Naruto didn't know how he should be feeling as he walked to the left of Kurenai, with Narumi flanking her right. It had been just over a week now that the new team, dubbed Team Kurenai left Konoha in purusr of Yukigakure in hopes to solve the strange fortune mystery that had uncovered itself. They had just broken through from the Land of Fire's border and were making good time covering the rest of the distance to Yukigakure. Less than a day's trip and they would finally have made it to the outskirts of Yukigakure, having to cross the icy water on a boat before getting able to step foot onto the country itself.
The country had been experiencing an over abundance of snowfall for about two years.. Even during summer the snow continued to fall over the country making trading especially hard for the neighboring villages and countries with treaties. Somehow though, by either miracle or luck the country managed to prosper further with the excess amount of snow. More wild life seems to roam the snow covered land and plenty of different fish species have been discovered in their icy waters. There have even been rumors circulating that the Yukigakure was beginning to establish a shinobi system, but those were just rumors since most travelers and shinobi alike tend to stay away from the desolate country. Many finding it too cold to endure especially during winter.
During their trip Naruto managed to get several training opportunities when it was his turn for guard duty. While he couldn't practice any of his blood or water ninjutsu, he had raised the weights that Shisui had on his body and made sure he practiced his taijutsu katas. He stationed several water clones around their campsite for some extra precaution as he lost himself into his training. The one particular jutsu he had wanted to master, or at least adequately learn to control was the shunshin jutsu. He had only ever performed the jutsu successfully in his battle with Sokka, but he was sure it was due to the Bijuu's residing in him that helped him actually use the technique.
Since he was never able to physically move that fast before, his early attempts usually left him with a mouth full of dirt and a sore back. But the more and more time he had for guard duty, the more proficient he was getting with the jutsu.
While he was nowhere close to Shisui's level of mastery with the jutsu he was proficient enough to move around at speeds most chunin who performed the jutsu couldn't do. And it was all thanks to the scroll Shisui had left after his death, there was a reason why the jutsu seemed to just click with the Uchiha prodigy.
The sharingan.
The sharingan allowed the user to perceive things around them at a much faster rate than normal, almost as if everything was moving in slow motion. Because of this the doujutsu allowed one's body to react to situations faster. And Shisui had discovered that paired with the shunshin he could use his sharingan to not only amplify the jutsus effectiveness, but also the speed the jutsu took to activate, to dispel, and to perceive. The doujutsu helped regulate the chakra control around your whole body in order to move in bursts of speed in split second intervals.
Naruto couldn't help but beam at his sensei's brilliance, eternally thankful for his fateful encounter with him.
So while he was slowly progressing with the sunshine, he slowly started to improve on his blood manipulation. While Team Kurenai ventured further to Yukigakure he made small slices in his skin and timed himself to see how fast he could close and seal up his wounds. Small cuts like a slice would take no longer than ten seconds to heal, and if he didn't channel his chakra to the wound it would take anywhere from five to ten minutes to heal. While larger injuries like a stab wound would take somewhere close to one minute to heal depending how bad the injury actually was. And would take around an hour to heal completely without channeling his chakra to it.
But even with all of his improvements with the blood in his body, he was having trouble trying to manipulate it out of his body. He couldn't do much since Narumi had tried to stick to his side like glue and the only alone time he had was guard duty. He finally managed to make a decently sized ball of the substance before it popped away. Naruto was starting to grow irritated at his failed attempts until Isobu had to explain to him that he would just simply need better chakra control. Since the seal had been discovered on Naruto and the two of them managed to finally speak to another that had opened a small layer of the seal. Allowing more of the demon's chakra to be accessible.
But the biggest drawback to this was it had slightly thrown his chakra control out of whack. It wasn't a huge change, since he was able to perform all of his jutsus to the same capacity as before, his blood was used to the abundance amount of demon chakra so it threw his reserves off.
"Oh good the port, we should be able to catch the next boat to Yuki."
Kurenai's soft voice said as she subconsciously hugged the poncho that was over her body closer to her, squeezing any warmth that it had left. The closer they walked to the small isolated port the colder and colder it had become. Leaves on trees were starting to die leaving them bare with the bark starting to peel off. The bareless branches started to show signs of snowfall as the port came further into view. Narumi did the same as she shivered under the cold, not looking forward to what it would be like once they actually step into the country. Naruto on the other hand wasn't phased in the slightest by the cold. He had been manually circulating his blood through his body to keep him warm, another trick that Isobu had told him to try while their journey began.
He peered over to Narumi as she breathed heavily, the freezing temperature making her breath visible to the naked eye as all three shinobi finally got to the port. No boats were in sight, the last one having just departed a half hour ago.
His thoughts then drifted back to his earlier musings. He was pretty excited that he would be working along with Kurenai. It was a surprise that he was more than welcome to accept with open arms.
Naruto winced as he leaned his body against one of the dead trees, a piece of bark stabbing through his poncho and poking his skin. He shifted into a more comfortable position before he took another peek at Narumi. She had been awfully quiet since they left Konoha, barely speaking a word to either him or Kurenai. He chalked it up to her just being annoyed with him to what happened outside the Hokage tower, but the silence was beginning to make Naruto a bit anxious. He felt a lump form in his throat at the thought, hoping she wasn't planning anything against him. He felt the snow under their feet shift slightly as a cold body came and stood next to him, teeth clacking together as she rubbed her trying to stay warm.
"How are you holding up Naruto-kun?"
Naruto turned over to Kurenai as she spoke. Smiling at how flushed her cheeks looked from the cold, she looked cute. He only shrugged his shoulders at her, shifting uncomfortably as he felt the piercing blue eyes of his sister look his way. Sadly him and Kurenai didn't have a lot of opportunities to talk to one another. Whenever they tried the weird gleam that would shadow over Narumi's eyes would make unbearably uncomfortable. Kurenai's voice was calm as she spoke, but he could hear the tenseness in her words. She leaned on the tree with Naruto. He fought back a smirk as the same pierce of bark had poked Kurenai.
"I'm alright, I just want to finally get to this town."
Kurenai nodded as she looked at Naruto up and down. She was slightly irritated to see that the blonde boy didn't seem to be bothered at all by the cold, he wasn't even shivering, and his face remained unflushed. She chalked it up to one of his new abilities she had told her about back in Konoha. Looking away from him she turned her gaze back to the small port. Walking a little closer until she was on the edge of the dock, looking out into the vast pool of water. Several ice chunks floated within the water getting swept up in the current before breaking apart. Straight ahead was the large island that was Yukigakure. Clouds hovered over the island, no doubt supplying the country with it's massive amount of snow. She vaguely wondered what the country would really look like. She had never been to Yukigakure before and the curiosity definitely piqued her interest.
But after standing in the freezing cold not even in the country yet, she found herself not caring anymore.
"It seems the boat is coming back."
Kurenai suppressed jumping in surprise as Narumi's voice hit her randomly. Snapping her head she saw the redhead standing next to her, arms crossed under her poncho as she stared straight ahead. Her voice was void of any emotion as she motioned Kurenai to look at the vast sea. And sure enough a small silhouette of a boat had started to make their way to them. She could barely make out a person who was standing at the edge of the boat.
Nodding her head to Narumi she turned back and motioned Naruto to make his way over to her. He did so without hesitation as she stood next to her, making sure to be on the opposite side then Narumi. The three waited in silence as the boat finally parked itself in the port.
A tall skinny man stepped out from the shadows as he walked closer to the group. His body looked caved in like he hadn't eaten in years, his skin was pale and his straight black hair flowed all the way down to his ankles, just barely touching the ground. He easily towered over the jounin as he tilted his head to the side, glancing between Kurenai and the boat. It was silent for a while as the atmosphere dropped several degrees, if that was even possible. The man almost looked like a walking skeleton as his bright pink eyes glowed ever so faintly.
"Would you like a ride to Yukigakure?"
Naruto was surprised, the man's voice was not as deep as he was expecting it to be. Considering the condition he expected something entirely different. Kurenai nodded her head motioning to the Namikazes. She tried to keep her shivering under control as she responded.
"Yes. If you would be so kind."
The man gave a gruff as he walked back to the small boat, Kurenai looked hesitant as she followed him as she finally got a good look at the boat. The boat was shockingly bigger than it had looked from a distance. There was a small table in the middle holding up several empty bottles, the man stepped in and turned to his side, allowing them to follow behind him. Kurenai was the first to follow suit, next was Narumi who took a seat to the jounin's left. And Naruto who occupied the right. The man took soft steps to the front of the boat before untying the rope that was keeping it stationary. After that he dipped his hand in the freezing water below, tilting his head so he could meet Kurenai's eyes. The man was even phased as snow had started to fall and soak into his skin. The boat then started to shift a bit as they finally left the boats dock, making their way slowly to Yukigakure.
"What brings Konoha shinobi to Yukigakure?"
"We have an important mission that must be completed. In fact if possible can I ask you a few questions?"
The man stayed silent for a moment, his eyes never blinking as the snow damped his black hair.
"Depends."
Kurenai cooled her expression before continuing "I was wondering if you knew anything about the strange disappearances in the town Roka."
She said smoothly, waiting for a response, Narumi and Naruto looked his way as well. The man shook his head several times before submerging his hand deeper in the water making the boat pick up speed.
"They're not disappearing, I reckon it's kidnapping."
"Kidnapping?"
"Yes, after a single girl goes missing it's chalked up to a runaway or maybe even getting lost. But the third, or even the ninthe, It ain't just a coincidence anymore." he said
The air grew tense again as they rocked back and forth slightly due to the current. Naruto spoke up this time, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Do you have any idea who could be kidnapping these kids?"
He shook his head again.
"If I had to guess then most likely a group of bandits, they tend to roam in the middle of the night from what I heard. Roka is the only town that has experienced something like this." he said turning his head over to Narumi. She met his gaze with an unflinching one of her own.
"You should be careful out there missy, you are well within their age group of girls they go after."
Narumi rolled her eyes at the man's words, not affected in the slightest "I can take care of myself." she chimed as she crossed her arms. Naruto on the other hand clenched his fists at this, while he wasn't close to his sister the mere thought of something like that happening to her didn't sit well with him. Naruto turned around as soon as the man got quiet again, Kurenai continued to ask him questions but he turned them out as he watched as they got closer to the island. Kidnappings, it definitely made more sense then kids just vanishing out of thin air. And from what the mysterious man had said they typically went after young girls, informing the squad that a four year old had just gone missing last night in Roka.
Looking up at the snowfall he felt the temperature around them drop several degrees again, he silently thanked Isobu for the blood style to keep his body warm.
Naruto felt his eyes widen as Yukigakure finally came into view, he put hands on the edge of the boat and leaned forward to get a better view. Several clouds circled the island and the mountains in the back were completely covered in snow. Narumi had a similar reaction, finally letting her emotionless expression slip as she looked out next to him in wonder.
"Welcome to Yukigakure."
The man's rough voice said as he docked the boat perfectly, tying the rope around to keep it at bay before letting Team Kurenai exit. Kurenai bowed to the man thanking him for his service. The man nodded in response, pointing straight ahead of him,
"I dropped you guys off right next to Roka, follow the path straight ahead and it should lead you directly to the town"
Directly after he spoke he hoped back into the boat and sailed off back into the frozen water. Kurenai turned back to the two Namikaze's and offered a small,
"Well let's get going shall we?"
Team Kurenai traveled at a moderate pace along the snowy path towards Roka town. They had been walking for about an hour and nothing eventful happened. Even the trip across the Land of Fire was not that exciting. The only missap they encountered was a small group of bandits that had tried to attack them in their sleep. Unluckily for them Kurenai had been the one doing guard duty that night and the next morning Naruto and Narumi didn't even know that enemies were there that night when they woke up.
Naruto found himself lost within the scenery the closer they got to Roka town, he couldn't explain it but it felt somewhat peaceful here. The snow didn't bother him very much, unlike his two female companies. The only issue was it was a little harder to walk in but they all had brought their combat boots so it wasn't posing much of a problem. The sun was beginning to set and lit up the sky in a beautiful pinkish hue that basked the freezing earth.
The closer they got to Roku he wondered but the town would be like. He expected it to be vastly different from Konoha, since only ever saw snowfall during winter and was more of an advanced town overall. And if he recalled Yukigakure didn't have any shinobi, just pure civilians who lived day to day lives.
Another hour passed before Team Kurenai saw large wooden arches overlapping together. With a large sign that read 'Roka Town' at the top. The sign was broken, half of the sign hanging on by a thread as the rest of the town came into view.
"Woah."
Naruto said, squinting his eyes as the three of them walked through the arches. The town was quite, way quieter than Konoha had ever been. On both sides wooden buildings were lined up adjacent from one another. There were not many people walking through the snow covered street, but the ones that were all turned to look at the Konoha shinobi. Transactions stopped and heads turned, all watching as Team Kurenai stepped further into the town. Naruto tried to ignore the stares looking their way but found it increasingly hard to do so.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're just not used to visitors." Kurenai whispered to him with a smile on her face. He returned the gesture as they walked through a large building in the center of town. As soon as they walked in Narumi and Kurenai breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the building was nice and warm. No doubt thanks to the boarded up windows and the fireplace in the lobby.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the windows, making a mental note about it for later as he turned his attention back to the room. A smiling woman was seated behind a counter and offered them the widest smile he had ever seen. She gestured her arms out wide,
"Hello and welcome to Hotel Frost, where your satisfaction is our guarantee!"
Naruto sweat-dropped at her words, clearing not buying into her fake smile. Kurenai returned the smile with one of her own, raising a hand up and running her fingers through her messy hair.
"Do you have three rooms available?"
"Oh most definitely! It's usually 1000 yen a night, but for you guys i'll make it 500."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow at the girl, she asked the girl what she meant. Shocked to see her face fall and her smile fade,
"Well I assumed you Konoha shinobi were here to help us get back the kids who have disappeared."
"Actually that's exactly why we're here." Kurenai smoothly lied, giving her best reassuring smile making the woman's eyes lit up.
Kurenai quickly grabbed the three room keys and one one each to Naruto and Kurenai. She had told them to go and get unpacked and settled in for the night and she would check on them soon, she had wanted to have a chat with the woman before leaving. Naruto and Narumi quickly obeyed Kurenai and made their way out of the lobby and up the stairs.
Walking next to each other was more awkward than Naruto had thought it would be. Narumi was still eerily quiet to him, she had refused to speak a word to him since they left. It didn't know what had gotten her so mad at him, ever since the mission in Tizuna she had grown even more distant. He didn't really care about the distance issue, since it's been like that for years but he was more confused on why she was doing it as of late. At the beginning she seemed pleased to work alongside him as if she was hoping to spark a family bond that has never been there. But now he just didn't know why she had a sudden change of heart.
"What are your plans for later tonight?"
Naruto stared at Narumi for a moment rather surprised, he hadn't expected her to suddenly talk to him. Taking another step up the stairs he quickly shrugged, "Probably rest, it's already getting late and I want to get a good night's rest before information gathering tomorrow." he lied, not wanting to tell her that he planned on practicing his blood manipulation. He didn't want her to be all up in his case like before. Finally getting to the last step she had turned to face him. It was moments like these that he really missed having the rest of team 11 here with him.
"I was thinking maybe we could have a friendly spar, see what each other is made of." she said, her voice hard as she spoke. Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his sister, it was the first time ever any one of his siblings had asked him for a spar. He watched as her eyes glazed over for a moment. Probably communicating with the Bijuu within her, he thought to himself as he tilted his head at her. He stayed silent for a moment as he let her words fully sink in, weighing out all the pros and cons.
"Maybe another time Narumi, we have an important mission to do."
He then walked past her, her body staying in place as he scanned his room card with his corresponding room. He didn't notice before but the hotel hallway was quiet, so quiet he could hear the annoyed breathing of his sister. Narumi gave a laugh that sent a chill up Naruto's spine, "So you don't want to fight me huh? But I suppose I know why you don't want to, it must be hard knowing you can't stand up to your older sister." she said it smoothly, turning her face so he could see the cocky smile that formed on her lips. Flashing her enlarged canines, letting the unspoken challenge sink into him. If she had noticed Naruto's hands tightening around the doorknob in anger then she didn't say anything. Allowing herself the mentally victory as she strode past him confidently.
The cold voice of his sister resonated deeply within Naruto as he sent a piercing glare to his sister with barely controlled rage. He watched in silence as she walked into her own hotel room directly next to his, making sure to flash one more toothy smile his way and disappearing from sight. He threw his door open in anger, almost ripping it right off its old hinges and slamming it shut. She really knew how to push his buttons in the worst way possible, she knew exactly how to get a rise out of him.
"Breath."
Naruto reluctantly headed the Bijuu's words, feeling the jutsu that Isobu had used on him the very first time they had met to calm him down. It took several minutes this time but that jutsu finally started to have an effect, he felt his anger start to subside, let out a small breath of relief as he thanked the Bijuu again. He took a seat on his bed and put his head in his hand, he knew that coming on a long term mission with Narumi was gonna suck, even with Kurenai here it just served to make the moments with Narumi worse.
"You need to learn to keep your emotions in check, I can't always step in and calm you down."
Naruto gave a stained smile and nodded his head. He knew that Isobu was right, anything relating to his family he would usually blow up with anger or cry like a wimp. The more times he thought he was over everything the more times he was reminded of their over looming presence that had in his life, they had always affected him and will always. Unless he had found a way out, he didn't really know what to do about it all. If only he had a way to escape it all…
A sudden knock broke his train of thought. He looked up at his door in surprise, wondering who it could be.
"Naruto-kun? It's me, can you open up?"
Naruto felt his heart start to beat faster in his chest as the familiar voice reached his ears. Her voice was muffled but he could recognize that voice anywhere. He quickly jumped off his bed and made his way to the door, opening it wide to see the still shivering Kurenai. Kurenai smiled as she looked at Naruto, asking if she could come in. He nodded of course as he let her in, letting her take a seat on the lone bed in the room while he leaned against the wall. She sighed as she brought her arm up to rub one of her sore shoulders tilting her head back in a comfortable manner.
"Finally we made it, I thought this trip would never end." she said with a chuckle.
Naruto laughed with her nodding his head along with her. "Yeah, been one of the longest weeks of my life."
"Speaking of, how are you doing? With Narumi and all, I kinda overheard your guys little spat as I was talking to Uta-the girl who gave us our rooms." she said, worry flashing in her eyes as she turned to look at him. While she didn't hear anything get out of hand, what she heard was enough to make her worried about her favorite blonde. It was almost like the family lived to make Naruto's life progressively worse as he got older.
Naruto wanted to stay silent but a scowl couldn't help but sneak its way in, "I'm as good as i'll ever be with her here." annoyed with the idea that he had to work alongside her again especially when she had become more bitchy for some reason.
"Yes well at least we have each other, that's something right?" she said, her eyes closing due to her smile stretching all the way across her face. Naruto had to fight back a blush as he looked at her. Happy to see that her eyes were closed so she didn't have to witness his embarrassment. He reached up and scratched the back of his head, turning away in a feeble attempt to hide his flushing face.
"Y-yeah it's the only plus about this mission."
Kurenai giggled before standing up from the bed, she stretched her back letting out a satisfied groan as it popped. "Good, but I do have to tell you, Uta, had told me that most of the people living in this town who have a daughter under the age of 16 have gone missing suddenly. So tomorrow I want you to go asking around and see if you spot anyone looking suspicious, use a henge if you have too. I'll be checking out the local bars and talking to the older locals to see if they have noticed anything." she said
"Yes Kurenai-sensei."
Kurenai laughed again as she bent down next to the blonde. She started to run her fingers through his blonde locks as she playfully pouted at Naruto. "Oh come one you don't have to call me sensei, just Kurenai is fine."
Naruto barely registered what she had said, too distracted at how soft her hands had felt as she massaged his hair. He gave a ghost of a nod as he closed his eyes in bliss, all his worries having melted away in an instant.
"Wow, a simple head rub from this woman was enough to calm you down faster than my soothing jutsu." Isobu teased, finding enjoyment in the blonde boy's sudden attitude change.
"Can't talk right now sorry."
Kurenai let her hand linger for longer than she had anticipated before pulling away. Strangely missing the warmth it had provided for her, not knowing that Naruto had felt the same thing. Kurenai forced her eyes away from him as she started to walk to the door.
"Well I have to go and inform Narumi about what she is doing tomorrow. So try and get some rest okay Naruto-kun?"
Naruto gave a thumbs up.
"You got it Kurenai-chan" he said, freezing in place at the unexpected suffix sneaked its way out into his sentence. Embarrassment flooded his body as he quickly made his way to apologize to her.
Kurenai just blushed slightly, a small tinge of pink adorning her cheeks as he said it. She found herself not caring that he had called her that, in fact it made her smile grow even wider. Not knowing why exactly she had just chalked it up to the frozen weather messing with her head. She quickly shot down any form of apology she sensed was about to get thrown her way. She eased his worries telling him that she welcomed the suffix, that it was only fair since she had used one for him since they had met. Naruto nodded, face flushed red as he opened his hotel door for her, she thanked him and she took one last look back before walking next door to Narumi's room.
"Goodnight Naruto-kun."
"Goodnight Kurenai-chan."