Leo: Back again! I will proceed to let someone else do the disclaimer!
Anko: Ha-ha! Leo can't possibly own Naruto! 'Cuz I do! :D
Leo…Right…Commencing Story! (By the way, Anko doesn't really own Naruto if you haven't figured it out. It belongs to Misashi Kishimoto!)
Misaki's POV
"The world comes to life and everything's right from beginning to end when you have a friend by your side…" I hummed to myself. (A/N: This song is called Gift of a Friend – Demi Lovato.)
"You're sure in a good mood today, Mi-chan." Naruto commented.
"Yeah, some mornings just seem so amazing." I chirped.
"Alright, Naruto. Stage 2 is going to begin today." Jiraiya stopped in the middle of the forest.
"Alright!" Naruto said excitedly.
"Here." Jiraiya tossed Naruto a small rubber ball.
"Argh… another one of these tests?" Naruto instantly looked crestfallen.
"Now you must break this ball." Jiraiya ignored Naruto's complaints. Jiraiya held up another rubber ball. He seemed to concentrate for a moment before the ball burst.
"Whoa!" I startled.
"It's at least a hundred times harder than bursting the water balloon." Jiraiya explained.
"…" Naruto seemed to contemplate this before attempting to make it burst like with the water balloon. It stretched a little before it went back to normal.
"It does seem pretty hard." I attempted to put Naruto at ease.
"The first step is to spin and the second step is to add power. Practice like this for a bit." Jiraiya continued, "Misaki, supervise him. Don't let him get too exhausted. I'm going to gather information."
"'Kay." I slid to the ground against a nearby tree.
"Wait! Didn't you say that today you were going to train with me?" Naruto attempted to make Jiraiya stay.
"I said I would teach you both. Jutsu are never easy to learn. If you're going to act like children always asking for help then…forget it." Jiraiya waved and walked off.
"At least give me some sort of hint!" Naruto argued.
"I'll need money." Jiraiya held his hand out expectantly.
"…"
"…"
"YOU TALK BUT YOU'RE JUST A DIRTY OLD MAN! YOU AREN'T ANYTHING LIKE A GREAT SHINOBI!" A vein throbbed in Naruto's temple. I laughed hysterically act the comedic sight.
A few hours later
Naruto lay exhausted on the ground. I poured a small bottle of water into his open mouth. He swallowed and panted.
"Thanks."
"Anytime." I stared at him as he attempted to catch his breath
Naruto slowly got back to his feet and tried to make the ball burst for the umpteenth time today.
I watched worriedly, "Maybe you should stop for today. You must be in a lot of pain."
"…Yeah…" Naruto hesitantly agreed and pocketed the ball. He staggered in the direction of the hotel until I finally decided to help him get back.
A few weeks later
"Damn it! I'm just doing the same thing day after day!" Naruto cursed.
I sighed it had been three days and while Naruto had more control over his chakra, he still hadn't made much progress on the real objective. Making the rubber ball burst.
"Hey, Naruto!" I heard Jiraiya's voice.
"What do you want?" Naruto asked impatiently.
"Go into town and buy the three of us lunch." Jiraiya smiled pleasantly in contrast to his real intention.
"What? Why me?" Naruto argued.
"Remember, you're learning jutsu from me. Also, Misaki is a girl no matter if she acts like it or not."
"Humph." Naruto pouted and walked off. I frowned and flipped Jiraiya off at his comment.
"I'll come with. It'll be boring hear with just the pervy Sannin, not to mention dangerous." I stuck my tongue out at Jiraiya before trailing after Nauto.
Naruto's POV
Once we were in town I lost myself in thought.
'He never teaches me anything. He only acts like a teacher in times like these.' I mentally grumbled.
"Hey Dad! Buy me an ice cream!"
"Well let's get this one that goes…" I turned to see a man buy one of the popsicles that has two sticks so you can snap it down the middle.
"Nooo! I can eat one by myself!" the kid whined.
"Nope! Mom's made lunch and she's waiting for us to come home."
'I bet it's nice to have parents…' I thought sullenly.
Misaki's POV
I watched the dad walk away with his child suddenly feeling a wave of sadness hit me.
'Suddenly, I miss Onii-chan…' I frowned. I shook my head and slapped my cheeks trying to force myself to get my deceased family out of my head. No matter what I did I couldn't shake the lingering sadness. I sighed in resignation and trailed after Naruto's quickly disappearing figure.
We went back to our meeting place after we finished buying lunch. My mood just seemed to go downhill every time another happy family passed us. Naruto didn't seem to be coping with it very well either.
"Hey, today could you help me with my training…just a bit." Naruto pleaded with Jiraiya once we got back.
"I don't have that kind of time…we're not eating here either. We'll eat while we're walking into town."
"…" Naruto looked devastated.
"…" I also feel a little grief-stricken.
"Look you two. I told you both three weeks ago to stop acting like babies. You're a ninja!" Jiraiya lectured us.
"Sorry…" I laughed normally.
'Get over it, Misaki.' I mentally rebuked myself. I flashed him a smiled that I hope looked normal.
"Ha-ha! You don't have to tell me!" Naruto laughed a fake-souding laugh and flashed a shaky smile, "C'mon Misaki, I'm going to train more."
A few hours later
"Naruto…you should stop. I can tell you're in pain." I patted Naruto's back as he was hunched over on the floor panting from exerting so much chakra.
"One more time…" Naruto grabbed the rubber ball. I could feel him shaking from exhaustion.
I bit my lip, "Alright. Once more."
Naruto stood and held the ball he seemed to concentrate for a few seconds, "Agh! OWWWW!" he yelled. The ball suddenly made a popping sound before a hole appeared and it deflated.
"Well…it looks like you've improved at least a little bit…" Jiraiya suddenly appeared.
"I only made a little hole in the ball. It hasn't broken yet." Naruto replied.
"C'mon, don't be so stubborn! Here." Jiraiya held out half of a popsicle to Naruto and me, "You've come a long way on your own."
"Heh…" Naruto happily accepted the popsicle. The dark air that had settled around him for the past few hours instantly dispersed,
Even I had been feeling slightly gloomy ever since we had gone into town. My mood immediately lifted as I stared at the popsicle and remembered the family in the town.
"Thanks." I graciously thanked him.
'We're kind of like a family if you think about it…I'm such a wuss.' I smiled to myself.
"Naruto, once you've gotten this far, the rest is just a simple trick. Let's try it out. Give me your right hand." Jiraiya instructed. Naruto obediently complied; Jiraiya drew a little symbol that looked somewhat like a swirl on his palm with a brush.
"What's this?" Naruto inspected the poorly-done swirl. Jiraiya held out his hand on his palm was a matching swirl, "It's the same thing. What's the hint?"
"I'll start explaining now..." Jiraiya dug in his pocket for a bit before pulling out a clean sheet of paper, "Naruto look at this paper!"
"…Okay, I saw, I looked…" I could tell Naruto was starting to think Jiraiya was going off the deep end. If you know what I mean…
"Alright! Okay, now look again!" Jiraiya held it out again. This time it had the same swirl on it as Naruto.
"…So what?" Naruto asked.
"When I showed you the blank piece of paper you looked at it as a whole right?" Jiraiya said triumphantly.
"Sure, I guess."
"But you stared at the center of the paper with a dot."
"Yeah! So then what's the hint?" Naruto asked impatiently.
"Concentration?" I asked.
"Correct."
"Concentration?" Naruto repeated.
"Yes, concentration. When the paper is blank you have nothing to concentrate on, therefore your gaze is unstable. When there is something in the middle the target becomes clear and your eyes unconsciously follow it." Jiraiya explained, "This is called concentration of one. This will help you come closer to a state where you can draw out your maximum power; since, your mind is calm."
"Hm…"
"Anyways you must concentrate. Aren't you the type who got yelled at in the academy for lack of concentration?" Jiraiya admonished him.I chuckled as Naruto fiercely denied it.
"You should stay quiet Misaki. You seem like the type to be yelled at for talking back to the teacher."
I instantly fell silent as Naruto laughed at me. "Bleh!" I retorted.
Jiraiya snorted, "Alright Naruto, this is the next step from now on whenever you send chakra to your right hand focus the chakra to the swirl on your hand."
"Gotcha!"
"Misaki, we're going to start the next step for your training." Jiraiya motioned for me to follow him. Eventually we ended up at a large waterfall. Jiraiya unceremoniously shoved me under the flow of water.
"ARGGHH!" I violently flailed under the cold water. "What're ya tryin' to do?" I spluttered after I resurfaced.
"This is the next stage of your training." Jiraiya answered nonchalantly.
"Trying to drown me?"
"No. Although, that would be fun. You're going to master another element using your Tenkigan. The element you will be mastering is water."
"And just how will we do that?" I was already irritated from being shoved under cold water. Trust me, you would be too.
"How should I explain this? Hmm…you've just got to sort of…connect with the water." Jiraiya hesitated.
"…You're crazy." I attempted to pull myself back unto land just be shoved back into the water, "…I hate you. How do you even know how to master an element using my bloodline?"
"When I said I was going to gather information it wasn't just on Tsunade. I can tell you've mastered the earth element well. What you've got to do is meditate while in the presence of water. Calm your mind. Water is meant to be a peaceful element after all. Then try to use your chakra to make a small ball of the water float. When you've accomplished that I want you to call me and show me." Jiraiya stalked off. I dragged myself unto a rock a little ways away from the waterfall.
"Alright. Fine. I'll try this. But it won't work." I muttered to myself. I closed my eyes and started.
Sakura's POV
I stared down at Sasuke who was unconscious in bed. He wouldn't move and he hadn't moved in a few days.
"…Sasuke-kun…" I whispered to myself. I stared down at the curse mark on his neck.
Suddenly, Sasuke shifted lightly. I stared down at him hopefully. Nothing changed.
"Misaki…Naruto…hurry and bring Tsunade back…" I murmured under my breath.
Naruto's POV
I lay face down on the ground already exhausted after a few hours.
I sat up on my heels, "I've gotta concentrate more…"
'Concentrate…concentrate…concentrate…' I repeated to myself.
"C'mon…" I murmured.
'Concentrate to a single point…'
Suddenly a vision of Jiraiya making a really stupid face popped into my mind. I burst out laughing.
"How am I supposed to concentrate when I keep seeing his stupid face?"
Jiraiya's POV
"Hmm…never seen her before…" the man I was questioning said. I sighed putting away the picture of Tsunade I had.
"I know that person…" I heard someone say. I turned to see a drunken old man, "I even know her whereabouts…"
"This round is my treat…" I attempted to bribe him.
He laughed loudly, "Alright! That woman…she's rubbed me off quite a bit…I bet she's still gambling right now."
'She's still losing…?' I sweat dropped.
"…Where?"
"Tanzaku-gai." He answered simply before taking another swig of his beer.
"Oh? That's pretty close." I speculated.
Tsunade's POV
"What's wrong, Tsunade? It's a miracle that you actually won this time. Why aren't you happy?"
"That's just it. I never win…I have a bad feeling about this place. Let's get outta here fast." I took a few strides ahead of Shizune.
"What? But this is a beautiful place we should take more time and enjoy-" Shizune protested.
I interrupted her, "Then we'll take a quick look around and get out of here, A-SAP!"
Naruto's POV
"Argh…it hurts… I've got no chakra left…I'll just rest for a bit…" my eyes slid shut as I relzxed.
I opened my eyes when I felt something land softly on my head. I brushed it off realizing it was only a leaf. Suddenly, I recalled memories from the academy. When Choji and I were caught eating in class. The time Kiba and I ran out of the classroom when Iruka's back was turned. The time I fell asleep just like Shikamaru even the time Misaki and I decided to chuck paper balls at Iruka's back whenever he turned around and then we'd back it on Shikamaru…
Flashback Starts
Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, Misaki, and I stood in a line in front of Iruka-sensei after class.
"You guys will never be great ninja if you don't learn to concentrate!" Iruka lectured us.
"Ha! How the heck are we supposed to sit still?" Kiba snorted. "Right Akamaru?"
"Iruka-sensei your voice is really annoying. Do you think you can be quiet for a bit? I kind of just woke up…" Misaki rubbed her eyes and yawned. She'd previously got in trouble fore sleeping in class.
"Can you make the lecture shorter Iruka-sensei?" I asked while Shikamaru yawned and Choji ate a bag of potato chips.
Something inside Iruka-sensei seemed to snap, "EXTRA CLASS FOR ALL OF YOU!"
Later on Iruka placed a leaf on top of all of our heads.
"What's this?" I muttered.
"This is what they did in ancient times. It requires you to concentrate all of your chakra into this leaf which will sit on your forehead. It's an old and effective way of shaping up one's concentration."
"PFTT! This doesn't even matter! The strength of a ninja is all that counts after all!" I laughed loudly.
Everyone else there seemed to agree.I looked back at Iruka who seemed to be sulking in a corner.
'What's his deal…' I sweat dropped.
Flashback End
I lay on my back thinking. 'This is the same thing. I should've listened to Iruka-sensei.'
"Too late to regret it now." I licked my thumb and smeared the swirl on my hand until it looked more like the Konoha symbol.
'Okay. Now concentrate…concentrate…concentrate!'
I felt the feeling of chakra gathering in my hand. My eyes snapped open and I saw a ball of blue chakra in my hand.
"Heh…it's done…" I grinned, "Let's start the 3rd stage quickly."
"Leave it for later…we've gotta get Misaki and go meet Tsunade now. I'll explain the third step on the way."
"Where is Misaki anyway?" I asked worriedly. Jiraiya laughed.
"Probably drowned in the waterfall."
"What?" I sat up already worried.
"Just kidding. Now c'mon."
Misaki's POV
"ARGH! This isn't working!" I angrily splashed the water every which way. My chakra didn't seem to want to cooperate with the water. The most I could do was ripple it water.
"Misaki!" I heard someone call. I turned to see Naruto and Jiraiya waving from the edge of the lake. I dived into the water and swam back to shore. I coughed and spluttered as I pulled myself out of the water.
"Did you manage to do it?" Jiraiya asked. I growled.
"It's not working." I said angrily.
He laughed, "Well, we have to go found Tsunade; she's in Tanzaku-gai."
I wrung out my kimono, "Can I change?"
"Sure, but make it fast were only going back to the hotel to get our thinds. Let's go." Jiraiya was already taking off without us. I pulled out my pigtails and tied my hair up into one high ponytail.
"Let's make this fast."
Tsunade's POV
"Ah, Tanzaku Castle has such a beautiful view even from the ground. That's why it's called the 'Treasure of Arts.'"
"Don't waste anymore time. We must get out of here as such as possible." I was already annoyed with all the 'beautiful scenery.'
"Can't we stay a little longer? Don't you see all this view? And it's for free!" Shizune attempted to persuade me. Suddenly, the tower came crumbling to the ground I instinctively ducked avoiding the flying the debris.
"Shit!" I cursed.
When the dust cleared I looked up and saw Orochimaru standing on top of a large snake.
"Found you." He hissed.
"Orochimaru…" I glowered up at him.
Misaki's POV
"ALRIGHT! LET'S GO!" Jiraiya said once we had left the town.
I had finished changing and was now in clothes more suitable for traveling rather than my usual stuff. I was wearing a navy t-shirt with black shorts and my ninja sandals. I had left my hair the way it was before.
"…You're pretty energetic. Yelling 'let's go' like a kid." Naruto sweat dropped.
"Hmm…? That's insulting." Jiraiya pouted. He pulled a balloon out of his pocket and blew it up. "Anyway, time to start the 3rd stage. Here."
Naruto easily caught it, "Huh? Isn't this a normal balloon?"
"The 1st stage was spinning and the 2nd was power. This is the third stage." Jiraiya opened his hand on spinning inside of it was a perfect sphere of chakra.
"Whoa!" I resisted the strong urge to poke it.
"The third stage is to bring out 100% of what you learned and maintain it." Jiraiya said.
"I get it! What you have to do is maintain the spinning, power, and I also can't cut the balloon!"
"That's it."
"Heh!" Naruto grinned but then it faltered. "But is this all necessary?"
"Mhm. Watch. This is how it would be like if you only mastered the second stage." Jiraiya smashed the ball of chakra into a nearby tree and instantly there was a giant spiral dent in the side.
I flinched imagining that happening to an actual person. The damage would be almost permanent.
"This is what it's like when you master the third stage." Jiraiya formed a complete sphere and slammed it into a different tree. The almost went right through it, "Now you try."
Naruto gripped the balloon and stood there; he was actually doing it but it didn't last long. Finally, the balloon burst.
"It's at a completely different level than stage 2." Naruto murmured to himself.
"The difficulty is A-ranked. It's extremely hard. Anyways let's get going, if you want you can do it while we walk. Misaki we'll continue your training another time."
"'Kay." I was almost relieved. The frustration was going to drive me crazy if I stayed under that waterfall any longer.
Tsunade's POV
"Orochimaru…it's been awhile…" I sneered.
"I have a small favor to ask of you…" Orochimaru said clenching his fist. I looked him up and down looking for familiar signs.
'An unstable heartbeat…looks fairly feverish from the face…in addition those arms…' I thought.
"Forget it. Find someone else. I've already resigned from medical treatment." I declined.
"We can't …you know how serious this wound is…no one can heal this wound…" the grey-haired teen next to him tried to reason with me.
"That arm…it's not an ordinary wound is it? Who did that to you?" I asked.
"I was careless when I was killing the Third…" Orochimaru confessed.
"You really…?" I glowered at him.
"Things that have form will always decay. It's the same with people. All the people you loved most have died anyway. Everyone except that girl you raised, huh? And she even left you …"
"Ha-ha! Orochimaru you're still your same self. You probably knew I loved that kid…you shouldn't have said that…" I gave him a pleasant smile before smashing my fist into the wall next to me causing it to crumble at the impact. "I'll kill you."
Misaki's POV
"Achoo!" I sneezed.
"You okay?' Naruto asked.
"It's probably because Jiraiya pushed me under that freezing cold waterfall." I glared holes through Jiraiya's back. Figuratively of course.
"Maybe someone's just talking about you…?" Jiraiya sweat dropped.
"Nope. Definitely not." I crossed my arms and shook my head.
"Ah!" Naruto shouted as another one of his balloon burst.
"Tsunade has no patience. She might still be here." I inspected the rubble near a wall.
"Probably." Jiraiya agreed.
Tsunade's POV
"We're only here to negotiate, not to start a fight." The grey-haired teen reasoned.
"You should have said that before. Go away." I growled.
"Can't we make a deal?"
"I'll count to five before I want your sorry asses out of here. I'll get rid of you myself if I have to. 5…"
"Please calm down. Our offer is probably not bad." The teen sweat dropped.
"4…"
"C'mon!" he pleaded.
"3…2…1." I said preparing to attack.
"I can bring your brother and lover back to life with the forbidden jutsu I developed. I can even tell you where your beloved 'child' is. All of it is within my power." Orochimaru smiled sinisterly.
I hesitated.
"Do we have a deal?"
Misaki's POV
Jiraiya was currently playing a man in a casino game to figure out where Tsunade is.
"Okay! It's going to be ev-" Jiraiya said. I pinched him. He swatted at my hand and looked down at me
"Say odd." I growled. He gulped.
"It will be odd!"
The dice he rolled and stopped on 2 and 5. Jiraiya pumped his fist in the air.
"I won! How'd you do that?" He asked.
"Just luck. I used to help Tsunade gamble all the time." I glanced at Naruto who was still trying to do the balloon thing. I sweat dropped at his stance. He looked almost constipated.
We moved on to the casino the man directed us to. I was staring at one of the machines there.
"I wonder why Shizune never let me gamble when I was a kid…" I wondered. I looked around to make sure Jiraiya wasn't watching. I dug a coin out of my pocket and put it into the machine.
Later
"Ah!" I patted my full wallet watching Naruto rub up to his wallet, "It feels so good to have a full wallet!"
"I agree!"
"I wonder how you two idiots managed to win that much. Anyway, come on we're going to a high place to search for her."
Tsunade's POV
"Don't you want to see them again Tsunade?" Orochimaru gave me a pitiful look.
"…"
I remembered the faces of Dan and Nawaki. Then I remembered Misaki…
"…What do you plan to do after I heal your arm?" I asked weakly.
"I won't lie. I'm planning on crushing the Leaf completely…" Orochimaru chuckled.
Leo: I think I'll stop here. 14 pages! :)
Leo: Please review! All you have to do is click a little button! I mean it only takes 30 seconds! You don't even have to say anything detailed! You can just say good, bad, nice, great, whatever! All I want is some feedback! Not too much to ask for right? :D