Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Reflection of Oneself ❯ Repercussions ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Reflection of Oneself

Chapter 7: Repercussions

Amity.

It is also known as friendship.

What takes place to create such bonds is different for everybody. It can be caused by a near death experience, a courageous rescue or a noble deed. It can be born of similar likes, similar life occurrences, or just maybe it could be because of all the differences between one another.

Whether it because of any of those things, there is one thing for certain. One must always remember that a friendship is a living thing - something that must be taken care of so that it grows strong.

Or else it will wither and die…

Five Months Later:

Seated at his desk again, like many times before, Uchiha Sasuke held a calligraphy brush in one hand while he contemplated. Once again he was pouring over his leather-bound journal, adding to it the next turns his life had taken.

Five Months. It wasn't an overly long time when he thought about it, seeing as life for a shinobi was always fast paced. But it had been long, almost like waiting and praying for a teething baby to just pop the damn teeth and be done with it. It seemed the perfect for describing Nanikato, now a days anyway. The boy would continue to surprise him, which meant he would be joining Naruto for the title of “Number One Most Surprising Ninja”.

Most surprising ninja indeed.

So many things had happened in the first few week since the boy had been released from the hospital after he nearly killed himself from lack of chakra. It had scared him greatly, as he had become, begrudgingly, somewhat fond of the brat. With him so close to death, he had been reminded of Naruto and that it had been his fault that his friend had died. He was determined to make sure that Nanikato live, at least long enough so that he chew the kid out later.

Then Nanikato awakened his bloodline.

Sasuke had been dreading that day since Kabuto told him it was possible. He knew immediately that Orochimaru would start to thirst over whatever power the blonde would possess. He had done his best to prolong that timeand had failed miserably.

But what it had done to the boy would forever change his outlook. Sasuke could vividly remember Nanikato taking a hit to the face with a shuriken only two days after getting out of the hospital. The large gash that had bisected his left cheek had bleed a lot and everything, that was before it started to heal before his very eyes. Naruto had possessed the talent to rapidly heal thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra and now so could Nanikato.

I think the first thing we noticed was that his chakra had changed to turned a silvery white. Then it was his phenomenally accelerated healing rate and his chakra reserves had gone through the roof. Then it was his heightened senses - all six of them. I rue their convenient uses, as the brat has taken to set the occasional trap for me as pay back for `torture sessions'. I'll admit falling for a few of them, as they are so expertly executed. Because of this, Kabuto thought it wise to dub his new power the Tamashii Reiki

I find myself agreeing.

Then while experimenting with his new gifts, it seems that Nanikato wanted to see what would happen if he channeled chakra into his eyes. After all, if he had been capable of seeing ghosts before, what would he able to do now? That had only been the beginning, of course.

The result of his experiment was called the Shinzuigan. After close examination, Kabuto discovered that the power in Nanikato's eyes was permanently active - which explained why he could see ghosts in the first place. It was sustained by a minuscule amount of chakra and gave him the ability to see ghosts and earthbound spirits. But with chakra to enhanced eyes, he was given the ability to see auras and earthly energies.

I wonder if he would the ghosts of my clan if we ever went to Konoha…

He paused, chewing upon the end of his brush - a habit that had been born out of boredom. Leaning back, he pondered the words he had written then and if it was really so relevant in his life at this time. Deciding that it was, Sasuke sighed.

`And the gaki had begun to use his powers to pester me too. It just seems so impossible that he can be so much like Naruto and yet not. At least he knows when to show some respect…'

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he sneezed, causing him to smear the ink on the page.

Rubbing his nose, he thought bitterly. `Well, maybe not'

-.ooOoo.-

`Evil salve driving sensei - how dare you laugh at me behind my back!'

Nanikato sniffed, rubbing his nose. He had been, for the last three and half hours, minding his own business whilst he trained. Then a then a massive series of sneezes had snuck up upon him. The only person that could be talking about his that many time would be Uchiha Sasuke.

Shaking his head, he returned to his training.

Kick, punch, kick, kick, punch, kick, punch, punch…

Every day it was the same thing - the same endless cycle of madness that went on and on into eternity. Practice, practice, and more practice. It never seemed to change, going on forever. While nothing appeared to alter in the slightest, in reality the last five months had past with ease and without much trouble at all. But that didn't matter. For one particular blonde it was just a reiteration of torture.

It had been dutifully spent preparing him for the outside world.

The outside world…

Yet the whole concept of what lie beyond the walls of Otogakure were still unimaginably bewildering and frightening for Nanikato. In his most resent audiences with Orochimaru-sama, the Legendary Snake Sannin had been commending him on such acceleration in his studies. While it pleased him that his superiors held so much faith in him, it scared him to death at the same time. With his training coming to an end, he found himself in a situation where things were a whole lot harder.

In a week's time, he would be an official genin, thus capable of following Sasuke-sensei on missions. It would allow him to leave the village and venture out into the unknown. But having never been outside the village walls, Nanikato was without experience - and books were not a substitute for the real thing at all.

Punch, kick, punch, punch, kick, punch, kick, kick…

Pushing those thoughts aside, he thought back to that dream he'd had after nearly dying from chakra exhaustion. He hadn't told anyone about Naruto-niisan, not even Kabuto-san. As soon as he was released from the infirmary, Sasuke, who had once again clamed up around him, had started him `rehabilitation' training.

That was when he realized the exactly what Naruto-niisan's `gift' to him was.

It came to him the form of a kikkai genkai. Although the others didn't known what he knew, the pillar of white light had been released into his system, awakening from its dormant slumber. Thanks to its powers, he could many things that he hadn't been able to do before.

He liked his new silvery white chakra, the fact that all his senses had been boosted to the max and that his healing rate had been accelerated to the point that a cut healed in seconds. It also helped that his chakra reserves had been boosted as well.

`The Tamashii Reiki and the Shinzuigan - my bloodline…'

With his eyes, he could not only see ghosts, but earthbound spirits too. Yesterday he had met a rat spirit with a very nasty overbite. Not only that, but he could see a person's aura and earthly energies too. He liked looking at auras the most.

Sasuke-sensei for example sported an intense tricolor aura. His outer color was black - the all consuming. It represented his inner rage, inner pain, inner guilt and all the nasty things he had ever done. His middle color was red - the passion. It represented his inner passion, inner dedication and inner power. His inner color was, shockingly enough, white - the pure. It represented his inner purity; so precious that it was jealously hidden away it was too.

His value in Orochimaru-sama's eyes had increased dramatically the day he awakened it as well…

It was also the day that he found the presence of his leader disturbing. There was an ever-present aura of death around the snake-like man, one that lashed out and clung to anything that got to close. It was a decaying mix of black, purple and green - one that Nanikato didn't even want to analyze. There were even a few of Otogakure's strongest shinobi, Sasuke-sensei included, that bore a mark of that fowl aura clinging to them, like a collar stating that they belonged to the one the aura came from.

The blonde found himself nervous when the older man was present in the same room, but did as Sasuke had taught him and schooled his face into an unreadable mask so he appeared calm and aloof. There was something evil about Orochimaru that nagged at his conscience - a feeling that screamed and fought against his more rational senses to ran.

He would have to careful what he did in his leader's presence in the near future.

Kick, punch, kick, kick, punch, kick, punch, punch…

“Don't think about it,” he muttered to himself. “Think about other things… like how Sasuke-sensei is going to react when he finds out that his bed had booby trapped tonight” the blonde smirked wickedly. “That'll teach him to never underestimate the one he's teaching to make traps that even he could detect…”

Finally he decided to take a brake in this repetitive session, leaving the thrashed post he had been beating on to sit down on his favorite log for a rest. While he did so, he looked whimsically down at his knuckles and ankles.

The brown leather gantlets had become rather worn in the last while, the knuckles in particular having become nearly black from the dried blood having saturated them, the same with his sandals but you couldn't tell with them since they were already black. With a sigh, the blonde began unlacing the straps of his gauntlets and sandals, peeling them off and tossed them aside, hissing slightly as his regeneration abilities kicked in.

As his knuckles and ankles had been rubbed raw from the continual amount of stress he had been putting on them for the last three and half hours. This was the first time he was giving them the chance to heal. They fizzled as the skin began to flawlessly renew itself, causing Nanikato to wince.

Thankfully his mind was elsewhere, remembering his fortune he had attained from that fortune cookie that day.

`You will acquire another precious person soon'

-.ooOoo.-

One Day Later; 4: 30 am:

“YOU CAN'T BE FUCKING SERIOUS!?”

Today was not turning out to be a good day at all for certain flute wielding redheaded.

Tayuya was in a right nasty mood. She had only just returned to Otogakure three hours ago after a month long mission in Lightning Country. She had planned to spend the next few weeks relaxing; which was detailed along the lines of swearing up a storm, dismembering as many perverted guys as possible and training in peace.

No such luck.

And she was pissed.

It was strange really. Tayuya hadn't found herself been this angry in over twelve years - not since that fateful day she and the other members of the Sound Five failed their mission in retrieving Uchiha Sasuke. While the boy had still been brought to Oto, thanks to Kabuto, her entire team, save for herself, had died.

Jiroubou had died first, taken out by that fat little Akimichi. The second to die had been Sakon and Ukon, when they had gone up against that Inuzuka and his puppy. The third to die had had been Kidoumaru, finally taken out after a fierce and bitter battle with that pretty-boy Hyuuga. The last to die had been Kimimaro, succumbing to his inevitable disease and the onslaught from Gaara, the Suna jinchuuriki and creepy fuzzy eyed kid, whatever his name was.

It wasn't as though she had cared about any of those stupid bastards, but a failure was still as failure. As it turned out, it had been team of genin and one chuunin had dispatched the Sound Five, which had been comprised of jounin and Anbu level. It was pathetic.

Tayuya herself had barely managed to survive her own fight; the one where she had been tag teamed by that lazy ass Nara (she still couldn't believe that Konoha had elected him to be Hokage) and that Suna bitch. Thankfully the medics that had come with Kabuto had been able heal her injuries, thus savaging one of Orochimaru-sama's strongest ninja.

But even though she had survived, things had changed.

With the Uchiha in the picture, she wasn't as needed as she had once been. It had actually shocked her how long that stoic bastard had lasted, seeing as Orochimaru wanted in only his Sharingan and thus his body as a vessel. The sly bugger had managed to weasel his way into gaining nine extra years of life when he was supposed to become her master's new body.

It was at times like those that Tayuya had to admit he was good if he could accomplish that. Uchiha Sasuke had become Otogakure's best hunter and because of him Orochimaru had acquired four more kikkai genkai from those bodies where now his.

Within his audience chamber, Orochimaru sat back at his desk with a wide sinister smile.

“Oh, but I am very serious Tayuya. I want you to tested the boy” the Snake Sannin replied.

“But why do I have to test the worthless little piece of shit?” she growled. “Come on Orochimaru-sama, I've put with enough of this fucking bullshit this last month. I don't want to be playing babysitter for some twerp!”

Orochimaru frowned, his displeasure nearly tangible.

“It isn't like you have much of a choice in the matter Tayuya. The boy isn't as worthless as you'd like to think, he is actually rather powerful and you won't be `babysitting'. He has been trained by the Uchiha and has gone from nonexistent to near mid chuunin level in only five months. One could arguably say his advancements were due to his recently awakened bloodline, which has granted him a second chakra source, enhanced senses and accelerated healing, but it is not that. He already possessed the potential and needed the push in the right direction”

She seethed silently, waiting for him to continue.

“Now the boy will become an official genin in less then a week. Although I have seen the extent of his progress myself, I want your firsthand opinion on the degree of his talent in battle against one of my elite”

“Why can't Uchiha-teme do it? That prick's the little twerp's sensei anyway”

“Yes, he is the boy's sensei. That is why I want you to test him. Sasuke has grown too `attached' to grade him properly”

Tayuya blinked, then burst out laughing. “Your shit'n me!? Attached? I thought whatever heart that bastard had left shriveled up after that civilian bitch fried in that fire all those years ago. Are you serious telling me that good ol' `Icicle-Up-His-Ass' actually has emotions!?”

Orochimaru smiled at her mirthlessly, and then held up a photo.

“Do this explain your question?”

The redhead took the photo, staring at it with wide eyes. In the picture was a boy with wild blonde hair, fox-like whiskers and brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. He looked to be only twelve - thirteen at the most.

“Holy fuck'n Kami!” she gasped. “Its that bugger the Five and I fought. He's loud little fuck that wore that orange piece of shit he called clothing. But Kabuto told me the Uchiha killed him. What in the nine hells is this scumbag doing alive - and still the same age?”

“No”

“Nani?”

Orochimaru leaned across his desk towards her. “I said no. That isn't the same boy you met twelve years ago. That is Kyuuzano Nanikato, the boy you are going to be testing - his clone”

“Nani!? What stupid shit would want to make a clone out of that snot-nosed little mother-fucker!?”

“You know, I resent that comment Tayuya-san”

The red haired woman whirled around to find Kabuto standing behind, a smug self-satisfied smirk on his face. Her grip tightened on her flute, resisting the urge to beat the bastard over the head with her trusty wand of steel.

“You think I give a shit if I `hurt your feelings', pecker-head?”

Kabuto sneered. “Yes, its painfully obvious. Whenever you get angry, you swear more. Simple human psychology”

“Well you can take your psychobabble and show it strait up your - ”

“Enough”

The two stopped, turning back to Orochimaru, who was looking at them both with an unamused leer. Not wasting anymore time, the gray haired men brushed past her and placing a handful of reports down in front on the Snake Sannin.

“Here are the medical reports you requested Orochimaru-sama. They consist of all the information I have compiled on Nanikato-kun since his `birth' to the present day. He is physically fit for what you have planned,” he gestured to Tayuya, who frowned. “But of course, it's ultimately up to Tayuya here what course of action you take with it”

To say the flute wielder was confused would have been a massive understatement.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” she demanded, left eyebrow twitching.

Orochimaru looked up at her and smiled oily, waving the documents that Kabuto had just given him at her. “You should already know that by now Tayuya-chan” she inwardly shuddered. “I want you to test the boy. If he can withstand your power, then I'll be giving him the Curse Seal”

-.ooOoo.-

Nanikato yawned, looking out over the dew-covered fields as the sun had begun to rise, giving the grass an ethereal sparkle in the early light. Even though it wouldn't be another half hour until Sasuke-sensei to arrived, he liked getting there early so he could sit back and watch the sunrise while reading scroll on something like various chakra control exercises.

Today was a little different.

His senses had been tingling erratically all night. Something big was going to happen and he knew he was going to be at the middle of it. So he waited, nervously watching the sunrise as if it were his last. He had valid reason too - as of thirty minutes ago; the village had been awash in one of the strongest killing intent that he had so far felt. And he had the suspicion that it was directed at him.

Unable to sit any longer, he began to do his stretches. 500 push-ups, 500 sit-ups, 500 crunches and 500 jumping jacks - all of them in an effort to keep his mind off that inevitable feeling of dread. As he was completing the five hundredth jumping jack, a hail of kunai and shuriken rained down upon him.

It had come.

“YOU'D BETTER BE DAMN WELL WORTH MY FUCKING TIME! I'M NOBODIES BITCH!”

As soon as he finishes swapping himself with his favorite log - his poor log - Nanikato gasped. He didn't have any time to get that breath back because he was in the midst of dodging a flurry of punches, kicks and a hard steel object.

The onslaught seemed to go on forever. Nanikato and his attacker were moving so fast that didn't have the time to get a good look at person who seemingly had it in for him. It seemed impossible and he was only going to ware out fast at this rate. So delivering a quick sure kick to his opponent's chest, he promoted several back flips to put some distance between them.

It was time to pull out the big guns.

Channeling his wind based chakra and tapping into his second source as well, Nanikato closed his eyes and began to form the seals of a familiar, but not yet battle used, jutsu. It came to him, whirling around him as he sucked in a deep breath and exhaled with a fury.

“Fuuton: Mansakebigoe!”

The sounds of screams escaped him, thousands of tortured voice crying out as they were cut down. It was piercing, agonizing, bloodcurdling and heartbreaking. It was without a doubt, the epitome of all mass genocide of titanic proportions.

Just hearing caused a shiver to trailed down the blonde's spine. He hated the sound of the wailing souls that were forever tapped in this unending echo of hell.

“Oto Nankan!”

Nanikato stopped, watching in shock as a bubble of chakra formed around his attacker, protecting them and rendering one of his strongest jutsus obsolete. The screams rushed past, echoing throughout the still sleeping village. There was going to be some mighty pissed of civilians and shinobi this morning…

Then abruptly a fierce whistling sound whirled through the air. He looked everywhere, but he couldn't find a thing. Then it hit him, literately.

“ITAI!”

Clasping his cracked noggin, Nanikato stumbled backward and looked down at the offending object that had so nastily struck him upon the head. It was a flute…

Then another one came at him, and another one. Suddenly he was dodging many flutes, all of them whistling their own tunes as they came at him. He ducked, rolled and danced with them, bending in a rhythm that seemed as though he was moving in slow motion.

But it wasn't enough.

A flute clipped his right elbow, causing his funny bone to shriek with pain. As soon as he lost momentum, more flutes began to with a fury. It was just enough to get him backed up against a tree, two flutes finding home and lodging themselves deeply in to wood on either side of his neck. Soon there was more pinning, not only his hands, but also his feet, shoulders and knees as well. That was how the young blonde found himself trapped, unable to move from his immobile position thanks to a dozen flutes holding him in place, burred up to their mouthpieces.

“Mataki: Eitai Koukyoukyou Wana” as chilling voice replied. “A tricky little trap to trap for dealing with an annoying little shits like you”

Nanikato winced.

Nobody, not even Sasuke, had spoken to him like that before. Although it shouldn't have, it hurt him greatly.

“W-who are you?”

As if to answer his question, a woman stepped out of the shadows. He blinked, taking in the appearance of his attacker for the first time.

She was short, only a half a head taller then his measly 4'10”, with spiky light red hair poking out from under a white and purple toque. She was also dressed in a stomach baring white armored top with full-length mesh sleeves, a pair of loose fitting purple pants tied with a black belt and combat boots. In one hand was a flute, twirling in her grip erratically.

As soon as she was fully visible, the flute wielding redheaded madwoman smiled at him, a slow and incredibly wicked smiled that promised lots of pain. Nanikato couldn't help but shiver from the intensity of that look. No wonder Sasuke had advised him in avoiding women, kunoichi in particular.

“I'm your worst nightmare gaki,” she hissed. “Now prepare to kiss you ass goodbye ya little shit, `cause once I'm through with you, your going to wish you were dead”

-.ooOoo.-

Translations/Original Jutsu

Tamashii Reiki/Spirit Aura - The byproduct of the Kyuubi no Kitsune's purified youkai chakra. This power grants its possessor a secondary chakra source, enhanced senses and accelerated healing. It second stage will also allows its possessor to awaken dormant and/or recessive bloodline limits as well as to upgrade already awakened limits.

Shinzuigan/Spirit Eyes - First stage permanently activated, which consume about one eight of its possessor's chakra throughout the day - it allows its possessor to see ghosts and earthbound spirits. The Second stage, once the eyes are pumped with chakra (giving them a slivery sheen), allow their possessor to see emotional/natural auras and earthly energies.

Oto Nankan/Sound Barrier - mid C-rank ninjutsu. This technique creates a translucent bubble of chakra around the user that protects them from all sound based attacks up to lower A-rank.

Mateki: Eitai Koukyoukyou Wana/Demon Flute: Eternal Symphony Snare - mid to upper B-rank kinjutsu. This technique using the basic idea of the Kunai Kage Bunshin, onlyusing flutes. It allows it user to keep continually making clones of the desires object, throwing them in a pattern that performs a song depending on which holes the wind hits. Also contains chakra threads that binds the victim to whatever surface they are stuck.