Burning Cherry Blossoms
By
Ragnorokrising
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Chapter Four: Tree Climbing
Naruto and Sasuke shot through the trees. Hundreds of Shadow Clones followed them. The clones held Kakashi and Siofon as fell as Tazuna and they were making quick time. Tazuna guided them to a two story house where a young woman opened the door.
"Oh dear, you must be the ninja my father asked for. Oh my, what happened to these people?" they dragged in Siofon and Kakashi. The clones put them on cots the woman laid out and placed cold rags on their heads.
"I'm sorry we had to come to your house with wounded." Naruto said, kneeling next to Soifon.
"It's okay. You brought my father back alive after all." she said, giving him some food. "By the way, I'm Tsunami." Naruto smiled at her and grabbed Soifon's hand. Tsunami smiled and walked away from him.
Naruto stayed by Soifon's side the entire sixteen hours she was asleep. He replaced the wash clothe on her forehead every two hours. He didn't even notice when Kakashi woke up. He held her hand the entire time and made sure she was okay. The food Tsunami had given him lay untouched.
When she woke up, she saw Naruto sleeping with his hands wrapped around hers. She pulled the wash clothe off of her head and just lied there for the next four hours until Naruto's eyes fluttered open.
"Soifon, are you feeling okay?" he asked in a drowsy voice.
"I'd be better if you weren't so close to me. When was the last time you took a shower?" Naruto smiled at her sadly and stood up. He walked towards the door slowly. When he reached it, he turned to her and smiled sadly.
Tsunami came in after he left the room. She handed Soifon her scroll and she unsealed a purple jacket version of Yuruichi's outfit. As she slipped it on, Tsunami began to talk.
"That boy, Naruto, he's very kind." Soifon grunted and started to change. "Did you know he stayed by your side the entire sixteen hours you were knocked out? He really cares for you young lady. You are quite lucky." Soifon closed her eyes and turned slowly towards Tsunami.
"He held my hand for sixteen hours straight, didn't once leave my side?"
"Not once. Like I said, he really cares for you." she turned and left the room, leaving Soifon to think things through.
(With Naruto)
Naruto slowly walked down the stairs to the living room. He sat down quietly on the couch, scaring Sasuke, Kakashi, and Tazuna.
"Naruto, what's wrong with you?" Kakashi asked. Naruto shrugged slowly.
"Nothing, just love problems." the two older men looked at each other. They nodded to each other.
"Something wrong with Soifon?"
"No, just I'm no good enough for her."
"Hey, kid," said Tazuna. "Something you need to know about women. When you start acting like this to a girl, it means you love her. But sometimes, the girl doesn't return the feeling."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're right." Kakashi looked at Tazuna with narrowed eye.
"Naruto, listen, I know you care about Soifon-"
"Care about her? Kakashi-sensei, I would go find Zabuza and jam that over sized sword through my face if it would only make her happy! She's everything to me and I'm nothing to her."
Up on the stairs, Soifon stopped right before they could see her in the shadows.
"Naruto, you really care about her?"
"Enough to give up my life and soul." Soifon waited for a minute of silence to past. Then she walked down the stairs.
"Naruto, could I talk to you outside?"
"Sure, I could take a little more pain." they walked outside the house to the tree line.
"Naruto, I want to ask you something serious." Naruto sighed and rolled his wrist to continue. "Naruto, do you love me?"
Naruto stared at her with a dead look in his eyes. "What does it matter? If I do you don't return the favor and if I don't then things get awkward." Soifon closed her eyes.
"Naruto, answer the question." Naruto turned away to go back inside but Soifon grabbed her. "Answer me now Naruto or else."
"You want to know? Fine, I do love you, or I did any ways."
Soifon stared at him in surprise. "You use to love me?"
"Just forget it Soifon. It doesn't matter any ways now." he started to walk away. Soifon grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. She grabbed his shoulders.
"Naruto, come back to your senses." she put a hand on the back of his head. "Quit acting like some kind of depressed idiot and kiss me." she pulled him forward and kissed him. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.
He quickly clamed down though. 'I'm…kissing Soifon? HOLY CRAP I'M KISSING SOIFON!' his hand moved to Soifon's back. Together they held each other in the embrace until they needed air.
"That was amazing." was all Soifon could get out. Naruto smiled at her, still in a state of shock. Suddenly, a ripple snapped them out of their stupor. A hole ripped open the air. A scroll came hurtling through a black tunnel. Naruto caught the scroll.
"Oh, this is from Urahara."
"How can you tell?"
"It says 'from Urahara' on it." Soifon raised an eyebrow. Naruto grabbed her arm and ran into the woods. He led her to a lake where he unrolled the seal and wiped his blood on it.
A picnic blanket and a basket full of food appeared. Naruto set the picnic on the shore and pulled several candles from the basket. He lit them and placed them on the ground.
Then he unsealed a stereo and put a C.D. in it. Soft music started to play as Naruto pulled out a bouquet of blue roses. Soifon gasped and took the roses. Naruto smiled and unsealed a dark blue dressed. He handed it to Soifon and covered his eyes.
When he uncovered them, she spun in the dress. Naruto whistled. "You look amazing Soifon."
"Thank you Naruto." she laughed. Naruto put his hands on her waist as the music changed. The full moon came out from behind the clouds as they danced on the shore line.
*&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&*
When Soifon and Naruto came back, they were both smiling and holding hands. Kakashi cleared his throat as they started to head up the stairs.
"We need to have a team meeting." Soifon and Naruto turned around and moved to the couch. Kakashi put down his chopsticks and cleared his throat.
Naruto got impatient and asked "Zabuza's still alive, isn't he?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" he shrugged.
"I remember four lessons Iruka-sensei taught that caught my attention. One was Seals, another creating your own jutsu, the Hunter-nin corps was another and the final was the Fourth Hokage. But you would know all about him, right Kakashi sensei?"
Kakashi and Naruto met eyes and a message was sent between them. I know the truth.
Soifon looked back and forth between Naruto and Kakashi. "What's Naruto talking about Kakashi?"
"The fourth was my sensei. Naturally I knew a lot about him." Soifon nodded and leaned in closer to Naruto.
"Then he knows how crappy your dad's jokes are." she muttered.
"Like I was saying," said Naruto. "Hunter-nin are suppose to destroy the body on sight so no evidence is left behind."
"But that hunter-nin took the body away." Sasuke said in astonishment.
Kakashi nodded and pointed to the place where the needles went into Zabuza's throat. "A hunter-nin rarely uses senbon. The only reason they would is if they want to bring the ninja back to the village for interrogation. Hunter-nin have an extensive knowledge of the human body. When the needles went into Zabuza's throat, they gave him the appearance of death."
"In other words," Naruto said. "This isn't over."
"Not by a long shot. Because of this, tomorrow I will start giving you special training. But until then, we need to learn as much as we can about the battle skills of our teammates. Soifon, you go first."
"Okay. I'm a stealth and close range fighter. I can use a sword to great degree as well. My zanpakutou is called Suzumebachi. It creates butterfly shaped crests called a hornets crest that when stabbed twice will instantly kill the person it was placed on. I can also theoretically neutralize any poison with my own."
"I also can use an attack style called Shunko which combines the spiritual part of chakra and Taijutsu." Kakashi wrote all the information down on a pad and motioned for Naruto to go.
They all listed their skills and started to plan strategies for the battle to come.
(Next Day In the Woods)
Kakashi limped into the thicket of trees with his Genin right behind him. "Okay you guys, here's the deal. As a Jounin, Zabuza has great chakra control. It's the way he's able to lift that giant ass sword so easily. So I'm going to start teaching you chakra control exercises."
He walked over to a tree and placed one of his crutches on it. He started to climb up the tree trunk until he hung upside down from a branch. He threw three kunai into the ground at their feet.
"The trick is to focus your chakra to your feet. Too little you'll slip off, too much the tree will explode beneath you." he walked back down the trunk as the three Genin picked up the kunai. They all closed their eyes and focused their chakra. Naruto was the first to move. He dashed up the wood ten feet before slashing the bark and falling back down.
Sasuke followed him up and got the same height. Soifon was the last to move. She ran past Sasuke and Naruto and shot all the way up the tree to the top and ran back down.
"Thanks to my Shunko training I have perfect control of the spiritual half of my chakra. Mastering the physical half is no problem." she said as she walked away.
Naruto and Sasuke stared in surprise as she simply walked through the woods to the house.
*&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&*
Zabuza was lying in bed, still healing, when Gato walked in. "You idiot! How could you lose to a bunch of brats?!"
Haku stood up as Gato stomped his feet like a child. "I should just kill you and get someone stronger." he reached for Zabuza's face but Haku grabbed his arm and pulled quickly.
Snap!
Gato screamed as his arm broke. The two body guards behind Gato reached for their swords but Haku already held them at their necks.
"Leave this place, before I kill you all." ice crept down the blades at amazing speeds. Haku dropped the weapons and they shattered. The men hurried out of the house as Haku reached for the sword handle by her waist.
"Haku, that was idiotic." said Zabuza. Haku rolled her eyes and threw him a set of pills. He swallowed them and passed out.
Haku let her hair down, put on a normal kimono, and grabbed a basket to go pick some herbs.
*&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&*
Naruto's eyes slowly opened. 'I must have fallen asleep after training last night.'
He slowly used his elbows to push himself up and sat there, looking over all the flowers. He started to stand up when he heard a crunch. He jumped into the air and landed on a tree branch. A girl walked into the clearing.
She started picking herbs. Naruto jumped to the ground, scaring her.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." the girl smiled.
"Hi Naruto, I'm Haku." she picked some more herbs.
"Do you need any help Haku?"
"Sure. It usually takes about an hour for me to pick them by myself." Naruto crossed his fingers and thirty clones appeared.
"Well, show me what you need to find."
(Five Minutes Later)
The clones disappeared as Haku put her basket on a branch. She and Naruto sat on the ground.
"So, what are you doing all the way out here? I mean, this is a pretty far away from the village."
"This is the only place certain herbs I need are. And I have to heal my father after all."
"Oh, I see. And is Zabuza recovering well from our fight?" Haku stiffened. She jumped back and pulled a set of senbon from her sleeves.
"How did you know I was talking about Zabuza?"
"I wasn't certain, but you sounded so much like the hunter-nin who took Zabuza's body away." Naruto picked up the basket and brought it to her. "You haven't attacked me so I don't need to fight you. Just make sure Zabuza's ready for the coming fight."
He turned away as Haku put the senbon away. They both turned away, with a new friend and a new dread of the coming battle.
*&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&*
Everyone sat at the table. The ninja were talking about strategy when suddenly the little boy, Inari, stood up and yelled "Why do you fight? Gato will always win!" and ran to his room.
"What's wrong with him?" said Naruto, eating some more food.
"It's a long story," replied Tazuna, "but you might as well hear it, seeing as you have to put up with his bad mood. There was once a fisherman by the name of Kaiza, who came to the Land of Waves in his travels. He saved Inari from a bunch of bullies and eventually, became a father figure to him. He even helped save the city from a major flood, and after that, he became a hero. He brought hope to the people and united them as one, but Gato and his men saw him as a threat. So what did they do? They accused him of being a terrorist and publicly executed him."
A collective gasp could be heard around the room.
"Yeah, it was a very sad day for our village. Especially for Inari. His father had died when he was only a baby, so when Kaiza came into his life, he was so happy. Kaiza taught Inari what it was to be a man, and to fight for what was right. But when he died, Inari changed. He turned from the once happy-go-lucky boy he used to be, to the sad and hopeless boy you now see today."
An awkward silence filled the room, until Naruto pushed back his seat and walked away. They watched him make his way down the hall before knocking on Inari's door.
"Go away!" came his muffled shout.
Naruto stood rooted to the spot. Reaching his hand up, he knocked again.
"I said go away!" shouted Inari, ripping the door open. He glared at Naruto, who only glared back.
"You're a coward," said Naruto icily. "Kaiza would be ashamed of you!"
"What the hell are you talking about? You don't even live here! My father would be proud of me! I'm alive and I follow the rules. I don't cause trouble for Gato and his men, and most of all; I don't get into things I can't handle! Unlike you, who shows up not knowing a thing and expects to win in a fight against Gato! You'll just end up dead!"
Before he could say another word, or before anyone could stop Naruto, the blonde backhanded the young boy across the face. "At least I fight for what I know is right! At least I fight to protect those who can't protect themselves! At least I do something! Unlike you, who sits around all day crying like a baby, thinking you're the only person in the world who has to suffer!"
Inari stared at him, rubbing his cheek with tears in his eyes. He opened and closed his mouth, looking much like a fish without water. He tried to say something, his words coming out as incoherent stuttering.
"Cry baby," Naruto scoffed harshly, turning around and walking away. He passed by the dining table, sending an apologetic look towards Tazuna and Tsunami before he walked out the door and into the night.
*&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&*
Naruto walked into the house the next morning. He had a huge leather bound book under his arm which he sealed into a scroll. He put the scroll back in Soifon's room and grabbed a new set of clothes. He took a shower and walked out, feeling completely refreshed.
He smoothed out the clothes Urahara had given him. He was wearing a black shirt with long sleeves with a golden outline of a cherry blossom tree on it. A white jacket similar to the one Soifon wore hung on his back only the kanji on the back of hers had a two and his had a six, thought when he asked Urahara, he just laughed. He wore a pair of black cameo pants with his sword strapped to his back.
Someone whistled behind him. He turned on his heel and almost drew his sword. He rolled his eyes and turned away to go down stairs while Soifon laughed.
"You look good Naruto." she said.
"Sure I do."
"You do. Where'd you get that jacket though?"
He sat down on the couch and bit into an apple. "It came with the clothes. Urahara sealed them in a scroll for me before I left. I'm not a big fan of it though."
"That jacket belongs to former Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, Senbonzakura's last owner." the apple dropped to the floor.
Naruto remembered the man Senbonzakura had taken the form of in his head. He stood up and went to his room. Jumping onto his bed, he fell asleep for a few hours.
When he went down, he found everyone eating dinner.
"Sorry I slept so long. I need all my energy for the fight with Zabuza."
"No problem Naruto. We were just discussing the possibility of using clones to locate and storm Gato's base."
"I could see that happening, only, I think that maybe we could finish the bridge first." he said while he ate. He started to talk again when Inari stood up and slammed his fists on the table.
"What's wrong with you people?! No matter what you do you can't beat Gato! He'll just kill you all in the end!"
Naruto put his chop sticks down and sighed. Standing up slowly, he chanted "Carriage of thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six. Binding, Kido Number 61, Six Rod Light Restraint." six rectangles of yellow light slammed into Inari's mid-section.
"Naruto, when did you learn that?" asked Soifon.
"Last night, in the woods. Now," he turned back to Inari. "quit acting like a spoiled brat. You don't know how lucky you are. You had a father, a mother, a grandfather, and you always had food and warmth. I lived on the streets, alone, with no parents. I've gone through things you wouldn't be able to imagine. You disgrace Kaiza's memory by acting this way."
He walked out of the room and the Kido wore off. Inari hit the floor, gasping.
*&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&**&&*
The next day, Sasuke and Soifon found Naruto standing in front of a giant tree, the tallest one in the forest. He placed a foot on the trunk and started walking. Soifon started to follow, but Sasuke put his arm in front of her, making her stop.
"It's okay; he's going to be okay." Naruto slowly climbed to the top of the tree and perched on the tip of the tree. Sasuke and Soifon appeared on the branches on either side of him.
"Naruto, is everything okay?" Soifon asked.
"No, everything is definantly not alright." he held up a black scroll. "I just got this from a man named Sosuke Aizen. He's kidnapped my mother and father."
--
A/N: I need the help of the readers. In two or three chapters I'm going to reveal the true form of Senbonzakura. I need to know if you want Senbonzakura to be guy, a girl, or just a being, with no obvious sex. Go to the poll on my profile.