Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Clearly You Don't Understand
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: Thirteen years ago, Sarutobi was assassinated and his ward was thrown into prison by the biased council who believed it to be him. Now a bigger threat arises with an untimed resurrection and the tears of a forgotten man. (Sequel to The Fox and The Phoenix)
A/n: Um...if you didn't understand the last chapter, here's a synopsis: Naruto's a demon now, his chakra was being mixed with Kyuubi's the entire time it was sealed, and when it was released it completely overrode any humanity left in him. He still looks like a human, one: because he doesn't have much chakra yet, and two: I don't see a point in him looking fierce unless he's pissed off or fighting someone he really hates or wants to intimidate, 'and' I'm the
author, so nyah. Next, yes, Hinata 'is' married to Kiba. Don't ask me why. Don't ask me how, as far as I'm concerned we're all in the same boat as Naruto
('wtf'ing basically), so yeah. And another question I was asked and probably will be asked again is about Jiraiya. Now I could be a smartass and say that old people tend to have a myriad of things wrong with them at any given time, which is true, but he has a specific disease. Tuberculosis. 'Nuff said.
Chapter Four: Pain
::Zabuza and Haku's House (formerly Sanziya and Naruto's)::
Naruto steps in the house, crushing his cigarette under his heel before doing so, and slipping off his shoes at the door. He inhales silently, clearing the smoke from his lungs, not that he could get cancer anyway. Upon walking around for a bit, he notices that the pictures his mother painted still hang on the wall, as fresh looking and free of dust when she first painted them. He smiled, mentally thanking the two tenants of the house. The blonde goes into the bathroom, stripping down, and getting in the shower.
The man shudders under the warm spray; seeing Sakura hadn't been too detrimental to his mental health, but it had been a shock to his systems too, even if he didn't show it. She looked even more like her mother even though she was nothing like the woman.
"I detest this feeling." he murmurs to no one, knowing Kyuubi cannot hear a word he said, she was asleep again it seems.
She was doing that a lot lately.
Sleeping.
He would say it wasn't healthy, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
Especially when he was the one forcing her into sleep.
::Hokage Tower::
"Jiraiya, if you'll just lay down...!" Tsunade states heatedly, pulling on a pigtail as Haku tries to 'help' (i.e: push) the old man onto a bed, but the ice user is promptly shaken off.
"No!" he growls, his face turning red. Though that could simply be from the effort of holding back his coughs. "Screw the fucking treatments Tsunade! You and I both know this can't be cured no matter how hard you try! Not many ninja survive this, even the 'lucky' ones are crippled and forced into civilian life! I'd rather die in battle than from this goddamn disease!"
After this small tirade he doubles over in a fierce coughing fit, unable to even reach for his bottle of pills because his body is shaking too hard. He hacks violently into his hands, blood slipping between his fingers to stain the hardwood flooring.
"Jiraiya!"
"Jiraiya-san!"
::Zabuza and Haku's House::
Naruto steps out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, going down to his old room while running his fingers through his now much cleaner mane of hair. Nothing had changed, although there were clothes that would fit him in the closet. Simple colors, nothing more, nothing less. He mentally thanks
Haku again, figuring the older man had some good foresight.
After pulling on some underwear, a blue shirt, and black nin pants, Naruto makes his way into the kitchen, where he is immediately assaulted by a barrage of kunai. The blonde crouches, rolling behind the door as the weapons 'thunk' into the wood. He reaches up, pulling as many as he can from the wood before ducking back behind his temporary shield as another barrage sinks into the beaten wood.
*One, two, three, four...damn, this won't be enough to do shit with.* he thinks, forming the ram seal experimentally. Nothing happens. *And my chakra hasn't returned enough to do much of anything with.*
The blonde man hears footsteps approaching, steeling himself for an attack as he spreads the liberated kunai between his fingers.
"I don't know how you got in here without me sensing you asshole,..." a gruff voice begins slowly, the owner making their way towards the door. "But you're dead fucking meat!"
At this the door is slammed shut, revealing the still crouching Naruto, who reacts by throwing two of his kunai at the man. The weapons lodge themselves deeply into his sleeveless shoulder, the pain not registering as a shocked look takes over his features, and he stares slack-jawed at the blonde.
The blue eyed man curses, watching as blood seeps from the man's shoulder, that shot should've hit his throat and killed him. He would need to work on his aim again, that prison had given him strength, but not accuracy.
"Naruto?" the man asks tentatively as Naruto turns to focus on his face.
"That you Zabuza?" the blonde asks, tilting his head to the side quizzically, but not lowering his weapons. Zabuza nods, wincing as the pain finally registers in his mind.
"When did they let you out?" the ex-Kiri jounin asks, hooking two fingers through the rings of the kunai currently embedded in his shoulder and taking a deep breath.
"Earlier today. Apparently I am absolved of all my 'crimes'." Naruto replies with a level tone, keeping the remaining kunai weapons at his side cautiously as Zabuza rips the two kunai from his shoulder, teeth gritted in more annoyance than actual pain. He tosses the bloody kunai towards a bucket marked 'Tools for Cleaning', but they miss by a long shot and he simply shrugs. "But that doesn't matter, why did you attack me?"
The older man holds up a finger, telling Naruto to wait for a minute as he gets a bottle of alcohol and some gauze from the medical kit mounted on the wall, motioning for the younger man to follow him into the living room as he sits on the couch to tend to his wound.
"I didn't recognize your chakra signature. It shouldn't have changed this much over thirteen years, what happened?" he questions in reply, pouring the alcohol on the wound and quickly binding it without so much as a flinch. He scratches the stubble on his chin as he waits for an answer.
Naruto simply smiles, uttering a single word.
"Kyuubi."
Zabuza nods in understanding as he scans the other man's face for any sign of emotions other than that fake smile, but the whiskered blonde has settled back into cold apathy.
"I'm sorry I didn't come visit."
"That's alright."
The two sit in silence for a bit, but it's not uncomfortable and Zabuza soon speaks up.
"So...I assume Haku told you you'll be living back here again?"
Naruto fixes him with nothing short of a blank stare and the other man nearly flinches at the gaze. The blonde's eyes were reminiscent of that of a dead fish.
"Why else would I be here Zabuza?" he asks calmly, his voice betraying nothing. "If not for the simple fact that the scattered pieces of my broken family still reside in this village, i.e: You, Haku, Sasuke, and Jiraiya, then I would have 'gone missing' as soon as I was freed."
Zabuza nods, standing up and stretching his shoulder, rotating it so it won't go stiff.
"Are you hungry?"
"I think the better question is: Can you cook?"
"I was going to make some shiitake mushroom and beef stir-fry with rice."
"Alright. That's fine."
::Immediately after dinner, Bathroom::
Naruto clutches the toilet as he empties the contents of his stomach for the second time that day, shaking as Zabuza leans against the closed bathroom door, wincing slightly as Naruto retches into the bowl again.
*-groan-...-deep shuddering breath-...Kyuubi.... -cough-...agh...Goddammit!...
Kyuubi!....agh....-hack-...What the fuck is this?!*
'You are a full blooded demon now, Naruto.' Kyuubi begins somberly, appearing beside him and tying his hair back from his face so it doesn't touch the sickness in the toilet. He allows her to, even though he is clearly pissed. 'You cannot eat human food anymore, your body will reject it each time. It is poison to you now. That's why the rats you ate 'raw' while in confinement did nothing to your body, because of the changes.'
"Bullshit...that's straight bullshit!" he yells at her, uncaring if Zabuza hears as he throws up again. Fucking second helpings.
'I know kit, I know. Don't worry, it'll be alright.'
"No...it won't Kyuubi..." he murmurs, retching into the toilet again, grimacing at the chunks of half digested meat and mushroom floating in brownish green bile atop the water. He flushes the toilet, getting up and rinsing his mouth out with water from the sink. "I feel it."
::Konoha Streets; Shopping Stalls Area::
One woman, a short haired brunette is talking to another black haired woman as they shop for fruit together.
"Did you hear?" the brunette asks, putting a pineapple in her basket. They were having Pineapple Delight for desert tonight.
"What?" the black haired woman replies, picking up a guava and giving it a light squeeze.
"The demon's back." Another pineapple goes into the basket.
"I thought the council executed it." The guava goes back on the shelf. "Yech, I don't even like guava melon. Too sweet."
"No, I heard they only imprisoned it and that evil wave of chakra earlier was from it too!" Another pineapple calmly goes into the basket, apparently this wasn't as shocking to the one delivering the news.
A pomegranate is dropped on the floor by a nearby eavesdropper, the stall owner not paying attention as he turns a page in his dirty magazine and giggles. He really didn't care what the women had to say, he hated women anyway. They were a pain in the ass.
"Really?! Well someone should go kill it then!"
Haku, basket of fruit in hand, steps up behind the two woman (who, coincidentally, albeit older, were the same two woman talking shit about Sanziya in the humble beginnings of TFTP, Chapter Five I believe), making sure to let his icy aura wash over them as he smiles jovially.
" 'Who'll' be killing 'what' now ladies?"
The women freeze, no pun intended, in their chatter, turning to face Haku, and you can literally see their unspoken lies already forming on their foul lips.
However, fortunately or unfortunately or whichever way you wish to view it, an young woman who looked to be around Naruto's age with short cut brown hair and a warm smile pulls him away from the two women with a sigh.
"Haku-chan, we can't have you getting angry at everyone who talks bad about Naruto-kun, hm?
Haku sighs, nodding, but he sends a fierce glare back at the two in warning anyway. The woman snickers, pulling on his kimono sleeve anxiously.
"Come on! I want to go see Naruto-kun! It's been forever!"
"Alright Ashui, alright!" Haku mumbles, a hint of annoyance crossing his features, putting one last fruit in his basket and tossing a handful of coins onto the stall owner's makeshift desk as Ashui drags him from the shop. The man snorts, not even bothering to count it as he pockets the gold, turning another page in his magazine.
He 'really' hated women.
::Z and H's House::
"Zabuza! I'm back!" Haku calls as he and Ashui enter the house and slip off their shoes. Ashui goes to sit down in the living room, leaving the ex-Kiri nin to search.
There's no answer from the older man, nor the other inhabitant of the house, but he didn't know that the blonde was there yet.
"Zabuza?" the ice user calls again tentatively, heading for the bedroom. He sees the older Jounin sprawled out across the bed, his normally loud snores being muffled by the pillow resting jauntily atop his head. Haku sighs -Zabuza was such a wild sleeper, especially when napping- wandering into the kitchen and picking up the two bloody kunai that were in the far corner, nowhere near the bucket he had marked for such a purpose.
The kimono-clad man makes a 'hming' noise at the back of his throat, absentmindedly rubbing the side of his neck where a small scar resides as he goes crosses through the living room to the back hallway calling for Naruto while Ashui contents herself by looking at the pictures on the walls.
"Naruto? Are you home? Ashui's here to see you." he states as he comes to a standstill in front of the shoji door, awaiting an answer. No answer comes from the man inside, so Haku knocks again. "Naruto?"
A stifled noise reaches his ears, sounding more like a strangled sob. Haku frowns, putting his ear to the door's surface.
Meanwhile, inside, Naruto is biting his knuckles to stifle any loud noises and sobs issuing from his throat as he sits on the bed. He had opened the
package...breaking down halfway through pulling everything out, escpecially after he'd found his mother's Body Sheath.
"Kaa-san...kaa-san...these things, all these things you've left me...Why? -choking sob- I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you! I'm sorry I was so fucking weak..." he whispers, biting down even harder on his knuckles, drawing blood, the other hand clenching the bracelet tightly. He knew that this little fragile looking piece of blue starmetal could've prevented his mother from dying had she worn it into battle, but no, instead she had packed it into a farewell package for him. Explanations for eveything scribbled on numerous scrolls as he discovered directions left for his father's Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God
Technique) and an entire compressed scroll containing 500 of the special three pronged kunai with the seals already engraved on them. Entire medical records, books and tools from the Uzumaki clan as well as a thick notebook on anything that Sanziya had discovered about the mixed clans (Kazama and Uzumaki) other latent bloodline abilities and how to use them to the fullest extent that he could, and that was only half of the package.
Outside, Haku goes to knock on the door again, feeling guilty for eavesdropping on something that the other man obviously wanted to keep to himself.
"Just come in Haku, it's not locked." Naruto tells him as he wipes his face, all traces of vunerability gone from his features as he lights up a cigarette, Haku sliding open the door and stepping silently into the room.
"Ashui's here to see you."
The blonde nods, sweeping everything except the Body Sheath to one side of his bed and standing as he slips it on his own wrist, the icy blue color giving way to nothing but flesh as it absorbs some of his steadily returning chakra. He stands, stepping past Haku and into the hallway, leaving the brunette to close the shoji door. The other man couldn't help but notice what seemed to be a slightly happier jive to the blonde's step. Haku smiles lightly, pulling the door shut and following quickly behind the younger man.
::Living Room::
Naruto enters the living room, stubbing his cigarette out in the palm of his hand and pocketing it as he lays eyes upon the woman residing in his former living room. The man sighs, she was engrossed in a painting of Soriyu with his arms draped around his mother's shoulders, and walks over until he stands behind her.
"Hello Ashui, it's been a while hasn't it?" Naruto asks, his lips right next to her ear. She screams and jumps at least a foot in the air, having not heard him or Haku return from down the hall.
"Naruto-kun!" she chastises, calming her racing heart down, and hugging him. "You scared the living daylights out of me!"
Naruto quirks up his lips slightly, returning the hug somewhat hesitantly. She grins as he pulls away, giving him an appraising look.
"They fed you well in that hellhole, you're not skin and bones like I thought." she murmurs, not knowing that Naruto can hear her every word, mentally scoffing the entire time. Haku, off to the side, winces indiscreetly, Naruto sending a mild look of anoyance his way.
*Sure, if a three course meal containing rat salad minus the salad, rat a la orange minus the orange and a rat cheesecake minus the cheese 'and' cake is good eating, then yeah, I was fed damn good.* Naruto thinks off-handedly, not voicing his complaints to Ashui.
"-but you'll still have to come by our restaurant, we named a special after you. 30 bowls for $20! Only on Wednesdays! Those were the only days you could come to the stand remember?" she twists her hands together nervously, continuing on in a high pitched voice than before. "You know, after they put you in prison, Daddy was so angry and he went to complain to the Council. They threatened to revoke our citizenship and throw us out of Konoha, so we couldn't do anything rash, no matter how much we wanted to smack those old coots." she turns an angered gaze to a completely innocent patch of dark wood residing on the wall. A woebegone expression soon overtakes her features. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun. For everything, not coming to visit, not writing you letters, Daddy's just been so unbearably sick on and off for the past years and I couldn't bear to put him in a care center or be away from his side at all. I really thought he was going to-"
Naruto cuts her off, putting a pale finger to her lips, her eyes beginning to spill loose tears.
"Shh. I understand. It's alright Ashui."
Ashui buries her face into his shoulder, crying. Haku notices, stepping forward to comfort the girl, but Naruto shakes his head subtly and Haku nods, understanding. She soon finishes her little breakdown, apologizing again and wiping at her face with a blue handkerchief monogrammed with a fancy calligraphied 'A.S' in one corner.
Naruto stares quizzically at the initials, wondering silently who they could belong to. Ashui's last name was still Ichiraku.
Wasn't it?
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Anaki: And there you have it, the perfect cliffhanger.
RC16: At least you made it longer than the rest.
Anaki: -_- Yeah, but they still won't be happy.
RC16: Maybe, maybe not.
RC17: Review!
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Table of Contents
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Chapter notes: In chapter.