Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Lacking Sight ❯ Brothers ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Until recently, the man known as Jiraiya, the legendary Toad Sennin, had been proud to say that only once in his life had he come near to death. Admittedly, it was sort of pathetic that he had allowed a woman to beat him to within an inch of his life, but hey, Tsunade wasn't your normal woman. He'd thought he'd regained some measure of dignity by forcing the title of Hokage on her...
However, for Jiraiya, dignity was an elusive and fickle thing, which was why the Toad Sennin had spent the last week in a hospital bed, unconscious, his dignity ground to dust once again. This time, a fourteen-year-old kid–his own apprentice, to boot–had beaten him into a sack of broken bones and bruised organs. He was awake now, but he suspected that he wouldn't be functioning normally for quite a while. Silently, he cursed the day that he had embraced the God of Perversion.
“Ah, are you awake now, Jiraiya-san?”
The Toad Sennin's neck, thankfully, had not been critically injured, and so he was able to turn his head to see the man who sat beside his bed. He was tall, wore black and green, and sported a pair of dark sunglasses, though they were indoors and the curtains had been drawn over the windows. Jiraiya stirred the soup that had once been his brain. Damn you, Kyuubi, Naruto... Then he found a name to match the face before him.
“Keisuke of the Grave...”
The man in sunglasses grinned. “I'm pleased to see you remembered. We last met maybe four years ago, and only briefly at that. If memory serves, then you are one of these three Sennin that people whisper about, right?”
Jiraiya grunted in assent.
Keisuke continued his questioning. “Naruto tells me that you are on an extended training journey, and that you're supposed to be supervising him... right?”
This time Jiraiya spoke. “Yeah... listen, my memory's a little hazy, what happened?”
Keisuke nodded and launched into his tale. “You've been hospitalized for about six days now. You suffered four broken ribs, two broken legs, a compound fracture in your left arm, a concussion... You get the idea. Basically, Naruto steamrolled your ass.”
Jiraiya grimaced. Yeah, I'll bet he did...
“I'm impressed that you're still alive, considering that you looked a little battered when you found us. Fruits of your 'research,' maybe, Jiraiya?” Keisuke gave a small laugh.
The Toad Sennin gave another grunt. “Get on with it. What did Naruto do?”
Keisuke's face became very serious, making Jiraiya grimace again. “I'm not entirely sure myself, and Naruto-kun doesn't remember much. I'll tell you what I do know: Naruto was beyond angry that you had abandoned him to be captured for the sake of your perverted 'research,' and attacked you. You were able to repel him easily for a while, but as Naruto became still angrier, I felt a dangerous chakra emanate from him, and his aura changed, so that it seemed he wasn't himself anymore, but something wild and destructive, bent on your demise.”
Jiraiya felt the blood drain from his face, and he shivered a bit involuntarily. “Kyuubi...” Since when had Naruto been able to release that much of the demon's power?
Keisuke's eyebrows arched in recognition. “I've heard that name. Naruto mentioned it when I asked him about his change in aura, but refused to go into detail about it. From what I've felt of it, I think it's probably a demonic power, but I want to hear it from you, his sensei... What is the chakra that Naruto used that day, and what is 'Kyuubi?'”
Realizing that it couldn't be helped, Jiraiya told him.
“I see,” said Keisuke, “That's a pretty serious burden on a young kid. You realize that this might end up going very, very wrong in a multitude of places, don't you?”
“Yeah,” grunted Jiraiya, “But I think–and Tsunade does as well–that the Yondaime knew what he was doing that night. Naruto hasn't let Kyuubi escape in all his fourteen years, and we believe he has the strength and determination to hold him for a few decades more, if not for the rest of his life.”
“Well,” said Keisuke, “It's good that somebody has faith in him... when I first met Naruto, there was hardly a soul in the world that would even look at him. I'm glad.”
Keisuke rose from his seat and began moving to the door. “I have as much faith in the kid as you do. I think I'll enjoy running around with you two.”
Jiraiya tried to raise his head from the pillow, but his spine protested, and he collapsed back onto it. His gasp of pain was out before he could stop it, and Keisuke's ear turned toward him.
“Something wrong, Jiraiya-san?” he asked with a small smirk.
“Hold it,” Jiraiya grated, “You can't come with us. We don't have money to feed you, and having more people draws more attention, which we don't want...”
“Is that so?” Keisuke said. His smile became wide to a degree which made Jiraiya very, very uncomfortable. “If that's it, then I'll be leaving at once. Naruto asked me to deliver a message to the Godaime Hokage...”
“All right!” Jiraiya yelled, “You're in, just don't... don't go to Tsunade with this. You definitely don't want to do that.”
Keisuke laughed and walked out the door. Or maybe, he thought, YOU don't want me to do that, eh, Jiraiya?
OoOoOoOoOoO
The bathtub was incredibly filthy. Then again, you'd expect it to be, with that kid running around sticking his nose in everywhere, Keisuke thought. Through his extended arms of chakra and the complete tuning-out of his other senses, he could feel the parts where filth had adhered to the porcelain. They were large and numerous, and probably would have revolted Keisuke if he were able to see them. Fortunately, though, he wasn't.
Concentrating, he wound a single thread around his right forearm, forming a small portion of his commanding seal. He left the rest of his arms extended into the bathtub so that they could continue to feel out his targets.
“Insotsu Kokuin: Kasai!” The seal glowed red and his right hand immolated itself in brilliant orange flame. After making sure that the fire wasn't in danger of lighting up the shower curtain or his clothing, Keisuke set his hand to the first blotch on the porcelain surface. It was difficult to find the right heat and intensity for his flame, at first, but he'd been practicing for a few years now; within a minute, he had it, and the blotch began to burn away.
“Keisuke-nii-chan? What are you doing down there?”
Keisuke didn't withdraw his hand, but moved one of his arms over to confirm that the speaker was indeed Naruto. “Hey, kid. Finally got bored of blasting stumps and rocks apart?”
Naruto grinned wide. “No point in keeping it up, since I already have the technique down pat,” he said. “I can do the Rasengan one-handed now.” He beamed with palpable pride, and Keisuke was sure that if he were any more full of himself, he might explode.
Ah, well, let him enjoy his little victory. Not every day you master a complicated jutsu like that.
“Oi, did Ero-Sennin try to run you off?”
“Yeah, and he failed, just like you said he would. This Tsunade must be damn scary if he caved at the mere mention of her...”
Both men grinned, and Keisuke put a noticeable measure of enthusiasm to his work. It hadn't been long, but they were quickly growing into good friends. Perhaps the fact that Keisuke had given Jiraiya an extra kick while he'd been sleeping had won him more favor with the boy, but whatever the cause, Keisuke welcomed the kid's good favor; it wasn't often that one was able to befreind such a unique person.
“So, Keisuke-nii-chan, what are you doin' down there? The hotel can clean its own bathrooms, ya know.”
“I know they can, kid, but that's not all I'm doing. This is a little control exercise.”
“Oh, really? Howzat?”
Keisuke pushed his sunglasses back up on his face and wiped some sweat with his free hand. “The Kokuin seal technique has to be pretty rigidly controlled, or it can be as dangerous for friendlies as it is for enemies. Cleaning the bathroom may look simple, but it's got a lot of value for training in control. If the fire is too intense, you'll damage the bathtub. Too mellow, and the best you'll do is make a dirty sludge.”
“Hey, Keisuke?”
“Yeah?”
“If you're trying to learn control so that you can kick a person's ass, then why are you training on mud? Isn't that kinda half-assed?”
Keisuke sighed. As entertaining as the kid was, Naruto had plenty of moments where his slow comprehension skills made him less than good company. “Actually, Naruto, it's more effective than it looks. When you first learned Rasengan, which did you learn first: How to control the spin or how to blow stuff up with an overload of chakra?”
Naruto's aura went into a state that Keisuke recognized immediately, though he'd only known Naruto for a short while. Naruto's brain was actually working to put two and two together.
After a while, he said, “You're right, I did learn to control the spin first. How'd you know that, Keisuke-nii-chan?”
Keisuke simply said, “Instinct. Anyway, practicing on dirt is underrated. Nobody cares if you burn it up, and power is easy to use once you've got control down. Granted, some techniques are meant to blow up big stuff, but most things can be mastered like this. Crawl before you learn to run, kid.”
“Heh, I think I see what you mean, nii-chan.” Keisuke smiled. Naruto wasn't the brightest bulb in the world, but it seemed that he was starting to learn his lessons a little easier. At least, he was a far cry from the obscenely loud little kid he had met back in Konoha. “Hey, Keisuke, think you could teach me how to do it? That seal thing?”
Now Keisuke stopped and drew his hand out, releasing the seal. He heaved a second sigh as the flames dissipated. He'd been anticipating this question, but still wasn't exactly sure how to answer it. He rose from the floor and walked outside the bathroom, motioning for Naruto to follow.
“Hey, hey, I asked you a question!” he said, and a confused frown spread on his face, but he followed without question.
Keisuke endured his prodding and poking until they reached a seemingly deserted outcropping. The hospital where Jiraiya was now staying was up in a mountain township, bordered on one side by a forest where the inhabitants hunted, on two sides by barren rock and by a sheer cliff on the east side, from which one would definitely be expected to never return. They were now in a rocky field on the mountainous south side, and it was a safe bet that they would neither hurt anything nor be discovered while they were there.
Turning to face Naruto, Keisuke reached an invisible arm towards the kid, brushing his shoulder.
“Close your eyes, kid.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
Naruto did so.
“Can you feel that? Your right shoulder?”
“It tickles,” said Naruto. “Is that chakra?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“But you're fifty feet away from me.”
“Yep.”
“So how are you making it reach that far?”
Keisuke's face had a slightly distant look as he explained, “It's one of sixty-four arms of chakra that I can reach outside my body. Each arm starts at one of my inner coils' tenketsus, and can reach about sixty feet out. They work just like a second set of inner chakra coils; they send chakra where I need it to go, when I want it to go there, but these are external and mobile, and so they can have more and different uses from the actual inner coils.”
Naruto just stared for a moment as he absorbed all of this, and Keisuke took his silence as invitation to continue. “Collectively, they're called the Sixty-Four Ghostly Arms. They're what I use to perform my Kokuin seals and some other useful techniques. It has a fair amount of limitations, so it's not all-powerful, but it's definitely got a lot of utility–especially for someone who can't see. All those arms are great feelers.”
The blond gennin's aura perked up as he recognized the name of the skill he'd wanted to learn. “So, Keisuke, d'you think I can learn it!”
Keisuke's face betrayed nothing. “That's just it, kid... I don't know yet.”
“Eh!”
“The thing is, I'm the only one I know who's been able to use the Ghostly Arms since I learned to do it seven years ago.”
“Huh? So... is it a Kekkai Genkai jutsu? A bloodline limit?”
“Like I said, I don't know. I'm the only one that I know who can do it, and neither of my sons could ever use it. For all I know, it could be an ability unique to me, or it could be something that anyone could learn. Or, as you say, it might be a blood limit. There's no way to tell.”
“Aww,” whined Naruto, “But, if nii-chan had a blood limit, it would be really awesome.”
“Hey, buck up. We haven't ruled it out yet, kid. And I've still got more to say.”
“Huh? What?”
“This might sound kind of far-fetched... but I only became aware that the Arms even existed about a month after I met you in Konoha. After you let me borrow some of your blood.”
Naruto's aura took on a tinge of surprise, and then his gears started turning.
“So... you're saying you got this power from me?”
“It's only an idea,” said Keisuke. “Normally, swapping blood with somebody who has a Kekkai Genkai doesn't get you a special ability. But I'm...” Keisuke trailed off, searching for the right words, “Not one of those who fall in the 'normal' category, and neither are you, really, having a demon in you. It could be that some abnormal quality in either your blood or mine made a power that was latent in you stick and flourish in me. Who knows, really? The odds don't favor it, but you just might actually have some kind of blood-specific jutsu.”
Keisuke felt Naruto's aura take on a determined tone as he came to a conclusion.
“So, Keisuke-nii-chan,” he said, “If my blood and my power stuck itself in you, then that makes us kinda like brothers, doesn't it?”
Now it was Keisuke's turn to be surprised. He hadn't expected that at all. But, if you think about it, it does sort of make sense...
Naruto pumped his fist in the air. “Alright! I'm going to learn this ghost's sixty-fourth arm thing! Keisuke-nii-chan, let's give it a shot!”
Once again, Naruto's infectious energy got hold of Keisuke's mouthparts before Keisuke himself did. Crazy kid, he thought, never had a real family in all his life, small wonder he's jumping at the chance to find a brother in me. I wonder how many 'brothers' he's made at home...
OoOoOoOoOoO
From behind a tall formation of rocks, the woman watched the two young men, white eyes narrow with focus, veins popping around their sockets. She had seen them enter the village, carrying the bloody pulp that was the legendary Toad Sennin to the local hospital. She had watched the young blond loiter at ramen stalls and public parks all over town, making more noise than was polite and working himself half to death with his training. Occasionally, she had observed flashes of a chakra in him that was not his own, not even human. And now, she had witnessed this blind man demonstrate a manipulation of chakra that only the adult Hyuuga could recognize and hadn't seen in fourteen years.
If what she had just seen was what she thought it was, then the main Hyuuga Clan needed to know immediately. Silently, she hastened away from the outcropping and back to the village, where her courier was ready.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Hinata sank onto the stool at Ichiraku's and exhaled deeply before ordering a miso ramen. She had been coming here once or twice a week lately for various declared reasons; relaxing after a long day of training, unwinding after a mission, chatting with Ayame-san, trying out the new recipe that Ichiraku Teuchi-san had created... They were numerous, these excuses.
Though in many cases, her interest in the new flavors was genuine and she really did enjoy talking to Ichiraku's daughter, and the ramen was often an effective relaxant, Hinata's original reason for coming here was always beneath it all, and from the way the kind ramen cook and his daughter flashed knowing looks in her direction whenever she walked in, it showed.
Hinata missed him. She knew that he was in good hands with Jiraiya-sama, that he was working his hardest to become stronger, just like her, but still she missed him. And no matter how hard she tried to act like nothing was wrong, no matter how kindly her father had acted towards her after she became a Chuunin, no matter how hard her teammates and Kurenai-sensei tried to give her other things to think about, she couldn't stop herself from coming here to relive in her head all those things that he said and did that made her weak, made her strong, made her stutter and faint, and then made her rise against the odds to fight again. He was a part of her life that she could never shed, and though she could live on in his absence, there was a void in her that yearned to go back to the day he had left, and pull him back into it.
And as Ayame put her order before her, she couldn't help but turn her thoughts to the less pleasant possibilities–the things that might go wrong, might make him want to never return, might make him want to rush after Uchiha Sasuke prematurely and get himself captured and tortured, or killed...
Hinata mentally slapped herself, grabbed her chopsticks, and broke into her ramen. That wasn't going to happen. Naruto-kun wasn't that stupid, and even if he were, he'd persevere and find a way to win. At least, she hoped so. She thought so...
Oh, look at me, she thought, worrying over terrible things that definitely won't happen... except they could... She stopped eating and put her head in her hands, trying to get a grip.
“Hinata-chan?” came a voice from behind her, “What's wrong? You look really upset.”
Hinata turned in her seat and greeted the pink-haired medical ninja trainee respectfully. “Konichiwa, Sakura-san...”
“You don't need to be so polite with me, Hinata-chan. We were classmates, remember?”
“H-hai, Sakura-chan.”
“So, what's bothering you?”
“Oh... nothing...”
Sakura grinned a little. “It couldn't be... Naruto, could it?”
As Sakura had predicted, Hinata went red and stuttered. “N-not really...” Yep, this shy girl was still in love with her blond teammate.
“Right... and who else are you coming here to have naughty daydreams about? Kiba?” Sakura knew that it was somewhat mean, but teasing Hinata over this was more than a little fun. And it was one way to get her talking truth.
“N-no! Kiba-kun has nothing to do with...”
“Okay, okay, calm down, Hinata-chan! It was a joke!” She watched as the blue-haired Hyuuga huddled into herself and looked down at her unfinished ramen. Hinata's defenses were broken–now was the time to strike at the heart of the problem. “So, you really are worried about Naruto, then?”
Hinata sighed, resigning herself to her fate. “No... I mean, I'm not worried about him, really. I know he'll be safe with one of the Sennin watching him, but...”
Sakura waited for her to finish. However tough she was physically–which, in recent times, was very, very tough–the girl was fragile when it came to Naruto, and patience was required if one was to get a coherent response.
“Sakura-chan... there are so many things that can go wrong and... what if he rushes into something and is killed or captured? What if he finds something outside the village that makes him want to stay outside? Or... what if he does come back and he... and he...”
“Isn't the same?” Sakura suggested. “Or, worse yet... remains as dense as ever, and never notices you?”
Hinata gave a nod. Sakura had hit it right on the head.
“I can empathize with you, Hinata. I know what it's like when someone important to you, who practically means the world to you, goes away to follow his own path, find his own strength.” Indeed, she did know. The incident would be burned into her memory for as long as she lived. “I know how it hurts... but I also know that, in the long run, there really isn't much you can do about it except fight through it.”
Hinata stared. Uchiha Sasuke... Sakura is like me.
“Of course, there isn't a day that goes by where I don't wonder where he is now, what he's going through, or if there was really anything I could have done differently,” she went on, “But what's done is done. If he ever returns to this village–forced or not–I'm not sure what will happen. If I never see him again, though... At least I'll die with the good memories of him that I still have. I can keep going on that. And...”
She paused, putting a hand on Hinata's shoulder. “Naruto did promise that he'd bring him back. I think I can put a little faith in that. Naruto always keeps his promises.”
“I stick to what I say and I don't change it. That's my nindo!”
Hinata smiled, remembering that. Yes, Naruto did always keep his promises.
“If you ask me, he'll be the same old Naruto when he gets back.” Sakura said. “He'll be dense, sure... but then again, you've changed quite a bit, haven't you, Hinata-chan? Stronger, prettier... he'd have to be ten times as stupid as he is not to notice you now.”
Hinata smiled. “Arrigatou, Sakura-chan.”
“Not a problem. Just remember that even though it hurts sometimes without him, it never hurts to have a little faith and to be grateful for what you've had in the past.”
As Sakura turned to leave, she said over her shoulder, “And if he doesn't notice you at all when he gets back, I'll punch him into next century, the big idiot...”
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
That evening, Hyuuga Hiashi sat in his garden, reading a letter that had arrived from a contact in faraway lands.
Hiashi-sama,
One week prior to the sending of this letter, three unusual travelers entered my village of residence. One of them was the Toad Sennin, Jiraiya, who was at the time badly injured and is even now still recovering in the local hospital. The second traveler was a young blond Konoha gennin who, on closer inspection, proved to be the container of the demon Kyuubi, and has demonstrated repeatedly his ability to manipulate Kyuubi's chakra almost at will. My eyes can see no weakening in the seal upon him, but I am of the opinion that this should be investigated further. I should like to think that you don't want a human bomb returning to Konoha.
It is the third traveler, however, which concerns me the most. He resembles the description of the blind man that visited you seven years ago, the one that the branch house tried and failed to apprehend, and he shares the same name as that man. Today, my Byakugan eyes witnessed him demonstrate a power that we have not seen in over fourteen years, since the Kyuubi was sealed. He names it the “Sixty-Four Ghostly Arms,” but if I am right, it is the same power that nearly undid the whole Hyuuga hierarchy when I was a young girl. I believe that he intends to teach this power to the Kyuubi boy.
The travelers will be here a while longer while Jiraiya recovers. I have left Konoha, but I am not able to stand by and simply let this pass, knowing that I may have let a potential threat to both Konoha and the Hyuuga Clan go free. Please advise me on what to do next.
--Hyuuga Haruka,
--Independent member of the Branch House
OoOoOoOo End Chapter Three oOoOoOoO