Caught in the Middle
Chapter 15
The Godfather
Hey guys! First off, I'm sorry but I really just couldn't resist the opportunity to use that title chapter. Anyway, I'll be heading off to the National Robotics Competition tomorrow, so I get to miss school on Friday! I'll get a first hand look at the machines that will undoubtedly be our metallic overlords decades from now.
Moving back to the fanfic, Naruto's training begins this chapter, and for a few more chapters after this. Ya know, the whole mastering the Rasengan thing, plus a few details that will be important later on, and some much needed (and frequently demanded) fluff. Yes, to all of you who are sending me messages asking when Naruto and Karen will get together, the answer is SOON. There's a lot that's going to happen soon, so things will get pretty interesting.
I don't want to just throw my two main characters into a relationship for absolutely no reason with no build up, (coughTwilightcough), I'm trying to be realistic and dramatic here.
Anyway, just go ahead and read.
Naruto emerged from the blackness of his unconscious state in a blurred stupor. He moved his right hand up to his forehead, trying in vain to clear the fog in his mind and alleviate at least some of the throbbing. He groaned and attempted to sit up, but his abdomen immediately protested and he plopped right back down onto his back. He sucked in air through clenched teeth and tried to bite back the pain as it ran up and down his torso.
"Naruto, are you awake?" said a voice above him.
He peaked out through squinted eyes and made out a blurred red mass that he eventually made out to be Karen's hair. As his eyes came back into focus he saw her hovering over him with anxiousness all over her face. He managed a small smile.
"Yeah...a little achy, but I'll live," he replied weakly, his lung feeling like they could barely hold onto any air.
She smiled back and ran a hand through his blond hair. "You've been out for almost a day now, you scared me to death."
"Sorry, looks like Sasuke's still better than me. I'm getting closer though, the gap is getting smaller, I can feel it."
His eyes roamed around their surroundings, and he took in their environment for the first time since waking up. From the looks of things, they were in a cave or cavern of some sort. He looked up at the roof of the rocky shelter, and nothing but mountainous stone started back at him. The ground was uncomfortably hard, but the thin mattress he had been provided with had made it more bearable, and at this point he was just glad to be okay, so he wasn't about to complain.
"You're awake, good, I was afraid you had gone catatonic on us," said a much calmer voice a bit farther off where Naruto could not see, but judging by the lackadaisical tone, he guessed it was Kakashi. His footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the cavern until he came to a stop, standing directly over the blond, reading his usual "romance novel".
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"A bit; what took you so long to help us?" he asked back.
"I was drawn into my own fight and it was a long distance to cover without battling three opponents at once, not to mention I wasn't appraised of your situation until well into your battle with Sasuke. I assumed if we were being attacked here, then Sasuke was probably, if not behind it, then at least involved, but those three were decently strong together. I would have gotten there sooner if I could have."
Naruto nodded, still generally bitter over having lost to Sasuke. Thinking over the battle though, jogged his memory of what had happened right before he blacked out.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Just before Sasuke was going to finish me off, this really big guy showed up and used this...blue...orb thing, and completely blew him away in one shot. It was incredible; I think it might have been Jiraiya."
"The one and only kid," said a third voice.
Naruto shifted his head as far to the left as he could manage, and saw the same man as when he was downed by Sasuke. He had long grayish-silver hair that fell down his back, and parted to two sides thanks to a metal headband with a Japanese kanji symbol marked on it, which -if Naruto's linguistics course was serving him well- meant "oil". He had a long red vest over greenish-gray ancient Japanese looking robes, and fishnet clothing underneath that. He also had a large scroll which hung around his waist.
"So you're Jiraiya?"
"That's what I just said kid, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, at your service."
Naruto blinked and for a few seconds silence fell over the four of them. "So I guess this makes you my godfather then."
Jiraiya turned his head and didn't look directly at him as he replied, "It does. I could tell you were Minato's brat from a mile off; the blond hair was a dead give away."
Naruto chuckled against the argument of his lungs. "Yeah, people are always saying I look just like him."
Kakashi slapped his book shut and stowed it away in his suit. "Well, I'll let you two get a little better acquainted. Karen, come with me."
The redhead nodded and gave Naruto a last glance as she rose to her feet and followed the silver haired FBPS agent off. After the two had gotten a distance off, while still remaining within the roughly one-hundred foot radius Karen was forced to stay in until they were un-bonded, he turned his head back to Jiraiya.
The elder spoke first.
"So I guess you're probably wondering where I've been all your life," he said taking a seat next to Naruto's laid out form.
"Kakashi already explained the gist of it to me. I can understand you missing my dad, it sounded like you were really close, and I still had a pretty good life even without you being there. Its been over a decade since he died though, why are you still living like a hermit? I really would have liked to have gotten to know you sooner, to at least have known you were there."
He sighed. "I know I missed a lot, I was being selfish, I know that. If it had been one year, or two, even three or four this probably wouldn't be such an issue, but sixteen years gone without a trace without even so much as a hello is inexcusable. I want to give you an explanation, but the truth is I don't have one. I had always planned on coming back, planned on meeting you and telling you stories and helping to raise you into the great man I knew you'd be, but I never did, and the years just kept slipping by one by one until this day finally rolled around and I came face to face with the person I had continuously ignored."
Another silence fell, and for a moment neither knew what to say. It remained a stale and tense quiet until Naruto shattered it with a question he had always wanted a straight answer to, but never got.
"So...which one of my parents named me after a ramen topping?" he asked suddenly. Jiraiya looked bewildered at first, but then chuckled.
"Well you're mother actually gave you that name, but it wasn't her intention to name you after a ramen topping. Your name is supposed to mean 'maelstrom', of course that never stopped Minato from joking about it. You look like an exact clone of him to, but from what I can tell, you act more like Kushina than anyone else. I can only assume you were famous for practical jokes at your school?"
The blond laughed as much as his tired lungs allowed. "Heh, well I have been known to pull a few pranks on occasion."
"Had you two been able to collaborate...well I'm not sure what the world would have done," sighed Jiraiya, a smirk reaching his lips.
"Anyway," he said after a moment, "I know I can't really excuse never being there for you, but I'd like to try and make it up to you. Kakashi explained everything to me; the girl, your situation, the Uchiha. I'll give you any help you need; I'll break the bond, train you, anything."
"Getting rid of my link with Karen is mainly why we're here anyway, and after that fight with Sasuke, I'll definitely need the training. Plus, you can tell me about my parents. I still don't know much more about them than the records displayed back at HQ, and that's just statistics and official records."
Jiraiya smiled and put his hand on Naruto's head, ruffling the blond bush. "Sure thing kid."
Hotel Room, Sapporo
Sasuke to was bedridden as well, though unlike Naruto, he was furious. So close, he had been so close and just like that his victory had been snatched away from him. Not only that, but now his self proclaimed rival was with a man even Orochimaru was wary of. This wasn't so much of a concern as it was a nuisance. On the one hand, he could care less if Naruto got stronger, it would just be more fun when he crushed him again, but Orochimaru would be on his back for this.
His team was in less than ideal condition as well. Zaku was also still down; he had taken quite the beating from Kakashi. Dosu had taken light injuries, and Kin was the only member so far that was completely combat ready.
The raven haired demon hunter cursed his vulnerable state. He could be out training as well, but his exhaustion and injuries wouldn't allow him to sit up, let alone practice his martial arts or his magic. All he could do was rest and heal.
Still, even he couldn't deny that fighting with Naruto was becoming increasingly entertaining each time. He almost found himself looking forward to -dare he say excited- for the day when he could fight the blond again. The thought of his curse seal against Naruto's demonic abilities would be and excellent test of his strength, and bring him one step closer to the level of strength he needed.
Until that time though, he gave a low growl and laid in his bed.
Two hours later, Northern Japanese Mountains
After Jiraiya and Naruto became relatively acquainted, Kakashi and Karen rejoined them and began discussing the first order of business, un-bonding Naruto and Karen. Surprisingly, Jiraiya was quick to come up with a solution. He now sat in front of both Naruto and Karen, the boys chest bare.
"Now," began the sage, "this will be an easy process despite what you think. The kind of bond between you two is surprisingly weak with the right seal to cancel it out. This little number is something I developed a while back when I had to deal with a similar situation, but that's a story for another day. I won't go into the complicated details, but the short and simple version is that as long as these seals are maintained, which isn't too hard, the bond holding you two together should dissipate within a few days, and the marks can be removed."
They both nodded, and Jiraiya leaned over and began running through hand signs. Naruto watched as he burned through them at blinding speed, and still seemed to be going on forever. After what seemed like a short eternity, Jiraiya ended his frenzy of finger movement and his index and middle finger connected with Naruto's stomach. A moment later, a black seal appeared on his stomach.
It was a small circle encircling his navel, then expanded out as eight straight lines extended in different directions, then connected with a larger circle, then that circling being surrounded by a diamond shaped mark. The seal had been applied, but Naruto was could still feel that little piece of Karen still in the back of his mind.
"There we go, now for the next step."
"What's the next step?" asked Karen.
"I'm going to have to apply the same seal to you, so that neither of you are sending off any magical energies to one another. If you'll kindly lift your shirt up a bit, we can get this done with."
Naruto looked up at his godfather.
"This isn't just a perverted ploy of yours right? Granny Tsunade warned me you were a pretty big pervert, and I don't take kindly to perverts, especially perverts eying my best friend," warned Naruto, his voice still carrying confidence despite his weakened state.
Jiraiya put up his hands defensively. "This is really how it goes, I swear, no need to accuse me of anything."
The blond gave a nod, but still watched his movements carefully. He once again watched in amazement as Jiraiya sped through the hand signs for the seal, only this time it seemed like he was done in mere seconds. Naruto watched all the same as an identical black mark appeared on Karen's stomach as well.
This time he could feel her presence leave his mind suddenly. He had to admit, after having that little piece of her in his head for so long, he now felt oddly...lonely, almost like he had just lost a little bit of his identity. He could tell Karen felt the same just by the look on her face.
"That's that, the link should be gone and you're both free to move about how you like. After a few days I can take off the seals and the link should be gone permanently, but don't mess with them for at least a week," advised Jiraiya.
They both nodded a bit lazily, having other things on their minds at the moment. Naruto finally released a yawn, and Kakashi finally spoke up.
"Well, I think it's time Naruto got some rest, he's exhausted as it is."
Jiraiya nodded. "Agreed, get some rest kid, you're in no condition to do anything yet anyway."
"Yeah," the blond agreed, "I guess you're right, some sleep'll do me some good."
The trio headed out of the cavern and out onto the large cliff side the cavern formed next to. They were decently high up in the mountains, remote enough not to be found, but not so high that it was impossible to get down. They had a magnificent view of the other mountains and the large forests below.
"Well, I'm gonna take one last look around; make sure we haven't been tailed or anything. You two just stay here, I'll be back in a jiff," said Jiraiya.
The sage quickly flickered out of their field of vision and was off, leaving Karen and Kakashi alone in the mountains with a sleeping Naruto within the caverns behind them. Kakashi leaned against the rocky wall and popped out his book, while Karen took a seat on the ground. She was currently running a few thoughts through her head, including a request she had of the FBPS agent in front of her.
She worked up her courage, cleared her throat, and stood back up.
"Kakashi?" she asked, "could I ask something of you?"
He shifted his head in her direction slightly, indicating he was listening.
"Well, I don't want to be a burden on Naruto, and lately that's what I feel like I've been, so I want to get stronger. I don't want to interfere with Naruto's training with Jiraiya either, so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind training me while Naruto's working with Jiraiya."
He was silent for a moment, but then replied; "I don't see why not. In fact, I've got a special technique I created myself that would work pretty well for you. No normal human could use it properly, but with your enhanced senses you should be able to handle it. We'll have to work our way up to it, but you should be able to use it with practice. I would teach it to Naruto, but somehow I don't think he's got the right elemental affinity for it."
Karen smiled and nodded.
"Thank you Kakashi, I promise I'll work hard."
Kakashi eye-smiled at her. "Oh I'm not worried about that, I know you will, because since I know kitsune have such great natural endurance, I can make you're training regiment even more intense than Naruto's"
Her face instantly paled; she remembered how tired Naruto was after training sessions, and the thought of them being even more difficult drained all the blood from her face.
She instantly began regretting what she had just gotten herself into.
Okay, chapter 15 done. I just wanted to finish this before I head off to the competition that way I won't have to worry about updating while I'm bashing metal against metal during the robo-sumo battle. (Yes, robot sumo. awesome.) Anyway, wish me luck, because my partner is...well, not too bright, (he's the programmer, I'm the engineer), so God knows I'll need it.
See you next chapter, and don't forget to review.
