The reviews were so wonderful and uplifting that I feel rather bad about
this chapter. I struggled with it, the words not coming so easily. I hope
it's not going to disappoint, I promise other chapters to follow will
improve. I'm trying to get to a place but it's taking so damned long!
Okay, enough of that. Once again, thank you for all the reviews.
Warning: OOC? I can't really tell. Introspection, silly arguments and some laying of the foundation for future plots. Some grammar stuff I missed.
Disclaimer: Do I own Naruto? No. Do I want to? Uh, yeah.
--
The Burden of Choices
A lone figure sat on a high branch of a pine, leaning back against the sturdy trunk. The right leg dangled off the branch, swinging to a rhythm only he could hear, while the left one folded at the knee, his arms resting on it. The blue sheen of the moon glazed over the normally blond head of hair and deepened the sky blue of his eyes to deep cobalt, giving him a semblance of being older than his fifteen years.
As relaxed as he looked, it was not the case, for Naruto was on watch. Finally, after a week of being forced in the bed despite his healthy condition, Kakashi had given him the okay to do something other than lay about his ass. Not that the week had been boring, not at all. He had visitors every day, all of the 121 having made the time to come and see him, some of them staying for hours just talking to him. Of course, that list had not included Sasuke. The asshole had not visited him since he had woken up, not since he had walked out of the tent the first day.
'Like I care,' Naruto snorted with bravado, 'I don't need him to make me feel better.'
If he said it enough, it would be true. Though, just how many times did he have to repeat it before it did become true? Because, right now, he was rather disappointed that it had yet to take effect. Just where was the dark haired boy, anyway?
'Don't care, remember? He was a total bastard, remember? None of my fucking business, remember?'
If that was the case, then why did he miss Sasuke?
'No, I don't!' Grinding his teeth, Naruto strove to find something else to think about. This was getting stupid. 'Yeah, that's right, Sakura visited me every day.'
Interesting that he had to force that goofy grin on his face, but he did it. 'Yeah, I love Sakura,' Naruto continued musing, 'I love her pink hair, jade eyes, smooth skin and.. uh.. stuff.' Definitely, he had not missed Sasuke.
'Okay, stop thinking about him.' It was becoming a mantra, but he didn't know what else to do. Forcefully, he again turned his mind to something else. He closed his eyes, wracking his brain, and eventually, he recalled Hinata's unfailing kindness. Her words had been barely audible but encouraging, and she had always brought him something nice. She had brought him ramen the first day, blushing to the hairline, constantly twiddling her fingers together as she watched him eat with her silvery eyes. That had been fun, Ino throwing him contemptuous glares but smiling gently, Sakura laughing at his side about his sloppy eating habits and TenTen, a girl who had barely acknowledged his existence, teasing him like a friend.
The girls had not been the only ones to visit, either. In fact, Shikamaru had come by every day; surely, he did complain each time he did, but still, he came to talk to him about various things. Through him, Naruto had found out that Sasuke had gone back into active duty despite the injuries still plaguing him and vicious opposition from Asuma on the second day of his awareness. Also, Shikamaru had brought Chouji a few times, the fat boy who insisted that his bones were the only things that were large on his body. Naruto learned never to reach out for the ever present potato chip package on Chouji for if he had not been quick enough, he could have lost his arm.
Of course, he had not missed Sasuke any. How could he when Lee had showered him with praises and given him a passionate lecture on courage and bravery? No way could he even give Sasuke a single thought when Neji had been nice enough to discuss battle tactics and fill him in on the happenings of the 121 during his absence.
Even Shino had come by. Shino, the one guy who spoke even less than Hinata, had made his presence known. He had said very little, but from what he said, Naruto had gotten the impression that he was at least not disappointed that he had come back to life. Okay, he had said, "Welcome back. Try not to do it again," and then left, but still, that was way more than what Sasuke had given him.
'Egh, Sasuke.. stop invading my head!' Couldn't the bastard figure out that he was trying to not think about him by thinking about other people?
Like.. Kiba, yes. Dog boy. He had made fun of him, but it had been very good natured. Or at least, he hoped so, because otherwise, some of things had been pretty damned offensive. Naruto would have to rethink that one.
'Heh, not thinking about Sasuke.' A pause, then a grimace.
"Goddamnit!"
--
The message, though succinct, had contained more information than he had wished. Kakashi never said more than necessary, sometimes even resorting to leaving out words to make the sentences shorter, and this had been no different. However, the underlying uneasiness and the faint trace of worry on the chakra sealed message had been clear.
Things were not so well in the fifth line.
The Third Hokage lifted his gnarled hand to rub against his chin, fuzzy with white stubble he had neglected to shave properly. These days, more things plagued his mind than personal hygiene, most especially today.
Damn the message.
'It's too soon,' the old man slumped in his seat, his shoulders sagging with the weight of responsibilities and lives. 'Too soon for the Nine- Tails to manifest like this. Naruto cannot control him the way he is now, he's too weak.'
He crumpled the message in his hand, the images invoked by its content still fresh in his head. Nine-Tails, awoken so suddenly and so powerfully, sat uncomfortably in his gut. Kakashi had written various things, from his first hand accounts to whatever Sasuke and Naruto had told him, but the most startling thing was that he had told the Demon Bound the story behind him because the Nine-Tails had spoken to him.
According to the report, Naruto finally knew why and how he had become the holder of the fearsome demon, or at least, as much as Kakashi knew of the incident, which admittedly, wasn't a whole lot, just the bare minimum facts that every adult in Konoha knew. Still, the information should have caused some sort of shock or something, anything other than the blasé shoulder shrug Naruto had shown his commanding officer.
If he only knew what was going through the boy's mind, he might be able to relax, but no one, not even Kakashi, could figure it out. Naruto had gone through a short period of panic when he had finally gotten the silver haired ninja to talk of the demon and its origins, but afterwards, he had shrugged it off as if he had been told that he had a slight cold. As if it was just a discomfort, no big deal, something that he could get over without worrying about it.
That worried the Third. That and the fact that Nine-Tails and Naruto had held a conversation somewhere deep in his mind. And that no one except Naruto knew of what they talked about since he had not divulged that information to anyone. Oh, and of course, the near decimation of the fifth line by an infiltration squad that no one had picked up on until attacked.
'When did everything become so out of control?' The Third Hokage sighed, removed the cumbersome hat of his office off his head, and rested his hands on the massive desk filled to the edges with papers and maps. 'The war has gone on too long, ten years too long. Am I a fool for letting it go on for longer?'
His sorrowful eyes sought out a portrait on the wall across from him, the one that hung over the door to his office. A young man solemnly stared back in oil and canvas, his blond hair somehow falling sedately yet wildly around his wide shoulders, his blue eyes a mere imitation of the fierceness of when he was alive.
'Ah, Fourth, did you foresee this when you signed your death warrant? Did you see the pitiful state of the world, the blood and the violence? Did you see Konoha disintegrating under the weight of death? Is that why you gave us Naruto?'
As always, the painting said nothing, but the Third felt the heavy gaze of the dead man, piercing through the tough exterior he exhibited for his followers. 'Should I have surrendered only if to avoid the deaths? Should I have tossed Konoha at the mercy of Sound, only if to see our children live?'
This argument with the portrait was an old one, something that the Third indulged in when the burden became too heavy to bear on his creaking shoulders. The questions never answered swam in the empty air of his office like a thick coating of smoke from a peat fire.
"Yes, I know," the Third finally voiced the thoughts. "I know that if we don't fight, then we'd be under the unknown rule of the Sound. A warmongering, blood-thirsty nation bent on conquest cannot give us a pleasant, free future. Still, I can't justify it sometimes, especially when the children of Konoha have become the soldiers on whose sacrifice we tread."
In the afternoon light, the Fourth's face looked more regretful than accusatory, and the old man sitting in the chair of his command could not find it in himself to look away.
"Your last legacy is the key." Ah, there was that accusing look now. "I know you meant for him to grow into a fine, young man, surrounded by friends and protected from harm." Gods, wasn't that what he had promised the young Fourth when they had stepped onto the field against the demon for the last time? "But what can I do, but what I must? What can I do but sacrifice your last will in the name of peace and Konoha?"
Silence smothered him and he watched with tired, rheumy eyes as the light shifted on the canvas, highlighting the leader he himself had anointed with oil at the coronation and then once more at his funeral. Fifteen years the Fourth had been dead, his last act as their leader to give his life up for the country he loved, to leave in this world the last thing that he could claim as his own with a burden so heavy that the boy could be crushed underneath it all someday. Such harsh sacrifices had been made fifteen years ago in hopes for a better future, and here he was, talking to the portrait of a dead man, mourning his responsibilities while his children died in a war that should not have happened.
"Naruto is strong, very strong." He had known that since the day of his birth, the day of the sealing. He had become more certain as the years passed, as he watched the young Naruto grow up surrounded by hatred and still managing to retain all that was good and confident. "He may not be the most brilliant one." No, that one had defected after killing off his clan. "He may not be the quickest learner." No, that title fell to the last of the Uchiha, no contest. "He may not be the most skilled one." Kakashi reigned supreme in that area, still. "But he is the most resilient one, a brightly shining star in a sea of darkness."
The Third closed his eyes, blocking out the portrait from his sight, and rubbed his hands over his face. There were things that had to be done, even if it tore at his heart and gave him nightmares.
"Your shining star, Fourth, will save Konoha. Because you knew it back then as I do now that only someone that bright can contain and control the dark evil of Nine-Tails." Who else would have the mental strength to win against the demon? Who else could cultivate the physical prowess necessary to harness that great power? "He is not ready yet, but you and I know that he will be."
'Because he hates to lose. Just like you.'
The Third shook his head and delved back into the papers on his desk, his head no longer submerged in an invisible conversation with the long dead man. He only hoped that when he died and he went before the gods for a reckoning, he would get a chance to apologize to the Fourth for failing him and sacrificing his only son before he was condemned to Hell.
--
"It's fishy, I tell you," Ino sniffed, her blue eyes scanning the area around them to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. "I mean, Sasuke is going out of his way to be scarce these days. Like he's avoiding him."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he adjusted the band that kept his nearly impossible hair out of his way. For five days since Naruto had become active again, Ino had found the time to nag him about Sasuke every chance she got. She tracked Sasuke like a bloodhound would a wounded rabbit and reported all her observations and analysis to him for some reason. Surely, discussing such trite and stupid things should be reserved for the ears of other insane females, but no, Ino thought it necessary to inflict such a cruel mental torture on him.
"I mean, I do admit, Sasuke and Naruto aren't the best of friends." Ino babbled right over Shikamaru trying to strangle himself with the scarf that hung about his shoulders. "So I thought, sheesh, no problem, good thing Sasuke and Naruto aren't running into each other." Shikamaru sighed when all he got from self strangulation was a bit of discomfort instead of the blissful embrace of death. "But the more I look, the more I see that Sasuke is avoiding rather too enthusiastically."
The blond girl continued with her incessant rambling, her hand grasping hard on Shikamaru's sleeve so that he could not escape without looking like a fool. Why was it that he was in this humiliating position? How had this happened? The whole thing was troublesome, damn it, to have this pretty but incredibly Sasuke-obsessed woman making him listen to every word of her Sasuke rambles.
Though, what she was saying was quite true. As Naruto and Sasuke's roommate, he had been in the unfortunate position to observe their behavior towards each other. He thought that as much as they aggravated each other, they would find the means to get as far away from each other as possible. Yet, that had proved untrue as he saw his two roommates gravitate towards each other more and more, even if all the words and actions between them had been filled with threats and glares.
Therefore, Sasuke's purposeful avoidance of Naruto was quite strange, even out of character. Then again, who cared, it had nothing to do with him, right?
Or this crazy woman still talking and holding him captive by his sleeve.
The torture might have gone on if Shikamaru had not been sharp enough to pick out a bobbing head of pink hair walking across his line of vision. It showed how desperate the boy was when he actually called to her, pitching his voice somewhere between desperate and nonchalant, making her walk over to him and his gorgeous torture-mistress with a smile that bordered on a sadistic smirk.
Good god, did all women enjoy tormenting him or was it just the ones in his acquaintance?
"Sakura, get this obsessive woman off of me." Shikamaru pulled ineffectively at his sleeve in a death grip by such delicate looking lily white teacup hands. "I can't listen to another syllable about Sasuke." His pulling became more frantic as he picked out that gleam in Sakura's green eyes. The twit was enjoying this, damn it. "You like the guy, you talk to Ino about it. I have better things to do." Take the freaking hint, he silently pleaded, let me keep some of my tattered dignity.
Stifling a giggle, Sakura leaned against the tree by which the three of them stood, and feigned innocence. "How can anyone get tired of talking about Sasuke?" Shikamaru turned an unhealthy shade of green and failed to see that Sakura and Ino's eyes met over his head in amusement. "After all, Sasuke is soooooo gorgeous."
"Of course," Ino gushed, her eyes sparkling unnaturally, "and he's got that heavenly body. Not to mention, intelligent."
"He has great tastes in everything as well." Sakura tossed her hair, tilting her head at the exact angle that Ino's head was. "He wouldn't be interested in me otherwise." Sakura ignored the small prickle in her chest and widened her smile, her eyes never leaving Ino's. This was an old argument between them, just who Sasuke liked, but for some reason, the banter wasn't as fun as it used to be.
"How can you say that when obviously, Sasuke likes me better?" A nip of panic pitched Ino's voice higher than usual. She had seen the dimming of Sakura's eyes, and she refused to let it go on. It had been ages since they had this argument, since they had felt light hearted and care-free enough to engage in it.
'Come on, Sakura,' Ino encouraged silently, her eyes holding the saddening greens as captive as her hand held Shikamaru, 'argue back. Let's go back to normal.'
"He can't like you better." The pink haired girl tried gamely, her voice only cracking slightly. "He talks to me but he doesn't say anything to you."
'Sure, he talks to you,' a scoffing voice in the back of her head taunted, 'but does he ever say anything that means something?' Strange how she could hold the grin and stare at Ino without shedding tears she felt gathering. 'Has he ever said half of the things he's supposed to say if he liked you?'
The talk stopped, Sakura lost in her head and Ino at a loss for words, and Shikamaru looked around at the two silent girls like a mole just come up for sun. The silence stretched into minutes, Sakura and Ino communicating without words or movements, their eyes passing all needed information through the air. It rather amazed Shikamaru that some people had that kind of rapport with each other, when words became unnecessary and even intrusive, to have that type of mental connection that bordered on telepathy. If anything, it cemented the fact that despite the raging fights they had over the dark haired boy named Sasuke, they were close at heart, understanding that they were best friends underneath all the surface rivalry.
Still, this kind of female understanding and bonding did not necessitate his presence. In fact, it was damned uncomfortable being there for Shikamaru.
"You can let go now."
Both of the girls started and blinked at him, as if they had forgotten that he had been there the whole time. Well, if that wasn't irritating.. after all, who the hell had held him there so that he could not go about his normal activities, keeping him prisoner to torture him with grandiose talks of Sasuke's better attributes? And they had the gall to forget that he had been there?
Damn women.. especially Ino. Being pretty did not excuse her behavior.
"Oh, Shikamaru, why are you still here?" Irritation at the situation elevated into disbelieving fury. They really had forgotten him, those crazy females. "You may go now, Sakura and I need to talk privately."
Ino let go of his sleeve and literally shoved him by his shoulder to send him on his way, not even bothering to look in his direction as she resumed her silent communication with Sakura. Affronted but too damned lazy to put up a fuss, Shikamaru muttered some choice swear words under his breath and left the site of his humiliation.
Women were damned moody, he concluded as he walked off a bit stiffly. Not to mention, all of them enjoyed tormenting boys, whether out of a sick sense of fun or just pure instinct. They had certainly made a prime example out of him this day.
Therefore, as logic dictated, he had to go and hang out with some males to rebuild his sense of masculinity, to get over Ino's imprisonment of his person only using her delicate hand. Yes, male bonding with grunting, disgusting behaviors not appropriate for polite company and words of an indelicate nature were sorely needed.
Feeling a bit more at ease after his exercise in logic, Shikamaru sauntered towards the camp in order to remedy his sorely abused masculinity.
--
The topic up for discussion was a grave one, weighing down the atmosphere to leaden, but it had to be discussed, dissected and analyzed. Still, even in the tent jutsu-ed nine different ways to next week to prevent eavesdroppers, they felt as if they were being overheard, as if someone was watching them intently, causing the four of them to hunch over with their heads towards each other, their voices low and almost whispery.
The Demon Bound, a topic forbidden for even light bantering for joke's sake, was never an easy thing to talk about, even among the four commanders who had him under their watch and command.
It had been nearly two weeks since Kakashi had divulged everything he knew of the incident with the demon fox fifteen years ago to Naruto, since they had been at the edge of their seats just waiting for him to explode in a fit of confusion and rage at being the sole bearer of such a huge responsibility and curse. Yet, nothing had happened. The blonde had just gone back to being himself, cracking jokes and playing the fool. They weren't sure if that was good or bad, but it sat unwell with them all.
As far as Kakashi had told the rest of them, Naruto now knew as much as they did. He knew that the demon fox Nine-Tails had been sealed in him on the day he was born by the Fourth. He finally got to know the truth of the situation instead of the history taught to children, the one that said the Fourth died in a vicious battle, taking the Nine-Tails to the land of the dead with him. He knew that everyone older than twenty knew of him and the seal, finally realized why the community at large hated and shunned him.
Kurenai thought that had she been Naruto, fifteen and being told that she was a vessel for a demon, she would have ended up shivering in the cold corner, raging against the unfair lot the fates had thrown in her face, most likely crying and bitching. Not Naruto, though. He was as cheery as ever, joking around with others, not letting the sharp barbs and insults get to him, smiling right through the cruelty of some and enjoying the warm friendliness from his battalion. Therefore, if nothing had changed for Naruto, then why all the tension? Were they just paranoid?
"Did the Third send any replies back to your report?"
Kakashi crouched on the floor, the other three following his example, as he carefully unrolled a piece of parchment. At first glance, it was blank, but a small jutsu and a trickle of chakra later, letters emerged, bleeding onto the paper, forming itself into a message.
"This is it," Kakashi mumbled, his visible eye sweeping through the contents, "but it does not say much."
"What is there to say?" Asuma turned the message towards him, reading the familiar scrawl of the Third with a practiced eye. As he'd suspected, the only thing the Third wanted was a careful monitoring of Naruto and the seal. Their leader did not see it fit to have Naruto sent back to Konoha for that would cause too much suspicion. All they had to do was make sure to keep an eye on him, the seal and continue on as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. After all, the only reason Naruto was in the war was because of his status as Demon Bound, because he could access the Nine- Tails; this was supposed to happen, in any case, according to the plan.
"So," Kurenai whispered, her ruby eyes taking in the serious faces of her fellow commanders, "now that Naruto knows and has somehow tapped the power of the Nine-Tails, what's our course of action? The Third did not tell us what to do in the event Naruto actually used the power of the demon."
"Well, none of us thought it would happen so damned soon." Asuma stamped out his cigarette before it could burn down into the filter. "Going by Naruto's rate of development, none of us thought that he would be strong enough to call forth that chakra until much later."
Kakashi snorted through his mask, his one eye amused and chagrined at the same time. "He developed faster than we thought, I suppose. After all, stress from killing and facing death accelerates your growth more than grueling training."
"Whatever the hell happened, what we have now is an active Demon Bound." Lips compressed into a thin line, the only female commander of the 121 tapped her fingers in a frustrated gesture onto the floor. "So, once again, what the hell do we do now?"
"Of course, I will train him to properly channel the fox's chakra." Kakashi pointedly refused to look at Gai who raised his head sharply enough to cause whiplash. "I did train him before, and I always did plan on bringing out his full potential, right along with Sasuke."
Gai shook his head and for once, gazed sternly at the silver haired man whom he considered his great rival. "No, you can't do it." Kakashi looked up, an eyebrow quirked challengingly. "That is not to say that you are not capable, my long time rival," Gai continued, his eyes unwavering. "You may be the most capable, but we are dealing with the Nine-Tails. Who among any of us can deal with that?"
"I'm training Naruto, not fighting the demon."
"In the end, is there a difference?" Asuma questioned, taking over the conversation thread from Gai. "When the power is harnessed, can we say that we're really dealing with Naruto?"
"Who else would it be? Naruto is Naruto, no matter what chakra he channels."
Asuma sighed and lit a cigarette. Kakashi could be damned stubborn sometimes, mired down by his own twisted logic. "I'm saying, Sasuke told us that Naruto changed when the red chakra took over. Naruto told you that the demon talked to him. He damn near did not come out of a coma and god knows how the hell he did." He inhaled some more of the pungent smoke, feeling the dark taste filter down into his lungs. "We know almost nothing about the seal, only the Fourth did. We know nothing of how the Nine-Tails and Naruto interacted to bring about that power. We just don't know enough to try to train Naruto to draw on the chakra of the demon, that is all."
"So you suggest we do nothing?" Kurenai narrowed her eyes, giving Asuma a look that sent a small shiver down his back. "We just keep watching him, to see when the seal will crack and take him out?"
Slowly tapping out the cigarette on the dirt floor, Asuma dropped his dark eyes to the fading embers, staring at the disappearing red glow. "No, not nothing. But there has to be another way. I refuse to see us doing something terribly wrong because we know too little and harming Naruto. And consider, what if the fox takes over the next time because we did something we weren't supposed to do? Do you want to risk consigning Konoha to the wrath of the Nine-Tails, most especially now, in the middle of a war?"
"What if, what if.." Kakashi sighed and stood, turning his back on his fellow officers. "Too many what ifs, and not enough action. For all we know, Naruto will call the fox on his own again and without some kind of training, it really will go out of control." He undid the seals on the tent, effectively signaling the end of this meeting. "There are many things that can happen, and most of it will be bad. But we don't have too many choices."
Kakashi left the tent, only leaving small dirt puffs wafting in the air to show that he was ever there. The other three remained crouched in a semi- circle, staring at the spot where Kakashi had been, considering his words against their own thoughts, trying to come to a conclusion.
--
TBC
--
Warning: OOC? I can't really tell. Introspection, silly arguments and some laying of the foundation for future plots. Some grammar stuff I missed.
Disclaimer: Do I own Naruto? No. Do I want to? Uh, yeah.
--
The Burden of Choices
A lone figure sat on a high branch of a pine, leaning back against the sturdy trunk. The right leg dangled off the branch, swinging to a rhythm only he could hear, while the left one folded at the knee, his arms resting on it. The blue sheen of the moon glazed over the normally blond head of hair and deepened the sky blue of his eyes to deep cobalt, giving him a semblance of being older than his fifteen years.
As relaxed as he looked, it was not the case, for Naruto was on watch. Finally, after a week of being forced in the bed despite his healthy condition, Kakashi had given him the okay to do something other than lay about his ass. Not that the week had been boring, not at all. He had visitors every day, all of the 121 having made the time to come and see him, some of them staying for hours just talking to him. Of course, that list had not included Sasuke. The asshole had not visited him since he had woken up, not since he had walked out of the tent the first day.
'Like I care,' Naruto snorted with bravado, 'I don't need him to make me feel better.'
If he said it enough, it would be true. Though, just how many times did he have to repeat it before it did become true? Because, right now, he was rather disappointed that it had yet to take effect. Just where was the dark haired boy, anyway?
'Don't care, remember? He was a total bastard, remember? None of my fucking business, remember?'
If that was the case, then why did he miss Sasuke?
'No, I don't!' Grinding his teeth, Naruto strove to find something else to think about. This was getting stupid. 'Yeah, that's right, Sakura visited me every day.'
Interesting that he had to force that goofy grin on his face, but he did it. 'Yeah, I love Sakura,' Naruto continued musing, 'I love her pink hair, jade eyes, smooth skin and.. uh.. stuff.' Definitely, he had not missed Sasuke.
'Okay, stop thinking about him.' It was becoming a mantra, but he didn't know what else to do. Forcefully, he again turned his mind to something else. He closed his eyes, wracking his brain, and eventually, he recalled Hinata's unfailing kindness. Her words had been barely audible but encouraging, and she had always brought him something nice. She had brought him ramen the first day, blushing to the hairline, constantly twiddling her fingers together as she watched him eat with her silvery eyes. That had been fun, Ino throwing him contemptuous glares but smiling gently, Sakura laughing at his side about his sloppy eating habits and TenTen, a girl who had barely acknowledged his existence, teasing him like a friend.
The girls had not been the only ones to visit, either. In fact, Shikamaru had come by every day; surely, he did complain each time he did, but still, he came to talk to him about various things. Through him, Naruto had found out that Sasuke had gone back into active duty despite the injuries still plaguing him and vicious opposition from Asuma on the second day of his awareness. Also, Shikamaru had brought Chouji a few times, the fat boy who insisted that his bones were the only things that were large on his body. Naruto learned never to reach out for the ever present potato chip package on Chouji for if he had not been quick enough, he could have lost his arm.
Of course, he had not missed Sasuke any. How could he when Lee had showered him with praises and given him a passionate lecture on courage and bravery? No way could he even give Sasuke a single thought when Neji had been nice enough to discuss battle tactics and fill him in on the happenings of the 121 during his absence.
Even Shino had come by. Shino, the one guy who spoke even less than Hinata, had made his presence known. He had said very little, but from what he said, Naruto had gotten the impression that he was at least not disappointed that he had come back to life. Okay, he had said, "Welcome back. Try not to do it again," and then left, but still, that was way more than what Sasuke had given him.
'Egh, Sasuke.. stop invading my head!' Couldn't the bastard figure out that he was trying to not think about him by thinking about other people?
Like.. Kiba, yes. Dog boy. He had made fun of him, but it had been very good natured. Or at least, he hoped so, because otherwise, some of things had been pretty damned offensive. Naruto would have to rethink that one.
'Heh, not thinking about Sasuke.' A pause, then a grimace.
"Goddamnit!"
--
The message, though succinct, had contained more information than he had wished. Kakashi never said more than necessary, sometimes even resorting to leaving out words to make the sentences shorter, and this had been no different. However, the underlying uneasiness and the faint trace of worry on the chakra sealed message had been clear.
Things were not so well in the fifth line.
The Third Hokage lifted his gnarled hand to rub against his chin, fuzzy with white stubble he had neglected to shave properly. These days, more things plagued his mind than personal hygiene, most especially today.
Damn the message.
'It's too soon,' the old man slumped in his seat, his shoulders sagging with the weight of responsibilities and lives. 'Too soon for the Nine- Tails to manifest like this. Naruto cannot control him the way he is now, he's too weak.'
He crumpled the message in his hand, the images invoked by its content still fresh in his head. Nine-Tails, awoken so suddenly and so powerfully, sat uncomfortably in his gut. Kakashi had written various things, from his first hand accounts to whatever Sasuke and Naruto had told him, but the most startling thing was that he had told the Demon Bound the story behind him because the Nine-Tails had spoken to him.
According to the report, Naruto finally knew why and how he had become the holder of the fearsome demon, or at least, as much as Kakashi knew of the incident, which admittedly, wasn't a whole lot, just the bare minimum facts that every adult in Konoha knew. Still, the information should have caused some sort of shock or something, anything other than the blasé shoulder shrug Naruto had shown his commanding officer.
If he only knew what was going through the boy's mind, he might be able to relax, but no one, not even Kakashi, could figure it out. Naruto had gone through a short period of panic when he had finally gotten the silver haired ninja to talk of the demon and its origins, but afterwards, he had shrugged it off as if he had been told that he had a slight cold. As if it was just a discomfort, no big deal, something that he could get over without worrying about it.
That worried the Third. That and the fact that Nine-Tails and Naruto had held a conversation somewhere deep in his mind. And that no one except Naruto knew of what they talked about since he had not divulged that information to anyone. Oh, and of course, the near decimation of the fifth line by an infiltration squad that no one had picked up on until attacked.
'When did everything become so out of control?' The Third Hokage sighed, removed the cumbersome hat of his office off his head, and rested his hands on the massive desk filled to the edges with papers and maps. 'The war has gone on too long, ten years too long. Am I a fool for letting it go on for longer?'
His sorrowful eyes sought out a portrait on the wall across from him, the one that hung over the door to his office. A young man solemnly stared back in oil and canvas, his blond hair somehow falling sedately yet wildly around his wide shoulders, his blue eyes a mere imitation of the fierceness of when he was alive.
'Ah, Fourth, did you foresee this when you signed your death warrant? Did you see the pitiful state of the world, the blood and the violence? Did you see Konoha disintegrating under the weight of death? Is that why you gave us Naruto?'
As always, the painting said nothing, but the Third felt the heavy gaze of the dead man, piercing through the tough exterior he exhibited for his followers. 'Should I have surrendered only if to avoid the deaths? Should I have tossed Konoha at the mercy of Sound, only if to see our children live?'
This argument with the portrait was an old one, something that the Third indulged in when the burden became too heavy to bear on his creaking shoulders. The questions never answered swam in the empty air of his office like a thick coating of smoke from a peat fire.
"Yes, I know," the Third finally voiced the thoughts. "I know that if we don't fight, then we'd be under the unknown rule of the Sound. A warmongering, blood-thirsty nation bent on conquest cannot give us a pleasant, free future. Still, I can't justify it sometimes, especially when the children of Konoha have become the soldiers on whose sacrifice we tread."
In the afternoon light, the Fourth's face looked more regretful than accusatory, and the old man sitting in the chair of his command could not find it in himself to look away.
"Your last legacy is the key." Ah, there was that accusing look now. "I know you meant for him to grow into a fine, young man, surrounded by friends and protected from harm." Gods, wasn't that what he had promised the young Fourth when they had stepped onto the field against the demon for the last time? "But what can I do, but what I must? What can I do but sacrifice your last will in the name of peace and Konoha?"
Silence smothered him and he watched with tired, rheumy eyes as the light shifted on the canvas, highlighting the leader he himself had anointed with oil at the coronation and then once more at his funeral. Fifteen years the Fourth had been dead, his last act as their leader to give his life up for the country he loved, to leave in this world the last thing that he could claim as his own with a burden so heavy that the boy could be crushed underneath it all someday. Such harsh sacrifices had been made fifteen years ago in hopes for a better future, and here he was, talking to the portrait of a dead man, mourning his responsibilities while his children died in a war that should not have happened.
"Naruto is strong, very strong." He had known that since the day of his birth, the day of the sealing. He had become more certain as the years passed, as he watched the young Naruto grow up surrounded by hatred and still managing to retain all that was good and confident. "He may not be the most brilliant one." No, that one had defected after killing off his clan. "He may not be the quickest learner." No, that title fell to the last of the Uchiha, no contest. "He may not be the most skilled one." Kakashi reigned supreme in that area, still. "But he is the most resilient one, a brightly shining star in a sea of darkness."
The Third closed his eyes, blocking out the portrait from his sight, and rubbed his hands over his face. There were things that had to be done, even if it tore at his heart and gave him nightmares.
"Your shining star, Fourth, will save Konoha. Because you knew it back then as I do now that only someone that bright can contain and control the dark evil of Nine-Tails." Who else would have the mental strength to win against the demon? Who else could cultivate the physical prowess necessary to harness that great power? "He is not ready yet, but you and I know that he will be."
'Because he hates to lose. Just like you.'
The Third shook his head and delved back into the papers on his desk, his head no longer submerged in an invisible conversation with the long dead man. He only hoped that when he died and he went before the gods for a reckoning, he would get a chance to apologize to the Fourth for failing him and sacrificing his only son before he was condemned to Hell.
--
"It's fishy, I tell you," Ino sniffed, her blue eyes scanning the area around them to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. "I mean, Sasuke is going out of his way to be scarce these days. Like he's avoiding him."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he adjusted the band that kept his nearly impossible hair out of his way. For five days since Naruto had become active again, Ino had found the time to nag him about Sasuke every chance she got. She tracked Sasuke like a bloodhound would a wounded rabbit and reported all her observations and analysis to him for some reason. Surely, discussing such trite and stupid things should be reserved for the ears of other insane females, but no, Ino thought it necessary to inflict such a cruel mental torture on him.
"I mean, I do admit, Sasuke and Naruto aren't the best of friends." Ino babbled right over Shikamaru trying to strangle himself with the scarf that hung about his shoulders. "So I thought, sheesh, no problem, good thing Sasuke and Naruto aren't running into each other." Shikamaru sighed when all he got from self strangulation was a bit of discomfort instead of the blissful embrace of death. "But the more I look, the more I see that Sasuke is avoiding rather too enthusiastically."
The blond girl continued with her incessant rambling, her hand grasping hard on Shikamaru's sleeve so that he could not escape without looking like a fool. Why was it that he was in this humiliating position? How had this happened? The whole thing was troublesome, damn it, to have this pretty but incredibly Sasuke-obsessed woman making him listen to every word of her Sasuke rambles.
Though, what she was saying was quite true. As Naruto and Sasuke's roommate, he had been in the unfortunate position to observe their behavior towards each other. He thought that as much as they aggravated each other, they would find the means to get as far away from each other as possible. Yet, that had proved untrue as he saw his two roommates gravitate towards each other more and more, even if all the words and actions between them had been filled with threats and glares.
Therefore, Sasuke's purposeful avoidance of Naruto was quite strange, even out of character. Then again, who cared, it had nothing to do with him, right?
Or this crazy woman still talking and holding him captive by his sleeve.
The torture might have gone on if Shikamaru had not been sharp enough to pick out a bobbing head of pink hair walking across his line of vision. It showed how desperate the boy was when he actually called to her, pitching his voice somewhere between desperate and nonchalant, making her walk over to him and his gorgeous torture-mistress with a smile that bordered on a sadistic smirk.
Good god, did all women enjoy tormenting him or was it just the ones in his acquaintance?
"Sakura, get this obsessive woman off of me." Shikamaru pulled ineffectively at his sleeve in a death grip by such delicate looking lily white teacup hands. "I can't listen to another syllable about Sasuke." His pulling became more frantic as he picked out that gleam in Sakura's green eyes. The twit was enjoying this, damn it. "You like the guy, you talk to Ino about it. I have better things to do." Take the freaking hint, he silently pleaded, let me keep some of my tattered dignity.
Stifling a giggle, Sakura leaned against the tree by which the three of them stood, and feigned innocence. "How can anyone get tired of talking about Sasuke?" Shikamaru turned an unhealthy shade of green and failed to see that Sakura and Ino's eyes met over his head in amusement. "After all, Sasuke is soooooo gorgeous."
"Of course," Ino gushed, her eyes sparkling unnaturally, "and he's got that heavenly body. Not to mention, intelligent."
"He has great tastes in everything as well." Sakura tossed her hair, tilting her head at the exact angle that Ino's head was. "He wouldn't be interested in me otherwise." Sakura ignored the small prickle in her chest and widened her smile, her eyes never leaving Ino's. This was an old argument between them, just who Sasuke liked, but for some reason, the banter wasn't as fun as it used to be.
"How can you say that when obviously, Sasuke likes me better?" A nip of panic pitched Ino's voice higher than usual. She had seen the dimming of Sakura's eyes, and she refused to let it go on. It had been ages since they had this argument, since they had felt light hearted and care-free enough to engage in it.
'Come on, Sakura,' Ino encouraged silently, her eyes holding the saddening greens as captive as her hand held Shikamaru, 'argue back. Let's go back to normal.'
"He can't like you better." The pink haired girl tried gamely, her voice only cracking slightly. "He talks to me but he doesn't say anything to you."
'Sure, he talks to you,' a scoffing voice in the back of her head taunted, 'but does he ever say anything that means something?' Strange how she could hold the grin and stare at Ino without shedding tears she felt gathering. 'Has he ever said half of the things he's supposed to say if he liked you?'
The talk stopped, Sakura lost in her head and Ino at a loss for words, and Shikamaru looked around at the two silent girls like a mole just come up for sun. The silence stretched into minutes, Sakura and Ino communicating without words or movements, their eyes passing all needed information through the air. It rather amazed Shikamaru that some people had that kind of rapport with each other, when words became unnecessary and even intrusive, to have that type of mental connection that bordered on telepathy. If anything, it cemented the fact that despite the raging fights they had over the dark haired boy named Sasuke, they were close at heart, understanding that they were best friends underneath all the surface rivalry.
Still, this kind of female understanding and bonding did not necessitate his presence. In fact, it was damned uncomfortable being there for Shikamaru.
"You can let go now."
Both of the girls started and blinked at him, as if they had forgotten that he had been there the whole time. Well, if that wasn't irritating.. after all, who the hell had held him there so that he could not go about his normal activities, keeping him prisoner to torture him with grandiose talks of Sasuke's better attributes? And they had the gall to forget that he had been there?
Damn women.. especially Ino. Being pretty did not excuse her behavior.
"Oh, Shikamaru, why are you still here?" Irritation at the situation elevated into disbelieving fury. They really had forgotten him, those crazy females. "You may go now, Sakura and I need to talk privately."
Ino let go of his sleeve and literally shoved him by his shoulder to send him on his way, not even bothering to look in his direction as she resumed her silent communication with Sakura. Affronted but too damned lazy to put up a fuss, Shikamaru muttered some choice swear words under his breath and left the site of his humiliation.
Women were damned moody, he concluded as he walked off a bit stiffly. Not to mention, all of them enjoyed tormenting boys, whether out of a sick sense of fun or just pure instinct. They had certainly made a prime example out of him this day.
Therefore, as logic dictated, he had to go and hang out with some males to rebuild his sense of masculinity, to get over Ino's imprisonment of his person only using her delicate hand. Yes, male bonding with grunting, disgusting behaviors not appropriate for polite company and words of an indelicate nature were sorely needed.
Feeling a bit more at ease after his exercise in logic, Shikamaru sauntered towards the camp in order to remedy his sorely abused masculinity.
--
The topic up for discussion was a grave one, weighing down the atmosphere to leaden, but it had to be discussed, dissected and analyzed. Still, even in the tent jutsu-ed nine different ways to next week to prevent eavesdroppers, they felt as if they were being overheard, as if someone was watching them intently, causing the four of them to hunch over with their heads towards each other, their voices low and almost whispery.
The Demon Bound, a topic forbidden for even light bantering for joke's sake, was never an easy thing to talk about, even among the four commanders who had him under their watch and command.
It had been nearly two weeks since Kakashi had divulged everything he knew of the incident with the demon fox fifteen years ago to Naruto, since they had been at the edge of their seats just waiting for him to explode in a fit of confusion and rage at being the sole bearer of such a huge responsibility and curse. Yet, nothing had happened. The blonde had just gone back to being himself, cracking jokes and playing the fool. They weren't sure if that was good or bad, but it sat unwell with them all.
As far as Kakashi had told the rest of them, Naruto now knew as much as they did. He knew that the demon fox Nine-Tails had been sealed in him on the day he was born by the Fourth. He finally got to know the truth of the situation instead of the history taught to children, the one that said the Fourth died in a vicious battle, taking the Nine-Tails to the land of the dead with him. He knew that everyone older than twenty knew of him and the seal, finally realized why the community at large hated and shunned him.
Kurenai thought that had she been Naruto, fifteen and being told that she was a vessel for a demon, she would have ended up shivering in the cold corner, raging against the unfair lot the fates had thrown in her face, most likely crying and bitching. Not Naruto, though. He was as cheery as ever, joking around with others, not letting the sharp barbs and insults get to him, smiling right through the cruelty of some and enjoying the warm friendliness from his battalion. Therefore, if nothing had changed for Naruto, then why all the tension? Were they just paranoid?
"Did the Third send any replies back to your report?"
Kakashi crouched on the floor, the other three following his example, as he carefully unrolled a piece of parchment. At first glance, it was blank, but a small jutsu and a trickle of chakra later, letters emerged, bleeding onto the paper, forming itself into a message.
"This is it," Kakashi mumbled, his visible eye sweeping through the contents, "but it does not say much."
"What is there to say?" Asuma turned the message towards him, reading the familiar scrawl of the Third with a practiced eye. As he'd suspected, the only thing the Third wanted was a careful monitoring of Naruto and the seal. Their leader did not see it fit to have Naruto sent back to Konoha for that would cause too much suspicion. All they had to do was make sure to keep an eye on him, the seal and continue on as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. After all, the only reason Naruto was in the war was because of his status as Demon Bound, because he could access the Nine- Tails; this was supposed to happen, in any case, according to the plan.
"So," Kurenai whispered, her ruby eyes taking in the serious faces of her fellow commanders, "now that Naruto knows and has somehow tapped the power of the Nine-Tails, what's our course of action? The Third did not tell us what to do in the event Naruto actually used the power of the demon."
"Well, none of us thought it would happen so damned soon." Asuma stamped out his cigarette before it could burn down into the filter. "Going by Naruto's rate of development, none of us thought that he would be strong enough to call forth that chakra until much later."
Kakashi snorted through his mask, his one eye amused and chagrined at the same time. "He developed faster than we thought, I suppose. After all, stress from killing and facing death accelerates your growth more than grueling training."
"Whatever the hell happened, what we have now is an active Demon Bound." Lips compressed into a thin line, the only female commander of the 121 tapped her fingers in a frustrated gesture onto the floor. "So, once again, what the hell do we do now?"
"Of course, I will train him to properly channel the fox's chakra." Kakashi pointedly refused to look at Gai who raised his head sharply enough to cause whiplash. "I did train him before, and I always did plan on bringing out his full potential, right along with Sasuke."
Gai shook his head and for once, gazed sternly at the silver haired man whom he considered his great rival. "No, you can't do it." Kakashi looked up, an eyebrow quirked challengingly. "That is not to say that you are not capable, my long time rival," Gai continued, his eyes unwavering. "You may be the most capable, but we are dealing with the Nine-Tails. Who among any of us can deal with that?"
"I'm training Naruto, not fighting the demon."
"In the end, is there a difference?" Asuma questioned, taking over the conversation thread from Gai. "When the power is harnessed, can we say that we're really dealing with Naruto?"
"Who else would it be? Naruto is Naruto, no matter what chakra he channels."
Asuma sighed and lit a cigarette. Kakashi could be damned stubborn sometimes, mired down by his own twisted logic. "I'm saying, Sasuke told us that Naruto changed when the red chakra took over. Naruto told you that the demon talked to him. He damn near did not come out of a coma and god knows how the hell he did." He inhaled some more of the pungent smoke, feeling the dark taste filter down into his lungs. "We know almost nothing about the seal, only the Fourth did. We know nothing of how the Nine-Tails and Naruto interacted to bring about that power. We just don't know enough to try to train Naruto to draw on the chakra of the demon, that is all."
"So you suggest we do nothing?" Kurenai narrowed her eyes, giving Asuma a look that sent a small shiver down his back. "We just keep watching him, to see when the seal will crack and take him out?"
Slowly tapping out the cigarette on the dirt floor, Asuma dropped his dark eyes to the fading embers, staring at the disappearing red glow. "No, not nothing. But there has to be another way. I refuse to see us doing something terribly wrong because we know too little and harming Naruto. And consider, what if the fox takes over the next time because we did something we weren't supposed to do? Do you want to risk consigning Konoha to the wrath of the Nine-Tails, most especially now, in the middle of a war?"
"What if, what if.." Kakashi sighed and stood, turning his back on his fellow officers. "Too many what ifs, and not enough action. For all we know, Naruto will call the fox on his own again and without some kind of training, it really will go out of control." He undid the seals on the tent, effectively signaling the end of this meeting. "There are many things that can happen, and most of it will be bad. But we don't have too many choices."
Kakashi left the tent, only leaving small dirt puffs wafting in the air to show that he was ever there. The other three remained crouched in a semi- circle, staring at the spot where Kakashi had been, considering his words against their own thoughts, trying to come to a conclusion.
--
TBC
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