Chapter 14… I think.

Seriously you should all go and tell Back 2 December to update because I am in love with her writing! Go check her out!

I realized that I haven't gone into Edena's past yet, hm…

You'll find out in due time.

I'm gonna miss Two And A Half Men (I don't own that…) but apparently they're planning on bringing it back? I dunno, I hope so. Sheen's Winning.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

Italics are the flashback…

-x-

"Take this!" Naruto threw a few more punches into the gut of Kotsumana. The man – who was so sickly pale and skinny he resembled Nagato – hunched over clutching his sides. A thin line of dribble burst from his mouth as the trained, rock-hard fist of the blond connected with his now trembling body. Gasping, Kotsumana fell to his knees and tried his best to get away from the now legendary ninja.

He had known Naruto was going to be good, but he didn't expect this. Without even using a single ninjutsu, the blond had already defeated him? Impossible. Even so, he had expected as much from one trained under Jiraiya himself.

"Don't touch him!" The giant Leno threw three more colossal weight at Naruto while Kotsumana escaped, crumbling into a pile of dirt on the floor. The pile of dirt panted, blowing clumps of itself across the ground. The clumps, soon after rolling about five meters away from the pile of dirt, slowed down and rolled back to the main pile and picked up a few ants and twigs along the way, as if being pulled back by invisible strings.

It was just a clone? Naruto wondered. Why hadn't it disappeared?

"Not a clone," he replied, as if reading the boy's thoughts. The clump of dirt started to rise above the ground. It began to take a shape; at first it was wobbly and unclear, but slowly the dirt looked more and more like a sandcastle in the shape of a very thin man. The dirt soon changed to skin in an impossible swirl of chakra and, apparently, flesh as Kotsumana somehow appeared amongst all the dust and Earth. Kotsumana was breathless, but he had a smug expression. He had just morphed from a pile of dirt to a human.

Naruto's right hand and left leg were trapped in black weights, courtesy of Leno. When he raised a confused eyebrow and contorted his lips to create an absolutely baffled expression, Kotsumana rolled his eyes. "I'm made of dirt, dumbass," he sneered.

Sheesh. How was he supposed to know? And how could someone be made of dirt? That was obviously impossible, right? But it had to be true – there stood before him a man that was made of, well… soil. Naruto took a step back to evaluate the situation. One guy – the giant buff one, Leno – could throw gigantic metal weights and attach them to their opponent's essential fighting body parts. But the other guy was made of muck and gunk joined to generate a skinny dude with no palpable aptitudes. How did they help each other? Was he going to make a trench in the earth and trip Naruto over? The blond snickered.

"What's so funny, midget?" Kotsumana spat. Naruto's eyes widened. What did he just say?

Did he really… did he call Naruto a midget?

For years, Naruto had been made fun of. He had been ignored, bullied, had things thrown at him; the lot. His childhood hadn't exactly been safe or secure and he had never been able to approach another human being without hearing insults or being pummelled by any nearby objects they found conveniently buoyant enough to throw at him. So, you'd think he would be used to it, right?

Wrong.

One of the first times Naruto and Sasuke had ever conversed without getting into a verbal onslaught or brawl: it was coming back to him, when he and Sasuke had connected for the first time. When he had realized just how much Sasuke meant to him in the first place. The moment he had persistently reserved in the back of his mind to keep himself motivated during the search for Sasuke.

Flashback…

Sasuke was lying flat on the grass, his apparently 'perfect' body slowly rising and falling as his breathing became more relaxed. There was nothing particularly extraordinary Naruto could see about his teammate. His eyes were closed and he was being eerily silent for someone of his tender age – twelve-year-olds were meant to jump up and down and get excited about injudicious things like finding bugs. Sasuke did not. Ever. Get excited.

And it was quite hard to be excited when you were worn out far past comfort, even for a ninja. After a couple of hours of running up and down trees, you start to feel the need for rest, despite how many years of ruthless and staunch training you may have tolerated to prepare yourself.

The blond knucklehead lay by his side, their heads perpendicular but their bodies on opposite sides of a line they had drawn. It was there to mark where they weren't allowed to cross, but they had both crossed each other's with the tips of their crowns to show they needed to rest in a temporary truce.

Naruto had bruises, dirt and blood all over himself. There wasn't a single part of him that didn't look dilapidated or extremely tired. You could see the exhaustion in his deep-blue eyes, which seemed to beseech incessantly for a cessation, like the pleading eyes of a puppy that needed a place to stay. Yet, he refused to give up and prove that the bastard lying by his side was better than him in anything at all.

Speaking of that little bastard, Naruto saw that he was catching his breath faster than he was. Sasuke's breathing was not as jagged and restless as his own. He wasn't going to let Sasuke get up and prove he had more stamina! Naruto struggled while he slowly pushed his trembling form off of the luscious grass in an attempt to start again. There was dew seeping from each blade, making it harder for his shoes to grip and causing him to fall onto his knees. His knuckles turned white and sweat beaded on his forehead, making him look like he was constipated. His nose was scrunched up and it took all of his willpower not to let out a small whimper or cry.

"Naruto," Sasuke called breathlessly. His eyes were like bulldozers crashing through Naruto's big wall of a macho charade, but they clearly showed a stern understanding towards his pain. As if he actually cared about Naruto's welfare. Perhaps neither of them was recuperating as fast as he had thought. "That's enough. We should go."

Sasuke had always been blunt and straight to the point. Usually it was annoying, but Naruto was glad for it now. The last thing he needed was someone making fun of him in his time of struggle.

Naruto was going to protest, when a shooting pain ran down his right leg. He grunted, clutching to it and falling back onto the ground, causing a ring of dirt to become unsettled and float lazily in the warm night air. Once the ring finally lay back down in a blanket over the ground, Sasuke was crouching by Naruto's side with a hint of concern lingering in the back of his eyes. "Y-yeah…" he replied weakly.

Sasuke briefly inspected his teammate. "Do you need help?" It was monotonous. It was hesitated. It wasn't very heartfelt. But he had asked; he had shown he cared, if even in the slightest. Naruto instantly dropped his guard, subconsciously relieved to have someone be concerned about his wellbeing after years of looking after himself. That was the first time someone besides Iruka or Old Man Hokage ever asked him if he needed their help.

Naruto was tried to look defiant. He tried to look like he could take care of himself. But when he screamed while trying to walk only two steps, Sasuke noticed that it was just a façade so he didn't look meek while in the Uchiha's presence. Resting his arm over his shoulder after a brief, stern word, the raven-haired teen smirked and closed his eyes as the blond trailed reluctantly by his side.

He was limping and dragging him down, but for some reason Sasuke didn't fully understand, he wanted to help his teammate. Muddy water splashed onto their legs and soaked their feet, squelching and making an unwanted ruckus. It hadn't rained at all, but being so close to the lake made all the land quite thick and dank.

They walked for a few silent moments, Sasuke struggling slightly each time Naruto's legs wavered and threatened to collapse, until Naruto got annoyed. "What's so funny?" Sasuke's smirk dropped slightly, but he was still clearly amused by something. Naruto pouted. "Saaasssuuukkeeee, teeeelll meeeeeeee – "

"Shut up, loser." Sasuke looked down with a soft smile playing on his lips, a pristine eyebrow raised an inch higher than usual. It suddenly occurred to him that Sasuke must pluck. The corner of the Uchiha's mouth raised higher than he had ever thought possible, involuntarily, before pressing into a firm line. It wasn't a big grin, it wasn't s sincere grin; it was actually more of a mocking grin. But he had grinned all the same. "You're practically a whole head shorter than me, you know that? I have to lean over just to support you."

Naruto felt like slapping him. "What do you mean, I'm short? We're pretty much the same size…" he was about to continue when Sasuke pointedly looked down his nose on him and swivelled on his heels, making them back-to-back. Looking at their reflection in a small puddle, Naruto visibly blanched when he saw that Sasuke indeed was about five inches higher than he was. Sasuke chuckled. "Okay you have a point, sheesh, no need to get all high and mighty about it."

Even though Sasuke was a real prick sometimes, Naruto had to admit he always liked hanging out with him. Sasuke never had made fun of him, never made snide comments behind his back (but to his face instead) and constantly teased him… but in a brotherly way. Deep down Naruto loved the guy, and he was fairly sure Sasuke loved him back. To a reasonable extent. I mean, if Naruto died, he would probably be upset. Maybe.

"I'm bigger than you in other ways," Naruto mumbled cheekily.

"You mean your ego?" Sasuke scoffed haughtily.

"You know," Naruto giggled, readjusting his grip around Sasuke's neck, "if anyone else had said that they would be a pile of blood and guts on the ground right now."

"Why, would you chew their ear off by screaming about how much taller than them you are? Or perhaps you would gnaw on their ankles until they reached your size and then beat 'em up."

Naruto groaned, but he was really having a good time. It was at that moment that he realized he and Sasuke were actually – kind of –friends. Heck, Sasuke was his only friend.

So they were best friends, right?

Fancy having his very own best friend.

"Hey, quit zoning out. Or can't you hear me down there?" Obviously Sasuke didn't joke around very often, either, judging by how lame his wise-cracks got after a while. Maybe he didn't have other people to joke around with. Maybe Naruto was his only friend as well.

Fancy the two of them being the other's only friends. The other's best friend. Best friends. And…

And he was the short one. But that suited him fine, as long as he was only shorter than Sasuke. Fancy not minding being beat by that bastard in something.

"M-midget?" Only Sasuke was allowed to call him short. Only best friends could call each other short and get away with it.

"Shut up, Kotsu, we have things to do. Just attack him already, he won't be able to run very far now," Leno sighed, scratching the back of his neck boredly. He shuffled his feet and took in his surroundings as if he were fighting a pathetic three-year-old.

"I'm a… midget?" Naruto was confounded. He thought he had grown at least five whole inches since his genin days (well, he still was a genin, but whatever) and hadn't been teased about his height since then. That may have been because of his suddenly skyrocketing into fame, though.

While Naruto was so unprofessionally distracted by his imprudent thoughts, Leno tried to affix another weight onto his free leg. Naruto dodged it effortlessly, back flipping and steadying himself with one hand as if it were easier than breathing. His wrist twirled and the rest of his body followed, spinning like an acrobat in the air and landing with a 'thump' on his feet once more. If only he had been paying attention to the ground at the time, it would have been quite skilful and impressive.

Turns out Kotsumana actually did make a sort of trench in the ground, causing Naruto to fall into a giant hole. It was a minor distraction, but it created an opening wide enough for a skilled ninja such as him to trap an idiot such as the blond. Naruto's fingers turned white latching onto the edges of the deep perforation, slipping as the smallest clumps of dirt he clung so desperately onto gave way. His eyed widened and his face turned a deep mauve from all the blood rushing to his head. He couldn't fall for such a measly trap! Naruto Uzumaki didn't fall for traps! He shrieked, falling face-first into the ten inch deep fissure. You may be wondering why he was so freaked out to be falling into such a shallow hole. His stomach lurched, fingers digging into the edges of the tiny gap in the ground right before razor-sharp teeth snapped shut before the tip of his nose. He breathed a quick sigh of relief, catching the same breath in his throat again as more strong jaws tried to dig into his tissue.

Did I forget to mention there were mutant, carnivorous beasts lurking in its depths? Well, there were.

"Gyah, Sasuke help!" Naruto cried, before pushing with the very edges of his toes off of the collapsing remains that rimmed the pit. Leno chuckled, but Kotsumana remained stoic, as if laughing would puncture his pride.

Naruto clutched his shoulder with his free hand – which was being pulled down by a huge weight. Never had Naruto been pushed so far in such a short amount of time. He would have to try a different approach, but close-range was all he was good at.

He would need someone, or something, that was too big to get caught in the massive weights…

Something – or someone – that didn't need to worry about mutated creatures grinding it to pieces…

Something, or someone, that was virtually indestructible unless faced with something as large as it was.

Something, or, more appropriately, someone, like Gamabunta.

The blond smirked, making Leno sneer at him. "Get an idea, retard? I swear, you're even more pathetic than your petty village's defences," he snorted. Naruto tried not to think how he would know the quality of Konoha's defences and kept his mind on the task at hand.

"You better watch your mouth when you talk to me," Naruto menaced, biting his thumb and breaking the skin. Crimson, warm liquid oozed freely, dripping onto the ground. He had gotten used to the slight pinching pain he got when attempting to use a Summoning Jutsu.

It was weird at first, and slightly unnerving, to summon things with his blood; but it was also useful because nobody but him could summon the Toad Boss. And what a large and intimidating Toad Boss, too.

He slammed his palm flat down onto the concrete, sending shockwaves through his body. "Summoning Jutsu!" he screeched, disappearing into a cloud of swirling smoke. The ground shook momentarily, and Leno and Kotsumana stood watching the now powdery-white area where their enemy once stood with shell-shocked expressions.

"Did he just do…" Leno began, too stunned to finish.

"…Summoning Jutsu, eh? Interesting." Kotsumana got into a battle stance. Then a loud belching sound reached his enemy's ears.

Naruto shrieked. "Hell no! Not now!"

He had not, unfortunately for him, summoned Gamabunta; in the middle of the puff of smoke, laughing uncontrollably, sat Gamatatsu. Yes, the fat little yellow toad bellowed as Naruto tried to summon anyone else but him, failing each time.

Leno and Kotsumana looked from the frustrated teen to one another. Leno seemed to mime 'what do we do now' and Kotsumana seemed to reply, silently, 'I dunno'. They both shrugged and continued to watch the show with hidden amusement, and slight irritation. Slowly the latter seemed to take the place of any entertainment, followed with boredom. They had come for a battle, not a cheap knockoff of Curly from The Three Stooges.

Finally, Naruto got fed up and blew his top right in the middle of the battlefield.

"Where's Gamabunta?" he yelped. Not only had he failed the Summoning – not for the first time either – but he had also been embarrassed in front of the ninja he was fighting. There was nothing worse for a celebrity such as himself.

"On holiday, shrimp," the yellow toad replied, staring at the baddies and making air-headed comments. Naruto felt like slapping him. And what was with all the short comments today? "Hey, those guys are looking at you weird. We should bash 'em!"

"Shut up, idiot – " Naruto cut himself off when he had a thought. Hm, Gamatatsu is pretty fat…

The yellow toad rolled over, making the floating houses shake and sinking half of the fluctuating residences. Yeah he's fat.

So fat, it just might work. That Leno guy couldn't get his weights to weigh something heavier than them down, now could they?

"Gamatatsu!" he called, waving a packet of snacks in the air where he could see. Luckily for Naruto he had stolen some 'provisions' from the minifridge right before leaving their accommodation. The happiness was literally visible, in the form of a white star, shining in his eyes as he ogled the mouth-watering treats. "We're gonna do that water jutsu!"

Naruto noticed that Leno would be easier to beat if he could be forced into the water. All his weights would drag him underwater, maybe even drowning him. The other guy, Kotsumana, would probably deteriorate in the liquid and his little creatures would be unable to attack. All Naruto needed to do was hit them with something filled with enough force to shove them off of the edge. Namely, the Water Blast, which had enough force to break through a giant crystal barrier that covered an entire forest, if he recalled correctly. It was certainly going to work.

Gamatatsu seemed to understand, letting his stomach do the thinking. He was practically hypnotized by the cheap packet of peanuts. Not that he needed any more food, even Naruto knew he certainly wouldn't starve.

Naruto jumped onto his back and focused his chakra towards his slightly quavering palm. He was still feeling the effect of all previous blows and nearly being eaten by furry little mutants. Kotsumana suspected something was wrong and, for the second time (which wasn't any more fun than the first, mind you), tried to make the ground they stood upon melt into a pit of carnivorous beasts. Gamatatsu noticed this, jumping into a nearby tree where there was no dirt.

Naruto frowned. "I won't have enough time to channel my chakra through you…"

"That's okay, Mister Naruto. I've been a practising," he smiled a goofy smile, patting his own head.

"Really?" Naruto asked, sincerely astonished. He hadn't expected the little runt toad to have practised ninjutsu without being forced.

"Yeah, father made me," he giggled. Now it made sense. Thank goodness for fathers.

"That's great! Okay, I'm counting on you," Naruto nodded, deciding he would have to distract the other ninja while Gamatatsu prepared his water blast. They needed to be in a line, so that Gamatatsu could get them both at once. Otherwise, the other could dodge it. "When I say so, shoot them both into the water. Got it?"

"Yup!" He giggled, feeling fairly pleased with himself.

"Hey, craptard!" Naruto called towards the bigger of his foes, Leno. Said man seemed to be shaken out of a boredom-induced daze, averting his attention towards the annoying brat he was trying to kill. "Where's your licence?"

Leno scrunched up his eyebrows. "What? Why, er, for what?"

"Don't you need a licence to be that ugly?"

Leno processed what he had heard for a few moments. "Nah, I don't. Are we gonna fight or – hey! You!" Naruto tried his best not to laugh his head off at how slow his 'foe' turned out to be, but kept his cool. Gamatatsu was nearly ready to perform the jutsu, all Naruto needed to do was lure him a little to the right.

"Fatty, I could waltz over here and you wouldn't be able to catch me with all that excess lard hangin' out of your ass." Naruto thought what he had said was a little cheesy, but to his surprise, Leno looked infuriated. Kotsumana even looked a little worried. The smaller of the two men didn't look like he was prepared to move, though, which was good since he was in the perfect position for the plan. Luckily he looked taken aback with his own thoughts. Obviously the weakest of all the enemies had been assigned to him. How naïve and stupid of them.

Leno tried to throw more weights at Naruto, but using his Sage mode, he was able to dodge them all easily. "You'll have to come get me, tubby!"

That tore it. Leno sprinted, full-speed, towards the tiny teenager. He was so mad his mind couldn't think straight, obviously, as he leapt over the pit full of mutants and headed straight into Gamatatsu's aim. Kotsumana seemed to catch on at that moment, shouting at his teammate to fall back, but he was too late.

"Now!" Naruto cried. Gamatatsu, whose cheeks were larger than the moon, vomited a huge blast of water straight into the gut of Leno. He screamed, being pushed into his other teammate. The ground they were on cracked in half from the sheer force of the blast, making Naruto's job all the more easy. Naruto was sitting beside his toad friend, feeding him more chakra to keep the water flowing. When the water ran out and everything finally settled, the two enemies were nowhere in sight.

"D-did I d-do i-it?" Gamatatsu asked breathlessly. Naruto snapped back into the task at hand, rushing to his companion's aid.

"It was amazing Gamatatsu! By far the best Water Blast ever, and you did it without me!"

Gamatatsu blushed. "B-boy, thanks, Mister…" his body became limp and his body quivered. Naruto's smile dropped as he realized how damaged the toad now was.

There was a large gash in his throat and blood was overflowing freely from the wound. "G-Gamatatsu!"

"Don't worry… Narut-t-to…" he smiled his goofy smile, "just send me home… Papa w-will fix it…"

"How do you know?" Naruto asked, teary-eyed. Gamatatsu. He had always been there for him. When Naruto was in his time of need and had nothing else up his sleeve, Gamatatsu was always there. A true friend. He couldn't die, not now.

"Because… this happens all the time." Suddenly his voice wasn't cracking. He was no longer lying limp on the ground. The blood stopped flowing. "It's just a side effect. Too much toad-oil."

Naruto's eye twitched. "Get the hell out of here you dumb frog!"

Gamatatsu frowned. "Hey, we had a deal. Peanuts or I'm telling father!"

Sometimes being the Toad Sage was tough. Never had he respected Jiraiya so much for his endurance.

Naruto rested his hands on his knees, bending over and panting while thinking over the battle. Why had he called for Sasuke in his time of need? It had bothered him the entire time.

"N…Naruto…" The sound sent a shiver down his spine. It was Sakura, and she sounded hurt. He had completely forgotten about everyone else.

-x-

Mpgh. I kinda liked this chapter.

Tell me if you did too.

That was 4 000 words… oops…

Sayonara~