AN: Chapter title: Tagalong
"Wait. Before you go, I have a request for you. Well, more of a favor."
"This should be good. What?"
"I need you to take one of my Shinobi with you."
"That's a pretty heavy favor…but I owe you for this information. I'll do it."
"Honestly, you didn't have much of a choice. I think she's already with that boy you're traveling with."
"CANNONBALL!" With a joyous shout, her pair of 'wings' receded and she plummeted.
A not insubstantial wave ripped over the water from the impact, swept up the blonde in the water with her for a moment.
With a smile and a laugh, the Hidden Waterfall Kunoichi broke the surface of the water she had plunged into, used her hands to sweep her mint green hair out of the way.
"I told you this would be fun!" Orange eyes met blue. "Isn't it?"
Naruto refused to answer the girl from where he treaded water.
A hand clapped him on the back, nearly sent him face-first into the still rippling surface of the lake.
"Hey, ease up already." Jiraiya grinned at Naruto as he resumed his floating. "Besides, you should be happy. A pretty girl is talking to you." The white haired Shinobi had actually tamed his long mane of hair for the moment, had been set to enjoy the break he had been talked into having.
He had even let the Kunoichi braid his hair, add a handful of her orange hairclips up and down each of the seven braids she had twisted his hair into.
"We are wasting our time." Naruto had been adamant about such a thing since they had come upon the lake and the idea of taking a break had been presented. "We've been here almost an entire day. We n-"
"Splash fight!" His words were cut off when he was sprayed in the face courtesy of a hand swiped through the water. "Come on!" Another spray of water struck him.
He didn't exactly join in the 'splash fight'. It was more accurate to say it was just a brawl between the two younger Shinobi when a Chakra backed leap powered the blonde Shinobi at his green-haired attacker. She laughed all the same, nimbly dodged and let him crash into the water behind her.
"That's not how you splash fight Naruto!" She went so far as to wag her finger in front of her 'stern' face. "You can't tackle people."
The blonde broke the water with a shout, his blue eyes glaring at his opponent. "I'll do more than tackle you!" He took a moment to find his balance in the water, a glare on his face as he did so.
He only earned a taunting smile, the girl easily dodging his next attempt to tackle her as she was powered back through the water.
"Nope. Too slow." She wasn't even using her arms to swim, pulled down her eyelid with one while the other gave Naruto a taunting wave. And earned another shout from the blonde as he, once again, failed in reaching her. Jiraiya spared a glance at the antics of the two as he floated off, spotted the two 'wings' sprouting from her lower back that were responsible for the Kunoichi's deft movements in the water.
"Stop moving so I can hit you!"
"I'll stop moving when you start having fun!"
"Ah, I'm glad I never had kids." With the antics the two had gotten into in the two days since they had departed the Hidden Waterfall Village, Jiraiya was, for once, relieved at his failed romance. "I'd have gone gray by now." He floated out of the range of the two younger Shinobi.
'Although, it's impressive she made the kid finally relax.' The older Shinobi had noticed the change in Naruto since she had tagged along on their exit from the village. 'Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to bring her along after all.' He considered it a miracle she could even get the kid to actually get into the water. He was sure all he would've gotten was a glare from Naruto if he suggested it.
As the splashing only continued to end out of his favor, Naruto had resorted to simply throwing out Chakra at the problem in front of him. Consequently, his lack of a Water Nature simply made the equivalent of small waves every time he swung his arms through the water.
His efforts to send her away only increased his own frustration and earned a delighted laugh from the one who had set this all in motion. "Now you're getting it!" She answered in kind, her own Chakra far more suited to the task.
She merely had to push a truly ridiculous amount of Chakra out of her hand to send a MUCH larger wave to sweep up Naruto.
"Bye-bye Naruto!" She even dared to wave at him as she sent him crashing into the waterfall she had jumped off of.
Jiraiya spared the two another glance. "Don't be too rough with him." His reprimand was half-hearted at best, the Shinobi quickly going back to his floating.
Naruto had managed to catch himself before anything could happen, clung to the side of the rock with Chakra from his feet.
He was water-logged but he seemed to have calmed down. Or at least called it quits for now.
"Come on! Try a cannonball! It's really fun!"
"I will do no such thing!" Naruto seemed set to stay on his new perch, dragged a hand through his soaked hair in an attempt to get it to order. "I've had enough of your splashing!" Blue eyes glanced to the fallen tree where the three had stored their belongings.
He was tempted just to leave and wait his two traveling companions out, do something worthwhile with his time.
"Although, the options are limited…" He could admit that much to himself. His Legion was having…difficulties keeping up with he and the Toad Sage despite their languid pace. Two traveled faster than a group after all, didn't have many of the same concerns as a group would have. Lines of communications could only be established so swiftly even with his Legion working around the clock.
Supplies, materials, traveled far slower than his brothers in arms.
At best, he could busy himself with training as he waited for his two traveling companions to grow tired of the lake.
Or…
"If I do it, can we go?" He didn't even bother looking to the Toad Sage. He had caved the girl's whims in seconds, had gone along with her plan without even a word of protest.
"Nope!" Orange eyes shined with mischief he could see even from so high up. "We can leave when you have fun!"
"You are impossible." Naruto spared a glance behind him, began climbing the rockface a moment later. "You want fun? I'll show you fun. I'll have so much fun you'll choke on it." His words were for himself as he quickly reached the top of the waterfall. From down in the water, he earned two pairs of thumbs up.
"Go on Naruto! I believe in you!" If she had something to wave, Naruto was sure she would be waving it for his "encouragement". "Cannonball! Cannonball!"
"Yeah! Cannonball!" Jiraiya joined in with a laugh. "You can do it Naruto!"
"Oh shut up…" His words were for himself even as the two laughed at him from down below. Out of spite, he considered not doing it. Even as quickly as the thought came, he tossed it aside. As much as she annoyed him, despite the short time he had known her, he did consider the Hidden Waterfall Shinobi a friend. Although, just because he saw as a friend didn't mean he wouldn't get even for all the splashing…
"Prepare yourselves for the greatest cannonball you've ever seen!" The blonde took a few steps back to get a good enough running start for what he had planned, Chakra gathering to his hand in preparation. "Here I come!"
He leapt from the waterfall and right into an airborne Kunoichi.
"Surprise!" She wrapped him up in a hug/tackle. "We're doing a Double Cannonball!"
"WHAT!"
She didn't seem to be in an answering mood, was actually taking the two of them higher into the air.
"This is going to be so much fun!"
"No! No it isn't! Let me go! Let me go now!" He struggled but he didn't actually try to push her away.
Partly out of a desire not to hurt her and partly because they were at least double the height of the waterfall already. He actually wrapped his arms around the laughing Kunoichi as she flew them even higher.
"Now it's time for Naruto and Fu's Super Cannonball!" She announced such a thing when her 'wings' disappeared and the two were quickly using up the remaining momentum. Fu wrapped her legs around him and, somehow, shifted the two around so that Naruto was going to be the one to hit the water first.
"I did not agree to this!" He at least still had his hands free as Fu only laughed as she tucked herself against him. He caught the smile on her face and the chaotic light shining in her eyes before she tucked her head against his chest and braced for impact.
'Of all the times to use it…' Naruto felt as gravity reasserted itself and the two began their plummet towards their destination. He spared the laughing green haired Kunoichi another irritated glare before he lifted one of his hands off of Fu's back, saw the Chakra he had gathered there spiral into life. 'Not going to work.'
He fed it more Chakra, saw as it went from just the side of his palm to much bigger.
Jiraiya decided now was a good time to get to shore. Quickly. In a hurry. With all haste.
Fu laughed while he twisted around enough so his arm could hit the water first.
The super-sized Rasengan hit the water ahead of the two. He wrapped his arms around Fu before the two hit the water.
A massive wave drained half the lake out into the forest, the cascade of water rushing back to the lake once it ran out of momentum.
Jiraiya was shouting something as he was thrown out of the water, hit a tree in the middle of his sudden flight. His face became very acquainted with the bark.
"Yeah, I'm definitely glad I didn't have kids…" The white haired Shinobi groaned as he slid down the trunk to a branch. "They would've killed me by now." He would be picking leaves out of his hair all day. He decided to sit out the rest of whatever the two got up to today.
Fu broke the surface with a laugh and a smile.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" She clapped her hands together. "Let's go again! I bet I can go even higher this time!" She laughed, twisted around in the water to find Naruto. "Come on Naruto!" She twisted around again, couldn't find him anywhere. "Uh…Naruto?"
She couldn't find a hint of blonde hair.
"Naruto!"
A moment before her panic could set in, Naruto burst out from underwater and dunked the smaller Kunoichi underneath.
"Revenge is mine!" A sputtering and gasping Fu quickly burst back out as Naruto floated away, basked in his victory. He laughed at her face.
Fu surprised him when she laughed with him.
"See! I told you this would be fun!"
"Fun? You could've killed me when you took us that high!"
"But I didn't! So let's go again!"
"There's no way I'm doing that again!"
"Never say never! Now let's go!"
"No! Are you not hearing me?"
"Oh no! There's too much wind to hear you!"
"Liar!"
As Fu took a protesting Naruto back into the air for another 'Super Cannonball', Jiraiya decided it was a good idea to remain in his tree. His tree was safe.
And it was hopefully out of the splash-zone the two's antics was bound to create.
"I take back everything I said about her being here. That girl's a menace to my life." Jiraiya at least settled himself on his branch, resolved to keep an eye on the two. 'Just what did you get me into with this one Hisen? Are you trying to kill me or something?'
With a shout and a splash, the two hit the water again. This time without Ninjutsu to throw out another wave.
"Oh that was great Naruto! Let's go again! I bet we can get an even bigger splash this time!"
"No! Absolutely not! I forbid it!"
"Oh no. There's water in my ears. I can't hear you."
"Not again!"
"Huh. That might just give me an idea." It might've been all the screaming, the laughing, or a mixture of the two but the white haired Shinobi was suddenly struck by an onset of inspiration. A Shadow Clone braved the waves beneath and threw up his book and a pen from the rock that had, somehow, survived the multiple waves. "Yes. A joyous meeting turned to something more. Innocent fun with the beginnings of something more…"
As Jiraiya penned down his next great "epic", Naruto's protests continued to fall on deaf ears while Fu laughed as she took them higher into the air.