A/N: *Slowly looks above from bunker* Hmm...The angry readers aren't here yet? Good.
What's up people? For readers of Infinite Possibilities, I am terrible sorry for not updating for so long. Life caught up, had exams, got writer's block, all that stuff. And now I'll have to start working. Damn. I haven't been doing nothing these few months though. The next chapter is well on the way, just that I need to try and wrap it up.
Well, I shan't delay you from the story. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other concepts/song/whatever that may appear in this fanfiction. They all belong to their respective owners.
Normal talking: "I will never give up!"
Jutsus/Techniques: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Jutsu!)"
Thinking/Dreams/Flashbacks: "Who am I?"
Bijuu/Summons: "Who dares to summon me?!"
Chapter 1: First Summon;A Legend is Born!
Panting heavily, I dashed through the trees, the shadowy forest illuminated only by moonlight. I shifted the large scroll on my back, making sure that it was not falling off. Spotting a large tree, I stopped behind it and hid. The sound of my teachers arguing with each other let me know that they were close by, but I didn't dare to approach either of them.
Everything in the world seemed wrong now, and yet it all made sense. I ran a hand through my hair in frustration as confusion and anger swirled like a whirlpool in my mind.
"Dammit. Just...Dammit! I don't even know myself anymore..." I thought, as I looked at the large scroll in my possession. I should've known it was too good to be true. When Mizuki had approached me with an apparent secret way to pass the Genin exam, I was ecstatic! I thought I, Uzumaki Naruto-the guy who failed the exam multiple times-, finally had a chance to become a shinobi. I even managed to learn not one, but TWO jutsu from the scroll before Iruka-sensei had showed up. I had been excited to show Iruka-sensei my awesome new techniques, explaining that Mizuki-sensei had told me of this supposed "secret test".
Said teacher arrived soon after, throwing kunai at my brown-haired teacher, before telling me to hand over the scroll to him. Iruka-sensei had then explained that Mizuki,the bastard, was using me to steal the Fūin no Sho(Scroll of Seals), which contained a plethora of forbidden jutsu.
And then Mizuki dropped the bomb on me: My life had been as miserable as it was because the Kyūbi no Youko was sealed within him. The years of pain I've endured for my whole life was caused by something beyond my control, something that was decided for me by someone else. Naturally, I was shocked. After all, what was a boy to do when he learnt that the beast which almost destroyed his village was currently residing in his body? Seeing his chance, Mizuki threw one of the large shuriken on his back at my stunned self, but Iruka-sensei blocked the projectile with his body. Iruka-sensei then revealed that he had a similar childhood to mine, that he knew how loneliness felt like.
However, when Mizuki claimed that Iruka hated me for holding the beast which killed Iruka's parents, I just...could no longer take it.
I ran. I ran like a coward, leaving the two Chūnin behind. Bile rose in my throat as I thought about how cowardly I was. I couldn't handle the pressure, so I ran.
How pathetic.
"Being Hokage? HA!" I laughed spitefully in my mind. "I can't even handle something like this..."
XXXxxxxXXX
(End of POV)
"Naruto's the same as me after all." Mizuki arrogantly stated, smirking.
"The same?" Iruka parroted, narrowing his eyes.
"Anything's possible with that scroll." Mizuki explained. "There's no one that Naruto, being the demon fox, would resist using its powers!"
Naruto's fists clenched when he heard that, shame and anger flooding his mind. Was Mizuki right? After all, he did learn the scroll's techniques. To deny doing so would be outright lying. But does that mean that he was just like what Mizuki said? A power-hungry monster? Again, bile rose to his throat, this time at the thought of being nothing more than a monster.
"You're right..." Iruka said. Naruto's eyes widened in shock, before shutting his eyes in an attempt to not cry. "I knew it. Iruka-sensei doesn't actually acknowledge me."
"...If he were a demon fox." The brown-haired Chūnin continued, causing Naruto to widen his eyes once more.
"But Naruto isn't like that. He's...He's an excellent student that I recognize." Iruka said. "He's hardworking, earnest, clumsy, and no one acknowledges him. He knows the pain of others. He's not some demon fox. He's Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure no Sato!"
It took Naruto a second to realize that tears were freely streaming down his face, and another to realize that he was silently sobbing. "How could I have doubted him?"
"Feh! What an idiot." Mizuki sneered. "Iruka! I said that I'll kill you later, but I'm going to take that back." He then took the large shuriken from his back, spinning it with his hand.
"NOW DIE!" He cackled, while Iruka steadfastly looked on at his impending doom. "I guess...this is it. Sorry I can't help you anymore, Naruto."
Suddenly, Mizuki was sent flying back, the shuriken shooting off wildly towards the trees. Iruka stared in shock as Naruto landed in front of him.
"You little brat..." Mizuki spat, as he slowly got up.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, glaring fiercely at the silver-haired Chūnin. "I'll kill you if you do!"
"Talk while you can! I'll finish off a kid like you in a flash!"
"Just try it you jerk. I'll do a thousand times more damage back to you!" Naruto countered, fingers forming a seal.
"In a situation like this, I don't know if I can count on some clones...So I'll use the other one!" The blonde planned. He may have failed his exams, but he was no idiot. Against a Chūnin like Mizuki, Naruto normally wouldn't have stood a chance. But this wasn't any normal situation. He had two trump cards up his sleeve, both of which could potentially defeat the silver-haired Chūnin. Deciding to bank on his other jutsu instead of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Shadow Clone Technique), Naruto channeled chakra to his hands and started to form the hand seals.
"Why don't you just try it if you can, you demon fox!" The traitorous Chūnin spat, rushing forward to attack. However, by the time he covered half the distance between himself and Naruto, the genin was done.
"Here goes!" Naruto thought to himself as he formed the final hand seal,before slamming his hand on the ground.
Seeing this, Mizuki leaped back while pulling out a kunai in defense. "What trick is the brat pulling?"
...
...
...
"Eh?" Naruto intelligently said, as he looked on in confusion. Aside from his hand feeling sore from being slammed onto the ground, absolutely nothing had changed. No burst of smoke, no giant creature coming to assist him against his jerk of a teacher.
"HAHAHA! Looks like you didn't even manage to learn a jutsu! Not so brave now, are you demon fox?" Mizuki laughed. To think that he was cautious over such a weakling! Of course the brat couldn't have been a threat. Mizuki laughed again as he resumed his attack, kneeing Naruto in the gut. However, instead of the satisfying squelch of flesh getting pounded, the distinct crunch of wood getting broken resounded throughout the forest, making Mizuki widen his eyes in shock.
"That little bitch used a substitution!" He snarled as he landed, eyes searching for the blond trickster.
"Oi, you piece of shit! Come out right now!" Mizuki threatened, brandishing his kunai at Iruka's throat. Droplets of blood started to trickle down Iruka's throat. "If you don't, Iruka's going to pay...in blood."
Iruka stayed still, while he silently prayed. "Please Naruto, get away while you still can!"
XXXxxxxXXX
Hiding within the treeline, Naruto clenched his fists. He screwed up, and now Iruka was in danger! He didn't understand it, why didn't the jutsu work? It worked perfectly before, when he was learning it. He appeared, and-
Naruto froze, and mentally slapped himself. How could he forgot something so important? He needed the catalyst! "Now, where did I keep it? Ahah!"
Pulling the object in question out from his pocket, Naruto gave it a quick once-over. It was a card that fit comfortably in his palm. The back was a simple brown, while the front was blank with a equally brown border. A small blank circle adorned the top left corner of the card.
"Alright, now that I found the card, I can-"
"Come out right now!" Mizuki threatened, brandishing his kunai at Iruka's throat. Droplets of blood started to trickle down Iruka's skin. "If you don't, Iruka's going to pay...in blood."
Upon hearing this, Naruto felt anger surge up from inside him. "I need to get Iruka-sensei away now!" He muttered urgently to himself as he pocketed the card. "The summoning will take longer than I have time for...Hope I don't screw up with the clones then."
Leaping out from the trees, Naruto threw a few kunai at the traitorous teacher, which were easily deflected.
"Finally decide to stop hiding, eh?" Mizuki grinned. "Now it's time to make you pay!"
"Naruto, you idiot! You should've ran! Forget about me, hurry up and alert the Hokage!" Iruka commanded.
"No." Naruto replied.
"Wha-? Don't be stupid! Get away now!"
"I won't! I'm sick of running away! You've always looked out for me, even if I didn't realize it. That's why, I won't run away. This time, I'll help you!" Naruto declared, eyes burning with determination.
"Naruto..."
"Oh please, I thought we've already gotten through the touching shit!" Mizuki sneered as he lunged forward. "Since you're so attached to him, I guess it's only fitting that you both die together!"
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he formed a cross-shaped hand seal. Both Iruka and Mizuki's eyes widened in shock as they found themselves surrounded in a sea of orange and yellow.
"Naruto...Y-You've managed to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?!" Iruka thought in shock, before he smirked. "A high level jutsu where the user creates a real body...He just might be able to do this!"
Meanwhile, Mizuki was frantically looking around him in shock and fear. "W-what the hell?!" He shouted. Everywhere...Everywhere he looked, he saw the demon brat. How the hell did he pull something like this off?!
"What's the matter?! Not so brave now, are you?" Naruto mocked, using the same words Mizuki had mocked him with earlier.
"W-why you brat! It doesn't matter how many of you freaks there are! I'll kill every single one of you!" Mizuki declared with false bravado, before forming a Tori seal
"Doton: Doryūsō(Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears)!"He shouted, sending a wave of spikes towards the orange army. The spikes cleaved a path through the clones, but others quickly filled it, keeping Mizuki trapped within the circle of clones.
Growling in frustration, Mizuki swiftly side-stepped a group of clones rushing at him, before sending more of the mud spikes at them. He then started forming more seals, before leaping up high.
"Katon:Gōkakyū no Jutsu(Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)!" A giant fireball shot out from Mizuki's mouth, crashing into the orange army in a large burst of flames, igniting the nearby trees as well. The jutsu had taken out a large chunk of the clones, leaving less than fifty.
"Haha, how did you like that you brat?!" Mizuki taunted as he panted tiredly. Using Doryūsō and Gōkakyū had depleted most of his chakra, leaving him running on fumes. He might have had an Earth-Fire chakra nature, but let it be known that Mizuki did not have a high chakra capacity. Mizuki knew that even if he managed to kill Naruto, he would not be able to escape the ANBU, not in his condition.
"At least I'll be able to kill the blond brat." Mizuki comforted himself. He had wanted to leave the village to serve Orochimaru, where he would finally be recognized for his talents. Alas, that would never come to pass now, so he might as well enjoy slaughtering the demon. Who knows, maybe he could spin it so that he comes out from this as a hero. He could see it now: "Mizuki, slayer of the Kyūbi no Kitsune!". That brought a grin to his face, which quickly fell as he realized that he was still surrounded by clones.
"Heh, what's the matter?! Come get some!" Mizuki maniacally shouted, rushing forward as he pulled out a kunai.
XXXxxxxXXX
"Alright, that ought to distract him for awhile...How are you holding up, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked as he helped Iruka away from where Mizuki was fighting.
"I'm-" Iruka was cut off by a large explosion. Turning back, he saw a few trees getting set alight, the flames rapidly spreading. "Well, at least the ANBU will know where we are..."
"Iruka-sensei?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine, but unless you want to be burnt into a crisp, we better get moving."
"R-right!"
Not too long after, Naruto and Iruka reached a small clearing in the forest. Iruka slowly sat down on the ground, catching his breath. Meanwhile, Naruto took a cursory glance at their surroundings.
"Yosh, this should be a good place." Naruto thought out loud.
"A good place? For what?" Iruka asked, curious about what his student was thinking about.
"Huh? Oh, er...Remember that jutsu I tried to use against Mizuki-teme just now?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head sheepishly as he recalled his blunder.
"Hmm? Yeah. What was that all about anyway?"
"Yeah, well, I found out why it failed." Naruto replied as he took out a few purple coins from a pouch, which was attached to his belt. He then laid the coins out in a circular fashion.
"What are you doing?" Iruka asked.
"I'm setting up the ritual. I managed to do the jutsu when I was learning it because I performed it. I thought it was only a one-time thing, so having to do it again didn't occur to me when I tried to use it against Mizuki." Naruto explained as he took out a piece of chalk and began to draw a circle, connecting the coins together.
He then wrote the kanji for summon-召喚- in the center of the circle, before pulling the card out from his pocket and laying it on top of the kanji.
"Alright then, I can get started now!" Naruto exclaimed as he wiped away the sweat from his brow. Iruka observed intently as he watched Naruto mutter an incantation while lightly touching one of the coins. Naruto poured chakra into the coin, and it began to thrum with a faint glow. Iruka watched in fascination as the glow steadily grew stronger and spread to the other coins. The coins glowed in unison as they began to rise, the glow becoming almost blinding.
In a burst of light, a glowing, ethereal circle hovered above the drawn one, spinning in place. The card shined until the light around it began to unravel. A figure,whose appearance was obscured by the light, stepped out from the circle. The light then started to fade, revealing the figure.
XXXxxxxXXX
Mizuki scowled he leaped from from the burning clearing and started to look for tracks. He had just defeated the last clone, which he had foolishly assumed to be the real one. Now both Iruka and the blond brat have escaped, leaving him behind in the clearing like a fool.
"Tch, nobody makes a fool out of me and gets away with it..." He muttered spitefully to himself. "Anyways, they couldn't have gotten far, not with Iruka's injury."
Suddenly, Mizuki's instinct screamed at him to duck. Trusting them, Mizuki ducked under a swift slash that would have otherwise taken his head off. Leaping back, Mizuki threw a few shuriken to preoccupied his assailant, which he heard all of them getting deflected.
When he landed, Mizuki took in the appearance of his sudden attacker and was taken aback. "This chick wears too much black!" Was one of his first thoughts.
His assailant was a young woman with short black hair, adorned by a black flower-like ornament which had white "hair" flowing down to her waist. She had deep black eyes, and a emotionless face. Her skin was extremely pale, paler than anyone Mizuki had ever seen. She was dressed in a black battle-dress with gold patterns. Her sleeves went all the way to her wrists, which were covered by a pair of black wrist-guards. In her hands, there was a sleek steel katana with a black and gold handle and a circular guard. She also wore a pair of black sandals.
"Who the hell are you?!" Mizuki asked, staying on guard.
"My name is off no consequence. I have been ordered to subdue you." The woman calmly replied, her face expressionless.
"Hah? Look, girl, how about you just let me go? Pretend you never saw me. I can make it worth your while." Mizuki offered. He was not in a good state, so avoiding confrontation was his main objective now. Catching the blond brat was only secondary in this situation.
"I cannot do that. You are a threat to my master."
"Master?" Mizuki thought. "Tch, in that case...Doton: Doryūsō no Jutsu!"
Mud spikes shot towards the lady in black, intent on impaling her. However, instead of dodging, the woman stood still. Just as the spikes were approaching her, she swiftly cleaved through them in a single stroke, shocking Mizuki.
"I-in a single stroke?! Impossible!" He shouted in disbelief. The woman darted forward, rapidly closing in on the traitorous Chūnin. Mizuki tried to leap back, but was struck by the flat side of the woman's katana, knocking him aside.
Not giving him a chance to recover, the woman swiftly hit him again, this time with her katana's sheath. The blow struck Mizuki hard on the head, the force knocking him out.
Kneeling down, the woman confirmed that Mizuki was unconscious before nodding towards the trees. "Target has been subdued."
"Whew. Man that was so cool! Thanks a bunch, Kotetsu!" Naruto cheered as he and Iruka came out from behind the trees.
"Well, at least she kept him alive instead of killing him." Iruka sighed, tired from the day's events. "Like what she intended to do at first..."
"I am unworthy of your praise, Master." The now-named woman bowed.
"Eh, c'mon don't say that! And stop calling me Master. I have a name y'know! It's Naruto. Na-ru-to. Got it?"
"...Understood, Mas-Naruto-sama." Kotetsu corrected herself.
"Sama? Well, it's an improvement at least." Naruto shrugged.
Iruka smiled as he watched his student interact with the summoned woman. "But still...For him to not only learn the Kage Bunshin, but also this summoning technique."
"Naruto." Iruka started, grabbing the attention of the blond. "Could you close your eyes for a minute?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Humor me."
"Well...Alright." Naruto said, closing his eyes. He then felt his favourite pair of goggles get removed from his forehead and felt cloth replace them. Opening his eyes, Naruto was surprised when he looked up to see a hitai-ate. Naruto turned to Iruka in shock, who distinctly lacked his hitai-ate.
"Naruto, you are now officially a genin of Konohagakure no Sato. Congratulations!" Iruka grinned.
"I...Thank you."
XXXxxxxXXX
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed tiredly as he took another puff of his pipe. After today's debacle, he was more then ready to call it a day. However, he couldn't because of the thrice-damned paperwork! The amount he had to sort through after the Mizuki incident was simply ridiculous!
But even so, he was satisfied with the results of the day. A traitor was caught, his surrogate grandson finally made genin, and he met an old friend after many years. All in all, today was pretty good.
"Now, I just need to find a good time to give this to Naruto. Tomorrow, maybe?" The old Hokage thought as he glanced at the package he was asked to give to Naruto.
XXXxxxxXXX
"Whew..." Naruto sighed as he opened the door to his run-down apartment. Kicking off his sandals, he walked in and flopped down on his couch, sinking in to the (somewhat) soft piece of furniture. He then took out the card he used to summon Kotetsu, observing the changes to the seemingly innocuous card. The previously blank card now showed a picture of the black-wearing swordswoman with her katana drawn, with the brown border now becoming a dark green. The circle at the top left corner now had the kanji 九十九 written vertically in it.
"Man, to think it would change this much!" Naruto commented to himself. Pocketing the card, he then yawned loudly.
"Huh, guess I'm pretty beat." He noted. The blond then took a quick shower, before turning in for the night. The blond set Kotetsu's card on the small drawer next to his bed, before shutting his eyes and letting sleep claim him.
Well, that's it. How did you find it? Like it? Hated it? As some of you may be able to tell, I'm basing this off Ayakashi:Onmyōroku aka Ayakashi:Ghost Guild. I was really disappointed when Zynga decided to pull the plug on it, but at least MiraMiracle will be coming soon. But I digress.
Anyway, leave a review, lemme know what you think.
Have a good one!
Sul~