Chapter 9: Someone Like Me
April 13th, 64 AFL
Tazuna had finally completed his bridge the night before and so early the next morning Team 7 were saying their final farewells to the people they had defeated in battle just two weeks before, "Why did you want to bury Zabuza too Naruto?" Sakura asked the blonde knucklehead, "I didn't do it for him, I did it for Haku," Naruto replied sadly.
The two genin were standing with their teammates taking one last look at the memorial they had built the two missing mist nin. "What about Zabuza's sword Kakashi?" Sasuke questioned, "Leave it, hopefully nobody ever finds it or Haku's memorial," the jonin replied simply. Naruto turned to his sensei with a serious but not hostile look as he asked,
"So what about you sensei? Do you actually care about us or are we just your tools to be used and manipulated as you see fit? Is that your way of the shinobi?" Naruto asked his sensei not in malice but in search of the truth. Kakashi could only sigh hearing Naruto's words, it was true he had not prepared them enough for this and that he had only reached his students after the worst of their battle was over. Kakashi also knew how Mizuki had deceived him in order to steal The Scroll of Sealing and that Naruto had heard Zabuza's opinions towards his own student from Sakura. Kakashi looked at all three of his students as he finally answered,
"Of course not, I care for all three of you deeply and would give my own life for any of yours," the jonin said but as his students started to grin he spoke again, "However, it is true that all shinobi at least legally are merely tools of their village, it's council, and it's kage. In fact those seals on your palms represent that fact," Kakashi finished honestly.
Sasuke looked to the ground in agitation at the fact he was just the villages pawn, while Naruto looked at him visibly annoyed, Sakura asked her sensei curiously, "What do you mean sensei?" Kakashi looked at Sakura and started explaining,
"Other villages don't have The Soul Seal Jutsu, they have the freedom to search and pursue whoever they want while the jutsu picks your partner for you and it's a requirement for all graduating genin to go through it," the jonin started. "In all honesty I don't know if I agree with Lord Fourth and Lord Third's decision to implement it into shinobi law, although it has helped a vast amount of kunoichi get over their obsessions in the past and has given male shinobi something to protect," Kakashi winked at Naruto and Sakura then continued, "but I really don't know, it makes me wonder if we had it in my genin days maybe things could have gone differently," the jonin finished and began gazing into the sky.
Sakura looked at her sensei with concern as she asked, "Do you know who your soulmate is sensei?" the pinkette questioned. Kakashi directed his gaze to the kunoichi as he replied,
"If your asking if I've ever had The Soul Seal Jutsu performed on me, that would be a no, it was optional to all active ninja at the time of its implementation into law. Besides do you know what happens if the jutsu is performed on you and your partner is already dead Sakura?"
"No" Sakura replied with a sad look. Kakashi chuckled, "Nothing, absolutely nothing, the truth is I'm afraid Sakura, I'm afraid I already lost her," Sakura looked at her sensei with sympathy before embracing him in a hug, "Don't be afraid sensei if that happens it happens, don't be afraid to at least try, believe it," the pinkete said with a genuine smile.
Kakashi looked at his student fondly before ruffling her pink locks, "Thank you Sakura," the jonin replied with almost tears in eyes from the young girl's kindness as he broke their short embrace. Kakashi saw Naruto looking at him with a determined look on his face as he asked, "What's wrong Naruto?" Kakashi questioned,
"It's just what you said about us being tools it's stills sounds like a bunch of crap to me," the blonde replied simply, "Even if that's how it is now, I know my ninja way to be the greatest Hokage and I'll do it my own way without being somebody's puppet, and I'll have Hinata and you three by my side the whole way, believe it!" he said with pride as he smiled at his teammates.
Sakura grinned and threw her fist into the air, "Right Cha!" she said aloud while Sasuke began to smirk but there was a little venom in his voice when he replied, "You know dobe if your going to be Hokage your going to have to prove your stronger than me!" Sasuke actually barked out he didn't know why he was suddenly getting angry at his friend but it had been growing worse ever since their battle with the rogue nin.
His teammates had only seen his mood change as a result of Naruto being the one to defeat Haku and not himself but Sasuke knew that wasn't the only reason. He had heard the truth about Naruto's heritage and the fact he had been gifted such an immense power at birth, a power he could have easily used to kill Itachi. There was also the fact that Naruto had gotten Sakura and not him, she was the only girl he had only slightly had a soft spot for before The Soul Seal Jutsu but it was the dobe who had gotten her instead. On top of everything Naruto had even gotten his first kill over Sasuke and against such a powerful opponent. In Sasuke's mind Naruto had grown so much while the only thing Sasuke had obtained was one new tomoe and better chakra control, a good step but he needed far more power and the Mangekyou if he wanted to kill Itachi. This had all accumulated into a growing jealousy for Naruto over the past couple of weeks and that had gone unnoticed by Sakura and Naruto but Kakashi could see it clearly.
Naruto finally responded to his friend with a sincere smile as he answered his raven haired teammate, "I know Sasuke-teme," causing Sasuke's scowl to deepen and Naruto to smirk. Kakashi looked at his two boys with worry before he interrupted their argument, "Alright guys let's say our farewells to Tazuna and head home," he said coolly. Naruto turned to his sensei as he and Sakura replied with a "Right!" but Sasuke just huffed and followed his team to the now finished bridge.
A couple of hours later Team 7 finally arrived at the recently finished bridge and were greeted by Tazuna and his grandson Inari,
"Thank you for everything," the drunkard stated with sincerity to the Leaf nin. Inari walked up to the two genin he had bonded with most, "Yeah Naruto, Sakura thank you and you too eyepatch and emo-kid," the little boy said with a smile.
Sasuke actually fell over backwards, 'He doesn't even remember my name!' the Uchiha thought in anger and annoyance. "No need for thanks we chose to stay and we made great memories just remember what I said about what I said to Zabuza about these two," Kakashi replied while ruffling Naruto and Sasuke's heads causing both boys to glare at their sensei. They were both up for praise but not being treated like children in front of their clients.
Tazuna chuckled before looking at Kakashi and replying, "Don't worry Kakashi there secrets are safe with me," the old man replied with a smile and laughter, "Like I said before, I don't understand any of that ninja gibberish anyway," Kakashi smiled as Naruto and Sakura said their final farewells to the young Inari,
"This is goodbye," the pinkette said sadly. "Yeah but we'll see each other again someday, right Inari," Naruto began with a smile, "So let it out ok it's fine to cry when your happy, you know," the blonde finished. Inari began to shed a few tears but quickly dried them,
"No, it's better to smile cuz like you said Naruto we'll see each other again someday," the boy replied happily. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and shared a smile, "Believe, It!" the couple stated in unison and wrapped their arms around the young boy who finally began to sob in a mix of joy at the liberation of his land and sadness at the loss of his close friends, the heroes who had saved them all.
The three finally broke apart and Team 7 began their journey home but before they got more than a few feet away they heard Tazuna's voice, "Oh by the way I've named the the bridge," he said with a shit eating grin. Kakashi was the one to ask, "Really what did you decide?" the jonin questioned,
Tazuna's grin got even wider as he replied, "I was going to name it The Great Naruto Bridge but after talking to a blonde little friend of mind," Tazuna winked at Naruto who was wearing his classic foxy grin,
"I decided this would be The Bridge of Emerald Cherry Blossoms, odd name in this nation especially but as per request this bridge was officially given that name ten days ago on April 3rd," the drunkard finished.
Sakura looked at Tazuna with a dumbfounded look and then to Naruto who was wearing that damn look of love and admiration. She did this about five times before her inner helped her regain her sanity, 'He named a bridge after me,' her inner said with a blush. "He named a bridge after me" Sakura replied to her inner self. 'On our know obvious anniversary of April 3rd,' her inner answered again her blush deepening even more. Normal Sakura's thoughts mirrored her inner's once again, "He named a bridge after me on our anniversary," she squealed in delight in her mind. 'Kiss the baka!' inner Sakura screamed while licking her lips.
That was it the last restraint broke, "Definitely kiss that sweet blonde baka soulmate of ours, mine whatever the hell you are!" Inner Sakura huffed and vanished while the real Sakura came back to reality and saw Naruto looking at her with concern,
"Uh you alright Sakura-chan, you kinda zoned out there?" the blonde questioned. Sakura tackled him with all of the strength she had, their foreheads bumped, that hurt like hell, they landed on the ground in the same position they had been in when Sakura thought he had pranked her.
Oh how wrong she had been thinking it was just a prank as she looked into his eyes with a look of love and devotion that mirrored Naruto's own. They both smiled, Sakura tilted her head and leaned down while the blonde tilted his head and leaned up to meet the cherry blossom he treasured so much. For the two genin time stopped their lips met a chaste kiss their first but it was special nonetheless, sharing the feelings they had for the other while expressing the love that was slowly growing between the two. As quickly as they met their lips parted and the two teens shared a blush while their sensei smirked at them, "Are you two ready to go home yet?" the jonin questioned. They looked at Kakashi before turning to face the other, "Yeah lets," they said in unison and as they got to their feet Sakura's right hand interlocked with Naruto's left. Team 7 said one final goodbye to the people of The Land of Waves and made their way home after their first true ninja mission.
While Team 7 made their way home Team 8 was currently undergoing the same training that Naruto and Sasuke had gone through just a couple of weeks before, "Damn it, I can barely make it up a few branches up!" Kiba barked out in annoyance.
"You need to concentrate more, why because it's an important step in controlling your chakra," Shino replied flatly as he sat at least twice as high up as his teammate. "Screw you Shino!" Kiba yelled out angrily at his own failure more so than his friend. Hinata sighed,
"Shino's right Kiba-kun you need to concentrate, after all you're the one that asked us to come out here even though Kurenai sensei would be furious." Team 8 was currently residing in the large forest just outside of the village in order to do some private training while Kurenai was away on an important mission.
"Hinata's right Kiba we shouldn't even be out here, why because there are plenty of other things we could be training in besides chakra control," Shino stated simply as the two boys came to the ground to meet up with Hinata who had already mastered the technique. Kiba growled at got right into Shino's face, "And who asked you bug boy," he barked out while holding Shino by his collar. Shino looked indifferent but then got a little bit color as he suddenly announced,
"Were being ambushed!" the boy with shades almost shouted. Kiba suddenly released his friend and began sniffing the air along with his nin dog Akamaru, "Damn I hate Spring all the pollen makes it hard to smell anything," Kiba said annoyed. "Come on guys we have to head back now," Hinata pleaded to her teammates.
As Team 8 prepared to move out Hinata activated her family's kekkei genkai, "Byakugan!" the Hyuga princess shouted. Hinata looked around frantically and found their attackers, three enemy nin all standing above them. "There they are!" Hinata said while pointing above. Shino immediately sent his bugs in to cover their escape but as they got within a few feet of the unknown nin they suddenly halted their attack and dispersed,
'What the fuck was that?' Shino thought. His thought process and their escape was interrupted by the three nin suddenly jumping down and revealing themselves. Two of them appeared to be the same age as them but one was a bit older probably fourteen or fifteen. This one had red hair and a slim build and oddly enough instead of a kunai he was holding a medical scalpel. The other boy in their group had brown hair and dark brown eyes he wasn't holding a weapon however his hands were held together firmly ready to unleash an unknown jutsu at any second. The final member of their group was a short haired girl with blue hair, tan skin and orange eyes, she was holding a kunai but had a sad expression on her face.
"Perfect the intelligence I got was right, the Hyuga heiress was assigned an Aburame as a teammate, that's specifically why I requested you Fu and with all this pollen the Inuzuka couldn't even detect our approach," the red haired teen stated with a sadistic smile. Kiba huffed,
"I don't know who you think you are but you won't take us down that easily," he replied with a smirk, "Now Akamaru!" Kiba's faithful nin dog jumped out of his sweater and stood beside his master, "Now Man-Beast Taijutsu - Fang Over Fang!" the young Inuzuka shouted. Suddenly Kiba and Akumaru's bodies began rotating together and suddenly launched themselves at the apparent leader of the enemy nin. The red haired leader just smirked,
"Soboku do you mind?" suddenly the brown haired boy jumped in front of Kiba's attack and simply shouted, "Earth Style - Mud Wall!" and as soon as he did it intercepted Kiba's attack his mud wall barely holding strong but holding nonetheless. Kiba tried to recuperate but the red-haired nin was on the pair in seconds quickly slicing them with his scalpel. Kiba suddenly felt drowsy as he looked at his opponents with contempt he questioned, "What… What did you do to me and Akamaru? What was on that knife?" the Inuzuka asked while trying to remain conciousses.
The red-haired teen laughed coldly before answering, "Don't worry, it's pretty common poison but it will kill you and your mut in under four hours if you don't get to a doctor quickly and you should only be able to retain consciousness for another, well about now," the unknown nin explained as Kiba and Akamaru quickly passed out on the ground. Hinata looked at the enemy nin the kind girls anger actually rising for once as she stated calmly,
"Shino-kun take Kiba-kun and get back to the village, I'll hold them off until you can get reinforcements," she said with determination. Shino instantly argued back, "Absolutely not there more than likely after you, why because you have the Byakugan and there's no way you can beat them alone," the bug man replied seriously. Hinata smiled at him before looking back at the enemy nin in contempt,
"We don't have a choice for some reason your bugs are afraid of them and Kiba is out cold my jutsu's are the only ones that we can still fight them with," she said calmly before looking back to Shino with an even bigger smile, "Besides it's what Naruto-kun would do for his comrades, now go!" Hinata shouted as she charged the two male nin while shouting, "Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!' but none of her blows would connect.
The red haired teen laughed once again, "Did you really think we would target a member of the Hyuga clan and not study their Taijutsu styles, what a joke your as basic as every Hyuga!" he shouted and knocked Hinata with a good right fist but she recovered quickly and scowled at him,
"Then I can try this at least Shadow Clone Jutsu!" she shouted as two solid duplicates appeared next to her. She looked back to Shino who by now had recovered Kiba and was staring at her in concern, "Go!" she shouted, Shino took one last look at his teammate and the two enemy nin, his gaze slowly shifted towards the female of their group who looked saddened by the whole ordeal. Shino saw her lip an, "I'm sorry," before he turned away with Kiba on his back and headed straight for the gates of Konoha.
Hinata and her two clones turned their gaze to the two male nin who had engaged her in combat as the brown haired boy asked their apparent leader, "There escaping is that ok Mishito-san?" Soboku asked his teammate. "Yeah that's fine, we just have to defeat the Hyuga bitch quickly," the red haired teen replied as he pulled out a different scalpel from his weapon pouch.
"Fu do you mind actually helping or are you just gonna sit there looking pissy and depressed all mission?" Mishito questioned the blue haired girl. Fu just scowled at him, "No this mission is fucked up, I don't really give a shit if it came from the village leader or not, I can't believe he would even approve of such a thing, it's just a bunch of crap!" she shouted and jumped back up into the trees laying on a branch and turning away from the two boys.
Mishito just huffed while Soboku could only sigh, "I hate it too Fu-chan but orders are orders and our leader wants the Byakugan," Soboku explained albeit in a depressed tone. Mishito grinned, "Alright Soboku you know the drill," Soboku sighed again, "Alright Mishito-san" he replied and suddenly began charging Hinata and her three clones. They each got ready for combat but were surprised when Soboku jumped into the air, "Earth Style - Stone Pistol Jutsu!" he shouted as soon as he did several chunks of hard mud shot out of the boys mouth giving Hinata and her clones no time to react as her as well as her clones suffered several brutal blows.
Her clones poofed away but Hinata was still standing, 'How does Naruto-kun produce so many clones after just two I'm almost wiped," the girl thought. She was interrupted by Mishito suddenly appearing behind her, he tried slicing her side but she intercepted it with her right hand, unfortunately the blade had made a small cut and that's all it took.
Hinata suddenly collapsed fainting from whatever toxin had been coated with Mishito's scalpel. Mishito laughed coldly as he turned to Soboku, "Alright carry her Soboku, let's head home it's getting late," the red haired teen ordered his comrade. Soboku looked at him annoyed for a moment but complied as Fu suddenly appeared next to them.
"Ready to torture a poor girl for something that she can't even help?" Fu asked with venom in her voice. Soboku looked down disappointed with himself but Mishito just chuckled, "Be grateful there aren't enemy nin after you, you fucking disgusting bug," Mishito said with malice. "What the fuck did you just call me you bastard!" Fu yelled as she went to go punch the boy in his face but Soboku grabbed her wrist and shook his head,
"Remember Fu-chan if you ever lay a hand on a fellow waterfall nin you'll be confined and never be let out," he reminded her calmly. Fu looked at Soboku angrily but nodded and he released his grip as Mishito started to speak again, "Alright let's head home," the red haired medic nin said with a grin. Fu and Soboku scowled at him before nodding and making their way back to The Village Hidden by a Waterfall.
As the Waterfall nin made their way back home Team 7 arrived at the village gates only to find Shino carrying an injured Kiba. "What happened to Kiba, Shino?!" Kakashi asked in concern. Shino turned to the jonin with Kiba still on his back, "Kiba poisoned, Hinata kidnapped by enemy nin, why Byakugan, please report to the Hokage for me, why I need to get Kiba and Akamaru to the hospital now!" Shino replied and before Team 7 could say a word the bug man disappeared with his comrade into the village. Kakashi immediately turned to Naruto but it was already too late, the blonde was long gone,
"Fuck!" Kakashi said aloud while Sakura turned to him frantically, "Naruto-kun and Hinata are missing what are we going to do Kakashi sensei!" the pinkette said worry and fear clear on her face. Kakashi kneeled down to meet Sakura's eyes as he replied,
"It's going to be ok Sakura were going to go to the Hokage and get our orders, ok," the jonin said as he grabbed her hand and began leading her to the Hokage tower. He made sure to keep his grip firm and his eye on her at all times, she had been with Naruto and Hinata for the last couple of months after all and he couldn't risk her running off and doing something crazy in a vain attempt to help her loved ones.
"Come on Sasuke," Kakashi said expecting his student to follow but when he didn't the jonin turned to see a scowl on his face, "I'm just going to go train sensei, trust me I won't run off, I could give a shit about the dobe and his girlfriends, he already holds me back enough as it is," Sasuke replied flatly and left heading towards the training fields. Kakashi sighed and looked to see Sakura with an utter look of shock and even some tears starting to form. Kakashi was forced to meet the girls gaze once again as she asked,
"Why sensei, why would he say that?" Sakura questioned sadly. Kakashi tried to explain, "He has problems but he doesn't mean that he does care about you and Naruto both as well as Hinata but we'll get through that problem one step at a time for now let's meet up with the Hokage and explain what the hell is going on," he replied and started guiding her to the Hokage Tower once again. Sakura sunk her head down in worry as she thought, 'Naruto-kun I know you'll save Hinata but please just be careful I can't afford to lose either of you,' Sakura thought as she began to weep.
Meanwhile the son of the Fourth was quickly making his way through the trees as he desperately tried to track Hinata's scent through the vast amounts of pollen. As her scent grew stronger and stronger Naruto couldn't help but blame himself for this,
"Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, I should of never asked for that damn mission I would of been here to stop this, Fuck!" he screeched aloud. "Damn it," the blonde continued,
"I promised her I wouldn't neglect her and then I go and have a month long get away with Sakura-chan, Kami what the fuck have I done!" the blonde wailed in pain and started to shed a few tears as he remembered the special night he had spent with the Hyuga heiress just a couple of months ago.
Flashback: February 16th, 64 AFL
It was a surprisingly warm day for February when Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata finished their daily training and were getting ready to say their goodbyes. Sakura saw Hinata gazing at the moon that was as full as could be when she smiled and whispered into Naruto's ear,
"Remember to take Hinata out tonight for a picnic on the monument," she said into her baka's ear. Naruto simply smiled and nodded and once Sakura said her farewells to the pair Naruto asked the Hyuga heiress,
"Hinata want to go to the monument and look at the moon, I even have a meal prepared and everything, believe it!" he said happily. Hinata smiled while blushing redder than Sakura's dress, "Of… of course Naruto-kun," she said happily.
Both genin looked at each other fondly before making their way to monument Hinata's left hand intertwining with Naruto's right. Once the couple made their way to Naruto's favorite spot they sat down and began just simply looking at the moon in silence until Hinata's belly grumbled with hunger causing her to flush,
"I'm sorry Naruto-kun I'm just a little hungry," she admitted embarrassed at her stomachs outburst. Naruto just gave her that look that she had finally stopped fainting from as he replied, "You should have said so Hinata-chan," he suddenly flashed a foxy grin as he walked to the edge of Lord Fourth's stone face and bent down. Hinata got up and curiously walked over to see what he was doing and was shocked, her love was hoisting up a bento box with a long rope she hadn't seen in a long time, in one hand was kunai she also recognized from long ago.
Hinata looked dumbfounded but when Naruto turned to her and flashed a grin she could only smile, "You… You remember the day we met, the day I fell in love with you," she said before she could stop herself. Naruto finally undid the rope that was holding the bento box and smiled at her,
"Yeah I do and I want to say thank you Hinata for always cheering me on and believing in me, you know, you always did and it means a lot to me, believe it!" the blonde grinned happily as he handed her their meal. Hinata smiled while taking the food and blushing profusely,
"Thank you Naruto-kun," she managed to get out while containing her squeals of joy. The pair returned to their previous position and gazed at the moon again. After a while Hinata turned her gaze to her soulmate once again and was surprised to see him staring back,
"Sorry Hinata-hime but you should know, I love you too and you're more beautiful than the moon to me, believe it!" he stated with a loving smile and then gazed at the ground with a sad expression,"I saw your memories and feelings when we had our seals placed and were so much alike when it comes to the pain we've gone through and the hardships we've faced, no one really caring whether we were around or not," Naruto turned his gaze back to her as his sad expression turned into a smile,
"But just know I will always be there for you Hinata-chan, that's a promise, believe it!" the blonde declared with confidence. That was it for Hinata, almost instinctively she leaned her head toward his and closed her eyes, Naruto was shocked at first but he knew what she wanted and he wanted it too so he closed his eyes as well and leaned in.
Their lips met for only a second but it was pure bliss for the two genin but alas that kiss was the Hyuga's girls limit after all she had only been close to her Naruto-kun for a couple weeks as she proceeded to faint into her lover's arms with a content smile on her face. Naruto sighed before looking at her fondly and saying aloud,
"Damn that was fun but I thought we got that out of your system Hinata-chan maybe I'll ask Sakura-chan if a small genjutsu would help, sensei said she had a potential in it after all." Hinata continued to smile in bliss as she mumbled back somehow while still unconscious,
"Will ask Kurenai for Sakura Naru-kun," she replied. Naruto looked at her oddly before laughing, "Thank you my sweet moonlight," he whispered in her ear causing her to shiver and inadvertently hold him tighter. The blonde smiled and pecked her cheek before sprinting down the trail to the village full speed wondering how he was going to sneak by Hinata's prick of a cousin Neji Hyuga.
End of Flashback
April 13th, 64 AFL
As Naruto gazed at the moon he saw it was just as full as it was during that night and his tears suddenly dried and his look turned to one of determination, "I'm sorry I wasn't there Hinata-chan but I'm going to save you, I promise that on my life, believe it!" He growled out to no one but himself.
Meanwhile Sakura and Kakashi had made their way to the Hokage's office and were explaining the situation to the old man. "I see, Kakashi at dawn, I want you to take Sasuke, Sakura, and Shino to retrieve Naruto-kun and Hinata," the Hokage explained. Sakura sad look turned to one of anger, "In the morning why not now Oji-san," the pinkette wailed as
Shino finally entered the office after dropping his comrade off at the hospital, "Why you ask because you three just got back and are all exhausted from your journey while I need time to figure out why my male insects wouldn't engage them," Shino replied.
"Your male insects?" Kakashi questioned, "Yes the males wouldn't go anywhere near them but luckily the females had no problems, why I'm not sure but it does give us one advantage and Naruto should be meeting up with some help soon," Shino answered cryptically.
The Hokage simply said, "Explain," Shino looked at the old man before starting, "I constantly place female bugs on Kiba and Hinata, why situations like this one. As for what I meant about Naruto my bugs may have not been willing to engage them but they will still track them for me and he should be meeting up with a certain friend of mind to get help locating the Waterfall nin."
The Hokage looked at Shino with a serious expression as he asked, "They were Waterfall nin, are you absolutely sure Shino?" the Hokage questioned. "Yes Lord Hokage, why because their headbands gave them away," Shino explained. The Hokage sighed, "Alright the plan remains the same you three along with Sasuke will start tracking them with your insects at dawn, Shino take Sakura home and make sure she gets inside, Sakura I'll have someone watching your house so don't try anything crazy and wait until morning ok," the Hokage said sternly but trying his best to be sympathetic to the poor cherry blossom, "Ok," she replied through sniffles,
"Alright you two are dismmissed, Kakashi I need a private word," the old man ordered his ninja. As soon as the two genin exited the office the Hokage began, "This report about Naruto troubles me but I think we should assume the fox was trying to manipulate the boy into thinking he was nicer than he obviously is, we should inform Naruto the same thing as we did before, to not trust the beast and avoid using its power at all cost. We can't risk Lord Fourth's seal failing and the nine-tails going on a rampage again. As for the oddity with Naruto's soul seal its possible that Lord Fourth made it so the seals can cut off the connection between a jinchuuriki and it's tailed beast for a moment thereby releasing the jinchuuriki from the tailed beast state, but I can honestly only speculate. Really I have no idea why that occurred but for now let it be, this business with the Waterfall Village troubles me much more," the Hokage stated to the experienced jonin.
"Yes Lord Hokage the Waterfall Village would have to be crazy to risk war with one of the five great hidden villages," Kakashi replied. "Yes and Shino's report described the oldest nin's weapon as medical scalpel," the Hokage answered back. Kakashi looked at him sternly before replying, "Somethings not right this isn't a normal mission for those nin is it,"
"No, I suspect that the red haired shinobi may be manipulating the two younger ones, from Shino's report the two around their age seemed remorseful for the whole ordeal but as shinobi they had to complete their mission," the Hokage explained. "So that's why you wanted us to wait until dawn because those three are acting alone and will not be heading to their village,"
"Yes it's likely he will kill the other two and take Hinata's eyes for himself but he'll need time for that and that gives you all an opportunity to rest and to be able to pursue them at a much faster pace," the Hokage sighed before looking at Lord Fourth's picture, "Besides I have faith in Naruto-kun and Hinata they'll hold out until you get there, now inform Sasuke of the mission and get some sleep, I want you four out of the village and in pursuit by dawn, your dismissed," the Hokage finished with a stern look. "Understood Lord Hokage," Kakashi said as exited the office in order the find the last Uchiha.
Meanwhile Sasuke was indeed practicing on the training fields while Ino watched on silently, 'I know he knows I'm here but he hasn't said anything yet and he seems so angry, what the hell happened on that mission?' the platinum blonde thought. She was suddenly interrupted by Sasuke suddenly yelling, "Damn it, Fuck!" he screamed as he went to his knees.
Ino rushed over a lightly placed a hand on his shoulder as she asked, "What's wrong Sasuke-kun, please you can tell me anything," Ino pleaded to him. Sasuke scowled at her at first but he saw the care and concern in her eyes and it slowly turned into a small frown, "I'm angry Ino," he stated simply. "Angry?" she asked, Sasuke shrugged off her hand before replying,
"Yes I'm angry at Naruto for being stronger than me," he admitted as Ino gasped from the shock but before she could reply Sasuke continued, "I'm angry that he was gifted such an immense power at birth, I'm angry that it's not mine and I still don't have nearly enough strength to avenge my clan, I'm angry that the dobe has both of his soulmates by his side anytime he wants while Karin sits in a fucking cell being torutured and I'm to weak to save her, I'm angry at this village for thinking of us as nothing more than their toys to be used and held back whenever they see fit, bust most of all I'm angry that all these villagers do is laugh and joke when every night that I fall asleep all I can see are the screaming faces of my parents begging for me to avenge them!" Sasuke finally finished nearly breaking down,
"And the worst part is I don't think anyone can understand that, that's why I'm angry Ino," he finally finished while looking at her the slightest hint of tears in his eyes. Sasuke tried turning away in an attempt to leave the blonde but she embraced him from behind just like she had all those years ago.
Sasuke's first instinct was to shove her off but when he felt the genuine affection in Ino's touch he abandoned the idea as she began to whisper in Sasuke's ear, "I understand, I never told you but that day we had our seals placed I saw what Itachi did to you and your parents," she began as Sasuke looked at her his mouth wide open in shock as a tear slowly made its way down his cheek. "And I want you to know that ever since that day my dream became the same as yours, all I want is that evil bastard dead for what he did to our clan," she looked into Sasuke's with her own tears but a sincere smile as she finished, "And that because I love you Sasuke-kun and I won't rest until your nightmares are gone forever and you can finally start dreaming again."
Sasuke broke he turned to face the blonde and his tears poured out, he sunk his head into her chest and she silently pet his raven haired locks as she whispered into his ear, "It's ok Sasuke, It's ok," she repeated while trying to soothe him. Suddenly Sasuke's third tomoe awakened in his left eye but the last Uchiha was too consumed with emotion to notice as he held onto his soulmate as tightly as he possibly could. In a tree above the couple Kakashi just smiled and waited patiently to inform the rookie of the year of their mission in the morning.
Meanwhile the poor pinkette of Team 7 was crying her eyes out in her bed trying to get some sleep. When she saw the clock hit midnight she gave up and went to finish the project she had been working on before the mission to Wave country began. She sat on her bed and set her alarm as she continued to silently work through tears her thoughts and feelings going out to her baka and Hinata.
Just as Sakura resumed her project a bug whizzed by Naruto's face, he thought to swipe it but remembered Shino's specialty and hoped, "Are you one of Shino's?" the blonde asked. The bug flew vertically up and down as if to resemble a nod, Naruto understood the meaning and asked,
"Do you know where Hinata is, can you lead me to her?" the bug flew up and down once again causing Naruto to smile, "Alright then lead the way we'll save Hinata-chan together, believe it!" the blonde knucklehead stated with confidence in his new small comrade. As if responding to the blondes words the bug speed instantly doubled as the insect and jinchuuriki duo finally closed in on the location of the Waterfall nin.
April 14th, 64 AFL
It was around 12:30 in the morning when the Waterfall nin were preparing to take first watch, they had camped out in a cave just about halfway between the Leaf and Waterfall villages. Mishito had wanted to be first but Fu had just huffed and told him to get some sleep while she watched the princess. Mishito had glared at her but complied and said he would be up around 2:30 to take over which Fu only responded to with another huff.
As Mishito and Soboku drifted off to sleep Hinata managed to regain consciousness although she found she was still completely paralized. Fu noticed her state of awareness and decided to start talking to the shy Hyuga princess.
Hinata revealed a lot about herself and her past and how she had never really been wanted, Fu could sympathize with Hinata's pain afterall the only two people who actually showed her any form of kindness were the Village leader and Soboku and even that wasn't real friendship. Eventually Hinata's words had drifted off to her Naruto-kun and his terrible upbringing,
Fu immediately began to notice the similarities between herself and this Naruto and she asked Hinata without thinking, "Is he like me?" Hinata looked at the blue haired teen a little confused, "What do you mean?" Fu looked back to her teammates who both still appeared to be asleep and then back to Hinata, she sighed and finally asked, "Is he, you know a jinchuuriki like me?"
Hinata's eyes widened in shock but as she saw Fu's look of pain she immediately recognized as a similar face to Nartuo-kun's, Fu was asking Hinata for acceptance as well if Naruto was a jinchuuriki or not. Hinata felt so bad for the girl but she had to know her real reason so she put on a sympathetic look as she asked,
"Why do you want to know is your village after the nine-tails too?" Fu immediately shook her head, "No, I didn't know we were even after the Byakugan until Mishito came to us and told us about it, we left immediately after finding out about the mission and he never told us it was a girl our age we were targeting, the whole thing is just so messed up," Fu said while shedding a tear.
Hinata looked at the girl with sympathy again before saying, "I'll answer your question if you answer one more of mine?" "Ok," Fu replied, Hinata smiled but her look quickly turned solemn as she asked, "There planing on take my eyes, aren't they?" the kind princess asked. Fu's tears started falling and she could only nod her head, Hinata sighed,
"As for yours," Hinata simply smiled and nodded. Fu couldn't help but ask, "How… How did he make so many friends, why doesn't everyone hate him like they do me in my village?" she questioned. Hinata smile grew even bigger,
"Most of the village does but everyone who's his age or younger have no idea what he contains and to be honest once you see who he really is it doesn't really matter anymore, Naruto is Naruto like Fu is Fu, you know," Hinata giggled.
Fu looked at her with a Naruto like smile and tears as she placed a hand on Hinata's, a small beetle crawled out of Hinata's sweater and started rubbing against Fu's finger's, if it was cat you could say it was purring. Fu looked at the beetle curiously before asking without thinking,
"Is this one of Shino-kun's?" the orange eyed girl said. Hinata's eyes widened when she heard that, "How do you know Shino?" Fu looked away from her for a second with a touch of red on her cheeks before looking back and sighing, "The truth is I…" Fu was suddenly cut off by the appearance of a scalpel under her throat.
"Sorry Fu but the truth is I've wanted to kill your ass for a long time and since I've already dealt with Soboku," Mishitio allowed Fu to turn her head enough to see that Soboku was no longer breathing and had appeared to have died in his sleep. "What the fuck did you do to Soboku?" Fu growled out releasing a little seven-tails chakra, just enough to burn Mishito a bit and force him away from her.
"I poisoned him in his sleep and now I only have to deal with you and then that bitch's kekkei genkai will be all mine," Mishito finished with a sadistic look. "So this was all just a bunch of crap then, what the fuck was the actual mission you scumbag!" Fu yelled out but still managing to hold back her tailed beast chakra. Mishito chuckled,
"Here have a look," Mishito chucked a scroll over to Fu as she read it her anger only rose, "We were only supposed to get permision to enter the chunin exams what the fuck where you thinking?" the girl yelled. Mishito just laughed coldly,
"Why would I give a damn about some stupid test, when I have the Bykaugan I'll be able to take over our village thats more than enough for me," Mishito grinned evilily. "Now like I said before, I just have to kill yo…" suddenly a bug came whizzing around Mishito's face, "Damn insects, I fuckin hate bugs," the boy screamed as he flailed his arms around air frantically trying to smash the agitating insect.
Fu and Hinata actually almost began laughing at their foes apparent phobia but definitely broke down when the next thing happened. Suddenly at least a hundred Naruto's came charging into the cave full sprint, "He's not just a bug, he's my comrade, believe it, you bastard!"
Before Mishito could deal with his bug problem the many clones landed several hard blows and kicks to the medical nin and in such a small space there was no chance for any escape from the blonde's brutal assault.
Mishito stood there with a bruised and bloody face, Naruto just scowled at him before turning away and as soon as he did the red haired medic collapsed to the ground face first.
As soon as Mishito was beaten Naruto's clones all poofed away and he sprinted full speed towards Hinata completely missing Fu's presence. "Hinata-chan, I'm so glad you're safe and I'm so sorry I wasn't there to stop them, believe it! Hinata-hime!" as he picked up the shy Hyuga and held her as tightly as his small arms could.
Hinata only smiled and realized she had regained some feeling in her arms so she wrapped them around her soulmate, "It's ok Naruto-kun because I know you'll always come to save me," Hinata stated sweetly. Naruto just began weeping more and held her even tighter,
"Just hold onto me and promise you'll never let go," he said with affection. While Hinata could only blush and smile. Fu looked at the couple fondly before turning her gaze to her two teammates and sighed, Mishito was unconscious while Soboku had been poisoned and died in his sleep,
"He never was a very good fighter medical nin don't have to be but I'm sure he's going to have a fun time in prison for murdering Soboku and betraying the village," Fu said with disdain as she picked up the two boys.
Naruto and Hinata had completely forgotten about the Waterfall nin and the two were simply gazing at the moon outside of the cave, Hinata locked in tightly to Naruto's arms.
The two looked at each other their love and affection burning as they shared a kiss under the moonlight before Naruto leaped into the trees heading back home. Fu followed the pair in order to apologize to the Hokage for the misunderstanding and still hopefully attend this years chunin exams, 'maybe apologize and have a word with Shino-kun before I leave' the blue haired girl thought to herself as she followed the two Leaf nin.
It was 6:00 am sharp when Team 7 plus Shino were at the gates to Leaf getting ready for their pursuit of the Waterfall nin, "Alright are you all ready to move out," Kakashi asked,
"Yes," Sakura replied sadly, the poor girl hadn't gotten any sleep and was struggling just to keep moving causing Kakashi to sigh. Sasuke gave his confirmation by nodding and said his farewells to Ino who was there to show her support for her friends. Shino replied with a
"No, why you ask because there right there," the bug man stated as he pointed directly down the trail. Sure enough Naruto and Hinata were walking up the trail hand in hand while Fu continued to carry her teammates from a few feet behind.
Sakura's look of despair turned to one of elation as she saw the pair and tackled them to the ground while managing to spit out through tears of joy, "I'm so glad your ok I was so worried about you two, you bakas, believe it!" she wailed. Hinata and Naruto looked at her and smiled and held the cherry blossom tightly, the three of them sharing a warm embrace.
As Kakashi smiled he walked up to Fu and her teammates, she gave a Naruto like smile and silently followed him to the Hokage's office.
Sasuke and Ino watched the Uzumaki-Namikaze's warm embrace and smiled for their friends but quietly walked away without saying a word. Eventually the trio broke and Sakura just looked at the two before pulling something out of her bag and handing it to Hinata,
"Sorry I didn't get it finished before we left on that mission but this is for you Hinata," the cherry blossom said to her lavender eyed counterpart. Hinata slowly opened the package and when she saw it, she immediately began shedding tears of joy.
Sakura had made her a lavender colored cloak with moons on the bottom and cuffs, on her back were the Uzumaki and Hyuga symbols, "Sorry I couldn't use your symbol Hinata but you know that really does have to stay a secret," Sakura said with a smile.
"Thank you Sakura it's amazing I love it," the Hyuga princess said with a smile.
Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze looked at his two soulmates with a loving smile before the three embraced each other again, the past few months had been a journey for all of them and now they look to the future together.
An: First Real NaruHina centered chapter hope you like it this also wrapped up the first arc completely so now the chunin exams will be coming up next chapter and hopefully we'll get to the start of the second exam in one chapter but we will see
I want to apologize for how similar the dates with Sakura and Hinata ended up being that is entirely my fault although I think I kept the two relationship separate and Naruto's motivation for Hinata's date which was his idea as an apology to her for always missing her and I stressed that point even more this ark. Not his fault but it would still dwell on the baka's mind while I honestly did forget Sakura's birthday and went oh fuck, fuck what is the writer going to do it actually worked out really well with Haku and Naruto and Sakura
I thought about the bridge name a lot but I figured I could stress the point he hasn't been there and kinda forgotten about Hinata even more, again not his fault he's just stuck with Sakura more of the time
Yes I did go with Fu/Shino if you don't like that I'm sorry but like I said planned from the beginning and she was a decent choice that was easy enough to develop based on their similarities No I did not watch season nineteen and I apologize if Fu is not how you remembered but from what info I could gather she was basically a female Naruto and I went with that this techinqually is an Au and I reserve that right
Mishito name is derived from the Japanese word for Oculist, Meisha
Soboku name is from the Japanese word for Naive, Sobokuna
They were my Oc's if you liked them sorry there gone
Also yea sorry Mishito got wrecked so easily but figured we could use a slightly lighter chapter after Naruto fucked up Haku against his will
Gunner I want to thank you personally for your reviews Shika/Tema is on it's way soon and I promise and I hope I don't disappoint you
I hate that I have start turning Sasuke into a jealous prick but teme got to start being a teme somewhere and it was Naruto's defeat of Haku that started that shit he will not be a total asshole though he will just start slowly pushing them away Sasuke is also getting tomoe like crazy I know but it was his mix of love and hatred of Itachi that first awakened the sharingan and Kishi-sensei stated that an Uchiha's eyes change when they experience great love or great hate. His care for Karin and hatred of Ochimarua caused the reawakening, Sasuke was thinking about Itachi when he was sparring with Naruto when he got his first, second tomoe although I didn't cover that in detail, Sasuke got the other second tomoe when he thought his best female friend Sakura was in danger and he got this one for the love he's beginning to feel towards Ino as well as her love for him
Also Hinata and Sakura are total angels especially in this story but they will still be badass kunoichi when the time comes and the only reason she lost was because it was two on one
I really hope you enjoy this chapter haven't mentioned this yet but this is the first story that I have ever tried writing whether you can easily see that or not and this story is mainly for my own entertainment although I definitely plan to finish it
it is definitely a long road ahead and I intend to break this up into books this one the first one we'll probably end after the chunin exam finals and the second will likely begin the search for tsunade saga but again we have a long way to go before that
Thank You All and have a Wonderful New Year
