I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

Storm

Ryuu sighed contentedly, pulling the blanket tighter around himself and Fu. The below freezing temperatures of the desert were wreaking havoc on Naruto, who was sneezing and shivering badly beside them, keeping Ryuu awake, but thankfully, Fu was still as good a space heater as ever, because Ryuu was practically sweating from their shared body heat. He didn't mind staying awake, either. No sleep meant no dreams. When it came to be Ryuu's turn, he sat up with Fu, turning to face outboard and wrapped the blanket around them again, Fu nestling her head against the side of his neck and continuing to sleep soundly. Then, at first light, everyone packed up before it was too hot to work efficiently and they started out again, Fu once again having to ride with Hikaru and Michiru.

The trip was much quieter than the day before. The day wasn't nearly as hot, and they soon left the desert behind. Really the only thing to happen that day was Hikaru calling Naruto's dream to be Hokage, and his determination to reach that dream, stupid and Ryuu having to haul Naruto away from him to prevent him giving Hikaru the beating that the spoiled brat desperately needed. Around noon, they reached a small town with a circus happening and Michiru decided they had to stop. So, a few hours later, Ryuu was seated in the highest point in the bleachers with Fu beside him, watching the performers and their trained pets. The pets ranged from a wooly mammoth, to rhinos, ferrets, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, you name it. There were the standard trapeze acts, clowns, jugglers, animal trainers by the dozens. Finally, the ringmaster came out and announced that the last act had arrived, explaining that it was going to be a saber-toothed tiger named Chamu. A moment later, the spot lights centered on a grey-furred saber-tooth standing on a balcony above the ringmaster and behind him.

After a moment, Chamu roared, jumping to a lower platform, then the floor, the ringmaster beginning to explain how rare and dangerous Chamu was. Then, he introduced Chamu's monkey sidekick, Kiki. The two began to pass the ball between themselves, jump through flaming rings, and finally throw an apple into the air for the circus's archer to shoot. then, Kiki began to spin an apple on his finger as Chamu stood on his hind legs, swaying. The archer took aim, only for Hikaru's toy arrow to hit the apple perfectly. The ringmaster swung the light around at Hikaru, then applauded his skill. then, he got Kiki spinning another apple as Chamu began to run around the ring. The ringmaster invited Hikaru to shoot try again, and after several seconds of preparation and aiming, Hikaru shot the apple again. For a moment there was a stunned silence before everyone began to cheer, Ryuu smirking.

"Kid's a good shot," Ryuu smirked.

"Yes he is," Fu agreed.

Just then, Hikaru demanded Chamu as his prize for hitting the apple. And so began a very annoying process of the ringmaster trying to refuse and Michiru eventually buying the entire circus for a billion ryo. Ryuu could only stare.

"The amount of money this man throws around," Ryuu said, shaking his head. "To have the change out of his pocket would be..."

"More than we could spend," Fu said. "And more than we need."

Ryuu nodded in agreement. A few hours later, he and Fu stood off to the side, watching as crew finished packing up the circus. Ryuu looked to the side just in time to see Chamu move to attack Hikaru, who had been trying to feed him. Before Ryuu could react, Naruto tackled Hikaru out of the way and the ringmaster ran over, Chamu stopping and sitting down.

"Idiot kid," Ryuu sighed. "Just because you buy a tiger doesn't make it yours."

"At least he's okay," Fu said.

"Yeah," Ryuu grumbled. "Would have been a damn shame if he had been hurt."

Fu giggled, hugging him and he sighed. "It's only a couple more days. And just think, there's no real fighting involved for a change, so we don't have to really exert ourselves on this mission."

"True," Ryuu sighed. "Come on. It's time to turn in for the night."

Ryuu stared out to sea. A long day of travel, a long few hours of watching Hikaru's wife yell at Michiru for not understanding what really matters, and a long several hours of waiting for the prince's belongings to fail to be loaded onto the massively over-sized ship later, and they were finally underway. Ryuu liked Hikaru's mother. She wasn't like the prince or Hikaru. She was just a normal, loving mother. One who would have smartened Hikaru up, if she had had the time. But Michiru's lack of understanding about what true value was had driven her away three years ago.

"You look a lot less happy than I thought you'd be to finally have me all to yourself for the rest of the trip," Fu said from behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Ryuu smiled, reaching up and resting his hand on her arms, leaning back against her. "I'm overjoyed. But I can't help feeling bad for Hikaru. I hate the kid's guts, but it's not his fault. He doesn't know any better."

"True," Fu nodded. "You're missing the party, you know."

"I don't need a party," Ryuu smiled. "I have you."

Fu smiled, kissing him for a moment before resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Hey you," Hikaru said from behind them, both turning.

"What?" Ryuu asked.

"I want her," Hikaru said, Ryuu raising an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" Ryuu asked.

"I want her," Hikaru said. "She's pretty and she's really nice. I want her to stay with us after we get to my home. When I grow up, she can be my queen."

"No," Fu said, kindly but leaving no room for interpretation.

"Why not?" Hikaru asked. "I could buy you anything you want. Food, clothes, toys, pets. Even a palace all your own if you want. What could he give you?"

"Happiness," Fu said.

"What?" Hikaru asked, confused.

"I don't want your money," Fu said. "I'm happy with Ryuu."

"But, wouldn't you be happier having whatever you want?" Hikaru asked. "Why would you choose to be with someone who can't promise you that."

"Because money isn't as important as you think," Fu said. "I don't need to have everything I want given to me. I don't want that. I don't love Ryuu because he's rich or poor. I love Ryuu because he makes me happy. It's not something you can pay for. Money can't buy happiness. You would give me everything I could ever want, sure. But Ryuu is willing to give me everything he has, just to see me smile. He may not be rich like you, but to me, what Ryuu has to offer will always be worth more to me than all the money in the world."

"I don't understand," Hikaru said.

"I know," Fu said. "You've lived your entire life having everything handed to you. You've never been told no. But the only things really worth having in life are the things that money can't buy. The things that you have to work for. Nothing easy to get is worth having. Like love. No amount of money will make someone love you. They might love your money, but if the money were to suddenly be gone, they wouldn't love you in its place."

"So, you won't stay with me because of my money?" Hikaru asked.

"I won't stay with you because I love Ryuu," Fu said. "I will always love Ryuu and I will always be at his side, even if that means that I have nothing else, I will always be happy so long as I have him."

Ryuu's arms snaked around her waist, hugging her against him as he pressed his forehead to the back of her shoulder, his eyes watering. She reached an arm back, gently raking her fingers through his hair and smiling, leaning her head against his.

"Go back to the party, Hikaru," Fu said. "This discussion is over."

Hikaru turned, walking away as Fu turned into Ryuu's arms, wrapping her own around him.

"You didn't really think I'd leave you for him, did you?" Fu asked.

"No," Ryuu smiled. "But hearing you say all that...you're going to make me cry if you keep that up."

Fu smiled, extending her wings and lifting them off the deck, turning so they were horizontal and gently rolling, moving off the ship and down to the water. Ryuu smiled, lifting his head and brushing his fingers along the surface of the water for a moment before sitting up, spreading his arms and smiling.

"It's been way too long," Ryuu smiled down at Fu, who smiled back up at him.

"When are we going to work on teaching you to fly?" Fu asked.

"As soon as we find a way to give me wings," Ryuu said.

Fu nodded, smiling and taking his hands before speeding up, zipping around and around the ship. After a couple of warmup laps, Ryuu lay down against Fu again, both wrapping their arms around each other before Fu took off in a burst of speed, streaking through the air rapidly, spinning, flipping, and somersaulting as she went. Finally, she lowered them back to the deck of the ship as storm clouds began to gather overhead.

"We should get inside before the rain starts," Ryuu said. "It's going to be a rough ride soon."

Fu nodded and they headed inside, finding that everyone else had done the same. Within a few minutes, the ship began to rock and roll violently, Ryuu and Fu using chakra to keep themselves from being thrown around. After a few minutes, Kakashi found them.

"Come on, we have to secure the cargo and animals," Kakashi said.

Ryuu nodded and he and Fu ran out onto the deck with the others. The wet deck was harder to stick to than the dry floor inside, but they managed, running around and working to strap everything down to the ship. As they did, the circus workers began to guide the animals into the ship, to the cargo hold where there wasn't much room but they would at least be safe.

"Look out!" someone shouted.

Ryuu spun, a rope breaking free and slamming into his chest, throwing him into a cargo crate before a tarp that had been holding an entire pile of cargo in place flew into the air. Fu flew up to it instantly, catching the rope and flying it back down, securing it before flying to Ryuu. Just as she grabbed his arm, a massive wall of water crashed into them, throwing them away from each other. Ryuu washed overboard and Fu tried to fly after him, only to realize her wings had gotten wet and weren't working. Ryuu splashed down in the water, groaning. He focused his chakra, using it to help him surface and then stand on top of it, barely able to remain there.

"Ryuu!" Fu shouted from deck. "Jump! Grab my hand!"

Ryuu tried to push off, only for his feet to drop into the water the raging sea dragging him under again. Then, a pair of hands grabbed his ankles, a chain of Narutos dragging him out of the water and back up to the deck where Fu caught him, beginning to heal his bruised ribs instantly. He thanked her, taking a second to get his bearings before grabbing Fu and dropping as the same rope again broke free, lashing out above them before flying up again. Naruto's clones dragged it back to the deck and Ryuu tied it off before placing a handful of seals to act as more rope, securing it down more permanently this time. More rope was laid over the tarp as well, helping strap it down before they all moved on to the next pile of cargo.

"This ship is overweight!" Ryuu shouted over the storm as he watched another wave wash fully across the ship. "It's going to sink!"

"Don't jinx us!" Fu shouted back.

Just then, Ryuu heard Naruto shouting something and looked over in time to see Hikaru get washed overboard. As the water cleared, he saw Chamu had caught him by the shirt, along with Kiki, and was clinging to some rigging that had broken loose. Ryuu and Fu sprinted over, pulling the rigging back onto the ship where Chamu quickly carried his catch to Naruto, dropping him. Hikaru was unconscious and Fu quickly took him inside to Michiru's room before retuning, helping finish securing the cargo. Then, they all retreated below deck, riding out the rest of the storm.

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