10/18/17 - another revision! I am still working on this story, although its going nowhere's fast. I have changed things so a refresher would probably do some good
-xerna
"Yuki?"
The blonde woman glanced over her shoulder toward a red-headed child. A small hand was fisted into the back of her white shirt, tugging gently to get her attention. The little girl's blue eyes shone as she looked up.
"I... I lost my mom." She sniffed, glancing around the crowd. Naruto smiled gently. That wasn't surprising. The weekly flea market was always packed with people, with both villagers and foreigners. Many farmers from around the land brought their produce to sell to the ever-growing population of the Village Hidden in the Grass.
The air buzzed with chatter, and if one listened close enough, you could hear the yelling of customer trying to claim they were being ripped off. Naruto was a bit ashamed that she had done it as well, expect, she was actually being ripped off. No one paid 100 ryo for only six apples. Being the only apple seller in town had in advantages, but the old fart thought he could get away with raising the price just because of it.
"Alright, what do you say about getting a bird's eye view on the place?" She asked Yuki, who nodded their head eagerly. The woman crouched down, lifting Yuki from under her arms, and placed her on her shoulders. "Up we go! Hold on tight," She kept her hands in the air, so the girl could keep herself balanced.
The four year old giggled from above Naruto's head. "Go that way!" She commanded, kicking her leg to the right. Naruto complied with child, heading whichever way she wanted to go.
Once every few minutes, she wanted to be put down, so she could look at little trinkets people were selling. Naruto didn't find much need for them, but children loved to get new things. One things for sure, the nin would be going home with a lighter wallet.
The woman was sure that Yuki wasn't even keeping an eye out for her mother, and it was possible that she had already left. Akane was a wonderful person, but she was wasn't sure about a mother. Being a single mother lead to all kinds of stresses, and they just kept piling up for her. With Yuki turning five soon, she would need to fill out registration forms, buy supplies and new clothing for school.
In honesty, Naruto pitied her. One person can't do everything on their own, so Naruto always popped by just in case there was something she could do. It was usually running an errand, or picking Yuki up from a friend's house. Once she even offered to clean the house for Akane, as she was scrambling to pay her bills.
Akane was forgetful of her only daughter, leaving her behind after they shopped, or even neglecting her at home. Though, Yuki never blamed her mother. Naruto found it odd that when she asked the child if the little attention she received from her was bothering her, she shook her head. She told Naruto that she understood some of what her mother was going through, and that when she got older, she would help Akane the best she could. The woman could tell a lie from a mile away, but didn't bring it up again.
After Yuki was done with her shopping, they left the flea market. Naruto hadn't gotten what she gone for, so she would return after she dropping Yuki off at her house.
Yuki had climbed off the shinobi's shoulders, and was now walking alongside of her. With a bag full of Yuki's new things in one hand, and Yuki in the other, they made their way down the street. The girl was being awfully quiet, quite the contrast to her regular behaviour.
"Something on your mind?" She asked nonchalantly, keeping her blue eyes on the road.
Silence.
Naruto waited. A minute passed and a sigh escaped her. The woman stopped in her tracks and crouched down to be at eye level with the child. "Yuki, you're never like this. What's wrong?"
"Naru.." The redhead started. "I don't want to go home."
This was not all that shocking to Naruto. A child didn't want to go to a place where they were mostly forgotten about? Naruto understood her feelings. Instead of prying into the reasons why, she got up wordlessly and took Yuki's hand again. "Wha-? Where are we going?"
"A magical place where there are no parents." She said, dragging Yuki along as she jogged down the dirt street.
A laugh erupted from the girl. "Akarui!" Naruto looked over her shoulder, giving the child a sun-powered smile.
As the door opened, it struck the bell above it, alerting her friend to their presence.
"Welcome to the Akiyama Supply Store!" A faint voice called out from the back room. "Uh- I'll be with you it just a minute. It's a bit hectic back here," Sheepish laughter followed her call.
The duo said nothing in answer, instead they waited in silence for the woman to appear. Yuki peeked into the candy case, which Naruto promptly dragged her from. The blonde had bought the girl far too many things today, and she needed some money to pay for her bills. The woman would have to go check for missions soon, as the supply stuffed under her mattress was running out.
She hopped up onto the counter, watching Yuki as she went around the store. Naruto listened to the sounds of her friend moving things around in back area, and then to her footsteps approaching her. "Sorry about that, I jus-" Akarui's sentence stopped midway. "Oh, it's you."
Naruto looked over her shoulder at her scowling friend, grinning. "It that any way to greet me? It's nice to see you too."
Akarui looked exhausted. Her brown hair looked messier than usual, and was pulled up into a bun. It must have been hours ago that she put it up, because a lot of it had pulled itself out of the elastic. Her yellow eyes were droopy, evidence that she hadn't gotten enough sleep for a few days. Sweat had beaded out of her forehead, trailing down her dark skin. A green apron was hanging off her neck, covering her purple tank top and black shorts.
"I'm here too!" Yuki piped up, throwing her arms on top of the counter. Akarui gave her a half-smile, ruffling the girl's short red hair. Yuki immediately ran her hands over her scalp, smoothing out any short hairs that Akarui might had pushed out of place.
"Well, a good thing came out of your visit, Naruto." Akarui stuck her tongue out at the blonde, who feigned offence. "How you liking the haircut, Yuki? I didn't do that bad of a job,"
Around a week ago, Yuki had been complaining on how her long hair kept getting in her way of playing with the kids, so Akarui cut it for her. It wasn't the best job in the world, but it was good enough for the little girl. Akarui had snipped it off pretty short, she was now sporting how boys usually had it cut. But it didn't seem to bother Yuki at all, and it looked cute on her.
"Mom wasn't too happy when I got home, but she doesn't mind it now. I love it!" Yuki exclaimed, twirling around.
Akarui laughed. "Alright, how bout you go pick out some candy from the case, and I'll let you have it,"
Naruto smiled as she watched the girl's face light up. Yuki nodded briskly, and skipped toward the glass case.
As soon as Yuki began to peer into the case, hands planted on the glass as she leaned forward, Akarui turned to her. "Come with me," Her friend turned on heel and retreated into the backroom. Naruto swung herself around and followed Akarui.
When she pushed open the curtains separated the inventory room from the store, she was met with piles of boxes. "Woah... Busy week?" The blonde breathed as she looked up at the stacks. There was five separate columns, each holding around six boxes. One of them had been moved to the floor.
"You could say that," Akarui scoffed. "Thing is, it's not my shipment."
Naruto glanced toward her friend, who looked unimpressed. "Whose..?"
"Hayashi's."
Oh. Naruto crouched down beside the box on the floor. The tape had been ripped off, so Naruto assumed Akarui had already opened it. Not that she really had to look. The Hayashi's owned the weaponry store. It didn't hold that much, and they were always in stock, so why would they need thirty boxes of weapons?
Flipping the flaps open, she discovered more boxes inside. These ones we're labelled. The six boxes on the top of the pile read KUNAI in big red letters. She couldn't be sure how many were in the smaller box, but when she picked it up, it wasn't exactly light. She placed the kunai back and folded flaps down.
"Guess something big is going to happen," Naruto cursed aloud. "I should have went to that council meeting last month." They had accepted her absence, as she had been taking care of a sick Yuki.
"Isn't there one in a few days? I'm sure if you go to that one, you'll get the details. But, it's pretty obvious what's happening."
"It's Iwa for sure." Naruto muttered, standing up.
"And Konoha," Akarui chimed in, making Naruto's eyebrows furrow in frustration. "Should have known it would happen, but I was hoping they'd find the idiot that was sent into the Fire Country." The blonde remained silent, eyes glued to the box of weapons.
"Anyway, I need you to take these to the Hayashi's store. A little labour in exchange for the horde of candy Yuki is picking out." Akarui motioned to the stacks. "I'll take Yuki home, or wherever she wants to go." With a goodbye, she left the back room.
Not bothering to wait around, she grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil from the shelf by the curtain door. She drew up a quick storage seal, big enough to fit all the boxes. When all the boxes disappeared in a cloud of smoke, she folded the paper into her pocket and left through the back entrance.
Iwa and Konoha... She thought as she walked down the street. The tensions between the two countries had been rising in the past few months, but the idiot genin who lost themselves set Iwa into a rage.
They demanded for the genin to be returned, only two months ago. Konoha declared that they didn't have the genin, but would search for him. In return, Iwa gave them a deadline of a month to find and deliver the missing genin.
Konoha gave no reports of the search, and the month was up. Iwa hadn't even provided a description or a name to the genin, and Naruto couldn't help but think Iwa orchestrated the entire thing. The genin who never existed goes missing in Konoha lands, leading to a war between the countries. Iwa always held a grudge against Konoha, though Naruto couldn't remember why. That or she had never learned. Either way, it had probably been the ancestors that started the feud between the two ninja villages. Those generations hardly liked the concept of working together. That concept still holds strong today, much to Naruto's dismay.
On the other hand, if the genin was indeed real as Iwa claimed, what did happen to them? Would Konoha really send out an order kill him? Scowling, she realized that that is a possibility. She never trusted the place anyway. Not after what happened.
Naruto pulled herself out of her thoughts as she arrived at her destination, the Hayashi Weaponry. The Hayashi's were a shinobi family, or they were years ago. Now Kenji Hayashi the only working shinobi in the family. His mother and father were, until they skipped town after having Kenji. His grandmother, Mirai, also used to be one, which is why she runs the shinobi tool shop.
Another door opened, another chime of the bell. Mirai was sweeping dust into a pile in the middle of the shop floor. She leaned down to pick up the pan. "Woah there Grandma, let me do that." Naruto slid into place beside the grandmother, grabbing the pan off the floor before the old woman could take it.
"Oh thank you dear," Mirai rasped, moving to sit on the stool in front of the counter. "My back isn't what it used to be I'm afraid. If only I had some help around here,"
Naruto looked up at the woman as she swished the dust into the pan. "Kenji's not helping?"
She shook her head. "Pah, that boy is never around. I haven't seen him in a while, but he did say that he was going on a mission that could take a while."
"A mission?" Naruto straightened up. "What mission?"
Mirai shrugged. "He said it was all very classified for now. I'm sure he'll be home soon though," She paused. "Anyway, how can I help you, dear?"
The blonde placed the dust pan onto the countertop, and dug into her pocket. "I brought a delivery. It got sent to Akarui's shop on accident. It's a big shipment, isn't it?"
Mirai frowned. "I wished it wasn't, but with this threat from both sides, anything could happen. We could be called to help one of them, we need to be stocked up in case of the worst case scenario. I do hope they find that poor genin though... Maybe we can avoid this whole war. And put a sale on the store." Naruto smiled, looking at the ground.
"So, do you want me to drop these boxes off in the store room?" Naruto asked, motioning to the slip of paper. Mirai nodded in answer.
On her way, she took the pan and broom with her, dumping the dirt into the garbage as she passed. She clipped the pan to the broom, and placed in inside the cleaning supply locker that laid just inside the store room.
Placing the paper on the ground, she began to summon the boxes out. Instead of stacking them like they were at Akarui's, she placed them in rows in the ground. It would be easier for Mirai if they weren't stacked. Of course, it'd be easier if Kenji was here to help. She grumbled.
She brushed her hands on her pants when she placed the final box down. "Thank you Naruto," Mirai said, placing a wrinkled hand on Naruto's back.
The blonde shook her head. "It's no problem Grandma." Now to find out about Kenji...
Naruto didn't get a chance to find out about Kenji as soon as she hoped. Mirai had insisted she stayed for tea, and then some snacks. By the time she was allowed to leave the shop, the sun was making it's decent in the sky. It wouldn't be dusk for another few hours although.
Naruto had another stop she needed to make, but she didn't want to put off the search for information on Kenji's mission. Biting through the skin on her thumb, she tapped her hand on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A cloud of smoke that had came with the summon cleared quickly, leaving behind a menacing looking five-tailed fox.
"Ah! Naruto, long time no see." the cream colored fox said, bowing her head in respect.
"Yes, it's been a while Yoko. Things going well back at Kodai no Mori?" Naruto reached forward and ruffled the fox's fur atop her head. The fox ducked out of Naruto's reach, giving her a glare.
"Things are fine! A litter of kits were born to Ran only last week. They all survived the birth."
Naruto smiled. "I see, congratulate her for me, will you? I probably won't see much of her now." The fox dipped her head in answer.
"So, what did you want? Another errand for me to run?" The fox said, giving Naruto an unimpressed look.
The blonde looked around sheepishly. "I promise we'll do something fun later. In the meantime, can you bring this to Akarui? It's her shipment that got sent to Mirai's," Naruto presented the paper to her fox summon. The fox grabbed the paper's edge with her mouth, pulling it off Naruto's hand. "Thanks Yoko! Come find me after,"
With that, the fox bounded down the street, and Naruto made her way to to the Tower.
As usual, the Tower was less than busy. There weren't many problems in the village, and they were usually taken care of at the council meetings, or if urgent, immediately. A few nin milled about the lobby of the building, holding documents or forums, or looking at the mission board. As they noticed her, they gave a wave or a bow of acknowledgement. As she passed the mission board, she noted the lack of missions. Thus, she suspected the forums that some were holding was their pass to take a mission on from outside the village.
It was a simple system that worked well for Kusagakure. Not many came to the small shinobi village for help, for with the pass, they were allowed to go out and take a bounty mission from a bounty station in the country or outside. Naruto used it many times, as it was easier for her to leave than others.
She stopped at the reception desk, waiting for the leader of Kusa's secretary to show up. In other minute, Azumi, appeared from around the corner, carrying a box for files. "Ah, hello Naruto-san. What can I do for you today?"
"Evening Azumi, I was wondering if Satomi is in?" The blonde asked as Azumi dumped the box onto her desk. The brunette raised her wrist, checking her watch.
"Yes, she should be in. I'm certain she doesn't have anything on the agenda right now, just let me check," The secretary dropped herself into the desk chair, opening up the book in front of her. She watched as Azumi's brown eyes scanned down the pages before she snapped it shut. "No, you're okay to head in. Have a nice day," The Jinchuriki thanked her before heading up the stairs to Satomi's office.
Naruto didn't bother knocking on the door, she and Satomi knew each well enough for her to not really care. When she entered, the brunette was hunched over at her desk, tapping the end of her pen on the desk surface. "Having fun?" The blonde asked smugly.
The leader groaned and leaned back in her chair. "Not at all, these are very stressful times."
Naruto closed the door behind her, taking a seat in front of Satomi's desk. "What's been going on anyway? I missed that meeting a few days ago." And you didn't fill me in, she added silently with a pointed look.
Satomi rolled her eyes. "What isn't going on? The shinobi council stayed behind after the regular meeting, and we've gathered from Iwa's demands that they will be launching an attack on Konoha quite soon. In a few weeks time, we've estimated. We haven't had any reports from our spies if Iwa is building their forces up, but it will come in due time. I believe reports are due in tomorrow morning.
"We've also assumed that Konoha has no clue about the whereabouts of that genin, and it's doubtful that they even exist. Nonetheless, Iwa will be attacking. So to avoid being taken over by Iwa like during the 3rd Shinobi World War, I've sent Kenji to Konoha to offer our assistance. Hopefully, he brings back word of success."
Naruto blinked. Had she really missed that much? And Kenji was sent to Konoha? "When.. When is he expected to return?"
"If all went well, then today." Satomi answered, not skipping a beat.
"I see. His grandmother was worried," Naruto said slowly, licking her lips. "I.."
Satomi reached across the desk and took her hand. "I know how you feel about this, Naruto. I've known since you've arrived. But you can't let this drag you down. I know it's hard, but I believe that you can make things change, even if it take a little longer."
Naruto smiled appreciatively. "Well, then the first step is to face it head on, right?" Satomi nodded. "I'll go meet Kenji, and whoever may be tagging along."
"Be careful, Reiko."
Naruto stood atop the village walls, indecision churning her stomach. Should she go? Could she go? If any Konoha nin were with Kenji, how would she act in front of them? Would she be able to keep her indifferent attitude that made her village hard to read, or would she slowly break down as she stared the subjects of her nightmares down?
She shook her head. Hesitating like this was going to do nothing.
The blonde dropped down from the wall, landing gracefully on the forest floor. She channelled chakra into her legs, giving her the boost she would need.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a cream blur. "Hey Naruto! I'll track him down for you," The fox offered, and Naruto nodded briskly.
"Also, call me Reiko for now," She added before they set off.
The duo travelled through the abnormal forest, jumping from root to root, leaping over ravines, and avoiding hostile creatures. Yoko estimated that it would only be another 10 minutes until they could see Kenji.
Naruto could feel her heart faltering, and she knew her steps would follow. She felt so nauseous that she might have thrown up, if she wasn't forcing it back. The fox looked back, concern glimmering in her eyes. Yoko and her had always had a special connection. She had been the first fox Naruto summoned, but of course, Yoko had been a lot smaller- a pup really.
Kurama had taught her the hand seals for the reverse summon after being promoted to chunin, but he didn't have the contract. He had urged her to do the jutsu. When she did, she was brought to Kodai no Mori, the forest where the fox summons reside. It wasn't hard to get them to let her sign the contract, as she was Kurama's Jinchuriki. A few small tests was really all she needed to do, but they were almost for show.
Yoko helped her get through some tough times, including her nightmares that began again after the chunin exams. The fox and the Jinchuriki were on the same wavelength, Yoko knew what Naruto was feeling and almost automatically knew what to do. She really was grateful for the help Yoko had given her and continued to give her.
"Naruto..." The fox said, returning her eyes to their path. "Do you want to talk about it before we get there? Before there is no going back?"
"No," She quickly answered. "It's easier like this,"
They travelled in silence until Yoko announced that Kenji was ahead, around 20 yards away. Naruto pushed herself to move faster. As the two had switched to jumping along the branches of the trees, Kenji ended up being below her. He was walking on the grass, weaving between the roots.
She dropped down in front of the man, surprise flaring in his dark eyes, although his face stayed stoic.
Kenji was the same age as Naruto and Akarui, 20. Of course, his face held no wrinkles, only scars. One ran through his left eyebrow, and the other cut upwards on his right cheek. His cropped back hair only helped to define his strong jawline. Anyone would say that he was handsome, and in fact, a lot have.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. Even though he could keep his face calm, his tone showed surprise as well.
She glanced around. "Oh you know, just on a run. They were all like 'Reiko do this', and 'Reiko do that'. It was tiring, you know?" She dragged him into a hug, his hands spreading over her back. A tap. Behind. A few more. Scattered from you. He breathed, imagining Naruto's sharp blue eyes watching the forest behind them. He couldn't have been farther from the truth. There was a flicker of fear as she looked over the shadows, a steely gaze quickly replaced it.
Grudgingly, she let him go. With a flick of his hand, five bodies shunshined in front of them. "She's a friend?" One of them asked.
Kenji nodded. "This is Reiko, one of our shinobi councillors."
The figures were more clear to her now. Introductions were made, and Naruto matched the name to their faces, so she wouldn't forget.
The leader of the group was named Kakashi Hatake. His silver hair spiked to the side, and he didn't look like his mind was connected to earth. His one visible eye was drooped, showing he had less concern for what was going on. A hitai-ate covered his other eye, and a mask shielded the rest of his face from the world. She briefly wondered what he looked like under there.
Next was Sakura Haruno. Her hair was obnoxiously pink, and Naruto couldn't fathom why she would keep it that way. But, her hair also stood out, so she really had no business thinking those things. The kunoichi had teal eyes, that seemed to be sparkling the determination. For what, Naruto couldn't be sure.
Beside Sakura, was Sasuke Uchiha. The name slightly rang a bell in Naruto's brain, but she couldn't remember the significance. His black hair amused her greatly, as it stuck up in the back like a duck butt. His equally dark eyes held nothing in them, no emotion at all. Matter of fact, it was making her more uncomfortable than she already was. She looked to the next person, Kurama's growls going unnoticed in her stomach.
The fourth team member was a man named Sai. Like Sasuke, his eyes held nothing. His smile looked as if it had been pasted onto his face. The only thing that stood out about the brunette was that he needed to spend more time in the sun.
The last shinobi to be introduced to her was Shikamaru Nara. He looked more disinterested than Kakashi did. His black hair was pulled up into a ponytail (if she could call it that) at the top of his head, and it spiked out. Essentially, he reminded Naruto of a pineapple.
They all sported the standard Konoha dress. Flak jacket and all. Overall, she wasn't impressed. She could feel her fears melting away. If this is what Konoha had sent, then there was no way they were after her. There wasn't an ulterior motive to their mission, as far as she could tell. There was no sign of recognition from any of them- though she wouldn't expect them to anyways. She had left young and never made any friends in their village.
From above, Yoko finally came down. Immediately, blades were drawn by the Konoha nin. Hurriedly, Naruto scooped the fox up the best she could, not caring how big or heavy she was, unsaid threats flashing to life into her eyes.
"The fox is friendly," Kenji informed, motioning for them to put their weapons away. "This is Yoko, Reiko's summon." Yoko nuzzled against Naruto's chin before wiggling out of her arms.
"A fox summon? I didn't think they existed." Sasuke commented, and Yoko glanced at him.
"Of course we exist, you idiot. What are they telling you in school these days anyway?" The fox said. Naruto sighed. I should have known this would happen... Yoko had a tendency to be rude to people. Especially people from Konoha.
"I don't go to the academy anymore." Sasuke said, looking slightly offended.
"Could have fooled me," Yoko said offhandedly. Sakura covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing her laughter.
"Ah, pardon Sasuke. We've never seen a fox with five tails before, so we were just surprised." She supplied, yanking Sasuke back by the collar of his flak jacket.
"Fox summons usually have 1 to 8 tails." The fox sniffed, weaving her body between Naruto's legs.
"Hmm? Why's that?" Sakura asked, crouching down so she could be closer to eye level with Yoko.
"Our number of tails dictates our power level." She explained in a bored manner, like they should have known this already.
"Oh? And how many tails does the strongest fox have?" The pinkette laughed lightly. Naruto's smile slid from her face, paling at the words that would leave Yoko's mouth next.
"Nine." The fox said nonchalantly. Sakura stared at the fox in front of her, mouth agape. "But he's long gone now. I think it's been over 100 years since he's last returned to the forest." A lie, but it would have been worse if she had said last month.
Naruto nudged Yoko with her toes, shaking her head at the fox when she looked back. "Oh! Sorry, I forgot about that... incident." Yoko apologized, bowing.
"Ah, that's fine," Kakashi spoke for the first time, leaning down to pat Yoko's head. "It's been a long time after all."
Kenji coughed, glancing up into the trees. "Leader-sama is expecting us back, so we really shouldn't wait around much longer." With murmurs of agreement, they were back on the move.
Naruto and Yoko travelled with the group back to the village. Her and the summon trailed behind the squad of Konoha nin. The blonde pulled on Yoko's tail, giving her a sharp look.
"Why did you have to mention him?" She whispered harshly to her friend.
Yoko grimaced. "It slipped out, I'm sorry. It a habit of mine."
Naruto sighed, looking back up at the nin's backs. "Hopefully none of them know about.. you know."
Yoko nodded. "I'll be more careful from now on. Alright?"
Careful was all they could be from here on out.