Welcome to Gaia! ::

Title: For the Love of my friends
Chapter 2: The Stolen Jutsu
Rating: Mature

Before the beginning of the war, twenty thousand people permanently populated Konoha.
After one year, the deaths due to the war whittled down the population by two thousand people.

Year Five of the war, the population was only eight thousand.

Year Ten.. there was seventy people.

In one day, seventy people decreased to nine.

They escaped from the Hyuuga mansion to a safe house a few blocks away. It was about the size of a closet. They all huddled together inside.

Hyuuga Neji sat against the door, eyes shut. He had been on the second floor of the mansion training when the explosions started. He had seen them a second before it hit the room and performed a Heavenly Spin. It saved him for the most part, but he had horrible burns on his arms.

Sakura and Lee sat next to him on either side. They had been sitting by the unlit fireplace. The bricks barely held. They both were cut and scratched up, but other than that, they looked fine. Sakura had her arm around a sobbing Ino. She hadn't stopped crying since they left the house.

Next Lee, looking tiny compared to the rest of them, sat Inari and Konohamaru. They had been raiding the kitchen for some food with Chouji. The first explosion had knocked the swinging doors off the hinges. Realizing something was horribly wrong, Chouji had pushed Inari and Konohamaru into one of the cabinets. They were shielded by his bulk when the second and third explosions rocked the room. The brave ninja went down only when the last bit of debris had stopped flying around.

Gaara sat next to Inari, his face impassive. Both of his siblings had been killed. Inari let out a muffled sniffle. His mother had brought him to Konoha when Orochimaru had taken over the Wave Country. She had went back to her country to help, and never came back for Inari. The boy shoved his fist in his mouth to stop crying. A light pressure on his head made him look up.

Gaara didn't look at the boy, just kept his hand lightly on Inari's head.

"It's going to be alright.." he said, no change in expression. Inari swallowed harshly, and nodded. He attempted to copy the stotic expressions of most of the ninjas around the room, but found it to be very difficult.

Konohamaru stared blankly at his hands, the only show of emotion from him was the flexing of his fingers. No one could tell what he was thinking, or if he was thinking. But Lee could only guess at what types of thoughts were running through the young chuunin's head. He kept a firm hand on the boy's elbow,making sure thathe didn't end up doing something stupid, like running out in the open and attempting to find the sound nins that attacked them.

The Hokage sat next to Ino, her face grim. She had dropped a pencil underneath the desk she had been sitting at, and had went down on her hands and knees to retrieve it. The explosion had knocked the table to the side of the wall, with her still underneath it. The floor weakened from the stress, collapsed underneath it and the Hokage. Only her ninja reflexes kept her from being squashed under the heavy slate table.

Naruto sat between Gaara and the Hokage. He glared at his lap, hands tensing in his flak jacket. It was only s**t luck that saved us,he thought angrily. How the hell did they find us!

Their hideout was hidden by illusions and a powerful jutsu that Naruto himself had put up. One who wished to harm anyone within in the sealed area could not find the Hyuuga mansion. Even if they had lived there before, or knew where it was, all they would see was debris and feel a strong urge to look elsewhere.

Even if there was a spy.. he thought, eyes flashing red at the thought. No one should have be able to find us! He shook, partly in anger, and partly in fear. Someone had broken his jutsu.. If that person came now, he would not be able to protect his precious people.

You could..stop the war from even happening.. The Kyuubi mused from the back of Naruto's mind. Naruto felt his anger grow.

That wasn't funny then, and it sure as hell isn't funny now, fox! he shouted mentally. There was a slight shift in the demon fox's chakra, an almost mental shrug.

Look at the blond insect.. the fox muttered. Naruto's eyes shifted almost immediately to Ino. She had stopped crying, and was staring vacantly at the wall. Her hand was curled over her stomach, where her baby was still growing. She needs Shikamaru.. he thought, oddly detached. This can't possibly be good for the baby.

Look at your so called 'precious people'. You refuse to listen to listen to a small amount of hope. You hypocrite.. the Kyuubi snarled. Naruto paled. I give you a chance to redo the wrongs.. the things that lead to the demise of your comrades.

The Kyuubi began throwing mental images at his vessel.

Kakashi showing up three hours late, a sheepish smile hiddenon hismasked face and his perverted book in one hand, to shrill shrieks of 'you're late!'.

Iruka ordering him to clean up his graffiti on the Hokage monument, then treating him to ramen afterwards.

The accidental kiss with Sasuke before they were genins, and the brutal beating he got from the Uchiha's fan girls.

Shikamaru visiting him in the hospital and trying to teach him how to play chess.

Gai punching Lee, then with a scary show of sparkly lights and a background of a setting sun, the two hugging each other with tears running down their faces.

Tenten and the other kunoichis giggling in front of a book store.

Kiba and Shino sparing while he and Akamaru watched.

And you refuse to think about it! the fox sneered. The insect that sealed me in you cared more about his friends than you do.. You would have made a terrible Hokage..

Shut up! Naruto said to him. I would do anything for them! I would die a thousand times for a single smile out of any one of them! There was a surprised silence, then the fox chuckled.

Well, you don't need to go that far. One jutsu will do. Kyuubi said amused. He then gave his vessel all the directions needed to do the jutsu. Naruto frowned at the complexity of it.

He tried to remember the hand seals that Kyuubi showed him. Inu, Tora, Saru, Ousu-buta.. Kyuubi sighed in annoyance. The kitling had a horrible memory for such things.

I'll take care of the hand seals.. Even with the information of how the jutsu worked, the Anbu couldn't help but be a little excited.

The jutsu had been created before Kohona was even built, in a time where ninjas roamed free, without bounds to a certain village, and deaths were just a daily occurrence. A man was looking for a way to bring his son back to life, and sought his answer in the past. He created a jutsu that would take him back to a time before the death of his son. He would meld with his past self, and with the knowledge of what was to come, prevent his son's death. According to legend, he used the jutsu, and died of stamina depletion before he even reached the past. Many had tried to use it after him, but were said to have died of the same reason.

Or they could have made it! he thought happily, stubbornly ignoring all of the possible horrible outcomes.

The jutsu had been forbidden by the Tsuchikage and sealed in a cave for hundreds of years. However, in the Kyuubi's reign of terror, the seal had been pulled off, and the scroll had disappeared. But when the blood thirsty fox started to attack the ninja villages, the jutsu was least of their concern.

What do you get out of this? Naruto wondered, not for the first time. It made sense that the Kyuubi would lend him chakra in his times of need, because if he died, so do the Kyuubi. All the Kyuubi had to do in the time of war was make sure his vessel was safe. He did not have to reveal a jutsu that could save the lives of his friends as well.

Why are you so eager to do this? he asked suspiciously. The Kyuubi coughed.He sounded embarrassed.

When one has.. paws, it is decidingly difficult to complete a jutsu using hand seals like you insects. Kyuubi coughed again. Think of this as a request from a.. handicapped connoisseur.

Yeah.. sure. Connoisseur, my a**. Naruto thought amused. He didn't believe the fox. Though he believed that Kyuubi wouldn't purposely put him in danger if he could help it, after being with each other for so long and developing a sort of companionship, he knew that the fox wouldn't hesistate to lie.

Fine. Don't believe me.. The Kyuubi sounded highly offended, but Naruto got the feeling that the fox was pretending. But get moving on those hand seals before I change my mind.

Naruto smirked, then performed the hand seal for dog, then tiger. With the Kyuubi barking out what hand seals to perform and how to gather his chakra, he all but forgot everyone else in the closet space.

"W-what are you doing, bro?" Konohamaru asked in surprise of his almost sibling. Naruto paused before making the last seal. The Hokage leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.

"That jutsu has a death rate of 7:1.." she murmured, her knowledge in jutsu surpassing anyone of the last leaf ninjas. Naruto nodded, not surprised that his ancient granny knew exactly what he was doing. He already knewthat she was tempted andwould have gone over to Orochimaru's side to bring back her boyfriend and her little brother. He would have figured that, in her grief, she would have researched any and all ways to bring them back, including the time travel jutsu.

"W-what is he doing, Hokage-sama!" Sakura asked, her voice leaning toward a pleading tone. She did not want to loose another comrade.

The Hokage was silent for a moment. "A.. time traveling jutsu.." Everyone tensed. Neji was the first one to relax, with a heavy sigh.

"Hmph.. As usual, he jumps in head first without preparations." was his only reply.Gaara stared at Naruto was his unnerving teal gaze.

"You... looking for a death wish, Uzumaki Naruto?" he murmured. Naruto said nothing, keeping his gaze on his knees.

"A jutsu of that kind.. is much more different than others. Aburame clan, for instance.." the Hokage said, closing her eyes. They all thought of Shino, dead for the last three years. "Offered chakra to their bugs. If the bugs were satisfied with the offering, they would stay with the offerer, and be used as their tools. If not.. the bugs would eat them alive." Lee shifted uncomfortably, and turned a round eyed gaze to his blue eyed friend. Naruto-kun..

She continued. "This sort of jutsu needs an offering of stamina. The very energy that we are using right now to stay awake.. to even think. Most taijutsu specialists have an abnormal amount of stamina, as taijutsu only requires the usage of that. But even so, this jutsu defies Space and Time. The offering of stamina needed to make this even half way work.. is much more than a taijutsu specialist can even offer. Thus, the high death rates."

The big chested woman.. is quite smart. Naruto nodded, holding the chakra in place so she could finish explaining. It would be rather rude to die on them when they were still confused about his motives.

"Naruto always had an abnormal amount of stamina in the first place. It could work!" Sakura said, a gleam of hope lighting up her dulled and defeated eyes.

"Yeah old woman, the deaths were of normal ninjas.." Naruto smiled, a gleam of something predatory in his expressive eyes. "I.. am far from normal."

"What do you mean by that, Naruto-kun?" Inari asked. Sure, he wasn't a ninja. He barely understood half of the conversation. But it seemed like a lot of people who did what Naruto-kun wanted to do died.. But Naruto-kun always defied the laws of reality! He could do it!

"Why, Inari you ask? Because.. I am a vessel.. like Gaara." Naruto said sadly. Kyuubi shifted in his mind, reminding him that he needed to hurry this conversation up so he could perform the jutsu. "The vessel.. of the Kyuubi."

"W-what!" was the general response of those around him.He smiled sadly to himself. He knew this would happen. His friends would fear him.. and thus hate him. Only Tsunade, Sakura, and Gaara, the ones who were already aware of the Kyuubi's presence in him,would continue to look at him the same way. It didn't matter. Soon, he would be in the past, saving them anyway, because he-

"I already knew."Low and quiet, the last Hyuuga spoke out strongly, jarring Naruto from his thoughts.

-Loved them. He looked at Neji, mouth agape.

"W-what? When.. How..?" he stuttered. The Hyuuga opened his eyes, a brief fit of amusement twisting the corners of his mouth up.

"That you are the vessel to a demon. The first Chuunin Exam we both entered in. My eyes." Neji shifted, that same calm look on his face, a darker emotion turning the pearly whites of his eyes to a somber grey.

"She knew too." he said sadly. "Hinata.. she knew long before I." he frowned, amending his answer. "Maybe not of the demon directly, but she knew something was different about you, something that made all of the adults fear you.But instead of fearing you because of it, she respected you for keeping that smile on your face. She.. loved you. And she died for you, Naruto."

Tears came to Naruto's eyes. Hinata-chan..

"You are.. a friend Naruto." Ino said unexpectedly. She swallowed harshly, shadowed blue eyes meeting his own."You are.. an ally. You are.. a brother. You are not an enemy."

"Orochimaru is an enemy. Even Sasuke was an enemy.." Sakura said, picking up after her friend. She smiled gently at her last team mate."But.. you seem to think that even after all this time, we would abandon you."

"Besides," Lee said, his bandaged covered hand rising to his chin. "I guess having a demon in you is like.. having a bloodline, right?" He looked at Neji. The Hyuuga nodded.

"A really really cool bloodline." Kohonamaru said, nodding to himself. He remembered clearly when his role model had suddenly sprouted claws and hadblood red eyes, and suddenly was a hundred times stronger and faster.Inari grinned.

"Demon or not, a dumb blond is still a dumb blond." Naruto glared at him for that comment,thoughthe corners of his mouth twitched up slightly despite hisattempt to look mad.Inari laughed, then covered his mouth. It wouldn't due to have the sound ninjas find them all cramped in a corner.

"I love you guys.." Naruto said, face brightening up. "That's why I'm going to save you. Even if I die in the process."

Gaara felt an odd sense of deja vu. In his mind's eye, he saw a twelve year old boy, glaring at him, his face streaked with blood and dirt. The proud blond said that if Gaara hurt anyone of his precious people, he would kill him. The boy had battled against the Sand's strongest shinobi and lived. Barely having enough strength to stand, he still was ready to fight for them. To die for them.

"Gaara.." the boy in his vision, only ten years older looked to him. He looked a little uncertain. "If.. anything goes wrong..." He bit his lip, not knowing how the others would react if they heard him say that the only one he trusted to keep them safe was Gaara himself.

"I will take care of your precious people." one demon vessel said to the other. The blond smiled, relieved beyond measure.

"Thank you..." After waiting what seemed like forever, he performed the dragon seal. Naruto watched as the people in front of him faded, the dark background changing to red. His skin became hot, as the feeling of weightlessness increased.

He was falling too fast, he realized, and started panicking. Strength was torn from his body, he started to feel weaker and weaker.

The last thing he saw before the world faded to black was something large and of a darker red, catching him, and leading him to safety.

ive been reading them! and i think that they r awesome! keep em comin! i cant wait for the next one! 3nodding

That was awesome I loved it! It had some funny parts too! Keep em comin!

OMG THAT ONE WAS SOOOOOOOOOO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!1

Arigato! Next Chapter Im going to post a little earlier than I intended to
But it's Sunday so is tick to my promise HERE IS THE NEXT CHAPTER
[Hope You enjoy]
Title: For the Love of My Friends
Chapter 5: To See Them Again Part 2
Rating: Mature

Nara Shikamaru hung his legs over the side of the roof, not sparing a glance to look at the crumpled piece of paper in his lap, although he was very curious who Iruka paired him up with.

Even though he copied it, he didn't remember what he had written on it.

It was supposed to be a skill. To copy something while all your other senses are completely focused on something else. Somewhere along the rank of the Sharingan.

In this case, his ears and mind had been focused on the door, while his eyes and hand copied the teams down.

To him, it was a hindrance. And troublesome.

In a battle situation, a weakness like that could be so easily taken advantage of. Just as misinformation could kill thousands of people. The knight had knowledge that the enemy rook was going to move to a area where he could be attacked, so while he waited his turn, the enemy bishop wiped out all of his pawns.

It was a matter of choice, of decision, of life and death..

"You know, if Iruka-sensei knew you knew how to walk up a wall by use of chakra, he would have passed you a long time ago.." There was a crunching sound behind him. Chouji had come back.

Maybe not life or death. Maybe life or annoyance.

"If he passed me a long time ago, I'd be doing missions and all that troublesome stuff with people that are much older than me." Shikamaru muttered, looking boredly at the village beneath his feet.

Chouji had to nod. He couldn't imagine Shikamaru actually getting up and doing a mission.

"Did you get it?" Shikamaru nodded and tossed the paper ball at Chouji. The Nara boy then lied on the roof, watching the clouds lazily float by.

Chouji had wanted to go to the meeting to see who they were on teams with. Shikamaru thought it was too troublesome. They'd find out later, probably from their own team mates. The pudgy boy had then pleaded for his friend to come with him. He didn't want to be the last person to know who he was working with. Shikamaru, while in his 'thinking pose', came up with a good plan.

Why not get the news before the press released it?

The lazy boy then instructed Chouji what exactly to say to Iruka, so the chuunin would be flustered, try to distract Chouji, and leave the room. It had worked perfectly.

Now Chouji knew what team he was on and Shikamaru didn't have to go anywhere. The perfect compromise.

"Hey, Shika! We're on the same team! With.. oh no.." Chouji looked down at his lounging friend. He looked terrified.

"Who?" Shikamaru sat up, wondering why Chouji was trembling. He whispered something.

"..Uh.. Could you repeat that?" The pudgy boy leaned forward.

"..Ino!" Well, his fear was not misplaced. Ino was the scariest girl he could think of. He had met her when he was six, because their parents were on the same team and were drinking buddies. He and Chouji had been outside, doing absolutely nothing. She had walked up to them shyly and introduced herself. Shikamaru remembered thinking she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his life, but that was before she decided that they needed a 'makeover'. Oh the horror..

They had kept a love/hate relationship over the past six years. She'd make fun of him, he'd insult her, she'd punch him, then he would make fun of Sasuke.. It was a cycle. A routine even.

But when she'd come to his door in tears, another rejection from the cold Uchiha, he quietly let her in and comfort her. On their best days, people would think that they were the best of friends. On the worst days, they would mistake them for archenemies.

This was not one of their best days.

Slowly, an un-Shikamaruish smile appeared on his face. He stood up, and began walking toward the door that lead down to the rest of the school.

"Come on, Chouji. We're going to be late for the meeting." Chouji ran after his friend.

"But you.. I thought you said you didn't want to go?" Shikamaru still had that strange look on his face.

"You're right. I didn't." He looked over his shoulder. "But I don't want to miss the look on Ino's face when she realizes that she's on a team with us instead of her precious 'Sasuke-kun'."

------

Hinata had not missed the look of total angst on Naruto's face when he had seen Sasuke. Nor had she missed the comfortable way that Naruto held her hand, even as they were running as fast as they could to 7C. Her Naruto-kun was different. She knew it was true, deep down in her heart of hearts.

Something had changed the wild blue of Naruto's eyes to the slightly sharper, purplish/blue hue of his present eyes. It wasn't something easily noticed. It just made his eyes look darker.

And his clothes were different. Instead of the orange jump suit she knew so well, he wore a black vest and green shorts. Like the darker color of his eyes, the clothes made him look older, wiser, and quieter. This Naruto paid a lot of attention to her, while the old Naruto only talked to her if she started the conversation.

She couldn't decide whether she like the Naruto of old, or this wiser and slightly more somber version of him. She wondered what had happened the day before to make him go through such a drastic change.

But some things just didn't change. At all. The number one most hyperactive ninja in Kohona had to keep up his reputation, after all.

During their run, Naruto had stopped to knock over a bucket of soapy water in the hallway. She tried to admonish him, but he shook it off, saying if next people who came into the hallway couldn't take a little soapy water, they needed to train a lot more.

There was an odd sense of logic in that answer, so she dropped it. Besides, he was holding her hand again.

Naruto flung open the door to 7C, and announced to the very noisy class, "I just flew in from Water Country. My arms are very tired." He cracked himself up. Everyone gave him a 'I can't believe this idiot actually passed' look, then went back to their own conversations. Hinata blushed, not used to being the center of attention, even if she was hiding behind Naruto. She glanced at the clock, then nudged Naruto.

"Five minutes to spare." he nodded and went for one of the seats in the middle. She hung around awkwardly, until he turned around with a 'Hurry up, Hinata, you slowpoke!' She went after him with a smile.

------

Seeing everyone, alive and well, free of war injuries, or the haunted look of someone who was beaten down, was refreshing. He had nearly been at the point of doing cartwheels because he was so happy.

He sat down next to Hinata, who promptly blushed. Even after so many years of varied 'Birds and the Bees' speeches-Jiraiya and Kakashi brought their own research material, mainly dirty magazines and novels-, and the 'Talk', coupled with the Ino and Sakura Hell fest, which was actually a three hour movie about a sinking ship that they always made him and Shikamaru watch, he still had no idea why Hinata always turned red around him.

From the way that Ten ten had 'aw'ed at it when she bore witness to it, he figured that it had to do with this romance.. stuff. Chicks always dug the romance.

They'd tear up, and sniffle and 'aww' during romance movies, while guys who would watch them-he was basing this off of a time where the girls blackmailed him, Kiba, Kankuro, and Shikamaru into watching a romance movie- would yell 'He's gonna get some tonight!'.

He guessed romance was okay. As long as it wasn't unrealistic, or ended with one of the couple dying, and leaving the other hanging.

He glanced at Hinata from the corner of his eyes. She had died, in the future. All because of a stupid mistake he had made.

He looked forward, his face set. None of them were going to die. Not Hinata, not Sasuke, not Iruka, not anyone. He'd prevent this war even if it was the last thing he ever did. Even if he had to travel back into the past over and over again. His precious people would not die.

The hour hand on the clock touched ten. Iruka strolled in.

"Hello, graduates! This day is very special for you all because..." the rest of the teacher's speech was lost on Naruto. He stared at his father figure, eyes hungrily drinking in each feature. Tears threatened to rise, just as they had when he had seen Sasuke. Just as they had when he had realized that Hinata was standing on his door step and this wasn't just a dream he made to deal with his insanity.

"Alright then! Your teams!" he began reading off the first two teams when Shikamaru and Chouji walked in. The steady drip of water hitting the ground startled Naruto out of his daydream.

"You're late." the teacher said flatly. Shikamaru countered his disapproving stare with his lazy gaze. Chouji stepped up.

"Uh, sorry sensei, but there was water on the floor.." His entire back was wet. Naruto was torn between getting misty eyed about the appearance of more of his 'dead friends' and laughing his a** off. He elbowed Hinata, and gave her a foxy grin.

She stuck her chin so low that her mouth was hidden by her forehead protector tied around her neck, but he could still tell she was smiling because of the twinkle in her pale eyes.

"Can we sit down?" Shikamaru asked bored. Naruto was surprised to see that the boy was completely dry. Iruka nodded, and they took the two seats in the front.

Hmph. Shika probably made Chouji go first.

And it was a smart idea too. Survival of the fittest.

"What, can't even take a little water, Nara?" a feminine voice said from the back. Naruto turned to see Ino, hand on her hip, with a smirk on her face. Next to her was Sakura. Apparently they had been having a silent battle of wills to see who was going to get the chance of sitting next to Sasuke.

Shikamaru didn't even bother to turn around. "Go suck on a lemon, Yamanaka." While Ino was busy trying to burn holes in the back of his head with her blue eyed glare, Sakura slide past her and sat down next to Sasuke.

"Hi Sasuke-kun! I hope we're on the same team!" All she got was a soft 'hn' in reply. Ino shook her fist at Sakura for taking advantage of her distraction, but sat in the row behind them, sulking.

Naruto turned back to the front, a small smile on his face. Everything was normal. Everything was how it was before the Sound ruined it. He loved it, but was afraid he wasn't powerful enough to preserve it.

Then try and try again. You promised to do it. Follow your ninja way.. was the surprisingly encouraging words from the fox. Since when did the omniscient, sarcastic, and sadistic Kyuubi ever try to cheer someone up?

You know, if you weren't such an evil b*****d, I could end up liking you.

------

A half an hour later found the three members of Team Seven alone in 7C. All the other teams had been picked up by their instructors.

Hinata had shyly said good bye to Naruto before following Kiba and Shino to the door, something that made the red eyed woman, Kurenai, smile.

The last team to leave the room before them was Team 10. Ino had nearly had a heart attack when she found out that she was stuck with the laziest two ninja's in their class instead of Sasuke. It was as amusing as Shikamaru had hoped it would be.

She had followed them, muttering incoherently, when a bearded jonin, Asuma, came by to pick them up. The entire classroom was quiet. Iruka had retreated to teach his other classes. Even Sakura had stopped trying to strike up a conversation when she realized that her efforts were being ignored.

Naruto was sick and tired of being ignored by her.

He loved Sakura like she was his sister, but he had forgotten how mean and just plain bitchy she was at this age. The twenty two year old turned twelve decided she needed a good dose of her own medicine.

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto jumped on the boy's desk, and looked at him eye to eye. Sasuke shifted backward slightly.

"Get off my desk, dobe." he said, glaring at the blond. First, he ignores him, now he's suddenly so talkative?

Naruto pouted childishly, but refused to move. "So Sasuke-chan doesn't want to learn a new jutsu?" Sasuke was torn between belittling his rival and wanting to know what jutsu Naruto had in mind.

He settled for a neutral 'hn'.

"Aw, come on! Don't you like fire based jutsus?" Naruto saw the torn look in the other boy's eyes and decided to help him along. He pushed open the window and dragged the Uchiha out. "It'll be fun!"

Sakura watched them through the opened window, feeling unbelievably lonely. Naruto, of all people, had got Sasuke's attention. Dangling a jutsu above him as bait.

In order to get Sasuke's attention... then I must be strong like Naruto? Normally, she laughed at the thought of Naruto being strong, but now it was clear to her that he was.

The jutsu he was teaching to Sasuke was complex, and took a lot of chakra to perform. It started with the user converting chakra to a big ball of fire, than forming it into a dragon like shape. She saw no need in it, until Naruto showed Sasuke why the nimble dragon shape was better to use instead of just a big ball of fire. If the opponent dodged, the dragon could twist around and attack once more, instead of flying it a straight line like the ball of fire would. It took a lot of concentration and skill to make the dragon focus on it's opponent.

"This guy can attack for days! Until his fire is put out, he is immortal!" Naruto yelled.

He patiently showed Sasuke how to do it over and over again, no signs of chakra depletion on his face. Sasuke could form the ball of fire, mold it into a dragon, but seemed to be having difficulties making it focus on Naruto's shadow clone, his target.. Twice his dragon started to attack a bunch of trees. Naruto put out the flames with a water jutsu.

"You're doing good, Sasuke! It took me a month to get past the chakra into fire thing."

Where did Naruto learn such an advanced technique? she wondered. What happened to the guy who couldn't even do a proper Henge?

Naruto stopped Sasuke from forming another one. "No more. We're both almost out of chakra.." he lied. Sasuke nodded once, and they walked into the Academy back doors.

Sakura sighed and sat back in her seat. So I'm weak. That's why he doesn't pay any attention to me. She closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. Even Naruto's ignoring me.. She didn't want to be on this team if she was just going to be ignored.

The other two members of her team walked in. Sasuke looked tired, and had soot smudged over his face. Naruto was sooty too, but did not even look half as tired.

Sasuke stared down at the ground. Naruto did it so easily.. he looked out of the corner of his eye at the blonde. I will practice later, and shrink the gap between our strengths..

Naruto saw the sad look on Sakura's face. Maybe I went too far... He sat on her desk. She looked up in surprise.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" he gave her a foxy grin. "Wanna learn a jutsu too?" The blonde reached into his kunai pouch, took out one of the blades, then slashed it down his arm. Sakura stood up fast, knocking her chair over. Sasuke moved closer to see what was happening.

"Naruto, are you insane?!" her eyes were on the blood pouring from the wound. Sasuke's gaze was directed toward it as well.

"Are you trying to prove a point?" he asked, dark eyes watching the blood drip down his rival's tan arm to fall on the desk. Naruto sighed, annoyance laced in his tone.

"I'm teaching a medic jutsu! I'm not going to bleed to death. Just chill." It was directed to both the humans in front of him, and the demon sealed in his bellybutton.

Both the Uchiha and the Kyuubi scoffed. He ignored them and turned his gaze toward Sakura. "All you have to do.." He explained the process of how a medic jutsu worked.

Sakura alternated between being disgusted by the blood pouring out of the gash, and being interested in how it worked.

"This is a straight cut, so it would be easy to heal. A jagged cut would be a lot harder to fix. Like in sewing." she said. Naruto beamed.

"Exactly! Try it!" She leaned forward. Gently touching the edges of the wound and pressing them together brought a fresh wave of blood. Sakura wrinkled her nose, then her hands were encased in a soft blue light. The future medic nin carefully used her chakra to connect the two sides together. Sweat came down the side of her face.

Then there was no wound, just tan unscarred skin.

Success! Inner Sakura crowed happily. Who's the bad a** ninja chick now?! She grinned.

"Great job, Sakura-chan! You'd make a great medic nin!" Naruto said, sliding off of her desk. He examined his arm gleefully.

Success! Who's the bad a** teacher now! Naruto shouted happily in his mind.

..Spare me.

Just then, a man walked through the doorway of the classroom. He had spiky grey hair that kinda tilted to the side, and his forehead protector was worn diagonally over one of his eyes. He wore the normal accessories of a Kohona jonin. The man looked at them with one bored eye.

In his perspective, his team was already fighting. Both boys were sooty and dirty, as if they had wrestled their way out of a chimney. One was nearly out of chakra while the other stood in front of the girl, blood staining his arm. The girl had the boy's blood all over her desk and her hands.

Neither the dark haired boy who was almost out of chakra, nor the girl with bloodied hands noticed him. But the only one who had his back to the jonin turned around. The other two, upon the blonde acknowledgement of his presence, noticed him. The blonde looked at him with sharp blue eyes. His tone was flat.

"You're late...Kakashi-sensei."

[BAM! Enjoy it! it's kinda short but it had to be..stuff to do people to see..]
[see ya next time]
ps- Im going to post teasers from now on.. lol

Title: For the Love of My Friends
Chapter 6: The Budding Leaves of Konoha
Rating: Mature

She was suddenly thrown out in the cold. A cold where she was alone. No longer who he had seen and identified her as, who she wanted to be, but who everyone else saw.

Not 'Hinata and Naruto', but a cold and lonely prototype, 'Hyuuga Hinata'.

Hinata, no longer in the presence of her precious person, had been reminded of her duties.

She was a representative of the Hyuuga clan, the strongest in Kohona. She was supposed to maintain a cool and indifferent personality to all, and was supposed to excel in any task thrown at her. Hinata was supposed to be powerful.

What she was really... an afraid girl cast out into the darkness, with no sign her sun, her light, her courage. If the public saw the true Hinata, it would reflect upon the clan.

The Hyuuga clan often got rid of it's weakest link.

Hinata followed the footsteps of her team mates and tried to shrink in to herself. Without the light pressure of Naruto's hand on her's, and the bright smile he would give her when she turned to him, she was afraid.

She could not copy with her Byakugan eyes the way that Shino calmly took things in perspective, a stoic mask fixed firmly on his face, the confidence that practically oozed out of Kiba, or the strength of her sensei, Kurenai.

It was impossible. She would forever be void of those qualities that she admired.

But when Naruto was around, even when he didn't acknowledge her.. a new Hinata would come forth. She was not an anti-Hinata, but she was different. She was more confident. She was brave. She felt like she could take any verbal insult her father or her cousin Neji could throw at her. Hinata felt like she was on top of the world.

Somehow, the admiration she had for the blonde turned into a crush, when she grew up enough to realize with her peers that the other sex didn't have cooties. Hinata found out she had a more than a simple hero worship of Naruto when she had over heard Sakura and Ino ending their friendship. Ino had asked why they had to spilt up, and Sakura told her how she felt about Sasuke. How he made her feel, how he inspired her..

Hinata realized she felt for the same for Naruto. But Sakura went a step further, and gave the feeling a name.

Love.

He made her strong, he made her weak. He made her confident, then made her shy. Sakura loved Sasuke. And Hinata loved Naruto.

Hinata started small. Finding out his birthday from Iruka, she started to give him gifts, starting with his tenth birthday. Watching the happiness blossom on Naruto's face when he had received it, she had vowed to next year give it to him face to face.

Next year came. She chickened out when she saw him coming to the door with her blood line, leaving her present of jutsu scrolls on his porch. Hinata had scolded herself, using the worst insults her father had thrown at her, nearly bringing herself to tears.

Then the year after that she had got him a new set of kunai and shuriken-Naruto's old ones look like they came out of the Kohona Salvation Army-, and left again when he had barely touched the doorknob.

Hinata had totally given up on herself when she had bumped into Naruto after hours in the Academy. After stammering herself into silence, she had just stared at the ground, a rosy blush on her face.

Naruto, the naive boy he was, checked to see if she had a fever. It only made blush even more.

He had backed away, feeling awkward and thinking that she was just plain weird. Watching his orange clad back grow smaller and smaller in the distance, a courage not unlike that of the Hinata she wanted to be seized her.

"N-Naruto-kun!" she had run up to him. He'd half turned, confusion written all over his face. No one had ever added '-kun' to his name before. Hinata was paralyzed for a moment by his blue eyes, then promptly bowed. "G-good l-luck on the test tomorrow.." she managed to get out.

The boy had considered her a moment, then gave her a foxy grin.

"I don't need luck!" he announced with a grin. Hinata felt her heart sink. Of course he doesn't want such a weak girl to jinx him.. she had thought. "I got skill! Luck is for weak bastards like Sasuke!" He laughed, and turned as if he was going to go, but realized there was something else he needed to say.

".. But really, thanks Hinata." He had truly smiled, a smile that made her fall in love all over again. "It's rare to find someone besides Iruka who wants me to succeed in life."

When she had found out that he didn't pass the exam, she wanted to confront him, make his confidence return. But he was no where to be found.

She went to his apartment that next morning, prepared to knock the door down, and wait till he returned. But when Naruto appeared at the door, his appearance so different, and a faintly annoyed look on his face, the lioness in her retreated.

Hinata had awkwardly stumbled through the conversation, all while feeling her day brighten up a little at the sight of the birthday gift she had given him hanging around his neck.

Somehow, Fate smiled down at her. Hinata and Naruto spent the morning together. It was the best two hours of her life.

Her thoughts were jolted to a standstill when Kurenai stopped, and turned to looked at the three soon to be genin behind her. The woman smiled faintly when Kiba gave her an annoyed look between Akamaru's paws- the dog was on his favorite perch: Kiba's head-, Shino gazed at her calmly, and when Hinata shifted until she was behind Kiba.

"This is where the heroes of our great village are remembered. This was created after the Fourth defeated the Demon Lord Kyuubi, out of the very mountain that portrays our Hokages." She ran a hand over the top of the memorial stone, smiling sadly at a familiar name. "Only the greatest of our heroes have their names carved here. See, here's the Fourth." she pointed at the fiftieth name down. Hinata edged around Kiba to look at the stone, then frowned. The Fourth's name had been eroded down, probably from harsh weather. She was a little disappointed. She wanted to know his true name...

"The writing is.. small." Shino murmured, saying his first sentence of the day. "To save room for future heroes?"

"Yes.. True peace is something that Kohona strives for, but until that day is reached, I'm afraid the men and women who die to save our village will be added long after you or I are alive." Hinata shivered at Kurenai's words. There was a dark sense of a foreshadowed event in those simple words.

"Anyway.." Kurenai started to say. "I know all of your names, but I want a little background..." She lead them away from the memorial area, her voice echoing through the silent area.


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Shikamaru was no longer amused.

Ino had spent the entire time that Asuma explained the training that they were going to do the next day, and the time after he escaped, making snide comments and whining how she complimented Sasuke better in looks that Sakura. A few times Chouji and Shikamaru had to hold her down to make sure she didn't run back into Iruka's classroom to coo and flirt at Sasuke.

Shikamaru was tempted to let Sasuke have it, but manly empathy stopped that thought in it's tracks.

Chouji and Shikamaru walked to the Ichiraku Ramen stand, and to their annoyance, Ino followed. The shadow user planned to let the blonde have it when he saw someone was already sitting in Chouji's usual seat.

Before the Akimichi could get fired up about some hidden ploy to keep him from his ramen, Shikamaru walked up to the 'offender' and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

She turned around, wide pearl like eyes fixed on his face. "N-Nara-san?" Inwardly, he sighed. Hyuuga Hinata was the only girl in his year that he hadn't lost respect for because she didn't chase after Sasuke.

The probelm was, she was so shy. Whenever she happened to be in a group with other people, she'd just stare down at her lap, mouth firmly clamped shut.

He wished that Ino would take a page or two out of her book.

Speaking of which, the blonde reverted to a more cheery version of herself. She fired off rapid questions, which the smaller girl answered hesistatingly. Once past the 'how have you been's, Ino started to talk about Sasuke and how she deserved to be on Team Seven. The pale eyed girl seemed to get even more nervous.

Watching her, something in Shikamaru's mind clicked, like a light bulb appearing over a cartoon character's head.

It wasn't that Hinata was too shy to go after Sasuke.

She just didn't like him the way Ino did. That single fact floated around in his head, like one of his precious clouds, before he got a firm grasp on it.

A girl not going after Sasuke.. A girl not even thinking that he was cute.. The idea was foreign to him. He had always been around Ino, and Ino had always been ogling Sasuke.

"Hoo boy..." he muttered. "Once in a lifetime, one girl out of twenty seven silly bubblebrained...."

He pulled out of his thoughts, realizing he really needed to get a girlfriend. If he had so much free time on his hands to wonder about some other guy's love life..

Chouji elbowed him.

"What are you mumbling about, Shika?" the pudgy boy rubbed his stomach. He was hungry.

"Nothing, let's just sit somewhere else." He started to move to the other side of the stand.

"No! It's the perfect spot!" Chouji said, his words catching the attention of both girls. "See, look. From this spot, I have access to three different napkin dispensers, the spice rack, and not to mention, because I'm in the middle, the chef pays more attention to me.." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Not again..

"M-my apologies.." The Hyuuga whispered, bowing twice. "I did not mean to take your spot." She lifted her bowl and was about to move to the other side of the stand. Ino, however, stopped her progress.

She turned flaming blue eyes on the two boys on her team. "Have you no respect for females?! Why should she move?!" Both boys shrunk underneath her fury.

"I-it's okay, Ino-san.." Hinata said, trying to tug her arm out of Ino's grasp. "I was a-already done.."

Shikamaru stood up straighter. With his brililant, caculating mind, he found a way out of hearing Ino gush over Sasuke. Wave the red flag in front of the bull.

In reference to females, talk about their personal matters.

"PMSing, much?" he drawled. Ino let go off Hinata to wrap her hands around Shikamaru's neck. The girl promptly escaped.

Troublesome females.. Shikamaru thought, his face turning a slight shade of blue.

Chouji slide into the now vacant seat, and smiled sweetly at the bewildered chef. "One extra large bowl of miso ramen." The chef looked between his customer and the two people fighting behind him.

Ino had taken off her sandal to smack Shikamaru in the head, but was finding it hard to move when Shikamaru used his shadow imitation on her.

"Tough love." Chouji told him confidentially.

A sandal came flying out of nowhere, once held by Ino, but guided by Shikamaru, and knocked him unconscious right into Hinata's unfinished ramen. The chef ducked underneath the counter, whimpering.

Where were the Anbu when you needed them?


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Naruto knew he already blew it. Showed too much of his power. It put him entirely out of character.

He was supposed to be 'Uzumaki Naruto, loudest ninja of Kohona, and deadlast of his year.' Well, at least until he was fourteen. Then he could start kicking a**.

Instead, he was showing his team mates 'Naruto, Anbu class ninja. Right hand to the Fifth Hokage. Master of Rasengan and various other kinjutsus.'

He had taught Sasuke a jonin level ninjutsu, and Sakura a chuunin level healing jutsu she was supposed to learn five years into the future, for kami's sake!

Naruto started to mentally hit himself on the head. Stupid! he yelled at himself. You have nine months! You need to take things nice and slow, or the Hokage will think that you are a spy from another village and take you out!

His sensei Kakashi had introduced himself the same way as did everyone else of Team Seven, even Naruto, who was trying to making up for his earlier blunder.

Kakashi had lazily told them about the survival training they were going to do the next day, to not eat breakfast, and where they were going to meet, before poofing away.

"Real conversationalist, that one.." the pink haired ninja of their group muttered.

Sasuke ignored her and got up, ready to leave.

Naruto stopped belittling his sense of tact when a sharp pain in his stomach hit him. He hissed slightly in pain and bent over. Sakura leaned over.

"Naruto?" she poked him twice. "You okay?" Sasuke came back, his dark eyes unreadable but still clearly worried.

Get.. Away... The Kyuubi's voice hissed in his mind. He was in pain too.

"What's wrong dobe?" Sasuke's hand hovered over Naruto's shoulder, as if he wasn't sure how to comfort another human being.

W-where? Another sharp pain assaulted his senses. He whimpered slightly. The pain had traveled from his stomache to his shoulders to his arms, until everything started to hurt.

"B-bad milk.." he lied, pushing past them. "See you t-tomorrow.." He ran off, attaching chakra to his feet. The pain went down a little.

Forest..

Sasuke and Sakura watched him go, in various levels of bewilderment. Sakura was the first to revert back.

"That Naruto.." she said, laughing lightly. "What an idiot.. not even checking the expiration date on his milk." She glanced over at Sasuke, expecting him to agree. "He's going to be holed up in his bathroom all day!"

Sasuke frowned. "Normally I'd agree.." His dark eyes squinted in the direction Naruto went off to. "But if he really did have bad milk.. Then why is he going that direction.." he asked himself. His pink haired team mate looked back and forth between her other retreating teammate and her crush, confused.

"When.. he lives on the other side of town?


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Naruto and the Kyuubi had an interesting check and balance system between them. The Kyuubi would suggest a jutsu, and Naruto could either okay it, or ignore it. Naruto would request power from the Kyuubi and the fox could either give it to him, or not.

But the fox had to give him some power when in a battle situation, or the blonde most likely die, which would mean that he'd die as well, and the blonde had to okay some of the Kyuubi's jutsus, or suffer his eternal bitching. Neither knew which was worse.

When the Kyuubi stopped tormenting his vessel with nightmares of his gruesome conquering tactics, and when Naruto stopped mentally picturing him as a tiny vixen, accessorized with pink bows and big blue eyes, they entered a partnership.

The Kyuubi had to admit he respected Naruto for not backing down, and Naruto had to respect that the fox was way smarter than him.

The fox gave Naruto a great portion of his power, melding it with the blonde's chakra, making Naruto powerful, as well as bringing the fox closer to Naruto's mind.

They argued, fussed, and cursed at each other. Somewhere in between they talked seriously.

Kyuubi taught Naruto new jutsus, and Naruto taught him about humans. Kyuubi trusted Naruto to use his power wisely, and Naruto trusted Kyuubi not to put him in grave danger.

Grave danger found him easily even without the Kyuubi's help, after all.

Naruto collasped against a tree in Training Area 10. The pain was back. He gritted his teeth.

What the hell is wrong with me?! he demanded of his tenant. The demon stalked back and forth in his cage.

Train. Orbs of light. Was the only thing that Naruto could translate between the Kyuubi's growls. The blonde pushed away from the tree, and started to summon a rasengan in both of his hands, using chakra from both himself and the Kyuubi.

The rasengan in his left hand glowed a faint blue while the other glowed a faint red.

He smashed them into one of the huge trees that covered the training area, marveling how the pain seemed to disappear for a moment.

Again. Naruto performed the Fourth's prized jutsu over and over again until he couldn't stand. He fell to his back, and stared up at the sky. The pain didn't come back. He was still, enjoying the feel of the grass against his sweaty body. His face turned up, illuminated by the sun sitting in the middle of the sky. His eyes closed.

W-what was that? he asked tiredly.

The Kyuubi shifted a few times then settled. Chakra overload.

Naruto blinked a couple times. Chakra depletion was something he could understand.

It was a ninja's most hated way to die. It did not mean that the user had died in an epic battle with another ninja. It did not mean that the ninja had died honorable for his village.

No, it meant that the user was so stupid in his use of chakra that he died of it.

But chakra overload? The body made only the amount of chakra needed, the rest of the energy being stored as stamina. How could someone overload on chakra?

The fox answered his unasked question.

The kinjutsu. The one that brought you from the future into the past. Your twelve year old self cannot take so much chakra, from both the orinigal source and your future self. The fox stated calmly. The combined pressure of the chakra both stretched out your and my capability to hold a certain amount of chakra. Think of a balloon with too much air in it.

Naruto paled. I'm going to explode?! There was a harsh barking sound, what Naruto knew was the Kyuubi's way of laughing.

No, you idiot. At least not now. That's why I made you use so much chakra, so your body wouldn't be so stressed.

Oh. he relaxed slightly. Why didn't I notice this eariler? He crossed his arms behind his head, making himself comfortable. He wasn't planning on moving anywhere soon.

Your chakra was still melding together. And you were teaching the Uchiha boy and the pink girl jutsus.

Naruto watched a blue jay land on one of the trees he destroyed. It chirped a cheerful song, so strange to hear in all the destruction. He had fell seven trees in the training area, trees that were hundreds of years older than he was. He felt bad for taking out his pain on them, when they had done nothing at all. It was his choice to go back in time, not their's.

So when I regain my chakra.. This'll happen again. The bird started to clean it's wing, it's tail feather's twitching slightly. A second one joined it on the same branch. It called out a greeting to it's friend.

Not unless you seal up about half of your power. The birds tensed then flew off, a sharp warning whistle coming out of the first's beak. Naruto was about to ask how, when he sensed several auras he knew were not his own.

Naruto tensed as well, and threw himself up into a crouching position.

Several Anbu surrounded him, the color of their masks telling him that they were all elites.

What did I do? He backed up and reached behind him for his katana, only to grasp nothing. He hadn't bought a katana to replace his old one yet. It took immense amount of control to force his body into a straighter position, his hands at his sides.

Think.. think. You're Naruto the almighty prankster, not Naruto the war veteran.

Naruto faked a surprised glare. "What the ******** do you losers want?"

The ram masked Anbu to his left took a step forward.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the Hokage demands your presence."

[The next Chapter will be posted on Wensday..I have to focus on some school work]
[ja ne]

awsome awesome awesome!!!!!!!!!!! i loved it! i cant wait for the next chapter!