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Naruto skidded to a stop at the edge of a roof and caught his breath. He looked out over the crowd of citizens and analyzed each figure closely.
Naurto sighed and shook his head. "Nothing" he muttered
He must have been looking for Chō for a few hours now. He had searched most of Konoha but still came up empty handed.
The leaf village is a big place but Chō seemed to have just vanished. Naruto plopped down on the roof and stared up into the sky.
There weren't many places left to search and he was getting tired. Naruto watched as a cloud drifted by slowly. He followed its movements with his eyes and wondered alloud "Where could she be?".
The cloud drifted further and further until eventually passing over the hokage monument.
Naruto stared at the cliffside. He could remember everytime he made the trek up that cliff, just so he could cry without letting the villagers see him, and he could remember everytime he cried himself to sleep atop the fourths visage.
"I might as well check up there, it has the best view of the village after all." Naruto said.
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It seemed like another hour had passed, but Naruto had finally made it up to the top.
He began to move toward the cliff which overlooked the village. Then he froze for a moment.
He could see her. He could see that she was sat down, looking out across the expanse of the village. He could see that she had her knees pulled up to her chest.
There was a pang of sadness that rushed through his heart. He was convinced the only reason she was up here all alone was because of what he said.
'I wonder if she's still mad?' He wondered anxiously
Naruto took a fearful step forward. He was afraid of what was to come. 'What if she didn't want to be around him anymore?'
He took another step. 'What if she hated him?'
Another. 'What if she looked at him with those eyes... those eyes of disgust?'
Millions of questions flew about his mind as he walked shakily up to her.
He had never been so anxious before. Perhaps it was because he never truly had anyone to care or worry about... before now.
Naruto's heart was racing as he took the final step to stand next to her. After a deep breath he gathered the nerve to speak.
"Hey... Chō?" He said, his voice quivering ever so slightly.
She did not respond but her head dipped down as acknowledgement of his presence.
"Chō?" he asked again. She did not react.
"Look I...I just... I-I'm really sorry, about what I said. I didn't mean any of it and I definitely didn't want to hurt you."
She still just sat there, with her head down and her hair shadowing her eyes.
Naruto sniffled and his eyes teared up slightly. He sat down roughly and said.
"I guess I really am just the worthless idiot they say I am."
At this Chō slowly raised her head to look at Naruto.
"You're not an idiot Naruto" She said sniffling.
Naruto's face brightened up, she was talking to him!
"So you're not mad at me anymore?" Naruto asked
"Of course I'm still mad at you!" She yelled.
Naruto looked closer at her face, her eyes were red and puffy. He knew all too well what that meant.
His face softened and he said "I really am sorry, I never meant to make you cry."
"You're not whats making me cry you jerk."
"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned.
"What you said made all my memories come back, everything I had blocked out." Chō said.
"What'd you remember?" Naruto inquired.
Chō pulled her legs closer to her chest and lowered her head. Her eyes began to sting slightly but she spoke anyway.
"I was only eleven when it started. The Kagaku clan was ruled by a single clan head... I was his daughter. My father did everything for his people and was benevolent. But his brother was jealous, and he lusted for power. That envy lead him down a dark path and he was consumed by greed... eventually he amassed an army of his own, somehow he was able to gather my fathers enemies and start a revolution."
"Those in the clan who were loyal to my father fought by his side and a civil war began. I could only watch as my family members tore each other apart. Eventually there was a final battle that shook our village to the core. Each side fought ferociously and when the dust settled my uncle and his army were defeated. But my father died in the chaos."
Now tears came pouring down like torrential rain. Naruto could only watch as she wailed and mourned the loss of her loved ones.
Seeing her in such despair finally became too much for his heart and he reached out to embrace her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. She paused her sobbing for a split second, shocked at Naruto's kindness.
The tears came back ten fold and she embraced him back as she cried into his shoulder.
Naruto rubbed her back to comfort her and after a moment he asked "what happened next?"
"My mother took the mantle of clan head but the hidden cloud heard about our war and knew we would be weak" She said through her tears.
"When they invaded they were ruthless. They slaughtered the people in the streets! And when they finally came for my mother... I was Useless!" They burned the village to the ground! ...How could they be so cruel?"
"People laid down their lives for me and in the end... I died anyway." She couldn't explain it but there was sinking feeling in her, one she'd never felt before.
Her voiced cracked as she spoke. Her entire body was now wracked with grief and she couldn't help but tremble.
Naruto tried to think of something to say but couldn't, so there they sat in the comfort of each others arms.
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Naruto was still there holding Chō in his arms. She had been so overwhelmed by emotion that she cried herself to sleep.
The sky was dark except for the stars that gleamed in the night and Naruto was exhausted.
He looked down to Chō and decided that she could take his bed at home. He would sleep on the floor or the couch.
With that thought he picked Chō up bridal style and began to carry her towards home.
Along the way he began to wonder about her origins.
She was so young and yet she experienced so much hardship. He supposed they were similar in that way.
He began to wonder about the specifics of her death.
He also wondered about the true strength of the Kagaku clan, among other things.
He was so lost in his thoughts in fact, that he hadn't realized he was home until he opened the bedroom door.
Naruto layed her down on the bed and tucked her in. He began to walk out of the bedroom towards the couch but Chō grasped his hand in her sleep.
Naruto smiled softly and thought 'Maybe I'll sleep on the floor. Just for tonight'
He layed down next to the bed and drifted away into the clutches of deep sleep.
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Ash fell to the ground like snow. Her village was ignited and her people slaughtered. She was the last of them still alive and her body was running on fumes. She was still alive because others had died for her... they had died in her place.
Now there was no one left but her. She watched from afar as her village burned and as her people laid lifeless.
It seemed that she was not alone. The vultures were circling.
Shadowy figures dropped down from the trees above, four of them.
They were shinobi sent to hunt down any survivors. She looked to their headbands and saw the symbol of the hidden cloud... and then the gleam of a sword.
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Chō awoke suddenly and shot up in bed.
She had cold sweats and was shaking. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her breathing was ragged.
"A nightmare?"
She looked around fearfully and finally took in her surroundings. She was in Naruto's bed, but where was he? She heard snoring and looked down to see him sleeping peacefully on the floor.
Seeing his face helped her calm down and after a minute she shut her eyes to let sleep take hold once more.
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Boom!
The explosions rocked their village as the people scrambled to gather their loved ones and get them to safety.
The small girl swung her head in every direction and all she could see was chaos.
Fire, blood, screams, and the clash of metal on hard crystal.
She was being pulled along by her wrist. The face of her guide was calm and still as stone, but she could feel how tightly they held her, she could feel every terrified tremble.
The children were being brought to saftey along with those who could not fight. As she was getting dragged along she could hear the sounds of battle inching ever closer.
Before anyone knew it, death's vultures were upon them, carrying swords and claiming the clouds as their home.
They surrounded the group and slaughtered all who were too weak to defend themselves.
In the midst of this carnage those who could defend themselves banded together. She could see that her guide met up with three others and they began to discuss something. The guide pointed in her direction but she couldn't hear what they had said, as a matter of fact she couldn't hear anything, just a low, hollow, ringing.
Her guide then grabbed ahold once more and they, along with the other three, ran off towards the outskirts of the village, but they were being tracked.
One by one the other three were cut down, two of them taking blows aimed at her. All that stood now was her guide... and the vultures were hot on their tail.
They caught up soon enough. Just as quickly as their pursuers had arrived, they were blocked out as a shield of crystal went up around them and her guide began talking to her.
The ringing in her ears stopped and gradually the words began to sink in.
"-- and there's no time left so you need to run, you understand?"
The girl only stared blankly.
"Do you understand?!"
She nodded her head.
"Good, When I open the shield up you run... I love you my little one."
After that was said the shield instantly burst out into a million shards of crystal and the small child ran off as fast as her legs could take her.
Any who moved to pursue her were dealt with quickly and once she got to the tree line she looked back to see her guide fighting ferociously.
She continued running untill her legs were painfully stiff and her lungs burned. She made it atop a steep hill and could go no further. Looking back she could see the village burning, and despite how far the girl had run, the vultures still approached.
Her guide was dead.
As she looked upon the burning village tears fell down her cheeks and she thought
'I love you too Kaa-san'
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(I read them all)