Title: The Everlasting Sins
Rating: Rated T.
Pairings: Canon pairings for Naruto, along with slight NaruHina near the very end of the story.
Genre: Adventure.
Summary: A sin lasts forever, even if other things do not. Naruto's debilitating disease doesn't, nor does his hatred. His past, however, forever continues to follow him. Smart, powerful Naruto. Rewritten in collaboration with The Sin of Justice, the original author.
Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review to either me or The Sin of Justice.
Beta: N/A—Help wanted.
Warnings: Language, violence, and moderate blood/gore.
Category: Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist crossover.
Uploaded: February 18th, 2014
Key:
"Normal dialogue."
Thoughts—for everyone, including Bijū.
/Mental conversations./
Please note that Bijū cannot "speak" unless their host is inside of the seal, and please enjoy the story!
(Section Break)
Naruto grumbled under his breath as two presences incredibly similar to his main target's began to approach the other group of people he could feel. They were definitely the Ichibi Jinchūriki's siblings, since those were the only people who chased after the boy, but he had hoped that they would have just continued on their way instead of attempting to stall the Konoha ninja from getting in contact with the Third Kazekage's son. It was to be expected, though, as they were definitely just trying to keep the compilation of Genin from reaching Gaara until the boy had recovered enough to complete his transformation into a limp vessel the One-Tail's rampage.
Hopping onto another branch at the same time, the two Sand Siblings met their objective. Naruto paused and focused on what was going on. He himself was very tired, seeing as he was doing most of the work off leg muscle alone instead of chakra, but soon he could tell that some of the examinees had pushed past the brother and sister from Sunagakure. Nodding his head towards his teammates as they waited for him, as they had stopped when he had, Naruto spoke. "They're definitely just stalling. It'll take us longer to get there than it will for the ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village, though. We were trying to avoid confrontation with them, after all, but it seems they had no problems with that."
"Let's just get going, then," Zabuza replied, putting his arm around his back and sliding his hand across his temporary claymore's hilt.
Nodding once more, the group set off again, flying through the trees faster than they had before. The pressure of needing to get there in time had come flooding down when the reality of the situation—My first situation, Naruto thought with a small hint of bitterness—sunk in. The overbearing presence of the One-Tail could be felt even with how far away they were, and that was with the beast still being contained. Naruto wasn't sure he wanted to see it outside of its seal, albeit with how poor that seal was, it was likely he would end up having to.
It wasn't like he was unprepared, however. Even as he hopped towards the location of where he surely would end up fighting, his legs beginning to become a bit strained, he was figuring out what exactly to do. While Gaara was probably stronger than him in many aspects, especially with the power of the Ichibi, the Kyūbi's power was not to be laughed at either. Using it in actual combat was sketchy—all chakra was—as he hadn't really tested fighting with it, but if the situation arose it would certainly prove useful enough. Or so he hoped, anyway, although it was possible that something he didn't want to happen would occur even with his interference. Either way, they needed to hurry to make sure the Jinchūriki didn't get out of control, or all of this would have been for nothing.
(Section Break)
Sasuke was slammed harshly into the ground, blood being coughed up as his body impacted with the unforgiving dirt. Above him was the One-Tail Jinchūriki's half-transformed state, his claws and sandy body pounding every part of him. His hair was a mess and his clothes were torn, the black cloth strewn everywhere as the sharp points of the Ichibi's hands scratched him, leaving big cuts that oozed blood all over his form. The blood would surely stain everything, including any nearby flora.
Especially nearby flora, actually. Innocence was a hard thing to protect, after all.
It was becoming hard to breathe, the ragged stabs and jabs of the knife-like claws hitting him over and over and causing a searing pain to wrack his body with each attack. Thick, rose-red blood that reeked filled both the area and his lungs, and as he coughed more and more, it continued to come out. His eyes were as perfect as ever, their spinning crimson twirling round and round like a children's game, and through the sheen of horror the Uchiha could only see the monster that would eventually end his life. At the current rate, anyhow.
A particularly harsh cough left him gasping for breath, and as the Sand ninja sliced him, he found even his eyesight beginning to become blurry. It was hard to stay awake, the allure of sleeping so it would all be over with toying him, but soon he was picked up roughly and slammed once more, this time flying through the scenery silently before crashing into a tree, snapping it in two. Part of him snapped into two, as well, and a feeling of panic and fear arose within him as his eyes shut for just a second. His brain wasn't working—he couldn't think—and he laid, sprawled on the ground, unfeeling and unsure as a soft pastel pink entered his vision. It took him nearly three seconds, far too long, for him to identify what or who it was, and only then did he try to call out her name, although because of the liquid in his body spilling out he couldn't find himself doing anything but molding the words onto his lips.
She was shaking, he noticed, and as she raised a flimsy weapon, Sasuke's eyesight continued to fade. Black—dark, dark black—was seeping in from all directions as he continued to be on the ground. At that point, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his thoughts processing, and while his sensory perception was fine—Jinchūriki, thirty metres and approaching; Sakura, two metres and unmoving—he couldn't make sense of nearly anything. He found it hard to comprehend what his teammate was doing, too, when she turned towards him and began approaching.
What are you doing? he wanted to inquire. The enemy is coming. Why are you concerning yourself with me? I'm probably going to die here anyway.
That sentence alone froze him altogether.
Dying was not something he particularly wanted to do. While the Hidden Leaf Village was not his favourite place in the world, he didn't hate it by any means. His classmates from the Academy annoyed him to some extent, as he had ignored them continuously while he was in and out of classes. However, they weren't bad people, according to Kakashi's standards. They didn't abandon him despite his cold demeanour, nor did they bully him for some reason or another like he had seen others do. He was reminded of a scene in a park once, a day where he had been out of the Compound. A girl with no features he remembered had been being bullied despite her friend being right next to her, and only after the friend yelled at the culprits did they leave. It wasn't like they had wanted to leave, much like he didn't want to die, but they had been practically forced to. If they hadn't, they probably would have been hurt somehow.
But he was dying, and he wasn't sure there was anything to solve that. In the back of his mind he noticed himself being propped against another tree, this one not just a trunk, and the images of pink left soon afterwards. He could see only the calm breeze of the day, a rather pleasant image to die to. It was then that he realised he really didn't want to die.
Many things had occurred within his short lifetime. His brother, gone within a small breath and glance away for reasons that didn't make sense to him. That bastard Orochimaru had even dared to put a cursed seal on him, believing it would make him thirst for enough power in order to leave Konoha, join the Snake Sannin's forces, all just to find his brother. But it was all so, so confusing—what had possessed his brother to leave? Itachi had always told Sasuke of how much he cared for him, so whatever the reason his older brother had for leaving must have been very important. The story of wanting peace for the world didn't line up—Wouldn't it be easier to reach that dream with your comrades backing you up? Criminals aren't your teammates, Itachi.—and he wanted more than anything to go back to the days where his world revolved around only his family, where he was happier than any normal kid should have been; to the days where he had been full of only admiration and love. Then again, wasn't that what his brother wanted in the first place? A world full of only that, not riddled with violence and wars?
The chakra signature of the Jinchūriki was upon Sakura's signature at this point. A sinking feeling within Sasuke told him that she was definitely being attacked, most likely by those damn claws. He wondered if she was hacking up roses like he had been. Perhaps she was hacking up pink roses, or even sakura blossoms. It'd fit her namesake more that way. Normal, red roses fit his own more then, if going by that logic. Red, the colour of both anger and violence and of love and passion.
Sakura soon came flying his direction, much like he had earlier. She sailed past him, each millimetre of movement she made being tracked by his fading vision assisted by the Sharingan, each tendril of blood being logged within his brain for thinking. It was sickening, the wound on her stomach.
As he drifted into the abyss of unconscious, he admitted to himself that he truly, deeply, harboured a hate for the world he could see because of his eyes.
(Section Break)
Sakura was smashed into the large tree, crimson spilling out of her stomach and getting all over her white-trimmed battle dress. Her softly-coloured pink hair cushioned her head next to none, and a part of her wondered if her long hair would have fared any better in doing that despite knowing it wouldn't have. Just a second later, a suffocating claw entrapped her body, crushing her against the surface of the huge plant, and as it slowly became tighter she felt every part of her being squeezed. It was as if the world decided to cave in on her, and the swimming she felt her brain doing as it tried to function with little oxygen became something she tried to ignore. She forced herself to look up, to focus on her situation, but she was unable to move and she could sense the half-turned monster coming up to meet her and laugh as she stopped breathing.
He didn't come immediately like she thought he would, though. However, she did hear a shout, so glancing around without trying to make herself feel even dizzier, the female Genin looked for where the Sand ninja was.
Is that…him? she wondered, trying to straighten out her brain once more so she could be aware of her situation. The black didn't match with the red hair she had viewed earlier, and unless she was seeing quadruple—and even then, none of them looked alike—then there were definitely more people than just the Jinchūriki there. That was further proved correct when the stranger—Where have I seen him before?—jumped backwards and clapped his hands together, causing a harsh wind she could feel even from her position to rustle through the forest. The sand body of the Third Kazekage's son twitched only slightly, little bits of it flying off into the distance, and soon the boy retaliated with a leap forward, intent on clawing the boy.
Sakura's vision continued to become dotty, the colour akin to the beautiful night sky invading her very being. She herself thought, however, that the night sky was even prettier with stars that illuminated the world below in a soft glow. The moon's light was also a reason that she would stare out of her bedroom window occasionally, and on particularly bright nights she sometimes would open the window and breathe in the crisp air. That air, if accompanied by the sweet scent of cherry blossom trees, was her favourite thing in the world—not that she would ever say that to her dearest crush.
That picturesque scene continued to become bleak, however, and as the light of day began to leave her entirely and left her in darkness she gasped for one last breath and stared at the sky, hoping that the night would be as spectacular as always. She didn't have to focus on that, however, as the claw then detached itself from the arm of the Ichibi's half-transformation so it could attack, making the pressure let up some and allowing her enough space to breathe well enough so that she wouldn't faint instantly. The spots of darkness that clouded her left slowly, and as she glanced back to where the unidentified group had been, she spotted only a huge crater and the Jinchūriki attempting to stand. Staring at the odd sight, Sakura watched as the ninja did indeed stand, at which point the boy began to turn into the monster known as the One-Tail. It was a horrifying sight, seeing his skin slowly break and turn into a tan hide, and a part of her wanted to look away and be consumed so she wouldn't have to experience this. She was unable to, and watched with solemn resolve as the fight continued despite her wishes.
(Section Break)
Naruto raised an eyebrow as the pink-haired girl being crushed by a claw continued to stare at them, wondering why she wouldn't even try to free herself. Perhaps it just hadn't crossed her mind. It wasn't his business anyway.
Turning his attention back to his opponent, he watched as Gaara gave into his inner demons, slowly becoming them. Dark beige skin with black stripes soon covered the Genin's entire being, and jumping back swiftly to get further away from the crater he had created, he quickly talked to his teammates. "There's another person by here. Go get that person, will you? Whoever it is feels familiar."
"I believe it's the Uchiha that is your sister's teammate," Haku replied. "Are you sure?"
"It's not like I have much against my sister's teammates, you know," Naruto muttered. "They didn't choose to be on her team, after all."
Ignoring the hypocrisy—Was it your sister's choice to be born to your parents? the former-yet-currently-temporary Mist ninja questioned internally—Haku nodded, jumping up and to the right so as to avoid the incoming fight. Naruto turned to Zabuza and said, "I'd like to handle this. Mind making sure that one girl is all right, and then making sure nobody interferes?"
"If you're about to die, I'm ignoring what you just said," said the swordsman before also jumping up into the canopy. Naruto looked on amusedly for a second, then shrugged. It's not like I'm gonna die, idiot.
Steeling himself for the incoming fight, Naruto looked at the One-Tail Jichūriki. "You can fight it, you know. The Ichibi, that is."
The Genin did not reply, simply continuing to progress his form, and Naruto sighed. "All right, then. I'm sorry about this, Gaara."
Doing his last preparations, Naruto made sure his gloves were secure before clapping his hands together and pressing them against the air just for show, as if it were a wall, idly realising he'd be a good mime. As he let his alchemy form hundreds of near-invisible bullets made of air, only visible because of the slight distortion they made, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki let them fly forth, pelting the still-transforming Gaara. While he didn't want to seriously injure one of the only people in the world who could relate to him, he also knew fighting was necessary at this point, as the Suna ninja had already nearly killed two Genin from Konoha, one worse than the other.
The Ichibi host howled as the compressed bits of air attacked him, the parts that hadn't been turned into Shukaku yet getting injured and starting to bleed. A true wild look overcame the normal features of Gaara's face, and quickly the wounds healed themselves as the rest of the human in him disappeared. His shape grew quickly, and soon he was standing high above the trees, intent only on crushing the temporarily black-haired runaway below.
"Well, shit."
From the distance, Naruto couldn't see very much, and decided it'd be better to see if there was any gimmick other than the One-Tail itself being in front of him. He leapt into the trees' branches and strained himself to see as far as he could, but the massive height of the creature made him need to get further back to see the top of its head. After seeing that, and if there was nothing, he would run behind it. Going backwards like he had just thought to do, ignoring the frightening chuckles and insane laughter escaping the giant tanuki after the change had completed, the sight of something not the same colour as the raccoon-dog's skin came into view. It was lighter, and on top there was something a sharp red colour. So Gaara hadn't disappeared completely, but he seemed much shorter than Naruto would have thought. Perhaps he was still merged; it would make sense, since he wasn't sure if the tailed beast would be able to attack by itself because of the seal.
A river of sand seemed to come from the head of the Ichibi, streaming down with incredible speed. It was headed towards him, and wanting to avoid it, Naruto began to flee where he had stood. The grains of desert followed him even as he looped through the forest, and getting annoyed, Naruto clapped the transmutation circles on his hands together and sent an extreme burst of air through the air and at the compacted sand. It dispersed immediately, but Naruto continued to jump, and just a second later did the sand reform itself into a sharp lance-like object and come after him, seemingly even faster than before.
The drag was probably reduced, Naruto concluded, pushing his legs to go faster. Sand's weak to fire, isn't it? But I can't use fire very well, if really at all, and wind isn't working very effectively. I can't use water, and lightning seems all but useless, not that I can even use that, either.
Remembering his previous tactic quickly and wondering why he hadn't remembered it since before he even went over to the goddamned person made of sand of all things, he'd already had a solution, Naruto spun himself around and quickly changed out his gloves for another pair within his coat. Clapping his hands together and pressing them against the sand that had come close to grazing him, Naruto watched as the alchemical lights spurted out and covered the mass of grainy earth, changing it into glass instantly. The glass was instantly shattered, however, by more sand from the original attacker coming down and pounding it. It wasn't turning back into sand, but Naruto had a sinking feeling glass shards would be even more dangerous. It was possible, however, that Gaara couldn't control the clear substance he had created.
Pressing his hands together once again, summoning enough energy to change all the sand currently being fought with—surely it was even enough to destroy a portion of the Ichibi itself—and zapped it at the bits of desert that weren't native to the surrounding region. Everything, absolutely everything, was engulfed in the light, and not wanting to get caught in any possible backlash, the alchemist-in-training continued his leaping to get even further away. The moment he looked back, he could see the surrounding trees and plants had gotten a bit damaged, but the sand itself was all solid glass. He didn't want to get caught off-guard by the seemingly harmless mass that was only still in the air because of it being caught on the trees, however, and waited in the canopy for something to happen. That something didn't include the tanuki's tail being launched at him, and the attack wasn't welcomed in the slightest, as the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had hopped just in time for his foot to be caught on the edge of the racoon-dog's tail, spinning him at an awkward angle and making him cringe as he took note of what was possibly a sprain of his ankle. He landed on the forest floor with a throb in his leg, but as he stared at the sand, it didn't turn back into what he thought it would.
That was the moment that, of course, little grains began to rise out of the dirt below him. Thinking about it logically, it made complete sense why the Sand Genin was able to do that, but the strategy was surprising and not something that Naruto wanted to deal with at the moment. He couldn't do much, however, as the sheer area of where the sand was being taken from was way larger than his own attack range. The fight wasn't going his way, really, and it was no surprise what a very loud shout of "Sabaku Kyū! Sand Coffin!" reached his ears. Really, he didn't understand why people announced their attacks, but then he realised that sometimes it was because it was already impossible to avoid them. That proved to be true as, despite his hastened effort to once again leap into the trees, the sand nearby latched onto his legs and rooted him there. He cursed, clapping his hands together to make wind and disperse the earth trapping him—it was one thing wind was good for when fighting sand, he supposed—but more flew at him and bound his arms and the rest of his legs. Cursing even louder, Naruto watched as what seemed to be a whole sandstorm screamed towards him, and futilely struggling to get away he began to panic as it slowly enveloped his entire body, stacking layers and layers of sand around him and keeping him in place.
Shit! he thought. How the fuck—I can't use alchemy at the moment, nor the pathetic ninja techniques I can sort of perform… Damn it, damn it, damn it!
The pressure began to build as the sand caved in, the strangled call of "Sabaku Sōsō! Sand Burial!" reaching him. Fuck, fuck, fuck…
Realisation dawned upon him, and grasping deep within himself he latched onto the small tendril of the Kyūbi's chakra. It came to the surface of his body easily without any reluctance on Kurama's part. Silently thanking the Bijū, Naruto wrenched the bubbling energy to envelop him in a glow, at which point it began slowly ebbing away at the prison of sand that trapped him. The pressure that had previously begun to crush his limbs and suffocate them, probably giving him internal injuries of some sort, alleviated, and Naruto breathed out in relief before struggling to keep a hold on the Nine-Tails's chakra. It was acidic, almost, and it was burning away at the sand just fine, but it was also burning at his still-recovering chakra coils. He could see his body itself turning red, a deep burning feeling attacking everything within him, and only as the coffin of earth began to dissipate did the Fourth Hokage's son let out a small noise of pain. It burned—oh fuck, it burned—and he wanted more than anything to let it disperse into the air and never come back. But it was helping him, and in order to win the fight, he needed to use it.
Bearing with the pain as much as he could, Naruto turned to look at the Ichibi. The giant beast was muttering something or other—not that Naruto had heard it over the process it took to gain his injuries. Cocking his head back and forth to stretch out his neck, wincing slightly, the natural blond hurriedly changed out his right glove for one that was hidden in the pocket of his coat. He slammed his hand to the ground, creating a large platform to approach Shukaku upon. He quickly ran down the crumbly dirt path and, from the side, reached the giant tanuki. The monster hadn't seemed to have noticed him yet, and pushing his hands together once more, he pressed them against the hard skin of the beast. Alchemical light crackled up the raccoon-dog and traveled down towards its feet, and once arriving, began its work. The energy latched onto the bottom half of the Ichibi's hind legs and the ground below them, rearranging the atoms in such a way that the two became connected, binding them together. Shukaku growled and looked downwards, and upon seeing itself stuck in the ground, immediately letting its feet loosen from their solid sandy state, only to move away and take the desert back into him, reforming his limbs.
Naruto, knowing he'd need more firepower, tried again, but this time merging about a fourth of the entire Bijū with the forest floor. The alchemical light surged forth again, and as the cussing One-Tailed Tanuki shifted his form so as to get loose, Naruto jumped up and clumsily began to run up the monster's back, only for the beast to jump and knock him off. It turned itself, and with a deep voice, rumbled, "Fūton: Renkūdan! Wind Style: Air Bullet!"
Still falling through midair, Naruto grit his teeth as a huge gust of wind built up in the Ichibi's mouth. He twisted, and fumbling to switch out his gloves in time for a pair within another coat pocket—This is incredibly inconvenient, isn't it?—pressed his hands together to fight air with air. His own giant blast prepared itself, and letting it go at the same time as the One-Tail did, the two clashed head-on, the ginormous gusts seemingly stood at a standstill when hitting each other, only to go to the side of one another and destroy everything to both the left and right of the two opponents. However, as soon as Naruto noticed Shukaku preparing another one, he let himself plunge to the ground, running around the side of the Bijū once more despite his injuries, skillfully scaled its side.
Immediately the Ichibi swung its tail, sensing him, but thanks to a well-timed jump, the large mass of sand missed. It came at him again, however, and hindered by his sprained ankle—Didn't Kurama say his chakra healed, too?—the extremity missed him by only an inch. Hurrying his run as the raccoon-dog nearly finished freeing itself, the Yondaime's son made one last leap upwards, cringing as the burn of his foot landing mingled with the internal, almost debilitating pain of the Kyūbi's chakra. He reached his goal safely enough, and panting, Naruto looked upwards to investigate if the red-coloured thing he had seen earlier was indeed what he thought. The massive presence of the tanuki overpowered whatever life signs the boy had, and thus it was a little bit surprising when the disguised alchemist saw him.
Gaara was worse for wear, honestly. He seemed to be unconscious, which made sense based upon the level of power the Ichibi currently possessed. The tail came at him again, and the boy avoided the blow as best he could while the One-Tail finally recovered its body. Sensing he was out of time, Naruto sprung forward, bringing his arm back painfully into a position to hit the Suna ninja awake despite the impending doom of another slash from Shukaku's figurative whip. Just as it was about to hit him, Naruto's fist impacted with the side of Gaara's head as he shouted "Wake up!", and instantaneously a huge cloud of smoke replaced what the apprentice alchemist had been standing on, tail included. Naruto began to fall, and the Jinchūriki he had attacked was not far behind, although the latter of the pair seemed to be having a panic attack of sorts.
Sailing through the air, trees flying past them as they reached the end of their descent, Naruto exhaustedly held his hands together again—This is so not worth it—cringing again at the painful sensation of moving his arms. Slowly, a massive ball of pressurised air formed and caught the two. It dispersed near immediately, as sustaining a smaller one was difficult in of itself, but the landing had already been softened enough so that when they both crashed into the dirt, it wasn't as agonising as it could have been. Really, he was truly wondering why the hell he decided to do this anyway. That, and why he was trying so hard to "save" his fellow Jinchūriki from the Ichibi.
(Section Break)
After flopping onto the ground, a still-stunned Gaara wearily pried his eyes open. His sand gourd had been scattered throughout the environment, and he couldn't really focus very well, but his clothing was in all right shape, at least. The awkward position he fell in hurt his side, making it throb in a way that was still mildly frightening to him. Slowly rolling himself onto his back despite the difficulty of the motion, he looked up at the clear sky through the many leaves of the trees. He wondered briefly if he could see the same sky at his home in the dry and cracked desert, then looked to his right when he heard a noise. The blood was still pounding in his head, most noticeably in his cheek, and because of the lack of a guard to protect him from his tumble through the air mixed with the Ichibi's possession, he was feeling groggy. So, his vision slightly blurred, he inspected the source of the sound.
He quickly noticed it was that Jinchūriki, that one demon container that he had observed from his half-conscious state through Shukaku, the one who had so easily deflected all the attacks. Even in the boy's state—Why is his skin so red?—Gaara knew he could be hurt incredibly easily, especially since the Sand Genin couldn't particularly feel his body due to the One-Tail having taken all his remaining strength. Even just twitching his arm was a difficult task, while on the other hand, the person not fifteen metres away was able to—although struggling the entire time—slowly get into a crawling position. Right after, however, his legs gave out and he was lying on his stomach again.
It was at the point that the black-haired Genin used his elbows to prop himself up, and Gaara looked on confusedly as his fellow Bijū container pressed his hands together in a prayer-like fashion. Suddenly recalling the fight he had only half-experienced, Gaara watched with curious yet morbid fascination as, after pushing his hands onto the ground with a strange hiss of pain, a small shift in the earth could be seen. The Mist ninja with the strange kekkei genkai then looked towards the redhead, eyes lingering on the carved tattoo-like scar reading "love" before making eye contact with the jfinchūriki himself.
Fear took a firm hold of the Suna ninja's heart, replacing whatever feeling had just been there. The unstable seal keeping the demonic tanuki at bay lashed out in response, and attempting to keep the emotions that were swirling from bursting out, Gaara opened his mouth, lips cracking as he spoke.
"Don't come near me."
Perhaps it was the wording, since the Yondaime Kazekage's son had never been good with people in the first place, but the Kyūbi Jinchūriki looked at him oddly. A questioning noise made its way out of the boy's slightly scratchy throat, and upon acting like he would come closer, Gaara spoke again.
"Get away."
There was no particular malice in the words, if one were to look closely, but the exhausted state the two were both in caused for some problems. The fear and almost rage most likely being channeled into him by Shukaku was still suffocating, and the second his possibly-former enemy dragged himself towards the Sand ninja was the point at which caution and hesitancy kicked in.
"G-get away!"
The Kiri genin did not stop, continuing to move with a tiny bit of ease. He was quickly becoming closer, not letting up in approaching the Ichibi Jinchūriki. Panic, true panic, bubbled up within Gaara's heart despite the detachedness he had from the current situation, and under the sheen of emotion, he let out a phrase that sounded more like a strangled cry from a dying animal.
"Stop! Get a-away from me!"
A very peculiar look was in Naruto's eyes, one Gaara could not really decipher. Shukaku was becoming increasingly restless, and as soon as the alchemist was but a foot from him, still going strong, something happened. What it was, exactly, the One-Tail container was unsure of due to the overwhelming pounding of his senses, but the one thing he could make out clearly was a haunting scream that chilled him to the bone, scraping and chipping away at his very sanity. He couldn't, physically could not open his eyes, and in unison he felt a yell of his own escaping. The two-toned pitch was horrid sounding, and as Gaara was finally able to pry his eyelids open as the cries died down slightly alongside the fright and anger, he came face-to-face with a scene he had not been anticipating.
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, who had been so close before, was now further away by a good five metres. There was the scent of metal in the air, a smell so thick and gruesome it reminded Gaara of the time he was bathed in blood from a particularly messy kill. Only this time, it hadn't been of his own decision; although, how many of those murders been his own decision? The seal protecting his mind from the Ichibi was weak at best, so in a sense, he could he say it wasn't even his fault. Even so, that didn't take away from the fact that there was metaphorical copper sprayed everywhere, himself included, or that there were two crushed…somethings…halfway in-between them.
There was a wild glow around the Jinchūriki, though, and Gaara found himself staring intently as he regained his bearings. It was at that point where, half-functioning, he put two and two together to make four and realised what those somethings where: the remains of discoloured, smashed, torn-off fucking arms. Just the sight made him feel a bit sick, and even though he'd seen worse—much, much worse, although he'd rather not be reminded of such petty killings that were over absolutely nothing—it was someone he knew. It wasn't someone who had betrayed him and he'd been forced to kill like his uncle, nor was it a random drunk on the streets who aggravated him. It was not his brother or sister, who he had not hurt beyond emotionally—perhaps that wasn't any better—but someone who he had not really known. Yet, for the few moments they had interacted, there was a nagging something in the back of his mind that let him know it was someone who could truly understand how he felt and why he did what he did, even if he wasn't sure himself after a little while. And he had to wonder, what exactly made his enemy so strong?
There wasn't a reason, as far as he knew. The boy was reckless, fighting against a rampaging and bitter Shukaku, and anyone willing to do something like that surely couldn't have been very intelligent. Either that, or he was just very confident in his skills, but as proven by what had just happened, there wasn't a reason for that, either.
But the bond of shared loneliness and abandon between them had surelybeen broken with the whole "I ripped off and smashed your arms; sorry" thing, not that he even was consciously aware he had done it. Though, he particularly feel bad about it, and so perhaps the entire situation was just karma for never truly bothering to attempt to not give in to the Ichibi's allurement and slowly breaking his own mind.
The Mist ninja moved, and the Yondaime Kazekage's third child—the one who had killed his own mother—glanced over as the boy's eyes met his. There was something off about them, more so than before, and with an unsure thought Gaara swore he was being approached. He saw the other's torso move in an agonising manner, chakra from the Kyūbi bubbling furiously around the new wounds. It took a few seconds, but eventually the Bijū container stumbled in a sort of leap that caused him to gain a few inches on the ground separating them. Gaara, understanding in his own mind exactly what was intended, tried to move away. Really, it was almost pathetic that a man with no arms could move better than a fully-functioning ninja from Sunagakure.
Somehow, though, as the struggle to at least move his arm continued, the sheer resolve within his opponent continued to increase. It didn't make sense; hadn't he just been beaten? People normally would give up. But resolve alone didn't move a person, so perhaps the Nine-Tails's chakra was of assistance, although the One-Tail hadn't called out in anger from the Kyūbi's presence quite yet. Just earlier it had tried even killing the boy for bringing the tailed beast anywhere even near it, as well as trying to kill the fox itself as per what was expected, so the Ichibi was probably worn out and asleep. Not that it had ever granted him such a normal and utterly plain pleasure of life.
The Kiri Genin had covered nearly half the distance, a feat impressive for anyone. That also meant that the body parts that used to be attached to him were now in front, barring his path and not allowing him to go any further without doing something about them. Gaara was a little curious, if he were to be honest, and despite the fact that his enemy was approaching even after losing both arms while he himself was still unable to even move, continued to watch in silence. Thus, when his fellow Jinchūriki used the side of his face to push them out of the way, there was a certain degree of shock associated with the action that he felt. For someone who had just gone through a trauma such as that, not to mention that they'd likely die anyway from blood loss unless medical attention arrived soon—which reminded him, he had no idea where anyone else that had been there earlier actually was—it was insane, although there was a very one-sided debate already about whether or not that statement would be hypocritical of him. After all, most people, probably including himself, thought he was insane as well.
The boy kept coming. Not even two metres by now, an intense look of pain on his face, he continued to drag himself along the ground. There was a slight, cold feeling of fear within Gaara, though because of the helplessness of the pair of them, it was dulled into what he believed to be anxiousness. Only the crazed, perhaps desperate, look in his opponent's eyes instilled any bit of true worry.
"Gaara."
He was surprised his name was said, and the raspy voice in which it was said was also disconcerting. He stared warily at the disguised—not that he knew that—Kyūbi container, unresponsive.
"I-it's…almost unbearable…isn't it? The…f-feeling of being…alone. I-I can't…take it either."
The words were stuttered, paced out unevenly with pained gasps elicited from the movement towards him that was being attempted. The Ichibi Jinchūriki couldn't follow what was being said, what was being talked about—how was loneliness related to him? He was no longer lonely; he had the One-Tail, and as frightening as the beast was, it was the best he could get. He had become a monster during his time alive, and thus the only people who he deserved to have care about him—if it was even caring—were other monsters. Monsters terrified anyone other than their own species, so it was only natural.
"But…t-there are people…who need you, right? Your…siblings. They s-seem afraid…but they care…for y-you, you know."
The speech did not stop for his thoughts, though said thoughts themselves were nearly stopped by the eyes scrutinising and sympathising with his soul. Or perhaps it was empathy, though that was being too hopeful, too joyous for the current situation he was in. A defeated, lost Genin from the Land of Wind lying on the forest floor with blood drenching his surroundings, it being splattered against the trees and even his own self from body parts that had been ripped off from a somewhat victorious ninja from the Land of Water—it was despair-inducing. And he, too, felt the despair.
"It's…t-too lonely where you…are right now. Y-you don't…need everyone to…love you. A few…even just t-two…people a-are plenty…Gaara."
As he pondered about it, he realised despair was a foreign feeling to him, really. The last time he had truly experienced it was the time he had received the scar on his forehead with the reading of "love," and it had been a long time since then. Feeling something as hollow as that was not at all welcomed, yet within some part of him he already knew that hollowness was with him everyday. The constant sensation of emptiness, an unnatural heavy feeling pressing down on his body was something he was familiar with, so the unrestrained killings he performed had let him know he was still able to feel, still able to live, and that in of itself was comforting. With eyes becoming a bit wider, his opponent still gasping while moving forth, the Ichibi container had to question:
Was he not allowed to be that selfish?
"I-I'm not…doing this for m-me. Ed…told me to, because…o-otherwise…you would probably…be killed by…K-Konohagakure."
The words did very little to dissuade his previous inquiry.
"B-but…Gaara…I don't want you to die."
A surprised noise came out of his throat. The Kiri ninja was right in front of him, a trail of blood leading from behind and the reddish-orange chakra still bubbling, and he wondered in the back of his mind how he had missed the rest of the advance.
"A-and that's…why I'm doing…t-this."
His eyes still larger than usual, Gaara could clearly see his enemy's head as it was raised up. It stayed there as a few more words escaped him.
"I-in order for…you t-to…understand the j-joys of…'friendship' and 'love.'"
The head slammed into Gaara's own and caused a burst of colour to erupt within his vision. He felt that peculiar feeling of blood seeping out of his skin and onto his face, and when he was able to reopen his eyes, he saw the face of an abandoned and lonely little child, wondering one simple thing.
Why?
And through the thoughts, he heard his fellow container's next statement.
"Because…w-we're friends, Gaara, a-and…I want you…t-to wake up for…real t-this time."
Though, that didn't make any sense. How could they be friends? He had nearly—or perhaps just slowly, if nothing was to be done—killed the other.
"I k-know…what y-you're feeling…since I-I am too…a container. But…"
But what?
"Through a l-lot of effort…I was a-able to…find some people…who c-care for me."
Oh.
"E-Ed, Kurama…even Zeku a-and Hikaru…they a-all taught me…something."
Something? Could this be why he's so strong?
"T-they…though in v-various ways…taught m-me to…care for o-others back. A-and, now…I actually…might c-care for them more…t-than I care for m-myself."
Caring? It'd been a long time since he experienced such a thing. Was that really the reason?
"Y-you're too much…like me…to a-allow me to do nothing…even i-if this wasn't…for y-you in the beginning."
Perhaps it was.
"Even i-if…you crushed m-my fucking arms…and t-tried to kill me…I c-can't let you…suffer l-like that."
Why do you care for me?
"B-because it's…unfair, a-and…not your f-fault."
He wasn't even sure if that answered his question.
"And I…d-don't want you to…continue l-like this, Gaara."
That didn't, either.
"That l-loneliness…is not something…I-I want to wish onto…another Jinchūriki…s-since being a Jinchūriki…is n-not their fault."
So it wasn't his fault? That was why?
"I-it hurts too much…for a bullshit r-reason…like that. What…you've done i-is not…your fault. Whoever…m-made it be sealed…i-is the one…to b-blame here, Gaara."
That meant his father, didn't it?
"S-since it…wasn't y-your decision, it's…not your f-fault."
For some reason, he had a feeling that those words weren't just referring to the Ichibi's entrapment.
"But n-not…caring for t-those who…c-care for you…is y-your fault."
His siblings, right?
There's blood streaming down my face.
"S-so, Gaara…I want y-you…to wake u-up from…t-this hollow feeling…and l-learn to love."
The scent of blood overflowing into his nostrils paired with the words so, so very similar to someone who regretted ever attacking him and thus being forced to die were enough for horrible, horrible memories to be fully breached and for him to release a muffled scream of pain—sheer pain—that was worthy of a tortured man. If he could move he surely would be grasping his head, curling up into a fetus position with bulging eyes like a toddler, wondering where the hell he went so wrong. Because, really, he wasn't sure. The night he murdered—that was the word for it, wasn't it? Cold-blooded murder—his uncle was probably not even the initial catalyst, although it was what kept him at it. No longer pushing himself to stay even the slightest bit a decent human being, fully giving in to the One-Tail's desires to kill and destroy, conquer and rule—this was what had caused the current situation, wasn't it?
So, really, the loneliness was his own fault. Because his enemy of all peoplewas right. When he thought about it, it was really fucking clear that Kankurō and Temari cared for him in some way or such a realisation caused even him to feel a numbness of which was filled with the mostincredible and utterly melancholy to ever haunt a human being, just the smallest bit of hope stashed at the very bottom, having sunk down to the ocean floor and needing to be finally, finally retrieved.
So, he decided, he'd attempt to retrieve it, even if it killed him.
(Section Break)
Naruto was straining to keep his eyes open, his head swimming from the blood loss and mumbled curses from Kurama entering his thoughts. The boy in front of him was no longer looking at him, and unable to see his expression, Naruto wondered what would become of him. He wasn't sure exactly where Zabuza or Haku had gone, which was odd considering that he was nearly dead. Perhaps they'd had to leave for something else, or maybe more Leaf ninja showed up and he just hadn't been able to notice because he was focusing on his own fight. Either way it didn't change the fact that only his bijū was able to help him, and the overloading of chakra that his coils clearly couldn't handle from earlier had not helped his state any.
He wondered if anyone would ask him if he regretted what he had done.
/Hey, idiot,/ Kurama growled at him. /Look who's here./
Naruto grumbled under his breath, inaudible to Gaara, who was lost in his own world. Looking to each side, he noticed on his right there was a large black boot, accompanied by the words, "Fuck, Minoru."
An unsteady, breathy laugh escaped the Jinchūriki with his blond hair turned temporarily black, at which point he asked, "Still u-using those names?"
"Well, yeah," Edward replied, running a hand through his own hair. He crouched down to Naruto's level, inspecting the wounds. "I'm gonna take three guesses and the first two don't count." He let out a stressed sigh. "Fuck, Minoru. What the hell?"
"S-sorry."
"Just... Damn it."
/Hurry up./
"I know, Kurama. It just that..."
"Go, before anyone else arrives or he becomes worse," Gaara interrupted, his voice creaky and scarlet still dribbling down his face. He turned towards Naruto, who was looking at him curiously while he spoke, and—not completely sure of the words' proper use—said, "...I'm sorry."
The apology was unexpected, as Naruto had the feeling it had been a long time since one had ever left the Ichibi container's mouth. Yet, at the same time, a genuineness seemed to radiate off of it, and the simple phrase was able to be accepted with little hesitation.
"'Love'..." Gaara continued to mumble, his lips forming the word in an unfamiliar manner. He smiled ever so softly, in a way that seemed like he had never before made such a human expression. "I will remember that, Kiri ninja."
Naruto grinned softly back, trying to make his face seem as if it weren't in pain. "Minoru," he supplied, his voice surprisingly strong. "B-but if...we meet again...I'll t-tell you my real name."
Gaara nodded once, muted sorrow in his expression, then turned back to face the clear blue sky. Edward, seeing the confrontation as done in every way possible, scooped up Naruto's limp form and glanced at the direction he could feel two Sand ninja coming from. They burst through the trees—a girl with tan hair and a large battle fan, a boy with war paint and a puppet on his back—and landed at the One-Tail Jinchūriki's side, glaring at him and the half-dead boy in his arms. They seemed fully prepared to fight, to protect the redhead lying on the forest floor, but the blond alchemist only stared at them. They did not engage without the provocation and upon Gaara telling them to not bother with fighting, merely looked cautiously at him while gathering up their little brother.
It was at that point that Naruto fell entirely unconscious, more and more of the Kyūbi's chakra staunching the blood flow. There was nothing he could do where he was at currently, as the materials he needed were not near the Hidden Leaf Village, and he waited a second until Zabuza and Haku hopped down to his side. Neither of them said anything, and ignoring the unsalvageable lumps of battered flesh on the dirt, Edward spoke.
"I think we'll meet again," he said, causing both the two Sunagakure Genin to jump at his voice. "Minoru here seems to rather like the Ichibi Jinchūriki."
The teenagers shifted at his words, and Ed continued with, "Until then, Sand Siblings."
The Kazekage's children flickered out of sight, and immediately, Ed turned to Zabuza. "What exactly happened here?"
"Minoru fought the One-Tail container. He said to keep people out of it, and keeping the area clear of other ninja was difficult, so I couldn't exactly pay attention."
Haku volunteered up, "After the main part of the fight was over, the tanuki within the Sand's Jinchūriki lashed out and crushed his arms. I was tending to the Uchiha nearby here, so I'm not sure, but it seemed entirely involuntary. Minoru also kept dragging himself towards the Jinchūriki, so I imagine his...wounds got more aggravated, though he seemed to have befriended the other in the process."
Ed swore under his breath. "All right," he sighed. "Let's just hurry and get out of here. We can deal with this when we're out of enemy territory."
"'Enemy territory'?" Haku echoed.
"I attacked the Hokage, and he made a big deal out if it," said Edward, shrugging. "They're probably coming after me, so we should go now."
The two rogue ninja looked at him incredulously for a moment, then nodded, jumping up into the trees in a direction away from the village. Ed did the same, attempting not to jostle his cargo, wanting to make sure the boy stayed alive.
Really, though, the alchemist thought, it's incredible how strong he got within just two and a half years. He'll be all right if I can get to where my materials are, and that shouldn't be too difficult. We should hurry, though—if he dies, then everything I've done would have been a complete waste of my time. And even after all this time of being immortal, I don't want an opportunity like this one to go to waste.
(Section Break)
Minato and Kushina sat at the edge of the bed, the pale walls of the room giving off a chilly atmosphere. Anesthetic smells filled the air, masking the scent of illness and death with one that in many people's opinions was no better. A lone window to their left, a door to their right, and the bed itself along with medical equipment right in front—these were the components of their daughter's hospital room.
Said daughter was not awake, her blonde hair strewn across her pillow and the sheets pulled up to her neck. The only thing the two parents could do was wait and upon her revival tell her what had transpired and what was to come. The town was still in a state of ruin, with volunteers and people from many surrounding minor countries fixing up the destroyed buildings and tending to the thousands of bodies. The injured were cared for by medics, many of them doubled up or even tripled up into the rooms, and though the two ninja probably should have been assisting in the relief effort, the state of health that their child was in was more important.
What was probably most surprising was the overall morale of the people. They were not disheartened by the near kidnapping of the Hokage's daughter, nor the disarrangement of their homes or even the loss of their loved ones. The only task they seemed to be focused on was rebuilding, and the many Genin of the village were also helping out without being asked. Some academy students were doing the same, and such a thing made the love that the people held for their home evident. Part of Minato was very proud of what Konoha had become under his jurisdiction, though many of the Genin that participated in the Chūnin Exams were still under the care of the hospital, even if the constant visits from their teammates proved in helping them with getting better. Some of the lesser injured ones had even been discharged already, and quickly they too began to assist the relief effort.
However, there were also problems. The village's council was nervous for many reasons, as in their weakened state the Village Hidden in the Leaves was a prime target for many a other Hidden Villages. Not only that, but it was very possible that the entire trading relationship Konoha shared with Suna had fallen apart. The Sand's attack had been slightly unwilling, granted, but that did not prevent the relations from being torn up, especially since the Kazekage had died before the entire mess had even begun. A new one would be instated, but whoever that might be could possibly not want to attempt to rebuild the broken ties between the two, which would ultimately ruin any form of alliance. With the Land of Water's secrecy and the hatred that both the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning held for the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind was the only major country left that was on moderate terms with them, and to lose that was to become alone in the battle for dominance. It really depended upon Sunagakure at that point, but seeing as every single last one of them had cleared out as soon as possible seemingly without intentions of returning, Konoha was at a slight loss of what to do.
That did not prevent the village's Hokage from fretting over his daughter upon her awakening, however, and soon enough the blonde girl was indeed awake, blinking blearily. The light shining in through the windows did not aid her in her valiant efforts, but hurriedly she was over it, looking at her parents from her lying down position in the hospital bed. Kushina fingered at her hand, grasping it gently in assurance, and waited for the inevitable barrage of questions.
"What...happened?"
The simple question had a simple answer. "Konoha was attacked by Orochimaru and Suna."
"Orochimaru?" Natsuki repeated, trying to focus. "The perverted hermit's old teammate, right?"
"Yeah," Minato answered. "Somehow more than that came into the picture. The person who has your brother right now appeared and was the one who hurt you."
"Me…" she muttered, then suddenly thought of something. "Um, Sasuke and Sakura—are they okay?"
Kushina smiled gently. "They're in the hospital, the same as you, but they're okay. They were surprisingly unhurt, given their opponent."
"Who was their opponent?"
"The Jinchūriki from Sand," said Minato. "He went berserk. I don't know what happened, but it was taken care of. It's possible that the person who injured you did it, or perhaps it was his...accomplice."
Natsuki frowned. "The person who attacked me was who, exactly? He was blond, right?"
Kushina nodded. "He's the one that your brother is currently with, Natsuki."
"Eh?" she mumbled, just realising what had actually been said despite it having been told to her earlier. Naruto...? Naruto's actually still alive? He's not dead? He lived with that disease somehow… She let a small smile grace her lips before it died entirely. But he attacked us, didn't he?
"I've been researching him, since he seemed suspicious when Kakashi and Squad Two reported about him. He's turned up in a lot of old legends throughout history," Minato explained, looking at his daughter's blue eyes. "Everything's lined up, too, including his abilities. From what I understand, he's immortal."
"Immortal?" Natsuki questioned, disbelief showing on her face, the news putting aside her thoughts of how my brother's alive and well, but fuck, how does that even work; why hasn't he come back? Damn it... "You saw this with your own eyes?"
"His head regenerated after I used my Rasengan on him."
"Why did he attack us? Why was he even here?"
"Probably," the Yondaime Hokage continued, "because he was doing something your brother wanted, or he had his own agenda. The things he's done are...disturbing, and I wouldn't be surprised if he really was doing it for himself. Those things...are full of murder and bloodshed, and in the past he's single-handedly decided the outcomes of entire wars. He only acts with his own best interests in mind, and he was responsible for the destruction of that ancient, powerful country called Amestris. You remember that from history, right?"
Natsuki looked upwards, reigning in her emotions—because hell, if her brother was alive thanks to this guy, then there had to only be one reason why he'd attack—trying to recall, and then nodded. "...I think so, yeah. It's been a while, so..."
"His actions caused everyone in Amestris to die. Those millions of people, all wiped out thanks to him; although, he claimed it was just an accident. However, he admitted that his later deeds were on purpose, including the Birth of the Apocalypse. Do you remember learning about that?"
Natsuki looked up once more, debating the idea. It was a good ten seconds later that she sheepishly looked towards her father and shook her head, an apologetic smile on her face.
"You weren't paying attention in class, were you?"
A small, nervous chuckle escaped her. "No…" She fumbled with her hands. "History didn't really seem important at the time…"
"It was when the Jūbi tried to destroy the world," Kushina said. "You should have at least paid attention to the history of what is inside you."
"Sorry."
"Well," Minato continued, "since you don't seem to recall, most of the world's population was killed as a result. The Rikudō Sennin then confronted the beast and managed to defeat it, sealing it within himself. Using his power, he resurrected the dead and taught both them and the remaining people within the world the secrets of chakra. Only some scholars attempted to figure out how the Jūbi came about and why it rampaged, and those people discovered records of ancient legends that told of an obscure cause. Nobody believed them, though—actually, a lot of people still don't even believe in the Rikudō Sennin's legendary dōjutsu, the Rinnegan, thinking that was just an odd eye mutation."
"How is this exactly related to my brother?" the blonde asked, a sinking feeling arising within her, since despite
Minato did not hold back with his answer. "The man with your brother, the one who calls himself Edward, was that mysterious person who unleashed the Jūbi."
"Then…"
"The person Naruto is staying with is very dangerous," said Minato. "No doubt Naruto does not realise this, however."
He's being lied to, Natsuki concluded. I've nearly been killed by that bastard, and Naruto doesn't suspect anything because of what he's being told. Just because he helped you once doesn't mean he's a good person, damn it! She grimaced. I know it's our fault, and holy shit, you're actually alive and I'm glad about it I think, but try to question the people around you! If you become like him, then we'll have no choice but—but to kill you, too...
"...We have to find him," she voiced, redirecting her parents' attention to her. "If we stop now, that bastard will only make Naruto think even worse things. If he's been doing nothing for this long, then surely he's got a plan of sorts. If he wants to destroy the world that badly, there's nothing good he could be doing." She shuddered at the thought. "This village is strong. If we band together, we can win. We have to get Naruto back, no matter what it takes. I'm really worried and kind of angry that he didn't come back to us already, but..."
Natsuki sighed. "I know we weren't good to him, and that he hates us. He'll come back kicking and screaming, and there's a huge chance that we won't even be able to get him to come back at all. But even then...even then, I don't want him to be misled. He's not a bad person, he's just been fed the wrong information. Because of—because of our foolishness, it's become too easy to trick him into thinking we're the enemies, and I believe that bastard 'Edward,' or whoever the hell he is, has taken full advantage of it.
"I also want to apologise," she confessed. "It's my own fault for being such a bad sister—no, person—and things need to be set right. It'll be difficult, and that ass of a monster who's tricking him will try to get in our way, but still, I want to tell Naruto about this. I want to let him know that we're not his enemies and that we never were, and that we truly regret this. Because I do. I do regret this, and it's unfair that he's the only one who doesn't know it. I want him to understand that and come back to us, become part of the family again."
Not that he really was in the first place, she thought, heart heavy.
Minato and Kushina exchanged glances. "Well said," Kushina praised, a forlorn grin on her face. "But even then, we'd need to plan this out carefully. Jiraiya can help us gain information."
"There's also the problem of why Edward attacked you in the first place," Minato stated. "I'm not entirely sure, but it may have something to do with the organisation Akatsuki. If not that, then he was probably trying to reunite the Kyūbi's chakra with its soul, which would be a very bad idea, especially if the Kyūbi is working together with him. That would also explain how Naruto was able to be found by him in the first place, or was otherwise able to find him, perhaps under the pretense of him being a 'good person.' It's obvious that either the Kyūbi or Edward healed Naruto somehow, and I suspect that's how they were so easily able to gain his trust."
"So now even the stupid fox is against us," Natsuki muttered. "Well, I suppose it was in the first place, anyway."
Kushina nodded. "The Kyūbi has always hated humans. It's not surprising it'd pretend to be nice in order to gain the favour of Naruto so that it'd be easier to destroy the world. Corruption comes incredibly easy to it, after all."
"So, really, the only thing we can do is convince Naruto," the daughter of the two adults in the room murmured. "It's unfortunate that it'd be so hard, but if it's to bring him back to us, it's worth it." She looked at her parents. "We need to find him."
"Before that, though," Minato interrupted, an amused look on his face, "we need to fix the village up. It's still a mess."
"Plus you're not strong enough yet," Kushina added. Natsuki looked down, ashamed. "But no worries. We'll teach you even more than before. Now that your body's more mature, you can handle stronger techniques, plus your Kenjutsu can improve."
"How long do you think it'll take?" Natsuki asked. "When can we go search for Naruto?"
"Until you're strong enough," Kushina answered. "And, since Naruto isn't a ninja, we don't have to worry about anyone filing him under a Bingo Book entry."
Natsuki smiled softly. "That's good," she said quietly. "I...I'll get stronger, then. So strong that I can even beat your asses!"
Minato laughed. "I wish you luck in that," he replied. "For now, though, get some rest. Kushina and I will assist the relief effort. When you're well enough to get out of the hospital, we can start your training."
Natsuki grinned. "Sure!"
(Section Break)
Omake: Ichiraku's Ramen
Naruto strolled through Konohagakure lazily, wanting to check out the shops and stores before eventually leaving once more. The village had much more than the small towns he had ever visited, and while the merchandise available was greater than he had experienced previously, he simply couldn't find anything he desired. The walking left him hungry, though, and he decided to go to the closest restaurant he could find, which just so happened to be a ramen stand called Ramen Ichiraku.
Ducking under the banners that fell down, Naruto came into the small stand. He sat himself onto one of the stools and waited as the owner turned to face him, at which point the man asked, "I haven't seen you before. Are you here for the Exams?"
Naruto nodded, looking upwards at the menu hanging on the wall. "Can I have a salt ramen?"
The old man laughed. "Of course," he answered, looking towards the other person who happened to be behind the counter. Judging by their ages, the woman was probably his daughter. "Ayame, you hear that?"
She hummed, smiling at her father. Naruto became disinterested and began inspecting the wooden chopsticks he picked out of the small container for them on the counter. He pulled them apart quickly, satisfied when they didn't splinter like cheap chopsticks tended to. A steaming bowl of ramen was then put in front of him without his notice, startling him. He looked up at the young woman, who was smiling at him. "My name's Ayame," she said. "Enjoy your meal."
Naruto nodded once more, then looked down at his food. The clear, yellowish broth had the traditional mixture of chicken, vegetables, seaweed, and fish that he expected, and dipping his chopsticks into the bowl and picking up a bite, he ate. Immediately, he froze.
This…he thought, this is…
Taking another bite, this time much slower, Naruto's brain stopped functioning properly.
This must be the food of the gods.
Digging in as fast as he could, Naruto polished off the bowl within minutes. Glancing up at the two workers after he had finished, he found them staring at him, to which he said, "Another, please."
The old man laughed. "You're like Natsuki, eating that fast."
Hearing Natsuki's name was surprising, but Naruto figured that even some things could never change despite having abandoned his family. He didn't reply, and seconds later another dish of ramen was set before him. He ate with great stupor, and as soon as he had finished yet another was given to him, a wink from the woman being the only explanation as to why.
Thirteen bowls and an empty wallet later, Naruto discovered himself standing right outside the stand and uncharacteristically screaming up at the heavens, "RAMEN IS THE FOOD OF THE GODS!"
Somewhere, the god of ramen nodded approvingly.
And, for a shorter, probably funnier version:
Naruto: One salt ramen, please.
Teuchi: All right. Are you here for the Chūnin Exams?
Naruto: *nods*
Teuchi: *gives Naruto ramen* Then you've never tasted our ramen, huh? It's both the Hokage's and his daughter's favourite; I'm sure you'll love it.
Naruto: *nods* *slurps up food*
Naruto:
Naruto:
Naruto:…
Naruto:…
Naruto:…
Naruto:…!
Naruto: *eyes sparkle and runs out of ramen stand, staring at the heavens* RAMEN IS MOST DEFINITELY THE FOOD OF THE GODS!
God of ramen: *nods approvingly*
(Section Break)
In response to Guest: Yay disappointment, pfft. Dude—I'm so cold here in California I want to never get out of bed. It's so windy all the time *sobs* Muahahahahhaha, obscure references, muahahahahahah~ Also, yikes, man. That's not a very good day to be born, now is it? Also no forgetting my deadlines grrrr and I totally brained Edward, the sucker. And evil is now afoot *laughs darkly* behold my minion and see my attempted plot twists
In response to Hunter smith: Eep, I'm so glad you like it! It makes me really happy to know you enjoy my story :) Thank you so much for the review, too!
In response to Peter Kim: You have a really cool theory, and parts of it are vaguely on-track, but still some other things are happening, hehe. You'll just have to wait and see~ I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and reviewed :)
In response to another Guest: Thank you very much for the compliment! Well, "muchas gracias," I suppose :p
In response to John Lovelace: Thank you! I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations :)
I'm such a fucking liar.
…I breached 200 reviews. Wow. That's um…wow. Holy shit. Thank you. And I searched this on Google and it actually came up as a suggested search and I just oh my god thank you all so much holy fuck
I changed the layout of these chapters a bit. I also changed the genre. I hope it's better now, even by a little.
Next chapter should be up within a month. If not, feel free to just go "fuck that girl she lies about everything"
THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER IS JUST A BIG BALL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND LIKE I WASN'T GIVEN STRICT GUIDELINES THIS TIME SO I JUST KIND OF WROTE WHAT I WANTED TO WRITE AND CAME OUT TO BE THIS SO I HOPE IT'S OKAY? I REALLY LIKE IT SO
P.S. Shinji's a little bitch, Akise Aru is a fucking Kaworu clone, and Clannad will rip out your heart. Hirunaka no Ryuusei made me scream out of sheer joy, and School Days is the biggest sack of shit to ever be called an anime. (I kinda liked it anyway. Better than Uta-Kata.) Pupa is a fucking disappointment and I find it a little hard to watch Noragami, although the voice casting is great. The latest One Piece filler sucked, by the way. Oh, and Log Horizon is surprisingly good, though Sakura Trick is not. Cowboy Bebop has a great dub, and Mars of Destruction is just Evangelion + a sack of "what."
Well, thank you for reading! If you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!
Shameless advertising: If you're a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist and Harry Potter crossovers, I have a story called Molten up. It's a bit drabble-y. I also have a Naruto one-shot called A Way to Win, if anyone's interested.