Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heaven's Lost Property, High School DxD, or any other Anime I borrow themes from. The only thing I claim is my OC's and original Story Plot.
Authors Note (A/N): Hey everyone I'm back. So I know I left everyone on a steep cliff hanger and I'm sorry but I was trying out being evil for once. It was fun. Now I'm back and we have Chapter 12. So now let's find out what happened to Naruto after he passed out and what the fallout was because of that fight.
So here is chapter 12 everybody. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to Review.
Chapter 12
Waking Up to the Aftermath
'Where am I?' A confused voice questioned itself. 'I hear voices.'
'Someone is touching me.' The confused voice noted to itself.
A hand placed itself gently down on a blond haired boy's bare forehead and that was when the boy opened his eyes to the world and his blue sapphire colored eyes locked on to a pair of shocked and scared black colored eyes that belonged to a beautiful and mature woman with long dark blue colored hair and delicate facial features. Right now the boy was holding her hand in a vice grip and was twisting her wrist around in a painful wrist lock. "Aahh!" The woman let out a pained filled scream since she obviously was not expecting or use to her wrist being twisted like it was now. [Daddy no!] The boy heard a little girl's voice scream in his mind. Immediately the boy snapped out of whatever trance he was in because his eyes then focused in on what he was doing and when he saw that he had the innocent woman in a painful lock he immediately let her go.
"Oh god I'm so sorry miss. Please forgive me." The boy apologized in a panic. He did not mean for that to happen. The boy noticed that the woman dropped a damp folded up towel onto the bed he now noticed he was laying in. Taking in the room he now found himself in the boy notice that it was Spartan in design and only the essentials were placed inside the room. The room had beige colored walls and hardwood floors. A window was located next to his bed and it has a potted plant on top of it.
"It's ok. I'm ok I think." The woman said uneasily while rubbing her now red wrist. "So I see you're a wake Naruto. Looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." A voice sounded out next to Naruto. Startled Naruto turned on his side and sure enough in a bed right next to his laid his sensei. Kakashi Hatake.
"Kakashi sensei what's going on? Where are we?" Naruto asked until he saw the state Kakashi was in. "Sensei what happened to you?" Naruto asked in shock. "Oh well you see I was assisting this young lady across the street when her boyfriend showed up and he didn't particularly like me being so close to her so he decided to beat me up." Kakashi said with an eye smile. His favorite orange book was in his hand as he said this. Naruto gave his gray haired teacher a deadpan stare with his eyes saying he was not amused. However he could hear an all too familiar giggle ringing like a bell inside of his head. Apparently someone found his teachers joke funny.
"That was the worst excuse you've ever given me Kakashi sensei and that's saying something." Naruto deadpanned again. "Well there was a guy involved and I was beaten up pretty badly." Kakashi defended himself. "But there was no girlfriend." Naruto pointed out. "Eh, hindsight is twenty twenty Naruto." Kakashi shrugged in a nonchalant manner.
Rolling his eyes Naruto turned his attention to the woman who was confused by the unusual banter going on in front of her. Naruto had an apologetic look on his face since he felt bad for what he did. He honestly did not mean for that to happen but since his reflexes tend to act up there was nothing he could do. It also doesn't help that since Anko sneaks into his bed very often he finds himself putting the snake loving woman in many submission holds in the following mornings.
"Miss I'm very sorry for what I did. I really didn't mean it. You scared me that's all." Naruto apologized again. "It's ok young man. I'm just glad that you're finally a wake. You've been out for two days." The woman said reassuringly. Naruto blinked in surprise at this. He didn't know he was out for that long. "Two days? Two whole days?" Naruto questioned in shock. 'What about Zabuza; what about my infiltration teams?' Naruto thought to himself in a panic. "Yes when your team brought my father home they also brought you and your teacher with them and you two were in really bad shape. Especially you." The woman clarified.
"Your father. As in Mr. Tazuna?" Naruto asked just to make sure. "Yes. Tazuna is my father. I'm his daughter and my name is Tsunami. It's nice to meet you." Tsunami introduced herself. Naruto noticed that she had on a pink blouse with red highlights around the collar and sleeves of her shirt. She was also wearing a simple form fitting blue skirt. "It's nice to meet you Ms. Tsunami. My name is Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto said as he bowed his head as much as he could while sitting up in his bed. He was trying to be as polite as possible to the woman. Naruto took his mistakes and screw ups really hard and hurting an innocent civilian and a woman at that didn't sit right with Naruto and he was ashamed of his actions even if they were more out of reflex than an actual intention in hurting her. It also didn't help that he could see that she had medical supplies around her so it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was only here to help him recover. That definitely didn't make Naruto feel any better with himself.
However when Naruto bowed a sharp and mind numbing pain assaulted every nerve in his body. Naruto resisted the urge to scream out in pain so instead he let out a pain filled grunt that sounded more like a growl. He instinctively reached out his hand and placed it on his shoulder and the pain intensified. "Are you ok?" Tsunami cried out in shock as she gently pushed Naruto back down onto the bed.
Kakashi also looked at Naruto with a touch of concern in his visible eye. "I'm ok. I'm ok." Naruto called out but his eyes were closed shut in pain. "You're seriously hurt please don't move around so much." Tsunami insisted. "Ok I understand." Naruto said as he tried his best to relax. 'Damn that hurt. Zabuza did a real number on me.' Naruto thought to himself.
"Do you need some water? Your throat sounds very dry." Tsunami offered with a kind smile. "I'd like that very much." Naruto consented. Reaching for a pitcher of water Tsunami tried to pour the water into an empty glass but she spilled some because of her sprained wrist. Seeing this a small frown over took Naruto's face. Noticing a medium sized bowl of warm water on the dresser next to his bed Naruto got an idea. "Ms. Tsunami can you do me a favor and stick your hand in that bowl over there." Naruto asked while pointing at the bowl. Seeing this a confused look overcame the older woman's face. Before she could question Naruto on this Kakashi spoke up. "Just do it. He's trying to help you." Hearing this Tsunami grabbed the bowl and sat down next to Naruto on his bed. Naruto himself sent a curious yet hidden suspicious glance at Kakashi but he had no choice but to go through with his actions now.
Reaching up with his hand Naruto scratched the back of his hair. "Ok Ms. Tsunami place your hand in the bowl for me." Naruto instructed. Although confused Tsunami complied. Placing his hand over the bowl Naruto squeezed his hand a little before opening it up and golden powder escaped his hand and fell into the bowl with Tsunami's hand in it. 'Now Eva.'
'Demonic Art: Winter Fairy Gold Dust Spirit Water Healing.'
The effects were immediate. The golden powder that fell into the bowl glowed briefly before stopping and Tsunami felt a soothing pleasure race up her arm into the rest of her body. When she took her hand out of the bowl of water her wrist which was starting to turn red from bruising was back to normal and her skin looked even healthier than before. "How did you do that?" The older woman asked in complete shock. "It's a power that I'm quite fond of. It lets me help people." Naruto said softly while scratching the back of his head but in reality he was saying thank you to Evangeline who was resting inside of his hair. The technique that he just used was the exact same technique that Evangeline used to save his life the night they met. If it wasn't for her and that technique he would have died that night and he wouldn't be where he was now either.
Kakashi had a small smile behind his mask since while he flashed back to several memories in his past with them all pertaining to the blond sitting next to him. "Thank you." Tsunami said in visible awe at what she just saw. "You're welcome." Naruto said as he looked down and noticed that he did not have on his clothes. He could feel that he hand on his boxers and pants but his undershirt, shirt, and sweater were missing. Looking over Naruto saw them on a dresser folded up neatly. He did notice however that they had stitching on them. He could tell that they were from all the cuts and bruises he took during his fight.
Looking at himself again Naruto could see that a nasty gash was opened up on his shoulder and it was starting to bleed again. That was from where Zabuza pinned him to the ground with his massive butcher knife like sword. The half circle cut out in his sword which was obviously designed for decapitations nearly made him loose his entire arm. While he couldn't see it he could definitely feel it. His second would was around his neck below his chin. He could feel the air stinging against the opened wound. He nearly got his own head cut clean off by a guillotine like attack. Zabuza was absolutely no joke and Naruto learned that the hard way. However in his mind he stuck by his decision to join Kakashi in the battle since he could tell Zabuza had the advantage over Kakashi since his grey haired sensei would have to split his attention between attacking Zabuza and defending his team and client.
With this in mind Naruto decided that if the team and client weren't as defenseless as Zabuza initially thought then it would make things easier for Kakashi in the long run. Obviously things didn't go exactly to plan and both Kakashi and Naruto were paying for it now.
Just then the door to the room opened up and Sakura, with Tazuna and Sasuke entered. They both looked fine and had no visible injures on them that Naruto could see. He didn't know what happened after he passed out but that was a question he was going to get answered soon. Tazuna also looked fine and he was wearing just an undershirt and some trousers. Naruto silently thanked god that Tazuna didn't have a bottle of Sake with him since he was not exactly in the mood to deal with a drunken client.
"Naruto you're awake. How are you feeling?" Sakura asked in slight concern. She just like the rest of them knew just how bad Naruto's injuries are. "I'm fine Sakura thanks for asking." Naruto said politely but another wave of pain shot through him when Tsunami tried to add medical wrap to his wounds. Naruto grunted in pain as he tried to bite down the urge to scream. Some of the ligaments and muscle fibers in his shoulder area were torn and cut through and it was making the pain almost unbearable. Even while not moving Naruto could still feel the dull throbbing pain around his shoulder and neck. The only reason he didn't collapse on the battle field was because of the intoxicating amount of adrenalin running through his veins at the time that was helping numb all the pain he was feeling.
Sakura gasped in shock at seeing the pain Naruto was in. "Naruto you're not ok. You were seriously hurt back there." Sakura protested. "It's fine. This pain will pass in time." Naruto said in reassurance. "Your wounds are very serious. I'm no doctor but I can tell that you almost lost your shoulder and your neck is very hurt as well." Tsunami said in concern. She had medical wrap and other supplies including needles and tread. It would appear that she was going to stitch him back up and close up the wounds.
"Are you sure. Those wounds are serious. You won't be able to fight for a long time." Sakura pointed out. "It will be fine. I'll be back in the fight before you know it." Naruto said as he then bit his lip when Tsunami had to start stitching up his wounds. "Um… was the person after my father that strong. How could he do this to a bunch of children?" Tsunami asked in concern. Naruto could see a look in her eye that he knew all too well. It was the look of a mother. A parent. It was the same look he saw when he looked in the mirror.
"He was stronger than you can imagine." Tazuna spoke up. He patted his daughter on the back to sooth her. "But father these wounds this young man has suffered. It's horrible. And these scars on your back. How could anyone do that to someone?" Tsunami said but everyone looked up in confusion when she mentioned scars on Naruto's back. "Naruto didn't get injured there did he?" Sakura questioned in confusion and uncertainty. Everyone else was looking at Naruto who has his head bowed and his hair shadowing his face from view. Sakura who was standing next to Naruto could see his back and she gasped in absolute shock. "Where did these come from? Zabuza never hurt you there." Sakura cried out in shock. Four large claw like marks with the longest one going from Naruto's right shoulder blade down to his left hip were visible on his bare back and the skin there was red in color compared to Naruto's peach colored skin.
"How did you get those Naruto?" Sasuke spoke up for the first time. He now could see those marks as well and they were unlike anything he's ever seen before. Naruto's face was overshadowed by his long blond hair that was not being restrained by his headband so no one could see his face right now. "I rather not talk about it. It has nothing to do with the fight we just had." Naruto said in a detached and clipped tone. There was an edge in his voice that everyone caught and Kakashi looked at Naruto with a small spark of sadness in his eyes but no one noticed.
Everyone mentioning those scars on his back was a taboo to Naruto. He still remembers the night like it was yesterday when he was ambushed in his own apartment and he nearly died. But what was worst was the fact that Iris and Chaos were still infants and barely even toddlers at the time and they were nearly killed that night as well. Eva also nearly got killed by that demon that attacked him. If it wasn't for Ms. Furukawa stepping in Naruto knew that something terrible would have happened that night. But even then Ms. Furukawa was nearly killed as well.
Further add on to the fact that not to long after that a demon attacked Shoko and technically killed her since in medical terms if your heart stops beating then you are pronounced dead. The amount of electricity in Shoko's system was enough to kill several grown men. Those same claw marks were found on Shoko's back after Naruto managed to drag her from deaths door. Simply put Naruto came extremely close to losing his entire family to those demons and the claw marks on his back is the proof of what they did and what they are capable of. Naruto hasn't stopped looking for those demons that were responsible for what happened and he swore to himself that he would find them and kill them.
"And what is that supposed to mean? Where did you get those scars Naruto?" Sasuke pressed. He didn't exactly like Naruto's attitude much less the fact that he seemed to be hiding things from them. Speaking of which.
"Drop it Sasuke. I said I rather not talk about it. So back off." Naruto said in a harsh tone. At the moment he could feel the phantom pains those scars caused him and what was worse was the very real pain he was feeling right now from his current wounds. He did not need even more reminders of all the things that have happened to him. Sasuke gritted his teeth at the tone Naruto took with him and looking into the dark blue eyes of Naruto who was glaring at him right now was pissing him off big time.
"That is enough you too. Let's just drop that line of questioning for now." Kakashi butted in so that a fight could not break out in their client's house. "Kakashi sensei, tell me what happened after I passed out. Is Zabuza dead?" Naruto asked in an effort to change the subject but also so that he could find out what happened and how he would make his next move. "Yes after you passed out I fought with him some more and I managed to turn his Jutsu against him. I had him pinned to a tree and I was going to finish him off myself but a Hidden Mist ANBU agent showed up and delivered the final blow. The agent was from the Hunter Nin Division and he was tracking down Zabuza for months and he tracked him here to the Land of Waves." Kakashi explained. 'Hidden Mist huh?' Naruto thought to himself.
"Yeah the agent was young almost our age. He took Zabuza out with one attack. He took Zabuza's body away and then Kakashi sensei passed out. We brought both of you here to Tazuna's house." Sakura added in. She was going to say more but she saw that Naruto's eyes widened at what she had to say. "Naruto what's wrong?" Sakura questioned.
"Did you say that the ANBU agent took Zabuza's body? You meant that he took his head and sword right?" Naruto questioned wearily. "No. What are you talking about? The agent took Zabuza's body. He said he would dispose of it somewhere else. He said he didn't want us to see him take Zabuza's head." Sakura corrected but judging by the look on Naruto's face she was starting to feel doubt in her own mind.
Flashback Begin
"Hey Dog! Hey Weasel! How was your mission?" A young 5 year old Naruto asked as he ran up to the two ANBU agents clad in their armor. They were inside the Hokage's office and they had just finished giving Hiruzen their report. Before Hiruzen could dismiss the two agents Naruto nearly took the door off its hinges since he was excited to see his two favorite guards. "Naruto how many times must I tell you not to barge in here when I'm having a meeting?" Hiruzen asked with a tired sigh. The aged Hokage was smoking his pipe and was wearing the robes of the Hokage. Naruto's never seen him without them on. "Too many times." Naruto said sheepishly. "Sorry grandpa but I rushed Naru here." A young Evangeline said as she flew out of Naruto's hair and landed on Hiruzen's pipe. She had a happy smile on her face and Hiruzen couldn't really stay mad at her for long. He's only known the little fairy for over a year now but she managed to worm her way into his heart with her enthusiasm and hyper personality and Hiruzen could see that she makes Naruto happy so it was all a plus in the old man's eyes.
"All is forgiven. I see you are here to greet Dog and Weasel." Hiruzen stated. "Yep so how was the mission? Did you beat up the bad guys?" Naruto asked enthusiastically. "Huh did you say something Naruto?" Dog asked bewilderedly with his favorite little orange book out. The young 5 year old Naruto gave Dog a deadpan stare. "Yes Naruto. We beat up the bad guys." Weasel said as he patted Naruto on his head. "Yep we made sure to punish them for abandoning the village." Dog added in. "When you say punish do you mean you killed them?" Evangeline asked quietly. Everyone in the room grew quiet at this as well.
Coughing Hiruzen tried to stare the conversation away but Weasel spoke up. "Yes Evangeline we did. They abandoned the village and its people." The weasel masked agent said in his monotone voice. "How do you kill them?" Naruto asked nervously. He still remembers what happened to him a year earlier on his birthday. "Naruto that is something you shouldn't worry about ok." Hiruzen spoke up. He didn't want Naruto thinking questions like that.
"But I want to know gramps. Because they become traitors do you have to punish them a special way? I promise I won't tell. I've never told anyone anything about what I know about the ANBU. You guys are my friends and I won't get you in trouble." Naruto asked. It always nagged at him when Dog and Weasel would tell him that they would have to deal with traitors to the village. Naruto didn't like traitors and he could tell that neither did the Hokage and his ANBU. Naruto didn't like the traitors because of what happened to him a year earlier and the matrons at the orphanage.
The ANBU looked at each other and then to Hiruzen who lowered his Hokage Hat which covered up his face. "Naruto are you sure you want to know. This is something a normal 5 year old shouldn't know about." Dog asked as he bent down to Naruto's level. "Dog. We all know I'm not a normal 5 year old." Naruto said quietly. His eyes were hazed over with pain and sadness but they still contained a small fire in them. Dog sighed behind his mask and patted Naruto on the head. "When we find them we kill them. We cut their heads off and seal it up in a scroll. We then take anything of value that they have like a weapon or item and then we burn their body. If they are an important ninja then we take the body back with us here to the village where we can learn about them and find out secrets that they might know." Dog explained slowly. He didn't really want to explain it but he could see this was a question Naruto wasn't going to back away from.
Both Naruto and Eva widened their eyes at this. "Why go through all that trouble?" Naruto asked with curiosity in his voice. His earlier pain was forgotten in the face of this new information. Weasel took over and explained further and told Naruto the reasons why. After that Naruto had a new appreciation for the ANBU. "Thanks for telling me this guys. You guys are pretty awesome." Naruto said with a smile on his face. Hiruzen was a little bothered by the fact that he let Naruto's mind become tainted by such information but he reminded himself that they lived in the world of the Shinobi and such things had to happen. Add on to the fact that when he was Naruto's age the Village system was in its earliest stages and young children killing young children was still very much a thing even though it was dwindling down and not as bad as a few years prior to him being born.
"Weasel can you tell me more stories about your missions?" Naruto asked enthusiastically. Weasel beckoned Naruto to come towards him and complying Naruto rushed up to Weasel only for the young ANBU agent to poke him on his forehead. "Ow! What was that for?" Naruto asked with a huff.
"Perhaps another time Naruto." Weasel said.
Flashback End
"Kakashi sensei. Zabuza is still alive." Naruto said with a grim expression on his face. Everyone had startled looks on their faces but when they turned to Kakashi they saw that he had a pale look on his face. "Damn. How could I have been so careless? A Hunter Ninja is supposed to cut the head off of their target on the spot and then get rid of the body. They do it immediately and it doesn't matter if anyone else is around. A 5 year old could be standing there and they'd still have to do it. Every second counts and there's no telling what could happen with the body so it has to be taken care of immediately." Kakashi admonished to himself. He realized his careless mistake. He was exhausted and about to drop when the ANBU agent showed up so his mind was not being as alert as it should have been.
"But how? We saw the agent take him down." Sasuke questioned. He was finding it hard to believe that Zabuza was still alive. "What weapon was used?" Naruto asked. "Senbon but why?" Sakura answered. "Exactly. Senbon can be used to put people into near death like states if you hit them on a certain part of a person's neck." Naruto explained. Shoko has extensive medical knowledge and she herself periodically uses senbon needles. He even witnessed her doing it to someone before. If he had been awake during that part of the battle then he would have caught on to what was happening.
"How do you know that?" Sasuke questioned with a grunt. He still had many questions for his teammate and he was not happy with how he was evading them. "I've personally seen it done before." Naruto answered. At this point Tsunami finished stitching up Naruto's wounds. "So you're saying that the man who attacked you is still alive? That's horrible. What are we going to do?" Tsunami asked in fright. "I'm going to need a drink." Tazuna commented lightly but just one look at the old man and you could tell that he was just as worried if not more so than his daughter. He was afraid for his family's safety and that of his own life.
"Here are some painkillers and medication. It's strong so it should help. I don't know if the side effects will bother you though." Tsunami said as she passed Naruto some medication. He drank it and swallowed the pills. The side effects were not that bad from what he read on the side of the bottle. It was a fast acting drug. Some side effects were nausea, numbness, dizziness, small lapses in memory, and other minor things.
"I say we have two weeks before Zabuza is back to fighting shape. We have to prepare for when that time comes." Naruto suggested. "I agree. I have to get you guys into shape for when that time comes." Kakashi reinforced. He had a contemplative look on his face. "But Naruto you won't be able to fight in your condition. Two weeks are not enough time for an injury like that to heal." Sakura pointed out. The others looked like they would agree as well.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be ready when the time comes. We have to worry about getting stronger for when Zabuza returns and you two especially need more training." Naruto stated. He was telling the truth. Sakura didn't have much in the way of Taijutsu and her Ninjutsu skills only extended to the Basic Three. Her Genjutsu skills were her best option but even then they were amateurish at best. Someone like Zabuza would never fall for any Genjutsu Sakura could throw at him. The only reason she managed to get Kakashi during their bell test was because the grey haired Jōnin had lowered his guard and defenses enough so that they could actually stand a chance against him.
Sasuke had a good base already and he was already a strong Genin and one of the strongest Genin of their age group but it wasn't enough compared to the level of strength their opponents had. Sasuke has good taijutsu and a decent knowledge on Ninjutsu for a Genin but his Genjutsu could use some work and he still didn't know any advanced techniques. Also his ability to work with his teammates was lacking in some aspects. While Naruto would freely admit that he doesn't stick around after Team assignments and training he does however fully participate in all of the team exercises and drills Kakashi puts them through and he fully tries his best to work with both of his teammates. Sakura is a little easier to work with but she gets distracted to easily and when working with Sasuke he has his own way of doing things that conflicts with what either Kakashi or Naruto would want to do.
"What's that supposed to mean? One how are you going to be ready with an injury like that? Two what do you mean we need more training? You are in this boat just like us Naruto. And three you aren't telling us everything. How did you use such advanced Jutsu back there and how did you face off against Zabuza when even Kakashi was having trouble?" Sasuke fired off question after question. Ever since their fight with Zabuza the last Uchiha has been racking his brain trying to understand how was it ever remotely possible for his orange wearing teammate to possess such skill and power to contend with the likes of Zabuza.
He couldn't come up with an answer and now that Naruto was awake he was brushing off his questions and it was getting on his nerve. But the secret problem Sasuke was facing was how strong Naruto was and how much stronger was he than Sasuke. Moreover how much weaker was he compared to his blond teammate.
Sighing Naruto lay back in the bed he was in and tried his best to get comfortable. The pain in his neck and shoulder was making it difficult but he was trying. "One as I said I'll be ready when the time is right Sasuke. And I might as well answer two and three together. I'm going to be blunt with the two of you." Naruto started to say. He wanted to get this over with. He came to realize that he still had more things to take care of and even though he was injured he couldn't put them off.
"I'm stronger than the two of you combined at your best." Naruto started to say. Sasuke and Sakura had shocked looks on their faces but it was mixed in with an offended look on their faces. More so on Sasuke's face than Sakura's. "The truth is I was holding back during that fight. I was not even using my true power or main abilities. Furthermore Kakashi sensei was holding back as well." Naruto stated.
"WHAT!?" Sasuke shouted in anger. "What do you mean you were holding back? Do you realize we all could have died? And how dare you say you're stronger than the both of us combined. You have a lot of nerve Naruto." Sasuke said with a pissed off tone in his voice. His fists were squeezed tight and he was glaring daggers into Naruto's skull. Naruto had an impassive look on his face but it was slowly starting to mix in with annoyance.
"I meant exactly every word I said Sasuke. I am stronger than the both of you and I held back during our fight with Zabuza. I know that my actions could have gotten us killed but if it looked like either you guys or Tazuna were in any serious danger than I would have stopped him using my full strength. You have to realize that we are ninja Sasuke and we can't go into battle showing off everything we can do to our enemy. Ask yourself this. If me and Kakashi used everything we knew and showed off and Zabuza managed to escape then he would know everything about us and he could counter us at every turn and kill us all off with ease. Information is power and it's more powerful than any Ninjutsu in the world. I was not going to leave myself vulnerable in the off chance that Zabuza escaped which he could have done at any time." Naruto explained himself. He wanted to make sure Sasuke and Sakura understood everything he was trying to tell them.
'Although he is right about one thing. We could have all died. But not only that Iris and Chaos could have gotten hurt. I was a fool for not handling the situation a little differently. I won't make that mistake again.' Naruto thought to himself. He was terrified when Zabuza's sword found itself around his neck. It narrowly missed Chaos in her collar form by inches and that was something he didn't want to ever happen again. She nearly got hurt and as her father it was his job to make sure something like that should never happen. He could only imagine how angry Iris and Chaos are at him right now since they haven't spoken a word to him yet.
"So you based everything off of that?! That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard Naruto. And you still haven't answered my question. How strong are you and how do you know such techniques?" Sasuke asked again but with more force. Narrowing his eyes Naruto looked at Sasuke. "I'm this strong because I have to be Sasuke. I have been given a reason that needs me to be strong and I know a lot of techniques because I've trained very hard to master them." Naruto answered with a little bit of bite in his voice.
As he said that he was thinking of Iris and Chaos. Before he met them it was just him and Eva trying to survive day to day on the streets of the Slums district and Naruto would have trouble trying to find food and he didn't have much strength in him. He always considered Eva to be his other half so he basically thought of it as him being alone. Then he found Iris and Chaos and that was the first time anyone needed him. More importantly that was the first time anyone needed him to be strong. He had to get stronger so that he could provide for them and keep them healthy not to mention protect them in case anything ever happened to them. It was the first time in his life when someone else depended on him to be strong and to actually have strength. From that point on the rest was history as Naruto dedicated every waking moment to getting stronger for the infants since they gave him a purpose and actual reason to get stronger.
Sasuke gritted his teeth at this since Naruto managed to answer him yet evade his question at the same time. He would have said more but Kakashi butted in. "That's enough Sasuke. Naruto's strength is his own. We both held back and we paid the price for it. But we are both still alive and because of that we will use this opportunity to grow stronger so that we can beat Zabuza." Kakashi stated. Sasuke quelled his anger at this and stormed out of the room. The entire time this was happening Tsunami and Tazuna were dumbfounded by the conversation happening in front of them and it made them curious about the blond haired boy.
"Naruto I have a question." Sakura spoke up after all this time. She said this with a timid voice. Sighing Naruto turned to his pink haired teammate. "Yes Sakura."
"Is what Zabuza said true? Have you killed before?" The pink haired girl asked timidly. It was a question nagging at the back of her head just as much as the questions Sasuke asked Naruto. Seeing as how she knew she was not going to get a complete answer out of her blond teammate in regards to those questions she instead decided to ask the one question Sasuke did not. Tsunami gasped at this while Tazuna eyed Naruto to see what he was going to say. Naruto thought it over and decided to tell the truth. He could see that it was a question that was making her nervous around him and distracting her and he wanted her mind clear for the weeks to come.
"Yes Sakura it's the truth. I've killed before. But I had my reasons and I rather not talk about it. It's a sore and touchy topic for me." Naruto admitted. Sakura, Tsunami, and Tazuna all gasped at this but both Sakura and Tazuna had a sinking feeling in their gut that was telling them to expect this answer. "Ok." Sakura said while squeezing the helm of her dress. She didn't exactly know how to deal with the fact that her teammate has killed before and never told them. She could tell that he was not proud of it but she really wanted to know more about what happened but she didn't want to push her luck. "That's awful!" Tsunami cried with a hand over her mouth. "It may be but that's the world we live in. We're shinobi so it's expected of us to eventually kill. Although my kills came before I graduated but it's still at the same in the end. Death is death." Naruto said with a remorseful tone. He could feel the metaphorical weight on his shoulders of what he had to do in the past but he comforted himself by saying that it was necessary and he did what he had to do.
'Before we graduated? But how? When? Who?' Sakura thought to herself. She wanted to voice these but she was certain that Naruto wouldn't give her the answers she was looking for. "That's enough for now. Mr. Tazuna I need to speak with my student alone so if it's not too much trouble could you give us a minute?" Kakashi asked politely. "Sure. I need a drink anyways." Tazuna said. He had enough of the conversation and he had a lot on his mind. "We'll be waiting downstairs if you need anything." Tsunami said. She was shaken up by everything that has happened and she needed time to regroup. Sakura didn't say anything but she looked back at Naruto before the door was closed. Both Kakashi and Naruto waited until they could hear the footsteps of the three aforementioned people leave before they both relaxed.
"So when are you going to let your daughters out?" Kakashi spoke up randomly after a few minutes of silence. Immediately as soon as he said this the temperature in the room plummeted to well below zero. Kakashi absentmindedly thought that he might as well go back to the Land of Snow with how cold it was in the room.
Naruto wasn't going to pretend and feign ignorance. He wasn't stupid and he didn't think Kakashi was stupid for even a moment. He was an Elite Jōnin and not only that but one of the top Jōnin of the village and his name alone carried a considerable amount of weight and power behind it. All of the ninja knew who he was. He didn't doubt for a second that Kakashi might have been on to him from the beginning but that doesn't mean he had to like the fact that the grey haired man chose now of all times to confront him about it. Kakashi was in better shape than Naruto and if he wanted to do anything that Naruto might not like then there was nothing Naruto could do about it.
"How do you know about them?" Naruto asked simply. Frost started to build up all around the room and Kakashi's bed in particular was covered in a thick sheet of it. "We both know they can't maintain their transformation forever you know. They were going to have to release it and stretch at some point. Remember it's been two days and I've been up since yesterday." Kakashi said nonchalantly. He had his orange book in hand but at the moment he couldn't turn the page since his arms were numb and stiff due to the thick sheet of ice covering his body.
"Do you have a problem with me bringing them along?" Naruto questioned. More ice forced its way up Kakashi's body. "Naruto I know every decision you make you make in the best interest of those two girls. They've said it themselves. While bringing them along might not have been the best decision I know you didn't have a choice. You don't want to be separated from them for too long and more importantly I don't think you can separate yourself from them for too long either." Kakashi stated in an observation like tone. He was stating fact.
"I can't. Their powers are growing every day and my body is like a conduit for them. I have to be around them to help regulate their powers. While they would never intentionally hurt anyone their powers are dangerous and powerful and the only one who can help them control them is me. Not to mention the fact that I can't bring out my full power without them and they can't limit their own power without me." Naruto stated. Judging from Kakashi's tone he's known about them for a long time so he should also know about the bond that he shares with them. Taking a look at the older man's eye was enough for Naruto to confirm this.
"How do you know so much about me and why do I feel like I can trust you?" Naruto said as the ice surrounding Kakashi started to recede and disappear. "I thought it would be obvious by now but oh well it will come to you in time Naruto." Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly. It would come in time to Naruto that he actually knew him for a lot longer than he realized. Deciding not to comment on that Naruto instead sent the mental signal for Iris and Chaos to release themselves. In a cloud of smoke Iris and Chaos appeared and right away Naruto knew he was in trouble. Iris had a very angry look on her face and Chaos wasn't smiling and that blissful look in her eyes was not present. While she never really showed any anger in her eyes when she was angry which was rare, Naruto could tell right away that she was not happy either. Chaos expresses her emotions a little differently than most and Naruto knows what queues and signals she projects to get his attention.
Naruto unconsciously swallowed a lump in his throat as Iris and Chaos climbed onto his bed. "Hey girls how are…"
SMACK!
Naruto's face was forcibly turned to the side with a red mark growing on his cheek. A shocked look was on his face as he turned back to look at who did it and when he did he immediately wished he didn't. Tears were streaming down Iris's face with no signs of stopping. Chaos's lips were pulled down into a frown. Something that's never on her face. "You idiot. You idiot. Daddy you are a bloody idiot." Iris cried pitifully as she lightly pummeled her fist into his right shoulder. The strikes didn't hurt like the slap she gave him but with each strike he felt like his very soul was being hit. "Why didn't you let me help you? We could have easily defeated that stupid man. Just me and Chaos alone could have taken him on and gave you the opening you needed." Iris sobbed.
Naruto looked like he was going to say something but the little blond continued. "But no you had to show off and do things your way. You nearly died. You're lucky to still have your left arm and you almost lost your head. It took so much of my power to keep you from bleeding out. I had to fix the bone in your shoulder blade because it was split and fractured. I had to regrow it for you." Iris sobbed some more. She had her face pressed into her hands and tears were falling into her lap. Naruto was briefly shocked at hearing this. He didn't realize that Zabuza's blade actually cut into the bone of his shoulder. He couldn't feel the full effects of what was happening to him because of the amount of adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Seeing his princess crying her eyes out Naruto now realize just how big of a mistake he made. He could feel his heart constricting with each tear that landed in her lap. He could also feel the immense amount of concern and worry swelling around inside of Chaos and although it couldn't properly be shown on the little girl's face he could still sense and feel it through their special bond and it was enough to make Naruto want to punch himself.
"Girls… I'm so sorry. I had no idea this would have happened. God I'm an idiot." Naruto apologized. He could feel himself involuntarily tearing up as his vision got a little blurry. Just the sound of Iris crying let alone seeing it was affecting Naruto more than he cared to admit. "You've been very naughty dada." Chaos said and she didn't giggle or laugh like she normally would at the end of most of her sentences.
That alone let Naruto know he was in the dog house so to speak. But what drove it home was the fact that Iris's accent which she normally tries to control since Naruto, Chaos, and Eva waste no time in playfully teasing her about it was let loose here. She only ever really speaks with her accent whenever she lets her emotions control her actions. Whenever she experiences a heavy dose of any particular emotion then her accent will become heavier depending on how much of that emotion she if feeling.
Right now her accent was heavy and very prominent and along with that she was trembling from crying so much. "Come here sweetie. I'm so sorry. Daddy is a big idiot. I'm so, so, so, sorry." Naruto apologized repeatedly as he held Iris in his good arm which was his right. She looked like she wanted to push away but instead she buried her face into his chest. "You're right. I should have called on you for help. I should have done things differently. Can you forgive me?" Naruto asked as he squeezed the little princess to his chest. He could feel that she was still trembling but she had stopped crying and instead she was sniffling.
"I… I… You idiot." Iris sobbed as she buried her face back into Naruto's chest. "I know. Daddy's a big idiot." Naruto said. Chaos climbed into his lap since she couldn't approach him on his left side with his arm wrapped up in heavy bandages. "Dada has been very bad. You have to be punished. No ramen for the rest of the time we are here." Chaos said in a lower tone. Naruto for a brief moment felt like protesting that idea but he pushed that notion out the window. "I understand sweetie. No ramen for daddy." Naruto agreed. He wanted to make them forgive him and if being punished by them was the only way to let them get out their anger than he would do it in a heartbeat.
"I won't heal your shoulder any more. It's stuck like that." Iris said with her fist clenched. She was looking at the wrappings surrounding Naruto's shoulder and it looked like her will was wavering. She looked like she wanted to take back the words she just said. Seeing this Naruto used his hand to turn her head and eyes away from his wounded shoulder. "I understand honey. I'll do it the normal way. I won't use your powers or Eva's." Naruto agreed again without hesitation. On the inside however he carefully considered what having this injury meant for the mission but he decided to worry about it later.
"Daddy I was worried about you." Iris said while trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I know and I won't hesitate to ask for your help next time. I don't want to see you cry like this. Especially if I'm the one who caused it in the first place." Naruto said as he took his finger and wiped a tear away from Iris's face which made the little girl blush lightly at the soft tone her father was using. She wanted to be angry and mad at him but she expended all of that anger with her crying and it was replaced by the need to be close to him and to worry about his injury. However now that he agreed to the punishment she gave him it would be hard for her to convince him to let her heal him.
"I would yell at you too but you're in enough trouble as it is." Evangeline said softly. Having nothing to say to that Naruto just sighed. "So what are you going to do about the infiltration teams?" Kakashi asked in curiosity. At this point Naruto wasn't surprised anymore and in truth was just very tired. "So the old man let you in on what's happening." Naruto commented. It wasn't a question. It would make sense if what Dino said was true. In fact Naruto was going to confront Kakashi about that very subject when he got a moment alone with the grey haired Jōnin. "Yes he did. Gatō is supposed to die before the end of this mission." Kakashi responded. He flipped a page in his book as he said this.
"I'll have to speak with them tomorrow. I'm in no condition to move at the moment." Naruto said as he used his eyes to point down to Iris and Chaos who were quietly resting now. Iris's tears had dried up but she had a vice grip on his right arm and Chaos's full weight was bearing down on his chest. 'Not that I would want to move right now anyways.' Naruto silently thought to himself. "I see. Well tell Aspen I said hi for me." Kakashi requested lightly. This time Naruto still had a little room to be shocked. "You know Mr. Aspen?" Naruto questioned. "Yes I do. I worked with him a few times in the past. Somehow I got dragged along to his farewell party when he retired as an active Shinobi. Might Guy didn't give me much choice in the matter." Kakashi conversed lightly. He was remembering that time in his head.
"I see. Well I'll tell him that. The teams are fine. They are going to stick to the plan and infiltrated into the town and set up shop. They will scout out all of Gatō's forces and help us neutralize them. They also have some separate missions to do while they are here and it all depends on the action our team takes. Me especially so I didn't want to screw up but it looks like I already did." Naruto said quietly. "Naruto it's ok. You did what you had to. I'm proud to see how strong you've gotten. But it would appear that we have our work cut out for us. Gatō isn't going to make things easy and Zabuza will only go down swinging so we will need a plan for him." Kakashi said reassuringly.
Nodding his head Naruto smiled a small smile. "Yeah I'll work on a plan for him. Thanks sensei you were a big help." Naruto thanked Kakashi honestly. "No problem. Thanks for bailing me out back there with Zabuza's water prison." Kakashi retorted. "Humph. I still don't know how you held your breath in there for that long. Let alone speak." Naruto said while shaking his head in exasperation.
"Huh did you say something Naruto?" Kakashi said with a confused tone of voice.
Naruto blinked at this and so did Evangeline. They both felt like they heard that line before and the sad thing is Naruto had just remembered from where earlier when he discovered Zabuza's little escape trick. It would seem that some of the side effects of the medicine were kicking in.
Jutsu Library
1.) Demonic Art: Winter Fairy Gold Dust Spirit Water Healing - One of Evangeline's signature techniques and one of the abilities that comes instinctively to her. She releases a golden powder from her wings that when it comes in contact with water will cause anything inside of that water to heal almost instantly. The more severe injuries take longer to heal but eventually they will heal as well. The drawback of the technique is the fact that Evangeline can only heal you while that specific body part is in contact with water. Her Gold Dust works by having a chemical reaction with water so it's impossible for the gold dust to heal anything on its own without first being in contact with water.
Author's Note (A/N): Hey everyone. So how was that?
I hope this aftermath was well worth the wait. So as we all expected Zabuza is still alive but the way Naruto found out was quite different than in the Manga. Naruto and Sasuke but heads over Naruto's superior strength and skills. Sasuke is feeling inferior and confused about Naruto's hidden strength. Also not only do we see the extent of Naruto's injuries at the hands of Zabuza but the team also discover the 4 Claw Marks left behind by the Demon that attacked Naruto years ago.
Also Kakashi finally confronts Naruto about the existence of Iris and Chaos. We can see that Naruto didn't initially take that to well and we also see how Naruto's daughter feel about his injuries.
So what's going to happen next? Is Naruto going to get better? Will the Mafia teams find out what happen to their colleague? Will Naruto and Sasuke butt heads once again or will they come to terms with each other?
Stay tuned and find out next time everybody. I hope everyone is having a great day and stay safe everyone.
That's the end of chapter 12 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.
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Published: 9/25/15
