Edit Notes: April 24, 2005
Hello again people. Just a few minor tweaks in this chapter. Just changed the name of the Sorakage to Hogumo Takuma from Hogumo Mizuki since I feel that Mizuki is a name already used in the Naruto world. A name which is not really good in my opinion considering his character in the story.
Well, I think that's the most significant change in this Episode.
End of Edit Notes
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If you ever thought I did, then you must be still in the dream world –laughs-
Author's Note: Hello again minna! I was fairly surprised that I got a review already for a short amount of time. –big grin-
So now, to answer the reviews:
Metalicgal – Thanks for reviewing Metalicgal! Also, thanks for pointing out the color of the Chidori. I thought it was yellow when I first saw it used by Sasuke against Gaara in the Chuunin Exams. My bad…
Yeah I made OC's (original characters) since the story will now take a different turn of events. I just used the part where Sasuke left as a starting point in order to establish a beginning for the story. The fact that they are there is that I would like to introduce other characters into the story and make them interact with the original cast of Naruto without changing anything of the personalities of the original cast.
Again, thank you for thinking the story is nice.
element4life – Thanks for reading the story element4life! I'm glad that you think it's nice!
And as a reminder, as for indications of speech: "plain speech" Character Speech "italic speech" thoughts "bold italic speech" are Kyubi's or other demons, boss summons, or huge monsters "bold text" Jutsu done in battle
Well, that's it for the reviews. Let's get on with Episode 2! –smiles-
Episode 2: Arrival of a new Shinobi! The Kaitsuu-shitsuke Taijutsu!
Sakura woke up with bags from beneath her eyes, an obvious sign from lack of sleep and crying. Just yesterday, Naruto came back to the village with Sasuke. Mixed emotion swelled up in her. Happiness and relief from seeing her beloved back to her and the other is of shock and concern for Naruto, who fell from an apparent wound on his chest.
"This wound… This is from the Chidori… This is bad! We have to hurry or we might loose Naruto!"
Those words echoed in her mind. She could not comprehend the situation, the Chidori, Sasuke's technique, marking and threatening the life of Naruto. She hugged her knees in front of her chest and starts to sob, staining her knees with tears.
From the main gates of Konoha, two figures started to emerge from the forest, a boy and an adult male. The adult male seems to be in the late 30's with silver hair, fair skin, wears a white coat seeming to be of some animal fur, and baggy-pants that seem to be cut-off and tied five inches below the knee. The boy however wears a black shirt which was topped by a red flack jacket with no indication of ninja rank, a cargo baggy pants and a pair of unconventional foot wear which seems to be composed of rubber and leather. Bandages were also present on the boy's arms covering his hands up to his fore arms.
The chuunin guarding the gate halted the two and asks for their passports which the older of the two hurriedly show. Upon receiving the passport, the chuunin examined them carefully and after verifying that they are indeed original, let them enter the village.
As the two trekked the village, awe was ever present on the boy beside him, always marveling at the shops and restaurants along the way, the occasional parks, and even the houses of the villagers. It is all new to the boy that his brain is at non-stop gathering of information.
"Never been to a village like this huh Kinjiro?" the man asked his apprentice with a chuckle along his tone.
The awe-struck kid could only nod at his sensei with open mouth.
Slowly trudging the ground, Sakura is still in a trance-like state when she got out of her house. Her body seemed to set onto going somewhere but her mind is apparently not.
"I need to leave the village Sakura… I need to become strong to defeat my brother… To avenge my clan…"
Those words kept playing back on her mind.
"You really like Sasuke huh? Don't worry! I promise… I'll bring him back to you Sakura-chan! It's the promise of a Life-Time!"
And then again.
"I'm back Sakura-chan… I kept my promise…"
The same words uttered by his two friends kept playing back and forth on her mind. She couldn't understand Sasuke's decision. True, she knew he wanted to become strong to kill his brother, but the idea of having Orochimaru involved is somewhat already stupid if not downright dumb.
The other thing that kept plaguing her mind was that she fully believes that it was her fault Naruto is in his condition right now. If she had not asked him to bring back Sasuke, then he wouldn't be suffering this way.
Still in her trance-like manner, Sakura didn't notice that there was another person in front of her. The result is a collision between the two of them which sent Sakura on her behind on the ground.
In the hospital, a woman with a blonde hair is seen asleep. Her head laying on top of a bed which seem to contain a certain blonde individual with tubes and various devices attached to his body to measure everything that needs to be focused on.
With a tap on her shoulder, the woman finally and slowly came to. A warm smile greeted her on her wake.
"Tsunade… You better go and rest back at the Hokage Tower. It is not healthy for you to stay here and worry…" a man with silver hair and two red markings lining down both his cheeks said, a warm smile across his face.
She looked at the man in front of her and returned him a warm smile of her own. "Jiraiya… I was just taking a nap. Naruto is finally out of danger!" She said almost exclaiming, an apparent brightness in her mood.
Jiraiya's face seemed to brighten much more at the news. Relief wiped away the worry that was present from a while ago. Jiraiya then moved closer to Naruto and examined him. He certainly looked better than yesterday. "I am glad to hear that Tsunade. But you should go back to the tower. There is a lot of work that is needed to be done in there."
Tsunade gave Jiraiya a disapproving nod. "No… I've canceled all my appointments for today. Today, I will stay by his side till tomorrow. Just to see if he is doing well and if everything is according to what it should be."
Jiraiya smirked at that comment. "Heh! You care too much for this boy. He has no talent you know, most of his jutsus are flawed, he is a loudmouth, stubborn, and most of all…"
"He's my brother…" Tsunade finished the statement with a serious look on her face. Jiraiya couldn't help but smirk because of this and understands completely what she meant. They are not really blood related so the both of them cannot be real brothers and sisters. But then again, a bond between Naruto and Tsunade was made during their search for her to become the 5th Hokage. And with this bond, Tsunade treasures Naruto as her own little brother. There is no way that Jiraiya can separate him from Tsunade, even if he tried.
Taking a chair from a wall, Jiraiya pulled the chair and placed it close beside Naruto's bed. "So… What about the others? Will they be okay too?" he asked while examining Naruto more.
"They are all fine. Most of them are out of harms way. My other concern was Rock Lee who has the highest chance of getting injured since he just got back from operation. Good thing that he didn't outdo himself this time." Tsunade uttered while checking various equipments around Naruto.
Jiraiya chuckled at her comment which made her turn towards her. Seeing her puzzled look, Jiraiya uttered; "Heh! He's been treated by the best medic-nin in the whole world. What could possibly go wrong?"
And with that, Tsunade smiled.
Sakura was now trying to stand up from her fall. Just then, a hand lay in front of her offering her assistance. "I'm sorry miss! I didn't see you there!" the owner of the hand spoke with obvious concern.
Sakura took the hand and it slowly lifted her up to her feet. Standing, Sakura eyed her helper from foot to face. "Shoulder black hair, fair skin, a fit body for a fight, and interesting attire. He is handsome but not as handsome as my Sasuke-kun." Those are the thoughts that registered in her mind. "No… I'm sorry… I was the one not paying attention…" she explained while bowing her head in apology.
"No! No! It's my fault really! I am sorry…" the boy argued while bowing his head in apology to Sakura.
Sakura smiled at his gentleman manner. "Then apology is accepted."
The boy then resumed his standing position and smiled back at Sakura. Just then, she remembered that she was to go somewhere. "Oh! I almost forgot, I'm in a hurry to go to the hospital!" And with that, she bowed to the boy once again and rushed towards to the hospital. The boy then smiled and waved at her farewell.
"Oh dang! I forgot to ask her name!" he stammered under his breath mentally sighing.
A voice then suddenly called him out of his situation. "Oi! There you are Kinjiro! I thought I lost you back there!"
"Oh… I'm sorry Hogumo-sensei! I think I wandered away from you from watching the houses." Kinjiro uttered in apology as he bows his head to his master.
"Nah! Nevermind that! Come, we need to meet with the Hokage to finalize your citizenship here in this village." Hogumo uttered while pointing to the Hokage Tower.
"Hai!" Kinjiro replied with excitement and anticipation.
An hour later, Sakura has arrived, entered the hospital and is now in front of a room door. She slowly knocks on the door.
"Come on in…" a mature female's voice beckons her from the inside.
Sakura gasps in amazement. "A woman…! In Naruto's room…!"
Clearly taken a back by the woman's voice, Sakura however pushed the thought to the back of her head and continued on opening the door. What she saw shocked her more that she watched the woman standing in front of her for quite a while.
"Hello. You must be Haruno Sakura. Naruto's teammate." the woman uttered in a warm yet authoritative voice.
"H-Hai…! Hokage-sama!" Sakura replied in a hurry, snapping out of her trance.
Tsunade then looked at Sakura once more and gave her a warm smile. She beckoned Sakura to move beside her. "So… You've come to visit Naruto… I'm happy that he has friends like you Sakura."
Sakura slowly moves towards Naruto's bed and looks at him. He examined him from head to toe and saw different devices attached to him. She looked at Tsunade with a look that asked how he is doing.
Taking the queue, Tsunade smiled at her and explained. "He's out of danger now Sakura, you don't have to worry. But he'll stay unconscious for at least another day since he spent almost all his chakra during the battle with Sasuke."
With the notice of the name, Sakura looked down on the floor and kept silent.
Tsunade then moved to sit back at a chair and looked at Sakura once more. "He is also fine Sakura. A couple of broken bones, but nonetheless, Sasuke will be fine. The only problem is, you can't see him like Naruto for he is in room arrest." her voice firm and exerting authority.
"But…" Sakura uttered but was cut-off by Tsunade.
"Sakura… You know well why he was brought back here by Naruto. He wanted to come to Orochimaru. That alone is already considered to be an act of treason. We need to question him about it so until we do, he is off-limits to anyone but me and the ANBU." Tsunade uttered while taking her visions back at Naruto, obvious vexation marks her face but she hid it from Sakura. "And if it was I that would be the one to have my way, I'll banish that Uchiha even if he is the last of his blood from this village… But then Naruto… Naruto believes… Naruto believes in Sasuke…"
Sakura just continued to look down on the floor with sadness marking her face. She was about to cry when a hand patted her on the back.
"Now Sakura, please don't be sad. You will get to see Sasuke. Maybe in a couple of days! When he wakes up, I'll notify you immediately so that you can visit him, after we question him that is." Tsunade said while patting Sakura's back to sooth her sadness.
Sakura brightened by those words and looked at Tsunade. She then smiled and bowed her head to the 5th.
"Well, as much as I want you to stay Sakura, Naruto still has to rest. I'm really sorry but you have to go. I'm the one who personally is looking after Naruto so I'll send for you if Naruto has fully recovered." Tsunade uttered while putting her hands on Sakura's shoulder.
Sakura understood and bowed to the 5th Hokage. Tsunade then accompanied Sakura to the door. "Now remember, take care of yourself and don't cry too much. You'll ruin your pretty face." Tsunade said with a warm smile on her face. Sakura's face smiled at the 5th's praise with a hint of blush on her cheeks.
As Tsunade opens the door, two figures appeared in front of her. A man with a silver hair and boy with shoulder black hair stood before Tsunade and Sakura.
"Ho- Hokage-sama?" the silver haired man inquired.
Tsunade nods in agreement and looks at the man questioningly, beckoning him to continue his introductions.
"My name is Takuma, Hogumo. I am a jounin from the Hidden Village of the Sky. I am here to offer an alliance treaty between the leaf and the sky." Hogumo stated as he bows his head in front of Tsunade.
"The Hidden Village of the Sky…! I've heard of it. It is a new founded village but the ANBU scouts said that it houses very powerful shinobis and clans. Leaf might benefit from this treaty…" Tsunade thought.
"Very well then, since this is of importance then I will make an excuse. Though, I'm monitoring the health of my brother since he's been injured in a mission so would you mind if we discuss this matter here in the hospital?" Tsunade inquired to Hogumo.
"Ah… The Hokage of Leaf is such a nice and caring person… But a brother? I never heard she still had one. I thought her brother died a long time ago…"
A smile appeared from the lips of Hogumo. "Ofcourse not…! Any place convenient to the Hokage is good with me!" Hogumo replied with a warm smile on his face.
"Hmm… Such a nice, polite, and gentle person… This is interesting…" Tsunade then opened the door more to allow Hogumo to enter. "Then please come in… Let us discuss the matter inside."
Hogumo then turns around and looks at his apprentice. "You can sight see the village Kinjiro. But don't get lost you hear! I'll be waiting for you here in the hospital. You have 3 hours." Hogumo smiled as he addressed his apprentice.
"Hai! Arigato Hogumo-sensei!" Kinjiro replied with glee on his face.
"Oh… Sakura, would you care to escort Kinjiro around the village? Consider this a D – Rank mission." Tsunade uttered while giving Sakura a wink and a smile.
Sakura nodded and smiled back at Tsunade who then closed the door.
Inside, Tsunade and Hogumo walk towards Naruto's bed. Hogumo looks at him and asked; "Is he your brother?"
Tsunade gave a nod and proceeded to check things and finally turns around towards Hogumo. "So, what are the terms of the treaty…?"
Sakura then looks at the boy in front of her. There was an obvious resemblance about him that she couldn't quite grasp.
"Say… Aren't you the girl from before? The one I bumped into on the street?" Kinjiro inquired.
An obvious realization came upon Sakura. He was indeed the one she bumped onto just a while ago.
"I'm sorry again from earlier… Sakura-san…" Kinjiro uttered while deeply bowing in front of Sakura.
"Don't worry about it. I've already forgiven you right?" Sakura replied while giving him a smile.
Kinjiro then straighten himself, faces Sakura, and smile. "Arigato…!"
"So, shall we go on with the village tour?" Sakura inquired gesturing Kinjiro the exit to the hospital.
"Hai!" he replied with excitement.
After two hours of walking and talking, the two had almost come by the most important places in the village. Parks, shops, and monuments were the places they visited and Sakura explains their significance to the village. Kinjiro was having so much fun looking around that he didn't realize the time. Stopping by the park, the two sat down on a free bench to relax.
"So… Who was the Hokage's brother?" Kinjiro inquired while looking at the birds that came down on the ground pecking food.
"His name is Naruto… He is my teammate in the genin exams. Though, I never knew he and the Hokage are related…" Sakura answered while scratching her chin thinking.
"Oh… So is he your boyfriend then?" Kinjiro inquired playfully as he looks at Sakura.
Sakura blushed at Kinjiro's sudden outburst. "N- No… He's not my boyfriend… He's just my teammate. Besides, there is another one I like…" Sakura halted immediately realizing she is speaking something that she will regret.
Too bad, Kinjiro caught on. His smile was now wide on his face. "Sooo… There is another person!" Kinjiro playfully suggested.
Sakura turned red at Kinjiro's playful manner. She was about to defend her side when a voice suddenly snapped both of them to attention.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" the voice yelled from a far.
Sakura immediately recognized the voice and already felt she was going to faint.
Kinjiro looked on to where the voice is coming from. "Hey! Someone is coming Sakura-san. Another admirer of yours eh? He looks… Green…"
And with that, the world seemed to crash down of Sakura. In record time, the green figure arrived in front of the two.
"Sakura-chan… How are you?" the boy in a green tight suit asked. His eyes complete with hearts.
"Lee-san! What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in the hospital too right?" Sakura asked with slight disgust marked on her face.
Too bad for her, Lee didn't pay attention on her facial expression. "Well, my injuries were minimal so I was released today. Besides, there's nothing that can keep this 'Genius of Hard-work' down! I'm like a phoenix that rose from the ashes to be reborn again!" ending his speech with a nice-guy pose.
Sakura is cornered. She looks at Kinjiro for help but saw him chuckling to himself. Sakura gave Kinjiro a death glare which abruptly froze Kinjiro on his feet. Lee noticed that Sakura is glaring in another direction thus making Lee turn to where she was looking.
"And who are you?" Lee inquired looking at Kinjiro with puzzled expression.
Kinjiro snapped out of his trance and looked at Lee. "Oh! Sorry for my manners… I am Uehara Kinjiro. I'm from the Hidden Village of the Sky." he uttered while extending a hand towards Lee.
"That was fast… Naruto and Sasuke usually take time to recover from my death glare. This guy certainly has manners and composure. But not as good like my Sasuke." Sakura thought with a smile on her face.
Lee suddenly came to a realization. He looks at Kinjiro from head to foot which made him look back in confusion. Only problem is, Lee's realization is far from the truth…
"Y- You…! You're courting Sakura-chan!" Lee pointed at Kinjiro with shock on his face.
Sakura blushed at Lee's outburst which didn't do well as it only fueled Lee's jealousness. Lee stood there looking at the ground. "It's hard enough a have Sasuke as my rival for Sakura's heart. Now I have someone else to compete with…"
Lee then faces Kinjiro seriously, anger marking his face as he pointed towards him. "You! I challenge you for the right to date Sakura-chan! It's already enough that I have Sasuke as a rival for her heart" he roared, complete with all the comic explosions and flames around Lee.
Sakura nearly fainted on sight while Kinjiro panicked.
"W- Wait! This is a misunderstanding! Please let us talk it out!" Kinjiro pleaded with Lee. Both his hands clasped together in front of him.
But Lee was stubborn. He already paced himself in front of Kinjiro. He took his stance, left hand behind the back and right hand in-front the palm facing the sky. "First clean hit wins."
Lee then disappears only to appear on Kinjiro's right. "Dang…! He's fast!" Kinjiro thought to himself. Lee then delivers a horizontal kick aimed at Kinjiro's face. Without much option, Kinjiro blocks the kick with his right forearm. Though blocked, the sheer force of Lee's kick sent Kinjiro skidding to the back. "Not only is he fast, he's quite powerful too..."
"He's good… His reflex is fast and his forearm took and absorbed the blow." Lee thought.
Lee stood once again and took on his stance. This time however, Kinjiro took on a stance. His left hand stretched in front of him with the five fingers spread, his right hand curved into a winding punch with closed fist, his weight shifted on the center of his gravity with legs spread and crouched a little, and his eyes emitting extreme seriousness.
Sakura could only look on. This fight is getting out of hand. She wanted to end this before neither of them gets hurt. But then, inner Sakura was shouting inside her head saying that this is a great thing. Two people fighting for the one they love. The fact that Kinjiro was dragged into this was never mentioned or given much attention though.
In another burst of speed, Lee disappears once again and reappeared this time on Kinjiro's left side delivering a kick to the back of his head. The left side was Kinjiro's blind side since his body is shifted to the right or so he thought.
With a swift movement, Kinjiro parries Lee's kick with his left arm. In a blur, Kinjiro shifted his weight to the left warding off Lee's kick to create a split second opening for a counter attack. Though, Kinjiro's eyes suddenly widened and abruptly stopped for a millisecond which proved to be a crucial mistake. Using Kinjiro's parry, Lee spins in a clockwise motion to send another kick right into Kinjiro's face. The attack connected thus sending Kinjiro crashing on the ground.
Gasp escaped Sakura's mouth. She was released from her trance state caused by inner Sakura. She immediately halted Lee and smacked him hard on the head. Lee crouched in pain.
"Why…? Why Sakura-chan…? I won and then why did you choose him over me…?" Lee asked in tears while grasping his head which a lump started to appear.
"Baka…!" Sakura yelled at Lee. "He's from the Hidden Village of the Sky and his sensei is here to sign a treaty with Leaf! I just met him a while ago and the Hokage sent me with him on a mission to tour the village!"
"Uh-oh…!"
Rock Lee immediately ran towards the laying figure of Kinjiro. His face marked with worry. "I think I overdid it…" His face was soon marked with relief when he sees Kinjiro moving and trying to stand up. Lee then offers his hand to Kinjiro which he accepted with a smile. Lee pulled Kinjiro up to his feet.
"I'm sorry… I got… Carried away…" Lee bowed apologetically.
Kinjiro just laughed. "Nah…! Don't worry about it! Nothing is broken. Say… What is that Taijutsu?" Kinjiro inquired the bowing Lee.
Lee straightened himself up and looks at Kinjiro. "It's called Tekken-Fu, a Konoha TaiJutsu."
"Wow! Cool!" Kinjiro said in awe as he examines Lee.
Lee gave a smile to Kinjiro and then asked; "Well, yours is not bad yourself. What is it called?"
"Kaitsuu-shitsuke..." Kinjiro replied with a warm smile. "It is also a Taijutsu that our village created."
"Rock Lee…" Lee commented as he offers his right hand to Kinjiro who immediately accepted it and shook.
"Uehara Kinjiro…"
The two then gazed and smiled warmly at each other.
"Well, I got to go now. I still need to train. I'll see you some time. I hope you like our village!" Lee bowed and took off in a run.
Lee is now gone from their sight. "Cool fellow!" Kinjiro uttered while Sakura started walking towards him.
"Cool…? Don't you mean stupid and odd?" Sakura stared at him dumbfounded.
Kinjiro just smiled at her. "Well, he obviously has a crush on you."
"Ack! You don't need to remind me." Sakura replied with disgust in his face.
"So… You would rather have Sasuke then?" Kinjiro inquired with an evil grin on his face.
"Uh-oh…! Busted…!" At this, Sakura blushed in deep crimson.
Lee ran along his training spot and set-up to train for the day. Remembering his fight with Kinjiro a while ago, he smiled. "Kaitsuu-shitsuke… Uehara Kinjiro…"
And with that, he started his training with renewed vigor.
End of Episode 2
Author's Note: There it is guys! I hope you like this chapter too. Like what I have said before, I'll be taking the story into a whole new twist. New characters, missions, and ofcourse, villains
So till next time, take care you all!