Naruto: The Death Flash

AN/ Well hello, and welcome to the third chapter of this story. Sorry it's so late. So I'll get in to this real quickly.

This one doesn't have much in the way of physical action, but it's still rather important, as we'll get a hint of a mystery surrounding one of Naruto's teammates.

I don't really have much in the way of information, so on with the story!

Normal speech: "what"

Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"

Thoughts/Speech taken out of context: 'what'

Letter/Book/Written text: 'What'

Demon/Summon speech: "what"

Demon/Summon thoughts: 'what'

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Arc II: Forming Bonds

Chapter 3: Grueling Training, A Mysterious Hospital Visit!

— ₪ NTDF ₪ —

"Come on blondie, get your ass in gear! You've got twenty more laps to go, and if you don't finish soon, so help me, I'll send one of my snakes to bite you in your slow ass!" Anko shouted. Naruto, who was carrying a heavy log on his shoulders while running laps on the stream that ran near their training area, merely grunted.

His breath came in short gasps, and it felt like knives were being driven through his lungs.

Naruto grunted with exertion as he picked up his pace. After a month training under her, he knew his sensei well enough to know she was perfectly happy carrying out her threat.

He'd been at the grueling combination of strength and chakra training for what felt like an hour, and it wasn't anywhere near the first exercise he'd been made to do that day. But that was just part and parcel of Anko's training methods. If you asked him to describe them in one word, it would be hell. The woman seemed to draw a sick pleasure in pushing him and his teammates to their physical, mental, and emotional limits every day. Every single exercise she had them do seemed to require ridiculous amounts of focus and endurance. If you lagged behind somehow, you were likely to have a kunai or shuriken thrown in your direction as encouragement to work harder.

The one who struggled the most was Yakumo, who wasn't that strong to begin with.

As Naruto worked to complete his set of exercises, he could see his teammates doing exercises on their own in the main clearing. Sai was running through an obstacle course while being forced to use his Super Beast Scroll to avoid traps. Poor Yakumo, on the other hand, had to deal with a couple of Anko's clones throwing shuriken at her while she clung to a tree, and tried to cast a genjutsu on them.

Naruto grunted as he completed yet another lap up the stream. He turned right around and went back the way he came. Fifteen more to go. His muscles felt like they were on fire, but he had to endure it. He drowned himself in the repetition of the exercise, and before he knew it, his sensei was calling a stop to their training.

"Alright, that's enough you guys. Now gather round." She called. Naruto tossed his burden onto the bank of the stream, to land with a dull thump, and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, it was over. After a second's rest he trotted over to where his sensei and teammates had gathered. Both of them were visibly exhausted, but Yakumo's was the worst for wear. She was kneeling on the ground. Her hair was matted with sweat, and her breath came in rasping gasps. This was nothing new. Often, Yakumo would struggle with the physical exercises, similar to how she did in the Academy.

Their sensei swept her gaze over them appraisingly. "Not too shabby, though you all need to get faster in completing the exercises." Anko commented. She tilted her head back to take a look at the sun, which was hanging low in the sky. "I think that will be all for today. Tomorrow is ninjutsu day, we'll continue to work on mastering your elements. Make sure to get some rest, especially you, Yakumo." She ordered.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "You got it, Anko-sensei," He said. Yakumo and Sai more or less agreed, and Anko grinned.

"Well, then I'm outta' here. There's a plate of dango that has my name on it!" Anko cheered. A second later she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

As soon as their sensei was out of sight, Naruto sagged forward in relief. He sat down and began to remove his training weights. His teammates did the same on either side of him. When they were finally removed, Naruto sighed contentedly.

"Man, that's a relief. These weights are killer." He said. Yakumo nodded in agreement beside him. The three of them sat in silence for a few moments, and soaked in the relief of being finished. After a while though, Naruto glanced up at the sky. It had to be around five in the afternoon. "Hmm, I think I'll dash back home and take a shower," He said musingly. Idly, he pulled his sweat-drenched shirt away from his body. The stickiness was somewhat bothersome. He stood up, and stretched his arms above his head with a groan. Already his muscles were beginning to get stiff from his short time sitting down. "Ugh, I think I'll go out for dinner afterwards." He muttered. "What about you guys, wanna join me for dinner?" Naruto asked.

Sai politely declined. He mentioned something about needing to finish a drawing. Yakumo, though, nodded, and gave him a tired smile. It was still a little unusual seeing her show emotions. "Sure, I'm too tired to cook anyways," She said.

"Cool, do you know where Ichiraku's Ramen is?" He asked. Naruto grinned when she nodded. "Then let's meet there in say, an hour."

"Sounds good." She replied.

It didn't take Naruto very long to get home. Despite how tired he was from the workout; he was still able to make his way back to his home in the Senju Compound rather quickly. The miracles of roof hopping. The Senju Compound was a rather old mansion on the south-west side of the village. It was built when the village was founded, and despite its name, it was really only one building with enough rooms to fit about twelve people, with a few bathrooms, a kitchen, library, and dining and family rooms. There were a few other rooms that were used for storage, but that was it. The rest of the forest surrounded property was walled in, and had a personal training ground and garden within its grounds. It was really only a place for the head of the clan and their family to live.

He showered quickly. The relatively short wash left his skin slightly tingling as he got dressed again. Within twenty minutes he was washed and dressed, and headed to meet Yakumo.

In the time it had taken him to shower, the sun had begun to dip below the horizon. The sky was painted with a beautiful conflagration of burnt orange, with a few streaks of reddish-pink where the light reflected off a cloud. It was a little nippy out, but Naruto didn't notice it much as he took his time on the way to Ichiraku's. His mood was slightly dampened when he caught a few drifts of whispered conversation as he passed by two ladies in their twenties.

"That's him, right? He's the one, the son of the Fourth." One of them whispered.

"Yeah, that's him." Her friend replied.

"Still, do you think he can be trusted, I mean he does have the—" The first woman began to say, but she was quickly cut off by her friend.

"Shhhh, you know we're not supposed to talk about that."

The rest of the conversation faded away as they passed out of his range of hearing. Naruto sighed. Even after his heritage became known, many people still didn't trust him. Not even his excellent performance in the Academy won that many over. It's like no matter what I do, I still have to prove myself. It was kind of depressing.

Those morbid thoughts were driven from his mind quickly, though, when he caught sight of a familiar stand up ahead. It was a two-story building, made of sturdy wood, with a blue roof on the first story. Stools lined the front, with flaps over the entrance-way that had 'Ichiraku' written on them. The pleasant aroma of rich broth drifted through the air and tantalized his senses.

Unconciously, Naruto picked up his pace. Before he knew it he was at the stand, and he eagerly pushed aside the flap and ducked inside. Behind the counter, Teuchi –an middle aged man with graying hair who wore a chef's hat with a white robe with folded sleeves.

"Well I'll be, if it isn't Naruto. Sure has been a while," He greeted. "There's a young lady here who says she's waiting for someone, I don't suppose that's you?"

Naruto blinked, and his gaze turned to the only other person in the booth. It was Yakumo. She was sitting on one of the bar stools with a glass of water and a menu in front of her. Her training gear had been traded out for a simple sleeve-less white blouse and a moss-green button up skirt.

"Oh, hey, you made it here before me. I hope you haven't been waiting long." He said.

Yakumo shook her head. "No, I've only been here about ten minutes."

From his spot at the counter, Teuchi chuckled. "Well, are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to sit down and order some food?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out childishly, but he took a seat next to Yakumo nonetheless. "Have you two been introduced?" He asked her. When she shook her head no, he grinned, and replied, "Well, then allow me. Teuchi, this here is my teammate Yakumo," he said, as he gestured to the girl next to him.

"Pleased to meet you,"

"And Yakumo, this is old man Teuchi, he runs this place with his daughter Ayame," Naruto paused. For the first time, he noticed that the brunette girl was missing from the booth. He turned to Teuchi with a quizzical expression on his face. "Hey, speaking of Ayame, where is she? She's usually here this time of night."

"Oh, she's in back taking inventory, I'll call her out here so she can take your orders," Teuchi said. He went over and poked his head through a door in the back. "Hey Ayame, take a break from that, we've got customers who need their order taken."

There was a muffled shout from the back, and a few seconds later, a girl in her late teens with dark brown hair and big, dark eyes came out of the back. She wore a white robe with folded sleeves and a blue apron, with a white bandana keeping her hair out of her eyes.

As soon as she saw Naruto her eyes lit up.

"Hey Naruto, it's good to see you," She greeted cheerfully Her eyes then strayed to Yakumo. "Oh, and who is this?" Ayame asked. There was a familiar mischievous glint in her eyes when Yakumo shyly introduced herself.

"Um, I'm Yakumo, Naruto's teammate," She said.

It was all Naruto could do to hold in a groan when he saw the mischievous glint nearly double. He tried to distract himself by taking a sip of water, but that proved to be a mistake. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, although I have to ask, is this a date? Don't tell me you're cheating on Shikako, Naruto!"

Naruto choked on his water. It was all he could do to keep from spitting it all out. He hacked for fifteen seconds, while Yakumo turned beat red at Ayame's words. After a few moments, he was finally able to rasp out a reply. "Sh-shut up, you know it's not a date! We're just relaxing after practice," He protested. Just for good measure he fixed her with a glare, and snapped, "And how many times do I have to tell you Shikako and I aren't dating!"

If she was affected by his glare, Ayame didn't show it. She gave a disbelieving 'Uh-hm', but otherwise didn't acknowledge his reply. Her teasing was nothing new. Naruto had been coming to the shop since before he had learned about his heritage. Teuchi was something like a friendly uncle, often treating him to free meals on his birthday, and Ayame took the role of the teasing elder sister with glee.

"Anyways, how about I take your orders, what'll it be today?"

Although he was tempted to keep up the argument with Ayame, he ultimately decided to let it go. With a sigh and a petulant pout, he said, "I'll have the usual,"

Ayame took out a pad of paper and a pencil from her apron and scribbled something down. "Two bowls of miso ramen with pork fillet, and a large glass of milk," She muttered. When she was done she turned to Yakumo with a kind smile. "And you dear?"

Yakumo stared at her menu for a moment. She bit her lip in concentration. "Hmm, I think I'll have the shoyu beef ramen, and a large glass of water," She said.

"Alright, two miso ramens with pork fillet, one shoyu beef, a large glass of milk, and a large glass of water coming up. I'll have your drinks out in a jiffy."

Ayame bustled off to get their orders, and the two were left alone. For several minutes they sat in a comfortable silence. The only interruption was when Ayame came to give them their drinks. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Yakumo's eyes drooping tiredly. There slight but noticeable bags under her eyes. She looks exhausted. It wasn't a big surprise. Yakumo was always tired after their grueling practices. Although, judging by the bags under her eyes, Yakumo was even more tired than he thought. Still, she pushes herself hard. Yakumo never complained about the grueling training, and in many ways she seemed just as determined as himself. He had the desire to prove he wasn't just the container of the Nine-Tails, or the son and grandson of a Hokage. So what drove her.

He hadn't really gotten a chance to get to know either of his teammates overly well, and suddenly, he felt the urge to do so. Still, better to approach the question gently.

"Say, Yakumo, we've been teammates for a while, but I don't really know much about you. Why did you decide to become a ninja?" He asked.

Yakumo was silent. She stared into her water with a blank look on her face. Naruto felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It seemed like he hadn't been quite gentle enough. Idiot. He was just about to speak up and apologize, when Yakumo spoke in a whisper. It was so quiet he almost didn't hear her.

" . . . I was born with a weak body. I'm sure you noticed, I struggle in the physical aspects of being a ninja," She said. "But still, ever since I was little, all I dreamed about was being a ninja. I wanted to be a proud ninja of the Leaf, like my parents. Everyone said it was impossible, that my body was too weak, that I was unstable. But not my parents. They always supported me, even when I had difficulty controlling my powers."

Naruto found himself drawn in by Yakumo's words. Her description reminded him strikingly of himself.

"Despite all that, I did have one thing going for me. My genjutsu. That's when she came in." The word she was said which such venom, Naruto was taken aback. On the tabletop, Yakumo's hand was clenched so tight her knuckle's were white. "My parents hired a tutor for me in genjutsu. Kurenai Yuhi."

His eyes widened in surprise. Naruto reckognized that name from the day the teams were assigned. "Kurenai Yuhi, as in the sensei of Team 8?" He asked for clarifications sake.

Yakumo nodded sharply. "Yes, her. Like I said, she was supposed to be my tutor, but just like everyone else, she came to believe that my abilities were uncontrollable. Kurenai-sensei went to the Hokage, and she was going to ask for my powers to be sealed. It was only through my father's pleading that he decided to find another way," She explained. "In the end, they learned that the instability was due to a being that was created in my psyche, called Ido. It controlled my powers, and was what made me unstable. With the Hokage's help it was sealed away, and I finally got to live out my dream. That's why I push myself so hard, I have to be successful, to prove to everyone that doubted me that they were wrong!" Yakumo finished with conviction. She looked at him with an intense fire in his eyes that he hadn't seen before.

Naruto licked his suddenly dry lips. He was about to respond to her passionate words, when they were suddenly interrupted by Ayame's cheerful voice.

"Alright, two bowls of miso ramen for Naruto, and a bowl of shoyu beef ramen for the young lady, enjoy." She said as she set their food down in front of them. Her intrusion broke the tension in the air, and both of them turned to their respective bowls.

Ayame looked at them with a narrow gaze for a moment, "Huh, is something wrong? Do you want something else?"

"No, no, this is perfect Ayame, thanks," Naruto recovered quickly. He seized a pair of chopsticks from the cup on the counter and broke them, he quickly dug in to his first bowl of ramen with gusto. Yakumo copied his actions, although at a slower pace.

"Alright, if you're sure," Ayame said. She didn't seem completely convinced, but she left them alone so she could go do her chores around the shop.

Naruto and Yakumo sat and ate their respective meals quietly for a few minutes. It was Naruto that finally broke the silence. He swallowed his current mouthful of noodles, and stared into the broth contemplatively. "Ya know, I totally get where you're coming from about having to prove yourself." He said.

He heard a sharp intake of breath beside him. It wasn't with much surprise that he saw Yakumo looking at him skeptically.

"But, you're the Rookie of the Year, a genius, and your father and grandfather were the Second and Fourth Hokage. What do you have to prove." There was a slight edge to her voice.

Naruto took it in good stride, though, and let loose a mirthless chuckle. "You'd be surprised," He muttered. "People call me a genius now, but it wasn't always that way. Once upon a time, I was just a no name loser, it all changed on the day I awakened my bloodline, I'll never forget it . . ."

And so he began to tell Yakumo about his own past, his struggle to get stronger and his motivation to become Hokage, the pressure to live up to his family name. It felt surprisingly good to get it all off his chest, and before he knew it they were talking more openly. The rest of the meal was spent in pleasant conversation and laughter. Though he did note that Yakumo seemed exhausted the entire time.

Finally, it came to a point where she barely seemed able to sit up straight. There bowls were long since empty, and they had to be on their third or fourth glass of water–milk in his case.

"I think we better get going," He finally said. "Here, I'll help you get home,"

Yakumo tried to protest but it was futile. Her complaints were shed like water off a ducks back. A little ways away from the ramen stand, he asked, "So, which way to your clans compound."

He didn't get a response. "Oh come on, just give it up already, I'm walking you home, and that's that." Naruto grumbled with his nosed turned up stubbornly. Still no response. Huh? That's when he heard it. Simultaneously, he heard a soft thud behind him, and a women's sharp scream split the air.

Naruto spun on his heel, and he froze at the sight before him. It was hard to comprehend. His teammate was curled up on the ground. Her hair was pooled around her head as she shivered. Wh-what's going on? A woman's voice, possibly the one who screamed, snapped him out of his trance.

"Oh my, that girl just collapsed, what's going on?"

His stomach lurched, and instantly he was by her side. "Hey, Yakumo, can you hear me?" Naruto asked. No response. He shook her shoulder gently to try and rouse her, but that didn't do anything either. Now thoroughly worried, Naruto placed his fingers at her neck to check her pulse, and he wasn't encouraged by what he felt. Her heart is racing. I better get her to a hospital.

It was easy to lift Yakumo into his arms; she didn't way much. Naruto silently thanked his former tutor for drilling the seal-less use of the Teleportation Jutsu into him early on. It made it easier to get his teammate to the hospital. Hang in there Yakumo, you'll get help soon.

— ₪ NTDF ₪ —

His arrival at the hospital was a bit of a blur. After the initial confusion of explaining why he was carrying an unconscious girl, a group had taken Yakumo off his hands and placed her on a gurney before they rushed her off. A single nurse stayed behind. She questioned him about what had happened to Yakumo, so they had as much information as possible.

Afterwards he was left to wait in tense silence in one of the uncomfortable lobby chairs. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. All he was able to do was wonder what was happening with Yakumo. Hopefully it's just exhaustion. Still he couldn't quite shake the pit in his stomach that came from not knowing. His wait was long, and tiresome; especially considering the fact he'd gone through a grueling training session earlier. Even he had his limits, and his sensei was somehow able to push them.

Two hours after he'd arrived at the hospital, a young woman with light brown hair in a nurse's robe approached him. There was a pleasant smile on her face that instantly caused his worry to dissolve.

"Hello, you're Miss Kurama's teammate, right?" She asked. Naruto nodded. "Good, my name is Kaori. You're a good teammate for waiting this long."

"I guess," He replied dismissively. "What's the news, is she okay."

Kaori's smile widened slightly. "Yes, she'll be fine. They've just finished their examination, and she's resting, I expect she'll be okay for training tomorrow. Before she went to sleep she asked me to come tell you that it was ok to go home."

Naruto released a tense breath he was even aware he was holding. It was surprisingly good to hear that there was nothing wrong. He idly waved to Kaori, and thanked her for telling him about his teammates condition. Without much reason to stay there any longer, Naruto left the hospital, and began to make his way home.

It was dark out and his path was guided by the lamp posts lining the streets. He couldn't help but ponder on what happened with Yakumo. It was certainly strange, but from the looks of it she was ok. Only time could tell really.

— ₪ NTDF ₪ —

The next day it was grey and overcast. The air was muggy. It carried a heavy smell of ozone that promised rain. Yakumo was late to arrive for training. When she did, Naruto was surprised that she didn't tell Anko about her trip to the hospital. Instead she gave some flimsy excuse about sleeping in. The excuse went over less than well with their sensei.

Once she was done scolding Yakumo, Anko grunted in annoyance. "Alright, now that Miss Princess has decided to grace us with her presence, I want you to get to work. So warm up, lets go!" She commanded. Then a thoughtful look stole across her face and she grinned sadistically. "Oh yeah, and because one of you was late, you're going to be doing fifty more laps than usual. So lets go, give me one-fifty on the double! And remember, it's obstacle course day, so try and save some energy." Naruto was tempted to argue but there was a certain look in Anko's eyes that screamed 'don't fuck with me'.

With no other options, he went along with the extra laps. Arguing with her would get him nothing besides being sorer at the end of the day. The laps were boring, repetitive training. Naruto soon fell into a mindless state of simply completing the exercise. He tried to talk to Yakumo a few times, to try and figure out how she was doing, but she seemed too distracted with the exercise. Fifty laps in it began to rain. At first just a couple drops, but then it began to come down in thick sheets. The team weathered on, and quickly got through not only the laps, but calisthenics as well.

When it came time to do the obstacle course, the wind had begun to pick up. It increased the velocity of the rain, and caused it to hit them at odd angles like tiny liquid bullets pelting their skin.

The obstacle course was something they ran every other day, and it was constantly shifting. It was a lot different from the courses they faced in the academy. Anko was prone to lay trap seals, and attack at random points. The entire thing was designed to force them to work together and use the things they learned and developed in a mock combat setting. With how miserable the weather was, Naruto expected it would be an even harder time than usual.

Perhaps it was his misgivings about running it in the bad weather, but the obstacle course seemed even more intimidating that day, with its fields of trip wires and partially hidden kunai and shuriken launchers.

"Well get to it, the sooner you finish the sooner we can get out of here." Anko said. Her bangs were plastered to her face by the rain, which had also pulled her straightened out her ponytail and caused it to droop. Naruto and the others nodded in understanding. As they made their way to the first obstacle—a large pond that seemed to be somehow electrified, with only narrow logs floating upright to stand on—Naruto could tell this wasn't going to be fun.

Scratch that, it sucked. The rain and wind made it even harder to run the course. Kunai and shuriken that ended up being launched at them would fly in random patterns, which made it even harder to predict and dodge. Not to mention they would then sometimes fly off and trigger other traps that would make it even more hazardous. At one point Naruto almost fell into a pit of skewers when a log structure he was on suddenly fell apart due to one of it's binding ropes being severed by a stray kunai.

But despite all the adversity, they still managed to make it out in relatively one piece. Soon enough there was only the last obstacle, and all out sprint to the finish line through a field of mud where dozens of Anko's summons lurked underground.

"Yakumo, wide area genjutsu, now. Show us where those snakes are." Naruto ordered as they raced towards the mud field.

"Right." Yakumo formed a quick ram seal. Within seconds a mass of startled hissing field the air. The mud frothed and flew through the air as the snakes began to thrash about in their hiding missing a beat, Naruto began to create bone daggers. He threw them with deadly accuracy anywhere he saw movement. Most of the snakes dispelled instantly, and the ones that survived were quickly taken care of by ink wolves created by Sai.

His muscles burned fiercely, and numerous cuts on his body stung fiercely, but Naruto ignored it all and led his team across the field of mud to the finish line. A sense of elation and relief flooded his veins when they finally crossed it. Finally, the miserable day of training was over.

Their sensei was waiting for them. While they stood before her and caught their breath, she regarded them with a calculative stare. She was at it so long that Naruto almost began to worry they had done something wrong. Luckily, that wasn't the case.

"That was pretty good. Despite the issues the weather, posed, you managed to make it through relatively unscathed, congrats." Anko hummed in thought, as if she was contemplating something. "Alright, I've seen enough. I think you guys are about ready to take on a c-rank mission."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. Had he heard her right, their first c-rank? All his exhaustion was forgotten instantly.

"A c-rank, really? Cool, I can't wait!" He said eagerly. It was easy to see his teammates were just as excited. Well, ok, maybe Sai just looked a bit more interested than usual, but he could definitely see an excited fire in Yakumo's eyes.

For once, Anko didn't comment on his excitability. She gave them a cocky grin. "Yes, a c-rank. We'll take it about a week. Until then, our training schedule will remain the same. Now, get going, I'm sick of this damn rain, and I seriously need to soak in the hot springs."

In the wake of the dismissal the team left the training ground. While Sai went off on his own, Naruto decided to stay behind with Yakumo and go slower. He'd sobered up a bit from his excitement when he'd noticed how tired she seemed. It was a little more noticeable than usual—she almost seemed like she was about to fall asleep while standing. The memory of her collapse the day before was still fresh in his memory, so with that in mind, he decided to fall into step with her and make sure she got home all right.

They were fairly silent throughout their walk. It was only when they were approaching the rough area he knew her clan compound to be in that Naruto decided to ask a question that had been on his mind all day.

"So, what happened with the hospital, what did the doctors say?" He asked.

Yakumo shifted uncomfortably from his question, though she quickly tried to hide it with an upbeat smile. "Oh, it was nothing serious, just a little dehydration. Apparently I didn't drink enough fluids yesterday. They kept me a little later this morning to make sure I was completely ok."

"Oh, good," Naruto wasn't quite sure what to make of her answer. If that was the case, why hadn't she simply told Anko that? It seemed like a silly thing to hide. Although it was possible she just didn't want to seem weak. Still, he had a feeling there was something odd going on.

It was almost as if she sensed his suspicion, because Yakumo suddenly turned to him, and said, "Well, my house is just up ahead, so I'll see you later." She rushed off before he even had a chance to say anything in reply.

Yep something was definitely a bit off.

— ₪ NTDF ₪ —

AN/ So there you have it. What is going on with Yakumo? Only I know, and you'll have to continue reading to find out. Mwahaha!

Not much news, so see ya for now.

Next Time: The First C-Rank, Yakumo Under Suspicion!

Oh dear, that sound's ominous.

Well, til Next Time,

RinneTaicho Signing Off!