Chapter 6 for ya'll!
'Tis quite long! Cool, huh?
Read and review to yours kindly.
:D
~miscmist
"Okay, now to find a place to sleep." Naruto deduced and started on his way to find a suitable place to stay for the night, which would most likely end up being some sort of vegetation such as the common tree. He was used to camping out under the trees Konoha provided; hell, as a ninja of this land he was almost expected to, but he hadn't exactly thought that he would be doing that sort of dozing tonight. It felt out of place, as if this foreign time should not have factors connecting him to his future location. Quickly shaking that train of thought, he directed his attention back to finding a camp. Naruto decided to find it by relying on fate, the random method. He chuckled, it was what he did when he felt particularly adventurous or didn't exactly want to waste so much time on trial and errors. He closed his eyes and spun around quickly; once he had spun several times he stopped and pointed in front of him. Opening his eyes he followed his arm and looked to where his index finger had decided to take him; he noticed it was slightly to the left of the main Uchiha compound. Shrugging to himself, he took a quick look around to make sure there were no spectators, then flexed his clenched muscles and jumped onto the nearest roof.
Naruto smiled, it had felt like forever since he had gone roof hopping. Though he knew that this basic ninja skill was known to all across the land, it was one of his favorite hobbies. As a kid he had done just that, with a few pranks tied here and there to make it productive, but he had started early none the less. Sighing happily, he let himself feel the wind playing with his long hair, and focused on the minute thump that could be barely heard if you focused hard enough. The adrenaline rush that it gave him made him speed up slightly, even though he had no specific destination just yet, it was a great feeling pushing himself, the whole of it all was almost too much. I miss Konoha. He thought sadly. Naruto had been in this world for less than two days but it suddenly felt like an eternity; an eternity with the absence of his friends and colleagues. Without the reassuring buzz of all those familiar chakra signatures surrounding him, without stopping by at his favorite eating joint, and without the hope of ever experiencing that again. It was downright depressing.
Caught in his pondering, the scroll came up in the forefront of his memory. It caused Naruto to shiver and rub down the hairs on the back of his neck. A snippet of the scroll whispered through his mind:
For the hero who's done it all
A man will surely fall
Dreams and worlds can collide
But only those who travel are able to decide
What lines are crossed and what lines are finished
Repeat these lines and you shall wish it
Coming back to himself, Naruto had to once again focus on the world he landed in. Stupid scroll label. Stupid me. Stupid. Stupid. He chastised himself, he knew that his erroneous reading had finally screwed him over. Thinking of the scroll again caused goose bumps to pop up over his body. Stop! He didn't feel like reliving that memory or flashback at the moment, it would be too unpleasant.
"Do not be weak."Kyuubi grumbled in his mind, but Naruto chose to ignore him at the moment; wouldn't be too smart to cause him to be angry and sad at the same time. Such strong emotions had to be dealt with one at a time.
Kyuubi's little advice did affect Naruto though, he knew he had to sit down and think these possibilities over and find a way to get back, Naruto just couldn't deal with it too seriously. For some reason, he still felt this was a joke, even though his mind and body said otherwise. If he hadn't already tried every dispelling illusion trick in the book, he'd be half dead lying in a creek somewhere. Need to find a place! He reminded himself.
Spotting one of the tallest trees that he had seen so far, Naruto made his way over to it and assessed its sturdiness. Looks good. He decided and proceeded to climb his way up. After a few seconds he finally reached a branch that was suitable for his weight and settled down. Scooting as close to the base of the tree as he could, he let himself relax and observe the tranquil compound below. "Looks like a mini-town, Uchiha Town…hm," Naruto thought aloud, it could have been a possible name if it weren't for its integration. "Nah, sounds lame." He concluded, even Naruto didn't think an Uchiha would directly put their name for a city; it was too obvious. Letting the landscape fill his vision, he took in the simple beauty of it. It was a quite a sight seeing the land be illuminated by the swollen moon in the sky. It let him see how this quaint village was laid out. It was mostly a cluster of homes, the exception being the main Uchiha compound taking up most of area. The smaller homes were closely knit so that there were rare few empty spots. There were four main roads, two of which he had seen with Madara, while the rest were little alleys that crisscrossed the rest of the compound. The houses and buildings slowly thinned out to more demure shacks and lastly the trees made up the rest of the land for miles around. If he had to guess, it would be on the outskirts of the modern-day Konoha, it made him realize how huge Konohakagure had grown. I wonder how it all happened exactly.
Naruto knew a few facts, but he wasn't too keen on the details. Yawning he scuttled slightly and rubbed his eyes tenderly. He just realized how tired he was, the rustling of the leaves and the subtle animals noises were slowly lulling him to sleep. With every heavy blink of his lids, his vision became more and more blurry. Fewer and fewer objects were registering in his mind, only the dim light of the moon shining on his body let him know he was still awake. One blink, then two, and Naruto was asleep.
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Naruto woke up with a startled gasp, body at the ready he swung himself up ready for a fight. Though it was all in vain because his commotion caused him to hit his head on an overhanging branch. "Ow!" He protested, and looked down at his feet, feeling a strange sensation. A couple birds had been pecking at his toes, clearly agitated. One of them was still going at it, ignoring his rapid movements and cries. Huh? Looking up he saw the cause of their agitation, he had slept under the tree in which he assumed was their bird's nest. Looking closely he saw four little beige eggs nestled in the center. Well it's not like I'm gonna EAT them. Naruto thought crossly. Jumping down a few branches, the birds seemed satisfied and quickly returned to their awaiting children. Annoyed, Naruto 'harrumphed' and did his regular stretching routine. After a few satisfying cracks and pops, he sighed contentedly and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
With a few quick blinks of his eyes, he looked down on his temporary village. It was still a small shock to see it though, it was something he would have to get used to. Naruto shook his head and jumped down to the ground below, his kimono fluttering slightly on his descent. Looking down at his attire he whistled in awe. It was dirtier than a week's old laundry. He guessed some of the birds had something to do with it. "A lady shouldn't be seen like this," he thought with amusement, "I should change, don't wanna cause a ruckus." Naruto laughed and looked around. Who's going to see me anyway?
"Wait. Madara!" He had forgotten his meeting with him at the restaurant. Quickly deducing the time, it seemed like it was around ten in the morning, hopefully he wouldn't be too late. "Well, it technically still is morning, no harm done." He said to himself, trying to clear his conscious. After a few more reassuring thoughts he settled down and fixated his gaze on his attire. Focusing on his garments he transformed into a kimono that was actually clean. It was one of the more commons ones he used on his female missions. The kimono was a light pink with a subtle white hexagon pattern running across the shoulder and bottom. He had noticed the women didn't exactly wear such fancy kimonos, usually skirts and some type of blouse, but Naruto decided he'd catch up with the fashion later.
"This will do nicely, besides, it won't hurt to look nice now that I might be late." he said to no one in particular and headed towards their arranged destination. Running his hands through his hair he worked out most of the knots he found and patted down the raised bumps he felt. Walking and fixing his hair took up a lot of time for before he knew it, he was a few steps away from the barbeque joint. Naruto wondered how his face was, figuring it had to be presentable for he hadn't received too many scornful looks he assumed he was decent. With a straightening of his delicate shoulder he made his way into the restaurant, a smile at the ready.
No one was there to receive his smile though, as once again, the establishment only had one other patron, who was on the vestiges of falling asleep on his food. Blowing the bangs out of his face, he sat on the nearest table facing the street. Settling himself in, he scanned what he could see of the crowded road before him. I don't think he's been here yet. He thought optimistically, "Only one way to find out." He whispered as he heard the quick shuffling steps of what he assumed were Kohei's.
"Naruto-san! A pleasure to see you again, how are you this fine morning!" Kohei said with gusto, clearly a morning person. Naruto smiled and squinted up at him. The morning light was high now and was shinning directly in his eyes. "I'm great Kohei-san, thank you." Naruto said with matched enthusiasm. This seemed to cheer the man even more as he asked loudly what he would like to eat.
"Well, you see Kohei-san, I'm actually waiting for Madara-san. He and I had a meeting of sorts." Naruto said cheerfully, hoping to all the forces out there that he hadn't come and gone. Don't want to give him anything else to complain about. To his horror a look of pity overcame the middle-aged man's face. Shit.
"Well, you see…Madara-san has already visited us. A-at the t-time I thought it was strange seeing as he sat there for two h-hours only drinking tea, I was clearly agitated. I thought we had done something to upset him. F-for he didn't speak to us, only to ask for refills! We thought he was clearly dehydrated. I c-cannot believe any normal p-p-person could drink that much tea without using the bathroom. I am so g-glad, oh! but I am sorry for this mix up. You see it is not that I am-" Kohei went on and on, speech becoming more and more jumbled. It seemed he was relieved that he was still in Madara's good graces but upset for her at the same time. His conflicting emotions were getting on his nerves. It's not like I'm going to chastise him for something I messed up on. Naruto thought tartly.
Getting up slowly, Naruto rubbed the area between his brows, trying to get rid of the growing furrows there. Stepping to the side he made his way to the exit, Kohei following behind with his apologetic words. Turning around quickly, Kohei gasped softly, surprised by his speed. "It is fine Kohei-san, do not worry, it was but a frivolous matter we were going to discuss. Now. Is there a chance you knew where he might have been headed, or perhaps the direction he took off in?" Naruto said and slowly and calmly as he could; it wouldn't do to distress him even more.
Kohei only shook his head, and played with his hands. "H-he was there one second and gone the next. N-ninja can be quite…quiet...I mean…very…"
"Silent. Stealthy. Yes, I understand. No worries. I'll be on my way, goodbye." Naruto said shortly, then walked out and escaped the shouted apologies behind him. Clicking his tongue peeved, Naruto figured he might as well try to look for the Uchiha. It would double as a recon mission to experience the layout of the compound a bit more; a two birds one stone type of deal. This might take a while.
Inhaling deeply, he joined the crowd and tried to blend in. Which would have been easier were it not for his bright hair and colorful kimono. As he thought earlier, most of the citizens of this village commonly wore muted clothing, nothing too pigmented, usually in shades of brown, blue or gray. Man, where's the color? Getting back to his self-appointed task he closed his eyes and sent out a chakra pulse of his own, quickly scanning the surrounding area. It was how he had learned to sense chakras that weren't directly close to him, or disguised.
Moving with the crowd he awaited the return of anything that might be Madara's signature; a signature which he had pegged as a very active one. It was one that buzzed and hummed with restrained power, one that expanded and flexed with bursts of ninjutsu, it felt as arrogant as the source itself. Every person had their own unique feel, ninja's had a more memorable and notable one, but civilians had a faint pulse as well. As for Naruto's, he could not exactly describe his own seeing as he was so used to it, but according to his comrades his signature was a loud vibrating thing that pricked at the skin, sometimes on the uncomfortable side. Especially so, his team had mentioned, when he used a powerful technique; comparing it to being burned but having nothing to douse the flames with. Naruto would say more bubbly, but he wasn't exactly a good judge on pain; his tolerance was a bit higher than the rest.
After a few minutes, he had only received the regular ninja spark, but none from Madara himself. Hmm, this Uchiha clan has many trained members. He duly noted, sensing more than thirty moderately strong signatures. Continuing on his search, he sighed with exasperation. "Where is he?" Naruto stared into the gentle stoic faces around him, searching for a sign that they might give away. As expected, he only saw confused flicks of the eyes and a couple winks, but no hints as to where Madara could be. Growling to himself he carried forwards and awaited some good news.
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More than an hour later, Naruto was still out of luck. When he had submitted himself to this task he had expected a ten minute search perhaps, but not this mindless wandering. Who would have thought you could hide a powerhouse of an Uchiha in such a small village. Naruto could have sworn he had felt his signature spike twice, but before he could take off in the direction, it would scatter then disappear all together. It had caused a few of the villagers to stare in baffled manner to see a woman in a bright kimono run in one direction, then switch and practically sprint in the next. It's like he doesn't want to be found. Naruto thought exasperated, then slumped and dredged on.
"I need to stay positive." He whined to himself, and blew the bangs out of his face. "Stupid hair…" he yelled irritably, the breeze hand been picking up and had become quite an annoyance causing his long locks to flutter and spread all around his head. The hair would stick in his mouth and poke his eyes, it was extremely troublesome. A haircut perhaps? Naruto thought jokingly, he wouldn't mess with his appearance too much just yet, if he figured things out just right, he might get outta here sooner than expected. Madara would be 'cured', he'd be a miracle worker, then everyone would go on their merry way. "Might as well go find a mirror." Naruto then added another mission to his to do list and carried on.
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Meanwhile in a not so remote place, Madara was currently trying not to fidget in a room full of powerful clan members. He had showed up at the restaurant and that damned woman had not appeared! To think he sat there for two hours awaiting her arrival. It grated on his nerves. In the back of his mind he considered that they had not exactly set a specific time, and she might have shown up later, but that only caused him to feel like fidgeting even more. It would mean she would be the one waiting for him, as it should be of course, but he also did not want to aggravate her anymore that he did on his own. Perhaps Kohei-san could entertain her until he got out of this pointless meeting. He tried not to scoff, as if Kohei-san could be that interesting. Naruto-san would never be distracted by him. Madara thought childishly, but internally stopped that thought from developing and focused back on the mission discussion.
"Now, on to the last of the list, we need to discuss the Yamada mission. In order for us to produce a substantial amount of money from this family, I believe we should raise its difficulty ranking. They have the funds and are in desperate need of its execution. It's initial labeling was a bit too under-rated." Said a large tan man with shortly cropped dark hair who's voice echoed against the surrounding walls. His shirt was high-collard, pristine white and cut off at the forearms, an Uchiha fan clearly stitched on his right arm. As for the rest of his attire, one could not see considering the table that dissected all who sat. Madara considered this imposing man, though he would never say it out loud, he was an intimidating person. Over the years he had grown used to his loud manner of speech and slightly unrefined ways, but that did not distract the brutal look of him. The scars that decorated his neck and hands might have possibly added to his image. It was hard to say that he was an Uchiha, with his completely unorthodox manner of speaking and dark skin, but he had one of the deepest family lines in the whole compound.
"The urgency of this mission was considered due to its unprecedented request, but there are many other factors. It was under-rated as you say because of the lack of skill required and the close range of it all." Madara replied stoically. It would not do to show discomfort of any sort, especially with this group of people. "If we were to raise its ranking, the Yamada family would suspect of some conspiring in our part. They may be wealthy, but they are not stupid. They have dealt with other ninja clans before, Ryota."
A few murmurs were heard amongst the men gathered. There were only eight total, granted, but even one voice could make a difference in these dealings. Dealings that at times Madara resented. He was a possible future leader of this clan, but that did not mean that all the going-ons and responsibilities of an heir were exciting or pleasant to handle.
Ryota's face gave nothing away, only a slight considering nod."That could be a problem." Was all he said, looking out onto the rest of the clan members to see any other suggestions. These members who were of course all Uchiha, and all had a special part in the consideration of mission. Madara tried not to smirk, he knew most were thinking it but did not want to say it aloud. They were not exactly afraid per se, but at times choice words and phrases set the room on edge, and even though there were strict rules to keep resentment and other such emotion in check, they tended to trickle out into the casual world.
"What could be done perhaps, is to complete this mission as intended. Then to bind them to us, we could ask for a reserved favor, because of its urgency and situation. They would not be able to refuse, the Yamada family is known for its strong connections." Said a soft but steady voice among the gathering. Madara looked in front of him, at the man who's subtle smile made him smirk in return. A silence overcame the room, as if the answer was so simple it was stupid not to have thought of in the first place. The rest of the committee agreed softly and nodded in supported.
"Well, I believe we have found our answer." Ryota said gladly, gave a couple knocks on the table and wrote something down on the scrolls before him. "If there are no other topics, I entertain a motion to close this meeting."
"I motion."
"I second."
"This meeting is now closed, thank you for your times. Goodbye." Boomed Ryota and smiled, almost instantly changing his whole visage. A man who looked intimidating now looked like a glad man who was genuine and looked almost non-threatening. At once all the men stood up from the table and began to gather their things. Soft side conversations happened between a couple of the men while others simply walked out. Ryota gave another farewell and also exited, mentioning something about grabbing something to eat.
Madara walked over to the only seated member, who seemed to be scribbling quickly on the scroll before him. Standing next to the pale, ponytailed man, Madara punched his shoulder. "You impress me with your simplicity; I suppose you win this round." He said jokingly, a grin forming on his face. The man simply put down his brush and looked up at him," Of course I win, and I will win many more in the future, not just with words. Stop being so petty, brother." Madara could only chuckle, and aim a punch at him once again. The man avoided his punch and gave a quick jab to his ribs.
"Ungh. Your jabbing technique are getting annoying, Izuna."
"I do what I can, brother, I do what I can." Izuna then laughed and they both retreated from the room.
Leaving the conference room, Izuna was laughing at something Madara was explaining when he gave his brother a knowing look.
"I have a question for you Madara." Izuna said suspiciously, eyes shielded and casting slight shadows on his face. This caused Madara to tens slightly, he knew it was coming but he had not hoped to discuss it so early.
"What was the cause of your early return? Was the countryside not as relaxing as you hoped it would be? Or perhaps….it has to do with a certain person?" Izuna said, the humor clear in his voice. Madara could only grin guiltily, it was hard to hide much from his brother. They had a relationship where they could discuss mostly anything, and beat each other up in the process, but at times it felt that Izuna was the more mature one, it was mostly because he reminded him of his father so much.
"I might have been distracted by someone, yes." Madara said cautiously, slowly coming to a stop near the edge of the building. They were now outside the central delegation building that made up part of the main Uchiha compound. Usually he only came here twice a week to discuss and overview the missions and negations between other clans and lands, but his early arrival had caused him to be pulled into another meeting, his father should be proud.
"Hm. Well, I do hope to meet her." Izuna said with a smile and continued on, hands clasped and back straight as always.
He knows about Naruto-san? Madara thought with panic. He knew not staying the whole time at his lodge would have caused some rumors, but he had forgotten how nosy the members of his clan could be. Though he admitted he was partly to blame for the information that was surely spread around. It was not common to see an heir of the Uchiha family parade himself out and about, especially with a woman at his side. There were not many foreigners or members outside the clan that stayed in the compound for more than a few hours, and surely that rebellious woman would have caused people to talk. If not for her features or physical attributes, then surely for her fierceness, it was not a common trait most people he knew were aware of. The few kunoichi he did know where not as emotive as her. Even though Naruto had mentioned that she was not technically a shinobi, it still nagged him to think a woman would know so much without actually employing her skills. It made him consider her dangerousness again, a feature past men probably had also dealt with. Thinking this caused a strange pang of jealousy to flit through him. Naruto was a hard woman to miss, surely some man would have tried to woo her by now. He had to go find her. With an annoyed glance at the dot that was now his brother, he disappeared with a surge of chakra.
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Hoping to catch his image on something reflective, Naruto spotted a busier side of the road he was on, to which he quickly found out turned out to be a sort of bazaar. It was similar to the ones in Konoha in that it had merchants clustered together side by side, voices yelling and catching the attention of passerby's. As he neared, the salesmen would vie for her attention among others and would proclaim to have the cheapest vases, to the softest quilts, the brightest gems, but none caught Naruto's eyes. Walking slowly past them he would politely decline them and look forward to spotting a mirror of some type. He could hear the nine tailed fox comment on his vanity but Naruto felt he was justified to at least know how he looked.
As time went on he stopped looking as intently and just admired some of the baubles that several of the merchants had. As if sensing her foreignness a couple of the them would be quite relentless and wouldn't stop with their haggling, surely overpricing whatever it was they were hoping to sell. Exhausted with yet another failed search, Naruto wasn't as polite and would simple walk by, not bothering to fake his interest or possible transaction. Just as he was about to turn around and resume the Madara search he spotted a shining light in his peripheral vision. Almost laughing, Naruto made his way over to one of the last booths laid out. "Well, I'll be damned." He said to himself, earning a few stares. Stopping in front of the booth, he admired the many varieties of mirrors and knickknacks that were laid out. There was a small sign mentioning something about a woman's special corner and gifts of some sort but Naruto disregarded it and studied what this shop had to offer.
There were jeweled combs, face powder sets, decorative jewelry boxes, brushes, and mirrors of course. Most of the reflective panes were intricately designed and adorned to high heaven, but he decided to pick up a relatively plain, medium-sized mirror. It had a thick black border that looked like veined marble but was probably something cheaper, yet had a comfortable weight that made it feel pricey. The oval of the mirror had just enough room to see his entire face so that he could finally analyze himself. Lifting it closer to himself, Naruto couldn't help but suck in his breath, "Oh…" was all that he could mutter.
Sure he was suspecting a pleasant appearance framed by some unruly bangs, but not this. What met his eyes was a delicate face that ended in the very popular dainty chin. His or more like her eyes, seemed huge on her face, whether it was from surprise or the actual feature he wasn't quite sure, but they were striking. Their color only added to their appeal, for they were a bright blue, richer, more concentrated in color than the ones he was used to seeing. Her nose was a cute dot on her face which almost contrasted with the full, plump and pink lips that finished the face, it gave the cute face a very sexy appeal. 'Kissable' was the term that popped up in his head. For some reason a slight flush started to form across her face and Naruto had to correlate this blushing woman to himself. It made his vision spin and caused him to give a couple deep breaths. I'm…beautiful. Naruto thought unabashedly and blinked rapidly, burning the image into his mind. This is me now. Moving the mirror closer to his features he noticed something he had not spotted earlier. There were very faint, very thin lines that ran on each side of his cheeks. My scars! He thought with joy, at least that stayed with him, it was oddly comforting to find a feature that connected him to his original body if not for the color of hair or eyes, at least would to do ground him. The scars weren't as noticeable as with his male body but the fact of the matter was that they were still there.
Hearing a male throat clearing, Naruto snapped his head up and 'eeped' nervously. Blushing he mumbled under his breath for the prize and laid down several coins; coins which he had shamelessly stolen from several of the villagers. Praying that it would be enough he looked at the man for confirmation. The man only smiled gently and took half of the coins that were set on the table. "If you'd like to spend the rest, we are having a sale on all jeweled combs." The merchant said happily.
"Thank you, but this is all I'll need." Naruto said softly, still in a daze, then picked up the remaining coins and walked off to join the river of people.
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Looking down occasionally to admire his features, Naruto didn't seem to notice the person he had spent the better part of his day for. Madara had spotted her weaving in and out of the crowd, and had been tailing her for several minutes. For some reason he felt like observing her, if only for a while. Seeing her now she seemed gentler, more vulnerable. It was hard to peg her as a deadly person. His observations also let him 'survey' her backside, which was a very nice one to look at. Of course he did this with the stealth of a ninja, he was a man after all, to ignore her attributes would be moronic and ignorant. Or so Madara tried to convince himself.
Realizing the rump in question had now moved from his vision, he snapped out his reverie and followed it to a less condensed part of the compound. Following his gaze up to the blond hair, he noticed that Naruto was now speaking to someone, quite amiably. Deciding this was time as any to let her know of his presence, he slowly walked up to her and her companion
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Naruto grinned when he felt Mdara's chakra signature surge behind him. 'Bout time. He had expected him to walk up to him and give him some speech, or perhaps even an apology, but after waiting a few seconds, he simply stayed at a constant distance behind him. This perplexed Naruto but wrote it off as some creepy stalker thing, it seemed most Uchiha were fond of. Hell, I'm gorgeous, he probably can't help himself. Naruto thought half in jest, half serious.
Deciding to play along, Naruto weaved in and out of the crowd of people, not having a destination in mind anymore. Looking around, the neighborhood seemed a little familiar to him. As if to answer him, a familiar face seemed to materialize from the hustle and bustle walking in the opposite directions. I hope this isn't a bad idea… Naruto thought with slight worry.
"Naoki-san!" Naruto yelled, waving his hand for emphasis, hoping to catch his attention. Said man visibly flinched and dropped several scrolls on the ground which Naruto had not noticed before. Oops!
Quickly rushing over he bent to pick up what scrolls Naoki had not already gotten his hold on. "Sorry, Naoki-san, I seem to only cause you trouble." Naruto said with an apologetic smile.
Naoki only mumbled, blush apparent on his face. After gathering all the scrolls they both got up and starred at each other awkwardly, Naoki more than anything. Naruto bit his lip to prevent him from laughing, and piled what scrolls he had on top of the pile now in Naoki's arms.
"Why so many scrolls? I didn't know you were a scholar." Naruto asked, hoping to finally figure out something about this boy that Madara had cut short last time.
"No. I…uh…I m-mean I am not." Naoki said, then cleared his throat several times and looked at her shyly. "They are d-documents for the metal trade. My family..d-deals…with almost all metal work here…" He said, voice slowly thinning out and becoming inaudible.
"Really? That's amazing! You must be quite an important person, Naoki-san." Naruto replied. So you are their main weapons supplier, huh? Could be good to know you. He thought, for surely the family in charge of all metal work would be aware of why they needed so much metal. The manufacturing of swords, kunai, shuriken, and many more weapons were always a priority in any ninja village. "You should show me or give me a tour of your facility, or maybe your shop. Madara-san seems to have forgotten our little arrangement so it would only be suitable for you to replace him." He said cheekily, hoping to get a rise out of the young teenager.
"Oh! Well I could n-never, ever, r-replace Madara-sama, b-but I surely can give you a t-tour. That would be great…that is, since you want it…and it wouldn't be any trouble." Naoki stuttered, slowly shrinking into himself, his gracelessness with women ever more evident.
"Awesome!" Naruto chirped and patted him on the arm, hoping to reassure him, which only caused Naoki to jump slightly, and snap his head up in surprise.
"Madara-sama!" Naoki said with renewed excitement and bowed clumsily, knocking down a few of the scrolls once again.
"Naoki-san." Madara replied, simply nodding in return. Seeing that no one was picking up the scrolls, Naruto bent down and picked them up, once again stacking him on the perilous pile of what was left. Looking at Madara, he only saw a hint of annoyance. He wasn't sure why, but Naruto had to reason it for his tardiness.
"Madara-san, what an honor to finally see you. If I didn't know any better, I would say you ditched me purposely and left me to wander by myself. If it wasn't for Naoki-san here, I would have run around the compound clueless." Naruto said mirthfully, hoping to put the Uchiha in the guilty spot.
Madara only lifted his chin arrogantly. "If I'm not mistaken, you were not there as previously mentioned."
Naruto's eyes twitched in indignation, "But what was previously mentioned? There was no specific time decided."
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Naoki excused himself, then walked away and fast as he could without jostling the scrolls. "Wait, Naoki, our tour!" Naruto yelled after him. I was actually looking forward to it. He thought with a pout.
"He has matters to attend to." Was all Madara said, when Naruto gave him an accusatory look.
"Yes, you also had matters to attend to, which evidently do not include me. Please, Madara-san, if you do not wish to discuss our future involvement with each other, I would rather hear it now than later. The more time I spend here, the less I have to explore the countryside, I'll remind you." He replied shortly, not exactly meaning it but anticipating a reaction all the same.
Madara's head cocked back, clearly stunned. "Of c-course I would like to, but as I mentioned earlier I am a possible heir and I have many priorities."
"Okay, well then, how about now? No excuses. Let's spar to lessen that frigid demeanor of yours."
"Follow me."
"Fine."
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Several hours later, two bodies were collapsed on the ground, bodies heaving with exhaustion. One was a dark haired man, while the other a bright-eyed woman who was right next to him. Both had bruises and cuts littering their bodies. They were lying in a slightly wooded area; an area that was now full of small craters, smoking trees, and a faint burning smell in the air.
"Showed…you." Naruto said between gasps of air, emphasizing this by getting up slowly and aiming a weak punch to his ribs.
Madara only chuckled, then groaned due to all the bruising, and got up as well, giving her a considering look. "You. Have not…even seen half of what I can…do." The last barely a whisper. "Lucky…I didn't use...any jutsu." Madara finished, a cocky grin on his face.
Naruto whipped his head back and laughed. Laughed so hard that his stomach hurt which had nothing to do with the sparring and had tears leaking down his face, leaving a trail of clean skin with all the dirt that was now patched on his face. Soon after Madara joined him and they both enjoyed their tittering. Naruto didn't want to admit but that had been one of the most satisfying fights he had experienced. His partner was someone new who didn't know his moves, had different skills and all this challenged him. It was great. Sure, they hadn't use any jutsu, Madara claiming it would not be fair for Naruto, thinking he didn't know any, but it was entertaining none the less. It had been an orchestra of flying kunai, exploding tags, and well placed punches. Coming down from his hysterics, Naruto got up and stretched as much as he could. Looking down at the Uchiha, he offered him a hand. Knowing full well he could get up by himself, Madara took it anyway, accepting his peace offering. He could feel the bond between them tightening, just as any bond usually did after a fight, but this started to feel almost genuine. It almost made Naruto feel a little guilt for deceiving him. It's not like I chose to be like this anyway. He chided the universe. Noticing Madara had still not let go of his hand, he looked down at their intertwined grasps.
Sensing his gaze, Madara cleared his throat and released his hold on him, but not before slightly tightening his grip. Grinning lightly, he gave Madara a teasing punch which he easily avoided. "You know, that was pretty fun." He said not caring for his slang. Madara nodded in return. "I think you might have broken my ankle though."
Concerned, Madara looked down, an apology forming on his lips. Biting his bottom lip, Naruto raised said injured ankle and lightly smacked Madara on the nose. "Ha! Gotcha!"
Madara quickly grabbed his descending ankle and gave it a quick twist, making Naruto land on his behind.
"Touché." Naruto said with a laugh and used the ankle Madara stilled grasped and hooked it as best as he could with his other leg and flipped Madara on his back. A groan escaped both him and Madara as their bodies complained about the abuse.
"Okay, enough, enough. I'll…s-stop." Naruto gave in as he saw the look Madara was giving him, one of more pain to come. This caused another smile to grace his opponent's face, which reminded him how good-looking Madara could be.
"If only we had your handy hot springs around, it would feel great right about now." He commented as they both got up and dusted themselves off as much as possible.
Madara went still, a strange gaze met his eyes. "We could." He said, followed by a few seconds of silence, and then elaborated. "There is a large spring our compound is quite proud of. If you have no problem with it, we could head there now."
Naruto was surprised, it was pretty late now that he realized it and he assumed all the business closed around this time. "I would think all forms of business would be closed by now."
"Naruto-san, the Uchiha run this compound; it would be no hard task to open the establishment up and simply use it." Madara said, a condescending tone in his voice.
He could only stare. Wow, that's actually really nice of him. Naruto grinned, in spite of himself and walked up to him and looked around theatrically. "You know what would be even more fun?" Madara only cocked his head and gave her a questioning face.
Leaning in close to his ear, Naruto whispered, "To sneak in." Then stepped back and waited to hear his response. After a long pause, Madara's arrogant façade slowly showed through, accentuated by the matching grin Naruto's face now had.
" I do hope your stealth skills are up to it." Then without another moment to spare, they both became blurs as they headed towards the spring.
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Ten minutes later, Madara and Naruto were crouched on a tree, overlooking the hot springs before them. It was on the outer edges of the town so being spotted was not very likely. The only problem Naruto could see from up here was jumping over the wooden fence and landing quietly on the roof, which had a few open ventilation ports. A guard had been stationed close to the springs but he was currently occupied by a very chatty female.
"Why a guard?" Naruto asked, he couldn't imagine a sentry for something like a hot springs.
"The hot springs are popular among troublemakers of the merchant families. They occasionally try to hop the fence for a free and potentially vandalizing experience." Madara said matter of fact, almost bored.
"Well, I'm not merchant's daughter." Naruto replied jokingly, and without giving Madara a clue, jumped down from the tree and sidled against the side of the building, observing the guard flirt with what he now saw was a middle-aged woman. Pretty, but with a mean looking mole on her forehead that sort of ruined her whole appeal; not that Naruto minded, but he noticed most people didn't dig the whole hairy mole look. A soft 'thump' beside him was all he needed to know that Madara had also landed.
As if by an unspoken challenge, Madara looked up at the wooden border, seemed to find a suitable spot and jump, silently landing on the roof. Not looking down to see if Naruto followed, Madara walked off, body disappearing. "Jerk." Naruto whispered then with a quick look to make sure the guard was still occupied, sprung and landed on the roof. Only to land on a loose nail. "Hmpmhmp!" Naruto yelled through his hand which muffled the sound. Not as much as he'd like when he heard the guard say, "Someone there?" After a few stiff moments, the woman once again distracted the guard and Naruto let out a relieved sigh. Finding one of the slots lifted, Naruto walked over and looked down, it seemed to be a changing room. Hopping down lightly, making sure not to land on his bruised foot, Naruto checked out the room. It was the room in which you could leave your belongings and grab a towel. According to the sign above one of the sliding doors, it seemed to be the male changing room. Madara's cloths lay in a bunch in one of the cubby holes. Not feeling uncomfortable in the slightest, Naruto stripped himself of the dirty kimono and grabbed the nearest towel.
Naked except for the cloth, Naruto slid open another door and walked into the open space of the actual springs. It was impressive. It was large, clearly meant for a bigger village. Fifty people could fit in it without having to be disturbed by another group. There were rock formations that accented its appeal. Some were smaller and more decorative, while others were large and formed in semicircles for privacy. Heading towards one of these semicircles, Naruto stepped into the water. "Ah…" Naruto sighed with contentment; the hot water put him instantly at ease. Not caring where Madara had gone off to, he waded towards one of the rock formations. Before he got there though, a light splash could be heard farther back.
"Madara-san?" He whispered into the direction of the noise. No answer. Exasperated, Naruto rubbed his forehead. "I'm going to take a seat now." He said as quietly as possible; wouldn't do good to be caught now that they were inside. Heading back towards the rock formation Naruto waded in and found that the semicircle of stones had flat stacked piles of other stones that represented benches of sorts. "Cool." He said to no one and proceeded to sit on the center one, seeing as how thee where three of them. Sitting down caused most of his body to be covered except his head and shoulders; being engulfed by all the heat made Naruto hum happily. He could practically feel his skin becoming softer and his body thanking him. Letting his arms float out, Naruto closed his eyes and relaxed thoroughly.
A few minutes later he could hear the water parting for what he assumed was Madara. Not caring in the least for his state of undress, Naruto didn't bother to open his eyes. Seconds later he could feel him sit down on the same bench as him. "Hmmm." Naruto hummed, "Feels good." Waiting for an answering reply, he was met only by his breathing. Eh? Opening his eyes he saw that yes, Madara was seated next to him, but he wasn't look at Naruto. Straightening up to have a better range of vision, he leaned forward and starred at Madara. "Something the matter?"
Madara only let his back touch the stone, head tilted back looking at the ceiling. A little weirded out by this change in character, Naruto scooted closer to Madara and touched his shoulder. Madara did not even flinch slightly and wiped the bangs out of his eyes, but other than that didn't do much. Observing him closely, Naruto stood up on his knees and looked down from his heightened position. There was an unfocused look to Madara's eyes, almost as if in a dreamlike state. Wanting to snap him out he did the least harmful thing he could do and flicked his nose. His touch caused Madara's eyes to snap back into focus and causes his body to spring upright.
Unfortunately for Naruto, because he had been looking down over him, this sudden movement caused him to become unbalanced and fall into the water. Coming up sputtering and choking, Naruto glared at the man before him. "That wasn't too kind." He said, wiping the hot water from his eyes.
"My apologies I didn't…." Madara whispered silently then said nothing all together. His mouth had dropped open, eyes wide, a blush quickly forming on his already red cheeks.
"What? Yeah, I get it you didn't meant it." Naruto finished for him, eyes now clear and water free. What's wrong with him? Naruto thought to himself then felt a slightly different temperature on his upper half. Looking down he noticed that the towel had slipped during his careless fall. It wasn't much per se, but the wet towel had ridden low enough that the pink of his areola was slightly poking up from beneath the body-hugging towel. He also noticed that his erhem, 'headlights' were on, for whatever reason he didn't know. Somewhat embarrassed but not by much, Naruto pulled the towel up and crossed his arms, covering the show. "See what your clumsiness did?" He said trying not to let the blush appear on his face.
Madara had been slowly breathing heavier and his voice snapped him out of his ogling. With an actual head bow he apologized again. Naruto assumed the head bow was more to compose himself than to show actual remorse, but he'd take it anyway. Wading up to be right in front of the blushing young man, Naruto tilted Madara's chin up and looked at the evading eyes. "For a lady's man such as yourself, you seem to be quite the innocent." This made his eyes harden slightly in defense, then he jerked his head away. "To be candid, I am not used to the unforgiving display you made. Also, the way you disregard my presence, which is very male, is extremely perplexing."
Naruto could only laugh at his expense. Because I'm not some blushing idiot he becomes uncomfortable. How very cavalier. Smirking down at the youth, Naruto cocked his head. "Well then, do you wish for me to sigh at your body." He said then blinked his eyes flirtatiously, "Ogle at your strength," Naruto made his hands spider walk tantalizingly up his chest, "and swoon at your regality?" Then did just that and gave a very feminine soft moan and landed on his chest, head turn to the side.
"I-I, w-hat are y-you do..doing?!" Was all Madara could muster and his body tensed up tight, muscled corded up something fierce. Holding his laugh, Naruto looked up at the sputtering young man, eyes wide and alluring then intentionally pressed his breasts closer to his chest. "I'm sorry, but isn't this what you wanted me to do?"
Madara groaned huskily then jumped up, body turned away from him and ran out of the springs. Then grabbed his dirty clothes, jumped into the slot above, and was gone in the wink of an eye. Naruto saw all this happen within seconds and was silently impressed by his speed. Leaning back against the rock wall, Naruto giggled joyously. "Oh my goodness. He actually...he a-actually got turned on!" He struggled to say between giggles, sides beginning to hurt he tried to settle down, but every time he did the image of a turned on Uchiha, an obvious male bulge, and a sprint to the exit made him laugh all the harder. As if by karma, he heard the guard from earlier shout out into the springs. "Hey! No guests allowed after 8 p.m! Do not move from your location!" the circle of rocks gave him a little coverage but if the guard came any closer he'd get a real good look at his face.
"Shit!" he yelled, looking up, he noticed that there was another open slot right above him, there was a risk of losing the towel and flashing the guard though. Fuck it! Making sure it was wrapped as tight as it could go, Naruto gave a chakra infused jump and slipped through the slot perfectly, towel still intact. "Score!" He yelled cheerfully and headed to his temporary home, not really caring that he had left his clothing behind, they would disappear once he got to a certain distance anyway.
Grinning to himself, he roof hopped until he got to his tree home. "This has to be the greatest night so far." He said happily and climbed up. After a few moments of catching his breath, he changed into a simple black shirt and short combo, nothing special. Then with one last indulging chuckle, he fell asleep.
Ya like?! I know, sorry, I'm so perverted. Ahahah.
I added the zero's cause my page breaks only work occasionally, weird huh?
If they bother you tell me what's up and I'll do what I can. :]
R&R ^^