Chapter 7: A little brain damage never hurt nobody.
Naruto's eyes opened slowly. He didn't know what he had been expecting to see, but it certainly wasn't this. Staring up at the concrete ceiling he watched as it moved and twirled, rainbow patterns forming and breaking as he stared. Everything hurt.
He didn't know how long he laid down in the waters of the sewer inside his mind, staring up at the chameleon ceiling before standing up. A part of him wanted to go to sleep, to pretend this was all a dream and that maybe he'd wake up in Konoha's hospital with Sakura thanking him for bringing back Sasuke. He knew better.
His childhood had been filled with many such wishes. Wishes that he'd wake up and his mom would be cooking him breakfast. Wishes that he would go to school and everyone would want to be his friend. Wishes that he would be anyone other than Naruto. His wishes never came true.
Cracking his neck as he rose off of the water covered floor he felt a small tugging coming from behind his navel, he knew where he needed to go. Walking down the twisting and winding halls of the sewer in his mind he let himself get lost, following his instincts.
He wasn't sure how long he had been walking. Hours? Days? Seconds? He felt his mind folding in on itself with a throbbing aching pulsation. Finally, the tugging led him to a large room, more of an auditorium really. In the middle of the room was a row of thick iron bars. The bars ran infinitely to his left and right and extended infinitely up. Behind them, a large pair of glowing yellow eyes looked down at him.
"Well? Are you going to thank me?" A large booming voice resounded from behind the bars. "I don't require much of a reward, just rip this nasty little poster down, it's such an eyesore." the voice said, a colossal claw reaching out from the darkness to tap on a small piece of paper that was keeping two iron bars stuck together.
"What?" Naruto asked. He honestly had no idea what was going on. He knew he should be scared. He just wasn't for some reason.
"Looks like your most recent bout of brain damage was more serious than I thought." The voice boomed. "I'll tell you what, why don't I help you? I can be very helpful, all you have to do is take off this tiny piece of paper and then I'll be your friend. Ok?"
Naruto looked at the glowing eyes before nodding and making his way to the seal. "Y-yeah that- w-wait, no. This is wrong, something's wrong." Naruto fell to his knees, clutching his head, the aching pulsation was growing stronger than before. It hurt. His sight was blurry, everything was just colors and shapes. It was like he was looking at the world through rainbow-colored TV static. Naruto looked down at his hand and was puzzled as to why his fingers were stretching and contracting like they were breathing. He was pretty sure bones weren't supposed to move like that.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked the glowing eyes. "What's happening to me?"
"Part of your visual cortex was damaged, your mind is currently re-growing neurons to fix it. You're gonna be like this for a while." The voice answered, suddenly sounding rather downtrodden. The glowing eyes lowered and Naruto could only assume that the beast had lied down.
"Visual cortex?"
The not-so booming voice sighed. "The part of your brain that deals with what you see. Don't worry about it, just shut up and wait a few minutes."
Naruto swallowed hard and sighed, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. He sat down and closed his eyes, trying not to get too nauseous.
UN:PoA
"Ack!" Sakura grunted as she landed with a thunk against the ground. Her eyes widened as she saw Kakashi darting down towards her from above, his leg extended in a kick. Quickly rolling to the side she jumped up and back, trying to get distance between her and her sensei.
"You're too slow, move faster!" He shouted as he dashed towards her. "High left kick, deflect and counter-attack!" He ordered as his foot made its way towards the side of her head.
Sakura ducked and punched up at Kakashi's leg, throwing him off balance just as he asked. Using the brief half-second opening she made to punch him in the back before he dodged to the side, gripping her arm and tossing her over his shoulder and back onto the ground. "Never commit to an attack without thinking of an exit strategy." He ordered. "Get back up, you can still fight."
Sakura coughed. "I d-don't think I can. I think I'm done." She gasped, as she let the refreshing dew covered grass cool her off.
"Once more, then we can work on your medi-jutsu." He said, kicking her side gently. "Get up."
"Y-yes, sir." Sakura sighed as she got up on wobbly knees. She hated taijutsu training. She much preferred regular endurance and strength training. Sure she was more tired after running laps and doing push-ups, but at least she wasn't covered in bruises afterwards.
"Good. Now, you're not strong enough to block my attacks, and odds are you never will be. So you need to focus on the deflection and redirection of my momentum. Understood?" He asked, "You're smart Sakura, think of it like a physics problem if you need to." He pointed to his left fist with his right hand. "Object X is moving towards object Y with an inertia of Z, what is the most efficient method of avoiding a collision between objects X and Y."
Without another word Kakashi moved to punch Sakura in the face, reflexively she lifted her arms to block. While she managed to retain her form she was sent flying back again and landed in the nearby river. Kakashi looked at her as she surfaced and gasped for air, shaking his head.
"Sakura-chan, object Y is you. Redirect or dodge, never allow object collision." Kakashi sighed as he walked to her and held out his hand to help her out of the river. "You ok?"
Sakura rubbed her left forearm but nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, just a little beat up." She answered before taking his hand and climbing out of the river.
Kakashi smiled at her apologetically "Heh, yeah, sorry about that. I thought you were going to dodge." He explained, brushing some of the grime off of her as she tried to dry her hair. "You ready for medical training?
Sakura sighed and looked down. "Yeah." She answered. She wanted to say she couldn't, that she was too tired, but she knew that he knew better. She couldn't bring herself to lie to him either. He was trying so hard to make her a better kunoichi. He knew just how far to push her, and a part of her appreciated it. She had already made great progress since Naruto and Sasuke… well since she started training solo.
"Now then, what chapter are we on again?" He asked "We did lacerations last time, right?
"Yeah, we're on chapter 12 now, arterial bleeding." Sakura frowned, she wasn't looking forward to practicing this. The book suggested testing on a dog. She loved dogs. She hoped Kakashi didn't use one of his summons to test her skills on, she could never live with herself if she killed Pakun or something. "S-so, should we go to the pound or something? Get our..." She paused, not enjoying the words she was using. "test subject."
Kakashi cocked his head and looked at her. "What are you talking about? You need to learn about healing arterial bleeding, not get a pet." He said as he took a kunai out of his pouch.
"Kakashi-sensei, what are you-" Sakura began to ask before she saw him roll up the sleeve on his left arm and turning his hand so his palm was facing up. "Wait, you're not gonna-" Kakashi jabbed the kunai into his forearm and dragged it up towards his elbow. Blood began to spurt wildly.
"Now then." He smiled up at her, placing the kunai back into his pouch. "I'm bleeding out, and you're going to stop that. Ok?" He asked casually.
"Kakashi-sensei what the fuck!" Sakura shouted before Kakashi bopped her on the top of her head with his non-bleeding hand.
"No swearing." He chastised "Now, focus on the 'don't let your sensei die' part please."
UN:PoA
Taking deep breaths Naruto slowly stood back up and looked around. Everything was still shifting ever so slightly, but at least his head didn't feel like it was simultaneously going to explode and implode.
"Ok," Naruto said looking at the glowing eyes again. "Everything is still wiggly, but at least I can think straight now. That was… weird."
"I can imagine." The Kyuubi said. "Now, I would greatly appreciate it if you would wake up and avoid dying again."
"Again? Did I die in the shipwreck? Is this hell? I'm not gonna be reincarnated as like a mouse or something am I?"
"No you dolt, you didn't die in the shipwreck, you died at the hands of the Uchiha boy. If it weren't for me you would have stayed dead too."
"What? I didn't die, I was buried alive because, uh, hmm." Naruto paused. Sasuke wouldn't have actually killed him, right? They were friends, weren't they?
'Yeah, but what kind of friend betrays you and stabs you in the chest with lightning?' Naruto thought to himself.
"So wait, why did you resurrect me then? Is it because if I die, you die?" Naruto asked, still trying to make heads or nine-tails of the situation.
The glowing eyes narrowed slightly. "That has got to be the most idiotic thing I've ever heard." The Kyuubi growled. "I am the hate and anger of humanity given form. As long as humanity exists, so too shall I. I resurrected you because the seal forced me too. I cannot be killed, at least not permanently. Upon your death my 'soul,' if you could call it that, will be sent to purgatory for 9 years while my body reforms. Or, at least it would..."
Naruto waited for the beast to continue for a moment before prompting him. "But?"
"But your bastard of a father sealed half my soul inside the Shinigami!" The Kyuubi roared. "I can only form a new body if I 'die,' and I can't fully die if half my soul is stuck, technically alive, inside an eternal being's gut. So even if I 'die,' I won't die; I'd be stuck in limbo,"
"So if I died, you wouldn't die, but you'd be, like, mostly dead?" Naruto asked.
The Kyuubi let out a long-suffering sigh. "Sure, I'd be 'mostly dead.'"
"Wait a minute, you knew the Fourth Hokage was my dad! Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto demanded.
"Because I hate you." The Kyuubi replied nonchalantly.
"Well then," Naruto paused, slightly taken aback by the bluntness of his guest. "is there anything else I should know before I wake up stranded in the middle of the ocean?"
"Don't expect any more help from me for a while. That damned seal took a lot out of me, it'll be a while before I'm back in proper condition."
"How long?" Naruto asked.
"About 3 years." The demon eyes responded.
"Damn."
There was a long pause after that. Naruto stared down at the water covered floor, thinking.
"Wait, you said the whole visual context thing was only my most recent bout of brain damage. What did you mean?" Naruto asked.
"It's visual cortex, and it means that this isn't the first time you've had to regrow neurons. The amount of brain-damage you received after you died was severe, but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. You're lucky you're an Uzumaki and jinchuuriki or else you'd be brain-dead right now.."
"Wait, but Sasuke hit me in the chest, not the head." Naruto corrected
"Yes, but the brain needs oxygen, and your heart was destroyed, meaning no blood to your brain. Almost your entire brain had died before I managed to heal your heart and started pumping blood again, once you crawled out of that box that humans put their dead in, and got some air, we started to heal your brain as well. Your DNA holds the code to recreate all your neurons, however, the connects between your neurons are entirely nurture, not nature. So you have the brain of a newborn, but the memories and body of a 13-year-old. You'll need to re-learn all your impulse control, planning, how to properly react to stimulus, etc. It's the difference between knowing an equation, and knowing when to use it." The Kyuubi yawned and Naruto stared at the monologuing demon, slack-jawed. "It's why you imprinted on the fat man like a lost puppy, it's why you had such a hard time ignoring the trash in the old woman's shop, it's why you remembered to get new clothes for a disguise but forgot that you have whisker marks. Your brain is still trying to figure out how to make connections again."
Naruto blinked rapidly. "What?"
The Kyuubi sighed. "Ok, I'm bored of you now. Go away."
"No, wait! I have more questions!" Naruto shouted before he felt his body fold in on itself and he popped out of his mindscape.
Now alone in his prison, the Kyuubi allowed the shadow he had formed over his body to recede. No longer was he the strong and proud nine-tailed demon fox. His form had diminished. His red fur was mangy, and he looked emaciated; his ribs were clearly visible through his skin and fur. To his great shame behind him were not his nine tails, with which he could destroy mountains and cities, but instead, there was a single, broken tail. The Kyuubi closed his eyes, trying to sleep. As far as he was concerned, the next 3 years couldn't pass quickly enough.
UN:PoA
Sakura held an ice-pack to her forehead as she walked towards the training ground. She was about 15 minutes late, but she would still be 30 minutes earlier than Kakashi. Her mother had given her some willow bark and chamomile tea last night and it had really helped soothe her injuries and put her to sleep. Straightening her back to let it pop slightly she stopped when she saw that someone was waiting for her in the middle of the training field.
"Umm, hello?" She asked the woman, she was pretty sure she knew her from somewhere, but she couldn't quite place where. "Can I help you?"
"You're late," The red-eyed woman spoke. "it looks like Kakashi's bad habits are rubbing off on you."
The woman's voice was just enough to jog Sakura's memory of who she was, she was the sensei of that quiet Hinata girl and the annoying dog boy.
"Y-yeah, sorry about that. It's just that since Kakashi-sensei is always late, it'd kinda be pointless for me to be on time since I'd just wait around all day, y'know?" Sakura said, subconsciously adding Naruto's old verbal tick to her speech. "Not to be rude, but why are you here?"
"Did Kakashi forget to tell you?" Kurenai sighed, shaking her head. "He wanted me to teach you about genjutsu, and in return, he would help my students as well. Ergo, I'm here, and he's not."
"Oh yeah, he did mention something about that. He didn't say we were starting today though." Sakura explained. "Sorry, I'm a little out of it with how hard Kakashi-sensei's been training me. So, where do you want to start Kurenai-sensei?"
"We'll start with the most important aspect of genjutsu," Kurenai said. "breaking out of one."
Sakura nodded and tossed her ice-pack aside, "Ok, so how should we-" Sakura's eyes went wide, and her heart began to beat faster. Kurenai was staring at her, her eyes piercing into Sakura's very soul. She had to run, she had to run. Sakura was overcome with an intense feeling of dread, and she knew that Kurenai was going to hurt her, to kill her. She had to run. Something was wrong, something was very wrong.
Sakura turned tail to flee back to the village, but when she did Kurenai was already there in front of her, staring down at her with her demonic red eyes. Jumping back Sakura felt as though her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Drawing a kunai from her pouch Sakura prepared for combat; if she was going to die, then she was going to die fighting.
Just as quickly as the intense dread had set over her, however, it left. Sakura blinked several times to find that she was preparing to do combat with a small tree. "W-what?"
"The best way to learn is by doing." Sakura heard Kurenai spoke from behind her. "You didn't detect that you were in a genjutsu, nor did you attempt to break free. I'm not putting much into this, a simple chakra pulse would have been enough to break free. These are academy basics Sakura, try again. You have great chakra control, meaning you'll be able to pick up genjutsu easily. However, you're also more sensitive to genjutsu and will find it more difficult to detect and break free from it. This is the double-edged sword of natural talent. Try again."
"W-wait!" Sakura tried to speak before her eyes widened and an intense feeling of dread settled over her. She had to run, she had to run.
UN:PoA
With a loud cough, Naruto spat out a mixture of blood and brine. His eyes stung from the salt water that had covered them. Rolling onto his back Naruto rubbed his face and let out a loud groan. Every inch of his body ached.
Opening his eyes he looked around his surroundings. He had managed to wash up on a beach, although he didn't know where the beach was. Hopefully, it was somewhere near the land of Hotsprings and not some random island in Water country.
This wasn't one of those soft white-sand beaches that were in all those vacation brochures though, this beach was mostly gravel and dirt, with a few chunks of wooden debris washed up as well.
Naruto stood and looked around, there was nothing to salvage on the beach, at least not right now. He had nothing but his plain clothes and dirty underwear, he didn't even have his kunai pouch with him anymore. He was alone and unarmed on an unknown beach in potentially hostile territory.
'Great.' Naruto thought to himself sardonically.
Looking further inland Naruto saw what looked like an old decrepit tower in the distance. With a shrug and a sigh, he began to make his way to the ruins.
The journey was less than enjoyable. Considering all the roads and pathways were overgrown and run down. Not to mention the fact that his left ankle kept making this weird, painful, popping noise every time he put too much pressure on it. He wasn't even entirely sure he was following a real path, it could have been a game trail for all he knew.
The trees were tall and wide, with thick branches that were covered in spiky needles. Naruto had to push large stalks of bamboo aside on the path as he made his way through the dense vegetation. The thick clusters of bamboo were outmatched only by the populated blanket of kudzu that had overtaken every non-otherwise occupied piece of soil like a lush green blanket.
Finally, after several minutes of making his way through tangled roots and branches, Naruto broke through the foliage and into the ruins proper. There was no way there were any actual inhabitants here. The place was too run down for that. Only the impenetrable stone streets had prevented the plant life from taking over. It was definitely a ninja village of some kind, or at least it used to be. The layout actually reminded Naruto a lot of Konoha actually. Large roads twisted and turned among the worn down buildings; designed in such a way that if you knew the layout you could get from one end of the village to the other quickly, but if you didn't you would get lost easily.
Naruto ignored the large buildings and made his way to what he assumed used to be the Kage's tower of whichever land this was. It certainly wasn't Fire or Hotspring. He knew that there was apparently some sort of rebellion going on in Water, but these ruins were far too old to be from a recent uprising. Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that he knew where he was, but he didn't want to give it more thought until he had some sort of evidence.
After walking down the lonely roads, Naruto found the proof he needed when he made it to the tower. The large stone structure jutted up into the sky, even with most of its top section blown off, it was still a sight to behold. Looking up he saw a familiar spiral shape, carved into the stone walls of the tower. If that wasn't enough to convince Naruto of where he was there was a brass plate riveted above the entryway to the tower that simply read: 'Uzukage Tower' in big bold letters.
Naruto looked up at the sign and smiled softly, a tingling sensation crept all over his skin and his hair stood on end. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the bizarre euphoric sensation. He had never felt like this before, but at the same time, he knew exactly what the feeling was. It was a feeling he had longed for his entire life, a feeling that he thought he would never receive. He had thought that he would find the feeling in Konoha, after proving himself to its people, but he was wrong. The feeling had been here all along, waiting for him.
"I'm home." He whispered to himself, fighting back tears.
UN:PoA
Author's note.
Sorry this took so long to come out. Work + school +moving = no time for writing my shitty Naruto fan fiction. Also, I had to scrap and then re-write this entire chapter at least three times. I simply wasn't happy with how I progressed things. I'm trying to make sure I focus more on the "adventure" aspect of the fic rather than the action, but at the same time, I'm itching to get some action in. I wrote and then re-wrote several scenes involving Sasuke's training before scrapping the idea entirely. I'll update Sasuke later, right now I need to focus on Naruto with a side of Sakura. I also wanted to get more in about Hinata, but really she needs to be left alone for a while. She's coming to grips with everything that's happened and she needs to percolate.
For anyone that's curious, for the purposes of this fic, I'm translating Naruto's "dattebayo" into "y'know?" I feel it's the best translation, rather than the entire translation of "So listen to me, y'know?" At the very least it's better than "believe it!"
