Hello everyone, how are all of you today? I hope this chapter finds you well. Sorry for delays, but hey, school and real life demand attention too (my fellow authors know what I'm talking about). You all seemed to like my last chapter well enough, which just fills me with good cheer! I hope everyone had a great Halloween (mine could have been better, but there's always next year!). Before we get into anything else, let's quickly answer the comments I got:

Baron von Nobody: Thank you, I have high hopes for this fic. And don't worry, I have no intention of using the episodes to dictate these chapters. And I do like your idea, you should run with it. I'm interested in seeing what you come up with.

Mark of Cain: Glad you like it. I do have a plan for what happens when you mix Clow Magic and Kyubi power, but that's not for a way's off. Most likely during the Wave saga.

KitsuNamikaze: Thank you, glad you liked it.

SagaAuraMana: I know right! You'd think, with all the ways people try and give Naruto as many powers as possible, this would have been a natural choice! Oh well, that just makes it easier for me to corner the market (because right now, I am the market on this idea!).

Kreg001: Glad you liked it. As for pairings… I don't know, it's only the second chapter. Maybe? I can't really say that would be the focus of this story anyway.

Wolfpackersson09: Glad you liked it. I don't know if I'll have someone be his Tomoyo. The clothing issue will certainly be addressed (as we all knew it had to be), but I may not have a character to fill that roll. I'm hesitant to make an OC this early (unless we count Clow Card personalities) in the fic.

To all the unregistered reviewers (because some of you left more then one message): I'm glad you like the story. I hope this chapter matches and exceeds your expectations.

There. Now, I'd like to say something about this chapter, to put it in a bit of context: I know the chapter is called 'Konohamaru and the Rainy Day', however, that does not mean that Konohamaru will be playing an especially large part in it. It's really more to provide context as to WHEN the events are happening. Now, don't get me wrong, he's in it, and he even get's his own introspective section, but he won't be an integral part of capturing today's card. Just in case any of you were major Konohamaru fans out there, hoping this would be his big shot. 'Cause it's not.

Now, enough chit chat, I'll see you all after the chapter with more ANs at the bottom. Until then, enjoy this new chapter of Naruto: Card Captor. Today's adventure:

Naruto: Card Captor

Chapter Two: Konohamaru and the Rainy Day!

-Naruto; Card Captor-

The sun was shining brightly down on all the peaceful inhabitants of the Leaf Village. It's warm light penetrating even the darkest shadows, and warming the air to a balmy comfortable temperature.

She hated all of it. To her, the light was too bright, and hurt her eyes, making her already watery stormy blue eyes fill with unshed tears. Why couldn't it be a just a bit darker, even just a bit of cloud cover would be appreciated. She wished Cloud was here, she'd make that dreadful ball of gas go away.

She snorted rather unlady like as she kept floating through back alleys to avoid that light. All of this was only serving to remind her that she still hadn't gotten back to full strength yet. If she had more power, she would block out the sun with her rainclouds. As it was, she only had enough to make it rain a tad (not nearly enough to block out that bright disk), and form herself a little cloud to float around on, so at least she didn't have to walk. She was a free spirit, and missed being able to soar through the skies. Being stuck on the ground without her full power was what had put her in suck a foul mood in the first place.

Making her way to the edge of the village, she couldn't help but wonder why everyone seemed so… happy! She smirked, perhaps a little prank was in order? She loved her pranks, even though some of her sisters claimed it was rude to pull them on people who didn't deserve it. Well, none of them were here now, were they?

Casting a glance about, she tried to find the perfect target. It wasn't long before she spotted one: a tall lean man, wearing a black shirt and pants, with a black bandana around his head. His eyes were covered by a set of solid black spectacles. With one hand he was pushing the glasses up to keep them from sliding down his nose. With the other, he was dragging a furiously protesting boy by the child's ridiculously long scarf. Sneaking closer, she managed to hear what they were arguing about.

"Oh come on Ebisu-sensei, we've been working for hours and I just wanted to get some lunch!" the boy said.

The man, now identified as Ebisu snorted "That is no excuse to skip out on your training to eat at some five-and-dime slop shack!" he said, sticking his nose up in the air as he cast a glance back at the establishment Konohamaru had tried to eat at.

"Training? You've spent the passed five hours lecturing me about my family's personal history! And it's just a Ramen shop! Why is that so bad!" the boy shouted back.

"History is an essential subject young master. And you are the honorable grandson of Lord Hokage! It is beneath you to eat at such a low class establishment." Ebisu rebuked.

Rain (for that was the mysterious girl's name) could already tell she didn't like this Ebisu character one bit! He was so stuck up, snooty, and… and… she couldn't even think up another word, but she was sure it wouldn't have been nice!

So, sneaking closer to the ninja (being a mystical entity with no chakra for him to sense was actually very handy), she drew on her reserve of power for a little prank. She may not be able to blanket the city in a monsoon like downpour, but this would be just fine. With a snap of her fingers, she sent a wave of energy just above the jerk's head. A small cloud formed, filled to the brim with water. A second later, it burst, sending far more water pouring down on the man's head then the cloud should have been feasibly able to hold.

Konohamaru was so annoyed at his sensei. All he had wanted to do was go eat at a normal restaurant like a normal person. Why did Ebisu-sensei insist on treating him like he was some brittle object, never meant to interact with the rest of the village? Not that it mattered. More then likely the people who owned the restaurant would have recognized him for who he was immediately. Then they would have gone on and on about his grandpa, and how wonderful he was. He would have made their day, and they would completely fail to see him as an individual, which was what he desperately wanted. He loved his grandpa too, but geez! Why did no one ever wonder what was up with him? How was he doing? What had HE accomplished lately? Yes it sounded selfish, but give him a break, he was only nine!

Suddenly, Konohamaru was shaken from his thoughts by the startled cry of his sensei, who'd let go of him in surprise. Turning, Kono was shocked to see what looked like a mini raincloud dousing his sensei with a waterfall of water! Ebisu scrambled to the left and right, but the cloud followed him! Ebisu slipped on a puddle which had formed beneath his feet, sending him falling face first to the ground.

Kono didn't try to hard to keep himself from laughing at his sensei's misfortune, nor did most people who were in the street (though there weren't many). But the one laugh that drew his attention made him look towards an alley slightly behind him. There he saw a girl a little older then him, wearing a strange hat, who quickly ducked out of sight as their eyes met.

Turning back to his sensei, who was still floundering around to escape the persistent little cloud, he shrugged. Whoever that girl was, she had to be more fun then listening to Ebisu talk.

And with that thought, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him to find the strange girl that had made his afternoon.

-Naruto; Card Captor-

Rain frowned, man that kid was persistent. It'd been almost five minutes and he was still chasing her! She was SO not in a talkative mood right now, why couldn't that kid get it? Smirking, Rain figured a good way to lose the kid, and started picking up speed.

Konohamaru heaved a sigh as the strange girl actually seemed to get faster. That, plus what she did to Ebisu-sensei, she must mean she was a ninja! And if he could get her to teach him her tricks, maybe he could defeat his grandfather that much sooner! That thought strengthened his resolve, and he pushed his little body that much harder to keep up.

Thinking about having her as his sensei instead of Ebisu-sensei made Konohamaru pay more attention to her. He nearly fell over when he realized that the girl hadn't been running, but instead floating two feet off the ground! (How had he not noticed that! Observation was supposed to be a key skill for a ninja!) That was so awesome! He had to get her to teach him that trick! Her outfit though… was a little strange. She wore what looked like an oversized jester's hat, with the points nearly coming down to her knees! She had puffy pants, as well as a puffy shirt, and curly toed boots, adding to the jester like theme. On her forehead (Which he saw when she looked over her shoulder to glance back at him) was a large blue tear shaped jewel. Her costume was actually covered in small teardrop shaped trinkets. Strangely, even her ears were pointed. This girl may look strange, but if he could get her to teach him, she could be wearing a hideous bright orange jumpsuit for all he cared! (somewhere, Naruto sneezed).

Suddenly, the girl jumped around the corner, and he pushed himself to follow. But once he rounded the corner, he saw… nothing. Looking around he saw that he was indeed alone. The whole place was quiet, with not a single other person around. Looking up (just in case) he saw only a lone low-hanging cloud in the sky.

Sighing, he realized that the girl was gone, probably having used her ninja-skills to teleport somewhere. Straightening, Konohamaru made a promise to himself. He would not give up! He would find the weird jester-girl, and make her his sensei; or his name wasn't Konohamaru, future Hokage!

Rain was surprised the boy had managed to follow her all the way out here with that ridiculously long scarf of his. His brown hair was sticking up in tuffs, and she saw his black eyes flicker around searching for her. One would think that being up on a cloud would make it hard to see what was going on below. They would be wrong. In fact, Rain had excellent vision, and could easily see the emotions flickering across the boys face as he searched for her. From what she could tell, he wasn't mad at her for what she'd done to his sensei, which might have been her first guess. Instead, she thought what she might be seeing was… admiration? That was weird, and not something she was used to seeing directed at her. The kid didn't even know her, what could she have done to earn that kind of look?

Rain was suddenly broken out of her thoughts as she heard a commotion below. Shaking her head, she refocused her attention on the ground. It looked like the kids sensei was back, and he looked peeved that his pupil had run off. His frustration only grew when Konohamaru said he'd been looking for her, and didn't want to go back with Ebisu.

Then, coming full circle, Ebisu grabbed the kid by his collar and hauled him away, saying they were already late for a meeting with the Hokage. Rain supposed that she could have left it there, but something drew her in. She wanted to know why this kid searched for her, even after it should have been clear he wouldn't find her.

With that thought in mind, Rain relaxed on her small cloud as it made its way after the pair, hoping that this would alleviate her boredom until she was back at 100%.

-Naruto; Card Captor-
Earlier….

Naruto yawned and tried to roll over, pulling the covers over his head as he did. Alas, this desperate attempt to avoid the rays of the sun did nothing to stop the inevitable awakening. He sighed and threw back his covers and sat up. This act also had the effect of tossing the still sleeping Keros across the room (something he was quick to voice his displeasure about). The Old Man had told him that all graduates were given a long weekend to celebrate before they officially started their Ninja duties. As a result he had slept in just a little. He really only had one thing to do today; and that was to meet the photographer to get the picture for his Ninja license taken. That wouldn't be for another couple of hours though, so he still had time. Walking over to his closet, he prepared to get out his jumpsuit for the day.

Keros rubbed his tiny eyes, annoyed at the rude awakening. He supposed he couldn't get to mad at the brat, he'd almost forgotten where he was for a second as he'd woken up. He was so used to sleeping in the Book of Clow that being on an actual bed was foreign to him at this point. Oh well, he was just happy to be out and about after so many years. Looking over at his charge, he started thinking of how they might train today. Under normal circumstances, he'd just laze around all day. But with the Clow Cards running about, Naruto would need to be trained to more readily handle some of the more… eccentric (and often crazy violent) spirits.

But thoughts of training left his mind when he saw Naruto reach into his closet and take out… IT.

How on earth such an abomination against man and God could exist on this earth, he had no idea. In the dark of the night, he hadn't really gotten a good look at it at first. But after seeing it in the light, Keros couldn't believe anyone would chose to actively wear such an outfit.

He had to do something.

Naruto had already put on his black shirt and was reaching for a his orange jacket, when a gust of wind blew past him. Suddenly, the jacket was yanked from his hand and Naruto fell backwards to see Keros in the corner, standing in front of his jacket.

Naruto frowned "What gives! Give me back my jacket!" he said.

Keros shook his head "No way! It's bad enough you're wearing orange pants, but I cannot, in good conscience, let you wear the jacket too!"

Naruto huffed, why were people always picking on his orange jumpsuit? Didn't they know how awesome orange was? "And why not?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Keros rubbed his forehead "Look…" he started, trying to come up with something the kid would accept "you're the Card Captor now! That's a very illustrious position. And you should wear cloths that befit such a rank." he told the kid. In reality, he was just making it up, but he had to say something! "Also, since you're a ninja for your village now, don't you think you should try and wear something more… " he new he had to pick his next words carefully here "badass?" he asked, his question peaking Naruto's interest. He did want to look badass…

Keros could see by the look in the kid's eye that he had him "I'm not saying orange isn't a rocking color or anything" he told the kid "but you could do so much better then this!" he said gesturing to the jacket.

Naruto scratched his cheek "Like what?" he asked. Keros seemed to know what he was talking about, and he had a point. Becoming a ninja was supposed to be a great turning point in a person's life. Shouldn't he embrace that by updating his wardrobe? He had been wearing the same style of neon-orange jumpsuits for many years now…

Keros grinned, a victory dance happening in his head. Outside though, he kept a calm face "you just let me take care of that, I'll think of something that'll work. Heck, maybe we can check out some stores later today" he suggested. While he personally didn't care for shopping, he'd do just about anything to keep this eyesore out of public view. His ego demanded that the kid look at least as awesome as he did, and to do that, a decidedly NOT orange set of cloths would be required.

Now to distract the kid, so he didn't have time to regret his decision "Now though, it's time for training!" he announced, flying over and landing on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto brightened considerably upon hearing the words 'training'. "Sweet! What are we training?" he asked.

Keros crossed his arms smugly "You don't know enough about the Clow Cards and how to use them. You did fine yesterday, but I think we need to do some real practicing. Especially since you just got Fly" he explained.

Naruto nodded, and together, left for the most secluded training ground they could find.

-Naruto; Card Captor-

Not too long after that, Naruto entered his favorite training spot. It was onto of the Fourth Hokage's head, overlooking the greatness that was the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Wow, that's some view kid" Keros commented taking in the sight of his charges home.

"Yeah" Naruto nodded, his heart full of warm thoughts for his home. Turning back to Keros though he tried to focus "So Keros, what're we doing?" he asked, eager to get started.

Keros grinned, glad to see Naruto really paying attention. Settling himself in what he liked to call his 'lecture stance' he proceeded to lay down the basic ground rules of the Clow Cards:

1) The Clow Cards were magical in nature, and could only be physically harmed by the Sealing Wand, or other magic.

2) Until he sealed them, the Clow Spirits were under no obligation to listen to him. At all. His status as the Card Captor didn't mean anything to them. Yet.

3) Once he had sealed them, that Clow Spirit would have to obey him and his every command. They were free to offer insight and criticism, but ultimately, the final word lay with him.

Naruto gulped a bit at that one. In his mind, that was a lot like being Hokage. All the Spirits would be looking to him for their instructions, so he would have to learn to work with them all if he wanted to be a good leader. And while he could easily rule over the cards with little regard for their personal beliefs and welfare, that thought didn't sit well with him and his belief in what a leader should be. He would treat each of his Clow Cards with the respect he thought they deserved. After all, they were risking themselves just as much as he was (probably more so).

Rule 4) Naruto could not give the Clow Cards away.

Rule 5) He could not tell anyone of his mission; dire, life ending emergencies not withstanding.

Then Keros explained something about the practical usage:

Naruto could, in fact, use more then one Clow Card at a time. However! Each additional card he summoned would subtract the strength from all the cards as a whole. Seeing Naruto's blank look (poor guy was terrible at math), Keros gave a simple example:

If Naruto summoned Windy, she would have 100% of her power.

If Naruto then summoned Fly though, both Fly and Windy would both drop to only having 50% of their power available. The power drop would increase with each additional card summoned. That was why Keros warned him about summoning more then one spirit.

After the boring lecture, Keros decided it was time for some practical application. When Naruto asked what he should do, Keros simply shrugged, replying:

"Hey, you're the Card Captor here kid. Do whatever you want."

Naruto nodded, and reached into his pocket. Taking out the small, fox-headed key, Naruto closed his eyes and focused. He felt magic erupt around the key as it lengthened, the eyes of the Kyubi thrumming with power as it gazed outwards. Looking down, he once again felt a bit uneasy looking at the monster that was supposed to be sealed inside of him. He still didn't know what the black buttons were for; nor did Keros. It was some alteration to the staff he knew nothing about. They would just have to wait and see…

Shaking his head, he reached in his other pocket, and pulled out the first card he grabbed. It was the Fly card. Naruto smirked, looking up at the sky. It did look like a great day for it….

Need no further prompting then that, Naruto raised his staff high and slammed it down with a call of "Fly Card, Come forth!" the air was filled with a bright flash of light, and a moment later, Naruto watched, transfixed as white and gold tendrils of magic flowed towards his back.

Naruto felt a relaxing warmth flow through the back of his shoulders, which filled him with a sense of weightlessness. He almost felt like he was floating!

As the light died down, Naruto saw, to his amazement, that that was EXACTLY what he was doing! Looking over his shoulder, he gaped at the sight: Two large, white, feathery wings sprouted from bis back! The wings stretched and moved (somehow going straight through his shirt without tearing it. Oh well, that's magic for you) naturally, as they might on an actual bird!

Keros scratched his chin, impressed "Not a bad set of wings kid. I half expected Fly to put the wings on the Sealing Wand." he said.

Naruto blinked, looking down at Keros "How would that help me?" he asked.

Keros chuckled "Well… you could always ride the Wand like a magic broom?" he suggested cheekily.

Naruto rolled his eyes, deciding that he should get back to having fun. With a flap, he rose high into the sky, his movements far more graceful then they had ever been on the ground. He twisted and twirled, he did loop-d-loops and barrel rolls. For what seemed like eternity he soared over the village of the leaves at such a hight, that any who might have looked up would see nothing out of the ordinary. (Well actually, they might notice a small cloud that was strangely moving against the natural flow of the wind…)

Gazing down, Naruto found he had a true 'bird's eye view' of his village. The buildings looked like blocks, and the people only specks. Each had their own life, their own story… This was his home. His village. As a genin, he was sworn to protect this place with his life. And he would happily do so for those few precious people who cared about him. He hoped that one day… the rest of the villagers would come to love and respect him as much as the Old Man, Iruka-sensei, and the folks down at Ichiraku seemed to. And with the help of Keros and the Clow Cards, he'd make sure that nobody messed with his town. EVER! Believe it!

Keros watched with a small smile as Naruto almost seemed to dance across the sky with his new wings. He could sense the strength of the kids convictions. There was no doubt in his mind that Naruto definitely had what it took to master the Clow Cards, just like his old friend Clow Reed had done so long ago. He was certain he and Naruto would have gotten along just fine (despite the later's somewhat…. lacking intelligence).

He laughed to himself. If old Clow Reed could see the legacy of his creation now… Keros had was sure he would be proud. It was a long road, but Naruto would march down the path ahead of him with his head held high, no matter what the Clow Cards threw at him!

-Naruto; Card Captor-

Finally, after a great many hours of simply flying about (seriously, Naruto had some amazing stamina!) Keros managed to talk Naruto down. He reminded him that he did have other things to do today, which brought a look of horror to Naruto's face as he realized the time, and noticed that he was almost late for his appointment with the photographer!

The two had to go straight there (Keros burying himself in the spiky mess that was Naruto's hair), with no time to stop by Naruto's apartment. Naruto told Keros that he had hoped to paint his face for the picture, in an attempt to make himself look awesomer (which Naruto assured him was a word). After hearing the kid's explanation of what he had intended to draw on his face Keros couldn't say it was a big loss. Seriously, it sounded like Naruto was describing a clown get up!

After getting their picture (well, only Naruto's. Keros had made sure to stay out of sight at all times!), Naruto figured he'd check up on the Old Man and see how he was doing. That was what lead to them being there right now. Just Naruto and the aged village leader, chatting up a storm like two of the best buddies in the world. Keros had to admit he was surprised by the ease with which they spoke to each other. Also… he got the odd feeling that the old man was somehow… aware of him? But that was impossible… right?

Sarutobi laughed heartily as he and Naruto willed away the afternoon on mindless chatter. He was glad to see the boy in such high spirits, considering the likely life-altering news he had received from the traitor Mizuki.

Still… something was off. It wasn't that Naruto wasn't wearing his customary orange jacket (when asked, Naruto had admitted that he'd decided to update his wardrobe). No, that was something to be relieved about. He had been wondering himself how best to convince the boy to wear something more… ninja appropriate.

Casting a glance outside, he noted that the once clear day was becoming very cloudy. Turning back to Naruto, he rolled over in his head what was really bothering him. It seemed like their was another presence in the room. It wasn't the ANBU guards stationed in the corners, and it wasn't his or Naruto's. It didn't feel malevolent, so he knew it wasn't the Kyubi. This feeling seemed to be very small, and very adapt at hiding itself. It seemed as though it was in Naruto's own hair, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anything. Surely his old age wasn't playing tricks on him?

Suddenly, the lovely chat ended when the door to the Hokage's office opened, revealing a rather short kid wearing a rather long scarf. Said kid proudly proclaimed his desire to defeat the Hokage and take his title, and charged him. The brat made it all of three steps before he tripped over his own feet and crashed into the ground.

-Naruto; Card Captor-

Rain sighed; she was starting to get bored. She had lost sight of the kid when he'd walked into what seemed to be the tallest building in this village. Granted, that had only been about a minute ago, but to her it felt far to long.

Reaching down, she picked another handful of cloud-matter off her transport, rolling it in her hands absently. She wasn't sure why she had felt drawn to the kid until recently, and she was still pondering it. At first, you would think the kid had no reason to be unhappy. Everywhere he went, it looked like people smiled and waved. Everyone seemed to know him, and were happy to see him. But still, he wasn't happy.

That was when it hit her. The boy was living in a shadow. And while it seemed that these good intentioned villagers were greeting the boy, odds were good they new little to nothing about him at all. And in a strange way… she could relate.

It wasn't until after her creator/master/father-figure became famous. Clow Reed was a great man, who loved to help people. Using the magic of the Clow Cards he kept people safe by averting many a disaster. Soon he, and by proxy the Clow Cards were famous. Many people could name at least one of the Card Spirits. Most knew the elements spirits like Windy or Earthy. Some would recall others like Thunder or Shadow. But when it came to spirits like her, or Cloud or Storm? People could never really tell them apart. Heck, some people thought they were all the same spirit!

A small part of her was always hurt whenever she was mistaken for one of her sisters. It felt like… like her accomplishments… somehow meant less. That was why she felt drawn to the kid. He felt overshadowed by someone, and hadn't yet figured out a way to make himself known in the world.

Frowning, Rain hurled the cloud ball over her shoulder into the distance, only paying half a mind to the fact that it was growing and darkening as it went. Sitting up, she popped her back as she raised her cloud a little higher. All this thinking was making her head hurt, not to mention bumming her out.

Rain's face suddenly split into a frightening grin. Well, she had something for that. Glancing around her, Rain's smile only grew at what she saw. All this time she'd been following that kid, she'd been spreading her rainclouds, and letting them grow slowly. Now though, she could feel her powers were nearing their peak. Which meant that it would soon be time to start the fireworks… or perhaps more accurately: the Waterworks! (She didn't care what Cloud or Storm said, her puns were funny Dammit!)

-Naruto; Card Captor-

Konohamaru was not having a nice afternoon. After Ebisu-sensei had unceremoniously dragged him away from his search for the mystery girl, he had been taken through the streets, where many people were happy to greet him. The only problem? No one had called out to him by his NAME!

'Oh look at the honorable grandson!'

'there goes the honorable grandson…'

'good afternoon most honorable grandson'

Why? Why did no one ever say his actual name! He was named after this village, there was no way they could have forgotten his name! Yet no matter what, the people always, always, called him by the title 'honorable grandson'. It was enough to make him scream!

Deciding he could use a little pick me up, he decided to do the one thing that always made him feel better: attempt to assault his grandfather in an attempt to steal his position. Granted, that hadn't worked so far, but he had a special feeling about to day!

So, stealthily slipping away from Ebisu-sensei (which wasn't nearly as hard as it should be for someone who claimed to be an elite ninja) and made his way to his grandfather's office. Preparing a single shuriken, he took a deep breath, flung open the door … and charged!

He didn't get very far before something tripped him up and made him fall flat on his face. Great. Quickly sitting up and rubbing his forehead he looked up at the two in the room. There was the old man, sighing and pulling his hat down, looking like he was trying hard not to chuckle.

The other was a kid not much older then him. He was wearing orange pants and a black t-shirt. He wasn't trying nearly as hard as his grandpa, and was laughing to himself, all while looking at Konohamaru with a look that said 'is this kid for real?'

Konohamaru's cheeks flushed as his ego burned, silently cursing whatever had made him trip. "Who set that trap that tripped me!" he yelled hopping to his feet.

At that moment Ebisu-sensei finally caught up with him, having heard his shout. "Young master are you alright?" he asked in mild concern "Also…" he awkwardly pushed his glasses up his nose "the floor is completely flat, there are no traps here" he said. Noticing the Hokage, he gave a quick bow. Seeing Naruto, he did nothing, but both Naruto and Keros felt the glare leveled at the Kyubi-container.

Konohamaru didn't care what Ebisu-sensei said. This was just one more annoyance in a long annoying day! He wanted someone to blame! Glaring he pointed at the other boy accusingly "It was you wasn't it! You're the one who tripped me up!"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. How dare that little brat accuse him for his own stupid mistakes! Quick as a flash, Naruto had grabbed the boy by his oversized scarf and lifted him off the ground, ready to pound some sense into the boy.

Keros, while equally annoyed, felt something that made his eyes go wide. He realized they had no time to mess around with this kid; he sensed a Clow Card!

Ebisu sputtered at the audacity of the Kyubi-brat to manhandle the Hokage's grandson. Was the brat stupid or suicidal? Growling, he called the kid out "Naruto! Release him at once! That is the grandson of the honorable Third Hokage!" he yelled.

Said kage merely sat back in his chair, taking another puff on his pipe.

Naruto blinked at Ebisu, before looking back at Konohamaru. Konohamaru was a little relieved knowing that this guy wouldn't hurt him right in front of his target's own grandfather…. That train of thought ended the moment Naruto punched him over the head.

"I don't care if he's your grandmother!" Naruto shouted indigently. The nerve of this kid, first accusing him, then trying to use his relation to the Kage to get out of trouble! Nodding one last time to the old Kage, Naruto walked out of the office.

Ebisu gasped and gibbered, unable to put his thoughts into words. The Third Hokage coughed into his fist, trying to hide the laughter threatening to escape. He ideally noted that Konohamaru had followed the new genin, and without Ebisu noticing.

-Naruto; Card Captor-

After a quick goodbye, Naruto made his way out of the Hokage's tower. He was shocked to find it raining, when hours earlier, not a cloud had been in the sky.

"So she's already started" Keros said standing next to his charge's ear, surprising Naruto. For such an apparent loud mouth, Keros could be very sneaky. But then the plushy's words caught up with him.

"What, you're saying a Clow Card is making it rain?" Naruto asked, looking left and right for any signs of a glowing spirit for him to vanquish.

Keros nodded, looking up at the sky "Yeah, this is the work of the Rain card. She had the power to create and manipulate rain clouds. I'm surprised I didn't sense her sooner." he told Naruto as they walked down a deserted alley. He was keeping close to Naruto, still trying to be inconspicuous. His ears were picking up the sounds of footsteps not far behind, which meant they were being followed. He was surprised he hadn't sensed Rain's presence earlier, given how large the storm seemed to be. The other night had had sensed Fly almost immediately. Either something was dulling his magic senses, or Rain had been drained of power for some reason, and had only recently reached full power.

Naruto nodded, taking Keros' words into account, and trying to figure out how he could locate this card. But… if he was to go Clow hunting, he would have to get rid of his new shadow. Turning, Naruto sweat-dropped at what was possibly the worst disguise he had ever seen. It was a sheet meant to allow a use to blend in with a brick wall. Only whoever was following him was leaning against a wooden fence. With a sigh, he yanked the illusion away, revealing the brat from earlier. Luckily, Keros had the foresight to stay out of the kid's sight.

Konohamaru smirked, this guy was good, he had seen through his excellent disguise! This just made him all the more excited. So when his future teacher asked what he was doing, he promptly told him "I want you to be my new sensei!" he declared.

Naruto blinked "What?" he asked.

"You're a ninja right? So you must know all sorts of cool ninja tricks! And I want you to teach me so I can fulfill my dream!" the kid declared.

"But I thought that guy with the glasses was your sensei?" Naruto asked still confused.

Konohamaru scoffed "Ebisu-sensei is so lame! All he ever does is have me read history books or lecture at me! We almost never do anything real ninja-y!" he complained.

Naruto nodded, his sympathy's went out for the kid. He had always disliked books. And the one time he had trusted one, he'd ended up in the mess he found himself in now! Plus, being called sensei sounded great to his ego. Maybe he could….

Keros gave him a sharp whack to the back of the head, making him wince in pain. Thankfully, Konohamaru didn't notice in the rain. Right, he still had a job to do.

"Look… kid… I wish I could help, but I sorta already have a miss-" he stopped upon seeing the dejected look the brat was giving him. He couldn't just leave the kid all alone! But he couldn't abandon his mission either! So what could he… of course!

Konohamaru watched as his new sensei made a cross shaped hand sign, and in a puff of smoke, six more Narutos filled the alley. Naruto grinned as he watched the boy's wide eyed look at the awesome ninja technique.

"Alright" Naruto addressed his clones "you go with… what's your name again kid?" he asked, having forgotten what the glasses guy had said it was.

"Konohamaru" the kid said his name with pride.

Naruto nodded "Right. Go with Konohamaru and help him with… something" he ordered. Turning away from his pseudo-student he started to walk away "As for me, I've got some top secret important ninja stuff to do" Naruto said with his fox grin. Keros just rolled his eyes, maybe Naruto couldn't keep a secret as well as he'd hoped.

As the two groups parted, Naruto ducked into a side alley and broke into a run, already thinking how he might defeat the Rain card. However, his hopes of using the element of surprise would be ruined, given that Rain had been aware of him the moment he'd stepped outside.

-Naruto; Card Captor-

Rain smiled, the exhilarating feeling of water falling from the sky to blanket the village warming her heart. Everywhere the water touched, a part of her was there. She saw the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the ninja and the civilian. Some grumbled about the sudden change in weather and went inside. Those made her laugh, and pleased her inner trickster. Others shrugged it off and went about their business, only some having to change their plans. Those annoyed her inner showman. But her personal favorites were those who looked at the rain and smiled. They laughed and played and made merry, all enjoying her creation. Rain closed her eyes, enjoying her creation; a storm that (Clow willing) would last for days and days!

But then, she felt it. Her eyes snapped open at the familiar feel of magic. Keros! He was near, and by the feel of it, so was the Sealing Wand, the familiar magic of her creator's tool registering not a second after Keros did. Focusing, she locked onto Keros, to see what she could find about her former guardian.

He was small, in his plush state. He was hard to see, given that he was hiding in a young teens golden hair. The boy himself didn't look all that impressive, being barely taller then her. He was talking to Konohamaru, though how they met she had no idea, given that it hadn't happened in the rain. She saw the boy suddenly create multiple duplicates of himself, and send them off with Konohamaru. Rain now knew this was no ordinary boy. She should have known the moment she saw that Keros was with him but this was the icing on the cake. Focusing, she heard Keros tell the boy of her and her powers. Rain frowned, that could only mean that Keros would likely send the boy to reseal her. She saw the boy run off, likely to find a place to unseal his magic. Well, if it was a fight they wanted, she would give it to them in spades!

Focusing all her will around this boy, Rain felt the flow of the rainstorm around her change. The water that fell all over the village suddenly lessened in the outer region, but becoming heavier towards it center of town. It was like all the storms power was converging on one very small, very unfortunate target. Rain grinned, and when her rain was in position, she snapped her fingers.

-Naruto; Card Captor-

Naruto almost buckled as the water hitting him almost quadrupled in strength. His cloths quickly soaked, and no matter how fast he ran, the rain never slowed.

Keros found himself plastered to Naruto's head, and he knew that Rain had become aware of them and their intentions. He wished their was more he could do, but in his current state, he was lucky he hadn't been washed away by the storm.

Finally Naruto reached the edge of the city, and seeing no was around (the storm having driven the people inside) drew the Fly card. From what Keros said, the Rain card would most likely be in the air. So what better way to confront her then take to the sky?

With a flash of light the Sealing Wand returned to full size, and a swing of it summoned his angelic wings. As they popped into view Naruto leapt into the air, his wings beating against the downpour that sought to keep him earthbound. As he gained altitude, he slipped on his old green goggles, which offered him at least some protection.

Rain grimaced as she watched him take to the skies. So he had caught Fly huh? Then he wasn't a complete novice like she'd first thought. Very well, let's see if he could really use those wings…

Stretching out her left hand, she kept her palm facing down. A secondary layer of rainclouds formed under her and moved outwards to encompass the area under bother her and Naruto. This would be just what she required for her next technique. The fact that it would keep anyone from seeing either her or Naruto was also a benefit. Slowly, she turned her hand, so her palm now faced upwards.

Then, miraculously, rain started to fall upwards! The full power of a vicious monsoon, now went against gravity itself and fell upwards towards the cloud ceiling, which still continued to rain normally. But Rain wouldn't end it there. With her right hand, she made a tight fist, and focused on the rain clouds that made the 'ceiling' or their arena. She did the same with her left hand, making sure to keep her mind focused. She had to focus on her rain, and not the boy with the angel wings that was fighting viciously towards her.

Naruto was beset on all sides, the rain almost a literal cage which had sprung up around him. He was drenched to the bone, and it was hard to flying straight. The one good thing though, was that this HAD to be the extent of the cards power! There was no way it could get worse then this!

Famous last words.

Naruto reflexively hissed as something hot hit the back of his neck. Then another something hit him. And another and another. Each one hotter then the last. At the same time though, his legs jerked as icy water started to strike parts of his exposed skin. In a few moments, Naruto was feeling something truly unique. Not many people have had both scalding, and freezing water dropped on them at the same time.

Rain giggled somewhat maniacally as she watched Naruto attempt to escape her hot and cold showers. He'd fly lower to escape the boiling water above, only to be pushed back by a veritable wall of near arctic temperature water. She heaved a sigh, wishing the boy would fall soon. She wasn't used to having to fight this hard with her powers. Normally she acted as back up to one of her siblings. She was out of practice fighting a strong opponent by herself.

Naruto only had a vague plan, cobbled together out a desperation, prayer, and duct tape; but it was all he had, so it needed to work. Bracing himself, he pushed upwards towards the stinging pain of the hot water clouds, stopping just short of the point where he might collide with them. Gripping the Sealing Wand, he called on his only other card:

"Windy! I call on you to help me! Push back these clouds and give me some breathing room!… Please!" he said, adding the please as an afterthought. After all, no need to antagonize the mystic spirits so they don't do their best to help you.

The moment Windy appeared, Naruto nearly dropped out of the sky as his wings shrunk to half their former size. Windy also didn't look quite as imposing as she had the other night. The winds that made up her being weren't whipping about quite as ferociously. But that didn't mean she was still able to kick some ass.

Raising both hands, Windy snapped her fingers, calling two golden whirlwinds into being. Said winds charged the cloud floor and ceiling with great vigor, yanking them apart and tossing them about with great vigor. Naruto now had a much clearer shot at Rain, even if his wings were only half as powerful as they had been.

Rain gulped as she watched the wind tear her lovely clouds apart. Windy was here. The boy had a major element on his side! How could she fight that! No! Now was not the time! She would show him, and she'd show that stuck up bit-oh Reed he was coming right at her!

Rain summoned a cloud to release a waterfall of water at Naruto, who was shooting towards her with great speed. He ducked and weaved, before finally batting the cloud out of the sky with a well timed swing of the Sealing Wand. He was almost right on top of her!

At the last second, she jerked her cloud up, hoping Naruto would fly right under her. She partially got her wish, as Naruto started to fly right passed her thanks to his momentum. But Naruto had some pretty good reflexes, and lashed out his hand before he passed, catching the edge of her cloud in his grip.

Now, under normal circumstances, it should be quite impossible to physically touch a cloud. However, thanks to the magic he now had, Naruto could touch it just fine. This, combined with the speed at which he was still going, nearly made him jerk the cloud out from under her.

Rain caught herself, and focused on keeping her cloud steady. In desperation, she tried to shoot the boy off her cloud with a blast of H2O from the cloud, but he was still hanging on!

Naruto grunted in frustration as he beat his wings furiously despite the pressurized water hitting him about the face. Rain was so close, he could practically see the nonexistent whites of her eyes! Finally, frustration gave way to strategy. With a heave, he swung the Sealing Wand in an arc, the Kyubi's grinning maw heading towards Rain's pretty cheek. With no time for an epic declaration, he basically ended up screaming what amounted to:

"Knock it the fuck off!"

Stars exploded into her vision as the boy slammed the crimson staff into the side of her head. The force of the blow was surprisingly enough to knock her off the cloud and send her plummeting towards the ground below. Of course, the moment she left the cloud, it dissolved into water vapor, leaving Naruto at gravity's tender mercy.

Luckily, Naruto managed to turn himself in mid-air to keep her in site. He saw that she was trying to summon another cloud through the ringing in her ears, and knew he needed to press the advantage. With Windy providing a powerful boost, he shot towards his quarry like a rocket.

Just as the cloud had formed under her, he slammed into her like a professional quarterback, his momentum carrying them both into the hard earth; with only her small cloud to cushion her fall.

She felt tired and drained, but even then she wouldn't give up! She tried to pull herself out of the small crater their impact had made, but found she could only crawl. She had expended far to much energy with her constant rain clouds, and it was taking its toll.

Just as she'd taken two shaky steps away from the boy, she heard him speak. "I am the Card Captor, and I order you to return to your true form!" he commanded, sounding strong despite his injuries. "Rain Card!" looking over her shoulder, she saw him bring the wand down just behind her back.

Seeing the golden outline of her card appear made her quicken her pace, but by then it was too late. She could feel her body dissipating, becoming more and more insubstantial by the second. Looking up, she watched her beautiful clouds fade and give way to that distasteful blue sky. She felt the magic of Clow calling her home, and she felt her pain fade along with her body. But she didn't care, and she continued to struggle anyway. Even when she heard the ethereal voices of Fly and Windy calling to her, telling her things were going to be okay, she resisted. She was so close! She was going to be her own person! She wasn't going to have to play by anyone's rules but her own!

'It will be okay Rainy' Windy said affectionately in her head. 'This boy… Naruto… he will care for you' she said softly.

And with that, she was gone, sealed once more into her card. She could now see the face of the boy who sealed her up close as he examined her card. His eyes were quite blue, and they held a vast amount of emotion. In that chaotic mixture appeared to be genuine concern. If that was the case, then maybe… just maybe… her sister was telling the truth?

Naruto blinked as he looked down at the Rain card. She had fought so much harder then the Fly had. And something told him that… there was more to her then he had seen. Because, he reminded himself, the Clow Cards were sentient spirits just like he was. They had thoughts and feelings, so he supposed that perhaps the Rain didn't really want to be sealed up after getting her first taste of freedom in a long time. He could sympathize he supposed. Maybe he could work something out so that the Clow Cards got the chance to experience the real world, without causing so much of a ruckus?

Standing up, he thanked Windy and Fly for their excellent service. As he rung the water out of his shirt (and ignored Keros' complaints about how much the plushy hated wet fur) he realized he still had one thing he had to do.

-Naruto; Card Captor-

Naruto blinked from his hiding spot in the trees, wondering if his battle with Rain had done more head trauma then he'd thought. He'd just watched one of his clones summon another horde of clones (he didn't think he'd put that much chakra into them for that) and combine the technique with the sexy jutsu. The result was… intriguing to say the least, and had left both Keros and him blushing madly (but to their credit, their noses did not bleed!). The effect was apparently so overwhelming that it knocked that glasses guy that was with Konohamaru earlier out cold.

If that wasn't enough, his clone had then proceeded to give an inspiring speech to Konohamaru. Who knew he could be such a good public speaker? The kid promptly ended his apprenticeship with Naruto, before declaring them rivals. Keros admired the boy's spunk, and wondered if one day the kid could live up to his words.

After he walked away, the clone saw them and waved, before popping out of existence. Naruto found himself flooded with memories of the day (upon further reflection, he realized he had the other clones memories too, but had been to occupied to acknowledge them). Naruto blinked; he hadn't known that feature of the Shadow Clone technique.

Explaining the situation to Keros, Naruto was a little disturbed by the plushy's suddenly demented grinning and hand rubbing. It looked oddly threatening on such a benign creature…. Oh well, the sun was starting to set, and it was time to head out to get dinner. Though perhaps changing into some dry clothes was in order first. Looking at the sky, he saw the sky was totally clear. Naruto smiled, thinking that this really hadn't been such a bad rainy day at all.

Of course, months later Konoha's weather teams would still be tying themselves in knots trying to figure out the cause behind the sudden and drastic change in the weather. But that's a story for another time…

End Chapter 2

And there it is folks, the end of chapter two. Naruto's current card count: 3 (Windy, Fly, Rain). I hope everyone was please...? It's hard to give the Clow Cards personalities, because they essentially have to be written from scratch. So, that said, I hope Rain came out ok. And again, Konohamaru didn't do much, but at least he was acknowledged. I've seen fics that skip over him completely, and only mention him later arbitrarily. Keros didn't have much to say this chapter, but that won't always be the case. Naruto hasn't started his ninja life yet, so expect things to really pick up when that happens (which for those of you who are curious, will start chapter after next. That's when he'll meet his teammates).

So yeah, that about covers it... anything else (shuffles notes about, adjusts glasses) ah, we do have some announcements:

ANNOUNCEMENT ONE: Anyone who's read my other fics (available from my profile, which you should totally do after you finish reading this *wink wink*) knows that I don't mind audience participation. So here's something I could use your help on: Naruto's new duds. I have no idea what kind of cloths would be good for him now that he's the Card Captor, and I don't want to use the orange jumpsuit. What would you suggest? Leave your idea in a review or PM if you like. If I chose it, or draw inspiration from it, I'll shout it out when I use it. You have a little time to think, and I don't need it by next chapter, but when it comes time to write chapter 4, that's when I'll use it if I'm gonna. So don't wait, start racking your brain now!

ANNOUNCEMENT TWO: This has nothing to do with this fic, but rather for a special I plan to do in April. I call it: THE COMEDY CENTRAL ROAST OF NARUTO UZUMAKI! In case the title was clear, I'll be parading a Comedy Central Roast with Naruto as the guest of honor. The roasters will be the other rookies, plus team Gai and the Sand team (maybe have some other special guests as well). What does this have to do with you? I NEED JOKES! Not just any jokes though, I need jokes about the Naruto cast! And quite a lot of them too, so I've decided to delegate the work to you, my (hopefully loving and supportive) fanbase. So GO! Scour the internet for material, or make up your own! But bring me jokes a plenty! What types of jokes? Well, for that, you may find it helpful to watch a roast. That should give you idea. If your joke is selected, you will of course get a shout out in the chapter. One thing though, if you are going to leave a joke in a review, leave an actual review first, then tell me your joke, okay? Thank you.

ANNOUNCEMENT THREE: This also has nothing to do with this fic. Instead, this is to inform you of an upcoming series of oneshots I'll be doing. They'll feature character from various bits of media getting one of the eight Lantern rings from the DC comics (I say eight because I won't be doing the white ring... probably). This announcement is to both inform you, and to also say feel free to suggest someone you think is Ring worthy. HOWEVER! Don't leave the suggestion in a review for this story! PLEASE! Wait until the actual story has been put up (because I do have some ideas already). Thank you.

ANNOUNCEMENT FOUR: I FINALLY HAVE INSPIRATION FOR NARUTO IN HELL! (applause break, waits for cheering to die down) thank you, yes I know. So expect that counter next to chapter seven to finally start going up again soon (which for me means: before the end of the month).

Alright, that about covers it. Again, I hope you all like the chapter, and if you did, please let me know by clicking the review button. And after you leave a review, if you want to give me your suggestion for Naruto's new outfit, or maybe a joke for the April roast, that'd be fine too. Either way, I hope you all have a wonderful day, thanks for reading, and here's a bit of a teaser for you:

Next Time On Naruto Uzumaki: Card Captor

Chapter 3 - The Day Where Everyone Vanished

Until Next Time...