AN: Disclaimer. I'm gonna say this once. If I owned either story, would I be here? The idea is my own subconcious, but the characters you recognize are not.
Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Kudos to anyone who can say, in a review (hint hint), what the title is from!
Chapter 3- Expectations of White Sails
Harry was having a strange day. He had been in Konoha for just thirty-six hours, and had almost died seven times. Not because of Death Eaters, or some evil villain, but rather because of his own trainer.
"Potter! Move it, and stop thinking!" Anko's voice pierced his thoughts, much like the senbon needles the woman hurled at him regularly to improve his reflexes. No matter the time of day, the semi-psychotic tokubetsu jonin would torment him, forcing Harry to excersise in cold water, or train in unbearable heat. And it was only the second day!
Eventually she allowed him to stop running laps around the lip of the village wall. Harry quickly sank to the ground. Anko sat next to him.
"You're doing better, brat. Give me a couple more weeks, and you'll be ready for genin exams. Maybe Godaime-sama wasn't as crazy as I thought when she gave me this assignment." She grinned widely before leaving quickly.
"Probably needs her dango fix. Crazy bitch." Harry muttered darkly before pulling himself to his feet. The pain increased, but he eventually succeeded. The dark-haired boy dragged himself along the main street, limping every so often.
Suddenly, several figures sped past him. Harry recognized his new friends and guides, Team Hinata, as well as several other ninja.
He called out to Kiba and Hinata, grabbing their attention.
"Harry-kun! Are you done training?" Hinata asked quietly, jumping down from the roof she had been running along.
"Yeah, Anko let me live for today." Harry ruffled his hair, laughing.
"Lucky! She's kinda scary when she's in the mood…" Kiba muttered from the string of lights he hung upside-down from. Akamaru barked from Kiba's knee, where the dog was perched. "Anyway, you can come with us!"
Shino stood nearby, saying nothing as usual.
"I can barely walk!" Harry winced at another twinge.
"That's no problem. Sakura!" Kiba called to one of the other ninja.
The pink-haired girl Harry had met after his first training session the day before walked over.
"The usual, Harry-kun?" Sakura smiled as the expected green glow formed around her hands. She reached out for his arm.
"Please." Harry grinned back at the medic. The pain vanished at the contact.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked Shino as the group started to run again.
"A friend is coming back today. He's been away for nearly three years." Shino saw Hinata blush and smiled. She, apparently, couldn't wait for the arrival. Of course, no one saw the flash of emotion on Shino's face. He was still wrapped in his usual coat and sunglasses.
"So who are these guys?" Harry motioned to the other ninja near them.
Kiba jumped into the conversation. "Team Guy and Team Asuma. Team Guy is Rock Lee, Neji Hyuuga, and Tenten. Led by Might Guy." He pointed at each ninja respectively. "Team Asuma consists of Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka, and is led by Asuma Sarutobi.
"I heard even Gaara came back to see him!" Harry overheard Ino gossiping with Sakura. He tuned out the two kunoichi, wondering who "Him" was.
They arrived at the gates, and quickly crouched on one of the low buildings nearby. All around them people were waiting. Several had signs or odd clothes.
"Who the hell is this guy?"
"His name is Naruto Uzumaki." Harry jumped at the flat voice below him. He looked down into the shade below the building. The voice belonged to a short red-haired teen. He seemed to have dark rings around his eyes, and a red tattoo over his left eyebrow.
Next to the boy sat two other figures. One was a tall man with all black clothes and odd purple face-paint. The other was a girl, medium height, with blonde hair tied into four short ponytails and a good deal of fishnet.
"GAARA! You did come! Your youth continues to amaze me!" Lee shouted before clapping an arm on the redhead's shoulder. Harry caught a ghost of a smile on the boy's face.
"Temari. How goes it?" Shikamaru looked upside down from his traditional cloud-watching position.
"Lazy as usual, Shikamaru?" Temari smiled, despite the insult
"Kankuro! Good to see ya!" Kiba grinned at the black-clothed one.
"At least this time I won't have to save your ass." Kankuro snickered, before accepting a proffered arm up onto the roof.
The group quickly passed around introductions before turning to watch the crowd gather.
"It seems Naruto is more popular than before." Temari said, watching several girls twitter away around some hand-painted sign.
"Indeed. Nearly twenty percent of the villagers have shown up. Much better than when he left." Sakura replied.
"I don't get it. If he was this popular now, why wasn't he back then?" Harry asked anyone listening.
"He holds a demon." Gaara said bluntly. Several of the girls gasped at this information, while several of the boys looked darkly at the ground, as if it had offended them.
"What do you mean?" Harry was utterly confused. A real demon?
"He is the container for the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Sealed by the Fourth Hokage. Most people don't even look past that fact, seeing him for the demon." Sakura said quietly.
"Most children don't know, but they always saw how the adults treated him, and picked up the habit. An orphan, he had no friends till the Academy." Shikamaru piped in.
"Really? He holds that…" Ino whispered quietly, not expecting the answer. "Damn…"
"He can speak with it. He shares the power. I know that much. But he never was corrupted. He took his revenge on the village that tormented him by pranking them." Gaara seemed almost emotional, mostly because his situation was similar. His statement was left unfinished, but the end was understood by the rest who knew him. 'Unlike me.'
"He always said he'd be Hokage someday." Hinata smiled wistfully. Her opinion hadn't changed upon hearing the news. After all, hadn't she loved him before? Nothing changed.
"Damn. He's worse off than me." Harry said quietly. Kankuro picked up on this immediately.
"What? What do you mean?"
"Parents killed when I was a baby. My uncle and aunt took me in, and mistreated me my whole life. I learned it was because I was magical, or could manipulate chakra, like you. But the difference was, where I'm from, the facts are secret. We 'magical folk' hide everywhere. So my new family, being unable to do it, hated me for the talent. Then I discover my real parents were killed by an evil bastard, who wants to kill me for some prophecy. I've been attacked nearly once a year, even when I'm supposedly safe. Plus, my friends are in danger, too." Harry finished with a sigh. "Life can be such a bitch, sometimes. I have to kill the fucker. Or else die trying."
"Damn. That sucks." Kiba whistled softly.
"Ah, well. Sounds like this Naruto guy could be just my type." Harry smiled lightly. "Dad was a prankster as well. Maybe we can trade secrets." He laughed a bit.
"Yeah. Life's too short to be emotional." Sakura said cheerfully.
"Too bad Sasuke didn't realize that." Ino said.
"Don't even mention that bastard. Naruto nearly died trying to bring him home. I never realized how close it was, till I saw the report. A Chidori to the chest missed his heart by inches. Sasuke can rot for all I care. Him and his vengeance." Sakura whipped around to hide her anger. She hadn't forgiven the Uchiha boy for his transgressions. Not to mention breaking her heart. Maybe she wouldn't ever.
"Yeah, well, you're better off now." Ino went to pacify her friend. "Just ask Lee!" The green-clad boy in question grinned brightly before returning to his push-ups.
"He's crazy, but a bit cute." Ino whispered loudly for Sakura's sake. The red-clad girl laughed before agreeing. "And now, he's mine." She smiled at her silly boyfriend.
Suddenly a cry went up from those nearest the gate. The groups jumped up and pushed closer for a view. Sakura even stood on Lee's shoulders to see better.
"It's…"
"…"
"Oh, my God…"
"Shit, not now."
"AKATSUKI!!!"
Several screams, more terror than anticipation, rang out. The shinobi raced forward at the call, expecting a dastardly duo of black robed missing-nin. What they saw was even more bizarre.
A line of six of the ninja, all dressed in their black cloaks with the red clouds, walked silently forward. Each had a white armband tied on. They all wore straw hats that covered their faces.
As the odd group moved towards the road block of Konoha ninja, Harry noticed different symbols on the armbands. Four had the swirled leaf of Konoha, while the other two had a strange rock symbol and a squiggly-line insignia.
"What is the meaning of this?" Tsunade called out from the middle of the crowd. Harry had never noticed her arrival.
"Hokage-sama. We come in peace. And we wish for asylum." The one with the rock armband stepped forward. He pulled off his hat, revealing long blond hair set much like Ino's. The man next to him, a leaf-armband, also removed his hat. His face was covered with an odd orange mask. It was in the shape of a swirl, centered around the lone hole for the right eye. The blonde man continued, "My name is Deidara. Formerly from Iwagakure. My companion is O…" He was cut off by his partner.
"You may call me Tobi. I was born in Konoha."
"And why do you return? You are all missing-nin, unless Akatsuki's requirements have slacked since my last report."
"Indeed, several of us are. But we wish to change your opinions. I hope these will change your minds." Deidara reached into his cloak at Tobi's prodding. The others did likewise. The ninja surrounding them tensed, ready for a fight.
The 5 Akatsuki members pulled out several rings each. These were all silver, with a different kanji inscribed on each one. The ninja tossed them at the ground at the feet of the Hokage.
"Rings? From…" Tsunade seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation. "There are thirteen here! There were twenty four members, minus these, and you, leaves…"
"Five, Hokage-sama. All that remains," The tall man with the lines on his arm band stepped forward, pulling off his hat. His blue skin drew a collective gasp from the crowd, as did his sharp-toothed grin. "Kisame Hoshigake, of Kirigakure, at your service. Needless to say, the old organization had certain goals that were not in line with our own. We have quite the story for you. Even my friend." Here the focus turned to another one of the Konoha men. He stepped forward, removing the hat swiftly. Several yells of anger rang out as Itachi Uchiha revealed himself.
"SILENCE!" Tsunade shouted. "We will listen. Even to this… criminal." She glared at him. Itachi said nothing, expecting this treatment. Instead, he looked down at his new purple nail polish, as if a murderous mob was something he lived with every day.
"And the other two?" She turned back to the men before her. "They have Konoha bands, but I don't remember there being any more missing leaf-nin on the report."
"Oh, they joined awhile ago. Seems that the best place to hide a jinchuriki from a criminal organization is…" Here the two stepped forward, revealing themselves. One had white hair and red markings on his face. The other was blonde with odd whisker-like lines. Both grinned at the stunned silence.
"Inside it."
AN: What a twist! R&R, and don't forget my challenge! I will be posting soon. My new contest will be for the titles. If anyone can tell me in a review how I might have been influenced for each title, they will win an e-Kudo! Signed by me! Please? Hello? Anyone? Echo? Oh come on....