Well, Here's chapter three, it's not quite as long as the others, but oh well. A few things, I was going to introduce Tayuya in this chapter, but I had some more things I want to cover first, so expect her to make her debut in the next few chapters. Second, as far as the pairing ideas, I haven't really decided on a harem or not yet, but I have ideas in that regard, though I'm gonna let you read them so I don't ruin the surprises, telling you guys would spoil the fun! I can tell you that Sakura is not gonna end up with Naruto in this story, but he does have to get over her. Last but not least, thanks for the suggestions on abstract characters to throw in the mix, that's what I was thinking anyways and you guys gave me a few more ideas!
Thanks to everyone who has taken interest in this story, I'm gonna tell you now, This story will be long.
Oh, and a present, I have a song for you guys to check out, maybe listen while you read, It's called Black Chandelier by Biffy Clyro!
Well, On with the show!
Italics are thoughts, Caps and bold lettering are used for emphasis
and now for the worlds most witty Disclaimer.
I Don't Own Naruto (disclaimer)
Chapter Three
On the Dark Streets Below
...
The last specks of light had finally faded from the horizon over the Leaf Village; now that they were gone, the stars in the night sky were becoming visible and the cold autumn air started to take hold of the area. Yet, all of these changes went unnoticed by two high ranking Leaf Ninjas, they were currently in the Hokage's office, and lost in conversation, "What do you need great Lady Hokage!?"
The blond looked up over the mounds of paperwork that lay on her desk, "Oh Guy! I have a mission for you!"
The green bearing bushy brow was ecstatic, as missions always seemed to fuel his ego, "AH-HA-AH-HA, it MUST be something of great danger and intrigue if I was chosen for this mission!"
Tsunade just rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Yes Guy, It's top secret."
The jonin extended his right arm in a thumb's up and gave a wide sparkly grin, "Sounds Perfect, so what is this awesome new mission!?"
Tsunade interlocked her fingers if front of her face, resting her elbows on her desk in the process, "There's actually two parts, the first is an escort job…you shall accompany the three Sand Ninjas still in our village back to the Sand Village, acting as a bodyguard along the way…and the second part," The busty blonde's eyes narrowed, her tone sinking to match the expression, "This information is for your ears only, only two others outside of this room will know, and those are Kakashi Hatake and Jiraiya…after you finish the escort job, you will remain in the Land of Wind and investigate for absolutely ANY trace of the Akatsuki, we need to gather as much information on them as possible…you got that?"
During the entirety of the Hokage's explanation, Guy had just been standing with his arms crossed, nodding his head every couple of seconds, he held the position as he answered, "Yeah…I got it…so am I correct in assuming that the escort mission is just a cover so that no one will catch on to the real aim of my mission?"
"Well," the lady Hokage extended her arms over her head as she let out a yawn, "Well that is the general idea…we do want to use it as a distraction from your primary objective, but that's no reason to be too relaxed on the escort mission. It's highly likely that the Sand Ninja Gaara is a target of the Akatsuki, he holds the One Tails inside of him. We know that the Akatsuki likely plan to wait a few years before they make a move, but nothing can be certain with them, they could make a move on him."
The over eager jonin nodded, "I see…"
Tsunade continued on, "That's not the only thing…not too long ago the boy was highly unstable, he seems to have a handle on it now, but…there is still a chance something could upset him and then all hell could break loose, just keep a close eye on him."
"Please! It'll be a breeze for a guy like me! SO! When do we leave?"
"First thing in the morning, I'll have the Sand Ninja's notified, You should expect them at the gate…oh and here," She extended an envelope toward him, "This contains more details about the mission and what little information we have about the Akatsuki's action's in the Land of Wind."
Guy took the envelope from her, letting a corny grin cross his lips, "You can count on me m'lady! I'll get going now."
He had turned away, making his way towards the door, but right as he was about to exit, the Hokage's voice stopped him.
"Wait"
The beast of battle turned his head to face her, "Hmm?"
"Good Luck."
"Right," his reply was simple, being followed by his departure, leaving Tsunade alone in her office.
Tsunade's gaze shifted from the door to the stack of papers on her desk, "No way I'm finishing this right now," she glanced around the room, making sure no one was watching. After she was sure no one was present, she pulled a small white bottle out from under her desk.
"Hellllloooo Sake…"
…
Even though night had fallen over the Leaf Village, there was still plenty of light to illuminate the streets around the downtown section of the village. Shops and restaurants were bustling with traffic as crowds of people were living it up. Friends meeting up after work, families out to dinner, and salesmen shouting out specials all seemed to echo through the town. The commotion was enough to give a bushy browed genin trying to make his way through the crowds one simple thought, "It's so loud! I can't even think straight!"
"AHHGGGHHH!," he let out an irritated shout as he began to look around for an escape from the crowd; the search proved fruitful as he quickly spotted an alleyway that seemed too dark to be occupied. He made a dash for the alleyway, dodging at least twenty people in the process, and as he finally made his way into it, he let out a sigh of relief, "Man, now THAT was a crowd."
The overly enthusiastic genin glanced around, cheerfully talking to himself as he did so, "Hmmm, this alley is too dark and gloomy," he glanced up to the top of the buildings surrounding him, "Perhaps I should go someplace a bit brighter!"
He knelt down into a squat, "LETS GO!" He sprang from the squat, jumping up far higher than the top of the buildings, "Wooo-Hoooo," he shouted ecstatically as he descended onto one of the buildings overshadowing the alley way.
"Now this spot has a great view!," He took a seat on the edge of the roof, letting his feet hang over the edge of the building, as he did so, he got lost in thought, "Well…Guy Sensei wanted me to check up on everyone in the hospital…but they wouldn't let me in to see anyone…and then Naruto was gone from his room…even though the nurse said he should be in there…so what should I do now?"
He let out a sigh and hung his head, focusing his attention on the alley below. He had held the gaze for a few minutes when suddenly something caught his eye, there were two figures sneaking through the alleyway. The first was in the lead, glancing around to look for unwanted company, and the second was VERY slowly making his way behind the first. The genin's caution radar went off as the over energetic bushy brows eye's narrowed, "Now that's suspicious behavior…I must intervene before they start any trouble!"
He quickly stood, pointing a finger at the two hidden men below him, "Stop right there!"
The bushy browed genin jumped off the roof, landing a few feet in front of the two strangers, he finished by taking on his customary fighting stance, placing his right hand in front of his face, and his left behind his back, "Who are you two!?"
The two in front of him had started to shuffle back nervously when one of them yelled, "DAMN IT! You stepped on my foot!"
The other quickly replied, "Give me a break! If you'd just move quicker we wouldn't have been busted!"
"Shaddup, I can barely walk, you're supposed to be helping me, or have you forgotten you-WHOOAA!"
The bushy browed genin had just been watching the two yell at each other when one of the strangers fell face forward into the ground, the other quickly went to help him up, "Crap, Naruto are you all right."
The green bearing genin was surpised, "Did he say Naruto?" He dropped the stance he had been holding and moved in closer to see the two men's faces, it was too dark to see them clearly, so he leaned down to get a better look, recognizing one of them instantly, "Shikamaru?"
The spiky black haired genin turned to face him from his crouching position, "Lee? It's just you, you scared the crap out of us…we were all worked up over nothing…what a drag."
"So it is you Shikamaru…but," Lee pointed a finger to the person lying with his face in the ground, "Who's that with you?"
Shikamaru's eyes widened, he remembered that Naruto had just crashed and burned and couldn't move, "Crap, It's Naruto! Help me lift him up Lee."
"Right!" Lee nodded as he knelt down and grabbed Naruto's left shoulder and Shikamaru followed suit, grabbing his right shoulder. As they lifted him up, they were shocked when Naruto started coughing wildly, a stream of blood pouring from his nose. Both Lee and Shikamaru spoke in unison as they hoisted the yellow haired genin to a standing position, "Are you okay Naruto?"
Naruto fought the coughs off enough to yell an answer, "NO I'M NOT OKAY YOU IDIOTS, I WAS DROWNING IN MY OWN BLOOD!"
Shikamaru just shook his head, "Calm down and shut up Naruto. Getting all worked up isn't gonna help, we need stop the bleeding."
Naruto shot him a nasty glare.
"Don't glare at me either Naruto, besides," Shikamaru smirked, "It's not that intimidating when your face is covered in blood."
Naruto had started to growl when Lee decided to interject, "Stop arguing, we need to take care of your face Naruto!"
Naruto stopped growling, "Whatever!"
Lee looked at Shikamaru, "Let's sit him down somewhere," he motioned his head towards a couple crates that sat against the wall of a building.
Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah yeah."
The group slowly worked their way over to the crates, making sure not to let Naruto fall again. Once they had reached the crates, Shikamaru and Lee eased the blond into a sitting position, both letting out a sigh right before Naruto gave a thanks, "Thanks guys, I'm not used to being unable to move, but check it out," he lifted his right arm, "I got some more motion back in this arm!"
Bewilderment flashed across Shikamaru's face, "I can't believe how fast he heals, they said he shouldn't be able to move for a week! He could barely move his arms when we were playing shogi earlier…and now he can lift that one without a problem…what a transition in just a matter of hours…sheesh, that must be nice…"
The young chunin's thoughts were interrupted by a shout, "OUUCH, easy Lee, you don't have to cram it down my nose!"
From what Shikamaru could tell, Lee had placed a cloth rather forcefully on Naruto's face in an attempt to plug his nose, but he only ended up smacking him. "Sorry Naruto! That was an accident, but you need to hold that cloth to your nose until the blood coagulates!"
"I know Bushy Brow, thanks for the cloth," The blond genin used his right hand to keep pressure on his nose as he looked up at Lee, "Anyways, what the heck are you doing here?"
Shikamaru was curious as well, "I was just wondering that myself."
"Well," the self-proclaimed handsome devil placed a hand on his chin, "I tried to visit everyone at the hospital, but they still weren't allowing visitors in to see Neji or Choji…Kiba already left the hospital, and you weren't in your room Naruto…after that I was bored…so I was sitting up there," he pointed a hand towards the roof of the building he'd been sitting on earlier, "That's when I saw you guys…speaking of which, why are you two sneaking around the alley?"
Naruto grinned as he spoke proudly, "Cause I won the bet!"
Lee raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Huh…A bet…what do you mean?"
"Shikamaru made a bet with me over a game of shogi earlier, whoever won the game got to pick two things that the loser had to do no matter what, and I won!"
Lee was thoroughly flabbergasted as he looked towards the ponytailed chunin, "Did he really beat you at shogi Shikamaru?"
An annoyed look came across the chunin's face, and an annoyed tone came with it, "Yeah…he did, and his first stupid condition was for me to sneak him out of the hospital and buy him some ramen…problem is…we'll probably never hear the end of it if we get caught…so that's why we're sneaking through the alleyway."
As Shikamaru finished, Naruto spoke up again, "So…Bushy Brow, Want to come with us to Ichiraku…I could definantly use the help getting around?"
The handsome devil thought for a moment before replying, "Sounds good…but you know…You might want to get some kind of disguise Naruto, don't you think the first place the nurses will look for you will be at Ichiraku, and those bandages are a dead giveaway!"
"Like a wig or something?"
Lee grinned wildly, "And A giant pair of fake glasses!"
Naruto and Lee had started to imagine how funny the blond would look with stupid glasses and a wig, causing them both to start chuckling, Shikamaru however, didn't seem to be as amused.
The black haired chunin let out a sigh, "Geez…Don't be ridiculous," he managed to get his two companions attention, "My house isn't far from here, I'll just go over there and get you a big hooded jacket to wear, it should hide your presence as long as you can keep your trap shut…the last thing I want is to get murdered by Tsunade or Shizune for sneaking their favorite patient out…So you guys wait here, I'll be right back."
Both Naruto and Lee nodded in approval, so Shikamaru disappeared quickly out of the alley. The two remaining genin remained quiet for a minute, but then a question popped into the busy brow's head, "Hey Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"What's the second condition on your bet with Shikamaru…what are you going to make him do?"
An evil smile made its way onto Naruto's face as he motioned for Lee to come closer, the green bearing genin lowered his head next to the blonde's face.
Naruto started whispering his plans into Lee's ear.
Lee nodded his head in understanding.
Naruto whispered a few more words.
Lee's eyes widened.
Naruto continued.
Lee's face blushed.
Naruto whispered a few more quiet words to Lee.
Lee and Naruto both broke out in laughter, which continued until Lee managed to catch his breath long enough to speak a single phrase, "Now this I have to see!"
"Just don't say anything to Shikamaru about it when he gets back."
Lee gave him a thumbs up, "No problem Naruto!"
…
Night had fallen and Ino was still pissed, she was currently walking through the busy streets of the village, "First stupid billboard brow blows me off when I try to be nice, then Naruto and Shikamaru do the exact same thing!"
Just then she saw a spiky haired chunin carrying a large jacket over his shoulder as he was racing through the street, at the sight of him the blond girl scoffed, "Speak of the devil."
She quickly raced to intercept him, shouting his name as she did so, spite clearly evident in her voice, "Hey SHIKAMARU!"
He cringed at the tone of her voice, coming to a stop right in front of her, he chuckled nervously, "Hey Ino…what's up?"
She inched in closer, seemingly towering over him, "Where are you off to in such a hurry Shikamaru!? What's with the jacket!?"
Shikamaru took a step back, "Damn she's scary," he turned around and took off, "Sorry Ino, I can't tell you!"
He shot off like a cannon, leaving the blond in an even fouler mood, "That ass! Why is everyone ignoring me today!? And what's so secret about a damn jacket!?"
She sat there getting angrier with every flustered breath she took until someone approached her from behind and tapped her on the shoulder, causing Ino to jump out her skin.
"Whoa! Calm down Ino, it's just me."
The anxiety filled genin turned to face the familiar voice, "Sakura? What are you doing here?"
Sakura gave her a big smile, "I was out walking and I heard you screaming at Shikamaru, so I came to see what all the fuss was about, but right as I got here he took off…looked like you gave him quite a scare…pretty frightening."
The blond crossed her arms and huffed, "He deserved it."
Sakura chuckled at Ino's reaction, "Well, you're welcome to walk with me Ino," the pink haired Kunoichi started to walk away, waving a hand signaling for Ino to follow.
The blond perked up, "Sure, wait up Sakura," she hustled to catch up as the two starting chatting away with their typical gossip, being initiated by Ino.
"Hey Sakura, guess what happened?"
The green eyed genin turned to look at her, "What?"
"Naruto beat Shikamaru at shogi! Who would have guessed that pea-brain had it in him!"
Sakura went wide eyed, "Naruto beat him, Your Kidding!"
"Nope, I was there when it happened! Oh and guess what else!"
"What?"
They carried on that way as they walked, gossip would be traded for the next thirty minutes.
…
Shikamaru descended from a roof into a dark and damp alleyway, "Hey guys, I'm back," he finished by throwing a dark black hooded jacket he'd been carrying at Lee.
Both Naruto and Lee questioned in unison, "What took so long?"
"Well," the lazy chunin ran a hand through his hair, leaving it there as he answered, "First I had to come up with an excuse for my mom about why I took one of my Dad's jackets…then on the way back I had to dodge Ino…and she was looking super pissed off…just be grateful I got back this fast, dealing with women when they get all worked up is such a drag."
Lee started to help Naruto slip on the jacket as Naruto posed a question, "Why was your mom so mad about you taking a jacket?"
The chunin sighed, "How the hell am I supposed to understand what goes on in her head…either way, we should get going before it gets too late."
Lee took his turn to talk, "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to do everything we have planned," he stifled a laugh as he winked at Naruto, making Naruto hold back a laugh as well.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Did I miss something?"
Both genin gave a swift reply, "Nope!"
Shikamaru shook his head, "Whatever," he knelt down and threw Naruto's left arm over his shoulder, "Up we go."
The two stood up, and as they did, Naruto used his right arm to pull the hood of the jacket over his head.
Lee looked the blond genin up and down, "Now that's a perfect disguise, I can't even see your face Naruto!"
Shikamaru nodded in agreement, "He's right, you look even shadier than Shino."
The blond was elated, "Great, now I can finally have my sweet Ichiraku!"
With that, The three of them headed out.
Well, there it is, tell me what you think! Cause if you don't, I'll place your cookies on a shelf just out of your reach.
Got any good music suggestions? Send em' my way please!
I named this chapter after a song called On The Dark Streets Below by: Murder by Death (The title fit the chapter, not so much the lyrics though)
Once again, Thanks for reading!
