Chapter Ten:

Recap:

Inari didn't turn around, but as he watched the sea, he also said a quiet, "Goodnight…"

End Recap

2 days later…

Haku, the fake Hunter-nin, kneeled down next to a sleeping Naruto, who was passed out on the forest floor. His hand lingered over Naruto's neck in the strangling position before going to his shoulder and shaking him roughly.

At Tazuna's house…

"Good morning." Sakura yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"So, Naruto didn't come back last night either?" Tazuna asked, looking at the table.

"He's stupid, so he's been climbing trees by himself every night. He's probably dead from excessive chakra use." Sakura said, looking like she could care less about him.

"Is Naruto okay? A child staying out all night by himself…" Kairi (Tazuna's daughter) asked.

"There's no need to worry. He is a decent ninja, even if he doesn't look like one." Kakashi said in a cheery voice.

"I'm leaving. Thanks for the food." Kagome said, getting up from the table and leaving out the door. But before she could take even five steps away, Inari came running out of the house. He grabbed her sleeve, making her look down at him.

"Can I…go with you?" he asked shyly. Kagome looked stunned, but quickly recovered and nodded. They left together in a comfortable silence.

"…Inari?" Kairi trailed off with wide eyes. That was the first time in ages that Inari had stayed in the same place with someone for more than an hour. It was also the first time in ages that he had actually wanted someone to stay with him.

"Seems little Inari has taken a liking to Kagome." Kakashi said, smiling. Tazuna and Kairi simply looked at the now empty doorway with wide eyes.

Sasuke got up and headed for the door. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I'm…going for a walk."

"What about breakfast?" Sakura said, looking at his plate. She twitched and gave a freaked-out smile when she saw that the plate was empty. "Fast…"

In the forest with Naruto…

Haku shook the sleeping ninja's shoulder. "You're going to catch a cold if you sleep there."

Naruto woke up and flopped into a sitting position. "Who're you?" Then he looked closer and blushed, mistaking Haku for a girl. "Did you wake me up, nee-chan (older sister)? By the way, what are you doing here?"

"Picking herbs."

"Herbs?"

"Yes, it's to cure illnesses and injuries." Haku said, smiling.

"Why are you doing such a tedious job in the morning?" Naruto asked, helping him pick herbs.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Haku countered Naruto's question with his own question.

Naruto grinned. "Training!"

Haku looked surprised. "Are you a ninja or something? That hitai-ate…"

"Do I look like one? Do I look like one?" Naruto asked eagerly. "Yes! I'm a ninja!"

"Wow, you're amazing." Haku said, smiling. After a long talk with Haku, Haku straightened and brushed some dirt off and picking up his basket.

"You….will become strong." Haku said, turning and walking away. "Let's meet again somewhere." Naruto nodded with a grin on his face. "Oh, by the way, "Haku said, stopping. "I'm a man." Then he walked away and out of sight.

Naruto's jaw dropped. 'How?! He's cuter than Sakura-chan!'

--

Sasuke walked towards where Naruto would be, and passed Haku. He stopped and looked at his back before continuing on and punching Naruto in the head, who was pondering the mysteries of the world ever since he found out that Haku was a man.

"Ouch, what are you doing?!" Naruto cried, cradling his head.

"Did you forget about breakfast, you idiot?" Sasuke twitched when he saw Naruto smirking at him.

With Kagome and Inari…

"Okay, listen Inari. I'm going to give you this stone. You see the way it's glowing purple?" Inari nodded, holding the stone as if it were a precious jewel. "Well, when you're in danger, hold this stone and call my name, okay? It's infused with some of my energy, so I'll know and come help you. It only works for one time so don't waste it, got it?"

Kagome smiled when Inari nodded quickly, still holding the stone carefully. "Come on, let's get home for dinner. Your mom's probably worried since we already skipped lunch." Inari was still quiet and withdrawn, but he looked a little happier, and that made Kagome happy as well.

"Why are you giving it to me?" Inari asked while they were walking.

"Because, you are important to me, your grandpa, your mom and the villagers. And we protect people that are important to us." Inari's eyes widened until they couldn't possibly get any wider but he kept silent, looking down at the ground.

On the way back, Kagome spotted Naruto hanging upside-down from a tree branch and her eyes widened when he fell. Sasuke thankfully stepped in, but even he didn't have much chakra left, so Kagome quickly ran in and threw a piece of rope so that it looped around the tree branch and wrapped around Sasuke's leg at the same time. Then she slowly lowered the rope until they crumpled softly onto the ground.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sakura thanked Kagome for saving 'her' Sasuke-kun. Kakashi just looked happy that they didn't get seriously injured by falling from that high. Kakashi and Sakura headed back with them, Sasuke and Naruto staying to keep trying to climb up to the top of the tree.

--

As they were eating, Sasuke suddenly walked into the room, supporting Naruto. They both were dirty and tired, but they looked oddly pleased with themselves.

"We both climbed to the very top!" Naruto said happily.

"Naruto, Sasuke, you guys guard Tazuna-san next time as well." Naruto, overeager waved his arm that was not being supported, wildly, causing both of them to fall over. Chuckles were heard all around.

Inari looked at Naruto, noting how tired and beat up he looked, then at his plate sullenly, remember his father and how he had been killed, his father smiling until the last moment.

"Why….why are you trying so hard that you end up like that?" Inari yelled, tears leaking out. "You can't beat Gatoh's men even if you train! No matter how hard you try and say those nice-sounding words…weak people are going to lose against strong people!"

Everyone stared at him. "Shut up, I'm different from you." Naruto said, laying his head back onto the table.

Inari cried even harder and shouted even louder. "Shut up! It pisses me off when I watch you! You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy! I'm different from you, someone who doesn't know any real pain and just laughs all the time!"

Naruto's tone darkened. "Is that why you're pretending to be the main character of a tragedy and just crying? An idiot like you can just keep crying. You crybaby!"

"Naruto! That's too much." Sakura lashed out. Naruto simply got up from the table and left.

Out at the back of the house…

Kagome sat down next to Inari and looked out at the water and the sky with him.

"Naruto didn't say those words out of spite. He's stubborn. He also grew up without a father. Actually, he doesn't know what parents are. He also didn't have a single friend." Kagome said quietly. Inari looked at her shocked. "He grew up hated by most of the villagers. All his childhood, he was alone, being called a monster by everyone. No one would even go near him. However, I've never seen him cry, get sulky or grow timid."

"Really?" Inari asked, getting over his immediate shock. Kagome nodded.

"Yup. He was always desperate to make people recognize him. And he's able to put his life on the line for that dream. He's probably tired of crying now." Inari looked at Kagome, before looking down at his feet. "That's probably why he knows the true meaning of strength. Just like your father. Naruto might be the one who understands you most. What Naruto said to you before were probably the words that he's been telling himself over and over again."

"That's just stupid." Inari mumbled. "He'll just end up getting killed in the end." Even as he said that, Kagome saw that he was a little less sad and a little more hopeful.

"Well, like your dad said, 'protect what is important to you with your own two arms, no matter how tough it is, even if it costs you your life.' That's what I plan to do, Inari. Me, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei. We're going to protect you, your grandpa and this whole town so that the bridge can be competed and these people can have a new hope that this town can be saved." Kagome finished talking and stood up, brushing off her pants. "Goodnight, Inari."

Inari watched Kagome leave with wide eyes, before he resumed watching the sea. "Goodnight…"

Kakashi chuckled. He had been standing near them, hidden behind a wall. "I can't believe Kagome told him the exact words I was going to say to Inari. Although, it sounds like she understood exactly what Naruto went through…"

The next morning…

"Please look after Naruto for us." Kakashi said, exiting the house with Sasuke and Sakura. Kagome had decided to stay with Naruto saying, "You know he's probably going to wake up, then panic because we left him behind and get lost in the forest. I'll stay with him so that I can guide him to the bridge."

Sure enough, Naruto woke up and in a flurry of clothes, changed, ran outside and started to jump from tree to tree to the bridge. Kagome followed, sighing.

--

When Tazuna got to the bridge, he yelled out in surprise, seeing all his workers lying facedown, beaten up.

"What happened?" he yelled.

'It can't be…' Kakashi thought, his brows furrowed. A heavy mist surrounded the bridge, and Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura surrounded Tazuna.

"He's shaking again. How pitiful." Zabuza said, his clones appearing out of the mist, surrounding their protective circle. Sasuke simply smirked.

"I'm shaking with excitement." In a matter of seconds, Sasuke wiped out all of the clones, turning them into harmless water.

"Oh? He can defeat the water clones. He got stronger. A rival for you, Haku." Zabuza said, appearing a couple feet away from Kakashi with the fake Hunter-nin beside him.