Chapter 2: Changes and Premonitions

Disclaimer: I don't own either Naruto or the Green Lantern series.

Bold Italics = Flashback

Several days had passed since Naruto had obtained the blue ring and lantern, and things seemed to get better between him and his team. Naruto had been able to improve his hand-to-hand fighting, use of tactics, and control of his chakra to a certain extent while as a Blue Lantern he found out that he could use his chakra to temporarily charge his ring incase he couldn't get to his lantern to recharge it. While his relationship with Sasuke and I use the term relationship extremely loosely had improved to the extent that they weren't picking fights with each other during missions but still they would get on each others nerves, his relationship with Sakura as a teammate anyway, did seem to correct itself to an extent however there were a few times that Naruto just wished that Sakura would open her eyes and see how misplaced the love she had for Sasuke was and what happened today was one of those times.

"Sometimes I don't get you Naruto, why do you always have to pick a fight with Sasuke-kun when you know he's going to mop the floor with you?" The bubblegum haired kunoichi asked him. Naruto sighed and shook his head knowing it was the same thing over and over with Sakura in regards to her behavior towards him and Sasuke; Sakura would ask Sasuke out after a mission or training, Sasuke would leave her hanging, Naruto would try to lift her spirits up and then she would clobber him for it. Now one would ask why he didn't use his power ring to protect himself, well it was because of what happened earlier in the morning.

Flashback

Team seven was given their daily amounts of D-ranked missions from the 3rd Hokage, now normally this would send Naruto into a hissy fit but today for some odd reason Sarutobi could tell that something was on the boy's mind that he needed to discuss with the old man. "Hey old man could talk to you for a moment in private?" Naruto asked him. The third looked to Kakashi who as usual was reading his favorite hentai novel as the old kage looked at him for his approval.

"It's alright Lord Hokage I'm sure whatever Naruto has on his mind can't be that important." Kakashi said blissfully unaware of the look in his student's eyes as he, Sasuke, and Sakura walked out of the office. Once they left Sarutobi locked the door and placed a silencing jutsu throughout the room before returning to his desk and taking his seat.

"So Naruto what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" The third asked him, so reluctantly Naruto reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his power ring which caused Hiruzen's eyebrow to rise slightly before Naruto slipped the ring on his finger then Naruto reached into thin air with his eyes closed when suddenly a hole in the space-time continum appeared which caused the old kage's eyes to widen as Naruto pulled out the lantern, held his ring hand out towards the lantern's face and said the oath causing the room to flash a strong glow of blue. When it died down Sarutobi's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as Naruto stood or floated in front of him, on the surface, Naruto didn't seem to change physically except for the mask, the color of his jumpsuit, Naruto added a hood to his coat and the emblem on his headband had changed to the same thing on his ring's face, as soon as he saw the third just staring at him with his jaw gaped open like a fish out of water Naruto used his ring to conjure a bucket of water to snap the third out of his stupor. "I-I think it would be best if you explain to me where you got this." The third sputtered and then Naruto began to tell his tale of that night and what the lantern and ring had explained to him about the Blue Lantern corps and what he could do with his ring.

"So that's the basically it old man but my question is what should I do about my teammates?" Naruto said as he changed back to his normal appearance while the old man took a puff of his pipe as he thought it over.

"I suggest that you tell them eventually not just about this secret but your other secret as well Naruto, sooner or later Sakura and Sasuke will have to know about the fox." The third said causing Naruto to sub consciously touch his stomach. Naruto looked back at the third nodded his head and then left the office.

End Flashback

"Naruto are you even listening to me?" Sakura asked snapping the jinchuriki out of his thoughts as he turned to Sakura who was staring at him with a confused and slightly annoyed look in her eye.

"I'm sorry Sakura what did you say?" He asked her causing a vein to bulge on her forehead.

"I asked why do you always pick a fight Sasuke-kun when you know he's going to mop the floor with you?" She asked him again. Breathing a heavy sigh Naruto responded with his own question.

"Sakura let me ask you something; why do you even like that bastard?" Naruto asked which resulted in Naruto getting his brain's scrambled courtesy of Sakura's fist.

"Don't you care call Sasuke-kun that you idiot!" Sakura screamed as Naruto got back on his feet even though he was still slightly dazed.

"Sakura please I need to know what is it you see in him?" Naruto asked her again Sakura looked at Naruto again who was giving her a serious look. Sakura sighed as she gave her answer; "Naruto how many times do I have to explain it, I love him because he's strong, smart, and talented he's just being shy around me and about half of the female population within our age group in the village." She replied mumbling the last part under her breath.

"Okay I get that but what is it about who he is as a person do you like about him ,is he kind, unselfish, loving, and so on?" Naruto asked her again, this was one question that caught Sakura a bit off guard because when she thought about; did Sasuke ever say that he liked her back? No he never did say that to her or any girl in the academy for that matter. However there was one time Sasuke did complement her that she could use in her defense. "Well there was that time before Kakashi took us on as his students on the bench outside the academy." Sakura replied which caused Naruto to sigh again, however this one seemed like a sigh of guilt which puzzled Sakura.

"Sakura I have a confession to make not one of love, it's about something else." He said causing Sakura to raise an eyebrow; "What is it?" Sakura said while curious on the outside her Inner self was getting ready to beat the crap out of him.

"If it's something stupid like his undying love of ramen he's going to get his ass kicked CHA!" Inner Sakura exclaimed as Naruto did the Transformation jutsu and in a cloud of smoke in Naruto's place stood Sasuke which threw Sakura for a loop but the big reveal was just around the corner.

"Sakura did he say something like; your forehead is so charming it makes me want to kiss it?" Naruto asked as when he got to the line his changed his voice from his own to Sasuke's that when he changed back to himself he saw Sakura shaking her fists in pent-up rage. "I'm sorry that I tricked you like that Sakura but there was no other way you were going to talk to me back then, I had no choice." He defended himself but it still wasn't enough to stop Sakura from punching him in the face.

"YOU IDIOT HOW DARE YOU TOY WITH MY FEELINGS LIKE THAT!" Sakura screamed as she chased after Naruto who was running for his life when the Konohamaru corps came passing by and saw what was going on.

"Hey boss what did you do to get that huge forehead banshee mad at you this time?" Konohamaru asked which got Sakura's attention turned from Naruto to Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi.

"What did you say?" She roared at the trio as she chased after them with Naruto now behind her trying to stop her from killing the third's grandson and his friends until he heard Konohamaru cry out in fear.

"HELP!" The third's grandson screamed as he was held up in the air by a Sand Genin dressed in all black with face paint on him with a huge wrapped load on his back. While behind him stood a kunoichi with four blonde pig tails and a huge fan strapped to her back. "Kankuro put him down before he shows up." Temari said warning and pleading with her younger brother at the same time.

"Relax Temari I'm just going to have a little fun with this runt." Kankuro replied

"Hey you heard the girl put him down you creep!" Naruto demanded as he ran arrived on the scene while Temari both scowled in anger and sighed in relief. The latter because at least someone agreed with her and the former for being called a girl instead of a woman.

"Really why should I?" the boy asked him still holding Konohamaru by the scruff of his shirt before Naruto ran at him jammed his fist into the larger boys chest causing him to drop Konohamaru and Konohamaru to run back towards Udon and Moegi.

"That's why if you do something like that to my friends again I'll make sure you spend some time in jail. One other thing tell your friend to come out of the tree." Naruto said as suddenly a red haired boy with baggy eyes that made him look like a raccoon, wearing brown clothing, with a gourd strapped to his back appeared out of the tree scaring the other two sand ninja.

"Kankuro you disgrace our village with your actions." The red head said emotionlessly.

"Oh hi Gaara listen it's not what it looks like I was just joking with the kid…." Kankuro said before he was cut off by his little brother.

"Shut up or I'll gut you like a fish." Gaara said with that same cold stare in his eyes as he turned around and faced Naruto and Sakura. "I apologize for my brother's stupidity." Gaara said as Sasuke came down from the same tree that Gaara was hiding in.

"Hold it. Why are three ninja from Sunagakure even in Konohagakure anyway?" Sasuke asked as he came down from the tree branches he was hiding in asking his question in an interrogating voice which was explained by Temari as she revealed their passports and explained that they were here to take part in the Chunin exams as they turned to leave Naruto stopped them; "Hold it you with the gourd on your back. We never got your name so why don't you tell us who your are?" Naruto said to the red head.

"I am Gaara of the Desert; I'm curious as to who the two of you are?" He said pointing to Sasuke and Naruto. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki you better remember it." Naruto said with his usual bravado while Sasuke gave his arrogant smirk. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He said as Gaara simply turned his head; "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha huh, well in that case I look forward to facing you both in the exams." He said coldly as he and his siblings left, as soon as they did Sakura went up to Naruto. "Naruto what you did back their was very stupid but very brave as well." She said.

"Thanks Sakura-chan that means a lot to me and about what I did earlier I'm sorry." He said with the utmost sincerity in his voice.

"Wow that was so cool boss!" Konohamaru exclaimed as he and his buddies ran up to Naruto in admiration. Naruto turned to the trio with a smile on his face before he turned to his view towards Sasuke. "So Sasuke how are you coming along with your training?" He asked the avenger.

"I coming along just fine which is more than I can say for you loser." Sasuke said with that same arrogant smirk on his face before he turned and left. Naruto then turned around hoping to find Sakura behind him but instead she ran off after Sasuke hoping to finally get a yes for an answer to the obvious date question which caused Naruto to sigh. "She just asking for me to prove her right isn't she?" He asked himself as he left and headed to one of the training grounds to practice more with his power ring but before doing so he used the Shadow Clone jutsu to create a clone of himself in his normal attire and have it check on Sakura.

Meanwhile Sasuke was on his way home but every once in a while he would turn around and notice Sakura was still following him however instead of that lovesick puppy look in her eyes she got whenever she was around him, this time he saw a more conflicted and curious look in her jade orbs. "What do you want Sakura?" Sasuke asked in a very irritated tone of voice as he turned to face her.

"Sasuke I want to know something, what do you really think of me not as a teammate but as a person?" She asked him with a small flicker of hope in her eyes that Naruto was wrong about who Sasuke was as a person, however Sasuke just had to prove Naruto right.

"You want to know what I think about you as a person?" Sasuke asked with a glare on his face which scared Sakura as she nodded. "Listen carefully because this is the last time I'll tell you." He said to her as he decided now would be a good time to get one pest out of many off his back. "I'll be blunt Sakura, to me you're my teammate but that's it nothing more and nothing less. I don't like you in the way you like me, that is only a dream of who and what you believe me to be not who or what I really am, maybe if you decided to train more often instead of sprucing yourself up like a show dog then maybe I would consider but now our relationship in my eyes is professional only get it?" Sasuke asked as he looked at Sakura whose eyes threatened to burst at the seams with tears.

"Yes Sasuke I got it loud and clear." Sakura said with a pained look on her face. "Good now if you'll excuse me I'm going home to train for the exams." Sasuke said as he headed towards his family's compound all the while ignoring Sakura as she let the tears fall from her eyes before she took off in the opposite direction.

Heartbroken and stricken with grief in her heart Sakura soon ran into the clone Naruto had sent to check on her. "Sakura-chan are you okay?" he asked her.

Looking in front of her, she saw Naruto standing there with a concerned look in his eye. "I'm fine Naruto." She said but even a clone of Naruto would know she was lying. "Sakura please don't try to lie to me." The clone said with a serious tone in his voice. "What happened?" He asked again and this time she explained what happened between her and Sasuke all the while she cried her eyes out in his coat staining it with her tears. Once Sakura had calmed herself down, the clone then walked her back to her house and said his goodbyes to his teammate. The clone then turned around the corner and popped out of existence and the information then uploaded itself into Naruto's brain, sighing in disappointment at how Sasuke had talked to their teammate he decided that he was going to give the Uchiha brat a piece of his mind. "Sasuke why would you say that to her?" He asked himself as he went home, had a cup of instant ramen, took a long hot bath, brushed his teeth, put his pajamas on and went to bed. "Well tomorrow the exams begin but I can't help but feel that something's bound to go wrong, but whatever it is I'll beat who or whatever comes at me. I believe all will be well in the end." Naruto thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep, unaware that in the confines of deep space something was heading towards his village or rather three or four items; they were rings and lanterns each of differing colors all of which were looking for a new master to wield them.

Okay I'm going to stop the chapter here. Next time the exams kick off with the first exam and we get to meet the rest of the rookies and Genin participating in exams how will it go down? What of the new rings and lanterns who will they choose, and to which corps does each ring belong to? Find out next time until then read and review.