I don't own Naruto or Rave Master...been a while huh?
Yeesh, I wasn't thinking (or planning for that matter) that I would be gone for so long. But some rather nasty things happened to me back in December that has kept me busy. It's a very long story and seeing as you didn't come here to hear all that, I'll just be brief in the explanation. Basically what happened was some dumb sixteen year old got drunk and took his dad's car for a spin.....and crashed it into my place, destroying my computer and several other valuables.
Luckily, no one was killed. But his dad didn't have insurance on the car (I'm guessing it was just bought) so I've had to pay for the damages done to my place myself (though this thing is still being delt with in court). Obviously, dealing with the hole had to come first and that cost a pretty penny. And I had to replace the computer which I only just managed to do at the end of April (damn low paying crappy job). And now, I can finally entertain you all again.
Sadly, this isn't the only bad news as there is some relating to my other stories and I will talk about that next chapter.
Also, both this chapter and the next may be a little off from my usual style as I am still getting use to my new computer and I'm also a little out of wack from 5 months of not writing. I should be back up to par by 27 were Naruto and Neji face off. So bare with me till then.
I also noticed several others have started their own Naruto meets Rave Master stories. I guess I started a trend, huh?
Finally, the opening theme for this set of twelve chapters is called INVOKE and it was the first opening theme from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Seed. And from opening and ending themes I have used and will use in the future, you can get an idea of what my likes are when it comes to anime.
And now, let's begin season 2 of this Rave-olution........
Rave Master Naruto
Rave 25: The Shortest Month
surechigai isogu tabi ni / When we pass by each other in haste
butsukeai chigireau / We collide and hurt one another
tagai no hane no itami kanjiteiru / We feel the pain in each other's wings
samishisa ni yogoreta ude de daita / I held you in my arms, full of loneliness
sore igai no nanika wo shiranai kara / Because we don't know anything else
tsunagaru shunkan mezameru eien / I long for the moment we connect
machikogareru / And awaken eternity
hayasugiru toki no / Having been exposed to
matataki ni sarasarete / The twinkling of time's rapid flow
hitori dewa todokanai / I can't reach it alone
negai nante kiesou na kotoba ja / With fragile words such as "wish"
karamiau netsu no / The truth of
tsutaetai shinjitsu wo / The entangled fever I want to impart
darekara mamoreba ii? / Who am I protecting it from?
kimi ga itsuka hoshikatta omoi ga / Because the feelings you always wanted me to have
soko ni aru nara / They are still here
The two figures watched silently as the portal closed before them. The younger of the two looked at the older man and said "I'm sorry. If I had only been quicker, I could have gotten here sooner and maybe...."
The older, silver haired man looked at him and smiled as he shook his head. "Don't worry about it, my friend. My daughter will be safe with your friends. I may never see her again, but at least I know she will be safer where she's going than she would have been staying here. I'm just sorry you weren't able to make it back home with them."
The younger figure sighed and said "I didn't realize that. Aw man, what am I going to do. Everyone is counting on me and I'm stuck here with no way to get home."
He was caught off guard when he heard the older man chuckled. "Is something funny?" he asked.
The older man looked at him and said "Well, I may know another way to help with that if you're up for it."
"Really? I'm all ears" said the younger figure.
"Follow me and I'll show you" said the older figure before he turned and walked towards a building in the distance. The younger was confused by what could be done to help, but followed after him as quickly as possible.
(a few minutes and an explanation later)
"So, this really is the only method?" asked the younger figure with skeptasim in his voice.
"Yes, this is the only way I can think of based on what you told me about your home. But are YOU sure you want to do this? Even after what I said about the risk involved?" asked the older figure.
The younger one walked up and placed a hand on the large object and took a moment to feel it as he thought. He then sighed and said "I have to. Everyone back home is counting on me to be there for them and I can't let them down." He then turned and looked back at the older man.
"Well, I guess this is where we say good by. I promice I'll look after your daughter when I get back home as if she were my own. And....I know we'll never meet again, so thanks for everything....Levin."
The silver haired man nodded and said "Of course. Take care of Kushina for me. Or, maybe I should say......
"Puun?"
Naruto was brought out of his thoughts as he heard Plue calling to him. He then felt Plue"s tugging on his pants and he looked down to show the carrot nosed dog he had indeed finally heard him.
"Sorry Plue, I was thinking about something and I guess I zoned out there" said Naruto.
Plue hopped onto his head and gave it a quick pat before "puuning" again.
Naruto returned his attention to the road as he said "About what you ask? Well, I had this weird dream last night and I can't seem to get it out of my head. But there was something familiar about it. Strange too."
"Puun" said Plue as they continued along the path.
Plue had decided to come along with Naruto on his first day of real training with Jiraiya and the two had just left the main area of the village and were fast approaching the secluded spot that had been chosen for the training.
"I wonder if he really is gonna teach me how to summon toads. And will he teach me anything else besides that?" asked Naruto to himself as he thought about what he was going to be learning over the next several weeks. He also hoped it would all be enough to help him in his fight against Neji.
With in a few minutes, they had arrived at the spot and to no surprise, Jiraiya was nowhere to be seen. Plue hopped off of Naruto's head as he looked around. "Hey Pervy Sage, you out here?" he shouts into the expance of forest around him, getting no responce in return.
"Please don't tell me he actually bailed on me" said Naruto as he started to get angry.
"Puun" said Plue as he suddenly scampered towards a nearby stream running through the area.
"Plue? Hey, wait up" shouts Naruto as he chases after his partner, wondering where Plue was leading him.
After a few moments, Naruto could hear sounds coming up ahead. As they got closer, the sounds became more understandable and Naruto realized it was the sound of girls giggling and talking. They soon found the source which was several older teenage girls in swim suits playing around a small lake.
"OK? Why'd you bring us here, Plue?" asked Naruto till another sound caught his attention.
He saw Plue was already looking in the direction of the sound which was coming from some nearby bushes. He and Plue walked slowly and quietly around to the far side of the foliage and found the source of the other sounds. To no surprise for Naruto, Jiraiya was there with a book and pen in hand and a very lecherous grin plastered on his face.
'Should have known' thought Naruto as he shook his head and sighed sadly at the sight.
"Oh yeah, that's right girls. Keep giving big daddy Jiraiya plenty of material to use in his research" said the perverted sage.
Naruto was about to speak up and get Jiraiaya's attention, but then an idea came mind that made him smile deviously. He looked at Plue and gave him a wink before bringing his hands together to prepare for the transformation. This was gonna be good and would deffinately make Naruto's day.
"Sexy Jutsu" whispered Naruto as his features morphed into a female version of himself, wearing his clothes. He crept up as close as he could to Jiraiya's back and moved in so his mouth was just an inch from the perv's ears. He then brought both arms up against his chest and with all his might, let out the loudest, most terriffied and horrified scream he could manage.
"EEEEKKKKK, PERVET" screamed Naruto in his femimine sounding voice.
Jiraiya's whole body goes rigid and his face completely drains of all color as Naruto stands tall and adds "Over here, girls. Quickly, before he makes a run for it."
The girls had heard as well and had been freaked out. When they then saw fem Naruto pointing down at the bush, their fear turned to anger as they all rushed the bush. Jiraiya tried to get up and make a run for it, but he was quickly surrounded by the very women he had been spying on.
One of them, in a very Sakura-ish way, cracked her knuckles and said "What do you think you're doing?"
Jiriaya scratched the back of his head sheepishly and said with a nervous voice "Ah....um....I was....bird watching."
"Oh really? Since when does one need to hide in a bush while watching birds?" asked another girl with fire in her eyes.
Jiraiya began to sweat badly as he said "Well...um....how about star gazing." He mentally cursed as soon as he said that.
"OH! You were star gazing.....in the morning. Well, don't you worry now. We'll help you see some stars" said the third girl as she pulled a whip from out of thin air as they three girls advanced on their target.
"Now now, I'm sure we can come to some understanding with out resorting to unnecessary violence. Right girls?" asked Jiraiya in one last desperate attempt to save himself. The responce he got was the three girls jumping him and beating him sensless as his cries for mercy fell onto death ears.
Off to the side, Naruto and Plue watched the scene unfold. Plue looked at Naruto and "puuned" a question.
"No Plue, we'll just let this play out. After all, it's the only way that pervert will ever learn" said Naruto.
After a few more minutes, the girls got bored of beating Jiraiya to death and took off. Once they were gone, Naruto reverted to real self and walked up to Jiraiya and patted him on his shoulder and asked "So, ready to start my training?"
Jiraiya groaned as he sat up, rubbing a massive sized bump on his head and said "Jeez kid, what are you trying to do? Kill me or something?"
A bemused look crossed Naruto's face as he looked at Jiraiya with his eyes half lidded and said "Nope, just trying to save you from yourself is all."
Jiraiya huffed as he got up and said "Fine, the training is off. See you around, kid."
"Oh, hey girls. Back for more" asked Naruto, keeping his bemused expression intact.
Jiraiya jumped and spun around, looking every which direction he could while yelling "Where, where."
"Heh heh, got you ya old perv. And you better rethink about the whole NOT training me bit, or I will go find them and tell them something that will have them hunting you down like a dog" said a still bemused Naruto.
Jiraiya sighed and said "Fine, you win. Let's just get this started and done with, alright brat."
Naruto nodded and chose to ignore being called a brat as he went over and grabbed his sword which he had placed to the side before this whole moment had been started. Jiraiya watched him, but then felt something tugging his leg. He looked down and saw Plue who was presenting an insect to Jiraiya to have.
"GGGAAA-WWWAAAHHH, what the.....heck is that thing. Some kind of kappa?" yelled Jiraiya, thinking Plue was some sort of legendary water imp from legends (given the fact they were near water and all).
"Puun" said Plue as he cocked his head in confusion, then looked away.
"Of course he isn't a kappa, he's a carrot nosed dog and his name is Plue. And he just so happens to be my partner" said Naruto proudly.
Jiraiya saw Plue walking away from him and felt bad for calling him a kappa. He bent down and called out to Plue to come back. Plue did so and Jiraiya gave him a soft pat on the head.
"Sorry if I hurt your feelings there. I hope I might be able to make it up to you, Sir Plue" said Jiraiya.
Plue "puuned" happily as Jiraiya continued to rub his head while Naruto said "Just give him lots of candy and other sweats and he'll....hey, why did you call him Sir Plue when you called me a brat?"
Jiraiya stood up and said "Because Sir Plue here has an aura of nobility and distinction about him and is worthy of being honored. You, on the other hand, are just a brat and a brat is exactly that; a brat. Now lets go start your training."
Jiraiya began to walk away with Plue walking right beside him while Naruto walked a few feet back and mumbling to himself.
"That old pervy fart, he could at least show me a little kindness to. Wait, I just realized something. Pervy Sage reminds me of that guy from Haru's journal. What was his name again? Oh yeah, I remember. Griffin Kato." Naruto began to chuckle as he imagined Jiraiya looking like Griff.
Jiraiya ignored Naruto's chuckle as he thought 'So, this must have been what you were talking about, huh Kushina?'
Elsewhere in the village, the body of Hayate Gekko was finally found by several agents of Leaf Anbuu.
RMN
Ino looked up from the book she was reading at the sound of the bell over the entrance to her families flower shop sounded. She smiled as Sakura entered and walked over to her.
"Hey Sakura, what are you doing here? I thought you were helping Genma-sensei and Kiba out with Shino's training for the third round" said Ino.
"I was and I still am. But Shino's doing something with his dad right now and Kiba had to go see his mom and sister about something while Genma-sensei was called to see the Hokage about something. So, I decided to stop by here and buy a few flowers before going....to someplace important. Got any suggestion's?" asked Sakura.
As Sakura walked over and started to look at some potted plants, Ino gave her a smirk and said "Going to the hospital to see Sasuke?"
Sakura jerked up, her cheeks red in emmbaressment and eyes showing shock at having been found out. "I...I...don't know what you're talking about. I'm not going to see..."
Ino jumped over the counter and stood before Sakura, their faces only inches apart as she said "Uh-huh, sssuuurrreee. I can see the truth written all over your face. You are going to see Sasuke, aren't you?"
Sakura wanted to deny it, but realized it was futile and finally nodded and said "Yeah, I'm going to see how he's doing. So, what's it to you?"
"Nothing, but I think I'll go along to....just to make sure you don't disturb him" said Ino who had her own plans beginning to brew in her head.
Sakura gave her a snarky laugh and said "Yeah right, you're just going to leave the shop unattended just to go with me. I doubt your parent's would be happy. Or are you gonna close up."
Sakura was expecting to see Ino look defeated from that, knowing she couldn't do either, but Ino just turned around and yelled out "Hey mom, I'm going out with Sakura for a bit. Can you watch the register till I get back?"
"Sure" came a voice from down the hall, causing Sakura to curse under her breath.
"So, ready to go?" asked Ino.
"Fine, but I need to get a flower to take over" said Sakura in exasperation.
"Oh yeah, I better take one too. Now, which one would be good?" said Ino as she looked around.
She quickly decided on a rose and pulled one from a bushel of them. She looked back and saw Sakura holding a daffodil in her hand. Ino walked over and grabbed two glass vases and both girls placed their chosen flower in each.
"Hey Sakura, why'd you choose a daffodil?" asked Ino.
"Tell me why you chose a rose first" said Sakura.
Ino blushed as she said "Simple, a rose is the symbol of love. Duh."
Sakura shook her head sadly and said "Poor, poor Ino, you are so predictable. It shows just how desperate you are. I, on the other hand, chose a daffodil because it represents a strong fighting spirit. Even in the dead of winter, it still shows its beauty as it patiently awaits spring. And I shall imbue it with my hope for Sasuke to leave the hospital quickly."
Ino giggled, which got Sakura looking at her sternly. "Boy, look at you miss I-know-everything-about-flowers. To bad it won't help you win fair Sasuke's heart. Anyways, ready to go?"
"Sure...oh, hold on a second" said Sakura as she grabbed another daffodil and placed it into another vase.
Ino gave her a confused look and asked "What's the second one for?"
Sakura smiled sweatly as she said "I wanna give this one to Lee."
A sad look crossed Ino's face as they exited the shop and started walking down the street. After a few blocks, Ino stopped and said "Sakura, have you heard about Lee's condition yet?"
Sakura stopped and looked back and said "No, I haven't. Have you?"
"....Yeah, I have. They say his injuries are very bad. And it's possible.....that....he'll never be a shinobi again" said Ino.
Sakura just stood there in stunned silence, any and all happy feeling's she had been having this day had completely drained away.
(with Naruto)
"So, you are gonna teach me how to summon" said Naruto after hearing Jiraiya's explanation of the training.
"Among other things" said Jiraiya as he sat down. "Actually, I'm planning on helping you learn how to call upon and control the chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox in cases of emergencies. Training in the summoning jutsu is just a very effective way of doing it."
"How come?" asked Naruto.
"Well, at the moment, it is very difficult for you to actually call upon the fox's chakra because you haven't really experienced it yet. You'll first need to drain your own chakra levels to being low as possible, thus allowing you to have an easier time being able to distinguish between the two types with in you" said Jiraiya.
Naruto scratched his head and said "OK, but why?"
"Several reason's really. One is the fact your current chakra levels are to low to use summoning properly despite you having higher than average chakra for someone your age. Another is that being able to call upon and have total control over the fox's power will help you in the future" said Jiraiya.
Naruto nodded and said "I guess that's true. I mean, what's the point if you have that kind of power if you don't use it. Unused power is wasted power after all. So, where do we begin?"
Naruto and Plue (who was sitting by Naruto, eating some candy) watched as Jiraiya stood up and peformed a complex series of handsign's before placing his hand on the ground and yelling "Summoning jutsu." A seal appeared on the ground followed by a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, a large from with a scroll in its mouth and Jiraiya on its head had appeared.
"Whoa, that is so amazing" said Naruto.
"Puun" agreed Plue.
Jiraiya used his sabo to tap the frog on its head and it responded by using its tongue to lower the scroll onto the ground before Naruto.
"OK kid, unroll the scroll and find the first open space. Then, I want you sign your name in blood followed with a hand print at the bottom. Doing this will make you an official practitioner for summoning the Toad clan" said Jiraiya.
Doing as told, Naruto unrolled the scroll and found a space next to a person named Minato Namikaze. He bit down on his index finger with enough force to draw blood and proceeded to write his name out. Once done, he managed to get a few more drops on his right hand and placed the print onto the scroll.
Jiraiya hopped down and said "Crongrat's kid, you are now a toad summoner. And now, let's..."
Jiraiya stopped as he saw Plue walk over to the scroll. Naruto was also looking and said "I guess Plue wants to make a pact too. Is that OK?"
"I don't see the harm, but does this little guy have any chakra to use?" asked Jiraiya.
They expected to see Plue draw some blood before he signed, but he instead just bent over and pressed his nose to the scroll and a black colored ink appeared as Plue traced his name onto it.
"WWWHHHAAA, HE CAN WRITE WITH HIS NOSE" shouted both Naruto and Jiraiya in surprise with their eyes bugging out and shock on their faces.
Plue then places his paw on the scroll and it somehow left a print upon the scroll. After getting over the surprise, Jiraiya said "OK Naruto, give summoning a shot with just your normal chakra."
Naruto nods as he makes the required handsigns and presses his right hand onto the ground. A blast of smoke erupts followed by the appearance of a tadpole. "Gah, this is the best I can do?" shouts Naruto, feeling any pride in himself taking a steep dive bomb.
Jiraiya chuckles then says "Boy, you really are hopeless aren't you?"
Naruto scowls at him, causing Jiraiya to raise his hands up to stall the oncoming verbal assault.
"Don't worry about this though. I expected a tadploe to appear, what with the current levels of chakra you have. In time, you'll gain enough to summon easily with just your chakra alone. But until then, you'll need to use the Fox's chakra to help you. So, ready to get started with your real training?" asked Jiraiya.
Naruto takes a deep breath to calm himself, then says "Yeah, this is something I need to do after all and I can't afford to waste time with anything less."
"Puun" says Plue, drawing both of their attentions.
Plue places his right paw onto the ground, causing smoke to blast up around him. When the smoke clears, Plue is standing atop a toad of twelve feet in height, dressed in a samurai like garb. Naruto and Jiraiya once again go bugged eye with shock and astonishment.
"Well howdy there mate. My name is Sonosuke, nice to meet ya" said the warrior frog.
"Aw man, Plue is awsome at this. I really am pathetic" says Naruto, slumping down in defeat.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, is off to the side with a gloom covered face as he curls up into a ball and thinks 'I can't believe this, Sir Plue is making me look bad. And I'm the freakin' toad sage for crying out loud.'
RMN
"Ino, shouldn't you be training for the third round?" asked Sakura, breaking the silence that had lingered between them since leaving the flower shop.
"Huh?" said Ino, who had been lost in thought till Sakura spoke.
"I asked why you aren't training for the third rounds right now. I mean, you're going up against that Dosu guy. Shouldn't you be trying to come up with a plan to beat him with?" asked Sakura.
"I guess I should be training now huh? But both my father and Ibiki-sensei are busy right now.....and I..." started Ino, but she stopped and went silent again.
"And you?" asked Sakura.
Ino stopped just outside the entrance to the hospital and sighed. "And....I really doubt I have a shot at becoming a Chunin right now anyways."
"Why?" asked a surprise Sakura.
"Think about it. My families jutsu style requires one to stand still and have perfect accuracy to use our mind transfer techniques correctly. I currently don't have the kind of speed usage or quick recover should I fail that my father has and I won't be able to bridge that gap in just one month" said Ino.
"I see" said Sakura.
"There's also the fact I have zero taijutsu skills and my weapon using skills stink too. The truth is, I'm at least a year to two years to early for this. That's why I'm thinking of dropping out when my fight comes up" said Ino.
Sakura remained silent for a moment, causing Ino to think her friend was going to chide her for giving up so easily. But she was surprised when Sakura said "I think I'd feel the same way if I was going to the third round instead of you. Let's face it, both of us have been slacking off more than we should have and burdening our teams as a result."
Ino nods and says "You got that right. And that's why we need to work extra hard to make up for that slacking. Now, let's go make some sick guys feel better."
Sakura nods, then both girls enter the hospital and head up to the receptonist desk.
The nurse on duty gave them a warm smile and asked "Goodmorning, can I help you two out with something?"
"Yes, me and my friend think we're pregnant. We'd like to have it confirmed" joked Sakura with out warrning.
The nurse gasped and several others with in ear shot turned and looked in horror at the thought of thirteen year olds being pregnant.
"She's joking ma'am, we came here to visit some sick friends, not to check on being mommies" said Ino, giving a grinning Sakura "the look".
"Oh, I see. Well that's good to hear. Who may I ask are you two visiting?" asked the very relieved nurse.
"Sasuke Uchiha and Rock Lee" said Sakura.
Nodding, the nurse came out from behind the desk and started to lead the girls down the hall. "Having two lovey jokesters visit them will surely make their days brighter. But please keep in mind, both patients are still recovering, so you'll have to keep the visits brief."
They soon arrived outside Sasuke's room and the nurse gave the door a light tapping before saying "Mr. Uchiha, you have some visit...or's....?"
As the door opened, she froze as she saw an empty room with the window opened. The nurse immediately ran into the room and looked all over, finding nothing. "Hey, where's Sasuke?" asked Ino as she and Sakura entered the room.
The nurse didn't respond, but instead rushed past them back into the hall and ran to the nearest phone to alert security about Sasuke's disapearance. Ino watched her, then looked back to Sakura who was standing at the window looking outside and said "What's going on here? Did Sasuke wake up and run off or was he..."
Ino stopped mid-sentence, not wanting to continue. Meanwhile, Sakura's eyes kept focused on the outside, a single word escaping her lips.
"Sasuke"
(Farside of the Hokage Memorial mountain)
Kakashi huffed heavily as he continued his climb up the mountain. As part of his personal training, he had tied an arm to his back and was wearing weighted clothes. And right now, he was regretting doing both. He strained as he pulled himself up closer to the top.
'I really need to find a new way to work out. I'm getting way to old for this' thought Kakashi as he quickly reached for the next rock.
But just as he placed added weight onto the rock, it gave way and he found himself quickly heading in reverse. Luckily for him, quick responce time was one of his specialities as he managed to grab onto a rock. He then sent as much chakra into his feet and kicked off the wall face, doing a spin upwards and finally reaching the top....just barely.
As he finished hauling himself up, a shadow fell over Kakashi. He looked up to see Sasuke half smirking, half scowling at him.
"You're late, Kakashi" said Sasuke, not hiding his annoyance from his teacher.
"Or you're early" retorted Kakashi.
Sasuke scoffed as he turned around and said "Whatever. Well, are you gonna teach me that justu you've been promising me or not?"
Kakashi finished climbing up and sighed. 'Maybe I should teach him a little about being patient first?'
(that night)
"OK Naruto, that's enough for today" said Jiraiya as he sat down to rest.
A sweaty and tired Naruto nodded before falling onto his butt. He wiped his forehead with his wrist, then said "Boy, you don't kid around when it comes to training, huh?"
"All depends on the situation. Now, you should go home and rest up. We'll meet up here tomorrow at the same time" said Jiraiya.
"OK. Let's go Plue, we need to stop by and see Hinata before we go home and see if we can find Tenten and ask why she's been angry lately" said Naruto.
Plue nods as Naruto stands and the two of them walk off. As they disappear, Jiraiya smiles and says "That kid still needs a lot of work, but I know he'll turn out OK in the end. After all, he's just like his parents. More so than he may ever know."
(Hokage's Tower)
The head Jonin of the village stood before the Hokage, all noticing his serious yet somber face. They could feel the air thick with tension, which unsettled them. And some had noticed that Yugao was missing, which was strange as she was head of the Hokage's personal guard.
Sarutobi didn't like giving bad news to his people. A fact that was very true when he had to tell Yugao about Hayate's death. Her screams and cries of pain were still fresh in his mind. He took one finally puff on his pipe before placing it down and looked at his gathered crowd. He cleared his throat and then he spoke.
"At aproximately seven forty eight this morning, the body of Hayate Geko was found just south of Kikyo Castle."
The silencein the room was only matched by the shocked expression's on everyones face. "Hayate....is dead?" asked Kurenai.
"Do we have any leads on who did it?" asked Asuma.
"We know the killing blow was caused by a wind style jutsu based on how clean and precise the gash on his chest is" said Sarutobi.
"You don't think....it was the Sand Jonin?" asked Genma.
"That's impossible. Why would he do this. It could start a war. It had to have been Orochimaru" said Guy.
"Anything is possible. Don't forget, alliances between villages can be made and destroyed in just seconds. The incident with the Cloud is enough proof of that" stated Kakashi.
'True enough, sempai' thought one masked Anbu in the room who was sometimes called Yamato as an alias.
"We can not be sure of anything right now. I have already made preparation's to have the watch on them doubled But until more solid evidence is found, all we can do is carry on as before and hope we will learn the truth before it's to late" said Sarutobi.
Everyone nodded as they mentally readied themselves for a possible conflict coming soon.
RMN
Three weeks had passed since his training had begun under Jiraiya, and now the big day had come for Naruto. As he got dressed, he remembered Jiraiya's words to him from the previous day.
"Tomorrow, we'll be seeing if all the work we've put in has bore fruit or not. However, I need to warn you of one thing. This test I have in mind is dangerous. So much so that it is possible you could die from it. So with that in mind, if there is anything you need to do, then do it before meeting me here at the usual spot" were the words spoken by Jiraiya.
Naruto had assured him that dying was not in the game plan. But still, those words had stayed with Naruto throughout the night and he felt that maybe he should deal with a few issues before leaving. Once he was dressed, he went down stairs to eat breakfast.
He had planned on getting Tenten to finally tell him why she had been distant these past several weeks, but she had already left before he had awakened as usual. He was worried about her. But, until she actually decided to talk to him, there was nothing he could do to help her.
Plue had decided to stay behind with Hinata today. Since she had been released fromthe hospital, she had been staying with Kurenai as she needed special attention as she continued down the road of recovery and Plue had already scampered off to go see her. Thinking of Hinata brought a smile to Naruto's face and he decided to go see her before heading out.
Naruto came out of his thoughts and looked down at the bowl of uneaten ramen before him. He sighed as he got up and picked up the ramen and took it over to the trash and dumped it in. Truth be told, he just didn't feellike eating ramen right now. He just went took a drink of juice. then left home to go see Hinata.
It took only a few minutes to get to Kurenai's place and Naruto came to a stop on a tree branch as he looked into her back yard. He smiled again when he saw Hinata walk outside from the back door with Plue walking next to her. He also felt a pang in his heart at seeing her needing a cane to help her maintain her balance as she was still rather weak from what happened.
Kurenai soon appeared and she helped Hinata start doing some exersices meant to strenghten her body again. As Naruto watched, he failed to notice Jiraiya arrival close to him. Jiraiya looked both at Naruto, then Hinata, then back at Naruto and chuckled softly as he scratched his chin.
"Hinata" said Naruto quietly to himself, though Jiraiya heard him.
"So, this must be the girl you're so determined to defend. Even at the risk of your own life" said Jiraiya.
"Gah" shouts Naruto, barely stopping himself from falling from the tree.
"Pervy Sage, where did you come from? Why are you here?" shouts Naruto.
"Quiet, or that girl will know you're here stalking her" teased Jiraiya.
Naruto was red faced as he yelled "I'm not stalking her, she's my teammate and was just checking on her to see how she was doing. And....I don't want to be in the way or a distraction. That's why I'm up here."
"Easy kid, I was only joking with you. So, is she the one that's got you training like crazy?" asked Jiraiya.
"I made her a promice and I will keep it, no matter what" said Naruto.
"I see. Well, we better get going and get this done with" said Jiraiya as he jumped to the ground.
"Right" said Naruto as he followed.
For a while, neither one of them said anything as they walked through the village. Soon, they approached the location for the training when Jiraiya suddenly spoke up.
"You must really like that Hinata girl, huh?"
Naruto came to a quick stop, his cheeks red from the intence blush. "I....I....what do you mean? Of....of course I like her. She's a good friend and a valuable teammate....and....."
Jiraiya laughed and said "OK, OK, calm down. I was only messing with you. No need to be emmbaressed about it."
For a moment, all was quiet till Naruto spoke up.
"And....I'm in love with her."
Jiraiya stopped and looked at him, asking "Come again?"
"I said I'm in love with her. I love Hinata Hyuga" said Naruto as he looked at Jiraiya with a smile.
"Wow, wasn't expecting you to actually say it. Well, not at this time at least" said the surprised Jiraiya, though he had suspected it from previous guesses. "But, are you sure about your feelings, Naruto. After all, people can read love into things that have nothing to do with love when they're young."
Naruto nods and says "Yeah, I'm sure. From the moment when we first really became friends right after I met Plue, all the times we hung out with each other since then, becoming teammates and all the things that have happened, I'm sure."
"Well, do you have an idea about when this feeling started?" asked Jiraiya.
"Well, I'm not sure when it might have started. But I first became aware of this feeling was when we were in Wave, when I gave Hinata her pendant. But, it was when we were in her hospital room after the fight with Neji that I finally realized what the feeling was" said Naruto.
"Have you told her yet?" asked Jiraiya.
Naruto shook his head and said "No, but I will tell her after the exams are over. I just want to keep my promise to her first."
"What about her father or the Hyuga elders. They may not care for Hinata being involved with you should she return your feelings" said Jiraiya. Truth was, he didn't want to say that. But it was a possibilty that it could happen, seeing as Hinata was nobility with in the village.
"I don't care. All that matters is how I feel and how Hinata feels. As long as we feel the same about each other, nothing else should matter, right?" asked Naruto.
"Exactly true" said Jiraiya with a nod.
The rest of the way was filled with silence till the two had finally arrived at their destination. Upon seeing it, Naruto gaped in awe as he ran forward and looked into the massive chasm before him.
"Oh man, that looks deep. I can't even see the bottom. Where did this come from?" asked Naruto.
"This place is called Rampage Chasm and it was created by the Nine Tailed Fox's attack all those years ago. As you can see, it is very deep and the walls are lined with sharp and slick rocks which makes exploring it difficult, if not impossible" said Jiraiya.
Naruto looked at Jiraiya and asked "So, this is where my training will be tested, huh? So, what's the plan then?"
Jiraiya took on a leacturing pose and said "You'll need to reach deep inside yourself and force the fox's chakra to the surface, then use it to summon a toad that's big enough and strong enough to save you."
Naruto looked back at the chasm, then back at Jiraiya while saying "OK, but what do you mean by saving me?"
Naruto foze at seeing Jiraiya close to him, who said "Simple, either summon a toad to save yourself, or you will die."
And before Naruto could respond, Jiraiya reached out and pushed Naruto backwards, sending him over the edge and into the deep devide.
"Pervy sage" shouts Naruto in both anger and fear as he falls in.
"Sorry kid, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And we need to see if you truly have what it takes to gain control over the beast" said Jiraiya.
As Naruto plumeted downwards, the meaning of Jiraiya's claim that he could die and he needing to take care of anything important took on a new meaning as he continued to fall faster and faster.
'Damn, if I don't do something quick. I really am gonna die' thinks Naruto.
His first attempt failed quickly as he tried to use chakra to latch onto the walls, but he wasn't able to maitain it. He then recalled what Jiraiya had said about this place.
'No choice, I have to make a connection with the fox' thought Naruto.
He then closed his eyes and calmed his nerves through breathing. He focused his thoughts upon the seal and the fox and he called out with his mind.
'Alright, it's time we met each other. So what are you waiting for, me smacking into the bottom of this place? Come out now, Nine Tails.'
RMN
For what felt like an eternity, Naruto felt nothing. He was staring to get worried, but then realization set in. He wasn't feeling nothing, not even the feel of free fall. He opened his eyes and saw nothingbut blackness. Naruto tried to move, but found himself restrained for some reason.
"Hello, is anyone here? Great, where the heck am I" asked Naruto to himself.
He got his answer when his vision was blinded by a burst of light, followed by Naruto feeling himself laying atop something. Finding that he could move again, Naruto sat up and got to his feat, taking in his surroundings. Apart from the new ground beneath him, the unending blackness still remained.
"OK? Getting weirder and weirder" said Naruto as he looked around.
He noted that the ground was circular and only reach out to about 30ft in size. For just a moment, there was a feeling of nothingness in the air. And then, Naruto felt it. A sudden rush of chakra coming into the air. The area shook and his vision blurred from the dense distortion being caused by the chakra.
Naruto collpased to his knees, his breath ragged and heavy as he strained his eyes to get as much focus as possible. And then, it appeared. Before him arose a chakra tail from beneath the seal, then another and another till he was surrounded by nine tails, each one waving around freely.
Naruto then felt a precense above him, making him look up and freezing at what he saw. The face of the fox bore down upon him, growling viciously with it's nose only a few feet above Naruto.
Naruto couldn't move, couldn't think as he looked into the fox's eyes. He found himself beginning to think that this was a very bad idea.
"SO, WE FINALLLY MEET FACE TO FACE, CHILD"
"Um....um....I..." Naruto tried to respond, but found himself unable to speak. Being in the precence of the real fox was far more terrifying than facing that Genjutsu version created by Kurenai.
"TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND RELAX. I WON"T HURT YOU. NOT THAT I COULD IN MY CURRENT STATE NOR WOULD I WANT TO"
Naruto did as he was told and took in several deep breaths, feeling himself becoming more calm and in control of himself.
"FEEL BETTER?"
"Yeah, I guess seeing you in this manner was a bit much for me" said Naruto.
"AND NOT SEEING ME AS A GENJUTSU WASN"T?"
"Well, not really that. But that Genjutsu didn't have your intense aura coming off of it like the actual you does" said Naruto.
"TRUE ENOUGH. SO, TO WHAT DO I OWE THIS VISIT"
Naruto took a moment to build up his still shakey courage, then he said "Your chakra. I've come here to ask you if I can borrow your chakra from time to time."
"YOU WANT MY CHAKRA? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO ASK ME FOR THAT!"
The fox's anger and roar sent Naruto flying back right to the edge of the ground beneath him. He looked up and saw the look of superiority on the fox's face. At first, he was scared. But then, that fear turned to anger and he decided to do what he should have done right from the start.
"Who am I? WHO AM I? I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of the Leaf and the third Rave Master. And seeing as your living in MY body, I think you owe me rent for putting up with you. Letting me use your power as needed is a small price to pay for that. And so, you will lend me your chakra, like it or not" shouts Naruto.
For a few seconds, there was silence. And then, there was laughter. The Fox was actually laughing.
Now, even more angery, Naruto shouts out "What's so damn funny?"
"NOW THAT IS WHAT I WANTED TO SEE FROM YOU."
"Huh?" asked a confused Naruto.
"RESOLVE, I WANTED TO KNOW YOUR RESOLVE IN ALL OF THIS. AFTER ALL, WHY LEND YOU POWER IF YOU WEREN'T RESOLVED TO USE IT"
"OK, so where will this lead me?" asked Naruto.
"IT SEEMS YOU STILL COULD USE A LITTLE BRAIN BOOSTING. OH WELL, TIME ENOUGH FOR THAT LATER"
Now really annoyed, Naruto says "Look, we don't have time for this. Are you gonna give me your chakra or not?"
"HM, SEEING AS YOU'VE MANGAED TO MAKE IT HERE, I GUESS I WILL"
"And just where is here exactly?" asked Naruto.
"THIS PLACE IS A WORLD CREATED BY THE MINGLING OF YOUR MIND, MY MIND, AND THE SEAL THAT CONNECTS US."
"You mean this place? Doesn't look like much from where I'm standing" said Naruto.
"WHAT WOULD YOU PREFER, A DECRIPID AND SLIME, SLUDGE RIDDEN SEWER?"
"Point taken" said Naruto as he nodded.
"ALSO, TAKE A LOOK DOWN"
Naruto did as he was told and then he really saw it for the first time. The ground he was standing on was the very seal that was on his body. The seal that kept the fox contained with in him. But then, he noticed something interesting beyond it, further down in the expanse of darkness.
"There's another seal below this one. Why's that?"
"PERHAPS THE FOURTH JUST WANTED TO BE SURE THE FIRST SEAL DIDN'T BREAK. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY AS THEY SAY"
"I guess" said Naruto. But the truth was, he felt that there was another reason. He wasn't sure why, but it was a feeling that wouldn't go away.
"NOW, IF THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, I SHALL LOAN YOU MY CHAKRA. YOU ARE STILL FALLING AFTER ALL AND ARE FAST APPROACHING THE BOTTOM. JUST REMEMBER, WHEN EVER YOU NEED MY POWER IN THE FUTURE, JUST CALL OUT TO ME WITH YOUR MIND AND I WILL DO THE REST"
Chakra began to leak from the nine tails swaying about around Naruto, eveloping him slowly.
"Wait, I have one last question for you" shouts Naruto.
The fox look at him curriously as he lifted his training tunic up and exposed his chest and the claw shaped scar over his heart.
"You did have some measure of control of that genjutsu, didn't you" asked Naruto.
"I DID, AND HERE I THOUGHT YOU HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT IT. SO, YOUR POINT IS?"
"Why? Why'd you place this brand on me?" asked Naruto.
As his vision started to fade, he saw the fox smile at him as it said only one simple thing.
"ONE DAY, THAT MARK WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE"
Naruto's vision went black around him for a few seconds as his mind thought over the Fox's words. He then felt the sensation of falling come over him again and he realized he was back on the outside. Sensing the bottom of the chasm fast approaching, he called upon the fox's chakra.
"Here goes nothing. Summoning jutsu" yelled Naruto as he made the handsigns.
A blast of chakra and the seal of summoning shot from his hands and he was surrounded by smoke. He then felt himself impact atop something big.
"Ow, that wasn't plesent" he said to himself as he got up.
It was then he finally realized what he had landed on. It was a toad. I giant toad bigger than his house.
'No freak'n way. Did I really summon something this big?' thought Naruto in astonishment. Naruto's thoughts recieved an unexpected reply from the very toad beneath him.
"What the....Hm, just where the hell am I?"
RMN
next time on Rave Master Naruto: Naruto must prove himself worthy of being a summoner to the chief toad, Gammabunta. He must then work with Shikamaru to protect Lee from Gaara. And, as the day of the third round arrives, Naruto learns of Kin's past and how she became a Sound ninja.
all that and more on the next chapter of RMN: A Dream Turned To Nightmare