Konoha's Guardians : Book II :
By Silver Dragonfly
Chapter 3 : partnership
"So here it is. It seems smaller then I remember it." Naruto stated as he studied the long
bridge below them.
"You were a lot smaller the last time you were here Naruto-kun." Hinata responded as
she moved up to the cliff edge beside him to study the bridge herself. "The Great Naruto
Bridge—You must have done something really special for these people if they named the
bridge after you. Perhaps you gave them courage like you did for me…"
Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head laughing nervously.
"Shall we go down? It looks like preparations for the festival are all ready underway.
We'll need to get there soon if we are going to be on time." Hinata said changing the
subject.
Zurui yipped and trotted down the trail looking back over his shoulder at them with an
expression that clearly said, hurry up.
"All right! All right!" Naruto called as he started down the trail with Hinata at his side.
And so I come back to where my life as a shinobi really started… my first A rank
mission… even if the books say it was C, there was not a doubt that the difficulty was A.
Stupid Sasuke almost died in that fight…
"You almost got yourself killed as well kid." Kyuubi stated interrupting Naruto's
wandering thoughts.
Yeah… but it also activated my bond to you. I still wish there had been a way to save
them… Naruto answered, his mind drifting the memories of his fight on the bridge that
would soon be the location of what the people of Wave Country hoped would be an
annual festival.
"They chose their path. There was nothing more you or your teammates could have
done."
Naruto sighed.
Hinata turned to him with a questioning glance but Naruto just shook his head and smiled
at her. Just then a voice called out.
"Naruto! Naruto-niisan! Is that you?!" Called out a young boy in his pre-teens running
towards them from the bridge.
Naruto squinted his eyes and then laughed, a big grin on his face. "Inari! Long time no
see!" He called out waving, then turned to Zurui sitting nearby. "Hey Zurui, you want to
round up the rest of the pack that came and then meet up with us in the village a bit
later?"
The fox gave Naruto a grin and then vanished into the undergrowth.
Hinata looked at Naruto questioningly. "What did you mean by that Naruto? What pack
is Zurui supposed to find?"
Naruto chuckled. "Zurui isn't the only member of the Kitsune clans that has chosen to
stick around with me. The entire pack is close to 20 or 30 in number, though most stay
around Konoha. I think at least half a dozen decided to go with this time, though Zurui is
the only one who travels openly. There's even a few with more then one tail."
Hinata blinked in surprise, but it made sense. Naruto's Guardian bond was the oldest and
most developed. It also explained how he managed to pull off some of his 'tricks.' Before
anything further could be said about the matter the boy who had called out from the
bridge ran up to them grinning, stopping only a few feet and staring at Naruto with a
twinkle in his eye.
"Welcome back… Naruto-niichan."
Naruto grinned. "Good to be back."
Then the kid frowned. "You're late!"
Naruto laughed uneasily scratching the back of his head. "Ah, well, the hero must always
show up at the last second, ne?"
There was a pause, and then both boys broke into bright laughter as Hinata stood and
watched in amusement. Naruto… you taught this boy courage and hope when you were
here back then didn't you?
"Eh, Naruto-niichan, is she you're girlfriend?"
Hinata was startled out of her thoughts and found herself blushing slightly at the boy's
question.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, laughing lightly as he glanced at Hinata from the
corner of his eye. "Ah, she's my partner in this mission. Hyuga Hinata this is Inari, Inari
this is Hinata."
Hinata fought the blush that tried to take over her expression as she chose not to comment
on the fact that Naruto had neither actually denied nor admitted to them being a couple.
"It's nice to meet you."
----------------
Tell me again what good this little THING is going to do? Sasuke asked his partner as he
watched the 6-inch blue-green lizard with silver underbelly and accents continue to
thoroughly dig through and explore all of his belongings. So far, the small gecko-like
lizard had managed to go through all of his weapons holsters and most of his spare
clothing. Though Sasuke did have to admit, for even though the lizard was small, it had
already gotten in and out of areas that he would have thought were to tiny.
Ryukai's initial answer was an exasperated mental sigh. "You understand that there are
currently no dragons living in the physical plane correct?"
And? What does that have to do with this… pest?
Ryukai was about to correct Sasuke that the small blue-green lizard was not a pest, but let
it slide. What the ebony haired boy actually said and acted like, were often times rather
different from what he actually thought and felt. Ryukai could sense this was once again,
one of those times. "It has a lot to do with it, though more importantly even if there were
still dragons living in this plane, one would not be a suitable companion for you. For
one, full-grown dragons are much too large to have randomly roaming the countryside –
and would greatly hamper your position as a shinobi. And a dragon that wasn't fully
grown—well if you think human children are troublesome you haven't any idea the
mischief a youngster or even adolescent dragon can get into."
That still doesn't tell me what good a tiny lizard is going to do. Sasuke retorted.
"That lizard is not full grown, not by a long shot. And while he will not grow to be the
size of a dragon or even that of a large dog, he does have the potential to be come one of
the smaller kindred—IF he works with you. Just as Naruto teamed up with Zurui when
the fox was only a kit, so you must work with a partner who is as of yet, not fully grown."
Sasuke sighed and then reached up to grab the lizard by the tail as it attempted to
scramble up to the top of his head. Holding the lizard by the tail so that its eyes met his
he smirked. "Oi. I don't care where else you want to climb, but my head is off limits."
Ryukai laughed in his mind. "He says your hair looks cozy."
I don't care. Sasuke responded as he released his hold on the lizard's tail allowing it to
scramble up his arm and come to rest on his shoulder. "So what's your name anyways?"
He then asked, figuring he'd better at least know what to call him when he annoyed him.
"He says' his name is Yamori…"
Sasuke sighed loudly as he then moved to finish cooking dinner. It wouldn't be long
before Neji returned from scouting and he didn't need the Hyuga to know he'd been
spending the last half hour arguing with a tiny lizard.
----------------
Neji paused on a tree branch some fifty feet from the ground as he heard a rustling just a
few levels beneath him. He had already been on this mission a total of 2 and half days
with Uchiha Sasuke as his partner. Things had gone smoothly—smoothly as they could
considering neither of them spoke more then was absolutely necessary. Within the next
few days they would arrive at a small village known as Entu, a non-shinobi village that
co-existed with Amegakure, the Hidden Village of Rain. Once there they would continue
with the light diplomatic 'We're here to insure good relations' mission that was their
cover mission until Lee arrived with Sakura.
Neji activated his Byakkugan as the forest area around him quieted, he had only an
instant of warning before the large form of a white tiger dropped down landing on the
branch without a sound where he had been crouched only moments before. His fingers
were already moving in a flurry of seals when he noticed the large scroll carried in a
harness at the tiger's side, he paused.
"Get my fur wet, burned, or bloodied with that jutsu you were about to use and I'll make
sure you have scars in painful places."
Neji blinked. "Who summoned you?"
If it was possible the large feline rolled her eyes and moved into a lounging position, her
blue eyes not leaving him for a moment. "No one summoned me, or you could say I
summoned myself."
Neji frowned.
"Look, you are familiar with the pact between a Guardian and a human correct?" The
tigress asked.
Neji's frown deepened.
"Well, to make a very long and complicated—not to mention boring—story short, the
Guardian of the Tiger clan was killed with his last partner. From that time the Tiger clan
have helped when they could, but there is still not a member of the clan strong enough to
step into the Guardian position. That's why I am here. Had our Guardian, not died, you
would have been the one he would have bound to. Instead, you get me."
Neji's mouth formed into a straight line and his eyebrows furrowed. "And what, pray tell,
am I supposed to do with a talking ball of fur?"
The 'talking ball of fur' leapt and landed inches from his face her teeth bared. Her
movement much faster then Neji expected. "I'll tell you once and only once. My name is
Oniyuri. I have a scroll for you to sign, if you so choose Neji-san."
Neji recovered quickly from the surprise of her quick movement, and knew to have this
creature on his side… would not be a hindrance. "And if I choose to accept?"
"You will have the ability to summon any of the Tiger Clan, provided you have the
chakra to do so—AND I will always be at your side."
Oniyuri gave him a feline grin and managed to pull the large scroll from its harness to
land in Neji's lap and then offered her paw, claws extended. "In blood Neji-san. It must
be signed in your blood."
Neji met her fierce blue gaze with one of his own and unrolled the scroll, noticing that
there were no previous signatures and then cut his fingertip on her claw with out
flinching. With precise and clean strokes he signed his name to the scroll, finishing it
with a set of fingerprints. No sooner had he pulled his hand away the scroll glowed with
chakara and vanished into thin air.
Oniyuri smirked. "Welcome to the clan… Neji-kun."
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