'You don't say,' Taroko tapped sarcastically, so done with everything. Especially their captain.
"I got that. Sakura, check Kakashi-sensei for injuries please," Naruto said, pulling out the first aid kit scroll, and unsealing bandages and some antibacterial stuff.
He carefully wiped Taroko's injuries down, bandaging them as he went.
When he was done, Taroko carefully stood up. 'We can place Kakashi on my back carefully, he's not that heavy.'
"But you're injured," Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow.
Taroko sniffed impatiently. 'I can handle far worse injuries than this, thank you very much.'
Danromi hopped onto her head and settled down, purring softly.
Sakura and Sasuke working together managed to get Kakashi settled on Taroko's back, the dino thanking the fact that Naruto often needed her to carry the deer they killed for the Nara. And the fact that Kakashi wasn't all that heavy.
Despite having sustained worse injuries previously in her life, Taroko gratefully collapsed when they arrived at the house four hours later. The others arranged Kakashi on the bedroll attached to his backpack, then settled in themselves.
Taroko, with some difficulty, stood up, making her way outside. She settled down in the bushes beside the door.
Danromi joined her after a bit. "Doing something?"
"There's no guarantee we won't be attacked in the night," Taroko chirped quietly.
"You know that you have to rest, right? You aren't immortal."
"I know that. I can rest while they are awake."
Danromi sighed. "Taroko. I'll keep watch and wake you if someone comes. You're hurt. I'm not."
Taroko narrowed her eyes, but acquiesced. "Fine."
The sun woke Taroko in the morning. She yawned, startling Danromi.
"You're awake," she greeted.
Taroko trilled in agreement, gently moving her tail to check it. It hurt, but not as badly as yesterday. "Standing up."
A spark of chakra against her scales marked Danromi holding on, so Taroko stood up, heavily favoring her injured leg.
"Hopefully we have time to recover before that man comes back," Danromi noted worriedly. "You're injured pretty badly."
"I can still hunt," Taroko replied. "I have to be able to."
"If you insist," Danromi said worriedly.
"Thought I'd find you out here," Naruto noted, yawning as he came out. "Come on, we gotta change your bandages."
Taroko nodded, following Naruto into the house.
The woman inside freaked as Taroko came in. Previously, Taroko hadn't seen the woman, although she had smelled her.
"Tsunami, this is Taroko! She's my ninja dinosaur!" Naruto chirped.
Taroko snorted, nudging Naruto roughly. He stumbled forward. "Hey!"
"Bandages?" Danromi asked, flapping from Taroko's head to the table in the middle of the room.
Tsunami squeaked. "And what are you?"
"A dragon!" Danromi chirped. "I'm Danromi!"
"O-oh, alright." She managed, turning back to the stove. "Please inform the rest of your team breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. It's the least I can do."
"Me and Taroko will grab our own breakfasts," Danromi assured the woman. "But I'll tell the kids." She hopped onto Naruto's head that time, curling up in his hair.
They walked upstairs, only to find Kakashi awake and trying to get up.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, clearly distressed. "You can't be walking yet!"
'Sit down captain,' Taroko tapped, settling down herself and giving Naruto clear access to her injuries. 'Breakfast is portable after all, and I will not be a crutch or a stretcher for you again.'
"Is that how I got here?" Kakashi asked, amused. He did cease trying to stand up though.
"Yeah, we managed to get you up onto her back and get you here," Sasuke said, monotone.
Naruto started changing Taroko's bandages. "Probably lucky Taroko didn't collapse halfway here."
'I'm fine,' Taroko tapped, tail swishing back and forth a few times.
"You're no more fine then I am," Kakashi noted.
'At least I'm not chakra deprived,' Taroko deadpanned. 'I can work past my injuries and wasn't ever in any real danger of dying from them. You really were. Chakra exhaustion isn't something to play with, Captain.'
"Whatever the case, Tsunami says dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Or she did a few minutes ago." Danromi noted.
"You guys can't hunt right now," Naruto said. "Maybe in a few days, but we don't want this infected. We have enough stored."
Taroko nodded, resting her head on the floor.
"I'll unseal some when we head for breakfast," Naruto promised.
Within a day, Taroko was mostly recovered, and Kakashi was up and walking around, albeit with the assistance of some crutches they had found.
"Alright," Kakashi said, eye smiling at them. "Let's learn how to climb trees, shall we?"
'I don't have the arms to climb trees,' Taroko tapped, giving Kakashi a very unimpressed look.
"Oh, we won't be using our arms," Kakashi said, still eye smiling.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "And how will we do that?"
Kakashi walked towards a tree, then stepped onto the vertical surface, calmly walking up the tree.
"Oh, like hanging onto someone's head, but while walking," Danromi reasoned.
"Chakra," Sakura said, getting it first. Well, saying it first. Taroko totally understood it first, she just couldn't say it fast enough.
"Exactly, my cute little student." He walked back down, tossing kunai at the genin's feet. "I assume you can mark your own tree, Taroko?"
Taroko experimentally slashed at the tree. 'Yes.'
Danromi hopped off her perch on Sasuke's head, somehow attaching herself to one of the nearby trees with chakra. "Easy!"
"I can't fly," Taroko chirped at the dinosaur. "Not as easy as you think."
There was one major problem. While the others could just run up the tree and fall off, then try again, that wouldn't exactly work for Taroko. Her tail and general body shape mostly got in the way.
"Try lying on the ground sideways, and rolling onto your side and sticking that way?" Danromi suggested.
As she had nothing better to do, Taroko settled down on the ground, rolled onto her side, and started trying to stick her feet to the tree.
"I made it!" Sakura cheered a moment later, looking down at them all from a higher branch.
"Good job Sakura, why don't you go keep an eye on the builder?" Kakashi suggested, eye smiling at the girl.
Sakura nodded, walking down and then walking away.
"You'd better hurry if you want to catch up to her," Kakashi sang, leaning against a tree.
The boys, previously having been staring after Sakura with open mouths, quickly went back to running up their trees.
Taroko got it after another hour and a half, Sasuke getting it not too long after. Taroko stayed and waited for Naruto to get it, hunting in the surrounding areas if she got too bored or hungry.
After a while, he fell asleep, so Taroko settled down to watch over him as he slept.
It was probably good, as a person, with a similar scent to the person that had taken Zabuza, wandered in, beginning to pick herbs.
Taroko growled lowly, and the person startled, finding the raptor glaring at them from two feet away.
"H-hello," the person said.
'Hello,' Taroko tapped impatiently. 'Why do you work with Zabuza? And why shouldn't I just kill you here and eat the body?'
"How do you know that?" The person asked guardedly.
Taroko tossed her head. 'I have an excellent sense of smell. I would've stopped you, but I can't walk on water. Now, why shouldn't I eat you?'
(A/N) A very good question. Why do you think Taroko shouldn't eat you, Haku? Probably something about their precious people. But hey, we don't control the Haku.
Anyway, there's a poll about an update spot. Why don't you go check it out? I do have cool stories there after all. Well, the people on discord think so.