Chapter 2

Hisazo laughs mockingly at the trio of Genin, tightening his grip on Akemi, Sasuke gives Naruto a silent nod, quickly Naruto makes three clones, two of which split off, charging two jutsus.

(Clone #1): "Fox Cannon!"

(Clone #2): "Wind Blade Burst!"

The Hunter Nin realized that he couldn't defend himself from the incoming attacks because of the troublesome girl. Throwing her to the ground, Hisazo was able to dodge Naruto's attacks by the slimmest of margins.

"Damn, he dodged them both." Naruto said.

"Heh, those are some sweet moves for a lousy Genin to have." the older man says.

Akemi looks at Naruto, her aquamarine eyes pleading for help.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Naruto said before flashing out of sight for a moment, shocking Hisazo, Sasuke,Kakashi, and most importantly, Sakura.

"Wh-where did he?-"

Hisazo was suddenly hit hard from behind and launched high into the air, Naruto suddenly appeared behind him, wrapping his arms around the enemy ninja and smiling.

"Fire Style: Flame Lotus!" Naruto shouted before slamming the A ranked criminal into the ground in a scorching heap. Dead.

"Wow." Sakura whispered, not expecting Naruto to have that kind of ability at his disposal. Upon seeing their leader dead, the men that Hisazo had recruited were promptly taken care of by Kakashi and Sasuke while Akemi stayed with Naruto and Sakura.

"Thank you so much, Shinobi-san, I am forever grateful to you for stopping that vile man and his men.

"You do not have to thank us, Akemi-san, it was our job to-."

Naruto was silenced by Akemi leaning forward and kissing him on the lips, shocking both Naruto and Sakura.

(Inner Sakura): "Cha! Sh-she's kissing N-Naruto! Grrr. I wanted to be Naruto's first kiss!"

"What is your name, hero?" Akemi asked teasingly.

"N-Naruto Uzumaki." he managed to choke out as Kakashi and Sasuke returned with a red haired girl in toe, said girl glared angrily at Naruto and Akemi.

"Hey! Cum Dumpster! What the hell? You tricked me!!" the redhead shouted, making Akemi jump, right into Naruto's lap. Sakura growls at this.

(Inner Sakura): "Cha! Get off him you filthy skank, he's mine!!"

Akemi purposely wraps her arms around the blonde, nuzzling closer to the blonde, who is beyond confused.

"Tayuya, I have told you many times before that your temper and your foul language dulls your instincts and makes you a liability." Akemi chided.

"Whatever slut." Tayuya quipped angrily.

Naruto just stared at me redhead, her exotic complexion was utterly flawless.

Her brown eyes were rich and captivating, the subtle hint of lipstick on her supple lips completed the look.

Naruto dropped his gaze when he realized that he was staring at Tayuya.

The mission now complete, Team 7 was on their way back to Konaha. Sakura, Akemi, and Tayuya all walked with Naruto. Sakura had a hold of Naruto's left arm while Tayuya had the blonde's right, leaving Akemi out of the action, which pissed her off.

Later, the group stopped by a river to camp for the night, Sakura set up her sleeping bag near Naruto's, both Akemi and Tayuya insisted on sleeping next to the blonde. Sasuke and Kakashi watched in stunned silence, since when was Naruto Uzumaki popular with girls? And Sakura Haruno no less. Sasuke didn't understand what the three girls saw in the Dobe.

Akemi slept on Naruto's left side with her head on his chest, letting his steady heartbeat lull her to sleep. A big smile on her face, Tayuya was tucked in under the blonde's right arm. Content and happy to be where she was.

Naruto smiled, he was going to enjoy the attention while it lasted.

He already figured that he would be alone again once they got back to Konaha and Akemi and Tayuya heard about the Kyuubi being inside him. Naruto smiled sadly as he glanced at Akemi first and then at Tayuya.

"You're both so beautiful, I wish I could be the guy you needed."

Sakura heard Naruto's sad statement, she decided right then and there that she would stay with Naruto no matter what.