Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own Naruto. But who says I wanna? I can make just as much dinero as those people who own Naruto by selling my fanfics on e-bay to some hopeless geek! What? I would buy them. And I do admit a bit on the proud side to being a Naruto geek. And also a Code Lyoko geek. And a regular ol' geek! gasp I'm multi-tasking!
Seizetsu-Extremely weird.
Ooi- Hey!
What the Future Holds
The next thing she knew she was in a white fluffy bed with a fox staring at her. "Aaah!" Kitami yelled. Oh, wait a minute… That's no fox, that's Keitaro!
"Kita! You're awake! Haha, that had to be the worst Fuuma Shuriken throw I've ever seen in my entire life, and I've watched my sister practice!" Keitaro said to her. "Hey, Kuyuu-teme, Ran-chan, she has awakened!"
"Are you always this hyper in the morning?" Ran asked.
"How long've I been out for?" Kitami asked.
"Well, it was around six when you got knocked out so…" Keitaro started counting on his fingers.
"Fourteen hours," Kuyuu answered.
"Oh, damn, that means it's…" Kitami started counting on her fingers, gave up, and looked at her teammates.
"Eight o'clock," Ran answered.
"Wait, how'd you get in? I'm not dying, and visiting hours don't start till another hour and a half."
"Oh my, we're thinking today."
"Nobody asked you, Kuyuu-shunshuu!" Kitami said.
"Well, I'm training under Uzumaki Sakura, who works here, so she let us come in and see you," Ran said.
"Aw, sweet! You train under Hokage-sama's wife? That must be why you're so good!" Kitami said. She remembered how even Kuyuu-shunshuu fell off and Ran didn't.
Ran smiled at her.
"Why'd you guys get up so early to see me, anyway?" Kitami asked.
"Well, um…" Ran stuttered.
"You have practice, don't you?" Kitami asked.
"Well, yeah, and Kuyuu said, 'Hey, guys, why don't we stop at the infirmary and check on Kitami?' And we were like, 'Sure!' And now here we are!" Keitaro explained.
"So this was Kuyuu-shunshuu's idea?" Kitami asked.
"Hn."
A pink haired Medical Nin walked in. "Okay, Keitaro, you and your friends need to leave, now."
"But Mooooooooooooooooooooooom!" Keitaro whined.
"No buts. Out. Now." Sakura said sternly.
"Fine."
Kitami watched as her three teammates filed out of the room.
"Marukomu Kitami?" Sakura smiled down at the child in the fluffy white bed. She looked exactly like her mom. "Your blood sugar is low. We have came to this conclusion… When did you last eat?"
"Ehm…" Kitami furrowed her brow.
Flashbacks---
Two nights ago-"Kitami, we're having dinner in a bit, so-" "No thanks, I'm eating at Ichiraku's!"
The morning after that- "Have some breakfast before you go." "No time!"
She skipped lunch…
She didn't have dinner…
She left in such a hurry she had no breakfast…
She skipped lunch…
She didn't have dinner…
"Ehm… about two and a half days? But I was going to eat dinner last night, but as fate would have it, I couldn't… Ehehehe…"Kitami said, sitting up in her bed.
Sakura tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. "Alright, we've had worse cases of Anorexia… Just wait there."
Sakura returned shortly with a tray. "Eat."
"Oh, but, Sakura-sama, I'm really not hung-"
"That's bad. Eat," Sakura commanded.
Kitami crossed her arms. "I'm not hungry, you can't make me ea-"
Sakura shoved a piece of cake in the girl's mouth.
"Yum, cake!" Kitami picked up the cake and shoved it in her mouth.
Sakura sweatdropped. So this is Keitorin's child? I wonder if she knows her child cuts…
Kitami was in the middle of eating her sweet, sweet cake when she noticed something bad. The bandage on her wrist had been replaced.
"Kitami, a visitor for you," Sakura said.
"Daisuke-nissan!" Kitami said happily. "Want some cake?"
He shook his head. "No. Geez, you're crazy! Look at you! With your head wrapped up and everything…" Daisuke shook his head. His sister was so… weird. "Here." Daisuke gave Kitami a shiny hitai-ate.
"Oooh, you found it!" Kitami said.
"Yup. Actually, Keitaro found it, but… here." Daisuke handed her the hitai-ate.
"Thanks. I'm coming out with you. Okay? I don't know if I'm supposed to go yet, but amarini warui. Just gimme a minute to get changed," Kitami said.
Kitami grabbed a dry set of clothes and ran into the bathroom. She came out a couple minutes later.
Daisuke went to leave and his sister followed him.
"…So then I was all like, 'Aaah, a fox!' and then I realized it wasn't a fox, it was Keitaro!" Kitami said to her brother.
Daisuke smirked. "You are so weird. Seizetsu."
"Hah! Yeah, but you're my identical twin. Meaning: You're weird, too! We should make a club, Daisuke-nissan!"
"As desirable as that sounds, I think I'd rather stay out of it…" Daisuke said
"S'okay! Kuyuu-shunshuu and Nobu-sensei would be happy to join!" Kitami said evilly.
"Eh… Listen, I should go now, okay? Please, come back home in one piece," Daisuke said.
"I'll try, but I can't make any promises!" Kitami said happily as she left him to go to their training field.
"Ooi, guys!" Kitami yelled.
"Ooi! What're you doing here?" Keitaro asked.
"I wanted to do something other than lay in bed all day."
"Well you picked the wrong way to find entertainment," Keitaro said to her.
"Yeah, we're probably going weed picking today. Or something," Ran said.
"I-"
"We are going weed picking today, how insightful."
"Why do I always have to be right?" Ran moaned.
Later
"Here are the reports, Lord Hokage," Nobu said to Naruto handing him the papers.
"Thank you, Nobu. Now, we have a variety of choices, you could clean the river or you could go grocery shopping for-"
"NO MORE!" Keitaro yelled to his father.
"Keitaro, you get D ranked missions. In other words, nothing more," Naruto said.
"NO! I won't accept that! Dad, didn't you always used to tell me stories of how you went on your first C-ranked mission? At my age!" Keitaro sulked.
Naruto smirked. He remembered himself yelling at the Hokage and asserting his non-authority.
"And dad, I-"
"Fine," Naruto murmured.
"What?" Keitaro asked, wide eyed.
"Huh?" Kitami asked.
"Really?" Ran asked
"Hn," Kuyuu said. It was, however more surprised than usual.
"It will be a low C ranked mission, but a C ranked mission nonetheless," Naruto said smugly.
"Hey! That was easy!" Keitaro said excitedly.
"Alright, listen carefully. You are to take supplies to Marsh Country. They are at war and have asked for assistance. The reason this is a low C ranked mission is because of the route you will be taking. It is rugged, but less likely that you will find any enemies."
Kitami's stomach was churning. "Uhm, Hokage-sama, Marsh Country is at war with- with Hidden Rain, correct?"
Naruto looked her in the eye. "Yes, Kitami, they are."
"Oh, thank you, Hokage-sama."
"Haha, when do we leave then?" Keitaro asked.
"Tomorrow. For now, you will clean the river," Naruto said.
"WHAT! But- but we- You- DAAAAAD!" Keitaro whined.
"Nobu, if you will…? I am going to… take a walk," Naruto said vaguely.
"Alright, Hokage-sama. Keitaro, come on, be grateful for what you've got, or you won't get anything else!" Nobu said, dragging Keitaro out of the room.
"Hokage-sama, would you like us to accompany you on your walk?" Two of Naruto's body guards asked.
"No, no, I'm going to be in the company of friends. Why don't you take some time off?" Naruto said, reaching for his hat.
He walked out and closed the door behind him.
"Lord knows you need it."
Naruto walked down a path, thoughtfully. He brightened at the thought of seeing Keitorin and Sasuke after a couple weeks. Although, Keitorin was probably going to kill him. Maybe he should have taken the bodyguards…
He knocked on Keitorin's door.
"Coming!" A cheerful voice yelled from within the house
"Hey!" Naruto said brightly.
"Naruto! Hey, how are you? I haven't seen you for a while. What brings you here?" Keitorin asked.
"Ah, I was just taking a walk and thought I'd drop by."
"What, do you want me to make ramen for you or something?" Keitorin joked.
Naruto ignored this remark as Keitorin opened the door wider to let him in.
"Ah, I like your haircut, Keitorin."
Keitorin's hair, still in a ponytail, just grazed the top of her shoulders. The last time he saw her it was longer.
"Thanks, I got it done this morning."
Minutes later.
"You WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING!"
"Ow, ow, Keitorin, I-"
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU! WHY WOULD YOU-"
"Aaah!" Naruto burst out of Keitorin's house and banged on Sasuke's door.
"What?" Sasuke asked when he opened the door.
"K-Keitorin will kill me!" Naruto said as he slammed the door shut without even being invited in.
"Why? What'd you do?" Sasuke asked. He was finding this amusing.
"I sent them on a mission to go to Marsh Country," Naruto explained calmly.
"You gave them a C ranked mission? Why?" Sasuke asked.
"I thought it would be a good experience! Besides we went on a C ranked mission at their age!"
"Naruto, we barely came out of our mission alive!" Sasuke said.
"No! You only almost died. And it was you. If it was Sakura in your position, I wouldn't've sent them."
Sasuke glared at Naruto. "So why's Keitorin going to kill you?"
"Because Numa no Kuni and Amegakure are …at war?" Naruto said.
Sasuke realized why Keitorin was so uptight.
You dobe! What if they take Kitami as hostage? And what if they find-"
There was a poof and Kitami was standing in the middle of the room.
"H-hi!" Naruto said, cowering behind Sasuke.
"If they find her locket, they'll kill her, take that, and fuck up my world. Do you want that to happen?" Keitorin was advancing on him. Sasuke watched the two, furrowing his brow and trying to think.
Sasuke's mouth hung open a bit when his saw Keitorin take out a kunai.
He pushed her over. "Keitorin! What do you think you're doing? Responsible or not, this is the Hokage!" Sasuke said.
Keitorin just sat there on the floor, not moving. "I'm…! I'm sorry, Hokage-sama…" Keitorin said.
"Hey, don't do that, Keitorin! They'll have Nobu with them! He's almost as good as Kakashi. They'll be fine!" Naruto said encouragingly.
"Can I have Kitami not go?" Keitorin asked.
"No."
Sasuke looked up at him. That wasn't fair.
"Why not!" Keitorin asked. She added, more or less to calm herself down, "Hokage-sama."
"Keitorin, it doesn't seem fair, but I know that Kitami is very able. She is a skilled kunoichi, and taking her out could endanger the team. Just imagine us with me taken out from the bridge incident. Sasuke would be dead, right?" Naruto reasoned.
Keitorin sighed. He was right. She furrowed her brow. "Hokage-sama, I'll strike you a deal!"
"What?" Naruto asked.
"First, you have to delay the departure time by half an hour."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Good enough. And you have to let Kakashi accompany Nobu."
Naruto looked at her. "I don't know if I can arrange that, Keitorin."
"Well, can you try?"
"Honestly, it's not my choice. Can you meet me at my office at around five thirty?" Naruto asked.
"Hai."
Naruto placed his hat on his head. "I had better be going. I'll see later, Keitorin. Sasuke, it was good seeing you again."
Naruto opened the door to leave.
"Hey, dobe!" Sasuke yelled.
"Hm?" Naruto asked without turning around.
"Will you be my Best Man at the wedding?" Sasuke asked with a smirk on his face.
"Heh, of course, teme…" Naruto said grinning.
Okay, long chapter! I expect reviews!
