"Blah" – Dialogue
'Blah' – Thoughts
"Blaaahhhh/blah' - Emphasis
For Those I'll Live For
Wakey Wakey
'God! The bright lights!' Clutching his eyes from the quite painful sight of white, Naruto shoots upright. 'Wait, blinding light and my chest feeling stiff…Oh no I'm in the hospital again!' Naruto slowly starts to let light pass through his fingers to see without killing his eyes.
"I see you're awake" a bored and familiar-sounding voice to the left of Naruto spoke.
"Well of course! Nothing can keep me down for long! You should know that by now, Dad."
"True, but you took five puncture wounds, one of them to the chest. Really it's a miracle you're even alive and you're bouncing back after three days. Kami must love you, though why I will never know," said Kakashi, throwing some good-natured sarcasm towards his son.
"I prefer to think that my charm has one Kami over." The fox grin was very clear on Naruto's face.
"Well I better tell the doctor you're up." With that, Kakashi gets up to fetch a doctor in his lazy pace called a walk, leaving his blonde son to his thoughts.
'Maybe I just dreamt about the Kyubi…..God I hope I dreamt him up. But I can't shake the feeling that it was real.'
"HEY NARUTO!" Kakashi barges in, yelling.
"Son of a–!" Naruto manages to get out before hitting the floor with a thump. "You!" He says, pointing at his father, "made me jump out of bed!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, son." With an eye-smile, Kakashi lets the doctor pass him to look at the ball of energy. Not finding anything out of the normal, other than Naruto being fully healed, he releases him from the hospital.
"Naruto you know why you were there, right?" Kakashi asked his son, worried about him seeming so happy after a classmate tried to kill him.
"Yeah, that prick Sasuke swapped places with me and I took my own attack. Why?" Naruto spat out with distaste. His anger with Sasuke wasn't being hidden in the least.
"Well you seem so happy and carefree, seemed like you forgot."
"Nah, I'm just going to make him pay for what he did." Naruto stated grimly. His eyes were glaring angrily at his clenched fists.
"Nothing too bad, he is in a lot of trouble for what he did, after all." Kakashi informed his plotting son. He didn't want him to do something he would regret.
"Good."
"HEY NARUTO!" Naruto turned to see who was yelling for him, seeing Kiba followed closely by Hinata. He looked to his father with a silent request. Getting a nod he took off to meet his friend and girlfriend half way.
"Man! How can you be out and about like your fine already?" Kiba howled in disbelief.
"Cause it takes better than that flame lover to take me out for too long," boasted Naruto.
"I was so worried about you!" Hinata exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the blonde idiot.
"It's okay Hinata. You don't have to worry about me. I always come back, even from death's door." Naruto comforted her with the same words his father told him when he was younger.
"I thought I lost you!" Hinata managed to get through sobs.
"Geez, you get emotional." Kiba barked, but gets ignored by Hinata.
Several moments pass as Hinata calms down. Kiba told Naruto everything that happened after Naruto reached the hospital. Sasuke had been brought up on charges of attempted murder, but the charge was lessened because attempted murder was a death sentence. The council wouldn't throw the Sharingan away like that.
"Figures. Pretty boy gets let off without a scratch." Kiba spits out.
"Don't worry, he will get his Kiba." Naruto tells his spiky haired friend.
"Huh?" Kiba replied, but he found he was alone, Naruto scurried away and Hinata had walked off.
Naruto waited for everyone to forget the incident before Sasuke had gotten "his" Naruto and Hinata, one day during lunch, ran into Sakura and Sasuke. The two made out in front of Sasuke's fanclub. Needless to say, the group is now out for Sakura's blood and for Sasuke to explain his actions.
But today Naruto wasn't even thinking about Sasuke. Today was the day of team placement. Nearly the whole class passed. The test was simple to pass. One clone, a hinge, and a taijutsu match. Naruto was disappointed he couldn't show off his ninjutsus, but that didn't matter anymore. All that did was to get put on a team of at least one of his friends.
'Come on Hinata or Kiba. Hinata or Kiba,' Naruto chanted repeatedly in his head.
"Class, instead of saying the teams out loud this year you will being going to specific places throughout the city to meet your senseis. Now come up to grab your maps." Iruka told his class of new ninja.
"Really? A scavenger hunt?" Kiba moans. "Such a kid's game…"
"Tch. Troublesome," Shikamaru whispers as he was dragged out the door by Ino.
"HEY! WHO HAS TO GO TO THE ROOF?" Naruto yells to the class, instantly regretting it as Sasuke and Sakura raised their hands, much to his dismay as well as theirs. "Really, Kami? You keep me alive to fuck with me, don't you?" Naruto spoke to air, the remaining class members watching him in confusion.
"Is he insane?" Sakura asks Sasuke.
Sasuke looks at her like a piece of meat at a store, deciding to reply "Shut up."
A few shrieks later the group of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are on the roof waiting for their new sensei. Naruto was holding his racquetball, channeling chakra into it and watching it glow from the power building in it. Sakura couldn't take her eyes off of Sasuke's brooding form. 'God I hate those two, and now I'm stuck on a team with them. The sensei better be worth it or I'm going to go insane.'
"Yo," came a voice from nowhere.
'Oh, god damn it, don't tell me that's who I think it is.'
Kakashi dropped down from the sky, greeting his new students with a smile and a wave. "Seems like we should get to know one another, shouldn't we?" Pointing to the brooding boy. "You're first."
"My name is Sasuke, I want to kill the dumb and my brother."
Now pointing to Sakura. "You."
"I'm Sakura! I like…Sasuke!"
Pointing to Naruto. "Not you."
"HA HA HA HA HA Funny, Dad." Naruto spoke with a sarcastic grin.
"Dad?" Came a stereo cry from the pinkette and the brooder.
"Yup, that's my lazy dad. Can't believe your going to actually take a team! How much did you bet against yourself this time?"
"One-hundred thousand ryo." Kakashi stated with a thumbs up.
"You really have no faith in us?" Sakura questioned with a hint of distress.
"It's my normal bet. Now meet me at training ground 7." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of dust.
The trio arrived at Training Ground 7 in a matter of minutes. The area was loosely in a rectangle shape, with trees surrounding it and a river cutting through it at one of the far ends. Three training posts were the only man made thing in the entire field.
"Man, what a boring spot. Could have picked something with, I don't know, a big rock for scenery." Naruto cried as he looked around his father's choice of grounds.
"No complaining. Now, you three have thirty minutes to get these bells from me." Kakashi spoke from his hiding spot somewhere in the grounds. Sasuke only smirked at the challenge. Sakura looked around franticly trying to find the silver haired teacher. Naruto flew through hand seals muttering "Zanzou no Jutsu"
Naruto's new teammates stared in awe as he took off towards the tree in the center of the field, moving so fast his body seemed to blur. Reaching the tree, Naruto slammed his fist into it, causing the tree to shake. With a smirk he was off in a new direction, this time in a zig-zag pattern in Sasuke's direction.
"What do you think you're doing Naruto!" Sasuke shouts at his approaching teammate.
With a smirk Naruto sped with a burst of speed. Inches from Sasuke, Naruto slams his fist into the ground at his feet. "God your dumb, Naruto. You wasted all that energy." Sakura berated him.
Kakashi popped out from the earth between the three and the tree rubbing his head and muttering ouch over and over. Naruto dashed to fight his father with his new teammates hot on his tail. The silver haired man lowered into the academy's fighting stance.
Sasuke, thinking purely about beating a strong opponent to prove his strength, throws several kunai aimed to kill Kakashi. Thinking quick, Naruto tossed one of his seal kunai in the midst of Sasuke's. Kakashi easily batted away the incoming objects, catching the last one which happened to be Naruto's. Noticing the engraved seals too late, Kakashi gets hit in the face by a fist emanating from one of the glowing symbols.
'How?' Kakashi wondered, only to get hit in the leg by Sasuke in his wonderment. Taking the advantage, Sasuke drove his fist into the downed man as hard as his body could. Smirking at what had to be the defeat of a jonin, Sasuke quickly turned, furious, as his teacher had turned into a log with a cloud of smoke and splintered.
'These kids really aren't playing around, guess I have to take it up a notch.' Kakashi realized as he slipped into the cover of the trees and foliage.
"Losers go away, you have no hope of winning. Let the great and powerful Uchiha take it from here." With that, the brooder of the group bolted in the direction of where Kakashi was last seen.
"Man, what a jerk!" Naruto yelled, his face a clear indicator that Sasukes arrogance had gotten too him.
"Don't talk about Sasuke like that!" Sakura screeched as she followed her beloved.
Watching her chase after Sasuke, Naruto realized something. 'That's going to be the death of her one day, blindly following someone who would gladly throw her away for his own gain.' Picking up his seal kunai that punched his father earlier, Naruto grinned. 'To think all I had to do was seal some Kage Bunshin in this and it makes it one of the most unpredictable weapons ever.' Marveling over his ingenious Naruto sat down waiting for his team to be chased back to his vicinity.
Sasuke was searching for his target Kakashi when he found his shirt pinned to the tree he just landed on by a kunai. Looking around for the person who threw the projectile at him, he came across a man reading an orange book. He pulled out the kunai that pinned his shirt to the tree to blindly toss it at the man. Kakashi sidestepped the kunai, never looking up from his book.
Sasuke jumped at him in a flying spin kick, only to miss because of a second side step. Agitated, Sasuke flung his limbs wildly at Kakashi in hopes of a lucky hit. Kakashi danced between the flailing limbs, still never looking up from his book.
"What! She wouldn't." Kakashi said in shock to his book.
Sasuke, driven by pure rage, doubled over to do several hand signs out of his teacher's sight. As he straightened up, he held his hands to his lips whispering "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu" breathing out a large fire ball point blank on the older man.
Sasuke watched as the man's form was devoured by his flames with a twisted smile, which evaporated as soon as the human form turned into a puddle. "Mizu Bunshin. Damn, where is he? I need to beat him."
"Sasuke! That was amazing!" Spoke the cotton candy haired girl from behind a bush. Sasuke, ignoring her, took off to find his target once more.
"Naruto you know you're supposed to actually try, right?" Kakashi asked quizzically to his son.
"Yeah but I can't beat you by myself, so I decided to wait for my so called team to realize they can't win alone." Naruto answered with a sly smile.
"Makes sense, I gue–" Kakashi got cut off as he snatched a shuriken out of the air. "Now that is just rude."
Sasuke ran into the field from the tree line carrying multiple weapons in his hands, Sakura right behind him and looking ready to pass out from exertion. Naruto took this as a chance to reason with his team and ran to intercept them halfway.
"Out of my way loser!" Sasuke said sternly as he tried to shove Naruto out of his way, only to push himself back.
"No, we can't beat him by ourselves. We need to work as a team to beat him." Informed Naruto.
"It makes sense Sasuke, even if it is coming from Naruto." Agreed Sakura.
With a "Hn" from Sasuke, the group came up with a quick plan to take the bells from the unstoppable force that is Kakashi. Reactivating his Zanzou no Jutsu, Naruto ran to attack his father from the front. Sasuke ran around to attack from behind, Sakura made as man regular clones as she could to attack from the right side. The three had employed a three point pincer move on their sensei.
'Clever, if I do say so myself.' Kakashi thought with a smile on his face. Getting ready for the move his teacher once used on his team, Kakashi lowered down with both hands ready to redirect his attackers moves.
Sakura made it to Kakashi first and was redirected to the ground, causing her to roll a couple yards away. As Naruto got within yards of his target, Kakashi felt a chakra spike from behind. 'Another fireball?' Kakashi thought as he was about to use substitution to dodge it. 'Crap! Naruto is too close! He will be killed if he gets hit with that!' Kakashi braced himself for what would certainly be a world of pain.
"Yoreki no Jutsu!" Shouted Naruto as Kakashi was drenched in water, leaving a shocked and freezing sensei. He turned to see the Naruto he was protecting "die" as it popped into a cloud of smoke.
"Always use your opponents weakness against him." Naruto informed his father like a teacher to small child. "You wanted to protect me, so we used that against you. You know as well as we do that would have left you unable to fight us off anymore. Now be a good guy and hand over the bells."
Kakashi sighed and tossed one to Sakura and one to Sasuke. "You two pass."
"Wait what do you mean 'you TWO pass'" Naruto nearly shouts.
"Well, Naruto, you passed when you told me your plan under the tree." Kakashi explained. "You see teamwork is our greatest strength. With it, you three Genin nearly took down a Jonin. Now you three are dismissed while I go and inform the Hokage that you all passed." His voice trailing off as he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"Yeah! We passed! WOOHOO!" Naruto hollered as he danced around in joy. Sakura shook her head at him but was smiling all the while. Even Sasuke had a smirk on his face over his teammates antics.
"Hokage-sama, Team 7 has passed. But I request that Naruto be moved to a different group." Kakashi said as he leapt through the village leader's window into the Thirds neat and orderly office.
"I'm glad they passed Kakashi, but why do you want to switch your son out? I figured you would love to have him as a student." The Third questioned.
"It's not him, it's that Sasuke's on his team."
"Oh I see, I didn't want him to be, but since you have the only other Sharingan the council pushed it. But why then do you want Naruto switched if Sasuke is the problem?"
"Because I have never seen him act aggressively to anyone like that. He let him and Sakura blindly chase after me, not once did he try to help them. He waited until they had the fight beaten out of them before trying to help."
"I see, that is a rather strange behavior for the boy."
"I don't think so, I mean I wouldn't be nice to a boy who tried to kill me with my own attack either."
"True, true, but I can't change it until there is no other choice. I'm sorry Kakashi."
"Understood Hokage-sama, I just figured I would try before we get to that point."
With a quick bow of respect, Kakashi was out of the Third's office headed for home to talk to Naruto about his actions earlier, leaving the old man to think about the events that will come to pass from this team assignment.
"I hope this won't end like I think it will." He muttered as he sat down to finish some paperwork.
On his way back to his home from training ground seven Naruto ran into the one person he wanted to see the most. "Hey Hinata! Did your team pass?" Shouted the blonde boy as he ran up to his beloved girlfriend.
Hinata turned around at the sound of Naruto's voice with a small smile. When he got to he,r she decided to reply instead of shouting like he seemed to love. "Yeah, but all we had to do was track down our sensei Kurenai Yuhi. Who is your new sensei?"
Naruto's face nearly split from the smile that was now adorning it. "My father, of course, but he made us fight him to pass."
Hinata giggled at Naruto's over exaggerations as he told her how his teams test went. Every time Naruto explained something to her, he used his hands and made his own sound effects to better illustrate the story, making people near him think he was insane.
As the couple started to walk down the road towards their homes Naruto realized he didn't know who was on Hinata's team. "Hinata, who do you have as teammates?"
"Kiba and Shino, why?" Hinata asked.
"Just curious, though I am glad you have those two on your team. They can protect you if something really bad happens." Naruto grins at his own statement. Hinata could only smile at Naruto's first thoughts about her teammates, always thinking of her first.
Arriving at the Hyuga household, Hinata bid farewell to Naruto with a small kiss. As the blonde strolled lazily down the street he felt his head start to pound. Looking behind him he saw a man with a bat, taking what he could guess was a second swing at his head. Grabbing the bat as it was swung, Naruto heard a familiar popping sound. "Great. Something either broke or popped out of place.'
Grabbing the man by his shirt, Naruto flexed his hand that had popped. Pain raced through his arm but he could feel his hand moving. 'Good it just popped out of place' Reaching back, Naruto swung on the man that had assaulted him only to be hit again in the head and knocked over. Naruto looked up to see two men standing over him with blunt weapons.
"Monster" was the only word he heard before his world went black.
Naruto awoke to see he was in the same sewer he was in when he had his nightmare. 'Must just be a coincidence.' He thought as he walked down the now familiar halls until he reached the giant cage that held the Kyubi.
"Hey fox, are you in really there or is this one really fucked up coincidence?" Shouted Naruto to the darkness behind the cages bars.
"Boy I assure you this is no coincidence. I really am trapped inside you and you really are my prison." A booming voice resonated in the air. A shape started to be seen from the other side of the bars. A fox head the size of a medium building was now visible. "You really don't know how to defend yourself do you?"
"I can too defend my self!" Naruto shouted at the fox.
"Then why are you here again from a beating?"
"Because I don't want to hurt the villagers!"
"They don't seem to have a problem hurting you. Maybe it's time for some payback." The fox let out a terrifying toothy smile.
"No. I am better than something like that." Naruto declared in defiance.
"Humans have such a diluted mind set."
"I'm leaving." Naruto turned, leaving the fox behind him.
Feeling something like a kick to the chest, Naruto woke up, seeing the two men that hit him with the blunt objects in a dark ally. One man was lighting a lighter in complicated and flashy ways, the other was reaching for some kind of canister.
'What are they going to do?' thought the beaten blonde before it hit him. Managing a meek "No." He was covered in flammable oil. The other man flicked his lighter towards him. Naruto watched it flip in the air coming ever closer.
Something pulsed through his body, something he rarely had to this extent; anger. The boy's once deep blue eyes lost their color, replaced with blood-red, animalistic eyes. "I SAID NO." He spoke in a commanding voice as the flame hit the oil lighting him on fire, only to be replaced with water which washed the oil from him but did not put out the flames now surrounding him.
The boy looked at his attackers in a new light, the light of his death by flames being cast upon him. "No more forgiveness for you," he said with death hanging off his every word. One man charged at Naruto with his bat while the other searched for a weapon. The charging man was stopped as he prepared to strike. Naruto plunged a kunai through his throat and into his spine, gripping the kunai hard enough to deform the handle.
"Filth," Naruto spat out as he pulled his kunai free with a squelch. He now turned his sights on the second man. Walking through the oil fire like it wasn't even there, the remaining man screamed in terror as a kunai was stopped centimeters from his face.
"Naruto that's enough." Kakashi spoke holding his sons arm from killing the man with great difficulty.
"No, he will pay." Naruto spoke with malice on his tongue. The man turned to run as Naruto's free hand flicked something into his hair. The man made it to the end of the corner when Naruto released his kunai "Jiseki," spoken more like a boast then an attack. The dropped kunai started to glow as it shot off after the man and around the corner. A scream soon followed.
"Naruto! What are you doing!" Kakashi yelled as he looked his son in the eyes, noticing the blood-red eyes of the kyubi instead of his son's blue ocean eyes. "Naruto, you have to calm down."
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, slowly opening his eyes and revealing that they were back to their original blue. "Can we go home?" Naruto asked with dishevel in his voice.
"Sure." Kakashi said as he patted his son's head.
As the pair walked through the door, Naruto tried to make a bee light for his room, but his father caught him and told him to go into the living room to explain what exactly happened. After explaining the whole event, excluding the Kyubi, his father understood why and what happened.
"Well, it seems you where indeed defending yourself, so you're not in trouble, but you are going to learn how to escape situations like that more often, got it?" Kakashi sternly told his son, leaving him no room to argue and sending him to bed. 'I can't believe the pure hatred and bloodlust he was giving of. It was like it all over again.'
Naruto was staring at his ceiling 'I wonder if I can contact it willingly.' He sat up and started concentrating on where he had met the Kyubi. His world sped by like it was moving at the speed of light, being replaced by darkness. A small light appeared to be rapidly approaching. Naruto found himself in front of a familiar cage.
"Hey fur face! You awake?" Naruto shouted, hoping to get the fox's attention.
"How could anyone sleep with your chalkboard of a voice yelling?" The fox inquired as its face became visible.
"My voice isn't that bad!"
"I beg to differ, if you were alive when I attacked, I would have ran away at the sound of your voice. It truly is a fate worse than hell."
"Funny. Was that you that boosted my power today?"
"You tapped into my power, yes"
"Any chance you're willing to give me some of that permanently?" Naruto asked with a pleading
face.
"If you're willing to offer something in return."
"What?"
"I have been trapped in this body for far too long, I want to have my senses back. I will give you some of my power permanently if you allow me access to your senses."
"Define access."
"Smart boy. I want to see and to hear again. That's it."
"Two things I'll add. In return for your level of hearing and sense of smell you can have the sense of touch as well, but I mean both good and bad. I don't want you to leave something out and I get injured because you find it funny."
"Seems like a fair trade. Anything you want to ask before it's too late?"
"Yeah, will it alter my physical appearance?"
"No."
"Will your chakra be infused with mine or a separate thing I can access?"
"Both, it will be a separate chakra in your body that you will be able to access until it is completely turned into your own chakra."
"Deal."
"Good. Now it's time you awaken."
"Huh? It's only been an hour max!" Naruto yelled as he sat up in his bed. "Whoa! He wasn't kidding! It's nine o clock!" He jumped off his bed and got dressed as fast as he could, not forgetting to put his necklace with his prized kunai on. Jumping down his stairs he jetted off to meet his team at the training ground, bumping into Kiba walking with Hinata on his way. "Hey guys."
"Hey man! Glad to hear your team passed." Kiba spoke through a toothy grin.
"Psh, I wasn't worried I am a first class soldier after all. I didn't think you would pass until I found out Hinata was on your team. I feel sorry that she has to pick up the slack brought on by you." Naruto jabbed at Kiba before realizing he was going to be late and taking off in a sprint before Kiba could retort.
Rounding the corner to the training field, Naruto could see Sakura and Sasuke sitting under a tree waiting for Kakashi. Approaching the two with a goofy grin he asked, "Dad's late again, huh?"
"Don't tell me this is a habit of his." Sakura threatened.
"Sorry but it is." Naruto got ready to run at a moment's notice.
"Yo." Lazy words from a lazy man waving to greet his students. "You three will be doing a mission today, now let's go to the Hokage Tower."
Kakashi led his students down the roads. Naruto was trying to ignore the glares from the towns people. They all blamed him for killing the two men, believing he attacked them not the other way around. Sasuke ignored the negative attention Naruto was getting while Sakura was completely oblivious to anyone besides Sasuke.
Arriving at the Hokage's office, Naruto could barely restrain from lashing out at someone because of the looks they were giving him. Kakashi put his hand on his son's shoulders to keep him calm as they ascended the stairs to see the Third.
"Ah team seven, glad you could make it. You're mission today is to fetch a few missing animals, a cat, dog, bird, and even a nin-dog in training has taken off. The details are in the scroll Kakashi has, dismissed." The Third said in a thunderous voice that has withered over time.
"First up is the cat: Brown, Blue ribbon, Loves fish, Has a temper, Is terrified of loud noises. Now team lets go find this cat shall we?" Team seven left the Thirds office and goes towards the sushi shop near the owner's house.
"Do we really have to find this cat? Can't we say it was eaten by a dog?" Naruto asked Kakashi.
"Yes we do. Why do you hate cats anyway?" Kakashi wonders.
"Simple! They don't like me!" Naruto exclaimed.
Just as Naruto picked up a box, the cat in question ran out and towards its continued freedom. Naruto dives for the cat along with Sasuke who ends up catching the cat only to hold it in Naruto's face to get clawed.
"SON OF A BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU SASUKE!" Naruto screamed as he tried to pummel Sasuke, only to be held back by Kakashi.
"God. How many more missions like this do we have to do?" Naruto whined.
"About three months." Kakashi informed.
Sasuke started to stare at the sky saying only one word. "Fuck."
"Whoa wait a minute. Did he just show a real emotion?" Bug eyed Naruto questioned. "Hell must have frozen over." This comment earned him a hit over the head from a very agitated Sakura.
The D-rank missions continued for three months, every member complaining along the way. Kakashi began to take missions on his free time to give his life some of the old action he once had. Chasing cats just wouldn't cut it for the ex-ANBU member.
Well I know it has been a while but I didn't forget the story.