"Speech"
"Thought"
"Demonic Voice"
'Bijuu thoughts'
Justu
(A/N: Author Note)
Flashback
Disclaimer: All rights reserved by the original creator this is a fan production.
Okay gents and ladies enjoy the read.
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Chapter 21: Coming Soon
"Thanks for coming to see me guys."
"Of course we'd come, you're our comrade Naruto," Chouji said as he munched on a bag of chips, with him were Shikmaru and Kiba. It had been a few days since his operation and the trio had come over to check on him. The visit had been the usual fanfare of teenage boys; a small moment of honest sincerity followed by tossed insults, immature jokes, and bragging about who was best. Naruto would be the first to admit that these guys weren't his closest friends, but something about surviving a battle for their lives seemed to spark a sense of camaraderie between them.
"Well that's all good and well but I need to speak to Naruto in private," not at all uncomfortable with stopping male bonding time Tsunade made it clear that everyone who wasn't told to leave should high tail it out of the room.
"Yes Lady Hokage." Ah, she liked the sound of that, Lady Hokage. They filed out saying their goodbyes to Naruto while Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Sakura followed Tsunade in. The door closed and Tsunade wondered how to approach the situation, "Well Grandma what did you want?"
"That's Lady Hokage show the proper respect brat!"
"Pfft, I'll do that the day you win a hand of poker," Naruto laughed until Sakura knocked him over the head, "Naruto Lady Tsunade is the Hokage show her the respect she deserves!" Well at least she could count on one of these kids.
"Aww come one Sakura how am I supposed to respect someone who had to have their debts paid off by a kid," Naruto replied only to be hit on the head again this time by Tsunade. She forgot how mouthy the brat could be, shame she couldn't knock his lights out but there were issues that needed to be addressed and it seemed they would require a hard touch.
"Enough about me I would like you to explain," reaching over she broke the illusion and removed Naruto's mask, "this Naruto."
Naruto's eyes darted to each of them, ears twitching wildly as he tried to regain his bearings, "Whaaaaooooh fuck."
Silence hung over the room as everyone waited for Naruto to speak and Naruto waited for a barrage of question. It was ultimately Sakura who broke the silence, "Naruto it's okay, we just want to know why you have…those."
"…Well I did promise to explain things didn't I?" and so he did. He told them of the day he met the fox, how he made a literal deal with the devil. He told Sakura about being a Jinchuriki. About finding the mask and the Kyuubi's quest for revenge, the fact that he was half-demon now, how the Kyuubi inside of him killed the original Kyuubi. How he used to run out of the village because he couldn't take the hate, and since he was being so open he also told them about the meeting he sent Tomoko to, "And that's all there is to it."
"Naruto do realize how stupid that was?" Jiraiya had known that these new development were going to make things harder, but this was ridiculous, "There's a group of powerful ninja after the Kyuubi, right now they're inactive but they're going start moving soon and you're one of their targets, there's no way that you'll be able to go hunting for this Shikkan with this group after you, I doubt you could even beat him as you are now if what the Kyuubi told you is true."
"You really did get in over your head Naruto," Kakashi said as he felt the need for something to drink and his favorite issue of Icha Icha. Grim reapers, demons, soul contracts this was even crazier than he was used to. Tsunade's thoughts ran along the same vein as Kakashi minus Icha Icha, she had enough trouble with the Akatsuki about to rear there ugly heads, but this? If the council found out she couldn't be sure if they would call for exile or death.
Sakura had been silent the entire time as she worked on wrapping her head around this new crazy that had just been presented to her. Her friend or whatever Naruto was to her was a Jinchuriki which meant that inside of him lay a giant revenge hungry fox, whom he had brokered a deal with to become a half demon and promised to hunt down another demon that was just as evil, and to top it all off, he himself was being hunted by some shadowy organization for unknown purposes. "I was hoping things would get easier once I brought Lady Tsunade back."
"…So what do you think Sakura?" her opinion was the one he was most worried about. He'd always feared what would happen if the truth ever got out, most of that fear had been what his friends would think of him.
"Well for one I'm angry," Naruto bowed his head ready for whatever he got, "How could you not tell me about this!?"
"What?"
"We're team mates Naruto more than that we're friends, I don't care if you're some half demon or jail cell for monster but you should know you can come to me with anything," she gently laid her hands over his and gave him a smile, "anything, okay?"
"…Guess I'm an idiot aren't I?" Naruto took her hands in his own holding them tightly as he looked deeply into her eyes, "Thank you Sakura."
Sakura briefly wondered what that look in his eyes meant, what it could mean. Then she tossed that wonder out the window and decided to enjoy this moment. This moment when it was just her and him and whatever strange wonderful feeling flickered in their eyes.
"Alright enough of that," Tsunade said as she pulled them apart, "you two can get to the hanky panky later."
"Snrk, hanky panky?" Naruto couldn't stop the cackles from escaping his throat, "you're older than I thought."
Tsunade's brow twitched violently as she reeled in the very strong urge to put Naruto back into a coma. She put that anger away for later and moved on to another pressing issue, "Naruto what was the meeting about, the one you sent Tomoko to?"
"Well I don't really know? I sent her before the the chunin exams but things have been so crazy that we haven't had a time to talk about it."
With a snap of her fingers a ninja appeared, bowing before Tsunade, "Retrieve Tomoko Taka for me."
"Yes milady."
Not a minute after the ninja left he came back through the door with Tomoko in tow, "She was already in the building."
"Master!" the young women rushed to his side immediately and wrapped her arms around know he was fine was one thing, but to hold him in her arms, to feel the strength in his wrapped around her, to hear him breathe, to know, just to know that he was here and alive was a moment of pure joy. To feel the worry drain from her body and be replaced with this happiness made her body tremble and tears run down her eyes.
Her world was right again.
Tsunade could see that they were a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. The way Sakura's jaw tightened, the less than innocent way Tomoko held on to Naruto, and how willing Naruto was to accept it. Perhaps she could talk to Sakura later, she might not have much advice to give but at least she could lend a sympathetic ear.
Rubbing the girl's back gently and combing his fingers through her hair, Naruto slowly soothed Tomoko until she took a few shaky breaths to finally calm down. "I'm-I'm fine Master, thank you."
"You don't have to thank me Tomoko, I'm happy to do it," Naruto said smiling brightly, not noticing the way Sakura's hands wrung the fabric of her clothes.
"Tomoko if you're alright can you tell us what you learned from the meeting Naruto sent you to?"
"Hmm? Yes of course Lady Tsunade," wiping the tears away with a handkerchief, "Well I headed to the area that Master told me the reaper would be. When I arrived I sniffed around for the smell Master described to me"
"Smell?" Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow at Naruto, people always underestimated how pertinent smell was to information gathering, "What smell?"
"Burning wood and sulfur," Naruto said seriously.
"Pretty grim smell," Kakashi wondered if this reaper they were talking about was the real deal.
"If I may continue?" Tsunade gave Kakashi and Jiraiya a pointed glare and signaled for Tomoko to go on, "I'll spare you the details and tell you that it was a very pungent aroma that I found wafting from a house on the outskirts of the village," she took a moment here to compose herself, "Inside I found the reaper and a family dead at his feet."
"What?"
"Sakura. Please continue Tomoko," Tsunade said.
"He asked who I was while he cleaned his weapon, I never seen someone so calm he looked at me like I was some fly on the wall," Tomoko shook at the memory and the sensation of being so small, so fragile, "I quickly held out the parchment Master had given and he took it. After he was done reading he handed this back to me," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a paintbrush, "then he left without another word."
"A paintbrush? How's a paintbrush supposed to help you find this Shikkan?" Sakura asked. The rest of the group was stumped as well but decided it best to leave it until one important matter had been discussed. Before coming to see Naruto; Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi had discussed how they were going to handle the Akatsuki. Eventually they came to a decision, Naruto had to be trained outside the village, and while she wasn't comfortable with sending Naruto out of the village it would be harder for the Akatsuki to hit a moving target. However with this new information about Shikkan and Kyuubi's attempt to escape Tsunade realized that they would have to take care of Shikkan if they wanted the Kyuubi to cooperate with Naruto against the Akatsuki.
"We'll save that for later but Naruto there's something we have to tell you," Tsunade said, "Jiraiya you want to take it from here?"
"Listen kid we need you to be stronger for the storm that's coming," Jiraiya said with the utmost seriousness, "but we'll need to leave the village for your training."
"What why?"
"We have an estimation of when the Akatsuki will make their move but it'd be better for everyone if you weren't here when they attacked."
"I doubt they would strike against one of the major powers."
"Naruto, two of their members attacked while you were on your rescue mission," Kakashi's grave tone told what the battle had been like, "by the time we managed to run them off they killed and injured a number of our shinobi."
"Damn," Naruto didn't really want to go but he couldn't allow the village to be torn down because of his selfish desires, "Alright."
"What? Naruto you can't be serious?" Sakura couldn't believe that Naruto would agree to this. To just run off like this and leave them behind, leave her behind.
"What can I do Sakura? If I stay here I'm putting the village at risk."
"Well what happens if you're attacked outside the village whose going to help you then?!"
"Sakura I have to do this!"
"Fine, do whatever the hell you want!" Sakura stormed out of the room slamming the door on her way out, leaving the group a bit stunned and Naruto dazed.
"Sakura, Sakura!" Naruto sighed as he looked down at his Fox Mask, "Damn…"
"It's no surprise to see her act like that," Tomoko said sadly gaining his attention, "no one likes when someone they care about leaves." Walking over to the door she opened it and paused, "No one." The door was closed gently but it might as well have been another slamming door.
"I almost died, doesn't that get some sympathy!"
"From better to worse huh kid," Jiraiya jotted down a couple of notes before he opened a window, "I'll be back in a few weeks to pick you up, try to get this sorted out before I get back, oh and I want details!"
"Glad someone's enjoying my life," muttered Naruto as he flopped back into bed. "When am I getting out of here anyway?"
"Should be about two days we just need to check that everything's fine," Tsunade replied. Part of her pitied the poor boy but another wanted to laugh at the situation. It was a nice change of pace to see someone else get the short end of the shit stick. "If that's all I've got a council to leash and muzzle."
"Grandma wait."
"What is it brat?" Now she wanted to a beating, along with the pity and laughing.
"I never thanked you for saving my life," he never liked to be ungrateful, "So thank you Lady Tsunade for saving my life."
"Always brat, things would get boring here if you weren't around," ruffling his hair before she left, Tsunade realized that Sakura and Tomoko weren't the only ones who were going to miss him.
"Well since everything seems to be taken of here I'll be heading off," Kakashi pulled out his book and headed for the door.
"Sensei wait," Naruto sat back up in bed, right now he needed someone to give him advice, even if it was crappy advice, "Any words of wisdom or a fortune cookie you could give me?"
"Hmm…no," Naruto found himself wondering if maybe he should stop picking mentors and role models who were perverts and war veterans, not really the supportive type, "the only thing you can do is talk to them."
"That's it, talking? Really?" Next mentor was definitely going to be someone more…helpful, "What if they stay angry at me?"
"Then you have to let them be angry," Kakashi placed a reassuring hand on Naruto's shoulder, "it'd be nice if things like this were simple, but people don't do simple, life doesn't do simple. Sometimes you just have to deal with the complicated, no simple way around it."
"Guess that was a bit helpful, thanks sensei," glad that he could do this much for his student Kakashi headed to a bar, tonight he was certain Icha Icha wouldn't be enough.
XXXXXXX
"Lord Orochimaru all the equipment has been calibrated, are you sure you want to go through with this?" Kabuto set down the last set of tools for the experiment they we're about to begin today.
"Itachi will always be out of my reach, and that blasted girl killed Sasuke," things hadn't been going his way for a while but Orochimaru was never one to give up easily, "but there's more than one way to skin a cat."
"Yes but the last time you attempted this none of the subject survived," Kabuto just couldn't grasp what had changed this time. The experiment had never had any successful results in the multiple times that Orochimaru had tried and yet the gleam that Kabuto saw in his master's eyes told him something had definitely changed.
"My little snakes that slither in the forest, told me that one of my little creations has been alive and kicking," at first there had been some anger at learning that he had been cheated, but that had been alleviated by the messengers blood slathering his walls. And then he got to thinking, and thinking is how he made magic happen, "So all I need is one to survive and everything is mine."
"Well then, shall we get started Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto could feel the scientist in him jumping at the chance to see something on this scale succeed.
"Yes," Orochimaru felt that wonderful giddy sensation a man felt when he was about to embark on something great, "soon Sasuke Uchiha will be back among the living."
His sinister smile reflected off the vial he held in his hand. A green serum sloshed around inside the vial and in it rested the future of the Uchiha clan.
"Kukukuku…."
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So what did you think? Huh?
…
…I can feel a bit hate right now…
…Damn…
…So read and review.