Disclaimer - i do not own any of the characters used in this fic with the exception of an OC who will be appearing in later chapters.
" text " normal talk
" text " kyubi talk
" text " thoughts
A/N: Thanks again to the nice people who took the time to review and to those who corrected a few mistakes of mine.
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Chapter 2
It was windy day in the Hidden Leaf, in a park somewhere in the village was a girl sitting in one of the numerous benches scattered around and appeared she was waiting for someone, her lovely pink haired that fell
down to her shoulders swayed slightly in the wind. She sees a rather handsome raven-haired boy walking to her. Her heart leapt with joy seeing who it was.
" Sasuke-kun? " the new arrival approach her and sat next to her.
" Sakura, you have a very cute forehead makes me want to kiss it. "
" Sasuke-kun... "
"Sakura-chan... "
They inched their faces closer to each other, until their lips met. Sakura felt she was now in heaven. She opened her eyes slighlty to see if she wasn't dreaming. What she saw made her scream.
" NARUTO! "
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A loud scream was heard in the Haruno household in the early hours of a saturday morning. Some neighbors who have been awakened yelled out their window to keep it down. Mrs. Haruno rushed to her daughter's room to see what was wrong. She saw Sakura sitting in her bed eyes wide as saucers and panting heavily.
" Sakura? What's wrong did you have a nightmare? " she said putting an arm around her daughter.
" No mom, well...sort of but I'm okay now "
" Are you sure you're alright? "
" Yes mom, I'm alright maybe I'll foget it if I sleep again. "
" Ok, are you sure you don't want to tell me about it? "
" No mom I'd rather forget it now. "
" Alright, since it's saturday anyway. " She tucked Sakura back in bed, kissed her in the forehead and left.
Sakura hugged her pillow closer. She still can't forget about that dream or nightmare rather,she had been smooching Sasuke-kun but opened her eyes and instead saw Naruto kissing her back. And that's when she snapped and woke up screaming her head off. She can still feel his lips on her own and his tongue touching with hers as they... 'AAHHH! WHAT AM I THINKING! ' ( Inner Sakura " NARUTO I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! ") Sakura closed her eyes and coverd her face with her pillow and tried to sleep forcing Naruto out of her mind.
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Naruto was running laps near the walls surrounding the village drawing some stares from the guards which he came across. Kyuubi told him this the first step of his training, to increase his stamina so she told him to run 10 laps around the village. He was now on his 7 lap and he was only a bit tired.
" Kyuubi? "
" Yes Naruto - chan? "
" This is boring, why don't you just teach me some new techniques? "
" Hmmm...boring you say tommorrow you run 10 laps around the village with 50 pound weights "
" EH! "
" If you do that I'm going to teach you a move that can paralyze your opponent just by looking at him. "
" You will? YAY that's great!. " Naruto started thinking about how he can finally defeat Sasuke just by looking at him. He felt revitalized and started to run faster.
" Naruto - chan you don't seem to feel tired at all so I'm increasing it to twenty laps "
" EH! "
" And I would like it if you called me Kyuubi - chan " she giggled.
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It was a brigt sunny Saturday morning in Konoha, no missions or training of any sort ( at least for those below chuunin level), yet one particular raven haired boy did not want to waste one day to do the things kids his age would probably be doing right now. Instead he was going to train, to be stronger, to be able to kill his brother. He proceeded to the training ground where Team 7 usually do their training, however before he could arrive there he saw a familiar orange-clad figure run past him but apparently did not notice him (since he was a little far from his position). He thought ' Where is that idiot going? '. So he decided to shadow him and began running to catch up with Naruto.
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Sasuke panted heavily, trying to catch his breath he had just followed Naruto 2 times around the village and it was obvious that Naruto wasn't going anywhere, he was just running around. 'Could he be training?' he thought. ' Damn couldnt even keep up with him.' Sasuke decided to go home and rest since he was pooped and thought that chasing after Naruto had been a sort of training anyway.
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Naruto hadn't been aware he wa being followed by Sasuke but Kyuubi was and was satisfied that the Uchiha hadn't been able to keep up with Naruto. However, Naruto was also very tired and his run had slowed down to a jog. She decided it was enough.
" Okay you can stop now "
Naruto instantly dropped face-first to the ground panting like a dog. He had already lost count of how many times he had circle the village.
" That wasn't so bad at all, 194 laps just 6 short of 200 "
Naruto groaned inwardly that he hadn't been able to complete the 200 laps.
" But since I love you sooooo much... I'm going to teach you this move I'm telling you about. "
Naruto sat up with a big grin. "You really going to teach me that? "
" Yes my dear Naruto but you need to rest first, now go home and take a nap then we will begin. "
Naruto quickly got up and went home as fast as his stamina (which wasn't much by now) would allow. But first he went to the Ichiraku to eat.' There's no way I'm going to learn a new move on an empty stomach ' Ayame greeted him sweetly when she saw him and went immediatelyto fill his order. She came back a short while and Naruto dug in and ordererd another before he was even finished. The second was qucikly history and Naruto paid and immediately went to his house. He sank into his (battered) couch and closed his eyes he then remembered he was a little messy and decided to take a shower and then changed in another orange jumpsuit. Kyuubi thought ' Is that all he wears? Sheesh..'.
Naruto then sat on the floor and said earnestly " Now about that... "
" Naruto-chan I said take a nap. "
" But.. "
" No buts. "
Naruto sighed then layed on his bed and tried to sleep and slowly, felt his consciousness slipping.
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The Country of the Wind was windy place hence, the name. It was very pleasant indeed if not for the fact that ninety percent of the country was a barren desert wasteland, so the wind also picked up this tiny sand particles making it somewhat unpleasant and if the wind blew hard enough, massive sandstorms are formed engulfing any unlucky, hapless traveller it comes across with sand and more sand. In this case it was three travellers, one which seemed rather prepared for the onslaught of sand and two which are not so prepared.
Dan, Ayako and Ayeka sat behind a sand dune waiting for the sandstorm to pass. They had come from the Country of Earh passing thru the Hidden Village of Grass they would have went on the Hidden Village of Rain but his two companions wanted to go the Hidden Village of Sand for reasons known only to them and know the two seemed to be regretting that decision. He listened as the two sisters argued that they shouldn't have been here in the first place and was telling the other it was her fault.
" Now you two stop it, there should be a village about six miles from here and we should go there before nightfall. " The two girls stopped talking but glared at each other.
" How do you know that? " Ayeka asked
" I have been here before " he noticed the sandstorm was dying down and thought it best to proceed immediately.
" The sandstorm is slowly dying, we should proceed now. " Ayeka groaned and complained they had been walking since morning and it would not hurt if they rested for a while.
" Have you ever been out in the desert at night? " Ayeka shook her head.
" I tell you its cold out here, real cold and your outfits don't look it will keep you warm at night so we should get going now and at our pace it would take us 4 hours to reach it. " Ayame and Ayeka looked down at themselves and then at Dan. Dan was covered from head to toe in the same black cloak, while the two of them were wearing short skirts and a shirt.
" Is that why you are wearing that cloak? " Ayako asked
" No, but I look cool don't I? " the girls sweat-dropped at his reply. " Let's get going now before the sandstorm builds up again " he said helping the two to their feet.
The girls each grabbed on one of Dan's arms and glared at each other. Dan was pleasantly surprised by the their action but he didn't say anything to them.
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Once again, Naruto found himself in the deepest recess of his mind, standing in front the ever-familiar structure which is the jail of the nine-tailed fox. The fox was near the bars, standing with her arms crossed. This time though, she was properly covered.
" What are you standing there for? Get your ass in here! " Naruto swallowed and entered the cage through the slots between the bars. Kyuubi seemed to be serious this time and he didn't want to get on her badside.
" I'm going to teach you how to radiatekiller intent to paralyze opponents and leave them wide open for stronger attacks or just scare the hell out of annoying people to leave you alone. "
Amazingly, Naruto didn't say a word and just nodded vigorously.
" But first I'm going to show you what it does. Now look into my eyes. "
Naruto did as he was told, and instantly he saw images of him pierced with various weapons, his own blood splattered all around him and a large fox clawing at him, blaring it's fangs at him which was covered in his own blood. Naruto then lost the image and he felt himself drained of energy unable to move his whole body, half his brain screamed at him to move but the half seemed to be terrified to death. He then felt arm's being wrapped around him and a light peck on the lips making him drop the feeling of pain and fear.
" I hope I didn't scare you too much but it had to be done. " She gently pushed him away from her. " I'm going to teach you to counter it too so when anyone uses it on you it will have no effect. "
Naruto was awed by the technique, simple at it seems. The idea of being able to that thrilled him greatly.
" Now come, we have something to do. "
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The Government Building or more commonly known as the Hokage Tower was particularly empty as the civilian employees were not at work save for the few shinobi staff since it was a Saturday. In a room somewhere in the building a cloaked figure and shinobis were holding a conference. The cloaked figure or better known as the Sandaime Hokage began speaking.
" I have met with the leaders of the other hidden villages and some have already confirmed that one team from their respective villages are going to participate "
" Hokage-sama, " one of the nins in the room said. " Are you sure this is the right time? After all the last.. "
" Yes I am and the other village leaders have already decided, we will be holding the next Chuunin exam this year here in our village in four days. "
There were murmurs around the room immediately. Sarutobi thought they were probably thinking it was too early since the last was only four months ago.
" The Kazekage has been pressuring the other leaders to hold it earlier so we all agreed, we don't see anything wrong with it. " he paused and coughed a bit.
" Now about the teams from our village... "
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Naruto gleefully skipped to their team's usual meeting place it was still early yet but he decided to get there early as he was in a very good mood. He had just spent the past day practicing his new technique, it wasn't as scary yet as Kyuubi but he had already scared the hell out of stray cats, he can't wait to try it on other people but Kyuubi had emphasized that it was to be use only on real battles. He arrived at the bridge and found that nobody there yet. He then decided to look for more stray cats so he can practice more but he saw Sasuke approaching just as he was living.
" Ohayo, Sasuke-teme! " he greeted him as cheerful as he could. Sasuke just glared and leaned on the railings of the bridge looking over the water while Naruto rattled on about how he was finally going to kick his ass and other things he didn't even bother to listen to. This went on for a few an hour before they both felt Sakura arriving. Naruto then ran over to Sakura and greeted her as he had greeted Sasuke. Sasuke just smirked at Naruto when Sakura hit him on the head. Sakura for the most part has now gotten over her dream or rather nightmare about Naruto but seeing Naruto somehow makes her remember it.
" GET AWAY FROM ME NARUTO! " Sakura screamed. Naruto just rubbed the lump on his head and wondered what he did wrong. Sasuke just wished their perpetually arrived at least an hour earlier today. And it seemed the heavens granted his wish for a few moments later, the silver-haired jounin arrived in a puff of smoke.
" Hello, everyone! " Sakura and Naruto, were to awed to say anything, for the first time Kakashi was actually on time. Kakashi immediately went straight to bussiness and handed each one of them a form.
" Kakashi-sensei, what is this for? " Naruto asked while examining his form.
" It's an application to join the upcoming Chuunin Selection Exams in three days " Kakashi replied
" Yay! Yay! I waited forever for this! I love you so much Kakasi-sensei! " Naruto jumped around and hugged Kakashi.
"Get off me Naruto! " after getting Naruto of him " Now that is just a nomination its up to you if you really want to join. That's all "
Kakashi vanished leaving two excited and one not so excited gennins standing on the bridge.
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A hooded figure and two girls approached the Hidden Village of the Sand which was currenty having its daily dose of sand and wind from the desert. Dan was smiling gleefully as he had both girls on his arms on the pretense of protecting them from the sandstorm. The two had stubbornly refused to wear cloaks as they claimed they weren't fashionable not that he was complaining but their ceaseless whining had been rather annoying. It had been three days since they entered the Country of The Wind and they were getting closer to the Country of Fire. He removed his hood as he approached the Nin guarding the gate and said they were travellers, seeking shelter from the sandstorm. The guard looked at them for the moment and waved them in. The wind abated a bit since the village was protected by walls and there wasn't as much sand flying around as in the desert. He looked around for an inn and found one suitably near a public bathhouse and checked in.
" Ah..I cant wait until we get home, I'm getting sick of the sand already. " Ayeka moaned as they entered their room and plopped on the bed.
" Don't lie on the bed dummy, you'll get sand on it! " Ayako said as she dusted herself, though she agreed with her sister, she was getting sick of the sand too. She noticed Dan still wearing his cloak.
" Don't you ever remove that thing? I mean never saw you out of that thing. "
" Hm...You're right maybe I should. " he removed his cloak and shook it hard, shaking out quite a lot of sand. Both girls stared at him. He was wearing a black, cargo pants with a pair of daggers strapped behind him and combat shoes. His shirt was was form fitting and short-sleeved showing off well developed muscles.
" Uhm..Why are you staring? "
" Uh...I'm going to the bathhouse! " Ayeka grabbed a her pack and went out of the door leaving Ayako.
" Hey wait... " Ayako called as she made an attempt to follow her sister but decided against it. She decided to know their companion a little more better since most of their time together he had been rather quiet and spoke when it was only neccesary and stayed away from the sisters whenever they were in a town. She watched him as he opened a window and shaked his cloak outside.
" So...Where are you from? " Dan looked at her first before replying as if to see if she was to be trusted.
" I knew this was coming.. Do you really want to know? " Ayako nodded
" Well, I was born in the Hidden Leaf but moved to Hidden Mist when I was five in the Hidden Mist I met a retired shinobi who taught me most of I knew. When he died I just wandered around from one place to another and so on... "
" But the technique you used when you saved us.. I know only one person who can use it..the First, How.. "
" You're apparently mistaken " he interrupted. " Though I can't really do it in the scale of the Shodaime. Do you know the So called Forest of Death back in the Leaf? "
" The one were exams are held? yes. "
" That was the Shodaime's work or so they say. "
" Really? wow... "
Dan closed the window and hanged his cloak on a chair then plopped in a couch.
" Don't you want to take a bath? You should freshen up a bit. We leave tomorrow morning. "
" Yes, I think I should " Ayako took some of her things and left to go to the bathhouse. Dan looked up at the ceiling as she left, he didn't really like to lying to people that had become some sort of friends. But telling them a Demon Lord was witht them was a not good idea either.
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A/N: Pardon me if that was boring.