Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Rebirth ❯ Spring Returns ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Naruto © ™ characters. I do own all other original Characters.

 

A/N: Thank you for continuing to read this fic. Don't forget to Read & Review, as it is the only way for me to fix things you don't like or keep doing the things you do...and because it makes me feel happy inside…. Ja Ne.

 

 

Things to know…

* = See Authors notes at end of chapter

Bold = Kyubbified-Naruto speech

Bold Italics = Kyubbi speech

Italics = Thoughts/ flashbacks

() = Technique translation

~ Flashback sequence ~ = flashback

POV = P.oint O.f V.iew

 

Chapter 3:

Spring Returns

 

 

Spring had returned to Konoha in all its glory, and with it came many changes. It had been five years since the disappearance of the Kyubbi container, and the village had become much quieter since. There was no loud yells of excitement or the furious echoes of denials, just the smothering sound of silence. The Rookie nine had continued with their respective training and all had made it to the level of Chunnin, and by doing so they were some of the youngest to do so. Sakura, who had taken her training with Tsunade seriously before had taken at it even more vigorously after he left. Sasuke, who had at one time been sonly concerned with the destruction of his brother, which had caused him to push everyone way, was now someone that you could readily approach, although he still seemed to retain some of his old personality. Hinata, who after she had made the rank of Chunnin, had forced the clans' counsel to give her a leave of absence so that she may continue her own goals. Chouji, who was still as fat as ever, had mastered all of his families techniques and was in the process of experimenting and creating new ones to improve his clans standing. Shika, who hadn't changed at all…meaning still just as lazy as before, he just got paid more to do it, was now a Special Jounin who was an expert in tactical planning. Ino, having discovered that she had a talent to messing with people's head, took up training with the best Genjutsu user in the country, Kurenai. It continued in this matter for all the nine and seemed to occupy them just fine, as for the teachers, they to continued their duties, all the while listening for even a whisper of a blonde haired, bewhiskered boy. Kakashi, using his new gift of controlling his Sharingan eye, trained in its use until he could activate it at the slightest twitch and revert it just as quickly. Asuma continued to almost as lazy as Shika, although he did take up training with a new weapon, a staff. As for the Hokage, she seemed to have to remained untouched by time meaning she like sake just as much as she always had, and could still knock a man through a door and four walls with a single punch when she wasn't mad.

Team 7 or rather Kakashi and Sakura, were currently on a diplomatic mission to the Ice country on the anniversary of our friends departure. They had just reached the ninja village that was situated in the base of a large rift in the mountains when they were intercepted by a patrol of ice ninjas. Explaining their mission, they quickly fell into step with the patrol who escorted them right the gates of the village. Using one of the gate guards they followed him to the Kage's office and were told to go right in by the secretary. Opening the door, they jerked to a halt when they saw another man in the room sitting in one of the room two chairs. The Kage inclined his head at their entrance and waved them in before returning his attention to the person seated in front of him.

 

Sakura, curious to a fault inspected the man as much as she could from her position and new that Kakashi was doing the same. He seemed to be about 5” 9' and around 180 lbs. Other then those simple guesses she couldn't discern anything else. Returning her attention to the room, she listened at the conversion, while trying to look like she wasn't.

 

“We have made good progress on the western slope, but the slope is getting more dangerous as we go. If we continue to push any farther we may cause an avalanche and that would be bad for all involved.”, the man said in a clipped voice. Nodding his head, the Ice Kage replied, “Ask Hitomi to shore up what they can and then cease work on the project. We have more important things to do.” Nodding his head the man stood and revealed himself fully to the Leaf Nins. He had black facial hair and a strong physique, not a muscle bound one, but one that said he could lift his share of weight. Looking the two Leaf Ninjas over, he extended his hand to Kakashi and said quite congenially, “Welcome to the world's icebox. I'm Darik, Head Jounin of this village.”

 

Amazed by the man's forthrightness, Kakashi extended his hand and said with the same amount of generosity, “I'm Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-Nin of Konoha, and this is my teammate and student, Hurano Sakura.” Bowing to the foreign Nin, Sakura shook his pro-offered hand and silently waited while Kakashi made some more small talk.

 

Excusing himself and agreeing to the other ninja suggestion of a dinner with the ice nin and his team, Kakashi returned to the mission at hand and bowed to the leader of the Ice country and waited for Sakura to do the same before taking the other man's offer of a seat. “I have to say Sir, you have a most beautiful country.”, Kakashi said seriously, completely sincere in his compliment. Smiling knowingly, the Ice Kage replied, “Yes, it's a wonder that more people don't live here, but that is not the reason for your visit, I'm sure. Call me, Takashi, by the way, I really don't like the formal greetings all that much. So, tell me, why have you come such a long distance?”

 

Clearing his throat, Kakashi explained the Fire country's need. “At the moment, we are on the verge of an all out war with the Rock, Sound, and rogue elements of the Sand village. We traveled here, now, to ask for your aid in our time of need. My Hokage would like to point out the fact that we have always been peaceful with each other and would like to site that as an example of the bond that she is sure could grow to something much more.”, he said with no extra theatrics or dramatization. Bowing his head, the Ice Kage leaned back in his chair and seemed to become lost in thought. Kakashi took that as a good sign and sat back against the leather of his chair. Time passed while they waited for the Kage's answer, and after a while Sakura began to think that the Ice Kage had forgotten them when he spoke up. “This is not a decision that I alone can make. I will consult with the clan leaders of the village and give my answer tomorrow morn. For the time being you may stay here in the guest rooms. A guard will show you to them.” Nodding their heads in understanding, Kakashi and Sakura left the room and waited while the Kage gave the necessary orders before following the guard to the rooms. Remembering the other Ninja's offer, he asked the guard where he might find the place that Darik had mentioned, before leaving the building.

 

They roamed the streets and looked at all the different sights that they could before dusk settled over the valley. They followed the guard's direction and soon found themselves before a well light restaurant that seemed to being teeming with business. Asking the waitress for Darik, they went to the table she indicated and were greeted warmly by the man when they reached the entrance to his part of the restaurant. Turning to the rest of the areas occupants he went around the table with introductions, but stopped when he saw of the people seated there stand and leave the enclosure. A puzzled look crossed his features, but vanished almost before it was born. Kakashi and Sakura's interest raging full force now… they both wanted to know whom that man was. After eating and sharing small talk and information about the daily going-ons in Konoha, Kakashi popped the question, “Excuse me Darik, but I would like to know who the man that left earlier was.”, he said with as much etiquette as he could. The gently hubbub that had been humming around the table immediately ceased. Darik's face seemed to grow more guarded. He replied in a monotone, “He is a member of my team. He goes by the name Gale, although no one knows why. A team coming back from a mission had found him lying in the snow about a mile from here around five years ago. He is very intelligent, but is very secretive, I mean it took about a year for him to even do a simple dinner with us. He also never removes his mask.”

 

Kakashi's instincts had kicked into overdrive at the mention of the man being found in the snow FIVE years ago. Unknown to him a similar thought was going through Sakura's mind also, `Could it be? Could it really be him?' Looking at each other, they both looked back to Darik and asked the only question they could think of, “Do you know who found him, and if so do you know where we can find that person?”

 

Darik hesitated, for some reason he couldn't figure out why this foreign ninjas were so interested in one of his teammates. “Yes, I do know who found him and where he is, but my question to you is, Why? Why do you want to know? Why do you even care?”, he stated as carefully as he could. Kakashi, who noticed the sudden tension in the room, looked at Sakura and saw the pleading look he knew that would be there. Turning back to Darik he said, “I want to know because one of my teammates ran away from my village 5 years ago, today. I want to know because I want to find him so that I can tell him how much everyone misses him. I want to know so that I can have piece of mind.”, he put as much conviction as he could into those words and thought about just how true those words really were. He watch Darik's face for any signs of trouble, but was relieved when he saw that Darik had relaxed now seemed to be even more at easy then when they had started dinner. Clearing his throat, Darik said with a bemused smile on his face, “I am the one that found him, and you already know where I am.” Kakashi's face twitched at this and Sakura's brain just seemed to have frozen, because not a sound was heard from them for over a minute. “Then may I ask you some questions? Some questions about that man?”, Sakura replied when she got her voice back. Nodding his head, Darik waited for the quiz to start.

 

Sakura raked her brain for some of the most outstanding details of Naruto that she could remember, and the first one she thought of was his jumpsuit. “Do you remember what type of clothes he wore and what color they were?”, she asked with hope filling her voice. “I do, he wore just enough clothes to call what he wore rags, and as far as I could see they had used to be brown, or maybe that was just all the dirt and grim that had caked them.”, Darik said as the memories came back. Sakura's face fell at this, the clothes didn't help. Kakashi asked the next question, “What color hair and eyes did he have?”, he asked waiting to see if he would get a more likeable answer then the last. “He has either red hair with small blonde streaks or he has blonde hair with small red streaks. I don't know which it is; I can't remember which it was. He also has blue or green eyes, again, I don't remember all that well.”, Darik replied immediately as the memories cleared more. Sakura asked the one question that she felt would decide the whole thing, “Did he have any distinguishing marks on his face?” It took Darik a few moments to think about this one, but eventually his answer was a negative. Both Sakura and Kakashi's spirits plummeted with the last answer and with heavy faces they excused themselves and returned to their rooms.

 

The Next Day…

 

A messenger had come early to Leaf Nin's rooms, with word from the Ice Kage that he wished to speak with them. Retracing their steps from the previous night they walked back into the Kage's office and once again took the offered seats. The Ice Kage, who had been looking upon the city from his window, turned and bit off any words that were about to come out. He saw the leaf Nin's faces and was deeply disturbed that they had found their stay in the village so horrible. “Excuse me, but I can see that something is troubling you. If something happened then I need to know so that I can fix it.”, he said in a kind voice, his face solemn. “Nothing has happened, Sir. We just mistook something for something that it was not. Do not let this worry you, so please go on. I am anxious to return to my village with your wise decision.”, Sakura, who was the more highly trained in the art of words, said with as happy a voice as she could muster. Takashi (the Ice Kage), let her reply go, but didn't put it aside. “We, that is the Clan Leaders and I, have reached a decision concerning your request.”, he said in a grave voice. Immediately both Kakashi and Sakura stood up and put their faces in unreadable masks. “What decision would that be, Sir?”, Kakashi replied in the same grave tone. “We have decided…to accept your Kage's plea. Tomorrow you will leave this village accompanied by Darik and his team and one of our Elite ANBU teams. They will place themselves under your Kage's command upon reaching the village.”, he said in a much lighter tone. He watched as the leaf Nin's faces changed with relief. Bowing to Takashi, they both thanked him then exited the room. They spent the rest of the day, in the city and with Darik and his team so that they could familiarize themselves with each other. As dusk turned to night, the ANBU team leader appeared and said that his team would meet the rest of them at the main gate, before disappearing again. Laying down they both slipped into a restless sleep, each dreaming of a blonde haired ninja.

 

Dawn the next morning…

 

Darik and his team along with the ANBU met Kakashi and Sakura at the gate the next morning. As they left through the gates, they looked back and saw the Ice Kage watching their departure. Bowing in his direction, they continued on their way. They marched through the snow, barely pausing for breaks. At night, they set a watch and got what rest they could in the icy landscape. This routine continued for three days before anything of interest happened. They were crossing the one open area that stood before the mountains when they ran into three Chunnin class nuke-nin. The battle was short but it provided a vital bond of trust between the different teams. What struck Kakashi as odd though was one of the ANBU seemed to be avoiding everyone. Now Kakashi had been ANBU and he knew quite a bit about their personality quirks but for some reason this particular one didn't feel right. He decided that it was time that he asked Darik or even the ANBU team leader.

 

He crunched through the snow and saw Darik talking to one of his teammates in his tent. Kakashi waited for them to leave before approaching the other Jounin. “Hey Darik.”, he greeted as he brushed off the lightly falling snow off his shoulders. “Good evening, Kakashi. What brings you over here?”, he returned. “A question. One of the ANBU that are with us seems to be avoiding everyone.”, he stated watching Darik for a reaction. Puzzled, Darik thought about their trip so far and as far as he could remember all the ANBU seemed to acting normal…or rather as normal as ANBU get. He frowned up to Kakashi and asked, “Which one would that be, because I haven't noticed any odd behavior.” It was Kakashi's turn to frown at a question. “Are you saying that he is just avoiding me? If so then I would have to say not. My student also noticed his behavior. “ Darik raised an eyebrow at that. “You mean to say he is avoiding both of you?”, he queried. “Yes, and if its not to much trouble I would like to know why.”, Kakashi stated matter-of-factly. “So would I, my friend, so would I”

 

They both left his tent and crunched over to where the ANBU captain was meditating. Clearing his throat Darik waited for the captain to notice him before starting a conversation. (A/N: Now remember ANBU wear full-face masks… The captain is in a meditating position and that is how they know that he is meditating.) Swinging his head in the two Jounins direction, the ANBU seemed to wait for them to start talking. Kakashi, who thought that someone would better handle this from the same country, let Darik handle the questions. “Sorry to disturb you, but my friend here has noticed that one of you team seems to be avoiding him…and just him.”, Darik said as plainly and openly as he could. The muffled reply came back barely loud enough to hear, “Who would that be?”, he asked while seeming to look right at Kakashi. “It's the black masked one, I believe it was a fox or a dog of some kind.”, he said. Nodding his head, the captain stood and made a sharp piercing whistle that seemed to change in pitch, and sudden with a small gust of wind, there stood the dog masked ANBU himself. Looking over at Kakashi, the man seemed to flinch back, before looking at his captain. The captain motioned to the other ANBU and walked away from the group to talk to the other in peace. Kakashi let me, knowing that it would just cause trouble to try and overhear what was said. Time dragged by and eventually Kakashi crouched down to relieve his thighs from the constant pressure of standing up. Just as he did and Kunai came whizzing out of the nowhere and almost pierced his head except for the hand that now gripped the handle of it. Looking up, he saw that it was none other the dog masked ninja that had just saved his life. Moving with amazing speed, the ninja also blocked several other kunai that came flying in from the darkness. Turning around, the man dropped into a crouch and was just missed by another barrage kunai. Flipping the knives that he had caught around, he threw them in a shotgun blast pattern back out into the darkness before leaping up and running after them. Kakashi watched all this with no small amount of detachment. He was amazed by the fact that someone could have blocked all of those without taking a scratch. He jumped to his feet and rushed over to the fire and put it out. He didn't want to give their attackers anymore advantage then they already had. He ducked as more kunai cut through the air by his head. He activated his Sharingan and used it to see from where they came. When he followed the trail, he saw that the masked ANBU was being overrun. Pulling out some shuriken, he threw them into the midst of the other ninja's attackers. Reaching the other Nin's side, he saw that his mask had been cracked and was only still on because of how well it was made. He nodded to him before taking a position at the ANBU's back. Together they fought back the attackers and even managed to scatter them. As that group of enemies left another rose in its place on the other side of their camp. They rushed to reach it and just as they passed into the center of camp and enormous barrage of stars spun from the darkness…directly toward the unprepared Sakura. With a leap the dog-masked ninja landed in front of the girl and wrapped her in a bear hug just before the stars hit. They pounded into his back and repeatedly slammed him into Sakura. As the last of the stars either passed or hit, the ANBU warrior looked down at the girl in his arms and then fell, landing on his side and coughing up large amounts of his life fluid. Sakura, as shaken as she was, saw the amount of blood now melting the snow and immediately switched modes so that she could use her medical training to help her savior. She crouched next to the man and started removing the stars, constantly aware of the man's breathing rhythm. She took out a bandage and put as much put as much charka as she dared into it She was maneuvering it into place when suddenly he grabbed her hand and slowly got to his knees, despite her best efforts to keep him on the ground and flat.

 

“What are you doing?!”, she exclaimed nearly hysterical, her face completely overrun with anxiety, at what the man was doing, her. The man, as if not even hearing her words, started getting to his feet. Kakashi started toward the pair to stop the man's efforts, before he got any worse, but was stopped by the Captain with a hand on his shoulder. At the shake of the Captain's head, he stopped and returned his attention to the battle at hand. He looked around himself and saw that the battle was pretty much over, he just wished that they hadn't lost anyone. Looking behind, he saw Darik approaching and nodded to him. Darik replied with a jerk of his own toward the direction of the Leaf Nin's apprentice and the ANBU. He watched as the man slowly made his way toward the tree line, just before he would have reached it, the man fell face first and didn't move. Immediately Kakashi, Darik, Sakura and the Captain rushed over to him, but all save the Captain and Darik, jerked to a halt at the face that was now barred from beneath the split dog mask.

 

With a small cry, Sakura dropped to her knees beside him and pulled him toward her. “W-Why now? Why like this?”, she silently whispered to herself as she cradled the bewhiskered man's head in her lap. Kakashi was at a loss for words, his hopes had come true, but in the worst way possible. Slowly, he reached out and touched the blonde-haired man's face. Dropping to his knees, he held the mans hand and whispered in a sad yet joyful voice, “I'm so sorry, so sorry…Naruto.”

 

 

A/N: Hello again…Thank you for continuing to read my fic. Please write a review…there the only thing that keep me going…Also, I would ask a favor….Please spread the word about this fic…I really need a bigger base…that way I can please more people at once…TEHEHEHEHEHE….(gives the shifty eyes… “PEVERT!!!”…)… Thanks again…Ja Ne!