Better to Reign in Hell than Serve in Heaven

Better to Reign in Hell then Serve in Heaven

Chapter 8

Nicknames

At the crack of dawn the ninja looked out the window of his dorm room that he shared with a rather annoying team mate. His thoughts on the cool clear day that was just starting was interrupted by a loud crash and he witnesses a rather naked boy below him who seemed to had just jumped through a closed window from the training room below his dorm.

All he saw after that was a streak of yellow and tan as the boy ran off before cries came and he saw the horde of his room mate’s fan girls gathering around the broken window. Even with the window closed off from the outside the noise from their voices reached his ears and the groan from behind him gave testament to his dorm mate’s awakened state.

“What are the doing now? I thought we got them to stop walking up the walls so they could peer at us through the window.”

“They found a new distraction.”

An unspoken agreement was made between the two of them as the leaped from their positions and ran through their morning rituals. They left through their actual hallway for the first time in two years getting out the backside of the dorm complex away from the screaming fan girls.

Sasuke had no idea what had brought on his popularity with girls. Hell, Sai would be the first to say that Sasuke was no catch. While they had first been very antagonistic to each other when they had been forced on the same team, they found a common goal running away from a bunch of mindless females that did not know when to quit. It had been a godsend when they had learned from a tear soaked Sakura that she would be leaving their team in order to train under Tsunade.

Not having to run away from hysterical girls this morning definitely left both of the boys in a good mood that they spent their get away in silence. The two boys, while having the same coloring and builds, were completely different. Talking to each other was a task that was best left not happening. It made for a very awkward team work but considering that both of them were at the top of their class they had yet to find a challenge that really put them to the test enough to rely on team work.

~~~

You would think that when you give a tour to a new person that you would mention the separate hot communal baths. How was Naruto to know that taking a bath in the room across from the training room he had used for his morning exercises was supposed to be for females only? There had been no signs on the door and it was not until after when he was relaxing in the swimming pool sized bath that he was first alerted to the problem by a female scream.

He did the only thing he could think of and ran… right through the preparatory room where tons of girls were hanging about in different stages of undress. Unlike most girls who in a similar situation would be embarrassed or frighten, female ninjas seem to react in anger. As he ran out the doors of the female baths he found he had a ton of banshees running after him wanting his blood. It was only logical for him to dive through the window… that he had thought he had left open from his training.

Which led him to where he was now, in the woods right outside the dormitory completely naked and wishing more then once that he had enough money to buy more clothes. His only clothes were currently lost in the preparatory room that was far too dangerous to go back into.

“As much as I enjoy the view, you’re in my way.”

“If he wishes to join us, I think we should let him.”

“The brat will only be trouble.”

“I think he looks like a good boy.”

Naruto had thought that not being able to sense the people that the voices belonged to was scary. Nothing compared to the weird growth that appeared out of a trunk of a nearby tree to form the shape of a cloaked covered man with weird plant like appendages coming from his shoulders. What was worse was when the plant opened up to show the face of a man that looked like he was half of two men rolled up in one.

“You scared him.”

“We should just eat him and be done with it.”

“He can’t be all that filling being the runt that he is.”

“A good appetizer before breakfast, it has been a while since we had live meat.”

Naruto had never seen anything like the man before him. He did understand that he would be in trouble if the darker side won over the lighter side though neither seemed all that safe. He was also sure that running would be of no use considering the other radiated a foreign power he had never seen before.

“I’m sorry for being in your way. I did not realize these woods were private property.”

“You do not know what we are?”

“He must be retarded, why else would he be running around without clothes?”

“No, I do not know who you are.”

Naruto figured it was best to ignore the dark half and concentrate on the light half. It was also probably his only chance to get answers out of the other as the dark half seemed to anger very easily.

“Not who, what. We are a member of the Akatsuki.”

“Don’t try to educate a monkey.”

“Akatsuki?”

“We are a group of elite ninja. Our leader does not even take orders from the Hokage.”

“Now can we stop playing with our food and finally eat him?”

“So you did not notice the marker?”

Naruto had never heard of the Akatsuki nor could they be all that dangerous or he would have been sure that Jiraiya would have mentioned them. If the rest of the members were anything like the one before him, he figured it was more of a group of the criminally insane rather then future leaders of the world. He made no move as he found himself being seized by the shoulders and found his sight filled by the other’s face as he peered into him.

“The servant’s mark. Not too old as well”

“He is of interest to the traitor.”

“It is all the more reason for him to die.”

“Maybe he can find him for us.”

“Where is Snake’s lair?”

The question was definitely poised to Naruto but, he had no idea what the other was talking about. He had not been in contact with anyone that he could describe as a snake. Not to mention he wondered about this marker then kept mentioning on him. He could sense no other chakra on him but his own.

“I do not understand what you are talking about.”

“Lies, the servant has been with him.”

“Once again, where is Orochimaru’s lair?”

“Orochimaru… I’ve had nothing to do with that man. I have just recently come to Konoha.”

“You stink of his worm of an assistant.”

“Kabuto? I just met yesterday and I just took a bath, there is no way you can still smell him on me.”

“So little he knows.”

“Strong ninja can leave their presence behind. It is a way to mark their territory, some do it uncontrollably.”

“How do I get it off?”

“We can help, if you tell us where Orochimaru keeps his laboratories.”

“I don’t know, but I can try finding them for you.”

“Some of our best ninja have tried and failed for years to find his lair. If you do not know then you are useless to us.”

“He might serve well as a warning to the servant that we are not to be turned away. He did ask us to take off the mark.”

Naruto did not like the hissing laugh that followed the remark as the hands on his shoulders tightened as if they tried to cut the circulation of his blood. He felt a tingle run through his arms until there was only numbness. Naruto struggled only to find that he had loss complete control of his arms. Now even if he tried he would be unable to fight against the other completely. Ninjutsu was what he was the best at. His taijutsu was hopeless without his ability to increase his chakra in key points. Even with his legs Naruto was incapable of moving. To his own horror, he found out it was fear keeping him back.

“What the hell are you doing?”

His words came from his mouth at a scream as he felt his energy and confidence come back to him. It was not like him to freeze up in battle. The other guy was different and his murderous aura had taken a toll on Naruto’s senses. He felt the tingle running through other parts of his body numbing him down to the bone. Naruto would not back down. He had faced strong opponents before and he will not let the other go further without…

“It’s done”

“What?”

“It’s done.”

“….I don’t understand.”

“How thick are you, we rushed your body with our own chakra and canceled out the worm’s chakra hold on you. This is seriously a waste of our time.”

“I must admit I did not expect rudeness from a favor.”

“I’m sorry, I did not realize…”

Naruto found himself talking to thin air as the other was gone leaving no trace behind. He was now stuck in the forest alone, naked, and unable to move as the numbness continued to grow so that his whole body was frozen in place. Then just as he felt nothing could be done he felt pain shoot through his shoulders where the other had placed his hands on him and he felt himself falling into darkness.

~~~

When Naruto opened his eyes again he immediately focused on the face of the very pretty dark haired girl that was currently leaning against a tree watching him. He tried to move and found his body unable to react correctly as his arms felt like lead but he was able to force himself up to take a closer look at the other. To his surprise he realized that the other was actually male even though he was wearing very feminine clothes.

He found out that he was also now wearing a matching set of the clothes himself. He smiled at the other, or tried to as he found that even smiling was a task.

“I’m surprised you can even sit up. You were completely knocked out when I found you.”

“Th..Th..Th...a..n..n..nk..ss..ss”

“I would not try talking right now.”

“Don’t..t..T..T..ell..M..M..Me..Wh..What.t.. to do.”

Haku could only smile as he watched the other pulling himself to his feet using a nearby tree to steady himself. He knew well enough not to help the other. There was a lot of pride in those eyes and he knew he would only be insulting the other unless he let him do it himself.

He had to admit the other looked good in his clothes. He had been afraid they would not fit when he had first come upon the prone body. The blonde was smaller compared to him that made the baggy pants look even more like a skirt. The turtleneck hugged the blonde’s body tightly to show of the pure muscles that was beneath the thin material. It was very obvious the other was a ninja due to the shape and tone of his body that was built up from physical exercise.

Unlike Haku his body type was not made for speed but rather power. With the jacket on top though, it soften the effect of his body making him look very small and even feminine despite the fairly short spiky hair that was now down and framing his round face. It was his deep blue eyes thought that really showed his strength as he was trying to concentrate on standing on his feet without the help of the tree.

“W..What t..t..time is it..t?”

“A little past 10.”

“Sh..Shit, my f..first day and I’m alre..ready late..te. I gu..guess I ne..need to ask..k for help..p.”

“I’ll be happy to help.”

“N..No, n..not your he.help.”

“What?”

The boy in front of him suddenly grew still as his eyes dulled and suddenly he changed. Marks appeared on his cheeks looking like whiskers just as his hair grew darker looking like it had red highlights. The biggest changes were the hands that took on a claw like quality and his eyes turned a dark blood red and feral. It was only there for a moment and Haku was unsure about the fact that he even saw it.

“That’s better. Thanks for your help…uh what’s your name?”

“I’m Haku.”

“Ok, thanks Haku. I’m Naruto future Hokage of Konoha. You better believe it.”

It was amazing to see the energy and stamina in the boy before him. Only seconds ago the other was unable to stand on his own, now he was smiling and running off waving behind as he left. Haku could only smile to himself and waved back at the funny kid he had just met. He would worry about getting his clothes back another time. It was lucky for the other that he had brought a set of clothes to change into in case the ones he was wearing had gotten dirty while he was out collecting herbs.

~~~

“He is late.”

“…”

“Maybe he got the time wrong. There is no use waiting...”

Sai’s words tapered off as he saw a young blonde girl running towards them. Some days he just wanted to kill Sasuke so that he could end this. Why the hell did girl just flock Sasuke like flies. He was a fucking cold hearted bastard with no interest in them what so ever and yet they kept coming out of the walls. Sasuke seemed to have seen her as well for as he turned back to look at his team mate he found empty space though he could still sense Sasuke about. Hiding, the damn bastard was hiding.

“Excuse me.”

Sai blinked, the voice was not one of a female. He turned back to find that the girl was actually a boy… not only that but the boy from earlier who had allowed them to escape their usual morning gauntlet. Even more important he was touching his shoulder. People did not touch Sai. He jerked his shoulder away and swatted the other with his arm. It was almost a surprise to see the other disappear and reappear behind him though he knew ninja much better then the child before him and distanced himself quick.

“Sheesh what the hell was that for? I was just going to ask you to where Kakashi was.”

“Do you really think we would be waiting here if we knew where he was?”

Sai almost frowned but he kept his smile anyway. After all how else do you deal with a team mate that showed up once danger was over? Since the other turned out to be a boy, there seemed to be no harm coming out in the open, especially since he was asking for their new sensei rather then Sasuke himself. Sai still had not figured out why their teacher changed though having the copy ninja as their sensei was definitely going to be interesting. He was one of the strongest ninja in the village.

“Really! So I’m not late then?”

“Late?”

“Yeah. I’m Naruto Future Hokage of Konoha and Kakashi’s new student starting today!”

Great, they traded an annoying pest of a girl for a loud mouth idiot. Sai had hoped that they would not get a replacement. After all, none of the other Genin could match either Sasuke or himself in ability. Sakura had be a support ninja good only for some information while not in battle and medical jutsu once the battle was over. She was absolutely worthless during battle. Even though the boy had gotten away from his attack, it was hardly saying anything after all he had not been trying.

“Do you even have a dick?”

“The hell! What the hell is your problem?”

“Shut up, both of you. We have company.”

The three boys turned towards the tree not too far from them. Sitting on one of the branches reading a book was none other then their new teacher. As if sensing their gazes on him the Jounin looked up from his novel and crinkled his only shown eye up as if smiling. He had got here just a few moments before Naruto but had decided to watch his students for a moment so he could get a first opinion of them.

It was an odd bunch he had to work with. Sasuke’s only goal was to kill his brother and was only interested in gaining power so that he could achieve that goal. Sai was a former pupil of Danzo who had recently been executed for fighting against the Hokage. Sai, was a problem, he was young, too young for his own ability. Not to mention none really knew what Danzo had taught the boy. Finally there was Naruto, the reason he was now the happy leader of a group of Genin. He just hoped his sensei’s sensei knew what he was doing with the boy, after all the Yondaime had put all his hope on the boy, it would be disrespecting his teacher to refuse to help the child.

“Let’s play a game. You three need to get these bells from me.”

Kakashi said as he held up three bells. He had considered only two so that he could test them but it was very clear that holding up two bells will prove that they would never consider working together. Kakashi was very sure of his abilities and knew that no matter how advanced the three Genin were before him, that they had no chance of fighting him one on one.

“Now then you will…”

“”Yeah! I love games!”

It was only thanks to Naruto’s loud yelling did Kakashi manage to get away. The boy had charged him in an instant with Chakra induced speed. He was definitely underestimating the kid though at the same time he understood that the other had zero skills in deception. It was only thankful that the boy seemed to not be wearing the weird orange jumpsuit he had seen him in the other day. Though dressing very androgynously in baggy clothes was not helping him either.

Sasuke seeing that Kakashi sensei was currently getting away from Naruto immediately charged himself wanting to get it over and done with. Sai was hardly far behind though none of them took the chance to work together as Kakashi had expected and it was easy enough for him to do a quick replacement jutsu as he readied for an attack. This was going to be a long day.

A/N

I am not happy with this chapter. I just wanted to put it out. This was the hardest chapter I have ever done. There were so many different ways to go with this chapter beside my personal life going through hell for the past few weeks. No, I did not get the beta to go over this. I just wanted this out of my hair for now. The next chapter is going to take a while until I solve a few things for myself.