What's New, Naruto?
By knuckz
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto was not kicked out of Konoha; he left of his own accord. Not enough money, and no health or dental coverage? It was a bad job, really. Swearing and mature themes.
04 – Butterfly Float, Killer Bee Sting
"So you stormed out of there. Then what?" Shubou asked, downing the shot glass of liquor he held in his hand. Naruto just shrugged.
"I was pretty pissed off, so I went to the outskirts of town to blow off some steam." the blond replied. Shubou scratched his thick beard, pouring himself another glass of liquor. Shubou, the leader of the town of Furou, looked very similar to Kongou; more than that, the two of them had practically the same personality. Though it was more truthful to say that Kongou was like Shubou; as his bodyguard, Kongou was often required to be Shubou on several occasions, so he had to look like him and act like him.
"So that was the reason behind all the commotion." Shubou commented, "People thought that an apocalypse was coming; all those earthquakes and gale winds and shit."
Naruto innocently shrugged.
"You forgot the part where you..."
"Shut the f-"
"...cried like a little bitch." Kongou cut in, chuckling.
"-uck up, Kongou! Fuck damn it, I wasn't crying, you goat-fucking turdshit!" Naruto furiously replied, glaring at the man. Shubou looked at Naruto in disbelief, the humour on his face evident, while Kongou just started chuckling even harder.
"Whahahaha! You cried!?" Shubou exclaimed, laughing at the ill-tempered blond.
"Turdshit?" Kongou repeated, amused.
"Fuck you too, Shubou, I didn't cry." Naruto said warningly, "I'll fucking shit in your mouth if you don't shut up; you know I can do it."
Shubou's laughter died down to soft chuckles, though he did shudder.
"Poor guy." said the leader of the village, shaking his head sadly, "He was never the same after you shit in his mouth."
"Turd and shit is the same thing." Kongou commented, still amused.
"He never was." Naruto repeated, "Though it was actually dog shit."
"Really?" Shubou asked, surprised at the revelation.
"Yep." Naruto responded, "My shit isn't really all that flammable."
"Why do you know that?" Kongou asked, giving the whiskered blond a weird look. Naruto just shrugged.
"I... experiment." Naruto replied, "But that dog shit though; it melted quite nicely."
"It burned the inside of his mouth; the doctors had a hell of a time fixing that." Shubou said, "It was pretty extreme."
"Yeah, well, that'll learn him. Tch, 'it was an accident' he claimed! You don't fuck with me when I'm eating ramen." Naruto proclaimed, downing his own shot glass.
"He offered to pay for your ramen." Kongou pointed out.
"He didn't have no money." Naruto retorted.
"That's because you took all of his money right before you beat him up and burned the inside of his mouth with melted dog shit." Kongou said. Naruto shook his head.
"I don't know what you want from me; I'm just one man."
"Anyway, Azusa's in a right state." Shubou mentioned, steering the conversation back on track, "She was pretty upset about what happened between you and Saya. She thinks of the two of you as her own kids."
Naruto winced.
"Yeah," Naruto said, frowning, "Not that I don't appreciate it, but that's probably what makes it really hard to convince Azusa-chan to have sex with me. Though I'm pretty sure that deep down, she's real kinky like that."
Shubou chuckled.
"Good luck with that. She barely touched me long enough to make Fuu, and even then it was only because of the one kid requirement for my position." Shubou informed the blond, "And we haven't had sex since. Hell, I haven't even seen her naked; even that one time, it was all under the covers and shit, and even then she kept her top on. I hate that 'through the hole' shit."
"Why the fuck is she married to you anyway?" Naruto asked, "Nobody ever told me the story, and she obviously doesn't like you."
Shubou shrugged.
"I was next in line to be leader slash dictator of Furou, and I had to choose my bride." Shubou said, "I picked Azusa but she asked me to choose someone else. Her family had raised her to be refined and modest, and I was a 'brute', as she called me, which was pretty insulting."
"You said no?" Naruto said, eyebrows raised, "Though she's right about that brute thing. I call you a fucking Neanderthal every day of the week."
Shubou just shrugged nonchalantly, ignoring Naruto's bad mood.
"She was the hottest girl there, and I was pretty fucking horny. I don't think she was too happy when I said no." Shubou said, "But stop going off topic; what're you going to do about this situation? Azusa's upset, and when she's upset, she wants me to fix it. I don't like that, Naruto; I really don't. Fix this."
"Oh, look at the time!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, looking at his watch-less wrist and standing to leave, "I better be going."
"Aww, leaving already?"
"The fuck!?" Naruto spun around, only to see Fuu playing with dolls behind the one-seater he had been sitting on, "Fuu!? What- when- how long have you been there!?"
"Aren't you ninjas supposed to know when people are hidden near you?" Shubou asked.
"'Ain't y'all nanjas s'pposed to knaw when dem paples are nar you?'" Naruto snapped at him in mocking tones, "Learn something about the world you live in, you fucking hick."
Shubou raised an eyebrow, and Naruto ducked his head.
"I never was good at that 'always aware of things around you' shit." Naruto admitted, before turning his attention back to Shubou's daughter.
"Fuu!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at her, "I haven't forgotten about you! What're you doing here?"
"I was playing with my dolls." Fuu told him, showing Naruto two dolls; he noticed that the male had blond hair and the female was a brunette.
Somehow, I get the oddest feeling that those dolls are supposed to be me and Saya. Naruto thought bemusedly.
"Is it true that Naruto-niichan and Saya-neechan got into another fight?" the girl asked the whiskered demon container.
"Of course not!" Naruto easily lied to the little girl that adored him so much, "Why would you think that?"
"Well, you were just talking about it with dad and Kongou." Fuu replied. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.
"Exactly how long were you in here?" Naruto asked her. Fuu shrugged.
"I followed you in." she replied, "What's a 'turdshit'?"
Naruto winced at Fuu's repetition of his expletive.
Shit, Azusa's gonna fucking kill me. Naruto thought worriedly.
"Never you mind. But kiddo; don't worry about me and Saya. All friendships have rough patches; we'll be back to normal soon enough." Naruto told the young girl. Inwardly, he wanted to believe his own words, but found himself thinking that perhaps things between Saya and he might not be the same ever again.
"Good, because you and Saya-neechan are going to get married, and then you can be my new dad!" Fuu declared. Naruto felt a painful stab in his chest at thought of marriage. Shubou gave Fuu the middle finger.
"Fuck you too kid." he gruffly told his daughter, grabbing a cigar from the table and lighting it up. Fuu innocently shrugged.
"Is it friendships or relationships that have rough patches?" Kongou wondered, gathering everyone's focus, "Why do you care so much that she had... relations with Keitaro?"
Despite all his crudeness, Kongou was quite attached to Fuu, as he often spent much of his time as her personal bodyguard when he wasn't guarding Shubou; he often toned himself down around the young girl.
Naruto didn't know the answer to either question. So he responded in the only way he could think of. Azusa couldn't kill him twice.
"Shut the fuck up, you dickwad. What do you know? You haven't gotten laid for over 2 months." Naruto said to Kongou, who lowered his head in embarrassment, "I just recently had a thirteensome with 12 hot-ass women."
Then Naruto turned to the silently smoking Shubou.
"And you; don't even bother saying anything! I have a better chance of fucking your wife than you do! You frigging suck, dude!" Naruto said to the man, who held up both hands as a sign of peace.
"You people piss me off!" Naruto proclaimed, scowling angrily, "Except you Fuu; you're awesome. But I'm still getting the fuck out of here."
All three of the other occupants watched him storm out in silence. After he left, it was Shubou that spoke up first.
"He really is upset about this whole Saya losing her virginity thing." Shubou said, "And the funny thing is that she didn't even have sex with the boy; Azusa told me that Saya's still a virgin."
"He's upset, and he might not even exactly know why." Kongou said, not at all surprised that Saya still retained her virginity; Saya wasn't the type of person that would lose something as important as that to just any person, especially to a stranger.
"I guess he really likes the girl." Shubou commented. Fuu had already lost interest in the conversation; she had gone back to making her dolls kiss.
Kongou nodded in assent.
"That's as obvious as how much she likes him, but that might not be the reason he's pissed off." Kongou said, "He doesn't know that he likes her, but it may have to do with more than that. To Naruto, the thought of Saya losing her virginity has little to do with her having sex, and more to do with her losing what he perceives as her purity."
Shubou gave Kongou an inquiring look.
"Once, when he was drunk, Naruto told me that he loved someone." Kongou confided in his disbelieving companion, "I know, I know. 'Naruto' and 'love' don't normally go in the same sentence without 'pretend to be in' and 'to have sex' to accompany them. I think Saya probably reminds him of the woman he might have loved once upon a time."
"Who was the woman?" Shubou asked curious. Kongou shrugged.
"No clue. He never talks about it. Maybe a virgin sister that got raped or a virgin girlfriend that cheated on him." the bearded bodyguard suggested. Shubou decided to take it and go with it.
"Or an incestuous virgin sister that cheated on him. And then later got raped. I like the 'raped' angle. Oooh, maybe his mother was a virgin that got raped, and he's the rape-baby! And then when he was a kid, his mother raped him, taking his virginity! Then his mother got raped again and had the incestuous virgin rape-baby sister that promised her virginity to him, but then cheated on him! And then the mother later raped that same sis-"
"Please stop." Kongou cut in, finally having enough.
A silence descended upon the two bearded men. After a few moments, Shubou broke it.
"So he cried?"
Kongou sniggered.
"Like a little bitch."
Naruto lay back on the plush grass, staring up at the clouds rolling by in the azure sky. There was an oddly calming nature to those puffy white cream-puffs, and Naruto couldn't help agree with Shikamaru about just laying back and spending his days like this.
I almost regret fucking your girlfriend, Shika. Naruto thought, thinking back to when he had slept with Temari. Things had started to go south ever since the sandy-blonde Sand kunoichi had found him. From worrying about behind apprehended by his old village, to the whole fiasco with Saya; everything had gone wrong since.
Fucking hell, my life is a fucking drama. Naruto thought, raising his hands to the skies and flipping them off.
I don't know who's writing out my life, but fuck you for giving me such a fucked up story. Naruto thought angrily, And fuck you to anyone reading it.
"Yo!"
"Huh?" Naruto glanced up, to see a large figure looming over him, grinning. Naruto lowered his hands (still flipping the bird) and sat up. The figure in question was a dark-skinned Kumo nin wearing very strange get-up. The ninja had on a white vest and a multitude of swords strapped to his back, along with a purple rope tied around his waist. His hair was as blond as Naruto's, though the ex-but-not-really-Konoha-nin did not want to believe that the man's hair colour was natural.
"How's it go, blond man with the nasty hands?" the ninja rapped, "Flippin' the bird to the world, why you so crazy, Mr. Lazy?"
Naruto stared at the man, unsure of what to say, so he just said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"Whoa, Joe! Watch that crazy tongue or Killer Bee will bring the funk!" the man replied. Naruto looked at him as if he were stupid.
"What the fuck are you saying?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused at the man's strange speech patterns.
"Not sayin' nuttin', this is rappin' baby."
Naruto shook his head in exasperation; this was the last thing he needed.
"Listen, I don't know what you want with me, but there ain't gonna be any nutting going on here. If you want to bust a nut, go into town." Naruto told the man, pointing towards Furou, "There's a brothel in there. As for raping babies... well, I can't help you there, you hippie."
"Yo, Killer Bee ain't no hippie... you pretty fresh with the mess, kid." Killer Bee replied, before holding out his fist, "Gimme some dap for a scrap."
Naruto had no idea what the idiot in front of him wanted, so he just cooperated in hopes that 'Killer Bee' would leave him alone. After giving the taller man some 'dap', Killer Bee jumped away, getting into an obviously hostile stance. Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"A fight? Well, why didn't you just say so in the first place?" Naruto smirked, getting into his own attack stance. This was exactly what he needed to relieve his stress; fuck Shikamaru and his clouds. The rush of adrenaline, the pounding of flesh on flesh, the grunts of exertion; fighting was just like sex.
Naruto had a lot of built up tension to release; Killer Bee was going to learn just who the real killer was. But not the bee; he could keep that.
Both fighters took a moment to observe each other, taking in the fighting stances, gleaming whatever data they could before it would be too late stand back and observe. And almost as if there were a silent signal between the two, both rushed at each other at the same time with a flurry of movement.
Despite his greater girth, Naruto noted that Killer Bee was incredibly fast; combined with his heaviness, the momentum of the Kumo nin's attack sent shocks throughout Naruto's body even though the blond blocked the blow.
Ignoring the slight fuzzy feeling in his arms, Naruto quickly spun to the right, lashing out with a kick, which Killer Bee simply pushed aside with his left arm. The rapping ninja swung forward with his right fist, putting his weight into the punch. Unfortunately, the ninja did not notice that Naruto's left leg had remained glued to his arm.
Using the momentum from Killer Bee's movement, Naruto brought up his right knee to smash into the side of the Cloud nin's head. Killer Bee ducked as quickly as possible, driving the hilt of one of the swords strapped to his back into Naruto's knee.
Ignoring the blaring pain from his injured kneecap, Naruto smashed his elbow onto the top of the blond-haired nin's head. Seemingly unaffected by the blow, Killer Bee grabbed Naruto's other leg and threw him well across the field.
Naruto quickly called upon his affinity for wind and straightened himself while still in the air in case the other ninja pursued. But it was for naught as the rap-happy ninja just stood stationary. Naruto took the opportunity to land safely. After he was stationary, the whiskered blond scrutinised the larger man, confused at why he had not pursued the throw.
Killer Bee took out a notepad and began writing in it, nodding to himself every now and then. Naruto just gaped at the absurdity of it.
Stopping right in the middle of a fight! the blond raged, This isn't like sex at all!
"Yo blondie!" Killer Bee called out after he had paused his writing, "What's your name?"
"...Naruto." the blond replied, slightly hesitant about giving his real name to the ninja. Killer Bee started at this, much to Naruto's confusion.
"Wait, are you Uzumaki Naruto?" Killer Bee asked, looking excited. At Naruto's nod, Killer Bee let out a loud laugh.
"No way! Holy crap, I never thought I'd meet the jink that trumps eight!" Killer Bee exclaimed, surprising the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. He walked over to the blond Konoha nin, much more friendly this time.
"Damn man, them Red Clouds been looking for you forever. This is where you been hiding out?" Killer Bee remarked, looking around amazedly.
"Hold up... you're the container of the eight-tailed beast?" Naruto asked, surprised at the odds of the two jinchuuriki meeting like this.
"Don't look so shocked, you're looking at the container of the eight-tailed ox." Killer Bee rapped back at the blond.
"What's your name, anyway?" Naruto asked, "And why did you come here?"
"People call me Killer Bee, but my real name is a secret; I ain't told that to nobody, but I'll tell you since you a fellow jink." Killer Bee said, and he leaned in to whisper his secret, "My name's... Kirabi."
To his credit, Naruto held back from punching Killer Bee in the face.
"And I came here 'cause I wanted to explore the world and improve my rap skills." Killer Bee continued. Naruto frowned.
"What the fuck is 'rap'?" he asked, frustrated at his lack of information regarding the words coming out of Killer Bee's mouth. It was Killer Bee's turn to gape at the blond.
"You're kidding me! Blondie, rap is music!" Killer Bee exclaimed. Naruto just shrugged.
"Are you sure? 'Cause it sure doesn't sound like music to me." Naruto replied, "But forget that for now. Tell me; how'd you know that I was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and my name and all that? From a bingo book?"
"I ran into some of those Akatsuki goons a few weeks ago; they was asking about you. But you ain't listed in the bingo book as a jink, so no worries there." Killer Bee replied, "But yo, let's continue our battle! I wanna settle the mettle, faster than a pot kettle and... uhh..."
Naruto sighed. Killer Bee's presence here meant that Akatsuki was most likely close on the trail, meaning he'd have to leave Furou behind, lest the village be burned to the ground because he had to fight off the Akatsuki.
They were on the move once more.
Ever since Naruto and his team had fought off Sasori and Deidara to rescue Gaara, Akatsuki had taken another break from attempting to gather the jinchuuriki. Naruto had no idea why that was, and he really regretted that the information came to him after he had left Konoha behind, but it was still welcome news. But now it seemed that they had once again remobilized.
Naruto would have to tread really carefully once again. But until then, he'd have as much fun as he could.
"Alright, let's do it." Naruto said suddenly, grinning at the slightly surprised look on Kirabi's face, "Let's see if nine really trumps eight."
Killer Bee grinned back.
"Yo, we on the-"
"But no rapping."
"Alright Fishcake, we got taijutsu covered, and I'm pretty sure that neither of us is any good at genjutsu. What you wanna do now?" Kirabi asked, folding his arms and staring at the blond from a distance. Naruto shrugged.
"Let's just fight." Naruto said, "Use whatever you want to."
"Alright!" Killer Bee exclaimed, and he drew all four of his swords, getting into the weirdest sword stance that Naruto had ever seen. In retaliation, Naruto summoned his own sword. The Cloud nin blinked at the sword popping out of nowhere.
"Hold up; I didn't know you did magic tricks. How'd you do that?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets." Naruto stated. Kirabi didn't reply, and there was a short pause between the two.
"Alright I'll tell you." Naruto said excitedly, feeling giddy, "Nobody ever asks me! It's pretty simple. I was studying fuuinjutsu and I got pretty annoyed about sealing shit inside and taking shit out of scrolls; that takes too fucking long. But after I realized that my chakra had affinity for wind, I decided to seal my things into the wind."
"Ohhhhh! I get- no, I don't get it." Killer Bee said, "How the hell do you seal things into the wind!?"
Naruto shrugged.
"I have no idea. I never bothered to learn the mechanics of fuuinjutsu; I hate that shit. You don't need to know how fuuinjutsu works in order to kill people with it." he replied, "All I know is that I'm sealing whatever I want into the wind."
"No hand-seals or nothing?"
Naruto shrugged again.
"I spent years perfecting it. But do you really want to just talk or do you wanna FIGHT!?" Naruto roared, giving Killer Bee no warning as he suddenly rushed at him with his sword at the ready.
Killer Bee reacted instantly, flipping forward, rolling in the air and attacking Naruto with his multitude of swords, aiming to stab. Naruto dodged the first sword and stepped on two others while pushing away the forth sword with his free hand. Swinging forward with his free hand, Naruto aimed to slice at Killer Bee's abdomen. However, the larger man shifted mid-motion, and one of his swords swerved straight towards the blond, leaving him without enough time to dodge it.
Just as Killer Bee was about to stab into the blond, another large object suddenly appeared between the two, pushing them apart. Recovering, Killer Bee looked on in disbelief at the... couch that had suddenly appeared between the two.
Naruto just swore, looking at the sword that was now lodged in the couch.
"Damn it, that was a perfectly good couch." he complained, mourning his loss. Killer Bee grinned.
"Blondie; I can tell I'm gonna have a lot of fun with you."
And just like that, Killer Bee took his sword out of Naruto's poor couch, and sheathed it along with all of his others. Slamming his hands together, Killer Bee focused his massive chakra and began quickly sifting through hand-seals.
"LET'S SEE HOW YOU DO AGAINST MY LIGHTNING!" he roared, activating his lightning jutsu. As electricity suddenly covered Killer Bee's body, Naruto quickly began his own hand-seals.
"You don't have to yell." Naruto calmly replied, even as Killer Bee charged at him while covered in lightning chakra. Killer Bee jumped straight at the blond, and right as he was about to make contact, Naruto lightly tapped his foot on the ground. Large rectangular pillars suddenly rose dozens of feet from the ground, taking the blond with them.
Unable to stop his charge, Killer Bee smashed straight through one of them, tripping and falling onto the ground, cancelling out his lightning technique. He immediately rolled away to the side, barely avoiding getting crushed by the debris of the pillar he had charged through. As his roll ended, the Cloud jinchuuriki stood up, only to notice that he was now complete surrounded by a circular wall of hardened dirt.
The hell? Killer Bee thought, confused at how quickly the pillars had merged together. The blond had clearly stated that he had an affinity for wind, not earth. This kind of manipulation was clearly that of someone who had mastered earth-nature chakra. However, Killer Bee had no time to ponder this as wood suddenly leaped out of the ground beneath him and wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso, holding him down.
Killer Bee pointedly ignored the fact that wood manipulation should've been a technique that died with the First Hokage.
"Damn it!" he cursed, as he struggled to break out of the wood, "What next!?"
He soon wished he hadn't asked.
The walls surrounding him suddenly melted, coming down upon the trapped jinchuuriki.
"Damn it! Noooo! My clothes are whiiii-" Killer Bee yelled out, getting cut off as the mud came crashing down upon him. Far away from the devastation of the once plush land, Naruto smirked.
"That was pretty easy." he remarked. He watched as Killer Bee rose out of the mud, dragging himself over to the blond, the mud slowing him down. He was covered from head to toe in mud, his white vest now ruined.
"Bitch, you totally ruined my get up!" Killer Bee said, glaring at Naruto who kept smirking, "But you completely caught me off guard. What's your secret?"
"I was using Kyuubi's chakra." Naruto replied. Killer Bee continued to wait for an answer, but Naruto wasn't going to be forthcoming about it. Killer Bee suddenly grinned again.
"I like you, kid. Hey listen, how about we go on a road trip? Travel throughout the land, put on a few rap concerts, hit the bars?" Killer Bee suggested. Amazingly, Naruto wasn't put off by the idea. It seemed like a plausible thing to do, especially if Akatsuki was coming this way.
"Bang the women?" Naruto added, looking hopeful. It was his way of agreeing with the older jinchuuriki, and they both knew it.
"If you want." Killer Bee replied, feeling excited at the idea of traveling with the jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed demon fox, "Come on; let's get going!"
"Already? How about you get cleaned up and we go get some drinks first?" Naruto asked, feeling slight fond of the annoying rapper.
"And where do I get cleaned up?" Killer Bee asked, still slightly angry at the blond for ruining his clothes. Naruto just tapped his foot on the ground again. Killer Bee gave the blond a suspicious look... right before the ground beneath his feet suddenly split open and he fell into a pool of water.
"Damn it blondie!" the Kumo-nin yelled at the blond, who had jumped away laughing.
"See you in town!" Naruto yelled back, speeding back to the town. He felt happier than he had in a while; this road trip may be exactly what he needed to put this whole Saya thing behind him.
Azusa came downstairs into the bar, not disappointed to find Naruto sitting at one of the tables with a large dark-skinned ninja, discussing something that she was not currently interested in listening to. Saya was behind the counter, pointed ignoring the blond, though sometimes casting furtive glances in his direction. Ever since Naruto and Saya had had their yelling match, Saya had gone out of her way to avoid the bad-tempered blond.
To Azusa, Saya was, for all intents and purposes, a daughter. Ever since she had witnessed her parents' murder (an event at which Azusa was also present), Saya had resided with Azusa for several years, during which time both Azusa and Fuu became fond of the brunette. Then, when she had been old enough, Saya moved out of their home to take up the bar that her parents had opened.
And since then, life had dredged on, normality and boredom taking prevalence in their lives.
Then, Naruto came. And everything changed.
He and Saya hadn't taken to each other. Naruto acted a 'perverted womanizer', as Saya called him, and Saya was a prude, as Naruto called her. However, despite the initially poor impressions both had for each other, Naruto and Saya's explosive interactions soon became exactly what each needed. Naruto brought adventure and excitement into Saya's normally drab life, and Saya brought a sense of normalcy and comfort to Naruto's lonely state of living.
They balanced each other out; an age-old recipe that Azusa had seen a plethora of times in her life. But it only worked if the two stayed together; and that was precisely why Azusa was currently approaching Naruto.
"Naruto-kun?"
Naruto's eyes met hers, and Azusa sadly noticed that they didn't light up as they usually did when he saw her. But she was partly to blame, after all. This was the first time she had approached the whiskered blond since he and Saya had their fight; she had spent most of her free time with Saya, and Naruto was probably a little hurt that she hadn't even checked on him. For reasons unknown to the gorgeous raven-haired beauty, Naruto seemed to hold a lot of stock with her opinion of him.
But that matter could be addressed later.
"Yeah?"
He must really be upset that I had yet to approach him. Azusa thought, a small amount of guilt, He's not normally so reticent with me.
The bar was thankfully empty except for the four of them; the regular customers were likely working.
"I would like to inquire why your room is completely devoid of your belongings." Azusa stated. Naruto shrugged at her questioning not-question.
"I'm leaving." he replied. His reply gathered Saya's attention, though she still avoided directly looking at him, for fear of meeting his eyes.
Azusa raised an eyebrow.
"And were you going to tell us for how long?" she asked, her tone cold. Despite how hurt Naruto may be feeling, he was still being extremely childish. Had he planned to leave without informing anyone? It infuriated the customarily calm woman when Naruto shrugged again.
"I was." Naruto replied quietly. His quiet tone calmed Azusa anger somewhat.
"When will you be back?" Azusa asked the suddenly solemn blond. The sword-equipped ninja with ex-Konoha nin looked between the conversationalists with slight interest.
"I'm not sure." Naruto replied, glancing at his cohort, "Could be weeks, months, maybe even years. It might be never."
That got Saya's undivided attention. She now looked at the blond, wide-eyed at Naruto's reply. Azusa continued their conversation as if Naruto hadn't said something so devastating to the lives of practically everybody in Furou; Naruto's various jobs brought in a large amount of money.
"Naruto!" Saya said, finally speaking up. Azusa hid her smile; the girl at least knew better than to hold on to a silly grudge, especially when someone as important to her as Naruto decided he wanted to leave. Naruto looked at Saya, surprised that she was speaking to him.
"I didn't sleep with Keitaro! I was up all night talking with his mother!" Saya told him frantically. Naruto looked even more surprised than he did when Saya spoke to him.
"I-" was all Naruto mattered to stutter out; he had realized his mistake.
"Look, you don't have to leave because of me. I'm sorry for everything that happened, but just... don't leave!" Saya said, sounding anxious, hopping over the counter and walking over to the small group. Naruto's surprise slowly ebbed away.
"That's not why I'm leaving." Naruto told Saya. Azusa's eyebrows furrowed at Naruto's reply.
"Then may I infer as to why you are leaving?" she asked.
"Yo, me and kid wonder over here are goin' on a tour of the world!" Killer Bee spoke up, "We gonna hit it big!"
"Ignore him." Naruto said firmly, "There are dangerous people after me. If they find me here, they'd likely destroy Furou and everyone in it, man, woman, and child."
Azusa felt the worry settle on her shoulders.
"Aren't you strong enough to handle these guys? You keep saying you're one of the strongest ninjas in the world!" Saya exclaimed, looking at the blond wildly. Naruto slowly shook his head.
"Not Akatsuki... they're extremely strong, and while I can probably defeat one of them on my own, I doubt that I can defeat two of them working together, and they always travel in pairs." Naruto replied, "That's why it's safer to travel from place to place, so I'll be harder to track."
"Not to mention Killer Bee here." Naruto said, motioning to his friend, "With him fighting alongside me, the two of us have a better chance at handling anything they might throw at us."
"Then why might you never come back? If the two of you can beat them, why wouldn't you come back to Furou?" Saya asked.
"Never is assuming that I'm dead. Even with our combined strength, the two of us are on our own; before, I at least had the Hidden Leaf watching my back." Naruto said. "These guys can likely take on an entire Hidden Village by themselves; the weakest of them is at least Kage-level."
"So you're just going to leave like that?" Saya asked, something in her voice tugging at Azusa's heart. Naruto's expression showed hints of him feeling the same tugging.
Silence descended upon the four of them, Killer Bee staying quiet for once. Naruto was the one to break the silence.
"Saya, I guess... I need to apologize to you. I was way over the line." Naruto apologized, "I was... just jealous, I guess. You were such a constant in my life, and just the thought of you giving any time to that bastard Keitaro... I guess I just lost it."
Naruto raised his hand to scratch the back of his head sheepishly, smiling weakly at the brunette, a habit he'd had since he was a kid.
"I didn't want to leave on such bad terms... especially since I'm not sure when I'll see you again." Naruto said, "Or even if I would see you again."
"So... I'm sorry."
Saya just silently stared back at him, her face expressionless. Azusa couldn't help but let out a small sigh; the girl had reacted in a similar matter when her parents had been killed. Whenever Saya felt hurt, she closed herself up.
"Yo, Naru-Dawg, why don't she come with?" Killer Bee suggested. Saya's eyes snapped to the Cloud nin at his suggestion. Azusa felt like slapping the man.
At the very least, Naruto and Saya were going to part on a bittersweet note. Now, they might not even have that. Saya might have fought to keep Naruto in her life, but Azusa knew that the girl would not so easily decide to leave her home for a friend she couldn't even admit she liked.
However, before Saya's hesitance could hurt Naruto's feelings, Naruto spoke up.
"Not happening." he said, shooting down Killer Bee's suggestion, "It'll be too dangerous on the road. If we do happen to encounter Akatsuki, she'd be easily killed."
"I do know a little medical ninjutsu." Saya protested weakly.
"These guys can literally kill you before your brain realizes that you're dead." Naruto said, his voice taking a no-nonsense tone, "None of you can come."
"And what if they decide to target us while you're away?" Azusa asked, "There would be nothing to stop them."
"They won't." Naruto said confidently, "Akatsuki's only agenda is capturing me. They don't care about a town as unknown as Furou, and I plan on letting them see me far away from here so they don't even come into the area. Nothing will happen to Furou, rest assured."
"If you really wanna avoid Akatsuki, then let's get going." Killer Bee said, "I doubt they'll be taking their time getting here."
"Yeah." Naruto said, softly, though he didn't move.
"So that's it?" Saya asked quietly.
"Yeah." Naruto replied, "That's it."
The two just stood, neither able to think of anything to say. They had gotten so comfortable together, that now that they might be separated for a long time, the feeling of separation left a larger whole in their hearts than it might have otherwise..
"... What you want, a cookie?" Naruto said suddenly, grinning. Saya couldn't help but giggle at the old joke.
"You're the worst." Saya said, feeling slightly better.
"Yet you still love me." Naruto said, cringing slightly, expecting the usual blow from Saya that he usually received after saying things like that, but none came; Saya just stood there, staring at him, wide-eyed. Naruto's eyes slightly widened.
"Saya..." Naruto said, stepping closer to the brunette, putting his hands on her shoulders. Azusa watched the scene avidly; this might be the first time that either teen acknowledged the attraction each had for each other.
"Naruto..." Saya whispered back, unconsciously leaning forward ever so slightly.
"And Killer Bee, we on the rap attack, layin' the smack' on the wack!"
"SHUT UP!" everybody yelled, turning to him. Killer Bee slowly backed off into the corner, his hands raised in surrender.
Shaking his head, Naruto turned back to Saya, his hands still on her shoulders. He leaned his face towards hers, his lips parting ever so slightly... and...
"PSYCH!"
Azusa and Saya regarded the blond, completely taken by surprise.
"Whahahahaha! You should've seen the looks on your faces!" Naruto laughed, holding onto the table in mirth, "You looked like somebody killed your puppy! Ahahaha!"
"So... this whole leaving thing is a joke?" Saya asked, the beginnings of anger showing on her face. Naruto shook his head.
"No, I'm still leaving, but I'll be back for sure." he said, still chuckling, "It might be a few months, but I'll be back."
Saya shot the blond a calculating look; Naruto looked at her, puzzled.
"Still, a month is a long time. I don't want to wait that long." Saya told him, an odd flush on her face. Naruto tilted his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Naruto... I've decided that..." Saya started, placing her hand over her heart, "... if I am going to lose my virginity, I want it to be with someone I trust... will you...?"
"Really?" Naruto asked, flabbergasted, "You want me to...?"
Azusa sighed, shaking her head; he never learned. Saya punched the hopeful blond in the face.
"HELL NO!"
But, Azusa thought, smiling, at least things will be alright.
Saya sighed once again, absentmindedly wiping a mug clean. It had already been two weeks since Naruto had left on his road trip with Killer Bee, and she couldn't remember the last time she had been this bored. It was the usual slow time, meaning nobody was in the bar apart from her; Azusa was at the hospital and Fuu was off doing who-knows-what.
It was quite ironic that ever since Naruto left, Saya only then realized exactly how much she might miss him had he really left permanently. The blond really did bring a lot of happiness into her life. Perhaps a bit too much, since now she was bored to death without him here.
Aahhhh! Saya screamed in her head, For once, I just wish something interesting could happen around here!
Unknown to Saya, her wish was soon about to come true. Outside Furou stood a dark-haired figure, regarding the village with cold eyes. He wore a dark cloak embroidered with puffy red clouds.
END
In a review by Ageant: "...Though the description has me thinking of a Naruto and Killer Bee road trip now..."
Because seriously, what would this fic be without a road trip? Ageant, prepare for the sheer amount of awesomeness that you have wrought with your puny little review!
I've tried writing this chapter for a long time now, and I never did get it satisfactory to my literary tastes (it always came off as jumpy or choppy); eventually I got tired of trying to fix it. But it was still fun to write, and I hope it was as fun to read.
Make sure to leave a comment! Not asking for a dissertation, though that would be much appreciated.
knuckz
PS: Rape and adultery was mentioned several times in this chapter. Despite the joking manner in which it was presented, I do NOT condone such actions. So please, please, PLEASE do not cheat on your partner!
PPS: Oh right, and don't rape people either.