Lessons in Living
Hey everyone its .vixen! Here's the eight chapter of "lessons in living" sorry it was updated so late, please don't kill me! The story has passed 1,000 views, but I hardly have any reviews= (. I would love to hear your opinions! But in any case please continue to like the story! If anyone wants feel free to write and give me your opinion on the story and ways to better the writing.
P.S. – I do not own Naruto, only the characters I have created.
Chapter 8
Natsu's POV
We walked into the Hokages office to collect our next mission. We'd been doing easy missions so far, so Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and I were really looking forward to getting a new mission that was slightly more… challenging.
"Hmm… team 7… ah yes, your new missions are babysitting an Elder's grandson, shopping in the neighbouring village and help digging up potatoes" the Hokage said.
"NO, NO, NO, NO THANK YOU! I want to do a totally amazing new mission, so find us a better one!" Naruto yelled, he could make such a fuss when he wanted to but I agreed with him, these tasks were boring… and from the expression on the other two's faces, sakura and Sasuke agree completely.
"NARUTO YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE JUST A ROOKIE! EVERYONE STARTS OFF WITH THE SAME TYPE OF TASKS AND THEN WORK THEIR WAY UP, DO YOU GET IT?!" Iruka was screaming as well by now… seriously those two are so loud, it isn't funny, if this continues I'm going to go deaf at a very young age.
I finally decided to intervene; I was dying to get a decent mission. "He's right you know… how long do you plan on giving out such retarded missions, Gramps? These missions are so stupid; they have absolutely no educational value…" I said from my place, leaning against a wall behind the three, standing close to Kakashi, watching the scene before me.
The Hokage and Iruka both shot me dirty looks, I just shrugged, "sorry, but I seriously think he has a point, we've been getting the crappiest assignments ever…" I said slightly nonchalant about what would happen, it's not like it would make that much of a difference to me.
The Hokage then proceeded to give a lecture of some sort but I wasn't really paying attention, in fact I could tell that Kakashi and Sasuke were also ignoring the lecture and were discussing ramen with Naruto, I was listening in on the discussion, having never eaten ramen, but the conversation was extremely amusing.
"WILL YOU PAY ATTENTION!" the Hokage yelled, extremely peeved by the fact that none of us had been paying any attention to what he had just been rambling about.
"Eh heh heh sorry 'bout that…" Kakashi said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Geez you're always giving me lectures, but I'm not just some prank loving brat you know… I've become more than that, I've grown up a little, I'm a ninja!" Naruto said sitting on the ground, facing away from the Hokage and Iruka and pouting cutely.
'Wait a minute… did I just think Naruto looked a little cute?' I thought a little confused; I glanced at him again, completely ignoring the conversation… 'hmm, it's only because he looks like a little kid… or some tiny animal because of the whisker marks… yes that's it… exactly like Tora…' I thought slightly relieved.
"Ok… if you want it that much, I'll give you a c-rank mission" the Hokage said calmly while both he and Iruka smiled.
"Huh?!" I said thoroughly confused, apparently the others were as confused as I was, Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke were stunned.
"Your mission will be to protect a certain individual" the Hokage said holding back a smile, "YAY!" Naruto yelled while the rest of us were still getting over the sudden turn of events. "So who is it? A Feudal Lord? A Princess? WAHAHAHA! I'm so excited!" Naruto said bouncing around, much to the amusement of the adults in the room, though Sasuke and Sakura seemed annoyed.
"Calm down" the Hokage said, glancing at the group in front of him, "Hey will you come in here?" he continued calling out to someone standing behind the door.
"WHAT! These are just a bunch of brats…" the man who stepped into the room said, taking a sip from the bottle he was holding. "Especially those two…what's the shorty with the stupid face and that tiny girl definitely can't protect herself, let alone someone else…" he stated.
"Huh who's the tiny one with a stupid face?" Naruto asked measuring the four of us, 'oh man he's gonna kick up a fuss when he realises' I thought slightly peeved by what the old man had said.
"Hey! That's mean Natsu might be short, but she doesn't have a stupid face" Naruto yelled, in my defence… apparently, 'how the hell did he deduce that? I mean sure I'm almost his height but it was the second part of the old man's speech that was directed at me…' I thought sweat dropping slightly.
"Um… Naruto, I believe that was meant for you, I'm the tiny girl who supposedly can't protect herself… unless you want to be called that" I said with a perfectly straight face, it seems like he got it because the next moment he was yelling about how he was going to kill the man and creating a ruckus, while I observed the old man before us. He looked atleast 50 years old, wearing a black sleeveless top, with a white cloth tied around the middle, he also wore a pair of lined trousers. He reeked of alcohol and was slightly red in the face thanks to his drink.
"Uh…Naruto? What's the point of killing someone you're supposed to protect idiot" I said with a slight sigh while shaking my head at his stupidity, "and don't you think you've had enough to drink already, you smelly old geezer" I said with a smile on my face, even though the darker than black aura I was giving off was a clear indication of how annoyed I truly was.
"Right, then we'll leave in an hour" Kakashi said, intervening in the fight that was about to break out. He glanced at me quickly taking in the rapidly increasing rate at which my mood was crumbling, and then continued "so mister, why don't you introduce yourself?" he said trying to diffuse the tension in the air. "I am Tazuna –"
"You need protection to reach your destination right?" I interrupted, slightly bored.
"Yeah… how'd you know?" the old man asked a little weary, "you don't need to know that, and that's all I needed to know… I'll meet you three at the gate" I said calmly walking away, "Oh and Kakashi be there on time please" and with that I was gone, leaving behind nervous looking Hokage and Iruka, an awestruck Naruto, a glaring Sakura, an impressed Sasuke, an amused Kakashi and a freaked out Tazuna.
-AN HOUR LATER -
I had packed everything I needed and had changed into a fitting black sleeveless turtle neck top and a pair of black shorts. I quickly put on my weights around my wrists and ankle and covered them up with bandages around three fourth of my arm from my hand as well as from my feet to my calves. I braided my hair, tied my Konoha headband around my neck like a collar, slipped on my ninja sandals and headed out towards the gate.
I was pretty surprised when I saw Kakashi standing there beside sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna. "Oh my god the world is going to end! Kakashi is on time for once" I stated, I was in a pretty good mood so I gave them a tiny smile, well the sides of my lips curled upwards a bit, but they noticed and were stumped.
"ALRIGHT LETS GO" Naruto yelled thoroughly excited, "what are you so excited about?" Sakura asked snootily, "Because I've never left the village before!" Naruto said excited, my heart soared at the fact that I wasn't alone when it came to this being a first time for something.
"Hey you're sure I'm safe right?" Tazuna asked a little unsure as we set off to the land of waves, "eh heh heh, yeah well I'm a Jounin, so don't worry…" Kakashi said from behind as I was looking around with interest.
"HEY OLD MAN YOU DON'T MESS WITH NINJAS! PLUS I'M AN AWESOME NINJA NO NEED TO WORRY!"
"This is my first time too… going out during the day, without rushing and walking with other people" I whispered softly to myself.
"Eh! Really?" Naruto questioned me, excited that he had company while Sakura and Sasuke looked at me curiously as to why I would be rushing around, at night. I couldn't believe I said that out loud, and apparently neither could Kakashi, who was giving me a weird look which seemed slightly happy; he gave me a smile… I think… it's so hard to make out these things when he had his damn mask on.
That's when Naruto grabbed my hand and yanked me forward to move along with his pace, "Then there's all the more reason for us to look about and enjoy the mission, right?" he cheered while thrusting his fist into the air. I was quite surprised, 'is- is it alright to have fun and enjoy while on missions?' I mentally questioned, it went against what I had been taught, what I did, it questioned my beliefs…
"Come on Natsu, you need to agree with me and raise your hand too!" Naruto said while a mischievous grin crept on to his face. I looked over at Kakashi, I was unsure as to what I should, he just smiled, giving me a slight nod and a discreet thumbs up.
"A-Alright!" I shakily said while awkwardly thrusting my arm as he had, "Yeah! That's the spirit Natsu; we are going to enjoy this mission!" Naruto said happily.
The trip was quite enjoyable surprisingly even though Naruto and Tazuna kept arguing… it was much more fun than travelling alone. We were halfway through our journey when suddenly a puddle caught my attention. 'Eh… why is there a puddle here? - oh shit!' I thought realising what this meant.
I glanced at Kakashi noticing that he too had realised the same thing as I had and we both immediately shifted to high alert, even though it seemed like nothing much had changed about us.
We had just passed the puddle when suddenly chains were wrapped around Kakashi, ripping him apart. I knew Kakashi wouldn't be killed that easily, and that was just a clone so I pulled out a kunai, and readied myself to attack the two ninjas before us.
Naruto's POV
I watched as Kakashi sensei got ripped to pieces, I was frozen in place.
"Ka-KAKASHI SENSEI!" I screamed, my mind shutting down completely, I could only watch as the two ninjas appeared close to me.
"Two down" they stated, chilling me to my bones.
'I am going to die' was the only thought running through my head as I watched the chains that killed my sensei, make their way to me.
I heard the loud clash of metal hitting metal, confirming what I was seeing… Sasuke had trapped the chains to a tree, I was safe I thought slightly relived until they let go of their chains.
Crap…
I watched, stunned as one of the ninjas headed towards me while the other ran towards the bridge builder and Sakura.
'NO SAKURA! Sasuke!' I mentally screamed as I watched Sakura standing protectively before Tazuna san, while Sasuke took a similar stance in front of Sakura.
And that's when I saw her…
Her movements were sharp and yet graceful at the same time, she had an extremely feral beauty in her movements…
I watched her kick the enemy ninja away from Sasuke and Sakura, and straight into a tree. She then moved so quickly she appeared right in front of the ninja her kunai at his throat.
'A huntress finishing of her prey' I thought to myself, unable to pull my eyes away from her.
I had to train harder than before I had to get closer to her level if I wanted to even dream of becoming Hokage… I was excited, my heart was thumping… a part of me wanted to challenge her, while the other part screamed at the fact that she could have been hurt… though I didn't know why that bothered me so much, probably because she was my teammate and rival I thought with a slight nod.
"It's rude to stare you know" Kakashi sensei stated from next to me, the ninja who was about to attack me under his arm.
"I wasn't staring… I was just looking at her for some time!" I said defensively.
"Umm… Naruto, that is staring" Kakashi sensei stated with a slight sweat drop.
"Sorry about that though Naruto, I got you injured" Kakashi said to me before turning to sakura and Sasuke, praising them and then moving towards Natsu to tie the two ninja up.
I was upset; Sasuke could fight so calmly during his first actual fight while I froze. He even saved me… I was so disappointed in myself.
"Hey! You alright, scaredy cat?" Sasuke taunted, I glared at him; I was pissed.
"That's enough Sasuke…" Natsu stated coolly from where she was holding the enemy ninja against the tree. I gave her grateful smile.
"Naruto, their claws were soaked in poison… we'll have to open up the wound and drain the poison from your body; don't move around too much 'kay?" Kakashi sensei stated from next to Natsu.
I was shocked. I had been poisoned! I looked towards Natsu, she seemed calm but even I could tell she was angry about something.
'I need to work harder, and get stronger… I will become stronger, strong enough to protect my loved ones and become Hokage…' I thought extremely determined.
Kakashi's POV
Natsu and I had just finished tying up the two enemy ninjas. I knew she had drawn the same conclusion as I had because she seemed pretty angry about something. I knew Naruto had also noticed Natsu's anger because he was looking at her with a small frown on his face, deep in thought.
"Tazuna San, we need to talk" I stated while Natsu turned and gave a cold glare.
"These guys are chunnin ninja from the Hidden Village of Mist." I stated solemnly before continuing, "They are known to keep fighting no matter what…"
"How did you read our movements?" one of the mist ninjas asked.
I opened my mouth to answer when Natsu interrupted me with a slight snort.
"Pathetic" she scoffed at the tied up ninjas. "On a sunny day like this, when it hasn't rained in days… a puddle of water shouldn't exist." She said sounding extremely bored.
"We could have killed you in minutes if we wished…" she said obviously covering up the fact that she meant only me and herself.
"Why did you let the brats fight if you knew that?!" Tazuna turned to me, questioning me.
"Oh sure, ignore the person whose giving you answers just because she isn't an old perverted man…" Natsu murmured under her breath causing me to smile. This team had been good for her; she was speaking a lot more now.
"There was something I needed to find out" I said before pausing for dramatic effect, "… who their target was…"
"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked looking slightly nervous.
"Well…-" I began wondering how to tell them.
"He wanted to know if they were after you or one of us" Natsu butted in and stated my reasoning quite bluntly, leaving Tazuna looking slightly confused.
I glared at Natsu slightly before explaining, "we weren't informed that there were Shinobi after you… our mission was to protect you from thieves or gangs, that's all."
I continued talking about how this was now a mission of higher rank, when I noticed Natsu looking at Naruto's wound carefully assessing the damage before she moved towards him. I kept talking while discreetly watching them.
Naruto's POV
I was so frustrated and angry, my arm was throbbing. Why couldn't I be stronger and faster? I was bringing everyone down. Natsu and Sasuke were brilliant, even sakura had done better than me.
I felt small soft hands cupping my throbbing one. I was startled and jerked my head up.
"N-Natsu?" I questioned looking at the slim platinum blonde who had taken my hand in hers.
"I guess we should return and get that wound healed" Kakashi said, sounding a little concerned. Both Natsu and I quickly turned to look at him. Natsu's face was blank but I saw a flicker in her green eyes for just a moment, and I was unsure about what it was.
I gritted my teeth and gripped my kunai tight as I plunged it into my hand.
'Why is there so much of a difference? WHY? I refuse to be weak; I'm going to get stronger!' I thought as my hand bled draining the poison with it.
"Naruto!" I heard Kakashi and sakura yell. I looked up and held my head high.
"I swear on this kunai… that I WILL protect the old man. We are continuing this mission" I snarled, surprising Kakashi, Sasuke, sakura and the old man. I glanced at Natsu wondering how she would react, and I was shocked to say the least. She had a small smile on her face and something similar to pride flashed in her green gold-flecked eyes. She was impressed by what I had done, and for some strange reason it boosted my ego and made me feel happier then I should have felt.
"That's all good Naruto but any more blood loss and you'll die." Kakashi said with a smile, freaking me out and causing me to scream and run in circles.
"NOOO! I CAN'T DIEEE, I HAVEN'T FULFILLED MY DREAM AND I STILL HAVE SO MANY MORE DIFFERENT TYPES OF RAMEN TO TRY!" I screamed hysterically, and that's when I heard it… a sound so gentle it made me shut up just to listen.
Oh my god Natsu was laughing, she looked so care free and happy, and it suited her. I think we were all shocked. Kakashi however was the first to recover and gave her a slight smile before reaching for my hand and bandaging it up.
"Well then, Naruto has made his choice, let's go" she said, calmly after Kakashi had finished, flashing me a small smile before walking off.
I stared slightly at her back as she walked forward a small smile creeping onto my face.
"Hey! Wait for me!" I yelled as I raced to catch up with her as the others moved as well, 'I think this mission is going to be great, believe it!' I thought happily, as we moved forward towards the land of waves.
Yay, so chapter 8 is done! Honestly speaking I wasn't planning this but I'm splitting the mission to the waves into two chapters. Hopefully I'll be faster with the updates but no promises 'cause there's a lot going on right now.
~ .vixen
