Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: There might be a time-skip in this chapter but the story will have a slow-pace in order for character development.
(Two years later)
"Why the hell am I here with you guys?"
Naruto rubbed her arms as Katara and Sokka stopped peddling their small canoe in the middle of the ocean. It had been two years since she came to live in this freezing land and not once could Naruto walk out of her small tent without rubbing her arms in an attempt to feel some warmth. Even with the orange paraka that Kanna gifted her, Naruto could still feel the coldness nipping her fingers.
But other than that, the South Pole was a pretty place. With the snow decorating the South Pole alongside the various glaciers, the place was almost like a winter wonderland that was just ready to be explored. The only problem? The daylight hours were short, too short for her liking.
"Because you are a better fisher than Sokka." Katara answered. The young girl put down the ore and stared at her with gleaming blue eyes that shone with so much happiness and awe. From beside her, Sokka scowled.
"That isn't true!" Sokka folded his arms against his chest and scowled as his blue eyes narrowed at his younger sister. "I can fish better than Naruto!"
"Wanna bet?" Naruto asked, offering the younger boy a smile. Doubt shone through those blue eyes and it only made the blonde smile even more. There was no way Sokka would be stupid enough to take on a bet that he couldn't even win. The blue-eyed girl let out a little laugh, only making the boy flush a brighter shade of red.
"It's not funny!" Sokka grumbled, folding his arms against his chest. "I'm not taking a bet that I know I'm going to lose!"
"You're no fun." The blonde declared, snatching the fishing pole from the corner of the canoe. She leaned her body forward and chewed on her bottom lip as her hand tightened on the grip of the pole. The fishing line was thrown backwards before throwing it forward to the water.
There was a large splash and Naruto grinned when the water smacked her cheeks.
"At least I will keep my pride," Sokka muttered under his breath as he grabbed his spear from the other side of the boat. Katara shook her head and stared out at the water while Naruto snorted, not bothering to correct the younger boy about his opinion.
Minutes passed and still no fish took the bait on the fishing pole, only making Naruto frown. Something doesn't feel right. She darted her eyes at the glaciers that was still floating in their place and then to Sokka. The younger boy looked down at the water, flexing and relaxing his biceps.
Naruto sighed and shook her head before looking at her own fishing pole. The string tugged and tugged, earning a bright smile from the blonde. Letting out a small whistle, Naruto grabbed her fishing pole and began to pull the fish towards her.
"How were you able to catch a fish so quickly?" Sokka demanded as the blond-haired girl continued to reel in the fish.
Naruto dropped the fish onto the bucket and flashed a bright smile to the boy. "I must have a gift, Sokka or maybe I'm not wasting time by looking at my reflection."
"She has a point!" Katara sang, giggling and snorting. Sokka swirled his head to his sister, only to scowl when the girl waved her hand around and smacked the boy with water. Naruto let out a loud, boisterous laugh while Sokka scowled at his younger sister before swirling his head at the blonde.
"You are a bad influence on Katara!" Sokka declared with a scowl.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How so? I have been encouraging her to show her powers."
"You made me her target!" The blonde rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. Maybe she suggested to Katara to practice her water bending on someone but it wasn't like she ordered her to use Sokka. It wasn't even like she pulled out a kunai and placed it against Katara's neck, telling her to use Sokka as practice.
She just simply suggested to practice her water-bending on someone. How the hell was she supposed to know Katara would use her brother? She was a lot of things but a fortune teller she was not.
"Did not." Naruto retorted. She eyed the current and chewed on her bottom lips while Sokka glared at her. It was as scary as the glare Konohamaru would give her whenever she made excuses for why she couldn't play with him and his friends. If he wanted to glare at her then he needed to reach the same level as Sakura-chan.
Now her teammate could be really terrifying especially whenever she insulted Sasuke.
You're just jealous of Sasuke-kun, Naruto! Her heart ached and throbbed at the memory of those words and Naruto forced herself to smile even wider. Just a few more months and I will be back home with Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan and even that Bastard. She chanted those words in her mind and took in several deep breaths while both Katara and Sokka glanced at each other.
"Naruto, are you okay?" Katara asked softly, leaning closer to the blonde.
Naruto plastered on a smile and bobbed her head. "Of course, I'm fine!"
The younger girl frowned and stared at her with blue eyes shining with so much doubt. She is so caring and naïve. It reminded her of Hinata-chan at times. Her best friend had always been so caring, always ready to listen whenever she wanted to complain about how much of an asshole Sasuke was acting towards her.
But Katara was no Hinata-chan and the South Pole could never really be home.
Did the boat just bumped into something? Naruto darted her eyes to the side and gulped as the boat bumped into another floating ice. She channeled chakra into her butt as the current of the water seemed intent on picking up in speed. It wouldn't be a big deal if it caught speed.
What was a big deal was the fact that Naruto could make out that the waters ahead was filled with so much ice. How the hell are we going to maneuver this? The blonde winced and groaned as the water pushed the canoe to higher speeds. Water splashed everywhere, hitting not just the canoe floor but also her eyes.
"Go left! Sokka! Go left!" Katara screamed from behind her. The blonde grinded her teeth together as the boat continued to bounce up and down. If she just opened her eyes even slightly, Naruto could make out the fact that Sokka was trying and failing to do what Katara was ordering him to do.
The boat bumped and smacked through the many different ices, almost making Naruto lose her concentration with her chakra. This is bad. The blue-eyed girl forced herself to open her eyes, turning her head around to look at Katara. If there was anyone that could possibly help them then it should be Kanna's granddaughter.
She was the only waterbender that Naruto knew.
But Katara clung to the sides of the boat and the blue-eyed girl frowned. She took in several deep breaths as her blue eyes flickered everywhere. So many ice and no way for her to stop this trainwreck, which was their fishing trip. Sokka kept rowing with his face flushed so bright red that the blonde grimaced.
He couldn't do this for long too.
Blue eyes widened at the sight of three floating icebergs coming close together. Shit! Naruto placed her hands togethers and deactivated her chakra before grabbing hold of Sokka and Katara by their collars. She threw them off the canoe, letting out a sigh of relief when they landed on the ice to her right.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto jumped off the boat and landed right next to Katara.
"Thanks Naruto." The brown-skinned girl clutched her chest as she took in several deep breaths. Naruto bobbed her head and laid down on the ice. She looked up at the bright blue skies. The clouds strolled without a care in the world, acting as if they couldn't reflect the same terrible mood that fell on them.
For once in her life, Naruto understood why Shikamaru always wanted to be a cloud.
"Thanks." Sokka called out from the other side of the ice. He scrambled to his feet and sprinted to them.
Naruto waved him off and got back onto her feet. "No problem."
The blue-eyed girl chewed on her bottom lip and darted her eyes at the scenery. Only ice and water surrounded them alongside the broken remains of the canoe. How were they going to go back home now? She could definitely walk on the water to get back to the tribe but it would be a pain in the neck to use her clones.
Using her clones would also be a big risk if Sokka or Katara decided to knock out one of her clones.
"So it's our fault that we are in this mess!" Naruto blinked and jerked her head away from the ice and onto Katara. The younger girl had an ugly scowl plastered on her face and her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to stab her brother with her own eyes. Sokka just sat on the ice, shoulders hunched and a scowl playing on his lips.
Dear God, those two were going to go at it now.
"Gran-Gran insisted that I bring Naruto and you with me!" Sokka folded his arms against his chest and narrowed his eyes at Katara before swirling his head at her. "The both of you screw things up! There is a reason girls aren't allowed to fish with men!"
Naruto's eyebrows twitched at those words. Was he really going to say that it was their fault for this mess? She grinded her teeth together and balled her hands into a tight fist. What does being a man had to do with anything? She used to be praised by the Third Hokage for having a strength that rivalled Tsunade.
Whatever a man could do, a woman could do it a hell lot better.
"You shouldn't have said that, you little shit head!" Sokka squeaked as Naruto yanked him by the collar and smacked him hard on the face. Sokka cries reined throughout the empty area as Katara blinked and jerked her head at her. Pink lips just scowled, not allowing the girl to know the various insults that was coming through her mind.
"What the hell was that for?" Sokka screamed.
Naruto narrowed her eyes at him. "For saying that it is our fault when you weren't doing any better! Your grandmother wouldn't have sent me to go with you if you actually do your job properly!"
"I do my job properly!" Naruto raised a single eyebrow to the younger boy. She folded her arms against her chest and leaned against her foot while Katara darted her eyes between her brother and her. Sokka scowled. "Name me one time when I don't do my job properly!"
"When I told you to clean the shit out of your clothes!" Naruto retorted.
Sokka glowered. "You are the only one that refused to—"
Whatever the boy had to say, it was drowned by the sound of something heaving upwards and ice cracking. What the hell was happening? Naruto swirled her head around and channeled her chakra to her feet as the ice began to wobble. From in front of her, Sokka stumbled down to the ground while Katara crashed to the ice.
From below a circular ice berg raised up to the surface, causing the floating ice that they currently stood to rise even higher. Blond eyebrows knitted together at the bright blue light coming from the ice berg. Naruto stumbled slightly and her blue eyes widened at the sight of a young boy with arrows decorating his forehead inside the ice.
"The Avatar has decided to resurface again." Naruto blinked and knitted her eyebrows together. Why the hell was the Kyuubi talking to her? He had been so quiet for the last two years, almost fooling her to forget that he ever existed. She chewed on her bottom lip and dug her fingers against her skin.
What the hell was the Avatar? She shook her head and waited for the iceberg to stop shaking. Minutes must have passed before the iceberg stopped trembling like a shaking leaf. The blonde didn't bother to turn around to look at the water tribe siblings, instead she jumped straight to the circular iceberg.
"W-What the hell just happened?" Sokka cried from behind her. Naruto frowned and inched closer to the circular part of the ice berg. Blue eyes darted to the circular spirals decorating the ice berg. Is this normal? Cuz I've never seen an ice berg like this. She chewed on her bottom as her fingers danced alongside the ice.
Shivers danced along her skin as her blue eyes peered in closer to the ice berg. There was definitely a boy inside that iceberg alongside an animal that Naruto had never seen before. Get him out of here. There was a tiny voice inside of her head that demanded it. A voice so unfamiliar to her but a voice that compelled her to listen.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto curled her hand into a fist and positioned her fist behind her head.
"What are you doing, Naruto?" Katara screamed as she jumped from one floating ice to another. From the corner of her eye, the blonde could see Katara was clinging to one of Sokka's weapons. The brown-haired girl frowned. "You can't just punch an ice—"
Naruto smashed her fist against the ice berg as she tuned out Katara's words. The ice berg cracked and hissed as a bright, blinding light shot straight to the sky. It was almost like a beacon with its brightness and maybe, just maybe, one of the other tribe members had some idea of where to find them.
God knew, Sokka was going to be a pain in the neck if he couldn't get his food.
It was not long before the bright light disappeared, only a fading image in the back of her mind. Naruto chewed on her bottom lip and rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the residual light that still seemed to clung to her eyes. No matter how many times Naruto rubbed her eyes, the light seemed to still blind her eyes.
"Why would you punch an ice berg?" Sokka hissed and Naruto knitted her eyebrows. When did he reach her? And where was Katara? She relaxed her shoulders when Katara took another step closer to the ice berg. Okay if those two were here then there was nothing for her to sweat over about.
"No idea." Naruto lied. She blinked when Sokka grabbed hold of her hand, no doubt trying to find some bruise, and the boy blinked. He looked almost kind of funny with the way he kept opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Naruto curled her lips into a bright smile before darting her eyes to the top of the ice berg.
Blue eyes widened as a young boy climbed up from the ice berg. His legs trembled and wobbled as his eyes and arrow glowed with the same blinding light from earlier. The Avatar. That was what the Kyuubi called him earlier but Naruto could only knit her eyebrows and tilt her head.
How the hell could the Kyuubi know him when he had been sealed inside of her?
Last time Naruto checked, she never met the boy.
"Stop!" Sokka raised his spear and glared at the boy. Naruto chewed on her bottom lip, heart jumping to her mouth as the boy dropped down to the ground. Got to help him! The young boy slid down from the ice and straight towards her and Sokka. The blonde reached forward while Katara lunged forward, grabbing the boy's arms and pulled him close to her chest.
Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and strolled closer to Katara and the Avatar. She knelt down, pulled down her hoodie, and allowed her eyes to take in the young boy sleeping on Katara's hand. He looked like he could be around eleven, maybe twelve tops and it only made her frown.
"Naruto-neechan! Is he your boyfriend?"
Naruto gulped down the lump and forced herself to smile, pushing back the memory of Konohamaru that threatened to overwhelm her. She glanced at Sokka. The boy clung to his spear but his blue eyes flashed with concern, almost as if silently asking her if she was doing okay.
She only nodded her head.
"He's waking up!" Katara cried out to them as the boy fluttered his eyes open. Naruto took in a deep breath and leaned her body over the Water Bender, blue eyes darting to the arrows decorating his body. No scratches decorated his body. No bruises too which meant that he was fine.
There was only one question left to ask:
How the hell did he get himself stuck in the ice?
"I need to ask you something." The boy whispered. "Please come closer."
Katara chewed on her bottom lip and nodded before leaning closer to the boy. This only made Naruto laugh. Despite those eyes being half-opened, she knew from the subtle glint in those eyes that the kid was fine. Those gray eyes glinted with so much mischief and happiness that it made Naruto snort. Only one mischievous person could recognize another mischievous person.
So from her own experience, Naruto would declare that the boy was going to be fine and just needed some love and attention.
"Will you go penguin sledding with me?" The boy asked, smiling and sitting up straight so quickly that Naruto whistled. Damn and Hinata-chan used to complain about how fast she recovered. She curled her lips into a smile while Sokka just sweat-dropped at those words.
The brown-skinned boy leaned closer to her and whispered. "Is he being serious?"
"He's a kid…so yeah." Naruto deadpanned, shrugging her shoulders as Katara nodded with knitted eyebrows. Blue eyes widened when a gust of wind propelled himself up to a standing position. The young teen rubbed his head, gray eyes darting everywhere until it landed on her. His eyes widened slightly and he knitted his eyebrows together as his eyes landed on her hair.
"Is that your natural hair colour?" The boy asked, zooming straight towards her. "It looks like the sun! I've never seen anyone with your hair colour!"
Naruto bobbed her head. "I'm a natural blond."
"Wow," the boy declared. "You look different from the people of the Water Tribe that I've met."
"She isn't really a part of the Water Tribe." Sokka explained. The young boy blinked and swirled his head at her, knitting his eyebrows together. Naruto rubbed the back of her neck. How did she go around explaining this? Katara and Sokka still didn't fully understand where she came from. She sighed.
"But she is wearing a parka like you guys," The boy pointed out with a small frown.
Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "I come from a far away land that you probably never heard about."
"Then why are you here?" He asked.
"Good question," Naruto stroked her chin. "Once I find out how I got here, I tell ya. But right now I'm just a hobo, just trying to figure out how to get back home."
Honestly if the boy continued to ask her so many questions, then today was going to be a long and tiring day for her.
"Why am I still here?" Naruto asked as she took a seat on the snowy cliff that stood in front of the Southern Tribe village and over the ocean. It had taken them hours to get back to the village with Aang (that was the name of boy) and his flying bison. Honestly the more she stayed in this part of the world, the more shock she was.
Who knew that there was an animal called a flying bison? It might not suit the bison with the way that it had been more happy to swim through the water but it was still an animal that Naruto had never seen before.
She rubbed the back of her neck and chewed on her bottom lip as her blue eyes took in the vast ocean. From behind her, the giggles of the children echoed in her ear alongside the other laughter of the women. A part of her felt the flutter of happiness at their giggles while another part of her sighed.
I can't stay here forever. Naruto chewed on her bottom lip and tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. Summoning the Toads hadn't been helpful, not when she had been summoning Gamakichi and he couldn't bring her back. Something is stopping me from bringing you to the other side of the world, Naruto. She tilted her head and took in a deep breath.
The only sounds piercing through the area was the sound of the animals. It was peaceful, almost making the blonde close her eyes and taking in the fresh air. I have to leave soon. In the two years she had been here, she was no more closer to finding a way back to Konoha.
No matter how kind the people were, Naruto still had a duty and a promise to fulfill.
"I thought I would find you here, Naruto." Naruto blinked and swirled her head around. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of Kanna standing behind her with her hands clasped behind her back and a frown decorating her lips. The old woman wobbled closer to her and took a seat right beside her.
"Were you searching for me?" The blonde leaned her whole body forward and stared out at the vast ocean. The first time she came out of this village, Naruto wanted to swim in the waters. Before the South Pole, she had never seen so much water standing before her.
Kanna nodded. "Katara introduced Aang to the whole village and you weren't there to see it."
"Aw I miss it," Naruto snapped her fingers and let out a forced laugh. She had been doing that a lot more lately. If she used to fake a laugh once in a while in Konoha then she was faking a laugh almost every two days in this village. She curled her lips into a fake smile.
Kanna doesn't chuckle and regarded her for a good couple of seconds. "You have been here for two years now."
"Time does fly, doesn't it? It was only yesterday you were trying to make me eat your food." Naruto chuckled and stretched her arms as her blue eyes twinkled with amusement and happiness. It had been one of the worst food she had ever tried and now was the only food that she could eat.
How could she come to a part of the world where ramen didn't exist? It was unimaginable. A terrible crime in her opinion because how could these people never ever think of making ramen? It was like this part of the world was under a curse, a curse that Naruto planned to break.
"Most of the villagers are commenting that you should marry soon," The blonde stiffened and Kanna eyed her. "But that idea doesn't please you, does it?"
Naruto nodded. "Marriage is between two people in love and how the hell can I ever get marry if I'm not in love with anyone? Besides I have dreams and a promise to fulfill. Love is the last thing I need."
"Then what is your dream, Naruto?" The blonde blinked and tilted her head. Closing her eyes, Naruto saw the smiling faces of her teammates. Idiot. That used to sound like an insult from Sakura-chan but now she could see the humor in her eyes alongside the smile.
I will get you some ramen. That was what Sasuke would tell her whenever they were done with a mission. Her heart throbbed even more and Naruto opened her eyes. She looked out to the ocean, taking in several deep breaths, before flickering her eyes at the curious old woman.
"I want to go back home and see my friends," Naruto answered with a smile. It wasn't a lie. The dream before was for her to become Hokage but that dream needed to be put on hold. This was a new dream. It was a simple dream yet it was just so difficult for her to accomplish.
It felt like the whole world was trying to stop her from going back home.
Kanna bobbed her head and tilted her head to the side. "Then why haven't you leave the South Pole? We can give you a boat and you could go back home."
Naruto chewed on her bottom lip and darted her eyes to the village. There was white steam coming off from one of the tents, hinting that one of the villagers were making food. The giggles of the children echoed throughout the area and the blonde curled her lips into a smile.
"Do you have that kinda feeling that something tells you that it isn't time yet?" Naruto asked, knitting her eyebrows together and let out a sigh when Kanna shook her head. "Every time I think I will go now, something stops me. There is a tiny voice telling me that it isn't time for me to go."
She doesn't know why she listened to that voice and feeling inside of her.
"And what does that voice tell you now?" Kanna eyed her and looked out to the vast ocean. She straightened her back before darting her eyes at her. Concern shone through those eyes, which almost made her smile. But Naruto couldn't smile instead she just darted her eyes at the various ice.
"It tells me that I'm going to leave soon," Naruto declared with a grin. "That I'm going to find a way home soon in the next few days or that I'm just going through another adventure before I go home. Either way, I'm leaving in the next few days."
Just as soon as she finished saying those words, Naruto could hear something crackling to the side. She chewed on her bottom lip and looked to the side, blue eyes growing wide as a flare went up to the sky. It exploded and released a blinding light that anyone could see from miles around.
"This isn't good," Kanna whispered, body trembling as her eyes shifted from the flare to the small boat that was coming their way. Naruto frowned and tilted her head, eyebrows knitted together. She channeled her chakra into her eyes and felt all the blood in her face being redirected to her legs.
"The Fire Nation is coming."
In a few hours time, Naruto would definitely say that day had been the day when she had no choice but to leave the Southern Water Tribe.
A/N- I just want to thank everyone for giving so much positive feedback from the first chapter.
Zuko will appear in the next chapter and there will be some interactions between Naruto and Zuko. To clarify things, Naruto is currently fifteen while the other characters are in their canon ages. And once again if you have any suggestions for the story, please let me know.
STLHero