The land paved out to a flatten terrain as we continued along the path with our bags on our backs and our faces etched with exhaustion. Snow had given way to grass and coldness was replaced with warmth. Passing into the Fire Country was an immense relief to us after such a long mission. Our cloaks still had snow clinging to it, along with our hair. It was a gracious sight to see the trees up ahead.
"Aha! It's so nice now, Naomi! The Land of Iron really shook me up. I can't wait to get to Konoha and warm myself up over a nice bowl of ramen." He greedily rubbed his hands together, his face mirroring the pleasure of being able to eat that ramen.
"By the time we reach Konoha, you'll already be warm. We won't be there until at least another day." I paused, stopping our walk and looking back over my shoulder. We had been walking for a day now, after running for two days straight. Normally I was against taking breaks, and wanted to get to where we needed as soon as possible, but my legs ached with the thought of walking for another day.
"Ah, yes, but the ramen!" His face, lit up with a grin, brought a wave of happiness rushing through me, and I smiled. Enthusiastic as ever, I thought. Nothing could change that or waver his personality.
He glanced over in my direction, then up ahead. His features became sullen already. Most likely, he was having the same thoughts as I about the long journey ahead.
"Let's keep walking," I murmured. Without waiting for a response I walked on ahead. My hands gripped the straps of my bag while I continued walking on the path. "We'll find someplace to camp soon, I pr-"
"Thank you Naomi!" Already eager, he interrupted my words and went ahead of me with a grin on his face. He had no idea where we were supposed to go.
My lips twitched back and a laugh came out. This was what we needed right now; peace, happiness, tranquility. The muckiness of our past was gone at this moment. The sun shone brightly on the marvelous day, giving way to new hope and the brimming future. Despite having traveled so long, with the new thoughts of happiness, I was surged with energy and easily kept pace with him.
Days ago, when I had woken up, I immediately knew that the day would be awful. But seeing him sleeping next to me, with such a carefree expression and the drool pouring out of his mouth(which hung open unattractively), I dismissed the premonition. We were assigned our mission and we accomplished it without a single problem.
Not one single problem.
"Naomi, I think this is a good camping area," he murmured, already setting his pack down. I scanned the area, deeming it proper. The land was flat and had little grass, but the little circle of prairie was surrounded by trees of different lengths. Sunlight didn't reach us, due to the height of the trees, but managed to spew out in little specks between the gaps of leaves. Other than that, the area was relatively dark.
I set my pack down beside his and stretched my arms out in front of me, hearing the bones crack and set relief in me. He was already enjoying himself, sprawling out with his sleeping bag beside him. He started messing with the string to untie it, though wasn't very successful.
Now stretched and fully capable of being able to bend, I spread my feet apart and clenched my fists as the image came up in my head. A box, made of rock. Four walls, all even sides, with a roof that was shorter than the trees but tall enough to stand in. A entrance that we could crawl in. Inside, there would be a peg hanging from the ceiling straight down with a bowl attacked to it for wood, to light the box but not to be on the ground.
Once I went over the details over and over inside my head, I slammed my hands down on the ground. The ground beneath us shook, making him cry out in surprise.
"Naomi! At least warn me before you do this!" he shouted, clutching the sleeping bag for dear life.
As the ground shook it gave way to rocky walls which rose up to a good height. I pulled my hands back, dragging them across the ground, and from the walls slid more rock, all meeting together to make a room. I then lifted my hands a little and part of a wall gave way, leaving a small opening for us to crawl through. Sweat dripped from my forehead and I subconscious wiped it away, unaware of the effort it took just to make our hideout for the day. I always did this, and it never bothered me this much. But now, I was racked with exhaustion and my muscles were tightening painfully.
"I just need to rest," I whispered shakily. Somehow, I managed to stand up, rubbing at my arm where it was most sore. I turned to see him grabbing the sleeping bag and crawling through the opening.
Assured he was safe, I went off into the woods to get some kindling for our fire. It wasn't very difficult, seeing as nobody came here often and dead wood lay around. My hands were full in just a few minutes, and I was already heading back.
The mission still plagued my mind though. Tsunade said we would most likely run into trouble. Yet it went on without a flaw and we even succeeded what we should have, pleasing the ones we hired to the point where we got paid even more(though the extra money was only for us; Tsunade didn't need to be told, according to him).
We were hired to fetch a scroll from an abandoned fort that the men who hired us used to inhabit. According to them, they had moved out in a hurry when the fort underwent an attack from an enemy clan. They left behind an important scroll, assured it was safely hidden, but they didn't want to return in case the enemy was still there.
But when we arrived, it was completely empty. There was signs that a battle had taken place, but no bodies, no weapons, and no evidence anyone had even lived in the place. He was unsure that the scroll actually belonged to these men, but a mission was a mission.
Tsunade had warned us we would run into the assailants during our mission, but throughout the hole retrieval, we didn't have a single problem. It was return to the men, much to their satisfaction, and we were sent off with a bonus and the money paid for our patronage.
Yet still. I was certain we would have run into them sooner or later. The fact we didn't worried me. There was something we missed, or something they didn't tell us.
"Naaaooooomi!" he shouted, exagerating my name. I quickened my pace toward the rock box, careful not to drop the wood.
"Be quiet Naruto," I muttered. I dropped the wood by the entrance and squeezed in, rolling it in with me. He had already set out our sleeping bags by the feel, though I could barely see a thing. I reached up and found the bow-like object attached to the pole hanging from the ceiling. I grabbed the fire wood, using my sense of touch to place each wood accordingly, then put the kindling in.
Once the wood was in place, I breathed on it slowly and flames began flickering up from the kindling, and in no time, with my enticing speak to the fire, a nice light illuminated the box.
"Man," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'll never get used to your abilities with the elements."
I was too tired to talk to him. We both were too tired to keep up a conversation. I slid into my sleeping back and glanced over at him, watching the flames light up his facial features and brighten his blonde hair.
Peaceful, I thought, my lips managing a smile. He looked peaceful. Naruto always looked at ease when he slept(though I could go without seeing his drool). And as always, the last image I saw was him as I fell asleep.
Please note that Naomi is an OC of mine. This follows the main story-line to a degree, but I have added in expanded periods of time so everything is not exactly in chronological order. I am not making Naomi/Naruto a couple; they're friends.