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Chapter 10 - In Desperate Need of Attention (and Love)

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Naruto longs for people to see him, love him. But somehow, people's attention has always been easier to get than their love. That's the thought that crosses his mind as he watches, sheepishly, the nurse in front of him. If a look could kill, her glare certainly would.

"Alright, that's enough. You don't get to put a foot in this hospital again unless you're injured, do you hear me?"

The blond hurries to nod, an awkward chuckle leaving his mouth as he does. He cannot blame them. He went too far when he put the trashcan in flames. Still, he just wanted to make the sick children laugh. Why must he always be misunderstood? Can someone acknowledge the fact he's trying? Can someone love that about him? Love him?

"And you," the nurse says, turning to Kakashi and interrupting Naruto's train of depressing thoughts. "Next time, bring the girl, or don't come at all." The silver-haired man drifts his eye away from the book in his hands. "And stay away from my interns. I need them working, not hidden in a closet."

The woman swirls around and reenters the hospital, leaving the two shinobis dumbfounded.

"Alright," Kakashi says, recovering from his shock. "We should head back to the fields, then. Maybe Sasuke and Sakura are still working - if they haven't killed each other already."

And with that, Naruto trails after his sensei through the village, his arms crossed behind his head. He tries to hide his deception by joking loudly, making fun of the villagers or his silver-haired sensei, but by the side looks Kakashi is giving him, Naruto can tell it isn't working. To divert the attention from him, the boy blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind and instantly regrets it.

"What were you doing in the closet with Ayumi-chan?" His cheeks redden when he locks eyes with his sensei. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

Kakashi chuckles and puts his hand on top of Naruto's spiky blond hair. "In a year or two, perhaps I could lend you some of my books. But for now, I think you're too young for this type of conversation." The blond nods fervently, happy to avoid the embarrassing subject. "What about Sakura-chan, though?"

Naruto's attention swirls to the field in front, and he narrows his eyes, looking for the pink head somewhere in the sea of straw hats. "What about her?"

"It looks like you would love to hide in a closet with her."

At Kakashi's words, Naruto's eyes widen. "What? No! I mean, yes. I mean, maybe. Not a closet, though. But Ichiraku would be nice. But she turns me down every time. It's that stupid teme."

"You know, Naruto, it's not helping that you ask her every day."

The blond pouts. "But if I don't ask, I'll never get a yes."

"True. But to Sakura, it probably feels like you're only seeing her as a potential girlfriend."

"What's wrong with that? It means she's pretty, kind, funny, smart, and that someone loves her. I would like that."

Kakashi stops when they reach the field and ruffles his student's hair. "Yes, but what is good for you is not necessarily good for her. I think she wants you and Sasuke to acknowledge her as a strong kunoichi, a part of your team, not just as a pretty girl."

"Sasuke thinks she's pretty too?"

The man sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "That's the only thing you registered?" After shaking his head, Kakashi resumes his walk, entering the field followed by his student. "I don't think he even knows it himself. But I'm quite observant." He gives Naruto a side glance. "It's because of the books. As I said, though, you're too young to..."

"Where are they?"

Naruto's eyes have been scanning the fields for a while, the boy not listening to his sensei's nonsense. However, he's yet to see his two teammates through the piles of crops and the busy farmers.

"Maybe they went to the shed." Kakashi laughs at his own joke and walks to the nearest farmer. But Naruto doesn't find his sensei's insinuation funny, and instead of laughing, he frantically looks around in panic, afraid of what his two teammates might be doing. "Excuse me, sir," Kakashi says in a lazy tone. "Have you seen my students?"

The older man with sun-kissed skin is about to answer when a shout interrupts him. "Kakashi! Over here!"

Both shinobis swirl around at the sound of Mole's voice to see the Anbu waving at them from the far edge of the field. They excuse themselves, then hurry to Mole's side. Upon reaching him, Naruto's eyes land on Wolf, who's kneeling in the river nearby.

"What's u-" Naruto's voice gets stuck in his throat when the woman pushes herself up, revealing a body without a head behind her. "Wha-what's that?"

"A body, what else?" The blond returns his eyes on Wolf upon hearing her casual tone.

"Bu-but what happened to his head?"

"Over there."

Naruto knows he shouldn't follow Wolf's pointing finger but does it, anyway. As soon as he gets a glimpse of the decaying face, he drops to his knees and empties his stomach at Mole's feet. The Anbu kneels at his side and rubs his back soothingly.

"Have you seen Sasuke and Sakura?" Kakashi takes a couple of steps away from the blond. Naruto wonders if it is because of his smell or out of embarrassment. He glances up to see a deepening frown on the silver-haired man's face and realizes it is neither of those reasons. No, his sensei is worried, and at that thought, Naruto quickly wipes his mouth and gets up.

"They left two hours ago, according to the farmers."

"They left? Where?" In answer, the woman points with her thumb at the forest behind her. "What?" Kakashi grabs Wolf's arm and shakes her. "And what are you two still doing here?"

"Relax, Kakashi. We thought you were with them."

"Well, I'm not." Naruto watches, dumbfounded, his sensei release the Anbu and run a nervous hand through his hair.

"Wait, sensei," the boy says. "Does that mean they are in danger?"

A heavy silence follows his words, and Naruto tries hard to ignore the images of his teammates' severed heads.

"Bear and Hawk are on patrol right now," Mole finally says. "With a bit of luck, they saw them."

His tone isn't convincing at all, and Kakashi sends a glare his way. "Naruto, stay with them. I'll find those stupid brats myself."

The man strides towards the forest, but Naruto's outraged shout makes him stop. "Oi! I'm not a scumbag. I'm not abandoning my friends!" And with that, he runs towards his sensei.

"I'm coming too," adds Mole before turning to his teammate. "Someone needs to stay behind. Sorry, Wolfy."

"It's fine. I'm not interested in working with Blondie and his loud mouth, anyway."

Now, usually, Naruto would be offended by that. But seeing as he might never see Sakura's smile or hear Sasuke's insults again, he ignores the teasing and chases his sensei into the dark forest.

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With Kakashi's pug leading the way, the three shinobis run from tree to tree towards what sounds to be a fight. Naruto's insides flipped when he heard the first suspicious sound and saw a flight of birds leaving the scene.

He doesn't understand what went through his teammates' minds. It's usually him that comes with those kinds of irrational ideas. He could see Sasuke doing something like that if provoked, but Sakura?

The blond lets out a sudden sigh, exactly knowing what happened. Sasuke wouldn't listen, and Sakura couldn't leave him alone. So she followed, willing to risk her life for that jerk. That stupid bastard who doesn't even care for her, or, at least, not as much as Naruto does.

"Please!"

They halt at the sudden plea and cast frantic looks around. Pakkun's tail is pointing straight at the sky, and he's wiggling his muzzle as his head jerks around.

"What is it?"

The dog turns to his master. "A bunch of unknown signatures to our left, closer than Sakura's and Sasuke's fight. Where should we go?"

Kakashi opens his mouth to answer when the voice echoes again. "Please, not the children!"

Naruto whips his head around, his body tensing. "Children?"

Mole's touch on his shoulders startles him.

"Listen, I know you want to help your teammates," begins the anbu in a pressing tone. "But I can reach them faster without you, anyway." The boy sends a quizzical look towards his sensei, who only nods in response. "So, here is what we'll do. You two, you're going to save those children, and I'll go to Sasuke and Sakura-chan's aid."

"But what if you lose them?"

"I saw where the trees have fallen. I know approximately where to go."

"But..."

"Naruto," Kakashi says sternly. "I trust him. Don't you?"

His cerulean eyes shift from his sensei's frown to Mole's mask. He never thought he would have to choose between saving his friends or innocent children. Didn't Kakashi teach him to never abandoned his teammates? They're his only family, after all.

"You're not abandoning them," the silver-haired man continues, as if he read his thoughts. "Mole is part of an Anbu squad. He is more than capable of helping, and it'd be faster without us tagging along."

Naruto stares into Kakashi's sole eye for what seems like hours. He guesses that being a shinobi comes with more responsibilities than he initially thought. Even though he wishes he could help his teammates, Naruto knows deep down why he became part of Konoha's force: to make the world a better place.

He gives a quick nod to Mole, trying to ignore the tugging at his heart. The Anbu's hands quickly form signs that Naruto has a hard time following.

"Doton. Chikadou no jutsu."

Then, the man applies his hands to the ground, and the earth instantly engulfs him.

"What?" Naruto takes a step forward, but Kakashi stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

"He's been working on his tunnels for weeks. Trust him." And without another word, the silver-haired man hurries in the opposite direction, following Pakkun as the dog leads him towards the commotion.

Naruto cast one last glance at the bundle of dirt left behind by Mole, then runs after his sensei. He doesn't know what he will find behind the trees and the bushes, doesn't know if he made the right decision. His heart is crashing against his ribcage as he closes the distance between him and his sensei.

His speed only quickens when a woman's scream reaches his ears. By the sound of it, they have almost reached the fight. However, before Naruto can go any further, Kakashi extends a hand to block his way. When the man is certain his student will stay behind, he crouches and peers between the bushes. Naruto's frown turns into a dazzled expression when Kakashi's action produces no sound. So, that's what being a shinobi looks like.

"Please!" Naruto stiffens; that plea again. The blond prepares to jump, but with one look into Kakashi's stern eye, refrains from doing so.

"You said not the children," a deep voice reaches the two shinobis for the first time. "And I'll do just that if you come with me silently."

The silver-haired man shifts, and, at last, Naruto's eyes find a hole in the bushes to peer through. Aligned some feet in front of him are villagers. A chain links them together; shackles to their hands and feet restrain their movements. A look of desperation is painted on all their faces, the children's cheeks wet with tears.

Kakashi points a finger to the left, and Naruto's eyes quickly find the source of his worry. Five tall men sit around a fire, some drinking into flasks, others watching the villagers intently. The flames shine on their headbands, illuminating the crossed music notes engraved in the metal pieces.

The sound of wiggling twigs diverts Naruto's attention to the far back of the clearing, where a man is dragging a young woman away. Her body looks small in the man's arms, and she dangles limply from his shoulder, her resigned eyes staring blankly at the ground.

"So, here's what we'll do."

Naruto listens to his sensei's plan, his eyes always diverting to the spot where he last saw the woman disappear. Then, when Kakashi gives the signal, the blond turns his focus inside and summons an extensive amount of chakra to his hands, performing his favourite jutsu.

As a dozen clones irrupt from a cloud of smoke, the blond jumps in the clearing with a war cry quickly enhanced by his copies' voices. He settles on freeing the villagers and bringing them away from the fight. But his mind cannot help drifting back to the young woman, and soon he leaves the clearing, followed by two of his clones. Kakashi, too busy fighting the five shinobis, doesn't seem to notice this.

Naruto doesn't have to run for long before finding the man and his victim. He slows down at the first sob that reaches his ears and beckons his clones to circle the scene quietly. Then, with a hand clutching his kunai, his heart beating furiously against his ribcage, and drops of cold sweat running down his temples, he takes some tentative steps forward, eyes searching.

He finds them against a tree, the man's large built shielding her trembling form from view. The first thing Naruto registers is her tear-strained face. Her bottom lip is bleeding, and the man's large hand is clenching her jaw.

"I hate the smell of slaves, but it will have to do."

Naruto jerks forward when the hand on the woman's face trails down her shoulder and tugs on the fabric of her shirt.

"Leave her alone, you sick pervert!"

The rogue ninja swirls around, and upon seeing his new opponent, bursts out laughing.

"Or what, Konoha's scum?"

"You're going to eat dirt."

The man snorts, and Naruto has to admit that he wasn't convincing. The boy doesn't know how to deal with an opponent that big by himself. And without the help of the Kyuubi at that. But he is also the most unpredictable ninja, and at that thought, his spirit comes back. He knows what he has to do.

Without warning, he lunges forward, kunai in hand. He settles on his favourite combos, surprising the man with a combined attack with one of his clones. He punches and kicks, but the blows are all blocked, and no harm is done.

And then, the man hits his own chest, reminding Naruto of a gorilla, and when he opens his mouth, a loud scream pierces the blond's ears, and a gust of wind propels him backward against a tree.

The boy gets up with much difficulty, a buzzing sound echoing in his ears. He blinks to dissipate the blurriness and quickly takes a defensive stance, expecting his opponent to charge at him any second. However, the man has his back facing him, and his head is darting left and right.

A sudden rage engulfs Naruto. His opponent is not taking their fight seriously, and there aren't many things that Naruto hates more than being dismissed, ignored. At least the blond can comfort himself knowing the young woman is now out of reach with the rest of his clones and the villagers.

"Oi!" He finally calls the man, his fists tightening. "You won't find her. I took her away from your disgusting hands, asshole."

The man swirls around and settles his dark eyes on him. "You did what?"

But before Naruto can repeat himself, a volley of blows sends him to the ground. He tries to bring his hands together to summon more clones, but one of his arms forms an odd angle and every time he attempts to move it, a sharp pain irrupts in his limb.

By the time he realizes he is doomed to die in the hands of a fat gorilla, Naruto received a considerable amount of blows to the face and cannot really feel the pain anymore. His hearing has come back, though; instead of the buzzing sound, the impact of wood against wood reaches his ears.

"Well, would you look at that?" An unfamiliar voice interrupts the man's fit of rage, giving some respite to Naruto. Through his swollen eyes, he distinguishes a cloud of pale, spiky hair. "You probably think you're superior, now, don't you? Pummelling a thirteen-year-old boy like this."

"Another Konoha's scum, I suppose?"

"I wouldn't call myself that at all." The newcomer takes a couple of steps closer, and Naruto's opponent finally gets up. With the weight being lifted, the boy can roll to the side to push himself up. Upon doing so, however, his eyes land on two wooden sandals he has never seen before. "I'm seeing myself more of a talented writer, actually. Maybe you've heard of my books? The Icha Icha series?"

The rogue falters in his steps. "I did, actually. You wrote those?"

"What a shame, really," the stranger says. Naruto looks up upon hearing an unfamiliar sound and sees an old man with spiky white hair with a swirling blue ball in his hand. "That one of my precious fans turns out to be such a scum."

With one swift movement, the white-haired man brings the blue ball to the other man's stomach. After swirling, piercing clothing and flesh, the attack propels the Oto's shinobi backward several feet away. The man ends his course in a tree and falls limply to the ground.

"Wow." Naruto gets up slowly, his widened eyes staring at the open wound on the man's stomach. "That was epic." Then he turns to the stranger with white hair. "Are you really from Konoha?"

"Wha- Don't tell me you don't even know who I am?"

Naruto shakes his head and a sudden pain shots to his head. He winces and applies a hand to his nose. Since when is it broken?

"You okay, kid?"

"Naruto!" Kakashi storms out of the bushes and pushes past the stranger to kneel in front of his student. "What were you thinking?"

"Your genin rescued a young woman if I understand correctly."

The silver-haired man's head snaps to the right upon hearing the unfamiliar voice, and he quickly gets up. "Jiraya-sama! What are you doing here? Are you on a mission? Or looking for inspiration?"

"Ah!" Jiraya exclaims, clapping a hand on Kakashi's back. "Hatake, you know me so well. I was actually looking for a more rural setting when I stumble upon this fight. Thought I should help the kid a bit."

"Well, thank you. I don't know what I did to deserve such a bunch of ungrateful brats. They never listen."

"You'll get used to it, I'm sure."

After listening to the exchange, dumbfounded, for a while, Naruto clears his throat impatiently. "So, sensei. What was that all about? Did we find the reason behind the disappearances?"

Kakashi sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "It would be better if you come back to the clearing. Hawk is there too. Jiraya, are you coming?"

"Oh, no, thanks. I have a... meeting, for lunch, today. I'll come back to Konoha with you, though. So see you soon, kid." And with that, Jiraya disappears behind a large bush without a sound.

"Lunch?" Naruto glances at the sky, and through the leaves, he can see the red sky, a sign of a new day. "Wait. Does that mean that Sakura-chan and Sasuke spent the night alone in these woods? Have you heard from them? From Mole?"

"Nothing," Kakashi answers dejectedly. "You take a nap while I speak with Hawk. His birds might have heard something."

"A nap?" Naruto feels insulted. Does Kakashi really think he can't skip a night? "No way. We're going after them. They probably need us, sensei!"

"Naruto. You have the face of a large pumpkin. You will take a nap. With the help of the Kyuubi's chakra, you'll feel - and look - better in an hour or two. And anyway, for now, we don't know where they are, if they moved or not. Hawk and I will try to find them."

The boy wants to interject, but even he can see the logic behind Kakashi's plan. If he has to fight again, he needs to heal first. He hardly sees through his swollen eyes, and his broken nose is giving him a headache.

Without a word, Naruto pushes past his sensei and returns to the clearing, where he falls asleep with much difficulty, his mind always returning to his lost teammates.

[A/N] Thank you so much for the nice reviews (and for your patience.)

If you were wondering, Mole used a jutsu that creates tunnels (I just invented that, don't think it's really a thing.)

And my life should go back to normal soon. I'll try to come back to weekly updates in July... We'll see!

MB