I promised a friend of mine I'd post this chapter when she finally got to
chapter 9... and if she took longer than to Sunday I'd just post anyways...
well here it is. Thank Cat for getting her butt in gear... well my little
form of torture helped as well... oh and enjoy my little teaser at the
bottom.
Title: Jaded
Series: Naruto
Rating: PG-13 (Will go higher later on)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Romance, Humour, Horror, Tragedy, Supernatural, Fantasy, etc. (pretty much all)
Summary: For most of his life, Naruto has had one dream (becoming Hokage) and one love (Sakura), but as he grows up he realises not everything is as easy as he wants to believe it is, and his romances are not as simple as getting the girl, but finding a love that's not bound by superficial reasons, and that's when he realizes he had his priorities mixed up all along. (Eventually it'll be SasuNaru)
Pairings: SasuNaru... a little later on... SakuNaru (don't hate me...it's for all those of you who want to bash Sakura... trust me you'll like this... even though I don't like bashing her, there'll come a chapter when you'll ALL want to bash her) and very vague hintings of a JiOro past.
Chapter Title: 10. Revenge on Naruto-tachi
Sasuke sighed in relief as the man behind him fell dead behind him. He looked down to see the kunai buried in the man's forehead.
"Shimatta, Sasuke!" A loud voice erupted from behind him. "I thought you were never going to duck your head." He turned back around to frown at Naruto. He would have retorted, but there were still five other jounin shinobis attacking them and they were outnumbered. Even though Sakura was retaining injuries on her arms, she remained standing and fought beside Kakashi who was shielding her from the worst of blows.
Another kunai was headed towards their silver-haired sensei and Sasuke was about to cry out a warning when two poofs later the kunai was embedded in the neared tree and Iruka was standing behind him, holding onto their sensei tightly and grinning broadly.
"Need some help?" He wondered idly, pitching in himself. Naruto smirked at his old sensei's arrival and performed his own specialty jutsu.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled, bringing up another five clones to help with the fight. Clearly outnumbered, the Sound shinobi disappeared, causing Naruto to groan in frustration.
"I wish they'd just leave us alone." He muttered putting away his kunai. Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"Actually, these ninjas aren't here as a warning to you two." Iruka smiled apologetically. "Orochimaru's taken over Tsunade-hime's office, looking for Sasuke-san and the whole village has been put on alert to avoid these ninjas if possible. Tsunade-tachi are back at Naruto's house waiting for us." He explained. "I was sent to find you before you got too far." Kakashi frowned, narrowing his one visible eye.
"So, the mission?" He wondered. Iruka shrugged.
"I don't recall you getting a mission."
"Ah, must have been Orochimaru trying to lure us to him."
"He's not that stupid, Kakashi-san." Iruka stated. Kakashi nodded, putting a hand on the Chuunin's shoulder.
"Hai, demo it was worth a shot, ne?"
***
"Orochimaru's not just after Sasuke's body anymore, Naruto-kun." Choji said, fidgeting with his hands nervously. Shikamaru placed a calming palm over his best friend's and smiled gently. When they returned Naruto found his whole house ransacked, tables and chairs thrown everywhere and Tsunade- sama in the middle of it all, standing beside most of the genin that had gone to the chuunin exams; including Lee and Hinata. "He's after us, too. We ruined his plans for Sasuke and he wants our heads." Choji was slightly edgy because he didn't like the idea of facing a new and improved Orochimaru. Sasuke sighed and sat down on the good side of Naruto's torn mattress.
"So why does he think he can just come in here and tear my house apart?!" Naruto raged, kicking a broken lamp to the side.
"He was looking for Sasuke-san." Tsunade said bluntly. Naruto turned to her and rolled his eyes.
"No kidding, Tsunade-baba." He spat. "Demo, I'm ten times more powerful than *him*," he pointed his thumb in Sasuke's general direction. Tsunade nodded, moving some of Naruto's dirty laundry out of the way so she could sit down on the floor.
"Hai, demo he doesn't know it the way Itachi does." Everyone was speechless. None of the genin knew about Itachi's return until then.
"Honto ne?" Shikamaru was the first to speak. "You'd never think, from looking at him, that Naruto held more power than Sasuke." Jiraiya chuckled, stepping in through a broken window.
"Hai, you wouldn't, demo Orochimaru doesn't see that in him. He sees Sasuke's Sharingan. He's always been the stubborn one. Plus, I've noticed that team seven are much like our old team. Sakura... somewhat like Tsunade, although hopefully less of a gambler; Naruto like myself; and in Sasuke, Orochimaru sees the child prodigy he once was." He smiled in remembrance. "If Orochimaru sees in Naruto the child I once was then he's going to hate him, which he already does." He paused, looking like he was going to add something, but thought better of it.
"So what are we going to do to get rid of the snake?" Tsunade spat angrily, not liking for one bit the feeling of being trapped by the man's coils. The sennin shrugged loosely.
"I saw a bunch of men out patrolling the streets on my way over. They have orders to capture Sasuke and *kill* Naruto. He's a wanted man." He snickered childishly, ignoring the serious looks of the rest of the people. "Orochimaru is angry that he brought Sasuke home, demo it would seem that he wants revenge on Naruto more than he wants Sasuke. I think it's because he's closest to Sasuke-san and has the biggest chance of ruining his plans." Naruto grinned.
"Ne, he respects me?" Jiraiya grinned. At least one person wasn't as tense as the rest of them. He truly was like him.
"Maybe." At this, the blond's eyes lit up and he had to fight to keep a grin from spreading across his face.
***
About half an hour later Naruto was pacing his bedroom floor while everyone else tried to think of a plan to get rid of the Sound shinobi. The blond wasn't taking the tension very well and wanted to go out and fight.
"Naruto, stop that!" Sakura yelled at him. He looked up to her and frowned, but ignored her request. They weren't coming up with anything useful, so he was left on his own to figure out a plan. Not to mention, the ninjas outside were beginning to search inside houses and soon they'd be at his door unless they did something quickly.
"Screw this." He muttered to himself and opened one of the unbroken windows carefully. This attracted everyone's attention and they all stood at once thinking it to be an intruder.
"Naruto, shut that damn window!" Sakura yelled. "The ninja will see us!"
"Shimatta, they'll also hear you being so loud." Naruto retorted, standing on the window ledge.
"Where are you going?" Tsunade and Sasuke demanded at the same time, while Jiraiya lowered his head with a sigh. They all turned to him for an explanation.
"Good luck, Naruto-kun." He whispered and the blond nodded in acknowledgement. The group looked collectively confused for a moment before it dawned in Sasuke's eyes.
"Iie!" He yelled, running up to grab Naruto by the arm and pulled him back inside. "You're not going out there!" The blond tugged his arm free of Sasuke's grasp and turned back to the window.
"Hai, I am. You asses are just sitting around here doing nothing while those Sound ninjas get even closer. Maybe I can buy you guys some time, because I know I'm not being much help as I am."
"Naruto, you can't go out there! You're outnumbered hundreds to one!" Sakura exclaimed, joining Sasuke in trying to pull Naruto from the window, but the boy was set in his ways. He growled and fought them off, dashing to the opening and performing his notorious Kage Bunshin.
"Wait!!" They all yelled, trying to catch him but half of his clones had already taken off among the village and one remained to look at the room's occupants sadly.
"What's the point of wanting to become Hokage if I'm not willing to die to protect the people in the village?" He asked. "Oh, and happy birthday, Sasuke-kun. Sorry I didn't get you anything." And the last remaining clone jumped off the roof, yelling madly to draw attention away from his apartment. They all looked at the window in shock, both in his actions and his words.
~~~~~~~
So... I figure since I'm far enough ahead... would you guys like previews of the next chapter?
Chapter Title: 11. Where Loyalties Lie
The whispers became louder and Sasuke turned his head sharply, noticing that it had quickly become a general chant. Kill the Kitsune. Kill Naruto. The dark haired genin looked up to see the blonde's eyes blaze in anger at this. He struggled fiercely with his bonds and the cloth wrapped around his mouth. Orochimaru smirked at his attempts and silenced the crowd once more.
"The monster wants to talk." He nodded to one of his ninjas who removed the gag.
That's it for now... Ah, well... till the next post, ne?
Title: Jaded
Series: Naruto
Rating: PG-13 (Will go higher later on)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Romance, Humour, Horror, Tragedy, Supernatural, Fantasy, etc. (pretty much all)
Summary: For most of his life, Naruto has had one dream (becoming Hokage) and one love (Sakura), but as he grows up he realises not everything is as easy as he wants to believe it is, and his romances are not as simple as getting the girl, but finding a love that's not bound by superficial reasons, and that's when he realizes he had his priorities mixed up all along. (Eventually it'll be SasuNaru)
Pairings: SasuNaru... a little later on... SakuNaru (don't hate me...it's for all those of you who want to bash Sakura... trust me you'll like this... even though I don't like bashing her, there'll come a chapter when you'll ALL want to bash her) and very vague hintings of a JiOro past.
Chapter Title: 10. Revenge on Naruto-tachi
Sasuke sighed in relief as the man behind him fell dead behind him. He looked down to see the kunai buried in the man's forehead.
"Shimatta, Sasuke!" A loud voice erupted from behind him. "I thought you were never going to duck your head." He turned back around to frown at Naruto. He would have retorted, but there were still five other jounin shinobis attacking them and they were outnumbered. Even though Sakura was retaining injuries on her arms, she remained standing and fought beside Kakashi who was shielding her from the worst of blows.
Another kunai was headed towards their silver-haired sensei and Sasuke was about to cry out a warning when two poofs later the kunai was embedded in the neared tree and Iruka was standing behind him, holding onto their sensei tightly and grinning broadly.
"Need some help?" He wondered idly, pitching in himself. Naruto smirked at his old sensei's arrival and performed his own specialty jutsu.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled, bringing up another five clones to help with the fight. Clearly outnumbered, the Sound shinobi disappeared, causing Naruto to groan in frustration.
"I wish they'd just leave us alone." He muttered putting away his kunai. Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"Actually, these ninjas aren't here as a warning to you two." Iruka smiled apologetically. "Orochimaru's taken over Tsunade-hime's office, looking for Sasuke-san and the whole village has been put on alert to avoid these ninjas if possible. Tsunade-tachi are back at Naruto's house waiting for us." He explained. "I was sent to find you before you got too far." Kakashi frowned, narrowing his one visible eye.
"So, the mission?" He wondered. Iruka shrugged.
"I don't recall you getting a mission."
"Ah, must have been Orochimaru trying to lure us to him."
"He's not that stupid, Kakashi-san." Iruka stated. Kakashi nodded, putting a hand on the Chuunin's shoulder.
"Hai, demo it was worth a shot, ne?"
***
"Orochimaru's not just after Sasuke's body anymore, Naruto-kun." Choji said, fidgeting with his hands nervously. Shikamaru placed a calming palm over his best friend's and smiled gently. When they returned Naruto found his whole house ransacked, tables and chairs thrown everywhere and Tsunade- sama in the middle of it all, standing beside most of the genin that had gone to the chuunin exams; including Lee and Hinata. "He's after us, too. We ruined his plans for Sasuke and he wants our heads." Choji was slightly edgy because he didn't like the idea of facing a new and improved Orochimaru. Sasuke sighed and sat down on the good side of Naruto's torn mattress.
"So why does he think he can just come in here and tear my house apart?!" Naruto raged, kicking a broken lamp to the side.
"He was looking for Sasuke-san." Tsunade said bluntly. Naruto turned to her and rolled his eyes.
"No kidding, Tsunade-baba." He spat. "Demo, I'm ten times more powerful than *him*," he pointed his thumb in Sasuke's general direction. Tsunade nodded, moving some of Naruto's dirty laundry out of the way so she could sit down on the floor.
"Hai, demo he doesn't know it the way Itachi does." Everyone was speechless. None of the genin knew about Itachi's return until then.
"Honto ne?" Shikamaru was the first to speak. "You'd never think, from looking at him, that Naruto held more power than Sasuke." Jiraiya chuckled, stepping in through a broken window.
"Hai, you wouldn't, demo Orochimaru doesn't see that in him. He sees Sasuke's Sharingan. He's always been the stubborn one. Plus, I've noticed that team seven are much like our old team. Sakura... somewhat like Tsunade, although hopefully less of a gambler; Naruto like myself; and in Sasuke, Orochimaru sees the child prodigy he once was." He smiled in remembrance. "If Orochimaru sees in Naruto the child I once was then he's going to hate him, which he already does." He paused, looking like he was going to add something, but thought better of it.
"So what are we going to do to get rid of the snake?" Tsunade spat angrily, not liking for one bit the feeling of being trapped by the man's coils. The sennin shrugged loosely.
"I saw a bunch of men out patrolling the streets on my way over. They have orders to capture Sasuke and *kill* Naruto. He's a wanted man." He snickered childishly, ignoring the serious looks of the rest of the people. "Orochimaru is angry that he brought Sasuke home, demo it would seem that he wants revenge on Naruto more than he wants Sasuke. I think it's because he's closest to Sasuke-san and has the biggest chance of ruining his plans." Naruto grinned.
"Ne, he respects me?" Jiraiya grinned. At least one person wasn't as tense as the rest of them. He truly was like him.
"Maybe." At this, the blond's eyes lit up and he had to fight to keep a grin from spreading across his face.
***
About half an hour later Naruto was pacing his bedroom floor while everyone else tried to think of a plan to get rid of the Sound shinobi. The blond wasn't taking the tension very well and wanted to go out and fight.
"Naruto, stop that!" Sakura yelled at him. He looked up to her and frowned, but ignored her request. They weren't coming up with anything useful, so he was left on his own to figure out a plan. Not to mention, the ninjas outside were beginning to search inside houses and soon they'd be at his door unless they did something quickly.
"Screw this." He muttered to himself and opened one of the unbroken windows carefully. This attracted everyone's attention and they all stood at once thinking it to be an intruder.
"Naruto, shut that damn window!" Sakura yelled. "The ninja will see us!"
"Shimatta, they'll also hear you being so loud." Naruto retorted, standing on the window ledge.
"Where are you going?" Tsunade and Sasuke demanded at the same time, while Jiraiya lowered his head with a sigh. They all turned to him for an explanation.
"Good luck, Naruto-kun." He whispered and the blond nodded in acknowledgement. The group looked collectively confused for a moment before it dawned in Sasuke's eyes.
"Iie!" He yelled, running up to grab Naruto by the arm and pulled him back inside. "You're not going out there!" The blond tugged his arm free of Sasuke's grasp and turned back to the window.
"Hai, I am. You asses are just sitting around here doing nothing while those Sound ninjas get even closer. Maybe I can buy you guys some time, because I know I'm not being much help as I am."
"Naruto, you can't go out there! You're outnumbered hundreds to one!" Sakura exclaimed, joining Sasuke in trying to pull Naruto from the window, but the boy was set in his ways. He growled and fought them off, dashing to the opening and performing his notorious Kage Bunshin.
"Wait!!" They all yelled, trying to catch him but half of his clones had already taken off among the village and one remained to look at the room's occupants sadly.
"What's the point of wanting to become Hokage if I'm not willing to die to protect the people in the village?" He asked. "Oh, and happy birthday, Sasuke-kun. Sorry I didn't get you anything." And the last remaining clone jumped off the roof, yelling madly to draw attention away from his apartment. They all looked at the window in shock, both in his actions and his words.
~~~~~~~
So... I figure since I'm far enough ahead... would you guys like previews of the next chapter?
Chapter Title: 11. Where Loyalties Lie
The whispers became louder and Sasuke turned his head sharply, noticing that it had quickly become a general chant. Kill the Kitsune. Kill Naruto. The dark haired genin looked up to see the blonde's eyes blaze in anger at this. He struggled fiercely with his bonds and the cloth wrapped around his mouth. Orochimaru smirked at his attempts and silenced the crowd once more.
"The monster wants to talk." He nodded to one of his ninjas who removed the gag.
That's it for now... Ah, well... till the next post, ne?