AN:Hey guys and gals I'm back with a new chapter,take a seat, listen to some tunes and chill as our blond hero struggles to find inner peace in this crazy world.(update,wow I just read back through the first arc and i am truly sorry at how much of a jumbled up mess that was to read guys,I'm going through this one proofreading every detail to make sure it actually makes sense this go around,anywho please stay tuned as I keep writing these chapters,things will get alot more interesting once the actual exams begin)
The office air was tense as Tsume stared down her commander with a murderous gaze,her eyes locked on to the man should he make a move.Hiruzen stood to speak"it seems that i have truly failed to keep him from harms way,even so going as far as to keeping his release a secret from you"the man spoke in a defeated voice kami im ready to just give up at this rate,fuck this job and the bullshit that comes with it,but i have no one worth a damn that wants this cursed hat the elder thought with a visible disgust to his features.Tsume bitterly snapped her head to the heavens to plea for the man to drop dead right now,but alas it never came"im bringing him to the hospital to get looked at"the woman snapped out and turned on a heel to leave,the aged man went to speak but was cut off by her turned form"save your damned excuses lord third, nothing you say will change the fact that he's hanging on to life by a thread"the irate woman bit out while storming away,leaves floated down to the floor in a obviously overflooded Shushin.
Sasuke and Sakura arrived to the northwest tower with Naruto nowhere in sight,just moments later a panicked Kakashi arrived in front of them with a wide eye,this startling the other nin."team change of plans for today,Naruto is in the hospital from alcohol poisoning,come with me"he ordered while jumping away,the others following suit with shocked faces oh for fucks sake why this Sasuke blanched within,Sakura not fairing much better at the news.
the team rushed over the tops of the large houses littering the village,speeding along to reach the Hokage tower to get a in depth report of what happened.Shadow following close by with a look of indifference to his features,his plan underway to drive the boy to madness for a ultimate goal.
sounds of shouting nurses could be heard from within the Kohona nin hospital.the staff working frantically to keep the boy alive,his heart beat becoming weaker by the second as the alcohol started to shut down major organs.his mind scape was truly blank for the first time in weeks. this is truly bad,his pulse is weak and getting worse,we have to flush his system a nurse thought while beginning to run a iv to replenish any fluids lost.Tsume was told to wait outside much to her chargin,but understood that her being in the already cramped room would only make things harder on the staff.she held her head down with palms over her eyes trembling in pure agony and resentment towards the village and it's bastard leadership I swear if he... the woman was cut off by team Kakashi entering the wing.their distraught faces signaling that Hiruzen had told them of the sudden emergency.
"kami why is this happening to him of all people"the elder Inuzuka spoke under her breath at this hellish day unfolding,Sasuke kicked himself mentally at not doing more to stop the blond knucklehead last night from almost killing himself,he feared that Naruto had finally given up to the demons in his mind.hours passed without any word from the doctors or other staff,Tsume had tooken up sitting on a window ledge overlooking the village from the east.team seven opted to sit in the waiting area still close by.Kiba had gotten word from Kurenai of Naruto's condition and made it to the hospital to spot both his mother and sister sitting waiting on any news.Hana looked distraught at the floor with dried tear stains opon her cheeks."how did this happen"Kiba blurted out in a rush to get some sort of answer,he waited as Tsume looked up with tired eyes"he drank himself damn near to death and I found him,come here and sit"
a tired and disgruntled lead nurse walked out of the icu with a positive update,she met the eyes of a tired and pissed mother with fear building up in her throat"Uzumaki has made it through and is recovering now,he is currently asleep on heavy sedation"the woman that looked to be a Hyuga branch member spoke in a calm voice.Tsume jumped up in shock and relief at her good fortune of finding him in time, otherwise he wouldn't have survived she feared.Kiba and Hana both sighed in relaxed and thankful breaths to the good news.
the next several days proved to be hell on Naruto,by day four he was finally brought our of a short medical induced coma to make sure damage to his organs could heal properly.team seven stopped by to check up with him, Kakashi surprisingly absent in the visit the blond noted with a frown huh guess he feels like shit for what happened,little late to be doing that before voting to lock me away he laminated with a hidden frown,he was kinda glad that the other two had come by,he noted their looks of sympathy and remorse, especially coming from Sasuke"oi smile ya miserable bastard,your bringing me down"the blond chirping up and startling the brooding teen.Sasuke smiled weakly and nodded"I just wanna know...why did you do this to yourself dobe,you know we're here for you at any given time dude"the Uchiha uttered in a soft whisper to the recovering blond with what looked to be tears threatening to spill down. oh man what the fuck,he actually has feelings,huh there's a shocker, honestly I don't even know why I did it to be frank the teen thought while watching the blue shirt clad friend get emotional on his behalf.Sasuke walked forward and sat at the edge of the bed with a grim face"don't ever do that again,or else"the teen half joked with a small smile,Naruto was put off by this new side of the normally stoic teen"ok your starting to weird me out dude,stop that"the blond threatened with a deadpan face.everyone burst into small laughter at the heartfelt exchange of the two.Sakura smiled while staring at them both with a true smile for the first time in forever"alright kids let's give him time to rest,I'm sure your still weak from the hell you've endured"Tsume spoke to the younger ones and eyeing Naruto while speaking,to which the blond nodded and smiled.
--_
Shadow arrived to the secret base underneath Kohona with a mission update to give, normally he would send a message by proxy but felt that his boss needed to hear this directly from the source this go around.Shadow approached the aged man with a low crouch"Lord Danzō I have news of the Uzumaki,he pulled through and is currently in hold at the hospital until cleared by medical staff to return to duty,what are your orders sir"the nin spoke in a low voice within the chambers,the man nodded with a hand wave"continue to monitor his progress while there and once he is released I'll decide what to do from there,your dismissed"the elder man shoo'ed away the nin with a passing wave and glance,the spy nodded while jumping away.Danzō knew that his frame was limited on how to approach the blond given his outlook to the village as a whole,he also suspected that Naruto would most likely turn rouge if given a proper chance to gain any sort of power from his help,he cursed the fragile situation at hand.
--_
birds chirping stirred awake the Jinchiriki from a rather peaceful slumber.he groaned at the early hours of which they sing their songs of sweetness. hopefully I'm gonna get discharged soon,I'm sick of being stuck in this bland room he bitterly uttered in his groggy brain.the daylight breaking over the treeline convinced him to start off the day right,his mood had only slightly improved as the days inside the aftercare room seemed to drag on forever it seemed.the Friday morning sun was rather refreshing he secretly admitted to himself standing to take in the view of the village better. although I would rather have Kyu wake me up,gods I am miserable without her here to keep me company,being truly alone is torture on me he sulked while looking outside.
Sasuke walked briskly towards the training grounds to train and master the leaf cutting technique,his progress left much to be desired in chakra control but showed great promise from the praise he received by Kakashi.Sakura had finally mastered it yesterday afternoon with a glee in her voice,he smirked at the young woman's accomplishment and steady resolve to better herself in more fields.he spotted the Haruno sitting under a shade tree near the fallen heros monument relaxing with a book of sorts she really is getting to be a great teammate,her potential will surely blossom as the years advance the Uchiha thought with a hidden smirk as he approached the area,she looked up while closing her book with a content face.Sakura placed the book into her hip pouch and had stood to greet her secret crush and hopeful future partner"ohiya Sasuke,how have you been doing"she asked with a genuine eye smile,the birds overhead chirping in greeting as well to the teen Uchiha.he smiled more while coming near"eh I've been ok,just sleepy as hell,lord third has actually requested that I go see Inoichi Yamanaka to get my mind scape checked out,I honestly don't see how it's gonna improve my sleep but I'm open to anything now to tell ya the truth"he answered with a uneasy look adorneing his features. Sakura nodded in understanding at his situation at hand"well hopefully he can do something to help you, and maybe even help Naruto as well. the last time we seen him he looked rough"the girl admitted with a soft frown at her squad members troubled rest. Kakashi approached the two with a eye smile at the good news he had just received from the Hokage"gang I have great news,Naruto is being released back to full duty today and will be joining us this evening,now as far as training he's likely gonna need help getting back in the swing of things"the man spoke in a chipper tone.
--_
"oh fucking kami I'm ready to go,what the hell is the holdup"a irritated Uzumaki muttered while waiting on the hospital to do his discharge paperwork,a nurse had come by during lunch and told him of his release today before walking away without giving him a chance to get a exact time.he walked in a semi circle around his bed to pass the time but even that didn't help,minutes felt like hours to the impatient blond.he sighed in utter boredom at the passage of time.he laid down on his rather soft bed and waited with a irritated grin. the evening sun hung low in the orange and blueish sky as the day was coming to a close,Naruto was jolted awake by the change in sunlight with a groan kami what the fuck is... he was cut off by a short female nurse with light blond hair in a pony tail knocking on his room door,she entered with a swift walk"Uzumaki san your cleared to leave now,here is your clothes and other personal belongings"the woman spoke a kind tone towards his sitting up form. Naruto blinked away his sleep and smirked at her"thank you ma'am"he perked up smiling to her.
Team seven stood outside the hospital watching as the blond knucklehead nin they cared for jump from the room window to the street below"Naruto you know your supposed to...""bite me Hatake,I couldn't stand another second in that bland ass place,was going even more mad sitting up there ya know"the blond snapped with a huff at his commanding officer,the elder man bit back a sigh to smile"well in whatever case I'm glad to see you've made a full recovery"the man spoke in a restrained tone. the other two nin watching the drama with a puzzled look to their eyes. Naruto nodded and looked to the others with a genuine smile"hey guys thank you for being here for me,I really appreciate it,now I don't know about y'all but I'll starving,let's go to the grill,my treat" the blond spoke to them. Kakashi went to protest but was cut off by Sasuke"sure man,don't think we've actually ate dinner as a team before,plus maybe some of the others will be there as well"he answered with a grunt while keeping a warm face.the new feelings of hope and joy creeping up into the normally stoic Uchiha.
they arrived to a small building with very few customers sitting sparse in booths. Naruto smelled the air before grinning wide"oh man I've missed this more than ramen, c'mon let's go grab a spot"he ushered them inside with a wave behind. Sakura was glad to actually spend some time as a team again with a grin of her own. Sasuke nodded at her emotions rolling off"yeah I'm starving myself"he spoke in a huffed tone and walked as well, Kakashi was against this for a few reasons, mainly he feared of Naruto brining up why he was being given the cold shoulder. and also his ability to smooth talk and out wit others concerned the scarecrow nin. he sighed while walking inside.
kami help us if they turn on the village because of that brat's tongue the man uttered within as they found a booth tucked away in the back,they walked over and sat. Naruto and Sakura sat opposite of the two Sharingan users and picked up a menu,they ordered a balance of meat and vegetables to cook on the personal grill. Sasuke struck up a conversation with the blond about his stay within the prison"hey...how was it inside that place,I don't think we ever actually talked about it Naruto""all I can say is that I wanted to die while being in that shit hole,let's just leave it at that"the blond responded in a bitter tone at the mention of the hellish room and betrayal. Sakura watched him from the side with a worried glance just what did they do to you in there,kami I'm gonna go do some digging to figure out why he's been cold more than ever,his aura is terrifying the teen noted the chilled atmosphere surrounding them. Naruto noticed the anger seeping out and adjusted himself to calm down"look let's just drop that train of thought for now,I'll tell you in due time what really happened""actually no you can't Uzumaki,lord third...""do you honestly think I give a good goddamn what he says or orders Hatake,like I fucking said let's drop it" the blond seethed out in repressed rage.he breathed out a long sigh and took a sip of his green tea,the blond had a made a decision to put down the bottle for good,he noted that it would be damn near impossible but for his team,he would try. Kakashi sweatdropped at his situation with a dry chuckle,the air still tense and awkward.the minutes passed before anyone spoke again.
"hey Naruto I finally mastered the leaf cutting technique yesterday afternoon,it was rough but it's paid off,I can feel a slight difference in control"the pinkette girl spoke to break the ice between the Uzumaki and Kakashi,the two staring each other down,he turned to her with a shocked look oh damn she did it that quick,wow I'm truly impressed with her advancement in chakra control the blond smiled to her"that's great Sakura,tell ya what I've got a challenge for ya,if you can do two leaves,one in each hand I'll see to it that you get a scroll of Jutsu fit for your fighting style,also that reminds me we have to get back to training as well,I feel like crap from being stuck in that damn room"the blond spoke to her and the others as well. they nodded in total agreement at his feeling.
the next few weeks proved to be something ferocious for the teams of Kohona,team ten along with eight had started to train more than usual in response to disastrous missions being taken in lieu of laid back ones, Hinata had shown tremendous progress in her skills in the few weeks since their inception into the tougher jobs of being a nin, unfortunately that also meant they had to kill targets or to defend themselves from bandits with deadly force in some cases.Kiba had lost his nerve when forced to plunge a Kuni into a man hell-bent on killing them,he recalled the incident in horrific detail to the Hokage,who in turn scheduled the young one to undergo a psych evaluation,which he passed but could show signs of sleep deprivation. Naruto met up with them to eat.
"hey guys whats up"the blond called out to the tracking team catching up to them in the shop district, Hinata noticed her former crush with a change in his voice,gone was the high pitched shrill voice and replaced with what sounded like smooth gravel of someone twenty years his senior,it still held hints of youth but lacked innocence. oh my kami he's changed quiet a bit since I last laid eyes on him,and for the better the teen Hyuga thought with a devious smirk,over the last few months she had opted to also train with her teacher alone on off days to really catch up to the others. the woman had insisted on helping the girl with her shortcomings, stuttering and shyness"well good to see you after so long Naruto,my you've grown a lot since our last encounter"she spoke in a hushed voice to him,he looked to her with a sheepish smile"oh it has been a while,but I'm finally out and back on duty"the team plus Naruto walked while still chatting,they eventually made it to a new restaurant that was built beside the Hyuga district.they walked inside to the smell of fried fish and other pleasant aromas.
AN:hey everyone here is chapter two of this epic adventure,more to follow,I'll go into detail about training and also the teams in general,will cover team seven's growth and the mission of being on tower duty,stay tuned.