Rikki: :giggles: I knew reposting the story would get me more reviews! Now how many did I get? :looks up at reviews:
…
FIVE!1
ero-jounin: Wewt! You liked it? Really really? :squeals with joy: I'm glad! Yup, Aria is Sasuke's childhood friend. ; Yeah, I'll be sure to include that, when Naruto asks about it. Probably.
anime-fan993: Yay! I'm glad you liked the first chappy ;
Rednal: I'm glad you liked it!
DarkenTears: :squeals: My LJ buddy! XD I'll do my best to keep up the good work! And I'll definitely check out your stories!
Marshmellowgang: :faints: No way! My story is that good? ; I'm REALLY glad you feel that way! I also like it when characters are with OC's especially when the author is good with his/her OC's. Makes the story a lot more interesting. I'm pretty sure OOC means 'Out of Character' since people always say something like "Sasuke is OOC this chapter" and a Mary sure…well just look that one up on the web. It's hard to explain. I look forward to seeing you next chapter too! ;
XD One review is plenty enough for me to start the next chappy. :giggles: Five is even better! XD (I'm writing this slowly! Bare with me please! I now know why it takes authors so long to update their fics! I'll never complain in my head again! P)
Disclaimer: I dun own Naruto, sadly. When I use that cheat and win the lotto; I'll buy it though…eheheh
Last Time
Aria disappeared before his eyes. The field disappeared and another memory appeared. He needed to see the memories. But he knew why he was wrong…he knew how he needed to beat Itachi. He wouldn't be afraid to ask for help. He watched the memories appear one after another. But he couldn't help but think of Aria…who would be waiting for him when he woke up…
Chapter Two: Friends
Naruto muffled a content sigh as he rolled around inside his bed. Wait, bed? Naruto's eyes shot open and he quickly rose into a sitting position. Bad idea. The moment he moved pain seared through him causing him to lie back down.
"Don't over do it." A familiar lazy voice came from the right. Naruto tilted his head to see the owner and his body shot back up. "Shikamaru!" Quickly regretting he did that, Naruto lay down slowly as the pain doubled.
"Baka. Didn't I tell you?"
"eheh…" Naruto grinned sheepishly as Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Naruto, seemingly not getting the point, shot up again. "Sasuke!" This time however, it wasn't just pain that seared through him. He coughed up a bit of blood before lying back down to cough some more. Shikamaru shook his head slightly before getting up and leaving the room.
Naruto blinked, about to yell after him, but instead of his voice that was supposed to come out of his loudmouth, blood did. He coughed quite a bit more before groaning. This sucked. Not only was he in a lot of pain, he had no idea how he got here. There were too many questions going through the blondes head at that moment, giving him a severe headache. He sighed as he let the darkness consume him, the pain would leave him then. Sure enough, the pain slowly disappeared as Naruto slipped unconscious.
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Tae walked through the halls in a dignified manner. She was furious, why did she have to take care of some useless shinobi.
'Honestly! Why the hell did we even help these people anyway.' She fumed. Just a few minutes ago, a boy with a placid look on his face walked up to here and told her his friend needed help.
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Flashback
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Tae had just shut a patient's door when a young voice said, "Excuse me?"
Tae looked up at the young man standing in front of her. "Yes?"
"My friend was one of the shinobi brought in a few days ago; he seems to be coughing up blood."
"…" Tae blinked. 'Seems to be? What the hell?'
"You're a medical shinobi based on your uniform; do you think you could help him?"
"Did you try to help him?" She spat. She wasn't having a very good day.
First she had to clean up the puke that fat shinobi spewed all over the floor, and it didn't help when some of it got on her as well. Then, when he tried to apologize, he fell nearly on top of her, almost crushing her. If she hadn't been so agile, he might have.
Granted, he wasn't that fat at all, it was more muscle really, but she was PMSing, so she couldn't really give a damn.
Shikamaru looked at her, eyes becoming dull. 'Why are all women like this?'
"No, I'm not a medical shinobi." He stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well you could have helped him a bit couldn't you have?"
"Funny thing really."
"Oh, what's that?"
"I went to help him by getting an actually expert at this sort of thing, but it looks like I haven't found one. I'll look elsewhere." Shikamaru turned to leave but Tae grabbed him.
"Fine." She grumbled, not liking the idea she was guilted into helping. 'Stupid men can't do a thing without women, this is so bothersome.'
Funny how minds work. Shikamaru was thinking something along the same lines. 'Women with their mood swings, so troublesome.'
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Needless to say, she wasn't very happy upon entering Naruto's room. She mumbled silently to herself, "Doesn't this guy have a sister or something?" and began to fix Naruto's wounds.
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Meanwhile
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In a temple surrounded by Sakura Trees a young girl sneezed.
"Achoo!" She sniffled and broke her meditating stance to rub her nose. Wind moved blond hair in her face. She opened her eyes reveling azure depths.
She grinned, a fox like grin before her face going blank, and she relaxed back into her meditating stance.
'Nii-san…' Was her only thought before she closed her eyes.
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Chouji tried his best not to get sick, but he just couldn't help it. He had eaten the entire plate of food that was near his bed, which turned out to be a very bad idea when his stomach started to ache and an even worse idea when he actually puked, all over the nurse that had been taking care of him.
He sighed, why was he such a pig? For as long as he could remember he loved to eat, and no one had said anything about it. Not his parents or his friend. Sure, he had heard people call him names such as; 'fat-boy' and 'lard-man', but he ignored them.
Now he wished he hadn't. He wished they got to his mind and made him stop eating. Then maybe he wouldn't have such an addiction to it.
Shikamaru had told him they were in a foreign village and we being cared for, beyond that no one knew what was going on, let alone what would happen to them. He really hoped puking on that nurse wouldn't get Shikamaru in trouble with the people here. If it did…well he really didn't know what he'd do, but it wouldn't be good.
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Neji wasn't fairing much better, it had taken him exceptionally long to heal considering there was a hole in his stomach. As a result, food didn't seem to sit well in his stomach. What made matters worse is he wasn't as fat as Chouji and so many of the nurses thought the idea of him not eating horrid. It would make him weaker true, but not so weak. And Neji was confident after a few weeks his stomach would be back to normal. At least he sincerely hoped so.
So, in and out of sleep was filled with grubby little nurses trying to stuff food down his throat, though he put up quite of a fight, he might have opened the wound. After a while they got the hint and stopped, which was good. But looking at the girl standing at the door, he groaned mentally.
Not again.
She walked toward him, slowly as if allowing him to examine her before she began, whatever it was she was going to do.
She paused before his bed, and looked down at him with a, rather depressing expression on her face.
Before he knew it, he couldn't move. His eyes flashed in her direction in which see caught a smirk on her face.
She stuck a tube down his throat and began to force feed him.
'Damnit. If I get sicker from this…' He stated mentally, but what would he do if he did? What could he do? Nothing it seemed, so he sat there, letting the food make its way down his throat and into his stomach.
Surprisingly, the food didn't upset him much at all. After she was done, she took the tube out and left. He quickly fell asleep, the food making him drowsy. He wondered faintly how the girl managed to get him to eat without sickness. As he closed in on darkness, he supposed he'd never know.
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Kiba healed fairly fast, for his wounds weren't serious. Akamaru was currently licking his master's face, trying to wake him up.
Kiba moved slightly, grumbling "Not yet mommy…"
Akamaru cocked his head to the side. A little grin spreading across his face (Is that even possible?) before he lifted up his leg (oh no…) and did his 'business' right on Kiba's face. (Oh you bad dog you)
Kiba jumped in the air, almost 3 feet (a new record!) before he knocked down the door and ran for the nearest bathroom.
Akamaru sat on the bed, still grinning.
3 minutes and 14 seconds later…
"AKAMARU!" Akamaru winced as Kiba came back throw the door that was now almost off its hinges.
"WHY IN THE HELL DID YOU PISS ALL OVER MY FACE?"
"RUFF! RUFF RUFF!"
"YOU COULD HAVE LICKED ME OR SOMETHING!"
"RUFF RUFF! :HOWWWLLLL:!"
"YEAH? LIKELY STORY!"
":GROWL:"
"HAH! YOU THINK I'M SCARED WITH THAT KIND OF GROWL?"
"WILL YOU PLEASE STOP YELLING?" Kiba jumped slightly before turning around to face the new voice. A young girl was standing at the door. He presumed she was nearly his age; she had chocolate hair which was put in a pony tail, though it came across her shoulders. Her shinobi hitai-ate gleamed on her neck and she had a normal pair of jeans and a shirt on. Although her face had a look of anger on it; Kiba was stunned.
"Uhh…"
"Much better, now if you'd please wipe that drool of your face –" Kiba flushed "—and finish your fight elsewhere everything will be just fine" She eyed him some more before turning around and walking off.
Kiba stood there, stunned for a few minutes before Akamaru broke the silence.
"Ruff! Ruff ruff?"
"Yeah Akamaru, real pretty…"
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Lee was faring much better than the rest, all the people that have come into his room had no look of disgust on their face, and weren't having bad days to be mean to him. They fed him, because he could not move, well he could, but they insisted he didn't.
'Hehe, spring of youth…' He thought as the nurse fed him some more pudding. He coughed slightly when another nurse changed his flowers. They were the same flowers Sakura had brought him every day during his recovery. He frowned. What was he doing? His beloved Sakura was far away, and here he was enjoying himself! Tears formed in his eyes and spew out of him.
The nurses looked at each other before picking up the food, patting him slightly on the back, and leaving the room.
Lee couldn't believe he had betrayed Sakura. He wiped his tears and flashed his 'nice guy' smile. He'd make it up to her! Buy her some nice jewelry he would! He grinned to himself. Sakura would fall for him then!
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A few weeks had past before all the Konoha shinobi were fully recovered. All but Naruto that is, he just seemed to get worse.
All 5 shinobi were sitting in the lounge area. Shikamaru had told them all what he knew. They were in a town, unknown to anybody, and weren't allowed to leave the hospital.
Kiba thought this was a load of bull when he found out, and tried to storm out, it didn't go very well though. The guards at the door hit him so hard he flew all the way to the other side of the hallway and made a 3 inch dent in the wall.
No one tried to get out after that. Though, Shikamaru thought, they could get out if they teamed up. Though, it wouldn't be any use with Naruto in the state he is.
So they all sat there, comfortable, but tense. What was going to happen? Would Naruto be alright? They didn't fully know what state he was in, the nurses never let them inside his room.
Shikamaru sighed. "This is so troublesome."
No one seemed to notice he said anything though, so he sighed again before sitting back. Nothing to do now but wait. Oh how he wished he could at least go outside and wait, to watch the clouds. That was much more enjoyable than watching the wall.
The peaceful silence that surrounded the Konoha shinobi was broken with an earth shattering scream. Everyone in the vicinity looked up with shocked faces. Only when Sasuke spoke did the Konoha shinobi realize something was seriously wrong.
"Naruto…"
With that one word, everyone broke out in a run, Sasuke in the lead, toward Naruto's room.
As they neared it, they could see countless nurses rush into the room. Sasuke was about to open the door when he was sent flying into the wall opposite to the door. The rest of the shinobi stopped and looked for the source.
Tae appeared in front of the door, frowning at Sasuke.
"Look, I don't really care if this guy is your friend or not. But you will stay out here." She said flatly.
Sasuke glared at her, and she glared back. More nurses came and went into the room, when the door opened you could hear Naruto's muffled screams.
Shikamaru winced.
"What's going on? What happened to him?"
Tae looked at Shikamaru, "I don't know. You'll have to wait out here though."
Shikamaru nodded and Tae went inside the room. The 5 shinobi took their places across Naruto's door, waiting anxiously, all thinking the same thing. What happened to Naruto?
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They waited quite a while, more than 2 hours, that's for sure, and still knew nothing of what was going on inside Naruto's room. Countless nurses left, and countless went in. They could still hear Naruto's screams if they listened hard enough. They never seemed to stop.
Sasuke was quite fed up with it. He was about to go in there and shut the dobe up, but a whiff of perfume stopped him. He quickly turned his head to the source.
'Aria…'
Aria was walking down the hallway, wearing a long blue skirt and white tank top. Her hair hung loosely about her shoulders. Her eyes met him for a brief second before leaving them. Her eyes seemed panicked. It was then he noticed the girl standing next to her. She wore shinobi gear, and had a hitai-ate around her neck, though it was backwards so the markings didn't show. She wore long pants, and a regular red shirt. Her hair was a soft color red, very wavy, as it seemed to weave about her body. She had a fierce glare on her.
The red-head shinobi kicked opened Naruto's door with astounding force.
"OUT!" She bellowed. Instantly all the nurses currently in Naruto's room fled. As the last one left, all 5 shinobi heard her mumble, "What a monster." Before running down the hall.
This made everyone furious, Sasuke was about to say something when Naruto's door slammed shut and Aria let out a sigh.
She turned to them, not looking at anyone in particular. "Please follow me –" Shikamaru was about to complain when she continued, "—all your questions will be answered very soon. Your friend will be just fine. Please follow me." Her voice pleading.
She turned and walked back down the hall she came and at first, the 5 shinobi stood there, watching her go, 3 of them turned to Shikamaru to figure out what to do, but Sasuke started walking after her and the rest of them had no choice but to follow. After all, Sasuke was their mission.
'She said he would be alright; I have no choice but to believe them. They haven't done anything to us…yet. In fact they've helped us recover…' Shikamaru sighed as he followed Sasuke, who was following Aria down the hallway. This was all so troublesome.
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Aria led them through a village that was very much like Konoha. No one seemed to notice the 5 shinobi going through the village, like it was natural or something.
They walked a little bit further before going inside a building that looked almost exactly like the Hokage's tower in Konoha.
Kiba scrunched his eyebrows together. "Doesn't everything in this town remind you of Konoha?"
Shikamaru looked at Kiba and nodded. It was strange; he was wondering the same thing.
Aria opened a door, which the shinobi assumed was going to look exactly like the Hokage's office. It did, with exception to the fact it was much bigger, and had a huge map of Konoha on the wall.
Aria went to the desk and sat on top of it, her feet dangling an inch off the floor.
"Please sit down."
They sat down in the chairs that seemed to materialize there, because they could've sworn they weren't there when they first came inside.
As they got confortable, Aria sighed, making the 5 look at her. She smiled. "I'll answer any questions you have now."
Shikamaru eyed her. "Well, you can start by telling us where we are, and how we got here."
"Yes of course. You are in the Hidden Wind Village. Of course, we have no relation to the Wind Country. We are a separate village, inside the Fire Country. The reason this village was named for wind, was because our first Kage could manipulate wind, now however it is fire." She looked at them allowing this information to sink in.
Shikamaru nodded allowing her to continue.
"Well, I'm sure none of you have heard of this village. We give the very birth to the word 'Hidden'. We are hidden to everybody, no one knows of our existence except for our shinobi."
"You have shinobi then?" Shikamaru said lazily.
"Why yes of course, who do you think rescued you?"
Neji looked up at Aria, "Why did you rescue us? We would have been fine; no doubt Konoha shinobi would have rescued us sooner or later"
Aria smiled, "Wouldn't you prefer it sooner?"
Neji nodded. Of course he would, with the wound he had; he wouldn't think he would've survived later.
Lee glared, "Well that's not very informative. Why did you save us? Why not the sound shinobi?"
"We are shinobi of the Fire Country not Wind or Earth, Fire. We bestow all loyalties to Konoha. We are your allies."
Shikamaru sighed "So that's why you've hidden your existence from us?"
Aria looked shocked. "Well that's…"
"That's what?"
Aria glared at Shikamaru. "There was no reason to notify Konoha of our existence just yet. We needed to gather more information about what the Soun—"
"The Sound attacked us at the Chunnin exam. Why didn't you come to our aid then?"
"That's…"
"Your not very good allies then are you?"
Aria glared more fiercely at Shikamaru. She hopped off the desk; her hands turning into fists.
"Don't you ever doubt our loyalty."
Shikamaru looked at her more serious now, "Whatever, I'm not here to start a fight, you did save us. If you say you're an ally to Konoha I have no choice but to believe it until you do something for me not to."
Aria relaxed her hands and smiled a little.
Sasuke, who was looking at the ground the whole time, spoke softly.
"What happened to Naruto?"
Everyone in the room looked at him, Shikamaru and CO. a little shocked.
Aria turned her head away. "That…his condition is my fault I'm afraid."
Sasuke looked up at her. "What? What do you mean?"
"Well I…" She looked down at the ground and sighed. "I was sent to stop your fight with him, and that's exactly what I did. However, I misjudged the situation gravely."
"…"
"Well, the only way to stop the cursed seal was for me to put you to sleep. So I preformed the Shunmin Dashimono (Deep Sleep Performance). This put you and him in a deep sleep. Only able to wake up when I say."
Shikamaru looked confused, "How is that bad?"
"I…I put to sleep the wrong person."
Everyone looked at her like she was crazy.
"What is that supposed to mean? Naruto was talking to me fine the other day." Shikamaru stated.
Aria shook her head. "That's just it, Naruto talked to you. I didn't put Naruto asleep."
This wasn't making any sense. "Then what did you put asleep?"
"It was…" She sighed and fidgeted with her skirt. She never fidgeted unless she was extremely uncomfortable. 'Oh! How can explain this without telling them about the Kyuubi?'
Sasuke stared at her, faceindifferent. "Take your time."
Aria looked at him, a grateful expression in her eyes. "Yes of course. How should I say this…I put to sleep Naruto's…healing powers."
Shikamaru blinked. "What?"
"That is…that is why he has gotten worse. His healing abilities are amazing. I'm sure you all have noticed."
Sasuke nodded. "Naruto always seemed to heal faster than the rest of us. Your saying you put that asleep? Wouldn't you be able to wake it up then? It is your skill."
"That's just it. I've tried to undo it, but it's impossible."
'Of course it's impossible, once asleep; the Kyuubi won't wake up unless another demon is the one doing the waking. Oh how stupid could I be not to realize it was the Kyuubi fighting Sasuke and not Naruto.'
Shikamaru sighed, "I don't understand, why is it impossible? It's your jutsu isn't it?"
"It's not just a simple jutsu. Just believe me, if I could wake up his healing powers, I would, but I can't."
"Then what's going to happen to him? He's not going to die is he? You said yourself he'd be alright!" Lee exclaimed.
Shikamaru nodded. 'She did say that.'
"Yes well, our Kokage is taking care of it. He'll be as good as new soon."
"Kokage?" Lee asked, tilting his head like a confused dog.
"Yes, the shinobi you saw enter Naruto's room. That is our Kokage, the strongest shinobi in our village."
Lee jumped out of his seat. "WHAAT? You mean that girl, who has to be around our age, is your strongest shinobi?"
Aria laughed softly, "Why yes, she is just as strong as your Hokage. Don't underestimate her."
Shikamaru nodded. He wasn't very surprised. He knew there were shinobi their age stronger than Jounin.
Sasuke went back to having a staring match with the floor. 'Something's wrong', he noted, 'You can't just put healing powers to sleep…so what did she really put to sleep? Obviously something she can't tell us…' Sasuke sighed, he had no clue what really happened to Naruto, so he would be forced to wait until they found out. It wasn't guilt that made him worry for Naruto...well, maybe a little, but it was mostly the fact he was as close to Naruto as a brother would be, and he almost ruined that with revenge.
'Naruto…'
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Inside Naruto's room, the young Kokage was leaning over Naruto.
'Well, well…if it isn't the Kyuubi…hehehe. I'm going to have some fun with you.'
'Please no, we're here to wake him up, not have a fight with him. Remember that please.'
'You're really no fun…if I didn't like you so much, I wouldn't listen to you.'
She grinned, 'I suppose I should be happy you do like me then, shouldn't I?'
'Hehehe…yes you should. Let's get this over with, I'm dying to talk to him again.'
'You and the Kyuubi were close weren't you?'
'Yes…'
The Kokage took Naruto's hand and closed her eyes. This would require a lot of her energy, and even though it wouldn't be all of it, she would most likely pass out. She sighed, she hated it when she passed out, it made her look weak.
With that thought gone a huge amount of pure red chakra surrounded her, out of her back there seemed to sprout a huge bird made of chakra. The chakra coming from her surrounded all of Naruto's body as well and seeped into him.
The bird rose into the air, flapping its chakra wings above its master.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." It screamed.
Suddenly, along with her red chakra, and orange-red chakra seemed to burst out and fight off hers. A huge kitsune appeared out of Naruto's stomach and looked at the bird.
"Fushi-chan, the legendary Fushichou (Phoenix Bird) …thank you'
The huge bird 'Kyaa''d again before nodding.
"I only did what you would have done for me Kyuu-chan, the magnificent Kitsune no Kyuubi (Nine-tails fox)"
The Kyuubi chuckled, "If you hadn't come my kit would have died…"
Fushi looked at the boy surrounded by the Kyuubi's chakra. "So you think of him as a kit now hmm? Would you like help healing him?"
Kyu raised an eyebrow, "That's quite alright…I was only sleeping after all."
Fushi chuckled now, "Yes of course…then if you'll excuse me." and the Fushichou vanished along with the chakra surrounded the Kokage.
The Kokage looked up at the fox before looking back at Naruto. The wounds seemed to be disappearing rapidly and she smiled inwardly and sighed before squeezing his hand and passing out; her head landing on the middle of his stomach.
Kyu frowned slightly before taking note of the genuine smile that graced her lips as she slept.
'She cares for him…' His thought was cut off by the stirring of the boy below him. He smiled and licked Naruto's face before disappearing as well.
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Naruto woke up like he would wake up any normal day, very groggily. However, he noticed the extra weight on his stomach and remembered his very brief conversation with Shikamaru. He shot up in a sitting position, stirring his resting companion. He looked down at his stomach and gasped at the beautiful girl resting on his lap.
After examining her for several minutes he looked around, he was still in the hospital he noted. He wondered slightly where Shikamaru and the other's were and, as if he got whatever he wanted, the exact route to where Shikamaru was played in his mind. He blinked, and blinked again not realizing what played. Finally he realized, a little bit, and lifted the girl carefully as he got out of bed.
He found his clothes after 10 minutes of searching and dressed quickly, praying the girl wouldn't wake up while he was.
After he got dressed he was about to leave when a sigh escaped the girl. He frowned knowing he would have left her there. For some reason he felt as if he owed his life to this girl. So he picked her up and adjusted her on top of his back and left the room.
It seemed like the hospital was deserted because Naruto didn't see a sole around, which suited him just fine.
He walked to the entrance of the building and walked out. No guards there to stop him.
As soon as he was outside he began to sprint, not wanting to attract attention to himself and the girl he was carrying. He ran the path that played in his mind until a smell made him slide to a stop and back up. He sniffed until he found what his nose was looking for.
An Ichiraku Ramen stand. Naruto instantly broke into a drool. The extra weight on his back shifted and he frowned. He couldn't just eat with her on his back…but the ramen looked so good…no, no he couldn't he had to go…just one bowl…
His stomach growled, giving way to the winner. He sighed and mentally apologized to the girl on his back as he made his way to Ichiraku.
He gently dropped the girl onto the seat next to his, placing her head on the stand. The old man inside raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything with exception to, "What would you like?"
Naruto struggled with this, he had to go somewhere but he was hungry. How many bowls would he need to suffice the hunger? He pulled out his hands and the old man shook his head, smiling slightly, as Naruto counted his fingers silently.
Naruto grinned as he finished, "6 bowls of pork ramen please!"
"Coming right up!" The old man said still smiling.
6 minutes passed, Naruto noted, until he got the first 2 bowls of his ramen. 'Good service' he thought, still grinning, 'but not as good as the one back home!'
He drained his 2 bowls quickly, and as soon as he finished 2 more were placed in front of him.
"Thanks jii-san!" he shouted and starting draining those bowls.
The old man just smiled some more, how one could like ramen this much was a mystery to him, but he didn't mind. He got business from it.
Another 2 bowls were placed in front of him and Naruto ate even faster, knowing he had to get going.
Once he was finished he got up, grinning, thanked the old man and paid for his ramen. He picked up the girl again in piggy-back fashion and starting running again to wherever it was he needed to go.
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Sakura sat on the couch, dressed in only an oversized buttoned up shirt. She was looking blankly at the table.
The five gennin sent after Sasuke were missing for almost two weeks now.
She couldn't understand for the life of her how in the world they could just vanish.
Tears leaked down her face, she rubbed at them quickly. She couldn't cry. She wouldn't.
She was helping Ino and her family at the flower shop when Kakashi entered and told her the news. She cried freely on Ino's shoulder for hours. Before yelling at Kakashi, asking 'how' and 'why'. None of which he had the answers to.
"You should cry."
The voice startled her out of her thoughts.
Ino stood next to her, placing a tray of tea and sushi on the table.
"No." She said flatly.
Ino sighed, knowing she was being stubborn.
"Ino…" Her voice faultered and she frowned.
Ino looked at her expectantly. Knowing she would continue when ready.
"How could they just…disappear?" Tears streamed down her face, but she did nothing to stop it. Her face was contorted into a sort of frown and sneer.
Ino started at the tea, "I…don't know…"
"I—"
"But I believe they're fine. Sakura, you should too."
Sakura nodded, she knew. There was no way Sound shinobi could have kidnapped him. The 5 Sound shinobi that Sasuke went with were found in front of Konoha gates not long after Kakashi reported the team of 5 missing.
They were all dead.
"Naruto…he went after Sasuke for me," she cried, "Lee too! He wasn't even supposed to go, but he knew I wanted Sasuke back!" She grabbed Ino's shoulder and wept. This wasn't fair.
Ino started to sob.
"How do you think I feel?" she started, hugging Sakura. "Shikamaru and Chouji went too, my whole team!"
They cried for a long time, until they couldn't cry anymore.
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Sakura took a sip of her tea and relaxed a bit. She was worrying to much. They were strong, they would be fine.
Ino finished the last piece of sushi and spoke, "We should help look for them tomorrow."
Sakura looked at Ino and smiled, "Yeah, to actually do something in this village."
"You mean to get out of doing D-ranked missions." Ino grinned.
Sakura grinned back, "That too."
They both laughed. Worries forgotten.
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Tsunade was sitting at her desk. Head on top of it, as if she was sleeping.
This was just impossible. How could they just disappear?
If the five dead Sound shinobi hadn't shown up, she would've thought them to be lost.
But they had.
And now she had no clues. Nothing.
She hit her desk with a fist, making it crack.
This wasn't right.
She would've sent a team of shinobi to look for them, but she couldn't afford it. They were needed in the village.
Two weeks. Two weeks!
'Where are they?'
A tear fell on her check and dampened on of her papers she was supposed to be signing.
Wait.
She sat straight up. Whiping her cheak.
This was familiar wasn't it?
'A team of shinobi missing. From a fight. With an enemy.'
She jumped out of her seat and ran to the book shelf, scanning all the books. She took one out and threw it across the room when it wasn't the one she was looking for.
'Where is it?'
Finally, after throwing almost all the books across the room, she found a small bright red book.
She opened it. And read:
We are friends to all, but do not give help to just anyone. To obtain our help, speak the answer to this simple riddle.
What is greater than God.
More evil than the Devil.
The poor have it.
The rich don't need it.
And if you eat it, you'll die?
She blinked.
'What the hell?'
Rikki: Ugh, I know, I know. > ;; I was going to add a lot more, I have a lot of ideas, but then decided you waited long enough for this chapter. I was going to add a flashback of how the book came to be in Konoha. But wasn't in the mood. Sorry! I'm being lazy. I had a whole nother 10 pages I could've added to this chapter. But I thought you might want to read it after a month of me barely working on it. :clasps hands together:sorry!
As for the riddle, I just found it off the internet. Heh…
I now know why authors take a long time to update. XD;; I'll never ask another author to update faster again. Man. You all still love me though, right? ;;
Hope you enjoy this! Sorry I couldn't add the funny parts in ((because I would've if I wasn't lazy)), I'm just being really lazy right now. Gah. I hate the ending, but felt that you guys shouldn't have to wait. So I will probably redo it, or add more. Because I really hate it. Right now I'm not motivated to do so, so here you go. -.-;
There will be two new character's when I redo this. Hehe, I'm sure you'll love them. One you've already met…sorta, and now you'll know! ;
Read and Review! Thankies
