Chapter Twelve
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Sorry this took so long but I was away for awhile and I couldn't type this chapter up. But now it's done and you will be happy to hear that this is a very long chapter. Read and review! Don't be afraid to ask questions or make comments!
Enjoy!
Another day of training was beginning and Naruto Uzumaki was bouncing on his toes in excitement. Sasuke Uchiha stood with a bored expression, waiting for Iruka Umino to begin the new lesson. Iruka was finally going to teach them a ninjutsu. Iruka was sitting in the middle of their usual training ground with both boys standing a few feet in front of him. He sighed when he saw the looks on his students faces. Sasuke looked completely bored like he always did during class and Naruto was still smiling with anticipation. I wish he was this eager for my lessons at the academy. Iruka sighed again before speaking.
"This jutsu is very simple but also very useful." Iruka said while Naruto and Sasuke listened to his instructions attentively. They watched carefully as he performed the ram hand seal and shouted the word: Henge.
A puff of smoke appeared out of nowhere and completely engulfed Iruka until he was no longer visible. Naruto watched nervously, frantically trying to see past the white cloud to see what Iruka had done. The cloud slowly faded away and Naruto could now make out a figure in the smoke. Looking carefully, Naruto noticed that Iruka was no longer there but was replaced with someone shorter with black hair. Naruto eyes widened in shock when he realized who it was that was standing where Iruka was.
"Sasuke!? Why are you there? Where's Iruka-sensei?" Naruto was interrupted by the sound of a cough followed by the word dobe. Looking to his left, Sasuke was standing with his arms crossed, glaring at Naruto and then to his doppelganger. Naruto stood silent, looking back and forth between the two Sasukes which were both glaring at each other.
"Wow! How did you do that Sasuke? That's so cool, now there's two Sasukes. I want two of me." The Sasuke on his left groaned.
"That's not me. That's Iruka. He only transformed into me." Naruto looked over to the other Sasuke who was smiling at his confused expression.
"That's so weird" Naruto said. The doppelganger shook his head.
"Naruto, it's just a transformation jutsu that makes you change your appearance into anything you want."
"No… I meant seeing Sasuke smiling…I've never seen him smile like that. It's kind of weird." Naruto turned to look at the original Sasuke who was frowning at the comment. The other Sasuke released the jutsu and was surrounded in a cloud of smoke once again until Iruka was now standing in front of them.
"Alright, the henge jutsu is a very easy justu and I'm sure you both will master it in no time."
"What's the point of learning a jutsu like that?" All eyes turned to face Sasuke. "You cannot even use it in combat so it's completely useless."
"That's were your wrong, Sasuke. Even though the henge jutsu is not very helpful when it comes to fighting your opponent. It is very effective when it comes to infiltration. For example, say you are given a mission where you need to break into enemy lines without alerting the enemy of your presence. The best solution is stealth. One tactic is to henge into a person on the enemy's side and sneak in. It is very effective and has been used countless times…especially in the last Great shinobi war."
"How do you know what person to henge into? Wouldn't that person know you are a fake?" Naruto asked.
"Well…It is best to henge into someone that was eliminated without the enemy knowing." Naruto gulped down the lump in his throat. He would feel awful to kill someone and then steal their identity, but if he was to become a shinobi…it would be something that he must one day face. Iruka seemed to read Naruto's mind.
"Don't worry, something like that is done when you are a more experienced shinobi. So you won't face that problem any time soon. But for this lesson, I will have you both transform into me. Once you have achieved a perfect transformation, we will practice on sustaining the jutsu as long as possible. Lets begin." The rest of the day was spent performing the henge jutsu which both boys were able to master. At first, Naruto had trouble on creating a perfect copy of Iruka but with some encouragement and advice from Iruka, he was able to overcome that problem. Iruka was amazed on how quickly the boys learned the jutsu and it was even more amazing that they could hold the jutsu for incredibly long periods of time.
The next morning came quickly and Iruka, Naruto, and Sasuke found themselves walking down the street towards the academy. On the way, they passed the Yamanaka flower shop like they do every morning, but this morning was different. Ino came rushing out of the store and ran up to Sasuke.
"Good morning Sasuke-kun!" Ino smiled sweetly and Sasuke scowled. Naruto and Iruka stood a few feet away to watch the scene.
"Hn" Sasuke did not want to deal with this girl so early in the morning. Ino suddenly pulled a red rose from behind her back and held it up to Sasuke.
"I picked this for you, Sasuke-kun." He reluctantly took it from her hand. "Did you know roses are symbolic for love." Naruto was laughing silently at the look on Sasuke's face. Ino began to stare at the ground and started playing with the end of her skirt. "Well I was thinking…maybe me and you could-"
"Ino, where are you?!" A women's voice yelled from inside the store. Ino spun around to face the door.
"I'll be right there, mom!" Ino spun around again to face Sasuke. "I have to go, so I guess I'll see you in class." She spun on her heel once again and ran to the door. She looked over her shoulder and yelled. "See you later, Sasuke-kun, Iruka-sensei!" Then she disappeared into the store and Naruto, Sasuke and Iruka continued on their walk. Once they were a few yards away from the store, Sasuke tossed the rose into the nearest trashcan. Naruto frowned and shook his head, Sasuke looked at him.
"What?"
"What a waste of a perfectly good flower."
"I don't want it."
"Why not? It's pretty and she said she picked it herself."
"If she has the time to be picking flowers than she should use it to train instead. She will never be a good shinobi if she is focusing her time on me." Naruto stopped walking immediately.
"I know Ino can be annoying, but that is really mean." Iruka put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Unfortunately, Sasuke is right. Ever since the academy started, Ino and most of the other girls pay attention to Sasuke more than they do to their studies. If things continue like this, they will never make it as a shinobi of Konohagakure."
"It's their fault that they are wasting their own time on crushes instead of training. So there is no point in acknowledging them." Sasuke concluded.
"I guess your right. They are so focused on you, that they ignore other people like me." Naruto said sounding a little hurt.
"They don't ignore you, Naruto." Iruka said trying to comfort him.
"Oh really? Then tell me why Ino didn't even notice me standing here just now" Iruka looked shocked. He was right. Ino said goodbye to Sasuke and himself, but didn't even acknowledge Naruto's presence. Iruka could only stutter to say something.
"It's okay Iruka-sensei, I'm used to it." Sasuke felt bad for Naruto, he was always invisible while he was stuck in the spotlight. If only they could switch places for a day, then Naruto could get some attention while he gets to be left alone. Then Sasuke had a brilliant idea.
They had finally reached the academy with ten minutes to spare. Iruka walked over to the door, but Sasuke began to slow down. Iruka looked back to see him fall behind.
"Come on, Sasuke." Naruto looked back to Sasuke.
"I wanna hang out here till class starts." Iruka nodded.
"Okay, you can wait out here, I'm gonna head on in. Naruto, are you coming?" Naruto looked over to Iruka and then back to Sasuke who gave him a quick shake of his head.
"Uh…I guess I'll wait out here too."
"Okay" Iruka walked into the building and Sasuke walked over to the swing with Naruto following behind him.
"What are you doing?" Naruto watched as Sasuke looked around to see if anyone was watching. Once he confirmed it was safe, he faced Naruto.
"We are going to switch places." Naruto looked at him confused.
"What?" Sasuke sighed.
"We're gonna henge into each other for a day. We both know that we could keep the jutsu up until class is over, so nobody will know."
"B-But what about Iruka-sensei? He's gonna notice." Naruto said frantically.
"I'll explain my reason to him later."
"And what reason is that?"
"You could get the attention you want and I could be left alone for once."
"B-But I'll be getting attention because everyone will think I'm you."
"Do you got any better ideas?" Naruto paused for a moment.
"…No."
"Okay then. Don't do anything to blow your cover, just try to act like me."
"Oh! You mean act like a stuck up teme!" Naruto smiled while Sasuke scowled.
"Fine! And I'll just act like an idiot." Naruto and Sasuke switched expressions.
"I'm not an idiot!" Naruto pouted.
"Then stop acting like one. Now, lets hurry up before someone comes." They stood in front of each other and performed the necessary hand seal.
"Henge!" They said in unison before white smoke engulfed them. When the smoke dispersed, Naruto was standing where Sasuke was, and Sasuke was standing where Naruto was. They both examined each other's appearance before Sasuke's broke into a large grin.
"This is gonna be fun" Naruto just rolled his eyes.
"Hey guys!" The two boys were startled by the newcomer's voice and turned around to find the source. What they saw was Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi walking towards them. Shikamaru, a lazy boy with his hair in a spiky ponytail, was rubbing his eye, clearly he was still tired, and Chouji, a chubby young boy with spirals on his cheeks, was snacking on a bag of barbeque chips in his hand. Naruto gently leaned towards Sasuke.
"Remember, act like me." He whispered and Sasuke nodded. Naruto then put on a fake smile and waved to the approaching boys.
"Morning guys" Shikamaru looked back and forth between the smiling Naruto and the emotionless Sasuke.
"Why are you standing outside for? Class is about to start."
"Just getting some fresh air. Right, Sasuke?" Sasuke just folded his arms.
"Hm"
"Okay…since when did you two become friends?" Naruto looked worried when Shikamaru began looking suspicious.
"We're not, it's just I have to live at Sasuke's house for awhile cause my apartment was destroyed." Shikamaru looked surprise.
"Destroyed?! What happened?" Naruto looked over to Sasuke who was staring at the floor. He was about to say something before Sasuke interrupted.
"Fire…burnt it down." Sasuke said, still staring at the ground. Shikamaru looked curiously at him before accepting his answer. He looked back over to Naruto.
"Man…that's sucks. Well, sorry to hear that." Shikamaru looked over to Chouji. "Well, we should head inside." Shikamaru and Chouji walked to the door with Naruto and Sasuke not too far behind. Shikamaru leaned over to Chouji. "Those two are acting different." Chouji nodded his head in agreement as he stuck another chip into his mouth. "It's troublesome, but I kinda feel bad for them. I would hate to live with either one of them." Shikamaru said before walking into the building.
"That was close." Sasuke sighed.
"Yeah, but I don't think he suspects anything." Naruto said.
"This is gonna be harder than I thought."
"Just stay calm and everything will be fine." The boys walked into the classroom and took their seats. Naruto and Sasuke had to remember to switch spots so no one would suspect anything. Iruka was too busy with the work on his desk to notice anything different. It wasn't long before the other students walked into the classroom. Most of the girls began to surround Sasuke like they do every morning and Naruto sat quietly with his hands folded in front of him. Sasuke looked worried by the number of girls surrounding him, he was not used to all of this attention before and he didn't know what to do. He looked over to Naruto who was smirking at his situation. That teme…he's the only one enjoying this. He didn't want to blow his cover so he did what the real Sasuke would do, act like a jerk and ignore all of them. Naruto sat patiently, waiting for Iruka to start the class when Kiba Inuzuka appeared next to him.
"Hey dead last, Shikamaru told me everything, and I gotta say it sucks to be you right now." Naruto looked at Kiba dead in his eye before speaking.
"And why is that?" Kiba flinched unintentionally. The cold tone in Naruto's voice gave him an uneasy feeling, but he shook it off quickly.
"You have to live with that snobby Uchiha. I can't stand him, I mean, look at him." Kiba gestured over to Sasuke and Naruto turned to look at him. He was doing a good job of ignoring the girls that were currently fawning over him and Naruto smirked inwardly when he saw Sasuke's eyebrow twitch in annoyance. "He thinks he's so much better than everyone. If I were you, I would show him whose the top dog around here." Kiba was really starting to irritate Naruto.
"You know Kiba, he's not that bad." Kiba laughed lightly.
"Not that bad! If you were never forced to live at his place, do you think he would of ever bothered to even speak to you?" Naruto stayed silent for a moment. On the inside, he felt angry. Partially about what Kiba said, but he was mostly angry at himself. He knew Kiba was right. If the real Naruto had never came to live with him, he would of ignored him like he did with everyone else. He started to wonder how his life would of turned out if he never started training with Naruto after class, if Naruto never came to live with him…if he was not there the day he found Naruto cornered in an alley by that chuunin. He was actually glad that Naruto came into his life on that one rainy day, and as he looked over to the fake Sasuke, he wondered if he thought the same thing about him. Class was about to begin and Naruto was startled when Kiba suddenly slapped his back.
"Well, I better go sit down before I get in trouble." Kiba said, oblivious of Naruto's glare. As Kiba walked away, he titled his head over his shoulder. " I think you're hanging around Sasuke too much, you're starting to smell like him." He said before walking off. Naruto was slightly worried, but he knew Kiba was too stupid to realize something was different. Naruto looked back at Sasuke who was trying to ignore the girls around him. Naruto suddenly felt like he was being watched and turned his head to find the staring eyes. His fake blue eyes met lavender ones that quickly turned away in embarrassment. Why was she staring at me like that? Don't tell me she figured it out? Then Naruto realized something. Is she blushing? Does she like me…I mean Naruto? The blushing, lavender eyed girl was none other than Hinata Hyuuga. The heiress to a clan with a doujutsu almost as powerful as the Sharingan, the byakugan. He watched as she played with her fingers, desperately trying to avoid his gaze. Naruto turned back to face the front of the classroom, a smirk graced his lips. I should tell Naruto that he isn't as invisible as he thinks. Naruto watched as Sasuke tried to sink into his chair to hide from the adoring fan club. Or maybe he can figure it out on his own.
"Alright, everyone back to their seats." Iruka shouted to get the class's attention. Sasuke sighed in relief as he watched the girls scurry back to their seats. Iruka waited a minute for the class had settled down. His gaze looked over each and every one of their faces until he stopped at Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto noticed this and flinched slightly when Iruka closed his eyes and smiled. Damn it…He knows! The fake Naruto was panicking on the inside. They were caught and were going to get in trouble.
"Naruto" Sasuke looked up at Iruka and was about to respond when Naruto interrupted.
"Y-Yes…Iruka-sensei?" He said hesitantly. Sasuke sat nervously, watching Naruto's tense face and Iruka's smiling one.
"Please pay attention to today's lesson." Iruka winked in his direction and Naruto released the breath that he didn't know he was holding. He looked over to Sasuke who had relaxed as well. The rest of the day went smoothly while Iruka lectured on about the ninja rules that all shinobi must follow. Class was almost over and Naruto and Sasuke were relieved that they had made it through the day without being caught by one of their classmates. Naruto was sitting with his elbows on his desk and his hands folded under his chin. Most of the girls in the classroom looked confused as the stared at Sasuke They wondered why Sasuke was slouched over the desk and looked like he was sleeping but came up with a reasonable excuse of all night training. Of course that was the reasonable explanation on why Sasuke-kun was snoring on the table. He had spent all night training to get stronger than he already was. But one thing that confused them and angered them even more was the fact that Naruto, the dead-last was glaring at Sasuke's sleeping form. Sasuke was finally woken by the sound of Iruka's voice and the mentioning of a very important announcement. Sasuke sat up, half asleep, trying his best to listen to what had to be said.
"Tomorrow you will be tested on the ninja rules that I discussed today, so study hard. You are dismissed." The students slowly rose from their seats and exited the classroom, single filed. Naruto stood up from his seat and looked over to Sasuke. He was surprised to see his pale skin was even more pale and he was trembling uncontrollably.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" The fake Naruto asked, slightly worried.
"T-T-T-Test?!" Naruto could see how nervous Sasuke was getting…after all he never did well on written exams. Naruto sighed and pulled Sasuke by the shirt who yelped in shock. Naruto dragged Sasuke down the steps towards Iruka's desk. Iruka looked up from a stack of papers towards the frowning blonde. He folded his arms and smiled.
"I've got to say that I'm impressed with the both of you. I didn't expect you to keep the jutsu up for that long." Naruto looked at him slightly confused.
"You're not mad?" Iruka shook his head.
"I understand why you did it. You wanted to help each other out and that's okay with me. Besides…you also got some more practice done too. Alright, you can release the jutsu now." Naruto nodded and both boys were surrounded in smoke until they had their rightful identities once again. Sasuke then pulled on the still trembling Naruto's arm.
"Can you do something about him now? He hasn't stopped shaking since you mentioned the exam tomorrow." Iruka chuckled lightly.
"He always gets like this before a test and because he never studies, he always fails. And I'm not surprised if he had slept through today's lessons as well."
"What's he going to do?" Sasuke asked.
"He's not going to fail again, I can tell you that. The best thing is to get him a tutor."
"What about training?" Sasuke asked curiously.
"It's cancelled today. I want you to spend the rest of the day studying. I expect good grades from both of you or I will cancel your training permanently." Sasuke scowled at the thought. He was now depending on Naruto's grades and it wasn't looking too good.
"So you want us to study together?" Iruka shook his head.
"I don't want you helping Naruto with this. I have someone else in mind to be his tutor. I'm sure you don't mind studying on your one, right?" Sasuke could only nod his head. Iruka reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small book. " Take this…it's the ninja rule book. It will help you study. I'm sure you remember what rules we discussed today so go on home and go over them again. I'll take care of Naruto." Sasuke nodded and walked out of the classroom with the book in hand. Iruka looked over to Naruto. " Come on Naruto, we have someone to go find." Iruka stood up and walked out of the classroom with Naruto not too far behind. They walked out of the building and down the street. Naruto looked curiously up at Iruka.
"Um…Iruka-sensei?"
"Yes?" Iruka looked down at Naruto.
"How come you don't want Sasuke to help me study?" Iruka smiled and looked straight ahead.
"I'm glad that the two of you have become such good friends, but he doesn't have to be your only friend. I want you to interact with your other classmates and try to make more friends."
"Who is my tutor?"
"There she is now." Iruka pointed to a small playground in front of them. Naruto looked carefully, trying to figure out where he was pointing. He looked over to a bench were two young girls were currently sitting. Naruto's eyes widened when he realized who he was talking about.
"Her?! You want her to help me?!" Iruka started to walk over to the bench.
"I told you once that she had the best scores in the class so I'm sure that she will do well on tomorrow's test."
"Yea, but why did it have to be her." Naruto mumbled to himself.
"Hello Sakura, Ino" Iruka stood in front of the bench with Naruto hiding behind him. The two girls looked up to their sensei.
"Hi Iruka-sensei. Do you need something?" Ino asked.
"Actually yes I do…I came to ask Sakura for a favor." Sakura looked hesitant for a second before nodding. She stood up and walked over to Iruka. Ino watched silently as they spoke quietly. "I know class is over and I hate to disrupt you while playing with your friends, but I need a tutor and I was wondering if you could help."
"Sure Iruka-sensei. Who do you want me to tutor?" Iruka sidestepped to bring Naruto out of hiding.
"Naruto here needs some help for the exam tomorrow. If you don't mind…can you help him?" Sakura frowned when she saw Naruto standing next to Iruka. "Please Sakura…Can you do this for me? Iruka said with a sweet smile. She sighed and nodded. Iruka pulled out a small book from his back pocket. "Use this to help you study. Naruto, pay attention to Sakura. Remember what I told you if you fail this exam." Naruto gulped and nodded. "Good, I will see you later. Good bye." Iruka walked off leaving Sakura and Naruto on their own. Sakura sighed again and walked over back to the bench were Ino was sitting.
"What was that about?" Ino asked curiously.
"Iruka-sensei picked me to tutor Naruto for the test tomorrow" Ino shrugged.
"Of course he picked you, who knows how much stuff you have behind that big forehead of yours." Sakura scowled.
"More things than you, Ino-pig" Ino jumped off the bench to stand in front of Sakura.
"What did you call me, Billboard Brow?" They were both glaring daggers at each other until another voice interrupted.
"Um…I-If you don't mind…Can we start studying?" They looked over to the little blonde boy who was standing nervously next to them. Sakura looked back at Ino, giving her one last dirty look before grabbing Naruto by the arm and walking off. Ino watched them leave before leaving the playground herself. Naruto walked a few steps behind. He felt embarrassed about the whole situation. He knew he wasn't the smartest kid in the academy but he knew he needed to pass the next exam if he wanted to continue his training. If Sasuke ever found out about this, he would never hear the end of it. He was so nervous that he just watched his feet as he shuffled behind Sakura. He couldn't even look her in the eye without feeling embarrassed. He could only watch her back as her pink hair swayed back and forth as she walked.
Her hair was an odd color but that just made her unique. Her hair was short, it didn't even reach her shoulders and her bangs framed her face. Her hair style was similar to Ino's but Ino had her bangs on one side and a clip in the other. Sakura wore a red ribbon in her hair which was tied into a perfect bow. Sakura seemed confident in herself now then when she first entered the academy several months ago. Naruto remembered that she used to sit in the back of the classroom by herself and her bangs used to hide her face. She was alone like he was and he wanted to do something to help her. He had wanted to talk to her for so long but when he finally worked up the courage, she had changed. She came to class one day with a smile on her face which her bangs no longer covered. She was no longer sitting in the back by herself, but up front with the blonde hair and blue-eyed, Ino Yamanka. It looked like she had made friends with Ino the day before. Naruto was happy to see her smile. It was so beautiful that it made his heart start thumping loudly. He had liked Sakura Haruno for quite sometime but now he felt like he was completely in love.
Days went by and he tried his best to gain her attention. Each attempt was a failure but he was determined to never give up. One day, Naruto spent the morning picking a large bouquet of flowers. Today was the day he was going to tell Sakura how he felt. He was walking down an empty street when he finally found her. Nervous, he quickly hid behind a large oak tree before she could see him. He could hear the she was not alone, but with a group of kids from the academy. Naruto could only watch her from behind the tree, he wanted to wait until she was alone to confess his feelings. Looking at his pink haired crush he noticed that she was smiling more brightly than usual. He watched carefully as she ran up to the other kids.
"Hey! guess what?" She shouted with joy. The other kids just looked at her curiously. "I have a crush on someone." One of the kids snorted.
"Don't tell us it's Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura looked at them confused.
"How did you know?" Another kid laughed.
"You're not the only one. Every girl in our class has a crush on him." Sakura looked disappointed for a second before smiling again.
"Well I'm not going to give up. I will try my best to get him to fall in love with me." At that moment Naruto felt a painful feeling in his chest. It felt like he had a huge hole where his heart used to be. He could feel the hot tears swelling up in his eyes. The only thing he could do was run…run far away…leaving the bouquet of flowers to blow away in the wind. He ran all the way to his apartment where he cried himself to sleep. After that day, the loud thumping in his chest went away and was replaced with a sharp painful feeling every time he looked at Sakura again. It took a long time for him to heal but eventually he had forced himself to no longer feel anything at all for the pink haired girl. Now he was trying his best not to let any of those emotions return. They kept walking until Sakura took Naruto to an empty bench at the other side of the park and sat down. Naruto sat on the end of the bench as far from her as possible.
"Alright, this might take awhile so lets get started." She opened the book and scanned for the right page. "Found it… okay so we'll start at rule number fifteen." She looked over to Naruto who was trying to look at the book from afar. "Why don't you sit closer so you could see the book?" Naruto hesitantly moved closer to Sakura before they both looked down at the book. They spent the afternoon going over the ninja rules until Sakura felt that he memorized them well enough. She got up from the bench and handed him the book.
"I think you will do well on the test tomorrow." He looked up at her surprised.
"Really?" She nodded.
"You have pretty good memory…when your paying attention." Naruto mumbled a thanks before getting up himself.
"I guess I should head home now. See you tomorrow." He said before turning to walk away.
"Wait, Naruto." Turning around, he noticed that she looked nervous for some reason. " Can I ask you something?"
"Uh…sure."
"Are you really living at Sasuke-kun's house?" Naruto looked at her confused and surprised.
"Who told you that?"
"Ino told me that she overheard Shikamaru tell Kiba that your staying at Sasuke-kun's house. Is it true?" Naruto sighed.
"Yea it is. But it's only temporary until I could get a new place to live. My old apartment caught on fire and burned down."
"Sorry to hear that." She tried to sound as sympathetic as possible. "So does that mean you and Sasuke-kun are friends now?" Naruto had to think for a second.
"Um….I-I guess so. Why?" She looked down nervously at her feet.
"C-Can you ask him….what he thinks about me?" Naruto frowned.
"Why do you like him so much?" Sakura looked up at him.
"…W-What?"
"Sasuke is mean to you but you still like him. Why?" Sakura frowned as well.
"Sasuke-kun is just having a hard time…I'm sure-"
"Don't try to make up excuses for him. He's always been like that since the beginning."
"You have no right to be saying that! I thought you were his friend!"
"I am! It's not Sasuke's fault that every girl in class has a crush on him. I just hate seeing how you try so hard to get him to go out with you just to be rejected. Why do you purposely try to get hurt? It's so hard to protect someone when they are the ones causing themselves pain."
"Why would someone like you want to protect me?!"
"Because…" He said in a low voice. "I-I don't…want to see you cry ever again." Sakura stood frozen with shock.
"Again? W-When did you-"
"It was before we started going to the academy. We met once before when we were five…but you probably don't remember. I was walking around the park when I heard a bunch of kids laughing. When I found them, I saw you on the floor crying. They were calling you names and were making fun of your forehead. I got mad when I saw you cry so I ran to defend you." Naruto stopped talking when he saw that Sakura's eyes were wide with realization.
"T-That was you?" Naruto nodded. She looked up at him, studying his facial features carefully. She couldn't remember the little boy's face because his back was facing her when he came to defend her. All she could remember was his wild golden hair and the old tattered shirt the boy was wearing. "You were the little boy that got beaten up when he tried to save me." She said in a low whisper.
"So you remember now?"
"Yea, you were beaten really bad. The hokage even came and had to take you to the hospital. I was so afraid that I forgot to ask for your name. I even tried to visit you at the hospital a few days later but the nurse said that you weren't there." Naruto looked surprised.
"You came to visit me?" He was suddenly startled when he felt her against him. Her small arms were wrapped around his back and her face was pressed into his black jacket. It was the first time a girl had hugged Naruto like that and it felt awkward to him so the only thing he could do was stand there.
"I'm so glad you were alright after that. I went to the hospital because I wanted to thank you but you were gone and I didn't know who you were." She mubbled into his jacket. They stood like that for what seemed like forever before Sakura let go of Naruto.
"I'm so sorry Naruto. I should have been a better friend to you instead of saying mean things to you all the time." Naruto looked at her confused.
"…F-Friend?" He repeated questionably.
"Well…I was hoping that we can be friends…I owe you that much. Is that okay with you?" She waited patiently for his answer.
"Y-You want to be friends…with me?" He asked still confused. She giggled at his expression and nodded. He stared in shock before breaking into a bright smile.
"I would love to be friends with you Sakura." She giggled again before sticking her hand out in front of her.
"Friends?" Naruto took her hand and shook it firmly.
"Friends!" Hand in hand, they smiled happily to their new friend before Sakura spoke again.
"But just so you know, I'm still going to try my best to get Sasuke to notice me." Naruto smiled cheerfully, still holding on to her hand.
"Good luck with that!" He said, almost too cheerfully. At that moment, a feminine voice interrupted the moment.
"Sakura! Time for dinner!" Sakura turned to face the voice.
"Okay mom!" She yelled back before turning back to Naruto. " I have to go now so I guess I'll see you tomorrow. She quickly ran off to the direction of the voice. Naruto was about to go home himself when Sakura suddenly turned around. "Good luck on the test tomorrow! Try your best, I know you can pass." Naruto smiled and waved as he shouted his goodbyes as well. Once she was out of his sight, he turned to the general direction of Sasuke's house and began walking. He kicked the dirt under his feet and his smile was now gone. "Friends…I guess that's all we can ever be."
"Alright hand in your papers and then you are dismissed." Iruka shouted from the front of the room. One by one, each child placed their test on the wooden desk and then left the room to enjoy the rest of the day. Naruto and Sasuke waited patiently for everyone to leave. Testing days were always the same. Sakura Haruno was the first one to finish the test while Shikamaru Nara was always the last because he would fall asleep at some point during the test. Naruto watched everyone leave the room while Sasuke glared out the window. He watched as Sakura gathered her stuff and get up to leave when suddenly Ino appeared at her side. He watched carefully when their small conversation grew into a full blown argument on who did better on the exam. When they were just about to walk out of the classroom door Sakura suddenly stopped and turned her head to face him. She looked at him carefully before she smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Ino looked at her confused as she followed her pink haired rival out the door and down the hall. Naruto didn't realize he was still smiling until he heard the person next to him clear his throat.
"When did you and Sakura become friends?" Sasuke asked. Iruka curiosly looked up from grading papers, interested to hear his answer. Naruto was still smiling brightly.
" For a long time. We just didn't know it." Sasuke and Iruka looked at each other confused before they looked back at the blonde eight-year old. Iruka went back to grading papers and was excited to see that he was now holding Naruto's test. One question after another, he looked over each answer for corrections. When he was done, he carefully placed his pen on the desk and looked over to Naruto.
"Naruto?"
"Yea, Iruka-sensei?"
"Did you study hard yesterday?" Iruka asked with a stern voice. Naruto gulped nervously.
"…Y-Yea" Iruka turned back to his desk and picked up the test paper from the top of the pile.
"Congratulations, you passed with flying colors!" He cheered happily. Naruto snatched the paper out of his hand and began dancing with joy.
"Yes! A 93! I passed! I'm so awesome! Ha! Beat that Sasuke!" He said, sticking his test paper in Sasuke's face. Sasuke was holding his own test paper in his hand that read a score of 98. Sasuke had a smug look on his face and was holding out two fingers in victory. Naruto frowned and turned away, mumbling profanities under his breath.
"As promised…" Iruka said, standing up from his desk. "let's continue your training. Now that you both have mastered the henge jutsu…I'm going to reward you by teaching you a new jutsu." Naruto smiled.
"Alright! Let's get started!" He cheered excitedly.
"That's wrong again Naruto! Try again!" Naruto was panting heavily but he wasn't going to give up. Gathering his chakra once again, he formed the ram seal.
"Bunshin no jutsu!" he shouted and two clouds of smoke appeared by his side. When the smoke finally dissipated, two ill looking Narutos were laying flat on the ground. Iruka shook his head in disappointment and Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly.
"Those are your worst clones yet, Naruto! Sasuke can produce five perfect clones easily while you cannot even create one decent looking one." Naruto frowned. The two sickly clones vanished from existence with a pop. Iruka sighed. "Besides you've already exhausted most of your chakra and it's getting late. Let's continue this tomorrow."
"Wait Iruka-sensei! Just one more try...please." Naruto begged. Iruka sighed again.
"Fine…just one more try and then we-"
"IRUKA!" A chuunin appeared in front of Iruka instantly, panting heavily with a worried expression on his face.
"What is it, Kotetsu?!"
"Intruders…in the village…stole the forbidden scroll." He said in between pants. Iruka's eyes widened in fear.
"You don't mean the scroll of sealing, do you?" Kotetsu nodded his head.
"We were ordered by the hokage…to locate the scroll and stop the intruders." He said, now catching his breath. Iruka turned to his two students quickly who were staring at him curiously.
"Naruto! Sasuke! Return to the house! It's not safe at the moment!" Iruka commanded.
"But Iruka-sensei-"
"No buts, Naruto! Go now!" Iruka said before running off with the other chuunin.
"Come on Naruto. We should hurry and do what he says." Sasuke said. Naruto nodded and they both took off running into the trees towards Sasuke's house. They ran for awhile, too dark to see where they were going. Naruto, still tired out from training, was falling behind as he pushed his way through the bushes. He could feel the small branches catching onto his clothing, holding him back as Sasuke was running further and further ahead. Fear was building up inside him when he realized he could no longer see Sasuke in the dark shadows of the trees surrounding them.
It was darker than usual and the only source of light was the full moon above. Sasuke had the path memorized but everything seemed so different in the dark. The only thing he was sure of was the fact that Naruto was no longer behind him. When Sasuke had finally stopped running to take a breather, he realized that Naruto was not following him. He must have tripped or something and fell behind. Sasuke thought to himself as he ran back calling Naruto's name and listening for a response. He waited and waited but all he could hear was complete silence. Not even the animals in the trees would make a sound. Sasuke was worried. He knew there were intruders in the village and if they were able to steal something so important, than they must be strong. Sasuke felt something swelling up in his chest. It was something he hadn't felt since that fateful day six months ago. A day he hated to remember and caused him pain everyday. He was afraid…for his life…and his friend's.
Naruto's perspective
"Uh…ouch!" Just great! I'm stuck. Sasuke is gonna laugh his head off if he sees me like this. I can already hear him calling me a dobe already. And he's right. How embarrassing this is to be caught in a bush by your pants. And what's even worse is the fact that my clothes are ripping. Oh well…I guess I should be used to torn clothes like this. Maybe if I try to crawl my way out.
I put my hands into the dirt and I could feel the mud squish in between my fingers. I pushed my knees into the dirt until I had a firm grip. Using all the might I had, I pulled and twisted myself free from the bushes. Finally, I was free. I picked myself off the ground and tried my best to dust the dirt off my clothes. Inspecting my clothing carefully, I noticed the large rips and tears in my jacket and my pants. I was filthy and needed a hot shower as soon as possible. Now if I can only find Sasuke. I couldn't pin point the location I saw him run in. Each direction looked the same to me. I began to walk aimlessly through the trees hoping to fight my way out. As each second ticked by, the sky got darker and darker. I hated to admit it but I was feeling scared. Being alone in the dark was not one of my favorite things to be doing. If only I could find Sasuke…
The rustling in the trees caught my attention. The wind was not blowing hard enough to shake the tree tops like that. There was more noise. Voices I could not recognize. Curiosity overwhelmed me as I felt my body move on it's own towards the voices. There was some hope in the back of my mind. Maybe I would run into some ninjas out here that can help me get back home. I hurried my pace, following the voices into a small clearing. I could see three figures huddled by a small wooden shack not to far in the distance. Finally, I found some human life. I laughed lightly to the thought of being able to go home and take a shower and forget this whole nightmare.
"What's so funny, Kid?" I was startled by the sound of a deep, husky voice behind me. I pivoted on my toes to face the stranger. There in the darkness stood a man three times my height. He was probably taller than Iruka-sensei by an extra foot. He wore a black vest with a grey shirt underneath. The sleeves on the shirt were rolled up to his shoulders to show off his lean, muscular arms. A long jagged scar, about an inch wide and five inches long, ran down his left forearm. He wore a pair of dark grey sweats with black boots on each foot. His fingers were toying with the strap of his weapon holster on his right leg while his other hand was jabbed deep into his pants pocket. His face was rough, covered in small scars and burns. His dark spiky hair was raised up by the headband on his forehead. Several diagonal dashes were carved into the metal plate with one long line slashed horizontally across. He smiled down at me. His lips curved into a smirk. He stared menacingly at me, my blue eyes locked with his black ones. His gruff voice startled me once again.
"What's a kid like you doing out here so late? Don't you know it's dangerous to be in the woods alone at night?" My mind screamed at me, Run! Run away!, but my body was frozen stiff. The man could see the fear in my eyes and a dark, hollow laugh escaped his lips. In one swift moment, the man grabbed me by one arm and ran out into the clearing. I could hear the forgotten voices get louder and louder until the suddenly stopped with our approach. The man slowed his running down to a stop and dropped me to the floor.
" Look what I caught." I could hear the amused tone in the man's voice.
"What a cute little boy!" said a feminine voice, a girl in the group. She inched closer to me and crouched low to see my face in the moon light. Like the first man, she wore a black vest with a grey shirt and black shorts. The sleeves of the shirt were long enough to hide her hands. She wore a pair of black boots as well but they came up to her knees. She smiled sweetly at me with her big brown eyes. Her brown hair was tied up into a long ponytail that came down her back with some stray hairs falling in front of her face. Unlike the first man, she wore her headband around her neck. The symbol on the metal plate was different as well. From what I could tell, it looked like some kind of cloud or something but it too was slashed right through the middle. She stood up to look at the man standing behind her, in the shadows. I realized that the women was the shorter than the first man by at least two feet and the second man behind her was taller than her by a few inches. " What do you think Hiroto?"
"He doesn't even look like a genin yet? Still wet behind the ears, I'm guessing." The second man walked into the light where I could get a better look. There were a few similarities in looks between him and the girl. He too had brown eyes and his brown hair was pulled into a small ponytail behind his neck. He wore a brown worn out jacket with a pair of black sweats and brown ninja sandels. He didn't wear a shirt under the jacket so his chest was visibly bare. He too was lean but not as muscular as the first man. There were many scars along his chest as well, a lot of experience in battle like the first man. His headband was tied around his arm with the same symbol on the metal plate as the women. They were probably related, maybe even twins determining from their looks. "Where did you find him, Tarou?"
"He was crawling in the bushes on the east side. Do you think he could be a spy for Konoha?" The first man responded. The women shook her head.
"Doubt it. He just looks lost. Poor little boy…you must be terrified." She said in a comforting tone. The second man laughed.
"You're the one whose scaring him with all of that baby talk, Hiroko" The girl pouted and crossed her arms across her chest. The man known as Hiroto looked back to me. "What should we do with the kid?"
"Oooh! I got an idea!" The girl, Hiroko said with a grin on her face.
"We're not bringing him with us, so forget it!" Hiroto said as if he could read her thoughts.
"And why not?" Hiroko questioned.
"Because I don't want to deal with some cry baby." The other man laughed lightly.
"I think he's tougher than that, right kid?" Suddenly, I was violently shoved into the dirt with Tarou's boot pressing into my back. "Let's play a game. You'll hide and I'll seek" He said while pulling a kunai out of his holster.
"Come on Tarou, he's just a little kid!" Hiroko yelled.
"He's with them! He's a kid now, but what 'bout when he's a ninja. Another damn leaf ninja fighting to destroy the rest of us. Let's show him what we do with future leaf ninjas." He said with a wicked grin on his face and the kunai twirling between his fingers. My heart was racing at the thought of what they were planning to do with me.
"Just don't cut him up too bad. They'll need to be able to recognize his body, later on." Hiroto said, leaning casually against the trunk of a tree with Hiroko sitting by his feet. By the look on her face, she was still pouting. I felt myself being lifted off the ground by the back of my jacket and then shoved into the side of the wooden shed. The man's arm was across my chest, holding me firmly against the wall. Another laugh escaped his lips as he took the kunai firmly in his hand and than held the blade at my neck. The thought of déjà vu raced through my mind, it was the same situation again. Three dangerous strangers in the middle of the night who were planning to kill me. The only difference was that these strangers were going to kill me because I was from Konoha and the first time was because of the demon sealed away in my body. At least these people were a lot kinder. Suddenly, the blade was embedded into my right arm and the sound of my screaming echoed through the night. The man laughed again and lifted his arm back to make another stab.
"That's enough Tarou!" The man's arm was held back by the head of a cane. The cane had a very intricate design of a dragon's head with yellow eyes. Standing behind Tarou was a man much older wearing a black hood that covered his face from my sight. Tarou did what he was told and released me from his grip. I fell to the floor hard but I was more concerned with the blood coming down my arm. I held my hand tightly around the cut to stop the bleeding. The stinging caused me to wince in pain. Looking back up, the man had released the cane from Tarou's arm and was walking away. "There is no need to waste time on this boy. We have the Scroll of Sealing so there's no reason to stay here any longer." I was shocked to hear what the man had just said. My mind flashed back to a memory from earlier today.
"Intruders…in the village…stole the forbidden scroll."
"You don't mean the scroll of sealing, do you?"
"We were ordered by the hokage…to locate the scroll and stop the intruders."
How could I not notice the large scroll on Tarou's back. That must be the scroll of sealing and that would mean that these were the intruders in the village. The whole village was searching for these people so the scroll must be extremely important and to steal something this important must mean that these people were highly skilled. My only hope was to call for help but I was probably too far into the forest to be heard. Maybe I could run…but I would never be able to outrun them. Well I've got to try. I'll wait for my chance when they had forgotten my presence or let their guard down and then I would make a run for it. At the moment, they were huddled together discussing something near the tree. Must be planning their escape. Then Tarou slid the scroll off his shoulder and placed it by his feet. Perfect! This was my chance. Slowly, I sat up into a crouch position with my hand still pressed onto my bleeding shoulder. On the count of three I would make my move.
1...2...3! I launched myself towards the group at full speed. I must have taken them by surprise by the looks on their faces. I quickly dove to the ground, grabbing the strap attached to the scroll and rolled back up. As soon as my feet hit the floor, they didn't stop running. I slung the scroll over my good shoulder and ran into the bushes. I didn't look back but I could hear the sound of footsteps close behind. They were pursuing me and I couldn't stop now. I was praying that by some miracle I would run into a ninja from the village and then I would be safe from these people.
I swerved through the branches and the bushes but I could still hear them trailing close behind. I had to do something quick or I was done for. I saw a hollow log coming into view and it was just big enough for me to crawl through. The end of the log was on the other side of the rocks and it gave me and idea. I ran into the log, crawling on all fours. My pursuers were definitely to big to crawl through so I knew that they would go over it instead. I quickly formed a ram seal with my fingers and whispered the word henge. My body took the form of a rock in the inside edge of the log. I waited and listened for the footsteps around me. Suddenly, the girl's face peered into the hole. Her eyes glanced right passed me to search the inside of the log before standing up again.
"He's not here" She called.
"Where the hell did that brat run to?" The voice belonged to the girl's look-a-like, Hiroto.
"When we find him…I'm gonna rip his throat out!" The rough voice definitely belonged to Tarou.
"The scroll is our first priority. Bring it back safe. Now go!" The voices faded into the distance and when I was sure that I could no longer hear their footsteps, I released the jutsu and crawled out of the log. I ran towards the direction I came from until I found myself in the clearing next to the wooden shed again. I couldn't control my breathing. I was panting so hard that I had to place the scroll down for a moment to catch some air. My shoulder was still in pain and the soaked blood was beginning to dry into my clothes. My heart was still racing, not from all of the running but from the fact that I was terrified. I knew they would find me sooner or later and I don't know what to do. My knees suddenly collapsed from right underneath me and my breathing turned into panicked sobs. I couldn't hold my tears in anymore…they flowed down my face freely. I was afraid…I was alone…and I was going to die.
The wind blew hard through the field, the grass and the leaves swaying in the breeze. It ruffled my hair and it felt good on my hot face.
"Don't cry." My heart jumped. I scanned my surrounding to see the owner of the voice. I knew it could not belong to a member in the group that was searching for me in the dark. It was too beautiful to belong to someone so dangerous.
"Open the scroll" I heard it again but it was no person. The wind was whispering to me. A voice so angelic…so soft…rang clearly in my mind like the chime of a bell.
"Naruto…open the scroll" It was calling to me…commanding me to open the scroll. I couldn't refuse the voice's order. I reached over to the scroll lying in the grass by my feet. Slowly, I undid the rope that held it together. The scroll unraveled and I could make out the kanji on top: Forbidden Ninjutsu. Maybe I shouldn't open it. I could get into trouble for this.
"Don't be afraid, Naruto. Trust me." The voice was so pure…like a little girl. For some reason, I knew that I could trust the voice. I looked at the scroll again and unrolled it until I could read the first jutsu on the list: Kage Bunshin No Jutsu.
Bunshin? Was this like the bunshin no justu? If it was…how could I possibly master this when I could not master the other. The wind blew through my hair once again. It was encouraging me to continue. I read the instructions for the jutsu carefully and studied the hand seals needed. One hand seal…I expected something more…complex, after all this was a forbidden scroll. Mimicking the hand seal, I said the words aloud.
Kage Bunshin no jutsu.
Nothing happened. I reread the instructions, but I did not miss a step. Did I do something wrong?
"More chakra." The voice said as if to answer my question. More chakra? How much more? Would it work? My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden rustle of leaves in the distance. Was it the wind again?
"Run!" A sense of danger washed over me. It wasn't the wind…they were back and coming after me. I wrapped the scroll back up. There was no more time to test the jutsu. I slung the scroll over my good shoulder and pulled myself to my feet again. I took off running without looking back, but I could hear the voices coming closer.
"There he is!"
"Don't let him escape again." Then the footsteps suddenly disappeared. I looked over my shoulder and saw that they were gone. Where did they g--
I was pulled off my feet and into the air. I was looking into a pair of fierce black eyes…the eyes of a beast.
"Thought you could out smart us, huh kid? Didn't think we would find you? Guess what?! We've found you and I'm gonna kill you!" Tarou flung me to the floor effortlessly and watched me quiver in pain. Hiroko was next to me in a flash. Instead of injuring me like her partner, she pulled the scroll off my back.
"I've got the scroll, Kisho-sama." The cloaked man from before was now standing in front of Hiroko.
"Well done." I could see the corners of his mouth pull up into a grin under his hood. Hiroto stood next to him staring at the scroll.
"What is so important about this scroll to go and risk are lives to get in the first place?" The older man began to laugh uncontrollably. Hiroto, Hiroko, and Tarou looked at him nervously.
"Don't you get it?" He said still laughing. "This scroll contains Konoha's most secretive techniques. With this, Konoha will fall by our hands." He looked at the scroll and took it into his hands. "They will pay for what they've done." He said now completely serious. "They will all die." I swallowed hard and tried to inch myself away carefully. Tarou's boot came down hard onto my chest that I could feel the bones crack under the pressure. I could taste the blood coming out of my mouth. The taste of salt and metal on my tongue sickened me.
"Where do you think you're going, kid? Playtime's not over yet!" He turned away to look at the older man. "How bout we test some of those forbidden jutsus on the boy. I'm sure he'll love that." The older man shook his head.
"These are not toys to play with Tarou. We do not know what they are capable of and we're not gonna waste their power on a little kid." Tarou snorted.
"Fine, I'll do this myself then." He smiled down to me and put his hands together in a familiar seal. With speed my eyes couldn't follow, he performed the hand signs he needed and whispered: Suiton water prison no jutsu.
Water appeared out of nowhere and rushed around me until I was completely encased. The water was filling up inside and I was running out of air. The water was too strong too push out and escape so I did the only thing I could think of. I held my breath while thrashing around violently in the inside. Tarou laughed at me and called Hiroto to his side. I couldn't hear what they were saying but Hiroto suddenly looked at me with a grin on his face. I couldn't see his hands perform hand seals or hear his voice calling out his jutsu. But all I knew was that he stuck his hands onto the water prison and then I was in so much pain. My entire body felt like it was on fire and I was shaking out of control. I opened my mouth to scream but the water rushed in and filled my lungs. I could feel my conscious slipping slowly as soon I was out of oxygen.
Suddenly, the water fell from around me and I was dropped to the floor. I held myself up on my elbows as I violently coughed the water out of my throat. My wet hair fell over my eyes and my body shivered as the wind blew against my skin. I heard Tarou's voice laughing behind me.
"How'd you like that, kid? Nothing like having electricity course through your entire body. But I am surprised you can still move after that…but that one last long. Hiroko…do it." The girl appeared in front of me. Crouching down with intensity burning in her eyes. Her hand were in an unfamililiar hand seal and she whispered gently: Nimpo Dark dream no jutsu.
The world around me went dark and I was standing on my feet again. Everything was pitch black and I looked around frantically for some light. Suddenly, the world transformed into utter chaos. Fire and destruction surrounded me and I didn't know why.
"What is this? Where am I?" I whispered to myself. The sound of muffled cries caught my attention. I turned around and saw a small girl huddled underneath the remains of a destroyed building. She looked younger than me, maybe five or six. Her clothes were tattered and her arms and legs were badly cut. I could barely see her face with all of her black hair covering it. I slowly approached her carefully.
"Don't cry. I'll help you." I said trying to comfort her. I stretched out my hand to reach her and her reaction took me by surprise. She pulled back and started screaming.
"Stay away from me! You killed them…you killed them all, you monster!" She cried harder into her arms.
"What?" I whispered. I slowly backed away from her but I tripped backwards and fell to the ground. I looked down at my feet and I felt my eyes pop out of my head.
"Iruka-sensei?!" There he was, staring at me with a blank expression. I could feel a lump form in my throat and my tears swelling up at the corners of my eyes. He was dead…bloody and cold. My heart began to race as I crawled backwards to get away. My hand brushed against something wet. I brought my hand to my face to take a better look. Red. My hand was red with blood. My body began to shake uncontrollably as I turned around to look at the object behind me. "Old man?!" He was dead too. Why was the hokage dead? Twisting my head from side to side, I could see them all. Bodies littered the ground around me. All of them dead.
Fear and despair ran through my body as I picked myself off the ground and ran from the scene as fast as my legs could go. How could they be dead? How did this happen? I closed my eyes from the fear of seeing another familiar body on the ground.
"No! No! No! No! No! This is not happening! This can't be happening!" I yelled.
"But it is." My feet came to a stop and my eyes flew open to the familiar voice.
"Sasuke? You're alive." I whispered. There he stood in front of me with a hardened look on his face. "What happened, Sasuke? Why is everyone dead?" I cried out to him.
"Everyone is dead because of you." I looked at him confused. His expression stayed the same.
"Me? I killed them?" I growled at him angrily. "Iruka-sensei. The old man. The whole village. How could they be dead because of me?! I would never do anything to hurt them!" Sasuke just laughed, but this laugh was different. Cold and dead like everything else surrounding us. The look in his eyes sent chills up my spine.
"That's where you are wrong. They are dead because you are a monster. YOU ARE THE NINE TAILED FOX!" He broke into laughter again, but louder and I felt myself screaming over it.
"NO!" I dropped to my knees with my hands pressed against my ears to block out his laughter. I felt water splash around my legs as I dropped to the ground. I looked down to see my reflection staring back at me. Wait. That's not me. He looked like me but his eyes were burning red and his lips were pulled back into a smile to show the sharp canines underneath. "No" I breathed. "I'm not a monster. I'm not you!" The reflection's deep, hallow laughter echoed in my ears.
"You are me and we will show this world who we truly are. We are the Kyuubi and we will show them all!" He yelled.
"NOOOO!" I thrust my fists into the water, my heart racing and my breathing heavy. When I pulled back my hands, the water transformed. Dense and dark red. Blood. The water became blood in my hands and it wasn't the only thing that had changed. My nails grew long and sharp and my throat burned for the taste of blood. I could feel the razor edges of my teeth brush against my tounge. The dark drew brighter until it burned in my eyes. Everything was burning in fire and blood. It was consuming me, slowly and painfully. The fire inched around me, caressing my skin until I was completely covered. I did the only thing I could do. I screamed. I screamed until my throat was sore and my eyelids grew heavy. Then everything went dark.
Normal perspective
Naruto laid still and unmoving on the grass with Tarou, Hiroto, and Hiroko standing over him. They watched his face express his emotions. Confusion. Pain. Anger. Fear. They watched with amusement as he suffered in the genjutsu placed upon him. Then an ear shattering scream escaped Naruto's mouth forcing the three ninjas to wince in pain. Hiroto looked questionably at his twin sister.
"What kind of genjutsu did you use on him?" He asked.
"One that shows my victims what they fear the most." She answered.
"What's he afraid of to be screaming like that?" She shrugged.
"I can't see what they are seeing so I don't know."
"Well whatever it is…at least he is suffering." Tarou said with a grin. Kisho was standing far off from the group. His hood still covering his face to hide his emotions. He carried the scroll on his back and his cane in his right hand. He was not interested in the boy or what his comrades were doing, but he knew they had to leave soon before they were discovered by the enemy. It didn't matter to him what happens to his comrades…more like associates really, but he knew that if he was caught with the secret scroll than his plan for revenge would be a failure. He turned away from the group and began walking towards the edge of the forest.
"What's happening with him?" Tarou's question forced him to turn around. He was crouching in front of the boy, blocking him from Kisho's view. Hiroko shook her head, confused.
"I don't know. This has never happened before." She said worriedly. Kisho walked over to the group out of curiosity and looked down at the boy. A bright red glow was seeping out of Naruto's stomach and wrapping around him like a second skin.
"What is this evil chakra?" He whispered. The group looked at him in surprise.
"Chakra?" Hiroto asked questionably. "Are you saying that this…aura is…chakra?" Hiroko shook her head.
"That's not possible. Chakra is not visible and why is it red?"
"What is with this boy?" Tarou asked never taking his eyes off Naruto. They watched in silence as the red chakra swirled around the wound on Naruto's shoulder until it disappeared completely. "What the hell?" Tarou shouted. Suddenly, they were all thrown backwards by a strong force of power. Red tendrils of chakra swirled around Naruto burning the surrounding grass into ash. Kisho lifted his head up from the ground and watched as the boy picked himself up. The swirling chakra faded away but he still glowed with a red aura.
"What is he?" He whispered. Naruto's head snapped up and blood red eyes with slitted pupils locked onto Kisho's face. His hood had flown back now revealing his face. His face showed his age with every wrinkle and sun spot. His hair was cut short and messy and mixed with black and silver hair. A long scar ran diagonally down his nose to the upper right of his lip and all the way to the bottom of his jaw. His eyes were mismatched, one blue and the other green. They watched in fear as Naruto's lips pulled back into a snarl and his body bent down into a crouch like an animal. In one fluid motion, he lunged forward.
Kisho did not have time to respond. In less than a second, Naruto appeared behind him and with the back of his arm, Kisho was sent careening forward. He flew several yards before sliding into the dirt. Instead of continuing his attack, Naruto went for the remaining members of the team. With superior speed and strength, he kicked Tarou into the trees with ease. Hiroto was on his feet and performing hand seals as fast as possible. He stuck his arms out and yelled: Raiton Lightning strike no jutsu. His arms coursed with electricity and it shot forward to Naruto. The electricity collided with the red chakra barrier around his skin and fizzled out of existent. Hiroto looked frustrated but that did not last long when Naruto suddenly appeared next to him and grabbed him by the arm. When he had a good grip, Naruto squeezed Hiroto's arm until he heard the bone brake. Hiroto screamed in agony and then was twisted around to meet Naruto's fist and sent flying back. Hiroko screamed out her brother's name but that only caught Naruto's attention.
Before she could perform any jutsus, he was standing in front of her. With several quick and powerful blows to different parts of her body, she was sent flying into a tree which cracked under the pressure and she fell to the floor unconscious.
"Suiton: water blade no jutsu." Tarou had just finished a set of hand seals and was charging forward with a blade of water in his hands. Naruto did not even flinch when the blade came into contact with his skin. Instead the water evaporated into the air, forming a screen of smoke around Tarou and Naruto. The only thing you could hear were the sounds of an animalistic growl and Tarou's pain filled screams. When the smoke finally cleared, Tarou laid dead on the floor with a hole in his chest and his eyes still wide in fear. Blood pooled around his body like an ocean. Naruto stood in front of him with blood covering his right arm. He suddenly lifted his nose to the air and sniffed. After a second, he disappeared into the trees leaving Kisho alone with Tarou dead and Hiroko unconscious.
Hiroto was panting hard. He was trying to get as far away as possible. He jumped from tree to tree with an injured arm. Now he was incapable of forming jutsus and was running in the dark forest from an eight year old with evil chakra. His teammates were probably dead including his sister so his only chance of survival was to escape as soon as possible. He was probably a mile away from the clearing, so he sat against the tree to catch his breath. He turned around to look past the tree trunks to see if he was being followed. He wasn't. He was alone. He sighed in relief and closed his eyes. It was very quiet. The wind did not even make a sound. Suddenly, he heard a twig snap. His eyes flipped open. His eyes met demonic red ones. Before he had a chance to scream, a clawed hand reached out and grabbed him by the neck. His skin burned under the touch of the chakra surrounding Naruto's hands. The nails dug deep into the skin causing blood to ooze down his neck. In one swift motion, Naruto pulled back his arm, ripping Hiroto's throat out in the process. Hiroto fell from the trees to the forest floor with a thud. His eyes frozen in fear and his mouth hung open as if he were trying to scream. Claw marks were still visible on his neck and the blood soaked down to the front of his shirt. Naruto looked at the body with disgust before leaping away.
Kisho had managed to get himself off the ground with the support of his cane. He hated to admit it but he was afraid. He had never felt this way since the third great shinobi war. He wanted his revenge against Konoha because they had won the war against Iwagakure and Kumogakure. He had seen his own village, the once great hidden stone village fall to it's knees by a single man. Konohagakure's Yellow Flash, a man given a run on sight warning in the bingo books, had ruined his life. Not only had his village lost a large percentage of ninja but he had lost his brother as well. The Yellow Flash was already dead but that didn't mean that he couldn't punish Konoha. He had learned of the secret scroll from one of Konoha's very own ninja, a strange man with silver hair. He had said that the scroll possessed jutsus that if it fell in the wrong hands, it could lead to the village's destruction. He hasn't heard from that ninja since but all he knew know was that he was locked up somewhere for committing crimes against the village.
Now when he had the scroll in his procession, he runs into a kid with a unnatural powers that could eliminate him with his bare hands. Why was it when Iwa had the upper hand, Konoha always struck back even harder. He had went through so much trouble for this scroll. When his own village refused his ideas, he left which meant he was now a missing nin. He had met others who had abandoned their villages and shared a deep hatred towards Konoha. Just when he was close to succeeding, a kid with this evil chakra appears and was now trying to kill him. This kid had already eliminated Kisho's teammates and if it had to come down to it, he would have to kill the boy. What a shame, the boy had such great potential.
Kisho was no standing straight, cane in his left hand and the scroll on his back. His eyes were closed but he knew that the boy was standing in front of him. He could almost sense the malicious look in his red eyes. Without opening his eyes, Kisho took his cane and slammed it into the earth in front of him. He formed the hand seals at an incredible speed. He wasn't an elite jounin in Iwakagure for nothing. When he was done, his eyes snapped open. Blue and green pupils shining in the moon's light. With a strong voice, he began his attack.
"Doton, serpent's head no jutsu!" The dragon's eyes on the cane glowed a bright yellow and out of the ground rose an enormous snake constructed out of rock and dirt. In a quick second, the snake charged forward towards Naruto, bearing it's fangs. Naruto crouched down and growled at the snake. Before he could move, the snake wrapped itself around Naruto and began to squeeze. Naruto did not move as the snake opened it's mouth and aimed to swallow Naruto whole. The snake's head moved in closer and closer. At the last second, Naruto opened his own mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs. With incredible force, the snake was blown to bits and crumbled all around him. Kisho had a look of frustration on his face. He could not lose to this….thing. He promised his brother that he would avenge his death and that's what he was going to do. Performing some more seals, Kisho bit his finger and plowed his hands into the dirt.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The earth quaked and the dirt began to move. A line of earth rose up as if something was moving underneath. It twisted and turned, moving towards Naruto's direction. Naruto was crouching low, sniffing the ground and growled. Suddenly, something that resembled a tail with no fur burst out of the ground right underneath Naruto. Naruto leapt out of the way in time and landed a few feet away. Slowly the tail inched itself out of the hole, bringing the rest of the body with it. There standing in front of Naruto stood a large earth worm with mouths on both ends containing razor like teeth. It moved faster than the earth snake and dove back into the earth. Naruto could only listen carefully to where it would pop up from next. He would dodge each time it came up and then it would go right back down. He was beginning to get annoyed with the earth worm so after dodging another attack, Naruto jumps into the trees and waits for it to strike. He waits and waits but it didn't seem like it was going to come up again. He roared angrily at the ground, his demonic sound waves burning the earth into ash. It was not there. He was about to jump back to the ground and search for it himself when the tree he was standing on was suddenly pulled into the ground dragging Naruto down with it.
Kisho watched the hole from where the worm had sucked Naruto under. He waited for the worm to make it's appearance with a dead corpse to show it's victory against the demonic boy. It did not appear. Instead, a high pitched squeal rang through the sky, scaring away the animals in the trees. Kisho held his hands to his ears to block the noise but it proved to be useless. Then it was quiet again. Kisho waited for something to happen. His stomach twisted with anxiety. Maybe the boy was dead. Maybe they killed each other. Kisho chuckled quietly to himself.
The sound of falling rocks startled him. He watched the hole carefully for some movement. Out from the hole, a small hand appeared on the edge. The tan hand struggled to pull itself up but managed to do so. There sitting on the ground, dirty and tired was the blonde hair boy. Kisho looked at him with a shocked expression. The red chakra was gone from sight. Did he use it all up? The boy looked confused as if he didn't know what was going on. This was his chance. The boy was defenseless now. Kisho picked his cane of the floor and pulled off it sheath. At the end of the handle was now a thin, three foot blade. The moonlight reflected off the metal as Kisho moved closer to the boy. Naruto sat panting on the ground with his eyes closed, unaware of the danger moving closer and closer. Kisho was now standing in front of him with a sinister smile on his lip. He pulled back his arm that held the blade, preparing to strike.
"This is the end for you, boy." Naruto eyes flickered open at the man with confusion and fear written in his deep blue eyes. Kisho stood frozen in shock.
"Those eyes. It's impossible! HE'S DEAD!" Kisho looked at Naruto as if he was expecting him to answer some unasked question. His eyes were thoughtful for a moment before brightened in realization. He then started to laugh. Naruto looked at him as if he had lost his mind. " I know now! Why didn't I see it before! The resemblance is uncanny!" He continued to laugh.
"What?" Naruto whispered.
"I know who you are and now…I can avenge my brother. I can avenge him by killing you!" He pulled his arm back again and thrust the blade forward. Naruto shut his eyes waiting for the blow. Time seemed to slow down in that second. The wind blew through his hair and he heard the voice again. It was calling his name. It was so loud and clear that he almost didn't hear the sound of kunai and shuriken cutting through the air. He opened his eyes to see the blade only centimeters away from his chest. He looked up at the man. A kunai was embedded into his forehead. Blood oozed down his face and into his blue and green eyes until they were both red. He fell backwards, dead.
"Naruto!" A voice was calling to him again but it wasn't the same angelic voice he heard earlier. It was different but familiar. Suddenly, he was surrounded by other voices, all calling his name. Then he saw Iruka kneeling in front of him with other people standing close by. Iruka shook him by the shoulder gently, calling Naruto's name. Naruto did not move. He just watched the way Iruka's mouth moved and how no sound came out. It was quiet again. It was getting dark again. Naruto eyes felt heavy and weak at the same time. He looked up at the sky to search for some light and then he saw it. A white bird with a black scarf around it's neck was soaring in the sky above. It looked beautiful flying in the moonlight but just like before it was gone. Naruto's world went dark and his unconscious body fell limp to the ground with a thud.
End of Chapter 12
Very, very, very, very long chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.
Next chapter: Naruto's secret sensei arrives!
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