Chapter 12: Fixing What is Broken
Hey everybody. Thanks for the reviews I really appreciate them. Before more people ask, yes I did take the name Shadow Sneak from Pokemon. I couldn't think of a more appropriate name for the technique I described, so I don't own the name, just the way it was used last chapter. I'm hoping to use it as a launching pad for Dark Impulse and most of Vanitas's techniques. If anyone knows the name of that technique where he creates the dome and clones rush out please tell me, otherwise I'm just assuming it is Dark Splicer.
We're gonna have a bit of a time skip in this chapter, so enjoy.
Winter was due to arrive in Konoha and Naruto was nervous. With the holidays just around the corner he needed to buy gifts for Iruka, Anko, Kurenai, and something for Hinata, something good enough for Christmas and for her birthday.
For Anko, he got her a personalized set of throwing knives named Foudre: Each knife from the set had a cross shape with spikes on the end of tip. One of the spikes is elongated and acts as the blade of the knife, while the other three act as the grip. The base of the blade was cyan and the blade itself was bright yellow. The other three spikes were a slightly paler shade of yellow and each had a cyan tip; these two colors faded into each other, unlike the clear color separation present in the blade. These knives would return to Anko when she summoned them.
Kurenai was a little more difficult to shop for, but he found something he was sure she would like. When Kurenai was teaching Naruto the basics of genjutsu he had asked her what her favorite genjutsu was. Her answer had been Magen: Jubaku Satsu; a genjutsu passed down since ancient times in Konoha. She told him that the user first disappeared from plain sight in a mist-like fashion in order to approach the target without being detected. Once close enough, the target would then be completely robbed of their mobility as they see the mirage of a fast-growing tree coiling itself around them. Once the target is immobile, the user could then attack the enemy, usually after emerging from the trunk of the tree. Kurenai had told him that it was a useful technique for gathering information because the target remained conscious.
Until now Kurenai had used a kunai to interrogate and attack the enemies she trapped but Naruto thought that she could look more intimidating with what he got for her. Naruto bought Kurenai a scythe named Graceful Dahlia. The handle of the Graceful Dahlia was long, pastel green, and curved. There were two small, gold rings near the top of the handle; a small, black section at the base of the handle; and an equally small, gold section just above that. The main blade was curved, rose pink, and had black under edges. There was another, vaguely oval-shaped blade attached to the top of the handle. This smaller blade was also rose pink with black edges. The two blades were connected by a cross shape and were white with gold and dark rose pink edges. The overall design of Graceful Dahlia gave it the appearance of a plucked flower; its pink blade even resembled the pink petals that many dahlia flowers sport. Naruto thought that it would work well with Kurenai's favorite jutsu. The scythe could be thrown and summoned.
For Iruka, having run out of ideas, Naruto bought Ichiraku Ramen coupons (Teuchi and Ayame said the purchase was Naruto's gift to them). He was sure Iruka would like them; they both loved Ichiraku Ramen after all.
As for Hinata; Naruto wanted to get her something that let her know just how much she meant to him. Anko had a few suggestions, but Naruto thought that those ideas could wait a few years. Iruka had suggested something to go with Hinata's element, but Naruto didn't think jutsu scrolls were good enough. Kurenai had the most helpful suggestion of all; she told Naruto that Hinata's mother had once owned a violin, a violin that had been lost after the Hyuga Matriarch had died. Naruto knew how badly Hinata missed her mother so he decided to get her a violin. On his way to pick up his gifts for Anko and Kurenai he came across an odd shop that sold instruments. It was odd because the shop was practically out of stock. Hoping the ANBU tailing him was nearby Naruto entered the shop. As Naruto was looking around he came across the owner, a woman in her 80's.
"Are you a customer or are you just browsing?" she asked, apparently not recognizing Naruto.
"That depends, do you have any violins?" Naruto asked.
"You're a lucky boy, a violin is all I have left in this store," the owner told him.
"Yeah, I was wondering about that," Naruto said, more to himself then to the woman.
"Are you a ninja?" the woman asked.
"I'm training to be one," Naruto answered honestly.
"Years ago, long before your time mind you, there were ninja who could use musical instruments as a medium for ninjutsu and genjutsu. Now I hear that there are those who use instruments to cast genjutsu, but the last one to use a musical instrument to perform ninjutsu was the late wife of Hyuga Hiashi, some say she could make water dance for her while she played," the woman explained to Naruto.
"I never heard that part of the story but I am looking for a violin for Hiashi-sama's eldest daughter," Naruto told the woman.
"Oh yes, the violin, let me go get it," the woman said disappearing into the back. The woman then reappeared with an aged, blue violin and bow in hand and then said, "This is violin came into my possession a few years ago, I am afraid that I don't have the scrolls that explain how it works."
"It's beautiful, Hinata-chan will love it, how much?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Normally I would charge 20,000 ryo, but I think I could bear to part with it for 1,000 ryo," the woman said.
"That's quite a drop, are you sure?" Naruto asked, rather shocked that he was getting such a deal.
"Quite sure, you're actually doing me a favor, I said I wouldn't close the shop until all the inventory was sold and now I can," the woman said in all seriousness.
"Thank you very much," Naruto said handing over the money.
"No thank you," the woman said. She went on to say, "If you really are giving that to the Hyuga heiress then the scrolls that explain how an instrument like this works should still be at the Hyuga Compound."
"Hinata-chan will love it, thank you," Naruto said leaving the shop.
Even though the Winter Break quickly approaching, Naruto and Hinata's routine didn't change: train with Anko in the morning; go to the academy; supervised independent training in the evening. Things had gone rather well for the two of them over the last month-and-a-half.
Hinata had been honing her variation of the Jyuken; she discovered that she could form mini barriers around her opponent's tenketsu, so that even if her opponent tried to force them open, their chakra would be contained and then forced back in by the barriers.
Naruto had been trying to increase his repertoire of jutsu but without an official jonin instructor or jutsu scrolls he wasn't able to progress very far with the primary elements. He understood perfectly well why Anko or Kurenai wouldn't teach him advanced elemental jutsu; as an academy student he shouldn't be too strong otherwise the genin squads would be unbalanced. He also understood that Iruka couldn't teach him anything extra without being accused of favoritism, and potentially losing his position as an academy instructor. Fortunately for Naruto, nothing was stopping him from creating Mu, Light, and Dark jutsu.
Through trial and error he discovered that he could manipulate the dark matter in and around objects and cause them to levitate, the objects in question being pebbles; he could even send them flying if he wanted to. He had attempted to do that to himself, but he couldn't get more than a centimeter off the ground and only then it was for a few seconds. Naruto thought that if he learned to properly manipulate the wind he could make himself fly, but that was an experiment that he figured could wait.
For his dark jutsu, Naruto figured that he could expand on Kurouzu and Shadow Sneak, but he believed that he could do more Eventually this led to Naruto discovering how to cloak himself in darkness and form it into a cocoon with him at the center. He wasn't sure what to make of this technique just yet, but he was sure he could put it to good use.
As for light jutsu, Naruto was focusing on improving Rakuhouha. He believed that he could improve the range and destructive power while ensuring that the projectiles still flew off in all directions; unfortunately he wasn't sure how to do it. Naruto was convinced all he would have to do was gather more light chakra into his fist when he punched the ground, but he would need to be alone to test this theory or else someone could get hurt.
All things considered, for a pair of academy students, both Naruto and Hinata were doing quite well.
It was the last day before break and Naruto was getting antsy. He and Hinata had just started his morning training with Anko and Kurenai, and Naruto was eager to give Kurenai her gift. It was understandable really; Naruto had never had anyone to give gifts to before and he was excited and nervous. Once the group of four realized that they only had a half-hour left before class started, Naruto decided now was as good a time as any.
"Kurenai-sensei," Naruto called to get her attention.
"What is it Naruto?" the red-eyed jonin asked.
"Since I don't know what your plans are for Christmas, I want to give you your gift now as thanks for everything that you've done, for me and for Hinata-chan," Naruto told her as he handed her a scroll.
"Naruto, you didn't have to get me anything," Kurenai told the boy, but she was touched by the gesture all the same.
"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. Go ahead unseal it!" Naruto urged her excitedly.
"You sealed it in a scroll?" Kurenai asked, finding that odd, but following the boy's instructions all the same.
"I couldn't find a box the right size," Naruto said.
"Naruto I hope you didn't go to too much trouble for this," Kurenai said as she laid eyes on the beautiful scythe.
"When I saw that scythe I instantly thought of your favorite jutsu, the Magen: Jubaku Satsu. That scythe is called Graceful Dahlia," Naruto explained. He went on to explain the extra features of the scythe.
"Naruto, I'm not normally a violent woman but believe me when I say I can't wait to use this," Kurenai said before giving Naruto a kiss on the forehead as thanks.
"I was hoping you would like it," Naruto said, sporting a small blush.
"Hinata, hold onto this one and never let go," Kurenai told the young kunoichi hopeful.
Hinata's only response was to squeak and turn red.
Class was pretty much a free day for the students, with the break coming up most of them wouldn't focus on the lessons anyway. Naruto and Hinata sat with their friends and discussed their plans for the break. More accurately, Kiba was talking about what he and Akamaru would be doing over break and the rest were listening to be polite, although Naruto seemed distracted.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Choji asked.
"Am I boring you?" Kiba asked, slightly offended.
"No I was listening, but something has been bothering me, and it has been bothering me for the past two months," Naruto told his friends.
"Troublesome, you aren't thinking of reaching out to Sasuke again are you?" Shikamaru asked.
"No, Sasuke has made himself quite clear: He doesn't want any friends, but in Konoha, a ninja without friends is a ninja without power. I just hope he learns that before it's too late," Naruto told the group. He went on to say, "I am bothered by something related to Sasuke though."
"Which would be?" Choji asked.
"It just doesn't feel right not seeing Ino and Sakura leading his fan club the way they did months ago," Naruto said.
"Sakura is afraid to speak in front of Sasuke and Ino is worried about Sakura, this will resolve itself eventually," Shino told Naruto.
"I guess, but I like to fix things," Naruto said getting up to invite the two girls to join them. Luckily the two kunoichi hopefuls were off on their own when Naruto found them. "Hey Ino, Sakura care to join us, it isn't fair that Hinata-chan is the only girl in our group," Naruto greeted.
"Okay," Ino said, not sure of what to make of the invitation.
Sakura just nodded her head.
"You know," Naruto said as he and the girls joined up with his friends, "we've been classmates for what seems like forever but we never talk."
"Sorry," Sakura said.
"Yeah, sorry," Ino said.
"You don't have to be sorry; it's not really that big of a deal. I actually invited you two to join us because I'm worried about you both," Naruto explained.
"What do you mean?" Ino asked.
"Sakura doesn't say much anymore and you seem to be upset about something too Ino," Naruto told the girls.
"So, you've changed, why can't we?" Ino asked, getting defensive.
"It's not the same, I changed because I matured, or at least I like to think I did. Not because someone yelled at me or because I'm too prideful to help or even admit that I'm worried about my friend," Naruto countered.
"Sasuke yelled at me," Sakura said, as if the memory was a form of torture.
"He's yelled at everyone at least once; what you need to watch out for is when he starts being nice to you, that's when you know you're in trouble," Naruto said trying to get a laugh out of the pinkette. When he saw that it wasn't working he said, "Look Sakura, I invited you over to let you know that we're here for you. Ino, I know you have your pride but you still consider Sakura your best friend, you need to show some support."
"Maybe you're right," Ino said.
"Thank you, Naruto," Sakura said.
"So, do you two still think Sasuke is the greatest?" Naruto asked.
"Uh yeah," Ino said as if the answer should be obvious.
"Yeah, Sasuke-kun is the greatest," Sakura added. "Anyone with eyes can see that," Inner Sakura chimed in, not that anyone could hear her.
"Great, that means you two can go fawn over Sasuke with the others," Kiba said, hoping to get them to leave.
"Ah, you're right, let's go Sakura," Ino said.
When the two were out of earshot Naruto asked, "What are the consequences of what I just did?"
The collective sound of "Ugh" from his friends was the only reply he got.
When class was over Iruka escorted Naruto and Hinata to the Hyuga Compound. Upon their arrival Naruto decided to give Hinata her gift.
"Hinata-chan, I got something for you, I just hope it's good enough for Christmas and your birthday," Naruto said.
"Naruto-kun, you didn't have to get me anything," Hinata said.
"Maybe not, but I wanted to let you know just how much you mean to me," Naruto told her, handing her a scroll.
Hinata's face heated up from that comment. She opened the scroll and unsealed its contents. When she saw the violin she looked like she couldn't believe that it was real.
"Otou-sama, you need to see this!" Hinata yelled in a louder voice than Naruto had ever heard from her.
"Hinata, is something wrong?" Hiashi asked as he came out to the courtyard, Hanabi following close behind.
"Naruto-kun brought Arpeggio back to us," Hinata said in a voice that was full of happiness.
"Naruto-san, where did you find this violin?" Hiashi asked, as he went to take a closer look at the violin.
"A music shop in the village was selling it," Naruto told them.
"There is no doubt in my mind, this is Arpeggio," Hiashi said, as if daring anyone to disagree.
"Otou-sama, what is Arpeggio?" Hanabi asked.
"After your Kaa-sama died, a servant lost your mother's violin. It was your mother's most prized possession," Hiashi told his youngest daughter.
"Nee-san, can you play it?" Hanabi asked.
"A little," Hinata said as she went to test how it sounded. As she played, some of the water in the pond near the dojo started to move as if it were alive. The water formed into an eighth note the size of an average four-year-old.
Hiashi, upon witnessing what the water was doing, looked as though he would burst with pride. "Naruto-san, I know this was a gift for Hinata, but thanks to that gift it feels as though you have made my family whole again. If there is ever anything you need, do not hesitate to ask," the Hyuga Head told the blonde.
"Thank you Hyuga-sama," Naruto said, unsure of how exactly to respond.
"Oh right, your gift," Hinata said, just now remembering Naruto's present. Running off in the direction of her room she returned with a small stack of jutsu scrolls. "I thought you would find these useful Naruto-kun," she said simply.
"I know I will, thank you Hinata-chan," Naruto said. With that, he and Iruka headed home.
Christmas had arrived in the Namikaze house and Naruto was eager to see how Anko and Iruka would like their gifts.
"Merry Christmas Nee-chan, Nii-chan," Naruto said.
"Merry Christmas Naruto," Iruka and Anko replied.
"Open my gifts to you first!" Naruto said excitedly.
Iruka upon seeing the coupons told Naruto that he couldn't wait to use them.
Naruto felt the need to explain Anko's gift. "I figured that you deserved a personalized weapon of your own Nee-chan, and I heard your aim is practically perfect," Naruto said. He went on, "That set of knives is called Foudre, and they're like Graceful Dahlia in that you can summon them back to you. I was told that they work best with lightning jutsu though."
"That won't be a problem otouto, thank you" Anko told him, as she embraced the young boy.
Iruka and Anko got Naruto books on fuinjutsu and gentjutsu, and Naruto couldn't have been happier. For all three of them, it was the best Christmas ever.
Yes it's a Christmas chapter in the middle of November. Well, some people wanted me to introduce more of the various weapons of Organization XIII and Naruto giving them as gifts seemed as good a way to do it as any other. I turned Arpeggio into a violin; credit for that idea goes to AnisoulJ93, but also because I can't see anyone in the Narutoverse using a sitar. Disney and Square Enix own the weapons.
The main reason I wanted to skip ahead was because I want to get to the Forbidden Scroll soon, mostly because I'm running out of original ideas. I still have ideas, but those are more deviations from canon than an original story arc.
Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, read and review.