Past Regrets Chapter 7: The Journey to Konohagure, a naruto fanfic

Past Regrets

Chapter 6: The Journey to Konohagure

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"So why are you coming to our home town, Miss-"

"Tetsu," the black haired girl interrupted the blonde man.

"Miss Tetsu," he affirmed.

"I'm going to find my father," she replied.

"Anyone we might know?" the silver haired man asked and stepped over a fallen log. Tetsu shrugged.

"I don't even know who you are."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the pinky's Haruno Sakura, the old guy's Hatake Kakashi, and the grump over there's Uchiha Sasuke," the blonde man stated.

"Naruto, I'm not that old," the man named Kakashi retorted with a huff.

"And don't call me pinky," the woman growled.

"Don't make me hurt you," was all the black haired man said.

"Well? Who's this father of yours?" the young man named Naruto asked again.

"I don't know him. I just know his name is Umino Iruk-"

"Iruka-sensei?!" Sakura and Naruto interjected at the same time.

"I think so. He's supposedly a teacher at the Konohagure Ninja Academy." All four of the newcomers stopped in their tracks. Tetsu turned around to see them all looking at her with wide eyes and open mouths. "Yes?"

"I didn't know Iruka had a daughter!" Sakura gasped and walked up to her, grabbing her chin.

"Hey, hey!" Tetsu grumbled and flailed her arms around. Naruto and Kakashi joined in, pulling at her hair and poking her skin.

"She does have the same hair color-"

"And the same skin tone-"

"And her eyes match his almost exactly-"

"Let go you guys!" she growled and stumbled backward, tripping over a rock. She glared at them angrily and sat up, rubbing her head. Kakashi took a step back and grinned innocently. Sakura and Naruto looked at her dumbfounded.

"Sorry about that," the silver-haired man apologized. Sasuke walked up to join them and looked at Tetsu curiously.

"Why wouldn't he tell anyone?" he asked, looking at Kakashi with a quirked eyebrow.

"I don't know. This is news to me," he muttered and shrugged, scratching the back of his head in puzzlement.

"Stop gawking at me as though I'm some sort of exhibit at a museum," Tetsu griped and stood up, dusting herself off. She took her hair out and scratched where her hair tie used to be. "I just found this out for myself so I know as much as you know." She tied her hair up in a high ponytail and began to braid it casually.

Naruto continued to look at her in astonishment. No matter how close he'd gotten to Iruka in the past, he never knew he had a daughter. Sakura began to play with her hair as well, tying her shaggy, shoulder-length hair in a loose bun.

She wore a black pair of shorts and a white tank top underneath a gray makimono vest. Her feet had a pair of black and white zori that matched her outfit. Her nails were painted delicately a frosty pink that matched her hair. She wore her hitai-ate tightly on her right thigh. A cheerful blush was on her cheekbones when she smiled.

Naruto wore the same shorts but had a black, long-sleeved shirt underneath his green vest. The shirt was capable of covering his face when needed. He wore a black pair of zori and had fighting tape that wrapped up his shins. His hitai-ate was wrapped around his waist like a belt and an old pair of goggles around his head. His six demon birthmarks curved with his awkward grin.

Sasuke wore a black pair of cargo pants that were tucked into large black boots. He wore a white wife-beater and a makimono belt instead of a vest. He had a black backpack on that matched the same material as his pants with just as many pockets. His stern face seemed to always be in a scowl except for his occasional wry smirk.

Kakashi wore his normal attire with the exception of the color change. His shirt was black along with his pants, and his vest was gray like Sakura's. His fingerless gloves were the same light gray along with his zori. He had crowfeet on the corners of his eyes (at least the visible one), which made him look older than he claimed he was.

Tetsu finished braiding quickly and scratched her nose. "Are we going to go or not?" Kakashi snapped back to reality and began to lead the way to the shoreline with the other four following.

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Tetsu strayed behind as the others followed closely to their leader. Sasuke paused a moment and looked back at her, waiting for her to catch up.

"So what's your story?" he asked and began to walk alongside her.

"What do you mean, grouch," she retorted in a somewhat playful way. The man kept his stern look and stepped over a branch.

"I mean, why did you not know Iruka was your father until now?" he said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"He abandoned me when I was three," Tetsu replied. "I learned before I was captured that he was my father."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Two things."

"Yes?"

"One, I am older than you, and two, fourteen years ago he began teaching."

"Two things," Tetsu mimicked.

"Yes?" Sasuke asked.

"How old are you and how old was he?"

"He was about eighteen, I think. And I'm twenty-two."

"You're a young twenty-two."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Take it as you want it," Tetsu replied. 'He's how old Hisoka was,' she thought and nearly tripped over a rock. Sasuke grabbed her collar before she could tumble and held her up. She gasped and wobbled, still slightly unbalanced.

"Way to kill the girl, Sasuke!" Naruto called up to them when he heard the commotion. The other two looked up at the pair as Sasuke looked at the flailing and choking Tetsu. He let go of her collar, making her fall forward. Kakashi and Naruto chuckled as Sasuke stepped over the floored girl. She growled and sat up on her hands and knees, spitting out grass and rubble.

"Are you alright, Tetsu-san?" Sakura called in worry.

"I'm alright," she mumbled and grabbed at Sasuke's ankle. In the blink of an eye he was down in her face, gripping her wrist tightly.

"Nice try," he whispered and smirked cockily. Tetsu glared at him and tugged her arm away. He continued down the trail as she stood up, dusting herself off for the second time that day.

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They arrived at the shoreline a little past dusk. Sakura stretched and yawned, her legs giving way from under her. Naruto grabbed a kunai knife from his belt and tied it to a long stick, heading down to the surf. Sasuke began gathering sticks and logs for a fire, side-glancing at Tetsu as she followed Naruto to the seaside. Kakashi gathered rocks and made a circle between he and Sakura.

Sasuke dumped his findings into the circle, sitting beside Kakashi. Sakura grabbed a pair of rocks from a pouch on her belt and smacked them together above the sticks. Sparks flew onto the circle and soon a nice fire was crackling in front of them.

Naruto slid his shoes off and rolled his shorts up even farther, wading out into the surf just passed his knees. He arched his arm up with his makeshift spear, scanning the waters with his eyes narrowed. He felt a poke on his shoulder and nearly fell backward when he saw Tetsu standing barely a foot from him. She grabbed his vest before he could fall over and steadied him.

"Uh... hi," he muttered and went back to looking through the water. His eyes glistened when he saw a fish and was about to strike, but Tetsu beat him to it.

"One for me," she snickered and smirked.

"So you wanna play, huh?" Naruto replied and mimicked her grin. Before he could react, she threw her spear again.

"Two for me." He growled and looked around frantically, squinting in the dark.

"If you splash around like that, you'll either attract attention from sharks or spook the fish," Tetsu murmured calmly and pierced another fish. "Make that three." Naruto grumbled in frustration and stabbed in front of him, shish-ka-bobbing a large mackerel. He grinned and looked over to see Tetsu had six on her spear. He roared and stabbed around random placed, catching nothing and stirring up the water.

"You're being childish," Tetsu said and rolled her eyes. He looked over at her angrily as she jumped up into the air. He cocked his head in puzzlement and looked forward just in time to see a massive wave slap him down.

He tumbled to the shoreline and sat up as his spear was washed up beside him, the fish gone. He sat there a moment glaring out on the sea before spitting water out and slouching down. Tetsu walked up beside the sodden man and nudged him in the back with her foot.

"I have enough for us all. You don't need to go back out." When he didn't move, she walked back to the campfire.

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"That was some wipeout, Naruto," Kakashi joked and grabbed up his fish as Naruto finally joined the group.

"That was hilarious," Sakura giggled, replaying the image of the blonde man's feet flailing in the air as he was hit with the wave. Sasuke smirked slightly, but kept silent. Tetsu stood up after finishing her sushi and grabbed up her pack, pulling a rope from it. She tied it between two short trees and walked over to Naruto.

"Come 'ere," she muttered and took a towel and blue pair of sashinuki from her pack as well. Naruto followed her into the shadows of the trees.

"Take off your clothes," she muttered and held the towel up as a curtain.

"What?!" he shouted. She rolled her eyes and huffed.

"You're going to catch a cold if you stay soaked. Take off your clothes and put them on the clothesline," she murmured. He cocked his eyebrow then turned around, slipping from his saturated clothes and placing them over the rope. "Take these. They're my spare pair," Tetsu said and threw the clean pants at his face.

Naruto grabbed the sashinuki and turned around again, pulling them up and tying them around his waist. He grabbed up the towel in her hand and rubbed his short, blonde hair dry. He wrapped the towel around his shoulders and poked her shoulder. She turned to see him then turned back quickly with wide eyes. 'He has a nice build,' she thought and tried frantically to cool the hot blush that had graced her cheeks. He gave a puzzled look then smirked ever so slightly. He walked in front of her and patted her head.

"Thanks," he said and turned, walking back to the campsite. She nearly kicked herself, knowing that he saw her rosy cheeks. Tetsu followed behind him after she felt the flush leave her face.

"Oooo," Sakura teased, "what were you two doing?"

"She gave me dry pants," Naruto said innocently. He felt something get chucked at the back of his head. He grabbed it and saw it was a black wife-beater. He turned to see Sasuke snapping his backpack shut.

"No one wants to see that," he muttered and crawled back to his place on beside Kakashi. Naruto snorted and slipped it on.

'I don't mind it, really,' Sakura thought to herself, then mentally slapped herself. Tetsu sat between Sasuke and Naruto and looked at the fire. She felt eyes upon her and looked over at Sasuke who slyly shifted his gaze from her to the fire. She quirked an eyebrow but ignored him and grabbed up her knapsack, taking out a blanket.

"Tonight is going to be cold," she muttered and stood up. Kakashi nodded and took the pack off his back and took out a sleeping bag. The other three did the same, shaking them out and laying them close to the fire.

"You only have that?" Sasuke asked, pointing at her blanket. Tetsu looked at it and shrugged. He threw his sleeping bag at her and grabbed the blanket from her. She looked at him in shock then smiled.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He grabbed his pack and wrapped himself tightly in the thin cover. Tetsu laid his sleeping bag down beside him and slipped inside, grinning with because of the warmth within.

"G'night," Naruto said to everyone. Kakashi and Sakura replied likewise and Sasuke and Tetsu muttered the same quietly.

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Tetsu woke up before everyone that morning. The sun hadn't even appeared and the fire was out. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking over at her sleeping comrades. Sasuke was shivering and huddled up beside her dangerously close. She held back a chuckle and unzipped her sleeping bag, draping it over the man's shoulders. He moaned slightly in his sleep and curled up tighter underneath the comforter.

She looked over at the other three and smiled. Naruto was drooling, Sakura was mumbling in her sleep, and Kakashi was snoring louder than a wild boar. 'What a group,' she thought and stood up, walking away from the campsite and closer to shore.

Tetsu sat down and dug her feet into the sand, watching the tide slide back and forth as the sun peeked shyly over the horizon. She yawned delicately and laid down, stretching and soaking her feet in the icy cold water. It sent shivers up her spine and she closed her eyes, letting the sun touch her face with the smoothness of melting butter. The two different feelings made her smile and open her eyes to see a pair of dark red ones looking at hers.

"'Morning," Sasuke said and sat down beside her. She blinked, a tad startled, and nodded.

"Good morning to you too," she replied and yawned again.

"Why are you up so early?"

"I don't know. Why are you up so early?"

"I felt you cover me." Tetsu smiled slightly and stared out at the rising sun.

"You were cold."

"I was fine."

"You were not."

"I was too."

"No-"

"Yeah-"

"And you call me childish," Naruto interrupted and sat on the other side of Tetsu. Sasuke huffed and ignored him like he usually did.

"You were acting like one last night," Tetsu retorted.

"Hey, babe. You don't know me. You can't judge someone you don't know." Tetsu rolled her eyes and closed them as another wave touched her feet.

"Damn, it's cold!" Naruto jumped up, spraying sand all over the other two. Tetsu sat up immediately and spat, rubbing the sand from her face.

"That was surprising," she chuckled and dusted her arms off.

"You're going to be childish for the rest of your life, fox," Sasuke muttered and took off his shirt, shaking the sand free of it. Tetsu made a side glance and smirked slightly.

'He has an even better build than Naruto,' she thought and giggled to herself.

"What's so funny?" he asked, scratching his hair to remove the sand.

"Nothing," she said innocently and stood up, patting her clothes down. She looked over at Naruto and saw that he had a depressed look upon his normally chipper face. He was slouched over and heading back to the campsite where Kakashi was rousting Sakura.

"What's wrong with Naruto?" she asked and looked over at Sasuke. He had his arms and head resting on his knees; he was gazing out at the almost completely risen sun. When he didn't reply, she nudged him slightly.

"I called him something that he's not proud of," he said gruffly.

"Fox?" she asked. He nodded.

"He's a fox demon."

"He's a demon?" she asked. "He doesn't act like one."

"He's always acted like a child. He does it for attention. Just ignore it."

"Why isn't he proud of being a demon?" she asked curiously. Sasuke explained about how in his past life he was a terrible nine-tailed fox demon that nearly destroyed Konohagure and how their Hokage sealed him in a human body.

"Then why the fuck did you call him something so horrible? That's more immature than the way he acts, if you ask me," she snarled. Sasuke shot her a nasty glare. He stood up and stormed off without retorting with anything but a huff.

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Everyone: Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday!

Zero the Death Shadow: Those are the two questions that have been bugging the living snot outta me; glad you picked it up.If I explain the rape situation, I'm not even pleased with myself because there is no good excuse. The main reason is she has a near-fatal wound on her stomach being healed and it's not only painful but absorbing the chakra she needs in a battle. Secondly,Yasuo had a knife on her the whole time,not to mention that he had several others if she were to disarm him. And lastly,and most obvious, she was chained down. ; For lack of better explination, that's it. I know, it's pathetic but that's all I have.

Then the killing Yasuo thing.... sigh. I was going to make a few flashback sections, but I decided against it. It would completely ruin the battle scene. Let's just say he had a very, very bad childhood with his siblings. More of a bully thing... not even sibling rivalry. Just plain, flat-out cruelty.

Thank youvery much for pointing things out so I could explain more in depthabout what happened. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you continue reading!

Krn-Kimbap: Yes, he is hot! HEH HEH! I dunno. They might... but meh. I'm indecisive at this point. My fingers are just typing... I'm not even controling the story! Hehe! Things just happen the way I think. It's like I'm in a drugged-up daze when I write things. The outcome even surprises me! Haha! Thanks for the review!

Nishasha: Yeah.... I wrote a chapter and a half a day up to this point, but didn't update. Just to let you guys catch up and let others possibly start reading. (Like Zero, for instance! ) I need to start writing again... winter break made me relax a little.

GO INNER-SELVES! Haha! Thanks for the review!

Tamera2187: dances about HUZZAH! Naruto 'n' Co. are finally in! Heh heh!They rawk. Thanks for the review! I appreciate it muchly!