Shadows of the Past
folder
Naruto › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
14
Views:
1,271
Reviews:
8
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
14
Views:
1,271
Reviews:
8
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Needing A Break
Summary: It’s been eight months since Raven’s promotion and his trials have just begun. As his relationship with Hinata continues to progress events begin to unfold that will forever alter the course of their lives. A new promotion, a new team, ghosts from the past and revelations about his family only add to the obstacles that Raven must overcome if his court ship of Hinata is to come to fruition.
==============================
Dark clouds loom ominously in the moonless night sky submerging the forest below in almost total darkness. The occasional bolt of lightning illuminated the forest below for a brief instant each time as a dark figure stood on a tree branch over looking a camp. For a brief moment one of these flashes illuminates the Leaf symbol on his headband before he steps off his perch to land silently on the ground below.
The camp is alive with the sounds of screams and cheers as the thirty men take turns rapping their helpless captives. The five young girls are all from the little fishing village less then two miles east of the bandits’ camp and all in their early teens. The band of rapists, murderers and thieves are so caught up in their fun that they never notice the stranger walking up the road towards them.
“Let them go,” The stranger orders them. Drawing the men’s attention the stranger just stands as the flickering light of the campfires illuminate his appearance. The shinobi appears to be a young man of no more then fifteen and is wearing a pair of sunglasses despite the darkness.
His all black clothing consists of fingerless gloves that stretch all the way up to his elbow with shin-guards and a pocket-less vest over his Jounin uniform. The arms of the gloves, like the shin-guards and vest are ribbed by the strips of metal sewn into the fabric of each garment. In the case of the vest, the ribbing runs vertically around the body and horizontally at the shoulders. The boy wears a belt lined with numerous small pouches for carrying extra items and weapons and two kunai holsters on each leg.
Addressing the men again the boy continues to slowly advance towards them. “I said let them go.” The men laugh as three of them move to attack the teen. In an instant the men are struck down by a kunai in each of their hearts. As more men move to attack him the teen quickly dispatches them the same way until only ten of the original thirty are left.
Five of the men grab their victims, holding knives to the throats of their new human shields as the others surround the young shinobi. “You’re going to pay for what you did kid,” their leader says. As he tightens his grip on the girl in front of him.
“I wouldn’t kill those girls if I were you, right now they’re the only thing keeping you alive. Let them go and I’ll let you live, hurt them and you’ll join your friends in hell,” the ninja replies.
The storm that had been threatening to break all night slowly begins to announce it’s presence as the wind begins to pick up blowing out the five campfires that had allowed the men to see the shinobi. With the camp now plunged into darkness the ten remaining bandits are blind and can only stand where they are as the screams of their dying comrades echo around them. As the last of the screams dies a flicker of flame relights the campfire nearest the scared girls as they huddle together crying.
“I won’t hurt you,” the young ninja tells them as he hands them each a blanket. “Your families sent me to take you girls home.”
=============================
An hour later Raven Hiroku steps out of the shadows and into his room dropping his sunglasses on the dresser before falling face first onto his all too inviting bed. Since his promotion to the rank of Jounin nearly eight months ago Raven had been on one mission after another with no time off in between. In those eight months he had only managed to see Hinata for lunch a total of ten times. Each time only because he would go visit her at the Academy before going to deliver his report and receiving his next mission.
On the few occasions like this, when he returned in the middle of the night, he was granted a temporary reprieve from the endless missions as he was unable to deliver his report to the Hokage until the next morning. Raven turns his head to the side so as to avoid suffocating in his sleep and notices the letter on the pillow beside him. ‘Hinata-chan’ Too exhausted to move he decides to read the letter in the morning
before he drifts off to sleep.
==============================
The next morning Raven wakes up and picks up the letter before walking over to his desk to read it. He smiles as he reads how much she misses him and how her children are looking forward to his visit. He remembers clearly how in his last letter to her he had promised to speak to her class the next time he stopped by the Academy before he saw the Hokage to give his report.
The rest of the letter talked about the usual goings on in the village and the latest news about their friends. Apparently Sapphire and Ino were seen having lunch together on several occasions and even spotted kissing a few times outside the flower shop. After finishing reading the letter Raven writes his reply and places the much shorter letter into his pocket and “Shadow Walks” it into the drawer of her nightstand before leaving to give his report and receive his next mission.
A month after the non-stop missions began Raven had setup this little ritual of theirs. He would write her short letters, as he could not divulge the details of his missions, to let her know that he was all right and that he missed their time together and then “Shadow Walk” the letters into her nightstand. She would then write him much longer letters letting him know that she also missed their lunches as well as the latest news on Konoha. She would then deliver the letters to his home and a servant would place them on his pillow for him to read when he returned.
=============================
A few minutes later Raven finishes his report and waits for his next mission. Tsunade looks at the young man and can’t help but feel sorry for him as she hands him his next assignment.
“This mission has been upgraded from an A-Rank to a Special S-Rank mission as you will be forced to complete it alone,” she tells him “I’m afraid that all of the other shinobi are either on missions, hospitalized or needed in the village.” Raven nods as she continues the briefing.
“You are to escort the ambassador of The Fire Country to a meeting with the Feudal Lord of the Wind Country. There are many who do not want this meeting to take place as it will only serve to strengthen the alliance between our two countries. Expect an unknown number of enemy shinobi along the way. This is a one way trip since Suna has agreed to provide an escort for the Ambassador’s return trip.” Raven nods as he looks over the mission.
“I’ll leave right away but I a have a request to make before I go.” Tsunade quirks an eyebrow, curious as to what he might want.
“After I return I would like to take a leave of absence from active duty.” She nods in understanding. “I understand and agree that you could use a break,” she tells him. “I want you to know that I’m very pleased with the work you have done over the last eight months and when you get back I’ll give you a month off.”
Raven smiles and bows to her before he leaves on his last mission before a much needed vacation. Tsunade looks down at the papers in front of her. ‘I‘m sorry, Raven-sama, I should have realized sooner that you needed a break. It was unfair to make you keep working when all the others have had at least a few days rest these last eight months. Kami-sama only knows how you’ve managed to last as long as you have.’
==============================
A/N: I wish to thank Darkened Naruto and Botched for their reviews of Shadow Shinobi. They really mean a lot to me and I hope that you continue to show your support with this story. A very special thanks goes to Naruto Tops for agreeing to be my Beta. The changes and suggestions you made helped a lot. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the story and please remember to R&R.
==============================
Dark clouds loom ominously in the moonless night sky submerging the forest below in almost total darkness. The occasional bolt of lightning illuminated the forest below for a brief instant each time as a dark figure stood on a tree branch over looking a camp. For a brief moment one of these flashes illuminates the Leaf symbol on his headband before he steps off his perch to land silently on the ground below.
The camp is alive with the sounds of screams and cheers as the thirty men take turns rapping their helpless captives. The five young girls are all from the little fishing village less then two miles east of the bandits’ camp and all in their early teens. The band of rapists, murderers and thieves are so caught up in their fun that they never notice the stranger walking up the road towards them.
“Let them go,” The stranger orders them. Drawing the men’s attention the stranger just stands as the flickering light of the campfires illuminate his appearance. The shinobi appears to be a young man of no more then fifteen and is wearing a pair of sunglasses despite the darkness.
His all black clothing consists of fingerless gloves that stretch all the way up to his elbow with shin-guards and a pocket-less vest over his Jounin uniform. The arms of the gloves, like the shin-guards and vest are ribbed by the strips of metal sewn into the fabric of each garment. In the case of the vest, the ribbing runs vertically around the body and horizontally at the shoulders. The boy wears a belt lined with numerous small pouches for carrying extra items and weapons and two kunai holsters on each leg.
Addressing the men again the boy continues to slowly advance towards them. “I said let them go.” The men laugh as three of them move to attack the teen. In an instant the men are struck down by a kunai in each of their hearts. As more men move to attack him the teen quickly dispatches them the same way until only ten of the original thirty are left.
Five of the men grab their victims, holding knives to the throats of their new human shields as the others surround the young shinobi. “You’re going to pay for what you did kid,” their leader says. As he tightens his grip on the girl in front of him.
“I wouldn’t kill those girls if I were you, right now they’re the only thing keeping you alive. Let them go and I’ll let you live, hurt them and you’ll join your friends in hell,” the ninja replies.
The storm that had been threatening to break all night slowly begins to announce it’s presence as the wind begins to pick up blowing out the five campfires that had allowed the men to see the shinobi. With the camp now plunged into darkness the ten remaining bandits are blind and can only stand where they are as the screams of their dying comrades echo around them. As the last of the screams dies a flicker of flame relights the campfire nearest the scared girls as they huddle together crying.
“I won’t hurt you,” the young ninja tells them as he hands them each a blanket. “Your families sent me to take you girls home.”
=============================
An hour later Raven Hiroku steps out of the shadows and into his room dropping his sunglasses on the dresser before falling face first onto his all too inviting bed. Since his promotion to the rank of Jounin nearly eight months ago Raven had been on one mission after another with no time off in between. In those eight months he had only managed to see Hinata for lunch a total of ten times. Each time only because he would go visit her at the Academy before going to deliver his report and receiving his next mission.
On the few occasions like this, when he returned in the middle of the night, he was granted a temporary reprieve from the endless missions as he was unable to deliver his report to the Hokage until the next morning. Raven turns his head to the side so as to avoid suffocating in his sleep and notices the letter on the pillow beside him. ‘Hinata-chan’ Too exhausted to move he decides to read the letter in the morning
before he drifts off to sleep.
==============================
The next morning Raven wakes up and picks up the letter before walking over to his desk to read it. He smiles as he reads how much she misses him and how her children are looking forward to his visit. He remembers clearly how in his last letter to her he had promised to speak to her class the next time he stopped by the Academy before he saw the Hokage to give his report.
The rest of the letter talked about the usual goings on in the village and the latest news about their friends. Apparently Sapphire and Ino were seen having lunch together on several occasions and even spotted kissing a few times outside the flower shop. After finishing reading the letter Raven writes his reply and places the much shorter letter into his pocket and “Shadow Walks” it into the drawer of her nightstand before leaving to give his report and receive his next mission.
A month after the non-stop missions began Raven had setup this little ritual of theirs. He would write her short letters, as he could not divulge the details of his missions, to let her know that he was all right and that he missed their time together and then “Shadow Walk” the letters into her nightstand. She would then write him much longer letters letting him know that she also missed their lunches as well as the latest news on Konoha. She would then deliver the letters to his home and a servant would place them on his pillow for him to read when he returned.
=============================
A few minutes later Raven finishes his report and waits for his next mission. Tsunade looks at the young man and can’t help but feel sorry for him as she hands him his next assignment.
“This mission has been upgraded from an A-Rank to a Special S-Rank mission as you will be forced to complete it alone,” she tells him “I’m afraid that all of the other shinobi are either on missions, hospitalized or needed in the village.” Raven nods as she continues the briefing.
“You are to escort the ambassador of The Fire Country to a meeting with the Feudal Lord of the Wind Country. There are many who do not want this meeting to take place as it will only serve to strengthen the alliance between our two countries. Expect an unknown number of enemy shinobi along the way. This is a one way trip since Suna has agreed to provide an escort for the Ambassador’s return trip.” Raven nods as he looks over the mission.
“I’ll leave right away but I a have a request to make before I go.” Tsunade quirks an eyebrow, curious as to what he might want.
“After I return I would like to take a leave of absence from active duty.” She nods in understanding. “I understand and agree that you could use a break,” she tells him. “I want you to know that I’m very pleased with the work you have done over the last eight months and when you get back I’ll give you a month off.”
Raven smiles and bows to her before he leaves on his last mission before a much needed vacation. Tsunade looks down at the papers in front of her. ‘I‘m sorry, Raven-sama, I should have realized sooner that you needed a break. It was unfair to make you keep working when all the others have had at least a few days rest these last eight months. Kami-sama only knows how you’ve managed to last as long as you have.’
==============================
A/N: I wish to thank Darkened Naruto and Botched for their reviews of Shadow Shinobi. They really mean a lot to me and I hope that you continue to show your support with this story. A very special thanks goes to Naruto Tops for agreeing to be my Beta. The changes and suggestions you made helped a lot. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the story and please remember to R&R.