I do apologize...this story will take a long time to update, for your author is busy with high school and life. Do forgive me.
Chapter 2: Tangible Fear
The Next Morning
Mint-green eyes shot open in shock as Kimimaro felt the bed shift back and forth beneath him. Naruto was thrashing on the bed, kicking and punching wildly at the sheets, wailing and moaning like his life depended on it, his face contorted into an expression of fear. Twisting to and fro, the fox-child lashed out violently with his arms, swiping at the sheets that entangled him. Startled, Kimimaro reached over and subdued the blonde, pinning down the flailing limbs in an iron grip while whispering frantic words of encouragement in Naruto's ear. The blonde finally calmed down, muttering under his breath. Kimimaro strained to hear the words he spoke.
"Please…please…don't hurt me….what did I do to you...I am no demon fox…I'm just Naruto….please stop hitting me…"
The Kaguya drew back, startled at the words Naruto muttered. He instantly felt a hot rush of rage and saw his vision blur as he clenched his fists…whoever had broken this poor, innocent child would have hell to pay. One normally didn't have dreams like this with the exception of severe harassment when one was young. Kimimaro had experienced these dreams many times as he slept. Bending once more over Naruto, he whispered again in his ear.
"Stop now, Naruto. I'm here, I'm here."
Naruto drew one last shuddering breath and lay still, panting heavily. A thin sheen of sweat covered his brow, and he finally awoke, cracking open an eye. Seeing the white blur before him, he instinctively threw up his arms, wincing heavily once more. When no attack came, he lowered his arms just a fraction of an inch, peeking cautiously over the top. When Kimimaro's face came into view, the fox-child relaxed, sighing in relief.
"I'm sorry, Kimimaro, did I wake you?" Kimimaro shook his head.
"You have been tortured during most of your life." Naruto nodded reluctantly.
"How did you know?"
"I used to have dreams not unlike yours." Naruto nodded in comprehension. Kimimaro didn't press the subject, knowing that one's history of pain wasn't a subject to be trifled with.
"It's okay, dreams like those are regular for me." Naruto sighed and swung his legs over the bed, yawning widely and stretching.
"You stay here, I'll go find something to eat." Grabbing a nearby kunai from the table, he turned and walked out the door. Kimimaro smiled and started preparing the fire, waiting expectantly for the animals Naruto would bring.
It was a while later that Kimimaro heard the creak of the door, heralding Naruto's return. Stepping inside, Naruto proudly dropped two squirrels and a hare on the table along with a few strips of bark from a tree. Taking the bark, he set up a kettle on the fire and dropped the strips in one by one. Watching the water simmer and turn a rich brown, he skinned the squirrels and started to roast them, saving the skins for later use.
The two sat in amiable silence until the kettle started to boil. Taking out the brew, Naruto poured the tea into two earthen cups on the table and handed one to Kimimaro, sipping his lightly. Kimimaro remarked on the taste.
"This is also really good, Naruto, what do you call it?" Naruto smiled.
"This is a chicory brew. It's supposed to be good for you in some way, but I like the taste as well."
"How do you know so much about herbs?" Naruto cupped his face in his hands, leaning in the table with a faraway look in his eyes.
"Old geezer Sandaime gave me a book about leaves and such. At first I never really used it, but then when I got really sick and he cured me using a brew, I began to grow interested in herbs." Kimimaro inclined his head.
"Kimimaro…" the Kaguya looked up expectantly.
"Yes?"
"I have to get going now. Old geezer is gonna be worried about me."
Disappointment flashed briefly across Kimimaro's features. He had just found a friend….after searching for so long, he had finally found someone who could relate and sympathize with him, and now he had to leave? Nevertheless, he contained his emotions and consented.
"If you must, you must. Where do you live?" At Naruto's reply of "Konoha", Kimimaro thought for a while, then addressed the blonde.
"Konoha…is it that big village off in the distance?" Naruto nodded eagerly.
"All right then. Just go straight from here on out; you should be able to reach it in no time at all." Naruto smiled.
"But…won't you be lonely here?" Kimimaro shrugged.
"I'm used to it. Anyway, at least I know I have you." Naruto walked up and enfolded the older boy in a hug, burying his nose in the folds of Kimimaro's yukata and inhaling the fragrant scent.
"Okay. But I promise you we'll meet again." Kimimaro ran his hands slowly through the heaven-spun gold of Naruto's hair. They stayed entangled in each other's arms for a long period of time before Naruto broke free.
"Thank you. Your generosity will not go forgotten."
With that, Naruto turned and walked out the door with a final parting glance at the Kaguya. Kimimaro smiled sadly and closed his eyes, wishing with all his heart to meet up once again with Naruto. There they parted, and they would remain parted for many years to come.
Seven Years Later
What once had been an innocent boy was now an experienced ninja, skilled in the arts of being a shinobi. Azure blue eyes, once filled with purity now bore a solemn spark of wisdom behind the mask of cheerfulness. What had not been erased was the perpetual optimism an eternal part of the blonde fox-child's being.
Though the memories were faint, Naruto could still recall a white figure bearing down to comfort him in the wee hours in the morning. Snatches of memory flashed in the kitsune's mind, vaguely recollecting the figure's white hair and gentle smile which soothed him and brought him light in the darkness of his soul. He wondered if he'd meet the enigma once more, and perhaps get to know him a little better.
Walking down the streets of Konoha, Naruto hitched on his smile and skipped happily to the academy. Persuading a reluctant Iruka to Ichiraku, the blonde happily slurped the noodles noisily, cajoling Iruka to pay the bill. Iruka complied, sighing in the process and digging around in his bulimic wallet to extract the absurd sum of money, dropping the bills with a fair amount of pain into the joyful hands of Teuchi and Ayame. Bidding goodbye to his former sensei, Naruto hopped off the bench and made his way down to the bridge, grinning cheekily the whole way.
Heralding his presence with his usual Zillion Decibel Grande Entrance Brilliante, Naruto skipped happily to one side of the bridge and sat on the railing, giggling madly at the sight of Sakura's spasmodic seizures. He laughed even more when Sasuke calmly stuck a finger in his ear, digging vigorously to somehow heal his cracked eardrums. At a telltale poof, Naruto's head snapped to the side, cobalt eyes fixing accusingly on his sheepish scarecrow of a sensei who was currently rubbing his head in embarrassment.
"YOU'RE LAT E ONCE MORE, KAKASHI-SENSEI!"
"Well, this flower threw a bomb on my nonexistent car which made the car grow mad and throw another bomb back at the flower, so I had to break them up…." Contrary to the usual yells of "liar", Naruto addressed his sensei, speaking as if talking to a young child.
"No no no, Kakashi-sensei, it was the car who threw the bomb at the flower, not the other way around. And it was a fern, not a flower." Kakashi's visible eye widened, surprise written across his face (or what looked like surprise; one couldn't tell when only one eye was exposed), then got the hint and decided to play along.
"Are you sure? Because I think the bomb was fired by a weed, not a fern. And it landed on a spider who threw one back."
"No I'm positive that it was a fern and not a weed. The bomb was in the shape of a spore…" Sasuke and Sakura sighed, giving up all hopes of ever getting anything done in that fine, lovely morning.
"Anyway, since you guys have been so good lately, I'm giving you a little vacation for all the hard work you've been enduring. Congratulations, guys." Sasuke nonchalantly inserted two small white objects in his ears and quietly resumed his angsting on the bridge. Both Sakura and Kakashi looked over at the Uchiha with a quizzical look. Sasuke opened his lips and uttered one word.
"Duck."
A split second later, the most nerve-demolishing ear-cracking death-defying suicide-inducing holler ripped through the once-peaceful air of Konoha like a hot knife through a hefty pat of butter.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY! THANK YOU KAKAKSHI-SENSEEEIIIIIIII!"
While Sasuke merely lowered one eyelid, Kakashi and Sakura were promptly thrown off the bridge and into the water from the force of the sheer sonic power emitted from the well-toned lungs of Uzumaki Naruto. Giggling madly, he began a maniacal happy dance in the middle of the bridge, a face-splitting grin pasted over his features. Seeing that Sasuke was the only one on the bridge, Naruto, unable to contain his excitement, leapt over and hugged him with all his might, ignoring the surprised "oof" from the Uchiha and the fact that he was hugging his rival, the person whom he despised so much. Jumping up and down (and taking Sasuke with him in the process), he unconsciously snuggled into the Uchiha's chest, arms wrapped tightly around his waist and squeezing the bejesus out of the raven-haired youth.
"DIDJA HEAR THAT, SASUKE-TEME? WE'RE FINALLY, FINALLY GONNA HAVE A VACATION AFTER ALL THE HARD WORK WE'VE BEEN PUT THROUGH!" He stared up at the Uchiha, eyes positively glowing with excitement and sheer anticipation. The blonde positively radiated joy and optimism, the sheer cobalt of his irises sparkling with happiness.
Sasuke felt an odd and rather painful tug somewhere in the region of his chest, and a split second later, was hit dead on with a rush of emotions so sudden and intense, that for once in his life, Uchiha Sasuke was rendered absolutely speechless. Grasping frantically for his voice, the onyx-eyed youth displayed a spectacular show of the massive extent of his vocabulary.
"….Urk?"
Naruto, paying no attention to the frazzled Uchiha, released his hold on him (much to Sasuke's hidden disappointment) and bounded over to the bridge, hauling a half-drowned and utterly dazed Kakashi out of the frigid waters by the scruff of his neck. Wringing out his thoroughly drenched sensei, he immediately threw himself into Kakashi's arms, laughing playfully all the while. Kakashi hugged back, albeit a bit awkwardly, and patted Naruto on the head.
"Now now, calm down. Don't get too exciiiieiiieeeIIIIIIITEDAAAAACCKK!" Naruto had wrapped both arms around the poor sensei's neck and was now snuggling the nightlights out of Kakashi.
"YAAY! I'M SO HAPPY! WE'VE HAD NOTHING BUT BO-RING D-RANK MISSIONS FOR FIVE WEEKS! FINALLY SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO!"
Kakashi extracted himself from the arms of the hyperactive boy before him, dusting himself off.
"Well…I should probably give you the details of the trip now, shouldn't I?" Kakashi bent over and fished a bedraggled Sakura from the stream below.
"Let's see…we're going to be staying at a cabin in the forest….I hear they have some marvelous hot springs there….and we aren't obligated to protect anyone along the way which is a plus…but we are going to be training while we're at it."
Kakashi looked up, fully expecting Naruto to go ranting off, whining about "…not training again, Kakashi-sensei, we've been training all week" but contrary to popular belief, Naruto just continued bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, grinning like his face was permanently fused in a smile. A sudden interjection from a certain female pink entity was heard.
"But…vacation…with Sasuke-kun….VACATION WITH SASUKE-KUN!"
Sakura let loose with a screech above all possible decibel levels and began snuggling up to Sasuke with a dreamy, almost rabid look in her eyes. Sasuke twitched and scooted over a few hefty meters from the fangirl in lust. Naruto and Kakashi just blinked.
"Well, shall we pack?" Naruto grinned.
"YEAH! I have to say goodbye to Baa-chan and Ero-Sennin first." With that, he shot off the bridge and made straight for the Hokage tower. Kakashi yelled after him.
"Don't forget we're meeting in front of the gates at 7:00 tomorrow!" A wave signified that he heard, and Naruto disappeared. Kakashi just chuckled and shook his head.
"TSUNADE-BAA-CHAAAAAANNN!" Naruto burst in the door, heaving mightily with each breath. Tsunade smiled and waved him over, a friendly grin on her face. Naruto bounced up and winced when she rapped him smartly over the head.
"Do you not know the meaning of knocking?" She asked, a little too cheerfully. Naruto twitched. Her voice, though happy, was sounding a little scary, if not dangerous.
"Ummm…sorry?" He was instantly rewarded with another skull-crushing blow. Tsunade had a scowl on her face, and the aura emanating from the Sannin didn't foretell good things to come.
"OUT!" Naruto readily obeyed and leapt out the window, cowering for his life as the blonde woman threw various large, heavy objects and the occasional Anbu at the squealing fox-child.
The trip to the cottage was a peaceful one, Naruto oddly silent along the way. At first, both Sasuke and Sakura shot a quizzical glance at the blond kitsune's unusual out-of-character behavior, but decided he was just thinking (Sakura found it hard to imagine Naruto doing such a horrendously difficult thing like thinking) and decided to enjoy the precious silence when they could.