Espadara Uchiha
Active member
Naruto was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling silently. A pile of books were in the corner of the room, their contents having been read hundreds of times. Naruto pushed his face deeper into the rich satin pillows, moaning. "Gah...I'm so bored!" He whined, kicking his feet up and down. 'Five more days...than Zabuza should be well enough to go after Tazuna again...' He remembered, getting out of bed. 'So...let's see what's so special about the leaf ninjas.' Naruto threw his black suit over his shoulders, making sure that his metal rod was hidden in his sleeve.
Naruto walked to the exit of the base, stepping to the side as he saw Kimimaro practicing. "Oy, Kimi! I'm going out!" He hollered. Kimimaro nodded to show that he had heard, firing a final shot of his bone bullets at a nearby tree, before wiping the sweat off of his face with a small towel. Kimimaro looked at his master, and asked, "Would you like me to accompany you, Naruto-sama?" Naruto could see that Kimimaro was worried, obviously remembering about how Naruto had come shuffling back into the room with a bruise on his gut after the encounter with Haku.
Naruto shook his head. While he really did like Kimimaro worrying over him, it got a bit too far sometimes. "Don't worry Kimimaro. You keep training...where's Jugo, by the way?" Naruto looked around, as if Jugo would pop out of nowhere.
Naruto liked Jugo, he really did, hell everyone liked Jugo, even some of Gato's thugs. It was just that Jugo would often flip out at the most inopportune of times. Naruto just entered the bathroom? Jugo went berserk right outside. Jugo needed at least one of them around to stay in control for an indefinite amount of time; should he be alone, he would cause massive damage before going under control again.
Kimimaro nodded reassuringly at the criminal heir. "Don't worry. He's sleeping near the trees over there." Kimimaro pointed to a cluster of trees with a strange lump at the bottom covered in branches. "He was getting cold, and didn't want to waste one your blankets." He explained, seeing the confused look on Naruto's face. "We were here since five in the morning. I'm glad to say I managed to improve both my accuracy and number of bullets I can fire at once."
The blonde heir smirked. "Keep it up, Kimi. Nice work." Naruto turned and continued his walk, hearing the light thud as Kimimaro continued his target practice. Naruto strolled through the forest trail, finally coming upon the main village of Wave. He glanced at the starving villagers, several of them looking like they hadn't taken a bath in weeks. He scowled as the smell reached him. Honestly, how could these people live like this? If they wanted better, they should have given up to Gato immediately instead of trying to fight back. That was why that fisherman had to die.
As Naruto continued walking, he felt...strange. It was weird, he knew that these people deserved what they had gotten, but he could hear a voice in the back of his mind, his voice. 'Do they really deserve this? Why don't you help them?' The voice said to him. Naruto violently shoved the voice from his mind, but he felt a small amount of disappointment pass through him. As Naruto was focusing on his emotional turmoil, he almost failed to notice the young girl who grabbed his wallet from his pants pocket.
Keyword: almost.
Naruto spun around and struck the girl down with a vicious backhand, ripping his wallet out of her small hands. The girl crashed to the ground, a bruise already forming on her cheek, blood dripping from her forehead where she scraped it on the ground. A small crowd had gathered, but began walking off. Why should they care that the girl had failed, when even they were starving? Naruto glared at the girl, and spat on her. "Filthy little scum..." He said, before kicking her back down when she tried to get up. She lay on the ground crying, and Naruto turned and walked off, upset that he had gotten his shoes dirty.
If Gato had taught him anything, it was protect your money at all cost. Money was what decided the fate of the world, and whoever had the most money ultimately held the most power, which was why men like Gato could order Zabuza, or why the Hidden Villages always suck up to the Daimyo.
Naruto soon exited the village, taking note of a small clearing in the forest. If he was correct, the Bridge Builder's house was a small walk away; he could probably kill the Bridge builder had the Konoha shinobi not have been there. He sighed and leaned against a tree, soon dozing off.
***
"Alright...so just channel chakra to your feet, Okay?" Kakashi informed, keeping an eye on his genin. Sasuke was getting the hang of it fairly well. Sakura had gotten halfway up the tree, but sat on the branch and watched Sasuke continue. Kakashi looked as Yakumo was about to begin, but spoke and interrupted her. "Wait, Yakumo, you should work more on your Genjutsu." He said, but when he saw her starting to glare he began speaking with an eye smile. "Trust me, Zabuza won't expect any Genjutsu being used, so we should have the advantage."
Yakumo frowned, and pushed her long brown hair over her back. "Fine..." She muttered, walking off. Her painting supplies were slung over her back as she began walking through the forest near Tazuna's house. She was angry that Kakashi would never let her train; hadn't she proved that she was capable of being a ninja, even despite her illness?
The truth of the matter was, Yakumo was born as the heiress of the powerful Genjutsu masters, the Kurama clan. However, her powers were some of the strongest ever seen, with her Genjutsu being capable of convincing a persons brain that what occurred in the Genjutsu occurred in Real Life. Unfortunately, said powers had forced her mind to create a subconscious entity to monitor the use of her power, named Ido. Ido was a evil creature, and using her intense powers, killed Yakumo's parents.
Yakumo was then apprenticed to Kurenai Yuuhi, a recently promoted Jonin. Kurenai also excelled in Genjutsu, and Yakumo hoped that despite both her weak body and Ido, she could become a ninja training solely in Genjutsu. Kurenai obviously did not see the same way, and convinced the Third Hokage to seal Yakumo's powers away.
It was only recently that the Third Hokage decided to unseal her powers in order to place her on a proper genin team alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Yakumo didn't like either of them; Sasuke was too serious and brooding all the time, and Sakura was almost always a massive *****, convinced that Yakumo was trying to steal Sasuke away from her.
Yakumo walked into a small clearing, setting up her easel and began painting a beautiful picture of Konoha, from the view atop the Hokage Monument. She would often sneak out when she was younger, and had seen the sight som many times it was ingrained into her mind.
The picture depicted Konoha at night, several small lights on in the village. The Hokage Mansion could be seen in the center, and the academy was off to the side. Yakumo softly began painting the few people walking around at that hour, even the ninja returning to report on their missions, and put special care into painting their headbands. Yakumo silently touched her own headband which she had tied loosely around her neck.
"That's a nice painting."
Yakumo jumped a little, turning her head around quickly to see a blond spiky haired boy analyzing her painting. The blond was obviously rich, with a fancy white dress shirt and a black suit slung haphazardously over his back, along with a few pounds to his name. His black shoes had a bit of blood on them, though Yakumo could hardly tell from the dirt that was covering them now. The blond turned to look at her, and Yakumo let out a small gasp and a faint blush at seeing his sky blue eyes. The blonde spoke up. "You a painter?" He asked.
Yakumo nodded shyly. "Uh...yeah...I'm a ninja too." She said. Curse her lack of social interactions! The only guys she had ever had to speak too were the creepy masked Anbu, her creepy masked Sensei, and Sasuke, who was a ****! The blond looked at the headband around her neck, obviously noticing it for the first time. He held out his hand. "I'm Naruto. What's your name?"
Yakumo shook his hand, and smiled. "I'm Yakumo. What are you doing in Wave by any chance, Naruto-san?" She asked, unable to stop her curiosity. It was obvious the boy was no native; no one in Wave could dress with such high quality clothing, and he didn't look like he worked for Gato.
Naruto tilted his head, trying to find some way to answer the question. He couldn't outright tell her that he was working for Gato, and she'd hardly believe him if he tried to say he lived in the village. "I'm the son of a merchant. We're just passing through, actually." He lied smoothly. It was a lie that would hold up; He technically was the son of a merchant. Just a merchant who engaged in slave trade, prostitution, drugs, and blackmail. Standard stuff.
The Konoha kunoichi seemed to accept this answer, as she went back to her painting. Naruto was honest when he said it was nice; he was almost finding it a shame that Zabuza would have to kill her later. The criminal heir sighed and leaned against a tree, watching Yakumo paint, while the girl was obviously blushing with positive attention being placed on her.
Naruto smirked silently at seeing the girl blush, closing his eye to catch a few Z's. He supposed that it felt...nice, just resting while the girl painted. The blond was soon snoring softly, as Yakumo finished her painting. Yakumo turned to exclaim her happiness at the finished project, only to finally notice that her companion had fallen asleep. The girl continued staring at the whiskered blond, fighting a brief desire to touch his whisker marks.
'No, Yakumo! You just met him!' She chastised herself in her mind, as she packed up her supplies. Taking one more glance at the boy, she hurried off to find her team.
The two would never realize how closely their destinies would intertwine.
Naruto walked to the exit of the base, stepping to the side as he saw Kimimaro practicing. "Oy, Kimi! I'm going out!" He hollered. Kimimaro nodded to show that he had heard, firing a final shot of his bone bullets at a nearby tree, before wiping the sweat off of his face with a small towel. Kimimaro looked at his master, and asked, "Would you like me to accompany you, Naruto-sama?" Naruto could see that Kimimaro was worried, obviously remembering about how Naruto had come shuffling back into the room with a bruise on his gut after the encounter with Haku.
Naruto shook his head. While he really did like Kimimaro worrying over him, it got a bit too far sometimes. "Don't worry Kimimaro. You keep training...where's Jugo, by the way?" Naruto looked around, as if Jugo would pop out of nowhere.
Naruto liked Jugo, he really did, hell everyone liked Jugo, even some of Gato's thugs. It was just that Jugo would often flip out at the most inopportune of times. Naruto just entered the bathroom? Jugo went berserk right outside. Jugo needed at least one of them around to stay in control for an indefinite amount of time; should he be alone, he would cause massive damage before going under control again.
Kimimaro nodded reassuringly at the criminal heir. "Don't worry. He's sleeping near the trees over there." Kimimaro pointed to a cluster of trees with a strange lump at the bottom covered in branches. "He was getting cold, and didn't want to waste one your blankets." He explained, seeing the confused look on Naruto's face. "We were here since five in the morning. I'm glad to say I managed to improve both my accuracy and number of bullets I can fire at once."
The blonde heir smirked. "Keep it up, Kimi. Nice work." Naruto turned and continued his walk, hearing the light thud as Kimimaro continued his target practice. Naruto strolled through the forest trail, finally coming upon the main village of Wave. He glanced at the starving villagers, several of them looking like they hadn't taken a bath in weeks. He scowled as the smell reached him. Honestly, how could these people live like this? If they wanted better, they should have given up to Gato immediately instead of trying to fight back. That was why that fisherman had to die.
As Naruto continued walking, he felt...strange. It was weird, he knew that these people deserved what they had gotten, but he could hear a voice in the back of his mind, his voice. 'Do they really deserve this? Why don't you help them?' The voice said to him. Naruto violently shoved the voice from his mind, but he felt a small amount of disappointment pass through him. As Naruto was focusing on his emotional turmoil, he almost failed to notice the young girl who grabbed his wallet from his pants pocket.
Keyword: almost.
Naruto spun around and struck the girl down with a vicious backhand, ripping his wallet out of her small hands. The girl crashed to the ground, a bruise already forming on her cheek, blood dripping from her forehead where she scraped it on the ground. A small crowd had gathered, but began walking off. Why should they care that the girl had failed, when even they were starving? Naruto glared at the girl, and spat on her. "Filthy little scum..." He said, before kicking her back down when she tried to get up. She lay on the ground crying, and Naruto turned and walked off, upset that he had gotten his shoes dirty.
If Gato had taught him anything, it was protect your money at all cost. Money was what decided the fate of the world, and whoever had the most money ultimately held the most power, which was why men like Gato could order Zabuza, or why the Hidden Villages always suck up to the Daimyo.
Naruto soon exited the village, taking note of a small clearing in the forest. If he was correct, the Bridge Builder's house was a small walk away; he could probably kill the Bridge builder had the Konoha shinobi not have been there. He sighed and leaned against a tree, soon dozing off.
***
"Alright...so just channel chakra to your feet, Okay?" Kakashi informed, keeping an eye on his genin. Sasuke was getting the hang of it fairly well. Sakura had gotten halfway up the tree, but sat on the branch and watched Sasuke continue. Kakashi looked as Yakumo was about to begin, but spoke and interrupted her. "Wait, Yakumo, you should work more on your Genjutsu." He said, but when he saw her starting to glare he began speaking with an eye smile. "Trust me, Zabuza won't expect any Genjutsu being used, so we should have the advantage."
Yakumo frowned, and pushed her long brown hair over her back. "Fine..." She muttered, walking off. Her painting supplies were slung over her back as she began walking through the forest near Tazuna's house. She was angry that Kakashi would never let her train; hadn't she proved that she was capable of being a ninja, even despite her illness?
The truth of the matter was, Yakumo was born as the heiress of the powerful Genjutsu masters, the Kurama clan. However, her powers were some of the strongest ever seen, with her Genjutsu being capable of convincing a persons brain that what occurred in the Genjutsu occurred in Real Life. Unfortunately, said powers had forced her mind to create a subconscious entity to monitor the use of her power, named Ido. Ido was a evil creature, and using her intense powers, killed Yakumo's parents.
Yakumo was then apprenticed to Kurenai Yuuhi, a recently promoted Jonin. Kurenai also excelled in Genjutsu, and Yakumo hoped that despite both her weak body and Ido, she could become a ninja training solely in Genjutsu. Kurenai obviously did not see the same way, and convinced the Third Hokage to seal Yakumo's powers away.
It was only recently that the Third Hokage decided to unseal her powers in order to place her on a proper genin team alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Yakumo didn't like either of them; Sasuke was too serious and brooding all the time, and Sakura was almost always a massive *****, convinced that Yakumo was trying to steal Sasuke away from her.
Yakumo walked into a small clearing, setting up her easel and began painting a beautiful picture of Konoha, from the view atop the Hokage Monument. She would often sneak out when she was younger, and had seen the sight som many times it was ingrained into her mind.
The picture depicted Konoha at night, several small lights on in the village. The Hokage Mansion could be seen in the center, and the academy was off to the side. Yakumo softly began painting the few people walking around at that hour, even the ninja returning to report on their missions, and put special care into painting their headbands. Yakumo silently touched her own headband which she had tied loosely around her neck.
"That's a nice painting."
Yakumo jumped a little, turning her head around quickly to see a blond spiky haired boy analyzing her painting. The blond was obviously rich, with a fancy white dress shirt and a black suit slung haphazardously over his back, along with a few pounds to his name. His black shoes had a bit of blood on them, though Yakumo could hardly tell from the dirt that was covering them now. The blond turned to look at her, and Yakumo let out a small gasp and a faint blush at seeing his sky blue eyes. The blonde spoke up. "You a painter?" He asked.
Yakumo nodded shyly. "Uh...yeah...I'm a ninja too." She said. Curse her lack of social interactions! The only guys she had ever had to speak too were the creepy masked Anbu, her creepy masked Sensei, and Sasuke, who was a ****! The blond looked at the headband around her neck, obviously noticing it for the first time. He held out his hand. "I'm Naruto. What's your name?"
Yakumo shook his hand, and smiled. "I'm Yakumo. What are you doing in Wave by any chance, Naruto-san?" She asked, unable to stop her curiosity. It was obvious the boy was no native; no one in Wave could dress with such high quality clothing, and he didn't look like he worked for Gato.
Naruto tilted his head, trying to find some way to answer the question. He couldn't outright tell her that he was working for Gato, and she'd hardly believe him if he tried to say he lived in the village. "I'm the son of a merchant. We're just passing through, actually." He lied smoothly. It was a lie that would hold up; He technically was the son of a merchant. Just a merchant who engaged in slave trade, prostitution, drugs, and blackmail. Standard stuff.
The Konoha kunoichi seemed to accept this answer, as she went back to her painting. Naruto was honest when he said it was nice; he was almost finding it a shame that Zabuza would have to kill her later. The criminal heir sighed and leaned against a tree, watching Yakumo paint, while the girl was obviously blushing with positive attention being placed on her.
Naruto smirked silently at seeing the girl blush, closing his eye to catch a few Z's. He supposed that it felt...nice, just resting while the girl painted. The blond was soon snoring softly, as Yakumo finished her painting. Yakumo turned to exclaim her happiness at the finished project, only to finally notice that her companion had fallen asleep. The girl continued staring at the whiskered blond, fighting a brief desire to touch his whisker marks.
'No, Yakumo! You just met him!' She chastised herself in her mind, as she packed up her supplies. Taking one more glance at the boy, she hurried off to find her team.
The two would never realize how closely their destinies would intertwine.