Love Hina Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Through the Punching Glass ❯ Chapter 01 ( Chapter 1 )

DISCLAIMER I do not own Naruto or Love Hina. They are owned by the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto and Ken Akamatsu respectively.

 

 

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UPDATE!!!

 

This chapter got revamped a bit. Went through and changed a bit of wording here and there, altered the fight scene, added a flashback, and removed the Keitaro section, which will be extended and made into the next chapter. I'm still not sure if I will make each chapter a stand alone for each boy, or if I will incorporate both into the majority of chapters.

 

UPDATE THE 2ND!!!

 

Yeah, I suck, hehe. All I really did was add the proper names to the disclaimer.

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The Naruto world is SLIGHTLY A/U. Age-wise is directly after the Sasuke Retrieval arc so 13/14, but will incorporate some of the knowledge gained after the time skip, like chakra blades and learning with shadow clones. Also, for my story, Ki energy like Motoko uses is purely spiritual energy. It may need a bit of physical training to release it, but no where near the amount of training a ninja uses to utilize chakra, which is both physical and spiritual.

 

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Chapter One

 

--At the Hinata Apartments--

 

Naru Narusegawa sat next to the young man that had fallen from the sky. He was in one of the extra rooms at the end of the hall. He was still unconscious, even after Haruka had treated him for injuries. Much to their surprise, he had no real visible injuries, even after the great fall. During Haruka's examination, she had discovered a pair of bruises on his back, both about the size of a fist. She wondered briefly if they boy had been assaulted.

 

To make him more comfortable, they had removed his backpack, and the two pouches he carried, as well as his headband and orange coat. Under the coat, he wore a black t-shirt.

 

Naru looked at the headband. It was simple blue fabric, and on the front was a metal plate, with a strange pattern on it. She'd never seen anything like it before. It almost reminded her of a leaf design. She decided to straighten up a bit, and move his belongings into the corner. As she picked up the pouches, she noticed how heavy they were, and that they made a slight clanking sound, like they were full of metal. She put them on top of the desk, and then went to grab his backpack.

 

As she picked it up, something fell out of the side. Cursing softly, she realized that there was a sizable rip in the material, probably from when he fell. She set the backpack next to the dresser, and went to retrieve the fallen item. It was a picture in a frame. Unable to resist, she looked to see if she maybe recognized anyone. What she saw surprised her, it was a picture of three kids and what she presumed was an older man. Everyone in the picture wore the same headband, although the adult wore his covering one eye. The children were in a line in front of the older man, almost like a family photo. The boy was on the right side shooting a dirty look to his right, a very excited looking girl with pink hair and a red dress in the middle, and a scowling boy with dark hair and a blue shirt on the left. The adult had silver hair, a mask covering most of his face, and wore a khaki colored vest.

 

Curiosity got the best of her, and she quietly opened the frame. The back of the picture had the watermark of the shop that had printed it, “Konoha Photos”. There was also some scrawled writing on the back, which read “Team 7. Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha” Below the names, in a different and much sloppier handwriting, was written “I WILL BEAT SASUKE!”. Figuring that the boy in front of her was the one called Naruto, she thought to herself 'These boys must be competing for the girl. That's why he wants to beat him. She is cute though. I love that pink hair.' Her own silent musings finished, she replaced the back of the frame before she propped the photo next to the boys futon and left the room.

 

Once downstairs, she was stopped by Haruka Urashima, Keitaro's aunt, and the proprietor of the Hinata Tea House. Seeing the bemused look on the Tokyo University hopefuls face, “You didn't touch his stuff, did you? I thought I heard noise from the room,” Haruka questioned.

 

“No Haruka, I just moved his things to the desk. However, his backpack had a rip in it, and a photo fell out. I didn't touch anything else, I promise,” the girl defended. She didn't want anyone to know she'd snooped, even if it was only a little bit.

 

“Alright, but I'm putting you and Motoko in charge of guarding him until he wakes up. You know how crazy everyone can get around here, and we want to maintain his safety. Once he wakes up, we can discuss with him the situation. Now go and let Motoko know so you can get a watch schedule ready.”

 

“But what about studying for Tokyo U,” the girl asked.

 

“Well, grab your things and study in the hall then. I don't want anyone going in his room until tomorrow morning.”

 

“Yes ma'am,” Naru sighed, giving up. She started heading upstairs again to find her friend to let her know of their new duties. She stopped in her bedroom on the way to grab her books. Making her way to the young sword woman's bedroom, she noticed that the door to the boy's room was open. Dropping her books, she ran to check it out. Inside, Su and Kitsune were standing over him, staring intently.

 

“What's up with his whiskers? Is he a cat? Can we eat him,” the island girl asked excitedly. She was, as always, a bundle of energy. She was bent down so close that her forehead almost touched his nose.

 

“Sure are strange. Maybe a birthmark or somethin'. They sure don't look like scars,” the fox-like Kitsune said. She had a bemused expression as she watched the younger girl inspect the boys face.

 

“What are you two doing in here,” Naru hissed. “Haruka wants everyone to leave him alone until tomorrow. And no, Su, you can't eat him.”

 

“Aww, that's no fun,” Su sighed, and she ran out of the room and jumped onto Motoko, who was walking down the hall. Climbing the teenager like a jungle gym, she whined, “Motoko, Naru says we have to leave the boy alone. I want to wake him up and play!”

 

“No Su, he's resting. Unlike Keitaro, it's unlikely that he can bounce back quickly. You can see if he wants to play with you once he feels better.”

 

“Fine, I'll go see if Shinobu wants to play with me!” And with that, the dark skinned girl took off down the hall in search of another playmate.

 

“C'mon Kitsune, you should leave too,” Naru pleaded with her friend. “I promised Haruka that no one would come in here. Now get out of here!”

 

“Fine, fine, and just as I was shaping him up. Look how muscular he is for just a little tyke,” the older girl looked at the photo next. “And who do you suppose they are. His family? They sure don't look related. I know, maybe that's his little girlfriend!”

 

“OUT KITSUNE,” Naru practically shouted. A low moan and some slight shifting reminded them that there was an injured boy with them. Kitsune drooped her shoulders and left the room. Naru followed her out and shut the door behind her. “Motoko, wait up,” she called.

 

“Yes, what is it Naru?”

 

“Haruka would like us to take turns guarding the door, so no one else goes in there. She said we should split up a watch. I'll go first, how about you relieve me in 4 hours?”

 

“That would be fine. I'll see you in a few hours, and I'll make sure to bring dinner up with me as well, for both you and the boy, just in case.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

~~

 

Naru's watch proved uneventful, and she gratefully passed the duty to Motoko when her time was up, relishing the chance to stretch and use the bathroom. Promising to be back in a few hours, she went to her room to take a brief nap. Her alarm waking up in the middle of the night, she went to relieve Motoko. The kendo woman was seated just the way Naru had left her, seemingly unmoving, her sword at the ready.

 

“Anything happen while I was gone,” Naru asked.

 

“No, Naru, aside from when I had to tell Su to be quiet in the halls. I'm going to bed. I shall see you in the morning.” With that, the dark haired girl went to her bedroom, leaving Naru alone in the hall once again. She sat down outside the door and began to work on her studies once again. However she soon discovered that her eyes would not stay open. Finally, sleep caught up with her as she leaned against the door.

 

~~

 

She awoke suddenly to a scream, coming from behind her. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but the first rays of the new day were working their way into the hall. Wondering what had happened, she threw the door open to see the boy strapping his pouches back on, his jacket already zipped up.

 

“Hey, wait a minute, where are you going,” she asked him, surprised at how urgently he seemed to want to leave.

 

“If Tsunade or Sakura find me, I'm dead, oh will I be dead. And I'm going to be late for training. But Sakura will find me at training, but if I don't train, Kakashi will get mad at me, but GHA, what do I do,” the boy rambled. He picked up his backpack and cried as the contents started spilling out of the hole in the side. “I'll be back for those things, I promise.” And with that he went towards the window.

 

“Wait, you're on the the third floor, you'll hurt yourself going out that way. And who are Tsunade and Sakura. Why would they want to hurt you?”

 

The boy froze, then slowly turned and faced her, shock on his face. “What do you mean who's Tsunade. She's the Hokage. Everyone knows her, or at least her name. Did I get far enough away yesterday that she can't find me?”

 

“Ho...ka...ge,” Naru asked.

 

“You know, Hokage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, most powerful of all the Kage's. Looks like she's 25, even though she's actually 50. She probably even has a gambling debt in your town here, if you ask hard enough,” the young man explained. “Anyways, if you don't know who she is, I'm probably safe for the time being. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Genin and future Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure.”

 

“I'm Naru Narusegawa. I'm studying to get into Tokyo U. I've never heard of Konohagakure before.”

 

“Just call it Konoha. And what's Tokyo U? Is it a secret village?”

 

“No, it's a university, like where you go to learn. I want to be a teacher,” Naru explained. How could this boy not know about Tokyo U.

 

“Oh, like an academy,” the boy asked her.

 

“Yes, exactly.”

 

“Man, you must be way dumb. I'm younger than you, and even I've graduated from the academy already. You haven't even been accepted yet. Are you going to like going to school with little kids?”

 

“DUMB? Tokyo U is the most prestigious college in all of Japan. Most students don't even start until they're almost 20. And even then it's hard work. What kind of college is full of little kids.”

 

“Duh, ninja academy. Why start at age 20 when you can be working for your keep at age 12. Heck, some students even graduate before they're 10. What do you guys do for so long that you don't go to school,” Naruto asked her, puzzled.

 

“We go to school, we have elementary, middle school, junior high, senior high, college, and graduate school. I've already completed everything through senior high, and I take the entrance exams in a few weeks to see if I can go to college.” Naru explained. Suddenly she realized what the boy had said. “Wait, ninja academy? Like out of a fantasy book or something?”

 

“I don't like books, although I'm sure that someone wrote a book about school. I mean ninja academy. Learning jutsu's, the way of the Shinobi, and graduating and becoming a ninja. See this headband, it means I passed, even if it did take me three tries.”

 

“Wait, so you're a ninja? Give me a break. You're just a kid, and you've got some imagination.”

 

“I am too a ninja. And if you'll excuse me, I need to go train.” Dropping his ripped backpack back on the floor, he jumped out the window.

 

Naru ran to the window, and saw the boy land gracefully on the ground and take off running into the woods near the apartment. She then turned her attention to some of the items that had fallen out of the boys bag. There were several packs of instant ramen, along with a compass, a few scrolls 'Scrolls?', and a frog wallet that was stuffed to it's breaking point. 'I shouldn't touch his stuff, even if he did leave it all over the floor. But still, he's a guest, so I should ensure that he stays clean in here.' She gathered everything up and placed things where they should go. The ramen and the compass went on the desk, and his wallet and scrolls went on the bookshelf. She then rolled up his futon and put that away. Finally, she went to grab his backpack to set it back in the corner. Once again, as she picked it up, something fell out. It was another headband, much like the one the boy wore, except this one had a gash straight through the symbol. 'Must have gotten damaged during “training”', she told herself, putting it on the desk. Satisfied, she left, shutting the door behind her.

 

~~

 

She entered the kitchen to find Shinobu already preparing breakfast. She looked sad, since Keitaro had not come home yet. She looked up as Naru entered, and smiled. “Was that the boy waking up I heard?”

 

“Yep, says his name is Naruto Uzumaki. Heh, he claims he's a ninja. What a load. But he did jump out of a third floor window without a second thought, and man can he run.”

 

“He what? But he's injured! Where did he run off to,” the young chef asked.

 

“He said he had to train. Honestly, I think he ran away from home. He had food and money, and he was worried about someone finding him. Hokage he called her. Maybe it's some mob boss that his family owes money, he did talk about a gambling debt.”

 

“A runaway, huh. Poor little guy,” Kitsune said as she entered the kitchen. “I've done a lot of gambling, but I've never heard of a Hokage.” The woman took her seat and awaited breakfast. “Do you think he'll come back here?”

 

“I think so, he left his backpack.”

 

The last of the residents made their way down and breakfast began. Once everyone was eating, Haruka spoke. “So, it sounded like our guest woke up early. Where is he now, I wonder. It looked like he was running into the forest. He should be careful, that forest is dangerous. Lots of pitfalls and even a few abandoned mine shafts. After breakfast, why don't we go out looking for him.” The girls all gave their consent and the rest of breakfast was relatively quiet.

 

~~

 

After eating, the girls prepared themselves and set off into the forest. Su and Shinobu were using one of Su's new inventions, the Ninja Finder, to try and find the boy. Unfortunately, Su didn't have any real data on ninja, so the tracker had them running in circles, chasing after deer, gophers, and even Haruka.

 

Naru was having no such luck finding him either. She looked all over her area of the woods, but couldn't find a thing, not even a trace of the boy. They had all looked at the entrance of the woods, and the footsteps disappeared within a few meters.

 

Motoko had her sword out, ready for anything. She was using it to cut brush out of her way. As she worked her way farther into the woods, she came upon a small clearing. The grass and dirt were full of tracks. It looked like the boy had been here, as they weren't any shoe-prints she recognized. Suddenly, a knife landed in the dirt next to her. 'Is that a Kunai?' Looking up, she saw the boy sitting in a tree about 50 feet in the air.

 

“What's a samurai doing out here? Who hired you to find me, and what kind of death wish do you have coming after me,” the boy demanded of her.

 

“Naruto Uzumaki? Come down from there before you get hurt. We want to bring you back to the apartment and talk to you. I don't want to fight you.”

 

“Then why do you have a sword drawn. That's a challenge, and I need the practice.” Naruto shouted down to her and prepared for a fight. 'This is the perfect time to test out the new shuriken Asuma got for me. I just have to remember to manipulate my chakra properly.'

 

~~

 

--FLASHBACK--

 

“Tips on how to manipulate the “Wind” element, huh...?” Asuma asked.

 

“Yup!”

 

“You're trying to learn how to control the nature of chakra?” Shikamaru questioned, looking at Naruto.

 

“Yup!”

 

“You need some talent to master that. You're sure you can do it?”

 

Naruto grinned. “That's why I came to ask Asuma for tips.”

 

Asuma took a long pull on his cigarette. “...to hear that Naruto's chakra is of the “Wind” element...that's a surprise.”

 

“Now can you give me some tips?” The boy was filled to the brim with excited energy.

 

“Hmm, let's see...my team celebrates the end of our missions by eating Yakiniku. I'll consider doing this for you if you'll cover the bill for our next party...how's that?”

 

“Hey! You're cheating!” Shikamaru accused. He had already roped Asuma into paying for their next mission celebration.

 

“Hmm...It can't be helped. I”ll do it for my training!”

 

“Great! We've got a deal.” Asuma smiled, and then reached both hands into the pouch at the back of his belt. He pulled out his trusty trench knives, a pair of brass knuckles with a four inch blade coming out of the bottom, extending past the pinky finger. They were made of a strange black metal.

 

“!” Naruto looked confused.

 

“This is my chakra blade. This blade is made of a special metal that absorbs the chakra nature of the holder.” A faint energy glow surrounded the blade. The glow stopped after a moment. “Here, try holding it.” He handed the left blade to Naruto. “Now flow your chakra into the blade, just like I did.”

 

“Okay. HMPH!” He concentrated hard, forcing his chakra into the strange metal. Moments later, a poorly shaped aura began to surround the blade in his hand. It wasn't as crisp as Asuma's, and the edges were poorly defined, but it was definitely reacting. “It's...sort of different from the way your chakra looked Asuma.”

 

“Listen up. When manipulating the “Wind” type chakra, you've got to imagine splitting your chakra into two and grinding them together. Do it so that the chakra fields sharpen one another into fine pieces.”

 

Naruto looked confused. “...Sharpen them into fine pieces, huh?...”

 

“Exactly. The thinner and sharper, the better.”

 

“Um...hey...I just got this idea but...”

 

“What is it?”

 

“There are ninja weapons that can make cuts already, so is there any point in learning how to control this “Wind” element? Instead of training like this, isn't it much faster to just use a weapon that can cut? And for example, this...what's the point of putting a chakra that can cut into a weapon that can already cut?”

 

A smirk appeared on Asuma's bearded face. “...Ok. Then we'll throw these chakra blades at that tree together.”

 

“...Why?”

 

“Let's just do it, okay?” Both man and boy whipped the chakra filled blades at a nearby tree. Naruto smirked when the blade sunk into the hard wood by at least an inch. A large noise, however, caused him to look at the blade the Jounin had thrown. It wasn't stuck in the wood at all, but there was a hole in the tree where it had connected. He moved around to see the back and saw that the blade was stuck all the way past the first finger grip...in a boulder.

 

“W...Wow...” Naruto managed to stutter. 'It didn't just cut through the tree...the blade pierced the hard rock behind it too...and that deeply.'

 

“It can get dangerous so I limited my chakra use. But if I tried, that blade would've cut through the rock as well.”

 

“WHAT!”

 

“If two ninja of the same level fought with sharpened weapons, the one with the sharpest tool would win. The “Wind” element has the strongest offensive power for close and mid-ranged fights. It's quite rare, you know, this “Wind” type...If you come across anything else you want to know, feel free to ask me anytime. But you'll have to pay for the Yakiniku again.”

 

“Gotcha! Thanks a lot!” Naruto put his hands into the familiar seal and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He had been a shadow clone, while the real Naruto was working on concentrating his wind element with Kakashi. (1)

 

--END FLASHBACK--

 

~~

 

The boy quickly jumped from tree to tree with blinding speed, until he was at ground level again, he pulled another knife from the pouch on his thigh, along with a handful of chakra absorbing shuriken. He threw all the shuriken in a speeding salvo, manipulating chakra into them like he'd been taught to enhance their penetration. He then charged, Kunai at the ready.

 

Motoko's training allowed her to dodge the thrown weapons, but just barely. The final one she deflected with her sword, but it cut straight through it, hitting her in the shoulder and continuing past. Closing her eyes, she gasped at the sudden pain. In a flash, the young boy was on her, one of his arms twisting her good arm behind her head as he placed the tip of his kunai at the base of her skull. After a moment, he let her go and resumed his taijutsu training in the grass a few feet away.

 

Still in shock, Motoko watched the boy's movements, in awe of the speed and technique. Not even her sister could move that fast for that long. Finally, the pain in her shoulder told her she needed medical attention. She braved talking to the boy. “I'm sorry you thought I challenged you. My sword was out to help me navigate the brush more easily. And I'm not a samurai, I'm a kendo user. We just wanted to bring you back to the apartment so we could talk. Maybe you could even stay with us if the situation warrants it. Please come with me.”

 

Naruto continued his training exercise. After a few moments more, he finally replied. “I'll be back at that place by lunchtime. I have to get my morning training in. Sorry for attacking, but I thought a fight would be good training for me.”

 

Her pride hurt, Motoko nodded in assent and started back towards the edge of the woods. Just as she was about to leave the clearing, Naruto called out to her. “I'm sorry about your shoulder, come here a moment.” He put his hand over the wound and closed his eyes. A faint green glow surrounded the wound and his hand. Slowly, the pain in her arm faded, and the cut itself closed. “There, that should prevent scarring. Just be sure to watch for infection. I'm not very good at medical stuff yet.” With that, he made his way back to the center of the clearing and resumed his taijutsu.

 

~~

 

At the edge of the forest, Motoko met up with the rest of the Hinata apartment residents. Seeing the blood on her ripped shirt, they bombarded her with questions. “I'm alright, I promise,” she assured them. “He attacked me when he saw I had a sword, but he did heal the wound afterwards.”

 

“He attacked you, and you got injured,” Haruka said unbelieving. The cigarette on her lip falling to the ground. “He's just a little kid, how could he beat a master like yourself.”

 

“You know I'm not a true master yet. I'm not sure how he beat me, but he claimed it was for training. He even broke my blade,” she sighed, unsheathing her sword and revealing the clean cut about halfway through. “He threw something at me as he charged. They looked like throwing stars honestly. I dodged all but one of them, which I tried to block, but it went straight through. That's what hurt my shoulder. As the pain registered, he closed the gap and pinned my arm, putting a knife to my neck. He's dangerous.” Motoko shuddered. “Anyways, he said he'd be back in time for lunch.”

 

'Hmm, interesting,' Haruka thought. “Well, let's go get cleaned up and wait for our little warrior to get done.”

 

As they made their way back to the apartment, they started talking. “What should I make for lunch today? I want to make sure he likes his food, I don't want him to attack me,” Shinobu said, the fear evident on her face.

 

“I don't think you'll have to worry about him. He attacked me since I had a weapon,” Motoko reassured her.

 

“Oh, okay,” Shinobu answered, still not totally confident.

 

“I think you should make ramen, Shinobu. He seemed to have a lot of it in his bag,” Naru suggested.

 

“You really think he wants to eat ramen if he has so much with him,” Kitsune questioned her friend. “Maybe he'd want something else.”

 

“Well, we want him to be happy, and if he has that much ramen, he probably likes it at least a little bit.”

 

“Okay, now we just need a flavor,” Shinobu said.

 

“How about Tama flavored,” Su tried.

 

“No! We can't eat Tama,” Shinobu looked faint at the idea.

 

“Why not pork miso with egg? It's my favorite,” Kitsune offered.

 

“That could work, I think we even have all the ingredients. I'll start on the noodles and the soup as soon as we get back.”

 

“And I'll take a look at that cut,” Haruka said, patting Motoko on her good shoulder. About then, they reached the front doors, and made their way inside. Naru went up to study, Kitsune lounged in the living room, and Su set off to tweak her ninja finder. In Haruka's room, the older woman inspected Motoko's shoulder.

 

“This is odd. You've got blood all over your shoulder, and I can tell that you got hurt right here just by the blood trails, but there's no mark. No cut, not even a scar. What did you do to this?”

 

“I didn't do anything. The boy put his hand over it, it glowed faintly, and then it started to feel better. Although he did mention he wasn't very good with medical things. He also warned me to make sure an infection didn't start.”

 

“Well, we'll keep an eye on this, but I'd say you're pretty much healed already. Are you sure you got cut,” the woman asked her with a questioning look in her eye.

 

“I'm positive. He threw what looked like throwing stars, but I didn't get a good look, and I tried to deflect one, which cut my sword and sliced my shoulder.”

 

“Well, you go rest 'til lunch. And take it easy, okay?”

 

Motoko nodded and made her way back to her room. She kept replaying the encounter in her head, over and over. How had that boy been so fast, and how could a thrown weapon cut straight through her sword. He claimed he was a ninja. Was he telling the truth? But weren't ninja something out of fantasy, a group of secret warriors that attack with deadly speed and stealth?

 

TBC

 

~~

 

(1) A direct excerpt from Naruto Manga 36, Chapter 317

 

A/N I'm hoping the characters don't come off too much OOC. I have a nasty habit of writing scenarios, and then trying to fit the characters in after. That, plus I suck at dialog (methinks at least).

My schedule is finally coming back into some semblance of control, so chapters should be coming a bit faster. My goal is to use the time I sit reading between classes (cause honestly, who studies?) to get some typing done on my newly reformatted laptop. I've got a bunch of ideas for more stories, including another Naruto crossover and a straight Naruto. Work has been INCREDIBLY boring, and I work nights again, so I get a lot of thinking done while waiting for the graveyard to show up. With any luck, I'll be updating weekly or faster, depending on my level of creativity/energy during the week to type four different stories, 2 of which haven't been posted anywhere yet, I want buffers for my weekly deadline. (Luckily for me I'm pretty good at keeping things between stories straight). I have 2 solid hours of boredom between all my classes most days, and Thursdays all to myself, so we'll see what happens.

 

I'm looking for a beta reader, simply because I like having something proofread before I post, or I end up changing things after the fact (like this chapter)