Kyoko jerked awake as she felt Naruto move from her arms. She was out of their hole and on her feet instinctively as she realized someone else was out there.
"Leave him alone," she growled as she saw a masked man in black holding the still sleeping Naruto. Adrenaline surged as she noticed two others in identical clothes standing to either side of her and any leftover drowsiness vanished. "Put him down."
"Maa calm down," the first one said as he shifted the sleeping boy slightly. "I'm not hurting him."
A dog mask, she thought as her eyes darted over him, trying desperately to tell if he was lying. She glanced around and looked over his companions as well noting their masks. Cat and a Snake I think.
"Why should I believe you? Almost all the other grownups are mean to him so why would you be nice?" she finally asked, suspicion lacing her words.
"It doesn't really matter to me one way or the other," Dog told her in a bored tone. "The Hokage has sent us to retrieve him so-"
Dog was interrupted as Kyoko darted towards him with a scowl on her face. The man with a Cat-like mask reached for her as she passed but she felt his presence and turned into him. Without pausing she grabbed at Cat's arm and tried to flip him much as she had done to the civilian the night before. However Cat was faster than the drunken man had been. He pulled his arm back and then caught her unprotected arm, turning the grab back on her. Using her momentum, he pinned her to the ground with one arm twisted up behind her and the other trapped beneath her body.
Dog sighed but continued on. "As I was saying, the Hokage sent us to bring him to the tower for his own safety."
"Yeah right! If you were trying to protect him then where were you last night when those jerks attacked us? They were trying to kill us and no one did anything," Kyoko bit out as she tried to break free.
"If they were trying to kill you then how did you get away brat?" Snake asked with disbelief apparent in her voice.
"I protected us!" Kyoko said, glaring at the woman.
"Pfft, they must not have been trying very hard then." As the woman laughed Kyoko felt her eyes watering and tried to blink them back.
"They were! One even had a knife and tried to stab me. It was in the alley a few blocks from the bottom of the hill." Tears were rolling down her face now as her the panic from the night before returned and she realized how close she had really come to getting hurt or worse.
"Snake enough. Go check it out," Dog said in a sharp voice. "Cat, let her up but don't let go of her. And you," he said sharply, "are going to tell me exactly what happened. You are not going to run away or try to pick a fight. If you do I'll tie you up and let the Hokage talk deal with you instead. Understand?"
Kyoko nodded as Snake disappeared and Cat released the pressure on her arm, letting her climb to her feet, though he kept a hand on her shoulder.
"I wanted to take Naruto-kun to the festival since I thought he would have fun. But he was scared and said it wasn't safe," Kyoko said wiping her eyes and toeing the ground a little. "When we're trying to hide from mean people we come out here but we were all the way on the other side of the village and it was later in the day. I figured Naruto-kun had to be scared for a reason, so we went as quickly as we could while avoiding the biggest of the crowds and we made it all the way to the bottom of the hill without anyone really bothering us. But then…"
Her voice broke off with a croak and her hands curled into fists as the faces of their three attackers swam before her. It felt like she couldn't breathe and tears fell freely from her eyes.
"Take a deep breath and focus on me," Dog said, his mask now only inches from her face. "What do you see?"
"A- A dog mask," she finally got out, though her throat still felt tight.
"What does it look like?"
"It's white with red lines and it's not shiny even though it looks likes the same stuff you use to make cups."
"Alright, now stay focused on me. I'm here not whoever attacked you. Tell me what happened when you got to the bottom of the hill."
"A drunk guy walked out in front of us and said he wanted Naruto-kun. He called him a demon brat," Kyoko said, his voice floating through her head. Her eyes traced the red lines of Dog's mask and she tried to push it from her thoughts. "I grabbed Naruto and tried to run away but two more stepped out from behind us."
"And then?" Dog prompted.
"There was an alley, so we tried to run down it but it was a dead end. I pushed Naruto behind me to try to keep him safe."
"How did you stop them?"
"I- I'm not totally sure. I'm an orphan, and I lost most of my memories. When I was standing there facing them it was like I remembered someone talking to me. He had been telling me when fighting a bigger enemy you had to stay calm, center yourself and watch everything. So I took a deep breath and when the first one attacked me my body just moved. I don't even know what I did. But each time they attacked me, I somehow got out of the way." Saying it out loud Kyoko realized how ridiculous it sounded. Her gaze fell to the ground and she fidgeted nervously.
"What happened after you stopped all three of them?" Dog finally asked, gently using her chin to make her look at him again.
"I grabbed Naruto and we ran out of the alley," she replied softly. "He tripped and hurt his ankle though so I picked him up and carried him as far as I could before hiding us and going to sleep."
"Where did he trip?"
"Towards the bottom of the hill."
"You carried him the entire way uphill?" Dog barely managed to keep the skepticism from her voice.
"I was still doing the breathing thing that I had done while fighting. I felt like I was- stronger than normal. Like I wasn't tired. But then I got up here and it suddenly ran out." Kyoko struggled to put the strange feeling she had had into words.
"It could have been adrenaline," Dog mused out loud, tilting his head to the side.
"I don't think so captain," Cat said from behind her. "When I grabbed her, I felt chakra flowing in a very controlled pattern."
"A little young to be accessing her chakra," Dog replied. "Especially without any formal training."
Kyoko listened as the two talked, looking back and forth with wide eyes. Especially at the mention of chakra.
"Chakra is something ninjas use right?" she blurted out. Both masked men looked at her and slowly Dog nodded. "Then how could I use it? I'm not a ninja."
"All living things have chakra," Cat said with a sigh. "Even civilians can learn to use it, though they rarely become good at it if they do not start at a young age."
Kyoko started to ask another question but was stopped when Snake reappeared. Something about her posture caused Dog to stiffen and nod.
"Alright kid, looks like you get to come along too. Cat will carry you," Dog said, his tone making it clear she had no choice. She sighed as Cat picked her up in a princess carry but didn't say anything.
"What's your name anyway?" Cat asked.
"Kyoko."
"Well Kyoko-chan you may want to hold on."
That was the only warning she got before the ninja jumped into the trees and began running across the roofs towards the big tower Naruto had always told her about. It was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time and Kyoko clung to Cat's armor, burying her face against it anytime they went up or down a wall.
Kyoko peeked out from Cat's chest cautiously as he finally stopped moving. An old man in white robes sat behind a large wooden desk. His face was partially hidden by a giant hat and a pipe stuck out of his mouth.
"Dog, what is the meaning of this?" the old man asked with a sigh.
"Hokage-sama, it seems there was an incident last night involving Naruto-kun. He is fine but I thought you should know since it was this girl that saved the two of them."
The Hokage eyes widened before he turned his gaze to her and Kyoko instinctively shrunk against Cat. After a moment he nodded and turned back to Dog. The old man began talking and Kyoko's attention wandered as the last bit of adrenaline drained away. Her body felt heavy and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open as the voices seemed to lull her to sleep.
"Kyoko-chan?" she heard Cat ask distantly. "Kyoko-chan!"
She tried to reassure him that she was only sleepy but her body wouldn't respond and the darkness consumed her.
"What is wrong with her?" the Hokage asked, standing to walk over to Cat.
"It appears to be mild chakra exhaustion," Cat said, though his voice was uncertain.
That was understandable given that a girl her age that was not a ninja in training shouldn't have been able to even manipulate her chakra, let alone give herself chakra exhaustion. Sarutobi laid his hand on her and confirmed Cat's initial diagnosis. He sighed and took his hand away.
"Take her and Naruto to a guest room. They can stay there while Dog finishes his report."
Snake took the still sleeping Naruto and followed Cat out.
"Now, what did you leave out?" Sarutobi asked with a wry smile. "And perhaps you can inform me as to why Naruto-kun was sleeping so quietly even after being brought here."
Dog looked a little embarrassed but nodded.
"I used a jutsu to keep Naruto-kun asleep since he is normally a handful. As for the rest, it concerns the men that attacked them..."
AN: Sorry it's a little shorter guys, but it was a good stopping place. Also my apologies for taking so long to get it up . Copy ninja and Pup has been eating my time. Thanks to everyone that left me such wonderful reviews. I hope to see more!
Giselle- Here you go, even better than virtual cookies. I'm also off to get the next chapter of Copy nin done today too XD.
Lady Mimi- Glad you're enjoying this story of mine too. They'll be together for now
Guest- awww you didn't leave me a name but thank you. Hope you read this chapter too.
Izaranna- rest assured I never abandon projects.
Kuro- thanks Enjoy!