Prologue
Naoko shook her head, repeating everything she just said in her head aloud. "No..." she barely whispered.
"I... won't let Him get me..."
She held a giant gash from her hip to the top of her stomach with her free hand, the other one carrying her sword. There were small wounds along her arms, which bled very little.
The rain beat down hard on her body, soaking all the blood into her shirt, and made her shoes squeak as she limped. Naoko watched as she came close to Konoha; the gate about 130 feet away. She smiled slightly,
only for it to be a grimace as her eyelids drooped. At least it was somewhere to hide until she could make her way home again.
She stopped, lowered her head, and managed to let out a breath, "I... hope I... make... it..." before falling on the grassy side of the path. She felt her dark purple headband wobble and fall off her forehead, she still being concious.
Naoko moved her head to look at how far she managed to get. The gate stood proud and tall, the rain beating against its roof. But she didn't see any ANBU guarding the gate. How strange.
At last, Naoko grunted with pain, and curled into a little ball. She felt so torn up -literally, too-. When she finally started to pass out from lack of blood, she could hear footsteps tramping on the dirt road.
"Please don't be Him... please..." Naoko whispered in her mind, and shivered from the rain. But as the foot-
steps came closer, she noticed them as about her age; 14. Male steps. (Thank goodness for her senses!)
"Huh?" he stopped when he saw a curled-in-a-ball Naoko. "Whoa! It's... a girl!" he shouted with astonishment and shock. The boy ran over to her quickly. "Who would leave a badly wounded girl out like this?!"
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, lifting up her head with his hand. He could see that Naoko was in pain. Her eyes flickered open.
"The rain..." she whispered, barely speaking, "It's so... calming and so soft..." The boy looked at her strangely, as if she was an alien. "Uh, don't worry! I'll get you to--" were the last words she heard before passing out.
Chapter One: Explanation
When Naoko finally came to, she sat up, and rubbed her forehead, lazily. "Ugh..." she groaned, holding her side, remembering the wound from the day before. "Wha-what happened? Where am I?" she asked herself, looking around with drooping eyes. She fiddled with her fingers, feeling a silky-soft fabric in-between her fingers. Her eyes popped open.
"HOSPITAL?!" she screamed.
The wooden door then swung open, and in came an ANBU with a cat mask and dark brown hair to her waist,
and a boy with spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes. Naoko watched confused. "Huh?"
The blond-haired boy grinned, and put his arms behind his head. Naoko looked at him strange as if he had grown two heads. Are those... whiskers?! she thought, and raised her eyebrow. The ANBU then left, but Naoko could tell she was standing right outside the door.
"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage!" He shot a fist up in the air. "Then everyone will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody! Somebody important!"
Naoko smiled slightly, only for her grimace to appear again. "Hi, I'm Naoko Tsubaki. Nice to meet you! Um..."
Naruto looked at her. "Yeah?"
Naoko looked down, and then back up at the boy. "Do you know how I got here?" she asked, and folded her arms on the bed.
"Oh, what?" he smiled, wide. "Yeah, sure did!" He made his eyes into slits like a fox's, and then popped them open. "Hey... can you explain everything? Why were you injured anyway? And where do you live?"
Naoko glared at the door, and Naruto followed her eyes. Naoko then looked down at her hands, her bangs falling in her face. "Well... I guess I should tell you. You did save me after all..." But she then felt the presence of the ANBU leaving.
Naruto smiled.
"Okay. I live in the Village of Ice. Therefore, my natural element is Ice. Not many know that the Village of Ice actually exists, because no one can ever find it unless you have very sensitive and strong senses, which I have. I also have the sixth sense, to sense spirits and chakra levels. It's actually very use-
ful. Also, no one really knows the Village of Ice IS still existing, the ones that believed that there was one,
because most of the clan, MY clan, is dead. Most of that was because of my father, and our curse we get at birth. But it doesn't show up until you mature enough."
"Now, the story about my father. I have an older sister, well HAD an older sister. She just got assinated on a mission from our Kage. My father became a psyco-path when I was born, no one knows why. He then killed my mother, but before that, many other people became victims to my father. I didn't know even ONE of them. After he killed my mother, he tried to comitt suicide. Then my Uncle Hachiro died of poisoning."
"After my father left, I was alone. So I lived on the streets until my aunt, Miyako, and my cousin,
Kazuko, took me. I lived with them for 2 years. Then, my older sister killed them after her curse took over. I learned many techniques and curse rules from them."
"The reason I was injured was because of my father, and his shinobis. I had left the village, hoping to make a clean escape, but unfortunately he caught me. So I ran, and he sent his shinobis after me. They're the ones who made this." Naoko pointed to the now-bandaged-up gash from her hip to the top of her stomach.
"That's why I have to leave before he comes here and destroys this village. You're all in danger... because of me."
Naoko pushed off the covers, and got off the bed. As she stood up, she looked at Naruto; sadness and sorrow in his eyes. He could see it in her eyes, too.
"W-wait!" Naruto held out his hands to stop her from going. "Y-you can't leave! You're badly hurt!"
"But you'll all get killed! Because of me!" Naoko retorted, and pointed her thumb at herself. She didn't want to admit it, but it was hard for her to stand. I must've used all my chakra... she thought.
"BUT YOU CAN'T LEAVE!!!" Naruto screamed, making Naoko stop and stare at him. She clenched up her fists,
and gritted her teeth.
"I HAVE TO!!!" she yelled, and punched him across the face as hard as she could, sending him flying across the room and into the wall. She then mumbled, "Leave me alone," and walked to the door.
"No matter," she said to herself. Naoko looked around the room for her clothes and sword. She wandered over to the wardrobe, maybe where her stuff was.
She opened the door, and saw what she needed: her yellow tank-top, her green buckled skirt, her shoes, her sword, her purple headband, and her pouch. She grabbed everything, unsheething the sword. Naoko grinned,
bloodthirsty-like. She then walked to the door, and opened it.
Nobody stood out there in the empty hallway. "Okay... I just have to make it to the bathroom. Then I'll get out of this village," she planned, and twidled with a strand of her hair.
A Couple Minutes LATER
"Okay... now I'm dressed and ready," she said, tieing her headband around her forehead. She stood in the bathroom, examining herself in the mirror. Naoko turned the spicket on, fresh water running out of it. She got her hands wet, and dabbed her face, cleaning off a little blood still left from yesterday on her chin and top of her forehead.
As she walked out of the bathroom, she saw a door open, door number thirty-two, and out stepped a bleeding Naruto. (Naoko had been door number seventeen, which meant she sent Naruto flying back through fifteen walls.)
Naruto gritted his teeth together, and clenched his fists. "Rrrgh... How could you?! Taking out someone you hardly even know!" He then glared so hard at Naoko, she thought his eyes would pop out. She simply smirked. "This is what I do. I choose to be this way, you can't stop me. So stop trying."
"STOP IT!!! You're acting like such a bitch!" He told her, making her narrow her eyes once again.
"Listen to me, blond boy. I don't want you interfering with MY life. So stay out of it, Nosy. I can take care of myself, you got that?!" Naoko said, and crossed her arms. Her sword dangled from her skirt, the cover left in the bathroom. She figured she wouldn't need it, although she would look suspicious with an uncovered sword on her belt.
"You. Me. NOW!" Naruto pointed to Naoko, then himself, then to the floor. I guess he's asking for a battle,
she thought. No matter, I'll fight. She went into her fighting stance, holding one hand in front of the other,
and spreading her feet apart. Then she said, "Let's take this outside..." and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"It's ON!" Naruto then disappeared in a puff of smoke, also.
Chapter Two: The Fight
Naoko appeared outside, under a large branch-hanging tree. The smoke cleared, revealing an annoying boy;
"Naruto..." she grunted.
Naruto just glared at her until she finally responded, "Bring it."
"You BET I will!" he yelled, and charge forward.
This will be easy... Naoko thought, and pulled out her sword. Then she rested her hand on it until he came about 5 feet away from her. Naruto instantly decided to punch, but Naoko reacted by grabbing his fist, and flipping him onto the ground. He looked up in astonishment.
H-how'd she do that?! he wondered, and instantly jumped up. Naoko just crossed her arms.
Naruto looked at her funny, and then charged forward again. This time he made three clones, a total of four Naruto's. "AAAUGH!!!" they all screamed at once, charging at Naoko from different angles. She simply ducked,
all four of them cracking heads.
Then more smoke appeared as the other three disappeared, leaving Naruto on the ground. "You done yet?" she asked, sitting on her toes.
"N-no..." Naruto rubbed his head and stood back up. Naoko just watched him, bored.
"This is getting pretty boring with your weak attacks," Naoko called out. She then turned, and started walking away. Damn, she thought, I thought I'd get a good fight outta this.
"Weak attacks?!" he growled, and charged forward again. Naoko turned around, and watched him come close.
Then another three Naruto's appeared from behind her.
The first Naruto kicked up Naoko's chin, the second got on its knees, the third jumped onto the second's back, and the fourth jumped onto the third's shoulders. The real Naruto called out, along with the other Naruto's, "UZUMAKI BARRAGE!" and hit Naoko in the gut, sending her flying into the ground.
"You..." she whispered, and glared at Naruto. She held her stomach, feeling the bandages.
Naruto saw Naoko, and where her hand was, and frowned. He kneeled down next to her, and asked, "Why are we fighting?!" He looked at her sadly, and looked up. Storm clouds had gathered overhead. He helped Naoko up, and sighed. "Let's get inside before the storm hits..." Right then he saw lightning. Naoko chuckled.
An irritated mark appeared on Naruto's head. "Darn it!" he screamed as it started to rain. Naoko just sat and watched him like a cat. She then smiled. "I don't know why we're fighting," she responded, "I guess it just happened."
"Well, whatever!" he said, and made an X with his arms. "It's getting cold! (It's November, but a warm November to start with.) Wait... aren't you?" Naruto pointed to Naoko, who was wearing a tanktop.
"No. I'm not cold," she said, and looked up at the raining clouds.
Naruto shivered. "Well, I am!" He ran under the tree.
"You know, it's not good to stand under a tree during a storm. You can get electrocuted," Naoko inquired,
gesturing at the lightning strikes and the tree.
Naruto instantly ran out from under it.
Naoko stood up, and put her hands behind her head. "I'm bored," she said, and walked into the streets.
Naruto just watched her.
"H-hey! Wait!" he called after Naoko, and ran to her. "Do... do you live near by?"
Naoko just looked at him. "I don't even have a house. I just spend my time walking, and find a roof to sleep on."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, and turned his eyes into slits again. "So... you're saying you -- don't have a house?"
"No."
Naruto blinked. "That's... um, very 'odd.'" He then circled Naoko, examining her. "Do you need a place to stay?" he asked her, stopping in front.
"Um, YEAH," she said, irritated. Naoko crossed her arms, and watched him think for about five minutes.
"Oh! How 'bout you stay at my house for a while?" he said, and flapped his arms around. Naoko watched in disbelief. "C'mon, it'll be fun! And can you teach me some of your moves? Please?"
Naoko looked at him, and sighed. "Okay, whatever, Naruto."
Naruto jumped around. "Believe it!"
Chapter Three: The Promise