Sorrow
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or technically this story; rights go to Acepro Evolution. Kind of.
XXX
"You know… It is rude to spy on people."
The blond froze. He was too busy surveying the small hole he'd created, to notice that the Hyuuga clan members had stopped sparring, and one had come over to him.
It was a male, aged around mid-twenties, with raven black hair tied up in a pony-tail, reaching down to his shoulder-blades. His skin, like all members of the Hyuuga clan, was porcelain pale, like a doll, as if the slightest touch could cause it to crack.
But the most amazing feature of all was the eyes. The pale-lavender eyes, shining like the moon, showing now signs of a pupil. It was like looking into a tiny mirror.
"I… I'm sorry." muttered Naruto.
The man gave him a small smile. "It's alright, kid. You don't really need to apologise." He laughed, merrily. "I'm Tsukimi Hyuuga." He blushed angrily. "Kind of a gender fault on my parent's part."
At this small episode of humour, the boy giggled, childishly (Well, he is a child, what would you expect?)
Suddenly, an idea sprung into Naruto's head. This man was the one who had begun to meditate after beating his opponent. He was strong, no doubt about it!
"I-I'm Naruto Uzumaki, sir!"
He raised a coal-black eyebrow. "Well, it was nice meeting you Naruto." He gave the boy a small bow, and then turned round, preparing to leave.
"PLEASE TRAIN ME!"
With those three words, the Hyuuga froze. Slowly, he turned, his pale-eyes staring directly at the blond, who was bowing, his mouth practically kissing the ground.
"T-that style you were using!" cried Naruto, his nerves getting to him. "I-I find it amazing! P-Please teach me!"
The man knelt down, and then flicked the jinchuriki on the forehead, causing his balance to fall, his bow ending in a face-fault.
"Are you an idiot, kid?" he asked flatly.
As the blond looked up, the eagerness still plain in his eyes, he let out a sigh.
"Listen. I would train you, but can't. Love to, but can't." he pointed at the bandanna covering his forehead. "See this?" he moved it slightly, revealing a cross-shaped mark, with many patterns around it. "I'm from the Branch family. That means I'm a servant of the Hyuuga. Training probably violates my contract."
He placed the white garment back over the glowing green mark.
"Plus, the Juken is pointless without the Byakugan." He smiled slightly at Naruto's mystified expression. "You have to be a Hyuuga. Without the Clan's bloodline, the style is practically like a stab-in-the-dark."
The blond sent him a glare. "Does that matter? I'm gonna be the best Hokage ever! And I'm gonna use the Chuken!"
"Juken." Corrected Tsukimi, with a slight smirk at the boy's obvious rage.
Naruto then proceeded to grab the man's leg. "Train me!"
"GET OFFA ME BRAT!" The raven haired man began to rub his temple. "I will seriously injure you if you don't let go. This. Instant."
"Only if you train me!"
"Jeez kid, what kind of a baby are you?!"
"Why do you have a stick up your ass?!"
"Where'd you learn that kind of language, didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk like that?!"
Naruto suddenly stopped arguing. Slowly, albeit surely, he let go of the man's leg, then got to his feet. "Sorry." He then began to trudge away from the astounded Hyuuga.
"What did I say?" the man though, still stunned at the blonde's abrupt departure.
XXX
When he arrived back at his apartment, the boy sat on his sofa, crouched in a ball, softly sobbing.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk like that?!"
Naruto had gotten used to being an orphan. He'd grown up with many others, who had lost their parents from the Kyuubi attack. But he seemed so different from them. People looked at the other orphans with pity, and sorrow, while they looked at him with spite and distaste.
What did he do to deserve that?
He glanced at the pillow beside him, and pulled it closer. Sometimes he'd do this, pretending he was being wrapped up in his mother's arms. Sniffling slightly, the boy began to drift off to sleep.
Unknown to him, someone stood at the front of his apartment complex, a sad frown on his face. He placed his hands in a single seal, deactivating his bloodline.
"So… He is THE Naruto." Tsukimi whispered, a tiny bit of sadness in his voice.
He was considered an outsider to the Hyuga clan, even amongst the branch members. With his carefree attitude, he was the exact reverse of how Hyuga were supposed to be; calm, stoic, and emotionless. Being a member of the clan, and not bearing these traits is unacceptable. For these reasons, this boy, Naruto Uzumaki, reminded him of his younger self.
The young boy, excluded from the rest because of something he had no control over. Like him, being a member of the branch family and bearing a significantly un-Hyuga-like attitude.
He sighed, a small nostalgic-smile dawning on his face. Maybe he couldn't train the boy… But he could at least give him some pointers in the right direction.
XXX
Naruto was awoken with a sharp ping to his forehead. The five-year old squeaked, and then fell back, landing flat out on the hard wooden floor.
Tsukimi stood over him, unimpressed. "If you become a ninja, and you get ambushed at night, are you going to react like that?"
Naruto bit his lip and glared. "I-It's not my fault, idiot!" he retorted. "You took me by surprise, that's all!"
The Hyuga cocked his head, deciding it would be better not to reply.
The young blond had stared out towards the window, his arms crossed, an angry frown plastered all over his face. "So what do you want? I thought you couldn't train me."
Tsukimi sighed at the blonde's obvious disappointment. "Listen, kid. I can't train you. The fact is unchangeable." He noticed the blond wince slightly. "But… I can give you a few pointers."
Naruto was taken aback by this. He stared, wide eyed at the now smiling man. Tsukimi knelt down and flicked the blonde's head.
"You may not be much now, but if I give you a little nudge, who knows what might happen?" he chuckled. "With my help, you could be the greatest ninja there is.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, almost as though this was too good to be true. "B-But what about the Byakyugan-thing?"
"Byakugan." Corrected Tsukimi. "And as for that, no one outside the clan has ever bothered to learn Juken. Who knows what you could do with it? For all I know, you could be the strongest Juken-user ever, or even the worst." He shrugged lightly. "Only fate will tell."
The boy grunted, and folded his arms. "I don't like fate. It's boring."
The Hyuga sweat dropped. "Did you honestly just say 'fate' is boring? As in you find the thing which our lives are set on. That kind of fate right?"
The boy nodded, stubbornly. "My life's not planned out! I choose my own way!"
That slightly philosophical comment, coming from a hyperactive blond five-year old, seemed to impress the lavender-eyed man. "For a kid, you're pretty interesting." He smiled. "Choose your own way, eh? That must be a nice thought." He grinned. "We're just like each other kid. The underdogs." He held out his hand, folding it up into a fist, only his pinky-finger unfolded. "Let's make a promise."
Naruto looked at the finger, cautiously, before linking his own pinkie with Tsukimi's.
"Naruto Uzumaki, I swear upon my blood that I will help you. Or I'll stick a thousand needle's in my eye." At the boy's look of joy, a content smile blossomed on his pale face. "I won't leave you alone kid. We're the same."
XXX
The duo of Hyuga and Uzumaki stood in a small clearing in the woods outside Konoha. Tsukimi had informed the boy that he would over-see his progress for five-minutes, and then leave him to train himself. As he said earlier, the man really couldn't train the boy. The elders of the clan would have his head, literally, if they knew he was divulging clan secrets to 'The Kyuubi Brat'
"So… Jyuken, eh?" Tsukimi flashed a grin at Naruto. "The point of Jyuken is to force chakra into the opponent's body, aiming at the critical chakra points. By doing so, you can close off their chakra, cripple or even kill an opponent. But…" he tapped the side of his eyes. "The Byakugan gives the Jyuken its potent effect. My eyes allow me to see chakra, and therefore aim at the chakra points with surgical accuracy."
He laughed at the horror-stricken look on Naruto's face. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll find a way to make the style work. Jyuken isn't just used for battle, it's also an amazing chakra control exercise." He held up his palm, which began top glow blue. "I'm channelling chakra into my hands to make this work. But as a kid, you probably have rubbish control."
Naruto glared at him.
"But I can give you something that'll help." The man reached into the deep pockets of his robes and drew out a roll of bandages. He took hold of one of the blonde's arms, and then began to tie the white-material around his hand, around the middle of the palm, and down the arm, leaving the fingers and thumb free to move. "This bandage is made from a highly sensitive material. Young members of my clan are given these to help start them of. Even a slight amount of chakra pushed into it helps draw out a significant amount."
Naruto stared at the gauze, amazed. Such a simple material could help him draw out chakra. A foxy grin spread wide on his face. "CHUKEN!" he slammed his fist into a nearby tree, a sudden burst of red surrounding his hand. Tsukimi only noticed when it was too late.
The entire trunk seemed to explode in a hail of splinters, the tree itself, luckily being small in size, toppling into a group of flora behind it, preventing it from falling over completely.
Naruto had instantly recoiled, shocked and scared at what he'd just done. He'd not applied much force, rather meaning it to be a joke. Heck, he'd even said the name wrong to annoy Tsukimi. And he'd just destroyed half of a tree. With one punch. Him. A five year old.
The Hyuga himself was staring; slack jawed at the pure destruction of one blow from the small boy. Jyuken, as the name implied, was not meant for wide-spread demolition, but rather gentle and silent damage, rather like senbon-users. What Naruto had just displayed resembled that of Tsunade's legendary punching.
He glanced at the boy, who was flexing his fist, an aura, rather like Tsukimi's, surrounding his fist. But this wasn't blue chakra. It was a violent angry red.
As the man stared, bewildered, he had no problem guessing where that power had come from. Now he had two choices. Tell the Hokage, or keep Naruto's new found abilities a secret. The sudden image of him and the boy linking their tiny fingers together appeared in his head. "I swear upon my blood that I will help you. Or I'll stick one thousand needles in my eye."
The whiskered boy now looked at Tsukimi, almost pleadingly. He really had no idea what was inside him. Tsukimi had no choice.
"Maybe you should put a little less power into it. You use that on me and my rib cage'll shatter!"
The boy suddenly grinned, and nodded, a new found confidence on his face.
"We're just like each other kid. The underdogs."
XXX
Funu Uchiha, nicknamed 'The Black Hearted Princess,' was mindlessly combing her hair, staring into the mirror, as though looking at a completely different person.
Her coal black eyes were constantly staring at the slightly dulled eyes of the reflection. Though only seven, the girl was beginning to show signs of maturity. Many saw her as a prodigy among the Uchiha, second only to Itachi.
But some thought that Sasuke, her cousin, was going to be better than both her and Itachi. No one quiet knew why, but he showed so much potential for one so young.
And Funu hated it. The clan. The clan. That was all anyone talked or thought about. She was chained to the name of the Uchiha, and thus expected to be great, like her ancestors. But of course, not as great as the Senju. That was the curse of the Uchiha. They were seen as the Second Best.
Funu didn't care about that stupid loss Madara suffered at the hands of the First Hokage. To her, it was in the past, and would remain there. But the rest of the clan could not be seen that way. There was no 'enough' for the Uchiha. There was always another level. If you were strong, there would be someone stronger. That was their law. Fugaku and his litter were all climbing an endless ladder, which would lead to nowhere but their inevitable demise.
The girl sighed, and brushed the glassy surface of the mirror with one finger. Could she ever find someone who would accept her, not for names or strength…? But for Funu herself?
XXX
Naruto sneezed. As he rubbed his nose helplessly, Tsukimi began to chuckle. "You know, when you sneeze like that someone must be talking about you."
"Yeah right…" sniffled Naruto. He got back up to his feet and examined the destruction he'd done so far.
Four trees, each of around equal size, had been utterly smashed. Tsukimi explained that it wasn't like super strength at all, but rather gave the affect of it. It was actually the chakra from Naruto's fist passing directly into the tree, then reacting with the nature chakra inside of said tree, causing, in simple terms; boom.
Basically; Tree + Naruto's Fist = Boom!
Tsukimi let out a sigh. "I guess I ought to go. You can keep training, and can also keep the bandages."
Naruto shrugged as he began to punch the air. "I don't mind." He grinned. "Even without your training, I'll still become the greatest Hokage ever. And I never go back on my word."
The two began to laugh, heartily, like old friends. To Naruto, this was like a dream come true. Not only had he found a friend, but slowly, he was getting closer to his goal.
But, as we all know, all dreams tend to end… And not always in a pleasant way.
Also kind of short for an intro… I'm sort of unravelling slowly, cause I don't want him to suddenly go from Zero-to-Hero (Hercules style.)
Right now all he can do is punch things and make them go boom, and he does not yet have full access to the Kyuubi's chakra. Keep reading, and don't forget to review!