Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
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"Links."
---
"You have missed the training."
Naruto looked at his teacher blankly.
"Naruto..." Kakashi sighed, "I know you have made some impressive leaps forward, however you are a member of a team."
The blond just winced.
"You need to think about more than yourself, Naruto."
"Like Sasuke?" Naruto snarked.
Kakashi looked at Naruto blandly.
"Sasuke at least was there when I ordered him to."
The blond clenched his fists.
Kakashi just shook his head slowly and threw a kunai at the nearest tree.
"Climb," he said calmly.
Naruto looked at the jounin, puzzled.
Kakashi just looked at the boy.
The blond shrugged, walking up to the tree and grabbing a branch, only to yelp as a kunai almost cut his hand.
"Do you take me for an idiot, Naruto?" Kakashi said blandly. "I saw the water walking. Climb. Like shinobi would."
Naruto blinked.
'What is that bastard talking ab-'
He frowned.
'Wait...'
Water walking... Oh yeah. Now he remembered. That time fighting Zabuza and...
His eyes widened.
'Holy SHIT!'
But how to use that to-
He blinked.
'...why is everything upside down?'
He looked up... wait, no. Down at Kakashi, who was looking at him without a word.
The Copycat nodded slowly.
'I knew it.' he thought. 'Question is... who is teaching him? Iruka? Possible, but... Iruka knows nothing of wire combat. It is exotic and few nins have both the speed and control. Interesting.'
Kakashi nodded at Naruto.
"I want to see you here tomorrow. With the rest of the team." he said, walking away.
The blond scowled, watching as Kakashi left.
"Bastard," he muttered, "I save his ass and that's the thanks I get?"
Naruto looked at the branch he was hanging off for a moment.
'How the hell do I get o- OOOOH SHIT!'
The tree was rather high... and he was falling head down.
'Ohcracohcrapohcra-... twing?'
He blinked as he watched the silvery wire grip the thickest branch, slowing down his fall.
'...huh?'
His hand jerked sharply and he didn't waste any time, using chakra to stick to the bark...
'...wait... all that speed will have to go somewhere...'
His eyes widened as he almost touched the bark.
The wire let go, his legs touched the tree...
...And Naruto started sliding down, the chakra holding him on the tree, but allowing the movement, bleeding off the speed and kinetic energy.
Halfway down, Naruto simply jumped off the tree, using the nearest branch, and got down.
The blond looked at his feet.
Then at the bark.
Then at his feet again.
"...Coooool..." He breathed out.
He looked at the forest with a gleam in his eye, before smirking.
"HELL YEAH!"
The wires glinted briefly, catching the nearest branch.
He broke into a run.
---
Naruto stood in the clearing both hands outstretched and unmoving, save for the palms, which twitched occasionally.
It would seem odd, if not for the fact that from time to time two metal strings glinted in the afternoon sun, going back and forth, slashing and weaving around him.
The wires, as Naruto found, were fast.
After the initial 'release' from the gloves, even the slightest twitch was enough to keep them in motion.
He also found, to his chagrin, just why the gloves had the armor plate and the mesh sewn in.
If he moved wrong... the wires came back. Fast. And painful.
He winced, spitting some blood.
It was amazing just how hard some metal string could hit when it moved fast enough.
He eyed the tree he had been practicing on. The mighty oak looked worse for wear, its lower branches now almost completely devoid of leaves and the thinner branches Naruto sliced off or broke. But the thicker branches just had gouges. Thin gouges, if fairly deep.
'...so I guess I won't be cutting bones, huh?' he thought absently, before blinking.
Where did THAT come from?
Still... that was a potent weapon. And as dangerous to him as to anyone else.
He spat the blood again.
'It just had to hit me straight in the mouth, didn't it?' He scowled. But he really couldn't be all that angry. Not when he had such awesomely cool toys to play with.
The odd 'chakra climb' thing Kakashi had been so insistent on aside, the wires were great for transportation. Sure, he could run fast and jump. But grabbing the branch mid-jump and rapidly changing direction? Now that was beyond cool. Even if he fell down when the branch gave out.
'Ouh...' He winced, almost rubbing his head before remembering he had the wires out.
There was also another very weird thing he had noticed.
The wires moved. Well, he MADE them move, but...
When he used one to coil around a branch he halfway expected for it to slide off with a sharp tug. It didn't.
At first he though the steel had somehow tied itself into a knot, but when he got on that particular branch, he found it was not the case. The wire was simply coiled around it. Why it didn't simply slide off, especially when Naruto loosened the string, was a mystery.
He spent some time trying to get it off the branch, but it was no use. It was as if the bugger just glued itself to the wood. Then he looked at his legs. Legs that were sticking to the branch as he stood upside down on it.
He cut the flow of chakra. And fell. But the wire came off without even the slightest hint of trouble. That was just the beginning of the weirdness.
When he finally got tired of swinging through the trees like a monkey on crack...
'Or a spider.' He grinned.
He noticed that when he 'cut' the chakra...
Well, suddenly the wires became ungainly. Slower. And he almost ended with a mouthful of them when he tugged too hard.
His arms still hurt like a bitch. Those buggers were nasty when they hit!
The biggest mystery was that he didn't even know he was doing it. It was as natural as breathing or walking. He didn't think 'Now I have to pool some chakra and let it stretch as I move my hand with the wire'. He just moved it.
It was like the Kage Bunshin now. When he learned it, and for a short time afterward, he had to think about doing it. Make the seal, mold the energy, let it flow into the seal, follow the pattern, and make the clone. Need more than one, follow the seal, pool more chakra and think on how many clones you need.
Now, after three months, it was seal - clone. Or clones. He barely thought about it. Naruto thought Kage Bunshin and he got clones.
It was the same with the wire.
He wanted it to go forward? Snap the wrist a little, feel a little bit of chakra flow through your arm and the wire moved. Want it to tie around the branch? Just let it go.
He found that chakra alone couldn't move the wires. But it seemed to... help them somehow, beyond simply sticking to things. If he didn't use any chakra, he could make the wire go forwards. Or backwards. Or up. Or down.
But if he wanted it to move right...
Absentmindedly, he snapped the wires to the side and cut one of the leaves from the branch. Then he 'snapped' the wire back, cutting it in half. A fraction of a second later, a second wire cut both pieces. Then cut them again.
Naruto watched the shredded pieces of the leaf fall down slowly.
It was like that.
He didn't think.
He went and just... moved the wire.
Damn, at times it seemed the blasted thing had a mind of its own!
Like now.
He wanted the leaf shredded? Wire to the rescue.
He also found that he had been doing it even before Kakashi's'lesson'. Because once he let the wires off their clasps and rings in the glove and started pooling them back in...
They didn't use clasps. Well, they did, but they somehow folded so neatly and so easily that just a snap of the wrist and some circular motion pulled them back where they belonged. Neatly. Without knotting.
He had found the answer rather fast just by cutting the chakra flow to his arms. The wire that wasn't secured just... fell off, hanging from its 'main' clasp.
"Weird shit..." Naruto muttered thoughtfully, before grinning. "But damn if it isn't cool!"
He moved his arm rapidly up, the wire following and gaining speed with the sharp motion, becoming nothing more than a nearly invisible blur.
"Wait till that Sasuke-bastard sees THIS!" Naruto crowed gleefully.
Screw that giant fireball thingy that Naruto was so envious of! THIS was the coolest thing since ramen!
Laughing, he snapped both arms out and the wire sang nearly inaudibly as it slashed the air rapidly, circling around Naruto.
It was scarcely more than a whisper, even to Naruto's sharp ears, but to him it was like the coolest song he had ever heard.
As the wire formed a circle that seemed to tighten around him, Naruto smiled lazily. Just as the metal seemed to almost touch his body, he snapped his hands up. With a hum of cut air the tightening spiral shot up, glinting in the sun as it passed around him.
Naruto snapped his hands to the side, giving the wire even more speed and closed his eyes. He could swear he could almost feel the metal as it stretched. His eyes snapped open as he made a sharp forward and upward motion with his wrists.
The much abused bark cracked, falling off and leaving behind two deep gouges.
"Heh heh..." Naruto grinned. "I wonder..." He looked at the wood curiously, before a devious glint entered his eyes.
Carefully moving his arms in a slow pattern he watched as the wires' tips slashed into the wood. Some sweat appeared on his brow as he kept the wires moving just right...
He snapped his hands back, twisting them, letting the wires slow down before he started 'pulling' them back.
The trick was far more difficult than it looked and he found that it went better when he didn't think much about it. The wires slowed down and Naruto 'tugged,' that was the only way he could describe it, on the metal with chakra alone.
He let the chakra flow as his wrists twisted to the side sharply. The wire pooled back, falling neatly into the rings and clasps on material of his gloves and over the plate on the wrist.
He would have to pool it correctly later by hand, since this was just a way to keep them out of the way for a moment. Normally, the wire would go into the 'rings', pooled mostly around them and under the glove, most going to the simple clasps on the wrist.
"Neat," he muttered with a smile that faded as he looked at the tree. "Damn..." The blond said in disappointment.
He wanted to carve a rough outline of a target shield, but all he had managed was roughly egg-shaped mess of scratches.
"...can't win them all, I guess..." he scowled, before perking up, "Still..." He put his palm in front of his face, the other hand stretched loosely on the side.
The whole... pose was odd, but he found that for 'releasing' the wires it was the best.
One hand in front of him to move up, forward or down, another to move to the side. Kinda weird, but it worked like a charm. He snapped the hands lazily, letting the wire loose. Not fast, just enough to be straight.
Naruto sighed, sitting on the ground.
'...and now for the most annoying part...' He scowled, carefully pooling the wire back, mindful to keep some chakra flowing into the wires at all times so they didn't get tangled up.
Still, as annoying as the whole thing was, it went fast. And it was relaxing. Even if he had to turn the rings each time he got some more wire in. The glove was very simple, the rings and clasps used to pool the wire around them, but doing it by hand was annoying.
'I wonder if there is a 'wire pool jutsu' or something like that...' he wondered absently as he finished, lying down on the ground.
He blinked, looking at the setting sun.
'I sure have been at it for a long time,' he thought with surprise. 'Still... this is SO cool!'
The blond closed his eyes with a smile. He felt tired. Not just physically, but mentally as well. While moving wires with the 'no thought' thing seemed easy enough, making them move like he wanted to... now that was whole another kettle of fish.
And for some reason each time he missed a target or the wires got off course, he was just so damn pissed...!
Far more than usual than when he failed. And he had no idea why.
Lazily, he tugged at his pouch, withdrawing an explosive note. It was one of the few he had left. He never used them much before so he had only the standard amount of them and he used most of his supply during the fight with Zabuza. But that was going to change.
He knew that they were useful for traps and all, but it never crossed his mind to use one in close combat.
Now that just seemed silly.
'Who knew that normal explosive tags could be so awesome?'
Zabuza was a jounin. A strong one, from what Kakashi said. A very strong one. And with some wires, some clones, and a shitload of tags Naruto almost had him.
Zabuza said so himself, so it had to be true. The eyebrow less freak sure didn't seem to be the one for giving praise, especially to 'worthless kids playing ninja.'
Naruto scowled.
'I'll show you, you bastard! Next time we meet I'll string you up like a ham and blow you to fucking PIECES!' He grinned savagely, staring at the note.
He held the slip of paper in front of himself, admiring the simple lines and almost tasting the explosive power of chakra that coursed within the small item.
'So small... only a few lines and BANG!' He frowned, sitting up.
He kept staring at the tag.
It was like every other store-bought tag. Simple, elegant, and destructive. The same he used in the academy, though those had low yield explosive power.
This one was identical, just more powerful.
Still it was the very same thing and Naruto got intimately familiar with it since he flunked the 'explosive handling course' in the academy nearly three times.
But... something bugged him. He had no idea what.
Naruto bit his lip, staring at the paper.
The blond turned it upside down. Then twirled it slowly in his fingers. Then looked at it again.
"...the hell?" he muttered, squinting to look at it carefully.
Naruto traced the lines of the seal slowly, looking at it closely.
'...the side looks a bit odd...' He traced the line until its end and then his finger kept on going, slowly tracing additional circles with a spiral that touched the 'exit' point on the tag, where it had been charged with chakra.
'...I wonder if there is a way to add more power...?' He wondered absently. 'And the explosion is wasteful if it doesn't go in the right direction so...'
He blinked.
"...huh?"
He had an idea but... didn't Iruka-sensei say that some jounin actually altered their tags? Or made their own?
"I wonder if Kakashi knows how to do it?" he pondered out loud, staring at the note.
If the tags had more power back then, on that lake, Zabuza would never managed to escape as well as he did, that Naruto was sure of.
"Now that might be cool..." he muttered, staring at the tag for a few more moments, before putting it back in his holster.
He laid back, stretching on the soft grass. The sky was dark now, the first stars twinkling merrily. He blinked looking up at the moon, glowing brightly in the cloudless sky.
'It is going to be full moon in a few days...' The boy thought lazily.
Naruto brought his hand up, tracing a rough outline of an explosive note before snapping his fingers.
"Bang, you old traitor..." He whispered.
He let the hand fall, closing his eyes and just laid there, a faint smile on his face.
"Hello."
His eyes snapped open, but even before then his fingers released the rings.
He blinked, looking at the wide eyed girl who kneeled next to him, both her hands tangled in his wire.
Naruto looked at her dumbly, noticing the simple kimono and a small basket that fell to the ground.
"...oh," he muttered with embarrassment, letting the wires loose and snapping them back. "Oh man! I'm sorry!" he apologized nervously, quickly grabbing her hands and inspecting them.
The wires were nasty, if he cut her...
The girl blinked at the sudden proximity of the young shinobi.
"Sorry, sorry... At least nothing is broken," Naruto said sheepishly, looking at her pale hands.
There were some marks, but only red ones, from the pressure. No skin had been cut, thankfully.
"...oh... No... problem," she said hesitantly, looking at the hands that still held hers in a warm grip.
Naruto followed her gaze and blushed, letting her go and scrambling back.
"Sorry!" he blurted out.
The pale, dark haired girl smiled.
"No problem. I should have thought before I surprised a ninja," she nodded.
Naruto smiled sheepishly.
"Still... Sorry. I overreacted. Kinda." He blinked. "And how did you know...?"
She pointed at his hitai-ate, still tied to his belt.
"...oh..." Naruto blushed, feeling like an idiot. 'I need to get that repaired...'
"I'm Haku." She bowed slightly.
"Uzumaki Naruto." He bowed back.
Haku watched with interest as Naruto's hands automatically put the wire back in its place.
"That is an... interesting weapon," she murmured, "Do all shinobi use something like this?"
Naruto frowned, looking at his gloves thoughtfully, before looking at Haku.
"I have no idea!" he said cheerfully. "But it's cool, isn't it?"
Haku smiled faintly.
"Yes. Is it for... catching people?" she asked.
"Well, I guess," he shrugged. "But it can do many other cool things!"
She looked at him quizzically.
Naruto grinned.
"Don't move," he said, snapping his wrists.
Haku's eyes widened as something moved around her.
She almost jumped back, only training and surprise holding her in place.
The wires arced and Naruto made a lazy snap.
Haku blinked, looking at the small basket previously off to the side, now lying in her lap.
"Neat, ain't it?" Naruto smiled widely.
Haku nodded slowly.
'When he used the wires against Zabuza-sama... Was it like that? But... Those are different. And he didn't have the gloves. Did he lose them then? Or simply didn't have time to prepare? But that's preposterous. Fighting against a jounin as strong as Zabuza-sama one uses every advantage he has. He must have had them before.'
"You are very good," she praised him.
"Yep! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I'm gonna be..." He halted, smile dropping. "I..." He halted, frowning. For some reason... He couldn't shout 'HOKAGE!' like he usually did. "I... I will..." He trailed off.
Haku looked at him curiously.
"Is something the matter?"
"No... yes... I don't know," he said slowly. "I just... Eh. No matter." He shook his head. "That's my problem."
"Oh." She blinked. "Sorry for prying, then."
"Nah." The genin smiled widely. "You ain't. I'm just confused lately. Everything's so... weird." He looked at his gloved palms, flexing them. "Just... a lot on my mind, that's all."
"Well... I don't want to pry into your matters but..." She looked at him with a smile. "Sometimes sharing a problem makes the load lighter."
Naruto looked at her oddly.
She cocked her head.
'Does he suspect something? No. My cover is flawless, but... I need to know more! Those two genin are no threat but that boy... He is far too dangerous for a simple genin. Even Zabuza-sama thinks so.'
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," She smiled apologetically. "I mean, it is your life and..." She grabbed the basket, and Naruto shook his head rapidly.
"No! It's not like that at all!" He denied fervently. "It's just... nobody ever wanted to... talk like that with me..." he said softly.
"Oh..." Haku sat back down, slow understanding blooming in her eyes.
The way that the blond boy said it... There was that quiet but familiar pain she knew all too well. Loneliness.
Like before Zabuza-sama came into her life.
"Don't worry. It won't be any trouble at all," she reassured him gently.
Naruto smiled hesitantly.
---
"...And that Sasuke is SUCH a bastard! I mean... so he's from some elite clan and shit... err, sorry," he blushed and she chuckled. "Still it's 'hnn' this, 'dobe' that... what the HELL does Sakura-chan sees in him?" he muttered. "Some great ninja... FEH!" The blond snorted. "And who saved Kakashi's ass on that lake when he stood like a prissy little princess?"
"Oh my. Now he certainly seems like a... troublesome boy," Haku admitted.
'More than troublesome. An Uchiha. Without the sharingan from the looks of it, but still... Zabuza-sama must know about this.'
Naruto, as she found out, was an excellent source of information, even if he didn't know all that much. But being an excellent source of information aside, he was surprisingly amusing and Haku found their conversation more than pleasant. For some reason she felt a great kinship with the blond.
There was a carefully hidden loneliness and pain in those eyes, as well as something else. Something frantic, something wild and lost at the same time. His eyes looked like the eyes of one of the puppies she saw on the streets, when the animal wailed for its dead master.
"I don't know why he would call you a 'dead last'?" she asked the blond with puzzlement. "You seem to have plenty of skill. Facing a jounin... and even those odd wires... is he really so good?"
"NO WAY! I'm better than that ass- er... bastard any day!" Naruto denied vehemently, "It's just he was top rookie in our year and all around 'genius' so he thinks he is so much better than anyone else," the blond scowled. "It didn't help him with that eyebrow less freak one bit, tough. And where is the 'top rookie' now, eh?" he said gleefully.
Haku laughed, before blinking.
She looked at the ground, then at Naruto's arm, her eyes widening.
"Naruto-san!"
Naruto looked at her.
"Please... give me your hand." she instructed, reaching into her basket.
"...huh?"
"You're bleeding," she informed him curtly.
Naruto looked at his arms and winced.
Somehow, during the training the bandages loosened and now as he kept gesturing and showing off to Haku, the half-healed wounds reopened. The bandages were soaked and finally started leaking the red fluid.
He rolled up his sleeves hurriedly, reaching for his roll of bandages, only for his arm to be gripped by a deceptively delicate hand in a vice like grip.
"Please do sit still," the girl informed him calmly.
"But..." he protested.
"Be. Still." she said coldly, before smiling sweetly, "Please."
Naruto swallowed heavily.
For such a beautiful girl she could be damn scary.
He watched with interest as she expertly took of the bandages and reached into her basket. His nose twitched as something registered at the edge on his consciousness. Something about that smell and the way she was moving was... familiar.
"Marigold, bilberry, arnica..." he muttered, eyes somewhat glazed, "You a medic?"
Haku looked at him, halting for a second.
"You know those herbs?" she said with surprise.
"I..." he blinked, "I do?" He looked at the herbs, his eyes glazing again. "Marigold... for speeding up the healing... Bilberry to help the wound knit... Arnica for sprains, to treat inflaming, and..." He blinked again. "...huh, whaddaya know... I do know them," he said with wonder.
"That you do..." she muttered, frowning.
The plants were common, but only qualified medics and medic nins knew just what they were good for. And he recognized them right away just by smell and look.
"You never told me you were given any medical training," she said carefully.
"I wasn't... I just..." He shook his head slowly. "It's weird..." he whispered, looking at the wounds and sliding his gaze down to the glove. "Like that..."
She looked at the glove curiously, and then at him questioningly.
He kept staring into space, eyes oddly glazed.
"Haku... do you get a feeling... a persistent feeling that you are supposed to be DOING something... but you don't know what it is? That there is something... someone out there that you NEED to see? That there is this... this raw NEED..." He clenched his fists desperately. "To hold... and never let go?"
Her eyes widened as she nodded slowly.
"I... Not like that... But I have a person who is... very precious to me," she said haltingly, her shinobi instincts warring with her conscience. "If he went away... I think I'd feel like that."
"I see it sometimes..." he muttered and Haku realized he wasn't talking to her or anyone else in particular. ⌠I see... it is a woman and... She has the most fantastic eyes of honey and gold. Each time I close my eyes I can see them and..." He shook his head, blushing slightly. "Sorry. Weird talking. I've felt weird this whole week." he muttered.
"No. Not at all. Nothing to be sorry for. Having a precious person like that," Haku smiled, fastening the bandages. "It makes you stronger, I think. To hold and never let go... Be by their side forever... Yes. I can understand that very well."
Naruto had a sudden flash of insight, looking at the amassed herbs.
"The herbs... they are for your precious person?" he said slowly.
Haku stiffened, before relaxing.
"Yes. He is... sick now. But he will get better," she smiled, "And I will keep on helping him."
Naruto nodded, watching the girl get up to leave.
Haku stopped on the edge of the clearing, looking at him.
"I hope you will find the person you are looking for, Naruto," she smiled. "And by the way... I am a boy."
Naruto blinked.
"...No you aren't," he said.
She turned, rising an eyebrow.
"Boys have Adam's apples," he grinned. "And I have yet to see a boy who has a pair of breasts."
She blinked.
Naruto tugged his shirt, just below the chest.
Haku looked down and blushed, tightening the kimono.
Naruto blushed, but laughed.
Somehow... Haku found it in herself to laugh as well, despite the embarrassment.
"Hey, Haku... can we meet again?" he asked finally, as the laughter died down. "I'm here for some time so..."
"Oh I think we will meet again, Naruto," she looked at him, her smile oddly sad. "In fact, I know we will."
The blond smiled.
"Cool! I'll show you more tricks next time!" he said exuberantly.
"I'm sure you will." she said softly, walking out of the clearing.
---
Naruto blinked sleepily, stretching as he woke up.
"...man, does Tsunami-san have soft beds and..." He blinked feeling an odd tug on his hands as he stretched them.
"...Huh?"
He opened his eyes and looked at the morning sky.
"...What the hell?"
The blond frowned, turning to get a better look.
"There is that twist again, what the..."
He froze.
He looked forward.
"A tree."
He looked left.
"Another tree."
He looked down.
"...WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto screeched.
He was... a long way up.
Between several trees that were close to each other. But not on any branch.
He had a sudden sinking feeling as he felt another tug at his palm and looked at his gloves. Then traced the wires. All ten, coming from his palms.
"...Oh fuck me..." The blond breathed.
The wires were pulled over the branches, corded and twisted forming a rough outline of a net. Or a spider's web.
It was a mystery to him how he didn't cut or at least bruise himself until he felt the familiar tingle of chakra as he touched the 'web'.
"...how did I do that?"
He looked down.
"Scratch that. How do I get OUT of it?"
He eyed the tangled mess of wires, some of them holding him loosely, but securely... and yelped as the ends of the seemingly secure strands seemed to just... let go.
"Oh SHIIIIII-!"
He desperately whipped his hand around to grab the nearest branch, and hit the tree.
"...Ouh..." Naruto winced, sliding down the bark.
He blinked, looking up.
The 'web' was gone.
The wires just untangled without any problems, as if simply coming apart.
"Why would they... not knots!" he realized. "CHAKRA!"
The blond walked down the tree, absently pooling the wires back into the gloves.
"Wires for grabbing a goddamn Mist nukenin. Wires for beating the shit out of leaves... and now for webs?" he muttered. "What the fuck am I, some kind of... of spider-man or something?!"
After Haku went away, Naruto had spent some time staring at the moon, before he realized it was time to go back.
The problem was he had no freaking idea where he was and it was a middle of the night and he was so tired he was a step away from falling asleep while standing. He dimly remembered making himself a 'bed' to spend the night and...
His eyes widened.
"...No WAY!"
He glared at the gloves.
"If I start growing extra legs I'll be blaming you, get it?"
---
"Good morning, Sakura-chan!"
"Morning Naruto," Sakura mumbled, her body going on auto pilot as she shoved the muesli into her mouth. "Any ramen?"
"...Go check with Tsunami-s-" she blinked, whipping her head at their blond teammate.
"...Naruto," she said, her eyebrow twitching.
"Yes?" The blond looked at her.
"Where the HELL were you for the whole day you IDIOT?!" she growled. "Scratch that, where the hell were you during the night?!"
"I made like a spider," Naruto nodded sagely, scowling as he found no ramen.
Muesli wasn't his favorite thing in the world but...
"Are you eating that?" he pointed at the bowl.
"Go get your own!" She cradled the bowl protectively, growling. That was her breakfast, goddammit!
"Oh." He nodded.
Sakura blinked as something moved past her and a whole pack of tropical muesli (with dry banana, nuts and pieces of other dried fruits, just the way she liked it) flew by her.
"...Huh?"
Naruto uncoiled the wire and snatched the nearest clean bowl.
He threw a generous amount of muesli in and took the milk that stood on the table, pouring a little bit. He frowned thoughtfully, before snapping his fingers.
This time Sakura was able to see silvery glint as the wire went for the dish rack, snatching a large spoon.
Naruto smiled happily, attacking the muesli.
Sakura kept staring.
---
"Dobe." Sasuke greeted.
"Bastard." Naruto greeted back.
Both blinked at the sudden silence.
They looked at Sakura.
Who was looking at Naruto oddly.
Sasuke 'Hnn'ed.
Naruto shrugged.
Sakura blinked.
'Why are they staring at me?'
Her inner self sighed, tapping her leg.
"Oh. Right. Stop talking to Sasuke-kun like that Naruto." she said, going back to her muesli.
Both genin relaxed.
All was right with the world.
---
"Naruto."
The blond looked up from the gloves he had been fiddling with.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
'Curious. That looks as if...' He noticed the tell-tale 'rings' on the ends and some wire coming out of the one on the index finger. 'Wire gloves. A very simplistic design, though with a storage pocket. But an effective one, if basic.'
He saw similar ones, on the hands of very few ninja using those kinds of weapons. Jounin usually carried specifically crafted ones, with sturdier, chakra-enhanced wires allowing for greater control. But those were as expensive as chakra blades, more so in recent years since that particular weapon became so rare.
"New toy, I see."
The blond grinned.
"And a really awesome one!"
The Copycat looked at the wires.
"This is a very dangerous weapon, Naruto. For you more than the enemy," he cautioned. "A wire-using shinobi needs control, judgment, skill, and reflexes, otherwise it is not only useless but dangerous to its wielder. If you have to fight, stick to the kunai for now." He reached for his Icha Icha, only to blink as the book was snagged from his palm.
He looked at the blond who was holding the novel curiously.
It was blonde's turn to blink when the book vanished from his hands, as if by magic.
He looked at the mildly irritated copy nin.
Kakashi stared at his subordinate.
"...just be sure to keep practicing," he said finally, hobbling out of the room to get some well deserved reading done.
Copycat smiled under his mask.
Naruto was growing in a more surprising way he could have ever imagined.
But he still needed to ask Iruka just who taught him to handle the wires. He bet that the chuunin would know. And who taught the blond to keep the ace in the hole, even from his own teammates. It wasn't very courteous, but a very ninja thing to do.
Kakashi hated mysteries like that. Unless they were his, of course.
He opened the book, unmindful of Tsunami's curious glance, and started giggling madly, a small blush forming.
---
Naruto spun, the ground coming close faster with each moment.
The wires danced, grabbing the nearest branch and he changed his movement mid-air.
He smiled as he tugged on the wire sharply and kicked off the tree, barely touching it. His wires grabbed another branch, one higher, stretching in between the tree and the branch.
He jumped, sliding over the bark, snagging the wire away from the tree and spinning it back.
With one last kick off...
...he was on top.
He laughed.
He could have run up, but this was WAY cooler. And faster.
Naruto sat on the nearest branch, looking at the sky.
'Heh... Wait till I show Sasuke that.' He grinned.
Just like two days ago and the day before, he went off to train, as did Sasuke, while Sakura (who apparently mastered the training early) was sent with Tazuna to protect him. And Naruto... trained. And had tons of fun along the way, of course. That was, after all, the Naruto way.
He grinned, letting go off the tree, feeling the gravity claim him and opened his eyes, looking at the tree bark passing fast in front of him.
His grin widened.
The wires sang as they circled the tree.
Naruto tugged briefly, just enough to touch the bark with his feet... and let the chakra and the wire do the rest as he slid down.
'DAMN but it's fun!'
The speed was slower than the freefall, but still greater than anything he had experienced in his life. It made his heart pump blood faster, his grin widen, and excitement well up inside.
THAT was the stuff!
He was grinning from ear to ear as he touched the ground, snapping the wire back.
Naruto pooled it back into his glove, flexing his hands.
The days of (not really) rest and Haku's medicine worked wonders and his hands were mostly healed. His face was okay as well.
'Heh... I feel like a ton of ramen!'
He tugged on his gloves.
'My prrrrecious!'
Naruto grinned, hand behind his head as he walked back to Tsunami's house.
It was late anyway.
"Dobe."
Said dobe blinked, turning to see Sasuke, who looked as if he was wrestling with the foliage for the whole day. And lost.
"Bastard. Damn... You look like hell."
The Uchiha smirked.
"At least I train, instead of prancing through the forest... dead last moron."
"And who said I don't train, you bastard?" Naruto grinned. "Heh. I train all right. My training is AMAZING!"
"Amazingly stupid, maybe." Sasuke grunted.
Naruto scowled, but then took in Sasuke's battered appearance and smirked.
"Still trying to master the tree climbing trick?" he asked slyly.
"Trying? Feh," Sasuke smirked, "I mastered it."
"Oh did you?" There was an unholy glint in Naruto's eye.
Sasuke frowned.
As much as he didn't like it, he knew that glint. It was the same glint the dobe had before he had done some stunt that was either very stupid, or very risky. Or both.
"So whaddaya say we have a little race, eh?" Naruto grinned.
Sasuke snorted.
"I have you beat on speed any day of the week, idiot," he muttered. "It won't even be a contest."
"Oh come on, just one race." Naruto pointed at the trees. "We pick a tree, race up and then use branches. It is a straight shot to Tsunami's house, and it's not far. Whaddaya say?"
Sasuke shrugged, smirking again.
"If you want to lose so much..." he said with amusement. 'Heh. Stupid. He didn't even learn anything. What is he trying to accomplish? But if he wants to be beaten to the ground again, fine by me.'
"On three," Naruto suggested.
"One..."
"...two..."
"THREE!"
And they were off.
Sasuke ran up to the tree, not even bothering to watch his dead last teammate climb.
'I have this one in the bag... not that there was any doubt.'
He blinked as something fast and blond moved past him.
'...what...?'
His eyes widened as he saw Naruto run past him. On the tree.
'...no way! Running that fast without even a kick up... I just mastered it! How in the blazes...?!'
Then, right in the middle of the run, he blinked as he saw Naruto turning.
'...but there is no branch to jump to in that dir-'
He almost fell of the tree when he saw Naruto swiping his hand forward... and flying past Sasuke with a grin.
'Not flying!' Sasuke realized as he saw the gouge left by something thin but fast. '...that...!'
"See ya, Bastard!" Naruto cackled.
"AS IF!" Sasuke screamed, redoubling his efforts.
He was going to catch up to that blond idiot if it killed him!
The chase was on.
---
The doors to Tsunami's house opened.
"We're back!" Naruto said cheerfully.
Sasuke walked in just behind him, glaring at the blond's back.
"That was cheating!" he growled.
"No way! I just used what I had." Naruto laughed. "And you're just a sore loser, bastard!"
"That was cheating and you damn well know this!" the Uchiha heir growled through clenched teeth.
"...cheating?" Sakura blinked, before scowling as she took in Sasuke's battered, beaten up look. Why, Sasuke-kun had wigs in his fabulous, silky hair! And cuts on his manly face!
'UNNNNNFORGIVABLE!' Inner Sakura snarled. 'WHAT HAD THAT BASTARD DONE TO MY DELICIOUS BISHIE?!'
Sakura turned to glare at Naruto. She opened her mouth angrily.
'Ooooh... But Naruto doesn't look bad...' Inner Sakura said in a dreamy voice.
Sakura froze.
Naruto had his new jacket unzipped, the high collar sticking up, the t-shirt out and somewhat messy. He had one hands in the pocket of those thick, but rather cool-looking pants, the other loosely by his side, the glove adding to the 'relaxed rogue' appearance. And he was smirking. Not grinning happily like an idiot but smirking, his blue eyes glinting in the artificial light like two sapphires. She never noticed just how those whisker marks made him look deliciously mischievous and roguish. And without the hitai-ate on his head... why, he looked almost like a younger, wilder version of the Yondaime!
'...oh my...'
Sakura closed her mouth.
For some reason... she just couldn't scream at the blond.
"...umm... what happened, guys?"
"I won. He," Naruto pointed at Sasuke, "lost. Now he's sulking."
"I'm NOT sulking! And I did NOT lose!" Sasuke grumbled. "Next time I'm going to use that damn wire and then we'll see just how pathetic you are." Sasuke grunted.
"Calm down and eat something," Kakashi said calmly, cutting off the argument. "I understand you completed the training?"
"Well I did. Dobe here kept prancing around the forest like the idiot he is," Sasuke muttered, sitting at the table.
"That dobe just won the race," Naruto said with a grin.
The Uchiha heir just gritted his teeth.
Kakashi nodded, ignoring the byplay.
"If so, then from tomorrow on, you will also be assigned to protecting Tazuna-san and the bridge."
The boys stopped their arguing and nodded seriously.
Inari's hands clenched.
"WHY DO YOU DO THAT?!" he exploded finally. "You keep trying, keep laughing, and keep saying... you guys are IDIOTS! Gato is too strong! And stronger always wins over the weaker! You are just gonna get kill-" Inari yelped as his plate just... fell apart, pieces exploding to the sides.
He froze, hearing something humming as it moved through the air at incredible speeds.
The wire glinted.
"Naruto!" Kakashi said warningly, eying the wire cautiously. His charge was still a genin. If he made even the slightest mistake┘.
"I've had ENOUGH of this goddamn sissy angsting like some tragic PRINCESS!" Naruto snarled. "Killed this, die that... Gato is strong, Gato will kill you... Shut the FUCK UP!"
Sakura got up.
"Naruto! That's en-!"
"You stay out of it!" Naruto snapped and Sakura just froze, her eyes becoming large as she gazed at Naruto's furious face. The blond turned to Inari. "I told you before. I won't die. I won't let anyone kill me, much less some fucking rich fatso and his eyebrow less freak of a thug. I said it, and I don't go back on my word. So cry all you want. Me? I'm going to survive and go forward at any cost," he glared at the child, his fists clenching. "People like you... make me SICK!" he hissed, walking away.
"Naruto! Come back here...!" Sakura screamed angrily. "Come back and apol-!" She stopped, feeling Kakashi's hand on her arm. The Copy nin shook his head. "Let it go," he said with resignation. "It might have been overboard but... Naruto has his reasons. Let it go, Sakura."
"But sensei...!" the girl protested.
Kakashi shook his head.
"Let him cool off," the jounin advised.
Inari, tears in his eyes, looked away, by chance coming face-to-face with Sasuke.
The Uchiha scion snorted, looking at the child.
"Coward." he muttered with disgust, turning back to his meal.
Inari rushed out of the room, tears falling.
Sakura looked at her crush with disbelief.
"Sasuke-kun... I... Wasn't that... too much?" she asked timidly.
Sasuke glared at her and she felt as if he slapped her.
There was anger in that gaze. But also sadness and loathing, though strangely enough she felt it wasn't directed at her.
"Those who have no will to fight for what they believe in and hide like cowards... have no right to live!" the Uchiha said harshly, getting up from the table abruptly. "I'm going to bed."
Kakashi sighed, shaking his head.
'Those two... No matter what they say, they are so similar to each other it is scary.'
He looked to the side, hearing the faint click and the sound of Inari's feet as the boy finally ran away from the door.
"Excuse me..." he said, patting Sakura on the arm before going after the boy.
After all, he was Team Seven's teacher. It was his student's mess, so he was somewhat responsible. And he so hated seeing children or women cry...
---
The blond glared at the moon, feeling himself slowly calming down.
He had no idea why he reacted like that. Sure, the kid had pissed him off with all that whining, but each time he mentioned 'dying,' 'he will kill you!' or something similar...
Naruto snarled, before closing his eyes and counting to ten.
He just couldn't help it.
It was the same like with Zabuza.
'You are going to die.'
And Naruto felt like strangling people.
He was NOT going to die.
He was NOT going to let somebody, ANYBODY, kill him.
They could hire jounin, they could hire fucking S-class criminals or call the dead Hokages from their fucking GRAVES... he didn't give a shit!
Until he met her again... he was NOT going to die. He was going to survive, to win, to go forward no matter the cost. To see those honey-gold eyes warm with laughter and love again.
And that was a promise!
Naruto closed his eyes, resting on the web of wires, the gentle swaying of the trees lulling him to sleep, the moon glinting off his hair in a silvery hue.
---
TBC...
---