Daze
Chapter Eleven: Reunions
A/N: Hey guys Ice here,
I know it's been a while but I plan to see this through to the end, I'm just busy with school and writing my other stories.
Please be patient. I'll try to get more out as soon as possible, thanks.
X X
Naruto awoke the morning after returning to base.
There were still so many thoughts swirling through his head.
He wanted nothing more than to train to let off some steam but Pain had put him on probation.
His mission to capture the Three Tails had been put off till some of the others were captured.
Pain said this was to give him time to grow but he knew it was so they could test his loyalty.
'Alright,' He thought,
'-Long game it is.'
One Year Later...
Naruto awoke once more in the Akatsuki hideout.
It had been a year since his memories returned and he still couldn't fully reconcile them from his amnesiac period.
He was struggling with his loyalty from his time as Karasu and his hatred from his time as Naruto.
He was conflicted and felt guilty when he saw the pain etched on Itachi's face at his cold shoulder.
The Itachi he knew was a cold killer but his time as Karasu challenged that, in that time he had only seen a good big brother.
But it had to be an act… right?
As he pondered this he heard Itachi returning from his morning meditation.
He turned to face the man he once called brother staring at him with mired eyes.
Itachi noticed this but in a moment it flickered away.
"Are you okay Karasu?"
The boy nodded, turning his gaze to the ground.
"Hai just nervous about the mission."
Itachi nodded in understanding, staring at his hands.
"You'll do fine, just stay on task and follow Kisame's orders."
Naruto nodded.
"Hai."
Itachi turned to leave but Naruto grabbed his arm.
"Er- Itachi-san why aren't you accompanying us?"
Itachi let out a pained smile.
"I have other business, Karasu."
Naruto surveyed the man but couldn't see the sickness he was concealing.
Itachi couldn't let him know the truth, that he was so sick he could barely form a hand sign and his vision was all but gone.
'Soon Naruto I will turn my mission over to you I knew your memories would return I designed the seal so they would,'
He turned from the boy smirking and subtly coughing blood into his hand.
'-It was what you did next was the determining factor.'
He stared into the mirror on the adjacent stone wall seeing the crimson of his sharingan through his blurred vision.
'I'm sorry Naruto I wanted to finish this myself but you'll have to be my eyes.'
Konoha, Same time...
Kakashi let out a sigh.
It was nice to finally be home after the years of travelling and training.
Tsunade had decided to cut the timeline back from three years to two after learning of Sasuke's astounding progress.
As they stepped through the gates Sasuke and Anko wandered off to grab some food while Jiraiya headed to the Kage manor to file the mission report statement.
Kakashi stood in the street wondering what he should do as he reached for his pouch to grab a little orange book he felt someone bump into him.
"Oi watch it Asshat!"
He turned to see a girl with long red hair in a konoha flak jacket.
She looked familiar and he pondered where he had seen her before.
Then it clicked.
"You- you were one of Orochimaru's lackies?"
She smirked.
"Ah I remember you, you were that Scarecrow fucker Naruto always talked about."
Kakashi paled at her nickname for him.
A moment later he resumed his deadly serious persona drawing a kunai and twirling it into his grip.
"What are you doing here and how did you get that flak jacket?!"
Tayuya chuckled.
"Ask the Mist fucker I beat in the chunin exam finals."
Kakashi looked at her surprised.
"You mean, you're a leaf ninja?"
She nodded.
"Yeah I'm a tree hugging faggot now, Naruto would laugh his ass off."
Kakashi nodded, putting the kunai back into his pouch.
"My apologies."
She waved him off.
"Nah it's cool I wouldn't trust me either."
Kakashi heard footsteps and saw the tall lathe figure of a blonde girl he recognized as Ino.
"Kakashi Sensei you aren't being an Ero and hitting on Tayuya-chan are you?"
He blushed beneath his mask and poofed away to rejoin Jiraiya.
Tayuya busted out laughing as Ino smirked.
"Let's go grab some food Tenten and Oltier are getting Hinata."
Tayuya shrugged.
"I could eat."
Sasuke and Anko entered the familiar facade of Ichiraku Ramen Sasuke looked at it melancholically.
It was the blond idiot's favorite place to eat and they would go there after every mission.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face Anko. She smiled and he got the strangest sense of Deja vu she really was like a skimpy female Naruto.
Usually for the better.
Six months earlier...
Sasuke huffed heaving up some spittle as he clutched his chest.
Despite his incredible gains his rigorous training regimen was still ruthless on his body.
He felt a pair of slender hands grab his long black hair and tie it in a spiky ponytail.
"Sasuke-chan you really should tie your hair up before you train, bile is not an easy wash, your precious fangirls might be scared off if you return reeking of a dive bar trash bin."
He nodded voiceless.
As much as he wanted to quip back his lungs were under too much duress.
His clone had gotten a lucky strike on his chest with a doton laced fist and compressed his rib.
He felt a hand on his chest and saw a green glow emanating off of it as his breathing became less labored and the pain subsided.
"Anko-san you know medical jutsu?"
She chuckled, smirking sinisterly.
"I have to, with as much poison as I use besides sometimes Ibiki goes overboard and I have to patch em up."
She offered him a hand helping him to his feet and he accepted graciously.
"Come on let's get back to camp."
He nodded following the snake mistress back to the others.
Present...
Sasuke took a seat when he heard the flap door rustle.
He turned to face the new arrival and was surprised.
"Sakura-San?"
He blushed.
She had grown a lot in two years; her blossom pink hair was tied up in a high spiky ponytail with a red headband.
She wore the traditional white uniform of a medic-nin she must've been on a break from the hospital.
It complimented her subtle curves perfectly, her emerald green eyes sparkling from the lamplight.
"Sasuke-Kun?"
She examined her childhood crush with surprise.
He had grown much taller and was even more muscular than Lee, now rivalling Gai and some of the Kumo nins in muscle mass.
His hair was a long black mess of spikes parted to the right with a single straight strand framing his face with a red clay bead it reminded her of a ravens feathers.
His onyx eyes were calculatory but contained some warmth.
He wore knee length black shorts with grey accents, long blue sandals with black straps, and a grey high collar short sleeved shirt parted slightly in the middle to reveal a sleeveless brown chainmail undershirt.
He also wore a necklace with a little grey chibi dog.
She smiled at that part that Sasuke would wear something so childish and cute.
"Er-Sakura?"
She snapped out of it realizing she had been staring and she blushed from embarrassment.
"Are you hungry, sit with us, I'll buy you lunch."
She nodded happily taking a seat to the right of him.
A few moments later Ayame arrived with three steaming hot bowls of ramen, the delicious smell wafting through the shop.
Sasuke and co. dug in happily enjoying their food unaware of the chaos happening a few blocks away.
Five minutes earlier...
Tayuya followed the blonde girl to the restaurant where they'd all be meeting.
She saw the purple haired girl and exchanged a subtle glare.
Almost since the day she arrived in the village, the two had a distinct hatred for each other.
It was exasperated at the chunin exams when Tayuya beat the girl in the prelims.
Tayuya was a chunin and Oltier had to wait another year.
Tenten noticed the heated exchange and got in between the girls before a scrap began.
"Come on everybody let's eat!"
Tayuya hmmphed following the girl to the table where Ino and Hinata were waiting.
As they sat down Ino awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Well how is everybody?"
Tayuya scoffed.
"That blonde hag of a kage has been giving me back to back D ranks."
Ino chuckled.
"Well Tayuya-chan you did assault your Jonin commander."
Tayuya growled.
"That pig fucker had it coming. He was smirking all pompous and needed an attitude adjustment."
Oltier scoffed haughtily.
"You are such a brute... if it were up to me you would've been demoted."
Tayuya gave her a cheeky grin.
"Maybe then you'd be a chunin."
Oltier glared hopping to her feet and Tayuya mirrored her.
"You wanna take this outside girly."
"Only if you wanna lose, flat chest!"
Tayuya snarled diving over the table.
Tenten grabbed her in a full nelson and pulled her back while Ino held Oltier back by her arms.
Hinata stammered.
"G-guys come on don't fight."
Oltier looked apologetic and sat down.
Tayuya huffed, pouting, and turning her head away like a child.
Ino sighed, rubbing her temples.
'Good grief.'
Naruto tossed on his white and green jacket Kakuzu had sewn him a replacement after the water mission.
It wasn't orange but Naruto had become fond of the color during his time as Karasu.
He still wanted an Akatsuki cloak, evil or not they had style.
He left the cave and saw the blue, gilled, man waiting for him leaning against a rock face.
"Hello Karasu-Kun."
Naruto nodded cordially.
"Kisame-san."
"You ready?"
Naruto adjusted his collar checking his blade strap.
"Ready as I can be to face a giant multi-tailed turtle monster."
Kisame chuckled, tossing his bandaged sword over his shoulder.
"It'll be fun, let's go."
After several hours of walking they arrived at their mist-village-adjacent outpost.
Naruto tied his long blonde hair in a spiky ponytail tossed over his right shoulder.
He let out a sigh and drew the tanto from his right side.
"How far?"
Kisame closed his raised hand seal to his face.
"Ten clicks east."
Naruto nodded and flickered off.
"Let's go, I wanna be in hell in time for dinner."
Kisame chuckled following the boy.
"Save a plate for me."
X END X
A/N: shorter than usual chapter this time so I could get it out faster. The next one will be out soon, ciao.
2/2/21: Chapter eleven revised.