I do not own Naruto or any of its characters! I'm just a fan!

Chapter 3 of my first fanfic. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Tsunade gaped. Just who is this girl?

Naruto's expression was just as surprised. "How do you know him?" He said.

"I...um I think...gah I don't remember! When I think of him, all I can see is him, not how I know him or when or even if we met! And those eyes..." She shivered.

Naruto looked up at Tsunade. She looked just as shocked as he did. Then she closed her eyes, sighed and sat down.

"Emiko." She said, causing her to look up at the Hokage. "Only a select few people even know about the organization that Itachi is a part of." Tsunade said slowly.

Emiko nodded. "Akatsuki, right?"

Tsunade grimaced inwardly. This girl...

"Yes. And we are currently trying to eliminate the Akatsuki threat. Since so few people even know of its existence, every person that does most likely contains important information on them." Tsunade said.

Emiko's eyes widened. "You think I know something?"

"Yes. I was originally going to let you recover your memories by yourself. But that was when we thought you were just an average girl."

Naurto didn't like this. There wasn't a way to recover someones memory for them. And if there was, Tsunade probably didn't tell them because it was probably harmful to the person.

Tsunade sighed. Naruto didn't look happy. If he knew just how dangerous to Emiko what she was going to attempt was...

"I'll ask Inoichi to take a look at your memories. He can easily find out if you have information that could be important."

Naruto didn't waste time. "Why didn't you tell us that we could do that before?"

Tsunade glared at him. "I didn't want to waste time if she was just a random villager." She didn't like lying to him, but he would flip if he knew the real reason.

He questioned her further. "Is it dangerous?"

She gritted her teeth. "Possibly. But Inoichi has done this before, everything will go fine."

Naruto still wasn't convinced. There was something in the old lady's eyes. She was downplaying the situation. But it was best not to push the Hokage. If there was one thing he learned, it was that she had a fiery temper.

"Inoichi is away on a mission in the hidden mist. I will speak to him when he returns." Tsunade said. "You may leave."

Naruto stormed out of her office without her having to ask twice. Emiko gave a quick bow to the Hokage and hurried after him.

Naruto was walking so fast, Emiko had to run to catch up.

"Naruto-kun, wait!" She said. He slowed down and she caught up to him.

"What's wrong?" She said, concerned.

"There's something she's not saying. Something important. I bet the justu she's having Inoichi use on you is more dangerous then she's saying."

Emiko twiddled her fingers nervously. She was eager to remember, and maybe her memories would be important to defeating Akatsuki. But all the same, Naruto might be right. She wished the Hokage had told them everything. Why wouldn't she? Emiko looked over at Naruto. Maybe that was why. He seemed to care a lot about her, even though he just met her. She wouldn't put it past him to make a big deal if Emiko could get hurt. But she had to be brave. Even if this jutsu killed her, she had to do it. If her memories held information on Akatsuki, they could save many lives.

Emiko sighed. "Maybe. But I couldn't see the Hokage being that dishonest. She seems really nice."

Naruto snorted. "Yeah. I guess." He looked at her. She looked really nervous. For some reason, it bothered him more then it should have. He felt the need to comfort her. Or at least change the subject.

"But, hey, that could be weeks away. We shouldn't worry about that." He smiled at her. "It's around lunch time. How 'bout we go to my absolute favorite place in the village?"


"MMM!" Emiko said as she tasted her first bite of Ichiraku's ramen. "This is delicious!"

Naruto gave her his dazzling smile that made her heart skip a beat. "Right? This is the best ramen around!"

"So what do you do around here for fun?" Emiko asked.

Naruto smiled. "I can show you some of the nicer scenery around here. I think you'll really like it."

Emiko smiled back as she finished off her ramen. "I'm sure I will."

Later that day

Naruto and Emiko left to take a walk on the edge of the forest that surrounded the village.

"C'mon!" Naruto said, running further into the forest. "I wanna show you something!"

Emiko giggled at his enthusiasm as she ran after him. "Naruto-kun, wait up!"

When Naruto finally stopped running, he looked back at her, a huge, dazzling smile on his face. She approached him slowly as the trees dispersed to show a small valley-like area.

She gasped. She had never seen anything like it! Well, not that she could remember anyways.

They were at the bottom of a cliff where a small, quiet waterfall fell from the top of the cliff into a small pond that glimmered in the moonlight. Surrounding the pool were flowers of every color. The sound of crickets filled the back round. The reflection of the moonlight in the pool bounced onto Naruto's face, making his sea blue eyes sparkle even more. It was beautiful.

"Oh my God!This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen!" Emiko said.

Emiko looked around, taking in the beauty of nature. Naruto's face softened at her excitement. He was happy that she was happy.

"How did you find this place?"

Naruto smiled at her. "I used to come here all the time as a kid when-" When he was being chased by the villagers that were trowing rocks at him and calling him a monster. He would hide from them here.

Naruto cleared his throat. "When I got bored." He lied.

Emiko furrowed her brow. This was the first time she'd seen him like this. He was sad. It was written all over his face.

"Naruto-kun? Are you okay?"

He smiled. It almost could've been his dazzling smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah. Why?"

He was lying. Something that had to do with this place was haunting him. The fact that he felt the need to lie to her...It made her upset.

"Naruto-kun...what's wrong?"

Naruto was a little surprised she asked again. Usually he would just flash a fake smile and that'd be the end of that. But she saw through him. A girl he hadn't known for two days already knew so much about him that she could see what even his closest friends couldn't.

"I-It's nothing." He said. He was surprised by how much he wanted to tell her how bad his childhood was. He never talked about his childhood. Not to Sakura, Kiba, or even Ero-sennin. It was something he didn't like to revisit. No one ever asked him and he had never told them. But he wouldn't even consider telling her. Because then she'd want to know why he was treated so badly. And if he told her, she would just see him as the villagers did then and how half the villagers still do. As a monster.

"No it isn't." Emiko said as she walked closer to Naruto, who averted his gaze. "You can tell me."

He looked back up at her with a stare that was so sad, tortured...angry. It scared her that someone as kind as Naruto could feel such emotions. Just what had happened to him to make such a great person feel so horrible? But she realized she shouldn't push him any farther. If he wanted to tell her, he would've. And he didn't. And she couldn't blame him. He had only known her for 2 days. She shouldn't expect him to open up to her.

Emiko smiled. "You know what? Never mind! I'm sorry I asked you. You don't even know me that well, heck I don't even know me that well, but it was wrong for me to ask you something private like that." She blushed. Dammit, why did she always ramble like that?

He smiled. Her rambling was adorable. And she was decent enough not to push him. Anyone else he knew would've. That just made him want to tell her even more. But he couldn't...he barley knew her...and yet...

"I was...bullied...as a kid. I would come here to hide when they'd start throwing rocks." There. Not technically lying, and still telling her what she wanted to know. But that didn't help him with how much he wanted to tell her the truth. Just to be honest with how bad his life was...just to get it off his chest...the thought of being that close to someone made his heart lift with happiness.

She frowned. He wasn't telling her everything...but it was a start.

Her arm, disobeying her mind that was screaming at her frantically not to do it, reached out and took his hand.

"Naruto-kun...I'm sorry."

His heart skipped a beat at the warmth of her hand. He gripped it tight. Not tight enough to hurt her...just enough to let her know that he didn't want her to let go.

"Thanks," He said so quietly that Emiko wasn't sure if she really heard it.

They stood there, hand in hand, for what seemed like hours. But Emiko would've been fine with standing there for a few more. But she had to ask him...

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hm?" He said, still looking into the pool.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me what happened?"

He looked at her. Damn, she was perceptive! "I did."

So, no. That's fine. She could wait. She smiled at him. "Okay, Naruto-kun."

After a few more minutes of savoring her touch, he grudgingly pulled his hand away. "We should probably get back to my apartment before it gets too late."

Emiko, trying to not let her disappointment show, nodded and said, "Okay."


When they got back to Naruto's apartment, she was half expecting him to walk in and say something like, "Mom, Dad, I'm home!" But then she remembered that Sakura told her that he was orphaned since birth. Poor Naruto-kun. He was picked on too. Just how tough was his life?

When he opened the door, she tried not to gasp. How could such a kind, beautiful creature live in such a...mess.

Empty chip bags and old ramen packaging were all over the place and clothes were all over the floor. A thick layer of dust covered all of his shelves. She praised God that it didn't smell as bad as it looked.

"Sorry, it's a little messy." Naruto said nonchalantly.

'A little?' Emiko said in her head. The place was a pigsty. Maybe she'd clean it up a little tomorrow.

He let her to a room that was a little more organized then the rest with a small bed in the middle.

"This is my room, but you can stay in here. I'll sleep on the couch." He said as he started to head out into the living room where she had noticed a couch that was littered with bags that sat in front of a TV. But she grabbed his arm to stop him from getting any farther.

"Oh, no, no, no. You're already being nice enough to spend your money on feeding me and putting a roof over my head. I refuse to take your bed too."

He smiled. She was so sweet. "You sure?"

"As sure as I've ever been" Or at least that she could remember.

He smiled his dazzling smile. "Okay, if you're sure."

"I am." She said as she smiled at him and walked into the living room.

She took all the bags off the couch and put them onto the coffee table that was next to it. She laid down and draped the blanket over her that was previously on the back of the couch.

She sighed as she realized just how tired she really was. Her last thought was 'Naruto-kun...' before she drifted off into sleep.


Finally! I am so tired...I've been working on this chapter for a couple of straight hours now...but it's a little longer then the others! I'll get the next chapter out soon. Reviews are welcome! I hope you enjoyed it!

Also- it might seem that Naruto and Emiko are moving really fast...I actually didn't mean it to move so fast, but their characters just kinda clicked.