I've been thinking about it, and I will say this: I like Hinata. I've liked her since her first appearance in Naruto. However, there has been several stories of her and Naruto already, and the NaruHina pairing has already been dubbed canon. In the 458th Universe, Naruto probably has no interest in her. At the same time, I'd like him to have some relations with women before finally deciding to go for Ayane. Journey to Now will not end with Naruto ending up with someone. JtN will not be the end of Naruto's story. I may not even have him marry since love is weird. I may even have him enact an Uzumaki Act that will require him to rebuild the clan. However, it's hard to do so since people view harems in a bad light, the School Days series, for example, is the epitome of a horrible one. Unless it's High School DxD, To Love-ru, or an Isekai series with a good plot, harems are pretty much seen in a very bad light to most readers.
I had to watch Bloom Into You, the P3 Movies, and Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai to get a good grasp on Naruto's side story of love that, I will say again, won't end in Part 3.
I also forgot to mention that the headphones Naruto uses are a pair of earphones he designed himself that is based on the Audio-Technica model ATH-EM700 SV.
For now, I'll go with how I feel until I figure things out.
OP1: Overwhelming Vivid Days by Nanami Yoshi
Gatō's Main Hideout
A monster!?
"He took them like we were nothing! He was definitely a monster, no...he was more of a demon than a monster, with the strength to rip flesh and break bones. I haven't stopped shaking since I got here."
"I see." With a hand gesture, Gato has some of his men kill the thug. "Double the guards for each hideout, and get me some more men, ones that aren't afraid of this "monster."
The next day...
Tazuna's House
Entering the kitchen, Naruto, carrying a bucket of catfish along with a few carrots and herbs, and a sack of fresh apples in hand says good morning to Tazuna.
"Is that catfish? They're not native to the Land of Waves. How did you get them?"
"Met a travelling merchant..." said Naruto. The food he just brought in were some things he stole from one of Gatō's ships while he was destroying his shipment of drugs. After letting out a yawn, Naruto tells the woman he'll handle the cooking, wanting to cook a seafood stew he thought of perfecting.
"Really? Thank you, Naruto."
"Though I will need help from your son to cut the vegetables." Inari is called in by his mother to help the blond, who silently nods and starts peeling the carrots while the blond cuts the catfish open to remove the guts.
"You can stop with that "I'm not scared" act. What's the point in doing so? Someday Gatō's gonna kill every single person living here." Naruto said nothing as Inari looks at him and tries to get him to react to what he just said. "You act all calm like you can beat Gatō. But strong guys like the ones he owns are always too much for people weaker than they are. They'll destroy you." Again, Naruto said nothing as he focused on cooking. This angered Inari who demanded he say something.
[Music Start]
[Persona 3 Spring of Birth OST - Pure One Heart]
"Do you love your father?" Hearing this, Inari was confused as to why Naruto asked that question. "Answer..."
"Of course, I've looked up to him ever-"
"Do you love this village? Its people? Your mom and your grandfather?" Inari tells the blond he loves them all before Naruto asked him, "Then, if they were all threatened to be destroyed tomorrow, would you be willing to lay down your life for them? Like your father?" Inari's eyes widened when Naruto got serious and asked those two questions.
"If you care for them just as much as your father did, you should be prepared to protect them with all the strength you've got, even if it means risking your life for theirs," Naruto told the young boy, who was left speechless. "You can't always stay in that room of yours and cry forever...If you're going to cry Inari, save it for when your village is finally free from Gatō. Before that, try standing up to them with your own two feet planted firmly on the ground for once," Having said what he needed to say, Naruto grabs the vegetables Inari peeled and cut before putting them in the pot to cook them.
"Thanks for your help. I'll take care of the rest."
[Music End]
Later
Only Naruto's seat was empty as everyone had lunch at the table, Tazuna wondering where he went, Tsunami telling him he just finished cooking and left with some stew to eat alone.
"Does that boy ever socialize with others? I mean he's your teammate, but he spends his time alone."
"I'm sure he has some friends in our village, with whom he spends time with. However, I've yet to see him actually socialize," said Kakashi. "He's a very secretive person who tends to show others his sarcastic and uncaring side. That personality of his, I think, is a way for him to have others open up to him before showing his caring side. You may not like him at first, but once he unravels and speaks how he feels, all that animosity goes away...although that's just my hypothesis."
"He is...quite a complicated boy."
Unnamed Forest
His back rested against a tree, Naruto works on a dark-purple headband by himself, a rare smile on his face.
"Hey, Naruto?" His smile immediately fades as soon as he heard Sasuke's voice. Looking over the tree behind him, Naruto saw his teammate approach. Quickly, the blond puts away the headband before the Uchiha sees it. "Shouldn't you be training in case Gatō and his goons decide to attack?"
"I should, but I'm on break." This didn't sit well for Sasuke, who told him if they weren't ready, they could die on the mission. "I am aware of that. I will train in an hour. For now, I'd like to sit back and do some me time. It's selfish, yes, but as long as I manage my time, I will be fine. You need to learn how to take things slow, like me. If you just devote your time to train, it'll drive you nuts sometimes."
"You're unbelievable..."
"What about you? Once you finish training, what else is there to do for you time? Other than brooding?" asked Naruto, the Uchiha not having an answer, being backed in a corner. "You may have worked hard to be the ninja you are now, but once the battles are no more, what's left for you Sasuke Uchiha?" Looking down, Sasuke contemplated Naruto's question. What was left for him after his revenge was done?" Before Naruto could suggest something, Kakashi arrived.
"Sasuke, shouldn't you be working on controlling your chakra?"
"I would, but I'm...stuck. And Naruto here is just slacking off."
"Sasuke...Naruto already knows how to control his chakra." This reveal surprised Sasuke, who refused to believe it. With a sigh, Naruto focused chakra on his feet as he runs all the way up to the tree he was sitting against, leaving the Uchiha speechless.
"There's your proof," said Naruto, who then jumped down, landing safely on his feet. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to knit- I mean go do some training of my own." He almost revealed what he was actually planning to do. Saying nothing, Naruto leaves. Well, he would've, if Sasuke hadn't stopped him by calling his name.
"What is it now?" To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke asked him for help with controlling his chakra.
"Me? Help you? Hmmm...I guess I'll finish that headband later..." It was either help him or let Sakura do it. "Very well, I can help you out." This brought a smile to the Jonin's face as Naruto followed Sasuke.
Night
Sasuke makes it halfway up the tall tree, marking it before making a backflip and landing safely on his feet.
"You're getting better. I think by tomorrow morning you'll make it to the top," said Naruto.
"Well, it's 6:00 pm, I should help Tsunami make d-"
"Naruto..." Turning around, Naruto looked surprised when the Uchiha thanked him for his help. "I've never been one to receive help from others when it came to training so...thanks."
"You're welcome Sasuke...I overheard you talking about me with Sakura, back in the academy." Sasuke's eyes widen when Naruto told him he heard his conversation with Sakura back at the academy. "I never expected to hear those things from your mouth. You're...a pretty good guy when you're not all frowns and glares..." After Naruto finished, Sasuke formed a small smile on his face and told the blond, "Never thought I'd hear those words coming out your mouth."
"Everybody gets one."
Later
During the night, Naruto went out on his own as he surveyed a thug hideout from a large hill. From the looks of it, Gatō had doubled his security. Luckily for the blond, the pencil-mustached drug dealer wasn't smart enough to put guards on top of the hideout. Summoning his bow, the blond shoots a rope arrow across the hideout and ziplines across, landing quietly on the roof.
With his kunai, Naruto created an opening for him to enter. As he made his way down, he used his bow and his kunai to silently take out whoever was unlucky to be in his sights. Finally, he made it to the safe room.
"This is it..." Checking the lock, he puts his ear against it as he figured out the safe combination. After hearing a click, Naruto smiled to himself as he opens the safe. Entering, he found himself surrounded by Gatō's fortune, though only a fraction of it. Taking out several scrolls, Naruto gathers them up as he stores them before pocketing the scrolls. Finished, Naruto goes back to where he entered to leave. Next, he interrupted a drug operation at another hideout, massacring the mercenaries there and burning all the drugs. For the next 3 nights, after helping Sasuke with his training, Naruto went on with his one-person crusade, stealing and killing. On the side, Naruto would distribute the food and money he stole to the villagers in need of it.
Gatō's Main Hideout
"Why haven't you caught this guy!?" Gatō angrily shouts.
"We're trying, but...he's on a whole other level than us," said one of the mercenaries employed by the drug dealer. "If this village has someone like that after us, we're dead!" Already steaming mad, Gatō orders the mercenary's death. Right after, they heard screaming outside. Rushing out, Gatō and his men saw Naruto slicing up the drug dealer's men, using one of the katanas he took from one of them. Finished, Naruto swung the weapon to get rid of the blood on the blade before turning his attention towards Gatō.
"Gatō, your end has come. All your money is gone. Your drug operation, done. Now, you'll be done." Before the two mercenaries Gatō's with can do anything, Naruto hurled two shurikens, hitting them in the head, instantly killing them before they could hit the ground.
"Wait, stop! Just let me go! I'll stop dealing drugs, I'll-" Before he could finish, Naruto starts laughing out loud.
"That is funny. You, promising to stop dealing and start changing. Do you think someone like you can change? You've done crimes that have made you irredeemable. There's no chance in hell you're getting out of this." Before Naruto can attack Gatō, he finds himself surrounded by thousands of ice needles.
"What?" Quickly, he avoids a majority of them, a few hitting his arm. Haku, masked, appears in front of Gatō, who asks the girl what took her so long to arrive.
"I was looking over Zabuza. Whoever you are, you have nowhere to run." Observing his surroundings, the blond genin noticed that the grass around them was wet. Following this, Haku manipulated the water to form ice spikes from the ground, hoping to impale the blond Genin, who quickly avoids them. Haku goes in pursuit of Naruto, manipulating the water to form into a floating sphere to follow her, using it to fire ice needles at him.
The back of Naruto's right leg gets hit with a few of them, the blond reacting in pain as he falls from the tree he was on and onto the ground. Quickly recovering, Naruto avoids another flurry of ice needles before lunging at Haku, holding a kunai in his right hand. Haku quickly grabs him by his kunai hand and throws him over her shoulder.
Naruto lands on his feet as he skids back and throws his kunai at her. Haku uses the water sphere to form a wall of water to stop it. Naruto smirked as the kunai is revealed to contain three explosive tags wrapped around the handle, blowing up with enough force to send the masked ninja flying back, hitting a tree. To his shock, the Haku he fought turned out to be a water clone. Turning around, the vital parts in Naruto's right left and left arm are hit by the real Haku's senbon, preventing him from moving and using his left arm.
Haku rushed at Naruto with a kick, the Genin narrowly avoiding it before performing a backflip to create distance between him and his opponent. He painfully but quickly pulls out the senbon then avoids three more from hitting him. From the way Haku was throwing them, Naruto concluded that she was aiming for vital parts of his body that prevented him from moving. As long as he pulled the needles out, his healing factor would repair the damage, though it wasn't immediate since his left arm and right leg felt very numb and tingly.
Appearing in front of the blond, Haku performs an elbow strike on him, who catches it in his left hand, wincing as he did. Right after, she spun kick him with her right leg, hitting his left cheek. As Naruto tried to go in for a right hook, Haku quickly caught his hand with her left one before using a senbon in her right hand to stab into a vital part of his right arm, numbing it before spinning her body around, appearing from behind, and using quick strikes to hit him in the vital areas on his back and legs, forcing him on his knees. From her attacks alone, Naruto knew he was against someone who was equal to him in skill.
As Haku went in for another strike, Naruto grabs her by her mask-covered face and slams her to the ground, injuring her a bit. She manages to recover quickly enough to avoid a right punch from Naruto that leaves a sizeable crater in the ground, surprising her as she puts distance between herself and the Genin.
"Damn, I was hoping that would connect," said Naruto.
"For a mere Genin, you're good. No wonder why Zabuza had some trouble with you. Who taught you?" asked Haku.
"None of your business," said Naruto. "For a ninja like yourself, you could do any other job that didn't require working for an asshole like Gatō. You could be a force of good. Why work for him and Zabuza?"
"I don't work for Gatō. I'm loyal to only Zabuza."
"Is that so...Let me rephrase that question: Why work for Zabuza?"
"...Because he saved me." This answer surprises Naruto as Haku goes on with her answer. "Because of him, he gave me a reason to live. I may have my own dreams, but as his partner, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect him, whether it involves fighting, killing, even dying, to fulfill it."
"A dream...huh...I may not have an idea of what dream I'm striving towards, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find it."
"If things played out differently, we could've gotten along."
"Maybe..." Preparing himself, Naruto anticipates Haku's next move as she appears in front of Naruto, left fist drawn. She had hoped that her attacks from earlier would slow the blond down, only to find out Naruto hasn't slowed down at all as he moved to the side to avoid the punch before performing an elbow kick that struck her in the chest, cracking two of her right ribs as he sends her crashing into a tree. Despite the numbness in his left arm and both legs, as well as the injuries he sustained on his back, he moved like it was nothing. Clutching her right side, Haku painfully got up, narrowly avoiding a spin kick from Naruto that destroyed the tree behind her.
"He shouldn't be able to display strength like that in his condition!" Appearing above his opponent, Naruto shouts, "Moonsault Slash!", as he performs a front-somersaulting slamming kick. When Haku cross blocks it, with some trouble, Naruto uses the momentum from the first kick to twist in the air and launch another front-somersaulting slamming kick, breaking her defense and leaving a large diagonal scar on her chest as she reels back in pain.
"You...were holding back when you fought Zabuza..." Haku told the blond as she clutched her wound in pain.
"I had teammates to care for and a client to guard. I couldn't go all out, could I?" Naruto admits, kneeling in pain after. The last attack was supposed to kill her. With the strength that was available to him, this was all he could do. Right now, he was running on fumes as he made his escape. Haku tried to go after him, only to fall on her stomach, clutching her wound in pain. Using her Kekkai Genkai, she formed ice around the wound, screaming in pain as she covered it with ice. This was only temporary until she went back to Zabuza.
Naruto was heavily panting as he tried to make his way back to Tazuna's. However, Naruto fell on his stomach, landing on a flowerbed as he passed out from his injuries. Returning to Gatō, the man himself asked Haku if the ninja was killed. Haku tells him while he wasn't killed, he should be close to dying, bringing a smile to his face.
"Excellent, what would I do without you and Zabuza? Now no one can stop us from killing the bridge builder."
"Us? From what's been happening for the last few days, it's obvious you don't have enough money to keep Zabuza and I under your command," said Haku, who then told him that as soon as Zabuza was healed, she and him would leave Gatō, making him panic.
"Wait wait wait! What if I doubled the pay!?"
"With what money?" Gatō tells Haku that if she and Zabuza kill the bridge builder, he would pay them double the amount once he gets his operation back on track. "...I'll consult with Zabuza on this." Finished, Haku left. Hours later, Gatō's loyal guards, Waraji and Zōri enter, wondering what he needed them to do.
"I need you to go after the bridge builder's daughter, take her as a hostage. If anyone tries to stop you, kill them."
Dream?
Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself lying in the middle of an underground complex, with pipes running along the ceiling and various hallways. As he gets up, he noticed that the floor was flooded with a shallow layer of water.
"Where...am I?" Naruto asked himself.
"Naruto!" Turning around, the Genin sees Rin trapped in front of a large cage with several bars in front of her that prevented her escape.
"Kujou-senpai?"
"Naruto, thank goodness you're awake. We have to hurry. Gato's men are on their way to kill the bridge builder as we speak. The cage I'm in is preventing me from using my chakra. If you can just-"
"You're not Kujou-senpai." Rin has a confused expression on her face as she asked Naruto why he'd think that. "The real Kujou-senpai would remain calm in any situation and figure out a way to free herself. And if she was here right now, she would have come to me right away to let me know she's here," Naruto explained before narrowing his eyes at Rin's impostor. Having been found out, Rin lets out a laugh that slowly becomes demonic as she dissolves into red chakra. Soon after, a pair of large, red demonic eyes make themselves known as Naruto's eyes widen a bit.
"If I knew I was going to be face to face with the Kyuubi inside of me, I would've suggested you kept that Kujou-senpai impostor."
"It's useless to feign that bravado of yours. I can sense your fears, puny human..."
"So what? You can't do anything to me as long as you're inside that cage." The Kyuubi snickered as Naruto raised a brow, wondering what the Kyuubi was smiling about.
"What makes you think that I can't do anything to you while I'm trapped in this cage? After all, I already did it once." This made Naruto's eyes widen.
"What do you mean by-"
Unnamed Forest
Before the blond could question the demon fox further, he finds himself awake. Getting up, Naruto's body ached all over from the injuries he sustained during the last fight that had yet to completely heal. Despite this, the Genin managed to stand on his feet.
"Not fully healed, but I can manage...What time is it?" Checking the time, he saw it was 11 in the morning. He slept for 8 hours?
"I should head back to Tazuna's. By now, only Tsunami and Inari are home." He should prepare an exaggerated explanation just in case Kakashi and the others questioned where he was and what he was doing. As he made his way to Tazuna's he noticed a dead boar on the path ahead and checks on it. It had several slash marks on its body. Looking at the blood on the ground, and the way it was splattered, whoever killed it, swung the sword to rid the blade of the boar's blood as he made his way to Tazuna's. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto picked up the pace as he made his way to the bridge builder's house.
Arriving, Naruto saw Gatō's men preparing to kill Inari, the boy standing up to them as Tsunami was forced to watch as the two samurais prepared to execute the boy. Appearing in front of Inari, Naruto disarms Waraji and Zōri before using their own katanas to kill them. Turning around, Naruto asked the boy if he was okay.
"Y-Yes...I'm fine...Did you..." Naruto nodded his head yes to answer. "I see..."
"Tell me what happened?" Inari tells the blond Genin how Waraji and Zōri came to their house, busting the door open and demanding Tsunami to come with them. Inari was originally too scared to protect his mother as they proceeded to take her away, but after remembering Naruto's words, the boy wiped away his tears as he bravely told the men to give back his mothers. Right after, Naruto appeared. With a small smile, the blond genin told Inari he did good protecting Tsunami, telling him how Kaiza would be proud of him. This brought the boy to tears as he thanked the blond.
"I'm sorry Naruto. I know you told me to save it for when my village is finally free-"
"It's okay to cry now Inari...After all, your mother is safe thanks to your intervention. If you didn't stand up to them, I wouldn't have been able to make it in time," Naruto assured as Inari let's out all of his tears. "Stay with your mother. I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"Since these two came all the way here to take your mother, Gatō's prepared for the endgame." Before he can turn around and rush to his team, Inari stops him, thanking him for coming to the rescue, and to go save his grandfather. With a smile, Naruto nods as he turns around, katanas in hand, and runs all the way to the bridge.
Unnamed Incomplete Bridge
Entering the battle, Naruto observed what was going on. Kakashi was currently engaging Zabuza in combat as Sakura stood in front of Tazuna, kunai in hand. As for Sasuke, he was facing the girl who almost killed him. At the moment, Sasuke was having a hard time, being trapped in a jutsu that involved several mirrors made out of ice, and several senbon needles. Seeing an opening, Naruto rushed in as he swings one of the katanas at Haku, cutting her mask. The Uchiha was surprised by Naruto's entrance, the blond asking if he was okay.
"Peachy...Where the hell were you?"
"I overslept," Naruto joked. Sasuke tells Naruto he was full of shit as he's handed a katana.
"You know how to use that?" Sasuke only smirked as he and the blond went back to back to prepare for Haku's assault. "What do you know about this technique?"
"She uses mirrors made of ice to trap you in here while using senbon to overwhelm you or accurately hit your vital parts. The mirrors can't be melted with fire release techniques, and when you pinpoint her location, she can quickly move to another mirror."
"I see, how long have you been facing her?"
"8 minutes," Sasuke replied. Right after he answered, Sasuke and Naruto start deflecting several senbon directed at them by Haku, narrowly avoiding the needles they couldn't block with their katanas.
"Given the number of mirrors around us, it must require a large amount of chakra to maintain it," Naruto informs his teammate before blocking a strike from Haku, Sasuke preparing a downward strike with his sword, only to cut the air as Haku escapes into one of the mirrors. "This is going to be a battle of stamina. Lucky for us, we have plenty to spare. Well, I guess you have a bit more than me."
"Acknowledging me as better than you?"
"Don't be an ass. Let me inform you that I gave her a pretty bad injury and that she wrecked me a bit earlier." This surprised Sasuke, who demanded to know what happened as he and Naruto parried another attack from her.
"Let's just say that I encountered her last night and fought her to a standstill," Naruto admits.
'You what!?"
"Look on the bright side, she's not at full strength. That gives us another advantage over her," Naruto adds before deflecting a few senbon with his katana as Sasuke vaults over the blond and kicks Haku away, forcing her to retreat into one of the mirrors.
"You're going to have a lot of explaining to do once this is over."
"Yeah yeah..." As they prepared for another assault, Haku tells them how she can't help but prefer that the two Genin don't force her to kill them. "If you think we'd back down from this fight, you're mistaken. We'll come at you with everything we've got."
"Very well then..." Haku covers her hands in water before forming them into ice blades. Quickly, she rushed at them, breaking their katanas with a swing of her right hand before swinging with her left. Before it could connect, her ice blades turned into water, making the attack harmless as Naruto swings at her with his broken katana, missing as the masked woman fled into one of her mirrors.
"Since her blades turned back into water, it means that she's almost out of chakra. If we keep this going a little more, she'll be tired out."
"Alright then, let's-" Suddenly, the two find their feet encased in ice. "How did-"
"The second attack...She knew she was running out of chakra. The second attack from her ice blades was meant to form water under our feet so she could freeze them," Naruto told Sasuke, feeling chilly.
Before they can try freeing themselves, they heard Sakura screaming. This distracted Sasuke as Haku directed her attention to him. Naruto tries to stop her, only for his injuries to prevent him from moving as Sasuke is hit in the chest by a few senbon. Naruto's eyes widened as the Uchiha falls back, dead. Naruto just stood there, frozen in place, unable to process what had happened as Haku prepared to enter one of her ice mirrors, intent on finishing the battle.
Suddenly, Naruto felt a rush of anger envelop him. He may have disliked Sasuke, but after seeing him in a different light, from him talking back at Sakura to asking the blond for help with the Uchiha's training, Naruto considered him a good person. Now he was gone, just like that. Losing his calm nature, Naruto's eyes turned red slit as a swirl of red chakra surrounds him, healing his wounds and warming him up as it evaporates the ice trapping his feet. Haku looks on, shocked.
"What kind of chakra is that? And what's with his eyes?"
"I'm going to rip off your arm...and beat you to death with it!" shouts an enraged Naruto, sounding demonic. Haku starts throwing senbon from all directions as Naruto releases a demon fox roar, repelling them. Haku looks on, shocked.
"How did he-" Before she can finish her sentence, Naruto appears in front of her and forcefully pulls her out of the mirror. He then throws Haku through the mirrors of ice, dispelling the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. Appearing next to her, he prepares to rip off her right arm.
"Don't worry, this will only hurt a lot," said a viciously smiling Naruto as he starts pulling at her right arm. Haku screams in pain as Naruto tugs at it. "Music to my ears. How about I turn up the volume for your friend to sample!?" Adding more strength to his pull, Naruto dislocates Haku's right arm as she screams louder.
"Just one more pull and rip goes your arm!"
"Everything's okay now Naruto. You can stop now..." Hearing Rin's voice, Naruto stops as he slowly returns to normal, his eyes reverting to their ocean blue color.
"How did..." Naruto stops mid-sentence, remembering an event that happened when he was 11, when he and Tatsuya had fought some hired mercenaries at a building owned by the latter's company, Four Leaves Technology. This wasn't the first time he used the Kyuubi's chakra. Some of the scientists and guards there lost their lives in the assault, which made the blond go berserk and massacre the mercenaries before turning on Tatsuya, overwhelmed by rage and anger. Before the magician could kill him, Rin stepped in front of Naruto and held him, getting injured as she told him everything was fine. He had blocked it out of his mind in order to forget the thought of hurting her. Looking down at Haku, Naruto is left shocked at his actions as he lets go of her arm and backs away.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to kill me? I killed your friend," said the injured Haku.
"He's not my friend, just a teammate. I've already killed several of Gatō's men, I don't feel like killing you. Plus, killing you won't bring him back."
"You have to kill me. Zabuza has no use for a weak ninja like me," Haku pleads, shedding tears in the process. When asked about her dream and living to fulfill it, Haku reveals that Zabuza was her dream. "I love him...I want to be with him, marry him, have a loving family with him...something I wasn't able to have..."
"Something...she wasn't able to have?"
"He found me, acknowledged me and the power I possessed, cared for me...For that, he became the most precious person in my life. Now that I've lost, he will never love me...So please...take my life." Naruto would try to talk her out of it, but Haku wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"...Very well then..." Before Naruto could do anything, Haku sensed that Zabuza was in danger. Realizing there was one more thing she could do for him, Haku thanks Naruto for not finishing her off as she teleports away, appearing in front of Zabuza as she shields him from Kakashi's Lightning Blade, the Jonin's hand going through Haku's chest. As the mist clears, Zabuza, unfazed by his partner's sacrifice, swings his sword to slice through Kakashi and Haku at the same time. Kakashi evades this blow, taking the dead woman's body with him as he puts distance between him and the swordsman. Seeing her sacrifice her life for Zabuza was a shock to the blond. She sacrificed herself for someone who treated her like a weapon, who would cut her down without hesitating.
"Heh heh...So...you were able to get away...because poor Haku was already dead." Setting Haku's body down, Kakashi closed her eyes as he directs a look of rage towards Zabuza. He was going to cut through his partner's dead body to get through to him. He didn't care for Haku at all was what Kakashi thought as he got up and quickly overpowered Zabuza.
Naruto, saying nothing, picked up Sasuke's body as he walks to Sakura and Tazuna. Turning to Naruto, Sakura's happy and relieved expression turned to horror when she saw the blond carrying the Uchiha, placing him in front of her, saying nothing. Tearing up, she asked him what happened, though he wouldn't answer, occupied with watching Kakashi beat up Zabuza and pondering Haku's actions. Unable to contain herself, she cried as she rested her head on Sasuke's chest.
"Why...Why can't I keep up!?" a wounded and angry Zabuza shouts.
"It's over Zabuza. You just don't know it yet." Taking out a few kunai, Kakashi stabs them into Zabuza's arms, the latter dropping his large sword in the process. Kakashi tells Zabuza he won't be able to use his arms to form jutsus and mold chakra. "You won't be able to assassinate Tazuna."
"You're right, he won't. Turning to their left, they see Gatō in front of them, with an army of thugs and mercenaries behind him.
"Gatō...What are you doing here?" asked Zabuza. Gatō tells Zabuza there's been a slight change of plans. He tells him he had no intention of paying him or Haku, adding how expensive hiring ninja of his skill was. "All of you ninja are so eager to fight each other. Once you've worn each other down, common thugs can finish off the rest. My mistake was hiring you in the first place. Calling yourself "The Demon of Kirigakure" is just plain false advertising..."
"...Forgive me...Kakashi...Our fight is over. I have no reason to want to assassinate Tazuna...which settles our differences..." Looking at Zabuza, Kakashi agrees with him.
"Hey..." Turning to Naruto, Zabuza wondered what he wanted. "Now that you're not an enemy. Tell me...Why would you cut through your own dead comrade like she was a tool? She was your comrade, someone who worked for you for many years."
"Gatō used me, and I used Haku. I didn't value Haku for her, but for her Kekkai Genkai, and her talents. Nothing more, nothing-"
[Music End]
[Persona 4 - Traumerei]
"She...She loved you." This revealed shocked Zabuza, who hid his face from the blond. "She devoted her everything for you, and you tell me it's nothing. She was nothing. You don't feel a thing. Are you truly that heartless? Is that how you get...when your powers are as strong as yours are? She died, without having any of her dreams come true. Dying your tool...Is that how she'd want you to remember-?"
"Kid..." Looking at Zabuza, Naruto's eyes widened when he sees the swordsman shedding tears. "Not...Another word." Seeing the man, cry, Naruto didn't know what else to say. Zabuza, who he considered truly heartless, could still feel sadness. "Say what we will, do what we will. In the end, we shinobi are still just human after all...with feelings all too human. And I've lost...everything."
[Music End]
Turning to Naruto, Zabuza asked him to lend him one of his kunais. Not saying a word, Naruto gave it to him, holding it by his teeth as he charges at Gatō's men to get to the drug dealer himself. As he begins massacres many thugs to get to him, Zabuza is stabbed multiple times by Gatō's thugs. Despite receiving many injuries, he still fought on, remembering the times he had with Haku. Finally, Zabuza, several kunais and katanas embedded into his back, tells the man he is taking him to Hell with him as he used the kunai in his mouth to decapitate the man. Seeing Gatō's severed head roll in front of their feet, the remaining thugs screamed in horror. Taking a single step, Zabuza's body started feeling heavy. Dropping to his knees, he saw a vision of Haku smiling at him. Smiling back, Zabuza collapsed. As Naruto and Kakashi looked on, something unexpected happened. Sasuke had opened his eyes, seeing Sakura sobbing into his chest.
"Sakura..." Hearing Sasuke's voice, Sakura turns to see her Sasuke living and breathing again as she hugs him. Sasuke tells her she's hurting him, who apologizes. Getting up, he pulled out the senbon needles that were still on him before asking the pink-haired girl how Naruto was.
"He's fine..." Turning to Naruto, Sakura called for him, informing the blond of the good news. Turning around, Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Sasuke wave at him.
"You're alive!" a happy and relieved Naruto shouts. This served to surprise everyone since Naruto rarely showed any care for them. Realizing this, the blond pretends it never happened as he told the Uchiha, "Good for you..."
"HEY! AREN'T YOU ALL FORGETTING SOMETHING!?"
"Oh right, we still have those guys..." said Naruto, preparing for a big fight. Before he could do anything, an arrow flies near the thugs' feet, stopping them. Turning around, Naruto and the others were surprised to see Inari and the villagers arrive to finally protect their country.
"Inari...Everyone..." Tazuna couldn't help but shed tears as Inari gave his grandfather a smile and told him everything was going to be fine.
Facing the thugs, Naruto weaves some hand signs as he creates 50 shadow clones of himself to scare the thugs. Not wanting to be outdone, Kakashi, despite being wounded, creates 60 of them, the blond wondering if he was overdoing it to up him. Now fearing their lives, the thugs retreated to the boats they came from, tails between their legs, never to be seen again. The villagers start cheering out loud, finally free from Gatō's control as the shadow clones disperse. As everyone cheered, Naruto walked to Zabuza to see if he was still alive. As it turns out, he was, though not for very long.
"...Looks like it's all over...huh?"
"Yeah..."
"Kid...can you do me a favor and take me to Haku...I want to see her face..." With a nod, Naruto carries Zabuza to Haku's dead body. As he carried him to her, he noticed it was slowly beginning to snow. Stopping at Haku's dead body, the blond Genin placed Zabuza next to her.
"You were at my side right from the start...And I'm at yours, now at the end...If I could..." At this point, Zabuza begins tearing up. "...If I could...If I were able...I would want to go...to the same place...on the other side...as you." Soon after, Zabuza passed away. Going on his knees, Naruto takes Zabuza's left hand and has it hold Haku's right one.
Two weeks later...
At their gravesite, Naruto walks to Haku and Zabuza's graves, giving them offerings before praying for them.
"Hey, Zabuza...It's Naruto...Been two weeks since you cut off Gatō's head...To be honest with you, I wanted to dig the graves for you but...I was busy figuring out what to say to you...I will start with this...I haven't cried since I was 6...I had to stop since I realized no one would ever feel sorry for me. I have completely forgotten how it feels to shed tears like you...Truth be told, despite everything you've done in your life, you're probably more human than me...To shed tears like you did when I told you about Haku...And...remembering how you tried to cut through her corpse to try and kill Kakashi-sensei...I noticed your hands were trembling as you held your blade...You were angry at him for taking her away from you. I guess along the way, you started feeling something for her, having to steel yourself for the mission. I considered you a truly heartless person, but you proved me wrong...It makes me wonder...Am I still human? Is there hope for me, maybe?" But that's not what I wanted to tell you, and I don't want this to be about me. What I really want to tell you is...You can go with her Zabuza...To the place Haku is...I believe that..."
"Naruto, it's time to go," Kakashi told him as the blond. Turning around, the blond puts on his headphones and runs to his teammates.
Unnamed Bridge (Complete)
"Thank you, all of you. Our bridge has finally been completed. But...it'll be awfully dull around here, once you're gone," Tazuna told Team 7. Kakashi tells the old bridge builder they've enjoyed their hospitality. Looking at Naruto, Inari asked him if he and his friends had to go.
"Yeah, our work here's done. It's your job to protect this village now so take good care of it," Naruto told the boy, who nods to him.
"Before you go, I'd like to talk to Naruto alone," said Tazuna. Walking a good distance away from them, the old man tells Naruto how he planned to dedicate the bridge to him, surprising the blond.
"Me?"
"Because of you, Inari and the villagers were inspired to fight back and protect our home."
"Is that so..."
"I also know that you went out every night to fight Gatō." This surprises Naruto, who wonders how the old man knew. "I was out on one of my night walks, helps me clear my head. During that walk, I noticed you taking out one of Gatō's ship, and you had a mask on."
"So that's how...You won't tell anyone, right?" Tazuna promises him he won't before giving him the pack he was carrying, containing fresh fish to take home. "I couldn't-"
"I insist. Think of it as payment for everything you've done for this village. I won't take no for an answer."
"...Alright," said Naruto as he accepted the fish.
"Again, thank you for saving us."
"All in a day's work," said Naruto, giving the old man a small smile before heading back to his team. As Team 7 walked away, Inari says good luck to Naruto, who waved back at him while walking away from the village.
Hidden Leaf Village
Naruto's House
Entering his house, he tells himself how glad he was to be home. However, noticing the silence, he lets out a sigh as he heads up the stairs. "Of course, no one's-" Before he could finish, he stops as he finds a surprised Ayane coming out of the bathroom, having just finished her shower, a towel wrapped around her body.
"Naruto?"
"Ayane!?" At that moment, Ayane's towel suddenly falls down, revealing her nude figure. The blond's eyes widen as he focused on her chest. "Oh wow..."
"What're you-" Looking down, Ayane turned red, realizing Naruto could see her in her birthday suit. Outside of the blond's house, Ayane's scream could be heard as she punched Naruto in the face with a chakra-enhanced fist, the latter screaming in pain.
A few minutes later...
Naruto cooks something for him and Ayane, using the fish Tazuna gave him. The blond had a bruise on his left cheek from where Ayane punched him. The furiously blushing purple-haired kunoichi, wearing a robe, sat at the table, glaring daggers at him.
"You didn't have to enhance your punch, you already have above human strength."
"You saw me naked!" Ayane shouts, Naruto informing her how she didn't secure her towel well.
"...If it means anything, I'm sorry." After a few seconds of silence, Ayane sighed before telling him she accepted the small apology.
"So how was the mission?" she asked, Naruto telling her how the village planned to name the bridge they built after him. "Hmmm, isn't that something to be proud of."
"I actually find it embarrassing," Naruto admits.
"Do you now..."
"By the way, how did you gather all that information for me?" Ayane told him how she could control butterflies and communicate with them, and how they did the info gathering for her. "Seriously?"
"Yes, it's an ability that I taught myself when I was younger," she told the blond, the latter telling her how cute that was. Ayane, red in the face, said nothing, unsure of what to say. Changing the subject, Naruto asked her why she was here. "I'm representing the Mugen Tenshin Clan in the Chūnin Exams, which will begin in 5 days. Master Ryu's also going to be here to represent the Hayabusa Village."
"Is he now..." Naruto's eyes widened when Ayane tells him, "Master Ryu also told me to tell you that he plans to train you, should you make it to the finals."
"That is all too convenient for me."
"How so?"
Dinner
"You know Ninpo!?" Ayane says out loud.
"Yeah, I used the technique you used to injure a ninja."
"It's impossible to have a ninja from one the Five Great Shinobi Nations use ki energy," Ayane told herself. "Yet you can use it..."
"Which brings me to ask you..." Blushing, Naruto asked her if she could teach him how to use ki and help him improve his fighting. Sure, he was a more than capable fighter, but he was no Rin Kujou or Tatsuya Shiba. After his fight with Haku, he needed to get better, and Ayane, at the moment, was the only person who could help him.
"Me?"
"Yes...I did consider Master Ryu, but knowing him, he'll be occupied with the Chūnin Exams. Then I thought of you and-"
"Sure..." This surprised Naruto as the purple-haired kunoichi looks away. "While I have yet to fully master ki energy like him, I know enough to help you get on track tomorrow. I'll see if Master Ryu can teach you the rest later."
"Really!? Thank you, Ayane!" Naruto told her with a smile.
"I won't go easy on you..." whispered a blushing Ayane.
"...If you don't mind me asking...How are things with you and your sister?" Ayane tells Naruto about how she took what he told her about forgiveness and putting the past behind her and Kasumi to heart and that they were slowly building their relationship back up. "That's good to hear..."
"Right now, we can only manage a couple of minutes talking to each other," Ayane finished.
"Better than nothing..."
After dinner
Yawning, Ayane told Naruto that she was going to sleep on his bed as usual. Naruto, remembering how Zabuza originally saw Haku as a tool and not as a person, calls out her name. Wondering what he needed from her, Ayane turns around to see Naruto holding out a dark-purple headband.
"Here...I made this for you. It's...for your hair."
"You made that for me?" asked a now-surprised Ayane. No one, other than Genra, Kasumi, and Hayate, has ever given her a present. Naruto nods yes, telling her how he had been working on it during his spare time.
"I know it's nothing that special, but-"
"No, it's fine...I'd like to try it on." Taking the headband, Ayane wears it on her head. Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at her. Noticing this, the blushing kunoichi asked him how it looked.
"It looks great on you," he told her, blushing, Ayane doing the same. Inside, the kunoichi was very happy that he made it for her.
Naruto's Room
Staring at the ceiling, Ayane laid on Naruto's bed, red in the face as she touched the headband Naruto made for her with her right hand. This had been going on for a good full hour. Turning her head towards the blond, she gets up and to get in the futon with him. As the blond slept peacefully, Ayane caressed his left cheek with her right hand.
Much to her embarrassment, she directed her attention to Naruto's lips. Ayane leaned her face towards his, intent on having her second kiss with him. Recalling their first kiss, while it was accidental, thinking back on it, it did feel nice. Before she knew it, Ayane's forehead lightly hits Naruto's, almost waking him up. Sighing, she figured she'd try again some other time before falling asleep.
ED1: Self-Inflicted Achromatic (自傷無色)(Cover) by Raon Lee
Finally, the Land of Waves is done! I admit, my first take on it was pretty crap, so hopefully, I did this justice.
As you're all aware of right now, Ayane's headband was made by Naruto. I don't know when she got her headband or how she got it when I watched the Dead or Alive 2 Opening, but I figured it was something like this. I forgot to mention her headband in earlier chapters of Road to Journey to Now, but looking back, I'm glad I didn't add the headband.
Regarding her overall relationship with Naruto, I hope I can do them justice, since ultimately...I'll just leave that for the readers to decide...for now.
The last part at the end of the chapter was based on a scene from the latest episode of "Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai", an anime I'd recommend to almost anyone.
Yes, Naruto has used the Nine-Tailed Fox chakra before, though only once, going berserk as a result of witnessing the innocent lives lost, one of the lives belonging to a man who hadn't seen his family for over a year. Tatsuya would have had to put Naruto down, but luckily for him, Naruto's senpai and crush stopped him. Sounds cheesy but hey, it works in a way.
Next chapter will begin the Chunin Exams Arc, and I intend to make it better than my last attempt since, again, I was a novice and didn't know any better.