Okay now...Chapter 7 is now up and running. Man...this one was a long time coming. I've included a few twists in this chapter. To all those who flamed me about how things are going thus far and for making Sakura the way she's protrayed...I really oughtta shove you into a swimming pool filled with double edged razors and then throw you into a vat of lemonade and rubbing alcohol! But...that is PROBABLY illegal in several states (If not ALL of them...), and also unethical. Anyway, all ranting aside, here is the 7th chapter and how the Akatsuki meeting the masters turns out, as well as what happens to Sakura AFTER she was dragged away. You'd think that such an uber-bitch would have some kind of serious screw loose...You may be right!
WITHIN THE VILLAGE...
Itachi and Kisame were making their way around the village carefully, since Itachi was still spooked about the masters. Sure enough, there was little to no damage from the invasion that Orochimaru masterminded. In short, his efforts were an epic failure. The two ducked into a dango shop quickly to both ease suspistion and to plot out how to find their target, one Uzumaki Naruto. From snippets of conversations they had been hearing, the shinobi all respect him, but almost all of the civilians despise and loath him for being the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.
"Being on good terms with the shinobi of the village will make this harder to pull off without being noticed if our organization and goals are to remain secret. We must find and lure him out." Itachi suggested.
"You even know what the brat looks like?" Kisame asked.
"Yes. I was once part of ANBU and I had to pull him out of an angry mob. I am familiar with what he looks like." Itachi answered, sipping his tea.
The two were sitting for a few moments extra until they decided to go and have another look around. They finally overheard something about where he resided, near the outskirts of the village proper and towards the forest.
"Good. The further away from the town, the better. Let's go Kisame." Itachi motioned to his partner, who followed after.
RYOUZANPAKU
"So...this is the place, eh? Pretty big." Takeda commented as he tried to push the door open, but it barely budged.
"Eh? What's up with this door? It's...oof...heavy!"He exclaimed.
"Come on, you big wimp. I'll give you a hand." Kisara ribbed him as she got behind the door as well, only to discover the same thing.
"What the hell?" She yelled in exasperation.
"Oh ho...Visitors?" A voice from behind them asked.
They both spun around to find a small man with a moustache standing where they felt...nothing! He snuck up on them like some kind of ghost! The two regained their bearings as they regarded the man.
"Yeah...We were given directions to this place by a short kid with crazy blond hair, just made Chuunin..." She asked, but the man's eyes dawned in recognition.
"Oh...You mean Naruto-chan! You must be the one's he was expecting! Please, do come in." He beckoned as he delivered a simple palm thrust that nearly swung the door off of its hinges.
"Whoa..." Was the shared reply from the two Chuunin as they walked inside to see the other masters training in the yard until the one that invited them ran up to them.
"Hey! Glad you guys made it! I'll show you around before we have that spar!" He greeted them excitedly as he nearly dragged them on a tour of the place. During which, they saw several eye-popping things happen, like Apachai punting a training dummy into LEO (Low Earth Orbit), Shigure reducing another one into sawdust with what seemed like a single swpie of her blade, Sakaki ripping a steel girder in half with a flurry of punches, and the seemingly wiry Akisame swinging around heavy stone statues with ease.
"These guys are the masters here and my senseis! They're wicked strong and awesome doesn't even scratch what these guys are! They taught me nearly everything I know!" He told his new friends proudly as he continued along the way. Takeda saw something he liked when he saw Miu, but Kisara AND Naruto gave him the evil eye.
"I wouldn't mess with Miu-onechan if you want to stay healthy. I STILL can't beat her, no matter what I try or do." He warned the ash haired pugilist.
"Got those wandering eyes, have you?" Kisara asked dangerously.
"Oh no, Kisara-chan! I'm just...having a look around!" He explained frantically, hoping she bought it.
"Yeah...I'm sure..." She muttered. She has a bit of a complex about her bust size, being an A-cup at 19 was pretty embarrassing. The two women here in the dojo had to be pushing D-cup at least, making her a bit irritable.
"Hey, Kisara-neechan...You alright?" Naruto asked innocently.
"Yeah...I'm cool. So what's next, kiddo?" She asked, changing the subject.
"The dojo itself! We can have our spar there if you want!" He replied with a grin.
Upon entering the dojo, the last resident of the complex showed himself.
"Visitors, Naruto-chan?" The voice, deep and wise, asked.
They turned around to see Fuurinji Hayato, the Elder of the Ryouzanpaku. To Kisara and Takeda, it was the tallest and most massively built old man they had even seen. To add to that, he didn't even register in their senses when he arrived behind them.
"Hey, Jiji! They were gonna spar with me!" Naruto informed his relative.
"Really now? That sound like fun!" The old man clamored as he ripped off his top to reveal the ludicrously built body, again that weird light in his eyes.
'They GOTTA teach me how they do that...'Naruto thought until he and his new friends were snagged up and dragged into the courtyard.
"Now, just to be fair, all three of you come at me at once and I'll only use 0.002%!" He called out cheerfully as he stretched out.
"Uh oh...He's gone battle wacky again..." Naruto muttered.
"You related to this guy?" Kisara asked, incredulous.
"Yep. He's my Greatuncle and Miu-onechan is my cousin. I just learned about them a month ago." Naruto replied.
"So...that hottie...(Kisara glares at him, changing his words around)...err...girl Miu is his GRANDDAUGHTER?" Takeda exclaimed.
"Yep. Any guy that wants to go out with her, Uncle Hayato wants to test them out first. If they can't even last a few seconds against him, he sends them packing." Naruto shrugged, making Kisara laugh out loud.
"To get the princess, you gotta beat a monster...How much more cliche can you get?" She said, making Takeda sulk.
Naruto noticed that his Great uncle had vanished during their impromptu conversation, his eyes going wide.
"Holy...INCOMING!" He shouted right as a ridiculously powerful blow impacted right next to them, the sheer force sending them flying in all directions. All three recovered in the air, landing on their feet and tried to re-group, but the old man was fast, REALLY fast, fast enough to stop them from linking up or trying any moves alone, so Naruto made a few Kage Bunshin to try and distract him while he got them together.
"JESUS! Is he human?" Takeda asked.
"I'm still on the fence about that, too." Naruto replied with deadpan look.
"What's the plan, guys?" Kisara asked her defacto team.
"Well, I'll make a few more Kage Bunshin and try to keep him busy while we all sneak in and at least try to engage him. It's the only way." Naruto offered.
"Well, it's better than nothing, I suppose. I'll hit him from up high." Kisara said.
"I'll go low." Takeda offered.
"Then I'll go right down the middle. Two of my clones will help each of you get close, but you'll be on your own from there." Naruto warned, getting ready to launch a distraction.
Kisara and Takeda also readied themselves to attack while their clones coiled up, ready to pounce.
"GO!" Naruto shouted as he weaved through handseals.
FUUTON : DAITOPPA!
The wind attack wasn't meant to do any actual harm, but to kick up enough dust to obscure what they were about to do. Kisara, Takeda, Naruto and the clones used the cover to attack the wily master, following their plans through to the letter. But...Takeda's uppercut was caught, Kisara's heel drop was blocked, and Naruto's Mubyoshi was completely ineffective. With one massive movement, the elders shook them all off and sent them flying again, this time taking them down.
"Ahh...Now wasn't that was fun, children?" He asked them, a serene, grandfatherly smile on his face as he sat down on the pile they landed in.
"Uuugghhh..." They all collectively moaned as he dragged them over to Akisame to sort them out and patch them up.
MEANWHILE...
Kisame and Itachi had made their way over towards the edge of town, but had bumped into Kurenai, Asuma and Gai en route. Engaging in a short scuffle with them, they gave them the slip with Mizu Bunshins while the real ones reached Ryouzanpaku's gates. Kakashi and Sasuke arrived on the scene shortly after, Sasuke in hot pursuit of his brother. After finding that they weren't there, they continued their search.
"Hmpf...Big gate. Maybe they're compensating for something, eh Itachi?" Kisame chortled while the much shorter Uchiha pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance at his partner's strange sense of humor. He was trying to sense anyone other than the Kyuubi container within the compound, but was coming up empty.
"It should be safe. Kisame, open the gate." Itachi ordered.
Kisame complied as he swung his greatsword, Samehada, at the door with all of his might, but it was like banging a stick against a steel beam, sending vibrations up Kisame's arm.
"Whoa...Now THAT'S a gate." Kisame commented as the tremors in his hands calmed down.
"Apa? Visitors?" A new voice from behind asked. They both wheeled around to see someone even taller than Kisame standing there with a curious look on his face.
"Ah, yes. We are looking for one Naruto Uzumaki. Might you know where he is?" Itachi inquired politely. He believed in the saying 'You catch more flies with honey' and this often got him the info he needed without resorting to force.
"Apa! Naruto-chan! He's in here!" Apachai cheered, not knowing who they really were and what they wanted.
Apachai put a finger against the door and shoved it open with force to spare, making Kisame feel strangly inadequate. That aside, they followed the giant of a man inside, quickly finding their target, who was busy getting his bearings back along with his two new friends.
"Naruto-kun. You must come with us." Itachi told him as more of a command than anything else.
Naruto looked at the two strangely. "What? Why should I?" He asked.
"Our organization desires to gather all those like you to meet the goals of our leader. Now come with me." Itachi demanded again, reaching out for him. As he did that, a shout of rage and pin-prick of Ki diverted his attention.
"ITACHI! PREPARE TO DIE!" Sasuke screamed as he charged up a Chidori while running at his brother with reckless abandon, madness dancing in his Sharingan.
Before Kakashi could save his favorite student, the masters had already intervened, Sakaki holding a now dangling and even more highly pissed Sasuke (If that's even possible...) by the wrist.
"LET ME GO! I MUST KILL ITACHI! LET ME DOWN, COMMONER!" Sasuke raged and ranted at the mountainous Karate-ka, who simply ignored him to focus on the missing nin.
"You got a lotta nerve coming here, gaki." Sakaki growled.
"Uchiha Itachi...What might you possibly want here...and with our student, no less?" Akisame asked of him evenly.
"For our organization to achieve it's goals, we need the ones who house the nine demons within them. Naruto-kun is but one of them." Itachi told them, ready to flee if the odds soured any more than they already have.
Kisame, however, was itching for a fight and went straight for the wiry Jiujitsu Specialist...and got himself chucked over ten yards away faster than they could blink.
"Oh my...That was a refreshing breeze." Akisame commented idly.
"Wha...What the hell?" The blue skinned nuke-nin asked, completely bewildered.
As Kisame tried to regain his bearings once again, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Sarutobi showed up on the scene, making Itachi curse his bad luck.
'The target is too heavily guarded. I would barely be able to take one of them, much less all of them. This mission is a failure and we must retreat.'The Uchiha killer thought.
"I told you to be careful, Kisame. These are not ones to underestimate just because they are not shinobi. They can easily outclass even the Sannin if provoked, with the elder being far beyond even that. We must go now, we cannot succeed as thing stand." Itachi warned, preparing their escape by casting the Amaterasu, The Black Flames. Using this unnatural firewall, they quickly made a beeline for the outer hills just beyond the village borders.
Jiraiya whipped out one of his scrolls and sealed up the Amaterasu flames within it, since nothing can really put them out, and the masters all convened on what the hell just happened. As it were, Kensei spoke out first.
"So, that was the dreaded Akatsuki, was it? I believe they were after the Kyuubi sealed within young Naruto-chan, but for what?"
Sasuke and Kakashi were still nearby, as Sakaki still had his hand dangling from his grip like a human dingle-berry, so they heard it all. Kakashi understood why Itachi would risk coming back. He was actually using his head and determined that the prize was far too tempting for an organization like that to resist. To Sasuke, he found out about Naruto's...fuzzy problem and was smoldering with jealousy.
"You mean that the dobe has this powerful demon sealed in him that gives him all of this power? Where can I get one, Kakashi?" He demanded.
Kakashi may have been a favortist sensei and didn't like Naruto, but he knew that Jinchuuriki were more cursed than anything else. They constantly had to struggle to keep their demons under control and if Sasuke possessed such little self-control with the Curse Seal, then giving him a demon like the Bijuu was the paramount of irresponsibility. Besides, if he tried it now, he would surely die.
"Uchiha-chan...You don't fully seem to realise what a Jinchuuriki truly is or the mechanics behind them. Think of what Naruto's life had been like up until a month ago. Every vessel has gone through that. The Suna boy, Gaara, is a vessel just like Naruto is, but he was barely sane and could barely control his demon." Hayato told the arrogant boy sternly.
"Don't look down on me like I'm as weak as the dobe or the nutcase Gaara! I can handle that power! I need it to kill...HIM!" Sasuke snarled until Tsunade cut in.
"Look, you arrogant little shit...All vessels start out as newborns due to the fact that once your coils are set, sealing the demon would rip you to shreds, not that I'd care." She snarled right back at him, making him falter.
"Then, why is the dobe so special?" He retorted.
"Because he was born the night the Kyuubi attacked. He was our only hope and he's handled the demon better than we dreamed possible. The Yondaime was wise when he selected him for the task. I should know, as I was there when it happened." Sarutobi answered.
Sasuke didn't like hearing the truth, so he lashed out at the closest target, Naruto himself.
"Give me that power, Dobe! I deserve it more than you!" He raged until a left straight knocked him senseless.
"Beat it, brat. You've worn out your welcome here." Takeda scowled, Kisara placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. They liked Naruto, they really did, and this Uchiha kid was really getting on their nerves.
Naruto looked like he was gobsmacked when his new acquaintances stood up for him like that.
"Hatake...Take the Uchiha...brat and leave. You are not welcome...here." Shigure warned, her infamous Akabanetou drawn.
Kakashi knew to cut his losses and he left without a fuss, lest he be sliced into chum on the spot.
Once the hubbub died down and the Chuunin pair took their leave, Jiraiya asked if everyone, Miu included, could come to the dining room to hear what he was about to say. The masters all knew what was about to happen, Shigure chomping at the bit now that the time was finally here to reclaim what little family she had left. After setting up silence barriers to stop eavesdroppers and spys, Jiraiya had his Godson sitting before him.
"What's up, Kyoufu?" The blond Chuunin asked curiously, his head cocked off to the side slightly.
"My boy...How much do you know about the Yondaime and the circumstances behind your seal?" Jiraiya started out.
TREATMENT ROOM UNDERNEATH THE YAMANAKA FLOWERSHOP...
Chiaki and Takato Haruno were currently within the treatment room of Yamanaka Inoichi, who was performing a form of psycho-therapy on their daughter. The commotion she had caused at the award ceremony today was the last straw and seeing as how she was currently unconscious due to one of the Jounin incapacitating her for her outburst, they shed all pride and pleaded with Inoichi to help cure their daughter of her obsessions.
Inoichi was reluctant at first. He remembered how badly Sakura acted toward his daughter before and Ino's accounts of how Sakura managed to do what very few had even done, reject the Shintenshin. This could cause severe mental backlash on the caster and Ino was very lucky to come away unscathed. However, the pleading her Sakura's parents changed his mind and now he currently found himself preparing to jump into the strange and scary world that was the mind of Haruno Sakura. First, he injected her with a sleeping draft that would keep her asleep for the duration of his jump. Her awakening with him still in there would result in him being trapped in there, and we won't have that, now will we?
Finally, all preparations completed, he took the plunge...
SAKURA'S MINDSCAPE
Inoichi landed in a open, grassy plain and saw a mansion nearby. Everyone had their own verison of a mindscape, so he assumed this was hers as he ventured inside. Upon entering the mansion, he spotted the problem right off the bat in the form of countless pictures to Uchiha Sasuke. It was like some creepy shrine inside (Think Mallet Island Manor from the first Devil May Cry Game)and it was beginning to give the veteran mind-jumper the hibbie-jibbies. This is saying something, since he has to jump inside of the minds of hardened criminals and works with Anko and Ibiki for Christ's sake!
He made his way cautiously through the winding halls of the manor, making a mental note that locking away this destructive obsession with Sasuke would be doing the VILLAGE a favor, not only the Haruno family. Next, he came into the hall of her memories. Once inside, he began to rifle through them to find the cause of her obsession. Once he found that memory and erased it, maybe it would take care of the obsession.
While he looked for the memory, he stumbled across another memory. This one involved Naruto, about 6 years ago...
FLASHBACK
A six year old Sakura was walking along her way to her first day at the Academy when she was pelted by a mudball that had a rock in it, causing her to cry out and it the ground. A girl with purple hair stepped into view, laughing and taunting the downed girl.
"Look at that huge forehead!" One child exclaimed.
"Yeah! She's ugly!" Ami, the offending girl taunted.
They continued to make fun of little Sakura and every time she tried to stand, they pushed her back down. However, a unlikely savior came along, also on his way to his first day at the Academy, one Uzumaki Naruto. He saw what they were doing and launched himself at the lead bully, tackling her to the ground and making the rest scatter, screaming about a monster.
"What? You think you can just pick somebody weaker than you? Try picking on me!" Naruto yelled at Ami as he shoved her away.
"Two little freaks should be together, anyway!" She screamed as she tore off for the Academy.
Naruto turned around and offered Sakura a hand up, which she was hesitant about at first.
"Aw c'mon! I ain't gonna hurt ya!" He smiled at her, which seemed to make her feel better as she took his hand. He seemed nice enough as she listened to him babble on about pranks he'd pulled and about the wonders of ramen. During one of his pauses, she worked up the nerve to ask him his name.
"Oh, I'm Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto! Nice ta meetcha'...um..." He answered, remembering that he didn't know her name.
"M-my name is S-Sakura, Haruno Sakura." She replied shyly.
From there, the pair made their way to the Academy, where the young girl noticed all of the glares directed at her new friend, but since it didn't bother him, she didn't really pay it any mind. The made it to the Academy, albeit they were late by over a half an hour. The instructors opened up on him with both barrels, yelling and screaming at him yet giving her a gentle chastising.
A week had gone by and she had further befriended Naruto but he was gone for a full week after that and the bullies were targeting her again. This time, and blond girl named Ino stood up for her and they hit it off quickly. During one of their little play sessions, Sakura mentioned another friend of hers...and the answer she got changed the course of her life.
"So, who is this mysterious boy that saved you form those bullies?" Ino asked.
"I can't believe I didn't tell you his name! His name is Naruto." Sakura answered, but got a gasp then a scowl.
"Sakura! Don't you know about him? Everybody hates him! If you keep hanging out with that idiot, people a going to hate you, too!" Ino admonished
Sakura was trying to be fair to Naruto, but too many people hated him and said too many negative things about him.
'Could my parents be wrong about him?' She wondered, as she decided to go with what Ino told her.
Another week passed by. Ino started introducing her to her friends and to her hobby, fangirlism over the now last Uchiha, Sasuke.
Inoichi paused for a moment as he found the root of Sakura's affliction. 'Well, managed to find the cause. It was Ino that created this monster...'He thought. He was about to leave it at that, but wanted to see where Naruto fit into all of this.
This week also saw the return of Naruto to class. Upon seeing his friend already sitting down, he made a beeline for her but his joy at seeing her again was short-lived.
"Hey, Sakura-chan! Sorry about being gone for so long, but I was in the Hospital for a li-..." He explained to her as he tried to sit down next to her, but she wheeled around on him and fixed the unprepared blond with a withering glare.
"What do YOU want?" She growled.
"Wha...What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto stammered, not knowing what was happening. It was so surreal to him since only two weeks ago, she was his best and only friend. Now, he comes back to this.
"What's wrong is that you're even talking to me, Naruto-baka!" She yelled at him, bringing a small tear to his eye and breaking his heart.
"Naruto-baka! Leave her alone! Nobody wants to be around someone as annoying as you!" Ino shouted.
Naruto looked down at his feet as he sadly shuffled off to the back of the classroom, soft sniffles could be heard as he tried to hold in what he was feeling, but the jeers of the class and from the instructor of all people wore his resistance down as he put his head down on his desk and cried.
Inoichi was appalled at what his daughter had done to the boy when all he wanted was a friend. What galled him even further was the fact that this happened AFTER he had a talk with her about said boy.
'That poor kid...He didn't deserve that. She's got a lot of explaining to do.' Inoichi thought as he exited her mindscape...or at least tried before a massive hand scooped him up and held him threateningly.
"Shannaro! What the hell are you doing in my head?"The massive being that looked like Sakura with the kanji for 'Inner' on it's forehead.
'Dammit! Ino told me about something like this, but I still can't believe it. This girl has some kind of MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder)...Her parents were right to bring this up. We can't have shinobi running around like this.' Inoichi mused.
"Easy there...Put me down! I am Ino's father and I was asked by your parents to enter your mind!" He tried to reason with the being, but it only served to infuriate it even more.
"So, that little weakling Sakura's parents finally wanted something done about me, eh? I got rid of that blond kid that she suppressed me with before and now I can do the same with you!"'Inner' Sakura roared as it started to bear down on Inoichi with all of it's might.
'That's it! The kid gloves come off!' He thought as he began to assert himself with more authority.
"I just thought I should warn you. You're not dealing with an amateur like my daughter. Don't force me to get rough." The elder Yamanaka warned, which went unheeded.
"Fine...I warned you." He muttered as he gathered his all of his will, pried himself free and knocked her away with an invisible fist.
After the inner persona was stunned, he swiftly went to work on binding up the violent entity, so that he could seal it away. He could tell that this persona was what one could call an "Id", one that had been controlling her emotions since Ino caused Sakura to doubt herself and her choices. The Id was about to take control when Naruto befriended her and helped to suppress it. Once Ino did what she did, it weakened Sakura's control enough for the Id to swoop in and it twisted her thinking into hating him with a disturbing, keeping him at a distance and keeping her after Sasuke, who it knew Sakura could never obtain, keeping her confidence down while slowly siphoning away her soul bit by bit. This also prevented Naruto from aiding in suppressing it again, seeing him as a critical threat to it's existence.
No sooner than the Id had been sealed and awaiting disposal, a doorway appeared out of nowhere that had locks and chains all over it. As Inoichi reached for it, the chains and locks fell away, leaving the door to creak open loudly. The dust cleared to reveal the Sakura from the memory, curled up into a ball as if she were sleeping. He cautiously walked up to the girl and shook her awake. The girl yawned lightly and sat up slowly.
"Oh...Hello. Who are you? What are you doing here? It might find you, you have to leave!" The younger Sakura warned, looking around.
"Oh, that thing?" He asked, gesturing to the sealed mass behind him with his thumb.
Young Sakura's eyes went wide with surprize at the sight. "Wow...You're REALLY strong!" She gushed. Inoichi had the good graces to color slightly.
"Now, as I said before, I'm Ino's father and your parents asked me to enter your mind to see what was going on." He told her.
"Sugoi...So you're Ino-chan's daddy?" She asked.
"Err...Yes, I am. Now then, Sakura-chan...What can you remember? Have you been locked away here long?" The mind-jumper asked as part of making his diagnosis.
"Well, the last thing I remember was Ino-chan telling me that Naruto-san was bad and that I shouldn't be around him anymore, but he was so nice to me and saved me from bullies. Why would Ino-chan do that?" She asked.
'Whoa...She's been locked in here for over six years and her cognitive memory ends where the Id took over. Now that the Id has been taken care of, however, her mind will revert to where it was six years ago. This means that all of her shinobi training will be lost to her and she'll almost have to start over again, as well as maturing from scratch. At least she'll get a chance to start over and hopefully repair the mess that Id made of her life.'Inoichi thought as he finished sealing away and disposing of the mental demon so that it could never harm it's victim ever again.
"I can't tell you that, hopefully you can make it up to him by being his friend again. He did nothing wrong and hurt no one, just remember that and you will be just fine." Inoichi told the girl as he exited the mindscape.
BACK IN THE YAMANAKA BASEMENT...
Inoichi jerked suddenly as his soul and mind returned to his body, then his head rose. Sakura's parents had been waiting for nearly an hour after he took the plunge into their daughter's head and eagerly awaited news of any sort.
"How is she? Is our daughter alright?" Takato asked of the therapist.
Inoichi proceeded to tell them about what he saw inside her head, about what caused her obsession with Sasuke and how it all spiraled downward from there, including the meeting with Naruto. They were happy that he saw it within himself to help their daughter. He then told them about what had caused all of this in the first place, about the Id. Her parents gasped in horror and shock at what their daughter had within them. It was a similar situation to that of the Uzumaki boy, only he seems to be in control and a generally nice boy judging by the memory. However, Inoichi had yet to tell them the worst part.
Before they could even move, a light enveloped he girl, scaring the crap out of all adults present. Once the light died down, Sakura was still there, but she was...different.
"What the...? What the Hell happened to our daughter? She shrank!" Takato bellowed. They were now staring at a six year old Haruno Sakura, still dressed in her red dress which was now way too big on her tiny frame.
"Oh...MY BABY!" Chiaki wailed into her husband's chest.
Inoichi performed another quick dive into her head and upon coming back out, he sighed in relief.
"It seems that with the Id gone, he body reset itself to match it's mental state. She is now six years old once again, mentally and physically. Other than that, she's okay." He soothed the parents.
"WHAT?" They chorused, causing Inoichi to explain just what the hell happened inside their daughter's head. After his explanation, they seemed to accepted it, although grudgingly.
"In order to ease her into readjusting when I wake her up, I suggest that we find the two peers she was closest to when at this age. I suggest that you go find my daughter Ino, and Uzumaki Naruto. He now lives at the edge of the village and my daughter is currently with her team at Shushuya's." The mind walker told them.
The parents wasted no time in going out to find the people needed to ease their daughter back into a normal life.
"You find Ino, I'll find Naruto!" Chiaki shouted as she tore off to track down the errant blond boy that might hold half of the key to her daughter's eventual recovery.
BACK AT RYOZANPAKU...
Naruto was seated at the dinner table inside the main hall at the dojo. The masters, Miu and his Great uncle, Sandaime, his Godparents, Shizune, and his three brides-to-be were all seated around him, Jiraiya asking him a question.
"How much do I know about the Yondaime and my seal? Well, I do know that he was the one that slapped it on me in the first place, along with fuzzy in there. I know that the seal let's some of it's power out but that's only when I'm really angry or scared." Naruto answered honestly.
"Well, I can't fault you for not really knowing all that much. The inner workings of your seal are a closely guarded secret for a good reason. As for what I asked about the Yondaime..." Jiraiya paused, bracing himself and allowing Naruto to do the same.
"His real name was Namikaze Minato and his wife's name was Kushina." He answered.
"What does this have to do with me, Kyoufu?" Naruto asked, still puzzled.
"Naruto, her maiden name was Uzumaki." He told the boy, letting him slide the pieces together.
He mulled it over for a moment then froze. "Uzu...Maki? She's my mom? The my dad was..." He stopped, hardly believing what he was hearing.
"That's right, gaki. Your father was none other than the Yondaime Hokage, my student and the son I never had." Jiraiya told him finally.
Miu and the others gave him space to process all of this information. They had to admit that this was quite a hard and bitter pill to swallow. Your own father placing a malevolent demon within you was pretty damn hard to take.
"B-but...if he was my...dad and everybody liked him so much, why did they all treat me like some kind of monster?" He asked, tears beginning to form.
"My boy...Fear and panic can give rise to the greatest of follies. A dear friend once told me that the person is intelligent, but people are dumb, panicky animals. The mass fear that gripped this village after the Kyuubi incident ran out of control and there were certain elements within our own council that used it to their advantage. Minato, your father, wanted you to be seen as the hero that saved our lives and countless others for holding the Kyuubi captive, but his trust was betrayed." Sarutobi responded, looking even older than before.
"But, that still doesn't explain why no one even wanted to adopt me!" Naruto exclaimed.
"It wasn't that no one would, but that no one was allowed to, Naru-chan, not until now. The council drafted a law that no one was allowed to adopt you since you had blood-relatives and named Godparents that still lived. I was told that you were dead and left this place in anger. Jiraiya was told to stay away and the rest that knew the truth about you were pressured to stay silent in exchange for your continued life." Tsunade explained to her Godson sadly, Shizune nodding in agreement. He kinda grew on her, like a flesh eating diesease or that fuzzy mold on the month old leftovers in the back of your fridge.
"Those bastards..." Naruto whispered in disbelief. He'd always tried to see the good in everyone, taught by Iruka that there always was a little good left in even the darkest soul...but the Civilian council had just proven him wrong.
Shigure took this opportunity to speak to him, and the WAY she spoke surprized everyone.
"Naruto-kun...I was also told that you were dead and to my eternal shame, I did not check for myself. I was too distraught to even think clearly and I simply killed off my emotions to forget about the pain, but that is NO excuse for my neglect." The weapons mistress spoke out as she told him her story and of how she was supposed to be his Onee-chan.
"Please...forgive me..." She begged, her bow so low that her bangs were touching the tatami.
Naruto was stunned even further with all of these truths coming to light this day, but he was nothing if not enduring. He stood and walked over to the woman and hugged her as hard as he could.
"Onee-chan...I forgive you." He muttered into her ear.
Shigure simply broke out into the first honest and unguarded smile that the masters had ever seen as she hugged him back. She finally felt like she was more complete again, the one missing piece had finally been revealed and it slid into place, for both of them.
"From now on, I will take up the Uzumaki name along with Naruto-kun, as I have no need for this false name any longer. I am now Uzumaki Shigure, daughter of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, and older sister to Uzumaki Naruto, future Rokudaime of Konoha." She declared in a crisp, clear voice. She no longer had that verbal pause that she once used and her eyes seemed to be teeming with life once again.
The rest of the people present were happy for the newly reunited family. The girls were still in shock that the one they truly liked was really the only son of the Yondaime. Now since they liked him without knowing his real heritage, no one could accuse them of liking him only for his lineage, like the Uchiha's fangirls. Their feelings for him were real and no one could contest that now.
Tsunade was also happy about this development for her Godson and the fact that his chosen future wives honestly cared for him, famous or not. She was also happy that Naruto had now been reunited with his sister, not by blood, but close enough. Shigure was Kushina's protege and adopted daughter, so that made her family as much as Shizune was. Kushina was like a daughter to her like Shizune was, so that made Naruto and Shigure like Grandchildren, although she would NEVER admit to that.
Jiraiya cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention once again.
"I have one final piece of information about your mother, Naruto. This also explains the Kyuubi attack and why it happened." Jiraiya spoke again in a tone that was very serious.
Outside the Dojo walls, Haruno Chiaki had finally arrived at Ryouzanpaku and managed to squeeze herself in through the a gap in the gate since it was left open, making her way inside, intent on finding Naruto. She could see soome figures behind the Shoji screens in the main hall so she decided to go there, believing that Naruto might be there or that whoever was in there would know how to find him.
The door was left open a slight crack, negating the sound proofing seals Jiraiya had placed on them as he continued to weave the tale of the chain of events that led to the Kyuubi attack.
"You see, Naruto isn't the first Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. There were two others before him. The first host was the wife of the Shodaime, Tsunade's grandmother and Kushina's relative, Uzumaki Mito. When she died of old age, the Kyuubi was then sealed into Kushina herself. Finally, after she had married the Yondaime and she was giving birth to you, a man named Uchiha Madara sought to take advantage of the Kyuubi by yanking it out of the host when the seal was at it's weakest, when a female host gives birth. She managed to survive the Kyuubi being ripped from AND childbirth, but one of the people who delivered you, the wife of Sarutobi-sensei, and many ANBU had been killed in the process. The Yondaime managed to wound Madara before he had the Kyuubi attack Konoha. Finally, it took the combined effort and lives of both of your parents to seal it within you. They loved you kiddo. Never, EVER, doubt that." The Toad Sage and Godaime Hokage finally told his Godson.
Chiaki was floored, as was everyone else in the room. Not even the masters or even the elder knew the whole truth about the Kyuubi attack. She didn't hate the boy like most everybody else did, but saw him as another victim of the attack. Now that these facts were brought to light, she was even further shocked that the two vessels before Naruto were married to the Sho and Yondaime Hokages and that the Yondaime and the previous vessel was his own mother.
'The strength that this boy possesses seems to run in his blood and he holds relations to at least four of our five Kages! Amazing...This really is karma at work here.'Chiaki thought as she shifted slightly, lightly bumping the Shoji screen and getting their attention.
"I command whoever is there to show yourself!" Sarutobi demanded in his most authoritative voice, the rest of the rooms occupants readying themselves for a fight.
The door slid open to reveal a head of pink hair.
"Sakura? What the hell are you doing here? Get out!" Naruto shouted. He was ready to evict the trespasser by force until she raised her head to show her face, making Naruto skid to a halt.
"You're not...Sakura...Who are you?" Naruto asked.
She got down into a submissive bow, her head held low and eyes on the floor. "Uzumaki-san...Please, help me help my daughter, Sakura! Something happened to her..." Chiaki told the room full of occupants, flooring many of them.
"An Id? How did that go un-noticed for so long? Weren't the Academy shrinks supposed to weed things like that out? And just how in the name of KAMI did she shrink? That doesn't make any sense!" Tsunade asked.
"I truly don't know, but Inoichi-san managed to subdue it and dispose of it, but as I told you, Naruto-san is one of the only people that can help her at this point, the other bring Ino-san. Unfortunately, they both want nothing to do with her..." The woman managed to get out before she started crying again.
The girls, Miu, and Shigure were all still super pissed at Sakura for her antics, but this truth threw their opinions of her for a loop. It now appears that she was under the control of this Id and now...she's younger again. They could understand that Naruto would be thrown for a loop and would struggle with himself on the matter if he should help her or not.
Naruto was at a loss over what to do. He now knew that the reason that she turned on him wasn't really her fault, that she was like him in a sense for a while, only it controlled her. However, he was still pretty sore about all of the humiliation, pain, and heartbreak she had caused him over the years.
Tsunade noticed her Godson's conflict with his conscience. "Naru-chan. This is your choice to make, not mine." She told him as he mulled it over.
'Well...Her parents weren't ever mean to me and they said that it was this...thing...inside her that made her hate me. Sakura was my friend at one point and my first friend. Now she's reest back to where she was still my friend. But, what about Ino? She had a hand in this, too. I need to talk with her about it. NOW.'He mused. He then turned to Mrs. Haruno.
"Haruno-san...Tell me where she is. Please." He asked of her.
Chiaki was overjoyed as she hugged the young Chuunin, both of them standing up again.
"I'm gonna go help them. I'll be back." He told the rest of the people present, but Sarutobi and Jiraiya stopped them.
"I'll only say this once. What you just heard is an SS-Rank secret. No one, NO ONE, must hear of this beyond those here today. The penalty for letting this information is a slow, gruesome death at the hands of Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko. Am I understood?" The new Godaime asked, his question laced with an edge to it.
"I swear to secrecy, Hokage-sama." Chiaki swore, her green eyes rife with seriousness.
"Haruno-san, put your hand on my shoulder and I'll get us there with a jutsu I learned recently." Naruto instructed as she complied. With a single Ram seal, the two disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
"I hope that she keeps her word. Naruto-kun will be in a world of trouble if this gets out." Hinata wondered.
"No. She won't. She's a mother first. I could tell that she was completely serious when she swore that oath. Also, she and her husband are some of the only people that treated Naruto like a human being and not a monster. She'll stay silent." Tsunade assured. She was a human lie detector, so if she said someone was on the up and up, she meant it. The others backed down after hearing the legendary medic and kunoichi vouch for the woman.
WITH TEAM 10 AT SHUSHUYA'S BBQ RESTAURANT
Team 10 had pulled into their favorite haunt, intent on celebrating Shikamaru's promotion to Chuunin. Team 10 was surprised with, but welcomed, Ino's recent attitude change. She was training with them more and not complaining nearly as much, although she was still a bit bossy. She actually ate proper meals instead of going on crash diet after crash diet. It was painful for them to watch her slowly starving herself into an early grave. One of the most welcome changes was the fact that she stopped talking about her "Sasuke-kun" altogether. In fact, the last time someone tried to gossip with her about the prodigy, she got rather cross with them and told them that he didn't matter to her anymore and left it at that.
"So Shika, you, Naruto and Shino all made Chuunin. I'm so proud of you guys! I was thinking that this was justice in a sense. The cool, popular guys all fizzled out while you guys, the unpopular guys and the underdogs, all made Chuunin on your first try!" She congratulated the shadow user.
"Yeah...But I didn't really WANT to make Chuunin. I mean, now I have extra work to do and harder missions. Man, what a drag." He complained.
"It's not the end of the world, Shikamaru. You'll still have time to hang out with the team and still get to do missions with us." Asuma reassured.
"Yeah! We can still hang out, Shika! Just like old times! Me and Ino'll make Chuunin before you know it!" Chouji added.
Asuma was glad that the poison that was Uchiha Sasuke had been purged from his team, more specifically from Ino. Since she stopped fawning over him, she had made a turn for the better. Treating her teammates and others much better than before and not talking about that wretched Uchiha anymore. He was about to reflect some more when a brown haired man burst into the restaurant and was looking for someone. His eyes scanned the room before locking directly onto his team, Ino specifically. He was about to stop this man until she spoke out first.
"Aren't you Sakura's dad? What do you want with me?" She asked, wary of anything to do with Sakura.
Haruno Takato wasted no time in recapping what had happened after the ceremony, including all of what Inoichi had told him.
'So THAT'S what kicked me out of her head...An Id! Those things are dangerous! I could have been killed by that thing and dad destroyed it on his own! But...The Sakura I first met ceased to be once I spoke bad about poor Naruto...I STILL haven't been able to apologize to him for that. And poor Sakura...now she's a six year old all over again...' The young mindwalker thought sadly.
"I'll go with you. Let's go!" She almost shouted as the pair ripped out of the shop, bound for the Yamanaka residence.
YAMANAKA RESIDENCE
Just as Naruto and Chiaki arrived via Shunshin at the Yamanaka House, with Ino and Noburo running at them from the opposite direction. Ino smiled softly when she saw Naruto in his new Chuunin vest and walked over to congratulate him.
"Hey there, Naruto! I just wanted to say..." Was all she said before she was cut off.
"Save it. Just...save it. I already know about HOW this all happened, Ino-san...But, just leave it for now and let's go inside. We have some damage to undo." Naruto told her with a tense voice, unable to look her in the eye.
Ino understood why he was so upset since it was proven that SHE was the one that set this all in motion by not heeding her father's advice, setting this chain of events into motion. She indeed felt horrible about it, since Naruto was really a decent guy and Sakura was his first and ONLY friend at the time.
'I don't know if I could ever make it up to you...or to her. But I'll do my damn best to try. I owe Naruto and Sakura that much to at least help in fixing this mess I helped to create.' Ino thought sadly as she let Naruto and Sakura's parents inside.
She brought them downstairs to the treatment room, a place where she had done most of her training in her clan's arts. There, both parties saw the pink haired girl still sleeping peacefully in the deep chair she was set into. Inoichi, who just came back into the room while finishing a small sandwich, saw them.
"Ah, good. I'm glad you could come, Naruto-kun. Now before I wake her up, I believe that my daughter has something to say to you." Inoichi told him slightly glaring at his daughter, but she didn't need the cue.
"Naruto...I...I'm so sorry. I was just young and stupid...trying to fit in, but that's no excuse for all of the things that I did and said to you, even though my parents told me that I should try being your friend. I just thought that I was helping Sakura, but I just wound up hurting you both. I swear I'll make this up to the two of you, no matter how long it takes. No matter what it is I have to do, I'll do it. Please...just give me the chance to make things right again." Ino pleaded with him, stunning even her own father with how far she was willing to go to make amends.
Naruto stood and thought hard for a few moments with his eyes closed and arms crossed. After thinking for a moment, he came to a decsion.
"I...will wait until I hear what Sakura has to say, but until then, let's at least be civil to each other. Me getting pissed at you won't solve anything." Naruto reasoned.
Ino smiled lightly. There was still some hope left, after all. She didn't want them to hate her and she was kind of getting attracted to her fellow blond, a little more so now that he was showing extreme restraint and forgiveness for the living hell of a life she contributed to.
Inoichi grinned at the young Chuunin for showing benevolence when he didn't have to. He was made to suffer but he still hinted at forgiveness towards his daughter and her friend. The Haruno parents were happy with this as well. He was willing to put the past behind him in order to heal a rift that had been ripped open years ago.
Inoichi picked up a syringe that held a clear liquid and injected it into Sakura's arm, bringing her back around slowly. She groaned for a moment, then her green eyes fluttered open and she sat up slowly, holding her head.
"Honey? Are you okay?" Chiaki asked her baby girl.
"Mama? Where am I?" She asked, looking around and at her hands and body.
"What's going on? Why do Naruto-kun and Ino-chan look so much older?" She asked again, now becoming frightened.
Inoichi moved in to explain things to the now 6 year old Sakura.
"You see...There was something very bad inside of your mind and I went in to take care of it. I killed it, but you were still affected. You WERE 12, almost 13 and an official kunoichi. Now, since I killed the demon, it reset you back to when it first possessed you, giving you a second chance. That is why Ino and Naruto look so much older. You've been asleep for over six years. I'm sorry." He told the little girl to soothe her.
Little Sakura teared up, sniffled and then launched herself at the closest person to her, Naruto, and cried into his Chuunin vest.
"Waahh! I'm scared, Naruto-kun!" She cried as he awkwardly patted her on the back as he clumsily racked his mind for something to make her feel better.
"Hey, um...Don't cry, Sakura-chan. Don't be scared. I'm here, Ino is here, your parents are, too." He told her softly as he got her to stop crying long enough to look around. She immeadiately jumped from the blond to her parents.
'Well, she WAS really cute at that age...'Naruto mused at the effect the young Sakura had on him. Without even trying, she broke through his anger and made him forget the speech he intented to Sakura once she woke up. He couldn't hate her now. She was an innocent again. The Sakura that did all of those horrible and hurtful things to him was gone, leaving this scared child in her place.
Ino had been told of what happened, but seeing it was a completely different story. She ran back up to her room and fished out the ribbon that Sakura gave back to her when they both decided that they liked Sasuke. True to how she was all those years ago, her hair was shaggy and fell in front of her eyes.
"Hey...Sakura?" Ino asked.
Little Sakura turned from her parents and ran up to her, in her mind, new friend. "Huh? What's up, Ino-chan?" She asked innocently.
"Hey, uh...Here. Let me give you this..." Ino said as she tied the ribbon into her hair, holding her bangs back. She now looked exactly like Ino remembered.
She looked in a full mirror that was stored in the basement and giggled in approval. She bounded up to Naruto to get his opinion.
"Hey, Naruto-kun...How do I look?" She asked.
Naruto couldn't resist chuckling and smiling at this now adorable Sakura. He STILL had trouble wrapping his brain around what the hell just happened. However, he saw it for what it was, an opportunity to regain a friend that he had lost to that asshat Sasuke. As stated earlier, he just couldn't bring himself to hate her since the one he hated technically didn't exist anymore. She was the sweet little girl he befriended on that fateful day.
"You look really cute, Sakura-chan." He grinned warmly at her, making the little girl blush a deep shade of red, much to the amusement of everyone else present.
"Do you like him, Sakura?" Her mom teased.
"Uh...Uh huh..." She admitted bashfully.
Ino smiled sadly at what could have come to pass if she had just listened to her parents, although now Naruto was treating her like a kid sister and Sakura was all too happy to lap up the attention. It was still infinitely better than the way things were before and they looked happy enough with the way things are.
"Say...Ino-chan? Why did you tell me that Naruto-onichan was bad?" The little girl asked, expecting an answer that had better be good.
"Sakura-chan...I was wrong about him. I said those things because I wanted everyone to like me and I thought that if you stayed around him, then people would pick on you even more. I thought that i was helping you, but I was wrong. He's one of the nicest people I've even known and one of the strongest. I still don't know why people hate him so much, but I know that they're wrong, too." Ino admitted.
"Is that all? That sounds like a dumb reason to not like someone." The little girl commented.
Inoichi called Naruto over for a second.
"Naruto...Do you think it's safe to tell them about your...secret? With her mindset and Ino's acceptance, there's a damn good chance that they will understand." Inoichi asked.
He mulled it over for a second before asking Sakura's parents if they were comfortable with Sakura learning this.
"This is your secret to share, Uzumaki-kun. If it makes you feel better, then we approve. She needs to know the truth." Takato told him, his wife agreeing.
"Sakura-chan...Come here for a moment. I have something to tell you about me." Naruto called out to the little girl as he sat down in a chair. Sakura responded by bounding into his lap like it was story time.
"Now...This all started 13 years ago on the night I was born..." Naruto began, gently telling the child the truth in a way that she would understand. As he wound down the story, the trademark intelligence that got her through the Academy the first time showed itself.
"So...It's like you're a glass and you're holding water?" She asked, stunning the rest of them with her level of understanding.
"Well...Yeah. Pretty much. That's all I am, is a container." Naruto confirmed her notion.
"That's the stupidest reason to hate someone I've ever heard!" She yelled as she threw her tiny arms around his neck.
"Nii-chan is Nii-chan! That's all I care about!" She added with a wide grin.
"If only everyone else were as smart as this little girl..." Inoichi mused sadly.
"But Naruto-kun pulled through. He's a strong boy and an even stronger ninja. It's too bad that he's so much older than her now, but it's still okay that she sees him as an older sibling, someone to look up to. He's a good role model for her and Naruto-kun seems to be enjoying this, too." Chiaki commented with a smile.
After everything calmed down, Naruto asked if he could take Sakura to Tsunade to have a look at her to make sure nothing went wrong, to which her parents readily agreed. He picked the tiny girl up and got himself ready to teleport.
"Ready, Sakura-chan?" He asked, getting an enthusiastic head nod in return. Before he Shunshin'd them away, he cast a look over at Ino.
"I...forgive you." Was all he told her as he teleported himself and his pint-sized passenger away to Ryouzanpaku, hoping that his Godmother or Shizune were still there.
A/N: There...#7 done and printed. Now...I KNOW that a LOT of people will flame me for how things are turning out, but let me make one thing DAMN clear... Sakura is NOT in the harem pairing and I made her into a little sister (Literally), and gave a reason for her being such an uber-atomic-bitch. If you don't believe demonic possession can really fuck someone up, watch the Exorcist sometime! Also...If the way things are developing, STOP READING THE GODDAMN FIC! I'm SICK of reminding people that these fics are written for YOUR enjoyment, you ingrates! Show some f***ing respect for those who actually have the BALLS to publish what they write!
Whew...I'm good now. Anyway, feel free to review or PM me with any question and I'll try to respond to them! CIAO!