Hello Everyone! I actually am still working on this story, isn't it lovely? And this update and the next one is all thanks to ItsGayLove for reviewing lately and reviewing on other stories of mine. Enjoy!
Riz woke to pounding on her door and glared before shouting at them to shut up and just come in. She covered her head with a blanket as they came into the room.
"A game? This is such a wonderful expression of Youth! So much so that we could not contain our joy and decided to come to try and convince you to begin such a Youthful experience sooner than five tonight!"
"No! I wasn't even planning on getting up until then! Now get out! I'm sleeping!"
"But you are speaking with us! Which shows you are awake and ready to begin this Youthful day!" Riz twitched.
"OUT!" She screamed at them while throwing the nearest large object, which happened to be the nightstand, at the spandex-wearing, wake-people-up-way-too-early-in-the-morning, pair. The group of people that were about to go ask her about the invites stopped when Gai and Lee crashed into the wall next to them in a pile of rubble and broken wood, thankful that they weren't the ones to wake her.
"We'll just talk to her later…" Everyone but Makoto and Shin left. Shin smirked and walked into her kitchen with a bucket.
"Sir, what are you doing?"
"You might want to leave Makoto." Makoto shook his head and followed his captain into Riz's room.
"If I did that, you might end up dead." They lowered their voices.
"I could easily make it out of here. I am the ANBU captain. You seem to think she could best me." Makoto didn't answer, opting to stand against the wall instead as Shin quickly dumped the bucket of water on the spot where she used to be. Shin didn't move as she pressed a kunai to his throat. Killer intent radiated off every inch of her skin.
"In case you didn't get the message when I threw the last two out, I don't like to be woken up when I don't have to, and I will attack you!" She threw him through the wall and out into the hallway, "Now get out and leave me alone!" She glared at the retreating figures and teleported herself into Iruka's house.
"Ruka! I'm sleeping here today!" She called before climbing into his bed and quickly falling asleep. Iruka walked back into his bedroom and shook his head, before he finished getting dressed and walking out of his house.
"I'll be back later."
Riz woke at one to Iruka walking back into the house. She blinked sleepily up at him and yawned before smiling.
"G'morning Ruka…" Iruka smiled.
"It's afternoon Riz." She tilted her head and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry for stealing your bed all day."
"It's fine. Come on, breakfast."
"Lunch Ruka, you said it was afternoon!"
"Brunch then." She grinned and hopped up, following after him like a puppy.
"I can cook Ruka!" He shook his head.
"No thanks, I'm fine Riz. Go sit down." She pouted slightly but went to sit down anyway.
"I can almost hear you pouting Riz." She laughed and hugged him. He twisted away.
"I'm trying to cook here!"
"Come on Ruka, be nice! I could just tickle you…" She smirked.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm back in the classroom when I'm with you." She rolled her eyes.
"Sure Ruka, except for the fact that I'm a higher rank then you and everything, ne?" He laughed and tossed the spoon at her.
"I still wonder why they think you have enough mental stability to be a higher rank!"
"I've wondered that myself actually." She grinned, "But then again, somehow Kakashi had gotten into a higher rank too. Someone had to have been completely smashed when they went over him."
"Or maybe he was actually better then." She shrugged.
"Maybe. I'm eating now." Iruka rolled his eyes and walked away.
"You had better hurry up, you'll need to set things up for this game of yours."
"Right! You are coming, ne?"
"You didn't really give anyone a choice, now did you?" She laughed.
"I guess not." She finished eating quickly and ran back to her apartment, eying the broken wall in amusement before sighing.
"I should probably fix that first."
She arrived at the training grounds just before five to see that everyone was all ready there, even though most of them didn't look too happy about it. She grinned and passed out slips of paper for everyone to write their names on and then placed a jar on either side of her, one pink, and one blue.
"Okay everyone, put your paper in one of the jars, depending on gender. She watched them all slowly place the papers in a jar before sitting down and watching her.
"For those of you not familiar with the rules, it's simple. Just draw a name out of one of the jars, read it aloud and put it back. Then you and whoever's name you pulled will go into that closet type room for seven minutes to see if anything interesting happens. There will be no byakugan or sharingan allowed in this game, so don't even try it. I have it rigged so I'll know and if you do, then I get to come up with a penalty for you. Okay? Good. I think Ruka should go first!"
"What? Why me?"
"Because I said so. Come on now, don't be shy." She help up the girl's jar for him to pick from. He quickly reached in and snatched one, reading it quickly before putting it back and walking into the closet blushing.
"Ayame." The door shut after she went in and they just stood there for a minute staring at each other.
"So, how have you been Ayame?"
"Fine, you? I haven't seen you or Naruto at Ichiraku's lately."
"I'm fine. I guess not huh? We've been busy. His team is supposed to be getting a mission soon."
"Really? Is it another D-rank?"
"I hope not, but it will probably be a C-rank at best." She laughed.
"I can all ready hear him complaining about it."
"Yeah, we're never going to hear the end about how he always gets stuck with low-ranked missions." They chatted a bit more before the door opened and they went to sit back down.
"Next up, Kakashi!" He grabbed one and read it before casually strolling into the closet.
"Hinata." The girl blushed and stammered out a "What?" before being pushed into the closet after the jounin. Kakashi just pulled out his book, lifting up his hitai-ai to read it.
"U-m, we're not s-supposed to use the b-byakugan or sh-sharingan." He ignore her and the door was flung open as Riz pulled Hinata out and shoved Gai in before taking the book and shutting the closet again.
"I told you no sharingan!"
"Ah! My Eternal Rival Kakashi! What a joy it is to share this Youthful time with you!" Kakashi paled and tried to open the door only to find out Riz had sealed it.
"NO!" Riz smirked as everyone turned to her in shock. Seven minutes later of listening to Kakashi bang his head against the wall and Gai going on about how unyouthful it was and how they should really enjoy this time spent together in the springtime of their youth, the door opened and Kakashi tried to leave before being pulled back by Riz and forced to stay for the remainder of the game.
"Gai, pick a name and go back in there!" She almost sang out, entirely too happy to be safe for everyone sitting down. Gai ran over and picked a slip of paper, calling it out joyfully and heading back into the closet.
"Ino!" She paled, but followed him in anyway. The door closed and they heard Gai lecturing on youth again before there was a thud and then silence. The door opened and Ino came back out and sat down. Riz went in and collected Gai, taking the flowers off of him and helping him to sit down.
"I guess I forgot to mention that you can't attack them!" Ino shrugged.
"It was better than listening to all of that again!" Riz just shook her head and pointed to Naruto.
"Your turn Naru-chan!" He bounced up and grabbed a paper.
"Hinata?" He looked over to her and she blushed bright red.
"Into the closet you two! And don't forget, the main point of the game, although it hasn't happened yet, is to at least kiss!" Riz pushed them in and shut the door happily before going to extract the poison from Gai. Naruto grinned at the bright red Hinata.
"Wait, are you okay? You seem hot." Her eyes just widened and she shook her head.
"I-I'm f-fine." Naruto grinned again.
"Well, Atsura did say the point was to kiss." He leaned forward and kissed her, making her freeze. She unconsciously kissed him back. When she realized what was happening though, she instantly fainted.
"Ah! Hinata? Are you okay!" The door opened and Riz grabbed the unconscious girl and pulled her out while grinning madly.
"Well, that was fun, ne?" Naruto just looked between Hinata and Riz.
"Is she going to be okay? Did I do something?"
"No Naru-chan! You're perfectly fine! Go sit down, she'll be all right in a minute or so. Sasu-chan, you're up!"
"No."
"Refusal to play gains a penalty. Now, what should yours be?" She smirked when he got up and grabbed a paper before glaring at it.
"You." She froze, nearly dropping Hinata before she gently put her down and smiled.
"Well, into the closet then." She looked back to see Kakashi trying desperately not to laugh and Sakura and Ino glaring at her.
"You made sure he picked you! You just wanted to be alone with him!" Riz rolled her eyes, but didn't bother to argue with the girls. After all, saying she wasn't into incest would probably raise some interesting questions. Sasuke glared and walked into the closet after her. The door shut behind them and Sasuke continued to glare at her. She tilted her head and smiled at him.
"I'm not going to bite you Sasu-chan. I'm not even going to kiss you." He just continued to glare at her and press himself farther against the wall. Her look became softer and she hugged him, whispering in his ear.
"I wish you wouldn't hate me so much." He just stiffened and tried to push her off. She let him go and stood against the wall. Her face settling into the common Uchiha mask for the rest of the time as she watched him. She tilted her head and smiled just before the door opened.
"Poor Sasu-chan is scared of me!" She nearly danced out of the closet and sat back down. Sasuke glared at everyone and sat as far from her as possible, the slightest confusion on his face.
"Okay! Next up is Hina-chan!" She ignored Kakashi's, Iruka's, and Gai's slightly worried looks and help the jar up for the now-awake Hinata. She shyly reached in and pulled out a name.
"M-Makoto." Makoto looked up in surprise and followed her into the closet. Seven minutes of awkward silence passed and the door opened to let them out.
"It's a good thing I wasn't expecting anything to happen. Pink-chan?" Sakura grabbed her paper while still glaring at Riz. She paled when she read the name.
"Gai." Riz burst out laughing. The girl walked into the closet like it was the last thing she would ever do. Gai followed her happily. The door closed and Gai instantly started on how wonderful it was to be in there with her. Soon, he began to talk about how wonderful Lee was and how she should take a hold of her youth and date him.
"Well, while we're waiting for Sakura to hit him, you're next to pick Pup-chan."
"Finally!" He jumped up and grabbed the first paper he could.
"Ayame!"
"Again?" Riz nodded.
"Well, I would much rather have you two in there than listening to any more of Gai's speech to Sakura, so how about we let them out early?" She got up and opened the door, standing aside as Sakura calmly walked back and sat next to Sasuke closer than before and glaring a challenge at Riz. Riz smirked back and let Kiba and Ayame through. The door clicked shut on a grinning Kiba. Seven minutes later revealed a blushing Ayame and a grinning Kiba. Riz perked up and smiled at that.
"Great! Next up is Bug-chan!" He calmly grabbed a paper, read it, and walked into the closet to wait.
"Hinata." Riz smiled.
"Well, aren't you the popular one today." Hinata blushed and walked into the closet. Riz stretched as the door shut.
"Well, I'm going to go get something to eat. Anyone else want something?" Some people nodded and Riz headed off.
"Ruka, you want to come? Oh, and if they get out before I come back, Ino is up next. Gai, make sure no one cheats!" Iruka got up and followed her to the store. They got back with a few bags full of snacks as Ino and Makoto came out of the closet.
"Oh! You picked Makoto Flower-chan? How fun!" She smiled as they sat back down, "Looks like we got back just in time. Ano… It's Laze-chan's turn!" He grabbed a paper.
"Troublesome… Ayame." He strolled into the closet and waited.
"Wow Ayame, you should feel so loved!" Riz laughed and Ayame walked into the closet and greeted Shikamaru.
"Can we go ahead and pick the next one while waiting?"
"Sure. Choji's next." He finished his snack and grabbed a paper.
"Sakura." Shikamaru and Ayame came out a moment later and Choji followed Sakura in. Riz had Tenten pick while waiting.
"Ten-chan's next!"
"All right. I got… Naruto!" Riz smiled and went to open the door. Sakura was leaning against the wall thinking, and Shikamaru was half-asleep.
"That wasn't seven minutes."
"I doubt anything else was going to happen. Ten-chan and Naru-chan are going in now."
"How troublesome." Riz pulled them out and Naruto and Tenten instantly went in. As soon as the door closed Tenten grinned.
"Well, we should make this more fun than basically anyone else so far." Tenten kissed Naruto, and he happily kissed her back. The next seven minutes passed like that, with them occasionally parting. They came out grinning and watched Riz cheer up immediately at it. She clapped her hands together.
"Wonderful! Lee, you're next!"
"Wonderful! It's my turn to-!" Riz clamped a hand over his mouth.
"We don't need to hear it. Just pick a name please." Lee grinned and grabbed a slip.
"Ino!"
"What?"
"In you go! Remember, it's a game, so have fun!" Riz pushed her in after Lee. Lee gave Ino a thumbs up.
"In the Youthful spirit of Springtime, I will try my best to follow what is supposed to happen in this game!"
"What?" Lee quickly kissed her and she tried to back away. Eventually pushing him off her and beginning to hit him with her 16-hit combo. She had almost succeeded when Riz opened the door.
"I said you can't attack them!"
"Too bad!" Riz smirked dangerously.
"Fine then." She quickly tied Ino's hands behind her back and closed the door again.
"Lee, it is far more youthful to keep up with the game than to not!" Ino screamed before it was muffled. Some people looked at Riz warily as she grinned.
"Well, I do sort of feel bad for her." She turned to Sasuke and grinned before re-opening the door, untying Ino, pulling Lee out, and shoving Sasuke in. Sakura screamed angrily and had to be held back so she didn't attack Riz.
"Is there something wrong Sakura? It's not like I'm leaving them in there very long." She pulled open the door and yanked both of them out with a grin, "Okay! Neji, you're up next!" He carefully took a paper out and glared at the name.
"No."
"After seeing me basically torture others, you're going to refuse to play? And here I thought you were smarter than that." He glared.
"I am not going in there with you." Riz looked at him as if someone she loved had just rejected her and then died a horrible death.
"But why not Neji? You're hurting my feelings here." Her eyes filled with tears, "Is there something wrong with me?" The grounds were silent as Neji took a step back. He heard some of the group begin to whisper.
"How could he refuse that face!"
"He's being so mean!"
"He's making her cry!"
"She's only been trying to be nice!"
"She only been in Konoha for about a year, and she's all ready being rejected and pushed away!"
"How could he do that?" Neji sweat-dropped and took another step back as she inched closer.
"I refuse to go in there with you!" Riz burst out crying and Neji was suddenly bombarded by some of the others.
"How could you make her cry like that!"
"You're so mean Neji!"
"What's so hard about going into the closet with her?"
"She's been nice to you!"
"She's even invited you to that last party, and now to this, and you won't even try to be nice to her?" Neji caved.
"Fine." He walked into the closet and Riz smiled happily and followed him. The door closed and Neji backed into the wall, refusing to look at her.
"Cheer up Neji, it's not that bad. And this is the only time you've been in here!" She laughed.
"You cheered up quickly." Riz smirked.
"Of course I did, I got what I wanted. Now I just need that ring back."
"Too bad." She went closer to him.
"Please?" She pouted.
"No." She sighed.
"All right then, you don't need to give it to me, but how about a deal? If I can make you blush, then I get it back?" Neji smirked.
"It won't happen. Deal." Riz's eyes sparkled and she kissed him, pressing against him fully. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled him against her. Eventually releasing him and beginning to kiss his neck, slowly going lower and sliding her hands up his shirt.
"What are you doing?"
"Playing the game love, why? Does this bother you?" She licked his neck.
"Stop that!" She kissed him again, letting him go just barely before the door opened. Everyone stared at them. Riz calmly strode out and sat back down. Everyone stared at Neji, with his wide eyes, hair messed up and coming loose from its tie, his shirt crumpled where Riz had pushed her hands under, and a light blush gracing his featured. Riz smirked and held out her hand.
"You're blushing Neji. The ring back please." His eyes focused back on her and he glared with the byakuugan activated.
"Cheat!" He managed to hiss out.
"As I recall, there were no rules about how I would get you to blush. Give me the ring."
"I will, but I need to see Lord Hiashi first." He left and Riz's eyes narrowed.
"Continue the game. Makoto is next, followed by Kurenai." She ran off after Neji. Gai, Iruka, and Kakashi all looked at each other worriedly. Makoto got up to pick his paper.
Riz tried to tackle Neji, but he had kept his byakugan activated and dodged her. She went after him again and finally did tackle him.
"Give me the ring!" Neji smirked.
"Bad timing." Riz froze and looked up at Hiashi.
"What is going on here?"
"I'm sorry, were we in the way? I was just messing around." Hiashi glared at the two.
"You have no time for such things as shinobi." He activated his byakugan to emphasize his point and froze while staring at Riz. Her eyes widened before she grabbed the ring from Neji and ran off. She made it back to the training grounds in record time and hid behind Iruka, pulling Kakashi and Gai around her too.
"So… what did I miss?" They looked at her oddly.
"Well… Makoto went in with Ino again, and Kurenai and Choji just came out. Who's next?" Kakashi tapped on her arm in code. "What happened?"
"Asuma is next." She lowered her voice, "I got my ring back, but ran into Hiashi doing it. He activated his byakugan and…" She trailed off and Kakashi tapped her arm again. "Does he know?"
"I'm not sure. I think he's confused about it. Here Kashi, your ring back. We're not dating anymore, so I shouldn't keep it."
"Is he coming?" Iruka whispered. She shook her head.
"I have no idea."
"Atsura." She glanced up sharply to see Asuma looking at her with a slip of paper in his hand.
"You got me?"
"Looks like it." She smiled.
"Cool." She walked into the closet after him. After a minute of silence she began to fidget.
"Are you going to do anything?"
"No." She sighed.
"I wonder if they'll let us out early then." He shrugged and leaned against a wall for the remainder of the time. When they came out Hiashi was just coming into the clearing, surprising Hinata and just about everyone else.
"F-father? What are you d-doing here?"
"I need to speak with Atsura." Riz hid behind Kakashi, Iruka, and Gai again. She tapped on Kakashi's arm. "Is his byakugan activated?" Kakashi nodded slightly.
"Sorry, but we're actually in the middle of a game here! Perhaps later?"
"Now."
"Later."
"Now."
"What don't you understand about later?" Hiashi walked towards them and Kakashi got up.
"Maa… You should let her finish the game. It couldn't hurt." He smiled as Hiashi paused before nodding curtly.
"Fine, but make sure she comes to see me right after." Kakashi waved him off.
"Of course." Hiashi disappeared and Riz let out a breath.
"Okay… well, Michiko? You're next!" Michiko drew Kakashi and they headed into the closet for a while. Riz heard them talk a little before it was quiet again. They came out at the end of their time and sat down, Kakashi still next to Riz.
"Okay… Ayame?" She pulled Makoto and when the door opened at the end of their time they were both blushing slightly. Next was Shin with Tenten. Riz rolled her eyes when they came out and got up to pick her paper.
"Okay, this is the last one! The game is over when I come out!"
"Can we leave if you don't pick us?" Riz shrugged.
"Sure. Take the snacks with you!" She read her paper gladly, "Makoto!" He got back up and headed into the closet after her as almost everyone else left. Iruka, Gai, and Kakashi stayed.
Riz smiled at Makoto.
"Well? Please say you're going to do something, otherwise this game really was a waste of time." He rolled his eyes.
"Fine." He leaned down and kissed her gently. She hugged him and they stayed like that until the door opened. She smiled at him and walked over to the remaining three as Makoto left and the closet collapsed.
"So, any ideas on how I can completely avoid Hiashi for the rest of my life?"
"You should just go see him and explain everything. He might be okay with it."
"I'm sorry, did you forget who we're talking about here? This is Hiashi, not Gai, Iruka, or you. It's completely different."
"How? You were pretty much the only Uchiha that had ever gotten along with the Hyuugas. I thought Hiashi had been a friend."
"A friend that will kill me!"
"Now, why would he do that?"
"That's like asking why Iruka would, and did, hit me!" Kakashi shrugged.
"Oh well, not my problem." He began to leave.
"What? Kashi!" He looked back at her coldly.
"It isn't. You dumped me and all, so I don't see how it would be my problem." He left and Riz just stared at the spot in shock. Gai patted her back.
"It will be all right! We will-!"
"No. Just… Just stop." She turned and left, leaving the pair watching her leave with different expressions of worry and grief on their faces.
The next morning and Riz was pacing in front of the Hyuuga complex, trying to figure out how to not be killed. Neji came out, heading off to meet with Gai.
"What do you want?"
"Be nice Neji." She sighed exasperatingly, "I'm here to see Hiashi."
"It helps to knock." He sneered at her.
"… You don't like me much, do you?"
"No." She smiled.
"Well, maybe you will again eventually." She jumped into the complex, right over the gate. He ignored the remark and went to see Gai.
She paused next to Hiashi's door before softly knocking.
"Hiashi? Are you there? I need to talk to you Hiashi." The door slowly opened and she stepped inside to be met with a glare. She winced.
"Did I come at a bad time? I could come back later…"
"Sit." She slowly moved forward and sat down, watching his every movement and as he activated his byakugan and glared at her more. She sighed.
"You told me to come here, you could at least say something…"
"Your chakra signature. It is the same as one Uchiha Riz."
"And?"
"Care to explain?"
"Not really. Care to guess?" He sighed and his eyes went back to normal.
"Why are you here, and do not try to lie."
"That's a lengthy story there love. You sure you have the time to listen to little old me?"
"More than enough time."
"Well, how about we go somewhere more private?"
"You are fine here." She sighed.
"Fine, you had better get comfortable, and I'm only telling you a brief outline." He nodded.
"Continue."
A while later and Hiashi hadn't moved. Riz finished and watched him carefully. He just watched her.
"Why did you not tell anyone this sooner?"
"Well, Kashi figured it out not too long after I came here, and then Gai figured it out because I was still wearing Kashi's ring. And then Iruka figured it out right after that. And of course the old man figured it out, and eventually told the ANBU captain. And the reason I had tackled Neji was because he had the ring from winning it in a fight and was going to show you after we had made another bet that I had won so I would get it back. And he knew I didn't want you to see it because I knew you would figure it out and I didn't want you to be real mad at me. Besides, I figured you would hate me and most likely attack me."
"… I should attack you, but I doubt anything would come of it."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. So, Neji beat you in a fight?" she grinned.
"Pure luck. You know me and making bets."
"What did you have to do?"
"Taijutsu only and be blindfolded. Which sucked with the whole byakugan! Although, I have sparred with Hinata too. She's pretty good, and still as adorable as ever!" Hiashi smiled slightly and she grinned as they began to talk.
Later and she finally walked into the ANBU hideout, being instantly glared at.
"You're late again." She shrugged.
"I had an important matter of business to take care of. At least I came on my own this time."
"You have a mission."
"Really? I do? Do I get a partner?"
"Makoto is your partner, now come choose your mask."
"Let's see, rat, owl, leopard, ferret… I'll take the ferret one!" Shin shook his head.
"Hurry up then, Makoto all ready knows the details, he'll explain to you on the way. He's waiting just outside the village." She was practically shoved out the door and made her way over there.
"Yo!"
"There you are. Ferret?"
"Yep. You're a tiger?" He nodded, "Remember, no names now."
"Got it. So what type of mission is it?"
"Infiltration. We'll be gone a while. Captain said you should be well suited to it."
"Right. Where to?"
"Cloud." They took off, Makoto filling her in on the way, "We're only trying to figure out what's been going on there, as we lost any and all contact with them a while ago. We think it has something to do with either Orochimaru or the Akatsuki. Do you know about them?"
"About Orochimaru, or the Akatsuki?"
"Either."
"I've heard of them."
"Good. Saves time. It should take us about two days to get there with no obstacles, and we should spend roughly a week there at least. When we get closer, we'll need to get a change of clothes. We have traveling papers here. A name was chosen for you. How does Aisha sound?"
"Aisha? Doesn't that mean alive?"
"I have no idea."
"… It's perfect. What's yours? And what is our relation?"
"Mine is Tonio. Do you know what that one means? Captain likes to use names he believes suits them."
"Hmm… I believe it means invaluable. He must like you."
"Right, but why did he pick yours like that?"
"No clue. What's our relation? And can we stop?" He nodded and they stopped, leaning on the tree trunks.
"According to our papers, we're engaged travelers." Riz just stared at him.
"You can't be serious."
"I can be."
"No one will believe that."
"They will if we act the part." He tossed a ring to her, "Come on Aisha, if we don't hurry, we'll never be married on any sort of schedule." He took off again.
"What?" She growled and followed him.
Back in Konoha Team 7 had just been assigned a mission. It was a C-ranked mission that was supposed to last a week. Naruto was determined to do his best, and the client they had to escort was not impressed. Kakashi sighed as he looked over all of them and had them get moving. It was going to be a long week.
Tonio! Love, come on! Let's take a break! I'm hungry!" Makoto sighed and stopped.
"Fine, fine. There's a stream ahead. Can you wait until then?"
"How far is 'ahead'?"
"Not to far, I promise." He began to move again and Riz groaned.
"Idiot. If he keeps running along like that, he's going to run into trouble. And I don't want to explain everything!" She followed him, gaining speed until she passed him. She reached the stream far ahead of him and ran into Deidara.
"Clay-chan, yo!"
"Riz! What're you doing here, un?"
"I'm on a mission. Can you and Sori-chan leave quickly please? My partner will freak!" Deidara waved her off.
"Fine, we're leaving, but you owe us one, un!"
"Just go!" Deidara disappeared moments before Makoto came into the clearing.
"You couldn't wait to get here, could you?" She grinned.
"Nope. You have food right? I don't want to go find some."
"Too bad. I can hunt if you want, but you'll have to search for anything else."
"Trade those positions around and this just might work."
"You're hunting?"
"Yep, unless you want fish."
"Doesn't matter to me. I'll be back."
"Later!" she looked into the stream, "No fish apparently…"
"What are you gonna have, un?"
"Didn't I say to get out of here?"
"Your partner left!"
"So?" A few fish landed at her feet and she looked up to see Sasori.
"Here. Use those."
"Hey! Those were mine, un!" Sasori just turned and left.
"Sorry Clay-chan. Maybe I'll have the chance to make you dinner one day."
"You better, un!" He disappeared and Riz made a fire and began cooking the fish. Makoto came back with a handful of stuff.
"There isn't much around here. We must not be the first travelers to pass by today."
"Probably. This is all the fish I could get." He nodded.
"Still more than I got." He handed her the plants and she looked over them, eventually tossing half out. He looked at her and she shrugged.
"Some weren't any good and some were poisonous."
"How do you know? They seemed fine to me."
"I was a traveler before Konoha, remember? I picked up a few things."
"Right. Do you know how to cook those?"
"Pretty sure. Did you bring any other clothes? It would be easier to act and dress like Tonio and Aisha now instead of switching later. Get into character and all."
"Yeah. We got one outfit for you, but we'd better not get attacked while you're wearing it." He pulled out a shirt with long flowing sleeves and this long skirt that would be hard to walk in, let alone fight in.
"You can't be serious."
"I am."
"Well… I can fix it, hand it over." She grabbed her clothes and pulled out a kunai before proceeding to cut slits up the skirt and the sleeves off the shirt. She pulled out a needle and thread and sewed the sleeves back on, except they were much shorter and slit on the top. She held the outfit up and smiled.
"Perfect. I can wear my shorts under it and I'll look like the perfect traveler. Are we supposedly selling anything?"
"What we were doing was left up to us." She began to change and Makoto turned away.
"I think we should be merchants. Selling small things that I can make on the way. We could sell clothes. jewelry, some food… Can you think of anything?" She turned back around and smiled, "I'm done by the way." He looked back up and smiled.
"Nice. I can't make anything, so it looks like we're going with your ideas." She smiled again and grabbed a fish.
"Foods done. Come and eat and then you can change, okay?" He nodded and sat down. She finished quickly before heading into the forest.
"Where are you going?"
"Search for materials. We should have our merchandize with us at all times." Makoto watched her head off in search and shrugged before he finished eating and went to change.
Riz stretched and began her search, casually strolling through the woods. She sensed some people nearby, but made sure to not let it show. She smiled at a fox and bent down, stretched her hand out for it. It looked up and began to crawl closer when it suddenly stopped and ran away. Riz tilted her head and looked behind her. She couldn't clearly see anyone, so she shrugged and stood back up. She continued walking when the group surrounded her. She stumbled backwards when one landed in front of her.
"What do we have here? A pretty little thing, ain't ya?" The men grinned and her eyes darted between them as she backed into a tree.
"What are you doing out here alone? You wanna come with us?"
"Hey look! She's got a ring! Your guy nearby? He shouldn't let you walk around alone like this. The woods can be dangerous you know. Bandits and all." The men grinned.
"Thank you, I should be getting back. I'll be careful…" The men smirked and stepped closer.
"What's your hurry? We haven't had any fun yet. We were just getting to know each other!" One grabbed her arm.
"Why don't you come with us? We'll treat you real nice…" He grinned and she tried to pull away.
"Please let me go! I have no money or anything! Please!"
"That's a shame there… But we know how you came make it up to us…" They all closed in on her and she sighed.
"You are all idiots, aren't you?" She was slapped.
"What was that you bitch? You don't understand this, do you? We're gonna have our way with you, and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Is that so?" She smirked and dropped to the ground spinning before jumping into the tree.
"Well? Come on now, I thought you were going to have your way with me. Can't you even stop one traveling girl?"
"What the hell? Get her!" They jumped and tried to reach her while others began to climb the tree.
"Just rip them clothes off! They only get in the way!" She shook her head and did a few hand signs before placing it on the tree.
"Pigs. Summoning jutsu, fox pack." The men screamed as they were attacked by multiple foxes. Riz just sat back and watched with the elder fox.
"Did you really need to summon us for this?"
"Probably not, but it was easier and if I tear these clothes, I'm screwed. Why? Did you not want to see me?" The fox shook his head and called the others back.
"Did you want any of us to stay? Travelers often have animals with them." Riz smiled.
"Sure. Small enough to ride on my shoulder please…. Maybe one for Makoto?"
"Right. Take them two in the back and I'll see you later." He disappeared, the rest following suit until it was just those two left, which quickly came up to her.
"We're with you!"
"Yes, with you!"
"And you both need to try not to talk much, understood?"
"Understood!" She smiled.
"Come on then. You two can help me look for supplies."
Makoto glared as she came into the clearing an hour or two later.
"I heard screams. And what are those?"
"Foxes obviously, and calm down."
"Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you! I'm gonna be with you!" The fox jumped off Riz and climbed onto Makoto's shoulder.
"A summoning?"
"Yep."
"… I thought you summoned snow leopards?" Riz paused.
"I do, but I can also summon foxes."
"Two summons? It's unheard of!"
"Well, now it's heard of." She mentally slapped herself. "Idiot. Make sure to not summon anything else!"
"You got your supplies then? We should be going."
"We can't travel by tree anymore. We're travelers now, we have to go by foot." He nodded and they set off, traveling slower than they normally would since they had to stay on the path, and Riz insisted on making her trinkets on the way. By the time night had fallen, Makoto was exhausted from going that slow and making small talk with everyone they passed as Riz showed off her items. She seemed to be much better at this than he was. It almost was like she really was this Aisha. If he didn't know better, and if the foxes weren't there, he might have began to believe she was someone else. He led her off the path and began to set up camp. She continued to make things until she ran out of materials. She smiled at her work and packed it up before happily strolling over to him, hugging his back.
"Tonio! Thanks for setting up camp love. Did you enjoy today? We made quite a bit for such a small path, don't you agree? Oh, we need to eat! Silly me, I was caught up in the moment! I'll go gather some edible plants and you can go hunt, okay?" She kissed his cheek and wandered off. He stared after her before smiling and going off to hunt. When she came back they ate in silence and went to bed. She kissed him goodnight, and before he could say anything she ducked into her tent and went to sleep.
I do hope you all liked it. Thanks for reading everyone and don't forget to review! It puts me in a typing/updating mood :) Oh, and a note to ItsGayLove: I cannot updae Why Does This Happen or Pain in Birthdays seeing as how they are not on my laptop and I have to retype them up. I have them printed out, but it's going to take a while. Sorry about that.