Note: This fanfiction takes place when Team 7 (Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura) was still an official team, training, and going on missions. The Third is still the current Hokage.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. What do belong to me are the characters at the tournament and some of the attacks and Justus in the story. Enjoy.
Note: The names of the techniques in this fanfiction are taken from the official US manga version of Naruto (except for the ones I created). For example Naruto's "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu " will be "Art Of The Doppelganger" as named in the US manga. I know many Naruto fans are used to the Japanese names of the techniques, so I apologize for any inconvenience (yes, I know they sound kind of stupid).
Well, its been almost over a year since I updated. Sorry for the long wait to those who wanted to finish the story. I have been really busy, I didn't even have time to do my favorite thing which is to write. I also updated chapter 1-8, and fixed any grammar or any other errors so those who want to recap can go ahead and read the chapters over again. Anyway I apologize guys. Here is chapter 9. Enjoy.
Chapter 9: The Finals
Previously on Change of Heart:
As the fight went on against Oturan, Sakura was hurt badly which forced Naruto to attack Oturan will all he had, but Oturan was able to stop all of his attacks, and literally kicked Sakura out of the ring. Naruto became enraged and gained the chakra of the Nine Tail, with which he was able to defeat Oturan, only to find out the Oturan wasn't his father at all. Oturan was in fact known as the Trick Demolisher, a wanted man, who is a very strong and powerful fighter who tricks his oppenents into thinking he is somebody else making it easier for him to win any fight. As Oturan laid there defeated he told Naruto that it wasn't over, it was only the beginning...
It was around noon and the weather was perfect, there was hardly any clouds in the sky. The city was buzzing with people going about their daily life. Most people were speaking of their conclusions for the finals. Some were for the ninjas from Konoha, but many were also for the Double Dragon.
As the finals draw near, Naruto and Sakura has been spending the last week and a half training and improving their teamwork abilities with the help of Kakashi and Iruka.
"Alright that's it for today, you guys can spend the last two days and the rest of this afternoon exploring the city and resting." said Kakashi to Naruto and Sakura with his arms crossed over his chest.
Kakashi wasn't able to read his book anymore, for if he did he could get hurt pretty bad.
'I can't believe how much stronger they have gotten since that last training battle they had together a while ago.'
"Ok!" said Naruto as he lands next to Kakashi from a nearby tree, followed by Sakura and Iruka from some other trees.
"Finally, I am so tired." said Sakura as she drops herself on the soft grass.
"Yea, I know." says Naruto as he does the same thing next to Sakura.
"Well, we want you guys to win the finals. We don't you guys to get this far and then lose, it just wouldn't be right." said Iruka as he smiles at them.
"We'll leave you guys for now, see you at the finals. Lets go Iruka." said Kakashi as he starts jumping from tree to tree, followed closely by Iruka who waves goodbye to Naruto and Sakura.
"So what now?" asks Naruto as he lies on the grass, enjoying the cool breeze.
"I think its kinda obvious, we both need a good shower. We smell like pigs especially after this whole morning workout." replied Sakura as she starts to get up.
Then all of the sudden Naruto grabs Sakura arm and pull her down next to him.
"Lets stay here a little longer." said Naruto calmly as he stares at the sky.
"Sure..." answered Sakura as she herself started staring at the sky.
---
In a warehouse across the city sat the Trick Demolisher with bandages all over his body. He was here to meet someone and he did not look happy, he actually looked terrified.
'To be called all the way out here by the Boss, this isn't good, I know it can't be.' thought the Trick Demolisher.
There was a loud noise coming from his right, he turns to see the door opening and in comes three characters. In the middle stood a short and oversized man. He had dark brown hair and wore a black suit with black glasses on. He also had a cigar in the corner of his mouth since he's always smoking a cigar at all times. His name is Boss Tonake, he is the crime lord sent by the Syndicate to start a branch in this city. Everything from drugs and prostitution, to murder and bribes, he is involved with it all.
Next to him were his two bodyguards, two missing-nins from Kirigakure the village hidden in the Mist, their headgears had a slash across the symbol to show that they were no longer ninjas for the Hidden Mist, but ninjas for hire. One had long spiky black hair, while the other's hair could not be seen at all. They each had a huge glove on one hand, one had his on his right hand and the other had his on his left hand, with sharp poisonous claws. They both wore camouflaged pants and shirts with black overcoats. They both also wore breathing masks which only covered their mouths and sounded hazy when they spoke.
"So Misoku here..." said Boss Tonake as he points to another man who comes in through the door as his name is mentioned. He was dressed like a normal civilian, he had blonde hair, but was actually a spy, a ninja from Kumogakure the village hidden in the clouds, on the inside for Boss Tonake.
"...called me during the tournament and told me the kid toke the bait and I thought everything was going as planned. So tell me why I am sitting here looking at you with nothing?" yelled Boss Tonake at the Trick Demolisher.
The Trick Demolisher was silent and did not answer back. He knew Boss Tonake wasn't done speaking, and speaking before he was done could be a fatal decision.
"I had everything riding on that match and because you messed it up I lost everything. I lost all my money, I lost all my subordinates except Misoku and my bodyguards. Now tell me what are you going to do about all that?" said Boss Tonake calmly.
"I'm sorry Boss, I know a lot was riding on that match, I tried my best, but don't worry Boss I already have a plan." said the Trick Demolisher with a smile on his face.
"Oh you do, huh? What don't you tell me of this plan of yours?" answered Boss Tonake with a curious look on his face as he let out a cloud of smoke towards the ceiling.
"Well, you could make another bet with the Syndicate and this time you would bet that Team Konoha would be disqualified from the finals for missing one member. I would go and kidnap the girl since she is the weakest of the two. We would either kill her or hold on to her until the winner of the tournament was determined and you got everything you lost back. So what do you think Boss?" said the Trick Demolisher after speaking straight on without taking a breath.
"hmmm... I like this plan of yours, it sounds like a plan I would come up with. Ok, Trick Demolisher, you get this last chance, you mess this up and its over for you, got it?" said Boss Tonake in a serious tone with his cigar in his hand so he could speak clearly.
"Yes, Boss. Thank you, Boss." answered the Trick Demolisher as he bows.
"You know where to find me when you find the girl." says the Boss as he leaves the warehouse followed by his bodyguards and Misoku.
"Misoku..." said Boss Tonake a few blocks down from the warehouse.
"Yes, Sir." answered Misoku as he stands behind him.
"Get the girl, and bring her to me as soon as possible." said Boss Tonake as he blows another puff of smoke in the air.
"With pleasure."
Just like that Misoku was gone faster than anyone could follow.
"And you two..."
"Yes, Sir" answered the two bodyguards.
"Kill him." said Boss Tonake with a smile on his face.
"Understood, Sir."
Just the same the bodyguard were gone like the blink of an eye, only to reappear back in the warehouse...
---
"Hey, wake up!"
"Huh, what?" answered Sakura as she rubs her eyes.
As her eyes were adjusting to the light she saw a stranger standing on top of her and automatically assumed it was an attacker, with her ninja reflexes, faster than the attacker knew what was happening she had him in a leg lock.
"Hey, wait... What are you doing?" said the attacker as he tries to move his legs but they wouldn't budge.
Sakura then using the ground pushes herself, and does a side flip with her legs still locked with the attacker which flips him then slam him on the ground. Sakura was already on top of the attacker with a kunai at his throat.
"Who are you? Who sent you?" said Sakura in a serious and dangerous voice.
"Hey Sakura, its me." said the attacker.
Sakura's eyes started adjusting to the light correctly and she finally noticed that the person under her wasn't an attacker but Naruto.
"Jeez, I was just trying to wake you up. We both fell asleep on the grass for a few hours since we were so tired. You didn't have to attack me like that." said Naruto with a confused look on his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry Naruto. I thought it was an enemy or attacker who was trying to hurt me or kidnap me or something." said Sakura with a grin.
They both started laughing and they totally forgot their peculiar position.
"Well, Sakura I didn't know you were so forward like that." said Naruto with a huge grin from ear to ear.
"Huh, what are you talking about?" said Sakura with a confused look.
It wasn't until Sakura felt something move between her legs did she finally notice that she was sitting right on top of Naruto's crotch.
"Ahhhh! Naruto, you pervert!" screamed Sakura as she noticed what he did and started moving off him, but before she could Naruto pulled her back down and their lips locked before Sakura could say anything.
Sakura could not believe it but she was kissing Naruto, the one that she now loves and the one that also loves her back, she couldn't be happier. They pulled apart a minute later to catch their breath.
"I'm sor..."
Before Naruto could say anything else Sakura pulls Naruto over so she goes on the bottom and Naruto on top.
"I love you Naruto." said Sakura with her face starting to turn red.
"I love you too. I always had, and I always will. Your the only girl for me." answered Naruto with a smile.
She then pulls Naruto down for another kiss. This time she pulls him down further and deepened the kiss and for the first time Naruto and Sakura shared a french kiss.
Without even knowing what he was doing Naruto's hand started moving up by itself and slowly worked his way up, and gently touched Sakura's breast. Finally noticing what he was doing when he heard Sakura moan lightly under him, he quickly removed his hand only to be surprised when Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled it back to her breast, and gave another moan.
"hummm...please...Naruto...touch me more..." said Sakura as her face once again turn bright red as she let out another moan when Naruto started gently caressing her breast.
'I have never seen this side of Sakura before. Even though she still has her bra and shirt I didn't think she would moan like that.' thought Naruto as he continued caressing her breast. Then accidentally Naruto squeezed her nipple lightly through her shirt and Sakura let out a huge moan which scared Naruto. So he quickly pulled himself away from her.
"I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't mean to do that. It was an accident. I swear." said Naruto quickly as he put up his hands in defense.
"Naruto, its fine. Its okay." said Sakura quietly without looking up as she fixes her shirt. She was a little embarrassed of what they were just doing, and she could not believe how much she enjoyed it, how good it felt.
"So... humm..." started Naruto as he scratch the back of his head. "Should we get going?"
"Going where?" said Sakura as she look up at Naruto.
"To take that shower that we both need badly." answered Naruto with a small grin.
"Oh...yea...lets go." said Sakura feeling a little disappointed since she thought he meant going to have more fun.
"So, we never really talked about it but are we now a couple?" asked Sakura cautiously not sure of what the answer would be.
"Yea, of course." answered Naruto with a smile on his face as he gets up from the grass and also help Sakura up.
"Come on."
Using their ninja speed they started jumping from tree to tree and headed back to the city, but little did they know that they were being watch...
---
It was the day of the finals and all over the city people were excited and talking about the match. It was once again another wonderful day in the city, the weather was clear and there was a few breezes now and then.
Over the last two days Naruto had the best time of his life with Sakura. They explore the city, they met new people, and saw things they would have never seen in Konoha village.
After getting a good night of sleep, Naruto woke up fully rested and ready for his match in the afternoon. After taking a nice shower and getting dressed, Naruto heard a knock at the door. He slowly made his way to the door, not sure who it could be, but hoped it was Sakura, even though they already planned on just meeting at the stadium in time for the match.
After opening the door, standing right in front of him was a person he least expected to see, it was Hinata. She was standing there at the door with her face down and twirling her fingers in her usual manner whenever she is around him.
"Oh, hey Hinata. Come on in." said Naruto with a smile on his face as he open the door to let her in.
"What's up?"
"I... just wanted to... see you..." answered Hinata as she starts to blush.
"Really? Thanks. Come on sit down. I'll be right back, I got to check on the tea. Do you want some?" said Naruto as he head over to the kitchen.
"Sure..."
'I have to tell him how I feel. I saw them together yesterday and noticed how close he gotten to Sakura. I hope I'm not to late but I have to tell him, otherwise I will lose him forever.'
Hinata was deep in thought, trying to think of a strategy, that she didn't even notice when Naruto came back into the room or when he even placed her tea on the small table in front of her.
It wasn't until Naruto's face was right in front of hers that she finally snapped back to reality. She jumped back and almost fell of the couch as her face turn bright red from having Naruto so close to her.
"Are you alright, Hinata? I have been calling you for a few minutes now and you never answered and you seemed totally spaced out." said Naruto as he hands Hinata her tea.
"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you."
As the time went by Naruto and Hinata talked about how hard some of the tournament battles were, and how much fun he had in the city. They also shared some laughs about how funny some people in the city can be.
"Well, I only have a few hours until the finals so I got to get ready." said Naruto getting up.
"Yes, I understand... I will leave you then..."
'This is my last chance I have to do something. I must do something drastic, something big even for me, to show him how I truly feel. I must know how he feels, I am tired of doing nothing.'
Hinata got up and came close to Naruto, and before he could tell what was happening he felt his lips against Hinata's. Naruto pulled away from the kiss immediately.
"Hey, Hinata. What are you doing?" said Naruto with a confused and surprising look on his face at what just happened. He never thought Hinata was also this forward. Then Naruto suddenly heard a noise by the door and by the time he looked there was nobody there.
"Shhh... I just heard a noise by the door but I see no one. Can you check for me if there is anyone running away or anything?" asked Naruto as he kept his eyes on the door.
"Yea... let me check..."
Using her Byakugan, Hinata was able to see through the wall, and off in the distance running away from the hotel was Sakura.
'Oh no, Sakura. I think she saw when I kissed Naruto. This is bad.'
"So do you see anything?" asked Naruto again.
"No, there was no one there. I think you heard wrong." said Hinata in a low voice knowing that she was lying to him.
"Ok, back to the subject of earlier. What was up with that kiss?"
"I'm sorry Naruto... please forgive me..." answered Hinata as she bows. "But I had no choice... I have always watched you and admire you from afar... now I want you to know how I really feel... that I have always loved you..."
There was a moment of silence where no one said a word.
"I'm sorry Hinata, but I don't have the same feelings for you. I am in love with Sakura, and she finally accepted me for who I am and we are now a couple." said Naruto in a low voice knowing that what he was telling her would break her heart.
"It's okay... I kind of felt that you guys might already be a couple but I wasn't sure, so I had to try..." said Hinata with a small grin.
"Well, I'll let you get ready for the finals. See you later Naruto." said Hinata as she opens the door to leave.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you, I would never mean to intentionally." said Naruto as he stand in the doorway.
"Its okay. Well, good luck at the finals."
Hinata waved goodbye and left the hotel, but as soon as she was outside Naruto's room she started crying. She had no choice but to go to side of a building next to the hotel so she could calm down.
'The only person I have ever loved turned me down. Its this how it feels to have a broken heart?' thought Hinata as she sits down on the ground with tears flowing down her face.
'But just because I may not be happy that doesn't that Naruto shouldn't be, and I think I may have mess that up if Sakura saw us. I have to do something quick before it gets any worse.'
Hinata was lost in thought until something finally caught her eyes.
'What is that?... this is a leaf headgear, who could this belong to?... Let me check the name inscription on the back to see who it belongs to... this... this belongs to...'
As Hinata sat there and notice the name that was on the inscription she was could not believe it. A ninja is taught to never lose one's headgear, but one rule does state that if captured one must leave it behind as a clue or for their family as they are killed and their body can't be found. The person who this belongs to was captured.
'This belongs to... Sakura Haruno...'
/Sakura's viewpoint./
Sakura woke up early that day. She could not sleep, she was too excited about the finals. After eating a good breakfast she decided to go say hello to all her friends before the match.
As she walked through the streets she could not help but smile when she heard people talking about her and Naruto.
'Even though I told him we would just meet at the stadium, I think I should go see him after I see everyone else. Now, Master Kakashi told me that they were all in that Yokabo Hotel. It seems that only me and Naruto were the only ones who went to different hotels.'
As Sakura walked through the front door, she was going to go to the reception desk and ask for everyone's room numbers, but to her surprise she heard her name being called.
"Hey, Sakura. Over here!" yelled Lee from across the room.
As Sakura came over she noticed that everyone was sitting in the lounge, just hanging out and talking. The lounge was the biggest room in the hotel, it had many furniture to accommodate its customers when they want to relax.
"Hey, guys. What are you doing?" said Sakura as she takes a seat between Kiba and Shino.
Sitting in the lounge was everyone from the Genin teams that she know. On one side there Kakashi, Iruka, and Sasuke who looked pretty bored. Over to the right was Lee, Neji, Tenten, and Gai. To the left was Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji who was eating potato chips, and Asuma who was smoking. Towards the center was Kiba with Akamaru on top of his head as usual, Shino, and Kurenai.
"Nothing much. Just talking and passing the time for today's match." answered Kiba.
"Hey, where is Hinata?" asked Sakura finally noticing that one person was missing.
"She went for a walk, early this morning, and we haven't seen her since." answered Shino without even looking up.
"Good luck today huge forehead Sakura." said Ino with a grin.
"Thanks, I will do my best Ino pig." answered Sakura also with a grin.
"I'm going for a walk." said Sasuke as he gets up to leave. "Good luck today Sakura, and try not to let Naruto blow it."
"Thanks, Sasuke, I won't."
"Oh if you see Hinata tell her we're in here." yelled Kiba after Sasuke, who simply waves his hand without turning around but showed that he heard him.
"So anyway we were talking about funny things that happened to us during missions. When you came in Lee was telling us of how he fell asleep while carrying an important package up a mountain." said Iruka with a smile.
"Really? Continue then Lee, I want to know what happens next." said Sakura with a grin, as Lee face turn red.
For the next hour or so laughter could be heard all over the hotel from the group of ninjas in the lounge. The manager has been trying to get them to keep it down for some time but every time he got close he would get scared when he sees that each ninja had a weapon pouch by the side of their legs, and he did not want to get hurt for getting them mad.
"Well guys, its been fun, but now I have to go. See you all at the later at the match." said Sakura as she gets up and headed left the lounge.
"Bye!" answered everyone else but Lee was waving his hand like a lunatic trying to say good bye.
Sakura headed straight to Naruto's hotel room. She wanted to see him before their match that afternoon. As she made her way down the hallway she came to Naruto's door, because they were now dating she didn't think it was a problem if she just came through the door without knocking.
As she opens the door slowly, she heard voices. Not sure what was going on she peep through the corner of the door in time to see Hinata kiss Naruto. As soon as she saw that, she just turned and ran as fast as she could. All people in the hotel could see a was a blur passing by them leaving traces of tears in the air.
She ran to the side of a building next to the hotel, and just burst in tears.
'I can't believe what I just saw... was I dreaming... no, it wasn't it was all real... I can't believe Naruto would do this to me... I trusted him... I told him my true feelings and he told me I was the only girl for him... but to find him kissing Hinata... he betrayed me, I will never speak to him again, this is unforgivable...'
As Sakura sat there with her head on her knees crying, she did not even notice a person appearing out of nowhere behind until it was to late.
Sakura could feel a pair of eyes piercing through her and a shadow was right on top of her, and automatically she pulls out a kunai but her hand was stop by the attacker before she could throw the kunai. Before she could do anything else both of her arms were twisted behind her back and was instantly tied by an invisible rope, the same goes for her legs, and when she tries to scream she could not hear her voice.
"Your coming with me, young lady... don't even try anything, my jutsu stops all movement and any form of sound." said a harsh laughing voice to Sakura. The alley was dark so she could not see the attacker's face, but he wasn't dress like a ninja, so she figure he must be a spy of some sort.
"Your a pretty cute girl up close... I like pretty young girls like you, they make me feel... good, very good...but your lucky my job is to bring you back as soon as possible and I have already wasted enough time following you around for the last few days... otherwise we were going to have some fun..."
The attacker puts Sakura over his shoulder with her upper body facing his back and was getting ready to jump.
'I have to do something, I got to leave behind a clue, but I can't move at all. Wait, I got it.'
As soon as the attacker started jumping from side to side, using the walls of the two buildings to climb on to the roof. Sakura toke that to her advantage and was able to summon a little of chakra to her neck and was able to move her head really fast only for a few second, but that was more than enough as her objective was completed.
As the attacker made it over to the roof, he stopped for a second and started the hand gestures for a jutsu. It wasn't until Sakura felt her eyes were getting heavy did she figure out it was a sleeping jutsu. Sakura gave one last look and saw her headgear hit the ground as she falls asleep...
---
After looking through half of the city, Hinata could not find Sakura anywhere. She knew it was her fault since it was that kiss that made her run, and now Sakura may in trouble because of her.
Sasuke was coming back from the forest outside the city, he had decided to do some training and was heading back to take a shower before heading to the stadium for the finals. As he jump from roof to roof, he noticed someone from the distance doing the same. Not sure who it was decided to get close and see, and finally noticed that it was actually Hinata.
"Hey, Hinata. What are you doing?" said Sasuke as he appears right next to her.
"Oh, Sasuke. I really need your help, I think Sakura was captured by an enemy." said Hinata really fast as she finally stop on one roof to talk to Sasuke properly.
"What are you talking about I was just with her around two hours ago. She was fine. When did this happen? Tell me everything?" said Sasuke with a confused look on his face as he crosses his arms over his chest.
Hinata started explaining everything to Sasuke as her face turn red when she told him of the kiss. She then told him of how she found her headband by the side of a building.
"Your right, she must have been captured, there is no way she would just leave her headgear behind. But why? We have to find her now, her match is in less than an hour." said Sasuke as both him and Hinata started jumping from roof to roof again faster than anyone could follow.
"Wait, her match is an less than an hour... that's it... they are trying to get Team Konoha disqualified for missing one member of their team." said Hinata with an angry tone of voice.
"I think your right, lets go." said Sasuke as they both increased their speed.
---
Sakura finally started to wake up. She tried to move but she was still under the attacker's jutsu. As her eyes finally adjusted to the light, she noticed that she was in a big room which was filled with things she has never seen before. There was famous paintings, statues, and the room was filled with items made out of gold.
"So do you like my collection?" said a voice from her right. As she turns she noticed four man coming through the door with a short one up front. She also noticed that the second was the one that captured her and brought her here. The others seems to be missing-nins from the Mist, and for a second there she thought she recognized them.
"Well, well, well... if isn't Sakura from Team Konoha." said Boss Tonake with a smile as he pulls out a cigar from his jacket.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you and your boyfriend caused me?" yelled Boss Tonake from across the room as he made his way to his desk and sits down.
"Misoku, good job. You will be paid greatly for being so loyal..." said Boss Tonake with a smile.
"Thank you, Sir." answered Misoku with a bow.
"But you messed up twice, and that is unacceptable." said Boss Tonake with an angry tone.
"What? wait... what do you..." said Misoku as he tries to defend himself.
"Kill him..."
Before anyone could see what was happening, the other two man who came in suddenly jumped in the air and all of the sudden their gloves became connected with a chain which was already wrapped around Misoku.
"Wait! please, stop!..."
The only thing that was seen was Misoku body parts falling on the carpet with blood flying everywhere.
As soon as Misoku was dead, Sakura was able to move again since the jutsu needed the caster to keep working. Even though she was free, Sakura was to scared to do anything, they took away her weapons.
'He killed his own teammate. This guy is crazy.' thought Sakura as she kept on pretending that she was still tied up.
"I hate failure, don't get me wrong girl he saw it coming," started Boss Tonake as he blows smoke from the corner of his mouth. "First he told me that you guys were done for against the Trick Demolisher but he was beat by two little punks. Second, he toke three days to finally bring you to me. Two mistakes that I cannot accept. Oh, don't worry we can clean that up later." said Boss Tonake with a smile.
'Wait, that move... I knew I recognize these guys... they were the ones who attack us during our first C rank mission of protecting Tazuna. This is bad, the match starts in less than ten minutes and if I'm not there Team Konoha is disqualified...'
Then suddenly the two mist ninjas disappeared only to reappear on either side of Boss Tonake with their chain around him.
"Hey, what going on here? What are you doing?" yelled Boss Tonake.
"We have no need for you anymore," said the one on the right.
"We only needed the girl." said the other.
Before Boss Tonake could said another word, he was dead, cut into many pieces.
"I hope you didn't forget us girl," said the one with the long hair.
"We will have our revenge!"
Slowly they crept towards Sakura, their chain soaking with blood.
End of Chapter 9.
Well guys, this was chapter 9. Hope you all enjoyed it. I tried making it longer since I haven't updated in so long. Two more chapters to go. Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. See you all next chapter.
Next Chapter: The Last Battle Begins