Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Vengeful ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Naruto woke up to find his head and chest hurt, the movement of simply shifting on the bed making him flinch in pain. As he looked down to where his chest was bandaged, he put a hand to his head, trying to put thoughts together. Then it came back to him - falling out of a tree, being wounded, Kiba doing the wounding, Sasuke acting weird … what a confusing day, he thought, rubbing his forehead softly.
Then it struck him. He was in a bed?
At another glance he realised that it was indeed a bed, although somewhat crude, being made out of uneven wood - certainly not the work of a skilled carpenter. He took in his surroundings through half-lidded eyes. He appeared to be in a small room, two lamps glowing softly. One lamp stood on a bedside table, the other near a chest of drawers. Both of which were fashioned in a similar manner to the bed. He couldn't help but smile - it made the room seem more homely.
He stretched his arms out, yawning, but that soon turned into a hacking cough as his chest remembered the strain it had been under. This apparently alerted someone outside the door, because it opened immediately and an old man hopped in. Naruto blinked in surprise as he took in the unusual appearance.
The man had long - very long - white, spiky hair, and his face was painted with weird lines. He would have focused more on the unruly clothes, but there was a more pressing question right now.
“Who the hell are you?” The old man's face broke into a grin.
“My name is Jiraiya! You've probably heard of me, I'm very famous you know.” Naruto stared a moment, then snorted.
“Nope, doesn't ring any bells.” He replied with a shrug. The man's face fell slightly.
“… very famous ...” he repeated, mumbling to himself.
“Whatever, old man, where am I?” He quickly regained his composure.
“How dare you be so disrespectful to a legendary person such as myself, you little brat!” Naruto looked increasingly unimpressed, and Jiraiya sighed and cleared his throat. “Well, you are in -my- home, not far from the border to the Fire country.”
Naruto took in the answer and scratched his head thoughtfully. By the border? He could vaguely recall that Sasuke may have said something about that, but he couldn't be sure … his head snapped up.
“Where's Sasuke?”
“I'm here, idiot.” Sasuke was leaning against the door, his usual apathetic expression in place. Naruto frowned at the insult, but didn't say anything. He was more surprised how the other boy had managed to get in and close the door without a sound.
“Sakura?”
“She's in the kitchen, making that ramen stuff.” Naruto's face instantly brightened, and Sasuke shook his head, lowering his face so that his hair covered a smile. Naruto sat up straight, causing more coughing. Jiraiya frowned, patting a hand on the blond's shoulder.
“You should take it easy, boy.” He said quietly. Naruto scowled at the statement, as it made him feel like a child.
“Who are you again?” he growled, causing the old man to hit him around the head. “You can't do that! I'm injured!” he hollered. Jiraiya crossed his arms, frowning at him.
The atmosphere was broken by Sakura bouncing in, having heard Naruto shouting. She immediately rushed over to Naruto, feeling his forehead and asking if he was feeling okay. He nodded vaguely, sending a scowl towards Jiraiya again.
“Of course he's okay.” The old man said, yawning widely. “The demon healed him fine, he just needs a bit of rest.” Sakura nodded thoughtfully, and Naruto blinked at the statement. The demon healed him? Well, apparently it had other uses than repelling people. He sighed and rubbed his chest.
Then he froze in realisation - the old man knew of the demon, and Sakura had agreed while Sasuke was in the room. Did that mean Sasuke knew about the demon?
“But … h-he … and S-Sasuke …” Sakura looked at him confusedly, before she recognised what he was stuttering about. Of course he didn't know that Sasuke knew now.
“Yeah uh Sasuke knows, and so does the old pervert.” Jiraiya gasped in annoyance at the reference to himself, and Sasuke just nodded, looking towards the window nonchalantly. Naruto just stared at him, speechless for once. He was acting as if he didn't care at all.
Iruka and Sakura had always understood in a way, although they were cautious and uncertain about the demon topic, Sakura having not talked to him to him for a week when she found out, needing time to think. No one had ever shown such a reaction as this though. Naruto clenched his fist. The bastard was just pretending, as though it didn't matter, and it didn't mean anything to him. Sakura caught the expression, and she patted his arm reassuringly.
“Don't be angry, he understands. He almost killed Kiba because of what he did to you.” Sasuke growled at this. Why did she have to say it like that? He was just angry at being betrayed, was all. Naruto frowned, bewildered at this.
“Why would Sasuke … ?” Sakura shrugged at the question, and looked towards the prince in question.
“Well, you obviously needed saving.” Sasuke said, maintaining an indifferent tone, despite the mocking implications of the statement.
“I didn't need saving, you bastard!” Naruto said heatedly, grasping the side of the bed tightly. “I was just fine, with or without you!” Sasuke was now annoyed. This was the gratitude he got? Kiba could have killed him, and would have.
“You idiot, you were unconscious! You obviously can't protect yourself.” Naruto looked on the verge of strangling him, a look that Sasuke returned. “Anything could have happened if I didn't help you!”
“What do you care anyway?” He retorted angrily.
“I don't care!” Sasuke shouted back, furious at him. He didn't register the strange expression that crossed the blond's face at the words. Naruto looked towards the ground, avoiding his eyes.
“Then why?” he asked quietly, though his voice hinted at anger.
“Because I was worried-“ he cut himself off. What was he saying? Naruto had that strange expression again, and was looking up curiously. He didn't want to finish the sentence - he wouldn't tell Naruto he was worried about him, it was pathetic. So, he looked around quickly for a solution - or a scapegoat.
“I was worried - about Sakura.” He let out a breath of relief, as the excuse was plausible. However, now a dark glare was being shot his way, whilst a pink-haired girl stared up at him teary-eyed. He wished he had had more time to think that part through.
“She was really upset and … I didn't like that,” he choked out, still wanting to maintain the masquerade. Naruto just stared in disbelief, and Ino, who had came in to stand at the door, set a glare of loathing at Sakura. Said girl jumped forward to wrap her arms around Sasuke, burying her face in his shoulder.
This was definitely not one of his brightest moments, and he cursed himself whilst patting the crying girl on him awkwardly. What was she crying about anyway? Naruto was fine. Naruto ought to have been the one crying … and buried in his chest.
Naruto watched in anger at the affection between Sasuke and Sakura. What the hell was she thinking? There was no way he meant what he said, he'd never even been nice to her. Still, he felt a streak of jealousy at the sight.
He could draw comfort from the fact that they would probably part ways at the capital, and he would have Sakura to himself. However, this thought brought a new wave of sadness. What the hell was wrong with him? He hadn't had to deal with such a myriad of emotions before - and just recently, so much had been thrown at him. Some sadistic god somewhere was probably enjoying this spectacle immensely.
Somehow he had just survived a near death experience, being stabbed by Kiba. The events of the past - week was it? - should have been weighing on him heavily, but taking them separately made it possible, and less harsh. He was good at thought procrastination, after all.
The last thing he wanted to do was to let these emotions show, and quickly brought a smile to his face, shrugging to himself.
Sasuke, who had been trying to work out what Naruto was thinking, blinked in surprise at the unconcerned smile that had formed. Why was he smiling? He felt almost angry - after almost being killed, Naruto was shrugging it off as if nothing had happened. He had no right to smile, not when he was obviously hurting. It had to be a front that Naruto put on naturally - he would know, being well practiced in hiding his own emotions behind a mask.
“Sakura, weren't you in the middle of cooking?” A new person had appeared in the doorway, and Naruto suddenly felt that the room was far too small for all these people. If possible, the newcomer looked even more strange than Jiraiya - his hair was silver, and spiked upwards, and a mask covered the lower half of his face, a headband his eye. Someone would have to explain what the hell was going on, and soon.
Sakura gasped as she was reminded that she had a previous engagement in cooking, and reluctantly pulled herself away from Sasuke to rush out.
For a few minutes, a silence filled the room. A very tense and uncomfortable silence. Naruto shifted uneasily in his bed, looking to each person in the room expectantly. At length, he let out an exaggerated sigh, causing all heads to turn towards him.
“Is someone going to tell me what is going on, or are we going to stay here all day?” The silver-haired man grinned from under the mask, making his way over to the bed.
“My name is Kakashi, you've probably heard of me?” Naruto stared, shaking his head slightly. The man frowned slightly, and Jiraiya snorted slightly at the familiar response. Ino came up beside him, sighing.
“We told you about Sasuke's other bodyguard, remember?” Naruto's eyes widened in realisation, and he nodded quickly.
“Oh yes! The famous Kakashi Hatake - Sasuke and Ino talk about you a lot!” Jiraiya let out a disbelieving grunt, crossing his arms indignantly. Everyone ignored him. Kakashi scratched his head as if embarrassed, and then nodded.
“As you are aware by now, Kiba was in fact an assassin sent to kill you.” Naruto nodded, looking slightly sad. “Well, he was ordered to do that because Akatsuki could use the demon inside of you as a dangerous weapon.” Naruto kept his eyes fixed on the pattern of his bed cover. “But as you can see, that was unsuccessful. In his haste, he missed your vital organs, and the demon was able to heal you.
“Kiba was wounded, so his companion, Shino, took him into the border village for treatment. Obviously, it would be too dangerous for you and Sasuke to go to such a public place.” Naruto nodded absently, but looked confused.
“I don't understand.” The rest looked at him, wondering what had been said that could be misunderstood. “About Kiba and Shino.” He clarified.
“Oh.” Kakashi nodded, running a hand through his hair. “Instead of fighting, we decided to work together against Akatsuki.”
“After those people tried to kill me?” Naruto asked amazedly. Kakashi shrugged, indicating agreement. Naruto put his head in his hands, deciding he didn't like this man's attitude. “So … where is this?” he indicated the room.
“I told you, this is my house!” Jiraiya answered, frustrated.
“Jiraiya here is an old hermit, he lives not far from the border village.” Ino supplied. “He goes there often though to spy on women in the hot springs.” Naruto frowned at the old hermit, who waved his hand in front of his face in dismissal.
“Now Ino, you make me sound like some old pervert.” He laughed, but Naruto just raised his eyebrows. “Ahem … being the famous writer I am, I go into the village for my research.” Naruto raised his eyebrows further.
“Well, that one's original, I'll give you that.” Jiraiya grunted resentfully, and Naruto rested his head down on the pillow, as he digested the information. He needed to speak with Sakura about what was happening.
He was feeling increasingly helpless, and more than slightly depressed. Having no control over his own life was not new to him, but as his life spiralled from any sort of normality, it engulfed him, and was not at all pleasant. He closed his eyes, and heard the rest in the room leaving one by one. Oh well - maybe ramen would make it all better.
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Sasuke closed the door behind him, and rested his head back on it. That Naruto was impossible to deal with! He would definitely have to crush Sakura's hopes as soon as possible as well; it was all he could do to stop himself from throwing her across the room. Not that she wasn't a nice person - it was just that he didn't want her attached to his arm and squealing his name. Did women think that made them more appealing or something?
From what he could tell, Naruto didn't seem to be demon-like at all. He felt rather stupid looking for unusual behaviour from him, but after all, he hadn't encountered many demons before. What was he supposed to think? He felt sorry for the blond more than anything, though at the same time cautious. According to Kakashi, the demon would surface at times of high emotional distress of its host. Did that mean that if he got angry, Sasuke could be killed in a few seconds? He banged his head back against the door at the thought. He would not be scared of Naruto of all people.
His thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of his bodyguard, who was watching him carefully.
“Naruto?” Ino said knowingly, seeing his frustrated look. He didn't answer. “I'm impressed that you could keep it up that long, though.”
“What?”
“Pretending that it doesn't bother you that Naruto is a demon.” She said, flicking her hair in a bored fashion. He glared at her.
“I'm not pretending about anything, Ino.” She smirked, raising her eyebrows. “The demon thing doesn't bother me.” Her smirk faltered slighty, replaced by a frown.
“No, of course it wouldn't bother you.” She said sarcastically, but he ignored her. She sighed. “Anyway, even if he is your … friend, you know he's too dangerous.” When she got no response, she leaned against the wall opposite him.
“Anyway, to make good time, I think we should leave tomorrow morning.” She said, “Though I haven't spoken to Kakashi.” Sasuke looked up at her frowningly.
“That's rather soon,” he replied, narrowing his eyes, “Naruto might need more time to recover.” Ino's eyes widened, and she jumped forward to confront him angrily.
“WHA-“ she stopped herself, realising how close they were to Naruto's room. “That's not funny!” she hissed at him, and he met her glare evenly.
“I don't know what you mean.” He replied coolly. She waved her hands at him in a frustrated manner.
“He can't come with us! I won't allow it!”
“It's not your decision to make.” He said darkly.
“Sasuke - I don't care if you like him, or whatever, he's a demon! Out of all the people to be friends with, you choose him! Find someone else, because nothing can justify taking him.” He glared at her, stepping forward menacingly. She stood her ground, although she swallowed nervously.
“Friendship aside,” he growled, “he can be very useful for us.” At her confused look, he sighed, as if not wanting to reveal what he was going to say next. “We aren't going to defeat Itachi with a three man army. Now imagine if we had a Jinchuuriki backing our cause. It would be very good - for our integrity.” She gasped as she realised what he was getting at.
“You want to use him.” Sasuke nodded, watching her reaction closely. He wasn't being entirely untruthful. Naruto would be a valuable asset for them. She looked towards the bedroom door. “I see.” She turned back, and opened her mouth, then closed it, deciding whether or not to argue.
With a heavy sigh, she stepped away from him.
“I hope you know what you're doing.” With that, she stalked off in the direction of the kitchen. Sasuke watched her go, and then leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms.
“Did you want something, Kakashi?” The silver-haired man, having watched the exchange from the other end of the corridor in the shadows, now approached him, face buried in his book.
“Yo, Sasuke.” He said without looking up. After a moment of silence, he spoke up again. “Did you mean what you said?” Sasuke nodded at him.
“Of course.”
“Ah.” After another moment, Kakashi looked up from his book. “I know you see Naruto as more than a tool. He's an important person to you.” Sasuke shrugged.
“You probably also know, that no matter what he means to me, I only really care about my objective.” Kakashi continued to watch him. “If he stands in the way of me killing Itachi, I will remove him without hesitation.” Kakashi ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully.
“Sasuke, have you ever thought that maybe, there is more for you in life than to kill your brother?” Sasuke pushed himself away from the wall, and made in the direction of the dining room. He stopped for a second, and sneered back at the guard.
“I think you know me better than that.”
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Naruto forced his eyes half-open groggily, struggling against sleep, until the smell of fresh ramen reached his nose. Suddenly, he was wide awake, and staring with joy at the large bowl in Sakura's hands.
“Thanks, Sakura!” he said jovially, licking his lips. She smiled.
“No problem … but don't think this is going to happen again.” She put her hands on her hips, and they laughed. For a moment, he felt as if nothing had changed, and they were back in the village, safe from the outside world. This was broken by an enraged shout from Ino, at the other side of the house.
“NO! I will not put that on you PERVERT!” Sakura giggled, realising Ino had fallen victim to the perverted hermit. Naruto began slurping his ramen at an incredible speed, as if he had not eaten in days. As he tipped the bowl to drink the last of the soup, Sakura sat down beside him on the bed, back against the headrest. He placed the bowl on the bedside table, and sat beside her.
“So,” he began, “what are we going to do now?” Sakura sighed, knowing the question was coming. However, she had no idea herself.
“I'm not sure, to be honest.” She replied slowly. “We're almost at the Fire country, and there's been no sign of Akatsuki chasing us.” It was becoming increasingly obvious to her that stuff that was learnt at school had absolutely no practical application. Then again, how often did people have to run away with demons?
“What about Sasuke? Won't we continue with him?” Sakura blinked in surprise. Of course she had considered that possibility, but …
“They know you're a demon now. Do you really think we'll be able to travel with them? Besides, now that Kakashi is back, they have no reason to keep us around other than companionship, and I'm sure Sasuke has bigger priorities than that.” Naruto lowered his head with a sigh.
“I think it's the best option for us, whatever his priorities.” She looked at him curiously, and he lowered his voice. “We certainly have a better chance of survival if with elite guards, and …” he hesitated, “and few have better resources than royalty, for finding people.” She stared in shock.
“You mean you would use them to get Iruka back and put them at risk trying to keep safe?” Naruto shook his head.
“I see it as a favour. Don't you think, they're our friends now? And after all Sasuke was … he … cares about you, you know?” She nodded, and smiled as she recalled the earlier event. She didn't notice that her friend didn't look so pleased.
He wasn't stupid, and he knew that Sasuke had an ulterior motive to `caring' about a random girl he met on a riverbank. That or princes' lives were incredibly dull, which he somewhat doubted.
“Well, if you want to do that,” she replied, putting her hand on his arm, “I'll always be there for you. We have to stick together.” She returned his smile, and stretched her legs out.
Sakura herself was quite impressed with Naruto's analysis and solution, though of course being in bed; he had a lot of time to think these things through. This reminded her of how incredibly tired she was - she hadn't slept in two days, with Naruto's situation on her mind, and she closed her eyes, sleep slowly engulfing her.
“Sakura?” Naruto said, his voice soft.
“Yeah?” she murmured sleepily.
“… Thank you.”
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The next morning Kakashi knocking loudly on the door woke them. He entered, and when he saw them side-by-side on the bed gave a knowing wink. Sakura narrowed her eyes.
“What do you want?” she growled. He smiled and looked to Naruto, who looked like he was struggling immensely to stay awake.
“We're leaving soon. For all of our safety, it's better that we keep moving. So you should get your stuff together.” He left quickly, closing the door behind him, not leaving them time to respond.
“Weird.” She murmured.
“What?” Naruto asked tiredly.
“He said that we're all going together!” Naruto sat up slowly, as the words sunk in.
“Wow … I guess so.” They sat in silence for a minute, in their own thoughts about the situation.
“Hurry up, or you'll miss breakfast!” came Kakashi's voice from behind the door. At the mention of the meal, Naruto shot out of bed towards the door, travelling dilemma forgotten. He was halted by a meaningful cough from Sakura, he turned back confusedly, and found she was looking away from him pointedly, her cheeks a light pink.
“You should uh …” He looked down and realised he was dressed only in his bright orange underwear.
“Oh … yeah. “ he said, red tinting his own cheeks. He hurriedly pulled his nearby clothes on, and ran out of the door.
Breakfast was on the whole uneventful. Apparently living on his own had done wonders for Jiraiya's cooking skills, and Naruto quickly cleared his plate, earning a slap around the head from Sakura as he tried to lick it clean. Few words were exchanged, however, Kakashi seemingly the only one willing to speak to everyone.
As he lazily discussed the weather after everyone had finished, a large orange frog hopped casually onto the table in front of Sakura. She pushed away from the table, shrieking.
“It's a giant frog!” she exclaimed, and everyone looked at the frog in question, who glanced around innocently. Jiraiya laughed as the frog sat in front of Naruto, who picked it up cautiously. It wasn't too heavy for its size, and he playfully waved it around in front of him, while it appeared to grin at him.
“Ah yes, don't mind him! His name's Gamakichi.” Sakura, getting over her surprise, now leaned forward curiously.
“Nice to meet you.” The frog said cheerfully. Naruto's eyes widened, and he dropped the frog with a little squeal in his shock, whilst Sakura promptly fainted.
“It … it talked,” Ino gasped, leaning away from it. The frog turned to her.
“Of course I talk! Just because I'm of a younger generation does not mean I am not as articulate as others.” The frog said, his tone indignant. Jiraiya chuckled heartily at the reactions, though Kakashi and Sasuke still looked indifferent.
“It uses big words too.” Naruto breathed. Sakura, having recovered, dragged herself up to look at the frog, face pale. Jiraiya patted the frog affectionately.
“He's not actually that big, just a tadpole really. You should see his father.” Naruto shivered as his imagination offered an image of a frog twice as tall as a tree. Gamakichi nodded sagely at Jiraiya, while the others continued to stare at him in awe. At length, Kakashi, who had watched apathetically, now shrugged and stood.
“We should be going now, Jiraiya.” Sasuke and Ino gasped as Kakashi bowed to the perverted hermit. They had never in their life seen him bow in respect. Ino hastily stood and did the same. They would have to ask about the relationship between Jiraiya and Kakashi at another time.
Kakashi led them out to the front yard, followed by the large orange frog. He led the group to the side, where a large covered cart and horse stood waiting. Kakashi gestured to it cheerfully.
“This will be our transport.” Sasuke frowned at him.
“I know this'll be easier than walking but … is that even a proper cart?” Naruto looked it up and down and nodded.
“It's more like a big old box on wheels.” He agreed. Kakashi's smile grew.
“Well, I'm glad you two like it - since you'll be the ones using it.” They looked at him questioningly. “Since the Imperial Guard and Akatsuki are looking for only you two, and there's a good chance they'll both be in the village, hiding is the best option. The girls can travel up front with me.” Naruto glanced through the door in the back of the cart, and scowled. It was going to be a very uncomfortable journey he decided, scanning the uneven wooden ground and lack of anything to sit on, bar a few wooden boxes. Sasuke stood beside him, and looked at it distastefully, obviously thinking the same thing.
“You mean Jiraiya isn't coming?” Sasuke asked, “He is a hermit after all. He could come to the Fire country.” Ino and Sakura looked mortified at the suggestion, but Kakashi shook his head, and Jiraiya gave a sheepish chuckle.
“I'm not exactly welcomed there, heh …” he said. “I met the queen, and we don't see eye-to-eye.” Naruto was surprised that the hermit had met a queen again, but then he was a friend of a royal guard. He wondered briefly what perverted act he had done to upset her.
“Well, everyone aboard!” Kakashi said, gesturing the girls to the padded seats at the front, and the boys to the compartment at the back. They retrieved their sleeping bags from their packs, but scowled when Ino and Sakura were given thick blankets to wrap up in up front.
“Hey, that's not fair!” Naruto exclaimed, “it's gonna be cold and uncomfortable!” Jiraiya grinned, and threw a very small blanket towards them. They stared at it in disbelief. “That isn't funny!” Naruto shouted. Kakashi ushered them into the back, ignoring their protests.
“I'm going to get you for this Kakashi.” Sasuke said threateningly. The silver-haired man just shrugged, sending them a smug smile before closing the door.