Summary: Team 7 is at the orphanage on one of their rest days. The reason? Naruto. Read on to find out what our favourite blond kitsune is up to and how it will involve the rest. :3
Warnings: Don't read is you're not okay with tiny kiddies besting Naruto and Sasuke being over possessive. Remember, I'm not holding a gun to your head. xD
Disclaimer: If I owed Naruto, ask Kishimoto what happened to my money.
Rating: 'T' for Naruto's mouth. :P *Looks pointedly at first sentence* And maybe for Sakura too.
If you survived through that, I'll bow to you and say: "Alright, let the 1st Chapter: 'Into the Woods' begin! Please sit back, relax and enjoy the show!
"Damn you Naruto. If you were going to blackmail me then at least be on time. Kami-sama, I swear Kakashi Sensei's influence over him is worsening day by day." One impatient and vaguely pissed Sakura Haruno could be heard muttering these words and similar others with great persistency and annoyance as she stood just outside the wooden barriers marked as Konoha Gates.
The reason behind her complaints were evident when the person she had been cursing the whole duration she had been forced to stand underneath the blistering heat with only the minute shade provided by the structure overhead to shield her from the worst of the heat wave appeared, dragging along with him two figures that looked suspiciously like one Kakashi Hatake and one…
"Sasuke-kun?" The confusion in Sakura's voice was evident as she stared at the scowling dark avenger being dragged along by her blonde team mate. Sasuke Uchiha, the number one rookie in the Academy, sole surviving member of the Uchiha massacre and the biggest heart throb of Konoha village. What could Naruto have upon him that allowed him to exercise such power on Sasuke?
"Hello Sakura-chan. Nice to see you bright and early." The blonde Kyuubi container grinned and sudden anger pooled her cheeks again. Now that the shock from seeing Sasuke had worn off, she was beginning to remember how they had been gathered here in the first place.
"Naruto…" She gritted the boy's name out with much difficulty. "What in the name of Kami-sama made you decide it was a good idea to drag us all out at twelve in the afternoon on one of our rest days?"
Instead of answering, Naruto stared blankly at her for a while before the light seemed to return to the pure blues that put the skies above to shame.
"You'll find out when we get there." He answered cheerfully as he started down the dirt road stretched out before them, a kunoichi bent on murder chasing after him while the remaining members of the infamous Team 7 selected a more leisurely pace to chase after the duo.
It wasn't long before the path they were on took them into the forest. While Sakura was busy trying to strangle Naruto and Kakashi was reading his porn, Sasuke scanned their surroundings, dull ebony marbles that absorbed every detail of the area they were currently traveling in. As expected, the path they were on had trees lining the sides and the leafy greenness served to reduce the torturing conditions they traveled under.
Okay, he was exaggerating. Being a shinobi had required them to face tougher conditions without flinching, so the hot weather didn't really bother either of them. It was just another excuse to whine.
However, when Naruto broke away from the path to head off into the woods, the team instantly snapped to focus. Mostly, people traveled to other places through the long winding pathways with the only time they did so differently being if they were familiar with the area or had knowledge of other ways to reach it. Judging from Naruto's pace, the Kyuubi container was familiar with the place, which meant he visited the area often. Filing away the observed fact, the team continued to trail after Naruto who once again proved himself adept at traveling at high speed for a long period of time.
Speeding through the dense thickness, Naruto proved the fact that he was indeed well acquainted with the area when he neatly dodged every branch in his way with grace that none thought he would be capable of. It seemed all too soon before the greens in their surroundings thinned out and revealed to them the picture of an isolated home with empty spaces of open greens surrounding the tiny oasis. Splotches of colours decorated the greens at random, appearing to be plants or play things.
"This is?" Sakura's voice was the first to fill the air after the long period of silence and Naruto glanced back at her, an unreadable look in his eyes.
"An orphanage." He grinned a second later as he bounded towards the tiny home, as energetic as you would please. Stunned at the revelation, the rest of the trio followed after a moment, all trying to wrap their brains around the situation at hand. What was Naruto's purpose in bringing them to such an area? Was this where he had lived beforehand? How did the main character in Icha Icha Paradise get his girl? Okay, not everyone was as curious but the thoughts were mostly centered on the sprinting blonde member.
When they got closer, Sakura noted how blank and lifeless it appeared to be, for there was a huge lack of voices and several areas of the home looked rundown and forlorn. Definitely suspicious. Just as the concerned kunoichi was about to question Naruto on his instincts, the boy gave a loud yell and the wooden door slammed open to emit a steady flood of kids.
"Naruto! Naruto niichan! Naruto-kun!" Similar cries filled the air as the tiny specimens of humans swarmed around the laughing blonde, each trying their best to get his attention. To say the rest of Team 7 wasn't surprised would be an outright lie.
"Hi kids! Have you guys been behaving while I was gone?" Naruto joked about, openly displaying his ability to get along without much persuasion.
"Naruto, you're here." They heard a woman call out and all turned in the direction of the voice, a giant grin lighting up his tanned face and placing emphasis on his sparkling blues.
"Hai, didja miss me Tarimuki-san?" The addressed Kyuubi holder grinned as the miniature humans parted to let the happy red head through. Tarimuki giggled as a response as she hugged her long time visitor.
"Kami-sama couldn't even begin to know how much I missed ya!" She answered as she pulled away from the embrace to properly examine the bright features displayed before her. Tracing the 'whiskers' that barely showed up on Naruto's face, she grinned when a sound that suspiciously resembled a coo erupted from the boy's tanned throat.
"Hn." Startled when the low voice rumbled, Tarimuki turned towards the source, her grass green marbles widening when they fell onto the last Uchiha.
"You are…" Poorly covered snickers greeted the new comers, one of whom had her jaw fully floor bound, especially when Tarimuki only continued to stare curiously at Sasuke instead of fawning over him.
"That's the broody bastard I was telling you about." Naruto explained and even more snickers rung out when the air around said 'broody bastard' tensed up.
"Dobe."
"See! That's what the teme always calls me!" Naruto pouted and the older portion of the group had to fight against the sudden urge to glomp the poor blonde and pinch the life out of him.
"Yeah, well, let's get indoors." Someone suggested. This was wholeheartedly agreed upon by the entire group who switched locations without fail. (Apparently the rumors about Uchihas burning up faster than others were truth) Once safe inside the shelter offered by the roof above, the trio of newcomers took the opportunity to glance around the area.
Despite the first impression of a rundown home, the interior was, in reality, quite homey. Walls coloured a pale primrose yellow lined the halls of the cottage and the oaken planks which made up the floors of the home were in a good repair, despite how some of them looked as if they would require a new fixing soon.
The furniture, though plain, were sturdy items with a minute number set aside, all in a near pitiful condition. Childish items which contributed to the overall feel were found in every corner, along with the laughing faces of their owners, some of which were now poking fun at the newcomers.
"Is it natural to have hair so pink?"
"Why are you hiding your face?"
"Why do you have a duck butt for hair?"
Naruto could scarcely hold back giggles as a group of kiddies crowded around the last Uchiha, certain few tugging at his shirt while some examined his 'duck butt' hair and others poked fun at the Uchiha symbol adorned on the back of his navy shirt.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had a murderous aura hanging around him, one which the kids were too naive to notice despite the fierceness which allowed Naruto to sense it even from the far corner he was standing at. It did raised a heck lot of concerns for the certain few who were able to sense it though, namely Naruto and Tarimuki.
"Hey kiddies! I brought along a treat for ya! Ignore the teme and come get it!" Deciding to intervene before someone paid for the deed of mocking the Uchiha with their lives, Naruto successfully stole the spotlight from the silently thankful raven as he dashed into another room, followed by a great wave of cheers and stampeding feet as the many chibi-fied humans chased after the blonde kitsune. When the noise level significantly decreased in their area, everyone decide to let the welcomed bliss prolong slightly before it was smashed into a million shards by the same person who had originally assisted in its birth.
The loud crash and louder yell took care of that.
Caution and worry fueling the steps, the quartet directed their attention towards the fixed kitchen, where the sight of Naruto being mercilessly pummeled by a good number of chibis both big and small met their eyes.
"Geez, what didja do this time?" Tarimuki's voice carried traces of humor and familiarity, indicating that it had occurred often. Sasuke couldn't stop the smirk. Whoda thought that the 'Great Naruto Uzumaki' who was the only one who could ever boast of ever defeating the last Uchiha would be beaten and pummeled by mere children who didn't seem to have a single shred of ninja abilities.
"Niichan wuldn't twell us where twe tweaty wis!" A particularly young brunette grumbled as he ran towards Tarimuki, clutching her long skirt pleadingly, as if begging her to assist them in the punishment of 'niichan'.
"That's because he left it with me." Deciding to save Naruto's ass before it got pummeled too badly and resulted in their inability to return home, Kakashi held out a packet of candies that happened to conviently be located somewhere about his person. What he did not expect was for those tiny monsters to abandon Naruto in favor of swarming all over him.
Oh dear! What's going to happen to Kakashi now? D: Wait patiently for the next chapter to find out. xD
In case you can't read or don't understand what the kid was telling Tarimuki, he was saying: "Nichan wouldn't tell us where the treat is!"
Well, this ends my first chappie. Please R&R and hope I get the next up soon.
This is Rei signing out. xD