Author's Note: You might want to set up the cue music before you start reading to be able to stay with the mood of the moment. All my music can be found on Youtube (.com) Just a helpful suggestion.
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Not Naruto, Kingdom Hearts or GetBackers, or the song lyrics I will be using, but I do own the plot.
Cue Music: (1)Vitamin String Quartet- Knights of Cydonia (Muse) (2) Vitamin String Quartet- Through The Fire And Flames (Dragonforce) (3) The Chairman's Waltz (4)A Narnia Lullaby'
(Cue music- Vitamin String Quartet- Knights of Cydonia (Muse) )
Problems were simply unavoidable. The more you run from them the faster they seem to catch up with you. And as always, this time around they were back with vengeance.
Naruto spat out another mouthful of dirt as he slowly picked himself up off the ground. A low guttural sound reverberated from the deep recesses of his throat as he caught another well placed kick to his head.
The fight had been raging on for the better part of fifteen minutes and already with all things said and done, things did not bode well for the brunet.
'What the hell is this guy made out of? No matter how hard or fast I hit, I barely even graze him...'
Naruto, lost in thought, didn't realize his mistake until he felt a light graze against his cheek. His reflexes causing him to scarcely miss what would have been the finishing blow. He brought a hand to his cheek only to see red as he pulled away. He wasted no time in charging his opponent.
'That asshole almost took my head off!'
Once again losing focus as he got lost in thought, he failed to block a follow up roundhouse kick to his chest. As he went sailing through the air, he barely registered the look of concern that flitted through Zell's face.
With the impact stealing his precious air Naruto could've sworn he saw double for a moment. Zell wasn't all smiles it seemed. He packed one hell of a punch and he'd prefer to not even think about his kicks. He tried so hard to end this as fast as he could but it seemed as if that was his biggest mistake. Zell was no rookie and he was proving that the hard way. Naruto didn't want to fight seriously, but his body trembled from the effort of holding back.
'Why is this so hard? This fight should have been over by now.'
Naruto watched as Zell basked in all the cheers. He could distantly hear the shouts for the boy to just end the match already. It was no longer fun to watch, especially if the nerd wasn't putting up a decent fight. He could vaguely hear a few boys offering Zell to spar with them after his match with Naruto...no, after his warm up with Naruto.
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut as he let all the harsh words sink in. He'd had quite enough bullying for one day, no screw that he had been bullied enough times in the past two days to last his entire life!
Anger seemed to fuel his movements as he charged Zell head on. Zell smirked as he saw the reckless movement and once again put himself on guard. Too bad he really didn't see it coming his way. As Naruto landed a blow to his abdomen he felt all the air forced out of him as he slid a few feet back. Zell looked up from his bent position to see Naruto straightening his back from the last blow he had delivered. The slightly panicked look was completely gone from the others barely visible eye only to be replaced by sheer determination and pure anger. Naruto slowly bent down to pick up his fallen glasses and wiped them on his shirt before putting them back on.
Zell had the strangest feeling that Naruto was done fooling around now and things were going to get interesting. The students who gathered around their fight that had been cheering Zell on only moments ago had gone completely silent. The question of, 'what the hell is going on here?'... was left unspoken and hanging in the air.
Sora panted as he evaded yet another fluent string of attacks. His opponent hadn't even broken a sweat yet! It was aggravating the brunet to no end and his cheerful demeanor slowly started to slip away. No matter how much he dodged, the man before him simply did not tire. Akabane's smile was eerie and mocking.
He clumsily blocked Akabane's barrage of attacks wondering how long this fight would really drag on for. He couldn't feel it but he knew it was there, lurking within the dark recesses of his mind just waiting to jump out at the most inopportune moment. Fear was curling at the pit of his stomach, he wanted to stop, he wanted to stop so badly but he couldn't. No matter how much he tried, thoughts of Naruto, Ginji, and Kazuki flooded his mind. He would never let his brothers' head's fall in shame, he wouldn't and he couldn't dammit!
Sora narrowed his eyes as he saw an opening and decided to take his chances. Faster than half of the onlookers could see, Sora moved in the blink of an eye thrusting his weapon at Akabane's unguarded hip. But with a simple flick of Akabane's wrist Sora was thrown backwards. He flipped once in the air and landed in a perfect stance. Realization dawned on him as shock colored his once happy face.
"You're toying with me..." the whispered words' weren't a question to begin with but Akabane still heard them and felt obliged to respond to them.
"Sou ka...I wonder..." He smiled once again as he saw Sora's body go rigid.
"You shouldn't make me mad; you may not like what you're asking for..." His voice trailed off, but his words were filled not with shock, fear, nor malice, but instead it was void.
When Sora decided to raise his head, his face was blank an unreadable emotion whirling within the depths of his eyes.
Akabane smiled, "We'll just have to find out then, ne?"
Blue eyes slid shut, slowly a smile made its way across his face. "No...we won't," he said rather cheerfully.
Before Akabane could breathe Sora was a mere foot away from his face, pressing his sword against his neck. His eyes remained shut as the eerie smile mocked the elder boy effortlessly.
(End Cue Music)
(Cue Music Vitamin String Quartet- Through The Fire And Flames)
Kazuki was well acquainted with a Kendo sword. The familiar weight rested in his hands as Seifer charged once more. He was a decent fighter that much credit had to be given. Not very many people could last this long against him.
Slowly but surely another smirk filtered across Seifer's countenance. He charged at Kazuki's shoulder, but as expected the boy dogged it while lifting his own arm in defense. Seifer wasted no time in disarming Kazuki. He jammed the butt of his sword into Kazuki's right elbow successfully causing the boy to drop the Kendo sword.
Kazuki still in shock didn't realize as the boy swung his arm back to deliver a critical blow. As he stood there staring at his fallen weapon his fingers automatically reached for the bells present in his hair.
Within a matter of seconds Seifer found himself frozen on the spot with his grip going lax against his sword.
"What did you do to me?" was all he could gasp out. He clenched his teeth together in pain as something continued to restrict his movements.
He tried to free his arm but found that it was a mistake on his behalf as the binding tightened exponentially. It was then that he finally noticed the fine and almost invisible lines of thread that wrapped around his body as if it had a mind of its own. He followed the treads to its origin and realized with a sort of bewilderment that the white material wrapped around Kazuki's hair was not cloth but never ending spools of thread. He struggled harder when the reality of the situation hit him. He had been disarmed and his opponent had a never ending arsenal on his side.
"You really shouldn't move, the thread can sense movement and will automatically crush whatever's in its grasp." Kazuki finally looked up from his fallen weapon.
"Do you think you could teach me how to do that move?"
Seifer didn't know weather to laugh or curse. His friggen pre-battle massive handicap wasn't helping him either. The man in front of him could kill somebody with the mere use of thread, and here he wanted to learn to disarm someone with a sword?
Honestly some people really had their priorities screwed up. He was just about to voice his opinions when the thread stole what he was sure was his final breath.
"Gomenasai, I almost forgot!" Kazuki released the thread with a flick of his wrist.
Seifer stared in puzzlement, who were these people?
Ginji was surprised to say the least. Lee wasted no time in getting started. He was fast and not a single movement was wasted. He wouldn't lie, he was edgy but he tried not to let that affect him as best he could.
After the first few minutes of clumsily stumbling around his body started to react almost instantaneously.
As Rock Lee swept his foot underneath him to knock him off his balance, Ginji swiftly somersaulted over his head.
As Rock Lee aimed a kick to his head he deftly countered it with a head-block and spin-kick.
As Rock aimed a punch to his floating ribs, he avoided it by delivering his own rear kick to his knees.
It was like a dance, but this dance was not one he was use to. It was like dancing over knives. Instead of relaxing into what would have been an old routine, his body seemed to tense up even further as the spar continued to drag on.
"I commend you on your amazing ability to keep up with me Ginji-san, but I'm afraid that I must end this early. It is the first day of class and I wish to utilize all of my time in training to better myself."
Lee, with a burst of speed sent Ginji flying into the air. He landed on the ground with a jolt before rolling a few times.
As he lay there struggling to catch his breath, it was then that Ginji heard the crowd cheering like mad for Rock Lee's supposed victory. His head was spinning and he wanted nothing more than to hurl at that very moment.
He was contemplating exactly how long it would take to dig to the other side of the planet when it happened. It was soft at first like a misty breeze but it grew harder as the seconds wore on. The rain was hard and unrelenting; it felt like hail was falling from the sky.
"Enough, it's time to head back inside to the gym, Lee you did very well." Kakashi appeared out of thin air it seemed, but he had to yell to be heard.
Ginji laid there utterly defeated still struggling to catch his breath with his head resting face down in the ground. Why on earth did he think he could do this? It was ridiculous; he wasn't made for this sort of thing. And besides everyone was against him...
Too bad, the nerd was almost pretty good...
Did you hear? The other one is still trying to fight...
I heard Zell beat his face into the ground...
And he actually got up? What a looser, he'll just get his ass handed to him in the end...
Ginji for the second time in his life saw red. 'If Naruto is trying this hard what right do I have to give up? I have to do this for him, and...for myself as well. No more running, I'm so bloody tired of running in circles! I won't give up! I won't lose!'
He felt it, the tension was gone and there was nothing but calmness that flowed through his body. As he stood up he faced the retreating backs of the teacher and his opponent. He removed his glasses and placed them in his pocket as he spoke.
"We're not done yet."
Without turning around Kakashi replied "Yes you are, the weather is getting pretty bad and there really is no more point to this match. The point of this class is not to harm your peers but to learn from them."
Ginji furred his eyebrows in thought and tried a different approach.
"Why are you running away?"
Rock Lee stiffened as he turned around. "Ginji-san I really don't wish to cause you any harm. Please let us head back now."
Ginji bowed his head as he took his stance once more. "Please for the sake of my honor, please finish this fight!"
Lee nodded his head in understanding as he resumed his stance.
"The both of you, inside now!" Kakashi didn't seem pleased at all. The students stopped in their retreat in order to witness what was going on.
Sora felt numb from sensations once again. The analgesic feeling flooding his system as the icy burn like feeling washed over him. The pain was rapidly adjusted too as Sora stared at Akabane with unfeeling eyes.
The onlookers watched in rapt attention and shock as the wooden Kendo stick burnt to ashes dusting the ground. The small boy in front of them glowed, the light seeping from his skin. Then...everything froze. From the rain in the sky to the people standing in the crowd, not a single thing moved. Sora couldn't register anything but what was in front of him.
Sora felt the power surge through his right arm and once again take the shape of a sword.
Akabane had no time to counter as Sora brought his arm down with a ferocity that couldn't be stopped.
Ginji looked at Kakashi with a look that bordered on arrogance. He no longer felt the animosity that was flowing through him earlier. Instead there was a nonchalance that he wasn't sure should be there. He closed his eyes to savor the feeling of jolts which ran through out his body.
The onlookers were frozen in fear as they watched Ginji slowly bring his hand up to his face as if to examine it. What happened next nobody could explain, but they all saw the lightning that exploded from his fingertips.
Ginji watched his hand before he felt that surge he couldn't control swell within him. He vaguely noted that all was still, not even the elements seemed to challenge him as he watched Lee charge him full force. He grabbed his wrist to deflect the attack and create an open but the swelling feeling finally erupted and the only thing he could remember was Lee's painful scream. He tried to block everything out but his world was spinning and it was all that he could do to close his eyes.
The rain was no longer pouring from the heavens above, but it remained frozen as if time itself stopped. Naruto stood there unaware of the blood as it mixed with the water on his face. The students around him were no longer cheering, no longer animated, still as unmoving lifeless dolls.
He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he'd never before wished as hard as he did for Iruka, Cloud, and Ginji as he did that moment. The pain was unbearable as it swallowed him whole. He didn't understand what was happening around him any more than a lost four year old in a supermarket would. But he knew that what he feared the most had come to pass only a few moments ago. Zell laid there motionless, the right side of his torso was charred and the scent of burning flesh reached Naruto's nostrils. Unable to fight the urge Naruto leaned forward and retched as the contents in his stomach came spewing forth.
(End Cue Music)
Bleary eyes tried to focus on something but only glimpsed a few figures moving towards him. Within moments time seemed to slowly awake as if it had never stopped to begin with. Only when the rain continued to beat mercilessly on Naruto's head did he seem to snap out of his daze.
'Why are they looking at me like that? Why are they looking at me as if I'm some kind of freak? I didn't mean to do it! I didn't mean to hurt him!'
All at once the brunet started to panic. The look of horror, fear, and disgust couldn't be washed away by the rain as easily as the blood and the stench could. Naruto, ignoring the crowd who seemed to be slowly backing away, made his was over to Zell only to be beat by someone else. Gai picked Zell up and spoke in a hushed voice for once.
"Go inside to the gym, and get changed before you all get sick." Without even looking at Naruto he made his way back to the main house. The silence roared loudly in his ears almost drowning out the rain.
Nothing made sense to him anymore... Naruto sat inside the glass dome that was supposes to be the gymnasium. He would have been awestruck if he wasn't too dazed to pay attention. The dome sat at the far end of the court yard and overlooked the cliff into the never ending forest. The ceiling was at least 40 feet high and the diameter was one hundred and ten feet easy. The polished floors gleamed against the fluorescent light as the rain continued to beat away against the glass.
He was startled out of his thoughts when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He would have been completely fine with it if said arms weren't violently trembling.
Just as he was about to turn around a freezing cold body sat itself in his lap and curled up into a ball, hugging him as if he was trying to steal away his non existent heat.
Naruto wasn't the only one to slip up and he knew it. Within his minds eye he saw their struggles as clear as if it were his own and he knew they saw his as well. Sora almost decapitated a man, coming shy of his jugular vein by a mere half an inch and leaving a deep gash below his collar bone. Ginji almost electrocuted the whole field but barely managed to keep it under control. But out of everything he witnessed the things that plagued him the most where the looks, the accusing and horrified eyes that blamed him and his brothers for the mess that had taken place.
Naruto grabbed Sora into a tight hug as Ginji slowly let him go from behind. He slid down from his seat on the top bleacher to the seat beside Naruto. He laced their fingers together, squeezed his hand, and gave him a single nod of reassurance with a shaky smile. Sora slowly uncurled from his position only to slide in the seat in front of Naruto, where he then placed his head in Naruto's lap. Kazuki appeared not to long after to join the group. He sat next to Sora and braced on Ginji's legs letting out a small sigh.
"We blew it didn't we?" Sora asked after a while in a small voice, clutching onto Naruto's pants.
"I really don't know" Naruto whispered back slowly raking his fingers through Sora's hair in a soothing gesture.
As the boys sat there the silence grew heavy. Sora not liking the atmosphere at all spoke softly.
"You know, I always thought that there was only light and dark..." He paused a moment to gather his scattered thoughts before continuing.
"...like the light represented good and the dark represented bad. I never really thought that there was anymore to it. But if light was good than it wouldn't be able to harm anyone but the bad right? So I guess that means that there is a dark side to light, and perhaps maybe a light side to dark?"
Ginji gave what seemed to be a genuine smile for the first time since before their spar.
"Maybe Sora it's not about the good and bad...maybe it's what we make it to be. Just 'cause it's possible for light to be manipulated, doesn't mean that it's good or bad. It all depends on who uses it. After all the light can also burn you if it gets too hot. Its heat, remember? And as for darkness... it could shield you from all those things that seek to harm you. In order for there to be good there must be bad, it's the law of things. And in order for there to be light there must be dark, or there would be nothing to distinguish from just the grey."
"The grey...or the undecided, is where the dark and the light overlap... Is it the light side of the dark or the dark side of the light?" Kazuki offered in a small weary voice and smile.
"It's neither." Naruto stated off handedly. "Are we done contemplating the meaning of life now? It is what it is, simple as that. Maybe they're just something's that aren't meant to be understood, maybe it's better off not knowing because knowing certain things can confuse you a hell of a lot more then not understanding them." He stated with a huff.
"What you mean like Sasuke?" Ginji snickered. "I hear you on that one Otouto. I mean who knows what the heck goes on in that boy's head!" Ginji laughed and dodged as Naruto attempted to whack him upside his head.
The group felt the tension lift like a heavy fog. "It came out of nowhere, but it wasn't like we weren't expecting it. We all knew what would've happened if we did fight and now we gotta take responsibility for our actions." Naruto let a heavy sigh escape before being jerked out of his musing.
The air that was once buzzing with life was deadly still, the muteness all encompassing. A chill raced up Naruto's spine as icy fingers caressed his skin. Whipping his head about Naruto was starting to doubt his sanity seeing as that no one was there. But then he noticed something that made his heart jump almost painfully in his throat. The lights were dimming, slowly until it was completely off leaving only the lightning ridden skies to illuminate their surroundings.
Time was standing still once more it seemed, only this time Naruto wasn't alone.
"Again?" Ginji whispered looking around frantically amongst the statuesque like students.
"You guys saw this earlier as well?" Kazuki's body tensed almost as if he were expecting a sneak attack, unsettlement was more than evident in his eyes.
"Yeah, I thought it was just the adrenaline rush though..." Sora said trying to focus on anything that made noise. He gave up on trying to stop his trembling body knowing full well that it was useless. It was ridiculous how the boy could take down a giant almost twice his size but couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of anything remotely spooky.
"It was too fast I thought I imagined it all..." His whispers died down once again as he strained his ears.
It was then that they heard the foot steps coming from the breezeway that led from the manor to the glass dome. It was barely audible, but there never the less. The doors were thrown open only to allow passage to the shadow of masses that did more than blend in with the darkness. They weaved their way through the student statues as if it were they were as ambiguously formless as the darkness themselves. They were quickly advancing towards them, and the four brothers felt what little blood they had left drain out of their face.
Before any questions could be asked, a group of fifty or so hooded figures stood before them, only parting way for a single member to approach them. The hoods were slowly lowered to reveal the now somewhat familiar faces. The group was scrutinizing them, skeptical looks, inquiring eyes, disgusted stares, indifferent faces, were among some of the many reactions that they glimpsed.
The figure that stood in front of them made a move to remove the hood, immediately drawing their attention back to it. What little light was present illuminated the silvery white hair and the mismatched grey and red eyes.
Kakashi was the first one to break the uneasy silence. "By the way you're reacting, I'd say you have no idea what the heck is going on, correct?"
The boys could only nod dumbly and stare, not daring to open their mouths in fear of saying something stupid or even worse, passing out.
Kakashi then clapped his hands together and grinned. "Sou ka, well congratulations! You are now officially part of my class. Of course we'll have to clean up this mess first, erase a few memories, but no worries we have trained professionals to deal with the trivial stuff."
"H..huh?" was the only brilliant question that sounded through the air as four confused pair of eyes stared down at the teacher.
"Oh right you have no idea what's going on maybe I should explain..." Naruto blinked, Kakashi blinked...Ginji blinked...Kakashi blinked again...Sora blinked...
"Okay Sakura do your stuff" Kakashi then preceded to burry his face in his perverted little orange book.
Naruto deadpanned for a moment completely forgetting his fear from earlier, 'What a lazy bastard!'
Once again general Sakura marched to the front of the line to brief her troops.
"Well I'm sure you're all wondering why you were chosen after the evaluation test and not during, correct?" At their unsure nods she went to continue, but abruptly stopped, frowning slightly.
"What am I doing? Why is everyone standing? Grab a seat guys!" It seemed as if Sakura's attitude wasn't only affecting the four boys because the rest of the group grabbed seats on the bleachers relatively close to one and other also.
"Our group is special, we aren't what people would call normal... each member of our group is gifted in their own unique way, ways that are very similar to yours. It's odd though, we all knew about our powers from the time we were able to understand how to use them. I wonder why you discovered yours now... what generation do you belong to anyways? (1) Oh well, speak now figure out mysteries later," She waved her hand trying to dismiss the thought and proceed with her lecture.
"Now that you know our secret, you must be placed under oath; under no circumstances are you allowed to tell the ordinary students about us. It would cause an uproar! But no need to worry this is only about half of our group. There are others but they're currently in other classes right now. We meet in the afternoons with the whole group for extra practice, and before you ask yes it's mandatory. You'll learn how to control your chakra a.k.a. powers, and how to use them and all that other good stuff, got it? Any questions?"
"Umm how are the boys doing?" Ginji's worry was a nearly palpable thing."
"No worries they'll be good as new soon enough."
Naruto was tempted to question that but kept his mouth shut. He didn't think he could handle any more surprises.
"This isn't some sort of cult is it?" Sora asked quirking an eyebrow.
"No, of course not!" Sakura laughed at the adorable boy's question. "Why would you think such a thing?"
"You're dressed in black robes with hoods, what the hell were we suppose to think?" Naruto muttered before being pounced on.
"All in good fun my friends! The looks on your faces were priceless!" A rather loud and boisterous but warm voice rang out.
"Kiba!"
"At your service my man, what can I do for ya?"
"First of all, don't yell in my friggin ear idiot!" Naruto hollered but the humor dancing in his eyes gave him away. "And secondly, when's dinner I'm starved!"
Kiba laughed as the rest of his friends came to joint them "Dude we just ate!"
Riku was curious. He watched as the boys laughed and joked around with one and other from the top of the bleachers. In all honesty it really amazed him at how carefree they seemed to be. After all that just went on he expected them to be nervous wrecks. He absently wondered how old the boys were. Sora looked no older than a 12 year old kid with his small scrawny frame, and short wild cinnamon spikes for hair. And that boy Naruto looked even younger if that were possible. Ginji and Kazuki appeared to be the eldest of the group.
At first Riku really didn't want to have anything to do with those kids. To be truthful they didn't seem all that bad and they didn't concern him. But now, now everything was different they were one of them now. And one of the rules of being one of there kind was 'know thy brethren'.
When Riku heard who the boys were paired up with for the spars, his immediate reaction was surprise.
'I didn't understand his motives, at all. Maybe Kakashi was just bored... but one thing was for certain and that was nobody was expecting those fights to turn out the way they did. I knew that they were different but, to not know about your abilities after hitting maturity is unheard of! (2) Unless they really are young and just hit maturity...'
"Oi! Is it okay for those guys to be talking with the Mystic losers?" Shido asked with irritation still evident in his voice. He pointed to where Roxas was animatedly talking while everyone else paid rapt attention to his tale. 'How in the seven hells could they be of the same kind?' He wondered.
"Hai, the more information they collect the better it is for us." Sasuke replied also studying the group with bored but calculating eyes.
Riku turned to Sasuke, "What if they're doing more than just gathering information? What if they genuinely like them?"
"Ri-otou... you're not kidding are you?" Sasuke was startled for a second but keep his emotionless façade up. That didn't fool Riku's sharp eyes though.
"Reading people's emotions is my job, remember?" Riku said with a slight smile
"Hmm... Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Roxas, and Axel huh? It's odd to see them take such an interest in strangers." Ban remarked with a quirk of his lips
"If they weren't ranked right underneath us then I'd kick their asses for even thinkin' about mixing up our name with the likes of them! (3)" Shido growled.
"Calm yourself ahou, you look more dumb than usual," Sakura spat at him as she made her way up to her kin. She was annoyed and all it took was to hear that stupid threat to start her off.
"Urusai"
"..."
"..."
"Sasuke you really need to get a bigger vocabulary," Ban teased.
The raven glared in kind, "I would use my current one to its full capacity if I was certain that you'd be able to understand me."
"Touchy," Shido mocked finally calming down some.
"What do you make of them?" Sasuke decided to change the subject. He once again turned his attention to the group of boys below him. Everyone looked over there as if the answer would just jump out at them
"I dunno, even though we know their secret now it feels as if we haven't gotten anywhere at all!" Sakura huffed, while seating herself between Sasuke and Riku. She braced her head on Riku's shoulder and he brought his right hand up to slowly start combing his deft fingers though her short silky locks.
Ban's eyebrow rose as he turned to Ino. "Did you know as well?" he asked curiously.
"Hai, we figured something was up on their first day here. And when Kazuki-kun and Sora-chan showed up with their flashy entrances... it only confirmed that they were hiding something." Ino stated as an after thought as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
'And here I was thinking that we could keep them in the dark for just a bit longer, these girls are getting too smart!' Ban's sly smile almost went unnoticed.
Then all at once everyone turned to Shido. "What the heck are you all staring at?" he yelled as he started sweating. Now it was Sasuke's turn to have a bit of fun. He smirked at him making him gulp audibly.
"Exactly how long did it take you to figure out that something was up?" He asked casually. His smirk was growing slightly wider as Shido stalled for time, deciding whether to lie or not.
"This..." He grumbled.
"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you, speak up Shido-nii" Riku teased lightly in a soft voice playing along with Sasuke and Ban's game.
"This morning damnit!" He hollered his face went completely red as he realized that he drew the attention of everyone else in the in the room as well.
Everyone had their laugh at his expense, even Sasuke was trying to hide his grin behind his fisted palm, barely succeeding.
"You only manage to make a fool of yourself, every time you open your mouth," a monotonous voice spoke. A smirking red head quietly sat himself next to Sasuke, with a long haired brunet following suite.
"Gaara, Neji it's been a while." Ban acknowledged them with a nod of his head.
"You saw us this morning Ban-sama," Neji countered dryly.
Shido finally snapping out of his shock glared and turned the other way. He only took Gaara's joking insult because he was rather fond of the use-to-be loner. And he knew without a doubt that Gaara understood him better than most seeing as they both preferred the company of solitude every once in a while.
"We need to figure out a few things before we can group you off." Kakashi said absently finally closing his book and tucking it away into one of his many cargo pants pockets.
"Things like what?" Ginji asked curiously.
"How fast you learn, how well you can control your abilities, and how much your real endurance level is." Axel supplied.
"This is going to be a long afternoon isn't it?" Sora asked.
Kakashi glanced at the still frozen students. "It depends... but for now we should just focus on getting everyone's memory wiped clean so there's no incident later."
"Man that's just creepy, no matter how many times I see it!" Naruto whispered harshly and quivered.
"And exactly how are we supposed to do that?" Ginji asked silently agreeing with his brother, he was no skeptic but he was curious.
"Ino should do the trick." A familiar voice echoed out. The group of teens turned to the owner of the voice only to be greeted with a sight that made some of them want to hightail it out of there.
Ban stood with one leg bent slightly on a higher bleacher so that he could drape an arm across it. Surrounding him were the terrors Naruto had come to loath.
"Ino what's an Ino?" Sora spoke softly unconsciously tilting his head to the left.
"Not 'what'... you mean 'who'." Ino chimed enthusiastically.
"I'm at your service" She added.
"What are you gonna do?" Sora questioned again. The boy seemed so full of them lately he thought he was gonna burst.
"Magic..." Sakura grinned.
"Magic? Really?" Sora could hardly contain himself.
Naruto wasn't exactly sure on how he should be feeling, there were a whole jumble of emotions fluttering around in his stomach. The first time he had seen magic was at his old school's talent show. He had been stunned when watching; he'd never seen anything more amazing in his life! But then all the other kids had to ruin it for him by telling him exactly how the tricks were done. After that the tricks just didn't have the same spark as they once held.
'But today was unbelievable!' It really seemed as if Ino knew actual spells. Although, Sakura explained that they weren't spells at all. Ino was what they referred to as a telepath. She literally reached into their minds and blanketed their memories with false ones. Erasing them would have left a giant gap in which false memories couldn't fill. Naruto watched as she almost collapsed with over exertion afterwards. It was a pretty big job and despite her hostility with him he still felt worried for her.
After that incident they all went straight to class and was told to meet back in the gym after classes were over for the day. Naruto was so high-strung he couldn't pay attention to any of his remaining lessons. He just watched as the clock ticked by waiting for the damn bell to ring already.
Well now that the bell had wrung and he was once again making his way towards the gym. Realization dawned on him that he never really looked around what was now his temporary home. He paused in the halls to get a hold of his bearings. He was close to the breezeway, and he knew this because he had been following a few of the students from Kakashi's class. He knew his way from here and decided to explore a bit.
(Que music 'The Chairman's Waltz )
The massive grandeur halls were decorated with old paintings and life sized marble figurines both male and female alike. There were even a few mythical creatures thrown into the mix. Some of them were quite beautiful; where as some of their faces were twisted in haunted or malicious expressions. Naruto stopped to study a few and almost gasped at how realistic they looked. It didn't matter if they were beautiful, cruel, or tortured looking; they all held this eerie life like quality that drew you in. The more he stared the more frantic he became on the inside and tranquil he became on the outside.
He was snapped out of his revere by a pair of running feet that sounded suspiciously like a child's. Only when the sound stopped did he realize he was completely alone and not a single sound save for his own breathing could be heard. His heart sped up as he chided himself for being afraid of nothing.
"Hello? Hello is anybody there?"
Only silence answered him.
"Guys you've had your fun and it isn't funny anymore!" still no answer.
'It's okay Naruto this is just some freaky coincidence, just go back down the hall make the left and the breezeway to the gym is right there!'
Naruto walked briskly not wanting to spend a moment more by himself in this eerie hallway. The feeling he got wasn't a subtle one at all. He felt it, the look on his back that sent spine chilling fear racing throughout his core.
'Sasuke?'
He whipped his head around only to see a slowly dimming hallway. 'No it's not Sasuke... i-i- it's that thing from the forest!'
The shadows crept silently along the walls. Naruto had no idea when he had started to run, but he was going at an all out sprint when something suddenly seemed terribly wrong.
'Where is the end of the hall way? I didn't walk this far down!' The raven was ready to burst into tears when he saw it. He hooked the first left and felt his blood run cold.
There was no hallway, just a statue of a man that wasn't really a man. He was hideous yet held an unearthly beauty, an oxymoron if there ever was one. He stared mockingly at Naruto, a twisted smirk that seemed to challenge the boy's sanity.
'No!...nonono! this, this isn't happening!' His whole body trembled as he stumbled backward and tried to take off once again. Whatever it was, was gaining on him and his instincts were screaming at him to just run.
Another turn was coming up and it was to his right this time. He barreled into the door without a second thought only to freeze where he stood.
(Que music 'A Narnia Lullaby')
This room, if it could even be called that, was massive, from the thirty foot ceiling to the seemingly wall less space. It had art decorating every corner. But it wasn't normal art... death... pictures of the tortured dying, or the dead corps exploited, littered the far off walls.
Marble Statues scattered across the floor, but these were different from the ones he was admiring earlier. It was as if they were frozen in sheer terror while gazing upon a nightmare only they could see. Some where kneeling with their hands attempting to shield their face while others lay sprawled across the floors, but the marble statues all had one thing in common... they were bathed in blood. There was so much blood, it made him physically ill.
Naruto could feel his legs give out as he fell to the floor. He was unmindful of the blood as it seeped through his pants. Icy fingers caressed the nape of his neck and his body urged him to move. He stumbled to his feet and ran in any direction that wasn't the one he just came from. He had tears pouring down his face as he scrambled for a door a few yards in front of him. He yanked and pushed at it but the doors refused to budge.
He banged on the door with all his might fearing that his heart would burst out of his chest. When he was about to loose all hope it finally it gave and he came tumbling out and stumbled right into somebody's chest.
(Que music end)
Arms wrapped around him as he struggled fiercely to get away. "Naruto?" a curious voice called out. Naruto looked sharply up and couldn't help what he did next.
"Sasuke!" Naruto was now safely buried within the raven's arms while shoving his head into his chest, but he couldn't stop trembling.
"What's going on here?" commanded the sharp voice.
Naruto lifted his head to peer into demanding inquiring eyes.
"I'm not c-c-crazy! I I-I'm not!" He stuttered.
Sasuke lifted an eyebrow "Make some sense will you ahou?"
"I-I-I don't know! Everyone's gone! I can't find my way out... its behind me... there were so many statues, an..and so much blood! Don't let it get me please..." The nerve racked teen trailed off through gritted teeth.
He hated this! He hated being weak but right now the only safe haven was in the bastards arms and he'd be damned before he gave up the only human contact he had!
"What are you going on about moron?" Sasuke made to open the door but Naruto grabbed his arms in a tight hug that trapped his appendages.
"NO!" he was shaking twice as bad. Naruto lifted his head only to realize with cold dread that he was right back where he began in that same endless hallway. Oh god... they were standing in front of the same door he entered through!
'No...no...nononono! This can't be happening it's a different door I know it is! It has to be! I ran clear across the room!'
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, 'something is really off here.'
He easily shrugged Naruto off of him but before the raven could protest he grabbed him in a one armed hug and began to drag him to the door.
Naruto at this point couldn't even find it in him to curse the asshole, he was stuttering too much to get a coherent sentence out. 'What if he's trying to feed me to that thing? ...oh god no, please no! ANIKI PLEASE I NEED YOU!' Naruto begged in his mind for his brother to save him as he trashed around in Sasuke's arms to escape.
If that stupid bastard wanted to die then that was his problem! He didn't give a damn about that bastard but he wanted to live and that was that!
To say Sasuke was annoyed would be the understatement of the year. He gave Naruto a good hard look before taking action. His arm held his waist just a little tighter, as his other one cupped the chibi's face titling it upwards. Their height difference glaringly obvious now more than ever. He leaned down and pressed his lips against the now still ones in front of him.
Naruto stared back in shock at the obsidian eyes looking at him for any type of reaction. There was something about his eyes that made him unable to look away. They were no longer black but a beautiful crimson red with three tomes spinning lazily about. Naruto felt relaxed as his eyes slowly drifted shut and he leaned into the kiss, all his previous fears forgotten.
'Relaxed yet dobe?' The young teen could feel Sasuke's smirk pressed against his lips.
'Bastard what the hell did you do!' Naruto really didn't have the energy to be confused. So they were talking while their mouths were busy with something more interesting, big deal! He'd freak-out over this properly later. Right now he just wanted to get as far away from this door as humanly possible.
Sasuke finally parted and stared down into hazy eyes. "Ready?"
His response was an apprehensive stare, while his lax muscles refused to go stiff again.
"I'm not going to let you get hurt."
Naruto continued to just stare at him, his face was as void as it ever was but there was determination in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around the Uchiha's waist and gave him a nod.
Sasuke opened the door and peered inside.
"There's nothing here bak..." He started but quickly trailed off. The room looked like any normal study that they had posted around the manor. A few aged bookshelves and a couple of wooden desk and chairs, there was nothing special about the furnishing. But something was there. Sasuke peered into the dark and his eyes visibly widened while his body stiffened. He slammed the door shut.
"Time to go." Sasuke said briskly.
"Sasuke wha...?" Naruto attempted to pull away before Sasuke began to move.
Everything was a blur, it was hard to differentiate their surroundings but Sasuke could see perfectly. He looked down every so often too see the shivering child in his arms. That's exactly what he was at the moment, a child. He could smell the fear as it seeped out of him. Sasuke hadn't known him long or even well but he was a pretty good at judging ones character (much like his brothers). And he knew by instinct that this emotion, this fear, was a completely foreign thing to Naruto.
So he did something that was completely uncharacteristic of himself. He held Naruto closer as the smaller boy attempted to curl up even more into him. Naruto was being carried in a manner similar to the way Ginji had held him just two days ago.
Had this have been any other person Sasuke wouldn't have even spared them a second glance. But as his conscious kept reminding him, 'He's different, there's something strange about him...' Something about him that made him frustrated enough to want to kill the boy in his arms but also just hide him away from the world.
'Pft, he's no girl and he seems capable enough of keeping himself alive.'
Sasuke reached the first left and turned to face a dead end wall with a statue base that stood empty. Without hesitating a single moment, he leapt at the wall and went straight through it.
Once on the other side, the chatter of bustling students reached Naruto's ear. As he was placed on his feet he looked around only to realize that he was in front of the breezeway.
But strangely enough he really didn't want to let go of Sasuke. It was as if he was his anchor to this reality.
Naruto let his fingers uncurl and fall away from Sasuke's shirt. He took a step back and silently demanded answers that the older teen wasn't prepared to give. And just as Sasuke's nature dictated, he waited patiently for Naruto to voice his questions.
"What just happened?" His voice quivered and his face was ashen. He vaguely noted that there was not a spot of blood to be seen anywhere on him.
"It was a miss used jutsu, nothing more dobe."
"A what?" Naruto breathed in disbelief.
Sasuke wordlessly turned around and entered the breezeway assuming Naruto would get the message.
He wanted to wake up from this nightmare. He wanted to deny everything but the images played over and over again like a broken record in his head.
Naruto was enveloped in strong arms as soon as he entered the gym.
"Daijoubu ka otouto?" questioned a worried but calm voice.
"I don't know..." He stayed like that for a few moments trying to regain his composure.
As Ginji pulled away Naruto latched onto his arm. "Please...?" '...don't leave me alone right now'
"Of course not, let's go." Ginji gave him a warm smile and lead him to the bleachers.
The rain was still pouring hard outside but no one could really pay attention to it. Everyone's attention was glued to the new students, because once again they shocked everyone. They somehow managed to be placed under the direct tutelage of not one but both of the instructors, Hatake Kakashi and Squall Leonhart.
Kakashi and Squall were in charge of all the special student's but they themselves only ever trained the best of the best. Which was precisely why everyone was so baffled, the boys couldn't even control their abilities! Leon and Kakashi were great guys but they were real hard asses when it came to training, how they would deal with the group was beyond anyone's imagination.
As everyone was preparing to leave, Kakashi approached his new students.
"Before you go there is one more thing that needs to be done." He said cheerfully.
His red eye was no longer idle as the iris was surrounded by three spinning tomes similar to Sasuke's.
He stepped up to Sora first as he preformed hand seals that were two fast to decipher. He repeated the steps two more times for Naruto and Ginji before placing his hands together and shouting, "KAI!"
Ginji felt a rush of blood travel throughout his veins but he watched in amazement as his two youngest brothers took on a sudden growth spurt.
Sora was no longer skinny and gawky looking, but tall and slender with lean muscles, His face lost all traces of baby fat and high cheek bones were accented by the curves of his face. His hair was longer and a bit more tamed, lightening almost drastically from its dark chocolate brown color to a shade of rich caramel shot through with natural blonde and brown highlights. Bangs grew out long enough to brush his right brow bone and his wide innocent eyes were a little narrower.
Naruto's transformation was just as, if not more impressive. His build was bigger than Sora's with broader muscles that lead down to a slender waist. He stood about four inches taller than Sora, but still half a foot shorter than Ginji. His hair went from black to shocking blonde in a matter of seconds and his brown eyes bled into bright azure. His face was no longer rounded but gently angled. And like Sora, wide innocent eyes narrowed a bit accentuating his true age.
Naruto and Sora ached like hell but the three were left gawking at each other unable to fully comprehend what the heck was going on. Ginji's now blonde hair was bright enough to put the damn sun to shame, and his eyes were the warmest hazel that showed even more of his soulful emotions. And like the other two brothers, the baby fat melted straight off his face to reveal the smooth angles that were once lost to his plump cheeks. His frame was also leaner, more powerful than before.
Naruto really couldn't handle anything else so he did what any sane person would do, he fainted.
TBC...
Side Notes
1- They're different generations, in other words think of it like the Naruto world where the nin nine, team Gai, and the sand siblings are considered a different generation from Kakashi, Iruka, and so forth.
2- Maturity is normally hit around the same time of puberty somewhere between 11 and 13 years old. So if you're considered one of their kind then that's when your formal training starts. But keep in mind that Riku forgot about Ginji when thinking this particular thought...wink wink...the pieces will come together eventually.
3- Ranking is done by using two factors. The first one being that it is done according to whose gang you're in, and the second one being that it goes by strength. So the highest ranked in the Hebi group is not considered the highest in another gang. Shido really wouldn't want to pick a fight with those boys because they hold almost as much power as he does, (or if not more wink wink). Sasuke and Ban, rank the highest, then Riku comes in second and Shido in third. Yes Riku is stronger than Shido.
Review Reply:
Tenshi-Tsubasa201: sorry this is so late I hope you're still reading it though!
imhappynessinabottle: I'm so sorry this is so late I was going to wait till the weekend to post this but I felt guilty enough.
Lazy-Hime: so what did you think? I hope I get some feedback from you because I know this chapter really wasn't up to my writing standards. And I know you have really good advise so please help me?
deadly-grace: Thank you so much for your review! You have no idea how happy I was to hear that someone noticed they weren't related but it really didn't matter in the least bit. Thanks for paying attention! And as for your other assumption, I guess you'll have to wait just a little longer to find out, ne?
Demonic-Angel-Kamui: Hi there thank you for your review! How goes the story? Did you write one yet? If so let me know will ya I need some new reading material, (wink...wink) any way good luck!
asianlove14: wow you're probably wishing me a gruesome death right now but no worries I won't go down with out a fight. And I'll fulfill your request, promise.
makacatori: OMG when I read your review I almost cried! You made me feel so special! I apologize profusely for this extremely late update and I would really like to know your opinion on the shorter chapters quicker updates thing I mentioned earlier.
Ryou-la-lune: Well now that the update is finally here would you mind giving your opinion on the chapter? I would appreciate it!
realdarkangel: I promise to keep that in mind but please keep in mind that there are three main pairings two semi-main parings and a helluva lot of side pairings.
Kichi Hisaki: You make me laugh very much, so for that I thank you! And I love funny reviews so kudos to you for putting a smile on my face.
DarkRavie: thank you very much, and I look forward to hearing from you again. ;)
Wierdchick: I hope you liked the dedication, and you're very smart for putting it together by the way. Can I please have your opinion on the 'shorter chapters quicker updates' issue? And also you requested the free website, so here it is; regarding your other review, if you read the part where Naruto bumped into Kiba and the gang for the first time, there if a major in- your- face kinda hint about those two. Lol
-C-heese -C-ake -CC- : Jeez...made you wait really long with that cliffy I'm sorry and I hope your still reading this story!
frogger666: Lmao did you drink sugar? I'm sorry please don't get offended but it sounds like you were having a sugar rush! Which by the way is totally cool because I'm like that on a really good day! And it's really nice to know that I'm not the only one out there that writes reviews like that. You made me laugh so thanks a bunch! ;)
SpiritWolf341: I hope you can forgive me for taking that long to update. I really didn't mean to end it at a cliffy this time around either but I have a real problem ending chapters, I have no idea how to!
Kitsune Twins: Thanks a bunch for the review did you like this chapter as well?
Ayan : I hope you noticed your dedication! Please forgive me I really am truly sorry! And how do you feel about the shorter chapters quicker updates? And I know how you feel about waiting for a story I've been waiting on one for two years already...needless to say she hasn't updated yet. And thus the reason for my guilt.
fox in the rough : Thanks a bunch for the review!
SilverKitsune18: It's not really a disguise... I hope this chapter clears it up a little bit more.
MidnightAngel17: You got your wish my dear and I hope you like your dedication! By the way the childish and responsible was Ginji; the stubborn and protective was Naruto; the calm and collected was Kazuki; and the hyper and loving was Sora. Hope that helps somewhat ;) and if you need info on The GetBackers let me know I'll try to help as much as I can.
GLASS NEKO : Thank you vary much for your review!
Berry : I'm sorry I took so long but here it is!
Dragon77 : I'm really sorry that I couldn't respond to you right away, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Inuki-Uchiha : I promise I'm gonna finish the story so no worries k?