Chapter 14: Jinchuuriki and Chunin Exams Begin
Chapter Text
Naruto sighed as he walked towards the bridge that he was to meet his teammates on. They hadn't changed much since their vacation almost 2 weeks ago. Sasuke still brooded about his losses, though it was slightly diminished as he seemed to be in slightly higher spirits because of the increase in training Kakashi had been giving them, even if most of the training was in teamwork. Sakura was more tolerable as she could now heal most minor injuries and a few major ones, Naruto was slightly surprised at the rate with which she increased her skill. She had been becoming more confident in herself since her decline in confidence when Naruto had stopped asking her out constantly, something which led to her asking Sasuke out on a date maybe four times in the last 2 weeks. Naruto was proud of her increased skill and respected her work dedication, even if he thought she would never be a combat ninja once she found out the real dirty part of a ninja's occupation.
Naruto looked up as the bridge came into sight, he was still an hour before Kakashi would appear but he didn't actually hate the wait as much anymore, his control increased the longer he spent sitting there as he constantly used his self-made control exercise. He was capable of standing his team for now, but he still wished to have different teammates, ones that would actually support him, unlike what he felt in Team Seven, even if that was currently more his fault than anyone else's.
One odd thing about the past two weeks though was Naruto's imagination. At least, he thought it was his imagination since what he thought he saw and felt, couldn't possibly be true. To him, it seemed Kurenai lingered around him. As in, whenever they would train, she would insist on helping him stretch, running her hands down his arms, back, and legs to test his muscles. Now this wasn't anything new, as Kurenai had done it before, it just seemed like a different touch to him whenever she would seemingly take too long on one muscle or somehow send a shiver down his spine by pressing on certain places on his body that seemed more sensitive. Additionally, whenever they would spar, she would always press her body as close to himself as she possibley could. It was disconcerting and led him to create wild fantasies that often led to his defeat. He didn't know if she did this on purpose or if it was supposed to train/relax him so he decided that it would be better for him to believe that it was his imagination running wild, since Kurenai wasn't interested in him like that and he wasn't interested in her... right? He shook his head to clear it of the confusing thoughts that had been plaguing him.
He walked onto the bridge, his face set into a blank mask as his eyes darted to his teammates before he stepped towards the opposite side of the bridge to begin his exercise, Sakura had stopped yelling at him for being late since the wave mission. "Hello Naruto." Sakura said quietly, almost as if she wasn't sure she should greet him. Naruto paused in his walking as he turned his head to look back at her.
"Hello Sakura-san." he responded as he dipped his head in acknowledgement before continuing to walk towards his usual spot, never noticing Sakura's smile, it wasn't what he usually called her but she had welcomed him and he returned it. That was a step in the right direction. Naruto, unknown to his teammates, smirked as he walked towards his spot. He was happy Sakura had welcomed him, it felt good to be welcomed by his teammate.
So, the next thirty minutes passed, Sakura wasn't staring at Sasuke and Naruto was focusing on his exercise when the leaves on his body suddenly blew away as Naruto's eyes snapped open and darted to a building across the bend in the river. His eyes remained locked at that same position as Sasuke and Sakura, surprised at the leaves' actions, cast glances at him and followed his gaze to the building, both of them tensing as they felt Naruto tense, their teamwork showing to perfection as Naruto called out, "Come out..." the tension increased slightly, "Kakashi-sensei." he said as he smirked at his faceplanting teammates, who then glared at him as he grinned cheekily.
Kakashi appeared on the bridge, his normal eyesmile present as he smiled at Naruto, "It seems your sensor is coming along nicely Naruto-kun." he praised, which caused Naruto to glance at his sensei before smiling lightly. Kakashi, unknown to the three genin, felt a weight on his heart lighten when he saw that. "Well, I don't have any training planned for today but there is something that I wish to tell you." he said, causing the three genin to pay closer attention to him. He had known that this was the correct decision when he saw their teamwork to Naruto's detection of himself.
"I decided to nominate you three for the Chuunin Selection Exams." Kakashi announced, to the surprise of the genin.
"Are you sure we are ready for that?" Sakura asked as Sasuke looked excited for the first time since their C-rank mission. Naruto had a look of doubt, yet one of determination. He didn't doubt his own abilities, so much as his team's overall chances to pass it.
Kakashi nodded, "I wouldn't have nominated you if I didn't think that. You did great on the Wave mission and I believe you can do well in these exams." he said as he smiled reassuredly, "But don't forget that most do not pass their first exams and there is a big chance you will face some more people much stronger than you, like that Haku boy." Kakashi warned. Sakura gulped while Sasuke and Naruto simply looked at Kakashi with blank stares. He shrugged, "If you wish to take the exam, please sign these papers and report to room 401 at the Ninja Academy by 4 PM tomorrow. The exam is purely individual choice so decide if you wish to go or not and please present yourselves tomorrow. Ja ne." Kakashi said as he disappeared into smoke.
"Chuunin Selection Exams eh?" Sasuke said as he looked at his paper and began to walk away. Sakura looked down at the paper, indecision racking her as she turned and walked towards her home, away from the bridge as well.
Naruto smiled at the paper, his resolve to take it and to prove the usefulness of Genjutsu on a wider scale, driving him to fill the papers out once he got home. He sealed the papers in a scroll and began walking home, a blank face on as his eyes darted around, taking in the world. Naruto smirked slightly as he rounded a corner and felt three familiar chakra signatures, his mood brightening until his eye began to twitch at the lame excuse of a hiding spot his friends would use.
"Sarutobi Konohamaru!" Naruto barked out as he stood in front of the box with two holes in the front for eyesight, "that has to be the worst hiding idea I have ever seen, get out here." he said as he stared down at the rock. Naruto waited only a moment before the box disappeared and an abundance of smoke came from the same spot, coughing soon following the smoke as he heard them begin to stumble about.
"I think we used too much smoke." a nasally voice which sounded like the person had a cold rang out. Naruto's eyetwitch only got worse when his three friends jumped out from the smoke and attempted a better introduction by forming a triangle, with Konohamaru at point.
"I would expect nothing less from the man I consider my rival!" Konohamaru shouted as he pointed at Naruto. Naruto looked down at the self-proclaimed 'Konohamaru Shinobi Corps' and held back a smile at the goggles around each of the three's heads.
Konohamaru was at the front of the group, his short spiky brown hair and black eyes reminding Naruto of his relation to his Jiji. He wore a yellow shirt with the Konoha symbol in red, some grey shorts adorned his legs with what looked to be patches around his knees. The most notable thing about him though, and the thing which caused Naruto to meet him, was the extra long blue scarf that wrapped around Konohamaru's neck and trailed behind him by several feet, leading to him tripping on it occasionally.
On his right, Udon stood, his moptop brown hair hanging past his goggles as a string of snot hung from his nose as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. He wore a blue shirt with a grey collar and edges, white shorts and the normal blue shinobi sandals. Nothing was particularly noteworthy about him except the gleam of intelligence Naruto could see lurking behind his sickly look, something he grew familiar with as Shikamaru had much the same look.
On Konohamaru's left, stood the only female of the group, Moegi. Her hair was the most noticeable about her, much like Sakura's bubblegum pink hair, her orange hair stood out well within the crowd, it was tied up in two very large pigtails with red elastic bands. She wears a maroon vest with a dark pink shirt and pants, her hands fisted in front of her chest as if she anticipated meeting someone of great importance or her excitement. She also wore the blue sandals of Shinobi. Naruto idly noted that her cheeks looked odd with the red oval markings on them.
"Goggles?" Naruto finally said in question as he looked them over, curious why they would be wearing goggles like him. Even if he thought he knew why, he wanted to hear it from them.
Konohamaru smiled brightly, "We are following Boss' example!" he said happily. Naruto smiled lightly at them.
"Really?" he asked amusedly, "Good job on the goggles then." he said.
Konohamaru beamed as Udon looked up, a glint in his eyes and Moegi looked at him with hope, "Boss?" she asked, Naruto turned to her, "Do you have some free time?"
Naruto pondered her question for a moment, looking at the eagerness on their faces, "If I play with them, it will take all day!" he thought to himself as he wondered what to tell them, "Aww well, I guess I have some extra time, I can make a clone later on when I need to meet Kurenai-sensei." he thought as he opened his mouth, "Yes." he said as if resigned to his fate.
"Sweet that means Boss can play ninja with us!" Konohamaru shouted as Naruto felt his smile slip slightly, "A ninja playing ninja." he thought with a small bit of amusement, as he nodded to them.
"Okay then, let's test your stealth shall we?" he said, catching the group's attention. He smiled lightly as he adopted a sensei's voice much like Kurenai does with him. "You all will be given a three minute headstart to run away and hide yourselves before I attempt to find you. The last one I find, will be the leader for your group until the next training session so hide well." he said, causing them all to gain a glint in their eyes and set themselves to run away, "Ready?" he said, "Go!" he shouted as he watched them race off and around a corner.
He chuckled as he turned to leave, he would send some clones out to find them but let them hide for a little while before he did so. They needed to work on their hiding skills but his sensor almost made that pointless since he could sense even their low chakra levels when they came into his range. He froze in his spot as he heard a few sounds and his sensor alerted him to two presences he hadn't noticed yet, "Oof!" came the sound from Konohamaru.
"That hurt..." came the condescending voice of someone Naruto didn't know. Then he heard something that had him turning back to the corner his group had just rounded and moving forward at a quickened pace, something akin to a genin's level of speed with the now 50 pound weights around his legs. "Hey! Let me go!" Konohamaru yelled.
Naruto rounded the corner just as the same voice spoke, "That hurt you little piece of shit." the boy who now held Konohamaru said. Naruto took a moment to observe the situation. Moegi and Udon were standing a few feet closer to Naruto than to Konohamaru and the odd boy who held him by the scruff of his shirt. The street they were on had a tree next to it but was mainly surrounded by buildings and a fence. There was little in the way of cover and only looked like a connecting alley between two streets besides the obvious sunlight shining down on it.
The boy holding Konohamaru was wearing an odd, body suit, all black, with a red and yellow circle on the front of his chest. The suit fell around him, indicating that it didn't hug his body, something Naruto was thankful for as he didn't think he wanted to see a man's body so well defined. His hood covered his hair but stood up with two small pieces of cloth that looked like cat ears. His forehead protector was wrapped around his forehead, a symbol of an Hourglass with a Bar on top of it, the symbol of Sunagakure engraved upon it. Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly. His face was covered in what looked like makeup. Purple triangles and points seemed to dominate parts of his face as his eyes squinted at Konohamaru. He noticed that the guy had a bundle wrapped on his back with what looked to be brown hair coming out at the top of the wrappings.
Naruto also spotted a young woman standing behind him, obviously a small relation was held between the two as their facial structures and body structures seemed to follow the same pattern, something Naruto learned from watching a few of the clans' many children. He noticed her blonde hair, drawn up into four different pigtails around her head along with her dark teal eyes. Her dress was a light purple which started right under her shoulders and went down her chest, showcasing her slightly developed breasts down her stomach and around her hips to end right around her mid-thigh. A scarlet colored sash covered her hips and tied her dress to her body. Pieces of fishnet dotted her body, going over her shoulders and covering what was missed by her low riding dress, she had two pieces of fishnet on her creamy white legs, one on her right calf and one on her left thigh. Finally, Naruto saw that her headband was tied around her neck, unlike her, he assumed, brother or cousin.
Just as Naruto appeared, the woman spoke, "Don't Kankuro, we will just get yelled at later." The boy, Kankuro it seemed, scoffed.
"You might want to listen to your beautiful sister over there Suna-nin." Naruto said as he walked up behind Udon and Konohamaru, a smile on his face as his eyes squinted to give the appearance of an idiot. He missed the slight blush on the woman's face as Kankuro scowled.
"What are you gonna do about it limp dick?" Kankuro asked haughtily from his spot with a hold on Konohamaru.
Naruto smirked, and began to walk forward towards Kankuro, "Nothing much." he said disarmingly. Kankuro twitched his fingers and Naruto's smirk widened, only the woman catching it as she moved to intercept whatever the odd blonde genin would do. Naruto felt the chakra from Kankuro attach itself onto his leg and begin to pull but Naruto simply dispelled it by sending a small burst of his own chakra at the string, disabling it as he overpowered the string and continued approaching the boy.
"Tch." Kankuro scowled when he realized that his string had been broken, hiding his surprise, "You're an annoying brat." he said to Naruto. He turned back to Konohamaru, "Basically, I hate midgets." Kankuro said, missing the twitch in Naruto's eye. He had always been sensitive about his size since he was the shortest of his class. "Especially younger ones that are rude. Makes me want to kill them." he said as he squinted his eyes again and looked at the boy in his grasp.
Naruto's eyes opened and locked onto Kankuro, the woman shivered at the look in his eyes as Kankuro mentally started sweating, someone they had underestimated now looked at them with the eyes of a predator. The eyes that reminded them of someone else they knew. "That..." Naruto stated, the atmosphere seemingly dropping a few degrees as he released a slight burst of KI. "would be unwise." he said.
"I'm not involved." the woman said as she took a step back, completely forgetting how she had been ready to step in and help her relation.
"After all, that boy is the grandson of the Sandaime." he said causing the two nin's eyes to widen, "hurting him over such a silly thing as bumping into you would be rather... dangerous wouldn't it?" he asked rhetorically as he suddenly smiled at them, giving them the impression that what they had just witnessed was nothing more than a figment of their imagination.
Kankuro seemed torn between what to do. His decision was made for him when a stone came from the tree next to the path and hit his hand, causing him to drop Konohamaru, who scrambled next to Naruto. Naruto smirked, "Hey Teme, bout time you got here." he said.
Sasuke scoffed, "As if you could possibly do anything without me, dobe." he said as he looked at Kankuro and the woman. The woman had a slight blush as she looked at him while he looked down on them. "What are you doing here?" he asked the Suna shinobi.
"Another guy who pisses me off." Kankuro muttered to himself as Sasuke stared down at them. "Hey punk! Get down here! I hate showoffs like you the most." Kankuro said as he grabbed the package on his back, Naruto's attention turned to him before his sensor alerted him to a presence which had just joined them. His eyes widened and he looked down as he felt the pressure of the person's chakra press down on the area. Unknown to Naruto, he had become much more sensitive to chakra because of him summoning clones to take watch when he would train and when he would attempt his Genjutsu on them. So, when this chakra presence appeared, he was unprepared for the unnormalness of it, the vileness of it, above all, the wrongness of it.
How the chakra seemed to twist and warp within the person and even surrounding the person. It felt slightly familiar yet, completely different. The chakra was an odd golden color that spoke of bloodlust much like when he had felt that twinge of Kyuubi's chakra. But it was completely different in that, the chakra didn't scream just bloodlust as Kyuubi's did but also odd feelings and fluctuations that had Naruto's mind reeling from the sheer amount of randomness it held. It felt fatal, it felt disgusting, it felt... insane.
He was dimly aware of the woman speaking, "You're going to use Karasu?" she asked, but it seemed almost as if she was a whole world away. It was as if that vile chakra had his mind swimming in despair and floating in a sea of his own inadequacy as his heartbeat sounded within his head, "Thu Thump. Thu Thump." it sounded, his eyes vibrating with each beat of his heart as his mind started to work again, the amount of... something akin to fear, powering his adrenaline as he started to find the source of the vile chakra. His eyes darting around until landing on the branch next to Sasuke, his eyes wide in fear for his, tentative, comrade. Naruto didn't know what he should do but he knew he had to help his comrade away from the monster that was next to him in the tree.
"Sasuke move!" Naruto shouted, Sasuke, trained in various D-rank missions and in the Wave mission, to unconsciously follow any warnings Naruto may give, disappeared from his perch and reappeared next to Naruto, a kunai already drawn as he set himself on Naruto's side, his eyes following Naruto's own narrowed ones. If the Suna ninja that was now standing on the branch, gave any indication to his surprise at being detected, they didn't see it as he spoke, "Kankuro, you are a disgrace to our village."
The boy was about Naruto's height, with extremely pale skin and short spiky hair, much like Naruto's own but it was a brick red color. His eyes were a light green in color with dark black rings surrounding his eyes, much like the markings of a Tanuki. He was wearing a black body suit with sleeves like a t-shirt and a open neck cut. A white cloth was worn over his right shoulder and down to the left side of his hips. A wide leather system of belts were strapped across his left shoulder and right hip, attached to his back, by these same leather straps was a gourd, his forehead protector was worn along the band of leather across his chest. The most notable aspect of this person though, was the symbol on his left forehead, seemingly burned into his forehead was the Kanji for love, 愛.
"Ga-Gaara." Kankuro stuttered. Naruto stared, wide eyed at the kid as he attempted to allow his mind to process the amount of information that his bloodline was allowing him. This guy radiated chakra almost like he did but he couldn't sense a single speck of the normal blue chakra. It was all a golden color. Sasuke's hands clenched as he glared at Gaara. How did the guy get so close to him?
"Losing control of yourself in a fight?" Gaara stated in a cold, emotionless voice much like what Naruto used when he needed his shinobi mask, "Pathetic." he said as he turned to Sasuke and Naruto, disappearing in a swirl of sand and reappearing in front of his teammates. "I'm sorry for my team's behaviour." the woman and Kankuro quickly apologized as well.
Naruto and Sasuke never relaxed as they looked at the group of genin, "We arrived early but we are not here to play around Kankuro." Gaara said. Kankuro opened his mouth but Gaara shot him a glare, "Shut up, I'll kill you." he said as he turned back to Sasuke and Naruto. "We are here for the Chuunin Selection Exams." he said as he showed their passes. Naruto and Sasuke nodded as the trio of genin took their passes back. "Let's go." Gaara said as he turned to leave.
"What's your name?" Sasuke demanded.
"Who? Me?" the woman asked as she blushed prettily. Naruto hadn't taken his eyes off of Gaara.
"No. You with the gourd." Sasuke clarified. Gaara turned back and looked at Sasuke.
"Sabaku no Gaara." he answered. "And yours?" he questioned back.
"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto was more than happy to keep his name hidden. Gaara turned and all three of the Sand Genin disappeared in a sand shunshin. Sasuke merely glanced back at Naruto.
"Things are getting interesting aren't they Naruto." he said to Naruto, Naruto only darted his eyes to his teammate before turning around.
"Yes, Sasuke. They are." Naruto said as he began to walk away. Sasuke smirked and leapt up onto the roofs to head to his house, the Konohamaru corps having run to their houses once Gaara had left. Naruto's eyes darted to where three more shinobi sat, watching their encounter, "More interesting than I think we want Sasuke." he thought as he made his way to his training ground, shaken by the chakra he had felt.
(Scene Break)
Naruto had been at his training ground for hours now, he looked up at the sun and frowned before closing his eyes while spreading his sensor ability to its impressive 35 yard range from him as the center. He couldn't sense Kurenai anywhere near his training clearing and she was already 2 and a half hours late. He was worried about her, it was beginning to get dark and he was going to have to stop soon anyways. He sighed, he really wanted to talk to Kurenai or Shikamaru about the Exams. He had been a bit worried about that odd chakra he had felt, if that kid was one of the contestants, Naruto didn't know if he was ready to face people with such fearsome types of chakra.
He had eventually told himself not to talk to Shikamaru since the guy would just tell him it was too troublesome to enter the exams anyway, in the end. So, he had put his hope in Kurenai's training today but she hadn't shown up. Neither had she told him she wouldn't be coming today nor would she simply just skip their training without a good reason. As a result, he was beginning to get worried that something might have happened to her. He knew he was only a genin and wouldn't last a second against any foes that might be able to harm Kurenai but he doubted anything physical could have happened inside Konoha itself.
So, he surmised that she must have had a mission or some important meeting come up about the Chuunin Exams to start the next day. As he looked back down at the two remaining clones he was to fight, he dispelled them with a mental command, scrunching his face up at how dirty he was, he walked to the heated waterfall that he had met Kurenai at and loosed his sensor out again to check for any wanderers, not sensing anyone, he began to strip and stepped under the waterfall when he had finished that. He quickly washed himself, allowing the warm water to rush over his body to relax his muscles.
After he had finished washing, he stepped back out and unsealed a new pair of clothes and put the dirty clothes into his old seal and headed away from the training ground. As he walked towards the village, Naruto felt his worry return, almost tenfold, causing him to finally admit that he would go by her apartment, just close enough to sense her chakra, before heading back to his own house.
Naruto took to the rooftops, some odd form of urgency catching within his body as he began to make his way quickly to Kurenai's apartment complex. He became a blur to all but experienced shinobi as he jumped over the houses and shops of Konoha his sensor stretching out towards Kurenai's apartment before he could comprehend how he was doing that, he felt her chakra signature, as bright as ever and he subconsciously smiled as he felt her chakra's refreshing feeling wash over him, his speed lessening slightly as the apartment complex came into sight down the street he had dropped down on. He continued closer almost subconsciously despite the fact he had only wanted to see if she was at her home.
Then, as he stepped to the apartment complex's entrance, he felt it, a flux in her chakra that had feelings of hopelessness and despair filtering over to him. He almost dropped to the ground from the weight of the emotion. For some reason unknown to him, Kurenai was in great emotional pain. His eyes shot up to the floor on which her apartment was and he whispered, "Kurenai." as he became a blur, using the full speed awarded him with his weights on, dashing up the stairs and towards her apartment door, his eyes and face showing his concern as his breathing was slightly labored.
He wanted to just bust the door down to get to Kurenai but, instead, he knocked on it, knowing Kurenai wouldn't appreciate him just barging in on her. His instincts also telling him that he would probably only cause her to ignore him if he did such a thing. He waited patiently, feeling Kurenai's feelings being beaten back slightly as his knock sounded. He was lost in his own little world as he concentrated solely on Kurenai's chakra with his bloodline, causing a form of tunnel vision as he saw every fluctuation as she moved her body to answer the door. He put on a smile, albeit forcibly, and looked up as he felt her chakra stabilize a bit when she finally opened the door.
He immediately noticed her disheveled appearance, her normally curly hair was in disarray, strands of it sticking out in every direction. Her face was lined with fresh tear marks, though you could only see it because of Naruto's angle from which he stood under her face, the light reflecting on the slight moisture still clinging to her cheek. Her red lipstick was mostly rubbed off as if she had been chewing on something for an inordinately long time. Her state of dress was the second most important fact to Naruto, her normal dress of bandages was absent, the first time he had seen her in something other than that dress. Instead she wore a bathrobe that was obviously hastily thrown on because of the fact that most of Kurenai's chest was exposed, showing her red bra. Her breasts were mostly covered, only being able to see the sides which peeked out from the V of the robe. Her legs were bare beneath the robe, leading Naruto to believe she had nothing but panties on underneath that robe.
His blush was immediately stopped from rushing to his cheeks as he caught sight of her mesmerizing wine red eyes. Those beautiful and entrancing eyes which had so captivated him when he first saw her seemed broken, almost as if someone had taken her solid rubies and chiseled them into tiny little pieces leaving this bloodshot mimic of an eye behind. He gasped lightly as he saw her eyes and she blinked in surprise.
"Naruto?" she asked, her voice slightly hoarse. Naruto merely looked up at her, stunned at her dress and, more importantly, her eyes. She seemed surprised he would be here, "What are you doing here?" she asked.
Naruto's eyes locked with hers, "You missed our training today." he responded, though he was internally trying to figure out what was wrong. The concern on his face made her own turn apologetic.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize the time." she said as she smiled weakly. Naruto stared at her incredulously. She was a stickler for time, for her not to notice the time was unheard of, and she cursed herself as she realized that Naruto knew that better than almost anyone because of their training. An awkward silence fell between the two, Naruto staring at her eyes with a look that made her oddly self-conscious as she looked down at herself and pulled her robe closed. Moments stretched on into minutes until, finally, the silence was broken as Kurenai spoke, "Was that all you needed Naruto?" she asked wearily, obviously wanting to be alone, to anyone who was paying attention.
Unfortunately Naruto wouldn't let her be alone with such grief as he had been, "What's wrong?" he asked quietly, her ears straining to catch the words. She almost immediately froze as his blue eyes seemed to bore into her soul, letting her know he was aware that she was hurting, though she still tried to deny it.
"Nothing." she said, her voice sounding weak to even herself. Naruto's eyes shone with concern but also a sliver of hurt. Kurenai turned away from his eyes.
"Okay then Kurenai-sensei. I guess I will just see you later then. I hope you have a good night." he said as he went to turn away, knowing she didn't want him there and he couldn't force her to answer him. Despite the fact he desperately wanted to stay and help her, he didn't want to overstep their friendly relationship. He didn't see Kurenai bite her lip before speaking.
"Wait, Naruto..." she said quietly, Naruto turned to her, confusion in his eyes and she attempted to smile at him but it was obviously fake. She seemed slightly conflicted as she spoke, "Won't you please come in for some tea... Naruto?" she said in the same weak voice from before, making Naruto worry even more as he watched her, his concern visible as he nodded and stepped into her house, she closing the door behind him. Naruto took his shoes off and walked back into the living room, seating himself on the sofa again as Kurenai walked into the kitchen without a word to him.
He watched the kitchen with a wary eye, he knew something was wrong but he didn't know how to get her to tell him. He desperately wanted to be there for her since she had been there for him so many times before. He used his sensor as much as his eyes to keep watch over her movements in the kitchen until the unmistakeable sound of breaking dishes came from the kitchen. He was out of his seat and by her side in moments, holding her shaking hand. He looked at her, but she wouldn't meet his eyes.
Now, One thing about Naruto is that he was not one for social interaction. He was never known for one with tact or even to understand his actions completely. Even now, Naruto found himself questioning his actions or trying to figure out exactly why what he was doing was wrong or how he had messed up something so bad people berated him for it. He did, however, know how to deal with pain, he had experienced it acutely himself and knew how he would like to be comforted and how he had been comforted, specifically by Kurenai. So, he used his previous experience to attempt to help his only friend.
"Come on." he said gently, standing her up and leading her to the sofa, sitting next to her, he kept her hand in his own as he looked at her eyes again, "Tell me what's wrong?" he asked quietly, his voice showing his concern as he gently rubbed circles into the back of her hand. Her eyes remained away from him until he cupped her face with his other and forced her to look at him, "Please." he pleaded as he looked at her, "You have done so much for me..." he trailed off, "allow me to help you this once. Please Kurenai." he begged her.
Kurenai merely looked at him, her broken rubies showing a body that seemed devoid of its soul as she warred within herself. He waited patiently, watching as her rubies began to blink rapidly after a few moments and tears gathered at the edges of her eyes. Her broken rubies suddenly burst with pain and suffering so intense Naruto almost drowned in them as he looked at her. She pitched forward, her head landing on his chest as she wrapped her arms around him and began to sob into his chest.
Naruto, stunned at her reaction, froze for a few moments before his body seemingly moved according to someone else's will and slowly wrapped his arms around Kurenai's own shaking form, his head laying a kiss on the crown of her shaking head of hair as he pushed his nose into it. He allowed her to cry her despair out, him starting to whisper comforting words under his breath to her, "Shh Shh, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay." he whispered, many of his comments going much like that, something just reassuring her as she allowed the sorrow she had built up inside her out, something that Naruto knew he would want someone to whisper to him if he were hurt again.
As Naruto comforted Kurenai, he couldn't help but to notice her scent again, with her so close to him he took a deep whiff of that flowery scent. He felt slightly guilty about enjoying being so close to her while she was in pain but he also knew that he was providing comfort to her unlike what had happened with him. They stayed like that, Kurenai sobbing into his chest and Naruto patting her or kissing the crown of her hair occasionally as he continued trying to soothe her, for close to three hours, though neither was aware of the time, only that Kurenai was slowly starting to stop sobbing. As the last of her sobs shook her shoulders, Naruto looked down as she shifted and raised her head, her hands releasing Naruto's torso as she wiped her tears away.
"Are you okay?" Naruto asked quietly, feeling his chest soaked with her tears. He watched her eyes as she looked at him, they didn't seem to be drowning in that sorrow any longer though it was still there.
"Sort of." she croaked. Naruto frowned.
"What happened?" he asked just as quietly.
Kurenai's eyes shot to his, a haunted look appeared but was put behind her eyes again as she responded, "A very close friend of mine was killed on a mission." she responded, her voice strained. She didn't meet his eyes.
Naruto's eyes narrowed and he spoke in a soft voice, "That doesn't explain you crying. You know that our life is full of death." he said, though it might be a bit rough for someone who just spent three hours crying, he wanted to know what could cause Kurenai, the pillar he had come to expect to almost always be strong, break down like that.
Kurenai looked down, a quiet stretched between the two, much like before, tension huilding in the air and Naruto shifted slightly before Kurenai finally spoke, "It was to be his last mission until he retired. I just thought..." she trailed off. Naruto winced, the guy must have been powerful or cunning to reach retirement age. "It just occurred to me that if someone like him could be killed, is this life really so certain like I feel?" she tried to voice the complicated feelings she was having. Naruto understood what she was trying to say, She just faced the fact that most shinobi didn't live till a ripe old age. It hit her harder right now,probably because of the lose so close to home. He didn't truly understand what she was talking about as some aspects of this life escaped him but he attempted to soothe her.
"No." Naruto answered, "but we have chosen this life, and we will live it to the fullest." he said as he looked her in the eyes. "Not many of us will live full lives, but we can only try our best and hope to see a brighter future." he said, the words spilling from his mouth before he could think of them. Kurenai nodded to him and Naruto smiled. Her rubies were not fully repaired but he was sure they would be by tomorrow, she was strong willed and this breakdown would only make her stronger.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked quietly. Kurenai nodded slightly, favoring him with a small smile, though it was strained.
"Thank you Naruto." she said quietly. Naruto smiled brightly at her.
"Anytime, anywhere Kurenai. I will always be willing to help you. You only need to ask." he said happily, Kurenai seemed to brighten looking at his smile, a true expression of happiness on his face, "sometimes you don't even need to ask." he said with a smirk,trying to lighten the mood and causing Kurenai to blush slightly. Naruto caught sight of the time and he sighed.
"I should head home, I didn't realize that it was so late." he said as he stood, stretching his body, allowing his bones to set back into place with cracks. He smiled back at her and faltered as he looked at her. She looked like she didn't want him to go and Naruto was loathe to leave her alone after such an episode, he knew after her talk with him, if he would have been in his house alone, he might have receded back into himself.
"I don't think you need to go home Naruto." she said, she pointed towards a bedroom, "I have a spare bedroom and it is quite late." Naruto looked at her and at the bedroom before looking back at her, his eyes showing his confusion and slight apprehension.
"Are you sure?" he asked, feeling that there was some other reason she was offering the bedroom to him. She simply nodded before he smiled at her, "Okay then. But I need to sleep for the Exams tomorrow." he said as he smiled at her, she smiled, though it seemed more like a smirk as she looked at him.
"Goodnight Naruto." she said as she stood and walked down the hallway to her room. Naruto watched her for a few moments, his eyes straying to her robe covered ass as it swayed side to side with each step before he smacked himself mentally and made himself walk into the spare bedroom.
He saw only a bed and a dresser within the room, the walls bare and lifeless. He sighed and began to undress himself, leaving only his boxers on as he climbed into the bed and began to try to sleep. In moments, he was asleep and dreaming.
(Scene Break)
Naruto opened his eyes as he sensed someone within the bedroom, he blinked his eyes open, looking towards the doorway curious about who it was, his eyes widening as he saw the silhouette of Kurenai. "Kurenai? What's wrong?" he asked sleepily.
Kurenai's arms came up and gripped themselves as she shifted on her feet. "I-I can't sleep." she said. Naruto rose an eyebrow.
"Okay." he said, as he watched her, "Do you need me for something?" he asked as he sat up.
Kurenai shifted again before saying, "I don't know." Naruto rolled onto his back as it blocked the light from the living room.
"Well, I'm here if you need me. Just... do what you need." he said in response as he started to drift back into sleep.
Naruto was dimly aware of the bed shifting, the light having been turned off. He knew that Kurenai had just joined him in bed and his cheeks flushed with blood. The bed jostled slightly as Kurenai seemed to shift around on the other side of the bed for a few moments before she settled down in one spot. Naruto felt himself starting to drift even further into sleep.
All of a sudden, Naruto felt a source of warmth wrap itself around the right side of his body, he felt as Kurenai wrapped his body in her own arms, her body contorting around his own so she could touch him as much as possible with her own skin, the fact that she was only wearing a pair of panties painfully obvious to Naruto even in his half unconcious state. He felt her breasts press around his arm as her legs wrapped around his own. He blushed even heavier and attempted to fall asleep.
But it was not to be, Kurenai wasn't comfortable enough, it seemed, for the position they held. She leaned away from him, grasping his right arm and draping it along her back so she could press her breasts against his naked chest, her head resting on his chest as she curled around the right side of his body and nuzzled his chest before sighing lightly and her breathing evened out. Naruto blushed heavily but slowly drifted to sleep with a huge smile on his face and a large blush on his cheeks.
(Scene Break)
When Naruto woke the next morning, he quickly looked over to the side of the bed he had felt Kurenai occupy and frowned. The sheets weren't ruffled and there was no warmth where she should have been sleeping. He groaned as he realized what he thought was truth last night had actually been a dream and thought about yesterday.
He smiled, glad to have helped his friend before looking at the time, it was close to noon and Naruto idly wondered how he had slept so late but assumed he was just more tired than he realized as he got out of bed, dressed himself and walked into Kurenai's living room. He smiled once again as he walked into the kitchen to see Kurenai sipping on some tea and smiling at him as he walked into the room.
He nodded to her as he looked at another cup of tea, set out for himself and a small bit of food that was sitting there. "Thanks for lunch Kurenai." he said. Kurenai nodded her head to him as she continued sipping on her tea. Naruto ate in relative silence as the two enjoyed each others company. There was little need for words and the silence was comfortable as Naruto finished his lunch and proceeded to wash his plate. Once he had done so, he sat back down as he looked over at Kurenai, enjoying the red rubies shining back at almost full force.
"Naruto, I think there is something that we should talk about for the Chuunin Exams." she said with a hint of seriousness in her voice. Naruto nodded. Kurenai thought for a moment before continuing, "Deception is a very good tool in a ninja's tactics and it is especially effective for Genjutsu users, this you know." she says, causing Naruto to nod again, "In other words, I think you should act as you did during the academy to throw off your competition." she suggested.
Naruto's eyes widened slightly before they closed in thought. He silently weighed the advantages and disadvantages of such an action, at least as much as he could comprehend and nodded slightly as he grinned, "Thats very devious." he finally said with a small smile.
"I knew you'd like that." she said with her own grin. Naruto was happy to see that she had recovered slightly from her ordeal. Unfortunately, he looked at the time and wanted to get ready for the exams. He looked at Kurenai with a small frown.
"I need to head home and get ready for the exams, are you going to be okay?" he asks. Kurenai smiles slightly, obviously touched at his show of concern and she stands, walking over to him and leading him to the door as she speaks.
"I'll be fine Naruto, thanks for your help." she says warmly, casting a glance at him as he puts his shoes on, she opens her door and he steps outside, turning to face her. "Really Naruto, I'll be fine." she repeats as he looks at her. Naruto stares at her for a longer moment, noticing she seemed slightly... nervous? about something he finally nodded, figuring he could do nothing else. He was unprepared when she spoke again, "Really... thank you Naruto...-kun." she said again as she leaned in, quickly pressing her ruby red lips to his cheek, brushing his whisker marks and sending him into a slightly catatonic state as he stared at her when she giggles and closes the door.
He stands at the door for another minute before his hand absent-mindedly moves to his cheek, wiping a bit of red lipstick from it as he remembers how soft and warm her lips felt against his skin. He blushes a deep red as he looks at the lipstick on his fingertips before turning and heading to his home, a blush and a confused smile on his face
(Scene Break)
Naruto walked up to the gates of the Academy, seeing Sasuke and Sakura standing off to the side, he walked over to them, his face had a smile on it as he greeted them, "Ready?" he asked. Sasuke nodded but Sakura looked indecisive before nodding. Both of the boy's eyes narrowed at Sakura's show of doubt. Sasuke and Naruto shared a look as Sasuke turned and his teammates fell into step behind him, Naruto on his right, Sakura on his left as they proceeded into the Academy.
Naruto took notice of all of the people in the academy, "There sure are alot of contestants." he thought to himself as his bloodline showed him that no one was of any worthy notice in chakra pools yet. None of them had anything above Sasuke's, in other words, even then, not many had that. Naruto looked up as his team crested the top of the stairs they had been climbing and noticed the group of people standing in front of the room 301. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the poor coverup Genjutsu, plus the fact they were only on the second floor.
Naruto heard the sound of one person getting knocked down at the front of the group and the throng of people seemed to part, allowing him to see the person who had gotten hit. The boy was wearing a green jumpsuit that stood out almost as much as Naruto's old orange one, orange leg warmers, and his Konoha Hitai-ate was wrapped around his waist as a belt with a red cloth. However, what had Naruto's eye twitching, and Sasuke's as well, was the shiny bowl haircut for his black hair the boy was sporting along with eyebrows the size of a Centipede. His beady black eyes were completely overshadowed by his eyebrows.
The two people who had attacked the green-clad boy were standing in front of the disguised room. Both had brown hair, the one on the left had his hanging down haphazardly around his face, framing his black eyes, and the shirt and collar which reached up to his chin. He wore a vest over his shirt with plain white pants and blue shinobi sandals. He also had a backpack on his back. The one on the right had spiky hair much like Naruto's, which framed his own black eyes and the bandages that were on his face, the handle of large swords stuck up from behind each of his shoulders. He also wore white pants and blue shinobi sandals.
"Hah! You plan to take the chuunin exam like this?" the one with spiky hair said, "You should quit now." the straight haired one said as the two looked down on the green-clad boy with a sneer.
"Please... Let us through." a girl with brown hair said as she began to walk forward. Her hair was styled with two chinese buns on top of her head, her Hitai-ate, marking her part of Konoha much like the green-clad one's, sitting underneath the fringe of her hair. She was wearing a chinese style pink shirt with no sleeves and dark green pants that tapered at the end.
The spiky haired one knocked her in the head and sent her careening to the floor with a crash. "Horrible." one of the onlookers whispered.
The spiky haired guy looked at the onlooker who had spoken with disbelief, "What did you say?" he asked dangerously.
The straight haired guy then spoke, "Listen, this is our kindness." he said as the crowd bristled, "The Chuunin exams aren't easy, even we have failed it three times." the guy said motioning to him and his apparent comrade, "Those that take this exam and end up quitting as Shinobi, Those that die because of this exam, we have seen it all." he said somberly.
The spiky haired guy spoke then, "Chuunins are the leaders and commanders on the field of battle. Failure of a mission. Death of a comrade. That is the weight of the Chuunin's position and something one must be capable of dealing with in order to obtain this rank." he said with passion, "yet, kids like you think you can pass?" he said derisively, "We are just thinning out those that would have failed anyways, whats wrong with that?" he asked rhetorically, their passionate speech making it so people shifted nervously, none wanting to move too much from fear of drawing attention to themselves.
Naruto smirked as he saw Sasuke step forward, time for the show. "I agree." Sasuke's voice cut through the silence as he stared at the two, "but no matter what you think. I will pass this exam, so you will let me pass." he said as he looked at them, causing the crowd to begin muttering to themselves. "That Genjutsu will be removed. I'm going to the third floor." he said, causing the mutterings to increase.
"Ah, so you noticed." the straight haired person said as the sign for the room suddenly warped and the real number, 201, revealed itself.
"Not really." he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, his eyes darting to Sakura, "Sakura did." he claimed, drawing attention to her, "Her analytical ability and Genjutsu know-how are the most advanced on our team." he said, giving Sakura a boost in courage as Naruto fought off a scoff from his teammate's statement.
"Of course," Sakura said, her dull eyes now firing with light, "this is only the second floor after all." she said.
The spiky haired one moved then, speaking as he brought his foot around to hit Sasuke, "Hmm, not bad, but all you did was see through it." he said. Naruto didn't move, his eyes watching the encounter and the crowd when he noticed the green-clad boy suddenly move, his wound disappearing as he appeared between Sasuke and the odd boy's kick, holding both of them with his hands. Naruto's eyes narrowed very slightly, "Taijutsu specialist, need to stay away from him." he deduced. The boy let out a sigh as he released the two kicks.
"Hey." a boy's voice rang out, Naruto turned to this new guy. He was wearing a khaki shirt with dark brown shorts that matched his hair, which fell to the middle of his back. His Hitai-ate was wrapped around his forehead with the Konoha symbol on it as well. His eyes were completely white, much like Hinata's leading Naruto to believe this guy was from the Hyuuga clan. He did notice that the guy's voice was slightly cold, "What happened to the plan?" he questioned, "You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves." he said.
The green clad boy suddenly blushed and looked towards Sakura, causing Naruto to suddenly have to keep his chuckles to himself as he watched the boy's teammate shake her head. "Oh no!" she said as the Hyuuga guy broke out into a cold sweat.
The green clad boy started to walk towards Sakura, a small smile on his face as he greeted her, "Hi!" he said, "My name is Rock Lee. So yours is Sakura." he said as he blushed, Naruto suddenly had a bad feeling about this, as the boy brought his hand up and stuck his thumb up in a 'okay' position and smiled, his white teeth shining as he said, "Let's go out together! I'll protect you 'til I die." he said boisterously.
Sakura stared at him for a moment before she spoke, "No... Way... You're lame." she deadpanned. Naruto shot a small glare at her, it wasn't necessary to be so mean but she missed the glare, as Lee slumped in depression.
Naruto's eyes shot over to Sasuke as the Hyuuga boy spoke, "Hey you." he said facing Sasuke, "What's your name?" he asked haughtily.
Sasuke looked over at the boy and scoffed, "If you want to learn someone's name, you should give your own first." he responded.
The Hyuuga boy frowned, "You're a rookie right?" he asked, not leaving any time to answer his question he continued, "How old are you?"
Sasuke scoffed again, "I don't have to answer you." he said as he and the Hyuuga turned from each other and began to walk away from each other. Sasuke had a smirk on his face as if he was extremely excited to be here. Naruto kept his goofy smile on his face as his squinted eyes took in all of the competition. Sakura looked at her teammates and quickly signaled them to move as she wanted to get away from Rock Lee. They both complied walking down the hallway towards the stairs.
(Scene Break)
Sakura led the way with Naruto on her right and Sasuke on her left as they approached the doors to the room 301. Kakashi closed his book as they appeared and smiled at them. "Well, looks like you can take the exams." he said, causing Naruto and Sasuke to glare at him.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.
"To be honest, this exam can only be taken by teams of three, so if Sakura had not come you and Naruto would not be able to participate." he said as he lazily answered the question.
"Then why did you lie to us?" Sakura asked.
"Because, if Naruto or Sasuke pressured you, you would enter it. Even if your heart wasn't in it. But, you came of your own free will, so go take the exam as my proud team." he said as he eyesmiled at them before poofing away.
The team shared a loof before Sasuke stepped forward, the team taking the same formation they had when entering the Academy, Sasuke in front with Naruto on his right and Sakura on his left as they all smiled while opening the doors to the room.
The Chuunin Exams had begun.