The sound of Naruto's training was once again drowned out by the simplistic rhythm of Tayuya's flute. The sound drifted through the field like a refreshing spring breeze filled with the promises of spring. The promise of growth, life, family, love.
Naruto looked at Tayuya once again. He couldn't count how many times he looked at her. It was only for a few seconds each time; he found her long red hair absolutely beautiful. He liked the way her music sounded. There was something about it that reminded him of family. Feeling reinvigorated once more Naruto returned to trying to cut his leaf.
Unfortunately, it wasn't before long that the sun was low in the sky and while Tayuya's flute music was excellent, it did little to stave off the hunger.
"Alright, Naruto," Kakashi said with a loud clap of his hands. "That's enough for today, dispel your clones."
Tayuya slumped in her chair, ready to fall over. "Thank fuck! I hope you guys have better food than that gray slop they've been feeding me." Her stomach was empty to the point of near pain but it was nothing new considering her diet for the last three years.
Yamato stood up from his crouched position and tossed a pill towards Tayuya. "This is a mission for us, we get food pills."
Tayuya sniffed at the pill. It didn't smell disgusting, and the idea that they would poison her seemed like a stupid one. Without further hesitation, she popped the pill in her mouth. It didn't taste too bad, certainly better than whatever the prison fed her even if her stomach was still empty.
Before she could complain about not having real food, the clearing was filled with smoke as Naruto's clones began to dispel themselves.
Naruto blinked as he stood in the clearing, several hundred hours of training flooded into his head. Several hundred hours of listening to Tayuya's music flooded into his brain. And about one hundred hours of different versions of himself stealing glances at Tayuya.
Every single clone had done what he had done, each one had peaked over at the beautiful redhead more than once. He had such a clear vivid image of her now. Every single one of his clones thought that Tayuya was beautiful and each one had slowly begun to develop a crush on her.
And now that all those feelings had been condensed into one single Naruto? He didn't have time to process it further as he collapsed onto the ground.
Kakashi was there in a second.
"Holy shit, we broke him!" Tayuya shouted. Naruto was literally her meal ticket. She was going to hold him to that promise of food, even if he was on his deathbed. At this point, hospital food would be a welcomed sight to her. So long as it had some taste. "If he dies does that mean I failed the mission?"
Kakashi stood up hoisting Naruto up over his shoulder, "Naruto is fine… Probably. Maybe next time we do it with fewer clones." He looked at Tayuya and Yamato. "You're in charge of our troublesome flute player, Yamato. I think it'll be best if Naruto stays a night in the hospital, just in case."
Tayuya bristled when Yamato began to make his way towards her. "Don't fucking pick me up again!" Sure, she might not be fully mobile on her own at the moment but she wasn't a goddamn sack of potatoes.
"So you expect me to push you the whole three miles back into Konoha?" Yamato asked somewhat skeptically but a smug smile was plastered on his face.
"I can fucking roll myself!" Tayuya proclaimed as she pushed on her wheels as hard as she could. All she managed was a barely noticeable slide against the slightly moist grass. "Fucking cheap piece of shit! I can't get any fucking traction!" It didn't stop her from continuing to try rolling the wheels, though. Each push picked up more grass and dirt than the last.
The sound of Yamato's laughter caused Tayuya to snap. "The fuck are you laughing at, bastard? Think it's funny to laugh at a cripple?" In the prison she had never felt like a cripple, she was just a prisoner. Now out in the open, the difference between her and those that could walk felt jarring.
She pushed harder against the wheels, her hands-dirtying with each forceful push. She looked down at her useless legs. There was nothing she wouldn't give to be able to walk again. She hated that blond haired bitch and that stupid smart ass that did this to her even though she knew she shouldn't. She lost and they won. She knew that she was lucky that she had even gotten away at all but it still didn't feel fair.
The reward Tsunade had offered her for completing this mission echoed in her mind. Tayuya swallowed hard, almost as though she was physically swallowing her pride. It somehow hurt more having to ask for help. "Fine, carry me."
She was beginning to hate the sound of Yamato's chuckle. "Good, because you were rolling in the wrong direction."
As Tayuya was lifted like potato sack once again, she wanted to scream in frustration. So she did. It wasn't like it would impact anything, it just felt satisfying.
The trees passed beneath Tayuya once again. Yamato had her so that she couldn't see where she was going. It annoyed her to no end to not know. "Hey, tree fucker. Where the hell are you taking me?" She tried not to squeal when Yamato adjusted her on his shoulder, grimacing and stifling the noise. Yamato, as much as she despised him, was a well-trained ninja who was not going to drop her. Probably.
"We have a temporary holding cell for you to stay in until we find a more permanent place." Yamato's neutral tone at her name-calling only pissed her off more. It was even worse than that fatass.
Tayuya nodded, she was still a prisoner, even if she will have a really big yard. At least she still had the flute. She felt the warm wood-like material once again. She was going to play it as often as she could, even if for no other reason than to keep the other prisoners up all night.
It didn't hit her until she saw her new cell. The moment they arrived, though, she was confronted with exactly how much she didn't want to be in there. It was small, just as small as her last one. There was a window that she wouldn't be able to see out of. The bed at least looked somewhat warmer and had two pillows. But it was just another hole.
She looked at Yamato. She hated how weak she felt when she looked at him. But she didn't want to go back into the hole. She wasn't going to beg, though. There was no way she was going to reduce herself down to that level. "Please, can I stay outside? Just set me up with a blanket. Anywhere but here." Except, her words came out as a desperate whisper and she cursed herself for it.
"It's just for tonight," Yamato assured her, though his words did no such thing.
Tayuya felt her chair move forward, into the cell. Without thinking, she brought her hands up to brace against the wall and the cell door attempting to stop herself from entering. "No please! I don't want to. Not another hole. Please!" She begged, abandoning the last shred of her dignity. She had just gotten out, they had just had just granted her the tiniest taste of freedom and now they were going to rip it away from her again. Tayuya wasn't going to let them. All she longed for was to be outside and to be as far away from another prison. God knows she's spent long enough being trapped.
However, Yamato was relentless. Her arms, weak from disuse, gave away and she was inside the cell.
"Please no." She whispered again.
Yamato sighed and backed out of the cell. "Get some sleep, I think we'll be gone longer tomorrow, I'll pick you up early."
At that point, she didn't bother with a response, instead sat still and waited for the sound of the cell door shutting behind her before readying herself for the tears. They never came. Slowly, she turned her head to check if Yamato was still there.
Nobody was there, the prison door was slightly ajar.
Slowly, she spun her chair around and peered out into the hallway. An ANBU member stood at one end and there was a staircase leading up at the other end. She stared at the monkey masked ANBU for a long moment. The bastard didn't move. Tired of waiting, Tayuya rolled herself out of the cell, never once breaking eye contact with the ANBU.
By some miracle, he didn't seem to care. Pursing her lips, she rolled herself and back into the cell then back out to see if there would be any sort of reaction. The ANBU didn't budge. Even if he didn't care, she did. This meant that she could leave if she wanted!
Except… The only way out was a staircase leading up. While she had mastered the art of going downstairs relatively quickly, upstairs was a bit more difficult. Scratch that, a lot more difficult. Still, Tayuya took the small victory for what it was and without a second thought, she ripped the cover off the bed and took the pillow as well.
In the hallway, there was enough distance that the world beyond the window was visible and she could look out to see the star-filled night. As small as the window was, the view was stunning. It was incredible how she took the simple things in life for granted once upon a time.
Tayuya waved her flute at the ANBU. "Do you care if I play?"
The monkey was just a silent as he had been for the entire time.
Once again, Tayuya let her soul out into the world through her flute. There was an elated tone that was underlying each sharp whistle. The tune carried with it the sound of freedom and happiness. The music seemed to dance with itself in a fast paced and frantic matter that eventually blended into something rhythmic and beautiful. It sounded like the dancing flames of a summertime campfire with the company of friends and nature.
It sounded like Tayuya's hope.
XXXX
Tayuya.
Naruto knew he was in trouble when that was the first thought that entered his mind. It wasn't just one simple thing about Tayuya that he thought of. It was just her in her entirety. His mind was unusually free of the thoughts of being Hokage, or 'what should flavor ramen should I have for breakfast'. The blonde didn't think about Sakura or how he was going to get Sasuke back. It was just… Tayuya.
It wasn't just her red locks and the way her bangs fell right in place between her eyes even though she probably didn't even comb it or the sharpness of her chocolate brown eyes. His thoughts of her went beyond the superficial ones he's had whenever he thought of the past crushes he's had. It was the way Tayuya yelled, the brashness in her words despite the delicate sound of her voice. Not to mention, her music.
Although he knew that he had only spent just a few hours with her yesterday, it felt like he had sat behind her in class for years, just watching her. Like he's had months worth of sneaking peeks at her.
"Tayuya." He tested the sound in his mouth. It felt like a drop of honey, smooth and sweet.
"What?" The familiar female voice disrupted his thoughts. Sakura stood in the entrance of his room with a clipboard in her hand and with a concerned frown.
Naruto couldn't help but think that Tayuya was prettier.
"Oh, uhh… Nothing Sakura!" Naruto explained quickly, chuckling and rubbing the nape of his neck sheepishly. "It's just someone who is helping me train." He didn't want Sakura to know that Tayuya was one of the sound ninjas that had helped Sasuke escape. Or worse yet, that he maybe, sort of, definitely had a somewhat major crush on Tayuya because of his clone training.
"Of course you would be thinking about training," Sakura muttered, her strides echoing throughout the hospital room as she neared. "Kakashi-sensei said to meet him at the same place as soon as you're feeling better."
Naruto was out of the window before the blankets hit the bed. "Thanks, Sakura! I've got to train! See you later!"
"You idiot!" Sakura shouted after him, the exasperation in her voice almost palpable. "You could at least let me check to see if you're alright!"
Like anyone with half a brain, Naruto chose to avoid Sakura's immediate wrath and continued running. He still had the training to do. And no small part of him was excited to see Tayuya.
XXXX
"What the fuck do you mean? We're just going to wait here and see if he shows up?!" Tayuya's voice echoed throughout the clearing. "Seriously, you two are fucking jounins and we're just going to fucking sit here and wait for that idiot to show up?"
Kakashi peered at Tayuya over his book and sighed, probably more so at the volume of her voice than the thought of having to wait for Naruto. "Well, Naruto recovers fast, and both Yamato and I are still in our recovery period from our last mission so we're effectively on reserve right now."
Tayuya huffed and blew a single strand of hair out of her face. "Can't one of you go bring his dumbass here then?" It was only worse that they had told her not to play her flute until Naruto got here. Bastards didn't know good music if it bit them in the ass.
"You know I could have just left you in the prison until Naruto got here," Yamato said with his small twisted smile.
"Shutting up." The redhead responded almost immediately.
It wasn't long before Naruto leaped into the clearing with a giant smile on his face. He saw Tayuya sitting there and nearly froze for a second just to stare at her. He could feel his cheeks heating up, his palms already getting sweaty.
"Hey shithead, quit gawking at me and get to training!" Tayuya shouted at him. She didn't like the way he was staring at her with his mouth open like that. It made him look stupid. And the sooner he got to training, the sooner they finished his training. And the sooner he managed to complete his training, the sooner she would regain the usage of her legs back.
She had a long list of asses to kick.
"You sure you're okay, Naruto? You seem… more out of it than usual." Kakashi droned from behind his book.
Naruto jumped at Kakashi's voice and quickly made his way over to his sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, I have a question before we start," Naruto whispered lowly. He did not want Tayuya to hear what he was about to say.
A sigh. "Of course you do."
"So you know how Shadow clones transfer memories?" Naruto asked, his arms flailing in wild gestures that didn't quite translate to what he was saying.
"Yes, Naruto. We went over this yesterday, remember what Tayuya showed you?" While Kakashi didn't exactly know what Tayuya had done to Naruto, he had a few guesses. Despite how rough Tayuya was around the edges she was, she seemed to be somewhat of a good person.
Naruto attempted to shove that memory into the back of his mind. It kept bouncing back. "Yeah, yeah, but do they transfer feelings too?"
The question caught Kakashi off guard for a moment. "It's possible. I've never heard of it happening before, why?"
"All of my clones yesterday kept looking at Tayuya, and now I might have a crush on her," Naruto slumped his shoulders with each whisper as though being weighed down by the reality of the situation.
"Well that's certainly different," Kakashi responded, unable to stifle a chuckle. "Will this impact your training?"
Naruto began to say something except his eyes darted towards Tayuya for a quick second and the hamsters in his brain stopped running to stare at her. "I uhh… Maybe?"
"Normally when a woman has a crush on me, they tell me and after a few minutes of talking it goes away," Kakashi said thoughtfully. It had absolutely nothing to do with his favorite book series. Nothing. "So maybe if you tell Tayuya about it, it might go away?"
Naruto gulped. He could run at Orochimaru, jump head first into an Akatsuki lair and grab Tsunade's breasts. His courage, though, stopped short at talking to Tayuya. "Isn't there some other way?"
"No training until you confess," with that, Kakashi was leaning back against the tree and opening his book to the exact page he left off of.
Tayuya watched in suspicion as Naruto walked up to her. It was starting to piss her off how he kept trying to look at anything but her. So she glared at him. "What the fuck do you want now?"
"I love you."
That was not at all what Naruto wanted to say.
For a long moment, the entire field was silent. Naruto's eyes went comically wide and he bit his bottom lip, terrified at what else his mouth might say. Yamato looked at the two incredulously. And Kakashi just turned the page in his book.
Tayuya slowly turned her head as she looked up at the blond idiot that was standing in front of her. When her ear was almost parallel with her shoulder she stopped. "You fucking what?"
The silence dragged on.
"Holy shit dude, I've heard of virgins saying "I love you" after their first fuck, but what the crap man? I flash you my tits once and suddenly you think we're soul mates or something?" Tayuya spat out. She couldn't understand anything that was happening anymore. She had to still be under some kind of fucked up Konoha genjutsu, right?
"I didn't mean to say that!" Naruto shouted after his mouth decided to start working again. "I meant to say that I have a crush on you now because all of my clones yesterday kept looking at you!"
"So you decided to say you love me? What the fuck kind of logic is that?" Tayuya glared at Naruto. The fact that he actually shrank back down was satisfying. So she hadn't quite lost her touch after all.
"I didn't mean it like that! It just came out!" Naruto whined. "It's because of the clones okay? I thought you were pretty before training yesterday, and then your music was awesome so my clones all kind of started to like you and now I kind of like you a lot more because each one kept looking over at you. I'm sorry, okay!"
Tayuya snorted at that and crossed her arms. She turned her head away from Naruto. Of course, the stupid idiot would be the first person to ever call her beautiful. Stupid ass blond. "Well, then why even tell me this now? You couldn't keep it in your pants for a couple days until training was over?"
"Kakashi-sensei said that it would help me lose my crush on you! It's what happens to him when a lady has a crush on him!" Naruto desperately pointed at his sensei with both arms as though that would somehow miraculously transfer the blame onto the jounin.
With a barely noticeable eye twitch, Tayuya turned her attention to the platinum blond haired man that was leaning against the tree no more than twenty paces away. Another name to add to the list of asses she needed to kick. "That's because your sensei is a perverted loser whose romantic experience is bumping into old ladies on his way home from the strip club!"
For a moment, Naruto wasn't sure which sensei she was referring to. "Look, I'm sorry okay? Just forget about it!" His attempt to flee was stopped as Tayuya grabbed onto his arm.
"Uh-uh." Tayuya shook her head smoothly sending her greasy red hair flying around her her. "You're not getting off that easy, you having a crush on me is going to mess with your training. So for today you're going to leave a clone with me and we're going to talk until you hate me, got it?"
She wasn't exactly sure why that sounded like a good idea. It might have something to do with the fact that he was the first person to call her beautiful or maybe because he liked her music. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was the first boy to say "I love you" to her, obviously.
Naruto looked down at Tayuya and grinned. "Sure, sounds like a good idea."
Tayuya releases Naruto's arm and watched the idiot run off to his sensei. She couldn't help but click her teeth. "Don't sound so happy about spending time with me." She muttered quietly to herself.
The field was filled with clones moments later and Tayuya found herself playing her flute once again. A dull low tune poured out of the flute like a long early morning walk. It expressed the slow start of a new day with each step being one filled with promise.
As her song went on it picked up with sharp sudden tones that played with the dull long tones like the little things in life that make each day its own. A mellow beat took over for the dull tones as the day began to pick up, nearly matching pace for the joy of the sudden sharps. Until finally it was complete.
Tayuya opened her eyes to the sound of a single idiot clapping frantically. She had never gotten applauded before. Not for just her music at any rate. And yet here was this dumbass blond clapping like an idiot. "The fuck are you clapping for?"
Naruto tilted his head at Tayuya like a confused puppy. "Ehh? Why wouldn't I clap? It was a good song!"
"It's not a song you bastard, it's music. Songs have words and music can be just instruments!" Although she wasn't entirely sure if that was true or not. It was just her own personal definition to discriminate between the two.
Obediently, Naruto nodded in agreement and shifted around till he was in sitting cross-legged on the ground. "Oh, neat I never really paid any attention to music and stuff like that before." He said, before hastily adding. "I really do like yours, though."
Tayuya snorted. "Flattery will get you nothing but a swift kick in the ass." Seriously, didn't this guy understand that too nice was a thing? Already he was twice as nice as the entire goddamn sound village. And then some. Stupid optimistic bastard.
"So what'd you want to talk about?" Naruto asked. He could feel the jealous glares of some of his clones in the back of his head. It definitely wasn't a good thing but he got to spend some time with Tayuya so it was probably worth the risk.
"I told you. We're going to talk until you realize that liking me is a terrible idea then you're going to dispel all those fucking feelings and finally we're going to get back to training." Tayuya pointed her flute at Naruto as though to threaten him with it, huffing as she explained everything in a matter-of-fact tone.
"About what, though?" Naruto asked in confusion.
It took everything she had to suppress a shriek of frustration. "Well, so far we're off to a fantastic start. I'm already starting to regret this idea." She scowled. "Has anybody ever told you you're annoying?"
"Twice and daily," Naruto responded without missing a beat. "But that's mostly just from Sakura and Shikamaru, they think everything I do is annoying."
The name made her blood boil. "Shikamaru is the dumbass shadow user with the pineapple shaped head, right?"
Not quite sensing the killing intent that rose with the name, Naruto nodded, happily oblivious. "Well, Shikamaru probably thinks everything is annoying so it's not my fault."
"And nobody else ever thinks you're annoying?" Tayuya asked with sarcasm practically dripping off words. There was an awkward silence that stretched on a little too long for comfort and she grimaced. "Alright, here's the deal. I'm going to tell you my shitty life story and you're going to sit there and listen to the entire fucking thing and not say a goddamn thing until you think you hate me or at the very least don't think it's a good idea to have a crush on me."
"You have my complete and utter- whoa." The clone wobbled for a moment and held his head. In the field behind them, the training clones all vanished as each and every one had just learned how to cut the leaf quickly and efficiently. It was time for the next stage.
A soft hum escaped Tayuya. The clone training wasn't such a bad idea after all. At this rate, they'll be done in no time. There was still the matter of the… Crush to get rid of, though. Once that was over and done with, they'll get a proper roll.
"Alright, good. So listen up, there's not a lot to it my life is kind of shitty and I'm a shitty person, got it?" Tayuya waited for the blond to recover from absorbing all the information and gave her a dull nod before continuing.
No details were spared as Tayuya told him her entire story, of how she was an orphan near the coast with nothing but a wooden flute until Orochimaru showed up and "saved" her. He tested his seals on her and tested her abilities with the flute. His interest in her wavered all year around. Whenever she discovered something new with music he would get excited and they would run experiments until she could barely move and Orochimaru would move on, directing his attention elsewhere. She had killed for Orochimaru, he had included her in his plans to kill the third Hokage and help Sasuke leave the village.
Except, when she was finished, Naruto was still sitting there with a curious look plastered on his face.
"Well? Do you fucking hate me yet?" Tayuya snapped, perhaps a tad too harshly. At this point in time, she was out of material and just wanted it to be done. Of course, she could probably just yell at him until her face turned blue but there was the chance that he liked that. The pervert had a crush on her so she wouldn't doubt it if he was into some weird shit.
"Did you enjoy those things?" Naruto asked simply.
"Fucking what?" Tayuya asked. She just did them because she had to, there was no enjoying her life. The only thing in her life that brought her any fucking joy was when she was outside and just able to play her flute and making Orochimaru happy meant that she would be able to do just that.
"I don't think you did those things because you wanted to. And I don't think you liked doing those things either." There was a softness in the way he spoke, a sharp contrast to the usually brash attitude he seemed to have. "I don't think a bad person can play music like you do. It's too beautiful."
The Naruto clone disappeared as Tayuya whacked him on the head with her flute. "Dumbass." She turned to see a row of shirtless Narutos wave at her from their bridge. She found her face heat up slightly at the sight of them.
Just great, her plan had backfired and now she was the pervert.
With a sigh, Tayuya rose her flute to her lips, desperate to think of something else.
AN: Got new beta! This one is faster... like as in he finished an hour or two after I went to bed. Looks good to me honestly. Anyways give it up for JAM! He's on the Narutofanfiction discord!... no idea what his pen name here is.
Anyways. After a week or so in Beta I give you the second chapter to the Sound of freedom!
Bet you never thought Naruto would be the one to fall in love first! (I mostly just wanted to abuse the clone training in a weird way.)
Now to get ready to write something extra fluffy for next chapter.
