The Color Blue
folder
Naruto AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
18
Views:
1,511
Reviews:
3
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
18
Views:
1,511
Reviews:
3
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does. I make no money from this story. All other characters intended to be fictional, and any similarity between them and a real person, living or dead, is coincidental.
Chapter 4
*~~*
The next morning, Naruto jerked awake as his alarm chirped loudly. Flopping out of bed, he pulled on a clean pair of clothes and snapped on his backpack and weapons. He could practically feel his secret burning through the bottom of his bag, but ignored it and walked to the kitchen. Running behind, he guzzled milk straight from the carton, slid his sandals on, and snatched his folder and keys before running out of his apartment at mach speed.
As he approached the gate, Naruto noticed that several others were also running behind. None of those people, however, were on his team.
"Late again, Naruto?" Sakura teased. Sasuke was silently ignoring the others, as usual, but Kakashi seemed to be giving the chuunin a slightly disapproving look. Honestly, it was hard to judge from only one eye.
Naruto stuck his tongue out at the pink-haired kunoichi and turned to look at the others. Gai's team seemed very chipper, except for Neji, who was conspicuously missing. Naruto would have guessed that he was busy eating breakfast with the other Hyuuga, but Hinata was present, though she seemed a bit tired. Kiba and Shino were also present, but their sensei Kurenai was absent. Shikamaru and his sensei Asuma were also absent.
Antsy, Naruto started a conversation with Kiba, who, unlike some of his other friends, seemed awake.
"Hey, Kiba, what's up?" Of course, just being near Kiba put Naruto in the immediate presence of Hinata, who turned bright red and began twiddling her fingers.
"Whaddya think?" Kiba yawned. Akamaru yawned in agreement. Caught by the infectious yawning, Naruto gave a wide, toothy yawn of his own.
"Bastard," he growled. "You did that on purpose!"
"Maybe," Kiba grinned. Akamaru yipped, tail wagging. Suddenly, Kiba turned and squinted at the path. "I think that's Kurenai-sensei."
Naruto turned and squinted similarly. "Yeah, and Shikamaru and his sensei. So all that leaves is Neji-white eyes. Wonder where that bastard is?"
"Who's a bastard?" a frigid voice snaked from the bushes. Naruto spun and pointed accusingly. "Don't sneak up on me, bastard!" Neji found himself ignoring Naruto's outburst, just like most of the others, as he joined his team.
Moments later, the sixteen ninja were well on their way. The jounin-sensei led the way, followed by jounin Sasuke, Sakura, and Neji, with the chuunin trailing behind.
"So," TenTen asked curiously, "any of you ever heard of this Quadgram place we're going to?" Everyone shook his head, and she sighed. "Great. We're walking blind into this place."
"Nonsense, TenTen-chan!" Gai spouted enthusiastically, answering her from the front of the group. "We jounin have been gifted with much knowledge about the Quadgram by our gracious Hokage! We know exactly where to go once we arrive! You need not worry; we have everything under control!"
While Gai's over-enthusiastic speech put the other chuunin at ease, Naruto found himself utterly pissed.
/Of course the fucking jounin get to know the privileged information./
Although the other ninja found Naruto suspiciously quiet during the long walk to the Quadgram, no one said anything to avoid jinxing their luck. At lunchtime, however, Hinata grew so worried that she actually spoke to her idol in private.
"Na…Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked quietly as she approached her crush. Naruto had distanced himself considerably from the group. Normally, he would be at the center, soaking up any and all attention. Today, he sat on the outside of the group, alone, with his back against a tree.
"Hm?" Naruto looked up from the picked-apart rice ball in his lap.
"Is something wrong…?" the Hyuuga heir tapered off, amazed at her own bravery.
"Oh! No, nothing's wrong, Hinata-chan!" the blonde chuunin smiled wide. Hinata nodded slightly, but a small frown still rested on her lips. "Really, Hinata-chan, I'm fine!" he assured her again.
Hinata, by some miracle, realized that she couldn't just take Naruto's words at face value. Suddenly, she was sitting next to him, offering him some of the hand-rolled sushi from her lunchbox. Naruto took it, dumbfounded.
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered. "You don't have to act happy." Naruto opened his mouth to deny it, and froze. A wry smile lit his face.
"You're right, I'm not happy." He gave her a grin. "But I'm not sad, either. I'm just mad that Kakashi-sensei hasn't nominated me for jounin, yet. And I'm…anxious…about the mission." Hinata nodded in sympathy.
"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I know it'll be okay." She wouldn't look at him, but he smiled at her anyway.
"Thanks for the sushi, Hinata-chan!" the blonde chirped happily, rising and gulping down his lunch. Hinata nodded as she watched him walk over to his pack and hurriedly root around inside it.
Because everyone else was busy eating and socializing, Hinata was the only one who saw Naruto pull a shiny, golden object from his bag and stick it to his left ear. As she tried to get a better look, her sensei rose and announced it was time to depart.
Immensely curious, Hinata did something she never thought she would do: she used the Byakugan to spy on Naruto.
Surprised at what she found, Hinata gave a quiet gasp. When Kiba turned to her in askance, she only shook her head.
Naruto was wearing a golden fox earring.
*~~*
The next morning, Naruto jerked awake as his alarm chirped loudly. Flopping out of bed, he pulled on a clean pair of clothes and snapped on his backpack and weapons. He could practically feel his secret burning through the bottom of his bag, but ignored it and walked to the kitchen. Running behind, he guzzled milk straight from the carton, slid his sandals on, and snatched his folder and keys before running out of his apartment at mach speed.
As he approached the gate, Naruto noticed that several others were also running behind. None of those people, however, were on his team.
"Late again, Naruto?" Sakura teased. Sasuke was silently ignoring the others, as usual, but Kakashi seemed to be giving the chuunin a slightly disapproving look. Honestly, it was hard to judge from only one eye.
Naruto stuck his tongue out at the pink-haired kunoichi and turned to look at the others. Gai's team seemed very chipper, except for Neji, who was conspicuously missing. Naruto would have guessed that he was busy eating breakfast with the other Hyuuga, but Hinata was present, though she seemed a bit tired. Kiba and Shino were also present, but their sensei Kurenai was absent. Shikamaru and his sensei Asuma were also absent.
Antsy, Naruto started a conversation with Kiba, who, unlike some of his other friends, seemed awake.
"Hey, Kiba, what's up?" Of course, just being near Kiba put Naruto in the immediate presence of Hinata, who turned bright red and began twiddling her fingers.
"Whaddya think?" Kiba yawned. Akamaru yawned in agreement. Caught by the infectious yawning, Naruto gave a wide, toothy yawn of his own.
"Bastard," he growled. "You did that on purpose!"
"Maybe," Kiba grinned. Akamaru yipped, tail wagging. Suddenly, Kiba turned and squinted at the path. "I think that's Kurenai-sensei."
Naruto turned and squinted similarly. "Yeah, and Shikamaru and his sensei. So all that leaves is Neji-white eyes. Wonder where that bastard is?"
"Who's a bastard?" a frigid voice snaked from the bushes. Naruto spun and pointed accusingly. "Don't sneak up on me, bastard!" Neji found himself ignoring Naruto's outburst, just like most of the others, as he joined his team.
Moments later, the sixteen ninja were well on their way. The jounin-sensei led the way, followed by jounin Sasuke, Sakura, and Neji, with the chuunin trailing behind.
"So," TenTen asked curiously, "any of you ever heard of this Quadgram place we're going to?" Everyone shook his head, and she sighed. "Great. We're walking blind into this place."
"Nonsense, TenTen-chan!" Gai spouted enthusiastically, answering her from the front of the group. "We jounin have been gifted with much knowledge about the Quadgram by our gracious Hokage! We know exactly where to go once we arrive! You need not worry; we have everything under control!"
While Gai's over-enthusiastic speech put the other chuunin at ease, Naruto found himself utterly pissed.
/Of course the fucking jounin get to know the privileged information./
Although the other ninja found Naruto suspiciously quiet during the long walk to the Quadgram, no one said anything to avoid jinxing their luck. At lunchtime, however, Hinata grew so worried that she actually spoke to her idol in private.
"Na…Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked quietly as she approached her crush. Naruto had distanced himself considerably from the group. Normally, he would be at the center, soaking up any and all attention. Today, he sat on the outside of the group, alone, with his back against a tree.
"Hm?" Naruto looked up from the picked-apart rice ball in his lap.
"Is something wrong…?" the Hyuuga heir tapered off, amazed at her own bravery.
"Oh! No, nothing's wrong, Hinata-chan!" the blonde chuunin smiled wide. Hinata nodded slightly, but a small frown still rested on her lips. "Really, Hinata-chan, I'm fine!" he assured her again.
Hinata, by some miracle, realized that she couldn't just take Naruto's words at face value. Suddenly, she was sitting next to him, offering him some of the hand-rolled sushi from her lunchbox. Naruto took it, dumbfounded.
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered. "You don't have to act happy." Naruto opened his mouth to deny it, and froze. A wry smile lit his face.
"You're right, I'm not happy." He gave her a grin. "But I'm not sad, either. I'm just mad that Kakashi-sensei hasn't nominated me for jounin, yet. And I'm…anxious…about the mission." Hinata nodded in sympathy.
"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I know it'll be okay." She wouldn't look at him, but he smiled at her anyway.
"Thanks for the sushi, Hinata-chan!" the blonde chirped happily, rising and gulping down his lunch. Hinata nodded as she watched him walk over to his pack and hurriedly root around inside it.
Because everyone else was busy eating and socializing, Hinata was the only one who saw Naruto pull a shiny, golden object from his bag and stick it to his left ear. As she tried to get a better look, her sensei rose and announced it was time to depart.
Immensely curious, Hinata did something she never thought she would do: she used the Byakugan to spy on Naruto.
Surprised at what she found, Hinata gave a quiet gasp. When Kiba turned to her in askance, she only shook her head.
Naruto was wearing a golden fox earring.
*~~*