Soft Drink

Chapter Three

"My feelings going on a south bound train, tell me how, I still feel the same."

"Alright!" shouted Naruto as he looked around, dumbfounded. "Uh. . .where do I start. . .Oh! Oh! Hoya! Where did you buy that soft drink at?"

"You want another one?" she said, starting to take her back pack off. He quickly said yes, but then he continued on as she gave him the soft drink. He gulped it down, smiling.

"Alright, now, seriously, where did you buy it?" Hoya came to the conclusion that Naruto had already long understood, and Itachi, too, started to understand.

"Follow me," said Itachi as he walked past Naruto. His voice wasn't as natural as it was before, almost annoyed.

'Yes,' Naruto seemed happy as he thought. 'The bastard doesn't like me, this is awesome. I don't know, maybe it is because he wants to get out of here, I mean after my little hunter-nin-hero story thing I'd want to leave too. Also, I actively have hunter-nin following me so often that it is almost uneasy, so I don' t blame him for it. But, he tried to kill me once, and he gets what he gets.' As he thought he followed Itachi and Hoya through the town.

Hoya eyed his uneasy expresssion. "Naruto?" she said.

"What?" he said, snapping out of his phase. "Oh, sorry, something. . .came. . .and. . .went. . ." he said. She gave him a confused look and then said an oh.

"Here it is," she said. "But. . .there's not girl here." The location where she had bought the soft drink was an empty stand. It was much like a Ramen Bar, and it probably was. "Hello?"

"Hello?" echoed Naruto. He started to walk inside, Hoya put her hand up to stop him, but she hesitated and Naruto went in. Through the small kitchen, which composed of one stove and several boxes, one of which was open. Inside was packs and packs of Ramen. Naruto stopped, staring at the packs.

"What is it?" said Itachi. He looked at the Ramen, which he found from Naruto's sight of vision, and then started to piece the puzzle together. "Oh. . ."

"What is it?" said Hoya.

"He likes. . .Ramen. It reminds him of the Leaf. . ."

"Konoha." Naruto staired at it for a long time until he started to walk off. He went farther into the kitchen, and the small building suddenly seemed huge. It was connected to a household.

"Hello?" shouted Naruto. "Is anyone here?" Suddenly, then, footsteps were heard coming from the top level. A girl, the girl, walked down stairs to greet Naruto.

"Why are you here? Food I have some in the front you didn't have to come back here," she had long, red hair. It went halfway down her back until it stopped, and it parted on both sides of her face running back behind her ears.

"You seem. . .nervious? Something happening?" said Hoya.

"No, no, not at all," her voice initiated everything that Hoya had just said.

"I get it," said Itachi. "She doesn't do it out of love for you Naruto, like you may be thinking. She's doing it because of your accomplishments. You saved her village, didn't he?"

"Yes. . .and. . .he. . .saved my life. And he killed the men that killed my parents. I'd. . .do anything for him. I was just worried. . .not because of him. I do love him. I was worried because of. . ." she paused, then looked back up at Itachi. "You."

A long silence occured. It took almost five minutes. Then, suddenly Naruto fell back, collapsing on the stairs.

"He's up!" said Hoya. "Wow you got up, I thought you had died for a second."

"What happened?" he said as he yawned. Looking around him he noticed the wilderness and he almost panicked. "Where's the girl?!" he shouted. She sat on the other side of the fire, Itachi was to the right of her, and Hoya to the left. "She. . .came?"

"We convinced her to. She said she'd do anything for her and I know that it would do you right so I persuaded her to come along with us."

"She knows where we are going?"

"Yes."

"Everything that goes with it?"

"Yes."

". . .ok. . .what is your name?" She looked a little confused, and scared, but she talked.

"Etsu Takuko. . ." she said. She wore a normal villager outfit, nothing really special was on it.

"You seem scared. . .what's wrong?" said Hoya. A second after she finished she half laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot, anyone in your situation would be completly terrified." Naruto smiled at this remark and then yawned.

"Let's go to sleep," he said.

"You just slept for like three and a half hours, we had to carry you on a cart most of the way." Naruto looked behind him, a cart, almost like a book shelf on wheels, it was just long enough for him to fit on. There was small pieces of wood on the tops of each side to make sure that whatever was on it never fell off.

"I know, but I'm feeling a little bit more confortable. . .I can probably sleep. . ."

"Comfortable? With us?" said Itachi. There was a short bit of silence and Hoya looked over at Itachi, almost about to say something. She stopped, and looked back at Naruto.

"Not anymore."

The next day they walked through the forest, and it went pretty quiet, Itachi's remark had silenced the group. The only one without a pack was the Takuko, as Hoya and Itachi never expected her to come along. Everything went along as planned, or almost as planned.

"Stop," said Itachi, throwing his hands back. He slowly moved one of his hands to his pocket, pulling out a kunai. "Alright. . ." Naruto looked around, then laughed. Itachi then threw the kunai through the air in front of him, and almost out of the sky a ninja fell down, the kunai slitting his throat. The limp body flew into Itachi, and he pushed it off, angered at the man. "He was ambushing us, so watch out, Hunter-nin are still following."

"I already knew that," said Naruto, smiling.

'What?!' thought Itachi. "Why didn't you tell me!?" he said.

"Because, I wanted to see what you could do against them, and plus I guess I was kind of hoping they'd pick you off anyways."

"You still do not. . ."
"Forgive you," he finished the sentence. "Until the day I die, I will try to kill you for what you did."

". . .it was not me."

"What are you two talking about?" said Hoya, pushing herself into the conversation.

"He thinks I was the one."

"The one what?"

"The one who forced me to kill Tsuande, the Hokage," said Naruto. "It's a well known story, so I can't pull the whole 'how did you know' story. . .but. . .I know it was you. Somehow and someway you did it, or someone of the Akatsuki, someone in this organization did this to me and I will never forgive them or the organization."

"Then why are you following us?" said Hoya. Naruto started laughing.

"Protection."

"Uhm. . ." said Takuko. Everyone flipped around instantly. "When are we going to be there? Will I be able to go back to my village?"

"After you enter the Akatsuki you will not, I repeat. . .will not be able to be apart of any other country or village or city or anything else. You Akatsuki now. Well," said Itachi, "not now, when you get there and we initiate you."

"It's a club?"

"You can say that." Naruto sighed and continued walking. Everyone, hesitantly followed him, Hoya jumping out in front to lead the way.

"So," said Takuko after a long silence, she was talking to Naruto. Some part of the day had gone by and it was almost three. "Am I going to be your wife now?"

"What? No, not if you don't want to be. I just want to take you along to thank you for everything you've done. You can go home whenever you want, although when you get there, like Itachi said, it's it," said Naruto.

"I've been getting second thoughts about going with you. I thank you for saving my village. . .but how can I go back now? We're miles away from my home. . ."

"I can't take you back."

". . .then I'm . . ." she looked back. She stopped, staring at the small, dirt path behind her and the one she walked on. "Not turning back ever again." She smiled at Naruto and he smiled back. "Maybe we can create a relationship."

"Maybe." his head flipped to the right and he ducked quickly. Takuko panicked and copied him.

"What is it?!" shouted Itachi.

Naruto stood up, looking around. He started laughing. "Oh my god. . ." he laughed again. "I think. . .it was nothing."

"Good, because we are here."