Chapter 15
LOST CHAPTER
They were on a normal C-ranked mission: to bring Shibuki back to the Waterfall village safely. Ayumi was bored, and looked around with her eyes half-opened lazily. "We almost there yet?" she questioned Kakashi. At that moment, they reached a huge waterfall, and she said, "I'll take that as a 'yes'." Soon, two little children ran up to Shibuki, and said that they had to pick up all of the trash in the water. Ayumi smiled, saying, "I'll help them out." "And so will the others." Shibuki said with a smile. Naruto OBVIOUSLY didn't want to, but he was soon persuaded to help out. As they were cleaning up the trash, Kakashi was reading his book and soon got a message from a hawk.
He had to leave, and told them to follow later. "Bye, Kakashi-san!" Ayumi said, smiling, as she got out of the water. She didn't pay attention to Naruto as he got into an argument with the children, but her head snapped up when he stepped in dog poop. Her eye twitched as Naruto overreacted. "Naruto-kun…you don't have to overreact…just wash it off…" After that, they finished cleaning up all of the trash, and Naruto sat down on the ground, hungry. "You should just leave!" Shibuki said rudely. Ayumi's eyes turned steely, but she helped Naruto up. She knew why he wanted them to leave: so they wouldn't know how to get to the village.
Sakura and Naruto complained, but they started walking when Ayumi heard someone call out Shibuki's name. She turned around…to see the children's mother wobbling towards Shibuki and the children. "Shibuki…they attacked without warning…" She fell forward…to reveal a kunai stuck in her back. Hara whimpered as Ayumi's eyes widened. They ran over, and Sakura checked the wound. "She'll be fine. The wound isn't that bad." Ayumi said, "We need to check the village. There may be other survivors." Sasuke nodded, saying, "Sakura, Ayumi, take the children and the woman to a safe place while me and Naruto go with Shibuki to the village."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I'M GOING WITH YOU!!" "This is not the time to ague, nii-chan." "I DON'T CARE! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING ME BEHIND!" That's when shinobi appeared from the waterfall, and Sasuke took out the windmill shuriken, hitting most of the shinobi except one. "Nii-chan…you can come…but I'm not happy about it!" "You're never happy." She mumbled, giving Sakura her first aid kit and following Shibuki as he led the way to entrance of the Hidden Waterfall village. When they were at the path leading behind the waterfall, Ayumi said, "Hara, search around in there. Snarl if you find the enemy." Hara seemed to nod and then ran into the cave.
Ayumi put a finger to her lips before running in. Hara sniffed around, and Ayumi masked her chakra until Hara barked, signaling that it was safe. She went to the entrance, and signaled them in. They went up to a hole full of water, and Shibuki jumped in. Ayumi looked at Sasuke uneasily before jumping in after him. They soon resurfaced in the village, but it was empty. Ayumi put her whole head above water, breathing deeply, and Hara jumped onto her head. Ayumi giggled softly as Sasuke and Naruto got out of the water, and felt chakra. She saw Shibuki slip off, and followed him, Hara always by her side.
She shadowed him as he went into the trunk of the huge tree, and she followed him to a shrine. He got a jug full of water, and she asked, "What's that?" He was so startled that he almost dropped it, and he said, his voice shaking, "Oh…it's just you." Ayumi came up, repeating her question. "It's the Hero's Water." "I've heard of it. Is that what the rogue shinobi are after?" Shibuki nodded, and he led her to a hole in the trunk. She looked out to see the rogue shinobi holding all of the villager's hostage, and Sasuke was tied up by his arms to an arch. "Oh they did NOT just do that to MY nii-san!" She muttered angrily.
She then saw them lower Sakura, the children, and their mother in a net before tying them up. Suddenly, Naruto appeared, scaring Shibuki out of his mind. "Naruto!" Ayumi said, smiling. "I thought they got you!" Naruto smiled, saying, "They can't get me THAT easily!" Ayumi smiled widely at his childishness, and heard the leader yell, "Shibuki! I know you can hear me! Bring me the Hero's Water! If you don't, I'll kill each villager, one by one!" Ayumi's eyes grew steely as Hara snarled softly beside her. Naruto looked out too, and Shibuki was too scared to do anything. The leader grabbed the little girl, and started counting down from thirty.
"Shibuki…" Shibuki looked up at Ayumi. "You're the leader of this village. It's your job to defend them, no matter what the cost." She breathed deeply, saying, "I'm prepared to do that. What about you?" Shibuki didn't answer, and time was running out. Naruto tightened his headband, saying, "To risk everything for what you love…that's what it means to be a hero. I'll prove it!" when the leader reached one, Naruto appeared, and Ayumi beamed with pride. Naruto tried to swing down on a vine, but it snapped, and he fell into the water. Ayumi's eye twitched as she said, "I prayed he'd actually make us look GOOD." Naruto soon got out of the water as the leader was about to kill the little girl.
Naruto pushed the girl away, taking the kunai in the back. "NARUTO-KUN!!" She said, almost jumping out of hiding. They started kicking him, punching him, and Sakura yelled, "STOP IT! YOU'LL KILL HIM!!" "Well, little hero, who's going to save you now?" "I AM!!" They all looked up at Ayumi, with Hara waiting in the shadows. "What's a little girl going to do?" Her eyes were steely as she forward flipped off the branch and landed lightly on the ground. "Don't underestimate me." She grabbed her blades, and the leader asked, interested, "What's your name, girl?"
"My name is Ayumi Uchiha, one of the last survivors of my clan." Hara was in the shadow of the trunk, growling too softly to hear, and bristling. Ayumi's eyes were steely as she said, "Step away from Naruto." The man with his foot on Naruto's back ground it into his back, and Ayumi did rapid hand signs, saying, "Wind Release: Wind Blade jutsu!" With that, she activated the Ayaka Sharingan and ran forward. She slashed at the man standing over Naruto from a safe distance, and he flew back. Two more rogue shinobi jumped at her from the side, and she did more hand signs, saying, "Wind Release: Wolf Fang Tornado jutsu!"
She started spinning, her arms outstretched, holding her blades tightly, and cutting the shinobi while the wind protected her from their attacks. She stopped spinning, standing up straight, and asked, her eyes softening, "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Naruto nodded weakly, smiling. "I knew…you'd rescue me…" "Of course I would." She whispered, kneeling beside him, brushing some stray locks from his face. She smiled, whispering, "You'll be fine." "Awww. Lovesick?" She glared at the leader, a light blush on her face, but she didn't notice the same blush on Naruto's face.
She stood up straight, saying, "I should kill you for hurting them." "Let's see you try." She smirked. "Don't tempt me." She did some hand signs, saying, "Twin Technique: Wolf Fang jutsu!" She ran at him, her foot glowing with power, and she almost kicked him in the stomach, but he dodged. Fortunately, he wasn't able to dodge Hara's tail. He released the little girl, and Ayumi caught her. "Shhh…it's okay…" she whispered to the frightened child, before setting her down with her brother. Ayumi sighed before standing up. "You're stronger than you look, girl." His eyes widened as he asked, "What's with your eyes?"
She smirked, saying, "You're lucky. You get to see the last survivor with the Ayaka Sharingan. Now you know you can't win." He smirked, and a shinobi came up behind her. Her eyes had widened a moment before the shinobi appeared, and she moved to the side when he tried to hit her pressure point. He hit her shoulder, and she gritted her teeth in pain. She fell to her knees, holding her shoulder. 'They…dislocated my shoulder…' she thought as they grabbed her by the throat, lifting her into the air. She almost choked, the Ayaka Sharingan beginning to throb with power. "You don't seem as all powerful as you let on." The leader mocked. "I've always been a good liar."
She said, smirking, before kicking him in the chest. He didn't release her, but tightened his grip on her throat. She choked, gasping for air. "You could always join us. Forget your pathetic village." She looked at Naruto, her gaze wavering, as she said, "No. I won't. I won't turn out like…" 'Itachi-nii-san…' "Then you'll just have to die." Before he could choke her, a massive amount of water hit him, pushing her away from him. Now that she was free, she had to relocate her shoulder. She saw Shibuki surrounded by a powerful chakra, and fight the leader, a former Waterfall Jounin. She relocated her shoulder, almost crying out in pain, and saw the leader stab through Shibuki.
"SHIBUKI!!" She stood, with Hara immediately by her side, and saw the leader get the Hero's Water. 'Shit!' she thought as Naruto attacked him, without much success. She did some hand signs, saying, "Fire Release: Phoenix Tornado jutsu!" it was the same as the Wolf Fang Tornado jutsu except it was fire instead of wind. The tornado smacked into the powerful chakra, and the fire dissipated. She grabbed her blades, slashing at him, but he grabbed her wrists, twisting them hard. She thought her arms would break, and she kicked him in the side. He didn't release her. Instead, he took a kunai, stabbing it close to her heart, before throwing her into the tree.
She felt the blood flowing out of the wound, but she stayed conscious long enough to rip out the kunai. She saw Naruto use the Ninetail's chakra, and she smiled weakly as her blood, pulsing with chakra, flowed back into the wound, slowly healing her. She sat up as Naruto dealt the final blow, and Naruto went over to her. "You okay, Ayumi-chan?" She smiled brightly, her bright blue-white eyes happy as she said, "I'll be fine. How about you?" "I'm good." He lifted her into his arms bridal style, making both of them blush, and they headed down to rejoin their teammates and to untie the prisoners.
Once everything was back to normal, Kakashi came to meet them where they had picked up trash earlier. Kakashi didn't seem interested…although Ayumi didn't think he would…and they started heading back. Not five seconds of walking later, Naruto stepped into dog poop again. Ayumi's eye twitched slightly as she thought, 'Well…that Naruto! And I love him just the way he is!'