two |seven months later|
"Umino-sensei! Guess what!" A blonde blur ran through the streets, greeting a tall jounin by the infamous ramen establishment, Ichiraku Ramen.
The brunette gave him a smile, "What is it, Naruto?" She already had an idea of what he wanted to talk to her about.
Naruto hopped onto a stool, his feet swinging back and forth as he couldnt touch the ground, "Jiji gave us a C-Rank! And guess what he also said?!" He leaned against the bar heavily, giving Ammy a wide smile.
Ammy sat on the stool next to him, easily letting the bottoms of her feet rest on the dirt ground, "What else did he say?" She asked as if she didnt know, which was unlikely. The Hokage had already spoken to her about the mission.
"He said that you are gonna come with us!" He exclaimed, his eyes shining as Teuchi made his usual ramen.
She hummed, tapping the table with her nails, "Really? Then I hope that I help you guys on the mission then." She already knew the details about the mission. They had to escort a bridge builder, that traveled to Konoha, all the way back to Nami no Kuni for protection as he made a bridge connecting the town to the mainland.
Sarutobi was suspicious of the bridge builder, Tazuna, from the very start. Tazuna is a heavy drinker, but he has surprisingly tight lips when he wants to speak.
Normally, when his shinobi talk to him, the Hokage, they get nervous and start to sweat. One reason is because of the chakra he leaks out since he cant keep it all inside, the second reason is that he is an intimidating person.
But, when Tazuna met with him, he didnt sweat or shake, he stood there calmly. Well, as calmly as a a drunk person could. But that was probably because civilians cant sense high amounts of chakra.
Ammy had told him this and Sarutobi told her that he knew with a nervous laugh and a wave of his hand. Ammy believes that he didnt know until now. He still disagrees with her claim.
"Really? He said that?" Ammy asked, leaning against the counter. She gave Teuchi a wave, "Can I get the usual?" Teuchi nodded with a smile and started cooking.
Naruto nodded, "Yup, he sure did!" He said happily, his eyes sparkling. He broke apart a pair of chopsticks as Teuchi put his food down in front of him, one bowl of Miso ramen.
Ammy chuckled, "Hopefully I dont get in your way," She gave the ramen chef a nod as he put down her bowl of his infamous Ichiraku Champon Ramen. She flicked Naruto on his ear to gain his attention, "Iruka wants you to meet him at his apartment so that he can drag you to mine before we leave today so that we can give you some equipment." She told him.
She and Izumo had taken to being Naruto's guardians since he was a minor, even though he is a shinobi. Naruto still lives by himself, but they were in the process of moving his things into Iruka's apartment since Ammy doesnt have any extra rooms in her apartment that she shares with Izumo. The chunin was looking for a new apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a nice view of the Hokage Monument.
"Alright," He spoke with his mouth full of noodles, Ammy snorted at him with a raised eyebrow.
The brunette bumped his shoulder with her own, "Better not do that in front of Iruka." Naruto nodded, he knew how angry Iruka got when he didnt use any manners. But, he liked it when he got scolded. It gave him the attention he so desperately needed. Iruka was like his big brother and Ammy? He didnt know what Ammy was in his family.
And, you never want to get on Iruka's bad side, never.
xXxXxXx |couple hours later; about 7 o'clock at night at Ammy's apartment|
"C'mon. Up, up, up!" A feminine voice sang happily as they dragged blankets off a large, maroon couch. Ammy chuckled when a blonde head popped up from under the falling covers.
Naruto gave her a glare, his night cap covering his eyebrows, "I hate you." He muttered under his breath, getting up from the couch and walking to the bathroom down the hall. He hated it when people woke him up from his nap.
Ammy picked up the blankets, folded the blankets and put them on the arm of the couch, "Tamotsu, come." She called as she walked all the way down the hall and stopped by the bathroom and went into the room to her left. Iruka was already in there, seeing as it was the equipment room, and was packing two black backpacks.
They both turned when they heard the gentle tapping of paws as nails clicked on the floor and a dog came into view. The dog stood up to Ammy's elbow's at the shoulder and was as long as a small pony. Its nose was black and moist, its claws were as sharp as kunai and as black as night. Its muscles flexed under its dense rust red sable coat as its long muscular legs padded into the room. Its chest was deep enough to hold its lungs and heart comfortably. Its well sprung rib cage allowed it to move quickly and unhindered. It had long shoulder blades and a well formed back with the front legs being straight and strong. Its head looked very noble and was finely chiseled with a strong muzzle that had tightly fitted lips. It had a pair of very intelligent eyes that were a dark brown. Its ears were sharp and erect, its left ear flopped a bit at the tip. Its tail was long and lightly wagged as it came into view. Its tongue lolled out of the side of its mouth, resting over its sharp teeth.
That animal was an Inuzuka's German Shepherd, and it was Ammy's ninken, Tamotsu. The Inuzuka Clan was very close to the Umino twins, seeing as they were very similar in fighting styles and personality. They had decided to give the elder twin an Inuzuka Hound to show their loyalty to the Umino Tribe. The twins are very friendly with the clan and talk to them on a daily basis.
"Whatcha got in there already?" She asked, leaning against the door frame. The large male adult dog sat by her side.
Iruka glanced up at her, gave a quick smile and started packing again, "I have already put in a med kit, along with a vet healing kit for Tamotsu, some empty sealing scrolls, four scrolls filled with food and water, two scrolls filled with extra clothing and a scroll filled with your passports and documents."
Ammy nodded, satisfied, "Good job," She walked over to a drawer, leaving Tamotsu at the door, and opened it, "I will grab us some other things just in case this mission becomes a hostage situation." Iruka nodded and organized the bags as Ammy grabbed two files, two small mirrors, two wireless radios, two small rolls of ninja wire and two small scrolls filled with a large shuriken.
She grabbed two beige hip pouches from a shelf, after she set the things down and closed the drawer, and filled them with one small roll of ninja wire, one mirror, one radio, and one scroll with the large shuriken. She placed the pouches next to the backpacks and placed a file in the collar of her turtle neck shirt, the other file was set on the table.
Iruka grabbed four k|sh and filled them with seven kunai in each holster, seven shuriken hung silently on the outside of the holster, where it was made to be grabbed easily and to not fall off until grabbed.
He handed two holsters to his twin, which she put on both of her thighs. Being ambidextrous is very sought after in the shinobi world since it is very handy in battles. Luckily, Iruka, Ammy, and Naruto were all ambidextrous.
They found out the blonde could use both of his hands when Kiba dared Naruto to fight with one hand during a combined training day with Team 8 and Team 7. Of course, Naruto agreed and had his right arm tied behind his back, same with Kiba. As the fought, Naruto had great control over his left arm as he used kunai and shuriken with great precision and accuracy. Kiba had horrible coordination with his left arm, a reason why he lost. The Rookie Nine still dont know how that happened.
After the spar, which Naruto won somehow, Iruka had him do some tests to see if he could write efficiently with both hands, and he passed.
"Naruto mad at you cause you woke him from his nap?" Iruka asked, the silence becoming unbearable.
Ammy nodded with a laugh, "Oh yeah, big time. I didnt want him to nap any longer than an hour. I dont want him to be sluggish and not alert when we go outside the walls." Iruka rubbed his face tiredly as he nodded.
"Now that there are two experienced jounin and a ninken on this mission," Iruka spoke as he grabbed Naruto some suitable clothing for the mission, "the rank might be moved from C to B, maybe A." Ammy rubbed his shoulder.
"Iruka, it will be fine. Ill be sure to keep Naruto-chan safe, Tamotsu-kun will help." She said, patting his shoulder lightly, "I dont really like Kakashi's judgements about his team being ready for a C-Rank anyways. They still dont synchronize well in their teamwork exercises."
Kakashi had tried to get his team to work together, but all attempts had become unsuccessful. Sasuke still preferred to work alone, without any help seeing as he is from the Uchiha Clan. Sakura follows Sasuke around like a faithful lap dog. Naruto chases after Sakura and tries to work with her, but doesnt want to work with Sasuke, feeling inferior to the Uchiha's superior skills.
Iruka has talked to Naruto a lot about focusing on his training and not chasing after some girl who doesnt acknowledge his affections.
Naruto had replied that he had to get the girl since he was the hero, they always get the girl.
Ammy had retaliated saying that not all heroes got the girl. That statement quieted Naruto and made him rethink about why he had become a shinobi.
If he cant be the hero, who can he be?
Izumo and Ammy had a long discussion with Naruto on why he shouldnt be the hero in a lot of situations. He should just be himself and help when he can.
He felt very strange after the talk, a warm feeling fluttered in his stomach the rest of that day.
"Iruka-sensei, where's my jumpsuit?" The Uzumaki walked into the room with a pair of black shinobi pants on, taped down with white bandages to reduce the hazard of lingering cloth. His gaze lingered at the large dog that sat just inside the room.
The male twin handed Naruto a long sleeved mesh shirt and a black quarter sleeve turtle neck. The blonde gave him a look.
Iruka glared at him, "Put it on." His tone leaving no room for arguments. Naruto put the clothes on reluctantly, surprised at how light they were and how they fit him comfortably. They fit him better than his jumpsuit did.
Ammy threw him a hitai-ate that had a black cloth as she pointed towards her own clothed head, "Bandanna." Was all she said as she walked over to him and placed a file in the collar of his shirt. She also strapped the extra two holsters around both of Naruto's thighs, one on each.
"I am confused," Naruto admitted, raising an elegant eyebrow as he placed the bandanna like cloth on his head, which covered his blonde spikes. Well, most of them. Some of his spikes were flattened to his forehead and poked at his eyebrows from under the bandanna.
The jounin handed him a backpack and let Naruto put on black shinobi sandals. She tossed him a hip pouch and tugged the other backpack over her grabbed a couple things from a plastic bin in the corner of the room.
Naruto watched as she grabbed a dark blue harness, with some sort of thin lightweight saddle, with a matching dark blue clothed hitai-ate, black saddle bags and bandages. As he watched her put everything on the dog, she waved for him to come closer.
She strapped the harness on Tamotsu, it was like a regular dog walking harness but bigger, thicker and stronger so it wouldnt come off easily, and adjusted it so the saddle rested in the dip of his back. She attached the saddle bags so they rested on both sides of his hips, "Tamotsu-kun is a certified ninken, Naruto." She tied the hitai-ate loosely around Tamotsu's neck and wrapped his legs in the bandages for protective purposes.
Naruto tilted his head, "Whats a ninken?" He pet the dog's head, which was above his own seeing as he was very short, curiously and smiled when Tamotsu accepted it.
As she stood up, she motioned to Naruto and Tamotsu that they were leaving for their mission. Iruka was going to bunk at her apartment since his was getting repaired for faulty wiring for the lights. As they walked, with Tamotsu sprinting towards the gate in a relaxed gallop, she spoke.
"A ninken is a canine that has been taught in the ways of a shinobi. They can use chakra like us, but mostly to enhance their senses or to use it internally and externally. They cant use jutsu, but they're damn good at tracking and attacking."
Naruto smiled with his teeth showing, "Thats so cool!"
"And," Ammy put her arm around his shoulders, "since I am receiving another ninken from the Inuzuka's to train, I have decided that he can be your ninken too." The blonde looked up at her with his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Really?" He asked, then he seemed to have second thoughts, "What if he doesnt like me?"
The jounin scoffed, "He practically loves you already, kid. Its just that he's in mission mode right now, as I like to call it. But, he loves you, I can tell."
Naruto smiled softly and leaned into Ammy's side, What's this feeling I get whenever Im with Umino-sensei and Izumo-sensei?
"Umino-sensei?" He asked softly, looking up at her face.
She smiled at him with her eyes closed, "Yes, Naruto-chan?"
"You and Izumo-sensei are seeing each other, right?" Ammy blinked and nodded.
She rubbed his shoulder, "Hai, we've been seeing each other for a couple years actually but we kept it under wraps until now."
"But, why did you guys not look like you were dating until now?"
Ammy hummed, "It was a dare." She noticed that Naruto didnt understand and elaborated, "Since we are shinobi, we practice the art of stealth. Well, we used to. Anyways, it was a dare from Kakashi, your sensei. He dared me and Izumo to pretend that we were not dating for two years, to practice our stealth, and yesterday was the deadline. We won so Kakashi has to give me and Izumo fifty ryo."
"Is Kakashi-sensei as good as everyone says he is?" He bit his lip, he thought that Kakashi wouldnt teach him because of his status as a Jinchuriki.
Ammy patted his bandanna covered head, "Naruto-chan, Kakashi may be a baka most of the time, but he knows the difference between ramen and the container its kept in."
"Oh."
Ammy stopped him and went down on one knee, she looked him in the eyes and gave him a loving look, "Naruto-chan, he wont sabotage your training. If he does," She got a threatening look in her eyes, but it quickly went away. She stood up and walked away with Naruto at her side.
Naruto stared at his toes as they walked to the gate they were supposed to meet at, "Why?" He asked in a broken voice, "Why do you care so much? Werent you there?" He paused, "Were you there when Kyuubi attacked?"
Ammy shook her head, "No. Me and Iruka were only six when it happened. We came to Konoha when we were nine." The blonde blinked.
"Really?"
Ammy nodded, "Yup, you were only three when we came here." She smiled softly, "I remember the old man giving us chores to watch over you, Kiba-kun, Shikamaru-kun and Hinata-chan when you were children." Naruto blushed, Ammy laughed loudly, "You were all so kawaii."
Naruto bit his lip, "So, you still dont think of me differently? Even with the Kyuubi sealed inside?" He had doubts that despite knowing him since he was little, he thought the twins and Izumo were pretending.
"No, Koibito." Naruto started at the nickname, unfamiliar with the warm feeling bursting through his heart, "We love you because you're you. You're not the Kyuubi at all. He's sealed inside of you. You are keeping him at bay after his rampage." Ammy explained, "He might even talk to you after he's calmed down." She remarked thoughtfully.
Naruto gave her a skeptical look, "Are you sure? Cause Jiji says that Kyuubi is a being of mass destruction and anger."
"Nah," She disagreed, patting his head, "Sarutobi just doesnt want you communicating with him. He fears that your mind will be taken over by Kyuubi, but thats not true."
"How do you know?" He asked, a curious look in his eyes.
Ammy chuckled, "Because the Kyuubi was actually the Protector of Uzushio."
"Protector of Uzushio?" Naruto scratched his cheek, blinking in confusion.
She nodded, waving her hand at the rest of Team 7 as they made it to the North Gate, "Yes, Uzushiogakure was the home of the Uzumaki Clan and the Umino Tribe." She noticed that Sasuke and Sakura were standing next to each other by the guards, who happened to be Kotetsu and Izumo. Kakashi was nowhere to be found. The civilian, who Ammy knew as Tazuna, was struggling to stand up, seemingly because he was intoxicated.
"No way." He whispered, his eyes wide.
Ammy giggled, "Yes way, Naruto-chan." She moved to say more, but they had arrived at the gate where their team awaited with the drunk civilian.
"Naruto-baka, you're late!" Sakura shouted, waving her fist at him. Naruto opened his mouth to apologize, but Ammy had placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
She spoke with a firm tone, "Dont speak to your teammate like that, Sakura." The pink haired genin sulked at being scolded and turned away from them.
"Who the hell are you and the midget?" A masculine voice called out with a slight slur.
Naruto growled, "I'm not a midget!" He glared at the man who insulted him.
"The great bridge builder Tazuna can speak how he wants to!" Tazuna is a tall man, standing at a height of 5'8", he has grey-hair with a large beard and dark eyes. He wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals. He also carried a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat on his head. He always had some sort of alcoholic drink on his person.
Tazuna took a big swig of his sake, giving everyone a disgusted look, "You are supposed to be my super awesome guards?" He got a good look at who was escorting him, "Two little boys, a little girl and a woman." He scoffed in disbelief, "A woman is going to protect me?"
"Hey!" Naruto spat, "Dont talk to Umino-sensei like that!" He hated it when people talked bad about him, he absolutely despised it when they talked about his precious people in such a way. He smiled smugly when Tamotsu growled at Tazuna.
"Its alright, Naruto-kun." Ammy calmed him down, giving him a soft smile as she pat her ninken on the head, "I believe that Izumo can handle this just as well as you can." Naruto and Izumo blushed, "But, you need to be patient. Most men dont understand that a woman can be as strong, if not stronger, than men in some aspects." Tazuna's face grew red with anger, he opened his mouth to shout at her when Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Yo!"
xXxXxXx |On the road to Nami no Kuni; heading south-east|
"Kaka-sensei, is Umino-sensei stronger than you?"
"I dont know, we havent sparred in a while."
"I bet that I can make you eat dirt, Kakashi."
"Hm? Did you say something, Ammy?"
"Do you want to get smacked, Bakashi?"
"Do you want to die, Amaterasu?"
A loud smack resounded through the silent area, echoing through the trees as Ammy, Tamotsu, Team 7 and Tazuna walked to Nami no Kuni.
Ammy had just smacked Kakashi on his cheek as he glared at her. He closed his book and put it in his hip pouch, ignoring the others who were staring at him. Tamotsu just kept on walking, being oblivious to everything except the wild.
Suddenly, Kakashi tackled Ammy to the ground, "You little shit!" He shouted with anger, "Why would you do that?!"
She laughed uncontrollably, "Oh Kami, holy shit. Ahh, your face!" She said in between giggles. Naruto and his team just shook their heads at the immature jounins.
"Are they always like this?" Tazuna asked, his sake bottle forgotten on the ground.
Sakura answered, "No, Kakashi-sensei isnt."
"Umino-sensei is just stupid." Sasuke finished, turning back around and walking away.
Naruto scoffed, "Umino-sensei isnt stupid, she's awesome." He crossed his arms and followed after Sasuke, hearing Ammy and Kakashi get back up from the ground.
"Damn right I am." She boasted, giving Naruto a pat on the head. He blushed at the show of affection, unfamiliar with the feeling.
What is this feeling? I love Umino-sensei, just not like I love Sakura-chan. Iruka-sensei told me to rethink how I loved Sakura-chan, and I love her like a sister. But, how do I love Umino-sensei? Naruto got lost in his thoughts, ignoring Tazuna and Sakura's conversation about how Gatou had taken over Nami with his shipping company.
Ammy noticed his thoughtful face and let him be, also noticing that his teammates havent noticed his change of attire or his silent persona. Sasuke and Sakura either dont care about Naruto and how he is improving, or they are just that oblivious to not notice a simple change in clothing.
"So, basically, Gatou, of Gatou Industries, has taken over the shipping docks in Nami, so he controls when and where they go and for how much. He is monopolizing the shipping industry and you, Tazuna, plan to break this monopoly by building a bridge that connects to the mainland." Sakura summarized, a proud look on her face for shortening Tazuna's story.
The old drunk nodded, "Pretty much, girl."
It was still dark outside, the team taking a risk at traveling at night with a civilian. Kakashi was hoping to go through the night so that they made it to their destination by dawn or mid-morning. Ammy called him stupid.
Suddenly, Ammy's nose twitched. She smelled something foggy, like warm water. And some sort of odor. She glanced at Tamotsu and noticed that his ears were stiff and erect, his tail was straight and stilled along with his back as he walked.
Ammy pinched her scarred nose, "Dammit." She swore, not liking what she had just found out. She let Naruto walk ahead with Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna, leaving her and Kakashi in the back, "Kakashi."
"What?"
She sighed, "I smell two chunin level hostiles coming our way, they're just hanging back for now." She rubbed the bridge of her nose, Kakashi nodded as he acknowledged what she said.
The man gave her one of his famous Eye-Smileā¢, "Dont worry, they're not going to attack us." He patted her shoulder, "Just stay alert."
Ammy nodded and kept a straight face, staying in the back of the group as Kakashi went up front with the client and his team. She sighed and scratched the back of her head.
"Whatever you say, Bakashi."
|They soon meet up with the wary chakra signatures, quickly being sprung upon into battle|
"I knew it, you asshole!" Ammy shouted with a smirk, "I told you so!" Despite her calm and spunky demeanor, Kakashi could see that her body was facing the opponents in a defensive stance in front of the genin, to protect them.
"Yes, yes." He drawled, "You were completely right, Ammy."
Sasuke got into a defensive stance in front of Tazuna with Sakura behind him, holding a kunai, "I can take them." He stated arrogantly.
Ammy laughed, "No you cant, gaki." When Sasuke opened his mouth to retaliate, she spoke, "You are not made for close combat, Uchiha. Let me and Naruto handle this." Ammy gave Naruto a smile, assuring the blonde that he can handle himself.
Sasuke growled, "The Dobe sucks at everything. He will never be superior than me, an Uchiha." Ammy scoffed.
"Shut it already, twerp." Ammy smelled something metallic with her enhanced senses and saw that Naruto had gotten cut by one of the sharp claws his enemy had attached to his arm. Tamotsu moved to help him but Naruto put his hand up, making Tamotsu stop in his tracks.
Naruto had a feeling that Ammy was worried so he gave her a shout, "I'm alright!" He turned his attention back towards his opponent, who was racing towards him quickly.
He held up his arm to protect his side, where he got cut, and met the chunin head on. The met in a stalemate and the chunin used his superior strength to push Naruto back.
The blonde grunted and slipped down into a crouch, sliding between the chunin's legs. He spun around quickly and thrust the kunai between the chunin's armour and into his neck with a flick of his wrist. The body fell limply to the dirt ground with a dull thud.
He froze as his hand came away, slick with blood. It was so easy and the battle was quick, he thought. Yeah, the battle was quick, as most battles should be. He just did what Izumo had taught him these past couple months with Ammy. He was taught to be quick, swift and silent. Just like how Ammy and Izumo were taught.
The other chunin, who Ammy recognized as Meizu from the Oni Kyodai, saw that his brother was killed by some skilled shinobi in black. He raced to kill the short ninja who had killed his brother and roared in anger when he was held back.
Ammy growled deeply, her chest vibrating as she dragged Meizu back to her and away from Naruto, "Stay away from my pup," She all but snarled, scaring Meizu as she had done a partial transformation somehow. Her nails had gotten sharper and her canines were longer and poked out of her mouth, her dark eyes seemed to glow with a slit pupil down the center. Inuzuka?!
When she noticed that he saw her like that, her feral characteristics went away in a flash and his world turned dark when she punched him in the face.
Ammy sighed and straightened her clothes as she walked over to Naruto. He had stood there after his kill and did nothing to move. She went down on a knee in front of him and took off her bag and took out the med kit. She lifted up his shirt and mesh armour and cleaned the wound thoroughly, already knowing that Kurama, the Kyuubi, had already eliminated the poison that was laced on the demon brothers claws seeing as she couldnt smell any poison that was in his bloodstream.
She wrapped his torso and pulled down his torn shirt. She cleaned his blood stained hand thoroughly. As she put the med kit away, she saw Naruto look at her.
"I killed him." He said simply with wide eyes that threatened to spill tears.
Ammy nodded, "Yes, yes you did." She stood up, "It was a beautiful kill, Naruto." She whistled, calling for Tamotsu. When he came obediently, she attached Naruto's backpack, which he had thrown off when the chunin came, to one of the clips on the harness. Tamotsu laid down and let Naruto climb on his back. He didnt stand up for a moment until he felt that Naruto was stable, he stood up then and walked at a leisurely place towards Nami.
She turned and glared at Kakashi, who, despite being 23 years old, trembled at the look she gave him.
He turned to his students who had watched the battle and protected Tazuna, "Go on ahead with Tazuna, but dont antagonize Naruto." He commanded, "Understood?"
Sasuke answered with a grunt and walked away, leaving Sakura to chase after him with Tazuna following behind slowly.
Kakashi sighed and walked slowly after them with Ammy next to him, "I apologize."
"You said that they wouldnt attack, Kakashi. I went against my instinct and chose to trust your call." She snarled, "My pup had to kill on his first C-Rank."
He rubbed his elbow, "I am deeply sorry that your pup had to kill on this mission." Ammy growled at him with narrowed eyes.
"Damn right he's my pup." She put on a serious look, "Kakashi, I trusted you to make the right choices on this mission considering my pup is on your team. But," She paused to gather her thoughts, "your most recent decision as the leading jounin in charge of this mission has jeopardized my pup's mentality as of now." She rubbed her neck worriedly, "I dont need Naruto to be stressed out, Kakashi. His life is hard already, even with me, Izumo-kun and Iruka helping him out." She sighed, irritated, "I didnt want him to get a Psych Eval. on his first mission outside the walls, Kakashi."
Kakashi looked down, "I thought he would knock him out, not kill him."
"Well," She said, "you thought wrong." She crossed her arms and gazed at the team who were a couple meters ahead of them, "You are an experienced jounin Kakashi, you shouldnt think. You should know."
"I know!" He said, frustrated, "I didnt mean for him to kill the rogue."
Ammy gave him a pissed look, "I will be reporting this incident to Hokage-sama and Izumo as soon as we get to Tazuna-san's house."
"Fine." He sighed and walked ahead as Ammy jogged to be in front of the group.
xXxXxXx |later that night, still on the road towards Nami. about three hours away|
The dirt road was dark and it was hard to see, if you were a civilian. Shinobi have been taught to use their chakra in numerous ways. One way was to enhance your senses. Touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing.
The group, except for Tazuna, had applied a minuscule amount of chakra to their eyes which had allowed them to see slightly better in the dark. Their eyes seemed to glow slightly in the dark.
"Umino-sensei?"
Ammy turned her head as she walked next to Naruto, who was still riding Tamotsu, "Yes, Naruto-chan?" Naruto gazed at the road in front of him.
He rubbed Tamotsu's ears, "Does it always feel like that?" He stopped talking for a moment, "Does it always seem so easy?"
"It does, Naruto." She spoke with a somber tone, "It always seems so easy, but never expect it to be any easier for you."
"What do you mean?" He asked, leaning forward on Tamotsu.
"Dont get used to killing."
Naruto frowned, "But, wont I have to kill again?"
"Hai, you will." She rubbed his head lovingly, "But, you'll have me and Izumo-kun to help you through it if you need to talk to someone." She gave him a soft smile, "We're here for you, Koibito."
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to let any tears escape at the high feeling of emotion he was experiencing, Is this what it feels like to have a Kaa-chan? A Tou-chan?
Ammy noticed this and gently picked him up from Tamotsu's back, after she attached her back pack to the front of her body, and placed Naruto on her own back with his head resting on her shoulder.
"Naruto-chan, whats wrong? Was it what I said?" She asked softly, worry filling her voice. She felt him shake his head.
He sniffed, "No, I just got something in my eyes." Ammy chuckled.
"Sure, Naruto-chan." She breathed out, "But, really. Whats wrong."
Naruto buried his face into her shoulder and mumbled, "I wondered if this is what it feels like to have a Kaa-chan and a Tou-chan."
Ammy blushed lightly and smiled, "Hai, this is what it feels like. I dont mind being your Kaa-chan, Naruto." She admitted, "And Izumo doesnt mind being your Tou-chan. We love teaching you, and giving you attention. During these past couple months, you've been like a son to us." She admitted quietly and gave Naruto a loving smile. It might be a bit fast, considering they have known each other for seven months, but with Naruto, it will feel like you've known him for years.
The blonde gasped quietly, "R-Really? I-I can have a family?" Ammy nodded.
"Hai, hai. We can set it up at Nami, and get some adoption papers. I might be able to get Hokage-sama to allow Izumo to come here as a representative to get an agricultural alliance with Nami, seeing as they have great waters for fishing, nice soil for farming, and lots of livestock. We can do it after the mission is completed." She explained. She grinned when she felt Naruto's tighten around her.
"Ariagtou, Kaa-chan."
|They went on the boat Tazuna ordered, the didnt do much and stayed quiet as Ammy, who was still carrying Naruto, walked across the water with Tamotsu and Kakashi behind them, seeing as they couldnt fit a large dog and a two adult male humans on the boat. They got off of said boat a while later and soon met up with Momochi Zabuza, the Kirigakure no Kijin.|
"Ah, long time no see, Nakamagoroshi no Kakashi|1| and Rosutourufu.|2|."
|1| Friend-Killer Kakashi; It was rumoured that Kakashi had set up his teammate, Uchiha Obito, to die during the last war.
|2| Lost Wolf; It is known all around the Elemental Nations that only two members of the Umino Tribe survived the slaughter of Uzushiogakure. They all Ammy the Lost Wolf because she and Iruka dont have a pack, so to say, and they traveled as if they were lost and didnt know where to go. Iruka is called a similar name in the Bingo Book, Gomi no Ranto, meaning Runt of the Litter, because he was always being taken care of and he was not strong enough to take care of himself when he and Amy were younger.
