Disclaimer: Psst! I've got a secret! I don't own NARUTO! Wait, that's no secret!
- - -
Black began to extend from under Riddin's palm, or more accurately the Henshin Wa. (Transformation Circle) The process was slow, like always. Riddin grinded his teeth together, trying to get it to go faster.
"Dammit, c'mon..." Naruto muttered, looking over at the approaching enemy.
Creases were now visible, the transformation working its way deeper into the metal. A small bar appeared on the right side of the door -- it was a sliding door, apparently. Riddin removed his palm from the wall and grabbed the bar, and tugged. It was heavy, but it slowly slid away.
"Thank God," Sakura sighed.
Riddin grinned proudly, and they noticed the wound on his palm in the shape of a Henshin Wa -- which was there because of a Henge, disappeared, while the real wound on his bicep reappeared. Riddin took a step forward through the door- Crunch!
"ARGH!" Riddin screamed in pain. The door had smashed shut for some reason, crushing Riddin's left ankle. He frantically grabbed at his leg, trying to tug it out before it was actually crushed beyond repair -- or amputated. The others grabbed him, pulling as hard as they could.
"Damn, what happened?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"The door is still made of their metal!" Sasuke growled, tugging at Riddin. "They just slammed it shut. They don't seem to be able to destroy the Henshin Wa, though -- so they'd only be able to keep it forcibly shut."
They finally managed to pull Riddin out, and he grit his teeth and grabbed at his ankle -- which was bleeding. Riddin was hyperventilating from the pain -- he might have been alright normally, but with so little stamina left, he might fall unconscious.
Sasuke quickly made a few hand seals. "Katon..." He inhaled deeply, his right hand in front of his mouth. Goukakyuu no Jutsu! he finished mentally. (Fire Release: Grand Fire Ball)
A massive fireball shot from Sasuke's mouth, engulfing the enemy. A moment later, a red-hot metal ball the size of a large boulder shot out of the fire. The Genin managed to get out of the way, dragging Riddin and Rayn along with them.
If the older one is connected to the ball, and no doubt the wall -- because it seems the younger one made the rail... thought Sasuke. The door is 'unlocked'!
The ball crashed into the wall, and the ball seemed to open up, revealing the two Kajiya men. They stepped out, Yokoji looking a little green.
The others seemed to have that same thought process, as they all dashed for the door while the enemy recovered. Sasuke ripped the door open before tossing Riddin through, making sure everyone else was through before going through himself -- the door slamming shut right behind him.
"Jeez, I hate that move," Yokoji groaned. "Though, that was some good reflexes, Uncle."
"Whew, nice," Riddin said, though he was still in pain. "That takes some fast reflexes to know to go through while the link is elsewhere."
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked concernedly, crouching next to Riddin. He bit down on his lower lip, accepting her help in standing, though he kept his left foot off the ground. He gently set it down, evening out his weight, but quickly lifted it.
"I dunno," he said weakly. "I might be able to walk..."
He took a tentative step forward and grimaced, and took another step; His left leg limped horribly. He would take a step with his left, only to lean right and frantically take a step forward with his right.
"Come on, I'll help you walk," Sakura offered, getting on his left. She grabbed his arm and draped it around her shoulder, which was a bit awkward because he was so much taller than her.
"I'm fine," he said gruffly, though he was blushing a little, removing his arm from her shoulders and taking several painful steps forward.
"Acting macho won't get you anywhere," Sakura said bluntly. Naruto nodded and Sasuke just looked at Riddin like he was stupid, while Rayn was just concerned. "The guys are better fighters, and your sister can't be slowed down. I usually stick around the clients, anyway."
"You're too short, or I'm too tall," he retorted, limping forward. "If you let me lean on you, we'd just go slower because of the height difference." The others walked after him, catching up quite quickly.
"Then I'll carry you," Sakura said. "You look like you're light."
"Ani, let's just go," Rayn implored.
Riddin sighed audibly, and looked up at the sky. "Fine."
Sakura rushed forward and picked him up bridal-style, as if Riddin wasn't embarrassed enough. He exclaimed in surprise, complaining he wanted to be set down, but Sakura just jumped up into the trees, since she could go faster if she wasn't running through snow.
Rayn copied Sakura's actions, jumping up to go from branch to branch, though the jumps were much shorter. Naruto and Sasuke decided to stay behind, to let the others get a good distance away first.
"...So we just use fast attacks," Naruto said. "Can't you predict stuff with Sharingan?"
"To an extent," Sasuke replied, preparing for a fight. "If I wait for an opening, I can strike with Chidori."
"You get one of them with Chidori, I'll get the other with Rasengan!" Naruto grinned. "Your Jutsu may have been more effective on that water tank, but I bet mine will do great against a person!"
That's right, he didn't see the back of his water tank... Sasuke thought. However, he did not bother to inform Naruto of this.
Some of the wall melted away, revealing the two Kajiya men. Yokoji quickly created a rail, and then they made more buckles on their shoes to slide down the rail on.
"Alright, you bastards!" Naruto exclaimed, clenching his fists. "Let's-" The two of them barreled past the Genin, not paying the slightest bit of attention. "-go?" Naruto finished dumbly, watching them go by. He then yelled at them, his teeth comically sharp and his eyes wide and white. "OI! Bastards! I'm talking to you!"
"They don't care," Sasuke said flatly, jumping up to a branch to follow. "Come on, you idiot."
- - -
"Okay, okay," Riddin said, squirming. "Enough of this!"
Sakura stopped on a wider branch and set him down -- he might have been light, but it was still hard to jump from tree to tree with an extra 110 pounds. Sakura took a few deep breaths, and Rayn caught up a few seconds later.
"I bet I could jump from branch to branch," Riddin said, getting down on all fours -- well, three, making sure to keep all weight off his left foot. "Chakra to my arms and leg..."
He launched himself to the closest branch, landing on his right foot, and then dropping down his hands and left knee to even out the landing. He then lifted his left knee, and then jumped again.
"He's so stubborn," Sakura muttered.
"That's my Ani for you!" Rayn said brightly. "He's used to doing things on his own, so don't take it personal."
"But... I thought he didn't have any Chakra left," Sakura said thoughtfully. "There's no way he can jump that far normally, especially in that condition."
"...I'll explain it some other time," Rayn said, jumping forward.
"Hurry it up!" Riddin called from several trees ahead. A white aura -- invisible against the snowy background and his white clothes -- surrounded his limbs before he took off for another jump. If I keep using the white Chakra, I'm either going to use too much or lose consciousness...
- - -
"How are we going to get their attention?" Sasuke asked calmly, thinking aloud as the two of them continued following the Kajiya. "They're just going to keep blasting past us unless we do something."
"We could just attack them," Naruto suggested. "If we hit or wound them, they'll probably stop to deal with us."
"If you can get them to somehow stop for a few seconds, I could hit them with Chidori from behind," Sasuke said. "Even you can do that, right?"
"You're damn right I can!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'll use Kage Bunshin... Maybe some explosives, or a Rasengan!"
"Alright, then go on ahead," Sasuke said. "When I see an opening, I'm taking it. Don't use explosives, though."
"You afraid you'll run right into a bomb?" Naruto laughed.
"No, I simply know you can't resist throwing an explosive at me, and being able to call it a 'misfire.'" Sasuke smirked.
"Hihihi," Naruto chuckled, grinning. "Good point! Yosh! I'm off!"
- - -
"Toss me the kunai already!" Naruto-2 called to Naruto-3.
Naruto-3 hurled the kunai, which was attached to a very thin wire, after making sure the wire was secured around the closest tree. Naruto-2 secured the other end, keeping the kunai attached.
"With this, they'll trip!" Naruto-1 (the original) grinned. "And we can use the Rendan!" (Combo)
Yokoji was the one in front. He quickly grinded down the rail, and hit the wire. Because he was essentially attached to the rail, he did not go flying forward like Naruto was hoping -- but it actually paid off for Naruto, as Kyouku rammed into Yokoji.
"What the hell?!" Kyouku demanded, managing to back up a little.
"U-Zu-Ma-Ki!" the individual Kage Bunshin each exclaimed, jumping out and kicking into Yokoji's stomach and chest, and Kyouku's upper and lower back -- which only pushed Kyouku back into Yokoji. "Naruto Rendan!" the real Naruto yelled, after he jumped from a tree, slamming his heel into Yokoji's head.
"What the-?" Naruto mumbled -- his heel hurt, as if he had just slammed it into something hard. He looked down to see that the two of them had encased themselves in metal where they would be hit -- just a mere second before Naruto and his Kage Bunshin had made impact. Yokoji had morphed the rail a little, protecting them.
Sasuke launched forward, but his Chidori was not active. Yokoji's right arm was encased in a metal blade, and he brought it back to slash at Naruto. Sasuke just wanted to get Naruto out of the way. Sasuke dove, tackling Naruto out of the way, barely avoiding getting injured himself.
"Idiot, I don't need your help!" Naruto yelled when they hit the snow.
"You would have been cleaved in two, Dobe," Sasuke growled. He made three hand seals, and then offered Naruto his right hand, his left hand extended away from the two of them, Chidori coating it.
"What?" Naruto demanded.
"Grab my hand, and throw me," Sasuke ordered, activating his Sharingan.
Naruto nodded and grabbed Sasuke's right hand and wrist, and slowly began to spin. He got more momentum going, Sasuke running to increase the speed.
"Now!" Sasuke barked, and Naruto threw the Uchiha as hard as he could. Sasuke drew his left hand back, electricity still flying from it, as he flew toward the two Kajiya. "Chidori!"
Yokoji willed some metal to coat his right hand like a glove, and he actually caught Sasuke's hand, unaffected by the Lightning attack. Yokoji slowly began crushing Sasuke's hand, and the Chidori quickly ended -- but Yokoji continued crushing Sasuke's hand.
"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled, thrusting his right hand at Yokoji's stomach -- so Sasuke would not get caught up in the blast. And since Yokoji was moving the metal glove, he couldn't make a shield.
However, Kyouku was not limited, and made a shield for his nephew. Naruto's yellow orb struck the metal, grinding in to it -- but nothing happened to the metal.
"Eat this, bastard!" a Naruto Kage Bunshin exclaimed -- he had been hidden behind a tree, in case something went wrong. He thrust a kick for the back of Kyouku's head, and Kyouku shifted from the shield protecting Yokoji to making a shield of his own, blocking the Kage Bunshin's attack.
Naruto yelled and thrust his hand all the way, suddenly denting the shield, and it was like he effectively punched Yokoji since the shield was so close to his stomach, and Yokoji released Sasuke on accident, and the Uchiha got a good distance away, staring at his broken hand. Naruto's Rasengan peaked, and he let it all loose in a spinning frenzy. Yokoji, and even Kyouku, yelled in surprise and pain before being sent rocketing uphill, still connected to the rail.
"Oh, yeah!" Naruto exclaimed triumphantly. "That's right! Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, wins again!"
"But- argh- how?" Sasuke asked, wincing, and he deactivated Sharingan. "Why did your attack get through all of a sudden?"
"I dunno," Naruto admitted. "Right after my Kage Bunshin attacked, it just seemed so easy. It went from hitting an invincible wall to hitting metal like the water tank."
If that's true, then those guys are the back of the tank, Sasuke thought. They probably won't bother us for a while, with injuries like that.
"Your hand alright?" Naruto asked, walking over. "Oh, man... Maybe we should see a doctor or something. With your hand and Riddin's ankle crushed like that..."
"I'll be fine," Sasuke said dismissively.
"But now you can't do Chidori... Hell, you can't even make hand seals anymore!" Naruto pointed out. "That means all you have is some half-assed Taijutsu!"
"Nothing I do is 'half-assed,' you moron," Sasuke retorted. "Now let's go before we lose what time that fight bought us."
- - -
Sakura, Riddin, and Rayn and found temporary shelter in a café near the exit of town -- so they would easily see the others when they got off the mountain and entered town. The owner somewhat knew the siblings, and let them rest without needing to buy anything.
Rayn was staring out the window patiently. Riddin was sitting in a chair while, biting down on his lip in pain. He couldn't put his bad foot on the floor, he couldn't prop it up on his other leg, so he just had to try to keep it in midair for as long as possible.
"Here," Sakura said, moving a smaller chair in front of Riddin, to use as a footrest.
"Thank you," Riddin said sincerely, grabbing his leg and gently setting it on the chair -- so his foot was hanging just over the edge. He gently took his shoe off, and grimaced -- it looked bad.
"I have some questions," Sakura said, sitting next to him. "First off, why were you so embarrassed to accept help, when you hired us to help? Also, why were you able to jump from branch to branch when you said you had no Chakra?"
"..." Riddin stared at her thoughtfully, which meant he was chewing on his tongue. "I just didn't want to be a burden. I essentially hired ninja to help fight them, as I can kinda-sorta fight myself. As for the second question..."
Riddin lifted his right hand, showing Sakura his palm. She made a confused face, and noticed he seemed to be focusing on something. He took a shallow breath, and when he exhaled, a white aura surrounded his hand. It only was there for a small instant, just like when he was jumping from tree to tree.
"!" That's not normal Chakra! thought Sakura.
"I have a second, much more powerful, Chakra -- though it's dangerous to use," Riddin explained, though he did not reveal why or where it came from. "I usually get so tired after using it that I fall asleep, but the pain is keeping me awake. If I use too much..." He furrowed his brow. "...I'm not myself.
A more powerful Chakra... thought Sakura. It reminds me of Sasuke-kun's Cursed Seal. Especially the change in personality... He seemed so different when he used it in the forest...
"Riddin, do you know someone named Orochimaru?" Sakura asked tentatively.
"Umm... No, I don't," he replied after a moment. "...Why?"
"Oh... Well, this Leaf traitor, Orochimaru... He does human experiments, and he makes this seal that's something like you described," Sakura said. Do I tell him why I know?
"Huh," Riddin said thoughtfully. "Well, it's not quite like that."
"Sakura-chan," Rayn said, looking over her shoulder. "You talk of it, the seal I mean, like you're trying not to give too much away."
"You don't have one, do you?" Riddin asked, closing his right eye thoughtfully.
"N-no, it's not me, it's..." she just trailed off.
"Uchiha?" Riddin said in unison with Rayn, though she said, "Sasuke-kun."
"H-how did you know it was him?" Sakura asked. "It could have been Naruto, or someone else I know..."
They glanced at each other and shrugged. They couldn't say they figured it wasn't Naruto due to them knowing he was a Jinchuuriki.
"Lucky guess?" they said in unison.
- - -
"Alright, I can see town!" Naruto yelled. "C'mon, Sasuke! I can see town!"
"I heard you the first time," Sasuke said, hurrying forward. "I don't see them anywhere... They could have gone to the docks to secure a boat..."
They entered town for all of thirty seconds when they heard, "Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun! We're over here!" They turned to see Rayn waving from the door of a café. They jogged over, entering.
"You guys are okay!" Sakura exclaimed happily. She hurried over, and that's when she saw Sasuke's left hand. "Sasuke-kun, what happened? Your hand..."
"I'm fine," he said dismissively, hiding the pain from showing up in his voice or on his face.
"You two are so stubborn," Sakura sighed, shaking her head.
"?" Sasuke rose an eyebrow. "Two?"
Sakura jerked her thumb at Riddin, who waved, unable to hear what they were saying. Sasuke's mouth became a thin line before looking back at Sakura.
"We should move out," Sasuke said. "Naruto bought us some time, we should take full advantage of it."
"You're right, we should get a doctor to look at you and Riddin," Sakura insisted. "If we have time, we should. And we have time."
Sasuke glanced at the others -- Naruto and Rayn had went to sit down next to Riddin, and they were all out of earshot if he was quiet.
"Sakura, I appreciate the concern," Sasuke whispered. Sakura rose her eyebrows -- he had been a bit nicer to her ever since she convinced him to stay, if only a little. "But we need to leave."
Sakura turned around to look at Rayn and Riddin for a few seconds. Riddin seemed to be fairly cheerful despite the injury, and Rayn seemed alright as long as her brother was.
"Okay, fine," Sakura sighed. "Have it your way. We get off the island first -- but can we at least go to that trading post island? There were some doctors there, and Naruto wanted to go."
"..." So did you, Sakura... Sasuke stared at his ruined left hand. "Okay, I guess. But we head south to start with, so the enemy thinks we're actually heading that way. I trust we can go a few kilometers out, and then you can find out which way to go?"
"Of course," Sakura smiled. "It'll be a piece of cake."
"Then we'll do that," Sasuke said, nodding. "Two of us should go find a boat. Who should be the one to stay with them here?"
"Rayn and Riddin?" Sakura glanced back at them. "I guess I wouldn't mind. But maybe Naruto should stay, since he's now the strongest fighter."
"What's this 'now' crap?" Naruto laughed. "I've been the best! But, I'll stick around here! After all, I'm the only one that can beat those guys!"
"Alright, let's go, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled, locking her right elbow through his left -- so he couldn't get away.
"Rough," Riddin observed, grinning. "Sususu... Poor Uchiha."
"So how did you beat the Kajiya guys?" Rayn asked. "We've been trying for years, and you do it on your first try..."
"I used this super-awesome Jutsu, called the Rasengan!" Naruto grinned. "It totally ripped through the metal like a hot knife through butter!" So he was exaggerating a little, so what?
Riddin was clearly impressed, and almost as loud as Naruto. "A spiral, huh? I guess I've never tried a move like that. What's it like?" (Since 'Rasen gan' is 'spiral(ing) sphere.')
"I gather a bunch of Chakra into my right hand, and spin it around," Naruto explained. "I use a Kage Bunshin to help refine it, and give it a 'shell.' It's really awesome!"
"Duh, it beat the Kajiya's Jutsu," Rayn laughing.
"So, is your foot gonna be alright?" Naruto asked, looking down at it -- it had small, but clearly visible, indents were the door hit it, though it had stopped bleeding.
"...It's not going to fall off, so yeah," Riddin shrugged.
"...So, uh... how'd you find Sakura-chan? Neither of you gave us much detail, just that you brought her deeper into the cave," Naruto said.
"Well, she was yelling and stuff, calling for you two I think... And then she suddenly stopped, and I didn't hear her leave," Riddin replied. "Rayn got worried and I went to check. I told her Sakura's condition and Rayn took off for town."
"Huh... How come you didn't just turn a rock into medicine or something?" Naruto asked.
"I tried doing that when I was seven," Riddin replied. "I was a bit of a goof, I didn't fully understand the Jutsu... even though I created it. Point is, I had to go to the emergency room because my cough medicine reverted back to pebbles in my blood. Thank God I didn't use a rock or something..."
"Oh, right, cuz it'll eventually run outta Chakra..." Naruto nodded. "Did you talk to Sakura-chan or something? She..." he scrunched up his face. "...She seems to like you a lot."
"Hm? Didn't notice," Riddin shrugged. "Might have something to do with my charms, my good looks, saving her life twice, and treating her..."
"I didn't think about it that way, you did save her life..." Naruto said thoughtfully. "Charms and good looks is a bit of a stretch..."
"Nya-nya-nya," Riddin said in a mocking voice, annoyed. "Anyway, why?"
"Eh, it took a while for her to like me," Naruto admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "She actually hated me when we first became a squad."
"..." The Yoshimitsu glanced at each other. "No way!" they exclaimed in dismay.
"Seriously!" Naruto said, nodding. "She treated me like I was infected with the plague or something!"
"Huh... Ne, you ever heard of the term 'aizou'?" Riddin asked, thinking back to how Sakura had talked of Naruto when they were alone.
"Purple elephant?" Naruto repeated, scrunching up his face. "What the hell? Love picture?" (Ai - Love or Indigo/Purple, Zou - Elephant or Picture, depending on the kanji. So, in Japanese, Naruto just said, "Ai zou? Ai zou?")
"No, man," Riddin laughed. "Not 'ai zou,' two words, 'aizou.' One word."
"No, I've never heard of that," Naruto said, shaking his head.
"Ani, it's only a Lightning Country term," Rayn interjected. "Naruto-kun would recognize the kanji, but would say it a different way."
"How would he say it?" Riddin asked, furrowing his brow.
"That wouldn't make it quite as fun for Naruto-kun, would it?" Rayn asked with a playful smile.
Riddin laughed loudly. "Good point, Imouto! Naruto, you'll just have to find out yourself!" (Imouto - Little Sister)
"Well, what were you going to say?" Naruto asked. Which kanji is read differently? That means 'ai' might not mean what it does for us...
"That's how Sakura feels for you, I think," Riddin explained, grinning widely. "Aizou."
"Which kanji is said different?" Naruto asked. "From Fire Country words?"
"Both, I think," Riddin said, furrowing his brow. "Anyway, I'm not one for waiting when it comes to travel. Let's go see if they found a boat yet."
"Alright... Hey, listen," Naruto said, remembering something. "We passed by this trading post on the way here, would you guys mind if we looked around there?"
"Nah, that'd be cool," Riddin nodded.
"I'm just worried about enemies," Rayn said cautiously. She then nodded confidently, "But I feel safe around you guys, so let's do it!"
"Yosh!" Naruto exclaimed. "To the docks!"
- - -
"You guys!" Naruto called, waving when they reached the docks. "Did you find a good boat yet?"
"Not yet," Sakura called, waving as well.
She was standing just in front of a boat, and kept glancing at it. It had one fairly large 'cabin' toward the back, though there was enough room to walk around behind it. Right next to the cabin was the mast, the main sail folded up. The helm was out in the open, was made of wood, and looked like it belonged on a pirate ship.
Sasuke exited the cabin, walking back onto the deck. The owner, an old man in gray-brown jacket and pants exited right after him. The old man scratched at his gray hair, glancing over at Naruto, Rayn, and Riddin.
"Oi, Rayn-chan! Good t'see you!" the old man called.
"Roku-san!" Rayn smiled. "Good to see you're feeling better!"
"You know each other?" Naruto questioned, standing at the edge of the dock.
"Yeah, I was pretty sick until about a week ago," Roku replied. "The doctors said the medicine wouldn't react fast enough to save me, but Rayn-chan here helped out."
"Well, knowing it's you," Riddin said, closing an eye. "We need a boat. Mind taking us to the trading post?"
"Oh, you with these two, then?" Roku asked, jerking his thumb at Sakura and Sasuke. "Alright, then! All aboard!"
- - - A good deal of time later...
"Land-ho!" Naruto yelled from a horizontal beam that was a part of the mast and main sail. The sun was rising into the sky, and it turned 9:00.
"About time, it's been about 27 hours and thirty minutes," Riddin murmured impatiently. He was leaning against the mast, standing on a horizontal beam like Naruto, his bad foot raised.
Sakura exited the cabin, wiping at her eyes. She had been sleeping, her body still exhausted. "What's all the noise?" Sakura called.
"I see the island!" Naruto exclaimed.
"That was fast," Sakura said, raising her eyebrows.
Riddin used Chakra to keep his good foot attached to the mast-beam he was on, falling back until he was standing upside-down, face-to-face with Sakura.
"You've been sleeping for almost half the trip," he pointed out. "Wow, you must have been tired."
"Heh-heh," Sakura smiled nervously, blushing at Riddin's proximity. "Yeah, I guess..."
"Anyway," Riddin said with a groan, swinging backwards and crouching, swinging about the beam until he was sitting on it with his knees tucked to his chest. "Uchiha and I need a doctor! Then we can go searching around town!"
"That's not a good idea," Sasuke said from the bow (front) of the ship, not turning around. "You and I will get treated, and the others can look around during that time. Once we're healed, we're leaving."
Rayn spoke up from her sitting place on the roof of the cabin, "Unless one of the doctors has medical Ninjutsu at their disposal, and they're good, you guys won't be actually healed... I mean, all a normal doctor can do is give you splints, casts, and pain medicine."
"While we were walking through the town, I noticed a doctor's office that had ex-med-nin," Sasuke replied. "We'll go there -- even with medical Ninjutsu, it will probably still take a few hours combined."
"Will you kids be needing help getting somewhere else?" Roku called from the helm.
"..." The three Leaf ninja glanced at each other. "No," Sasuke said.
"Let's go, then!" Riddin called, launching off of the mast. He landed on the dock, landing on his good foot and hands -- landing as if an animal would. "Where are my crutches?"
Rayn jumped from the cabin, landing on the rails of the ship, holding the crutches -- Riddin's rucksack and her own backpack on her back. She jumped from the rails, landing next to Riddin. She handed him the crutches, and he stood, and shrugged the rucksack onto his right shoulder.
"They sure are eager," Sakura observed dryly, more or less saying it to Naruto, who had dropped down from the mast.
"So am I!" Naruto grinned. "I wanna see if we can find some cool weapons or Jutsu scrolls from a different country!"
"He's obviously coming with me," Sasuke said, walking past them and pointing at Riddin. "You two figure out where Rayn will go."
He jumped off the boat, and he and Riddin walked off. Rayn waited patiently for the blonde and pink-haired Genin to disembark, and was waving at Roku.
"So, uh... d'you wanna look around together?" Naruto asked, glancing at her nervously.
"Alright," Sakura nodded, smiling at him. She then looked over at Rayn, "Rayn, come on. We'll all look around together."
"Okay!" Rayn said brightly, hurrying after them. "But I'm worried about Ani... He has more people gunning for him, and he and Sasuke are injured..."
"Ah, Sasuke won't let an injury like that hold him back much," Naruto assured with a big grin. "Even without his Ninjutsu, he's still got Taijutsu."
"I suppose he is of the Uchiha clan..." Rayn said thoughtfully. "Still..."
"Look," Naruto said, frowning. "How about I go hang out with them at the doctor's, then?"
"!" Rayn's eyes seemed to almost pop out of her head. "No, Naruto-kun! You don't have to do that! I worry too much, honestly!"
Sakura smiled as the two of them continued arguing. Sakura figured that Naruto had wanted to spend some time with her, even if Rayn had to pal around -- but he was still willing to abandon a chance at it to put Rayn at ease.
"No, seriously, I'll go!" Naruto insisted, jogging after Sasuke and Riddin. "I'll make sure Sasuke gets healed, and when he is, I'll come find you guys!"
"He's sweet," Rayn said, only loud enough for Sakura to hear.
"Yeah," Sakura agreed, nodding with a smile. "He's a bit of a baka, but he's a good guy."
"So you're good friends with him?" Rayn asked, smiling.
"Yeah..." Sakura said slowly, furrowing her brow, almost glaring at Rayn.
"Ara! I'm sorry," Rayn said, rubbing the back of her head and blushing. (Ara - Oh) "I have horrible manners! I was simply trying to make small talk..."
"Hmm..." Sakura stared straight ahead, watching Naruto catch up with the others. Sasuke's mouth became a thin line, and Riddin glanced back at the girls and said something. Naruto laughed and waved his hands, saying something. Riddin stared at Rayn for a moment before shrugging and continuing.
"So, your brother raised you?" Sakura asked, trying to sound curious.
"More-than-less," Rayn nodded. "He was three when the clan died, and we were raised in the Hidden Cloud for several years -- so we know about Konoha a bit from the Hyuuga incident. Then we headed for the Hidden Rock when he was eight, but the Kajiya finally located us... and the chase has been on for around eight years now. Albeit, we returned to Lightning Country for most of the time. "
Sakura's expression softened from the slight glare, "Wow, eight years?" She watched Riddin talking to Naruto, the two of them laughing -- though Sasuke did not find their discussion funny. "He seems pretty carefree for someone with so much responsibility."
"Ani tries his best to make things seem better than they are," Rayn said proudly. "He's much more serious than he used to be at times, he's getting worried with the Mist and the Kajiya -- like the smoking thing, that's pretty new. He doesn't tell me much of anything, he wants me to find some bliss in ignorance."
"So you never even knew your parents?" Sakura asked. Rayn shook her head. "...How did you guys learn how to use Chakra and all?"
"We picked up most of it in books," Rayn shrugged. "Though we did convince a ninja or two to help us."
"But you never went to a ninja academy?... How much do you know?"
"Only what we need," Rayn replied. "We both know sealing, our clan were naturals. I know medicine, basic Chakra enhancement, and tree climbing... And a few other stuff, too."
"What about Riddin?" Sakura asked. "To know how to utilize a second Chakra, that's impressive."
"Ani knows one Katon, but he's not very good at it," Rayn admitted. "As for his fighting abilities, I'm not really sure. He usually doesn't fight around me -- we usually just run. I know he doesn't know medicine -- but, then again, he's a natural healer."
"Natural healer?" Sakura questioned.
"Minor injuries usually heal overnight," Rayn replied, and then she smiled, "Didn't you notice he has no injuries despite being in a fight in the cave?"
"I just assumed you healed him," Sakura admitted. "So what was the point of learning medical Ninjutsu if he heals on his own?"
"Ani is a pretty sick person most of the time," Rayn admitted. "That's why I only got as far as increasing the effect of medicine. ...He has some weird disease that destroys white blood cells, attacks B and T cells..."
"That sounds serious," Sakura said, furrowing her brow.
Ran simply shrugged before going on with her explanation, "We heard some awesome medical ninja named Tsunade became the Hokage -- hence why we asked for Leaf ninja instead of Cloud, even though Cloud is closer."
That's why Riddin knew who she was! Sakura realized. He's hoping Tsunade-sama can prolong his life, or maybe even cure him!
"Does he ever talk about it?" Sakura asked. "The disease?"
"He says without white blood cells, he can get really sick pretty easily. But as long as he get treated soon, he'll be fine," Rayn shrugged. "He says Tsunade-sama is the greatest, and that if anyone can help him, it's her!"
"I have to ask," Sakura said after a moment. "You've been with Riddin all your life, do you know what he thinks of stuff?"
"Ah, Sakura-chan, I know what he'll think before he thinks it," Rayn grinned. "I, on the other hand, am an enigma to him!"
"So, um... Why do you think he protected me?" Sakura asked, blushing. "He was having enough trouble dealing with the others, but he put down his defenses to save me."
"..." Rayn was silent, walking while chewing on her tongue. Rayn looked at Sakura out of the corner of her eye, still quiet. Don't tell me Sakura-chan has a crush on Ani... Rayn broke out in a big grin, "No idea."
"I thought you could read his mind," Sakura said dryly, half-glaring at the brunette.
"I can!" she said brightly. "That's the answer! He doesn't know! Ani doesn't tend to think things out to much. I think he'd say something like, 'I dunno. I like her, I guess.'"
"You think he likes me?" Sakura asked, blushing.
"Sure," Rayn shrugged. No, Sakura-chan seems to be the kind of girl who doesn't get hit on often, especially by older guys... She glanced at Sakura, and saw her cheeks were pink. "Oh, right, Fire Country... Uh... How would you put this?"
"What's that suppose to mean?" Sakura demanded, squinting at Rayn.
"Well, Ani and I spent a lot of time in a different country," Rayn explained. "So most of the words and phrases we use originate, and maybe are only used, there. Even words the rest of the world uses means something a little different for us."
"What was the country's name?" Sakura asked.
"Yama no Kuni," Rayn replied. (Land of Mountains) "But it became a part of Lightning Country about two years ago, and most of the culture was lost."
"Okay, I guess I'm not offended, but still... How would I have said it?" Sakura asked.
"I think the same way," Rayn nodded. "You just use 'like' too broadly. Most countries look at 'like' as 'friends with' or 'might love,' and see 'love' as 'romantic feelings.' We're not limited by that."
"...Can you give me an example?" Sakura asked with a nervous smile. "Because you're right, we use ai and koi pretty much interchangeably."
"Okay..." Rayn said, closing her left eye thoughtfully. "Umm... You 'like' a friend, or even an acquaintance. We use 'ai' when you like a friend a lot, similar to family. 'Ni muchuu ni naru' is for those you're interested in someone. 'Koi' is for solid romantic feelings, you're 'in love.'" (Ni muchuu ni naru - have a crush on)
(Author's Note: Ai and Koi both mean love, but in different ways. It's difficult to explain outside of Rayn's explanation, as it's often described differently. However, in a dictionary, it shows how to say 'in love' with koi, but not with ai, so I used that as a center.)
"Hmm, well I-" Sakura suddenly stopped walking, stopping mid-sentence. She was looking up at something breathlessly, her eyes wide. Rayn noticed the pink-haired kunoichi stopped and turned to see what she was looking at, looking over he shoulder, only to succumb to the same basic reaction as Sakura.
Both girls took a quick, but deep breath, and screamed, "Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
