Naruto Road to Ninja
Chapter 3:
"What the...? Wait, where did he go!? This is bad news..." ,Naruto growled under his breath as his eyes darted around the park. He was looking for any sign that Madara was even there.
Ame nearly had a heart attack as Hinata let out a gasp, her eyes wide as she faced the other two, "What if he started an attack on the village? We need to warn everyone!" Naruto and Ame nodded in agreement as they began to dash for the exit. There was an air of both tension and fear in the group, no one could deny that Madara was the most powerful enemy they have had to face. To be thrown into a fight against him so suddenly was very unsettling. Ame's frown almost flipped in an instant as relief washed over her anxieties. There just passing the entrance of the park was Kiba, Shino, and Sakura.
"Kiba! Shino! …and Sakura? Since when did you three get all chummy?" ,Naruto looked surprised to see the trio within two feet of each other. Never had Sakura ever taken time out of her day to hang out with Bug Boy and Dog Breath.
Kiba looked at the blond confused, "We've always been together. We're team eight idiot." Shino nodded in agreement, his focus was on Ame, "Who is your new friend here?"
"Huh? New friend?" ,Naruto's gaze followed Shino's as they landed right on Ame and Haku. "What? She's not new! She's been part of our village a few years now!" Kiba and Shino shook their heads in disagreement. As Kiba opened his mouth to speak, Ame quickly cut in, "We don't have time for this. Madara is in town! We need to warn everyone!" her sense of urgency seemed to have dropped, in truth she was fighting to make sure her ribs didn't crush her lungs and heart. When Kiba and Shino had both denied her existence in town, her chest had begun to feel like it was collapsing.
Hinata reached out and lightly tugged on Naruto's sleeve, "We need to go find him and warn everyone."
"U-um…excuse me?" ,everyone in the group stopped their chatter for a moment to turn their attention to Sakura. Kiba and Shino both began to blush and fawn over the rather meek looking version of Sakura. Ame quickly looked her over, her hair was tied in a low ponytail, it looked like a waterfall of bright pink hair flowing smoothly down her back. Her eyes were still a beautiful green but the fierceness Ame had grown accustomed to was replaced with kindness and timidity. Sakura's cheeks flushed instantly as all eyes fell on her, Kiba and Shino were almost worshipping her as she tried speaking up a second time but failed horribly. She quickly jumped behind Shino to hide, breathing heavily and tripping over her words as she tried navigating through an apology.
"W….was that Saku…" ,Naruto was cut mid-sentence as Ame gave him a quick jab to the gut. Knocking the wind out of him as he crumbled to the floor.
"Now is not the time for jokes, we were just attacked by Madara."
The three shinobi looked rather confused before glancing at each other, trying to figure out what exactly she was talking about. Naruto groaned as Hinata helped him up to his feet. A deep blush covering her cheeks as he leaned against her for support, "Oi! Aren't you listening!?"
Kiba frowned slightly and looked back at Naruto, the same confused expression on his face as he replied, "Yeah, I'm listening…but…what do you mean by Madara? I…don't get it."
Naruto grit his teeth and began to wave his fist as he started shouting in frustration, "Come on! This isn't the time for stupid jokes!" He pointed at Kiba as he finished shouting. Hinata was struggling to keep him steady as he thrashed around so frantically.
"Like I said…" ,Kiba stopped and began to gasp and squirm in pain. Tears were almost streaming down his cheeks as he struggled to form words, "A…Akamaru! Ah!" Naruto, Ame, and Hinata's eyes fell on the big white dog that was currently chewing away at Kiba's…let's call them baked buns. Kiba struggled and squirmed to get free, it wasn't until his pants tore that he managed to get away from the massive beast. Akamaru growled and chomped on the torn piece of cloth between his jaws as he glared at Kiba, "Damn you, Akamaru! I've had enough of this! Quit biting me when my back's turned!" Akamaru barked and growled in reply, he looked about ready to maul his master alive. Kiba pushed Akamaru away as he growled and stepped closer, "What was that!? Oh yeah? Well, I don't like your face either!" The beast growled and jumped at Kiba, teeth flashing as he let out a bark, at this points his barks sounded more like roars. Kiba immediately dropped backwards, hands hitting the floor to keep him steady as Akamaru jumped over him and dashed away.
Naruto hesitated a moment, getting off Hinata as he leaned over to watch Akamaru run away, "Did something happen between you two?"
"Yeah, like whatever. He's always like this." ,Kiba sighed as he stood up again. His frown instantly changed to a smile as he mewled and pawed at his cheek, "Damn it all. Why couldn't I have been born a cat-user instead?"
"Cat-user?" ,all three asked as they looked at team eight confused.
"Why, you ask? Because Kiba is a cat lover through and through. Also...",Shino was cut off as Sakura finally managed the courage to speak up again.
She was still hiding behind Shino and as she asked the question, her eyes were focused on Hinata. She seemed absolutely terrified of Hinata as she asked, "Were you guys out on a date?"
Ame and Hinata blushed profusely; Hinata swore the world was spinning now. It was Ame who spoke up, as she waved it off, "Not in a million years If Naruto can't even score one girl what makes you think he'll ever get two?"
"O-oh. Okay." ,a soft smile spread across Sakura's lips. Her gentle disposition made her smile almost glow with grace. It was almost blinding to be honest; Ame understood now why Kiba and Shino seemed to almost worship her.
"We have to get going. We need to…um…find water." ,Hinata spoke softly as she looked over to Ame for help. Ame nodded in agreement and shot Naruto a look who, as expected, had no clue what was going on. Ame grabbed Naruto and began to run in the direction of town, waving as she shouted, "Love to catch up with you guys but we have other matters to deal with!" Hinata dashed after Ame, giving a quick glance at team eight…she couldn't understand…what was going on?
Kiba raised a brow as he watched the three shinobi run off towards the town, "catch up? I don't even know who she is."
Ame gave a loud whistle, not entirely sure if Haku had ended up here with them. A couple minutes passed and still nothing. Taking a deep breath she let out a loud piercing whistle, causing both Naruto and Hinata to flinch. A minute passed and soon a loud howl was her reply. A smile spread across Ame's lips as she whistled once more. Right on cue, Haku leapt out of some bushes and landed right on top of his master. Ame smiled and hugged her friend tight before pushing him off so she could get up, "Alright, let's go." She hopped on his back and the two started charging towards the town leaving the other two behind. Hinata hesitated a moment, glancing over at Naruto as she twiddled her thumbs and bit her bottom lip, "U-um…Naruto..?"
Naruto hadn't even noticed the poor girl calling him. His thoughts were all jumbled and nothing was making sense no matter how he looked at it. Gritting his teeth, he chased after Ame and Haku, "Wait up!" Hinata sighed and dropped her head in defeat before chasing after her companions. All three dashed far away from the bizarre trio they had just met. Slipping in and out of an alley way or two, Naruto being the clumsiest knocked over quite a few boxes and barrels on the way, until they found themselves on the main street of Konoha. The town was bustling as usual, no one was in a panic. Although quite a few people were giving Ame and Haku cautious glances, some just straight out stared at the tow in horror. Haku tucked his tail and laid his ears flat, however he held his head high, Ame knew this was his way of threatening everyone else. She blamed herself for his reaction, she couldn't hide how uneasy she was no matter how hard she tried.
"Those guys sure didn't seem like themselves did they?" ,Naruto had begun to voice his thoughts. He was looking up and down the street, not sure what he was looking for but something was definitely off.
Hinata shook her head, "mm-mm. not at all." She couldn't hide her concern as she looked at both Naruto and Ame for answers, "Kiba has never treated Akamaru like that and I've never seen Akamaru so aggressive with Kiba before."
"Come on Choji."
"Huh?" ,Naruto and the rest were pulled from their conversation as they turned in the direction of the familiar voice, "Was that…"
Just as Naruto was going to say it, team ten. Ame slid off Haku's back as she whispered to Hinata, "Do you see what I see?"
"Y-yes…they're different too.."
"Please, let's go to Barbe-Q's! They're doing this all-you-can-eat special for only fifteen hundred ryo per table. So, even if we just split it between the three of us, then that only comes out to be…uuh…let's see…it's, uh…I don't know.." ,Shikamaru smiled as he glanced over at Choji. A goof grin spreading across his lips as he tried winning him over.
Choji looked back at Shikamaru in disbelief, "It's five hundred ryo each!" Ame couldn't believe what she was seeing. Not only could Shikamaru NOT do simple mathy, Choji had corrected him and what really blew her mind was Shikamaru was really trying to convince Choji into going to Barbe-Q's. Just saying Barbe would get Choji racing over to the restaurant in an instant usually. Not to mention, now that she had given him a quick look over, Choji wasn't his usual large size. He was in good shape. It wasn't until Choji spoke up that Ame finally realized they were no longer in the Konoha they were used to, "Anyway. I don't want some all-you-can-eat deal. I just get full too easily. It would be a complete waste of my money." Hinata, Ame, and Naruto stared at Choji in disbelief. Not only had he refused a chance at an all-you-can-eat, but also said he gets full too easy? Since when!?
Shikamaru started to whine as Choji walked away, "What? I don't get it…! Don't you see? Even if you only eat enough for five people, it's still a bargain at that price!" he jumped at his friend and grabbed him by the collar. His goofy smile now a frown as he looked Choji in the eyes.
Now irritated, Choji began to shout back at his friend, returning his fierce gaze as he tried pulling away, "But how am I ever supposed to eat that much!?"
Ino, who at this point was clasping her hands together behind the two, tried smiling and in a rather, Ame was sorry to say, pathetic attempt, tried calming the two down, "Come on you guys…" a nervouse giggle escaped her lips before she tried squeezed between the two. Gently pushing them apart as she spoke with nothing but kindness, "Shikamaru, Choji. You shouldn't be fighting. You're both friends, right?"
Naruto's eyes widened slightly before he let out a slight groan, he was coming to realize what Ame and Hinaata had already figured out, "Wait, hold on…did she just giggle a little bit?" Ame and Hinata nodded their heads in response, neither of them could take their eyes off of the strange scenario before them. Ino glanced in their direction and immediately a smile appeared on her lips.
"Look, it's Hinata! Hey c'mon! It'll be super fun! Join us!" ,she ran over to the shinobi's, her smile as bright as the sun as she took Hinata's hands gently in hers, "Oh, please come along with us! Food always tastes better when you eat it with friends, right?" She giggled happily, tilting her head ever so slightly that made her look quite cute.
Ame leaned in close to the other two as she whispered, "What's wrong with her? Everyone has been strange ever since Madara disappeared…"
"You're tellin' me…" ,Naruto replied in a hushed tone.
"Oh? Is this a new friend of yours?" ,Ino smiled up at Ame. Again Ame felt her chest tighten, making it very hard to breath as she tried managing a smile. Naruto looked at her confused, "What? It's Ame. You hate her remember?"
Ino shook her head and mirrored Naruto's puzzled expression, "H-hate her…? But I don't even know her…" shaking her head, a bright smile appeared again as her bubbly attitude quickly returned, "she can join us for dinner! It'll be so much fun and everyone will have a chance to meet you! Let's go!" Ino began tugging Hinata along. Poor Hinata was so lost at this point, she wasn't sure what was going on that she allowed herself to be tugged along.
Naruto reached out for Ino, "Hold on, oi, you guys. Listen, Madara just showed up in the village and attacked us! There's no time to waste, we have to make sure he's not still in town."
Shikamaru and Choji came over as Ino asked, "Madara did? What's Madara?"
Shikamaru smiled as she shouted, "Oh I know what it is! The fish you put in hot pots!"
"Oh yeah!" ,Ino nodded in agreement.
Hinata and Naruto looked at Shikamaru in disbelief as Ame dropped her head, none of them could believe what they were hearing from the smartest guy in Konoha…whatever could have happened to Shikamaru's brain. Naruto couldn't hide his disappointment as he spoke, "Seriously? He's not a fish."
"You guys really don't know who he is?" ,Hinata just couldn't make sense of it anymore. The only conclusion that made sense was that they were no longer in the Konoha they knew, they must have been trapped in Madara's tsukuyomi. It was rather strange that all their friends were here, although not themselves and to make it even weirder, nobody seemed to know who Ame was.
"What's going on? Both of you…you're acting weird today…" ,Ino hadn't included Ame simply because she had just met her and really had no clue how she acted normally.
Naruto grit his teeth and began to shout, "What!? No! The only weird ones…"
Ame snapped her fingers and Haku immediately jumped on Naruto, covering him in slobber as he licked away at his face and effectively shutting him up. Choji smiled and approached Hinata, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Hinata…you're the child of heroes. You've gotta get a hold of yourself."
Hinata's eyes grew as wide as saucers as she looked at Choji confused, "Child o-of h-heroes?"
"Look for yourself." ,Choji pointed to the stone faces overlooking all of Konoha.
Ame, Hinata, and Naruto's jaws dropped as they stared at the faces, Hinata's voice was lost in the wind as she somehow managed to let out an almost inaudible syllable, "…how…?"