It is called the Choice.  Many do not know it.  Those who do don’t consider it.  They do not ask.  They are unwise.  What is worse is that it can over you without your knowing, and that you are forced to carry the burden for the rest of your life.  You will lose yourself because of it and there is nothing you can do to erase the past.  The only thing you can do is learn from it, only to prevent it from happening again.  Perhaps then, you will understand…

                                                        the Choice


Six months had passed since Naruto’s incident outside of Konoha village, deep in the forest.  He didn’t remember much, but saw bits and fragments of the incident; running frantically through the forest while their was someone chasing after him.  Out of breath, he collapsed next to a tree, worried about what may have happened next, yet in the darkest of shadows, he found the littlest bit of light.  Unsure of it at first, for there was a terrible feeling about the light, as he growled like a monster, or something far worse.  In taking the lights essence, its protection, Naruto was saved from his pursuers and found himself returned home.  He believed that it was the light that had saved him from his horrifying endeavor, but some things are not always what they seem to be.

In the past six months, Konoha village was holding the Chunin exams.  Many ninjas came from far and wide to participate.  The competition was fierce; many styles were performed, as well as original ones.  The tournament was the last even held for the exam, which had lasted until sunset.  Most battles lasted for hours, until only five ninjas were finally chosen, each from Konoha village.  Naruto watched the entire thing atop of roof of the Third Hokage’s personal box, far from the crowd.  He watched the entire thing, with his orange jacket draping over his shoulders, trying to keep warm from the coming-winter wind.

“Congratulations, graduates” the Third Hokage shouted.  “You are now the new Chunin ninjas!”  And the crowd roared.  In the midst of the roars and applause, Naruto stood up and looked at the crowd and the ninjas, basking in their glory, wondering what would it be like for him, if he ever became a ninja, at least.  Naruto jumped from the roof and landed safely on the ground, making his way home.  As he walked into his apartment, Naruto grabbed his weaponry and martial arts, along with his new shuriken and kunai holster, strapping it to his leg.

Naruto journeyed all the way to the stone shrine where the names of fallen ninjas of inscribed.  There were three target logs posted up.  Lucky him.  He didn’t feel comfortable going out to the forest again, at least, not for a while.  He set his jacket to the ground, using his martial arts scroll as a weight, while he opened his weaponry scroll to the part where it described how to throw shuriken.

“Let’s see,” said Naruto.  “I hold the shuriken by one of its points, pull it over my shoulder, hurl it, and let it go when my arm becomes straight.”  Naruto studied the picture and diagram that showed hold to shuriken as Naruto read.  He set the scroll down and pulled a shuriken out of his holster, holding it as the picture showed.

“Okay, here goes nothing.”  Naruto pulled his right hand over his shoulder, taking a deep breath at the same time, and then he hurled it at the log, letting his breath out along with it.  The shuriken tumbled in the air, smacked against the log, like a ball hitting a wall, and landed flat on its side.

“Agh.  Crap.  What did I do wrong?”  Naruto picked up the scroll and read the directions over again, but apparently, he forgot to read the footnote.

‘It is a common mistake among ninjas to let their breaths out as they throw, along without aiming first.  Here’s a trick: when aiming, it is important to take your time, feel the throw.  When the tip is at the center of your target, take it in as you breathe in.  When the shuriken is thrown, do not let go of your breath, otherwise you will lose the point of your target.’

“Okay, so that’s what I need to do.”  Naruto set the scroll down again and drew another shuriken.  He repeated the footnotes in his head, taking his time, aiming at the center of the log.  His breath took in as he pulled his shuriken back over his shoulder.  Then he threw his shuriken at the log, but kept his breath in this time.  The shuriken whistled through the air as it twirled like a flying discuss and struck dead center of the log, with a well sounding boing.

A great smile masked Naruto’s face, amazed by what he had done; yet another part of him couldn’t believe it.  He drew another shuriken, took his aim, took in a deep breath as he pulled back, and threw it at his target.  This one stuck right next to his last.  Naruto’s spirit was rising with upcoming achievement.  He threw his last three shuriken with exact precision; one above the two stuck together, one at their bottom left, and the third at the bottom right; a triangle crosshair, as it were.

Naruto grabbed his shuriken from the log and slid them into his holster as he walked back to his jacket.  He read through the scroll again until he got to the part where it talked about how to wield a kunai.  In the past, Naruto had seen most ninja wield a kunai with the blade up, but according to his scroll, the best way to wield it was with the blade point down, when in hand to hand combat.  It allows the wielder more speed with the swings.  With frontal thrusts, your opponent can notice where it is coming from, but with a backward thrust, your opponent cannot always see it coming.  It gives you a chance of deception.

Naruto set the scroll down and looked at the diagrams of the basic exercises of wielding the kunai with the blade down.  He held his stance; his right foot behind his left and his left hand out in front while his right hand held close to his chest, grasping onto his kunai.  He swung his kunai in an inward slash while stepping with his right foot.  Then outward with his left foot stepping in front.  He repeated the same steps three times and then he executed three diagonal slashes, both left and right.  After the third slash, Naruto’s body spun at a perfect 180 degrees and thrust his kunai past his left side.

Despite how well he may have done, he kept going at it again and again, until he felt like he truly got it.  Two hours later, Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow and sheathed his kunai.

“I was hoping to get in some with my martial arts moves, but I guess it’s a little late for that,” said Naruto.  After he rolled up his scroll and reached for the other one, as well as his jacket, a shuriken whizzed over his head and struck the third log target.

“Hey, kid, what do you think you’re doing here?” a voice shouted.  Naruto turned his head to his left and saw the five Chunin Ninjas staring at him from a distance.  They names were Tatsu, Susano, Li, Aki, and Sho.  Aki was the one who threw the shuriken across Naruto’s head, and was holding another in his hands, his thumb stroking the side.

“This is our night-hangout, brat” said Li.

“So if you know what is good for you, we suggest you scram now” said Tatsu.  Naruto didn’t bother to answer back.  No reason to get into a fight over nothing.  After a small dinner and reading over the shuriken section for an hour, Naruto manage to get a good night’s sleep, after setting his alarm clock for five in the morning.  After his alarm went off, he quickly changed into his clothes, strapping his holster to his leg as he left his apartment, going back to the shrine.  He got in another two hours of practice then went straight to school.  Naruto’s class was going to practice throwing shuriken in school and he wanted to get a head start.  They met outside in the training yard, behind the school.  While stood around, Iruka was calling roll.

“All right, everyone’s here, except for…” said Iruka.

“Wait!” Naruto shouted.  Iruka and the class looked to the high fence, after hearing four rapid pats on the other side, and saw Naruto leap over the top, his legs swinging over the side and landed on the ground, stumbling next to his class, deeply catching his breath.  “I’m here… Iruka… Sensei.”

“Late as always” said a boy student, and some of the others laughed.

“All right, that’s enough,” said Iruka, and then came silence.  Iruka looked at Naruto and smiled at him.  “You’re right on time, Naruto.  Good leap, by the way.”

“Thanks, Iruka Sensei” said Naruto, with a returned smile.  Naruto walked stood with his classmates as Iruka instructed was going on.

“Okay, class, today you will be learning how to throw shuriken.  I will give each of you three shurikens for those of you who don’t have any.  Now, everyone form an orderly line in front of this dummy.”

“But, Iruka Sensei, shouldn’t we learn how to hold the shuriken first?” a student asked.

“You will, but first, I want to see how you handle it.  Now, everyone get in line.”  Iruka marked the spot where the student would stand, so as not to hit anyone who stood behind them.  The target was a wooden practice dummy with a target on its chest and on its face, standing almost forty or fifty yards away.  The first ten students didn’t do so well.  Their shurikens whizzed passed the dummy or shot down to the ground at its feet.  Some managed to hit the target, but the shuriken didn’t stick.  Naruto was up next.  He drew his shuriken from his holster and took a step to the starting line.

“Like he’s going to do any better” a boy snickered.

“Yeah, he’ll probably do much worse than we did” snickered another.  Naruto ignored their taunting.  He held his shuriken by it point, holding his arm out in for of him, placing the top point in the center of the target on the chest.  Iruka noticed this.

‘He’s actually taking his time’ Iruka said in his mind.  

“Look at him.  He can’t even move,” said a girl.  Then, at that moment, Naruto pulled his hand over his shoulder, taking in his breath, and threw his shuriken.  In the silence of wisps, and in the blink of an eye, the shuriken struck dead center of the target.

“Say what?” some of the students shouted.  Naruto, who was always considered a fool, actually struck the bull’s-eye.  Iruka was also surprised.

“Well done, Naruto” said Iruka.  “Let’s see if you can do it again.”  Naruto nodded and drew another shuriken and did the same thing as before, sticking it right beside it.

“No way” a girl shouted.

“How did he do that?” a boy asked.

“Okay, Naruto, one more time, but this time let’s see if you can do in five seconds” said Iruka, pulling out his pocket watch.  Naruto took in a small gulp and drew another shuriken.  “Ready… set… go.”

Naruto quickly aimed at the target, pulled back his arm, and threw his shuriken at the fourth second.

“Time” said Iruka.  When he looked at the target, he had a surprised looked on his face just like the students.

“You got to be kidding me!” another student shouted.  Naruto didn’t understand what they were so surprised about, but when he looked at the target, he saw that he had threw not one, but two shuriken.  One stuck the chest target and the second one stuck dead center of the face target.  Deathblow right there.  Naruto himself was surprised.  Even he admitted that second shot was a fluke.

“Great job, Naruto” said Iruka.  “That beats Sasuke’s score by ten points.  Well done.”

“Ha-ha-ha, thanks, Iruka Sensei” Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

Naruto went to pick his shuriken out of the dummy and slipped them back into his holster.  After Naruto, some of the other students tried to do better than him, or at least just as good.  By the time the lesson was done, and the class went back to their classroom, Iruka wanted to talk to Naruto.

“Hey, Naruto, can I see your shuriken?” Iruka asked.  Naruto felt like he was in some bit of trouble.

“Sure” said Naruto.  He took out a shuriken and handed it to Iruka.  He looked at the edges, noticing how clear and bright the light gleamed across the edged.  It was much light than the other shuriken Iruka was comparing to and it was somewhat thinner.  Then Iruka noticed a signature near the ring.  He noticed it well.

“Naruto, where did you get these shuriken?” Iruka asked, tucking his away.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked.

“This is a Hatori Hanzo shuriken.”

“How can you tell?”

“The metal of your shuriken is lighter and thinner than most shurikens and the edges are much sharper.  These are very expensive.  How did you get these?”

“They were a gift,” said Naruto, looking him in the eye so Iruka would know that he wasn’t lying.  “I got them a few months ago.”

Iruka believed Naruto.  He would never lie to him.

“Okay, just thought I asked,” said Iruka, handing Naruto back his shuriken.  “Come on, let’s go inside.”

The next day, Naruto went back to the shrine to get in some more practice.  Unsure why, but Iruka gave Naruto the day off.  He thought probably because he did such a great job on the shuriken exercise, along with the kunai.  During his free time, Naruto went back to the shrine to get in some more practice.  Ever since his fluke with throwing double shuriken, he wanted to give it another shot.  His weaponry scroll showed how he could do it, but it was more difficult than just throwing one.  He managed to strike his target with both of them, but only one stuck while the other struck it and fell to the ground.

“Man, this is going to take some work,” said Naruto, walking to the log and picking up his shuriken.  As he pulled his out, a kunai knife suddenly appeared next to his hand, striking the log.  He immediately jumped back and gasped, dropping his shurikens.

“Look whose back boys,” said a familiar voice.  Naruto turned around and saw the same Chunin ninjas from last night.

“We thought we told you that this is our hangout,” said Sho.

“You guys said this was your night hangout,” said Naruto.

“And our day hangout” said Susano.

“Think of it this way, brat; this is our hangout unless teachers are here to train their students” said Tatsu.

“And little bugs like you don’t belong here” said Li.

“So beat it,” said Aki.  Naruto looked at them in their eyes, the way they just grinned at him.  He picked up his shuriken and held them in his hands, staring back at them Chunin.

“No.” said Naruto.  The Chunin glanced at each other then Aki let out a quiet chuckle.

“Very funny, brat” he said.  Now get out of here.”

“No” Naruto said again.  “You don’t own this place.”  Their grins began to subside, their face expressions changing into being annoyed.

“All right, kid, this is starting to get old,” said Aki.  He drew a kunai from his sheath and took a few steps to Naruto.  “Now either you get out of here, or…”  Li and Susano drew their kunai while Tatsu and Sho cracked their knuckles.  “We will make you leave.”  Naruto flinched a little but held his ground.

“I said no.  I’ve come here to train and that is what I am going to do.”

“You want to train?  All right, then you get to learn from ones who are better and higher ranked than you.”  Aki charged at Naruto head on, his shuriken held out.  He came at Naruto with an inward swing.  As it came, Naruto quickly drew his kunai, blade held down, and he countered Aki’s swing, throwing his hand back.  Aki turned in the same direction he was thrown in, coming at Naruto with a backhand, and Naruto blocked.  Aki struggled to overpower Naruto, but he couldn’t.

Then Naruto made his blade sweep across Aki’s, sweeping his left foot at his feet at the same time as he knelt down, making him lose his balance.  As Aki began to tip to the side, Naruto grabbed him by his arm and shoulder, throwing him hard to the ground.  Aki let out a sound grunt as he hit the ground and Naruto backed away.  As he got up, he placed his hand on his right cheek and saw blood on his fingertips.  That’s when he realized, along with his friends, that Naruto had cut his cheek as he was thrown down.  Aki’s gaze slowly turned to Naruto, turning cold, filled with hate.  Naruto felt his gaze and started to tremble.  It was the same gaze he received and feared from others, one of the few things that frightened him.

“Oh, you are gonna pay for that, you little shit” Aki growled.  As Aki got up on his feet, Sho and Tatsu appeared behind Naruto and grabbed him by his arms.

“Hey, let go of me,” said Naruto, as he struggled to get free.  Aki stood in front of him and stared down at him like he was the dirt beneath is shoes.

“An eye for an eye” Aki whispered, and he slashed Naruto’s right cheek, cutting deep.  Naruto winced while the other chuckled, but then steam began to rise from his wound and it began to heal.

“What in the hell?” Li asked.

“What the hell are you, kid?” Tatsu asked.  Naruto looked up at Aki and didn’t answer, returning his glare.

“I said, let me go!” said Naruto, and suddenly, a strong surge of strength rushed into his arms, and he threw Tatsu and Sho in front of him, slamming them against each other, then jumped off the ground and kicked them at Aki, landing after a swift back flip.  Naruto was greatly surprised what he did.  He didn’t even know how he did it.  It was like a sudden action, and instinct taking effect.

“Oh, you’re gonna get it now, brat” said Li, and then he and Susano charged at him.  Naruto didn’t want to get in a fight with them.  He was already in enough trouble as it is.  So Naruto ran while the others helped their friends up.

“You guys’ okay?” Susano asked.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” said Tatsu.

“Come on, let’s get that kid” said Sho.

“Wait” said Aki.  “Let’s split up into two groups.  Li, Susano, you chase after the kid, while we go ahead of him.”

“Lure him into a trap” said Li.

“Exactly” said Aki.  “We’ll send you a signal when it is set and you lead him to us.”

“Got it,” said Susano.  Then the Chunin vanished in a flash.  Naruto tried to run back to the village, get to his apartment where he would be safe, but the Chunin who were after him kept trying to get him into the forest.  Naruto was willing to take a hit from their shuriken, but something inside of him told him not to.  He was so close to the village gate, but one the Chunin executed a ninjutsu, causing a wall of earth to rise up in front of Naruto and then a fist formed out of it and punched Naruto hard in the stomach, throwing him through the air.  Naruto landed hard on the ground, skidding a few feet across it until he came to a stop.

Naruto struggled to get on his hands and knees, gasping for air and coughed roughly.  By the time Naruto regained his breath, he stumbled onto his feet and tried to wipe away all the mud, dirt, and leaves from his clothes.  When he wiped away the mud from his eyes, he began to tremble again, for was in the forest; the one place where one is the predator… or the prey.  Naruto stood in place for a moment, while the wind swept through the forest, making the leaves rustle, confusing him where the Chunin might be.

“I don’t want to be here,” Naruto whimpered, looking around.  “I… I want… to go… home.”  A loud rustle came from the bushes behind him.  As Naruto turned around he saw a pair of faint, scarlet red eyes, staring straight into his.

“To the east, boy” it said, with its deep, low voice.  “Run to the east.”  Naruto knew this voice from his memory.  It helped him before.

“Are… you sure?” Naruto asked, still whimpering.

“Yes, boy” said the voice.  “Now run!”  And Naruto did just that.  He followed the direction of the sun, running as fast as he could.  He tried not to let the rustle of the leaves distract him, confuse him.  Suddenly, Li and Susano appeared, their kunai drawn grinning sinisterly at Naruto.

“You’re coming with us, kid,” said Li.  Naruto wanted to run, but his feet wouldn’t move.  Instead, his right hand flipped a kunai from its sheath and caught it in midair with the blade down.

“You really think you can fight us?” Susano asked.  “You fought Aki so willingly, so why not fight us.”  Naruto wasn’t sure what he was doing.  He wanted to run, not fight.

“Don’t back down, boy” the voice said in his head.  “This is your chance to prove to these fools what you can do.  You have trained.  Now put it to the test.”  Naruto took in a big gulp and took his stance before Susano.

“All right, kid, let’s see what you got” said Susano, and he lunged at Naruto, his kunai held to his cheek.  Naruto blocked Susano’s first strike, holding him back with his little arms, but then Naruto noticed that Susano had drawn another kunai and came at him with a swift thrust.  Naruto pushed Susano hand back and parried the thrusting kunai out to the side.  Then the first one came at him again; Naruto blocked and pushed it away then the second came at him again and Naruto pushed it back with his powerful circle-spin, backing away from Susano at the same time.

He kept coming at him with his kunai; one right after the other, and Naruto just kept blocking and pushing away, remembering his training from, what he read in his scroll.  Naruto remembered reading how easy it is to block your opponents attacks when they use two kunai in a fight.  All you have to do is keep your eyes on the other after you have fended off the other.  Susano came at with both kunai, raising them over his head and came at him straight down.  Naruto countered Susano’s strike and held them off, trying to push them away.  Suddenly, Li appeared behind, both kunai drawn and arms crossed in front of his face.  As he came at Naruto with a dual slash, Naruto’s body quickly slid under Susano’s legs, his feet sliding across the ground

Li sliced through Susano’s armguards and cut his skin.  Susano stepped back as he groaned through his teeth, grabbing his arms.  He looked over his shoulder and snared at Naruto.

“I’m going to cut you good for that, you son of a bitch” Susano growled.  Li and Susano charged at Naruto at the same time then the leapt through the air, coming at him; Li with his right leg out and Susano with his leg out.  Naruto crossed his arms and the Chunin kicked Naruto dead center of his arms, throwing him through the air and hard against a strong tree.  Naruto let out a strong cry as his back slammed against the tree, coughing a few drops of blood.  Suddenly, the tree’s roots popped up from under the ground and bound Naruto to the tree, wrapping around them tightly, making him drop his kunai.  The Chunin appeared in front of Naruto, chuckling sinisterly.

“You’ve fallen into our trap,” said Aki.  They enjoyed watching Naruto struggle to get free.  “It won’t do you any good.  The more you struggle, the stronger the roots become.”

“Let me go, you jerks” Naruto shouted.

“Not until you’ve learned your lesson,” said Tatsu.

“You should’ve stayed away, like a good little boy,” said Sho.  “Besides, what made you think that a weakling like you could beat us?”

“I am not weak” Naruto growled.

“Oh, please,” said Aki, walking to Naruto.  “You are like every other little snot-nose brat, trying to be something that you will never become.”  Aki stood in front of Naruto and delivered a powerful punch to Naruto’s stomach, almost knocking the wind out of him.  “Let’s see you heal from that.”

Naruto only glared up at Aki, staring at him with hate, but then he delivered right hook to his jaw and a left hook to his right cheek.  Aki kept only beating on Naruto with punches and kicks to his face, stomach, arms, and legs, hurting him to no end, while the others just watched.  

‘I can’t stop him,’ Naruto whimpered in his mind.

“Where’s that smart mouth of yours now, huh?” Aki asked, as he kept striking Naruto’s face with his fists.

‘He’s… too strong for me.  I can’t even move.’

“Do you want to stop him?” the strange voice asked.  “Do you want to return the pain that these mortals have caused you?”

‘Yes.  Yes, I do.’  The voice seemed somewhat surprised that Naruto answered so quickly.

“Very well.”

By the time Aki stopped, Naruto’s arms and legs, were covered with bruises and cuts, his face bloodied by Aki’s fists, his cloths almost torn.

“Time to let the others have some of their own” said Aki, catching his breath.  As he walked away, wiping his bloody fists on his pants, a small growl emitted from Naruto’s breath.

“What the hell was that?” Sho asked.  Naruto’s hands slowly balled into tight fists and his arms pulled at the vines.

“He’s still trying to fight against it” said Li, but then Naruto’s arms broke free from the vines, as did his legs, and he tore the vines that bound his chest, landing on his feet, crouching down.

“Impossible,” said Tatsu.  “How did he break free of my jutsu?”

Naruto slowly stood up tall, picking up his kunai at the same time, keeping his head held down.  A deep breath entered his nose and exited through his mouth, along with another growl as his wounds healed.  He raised his heads and his scarlet eyes revealed themselves to the Chunin.

“Come on, guys” said Aki.  “He’s just a kid.  We can take him together.”  They drew their kunai and took their grounds.

“You’ll pay for what you did to me,” Naruto said, softly.  He crouched down to the ground, preparing to make his move.

“Come on,” said Aki and all five of them attacked Naruto.  Aki was first in the assault, following Sho and Tatsu, Li and Susano.  Naruto waited for the moment to strike.  When their shoulders were behind Aki, Naruto charged head on at them.  At the precise moment, Naruto leapt from the ground, throwing his feet in front, locking them together, and executed a powerful spiral kick, directly in Aki’s chest, hurling him to his friends and knocking them to the ground.  The Chunin groaned as they got off each other, coughing coarsely.

“Where did he get the that kind of strength?” Susano asked, coughing as he held his chest.  Aki stumbled onto his feet, holding his chest just the same, spitting a bit of his blood.

“You got some skill, kid” said Aki, panting harshly.  “But you’re not strong enough to beat us.  We are Chunin.”

“Some Chunin you are” said Naruto.  Aki yelled as he charged at Naruto again, holding his kunai out.

“Aki, wait!” Sho shouted, but he didn’t listen.  As he drew in closer to Naruto, he kunai came swinging inwards, but Naruto dodged the side, grasping at Aki’s wrist at the same time, and in a swift move, Naruto stabbed Aki’s arm with his kunai, all the way to the hilt.  Blood splattered on his hands as Aki screamed in pain.  His hand dropped his kunai.  Naruto didn’t seem to care what was going on; only that he was giving pain to the one who harmed him.  Naruto pulled his kunai out of Aki’s arm and Aki backed away to his friends, away from Naruto, as he grabbed his arm, groaning through is teeth.

“Aki” said Li, helping him from collapsing.  Naruto’s gaze continued to focus on them.

“You bastard” Tatsu shouted.  He jumped to the air and executed five hand signs.  “Earth style: Stone Boulder Jutsu.”  Holding the last hand sign, chunks of the earth shot up from the ground, hovering in midair for a moment, then shot directly at Naruto.  He held his ground, with his hands balled into fists.  Then, one by one, he smashed the boulders into dust.

“No way,” Tatsu shouted.  Naruto drew a shuriken from his sheath and threw it right at Tatsu with an outward swing.  In flash, the shuriken struck Tatsu’s left shoulder and he fell to the ground, next to his friends.

“Tatsu” Sho cried, kneeling beside him.  He pulled the shuriken out of Tatsu shoulder and glared at Naruto, seeing how he showed no emotion, and then he threw it at him.  As it whistled through the air, directly at Naruto’s face, the shuriken was caught in between his fingers.  “Damn you!”

Sho got on his feet and charged at Naruto, drawing four shuriken and threw them at Naruto then executed four hand signs.  “Shadow Shuriken Jutsu.”

Multiple shuriken began to appear, flying at Naruto.  But Naruto deflected each and every one of them.  As Sho drew closer, his kunai came with a thrust to Naruto’s chest, but Naruto blocked its path his left hand, allowing the blade to pierce through.  He had no emotion on his face, as if he didn’t feel anything.  At that moment, Sho drew a second kunai and swung it at Naruto’s face, but Naruto’s right arm came up and took the blade’s strike.

“What?” Sho said in surprise.  A gleam of light appeared in Naruto’s eyes and then Naruto kicked Sho hard in the stomach, throwing him to his friends.  Then he pulled the kunais out of his hand and arm, throwing them back at Sho, slashing his left leg and right shoulder.  Sho cried out as he grabbed his wounds.

“Li, ready?” Susano asked.

“Right” said Li.  Both them ran to opposite sides and stopped until Naruto’s shoulders face them.  Executing six hands signs, holding the last, they throw their hands out at Naruto.

“Wind style: Wind Strike jutsu” Li and Susano shouted, and then a power gust of wind shot from their hands, hurling towards Naruto.  He knelt to the ground then leapt to the trees with a strong back flip, as the gusts passed beneath him.  At the same time, more shurikens were thrown at him, and Naruto deflected them back to their owners, striking them in their hands.  When Naruto landed, Aki executed seven hands signs.

“Fire style: Fireball Jutsu” Aki shouted, holding his right hand to his mouth as he breathed in deeply and out again, blowing a fierce stream of fire at Naruto.  Naruto jumped back from Aki’s flame, but from beneath its rage, Aki lunged up at Naruto, his kunai drawn and with one swift thrust, he stabbed Naruto’s heart.  As sharp gasp left Naruto’s gaping mouth as his head held down.  Aki let out a quiet chuckle as he caught his breath, believing he had won.

“That’s what you get for being a smart ass, kid,” Aki whispered.  The others said nothing.  Only saw Aki’s small grin appear on his face.  They didn’t care that he just killed a boy, but something was wrong.  When a faint, and almost eerie, breath escaped Naruto’s throat, his body began to glow with a dim red light, mostly from his arms, legs, shoulders, and head, until it finally consumed his body.  “What the hell is this?”  Naruto’s left head slowly rose from his side and grasped onto Aki’s wrist.

“What in the name of God” Sho whispered with surprise.  Then Naruto’s grasped tightened, hurting Aki’s wrist, until he finally broke the bone.  Aki screamed in pain as his hand let go of the kunai and he backed away, groaning and screaming, holding his wrist.  The Chunin watched as Naruto reached for the kunai in his chest, pulled it out and through it aside, as his wound healed.

“Impossible” Aki screamed.  “You should be dead!”  Naruto was silent.  The Chunin began to tremble as the red chakra began to take shape of some kind of beast.

‘This feeling,’ Naruto thought, silently.  ‘This is… just like… before.’

Aki growled through his teeth as he drew all of his shuriken, grasping them tightly in hands until he drew his own blood.

“Aki, stop, don’t be foolish!” Li shouted.

“Shut up!” Aki shouted.  “I will not allow some little shit of a kid get the best of me.  I worked too hard to become a Chunin and I will not let this kid beat me!”  The moment his shurikens were thrown through the air, Naruto charged at Aki, moving like a swift flash of light.  Naruto stopped dead in front of Aki, pulling his left claw back.

“AKI!” Li shouted, and Naruto’s claw threw itself in front of him.  The sound of flesh being pierced and forced in, as blood spewed out and pouring to the ground.  Aki gasped in surprise by what had just happened.  Li had jumped in front of Naruto’s strike.  Naruto pulled his hand out from Li’s stomach.  His hand and forearm, all the way to his elbow, was covered in Li’s blood.  The Chunin watched in horror as Li dropped limply to his knees and fell to his left side.  Aki just stepped back.  

“No, Li” Tatsu whispered, in shock and awe.  Aki and the others were the same, but were surprised them the most was that Naruto showed no expression on his face.

“You son of a bitch!” Sho cried out. Sho charged at Naruto head on, fueled with anger and hate, blinded by it.  Naruto watched Sho charge at him, drawing six kunai, three between his fingers on both hands.  He swung his kunais wildly at Naruto, grunting and yelling with each swing, while Naruto swiftly dodged each one, swaying and swinging to the side, ducking and dodging.  Sho then swung both arms in but Naruto grabbed Sho’s hands, squeezing them in his grip, then he threw them back, causing Sho to lose his balance, then Naruto swung his claws across his chest, cutting through his shirt and chain shirt, all the way to the skin.

Blood flew out from his wounds and a little splattered on Naruto’s face, getting some in his hair.  Sho ignored the pain and threw his right fist at Naruto.  As it came, Naruto swayed to the side and swung his right claw up, slicing Sho’s wrists, and then swung his claw across Sho’s right cheek, cutting to the bone.  Sho’s body whirled to the ground as blood flayed out his wound and splattered across Naruto’s face.

“No, Sho!” Tatsu shouted.  Susano jumped to the sky, executing five hand signs.

“Wind style: Tornado Blade jutsu,” Susano shouted, holding the last sign.  The wind began to pick up, becoming more harsh, until it created a powerful tornado that was tall as the trees.  As it twirled and twirled, it’s winds cut through the trees like a chainsaw, allowing nothing to stand in its path, as Susano directed it towards Naruto.  As he watched the blade come closer to him, Naruto leapt to the trees, dodging the tornado’s strike.

“Earth style: Vine Bind jutsu” Tatsu shouted.  Vines began to come alive around Naruto and dived and snapped at him, like a snake striking down its prey.  Naruto jumped far from the first assault, but the more he ventured away, the more vines came alive and tried to capture Naruto, but his speed began to increase.  He was almost a blur.  As Naruto ran, he looked around to where Tatsu may be.  He leapt to the sky to get a better look, and standing on top of tree was Tatsu, and Naruto dived down at him, with Susano’s tornado following him from behind.  As he came closer, Tatsu drew his kunai and swung at him, but Naruto ducked under his swing, grabbing him forearm at the same time, and threw his right fight up, dislocating Tatsu’s shoulder and breaking his arm at the same time.

Tatsu screamed out in pain, feeling the bone suddenly tore through his flesh.  Then Naruto delivered a sound backhand with his left fist, following a right roundhouse kick, right into Susano’s tornado.  The tornado stopped as it took in Tatsu, cutting his flesh and cloths as he screamed.

“Tatsu” Susano cried.  Naruto jumped from the top of a tree, lunging at Susano.  He thought Naruto would strike him but he leapt back from him, allowing the vines behind him to grab Susano.  His arms and legs were bound tightly, as much around his chest, grasping at his neck, choking him.

“You bastard!” Tatsu cried.  Naruto turned around and saw Tatsu flying at him, screaming his lungs out.  He came at him with a left hook, but Naruto blocked with his right fist and swung his left claw down across Tatsu’s chest, cutting him deeply.  Tatsu gasped and gagged on his blood at the fatal blow and his body fell to the ground.

“Tatsu, no!” Susano cried.  He broke free from the vines and dived down at Naruto, executing three hand signs.  “Wind style: Wind Fist jutsu.”  Wind began to warp around his right fist as he pulled it back, yelling as loud as he could.  Naruto held his ground, drawing a kunai from its sheath.  As Susano threw his fist, Naruto threw his kunai, stabbing Susano’s fist, in the center of his knuckles, canceling out his attack.  Susano screamed in pain again.  As he opened his eyes, Naruto’s hands grasped onto his face and both them dived down to the ground.

Naruto slammed Susano’s head hard to the ground, breaking in his skull.  Blood poured out of his mouth upon impact and all over Naruto’s hand.  Naruto got off Susano’s body and walked away.  Just then, a strong sense of heat appeared behind Naruto.

“Fire style: Fire Stream jutsu” Aki shouted.  Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw streak of fire flying towards him.  He leapt over the fire, landing on a tree branch.  “First Fist jutsu.”  Aki appeared behind Naruto, swinging his left flaming fist at him, but Naruto ducked under his swing.  The fire swept across the leaves, catching them on fire.  Aki kept chasing after Naruto, swinging his fist like a wild fire, catching more trees on fire, until it began to spread.  Naruto and Aki landed on the ground, both catching their breaths as the forest fire surrounded them, roaring and snarling.

“You monster!” Aki shouted.  “You think you’re better than me?  Huh?  You killed my friends, you goddamned demon.  Now I’m gonna make you pay, you bastard!”  Aki charged at him again, the fire on his fist burning more ferociously.  Naruto grabbed Aki’s thrown fist, squeezing it in his hand, not feeling the flames, and breaking every bone in Aki’s hand.  The fire diminished as Aki dropped to his knees, yelling in agony.  Naruto let go of his fist and watched Aki whimper in pain.  His angered glare met Naruto’s gaze, staring into his scarlet red eyes.

“What the hell are you?” Aki whispered.  Then Naruto drove his right claw into Aki’s chest.  A short gasp passed through Aki’s throat then a dying breath poured, as he became limp and his head held down.  Naruto pulled his hand out from Aki’s chest as it fell to the ground.  The sound of the trees falling and crackling grew more intense, and suddenly a flaming branch fell on top of Naruto, searing his back as he howled.  He managed to push the branch from his back and ran away from the fire’s reach.  Ninjas began to appear out of nowhere from right and left, using Water style jutsus to put out the fire.  Naruto was jumping from branch to branch on all fours, but then he lost his balance, falling to the ground, and slammed his head hard against a tree, landing hard on his left shoulder and arm.

Naruto laid still for a moment as the glow diminished and his fangs and claws retracted.  A few minutes later, Naruto let out a quiet moan and his eyes slit open.  His head was beating like bass drum and his left side was throbbing to now end.  

“Agh, what… happened?” Naruto whispered.  He managed to pick himself up, but his left leg kept trying to give out, making him limp.  He seemed dazed and confused, like a dry spell.  Minutes later, he began to smell a foul stench in the air.  He wasn’t sure where it came from, until he fell to his knees.  That’s when he realized where the smell was coming from.  His eyes widened with fear as his whole body became cold as ice, making him quiver uncontrollably.  His hands, his face and hair, his arms and legs, along with his cloths were drenched in blood, sticking to his skin.  Tears began to fill his eyes, pouring down his cheeks, and dropping onto his hands, washing away small bits of blood.

“Wh… where… did this…?” Naruto whimpered, frantically, his voice trembling.  Then he began to cry.  More tears ran down his cheeks from his eyes, coughing as he wept, making his chest feel tight.  Then he heard a few rustle in the distance.  He turned his head and saw what seemed to be a young girl looking from behind a tree.

‘Sa… kura.’

The red glow appeared again, consuming his body as it growled.

“Run, boy” said the voice.  “We cannot linger here.  Now!”  Naruto didn’t question the voice.  He stumbled onto his feet and ran as fast as he could, with whatever energy was given to him.  He continued to run through the forest, dodging trees that seem to leap out in front of him, until he arrived back to the village.  The sun was setting behind the hills, bringing night to the village.  Naruto became more frantic, as he kept himself hidden from all eyes, breathing and whimpering uncontrollably, trying to keep his crying silent.  Naruto only stopped with whatever cover was given, until he reached his apartment.  His window was wide open and Naruto dived right into his room, tumbling over his bed and onto his floor.  He then stumbled to his feet, throwing his shoes off at the same time, stumbling to the bathroom and into the tub, turning both knobs on full.

The shower turned on as Naruto’s hands slipped away from the knobs and held his arms as he crouched over his stomach, letting his cries out.  The water washed away the blood from his hair, running down his back and arms and legs, soaking his cloths.  Naruto eyes opened halfway, seeing a bar of soap sitting in front of his knees.  He immediately grabbed it in his hands and wildly scrubbing away the blood from his skin and his hair.  Refusing to release his clothes, Naruto tore off his shirt and threw off his shorts and boxers aside, then fell to the floor of the tub.

He didn’t care.  He only grabbed his head, hunching over his stomach again, continuing to cry, as the shower continued to soak him.  He was so scared.  Flashes of what had occurred began to appear before his eyes, frightening him greatly.  Their dead faces kept appearing, one after another, in the order in which they died.  He could hear their faint screams, calling out each other’s names, all their voices echoing in his head, while the smell of their blood, mixed together, continued to fill the room, unable to block it out.

“Stop it” Naruto cried, sobbing.  “Please, stop it.  Make it stop.  Make it stop.  Make… it… st… Make it… stop.  Please.”  When he opened his eyes, through the thin spaces between his fingers, his kunai was lying beside him, with blood being washed away from the blade.  His left hand slowly reached for the hilt as he slowly picked himself to his legs.  Holding it with bother hands, the blade pointed to his chest, Naruto plunged the kunai into his heart, taking in a deep gasp.

  No hesitation and no second thought.  His blood leaked over the blade and his hands, dropping to the floor of the tub, but Naruto didn’t die.  He could still hear his heart beating inside of him.  He didn’t understand what was happening.

“No, boy” said the voice, in a calm, soft tone.  Naruto ignored the voice and plunged the kunai deeper, but still he wouldn’t die.  “Do not take the easy way out.  You are much stronger than that.”  

The voices soon became faint until all he could hear was his own weeping and the sound of the shower hosing him down.  Realizing that he wish wouldn’t granted, Naruto pulled the kunai from his chest as his wound healed to a scar, dropping the kunai to the floor and it slid away from him.  Naruto only lowered himself to the floor, lying on his right side as he held his arms and brought his knees close to his chest, trembling, despite the warm water that continued to bathe him, crying still.  “What did I do?  What did… I do?”

The Choice had taken over him, and he didn’t even realize it.  It always comes so unexpectedly.  He wanted to make the Chunin pay for what they did to him, but the Choice had took over his intention, making him do something he would never want.  There was nothing he could do to erase the past, even if the blood is washed away from your hands.  What is done is done.

Sitting by the open door, within the dark shadows, his tails at still, he watched Naruto cry, whilst enshrouded with fear, sadness, and sorrow.  What seemed to hurt him the most was that there was nothing he could do.

“I’m sorry... Naruto.”

A tear shed from his and fell to his paw.  He cried with him.