[Naruto] "Never Ever" 07/15
Title: Never Ever (07/15)
Rating: PG (OOC, AU, Language)
Archived @ Master List
Summary: What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?
Chapter 07: Strife
Hinata's eyes widened. She looked toward the arena where Uzumaki Naruto was already waiting. He was that blonde boy from the sand that Akamaru had been scared of.
'He's so cold.' She thought. She did not need the Byakugan to see that his eyes did not radiate anything, no warmth, no emotions, nothing. 'I am… I feel scared.'
"Hinata," said Kiba uncertainly, "if you want to give up, we won't think any less of you..."
"No. I-I'll fight."
Kiba let his teammate past, wondering if he was in the right for letting Hinata fight. He knew that if he pressed just a bit more, she would give in and give up the match.
'Please be okay, Hinata.'
---
Naruto stared at his opponent. It was that timid Hyuuga girl he was sitting next to in the first exam five days ago.
'Crap.' He thought. 'I hate fighting girls. The only girl I've ever fought whose didn't scream the minute I came near her is Temari. And come to think about it, there's probably something wrong with her... God, I hate fighting girls.' Once they were given the okay, both of them got into fighting stance and Hinata activated her Byakugan.
'Hey, she's doing the same style as that screw guy did.' (Neji=screw)
He quickly thought about everything he knew about the Byakugan- which was absolutely no help at all seeing as he knew absolutely nothing about it. The scrolls only mentioned the technique; it gave nothing useful about it besides the fact that the eyes allowed them to see the inner coil system. It provided nothing on how to counter it, how to use it against the user, nothing.
The Hyuuga family really did do a good job of keeping the secrecy of the Byakugan.
---
The boy was in deep thought for a moment. Then, finally, he looked ready to concentrate on the fight.
Neither of them looked like they were going to make the first move. They circled each other, always keeping themselves directly across from their opponent. Naruto was unwilling to strike a girl first and Hinata's technique depended on the opponent's first move.
Suddenly, they both moved toward each other at the same time, hands outstretched. Hinata's hand only made slight contact with Naruto's left hand but that slight tingle was enough to send waves of electric pain through his arm.
He sprang back, waving his hands like he was shaking off water. Hinata concentrated on his left hand with her Byakugan, and was surprised to see two different colored chakra in his hand and no where else in his body. Two-colored chakra was odd enough without the fact that the darker one had no source and looked as if it was sealed off in his left hand.
'She barely touched me and it hurts this much.' Naruto thought. 'Looks like close-combat is out. It's down to either Genjutu or Ninjutsu. I don't want to kill her with 'those' techniques. Can she see through an illusion with those eyes of hers? Wish I knew more about the Hyuuga.'
He readied himself for the desired technique, but not before thinking and berating himself for stupidly attempting conversation with the Kyuubi the night before.
Then he decided to stop yelling at himself. After all, he was in the middle of a fight and the Kyuubi had already given him a big enough lecture about talking to him the night before an important mission.
Or in the fox's words: "DUMBASS!"
---
The two fighters have not moved in the last few seconds. Both seemed to be contemplating their strategies after the first hit. It wasn't a question of whether Naruto would win or not, it was a question of how BADLY he was going to win. Maybe she was just overestimating his ability.
There were only two things keeping Naruto from instant victory. One was that he didn't know anything about the opponent. Temari knew that he had a fear of situations in which it seemed like he was winning, then being countered by an unknown technique. Naruto wasn't really good at thinking on his feet; usually he had to have a surefire strategy before he even thought of attacking. It was irrational, but it was there.
The second thing was that... Naruto just couldn't hit girls. Or rather, he hated seeing a girl cry. When he was younger, he got into a friendly match with a neighborhood girl and she had bawled when he hit her just a bit harder than he intended. Then he was lectured endlessly by the two older siblings about the wrongs of striking a female.
And so being adversely affected (traumatized, more like) at such a young age, he had deftly avoided any contact to the more sophisticated gender. Until now.
---
'Can't do that, might kill her.' Naruto thought. 'Baki-sensei, why'd you have to teach me all those forbidden stuff? KAZEKAGE-SAMA, WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE A SCROLL THAT COVERED BASIC TECHNIQUES?'
He thought quickly about what kind of technique would work in this situation. He couldn't do his usual 'run-dash-hit-pressure- points-cause-pain-run-back' because he wasn't sure about the Hyuuga's defense against that and then there was his deathly fear of making a girl cry.
'Guess I'll try IT.' Naruto thought nervously.
---
'He's a deep thinker.' Hinata thought. 'His eyes moved to the lower left corner. He's thinking about how to beat me, but his bottom lip keeps jutting upward, indicating that there's a flaw in whatever tactic he wants to try.'
Personally, she thought that perhaps she should make a move, but she couldn't. If he suddenly came to life in the middle of her attack, she wouldn't be able to escape it unharmed. Her eyes weren't that good. Her only hope was to counter whatever he threw at her and wait until she could get near enough to fight with Jyuuken.
He didn't move, but chakra in his right hand began to fluctuate. She immediately focused on it as he slowly brought his right hand up so his palms were facing the ceiling. Chakra was collecting in his hands- wait. It was collecting outside of his hands.
Outside?
She focused her gaze on his outside body and was amazed to see chakra. Visible chakra enclosed in a small three-dimensional shape.
---
'No way,' Kakashi thought. 'That looks almost like the Rasengan. There's no way...'
Suddenly, it began to stretch and contort. It contracted for a few moments before finally reaching its desired shape; a long, thin sharp tipped collection of chakra extending from his palm. The chakra inside was swirling quickly but the state remained constant.
'That's not the Rasengan.' Kakashi thought. 'But it's close. How did he learn it?'
---
He grasped the base of it. For now, at least, it was steady. He had 'created' this jutsu when one day, he just expelled chakra and decided to mold it into the shape of a sphere. All he got was a mound that looked like it came straight out of a child's play-do set.
But then he found that he could stretch and shrink it into whatever shape he wanted. He had tried getting it into sphere shape, but then the chakra would just disperse and he would create a small gust of wind instead of a sphere.
'I have to hurry.' Naruto thought, 'I have to finish this up before my chakra runs out so I don't have to depend on the Kyuubi's.
He charged.
He swung the column of chakra around as if it were blade and aimed for the less sensitive areas of the body. She managed to dodge every swipe except one. That one brushed against her neck and when she had touched it, no matter how much it looked like an icy-blue icicle, it would burn.
'Her style of fighting is very interesting.' He thought. 'But there's a flaw in her movement. Her feet do not move unless her hands stop. So if I try...'
He aimed his next swipe near her right foot, enough to send her falling off balance, but not enough to catch her off guard. Immediately after falling backwards, she balanced herself on her hands and kicked up with her left foot.
To avoid that kick at such a close range, Naruto had to jump back and that action was enough time for Hinata to get back on her feet and back in position.
'She's good.' He thought grudgingly. 'She's very good. She made the fight for a while now. But I should probably end it soon. Damn. I just wanted to get her to surrender but now it looks like I have to fight quick and dirty.'
---
The spear or sword of chakra bent and broke in half. One half retracted back in his right hand and the other half was absorbed into his left one. On second thought, it wasn't absorbed. It simply surrounded his hand so there was a visible layer of chakra now on his left hand.
If she had time to comprehend what happened in the next few seconds, she would have noted that he disappeared. All she knew was that one-second, he was in front of her, and the next, she was lying on the ground. He was kneeling next to her, right hand wrapped around the base of her neck right above her collarbones and left hand raised, ready to strike.
"Stop the fight." Hayate said hurriedly. "The match is over. The winner, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto stopped his hand in mid-strike and stepped back, releasing her neck in the process. Hinata sat up and rubbed her neck. It left no mark, but she could still feel his hand. Naruto gave her one last glance before walking back up where the rest of the Sand ninjas were stationed.
Kakashi watched him as he walked up the stairs step by step. He was different from the scared little boy who ran away without looking back. He couldn't help but wonder what Naruto's life would be like if he had never left.
---
Hinata's team welcomed her back with relieved sighs. They were just glad she came back with minimal injuries. A few bruises around the neck were nothing compared to what she would have received if she fought someone like Neji. At least the Sand Nin wasn't aiming to kill her.
The minute he rejoined the others, his surrogate sister immediately greeted Naruto with two punches to either side of his head.
"What the- what's that for?" he asked indignantly.
"That was for fighting against a girl." She said. "And the other was for dragging the match out. It took you ten minutes to finish a fight- ridiculous"
Naruto sputtered something about how it wasn't his fault that he had to fight a girl and that matches take time before realizing that Temari would have just used another excuse to hit him on the head. She could never resist using the fact that he couldn't hit girls against him.
---
'I have to go next.' Sasuke thought. 'Or else I'll have to leave.'
Lee was having thoughts along the same lines. 'It would be so great if Sasuke-kun and I could go in the next round.' Lee thought, youth-power fires bursting in his eyes. 'Since I can't fight Neji, or the two from the sand, I have to fight Sasuke-kun. If what Neji says about destiny is true, please let the board choose the two of us.'
The two names on the scoreboard read: Uchiha Sasuke VS Tsuchi Kin
'Aw!' Lee thought sadly. 'I wanted revenge on that Sound guy then... I guess...'
---
Tsuchi Kin was that Sound girl they had encountered in the forest. She wasn't all that. If she could get caught Ino's Shintenshi no Jutsu, then she must be pretty... stupid.
'She attacks with needles.' Sasuke thought as another one whizzed by harmlessly. 'No problem. Haku gives me plenty of practice against them and her aim and strength are nothing compared to his. Plus, these eyes of mine can see them coming miles away.'
Kin gritted her teeth. He was having no trouble avoiding her needles and the fact that she had to keep moving to avoid getting hit by his constant barrage of fists meant she had to cut the strings on the bells, thus her technique was rendered useless.
Suddenly, Sasuke's hands began to form seals. Then she saw fire before she lost consciousness.
---
Hayate quickly called an end to the fight before calling for medic Nins. When Sasuke sat down, Naruto got a clear view of that mark on his neck.
'Orochimaru.' Naruto thought. There was no doubt about it. That was the mark he had seen on that man's subordinates. Already, he was having doubts about what this mission was about, but he wouldn't question it. It was too late to question it by now.
---
'That Naruto guy seems a lot closer to those two from that Sand team than he is to his own teammates.' Shikamaru thought. 'Something's wrong here. And why are they all different ages?'
"What are you mumbling to yourself about, Shikamaru?" Ino asked.
"I'm saying that you need to concentrate more on how you're going to win the next match." Shikamaru said. "You're the only one of all three of us who hasn't fought yet. And with the people left here, you're probably going to wind up in the hospital."
"Shows how much confidence YOU have in my abilities, Shi-ka-ma-ru." Ino replied, sticking her tongue out. But secretly, she was worried too.
T . B . C
Rating: PG (OOC, AU, Language)
Archived @ Master List
Summary: What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?
Chapter 07: Strife
Hinata's eyes widened. She looked toward the arena where Uzumaki Naruto was already waiting. He was that blonde boy from the sand that Akamaru had been scared of.
'He's so cold.' She thought. She did not need the Byakugan to see that his eyes did not radiate anything, no warmth, no emotions, nothing. 'I am… I feel scared.'
"Hinata," said Kiba uncertainly, "if you want to give up, we won't think any less of you..."
"No. I-I'll fight."
Kiba let his teammate past, wondering if he was in the right for letting Hinata fight. He knew that if he pressed just a bit more, she would give in and give up the match.
'Please be okay, Hinata.'
---
Naruto stared at his opponent. It was that timid Hyuuga girl he was sitting next to in the first exam five days ago.
'Crap.' He thought. 'I hate fighting girls. The only girl I've ever fought whose didn't scream the minute I came near her is Temari. And come to think about it, there's probably something wrong with her... God, I hate fighting girls.' Once they were given the okay, both of them got into fighting stance and Hinata activated her Byakugan.
'Hey, she's doing the same style as that screw guy did.' (Neji=screw)
He quickly thought about everything he knew about the Byakugan- which was absolutely no help at all seeing as he knew absolutely nothing about it. The scrolls only mentioned the technique; it gave nothing useful about it besides the fact that the eyes allowed them to see the inner coil system. It provided nothing on how to counter it, how to use it against the user, nothing.
The Hyuuga family really did do a good job of keeping the secrecy of the Byakugan.
---
The boy was in deep thought for a moment. Then, finally, he looked ready to concentrate on the fight.
Neither of them looked like they were going to make the first move. They circled each other, always keeping themselves directly across from their opponent. Naruto was unwilling to strike a girl first and Hinata's technique depended on the opponent's first move.
Suddenly, they both moved toward each other at the same time, hands outstretched. Hinata's hand only made slight contact with Naruto's left hand but that slight tingle was enough to send waves of electric pain through his arm.
He sprang back, waving his hands like he was shaking off water. Hinata concentrated on his left hand with her Byakugan, and was surprised to see two different colored chakra in his hand and no where else in his body. Two-colored chakra was odd enough without the fact that the darker one had no source and looked as if it was sealed off in his left hand.
'She barely touched me and it hurts this much.' Naruto thought. 'Looks like close-combat is out. It's down to either Genjutu or Ninjutsu. I don't want to kill her with 'those' techniques. Can she see through an illusion with those eyes of hers? Wish I knew more about the Hyuuga.'
He readied himself for the desired technique, but not before thinking and berating himself for stupidly attempting conversation with the Kyuubi the night before.
Then he decided to stop yelling at himself. After all, he was in the middle of a fight and the Kyuubi had already given him a big enough lecture about talking to him the night before an important mission.
Or in the fox's words: "DUMBASS!"
---
The two fighters have not moved in the last few seconds. Both seemed to be contemplating their strategies after the first hit. It wasn't a question of whether Naruto would win or not, it was a question of how BADLY he was going to win. Maybe she was just overestimating his ability.
There were only two things keeping Naruto from instant victory. One was that he didn't know anything about the opponent. Temari knew that he had a fear of situations in which it seemed like he was winning, then being countered by an unknown technique. Naruto wasn't really good at thinking on his feet; usually he had to have a surefire strategy before he even thought of attacking. It was irrational, but it was there.
The second thing was that... Naruto just couldn't hit girls. Or rather, he hated seeing a girl cry. When he was younger, he got into a friendly match with a neighborhood girl and she had bawled when he hit her just a bit harder than he intended. Then he was lectured endlessly by the two older siblings about the wrongs of striking a female.
And so being adversely affected (traumatized, more like) at such a young age, he had deftly avoided any contact to the more sophisticated gender. Until now.
---
'Can't do that, might kill her.' Naruto thought. 'Baki-sensei, why'd you have to teach me all those forbidden stuff? KAZEKAGE-SAMA, WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE A SCROLL THAT COVERED BASIC TECHNIQUES?'
He thought quickly about what kind of technique would work in this situation. He couldn't do his usual 'run-dash-hit-pressure- points-cause-pain-run-back' because he wasn't sure about the Hyuuga's defense against that and then there was his deathly fear of making a girl cry.
'Guess I'll try IT.' Naruto thought nervously.
---
'He's a deep thinker.' Hinata thought. 'His eyes moved to the lower left corner. He's thinking about how to beat me, but his bottom lip keeps jutting upward, indicating that there's a flaw in whatever tactic he wants to try.'
Personally, she thought that perhaps she should make a move, but she couldn't. If he suddenly came to life in the middle of her attack, she wouldn't be able to escape it unharmed. Her eyes weren't that good. Her only hope was to counter whatever he threw at her and wait until she could get near enough to fight with Jyuuken.
He didn't move, but chakra in his right hand began to fluctuate. She immediately focused on it as he slowly brought his right hand up so his palms were facing the ceiling. Chakra was collecting in his hands- wait. It was collecting outside of his hands.
Outside?
She focused her gaze on his outside body and was amazed to see chakra. Visible chakra enclosed in a small three-dimensional shape.
---
'No way,' Kakashi thought. 'That looks almost like the Rasengan. There's no way...'
Suddenly, it began to stretch and contort. It contracted for a few moments before finally reaching its desired shape; a long, thin sharp tipped collection of chakra extending from his palm. The chakra inside was swirling quickly but the state remained constant.
'That's not the Rasengan.' Kakashi thought. 'But it's close. How did he learn it?'
---
He grasped the base of it. For now, at least, it was steady. He had 'created' this jutsu when one day, he just expelled chakra and decided to mold it into the shape of a sphere. All he got was a mound that looked like it came straight out of a child's play-do set.
But then he found that he could stretch and shrink it into whatever shape he wanted. He had tried getting it into sphere shape, but then the chakra would just disperse and he would create a small gust of wind instead of a sphere.
'I have to hurry.' Naruto thought, 'I have to finish this up before my chakra runs out so I don't have to depend on the Kyuubi's.
He charged.
He swung the column of chakra around as if it were blade and aimed for the less sensitive areas of the body. She managed to dodge every swipe except one. That one brushed against her neck and when she had touched it, no matter how much it looked like an icy-blue icicle, it would burn.
'Her style of fighting is very interesting.' He thought. 'But there's a flaw in her movement. Her feet do not move unless her hands stop. So if I try...'
He aimed his next swipe near her right foot, enough to send her falling off balance, but not enough to catch her off guard. Immediately after falling backwards, she balanced herself on her hands and kicked up with her left foot.
To avoid that kick at such a close range, Naruto had to jump back and that action was enough time for Hinata to get back on her feet and back in position.
'She's good.' He thought grudgingly. 'She's very good. She made the fight for a while now. But I should probably end it soon. Damn. I just wanted to get her to surrender but now it looks like I have to fight quick and dirty.'
---
The spear or sword of chakra bent and broke in half. One half retracted back in his right hand and the other half was absorbed into his left one. On second thought, it wasn't absorbed. It simply surrounded his hand so there was a visible layer of chakra now on his left hand.
If she had time to comprehend what happened in the next few seconds, she would have noted that he disappeared. All she knew was that one-second, he was in front of her, and the next, she was lying on the ground. He was kneeling next to her, right hand wrapped around the base of her neck right above her collarbones and left hand raised, ready to strike.
"Stop the fight." Hayate said hurriedly. "The match is over. The winner, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto stopped his hand in mid-strike and stepped back, releasing her neck in the process. Hinata sat up and rubbed her neck. It left no mark, but she could still feel his hand. Naruto gave her one last glance before walking back up where the rest of the Sand ninjas were stationed.
Kakashi watched him as he walked up the stairs step by step. He was different from the scared little boy who ran away without looking back. He couldn't help but wonder what Naruto's life would be like if he had never left.
---
Hinata's team welcomed her back with relieved sighs. They were just glad she came back with minimal injuries. A few bruises around the neck were nothing compared to what she would have received if she fought someone like Neji. At least the Sand Nin wasn't aiming to kill her.
The minute he rejoined the others, his surrogate sister immediately greeted Naruto with two punches to either side of his head.
"What the- what's that for?" he asked indignantly.
"That was for fighting against a girl." She said. "And the other was for dragging the match out. It took you ten minutes to finish a fight- ridiculous"
Naruto sputtered something about how it wasn't his fault that he had to fight a girl and that matches take time before realizing that Temari would have just used another excuse to hit him on the head. She could never resist using the fact that he couldn't hit girls against him.
---
'I have to go next.' Sasuke thought. 'Or else I'll have to leave.'
Lee was having thoughts along the same lines. 'It would be so great if Sasuke-kun and I could go in the next round.' Lee thought, youth-power fires bursting in his eyes. 'Since I can't fight Neji, or the two from the sand, I have to fight Sasuke-kun. If what Neji says about destiny is true, please let the board choose the two of us.'
The two names on the scoreboard read: Uchiha Sasuke VS Tsuchi Kin
'Aw!' Lee thought sadly. 'I wanted revenge on that Sound guy then... I guess...'
---
Tsuchi Kin was that Sound girl they had encountered in the forest. She wasn't all that. If she could get caught Ino's Shintenshi no Jutsu, then she must be pretty... stupid.
'She attacks with needles.' Sasuke thought as another one whizzed by harmlessly. 'No problem. Haku gives me plenty of practice against them and her aim and strength are nothing compared to his. Plus, these eyes of mine can see them coming miles away.'
Kin gritted her teeth. He was having no trouble avoiding her needles and the fact that she had to keep moving to avoid getting hit by his constant barrage of fists meant she had to cut the strings on the bells, thus her technique was rendered useless.
Suddenly, Sasuke's hands began to form seals. Then she saw fire before she lost consciousness.
---
Hayate quickly called an end to the fight before calling for medic Nins. When Sasuke sat down, Naruto got a clear view of that mark on his neck.
'Orochimaru.' Naruto thought. There was no doubt about it. That was the mark he had seen on that man's subordinates. Already, he was having doubts about what this mission was about, but he wouldn't question it. It was too late to question it by now.
---
'That Naruto guy seems a lot closer to those two from that Sand team than he is to his own teammates.' Shikamaru thought. 'Something's wrong here. And why are they all different ages?'
"What are you mumbling to yourself about, Shikamaru?" Ino asked.
"I'm saying that you need to concentrate more on how you're going to win the next match." Shikamaru said. "You're the only one of all three of us who hasn't fought yet. And with the people left here, you're probably going to wind up in the hospital."
"Shows how much confidence YOU have in my abilities, Shi-ka-ma-ru." Ino replied, sticking her tongue out. But secretly, she was worried too.
T . B . C