Naruto:
Brothers of Sand and Leaf
By Geor-sama
-Chapter 4-
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Kiba felt a wave of awe sweep through him as he stood by the others staring at the large post-town. As a Genin he had been on a few missions that had taken him to other villages, but he had never been to a city so huge. The feral boy darted his eyes everywhere, the scents of well prepared food and the sounds of the night life washed over him. Akamaru barked from on top of his head and he nodded slightly, smirking "I'm with you Akamaru; I didn't think it'd be this big."
"Meh," Naruto muttered, hands behind his head busy scanning the streets.
Ignoring the blond Kiba grinned, not feeling all that bad about leaving Shikamaru and Shino alone on the outskirts of the town. "I say we-"
He was cut off however by Baki who sounded bored "We're getting rooms...and then we all go take a bath. Just to be safe."
Kiba knew this was a wise, though boring, course of action; the stench from Shino's bugs had faded once they left the two ninjas on the edge of the town but they could convincible have gotten used to the smell.
Naruto grumbled something but a sharp elbow in the side from Sakura stifled that and Kiba rolled his eyes. Sometimes he really wondered how he had ever lost to that boy in preliminary matches of the Chunnin exam, other times he considered getting a bottle of sake -which he often 'borrowed' from his older sister Hana- so that they both could get blind-stinking-drunk together.
"Excuse me Baki-san, but where exactly are the hot springs?" Sakura asked and Kiba sighed, loosing interest in this entire conversation. At least until Naruto answered her, his voice distracted.
"On the other end of the village, it's mixed bathing." It took a moment for the blond to notice everyone's attention and he snorted hands behind his head once more "What? Ero-sennin was all excited about it when we were here."
"Naruto are you sure?" Kiba asked, his interest suddenly peeked and Naruto glanced at him curiously nodding and Kiba smiled almost lecherously, he truly did at times live up to the reputation of 'all men are perverted dogs' and this was one of them. "All those girls...Naruto your sure its mixed bathing?"
The blond nodded snorting, moving to cross his arms "Yea, when I had to go with Ero-sennin to find Granny Tsuande, we stopped here on the way back to Konoha."
"So you remember this place because of the bathing?" Sakura asked darkly and Naruto shook his head, hands held out in front of him.
"No Sakura-Chan. They had really good ramen...almost as good as Ichiraku's." He looked around, apparently searching for a familiar landmark.
Kiba however, still picturing bathing with Sakura and other females didn't care and put an arm around Naruto's shoulders grinning "Forget about the food! We're going directly to the hotsprings-urk!" whatever else he was going to say to convince the blond to lead him directly to the springs was cut off as something hit him in the back of his head. Hard. So hard in fact that his field of vision was engulfed in darkness.
When consciousness returned Kiba kept his eyes shut tightly. He felt as if he had been hit with a rock, correction a boulder. A very large boulder, thrown at him by a mountain troll, a very pissed off mountain troll. Distantly he heard voices and he made out a few words every so often, getting the dim gist that they were at the inn and that the Innkeeper was refusing to let them stay.
"So sorry, but no. I'm not going to let sand ninjas use my Inn." a male voice said firmly and Kiba slowly peeked out, noting the various people and how he had to look up at them all. Obviously he was laying sprawled on the ground of the Inn's entry; unfortunately he couldn't seem to get up just yet. Any attempt he made at moving was created by a flare up of his pain.
His pain however was driven from his mind at the sound of a pair of girlish squeals, followed by the sound of cups crashing to the ground. Kiba wished they two girls would shut up, whoever they were; he really didn't need to hear they're excited voices letting everybody in the Inn knowing that 'He was here! He was here!' -Whoever the hell He was-.
"Errr, who's here?" Kiba heard Sakura ask and he attempted to sit up, managing it after a few minutes, finding that Akamaru was the only one watching him.
"What the hell is up with them?" he heard Temari mutter and he looked at the two girls, who looked just barely twelve.
"Maybe they're Gaara's groupies," Kankuro muttered from beside his sister, and then promptly shut it when Gaara gave him a side long glance.
"Ugh," Kiba muttered as he pushed himself up into a standing position, leaning against the wall. Wincing from the pain in his head he moved to Naruto, Akamaru on his heels "What hit me?"
The blond glanced away from the two girls, frowning "Sakura-Chan." Kiba would have felt surprise but his head hurt too much for that. Instead he turned toward the girls like everybody else and tried to understand why they were so excited. The man, obviously their father, finally managed to settle them down and turned his attention back to the group or more to the point at Naruto.
"You're the one that beat Hyuuga Neji uh?"
"Why?" Naruto managed brilliantly and Kiba winced from the stupidity.
"My daughters saw you at the exam. They've become a bit...annoying about you."
"Oh!" Naruto suddenly beamed his hands going behind his head obviously pleased with the attention. Kiba felt his eye twitch at the smugness on the boys face; just who the hell did Naruto think he was? He was only popular with two girls that were obviously just barely old enough to know they liked boys.
"I would be very honored if you and your friends would stay here in our humble inn." The man said a tone of reluctance in his voice and Kiba groaned. "My daughters will show you to the rooms, we don't have very many so you'll have to go three to a room. The girls can share one."
Kiba watched as Naruto was suddenly seized by his two young fan girls and dragged off his feet so that he fluttered behind them like a flag in the wind, with the others reluctantly following him. Shaking his head, which forced the pain in his head to throb, he sighed realizing that this was one of those times that he wondered just how he had managed to lose to that idiot.
Scooping up Akamaru he started after the already departed group, gently reminding himself to keep his hormones in check around Sakura. She hit twenty times harder than his mom or his sister, she actually hit harder than most male ninjas.
Akamaru barked softly and Kiba nodded "Good idea, this year I remember Sakura's birthday."
The room was small and rather meager compared to other Inn's, but it was well kept and clean. It also was warm which was a plus since the nights were growing steadily colder. On the clean, hardwood floors, rested two neatly made futons one of which rested under the only window in the entire room.
Temari nodded to herself done with her inventory of the temporary sleeping quarters, and then moved toward the futon under the window, slipping her pack and fan off dropping them on the padded surface. Seconds later she collapsed beside them, luxuriating in the feeling of having a soft surface to rest on. Dimly she was aware of Sakura moving to the other bed, but Temari didn't care.
This was a perfect reward for her hard work -or at least she made Baki think it was hard work- Naruto was opening up to her and he was talking to her more easily during the day. She had made it a point to refrain from calling him 'whisker-boy' in front of the others, only because it felt somehow wrong to use that name around other people.
So yes, this futon was a nice reward for her efforts concerning Naruto and her mission.
Turning her head she watched as Sakura pulled out various medical scrolls before opening one, which meant that the light would be on for a while longer. Despite what Baki had told them, Temari and Sakura had both agreed to sleep tonight and bath early the next morning.
Sitting up the blond girl pushed her pack away and picked up her fan, retrieving the polishing rag she kept in her red sash and started to work.
Several minutes passed silently and then Sakura spoke up, her voice curious "Temari-san, Gaara...does he always smile like that?"
Temari hesitated, and then setting her fan to the side shook her head. "No and generally it's not a good thing to see him smiling, usually he's plotting a horrible death." There was a moment of silence and then Temari grinned, taking the chance to find out a bit more about her favorite ninja Naruto. "Hey, you know Naruto pretty well right?"
"I guess so," Sakura admitted, shifting slightly on her bed.
"You two aren't-?" Temari trailed off and held up her pinky, signifying lovers, holding her breath without realizing it. This was the acid test, to be one hundred percent sure.
"Me and Naruto?" Sakura blurted out laughing at the apparent absurdity of such a concept. Temari allowed herself to breath at that, then grew silently angry at how amused Sakura seemed at the concept of dating Naruto.
"What's so funny about dating him? He doesn't seem that bad to me." Temari scowled unconsciously "So he's a bit loud, it could be worse."
Gasping for air Sakura waved a hand and sat up, still laughing "It's not...oh god that was hilarious...it's not that there's anything wrong with dating him. But he's just too, iunno, he's just Naruto." The pink haired girl took a deep, shuddering breath to relax "We're friends. He does ask me out every so often, but that's more out of habit than anything."
"Oh," Temari responded, her scowl disappearing placated. "So where does he ask you out to?"
"To a ramen stand. It's his favorite food in the world; he'd live off it if he could." Sakura giggled behind her hand, which annoyed Temari. "I feel sorry for whoever his girlfriend is, they're going to be eating ramen all the time."
"Ramen's not so bad..." Temari muttered, and then shrugged pulling her fan back into her lap.
"You know, I think one thing Naruto has against him is he's not Sasuke-kun." Sakura suddenly said, drawing Temari's guarded gaze "I mean he's so open about his feelings and he's not very well behaved. No girl could possibly find that attractive, besides he's not even that good looking, cute in a goofy sort of way I suppose."
"Heh," Temari managed detachedly, eyes narrowing. "I think you're wrong."
"Oh? About what?" Sakura said curiously, staring at the other girl with guileless eyes.
"Whisker-boy, I think plenty of girls could find him attractive and there is something to be said about being open with how you feel for someone."
"Mhmm," Sakura managed smiling slightly. "Maybe your right, those girls when we came into the inn seemed to find him attractive...I wonder if he's out with one of them right now."
"Well if he is its fine. Not like I care, more power to him." Temari was pleased at the note of unconcern in her voice, but inside she was raging at the mere concept that he could be out with someone. She wasn't sure why she wasn't admitting that she was interested in the blond, other than she felt it would be wrong in some way. Still that didn't mean she liked listening to the prospects of Naruto out with other girls.
"Oh I agree, he deserves some happiness." Sakura nodded and Temari glanced at her searchingly. The pink girl didn't seem to notice as she turned her gaze back to her scroll, studying it intently before continuing their conversation though not in the same vein as before. "He's very loyal; he'd sacrifice his life for his important people. Plus he's bluntly honest about things and he's far too trusting."
Temari raised an eyebrow, wondering why Sakura was saying all of that. Was she trying to bait her into something? Well Temari wouldn't give the girl the satisfaction, but this was her chance to find out about Naruto and she wanted to take it.
"He likes to play pranks and he helps people out all the time. Even when he should know better he helps."
"What do you mean?" Temari found herself asking while silently fuming at her inability to keep her curiosity in check.
"Right before the chunin exams we had this mission and he got talked into helping out Konohamaru-kun with a 'mission'. Konohamaru was crushing on this girl and she was moving away, but he'd heard about this clover that could grant a wish and he told Naruto all about it." Sakura paused looking up once more "Of course he agreed to help the boy; the only problem was that the clover was in the same place where they used to hold the old chunin exams."
"So what happened?"
"The same thing that happens whenever Naruto gets involved in something." Sakura answered chuckling "He gets everyone in way over their heads and then pulls off miracles and saves everybody. He got Konohamaru-kun that clover and then got him back to the girl's house just before she had to leave."
Temari found herself smiling, unable to identify the feeling in her chest but guessing it had to be pride. Naruto was simple minded, but he was brave and he had helped someone despite the dangers he personally faced.
Brushing off a mission was grounds for being removed as a ninja and getting others into needlessly dangerous situations could get you stuck as a genin forever. Knowing his dreams of becoming Hokage, Temari viewed it as even braver than facing off with a fully transformed Gaara not that she would ever let him know that.
Sakura made a soft noise in her throat, a thoughtfully look in her eyes and Temari watched curiously as the girl resealed her scrolls before climbing to her feet.
"Where are you going?"
"To see if Naruto wants to go out..." Sakura smiled innocently. "I just realized how brave he was. I've been blind to what was right in front of me; you know...thanks for helping me realize what I had without knowing."
"B-but you just said you didn't like him like that." Temari protested without meaning to, her voice actually trembling and her eyes wide.
Sakura shrugged. "I changed my mind and besides it's not like he's got a girlfriend or anything. Well wish me luck, not that I'll need it."
"Wait!" Temari blurted without thinking, jumping to her feet as well. When Sakura turned around, the blond saw that wide knowing smile and the sand ninja sat back down, looking away. How could she have fallen into such an obvious trap? Hell why was she even bothering to deny what she was up to, it'd make things easier that was for sure. Still as long as she didn't admit to anything she'd be able to deny any accusation.
"I knew it!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly, her voice reverberating around the room and a finger pointing at the other girl dramatically "YOU LIKE HIM!"
"W-w-W-What!" Temari shouted back, blushing furiously as she snapped her head around to stare at the girl. All the gods in the heavens how observant was this girl? "I don't like him!" she shouted back, heatedly denying the obvious truth for no real reason other than she didn't want anyone to suspect.
"You like Nar-" Sakura started to shout when a kunai flashed past her head, taking a strand of her pink hair with it, before sinking into the door frame behind her with a heavy thunk. Glaring dangerously Temari picked up her fan and setting it to the side climbed under the blanket, not saying another word.
The blond however couldn't help but wonder just how obvious it was that she liked the blond and still wondering why she was denying her attraction to the boy. Well her false attraction -she was only seducing him because of the mission after all, even if he was brave...- If she were ordered to stop liking him she could do that.
Couldn't she?
Her conviction in that wasn't very strong, accepting that maybe her attraction to him wasn't entirely dependant on her orders. It had started out as a small feeling and was slowly growing stronger and she wasn't so sure that she wanted to stop it. Not even her cynical, mission orientated side fought the fact that she was getting close to him for a reason other than the mission.
Absently she heard Sakura turning off the light and climbing into her own futon, leaving Temari bathed in the pale moonlight that streamed in through the window. Silently cursing the pink haired girl she was sharing the room with, Temari closed her eyes intent of forcing herself to sleep.
Silence settled over the both of them for several moments before Sakura felt the need to say one last thing. "I think he likes you too."
Temari almost sat up and grilled the girl over that, but she remained silently and stretched out under her blankets. She was determined to fringe sleep and not give the other girl the satisfaction of knowing she was right about Temari's feelings. The blond however did take some comfort in the knowledge that she now knew more about Naruto; he was loyal, bluntly honest, had a mischievous streak, he helped people even when he shouldn't and he was braver and more determined than she had ever expected.
He was also and utterly alone.
That was something she'd learned late at night talking with him before going to bed. No matter how many friends he now had, how many people acknowledged him, he was still alone and it was obvious he didn't know why. Temari knew however -thanks to the annoying part of her that had declared that it wanted to be one of his important people- that he was lacking the most important thing in the world to someone like him.
Family, honest to goodness family, a girl that would devote herself to making him happy and to helping him. When Temari finally drifted off to sleep she was still thinking about Naruto and how she could 'comfort' the blond.
Sogetsu eased himself into the bath slowly, his pale skin almost turning beat red in an instant, but he remained silent. Two more males, Baki who still wore his turban and Kankuro, soon joined him. Gaara would bath later as he always did and both Naruto and Kiba had insisted on using a different bath, so it was just the three of them.
"This isn't so ba-" Kankuro started to say only to be cut off as an exuberant shout filled the air.
"Cannon Ball!"
Seconds later every one in the large bath area was drenched in a tiny typhoon as a ninja came splashing down. Surfacing seconds later among air bubbles, the dark headed boy with red stripes on his face turned toward the dressing room doorway and cupped his hands around his mouth "Top that!"
Sogetsu managed to look up, still coughing the water out his lungs from the first cannon ball to see Naruto appear in the doorway and hold his hands up grinning "Mass shadow clone technique!" Then with a humorous glint in his eyes, the fifteen clones surged forward at once, leaping into the air shouting the same word "Uzumaki Naruto Cannonball Barriage!"
Surfacing seconds later Sogetsu held onto the edge of the bath coughing, cursing as he heard the two Leaf Shinobi arguing in loud, though amused, voices.
"That's enough!" Baki shouted though it didn't deter the two young ninjas who climbed back out of the water. Jogging toward the dressing room both agreed not to use any ninjutsu.
"B-Baki-san-" Sogetsu managed before suddenly another typhoon washed over him, this time nearly drowning him. When his head broke free of the surface he coughed and sputtered, turning to watch as the two ninjas argued to the point of starting an impromptu wrestling match.
Not trusting himself to this Sogetsu clawed his way out of the bath and then climbed to his feet heading for the dressing room, Baki and Kankuro quickly joining him. Not that Naruto or Kiba noticed since they were struggling against each other to see who could kill the other by drowning. Minutes later, after having held his head under water for a count of five, Kiba allowed Naruto to surface and started laughing.
"Oi! Kiba that coulda killed me!" Naruto shouted, shaking his fist while the dog ninja continued to laugh. "Why you!" Then with a splash, he tackled Kiba, forcing the boy underwater with a plume of water. They're fight continued for another few minutes before separating, declaring the fight a draw for the moment, and went to opposite ends of the bath to settle down for a moment.
Floating in what was left of the water the two-leaf ninjas remained silent, Naruto grinning and Kiba dozing. Their brief respite was disrupted by the soft knocking on the now closed dressing room door, followed by the door sliding open.
"Do you think he's got a, a, a-" the words died on the the raven haired girls lips, her blue eyes going wide in surprise. Her equally dark haired sister blushed, her green eyes widening in equal surprise.
Naruto blinked rapidly as the girls stared at him. A beat of silence and then Naruto found his voice "K-Kiba...girls..."
Cracking an eye, the other ninja snorted, "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to tease a dog?"
Shaking his head Naruto pointed and Kiba turned his head, sitting up quickly upon seeing the two girls from the Inn.
"W-we're sorry..." The one on the right, with blue eyes, stammered her face a nice shade of red that the other sister was attempting to emulate perfectly. "We thought...that is...this place...bare chest..."
"I told you I was popular!" Naruto suddenly bragged prompting Kiba to round on him.
"Idiot! You're only popular with two girls!"
"So? How many girls have you got sneaking in to see you take a bath?" Naruto retorted and Kiba actually managed a growl.
"You pervert! They're just barely old enough to know they like boys!"
"You're wrong!" The green eyed girl shouted drawing both boys attention back to the blushing girls.
"That's right; we don't like Naruto-kun." The other one added seriously, "We love him." Both Naruto and Kiba stood there for a moment, listening to the dripping water and nighttime noises found in a bathhouse at night.
"Y-you love him?" Kiba finally managed and the two girls nodded in unison.
"Yes. More than anything!" One said eagerly, hands clasped in front of her chest "We're even willing to share him we love him so much!"
"Huh?"
"We're going to let you marry both of us Naruto-kun." The on the right said matter-of-factly.
"M-marry-" Naruto stammered.
"Both of you?" Kiba added weakly and when the girls nodded both ninja boys stood rock still absorbing that information.
"Oh Naruto-kun, ever since we saw your match we were just so in awe of your talent. You're so brave and strong...and we can't wait to have your children."
"Er..." Kiba said, glancing at Naruto who blinked in confusion in response.
"What she means is," the other said delicately, reaching for the knot in her towel "We want to have your children right now."
"Lots of children!"
"Five!"
"As many as you want!"
"Uh...well I suppose since you offered how can I-WHAT's THAT!" Naruto dramtically pointed to the far corner and when both girls looked the blond and Kiba took off like bullets, stopping just long enough to grab their clothes, before tearing out into the street running dripping wet and nearly naked.
Behind them, echoing into the night was the twin voices of two twelve year old girls."WAAAAH! NARUTO-KUN! COME BACK! WE JUST WANT TO MARRY YOU AND HAVE LOTS OF CHILDREN!"
Sakura peeled the short robe off her body slipping into the hot bath, sighing softly as it enveloped her. Oh, that was a heavenly feeling. With a chill in the air, any escape from it she considered paradise.
Lazing in the hot water, with stream drifting lazily through the air she closed her eyes letting her mind wander. She remembered the look on Temari's face earlier; the blond had apparently gotten up extremely early to take her bath and was now off on a 'much more important matter'.
Sakura took that to meant 'I'm going to go see if I can't spend time with Naruto', which in turn proved to her that she was right and Temari really did like the boy.
The pink haired girl had to give the sand ninja her dues; using the thirty-minute delay in departure to spend time alone with Naruto was brilliant. With any luck Naruto wouldn't be as dense as he had been in the past, but Sakura was almost positive that he liked Temari the sameway. She hoped he did because she wasn't going to get involved in his love life again after this, whether it worked out or not.
Still, Naruto was rather transparent in his interest in Temari and the other girl wasn't very good at hiding her own feelings. Sakura admitted that while she had an altruistic reason for getting involved -Providing Naruto somebody to comfort him when Sakura betrayed him- she also had several more selfish reasons.
First this would be the end of him asking her out, Naruto was much too loyal to try and 'cheat' on any girl he was dating. Second was the fact that she was trying to buy herself peace of mind and third was the fact that this would ensure her freedom from him.
It was these selfish desires that she felt like toasting and if she had been in Konoha near Tsuande-sama's office, she'd have procured a nearly empty bottle of sake. Sakura couldn't stand the taste of the rice wine, but on the rare occasions where Sakura had something to celebrate; the pink haired girl drank whatever the Hokage left out on her desk.
Groaning she allowed her head to slip completely under the surface of the hot water, where she stayed for several long minutes before surfacing taking deep breaths and pink hair plastered back against her head and sides of her face. She listened absently to the soothing sound of dripping water and her own breathing; it was enough to make her sleepy all over again.
Laying her head back, she closed her eyes, her dozing mind drifting randomly from thought to thought with no real objective in mind. A few moments of sleep would be all she needed, a decent early morning nap much like the type Naruto always insisted were essential back in the academy.
She wasn't sure how long she slept but Sakura could remember drifting off and when she woke up it was if she had been thinking the entire time about her suspicions about Shino and Shikamaru. Sakura had a theory that the stench came from a genjutsu. This would explain the wide range of reactions to the smell.
Sakura had been least effected, almost as if it was nothing more than a trip to the dump. The ninjas from the Sand were affected even more strongly, though with Gaara it had been hard to tell. The ones most affected had been Kiba, Akamaru and Naruto who each had reacted approaching a moment of retching.
This leant weight to her genjutsu theory, her medical training allowed her to filter outside influences to an extent, which meant she was less influenced than the others were. Kiba and Naruto had no such abilities and their senses were almost on a constant hyperactive drive, while Akamaru's never quit.
It was only a theory, one that she had been working on since yesterday, but still only a theory. If it was accurate it meant A) she could dispel it once she knew for sure what type of genjutsu it was related to and B) it wouldn't affect them as long as the two pretenders didn't know they were around.
It still left her with the problem of how to prove it. Well not so much a problem about how to prove the theory, just spying would handle that, the real problem was who to trust not to just attack on such a mission. Unfortunately, since the two false leaf ninjas had to be traveling right now it meant she had only one useful choice. Kiba and Akamaru.
Kiba would be just as hotheaded as Naruto, but he might be a tad more willing to let her play this how she wanted. As if the decision came without her conscious thought, she climbed out of the bath, inhaling sharply as the cool air struck the warm water that ran down her body.
Shivering slightly she picked up her discarded short bathrobe and slipped it on, heading back for the drier dressing room.
Where would the feral ninja be this time of day?
"Ok Whisker-boy, you've been to this town before, where's the ramen stand?" Temari asked once more, glancing at him as he stared at the various booths in the street.
Naruto really wished she wouldn't be so pushy about this, he had told her earlier he didn't know and yet she kept asking him every five minutes. Or at least it seemed like every five minutes, to be honest Naruto didn't keep track of time -Such as days of the week or years-.
Forcing a grin into place he put his hands behind his head looking at her with his eyes almost closed "To tell you the truth Temari-Chan, I don't remember much about this place." Opening his eyes he studied her closely, much of his annoyance at her pushiness fading. He just couldn't be annoyed with her or any girl for that matter, which was something else about him that he didn't understand.
"I guess we'll have to explore then." Temari muttered as she had two streets over.
Naruto took the lead, or at least he started walking first and she fell into step beside him. Because she was taller Temari had to take shorter steps, but she didn't seem to mind and Naruto said nothing of this. He was far to busy trying to figure out what to say or do, alone with Temari had not been his plan for the day and to be honest he was a little afraid of her. He wasn't entirely sure why either, he just knew that he was afraid of her.
"So..." Temari said finally, dragging out the syllables prompting Naruto to glance at her curiously "What do you think the others are going to say about this?"
The loud ninja thought about that for a moment, wondering what exactly everybody would say about this -whatever 'this' meant- but then realized the truth he really didn't know. "I have no clue!" Naruto grinned then noticed a slightly odd look in her eye. Damn it, he thought to himself, what'd I say wrong? He racked his brain and was unable to come up with something. Then he noticed that she was wearing her hair down.
Why? He thought suddenly, did it mean something or was she just too tired to bother with putting it up? It was the first time she had ever worn it down during the day. At night when he came back from training she had her hair down -Sometimes- he amended.
He cursed Iruka-sensei for not teaching them about girls in the academy, then sighed inwardly trying to understand this situation. Why was she looking more and more annoyed with each passing second? Desperately he racked his brain for some clue about what he should say or do, if he wasn't quick enough she might just hit him and decide not the buy lunch for him. With his ramen at stake, Naruto fell back on the only source of information that he had left.
Ero-sennin.
What would that pervert do? Put a hand on her rear? Naruto was sure she'd kill him for attempting that. He could try to hold her hand but that would give her the wrong idea and he'd get beaten to a bloody pulp. He could whisper something in her ear, but that usually didn't work for Ero-sennin so he wouldn't risk that. Wait until Temari was bathing and peek on her? The only part of him that didn't shoot that idea down was the part that controlled everything below his waist -which thankfully didn't control the rest of him, thus he was allowed to live a few minutes longer-.
What else was there that he had ever gathered from his sometimes teacher? That when with a girl you had to be clean, no problem since Naruto had bathed last night with the others. Next was to make sure you had money, which wasn't a problem since Naruto's froggy wallet was stuffed to over flowing. That left only complimenting her on something, especially if it was something you said looked good on her...
Then as if some light bulb flickered to life in his mind -or to be more accurate the malnurished mouse (which represented his intelligence) running on a rusted wheel (which represented his ability to think) went into over drive and earned itself a piece of cheese (I.e. He understood what to say now!)-
"Temari-Chan!" he blurted out, looking at her eyes wide and excited. Unfortunately, he found her green eyes already focused on him and for some reason this robbed him of all speech. Shaking his head, he smiled widely, hands behind his head as he rushed through what he meant to say "Yourhairlooksniceimeangood…"
The Sand ninja smirked at what he said, and then almost as if she wasn't aware of it she brushed a strand behind her ear looking pleased at his noticing her hair. Naruto almost expected a soft word of thanks out of the girl; unfortunately, she noticed something over his shoulder and grabbed his hand "There it is."
Naruto was pulled off balance, spinning around to see the ramen stand. Yet he wasn't thinking that much about food -a first for him- but rather the way her hand felt. It was rough from years in the desert, but it was warm and it felt wonderful to him. Why, he didn't have a clue, but he knew he didn't want her to let go of his hand. Unfortunately, she did let go of his hand once they had both entered the shop and set down at the counter.
The thin, balding man behind the counter beamed at the two then once they were settled in and he was sure they weren't about to leave, he gave them a customary greeting "Welcome to Hagiwara no Ramen."
"Yea, yea..." Temari said lazily before glancing at Naruto, who didn't look entirely happy about her dismissive tone. "The two biggest bowls of pork Ramen you have." she said much to Naruto and the shop owners surprise.
"Of course!"
Naruto smiled, puzzling over that change he was blind-sided by the man continuing "Son you have a wonderful girlfriend!" Naruto nearly fell out of his chair in surprise; he hadn't been prepared for that.
"S-she's not..." he found himself stammering without thinking then he saw her raised eyebrow. That stopped him cold, his brain still trying to get back on its proper footing. The man was gazing at him curiously and Naruto could only shift uncomfortably under the scrutiny of the man. Him and his big mouth!
"Well, is she or isn't she?" The bald man asked curiously "A beautiful young girl like this buying you lunch, she has to be!"
"Er..." Naruto glanced at her once more, realizing what sort of situation he was in now. If he denied it he might hurt Temari's feelings because she'd think he didn't think she was beautiful enough -and she was only just now getting sociable with him- If he confirmed it then he would upset her and she'd hit him before storming off in a huff.
When did being friends with girls get so freaking complicated? "S-she...that is...umm...this is our...first date!" Naruto was pleased with this for a moment, until he realized what he had just blurted out. Ignoring the laughing man who was turning to fix their food, he became very interested in the chopsticks on the counter.
He could feel Temari's heavy gaze on him and he was terrified, he hadn't meant to blurt that out. It had sounded good in his head, but obviously she didn't approve. He didn't even have the energy nor will to try and joke his way out of this situation, maybe if he was quiet she'd forget he ever said it. Nevertheless, the way she was staring at him he didn't think she would forget what he said.
"Naruto-kun," she said very silkily and he gulped looking at her. She was going to slap him out of the chair he could feel it.
"Y-yes?"
"Dates take more than dinner..." she raised an eyebrow, a sly smirk on her face "What else do you have planned for us?" Naruto almost cried, feeling his wallet sing its sweet farewell to all of its money. It was his own fault, he should have thought of something else to blurt out.
"I-it's a surprise Temari-Chan."
"Ohhhh," she leaned forward slightly, so their noses lightly touched "Better make it good Whisker-boy, I'm a hard woman to please." Naruto gulped again, almost getting lost in her eyes for a moment. Smiling she leaned back and turned picking up her own chopsticks.
Naruto cursed Iruka-sensei once more and wondered why he liked staring into her eyes.
Sakura had guessed that Kiba would most likely be out eating right now, but so far had found no trace of him. She'd spotted Naruto and Temari but choose to leave the two alone, the longer Naruto was out from under foot the better. She did however take comfort in the fact that Kiba and Naruto weren't hanging out, separately they were loud and a tad obnoxious so them together was not a pleasant situation.
Shaking her head she threaded her way through the crowded streets, she was used to Konoha where she knew most everybody by sight if not name. This village was just too massive and she understood perfectly how Naruto could forget where a single stand was. However, she did find it suspicious that he managed to remember not only where the bath was but also that it was mixed bathing. He was too much like Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sama for his own good she decided nodding knowingly.
Still, despite being an annoying pervert Sakura was almost going to miss his attempts to ask her out. Inner Sakura was quick to roar out in her metaphysical voice 'ALMOST!'
She spent another fruitless twenty minutes searching the village for Kiba, almost ready to go by herself. Yes, this mission would be best if two people went but she was running short on time. The half hour that Baki had given them to roam was long past; it was actually approaching the three-hour mark. Maybe she should just go to the prearranged meeting spot and tell him her theory. She knew better than that though, a theory was no good in a real fight so she had to be certain.
The only way to be certain was to go check and...it all just went around forever in the circle. Unfortunately, none of it helped her find Kiba and thus Sakura convinced herself to leave on her own. It was of course following making such a decision that she heard the familiar voice of Kiba over head.
"Bastard!"
Stumbling in surprise Sakura turned looking up at the brown haired boy who was seated on the topmost step leading to the shop street. Akamaru barked loudly, in apparent agreement and Sakura couldn't help but wonder why. Who had upset the two of them; maybe it was just a random outburst. Either way Sakura leaped up onto the steps beside him just as he leaped to his feet and start off in an angry march.
On instinct alone her hand shot out, grabbing him by the back of his jacket jerking him off his feet. He flailed his arms for a moment then landed heavily on his ass with a yelp. "What are you yelling about?" Sakura asked and when he glared up at her, she raised an eyebrow.
The feral ninja looked away, crossing his arms in silence. It took only a split second before it crystallized for the pink haired ninja. The bastard in question was Naruto. "It wasn't his fault Kiba-san; she did it on her own to prove she'd changed."
"What the hell would you know?" Kiba shouted back, climbing angrily to his feet. "You didn't even know her! Don't pretend to care or understand her."
"Naruto told me that was what she wanted," Sakura, said softly, her tone and gaze softening in sympathy. Kiba of course was right to an extent, she hadn't known her that well, but Naruto had. Maybe it wasn't right to share that he had talked to her about the girl, but Kiba didn't need to blame Naruto. It wasn't his fault what happened. It was nobodies fault.
"Naruto can go jump off a bridge!" Kiba suddenly shouted, finger jabbing into her face and she finally caught the faint scent of sake. She tried to restrain her temper, reminding herself that Kiba had no idea that Naruto accepted the blame. That he was willing to bear the weight of what his example had done.
"It's his fault! All his damn fault and if he wasn't such a spineless, promise-breaking cowar-"
It was those words that sealed Kiba's fate. Indeed, he never even got to finish his sentence. Sakura would have let the boy rant until he reached an end; she would have let him wave a finger in her face and curse all he wanted...but to call Naruto, her last trustworthy friend, a spineless promise-breaking coward -espically since the only promise he had ever broken wasbecuase he had been on the verge of deathand even then he tried to keep it the instant he recovered!- that was something she'd never stand for.
The only one that had time to react to the punch directed at his face was Akamaru who leaped nimbly off the boys head seconds before the punch arrived. There was a sickening crunching noise as knuckles smashed against cartilage, a splattering of blood filled the air and suddenly Kiba's eyes crossed as he stumbled drunkenly backwards before twisting to fall off the side of the stairs and land in a pile of trash.
There was a moment of silence, she hadn't thought she'd hit him that hard. Maybe hard enough for a bloody nose, but not the level of violence she'd just witnessed. Walking over with Akamaru at her side she peered at the unconscious boy, then sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose knowing she'd have to go heal him before taking off. "I really got to remember that not everybody is as hard headed as Naruto."
Akamaru merely whined at her feet, staring down at his unconscious master.
Naruto was trying. He was really trying. Temari kept repeating that to herself, watching as he paid the owner of the latest booth for a ring toss. To be fair he'd been forced to be spontaneous and anything she showed the slightest interest in he had dragged them too and let them try.
Goldfish catching? Done it. Fortunate telling? Done it. Twice. Temari was to become a beloved wife and Naruto a powerful ninja. Dancing? Done that too. Watch one of the most kami awful plays because she had mentioned that she thought it looked funny? Done that as well.
Naruto was treating Temari to anything that her heart desired. He was treating her like a princess in some fairytale and she finally understood why all those girls loved to have boyfriends rushing around spending money on them. Temari did love quiet moments and privacy, she was quiet happy to relax at home, but she also found that she enjoyed being pampered as well. Actually, the proper word for what Naruto was doing would be Spoiling.
She grinned watching as he flung the rings almost carelessly at the targets, knowing it didn't matter because you always won whatever it was you wanted. It was so obvious that he really didn't have a clue what a date was suppose to be like, that he was scrambling like a hyper squirrel to come up with things for them to do.
Naruto was immature, that much was true, and Temari was honest about that. However, he wasn't quite as immature as he could have been and he was maturing, but even his immaturity had a charm to it. Like a moth to a flame it kept her hovering nearby, waiting to get burned and unable to move away. She was also quickly noticing one other thing, the attraction she felt for him was less and less mission grounded and more real.
That first night she'd been trying to get close to him because of her mission, and the several nights that had followed only that with each passing night she thought less of mission and more about if Naruto would be alright, if he would smile at her.
She was actually beginning to worry about what he thought about her, because she was starting too really care for him.
She remembered her early infatuation with Shikamaru, how that felt, and this was similar but different. Really different. This feeling had her wanting more and more to be not just an important person to him but the MOST important.
"Winner!" The booth owner shouted and Naruto considered everything behind the counter.
"Naruto-kun...how about that necklace?" Temari suggested almost at once, nodding at a rather nice looking pendant with the kanji for family. The blond glanced at her curiously, and then back at the pendant nodding to the man.
The owner smiled and turned picking up instead a small, stuffed fox much to the chagrin of Naruto. "WHAT! Temari-Chan wants the necklace!"
"Tsk!" The owner said, shaking his head "You didn't play the right level..."
"Why you!" Naruto glared.
"I'll make you deal...just for you and your girlfriend." The owner grinned widely "You play one more game, sink all five rings on the pole I pick and I'll give you the necklace."
"Naruto-kun lets just-" Temari said before Naruto slammed the now nearly empty frog wallet on the counter picking up five nearby rings.
"Here!" Naruto's voice took on a slightly sharp edge as the grinning man pointed at a pole in the far back and way out of range for most people. Naruto however merely nodded curtly and began hurling the rings with what seemed like an expert precision. When the last one had settled to the bottom of the pole, Naruto looked at the now fuming man triumphantly.
"Impossible!" The bald man shouted glaring at the short blond who was now grinning.
"Not for me."
"Nobody could make all five like that! Not even a ninja!" The bald headed man shouted and Temari saw the way Narutos eye twitched. Oh this wouldn't be pleasent, whenever Gaara's eye twitched people died.
"Give me another five and I'll put them on there!" Naruto shouted heatedly before hopping back over the counter turning to glare at the bald man.
"Deal!" The man shouted, handing over another five and pointing at an entirely different pole that was almost completely hidden from view.
"Fine!" Was the loud ninja's only response as he prepare for the task at hand. Temari blinked in surprise at Naruto's actions, she hadn't expected him to be so intent on winning her that pendant. She was perfectly happy with the stuffed fox and besides it was just a cheap piece of medal they could have gotten just down the street if they looked.
Naruto however began throwing, bouncing the first one off the post of the stand and got a nearly perfect landing. The second he threw at a nearby bottle of water, where it richoceted sharply before coming to a landing on the pole. The third one had Temari almost laughing as it bounced off the bald mans head up to strike another stuffed fox before dropping noislessly on the target. The fourth Naruto lifted his leg and tossed it underneath, so that it sailed over the target bounced off the back wall and then landed neatly on top of the other three.
Temari blinked in rapid succesion, a sort of stupidfied surprise filling her mind. When had Naruto learned how to throw this great? True he was powerful and he could do interesting things with weapons, but this was a skill that most ninjas never achived. Maybe he had been training with that TenTen girl...but still...this was utterly amazing.
"Are you ready baldie?" Naruto taunted the silently fuming gamer, who merely crossed his arms and glared darkly at the blond. Naruto still smiling, took careful aim for once, even going so far as to wet his finger and test the direction of the wind.
Then, no longer smiling, he turned his head away and without looking tossed the ring landing it perfectly on target.
There was a moment of silence in which both Temari and the bald man stared at the target then all eyes were pulled back to Nartuo as he flashed a peace sign grinning "I'm not just any ninja! I'm the future Hokage and not just any Hokage but the greatest ever and nobody cheats me!"
Temari felt pride swelling up inside her, begining to believe that he really was going to be Hokage someday. Her Naruto as the Hokage, it was a wonderful dream. Then she stopped herself cold, when had she started to think like that? Maybe she did like him, but that was far to personal a claim.
"Temari-Chan!" Naruto cried happily as he spun around, holding the necklace out for her.
"Thanks Whisker-boy," Temari smiled taking it from him then shooting the bald man a smug look while wondering why hed had been so intent on getting this for her. Just because she'd wanted it, or because he had been denied or was there something more to it. She didn't know and she couldn't ask him because to be honest she didn't want to know.
Considering the short chain, she slipped it onto her wrist in a makeshift charm looking at him with a surprisingly soft smile. Naruto smiled back, hands behind his head and then turned starting off, with Temari at his side. She felt a rush that he had been so intent on getting her the necklace. She'd never had a guy so determined to get her something that she wanted and Naruto had went broke to do it.
He might have even attacked the man to get it for her -well maybe not attack him but he'd have raised a good fuse over it-, which forced Temari to consider the fact that maybe Sakura really was telling the truth about him liking her. Somewhere she felt a small voice at the back of her mind cheering at the prospect and for once, the rest of her mind didn't say a word about missions or argue.
It seemed that for the moment she was letting herself have this precious moment untainted, right now she was allowing herself to be a girl on a date being spoiled. She almost laughed but instead kissed his cheek leaving him standing there as she wandered through the crowd, heading toward where the others would be waiting for Baki.
Dating was fun!
Pain. That was the first thing he felt, it radiated out from his nose sinking its talons into every inch of his head. The second thing he felt was water falling on his eyelids and the third thing was a wet nose nudging his cheek. Groaning the wild looking ninja struggled is way back to complete conciousness, wondering why he seemed to keep winding up like this.
Sitting up he absently petted the excited looking white dog at his side, trying to remember the last few minutes before he woke up. He remembered getting the sake from an older man and he remembered cursing Naruto...then Sakura had shown up and he'd said something he couldn't remember, and now he was waking up in rain. Correction it was a drizzle, not that this improved his outlook as he picked his way out of the trash and back to his feet.
Shaking his head like a dog having its nose smacked by a rolled up newspaper he shambled toward the stairs, knowing he was late for rejoining the rest of the team. He did wonder however why he had been left in the trash, grumbling he relied on Akamaru to guide him to the others. Halfway there the drizzle stopped and he sighed, hands shoved deep into his jackets pockets.
At least he could dry out a bit before he met up either everybody, though he could already hear Naruto's loud insults concerning him smelling like a wet dog. Could be worse, he reassured himself, he could still be under the sakes influence. That was something he wished to avoid as much as he could, espically around Naruto.
Secrets could be shared like that, Secerts that didn't need to be shared.
Staring down at his feet as he walked along the rain swept road, he snorted. Best to stop thinking about it and try to remember what exactly happened to him. He couldn't for the life of him remember anything other than a sudden blossoming of pain, maybe he had tripped busted his nose and fell into the trash. He didn't really believe that but he had to have something to set his mind at ease about the missing section of his memory.
Akamaru barked suddenly and he looked up spotting the team just on the otherside of the gates. There was Baki and Sogetsu, Kankuro was standing nearby his dolls strapped to his back and there was his exteremly creepy brother."You're five hours late." Baki grumbled but Kiba waved him off, wondering where Sakura and that blond girl that had been flirting with Naruto was.
Speaking of which where was that annoying brat anyway?
Seconds later Sakura appeared at the head of a set of stairs, her gaze thoughtful. "Hey Sakura!" The pink haired girl blinked looking up at him scowling slightly. What had he done to earn that? Maybe he'd upset her like yesterday when they had first arrived. She had to have hit him, and that pretty much explained everything for him.
Akamaru barked his suggestion and Kiba nodded in agreement, watching the girl stalk toward him. Yeah, he was definately going to have to apologize. "Sakrua, I'm sorry about-" he trailed off however as she ignored him and continued on her way to Baki.
What the hell had that been about? Frowning he kicked at the ground, looking up at the dog seated ontop of his head. Both were in silent agreement, even IF he had insulted her he didn't deserve to be completely ignored. Still he watched the way Baki's eyes never left Sakuras mouth and he began to wonder what exactly she was saying.
Snorting in annoyance he turned away, crossing his arms just in time to see Temari and Naruto walking toward him side by side. Eyebrows knitting together the dog ninja tried to puzzle out why both seemed so...odd. They weren't coming back...FROM A DATE!
"Naurto!" Sakura bellowed stalking over to the two, glaring at them "What part of thirty minutes didn't you understand! It takes five hours for ramen?"
"B-but I was so hungry Sakura-chan!" Naurto almost whined much to Kiba annoyance.
"Idiot! You can close Ichiraku's in under an hour." Sakura said darkly, crossing her arms "I know, I've been with you when you've done it."
"Hey! This is a big town and you know how much I like Ramen," Naruto responded huffily before grinning as he opened his mouth to belch in her face. This, if nothing else, made Kiba laugh. Leave it to Naruto to disgust both one of his best friends and his date. He laughed even harder when Sakura drove her fist into the top of Narutos head, unfourtantely he was denied full satisfaction since Naruto merely wince and rubbed at his injured head.
Now that was unfair, if he had been hit by Sakura he'd have been laid out for another five hours. Kiba grumbled to himself watching as Temari came to the boys rescue.
"Back off pinky, I made him show me around town."
"What'd you call me!" Sakura screeched, shooting daggers at the other girl.
"Hard of hearing Pinky?" Temari taunted, reaching up to brush a strand of her blond hair behind her ear. Kiba saw it at the same time that Sakura did, Temari was sporting a new piece of jewlery. The pink haired girl studied it for only a second then gazed critically at the taller blond.
"Ugh!"
Then with that Sakura turned and stomped away. Somehow though Kiba got the impression that Sakura wasn't really all that upset about about what she had seen. Not that he had a chance to reflect on that since Baki -berating them all for the delays- ordered them to start marching. Trudging his way to the front of the line Kiba frowned, glancing up at Akamaru who merely barked before licking his forehead.
AN:
Not much to say really, I tried my best this chapter. I hope you get some enjoyment and just for you fluff lovers out there, I inculded a DATE! I hope ya all enjoy and that you let me know what ya think if ya feel like it.
Also, Kiba got a little bit of a bashin this chapter...sorry to Kiba fans but I just couldn't resist. Please forgive me. Speical thanks goes to my beta reader for helpful suggestions and reminding me that I'm not always the craziest person in the room...just the most vocal.
Sincerely,
Geor-sama