"Tainted Demon Eyes"
By Nes Mikel
Acknowledgment;
I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy.
- Chapter Five -
"Robert McNamara'd into Submission"
"Well, there's no need for you guys to go back to the Academy." – Kakashi
The world was red.
Crimson moonlight.
Scarlet darkness.
Illuminated by that ominous light, the stains on the walls slowly became visible.
Handprints.
Red handprints.
Stained of blood.
He looked down, and stared at his hands.
Stained of blood.
The room was full of blood and corpses.
And inside that tranquil-still chaos… she was there. Spread across the floor like a broken toy, her dead eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Her slender neck, sliced open from a katana wound, the blood flowing freely. He still couldn't believe she was the one responsible for the deaths of everyone in the room. She, the one responsible for it all, and he… he was the one that had stopped her. He was the one that killed her. He killed her.
He slowly approached the immobile body. Feeling weak, he sunk to his knees. His eyes… his eyes… they were hurting so bad.
The cursed power was beginning to awaken.
The world was red.
He screamed. "This… couldn't be happening…!"
A voice. "But it is."
Then the world became black.
The vision ended, and accompanied by a loud gasp, the man's eyes snapped open as he was violently awakened from slumber. Immediately his hands went for his face, and commanded his body to stop the flow of chakra towards the eyes. He stared at the mirror hanging from the wall of his room nearby and watched the reflection of his red Sharingan eyes slowly fading into its original black color. It was soon gone. Letting his hands fall back limp onto the sheets, he slowly sat up from his bed. He breathed out a heavy sigh.
That dream again.
He glanced at the small clock besides his bed. It was eleven-thirty in morning. Seven hours of sleep. He had come back late last night after finishing a mission he was assigned from the ANBU – his uniform was still scattered across the floor of his room. Noting the time, his thoughts briefly flickered towards the well being of his brother. Sasuke must be doing that 'survival training' mission by now… he remembered.
Sasuke.
"You shouldn't say what you just said, aniki! You've made more girls cry than I have."
"At least I held true to my word."
"Geez, I don't understand you. You have better looks than me, you're stronger than me, you have more ladies swoon over you, yet you don't take advantage of that!"
Why don't I take advantage of that?
Because, my dear brother… I can't… I can't forget her…
"I wish I could, Sasuke." he mumbled to himself dryly. "And be like you."
She gave me a mark that I will have to carry on for the rest of my life.
These cursed eyes.
The Kaleidoscope.
Lightly biting his lower lip, Uchiha Itachi rose from his bed and started to dress for the day.
Inside the Hidden Leaf's Practice Arena #3, Uchiha Sasuke was having the time of his life – in a negative way. He felt that what he was experiencing right now could be easily be counted as one of the worst days of his life. He had a feeling that the list will grow longer as the days passed by if he was stuck with this sensei of his.
In fact, at this precise moment, he was being hung upside down by the leg from a tree. He could almost feel Sakura desperately trying to hold back her burst of laughter and Naruto smirking at him somewhere in the immediate area. His cheeks were flushed red, and kept on telling himself that it wasn't because of embarrassment, but because of gravity rushing blood to his cheeks.
The bell below him ringed a little as the man who dropped it purposely picked it up again. "Don't fall for such obvious traps, idiot."
Gritting his teeth in anger, he seethed out a retort. "…goddamnit."
He saw Kakashi smile behind the mask, taunting him. "A ninja must be able to read what's underneath the underneath."
"I know that!" he spat out.
Sasuke heard him chuckle. "Umm, I'm telling you because you don't. Using Bunshin no Jutsu to make me think that you're attacking from the front was a good idea to take my behind – although next time I recommend you do something about the splashes clones should make when coming out the water as if they were actual bodies instead of just passing right through the water. Otherwise it's too easy to tell which clones are the fakes. Not only that, but once I used Kawarimi no Jutsu and you hit a puff of smoke, you got startled at the sudden turn of events. You thought I was hiding in one of the clones and canceled your jutsu, which left you exposed out in the open. Bad idea, that one. Nice way of making yourself a target practice. You should at least be able to keep track of which clones are yours and which ones are not."
"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled as he pulled out a kunai from his leg holster. "I'll get out of this trap and show y-"
Thuthuthunk.
Sasuke's eyes went wide as he watched the body of his Jounin instructor fall to the ground, his body riddled with dozens of senbon. "Shit!" he exclaimed. "You guys went too fa-"
Poof!
Kakashi's 'body' turned into a log riddled with holes.
What the hell? He used kawarimi again? The realization of what had just happened dawned on him quickly. Damn… he used me and showed an opening on purpose to lure out the other two and expose where they are!
It was only then Sasuke first took notice of the black senbons embedded in the wooden log. They seemed slightly odd in shape, and were slowly melting as it turned into liquid. A small, black puddle was starting to form at the base of the log.
…what the hell is that?
"Bah. Whatever." he shook his head to clear his thoughts, choosing to ignore that odd substance for now. "I'm not going to fall for his stupid traps again." he grumbled as he cut the rope that was holding him up and landed gracefully back on the ground.
Sasuke had to eat his words as another trap activated as soon as he touched the ground. He found himself dangling upside down from the tree yet again.
"Goddamnit!"
Oh yes, he certainly was having the time of his life.
Hmm, she's better than I thought. Kakashi scratched his head as he watched his student dispel the genjutsu he conjured up around her.
After luring Naruto out with his bait and taking note of his current position, he noticed Sakura dash out of her hiding spot with the corner of his eye and decided to surprise her first. The genjutsu was meant to show Sakura a battered Sasuke in near-death. A thought flickered briefly in his mind that perhaps he went a bit far, but was pleasantly surprised when Sakura merely gulped at the vision and formed the seals for Release.
"Ninja Fighting Lesson #2 – genjutsu. I guess you knows the basis." he started to go through a few hand seals himself, trying hard to ignore the glare his student gave him.
"Bring it on, bastard." she hissed.
"Now, now, is that any way to treat your superior?"
"You're not my superior yet!" Sakura yelled at him. "I'm going to kick your ass and make you beg that you are my superior!"
"Touché."
"You want genjutsu? I'll give you genjutsu!" Kakashi narrowed his eye as he watched her form seals and finished it with a cross seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
"That's not really a genjutsu… you're not listening to me, are you?" he said as his student manifested a dozen shadow clones of herself.
So this is the forbidden skill she used to defeat Mizuki with… I guess I should take her a bit more seriously than Sasuke before.
"Well then, let's up the ante."
Sakura and her clones replied to his taunt in sync by hollering out an angry yell and charged at him directly. Kakashi lazily finished the seals he was forming, and small flare of chakra erupted as his technique was executed.
Genjutsu: Kuukan Wakyoku no Jutsu!
Naruto was carefully hidden amidst the leaves not too far away, now observing the battle between Sakura and Kakashi with interest.
Truth be told, he didn't like where this was going, not one bit. He had greatly underestimated this teacher of his – he had even forced his hand. Not realizing it was a trap, when he saw the opening Kakashi made Naruto quickly formed the appropriate seals and transferred the essence of his chakra into the scroll. When his chakra and the special ink he used to formulate merged, the simple black lines written on the scroll materialized and became sharp senbon that could easily be controlled by Naruto's will. He had flung all of them at Kakashi with the intent to disable him and snatch away the bells… but instead, he had hit a log. Quickly realizing that he was baited, he hurriedly moved out of his hiding spot to conceal himself again. To his relief, Kakashi hadn't come after him immediately and instead pursued an exposed Sakura.
His lips tightened. To think that his Senbon Giga taught by Sai was defeated so easily… and as much Naruto hated the thought, he had to admit that the Senbon Giga was one of the best techniques he knew.
It was then when Sakura started to form a sequence of hand seals. This irked his curiosity, as he had never seen these sequences before. The basic seals for the technique were similar to bunshin no jutsu, but a few extra seals were throw in the procession and it ended with an unfamiliar one. At first he thought they were bunshins added with perhaps some sort of illusionary element, but Naruto quickly realized the clones Sakura created were not illusions, but actual physical bodies.
Impressive… Naruto inwardly praised Sakura.
The Sakura clones quickly surrounded Kakashi cutting off his escape to the side, and charged at the teacher. The results were unspectacular as they ended up colliding into each other and dematerialized into puffs of smoke, leaving behind a dazed and confused Sakura. She quickly came to her senses and followed it up with a string of curses. "Dammit! That's not fair!" he heard her say.
It was Kakashi's genjutsu, Kuukan Wakyoku no Jutsu, Naruto realized. To put it simply, the jutsu distorted the images of the immediate expanse by controlling small amounts of water vapor found naturally in the air. It created pseudo mirrors that bent and refracted light, and as a result it threw the visionary senses of people caught in the jutsu into pandemonium. With their senses of direction thrown into disarray, the clones had collided into each other and canceled each other out.
This also means that there's no guarantee that the Kakashi standing in the middle of the field there is the real one. Naruto analyzed. If I were he, I would've hidden away from view right after that… he plans to lure me out again.
He quickly checked the ink cartridge inside the Giga no Maki scroll. It was nearly empty. He didn't have any more room for error now. He doubted the same trick would work twice anyways.
Well then, if one of his best techniques didn't work… the answer was simple. He had to use his best technique, and lure him out instead. He quickly rolled the scroll open and dipped his brush into the ink and started to sketch. Carefully finishing up the final touches to his drawing, Naruto quickly formed the necessary seals with his spare hand and molded the necessary chakra.
"Ninpou: Chouju Giga."
A black and white drawing of a lion started to manifest from the scroll as it unleashed itself from the confines of paper.
Okay, calm down Sakura. This is just a genjutsu, it's not real… I can just dispel it like the last one. She formed the seals for Release. "Kai!" she yelled.
Nothing happened.
"…wha?"
"Tsk tsk." the ever-annoying teacher standing not too far away from her said, his eye never wavering from the perverted book he continued to read. "I'll teach you something Sakura. The seals for genjutsu release will only work when one is stuck in an illusionary world, and if the user has enough chakra and corresponding control to break it. You are not stuck in an illusionary world, and that's why it's not working. I know you're bad at executing jutsus, but don't worry! It's not because you have bad chakra control! Haha-"
Although Sakura knew that her four shurikens would hit nothing but air, she threw them anyway. As expected, they were all flung in four separate directions, nowhere near close to where she was aiming. Sakura knew that she wasn't the best when it came to accuracy, but she was quite certain all four of them would've hit her teacher dead on if it weren't for the jutsu he cast around him. She was starting to understand how this worked. "So this jutsu is somehow just distorting my sense of direction?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Bingo." She faulted a little at his announcement when he confirmed her suspicions without a hint of worry. This guy isn't concerned at all even if I figured out his technique! Inner Sakura growled. His cheerfulness was really starting to get on her nerves.
"Well then, let's see if you can dodge this with your technique!" she went through the seals for her favorite technique once more. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ten shadow clones appeared behind her.
"Kage Bunshin again?" her teacher replied in a bored tone. "Haven't you already figured out that technique won't work against me?"
She grinned as she and her clones readied themselves for battle. "This jutsu creates actual physical copies of myself."
"Riiight. So?"
"Perfect copies of my body, my clothes, and… my ninja equipment."
That got his attention. The bored look on her sensei's face slowly dissipated and turned serious. At the very least she made him stop reading his book. Sakura and her clones reached for their weapon holsters and pulled out a batch of shuriken. "So you can dodge a few of my shuriken by distorting my sense of direction. Congratulations. But can you dodge a hundred shuriken flung in all directions?" she smiled triumphantly as she and her clones readied their weapons. "Take this! Kage Bunshin: Shuriken no Mai!"
She saw Kakashi smile behind the mask.
Sakura froze. Her instinct was screaming at her that something was wrong. Dead wrong.
"Yeah, it's true." he admitted. "If you do that, even with the genjutsu active I wouldn't be able to protect myself from the barrage, but…"
The image of Kakashi disappeared in front of her.
"Only if that was the real me."
Her moment of glory came crashing down the moment the voice behind her started speaking. "No wa-" she didn't even have the time to blink as all of her ten clones dissipated into a puff of smoke with a simple swipe by her Jounin teacher's hand. Kakashi was standing behind her all along! In desperation she quickly spun around to throw the shurikens she still held in her hands, but they clattered to the ground useless when Kakashi twisted her arm to her back and he locked her in a vice grip.
"The concept was good." he complemented. "Never let your guard down though, and you should pay more close attention to your surroundings. You never even spared a glace to your rear."
Sakura struggled to move her arms, but they were locked firmly in place. It was useless. Her head sagged down as she realized that she was defeated. It's over… I lost.
"Oh, and watch out." Kakashi called out.
"Huh?" her head snapped back up, only to come face-to-face with a lion. "AAAAAAHHH!" she screamed, and was suddenly forced roughly down into the ground. Her face met dirt, and Sakura promptly lost consciousness.
"Geez, and I just told her to never let your guard down too." Kakashi mumbled. He had pushed down Sakura into the ground to move her out of harm's way whilst he dodged the Giga lions that came after him and his female student with the intent to kill. He drew two kunai from his holster and threw it behind him without sparing a glance and was met with a satisfying splash sound. The counterfeits had lost its ability to maintain its physical form and turned back into ink.
He recognized that technique, and he frowned. That idiot. He glanced at the figure of Naruto sitting atop a nearby tree branch, calmly observing the whole situation. "Chouju Giga, huh… a chuunin-level ninjutsu that is able to physically create a berserker copy of any animal from a simple drawing. A genin like you shouldn't have enough chakra to be able to use that jutsu…"
"Thanks for the praise, but it's over." the Naruto behind him responded.
Naruto had used Henge no Jutsu to change into one of the two Giga lions that attacked him and Sakura to cover the fact that he was attacking Kakashi head on, and left a bunshin behind at his original hiding spot to camouflage where he really was. Naruto only had charged in just now because he was certain that the Kakashi restraining Sakura was the real one since normal clones could not come in contact physically. For Naruto, this looked like a golden opportunity to swipe the bells from his Jounin instructor.
So predictable. Kakashi thought.
"Nice plan Naruto, but just so you know, Sakura's not the only one who knows how to use Kage Bunshin." The clone above the ground disappeared in a puff of smoke when Kakashi canceled the jutsu, and before Naruto could react to what had just happened, he made his move and thrust his hands out of the ground. Kakashi grabbed his ankle, and Naruto was now within his grasp.
"Below you. Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" Kakashi yanked, and pulled a wailing Naruto beneath the ground only leaving his head above the dirt floor. Kakashi then slowly climbed out of the ground himself, dusting off a few dirt crumbs off that had attached itself to his Jounin uniform.
"Ninja Fighting Lesson #3 – ninjutsu. I'll admit, you're already heads above the others in this area, but…" Kakashi's face turned serious as he stared Naruto directly at the eye. "You've just done something you shouldn't have."
Naruto avoid his gaze.
Kakashi shrugged as he stood up. "I'm going to take care of Sasuke. You take care of Sakura. You owe her that much. After all, you took advantage of her."
Leaving a grumbling Naruto behind, he left the area. It didn't take long for Kakashi to find Sasuke.
"Pfft, instead of wasting time trying to get the bell, I can just hide and eat the lunches now." Kakashi heard Sasuke say, hidden behind a stone monument trying to open the lunchboxes.
Unable to think up of something witty, Kakashi decided to keep it simple instead. "Hey."
"…shit."
Ah yes, simple is good.
"Sakura."
Someone was calling her name.
"Sakura."
"Unnngggh…" she moaned. She had a splitting headache.
"Sakura, are you all right?"
"…please tell me you're not Sasuke." Sakura said, massaging her forehead with the palm of her hand to ease the ache.
"…"
"I'm just kidding Naruto." she grinned, eyes still closed. "Can you help me up?"
"…I'm afraid I can't do that." the reply came, almost a whisper.
"Huh?" Sakura slowly opened her eyes and shifted her head a little to the side. Her vision was rewarded with an embarrassed looking Naruto half buried with only his head above the ground. She desperately fought back the urge to laugh at his predicament but she supposed it showed on her face when Naruto's expression turned sour. "Haha… sorry." she stuck her tongue out a little mischievously, apologetic. "You need help?"
He nodded, and Sakura sat up and pulled out one of her kunais to dig. With her help, Naruto was soon released from his confines, leaving only behind an awkward silence between the two.
Sakura was the first to break the uneasy tension in the air and sighed. "Man… I can't believe I lost." she said, her eyes downcast.
"You have given your best."
"Obviously the best was not good enough."
"…" Naruto didn't reply. The silence returned. Then suddenly, "I'm sorry Sakura."
"Eh?"
"I…" Naruto was avoiding her curious gaze. "Attacked you."
"Um, Naruto, I'm not quite sure what you mea-"
He cut her off. "Those lions. That was my jutsu."
She was at a loss for words. "…oh."
Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets, still avoiding Sakura's eyes as he continued his explanation. "I attacked you and Kakashi thinking that Kakashi would surely try to protect you from harm… and using that opportunity I tried to steal his bells."
Sakura didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry." Naruto turned his back towards her and started to walk away from her. "There's not much time left until lunch. I'm going."
"…why?"
He stopped.
"…why what."
"Why are you willing to go so far…?"
Sakura saw Naruto's head sag a bit, as if he was trying hard to not remember something. "…there are some things I must do." Naruto replied. It was clear that he was struggling with his words.
"It's not exactly a 'dream', but I have two goals. One is to finish what my father has started… and… to kill a certain woman."
"Is it… for your goals…?" Sakura asked, as she recalled the introduction he gave when they first gathered on the rooftop as a team.
"…" he started to walk away from her again.
"H-hey!"
As Sakura tried to chase him, Naruto slowly turned his head towards her and their eyes finally met. She stopped, unable to move from her position as his blue eyes told her everything she needed to know.
His eyes.
They're so… so sad…
The shrill sound of the alarm clock rang throughout the practice area just then. Sakura heard Naruto curse under his breath as he continued to walk away from her and towards the three tree stumps where they were to meet after the test was over. Sakura stood there for a moment longer before she finally collected herself and followed Naruto to their rendezvous point.
He knows the pain of being alone… just like me…
A foreign feeling in her heart stirred ever so silently.
The Third Hokage rubbed his shoulders a bit to ease the stiffness as he sat down in the cafeteria chair. He had been tackling paperwork for the past few hours with little progress, so he was more than relieved when his Chuunin subordinate offered to treat him lunch.
Although he was well aware of Iruka's motives for this escapade, the Third Hokage decided to ask the question as a conversation opener. "What was it that you wanted to ask me that you'd invite me to lunch for?"
Iruka sighed as he too sat down on the chair across the table from his leader. "I'm worried about them, Hokage-sama."
So he was right. Iruka was indeed concerned about Team Seven. "You're worried?" the Hokage asked as he sipped some green tea.
"I'm curious, which Jounin instructor did you assign to Team Seven?" the Academy teacher asked, leaning slightly forward. "I know which instructors have been assigned to the other rookie teams… but with those three teamed up, someone special had to be assigned and thus it was left for you to decide. I trust that you have selected someone appropriate, but…"
"Hatake Kakashi." the Hokage answered.
Iruka didn't look too pleased at the revelation. "…I see."
The Hokage put the tea back down on the table as kneaded his hands together. "I trust you know him well."
"He was my former squad captain, Hokage-sama." Iruka replied straightforwardly. "You should know that."
"…it has been three years now, hasn't it?" the Hokage noted out of the blue.
"…"
"Sorry Iruka, they must be bad memories."
"It's alright, Hokage-sama." It was a lie, the Hokage knew. The subject was taboo and he knew Iruka didn't like to be reminded of it. Still…
"Iruka, may I ask you something?"
"Yes?"
The Hokage lowered his voice down a notch. "You are a capable member of the ANBU… why did you not apprehend Mizuki the first chance you got? It would've been an easy task for a shinobi of your caliber. You had even put your life at risk."
"…"
The Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf sighed heartedly. "I thought I told you to be a little more honest with her."
"With all due respect, Hokage-sama." Iruka spoke. "I didn't want Sakura to… see that side of me. Can we please get back to our original discussion?" he quickly attempted to change the subject.
The elderly man chuckled. "Of course."
Iruka looked relieved. "So… Kakashi-san huh. I wasn't aware he accepted genin students."
"He hasn't."
"Pardon?"
"Here." the Hokage handed Iruka a small notebook. "Here's the list of his past students and their records." he continued as he watched Iruka flip through the pages. "Kakashi's test might be a little too difficult… since children are obedient…"
"But this…" Iruka stopped flipping through the pages as he looked at his leader in the face. "These are all zeros."
The Third Hokage sipped in a little more green tea. "Yes… Kakashi has never passed anyone. They had all failed his test."
"…" Iruka put down the notebook back on the table and slowly stood up from his chair, ready to leave. He had determined this conversation over.
"Iruka." The Hokage stopped him.
"Yes?" he turned.
"Have a little faith." the Hokage smiled. "They are your students, are they not? Trust Kakashi's judgment, and whatever the result, do not hate him for it."
Iruka seemed to contemplate the thought a little before he bowed at his leader. "Of course, Hokage-sama."
Sakura's stomach was growling loudly.
"Oh, you guys look hungry." Kakashi noted.
Leave it up to him to state the obvious! Inner Sakura yelled.
Ten minutes had passed since the bell had rung, and Naruto and Sakura sat in front of the three wooden poles with boxes of lunch in front of them with strict orders not to eat them yet. She didn't know how long she could keep that up, and her mouth was starting to water ever since she noticed some dango inside the bento-box. As for Sasuke… when she first saw him tied up against the pole for breaking the rules, she didn't hold back her laughter that time. She was still giggling occasionally when she stole glances at Sasuke, whereas Sasuke was trying his best to ignore her in a vain attempt to save his dignity.
However, inside, she was dreading of what was going to come next. Kakashi was going to announce the results of the test. The purpose of the test was to steal the two bells her teacher had, and not one of them had managed to do so. Thus, it came as a total surprise when Kakashi spoke the next words. "Well, there's no need for you guys to go back to the Academy."
Say what?
"What, you mean…" Sakura began, and then she saw Kakashi smile brightly behind his mask. Then it dawned on her. Although they had failed to snatch away the bells, perhaps the purpose of this test was to measure their individual ability and he had acknowledged them? It seemed like Naruto and Sasuke besides her were thinking the exact same things, as they suddenly looked a lot more cheerful. Well, in their case, just a happy snicker. Boys. Sakura mentally rolled her eyes, and turned to her teacher hopefully. "Then, then all three of us are…!"
"Yep." Kakashi nodded. "All three of you…"
Sakura jumped up in glee. Hell yeah!
"Should quit as Ninjas!"
"Wh-" Sakura's words got stuck in her throat at the sudden turn of events. Clearing her throat once, she eventually found her voice and yelled at her teacher. "What? Quit as Ninjas? Okay, so we couldn't get the bells… but why do we have to quit?"
"Because all of you are punks who don't deserve to be ninjas." Kakashi said it bluntly.
Out of everyone here, she had expected herself to be the one most likely to lose control at her teacher's words, so it came as a surprise when Naruto was the one that dashed at Kakashi with the intent to kill. In a flash, Kakashi sidestepped Naruto's offensive and had him wrestled down to the ground, right foot on his head.
"Hey! Don't step on Naruto… like… that?" Sakura blushed feverously when she realized what she had just said. This time she was the one desperately trying to ignore the odd look Sasuke was giving her.
Kakashi slowly shook his head sideways. "Are you guys underestimating ninjas? Huh?" he glared at them. "Why do you think we're training as teams?"
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.
"Meaning… you guys haven't grasped the answer to this test yet."
"Answer?" That was Sakura.
"And I thought you were the smart one." Kakashi remarked ever so casually, successfully infuriating her. "It's the answer that lets you pass this test."
"Ahhh, damn it! What's the answer already!" Sakura was on the verge of losing her patience and was about to charge at her teacher much like Naruto had.
"It's… teamwork."
Silence.
Kakashi shook his head in disappointment. "If the three of you worked together, you may have gotten the bells."
"…h-hey, wait a second." Sakura started. "What do you mean by teamwork! There are only two bells! Even if work together and get the bells, one of us will still fail! That'll just end up in us fighting each… other…" she trailed off as she suddenly realized the true purpose of the test.
Carefully examining his pink-haired student's expressions, Kakashi nodded slowly. "Looks like you got it. This test was purposely designed to make you fight against each other. The aim was to see if you could set aside personal interests and successfully work as a team. Yet… you!" he pointed at Sakura. "Sakura, instead of helping Sasuke who was right in front of you, you were instead making fun of his predicament! And Sasuke!" he then pointed at the black-haired youth tied against the pole. "You were just running around all by yourself, trying to show off! And you, Naruto…" Kakashi growled as he pushed Naruto's face deeper into the ground with his foot. "You're the worst one of all. Not only did you assume that the others will get in your way, but you were even willing the sacrifice the lives of your teammates to accomplish your goal! Sakura was only safe because I pushed her away, which I'm sure was according to your plan… but in the real world, your enemies won't be as kind."
Kakashi paused a bit as he let truths of his speech sink into his students. "Look, missions are accomplished as a team." he continued. "Of course, superior individual ability is important for a ninja, and I admit, all three of you are well above average. But what's even more important is teamwork. Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger – and can even get you killed. For example…" Kakashi's hand reached into the weapons holster behind and pulled out a kunai and placed it in front of Naruto's neck. "Sakura! Kill Sasuke or Naruto dies!"
Despite Inner Sakura urging Sakura to take up on the offer, she was trying her best to ignore that voice. Sasuke had a look of pure horror etched on his face since he knew Sakura disliked him, but to their relief Kakashi soon released his hold on Naruto as he slowly stood up and walked away from them. "You see? Not only are hostages taken, but you are also forced to make impossible choices only to end up dead. For a ninja, missions are all life-risking jobs." he came to a stop in front of a monument made out of stone. "Look at this. These many names carved in this stone. The names of ninjas who are recognized as the heroes of the village."
This perked Sakura's interest. "Really? Heroes? That's what I'll be! I'll get my name carved on that stone someday too! That's what I'll become! A hero!"
"Sakura…" Naruto spoke for the first time. "Don't."
She narrowed her eyes in frustration. "What, Naruto. Are you telling me that I can't be a hero?"
"Those aren't just normal heroes." Naruto explained and looked at the monument with sad eyes. "They are the names of people who died while on duty."
Sakura's cheerful mood suddenly pummeled into the ground as she realized what she had just said. Naruto's reaction, and those sad eyes… He… "…N-Naruto, I'm sorr-" she trailed off. Dammit, I'm such an idiot! Such an idiot!
Kakashi resumed his speech. "When you live your life as a Ninja… you will lose many things. Even people. People who you've laughed with, people who you've cried with, even people who you've… considered as your precious. This monument… is a memorial for them." Kakashi half-turned and stared at his students with a serious eye. "You three… I'll give you one more chance. But after lunch I'll make it even tougher to get the bells. Those who still wish to challenge can eat lunch. However! Don't give any to Sasuke."
"Wh-what?" Sasuke exclaimed in protest.
"It's punishment for trying to eat by yourself." Kakashi answered and Sasuke's head drooped in shame. "If anyone gives him any food, I will fail them immediately. Here, I am the rules, got it?" and with that, he disappeared.
An uneasy silence befell the three. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, then at Sasuke, then finally at the two lunchboxes in front of them.
It was Sasuke that spoke first. "Bah, don't worry about me. Go ahead and eat, I'm not that hungr-" his stomached growled just then, contradicting his earlier words.
Sakura and Naruto snickered at his words as they both sat down and started to open their respective lunchboxes. Sakura stared at the contents for a moment. It was a basic bento-box, with rice, vegetables, and a side dish of dango. She immediately grabbed the sweets and gulped them down hungrily, and noticed Sasuke looking at her enviously. She couldn't take it any longer. "AAAAAH! Fine, fine! Here, have some food you bastard!" she shoved her lunchbox right in front of his face.
"But Sakura-san…" he began.
"Don't call me that!" she screeched. "Just hurry up and take it before he comes back!"
"Have some of mine too." an unexpected voice offered. It was Naruto, as he too, handed over his half-finished lunchbox to Sasuke. "I don't sense his presence anywhere near here. After lunch… we'll work together and get the bells. Otherwise, you'll be in our way."
"Exactly." Sakura huffed at Sasuke. "Now don't act macho and just eat it."
"I'd love to Sakura-san, but…"
"I just told you to not call me that." she growled at him threateningly.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Sakura. But my hands…" Sakura looked at the ropes that tied Sasuke. His hands were bound too. That meant…
"Oh bloody hell. I have to feed you?"
"That would be lovely." Sasuke smiled sweetly.
"Shut up and just open your mouth wide before I change my mind." Sakura took Naruto's lunchbox and scooped up a handful of rice with chopsticks. She was disgusted at the idea of having to spoon-feed this womanizer – she was sure he was enjoying this moment – but she had no choice. As soon as he took a bite, a large shadow loomed over the three of them.
"What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?"
"AHHHHH! Ka-Kakashi sensei!"
"Congratulations! You three pass!"
That day, the Village of the Hidden Leaf initiated three new teams and nine new genin ninjas into their ranks.
Hell yeah! A certain pink-haired girl's inner persona screamed in joy.
Hatake Kakashi, after explaining the basic know-how of ninjas and upcoming mission details to his new subordinates, he had dismissed them and saw them off. Yet, he was still here inside Hidden Leaf's Practice Arena #3, staring at the monument stone a little while longer.
"You can come out now." Kakashi called out.
A clapping sound. "That speech, it was so touching Kakashi-taichou."
"…don't call me that. You've only been in the squad for a week, and that was three years ago." Kakashi slowly turned to face the figure that was standing behind him. "Sai."
The smiling, youthful boy wearing a short and tight black t-shirt that exposed his bellybutton shrugged in a wide arc. "Yes sir, Kakashi-senpai. When did you notice my presence?"
"Don't fool around with me, you weren't even trying to hide your presence at all. I noticed you straight away when you gave Naruto the Giga scroll. It wasn't in his pack when he first came to the Arena."
Sai whistled, as if he were impressed. "I didn't expect any less of you, Kakashi-senpai."
Kakashi was annoyed, but he wasn't going to let this kid taste the satisfaction by showing it. "Cut the crap… why are you here."
"I just wanted to give the Giga no Maki to the unappreciative brat who left it behind in his house."
Kakashi glared at him.
"…and to pay my respects to our fallen comrades in 'Ne'."
Kakashi continued to glare.
"…and Obito-san wanted to meet you in the usual Izakaya tonight. He told me Gai-san is coming too." Sai finished, chuckled slightly. "The gathering of Konoha's Three Stooges, right senpai?"
Kakashi sighed, ignoring that horrid nickname that had been crowned for the three of them. "What does Obito want?"
"You've known Obito-san longer than I have, senpai. You tell me. In fact, if I recall correctly, you two were childhood friends."
"Surely Obito wouldn't have sent you just to tell me that."
Sai's expressionless face seemed to flicker for a brief moment. "…it's probably about Itachi-san."
Kakashi understood immediately.
"Today is… the anniversary, after all. I wasn't lying when I said I came by to pay my respects to our fallen comrades, senpai." Sai continued. "And you know how Obito-san is, trying to cheer up everyone around him… so…"
"You and Iruka coming too?" Kakashi asked.
"Unfortunately no, I have been assigned a solo mission that I have to attend to in two hours, and Iruka-san has to take care of some paperwork in the office. Leading a dual-life of ANBU and an Academy Teacher must be so busy." Sai remarked.
"…you're still not assigned a ANBU squad?"
Sai smiled and slowly he shook his head sideways. "Senpai, 'Ne' was the only squad that was right for me. Although my time in there was short, I'll never forget it. You're the only taichou that I'll ever respect. The only exception may be Itachi-san, but you know me, I don't like getting tied down." he winked.
"…tell Obito I'll be there."
"Understood. I should be going now. Have fun senpai! It's not everyday you get to see a drunk Itachi-san!" Sai giggled, and in a flash he was out of Kakashi's sight.
"…Itachi drunk. Now that is something I would like to see." Kakashi whispered quietly to himself, as he too, laughed a little.
It was something I realized later, but…
When I handed that scroll to Naruto-kun, I forgot to refill it with ink.
- Sai
-
Tainted Demon Eyes
- Chapter Five -
"Robert McNamara'd into Submission"
-END-
Author's Notes:
After writing this chapter, I have come to a certain conclusion concerning my writing skills. And that is… that I am bad at writing action scenes. They end up too short. Which is actually something that worries me, as the plotline of "Naruto" involves lots and lots of fighting. I am, however, quite satisfied with what I came up with in this chapter. It's (almost) original (the fighting, I mean). But Sasuke's fight in this chapter… oh man, his fans will kill me. I'm not satisfied with it myself, but I couldn't think up of anything for him. Sigh. Just to clarify, I'm not bashing him on purpose. Really. Think of it as… er, comedy for the story. Someone's gotta take the hit. Like I said in the last chapter's Author's Notes, he will have his moments. I mean, in the actual story Naruto has that role, right? Something like that.
It also occurred to me that my chapters are getting shorter and shorter every update, so I made this chapter slightly longer than the previous one. I originally had planned to stick in an extra scene in here of Obito and Gai being very drunk, a quiet Itachi drinking to himself in the corner and Kakashi getting a splitting headache in the process of trying to control Obito and Gai gone wild – but that was scrapped since Sai and Kakashi's conversation alone was enough for the purpose of plot. I'm satisfied with how this chapter ended as it adds to the suspense. Of course, this means that I had to scrap a scene where Obito could be introduced to the readers… I'll have to think up of something different now. Or perhaps I'll stick the scene in somewhere in the future chapters.
And yes, Obito is alive and well (character number two to appear early in fic, along with Gai as number three). And yes, I'm aware that this means there is a potential plothole concerning Kakashi's left eye. I have, however, finished planning all the characters and their relationships in this AU universe as I was typing this chapter, so the issue will be addressed. Eventually.
What else… umm… not much. I think I used a bit too many Japanese words in this chapter, but that's what the translations are for. I hope I got all of them. And I think I'll just scrap the review reply section, since I can just do it just as well in this section anyway.
Reviews, comments, criticism, always welcome!
- Nes Mikel
Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Five (in order of appearance):
katana – japanese-style swords
chakra – one of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy. This is in real life, by the way. In "Naruto" they are the necessary spiritual energy you need to perform ninjutsu, genjutsu (illusion techniques), certain forms of taijutsu (physical combat techniques), and blood-limit techniques (inheritance techniques).
sharingan – literal translation: "copy wheel eye". In "Naruto", Sharingan are special bloodline limit abilities that can be used by members of the Uchiha Clan.
anbu – literal translation: "dark squad". In "Naruto" these are elite ninja squads that accomplish the most dangerous missions such as assassinations.
aniki – means "older brother". Used among siblings to call their older brothers.
sensei – teacher
ninja – a member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage. Note that the ninja's in this fic is not based off real life, but based off the ninja's in "Naruto"
bunshin no jutsu – replication (clone) technique. Creates clones. They're illusions, however, so the clones can't perform any physical action. Disappears when hit. Distraction technique.
kawarimi no jutsu – replacement technique. Instantly switches yourself with another object. Distraction technique.
jutsu – technique
kunai – small, metallic daggers used by ninjas. Mostly used as throwing weapons, but unlike shuriken it could also be used as melee weapons.
jounin – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy
kawarimi – replacement
senbon – literal translation: "thousand needles". Thin needles with sharp ends used as throwing weapons or acupuncture.
genjutsu – literal translation is "illusion technique". In "Naruto", these are the techniques used by ninjas that require the use of chakra that does mental damage or to distract and/or confuse the enemy.
kage bunshin no jutsu – literal translation is "shadow replication (clone) technique". Much like Bunshin no Jutsu, they create clones. However, in this jutsu, the clones you create aren't illusions, but are real physical bodies. Disappears when hit.
kuukan wakyoku no jutsu – literal translation is "space distortion technique". An original technique created for this fanfic. Distorts the space around the user by creating invisible pseudo mirrors out of water vapor confusing the senses of the enemies around the user.
senbon giga – literal translation: "thousand needle counterfeit art". An original technique created for this fanfic, but is based off a real one. Draw a bunch of lines on a scroll and make the drawings come to life to turn them into a senbon that can be used as weapons.
bunshin – clone
giga no maki – literal translation: "scroll of counterfeit art". Scroll used for the Giga series techniques.
ninpou – ninja technique
chouju giga – literal translation: "super beast counterfeit art." Draw a bunch of animals (usually lions) on a scroll and make the drawings come to life to turn them into a beasts that pound on the enemy.
kai – dispel
shuriken – a small, star-shaped, quadruple-bladed throwing weapon used by ninjas. However, shuriken's shape and size can vary widely. The example I gave in this explanation is just the most common form of shrunken.
kage bunshin – shadow clone
kage bunshin: shuriken no mai – literal translation: "shadow clone: dance of the throwing stars". An original technique created for this fanfic, but is based off a real one. Create shadow clones and have all of them throw shurikens in all directions, showering the enemy with it.
giga – counterfeit art
chuunin – intermediate-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.
genin – novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.
henge no jutsu – transformation (metamorphosis) technique. Transforms your appearance into something or someone of your choice.
doton – literal translation: "earth element"
shinjuu zanshu no jutsu – literal translation: "inner decapitation technique". User hides underneath the target's ground and drags the target down into the earth, leaving only the head above the ground.
ninjutsu – literal translation is "ninja technique". In "Naruto", these are the techniques used by ninjas that require the use of chakra that does physical damage.
hokage – literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.
sama – attached after a name, could mean "lord" or "master". Either work.
dango – a traditional Japanese sweet/snack. Packed full of stuff called 'anko', which I'm not exactly sure what it's made out of.
bento-box – lunchbox
taichou – captain
senpai – term used to call your senior in the same field
ne – literal translation is "root". In "Naruto", this is a name of an actual ANBU squad.
san – attached after a name, it is a way of calling people out of respect. It could mean "Mr", "Miss" or "Mrs".
izakaya – japanese-style bar that typically serves sake (traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage)
kun – attached after a name, basically it's used to call someone who is younger than you or about the same age. What makes it confusing is that it's used in some other situations that is rather hard to explain.