the boy's face and tried to stifle her own growing smile. Iruka noticed the red-eyed jounin's lifting expression and became curious.
"What's going on? It looks like you already know what Naruto's going to do." Kurenai just looked over to her companion with an air of confidence that silently spoke of an unknown truth.
"You'll see soon enough..." They all then turned back to the fight, surprised to see Naruto forming a set of hand seals.
"Dog, Snake, Monkey, Ox, Tiger..." Kakashi immediately recognized the seals used and his eye widened in surprise.
"It... can't be. There's no way he'd have the chakra control required to do that technique..." As soon as the seals were finished, Naruto began to disappear in a gust of wind and leaves, the last thing that could be seen was the sly, feral grin still present on his whiskered face before it vanished all together.
"Magen! Tree Binding Death!"
As soon as the boy was gone, roots suddenly began to grow around Kakashi's feet and up along his body, before encasing him entrapment of the growing tree. Soon afterwards, Naruto reappeared out of its trunk above Kakashi and tapped his held kunai happily against the jounin's shoulder.
"Hehe... Looks like I got you Kakashi-sensei!!" The grin on the boy's face was filled with pride at having caught the jounin off his guard, knowing that he wouldn't expect such an unpredictable move. Iruka tried to contain his falling jaw line while Lee and Ryuukimi jumped up and down on the spot, cheering their blond friend to victory.
"Go Naruto!" Iruka then turned to a smug looking Kurenai.
"You taught him the Tree Binding Death technique? That's a B-ranked genjutsu! What else have I been missing?" Iruka muttered. Off to his side, Anko tried to withhold her sudden urge to cough. In the meantime, Kakashi allowed a small grin of his own as he turned to face his surprisingly versatile young opponent.
"Well, I must say that was an unexpected treat, but you've let your guard down by becoming overconfident." Kakashi then disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving an empty patch of grass where he had once been standing.
"A Shadow Clone..." Naruto then felt a surge of chakra run through his body, causing the genjutsu he had cast to vanish while leaving him standing there, vulnerable in the open field. The sharp prick of a kunai touching against his back was felt soon afterwards and he turned to see Kakashi standing behind him with a smug look on his visible face.
"Looks like I've got you now, hey Naruto?" What surprised the jounin, however, was that Naruto still had the same confident grin on his face.
"Like you said before, you shouldn't let you guard down Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto also disappeared in a puff of smoke as well, causing his jounin sensei's to flinch in surprise.
He then felt the ground beneath him start to rupture and quickly jumped away in time to avoid Naruto's attack as the boy came flying from the earth with a kunai in hand. The jounin landed a few feet away from the blond as he landed on his feet and the two faced of once again.
"I see... so you used the genjutsu to disguise your movements so I wouldn't notice you making a shadow clone, then you hid your real body underground using the 'Headhunter Jutsu' I taught you. Very impressive, but... how did you know I was also using a Shadow Clone?" Naruto just smiled as though the answer was obvious.
"It's my eyes silly. When I saw you coming out of hiding I noticed that you didn't look the same anymore. You didn't have any colours flowing inside of you."
"Hmmm, interesting..." Kakashi mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "The Shadow Clone Jutsu may create real bodies that have their own chakra systems, but only the real body has a soul and that's something you can't replicate." Naruto nodded his head in agreement.
"I couldn't see your spirit anywhere inside of you so I knew you weren't the real Kakashi-sensei, so I hid away while using the genjutsu and a Shadow Clone to make you come out. Pretty smart don't you think?"
Everyone who was watching and listening were now completely shocked by the ten-year-old boy's advanced foresight and planning, even Kurenai didn't expect such an advanced strategy using the techniques she taught him, not to mention the interesting uses of his doujutsu. After a few fleeting moments of brief silence that followed, only interrupted by the loud cheering of Naruto's friends, Kakashi then raised his hand into the air causing them all to pay close attention.
"Alright then Naruto, I think that's enough play time, it's time to get more serious then." The masked jounin then removed the forehead protector from over his left eye, revealing the Sharingan that hid beneath its surface.
"What! Are you crazy Kakashi!? This is supposed to be a test, not a real battle. Don't you think that's going a bit to far?" Kakashi just brushed of Iruka's rants, instead focusing on the blond boy in front of him, whose body was now beginning to tense up with fear.
"Iruka, Naruto will have to face far more dangerous threats than me in this cruel world of ours, we both already know that. Consider this as a test to see how far he's really come and how much further he still needs to go before he can effectively defend himself." Naruto took a deep gulp of dread, realizing things had just blown way out of his league, but he quickly found his confidence reemerging once more as an idea popped into mind.
"Um, Kakashi-sensei, does that mean I can go all out as well?" Kakashi was somewhat surprised by the question, although he didn't let it show.
"Alright then, what did you have in mind?"
Naruto turned to Ryuukimi, who was waiting patiently on the sidelines, and ushered him over to where he stood. The dragon quickly slapped on a confident, toothy grin and then ran up to his soulmate, before jumping up onto the boy's shoulders.
"Alright buddy! Are your ready to show him what we can do?" Ryuukimi was almost shivering with anticipation, something that had the masked jounin curious as to what they had learned in the past three months.
"Yeah, lets do it Naruto-chan! We'll show him just how great we are as a team!"
Naruto basked in the confidence emanating off the touch of his friend as it washed away his remaining doubts and then fell back into his taijutsu stance with renewed vigor while Ryuukimi followed his movements closely. The dragon began to crouch deeply on his companion's shoulders, almost matching the flow of boy's stance perfectly. Kakashi noticed that Naruto's pose was slightly different from the one he used before. He was now crouching quite a bit lower than normal, almost feral-like in posture, and he would have probably fallen over if it weren't for Ryuukimi's tail carefully balancing his weight distribution. Kakashi somehow suspected that Anko's training regime had something to do with this new development, and the unnerving grin coming from the said jounin's face stood in testimony to that suspicion.
"This... should be interesting..."
Before the jounin knew what was happening, Naruto shot forward in a sudden movement to attack, taking his sensei completely by surprise by the unusually aggressive motion and surprisingly subtle discretion of his silent assault. The boy's advancing palm was quickly deflected by Kakashi, who had followed his movements perfectly with the Sharingan... or so he thought. What he had forgotten about was the small companion riding on Naruto's shoulders and a quick swipe from Ryuukimi's dangerous tail quickly reminded the jounin of his presence.
Kakashi barely managed to duck in time to avoid the potentially grievous blow, before hastily moving to retreat backwards after trading a few close blows with his opponent. The boy he fought against quickly snapped back up again from his failing attack and parted his feet to the sides, preparing another new stance while forming a new series of hand seals.
"Hey Ryuukimi-chan, how about some fire?" The dragon just nodded his head excitedly and began to inhale deeply, while spreading his wings to the sides of Naruto's body. The blond boy then finished molding his chakra and held out his hands together in front of him, his fingers slightly overlapping one another, causing Kakashi to take a slightly nervous gulp.
"Fuuton! Kaze no Arashi!"
A large gust of wind manifested in front of the tips of the boy's hands, blasting forward in a torrent of dust and leaves as it picked up the surrounding debris. At exactly the same time, as if on the command of some hidden signal, Ryuukimi exhaled his tightly held breath, releasing a surge of fire into the advancing maelstrom of wind, causing the flames to grow in both size and power as they were strengthened by the ensuing storm. The entire area in front of them where Kakashi stood was burnt to a smoldering crisp by the advancing inferno and the extreme amount of heat generated by the flames could be felt by everyone in the area. As soon as the attack died down, Naruto let his hands fall back to his sides while Ryuukimi desperately gasped for air to fill his ironically burning lungs.
"Whew! That took a lot out of me..." Iruka could only gape in disbelief at how far the boy had grown, while Lee's eyes were as wide as saucers from the amazing spectacle. The scared chunin was now finally starting to understand just how beneficial their summoning partnership actually was.
"They both combined their abilities to generate an attack of a magnitude that neither one of them would ever be able to achieve individually at their age. Naruto's wind based chakra fits in perfectly with Ryuukimi's fire attacks, no wonder they're considered soul-mates. It's the perfect match for their abilities."
After recovering from the exhaustion of generating such an attack, the boy then scanned over the damage he had done with his golden eyes, searching for any spiritual traces of the masked jounin at the same time, but the man's essence was nowhere to be found.
"Oh come on Kakashi-sensei, I know you wouldn't be caught by that attack so easily. Come out already!" In a profound response to Naruto's request, the ground beneath the boy began to crumble away, revealing the emerging colour signature that gave Kakashi away. Naruto managed to jump into the air just in time to avoid the hands that clasped around his ankles and he landed less than gracefully on the branch of a nearby tree. A short stumble on his part was quickly corrected by Ryuukimi's flailing wings and tail, but there was no time to rest just yet.
As quickly as he had recovered, Naruto found himself jumping out of the way of a follow up attack, the branch he was standing on being quickly shattered under one of Kakashi's powerful kicks. Both boy and teacher ricochetted between the trees as a chase ensued. Naruto was using thrown kunai and shuriken to try and hit Kakashi while the jounin closed the gap between them to strike. Ryuukimi would also emit periodic blast of fire from his mouth in an attempt to catch their opponent off guard, but found his attacks hitting nothing but air.
"Damn it, he's too fast!" Naruto cursed under his breath, realizing that he was now running out of steam. Kakashi noticed the boy's growing fatigue and loss of concentration and decided it was high time to end the battle, having already been satisfied by Naruto's performance. He quickly formed a series of hand seals of his own and began his final counter attack.
"It's time to fight fire with fire! Katon! Grand fireball jutsu!" Naruto and Ryuukimi watched with horror stricken faces as a large ball of massed flame advanced towards them, consuming everything in it's path.
"Ryuukimi!"
The dragon didn't need to hear anything more, he could already feel what Naruto wanted through their bond with each other and the emotions flowing through their touch. He quickly wrapped his tail around the boy's upper chest to increase his grip and spread his wings wide open. Naruto then slammed his hands into one another and released his chakra in a massive gust of wind, causing it to catch underneath Ryuukimi's extended wings as it emanated from his body before lifting them high into the air. The two youngsters watched with held breaths as the large mass of fire passed beneath them before dissipating into a massive plume of smoke.
"Wow, that was really close eh..." Unfortunately, the brief moment of subtle relief was very short-lived, because soon the ground was rapidly approaching them as they promptly fell out of the sky.
"Aaaaahhhh!!!" The two eventually hit the ground with a heavy thud, their fall only being softened by the air caught underneath the dragon's spread out wings.
"Nggghhh!!! That... really hurt..." Naruto tried desperately to pick himself up off the ground, but found the strength leaving his battered and aching body altogether as it collapsed once again into the soft grass. The last thing he saw as his doujutsu faded away was the silhouetted figure of Kakashi standing over him before exhaustion had its way with his weakened form.
--
"I told you that this was taking it too far! That last attack of yours could have killed them both Kakashi!!!"
Naruto's eyelids began to waver precariously as the low muffles of voices slowly brought him out of the darkness. As the light swam into his now opening eyes, the blurred images of his teachers forms began to materialize into view, all standing not to far from where he lay.
"Common Iruka, I knew that he would be able to avoid it. He's a lot more capable than you give him credit for. And beside, even if he didn't manage to dodge it, I would have never let it actually hit him." The boy's vision slowly molded into view as the four adults continued their argument, oblivious to the waking eyes of their charge.
"Hey guys... am I dead?" Naruto's muttered call immediately caught their attention and Iruka quickly rushed over to his side, followed shortly by Lee and Ryuukimi.
"Hey Naruto, looks like you're finally awake." Iruka murmured.
"Yeah, you were so awesome!!! All that fire and the wind and the..... the tree thingy, it was like the craziest battle I've ever seen!!!" Naruto chuckled as he watched his friend trying to reenact the battle through outlandish movements and strange poses, while Ryuukimi just shook his head quiet in disbelief, trying to stifle his pout.
"Hey, I worked hard as well you know!" he growled, causing the dark haired boy to shrug. The small dragon then turned to Naruto, who was still trying to recover from his newfound migraine. "Isn't that right Naruto-chan!"
The said boy responded by gently petting the small creature on its head while giving off an approving smile. The small dragon got the message and then proceeded to curl up against his companion's side, snuggling up into the scruff of his neck, while slightly tickling the blond in his movements. Iruka looked at the two as they lay on the floor, his mind still recovering from everything he had just seen the academy student acomplish.
"So Naruto, when did Ryuukimi learn to start breathing fire? I thought he couldn't uses it yet."
"Oh that, well it was during one of out training lessons with Anko. She asked us to try and concentrate our chakra together at the same time so we could fight effectively as a team and he accidently let rip this massive burp, only it was a really fiery one." The dragon just flashed an embarrassed grin, having still not gotten over what had happened that day.
"Hehe... bad stomach cramps..." was his only excuse. Iruka just nodded his head and tried to wipe the mental images from his mind. The other three jounin then walked up to where Naruto was lying, all with strange looks on their faces. Naruto immediately noticed their tension and slowly sat up despite his pain, his face now cringing with discomfort.
"What's wrong? Didn't I do well enough?" Kurenai just shook her head, trying to hold back a small tinge of pain that she felt inside.
"No that's not it, in fact you did very well. Only, that's the problem..." Naruto scrunched his face in confusion, not understanding what she meant by that, but Iruka quickly took over to east his failing nerves.
"The thing is Naruto, that you've grown a lot faster than any of us could have imagined. They've already pretty much taught you everything they can at this point in time, so now it's up to you to grow by yourself for a while." Naruto felt a sudden pause in his heart beat.
"What Iruka is trying to say..." Kakashi continued. "... is that we can no longer teach you anymore without hindering your own individual growth and style. You've already proven that you are now a cable young boy who will grow into a strong shinobi. You still have a lot to learn and there is still a long way for you to go, but now you have to find your own path, one that will determine who you are as both a shinobi and as a human being." Naruto felt the small pain of tears stinging at the back of his eyes, but he bravely tried to hold them back. He slowly stood to his feet and walked over to the three jounin instructors that had taught him so much.
"Does... does this mean I won't ever see you guys again?"
"Of course not!" Anko blurted out, almost causing the others to jump. "You don't think I'd let a brat like you have all the fun alone in this dreary village, do you!? I'm sure that goes for my two mood sacks here as well."
Naruto felt his lips curl up into a smile, but his eyes were filled with the shimmering glimmer of a painful realization. One of the most precious parts of his life was now coming to an end and the time spent learning with his senseis would now be lost to his memories. Kurenai knelt down in front of the boy and took his hands into her own, smiling all the while as she did.
"Naruto, we'll always be here for you whenever you need us. Just because our training has come to an end doesn't mean that we won't be seeing each other. I for one won't be able to last long without seeing that wonderful smile of yours brighten up my day." As if to honor a hidden request, Naruto allowed a smile to form on his face. It was both happy and sad at the same time, but still filled with the promise of a newfound hope and a healing soul. He threw his arms around Kurenai and squeezed with all his might, allowing himself the warmth of her touch to forever find a place in his heart, one that she helped in mending and strengthening.
After a few moments of tensed emotions and heartfelt shivers, the boy finally let go of the red-eyed jounin and stepped back slightly, releasing an anguished breath from his shuddering body. Kurenai gave him one more kiss on the forehead, causing him to blush slightly with embarrassment while his eyes flashed gold from the warm tingling exposure. It was a foreign feeling that he had never experienced before, the touch of someone's lips pressing against his sensitive skin, and now he found himself yearning for more of that love, more of that same contact that a mother would give their child.
"That's for being such a good kid and a great friend" Kurenai smiled, standing to her feet again. She then slowly moved out of the way, while trying to hold back an uneasy shiver and the burning sensation growing in her eyes, before allowing Kakashi to step up to the blond that reminded him so much of his lost sensei. The masked jounin just stood there stiffly, not knowing how to approach this kind of uncomfortable situation, as well as a boy that was never to be touched.
"Well... I'm not really good at these kinds of things but you've been great..." There was no response other than the overbearing eyes of the boy that stood before him, eyes that shimmered with the glow of a hidden gratefulness that Naruto would never be able to express through simple words. Kakashi just closed his eye and scratched the back of his head, trying to avoid the painful look on Naruto's face.
"Hehehe... well, I guess you'll want to..." Before the jounin could even finish his sentence, a pair of small arms suddenly wrapped around his waist, causing his emotions to flare out of control at the unexpected exposure. Kakashi opened his eye and looked down to see Naruto squeezing tightly against him, while the boy's head buried into his stomach.
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei... thanks for everything..." The masked jounin could barely hear Naruto's muffled words, but he got the message loud and clear and the emotions he felt had already spoken on the boy's behalf.
"So... this is what it feels like, to have his emotions running through your heart..." he thought to himself.
The masked jounin tried to fight against the overwhelming feelings coming from the boy, whose arms held him in a tight embrace. He slowly raised his hand and gently touched it against Naruto's soft blond hair, before giving him a small rub on the head. There were no more words, what could he say? There were only the raw feelings and emotions of a ten-year-old boy. After a few more scant moments of subtle relief, for both the young boy and the weary jounin, Naruto finally let go of the man and allowed his eyes to wander back to the ground. If anyone could see them, they would notice the small tears stinging at their corners.
Finally it was Anko's turn. The young woman cautiously stepped up to the fray and tried to express her trademark sadistic grin, but it didn't come out the way she planned. It looked painful, to the point where one would almost think it was a poorly expressed frown. For the first time since escaping Orichimaru's iron grasp, Anko felt scared, in fact she felt terrified.
"Well, I guess this is it kid. I really enjoyed hanging out with you, ya little brat..." Anko just stood uncomfortably there in the silence that followed, knowing that her intimidating displays and harsh treatment had no doubt warded the young boy away from any hope of contact with her, or at least that's what she thought. But when Naruto threw his arms around the jounin, she couldn't contain the unexpected yelp that escaped her lips as the emotions rushed into her. What surprised her even more was the golden eyes that looked up to her and the almost painful, yet blissfully hopeful words that followed.
"You know Anko-sensei, you really should stop hiding your real feelings from everyone. I like the you that I see hiding inside more than the one you're showing everyone else. He didn't take that all away from you, I know it's still there deep inside your heart."
Anko felt her heart immediately stop beating, not knowing what to say, or even what to feel. Hell, she didn't even know what emotions she was experiencing at this point in time. The pain of her own past feelings of fear, rejection and self loathing were now mixing with the warmth and acceptance she felt coming from Naruto, emotions she never thought she would experience in her life again. To be needed by someone, to be... wanted, not because of what she could do or how efficient she was at killing, but because of who she was as a human being deep inside, something that only Naruto's eyes could truly see in her soul.
That is what she felt right now, she felt wanted, and it was an emotion that she didn't want to let go of. Small tears began to sting at the back of her eyes and before she even knew what was happening, Anko felt the soft brush of crystal salty liquid running down the side of her cheeks and glimmering in the fading sunlight for the first time in years. Everyone watching could see the raw emotions on her face, knowing that this was the first time in a long time that the purple-haired jounin was allowing her true feelings to show to the world around her. For the first time, her soul began to re-ignite in a new flame of promise and hope.
"Alright... brat, you're really... troublesome you know..." Anko stammered, while wiping the tears from her face and noting that she sounded just like a Nara. "... But still... you're a good kid..." Naruto just smiled warmly at the young woman, causing Anko to allow a smile in return, a genuine smile that wasn't hidden behind the stained surface of her intimidating mask. Her face began to relax as he slowly pulled away from him and her heartbeat began to lessen as well. The only thing that remained were the warm emotions she still felt inside despite the loss of contact.
Iruka then walked up to his son and placed his had on the boy's shoulder while Ryuukimi jumped up onto the other side. Lee soon joined the three, flashing a warm smile to Naruto in order to ease his tensing heart and his freshly falling tears.
"Don't worry Naruto-kun, you'll always have your friends! Well always be here for you no matter what!"
Naruto just nodded his head approvingly while looking up to his sensei and Ryuukimi and then back to Lee. After reassuring himself with the strength of their smiles, he finally found his courage and said his final words of thanks to the ones that tried so hard to make him stronger, the only people who gave him true hope when he thought his soul was broken forever. He knew he would see them often, but he would no longer share those special afternoons learning from the ones he admired so much.
He would always remember the ones who would forever hold a special place in his growing heart.
"I'll... always love you guys... no matter what happens..."
--
The dark ominous chill of an evil shadow seeps into the heart of an hopeless soul as he sits wallowing in the bitter taste of his alcohol. His eyes were laced with the malice of his ill intentions and a deep inner shadow that had since started consuming his soul months before, slowly turning his heart into a vessel of hatred and cruelty. Even his friends and family had started to notice the sudden change in Kizashi's eyes as the man slowly broke away all ties to those around him and now he was all alone, wallowing in the imaginings of an deteriorating mindscape.
The man's skin began to crawl ominously as dark unknown whispers entered his mind, rotting it away into the empty shell of its new masters will, while the seeds of a secret plot to harm a young boy's soul were carefully planted, waiting for the right moment to sprout.
"That demon brat, it's all his fault, he's the one that did this to me. He's the one that made my life a misery. I have to find him, I have to make him pay..."
As the aimless rambling slurs of a drunken tongue whispered throughout the air, the cold promise of pain dripped off the edge of his cruel words and caught in the icy nighttime breeze, carrying off to the soul of a young boy as he slept in the safety and comfort of his home. The safety and happiness of Naruto's life was now wavering precariously under the shadow of a new hidden threat as darkness began spreading it's corruption throughout the village with only one single goal in mind. To shatter the young boy's soul and cast him into the cruel embrace of a shadowy abyss.
--
Alright, chapter's done, but before anyone has a hernia, know that we will still be seeing our three favorite jounin often enough (but not too often). They just won't be training Naruto any more for now. It's also high time for him to start allowing himself to be a kid as well without having to worry about who's trying to kill him or how he has to defend himself all the time. Unfortunately though, as we all know, there are shadows moving throughout Konoha, trying to take everything away from our hero that he holds close to his heart. But now he is finally finding the strength to fight against it, along with that of his closest friends.
I'm sure you may have also noticed that the title of this chapter doesn't only refer to Naruto himself, but also those who have grown close to him. This is the healing process I was referring to in my earlier chapters.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Note: Fuuton! Kaze no Arashi = Wind release! Wind tempest/storm.