Frozen Heart
Third installation. Genin test and first attempt at a fight scene
Naruto is slightly grey in this story and it has elements of Killer Instinct.
Oh I don't own Naruto or Killer Instinct
Enjoy
Chapter 2
Kakashi didn't know what to expect from his Genin cell. All he knew was that it was weird. Naruto wasn't the same child that he had guarded as part of the ANBU. He knew there was a change that overtook him throughout his Genin years. Kakashi was supposed to be his Sensei, but was stuck in ANBU with no way to retire. The Sandiame Hokage had a plan obviously, but he wasn't privy to the detail. That was the only conclusion that Kakashi could find with him not becoming Naruto's first sensei.
One thing that struck a chord with Kakashi however, was Naruto's coldness and indifference to those around him. He really needed to read up on Naruto's former mission reports and see what he had learnt from his previous Sensei. Kakashi also needed to familiarize himself with the rest of the team. He knew that he was not allowed to fail the Uchiha, talk about favouritism, and that the Kunoichi would need to be re-trained thoroughly.
Kakashi left early that day to read their profiles and get an idea of each Genin's skills and find out what their weaknesses are. He would probably be up most of the night trying to memorize what he saw; then again, the Sharingan does help in that department. Maybe he'd just read to pass the time.
XxX
Naruto went to training ground seven which was his favourite training ground. He knew the place like the back of his hand and enjoyed training there. Problem was that he was never alone. There was always a Shinobi or a Kunoichi nearby. He could feel it. He could not sense them, but the hair on the back of his neck always stood on end when he felt someone looking at him. This always caused him to hide his true potential. After all, who would want a monster trained to become a proficient killing machine? So it was a light training session tonight, then a light dinner and off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day after all.
xXx
Sakura was still peeved at her teams' lack of interaction. She was irritated with the fact that she and Sasuke hadn't been on a date yet, even thought they were now on the same team. She felt that it was necessary to get closer to him to get a date and all she had to do was play her cards right. She would be with Sasuke, one way or another. It was destiny, true love, fate. It was meant to be. With that last thought in mind, Sakura hit the books to further her general knowledge about the Shinobi world and the times they live in.
XxX
Sasuke went straight home to train. He needed to get stronger to beat his brother and anyone who stood in his way. He was destined to become the heir of the Uchiha clan, the noblest clan within Konoha. He wasn't stupid though, and knew that his brother was already leaps and bounds ahead of him. Sasuke hadn't unlocked his bloodline yet, and it always irritated him to no end. He knew a few fire techniques and always sought to master them before moving on to others. Many would say that his skill in Tai jutsu rivalled that of Chuunins. Truth is though, Sasuke had a long way to go, and being on a team with a strong Jounin helps in his quest for Justice.
xXx
Naruto awoke at half past four in the morning. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Every night he had the same dream and it caused him nothing but sadness, guilt and a lot of pain. He knew that what had happened wasn't his fault, but the memory of the incident was burnt into his memories. Forever plaguing his dreams and turning them into nightmares.
He would normally have hyperventilated at this moment and probably fainted. His time in rehab after the incident helped minimise his need to breakdown. Anxiety was an issue which affected him greatly and what people see when he's around is nothing but a mask; a mask of indifference, a mask to hide all the pain, all the sadness all the anger and all the hate. He would get revenge, no Justice for his former teammates. That was one promise he was bound to keep.
With that thought in mind, Naruto got out of bed and entered the bathroom to complete his morning rituals. The showers were cold, as per usual, but it didn't faze him at all. He still had some time to get to training ground three, so he snuck in a light breakfast. One thing he learnt from his previous Sensei was that food was essential for the body to survive. Skipping breakfast was a rookies' mistake and that could be the difference between leaving a battle alive and not leaving at all.
xXx
The three young shinobi entered training ground three at 5am. Sasuke was walking with confidence and Sakura was dragging her feet along the ground. Naruto on the other hand was silent and trying as hard as he could to fit in with the scenery. He hated interaction, especially if with people he didn't know, or want to know for that fact.
"We need a plan to deal with the test." Sasuke spoke in a soft tone, speaking as low as he could so that their sensei, if he was around, couldn't hear them. "You were a Genin once? Did you have to do a similar test?" Sasuke Asked looking at Naruto.
Naruto had a half a mind to ignore the young Uchiha and pretend he didn't hear him. That however would become a problem and he figured Sasuke could try to resort to violence to get his way.
"Yeah… How come you're a Genin when you should be further along in your career?" Sakura asked in a confused manner, tilting her head to the left, as if gazing at Naruto from a different angle could give the answer which she wanted.
Naruto looked between the two and decided to humour them. Stupid interaction between teammates… Oh how he hated it. "I wasn't much of a Genin and each test is different and dependant on whom is running said test." Naruto spoke in a soft and mellow tone.
"Then what was your test?" Sasuke asked again, making sure to get as much information that he could to ensure that he passed this little test.
'We were ordered by our sensei to make a choice. A choice between being a shinobi or leaving that lifestyle to become a civilian. My teammates had to kill innocent people from a small town not far from here.' Was what Naruto wanted to say, but bit his tongue to keep it from coming out. His former sensei had said it was to prepare them for future missions. He trusted his former sensei wholeheartedly.
"It will be a test to see if we can act like a team or not." Naruto spoke after a short while. The other two looked at him with different eyes. Sasuke's was calculative and he was trying to determine what the test may be. Sakura's eyes however showed uncertainty. She didn't trust Naruto at all and wondered why he was really on their team.
"I'm assuming that the test will be simple and that we will indeed have a choice." Naruto spoke again. Sasuke was thinking of some of the choices which might be involved with the test, his most absurd was killing innocent people just to prove that he was a shinobi.
"Okay, so do you have a plan for what might come up?" Sasuke asked. Naruto looked at the two and decided to share some ideas. Not all of them, but some of them. He really did want to pass. Higher missions and higher pay would come in handy for now. Unknown to the three Genin, Kakashi was listening in to every word that they said, and couldn't believe that they actually started working together from the get go. He could feel some animosity, but thought that would disintegrate with time and bonding exercises.
XxX
Three hours later and Kakashi walked into the clearing of training ground three. His three, soon to be students, were still there but now trying to relax. Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. "You're late!" Kakashi just eye smiled and pulled three bento boxes from his back. At the smell of food, Sakura and Sasuke's stomach started to growl. Naruto's did as well, but it wasn't as loud as the others.
"Okay. The purpose of the test is to get these bells off of me. Those who get a bell will pass the exam and those that fail will get sent back to the academy. If one of you fail miserably, I will tie you to one of the poles and let your teammates eat in front of you." Sakura's jaw was hanging wide open. Sasuke had a slightly possessed look. His face showed a smirk and his eyes were eying the prize. Naruto on the other hand looked bored. He looked as if he really didn't want to be here.
"You have until the timer runs out. And come at me with the intent to kill" Kakashi spoke again, pulling a clock out of his pockets. "Your time starts now." As Kakashi said this, he disappeared in a poof of smoke. The three Genin each found a hiding spot to determine where Kakashi was and how to bait him into their trap.
Kakashi could spot all three of them from his hiding space. Sakura was the easiest to find because of her bright pink hair and the amount of noise she was making. Sasuke and Naruto hid well enough, but Kakashi could still see the evidence which provided him with their hiding places. 'Well… It's time for the fun to begin.' Kakashi thought as he disappeared once again in a poof of smoke.
XxX
Sakura was surveying her surroundings when she felt the need to roll to the left. As she did, she found her previous hiding spot covered in shuriken. As she looked up, she saw Sasuke in front of her, with a kunai in one hand and some shuriken in the other. He was looking at her like a predator looks at his prey. Sakura was frozen to the spot due to the Killing Intent that was rolling off of Sasuke, she was about to speak when Sasuke threw his shuriken at her again. Sakura barely moved to the left but two shuriken hit her. One hit her on the right leg the other hit her in the abdomen. She felt pain, a lot of pain when the shuriken hit and she was trying her hardest not to faint. Her eyes were teary and she had a look of pure shock, disbelief and fear on her face.
Sakura was on her knees, tending to the wounds she had received when she looked to Sasuke once more. He was right in front of her now with his kunai poised to strike. Sakura let out a howling scream as the kunai descended. With oxygen leaving her lungs and the fear and pain she felt, she saw nothing but darkness.
Naruto heard the scream and decided to find out what had happened. When he arrived at the scene, all he saw was pure carnage. Body parts were scattered here and there, a pink mop of hair stood out in the middle of the bloodbath connected to a head that was looking straight at him. He looked straight into the eyes of Sakura and started shaking. Flashbacks and memories of the first time he had taken a life popped into his head. Memories of the few times he killed after that, and of the mercy killings his former sensei committed. The final flashback scared Naruto, as he saw the image of his former teammate in the place where Sakura should have been.
Panicking slightly, Naruto ran forward as fast as he could, only to get blindsided from a strong right hook. Naruto's mind was in a whirl as he tried to comprehend what had happened. He shakily rose to his feet, only to look into the onyx coloured eyes of Sasuke. He noticed that Sasuke was acting different. He had a more sinister look on his face. Before he could think more on it, Naruto had to move his head to the left to avoid a straight punch to his jaw. Sasuke anticipated this and followed up with a right hook, just missing Naruto again. Both Naruto and Sasuke drew a kunai at the same time and deflected the others strike. Sasuke was still on the attack and slowly pushing Naruto further from the carnage. The fight was fast for Genin level shinobi and Naruto couldn't believe how quick Sasuke was.
Sasuke threw a shuriken which hit a rope that released some shuriken at Naruto. One of the shuriken hit Naruto in the back whilst he tried to duck. The shuriken was embedded deep in his skin and causing slight discomfort. Naruto stood once more to face Sasuke. Sasuke saw the change in Naruto's demeanour but said nothing of it. Just as Sasuke was about to run straight at Naruto again, he had to dodge to the left and then to the right as blades made of ice appeared from the ground. Sasuke was slightly off balance, and that was all that Naruto needed to disappear underground and re-appear stabbing Sasuke in an uppercutting motion. As the kunai hit Sasuke, he poofed into smoke; leaving behind a silver bell. With the Shuriken no longer in his back, Naruto could move more easily, especially with his healing ability kicking in.
Naruto was about to reach for the bell, before he looked up to see Sasuke looking at him with wide eyes.
XxX
Flashback (same time as 'Sasuke' was fighting Naruto)
Sasuke had heard Sakura scream and decided to see what had happened. He knew that most of the plan's which Naruto had devised wouldn't work, especially against a fully trained Jounin. He just needed a bell to continue his Shinobi career.
Sasuke started moving with speed towards Sakura's known destination, only to stop and jump back to avoid some incoming shuriken. He looked up and pulled out a kunai to deflect some more shuriken that were aimed at his upper body. Sasuke could feel the Killer Intent in the air and tried his hardest to pinpoint his target.
"Well Sasuke… It looks like none of you will pass this test hmmm." Kakashi spoke from everywhere and nowhere at once. Sasuke was looking around in a panic, only for his fear to rise when he saw mist slowly creep over the small clearing. Sasuke knew that Kakashi needed to be near a water source for this jutsu to work to its fullest. He also knew that his teammates needed his help and that fighting a Jounin one on one was foolish. No matter how much he hated it, he could do nothing but run.
So he did. Sasuke ran straight through the mist, only to get a kunai embedded into his head. At the last second, the image of Sasuke disappeared to be replaced with a log. Sasuke was trying to use the Mist as a cover to hide. 'Good Sasuke, use your enemies jutsu against you' thought Kakashi as he prepared his trap.
Just as Kakashi was going to get near Sasuke he heard "Fire style: Grand Fireball Jutsu" as a Large fireball was headed towards his location. He had no idea how Sasuke had found him, but decided to Kawarimi with a log. At that moment Sasuke made a mad dash towards the exit of the mist only to get socked hard in the face by a foot.
Sasuke was down for a second and Kakashi walked closer, only to see Sasuke disappear in a poof of smoke with a log in his place. "Smart, very quick on his feet and skilled with fire jutsu. You will make an exceptional shinobi one day Sasuke… Well time to wrap this up."
Sasuke had tricked his sensei using some skill and now he was on his way towards Sakura's last know position. As he stumbled upon the clearing, he looked up in time to see Naruto standing in front of a bloody mess of body parts.
Flashback end
xXx
Sasuke looked at Naruto and then gazed passed him to see the carnage which Naruto saw earlier. Before he could do anything however, Naruto started attacking him. Sasuke dodged to the left and then to the right before ducking under a kick and jumping back to get some distance between himself and Naruto.
"What are you doing? Stop trying to hit me, Naruto" Sasuke exclaimed, only for his voice to land on deaf ears. Sasuke saw to the right of Naruto, the image of the bloody mess disappear to be replaced with a panting Sakura. She was up and looking at Naruto.
"Naruto stop." Sakura screamed. At her voice Naruto turned around and found a grassy-green field with Sakura looking at him with wide eyes. Just as he was about to speak, the bell rang, notifying them that the test was over. Naruto was about to pick up the bell which lie on the ground in front of him when a pair of hands came from under the ground and dragged him under up to his neck.
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu" Kakashi spoke whilst holding a kunai to Naruto's neck. "I'm very disappointed in all of you. I can't believe that you could not pass a simple teamwork exercise." Kakashi spoke in a cold tone.
Sakura looked heart broken, and was about to cry. Sasuke looked a little pissed but was trying to reign in his emotions. Naruto looked calm, but Kakashi could see his emotions running wild in his dark blue eyes. His eyes looked as if a storm were raging through his mind. "The objective was to obtain a bell, and you failed to do that. Working together gave you the best chance to get a bell." Kakashi spoke again.
They had failed. The test was as simple as Naruto had said it would be, but yet they still failed. Kakashi got to his feet and dug Naruto out of the ground, "You three follow me." Kakashi spoke again, making sure that each of his 'students' followed him over to the three wooden posts. "Now Sakura, I'm disappointed in you for failing to realise you were in a genjutsu and fighting against a clone with a transformation" Sakura put her head down in shame and was about to walk over to the post to be tied up. "However…" Kakashi continued "the most disappointing person in this squad is Naruto." Here all students looked towards Kakashi.
"Naruto, you had the chance to release your teammate from a genjutsu, but got affected by the same genjutsu. You also attacked a fellow Konoha-Nin. Given you may have had an incentive, but had you realised that you were in a genjutsu in the first place, everything would have been fine." Here Naruto looked down slightly.
"Sakura tie Naruto to the post and Sasuke, good work to try and get your teammates involved." Sasuke looked on in disinterest. He knew that Naruto was right all along. The test was to work as a team, yet he didn't believe him. He only had one small fight and then dodged Naruto's hits, nothing more than that. He didn't feel proud today, no, Uchiha Sasuke felt disheartened to see his 'teammates' getting lectured from their sensei.
"Now, I think you all should quit as shinobi" Sakura was about to respond, before Sasuke rushed at Kakashi, kunai in hand. Sasuke was quickly slammed on his stomach with his hands behind his back and a kunai to his throat. "Sakura, kill Naruto or I'll kill Sasuke." Sakura turned pale white. She didn't know what to take of that order. She was about to move, before she saw swords made of ice appearing near Kakashi's head, trying to take it clean off. Sakura hadn't seen this jutsu and was surprised to find Naruto guarding Sasuke from their Sensei. This was the second time that Kakashi had seen the jutsu and he couldn't believe what he saw. He didn't think that Naruto had the Hyouton bloodline or anything like it, he needed to talk with the Hokage about this.
"Sensei…" Naruto spoke. "We knew what the test was about all along, but decided to test our strengths against you" at this point Sasuke stood beside Naruto with Sakura meekly falling in from behind. "We obviously failed to work together in practice, but that's what the D-ranks are for?" Naruto spoke again.
Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto when he mentioned D-Ranks and Kakashi was trying not to smile. "Well it seems that you knew what the test was about, but I wonder if cheating counts as a pass?" Kakashi stated, looking his three students in the eyes.
Sakura lowered her gaze, Sasuke was trying to control his anger and Naruto spoke up. "Well in the Shinobi world, we lie, cheat and steal. It is a part of our unwritten code" Here Sasuke and Sakura looked between Naruto and Kakashi.
"Well it seems I have no choice…" Kakashi spoke once more "You…. Pass" He said with his infamous eye-smile. "I know that given a second chance, the three of you will work together as a team. Trying to rescue your teammates in the middle of a test is proof of this. Naruto was first when he tied to determine why Sakura screamed… Sasuke at the same time as Naruto, but was caught up and Sakura, when you broke the Genjutsu and stopped your teammates from killing each other." What Kakashi didn't mention was the beginning, when the three were planning together, but decided to work individually to test their skills.
"Come over here and look at this monument." Kakashi spoke again. Sakura and Sasuke immediately followed, but Naruto stayed behind with a downtrodden look. "This is a stone that has the heroes of Konoha etched onto it. My closest friends are on here…" Sasuke and Sakura also felt the mood swing from happy to sombre whilst looking at the stone. "Remember these words, 'those who break the ninja code are trash, but those that abandon their comrades are lower than trash'" Here he looked at each one of them. His gaze lingered on Naruto much longer until the boy looked up into Kakahsi's eye.
"Now I have to officially register team seven with the Hokage, meet me here at 8am tomorrow morning. You all have the rest of the day off." With that, Kakashi disappeared with a flicker of leaves. Sasuke walked off in the direction of the Uchiha compound to train. Sakura was going to follow him but decided to hit up the Library instead. Naruto was already gone and neither Sasuke nor Sakura knew where he went.
XxX
