Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto or any original idea's, Jutsu, or anything of the sort that has to do with the manga/anime. The Oc's I use, and my eventual plot twists are mine however, this goes for the entire story, not just this chapter, I assure anyone who reads this if I happen to somehow attain ownership of Naruto, my readers will be the first ones to know.
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Naruto woke up groggily. It was strange waking up after talking to the kyuubi. It was like his mind was already sharp and awake, but the body hadn't caught up yet. Getting up off the bed, he found it was six in the morning. Not wanting to be late, he forestalled any conversation with the kyuubi until he was walking. So he hurried through his usual morning activities and checked his gear twice, not wanting to be caught unprepared. After he was satisfied that he was prepared, he put on his genjutsu and headed toward the north gate. Once he was there he checked his watch finding that he still had a good twenty five minutes. He spent ten minutes doing a few warm up stretches, making sure he was nice and limber. After that was done he sat down on a near by bench waiting for his team.
Fifteen minutes later. The rest of team seven showed up. Sakura and Sasuke were still groggy so they didn't bother asking Naruto about his new clothes or didn't notice, he suspected it was the latter. Five minutes after that Kakashi showed up with the bridge builder.
"Good morning team, I believe we forgot introductions yesterday, this is Tazuna-san, the bridge builder we'll be protecting. Tazuna-san, this is my team, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto."
Kakashi said, taking care of the introductions. Sasuke grunted his greeting, Naruto nodded, as did Sakura. Tazuna gave a cheery "Good morning!"and they were off. Sasuke taking point, with Naruto off to Tazuna's left. Sakura was on Tazuna's right and Kakashi was bringing up the rear. It was by no means boring, at least for Naruto. He LOVED being out of the village. Listening to the birds and wildlife around him. Many wonderful new smells, though with the occasional unwanted surprise, assaulting his nose, no villagers oppressing him sending glares and threats at him. All this coupled with the fact that he was holding a steady conversation with his fiancé led to one of the nicest morning's he'd ever had. Simari had told him how to alter the seal just enough so that they could share his senses. If anything entered his nose, ears, mouth, they both heard, smelled, or tasted it respectively. Naruto was really happy for the first time in a long time.
A puddle came into view up ahead on the side of the road. Naruto could hear the two men breathing in the puddle, and once they came into view, he could find them within his Chakra dome easily. But Kakashi had made no move to do anything to them yet. Assuming he had his reasons, Naruto let it go. The group got not five feet from the puddle before two people rose out of it. They wore strange thing on there face that apparently let them breath underwater with goggles that covered there eyes. They each had a linked chain gauntlet. They wore dark clothing and a cape. The duo ran at Kakashi and got him in there chain, They pulled and Kakashi was cut to pieces.
"One down." One of the two said. Sakura screamed, and the two ran at her, assuming she would be the easiest one to get past to get to Tazuna.
"Shit!" Naruto swore, seeming to disappear. The brothers were right on top of Sakura, who seemed to have froze up in fear. Sasuke was yelling at her to move, but she didn't hear him. The chain was about to wrap around her when Naruto appeared in front of her, Katana in hand. A swift stroke with the blade severed the chain, rendering it useless. Naruto rushed the one on his right, slashing and jabbing at his opponent who was dodging left and right. The other nin forgot Sakura and rushed towards Tazuna and Sasuke. Sasuke engaged the nin, fighting back with some speedy taijutsu.
Naruto was fighting his nin, with seemingly mediocre sword skills. He sent an overzealous back hand swing at the nin, missing and leaving his body wide open. The nin saw an opening and took it, punching at Naruto's stomach. Before it got there though, the Katana disappeared from Naruto's right hand, and reappeared in Naruto's left. Swinging left to right, Naruto cut the mans arm in half, lengthwise. The ninja screamed in agony. At the end of the stroke, Naruto switched into a backhanded grip and brought the sword back, cutting the man's head and blood curdling scream off. Naruto flicked his sword a few times, getting the excess blood off of it before wiping the harder to get stuff on the nins clothing.
Sasuke's fight was somewhat quicker. Sasuke had gone into the fight with some strong taijutsu, kicking and punching hard and dancing away from countering blows. The nin sent a viscous uppercut at Sasuke, that sent the boy up into the air. The enemy nin smirked, however, unknown to him, Sasuke had allowed himself to be hit. As he was flying through the air, Sasuke preformed the seals to one of his favorite jutsu.
"Great fireball technique!" Sasuke whispered. The boy back flipped in midair, setting him up perfectly with his target. The ebony haired boy sent the fireball at the nin point-blank. Not having any time to move, the nin threw up his arms to protect himself best he could. The ball of flame smashed into him, driving him into the ground. When the flame was out, Sasuke dropped into the hole and finished the fight with a chop to the nin's neck, knocking him unconscious.
Seeing Sasuke's fight finished, Naruto picked up Sakura's scent and jogged over to her. Sakura seemed to be slightly shocked, as Naruto put a hand on her shoulder. Her head snapped up to look at him.
"Are you ok Sakura?" Naruto asked. The girl nodded.
"Sasuke, are you and Tazuna ok?" Naruto yelled over at the boy.
"We're fine Naruto!. What about you two?!" He called back. Naruto gave him a thumbs up and walked Sakura over to the group. As he made it to them Kakashi came out of the woods, clapping.
"Wonderful job team, Excellent ninjutsu Sasuke. Naruto, you deserve an award for that acting skill of yours." Kakashi said, giving his infamous eye smile. Naruto gave a wolfish grin at that while the other three just looked confused. Walking up to Tazuna, Kakashi gave the man a stern look, causing him to sweat slightly.
"We need to talk..." Kakashi said, glaring at Tazuna slightly. Tazuna went on to tell the team about Wave country's predicament. About how some tyrant named Gato was running the country by means of fear and squandering the island's ports for his own illegal dealings and such. If he could get the bridge he was building finished, he could break the hold Gato had over the island. After his story was told (and a small guilt trip that involved his family) Team seven agreed to go through with the mission and help Tazuna complete his bridge.
After walking for a ways team seven had made it to a dock where one of Tazuna's friends were going to sneak the group in under the bridge. The bridge was huge. Not really a marvel of engineering or anything, but still impressive. They were in a small boat, rowing and not using the motor to avoid noise. On either side of the small river they were on was a tree line, showing that the river had cut it's way through the middle of a forest. No one was talking as the little boat floated along. Everyone was tense, apprehensive about the next fight that was sure to come. The fog that had settled over them, while it was good for cover, did nothing to settle they're nerves, as it felt as though someone was watching them. Through the fog the wary ninja and bridge builder could see a wooden pier. The ferryman pushed the boat over too the pier and everyone got off the boat. Tazuna thanked the man as he left, disappearing into the mist.
"Normally, we would have gone in through the city, but we believe Gato has agents watching for me there, so I am hoping that by coming in through the forest, we can avoid detection, for today at least." Tazuna explained. Kakashi nodded, excepting the man's explanation.
The pier was close to a path that led through a forest that, Tazuna apparently knew. The forest was eerily quiet, and Naruto's hair was standing on end. He kept getting the feeling of being watched and couldn't shake it. The forest around them was thick, with trees and underbrush alike. Naruto caught a noise over to his right and flung a shuriken at it. A loud "THUNK!" represented the shuriken hitting wood. The others jumped at the sudden movement and held there breath. When nothing moved they looked at Naruto and he could feel there stares.
"What? I heard something." Naruto explained.
Sakura walked over to where the shuriken was thrown to find a rabbit scared out of it's mind.
"Naruto-baka! You almost skewered a snow hare!" Sakura scolded. Walking back to the group.
"Snow hare? What's a white rabbit doing here?" Naruto asked. As soon as the question left his mouth he heard something flying through the air. Acting before Kakashi yelled for them to get down, he grabbed Tazuna and pulled him down. Kakashi pulled Sasuke and Sakura down. A second later a large zanbato cut the air where there head's had been before becoming lodged in a tree. The blade was huge, easily six foot long with a broad blade, it had a half circle cut into the blade near the handle, and another full circle near the end. A man appeared on the handle of the blade seemingly from no where. The man stood about as tall as his sword was long. He had a lean, lanky build, but at the same time, he was huge. He wore no shirt, revealing a good number of battle scars. A pair of what looked like striped pajama pants were on his lower body and he had the lower half of his head wrapped in bandages, concealing his face. His hair was short and spiky, and he had a almost wild look in his eyes. Surprisingly enough, the man had a scent that was similar to mist. A sort of rainy, airy scent. He gave them all what could only be described as a cocky grin before speaking.
"That's as far as you go alive...unless you want to hand over the bridge builder, then I might be inclined to let the rest of you live." The man said, the same grin plastered on his face.
Pulling his headband up, Kakashi spoke up. "Momichi Zabuza, A-rank missing nin from kiri, once part of the seven swordsmen of the mist." Kakashi stated.
Sakura shivered slightly at that. It didn't sound as though Kakashi was mad, or anything of that sort, but his voice dropped it's usual lazy tone and had some sort of indescribable edge to it. With his headband fully pulled up, a three tomoe, red eye was visible. A soft gasp of surprise escaped Sasuke. Sakura didn't know what it was, so she didn't know what to make of it. Naruto, who couldn't see it, choose to ignore his teammate's reaction to whatever it was kakashi did and stay focused on Zabuza. The missing nin let out a laugh and began speaking again.
"Well look what we have here, Sharingan no Kakashi, or Copycat Kakashi, s-rank wanted ninja in the old kiri bingo book. And to see the sharingan this early on, what an honor." Zabuza said, giving a mock bow.
"I'll say it again, Either I kill only the old man, or I kill all of you, your choice Kakashi." Zabuza said.
"Sorry Zabuza, but if we did that, we wouldn't be very good ninja now would we?" Kakashi mock questioned, whipping out a kunai.
Grinning, Zabuza replied. "Ah, good choice Kakashi-san, Had you ran I'd have killed the old man then hunted you down on purpose for being cowards."
Zabuza bent down and gripped the handle of his sword and kicked off the tree, ripping the sword from it and landing on the water a good twenty feet away. Zabuza started to gather a large amount of chakra, enough so the water he was standing on began to ripple and splash. After a few seconds he whispered something not even Naruto could pick up with his enhanced hearing and a thick mist started rolling in.
"Team, surround and protect Tazuna!" Kakashi ordered.
The three nodded and jumped to they're positions. Sasuke was guarding Tazuna's back while Sakura had his left and Naruto his right. After a moment or so, the fog got so thick Kakashi, who was only about 3 meters away, disappeared from view. Nothing happened for a moment. Nothing but complete and utter silence. Then what felt like a massive, invisible force hit them. Feeling like it was weighing them down several times over. Naruto actually had a reason to thank the villagers for once in his life as he figured it was killing intent. Naruto was completely unaffected by it. Living his entire life in a village of people who hated him gave him some immunity. After all, you can't get much further up the scale than several hundreds of people wishing so hard that you were dead for every day of your life that it actually manifested itself into force was pretty hard to beat. Sasuke and Sakura on the other hand were having a much harder time of it. Then Zabuza spoke up again.
"Eight possible choices...liver, lungs, spine, jugular, carotid artery, brain, kidneys, heart...Which lethal blow shall I go for first?" He asked.
Naruto couldn't pinpoint his voice, it seemed to be coming from a bunch of different areas at once, must have been some sort of jutsu. And he wasn't within the Chakra dome yet, so he couldn't see him. However, Naruto found he had more pressing matters to deal with as he studied his teammates. Sakura looked absolutely paralyzed, completely still, it didn't appear as though she was even breathing, which would be a problem in a very short amount of time. Sasuke was visibly shaking, Naruto could even see his form in his chakra dome reaching for a kunai and beginning to point it at himself. Tazuna's heart was beating fast, too fast, if he didn't calm down, it was quite possible he could have a heart attack. Taking action before anything bad could happen, Naruto decided a little game was in order...
Kakashi was on edge, more so than usual when facing a Jounin level opponent. Why? Because he had his Genin team with him. He couldn't see them, hear them, anything. He didn't even hear they're quick breathing once Zabuza unleashed his killing intent upon them. His worries weren't eased as Naruto's voice could be heard.
'...Crap.' Kakashi thought as he heard Naruto's voice float by.
"Neh, Sasuke, do you think he's compensating for something?" Naruto asked, a wolfish grin on his face.
Nothing moved. There was no noise, no movement, not even any THOUGHT as everybody tried to regain control of themselves. The killing intent was utterly gone, whether Zabuza was in such disbelief the kid had just said what he said, or if Sasuke and Sakura were to preoccupied with the statement to notice was anybodies guess. Sasuke's mouth was open, agape with what he'd just heard. Sakura looked like a fish out of water. Her mouth would open to yell at Naruto about being vulgar, and then shut again, still not being capable of using sentences. Tazuna was undecided. The boy was either incredibly brave to a fault, or incredibly stupid. Simari was currently barking with laughter in Naruto's mind. If only he could see there expressions! That would have made her day. If anybody had been capable of paying attention to they're surroundings at that point in time, they might have noticed a violently shaking figure up in a tree about fifty yards away. Wearing hunter nin garbs and a mask. The person's mask was off and they're fist was stuffed in they're mouth to keep from laughing.
' Oh my kami, I can't believe someone actually said that to Zabuza-Sama. It's a shame he's going to die now, I might have considered going out with him.'
A few seconds later, as everyone's minds started to work again, Zabuza started to chuckle. In a few seconds he was laughing hysterically. Harsh, bark sounding laughs. After he finally calmed down, he grinned.
'Can't believe the punk actually said that, I like the kid, I might just have to offer him an apprenticeship or something after I kill everyone else, but I'll have to test him first.'
"Kid, you got some big balls there, but can you back up your talk?"Zabuza asked.
Naruto saw him enter his chakra dome and stop behind him. As Naruto turned, summoning his Katana to his hand, Zabuza kicked him. Naruto had been able to bring the katana up and block with the blade, but the sheer force of the kick snapped it in half and sent Naruto flying. He stopped very abruptly as he hit a tree ten meters away. Shaking off the blow he dropped the useless sword handle.
"Cheap blade... im gonna kick that store owner's ass when I get back." Naruto said aloud.
"I would have to agree, that was a rather cheap blade." Zabuza replied, his voice once again coming from everyhwere
Naruto summoned his Kanabo and looked around. He didn't see Zabuza anywhere. Listening, he didn't hear anything at first. But then, almost a second later, Naruto could hear footsteps coming at him, coming up on his right. Zabuza appeared in his Chakra dome again, this time swinging his sword from right to left, trying to chop Naruto in half.
"And you said I was compensating for something?" Zabuza asked, as if making idle conversation.
Naruto grinned as he brought his Kanabo up just in time to keep from getting sliced. But the strength Zabuza put into his sword strikes were unfathomable. Unprepared for the vicious blow, the kanabo smacked against the side of Naruto's body. The sharp spikes piercing his skin. The momentum of the blade took over from there and sent Naruto flying through the rest of the tree he'd just hit. He flew a couple of meters into the forest and came to rest on the ground this time.
'Ok, now I know a little about what im dealing with here.' Naruto thought to himself.
"Damn man, you hit harder than a mule kicks." Naruto said
Ignoring the pain in his side, he stood again, getting into a ready stance, his club held in one hand and his body slightly turned, the other hand was open and ready to move. Again, Naruto heard Zabuza running at him, from behind this time. His chakra dome showed that Zabuza had his sword on his back, ready to draw it in an over the shoulder swing. Zabuza closed in and whipped the sword off his back, slashing at Naruto. The wolf-boy was ready this time though as he blocked the blade, entering a deadlock with Zabuza. The two struggled for power for a moment, and it seemed as though Zabuza was winning.
"I'm surprised you can keep up with my strength." Zabuza said, slightly impressed.
Just as Zabuza was about to throw Naruto away from him, the boy ducked under the blade. The sudden loss of opposite force caused Zabuza to loose his balance, falling forward slightly. He took a step forward to keep himself from falling, but that was a mistake. When Naruto ducked, he had spun under the blade, giving his club some momentum. When Zabuza was forced to take the step, he stepped into the path of the club as Naruto spun. There was a sickening "CRACK!" As Naruto nailed Zabuza right in the knee with the club, shattering it. Zabuza swore loudly... right before falling into a puddle of water.
"Good technique, but not good enough!" Zabuza cried
Appearing from nowhere on Naruto's right Zabuza kicked the gennin in the side. Naruto stumbled back a little but gained his balance in time to see the fist flying at his face. He leaned back enough to let the fist fly over him, then brought his foot up and kicked Zabuza in the stomach. Zabuza grunted a little before grabbing Naruto's leg. He grinned and began to spin in place. After a few moments he let go of Naruto's leg and sent him flying. Naruto flew upward, quickly getting at least twenty feet off the ground.
' Maybe I shouldn't have enhanced that throw with chakra...' Zabuza thought with a wicked grin.
Zabuza watched as Naruto rapidly descended towards the ground as gravity pulled him down. The boy attempted a sloppy shoulder roll to take the brunt of the damage as he landed. His left shoulder shattered on impact. He rolled a few times before coming to a stop. His pink haired teammate shrieked as she saw him fly out of nowhere and land in front of them.
"Naruto! Oh my kami, are you alright?!" She shrieked, freaking out. Naruto didn't answer at first, or move for that matter. Then he began to stir, and shakily stood up.
"I'll live." Naruto replied, using his Kanabo as a crutch.
"Or will you?" Zabuza asked as he appeared in front of Naruto yet again, mid-swing.
Kakashi, for lack of a better, more meaningful phrase, was pissed! Why? The moment Naruto had finished his little "Joke" Kakashi had turned to head towards him and help, only to meet a giant sword swinging at his face. He'd deflected the sword with a kunai and then flung it at Zabuza on the end of the sword. Zabuza had a surprised expression on his face before falling into water. "Zabuza" had been a water clone. After the first one, Kakashi had to fight ten other, time consuming clones before he could help his team, or, more specifically, Naruto. Why were the clones time consuming? Because of the frustrating silent killing technique! You had to wait for them to make the first strike, and they were taking there time.
Kakashi dispatched the last clone as he heard a loud "Crunch!" followed by "Naruto! Oh my Kami are you all right?"
"I'll live." Naruto replied, using his Kanabo as a crutch.
"Or will you?" Zabuza asked as he appeared in front of Naruto yet again, mid-swing. Naruto had time to bring his kanabo up to block before the massive blade struck. Kakashi watched on in horror as the Kanabo was knocked down and away. The boy didn't have the strength in his current state to deflect the blade, but protecting himself as much as he did had saved him. The Zanbato had knocked the Kanabo down from Naruto's overhead guard, but in the process, knocked Naruto back. So instead of being cleaved in half, Naruto got a deep slash from his right shoulder, across his abdomen, to his left thigh.
"Shit!" Sasuke swore as he saw the blood splatter all over.
He couldn't move because he had to protect Tazuna, and Sakura would be no match for Zabuza. Where the hell was-WHAM! Kakashi appeared from nowhere, kneeing Zabuza in the face. The missing nin stumbled back, caught off guard by Kakashi. Kakashi pressed his advantage with some impressive taijutsu. Kakashi went through a flurry of blows, punches and kicks were flying so fast it appeared as though Kakashi was blurring in and out of existence. Kakashi finished his brutal combo by jumping up and delivering a ax kick to Zabuza's right shoulder. His collar bone snapped, making his arm useless. Kakashi prepared to finish Zabuza off, going to stab Zabuza with a kunai. Someone beat him to it though as two senbon needles flew through the air and into Zabuza's neck. The missing nin's eye's widened in surprise before he fell to the ground in a limp heap. Kakashi traced the trajectory back to what appeared to be a hunter nin in a tree.
"Thank you for softening Zabuza up for me, I've been chasing him for quite some time." The masked nin said. The nin then disappeared in a swirl of leaves and reappeared by Zabuza.
"You've a brave man over there, not everyone would badmouth an A-rank missing nin just to help his friends." The nin said.
Kakashi merely nodded his agreement as he watched the nin disappear in a swirl of leaves with the body of Zabuza. lowering his headband Kakashi could feel the chakra flowing to his sharingan taper off.
"Are you guys ok?" Kakashi asked as he ran over to Naruto.
"We're fine Sensei, but what about Naruto?" Sasuke replied.
When Kakashi got to Naruto, he found the boy was somehow still conscious, though barely. Checking the boy over, Kakashi sighed in relief. None of his wounds were fata, but he could still die of blood loss. The gash on his chest was deep, but it didn't hit anything vital. His shoulder would heal with time. Before Kakashi could move Naruto the boy grabbed his wrist in an iron grip.
"Relax Naruto, your going to be fine, but we have to move." Kakashi said. Naruto shook his head and spoke.
"Kakashi-sensei...before you move me...You need to cover me in something." Naruto started, his breathing seemed labored, and it appeared as though he was concentrating on something.
"Wha- I'll explain why later...Just do it." Naruto said, not giving any room for argument. Kakashi then realized that the genjutsu Naruto always used was wavering on and off as he could feel the illusion on the boy weakening.
'He must not want the others to see something.' Kakashi thought. He nodded at Naruto and motioned Sasuke and Sakura over.
"Sasuke, Sakura, give me your rain coats." Kakashi demanded, seeing that Naruto was beginning to have serious trouble. The two looked at him weird, but only for a second as the tone in his voice was urgent. Taking the coats from there packs they watched as Kakashi wrapped Naruto up into a cocoon like state. Tazuna, who had been quiet, and quite pale up to this point spoke up.
"Follow me, You'll all stay at my house, It's the least I can do, for that young man especially." The bridge builder said.
Kakashi nodded his thanks. Picking Naruto up carefully as to not aggravate his wounds, they started running towards Tazuna's. While they were running, Sakura voiced a question she, Tazuna and Sasuke had been wandering about.
"Kakashi-sensei, what did that person in the mask mean when they said Naruto was brave for helping us? How did he help us?" Sakura asked. Shifting Naruto slightly so he was easier to carry, Kakashi answered.
"Do you remember when you first started protecting Tazuna when that mist rolled in? And it felt like you couldn't breath, or you wanted to kill yourself?" Kakashi asked. He knew what affect the killing intent had on the group. He hadn't been able to do anything about it though because Zabuza had sent that squad of water bushins to keep him busy. It was the same reason he hadn't been able to help Naruto until he could.
Sakura shivered slightly, the mere memory of that event scared her. "Yes, what has that got to do with Naurto though?" Sakura asked.
"What you guys were being affected by then was killing intent. Killing intent can be nasty, sometimes making you want to kill yourself just to get away from it. It can even cause some of your body functions to cease, like forgetting how to breath." Kakashi explained. "What Naruto did was he distracted Zabuza long enough so that you three could break loose from it. He saved your lives when he did that, but he paid a high price for it. Kakashi finished.
"Oh..."Sakura said, falling quiet. 'He did that, for us?' Sakura thought.
Sasuke was having somewhat similar thoughts. 'What the hell did he do that for?! Dosen't he have anything to live for himself? When he wakes up I swear im going to kill him!' Sasuke thought to himself.
Tazuna was in awe of the boy. ' I still can't believe he did that for us, I mean, I know those two are his teammates, but im a complete stranger. And he's strong to, I know I wouldn't be alive right now if I had faced Zabuza.' Tazuna thought to himself.
Kakashi was thinking slightly differently though. 'Naruto and I are going to have a very long talk when he's up again. He should be dead right now, having faced a jounin, and what kind of genjutsu takes priority to wounds such as these?' kakashi thought.
The group soon made it to Tazuna's house where they were greeted by his daughter, Tsunami...kinda.
"Father you're back! I was getting wor-OH MY KAMI! WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!?" She screamed.
"Long story, tell ya later, right now we need a private room so I can tend to his wounds." Kakashi said.
Tsunami nodded and led them to a room on the second story of the house. Kakashi thanked her as he passed her and told them to wait inside while he helped Naruto. When Kakashi unwrapped Naruto he was aghast.
'Kami...this is...this is what Naruto meant by hating most of the village and anything to do with it....' Kakashi thought when he saw Naruto's scars. He didn't notice the tail and ears right away as he was too focused on wrapping Naruto up in some bandages and setting his shoulder right so that it would heal properly. When he did see them though, which happened because he had to lift Naruto in order to get the bandages on him, it didn't really surprise him.
'Just another thing to add to the "WHAT THE HELL!?" list for Naruto when he wakes up.' Kakashi thought to himself. Satisfied with his work he walked back outside. Where everyone was waiting.
"How is he?" Tazuna asked.
"He'll be fine, he won't be walking anytime soon, but he'll live. Until he is awake though, NO ONE is to go into that room, he's in a very unstable condition right now and even the slightest noise could put him into a coma." Kakashi said.
'That should give Naruto his privacy.' Kakashi thought to himself as he noted the horrified looks on all there faces.
Tzuna's face split into a wicked grin as he spoke up again. "Well what about my daughter? I mean, someone's going to have to bathe him after all." Tazuna said, straight faced as possible.
"Father!" Tsunami yelled, making the old man laugh.
Team seven sweat dropped slightly at the perverted old man's humor.
- - - - - - - - - With Zabuza
The masked nin gently set the body of Zabuza down on the ground, face up.
' Ok, I need to pull the needles out gently or I could Kill him.' The masked nin thought.
Reaching a hand towards Zabuza's neck, the nin was forcibly stopped as Zabuza's eyes popped open and grabbed the nin's hands.
"I'll do it myself." Zabuza said, reaching up and ripping the senbon out of his neck.
"Gently now, or you really will die." The masked nin said, watching as Zabuza possibly maimed his voice box.
"There was anything gentle about how you put me into that state?" Zabuza dead panned.
"Well it had to be convincing didn't it?" The masked nin replied.
"True, so, what did you think about that group Haku?" Zabuza asked.
The masked nin took off they're mask revealing a very feminine face, even for a girl's standard. She had small pink lips and long black hair that fell down to her lower back. Her eyes were brown and her skin was a pale white. She seemed almost like a porcelain doll, and if one had to describe her dominating feature, it would probably have to be small, as her hands, lips, nose, ears, near everything was small on her body down to her bust.
"Personally, I think the pink haired one is dead weight, the one with the black hair might have some talent, The jounin, well, I believe you know more about him with you having studied him as a Kiri nin before. As for the silver haired one, he is... different." Haku replied, a small blush adorning her cheeks as she thought of the boy.
Zabuza noticed the blush and decided a little game was in order.
"Oh, in what way?" Zabuza asked, feigning ignorance.
"Well, in jut the time I saw him he seems to have a strange sort of personality... I'm not really sure how to describe it. He seems uncaring the way he moves around and doesn't really look at anyone when he talks, or didn't answer some of his team's questions when they talked to him. But, at the same time, he showed he did care for them by pulling you off of them. He seems to be goofy at times and utterly serious at others. In all honesty I find him very interesting." Haku replied
Zabuza pulled a grin onto his face and said. "Oh my little Haku is growing up, her first crush!"
Haku blushed as she realized what he said and began to speak again.
"Even if it was a crush it;s not like I could go out with him anyways or anything, my first and ever present concern is with you Zabuza-sama." Haku said, bowing slightly.
Haku raised back up and eyed Zabuza curiously. "Why, what do you think of the boy?" She asked.
Zabuza sighed slightly, laying back onto the ground. "To be honest Haku, I have a strange feeling about that boy, like he is going to have a huge affect on us, I'm not sure what to make of it, so we're just going to see where this goes."
Haku nodded, and got to work on healing Zabuza...
- - - - - - - - Naruto's mindscape
Naruto woke up in front of Simari's cage, finding a worried Simari pacing back and forth. When she noticed he was awake she rushed forward to the bars of her cage and spoke.
"Naruto! Your awake! How are you feeling?" She asked.
Getting up and stretching, Naruto walked over to her and replied. "I hurt like hell, but I think I'll be fine."
Simari nodded and pulled Naruto into a hug as he got close enough to the cage. She then pulled away and grabbed a ear, pulling on it hard.
"OWW, Hey, cut it oAUGHHH, stop it!" Naruto cried as he fell to his knees while Simari nearly ripped his ear off his skull.
"IF YOU EVER MAKE ME WORRY ABOUT YOU THAT MUCH AGAIN I'LL BEAT YOU UNTIL YOU CAN'T MOVE!" Simari roared.
Naruto nodded his head vigorously to show he understood and she let go. Getting back up from his knees he rubbed his ear, wincing slightly.
"So, how long do you think it will take for me to be back up and on my feet again?" Naruto asked.
Simari seemed to brighten at that and gave Naruto a knowing smile.
"I found something out with your Ookami Chakra. As of yet, you have not truly tapped into it. But since I know a little more about demon chakra than you do, I can tap into it for you and borrow some of it to help me heal you. So, more than likely, you should be good to go by tomorrow or the day after since none of the wounds were fatal, but I'd let your left shoulder rest for awhile, also, it would seem that you unlocked something when you killed that mist-nin the other day." Simari said.
Naruto gave her a confused look before saying. "What do you mean I haven't truly "tapped into" my Demon chakra, I mean, I am a full fledged Ookami, so, wouldn't I be using my demon chakra when I use Jutsu? And what do you mean by "unlocked". " Naruto asked.
Simari sighed slightly and started to explain.
"Not necessarily, some clan's had a sort of trial you had to pass before you could do certain things, like with m clan for instance, before I could use the regenerative properties of my chakra, I had to be severely wounded so I would know just how much my regenerative powers were helping me, and not take them for granted." Simari explained.
"It is possible that your Chakra has locked abilities you can't use until you meet certain requirements, but, looking at your past life, I guess the test for your regenerative properties isn't the same as mine was. So, technically, you do use demon chakra, you just can't use it to it's full extent yet" Simari said.
Naruto nodded to show his understanding and sighed, leaning up against the cage's bars.
"And what was it that I unlocked?" Naruto asked.
"You unlocked the ability of hyton, or ice. With this you should be able to do all kinds of interesting things with water, just use your imagination and work with it, I don't know any Ice techniques, so don't ask.Well, as I said before, I don't know a lot abut your clan, but I do know that most everyone in the clan could use the ice element, I believe it was one of the things they were known for while they were still around. There were a few other clans who could use ice techniques, but your clan was known for some of the brilliant and powerful techniques it came up with. The fact that the clan were also Ookami, and the fact wolves are made for the snow, coupled to make the perfect element for them." Simari said.
"Thanks for clearing that up Simari-chan, I wonder where I would be without you sometimes, I wish there was a way I could pay you back for all you've done for me." Naruto said.
Simari blushed slightly as an idea came to her, bending down she stuck her hands out through the bar and spun Naruto around so that he was facing her, before he could do anything she pulled him into a long, deep kiss. Naruto, never having been kissed before, took a moment to get the feel for it as he started to kiss back, much to Simari's delight. After another moment or two Simari broke the kiss and sat back, blushing slightly.
"Wha...?" Naruto asked.
"Consider it thanking me for all I've done, and I want one a week at least with as much you get injured." Simari jibed.
"I wouldn't mind doing that once a day" Naruto replied, causing Simari to blush even more.
- - - - - - - - - The next day
Kakashi and his team were up bright and early for breakfast and training. Tsunami had been generous enough to fix them breakfast with what little food that was in the house, so the day was off to a good start. The night before, Kakashi had stayed up wondering about something, but he couldn't really put his finger on what it was that was bothering him. His mind would just wonder from subject to subject, currently his mind had wondered to the subject of the New Icha Icha book that was due to come out in a few months. He eye-smiled and silently giggled as he sat down for breakfast.
Sakura had been doing a lot of thinking since yesterday, trying to figure out exactly why Naruto did what he did. Many things passed through her head as she though about it. About how Naruto could have, and almost did die. How he was able to survive against a jounin rank opponent, and if she were put in Naruto's shoes, would she have done the same thing.?
Sasuke was silently contemplating why Naruto had done what he did himself. Why would Naruto put his own life, his own goals, his own dreams at risk for people he barely even knew? Sasuke was unsure if he would have done it himself, given that he still had to kill Itachi and rebuild his clan. When his thoughts started on Itachi Sasuke started his normal routine of brooding and doing anything and everything that was asked of him moodily.
Tsunami and Tazuna weren't thinking much as they were both preoccupied with what they were doing. Tsunami cooking breakfast and Tazuna going over the plans for what he was doing on the bridge that day. Inari was currently out and about doing who knows what.
They were all broken out of there respective thoughts as a sleepy "Morning." broke through the silence. Kakashi's visible eye widened to immense proportions. Sasuke was once again openly gaping. Sakura blushed and fainted. Tazuna choked and spluttered on the coffee he was drinking. Tsunami turned around, gasped, blushed and then fainted. Naruto was standing in the doorway that led from the family room to the dining room/kitchen. He was shirtless from where Kakashi had bandaged him, the bandages stretching from his right shoulder, down and over his left hip and around his back. His finely toned muscles could be seen protruding through the bandages. His left arm was in a splint, keeping it in place so that the shoulder would heal properly. His headband was still securely tied to his head. He was covered in dried up blood and his hair was matted to his head. Oblivious to the unbelieving stares of those still conscious.
"Neh, where is the shower and my stuff?" Naruto asked.
"The shower is upstairs across from the room you were sleeping in, your stuff is in that room to." Kakashi said, recovering from his mild shock first.
Naruto nodded and headed upstairs. They could hear the sound of doors opening and closing, and then the shower running.
Ten minutes later Tazna was able to speak.
"But...I thought...how?" Tazuna asked.
"I have no idea Tazuna-san." Kakashi replied.
"How did he get so buff?" Tsunami asked, astounded someone his age could have that much muscle.
"Why, are you interested?" Kakashi asked slyly, playing off of Tazuna's joke from the night before.
Tsunami blushed again and started to stutter.
"Wh-what are y-you kidding me... he's too young! And I have a child!" she replied.
"I'm older than I look." Naruto said, reappearing in the room, no one having noticed the shower turn off. Naruto was back in his usual attire, seemingly more awake than he was when he first came in. Truth be told Naruto was 220 years old, even if a lot of that time was spent in the womb.
"How old?" Sakura asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I said." Naruto replied smirking a little at his inside joke.
"Really? Well, if that's the case, we think Tsunami here may be interested." Tazuna said, grinning again.
"Father!" Tsunami cried out, bashing her old man over the head with a roller.
"Is that so? Well I apologize Tsunami-san, but I don't think my girlfriends would like it very much if I came back from a mission with another girlfriend." Naruto replied, sitting down at the table.
"Girlfriends? As in more than one?" Kakashi asked, his interests raised.
"Yes." Naruto replied.
"How many?" Tazuna asked.
"Three." Naruto replied, digging into the eggs and bacon Tsunami sat in front of him.
"Three?!" Kakashi and Tazuna exclaimed, small stars in there eyes.
"Well, technically four, but im engaged to one." Naruto said, inwardly smirking.
"Engaged? Aren't you a little young for that?" Tsunami asked. Naruto wasn't able to answer as Tazuna and Kakashi disappeared.
They both instantly appeared next to Naruto, bowing to him.
"Please teach us your methods Naruto-sama!" they cried out simultaneously.
"Sorry, I don't really have any "Methods" they found me." Naruto replied.
Kakashi and Tazuna looked downtrodden as they mopped back to they're seats, muttering about lucky bastard's and such.
"Oh, Naruto, after breakfast, you and I need to talk." Kakashi said, suddenly serious, getting Naruto's attention.
"What about?" Naruto asked.
"Well, if your going to be receiving all of this female attention, your going to need to know a thing or two. We're going to have to have "the talk" and not to mention when to use and not to use a condom." Kakashi replied in the same serious tone, though smirking as Naruto started to choke on his food at the word "condom".
'GOD DAMN ERO-SENSEI! I' M ONLY TWELVE...kinda, IT'S TO EARLY TO BE THINKING THAT KIND OF STUFF!' Naruto mentally ranted.
"Oh I don't know Naruto, It's never to early to learn, I could go over it with you if you want, even give you a visual aide if you need it." Simari said in a seductive voice, teasingly sliding her kimono down one of her shoulders. Naruto turned bright red before he snapped out of it.
"GAH, IM SURROUNDED BY PERVERTS!" Naruto cried out in both mind and real life. Simari pouted playfully as she tugged her Kimono back up and Kakashi laughed at his students expense.
"Really though Naruto, we need to talk about a few things I found while fixing you up."Kakashi said seriously.
Naruto nodded and finished his breakfast. Kakashi motioned for Naruto to follow him and they both got up and left the house. The two walked for a way in silence until they got to a near bye wooded area. Kakashi stopped and turned to Naruto.
"All right Naruto, explain." Kakashi said.
Naruto sighed, and sat down on the ground making himself comfortable. "Sit down, this will take a while." Naruto said.
Naruto told Kakashi about everything, starting with the false-demon war, and how Humans had mistook there ancestors warning. Next he told Kakashi about the demon clans and how they fought alongside the humans in the war, along with how the Ookami clan had somehow temporarily defeated them, but had lost most of it's members in the process. Naruto told how SImari and his mother had gone To the Simari's aunt, and how Simari had protected him and his mother for near 150 years. Everything to the eventual rise of Konoha and Simari's "attack.
At the end of the story Naruto looked up to see kakashi had a contemplative look in his eye, as though he was thinking. Finally, he seemed to gather his thoughts and said.
"Your still Naruto to me."
Naruto smiled at this and said. "Thank's Kakashi-ojiji"
Kakashi sweat dropped at the endearing, yet annoying title.
"Oh, Naruto, one more thing, why do you wear your headband over your eyes?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto seemed to freeze for a moment, then looked towards his sensei.
"If I show you this, you have to keep it, and everything else for that matter, a secret." Naruto said.
Kakashi nodded, leaning forward slightly.
Naruto sighed and reached behind his head, undoing the knot that held his headband on. As it fell off his head, kakashi was mortified.
"Your blind?" Kakashi asked, his voice quaking with rage, seeing the lines that went across Naruto's eyes, indictating someone had gouged them out.
"Since the age of four." Naruto replied solemnly, putting the headband back on.
Kakashi openly gaped at this. Someone did that to a FOUR year old?
"You're the third person besides Simari-chan and Iruka-sensei to know about this, I can trust you enough to keep this secret, right?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi shook himself from his stupor. "Of course Naruto, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Kakashi said.
Naruto just smiled and waved it off. "You didn't do anything, nothing to be sorry about." Naruto answered. "So, what are we doing today for training?" Naruto asked, changing the subject.
"I'm going to have you three do the tree climbing exercise, if you know what I'm talking about." Kakashi answered.
"Ehh, Kakashi-sensei, I've already did that and water walking with Simari-chan." Naruto answered.
It was true, It was one of the few things Naruto was able to learn without being able to see. Naruto may not need chakra control for Ninjutsu since he could do so little, but he could still use Chakra to strengthen and heal himself, not to mention walking on water was just too cool to pass up in Naruto's opinon.
"Hmm, what all have you covered with Simari?" Kakashi asked, using the kitune's name.
"Well, the Chakra control exercises, how to use Chakra to strengthen and heal myself, weapons, how to do the summoning tatoo's, that was tricky, weapons training, hand-to-hand of what she knew, and weight training." Naruto finished.
"No jutsu?" Kakashi asked.
"I never got a chance to learn the hand signs before my "incident" So I can only use one hand sign justu's, like Kawarmi and Henge. I was lucky to see a Chunnin use Kage bushin when I was three and I committed the hand sign to memory." Naruto said.
"Ah, I see...ok, how about you guard the house?" Kakashi asked. "After I set Sasuke and Sakura up with tree climbing im going to be guarding Tazuna at the bridge, that should cover all our bases shouldn't it?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto nodded an affirmative and he and Kakashi walked back to the house.
Walking in, they found everyone at the table. "Ok, Sakura, Sasuke, you two are coming with me to learn a new training exercise, since Naruto already knows it, he's going to be staying here to guard Tsunami and the house." Kakashi said. Sasuke and Sakura nodded and got up to follow Kakashi.
"Tazuna-san, if you would wait for just a little bit and let me set my team up with this exercise, we will go." Kakashi said. Tazuna nodded and Kakashi led Sasuke and Sakura out the door.
"Oh, father, we're almost out of food again." Tsunami called from the kitchen.
Tazuna sighed and called back."Ok, I'll see what we can get at the store!"
"Hey, I could probably get you guys some free food, I think I have a scroll with vegetables in it somewhere and I could probably find a deer or something somewhere." Naruto volunteered.
"Ah, you don't have to Naruto, you've already done quite a bit." Tazuna replied.
"It's all right, I was getting kinda bored anyway." Naruto replied.
"Weren't you supposed to stay and watch the house though?" Tazuna asked anxiously.
"Hmm? Oh, right, yeah I can leave some shadow clones here to watch and help around." Naruto replied.
"Shadow clones?" Tsunami questioned.
Naruto nodded and brought his hands together in a cross and whispered. "Shadow clone jutsu."
Ten Naruto's popped into existence.
Tazuna and Tsunami's eyes nearly popped out of there heads.
"There, that should cover the home front, do you need some clones to work with you at the bridge Tazuna?" Naruto asked.
"Hmm...I could always use more helping hands, how many can you make?" Tazuna asked.
Naruto once again brought his hands together and whispered his technique. There were a bunch of loud, simultaneous pops outside as thirty more Naruto's poof into existence.
"Your not normal, even for a ninja are you?" Tazuna asked, eyeing the clones outside.
"You've got no idea." Naruto replied smirking somewhat. Hopping out an open window, he set off for some near bye woods.
"Bah, what a showoff!" One of the clones near Tsunami said, causing Tsunami to jump.
"You guys talk too?" She asked.
"That's not all we can do." Said another clone, winking at her. Tsunami blushed as the clones chuckled heartily with Tazuna.
Kakashi walked in and motioned for Tazuna to come with him. Tazuna got up and left with Kakashi, there small clone army bringing up the rear.
- - - - - - - - - - with Sasuke and Sakura
"GAH, TREES ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!" Saskue roared, much to Sakura's amusement. She was sitting on a tree branch at the top of her tree thinking how Naruto would wish he could of heard that.
- - - - - - - - - - with Naruto
Naruto suddenly sneezed loudly, causing the deer he'd been stalking to snort and run off.
"Dammit!" Naruto swore, giving chase from the treetops. Skipping along from branch to branch for five minutes, he finally got a clear shot at the deer and sent a Shuriken whizzing at it. The deadly star hit the deer square in the head, dropping it right there. Naruto grinned and dropped down next to the deer. He retrieved his bloody shuriken and continued to cape the deer. After the deer was capped, Naruto picked it up and slung it around his neck like an oversized scarf. After a good ten minutes of walking a sound like whimpering caught his ear. His curiosity getting the better of him, Naruto changed course to head toward the noise. Another two minutes of walking through the woods at a steady upward slant brought him up on a wolf, who had it's paw stuck in a bear trap. The wolf had a mixture of white and grey hair mixing all over, making it look a lot like snow on a mountain side. He seemed about the same size, if not a little longer than your average wolf with blue eyes.
Naruto slung the deer off his shoulders and let it hit the ground with a loud "Thump" alerting the distressed wolf to his presence. The wolf looked up at him and it's tail became stiff, and level with the ground. It's hackles raised and it beared it's teeth at Naruto in a I'm-fucking-pissed-come-near-me-and-I'll-bite-something-off look. Naruto stopped and raised his hands, showing he didn't have anything.
"Whoa, easy there, I ain't gonna hurt ya, im gonna help ya."
Naruto said. Oddly enough, the wolf stopped growling, but still watched Naruto suspiciously. Naruto easily walked forward until he was near the wolf and bent down to it's level. Kneeling on one leg Naruto reached down to the traps teeth and pushed down, forcing the jaws apart. The wolf brought it's injured paw up out of the trap and hobbled away from it a few steps before Naruto let the trap snap shut.
Turning around, Naruto smiled at the wolf and said. "There ya go."
Much to Naruto's shock a male voice answered "Thanks!"
Naruto eyed the wolf wearily. "Did you just speak?" Naruto asked.
The wolf seemed to give it's own surprised look. "Did you understand me?" The wolf asked.
"Yeah, I did." Naruto answered.
The wolf's eyes seemed to widen to comical proportions before it quickly asked. "Are you a part of the Ookami clan?!"
Naruto nodded his head and replied. "Yeah I'm the clan heir." Naruto answered.
The wolf then did something Naruto did not expect, it bowed, remaining sitting up right, but his head looking down to the ground.
"Eh, sorry about earlier, I wasn't sure if you were a threat or not." The wolf said, trailing off.
"Eh, no problem, name's Naruto, how about you?" Naruto asked.
"I am called Aturu, part of the wolf companion family of the Ookami clan." Aturu answered in a boring tone, as if he was repeating a pre-written sentence..
"Wolf companion?" Naruto asked.
Aturu nodded. "Yes, you see, once a member of the family, like you, reached ten years of age, they would gain a wolf companion." The wolf answered.
"Hold on a sec, how have you lived for 150 years? And where is your partner?" Naruto asked.
The wolf looked downtrodden for a moment before answering. "When a wolf and an Ookami clan member become partners they share a blood ritual. In doing so, It gives they're wolf companion they're life span, as for my partner, I lost her in the false-demon war." Aturu said, a sad look on his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry I brought up a painful memory." Naruto said.
The wolf looked up and shook it's head. "It's all right Naruto, you didn't know." Aturu said.
"Well, would ya like to come back to where im currently staying with me? I could take a look at your leg when we get there." Naruto said, pulling out a scroll.
"Well of course, I'm not just going to up and leave one of the first decent people I've met in awhile." Aturu answered. Naruto nodded and sealed the deer into the scroll he had brought out. Afterwards, he picked Aturu up, much to the wolf's displeasure, and began carrying him back to the house.
"Hey! Whataya think yer doin!?" The wolf barked at him.
"What else? I'm carrying you back to the house." Aruto replied.
"I can walke perfectly fine on my own." Aturu retorted.
"Pfft, yea right, your foot looks like it's just barely attached to your leg!"
"So what? I look like a damned scarf right now!" Aturu yipped.
"The two continued back to the house talking in this fashion, bickering back and forth and unknowingly becoming very fast friends. It was late that afternoon when they finally got back. Tsunami, being in the kitchen as usual, heard Naruto talking to someone and went outside to welcome him back.
"Welcome back Naruto, did you bring a fri...?"Tsunami said, trailing off slightly.
"Hey now, that's not nice to say about someone you haven't even met yet, though I do have to agree, from my description Sasuke does sound like an ass."
The wolf let out a few snickering sort of yips that sounded almost like someone laughing and then barked a few times.
"Hey, now what's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked
The wolf gave what appeared to be a shrug and gave a few short barks in a dead panned sort of fashion.
"Hey, I just lugged your sorry ass for two hours out of the wood's, the least you could do is show me a little respect!" Naruto said in an annoyed fashion.
The wolf let out a few more snickering yips and a single bark.
"Hey! You leave my girlfriends out of this!" Naruto replied.
"Naruto...are you talking to that wolf?" Tsunami asked.
Naruto and the wolf stopped in there argument and looked up, they both had the modesty to look somewhat sheepish.
"Sorry about that, I didn't see you there Tsunami-san. This is Aturu, by the way." Naruto said, nodding to the wolf on his shoulders.
The wolf seemed to look her up and down and then looked at Naruto. It let out a low whine and she could have sworn she saw it's eyebrows wiggle!
"No, she isn't one of my girlfriends, though with as much as people say that one of us may end up caving in and opting for it just to get people off our backs." Naruto said to the wolf causing Tsunami to blush. The wolf let out another of it's snickering yips.
Tsunami quickly got over her embarrassment, and possible beginnings to perverted thoughts. "How can you understand what he is saying?" she asked.
"Cause im good like that." Naruto said grinning.
The wolf seemed to snort and let out a whine.
Naruto coughed suddenly and "accidentally" shrugged the wolf off his shoulders, letting it fall on it's butt.
The wolf gave an indignant sort of growl but sat there with what appeared to be a wounded pride as Naruto smirked triumphantly.
Naruto turned to Tsunami. "Tsunami, do you know how to butcher a deer?" Naruto asked.
"Ah, yes, why, did you get one?" She asked hopefully.
"Yeah, hold on and let me-OWWWWWW!" Naruto cried, jumping into the air. Tsunami looked down to see Aturu biting what appeared to be a tail...that was coming off Naruto. The bite caused Naruto's Genjutsu to break as a pair of wolf ears appeared on his head and his tail waved about furiously.
"YOU GODDAMN CRAZY ASS SON OF A BITCH!" Nartuo roared. He got down on all fours himself and bit Aturu's tail, causing the wolf to yelp and growl at him. The two were about to go at it when a loud squeal of "KAWAI!" made them both freeze. After the squeal, Naruto was vaguely aware that he was on the ground, and someone was on top of him, and his ears felt REALLY good. Then he noticed the two big, fleshy mounds that were covering his mouth.
'So that's why I can't breath.' Naruto thought to himself.
"Kami Naruto, how much am I going to have to share you when I get out of here?" Simari asked.
'Now's not the time Sim-chan.' Naruto replied.
"Tsunami was in her own little world,, she had never seen anything so cute! And she loved to finger them and pet them and scratch them. These ears were like her own, personal little toy that no one else was allowed to touch. She was brought out of her world slightly as she heard something. She ignored it and continued rubbing the ears. She heard something again, and paused this time, listening.
"Tsun...Tsunami...Tsunami-san!" looking down, she saw silverish hair, and under that, she saw a strange looking headband...
"OH!" Tsunami cried, jumping up and off Naruto. Said boy shot up into a sitting position and inhaled a comically large amount of air, before he fell back to the ground.
Meanwhile, Aturu was standing of to the side, beside himself in mirth.
'Oh, this is just to funny, I am definitely making Naruto my new partner, he brings life to everything he does! Why even a strangulation attempt made on him is enjoyable.' Aturu thought as he watched the woman start to fret over the unconscious Naruto.
Naruto woke up to the sound of someone saying his name.
"Naru...Naruto...Naruto-kun?"
"Gah, what happened?" Naruto asked. Looking right, he found Aturu, still chuckling. Looking to his left, he found his fleshy assassins from before dangerously close to his face.
"WHOA!" Naruto cried, leaping back before Tsunami could accidentally strangle him again.
"Those things are dangerous!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at Tsunami's chest. The woman blushed bright red before changing the subject.
"Naruto-kun, where did you get those ears and that tail?" she asked.
"Ehh...I always's had em, I just hid them." Naruto explained
"And with good reason it would seem." Aturu said, chuckling lightly.
"Anyway, before I forget or something...happens again, here's that deer I got for dinner, and those vegetables." Naruto said, pulling two scrolls out and unsealing the deer from one.
"Just holler at me when you need me to unseal the stuff from the other scroll." Naruto said.
"Could you take care of the deer while I look at his foot Tsunami?" Naruto asked, bending down to check Aturu's foot.
"Of course Naruto-kun." Tsunami replied, dragging the deer away.
"Well, it didn't get infected, looks like it just need's bandages and some ointment." Naruto said.
"Ok, by the way, in all seriousness thanks for your help today Naruto, I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't shown up." Aturu said.
Naruto smiled and replied. "It was no problem."
The moment of bonding was cut short as someone walked up on them.
"Narut-KAWAI! Omff!" Aturu sighed, being around Naruto certainly wasn't boring. Inspecting the pink haired woman who had just attached herself to him, Aturu sighed in relief.
'At least this one can't strangle him...'