Chapter Seven:
I don't own Naruto. Or Shippuden. I swear. Really.
Sorry for the late update, btw. Things in the city are chaotic and there's a strike every other day which means that dad's home which means I don't get to type out the new chapters too much.
Anyhow Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews. I love you guys! :) You really make my day.
Chemo: the chakra chains things Kushina used would count as a kekkei genkai, right? Anyway, thanks again for reviewing! You guys rule!
"All right, guys." Naruto smiled at the three, "You guys did great!"
Hanako grinned. They had just finished the two jutsu Naruto had given them, in twenty days.
"We'll go get another C-rank tomorrow."
"I don't want another C-rank." Katashi snapped, "I don't want stupid teammates holding me back, especially worthless ones like mine. The Chuunin Exams are coming up, and I'm not gonna let anybody stop me from entering."
"Katashi." Naruto's eyes were suddenly hard, "Apologize. Now. The Chuunin Exams are coming up, and nobody's entering until I think you're ready."
Katashi growled back, "I'm not gonna apologize to a weak tomboy and a clanless orphan nobody wants."
Hanako glared, "Who are you calling weak tomboy?!"
Fumio looked surprised, and hurt, too.
"That was entirely out of line." Naruto was furious, "Fumio, Hanako, please have dinner together before you go home. You guys are not worthless, and you're most certainly not weak. We've completed more C-ranks and D-ranks than any other genin team."
"Arigatou, sensei." Fumio nodded, "Hanako-san, let's go."
Katashi turned to leave too, only Naruto grabbed his arm.
"You are not going anywhere." His voice was hard as steel, "Not until I say so."
"What am I going to do here?" Katashi demanded.
"Train. You're going to fight me until I tell you to stop."
Katashi growled, "Fine!"
And so they started. Naruto, being Naruto, didn't tire. But Katashi had had a day of intense training, and all but collapsed a few minutes later.
"Fumio and Hanako are your friends." Naruto grabbed his shoulders, "Not teammates. Friends. They advise you, take care of you, help you get stronger, and they would most certainly die in your place if it came to that. Each of you have a job on my team. To protect one another."
His eyes and tone were scaring the shit out of Katashi.
"You are treading down a very, very dangerous path Katashi. If you start believing that your friends and loved ones slow you down, you will infinitely end up not recognizing yourself. I once heard similar words from a friend. 'I must sever my bonds to get stronger'. And that friend is now an S-class missing nin intent on destroying Konoha!"
Naruto pushed him back a little roughly, snarling, "Go home, and tell Fumiko the reason you were late. I want you to apologize to both of them tomorrow."
"Hai." Katashi replied.
Growling softly, Naruto flashed out.
Katashi staggered home slowly, thanking God that he didn't live very far from the training ground. He was surprised to find Sakura in his home, healing the sick Fumiko.
"Imouto?" He called, stepping in, "Sakura-san? What are you doing here?"
"Naruto sent me a message through one of his clones. He said you were getting cranky, and the only reason for that could be that Fumiko was sick."
"We were going to come see you tomorrow."
Sakura smiled at him, "It doesn't matter. Naruto asked me to come see her, so I did. I've put some ointments and medicines, make sure she takes them. Your teammates dropped by too."
"Yeah, nii-chan!" Fumiko said brightly, albeit in a weak voice, "They brought flowers! Hanako-chan gave me a kiss."
Katashi stared at her.
"They guessed the same thing that Naruto did." Sakura told him, "Anyway. I gotta go. See you later, Katashi."
Katashi didn't reply, standing still in the doorway, his eyes shamefully on the ground, his stomach churning with guilt.
Naruto found that he now hated going back to an empty home. It brought back memories of the orphanage, the empty flat with the expired milk cartons and the lonely feel about it. It brought back all the bad memories he usually suppressed. He blamed it on living so many years with an older-sorts-of-sister, who was currently visiting a friend a few miles north of the village.
So he went in his room without dinner, the pain biting him again. It bit him whenever he stared at the picture of Team Seven and got lost in the memories, whenever he looked at the bingo book and found Sasuke's picture in it, whenever he found Sakura staring at him and Hinata wistfully when they were goofing around, whenever he found her standing at the spot their old training ground used to be with loneliness and unshed tears plain in her eyes, whenever she was with him, Hinata, and two or three other couples, or whenever he stared too long at the Uchiha Crest or the grave of Uchiha Itachi.
As he lay down on his bed, he couldn't help the tiny tear that trailed down his whiskered cheek.
'Everything could have been different, Sasuke. Everything.'
Hinata cut her thumb and sprayed a little blood on the seal, and the gates opened. She went inside and heard the shower running. She rushed to the kitchen, ready to clean the previous night's dirty dishes and make breakfast for her fiancé.
She wasn't very surprised when she found Naruto had not visited the kitchen the previous night. He liked eating out when Akira wasn't there.
She busied herself making breakfast miso ramen for Naruto, which he often said was better than Ichiraku's, not that he intended to tell Teuchi or Ayame that.
She had just finished setting the table when Naruto came inside the kitchen, sighing wearily.
His eyes found her immediately, widening with surprise and then filling with acknowledgement and pleasure.
He came around the table and hugged her.
"Hi, hime."
She smiled at him, tracing the whisker marks on his cheek with her thumb, "Hi."
"You made me breakfast?" He asked, glancing at the table.
She nodded, and they sat down.
Once she'd cleaned the table, they went out into his garden. Naruto lay down with his head in her lap, enjoying the feel of her fingers in his hair.
"What's bothering you, Naruto-kun?"
Sighing again, Naruto relayed the events of the previous night.
"I blew up at the poor kid. It's just… the words came back to me full force, and he doesn't know what those words can make him do."
Closing his eyes, Naruto whispered, "Even the tiniest darkness in your heart can be exploited."
Hinata pulled him up straight and hugged him tightly, a fierce look on her face.
"Sometimes, I feel like killing him myself for all the pain he's caused you." Hinata whispered.
Naruto's body sagged in her arms, like he was exhausted.
"It may just come to that now, Hinata-chan. Not to take revenge, but to end the cycle of hatred and revenge."
Katashi caught up to Hanako and Fumio. They still looked upset, and Hanako glared daggers at him.
"I'm sorry, Fumio, Hanako. I was out of line." Katashi bowed formally.
"Whatever." Hanako crossed her arms over her chest, "This weak tomboy doesn't care what you think."
Katashi winced, knowing that he deserved that.
Fumio looked away, "It's okay. It doesn't hurt to speak the truth."
Katashi winced again; Fumio really believed those words, and having a friend say them wouldn't have helped.
"Hey, you may be clanless, and you may be an orphan, but you're not alone and you're not worthless." Katashi said softly, looking away, a slight embarrassed blush on his face.
Fumio stared at him, surprised.
"We're a team. We protect each other. We're friends."
"All right! Enough with the lovey-dovey talks." Naruto called, and both boys glared at their sensei, who just grinned.
"Come on. We've gotta go get our mission from baa-chan." Naruto reminded them.
They nodded seriously.
Tsunade was waiting for them, Sakura and Shizune by her side.
"So, what have you got for us, baa-chan?"
Tsunade looked grim, "It was actually a C-rank, but I have an emergency B-rank now instead."
"Emergency B-rank?" Naruto repeated uneasily.
Tsunade nodded, "A few miles north of Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke has been spotted with a fellow missing nin."
Naruto breathed out deeply, closing his eyes.
"Who's the missing nin?"
"Goes by the name of Soba. He's a B-rank missing nin, but I think your team can handle him."
"He's a fire-style user." Fumio spoke up, "He's an expert at taijutsu, and knows quite a few ninjutsu, but is not otherwise well known."
Tsunade nodded, "Think you can tackle him?"
"Definitely." Katashi replied.
"On one condition, team." Naruto addressed his students, "When I tell you to hide, you hide."
The three looked unhappy, but nodded.
"All right. We're heading out immediately, baa-chan." Naruto's mouth was pressed into a grim line, "Come on, guys."
So they headed out.
They headed out farther than they were supposed to, finding no trace of Naruto's ex-teammate.
Naruto's face was making the three feel… strange. His normally carefree and happy-go-lucky smiling face was now grim, serious, expecting the worst.
"Long time no see, Naruto."
The three froze, but Naruto instantly put his hands together.
"Release!" A chakra pulse erupted around them, revealing Sasuke hidden up on a tree.
"Sasuke." Naruto growled, his face hard.
"They made you a sensei." Sasuke laughed darkly, "Pity. Your team's going to die so early."
"Urusai, teme!" Naruto shouted.
"Don't worry, Naruto."
Another man jumped from the tree Sasuke was on. He was short and very muscular, with numerous tattoos.
"Team, go." Naruto gestured.
And they went. Even though they were not speaking to each other, Team Naruto's teamwork had developed to the point that Naruto did not even need to yell, "Plan 4A," though, of course, he did.
The three nodded. Hanako engaged him in taijutsu, while Katashi made hand signs. Fumio was already busy analyzing Soba's style and forming a battle strategy.
Meanwhile, Naruto's fingers bent into his favorite technique.
"Kage buunshin no jutsu!"
Three clones erupted beside him.
Sasuke glared, "Oh, no you don't."
And he formed hand signs, thrusting his hands upon the ground before Naruto's clones could get away.
A purple barrier erupted thirty feet around them from all directions, throwing away Soba and Naruto's students.
"You bastard!" Naruto growled, throwing down tri kunai on the ground. Sasuke's hands were already moving.
"Fire style: Grand fireball jutsu!"
Naruto used Hiraishin to dodge every fireball that headed in his direction.
"What are you doing!?" Sasuke cried, frustrated.
"If the sharingan was able to copy the Hiraishin, my father wouldn't have beaten Obito Uchiha when I was born."
Naruto was engulfed in the Kyuubi's chakra, two tails erupting behind him.
"Tobi manipulated you and Itachi, Sasuke." Naruto spoke, "Itachi didn't want this for you. The Uchiha Clan was planning a coup d'état."
"Because Konoha wouldn't trust them!" Sasuke formed hand signs again, "I will destroy Konoha."
Naruto's eyes turned into the slitted red ones of Kyuubi.
"I will kill you before that happens."
As they clashed, their punches hit the other's cheek very much like old times, and both were thrown away.
"Death leads to hatred. Hatred leads to revenge. Revenge leads to more hatred." Naruto's voice was almost robotic, "If you were to kill me today, Sasuke, the entire shinobi world would be after you. But if I were to kill you, nobody would shed a tear."
"Konoha manipulated Itachi!" Sasuke shouted.
"Itachi agreed to slaughtering his clan, he took help from Obito, to ensure that Obito wouldn't attack Konoha or you again! He did it all for his village!"
"AND LET ME GO SO I COULD AVENGE HIM!"
"No. He let you go because you were the only Uchiha who had nothing to do with the coup d'état. The only Uchiha he couldn't bring himself to kill."
"HE MADE ME HATE HIM!"
"So that you would get stronger, strong enough to resist Tobi and Danzo. So that you would be able to kill him and awaken the mangekyo, because Itachi was already dying."
"URUSAI!"
Naruto formed a rasengan, snarling, "Why are you here, near Konoha, teme?"
"I will destroy Konoha. I've gathered power, and an army large enough to obliterate the forces."
"You forget one thing, teme. I'm not the only one who defends Konoha. The Allied Shinobi Forces will protect Konoha!"
Sasuke formed a chidori, and the two leapt at each other.
The two jutsu's clashed, just like old times, but this time, Naruto could feel something new. He frowned, wondering why there was a tight feeling in his chest and why blood was bubbling up in his mouth when Sasuke's chidori was still forming a black ball with his rasengan.
Staring down, Naruto found, to his surprise, a lightning-filled blade buried in his chest.
Review please... I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but I'll update the next chapter ASAP, promise. Maybe even today!