A/N - First off, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that it took me a while to get this one out. I'm back from NDK now and I'm utterly exhausted. I'm amazed I even managed to finish this in one day/one sitting. Been working on this since I woke up. Ended up being 14,137 words, which is just insane! lol.
Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Be warned, it's a long chapter so you're in for quite the read.
Chapter 6 - Naruto vs. Haschel & a Dangerous Mission
As Naruto stared across the arena floor at his first opponent, he couldn't help but quirk a brow in amusement. Standing across from him was the same spear wielder that Haschel had just knocked on his ass mere moments before. This is just going to be too damn easy. He thought to himself.
Seeing the look his opponent was sending him, the spear wielder that remained a nameless buffoon growled and pointed his spear at him in what would be a menacing manner to any normal person. "Don't look down on me you bastard! You're just some kid! I'll show you your place, here and now!" he shouted before he charged forth and began thrusting his spear towards Naruto in a hurried pace.
The blond ninja easily dodged every attack and eventually, growing bored of the 'fight', slipped around his opponent and tripped him, allowing the spear wielder to fall flat on his face. Afterwards, he brought out a kunai and placed it against his opponent's throat. "Say that you surrender. I won't kill you, but I will break you. Do you understand me?"
The man nodded minutely and quickly shouted out to the judges that he surrendered to his clearly superior opponent. Withdrawing his kunai, Naruto helped his opponent up and gave him a chilling smile, his eyes crinkling up until they were narrowed into slits. "I would suggest you rethink your life. Learn from your mistakes and become a better person. Otherwise, someone much worse than myself or Haschel will truly make you suffer. Do you understand?" Naruto asked as his look turned into a menacing one, his eyes opening and his smile turning into a scowl.
The man quickly nodded again before he ran out of the arena, not even stopping to say anything to anyone on his way out. Afterwards, Naruto left the arena floor and stepped into the waiting room once more, deciding to watch Dart's match since he was up next. However, what he saw bothered him a great deal. His opponent, at the very start of the match, used an item to poison Dart, which was against the rules! But instead of stopping the fight and disqualifying the bastard, the referees and judges allowed the fight to continue!
It didn't matter though. Dart easily kicked the son-of-a-bitch's ass before returning to the waiting area and using an item to cure himself of the poison. Yeah, it was a bitch to deal with, but he'd make do. Besides, he was fine overall and he was a sturdy person, so there was really nothing to worry about.
As the two waited for their next matches, Naruto was about to strike up a conversation with Dart, but Haschel walked in from his second match and sat down on the other side of Dart. "Ah, hey Haschel. Good to see ya." Naruto said with a smile. "How was your second fight? Sorry I missed it."
Haschel chuckled a bit and shook his head. "That's fine Naruto. I must say though, I rather enjoyed your first fight. You are quite skilled for one your age. I am looking forward to our fight." he said with a sincere smile on his face.
Dart grinned at the two of them and nodded in agreement. "I must agree. Haschel, I think a fight between the two of you would be a grand one indeed. I am looking forward to watching it. Though I still want to face the both of you, I know only one of you can win a fight if the two of you were to face each other. In which case, may the best between you win and good luck to the both of you." he said with a smirk on his face.
Naruto grinned at this and looked back at Haschel. He was about to say more, but the blond was called by the attendant waiting by the arena entrance, so he rose to his feet and looked at the two of them. "Well, that's my cue. Wish me luck guys." he said with a quick salute before he turned and made his way to the the attendant. "Alright, I'm ready. Who's my opponent?" he asked out of curiosity.
The attendant looked down at his clipboard for a moment before looking into Naruto's eyes. "Your opponent is one of our world's version of a ninja named Hikari. She is quite a bit different compared to the way your world's ninja work, but I wish you the best of luck regardless. I hope to enjoy your fight Naruto Uzumaki." he explained.
At hearing this, Naruto grinned and nodded in response before he walked past her and entered the arena. Once he was across from his opponent, he took in her appearance. Hikari was dressed in a black and blue ninja outfit from head to toe and looked to wield a katana along with a pouch of kunai and shuriken attached to her waist and right thigh respectively. However, what really drew his attention was her eyes. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of red, almost the color of rubies. However, she was looking at him like a predator who had found its prey. Blinking at this at first, he eventually just shrugged it off and took out a couple of kunai and prepared for the match to begin.
Once the match had begun, Hikari immediately went through a series of hand seals before multiple copies of her appeared. However, from what he could sense, only one of them was real. The others were fakes. She was attempting to confuse him using false clones, but due to his abilities as a sensor, it just wouldn't work against him.
So, looking directly at the real Hikari, Naruto threw one of his kunai at her to test her reaction. When she went wide-eyed at being found out so easily, he watched as she dispelled her clones and quickly reacted by drawing her katana and deflecting the small blade. Having expected this result, Naruto watched and waited, wanting to see what else she could do. He wasn't going to rush into this battle unprepared. After all, he had absolutely no idea what ninja from the other world were capable of, so he wasn't sure if she could spring some kind of trap or if she had any unexpected jutsu or something at her disposal.
Naruto blinked when she came rushing at him at an impressive speed and began to swing her sword at him in a flurry of wild slashes. Those attacks that he couldn't dodge, Naruto brought up his kunai to either block or deflect away from him. This woman was quick and he had to admit that she was dangerous as well.
After a moment, he saw an opening and slipped into her guard before slamming a fist hard into her gut, sending her flying backwards until she crashed onto the ground. When she rose to her feet, albeit shakily, he watched as she slipped her katana away and began to go through hand seals again. When she thrust her hands forward and shouted out: "Ninpo: Art of the Wind Blades!", he grumbled out, "Crap." and dodged until she had used up all of her energy in that attack.
Once she had finished, he watched as Hikari began to pant, clearly having exhausted herself. As soon as the ninja woman began to collapse to the side, Naruto disappeared in a blur and appeared at her side, catching her and holding her against him. Smiling at her, he removed her hood and gently pet her red hair for a moment. "You fought well. You should be proud of yourself Hikari. That was fun."
A moment later, the 18 year-old woman fell unconscious in Naruto's arms and he gently carried her out of the arena, back to the waiting room. Laying her down on one of the benches so she could get some much needed rest, Naruto smiled kindly at her before turning to Haschel. Dart was already over by the attendant, getting ready for his next fight against a swordsman named Serfius.
After Dart left, Haschel couldn't help but grin at Naruto in a mischievous way. "My, my Naruto. You defeated your opponent, and now you can't help but fawn over her? Does someone have a little crush? I wonder what she'll think when she wakes up and sees you. Will she fall for the one that beat her perhaps? So much to think about now. What would your girlfriend think, hm?" the older gentleman questioned teasingly.
Naruto blushed and quickly shook his head. "I am not fawning over her! I just...I dunno...damn it. I'm just trying to look after a fellow ninja, okay? I couldn't just leave her alone. And I don't have a crush on her! Yeah she's pretty, but I don't have a crush. And...I don't have a girlfriend. At least...not yet. At least I don't think she sees herself as my girlfriend yet. I don't know! Besides, I've been placed in the CRA. It's...complicated. Ugh. I'm so damn confused." he said as he clutched at his head.
Haschel blinked before chuckling a bit and shook his head. "Relax Naruto. I'm only teasing you. But, I would like to hear more about this CRA you mentioned. But I get the feeling it's not something you would like to speak about just yet. So perhaps another time, hm? Besides, it would appear that Dart has won his match. Let us congratulate our friend, shall we? Also, it would appear that young Hikari has awoken as well."
When Dart reentered the room, Naruto and Haschel congratulated him for his victory over Serfius. Thanks to this, they had all made it to the third round. All they had to do was make it through this and they'd be in the semifinals! However, right now they wanted to talk with Hikari.
So, turning to face her, Naruto smiled at her and waved. "Yo! Good to see you're up Hikari. You feeling okay?" he asked her.
Hikari blinked and looked at the other two combatants with Naruto before looking into his eyes. "Naruto? What happened?" she asked, wondering what was going on.
The blond rubbed the back of his head for a moment before offering her an awkward smile. "You kinda used up the last of your energy to take me down. You were about to pass out, so I caught you and brought you back here to the waiting room so you could rest. Are you feeling better now?"
The 18 year-old ninja looked herself over for a moment before she realized that her hood was down and she blushed. "I-I'm feeling better now, thank you. But...why is my hood down?"
Naruto blushed a bit at this and looked away. "I moved it away so I could try and soothe you while you rested. That and I was curious about what you looked like under the hood. Why? Was that a bad thing to do?" he asked curiously.
Hikari sighed and shook her head. "No, not necessarily. We ninja just don't generally like to allow others to see our faces like the ninja of your world do. It's just one of the differences between the ninja of our world and the ninja of yours. That's all. I...don't mind if you saw." she said with a tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks. "You...fought well. I'm honored to have lost to you Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto blushed at this point and shook his head. "The honor was all mine Hikari-chan. You fought well and put up a real fight. I had a lot of fun. Sorry that things didn't really work out for you though." he said while rubbing the back of his head and looking away again. "I kinda just wanted to see what you could do before I ended the fight. I will admit that I could have ended it much sooner had I wanted to, but I was really curious about what the ninja of your world could do. I'm really sorry." he said before bowing from the waist to her in apology.
Hikari blinked in shock at this. She hadn't expected for her opponent to be this humble, or for him to admit that he was that strong. He could have finished the fight that fast? Damn. I never stood a chance to begin with. She thought to herself sadly. However, she found herself smiling suddenly as another thought sprung into her mind. He would make a wonderful husband. This young man would give me powerful offspring. But more than that, he's a remarkable person and very kind as well. He would treat me and our future family very well. I must make him mine. She thought with a grin.
Feeling a shiver go down his spine, Naruto was sure that someone was thinking something a little…'disturbing' about him, and quickly looked into Hikari's eyes. She had this devilish smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes. If he had to admit it, he was feeling a tad nervous right now. However, before he could do or say anything, both he and Haschel were called by the attendant. Looking at one another, they both knew what this meant. The two of them were to fight each other in the third round.
Frowning at this, they looked to Dart and patted him on the shoulder. "Looks like one of us won't be making it to the semifinals buddy. I'm sorry." Naruto said before he walked to the attendant and made his way out to the arena floor.
Haschel looked at his friend and smiled at him. "I'll try to take it easy on him Dart. I will win this fight so I can see you in the final round." before he left as well.
Once they were standing across from one another, Haschel held his hands behind his back and stared across at his opponent with an unreadable expression on his face. He was going to take this fight seriously, as he knew Naruto would not be an easy opponent. This would likely be the hardest fight in the tournament for him and he'd be damned if he didn't take this one seriously just because he was a 14 year-old kid.
Naruto, on the other hand, could sense the power from his opponent and could tell he was incredibly skilled in martial arts as well; likely a variety of them. Taking a deep breath, Naruto waited for the announcer to begin the fight before he quickly drew three shuriken and, in one quick, fluid motion, sent each of them flying towards Haschel. He wanted to test the waters, so to speak, and watched as they sailed towards his opponent.
The old man, not one to disappoint, easily moved his arm in one insanely quick motion and caught all three shuriken by the holes on one of his fingers before a rather wicked smirk appeared on his face. "You have good form Naruto Uzumaki. You're quick as well. Impressive for one your age. However, you will have to do better than that if you hope to best me." he said before moving his finger downwards so the shuriken fell to the ground at his feet.
"Tch." Naruto frowned and shook his head. Haschel was much quicker than he thought. This was going to be a very hard fight, especially without his ninjutsu at his disposal. And since he had elected not to use his fuinjutsu, since they'd likely disqualify him if he used it, he only had taijutsu and his weapons to rely on. From just this first exchange, Naruto had to admit that this fight looked to be a losing endeavor right from the get-go.
Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, Naruto released a calming breath and looked Haschel straight in the eyes. After a moment, he quickly drew two shuriken and threw them as fast and as hard as he could at Haschel, watching as they sailed through the air towards the old man.
When the old man went to catch them, he suddenly sensed something behind him. Blinking in shock, Haschel quickly spun on his heel and blocked a vicious roundhouse kick from Naruto before he remembered the shuriken coming his way. Clever Naruto. Very clever. Haschel thought with a grin on his face before he turned and caught the shuriken between his fingers, allowing Naruto to land a fierce blow to the older man's back, sending him stumbling a few steps forward.
Dropping the shuriken to the ground again, the older gentleman turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder at Naruto, allowing a grin to play across his face once again. "That was a clever move Naruto. However, don't expect the same move to work twice in one fight. You're going to have to work for your victory, young man."
Naruto nodded and smirked at Haschel. "Oh, I know. I'm not a one trick pony Haschel. I'm a little surprised though. You took my punch like it was nothing. I thought for sure you'd hit the dirt. Guess you're a lot tougher than I thought you'd be." the blond said with a frown on his face. "You're really going to make me work for this victory, aren't you Haschel?"
Haschel chuckled and nodded his head before turning to face forward once more to block a punch from Naruto who had enhanced his speed with chakra again to dash around in front and try a sneak attack once more. As Naruto continued to throw punches and kicks at him, the violet-clad man continued to block all of his attacks with a single hand. "It's nice to see you acting so confident, young man. But, I'm afraid that you won't be winning this fight, Naruto. I do apologize."
The blond frowned at this and shook his head before leaping backwards to avoid a retaliatory punch from Haschel. The speed and power of that punch was insane, and he was glad he wasn't hit by it. Taking some time to think, Naruto frowned as he honestly couldn't figure out a way to win. At least, not without using some jutsu of some kind. In pure taijutsu, Haschel had him beat hands down. Damn it! Naruto thought in frustration. I don't want to lose here! I want to go on and face Dart in the finals! There has to be a way to beat this guy! He thought to himself angrily.
After a moment, Naruto decided to just go for broke and try a technique used by Lee before. So, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and prepared himself. When the blond opened his eyes again, he stared hard at Haschel and watched as his opponent began to step closer to him, clearly preparing to go on the offensive now.
Shaking his head, the blue-eyed blonde shook his head and released another breath. "I hope you're ready Haschel, because I'm giving this next attack all I've got." And with that, Naruto disappeared in a blast of speed. First he appeared in front of Haschel, throwing a punch directly at Haschel's face. The purple-clad man deflected the attack before attempting to strike Naruto, but his opponent was already gone before he could hit him.
Then Naruto was on his right, throwing a kick towards his head. This one was avoided just barely. Suddenly Haschel was hit from behind, being knocked forward slightly. Another blow, this time to his cheek. Another one to his left thigh. Stomach. Right side in the ribs. Top of the head, causing what was likely a concussion. Forehead. Back, right above his buttocks. Naruto kept connecting with attacks over and over again at such a high speed that Haschel couldn't even react in time to avoid, block, or deflect the attacks. Poor Haschel felt like a damn ragdoll!
When the attack was over, Naruto stood a few feet from Haschel with his hands on his knees, panting from exhaustion. However, after taking a moment to catch his breath, he stood up again and stared at his opponent, waiting to see what the old man would do. It didn't take long, however, for Haschel to suddenly appear before him with his fist buried in his gut, sending him crashing into the opposite wall of the arena where Naruto quickly lost consciousness and fell to the ground face first.
However, after knocking Naruto out and being declared the winner, Haschel groaned from the pain he was feeling and slowly limped over to his opponent. Kneeling down to lift Naruto in his arms, the old man chuckled for a moment. "I knew you'd be a tough opponent, but I certainly wasn't expecting that last attack. Very well done Naruto. You've pushed me farther than any opponent I've had in a long, long time. Congratulations, for you have earned my respect." he said before entering the waiting room where he laid the boy down on the bench beside Hikari.
Dart looked at Haschel with a small frown on his face. "Haschel, are you alright? It looked like you took quite the beating out there."
Haschel chuckled and shook his head. "I'll be okay. I just need to sit for a little while and rest. Once I've had a little time to rest and relax, I'll be alright. You just get ready for your next match, my friend. I'll stay here with Hikari and watch over young Naruto until he awakens."
Dart nodded slowly and rose to go face his opponent in the third round before Haschel turned to face Hikari, who had pulled Naruto closer and laid his head on her lap. She had even begun to pet his hair and was stroking his whisker marks with one of her hands. They were just so cute and she couldn't resist!
Haschel chuckled to himself and shook his head. "He put up an amazing fight Hikari. You should be proud of him."
Hikari smiled at Haschel and nodded. "I am. Naruto is a man worthy of respect. But...are you going to be alright for your next match? I know what you told Dart, but you did take quite the beating at the end there. I want to know what you truly feel."
The older gentleman shook his head and smiled. "I promise you that I'll be alright Hikari. My injuries will not slow me down. I really just need a bit of time to relax and recuperate and I'll be good to go. By the time the semifinals begin, I'll be prepared to fight again. Just you watch." Haschel said with a grin.
Hikari giggled a bit and nodded her head. "As you say Master Haschel. I will take your word for it." It was at this point that Naruto began to stir and both of them looked down to see him opening his eyes. When he began to sit up, Hikari held him down and shook her head. "Naruto, hold still. You shouldn't move around too much. Master Haschel knocked you out with a pretty hard punch. You...lost the fight. I'm sorry."
Naruto sighed and nodded his head slowly before turning to stare at Haschel. "That was a great fight Haschel. Thank you very much. I had a lot of fun, and I'm sorry if I hurt you with that last attack. I was desperate to win. I wanted to face Dart in the final round, just like you, y'know? If you get to fight him, try and win it for me, alright?" Naruto questioned hopefully.
Haschel chuckled a bit and nodded with a soft smile on his face. "Of course Naruto. And, just so you know, you fought exceptionally well. You've earned my respect. I'm quite proud of you."
The blond smiled happily at this and nodded again. "Thank you so much Haschel! That means a lot to me. You should know that I respect you as well sir." Naruto said with a happy grin on his face.
It was at this point that Dart walked in and the announcer said that they would be taking a short intermission before the semifinals would begin. Slowly rising to his feet, Naruto took Hikari's hand and smiled at her. "Come on Hikari-chan, let's go introduce you to my friends. I'm sure they'll love you." As he went to rush out of the waiting room, Naruto grinned at both Dart and Haschel. "See you two later."
After leaving the waiting room, Naruto went to the area where he knew Rose, Lavitz, and Shana were waiting. Once he reached them, he smiled and waved at them. "Hey guys! Have you enjoyed the fights so far?" he asked exuberantly.
Shana walked over and hugged Naruto tightly. "I'm sorry you lost Naruto. It must bother you a great deal to have lost before you got your chance to fight Dart, huh?" she asked softly before leaning back a bit to stare into his eyes.
Naruto frowned at this and looked down for a moment. After taking in a deep breath, he looked Shana in the eyes and offered her a smile before he shrugged his shoulders. "If I was to lose to anyone in this tournament, I'm glad it was to Haschel at least. Turns out Haschel is an old friend of Dart's. He's a really good guy and we get along great. I fought the best I could against him, but I just couldn't win. If I was permitted to use at least my fuinjutsu, I know I could have won, but I knew if I used even that, I'd have been disqualified immediately. So...I just did what I could under the circumstances. Yeah, it hurts, but I'm not mad about it. I like Haschel a lot."
Lavitz walked up at this point with Rose at his side and smiled at his friend. "That's a very mature way to look at this Naruto. I'm happy to see you accepting your loss with pride rather than frustration and anger towards your foe. Now, why don't you introduce us to your lovely friend here, hm?" he asked with a small grin on his face as he saw the look Hikari was giving Naruto.
Hikari answered before Naruto could and bowed her head to the group. "Hello friends of Naruto. My name is Hikari. It is a pleasure to meet the friends of my future husband and father of my children." she said with a smirk on her face.
At hearing this, Rose's eyes narrowed and a vein on her forehead began to pulse dangerously in anger. Lavitz coughed and began to choke on his own saliva. Shana, however, felt as if her heart was constricting inside of her chest, though she wasn't sure exactly why. She loved Dart damn it! So why did it hurt to imagine Naruto marrying this floozy?! Damn it this was confusing!
Naruto went wide-eyed and slack jawed as he turned around to face Hikari in shock. "W-W-What?! What the hell Hikari-chan?! You can't just go saying things like that out of the blue! Wait, what?!" it was at this point that what she said truly caught up with him. "What the heck do you mean your husband and father of your kids?! We barely know each other! Oh Kami above...oh jeez. I'm...I'm not ready to be a father. I don't even know how to be a proper husband! What the heck dattebayo?!"
Hikari giggled and wrapped her arms around Naruto from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder before placing a kiss on his whiskered cheek. Her C-cup breasts were pressed against his back and she couldn't help but smile at him. "Don't worry so much Na-ru-to." she breathed out in a sensual whisper, "you'll make a fine husband. And I think you'll make a wonderful father. You're kind, you're handsome, you're smart, you're strong, you're everything I could ever want in a man and for the father of my children. Don't resist sweetheart, because I'm not giving up on you." she said with a devilish grin on her face.
It was at this point that Rose walked over and pulled Naruto away from Hikari. "Sorry Hikari, but he's spoken for. Find somebody else." she said angrily.
Shana could feel her heart constricting more at this declaration and could feel tears stinging at her eyes. She quickly wiped them away so they wouldn't be seen, but she just couldn't help but feel really awkward about what was going on.
Naruto sighed as Rose and Hikari began to bicker back and forth over him, tugging him back and forth between one another in a tug-of-war battle. It was beginning to hurt and he could feel his arms about to be pulled out of socket. So, ripping his arms away from the two of them, he massaged them and groaned. "First, allow me to say: 'Ow'. Second, Rose-chan, Tsunade and the Council put me in something called the CRA, which is short for Clan Restoration Act. Basically, this act is put into motion when a person is one of, if not the last of their clan. It's used most commonly on males. This act states that men are to take multiple wives in order to quickly repopulate their clan and revive it from the brink of destruction. I wasn't given a specific number of wives I'm meant to take, but I've heard that on average, men take about six wives. Though there are some that take only three and others that take many more than that. It all depends on the person involved. I'm...really sorry I didn't tell you sooner Rose-chan. I'm still trying to process it myself and I wasn't sure how to bring it up to you." he explained sadly.
Before Rose could say anything in response, Naruto turned to Hikari and shook his head. "And you, Hikari, we barely know each other. I wouldn't mind getting to know you as a person first, but anything more than that would have to wait and Rose-chan would have to agree to it. I love her and I won't be with anyone she doesn't approve of. Is that understood?" he explained sternly, trying to get the point across that he wouldn't just be with Hikari just like that. They could start out as friends, but anything more than that would be a no go at this point in time.
Hikari frowned at this and sent a sharp look Rose's way. Rose, however, didn't pay Hikari any mind. Instead, she looked into Naruto's eyes searchingly. She looked hurt, but at the same time, she could see that he was just as conflicted about this CRA thing as she did. After a time, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug before bringing her lips to his in a chaste kiss. "I...love you too Naruto. Just...promise me that you won't add anyone to this relationship without speaking with me about it first?"
Naruto smiled at this and nodded once. "Of course Rose-chan. I promise that I'll talk with you about everything. No secrets on my end." he said with a grin.
She giggled a bit and nodded her head before resting her forehead against his. Seeing this sight, however, really bothered Shana, so she turned around and looked down at the arena, a deep frown on her face as she folded her arms under her bust.
Lavitz, seeing this, walked over to her and decided to pose a question. "Shana, whatever is troubling you? You're not acting like yourself."
Shana sighed and shook her head. "It's...complicated Lavitz. I'm in love with Dart. But at the same time, I think I have feelings for Naruto as well. I'm...getting jealous of other girls that get 'friendly' with him. I shouldn't, but I can't help it! I shouldn't want them both. It's wrong of me. I feel so guilty and I don't like feeling this way. What should I do?"
Lavitz frowned and shook his head. "Have you talked with Naruto and learned of his feelings?" he asked. When he saw her nod, he decided to ask another question. "And how does he feel about you?"
Shana sighed at this and lowered her gaze to the ground where she began shuffling her feet nervously. "Naruto...said he has feelings for me as well."
Lavitz sighed and nodded his head. "I see. That probably only furthers your confusion then. One man remains oblivious to your feelings and doesn't seem to show you any affection besides treating you like a little sister. Meanwhile, the other sees you as a potential love interest. You've loved Dart for the longest time, but at the same time, the prospect of giving this new man a chance is awfully tempting. Not only did he save your life, but he returns your feelings and makes you feel truly special."
Sighing at this, Lavitz shook his head and glanced out the corner of his eye at Shana. "It's only natural to be confused about this, Shana. But in the end, only you can decide what you want to do and who you want to be with. But let me ask you this: which road do you want to walk? The easy path, or the hard path? Which one do you think has the greater reward in the end?" and with that being said, Lavitz turned and walked off to go and get some refreshments for everyone, a Shadow Clone of Naruto quickly hurrying after him to help out.
Naruto, being left with the three women, sighed and looked around. After a moment, he looked at Rose and motioned with his head off to the right. "Rose-chan, I'm going to go meet up with some of my friends over there. I'll be back in a bit to watch the semifinal fights with you four. I promise." And with that, before anyone could say anything, the blonde ran off to go and see his fellow ninja.
Once he had arrived, Naruto was immediately wrapped up in a hug by Tsunade. "You fought well Naruto-kun. I'm sorry you lost before you could make it to the semifinals." she said sadly. "If only you weren't restricted by their rules, I'm sure you could have won." she said with a scowl on her face.
With a sigh, Naruto looked down and nodded. "Yeah. But...Haschel is a good guy. We're both friends with Dart and I'm friends with him now too, so if I had to lose to anybody, I'm glad it was Haschel. Still though...it really sucks. I wanted to make it to the finals sooo bad."
Tsunade frowned and hugged him just a bit tighter, starting to suffocate her godson with her breasts. "I know sweetie. It'll be okay though. Maybe next time, huh?" she asked with a smile. When Naruto began to flail, she looked down and sweatdropped as she realized she was killing him with her breasts. Releasing him, she giggled nervously for a moment and smiled at him. "Sorry?"
Naruto breathed in deeply and released it slowly a few times before rising to his feet again. "It's okay Tsunade. Just...be careful next time, okay? I know you have nice breasts and all, but don't kill me with them!" he shouted out before he blushed a deep shade of red at what he had just admitted.
Tsunade rose an eyebrow at him before she glanced down at her bosom and then back at him with a smirk. "My, my. Aren't you a little pervert?" she asked with a teasing grin on her face. "Is someone attracted to their godmother by any chance?"
Naruto quickly shook his head in the negative. "While I do find you attractive, I'm not interested in you in that way Tsunade. So...I'm sorry? Ugh. My brain hurts." he said before scratching at his head furiously.
Tsunade blushed a bit before she began to giggle. "Thank you for your honesty Naruto-kun. It's...refreshing. Now, why don't you go and say hello to the others?" she suggested before motioning behind her.
Naruto smiled and nodded his head before walking past her and up to the viewing area that had been built for the ninjas of his world to watch the fights down below in the arena. Once he had arrived, he saw his friends look his way. He saw Hinata get up to start walking towards him, but Kiba beat her to the punch.
Getting right in his face, Kiba scowled at him and pointed back towards the arena. "What the hell man?! You kicked my ass, you kicked Neji's ass, but you get your butt kicked by some old man in his 50s?! What the hell's wrong with you?!"
Naruto shoved Kiba aside and sighed to himself. He could see that a majority of the people in the viewing area were wondering the same thing. So, sighing again, Naruto pointed down towards the arena and shook his head. "Haschel may be old, but he's still full of energy and more than capable of keeping up with the youngest of us. He's strong as hell too. On top of that, he's a martial arts master." he stressed. "In straight up taijutsu, I just didn't stand a chance in Hell of beating him. I could have thrown every shuriken and kunai in my arsenal at him, and it wouldn't have done a damn thing. I fought him with everything I had, but it just wasn't enough. If I had been permitted to use my jutsu, I could have won. But since they decided to forbid it, I wasn't allowed to use anything. Meanwhile, they could use whatever the hell they wanted, even the ninja girl I went up against. I'd like to see any of you try to do any better." Naruto said with a scowl on his face as he looked at everyone.
Sasuke scoffed at this and looked at his teammate. "I'd have never lost to an old man like that. You're just weak and pathetic, as usual, dobe. Then again, you're nothing compared to an Uchiha Elite, like me." he said with a grin.
Sakura and Ino both swooned at this and nodded excitedly before glaring at Naruto. "Sasuke-kun's right. You suck Naruto! Just admit it!"
Sighing, Naruto looked at Sasuke and shook his head. "Y'know...I can't help but wonder how it feels to have Itachi mind rape you as he did? What is this, the second time now? Wow, you really made him shake in fear before he trapped you in that genjutsu, didn't you Sasuke? Oh wait, he was shaking from laughter, wasn't he? I'm sorry, I get those mixed up sometimes. You see, you were just so pathetic that nobody could take you seriously! After all, it takes some serious effort to be that weak Sasuke." Naruto mocked, tired of Sasuke's shit.
Before Sakura and Ino could yell at Naruto in defense of their 'precious' Sasuke-kun, something in Sasuke snapped and he shouted out, "Chidori!" before charging at Naruto with Sharingan activated and a Chidori in hand. Naruto was about to react and break Sasuke's arm in three places, but Kakashi suddenly appeared and slammed both of them into the ground.
Furious at this, Naruto threw Kakashi off of him and slugged him as hard as he could in the face, sending Kakashi reeling backwards. "What the flying fuck Kakashi?! I didn't fucking do anything! That asshole was attacking me! He was coming at me with the intent to kill! What the fuck is your goddamn problem?!"
Kakashi frowned at this and glared harshly at Naruto. "Well, you must have done something to provoke him as you always do. Why else would he attack you Naruto?" he asked rhetorically.
Naruto growled and pointed at Sasuke. "That lousy prick flies off the handle and tries to kill me, and you're blaming ME for it?! That's fucking IT! I'm talking to Tsunade and getting myself off of this fucking team! I'm also talking to her about you, Sasuke, AND Sakura and how shitty the three of you are as a team. I'm the only one who was a fucking team player. You're a fucking hypocrite, Sasuke's a loose cannon who would run to Orochimaru the first chance he gets for more fucking power, and Sakura's a weak little shit who can't do squat except fawn over her 'precious' Sasuke-kun. So y'know what? Fuck all of you! I don't need a single goddamn one of you! I've got new friends now. Friends that actually give a shit about me!" Naruto shouted furiously before he left the viewing area and went to return to his Dragoon friends.
However, as he left the viewing area, he found that Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya had each been listening in and had likely seen the whole thing. Frowning at this, he looked away from them and shook his head. "Now you see the kind of bullshit I've had to put up with from all of them. Especially my team. Kakashi preached about teamwork and called those who abandoned comrades 'worse than trash'. He didn't teach Sakura or me shit. We were only taught tree-climbing, and that was only after we were nearly killed by Zabuza in the Land of Waves.
Then you have Sakura. She and Ino are die hard Sasuke fangirls. They don't train seriously, they care more for their looks than anything, and they think that putting down others will make Sasuke see them in a better light. Everything, and I do mean everything, they do is to try and please Sasuke. The only problem with this? Sasuke doesn't give either of them the time of day. In fact, he doesn't show interest in anyone. All he does is obsess over his brother. It makes one think he's gay or something." Naruto explained with a shrug.
"Finally, there's Sasuke. He never underwent therapy for what happened to him during the Uchiha Clan Massacre. If he had, he'd have never been allowed to become a shinobi. He's a fucking flight risk and will leave the village soon to go to Orochimaru for more power because he doesn't feel like he's getting it here. My personal recommendation is to kill him or imprison him before he can try. Actually, considering he just tried to kill me, his comrade, and Kakashi didn't punish him for it, I'd say you're allowed to punish both of them for it, are you not, Hokaga-sama?" Naruto asked with a grin aimed at Tsunade.
Tsunade shuddered when he called her Hokage-sama. Hearing that from him just didn't feel right for some reason. "I do believe I can. But please, don't call me Hokage-sama like that. It doesn't feel right, coming from you."
Chuckling a bit, Naruto nodded before giving her a quick salute. "Well, I'm off to watch the rest of the matches with my friends. See ya!" he said before quickly rushing off to join his Dragoon friends down below.
As soon as Naruto rejoined his friends, he was hugged by Shana and the two of them just basked in each other's warmth for a moment before separating. "What was that for Shana-chan?"
Shana smiled at him and shook her head. "You looked like you needed a hug Naruto. Plus, women can just sense these things, so don't question me about it. Now, did something happen when you went to see your friends?"
Naruto sighed and looked away. "You...could say that." he said with a scowl on his face. After a moment, he sighed and decided to explain everything that took place to his friends and, dare he say it, family? Yes, Naruto decided, these people were his new family and he loved them dearly. So, for the next several minutes, the young blond explained everything that had taken place, leading up to his talk with Tsunade.
When he was finished, Shana held her hands up to cover her mouth and shook her head in disbelief. "How have you survived on such a dysfunctional team for so long? I can't believe your teammate just tried to murder you like that! And your own sensei behaving in such a way too! It's simply unbelievable! If Tsunade doesn't do something to them, you can bet that we will. Right Rose?"
Rose had her fist clenched at her side and nodded slowly. "Oh, they will pay. They will pay most dearly." she said with a fierce scowl on her face. "Tsunade's punishment had best be severe and befitting of their crimes, or I'll be handling their punishment personally." she said, her voice full of bloodlust.
Naruto would have said something more on the situation, but the announcer had just announced the start of the semifinal round. First up was Haschel vs. a man named Lloyd. When Lloyd stepped out, Naruto's eyes widened considerably and he quickly pointed down below. "That's him! That's the guy I sensed following us when we were in Shukuba Town! I'd recognize that energy signature anywhere! Haschel!" Seeing Haschel look his way, Naruto shouted down to him. "Be careful, this is no ordinary foe!"
Haschel nodded once in understanding before he turned to face down his foe. If Naruto was willing to warn him about his foe, then there was a very good reason for it.
Back with Naruto, Rose, Lavitz, and Shana all looked at him with wide eyes. "You're absolutely sure about this Naruto?" Rose asked, just to make sure he was correct about this. Seeing him nod without turning his gaze away from the fight, she turned to look down at Lloyd and frowned. It was at this point that she got a look at his hair color and her eyes widened. "Platinum-colored hair...no…"
Shana heard this and looked at Rose. "What is it Rose? What's the matter?"
Hearing this, her companions all turned to her, even Hikari. Rose looked around at everyone and shook her head. "If I'm correct in my assumption, then Lloyd is a Wingly. However, there's no way to know for sure. But their platinum hair is a trait that is common amidst most Winglies, if not all of them. If Lloyd IS a Wingly, then Haschel will have a hard time winning this fight." the Dark Dragoon explained.
Naruto frowned at this and decided to turn his attention back to the fight taking place down below. Haschel was dodging Lloyd's attacks, but every attack Haschel threw at Lloyd was dodged as well. It seemed that no matter what Haschel tried, he just couldn't hit Lloyd for the life of him! Eventually, Lloyd grew tired of the fight and appeared before Haschel in a burst of speed, landing a few quick slashes on him, cutting deep into his chest and sending the old man flying across the arena floor until he landed on his back hard.
Not wanting to see Haschel suffer from his wounds, Naruto quickly lifted Shana into his arms in a bridal carry, causing her to blush deeply, and leapt down to where Haschel was so she could heal his wounds. As she did this, Naruto narrowed his eyes at Lloyd and waited to see what would happen next.
Seeing the look the 14 year-old was giving him, Lloyd walked up to him and smirked. "What? Frustrated that I harmed your friend? Would you rather I have harmed you instead, perhaps? No matter, I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of each other in due time young Naruto. All in due time." he said before leaving for the waiting room with a deep chuckle escaping him.
Naruto frowned in confusion at this before Shana rose to her feet with Haschel doing the same seconds later. Standing himself, Naruto turned to them and shook his head to rid himself of the stranger's mysterious words. "Hey Haschel, how are you feeling now?"
Haschel chuckled a bit and shook his head. "I'm better now. Disappointed that I lost to that man, but you can't win them all. Go and return to your friends now Naruto. I'm going to the waiting room to wait for Dart to have his match before I offer him some words of wisdom."
Naruto nodded and patted Haschel on the back before he smirked at Shana and lifted her into his arms again before leaping up back to where their friends were. Putting her down on her feet again, he couldn't resist and gave her butt a quick couple of pats before walking away from her, whistling innocently.
Shana was blushing badly. Naruto was teasing her! He knew what he was doing to her too! At least...she thought he did. But...how could he know? It wasn't like he knew how she was feeling. He couldn't know that she was developing feelings of her own for him. Therefore...he was just teasing her...to tease her? Then...why did she like it so much? Damn this was confusing! If only Dart could be so bold! She thought with a giggle.
After Rose had left Shana to her own devices, Rose walked up to stand beside her. "Shana." she started, "I've noticed how you've been acting around Naruto lately." she said seriously.
Seeing as she now had Shana's attention, Rose looked into Shana's eyes and frowned at her. "I see how he looks at you. I know how he feels about you. I also know how you feel about Dart. What I don't know is how you feel about Naruto. I can also tell that even you are unaware of your true feelings for my beloved. I will say this though: if you try to enter a relationship with Naruto, then you'd best be serious about him. If you were to hurt him or betray him in any way, and I do mean in any way, it will end badly for you. So I recommend that you take a good, long look at yourself, sort out your feelings, your thoughts, everything you need to, until you feel comfortable with yourself again. Don't let anyone else influence your decisions. I'm sure you've heard a lot of different pieces of advice from people by now, but I want you to throw all of that out the window. Follow your own advice Shana. What would you do in this type of situation? This affects you the most. This is your life. This is your decision. What do you want? That is my piece of advice to you. Take it as you will." Rose said in a kind of pep talk that only she could give. Afterwards, she walked over to keep Naruto company, though Hikari was already there and chatting away with him.
When Rose left to join Naruto and Hikari, Shana looked down into the arena where Dart and an archer were facing off. She knew the others were paying attention to the fight too, just like she was, but they were also talking with one another. When Lavitz walked up to her and tried to strike up a conversation with her, Shana turned her gaze to him and sighed. "What was that Lavitz? I'm sorry, I'm just...lost in thought."
Lavitz smiled and shook his head. "I said that archer is quite skilled, wouldn't you agree? Doesn't his skill with a bow give you some good ideas for techniques you could utilize with your weapon? Think about it." he suggested.
Shana watched the fight and nodded once. "He is pretty impressive, I admit. I didn't think about adding some of his moves to my repertoire though. Maybe I should." she thought aloud. "But...that's just not on my mind at the moment." she said with a sigh.
The knight of Bale frowned and nodded his head. "Ah yes, your 'problem'. Do not let it distract you too much. The answer will come to you with time, I'm sure. Just follow your heart." he said with a smile. "I know I'm still searching for Ms. Right." he said with a chuckle.
Shana smiled at Lavitz and poked his cheek. "Then you'd best start searching Mr. Knight of Bale. At the rate you're going, you're likely to die before you meet the right woman for you." she said. When everyone in their party suddenly got a cold chill down their spine, the group that was with Shana looked at her and blinked a few times.
"D-Don't say that again. That didn't feel right." Naruto said.
Shana looked at Lavitz worriedly, but quickly shook it off and looked back down towards the arena to see that Dart had won his fight and was ready to move on to the final round. After a moment, while they waited for the final match to be announced, they heard someone calling out Naruto's name. Turning, they saw Hinata rushing over to him, panting a bit as she reached him and bent over, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
"T-Thank Kami I found you Naruto-kun. I-I...w-w-wanted to see you. I didn't w-want you to think that we all f-felt the same way those others did. I thought you fought really well. I'm proud of you Naruto-kun. Nobody else seems to care, but I do! I...I just wanted you to k-know that. If you don't want me around anymore I-I'll...I'll l-le-leave." she stuttered out.
Naruto blinked at this and quickly placed his hand on her shoulder. "No, no. It's okay Hinata-chan, really. Thank you. It's nice to know that not everyone there hates me. I really appreciate it." he said before he gave her a nice, warm hug. Releasing her, he smiled at her with a foxy grin. "Why don't you stay here with us and watch the final match with us? Our buddy Dart is about to fight this Lloyd guy. Lloyd is bad news. He was stalking us on our search for Tsunade. Don't know why, all we know is he's bad news." Naruto explained.
Hinata smiled and hugged Naruto tight, burying her head into Naruto's chest for a moment and just enjoying basking in his presence. After a moment, she released him and stepped back. "Sure thing Naruto-k-kun. I hope your friend can beat him." she said with a smile on her face.
Naruto blushed a bit at the affectionate gesture from Hinata, but quickly shook it off and went to stand next to Rose and Hikari. "Me too Hinata-chan. Me too." he said with a frown on his face.
When Dart and Lloyd came out moments later, the group watched as every attack Dart threw at Lloyd was avoided. The platinum-haired bastard just continued to mock the red-clad mercenary again and again, pissing Naruto off more and more. Eventually, Lloyd attacked and defeated Dart with a single attack. This...was frustrating. Not one of the three friends had won the tournament. Instead it was this smug bastard that didn't fucking deserve the prize!
Sighing to himself, Naruto watched the proceedings and listened on as Ginger talked.
"Here are the results of the annual Endiness Hero Competition! The victor, is the Platinum-haired swordsman, Lloyd! The toughest and strongest man in all of Endiness!" Ginger exclaimed for all the audience members to hear. Naruto scoffed and looked away, clearly pissed at Lloyd.
Ginger didn't hear this however and simply continued on as he rushed past Dart. "Second is Dart, the "Young Flame"!" At this, Dart turned and waved to the audience members, a proud smile on his face as he did while the crowd cheered in excitement for the man and his amazing fights and fighting prowess that he had shown.
Once again, Ginger rushed off, this time to the opposite side of Dart and Lloyd, off to Haschel's side. "Third place goes to Haschel, the "Master of the Rouge Art"!" Here, Haschel decided to bow slightly to the audience before thrusting his fists into the air and turned to face another part of the crowd and doing the same thing once more.
At this point, Lloyd turned around and walked back into the waiting room, leaving Dart and Haschel to follow him inside. Unsure of what was about to happen, Naruto decided to just take a wait-and-see approach to this and decided to wait for his friends to rejoin him and the others. However, it seemed that Lavitz couldn't wait and rushed off to go and collect Dart and Haschel. So, with a shrug, he just decided to wait for a little while longer. No point in rushing anything now.
Once Dart and the others ran up to them, Naruto smiled and watched as Shana shouted out her congratulations to them. "Dart! Congratulations on second place!" Scrap that, congratulations to just Dart then. Guess I should have known. He thought with a sigh.
Dart walked closer with Lavitz and Haschel on either side of him until he was standing before the five of them. "Thanks. I wish I could have won first prize for you." he said with a frown on his face.
Something about the way Dart said this to Shana made Naruto scowl as he looked away from Dart and the others with his back turned to them. Naruto knew he had feelings for Shana, but he wasn't sure if Dart felt something for Shana beyond a simple sibling relationship. I shouldn't feel jealous. Dart's my friend. If he and Shana are happy together...I should be happy for them. Naruto thought to himself with a soft, inaudible sigh and a frown on his face.
Hinata, seeing her precious Naruto-kun in such distress, walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "N-Naruto-kun? Is everything alright?" she asked.
Naruto shook his head and looked into Hinata's pale, lavender eyes. "It's...I'm okay Hinata-chan. You see, I have feelings for Shana-chan. And before you get upset or anything, because I know you have feelings for me, I've been placed in the CRA. I'm willing to start out as friends and see if there's any kind of a spark between us. If...something is there between the two of us, then we can talk to Rose and see what she thinks about the two of us, okay?" Naruto suggested.
Hinata nodded slowly, a small smile spreading across her face. However, she quickly frowned again and squeezed his shoulder gently. "Okay Naruto-kun, but that doesn't answer my earlier question. What's wrong?"
Naruto sighed and looked down. "Shana's...in love with Dart. And I don't know how he feels about her. I'm just...jealous. That's all." he explained with a sigh.
Hinata smiled at Naruto and leaned in, placing a soft kiss upon his cheek. "It will be okay Naruto-kun. I promise. If she can't see what a wonderful person you are and chooses Dart over you, then it's her loss. Alright?"
The perky blonde chuckled a bit and hugged Hinata. "Thank you Hinata-chan, but I don't want to look at it that way. Dart is a wonderful person and a great friend. He's been Shana's love for such a long time now. I could never replace him, of that I'm sure." Naruto said with a sigh.
At this, Hinata frowned, but they soon rejoined the others and listened in on what was being said now. It would seem Haschel was talking now. "You only watched Dart, didn't you? Oh well." Haschel threw back his head and laughed for a moment. "Ha ha ha. Don't worry. It's universal. Girls in love are blind!" he exclaimed, not noticing Naruto's downtrodden look as he said that.
Dart quickly turned to Haschel and shook his hands before himself as well as shaking his head. "It's not that. You haven't changed, Haschel." Turning back to the others, Dart decided to explain. "He's never serious, except when he is fighting."
Dart never noticed Shana's frown when he immediately denied Haschel's statement about them being a couple. He didn't even blush or try to think about their relationship! It...it was so frustrating! Releasing a sigh, she just stayed quiet and listened on as Haschel began to speak.
"Well it's not…. It's true. But the goal of my journey is a serious one. I am looking for my daughter who ran away." Haschel explained, frowning slightly as he remembered his daughter and what caused her to run away from home. He dearly hoped that she wasn't dead, but his hopes were gradually dwindling away as the years went by.
Dart took over the explanation at this point. "It was around four years ago. We met when I was on my quest pursuing the Black Monster."
At hearing this, Naruto glanced at Rose out of the corner of his eye and wondered how she would react to this. He wasn't upset with her at all. In fact, he just loved her all the more for sharing such a secret with him. But, he knew that Dart might not be so understanding. And if push came to shove, if Dart tried to attack Rose after he learned the truth, Naruto would fight him to protect her. If it meant having to kill him to keep his love alive...then so be it.
As she heard what Dart said about the Black Monster, Rose lowered her head just slightly and frowned as she thought to herself, Black...Monster.
Haschel smirked at this point and turned to Dart after getting a look at Rose. "The tootsie over there is your friend too?"
Rose scowled at this and said, "Don't "tootsie" me. My name is Rose."
Naruto scowled as well and looked at Haschel. "And she happens to be my girlfriend. So no ogling her Haschel. I don't want you being like my godfather, Pervy Sage."
At being called his girlfriend, Rose blushed a pretty shade of red and looked at Naruto happily. He smiled sweetly at her and nodded his head once. "It's true. I consider you my girlfriend and I do love you." he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Blushing just a shade darker, Rose turned away and coughed into her fist in order to try and calm herself down somewhat. At this point, she turned her attention back to the others in order to listen in once more.
After their little exchange, Haschel grinned to himself and turned, examining both Shana and Hinata a few times, foregoing looking at Hikari and Rose, seeing as they were only interested in Naruto from what he could tell. After he was finished, Haschel turned to Dart with a sly grin on his face. "Well, which one is Dart's sweetheart?"
Dart blushed a bit and shouted out, "Wha, What are you talking about!? Besides, I told you about Shana many times!"
This comment made Shana's heart flutter as she began to think that Dart really did see her as a potential love interest and wanted to be with her. However, Haschel's next words sent all of her excitement plummeting to the ground and caused her to grit her teeth just a bit in anger and frustration before she just sighed and looked down at the ground as tears stung at her eyes.
Haschel turned away from Dart for a moment and began to speak, turning towards Shana after a moment as he did. "Did you? So, you still think of her as your baby sister?"
Dart looked at how Shana was acting and frowned. "Stop that." he said sternly. He didn't even seem to realize that she was upset and frustrated with him, nor that she was on the brink of tears.
Naruto, however, was very aware and was furious with Dart right now! All he wanted to do was kick Dart's ass for being such an asshole to Shana. However, before he could do anything of the sort to his friend, Lavitz approached the red-clad warrior and began to whisper to him. With his well-trained hearing, Naruto could easily pick up on what they were talking about.
"Hey Dart. Here is the plan. Why don't you go around the arena just with Shana? Then, I can go out with Hikari." Lavitz suggested.
Naruto frowned at this plan. It was, sadly, a stupid plan on Lavitz's part. While it would help Dart and Shana in the long run, poor Lavitz would likely get hurt if he tried to take Hikari out. After all, she was kind of obsessed with Naruto. Still, it might be amusing to see what she'd do to the knight of Bale.
Lavitz walked up to Hikari and took her by the hand, causing her to let out a simple, "What the…?" before he began walking off with her. After a moment to let her brain catch up with what was going on, the ninja pushed Lavitz off of her and glared at him. "Unhand me this instant! The only person I'll allow to take me on a date is Naruto Uzumaki. You are most certainly not Naruto. You may be a nice person Lavitz, but I am sorry. I am spoken for. I do hope you find a woman for yourself, but that woman is not me." she said before bowing to him at the waist.
Meanwhile, Shana spoke to Dart. "Dart…. It's a good chance. Can we do it?" she asked pleadingly.
Haschel asked with a grin, "Shall we go?" before he walked up to Shana and took her hand, beginning to walk off with her, much to Naruto and Hinata's shock.
Lavitz quickly ran up to them and shouted out, "I didn't mean you, Master Haschel!"
Haschel turned around to face the knight of Bale with a big grin on his face. "Oh yeah? It seems Dart cannot make up his mind, so I thought I could do it for him."
At this point, Lavitz sighed and handed Dart three tickets to use at the various booths at the various stalls throughout this area of Konoha-Lohan. Afterwards, Dart walked over to Shana and smiled awkwardly at her. "I guess. We haven't had any time to relax. Shall we!?"
Shana quickly nodded and the two of them rushed off together to go and play some of the carnival games available to them. As they did, Naruto couldn't help but scowl and turned to face the three women interested in him. "He's just going to end up hurting her again. How can she just forgive him so easily? She looked so hurt...so broken when he was saying those things. Then...then she gets all excited at the prospect of going with him around the carnival and playing games with him?! How does any of that make any sense?!" Naruto shouted out angrily.
Hinata shook her head and hugged him close. "I don't know Naruto-kun. It...seems like a terrible relationship to me. I pity her. I really do. I really think she needs you Naruto-kun. But...all we can do is let her heart decide for her. If it chooses Dart...then...I don't know. All I know is that, in the end...it was her choice. Just...try not to think about it too much. Alright? Now, why don't the four of us go and have some fun, hm? Or would you like to bring Lavitz-san along as well? We don't mind. He looks kind of lonely all by himself like that."
Rose looked at Lavitz and sighed. "Fine...we can invite him along. But he'd better behave himself. And Naruto...I told Shana to follow her heart...but she's being foolish. I'm sorry things are turning out this way. Let's just go and play some games together." she said before she took one of his hands with Hikari taking the other. Afterwards they walked over to Lavitz and invited him along to go and play some games together. Once he had accepted, they began to go around to the various games and began to play.
As they played the games, each of them showcased different things that they were each skilled at from having a good throwing arm and being able to dodge items thrown at them. Others had great memories and were able to pick out things that were different in a room from what was there just moments before. Still others were able to run through an obstacle course at record time. Overall, they had a great deal of fun and won some great prizes.
However, all things have to come to an end and they all went to the entrance of the fairgrounds to wait for Dart and Shana to arrive. Once they did, Lavitz asked Dart, "Are you okay with that?"
Dart replied with "I got enough." and nodded his head to signify that he had enough fun with Shana at his side.
Naruto looked at Shana to see that she had a good time with Dart, but he had the feeling that they could have had a bit more fun. Dart had probably been the one to play all the games while Shana most likely just watched. If he had to guess, it probably hadn't been as good a time for her as she had hoped it would be. So, sighing to himself, Naruto just listened to the conversation taking place.
Lavitz spoke up again. "Had some fun?"
Shana smiled at this and replied. "Yes. Thank you, Lavitz."
Dart spoke up again as he folded his arms across his chest. "Now, we gotta get back to Bale, otherwise, we'll be late with our report to King Albert." After a moment of thinking, he frowned and shook his head. "I just hope Bale is still in the same direction it's always been, or we're going to get rather lost." he said.
Lavitz frowned as he rubbed the back of his head. "Dart, come this way." he said before leading his friend out of the fair grounds. Naruto wasn't about to follow them out for what was likely a private conversation, so he just let them go.
So, instead, Naruto turned to Shana and frowned at her. "Shana-chan, tell me the truth. Did you really have fun with Dart, or were you just lying to us?"
Shana blinked in confusion at this and shook her hands in front of her. "N-No, no! I really did have fun with him! We talked and we played games and it was fun. It was a nice d-date. I promise." she said with a nervous smile on her face while a drop of sweat rolled down the side of her face.
Before Naruto could say anything, Rose spoke up. "You're lying Shana. I hate when people lie. But most of all, I hate when people lie to themselves. I loathe it. If you continue to lie to yourself, I hope you're prepared for the consequences Shana." she said before she turned and walked towards a nearby wall to lean against it. Closing her eyes, she waited for Dart and Lavitz to return. She had no interest in dealing with Shana and her crap right now.
Naruto looked from Rose to Shana at this point and sighed to himself. "Shana-chan...Rose-chan has a great point. Don't ever lie to yourself. I'm...going to leave you alone." he said before he walked off to spend time with Hikari and Hinata.
After they were gone, Shana was left on her own and she could feel tears beginning to stream down her face. She wasn't sure what to do anymore and she hated it. Dart had really hurt her earlier and that 'date' didn't feel like much of a date to her. She tried to get him to really open up to her, but...it didn't quite work out in the way she had hoped it would. Burying her face into her hands, Shana just sobbed and continued to let the tears flow. It all just hurt so bad and she had no idea what else to do besides let it all out.
After a bit of time, Lavitz reentered the fairgrounds and saw Shana sobbing. Quickly rushing over to her, he knelt down and put both of his hands onto her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Shana? Shana! What's wrong? Talk to me."
The Dragoon of Light lowered her hands and looked into Lavitz's eyes before reaching up again to try and wipe away her tears. "I'm...angry. I'm sad too. I'm frustrated. I don't know what to do Lavitz. Dart… Dart just… just… ugh! There's just no words to describe how I'm feeling right now Lavitz. None!" Glancing over Lavitz's shoulder at Naruto, she smiled a bit and then looked into Lavitz's eyes again. "I'm...starting to think that Dart doesn't deserve me. I'm starting to think that maybe I'm too good for him. I'm tired of it Lavitz. I'm just so tired of it. Dart...is pissing me off. I'm starting to hate him instead of loving him, and I don't like that feeling. I love him. I truly love Dart. I don't want to hate him. I don't ever want to hate Dart. It just feels so wrong. But if this keeps up...I am going to end up hating him." Shana explained, hoping that Lavitz would understand what she was saying.
The blond knight of Bale nodded in understanding and frowned in thought at this. "I...understand Shana. And I'm sorry if my advice earlier caused any further problems for you. I truly am. Just do what makes you happiest Shana. Don't ever do anything that would make you unhappy. Okay?" he said with a kind smile on his face.
Shana smiled at Lavitz and gave him a tight hug. "Thank you Lavitz. I really appreciate that." she said. After this, Dart came rushing back in and looked at the group. Without saying a word, they all gathered together and prepared to leave.
Before the group would leave Konoha-Lohan, they had to go and see Tsunade to request that Naruto and Hinata be put on a team with them so they could come with them for a time. So, they began making their journey to the Hokage Tower so they could speak with her.
Hokage's Office - Ten Minutes Later
The Dragoons, Hikari, Naruto, and Hinata were all in the Hokage's Office staring across the desk at Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage. She was currently using Shadow Clones, as per Naruto's suggestion, to do the paperwork while she focused on the large group before her.
"So let me get this straight. You Dragoons want two of my ninjas to travel with you on your journey to help end a war between two warring countries? You do realize that this would be a long-term mission and that these two are still Genin, don't you? This sounds utterly ridiculous!" Tsunade exclaimed in disbelief.
Naruto frowned at this and shook his head. "Tsunade, I've traveled with them before and helped them out a great deal. Together, we saved Shana-chan and we fought off Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki until help arrived. Shana is an amazing healer as well. I've seen firsthand what each of them is capable of as well. I guarantee you that the four of them are amazing fighters and incredibly skilled at what they do. As for Hikari, you've seen what she can do as well. She is very impressive and I think you can agree that Hinata-chan and I would be more than safe in their company. But, if you think the two of us would need protection from anything, you're mistaken. Hinata-chan and I can more than take care of ourselves out there. I've been kicking ass out there and you've seen it firsthand Tsunade. And Hinata-chan here is an impressive fighter as well from what I've seen. I'm sure she's also gotten even stronger since her fight with Neji. So please, don't let us down. I want to help them end this war of theirs."
The busty Godaime Hokage sighed at this and shook her head. "I swear you're going to be the death of me Naruto-kun. I'll grant your request, but I want you to check in with me on a regular basis whether it be in person, Shadow Clone, or messenger bird, or whatever else. Do you understand me Naruto-kun?" she questioned.
"I understand Tsunade. Thank you." Naruto said before he went around the desk to hug his godmother tight. "Love you Tsunade. I'll see you later." he said before he and his friends all left to make their way out of the city of Konoha-Lohan via the north gate. However, as they approached it, they heard a woman screech out, "Yeek!" Quickly rushing forward, they watched as a heavily wounded knight stumbled forward before he collapsed, shouting out, "Urgh!" as he did.
Lavitz quickly recognized this soldier as one of his own. "You, you are a Knight of Basil! What has happened!?" he questioned frantically.
The knight of Basil looked up at Lavitz weakly and smiled sadly, as he knew his time of dying was quickly approaching. "Sir...Lavitz? I'm...glad…. At least I won't die in vain…."
Lavitz was clearly panicked now. So, asking again, he kneeled down and looked the man in the eyes. "What's going on!?"
The wounded knight of Basil replied with, "Sandoras...surprised us with an attack…. His Majesty Albert...is in captivity…."
"What!?" Lavitz exclaimed in worry for his king. Dart walked over and knelt down next to the dying knight as well at this point.
"The King… Hellena…." the knight whispered out before breathing his last, collapsing to the ground dead mere seconds later.
Dart and Lavitz both rose to their feet once again. While Dart looked at his dear friend's eyes, Lavitz was more focused on gazing out the gate into the distance. "King Albert! I am coming now!" and quickly tried to run out the gate. However, before he could get out the gate, Dart dashed after him and grabbed him by his shoulders, halting him in his steps.
"Calm down Lavitz! Pull yourself together!" he exclaimed.
"Let me go! I gotta go! King Albert!" Lavitz screamed out, clearly panicking and worried dearly for his king.
It was at this point that Haschel came running up out of nowhere and leapt up over the group, landing in front of Lavitz and punched Lavitz hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs and causing him to let out an, "Ou…!" before he collapsed to the ground unconscious.
Haschel looked down at the knight of Bale and shook his head. "Sorry about that."
Naruto frowned at this point and shook his head. "It's fine Haschel. Besides, Lavitz was about to rush out the wrong gate anyways. If we want to get to Hellena Prison, we need to leave from the West gate. It's near Tanzaku Quarters now if you guys remember." he said, looking around at his companions to see them nodding in remembrance. "I'm assuming this is not going to be an easy trip?" Seeing them shaking their heads in the negative, Naruto sighed and nodded his head in understanding, the young man shook his head. "Peachy."
Hours later - Inn
Lavitz woke up a few hours later on a bed that he didn't recognize in a room that was unfamiliar to him. He muttered out, "I am…." as he looked around at everyone in the room, spotting all of his companions there as well as the doctor, Sanator, standing at the foot of the bed. However, as his memory returned to him, he shot up out of bed and shouted out, "King Albert!"
At this, Haschel folded his arms across his chest and shouted out in anger, "You idiot!" Afterwards, he began to pace around, walking away from him first. "When knights lose self-control, their lord cannot be saved. Only you can save King Albert now."
Lavitz was stunned, clearly in disbelief at what he had just heard. What could he possibly mean?!
Ignoring Lavitz's shock, Haschel paced around a little more. "While you were sleeping, I went to get a feel for the situation. Bale is under occupation. So, I don't think the remaining knights can do anything."
After Haschel took a seat on a nearby chair, Lavitz rushed over to him and quickly asked, "What about King Albert!?"
Haschel sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "He offered himself up as a captive so that the people in Basil could be safe."
Lavitz scowled and began to scold himself at this point. "Just because I defeated a dragon…! Why was I all whooped up!?"
Haschel rose to his feet again and looked directly at Lavitz. "There is no time for procrastination."
Dart nodded his head in response to this and looked at Lavitz with determination in his eyes. "There is no choice. We must venture forth to Hellena!"
Haschel smirked at this and said, "We are taking the king back, aren't we?"
"We still have time!" Shana exclaimed with a smile.
"If you are going to go, make up your mind quickly." Rose stated simply, not willing to waste anymore time on such trivial matters as whether or not Lavitz could make up his mind on such things.
Naruto smirked at this point and pointed his fist towards Lavitz. "There's no point in giving up this early in the game Lavitz. We're going to go and kick some ass and bring back King Albert!"
Hinata giggled at Naruto's exuberance before she turned to Lavitz and smiled at him. "Lavitz-san, I may not know any of you very well, but I'm willing to help however I can. So let's go and win back your king, alright?"
Hikari grinned and nodded her head. "I'm looking forward to challenging the might of Hellena Prison. I've heard that it's one of the scariest places in our world. Perhaps rescuing King Albert will give us the challenge I seek?" she questioned.
Lavitz chuckled a bit at their responses before he replied in a serious tone of voice. "Yeah! That's right! We are still here!" Turning to Haschel at this point, Lavitz asked, "But how about you, Master Haschel?"
Haschel smiled and nodded his head. "I've gone too far, I might as well just go too."
Lavitz was shocked at this. "What about your daughter!?"
"Don't mind me. I have already been looking for her for 20 years. Going with you for a little while won't make any difference." the martial arts master replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
Hearing this, Naruto and Hinata couldn't help but go wide-eyed in shock. He had been searching for his daughter for that damn long?! Talk about dedication! They couldn't help but wonder if she was even still alive! For Haschel to have that much faith that his daughter was alive and well even after all this time was just...that was awe inspiring.
Lavitz spoke up, "Master Haschel, I cannot thank you enough."
Haschel smiled and began to pace again. "Don't worry about it. But can you call me just Haschel? Master Haschel makes me feel uneasy...that includes you too, Shana."
Shana bounced up and down in place for a moment, doing wonderful things for her breasts, Naruto and Haschel both noticed subconsciously. "Okay, Haschel!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Haschel approached Shana at this point with a grin on his face. "It feels good to be called by my first name by a young girl." he said.
Lavitz interrupted at this point. "Now! As soon as we are ready, let's head for Hellena!"
And with that, each of them rushed out of the room, ready to prepare themselves however they needed to in order to make the trip to Hellena Prison to rescue King Albert. None of them heard Sanator mutter out to himself, "I'll have lots of things to do." as they left.
West Gate - 30 Minutes Later
As they all met at the West gate, Dart looked around at everybody and offered them all a smile. "Alright everybody, this is bound to be a really dangerous quest. Are we all prepared?"
Naruto and Hinata nodded and looked to Hikari, who they had helped pick up some new equipment from Tenten's father's shop. They had a great selection of equipment, so they figured Hikari would be able to find a nice selection of equipment there. She only picked up some new kunai and shuriken sets, but it was still enough to keep her going for some time. Naruto had collected his seals as well as his fuinjutsu kit just in case. Hinata, on the other hand, had picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows from Tenten's shop. She wanted to branch out into others fields and she just felt as if the bow was calling out to her. So, she was going to take up archery and try to master it.
As everyone signaled that they were ready for this dangerous mission, Dart nodded and began to lead them towards their destination, the foreboding and terrifying Hellena Prison. What they would face inside was bound to haunt them for some time.
A/N - As you can see, I've introduced an OC character and done other stuff as well. Yes, Naruto lost to Haschel in the third round. Sorry if that bothers anyone, but I've had that planned for a long time coming now. Then there's Shana and Dart. Hoo-boy am I going to get crap for that, I'm sure.
I figure that I'm making that whole situation as realistic as possible. If you don't like it, I apologize. But...I think it makes for an interesting dynamic overall. What will happen with Shana? I don't know. I really don't know. As for Hikari, you have all seen how she's reacted to Naruto, but I'm not sure what to do with her either. Nor am I sure what to do with Hinata, but I did do a bit of foreshadowing there if you can tell what it is. ;)
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to more. Hope you're having a good day and I'm looking forward to seeing your reviews!