A Heavy Heart, Mind, and Body

Disclaimer: I own... nine of these characters. I mean none.

"So... you say you're collecting the Dragon balls?" Jiraiya asked as he rubbed his chin. The group had assembled back in one of the few buildings that remained standing, which happened to be the hospital. Jiraiya was sitting in a room with Bulma and his Sensei Master Roshi.

Bulma nodded with a grim smile. "Yeah, that's right," she said. "I was going to wish for a boyfriend! But now, I guess I have other things that can be handled. First thing on the list, get Goku back!" she said with a shout.

Master Roshi was staring at the girl with a wide smile. "So, you need a boyfriend?" he asked as he leaned in his seat to get a closer view.

Bulma glared at the old man. "Yeah, one that's around MY AGE!" she shouted as she slapped the old fool so hard that she let an imprint. The man took a step back and rubbed his cheek, smiling still at the blue haired beauty.

Jiraiya nodded at the girl, ignoring the pain of his sensei. "That makes sense. He was a very brave boy, definitely one of the strongest I've ever encountered."

Bulma looked excited at her brilliant idea. "I'm sure Naruto will be happy! We already have five!"

Jiraiya's smile widened. "That's great! Do you know where the next one is?" he asked the young girl.

Bulma nodded as she dug into her bag. "It's... give me a minute... Aw, here it is!" she said with a smile as she pulled out a small white item. Roshi and Jiraiya quickly jumped behind her and leaned over her shoulder to look at the device. It had a green screen that had five dots, as well as two arrows pointing in different directions. "That way!" Bulma said as she pointed to one of the arrows.

"Cool!" Jiraiya said with a smile. "Lemme guess, your father built that device?"

Bulma shook her head. "Nope! Made it myself."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Is that so? You're just as smart as your old man, huh?

"Yep!" Bulma said with a grin. "And as pretty as my mother!"

The more perverted of the two men once more was in the girl's face. "Is that so? Maybe an introduction is in order, hm?"

"Not a chance, old man."

Jiraiya chuckled at his masters antics. No matter the situation he was always thinking with his second head. He couldn't complain though, he did the same. He then turned his gaze back towards the device she held. "What do you call this doohickey?"

Bulma hummed in thought, a finger tapping her chin. "I never really thought of that," she responded distantly. "Maybe… a Dragon Radar… yeah! Dragon Radar!"

The white haired man rubbed a hand through his hair with a grin. "I suppose that's not the cheesiest name I've ever heard." He ignored the dirty look he was given from the bluenette and chose to turn his gaze back towards the Radar.

"Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, that's where an old friend of mine lives!" Jiraiya said with a smile as his eyes followed the nearest dot. "I've been planning on making a trip there but you know, the life of an author and shinobi is pretty busy."

Bulma clapped her hands together. "Great! That means you can be my escort!" she said with a giggle. She was comfortable with Goku and Naruto, but with these two old powerhouses on her side she felt totally protected.

Jiraiya smirked. "Of course! All Naruto needs is another adventure to clear his mind a bit. Besides, I still have to train him for his upcoming tournament." Being reminded of it really bothered him. He really should spend some time teaching the boy something. After all, that was the purpose of the mission.

"Then it's decided! As soon as Naruto's ready, we'll be on our way!" Bulma said as she ran out of the room.

Master Roshi and Jiraiya sat in silence. The two eyes of the men stayed on the door where the girl disappeared to. Jiraiya then pulled out a pad and pen and began to scribble into his notepad.

"New idea for your story?"

"Oh yeah, and this will definitely be a best seller!"

XxxoxxX

Ino stood over Naruto's body laying on the bed of the hospital. Her eyes watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath he took. His blonde locks were matted to his head and his eyebrows were knit as if in thought or pain.

She couldn't believe the power that the blonde in front of her displayed. Not only was he strong, he seemed to take on a more feral appearance in his new form. The red chakra he exuded was terrifying to say the least, and the tails and red eyes only added to the horrifying picture.

It was scary to think that this sweet blonde was the owner of such terrifying power! She wondered if it was a Kekkei Genkai or something, but if it were then what was it? Being a member of a prestigious clan she was forced to learn about all of the bloodline limits native to her home village. In all of her studies she had never heard of anything like this.

Maybe Naruto's parents weren't from Konoha? Could that be why the village shunned him, merely because he never belonged? It made sense to her, but if only there was a way to find out!

It was then that Ino got an idea. She was a member of the Yamanaka clan, she could easily find out!

Ino put her fingers into the familiar seal of her clan. She began gathering chakra into her body, aiming at the still sleeping blonde. Her eyebrows pushed together in concentration as she prepared to release her jutsu.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Yamanaka."

Ino looked up and saw the long white haired man that stopped Naruto from killing. As she stared into his eyes, she could see a serious look on his face. If she had to place an expression she'd say that it was a cross between pain and doleful.

"If you were to dig into his mind, you would discover an S ranked secret." The man smiled on the inside as she lowered her hands. "That would force me to kill you, which I honestly don't want to do." At the girls shocked reaction he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a smile that could counter Goku's. "Just trust me when I say that he isn't dangerous. He's that same kid that you went to school with." A sad smile graced his face as his eyes went back to the boy. "The same idiotic, loud-mouthed, annoyingly adorable kid.

Ino couldn't help but to giggle at the man's description of her classmate. She wasn't sure why she trusted this stranger, or even how the man could threaten her yet she didn't feel a drip of fear yet the seriousness in his tone all the same. Ino nodded as she looked at him. "Will he be okay?" she asked him in a low tone.

The man nodded quickly with a grin as he crossed his arms. "Of course! No student of mine can be taken down that easily!"

The response brought more questions than answers. She cocked her head in confusion, and then her eyes widened in realization. "Then that means you are-"

"Me?" he said with a confident smirk. He jabbed a thumb to his chest with pride. "I'm the Legendary Jiraiya!"

Ino looked wide eyed at the man. This couldn't be the Legendary Shannon that her father spoke so proudly of. "You're... him?"

"Yep!" he said as he turned to walk out. Ino turned her head back towards her sleeping friend. "Hey, don't let it get you down kiddo. I'm sure all of your friends will make it out of this stronger than before!"

Ino nodded slowly as she continued to stare at her friend. The clicking of Jiraiya's shinobi sandals became more distant as she watched the sleeping figure.

In all honesty being warned about an S ranked secret only made her more inclined to learn what it was. Asuma Sensei taught her that knowledge was the most important thing to a shinobi. She wanted to know Naruto's secret, but she wasn't willing to get killed over it.

She sighed loudly as she wiped sweat from her brow. No matter how scary Naruto became, he was still Naruto. Nothing changed, except for the fact that he was no longer the dead last of his class. If anything, he could possibly give Sasuke a run for his money.

"Nah," she said with a chuckle. She wouldn't go that far.

XxxoxxX

Kurenai held her kid brother as he cried. They were sitting in her mother office, which honestly hadn't changed since she was a young girl. The walls were covered with books and files, and she had a small bed for her to sleep in. They sat on the side of the bed and she was rubbing his back, telling him that everything was going to be fine.

She couldn't believe that that her mother was taken from her, or even that she now had a younger brother. She wanted to cry but stayed strong for her brother.

It's not that her mother was a bad person, they just never saw on eye to eye level ever since she was a child. While her mother was strict and no nonsense, her father liked to play around with her. He was a trained shinobi and taught her many tricks while her mother was usually at work.

Kurenai couldn't help but wipe a tear away. Her chest was soaked from Mark but she didn't mind. She wanted to be there to support him and she promised to protect him for as long as she could.

The black beauty looked down as she felt the sobs lessening. She could feel Mark's chakra slowly fading out; he was finally falling asleep.

Kurenai now couldn't decide what to do. On one hand, she wanted to stay and raise her brother. The village had nothing left, and she was almost certain that no one else here was good at healing. Her mother was the only doctor in the town ever since she was a little girl.

As much as she wanted to, however, she couldn't leave her team. They needed her more than anything right now. Hinata and Kiba suffered serious injuries while she wasn't harmed in the least. She felt that she failed them both as a sensei.

Kurenai placed Mark on the bed and tucked him in. She stood up and began looking around the office. The black haired woman was amazed at how much informational booklets her mom had stashed. She saw many books on sensing and medical ninjutsu as well. She continued to browse through the books, and made sure to seal some of the higher advance ones to share with the hospital in Konoha.

Kurenai took a seat on the chair in front of her mothers computer desk. She smiled, remembering how her mother wouldn't allow her to sit in this chair. "Doctors only" she would say as she shooed the young girl away. Curiosity got the best of her and she opened the top drawer.

Kurenai browsed through the drawer and saw nothing interesting. It mainly held office supplies, such as pencils and band aids. She quickly lost interest and opened the second.

Kurenai saw a lone binder in the drawer. It looked worn and used, so she decided to open it. What she saw surprised her.

The first page of the binder was a drawing. There were three people, a man, a lady, and a young girl. They were obviously family, the girl and father had black hair and red eyes while the mother had blue hair and black eyes. The people were each stick figures, drawn by a kid.

The kid was her.

Kurenai struggled to hold back the tears, but failed miserably at it. She remembered drawing this picture. She gave it to her mother on her third birthday. Her mother was so excited that she posted it on her office wall.

Kurenai continued flipping through the pages. She quickly realized that this was a collection of everything that she ever did. There were drawings like the first, her first tooth, and plenty of her papers from her preschool class. She was hit with a huge wave of nostalgia.

Kurenai flipped to the last page. On it was a note in what was unmistakably her mothers handwriting. She trembled as she gripped the note and began reading.

Dear Kurenai,

If you're reading this, then you and your pathetic father must have returned to this city. If you did, then I hope you have another mother, because I'm not dealing with his crap anymore. This is a letter, just too explain a few thing to you.

First off, I know that it seems like I'm harsh on you, but that's because your fathers so soft on you. He lets you get away with anything, and I just don't like it. A child needs discipline, that's the way I was raised. I never hated you, I just didn't want you to grow up and be spoiled like Rukia's kid. Since you're being raised by him alone, I won't even try to imagine how spoiled you are.

Second, I want to tell you that you have a brother. He's just like you were as a kid, a loud mouthed trouble-maker. He's rather small, however and gets bullied often. When you were a kid, you were beating down the other kids with no problem. He really didn't get your fire.

And final, I want you to be strong. I know it must be hard growing up with a single parent but you can do it. Become a powerful shinobi just like my father and his before him. Never let your students get hurt, and make sure to find a man that you love. I do want grand kids!

Love,

Kimiko Yuhi

PS: Know that I loved you, Kurenai. If I'm dead when you read this, I leave Mark in your hands. Do what you think is best for him, I raised you to be strong minded.

Kurenai was crying as she finished her letter. She couldn't hold back the fountain of tears that formed after the first sentence of the letter. She knew that under her mother's harsh exterior, there had to be the mother that she longed for.

The female shinobi read the letter over and over as her crying calmed down. After a few minutes, she wiped the tears off of her face and walked towards her baby brother.

She looked at the small boy and couldn't help but smirk. He favored her a lot, besides the black eyes and blue hair. She gave him a kiss on the head as she tucked him tighter into the blanket. "Tomorrow, baby brother, your dream will come true." A smile formed on her tear ridden face. "You will... become a shinobi."

XxxoxxX

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He grimaced and gripped his head as he felt a constant throbbing. A loud groan escaped his lips from exhaustion as he wiped his tired eyes.

As he lay there, he tried to remember what happened. Everything seemed to be a blur. He remembered fighting Deidara, as well as being healed by Ino. He could recall saving the citizens of the city with Ino and Goku-

Goku.

Naruto quickly sprung to his feet as he yelled his friends name. He slipped his feet into his sandals as he pulled on his jacket, ignoring the fact that he was dressed in a hospital gown. In a panicked haste he rushed towards the door.

"Hey Naruto, I hear that you're finally- whoa!" Bulma shrieked as the blonde bumped into her. They both released startled shouts as they fell to the ground.

Naruto fell face first. He landed on top of something soft, and he had to admit that it felt pretty good. He gripped his pillow as he pushed himself up. He then realized he was looking into the face of Bulma.

And she looked pissed.

Using his trained speed, Naruto quickly jumped off of the girl and backed up while blushing. He noticed the girls face was a bright red and she was gritting her teeth as she rose to her feet. He may have been imagining it but he swore he could see smoke rising from her head.

"B-B-Bulma, I can explain!" he yelled to deaf ears as she rolled up her sleeves and approached him. From someone looking in it would seem as if she were the trained shinobi from the fear present in his eyes. "I was ju-"

"Shut it, Pervert!" she yelled as she socked him on the head.

"Owww!" he yelled as he rubbed his throbbing plus pounding head. He ignored the insults that the girl threw his way as he tried to cope with the pain.

Bulma continued to glare at the blonde. "What are you doing out of bed? You're supposed to be resting!" she yelled at the recovering boy.

Naruto's eyes sprung open as he ignored the pain. "Goku!" he yelled as he jumped back to his feet. He quickly jumped onto the windowsill and was into the town before anyone knew what happened.

Bulma's anger died down, but the blush remained. This time however it was from the sight of the blondes butt. The standard hospital attire was open in the back and gave her a clear view of the pale buttocks.

She straightened her hair and clothes as she watched the concerned boy run off. She told herself that he was too young for her. If he were a bit older though…

The thoughts were pushed back down as quickly as they came. She shook her head vigorously. "I've been around those perverts too much…"

A small smile graced her face. Even though Naruto was hurt he still had enough energy to go and look for his friend. This quality was admirable in a child and one of his redeeming qualities.

With a chuckle she left the room. She decided that following the boy would be best. If he passed out in the street it wouldn't help anyone after all.

She didn't notice a giggling toad sitting under the bed, scratching away in a notepad. "This is gold!" he muttered away to himself.

XxxoxxX

Deidara sat in silence. He was not happy with himself.

Not only did his piece of shit partner ditch him, but he got his ass handed to him by the very person he was sent to retrieve. This was humiliating to the blonde. He couldn't see out of one eye, and the pain running through the numerous cuts and bruises on his body was unbearable.

Now he was tied up in a dark room all alone. He couldn't escape; that blasted old man set a paralyzation seal on him, on top of a chakra seal. He was simply a sitting duck, waiting to be thrown into a fiery pit.

Deidara spit on the floor. He couldn't believe how unlucky he was. He was only a member of the organization for a week and he already failed his first mission. And then that damned Sasori was just going to ditch him.

Tears involuntarily fell down Diedara's jawline as he grit his teeth. He was only fifteen! There was many things he wanted, and it was all being stripped from him prematurely. He couldn't believe that he was being held to be taken back to the strongest of the villages, the Leaf. He heard stories about their T&I Division, and none of them were good.

Deidara finally came to a decision. He didn't want to do it, but it was his only hope to make it out alive.

He had to tell them what they wanted to hear.

XxxoxxX

"Goku!" Naruto yelled for the umpteenth time. He was walking around the ruined city looking for any traces of his friend. He couldn't find anything in any of the destroyed buildings he checked. He checked in every hole, house, and even shed for his companion. His search was going on for over an hour, but he'd never give up.

"Goku!" Naruto yelled again. He was tired and in pain, but to Hell with it. Even if Goku was dead, he at least had to give him a proper burial. He refused to think of the boy being deceased though so he continued to search.

Naruto jumped on a stool standing pole and gazed over the city. He looked all around, but he couldn't see anything. It was then he saw a familiar red dot in the distance.

Naruto quickly leaped off the pole and took off towards the object. His heart rate accelerated as he ran and he almost fell over his own feet two times but he never stopped. When he got close he jumped, landing a few feet from his objective.

Naruto bent down and picked up the object. It was the small red pole that Goku owned. As he looked at it, he was overwhelmed with emotion. On one side, he could see a large black burn mark.

On the other side, he saw blood.

Naruto fell to his knees as he gripped the pole. He looked around for any traces of the boy, but all he could see was rubble. Naruto then saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

He rushed to the pile of rubble and froze. That was definitely what he thought it was. It was Goku's tail.

And it was moving!

Naruto quickly used his remaining strength to dig into the shattered building. He threw rocks and bricks out of his way as he dug for his friend. After a few seconds he saw the boy.

"N-Naruto?" Goku said weakly. He looked terrible. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, and parts of his gi was blown away, showing his body. One of his eyes were halfway open.

On Naruto's face was a smile from ear to ear. "Goku!" he yelled as he dived to hug his friend. Goku grimaced at the touch; he was still weak, but Naruto just kept hugging as tears flowed down his face. "Thank Kami you're alive!"

"Whose alive?" Naruto heard Bulma say. He released his friend and saw the entire gang standing behind him, excluding Kurenai's brat brother, Kiba and his pup, and Hinata.

Jiraiya smiled at the scene in front of him. "You're pretty tough, brat!" he said to Goku.

Roshi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I thought you were a goner kiddo. I couldn't sense you at all!"

Bulma quickly rushed to Goku's side. "Goku, thank goodness you're- wait. Are you okay?" she asked as she saw his face.

Goku shivered. His face was scrunched as if in pain and a long line of dribble was trickling down his chin.. "So... hungry..." he said, causing everyone to face plant.

"Yep, he's okay," Bulma responded as she rose to her feet.

XxxoxxX

The entire gang was gathered in front of the gates of Orange Star City. It has been three days since the battle had taken place. Everyone was silent; they just had a memorial service for Kimiko. After a short speech from Kurenai and a lot of tears from Mark the service was finished. A gentle use of a doton jutsu from Roshi and the lady was buried.

After everyone paid their respects they decided it was time to part ways. Naruto and Goku stood together talking about their favorite foods while Bulma fished through her capsules. Hinata and Ino were watching the two boys with blushes while Kiba glared at the attention they were gaining. Akamaru sat on his head, still bandaged up from the previous fight. Deidara's arms and legs were chained up and both being held by Kurenai. The lady was talking with Jiraiya and Roshi, trying her hardest not to strike the oldest for his inappropriate words.

Mark was sad at the funeral, but his spirits quickly rose when he was told he was going to become a shinobi.

"Oh boy sis! Really? No kidding?" Mark yelled as he hopped up and down, doing dances. Everyone laughed at the energetic boy.

"So, where are you guys going again?" Kurenai asked as she looked towards Jiraiya.

"That way!" Bulma pointed as she looked at her Dragon Radar.

Master Roshi nodded. "Yes. That way, my dear." He slowly walked towards Kurenai. "You wouldn't mind giving an old man a hee hee hee... goodbye kiss?" Roshi asked with a blush. Ino rolled her eyes at the old man.

"Pervert," Ino and Bulma both muttered under their breath.

"Sorry, I'm taken," Kurenai said with a slightly disgusted look. This caused Kiba to chuckle and Hinata to blush.

Kiba nudged Hinata's shoulder and nodded towards Naruto. The girls face turned blood red as she noticed him grabbing her and dragging her closer to the other three teens.

"Yo! Goku!" Goku turned towards the voice of Kiba with a smile.

"Hey! It's the puppy and Akamaru!" he said aloud.

"My name is Kiba, you stupid monkey!" Kiba yelled with a tick mark on his head. He sighed as he calmed himself. "Anyway, I want to thank you for saving our ass the other day." He reached his hand out with a feral grin. "But the next time we meet, I'll be saving your ass!" he said with a grin.

"OK!" Goku said with a smile as he shook Kiba's hand. "After you save my ass, you can save Naruto's too!"

Naruto glared at the two boys. "I don't need you guys to save me. In case you forgot, Yamcha ran from me!" he said with a smirk.

"Yeah yeah, after Goku broke his ribs maybe!" Kiba responded with a laugh.

Goku turned towards Hinata. He smiled as he held out his hand. "Can I save your ass too?" he asked innocently.

Hinata blushed harder than she ever did in her life. She didn't know how to respond to the heroic boy that saved her. She spared a glance at Naruto, feeling conflicted at the two cute and sweet boys.

For most her life Hinata had one objective: getting the blonde boy to show her attention. She admired his never faulting drive and overall happiness. Even though everyone was mean to him he always did his best to please them. When the other kids teased him he would simply make a statement about being Hokage. He was a ray of sunshine on the dark world that was her life.

And now there was Goku.

In the few days that she knew the boy, he went out of his way to make everyone happy. The boy always smiled and would talk to anyone about anything. Even when she was too shy to talk back he would continually speak, trying to find out if she was sick or tired. When she would faint he would catch her without fail. His strength and cute smile always could brighten the day.

And now she was stuck in the middle of the two boys. Her young hormonal mind could barely process what she was thinking when the two boys were around, especially when they were together. She was constantly red from blushing at the duo and was beyond sure that she would eventually burn up from the inside.

"Y-y-yes," Hinata responded. She held out her hand to shake his warily.

When their hands met, Hinata blushed darker than ever before. With a weak sigh she fell backwards. Kiba was used to this so he quickly got behind her and caught her.

Goku scratched his head in confusion. His eyes then widened in terror. "Did I hurt her?" he asked in a panicked tone.

"Nah, she does this all the time," Kiba said while his teammate agreed with a bark.

"Kiba, it's time," Kurenai said as she gripped Deidara's shackles, causing him to growl slightly. "Mark, keep up as best as you can." Kiba looked towards Kurenai and nodded. He shifted Hinata into a comfortable position on his back.

"Later guys!" he said as he took off in a sprint. Ino waved as she followed suit.

The five people left watched their friends disappear. "Well," Bulma exclaimed with an excited grin, "off to get those Dragon Balls!"

She pulled out the capsule she was looking for. After pressing the button and throwing it into the air, the capsule became a rather large luxury RV. The vehicle was big and blue. It had air conditioning, as well as a built in pool. The boys looked at it, each with astonished looks on their faces.

"Let me guess," Jiraiya said, "won it at an auction?"

Bulma giggled. "No, silly. I bought it when we made it to town! It was on sale for 250,000 zeni, I had to get it!" she said as she turned toward the vehicle. "Now, lets go!"

"Alright!" both boys yelled as they rushed to enter.

"Not so fast!" the boys froze as Master Roshi held his stick in the front of them.

"What, Pervy Gramps?" Naruto said with an annoyed tone.

"You're not riding in here," Jiraiya stated as he stepped in front of them and entered the vehicle. "You two will be training."

Goku's face lit up. "Oh boy, training?"

"What?" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice. He pointed at Jiraiya. "Is this one of you old geezers stupid plots to get alone with Bulma?" he demanded.

"No, of course not," Jiraiya said with a smirk. "It's just that I haven't taught you anything except water walking, which I don't think you mastered, and summoning. It's time to build your physical abilities."

Naruto glared at the man, not trusting anything he was saying. As much as he was happy to hear about training, he still didn't trust his words. "Well what do you have in mind?"

Jiraiya smiled as he stepped toward both boys. He placed a hand on each of their foreheads, smiling at their perplexed expressions. He then applied chakra and grinned at their grimace.

"W-what's happening?" Goku asked. His body was tense as he struggled to stand.

"What did you do?" Naruto demanded. He was faring much worse than his friend. While Goku was straining to stay standing, Naruto was crouched over in exertion.

"Relax," Jiraiya responded with a smile. "It's just weight seals. They're actually on the lower levels as well, only twenty pounds on each limb." He chuckled at the boy's struggle. "Now, keep up with us. I have some research to do!" he said with a giggle.

"Those bastards!" Naruto yelled as the vehicle cranked up.

"Come on, this should be fun!" Goku said with enthusiasm. He took slow steps with a strain after the moving car, which quickly became a jog.

"Wait up!" Naruto tried to follow the boy but could barely walk. He rose his eyes angrily at the sight of a laughing Goku trailing behind the vehicle. The boy looked to be struggling but he continued to move.

Naruto growled, deciding to give it another try. He took a step forward and grunted at the notion. He took another slowly and then another. Swear fell down his face at the effort but he didn't care.

"Hey Naruto," Goku yelled behind him, "if you don't catch up you'll get left!"

Naruto groaned once more. He unconsciously applied chakra to his limbs, making it easier to move. In a light jog he ran to attempt catching up to the retreating figures of his friends. "Shut up, I'm coming!"

XxxoxxX

Another chapter! Sorry it took a while but it's here. I hope you enjoy it. Although it is kind of a filler, it was mainly for the sake of character development.

One more thing. See, I'm interested in co-writing a story with someone. If there are any good authors that like this story send me a PM. Anyway please if you have time read and review!