Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Fox and The Phoenix ❯ Surprise ( Chapter 11 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Anaki Of The Blood Wolves 
Naruto's 6 years old, his caretaker, Iruka, was killed by bandits, and he was left orphaned. Well, until a mysterious wanderer appeared...
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Comedy / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.19.2006 | Updated On: 07.19.2006 | Pages: 9 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 778 | Status: Work In Progress
Naruto's 6 years old, his caretaker, Iruka, was killed by bandits, and he was left orphaned. Well, until a mysterious wanderer appeared...
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Comedy / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.19.2006 | Updated On: 07.19.2006 | Pages: 9 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 778 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
The Fox and The Phoenix
(Sono Kitsune Oyobi Sono Fenikusu)
Key
S.S = Sick Shit (is more than likely NC-17 and etc.)
*thinking*
"talking"
*thoughts progressing into speech"
'substitute for italics' (Kyuubi or Soriyu at times)
//telepathy//
::scene change:: (more for my reference than anything else)
~POV~
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Summary: Naruto's 6 years old, his caretaker, Iruka, was killed by bandits, and he was left orphaned. Well, until a mysterious wanderer appeared...
A/n: Thanks loyal reviewing fans, but I have one complaint!
Please, don't attempt to give me any ideas for this fic, I've pretty much planned out (and still planning) what I'm going to write when I have the option (and chance) to write. I do plan to follow the Naruto manga series as long as I see fit, yes, all the way to Chuunin exams and more than likely further on from there. :) -sigh- Thank you, I hate being so serious, but that irks me so much. Now, loyal fans! Just sit back, get some pocky, let me drive, and enjoy the ficness!
Chapter Eleven: Surprise
~Author~
::5:00am, Bridge::
Well here it was, go to the bridge with Tazuna, and protect him. They had done that for three days straight and nothing had happened yet. They had all finally gotten the hang of tree climbing and the molding of chakra strings, albeit Naruto and Sakura more than Sasuke, but Naruto had promised to teach the Uchiha more when the returned to their village.
"Ugh! It's so boring Sensei, how can you expect us to sit here and not do 'anything'?! Not to mention getting up soooooo early!" Sakura gripes, flopping down on the floor of the bridge.
Sanziya, who was minding her own business by watching the workers construct the bridge, turns back to Sakura, smiling.
"Ne Sakura, being a shinobi or kunoichi, entails that you must have patience, discipline, and not be overly emotional. So take that page from the manual I know you keep in your backpack, quit whining...and either read it or shove it." she replies, still smiling in the face of a now pissed Sakura as she takes out a cigarette, lighting it with a Palm Fireball, and taking a drag.
"Sensei!" the pink haired girl yells, standing up and rushing Sanziya. "You're such...a bitch!"
*Yeah, kick her ass, she can't talk to you like that, screw Naruto baka' s threat! Cha!*
Naruto, who is on the other side of the bridge along with Sasuke; also surveying the workers, hears her and looks over to the two women.
"Stupid girl." he murmurs, shaking his head as they watch the altercation, Sasuke silently agreeing with his oddly dressed counterpart.
Sanziya doesn't move, instead taking another drag from her cigarette as she eyes the Haruno girl, now trapped in chakra strings emanating from her fingertips. She exhales, tilting her head to the side slightly as a malevolent grin crosses her face.
"You are aware, 'dear', that if I were to, oh I don't know, do 'this'," her emphasis on 'this' is followed by a sharp jerk on one of Sakura's arms so that it is twisted almost 360° degrees around, a gasp issues from Sakura, unable to drop to the ground from the pain because of the way the strings are entwined around her body. "And complete this-"
Another tug and the girl's arm is one step from being dislocated, tears stream down her face.
"...that you would never have use of that arm again? You do not rush at an enemy without knowing their attacks, strengths, weaknesses, 'that is how you die'. If this were a true battle I would hold you hostage against your teammates and they would have to choose which is more important. You or them. Who do 'you' think they would pick?" Sanziya releases her and the girl drops to the ground, crying and repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again.
The Phoenix jinchurikki smiles, stomping out her cig.
"Yeah, I know you are. Now get up and let me heal that arm, you may have stretched a few hundred tendons."
Across the way, Naruto sighs, sitting back.
"She's too forgiving for her own good."
Sasuke nods, agreeing once more.
"Hey, Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"Your kaa-san...she has the Mangekyou Sharingan doesn't she?"
Naruto stiffens slightly.
"I don't know." he lies, fidgeting.
Sasuke scowls, hearing the lie in his tone but not wanting to give up.
"Well then, is she an Uchiha?"
Naruto shakes his head.
"No, I don't know if she even has a clan."
Sasuke growls inwardly. This was going nowhere, but on a side note, he 'had' gotten the boy to open up more since they first met. It was comforting, yet eerie at the same time, he liked having someone to talk to and fool around with despite his seeming hatred of everyone around him. Then again, he wondered wether or not life would ever be the same since the massacre, but maybe he could call these people family now. Naruto had never shunned him, and Sanziya certainly never had. She didn't mind the two boys hanging out together, and even let Sasuke stay over whenever he wanted since they had met.
(For the record, the time now is set about 6 months since they became a team.)
Somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered a murmur from her saying it was good for Naruto to have at least one friend 'inside' the village. Whatever that meant.
~Sanziya~
Well, it was nearing the end of the day, and the workers were slowly trickling down to none until only Tazuna-san was left.
"Come on you guys, we're headed home!" I yell out to Tazuna-san and my team as I finish mending Sakura's arm. She's finally seemed to gather enough sense to understand the concept of 'Mess with my family and die.' which was a good thing in itself, 'cause I was really getting sick of playing with her...wait, that came out wrong. Oh...you know what I mean!
We end up getting back to Tazuna's house with no problems, and are sitting down to dinner when Inari speaks up again.
"You're all just gonna die! Don't you see? You don't know anything about this country, or us! You guys come from a rich ninja village, so you don't even know the meaning of pain and suffering!" he yells at us, and then I wonder something...what if I was blue? It'd be so cool.
'Woman, quit suffering from lapses of sanity and pay attention.'
*Stuff it, you turkey.*
~Author~
Sanziya, noting Naruto's sudden eye twitch, and the snapping of chopsticks, frowns.
*Joy, and now we have a problem.*
Now that, that little comment from this little bastard made Naruto's blood boil.
*How can he even think to say that? God, I'm so mad, I even snapped my chopsticks in half, oh...damn it all to hell.*
'Naru-chan, calm down, ne?' Kyuubi tells him, sipping at a cup of tea in his mindscape calmly, although her tails flail in anger at Inari as well.
*It just ticks me off so bad Kyuu-san, I've gotta vent.*
Kyuubi sighs, sipping her tea with a slight grin.
'Do so if you must.'
And that he did.
"You keep going on, and crying and sobbing...like some sorry little victim! Your father might be dead, but trust me, people in our village have been through more suffering than you can ever think of! I fall into that category, so don't even try preaching! You're nothing, you're nothing...but a coward!" he almost screams at the boy, face set into hard lines of anger as he pushes away from the table to head upstairs.
"Naruto!" Sakura calls to him, wanting him to apologize to a now teary Inari.
Naruto 'hn's' and turns the corner, the rhythmic thump of his shoes is heard as he ascends the staircase.
Sakura turns to Inari, at a loss for words as Sasuke gets up to go see about his friend.
~Sasuke~
::Upstairs::
I knew I should've clocked the boy one while I was downstairs, but that would've been rude and put us out of a mission more than likely. Although I couldn't stop myself from feeling bad for my friend as I listened through the door to hear him talking to someone.
Who could be in there with him?
~Kyuubi~
I was leaning back against the wall and Naruto lay curled up on my lap, using my tails as a pillow. I run my fingers through his hair every few minutes as he purrs in contentment.
"Naru-chan, did you have to be so hard on the poor boy? I mean, hai, he was out of turn, but you should still apologize, ne?"
Naruto yawns, stretching much like a fox, and nods.
"I guess so, can't be meant to the little guy after all, everyone has their hardships. No one told me to suck it up when I was going through crap like that, but for him to say we don't understand his village, just-"
I place a finger on his lips, smiling.
"At-at, it is of no consequence ne?" I remove my finger, tapping the side of his face gently.
'You're getting sloppy Naru-chan, you haven't even noticed there's someone outside the door, listening in.'
*There is? Crap.*
Naruto quickly gets up, hand slipping down to his weapons pouch quicker than the eye can see, and throwing a volley of shuriken through the paper screen of the door. A thorough 'rip' of paper is heard as well as the tell-tale the 'thunk' of the shuriken embedding itself in the wall.
~Author~
Sasuke lay flat against the floor, heart panting from the effort of dodging ten very well aimed shuriken. He even had a few cuts on his arms and legs despite his skill, he looks up warily to see a slightly angry Naruto smirking at him.
"Usuratonkachi..." he starts slowly, pushing himself up. "Are you trying to kill me?"
Naruto tilts his head to the side, looking somewhat mischievious.
"Maa, maa, you shouldn't have been listening in. And if I wanted you dead, you would be dead, because I would've used these." he replies, withdrawing a kunai from his pouch and holding it delicately between two fingers. A vile stench arose from the weapon along with a glint of something green as the light nailed it's tip.
"Hn, what is that?" Sasuke asks, covering his nose.
"It's a poison kaa-san brought back with her from her travels, she says it's from some place called Rus-sy-ya, (Russia) and that the fighters there coated their swords in it when they went to battle."
Sasuke frowns, glaring from the weapon to a grinning Naruto and back again as the blonde boy pockets the weapon, kneeling down to help him up.
"I've got a medical pack in my room, let's patch up these cuts." he tells the boy, turning back toward the room. "Kyuu-san! We have a visitor, it's the boy with the tree up his ass!"
Sasuke eyes Naruto skeptically, wondering who the hell he could be talking to, and why he was being referred to in that way. Especially when Kyuubi was inside of him. However, all that is washed away when he comes face-to-face with a woman dressed in a pair of blue nin pants and a white shirt with a fox on it as he rounds the corner.
"Hello Sasuke-bou, we meet again hm?"
"I have never seen you before in my life."
Naruto shakes his head.
"You never told him you weren't me that day Kyuu-san."
Kyuubi looks rightfully bashful.
"Oh...poo. Well...let's get these wounds cleaned up ne? He's bleeding bad from a deep cut on his left leg, kinda surprised you haven't noticed yet." she tells him, changing the subject quickly, much to Sasuke's chagrin.
However, he does look at his leg, the pain of his wounds finally registering in his mind somewhat as Naruto sits him down across from Kyuubi, who begins cleaning away the blood and applying antiseptic. He hisses as it stings the cuts, his blonde attacker going to the bathroom.
"Naruto, are you oka-...Holy shit! Who killed the door?!" a voice exclaims, it's owner coming around the corner to reveal (who else?) Sanziya, who looks on at the scene in front of her with slight shock. "What the fuck?"
Kyuubi explains as Naruto comes out of the bathroom, coughing.
"What's the matter Naruto?" his caretaker asks, looking him over with a critical eye.
Naruto shakes his head.
"Nothing kaa-san, I'm fine, don't worry about it-" he replies, coughing more and leaning against the wall to keep his balance. Sanziya frowns, first looking towards Kyuubi, who shrugs, and then to Naruto. The boy stops coughing long enough to look up at Sanziya, an apologetic look gracing his features as he slumps down against the wall.
Kyuubi ties Sasuke's bandage a little too tight for comfort as she watches her precious kit sink to the floor, Sasuke yelps, and Sanziya rushes over to the blonde haired boy, running her hands over him, checking vitals.
"Erratic pulse, fever, glazed eyes, dialated pupils, cold to touch. He's been poisoned looks like, for a few days now, must've been in our fight with those Demon Brothers. Kyuubi, you didn't sense it at all?"
Kyuubi shakes her head, murmuring a slight apology to Sasuke as she comes over to see about the boy, she takes his arm, checking the pulse as well.
"How he could even go on with something this potent?" the eccentric Phoenix woman growls, tears leaking through her clenched eyes. "We'll have to abandon this mission, we don't have the proper tools to do a bloodletting."
Naruto stirs, wrenching his arm from Kyuubi's grip.
"No kaa-san, not letting you give up this mission for my stupidity, give...give me a kunai Sasuke-teme..." the boy says, getting to his feet drunken-like. Sanziya shakes her head, trying to pull him back down, but the boy turns and growls deeply at her. "NO, BACK OFF KAA-SAN."
'Let him do as he sees fit woman, this may turn out for the better.'
Sanziya flinches at the growl in Naruto's tone, and Soriyu's warning, letting the blonde go as he grabs the kunai from Sasuke, opening the window. He quickly stabs into his hand, letting the blood fall onto the grass below.
"I was sick of it then, and I'm sick of it now. People taking pity on me, or looking down on me for what I am, saying I'm weak. Well screw them damnit! We're not abandoning this mission! We're gonna help them! We'll save them!"
Sanziya and Kyuubi chuckle, Sasuke looks at them incredously as he goes over to Naruto.
"Dobe, you lose any more blood and you're gonna die."
Naruto nods to him, letting the boy pull him away from the window so Kyuubi can bandage him up.
Sanziya sighs, shaking her head.
*Just like his father, same stubborn spirit, same stamina freak.*
::Two days later, 4:30am, Tazuna's house::
"Tsunami, when Naruto wakes up tell him to meet us at the bridge okay?!"
It was really Soriyu's decision to let the boy stay asleep, he was still exhausted, even after having two days of recovery from the bloodloss and poison.
Tsunami pokes her head out the door, yelling an 'ok' to the temporary leader of Team Seven; said woman dragging an sleepy Sakura and stoic Sasuke behind her.
::5:00am, Bridge::
As soon as they get to the bridge the sit down to eat the small breakfast Tsunami so kindly made for them, but before they can even get into their packs a barrage of senbon and a giant Zanbatou is flung their way.
"Shit!" Sanziya curses, pulling Tazuna with her as she dodges, the other two members of Team Seven quickly moving as well. The needles embed themselves into the stone of the bridge, with the exception of the giant sword, which acts like a boomerang, returning to it's cargo-clad owner.
"If you'd give up the bridge builder Sanzi, I'd quit attacking you and we could go for tea or something." Zabuza tells her, the hunter-nin beside him chuckling softly.
"Damnit Zabu, what part of 'no' do you not comprehend?! Oh yeah, almost forgot, how've you been Haku-chan? It's been six years you know, did you miss me?"
Sakura falls over, twitching, as Sasuke sweatdrops. Haku sweatdrops, but nods nonetheless.
Sanziya smiles, relaxing into an odd taijutsu stance.
"Well Zabu, we fight, if I kick your ass, you and Haku have to come back to Konoha with us, and if you win, you get Tazuna, deal?"
Zabuza smirks, motioning for Haku to go attack the genin.
"Hmph, you've got a deal, Sanzi."
Zabuza rushes her, the woman telling Sakura to protect Tazuna at all costs as she blocks Zabuza's attack.
::5:25am, Tazuna's house::
Naruto awakes, quickly taking note of the fact that he could barely sense the other's chakra signatures, he gets up and heads toward the kitchen.
"Ne, Tsunami-chan, where is everyone?" he asks, poking his head into the kitchen and looking around quickly.
"They went on down to the bridge, Sanziya-chan wanted you to get a bit more rest and said to come on down whenever you get ready."
Naruto nods, going back to his room to put on his clothes.
*Grr...kaa-san, gonna make me miss all the fighting!*
'Quit complaining and get dressed, Naru-chan.'
Naruto sighs heavily and Kyuubi yawns, the boy following her orders as a crash is heard from downstairs.
"Tsunami-chan? You alright?" he asks warily, zipping up his jumpsuit and tying his headband loosely around his throat. A cry of 'Mom!' and 'Inari, stay back!' as well as the swishing of swords brings him barreling down the stairs at top speed. "What's wrong?!"
One of the attacking samurai glances his way lazily.
"Hey An, we got another one, want I should tie him up and take him with too?"
The other one, standing over an unconscious Tsunami with Inari by the collar in one hand, sword in the other, shakes his head.
"Kill him, we only need one hostage and this bitch here'll do nicely."
Naruto growls, pulling out a kunai, ready to defend the unconscious woman and her crying son. The samurai near him scoffs, shaking his head.
"Aw look, the lil' baby ninja has a lil' baby weapon. Watcha gonna do baby, poke me with it? Come on, I'm so scared...Hah-" his laughter is cut off as he is clonked upside the head from behind, falling to the ground and foaming at the mouth, unconscious. His partner barely has time to register that before he too, is down for the count, and they are both being tied together by Inari and Naruto.
"How did you do that Naruto nii-san?" Inari asks, he had gotten to understand the boy a little better in the two days he had been confined to his bed, the had talked and apologized and joked around.
"Simple nin trick Inari, simple nin trick." he states, picking up his mom and carrying her to her room. "Look after your mom, ne? If these fools are here,...then my team must be in trouble."
::Bridge::
Phoenix and Mist Demon were in a dead lock battle, blood covered them both from numerous nicks and gashes along their bodies. Their clothing was torn and bloody as well, pants rang out clearly between the two. They were obviously exhausted, but neither planned on backing down anytime soon. Zabuza's sword had been broken in half sometime ago by Sanziya, so he was forced to rely on his Kirigakure (Hidden Mist) Jutsu with a few offensive water Jutsu thrown in to wear her down. Sanziya, however, having a fire-based youkai sealed inside of her, and primary jutsu's being Doton (Earth) elements, had a tough time countering as she had to use the Phoenix's Katon (Fire) jutsu's to evaporate the majority of Zabuza's Suiton (Water) based ones.
"Gonna give up Zabu? I can keep going longer than you, you know that!" Sanziya yells across the stretch of stone. Zabuza scoffs, the mist having dissapated long ago so that he was now relying on things other than chakra.
"Don't give me that bullshit, just fight, there's gonna be an end to this, one way or the other!"
Sanziya sighs, not really wanting to, but having no other choice. This fight had to end, she closes her eyes, channeling as much chakra as needed into them.
"Mangekyou Sharingan, Earth Element: Undead Blood Illusion." she murmurs quietly, unlocking the second phase of the genjutsu she taught Naruto.
Although, unlike with Kakashi, Zabuza doesn't sink to the ground. He looks in shock as the blood he's covered in starts to writhe and pulse, likes it's alive.
Sanziya watches him warily as he tries to scrape off the blood, but to no avail. It pulses, writhes, and millions of mouths open on it as it moans, screaming.
"You murdered me!"
"You killed us!"
"You weren't even a student!"
"How could you do this son?!"
"Save us!"
"Help me!"
"I don't wanna die mommy, please help me!"
"We're dead....we're dead....and it's all your fault Zabuza Momochi!"
::Other side of Bridge with Haku and Sasuke::
Uchiha and Senbon wielder weren't faring any better. Sasuke was covered in numerous cuts from Haku's senbon. Haku, was unwounded, but his chakra was getting low from darting around in those damn mirrors. He had to end this.
And so, he did, a few well placed Senbon and the Uchiha boy was down for the count. He was (presumably) dead, and it was just around this time that Naruto decided to pop up.
"Sasuke!" he yells, almost going off the hook, but remembering the last time he jumped the gun. He checks the boy's pulse, finding it to be extremely faint, almost undetectable, but nonetheless, his friend was alive. Haku does nothing to stop him as he furiously tears all the senbon from Sasuke's body, laying the boy off to the side.
"Now, I'm kicking your ass, you fake hunter nin bastard."
Haku smiles behind his mask.
"Please...call me Haku."
Naruto closes his eyes and expands his senses as the other androgynous boy begins darting around in the mirrors, throwing the occasional senbon at the calm Kyuubi holder.
"You'll die if you don't act soon, Leaf shinobi." Haku tells the concentrating boy. "What are you waiting for?"
Naruto mentally rolls his eyes.
"Name's Naruto, not Leaf shinobi...and you'll see what I'm waiting for in a few seconds."
"Well the same still goes, Naruto-kun." he darts out, going to another mirror as Naruto's eyes snap open.
*Now!*
He jumps up, kicking Haku hard in the stomach, and through a mirror. Although, before he can recover, Naruto punches him in the face, sending him skidding along the water resting on the bridge from now his melted mirrors.
After a few more kicks, punches, a Kage Bunshin jutsu, and trapping the boy in chakra strings, Haku goes down.
He laughs as he tells Naruto of the bet he made with Sanziya before fainting outright.
Naruto sighs, deciding to plop down right there, he was exhausted. Making that many chakra strings, using Kage Bunshin, not to mention enforcing his hits with chakra took a hell of a lot out of him.
"Good, that's over." he states, falling down onto his back as Sakura comes over.
"Is Sasuke-kun alright?!"
*Great, after all that she's still worried about Sasuke. Sigh, will she ever notice that he 'hates' her?*
Instead of voicing his opinion Naruto turns his head to look at Sakura.
"He's fine, he'll be back to normal in a few days. Chakra exhaustion, not to mention a few of those needles closed off about 20 or more of his tenketsu, so he won't be of any use for a few days either. Just enough time to get back to Konoha."
Sakura glares slightly at him, but otherwise doesn't say anything. Tazuna sighs, one threat down, one to go.
::With Zabuza and Sanziya::
Zabuza officially had no use of his arms, which he himself had been forced to break by way of the genjutsu that had fucked with his mind.
"Well Zabu, this is officially over hun, you can't fight anymore. I know it. Now acknowledge that and I'll mend those arms of yours as much as I can right now."
Zabuza shakes his head, growls, then sighs, knowing the multicolored woman was, to his dismay, right. And, it was at that moment, that the fat pig bastard Gatou decided to show his ugly pig face, his henchman snickering and sneering behind him as he launches into his speech of how worthless Haku and Zabuza were and blah, blah, blah.
Zabuza scoffs, Naruto and the others dragging Haku and Sasuke with them as they came to that side of the bridge.
"Hey kid." Zabuza says, looking back to Naruto, who looks up in confusion. "Toss me a kunai."
Naruto shrugs, the man was no longer a threat, and the boy threw a kunai to him, not wondering how he'd catch it with two broken arms.
The Mist Demon grabs it with his mouth, rushing towards Gatou, despite the henchmen's attempts to kill him. He slashes at the man, stabbing him twice in the chest, slicing out his eyes, and finally slitting his throat before the man falls back off the bridge and into the water. He doesn't resurface.
"You killed our meal ticket!" the henchmen growl, going to kill Zabuza, when a deep voice stops them.
"I DON'T THINK YOU WANT TO DO THAT."
They shiver, slowly turning around, to come face to face with a hellishly scary amount of chakra in the shape of an orange bird. They, being sensible for once, run like hell, clamoring over each other to get in the boat.
Sanziya, being the vessel for this hellish amount of chakra, bitches at her tenant as it dissapates. Meanwhile, Soriyu sighs and begins counting.
*Soriyu you bastard, do you know how much that hurt?*
'Five.'
*I know you were trying to scare them off, but damnit pouring out that much of your chakra when you're in my body is not healthy!*
'Four.'
*You expended my reserves 'and' yours, god I can't tell you how much of a pain in the ass you are sometimes!*
'Three.'
*I can see why Kyuubi gets fed up with you so much too!*
'Two.'
*And why in the seventh layer are you coun...Aw shit...*
'One.'
As soon as he finishes saying that, Sanziya collapses from severe chakra exhaustion.
Naruto sighs.
"What freaking joy! Three people to drag back to the house, and all because of a stupid bird and a fat pig! Damnit!"
Everyone (including Zabuza) laughs.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Anaki: Lovely new chappie! And now, an Omake! (Bonus.)
Omake
"Hey kid." Zabuza says, looking back to Naruto, who looks up in confusion. "Toss me a kunai."
Naruto shrugs, the man was no longer a threat, and the boy threw a kunai to him, not wondering how he'd catch it with two broken arms.
The Mist Demon grabs it with his mouth, and it was a that moment that Naruto pouted.
"Aw man, that was one of my favorite kunai! Now I'll never touch it again!"
Omake 2
"Hey kid." Zabuza says, looking back to Naruto, who looks up in confusion. "Toss me a kunai."
Naruto shrugs, the man was no longer a threat, and the boy threw a kunai to him, not wondering how he'd catch it with two broken arms.
The Mist Demon grabs it with his mouth, and Naruto cocked his head to the side slightly.
"Was that one of the poisoned ones?" he asks, Zabuza's eyes widening comically.
"Poison? Damn." the man says as a 'thump' indicates his meeting with Mr. Ground.
Omake End
RC16: Hahaha! Stupid guy! -kaughing and pointing at Zabu-
Zabuza: I have a big sword you chibi thing. -.-+
RC16: Eeep! -shuts up-
RC17: Funny! Review you guys!
The Fox and The Phoenix
(Sono Kitsune Oyobi Sono Fenikusu)
Key
S.S = Sick Shit (is more than likely NC-17 and etc.)
*thinking*
"talking"
*thoughts progressing into speech"
'substitute for italics' (Kyuubi or Soriyu at times)
//telepathy//
::scene change:: (more for my reference than anything else)
~POV~
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Summary: Naruto's 6 years old, his caretaker, Iruka, was killed by bandits, and he was left orphaned. Well, until a mysterious wanderer appeared...
A/n: Thanks loyal reviewing fans, but I have one complaint!
Please, don't attempt to give me any ideas for this fic, I've pretty much planned out (and still planning) what I'm going to write when I have the option (and chance) to write. I do plan to follow the Naruto manga series as long as I see fit, yes, all the way to Chuunin exams and more than likely further on from there. :) -sigh- Thank you, I hate being so serious, but that irks me so much. Now, loyal fans! Just sit back, get some pocky, let me drive, and enjoy the ficness!
Chapter Eleven: Surprise
~Author~
::5:00am, Bridge::
Well here it was, go to the bridge with Tazuna, and protect him. They had done that for three days straight and nothing had happened yet. They had all finally gotten the hang of tree climbing and the molding of chakra strings, albeit Naruto and Sakura more than Sasuke, but Naruto had promised to teach the Uchiha more when the returned to their village.
"Ugh! It's so boring Sensei, how can you expect us to sit here and not do 'anything'?! Not to mention getting up soooooo early!" Sakura gripes, flopping down on the floor of the bridge.
Sanziya, who was minding her own business by watching the workers construct the bridge, turns back to Sakura, smiling.
"Ne Sakura, being a shinobi or kunoichi, entails that you must have patience, discipline, and not be overly emotional. So take that page from the manual I know you keep in your backpack, quit whining...and either read it or shove it." she replies, still smiling in the face of a now pissed Sakura as she takes out a cigarette, lighting it with a Palm Fireball, and taking a drag.
"Sensei!" the pink haired girl yells, standing up and rushing Sanziya. "You're such...a bitch!"
*Yeah, kick her ass, she can't talk to you like that, screw Naruto baka' s threat! Cha!*
Naruto, who is on the other side of the bridge along with Sasuke; also surveying the workers, hears her and looks over to the two women.
"Stupid girl." he murmurs, shaking his head as they watch the altercation, Sasuke silently agreeing with his oddly dressed counterpart.
Sanziya doesn't move, instead taking another drag from her cigarette as she eyes the Haruno girl, now trapped in chakra strings emanating from her fingertips. She exhales, tilting her head to the side slightly as a malevolent grin crosses her face.
"You are aware, 'dear', that if I were to, oh I don't know, do 'this'," her emphasis on 'this' is followed by a sharp jerk on one of Sakura's arms so that it is twisted almost 360° degrees around, a gasp issues from Sakura, unable to drop to the ground from the pain because of the way the strings are entwined around her body. "And complete this-"
Another tug and the girl's arm is one step from being dislocated, tears stream down her face.
"...that you would never have use of that arm again? You do not rush at an enemy without knowing their attacks, strengths, weaknesses, 'that is how you die'. If this were a true battle I would hold you hostage against your teammates and they would have to choose which is more important. You or them. Who do 'you' think they would pick?" Sanziya releases her and the girl drops to the ground, crying and repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again.
The Phoenix jinchurikki smiles, stomping out her cig.
"Yeah, I know you are. Now get up and let me heal that arm, you may have stretched a few hundred tendons."
Across the way, Naruto sighs, sitting back.
"She's too forgiving for her own good."
Sasuke nods, agreeing once more.
"Hey, Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"Your kaa-san...she has the Mangekyou Sharingan doesn't she?"
Naruto stiffens slightly.
"I don't know." he lies, fidgeting.
Sasuke scowls, hearing the lie in his tone but not wanting to give up.
"Well then, is she an Uchiha?"
Naruto shakes his head.
"No, I don't know if she even has a clan."
Sasuke growls inwardly. This was going nowhere, but on a side note, he 'had' gotten the boy to open up more since they first met. It was comforting, yet eerie at the same time, he liked having someone to talk to and fool around with despite his seeming hatred of everyone around him. Then again, he wondered wether or not life would ever be the same since the massacre, but maybe he could call these people family now. Naruto had never shunned him, and Sanziya certainly never had. She didn't mind the two boys hanging out together, and even let Sasuke stay over whenever he wanted since they had met.
(For the record, the time now is set about 6 months since they became a team.)
Somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered a murmur from her saying it was good for Naruto to have at least one friend 'inside' the village. Whatever that meant.
~Sanziya~
Well, it was nearing the end of the day, and the workers were slowly trickling down to none until only Tazuna-san was left.
"Come on you guys, we're headed home!" I yell out to Tazuna-san and my team as I finish mending Sakura's arm. She's finally seemed to gather enough sense to understand the concept of 'Mess with my family and die.' which was a good thing in itself, 'cause I was really getting sick of playing with her...wait, that came out wrong. Oh...you know what I mean!
We end up getting back to Tazuna's house with no problems, and are sitting down to dinner when Inari speaks up again.
"You're all just gonna die! Don't you see? You don't know anything about this country, or us! You guys come from a rich ninja village, so you don't even know the meaning of pain and suffering!" he yells at us, and then I wonder something...what if I was blue? It'd be so cool.
'Woman, quit suffering from lapses of sanity and pay attention.'
*Stuff it, you turkey.*
~Author~
Sanziya, noting Naruto's sudden eye twitch, and the snapping of chopsticks, frowns.
*Joy, and now we have a problem.*
Now that, that little comment from this little bastard made Naruto's blood boil.
*How can he even think to say that? God, I'm so mad, I even snapped my chopsticks in half, oh...damn it all to hell.*
'Naru-chan, calm down, ne?' Kyuubi tells him, sipping at a cup of tea in his mindscape calmly, although her tails flail in anger at Inari as well.
*It just ticks me off so bad Kyuu-san, I've gotta vent.*
Kyuubi sighs, sipping her tea with a slight grin.
'Do so if you must.'
And that he did.
"You keep going on, and crying and sobbing...like some sorry little victim! Your father might be dead, but trust me, people in our village have been through more suffering than you can ever think of! I fall into that category, so don't even try preaching! You're nothing, you're nothing...but a coward!" he almost screams at the boy, face set into hard lines of anger as he pushes away from the table to head upstairs.
"Naruto!" Sakura calls to him, wanting him to apologize to a now teary Inari.
Naruto 'hn's' and turns the corner, the rhythmic thump of his shoes is heard as he ascends the staircase.
Sakura turns to Inari, at a loss for words as Sasuke gets up to go see about his friend.
~Sasuke~
::Upstairs::
I knew I should've clocked the boy one while I was downstairs, but that would've been rude and put us out of a mission more than likely. Although I couldn't stop myself from feeling bad for my friend as I listened through the door to hear him talking to someone.
Who could be in there with him?
~Kyuubi~
I was leaning back against the wall and Naruto lay curled up on my lap, using my tails as a pillow. I run my fingers through his hair every few minutes as he purrs in contentment.
"Naru-chan, did you have to be so hard on the poor boy? I mean, hai, he was out of turn, but you should still apologize, ne?"
Naruto yawns, stretching much like a fox, and nods.
"I guess so, can't be meant to the little guy after all, everyone has their hardships. No one told me to suck it up when I was going through crap like that, but for him to say we don't understand his village, just-"
I place a finger on his lips, smiling.
"At-at, it is of no consequence ne?" I remove my finger, tapping the side of his face gently.
'You're getting sloppy Naru-chan, you haven't even noticed there's someone outside the door, listening in.'
*There is? Crap.*
Naruto quickly gets up, hand slipping down to his weapons pouch quicker than the eye can see, and throwing a volley of shuriken through the paper screen of the door. A thorough 'rip' of paper is heard as well as the tell-tale the 'thunk' of the shuriken embedding itself in the wall.
~Author~
Sasuke lay flat against the floor, heart panting from the effort of dodging ten very well aimed shuriken. He even had a few cuts on his arms and legs despite his skill, he looks up warily to see a slightly angry Naruto smirking at him.
"Usuratonkachi..." he starts slowly, pushing himself up. "Are you trying to kill me?"
Naruto tilts his head to the side, looking somewhat mischievious.
"Maa, maa, you shouldn't have been listening in. And if I wanted you dead, you would be dead, because I would've used these." he replies, withdrawing a kunai from his pouch and holding it delicately between two fingers. A vile stench arose from the weapon along with a glint of something green as the light nailed it's tip.
"Hn, what is that?" Sasuke asks, covering his nose.
"It's a poison kaa-san brought back with her from her travels, she says it's from some place called Rus-sy-ya, (Russia) and that the fighters there coated their swords in it when they went to battle."
Sasuke frowns, glaring from the weapon to a grinning Naruto and back again as the blonde boy pockets the weapon, kneeling down to help him up.
"I've got a medical pack in my room, let's patch up these cuts." he tells the boy, turning back toward the room. "Kyuu-san! We have a visitor, it's the boy with the tree up his ass!"
Sasuke eyes Naruto skeptically, wondering who the hell he could be talking to, and why he was being referred to in that way. Especially when Kyuubi was inside of him. However, all that is washed away when he comes face-to-face with a woman dressed in a pair of blue nin pants and a white shirt with a fox on it as he rounds the corner.
"Hello Sasuke-bou, we meet again hm?"
"I have never seen you before in my life."
Naruto shakes his head.
"You never told him you weren't me that day Kyuu-san."
Kyuubi looks rightfully bashful.
"Oh...poo. Well...let's get these wounds cleaned up ne? He's bleeding bad from a deep cut on his left leg, kinda surprised you haven't noticed yet." she tells him, changing the subject quickly, much to Sasuke's chagrin.
However, he does look at his leg, the pain of his wounds finally registering in his mind somewhat as Naruto sits him down across from Kyuubi, who begins cleaning away the blood and applying antiseptic. He hisses as it stings the cuts, his blonde attacker going to the bathroom.
"Naruto, are you oka-...Holy shit! Who killed the door?!" a voice exclaims, it's owner coming around the corner to reveal (who else?) Sanziya, who looks on at the scene in front of her with slight shock. "What the fuck?"
Kyuubi explains as Naruto comes out of the bathroom, coughing.
"What's the matter Naruto?" his caretaker asks, looking him over with a critical eye.
Naruto shakes his head.
"Nothing kaa-san, I'm fine, don't worry about it-" he replies, coughing more and leaning against the wall to keep his balance. Sanziya frowns, first looking towards Kyuubi, who shrugs, and then to Naruto. The boy stops coughing long enough to look up at Sanziya, an apologetic look gracing his features as he slumps down against the wall.
Kyuubi ties Sasuke's bandage a little too tight for comfort as she watches her precious kit sink to the floor, Sasuke yelps, and Sanziya rushes over to the blonde haired boy, running her hands over him, checking vitals.
"Erratic pulse, fever, glazed eyes, dialated pupils, cold to touch. He's been poisoned looks like, for a few days now, must've been in our fight with those Demon Brothers. Kyuubi, you didn't sense it at all?"
Kyuubi shakes her head, murmuring a slight apology to Sasuke as she comes over to see about the boy, she takes his arm, checking the pulse as well.
"How he could even go on with something this potent?" the eccentric Phoenix woman growls, tears leaking through her clenched eyes. "We'll have to abandon this mission, we don't have the proper tools to do a bloodletting."
Naruto stirs, wrenching his arm from Kyuubi's grip.
"No kaa-san, not letting you give up this mission for my stupidity, give...give me a kunai Sasuke-teme..." the boy says, getting to his feet drunken-like. Sanziya shakes her head, trying to pull him back down, but the boy turns and growls deeply at her. "NO, BACK OFF KAA-SAN."
'Let him do as he sees fit woman, this may turn out for the better.'
Sanziya flinches at the growl in Naruto's tone, and Soriyu's warning, letting the blonde go as he grabs the kunai from Sasuke, opening the window. He quickly stabs into his hand, letting the blood fall onto the grass below.
"I was sick of it then, and I'm sick of it now. People taking pity on me, or looking down on me for what I am, saying I'm weak. Well screw them damnit! We're not abandoning this mission! We're gonna help them! We'll save them!"
Sanziya and Kyuubi chuckle, Sasuke looks at them incredously as he goes over to Naruto.
"Dobe, you lose any more blood and you're gonna die."
Naruto nods to him, letting the boy pull him away from the window so Kyuubi can bandage him up.
Sanziya sighs, shaking her head.
*Just like his father, same stubborn spirit, same stamina freak.*
::Two days later, 4:30am, Tazuna's house::
"Tsunami, when Naruto wakes up tell him to meet us at the bridge okay?!"
It was really Soriyu's decision to let the boy stay asleep, he was still exhausted, even after having two days of recovery from the bloodloss and poison.
Tsunami pokes her head out the door, yelling an 'ok' to the temporary leader of Team Seven; said woman dragging an sleepy Sakura and stoic Sasuke behind her.
::5:00am, Bridge::
As soon as they get to the bridge the sit down to eat the small breakfast Tsunami so kindly made for them, but before they can even get into their packs a barrage of senbon and a giant Zanbatou is flung their way.
"Shit!" Sanziya curses, pulling Tazuna with her as she dodges, the other two members of Team Seven quickly moving as well. The needles embed themselves into the stone of the bridge, with the exception of the giant sword, which acts like a boomerang, returning to it's cargo-clad owner.
"If you'd give up the bridge builder Sanzi, I'd quit attacking you and we could go for tea or something." Zabuza tells her, the hunter-nin beside him chuckling softly.
"Damnit Zabu, what part of 'no' do you not comprehend?! Oh yeah, almost forgot, how've you been Haku-chan? It's been six years you know, did you miss me?"
Sakura falls over, twitching, as Sasuke sweatdrops. Haku sweatdrops, but nods nonetheless.
Sanziya smiles, relaxing into an odd taijutsu stance.
"Well Zabu, we fight, if I kick your ass, you and Haku have to come back to Konoha with us, and if you win, you get Tazuna, deal?"
Zabuza smirks, motioning for Haku to go attack the genin.
"Hmph, you've got a deal, Sanzi."
Zabuza rushes her, the woman telling Sakura to protect Tazuna at all costs as she blocks Zabuza's attack.
::5:25am, Tazuna's house::
Naruto awakes, quickly taking note of the fact that he could barely sense the other's chakra signatures, he gets up and heads toward the kitchen.
"Ne, Tsunami-chan, where is everyone?" he asks, poking his head into the kitchen and looking around quickly.
"They went on down to the bridge, Sanziya-chan wanted you to get a bit more rest and said to come on down whenever you get ready."
Naruto nods, going back to his room to put on his clothes.
*Grr...kaa-san, gonna make me miss all the fighting!*
'Quit complaining and get dressed, Naru-chan.'
Naruto sighs heavily and Kyuubi yawns, the boy following her orders as a crash is heard from downstairs.
"Tsunami-chan? You alright?" he asks warily, zipping up his jumpsuit and tying his headband loosely around his throat. A cry of 'Mom!' and 'Inari, stay back!' as well as the swishing of swords brings him barreling down the stairs at top speed. "What's wrong?!"
One of the attacking samurai glances his way lazily.
"Hey An, we got another one, want I should tie him up and take him with too?"
The other one, standing over an unconscious Tsunami with Inari by the collar in one hand, sword in the other, shakes his head.
"Kill him, we only need one hostage and this bitch here'll do nicely."
Naruto growls, pulling out a kunai, ready to defend the unconscious woman and her crying son. The samurai near him scoffs, shaking his head.
"Aw look, the lil' baby ninja has a lil' baby weapon. Watcha gonna do baby, poke me with it? Come on, I'm so scared...Hah-" his laughter is cut off as he is clonked upside the head from behind, falling to the ground and foaming at the mouth, unconscious. His partner barely has time to register that before he too, is down for the count, and they are both being tied together by Inari and Naruto.
"How did you do that Naruto nii-san?" Inari asks, he had gotten to understand the boy a little better in the two days he had been confined to his bed, the had talked and apologized and joked around.
"Simple nin trick Inari, simple nin trick." he states, picking up his mom and carrying her to her room. "Look after your mom, ne? If these fools are here,...then my team must be in trouble."
::Bridge::
Phoenix and Mist Demon were in a dead lock battle, blood covered them both from numerous nicks and gashes along their bodies. Their clothing was torn and bloody as well, pants rang out clearly between the two. They were obviously exhausted, but neither planned on backing down anytime soon. Zabuza's sword had been broken in half sometime ago by Sanziya, so he was forced to rely on his Kirigakure (Hidden Mist) Jutsu with a few offensive water Jutsu thrown in to wear her down. Sanziya, however, having a fire-based youkai sealed inside of her, and primary jutsu's being Doton (Earth) elements, had a tough time countering as she had to use the Phoenix's Katon (Fire) jutsu's to evaporate the majority of Zabuza's Suiton (Water) based ones.
"Gonna give up Zabu? I can keep going longer than you, you know that!" Sanziya yells across the stretch of stone. Zabuza scoffs, the mist having dissapated long ago so that he was now relying on things other than chakra.
"Don't give me that bullshit, just fight, there's gonna be an end to this, one way or the other!"
Sanziya sighs, not really wanting to, but having no other choice. This fight had to end, she closes her eyes, channeling as much chakra as needed into them.
"Mangekyou Sharingan, Earth Element: Undead Blood Illusion." she murmurs quietly, unlocking the second phase of the genjutsu she taught Naruto.
Although, unlike with Kakashi, Zabuza doesn't sink to the ground. He looks in shock as the blood he's covered in starts to writhe and pulse, likes it's alive.
Sanziya watches him warily as he tries to scrape off the blood, but to no avail. It pulses, writhes, and millions of mouths open on it as it moans, screaming.
"You murdered me!"
"You killed us!"
"You weren't even a student!"
"How could you do this son?!"
"Save us!"
"Help me!"
"I don't wanna die mommy, please help me!"
"We're dead....we're dead....and it's all your fault Zabuza Momochi!"
::Other side of Bridge with Haku and Sasuke::
Uchiha and Senbon wielder weren't faring any better. Sasuke was covered in numerous cuts from Haku's senbon. Haku, was unwounded, but his chakra was getting low from darting around in those damn mirrors. He had to end this.
And so, he did, a few well placed Senbon and the Uchiha boy was down for the count. He was (presumably) dead, and it was just around this time that Naruto decided to pop up.
"Sasuke!" he yells, almost going off the hook, but remembering the last time he jumped the gun. He checks the boy's pulse, finding it to be extremely faint, almost undetectable, but nonetheless, his friend was alive. Haku does nothing to stop him as he furiously tears all the senbon from Sasuke's body, laying the boy off to the side.
"Now, I'm kicking your ass, you fake hunter nin bastard."
Haku smiles behind his mask.
"Please...call me Haku."
Naruto closes his eyes and expands his senses as the other androgynous boy begins darting around in the mirrors, throwing the occasional senbon at the calm Kyuubi holder.
"You'll die if you don't act soon, Leaf shinobi." Haku tells the concentrating boy. "What are you waiting for?"
Naruto mentally rolls his eyes.
"Name's Naruto, not Leaf shinobi...and you'll see what I'm waiting for in a few seconds."
"Well the same still goes, Naruto-kun." he darts out, going to another mirror as Naruto's eyes snap open.
*Now!*
He jumps up, kicking Haku hard in the stomach, and through a mirror. Although, before he can recover, Naruto punches him in the face, sending him skidding along the water resting on the bridge from now his melted mirrors.
After a few more kicks, punches, a Kage Bunshin jutsu, and trapping the boy in chakra strings, Haku goes down.
He laughs as he tells Naruto of the bet he made with Sanziya before fainting outright.
Naruto sighs, deciding to plop down right there, he was exhausted. Making that many chakra strings, using Kage Bunshin, not to mention enforcing his hits with chakra took a hell of a lot out of him.
"Good, that's over." he states, falling down onto his back as Sakura comes over.
"Is Sasuke-kun alright?!"
*Great, after all that she's still worried about Sasuke. Sigh, will she ever notice that he 'hates' her?*
Instead of voicing his opinion Naruto turns his head to look at Sakura.
"He's fine, he'll be back to normal in a few days. Chakra exhaustion, not to mention a few of those needles closed off about 20 or more of his tenketsu, so he won't be of any use for a few days either. Just enough time to get back to Konoha."
Sakura glares slightly at him, but otherwise doesn't say anything. Tazuna sighs, one threat down, one to go.
::With Zabuza and Sanziya::
Zabuza officially had no use of his arms, which he himself had been forced to break by way of the genjutsu that had fucked with his mind.
"Well Zabu, this is officially over hun, you can't fight anymore. I know it. Now acknowledge that and I'll mend those arms of yours as much as I can right now."
Zabuza shakes his head, growls, then sighs, knowing the multicolored woman was, to his dismay, right. And, it was at that moment, that the fat pig bastard Gatou decided to show his ugly pig face, his henchman snickering and sneering behind him as he launches into his speech of how worthless Haku and Zabuza were and blah, blah, blah.
Zabuza scoffs, Naruto and the others dragging Haku and Sasuke with them as they came to that side of the bridge.
"Hey kid." Zabuza says, looking back to Naruto, who looks up in confusion. "Toss me a kunai."
Naruto shrugs, the man was no longer a threat, and the boy threw a kunai to him, not wondering how he'd catch it with two broken arms.
The Mist Demon grabs it with his mouth, rushing towards Gatou, despite the henchmen's attempts to kill him. He slashes at the man, stabbing him twice in the chest, slicing out his eyes, and finally slitting his throat before the man falls back off the bridge and into the water. He doesn't resurface.
"You killed our meal ticket!" the henchmen growl, going to kill Zabuza, when a deep voice stops them.
"I DON'T THINK YOU WANT TO DO THAT."
They shiver, slowly turning around, to come face to face with a hellishly scary amount of chakra in the shape of an orange bird. They, being sensible for once, run like hell, clamoring over each other to get in the boat.
Sanziya, being the vessel for this hellish amount of chakra, bitches at her tenant as it dissapates. Meanwhile, Soriyu sighs and begins counting.
*Soriyu you bastard, do you know how much that hurt?*
'Five.'
*I know you were trying to scare them off, but damnit pouring out that much of your chakra when you're in my body is not healthy!*
'Four.'
*You expended my reserves 'and' yours, god I can't tell you how much of a pain in the ass you are sometimes!*
'Three.'
*I can see why Kyuubi gets fed up with you so much too!*
'Two.'
*And why in the seventh layer are you coun...Aw shit...*
'One.'
As soon as he finishes saying that, Sanziya collapses from severe chakra exhaustion.
Naruto sighs.
"What freaking joy! Three people to drag back to the house, and all because of a stupid bird and a fat pig! Damnit!"
Everyone (including Zabuza) laughs.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Anaki: Lovely new chappie! And now, an Omake! (Bonus.)
Omake
"Hey kid." Zabuza says, looking back to Naruto, who looks up in confusion. "Toss me a kunai."
Naruto shrugs, the man was no longer a threat, and the boy threw a kunai to him, not wondering how he'd catch it with two broken arms.
The Mist Demon grabs it with his mouth, and it was a that moment that Naruto pouted.
"Aw man, that was one of my favorite kunai! Now I'll never touch it again!"
Omake 2
"Hey kid." Zabuza says, looking back to Naruto, who looks up in confusion. "Toss me a kunai."
Naruto shrugs, the man was no longer a threat, and the boy threw a kunai to him, not wondering how he'd catch it with two broken arms.
The Mist Demon grabs it with his mouth, and Naruto cocked his head to the side slightly.
"Was that one of the poisoned ones?" he asks, Zabuza's eyes widening comically.
"Poison? Damn." the man says as a 'thump' indicates his meeting with Mr. Ground.
Omake End
RC16: Hahaha! Stupid guy! -kaughing and pointing at Zabu-
Zabuza: I have a big sword you chibi thing. -.-+
RC16: Eeep! -shuts up-
RC17: Funny! Review you guys!