A/N Right! just one more chapter after this and that's the prologue!
We're jumping ahead a lot, just enough to show the turning points/significant moments in her life.
I really haven't got much to say so I'll just let you read on.
~Prologue – LOSS OF A BROTHER
4 years later – Valley of the End… Naru aged 16
"Sasuke…" Naru hissed in disgust standing over his kneeling form, "Or would it be more fitting to call you Orochimaru now?" She looked over the pitiful state of a possessed Sasuke. Since he deserted them they were no longer comrades, from the time he almost killed Sakura they were no longer teammates, and after clashing with him so many times Naru wondered if they were still brothers. It was unlikely, as Sai would state the bonds had been shattered, torn apart by Sasuke himself. She'd like to hold the belief that it was due the curse mark that Sasuke had lost the rational part of his mind, but it was only her own desperation. Fuelled by vengeance and power hungry, Sasuke turned traitor. "It's over." The blonde stated with a sense of finality.
"Hn." Sasuke grunted feeling the pain of all his wounds. His cursed form had receded due to chakra depletion and his body was littered with deep cuts and bruises, not to mention a couple of broken ribs and limbs. The battle had been intense and he wasn't the only one that suffered, Naru looked far worse and it was amazing she was the one standing. The destruction of most of her clothes, leaving her barely decent, showed numerous amounts of harsh burns and cuts. Her usually bright, blonde hair was dyed red with both of their blood and she had an obvious limp. Though by far her worst wound was the gaping hole she had received through her heart, which thanks to the Kyuubi, was slowly closing up. "You sure are a persistent pest aren't you?" The possessed Sasuke gritted out, glaring at her with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
"I could say the same to you." Naru spat back, putting as much acid into her voice as possible, "I've chased after Sasuke for roughly four years and when I finally catch him I find trash like you in his place."
"Watch it!" Orochimaru sneered, hoping to drag out the conversation long enough for him to regain some chakra, "I only gained full possession of this body about a couple months back when Sasuke began questioning his decision."
"What are you talking about," Naru scoffed, "That teme chose to go with you willingly." Despite the pain to his vessel, Orochimaru cackled maliciously.
"That may be so," He admitted, "But it seems like the nonsense you would spout at him every time you confronted each other were starting to get to him. After my dear boy killed Itachi and completed his revenge, he was prepared to return to the village and atone for his sins."
"What?" the blonde said shocked. Sasuke would have returned? The thought caused the demon fox inside her to growl.
What are you doing just standing there listening to the snake! He shouted in her mind. Finish him off and be done with it. Naru nodded and pulled out a kunai, too weak to perform any jutsu. It was too late though, Orochimaru had used her naivety to stall for enough time, and was now going through numerous hand seals. Naru growled at her own foolishness and lunged forward only to find her feet anchored to the ground by snakes.
"Kinjutsu – Shitai Kyushu-ho!" Orochimaru reached out his hand towards Naru's abdomen as she struggled but he felt his vessel freeze for a split second. She noticed this and watched as slowly, the hand was drawn back just before touching her. "Dammit!" Orochimaru shouted, "Why can't I control my body?!" Faster than her eyes could follow he began performing a multitude of hand signs, cursing loudly all the while.
"Your body?" The same mouth uttered in an entirely different tone.
"Sasuke-teme?" Naru questioned unsurely. The possessed body gave her one of the famous Uchiha smirks.
"How is it going dobe?" Sasuke replied, "You miss me?"
"You shouldn't be alive!" Orochimaru exclaimed from the same body. It was confusing to watch but by listening to the tones of the voices, Naru knew who was who.
"You didn't think I was going down that easily did you?" Sasuke mocked. During the whole time his hands continued to move, speeding up slightly.
"What are you doing?" the ex-Sannin screeched, "Give me back my body!" Sasuke scoffed in response.
"I hardly think it's your body you thief!" Sasuke replied.
"Does this mean you've got your body back?" Naru asked excitedly only for her hope to diminish as Sasuke shook his head.
"Sorry Naru but –" He was interrupted.
"Tell me what technique you're preforming!" Orochimaru demanded, "I don't recognize the hand seals."
"I bet it's going to be a super powerful jutsu that'll get rid of Orochi-teme, right?" Naru offered. Sasuke shook his head again.
"You should know by now, even if you're a dobe," Sasuke explained, "I'm stuck with the slimy bastard and there is no way to get rid of him." Orochimaru tried to cut him off but was pushed back as Sasuke finished the technique.
"Sorry dobe, but this'll hurt." The Uchiha came towards her and covered her eyes with his left hand while the right finished the last few seals, "Kinjutsu – Ketsueki Iten!"
"What–" Naru managed to say, feeling a warm liquid run over her eyes, before she the pain Sasuke mentioned came. It started as a dull ache in her eyes which only intensified as it spread throughout her whole body. Held in place by the snakes, she bit back a scream, not wanting to show any weakness.
"You're holding up fairly well," Sasuke stated, his breathing laboured. As his hands were removed, Naru was frightened, finding that she couldn't see anything except an expanse of darkness.
"Sasuke, what did you do?" Naru gasped, feeling tears run down her cheek from the pain. She didn't have to wait for his answer as Orochimaru responded for her.
"My eyes!" He cried angrily, "What have you done to my Sharingan!"
"I gave it away." Sasuke told them both, "Naru, I can't hold him back much longer, and you're handicapped with the loss of your sight at the moment." He used her name to convey the seriousness of the situation, "Use this chance to kill me."
"I can't!" Naru answered quietly, "I was prepared to do it before but now you're here I want to save you!"
"You can't!" Sasuke told her the blunt reality, grabbing her hand which clutched a kunai.
"Do it!" He guided her to his throat and Naru gave a sob, "Do it." He repeated sadly.
"Sasuke…" Naru murmured.
Just do it kit, Kyuubi advised, It's his last wish that to die by your hands rather than be supressed by the snake. Naru took a deep breath and steeled herself, pushing back her personal emotions and adapting her mindset to that of a veteran ninja.
"Farewell, my brother, may I see you in hell." She grinned foxily at him before swiping her weapon along his throat. Despite her sudden blindness she felt the spray of warm blood and the smirk of satisfaction directed at her.
- - - - - Mindscape - - - - -
"Kit," Naru sat in her mindscape as she listened to the fox's comforting words, "It's been two days already. How long do you plan to cry for?"
"But, Sasuke…" the girl looked down at her hands which were covered in blood, "I killed him. I killed my brother!" She sobbed and looked around her desolate mind. The walls of the sewer were dyed crimson as she herself knelt in a pool of black liquid.
"I know, but you have to move on. It's in a ninja's line of work and he was prepared for the consequences of his actions." Naru stayed silent while the Kyuubi snuck a tail out of his cage. The furred appendage gently wrapped around the frail looking girl before dissipating in a red mist. "You don't need to hurry," he began, "But you have your important people in the real world worrying about you. At least give them a reason to be relieved." Naru nodded and stood mechanically,
"You right," She wiped her tears away, "I've still got important things to do and there are enemies after me."
"Train," the demon suggested, "It'll keep your mind off things and help prepare you for future battles."
"Thank you." Naru said sincerely, bowing deeply to the fox, "You know, you're not such a bad guy, Kyuubi."
"Kurama," he answered, "I'll give you the privilege of using my name." Naru laughed lightly at his haughty tone.
"Really, you help me more than you know, Kurama." She gave the beast a small wave before returning to the real world.
- - - - - Reality - - - - -
"Hokage-sama, she's awake!" called a young woman's voice. Naru felt strange, she was definitely in a hospital bed with a couple of tubes stuck in her arms but her vision was obscured and all she could see was darkness. She reached out and felt bandages wrapped around her eyes.
"Gaki!" Tsunade shouted, "You gave us quite a scare. How are you feeling?"
"Strange." Naru answered, "What's happened recently?"
"Kakashi found you collapsed at The Valley of the End two days ago with Sasuke dead next to you." The Godaime said grimly, "He buried Sasuke where he died and brought you back to Konoha for healing. As soon as your friends found out they came charging in here like a stampede of wild bulls." Naru giggled softly, she could definitely imagine that, "Of course we can't have that behaviour in a hospital so they were chased out until they could compose themselves."
"Um, Baa-chan," Naru asked quietly slightly worried about her vision, "Why are my eyes wrapped up?"
"We found something strange in them and when exposed to light the muscles around your pupil moved incessantly, causing it to continuously dilate and contract. To prevent this we decided to cover your eyes and let them rest in darkness for a while before exposing them to light again."
"Oh, ok." Naru was confused but trusted in Tsunade's medical knowledge, "I guess I'll just have to make do for now."
"Do you know what could have caused this?" the older blonde asked, "Anything that may have happened during the fight?"
"Actually-" Naru was cut off as the door was slammed open and a group of people stumbled in.
"Naru!" they shouted loudly.
"Shut up!" the Hokage responded hitting each of the teens harshly on the head. "We'll talk about this later," She said to her patient, "For now you should tend to your friends while I get a drink."
"Hai, Baa-chan!" Naru made a mock salute and the older woman left grumbling about rude brats. After she was gone the room exploded with questions, confusing the poor patient who was trying to make sense of it all.
"Maa-maa, guys," her sensei drawled in his lazy tone, "One at a time you're confusing her."
"Thanks." Naru said gratefully, recovering from her dizziness.
"How are you, Naru?" Asked a shy heiress.
"I'm doing fine Hinata." The blonde answered, "Just give me a couple of hours and I'll be back on my feet!"
"Naru-baka!" Sakura hit her teammate sharply on the head, "You need to rest." The pink hair girl was relieved to have her friend back, even if their other teammate was now deceased.
"Of course." Naru replied with a cheeky grin.
"What happened to your eyes?" A certain Nara asked.
"I actually have no idea." She told to group.
"Really," Kiba sounded his disbelief, "But you would've known if you had injured them right?"
"Probably." She shrugged, "But there's no use worrying about them now. I'll just ask Baa-chan for the details later." Everyone accepted the answer and moved onto idle chatter. Ino was sitting on her bed chatting with Sakura as she brushed Naru's hair. Shikamaru had somehow found a shogi board and was playing against Shino, who was apparently, a tough opponent. Kiba, who had snuck Akamaru into the hospital, was talking to Choji about where they should be celebrating her recovery. Naru herself was having an animated conversation with Sai and Hinata, while both Kakashi and Yamato stood by the side to advise everyone.
"I think I've worked out a new form for Rasengan-" she stop abruptly as she felt thundering footsteps hurrying towards them.
"Naru-chan!" Her very youthful friend charged through the door followed by Neji, Tenten and Gai.
"Sorry for the noise!" Tenten apologised being just as loud.
"Be quiet!" Neji scolded them both, "We are at a hospital not a farmhouse!"
"Aren't my team brimming with youthfulness and compassion!" Gai said to Kakashi.
"Hm?" the Cyclops replied even though everyone knew he had heard clearly, "Did you say something?" Gai held his chest dramatically,
"My hip rival, your words wound me."
"Ahaha…" Naru trailed off. She silently thanked Iruka for the sensor lessons she had years ago allowing her to sense Lee and prepare for the oncoming barrage of his youth. Speaking of him, the scarred academy teacher also came through the door followed by a dango-offering Anko. Naru hadn't failed to notice how close the two were recently. It was nice to see the modest teacher with someone so… outgoing…
"Naru, are you ok?!" Iruka was flustered and worried trying to calm himself but failing.
"Brat, here's a gift." The snake mistress shoved the food onto her lap and slouched back into a chair. Next Asuma and Kurenai sauntered in with some get well flowers.
"Thank you." Naru said placing them by her bedside. It's nice to know how many people care for you, Kurama noted. Surprisingly, Naru also noticed three other chakra signals by the door as well as a tiny bit of red hair poking out behind it. "Gaara, you can come out from hiding behind there…I can sense your chakra and you hair's poking out." The room quietened as the Godaime Kazekage popped out from behind the door, his cheeks coloured a healthy dose of red.
"I was not hiding Uzumaki." He denied pouting slightly. His two siblings were with him as well. Temari sneaking glances at the lazy strategist while Kankuro began a hearty conversation with Kiba. "Uzumaki," The other jinchuriki seemed slightly confused, "How did you see my hair if your eyes are bandaged?" The conversations suddenly quietened as everybody thought hard.
"That's right." Iruka stated, "You're able to sense people but you shouldn't have known his hair was poking out." Gaara blushed again, something extremely clear to Naru.
"I-I don't know," She replied startled, "I only just noticed but I can actually see all of you, though everything's grainy because of the bandage I guess?" Kakashi noticed her uneasiness and quickly sent for Shizune who arrived a moment later with the Hokage and Toad Sannin.
"I came as fast as I could and brought Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama!" She stated regaining her breath, "What's wrong? Is she having seizures again?"
"I was having seizures before?" Naru asked. Jiraiya nodded seriously checking over his student's current health.
"Actually you seemed fine when you woke so it slipped my mind," Tsunade admitted, "When you were first brought here you were having some serious fits and kept screaming about your body burning."
"Aah." The young blonde couldn't remember any of that but she had escaped to her mindscape for a while. It must have been subconscious.
"So what's the problem?" Tsunade continued taking a large drink from the sake bottle she was holding.
"Um, I can see?" Naru said unsurely.
"What do you mean?" The medic asked.
"Well, I seem to be able to see again," Naru scratched the back of her head, "And see through the bandages…"
"Are you sure?" Jiraiya questioned seriously, "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"You're not holding any up you damn pervert." The patient replied slightly irritated.
"That's strange," Shizune mumbled.
"Indeed, neither of your parents held this ability so we can't assume you might have 'unlocked' it in battle or something." The slug Sannin said carelessly.
"Parents?" All of her friends repeated the words confused, including the jounins except for Kakashi who had figured it out long ago.
"Oh right!" Tsunade hit her palm with her fist, "I was going to announce it after Naru was released but seeing as you're some of her closest friends it wouldn't hurt to tell. Her mother is Uzumaki Kushina the Red-hot Habanero and former resident of Uzushiogakure and jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox." Naru laughed at the nickname and at the expectant faces of those in the room. "And her father was Konoha's Yellow Flash and fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze." There was silence as the facts were absorbed.
"Eeeeh?!" Everyone looked towards Naru for some sort of amazing reaction from her. She just sat there and stared back from behind her bandaged.
"I've known since I was 9."
"EEEEEHHHH?!" There was more shock as even Kakashi, Jiraiya and Tsunade where included.
"Kurama told me."
Fool, the fox said, they don't know my name.
"Who's Kurama?" Kakashi asked.
"The Kyuubi…" Naru responded meekly. Tsunade held her forehead feeling a migraine coming on.
"Let's handle this one shock at a time. Now, putting aside the fact Naru seem quite friendly towards the nine-tailed havoc raising demon,"
Thanks for the compliment, Kurama said happily,
"And who her parents are, let's see why she is able to see through bandages." Tsunade walked over to her bedridden goddaughter and began unravelling the bandages. Naru shut her eyes and waited patiently for them to be removed. "Ok." Tsunade collected the last bit, "Please open your eyes Naru." The girl did as told and by the gasps she received it looked like there was another shock.
"What is it now?" She asked.
"Sharingan!" Hinata exclaimed pointing at her eyes.
"What are you on about?" Naru scratched the back of her head, "I don't have the Sharingan. In fact I'm pretty sure my eyes are blue." She found her headband sitting on the table beside her and used its reflective surface as a mirror. A pair of familiar red and black eyes stared back at her intensely.
"Sasuke-teme!" She growled out in understanding. It was his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The three pointed, red intersecting ellipses with Itachi's own black, three-pronged pinwheel in the centre finished with a black background.
"Sasuke?" Sakura asked nervously, "What did he do?"
"He performed a forbidden technique." Naru said bitterly, "It was near the end of my duel with Orochimaru who had possessed his body. I was foolish and fell into one of his traps just as I was going in for the kill. Instead he was about to end me with his Kinjutsu – Shitai kyushu-ho,"
"Corpse absorption technique," Tsunade said softly, "It allows the user to absorb the corpse of his foe and all of its abilities, though if they're still alive it only partially works leaving the opponent in a comatose state,"
"Well just as he was about to hit me with it he suddenly pulled back his hand due to Sasuke's conscience returning. Sasuke then managed to hold the snake-teme back long enough to perform another forbidden technique. He called it Kinjutsu – Ketsueki Iten."
"Blood transfer jutsu?" Shikamaru echoed. Jiraiya looked thoughtful.
"Well if he and Orochimaru shared that body he would have had access to Orochimaru's knowledge and may have been able to create some sort of technique for transferring bloodlines." Jiraiya explained.
"Sasuke was struggling to hold back Orochi-teme," Naru said quietly, "It must have been a failsafe plan to stop him from having the Sharingan and most likely his last resort."
"But Sasuke defected to Orochimaru didn't he?" Kiba asked, "Why would he plan for such a thing?"
"Sasuke defected for the sole purpose of revenge," Kakashi explained, "Orochimaru was the only one at the time who offered him enough power for it so he defected from Konoha. It does not necessarily mean that he liked his new master."
"He didn't," Naru answered, "After he accomplished his revenge he was prepared to come back to Konoha and atone for his sins, accept any punishment he would receive for his selfishness." Eyebrows shot up in disbelief and shock, "But the slimy teme noticed this and forcefully took over Sasuke's body." Her voice shook as tears of blood began to roll down her cheeks, "Sasuke-teme only had about 60% of his body under control, which was going down fast. So after he used the technique he asked me to kill him before that snake came back." All her emotion seemed to be flooding back again. "I killed him!" Even Sakura didn't seem as shook up as Naru did. "I can't do it…" Naru whispered, "I-I need some air… I need to train."
"No way!" Tsunade shouted but it was too late, Naru was gone leaving scattered leaves in her place. "Quick, everyone start searching for her! She is in no conditional to even be walking right now. That damn gaki!"
"Hai!" Everyone left the room in search of the missing blonde while Tsunade pulled out another bottle of sake.
"I really need a break." She returned to her office in hopes of using Sarutobi's crystal ball to spot her goddaughter. Meanwhile said girl had disappeared into the forest right behind the Hokage monument.
"Arrgh!" Naru clutched her head as she knelt on the floor, the hospital gown hanging off her fragile form. Her eyes had been activated the entire time and using up her already diminished chakra levels. Just stop the flow towards your eyes. Kurama said helpfully. Naru did just that and her vision returned to its normal state. Nothing seemed crystal clear anymore and she didn't find herself scrutinizing random objects to analyse them. She recovered from her small fit of hysteria and stood tall, shifting into her taijutsu stance before moving through a beginner's kata. Left, left, right, step in, kick, pivot, elbow. She repeated the sequence in her head, her moves slowly becoming more and more intense. Knee, crouch, sweep, grab, throw, her movements flowed from her tired limbs, fist, elbow, pivot, side, punch, left, back, right, thrust, pun- She stopped as her fist was caught. Her eyes trailed up from the gloved hand covering her much smaller one, to the flak jacket belonging to a jounin, to the ever present black mask, and up to his sole visible eye which was staring at her gently.
"Kakashi-sensei," Naru said brokenly, "Why did you stop me?"
"You can't do this to yourself Naru," He said sternly, "You can't blame yourself for what happened."
"I'm weak!" She cried out towards the sky, "If only I was stronger! I-I could've saved him." She was pulled into a tight embrace and her sobs were muffled against the older male's chest.
"Shh," He patted her head, "You did what was needed. You did what he asked of you and you did it with the pride of a ninja."
"But-" Naru tried to push him away but Kakashi proved much stronger.
"Do not waste the last chance Sasuke's given you," As the silver haired man spoke he felt his student tense in his arms, "You accomplished his last request and he would be proud of you. All you need to do is take a step forward. You're not alone." His words struck a chord in her heart and Naru cried out all her grief, with her own tears and not the blood of Sasuke's eyes. "It's alright now." Kakashi mumbled. Naru leaned into him feeling drowsiness come over her as her tears dried up into quiet sobs.
Kit, Kurama said softly as he sat in his cage, you were never alone. Naru nodded feeling safe and gave into sleep.
"Mmm…" Naru shifted in her sleep wrapping her arms around a strange source of warmth. It wasn't soft but hard, though not unpleasant. She tightened her grip and wriggled closer.
Uh kit, the fox tried to get her attention. What is it? Naru asked sleepily. You might want to open your eyes and see what that source of warmth actually is…Naru obediently opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a black-clad chest. Huh? Just light the night before her eyes travelled up and she found herself face to face with her masked sensei.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked mischievously. Naru looked at their position slightly mortified. All the shifting and wriggling she did somehow landed her on top, practically straddling the Hatake.
"Aah!" She quickly scrambled off him and onto the far side of the bed, noting she was still in her hospital gown. "What happened?" She said trembling lightly. Kakashi chuckled, his student was just so cute and innocent sometimes.
"Well-" He was cut off as the doors burst open and everyone who was in the hospital room yesterday burst in.
"Kakashi!" Tsunade yelled furiously, "Why did you not enlighten us that you had found Naru yesterday? We were searching for her all night!" She seemed to finally notice the girl who was hiding under the covers on the same bed as said man. Everyone followed her eyes and immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.
"Hatake!" Yelled a frightening Iruka, "I'm going to castrate you." Gaara quickly hurried over to Naru's side ignoring the fact that his sand had formed deadly spears aimed at the odd eyed male. Hinata and Neji were out for vengeance with their Byakugan activated while Gai and Lee were sobbing about the unyouthfulness of the situation. Sakura was cracking her knuckles along with her master and Shizune was mumbling about trying out a new poison. Tenten had pulled out her scroll full of pointy objects and was making a target for his lower regions. Kiba, Sai, Choji, Shino and Ino stood shock still while Shikamaru was formulating some sort of plan. Kankuro was just plain confused but his sister had whipped out her fan. One look at Kurenai sent him shivering while Asuma looked at him with pity. Even Anko had it out for him and Kakashi was pretty damn sure it was just because she wanted to see some bloodshed. Jiraiya looked the most confused, having his inner pervert want to congratulate the soon to be deceased Hatake and his guardian side wanting to be part of the murder.
"I'm just going to say this now," Kakashi said clearing his throat, "I didn't do anything." His hands were held up in a sign of defence.
"It's true I guess." Naru explained, "I was a bit hysterical and Kakashi-sensei helped me calm down. He really didn't do anything." Everyone calm down and her friends began gushing over her. Kakashi stood to the side, observing the blonde young woman with a warm look in his eyes. You'd have to be blind to miss the sheer adoration and love in them, but Naru was never the most observant person.
A/N And that's the end of that chapter.
I hope none of you are too put off by the sudden gaining of the Sharingan, but it will be necessary for her future interactions with the Uchiha.
Here's some jutsu info;
Name: Shitai Kyushu-ho (Corpse Absorption Technique)
Classification: Kinjutsu
Rank: S-rank
Class: Supplementary/Offensive
Range: User must make contact with target
Summary: A forbidden jutsu created by Orochimaru. It's meant for use on a corpse to absorb the victim's body and thus their techniques and skills. An affinity for every element can be gained this way but it cannot pick up bloodlines. When used on a living person they are only partially absorbed, draining most of their chakra and a chance at leaving them in a comatose. Obviously, takes more effort to perform the attack on a living person.
Name: Ketsueki Iten (Blood Transfer)
Classification: Kinjutsu
Rank: S-rank
Class: Supplementary
Range: User must make contact with target
Summary: Made by Sasuke Uchiha using Orochimaru's extensive knowledge. It transfers the bloodline of the user to its designated target through blood. In the example of Sharingan, Sasuke let his blood flow over Naru's eyes, blinding her for a short amount of time as her body adjusted. After using the jutsu the user will no longer be able to use his bloodline, and there will be no traces of it in their body, as if they never had it.
And that's it. I will be doing a short description of new jutsu after each chapter.