Words-113911, Chapters-17, Reviews-473, Hits-176742, C2-95, Favs-725, Alerts-889
AN:
Hey everyone, I'm still alive. I appreciate all of the well wishes I recieved, though some of you were a little...odd (Yes I'm looking at you English Guy) Anyway, this is an unbeta'd chapter, which I will replace with a proof read one as soon as I get it. Please note, this chapter was put together on computer, my phone, and paper, then combined later on. So there may be places where it doesn't flow properly, though I tried to catch them all. If you find one, please let me know. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I should have responded to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize. All reviews/criticism is welcomed.
Now, I need to address the reviewer Dan. Thank you for pointing out the whole, "speak English" thing in chapter 15. That was a mistake on my part, and I apologise for that. Now, about Naruto being "super clingy", I had wanted to make Naruto's feelings for her to be similar to Haku's for Zabuza. Obviously, it didn't quite turn out that way, and I've yet to figure out a way to fix it. And while it could have been applied to Yoshino...well, who's to say it didn't? Officially, Yoshino is a Chuunin, but she doesn't really do anything dangerous...aside from giving therapy to ninjas that is. So there's no reason for him to get riled up by her getting hurt/put in danger. And he always intended to be a ninja, just not one that worked for Sarutobi. Finally, you say I exaggerate his feelings...where? Can you give me the spots where that happened and how you felt they were exaggerated as well as how you feel they should be? This would go a long way in improving the story.
Without further ado, I give you chapter sixteen of Naruto: Shadows of the Mind.
This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier.
Chapter 16
"Naru-chan? It's time to get up." a gentle voice maliciously bashed its way into Naruto's head, bringing his wonderfully pleasant sleep to a fiery death. At least, that's how Naruto thought of it.
Hearing the sound of curtains being drawn, he rolled over to escape the sudden invasion of light, growling irritably as he did so. "Go away you soul sucking witch from Hell!" At least, that's what he tried to say. It came out as something more like "No talky. Sleepy."
"Come on, Naruto." the oh so familiar voice sighed in exasperation, accompanied by a playful tap to the head. "You need to get up. Today is the Genin Exam, remember? Surely you don't want to miss it and have to repeat the year all over again?"
"I say, nay nay." He retorted, only this time it came out more like, "Merahhh! *smack smack*."
"Naruto…" the voice said ominously. "Don't think I won't sic Anko-chan on you…again."
Faced with that rather unpleasant notion -as it was impossible to stay asleep when Anko didn't want you to- he finally gave in and sat up in bed, scratching his bare chest as he sleepily glared at the source of his annoyance.
Said annoyance wasn't even looking at him, instead busying herself with tidying up his room in that annoying way of hers. He could never find anything after she was done.
Frowning in exasperation, he said, "Kurenai, please tell me you aren't still going to wear that thing?" He was, of course, talking about her weird dress…robe…kimono…bandage…thing. He could still -unfortunately- remember the day she had bought the thing.
Flashback Three Years Ago
"Naru-chan, we're going shopping today after your classes get out." Kurenai informed him as he ate some toast.
Raising an eyebrow, Naruto asked, "What's this "we" shit?" It should be noted; Naruto hated shopping with Kurenai with a passion. It always seemed like she was purposefully trying to drag it out, much to his displeasure.
Seemingly ignoring Naruto's not so subtle hint, she answered. "I promised Anko that I would help her pick out a new outfit now that she's a Special Jounin. And you and I could both use some new clothes anyway."
"What's wrong with the clothes I've already got?" he protested.
"Other than all the holes, rips, tears, and burn marks?" Kurenai asked dryly. "They're getting too small for you."
True, but not a good enough reason to make him put up with the two Kunoichi during a shopping spree. Especially not when Anko was still rubbing her promotion in everyone's faces. "So? They're still good enough. And if I have to get new ones, I can do that myself." Figuring that the conversation was settled, Naruto turned his attention back to his meal.
"Tell you what," Kurenai sighed tiredly. "If you come with us, I'll buy you that new shuriken holster, including the shuriken that go with it. Deal?"
That caught his attention. They weren't poor by any means, but they did have to be careful with their money -especially when Naruto absolutely hated dipping into his "inheritance" and he didn't think Kurenai even knew about it- which usually meant Naruto had to "tactically acquire" any extra equipment he might happen to want/need. And while she'd never say it, Naruto knew the reason why she had to be careful -and the reason why she was still a Chuunin- was because of him.
Due to her having to take care of him, she spent less time training and took fewer missions in order to spend time with him, which resulted in her career coming to something of a halt. Right now, she could maybe wrestle out a rank of Special Jounin. Maybe. And that was only because of her skills with Genjutsu.
After all, why promote a kunoichi who isn't willing to spend too much time away from the village, when you can promote someone who can't wait to go on missions in pursuit of the elusive Jounin rank?
Still Kurenai was offering to buy him an entire set of shuriken as well as a new holster. It could take him weeks to "acquire" that many shuriken, let alone brand new ones. "Deal." he agreed with a nod, hoping he wouldn't regret it.
"Good, now finish up your breakfast or you'll be late for school." And with that admonishment, Kurenai left the apartment, vanishing in a Shunshin shortly after.
Later on, Naruto growled angrily as he was dragged from store to store by the two women, having long since found enough new clothes for himself.
Finally, after an eternity, they seemed to find something they each liked, and they disappeared into the changing rooms, leaving Naruto alone. In a store that catered primarily to kunoichi. Awkward.
With a shout of "Constant vigilance!" Anko returned, attempting to take his head off with a roundhouse kick that he just managed to dodge…by dropping to the ground and covering his head to protect it from the explosions that usually followed her cries of "constant vigilance".
Rising to his feet, Naruto intended to curse at her for attacking him…again…only for his train of thought to be derailed when he took in her new "outfit".
It consisted of a pair of fishnet shorts that stopped a few inches above the knee, a fishnet t-shirt, a brown skirt that didn't even reach mid-thigh, a pair of shin guards, her sandals, and her hitae-ate. That was it.
Unable to stop himself, Naruto glanced at her chest before smacking his head. 'Of course.' He thought exasperatedly. 'She's not wearing a bra.'
Looking back up at her -careful to avoid getting another eye-full- he opened his mouth to ask the obvious question. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?"
Blinking, Anko tilted her head in confusion. "Whadda mean?"
Twitching, Naruto hissed. "Your outfit!"
"Oh yeah, ain't it cool!" she asked with a grin and a twirl, which did…interesting…things.
"I was thinking more along the lines of indecent." Naruto muttered as he averted his eyes, trying to ignore all of the women staring at them.
"Indecent!" Anko asked in surprise as she glanced down at herself before fixing him with an incredulous stare. "What? I'm wearing shin guards."
"Shin gua-no, you know what, I don't want to know, I don't even care." Naruto spluttered angrily before stomping away. "The only thing you're missing is a damn trench coat, a creepy mustache, and some candy."
"Oh! Great idea, Naru-chaaan!" Anko chirped as she dashed back into another part of the store.
"Dear God, she's finally snapped…" he muttered in horror. "Shit…I just know I'm gonna get blamed for this." Glancing around at everyone staring at him, he wondered if it was too late to act like he'd never met Anko.
A moment later, the kunoichi returned throwing on a trench coat as she did. Surprisingly, the trench coat did a credible job of hiding Anko's…physique…from view.
"Anko-chan, did you find something?" Kurenai asked as she finally came to his rescue.
"Kurenai-chan!" Anko chirped giddily as she did another twirl. "Check it out!"
Whatever she had to say about the younger woman's choice of "clothing" was lost on Naruto as he stared in confusion at Kurenai's own apparel. "What are you wearing?" Unlike with Anko, this time Naruto asked in pure confusion.
Kurenai was dressed in a white…thing that reached down to about mid-thigh. It looked like it was maybe a…dress made of bandages? Some kind of short kimono designed to look like bandages? He just couldn't figure it out. What he could figure out was the fishnet shirt she wore under it, and the single red sleeve that covered her right arm from shoulder to just above the wrist. She also had apparently wrapped ninja tape from where the…dress…thing… ended, up under it to…somewhere that he really didn't want to know.
"Naru-chan?" Kurenai's voice finally managed to register with him. "What do you think?"
Tilting his head in confusion, Naruto could only think of one thing to say.
Flashback Ends
"What is that thing?" Naruto muttered as he once again tried and failed to make sense of Kurenai's outfit.
"Oh, don't be such a downer, Naru-chan." Kurenai scolded playfully. "Now get up, I have to go to a meeting with the Hokage."
"Meeting about what?" Naruto yawned, trying to sound as if he was still half asleep, despite listening intently. Anything involving the Old Man was dangerous, and Kurenai, despite all her many wonderful traits, was unbelievably blind to it. Every time she went in to see the Old Man, she never seemed to realize how easily she could be killed, or abducted, or who knows what. And worse, Naruto could only get so close to the Hokage Tower, each time, making it next to impossible for him to protect her.
Yet whenever he tried to convince her to stay away, she always tried to convince him to "give the Sandaime a chance" and "you can trust him" and other such bullshit. Really, sometimes he thought Kurenai was the worst judge of character.
"Oh, nothing much." Kurenai murmured nonchalantly. "I might be one of the Jounin-sensei for your year's graduates. That's all."
That gave him pause. She'd only been made a Jounin two years ago, skipping Special Jounin all together, much to Anko's whining dismay. Still, at least she was getting paid more, and if she did get stuck with a Genin team, at least she'd be doing safe, easy missions.
Letting out a small sigh, Naruto continued getting dressed as Kurenai left with a "Don't forget to lock the door." Really, it was a pleasant thought that Kurenai would end up as his Jounin-sensei -especially since that way he could finally get her to teach him some of her C ranked and higher Genjutsu- but he knew it was never going to happen.
Oh well, a man can dream, and he might still be able get those Genjutsu regardless once he made Genin.
Speaking of Genin, he didn't have the slightest idea what the Exam would entail, so it would be best to be prepared for…well…anything. Nodding, he dug into his closet and pulled out something he'd been working on putting together for the better part of two years.
Once he'd put it all together, he looked at himself in the mirror. He wore the standard shuriken holster on his right leg and a kunai pouch just behind his left hip. Just behind his right hip, he wore two scroll holsters set at an angle for easy access.
One scroll was filled with various weapons and supplies. The other was still blank.
In between the scrolls and kunai pouch, he wore a larger, waist pack filled with his patchwork medical supplies -consisting of blood pills, chakra pills, painkillers, bandages, some wider use antidotes, surgical scissors, needle and thread, etc.- and various weapons and ninja tools.
The final piece was a brown leather harness that he wore on his chest, designed to hold a second shuriken holster beneath his left arm in a way that allowed the shuriken to just fall into his hand. Under his right arm was another holster, also designed for quick access.
All in all, he carried everything from kunai and shuriken, to senbon and makibishi, to ninja wire, a number of seals, and even a windmill shuriken that he'd "acquired" from one of the training grounds.
The latest addition was an eight-inch knife made of chakra conducting metal strapped in a sheath to his left shoulder. A peace offering from a certain bearded monkey.
Flashback Two Years Ago
Asuma Sarutobi looked haggard and annoyed as he sat across from him. Apparently, the man was something of an old acquaintance of Kurenai's, having known him since their days in the Academy.
They hadn't seen each other since shortly after the Kyuubi attack, and the bearded monkey left to go serve the Daimyo, and had returned just recently.
And as Naruto had learned, the man appeared to have a fancy for Kurenai. Which Anko and he heartily disapproved of, though for differing reasons. Anko disliked the man because he was "trying to steal Kurenai-chan" and "he just wants to get in her pants" whatever that was supposed to mean.
Naruto's reason, on the other hand, wasn't anywhere near as immature as hers. He knew full well that Asuma was the Old Man's son, and that it couldn't be coincidence that he just "happened" to come back to the village after Kurenai took him in.
No, Asuma was after something, though whether he was working for the Old Man or he had his own agenda, Naruto wasn't sure. But he would be sure to keep an eye on Asuma. After all, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Sooner of later, Naruto would get what he wanted out of the man, and then...well, no one was going to take Kurenai away from him. No one.
As such, the two had launched a campaign to drive the Jounin shinobi away.
They had pranked, sabotaged, tricked, and generally made the man's life miserable.
And now, here they were sitting in the living room. "Look Naruto," Asuma sighed, no doubt wishing for a cigarette that Kurenai refused to allow in her apartment. "I know you don't like me, and I know you don't trust me. But can't we settle our differences?"
"It's not a question of like or trust." Naruto snorted. "You're just not good enough for Kurenai. That's all." 'And I'm not dumb enough to fall for your tricks.' He silently added.
"Don't you think you should let Kurenai decide that?" Asuma asked in restrained exasperation.
"Are you shitting me?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Have you seen who she hangs out with? Have you met me? Not to mention that thing she wears!"
"Yeah, I have seen what she wears…" Asuma murmured with a happy, far away look on his face. A look that quickly disappeared when Naruto tried to bury a kunai between his eyes.
"A-anyway," Asuma continued after Naruto stopped trying to kill him. "Can't you give me a chance to prove myself?"
"No, I don't think I can." Naruto said airily. "And even if I did, Anko wouldn't."
"Really?" Asuma asked in surprise. "That's what she said about you."
"Anko will say anything when she's eating dango." Naruto said dismissively. Mentally though, he growled, 'Damn traitor! How could she sell out Kurenai over some dango!' Of course, he was forgetting a rather key detail. Anko didn't think the Old Man was anymore dangerous than Kurenai did.
"Look," Asuma sighed tiredly. "How about you just give me a chance, and in return, I'll teach you how to use this." With a flourish, he presented him with a sheathed combat knife. Taking it suspiciously, Naruto drew the knife. Its blade was approximately eight inches long and two inches wide, and was made of a strange dark metal.
"What's this? I have plenty of my own blades, what's so special about this one?" he asked as he returned the knife to its sheath.
"Ahh but this is no ordinary blade," Asuma assured him. "This blade is made from a special metal that allows it's wielder to channel their chakra through it. In my case, I can channel wind chakra into it to make it razor sharp."
"Well then it's no use to me, now is it?" Naruto said dismissively as he tossed the knife back to the bearded monkey. "After all, I can't channel wind chakra, can I?"
"Now, now, let's not be hasty!" Asuma said quickly. "You might not be able to use the Hien, but you can still channel normal chakra to it, making it many times stronger than any normal blade. I'll give you the knife and teach you how to use it, and all I ask is that you stop trying to sabotage me and Kurenai. Deal?"
Get training from one of your enemies, lowering his guard in the process, and having an excuse to observe him closer and having a chance to arrange an "training accident" after wringing everything he knows out of him?
Naruto didn't even bother thinking about it. "Of course not. I don't need to sabotage you, sooner or later Kurenai will realize how worthless you really are on her own. That is, if your smoking doesn't drive her away first. Still, I'll take your knife and your training. But remember this, you Bearded Monkey. If you ever hurt Kurenai in any way…I'll kill you."
"Is that the best I can expect?" Asuma growled irritably. "Fine then, but don't think I'm going to put up with that attitude of yours. I expect you to call me sensei."
"Don't fuck with me." Naruto said quietly. "You'll regret it if you do."
"That sounded an awful lot like a threat, Naruto." Asuma said with a smirk. "How do you plan to keep it?"
Returning his smirk, Naruto reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a lighter and a packet of Asuma's favored cigarettes.
Naruto could see the confusion cross the man's face, but he ignored it in favor of listening to the sound of approaching footsteps. Familiar footsteps. Waiting a moment, Naruto tossed the lighter to Asuma and withdrew a single cigarette.
Just as the footsteps reached the apartment door, Naruto sent the Bearded Monkey a wicked smirk, before pasting an expression of uncertainty on his face. "I don't know, Asuma-san…" he said in a carrying voice. "Kurenai really disapproves of smoking and I don't think she'd like it if I started…"
Asuma had enough time to blink before the footsteps turned into angry stomps as Kurenai practically broke the door down in her haste to reach them. "Naru-chan, no!" she yelled as she snatched the cigarettes from his hand.
No sooner had she "stopped him" Kurenai turned an enraged glare on Asuma. "Asuma. Hall. Now." she growled angrily.
"Wha-" was as far as the confused Jounin made it before Kurenai grabbed him by his vest and yanked him to his feet. "Now!" she hissed as she dragged him out of the apartment.
Asuma managed to send an angry look back at him. Naruto just grinned and silently mouthed, "I told you, don't fuck with me."
Flashback Ends
The blade, and the training that came with, turned out to be more useful than he had anticipated. Unfortunately, Kurenai had yet to realize how much better she could do, and so, Asuma was still hanging around.
Even worse, he still hadn't been able to figure out the man's angle. He was such a good actor, there were times when Naruto almost believed the man was trying get his approval of him and Kurenai.
Of course, Anko and he were still watching him like a hawk, just waiting for him to screw up.
Shaking his head at Kurenai's ability to overlook such obvious faults, Naruto pulled on his jacket, happily noting how it still covered all of his equipment -including his combat knife- with the exception of the shuriken holster on his leg.
Satisfied, he tugged on his gloves and left via Shunshin.
Shortly after, he arrived outside of the Hyuuga compound. Much to his displeasure, Hinata was once again not waiting outside the compound. Grunting in annoyance, Naruto made his way to the gate and addressed one of the Branch family guards. "Where's Hinata?" The master of diplomacy, that's him.
"Hinata-sama is in a meeting with Hiashi-sama. She bids you to proceed to the Academy without her." the impassive Hyuuga answered.
"I'll wait." Naruto replied as he reluctantly made his way into the Hyuuga compound. The Hyuuga allowed him in as a matter of course. Which, unfortunately, it was.
Despite the fact that Kurenai's escort mission had ended three years ago, Naruto had found it necessary to continue picking up Hinata each day. Mainly because he'd found out that if he didn't, then Neji would make it a point to harass and belittle Hinata all the way to the Academy. And it had only taken her arriving at class in tears once for Naruto to learn that little fact.
Despite this, he absolutely hated going inside the Hyuuga compound. He always felt like he was walking through a field littered with faulty explosive tags whenever he did.
As he walked through the grounds, Naruto tried to avoid attracting the notice of the many tense Hyuuga that occupied them. Over the years, he'd pieced together enough information to know that the tension -which had only festered for the last six years- seemed to involve two different parts of the Hyuuga clan. The Main family -which was the group wearing better clothing, but possessing fewer numbers- and the Branch family -which was the group that seemed to have more shinobi in it.
He still didn't know what the conflict was about -as not even Hinata would talk about it- but he did know that Hinata felt terrible about it.
Resisting the urge to throw up his Konohagakure no Jutsu, Naruto quickly made his way to the main building, honing in on the room occupied by Hinata and her father by virtue of the tiny Hyuuga girl kneeling outside it.
Hanabi only glanced at him once, before sniffing and turning away.
Snorting, he ungracefully slid down the wall to sit next to her. "Hanabi." he greeted as he reached a hand under his jacket to fiddle with the shuriken holster under his arm, wondering if today would be the day he finally had to put it to use to fend off bloodthirsty Hyuuga.
"Don't talk to me." Hanabi ordered icily.
Eying a passing Branch Hyuuga -and calculating the quickest way to kill him if necessary- Naruto asked amusedly, "Don't tell me you're still mad that I don't like coming here? I told you, that doesn't have anything to do with you and Hinata."
"I suppose it's just a coincidence that when Kurenai-san made you come here, you always stopped in to see me, but as soon as she's not around, you suddenly can't be bothered to visit?" Hanabi growled threateningly as she turned to glare up at him. Well, as threatening as a tiny seven-year old with large eyes can be.
Calculating how difficult it would be to fight his way through a crowd of battling Hyuuga and scaling the perimeter wall, all the while carrying two Hyuuga girls over his shoulders, Naruto absentmindedly said, "Why yes, that's exactly what it is."
Hanabi crossed her arms with a huff, looking much less like a dignified Hyuuga princess, and more like a pouting little girl.
"What's wrong with you today anyway?" Naruto asked as he studied a Hyuuga that was working in the nearby gardens. He really didn't like the way the man was eyeing Hanabi and him. "You've walked to school with me and Hinata everyday for the last year. Doesn't that make up for me not visiting as often as I used to?"
When she didn't answer him, he turned to look down at her. He was surprised to find her looking glum and…good God, was that a tear!
Blinking, the dots connected rather quickly. Reaching over with his right hand, he ruffled her hair fondly. Hanabi of course, was quick to smack his hand away. She always got riled up when he touched her hair, ever since she turned five. Which of course, was why he still did it.
"Don't worry, Hanabi." he said soothingly. "I'll still visit after I become a Genin. And you could ask Konohamaru to walk with you in the mornings."
"You don't even visit now." she said with a pout and what sounded suspiciously like a sniffle. "And Konohamaru is an idiot, always going on about heroes and things like that."
"Oh come on," Naruto said playfully as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. He didn't really understand why, but both of Hiashi's daughters found the gesture relaxing. "He's not that bad. And you know he has a crush on you."
"I don't care about that!" Hanabi muttered as she wiped her eyes on his jacket, which he dutifully ignored. "He's just a little kid. The man I marry will be a powerful shinobi, with a lot of influence in the village! And he'll be tall! Not a snotty little brat like Konohamaru."
"He's only nine, Hanabi." Naruto chuckled teasingly. "Cut him some slack. He could turn out to be the next Hokage."
She just scowled at him and shrugged his arm off, apparently feeling much better now that they'd had their little talk.
Which was probably for the best, as the door next to them slid open, revealing an impassive Hiashi. Hanabi quickly jumped to her feet, and Naruto followed, albeit much less formally.
As usual, Hiashi glanced at him, muttered "Uzumaki." then turned to Hanabi and greeted, "Daughter." before walking off.
Hanabi returned his greeting with a respectful bow, while Naruto just ignored him. It wouldn't be entirely accurate to say the two didn't get along -as that would imply that they ever spent more than two or three minutes together- but generally speaking, Naruto didn't have a lot of respect for the man.
Hiashi might have had good intentions when he pushed his daughters as hard as he did, but the fact that he seemingly couldn't be bothered to let his daughters act like little girls when growing up sort of sucked up whatever respect he might have had for the man.
"Nii-sama, Imouto," Hinata's voice broke him from his thoughts. "What are you doing here? I asked Naji-san to tell you two to go on ahead without me."
Blinking, Naruto turned to Hanabi. "Which one's Naji?" he asked confusedly. Really, most of the Hyuuga looked the same to him.
"He's the one guarding the gate." Hanabi supplied helpfully.
"Oh." he nodded in thanks before turning back to Hinata. "Yeah, you did."
She looked like she wanted to say something about how they didn't have to wait on her, so Naruto decided to change the subject. It would save them time in the long run.
"Come on, we'd better get going before Hanabi's babysitter shows up looking for her." he said as he ruffled said girl's hair again, eliciting a scowl as she chased after him, Hinata following close behind.
"I told you, she's not a babysitter!" Hanabi protested as they left the Hyuuga compound.
"Who's not a babysitter?" a young woman's voice asked. The two Hyuugas jumped at the sudden intrusion, though Naruto just glanced in the direction it came from.
Standing there waiting for them was a young Chuunin. She appeared to be in her early twenties and had long, purple hair that reached down to her waist. She was only an inch or two taller than him, standing at about five-foot-six with dark eyes.
"Yuugao." he greeted neutrally, only to receive a light jab from Hanabi's elbow.
"Please forgive him, Yuugao-san. Naruto-niichan needs to work on his manners." Hanabi apologized even as she sent a disapproving glare his way.
The Chuunin only smiled slightly and shook her head ruefully. In the year that she had been escorting Hanabi, the purple haired woman had been nothing but professional and polite.
Which, while going a long ways in making the younger Hyuuga feel comfortable around a complete stranger, only made Naruto tense. Generally speaking, people weren't polite and professional to him. They were more often nervous, frightened, indifferent, cold, angry, or downright hateful, rather than polite and professional.
"Shall we get going, Hanabi-san?" the Chuunin asked politely, breaking him from his thoughts.
The younger Hyuuga nodded before quickly grabbing her sister's hand, dragging her off in the general direction of the Academy, Yuugao and he falling in behind them.
Well, Yuugao fell in behind them. Naruto fell in behind Yuugao, marveling at how willingly the woman let her hair hang freely. It was almost as if she was encouraging him to use her hair to restrain her as he drove his blade into her spine. Which of course made him think there was some reason why she'd want an opponent to try to grab her hair.
Shaking his head to clear it of the bloody images, he turned his mind to the Hyuuga girls happily chatting without a care in the world.
As he watched them, Naruto couldn't help but marvel over how close the two sisters were. No one looking at the two Hyuugas would ever guess that they were constantly pitted against each other in no holds sparring matches by their father. Or that the nigh prodigious younger sister was the one who usually won.
At first, Naruto had assumed that it was some kind of sisterly love that kept Hinata from really trying to win the matches. Given her gentle nature, he figured Hinata didn't want to hurt Hanabi, and so held back during their matches.
That assumption was rather brutally dispersed the first time the three had trained together. The first match up had been Naruto versus Hinata, with Hanabi acting as the judge. He had sparred with the Hyuuga often enough to know the match wouldn't last long if he didn't hold back. He also knew that, unlike him, repeatedly beating the shit out of her would not drive her to make determined strides to win, or at least lessen the beatings. No, all that came of such brutal beat downs was an even more depressed Hinata.
She worked best by receiving innocuous tips, and positive comments on what she did right. Sure, the matches lasted longer than was strictly necessary, but at least they helped Hinata improve.
Their match went more or less as expected, and Naruto ended it after a few minutes when it became obvious that Hanabi was getting impatient.
A short break later, and it was Hanabi's turn. Given the girl's youth and relative inexperience, Naruto expected the match to end within the first few seconds. So he was quite surprised to learn that Hinata didn't always lose because of some sentimental sibling love. She lost because Hanabi was just that good.
He was so surprised when she was able to get in a few hits, that he reacted in his usual instinct, and overwhelmed the young girl with crushing force. Start to finish, the spar lasted forty-five seconds before he ended it. In that time, Hanabi had managed to strike him nearly a dozen times, mostly in the upper legs and lower torso.
He was so shocked; he almost didn't hear Hanabi demand a rematch. Curious, he nodded and they began again. This time she only managed to hit him once in the five second spar.
He was pleasantly surprised to note that Hanabi reacted to an ass beating the same way he did. She got a look of burning determination in her eyes and demanded another rematch. Which he obliged, finding something extremely cathartic about being on the other side of a brutal beat down for once.
So he knew that Hanabi really was that good at the Jyuken, and as such, her victories were well deserved. He even told her that from time to time, gaining a beaming smile -and a small blush- in return.
Of course, Hinata had also improved tremendously since he had first met her. She was still soft-spoken, and she was still shy about speaking her mind to anyone she didn't know well, but at least she no longer exuded that aura of panic and fear, and she'd long since stopped scurrying around like a mouse.
Skill-wise, she was probably Genin level all around, though she was only average at the Hyuugas Taijutsu, and her kind nature would probably get her hurt someday if she didn't keep it from interfering with her judgment. But then, that was probably something her Jounin-sensei would take care of.
Feeling a pair of eyes on him, he glanced over at Yuugao. The Chuunin was openly studying him with a curious/cautious look on her face. "Naruto-san," she began quietly, seemingly wanting to leave the two Hyuuga out of the conversation. "Are you expecting a war?"
Naruto blinked at that. "Why do you ask?" he asked to buy time while he tried to figure out the meaning behind her sudden statement. Did she know about his plans? And if so, how had she found out and who had she told? And how could he silence them?
"Well, I know one should be prepared when taking their Genin exam," she began with a thread of carefully manifested laughter in her voice. "But you're dressed for bear."
Narrowing his eyes, Naruto had to make a conscious effort not to put any more distance between the two. Bad enough that she had apparently picked up on his gear, but she had also just tried to make a joke. Unusual when coming from the normally reserved kunoichi. "Just trying to be prepared for the exam." he muttered as they came within sight of the Academy.
"Ah." Yuugao chuckled with some real emotion this time. "Well, I think you'll be quite…surprised…at the exam."
Before he could question her further she said her goodbyes to Hanabi and Shunshined away. Frowning, he wondered if there was something genetic that made purple haired kunoichi irritating.
As he debated the merits of his theory, he followed the Hyuuga sisters past a crowd of girls waiting anxiously by the entrance. Thankfully, they weren't waiting on him anymore.
For the first two years, he had been plagued by a number of girls from all classes of the Academy who felt they were the ones to "help the mysterious Anbu/Oinin/bloodline wielder recover from his bloody past". Needless to say, he had considered the merits of murdering them all in their sleep. He'd heard about some guy in Kumo, or Kiri, or Kusa, or someplace like that who had done something similar. And they'd made him one of their top Jounin.
Fortunately, the idiotic girls found something else to invest their time in. Namely, one Sasuke Uchiha. When Naruto had first discovered that, he had proclaimed that to be one of the best days of his life, much to the dismay of those students who heard him. Which was apparently warranted, as he'd later learned that the entire Uchiha clan -with the exception of Sasuke- had been wiped out.
He had made sure to stop by and pay his respects after class that day, as the Uchiha, while a bunch of stiff-necked pricks, had always done their job whenever one of them came across him being heckled. Of course, he knew they were only doing their jobs, but they did still help him out from time to time.
Once that was done, he promptly put the whole thing behind him. The situation with the Massacre didn't really affect him in any way, and he only paid enough attention to know that the Inuzuka clan were the ones who were given the…honor…of taking over responsibility for the Konoha Military Police, assisted in the transfer by a large contingent of Anbu.
And he really only knew that much because Hanabi mentioned some members of the Hyuuga clan being upset that they didn't get the job.
Exchanging goodbyes and good lucks respectively, Naruto and Hinata left Hanabi near her class room and made their way to their own.
Upon arriving, Naruto wasn't really surprised to see Sasuke had bypassed his "fan girls" altogether, and had already arrived.
The two weren't exactly rivals, per say, as that implied that they both cared about which was acknowledged as better. Naruto didn't.
The younger boy on the other hand, had been quite adamant about trying to beat him, at first in order to live up to his brother's reputation and his father's expectations, then, after the massacre, he focused on getting stronger as quickly as he could.
Naruto just happened to be one of the few in their class who could offer him a serious challenge, and the only one to beat him on a regular basis.
Not to say that the boy wasn't quite good, as he'd probably be the Rookie of the Year if Naruto wasn't around. The difference in ability was a combination of Naruto's early mastery of the "Basic Three" -as the three main Academy jutsu were called- the age difference, including all the advantages that came with it, and the fact that Naruto often studied ahead in his free time, while Sasuke preferred to devote most of his spare time to training.
Of course, the fact that Naruto routinely went up against massively superior opponents -forcing him to learn to fight smarter, not harder- certainly helped against the younger boy, who's only opponents were other Academy students.
Then there was their differing philosophies. Sasuke preferred to fight straight up, strength against strength and speed against speed, etc. Naruto on the other hand, fought through the use of misdirection, tactics, and down right "cheating". Though he too fought head on when he found it necessary.
Sasuke would also devote his time to mastering unbelievably complex maneuvers that ended with eight shuriken in the center of a target. A masterful show of dexterity and skill. Naruto just put eight shuriken in the center of the target.
Sasuke would strain to exceed the requirements of any jutsu. If the instructor asked him to Kawarimi with a chair, he would Kawarimi with three or four in quick succession. If he was asked to Henge into the Hokage, he would "transform" into the perfect picture of the Old Man, down to the pipe and "smoke" rising from it. If asked to create a single Bunshin, Sasuke would create five or six.
Naruto on the other hand, strived to use the minimal amount of chakra, in the minimal amount of seals, with minimal warning of his impending actions.
Glancing past the "Last Uchiha", Naruto and Hinata made their way to their respective seats. Once settled in, he glanced around for his other friend. Shikamaru was, as usual, sleeping with his head on his desk, his close friend Chouji Akimichi munching away at his side.
He and the Akimichi had never really gotten along, as Naruto felt that a fat ninja was pathetic, regardless of what technique they could use as a result, and Chouji took offense to that. Still, they tolerated each other to a degree because of their mutual friendship with the Nara heir.
His other "acquaintance" Shino Aburame was seated a row below him. The two had a mutual respect for each other, Naruto because the Aburame was one of the few in the class who acted like a shinobi and Shino because Naruto never insulted his fascination with bugs.
There were only a few others that really merited his attention. Unfortunately, none of them were because of their "outstanding" qualities. Kiba Inuzuka was a loud, annoying, brash boy, who was constantly talking shit to everyone else in the class. He felt that the fact he could back up most of his talk justified his actions. Sasuke, Naruto, and occasionally Shino, took turns putting the mutt in his place.
But this wasn't why Naruto disliked the boy. It was because Hinata often giggled at "Kiba-kun's" antics, and Kiba seemed to think that made it ok to try to flirt with her.
Naruto wasn't surprised that the Inuzuka wasn't intimidated by his presence, but he really thought the mutt would have figured out that Naruto was always especially brutal during the spars that happened after he flirted with Hinata.
There were a couple others, but they only really stood out due to their ungodly ability to annoy him everyday.
"Pinky" as he called the one whose name he couldn't be bothered to remember, was, in a word, a bookworm. She could quote pretty much every text book, and if it wasn't for her dismal physical skills, he might have been impressed. In fact, she was the only one who had a higher grade than him on the written assignments and tests, though that was only because of the one day near the start of their fourth year that he skipped.
It was just the one day, because later on that morning, he'd found a panicked, hyperventilating Hinata banging on the door of his apartment, terrified that something had happened to her "Nii-sama". There were times when the girl's adoration of him worried Naruto, but he honestly couldn't think of anything to do about it.
Yamanaka competed with Pinky for the title of most annoying. Other then that, he honestly couldn't be bothered to remember anything about her except that her physical abilities were more or less on par with Pinky. That is, utterly pathetic.
Tired of watching the…children…chattering with each other, Naruto instead turned to stare out the window, focusing on other, more important things. Namely, what his next move was going to be.
Assuming that he made Genin -and he had no reason to believe he wouldn't- his next obstacle would be his Genin team. Dealing with them could be quite the hassle, especially if he got stuck with some third rate Jounin and a couple of the more pathetic kids in his class. Hopefully, his "teammates" wouldn't get him killed, and his sensei could teach him a few things, as well as improving on the skills he already possessed.
Once Naruto got things settled with his team, his goal would be to reach Chuunin, all the while avoiding any assassination attempts and suicide missions that the Old Man would probably come up with. Once he accomplished that, he'd have to try to wrangle out a way to get transferred to Kurenai's team. That would settle a lot of his worries, and possibly give him the chance to pick apart some of her most complex Genjutsu.
Of course, if he was extremely lucky -unlikely given his prior experience- he might get placed on Kurenai's team from the start. 'Yeah…' he mentally snorted. 'That'll happen… and while I'm at it, maybe the spirit of the Kyuubi no Kitsune will return to act as my own private guardian angel.'
Then of course, there was his main goal in life. He had a lot of unanswered questions, and the last ten years had only added to them. Once he made Chuunin, he'd have to start building up his influence, politically speaking. Having the right friends in the right places could make his job far simpler. Unfortunately, he had come to the conclusion that having numerous friends and comrades amongst the Shinobi population -while very effective in a fight- would not be the best way to back the Old Man into a corner.
After all, he had no intention of sparking off a civil war or rebellion. Especially since he'd then be obligated to fight in it. Not to mention the danger of accidentally killing off those who could answer his questions. As such, getting his answers through force would have to be a last resort.
No, he'd need political power to pull that off. The problem though, was how to go about getting it. The political -and possibly financial- backing of the various daimyo, both within Hi no Kuni and without, would go a long ways in outmaneuvering the Old Man.
But it was very unlikely that Naruto could gain that backing as a Genin, hence the need to become Chuunin. Even then, he'd need quite a bit of skill and power to get his name out into circulation among the various clients. And there was always the danger that the backing of a daimyo would be a good thing one day, and an unforgivable sin the next. Such was the world of politics.
His next best option would be to gain the support of the various clan heads in Konoha. A daunting task to say the least. Well, it was that, or try to gain the "friendship and loyalty" of some of the leaders of the other Hidden Villages. Long odds that.
He was shaken from his ponderings by a familiar pair of voices calling for order. It seemed that his "instructors" had arrived.
Tuning out Iruka's lecture, Naruto studied the two Chuunin. Iruka Umino had been his instructor for the last six years, and despite Naruto's standing at the top of the class, the two didn't get along very well.
From the moment they met, Naruto could tell that Iruka held some sort of grudge against him, and even though Naruto had never sparked a confrontation with him -so as to avoid creating an "incident" where he could "accidentally" be killed- the man seemed irked by the ease with which Naruto "learned" his lessons, and Iruka downright despised his habit of being brutally honest whenever asked for an assessment of one of his classmates performances.
Add in the fact that Naruto rarely bothered to listen -or make the effort to hide his inattention- whenever Iruka covered something he already knew -which happened quite frequently- and they had a rather fragile relationship. 'At least he got over his grudge after the first year.' Naruto pointed out to himself. After all, the man never did anything but his best when it came to teaching him, and for that, Naruto gave the man a moderate amount of respect.
The other Chuunin was Mizuki Touji, one of the instructors who assisted wherever he was needed, and taught Taijutsu the rest of the time.
Narrowing his eyes, Naruto studied the silver haired Chuunin in closer detail. The man had always been good about concealing his emotions, always presenting a friendly façade to those around him, regardless of what he was really feeling. Now however, his front was looking pretty shaky, and the man had an exhausted look about him. Not physical tiredness, but if he had to guess, Naruto would say the man was approaching his limits.
'Odd,' Naruto mused to himself. 'I didn't think the stress of being an Academy instructor would wear on a battle-hardened Chuunin enough to strain him…'
"Now, on to the Genin Exam." Iruka called out, drawing Naruto's attention away from the other Chuunin. "This is your final test to determine who does, and who does not become a Genin. I hope you've all prepared yourselves for this."
Naruto quickly discarded all other thought as he focused on the scarred instructor's words. He'd been preparing for this day for six ungodly long years, and he was sure he was ready for it. Still, he couldn't completely still his mind, despite his best efforts, as he wondered what the Exam would be.
Probably not like Kiri's, where Naruto had heard the students were forced to fight to the death in order to claim their hitae-ate, but maybe something similar? A no holds bar match between individual students, or maybe even against a Chuunin? Surely that would be the best way to assess the potential Genin's qualifications.
He watched Iruka gaze over the anxious students one last time before finally saying, "In order to pass the exam and become Genin…" the Chuunin paused, for what Naruto was sure was dramatic effect, before proclaiming, "You all must create three Bunshin!"
Naruto stared, waiting for the Chuunin to announce what the rest of the test would involve, only to be shocked when he turned to enter the testing room. Surely there had to be something else to this test…right?
He waited as Shino was called first, only to be forced to restrain the powerful urge to stab something when the Aburame returned less than a minute later with a hitae-ate on his forehead.
"No…you've got to be shitting me!" he muttered angrily. "All these years…all those bullshit tests and putting up with these kids…coming to class practically everyday…doing every piece of homework ever assigned…and the only thing they require to graduate is the fucking Bunshin! The thing that I've been able to do for nearly a decade!" Naruto couldn't remember the last time he was this angry.
And what's more, Yuugao's cryptic "dressed for bear" remark now made complete sense. The woman had known what the test would involve. She had known and thought his…overkill… was funny. Naruto seethed. "This is fucking ridiculous! How could anyone fail such a pathetic test? How the fuck does the Bunshin qualify someone to be a ninja?"
Some thirty minutes later, Naruto found himself standing in front of Iruka and Mizuki. He didn't bother paying attention to their well wishes, and simply created the three Bunshin, then waited expectantly.
"Very good, Naruto-kun." Mizuki congratulated him as he handed over a hitae-ate. "Just what we'd expect from the Rookie of the Year."
Naruto took the hitae-ate and stuffed it in his jacket pocket, still seething in disbelieve at this farce of a test. Once he was dismissed, he turned on his heel and marched to the door, before pausing. "Sensei?" he asked as turned to face them. "Can I say something?"
Iruka and Mizuki blinked and exchanged glances before Iruka nodded.
"This "test" is a fucking joke. I don't know how the hell you two can sleep at night." Satisfied that he finally got that off his chest, Naruto left, leaving two stunned Chuunin behind.
Mizuki turned to Iruka in shock. "I think that might be the most he's ever voluntarily said in six years!"
Making his way out of the Academy, Naruto was not surprised to see Hinata and Hanabi among the crowd of parents congratulating their children. The parents of course, made sure they and their children kept their distance from him, which suited Naruto just fine. After all, it's rather difficult to sneak up and kill someone when you have no cover to utilize during your approach.
The two sisters spotted him the moment he exited the building, and quickly converged on him.
Hanabi reached him first by virtue of being more than willing to elbow her way through the crowd. She stopped in front of him as stared at him from head to toe. Frowning, she looked up at him in confusion. "Niichan?" she asked with a frown, just as Hinata reached them. "Where's your forehead protector?"
Hinata started at that, and she frantically scanned him from top to bottom as well, before turning a horrified look on him. This of course, did nothing to soothe the smaller Hyuuga.
Deciding that he had tortured them enough, Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled his out.
The two girls were visibly relieved, though Hanabi quickly replaced it with a look of curiosity. "Niichan, why aren't you wearing it?"
Naruto frowned slightly, unable to come up with an understandable reason for it, so instead he simply grunted, "Eh, I'll wear it when I'm on duty."
Hanabi's confusion remained, but luckily for him a suitable distraction arrived. "Congratulations, Naruto-kun! I hear you were named Rookie of the Year. Well done! I just wish Shikamaru would put in a fraction of your effort into his training and studying." Yoshino called as she dragged Shikamaru through the crowd towards them. "Congratulations to you too, Hinata-chan."
"Thank you, Yoshino-san." Hinata asked with a light blush. Hanabi gave a slight bow in greeting, then proceeded to scowl at the Nara heir. Apparently, Hanabi found if shameful for a clan heir to be lazy. Who knew?
"Isn't this so exciting?" Yoshino asked Hinata happily. "To think, you three would grow up so quickly. I'm so proud of all three of you."
Naruto smiled slightly, Hinata blushed deeper, and Shikamaru muttered, "Troublesome."
A few minutes of congratulations later, the Naras bid farewell and left for their home for a family celebration. Shortly after, Naruto walked Hinata and Hanabi home, accompanied as usual by Yuugao.
Once at the Hyuuga compound, Hinata and Hanabi bid him a farewell, and with a final congratulatory hug from Hanabi, headed inside for their own family function.
Yuugao vanished almost immediately after, and once he had discreetly searched the surroundings to confirm her departure, Naruto slowly made his way home, a slight frown on his face.
When he arrived, he reluctantly made his way up to the apartment he shared with Kurenai. Pausing outside the door, Naruto relaxed his muscles and let all of his senses fade away save one. Concentrating on his hearing, Naruto blocked out all ambient noises and focused. It was a little trick he had discovered that he had dubbed: Listening. The only drawback was his lack of awareness while his mind was focussed on hearing. Determining that there wasn't anyone breathing on this floor besides himself, he opened the door. Kicking off his sandals, he took in the apartment. Empty, just as he had expected.
With Kurenai dealing with the process of becoming a Jounin Sensei, the one person he wanted to celebrate his graduation -as pathetically easy as it had been- with, was unlikely to return home for the rest of the day.
Feeling somewhat lost, Naruto shed his coat and threw himself onto the couch. He had no Kurenai to celebrate with, and no one to train with, and his friend and "little sisters" were busy celebrating with their own families. And while both Yoshino, and a hopeful Hanabi had invited him to celebrate with them, he knew that he wouldn't be welcome.
His presence had the tendency to disrupt any social function, regardless of what one or two might want. He certainly wouldn't appreciate it if someone crashed the rare days he and Kurenai spent together as just the two of them. Besides, he wasn't exactly a...sociable person.
Sighing, he pulled himself up from the couch and wandered into the kitchen. Looking through the fridge and cupboards, Naruto looked for something to eat. Sighing a second time, he left the kitchen, not really hungry, so much as searching for something to occupy his time.
Wandering from room to room, Naruto contemplated what he could do. He went through scroll after Genjutsu scroll that Kurenai had allowed him access to. Unfortunately, he'd already mastered every one of the minor techniques she let him have, and while he could try to experiment with them, it would be near impossible to make any leeway without someone to actually test them on.
Glancing out the window, Naruto noticed that the sun was beginning it's descent behind the great forests that surrounded Konoha. He followed the setting sun with his eyes until half of it was hidden behind the village walls.
Shaking his head irritably, Naruto threw his jacket and sandals back on and dashed out the door. Moving quickly, he quickly vanished into the surrounding woods.
Hours later, as he slowed his katas while simultaneously walking on the side of a tree, Naruto paused as he heard something approaching his direction.
Moving higher up into the tree, Naruto settled onto a branch and instinctively threw his Konohagakure no Jutsu around himself as he stilled his breathing.
For nearly thirty seconds, Naruto waited for the approaching man -who was breathing so loud to Naruto's ears that he might as well have been next to him- to arrive in the clearing.
When the man finally arrived, Naruto instantly noticed the two giant shuriken strapped to his back, and the large scroll tucked under his arm. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto realized he knew the man. Mizuki paused and cautiously scanned the clearing, seemingly searching for something.
Curious, Naruto watched as the man squatted against a tree, before seemingly muttering to thin air. "...got it, but...Hokage...missing... for that...dare you! Orochimaru...realizes...important task...Forbidden...Seals?"
Naruto frowned as he moved a little closer to the man. With the wind carrying Mizuki's voice away, Naruto could barely make out any of his muttering, even with his hearing. Ready to dismiss the situatuion as "not my problem", Naruto turned to leave only to feel an indescribable urge to stay. Something inside him warned him that this was important.
Moving closer, he just managed to catch Mizuki growling into his...hand. "...red-eyed bitch pay for helping that thing!"
All of his confusion at the situation vanished instantly, replaced with a raging hatred. To the best of his knowledge, there hadn't been anyone other than Kurenai with red eyes since the Uchiha massacre. That just would not do.
Snarling silently, Naruto drew his knife from its sheath and leapt down at the Academy Instructor. He reached the ground just behind the silver-haired Chuunin, and grabbed him by the straps holding the giant shuriken to his back.
Putting all his strength into it, Naruto pulled the Chuunin to his feet and slammed him into the tree he'd hidden in. Simultaneously, Naruto drove his chakra infused knife forward, intending to skewer the man to the tree.
But Mizuki wasn't a Chuunin for nothing, and even caught off guard, he managed to twist to the side enough to avoid an instant kill. He was merely pierced through his left arm instead.
Mizuki let off an anguished growl and lashed out with a kunai in his remaining hand, forcing Naruto to let go of his knife in order to jump back. This also caused the Chuunin to drop the large scroll he was carrying, allowing it unroll as it bounced a short distance away.
"You!" Mizuki yelled angrily as he struggled to pull himself free. "I'll kill you, you fucking bastard!"
"That's my line, you mother fucker." Naruto growled as he ran through two seals, disappearing in another Genjutsu. It was his own variation of Kurenai's Hana Yakuotoshi, only where Kurenai would disperse into flower petals, Naruto's body seemed to come apart and vanish with the wind.
Mizuki's eyes widened maniacally as he struggled to pull the knife from his arm. All he succeeded in doing was unpinning himself. "Where are you! Come out and face me, you monster!" Mizuki spat as he unfastened one of his shuriken.
"Why should I?" Naruto called out, using a minor technique to cause his voice to echo throughout the clearing. "After all, you'll be dead in a minute."
Mizuki sneered even as he spun around, trying to locate his position. "Dead? No, I'm far too important to die. Especially at the hands of a filthy little monster like you!"
"Monster?" Naruto asked in amusement, subconciouosly taking a sick pleasure in taunting the man. "Is that the best insult you can come up with? Sounds like you've been spending too much time around little kids. Why don't you go back to talking to your imaginary friend?"
Smirking at the rage on the man's face, Naruto cautiously circled around, careful to keep a close watch on his Konohagakure no jutsu. Kurenai and Anko were the only two who'd managed to see through it so far, but they also happened to be the only two he'd used it against in battle. It wouldn't do for Mizuki to be the third and last to do so.
Altering the voice throwing technique, Naruto made his voice sound out from the foliage above and behind Mizuki. "Time to die!" he said with a cackle.
Just as he anticipated, Mizuki spun around and hurled his shuriken into the trees blindly. Smirking coldly, Naruto darted in from the opposite direction, grabbed the handle of his knife -still protruding from the Chuunin's arm- and kept going, using his momentum to tear the blade from his arm, taking a decent chunk of flesh with it as he did so.
Mizuki let out another round of screams and curses as he grasped his wound with his remaining hand. "You fucking bastard! Ah…. I'll make you beg for death before I'm done with you!"
Naruto chuckled as he circled the clearing again, this time heading for the tree he had originally pinned the man to. As he passed the unrolled scroll, something about it caught his eye, glancing over at it, his eyes narrowed when he picked up the first lines. Tajuu Kage Bunshin. A rank Ninjutsu.
Shocked, Naruto made his way up a nearby tree before addressing the snarling Chuunin. "Holy shit…is that the Forbidden Scroll of Seals?"
Mizuki angry look was wiped away, to be replaced by one of incredulity. "Are you fucking serious? You mean you attacked me without even knowing what I've done? Then why did you attack me, you damn bastard?" Mizuki snarled as he drew a kunai.
"Because you called Kurenai a bitch." Naruto snarled angrily.
Mizuki eyes grew wide and he opened his mouth, only to pause. A moment later, he grinned. "Say, Naruto…how would you like to know why everyone hates you? Why you grew up alone and despised by this village? Why parents pull their children away from you?"
Naruto didn't bother to answer as he began circling the clearing again. When he was almost to his destination, Mizuki spoke again. "What do you say I tell you about the law the Sandaime made concerning you? A law that everyone knows about but you, because it's part of the law that you not know it exists."
That gave Naruto pause. He didn't think the delusional Chuunin could know anything concerning Naruto's questions, but the implication of a law concerning him wasn't something he could pass up. "Alright then," Naruto called again as he approached the Chuunin from behind. "Lets hear about this law of yours."
"It's a law that was made fourteen years ago…" Mizuki began with a wide grin and too wide eyes. "The Yondaime didn't really kill the Kyuubi no Kitsune, because the beast was practically immortal. No, he did the only thing he could do." Mizuki paused again, this time to laugh cruelly.
Naruto frowned as he approached the man from behind. 'What does the Kyuubi have to do with me and the Old Man?' he wondered as he readied his knife. He was surprised by the man's reflexes once; he didn't intend to do so again.
"The law states, under penalty of death, that no one could tell anyone that the Kyuubi no Kitsune is still alive, sealed away inside of you! You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!" Mizuki cackled maniacally, only to be cut off when Naruto grabbed him by his bandanna Hitae-ate.
Jerking the silver-haired man's head back, Naruto drew his knife across the man's throat, once, twice, then he plunged the blade into and through the right side of the man's neck, all in quick succession. A fraction of a second later, he shoved man down and away from him, tearing off his hitae-ate in the process.
"You know," Naruto began conversationally as he wiped his blade off on Mizuki's bandanna. "If you're going to try to come up with some earth shattering revelation to throw someone off guard, you should probably come up with something that's actually believable. Me, the Kyuubi no Kitsune? Come on. If I was the Fox, then the Old Man would have killed me the day I was born." Throwing the bloodied cloth down on the thrashing, gurgling Chuunin, Naruto sent him an annoyed look. "And don't you think I'd know if I had a giant fox shoved inside me? I mean, that's the kind of thing I'd notice, don't you think?"
When silence was his only answer, Naruto glanced down at the former Academy Instructor. His eyes were glazed over, and his body had stilled, the blood pouring from his neck slowed to a trickle, signifying that he'd bled out already.
"It's too bad…" Naruto muttered as he approached the Forbidden Scroll. "I had this whole lecture on why you should never have threatened Kurenai that I was going to give you. Oh well."
Shrugging to himself, Naruto crouched down by the large, partially unrolled scroll. "Now, what do I do with you?" he asked himself as he nudged the scroll open further.
On the one hand, he could gain tremendous support if he sold some of these jutsu off, or even learned some for himself. On the other hand, the Old Man would probably turn the whole village upside down to get this back, and if Naruto was found with it, the Old Man would be able to declare him a traitor, marked for death by the entire village. Even worse, Kurenai might get dragged down with him. Besides, the jutsu on that scroll were Kinjutsu for a reason. Even the ones that wouldn't kill the user were too dangerous to have in the hands of just anyone.
Sighing, Naruto decided it would be for the best to leave the scroll there. After all, there was nothing tying him to either Mizuki's crime, or his death, and it would probably be best to keep it that way.
Standing, he moved to leave when something caught his eye on the scroll. Looking closer he saw the words A rank Genjutsu. "Hello…" Naruto muttered interestedly as he nudged the scroll open further. The highest ranking Genjutsu he'd ever heard of was a B ranked Magen that Kurenai had told him about, but stubbornly refused to teach him.
'Kokuangyou no Jutsu- An A rank Genjutsu, this technique is an extremely powerful/complicated Genjutsu that is almost impossible for most Shinobi to break out of. Requiring larger than average chakra reserves and high control, the Kokuangyou distorts a physical area to the point that it's rendered opaque, causing the caster and their opponent/s to be enveloped in total darkness. While in the black void, both user and opponent will be unable to see any threat or attack, forcing them to rely entirely on their other senses.
The Kokuangyou was labeled a Kinjutsu by the Sandaime Hokage, due to the high chakra requirements and the prerequisete of training to fight with the complete absence of sight. With so few meeting both requirements, this technique is restricted to the select few approved by the Hokages.'
Below the description were the complete instructions and necessary hand signs. Studying them intently, Naruto focused on committing them to memory, despite a corner of his mind wondering, 'If these are all Kinjutsu, why do they put the instructions for them with them? It seems kind of pointless…'
Well, it wasn't his concern, and feeling that he had pushed his luck enough for one day, Naruto quickly left, taking care to leave no sign of his passing.
Unseen by him was a tiny snake, smaller than an earthworm, laying in the grass near where Mizuki had been talking to himself. The snake's eyes narrowed in interest, before disappearing in a poof of smoke.
Mizuki's body, and the Forbidden Scroll, would be discovered by Anbu less than half an hour later.
The sun had long since set by the time he made it back home, mainly because of all the side trips he'd made to throw off any would be pursuers. When he did finally arrive, he was pleased to see that the lights were on, meaning that Kurenai had finally returned from her meeting with the Old Man.
It hadn't really sunk in that he had killed a man, until he was back in the village proper. Even then, it hadn't affected him the way he knew it should. After all, he had killed the man in cold blood, and it wasn't because he was a traitor.
No, he had killed the man because he had called Kurenai a bitch, even if it was indirectly. In fact, Naruto knew that he intended to kill the man the moment he uttered those words. And that was neither normal, nor rational. It was pure, uncompromising rage. The same rage that drove him to attack Anko in a blind fury all those years ago.
Looking back on it, he realized that he'd had every intention of killing her then too. It was only Kurenai's efforts that calmed him down.
There was no way around it, he had murdered a man that he was legally obligated to detain and bring in for interrogation.
He knew all of this, yet it didn't frighten him in any way. What did frighten him was the realization that he didn't care. He had never before realized just how strong a hold Kurenai had over him, and he didn't think she was even aware of the lengths he would go to for her.
Suddenly feeling very tired, Naruto Shunshined straight to his room, where he discarded his jacket and took off his leather harness and his belt that held most of his pouches. Moments later, they were joined by his gloves and leg holster and he kicked off his shoes, remembering at the last second to take them out to the door.
Yawning, he left his room only to stop mid-stride at the sight that greeted him. On the kitchen table was several bowls of ramen, and what appeared to be a cake. Sitting around the table were Kurenai, -as expected- Anko, -as expected but hoping against- Genma, Asuma, and Konohamaru.
As one, the table's occupants turned to look at him. Kurenai was the first to break the silence. "There you are. I was starting to think you'd miss supper." she scolded slightly as she strode over to him and wrapped him in a hug. "Congratulations, Naru-chan." she whispered in his ear as she squeezed him tightly.
"Yeah, yeah, the brat managed to pass those lame exams. Can we eat now?" Anko whined from her spot on the counter, kicking her feet irritably.
Asuma muttered something that caused Genma to burst out laughing, even as Konohamaru rushed up to Naruto excitedly. "Way to go, Naruto! I knew you could do it! What was the Genin Exam like? Did ya have to fight a tough ninja? Ooh, or did ya have to outsmart one of the Anbu?"
Unfortunately, Naruto had years of practice in ignoring Konohamaru's chattering. The kid had started pestering him almost from the day they met, always begging him to teach him something, or help him with his shuriken practice, or pleading for Naruto to tell him about his "awesome adventures" and what it was like being a "hero" of all things.
In short, he had annoyed Naruto on a regular basis for the last six years.
Naruto glanced over at the table as he gave Konohamaru some vague answers. Oddly enough, the boy seemed to take that as "it's a secret" and stopped asking what the test was like.
Meanwhile, Genma offered him a smirk and a "Good job, kid." while Anko complained about the cake being too small for her to hide in, and how Kurenai was being stingy for not letting her give Naruto a "private dance" whatever the hell that meant. The fact that she was running her hands up and down her body as she said that however, got a mixture of disgust from him, while causing his blood to flow places that he'd rather it not go, especially because of Anko.
Still, as he sat down to his ramen, Naruto couldn't help but smile wider than he had in a long time.
He had wanted to spend a meal with Kurenai in celebration…but with the exception of Asuma's presence, this wasn't all that bad either.
Putting the night's events and the upcoming team placements out of his mind, Naruto concentrated on his meal and enjoying what could be his last peaceful night with Kurenai.
After all, he was a Genin now, and the danger and difficulties were only going to get worse from here on out. Thinking about his possible new Genjutsu, Naruto smiled slightly. Whatever the future held, he'd be ready for it, and he'd meet it head on.
Translations
Konohagakure no Jutsu=Hidden in the Tree Leaves Technique. Or to Naruto, Hiding in the Tree Leaves Technique. The irony of this still kills me.
Hana Yakuotoshi= First word is flower, second is Escape from Evil or exorcism. (That flower petal escape thing she does in the anime, I made the name up.)
Magen=Demonic Illusion
Kokuangyo=Journey into Black Darkness(technique used by the Shodai/Nidaime in the Manga/Anime respectively.
Nii-sama=Highly respectful way of saying brother
Nii-san=Polite way of saying brother
Imouto=Little sister
AN:And that is chapter sixteen. Hanabi will probably call Naruto Ni-san, unless I find a good reason not to. She's basically known him all her life. Next, Naruto's outfit is basically Leon Kennedy's from Resident Evil 4, minus the guns and gun accessories. It always confused me as to why so many authors have Naruto instantly accept and believe Mizuki when he tells him about the Kyuubi. After all, the guy is trying to kill him, has already lied to him, is saying that everything the village kids have been taught about the Kyuubi was a lie, and Jinchuuriki are apparently not a widely known topic in Konoha, seeing as how no one in Naruto's generation knows anything about them. So shouldn't he have at least some disbelief? And on the subject of the Genin Exam, despite the way I have Naruto react to it, the academy makes sense to me based on my own military training in that you have to pass each individual part, like say, convoy operations, the pt test, mounted weapons etc, before doing the final "test" which is a field training exercise that combines all the things you've already done. In the Naruto verse, this would be the Genin Test administered by the Jounin. Anyway, updates will probably remain slow due to my whole deployment thing.
Well, let me know what you think. Remember, all reviews, criticisms, etc. are welcome.
Peace, Vaan.