Kusari no Naruto

Twenty Fourth Link

Haku had never seen Naruto so focused before, not in this way. He always had an intensity about him, yes, but it was an emotional thing. He turned his fury into a blade, transformed irritation into amusing revenge, and squeezed every last drop he could out of his brief excitements. On the battlefield though, he was wild and uncontrolled. His chains always felt like separate living entities that went along with the blond's whims because they found them just as amusing as he did.

That Naruto was gone. For months he had thrown himself into rigorous training like she had never seen. He barely even took missions anymore, save for the ones Jiraiya managed to drag him along on. Ever since that strange conversation they shared, he had seemed… unsatisfied. He no longer looked at his chains as beautiful instruments of slaughter, but as the Chakra constructs… the tools, they were supposed to be.

They were even more dangerous for it.

He was duelling Nezumi. Haku had met Naruto's sensei/teammates – he referred to them interchangeably, and it was a suitably complex relationship to match – and found them likable enough. Saru especially seemed happy to give her little pointers, even sharing what he knew of the Yuki clan before they had been wiped out in the bloodline purges. It wasn't much, he had only met them in conflict after all, but it gave her a few ideas for some new techniques.

Tako she could have done without, but after dealing with Jiraiya's antics, the man's perversions seemed tame in comparison. Kuma on the other hand, was a delight. She found his childlike innocence refreshing. She supposed, coupled with his ability to discuss killing like a toddler might talk about breaking his toys, she should have found him disturbing. But ignoring him would have been like neglecting a child.

Plus, he always complimented her ice, calling it pretty, or sparkly. Her father had found it abhorrent. Zabuza had thought it useful. The demon brothers said that it was an unfair advantage. Naruto only ever said it had made her a pain to catch – although, that was a compliment from him in its own way. She had never had somebody simply… like it.

Nezumi on the other hand, she didn't know what to think of the woman. She was reserved, but not reticent. She was undoubtedly beautiful, but Naruto's relationship with her was more like a particularly unruly younger brother. Haku wasn't even sure the woman realised how attractive she was, with her lithe, buxom figure.

Naruto certainly wasn't paying it any head as he mercilessly moved forward. His footwork was like that of a swordsman, although he held no blade. Instead, his chains rose up around him in curved arcs, like a sideways insect. Before, they had always held an animalistic quality, swaying about as though alive. Now though, now they resembled fearsome weapons, poised to strike. They still swayed, but not with wasteful, intimidating movements. They were simply accounting for the possible gaps in the blond's guard.

Fighting Naruto had always been a scary notion. Now though, it looked downright terrifying. He had even changed his appearance to match, ditching the mis-matched outfit he had pulled together all those months ago. Now he wore a utilitarian grey vest over his fishnet shirt, and his collarless Jounin jacket over that – still left open of course. She could see the ANBU influences in the outfit, but it was softened, tempered… not as rigid. It wasn't a uniform, it was a choice.

Nezumi stepped in, sword flashing forward so fast it left a silvery trail across Haku's vision. Naruto stepped into the movement, three of his chains lashing forward in perfect synchronisation. The first slapped the flat of the woman's blade, normally not enough to divert a strike as strong as Nezumi's, but the second struck a fraction of a second later. Like two wavelengths constructively interfering, the strength of the blow was exponentially increased and Nezumi was forced to spin the attack into a sweeping strike at the teen's base.