Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and neither am I some cool Japanese guy who draws ninjas. I'm just a ridiculously smart student who gets incredible grades. :dazzles reader with good-guy pose:
Author comments: First of all, I would like to apologize for those who have given me reviews in the past at not having posted for so long. Mostly my absence has been due to my ungodly amounts of work, and secondly because for a while I was tempted to just not add any more. However, after some thought I was struck with the lightning bolt of inspiration and decided to continue. I will try to add chapters weekly, though I can't guarantee anything, what with exams and benchmarks, etc.
Chapter 2:
Odd ConversationsA passive silence smothered the village of the leaf in its all encompassing blanket, the shadows of evening stretching thinly and taut. It was a transition time for the masses of Konoha, in which the day-time store keepers would trudge about and flip over their signs to "Closed" as they left to escape the grueling hours at work, and the night-time stores would jovially flip on their lights and shout to the owls and night crowd in an attempt to draw them in for business. Like clever trappers they used appealing bait; flashy signs, stylish designs on the walls and signs, entrancing music, and sultry aromas of perfume and incense.
Along the outskirts of the bustle and life was the rot left behind, an abandoned plot of dieing buildings that decayed on their foundations. The ugly rust bricks sagged and squelched in the rain, groaned in protest when the wind teased it with particularly sharp gusts, and creaked on its old wooden bones during the late hours of the night as if attempting to keep its balance while leaning precariously on its side. The buildings, formed into roughly four sections that acted as apartments, were in a sad condition that came about only because of neglect. The water heater was nonexistent, the wall paper, a terrible off-white, peeled down in wrinkly strips, and the carpet was worn through to rough scrap after years of abuse. The bathroom was in surprisingly good condition in comparison to the rest of the house, the unsightly rust and mold that gathered in the damp corners being the worst of it. Otherwise the white tile, colored a pale yellow from the spread of mildew, was relatively clean.
All in all the apartments should have been set for demolition, though one occupant remained in the second story of the pitifully cheap residence (even if he believed that the cheap price he paid for the room was pushing it a bit far). The golden haired ninja sat, perched languidly on the bay seat with his back resting against the wall, and stared out contemplatively over his village. Stripes of light from the street lamps outside his window counted themselves among the six already adorning bronze cheeks, reflecting little squares of light off of the unfocused crimson orbs. His CD player lay, forgotten and lonely, beside him as he absentmindedly flexed the sinewy claws his hands had become.
The rustling of soft fur brushing against rigid metal and the "click" of talons on stone remained an ever-present whisper at the back of Naruto's mind; and though it retreated to the back of his consciousness during the day, drowned out by the loud sounds of people and activity, it never really left. The Kyuubi was bored from what he could gather, and had recently taken to pacing to satisfy its restlessness. Unfortunately, the constant, though gentle, noises it made as it moved were becoming distracting to the fox ninja, thus explaining his transformation as he allowed the link open just enough to talk to the beast. 'Something troubling you, kitsune?'
' Naturally- this lack of action. There is no more blood, no more fun. This calm is an itch I cannot scratch and it gets to me. A shame the Exams ended so swiftly, I always gleamed some entertainment from those.' The growled and moody answer drew a small smile to the ninja's lips; it sounded almost like the Kyuubi was sulking.
'I'm afraid I cannot help you there. I'm in as much control over mission selection as a ship is of the wind. I can only go wherever it pushes me.'
'Hn.' The final response from the demon sounded more like a grunt then anything, and so reminded the fox ninja of a certain raven-haired avenger that he had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Of course that didn't stop the Kyuubi from feeling the echoes of the teenager's amusement through the bonds of their link, to which it exasperatedly rolled its eyes- a habit it had picked up from the boy.
One might wonder at the seemingly comfortable way the two conversed, a question that can be easily enough explained. The seal that had once kept Konohakagure's most feared enemy confined was broken. Oh, the rune were still there, but the power behind them had long since been dissolved. The only thing that keeps the Nine Tails in his prison is the sheer, unyielding will of one Uzumaki Naruto. Yes, you heard me correctly. The human child that so many scorned as weak kept the great fox bent beneath his will, trapped within the fortress of his mind.
The seal had finally snapped in his weakened state when he had been confined to his bed after the whole ordeal with bringing Sasuke back from Orichimaru. At first it had caught him off guard, the angry red flames consuming his body as it readily poured out of him. Dark laughter had rung from the very recesses of his mind, and slowly he could feel himself slip into the abyss that gathered along the corners of his eyes, the strength drained from him. Yet, crimson eyes gleaming in victory at having finally toppled his host and at the wonderful carnage to come, were suddenly clouded with confusion as the red chahkra was literally being sucked back into the small blond. Crimson bled into steely blue, and his jaw set and ground his teeth as the battle of wills began. The Kyuubi was completely caught off guard at how the boy had managed to swipe the control out from under its feet, and despite the three hours it took for any traction to be made, it could feel the steady advantage the boy was getting over it. Soon it was helpless to watch as mental bars of a new kind were slammed solidly in place, the prisoner back in its cage as the warden locked the doors.
Where the boy had gotten the determination to push the demon back into mind, the Kyuubi could only wonder. However, the boy had gleaned a reluctant respect from the beast that had risen to somewhat-tolerance over the years. Everyday the kid only got stronger, and his mental barriers only became more complex and rigid, as he had disappointing learned through a few proddings here and there. From the other side of this strange relationship Naruto actually felt a bit of comfort from the demon, as it was only the monster fox who saw behind the masks (but you have to admit, it does have an unfair advantage, what with being in his mind and all...).
Allowing the lazy, sighing wind to lull his thoughts into a dull hum, Naruto closed the link again, momentarily wrinkling his nose at the spike of pain that shot through his nerves as his body changed back to normal. Cerulean eyes regained their thoughtful appearance as he mused about his day, placing the headphones of his CD player over his ears. After Kakashi had dismissed them to go do as they pleased before the day of their mission the trio had wandered down the road of the park in the same general direction, Sakura still clinging to Sasuke's side while remarkably not actually touching him, and with Naruto himself drifting in the back. All three were technically Chuunin now, even though they had not acquired their vests due to the war and problems with Akatsuki. Kakashi was also technically only their team captain, but the three still referred to him as 'master' out of habit. So in a way they were stuck in between, forced to generally do the meager missions and occasionally called upon for the higher ranked ones. With the nearly constant attacks and divided attention, a lot of the good positions were first come-first serve. Kakashi's knack for tardiness had originally been one of Team seven's problems when it came to mission grabbing, but recently Naruto's and Sakura's nagging seemed to get through to him, though the fox ninja had a sneaking suspicion that Kakashi's recent punctuality had more to do with the fact that a certain blushing dolphin had been given the position of assigning missions at the office.
Eventually they had come to a fork in the road that lead to the more prestigious part of town on the right, and the nearly poverty-stricken side to the left. As Naruto headed down the left side, he turned and flashed a blinding smile to his team, waving energetically with a shouted, "Seeya tomorrow!" As per usual his comment was ignored by the female of their group, though he received a noncommittal grunt in response from the slender genius.
Soon Naruto's sandal-clad feet came to the part of town that usually made a person shrink into themselves, not wanting to breath or touch anything and feeling all in all dirty. Trash littered the ground, forming little cyclones of paper and plastic as the wind playfully tossed it around. Everything seemed to be rusting, with a permanent outline of gray around the buildings and chipping sidewalks. Not quite old enough to be considered an adult, Naruto was forced to live on welfare in order to pay for his lodgings, as the pay he received from missions could only cover food and occasionally clothing. Naturally he was given the absolute minimum that was allowed, and as such was forced to find the cheapest place in order to survive. He often entertained the belief that he'd be better off living off in that death trap called a forest.
Once inside his apartment he tossed his orange jacket over the back of a nearby chair, setting off to find something to eat in his kitchen. Ramen was a fairly inexpensive food, so he had a lot of it- though it helped that he loved the stuff. He showered and then packed light for the trip, not really wishing to carry much weight if it was likely that they'd be doing a lot of walking. He then sat at his bay window to watch the sun play its eternal game of hide and seek with the moon, its long tails stretching behind as it dove beneath the horizon. The stars blinked sleepily from the deep black above, and as the wind giggled over the roofs he felt himself drawn to the oblivion of sleep.
tbc
Author comments: Review please. Flattery is acceptable and flames will naturally be looked over, laughed at, and/or tossed depending on my mood. Through my watching of the later episodes I've actually come to somewhat like Sakura, and even if she is not my favorite there won't be much bashing- rather, I'll have her mature through the story, after a little humiliation. :heheh: I have a pairing in mind, and sorry to some but I'm actually tempted to make it shounen-ai. And before some of you groan, it's not going to be sasunaru. As a matter of fact, I'll bet that no one's gonna be able to guess it. .
