Of a Red Sky and a Golden Sun
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Neither do I make any type of profit in the name of the franchise.
~Chapter 4 ~ (Waking Up)~
Reflecting, is that what they call it? Taking time to look back at what you'd been to what you had now become. She'd had never been one to take the time to contemplate who she is or what she was doing. At least not past a physical level. She had been forced to become strong, so she did. Even then she knew she was weak, she always had been.
She was a Jounin of the Oto and if the title of the elite four doesn't give it away, she was one of the best the village had. So obviously there were some questions that came to mind as to how she lost to a fresh Chunin. Though he did have help from the fan chick she still could have lost to just him alone. Did she just suck? Well, the rest of elite four were either only slightly stronger than her or slightly weaker.
So did that mean Oto was just shitty? It made sense, Orochimaru did trick Suna into helping them. The more she thought about it, she realized, it was true. Not only was the Sound village a dump, it's fighters were trash as well. A shiver went through her body at the thought of having to actually fight one of Konoha's Jounin let alone a renowned one like the Hatake Kakashi.
She had originally wanted to be a Kunoichi as a kid, one as respectable as Tsunade. When the woman's name was mentioned there was a sense of fear instilled with it. The Sannin was recognized as a powerhouse, a walking natural disaster some would call her. Though among the fear of the woman's name there was also recognition. It was accepted that she was one of the most powerful Kunoichi to ever exist. Tayuya wanted that more than anything.
Not because she wanted to be feared, that came with power and recognition already. No, she wanted to leave her mark on the world. To make sure people heard her name and felt the same fear, no, greater fear than they did for the Sannin. And after she passed she wanted her name to be an inspiration to those who wanted to be better and achieve greater. It's a dream she's had since she was six. Though skip ahead 8 and she was now either or prisoner of war or a deserter of her village, under the watchful gaze of her idol.
Go figure.
Right then Something clicked. 8 years, huh? She had been taken from her village and brought under the 'guidance' of the snake almost a decade ago. A mixture of betrayal and anger hit her like a knife to the gut. Taken may have been a subjective turn. She was given as a gift to the man, he had helped them and asked for her in return. She felt the bile rise in her throat at the thought. She hadn't understood at the time but she knew Orochimaru had most likely threatened them.
Nearly 200 lives versus the life of a little orphan were not even a question. Though she was angry she couldn't truly hate them. The place was her home and even if they did give her up she knew they hadn't wanted to. The old matron of the orphanage had nearly castrated the town head and attacked the Orochimaru himself. At least she would have, had the guards not been holding her down.
A small laugh escaped her, she wondered how the old witch was doing. She hadn't had been able to visit them since she'd left. The snake bastard had kept her from visiting or even sending letters. God she wished she could see them again. She was still upset but they were her family and the matron was the closest thing to a mother she'd had.
Without realizing it she had reached up to said mark. A dull phantom pain began to blanket the skin near the mark. A sigh forlorn sigh escaped her lips, she never liked thinking about what she'd lost. Though maybe after her probation period in the Konoha she could see about getting a chance to visit. She, however, was suddenly taken out of her musing by the wet feeling on her arm.
She had woken up approximately an hour or so ago and had the privilege to find out she was being used a pillow for the way-to-nice-to-be-real blonde. Naruto Uzumaki. While it had been fine at first, hence why she had not gotten out of bed, he was now drooling, a lot. Her stomach had somehow ended up as a pillow during the night, not to mention she was now at the foot of the bed, how she had no idea.
Again it had been fine at first, the boy had been unbelievably kind and generous with her. Though even she had her limits. So that's why a moment later the now dazed but awake blonde found himself flat on the floor next to his bed. Mind still hazy from just waking up he groaned slowly rising to a kneeling position.
"Wha- wha happened?" He mumbled out while trying to rub the sleep from eyes with one hand.
"You were drooling on me, so I pushed you off the bed." Tayuya explained as if it was just another day."Oh, ok."
A beat.
"Wait what the hell!" And now he was awake. "What are you doing in my be-" Then the events of the previous day came rushing back to him. " Ugh. . . N-never mind, just wake me up next time . . ." He said as he rolled his neck earning a nice popping sound.
"Technically I did wake you up." she said earning a light glare from him "And next time? You plan to take advantage of a helpless girl and drool on her again?" She gasped while placing the back of her hand against her forehead feigning a shocked face. "Konoha truly does have some sick deviants!"
"W-wha! Hey, tha- I-I didn't mean! Y-you! Ughh, Y-you know what I mean!" He stuttered as he picked up a pillow that had fallen to the floor with him.
"You mean you're going to keep me locked up in your home and use me as a pillow! Y-you pervert!" She yelled while forcing herself to stutter at the end. The hardest part was playing it all the while through while trying not to bust out laughing. Though the way he screamed maddeningly into his pillow she couldn't help the snort that came from her.
That quickly turned into a low chuckle and finally into full blown laughter that even the semi-annoyed blonde couldn't help but fall into. So for a good long while, the only thing that could be heard from the boy's apartment was the happiness of two kid who could finally take a small break from the cruelty of the world around them.
Tsunade Senju was powerful and she knew it. What she didn't seem to know is that she had an arrogance complex well over mile long. That alone had been a reason she had started gambling, she believed she could never truly lose. With the help of some 'liquid courage', she ended up taking some very, very poor bets. It was the reason she had racked up so much gambling debt.
Though she did know she had terrible luck but even that was an understatement. The world seemed to shift in ways that seemed to break reality just so she could lose. But it was because of her arrogance and 'liquid courage' she had taken another stupid bet and lost. After meeting Tayuya she had the girl bunk with Anko, who she had found out locked her out yesterday.
Tsunade rubbed her temples from the painful oncoming headache. Anko was an idiot, an insane one. One of those types that are better locked up in a dark room than left out in the public. Anyways, ANBU had found out Tayuya had somehow ended up staying at the blonde brat's place. How? No one seemed to know.
So when she found out early this morning she had decided to give the two a visit. Check and see if Naruto had pushed the girl just enough to strangle him or beat him to death. After dismissing the ANBU she made to leave but Shizune, however, had her own opinion.
The dark haired woman had stars in her eyes as she happily spoke "It's like Minato and Kushina all over again!" she squealed before bursting into girlish giggles.
Tsunade snorted at that "There's no way that girl is going to get along with that knucklehead. He's basically a smiling rock and she's a burning thorn. You should have seen the second day of interrogation, Anko looked like she was about to rip the girls head off." she explained. While Tayuya had been pretty timid and scared she had some snappy moments. That had almost lost her a few teeth and a tongue.
"Don't you get it, it's exactly like them! He's so much like his father It's like he's a clone!" Shizune explained as she seemed to somehow turned less professional and more . . . fangirlish?
"Hah, I bet you a week's worth of Fire Water she's ripping him a new when we get there." And there was her mistake.
"Deal."
And that's why Tsunade was visibly shaking with rage the moment she was in range to hear the fits of laughter coming from the boy's house. A week! A whole week's worth of her favorite sake!
"Better luck next time Tsunade-Sama," Shizune said with a shit eating grin on her face.
"Tch. Let's get this over with."
Making their way to the boy's apartment door Tsunade knocked a few times. Instantly the laughter died and a silence hung over the apartment. After an awkward cough and some rustling, the door cracked open revealing Naruto with a slight blush on his face. Though that faded into a look of surprise upon seeing the woman.
"Granny, what are you doing here?"
A tick mark appearing on her temple she spoke: "Stop calling me granny you brat and I came to check on you and your guest."
A hand grabbed the door yanking it the rest of the way open to reveal Tayuya. The redhead looked slightly startled to see the Hokage but otherwise seemed alright. Though Shizune started squealing into the cuff of her Kimono. Obviously, Tayuya wearing the boys clothing only continued to fuel her pairing of the two. Tsunade could only scoff at her.
Looking to the boy next to her Tayuya ignored Shizune "You call the Hokage, Tsunade Senju of the Sannin, Granny? The hell is wrong with you."
"Well then, I'm starting to like you already." Tsunade said causing the girl to flush slightly. "Anyways I came to check on you two and by the sounds of it, you're doing fine." She smirked at the way the two flushed embarrassingly at that.
"Welp now that that's settled we'll be on our way."
"W-wait what do you mean! That crazy chick you put me up with kicked me out!" Tayuya yelled in outrage "Where will I live now!"
Tsunade just quirked a brow at her before walking off. "Thought you were sharing with you sweetheart blonde here." See teased. "I mean you could live on the street if you want though." she said while continuing to walk away
"W-wait I never agreed to this! I just let her stay for the night!" Naruto yelled in a panic.
"We'll you better make room then!" Tsunade called waving her hand dismissively. Shizune just gave them an apologetic look before following after her master.
Tayuya and Naruto sat in silence for a moment. Finally, after gathering her thoughts she called out to the woman one last time.
"YOU OLD HAG!"
"Geez, and you wanted to know what was wrong with me."
"Oh, shut up."
A/N: End of Chapter 4, hope you enjoyed!
First off sorry for the very late update I won't be able to put out chapters often but I will do it. I'm working on some stuff for a job I've been playing to get for a year now and will be doing the shadowing for it come July. Also, I've been trying to touch up on my writing a bit and improve.
I hope you'll all stick with me and hope you all enjoy the story. Take care and thank you all for your view, favorites follows and reviews.
Reply to: Kuroshirokun4869 - I'm glad you're enjoying the story first off! The idea with her depressed emotional state is related to the many events happening one after another. She was supposed to die and lives get a chance at a new life, shown exceptional kindness and fears for herself as she now lives in the place she once attacked.
Not to mention that she has no use of her chakra as of yet, via chakra restriction seals. I mean if you were in a place where literally everyone was your enemy not even two weeks ago, you'd kinda feel out of whack. Especially with not being able to properly defend herself.
Though as you can see Naruto will help her break out of her shell more. And no worries use of 'Tayu-chan' was just Naruto's way of annoying her, nothing else.
And finally, I understand where you're coming from with depression. I was diagnosed with major depression it at 7. Life's hard and things like that only make it harder. Hope you're doing well though and I hope you keep enjoying the story! Take care!