For anyone that's interested, I've created a Facebook page, where I'll be posting not only my updates, but also questions, polls, statuses about my writing, update schedules, milestones, new story ideas, and basically anything writing related I feel like posting. I would love to interact with my readers so feel free to post on the page. The link is: cheylaenne or just search Cheyla in the Facebook search bar. The page's profile picture is a black and white baby dragon so you know you've found the right page.
Enjoy!
When Naruto saw the first building, he pushed away from his teammates. He would walk on his own from now on.
The entire journey back, the shinobi had been silently berating himself. Something about that last fight had felt off and he needed to find out why.
And to find out why, he had to find Akahana. She was probably the only one that could decently understand his relationship with the Kyuubi and how that was affecting his shinobi abilities. Naruto doubted that if he asked a Konoha shinobi what was going on that they would be able to answer him but there was a high probability that Akahana would know what was going on.
The debriefing of the second exam and an explanation of what the third exam would entail was brief. Only four teams had made it to the third exam, including the Konoha genin. A genin team from the Village Hidden by the Animals had also made it to the final exam, as well as the genin team from the Sand Village. The fourth team came from the Village Hidden by the Clouds.
Once the debriefing was finished, Naruto followed Konohamaru and Moegi outside the room and blinked when he saw all of the other Konoha shinobi waiting for them.
"We saw you arrive," Kakashi explained at their confused looks. "We decided to come meet you for a meal before we go back to the inn. Before you can rest, you need food in your stomachs."
"That might have to wait," Moegi said. "Unless Sakura-san can heal us while we're eating. Naruto's hurt the worst."
"I am not!" Naruto immediately protested but already Sakura's eyes were on him. The blonde shinobi shifted under her gaze and the movement sent a jolt of pain throughout his entire torso and lower body. Immediately, Naruto could sense he had made a mistake and that he wouldn't be able to get away from the Konoha entourage until Sakura had taken care of the majority of his injuries.
It didn't mean that he had to put up with it quietly though. It was with numerous protests that Naruto, Moegi, and Konohamaru were brought to the inn and once inside, it took Kakashi, Sai, and Shikamaru to pin Naruto down while Sakura examined his injuries.
"What the hell happened to you in that forest?" Sakura demanded as she finished up her preliminary exam. "Nearly half of the bones in your lower body were broken and healed without being reset. You shouldn't be able to move, let alone stand and walk! I'm going to have to re-break half of these bones to set them right and heal them again. I don't know if you'll be ready for the third exam in time."
Naruto cringed upon hearing that but didn't offer any answer to the kunoichi's questions. Instead, Kakashi and Shikamaru gestured for Sakura to start the re-breaking and healing process. Both readily believed that the Kyuubi would be able to heal Naruto in time and weren't particularly worried.
A few hours later, Sakura was finished and deemed Naruto ready for an unbroken night's rest. Her words of warning to not move too much were barely heeded as Naruto pulled himself to his feet and stumbled to the other room.
The rooms at the inn were quickly wearing on Naruto's nerves. There weren't enough rooms for each shinobi to have one to themselves and therefore, no matter what room Naruto was in, there always seemed to be another one of his comrades waiting for him.
"Fire!"
Naruto stopped grumbling and his head jerked up. He poked his head out the window and looked around, wondering where the call had come from.
"Fire!" the warning call came a second time and it took Naruto a fraction of a second to realize that the inn was the building on fire. He grabbed his travel pack, which he hadn't unpacked yet, and went to warn the other Konoha shinobi. While they were distracted with gathering all of their supplies, Naruto took the opportunity to sneak out the window and climb on to the roof of the building next to the inn.
Shinobi from all villages were rushing to help put out the fire as the blonde shinobi made his escape. Naruto deposited his pack before rushing back into the building and searching for any other guests that hadn't heard the warning shouts. It was good that he returned, because Naruto was able to locate two civilian children trapped on the third floor, too scared to venture out of their room. He hoisted the eldest one onto his back before picking the younger one up around the waist.
The fire was closing up the entrance Naruto had taken into the room but a well-placed punch shattered the window and allowed them an easy alternate. Naruto leaped away from the burning building once again but this time, instead of stopping at the next building over, he made his way down the street so the two children weren't anywhere close to the former inn.
"Naruto!" Sakura called when she spotted him and waved him over. Naruto hesitated as he set down the children and looked around for where he was needed next. Sakura would be checking other shinobi over for smoke inhalation, he could deduce, but after the healing he had just gone through, Naruto didn't want to go through another examination.
Catching a feline form out of the corner of his eye, Naruto turned in the other direction and saw Hotaru pacing on the other side of the street. Her pacing was almost…nervous.
Not caring who saw him, Naruto went over to the agitated feline who the other shinobi were avoiding at all costs.
"Where's Akahana?" he asked when he got close enough. Hotaru snarled at him before she realized who he was.
"Doing something stupid," the hellcat replied. "What did you do? You smell different."
"Probably because I ran into a burning building," Naruto stated dryly. Hotaru shook her head and shoulders.
"No, not that," she growled. "I'm used to that. I'm not called a hellcat for no reason, after all. No…you smell almost edible."
That comment sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. He had grown used to Hotaru over the months that he had worked with Akahana but it still creeped him out when Hotaru threatened to eat him.
"Something's wrong with me," he admitted. "I sensed it during the second exam. I was hoping that Akahana might have some ideas."
"What about your teammates?" Hotaru questioned, growling at a shinobi that ventured too close to their conversation.
"They wouldn't know where to start," Naruto said. "They know some things about Kurama but not as much as this village would."
Hotaru didn't reply as there was suddenly a large explosion.
"Fire must have found the gas line they use to heat the baths," the feline muttered. "That idiot kunoichi better have gotten out in time. I've spent too much time training her to be saddled with a barely trained child once again."
The hellcat must have forgotten that Naruto was there because she bounded toward the fire. The shinobi drew away as she passed them and Naruto's blue eyes widened as Hotaru leaped into the fire without a second thought.
"More and more it seems like the animals the shinobi utilize in this village have minds of their own." Naruto turned to face Kakashi, who was standing where Hotaru had been pacing. "They seem to be more than just summons, who will do whatever the shinobi who holds their contracts orders, despite some complaining. The ones here…"
"This is the village where all of the summoning contracts originated," Naruto informed his teacher. There was no point in holding back the information, since it could be easily found if any shinobi ventured into a library or government building. "Of course they're a bit different."
Kakashi stared at Naruto for a second before his one eye narrowed.
"I think I'd like to learn more about these original summons, especially that feline one that just left. Next time you meet with the kunoichi that works with her, you should bring Shikamaru and me along."
Naruto recognized it not as a request but as an order. He sighed.
"I can try," he said. "But neither of them particularly like people in general, let alone outsiders. I never figured out why they bothered putting up with me, especially when I see the way they treat others."
A smile crossed Kakashi's lips under his mask. "You have a way with people, Naruto," he said, "especially those that have been deemed outsiders. Beyond that, I think the answer will be a lot more obvious than you expect."