Blind Sight
By
LigerJager
Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
Scroll 7: Homecoming
"Gaara."
"Uzumaki."
"What are you doing here?"
"It seems Konoha has finally shown its true colors."
Naruto couldn't say anything and his tongue seemed frozen. How could he? Especially now when his heart was just as damaged as his body…and spirit. The boy shook his head as if trying to regain some semblance of the spirit he had by jumpstarting his brain.
"What d'ya mean?"
Gaara just tilted his head and looked at his blind counterpart. Was the blonde really that naïve? Yes. Yes he was if his previous experience has taught him anything. Even if they could connect on a fundamental level, the blond was still foolishly innocent or willfully ignorant.
There was no way he was going to leave behind someone who could understand his pain. Someone…who claimed his friendship and accepted him, an equal.
"Come."
"Where are we going?"
"We are going home."
And for the first time in what seemed like ages a small smile graced the jinchuuriki's lips.
'Home.'
For the first time in his life, he was going home
A polite knock at the doors brought Gaara's concentration towards the intrusion. Whether or not it was warranted, the staff always walked on eggshells around their leader.
Not that the redhead minded as they were extremely polite about their intrusions, but it irritated him as he had to receive them even if it was in the middle of an important topic.
"Kazekage-sama, forgive my intrusion."
"Of course."
With a slight nod, he indicated that the visitor should take a seat. After all it wasn't everyday that the diplomatic ambassador from his ally dropped by his office. Even in light of the rather…disturbing news that was coming their way.
With a mental sigh, the young Kazekage put aside his recent acquisition. It had been enlightening to say the least. The diplomatic missive he had been going through lay forgotten in favor of what the liaison had to say.
"As I'm sure you're aware of the…situation in Konoha, I'll waste no time in getting to the subject of my intrusion." The stoic façade leaned back as though mentally sifting through what he had to say and what he wanted to tell.
"Go on."
"As you know…"
Naruto stood defensively over his fallen squad members. They had been ambushed.
Blank cerulean eyes stared at the mass of human flesh before them, carefully concealing the tightly controlled rage within. Of all the times this had to happen, of course it had to be right after he'd received the secreted information from his kage.
It was also lucky that the offenders had caught him when his eye covering had been taken off for a moment. However, what was coming from them was worse than any offence of catching him unawares, no matter how brief.
Luckily, they were out of Suna and out of the wind country, on a mission. And, well, so many variables could happen on a mission.
It was probably also the fact that his current team was facing some of the elite forces from the Grass country. And every one of his comrades were either injured or unconscious. Ironic, how events always worked out like that on important retrieval missions.
Especially when said nin was apart of the crowd before him. However there was one distinct difference between them. The nin, whom had been assigned his teammate on various occasions was not someone he'd consider close.
And he had no qualms about killing the shinobi either. Gaara must have considered his attitude at this moment because all he needed to do was bring back some proof. The head would do rather nicely.
"So this is the infamous Maelstrom." One of the Kusa nin had apparently been gauging him, "not much is he?"
The grunts and nods of agreement were all Naruto needed to know to pinpoint the location of his opponents. He remained motionless, not allowing any of his thoughts to leak out into his movements.
Something poked his side. It was all Naruto could do to remain still and not turn to hiss at the offender, like a prodded cat.
"You don't want to mess with me because when I fight…I kill."
"Quit Boar." One of the Kusa nin cut in annoyance tingeing his voice.
"Why?" Came the whiny reply, "come on, look at him. He couldn't hit a fly even if he wanted to."
"He's the Anbu commander for a reason."
A new voice cut in by then. It took the blonde only a moment to identify it as the traitor's by the dialect and the accent.
"The only reason he got the position he did, is because he's the Kazekage's pet."
Naruto couldn't keep the memories of the last fifteen years from flooding back in all their bitter brilliance. Every word, every insult, played through his head with startling clarity. Life had not been easy for him, when had it ever, but it seemed the entire world was out to get him then with his weakness. Bullies couldn't resist the lure of such prey.
It was also the reason why he was the strongest. Why only the Kazekage himself could maybe take him on one on one in combat. And Why he was respected, feared, and loved in his regiment.
And Naruto had never spoken a word to Gaara about it either. He refused to completely depend on another. He never had, he was too independent and head strong to, and that way of life was too ingrained in him.
"Besides you're blind."
"Helpless."
"Weak."
"Handicapped."
"Useless."
"Pathetic."
It had taken ten years to somewhat repair the damage inflicted upon his psyche by his native home. And it would probably never leave either. He couldn't even have a normal relationship with another because he simply didn't know how to.
"It's a pity, really, you could have been so much use in our ranks…if you could see."
The ninja jeered while his back up looked on confidently. After all, the rumors about this blind man were obviously exaggerated especially if he and his team were taken by surprise so easily.
"Or better yet, the position you were rewarded just because the Kazekage's taken a shine to you could have gone to someone who earned it."
If he was looking for a reaction, there was none. The commander was just as impassive as ever, even with most of his head exposed.
"Come on, let's complete this mission and go."
The ninja continued to ignore the voice of reason as they curiously studied the blonde. Even in their small villages, the infamous Maelstrom of the Desert was quickly becoming something of a legend along with Salamander Hanzo, the Densetsu no Sannin, Seven Swordsmen of Kiri and many more.
The traitor felling ridiculously assured of himself and confident with his backing continued to taunt the commander. Some of the younger nin and the ones with grudges against Suna joined in.
"Weak. Pathetic. Hey, did you know he was pushed around by and academy student. A first year at that."
"You're not that weak are you?"
"If you aren't, prove it."
"How so?"
"It speaks!!"
One of the Kusa nin was shifting. It was clear that he wanted to leave, having stayed in one place for far too long. They were still within the Wind Country's borders and the longer they tarried, the less of a chance their mission would be completed…even if they seemed to have the advantage at the moment.
However some of the more sadistic squad members threw a little caution to the wind as the Commander had yet to speak or move. They began circling the lone nin, obviously taking advantage of their numbers.
"You see, we have this little game."
"But the thing is…the consequences are fatal."
"If you survive we might let you go.
"You have all this big talk about you, blindie, but can you back it up?"
The only warning they had was a near hoarse whisper as the blind shinobi shifted into a ready stance. Naruto blurred out of sight, his voice hanging in the air.
"Let it rain blood."
The surprise attack from the 'downed' nin took out a good portion of the Kusa nin on his command. It was a clever ruse, risky but successful.
It had been a massacre.
The traitor nin found himself looking into the lifeless orbs of the stoically cold Anbu Commander's. It was an unnerving experience and sent jolts of fear rushing through him. It took him a moment to realize the blonde was speaking and another five for the word's meanings to register.
"You should know…I hate to lose."
With that Naruto's fist blurred and smashed into the traitor's head, sending him crashing to the floor with a sickening thud. The crack of his skull against the dirt was all he needed to know that the other nin was down.
The Anbu Commander 'looked' down at the unconscious nin before shaking his head in disgust. Idiocy, no matter how well disguised, would always follow the ignorant.
"You talk too much."
The commander pulled out a length of wire from his pack and began securing his prisoners. The last thing he needed was for them to get away while he was tending to the injured on his team. He also needed them for questioning.
The arrival of the Kusa shinobi was unprecedented and their poisons needed to be dealt with. Soon.
The blonde just sighed. He wasn't looking forward to any of this. His fingers fumbled around in his pack until they came across a phial he normally stored there and made his way over to his downed comrades.
It was an anti-venom that worked to neutralize all poisons for about twelve hours before the victims needed to get to hospital. It was enough, for now.
A quiet knock at the door brought the aged Hokage out of her reverie. The news she had received from Jiraiya was definitely worth the intrusion.
What or rather whom walked through her door was not someone she had been expecting anytime soon. And he wasn't anyone she wanted to see at the moment.
"What do you want…Uchiha Sasuke."
:Tsudzuku:
A/N: OH MAN!! Did anyone read CH 439?!?! Kishimoto has just officially rocked my view of Naruto again and put it back on the map (is cackling gleefully). Who else is excited for things to pick up now??
So as you can guess that means…more Naruto updates!! Yay!! I was losing a ton of interest and absolutely hate the Uchiha-super-ultra-powered-I'm-damn-near-immortal-arc…but this is makes it all worthwhile.
If you haven't read it yet…GOGOGOGOGOGO!!! You have to!! I'm not spoiling anything. Now Shoo!!
……
For anyone confused about the storyline, it generally starts out with past and then jumps to either present day Konoha or Suna. Yes it's a bit rough, I don't blame anyone if it's a hard read, this story wasn't exactly well thought out in the epic sense. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it regardless.
Now as for excitement and action and what not…this story is more about Naruto coming to terms with his banishment and living on. Also it's about him healing and growing up some. Think of it as a more…realistic-ish based fic. It's neither happy nor is it sad.
……
As for the council, yes I am well aware that it is a product of FanFiction, however just because it isn't mentioned doesn't mean that it isn't there (we didn't find out about the advisors until late in the game either). Now, it may not have any power but the Hokage isn't running the village single handedly.
And as for the banishment…it was the only humane way to get him out of Konoha.
……
If you dislike my story so much then please by all means, don't read. I'm not forcing you.
Anyways, for those of you who are…less than satisfied with my plots or story in general, might I humbly suggest some worthwhile reads?
For the Love of My Friends by Foxie-sama
Everything Begins with a Choice by Biskoff
Divergence by Nawaki
Team 8 by S'Tarkan
Eyes of the Broken Soul by SincereNaruto
And anything written by these two authors: Paw-bells and Peppymint.
LJ 4/12/09