Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Negative Genesis ❯ Drain ( Chapter 2 )

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A/N: Hm... it's kinda shocking to see people actually read my author's notes. I guess I can't start writing the words to "A Sailor's Chanty" or some of the other foolishness I planned, then. Then again, why not? You can always just scroll down the page.

Gets hit by a rock with a note attached to it "We are NOT amused."

...Right, moving along, then. Thank you Darkestrose for leaving a review for last chapter. You comments are appreciated.

I don't own Naruto, and suing me will bring a terrible curse upon your family. Okay, not really.

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(Kyuubi's Memory - First Contact)

Kyuubi sat placidly in her prison. She had been here for three years now, ever since the 4th Hokage defeated her, trying to think of a way to break free. She still hadn't recovered enough yet to merely break loose, but waiting like this for the duration of the boy's life was not an option. She might be immortal, but the world did turn without her. She had been on a mission before she was sealed, and she intended to continue once she escaped.

The 4th had selected a good vessel though. He had plenty of energy to hold her back, and she was unable to impose her will on him. She was at the mercy of a three year-old. Kyuubi was just glad he didn't know about her yet.

The sound of weeping got Kyuubi's attention to the outside world. Ah yes. Why was he crying? The boy wasn't hurt, well not too badly anyway, and he wasn't afraid. Humans and their emotions. It is completely impossible to understand.

Tuning him out, Kyuubi tried to think up a plan, but she couldn't think with so much noise...!

Be silent! Kyuubi shouted in frustration. To her surprise, the boy actually stopped and looked around.

"W-Who's th-th-there?" he asked, looking around the room. He gripped his pillow tightly.

You... you can hear me? Kyuubi asked, perplexed.

"Yeah..." came the tentative reply.

Well, didn't this just open up a lot of new options for her. She was unable to take over the boy's body, but perhaps she could bend him to her will by talking to him.

Or at the very least, she could get him to shut up.

Um... Uzumaki, right? Could you tell me what is the matter? Kyuubi asked as nicely as possible. She still sounded rather gruff, though.

"I'm always by myself, 'cause the grown-ups tell the children not to play with me. I even sleep all alone!" Naruto cried. "I want to die!"

Kyuubi stopped short on this. It was a bit more drastic than she had thought at first. Leave it to a human to shun their savior because of blind superstition. Now she needed to deal with this, or the kid would do something stupid.

If you go to sleep, I'll play with you, okay? she soothed. But I must ask that you stop crying.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

Go to sleep. Kyuubi said flatly, her patience already waning. A moment later Naruto was already under the covers again.

Kyuubi entered his dream, appearing to be a girl about his age with long black hair and red eyes. When Naruto saw the girl his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. He couldn't believe it--he had a friend! His own friend that he could play with and talk to whenever he wanted!

Kyuubi merely watched as Naruto's face went from shock to joy. Then it was her turn for her face to show shock as Naruto flung his arms around her, tears streaming down his face. Kyuubi stood stunned, not sure of what to do as the boy held her. After a while, she pushed away.

What do you want to play? Kyuubi asked, trying to shake the strange feeling Naruto's hug had given her. The boy wiped the tears from his face and was practically bursting with energy.

All in all, it wasn't a bad night. Much better than doing nothing, at least.

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Negative Genesis: Chapter 02 - Drain

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Hatake Kakashi was walking slowly to his team's meeting place, his nose buried in Icha Icha Paradise. It was noon now, and he guessed that his team had been waiting for about seven hours or so. He also knew that they would be pretty mad--he was sure he would be angry if he had to wait that long for an instructor--but his team never really carried a grudge before. Not that it would affect him that much if they did.

"Good morning," Kakashi greeted.

"YOU'RE LATE!!" Sakura shouted in reply.

Ah, the morning ritual. He had already opened his mouth to feed them an excuse when he noticed something was off--only one person had shouted at him. Surely Naruto wouldn't forego the morning ritual. Where was he anyway?

"Good morning," A tired voice said behind Kakashi. Spinning around, he saw that it was Naruto, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks. He had washed up this morning, but was still wearing his pajama pants and a black shirt. At least he remembered to wear sandals and his forehead protector.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke watched in shocked silence as the boy took his place, leaning against the handrail. He actually had arrived later than Kakashi!

"Naruto, you're late," Kakashi said as if in a dream. "A good ninja must be on time for his appointments." Sakura bent over from a sudden coughing fit, and Sasuke just scoffed, smirking openly. Kakashi decided he'd get them later. Naruto was the real problem right now. "What's the matter, Naruto?"

"Nothin' wrong wit' me, Kakashi-sensei, nope 'm fine..." Naruto mumbled incoherently. He started to say something else, but a yawn covered it up.

Kakashi was starting to get a bit angry. Naruto obviously wasn't getting enough sleep at night, even though he knew he had to be at the bridge by 6 am for training and missions. Back when he was a genin, his instructor would skin him if he showed up like this to a meeting. Okay, so he did show up like this a few times back when he was a genin, but that wasn't the point.

"Hey, Naruto, come here for a sec," he said. Naruto complied, shuffling over to his master. Kakashi leaned over the handrail for the bridge. "I want to show you something. Look, look..."

Naruto yawned again, and gave a short peek over the railing. Kakashi then grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him in the river. "I want you to swim out to the lake, do 5 laps around it, and come back here. Be done in three hours if you know what's good for you," he said curtly.

Naruto didn't even say anything. He just yawned once more, and swam off. Kakashi watched this with a blank expression while Sakura and Sasuke vowed never to be late to one of their meetings.

Kakashi however was still puzzling over the events of that morning. If Naruto simply lacked sleep, then the jolt from the water should have been enough to prompt some sort of a reaction. Also, he thought he heard Naruto mumble, "this is you're fault, somehow"... It was all very strange.

"Did you guys do something to Naruto yesterday? Did he get hurt or have to fight?" Kakashi asked.

"Nope, not that I know of," Sakura replied, watching the boy swimming off in the distance. "I think he just stayed up too late."

"It doesn't seem to have dampened his swimming ability any," Sasuke pointed out. Naruto was already out of sight of the three.

"Hm..." Kakashi frowned in thought. "Oh well. I've got missions for us today, but you'll have to work harder now that you're a man down..."

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Are you sureyou don't know what's wrong? Naruto asked while he swam. His body felt completely worn out. He was sure that his own chakras were pretty low at the moment, and would have never made it out of bed if Kyuubi hadn't supplied him some of her energy to work with. It didn't help any with the lethargic feeling, but it did get him from point A to point B. Barely.

It has something to do with my presence in your body--that much is certain. Kyuubi replied, narrowly avoiding an outright lie. The process of absorbing energy put the host in a trance similar to sleep. However, the host didn't receive any rest so, ironically, for her to gain energy, Naruto had to expend a lot of his own. She wanted to stop the process so he could rest, but she had grown too strong lately. The energy flowed to her now whether she reached out for it or not.

I... uhm... I apologize for causing so much trouble, Naruto-kun, Kyuubi whispered after a while.

Naruto narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Sure, he wasn't feeling too good right now, and Kyuubi was responsible for it, but she had never been above kicking him when he was down in the past. Now she was apologizing? You feeling okay, Kyuubi? You've been really... polite lately.

...I just feel bad for doing this to you. You do not deserve to live like this. Kyuubi replied truthfully.

Eh? Demons can feel guilt? Naruto joked. He knew he was in trouble when he felt a flare of indignation coming from Kyuubi.

How dare you! She spat. I was tryingto be nice, but since you do not seem to like that...! She abruptly withdrew the energy she was feeding Naruto and he sunk like a rock.

I was just joking! Naruto called back.

And so am I. Kyuubi retorted. Come on, Naruto-kun. Laugh it up.

I can't! I'm drowning! Naruto pointed out.

That would be the joke. Kyuubi replied, still seething.

I'm sorry, Kyuubi! Please help me out! Naruto thought desperately. Grudgingly, Kyuubi supplied him a little energy so he could swim again. Naruto sighed, thanking the fox demon. She merely grunted in reply and shut herself back up.

Naruto, sensing her mood, left her alone and swam in silence. He was going to need to apologize later.

=====

Ilk looked out into the distance, shielding his eyes from the sun. The human world was always so bright. It took him a while to adjust to the glare of the sun enough that he didn't have to tie a piece of cloth over his eyes. He still couldn't see too far without shielding his eyes and squinting. Looking back, he saw that the rest of his party wasn't doing all that well either.

"Who ever heard of having a world that orbits a ball of fire?" One of the lower-level demons asked. "Crazy humans."

"It's not like they designed it. Now be quiet," Ilk sighed. The energy trail led in to that forest over the horizon, so perhaps the trees would provide good enough cover. At least he hoped it would.

Morale had been pretty low at the start of their mission, and it had gone downhill from there. Most demons didn't really like the human world much, and they despised it more when they had to disguise themselves. Few demons could tolerate looking like a human for long, and fewer still actually liked it. Ilk hated it, but he had his orders to think of. He could not start a commotion or there would be hell to pay. Literally.

"Okay, we'll continue until we reach the forest. Then we'll stop for the day," Ilk ordered. The other three demons saluted and picked up their bags.

I just want to finish this and go home, Ilk thought to himself.

=====

"5... 4... 3..." Kakashi counted looking down at his watch. Naruto had just made it to shore and was now running for the bridge. He somehow still seemed to be sleepy, even though he was moving quickly. "...2 ...1."

Naruto stood right in front of Kakashi, breathing heavily. "Well well... you just made it. You awake now?" Naruto nodded, though his eyes were still half-closed. "Good. It will be much worse next time you are late. You guys are dismissed." Kakashi then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke turned to leave, giving a half-hearted wave to his teammates over his shoulder. Sakura took a step to follow him, but remembered Naruto. It seemed that the small amount of energy he had earlier had completely disappeared. He was down on one knee and shaking his head as if to clear it. He mumbled something that sounded like "I didn't mean it".

Sighing, Sakura decided that Sasuke probably wouldn't have gone on a date with her anyway, and she would be a horrible person to leave a teammate in such a state. She walked up to Naruto and dragged him into a standing position. "Hey, Naruto, you awake? Hello?" Snapping her fingers a few times in his face, she peered into his eyes. They didn't seem to be focusing, so she shook him a little bit.

"Hey Sakura-chan 'm fine jus' fine you dun gotta worry ur pretty lil' head..." he rambled.

The lights are on, but nobody's home, Inner Sakura thought, sighing.

I can see that, Sakura thought, pulling Naruto back over to the river. Grabbing the back of his head, Sakura dunked Naruto under the water. She counted to five and pulled him back up. Naruto started to mumble something about the river tasting bad, so she dunked him again. He came out complaining about feeling dizzy, so she dunked him a third time. When she finally took him out, he was sleeping.

This is useless! Inner Sakura shouted. Just leave him!

Let me at least take him home first, Sakura replied hooking her arms under Naruto's and hauling him up. Back pedaling, she dragged him off towards his apartment.

About 20 minutes (and countless strange looks) later, Sakura came up to the door of Naruto's apartment. Turning the handle, she let herself in and leaned Naruto against a wall. She was going to leave, but she noticed her dress was wet from where Naruto had been leaning against her.

Oh yeah. She thought, He needs to change before sleeping or he'll get sick. Drawing a deep breath, Sakura leaned close to Naruto and screamed as loud as she could.

Naruto's eyes shot open, but he didn't have enough energy to panic much.

"You're such a pest, you know that? Change your clothes and get to sleep," she instructed, as she stood to leave. "Feel better tomorrow," she said as she left.

Naruto mumbled a reply, though even he wasn't sure what he said. He was too busy weighing the pros and cons of going to sleep as he was.

Go ahead and rest. Perhaps you will die. Kyuubi said evenly. Naruto's head nodded and he started snoring. Wake up you moron! I will not have your death on my head!

You've been doing something to my body and you feel guilty. Naruto said suddenly.

Kyuubi stopped short. Naruto could feel a mish-mash of emotions coming through the bond, until it settled on anger. He couldn't tell if it was anger at him or if she was angry with herself, but he didn't think it would matter too much in the end.

What makes you think that? Kyuubi replied stonily. Naruto could hear some of the rage in her voice. I--

Don't worry about it. Naruto said, standing up.

What? Kyuubi asked, perplexed.

Whatever it is you're doing, don't worry about me. I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose. You're just doing what you have to. Naruto limped towards his room..

You cannot be serious--

You know how it is, Naruto cut in, managing a weak grin. You're my friend--I'm happy as long as you're happy.

Kyuubi remained silent for a while after hearing this. Damn it was hard to remain angry with a person you were sealed to for long, especially when that person was Naruto.

Stop interrupting me, moron. She said as she lent Naruto a little more energy to get himself changed and to his bed.

=====

Uchiha Sasuke approached the bridge in the morning as usual. He could see Sakura approaching it from the other side as well. She waved a greeting, smiling brightly at him. Sasuke groaned, but returned a half-wave back. Perhaps she would be satisfied and leave him alone today. He had no such luck, though, as it only seemed to encourage the girl. Sasuke merely leaned against the railing and let her chatter wash over him. He wondered how long it would take Naruto and Kakashi-sensei to show up and save him from this...

"Good Morning."

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened as they both turned to the voice, to find none other than the famous copy-ninja himself, Hatake Kakashi leaning on the rail next to Sakura. First Naruto refuses ramen a few days ago, then he shows up later than Kakashi for practice, and now Kakashi has actually arrived at the meeting place a whole half-hour early. If this kept up, he and Sakura were going to be stuck in a constant state of shock.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're... early..." Sakura stammered out.

"I bet it's really Naruto using a henge again," Sasuke scoffed, recovering from his earlier shock. There was no way he was falling for that one again!

"'fraid not," Kakashi replied, sighing. Was it really that unbelievable that he could show up to a meeting on time? Anyway, he just had to keep an eye out for Naruto. He didn't know why exactly the blond ninja was running late yesterday, but he didn't want Naruto to think he could just arrive whenever he wanted. He wanted to make sure he was on time today.

Reading his little book while keeping an eye on the time, while his two students tried to carry on as they would normally, Kakashi wondered if he could bother his students like this every day. Needless to say, there were some awkward silences and strange looks, but they managed to pass the time without any mishaps. Naruto arrived at 6:00 am exactly, mumbling what could have been a greeting, or a curse, or both maybe.

"You didn't get any sleep last night again? Want another swimming lesson?" Kakashi asked, not looking away from his book. Naruto merely shook his head, trying to stifle a yawn. Kakashi studied his student over the top of his book. This fatigue couldn't be natural. As tired as Naruto was yesterday, there was no way he could have avoided getting some rest last night, but he looked even worse today than he was yesterday. Also, he was still up and about, even if he was dog-tired. Where was this energy coming from? Well, there was a demon inside of him, but...

Kakashi blinked. The demon? Could it be causing all of this? It would make sense, since he had already concluded that this energy loss was unnatural. This would be disturbing news indeed.

"Naruto, didn't you get any rest yesterday, like I told you!? God, you're worthless!" Sakura shouted, throwing her hands up into the air in defeat.

"Don't expect us to baby-sit for you on our missions today, dobe," was all Sasuke said.

"Luckily," Kakashi put in, "We don't have any missions today. Or for the next two weeks, for that matter. We are going to be participating in a high C-level mission, so we have been given time to prepare and train."

"Training today?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke scoffed. "Who will I spar with? Sakura or the dozing wonder, here?"

"'m fine..." Naruto mumbled, swaying on his feet slightly.

"Well, Naruto is your sparing partner normally. Use this as an opportunity to perfect your form. Besides," Kakashi smirked, looking away from his book. "Naruto has more energy than he seems to right now."

Sasuke shrugged. "Whatever. Don't blame me when he gets hurt."

=====

Could you stop that!? Naruto thought angrily.

Stop what? Kyuubi replied innocently.

Naruto leapt over a barrage of kunai and began forming hand seals mid-air. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" he stated, a puff of smoke going around his body. Upon landing, Kyuubi promptly withdrew all of the energy she was giving him, making him fall flat on his face. All of the shadow clones, including the one he had managed to isolate and sneak around to Sasuke's rear, vanished. Sasuke wasted no time, rushing in for the easy victory, but Kyuubi then supplied a large burst energy to Naruto, allowing him to substitute his form for a nearby rock. Sasuke's attack smashed the poor thing to bits.

Your fighting is just awful today. You are acting much too lazy. Just look how much energy you have left over. Kyuubi needled. He could swear she would be smiling if she had a mouth.

Well, it seemed that Kyuubi was back to normal at least. Now if only she didn't get him killed because of it... "Hey," Naruto yawned, gesturing to the dust pile that was a rock not too long ago. "You were going to hit me with that, bastard?"

"Of course," Sasuke replied, smirking.

"That's enough for today. Good work, both of you," Kakashi said, waving to them. "You are dismissed."

Naruto sagged as Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura had stepped in to spar with Sasuke once in a while, but Naruto felt like he had been fighting all day. Even with Kyuubi giving him energy, he just felt so... tired still. He didn't think he could keep up with this pace any longer.

You are correct in that assumption, Naruto-kun. Kyuubi said sagely. Perhaps you should rest before you attempt to go home. Maybe you will make it back without losing too much blood.

Gee thanks, Naruto thought dryly. He plopped himself down, leaning against a tree trunk. Glad to see you're having fun with all of this.

Did you not say that you are happy when I am happy? Kyuubi pointed out. I am inside your mind, you know. You want to laugh. You are merely too tired to.

You're a sadist... Naruto thought, sighing.

I know.

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=That Night=

Hatake Kakashi sat outside of Naruto's room, watching the boy "sleep". He wasn't exactly she what was happening but he had some idea. There was charka swirling all around his bed, and Naruto tossed and turned crazily, crying out occasionally.

So, Kakashi thought. That is why Naruto looks like he hasn't slept in a week. He really hasn't.

But what was he going to do from here. Obviously, Naruto's body couldn't stand up to much more of this treatment, but there wasn't anything Kakashi could really do about it. And reporting this to the council would only lead to Naruto's immediate disposal. Would that be appropriate in this case though?

Kakashi scoffed. Of course it wasn't! How could he even think about giving Naruto over to the council so easily? No, he would wait just a bit longer and trust that his student would pull himself out of this somehow. But what if Naruto couldn't manage it?

And how long did he dare wait?

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A/N: Well, there goes the second chapter. Look for the third anytime between now and never.