A Shattered Demon Child
Part 12
Once the other rookies found out Naruto was back, word spread pretty quick. Every team had already spoken to Naruto while he walked with Iruka from his apartment towards his favorite ramen shop. The blond smiled through all of it and greeted everyone happily. While Iruka bought the display along with everyone else, Shikamaru didn't buy it. Something was off about Naruto, but he couldn't figure out what. Sure, Naruto was still a loud knucklehead, but his eyes didn't lie. They were darker and seemed to lose their blue shine. Normally, the lazy teen would've wrote it off, but it was too obvious Naruto was acting. Shikamaru knew Naruto could put up a front, but he didn't realize how good he was at faking his behavior. He realized after Naruto left with Iruka after speaking to Team Ten that he couldn't predict to what degree Naruto was acting. What bothered him the most was not knowing how everyone around him didn't seem to notice something was off about their former classmate.
Shikamaru broke off from his team a few blocks away to follow the blond. As the teen made his way cautiously through the street, he sensed someone following him. When he looked over his shoulder for a split second, he noticed a timid girl with dark hair walking behind him. Shikamaru stopped walking before he turned to Hinata. She looked nervous as he gave him a weak smile.
"H-Hey Shikamaru," she greeted sheepishly.
Shikamaru tilted his head to the side before he asked with curiosity, "Are you following Naruto, too?"
The Hyuga princess began turning red before she stammered, "I-It's not what you think! I-I was just..."
When her voice trailed off, Shikamaru had a realization in that moment. He crossed his arms and let out a heavy sigh. He and Hinata were following Naruto for the same reason; they thought something seemed off about Naruto. Hinata looked towards Shikamaru with a worried look on her face.
"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Shikamaru asked cautiously.
Hinata paused for a moment before she nodded. "It's strange, but there was a moment where he just didn't seem like himself."
Shikamaru shifted to the side a bit. "The same thing happened when he was talking to us earlier, too. Do you think something happened?"
Hinata sighed before she admitted, "I'm really not sure."
Shikamaru trusted Hinata's judgment when it came to Naruto. Everyone knew she liked him, except Naruto, of course. If there was one person who would know something seemed different about the blond knucklehead, it would be Hinata. She was quiet and painfully shy, but she didn't need her Byakugan to see something was off about Naruto. The Nara had to admit he felt certain Naruto was hiding something. The real question was; how long would it take for them to figure out what was bothering the blond. Shikamaru didn't like being nosy and ease-dropping on a conversation, but he was willing to spy on Naruto if it came down to it.
"Let's give it a week," Shikamaru proposed. "Who knows, he might just have mixed feelings about coming back."
Hinata's eyes widened. "Y-You don't think he didn't want to come back, do you?"
Shikamaru panicked a bit before he clarified, "N-No, not at all!"
The quiet girl let out a soft sigh as she directed her eyes in the direction they saw Naruto heading before they stopped in the street. The sun had finished setting finally, and the dark began to set against the lights in the streets and buildings around them. The two started walking with a bit of distance between each other as they started walking again without another word. The walk they took allowed them time to notice how dark the world around them felt despite the light in the streets. Something in the world wasn't right, and it became clearer by the second for some unknown reason to the two teens.
The bright lights should shine and light up the world around them, but instead, it only made the darkness more apparent. Shikamaru didn't like the feeling in his chest that something was about to happen; like there was an enemy they couldn't see just watching them from the shadows. The Nara peaked inside the ramen shop upon their arrival to their location to see everything seemed normal.
It was just Naruto and Iruka sitting at the ramen bar, seeming to make small talk. Iruka had a content look on his face as he talked with the seemingly happy blond. Shikamaru watched while relief began to set in; concluding he was just being paranoid, or at the very least, reading too far into things. He stayed in his place though, watching the sensei and former student talk. It wasn't until something in the conversation changed tone that Shikamaru noticed a dark look cross Naruto's face for a split second. It looked like a moment of dread, but it quickly faded to a sheepish smile and what Shikamaru knew was rambling.
"Everything's fine, really, Iruka-sensei," Naruto rambled on, just loud enough for Shikamaru to hear.
The dark-eyed chunin felt a pit forming in his stomach as he analyzed the tone and behavior of the other teen. His words felt fake, and his gaze didn't change despite he body language and behavior. Shikamaru noticed Iruka's head move towards his direction, and moved away from the ramen shop quietly. He walked a few feet away towards Hinata, who used her Byakugan as she stared at the shop. There was a look of concern on her face, like she'd seen something she wasn't supposed to.
"What's the matter, Hinata?" Shikamaru asked cautiously.
The dark-haired girl just shook her head and deactivated her kekkei genkai as soon as his words reached her. Hinata looked sheepishly at him before she shook her head.
"I-It's nothing," she stated lamely.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded shyly. "Yes, I'm sure. I-I just..."
Shikamaru sighed. "I know, I'm worried too. Let's just give him some space for now."
The Hyuga princess only nodded shyly before the two felt the world around them get colder for a split second. Shikamaru turned to look over his shoulder to see Naruto running by. The blond didn't seem to notice them, and it was in that moment. His eyes weren't blue; they were a deep red with narrow slits where his normally round pupils were. When Shikamaru blinked, the blond was almost out of sight down the mostly empty street. Only Shikamaru and Hinata seemed to notice his presence at all. When they turned towards the ramen shop, they heard Iruka shouting.
"Naruto, come back!" their old sensei called out before turning his attention to Hinata and Shikamaru.
The two stayed silent as Iruka walked over towards them quickly. He had an anxious look on his face before he spoke.
"Did you see which way he went?"
Hinata nodded shyly as Shikamaru pointed towards the direction they saw Naruto going. "He went that way, Iruka-sensei."
The brunette let out a small sigh. "Thank you both."
Shikamaru asked quickly, "Is everything okay?"
Iruka rushed off in Naruto's direction without a reply. Shikamaru and Hinata were both looking towards the other chunin as he chased after their former classmate. Something didn't set right with the two of them. It wasn't like their former teacher to just ignore them or to just run off without explaining what was going on. It had to be serious, something Iruka didn't have time to explain. The teens stood in the street as they watched their sensei disappear into the distance.
"W-What should we do?" Hinata asked quickly, looking at Shikamaru with a worried expression.
Shikamaru sighed and said calmly, "Let Iruka-sensei handle this for now. We'll keep an eye out for now and keep this between us for now. We can talk to him or Kakashi later."
The two went their separate ways after deciding to investigate into what was going on with Naruto and why he ran off. Hinata was heading home towards the Hyuga compound, and Shikamaru decided to return home as well. As they walked home, both of them knew nothing about the events that would play out while Iruka chased Naruto down.
Iruka looked in the street for a short time before checking Naruto's apartment only to find he wasn't there. The chunin cursed to himself as he headed towards the training grounds to search for the blond. It was his fault Naruto ran off. Iruka may've suggested Naruto should consider living with him or Kakashi for a time while he adjusted to being back in the village, and that really irritated Naruto. The blond insisted he was fine, but the chunin kept insisting he at least consider it. Naruto wanted to have his independence, but Iruka also knew it would create opportunities for Naruto to regress. It terrified Iruka to think about how bad things were before Naruto left, but what terrified him the most was he was only making things worse.
It didn't take long for Iruka to head towards Kakashi's apartment. The chunin knocked on the door three times and waited patiently. Ten seconds later, Kakashi opened the door with his eye scanning the pages of the book Naruto gave him earlier.
"Hey, Iruka." The gray-haired shinobi greeted dully. "What's up?"
Iruka said sharply, "I can't find Naruto."
With that, the jonin snapped his book shut as a dark look crossed his face. Iruka shivered at his sudden change in behavior. Kakashi wasn't one to get worked up so easily, except when it came to his students. Kakashi was the one who found Naruto after he fought Sasuke bleeding in his bathtub. The jonin made more of an effort to keep up with what was going on with the blond. He even read all the reports Jiraiya sent during their trip to see if he wrote about Naruto and how he was doing. Jiraiya made sure to include at least a small note about how Naruto was doing, and it gave both Tsunade and Kakashi some relief.
"How long has he been?"
Iruka answered quickly, "A few minutes ago. We were talking over ramen and then he took off."
Kakashi seemed to relax a little. "He's not at his apartment? What about the training grounds?"
"He's not at his apartment, and I haven't checked the training grounds."
The gray-haired jonin nodded before he summoned Pakkun. When the ninken appeared from a putt of smoke, he looked up at his summoner. Iruka stayed silent as Kakashi put his book in his pocket.
"Hey, boss. What's up?" Pakkun greeted in a neutral tone.
Kakashi ordered, "We need to find Naruto."
Pakkun sniffed the air before he said, "I got a trail already. He was around here not too long ago."
"I'll leave this one up to you then, Kakashi," Iruka said as he turned away from the jonin. "Thank you."
The gray-haired jonin patted his shoulder before he followed Pakkun to the street below. The small pug lead Kakashi towards the Hokage Rock. Kakashi picked up the pace along with Pakkun, both knowing instantly where Naruto was. As they quickly dashed up the mountain side, Kakashi hoped Naruto was going to do something drastic or dangerous before he could get to him. When Kakashi and Pakkun got to the top of the mountain, Kakashi let out a sigh of relief.
Naruto was leaning against the railing looking over the village below. Kakashi dismissed Pakkun quietly before walking over to Naruto casually. Kakashi held a neutral look in his eyes as he approached the teen. With his hands in his pants pockets, Kakashi stood a few feet from the blond to see if he bothered to acknowledge his sensei's presence.
"I take it Iruka-sensei sent you," Naruto stated darkly.
Kakashi leaned his back against the railing as he looked at the blond's face. Naruto didn't look at the jonin as his eyes locked onto the village below, but Kakashi could still clearly see he was pissed off. The jonin had no idea what happened, and he had to ask. He couldn't walk away from Naruto, not when he stared down at the village with anger in his dark blue gaze. Kakashi tilted his head to the side, but didn't speak. He wanted Naruto to start the conversation they both knew they had to have.
"I'm fine," Naruto said sharply. "You didn't have to come find me."
The gray-haired sensei commented thoughtfully, "You're right, I didn't have to. I wanted to. Iruka's worried about you, said you ran off earlier."
The blond glared at him. "Yeah, well, I don't need him to worry about me. I'm fine."
"Then why did you run?"
Naruto shrugged before he replied coldly, "I don't need a babysitter, ya know? I'm fine on my own."
Kakashi knew his tactics; deflect and avoid. Naruto didn't want to answer his questions, but he already was. Iruka must've recommended Naruto not to live on his own, and that was what set Naruto off. That's why he made the comment of not needing a "babysitter" and that he was fine on his own. Of course, Kakashi knew that wasn't entirely true and Iruka wasn't entirely wrong for feeling uneasy about Naruto living alone again. It was obvious Naruto wasn't fine, and it was obvious he couldn't help but feel insulted at the mention of not being allowed to live on his own. The gray-haired sensei was willing to take the risk and let Naruto live on his own, but only if he believed Naruto wouldn't do something reckless. In that moment, he was on the fence about how he felt about Naruto living alone again.
"That doesn't mean I won't stop worrying about you," Kakashi stated calmly. "We all care about you, Naruto. It's not that we don't trust you, we just don't want you to feel like you have to deal with everything alone."
Naruto's gaze softened a bit, but he still looked irritated. He didn't say anything as he looked towards the village below once again. Kakashi let out a small breath of relief seeing Naruto calm down just a little.
"You wanna talk about what happened?" Kakashi asked quietly.
Naruto shook his head. "No, not really. It's nothing."
Kakashi sighed before he replied, "Alright."
The sensei pulled out his book and continued where he felt off. Naruto turned his head towards the jonin. Kakashi kept reading until Naruto spoke again.
"So, how are you liking the new book?" Naruto asked awkwardly.
Kakashi kept his eyes on the pages in front of him. "Its shaping up to be Master Jiraiya's best works. It's also one of the best gifts I've ever received."
The blond's blue eyes widened as Kakashi looked up at him with his signature eye-smile. Naruto smiled weakly as he looked back to the village below. Kakashi opened his dark eye once again to see the faint smile on Naruto's face. Kakashi snapped the book closed and slid it back into his pocket. Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, which seemed to startle the blond teen.
"I can talk to Iruka if you want me to," the gray-haired sensei offered.
Naruto shook his head and said, "Nah, I'll go talk to him later. Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."
The jonin nodded before moving his hand. "Anytime, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't stay up too late."
The blond nodded again before he replied, "See you tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei."
With that, the gray-haired jonin left without another word. He made his way down the mountain and started heading towards his apartment. Kakashi was reading the entire way down the mountain, but he had to stop a few times to think about if he did the right thing by leaving Naruto up there. He was trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach as he walked away; he was worrying too much. What happened a few nights ago was a single slip up that hadn't happened in over a year; that didn't mean Naruto was back into his old habits again. Sure, he got upset earlier with Iruka, but that didn't mean Naruto was being unreasonable. He wanted his own space, and he'd shown a lot of improvement in his time away.
Kakashi had to keep reminding himself it was an isolated incident and he had no evidence to suggest otherwise. He didn't want to make matters worse by lecturing Naruto about it or making him feel more guilt about the situation. Kakashi was doing his best to give his student some space, but it was still hard. He knew it was a risk, but he was willing to give Naruto the benefit of the doubt and take the risk. All he could do was hope he was making the right decision based on what he knew at the time.
Tsunade called Sakura to her office rather early the next morning. She sent Shizune to retrieve the pink-hair chunin for a reason. Tsunade and Jiraiya had already talked it over, and the white-haired sage advised Tsunade to maybe not explain the entire situation, but make it clear her behavior is a bit excessive and unnecessary. Jiraiya also pointed out was that they had to be careful about how they handled this conversation for multiple reasons. The first was that they didn't want to make Sakura worry or act too differently towards Naruto, the second, they had to be sure she didn't talk with anyone else about whatever Tsunade decided to tell her, and finally, they had to be absolutely sure Naruto wouldn't be tipped off by any significant change in Sakura's behavior. The last thing either of them wanted was to upset Naruto or make him think they told her everything.
Eventually, Shizune knocked on the door lightly as she calmly opened the door. She greeted the blond sage as Sakura trailed in behind her. The green-eyed teen walked in with a serious expression on her face.
"You wanted to see me, Lady Tsunade?"
Tsunade let out a deep breath as Shizune left the room and shut the door behind herself. Sakura blinked in confusion at the strange tension in the air. Tsunade sat back in her chair as she motioned for Sakura to come to her desk. She did so effortlessly as she looked at her sensei with a worried look on her face.
"What's going on?"
Tsunade said bluntly, "I have a mission for you. It's S-Rank, and this conversation cannot leave this room. Is that understood?"
Sakura nodded as she stated calmly, "Understood, M'lady."
The sage sighed as she tapped her pen against her desk. "As a shinobi, it's important to give comrades support and respect, especially Naruto. He's done a lot of growing up the past two years, and I'd like to think you've done the same as my student. I know you took it hard when Sasuke left, but that's no excuse for taking it out on a comrade. Believe me, Naruto took it hard himself and he still intends to keep his promise to bring him home. He left with the hope of getting stronger to fulfill his promise and to protect this village. When the others abandoned the idea of Sasuke coming back, he didn't lose hope."
Sakura's green eyes widened in realization as Tsunade continued coldly, "Your mission is simple; I want you to do better by your team. You don't have to agree on everything, but at the very least, have a bit more patience and understanding. If you hope to succeed in bringing your team back together again, you have to be patient and understanding. Naruto knows you love Sasuke, and that's part of the reason he tries so hard. The fact is he wants you to be happy, even if he's not what makes you happy."
The pink-haired teen hung her head as tears started forming in her eyes. Tsunade, unlike anyone else, understood Sakura. The sanin didn't want to hurt the girls feelings, but something had to give. Tsunade didn't have the time to deal with the issue before Naruto left, but she made damn sure she did this time. Naruto didn't deserve to be berated or mistreated, especially by his own teammate. The blond took the blame for not doing this sooner, but she couldn't change the past. She had to keep moving forward to making things better for Naruto. She didn't want to lose him; she couldn't live with that heartbreak.
Sakura wiped her eyes quickly before looking at her sensei. Tsunade didn't have to yell at her to get her point across; she just had to be blunt and honest. One thing about Sakura Tsunade learned early on was that her student took her words seriously. It was useful in situations like this; Tsunade didn't have to explain everything, just enough to make Sakura remember Naruto was truly doing everything he could to do right by his team. It was only fair Sakura did the same for him; Naruto was the one person willing to keep fighting for Sasuke along side her.
"So," Tsunade sighed. "Are we on the same page now?"
Sakura nodded firmly. "Yes, M'lady. Thank you."
The sanin tilted her head slightly. "For what?"
"Making things clear," the pink-haired teen stated warmly. "I won't fail my team."
Tsunade smiled warmly. "That a girl. Just remember, this conversation didn't happen."
Sakura nodded. "Right."
"You have a bit of time left before you meet up with Kakashi and Naruto. Be ready to show them how far you've come as my student."
With that, the pink-haired chunin was dismissed. Shizune entered the room right after Sakura left and started walking towards Tsunade with a serious look on her face. The sanin let out a heavy sigh as she wished she had a bottle of sake in her desk to ease the tension. Once the black-haired woman stood at her desk with a familiar pig in her arms, she broke the silence.
"So, how'd it go?" Shizune asked cautiously.
Tsunade shrugged and said, "It went as planned. We'll see once she and Naruto face Kakashi if our conversation had an impact on her."
This chapter is a bit different from the previous ones, but I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway. I appreciate the reviews and the input in them, and I did like to incorporate some of feedback into the story in future updates. I got to doing so research to check my facts (I will not disclose what I was looking up for the fact it will spoil part of the story later on, but feel free to theorize) for this chapter and found some great material to use. Part of what makes the story hard to write is looking at episodes and doing research, as I want to keep it as close to the canon as possible. It makes things easier if I don't change a lot so that when the chapters skip around, everyone has an idea as to what was going on during the skips.
Anyways, thanks to everyone for the follows, favorites, and reviews. Let me know if you like where the story is going or any thoughts or theories you have.
-xXstarryXnightXx