Blah blah blah blah blah.
Chapter 4
Uchiha Sasuke, Chunin of the hidden leaf and recovering shinobi, walked out of his home just like he would on any normal day. The effects on the injuries he had sustained at the battle in the forest had seemingly failed to have any lasting ill effect on his body. If it were not for the bandages that covered certain portions of his body, it would seem that he wasn't injured at all. He walked down the street --alert, but disinterested in the things going on around him.
He had just been released from the hospital yesterday, a few hours after regaining consciousness. His injuries did not seem serious enough to justify him staying more then he already did, so after a quick check from the doctors and nurses, he was told that it would be alright for him to go home provided he take it easy for the next few days and just rest.
He had absolutely no intention of following that.
So here he was the very next morning, on his way to a stall that he frequented to get some food before he would head out to a training area to practice, that he came across something unusual.
Outside the ramen stand was a group of shinobi looking at something inside, it looked as if they were sizing up someone. The group consisted mostly of shinobi's who made Chunin after Sasuke. From a few steps away, he could hear them whispering to each other.
"Is that guy from the leaf?"
"I don't remember seeing a guy who looks like that here"
"He has a forehead protector.. he's from the leaf alright"
"Maybe he's a new Genin..."
"Well I'm sure he's not a Chunin, I've never seen him here before. He doesn't look like a Jounin either --too young."
"You think he's a spy or.... Sasuke-san!" the last one, a Chunin named Shigenobu Yokota exclaimed.
"Whets going on here?" Sasuke silently asked the gathered shinobi, staring at them each one of them in turn,
"Sasuke-san" said Shigenobu, "There's a suspicious individual inside. He's has a Konoha forehead protector but... none of us can remember seeing him here before."
"He doesn't have a vest, and he doesn't look like a Genin to me. Too old." added Tamura Kenoe, another new Chunin.
"With all the strange things that's been happening around here.. we thought it would be wise to follow him here, Sasuke-sempai." finished Shigenobu, looking down the ground in a gesture of respect towards Sasuke.
Sasuke listened carefully to the other shinobi's as they continued recanting their surveillance of the stranger. He was well aware of the strange thing that has been happening outside the walls of the village lately, his own team having had their own encounter with the mysterious attackers a few days ago. He parted the curtains of the ramen stand slightly to personally observe the individual, half listening and Tamura and Shigenobu as they continued their commentary on their surveillance of the individual.
He did a quick scan of the interior of the place. 'That must be him', he thought as a individual caught his attention. It wasn't hard not to, the place was rather small and the number of customers inside was rather minimal. From his vantage point, he could only see the persons back, but he already knew that Shigenobu and company's suspicions were valid; he didn't seem like a part of the leaf. 'The profile seems wrong. Better find out who and what his business here is.'
He turned towards the other shinobi's and formulated a plan. Confronting him inside was out of the question, as it might precipitate something unforeseen and lead to something worse. Cornered men are sometimes driven to do unusual things to try and save their skins, and a fight in close quarters with civilians was far from ideal. If it should come to a fight it would be better if they did it at the place and time of their choosing. Shinobi's prefer to fight in the shadows and take advantage of all advantages that they have.
In the blink of an eye, the gathered leaf nins vanished to take their positions.
**************
Inside, Uzumaki Naruto, former Genin and current special Jounin of the hidden leaf sighed as he finished up his dinner, searching the bottom of the bowl for the last strands of the noodle from his ramen. 'So many things has changed' he silently told himself. 'It seems that... even the taste of the Ramen has changed'
As a youth, he had frequented this ramen place. Taking the opportunity to dine here whenever the opportunity to presented itself, sometimes with Iruka-sensei... more often than not, alone.
'Not Iruka-sensei.. just Iruka from now on' he smiled as he remembered his earlier conversation with his former teacher over lunch. He had insisted that Naruto refer to him as just Iruka from now on. 'I have nothing left to teach you, Naruto-kun. It wouldn't be right for you to continue addressing me as sensei anymore.' he had said 'I'm proud of what you've become Naruto. I hope you believe that.'
With Iruka's words, Naruto felt that he had recovered a part of his past self. During his travels with Jeraiya he had constantly moved from place to place, surrounded by a sea of strangers and anonymous faces. As time moved on he found that the part of himself that was associated with the Leaf was slowly being buried. He didn't really notice this at first, he just woke up one day realizing that he was no longer fighting for the village-- to gain their respect and protect the ones important to him, he was just fighting for himself. And he was scared.
As his body grew, so did his relationship with the 9 tails. Jeraiya had once told him that the seal the 4th Hokage had placed his body had two functions: To seal the Kyubi inside him and to protect the vessel, which was him, by allowing the chakra of the 9-tails to mix with his own. Eventually it would reach a point where he would be able to integrate a part of himself with the 9-tails, a sort of commensualistic relationship between them. Jeraiya had thought him how to harness and control that almost limitless source of chakra.
It was after a certain run-in with Akatsuki, where Naruto's eyes had finally been opened to the situation he was in. It was after that battle when they had decided to finally head back to the hidden leaf. It was a particularly hard battle... their opponents being a pair S-class criminals from the cloud country. While Jeraiya was squaring off with one opponent, Naruto took care of the other. They were very skilled, and in the end, Naruto had been forced to seek out more Chakra from the 9-tails.
He almost lost it then.
He almost didn't make it back. He almost lost himself and let the bloodlust and the Kyubi take control. For a while, the Kyubi's lust for blood had taken control of his body, he had disposed of his and Jeraiya's opponent effortlessly and in a particularly gruesome manner, tearing them apart with his bare hands. Jeraiya had rescued him from himself after that... but barely. He shuddered at the memory, the desire to kill... the deep hunger for blood.
He could vividly remember when the kyubi took control of his body. His hopelessness as he watched himself butcher those cloud nin, tearing away his appendages then plunging his hands into his body then tearing it apart. He struggled hopelessly to gain control... grasping blindly for something.. anything to bring him back. He could hear Jeraiya desperately calling to him.. trying to bring him back. Mentioning names of his comrades... giving him a reason to come back. Sasuke, Sakura, Iruka, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune. He had mentioned them all... as he avoided the blood crazed kyubi's attack, unwilling to fight the kyubi head on, desperately avoiding having to fight his student and friend. The Naruto inside could hear him, trying to grasp the images those names invoked inside him. He couldn't... they were too far away.. too hazy.
He could see them all... so far away, fading into the walls of his mind. In the background Jeraiya was screaming various clans from the leaf... praying for something.. anything to click.
"...HYUGA!"
At the mention of the name, a image of Neji had appeared, but like the rest he was too vague.. too far away to grasp. As the image of this Neji started to fade away, a new image started to take form. The image of a woman with the same eyes, but short bluish hair. Unlike the others she approached him, when she was close enough, she bowed her head down and offered him a bottle of medicine, just like she did after his battle during the prelims for the Chunin finals.
He rushed to her and held her tight, unwilling to let go. He embraced the image and soon, tears started flowing from his eyes. He could not remember why exactly had had cried then, it had been a combination of a lot of things. The fear of being stuck like this forever, the feeling of being dirty after having your body being violated, the knowledge of just how alone he was, and relief. Relief from the fact that someone did come for him --that someone cared.
He continued crying until he felt a pair of arms encircled him, holding him tight. He looked up, eyes obscured by his tears, into Jeraiya's face. He had finally returned.
When he had finally returned to the village, he felt himself remembering those images from that day. His reunion Iruka, Tsunade, Kakashi and Shizune had been particularly bright, but there were some dark spots as well. A lot of villagers still looked at him with those cold eyes, Sakura had said nothing... looking at him like he was some sort of stranger. She... she had been asleep.
She.. Hyuga Hinata... he had never really noticed her before, and he didn't know what made his memory of her so strong. After that day, he had been thinking a lot of her. Trying to remember instances of any kind of interaction between them. There had been few, but now looking at them... they were happy memories. He hadn't paid a lot of attention to her, but she had never been anything buy kind to him. Seeing her in the forest had awaked feelings inside of him.. feelings he did not fully understand.
He was determined to know her... or get to thank her at the very least. A thank you for a lot of things. It would have to wait though; right now his concern was a place to rest. His old home had been uninhabited for more than 4 years now, and he didn't know what state it was in. Jeraiya was out of the question as well. No matter how high he looked at Jeraiya as a teacher and a friend, he wanted to build a life of his own here as well. He would have to visit his house tomorrow to make it livable... for now; he would have to settle in one of the village inns.
He looked at his empty bowl of ramen, knowing that it was time to leave. He had never been one to stay at one place idly while there were other things that needed to be done. Perhaps it had been a effect of his weird upbringing. His need to get away from those eyes as soon as possible. Slowly he stood up and put the backpack on his back, making sure that the huge scroll he was carrying was secured, walked out into the cool night.
After 4 years of being chased by the Akatsuki for some reason, Naruto had honed his instincts well. He could sense that someone had been watching and following him even since he left the ramen place. They had been following him even before then... at least 4 of them. He stopped and set his pack and scroll down on the ground. Just in case.
"Who are you and why are you following me?" Naruto called out. "If you're looking for a fight, attack now... if not, leave me alone."
Hidden in the trees, Sasuke had been shocked when he saw the strangers face. He wasn't a stranger at all, that is, if it was indeed him. He had to make sure. He jumped from his hiding place into plain view.
"Whets the password?" Sasuke called out.
'What password?" Shigenobu Yokota thought, surprised by Sasuke's question. It didn't make any sense. 'How will that help?' he wondered. He tensed almost expecting the stranger to attack, Sasuke could take care of himself, but if he should attack he would be ready to strike and join they fray.
Sasuke looked at the person before him, the person he hadn't seen for four years. Up close he was almost sure it was him, it made sense now. 'That frog in the forest, I should have realized it sooner.' Naruto looked at him for a while, before answering.
"I'm sorry Sasuke. I forgot the code-word", Naruto grinned.
Sasuke sighed, "It's been a while.. Naruto."
A/N:
Special thanks to ErichHansson and Bombadil Goh for you know what. =)
Chapter 4
Uchiha Sasuke, Chunin of the hidden leaf and recovering shinobi, walked out of his home just like he would on any normal day. The effects on the injuries he had sustained at the battle in the forest had seemingly failed to have any lasting ill effect on his body. If it were not for the bandages that covered certain portions of his body, it would seem that he wasn't injured at all. He walked down the street --alert, but disinterested in the things going on around him.
He had just been released from the hospital yesterday, a few hours after regaining consciousness. His injuries did not seem serious enough to justify him staying more then he already did, so after a quick check from the doctors and nurses, he was told that it would be alright for him to go home provided he take it easy for the next few days and just rest.
He had absolutely no intention of following that.
So here he was the very next morning, on his way to a stall that he frequented to get some food before he would head out to a training area to practice, that he came across something unusual.
Outside the ramen stand was a group of shinobi looking at something inside, it looked as if they were sizing up someone. The group consisted mostly of shinobi's who made Chunin after Sasuke. From a few steps away, he could hear them whispering to each other.
"Is that guy from the leaf?"
"I don't remember seeing a guy who looks like that here"
"He has a forehead protector.. he's from the leaf alright"
"Maybe he's a new Genin..."
"Well I'm sure he's not a Chunin, I've never seen him here before. He doesn't look like a Jounin either --too young."
"You think he's a spy or.... Sasuke-san!" the last one, a Chunin named Shigenobu Yokota exclaimed.
"Whets going on here?" Sasuke silently asked the gathered shinobi, staring at them each one of them in turn,
"Sasuke-san" said Shigenobu, "There's a suspicious individual inside. He's has a Konoha forehead protector but... none of us can remember seeing him here before."
"He doesn't have a vest, and he doesn't look like a Genin to me. Too old." added Tamura Kenoe, another new Chunin.
"With all the strange things that's been happening around here.. we thought it would be wise to follow him here, Sasuke-sempai." finished Shigenobu, looking down the ground in a gesture of respect towards Sasuke.
Sasuke listened carefully to the other shinobi's as they continued recanting their surveillance of the stranger. He was well aware of the strange thing that has been happening outside the walls of the village lately, his own team having had their own encounter with the mysterious attackers a few days ago. He parted the curtains of the ramen stand slightly to personally observe the individual, half listening and Tamura and Shigenobu as they continued their commentary on their surveillance of the individual.
He did a quick scan of the interior of the place. 'That must be him', he thought as a individual caught his attention. It wasn't hard not to, the place was rather small and the number of customers inside was rather minimal. From his vantage point, he could only see the persons back, but he already knew that Shigenobu and company's suspicions were valid; he didn't seem like a part of the leaf. 'The profile seems wrong. Better find out who and what his business here is.'
He turned towards the other shinobi's and formulated a plan. Confronting him inside was out of the question, as it might precipitate something unforeseen and lead to something worse. Cornered men are sometimes driven to do unusual things to try and save their skins, and a fight in close quarters with civilians was far from ideal. If it should come to a fight it would be better if they did it at the place and time of their choosing. Shinobi's prefer to fight in the shadows and take advantage of all advantages that they have.
In the blink of an eye, the gathered leaf nins vanished to take their positions.
**************
Inside, Uzumaki Naruto, former Genin and current special Jounin of the hidden leaf sighed as he finished up his dinner, searching the bottom of the bowl for the last strands of the noodle from his ramen. 'So many things has changed' he silently told himself. 'It seems that... even the taste of the Ramen has changed'
As a youth, he had frequented this ramen place. Taking the opportunity to dine here whenever the opportunity to presented itself, sometimes with Iruka-sensei... more often than not, alone.
'Not Iruka-sensei.. just Iruka from now on' he smiled as he remembered his earlier conversation with his former teacher over lunch. He had insisted that Naruto refer to him as just Iruka from now on. 'I have nothing left to teach you, Naruto-kun. It wouldn't be right for you to continue addressing me as sensei anymore.' he had said 'I'm proud of what you've become Naruto. I hope you believe that.'
With Iruka's words, Naruto felt that he had recovered a part of his past self. During his travels with Jeraiya he had constantly moved from place to place, surrounded by a sea of strangers and anonymous faces. As time moved on he found that the part of himself that was associated with the Leaf was slowly being buried. He didn't really notice this at first, he just woke up one day realizing that he was no longer fighting for the village-- to gain their respect and protect the ones important to him, he was just fighting for himself. And he was scared.
As his body grew, so did his relationship with the 9 tails. Jeraiya had once told him that the seal the 4th Hokage had placed his body had two functions: To seal the Kyubi inside him and to protect the vessel, which was him, by allowing the chakra of the 9-tails to mix with his own. Eventually it would reach a point where he would be able to integrate a part of himself with the 9-tails, a sort of commensualistic relationship between them. Jeraiya had thought him how to harness and control that almost limitless source of chakra.
It was after a certain run-in with Akatsuki, where Naruto's eyes had finally been opened to the situation he was in. It was after that battle when they had decided to finally head back to the hidden leaf. It was a particularly hard battle... their opponents being a pair S-class criminals from the cloud country. While Jeraiya was squaring off with one opponent, Naruto took care of the other. They were very skilled, and in the end, Naruto had been forced to seek out more Chakra from the 9-tails.
He almost lost it then.
He almost didn't make it back. He almost lost himself and let the bloodlust and the Kyubi take control. For a while, the Kyubi's lust for blood had taken control of his body, he had disposed of his and Jeraiya's opponent effortlessly and in a particularly gruesome manner, tearing them apart with his bare hands. Jeraiya had rescued him from himself after that... but barely. He shuddered at the memory, the desire to kill... the deep hunger for blood.
He could vividly remember when the kyubi took control of his body. His hopelessness as he watched himself butcher those cloud nin, tearing away his appendages then plunging his hands into his body then tearing it apart. He struggled hopelessly to gain control... grasping blindly for something.. anything to bring him back. He could hear Jeraiya desperately calling to him.. trying to bring him back. Mentioning names of his comrades... giving him a reason to come back. Sasuke, Sakura, Iruka, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune. He had mentioned them all... as he avoided the blood crazed kyubi's attack, unwilling to fight the kyubi head on, desperately avoiding having to fight his student and friend. The Naruto inside could hear him, trying to grasp the images those names invoked inside him. He couldn't... they were too far away.. too hazy.
He could see them all... so far away, fading into the walls of his mind. In the background Jeraiya was screaming various clans from the leaf... praying for something.. anything to click.
"...HYUGA!"
At the mention of the name, a image of Neji had appeared, but like the rest he was too vague.. too far away to grasp. As the image of this Neji started to fade away, a new image started to take form. The image of a woman with the same eyes, but short bluish hair. Unlike the others she approached him, when she was close enough, she bowed her head down and offered him a bottle of medicine, just like she did after his battle during the prelims for the Chunin finals.
He rushed to her and held her tight, unwilling to let go. He embraced the image and soon, tears started flowing from his eyes. He could not remember why exactly had had cried then, it had been a combination of a lot of things. The fear of being stuck like this forever, the feeling of being dirty after having your body being violated, the knowledge of just how alone he was, and relief. Relief from the fact that someone did come for him --that someone cared.
He continued crying until he felt a pair of arms encircled him, holding him tight. He looked up, eyes obscured by his tears, into Jeraiya's face. He had finally returned.
When he had finally returned to the village, he felt himself remembering those images from that day. His reunion Iruka, Tsunade, Kakashi and Shizune had been particularly bright, but there were some dark spots as well. A lot of villagers still looked at him with those cold eyes, Sakura had said nothing... looking at him like he was some sort of stranger. She... she had been asleep.
She.. Hyuga Hinata... he had never really noticed her before, and he didn't know what made his memory of her so strong. After that day, he had been thinking a lot of her. Trying to remember instances of any kind of interaction between them. There had been few, but now looking at them... they were happy memories. He hadn't paid a lot of attention to her, but she had never been anything buy kind to him. Seeing her in the forest had awaked feelings inside of him.. feelings he did not fully understand.
He was determined to know her... or get to thank her at the very least. A thank you for a lot of things. It would have to wait though; right now his concern was a place to rest. His old home had been uninhabited for more than 4 years now, and he didn't know what state it was in. Jeraiya was out of the question as well. No matter how high he looked at Jeraiya as a teacher and a friend, he wanted to build a life of his own here as well. He would have to visit his house tomorrow to make it livable... for now; he would have to settle in one of the village inns.
He looked at his empty bowl of ramen, knowing that it was time to leave. He had never been one to stay at one place idly while there were other things that needed to be done. Perhaps it had been a effect of his weird upbringing. His need to get away from those eyes as soon as possible. Slowly he stood up and put the backpack on his back, making sure that the huge scroll he was carrying was secured, walked out into the cool night.
After 4 years of being chased by the Akatsuki for some reason, Naruto had honed his instincts well. He could sense that someone had been watching and following him even since he left the ramen place. They had been following him even before then... at least 4 of them. He stopped and set his pack and scroll down on the ground. Just in case.
"Who are you and why are you following me?" Naruto called out. "If you're looking for a fight, attack now... if not, leave me alone."
Hidden in the trees, Sasuke had been shocked when he saw the strangers face. He wasn't a stranger at all, that is, if it was indeed him. He had to make sure. He jumped from his hiding place into plain view.
"Whets the password?" Sasuke called out.
'What password?" Shigenobu Yokota thought, surprised by Sasuke's question. It didn't make any sense. 'How will that help?' he wondered. He tensed almost expecting the stranger to attack, Sasuke could take care of himself, but if he should attack he would be ready to strike and join they fray.
Sasuke looked at the person before him, the person he hadn't seen for four years. Up close he was almost sure it was him, it made sense now. 'That frog in the forest, I should have realized it sooner.' Naruto looked at him for a while, before answering.
"I'm sorry Sasuke. I forgot the code-word", Naruto grinned.
Sasuke sighed, "It's been a while.. Naruto."
A/N:
Special thanks to ErichHansson and Bombadil Goh for you know what. =)