Ran had worked for the ANBU core since she had turned fourteen passing all of her examinations set forth by the village. Ran had always worked diligently and harbored no ill feelings towards the village she called her home. She would always carry her village with her until the day she died. That might happen to have been today. A familiar sensation vibrated through the core of her body as it always did when a fight broke out. Missions brought forth a wave of anxiousness. However, this wasn't a mission and this hadn't been expected. Warm air slipped through her lips in a sort of strangled cough as she glanced down at her mid-section; about six inches of bloody metal protruded from the chest plate she wore to guard her heart. Things started to slow down. People had to be moving, they had to be running, but she couldn't get a real sense of the situation now. She'd been watching the Hokage discuss trade plans with ninja and royals from the cloud country when she'd felt it. Working for years as an ANBU gave you the ability to pick up on things that weren't quite right. Something about the situation had perked the hairs along the back of her neck. It hadn't felt right. The other ANBU with her had sensed it as well but he didn't react. Within seconds she'd thrown herself in front of the Hokage with no time to counter the attack.
Tsunade stumbled backwards as the other ANBU quickly moved in front of her. He pulled two kunai as the ninja Tsunade had been talking to ripped the blade free from Ran's stomach causing her to shift forward. She felt her knees weaken, the blow had been a direct hit, and she was in serious need of stemming the bleeding. Coughing, Ran whipped around sucking in air gripping her chest. She nodded to the other ANBU telling him to get the Hokage the hell out of there and send someone back for her if she couldn't keep up. Without another sign they took off; the ANBU prodding Tsunade forward impatiently. They needed to put as much space between them and the enemy as possible. Ran turned to face the men surrounding her.
"Guess they left you to fend for yourself?" a man wearing a draped rice coat and slacks grinned.
"I think I'll be just fine." She snarled under her breath pulling her kantana as they rushed her. She caught the one from behind swinging the blade around her shoulders in a clean sliced arc. It bit into his neck harshly cutting deep. Without stopping in the motion of the swing she brought it around her waist and up catching a man that charged her front. It plunged through his stomach and chest ripping upwards spraying her mask with a fain mist. To her right; she shifted bringing the kantana around with her as she turned and her arms back placing her palm against the heel of the sword preparing to ram it into the man's stomach. She was stopped when the man to her left clutched at her braid twirling it he wrapped it around his wrist to yank her back. Without hesitation she reached behind catching the blade against her hair severing the hindrance and the man's only hold. He'd given the man in front of her enough time though. It had been all he'd needed. Although the violet locks sprang loose swirling around her shoulders he'd been able to make her take a step backwards. The man dug a kunai deep into her shoulder burying it into the handle. Cussing she shoved the kantana forward just as a flash of gold shot forward. The swirl of charcoal, evergreen, and blonde caught the man shoving him off and away from Ran. The two fought hand to hand with grunts struggling until the blonde was able to knock his legs out from under him taking a punch to his jaw knocking him unconscious. Ran circled and drove her blade through the man who'd fallen behind her like a stake in the ground. She steadied herself on it coughing blood into the bare back of her mask resting against her face.
"We have to get you back to the village." Naruto said rushing to her side. He took her arm slinging it over his back and neck to hold up her weight.
"Took you long enough idiot." He moved his mask up so that his round crystalline eyes could examine her wound better. He shoved her mask off and took his thumb along her chin to remove the blood. For an odd reason this made Ran stiffen.
"I got caught by enemy on the perimeter trying to keep reinforcements out." He said hitching her entire body up into his arms.
"Naruto stop. I can walk damnit." She winced at the pain growing ever present inside her chest.
"You can, but that risks losing more blood. I need to get you back faster." He grinned down at her. "Don't worry. Granny can fix you right up." Those were the last words she heard from her future Hokage before she passed out.
Ran had been on the ANBU core longer than Naruto but she'd never felt safer than when the blonde had joined their ranks. Tsunade had offered that he learned and trained with the ANBU so that later in life as a Hokage he would be able to better command their ranks with precision if a war arose. It was smart on her part to want the boy to learn but Ran would admit she'd originally been horrified that the loudmouth was distributed to her squad. At the beginning it had taken months to teach him just to walk softly enough that others couldn't pick up on your presence. It seemed that the only thing he'd been capable of was running, yelling, and eating ramen.
Of course they had all known him better as the boy who had stopped the fourth ninja war…but teaching him stealth had been a nightmare. However, as it stood, he was probably the best partner she could have ever asked for. Although he was sometimes, more often than not, a late arrival to the scene…Naruto was dependable and a power horse. Ran had also noticed just how easily she could interact with him, which said something because she didn't really socialize with anyone. She had spent many nights over at his cooking spicy ramen and finishing up mission reports they had to turn in. If she had to be honest, it was impossible not to like him. He was like a radiant ball of sunshine that pierced your could whether you liked it or not. Also, to be perfectly factual, he had really grown into his own over the last couple of years. His body had filled out the lengthy arms and legs into muscles that moved fluidly as they'd spent afternoons training near the waterfall at the edge of the valley. Ran could not count the number of times she'd seen the dobe shirtless now, since it was his favorite preference the moment they made it to his apartment. It seemed the cloth came off before the door ever shut. Ran trusted Naruto like she'd never trusted anyone before because he was open.
Naruto watched impatiently as Sakura bent over Ran checking all of her vitals after they had brought her out of surgery. The wound had been easy enough to close but the blood had been another story. Naruto had offered his on the spot and after searching her files quickly, Tsunade had confirmed their match. They'd hooked the IV up between him and the bag to drain his vein. He hadn't minded. Ran had recently become as close a friend as Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, and Kakashi sensei were to him. She had been his partner and trainee from the ANBU core. Ran was a frequent visitor to his apartment and a hell of a good cook. He could eat anything she made at any time. He'd been slightly woozy having to ask for a seat beside her bed while they'd worked to infuse the blood to keep her stable. His eyes had scanned the sheets noticing they were down to her waist and he'd reached over pulling them up around her chest. The few times she'd fallen asleep on his couch he'd found that she always pulled the blankets up to her neck burrowing down into them like a caterpillar.
Sakura took a moment to jot down the blood pressure and respiration levels of the girl on the table. She caught sight of Naruto shifting from his seat, unsteady and clumsy from giving blood, to adjust the blankets over the girl's body. She shook her head watching as the blonde's eyes glanced over Ran's face. Was he really so stupid that he couldn't figure out he loved the girl? Honestly…men. Sighing she patted his shoulder and smiled down at him.
"Give her a few hours and she should wake up. She just needs a rest." As she left the room to take the files to Tsunade she looked back at him one more time. Although he'd often pined after Hinata with a sort of puppy affection their courting had been short lived. The poor girl hadn't been able to counter Naruto's constant onslaught of hypertension. They'd eventually broken up coming to terms with the fact that she just wanted to be with someone who was calmer and didn't yell as much. The way that he was looking at the girl laying there now was something much different. It was protective, concerned, and concentrated; he just didn't know it yet.