"I had to fight all my life to survive. They were all against me... but I beat the bastards and left them in the ditch."
-Ty Cobb
Chapter 6
Changing The Status Quo
"So, you're one of the boys who ended up in front of my dojo, eh?" Soun Tendo mused, watching the blonde boy devour the food his daughter placed before him without batting an eye.
Mouth full, Naruto only nodded, before swallowing down the large mouthful of rice he had in his mouth. "This is great! Thanks, Kasumi!" he said loudly, grinning genuinely at the brown haired young woman, who rewarded him with a gentle smile.
"I'm glad you like it!" she replied happily, clapping her hands together.
As Naruto set the bowl down, the door opened, and the Master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts dragged his blood-loss weakened body into the dining room.
"Oh, hello there grandfather!" Kasumi greeted, the only woman that was immune to Happosai's lechery (for reasons unknown, but many thought it was simply one of the Rules TM in Nerima: Nothing ever happens to Kasumi).
Happosai dragged himself in, opened one eye, and saw a familiar visage.
Naruto blinked.
Simultaneously, they pointed at one another and yelled, "YOU!"
---
"So Gaara," Temari began, since if she let Kankurou do this, her younger brother might end up murdering them, "Who was that nice young lady I saw you with earlier?" Inwardly, she winced as she realized she sounded like a doddering mother.
Gaara of the Desert gave his older sister a stare, where most teenage boys might flush. "Sakura. She's one of Naruto's precious people." He said flatly. "She's the one he defeated me to save."
That's where she remembered the pink haired girl from, Temari recalled. As for the 'precious people' comment... she wasn't quite sure how to interpret that. Was he respecting a friend's claim on a girl? Or was he merely stating, in Gaara-ese, that this Sakura was Naruto's friend?
"Well... maybe in time, she can become your precious person." Temari said diplomatically, giving Kankurou a careful "Don't-Crack-A-Joke-Or-You-Are-Dead-Yesterday" glare.
Wisely, the puppet user acquiesced to his sister's unspoken request.
Gaara looked contemplative for a moment. "Naruto is not around to protect her at the moment. I will take his place, until he returns." He decided, his face impassive.
Temari and Kankurou gaped. Gaara fighting for a reason other than bloodlust was strange. Gaara having a friend was even stranger.
Gaara deciding to protect someone?
Absolutely ridiculous.
"GAARA!"
It was about to go above and beyond ridiculous.
---
Hiashi Hyuuga would not say he was worried, per se, about his eldest daughter, because his daughter, despite all her flaws and quiet nature, she is strong. He heard of her standing up to Neji, her cousin, the person the entire Hyuuga clan is forced to recognize as the best they've produced in generations.
He heard of her, bleeding on the floor, her heart flailing and weakening from a near lethal blow from the boy who was supposed to be her protector, from a boy who is, in blood, her half brother.
And despite himself, despite his supposed rejection of his eldest, despite his apparent apathy toward his children, Hiashi Hyuuga had nearly chosen to activate the curse seal on Neji's forehead and kill him for doing such a thing- only the knowledge that his brother's sole remaining legacy was in this boy stayed his hand.
But he is concerned for Hinata. If she is not at the hospital, visiting her injured teammate, she is spending all her time with her team, the only support she feels she has.
Hiashi is perplexed as to why his daughter would cry over a jinchuriki.
He acknowledges that the boy is not the Kyubi no Youma, and is in all actuality, a great asset to the Hidden Leaf.
Like many Leaf ninja, the boy's victory over the Hyuuga's prodigy, the best that the strongest clan could offer, by utilizing a demon's chakra, spoke volumes about what he could do for the Leaf.
The Yondaime had (though most likely to assuage fears about the boy) promised them a powerful weapon in due time, an ace in the hole should war ever break out.
Somewhat welcome disappointment was quick to come when the brat showed himself to be the absolute worst student in the academy, never paying attention in class and showing none of the raw power they had feared. A waste, but at least the boy was useless.
At least he had been.
Really, they should have been trying to kill him after that fight, not applauding the boy. If the boy could tap into the Kyubi's power at this age, then he could become a serious threat later on.
Yet, the idea of the power of the demon that had nearly decimated the Hidden Leaf now working for them? The irony alone was too great for many to pass up.
But, the idea that his daughter held affections for the boy was simply something Hiashi could not understand. And so, he stayed his hand once again, and simply watched as his daughter drifted away from him further.
Never before had Hiashi Hyuuga imagined he'd feel so weak.
---
Soun Tendo was worried.
He worried a lot, but that was beside the point. He especially worried about anything involving his master and the general populace, which was the point at the moment.
"What are you doing here!"
"Me! I live here! What are YOU doing here!"
"You! Who the Hell is crazy enough to put up with YOU!"
"Shut up you little whippersnapper!"
"Do you want to fight again, old man!"
"That wasn't fair! You cheated!"
"Nyah Nyah!"
Happosai growled dangerously, and Soun recognized the look as being one that promised unbearable pain for the receiver.
Naruto stuck his tongue out.
Happosai made an inarticulate growl and, much to Soun's surprise (normally it was Happosai driving his opponent insane, not the other way around), actually tried to tackle the blonde boy.
Naruto leapt backwards, easily avoiding the attempt, grinning in a way that would probably drive a saint to homicide. "Missed me!"
Happosai, proving once more that he was definitely no saint, lunged again.
Soun Tendo worried even more.
Perhaps a vacation would be good.
CRASH
... Or a change of address.
---
Gaara of the Desert turned around, and raised a hairless eyebrow at the righteously furious Rock Lee.
"Gaara! Though I bear no grudge toward you, I must challenge your decision to date the lovely flower of Konoha, Sakura!" Lee declared dramatically.
Gaara blinked. He actually blinked in surprise.
Temari would have made a squealing noise at the idea of her brother being forced into a situation not unlike the romance novels that she hid in under her bed.
Kankurou wondered when his little psychopath of a brother suddenly had a soap opera life a la Temari's supposedly hidden romance novels.
Gaara made no move or sound, and stared at the spandex clad taijutsu specialist with something akin to dumbfounded, except it was Gaara-style.
"Let us fight now, Gaara of the Desert, and decide who is truly worthy of Sakura's affections!" Lee said, moving into his usual fighting stance.
Gaara still made no moves. He was still in the process of figuring out exactly what the Hell was going on.
"Wait! Lee! Don't do it!" another voice called out, out of breath and female.
Temari glanced at the Leaf kunoichi who was running toward them. "Hey... you're that pushover from the Chuunin exams." She said, smirking.
TenTen scowled. "Go to Hell, you blonde bimbo." She retorted caustically, before turning toward her teammate. "Lee! He's going to kill you!"
"Worry not, TenTen!" Lee replied, still in his dramatic voice. "The power of love shall see me through this battle!" he did the standard Nice Guy pose, his teeth shining in the sunlight.
Kankurou gagged.
Temari elbowed him in the gut, hard.
And a staggering, breathless, on crutches Neji Hyuuga came onto the scene. "Oh. You're not dead." He stated, staring at Lee. From the sound of his voice, he was quite disappointed.
If Lee noted the disappointment, he ignored it and replied in a frightening imitation of Gai's interactions with Kakashi, "Neji! I am touched that you left the hospital to come to my aid, but you are still wounded, my eternal rival!" he shouted, staring at the Hyuuga prodigy with some concern.
Neji scowled, hating being called Lee's eternal anything. "I did no such thing. I came so I could watch."
TenTen elbowed him.
Neji relented. "Fine... I came so I wouldn't have to experience Gai-sensei forcing me to come visit you in the hospital again. Never. Again." He said firmly, and if not for the fact that he was Hyuuga, he would have shuddered in terror.
It was just that traumatizing.
"Okay... can someone tell me what's going on?" Kankurou asked, generally completely weirded out by the fact that his little brother had a love life, and what's more, was in a love triangle with a boy he had maimed earlier over a girl he tried to kill a little later.
Lee scowled, and narrowed his eyes. "Do not play games! Gaara, I demand to know why you have chosen Sakura as your love slave!"
Everyone choked.
Yes, even Gaara.
"The Hell?" Gaara said slowly, deciding that imitation of his older brother was the only way to respond to this situation.
Before Lee could speak again, and further make of an ass of himself, TenTen stepped in, hoping to avoid another "Lee-Getting-His-Bones-Crushed-By-Sand" incident.
"Aren't you dating Sakura? Sakura Haruno, from Team Seven?" the weapon's kunoichi asked, nonplused.
"No." Gaara deadpanned.
Lee stopped, a comprehending look and a corresponding flush of embarrassment spreading across his face. "Oh..."
Gaara's face only betrayed a small hint of annoyed fury as the telltale sound of sand moving became apparent.
Lee grinned sheepishly.
"Uh... Sorry?"
---
Shikamaru Nara, most people would say, was a little bit sexist. Even Shikamaru would probably admit it, if he felt like answering.
It wasn't that he hated women (he did eventually want to start a family), or thought kunoichi were weaker than shinobi. Far from it. He considered kunoichi to be equals to shinobi, and in some fields (assassination, infiltration, and the like) were probably superior to the male ninja.
No, he simply hated the fact that the women in his life tended to nag and annoy and generally cut into time that could be spent lounging about and doing nothing.
"Shi-ka-ma-ru! Are you listening!" Ino stamped her foot impatiently, growling at the back of her throat.
"No." Shikamaru responded, seeing no sense in lying. He was currently on his back, watching the clouds from his favorite hilltop, far from where most of the hustle and bustle of the Hidden Leaf would be.
He got a kick in the ribs as a reward for his honesty.
"That hurt." He grumbled, rolling onto his side, pressing his face deeper into the grass as the blades dug into his face. He really, really wished Ino hadn't figured out (or more likely, bribed Chouji or his father to tell her) where his favorite hilltop was.
"Don't you care! Your fellow Leaf ninja is dating the Sand's resident psycho!" Ino whined, and stamped her foot a few more times for good measure.
Shikamaru made a grunt.
Ino kicked him again.
Shikamaru made a noise that might have been another grunt of pain, and closed his eyes, his face screwed up in a determined look to not respond.
Ino sighed, acknowledging the futility of this battle, and sat down next to her teammate, planting herself on the hill. After a moment, she spoke. "I thought you were supposed to be in a meeting with the Hokage today."
"She's out getting a new desk." Shikamaru replied gruffly, eyes still closed. "And I was hoping to use this time to catch up on some sleep."
Ino glanced at the chuunin questioningly, before shaking her head in defeat. The Godaime Hokage was more than a little different from the Sandaime, that was for sure.
Silence passed for a few more moments, with Shikamaru pretending to sleep, and Ino simply sitting there.
"Did... did you go see Chouji today?" she asked quietly. Annoying Chouji and Shikamaru might be, but she had known them since childhood.
"Hn." Shikamaru replied, which translated to "I'm still too guilty to see my best friend."
"No one blames you, you know." Ino murmured, her fingers finding a small wildflower growing on the hill. They twined around the stem, idly caressing the petals.
Shikamaru was silent.
"I'm sure Chouji would never hold it against you." Ino continued quietly, plucking the wildflower with idle gentleness. It wasn't nearly as good as the flowers she had, but it had a certain allure to it all the same.
Shikamaru remained silent, still.
"Say something already, damn it!" Ino snarled, tossing the flower aside and glaring at Shikamaru's back with vehement force.
"Something." Shikamaru said tonelessly.
With a furious growl, Ino stood up sharply, hands on her hips as she willed her spearing glare to incinerate the spiky haired boy.
"Fine then! Just wallow in your misery, you jerk!" Ino growled, and stomped off without another word.
Shikamaru opened his eyes, and glanced back, catching the golden hair that glinted in the sun as she walked away. Once he was sure she was out of hearing distance, he spoke in a quiet voice devoid of his usual gruffness.
"Thanks."
---
Hinata Hyuuga gasped harshly as she slammed into the dirt, falling over herself, before coming to a stop. Unfortunately, her usual thick, fur lined coat wasn't present, causing her arms to scrape against the dirt.
"Hinata. Are you able to continue?" Shino Aburame's voice was as calm and clipped as ever, but she could still detect the small trace of concern in his voice. He stood in front of her, hands in his coat.
"Fine... I'm fine, Shino." Hinata said breathlessly, staggering to her feet. She pulled herself back into the Gentle Fist stance. "Continue."
Shino seemed to hesitated for a moment, before making a small, quiet grunt. Without another word, he raised his arms up, as though he were sleepwalking. Almost immediately, a buzzing noise filled Team Eight's training area and a barrage of insects hurtled out of Shino's sleeves.
Hinata ducked and wove as best she could, struggling to avoid the small, but potent creatures, but in the end, her exhaustion and previous falls compounded and she was knocked down once more as the bugs swarmed her.
"I think it may be good to take a rest, Hinata." Shino said quietly, his voice brooking no argument.
Hinata, ceding defeat for the moment, pulled herself back up, and limped back toward the log at the edges of the clearing.
Shino sat down next to her, looking impassive. After a moment, he spoke. "Hinata. Perhaps you are pushing yourself too hard." He glanced at her. "Naruto's disappearance has you worried, I gather?"
Hinata flushed, and not just from the heat. "Erm... well... yes." She admitted meekly. "Naruto-kun is strong... but... no one can find him."
Shino was silent for a while. Finally, he spoke again, staring out into the clearing. "In the Aburame clan... we have catalogued many different kinds of bugs." He began quietly. "There is one such bug, Bikochu, who, went it is first born, will memorize the first thing it smells. It will be able to track this scent, no matter how faint, anywhere."
Hinata gasped. "Then... then we could..." she began slowly, and Shino nodded.
"We can use the Bikochu to find Naruto. However, the time of year when they lay eggs is not for a few months yet. When Kurenai-sensei returns, we will discuss it with her." Shino said serenely.
"... thank you, Shino." Hinata whispered quietly, looking down at the ground. When he was silent, she glanced at him again. Though she lacked the emotion reading ability that Hyuuga such as Neji possessed, she could still read her teammate's moods.
"Are you bothered, Shino?" Hinata asked softly, looking at him curiously.
Shino made no answer.
"... Kiba is in the hospital... and Neji-niisan is as well." Hinata continued, kicking up a small patch of dirt. "I heard that Chouji Akamichi is still under careful watch..."
"If I..." Shino began quietly, but seemed to hesitate for a moment. "If I had gone with them... I could have made a difference. I could have helped them." There was a trace of wistful anger in his tone.
"I'm sure Shikamaru didn't forget you on purpose. Maybe he didn't have enough time to go looking for you." Hinata said reassuringly.
"Still... it doesn't change the fact that I was the only shinobi left out of this mission." Shino said quietly, his tone iron hard. If he had been another shinobi, like Kiba or Naruto, he probably would have been hitting something.
Hinata didn't know what she could do anymore. Words were never her strong suit. But she remembered Naruto, and how his words wrought a change in Neji, bringing the long buried goodness in his heart to light.
"Maybe... maybe you shouldn't concentrate on what you could have done, and what you will do, Shino." Hinata murmured softly. "That's what I think Naruto would say."
Shino looked at her for a moment, and though she couldn't see it through his coat, Hinata was sure he was smiling. "You have gotten very strong, Hinata." He said quietly, admiringly. "Very strong."
---
"We're home!" Akane shouted, kicking off her shoes, glad the school day had finished with minimal trouble.
Ranma gave a loud whoop, obviously pleased as well, kicking off his own shoes and tossing his school bag aside hapzardly. "Where's the food! I'm starvin'!"
"Oh for God's sake Ranma, don't just throw your stuff everywhere." Akane chided, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
Ranma grunted in response, tearing off toward the kitchen.
"Boys. Always thinking with their stomachs." Akane grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff as she followed him, albeit much slower than her pigtailed companion.
"Gah! What the heck happened here!" Ranma's startled voice rang out.
Akane frowned and sped up a bit, opening the screen door with a loud bang. "What's going on- OH MY GOD!"
The dining room was a mess.
The table was turned over, the T.V. was knocked down, and Soun Tendo was crying in a corner in a way a grown man really shouldn't.
"What the Hell happened?" Ranma muttered, scratching the back of his forehead in mild distress.
If it had been anywhere else, he might have been concerned.
But this was Nerima, where doors were more often than not an optional entrance, and silly laws like "assault and battery" and "breaking and entering" did not exist or were ignored by the proper authorities.
A scene like this in Nerima was as commonplace as the sun rising.
Kasumi strode in, and was as unaffected as a rock. "Welcome home you two." She said placidly, as though her dining room was not in shambles and her father was not sobbing like a little girl (no offense to little girls).
"Uh... Kasumi... what happened?" Akane asked, half afraid of the answer.
"Oh, well, I found this boy named Naruto unconscious in the street and brought him home. It appears he and grandfather Happosai know each other, and started fighting." Kasumi said, as though reporting the weather.
"And where are they now?" Ranma questioned, looking around curiously.
"Outside." Kasumi said serenely. "I'll have a snack prepared soon, so please tell them to come back in, okay?"
"Er... Right." Ranma replied, nodding absently as he ran out into the yard, with Akane dogging his heels.
The voices rang out then, clear as day.
"Come back here you little punk!"
"Just try and catch me, ya old geezer!"
Ranma's lips quirked into a grin. Anyone who could drive the old pervert insane was in his good books, that was for sure. He spotted the blonde boy from earlier jumping backwards, grinning a fox's grin.
Happosai bounded in a second later, obviously infuriated as he lunged for the boy.
"Ranma, what's-" Akane began, before she watched in obvious fascination as the blonde continued to dart away from Happosai with ease, landing on a tree branch without a hint of slipping.
They both watched as Naruto bounded away again, heading, seemingly haphazardly, into the koi pond in the yard, a place Ranma had fallen into many a time.
Jaws dropped.
"He's... he's standing on water." Ranma breathed, unbelievingly.
"That's... impossible." Akane whispered breathlessly.
Happosai didn't seem to notice the minor miracle, and lunged again.
Naruto grinned a little wider, and sidestepped on the water.
Happosai went, eyes wide and headfirst into the pond with a loud splash.
Naruto laughed loudly, still grinning. "Gotcha, old man." He taunted, as the troll-like octogenarian pulled himself onto the rocks.
"No fair! You cheated!" Happosai whined.
"Naruto! Grandfather! The snacks are ready!" Kasumi's voice called out.
The two stopped their activities, glanced at each other, and made an unspoken truce.
Ranma and Akane were still standing, speechless, as Naruto and Happosai bounded past them, each of them yelling "Snack time!"
---
Snack time seemed to cool the tensions between Naruto and Happosai for a while, at least long enough for Kasumi to promise that dinner would be ready within the next hour or two, and asking them politely to not fight while she prepared the food.
Naruto complied.
Happosai begrudgingly agreed on the promise that he got an extra share.
Ranma, deciding that anyone who pissed off Happosai this much was a good sort of person, started a conversation with the blonde boy.
"So, what was that technique you pulled on the old man earlier?" Ranma asked casually.
Naruto grinned boyishly. "That was my Harem no Jutsu! It's never been beaten, not even once!" he declared proudly.
"I can see why." Akane muttered dryly.
"That's a really weird technique." Ranma said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, like you should talk about weird, Ranma." Akane said sarcastically. "Cross-dressing weirdo."
"Cross-dressing?" Naruto said loudly, staring at the pigtailed boy.
"I am not a cross-dresser! It's a curse, damn it!" Ranma insisted angrily, glaring at the girl across the table.
"Sure Ranma. You have a curse, but you don't have to dress in drag!" Akane snapped waspishly.
"Are you two siblings or something?" Naruto asked curiously, glancing from one to the other. "You're always together, but you're always fighting."
Both boy and girl flushed immediately, and began shouting.
"No!"
"No way!"
Akane huffed, crossing her arms and looking pointedly away from Ranma. "He just freeloads at my house, that's all." She said testily.
"Wait... you two aren't related, but you live together?" Naruto said slowly, staring at the two of them. "So are you two like..." he put his index finger and thumb together. When they stared at him, bewildered, he extrapolated, waving his hand in emphasis, "You know... together?"
Once again, the two of them blushed furiously and started yelling.
"No!"
"Me! With that uncute tomboy!"
"Whose uncute!"
"You are!"
Naruto stared as the two older teens both stood up, arguing loudly and ignoring everything else around them. "Uh..." he decided that leaving the room was not a retreat so much as a necessity.
As he left, he nearly ran into a brown haired young woman who was about to enter.
The girl looked at him for a moment, before looking toward the closed door and heard the sounds of Ranma and Akane still arguing. "Ranma and Akane are fighting?" she said dryly.
"Uh... yeah. Who're you?" Naruto asked uncertainly.
"Nabiki. I'm Akane's older sister... one of them, anyway. And you must be one of those boys who ended up in front of my house." Nabiki said, her voice confident, assured, and completely dominating the conversation.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded, unnerved that so many people seemed to know about him and he had never head of them.
Then again, a lot of people (Uchiha Itachi, for example) knew a lot about him, and he had only met them a few times and knew even less about them.
"Well, you'd better go out for a bit. Those two can go on for hours..." Nabiki sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Why are they together all the time, if they fight so much?" Naruto asked, before he could stop himself.
Nabiki looked thoughtful for a moment, tapping her lip with her index finger. "Well, I suppose it's probably because they're fiancees and sort of secretly in love with each other." She stated, plain as day.
Naruto did a double take.
"Wait... they're fiancees!"
---
Sakura fell to her knees, panting harshly. She felt exhausted and drained and filthy, covered in sweat, her muscles ached and she really needed a drink of water, but she felt damn good nonetheless.
The wooden training pole in front of her, her opponent for the past hour or so, showed little sign of damage, but Sakura didn't care. If training today showed no progress, she'd come back tomorrow, and the day after that, and...
Her lips quirked slightly into a grin. She was starting to think like Rock Lee.
"That was pretty good. Better than I expected of a girl whose taijutsu was originally just below average, anyway."
Sakura, startled, turned and was rather surprised to see the Godaime Hokage standing behind her, a smile playing on her lips.
"H-Hokage-sama!" the pink haired kunoichi stuttered, bowing her head respectfully.
"If you're going to apprentice for me, call me master or sensei." Tsunade said gruffly, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her more than ample chest. Her eyes softened after a moment as she watched Sakura's breathing start to even out.
"You really want to make a difference, don't you?" Sakura didn't answer, only looking down in response. "You're tired of watching the two of them grow up and away from you."
"Yes." The girl whispered softly.
Tsunade smiled. "Excellent. Meet me at the Hokage Tower tomorrow, ten o'clock. Ask for Shizune. She'll show you where you need to go."
Sakura looked up, startled. After a moment, she smiled back.
"Thank you... thank you so much."
Tsunade smiled a little longer, before letting it fall away. "Get some rest. You'll need it." She said briskly, and turned away without another word.
---
"Yeah, they are." Nabiki said calmly, well used to people yelling loudly in front of her. When you ran a private betting ring at Furinkan High, you tended to hear people yelling about things a lot, and usually it involved more tears and pitiful begging.
"But... but..." Naruto struggled for words, shaking his head from side to side. "They hate each other!"
"It's an arranged one. My daddy and his daddy decided it." Nabiki explained calmly.
Naruto, at last, was at a loss for words. "I... I'm going to go see if Kasumi needs any help." He said lamely, regardless of the fact that his own cooking skills were terrible.
Nabiki merely gave him a nod, and without a word, swept out of the room and up the stairs.
Naruto found himself standing in the hallway for a moment.
"ARGH! You're such a jerk Ranma!"
The sound of flesh hitting hard objects rang out.
Naruto ran into the kitchen, not daring to look back.
---
Naruto yawned, smacking his lips noisily as he pulled himself up from the spare futon Kasumi provided him. By the time dinner had been over last night, it had grown very dark, and Naruto remembered he still had no idea where the clinic he had been staying was.
"Well then, you can just spend the night here!" Kasumi had declared, and no one protested (well, Happosai had, but they just ignored him). "I'll take you to Doctor Tofu's in the morning when I go to run errands, okay?"
As if summoned by his remembrance, Kasumi walked in, smiling gently. "Good morning, Naruto." She greeted warmly.
"Good morning, Kasumi!" Naruto said cheerfully, smiling brightly back at her.
"Could you do me a favor after you've eaten breakfast, Naruto?" Kasumi asked.
Naruto nodded, grinning. "Sure! I can do it before I eat, actually!"
Kasumi smiled wider. "Thank you. You see, Ranma forgot his lunch when they left a few minutes ago, and Akane left behind her math book. Do you think you could bring those two things to them? I'll give you directions to the school, of course."
Naruto nodded again, grinning still. "No problem!"
---
Ranma scowled, sulking on the wall behind Akane. She had been... less than agreeable throughout dinner, and was still mad at him, it seemed, from the way she skulked and occasionally sent venomous glares over her shoulder his way.
"How long are you going to hold a grudge, Akane?" the pigtailed boy asked sullenly, scowling still as he looked away.
"I'm not talking to you." Akane replied airily, her tone fit for an Arctic winter.
Before Ranma could retort and possibly make things worse (as he usually saw fit to do), they arrived at Furinkan High.
And found one makeshift mummy who had a very familiar head of hair and facial structure standing in their way.
"Kuno?" Ranma chortled, grinning madly, his quarrels with Akane momentarily forgotten. "What the heck happened to you?"
"Shut up." The wannabe samurai scowled underneath his bandages, which covered his body from the waist all the way up to around his jaw.
"I didn't hit you that hard." Ranma grinned wider, rubbing the back of his head. "Or maybe my strength's increased again..."
"Ego inflation warning." Akane coughed, rolling her eyes as she did so. Ranma shot her a dirty look.
Kuno pulled himself to his full height, which was not very imposing, seeing as how he was still swathed in bandages. "It was not you, vile sorceror, who inflicted these wounds upon my noble body." He said coolly, "But another. A blonde brat who shall soon know that the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High is not so easily bested."
The usual thunder background noise rumbled.
Ranma paused for a second. "Hey... you wouldn't happen to be talking about-"
"Ranma! Akane! Hey, wait up!"
Akane raised an eyebrow and turned around, surprised to see an orange blur racing toward the school, before leaping over the gates to land on the grassy lawn. "Naruto! What are you doing here?" she asked, startled.
"You forgot this!" Naruto shouted, tossing her a large textbook, which she caught, with some difficulty.
"My math book! Oh, I almost forgot I left it on the desk! Thank you so much!" Akane said happily, smiling widely.
Behind the, Kuno shook with inarticulate rage.
Looking bored, Naruto tossed Ranma a bento box wrapped tightly in plastic. "Here's your lunch, Ranma. Kasumi said you'd probably rather have this than fighting for food in the cafeteria." He said casually, crossing his arms behind his head.
"Erm... thanks." Ranma said feebly.
"YOU!" Kuno's voice roared out over the schoolyard.
Naruto turned, arms still crossed behind his head. After a moment, he chortled and pointed toward Kuno, grinning madly. "Hey! It's you! That 'Blue Rain' guy from yesterday!"
"You insolent brat, I'm going to crush you!" Kuno roared, raising his bokken-
And whimpered feebly as he toppled over, groaning. "Once... I... recover from my injuries." He murmured, and his head collapsed into the dirt.
Ranma gave Naruto an appraising look. Akane simply stared.
All around the school, teenagers peeked out at their classroom toward the blonde boy standing in the schoolyard, staring with wide eyes.
They were used to powerful Martial Artists running around beating each other up. Kuno came in with bandages every other week or so.
But they'd never seen a twelve year old kid who was shorter than most eight year olds leave a boy five years older in bandages before.
Nabiki watched from her second story classroom with mild interest.
Akane approached the blonde slowly, looking bewildered. "Hey... is it true? You really managed to beat up Kuno?" she asked slowly, knowing that Kuno, blustering buffoon that he was, was still quite skilled with his bokken.
Naruto grinned widely, and his mood changed from incredibly amused to boastful in an instant. "Oh yeah. He was okay, but he was no match for Uzumaki-"
"NARUTO!"
The blonde barely registered the sound of shuriken flying before he jumped up and away, into a nearby tree branch.
"Get down!" Ranma heard the noise too, and the tingling danger sense on the back of his neck gave him his instinctive decision- to tackle Akane in time to avoid the deadly sharp objects flying overhead.
Of course, Akane was less than pleased, since Ranma's tackle left his face dangerously close to her bosom.
"GET OFF ME!" she snarled, pushing her fiancee off of her with a violent movement.
"Well, excuse me for trying to keep you from getting killed!" Ranma snapped, brushing himself off. "I could have let those things hit you!"
Before Akane could reply, Naruto shouted, "Sasuke! What the Hell are you doing!"
The dark haired boy standing at the gates smiled thinly, wearing both Naruto's shuriken holster and kunai pouch on his person. His clothing had been thoughtfully repaired by Doctor Tofu, and his body felt fit enough to fight once more.
And so, when he sensed the blonde running past the clinic, he knew what he had to do. "Fight me!" Sasuke snarled, and hurled a kunai at the blonde.
Akane gasped. Ranma's eyes narrowed.
Naruto leapt out of the branch, letting the kunai impale itself upon the bark with a distinctive thunk. His eyes narrowed. "Fine then! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
In a puff of smoke, four more Naruto's appeared in midair, all of them looking deeply annoyed as they fell around the Uchiha prodigy.
Sasuke smirked, and his eyes changed to the bloody red of the Sharingan.
With a sweeping kick, two of the Naruto clones disappeared in a puff of smoke and crack of sound. A third Naruto tried to attack Sasuke from the rear, but the Uchiha merely grabbed the blonde's arm and hurled him forward, to crash into a tree.
As the third clone disappeared in a burst of white smoke, Sasuke ducked, avoiding the fourth Naruto's punch with ease. The other remaining Naruto came at him with a low kick, which Sasuke blocked, shoving the blonde away to concentrate on the other.
The fourth Naruto clone received a resounding kick to the chest, and was promptly knocked into a wall with a brutal crunch, upon which it burst into smoke.
Sasuke smirked again as he turned toward the last, and the real, Naruto. "Was that it, dead last?" he asked arrogantly, "I know you can fight better than that."
"What the Hell is wrong with you, you bastard!" Naruto shouted, fists clenched, teeth grinding against one another.
"We were in the middle of a battle before we arrived, remember?" Sasuke reminded him, elevating a single regal eyebrow. "Or have you forgotten?" as he finished, he shifted into his fighting stance.
Naruto growled, and his knuckles went white, practically bulging out of his fists. "Fine. I do remember that we have some unfinished business." He snarled dangerously. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
This time, a score and a half of Naruto clones filled the schoolyard.
At this point, no one payed any attention, not even the teachers, when the bell for first period rang.
"I guess I'm going to have to beat some sense into you!" the crowd of blondes roared.
Sasuke smirked.
With a single, united cry of fury, the Naruto clones charged the dark haired boy, who only smirked wider.
The black haired boy's arms crossed in front of his face. Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!
The charging Naruto's eyes widened as a barrage of fist sized fireballs burst out of Sasuke's mouth as his arms swung away, slamming into the advancing wave of blondes.
More than a few eyebrows raised at that particular technique.
Ranma watched with awe and a little bit of envy as Sasuke ducked one of the remaining Naruto clone's high sweeping kick, grabbing the blonde and tossing him into three other clones, destroying all four in one go. Despite the blonde's aggression and tenacity, it was obvious that the dark haired boy had the advantage.
Naruto too, seemed to notice, and knew that the matured Sharingan Sasuke was utilizing was the cause. Still, it was far too early to give up, and Naruto leapt upwards as the last of his clones were demolished in bursts of smoke.
"Bunshin Taiatari!" another Naruto clone was created just above him, and hurled itself forward in a burst of chakra, hoping to take the other shinobi off guard.
Sasuke had seen this technique during Naruto's fight with Gaara, however, and sidestepped the clone's attack. As the Naruto clone entered terminal range, Sasuke punched him in the face.
The real Naruto, having been revealed, was unable to move, since he was still up in midair.
Sasuke smirked, and his hands moved into a set of seals that Naruto recognized, ending in the tiger seal.
"Crap!" Naruto's eyes widened and he crossed his arms in front of his head, knowing he couldn't dodge and had no jutsu to counter.
Sasuke took a deep breath. Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!
He exhaled, and a single, massive inferno rocketed out of the Uchiha prodigy's mouth, washing over Naruto's body in a wave of blazing heat.
Naruto fell backwards and out of the fireball, his hair singed and a few burns on his arms and jacket (Damn it, Kasumi just washed this too!), mildly disoriented. Which was why he was completely unprepared when Sasuke rushed forward, and, with a little help from the Curse Seal on his neck, delivered a powerful blow to Naruto's stomach.
Naruto wheezed and felt a bit of blood rising into and then out of his mouth as his body bent around Sasuke's fist, before being propelled backwards, straight through the wall surrounding the schoolyard with a resounding crash.
As the dust cleared, Naruto wasn't moving.
Akane shoved at Ranma's back. "Do something!" she whispered harshly, when he turned to look at her.
"That kid shoots fire out of his mouth!" Ranma whispered back, equally harsh. "And you know how I feel about interrupting fights!"
"Just do it! Kasumi's taken a liking to Naruto, and do you want to see her upset?" Akane said quickly, narrowing her eyes.
Ranma shook his head rapidly. Kasumi never, not even once, snapped or lashed out at anyone, unlike Akane, whose violent moods were commonplace. However, when she was displeased, she had a way of being intimidating that was far worse than anything Akane could dish out.
So, as Sasuke took a single step towards Naruto, smirking all the while, he spoke.
"Hey." Sasuke stiffened. "I don't like to interfere in a fight, but Naruto happens to be staying at the dojo for awhile." Ranma said casually, moving to stand between Sasuke and Naruto.
"I can't just let you beat up on him." The older boy smiled, but there was a dangerous glint to it.
Sasuke made a "che" noise, and scowled. "Fine then."
Ranma's metallic blue eyes met Sasuke's Sharingan crimson.
The Heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts smiled a little wider as he crouched into his usual fighting stance.
"Let's do this."
Author's Notes
Techniques
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)- Forbidden ninjutsu that only the highest ranked ninja are supposed to know. The chakra and strength of the user is distributed equally among the number of clones, and each and every one of them has a real, physical body, making it impossible to tell which is the original. Each clone can only take a single hit before disappearing, however. Also, this technique is dangerous because of the division, and because of the great amount of chakra necessary to make it properly effective.
Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Style- Art of the Phoenix Flower, the Touch-Me-Not)- A burst of multiple, smaller fireballs sent at the opponent.
Bunshin Taiatari (Clone Body Blow)- Naruto creates another Kage Bunshin just above himself, which dives at the opponent with a burst of chakra.
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)- The user uses up a large amount of chakra, gathered in their chest with a deep breath, and exhales out a massive fireball. Can be controlled into a flamethrower using one's hands. An Uchiha family speciality.
Note: All Katon techniques, since they involve using the mouth, are never actually said out loud, but I'll be putting them in italics since Sasuke usually thinks the name of the attack.
Alright, I know some of you are really being annoyed by the constant switching between worlds, especially last chapter. But I have my reasons.
The first being, if I didn't have filler in the Naruto world, this story would seem unbearably slow and boring for the next... oh, I'd say probably ten chapters. The real plot takes a while to set up, and in the meantime, please endure. I promise it'll be worth it when I pull it together.
Secondly, the switching is really part of the story. It's not just about Naruto and Sasuke- it's about what their absence does in the Naruto world that's part of the story.
I will try to smooth out the flow, but the switching is a necessary evil- sorry.
Minor Out of Character moments from Gaara, but really... "love slave?" I think he deserves that moment.
I forgot to address this earlier, but one reviewer commented on it- I am using the Anime!Nabiki, simply because I like her much better than her manga counterpart.
Hinata and Shino's discussion is a modification of some of the anime filler- I may use more of the filler episodes for plotlines later on in the story, but for now, this is definitely one I'll be using.
Sasuke vs Ranma! Sasuke vs Ranma! You just know this is going to be good.
