Red Love
By Un-usuality
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Summary: He never had a family and she had lost hers long ago. A silly encounter springs up a seemingly impossible relationship which would have a far greater impact on both of their lives revealing unknown feelings and long forgotten emotions. NaruKure
"This is speech."
'This is thought.'
This is flashback or dreams.
Chapter 2: A bad day.
A figure tossed and turned in the bed. A sleep plagued with a nightmare.
Burning. Everything was burning around her. She could hear distant screams of people desperate for help. And she could hear that deafening roar. As she ran towards the origin, she could not help but feel a bit nauseous. A red hue covered the sky. The moon seemed out of place that night. Another burst of red chakra erupted from the distance. She sped up and ran towards that direction. Countless bodies littered the streets. But she paid little heed for she had to find her mother. She was running and running.
A strained noise came out of her throat; beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
"No! Let me go! My mother is there! Let me go!"
Her desperate pleas fell into deaf ears as two shinobi tried to carry her out of the battle field. She could clearly see her mother, fighting valiantly against the gigantic form of the Kyuubi no kitsune. It was roaring, decimating anything and everything in its path; building and shinobi alike. She started to struggle again but stopped shortly as her mother screamed. With an expression of abject horror she witnessed the events. Kyuubi had just shredded her mother in pieces. She sat there, helpless.
She gripped the bed sheet with both of her hands. Her face showed an expression of sheer pain as she thrashed in her bed.
Kyuubi's red eyes looked at her. It seemed that the beast is finally loosing. It was closing on her but she could not move. Its face was morphing into something; a human face probably. Shinobi and villagers swarmed around it with weapons, attacking it with no mercy. Its form changed; two clawed legs, two tiny clawed hands. It was making its way toward her. Suddenly it seemed so vulnerable and lonely as the people continued their assault. She could see its face now. With a roar it extended one clawed hand towards her…
Kurenai woke with a start. She was breathing heavily; sweat covered her whole body soaking her night dress. She put her head in her hands and just sat there for some moments as she tried to calm down. Her body was trembling slightly as she continued to take deep breaths. Even after nineteen years, it still haunted her memories. The sight of her mother being killed before her very eyes was not something one would want to see again and again. Yet, she had that dream each and every day.
A good dreamless sleep was a very rare thing in Yuuhi Kurenai's life.
Uzumaki Naruto looked at his watch: ten to five in the morning; so much for a good night's sleep. He sighed. He just got back from a mission that lasted for three whole days and was readily assigned to another one which would start in six hours. Not that he did not like going to missions but he deserved some rest, damn it! Naruto sat up on his bed with all these thoughts going on inside his mind. But, those were not his only thoughts. For the past few days, one other topic was trying to surface in his mind but he quite stubbornly refused to think about it: the topic, or rather the image of Yuuhi Kurenai as the mermaid of the lake.
Jounin or not, Naruto still had hormones, alright.
He just could not forget that image; could not erase that from his mind. But, the issue that bothered him most was that he completely froze up that day; not for a second, not for a minute but for several minutes. As a jounin, that was a sign of downright incompetence. Moreover, as the inventor of the (in)famous 'Sexy no Jutsu', freezing up at the sight of a semi-nude female was not acceptable, at all. But somehow, Kurenai had done it and Naruto was at a loss as to what to do. But the main questions still remained: why did she do it? He was not going to delude himself thinking that she was interested in him. He was not twelve anymore.
He sighed again. He still had more that enough time to prepare for his mission. He could easily do some training, eat breakfast and take a walk before departing to the mission destination. So he decided to follow the routine.
Kurenai slid off her night dress and eased her body down in the bathtub which was partially filled with water. As she lay there, she pondered over the dream, again. It was a regular occurrence to her. She started to have this dream shortly after the Kyuubi attack. It always started with her running. At first, it ended at her mother's death when she would wake up screaming. But over the years she had changed. She had become more composed and mentally strong. Nowadays, she did not scream. But the dream sequence changed also. That last part, the part where the Kyuubi morphed into something close to human and came running towards her was added into that dream. At first she could not clearly see the face the Kyuubi changed into. But over the time, not only she could see it but she could recognize it also.
After all, not many people had whiskers in their faces.
She vaguely remembered the time when she first saw Uzumaki Naruto.
She already knew about his condition but she was not sure if he contained the Kyuubi or he was the Kyuubi himself. He was five, maybe six, at that time when he bumped into her while running away from four villagers. She did not forget the look that he was giving her; the look of fear with a slight hint of hope. His whiskers made him look like a cornered fox. When the four villagers came up to them she had just stared them down and they backed off. She could still sense them hiding in a corner, probably waiting for her departure. Looking down, she saw him again looking at her with uncertainty. At that moment, she had a multitude of emotions going through her. On one hand, there was pity; he was a child after all, a five year old helpless child. On the other hand, there was the memory of her mother being killed in front of her eyes.
And there was the ever so tempting urge to just end his life, then and there.
All she would need was a kunai and flick of her wrist. But she gave him a benefit of doubt and walked away from him, not even bothering to hear his almost silent 'thank you'. But his joy was short lived as the villagers returned. From the next alley, she could hear his pleas and screams. But she had continued her walk. She had spared his life, after all.
Kurenai let out a heavy breath when she remembered that memory. Probably it was at that point that she started to have that last part of her dream. Was it her subconscious guilt of not helping him? Looking at it now, she felt a bit ashamed. She still remembered her mother's helpless screams. She heard his screams that day.
She could not differentiate between the two.
Her musings were cut short as her alarm clock went on. She remembered that she had a meeting with her team at a café so that they would have their breakfast also. She finished her bath and got ready to start the day.
"Hey Naruto! I didn't know that you were an early riser!"
Naruto was returning from the training ground and was about to go on a 'food search'. It was till early in the morning and Konoha's people were beginning to start their daily activities. It was then he heard Kiba's voice. As usual, Hinata was with him and as usual, she was blushing, slightly. Not that Kiba noticed.
"Good morning, Kiba, Hinata… and Akamaru." Naruto greeted. "Where are you off to?"
"We are going to Hiroshi's café, the one closest to Hokage tower?" Kiba answered.
"You want to join us?" This time Hinata joined the conversation. She had changed over the years. Provided that she still blushed around Naruto but her confidence level was quite high and Kiba had a lot to do with that. "We are meeting with Shino and Kurenai-sensei."
Now, Naruto was going to politely decline and go on his merry way but the mention of Kurenai's name got him interested, and the fact that Kiba was glaring at him and shaking his head no. Naruto grinned.
"I would love to, Hinata. But I don't think Kiba would appreciate that." Naruto answered, as subtle as a war-hammer.
Kiba was ready with a return but Hinata spoke again.
"Kiba-kun. Stop glaring at Naruto-kun." Hinata did not even turn around. "And it is rude to make inappropriate gestures with your finger when a lady is with you."
'Damn Byakugan.' was the thought that was going through Kiba's mind.
Hinata turned to Kiba. "Do you really mind Kiba-kun?"
Kiba sighed and muttered a 'no'. Now it was Naruto's turn to show Kiba off, until…
"Naruto-kun, whatever I said to Kiba-kun applies to you too."
'Damn Byakugan.'
Kurenai entered the café and made her way towards their regular table to find Shino already waiting. She greeted him and took her sit. Kiba and Hinata were still not there. It was actually Hinata's idea to hold a meeting like this on a regular basis. This was not a strictly official meeting. They just chatted here about anything and everything. Being a clan heiress, Hinata did not have that much free time. So this was a welcome change in her life. And in a sense, Kurenai also appreciated this.
After some waiting, she finally sensed her two teammates' presence along with another one. As she looked towards the entrance she recognized the extra presence. A couple of seconds later, Kiba, Hinata and Naruto entered the café. Kurenai was a bit surprised to see him but just brushed it off quickly. After all, Hinata's admiration of Naruto was a common knowledge. As all of them took their seats, Naruto greeted Shino and Kurenai, who greeted him back.
As Hinata explained how they met Naruto, Kurenai studied him. She remembered their recent encounter at the lakeside. Frankly, that incident had slipped her mind. Now looking at him, she started to recall that and tried very hard not to laugh as she recalled his reactions that day. And it seemed that Naruto also was remembering the incident, if the slight redness on his face was any indication. He was looking at his hand on the table top with a far away look without any care about his surroundings. He did not even flinch when Kiba started to call his name. Kurenai found this really amusing, and too good to pass. And her teasing nature kicked in. She slowly extended her index finger and touched his wrist drawing his attention. In a deliberately slow motion, she dragged her finger from his wrist along the backside of his hand all the way to his index finger just touching the tip.
"What's on your mind, Naruto-san?"
With more amusement and satisfaction, she watched the redness on his face grow in its intensity as he looked in her eyes. But this time he recovered quickly. With a small smile, he withdrew his hand from her and shook his head.
"Yeah Naruto, what are you thinking man?" Kiba was curious.
Naruto smiled again before speaking.
"The other day, I was sitting at the lakeside. I saw a beautiful mermaid in that lake." He took a sidelong glace at Kurenai.
The table fell silent. Kurenai was a bit taken aback at his choice of words. Kiba and Hinata were looking at Naruto strangely. Shino just stared. Naruto grinned inwardly. Turnabout is a fare play.
"You saw a mermaid?" Hinata tried to confirm.
"Did she have wings?" Kiba asked.
"Mermaids do not have wings Kiba." Shino corrected.
"How do you know? You did not see one." Kiba countered and pointed at Naruto. "He did." Then he patted on his back. "Man you are so lucky! But you did not have to say it like that, you know. You could have plainly told us that you were peeking at some hot nude babe."
Laughter erupted from the table. It soon died down as the manager of the café walked towards them and addressed Kurenai.
"Ma'am, would you like to go to another table?" At the surprised look of Kurenai, he clarified, "where you don't have to face any…" he took a not so subtle glace at Naruto before finishing, "unwanted disturbance."
Kurenai watched as Naruto's face darkened immediately but he kept a straight face.
"No, we are quite OK." She answered calmly.
"Are you sure Ma'am?" Another glance, "You don't have to worry about anything."
Kiba tried to speak but Kurenai cut him off. "We are fine. Don't worry."
"As you wish," The manager turned to Naruto. "Come on. I will give you your table."
Naruto just stared. This guy was getting on his nerves but he kept his calm. But this time Kurenai replied again.
"He is with us. And as I said multiple times before" Kurenai emphasized, "We are fine."
The manager took one last look at Naruto, before turning to Kurenai. He bowed and finally left. Kurenai turned towards Naruto who had an expressionless face the whole time. Kiba was expressing his surprise, to which Naruto responded with some witty remarks but she could she that his mood had darkened quite a bit. Fortunately, a waitress came to take their orders. She started from Kurenai and ended at Kiba.
"You forgot to take Naruto's order." Kiba reminded her as she started to head back. She had totally ignored Naruto's presence.
"Is that so? What will you have, sir?"
Naruto just closed his eyes and remained silent for couple of seconds. Kurenai was actually giving him silent complements about keeping his calm even at this blatant display of disrespect.
"I am good. Don't worry about it." Finally Naruto spoke before he stood up. "Well, it fells good to talk to you guys. I have a mission which will start shortly. So I have to get going. See you later."
With that Naruto went out. Kurenai could see the faint smile of victory the waitress gave. She could see the manager congratulating her. She could see the doorkeeper sending Naruto an open glare. She knew that he was not treated well but had no idea how it worked. If this was the situation when he was with other people, then she did not want to think about the time when he was alone. And finally, she also felt disgusted with herself; because years ago, she was the same as these people. Her brows furrowed as she remembered the dream she had just hours ago.
Suddenly it seemed so vulnerable, lonely as the people continued their assault. She could see its face now. With a roar it extended one clawed hand towards her…
Looking at the situation Kurenai could not help but ask: that hand he extended towards her; was that a sign of hostility?
Or was that a desperate plea to her to take that hand and pull him out of the hell that he was in.
Naruto was in a bad mood when he exited the café. It was these kinds of days he hated most. It started OK. He woke up, trained a bit and met his friends. Everything was going alright; friendly banters, light talking and all. Just when he was starting to think that the day was getting better, it all went down. He hated those superficial people and their inability to see past Kyuubi. All he wanted was to chat and have a good breakfast with his friends before going to his mission. Was that too much to ask? He was risking his life for the village each and every day! And they pay him back like this. The rage that was building inside him kept increasing and the glares that the villagers were sending did nothing to help.
It was moments like this that he wanted to show them how Kyuubi really looked like.
Maybe he needed to get out of the village for a bit. Thinking about his options, he decided to start his mission early of the scheduled time. Nobody would miss his anyway. When he reached the village gates, he did not expect to see anyone. But fate was not with him as another team was departing; a team led by his teammate: Haruno Sakura.
Sakura had not changed that much over the years. She had grown into an all-rounder kunoichi and a great medic. They still worked together from time to time but for serious missions only. Sakura also spotted Naruto and greeted cheerily. Naruto inwardly sighed. It was not like he did not like her of anything, but statistically, when the day looked grim the presence of Haruno Sakura made it even grimmer. Mind that, she did not do it intentionally nor did she know she was doing it, but somehow it just used to happen.
"Hey, Naruto! What's up?" Sakura greeted him cheerfully.
"The sky?" Naruto scratched the back of his head.
Sakura frowned. "Naruto…" She warned.
"Alright, jeez. No need to get violent. I have a mission." Naruto informed. "So, how are you? A mission?"
"I am good! Yeah a mission. Border patrol to be exact. You?"
"Scroll delivery. It will be easy though." Naruto acted his part. "Nothing is tough for the future Hokage!"
"Baka Naruto." Sakura said fondly in a sweet voice while smiling at his antics. "Well, I got to go. See you later."
"Take care, Sakura-chan."
"I will, I will!" And with that she was gone with her team.
Naruto looked at her retreating back and continued to look even after she was gone. Then he sighed. It was always like this. People always took him for granted. After Sakura came to know about his condition, it seemed that she started to take him for granted too. No, she did not hate him, did not fear him. She was there as a friend and as a teammate. But, she had enough medical knowledge to observe his uncanny healing ability. So she knew that there were very few things that can actually hurt him. So practically, he was invulnerable to her. But Naruto did not want that. Sure he had healing powers. Sure, he did not need medical attention all that often. But that did not mean that he did not want someone to show care for him. He might be physically invulnerable but he could still feel everything. Like now, he just told her to take care of herself.
How hard was it to say 'you take care too, Naruto'?
These were little things, little things one generally forgot many times. But for someone like Uzumaki Naruto, these little things make huge difference. Because he just wanted to feel like a human, just a normal human for a single day and nothing more. Was it too much to ask?
With that thought and a heavy heart, Naruto exited the village.
Elsewhere, there was a private gathering going on.
"We are ready to commence the mission. Sir."
"Alright, for one last time," A male voice stated, "You three will confront him and carry out your mission. Remember to avoid battle unless absolutely necessary. Got it?"
"Sir!"
A/N: Alright, second chapter done. Nothing much happened here but I tried to show Naruto and Kurenai's point of views and standings before going into deeper things. One thing you would probably notice is the rapid mood swings of the story, happy to angst and such. It will be there till the end.
So, tell me what you think about this. Too cheesy? (I had a lot of pizza today) need to improve more? Needs more details? Your opinion/criticism/suggestion is greatly appreciated.
See you next time.
