Two Days To Chunin Exams
The rain was pelting the window like a drummer playing a rock song. The usually bright village of Konoha was engulfed in the darkness of the night and the symphony of raindrops and thunder. Naruto was sound asleep, unaffected by the precipitation outside. He slept in his warm bed as he dreamt about the chunin exams and his favourite food in the world. That was until a knock was heard at the door and he jolted awake. Kakashi came in looking half asleep.
"Naruto, the Hokage has summoned us. We're going in five," he said as he closed the door.
Naruto rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and looked for some fresh clothes. 'I wonder what's so urgent?' He looked towards the darkness that was the sky through his window and could feel that there was a sombre mood around the air. He met Kakashi who was in his jonin attire, in the hall and they shunshin to the Hokage tower.
They went inside the office and saw that many prominent jonin of the village were gathered. Jiraiya was also present and was leaning against the wall near the door. Naruto stood beside Jiraiya with Kakashi. "Jiraiya-sama, any clue as to why we're here?" Kakashi whispered.
"You're about to find out. I can safely say that it's not good," he said.
As Jiraiya continued his conversation with Kakashi, Naruto thought more and more about his current situation. 'What am I doing here? I'm only a genin. Why am I, a genin, in a room with the strongest people in the village?' He thought as he scanned the room. He saw Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Ibiki, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and many other jonin and the most important of all, he saw the Hokage looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He looked so stressed and for once, Naruto could see that his age was showing.
Noticing that everyone was present, the Hokage spoke, "I'm sorry to have summoned everyone so early, but this is of utmost importance. A few hours ago, a konoha jonin was found dead in the village by a patrol squad." Gasps were heard around the room. Naruto was shocked. For all his life he had come to know that Konoha was safe and yet here, not any ordinary shinobi but a jonin had been murdered.
"The jonin was found with multiple cuts to the body and from the autopsy's results, it was done by a wind blade. This is a jutsu not known to many in the village." Murmurs were heard all around the room as many made the unstated connection. However, the next thing the Hokage said made Naruto's heart sink. "The Jonin was Hayate Gekko and he was sent to spy on someone believed to be a spy due to the words of a hidden source. He ended up dying in the midst of his mission."
'No…Nee-chan…' Naruto immediately disappeared in a shunshin, catching everyone off guard. "Naruto-" Jiraiya called out but was interrupted by Hiruzen. "No, let him go. There's a reason why I called him." He said.
Naruto appeared on the roof of the Hokage building and spread out his senses. 'No…no…come on…where are you,' he thought as he frantically ran around the village. The sky continued to cry down as Naruto ran across the roofs. Water splashed as he stepped through the ground and the curtain of water parted as he ran through it. After a while, he found the signature he was looking for and released his weight seals before blitzing towards it. As he made his way there, old memories were jolted as he remembered his interactions with Hayate.
Flashback
Naruto was eating in a clearing in the middle of a forest looking over a pond. The sun was being reflected in the water as ripples made by fish disrupted them. He was eating an instant ramen cup that he brought for lunch. Yugao had given him a lunch break as she had to leave for a short period for Anbu work. It was one of those rare days where Hayate joined them for their training sessions. He was eating another ramen cup Naruto had brought.
"Naruto, you know, you have a special place in her heart." He said suddenly. "Ever since she started *cough* training you, she's always had this extra glow and happiness." Naruto listened to him intently as Hayate's eyes lost their focus and stared at the sky. "She lost her family during the *cough* third war and ever since she lost a great piece of her heart. However, slowly, the puzzle that is her heart was rebuilt by her friends and you, Naruto, were the final piece. She thinks of you as her brother as much as you think of her as a sister."
He turned to look at Naruto in the eyes. "Naruto, promise me something?" He asked. Naruto looked at him quizzically and nodded. "As shinobi, our lives are uncertain. Promise me that you'll look after her if I'm gone. I know that if I die, her puzzle will start to break and only you can keep it together." He said.
"Of course I will, Hayate-san. I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I will never go back on my promise!" He exclaimed as he gave him an eye smile. Hayate smiled through a coughing fit as he patted Naruto on the head.
Yugao appeared not too long after. "What were you guys talking about?" She asked, taking her anbu mask off.
"Oh nothing, just boy stuff," Hayate said with a convincing smile and Naruto nodded.
"Ok…You better not be teaching him nonsense or else…" she warned with an accusing finger pointed at him.
Hayate placed his hands up in the surrender position and chuckled, "of course not, Yugao-chan. *cough* let's go train, shall we?"
Flashback End
He jumped from branch to branch as he traversed through the forest. It felt like eternity before he reached his destination. He reached the same clearing he had promised Hayate at. There was a clearing and a pond in the middle of the forest. Near the edge of the pond, he saw a figure with a katana repeatedly slashing the air.
Naruto jumped down from his position towards the person. She knew he was there but she didn't acknowledge it. "Nee-chan, please stop…" he pleaded but to no avail. She kept on slashing, striking the air.
When Naruto stepped in front of her, she stopped , turned around and started again. "Please…this is not the way…" he stood in front of her again and looked into her eyes. He saw… nothing in her eyes. She had not a glimpse of any emotions in her eyes.
'I can't let this last,' he thought. He unsealed Arashi and met her sword. She didn't even flinch and just looked at Naruto with her dead eyes.
She once again turned around without uttering a single word and began her katas. Naruto stopped her again and he could see that she was beginning to get angry. She turned and started walking away but stopped when Naruto spoke. "Listen to me. This is not the way. This is not what he would've wanted," he said.
"What do you know about what he wanted!" She shouted and started attacking Naruto. Sparks were seen as their blades made contact. She relentlessly kept on striking at Naruto who dodged and weaved the strikes easily much to her frustration. "You have no idea what he would've wanted! Just leave me alone!"
'She's not in her right mind. Her attacks have no form, no precision, only sadness and anger.' Naruto dodged and eventually he saw a large opening and tackled her down. He threw her sword to the side. And placed a weak paralysis seal on her.
"NARUTO, LET GO OF ME!" she shouted as she tried to trash around.
"No! Not until you calm down!" Naruto held her down with his hands on her shoulder and his legs locked hers from moving as he looked into her eyes. "This is not the Yugao I know. Not the one I looked up to. Not the one I thought of as a sister. Not the one Hayate loved!"
"He's gone, Naruto! Gone!" She shouted while tears started flowing from her eyes.
"I know…I know…" Naruto said as he brought her up into a hug. He released the paralysis seal and she hugged him back. "Let go of them…" Naruto whispered into her ear.
She started weeping as she let her emotions flow. "He's gone, Naruto…*sniffs* he's gone… we were supposed to be together… He *sniffs* proposed a few months ago. We were gonna tell people soon. We were going to spend our lives together but…" She hugged Naruto even harder. Tears of grief flowed as freely as a waterfall. Her heart was broken into millions of pieces.
Naruto never knew that they were engaged. Naruto started shedding his own tears. "Just let it all out, nee-chan. All of it, everything," he whispered as he held her in his arms.
After a while of crying, Naruto realised that she had fallen asleep. The rain was still pouring around them and thunder and lightning continued to light up the sky.
. He sheathed her sword and carried her back to his house. He had a feeling she would prefer not to be at her own house right now.
A small funeral ceremony was held a few hours later and was only attended by Hayate's close friends. Everyone wore black and paid their respects by bringing flowers and giving prayers. The sky continued crying as Naruto held an umbrella for Yugao who was crying on Kurenai's shoulder. Naruto watched as Hayate's name was engraved on the Memorial stone. This was the first time he saw the name of someone close to him being freshly engraved.
After a while, the funeral ended and everyone left one by one. Kurenai took away Yugao who was reluctant to leave. Naruto was the only one left in front of the memorial stone. The rain pelted on his body but he didn't care as he just stood there. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he saw an image of a smiling Hayate beside the stone. "You just had to make it difficult for me eh?" Naruto asked with a chuckle.
Hayate smiled at him. Naruto looked up at him through eyes blurred with tears. "I'll take care of her, don't worry. Just be happy and rest in peace. Thank you for your service to the village," he said.
"I was never worried, Naruto. Seeing her happy will make me happy. You can be the one to make her happy. Sayonara, Naruto," he said as he patted Naruto's head. Naruto rubbed his tears away and Hayate disappeared.
Finals Day
Naruto stood with his team outside of Konoha's stadium. He and Shikamaru were dressed as usual but Sasuke seemed to change to a black outfit with arm warmers. "Alright, my three little genin. It's time for you to prove yourself and make one hell of an entrance," Kakashi said.
"Must we really make an entrance? Seems troublesome…" Shikamaru said.
"Yes. It is of utmost importance," Kakashi said as they all moulded chakra and followed the plan.
In the stadium, a large mass of people from all over the Elemental Nations were gathered. The Hokage and the Kazekage were seated in a special VIP box that oversaw the battle area. The genin participants were lined up for the crowd to see. However, the three from team 7 were all missing. 'Please don't tell me Kakashi's tardiness is rubbing off on them,' Hiruzen thought with a slight headache growing.
Genma, who had replaced Hayate as the proctor, saw the time and started to address the crow. "Good morning everyone! My name is Genma Shiranui, I will be the proctor for this final round of the Chunin exams. Behind me are the finalists who will be fighting in a few moments!" Genma said with a jutsu that made his voice louder. "The finalists are Sabaku no Gaara and Sabaku no Temari from Suna! Shino Aburama and Neji Hyūga from Konoha. And-" a large blast of lightning suddenly struck in the middle of the stadium causing a cloud of dust to rise. As the dust cleared, Shikamaru, Naruto and Sasuke could be seen at the area of impact with Kakashi behind them. Shikamaru was in his thinking pose, crouched down and his hands in an O shape. Naruto and Sasuke were to his side crossed armed while Kakashi was behind him not needing to pose because he is already cool.
"Team 7 reporting for the Chunin Exam finals," Naruto said as they all dispersed as blurs and took their places with the other genin and Kakashi went to the stands. The crowd cheered for their display. Hiruzen could only chuckle as he watched team 7's entrance. 'Maybe it's the other way around. They're antics are rubbing off on Kakashi.'
"That was quite interesting. Very bold of your shinobi, Hokage-dono," the Kazekage said. Hiruzen nodded in agreement.
"The last three finalists are Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha from Konoha!" Genma announced as the crowd cheered loudly.
'They're probably here to see the Last Uchiha battle. It's fine, I'll show them that I'm not just some fox time bomb.' Naruto thought.
'Hey! Watch what you say or I'll rip you apart!'
'Ooo… That was on me. I forgot you can hear me sometimes. Anyways, I'll just show them how strong the Kyubi's jinchuriki really is!'
'You better. My jinchuriki can never be weak. Now go kick that Hyuga's ass!'
'Oh, were those words of encouragement from the mighty Kurama?'
'Oi! I'm not that soft. It's a command, not petty words of encouragement.'
'Whatever you keep telling yourself… Thanks Kurama.' Naruto cut their connection as Genma announced the first match.
"The matches will now begin. Will Neji Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki come to the centre while everyone else go to the waiting area," Genma said.
Naruto stared down into Neji's white eyes. "Today, you will be fated to fail," he said as he took his gentle fist stance.
"I guess we'll see if fate is truly to be believed," Naruto said as he got into his stance.
Both fighters signalled to Genma to start the match. "Hajime!" He announced as the crowd roared.
Oh what's this? Two chapters back to back. Anyways, I thought of putting this chapter as a part of the last one but I wanted Hayate's death to be a chapter on its own.
Aight Thanks for reading.
