Sorry for not updating sooner. I still love Naruto, but I've lost interest in this fic. I will finish it, though. I've come too far to quit in my opinion. ^_^
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
In his room, Naruto locked the door and threw himself onto his bed. He was still crying, the tears streaming down his face to choke him and soak his pillow.
Shit...why am I crying like this?! I never used to cry!! I never used to feel sorry for myself!! the boy screamed at himself. Why the hell am I shedding tears like a two-year-old?! Like a kid who's lost his damn favorite toy!
But you did lose something, another part of his mind told him. You've lost your purity, and—
Crap! I know that!
Then why do you wonder why you cry?
Naruto untied his hitai-ate with shaking hands, the hot tears blinding his already-distorted vision.
You're mad at Ryuuchi Kyote, ne?
Naruto clenched his fists. He hadn't meant to punch or yell at Kyote; he really hadn't. But the fact that the teenager knew and did nothing enraged him. Naruto remembered seeing red, and—wham!—the next thing he knew, Kyote was on the ground with a bloody mouth. No. I'm mad at myself for punching him. The blond haired boy buried his face in his pillow, his sobs almost suffocating him. God...Kyote'll never forgive me... He tasted blood in his mouth for the umpteenth time. Never...
Naruto wiped his mouth with a hand, wincing at how much blood had rubbed off onto his palm. Shit. What if I'm too weak to compete in the final tournament tomorrow?!
He suddenly felt dizzy and sick. Don't think about it...
Squeezing his cerulean eyes shut, Naruto slowly fell into a disturbed sleep. He had forgotten that the demon fox was still watching him.
Watching and waiting for the opportune moment.
****
"Naruto? Oy, Naruto, wake up!"
"H-huh...?" The blond genin groggily opened his eyes, instantly scowling before he was fully awake. "What the hell are you doing in my room, Sasuke?"
"Kakashi-sensei wanted me to find out why you weren't up yet." Sasuke went to the window and looked out. "You coming?"
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto rolled into a sitting position, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Noticing the Uchiha boy's gaze in his direction, Naruto lashed out irritably. "What?" he hissed.
Sasuke came to stand before the shorter genin, his hands going to the torn orange jacket. "What happened to you?"
Naruto suddenly realized that he'd forgotten to change into his pajamas last night. He also realized that his clothes were still stained with blood and tears, as was his face.
"N-nothing happened!" the blond haired boy snapped. "I was just out late training by myself, that's all!" He jerked away from Sasuke's touch. "Get out of here and let me change, bakayaro!"
"All right, all right, I'm going. Touchy, aren't you." Watching Naruto quizzically, Sasuke backed out of the room.
****
"Ohayo, Naruto," Natsuko, the Ryuuchi twins' mother, greeted him as he entered the kitchen. "Ready for the final round of the tournament today?"
Naruto nodded absently. "Ohayo." He took his place at the table and mechanically began to eat, barely tasting the food he swallowed. He ignored Sasuke's, Hikaru's, and Sakura's questioning gazes and avoided Kyote's empathetic glances, keeping his eyes fixed on the tabletop. Kakashi seemed too caught up in his Make Out Paradise to care, but Shinzuko was watching Naruto triumphantly.
The door at the end of the room suddenly opened, admitting a girl who looked to be about twelve years old. Kyote looked up in relief.
"Takara!" he exclaimed. "When did you get back?"
"Just now. Good morning, Kaasama, Hikaru, Shinzuko." Takara joined the others at the table. "Good morning, Team Seven."
The others greeted her accordingly.
Naruto glanced at the girl and his eyes widened. Takara strongly resembled Sakura, except for the fact that she had bluish hair and black eyes, and looked to be more of a tomboy. She wore a gray vest over a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, black pants, black sports gloves, armbands (Sasuke style), and had a pair of shuko dangling from her belt. The girl's headband was tied around her left bicep.
If Naruto had been in his right mind, he would have immediately thought of her as hot. As it was, he was too preoccupied with self-pity to care. He barely heard Takara explain the reason for her absence; she had been in training with the Hawk Family for quite some time.
The meal continued, with the others occasionally remarking on the strategies they'd employ against the Wolf Family cell later that day. Through it all, Naruto said not a word.
He was hugely relieved when he could finally leave, and spent most of the morning working on several chakra drills Kyote had taught him.
****
"For the final round," the referee was saying, "there will be three tests. One person from each team will participate, but no one is allowed to participate either twice or not at all. The first test is of speed, the second is of marksmanship, and the third is of chakra endurance."
"Déjà vu," Kyote muttered. "We did something like this back at Konohagakure."
Sakura nodded. "So who's doing what? This could be a problem deciding..."
But it was Kakashi's turn to decide. "Sasuke is the fastest, Sakura the most accurate, and Naruto the most resilient. Problem solved."
Stunned at his quick thinking, Team Seven just stared at the white haired jounin as he looked out over the sparring field. Shinzuko smirked. Kyote sighed.
"If both teams are ready, the speed test can begin!" The referee glanced in Team Seven's direction.
Sasuke got to his feet and walked forward.
"Good luck, Sasuke!" Sakura couldn't resist calling after him.
Naruto crossed his arms and sat back to watch.
"Begin!" the referee shouted. And begin they did.
Sasuke's opponent was small but wiry, and every bit as fast as the Uchiha boy. Even with two knife shuriken deftly blocking and striking, the black haired boy was hard put to keep up.
"You can do it, Sasuke!" Sakura called.
Naruto sank lower onto the grass. It suddenly occurred to him that this was the first time during the tournament that Sakura had actually yelled encouragement to Sasuke.
Ordinarily, she would have screamed herself hoarse, he noted. I wonder what's up?
A collective gasp, and then a concerted exhalation came from the watching crowd. Sitting bolt upright, Naruto glanced at Sakura.
"What'd I miss?"
The rose haired girl smirked. "The short kid lost. Sasuke won."
"Ah."
The referee's voice rang out. "The winner, Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha Village!"
"Way to go, Sasuke!"
Ignoring Sakura's shouts, Naruto crossed his legs, irked that he hadn't been watching. Sakura rose to take her place in the marksmanship competition.
Two targets had been set up on the field. Sakura and her opponent, a tall boy of a sullen disposition, stood two meters before them. Each took turns, alternately throwing star shuriken and knife ones toward the targets. Naruto watched with pure interest. They were both evenly matched.
The tall boy sent a blade spinning for the bull's-eye. So did Sakura. It soon became apparent that they were too close to the target, so the referee moved them a meter back. Still, there was no change in the score. Naruto was getting bored.
"They call this a competition?" he muttered.
"Be quiet, Naruto," Sasuke retorted.
Making a face in the Uchiha boy's direction, Naruto turned back to the field. Sakura was just about to loose a star shuriken from her finger when the blond haired boy noted that her finger jerked abruptly. The girl loosed the shuriken too soon...and it hit the target far from the bull's-eye.
"No!" the Uzumaki boy cried, jumping to his feet.
Sakura stared in shock for a moment and almost burst into tears. But remembering that Sasuke was watching, she quickly composed herself and rejoined her team. "Sorry, guys."
"You did well," Kakashi told her, his voice genuinely proud. Sakura blushed crimson.
It was Naruto's turn for the endurance test. Ordinarily, he would have been bursting with chakra, overeager to get on the field. But this time, he went reluctantly. His mind was still on Kyote and Shinzuko, as much as he hated to admit.
He was slightly surprised when he saw that he faced a girl for the test. Kami-sama...he thought as the referee told the rules. If I lose...
"Begin!" the referee interrupted. The watching crowd instantly went silent.
Naruto knew what he had to do. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he concentrated all his chakra into them, and the girl did the same. Both flew up into the sky...but Naruto had done so first.
"Team Seven wins test one!" the referee called.
After the two had landed on the ground, the second test began.
"Both contestants must make the signs for a defensive spell. Any thing can be used, except for the seven techniques of the Ryuuchi clan!"
Tiger! Ox! Naruto's fingers moved almost clumsily as he made the signs for one of the techniques Kyote had taught him. With a blinding flash and loud explosion, the blond haired boy was momentarily surrounded by a glowing shield, which vanished as soon as he stopped concentrating on it.
"Deflection," Kyote noted with admiration in his voice. "He learned that one faster than I thought."
The girl did a similar technique—except it was both an attack and a defensive maneuver. Naruto scowled in frustration as the third test was announced.
"Each contestant must sign and correctly execute one of the seven signature moves of the Ryuuchi clan's families. Venom of the Cobra, Shield of the Ox, Stealth of the Wolf, Deluge of the Dolphin, Wings of the Hawk, Claws of the Tiger, and Chains of the Dragon."
"This...could be a problem, Kakashi muttered to himself.
"Go!" the referee was shouting.
Naruto knew what technique he wanted to do—Wings of the Hawk. He shut his eyes and concentrated all his chakra into his arms. Bringing his hands before his face, he made double signs of the Hawk. An incredible rush of power rushed through him, he felt himself grow lighter, and he knew he was going to fly.
Only for a moment, unfortunately.
Naruto.
The boy's eyes jerked open for a second, and he forced them closed. Not now! he growled. Leave me alone, fox!
Remember when you said that, if I gave you the energy for you to beat Nonaka and to keep him from getting Sasuke, then you'd set me free?
His concentration broken, Naruto felt helpless as he remembered.
~Flashback~
"Sasuke!" Weak from using most of his chakra, Naruto could barely raise his head, but when he saw the trouble his teammate was in, an unusual power surged through him. And a familiar voice spoke in his ear.
Do you need any help, Naruto?
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. The blond haired genin scowled. Go away, he mentally replied, obviously not in the mood to argue with the demon fox.
But you want to help your friend Sasuke, do you not?
I'm busy now...could you bother me later? Under any other circumstances, Naruto would have laughed as he thought this. And he's not my friend!
Ally, then. Perfect! Naruto could almost see the fox's grin. I'll make a deal with you. I'll lend you some of my power to beat Nonaka if you promise to release me later.
Naruto had already deflected Nonaka's shuriken with his own and was already on his feet, running to head the Cobra boy off before he reached Sasuke. He could feel his heart thrashing in his chest like a wild animal. Whatever you say, he muttered, too distracted to realize what he was saying as he and Nonaka clashed. Just give me enough power to stop these guys so Sasuke can finish his technique!
As you wish!
An abrupt rush of chakra to Naruto's body nearly threw him off his feet. "Sugoi!" With renewed energy, the young genin easily beat of each of Nonaka's attacks, laughing maniacally at the feel of his newfound chakra.
~End Flashback~
He tried to focus, to restore the technique, but the demon fox was laughing in his head. Naruto began making the signs, but to no avail. All his chakra dispersed from his arms, and he dropped to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Naruto had never known any technique to waste his energy as this one just had...and he hadn't even started it yet.
I can't do this...
"The winner is—"
Naruto didn't wait for the referee to announce that the girl had won. He was up and running before anyone could think to stop him.
Running and crying just as he had been last night.
Kyote gave a gloating Shinzuko a contemptuous glance before going after his friend. The others were in a state of utter shock.
Overhead, the sun was rising to noon.