DISCLAIMER!: I DON'T OWN NARUTO! Thought you'd know by now...
(A/N): OK guys here we are at chapter 35. This ones going to be about the time before the fight at the bridge, so climax of the ark starts tomorrow! We are going to focus on the other characters than Naruto in this one too, training and all.
Once again, SORRY about no chapter yesterday, had to help people with stuff.
But enough excuses, TO THE STORY!
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Chapter 35: Down Time
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Everyone looked at her in disbelief. Kiba openly gaped. "How is that possible?!" He half yelled half asked. Hinata just shrugged. "I don't know. For as long as I've known him he has been a quick healer."
Sauske growled. "When he wakes up, I'm gonna get him to tell me how he got this strong. I won't let that Dobe be better than me."
. . . .
Everyone looked at Sasuke as he got up and stalked out of the room. He went out the front and slammed the door behind him.
Kiba smirked. "Looks like the emo has his panties in a bunch." Sakura turned to him and smacked him in the back of the head. "Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that!" Kiba growled as he rubbed the back of his head. "The fuck is wrong with you, you bitch!"
Before Sakura could hit him again, Kurenai stepped in and cut them off. "That's enough! I understand that you guys are exhausted and short tempered after that, but don't take it out on your comrades!" SHe said as she scowled at the two. They bowed their heads in embarrassment. Akumaru whinned at his master and Kiba rubbed the top of his head. "Sorry, Kurenai sensei." He said. "But seriously, how was Naruto able to stand up against a guy like that? Sure he was the second place in the Academy, but he wasn't anywhere near that good before."
Kurenai sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I only know this because I'm friends with his mother, but, he had a agreement with his father that he wouldn't show off too much in the Academy. His training sessions with his father, from I've seen, are hellish."
Hinata also took the time to put her two cents in. "He also where's very strong resistance seals. They make it harder for him to move and are a way to constantly train while going about day to day activities." She said with a somewhat inspired tone.
The other Genin shuddered at the thought of having to train like that. Well, everyone but Shino, who just raised an eyebrow. Kiba shook his head and whispered something, but it was too quiet to hear. Sakura had an uneasy look on her face. "Does that mean Naruto is stronger than Sasuke-kun?" She thought. "CHA, OF COURSE NOT! NO ONE CAN BE BETTER THAN SASUKE-KUN! HE WAS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!" Inner Sakura argued. "But wasn't Naruto supposed to be the Rookie of the year? Sasuke only did better than him in the written exam. They both had perfects in all of the other exams, and Sasuke-kun couldn't make Kagebunshin Like Naruto..." Outer Sakura countered. Inner Sakura actually didn't have counter for that and was silenced.
But before Sakura could continue with her inner debate, Shino put in his opinion. "Kurenai-sensei, what exactly was that red chakra Naruto-san was using. My Kikai bugs were severely agitated by the flux of power it gave and forced them away from Naruto-san's location."
Kiba and Sakura looked at Shino with an eyebrow raised. "Red chakra?" They said at the same time. Hinata fidgeted for a moment, "I-I also saw Naruto-kun use some sort of red chakra...What does that mean? I've never seen anyone other than him with two different chakra's."
Kurenai's eyes widened as she heard this. She began to worry about Naruto. If his seal was breaking, my kami help them all. She hadn't noticed when everyone stopped talking and began looking at her. She snapped out of her worry and shook her head. "That's something Naruto needs to tell you, not me." She said. "Excuse me, I need to go check on Sasuke." She excused herself before anyone could continue to question her.
The four Genin that were waiting for an answer were disappointed. Kiba huffed. "Tsk, even Kurenai-sensei, won't tell us. I guess I'll have to join Sasuke and have that Dobe tell me what the hell is going on." he growled.
Hinata scowled at her teammate. "Kiba," she scolded. Kiba visibly flinched and Hinata continued. "Naru-kun would tell you if he wanted. He is badly injured right now and I won't have anyone treat him badly while he heals." She then stood up and went towards Naruto's room to check on him.
Shino also looked at his teammate. "I concur with Hinata-san, I believe if Naruto hadn't stepped up to fight Zabuza, then one, if not all, of us could have been killed." He too got up, but went outside. Kiba scowled. "Since when did Shino become friends with him?"
Sakura continued to debate with herself as she got up to go talk to Hinata.
. . . .
"Damn that Dobe! How the hell is he that strong! I can't let him be better than me!" Sasuke growled as took his anger out on a nearby tree. Kurenai walked up behind him and put her hands on her hips. "I never thought I would see one 'all powerful' Uchiha, throwing a hissy fit because he isn't better than someone who works themselves to death on a daily basis!" She chided him. Sasuke turned with a intense glare. "Oh? And what would low born trash like you know?" He said with a 'holier then thou' tone. Kurenai sneered at the child. And then she did something that neither of them expected.
She back handed him.
Sasuke fell to the ground with a split lip and his eyes wide. He looked up at her and she went off on him. "YOU NEED TO GET OVER YOURSELF!" She exclaimed. "I WILL NOT HAVE A GENIN UNDER MY AUTHORITY TALK DOWN TO ME LIKE A CHILD! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO REPORT YOUR INSUBORDINATION TO THE HOKAGE HIMSELF. IF YOU DO NOT FIX YOU ATTITUDE SOON, SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET HURT, AND WHEN THEY DO IT WILL BE YOU THAT IS BLAMED!" She then promptly turned with a agitated sigh and marched back into the house.
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Sakura walked into the room where Hinata was taking care of Naruto. "How's he doing?" She asked in quiet voice. Hinata looked up from where Naruto was laying down. She looked her in the eye and Sakura could easily see the sadness in her eyes. Hinata looked back down. "H-he's doing better. His breathing has calmed down. A-and most of his cuts have healed. He just has the broken bones and chakra exhaustion to worry about now." She said in a quiet tone, her voice with a slight quiver.
Sakura got a sad look on her face. She could see the slight shaking of Hinata's shoulders. "You really like him...don't you?" She said, her voice barely a whisper. Hinata stiffened for a moment, but relaxed and slowly nodded her head. "Ever since we first met..." She mumbled, almost to her self. "He...he..He was always there, ever since I could remember. He's always smiling and laughing. I was so shy when I was younger, but he always had this way of getting me out of my shell. I looked up to him for the longest time. As someone I could aspire to be, following behind him, doing things the way he would. Over time it became more than just admiration...I...just hate seeing him like this...hurt...and...and not able to smile. It just breaks my heart." She said as she began to sob.
Sakura smiled sadly. She put a comforting hand on Hinata's shoulder and just let her cry it out. Once she began to calm down she softly said to her, "I'm going to go check on the others, why don't you come with me. We still have a job to do."
Hinata slowly nodded and wiped her eyes. They both got up and walked back to the living room.
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Kurenai waled beck into the house and gathered the Genin, except Sasuke who was still outside seething over being disciplined. "Alright team listen up, I've got some bad news." She said and instantly got the their attention. "As it stands, that nuke-nin, Momochi Zabuza, is still alive." This got a gasp out of the Genin, save Shino, and caused their eyes to widen.
"But Kurenai-sensei, how is that possible!? He was killed by that hunter nin!" Sakura exclaimed, in a almost...fearful...tone. Kurenai shook her head and looked to Kiba. "kiba, you want to be a Hunter nin, why don't you explain what a Hunter is suppose to do once they kill their target."
Kiba paled instantly and gulped. "T-There suppose to cut off the head and destroy the body as soon as they are killed. Just touching or moving the body can be considered treason." Kurenai nodded. "And that Hunter nin not only touched the body, but made off with him." She eyed the reactions of the genin and noticed that Sakura was starting to shake and Hinata was giving worried glances to Naruto's room. "But, I think that he is in about the same boat as Naruto, with all the injuries and chakra exhaustion he had. So I think we have about a week to get ready for his next attack, and this time I believe he will have backup. We don't know anything about that Hunter nin, so keep on your toes."
After she finished talking Sasuke decided to come back inside. He had a somber look on his face and was surprisingly calm. Kurenai got a smirk on her face and continued. "But, for the mean time, we train. Sakura, Sasuke, do you know the tree walking exercise?" She asked. When she received a negative response she went through her head for ideas. "Arlight, Shino, I want you to help these two learn tree walking while Kiba works on Water walking. I'll be following Tazuna as his body guard, and I want you, Hinata, to watch over Tsunami and Inari." She saw her team nod and sighed in relief. She had just about enough drama for one day. "Ok then, we'll split into night shifts-" She was interrupted in mid sentence by a force coming up form the ground.
"That won't be necessary Kurenai-sensei, I think me and the other clones can handle that." The Naruto clone said as he came completely through the ground. "The boss made us five with a little more chakra than normal so we can keep going as sentries for a few days. Oh, and before I forget, one of the other clones who had Zabuza's sword got popped by his friend. Sorry, but they got his sword back." The clone said while he scratched the back of his head.
Kurenai sighed. Him having that sword back would be a challenge they were going to have to face. But she just smiled at the clone. "Alright then, while we sleep you guys can keep watch." The five clones saluted her in a comical fashion as they fazed back into the ground, earning them a giggle from Hinata and stifled snort from Kurenai.
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. . . .Zabuza's hideout. . . .
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"Now to remove the bandages..." The Hunter nin said as he went to remove Zabuza's bandages. But before he could touch them his wrist was caught by the 'dead' man. "Don't worry Haku, I've got it." Zabuza said to the now named Haku. He then proceeded to unceremoniously rip out the senbon from his neck with a slight grunt.
"Hey now, be careful or you might actually die." Haku said with a teasing tone in his voice. Zabuza shook his head and laid back down. "I swear you can be more brutal with those senbons then I can be sometimes." He said to his underling. "So, how bad is it?"
"Well besides the fact that you got your but kicked by what appears to be a twelve year old," Haku teased and got a low growl from Zabuza. He just sighed and gained a serious tone. "Your left forearm is fractured and you have some extreme nerve damage. You won't be able to move properly for about a week, and even then you won't be at a hundred percent. And besides the minor cuts and gashes you obtained, you have some pretty bad chakra exhaustion. I don't know why though, you only used the Kirigakure no Jutsu and Suiryudan." Haku listed.
Zabuza grunted. "The exhaustion is from that little bastard in the shades with his bugs. I think they have a Hyuuga, a Inuzuka, a Aburame, and what appears to be the last Uchiha loyal to Konoha in the peanut gallery. That pink haired girl is no threat, but that sensei is a bitch with her Genjutsu. And that damn blonde! That kid is no Genin, no way no how. At least a high Chunin. Plus those swords he was using weren't normal. I had to make sure to channel chakra into Kubikiribocho and my kunai to make sure he didn't just slice through them." He grumbled. Haku perked up for a moment. "Oh, and speaking of your sword, I was able to intercept the clone that took and got it back."
Zabuza chuckled a bit. "Good job Haku, at least that little shit didn't get a total victory out of this."
Then a new voice came in. "I would like to know, how in the flying FUCK did Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist, get the ever loving SHIT kicked out of him by a little fucking brat!?" The voice came from a rather small man as he walked into the room. Haku growled at the small man. "Do not speak to Zabuza-sama that way filth."
One of the mans bodyguards (Thugs) reached for his sword while saying, "You wanna die ya peice of-" He was cut off however when he saw his own sword pressed against his neck. "Do you?" Haku said coolly to the thug, giving him the same question. The small man shook his head and glared at Zabuza. "Zabuza, I swear if you fail me again you won't see a single ryo for me, or the next sunrise." When he finished he turned and left out the door. One of his guards casually followed while the other tried to get out as soon as possible.
Haku huffed at the man. "Zabuza-sama, I don't like working for a piece of...filth...like him." Zabuza just sighed. "Gato has a lot of money. Money we need. And as soon as this jobs done we won't need money like that for a long while. So just bare with it." He said as he laid his head back down and drifted off to sleep.
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. . . .Tazuna's Home. . . .
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The next day the two teams woke up to the sounds of cooking food. Kurenai was the first to wake up and offered to help Tsunami help cook for the group but she told her she didn't mind, and that she liked to cook for large groups of people. Once everyone made it down to breakfast, it was painfully obvious no one had a good nights rest. Kurenai sighed and Tsunami looked to the peal eyed girl and noticed the sad look. Once Tazuna made his way down and turned to Kurenai and asked, "How's the blonde kid doing?"
Kurenai shrugged. "I'm no medic but I think he might wake up today." Tazuna nodded his head and sat down with an audible grunt. "Kids too young to be gettin' himself hurt like that..." He mumbled. Kurenai caught that but let it go. Personally, she agree with him. Naruto and the rest of the Genin here were much too young to have to experience this kind of experience, but, they were Shinobi. They would have to face these situations all the time in the future and needed to be prepared for when worst comes to worst.
As they ate Inari came into the room with a somber look on his face. He ate in silence and walked back up to his room, but not before taking a glance into Naruto's room. The boy shook his head and walked to his room.
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After the meal Kurenai walked outside and had Shino start showing Sasuke and Sakura how to do the tree walking exercise. Surprisingly, Sasuke was rather quiet about the fact that he had another Genin showing him how to do something. Maybe Kurenai's little outburst to him brought him down a few pegs and opened his eyes a bit. She had Kiba work on his water walking, and since Hinata already knew both techniques and was the only one with medical training, was left to take care of Naruto.
Kurenai turned to Tazuna. "Well, I guess were off." Tazuna nodded and lead her to the bridge.
After Shino explained how to do the exercise, Sakura had it down pretty well. She was able to walk up to a high branch on the tree without a problem. Sasuke on the other hand had a little more trouble making his way up the tree, but was progressing.
"Remember, too much chakra will force you off the tree and too little will make you slip. Find the right balance and keep the current of chakra steady." Shino explained to Sasuke after he was propelled from the tree. Sakura turned to Shino and raised an eyebrow. "You know Shino, I think you could make a good teacher." Shino raised an eyebrow as well and responded, "Hm, I might look into that. It would give me more time to study my hive." Sakura only gave him a shaky smile and went to go sit down.
Before she got too far Shino stopped her. "Sakura-san, while you are able to walk up the tree, why don't you keep going until you are low on chakra. THis method will help you master the technique as well as improve you small chakra reserves." She would of tried to turn down the idea if Sasuke had not nodded at her to keep going. She let out a small sigh and went back to climbing.
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Back at Tazuna's house Hinata was removing Naruto's bandages with Tsunami's help. The older woman looked at Hinata with a sly smile. "So, is mister blonde and injured your boyfriend?" She said in a teasing voice.
Now, this Hinata may be much more confidant, but there were still limits. She blushed furiously and stammered. "A-a..N-n-no! I m-mean..not yet...w-wait!" She babbled in embarrassment. Tsunami giggled at the girl. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to be a tease. But you do seem close to him."
Hinata looked away with a heavy blush. "Well, he is most likely my only friend..."
Tsunami chuckled and then looked down at the unconscious boy. She frowned a bit when she saw his eyes twitching and moving underneath his eyelids. "Either he's dreaming, or he's going to wake up soon."
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. . . .Mindscape. . . .
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"Dammit! How long is this going to take!" Naruto yelled to no one in particular. Kurama sighed as he shook his head at the hype blonde. "Listen Kit, not only did you take some heavy damage, you used an imperfect cloak for a good amount of time. You might of mastered two tails by now, but that doesn't mean you can use an imperfect cloak without consequences. Just hold tight, you'll be awake in few more hours, why don't you get some actual sleep till then." Kurama said in a half way irritated tone. Having an impatient Naruto hangout with him while he was trying to focus on fixing his injuries was just a tad annoying.
Naruto sighed. "Fine, but I won't like it!" He said as he began to fade out of the mindscape. "You don't have to like it, JUST GET OUT!" Kurama roared to his leaving host. Naruto just lazily waved him off as he faded out. Kurama huffed. "I swear, if the Gaki wasn't there to raise him, he would be a real piece of work...He'd probably wear neon orange clothes and never stop talking." He mumbled to himself.
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. . . .Real world. . . .
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About two hours later, Naruto slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a sleeping Hinata laying on his chest. He smiled weakly. "I'm back~." He playfully whispered in her ear.
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(A/N): AHH...OH MY GOD...That took me like all day to write!
But whateves. So Ummm...some land marks! We hit 50 reviews and 50 follows over the weekend! THAT'S AWESOME! Oh and 10000 views as well, but whose counting. *cough* me *cough*
But anyway you guys are great! So remember to REVIEW! And as always, I'll see ya next time!