Two days had passed and Jiraiya was almost ready to depart. He had gathered all the necessary supplies and funds but there was one more thing he needed to do before they left. He told Naruto to wait for him by the gates, hopefully it doesn't cause too much trouble.
Naruto was sat down by the village gates waiting for Jiraiya to return. He had packed for the trip as well, carrying many of the same things as Jiraiya. In truth, Naruto didn't really want to leave, he wanted to be here when Hiruzen passed.
"But this is what jiji wanted for me... so..."
Seiteki was sleeping underneath Naruto's blue hood once again, he could hear the small dragons rythmic breathing. He sometimes wondered what dragons dreamed about or if they dreamed at all.
Naruto snapped back to reality when he caught sight of something red in his peripherals and as he turned to view it fully, he stood up in alarm.
He could see Jiraiya walking towards him but that wasn't the problem. The problem was the red head following behind him.
Naruto stared at the sannin in disbelief, and as Jiraiya reached the gates Naruto made his discontent very apparent.
"Why did you bring her here?"
Jiraiya sighed and said. "T and I couldn't get anything out of her so they asked me to give it a shot since I taught them what they know in the first place."
"What do you mean give it a shot? Are you gonna take her with us?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, if she knows something about Orochimaru or his hideouts, anything that can help, I'm getting it out of her."
The girl moved ever so slightly, Naruto couldn't tell but it looked like she flinched.
"Well I'm not going anywhere with her."
"Naruto, you want to get stronger so you can protect those you care about, right?"
Naruto nodded slowly.
"You know I can help you with that. I won't force you to go, but I want you to think of your precious people, think of what they would want for you and of what you want for them."
Naruto thought for a long while. He thought of everyone he wanted to protect and if it was possible to do that without Jiraiya.
He didn't want to go, especially now that she was coming along too. In the end he sighed and lowered his head, accepting the fact that he needed Jiraiya's help to become stronger.
"Fine"
"I'm glad you saw sense Naruto, besides, I don't think she'll be causing any trouble." Jiraiya said.
Naruto took a close look at her for the first time that day and he noticed something strange. He couldn't see anything in her eyes, not like before. When he looked now they just seemed dead, empty.
'What'd they do to her?' Naruto wondered.
Jiraiya turned to her now, snapping his fingers to get her attention. She looked at him, her motions seemed autonomous, hardly alive.
Jiraiya held up a piece of paper that had a seal on it, Naruto also noticed a slightly similar looking seal on the back of his hand. Then he began to speak.
"I've placed a copy of this seal on you and I'm going to explain what it does, so listen carefully. Firstly, this seal suppresses your chakra, so don't try using it. Second, it will notify me if you move further than 20 feet away by making this seal on my hand glow. Lastly, If you remain further than 20 feet away from me for longer than one hour, a paralytic toxin will be released into your bloodstream that will slowly cause your lungs and heart to stop. I can also activate the seal and release the full dose at will so don't get any bright ideas."
Jiraiya seemed pleased with his explanation and after making sure she understood, he was ready to set off on their journey. Naruto looked at her as Jiraiya began to walk off, beckoning them to follow. Naruto almost felt bad for her, she'd just survived whatever they were doing to her in T and I and now she was a prisoner all over again.
He took his eyes off her and began to follow the toad sage.
'I guess that's just what happens to enemy shinobi... It can't be helped...'
They had departed the leaf village in the morning and had been walking until it was almost dark out, only stopping for a quick lunch break. A break in which the prisoner was denied food. She was only given water, just enough to keep her moving. It truly seemed like she didn't have energy for anything else.
As a matter of fact, she hadn't said a word the whole day.
They came to a stop in a clearing with a river close by. Jiraiya turned and spoke up.
"This is where we'll spend the night, got room for dinner Naruto?"
"You bet I do!" Naruto responded enthusiastically.
"Good. I need you to set up the tents for me while I prepare the food." Jiraiya took two rolled up tents and threw them to Naruto.
"There are only two so you'll share yours with the girl."
Naruto looked at him incredulously.
Jiraiya began to laugh and held up a thrid tent. "Just kidding." He joked.
Naruto scowled and moved to put up the tents.
"Well I thought it was funny." Jiraiya mumbled.
Some time passed and Naruto finished setting up the tents. They formed a sort of isosceles triangle, (AN: Shoulda paid attention in geometry) with the cooking equipment in the middle. Speaking of which, the food was giving off an enticing aroma which made Naruto's stomach growl and his mouth water.
Jiraiya and the girl were sat by the small fire sitting opposite each other and Naruto went to join them. They all waited, with nothing but the crackling of the fire filling the silent night.
Afte what seemed like forever Jiraiya finally pulled out two bowls, one for him and one for Naruto. He dipped a ladel into the pot and slowly poured it into a bowl before handing it to Naruto. He did the same motion with his own bowl, emptying the cooking pot.
It was almost like he was making sure the prisoner could see every atom of food that went into that bowl.
Without hesitation Jiraiya began to dig in but Naruto looked at the red head. She had gotten no food, again.
"Oh!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "I almost forgot, here." He threw something at her, she made no motion to catch it, so it struck her chin and landed in her lap.
It was some sort of granola bar. Jiraiya resumed eating, his food was disappearing at an alarming rate.
"Your foods gonna get cold Naruto." He said between bites.
"Eat it." It wasn't a suggestion.
Naruto slowly began to eat, filling his belly with the warm meal he had been craving all day. It only took a minute for the toad sage to empty his bowl. Standing up he said, "Well, guess I'll turn in for the night."
He retreated into his tent, claiming the one at the triangles tip. The red head followed suit, entering her tent, leaving Naruto alone with a half empty bowl of food.
He stared down into the bowl guiltily. There was something strange happening, his mind was quiet, like still water. There were no thoughts to guide his actions, instead, his subconscious was taking control. To put it simply, he'd witnessed injustice and his subconscious wanted to set it right.
He looked at Jiraiya's tent, then at the prisoner's tent, then back to the food.
He stood up and slowly walked to the front of the girls tent. He still wasn't truly thinking about his actions. About how what he was doing directly undermined Jiraiya interrogation methods. About how he was going to show kindness to someone who participated in besieging his home, someone who aided in the attempted assassination of his most precious person.
He entered the tent and was surprised to see her sitting in one spot, staring at nothing. She had opened the granola bar but only ate a piece, likely rationing the rest.
He stepped further into the tent but she did not look up at him, so he lowered himself to look her in the eye. Slowly, he held the bowl out to her, half full of still warm food.
For the first time that day, she actually came alive. She seemed conscious, aware of her surroundings. Slowly, she reached for the bowl of food, wary of Naruto.
She grabbed hold of it and stared at it's contents, wondering if the boy in front of her had done something to it, her stomach was so empty she almost didn't care.
"I'm only giving you this because it isn't fair for him to starve you."
She couldn't resist anymore, the foods aroma was filling her nostrils, making her even hungrier than before. She began to devour Naruto's little gift and within seconds that bowl was clean.
Having set the injustice right, his subconscious receded, he now realized the full scope of what he just did, but why did he do it?
His moral compass, his sense of right and wrong, had a big part to play, but not the biggest.
As his thoughts flooded back in, so too came Hiruzens last words of wisdom, running through his head.
"Don't let this chip away at your mind."
'I'm gonna try... but just this once.' he thought.
"...What's your name?" Naruto asked, cutting through the silence.
She didn't answer. She simply stared down and shrunk into herself, avoiding eye contact and Naruto's confrontational aura.
"I know you can speak."
Still no response.
Naruto stared at the ground sadly for a moment.
"...I'm sorry jiji." Naruto mumbled quietly.
He got up and turned to leave the tent.
"Tayuya." she blurted out.
Naruto looked back at her to see that she was gripping the empty bowl tightly, and there, looking into her eyes, he could see the reason he entered the tent in the first place.
Hiruzens words called out once more.
"You saw a light in her, didn't you?"
His eyes widened but he composed himself. For a moment time froze, as if the universe itself was trying to decide what the future held for these two shinobi.
"Tayuya..." Naruto repeated softly.
Suddenly Naruto felt a warmth, the same warmth he had felt with Hiruzen in the hospital room. Even when the man was miles away, it was like he was still trying to encourage Naruto, to lead him down the right path.
"Why don't we... talk more tomorrow, okay Tayuya?"
She nodded slowly and after a moment Naruto left the tent, leaving Tayuya to stare at the empty bowl contently.
Jiraiya watched from a tree branch as Naruto exited Tayuya's tent and walked into his own, without his bowl of food.
"I didn't think the kid would actually do it." He mumbled to himself.
Jiraiya was planning on interrogating Tayuya in a day or so, when she was hungry, tired and delirious, but now that wasn't possible.
Jiraiya wasn't upset however, as he was good at improvising.
'If they begin to trust each other, then she might tell Naruto something useful... it'll be better if I pretend I don't know they're talking.' Jiraiya thought.
He decided that he'd always cook a little bit extra so that Naruto can still eat his share and have some leftover.
Jiraiya leapt off the branch and entered his tent, he suspected the next day would prove to be interesting.