Review Responses:
McAwzome: Well I'm...Glad...I guess haha! Just keep reading and find out Riku's fate!
(Not) Eiseah: Make up your mind! Are you Eiseah or aren't you?! Yeah the brutality of last chapter was to show Rykuga's "nature". As you can tell, he's pretty fucking insane! Glad you like reading about paralyzed people falling on their faces. Keep reading and I'll keep doing my best!
Normally I don't respond to old chapters but I would like to extend this to a new fan:
Sasusakui: I'm very pleased to see that you're enjoying the story. When you reach this point I hope you are still enjoying this book. Please keep up the reviews and let me know what you think. Also I know I tend to rush things. I'm typing this story on a Kindle (takes FOREVER just to type one chapter) but I have been trying to slow down my writing.
Riku never remembered having the ability to fly. Sure he was an Uchiha and a very skilled shinobi but to FLY?! No that wasn't possible.
"I must be dreaming." Riku mumbled to himself and he opened his eyes. The thing is, when he opened them he could only see the same scene over and over: His father's death. Riku tried to close his eyes again but found he had no eyelids. He tried to look away but everywhere he looked, he saw his father's blank eyes.
"Stop! Please! What have I done to deserve this?!" Riku's eyes stung as he tried to cry but nothing came out.
All he could do was watch his father get impaled over and over.
He slowly started dying inside.
4 months later
"Hey buddy how are we doing this morning?" The nurse talked to the boy that was still fast asleep. She knew that he probably would never wake up. He had been brought in as a victim in the attack that took the life of Sasuke Uchiha. She remembered the funeral, it was one that would always be remembered. Sasuke was buried next to his parents in the cemetery. She remembered the shock she felt to see Itachi Uchiha there at his funeral too. It was hard to forgive the man even after the Hokage had released the real story of Itachi. Lord Naruto had also issued an official pardon of Itachi and he welcomed the man back with open arms. Even so, some people still didn't trust the man.
After the funeral, she remembered being called into the hospital about a patient that needed to be cared for. As soon as she seen the young boy's condition she had immediately accepted the job. During this time she had the honor of meeting Lady Sakura, Lady Ino, and even Lord Naruto as they were close friends to this child. The Hokage's wife had even offered to help her with caring for Riku Uchiha, which she jumped on the opportunity to get to know her. During that time, she had even developed a close bond with the unconscious child.
'It's a shame he'll probably never wake up from this genjutsu. Even Sakura herself couldn't break it.' The nurse shook her head sadly, wishing she could help him recover.
"Wh-where am I?"
The sound of broken glass rang through the hallway and Sakura immediately rushed to the source. She threw open the door and stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw. She stared at the boy in the bed, her emerald eyes meeting his blue ones.
"Sakura? Sakura where am I?" Riku looked around, confusion etched clearly on his face. He didn't recognize this room and he was starting to feel anxious. Suddenly memories of what he had suffered through came rushing back to his head. He started to cry at the images and began looking for a way out. Sakura quickly came over to comfort him. As she did she turned towards the nurse.
"Please grab Ino Uchiha and my husband. Do this quickly!" The nurse nodded and bolted out of the room towards the Uchiha complex.
Riku was a nervous wreck as he kept saying "Dad" as though his tears would cause him to walk into the room.
Ino sat looking at the family photo she kept in the living room. She couldn't stop wiping her eyes to keep the tears that were building there from falling. That night, she had been attacked and knocked unconscious. She had been unable to do anything to prevent her son from being hurt and she felt that she was the reason Sasuke had died.
"He died trying to protect you...I'm...I'm so sorry...I-I couldn't do anything...I...I failed you and I failed him"
Naruto's words continued to ring clearly through her mind as the same ones stood out to her.
"He died protecting me..." Ino kept mumbling to herself. She heard the front door open and she quickly put down the picture, wiping away the tears as she put on a happy face for the sake of her daughter.
"Hey mom I'm home!" Misaku found her mom where she usually was. Misaku had been so excited to tell her mom how she had done on the mission with Kakashi and Hotaru but that excitement was rapidly replaced with sorrow as she seen what her mom had just put down. Misaku quietly walked over and hugged her mom, feelings of sorrow and helplessness washing over her. She had been there when Rykuga had killed her dad. She had went back and hid to watch the events unfold, too afraid to step in herself. She had watched in horror as several metal spikes grew out of Rykuga as he ran into Sasuke, pinning him to the wall. At that point she had turned away, crying bitterly at her own uselessness in the whole situation.
Before Misaku could think on it any further, she heard the front door get thrown open. Misaku went on the defensive, ready to attack, until she heard her brother's nurse calling out to her mother.
"Lady Ino! Lady Ino I have news from the hospital!" Both her and her mother emerged from the living room to confront the nurse. As soon as the woman seen them she began to speak in rushed tones.
"Lady Ino! I have major news from Lady Sakura! Your son, Riku Uchiha, has awoken from his coma!" Not even a second passed before Ino was no longer in the room.
Riku was out of tears. His eyes were dry and all he felt, or rather all he didn't feel, was numbness. Sakura had told him the news and stayed there comforting him. At first he had been a wreck but he had soon closed himself off from the world. He didn't want to face reality.
"Oh my god! Riku!" He slowly turned his head to see his mother rush over and embrace him, crying as she did it. Before anyone cold ay anything, a bright orange flash illuminated the room. Once it cleared away it showed a happy Naruto and a very shocked nurse. Naruto glanced around the room before his gaze slowly settled on Riku. He smiled warmly and in that smile Riku knew everything Naruto wanted to say. Instead he focused on his mom as he gradually felt his emotions beginning to bubble up again.
"Come on Naruto. Let's give these guys some space." Sakura took Naruto by the arm and pulled him gently out of the room. Before he disappeared, he smiled at Riku one more time.
1 month later
Naruto was, once again, impressed with the two Uchiha siblings. He had been shocked when Riku told him that he had mastered the Sharingan when he was in his coma. His story was shocking. It turned out that during the coma he took the time to delve deep into his mind. He earned everything about his own mind to such a perfect detail that he had become immune to genjutsu, since the enemy was no longer able to manipulate his mind. After that, he had begun to subconsciously train using the Sharingan. He also learned that, like his sister, since he witnessed the death of their father, he had suffered so much emotional trauma that it had unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan. After that, his sister and him took the next step and, after weeks of convincing their mother it was for the best, had gained Ino's permission to "swap eyes". Sakura had overseen the operation and in the end had been the one to report that it was successful. Itachi had also finished his long-term undercover mission and returned home to train Riku and Misaku in the use of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Naruto now stood on Field 3 in front of Team 7. He had came there to test the three students in front of him to see if they were ready to take the Chunnin Exams. Kakashi had said they were but he wasn't entirely convinced. Sakura had said it was just him being over protective of his son and his "nephews" but he could see that she remembered their Chunnin Exams. He wanted to make sure they were ready for anything.
"Ok you three. I want you to come at me with everything you got. No holding back." He grinned as he seen them each take up their stances.
"Hey Uncle Naruto, I can already see that-" Riku was cut off when Naruto appeared in front of him.
"Go!"
Riku acted quickly and moved to block Naruto's fist as Hotaru and Misaku flashed through several dozen hand signs in seconds.
"Wind Style: Wrath of the Winds!"
"Fire Style: Fire Shockwave!"
Hotaru deeply inhaled and blew a massive gust of wind that started to blow over trees. Misaku quickly clapped her hands, sending out a wave of fire that was made more intense by the winds. Naruto's eyes widened as he seen it coming at him. He quickly flashed through his own hand signs.
"Water-Earth Combination Style: Soaked Earth God!"
Naruto smashed his hands into the ground which caused a wall of water-imbued earth to rise up in front of the fire wave, effectively stopping it. He was surprised though to find all of the water had evaporated and the earth was crumbling. He was even more shocked when he heard Misaku's next jutsu.
"Wood Style: Tree Imprisonment Jutsu!"
Naruto found saplings growing around his legs, holding him in place. The saplings quickly grew into trees and eventually all they could see was Naruto's face.
"Well it looks like Yamato's training paid off huh." Naruto watched Misaku grin and nod.
"It's over dad you-" Before Hotaru finished his father cut him off with his own jutsu.
"Armor of the Wind God!"
The tree was decimated as a vortex of wind swirled around him. He then disappeared from view. Misaku felt something hit the back of her head. She watched Hotaru begin to fall unconscious also.
'Damn it!'
Riku quickly ducked and turned around before drawing his father's sword. He quickly imbued the blade with his fire chakra, causing the blade to become white-hot, and he ran his lightning chakra around it before he quickly plunged his sword through Naruto's head.
"As I was saying," Riku started as he removed his blade, Naruto's lifeless body dropping to the ground, "I already know that your a Shadow Clone. I seen it right away with my Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. You can come on out now!" Naruto's "body" disappeared in a cloud of smoke as Naruto came out clapping.
"Ok you two, I know your faking, get up now." Naruto watched as Hotaru and Misaku got up grinning.
"Ok Team 7, I think your ready for the Chunnin Exams. You have my personal blessings. Now it's up to you to convince your mothers." Team 7 cheered at their accomplishment.
"Chunnin Exams here we come!"
Nabitora and Akiko both were panting after another intense training session. Nabitora had been learning to master the Darkness Style while Akiko was mastering the Light Style. They had become very efficient comrades and outside of missions, they became good friends. They had completed 13 S-rank missions and 36 A-rank missions as a team.
Suddenly a flash of orange stopped them from saying any words as their Hokage appeared in front of them.
"I have a mission for you two. This will be your most dangerous mission yet but I think your the only two that could do this. Your mission is to hunt down and kill Rykuga Azu. If you accept this mission, you will have an infinite amount of time to complete it and you will be paid enough to afford 5 years of supplies. Do you wish to take this mission?"
Nabitora and Akiko glanced at each other and grinned. They were going to get to kill the bastard that killed Sasuke Uchiha.
"Yes Lord Hokage. We accept."
AN: Here is another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. I hope I'm not moving TOO fast but I did need to fit quite a bit into this chapter. Please leave a review of your favorite part and any suggestions you have. Enjoy!