Red Clouds: A Naruto Story

Menma

     Menma sighed. He kicked up some leaves and the magic was lost. He'd been really having a bad day. First he gets woken up at fricken' 5:00 AM and chewed out by Lady Tsunade for failing yesterday's mission. Even though it was SASUKE'S fault for sparing that guy. Anyway, then he gets his ass handed to him by Kakashi-sensei while sparring. Like since when did Kakashi know rasengan?! And then, he got sent out to catch fricken' cats! Cats! And now, Sakura is leaving notes now? Since when does she do that? She's probably just calling him out here to the Forest of Death to also chew him out for yesterday. Menma sighed again. He looked up...well, this is where she said to meet...right smack dab in the...middle...why did she want to meet out here in the middle of nowhere anyway? Why not just come over to his house? Why leave a note at his house and then come all the way out here?

     Menma's eyes snapped up to the trees. What the hell was that? He swore he just saw movement up there. "Uh...Sakura? Hello?" Menma drew a kunai from his bag.  "Hello??" There was a swish as leaves flew out of the corner of Menma's eye. Someone was definitely moving around him. But who the hell is this fast? The hair on the back of Menma's neck stood up. Menma froze as he felt the cool steel of a blade tap his shoulder.

     "Yo what's up?" Menma brushed the blade off his shoulder and spun, preparing to greet whoever the hell was behind him with an elbow to the face. Menma's eyes grew wide as his elbow was easily caught mid-swing. A shinobi, a boy around his own age, sat perched on a branch above his head. The Hidden Rain headband tightly fastened around his forehead gleamed in the late afternoon setting sun. He grinned and released Menma's elbow, causing him to spin out of control and lose his balance. As Menma gazed up at the boy from the ground, the boy jumped down from his perch. He spun his Chokuto sword once and sheathed it on his back, the sword making a small click as it slid into place. "Strong elbow. Would've really hurt if you had hit me," the boy remarked, still smiling. Who the hell was this guy? He was obviously from the Hidden Rain, so what the hell was he doing in the Leaf? And how the hell was he so strong? And so fast? The only shinobi Menma had seen move that fast were jonin; Kakashi-sensei, Lady Tsunade, Guy-sensei... But this guy was his age. Even Lee would probably have a tough time keeping up with this guy. "Well? Are you going to...get up? C'mon don't make this boring!" Menma gritted his teeth. Was this guy mocking him? Menma slowly rose to his feet and wiped the dirt off his lips. This...boy. Menma was going to crush him. 

     "Multi shadow clone jutsu!" Menma cried out. In a flash of smoke, they were surrounded by hundreds of clones. The boy merely grinned.

     "Shadow clones? Nice!" He was still mocking Menma. In the blink of an eye, all the clones pounced on the boy! Menma lost sight of him in the bodies and smoke, legs and arms swinging wildly in the scuffle. But suddenly, a swish cut through the air! What the hell was that?? He didn't tell any of his clones to use a jutsu yet! Menma was forced to squint through the sharp wind but what he saw made his heart skip a beat. The blade of the boy's Chokuto, now glowing a sharp blue, cleaved through the bodies, splitting them in half in a single, smooth swipe. The other clones in the pile were blown back by the force of the blow, evaporating into clouds of vapor. Menma could clearly see the boy's face through the halved clones, there was a psychotic grin spindled across his face and a sick orange-red gleam in his eye. Menma took a step back. 

     The rest of the clones disappeared in white clouds as they hit the ground from the impact of the single strike. Menma stood, again alone with the boy. What the hell...? Menma had thought for sure he had got him. There were hundreds of clones piled on him, all kicking and punching, yet there stood the boy, without a scratch on him. Menma took a single breath...and was pinned to the tree behind him before he could even exhale! He screamed in pain as the chakra-infused blade impaled his thigh straight through the tree, hilt deep, the blade vibrating as it pierced through the other side of the tree. Unbearable tendrils of pain shot like lightning through his leg. He could feel the Chokuto impaling him straight through the femur. Menma struggled not to pass out, only being able to keep his eyes open through sheer force of will. He looked up, tears welling in his eyes, just in time to see the boy body flicker above him. The boy, crouched horizontally on the tree's trunk above Menma, grinned down at him. What the hell was with this guy? Why was he so goddamn happy? Especially while fighting? Menma grit his teeth, staring the psychopathic excuse of a shinobi down.

     "Rasengan!" Menma's shadow clone leaped from the above foliage, lunging at the boy's exposed back! But, in the blink of an eye, the boy slipped his head and caught the shadow clone's wrist, forcing it down! Menma braced, throwing his arms over his face as he realized what was happening. The rasengan easily sliced through Menma's forearms, leaving his hands hanging by threads of his former wrists. Menma slumped forward, his arms burning in pain, resting all of his weight on his one working leg. He panted, struggling to take labored breaths,  coughing crimson red blood onto the grass in front of him. With all of his remaining willpower, he raised his head to look up at the boy, still crouched above him. The boy smiled at him. 

     "Sorry about that!" he scratched the back of his head, as if this cold-blooded psychopath could be embarrassed. "It's really nothing personal y'know!" He drew a kunai, twirling it around on his finger. "I'll make it quick! I promise!" Menma tried to move at the boy but the white hot pain seared through his entire body, forcing him back down. The boy stopped twirling the kunai and grasped it, blade down. The kunai began to glow the same blue as the sword had. The boy looked the kunai over, turning it in his hands, and brushing dirt off the blade. "Ow!" he stuck his thumb in his mouth. "That's sharp. Heh heh." He grinned a dopey grin. "Well. I am really sorry about this." The boy's face softened, the smile fading. "Really," that ever present grin now nowhere to be seen. "I am." In one swift motion, he brought the kunai down. Menma's vision blurred, the boy becoming obscured in tears. 

     The kunai smoothly ran through Menma's exposed neck, as he was still looking up at Naruto, making a thunk as the blade buried itself in the tree behind him. Blood began to trickle and gush from the wound. Naruto took a deep breath and sighed. Menma died before Naruto had finished closing Menma's eyes. Naruto pushed off the tree, landing in front of Menma's now lifeless body. Naruto grasped his Chokuto and pulled it from Menma's leg, wiping the blood on his sleeve. He sheathed the sword. He then grabbed the kunai and also pulled it from Menma's body, tossing it to the ground. Naruto softly caught Menma's body, carefully resting it down onto the ground next to the blood-stained tree. Naruto took another deep breath and closed his eyes. He bowed deeply. "Rest easy Menma."