"Where are these youthful cries coming from?"

This shout is his salvation and Naruto yells and shouts until a bird swan dives into his lily pad and almost drowns them both. However, the bird comes up with surprising willpower and Naruto is amazed at how powerfully the bird's wings beat against the current.

Naruto held desperately onto the back of the bird, trying not to fall off. It was very hard.

However, once they were safely floating, the bird stopped beating his wings and they were quickly approaching the edge again.

"No! Why'd you stop! We're going to die!" Naruto shouted, pounding on the bird's back.

"Why do you say that, young creature?" The bird yells in question.

"Because we're heading towards a waterfall, idiot! We're going to fall!"

"Young creature! I will beat my wings so many times, they will dry on their own and we will fly back into the air once more!"

"Great! Just beat your wings this way!" Naruto steers the bird until he's facing against the current, and the two cut through the river as if they were powered by some divine force.

Once they are on dry land, the bird beating his wings for almost a full ten minutes, Naruto shakes his hair dry and takes a good look at the brightly colored bird—sparrow, the smart little Iruka-sounding voice in his mind supplies. The bird beats his wings to clear the water off of them, and when Naruto snorts at the tuft of feathers on the top of his head that seemed to defy gravity, the sparrow face zeroes in on Naruto and he notices the bird's eyes are glassy and white.

"Hey, what's wrong with your eyes?"

The bird's smile drops only for a second before coming back twice as brightly as before.

"I am blind!"

"Oh." Naruto said. That explained why the bird was so quick to jump into the water.

"Nevermind the trivial things! I am Rock Lee!"

"That's a weird name for a bird."

"Nevertheless, it is mine to bear! What is your name, young creature!"

"Naruto!"

"What is it that ails you, fair Naruto?"

"What! I'm a guy!"

"Fair guy!"

Naruto ignores him.

"I need to find the prince! Or my home! Preferably home!"

"The fairy prince!" The bird cries.

"Yes! The fairy prince! You know where he is? He knows where I live!"

"You are a friend of the fairy prince!"

"Yeah! He says I can live with him!"

"You are to marry the fairy prince!"

"What? No! I'm going to live with him! You're not deaf too, are you!"

"But why else would two youthful fairies live together, if not to wed?"

"Cause I'm freaking awesome, that's why!"

Naruto looks around and notices that they have an audience of three.

"Who the heck are you guys!"

"You're going to marry the fairy prince?" The girl asks, looking up at him with dreamy eyes.

"Ew! Gross!" The tallest one says, and the third one just sniffles.

"I'm-not-going-to-marry-the-fairy-prince!" He shouts.

Gaara stared at his brother and sister threateningly.

"Delay the frost."

"What!" Kankurou exclaimed, "What are you talking about? And where's that bride you were talkin' about? That Nagasaki thing or whatever."

Gaara's stare turns into a glare, and Sasuke cuts in.

"The idi-" Sasuke feels a chill sweep over him, "Naruto has been kidnapped. By the Akatsuki. However, the Akatsuki cannot be located at the moment, so until we complete the search Prince Gaara is requesting that you delay the frost."

Sasuke has never had to speak so much until he started working for Gaara. He hated it.

"We can only delay the frost for so long." Temari argues.

"I was not requesting you delay it." Gaara corrects, sending them all sharp glances before mounting his bumblebee and riding off into the wind.

"Cocky little shit." Kankurou mutters, and Temari swats his head.

"So you guys are going to protect me while the blind bird tries to find the fairy prince."

"Yes!" The obnoxious one, Konohamaru, declared.

"Right." Naruto sighed, before shrugging and humming a tune.

"Look out!" Moegi screamed, before all three screamed at the incomer and scattered.

"You guys are useless!" Naruto yells at the bugs that 'protected' him so well.

"Hello! I am Sai. How do you do, toots?"

The beetle's face was blank and the smile it gave Naruto creeped him out.

"Toots?"

"That is what I call flesh-things I am trying to flatter, right?"

"No! You call me Naruto! My name is Naruto!"

"Right, toots."

"Gah! Where did you even come from!"

"That tree up there. I saw you, heard you, and was shocked at how perfect a specimen you were." The smile still creeped Naruto out.

"Um, right. I'm going home."

"Why are you hurrying? Stay for a while." Sai smiled at him and grabbed his hand, placing a kiss on it.

"Agh! Creep!" Naruto grabbed his hand back, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"Would you prefer this instead?" He asked, grabbing Naruto by the waist and dipping him, as if they were dancing.

"What the hell! Stop it!"

"How can I stop when I am so taken with you?"

"What? Dude! I've only just met you!"

"What does time have to do with love?"

"Love!"

"Yes, love. I love you. And your voice."

"My voice?"

"Don't talk. It's disgusting. Sing instead."

"Wha-"

"Sing." Sai's smile dropped and Naruto was a little creeped out.

"Um, okay?" Naruto sang questioningly. He looked past Sai's head up into the sky and spotted the tree he had said he came down from, "Hey, I just had a thought. Wanna fly me up there?"

"Why?" Sai tilted his head.

"So I can find my house!"

"What is in it for me?"

"I'll sing?"

"At the Beetle Ball. You will be our main performer."

"What?"

Sai swooped Naruto into his arms and flew into the sky.

Konohamaru looked at his friends from their hiding spot.

"Uh... I think we need help." Udon mutters, and they all nod in agreement.