Captain Blues: Wow, for someone who just came back to Naruto, this fic got such a warm reception. Thank you so much! Here is the second chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it. Also, a small change to the Naruto pairing. Tsukino has been replaced by Fū in the little harem. I just like her better lol. Now let's start!
Champion of the Dark Moon
Chapter One: Welcome Home
"It feels so good to be home," Kakashi said with a subdued tone as Team 7 walked through the gates back into Konoha. Naruto wished he could be as happy as his teammates looked, but as he felt the glares of the villagers at the mere sight of him, the crushing weight of loneliness grew heavy against his chest.
He was genuinely alone once again.
"Why don't you guys go head home for the day while I submit our report?" Kakashi softly suggested.
"Awesome. Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed before she turned to Sasuke, only to see him already far away. Naruto had seen him practically sprinting away before Sakura could ask him on a date. Normally, he would have laughed but now? Naruto could not even summon up a pity snort.
"Aww, he's already gone…." Sakura glumly sighed as she started to walk away.
"Naruto…Why don't you go get some rest too? You look beat up," Kakashi kindly suggested. Naruto was surprised that Kakashi had remained to be honest. He was used to everyone just walking away from him after their team assignments were over.
Naruto had no words for the silver-haired man, so he merely nodded and walked away, his head bowed and his hands in his pants pockets.
As he trekked back home through the village where he was born and raised, he could feel the oppressive gaze of everyone around him, and the expression of sorrow began to crack through his attempt at a mask.
Why was it so hard to keep the mask on this time?
Before he left Konoha, the jester's mask was rooted firmly on his face to the point where he wasn't sure if that mask was his true self. After being treated like an average person and then as a hero in Wave, it felt so much more soul-crushing to return as the pariah.
If only Haku had…
Naruto shook his head.
He had to not think about her.
Haku was gone, and he could not allow himself to break into the street. He could not let them see it. He could not let them win after years of this cold war. But the more Naruto walked, the more the weight in his chest began to weigh him down.
He had finally gained love only to lose it without any final words between them. He had gone from Zero to Hero and then back to Zero.
Naruto could see his vision blurring as tears began to fill his vision.
He was going to break.
Naruto could not allow himself to break here. Naruto ducked into an alleyway, slid himself against two large garbage containers, and began to sob heavily.
"Hey…Are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice asked, which caused Naruto to look up.
Kakashi was shaken.
He was seconds away from finishing his battle with Zabuza when Haku appeared. He had known of this girl from Naruto, who had boasted about her. Kakashi was unaware that she had worked with Zabuza. He was unaware that as his hand plunged into her chest, he had essentially doomed the girl his student loved to her death.
As he stared into her sad, brown eyes, all Kakashi could see was Rin. He was reliving a nightmare. First, he killed his deceased best friend's crush, and now his student's first love. He had once again taken away the love of someone he cared for.
"Why?" Kakashi breathed out with an aghast tone.
"T-Tell…." A tearful Haku whispered out as she gripped his forearm, blood spilling from her mouth. "P-Please…Tell Naruto-kun that I…I love him…And I'm sorry that I-I failed…To see him…a-agai..n…."
"So Naruto found out the most dangerous rule during this mission," Sandaime sighed.
Kakashi snapped out of the memory and then solemnly nodded, the guilt tearing away at his heart. Why was he destined to rip away those that others loved? "Since then, he had been on the verge of breaking down," Kakashi explained. "It was bad in Wave, but before I sent him off, he looked as if he was unable even to move…."
"To become a beacon of hope in Wave to Konoha's Exile once again is a stark whiplash to him," The Sandaime softly explained as he tapped the ash from his pipe. "This Haku girl was the only one to show him a love he had never obtained, and now she is gone, and he has returned to being alone…It is truly suffering for him…."
"Then why do we keep allowing it?" Kakashi asked with a rare burst of frustration. "If you had let me adopt him as I originally wanted to, he wouldn't be going through this."
"You know why I couldn't let you adopt him, Kakashi," The Sandaime replied. "It is the same reason I did not allow Jiraiya when he requested it. You were leading ANBU as its captain during that time, and I needed you at the helm, and you were already so young…."
"And what about now? If I ask again?" Kakashi asked.
"You know as well as I do what my answer will be. I would deny it as you are Naruto's sensei," The Sandaime said. "I understand how guilty you feel, Kakashi, that you were forced to kill the woman your sensei's son fell in love with, but we can't keep retreading this ground every time Naruto goes through this…He is a shinobi, and he will get through this. Understood?"
Kakashi let out a harsh sigh but acquiesced
"I will give you the rewards for slaying Momochi Zabuza and his accomplice along with another mission," The Sandaime handed Kakashi a scroll. "It is a simple mission. Escort Shibuki and his bodyguard back to Takigakure no Sato."
"A mission so soon…When do we leave?" Kakashi questioned.
"Two days from now after our accord finishes," The Sandaime said.
Kakashi bowed.
The first thing Naruto noticed about this girl was her eyes.
They were as orange as the sun when it was setting, but as he looked at her more, he began to take stock of her. This tan-skinned girl was petite and wore an orange clip in her short, layered mint green hair that matched her orange irises.
She also wore a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armor underneath, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it. Naruto then noticed that she had a Hiate-Ite on her right bicep of an emblem he had never seen, and she also carried a cylindrical object in red wrapping on her back.
"Hey, you hear me in there?" The girl asked as her smile grew.
"W-What?" Naruto stammered out.
The girl knelt before him and answered him with, "I said, 'Are you okay?' and I've yet to receive an answer."
"I'm okay…." Naruto cautiously replied.
"Hmm, I knew you would lie. Shibuki does this too. Why do boys always have to hide things like emotions?" The girl questioned with a pout before her smile returned. She grabbed his arm and lifted him off the ground as she said, "Come on, this is no place for tears."
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked her with a confused tone.
"I am going to take you out to eat. Can't be sad on an empty stomach, I always say," The perky girl said while she dragged him out of the alleyway. "I just found this awesome beef shop! Akimichi's Beef Bowl, I think it was called?" The girl asked herself before she shrugged and said, "You live here, so you should know the place. Come on!"
"H-Hey, wait a minute," Naruto stammered out as he followed her against his will. "I don't even know your name!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Name's Fū, and today, I'm going to be your shoulder to cry on!" The girl said with a bright smile.
The Jackrabbit was one of the top Shinobi bars of all Konoha due to the atmospheric air, and the smooth jazz music played in the background. The Jackrabbit gained its name after the first ANBU captain of Konoha, who retired and made this bar a hangout spot.
And that is where Hatake Kakashi sat. In his usual spot with the typical bartender, who coincidentally enough was the father of his student, Haruno Sakura.
"Another round of Shōchū, Hatake-san?" Haruno Kizashi asked with a friendly smile.
Kakashi looked up at the bartender and held up two fingers. The bartender nodded and began to work on two glasses of alcohol for Kakashi. Kakashi stared at the counter and swiftly downed the glass of Shōchū before he set the glass down and stared at the bottom of it. "Can I also get a Green Tea fireball?" Kakashi asked.
"Of course, Hatake-san," Kizashi answered as he prepared the drink. "So…What brings you here today?" Kizashi questioned.
"A rough mission," Kakashi answered softly. "Student fell in love with a village girl. Village girl worked for the enemy. I inadvertently killed the girl…."
"That sounds horrible…I know it couldn't have been Sasuke as my daughter would have had a fit," Kizashi said as he placed two medium-sized glasses in front of Kakashi and then placed a tall glass with a frosted edge. "And I know it would not be Sakura, so it was Naruto, I am assuming…Poor kid…."
"Yeah…" Kakashi said as he downed the two smaller glasses first in rapid succession.
"He has had a time of it…He's hailed as a hero in Wave, you know?" Kakashi told the man. "Comes back here…No love, no friends…Not even a parent…It's no life for him…."
"I agree. It makes me feel horrible about how I treated Naruto when he was small…" Kizashi said with a tone filled with regret. "How could I have been so stupid?" He asked.
"A lot of the village was an is," Kakashi said. "It's just an unfair life, and now I took more away from him…" Kakashi then guzzled down the large glass of alcohol and then placed the glass down said, "Another round Haruno-san."
Kizashi nodded and began to work on another trio of drinks.
It was going to be a long night for Hatake Kakashi to work through the incredible guilt he felt, but he was going to do it.
One drink at a time.
"Come on, keep up, slowpoke!" Fū happily exclaimed as she dragged Naruto by his right wrist.
"Why are you so fast?" Naruto asked.
Fū looked back at him as a giggle left her lips. "Lots of weight training," Fū boasted as she skidded to a stop, which caused Naruto to bump into her back. "Ta-da, we're here!" Fū exclaimed as they stood outside the Akimichi Beef Bowl restaurant.
The Akimichi Beef Bowl Restaurant was one of the most well-known restaurants in all of the shinobi land. The Akimichi Beef Bowl has at least several restaurants in its home country of Hi No Kuni, two in Sunagakure no Sato, five in Kumogakure no Sato, and several in miscellaneous villages.
Fū saw an unsure look cross Naruto's face. "I'm not sure If I can enter in there…" Naruto softly admitted.
"Really? How come?" Fū asked him with a tilt of her head.
"I'm not allowed in most places in this village," Naruto answered with a slightly bitter tone.
Fū frowned at the answer.
There was something hauntingly familiar about that tone.
She shook her head and let a smile form on her face as she smacked both hands on his shoulders. "Well, no worries about that. You will get in no problem. I'll make sure of it," Fū told him cheerfully.
Despite his unsure expression, Naruto nodded, which made Fū grin and retook his wrist and pull him into the restaurant.
Once they were inside, Fū stepped to the maître d' and said, "Hey, table for two!"
The maître d', an overweight-looking man with short brown hair and red swirls on each cheek, gave Naruto a look that Fū recognized and immediately snapped her fingers to make the man look at her. "Oi! Look at me. Not him. This is my guest, and I'm treating him here. Any issues?" Fū angrily asked.
"Unfortunately, he is not welcomed in this place," The man answered, clearly intimidated by her.
"I don't give one fuck about that," Fū countered. "This guy is my friend, and I want him to eat with me. Either let me do that or prepare for me to kick your ass!"
"V-Very well…Right this way," The maître d' stammered as he quickly rushed away.
"Come on," Fū said as she pulled Naruto along until they were led to their table.
"The waiter will be with you shortly," the man said as Fū and Naruto sat down across from one another.
With a nod from Fū, the man left.
After a minute of glaring at the retreating figure, Fū turned to Naruto and said, "That guy, what a jerk, eh? Ah well. So blue eyes, tell me why you were crying earlier."
"It's…" Naruto began.
Fū quickly interrupted with, "Wait, before we start, I never got your name. How rude of me. As I already mentioned, My name is Fū from Takigakure no Sato. I'm here on a mission with my village leader," Fū said as she held out her hand.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto replied as he reached over and took her hand with a slight shake.
"Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun," Fū said happily. "Now, what put you in so much pain that you would cry in the middle of the alleyway like that?"
Naruto sighed and answered her with, "It's a long story…And it's a little personal…."
Fū tilted her head with a frown and said, "I can get that. There are times when I am feeling down and don't want to get it out. Well, how about we talk about other stuff? Likes, dislikes, things like that. Like me, my dream is to have friends all over the world."
She watched a small smile appear on Naruto's face. "That's all?" he asked.
"Yeah. I grew up without friends or family, y'know? So I figured that being an awesome kunoichi would be a nice follow-up dream but waking up to people that love and care for you would be a better dream," Fū explained cheerfully. "So, what about you, Naruto-kun? What is your dream?"
"My dream…." Naruto whispered, and it was then she saw Naruto's eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"M-My dream was to be the Hokage," Naruto told her, his bottom lip trembling as a tear fell down his face. "Y-You see, no one in this village likes me…Never had...Maybe never will. But that was my dream. But then I went to Wave. And now, I-I don't even know…What I…."
Naruto finally broke down and began to cry.
"I m-met someone who showed me an f-future filled with love and h-happiness, and I believed her. I truly did…" Naruto explained as more tears started to fall.
"Hey…" Fū said as she stood up and walked to him, dragging her chair behind her, so it was right beside Naruto's, where she sat down and took his hand. "Hey, it's okay," Fū softly told him as Naruto bowed his head and began to take deep, shuddered breaths, which Fū knew that he was trying to keep himself from crying.
"I-I was stupid…." Naruto told her, his voice fluctuating as tears began to fall from his hidden eyes. "I-I thought we would have a future…. I thought she would be here to see me become the Hokage. And now all I have of her is her ring…It's all I have of her. I'm such a f-fool…"
Fū felt a pang of sadness in her chest as she watched him place his head against the table and begin to cry. She had no idea that her innocent question was going to cause that dam to break. "I-It hurts so much," Naruto tearfully whispered. "H-How can I make it go away?"
Fū did not answer him.
From what it sounded like, he had lost someone he cared for, and she never had anyone like that in her life.
She had no one.
But this was not about her right now.
It was about the hurting soul that sat beside her.
Fū gingerly leaned on him and hugged him as he sobbed away his sorrow. "I don't know what I can say to make you feel better…" Fū whispered against his neck. "And I do not know if a hug will cheer you up but just let it out. I'll be here to lean on."
She may have known Naruto for a short amount of time, but she was never one to leave anyone sad on her watch, and no matter what happens next, her mission was to make him smile before she goes home.
Captain Blues: So Naruto is crying his sorrows away and Kakashi is drinking his sorrows away. That is the first official chapter and the start of the Naruto/Fū part of the harem. What will happen next? Only one way to find out!