Author's Note: Well, I'm back today as promised and here is the last chapter from the old author of Worth Protecting. I'll just respond to some reviews and tell you the planned release date for the next chapter.
Elder Siblings: You are trying to tell me, that Naruto has instantly matured without getting slapped in the face by reality. Now, I would advise you to reread the whole fanfiction and rethink that statement. Naruto hasn't really matured much from how he is in the manga. Just because Naruto has his moments of "I'm not going to be retardedly hyper," doesn't mean that he's matured. And the only time he started maturing a considerable amount was after his first real friend was nearly raped right in front of his eyes and he killed three people. What more of a slap of reality do you want.
And another thing, how can you automatically assume this will be a whole fanfiction about Yugito being a damsel in distress after the first 5 chapters. For all you know, I could decide to make Yugito the main antagonist.
I'm not trying to come off like a douche in any way, but these first chapters is something a close friend of mine wrote and I believe he did it pretty well and well within belief. If you are really gong to accuse the fanfiction of things that aren't true, you should first have some evidence to back it up. Thank you.
plums: If you mean you've seen a different author post it then yeah, you probably have seen it since I've adopted Worth Protecting. If you mean that I posted this chapter, you are mistaken. Thanks for reading and enjoy the future chapters.
BanefulWarrior: I completely agree with you, it's great for giving Naruto an early power up so that he's not overly weak and reliant on his clones. The only problem with it, is that you have to balance Naruto so that he isn't completely overpowering anyone earlier on like pre-sharingan Sasuke. You can make Naruto simply overpower them, but I personally don't like reading/writing OP Naruto who doesn't lose or struggle to the end. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy the most recent chapter.
potterfanforever: Remember that Naruto has repeated the academy a total of three times and most of the time he's pulling pranks or not paying attention anyways. And the only thing that kept Naruto from passing was the Bunshin No Jutsu. If anything, Naruto's time is better spent under the tutelage of Gai rather than in school. Hope I cleared something up and I hope to hear from you again.
Quick-n-Popular: This chapter completely addresses your review so I hope you enjoy and thanks for constantly reviewing. Hope to hear from you again.
MAnku: You're welcome :D.
Friaku: This chapter also completely addresses your review so I hope you like the chapter and the ones to come.
As the story becomes inevitably more and more popular, I will probably begin to only respond to questions and long analytic reviews and give everybody else a huge THANK YOU! I'm sorry, but I'm not trying to have a really long author's note with 20+ responses and I feel as if some of you guys would prefer it if it wasn't.
Anyways, here is chapter 6, probably the most controversial of the previous author's chapters. Hope you enjoy it and I'll be taking over from chapter 7 onward.
Enjoy:D
Worth Protecting
Chapter 6: Naruto's Caprice
(Time Skip – Half Year Time Skip)
Naruto was strolling through the deserted streets of Konohagakure, making steady progress towards his and Lee's training ground to begin their day of practice. It was as early as ever, but Naruto's body had adapted to it in a minimal amount of time.
Naruto's body may have been allowed to adapt to the early starts, but it never managed to adapt to Gai's training. If Naruto gave Gai even a miniscule reason to believe that the blond's training had become easier to him, the Green Beast of Konoha would take it up a notch.
Gai's training plan to sculpt Naruto's and Lee's bodies into lethal machines was well on course. Naruto had only just realized his increased muscular mass a month ago when he tore the orange jumpsuit that used to fit him. That was not to say that Naruto and Lee were grotesquely built. In fact, most of the muscle Lee and Naruto had put on was lean and powerful.
The taijutsu users had gotten incredibly chiseled since the beginning of their training and very few others their age or older had a body like theirs. After all, having a very cut and powerful lean muscular build had a few other benefits that didn't necessarily involve physical activity. Although, this had never passed through either of the student's minds as they were focused on their own goals.
Due to Naruto's old orange jumpsuit no longer being suitable, Naruto decided to take Yugito's advice from long ago in getting a change of wardrobe. Naruto now wore a pair of black shinobi trousers with two orange stripes going down the outer sides, a black tracksuit with two orange stripes going down both his sleeves and two going across the top of his chest that also sported the Uzumaki Clan swirl on the back. Underneath the tracksuit he wore a plain orange short sleeved shirt. Naruto completed his new attire with a pair of black shinobi sandals.
Naruto had forsaken the goggles that he had promised never to remove until he got his Konohagakure forehead protector, no longer seeing them necessary as they'd get broken if he trained with them. Taking them off was an option, but Naruto didn't have the desire to remove and replace the goggles throughout the day repetitively.
Naruto's attire was now mostly black rather than orange like before, but he didn't completely disregard his favorite color. Naruto kept the tracksuit slightly unzipped at the top to show off a good amount of the bright orange underneath.
Naruto seemed to be too preoccupied with his destination in mind to notice that somebody had been shadowing him since he had left his apartment. Naruto began whistling a slow tune to himself as he placed his hands on the back of his head, looking up at the sky.
The silent follower watched as Naruto turned to the right at the next four way intersection. Speeding up, the individual stuck their head out the way Naruto had gone to see an empty street. Jumping into the light, it was revealed the person that had been stalking Naruto was none other than Yugito.
"Where did he go? He was just here!" Yugito shouted to herself looking around to find some trace of her blond-haired roommate only to find nothing.
"Crap! Not again," Yugito cursed as she slouched forward defeated before slowly beginning her trip back to Naruto's apartment. Although it couldn't be seen, the expression on Yugito's face was a whirlpool of emotion: Anger, sadness, annoyance and even some worry.
Once Yugito had completely disappeared from view, Naruto slowly came out of his hiding place with a soft smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Yugito. But it's not time to tell you yet," Naruto explained in a caring tone of voice (as if she could hear him) before the blond male picked up his pace to arrive at his intended location.
Yugito entered into the small apartment, being greeted by the same silence. Looking at Naruto's futon, Yugito noticed that Naruto had already fixed it before he had left. Moving towards it, Yugito collapsed on top of the soft material.
'It's been weeks since I've seen you, Naruto. Why are you being so distant to me?' Yugito thought to herself, closing her eyes as she buried her head into the pillow Naruto had been sleeping on.
This was the warmth that Yugito recalled receiving from Naruto when she had first met him. Since the day she had entered the academy, Naruto had begun disappearing for long periods of time. Whenever Yugito did get a glimpse of Naruto, he would just end up vanishing after just a second.
Naruto was out of the apartment before she was awake and he arrived back, if he came back at all, after she had already fallen asleep. Naruto had seemed to drop the academy completely even though Yugito was positive that he should still be an academy student.
Yugito had discovered a couple months ago that Naruto had failed the graduation exams a total of three times and that this was his fourth year. Yugito had been completely shocked at hearing that and about how lowly Naruto's abilities were thought of. No way Naruto could be a weakling yet still be able to defeat three ranked shinobi when he had saved her. Yugito kept her thoughts about Naruto to herself, but she had faith that he was hiding his true potential.
'Hiding'. That dirty six letter word had been haunting Yugito for months after Naruto's disappearance had begun. 'What is Naruto hiding from me?' and 'Why is Naruto hiding something from me?' were two of the questions that continuously sprouted themselves in her mind.
Yugito sighed as she stood up from the futon, shaking her head as she realized how negative her mood had been getting. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, Yugito decided that she should just focus on having a great time at the academy.
"One hundred fifty-one! One hundred fifty-two! One hundred fifty-three!" Gai counted off in his energetic booming voice, sitting on top of a boulder many times his own size. That boulder was being supported on Lee's back who was in a single-handed push up position. To complete the stack, Lee was in his exercise from on top of an equally large boulder that was being supported on Naruto's back who was in the identical one-handed push up position.
The students went down and up in unison at their teacher's count in this set of three hundred. It was obvious that Naruto was pushing up a considerable amount of weight more than Lee, but that wasn't the case. Once the strenuous set of three hundred was finished, Naruto and Lee would switch. The taijutsu users would do another three hundred in their different positions before once again switching.
The one on the bottom was being trained for muscular power using heavier weights while the person on top was doing training for muscular endurance. The set of three hundred was just for the person on the bottom while the person on top would follow to do an extra hundred or two hundred depending on Gai's mood that day.
During Naruto's and Lee's sparring matches, Gai became aware that Naruto's already ridiculous strength was further augmented whenever he was put in a combat situation. Naruto had vast reserves of chakra without even considering the entity within him and that amplified his physical strength whenever he was put in 'fight or flight'.
However, Naruto and Lee both had the same base strength level and even if Naruto had the passive ability to magnify his strength, Lee had his own ways with keeping up with his rival. Naruto was well aware of this strange ability of his after Gai had informed him of it, but it didn't matter to the blond as he and Lee were always on par anyways.
Naruto watched as yet another droplet of sweat went down his face to the tip of his nose before dripping to the ground beneath him. With every repetition, the ground beneath Naruto became more and more soaked in his perspiration.
Prominent veins could be seen snaking up Naruto's engaged arm, centering around his forearm and his bicep. His body was pumping oxygenated blood at a faster pace as Naruto began to tire out more and more, but he forced himself on. Besides, if Naruto collapsed, he'd be crushed by the weight above him. Gai was a very effective and kind teacher, but his methods could be considered cruel some of the time.
Naruto had been taught that in order to achieve anything in life, one must have a strong desire that can overcome anything. Only when your drive was at its strongest could one surpass their bodily limits and improve far beyond their current state.
The image of Yugito unconscious with her clothes in tatters and in danger flashed before Naruto's eyes which followed to narrow as he felt a large burst of energy flow into his system.
"One hundred fifty-four! One hundred fifty-five!" Naruto began to call out in unison, his strong spirit flowing through his voice. This caused Lee to engage in the count as well as the three taijutsu users began numbering in unison with more energy than they had first started with.
Hiruzen Sarutobi held his hands in front of his crystal ball as the projection of Naruto and Lee training flipped into existence within. A warm smile was etched in the Sandaime Hokage's face as he watched Naruto firmly focused in his training, surpassing all expectations that had been placed on him by others.
The elderly man had made it a point to tune into Naruto's training from time to time to oversee how the blond was progressing while mentally questioning the late Yondaime Hokage if he was proud. It sure made Hiruzen proud to see Naruto growing up so much, both physically and mentally in such a short amount of time.
'It all started after he met Yugito,' Hiruzen remarked, seeing Yugito as the pivotal person who had jump started Naruto's desire to become stronger which lead into his fast progress since six months ago. Then again, it wasn't just Yugito, but what had nearly happened to her that night half a year ago.
Returning his attention back on the training, Hiruzen remembered when he saw Naruto struggle with just finishing a set of three-hundred regular push-ups without any weights. The Sarutobi clansman's thoughts went from Naruto's obvious physical growth to his mental and emotional growth as well.
The grandfatherly smile on Hiruzen's face seemed to become that much warmer as he thought about the time a couple months ago when Naruto had come to him seeking a way to get more money in order to support Yugito and himself better.
Naruto walked into the Hokage's room with a small smile on his face after being given permission to enter. Hiruzen had not met with Naruto in a while, so this was a pleasant surprise.
"Hey, Jii-chan. I know you're giving me an allowance and all, but is there any way I can make some extra cash?" Naruto inquired of the elderly man who looked at Naruto with interest.
"What for? Is the amount of money you and Yugito get not enough to survive?" Hiruzen asked of the blond-haired boy, wondering why Naruto would be waiting until today to say something.
Naruto shook his head vigorously from side to side before elaborating on his reasoning, "Well. It's just that we only get enough money just to be able to have three meals a day, but I just wanted to get a little more. Yugito isn't asking for anything more, but I want to surprise her with a little something extra for fun things instead of just food and water."
Hiruzen could have sworn that he felt like he was talking to a grown-up man in a relationship instead of a single little boy like Naruto. Despite his disbelief, Hiruzen could understand where Naruto was coming from. Wanting to make his friend's life a little easier and happier with the ability to pay for some of the more pleasurable things in life.
"You haven't asked any of the shopkeepers around Konoha," Hiruzen questioned.
"I did for the past two days! They either didn't even bother respond to me or they just flat out refused me without asking about what I'm good at! Ichiraku Ramen doesn't need anymore people and I don't want to take money from Jii-san. You're the last person I can turn to Jii-chan," Naruto explained with an exasperated expression, not liking the fact that he had wasted two days without receiving any results.
The Sandaime Hokage let out a heavy sigh, seeing that very few villagers were giving Naruto a break, even after all this time.
Giving Naruto's pleading a little more thought, the Hokage finally came to a decision. "As a shinobi, you don't begin to make money until you have graduated from the academy, Naruto-kun. Once you receive your headband and attain the rank of genin, you will be able to take D-rank missions for some spare money."
Naruto's mood dropped considerably as he heard Hiruzen explain the process that was required before he could begin making any sort of money. Naruto was about to thank the old man for troubling himself before leaving when a single word stopped him in his tracks. "But... since a D-rank mission can even be done by a simple villager, I assume that I can offer you some of them. There are never a shortage of these chore- erhm, D-rank missions, so it shouldn't be a problem," Hiruzen finished, watching as Naruto began shaking with excitement.
"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew I could count on you, Jii-chan! You have the answers to everything, don't you!" Naruto shouted, reverting back to the childish blond that the old man knew. Hiruzen slowly reached to the filing cabinet to the side, opening it before searching through the many files.
Naruto only became more and more excited as he watched the elderly Hokage pull out a simple sheet of paper out of one of the files before turning to Naruto.
"Let's calm down now," Hiruzen began with a raised hand, Naruto obeying as he took a deep breath before the Sandaime Hokage continued, "I will give you the job description here. Should you ever want another one, feel free to come ask me and I'll hand you a new one. Understood?"
Naruto nodded quickly, practically tearing the paper out of Hiruzen's hands as he charged out of the room yelling out his 'good-bye' and 'thank you'. The elderly Hokage shook his head at Naruto's childish ways before returning his attention back to the paperwork on his desk.
Hiruzen's chain of smiles was broken by a frown that crept on his expression. Even though so many positive things had come of Naruto wanting to take more responsibility and train with Gai and Lee, the Sandaime Hokage was well aware of the consequences.
Naruto was still a young boy at the age of twelve going on thirteen, yet he acted like an adult in some regards. Even though they weren't particularly missed by anybody, Hiruzen had never heard Naruto pull a prank since half a year ago.
To top that, the Hokage was well aware of Naruto not attending the academy and actually condoned the blond's decision. It wasn't like going to the Academy was mandatory for everybody since most of the villagers didn't, but it was necessary if Naruto actually wanted to pass and begin his career as a shinobi.
The Hokage had written the Shinobi Academy and had a private talk with Iruka about Naruto being excused from classes with the bonus that he would still be allowed to take the Graduation Exam when the time came. Technically, at this point in time, Naruto could pass just due to his overwhelming taijutsu just like Lee had.
The elderly man was well aware that Naruto was more of a ninjutsu based shinobi like many others, but should Naruto need any assistance with chakra control or the academy student techniques, he could always ask Gai. Although Gai was a taijutsu master, Gai still had the ability to use chakra, but simply refused to use it, preferring to stick completely with taijutsu.
A basic day in the new lifestyle of Naruto Uzumaki involved getting a ridiculously early start to the day before training well into the afternoon. Soon after that, Naruto would take up a D-rank mission and depending if he had free time, he would return back to his training. Once it became late in the evening, Naruto would either go home to fall asleep or simply pass out wherever he had fallen while training only to do the same thing the next day.
Occasionally, Naruto did take a few breaks from training to accomplish some tasks required in his daily life. There were times when Naruto would take these few breaks as a day to go to the academy. Although, those days were become lesser and far between as Gai began teaching them taijutsu forms and techniques.
Naruto was reaping the benefits by being under Gai's tutelage, but was also harming himself by skipping out on necessary human interaction. Hiruzen was well aware that Naruto was ignoring and unconsciously pushing Yugito away, but it wasn't his place to tell Naruto. In life, all decisions came with their own consequences and this was something Naruto would have to learn for himself.
Iruka was standing on top of the roof of the Shinobi Academy, overlooking the recess area where his class was currently enjoying their lunches or just relaxing. Today would be early dismissal, so they could technically leave this area and go home whenever they decided to. Iruka's eyes fell onto the newest arrival to his class; Yugito.
In the six months Yugito had been at the academy, she had hit it off with a number of students. The blond female was currently sitting with her back against a tree with her four other lunch mates. Hinata was sitting across from Yugito with the usual bento that her mother had made for her. Kiba was laying on a branch with one leg and arm dangling off. Chōji was eating a bag of potato chips as usual against the same tree as Yugito and right under Kiba. Shikamaru was laying down in the grass nearby looking up at the clouds.
'If Naruto were here, he'd probably be devising a prank for me with the other three,' Iruka thought with a sense of nostalgia as his thoughts refocused themselves on Naruto who he had not seen in a great deal of time since after his meeting with the Hokage.
After having had a meeting with the Hokage to discuss Naruto's excuse, Iruka felt that he should go speak with Naruto about the situation at hand as well. Naruto had been eating at Ichiraku Ramen at the time, so Iruka hadn't needed to put too much effort into searching for him.
"So here you are, Naruto!" Iruka exclaimed as he pushed up the blinds of the small ramen shop, seeing his old student engorging himself with a stack of bowls already as tall as he was. Naruto stopped as he slurped up his noodles before placing the bowl back on the table.
"Hi, Iruka-sensei! Fancy meeting you here!" Naruto greeted with that same spirit that Iruka would never forget of the blond. Iruka took the seat next to Naruto's as he gave Naruto that signature casual smile.
"I hadn't seen you in a while, so I thought I'd see how you're doing," Iruka explained, Naruto looking a little confused as he slurped down the rest of his final bowl before returning his attention to Iruka.
"You didn't get the message from Jii-chan?" Naruto inquired, Iruka shaking his head as that was not what he had meant.
"I got the message from Hokage-sama about you being excused from the academy. It's just been such a long time since we've last talked. Care to take a walk with me," Iruka offered.
Naruto vigorously nodded his head in agreement as he too had missed the talks he used to have with Iruka and some of the advice his teacher used to give him in his time of need. Giving Teuchi a big thank you for the meal, Naruto pulled out his frog shaped wallet that looked to be full to bursting. Opening it up, he paid the old man for the food and left a generous tip, leaving before Teuchi attempted to return the extra.
Iruka noticed what Naruto was doing, but was a little more focused on how Naruto had fallen into so much money. Putting that to the back of his head, the teacher and student speed-walked away from Ichiraku Ramen before decreasing their pace as the shop became a dot in the distance.
Night had fallen and the street lights were on as he and Naruto took a seat on a nearby bench. The two remained silent before Iruka began, "A lot has changed about you Naruto. I just wanted to make sure you were okay and that you were sure about not coming to the academy."
"I'm completely fine, Iruka-sensei. I haven't been coming to the academy because I found a different way to get a whole lot stronger," Naruto explained with a happy grin on his face, an expression of interest appearing on Iruka's face. It was unnecessary for the teacher to say anything as Naruto knew that he should continue.
"I'm learning really strong taijutsu and working really under Gai-sensei. Lee was really far ahead of me in the beginning, but I think I'm starting to catch up," Naruto began, getting ready to say more before he was interrupted by the astounded Iruka.
"You mean 'Maito Gai'? How did that happen?" Iruka questioned with interest, remembering Gai to be a really strong shinobi even back in the academy. The Hokage had not told him anything about what Naruto was doing, most likely to encourage Iruka to speak with Naruto in person.
Naruto seemed to think about Iruka's last question thoughtfully as he spoke with an almost sad expression, "Well, I was really depressed about how weak I was and I was thinking of different ways to train. I didn't want see Yugito getting hurt ever again because I was too weak to save her-," Naruto started to answer the black-haired teacher's question only to be interrupted once again by said teacher.
"What do you mean? Did Yugito get hurt? Were you in a fight?" Iruka shot off question after question, not believing that he had missed so much after not having talked to Naruto in a while. Iruka was not even aware that Naruto and Yugito knew each other so well in the first place.
"C'mon, Iruka-sensei! At least let me answer the first question before you ask me so many more! What do you want to know exactly?" Naruto questioned in an exasperated tone of voice as Iruka thought about it for a moment before he looked at Naruto with a serious look and an even more serious tone of voice.
"I care about you a lot Naruto, so if it's not too much trouble. I want to hear everything that happened to you... since the beginning," Iruka answered, 'the beginning' referring to the day Naruto stopped coming to the academy.
This was what Iruka had wanted to find out right from the beginning from his talk with Naruto. Iruka wanted to know everything that had happened to Naruto since the blond boy had stopped coming to the Shinobi Academy.
Naruto thought about it whether or not he should tell Iruka and was actually thinking of refusing, but the words 'I care about you a lot' had struck Naruto more than Iruka probably realized. Naruto saw Iruka as an older brother/father figure in his life as an orphan, so Naruto felt that he couldn't keep anything from Iruka.
Taking a deep breath and recollecting his thoughts, Naruto nodded as he opened his mouth and told Iruka everything. And by everything, Naruto had told him ever single detail about how he met Yugito, the days he spent with her, the day she nearly got raped, then how he met Gai, the harsh training he went through, the D-rank missions and how he really wanted to make Yugito's life better here than how it was in Kumogakure.
The part about wanting to make Yugito's life better than what she experienced in Kumogakure was something that he had refrained from even telling the Hokage. It was something he had sworn himself to attempt to do after hearing Inoichi and the Hokage's talk and was hell-bent on keeping it.
Iruka had remained silent throughout Naruto's story and was silent for a moment even after the blond male had finished. What Naruto had told Iruka was a lot to take in all at once and the teacher was still trying to sort through all the information. Who would've thought that Naruto would have grown so much in as little as six months and it was all do to the intervention of just one person?
"I never knew that so much had happened to you, Naruto," Iruka remarked with an almost sad smile of having missed the chances to give Naruto advice when he had really needed it.
Iruka remembered Naruto as an immature brat with a few redeemable features, but in such a short amount of time, Naruto had really grown up a lot. Putting so much responsibility on himself was something that Naruto would not have done back before he had met Yugito.
"It's not a big deal," Naruto replied with a small chuckle and his signature close-eyed grin causing Iruka's small smile to grow into an expression much like Naruto's. Naruto was still that same loveable, energetic, childish boy at heart. Some things would never change about him.
After that, just before they said their good-byes, Naruto had made Iruka promise not to say anything about what he was doing for Yugito. Naruto knew that Yugito would blame herself for causing him to work himself so hard when Naruto was doing it of his own free will. Iruka was at first hesitant, but understood his plight and agreed to Naruto's decision, swearing that he would not tell her a single thing of what he had heard.
Iruka was still in shock to hear that Yugito had nearly been violated in her first few days of entering Konohagakure. It made Iruka feel sick to his stomach that such people existed in the village, but also made him proud that Naruto was able to get her to safety in the end. It was clear to Iruka, by the way Naruto explained the sensation that had come over him, that Naruto had called upon the Kyūbi's chakra unconsciously.
If the event had been extremely important or dire, the Hokage would have informed all of the shinobi about the Kyūbi's growing power within Naruto, but that wasn't the case. Hiruzen Sarutobi knew more about the Kyūbi and the seal on Naruto more than anybody else currently in Konoha and everybody had faith in their Hokage's judgment. Therefore, Iruka wasn't too worried about the Kyūbi incident as in the end, it had saved Yugito from a traumatizing experience.
Speaking of the blond-haired female, Iruka was happy to see that despite the fact that she came from a place as far away as Kumogakure, she was still able to insert herself into the everyday life here. With a little bit of Naruto's help those first couple of days of course.
Yugito's lunch group made small talk about a random assortment of topics before Yugito decided to ask what was on her mind, "Any of you guys no where Naruto has been?"
Under Yugito's notice, a quick glance was exchanged between the others of the group.
"What do you mean? I thought you and him were really close. Don't you know?" Kiba asked in response, looking down at Yugito who looked up at him.
An almost pained expression passed her face, 'I thought we were close too.' From the expression alone, the others were easily able to interpret that Yugito had no idea what Naruto had been doing. Yugito slowly began to turn her eyes from Hinata, to Chōji, to Kiba before finally falling on Shikamaru. In turn, everybody shook their head in a negative response.
Yugito looked down in disappointment as another exchange of looks swept over the four who then returned to what they had been doing. Those glances seemed to send a mental message among them. 'We can't tell her. We promised.'
This promise was to none other than Naruto. Unlike Yugito, the other four had already met Naruto recently when the blond had been doing a D-rank mission. Naruto had mopped the floors of the Hyūga Manor, exercised the Inuzuka Clan's shinobi dogs, did some repair work for the Nara Clan and went on food deliveries for the Akimichi Clan.
Naruto had taken the time to speak to each of them before their conversations had ended the same why Naruto had completed it with Iruka. Naruto made them swear that they would not speak a word to Yugito about what he was doing until he decided it was the right time. The four friends had accepted Naruto's terms and had followed it down to the letter since that day.
Although, unlike Naruto's conversation with Iruka, Naruto had not told the others about his training with Gai and Lee, Yugito almost getting raped or any personal information like how she was from Kumogakure and how they lived together. All Naruto told them was that he was working all sorts of different jobs in order to make some extra money.
Soon after the silence, a bell went off from within the Shinobi Academy, alerting the students of the early dismissal. Everybody stood up from their seats in the recess area before stepping back into the compound in order to make their way towards the front doors.
"You guys planning on doing anything?" Shikamaru questioned for no reason in particular, seeing that he would go home and probably take a nap or just go cloud watching, maybe play a game of Shogi with his dad. Hinata, Kiba and Chōji answered quickly in the negative as Yugito looked to give the question some thought.
The five stepped out of the academy doors as Yugito spoke, "I don't thin-". Yugito didn't get to finish as she froze in place to see somebody completely unexpected: Naruto. Everybody from Naruto's class gave the blond a look of acknowledgment since this was the first time he had decided to attend after several weeks.
"Ah, crap! There was early dismissal today!" Naruto remarked in a tone of disbelief as he let out an elongated sigh of self-pity. Looking among all the students, Naruto took note as Yugito slowly began to approach him. Naruto stopped his progress towards her as he gave her his signature close-eyed grin with an ecstatic wave of his hand.
"Oh! Hi, Yugi-," Naruto was unable to finish his greeting before Yugito closed the distance between them and smacked him harshly. Naruto's eyes showed that he was in shock as he kept his head bent back and to one side, his eyes looking at the ground.
Naruto wasn't the only person stunned as most of Naruto's class had stopped in place. Hinata, Shikamaru, Kiba and Chōji were the ones experiencing most of it since they doubted this was that 'right time' that Naruto had been planning.
Naruto's cheeks turned a bright red at the point of contact with an evident hand print as he moved his eyes towards Yugito slowly, maintaining his head where it had turned when she had first struck him. Yugito was breathing heavily with eyes that showed that she felt angry, worry and... betrayed?
"You think you can just disappear for weeks at a time and it'll all be forgotten with a simple 'Hi'!" Yugito shouted with obvious anger, Naruto's expression going from shocked to stoic as he looked away again.
"Did you think that you could keep avoiding me? Did you think I wouldn't notice you changing the topic every time I asked to know what you've been doing? Did you think I'd sit patiently, twiddling my thumbs as I waited for you to decide on answering me?" Yugito continued, getting more and more angry as she clenched her hand into a fist and held it up threateningly. Naruto's eyes returned back on her, his expression stoic, but his eyes showing an underlying feeling of sadness, uncertainty and confusion.
"You think being so distant and quiet makes you look cool? You're not helping anyone! You're just being an asshole!" Yugito began using profanity and although Naruto didn't show it, that last word pierced him deeply. Somebody that Naruto thought the world of was calling him an 'asshole' of all things.
"Making me believe you were a kind, caring person. Making me think we were friends. I feel like such a fool! I actually thought I knew you, but I guess not... Since when did you even start dressing like this? I thought you liked what you wore before and wouldn't change it for anybody! What happened to that? Was that another one of your lies?" Yugito inquired violently, grabbing Naruto by the collar of his new attire and shaking him.
Naruto left his head and body bent backwards, his hair shadowed his eyes as he listened to Yugito's rant.
"When do the lies and secrets end? Just tell me! Where have you been disappearing to? What has gotten you so busy that you can't even spend some time with me? Why do you feel the need to hide so much from me?" the questions that had been on Yugito's mind for the past six months finally left her lips as her voice began to settle slightly.
Yugito was unable to see Naruto's expression as she push him away slightly, letting go of his collar as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her shinobi pants. Naruto followed to bow his head once more, not feeling that he could look Yugito in the eyes anymore.
"Oh, and did you think that I could be easily bribed too with this shit?" Yugito remarked with some cursing as she threw the wad of money that Naruto had left her at his chest. The currency bounced off Naruto's torso harmlessly as it fell on the ground in Naruto's view. His expression, despite it being unable to be seen, did not change in the slightest.
"Just tell me honestly, please. Why are you doing this to me? Do you hate me? If you do, just say so already!" Out of all the things that Yugito had to say to the blond male, she had just told him something that really affected him. The tears that had welled up in her eyes right from the start of her tirade finally fell from her eyes and down her cheeks. Naruto felt a deep pain in his heart as he watched the tears fall from her chin and down to the ground. Quickly turning his back to Yugito, Naruto got ready to leave, feeling far too confused and in pain to do anything at that moment.
Yugito saw Naruto attempting to get away from her once again and she wasn't about to let that happen as she jumped in front of him with her arms outstretched to her sides, "I'm not letting you leave until you tell me this time around! Just tell me already!"
Yugito really hoped that her belief that Naruto was hiding his true potential was wrong at that moment and the fact that he was called the 'Dead Last' of the class proved true. Unfortunately for Yugito, that was not the case as Naruto vanished from her view and appeared behind her, back to back.
"Please... don't go," Yugito pleaded in a little more than a whisper so that only Naruto could hear her, but in an instant, the feeling of his back pressed against hers disappeared and Naruto was gone.
Dropping her hands to her sides, Yugito noticed that she was holding onto something. Checking, Yugito looked at the palm of her hand to see the money she had been given by Naruto. It had been on the ground a good couple feet away from them. Just how fast was Naruto to be able to place it in her possession without her knowing?
"Naruto..."
Lee jumped up high in the air with a spin as a devastating heel connected with Naruto's jaw, launching the blond into a string of trees that shattered and fell on impact. As the dust slowly settled, Naruto could be seen on his feet completely uninjured, patting the dust of his clothes.
"Is something bothering you, Naruto?" Lee asked in a rather worried tone as he appeared above Naruto with his leg high in the air which he swung down on the blond.
Naruto gave the black-haired man a confused expression as he grabbed Lee's incoming leg, pulled it forward before swinging his elbow into Lee's face. Lee stopped the elbow before back-flipping well out of the blond's reach as he finally answered Lee's question. "What makes you think that somethings bothering me?"
Lee appeared below Naruto in a low crouch as a kick came up into Naruto's chin, launching the blond into the air. Naruto looked down to see Lee was no longer there, enticing him to look up as Lee's foot came down, rocketing him into the ground below.
Naruto flew into the ground which followed to explode from the collision as a large amount of dust was kicked up into the air. The earth was torn asunder and Naruto was semi-buried within the rubble.
"Now I am certain that we should stop," Lee decided, landing gracefully before walking to the break area where the two training boulders were located in the center of the small clearing. As the dust from Naruto's last beating settled, it revealed that Naruto was once again unscathed. Just how durable had Naruto become?
"What the hell do you mean 'stop'? We just started!" Naruto shouted angrily, not wanting it to end with him getting beaten around.
Lee shook his head negatively as he sat on top of the large rock before explaining his observations to Naruto, "Despite what you say, your heart is not in the spar. Something is distracting you and keeping you from giving one hundred percent of your attention into what your doing."
"I was just warming up, so just get back here!" Naruto denied vehemently to Lee who looked dead set on being against continuing the sparring session. Lee's unchanging expression caused Naruto to feel uncomfortable before the blond bowed his head with a defeated sigh.
Slowly walking over to the oversized stone, Naruto took a seat with his back against it. Naruto couldn't lie that he hadn't been focusing on Lee with everything that happened with Yugito earlier. In truth, Naruto had come to spar with Lee as a means to forget about the confrontation.
"Would you care to tell me what is going on? Although if you don't find it necessary, I won't force you," Lee offered kindly, looking down at Naruto who met his eyes before looking down again thoughtfully. Had it been anybody but Lee or Iruka, Naruto would have probably instantly refused. In the half year that Naruto had continuously trained with Lee, the two had formed an almost brotherly bond.
"Alright, I guess I can tell you, Lee," Naruto decided, pauseing for a moment to recollect all the details of what had happened just a good hour or two ago.
"I decided after our physical training I'd go to the academy so that I could see Yugito again, but there was an early dismissal that day. When I met her in front of the academy... she smacked me across the face," Naruto began with a deep frown on his face while Lee had a look of sheer confusion on his face. Lee hadn't met Yugito in person, but from what Naruto had told him of her, the blond boy thought the world of her.
Nonetheless, Lee remained silent as Naruto continued, "I've been training everyday for the past six months and I've been doing D-rank missions so that I could get a little extra money so that I could help Yugito have a better life here than she had back in Kumogakure. But today... she asked me if I hated her? She called me an 'asshole' and threw the money I gave her back at me, calling it a 'bribe'."
Although Naruto had not shown his expression to Yugito when she had first bombarded him with her harsh words, Naruto did now. The blond male had an expression that showed that he was confused, saddened and felt that all his good intentions had backfired. Lee half closed his eyes as he looked down momentarily, feeling Naruto's pain.
"Yugito kept trying to make me tell her why I've been disappearing all this time... but I can't tell her! If I tell her that I'm doing everything for her, she'd just blame herself! I don't want that!" Naruto explained his conflicted mind set with a raised voice as he squeezed his thighs in frustration.
Lee had remained quiet throughout Naruto's recap, prompting the blond to look up once more to make eye contact with the black-haired taijutsu specialist. Seeing that Naruto was waiting for some advice, Lee closed his eyes as he sorted through the information that Naruto had fed him.
Reopening his eyes, Lee took a deep breath before speaking, "I guess I would advise you to think of the situation from Yugito's own point of view. Other than that, I cannot give you any other proposal, but I feel assured that you will choose the best course of action."
Lee's suggestion was a far cry from what Naruto had been expecting to receive, but it did prove helpful. Standing up, Naruto extended a fist towards Lee who followed to bump it, "Thanks, Lee. I think I'll give what you said some thought."
Lee nodded his head, happy that he could be of assistance to his good friend before saying his good-byes as Naruto disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
The sun was beginning to set already, painting the sky in beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. Some shops were beginning to close and very few people were walking along the streets. Naruto just happened to be one of those individuals, still thinking about what Lee had told him.
'Yugito's point of view, huh?' Naruto repeated once again as he recalled everything she had yelled at him and the tears that had fallen from her eyes. His disappearances had caused Yugito to cry while she even begged for an answer.
'She must have been really sad about never seeing me and I was just too busy to notice,' Naruto thought to himself gloomily, hating that he had caused those tears to fall. He had told himself that he never wanted to see Yugito cry again and here he was being the cause.
'I guess I have been getting carried away with all the training and have been neglecting Yugito in the process,' Naruto concluded, using a rather improved vocabulary in comparison to how it had been just a couple months ago.
It went without saying that Lee had a vast vocabulary for somebody of such a young age due to his polite and formal way of speaking. Naruto had spent a total of six months with Lee, so the polite young man had influenced Naruto positively in terms of literacy.
'But how am I gonna go about apologizing and still not tell her that I've been training?' Naruto mused with a sigh, bowing his head once more that day as he continued his slow stroll through Konoha.
It became easily discernible that Naruto had reached his 'Eureka' moment when he suddenly stopped in place with a proud smile on his face. 'I can at least tell her that I was doing D-rank missions to make some money and promise her that I'd spend some more time with her. That way, she'll be happy and I don't have to make her feel responsible!'
Naruto practically jumped fifty feet in the air as he pumped his fist and let out a victorious, "Yahoo!" In Naruto's mind, the ideas was completely full proof and guaranteed him that Yugito would accept his apology. This, however, was a good depiction of exactly how little Naruto knew when it came to apologizing to a female of any age. A great explanation would rarely be enough and in Naruto's case, his chances were even slimmer.
As Naruto landed softly down to the ground, a savory aroma reached his highly developed nose. Naruto took a couple whiffs of the scent as he tracked down the origin. The place the pleasant odor had originated from was, interestingly enough, the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Naruto had actually worked here a few times as per his D-rank mission which was probably why the fragrance had been so familiar.
'Ino said something about every flower having some sort of meaning. Maybe Yugito would like something that said that I was sorry,' Naruto wondered to himself, opening up the glass door and walking in as he looked around at the large arrangements of flower at an affordable price.
Naruto had always liked the natural aspect of the world which is one of the reasons he actually liked to stay in the training ground with its untamed wildlife. Bending down next to one of the flower, Naruto took a whiff of the sweet smell.
"Oh, Naruto. What are you doing here?" a feminine voice caught Naruto's attention as he looked up to see Ino behind the counter of the small shop.
"I was just passing by and thought I'd buy some flowers for someone," Naruto answered with a small smile as slowly walked over to the counter.
Due to Naruto's hiatus from the academy and his help around the shop on certain days, Ino had become less hostile towards him and even a little more friendly. She had been one of the people to have promised Naruto not to inform Yugito of what he had been doing. Ino had found it sweet and uncharacteristic of the Naruto she knew, to go out of his way to make money for someone else to make them happy.
"Is it for Yugito?" Ino asked causing Naruto to tense up before he looked up at the ceiling, letting out a heavy sigh.
"You saw that too?" Naruto inquired, placing his fingertips on the spot Yugito had struck him. Ino actually felt a little bad for Naruto after having seen it, giving the blond male a nod in response.
"Than it would be nice if you could help me find a flower that says 'I'm sorry'," Naruto suggested as he walked to the counter and rested his forearms on it, looking at Ino expectantly.
"Well, nothing says I'm sorry to a girlfriend like roses," Ino recommended obviously, reaching behind her and removing a rose from a small straw woven basket. When she looked back at Naruto, Ino noticed that his face was redder than most of the roses in the shop.
"It's not like that, Ino. Yugito and I are just friends!" Naruto clarified his face beet red, feeling embarrassed that somebody actually thought that he and Yugito were in that kind of a relationship.
"Really? All the trouble you're going through to make Yugito happy is something a boyfriend would do for his girlfriend, isn't it?" Ino actually looked surprised, finding the relationship really complex. Naruto couldn't help but go even redder as he wondered how many others came to that sort of false conclusion.
"Yugito's not from the village and I was the first person she met. I'm just helping her get settled in," Naruto assured Ino who took Naruto's vague explanation as it made sense and fit the situation. Shrugging, not really caring all that much about Naruto's love life anyways, Ino continued looking around.
"If you're dead set against it, then how about some purple Hyacinth," Ino proposed, pointing to the purple bulbous plant that was actually right next to the roses. They were also beautiful and had the meaning of 'I am sorry' and 'Please forgive me', but were more widely used when apologizing to a friend. All kunoichi were required to take special classes like floral arrangements, so Naruto was sure that Yugito would understand the meaning behind the flower.
"They look nice and purple is Yugito's favorite color. I'll take a bouquet," Naruto decided, not even bothering to ask how much it was since he was loaded at the moment and didn't see how flowers could be that expensive. Even if it was, he'd still end up buying it since Yugito's forgiveness was priceless.
"Oh, so you know her favorite color too?" Ino teased as she began to put the bouquet that Naruto would be giving to Yugito later on that night.
Naruto blushed as he once again opposed Ino's conclusions, "I just assumed since that's the color she usually wears!" Ino just waved off Naruto's rebuttal, only getting Naruto that much more worked up. Naruto was too flustered to realize that Ino was only doing it just to get a rise out of him.
In a matter of minutes, Ino had finished the beautiful bouquet and placed it gently on the counter as Naruto purchased the set of flowers. Grabbing them, Naruto turned around and waved his goodbyes behind his back.
"Hope everything works out," Ino genuinely told the blond boy as he thanked her before pushing open the glass door and stepping out into the streets.
Night had fallen as the moonlight shined through the blinds of the bedroom and on Yugito's strewn out form on the bed. Upon arriving home that afternoon after her fight with Naruto, Yugito had come back to her and Naruto's home and instantly took a nap. Yugito had just woken up and was looking back at the argument with a clear head when before it had been clouded with anger and sadness.
'Maybe I was a little to harsh,' Yugito thought to herself, rolling onto her back as she looked at the hand that she had used to strike him.
Putting her hand back down, she sighed before throwing her feet of the bed and sitting up right. 'Naruto probably won't talk to me anymore after that,' Yugito realized, her mood dropping by several degrees, but pushing the depressing thought to the back of her mind.
Standing up with her stomach grumbling lowly, Yugito slowly walked out of the bedroom and to the kitchen where she opened the fridge and bent down as she took a look inside. It was relatively empty as Yugito had not gotten the chance to go grocery shopping, but there was enough to make a sandwich before she went back to bed.
Just as she was about to get ready to make herself something to eat, Yugito heard a knock at the door. "Who could that be?" Yugito wondered to herself as she closed the refrigerator and slowly walked over to the door.
Turning the handle and carefully opening the door, Yugito's eyes widened in shock and her breath was practically taken right out of her. Naruto was standing right in front of the door with his left hand behind his back and his right hand outstretched with the bouquet of beautiful purple Hyacinths. The moonlight shown on the flowers and on Naruto, adding a little shine to his hair, eyes and lips which were turned up in a small, soft and hopeful smile.
Naruto was also treated to a rather beautiful sight as Yugito had changed out of her shinobi attire that she wore to the academy and was dressed in a pair of very short blue shorts that came a quarter of the way down her toned thighs and a black tank top. The clothing hugged her curves and as the moonlight fell on her, it brought out her purple irises, blond hair that was flowing down her shoulder and back, her soft pink lips and creamy peach skin.
A deep blush tainted Yugito's cheeks as a tingly sensation erupted all over her body at the sight. "Yugito. I just want to say that I'm really sorry and if you'll give me one more chance, I think I can make it up to you," Naruto spoke in a soft and caring voice that caused a small smile to come upon Yugito's face while the blush only got deeper.
The scene was something that probably would have come straight out of a romantic movie, but instead of the main characters being in a relationship, Naruto and Yugito were just simply friend.
Yugito began to stammer lightly as she began toying with her hair while Naruto was waiting for her response, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks as well. Yugito looked really beautiful and cute at that moment to him, although he wouldn't say it out loud.
"C-come on i-in," Yugito offered a little flustered, motioning with her hands for Naruto to step in. Naruto did as Yugito said as he handed the flowers to her. Yugito's blush intensified as she held the flowers in her hands in breathed in the wondrous aroma.
"I'll put this in a vase with water," Yugito stated as she left to the kitchen, finding an empty vase before filling it with water as she placed the Hyacinths within.
As Yugito walked back to where she had left Naruto, she saw the blond male place a plastic bag on top of the small dining table. "I bought us something to eat while I tell you what you want to know," Naruto explained, Yugito still surprised that Naruto had actually come and was even more in awe that he was willing to tell her everything that had happened. Naruto really did still care!
Yugito took a seat across from Naruto as the blond male went into the bag and removed two foam trays like the ones they had eaten from half a year ago. Yugito took one from Naruto's outstretched and as she opened it up, her eyes widened in complete bewilderment. Within the plastic foam, the food Naruto had bought for the both of them, was tekkadon.
"How did you-," Yugito stopped midway through her sentence astounded as she looked up at Naruto, not understanding how he knew what her favorite food was. The only time Yugito had even mentioned that was to Teuchi when they had gone to Ichiraku Ramen together all those months ago and Naruto had been busy eating ramen.
"I might look ignorant some of the time, but I won't forget the things that make you smile," Naruto responded, not really noticing the deeper meaning behind it. Yugito, however, knew it and her face went crimson. She knew that Naruto wasn't too understanding of the power of his words and was mentally cursing the blond for his ignorance. How ironic...
Yugito decided not to say anything, mostly because she knew that at the moment she was a flustered mess, but also cause she hadn't eaten tekkadon in most likely a year. Breaking the chopsticks she began to savor every last bite of the food as Naruto just watched her with a soft smile on his face.
Naruto opened his own foam tray as he finished it up in practically three mouth fulls, not having eaten since the morning. Letting out a satisfied burp, Naruto brought his attention back to Yugito who was still taking regular sized bites. Yugito was taking her time eating while she gave Naruto a hopeful look.
"Alright, I think it's time I told you what I've been doing," Naruto began, interlocking his fingers as he brought them to the front of his mouth, momentarily closing his eyes. Yugito continued to chew, swallow and take another bite while she waited for Naruto to begin.
"To be completely honest with you, Yugito... I want to tell you everything that's been going on, but it isn't the right time for it. What I can tell you is that one of the reasons I've been gone is that I have been taking small jobs around the village to make some extra money. We don't get a lot from Jii-chan, so I thought that you might like being able to buy somethings for yourself other than just food... It wasn't to 'bribe' you, I just thought it'd make you happy," Naruto explained genuinely.
Yugito felt like kicking herself, feeling horrible that she had called Naruto's pure and heartfelt intentions a 'bribe'. She had pretty much thrown dirt on Naruto's gift to her. Yugito also felt incredibly awful that due to her, Naruto felt like he should have put himself threw such hard work in order to make something. What Yugito didn't know was that the jobs weren't so much difficult as they were tedious.
"I'm really sorry," Yugito managed to say after a brief pause causing a small smile to come upon Naruto's face as he was actually wondering what she was apologizing for.
"There's nothing to be sorry about. It's my fault for being gone for so long. I let so much get in the way and was so focused on other things that I never stopped to think of how you felt. Today made me realize that I've really changed since a half a year ago. I know that you might not be happy with me not telling you everything... but if I promise that I'll spend some more time with you. Will you accept my apology, so that we can be friends again?" The request had come from deep within Naruto's heart as he waited optimistically for Yugito's response. Naruto watched as Yugito put down her chopsticks and slowly stood up with her head bowed and her hair shadowing her eyes.
"Uh, Yugito. What's wrong?" Naruto asked apprehensively as the blond female stood up and walked around the table to Naruto. Was he going to get hit again, since from what Naruto remembered, Yugito did tend to lean to the side of violence?
Naruto suddenly felt himself get tackled and carried off his chair and onto the ground. Groaning a bit, having hit his head on the ground, Naruto noticed that Yugito's head was pressed against his chest and her arms were wrapped around his torso. Naruto readily blushed as Yugito looked up at him with her hair sprawled out over the two of them.
"Apology accepted. I just have to thank you for everything... You were doing so much for me and I didn't even notice," Yugito thanked with a somber smile, happy that the thought of Naruto hating her had been completely wrong, but was still mad that she had caused him to put himself through labor. In the end, Naruto was still that same kind guy that she had first met and that was never going to change about him.
"It's the least I could do for you, Yugito."
Well then, i hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in a review and I'll respond to it at the top of the next chapter.
Once again, this is the last chapter of Seraph's Embrace and I'll be taking over from here on in. Chapter 7 is already done, but I will probably release it 2 or 3 days from now. I'm trying to space out the chapter updates by having a few done ahead of time so that release dates aren't too sporadic or 2-3 weeks long.
Chapter 7 was kinda of a pain to do, it was long, boring, but necessary. Title of chapter is "Team 7" you guys can all guess what it'll be about.
Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys again in 2-3 days. I'm going back to outlining the second arc.
Till the next time I update, have a good day/night.
-Reprise