"I wasn't afraid of going places or doing new things. I would do just about anything or go anywhere. I'd get a notion in my mind and just follow it."

-Suzanne Vega

Chapter 3

Out On The Town

"So, you're telling me that you found these two boys outside our dojo?" Soun Tendo mused, his thick black mustache quivering on his reddened face as he stared thoughtfully. He was wearing his usual dark green-brown gi, seated at the dining table. "Interesting."

"They looked like they'd been in a fight." Ranma added in, in between devouring the rice in his bowl and asking for more.

"Oh my. I do hope they're alright." Kasumi Tendo, the eldest of the Tendo sisters, said worriedly, her dainty hand on her lips, her long brown hair leaving a few errant strands near her face. The kind young woman, who was the pillar of support in the dojo wore a blue dress with her usual apron over it, looked distressed as she was handing Ranma back his bowl.

"I'm sure Doctor Tofu will be able to help them." Akane reassured Kasumi, idly picking up another pickle with her chopsticks and sticking it into her mouth.

"If they were in a fight, perhaps there is some sort of trouble brewing, eh Tendo?" the bandanna wearing, bald Genma Saotome said, thoughtfully pushing up his large round glasses, looking rather sated after his meal. His white gi had a few errant pieces of rice that clung to it, and he sat himself in a meditative position.

"Indeed Saotome." Soun answered carefully, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Ah, jeez pops, they're just kids." Ranma said dismissively toward Genma, who gave him a stern look in response.

"Even the youngest warriors can be dangerous, boy!" Genma chided his son sternly, standing straight up and glaring at his pig tailed son, fists clenched tightly. "You should know to nerve underestimate your opponent!"

"Aw, get off it pops!" Ranma scowled, standing straight up, his own fists at the ready.

"I'll teach you not to underestimate your opponents!" Genma shouted, and the usual Saotome family brawl at dinner took place once more, as Ranma and his father knocked each other into the yard.

"Don't those two ever quit?" Nabiki Tendo, the middle daughter of the family drawled, rolling her eyes, her cropped, bobbed brown hair shifting with her head movements. Inside, however, she was calculating carefully, thinking of her ever-present goal- profits.

There hadn't been anything aside from the standard fighting that occurred in Nerima on a daily basis- Ryoga running about and destroying property in his battles with Ranma, Mousse hunting down Ranma, Happosai being chased down by hordes of women headed by Ranma...

Two newcomers though, had the potential for new horizons and new betting pools.

It wasn't that Nabiki was greedy so much as she was an extreme pragmatist, being the one who managed the finances of the Tendo household and brought in money from her gambling and other such activities at school. She didn't have a talent for the martial arts, at least not as much as Akane, and she wasn't a homemaker like Kasumi.

But she could manipulate and bring home some cash... in her own way.

And right now, Nabiki Tendo could smell opportunity.

The only who hadn't spoken so far was the Master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, which was highly unusual, given his loud demeanor. The tiny, wrinkled and bald old man that looked more like a troll in a purple gi than a martial artist did not look threatening, but he was frighteningly powerful, with techniques whose power was as great as the perverse activities they were used for.

"Newcomers, eh? Sounds like fun." Happosai murmured quietly, a mischievous grin crossing his weathered face. He had found that the constant battles with Ranma were starting to lose their glamour, and finding new challenges were, of course, a primary part of Anything Goes Martial Arts.

Of course, it helped that Happosai often made a hobby of tormenting people for his own amusement.

---

Shikamaru Nara was not someone who enjoyed brooding, nor partook of darkly mulling over past events. However, he was also not someone used to having the responsibility of leading a group of four other boys who were close to his age, and all of whom (except Neji) were "sort of" his friends.

I totally screwed up. If it hadn't been for those Sand ninja, we would have been finished. Shikamaru thought darkly, scowling at himself.

"Oh, get that look off your face." A boisterous, rude, female voice chided harshly. Temari of the Hidden Sand rolled her eyes, tapping her fist against her giant fan weapon with an annoyed look. Her forehead protector was around her neck, and her desert style clothing was relatively undamaged compared to his. "The dark, brooding look doesn't work on lazy people."

Shikamaru refused to answer this troublesome woman and give her the dignity of a response.

"Don't be an arrogant idealist." Temari continued, pressing her argument with a bored, apathetic look on her face. "You should know that sacrifice is inevitable, and some battles just can't be won."

"Training and actual combat are two different things." Shikamaru said, finally speaking with a low, upset tone that was unlike his usual bored drawl. "In a mission, anything can happen. I was a leader for the first time in a real mission... and because of that, I know now." His face was lined and weary.

"I'm not worthy of being a shinobi."

"Jeez... what a weird guy..." Temari scoffed, rolling her eyes, crossing her legs.

Shikamaru stood, up, resolute but somehow, smaller than he had been to Temari. "All I could do was trust everyone else to do what I couldn't. I was probably the weakest one out of all of us, but I was their leader." He said quietly, placing his hands in his pockets and staring down at the floor, the only thing his eyes would meet.

"So then, you're just going to run away from the pain?" Temari said, her voice full of disgust.

Shikamaru was silent, refusing to meet her challenge, and began to walk away. Temari briefly considered saying something more, but another voice cut in.

"I never thought I'd see a day when my own son became a coward." Shikaku Nara said coldly, his scarred face that looked like an aged and tanned version of his son's twisted into a scowl.

"I don't want an argument. I'm not a woman." Shikamaru retorted calmly, not turning around, not rebuffing the accusation.

"Then think about this." Shikaku growled, but didn't move. "Your companions will still have missions, and they will still run the risk of death."

Shikamaru seemed to freeze up as his father continued to speak. Temari, despite herself, was interested in hearing what the older man had to say.

"However... if you are their leader, perhaps you can help them avoid that end. You will know that you have done everything you could to save their lives. If you truly care about your comrades, then stand up and become something greater for them!" Shikaku's voice raised slightly, filled with a measure of anger. It quieted down soon enough, however, into a calm, steely tone, like iron cooling after the fires of the forge.

"That's what a real comrade... a real man would do."

Shikamaru bowed his head.

Temari glanced at the spiky haired boy with a little bit of worry in her eyes.

A door opened at that moment, and the Godaime Tsunade stepped forward, a tired, exhausted but triumphant look on her features. "I used an antidote to the cell destroying effects of the Akimichi clan pills. He was saved just in time, thanks to some research and notes in the drug mixing manual of the Nara clan."

Shikaku smiled. He was godfather to the Akimichi's son, and was quite fond of the boy himself. "Thank you-"

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune, Tsunade's black haired apprentice shouted, smiling and wiping a great deal of sweat from her brow, her black kimono stained heavily, and obvious result of the intense degree of hard work she showed in fighting to preserve Neji Hyuuga's life. "The Hyuuga boy's condition is stable at last. He should be awake by tomorrow."

"You see son... your companion's survived." Shikaku said gently, placing his hand on his son's shoulder, missing the dark look that crossed the Hokage's face.

"I'm sorry but... I'm afraid that is still in question." Tsunade whispered softly, and bowed her head, her fists clenched tight enough that her knuckles were white. Her triumph had fallen away like autumn leaves, replaced with bitter sadness.

Shikamaru jerked his head toward the Hokage, small teardrops flying from his face with the movement. He had been crying, Temari noted with a degree of pity and disgust.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune said softly, reaching toward the blonde woman with whom she had traveled with for so long.

"Naruto Uzumaki... and Uchiha Sasuke... are missing in action." Tsunade finished quietly, and, much to the amazement of everyone in the room, a small tear made its way down the Godaime's cheek.

Temari knew those names, but her mind was dwelling more now on the blonde Uzumaki brat. That one was a serious threat- no one had ever before drained Gaara and exhausted him completely, not to mention actually changing her younger brother's bloodthirsty, sociopathic nature.

A conversation with Gaara popped into her mind, days after his encounter with Uzuamki, when they had returned to the Hidden Sand.

"I want to be different Temari." Gaara said quietly, as he laid in a bed, for the first time to recover from his injuries. Just the fact that he used her name shocked Temari.

"I want... I want to be like Naruto. I want to find and protect my own precious people..." Gaara whispered softly, and closed his eyes, as if he'd fallen asleep, and for a moment, he looked like a normal twelve year old boy.

Temari, despite all her trepidation toward her youngest brother, couldn't help but smile gently and brush the tips of his crimson hair in a motherly fashion. "Thank you... thank you Naruto Uzumaki. Thank you for giving me back my baby brother."

Temari desperately hoped that the loss of this person, with whom Gaara held so much respect for, would not be the cause of a relapse into Gaara's bloody ways.

Shikamaru's fist closed tightly over itself, and he didn't stop the tears that were pouring down his face. Temari looked at him with an odd mixture of amusement and respect.

"The next time... next time, I'll do it right," Shikamaru whispered softly. He liked Naruto's laid back attitude, and respected the blonde boy for his surprise victories over opponents who were thought to be out of his league.

"For Naruto. I promise... next time, I'll make sure to do it right."

---

"Where is he! Where's that little pervert!"

Naruto Uzumaki's eyes opened slowly, blearily as he glanced up at the window, realizing that there was a blinding light pouring out like a shining rain from the window.

Groaning, he blinked blearily and sat himself up, glancing over to where Sasuke lay, sleeping peacefully. Despite himself, Naruto felt a small measure of pride and satisfaction. I beat his ass down good.

"He went that way!"

The shouts interrupted his private, silent gloating and Naruto's interest was peaked as he continued to listen.

"We'll teach that pervert a lesson this time!"

Sasuke made a slight groaning sound, and cracked open a single eye. "What'd you do, dead last?" he asked sleepily, pulling the sheets over his head tiredly.

"It wasn't me!" Naruto said defensively, but his interest was peaked. He had strong dislike of perverts- strange for someone who was the creator and master of the infamous Oiroke no Jutsu- and was quite happy to beat down on one.

He was still in his dirty and damaged orange jacket and pants, but Naruto didn't care. He loved the outfit, and would rather pay to get it repaired than ever think about replacing it.

After a moment, Naruto grabbed his forehead protector and tied it around his head tightly. Sasuke's forehead protector glinted against the window light. Naruto looked at it for a moment, and smiled slightly.

As he put on his shoes and stepped outside, Naruto heard the voices coming closer. With a grin, he bounded off in the direction of the shouts.

---

"Hotcha! Can't catch me!" Happosai shouted gleefully, waving his hand in a backwards greeting toward the angry crowd who was chasing him, the large green, white speckled bag of stolen women's underwear bouncing behind him. The old man was running along the walls, just out of reach of the angry women who he had stolen from.

"You get back here you old freak!" Ranma growled, being the only one of the group who could keep up with the Master of Anything Goes on the wall.

Deciding to fan the flames a bit more, Happosai grinned, turned around, and blew a raspberry at the pig tailed boy.

"Nyah Nyah!" he taunted mischievously, feeling great. Perversion, for the Master of the Anything Goes Martial Arts style, was not just a hobby- it was what kept him alive, it was his what defined and ruled his life.

"Oi! Old man! What the Hell do you think you're doing!"

Happosai and Ranma both paused at the sound of a new voice, and the old man turned, sighting a loud orange blur coming towards him at high speed.

With an amused sneer, Happosai flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding the haymaker that the orange blur, now revealed to be a young, twelve year old blonde boy, was throwing.

Naruto stumbled and struggled to regain his balance on the wall, growling and scowling at the old man as he nearly collided with Ranma.

Happosai landed with grace that belied his immense age, grinning at the blonde boy. "Well now, I take it you must be one of those new boys in town?" he said rhetorically, idly placing his pipe in his mouth.

"Who the Hell is this guy?" Naruto asked aloud, clenching his fists tightly. After old lady Tsunade, he should have learned by now that the elderly could be the most dangerous people of all.

"Name's Happosai, Master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts." The old lecher said, idly blowing out a bit of smoke.

"More like Master of the Perverts!" Ranma shouted angrily, and, after sidestepping Naruto he lunged for Happosai, arms outstretched and ready to grab the old man-

Happosai idly placed his pipe on Ranma's chest, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the pig tailed boy crashing into the wall, about ten feet backwards.

With a groan, Ranma rubbed his head after the impact, but otherwise seemed only dazed.

"Ranma!" Akane said, running over to the pig tailed boy in concern. Once she made sure he was unhurt, she scowled at him and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you should know by now not to attack Happosai from the front."

"Well boy, do you still wanna fight?" Happosai asked with a cocky smirk.

Naruto, used to Tsunade's freakish strength, smirked back with a fox-like twinkle in his eyes. "A pervert huh? I know how to deal with them!" his hands flew into a set of rapid fire seals, ones he himself had perfected.

Ranma and Happosai could barely track them, but neither of them knew what to make of the hand movements.

The Master of Anything Goes was prepared however, for just about anything, and made a low growl, crouching slightly.

Naruto smirked wider in response. "Oiroke no Jutsu!" he called out, and vanished in a loud puff of white smoke.

"Sexy Technique?" Akane blinked in surprise, and, a second later, her jaw dropped, along with everyone else's.

"Hey there, big boy." A very buxom, very beautiful, very nude blonde woman was standing where Naruto had been, and was bent over, blowing Happosai a kiss.

"Hotcha! Hey there sweetie!" Happosai yelled gleefully, leaping forward in a glomp-tackle, aiming directly for the blonde girl's bosom.

Girl-Naruto gave a loud shriek and leapt backwards, disappearing in that same puff of smoke and returning to his younger, not to mention more masculine, form. Naruto stared, open mouthed in shock. "He's some kind of super pervert," he muttered to himself, and once again, his hands flew into another set of seals, this one for a more serious technique that before.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Audible gasps and loud exclamations of surprise echoed around the block.

"Amazing..." Akane whispered reverently.

"That's... that's nuts..." Ranma muttered, shocked.

There were now twenty Naruto's, all of them surrounding the tiny Master of Anything Goes Martial Arts with mischievous grins on their faces. Each one of them was an exact copy of the original, and each one of them had a real, physical body.

"So you brought in some reinforcements, huh?" Happosai said, still smirking with a superior look on his face. "Sorry kid, but that won't be enough to take me down!" with that, he charged forward, bringing his pipe to bear, like a staff.

The Naruto army smirked and gave a low chuckle. "Harem no Jutsu!" they called out in unison.

Twenty beautiful, buxom and very much naked blondes surrounded Happosai, all of them moving to perform various sexy poses and suggestive movements.

Every male in the vicinity, including Ranma (much to his own chagrin) toppled over, spurting blood in a way that only a certain Lost Boy was normally prone to do.

Akane scowled jealously and gave the semiconscious Ranma a none too gentle kick in the ribs.

Happosai shuddered and trembled, his entire frame visibly shaking with the effort of not breaking down. "No... I... I... I won't be defeated..." he said shakily, nearly choking on his own words.

"Are you alright, big boy?" the Sexy no Jutsu-Naruto's breathed huskily.

And it was over.

Despite his incredible lust and love for perversion, not even Happosai could withstand the awe inspiring (or arousing) power of the Harem no Jutsu.

And so it was, to the shock of Ranma and Akane, as well as to everyone else, that Happosai blushed like a schoolgirl before toppling over and off the wall, a geyser of blood shooting out from his nose.

As he fell, the old man croaked a shaky, breathless, "What... a... powerful technique..."

---

Sakura didn't know how she got home- she supposed she had to thank Ino for that, and made a note to try and reciprocate Ino's attempts to renew their friendship. However, right now, she was stuck in a mire of depression, unable to break free from it.

She believed they were still alive- she had to.

If Naruto's promise had become the foundation of all her hopes, this belief was the cornerstone.

Her stomach rumbled slightly, and Sakura made a low mumble. She had fallen asleep without eating, and hadn't eaten much since Sasuke and later Naruto left the village.

As she walked, she saw a sign- Ichiraku Ramen.

Sakura's lips quirked up slightly, and she made a half sort of smile with eyes that were threatening to break out into tears again. Without thinking, she walked in, half expecting to hear Naruto's loud voice asking for "another please!"

She sat herself down at the ramen bar with a small sigh. "One large beef ramen," Sakura said listlessly, passing the money necessary over the counter with a seriously lackluster effort. Normally, she disliked ramen- but today, today she would make an exception.

As the cook handed her the ramen, a familiar voice called out, "One large chicken ramen."

Sakura would have spat out the ramen if she had been eating any at the time, and, with shocked, widened eyes, she turned to meet the pale emerald eyes of Gaara of the Desert, giant sand gourd and all.

If the Sand ninja recognized her, he made no sign, and indeed, simply sat there, as though he had always been at the Ichiraku Ramen and she had simply never seen him before.

It was only after Gaara received his ramen and began to put salt into his meal did he finally speak. "You're Naruto's friend." He didn't say it as a question, and it seemed he expected no response.

"Y-yes..." Sakura said nervously, halfheartedly chewing the meat as she watched the insomniac from the corner of her eyes.

"Do you know where he is?" Gaara asked, his voice still toneless and impassive as he took a slow, cautious bite of the kamaboko fish cake on his ramen, as though he had never seen something like it before.

"He-he's missing." Sakura replied shakily, and forced herself not to cry. Despite her fear, she continued, as though needing to say these words. "They can't find him or Sasuke-kun anywhere..."

Gaara didn't look up, nor did he look at Sakura. Instead, he continued to chew the fishcake, as though contemplating its flavor. After a moment, he said blandly, "I don't understand."

His words struck a nerve, and irritation flared over her fear. "Didn't you hear me? They're gone! They're gone, and I don't know where they are!" Sakura said, her voice edging on hysterical as she felt the tears coming on.

"I don't understand why Naruto enjoys this so much." Gaara continued, unperturbed, and glanced over at the pink haired girl with an inquisitive look. "Do you?"

Sakura didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or simply look at the redheaded boy with utter confusion. If that was a joke, it wasn't funny. If it wasn't, then Gaara of the Desert was even stranger than she thought.

Finally, anger, anger at everything that was wrong in her life finally broke through her fear and she snapped, "How can you be so damn nonchalant about this! Why the Hell do you want to know where Naruto is! Why do you care!"

Sakura froze up after that, and clapped her mouth shut. Oh God oh God oh God I'm going to die, he's going to crush me with that sand of his and then I'll never get to see them again-

"I owe Naruto a very large debt." Gaara said, unaffected at all by Sakura's rant. "He is... he is what I want to be. I want to be like him." His voice reminded her of Naruto- of the raw, relentless determination that the blonde showed at the most surprising times.

Sakura nearly burst out laughing for a brief moment as she imagined a hyperactive, over excitable Gaara of the Desert playing pranks with his sand. But his words stopped her from laughing. Sasuke had told her it was Naruto who defeated Gaara in the end- was that why Gaara respected Naruto so much?

Was it possible that even this bloodthirsty boy could be changed by Naruto's determination?

"And I don't need to worry about Naruto not coming back." Gaara said, idly swallowing a large number of noodles with a bored look.

"Why's that?" Sakura asked quietly, her own ramen forgotten.

"Because Naruto's the kind of person who will always find a way." Gaara finished, and looked at his now emptied bowl. "Perhaps I will have another bowl of ramen, later on."

Sakura managed a small laugh. "Don't be too much like Naruto, now." She warned, her tone light and good natured.

After all, there should only be one Naruto Uzumaki.

---

"Alright! I got him!" Naruto grinned happily, thrusting his fingers forward in a 'V for victory' sign.

Ranma, wiping the blood from his nose, and looked curiously at Naruto for a moment, before walking over to one of the bystanders; an old woman who happened to be holding a wooden bucket of water. "Excuse me, could I borrow this?' he asked politely, and when the woman nodded, perplexed, he thanked her and stood up, walking toward Naruto.

The blonde boy was so deep into his triumphant grin that he failed to notice it went Ranma tossed a bucket of cold water over him.

"Oi! What'd you do that for!" Naruto snapped, his clothes and his hair now soaking wet. Shivering, he wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered, glaring at the older boy.

"Hey... you didn't change." Ranma muttered perplexedly, scratching the back of his head.

"Ranma! Don't go dumping buckets over people's heads!" Akane scolded irritably, rolling her eyes as she rushed over to the two boys.

"Just what are you, anyway?" Ranma demanded, ignoring Akane for the moment, staring at Naruto with an impassive look on his face. "What kind of crazy Martial Arts do you do? Martial Arts Shape Changing?"

Naruto blinked and scratched his head in the classic "huh?" pose. "What do you mean?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"You're a martial artist, ain't cha?" Ranma questioned, crossing his arms and now looking even more perplexed than before.

"Nope! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a ninja of the Hidden Leaf!" the blonde said proudly, grinning and pumping his fist into the air.

"Ninja of the Hidden Leaf?" Akane said to herself, confused.

"What the heck's that?" Ranma asked, confused.

Now it was Naruto's turn to be perplexed. "What? You've never heard of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves?"

"Nope." The pig tailed martial artist said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Man... I really am on a different world." Naruto muttered, scratching the back of his straw blonde head of hair.

Ranma wanted to ask Naruto about those "Jutsu"s but before he could, Akane suddenly shrieked, "Oh no! Ranma, we've only got five minutes left of lunch! We've got to hurry!"

"Hey, wait a minu-" Ranma began, wanting to question the younger boy further, but Akane grabbed his ankle and tugged hard, causing him to lose his balance and crash to the ground.

"C'mon Ranma, you already slept through all of first period." Akane scowled, pulling along the semiconscious pig tailed boy.

"Those two are kind of weird..." Naruto muttered, crossing his arms behind his head. After a moment, he suddenly realized he had absolutely no idea where he was.

"Uh oh..."

---

Somewhere, deep in the wild mountains of Japan, another young boy let out a primal scream resulting of a condition that many people experience throughout their lives, though none so frequently as this one...

"I'M LOST AGAIN!"

Trees that had withstood year droughts, fierce storms, and the effects of time, toppled over. Birds soared out of their arboreal heights with irritated chirps, and wildlife scattered.

Aw great, the Destroyer is back, one bird chirped with annoyance, flapping his wings with what amounted to a bird's scowl.

Let's leave... last time he was like this, he ended up decimating half a forest, a female bird replied, flapping her wings and moving in a way that was reminiscent to a human rolling their eyes.

"DAMN IT! WHERE IS TOKYO!"


Author's Notes

Techniques

Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)- A variation on the Henge no Jutsu technique, it transforms the user into a beautiful- and nude- young woman. This technique was created by Naruto Uzumaki, and only he and Konohamaru use it.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)- Forbidden ninjutsu that only the highest ranked ninja are supposed to know. The chakra and strength of the user is distributed equally among the number of clones, and each and every one of them has a real, physical body, making it impossible to tell which is the original. Each clone can only take a single hit before disappearing, however. Also, this technique is dangerous because of the division, and because of the great amount of chakra necessary to make it properly effective.

Harem no Jutsu- A combo technique of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the Oiroke no Jutsu which only the demented mind of Naruto Uzumaki could create. It creates such a number of beautiful naked women that no pervert can withstand its might.

I rather enjoyed the Temari/Shikamaru interaction scene, and I'm fairly certain I'll include more. Of course, I'm not saying the two of them will be "paired up", but there will be scenes with the two of them. There are a few other pairings in both worlds that I'm thinking of including, mostly because each of them has their own rather unique storyline to them that would contribute to the overall story.

I loved the Gaara and Sakura interaction scene the most though. Get used to Gaara- you'll be seeing plenty of him. Fun fact- he puts salt in his ramen because according to the trivia, he likes salty food.

And no, I am definitely not pairing Gaara and Sakura up. They'll probably become friends over the course of the story, but nothing more.