-NARUTO-
-Mugen-
A/N:
There are filler parts in this chapter, to show what everybody else
is doing and thinking. Concentrating on the Yume nins and Naruto too
much tends to get repetitive. Thanks to everybody for reviewing!
Shikamaru sighed. He was in Chouji's hospital room, sitting down in a chair and staring at his rotund friend's dreaming expression.
"You'd just had to go into a coma, didn't you…" Shikamaru asked him, but he didn't answer. "If you wake up now, then all the girls would be chasing after you like that traitor…"
Again, there was no answer.
Shikamaru sighed, and thought back to the times when it was only he and Chouji. Those moments were so precious, and now everything seemed to progress so fast. A little event called the Chuunin exam changed both of their lives.
Shikamaru knew Chouji would pull through. It wasn't like the Akimichi to give up. It was just a question of when.
Stupid… You just had to take the red pill, didn't you…
Shikamaru leaned back in his chair and thought.
Maybe if I had been a better commander, then nothing would've happened. Neji would be fine, Sasuke would've been retrieved without the help of the Sand ninjas…
"It's not your fault." Ino said.
Shikamaru turned around. There she was.
"How do you know what I was thinking about?" Shikamaru asked. This was so troublesome.
"I know you." Ino said. "The expression on your face said everything."
The birds chirped as Ino pulled up a chair and sat down beside Shikarmaru. She took a get-well card and put it with the others on the wooden table.
They sat in comfortable silence, staring at the still form of their teammate, thoughts running through their heads. And without a word, they both knew.
They were weak. The entire team. Shikamaru and Chouji had been sent on the mission, but Shikamaru had to receive help and Chouji nearly died. Ino herself couldn't even go because she would've just been a burden…
It was time for a change.
"Hey, Shika." Ino said. The lazy genius turned his head to face her. "When Chouji wakes up… You want to help me pester Asuma-sensei about getting some additional training?"
"Yeah, sure." Shikamaru said. "But it had better not be troublesome though. Otherwise I'll just go cloud-watching or something."
They both knew he didn't mean it.
Elsewhere…
Sasuke sat up in his bed, staring out the window. He had just suffered through a few hours worth of interrogation, and he was feeling, even though he wouldn't admit it, slightly tired.
Why did that dobe have to bring him back…?
The more and more he thought of Naruto, the more and more guilty he felt. Guilt wasn't something an avenger should feel… But he was feeling it non-the-less. He had tried seriously to kill the young blonde Genin, yet he still had faith in him.
He brought him back to Konoha, and since he had arrived and woken up, he had been contemplating. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. They stood in his way, they stood between him and his ultimate goal, Itachi.
So why didn't he have the heart to remove those obstacles?
Why…?
"…I'm a friend." Naruto said, tears streaming down his cheeks. His eyes were slitted and red, and his whisker marks were bolder. His fingernails elongated into claws…
What exactly happened to the dobe, anyway?
That Chakra was monstruous… Unnatural. He had felt the same signal after Naruto had gotten onto that sand monster's body with the large frog, except at that time he was so far away he couldn't see him.
Why is the dobe so strong?
Naruto was the dead-last, and Sasuke was the genius, right? Naruto was an orphan, while Sasuke was part of the most powerful Bloodline Limit in the Leaf. Naruto was known as a failure of a ninja, and Sasuke was the choice of many to become Chuunin…
So how come the fox-boy had defeated him, in such a deadly battle?
It saddened him to hear the many well-wishers outside his door.
"That Uchiha is back, right?"
"Heard he ran out of the village or something, but he's back now."
"Why would he do that? Is it because of the fox-boy being on his team?"
"Probably, that Sandaime was a stupid old coot for putting such a powerful Bloodline with that monster."
"Yes… When do you think he'll get better?"
"He's an Uchiha, of course he'll get better soon. He's one of the most prized Bloodline in the Leaf! Maybe if they took the fox-boy out of his team…"
Sasuke felt no pride at hearing this. It saddened him. Were all the people in Konoha this stupid…?
Pursuing Orochimaru was something he had decided for himself… It wasn't Naruto's fault. (Naruto is the only other boy on Sasuke's team, so he knows.) In fact, wasn't it Naruto that had brought him back?
Was everybody in Konoha this ignorant?
He plopped back down onto the bed, intending to catch some shuteye, but the lights that streamed in from the windows made his job just a teensy bit hard.
Elsewhere…
Sakura was sitting on her bed, trying to study the scrolls that she had laid out in front of her.
When had Naruto become so strong?
She didn't realize it.
When did the gap between the team members become so… so… uncrossable…
She sighed. There was no way she could concentrate on studying scrolls now.
Now that she thought about it, did she ever thank him as he came through the gates of Konoha, carrying Sasuke's limp body over his shoulder? She had wanted to slap him, punch him, upon seeing the boy wonder lying so still and quiet. But when she had seen that the Uchiha was still breathing, she had completely ignored Naruto.
How did she miss that look of pain on his face as she just ignored him in place of Sasuke?
She didn't even ask if he was alright…
She hadn't even seen him for the past few weeks or so since Kakashi had cancelled the team meetings to do his own missions. How come, when Sasuke left, the team just fell apart?
She was feeling so guilty, she could die.
"Sakura! A messenger from the Hokage is here to see you! Something about a mission." Her mother called from downstairs. Sakura quickly went down.
"Are you alright, dear?" Her mother said as they met on the stairs. Sakura nodded.
Watching her little girl talking to the Chuunin shinobi out the front door, Haruno Yuuki couldn't help but wonder about her little girl... Then the one conclusion that came to all villagers also came to her.
It must be the Kyuubi-brat's fault.
Wasn't it amazing how ignorant the villagers were?
Sometime later…
Naruto turned around as he heard somebody come in through the doorway. It was Sakura. Naruto clenched his teeth. Sakura looked mildly uncomfortable as she sat down beside him. Naruto's attempts to be as far as possible from her didn't go unnoticed.
A team of Chuunin was already there, as well as a Jounin team. Sakura recognized practically none of these people.
They waited for a while, before the doorway in front of them opened up, and out stepped the Godaime, followed by the team from Yumegakure.
Naruto's eyebrow raised.
"Hey, hey. Baa-chan!" Naruto called out, just as Tsunade was about to speak. "What'd you call us here for?"
"I'm getting to that, brat!" Tsunade called, a vein throbbing in her temple at the mention of 'baa-chan'.
Cloud hid his amusement expertly. The Hokage of Konoha became almost a completely different person when with her younger brother.
"You have been chosen to be sent to the new shinobi village, Yumegakure, as temporary shinobi." Tsunade said. "I want no complaints. This is one of the terms we have agreed on. You will stay in Yumegakure for six months, and more if you wish. Understood?"
Each one of the shinobi nodded, and Naruto dared himself to ask a question.
"Hey, baa-chan!" Naruto called. The vein in Tsunade's temple returned. "Why me? I mean, I only got two people in my team right now…"
Tsunade grinned.
"Yumegakure will transfer one of its own Genins to you." The fifth explained. "Ramza Beoulve will be a part of your team from now on."
Naruto gave a surprised look, and Ramza stood there, embarrassed.
After the briefing was over, Naruto walked over to where Ramza stood.
"Hey, Ramza." Naruto said. "Did you ask to be transferred over to my team?"
"No, I think that's something that the Hokage decided for herself." Ramza said. "But I did recommend you for the mission, though. I'm sorry for acting without asking you first."
"It's no problem!" Naruto grinned. "I feel like I should get out of here for a few days anyway."
"Uh, you are aware it's going to be a few months instead of weeks." Ramza was almost afraid to ask.
"Of course I do!" Naruto grinned. "What kind of idiot do you think I am? Anyway, these weights that you picked out for me got lighter, so, what do I do now?"
Ramza was shocked.
"Already?" The young blonde asked. "Wow, you progress so fast. Well, I guess you should now trade in your weights for new ones."
"What? Trade in?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded. "You can do that?"
Ramza nodded, "You did keep them in perfect condition, right? Cause' otherwise…"
Naruto's anguished yell answered that.
"Man, sucks to have you leaving the team." Sora said, down. Ramza put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Don't worry, my new group will also be trained by Cloud-sensei, remember?" Ramza said. "So we'll still be seeing a lot of eachother."
Sora brightened up, "I guess so."
Yuna came over.
"If Ramza-san is going to another team, then who will fill up the empty space left behind?" Yuna asked. They turned their attentions towards their instructor, who they knew had been listening in.
Cloud sighed.
"I've already got it figured out. You two will be assigned a Genin who's had his teammates killed off in battle." Cloud said. "We've been searching for a new team for him recently, and we think he'll fit perfectly into this little group. Of course, he'll be a little depressed, but he'll snap out of it sooner or later."
Ramza was kind of mortified by his teacher talking about another ninja's life and death so easily. He quietly sneaked off, intending to go talk with Naruto.
"Who'll be assigned to us, sensei?" Yuna asked.
"Yeah! Who, who?" Sora exclaimed, curious.
"You two might know him…" Cloud drawled. "His name is Jecht Tidus."
Yuna's eyes widened.
A few days later…
Naruto finished packing up his things, and checked to see if he missed anything. Normally he wasn't so thorough, but this time he was going to another village for six months, so it was probably a good idea to check.
Once he was satisfied with everything, he quickly bounded out the door towards the entrance gates. The past few days had been great, he had found another friend, and had gained a chance to escape the village for a while.
Of course, he loved Konoha, but sometimes the villager's mutterings and cold glares really got to him, and recently it had been even worse. Probably a good idea to hide out in another village for some time until everything blew over.
The village gates came into view. He was slightly late.
"Where have you been?" Sakura called from her position. Naruto ignored her. They still weren't on speaking terms.
"Good morning, Uzumaki-san!" Ramza called, and Naruto replied instantly with a 'good morning' of his own. Sakura was hurt and confused at the interaction between the two.
He's being so nice to Naruto, even though they only met a few days ago… Complete opposite of me, I guess. I put down Naruto and did so many things that probably would've made him get mad if he was anyone else... I guess I deserve it.
But that didn't make it hurt any less.
"Alright, brat." Tsunade said. "Make sure to take care and don't make a fool out of yourself. Remember, you're representing the Hidden Leaf!"
"Hai, hai, Tsunade-baba." Naruto grinned. "I'll miss you too!"
Ramza just chuckled, Cloud sighed, Yuna giggled, Sakura smiled bitterly, and Sora beamed at finding another kindred soul. He resolved instantly to get to know this blonde ninja.
"Alright, go out there and make the Leaf proud." Tsunade said cheerily.
Naruto grinned sunnily, and the two groups of Gennin, one group of Chuunin, and one group of Jounin began their way towards the Hidden Dream.
A/N: Did you like it?
