REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY, THIS IS CHAPTER NINE!
Title: Never Really Home (Chapter Nine)
Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka, one-sided Sakura/Sasuke, hints of Lee/Naruto
Rating: M mostly for language, but for some sexual content as well.
Warnings: Eventual spoilers up to recent chapters. Very much an over-exaggeration of Kisame's uselessness. I'm sorry, he just bugs me. Also, there is a debate of whether Lee should be considered "thick brows" or "fuzzy eyebrows." I think most translationssay it'sthe former, but I prefer the latter, so too bad.
Disclaimers: Don't own Naruto.
Kisame swung his samheda over one shoulder, and the stubborn blond over the other and started walking down the road. Naruto crossed his arms and smirked. "Do you really think that Akatsuki would be so eager to get me if I were this easy to catch?"
"It's not you we are after. It's the Kyu…"Kisame didn't get to finish his sentence. In one swift movement, Naruto kicked his leg, making contact with the shark's head and forcing Kisame's grip to loosen. The blond fell to the ground, and stood up quickly, positioning himself for a fight. "You fool," hissed Kisame, removing the samheda from his shoulder so the tip grazed the road. "Do you not remember what I am capable of?"
"I do." Naruto recalled perfectly. More than three years ago, the two had found each other in similar combative mode. The blond had summoned the kyuubi's powerful red chakra, and with one quick swing, Kisame had swept it away with his dumb stick.
"Then why do you even bother fighting back?"
Naruto's eyes lit up, almost teasingly. "Because you no longer know what I am capable of."
"Naruto, what are you doing?"
"Mmph," mumbled the blond. Naruto had been dozing under a tree. He was tired from a long night's search for Sasuke.
"Aren't you supposed to be on a mission with Sakura and Kakashi?"
"Fuzzy-eyebrows, it's been six months since I've gone on a mission. What makes you think today is any different?"
Lee stood up. His round and heavily-mascara-ed eyes were burning with disappointment. "Weren't you the one whose way of the ninja was to never give up?"
"I'm not giving up."
Somehow, Lee knew this had more meaning than the mission at hand. "How do you expect to bring Sasuke home if all you do is sulk?" whispered Lee, almost to himself.
"I look for him all night to hide from the prying eyes of that damn Hokage. I sleep during the day and avoid missions. I don't sulk."
"Yes, you do."
Naruto slowly got to his feet to look fuzzy-eyebrows in the eye, but even at his full height, he was a good head shorter than Lee. Looking up at the tai-nin didn't take away any of the blonde's confidence. "I do not! I am going to find Sasuke and bring him home. I made a promise!"
Lee's eyes were full of pity. "Naruto, admit it. You are in no shape to bring home that traitor, even if you did promise Sakura. He's been missing for eight months now, and you have failed to even catch a glimpse of his royal arrogance."
Naruto tried to punch Lee's face in, but fuzzy-eyebrows easily blocked it. Punch after punch, kick after kick, and the blond failed to lay a scratch on Lee. He pulled out four shuriken and flung them straight at Lee's head, but the tai-nin dodged them all.
Gasping for breath, partially from the attack, but mostly from lack of sleep, Naruto slumped at the foot of the tree.
"You're right, fuzzy-eyebrows, I can't catch Sasuke now. I'm not fast enough." He looked down at his practically useless hands and tears of anger welled in his eyes.
Lee bent down onto one knee. He cupped Naruto's chin with his bandaged hand and lifted his head up, looking him in the eyes. "Let me teach you."
Before Kisame knew what was happening, another kick was landed on his face.
"What the…"
All of a sudden, it was like he was being attacked by four or five different ninjas. A whirl of orange was circling around him, kicking him and punching him so fast he did not have time to block them.
"Here's a riddle for you," mocked the blond as his knuckles collided with the shark's ribs. "If I can't use my strong chakra attack on you, what can I do?" Naruto laughed as his assault on Kisame continued.
Not only was the attack quick, it was powerful. Each blow felt like it had the strength of one-hundred men behind it. Knuckles bruised all surfaces of the shark's scaly body. Kisame gasped in pain and fell to his knees.
The beating stopped, and the shark's body was swallowed by Naruto's shadow. Blue eyes, filled with life and excitement, looked down pathetically at Kisame's limp form. "Now you know what I am capable of." With one final blow to the head, the blond knocked Kisame's broken body over onto the ground.
Leaving the shark in the middle of the road, Naruto turned towards town. Deciding to ignore the thoughts of a certain raven-haired boy that lingered in his mind, the blond began to wonder if Kakashi was still offering lunch.
Well, there's chapter nine for ya, which aside from the first chapter is my personal favorite. Yes, I know I said I would wait if I didn't get more reviews. But I did get some support (lol Azamiko) and I wanna get these chapters off my hands while I have them. (cough, I'm not a hypocrite, nope, whistles and strolls away)