Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Naruto.
Yay!! Another story!! I actually came up with this plot in the middle of watching the episode. "How cool would it be if Naruto kept the clone as his substitute and left the village?" was what I thought. After a dream of this story that night, I woke up and I had this urge to write it down. Read and PLEASE review. Reviews help me remember to update. Thanks in advance!!
"Hey wait you!" Naruto yelled, waving wildly.
The Naruto-clone looked back and turned to looked at Naruto. His face broke into a grin as he waited for Naruto to catch his breath.
"I have something to ask you." Naruto said, hesitantly.
The Naruto-clone looked curious. "What's the matter?"
Naruto looked around. Kiba and Hinata were taking their time saying good-byes to their respective clones while Tsunade was discussing matters with Agari, the maker of the clones. After sensing no one else around, he turned to look at his clone.
"What did you need to ask me?" the clone asked again, growing even more curious after watching Naruto's actions.
"Hey do you want to stay in Konoha?" Naruto asked, hesitantly.
The clone's eyes widened in surprise "Why?"
"Well, do you?" Naruto asked and unconsciously leaned in, his eyes expectant.
The clone hesitantly nodded.
"How 'bout we make a deal? You stay in Konoha and pretend to be me and I'll find a way to keep you alive longer." Naruto continued.
The clone's face split into a grin. "Sure! But Agari will be leaving with us soon. If he doesn't see me, there'll be trouble."
"No problem! I'll pretend to be you and go with them to find a way to keep you alive longer. How soon will you revert to your old form?" Naruto asked.
"We can stay like this as long as there's chakra provided for us. The amount of time depends on how much chakra is provided for us." The clone informed Naruto.
"Alright! I'll provide you with my chakra but I'm not sure if it'll be enough for the trip. How far is Agari's house?"
The clone of Naruto looked nervous. "About one and a half weeks away by walking."
"One and a half weeks huh?"
"I don't know about this…" the clone trailed off. His eyes darted around the surrounding nervously.
"Don't worry! Everything'll be fine." Naruto reassured him.
"Come on! We're leaving!" Agari called.
"Come on. Give me your hands."
The clone placed his hands palm down on top of Naruto's own hands. His body tingled with hunger as Naruto began transferring some chakra into the clone.
"Is that enough?" Naruto asked, opening his eyes again.
The clone blinked and smiled widely. "More that enough. Definitely enough for at least two weeks under normal circumstances."
Naruto's smile stretched wider. "Well then, I'll see you in a week!"
"Come on! It's time to go!" Agari yelled.
Naruto smiled at the clone one more time before running to where the other two clones were standing.
The clone followed Naruto and stood next to Hinata, Kiba, and Tsunade as he waved good-bye to Naruto.
The clone's smile widened. He was finally free to experience life as an ordinary human.
Naruto walked as quietly as he could without uttering a sound.
The air around the group was silent and Naruto didn't dare try to break it.
Agari walked quickly in front of the group. Naruto guessed that he was expecting the clones behind him to disappear any minute.
They had departed from Konoha two days ago and planned to enter to Agari's village a couple of days later. Not soon enough by Naruto's standards.
As Naruto looked at the clones at his sides, he had to remind himself that these clones were not the real Kiba and Hinata.
The clone of Kiba wavered like a ripple on water before settling still again.
Naruto quickly averted his eyes. His stomach suddenly felt queasy.
The clone of Hinata, on the other hand, didn't waver. She merely looked extremely pale. The outline of her pupil had disappeared, leaving only a white colored eyeball in each eye socket.
Naruto quickly turned away. His lunch refused to stay down.
These are not the real Hinata and Kiba. They aren't real. Naruto quickly reassured himself.
Naruto looked up just in time to see Agari sneak a peek at him. Agari's eyebrows were furrowed in suspicion.
Naruto suddenly understood why. He, himself, looked perfect, never wavering or changing color.
This must have been suspicious to Agari since he should have been changing from lack of chakra.
Naruto berated his brain for forgetting the fact.
What am I going to do? Naruto thought frantically. Suddenly he had an idea. He quickly made sure that Agari and the clones weren't looking before casting a genjutsu on himself.
Agari turned around at that exact moment.
Naruto almost gasped, afraid that Agari had seen through his trick.
A second later, Agari turned back around and quickened his pace.
Naruto let out a silent sigh of relief and followed the clones onward.
"Dead-last, come on. Let's go." Kiba shouted.
The clone of Naruto took another look at the gate of Konoha before running after Kiba.
Naruto's clone, as to not confuse himself with the real Naruto, called himself Naru.
Two days had already passed from when Naru had watched the real Naruto leave. Although Naru desperately wanted to believe in Naruto, he was aware that there wasn't a big chance that Naruto could come back or would come back at all.
Naru looked down at himself. He was still solid. His features and skin colored stayed a vibrant tan color. This was all thanks to Naruto.
"Stop daydreaming and come on! We're going to be late." Kiba shouted again.
Naru quickly quickened his pace and raced to catch up with Kiba. As he caught up, Kiba turned and smirked at him.
"Race you to the tower." Kiba yelled, racing off already.
Naru grinned. "Forget it Kiba. I'll beat you."
Thankfully, none of Naruto's friends had found him out. He put on a burst of speed and zoomed past Kiba.
Too bad Naru didn't see Kiba falter when he said his name.
Kiba's eyebrows furrowed.
Did Naruto just called me Kiba? Kiba thought.
Calling each other by name wasn't much to be suspicious about, but for Kiba and Naruto's competitive relationship, they were used to calling each other by 'dog-breath' or 'dead-last'. That had been what kept them so close. Their rash actions, loud nature, and kind personality had drawn them from being mere classmates to best friends.
Kiba had never heard Naruto call him by anything else except 'dog-breath' much less calling him by name.
Kiba stood there, staring after the racing Naruto.
He quickly shook his head.
Maybe Naruto just called me that because he was in a rush to be first to the tower. Yes, that must be it. Kiba reassured himself.
But if that was it, then it gives even more reason for Naruto to call him 'dog-breath'. If it was reflex, the first name out of Naruto's mouth usually was 'dog-breath'. Kiba stared at the rising dust cloud in suspicion.
"The last one there is a rotten shinobi!"
Kiba automatically growled at the comment. He quickly pushed the suspicion to the back of his mind and raced off after Naruto.
