"A Void Filled"
by Coded
Chapter 4: Departures and Arrivals
' ' - Thoughts, " " - Speech
Naruto's mouth fell open as his legs went limp and he stumbled back to the table. Naruto sat as Shizune entered and quietly shut the door behind her.
"Sas..Sasuke's dead? After all that work to get him back? What..happened?" Naruto stared dumbly at Shizune as she explained.
"Hokage-sama was attempting to release the seal on the barrel Sasuke was in and things went amiss..there was nothing she could have done, Naruto, he was dead when he came out."
Naruto's mouth moved silently as he fought for words. "Does...does the whole village know?"
Shizune shook her head. "No, Hokage-sama sent me directly to you first. It happened less than 5 minutes ago."
"Five minutes.." Naruto's voice trailed off as he glanced to Tayuya and saw the expression on her face.
Realization struck the boy like a slap in the face. Shooting to his feet, Naruto ran and grabbed Shizune by the shoulders.
"You can't tell the village! Everyone here hates Tayuya as it is! If the villagers find out, everyone will blame her! This isn't her fault!"
Shizune's face saddened as she glanced from the anxious face of Naruto to the terrified one of Tayuya. "It's too late, Naruto, Hokage-sama has already called the council of village elders together to announce it. However, I'm sure she will make note of the fact that Tayuya shall not be held responsible."
Naruto growled and stepped away from the medical-nin. Running a hand through his spikey hair, the genin began to pace.
Tayuya watched the orange-clad boy for several moments before finally speaking. "Naruto..I..you've had a hard enough time, I don't want to cause you any more trouble. I.." the young girl swallowed hard before continuing, "I'll leave the village."
Naruto stopped pacing and glared at Tayuya. "Thats the most stu.." the genin trailed off his face slowly changed from one of anger to a silly grin. "..stupendous idea I've ever heard!"
Naruto threw back his head and laughed wildly. Once the laughter had subsided, he spoke. "Shizune! Stay here with Tayuya! I'll be back in a flash!"
Naruto was out the door before the Hokage's assistant could even respond. Blinking at Tayuya with a shrug, she sat down and tried to console the heartbroken girl.
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"Heh! I figured I'd find you here, Pervert."
Jiraiya, one of the three legendary Sannin, jumped close to five feet in the air in surprise at the sudden voice coming from right behind him. Turning as inconspicuously as possible, Jiraiya put on his best grin, trying to figure out how he was going to talk his way out of this one. That or the best escape route.
"Why, I don't know whatever you mean, I nev.." Jiraiya stopped in mid-sentence and grunted when he saw who the voice had come from. "Oh..it's just you. Don't scare me like that."
Dismissing Naruto with a wave of the hand, Jiraiya turned back to his peep show, frantically scrawling notes for his next book.
"I have a favor to ask you, Ero-sennin. I need to leave the village.." Naruto stepped up next to the older shinobi, staring straight ahead. "Me and one other person need to leave for awhile. You're my best bet, I'd go with just us, but I know that's a bad idea, I don't know where anything is outside the Country of Fire. You do."
Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow and shot a sideways glance at the boy. "Eh? You and that Sakura, is it? Honeymooning? And you're so young. Tch. Well, I won't do it."
Naruto shook his head slightly and looked down at Jiraiya where he was crouching. "It's not Sakura. It's Tayuya. Sasuke's dead."
Jiraiya chuckled abit. "Well of course Sasuke is dead. Tsunade killed him, boy. But that doesn't explain why you and the former Sound-nin need to leave the village now does it?"
The blonde boy's jaw went slack for the second time in as many hours as he stared incredulously at Jiraiya. "Tsunade killed him? What do you mean?"
Jiraiya grunted as his continued his note-taking. "She killed him. She didn't attempt to get him out of the barrel, she broke the seal. Purposefully." Jiraiya glanced at Naruto. "You know what that means, yes? Good. She deemed Sasuke was too dangerous to let live, assuming he survived that neat little jutsu. That's the kind of decisions Hokages have to make..heh, and people wonder why I didn't want the job."
Naruto clenched a hand to his stomach as he fought from throwing up. How could Tsunade do that? Naruto shook his head and steeled himself. 'No, it doesn't matter. What matters is Tayuya still needs to get out of the village, and probably me too. Everyone will blame me for bringing her.'
"That doesn't matter to me, Ero-sennin. Tayuya and I need to get out of the village. Everyone will hold her responsible, despite whatever the Hokage says, and they'll hold me responsible for her being here. It's only a matter of time before tempers get too high and we get attacked. I won't risk her safetly. Please, if you won't take us, we'll go alone."
Jiraiya stood and dusted himself off as he turned to face the boy he helped tutor. "Off by yourself, eh? And just what will you do if Itachi and Kisame come for you again, hmm? Did you think of that?"
The boy rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "I did..that's why I know you'll say yes...when do we leave?"
The white-haired man muttered and shook his head and he tucked his notes into his robes. Sighing, he turned and began walking off. "As soon as possible, I supposed, c'mon, I'll go back to your place to help you two pack."
Less than an hour later the three ninjas, one old and two young, set out from the village using a less used path. As they crested a hill, Naruto stopped and turned back to look at the village one last time. Tayuya stopped and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto..I'm so sorry..for all the trouble I've caused you.."
The girl was cut off as Naruto turned and gave his signature grin. "Sorry? You have nothing to be sorry about..besides, now we get to travel the world! See things we would never have seen before! Plus training with Ero-sennin isn't all bad, he knows some ok stuff."
Tayuya's face softened into a smile. "Naruto...thank you."
Without another word, the three turned and set off, destination unknown.
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Three Years Later
Three figures stood outlined by the light of the moon as they stood on the cliffs overlooking the village of Konoha. The tallest glanced to the figure standing to his left. "So..whatcha think? Go down now, or wait till morning?"
Taking a draw from his pipe, Jiraiya eyed the village before he responded. "Pah..I'm too old to be travelling down cliffs like this after dark. But I suppose if we went in now, we'd be seen by less people, and could go straight to Tsunade without too much trouble, and thats the name of the game, isn't it? Not getting in trouble." Jiraiya finished with a glare at his two apprentices.
Naruto chuckled and reached out to squeeze Tayuya's hand. "Trouble? Us? I think you have your students mixed up, sensei! The Fourth sounds like he was much more trouble than we could ever dream to be."
Tayuya smiled warmly at Naruto and then grinned at Jiraiya. "Although, I don't believe the Fourth ever dragged you halfway across the world for three years, being chased by Akatsuki, right Sensei?"
Jiraiya grunted and began the decent. "Heh. Kids these days. Lets go, little ones, we still have a ways to go yet."
Naruto threw Tayuya another smile and the pair followed after their teacher, hand in hand.
The trek was shorter than Jiraiya would have led the young shinobi to believe, as they were at the gates of Konoha within an hour from leaving their cliff-top view.
Naruto stopped and drank in the sight. "Y'know, there were alot of times I wondered if I was ever going to see this place again..."
Jiraiya spit over his shoulder and cast a sideways glance over his shoulder. "Aye, and you're lucky that you ARE seeing it again. Fool boy. I swear you'll never learn. What was all that back in the Wave Country? Don't you listen to ANYTHING I tell you?" The old man turned and smiled at his female charge. "Now Tayuya on the other hand, is an EXCELLENT student. Listens to everything I say, FOLLOWS DIRECTIONS, and doesn't try to take out half of Akatsuki by herself. Unlike another ninja I happen to know."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned as they started moving again. "Well..it worked, didn't it? Besides, I dunno if I buy into that whole 'master jutsu's before you use them in combat' philosophy."
Tayuya laughed and gave Naruto a friendly shove. "Hah! That's exactly the reason half of this trip was spent with you in the hospital! How are your arms, by the way?"
Naruto shrugged and rubbed his arms. A failed jutsu attempt had left them both with massive burn scars. The young man shrugged. "Been better..but they've been far worse, as well."
Jiraiya suddenly spoke up. "Hush now, children. We're at the gate, let the adults do the talking."
As if on cue, a Konoha jounin seemed to materialize out of thin air in front of the trio, blocking their access to the gate into the village.
"I knew he was there," Naruto muttered out of the side of his mouth, only to recieve a shushing motion from Tayuya.
The jounin eyed the three figures in turn before speaking. "Who, may I ask, is seeking entry into the Leaf as this hour of the night?"
Jiraiya puffed up and threw back the hood of his cloak. "Jiraiya, formally of Konoha, one of the three legendary sannin, student to Sarutobi, the late Third Hokage. Teacher of the Fourth Hokage..and..author." Jiraiya blushed slightly at the last title he gave himself.
The jounin narrowed his eyes slightly. "Jiraiya-sama..yes, I remember you from my first chuunin exam. You may enter. Who are the two with you?"
Naruto began to open his mouth to answer, only to be elbowed in the gut by Jiraiya, knocking the air from him.
"Aha, these two are my current students, pissants, really. I'm sure they're nothing compared to you..ahh..I didn't catch your name, and I'm afraid my memory isn't as good as yours."
The jounin nodded and stepped out of the way, bowing slightly to the legendary ninja. "My name is Hyuuga Neji, Jiraiya-sama. Welcome back to Konaha. I'm sure the Hokage would very much wish to see you."
Naruto gaped openly at the jounin as they passed. Once they were well into the village and out of earshot he turned to his sensei. "Neji? A jounin? I can't even believe that was Neji! He doesn't look the same at all! And he's a jounin!"
Tayuya grunted. "As if you look the same as when you left. Or even me, for that matter." The girl stopped to think. "It's not that big of a surprise that hes a jounin now, either. We have been gone close to three years. He probably passed the next chuunin exam after we left."
Jiraiya nodded sagely, as him and Tayuya continued on toward the center of the village, leaving Naruto standing in the road alone.
"But..but..I'm only a genin still!" The boy whined as he raced to catch up.
Author's Notes
Ok..soo..wow. Long time no update! I kinda got lost on the road of life, as someone I know might say. Or maybe it was a woman asking to dance, hell I don't remember. Anyways..new chapter! Kinda short, trying to get back into it after so long of not even reading what I had written so far. Hopefully it doesn't dissappoint too much..uhh..not alot goes on, kinda a filler chapter. I wanted to make it longer..but its 2:30am, and I'm exhausted, and I was afraid if I didn't post what I had so far I'd go another year without updating.
In conclusion! As always, this is for you guys, the readers, so I hope you enjoyed this. I appreciate all the feedback I've gotten so far, and hopefully I get quite abit on this chappie to let me know how its comin. PS: you can all thank FEATH3R for this chapter, as the puppy eyes were just too much for me to handle and I HAD to update.
