CHAPTER 1:Down in the Dumps
Naruto trudged along the path leading to Konoha, Kagome crawling contentedly along beside him. It was maybe twenty minutes since Kagome came crashing into him, and, contrary to what Naruto expected, they were making good time back to the village. Kagome's chosen mode of transportation did not hamper them in any way, and Naruto believed that they would reach the village in another forty minutes. Of course, they could reach Konoha in maybe seven minutes if Naruto just picked up Kagome and ran, but he was in no mood to hurry. The sun is bright, the air is warm, and all around the first signs of spring were showing.
On the trees the leaves were budding, and here and there a spatter of new flowers-daisies, tulips,bluebells, crocuses-were just starting to emerge from the new grass. Even the birds have started to celebrate the beginning of April.
So now, just for the moment, Naruto wanted to bask in the peace and tranquility as long as he could, savoring the silence that was so hard to come by in the bustling village.
Kagome herself seemed to be more at peace then she was when he first met her, crying, upset,and obviously scared. Her crawl has lost the stiff, awkward look it had before, settling into a graceful, smooth loping movement that reminded Naruto of a panther, and he was pretty sure that not just anyone could pull that off.
So, for the rest of the walk, Kagome amused herself with the scenery, while Naruto walked silently, letting the sounds and smells of spring wash over him.
Some time later, the gates of Konohagakure came into view, and Naruto's exceptional hearing picked out the hustle and bustle coming from beyond the gates, as well as the scents of rich,savory dishes wafting from the restaurants and market place, with an underlaying smell of sweat,perfume and excitement. No doubt the sunny weather has put many in a cheery mood.
Naruto yawned lightly as he stopped walking, signaling Kagome to follow him as he moved into the forest right of the road.. Letting out a sigh as he stretched, he turned to Kagome.
"I don't really feel like going through an interrogation with the guardsmen at the gate as to who you are,"he explained, " So we'll just jump over the wall farther down from the entrance. That way we won't attract so much attention, and it's closer to my apartment anyway."
Once they were far enough away from the shinobi guarding the entrance, Naruto scooped up Kagome, and, pushing chakra to his legs, leapt up, up, up, and over, clearing the top of the wall by a few metres, and sailed down to the ground. Kagome squirmed in his arms, whipping her head this way and that, trying to see everything at once as they fell, not seeming the least bit scared at the height.
Naruto landed with a light thud in an alley, then lept behind a large garbage dump. He peeked his head out, peering down the shaded street to see if anyone had witnessed his grand(and somewhat illegal) entrance from over the wall. Seeing that the coast was clear, he placed Kagome on the ground, and knelt next to her.
"Okay, so here's the deal," he whispered to her conspiriously. "We're on a secret mission. We have to get to my apartment without anyone seeing us, 'kay? This village is filled with people who will probably be suspicious if they see you, and maybe a little scared. So, you have to be really quiet, okay?"
"Nya!" she said excitedly, and poked his nose.
"Right, then, get on my back. It'll be faster this way. Not to mention safer," he mumbled the last part, before he turned, kneeling with his back facing Kagome. He looked at her over his shoulder."Come on, get on my back,"he said, patting his back.
Kagome poked his back once for heck of it, then, giggling, flung herself onto Naruto's back,almost sending him face first into the ground, and wrapped her arms around his chest, legs around his hips.
Naruto stood up slowly, Kagome's head resting on his shoulder, and felt the nerves in his stomach jump. He wasn't used to anyone being this close to him, especially a girl. For her to be this close willingly sent a warmth through his heart. This was, sadly enough, the closest thing to a hug he'd ever had in his whole life.
He shook his head, wanting to get rid of these thoughts. It would only bring back feelings of loneliness, things he'd already accepted. Still, he couldn't keep the small grin off his face, even as he told himself that woolgathering on missions was something a chuunin like himself should never do. No way was he going to let an enemy sneak up on him unawares! Believe it!
"Naruto, what the heck are you doing in a deserted alleyway..."- Naruto let out a squeak and hurled a startled Kagome into the open garbage container, slamming down the lid just as Iruka rounded the corner-"... and who are you talking too..." he trailed off as he saw Naruto leaning nonchalantly against the garbage dump, no one else in sight.
"Oh hey, Iruka-sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruto said, trying to look surprised, which really wasn't that hard, considering Iruka just about gave him a heart attack.
Iruka lifted an eyebrow, eyes still scanning the alleyway. "Isn't that something I should be asking you? And I could swear I heard you talking to someone. Something about getting on your back, I think."
Naruto shifted slightly, still trying to look innocent. This is just the first obstacle in the mission.No problem.
"I was just dropping off my garbage, duh! What else would I be doing near a garbage dump?And I wasn't talking to anybody, you just imagined it. Old people do that a lot ."
Iruka snorted. "Whatever, just don't get into any trouble, Naruto. I have to go back to patrolling." He turned around, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, turning back to the garbage dump. 'Good thing he didn't get any closer,' he thought. 'Or else he would have heard the scratching. Poor Kagome, with her sense of smell, it must be horrible in there.'
"Oh yeah, and Naruto?"
Naruto eeped and spun around. "Y-Yeah?"
Iruka smiled, and scratched at his hair sheepishly. "We haven't gotten together lately, so I was wondering if you want to come with me to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop after I'm done? My treat?"
Naruto gaped. 'Ramen!?!' he screeched in his head. 'Free ramen?!? Why must Kami be so cruel!!! I can't go with him now! What about Kagome?' Mental Naruto sighed, but then straightened up, holding his fists in front of his chest. 'Okay Naruto, be strong, you can do this!
Believe it!'
Naruto forced a grin, feeling his heart breaking. "Sorry Iruka-sensei, maybe some other time? I kinda have some really important stuff to do."
Now it was Iruka's turn to gape. "Y-Your turning down free ramen?!? Naruto, are you feeling okay? Do you feel sick? What is it, is it your head? Stomach? Is it bad? Here, I'll take you to the hospital, I'm sure-"
"Iruka-sensei I'm fine! Really! It's just that I have to meet with Tsunade-baasan, and stuff..."
"Tsunade-sama," Iruka corrected absently, still worried. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah!" Naruto yelled, shooting a huge grin at him. "Never better, really!"
"Oh," Iruka said, clearly still doubtful. "Well, then, I guess I'll go..." he walked off, peeking at Naruto over his shoulder a couple of times.
Naruto waited until Iruka was out of sight, then let out a huge sigh. Walking over to the dump,he opened the lid and peeked in.
Kagome sat in a giant heap of garbage, potato shavings on her shirt, coffee grindings smeared on her legs, and what looked like a smushed up banana in her hair. Both hands were over her nose, and her eyes were watering from the stench.
"Oh great, that's disgusting," Naruto groaned. "Come on Kagome, let's get you out there."He reached in and pulled Kagome out, wincing. Kagome sneezed a few times, before burying her face in his neck, breathing shallowly. Naruto patted her back, feeling a bit guilty, even as he blushed at the close contact. He pushed off the ground, landing on the rooftop, and started bounding toward his apartment, grateful for the wind that kept some of the smell away from him.Kagome even turned her head forward, away from his neck, in order to take deep, long breaths of fresh air.
Naruto ignored the disappointment that caused, and forcefully shoved away the thoughts that hoped Kagome would rest her face on his neck again.
Taking another leap, he landed on his own roof, and opened the window to his bedroom. Prying Kagome off him, he dropped her gently onto his bed, then went through the window himself,pausing to close and lock it, and to make sure the ratty grey drapes were covering as much as possible. With that done, he plopped down next to Kagome.
"So, Kagome," he started, rolling onto his stomach, resting his head in his hands. "How do you like my first rate 5-star bedroom?"
Kagome looked around the messy room. Dirty clothes littered the floor, as well as some kunai and other weapons, and the white paint on the walls and ceiling were chipped and flaking. What rug that could be seen from under the clothes was an ugly grey-sprinkled-brown colour, and threadbare.
Kagome wrinkled her nose.
Naruto sighed. "Ya, I know, pretty pathetic, huh? Still, it's all I can afford right now. And it's not as bad as some people, right? So, I guess I should be grateful...Anyway how about that bath I was talking about, hmm? The plumbing still works, I think."
Naruto rolled off the bed and picked up Kagome. Wading through the clothes and junk he exited the bedroom and headed toward the bathroom just down the hall. He placed Kagome in front of the door. "Well, I'll leave you to it! Don't worry about wasting hot water, Tsunade-baasan handles the hydro bill."
With a pat on the head he headed for the stairs leading to the living room and the kitchen, and was half-way down before he realized that Kagome probably didn't even know what a bathtub was, let alone how to use it. He looked back, and sure enough there was Kagome still on the ground and playing with her tail.
Naruto turned around and trudged back to Kagome, wondering how the hell was he going to go about this. He was starting to think that the girl was much more trouble than she was worth .
Kagome looked up at Naruto gleefully, and held up her tail for him to stroke.
'Ah crap,' he thought as he caved in and stroked her tail, much to the delight of Kagome. 'It's too hard to be mad at something this cute.'
"Still," he said outloud, retracting his hand. "You'd be much cuter once your clean. But how the hell am I supposed to do this? It's not like I can just strip you naked and bathe you myself...Although..." he trailed off, before smacking his head. "No, absolutely not." He groaned miserably. "This is too confusing. I don't want to deal with this," Naruto wailed. Kagome,obviously excited with Naruto's dilemma, joined in with a loud "Nyaaa!"
Naruto sweatdropped. 'Girls,' he thought despairingly. Then it clicked. 'Oh! How could I have not thought of this sooner?'
"When in doubt, call Sakura," he muttered outloud as he headed toward the phone, Kagome still giggling on the floor.
A/N: Okay, I know, weak ending. Still, at least I updated in only one week, right? That wasn't to long, I hope. Anyway, I want to point out that I used the word 'conspiriously', which, apparently isn't a real word. But also, apparently, the only form 'conspire' has is just that, 'conspire'. So,you guys will just have to accept that I made up a new word for the sake of the story. Hopefully,this chapter will bring even MORE reviews, because excuse me, but I sorta expected a bit more than 5 reviews from a story that's been read by about 140 different people. Call me weird, but come on. Still, that makes the awesome people listed at the start of the chapter even more special,
and I am even more grateful to you for taking the time to review. Anyway, expect the 3rd chapter in a week or so, and remember, if you review my story, I'll review yours. Ta ta!
