Woo hoo! Another chapter out! Lets hope I can keep up this writing streak! Also thank you to TheBeauty and that guest reviewer, I don't know who you are but thank you both for your support ^_^
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Naruko-ナルコ-
Chapter 14
Resolve
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Dust and clouds started to form from the result of Naruko's jutsu. Not only that but she could also feel a stronger breeze as result from it as well.
"What the-?!"
"Sorry for summoning you so suddenly...Gamabunta." Naruko apologized.
"Ahhhh!" Sakura shrieked at the top of her lungs. "We're on top of a toad!"
"Hey! What gives, why the heck did you summon me?"
"I..."
"And wheres that perverted sensei of yours?"
Naruko had forgotten the attitude Gamabunta could have. she was beginning to think maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have summoned him. After all, this was only her third time actually using the summoning jutsu.
"Does he mean Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asked. Ignoring her comment Naruko responded back.
"Jiraiya sensei isn't here right now. And I summoned you to take care of that guy over there."
"Tch, did you really just summon me to fight your own battle?"
"I did! If you can't tell I've been paralyzed, so summoning you was the next best idea...-Huh?" Being lifted by the back of her jacket Naruko then found herself face to face with the giant toad.
"You got some nerve interrupting me in the middle of my nap you know that kid?"
"Is that it? You're just cranky?" she asked "Well then, the quicker you help me out the quicker you can go take your nap then."
"And an attitude too..."
"Gamabunta..." as calm as Naruko tried to remain she could feel her insides boil with frustration "You know I wouldn't have summon you here without good reasoning."
Gamabunta squinted his eyes at the blonde shinobi, then back at Sakura who was still on top of him trying not to freak out "Fine."
Immediately Naruko's face lifted into a smile "Ah! Thank you-"
"But after this, I'm leaving. Got it?"
"Yes!"
"Alright then," Gamabunta began as he moved Naruko and Sakura down back to the bridge.
"You don't scare me," Kaizu stated as he readied his sword. Before Kaizu could make a move, Gamabunta wrapped his hand around Kaizu's body tightly. Almost crushing him in the process.
"Aaaargh, get lost!" Gamabunta shouted, throwing Kaizu literary far into the sky. It happened so quick, that Kaizu ended up dropping his sword before being chucked away. After hearing his sword fall to the ground, Naruko twerked her head up to notice red chakra swirling out of the ice mirrors.
"Naruto! Sasuke!" She cried, "Gamabunta you-" Before she could finish her sentence, the toad had gone and disappeared "No..."
Being lifted up by Sakura and brought back to Tazuna, Naruko watched helplessly as the ice mirrors shattered and Naruto beat up Haku relentelessly.
Thats the jinchuriki's chakra. Naruko began to worry, was Naruto okay? Never had she seen the beast's chakra lurk out like this before. That must mean, his seal must have loosened.
"Are you okay?" Tazuna asked..
"Other than being numb from the neck down, yes."
"Thats a relief...," Then out of no where, Naruko felt pain rush to her head. It took her a moment to process what had happened, but after seeing Tazuna's angry face it all made sense "Just what the heck were you thinking bringing that huge frog here?! He could've destroyed the bridge!"
"You didn't have to hit me," Naruko whinned "Also hes a toad, not a frog."
"Like I care, you're just lucky your friend didn't cause the bridge to collapse!"
"I'm sorry," Naruko apologized.
Tazuna sighed, as Sakura helped put Naruko onto the bridge builder's back "Well, apology accepted. I'm just glad everything turned out okay."
Their attention then focused onto Naruto's fight. However, something seemed a bit off to Naruko. As she watched Naruto kick the snot out of him she noticed Haku wasn't fighting back as hard. It was almost as if he had lost the will to fight.
Whats he planning? Naruko wondered.
"What the-?!" just as Naruto was about to punch Haku in the face, Haku disappeared and blocked Kakashi from killing Zabuza, dying almost instantly. In just one attack, Kakashi manged to get more blood on him than Naruko did from her earlier battle. The gruesome scene shocked everyone as Haku gave his life to protect Zabuza.
"Thats...the masked boy," Tazuna said.
"Splended Haku," Zabuza chuckled "You were useful up until the very end."
How cruel...Naruko though. Though she didn't know the exact relationship between Zabuza and Haku, she assumed that Zabuza meant alot to Haku. It made her stomach drop to see Zabuza acting the way he did. Treating someone who cared so much for him like dirt.
Immediately her thoughts snapped her back into reality. After seeing Zabuza's hand get a better grip on his sword Naruko screamed as loud as she could.
"Kakashi sensei!" Naruko and Sakura shouted in unison. As Kakashi frantically tried to pull his hand out of Haku he found that the only option to dodge Zabuza's upcoming attack was to jump away with Haku's body.
"That bastard..."Naruto growled.
"Naruto! Stay there and watch!" Kakashi warned him as he layed Haku's body down to the ground "This is my battle!"
"Naruto! You're okay! Wheres Sasuke?" Sakura shouted with relief. Suddenly, Naruto's angry, frustrated expression fell flat. Naruko looked at her twin waiting for a response. But he had hesitated. Immediately everyone's stomach dropped.
"Brother?" Naruko spoke up "Why are you staying quiet? Everything is okay...right?"
Tazuna then looked down at Sakura who looked like she was about to have a panic attack any minuet. Naruko didn't even have to look at her to read her thoughts. She wanted to see Sasuke too.
"We'll come too, that way you're not disobeying your sensei's orders," Tazuna told Sakura.
Naruto... Naruko looked at her twin with concern as Tazuna ran, following behind Sakura. She didn't want to believe the worst case scenario had occurred but the looked on his face said otherwise. It terrified her, but she wasn't going to believe it till she saw it.
After finding Sasuke's body Sakura immediately gasped and froze, while Naruko continued to be in disbelief.
"Sasuke...?" Naruko said in a whisper. It only got worse when Sakura checked his body temp, by putting her hand onto his cheek.
"This is a genjutsu right...he's cold," Sakura stated with her voice was shaking.
"...You don't have to hold back just because I'm here," Tazuna told the girls "Its okay to cry at a time like this."
No...no! He had so much to do! I...I...even with all of my training I couldn't protect him...Weren't you supposed to restore your clan and kill Itachi? How are you going to do that when your dead?! Naruko's thoughts were racing at a hundred miles a minuet. Flashbacks and memories of when they were kids up until now were playing through her head rapidly as her eyes quivered. Naruko was trying so desperately to keep it all in. She couldn't cry, she didn't want to cry, no matter how bad it hurt.
"I was the best. Aced every test at the academy." Sakura began. At first Tazuna and Naruko were confused, but they remained silent and continued to listen to Sakura speaking. "I memorized the 100 rules that a ninja is supposed to live by, and I always wrote them down proudly. One day, a question showed up on this test. Answer the 25th ninja rule, and I wrote down the answer as usual...A ninja must put the mission first and must not have a heart that will allow him t-to cry..."
Soon afterwards, Sakura couldn't speak. Her tears began to chock her. Contradicting what she had said mere minuets ago, Sakura then threw her self onto Sasuke crying her lungs out.
"Get off of him!" Naruko shouted defensively "H-he hates being coddled!"
Sakura then looked back up at Naruko to see she was crying just as bad as she was.
"D-did you know? Sasuke has the taste buds of an old man. He hates sweets. And his favorite foods are rice balls and tomatoes. Did you know he likes taking walks? Or that he always has to be right, even when hes wrong? Did you know what his dream was? Did you know who he wanted to kill? Did you...even know Sasuke?"
"N-naruko..."
"No, you didn't! How can you cry for someone You barley knew?! Did you see me cry when I slaughtered Gato's men? N-no! You said it yourself that a ninja must put the mission first and must not have a heart that will allow him to cry! S-so..." Naruko couldn't even finish her sentence. The moment tears started rolling down her face was the moment she felt like a huge hypocrite. It frustrated Naruko how emotional Sakura was getting (thought she wasn't one to talk). She even got frustrated at how emotional she was getting. Naruko had thought her days of crying were done but her actions had proven otherwise.
Sasuke...come one...wake up! Look at me I'm crying again! Isn't this when you call me a crybaby and jab me in the forehead? Naruko then burred her head onto the back of Tazuna's shoulder. Since she was unable to wipe the tears off her own face, she used his sleeve to attempt to wipe them off (and to hide her face).
"S-sakura?" Immediately Sakura's head perked up.
"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted "You're alive!"
"Ah!" Naruko twerked her head up to see Sakura had thrown herself onto Sasuke again, hugging him this time
Didn't I just tell you he hates being coddled?...Normally, Naruko might have been annoyed, but right now she couldn't care less.
"Sakura...could you get off of me? Its a little hard to breathe," he told her.
"Hey, what are you doing? You shouldn't move," Sakura told Sasuke as he manged to sit up.
"W-what happened? Where is the ninja with the mask? And Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"Naruto's okay," Naruko told him "As for Haku...hes dead."
"Dead?" Sasuke's eyes widened in shock "Did Naruto kill him?"
"Well..." Naruko began.
"We don't know what happened exactly," Sakura replied "We came in too late."
She didn't see? Probably better that she didn't... Naruko thought to herself. The scene was pretty bloody and she was pretty sure every had seen enough deaths today.
"I see..." Sasuke replied "Well then, what happened to all of Gato's men who were here?"
Tazuna and Sakura froze in place and looked at Naruko.
"I...took care of them," Naruko answered.
"What? All of them?" Sasuke was shocked to hear.
Naruko was relieved she could at least move her head. She then nodded in response and tried to change the subject "Everything is okay now. You don't have to worry."
Sasuke examined his friend who was on Tazuna's back. Her coat was covered in blood and her eyes were all puffed up and red. Out of everyone here, she looked to be the most beat up. Sasuke clenched his fights in frustration as he slowly got up. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt guilty for not being able to protect Naruko.
"...Looks like you're sill a cry baby," he replied, seeing Naruko on the brink of tears again.
"Huh?" Naruko was confused and embaressed "Hey, I wasn't the only one crying!"
"Doesn't change the fact that you are," Sasuke smirked as he walked to Kakashi and Naruto.
"You're lucky I can't move right now," Naruko mumbled. Even though she sounded cranky, Naruko was overwhelmed with happiness and relief. As she turned her head she noticed there was no more fighting. The battle was finally over, and everyone was okay. And that was all that mattered to Naruko at the moment...
...Now all that was left was to help Tazuna finish the bridge.
"This that really it Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asked "Is that the ninja way to use and be used by people like tools?"
"Shinobi are all merely tools in the hands of destiny. No use on wondering if its right or wrong," he told her "Its the same in the Leaf Village."
There everyone stood, giving respects to Zabuza and Haku at the foot of their graves. Though there was peace now, Naruko felt an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Funny how we give them a funeral but we disregard any of Gato's men, Naruko immediately shook her head at the though. No I shouldn't think like that. This is all apart of being a ninja.
"Well if you ask me, if thats what being a ninja is about then something is out of whack," Naruto stated "Is that why we go through all of this training? Just to end up like them?"
"What is the reason for that?" Sasuke wondered.
"...Its a question with no answer." Kakashi informed the group.
"I don't necessarily think that." Naruko said "You can only be used as a tool if you allow someone to use you. To say destiny is in control of you is something I don't believe really...If anything, you have the power to create your own destiny. Its all a matter of how bad you want it." Looking up, Naruko noticed everyone's eyes on her. Even Kakashi, who was very intrigued by her comment.
"Heh, you big nerd." Naruto chuckled as he rubbed his fist onto Naruko's head.
"Naruto!" Naruko murmured "Stop that."
"But you know what, thats given me a good idea. From now on I'm doing things my own way. My ninja way! A way thats straight and true without any regrets! The way of Naruto!"
He sure has a way of thinking...thats for sure, Kakashi smiled under his mask. One thing was for sure, he was more than proud of the whole team and how far they had already grown.
Next time:
Naruko-ナルコ-
Chapter 15
New faces, New enemies
Woohoo! The land of waves arc is over! Now lets go full speed ahead into the chunin exams! I can't wait!