A/N: So I guess I'll just go ahead and officially label this story a very slight AU to make everyone happy and things more convenient. I'll be changing the note I posted as chapter 5 to reflect that.
So if you see differences from canon, go ahead and point them out, but keep in mind that it may be intentional. That also means that, in the "blank spaces" of the manga, things can happen as long as they don't go counter to established logic and characterizations (e.g., Sakura wishing Naruto good luck in the CE finals at some point in the days before they began).
With regards to Itachi, I promise I have no intention of bashing his character—he will, for instance, still be mind-bogglingly badass. He'll just be a true villain all along, whereas canon!Itachi is currently kicking ass from beyond the grave and giving important advice to our protagonists.
About Minato being a jinchuuriki: haven't decided yet.
And please, if you ask a question or are curious about something, don't make your review anonymous, because I don't have a real way of answering you then.
Yes, I will be going back to Chapter 4 to match up the verbal tics.
Also-"Itadakimasu" is similar to "bon apetite" or saying grace, in case you don't know.
Sorry if this chapter is a little rough around the edges. The first part was very difficult to write, and I wanted to get this out now rather than be forced to wait several days while things are too busy for me.
Enjoy!
Chapter 5: Two Riders Were Approaching
As they walked through the hospital, Minato and Kushina had to fight the urge to hold Naruto's hands—they knew he wouldn't exactly be comfortable with such a "childish" gesture.
That didn't make it any less difficult to cope with the contrast of having a teenager where a newborn baby existed a mere day ago. The change was so sudden and drastic that, despite their many years of experience over their son, they felt more emotionally confused than Naruto did.
The unabashed stares of nearly everyone in the hospital didn't help matters. Hiruzen had publicly announced their return (along with why such an occurrence was practically impossible to recreate) to smooth over the transition. Minato and Kushina refused to hide behind lies and disguises, and the very notion of pretending not to be Naruto's parents was met with cold anger. Dangerous or not, they would live in the open. The alternative would kill them in a far more painful way.
They consciously tried to see the silver-lining of the situation—they'd been given another chance to be there for each other, to be a family again. But that knowledge didn't ease the pain enough. Despite the energy and smiles that Naruto was known for, Konoha's Number One Knuckleheaded Ninja was hurting on the inside in ways few could understand.
Naruto wasn't alone in the invisible pain, even if the rising genin didn't realize it. The gaping wounds of loss, grief, and shock were still fresh, and the monumental adjustments they had to make delayed the healing process substantially.
They had talked about how things would be extremely awkward at first, and how difficult getting past that would be. Like their emotional pain, it would take time to mend. But seeing Naruto walk around with a smile that wasn't in the least bit forced made it all worth it.
The staring issue wasn't as bad in the general village, mainly due to the masses of people making the Uzumaki family less recognizable.
Minato couldn't help but look at the villagers with a guarded expression. He knew that some of them had looked at his son with disgust, even going as far as calling him a freak to his face. More than anything, it was the fact that his desire to spend time with his family was far greater than to rip those bastards limb from limb that kept him in check.
Most of the villagers had simply avoided Naruto out of fear and suspicion—something he wasn't truly angry at them for, as the idea of a jinchuuriki was foreign and scary to those who didn't understand it. He knew that the village's recent turnaround of opinion had much more to do with Naruto's actions at the Chunin Exam finals than the few people who had managed to make the connection about his parentage. That fact was somewhat comforting; most of the village he loved had wronged his son out of fear rather than hatred. Seeing Naruto utilize the Kyuubi's power without posing a risk to himself or anyone around him had done wonders for his reputation.
Of course, there were also those who had helped Naruto along the way. Iruka Umino deserved his extreme gratitude for being a quasi-brother/father figure to the boy in Naruto's later years. The owners of the Ichiraku's ramen stand were outstanding people for their constantly affectionate treatment of the village pariah. It didn't surprise Minato when Hiruzen said that Kakashi always volunteered to be in Naruto's ANBU guard. Kakashi had never been very comfortable around other people—the tragic series of traumas that plagued the boy since a young age had erected an emotional iron wall. Raising a baby was something he just didn't know how to do. And when the legendary jounin finally took on a team, Kakashi finally started to thaw out.
Minato understood the effect those people had on his son. The pain of the bad caused him to latch on to the good and never let go—Naruto pulling himself towards Gaara with nothing but his chin made perfect sense now. His friends motivated him to do the impossible as a matter of course; Hinata restored Naruto's faith in himself, Sakura provided the support of someone he had long since admired, and Sasuke had been a rival that enjoyed the challenge Naruto presented.
"Oi! Teuchi-san! Ayame-neesan! I'm back 'ttebayo!"
The yelling shook both parents from their thoughts as they realized they were almost at their destination. They recognized the legendary (in their son's eyes) cooks, and smiled. This place, at least, was a stable refuge of happy memories for them all.
Teuchi unleashed a deep, hearty laugh when he caught sight of them. "I should have known! Only your son could have inherited such a strong appetite for ramen, Kushina!"
The redhead in question rubbed the back of her neck in nervousness—a tic that was also inherited, she remembered. "Y-Yeah, we certainly have a soft spot for the stuff 'ttebane," Kushina said, turning red from embarrassment. She had to get used to that...
"Well grab a seat!" Teuchi encouraged, gesturing to a chair next to where Naruto had eagerly claimed his own. "I can't express how amazing it is to see you all again!"
Ayame emerged from the back of the shop, uncharacteristically shy. "It's good to see you again, Naruto," she managed, smiling.
Minato could easily understand why Naruto loved this place, and it was more than just the food. The people who worked there was genuine and welcoming, and eating at Ichiraku's was as much a social experience as it was a dining one.
Naruto ordered "the usual," while Kushina and Minato started out with salt ramen.
They had beaten the typical lunchtime rush, and were thus the only ones currently seated. "I saw your fight with Neji, Naruto," Teuchi began, "It was one of the best Chunin Exam fights I've ever seen!" He wasn't lying—it was a classic underdog-style fight, with plenty of surprises to keep him on the edge of his seat.
Kushina noticed that Naruto was more reserved than normal, though his true personality still showed through. "Thanks, Teuchi-san!"
She had to fight off a dark mood as she realized that Naruto felt far more comfortable around Teuchi than his own mother. It was a gut-wrenching feeling, and she had a hard time getting past it.
"That punch from underground was perfect," Minato said, his lips almost forming a grin. "I don't think you could have made a better end to the fight if you tried."
Naruto blushed under the praise, scratching the back of his neck and suddenly finding the countertop very interesting. The idea that the Fourth was his father was something he was still nowhere near coming to terms with, especially with the man back from the dead.
They were all being uncharacteristic, Kushina realized. She was silent and brooding, Naruto was shy and hesitant, and Minato was relaxed and informal. Now that she saw it, it was rather surreal. That didn't make speaking any easier, though.
"I'll have to teach you some ranged jutsu so you don't have to beat every enemy down with your fists," Minato said, clearly amused. He snuck a glance at her, hoping she understood the inside joke—but was met with a smile that definitely didn't reach her eyes.
Minato knew that she was the one in a dark mood now, but he couldn't do much about it with an audience. He held eye contact longer than he probably should have, but Naruto was still completely oblivious.
A few shinobi that he didn't recognize entered the eatery, too immersed in their own conversation to notice exactly who they were sitting near. "—eah, but the D-ranks are a nice break from the usual. Spending so much time in the village is kind of refreshing," one of them said.
"Yeah, but remember that the only reason we have all of these D-ranks is because of the attack on the village," another replied. "You heard what happened with Suna?"
The third one—a kunoichi with long black hair and sharp facial features sighed. "Yeah. Unconditional surrender and apologies, because they realized that they'd been duped." Minato noticed an undertone of sarcasm in her voice.
"Whadda you mean, Uzuki?" asked the first shinobi—a teenaged genin, if the lack of flak vest was any indication.
"I mean that the Kazekage was assassinated and impersonated some time ago by Orochimaru," Uzuki answered, sounding exceptionally bitter.
"Orochimaru?" the genin asked, fear clearly written all over his face. "He was strong enough to take out the Kazekage without anyone knowing?"
"I heard Orochimaru was once a candidate for the position of Fourth Hokage," older male of the trio added. "If you ask me, something like this is exactly what he'd do."
Uzuki nodded. "Yeah, it's certainly his style. I'm just glad we got the bastard at the end." She stared ahead absently, her mind someplace else. Her lips drew a taught line on her hard expression. Minato knew a look like that came only from true anger.
Teuchi delivered the first round of ramen with a smile before turning to the newcomers. "What'll it be?"
Minato silently thanked the man for not making a big deal of things—the shred of normality made coping with the situation a little easier.
"Itadakimasu!"
He turned his attention back to Naruto, who was now digging into the ramen with a vengeance. Kushina smiled at his antics—a genuine smile this time—as she was reminded of herself as a child.
They soon joined him, though with noticeably less frenzy. It may have been awkward and little like actual familial interaction, but for the moment...it was enough.
"Alright! Lunch time!" Kiba's enthusiastic yell was met by a similarly enthusiastic bark. Hinata smiled in reply, and Shino...well, she couldn't tell what he did, if anything.
As Kiba had said, he had to make up for the unnatural quietness of his teammates (though not in such descriptive terms, Hinata recalled).
She looked up from the ground to see Kiba smiling reassuringly at her and Shino also sneaking a glance her way. They'd been like that almost constantly since she'd been cleared from the hospital. As much as she wanted to stand on her own, she definitely appreciated their concern.
She also managed to catch Kurenai-sensei's subtle smile when the jounin saw the interaction. Their acceptance and encouragement had helped her more than she could describe. They had all been impressed by her display at the Chunin Exams, despite her loss and injures.
Though she was cleared for very light duties now, she was surprised to find herself impatient for the opportunity to train harder than she ever had.
As Hinata was the only one fully looking forward, she was the first to spot Team 7 as they turned onto the path. To her dissapointment, Naruto was not among them. All she had heard was that he had defeated Neji and Gaara, and that he was physically fine. She was dying to know how he had managed either feat, but they'd all been too distracted by work to talk about it.
Hinata only spared a moment's glance at the two oddly dressed figures further along the path—one of them seemed to be carrying something resembling a large sword wrapped in bandages.
"Hello, Kurenai," Kakashi spoke, noticeably less lazy in demeanor and tone. The jounin's hands were in his pockets as usual, but he seemed...cheerful, despite how odd the word sounded anywhere near 'Kakashi'.
"Kakashi!" Kurenai answered, a smile finding its way onto her face. "Heading for lunch, too?"
"Actually, I have an important errand to run," Kakashi said, suddenly serious. "Sasuke, why don't you and Sakura have lunch with Team 8?" It may have technically been a question, but the tone clearly left no room for argument, and Sasuke nodded.
Kurenai caught on immediately. "Somebody has to make sure Kakashi doesn't lose track of time," she told her team. "I'll catch up with you when he's done," she added at their questioning glances. Hinata just nodded out of obedience—she was rarely one to argue—and Shino caught the undertones well enough to curtail Kiba's expected questions.
"Well, if you're going to be like that," an amused voice called out from ahead of them. Both of the figures turned around, but their uniforms obscured nearly everything. In fact, it was the uniforms that worried her most—they were black with white-outlined red clouds adorned throughout. Such a distinctive appearance meant that these two weren't afraid of being seen.
Damn it. Kurenai drew a kunai without hesitation. Whoever those two strangers were, they were confident enough to take on both teams present without worry despite being well inside Konoha.
Shino and Sasuke were on guard and armed immediately, with Sakura and Kiba following soon after. To Kurenai's mild relief, Kiba and Shino had taken a protective stance in front of Hinata, who was the biggest liability.
"We're not here for a fight," the other figure spoke, but it was clearly directed towards his partner rather than the Konoha shinobi. Kurenai noticed Sasuke go completely stiff and made the connection.
Shit. If that was Itachi Uchiha in front of her, even the combined efforts of herself and Kakashi wouldn't be guaranteed to bring him down. And with plenty of liabilities present, it would take quite a bit of luck for them all to make it out of this fight without serious harm.
"And who might you be?" Kakashi asked, sounding only mildly interested.
And then her worst fears were confirmed as both figures removed their large hats. The blood-red eyes of notorious prodigy-turned-mass murderer Itachi Uchiha and the blue, shark-like appearance of Kisame Hoshigake appeared in front of her.
"Waltzing right into Konoha isn't something you'd do on a whim," Kakashi stated, his tone still somehow casual. "Why are you here?"
Despite the fact that Itachi hadn't moved an inch, Kakashi felt like he was being measured up by the man. "When I first heard the rumors that the Fourth was alive, I was disbelieving. But now I know that it is true...things will become very interesting indeed."
Kakashi was no longer playing it cool. "What do you mean?"
"I wonder how the Fourth will react when we acquire his legacy," Itachi stated, sounding slightly amused for someone who rarely showed emotion.
Kakashi's eye shot wide open in realization before narrowing again in apprehension. "Why would you tell us this?"
"Because you already know," Itachi said simply. "Or, if you do not, you will very soon. It is of no consequence."
You're just sadistic like that, Kakashi mentally translated. Or he's just trying to get under my skin. I hate to admit it, but it's working, you bastard. "You both realize that I could have a dozen ANBU here in a few seconds?"
It was a slight exaggeration, Kurenai knew—it would take at least 10 seconds for such reinforcements to arrive. Against most opponents, that threat would force a retreat.
"I doubt you would even manage to get a signal off," Itachi casually replied. "That is, of course, assuming that you would be able to try while simultaneously protecting your genin." Kakashi slowly moved his hitae-ate up in response, revealing the famous sharingan eye with which he had copied a thousand jutsu. The man wearing a gashed Konoha hitae-ate lifted his head a fraction of an inch and turned his gaze onto his brother. "After all, we wouldn't want your friends to die. Would we, Sasuke?"
Before anyone could respond, Sasuke charged forward with a yell of utter rage, bluish-white electricity crackling from his outstretched hand.
And then all hell broke loose.
Kisame completed a small series of seals, unleashing a small, guided torrent of water at the Konoha shinobi. Kakashi copied the technique and unleashed it himself to counter, forcing Kurenai to bail Sasuke out of what could very well be his final moments.
Sasuke's lightning-shrouded hand lunged at a stationary Itachi, who seemed to make no move in his own defense. When the Chidori was a mere foot away from his chest, Itachi's arm swung up at mind-boggling speed, catching Sasuke's forearm with a disturbing ease.
A look of shock appeared on Sasuke's face only for a fraction of a second before it was replaced by one of agony, accompanied by a sickening crack of broken bone.
Kurenai rushed past Sakura, who threw a tagged kunai into the air. The jounin was already finished with the required seals of a genjutsu technique by the time she was within striking distance of Itachi. Her Hundred Constraining Vines technique was capable of restraining some jounin for several seconds, but she was merely hoping for a fraction of that. She would have picked a more powerful illusion, but she simply didn't have the time to set it up—Kurenai was acting mostly on reflex and instinct at this point.
Sasuke's pained cry reached her ears right as she reached him. Kurenai slashed her kunai at the missing-nin's gripping hand, but only managed a nick before Itachi moved it clear.
A fraction of a second was all she had managed to get, but she hoped it might be enough. Grabbing around the torso with both arms, she jumped back, away from the monster of a man.
To the eyes of Itachi, her evasive action was too predictable. He drew and threw a kunai almost too fast for Kurenai to see.
In midair and burdened by an unfamiliar load, she was incapable of dodging an attack from so close. She couldn't even consciously register the metal blade speeding towards her face.
But some obviously could, because the kunai was deflected cleanly away by an object that moved too quickly for her to recognize.
"GET BACK!" It was Kakashi's voice, she realized. She was grateful to have already been in the process of doing so, because a second later Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigake exploded.
The blast wasn't too powerful, but anyone within a few meters of the explosion would have been dead.
And now Kurenai was on her way down into the trees, doing her best to shield Sasuke from the thicker branches. Luckily, they ended up on the ground with nothing more serious than some nasty bruises. At about that same time, another explosion went off above them.
It took her a few moments to reorient herself. Sasuke was getting to his feet, hissing in pain. Kakashi's voice called out, "All clear!"
She had no idea what had just happened, but there was something she needed to know above all else. "Is anyone hurt?" she called out.
Kakashi called out a reassuring, "no," much to Kurenai's relief. That had been too close...
She helped a mostly silent Sasuke walk back towards the rest of the group, grateful to see that the two of them looked the worst for wear. "What happened?" she asked. ANBU were already on scene.
"Exploding shadow clones," Kakashi answered grimly, "both were Itachi's."
"We'll organize a search immediately," said the most senior-ranking ANBU present. Shinobi were still arriving piecemeal in response to the explosions. Kakashi nodded in thanks.
Kurenai felt both nauseous and terrified at the thought of exploding shadow clones. Such a technique in the wrong hands could be insanely dangerous..., she thought, until realization dawned. Itachi Uchiha knew such a technique, and he was very likely in Konoha at this very moment.
"Watch over the genin," Kakashi ordered to a dazed Kurenai, "I'm joining the search."
A/N: Yeah.
Please review! It gets my butt back into writing gear. I'm up at 4AM posting this stuff because of how awesome you guys are :)
Some questions if you want to answer them:
1) How was the Uzumaki interaction?
2) Did you recognize who Uzuki was?
3) How was the action? Did you understand what was going on? Was it entertaining?
4) How was my portrayal of Itachi?
5) Favorite part(s) of the chapter?
6) Least favorite part(s)?
7) Any general feedback or things you'd like to see?
Bonus questions, for fun:
8) Do you get the symbolism of the title? What song it is from, and why it fits?
9) Did you notice a certain parallel between this chapter and another chapter in a different story?
Until next time!
8)