~(A/N)~Hello, hello, hello READERS! I am so happy to announce that I am finally able to post again and I am proud to present to you the newest chapter for Choices. Enjoy and as Always please R&R.
~The Choice~
Naruto felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead. But he couldn't deal with it right now, he had to focus on purifying the tainted chakra he had stolen from the Uchiha. He could feel as bit by bit, the stolen chakra was cleansed and channeled into the body of Kogoe. Slowly the hole in her chest began to heal, the hole was about 90% closed when the chakra flow stopped.
"Damn it! I didn't take enough. What to do what to do? My chakra won't do... Wait! Yakedo! Come here!" At his words the young leaf-nin rushed to the blonde's side. "Place your hand on top of mine, and channel your chakra into my hand and hang on." Following his instructions the young man did as he was told. Soon Naruto felt the chakra begin to flow again, as the chakra was untainted he was able to focus the flow. A few minutes later the hole in Kogoe's chest was completely healed, moving his hand away the blonde exhaled and promptly passed out on the ground. Looking around Yakedo found himself in a complex situation. His two teammates; Naruto and Kogoe were unconscious. And on top of that the three Kumo shinobi who were there were also out cold. Sighing the young shinobi set about taking care of the five unconscious people.
~Flashback Time~
A single leaf floated down through the air and landed on the nose of Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, now 14 sat on the grass next to a pond with his back against a tree. He reached up to remove the leaf from his face, as he did so he felt the person that was leaning up against him shift in their sleep. This person was Ino Yamanaka, his girlfriend of about 4 months. The blonde girl blinked and looked up at her boyfriend.
"Everything ok Naru-kun?"
"Yeah Ino-chan, a leaf just fell on my face." Smiling down at his girlfriend the blonde girl sat up. Stretching her arms upward.
"Oh by the way Naru-kun, don't think I forgot your promise."
"Which promise was that?" Smirking the blonde girl punched him in the arm playfully.
"The one where you promised to play a song for me, I made my choice last night."
"Oh? and which song did you choose?"
"Boulevard."
"Well ok then." With a smile the blonde man reached around the side of the tree and produced an acoustic guitar and quickly began tuning it. Ino smiled as he got ready, she loved listening to him play and sing. She picked 'Boulevard' because it was one of his old songs and she had never heard it before. As he finished tuning the guitar, he smiled at his girlfriend and began strumming. After taking a breath he began to sing.
"I walk a lonely road I walk this empty street I walk alone
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a...
Naruto's strumming began to grow in intensity and his singing grew louder.
"My shadow's the only one that walks beside me Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah, I'm walking down the line Read between the lines I walk alone
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone
Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line
Of the edge and where I walk alone
What's fucked up and everything's alright
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a...
His strumming had died down a little only for it to kick back up again.
"My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone"
Naruto suddenly stopped strumming but kept singing.
"Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah I walk alone
Ah-ah, ah-ah
I walk a...
Just as suddenly as he had stopped strumming he began an impressive guitar solo. As the solo died down he began singing softly.
"I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a..."
Without warning the song shot through the roof as he began singing very loudly.
"My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone!..."
As he finished singing he continued to strum for about thirty seconds and slowly the song tapered off. When he finished the clearing around the pond was filled with silence. Finally the young woman spoke.
"Naru-kun that was amazing. What was the song about? I think I know but I want you to tell me."
The blonde boy laughed. "I'm pretty sure you know it, you know me better than anyone. I wrote that song after my mission in wave. Remember how on that mission I met Haku and Zabuza, and found my ninja way?" Ino nodded. "Well when I returned to the village I was thinking who in the village I had like those two had each other. And at the time I realized I had no one, well except the kyuubi. So I wrote this song as kind of a way of expressing my loneliness. And on top of that, even if I did find a special someone, I am still alone in this world. No one else in the village has a demon sealed within them." Ino looked at her boyfriend and started to realize just how rough of a childhood he had had. Ino couldn't stand being away on missions for more than a week or she started to miss her friends and family. Naruto had been alone, without anyone there for him, for 13 years. The blonde girl couldn't imagine what it must have been like to find out you were alone because of something that happened when you were a baby. Hugging her boyfriend the girl spoke.
"Naru-kun I made another choice last night."
"Oh you did? and what was it Ino-chan?"
"I want us to try and have a baby."
~Flashback Over~
Naruto rolled over on the ground and slowly began to wake up. Sitting up he yawned and looked down to see his right hand and forearm were wrapped in bandages. Looking around he could see Kogoe lying next to him asleep. Across the room the three Kumo shinobi were still bound, but asleep. Looking towards the only source of light, Naruto then realized he was inside of a cave. He then saw the last member of his team crouching by the entrance. Standing up he walked over to the young shinobi. Speaking softly.
"Hey Yakedo."
The young man jumped a little. "Oh Naruto-sensei it's you. How are you feeling?"
"I'm ok, I heal really quickly. So what's the situation?"
The young leaf-nin snapped into mission mode. "Ok so it's been about 36 hours since you passed out. Neither Kogoe nor the Kumo-nin have yet to wake up."
"36 hours, so that means we have about 12 hours to finish the exam. Hmmm well I think it's time to wake our guests up."
"I tried Naruto-sensei, but they won't. I think they might be under some sort of genjutsu."
"Well let's see." The blonde walked over to the three. Looking down he could already sense their chakras were completely out of whack, proving Yakedo's theory to be correct. Quickly dispelling the illusions, Naruto watched as the three woke up. The first two were dressed in traditional Kumo garb and had no distinguishable features. It was the third member that caught Naruto's attention.
As the third member sat up Naruto was able to see they were a woman, slightly older than Naruto, with a very mature figure and fair skin. Her hair was jet black, cut short near her face but hanging to her waist in the back. She had on a shade of fairly intense blue lipstick and her eyes were a piercing orange color, which reminded Naruto of his old jumpsuit. But despite all those features, it was her attire that drew his attention.
She wore a white top with blue trim, and a blue wave motif near the bottom hem, that only barely covered her ample bust. And while it clung tightly to said bust, it seemed to hang loosely around her midsection. She also wore a pair of white leggings with a blue waistband, but they did not have the left leg exposing her thigh. Over this she wore a blue sash with her Hitai-ate plate affixed to the middle. On her shoulders she wore a teal mantle with a blue wave motif covering the arms and back of the mantle. Her right forearm was covered by fishnet and her hand was adorned with two silver rings, one on her ring finger and one on the pinky. Her left hand and forearm were covered by a blue fingerless glove. The glove came to just below the elbow and ended with a slight flame appearance over a brown cuff. The back of the glove was cut away and crossed by laces, to reveal her hand and forearm. Her feet were covered by a pair of knee-high riding boots with the same styling as her glove, only the boots were brown with a blue cuff. Again the front of the boots were cut away and crossed with laces to expose even more skin. As the raven haired woman sat up she locked eyes with Naruto and the pheromones that she was giving off began to permeate the cave.
Naruto's eyes wavered for no more than a split second and then they froze over and he stared this woman down. She was unprepared for his reaction and didn't know how to react. The blonde spoke.
"Ok so here's what's about to happen. Once we leave, we will be taking one of your Earth scrolls. Yes we searched you and found them. Depending on your choices after we leave, you will either find a Heaven scroll, or you'll have to face me in combat."
The three Kumo-nin looked at each other and nodded. With a nod, Naruto walked over and picked Kogoe up and moved to the entrance of the cave. He spoke to Yakedo who performed the sheep seal and then the pair vanished.
~11 Hours Later~
Naruto, Yakedo, and a recovering Kogoe, stood alongside of the team from Kumo they had rescued, a team from Iwa, a second team from Konoha, and two teams from Suna. Tsunade surveyed the remaining candidates, many looked promising Naruto and his team being members of that group. Smiling she spoke.
"Congratulations, you eighteen are the survivors of the second exam. Now from here on out, the exam is now solo event. So if any of you wish to withdraw, you may do so now and your teammates will be allowed to proceed." After a few moments of silence, hands began to rise. In the end six candidates had withdrawn, leaving Naruto, Yakedo, Kogoe, all three members of the rescued Kumo team, one from the Iwa team, two from the other Konoha team, and three from the two Suna teams.
"Alright then, you twelve will be the ones participating in the final tournament held one month from now. Will each of you please come forward and draw a number. Please bring this card with you to the final tournament, they will serve to order the matches they also serve as your proof of entrance into the tournament. Everyone understand?"
"Hai Hokage-sama!" The group responded in unison.
"Very good, now before you go I have one more announcement to make. At the request of the Raikage and his brother, each of you will be required to bring one piece of music that you wish to be played before your match. Thank you and I look forward to seeing each of you in one month." Following that the teams left. Naruto and Yakedo escorted Kogoe to the hospital before heading home to prepare for the month ahead.
~(A/N)~ And there you have it! The second exam is over and we've seen a big moment in Naruto and Ino's past. I apologize for taking so long and i can promise that my posting will pick up again.