// To answer a question in review, the story takes place around the current timeline of Naruto, maybe somewhere around shippudan ep 90 and yes I'm aware of the odd presence of Sasuke it is explained//
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Chapter 3: "That Distraction Jutsu Really Works"
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"I've never seen trees like this." remarked Aang.
The whole forest seemed familiar and foreign at the same time, there was an "offness" about it that made him uneasy and fascinated.
"Really? Where are you from?" Asked Sakura as she walked through the forest beside him.
The troop had just begun to move back to Konoho, Sasuke was leaving soon he had only been along to get whatever information he could on his brother, he knew that Naruto and Sakura would welcome his company and he took advantage of it but had thus deflected all attempts at conversing with them. Now Sasuke was staying long enough to observe the boy who had defeated a previously assumed untreatable technique through shear power, his eyes twitched with the power of the Sharingan as he studied Aang very closely from behind the rest.
Kakashi was aware of Sasuke's intent even if Naruto and Sakura wanted to believe he was with them for other reasons, and he kept a keen guard up in case Sasuke attempted to kidnap the newcomer.
Naruto wanted so desperately to talk to Sasuke, he had tried several times in the last few days but all Sasuke would do was stare through him. Sakura had warned Naruto not to jeopardize the mission or scare off Sasuke, but she wished so much that she could just be alone with him for a few minutes, get him to acknowledge that he still cared about her and Naruto.
"I'm from the Southern Air Temple originally." replied Aang absentmindedly. He was really enjoying that these people had never heard of him. Though the fact that they didn't find his clearly Air Nomad appearance to be a dead give away as to his identity was puzzling. But maybe they'd never heard of Airbenders... the thought didn't make him incredibly cheery, then again, maybe they'd never heard of the Avatar. At any rate he enjoyed not having to be the Avatar for a while, and just being able to be Aang.
"Never heard of it." said a cool voice from behind them.
Aang looked over his shoulder at the quiet man with the sword and red eyes. "Well the only way to get there is on the back of a flying bison, so mostly only Air Nomads can go."
"Air Nomads?" asked Naruto and Sakura together.
"You know. Airbenders. Monks. Air Nomads."
Everyone but Aang gave someone a puzzled look.
Aang puzzled back. "You know..." he moved his hands into a circling motion beside him "... Airbenders."
As Aang spun forward he continued the spiraling motion of his hands finally releasing them ahead of the others toward the empty road.
The wind immediately picked up at an alarming rate, the trees beside them swayed under it's pressure and all scattered leaves, dust, pebbles, loose foliage and amputated plant parts rushed forward into a cloud, speeding down the path into the distance.
Sakura and Naruto looked on with curiousity and interest but Kakashi and Sasuke's eyes shot wide open in surprise.
"That's a neat Jutsu, but I don't recognize the had symbols." remarked Naruto.
"Jutsu?" questioned Aang.
"You know... " began Naruto but Kakashi cut him off.
"That wasn't a Jutsu." stated Kakashi. "He's manipulating the energy around him somehow."
"Is it a bloodline trait?" asked Sakura.
"Possibly."
"Jutsu?" Questioned Aang.
"You DONT know what JUTSU is?" came Naruto's incredulous voice.
"You didn't know what an Airbender was." retorted Aang. "What's Jutsu?"
Sakura regarded him for a moment. A boy who came from a temple no one had heard of, who had never heard of Jutsu, but had a special bloodline ability completely foreign to them. Suddenly she felt Sasuke's cold stair from over shoulder. She looked over at her old friend and saw a hunger in his eyes she had only seen in one other. Orichimaru. She shivered.
Naruto piped up since everyone else seemed busy thinking. "It's molding the chakra in your body and manipulating it with symbols."
Aang looked blank.
"Beautiful distraction no-Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as he formed the symbols before him with his hands.
Sakura and Kakashi blanched. "Oh god no!"
*POOF* came the inevitable puff of smoke and standing before them in place of a spiky blond ninja was a six foot tall naked woman with long blond pigtails. She winked at Aang.
Aang just yelled and stumbled back.
Sakura hit Naruto hard on the head, popping him out of the Jutsu.
Kakashi covered his eyes with his hands.
Sasuke drew a kunai.
