Chapter 24

They reached a town when Jiraiya said they'd stop. Ayumi had healed pretty well by then, and he said they'd start training the next day, but to enjoy the festival today. Ayumi and Naruto split off from Jiraiya, and started going to the booths. Ayumi didn't play any of the games, though she looked at the prizes with interest. Naruto would play, and always picked the ones she wanted. After that, he'd give them to her. "Arigato, Naruto-kun!" she would say, kissing him on the cheek. Soon, she was carrying an armful of prizes, and she said, "Maybe we should call it a day, Naruto-kun?" "Sure…" He got them some food, for lunch, and they had a small picnic.

Ayumi smiled at Hara, who was having trouble eating a squid, and laughed when she saw Naruto having the same problem. "What's so funny?" Naruto questioned. "Nothing…" she said slyly. Naruto sat in front of her, asking, "What's so funny?" "I said nothing…" He smirked, kissing her neck lightly, making her giggle. "What are you two doing?" Their heads snapped up to see Jiraiya looking at them. "N-Nothing…we were just eating…" Ayumi said, standing with Naruto. "Well…we're going to the hotel now. Come on." They followed Jiraiya, holding hands when he wasn't looking, and they soon reached the room.

"Remember, I'm gonna start teaching you the new jutsu tomorrow, so you better eat and sleep now." Ayumi nodded, and both her and Naruto went down to the cafeteria. As they got food, Ayumi said, "I can't wait to learn this new jutsu! I wonder what it is…" "Ero-sennin said it's as powerful as Chidori!" "Really?" Ayumi questioned as they sat down. They ate quickly, talking about the possibilities. "It's a wind jutsu…so it's gotta be something good…" They went to the room to find Jiraiya wasn't there. Ayumi sighed, saying, "We'd better go get him before he gets into trouble…"

They walked around the town, and found him with woman, drunk, and had used ALL of Naruto's money! Naruto started hitting him, and Ayumi massaged her temples, saying, "He's like an overgrown Naruto…only worse!" That's when two men came in, and Naruto accidentally stained one guys suit. When the guy ran at Jiraiya angrily, he showed Ayumi and Naruto the move he was going to teach them. "Rasengan!" he slammed it into the guy, and he flew back into a stand. After paying for it, he bought a bunch of balloons. He took them to the forest, and said, "Okay, training might as well start now…" "Really? Great! So how do we start?"

Jiraiya smiled at Ayumi's impatience, and said, "You need to pop this water balloon with your chakra. Like this." He held the water balloon, and it started moving in many directions before popping. Ayumi looked at the water balloon he'd handed her, and she started rotating the water. It only stretched, so she thought for a moment, remembering how he did it.

She smiled, figuring it out, and focused hard, making the water balloons surface rough before it popped. "Whoa! That was fast!" "I'm a fast learner…" Ayumi said modestly. "Well…while Naruto does this one, I'll show you the next step." Ayumi followed him, and he showed her a rubber ball. "This step is about strength. Look closely." He held the rubber ball, and it popped. She looked at the one he handed her, and concentrated all of her chakra into her palm, spinning it as fast as she had before, maybe even faster. It popped after a few moments, and Jiraiya said, "Your good with controlling your chakra."

"Tsunade-sensei taught me…she said she'd teach me medical jutsu next time…" "Well…you'll need it for the next step." He showed her a balloon, and held it, saying, "Do this." She looked at it, and gave him a confused look. "Let me show you exactly what I'm doing in my other hand." He formed Rasengan in the other hand, and her eyes widened. "So…all I have to do is learn to keep my chakra at its max but keep it from popping the balloon…" she looked at the balloon, and started concentrating, feeling the chakra spin in there at dangerous levels. The balloon moved slightly, but she was able to stop it.

After a while, it didn't move at all. Jiraiya smiled, saying, "Now do it without the balloon." She dropped the balloon, and formed Rasengan in her hand. "Whoa! I did it!" Jiraiya's jaw dropped. It was IMPOSSIBLE!! She'd really mastered Rasengan so quickly! How in the world! Its not like she copied what he did before…that's when it struck him. She must have used the Ayaka Sharingan when he first used Rasengan, and studied how to do it before he started teaching her. THAT'S why she learned so fast! "Well…I need to help Naruto…what are you going to do in the meantime?" Ayumi thought for a moment before saying, "I'll go look ahead for Tsunade-sensei. You guys better catch up, though! And I don't want to hear that you took so long because of 'research'!"

"Fine…" she smiled, and went back to where Naruto was still training. "Naruto-kun! I'm going ahead to look for Tsunade-sensei!" "Do you have to?" "Sorry, but you'll catch up soon!" she gave him a goodbye kiss. "Okay! Okay! Let's not get all mooshy! Don't you need to go, Ayumi?" Naruto glared at Jiraiya as Ayumi nodded. "See you later, Naruto-kun!" she left in a flash, and, after a moment of silence, Jiraiya said, "You must be the luckiest idiot in the WORLD to get a girl like THAT!" "I'm not an idiot!"

Ayumi got all of her stuff, and tenderly lifted Hara into her backpack before setting off. She went to the next town, and looked around all of the gambling areas. When she was about to call it a day, she heard Tsunade's familiar voice. "Tsunade-sensei!" Tsunade's head snapped into Ayumi's direction. "Ayumi?" Ayumi ran to her, smiling. "Tsunade-sensei! I've been looking all over for you!" "Why? I said I'd be gone for a while…" "We need you back in Konoha…its about the Third Hokage…" Ayumi felt the hot tears burn her eyes, and Tsunade sighed, saying, "Shizune, we're heading back to the hotel."

Shizune appeared next to Tsunade, holding Tonton. "Hello, Ayumi-chan! I haven't seen you in a while!" "Its nice to see you, too, Shizune-chan." With the greetings done, they went to the hotel, and Ayumi had to explain everything, even though some things brought tears to her eyes. "Wait…if you fought Itachi and Kisame, why are you uninjured?" Ayumi smiled sheepishly, saying, "I healed a while ago. I'm fine now!" Tsunade sighed, saying, "Anyway…I'll be going out gambling the whole week, so you can't come." "Well…what am I supposed to do?!" "I'll leave you some medical scrolls to train with. It should last." "Okay…" Ayumi said, pouting.

For three weeks, Ayumi trained as hard as she could, and even found a way to supercharge the Rasengan. One day, she went back to the room early to rest, and only slept for three hours before Tsunade shook her awake gently. "Tsunade-sensei…what is it?" "We're leaving." "What? Why?" Ayumi was awake, and she shook Hara awake. "Lets go sightseeing before leaving." Shizune suggested. "Fine…" Tsunade said, and Ayumi put Hara in her backpack with all of her stuff before following Tsunade. They were in a maze around a large castle, and Ayumi smiled, saying, "I always thought castles were cool…"

That's when a strange rumbling reached her ears, and shook her to her very core. "What the-" The next moment, a giant snake smashed the castle down, and Ayumi's widened when she saw Orochimaru and Kabuto riding it. She stepped back, hiding a bit behind Tsunade, as the snake disappeared and they landed in front of them. "Hello, old friend." Ayumi shivered whenever she heard that snake's voice, and she hid a bit more. "What do you want here, Orochimaru?" Ayumi wished she had Tsunade's bravery, but…when it came to these two, the only one who gave her courage was…Naruto…"I didn't expect the little Uchiha to be with you…"

Ayumi glared hostilely, remembering what he did…to the Third Hokage. "Well…she holds a grudge." She felt a sharp response wedge itself in her throat, and she wished she had the courage to say it. She confined herself to hostile glares, though she wished her fist would make contact with his face. "What have you gotten yourself into, Orochimaru?" Ayumi looked up at Tsunade questioningly. "Nothing…just killing the Third Hokage." That still seemed to hurt Tsunade, and Ayumi felt tears prick her eyes. "As you can see, Tsunade, you're the only one who can heal his arms." Ayumi glared at Kabuto, and Hara started growling in her backpack.

"What will you do if I heal your arms?" "You know I'm not one to lie, so I'll tell you the truth. Besides obtaining everything I desire…" He looked pointedly at Ayumi, and Hara's head appeared over her shoulder, snarling warningly. "I'm going to destroy Konoha." Ayumi's eyes widened as she said, "You can't be serious! You can't destroy Konoha!" Shizune was angry, and attacked Kabuto. Tsunade called her to stop, though, and she jumped away from her stalemate. "Orochimaru, you know the kind of girl I am…" she punched the wall behind her, and it shattered like glass. "So you should leave now before I make you." Ayumi felt admiration fill her heart, though Kabuto tried to persuade Tsunade.

When Tsunade was about to attack, Orochimaru said, "I'll bring back your little brother and lover." Tsunade stopped, and looked at the ground. "Tsunade-sensei, he's lying! You can't bring back the dead…" "Ayumi, I have to try…" "But he just wants you to do help him, and then use another persons life to bring them back! Can you live with that?" "What do you know about losing people precious to you?!" Even as the words passed her lips, Tsunade knew she'd made a grave mistake. Her words had been like kunai piercing Ayumi's heart, and she said, "And I thought you understood…" Ayumi felt the tears almost fall, and she whispered, "I knew I was just a burden…"

She disappeared in a flash, and Tsunade sighed, a hand to her head. "I'm surprised you forgot, Tsunade. Her name always tells people what she's gone through." "I don't need to be lectured to, Orochimaru!" That's when she noticed Kabuto was about to leave. "Don't you hurt her!" She warned, fists clenched. "She doesn't need anymore grief…" Ayumi ran into the forest, and hid in a tree trunk, crying her heart out. She stopped only when she heard footsteps, and masked her chakra when she realized it was Orochimaru and Kabuto. "Where could that little girl go? She can't have gone far…" "We'll see her again…she'll go back to Tsunade, and Tsunade will be meeting us again anyway."

With that, they left, and, once she felt it was safe, she wiped away all of her tears and ran to the hotel. Tsunade was at the table, head in her hands, when Ayumi ran in. "Ayumi!" Ayumi said, "You said you'd do it…didn't you?" Tsunade seemed…guilty. "You did! He'll destroy Konoha if you do! You can't just let him!" "Konoha is no longer my concern!" That took Ayumi's breath away as she stuttered, "You can't mean it…it's your home…" "Not anymore." "But I won't let you HELP him destroy MY home!" "We're dropping the subject! NOW!" Ayumi bit her tongue. "We're going to drink. Come on." She ended up dragging them away, and got drunk.

Ayumi was too depressed to try and stop her when Jiraiya and Naruto walked in. "Naruto-kun!" she stood up, greeting him with a kiss. "This is the lucky guy?" Ayumi nodded to Tsunade as she sat down next to Naruto. "He doesn't look like much…" Naruto was insulted, but Ayumi put a hand on his shoulder, smiling sweetly. "Don't put it against her. She's drunk." Naruto mumbled something incoherently before leaning back in his seat, draping his arm on her shoulders. Jiraiya told her about the position of Hokage, and Tsunade rudely declined. "What fool wants to waste their life for others…"

Naruto got mad, yelling, "Because it's what's right! I won't have you insulting any of the great Hokage's!" It soon escalated, and they went outside to fight. "Naruto-kun…be careful…" "I will be, Ayumi-chan." When Tsunade so quickly beat him, she said, "I bet you couldn't learn to use Rasengan by the end of the week!" "I'll take that bet! If I win, I get that necklace. If you win, we'll find someone else to be Hokage." Tsunade accepted, and Ayumi sighed. Tsunade ended up dragging her away, and she was trained to the bone. At the end of the week, she was given the day to rest, and she welcomed it.

She was sleeping on the couch when Naruto, Shizune, and a weakened Jiraiya came in. Naruto shook her awake, asking, "Where's Tsunade?" "I don't know…why?" "She went to meet Orochimaru…" Jiraiya concluded. "No!" Ayumi was on her feet, and said, "I need to help her!" They all ran as fast as they could to where the castle once stood, and saw that more of it had been destroyed, and Tsunade's jacket was on the ground. They ran into the field to see Tsunade fighting both Orochimaru and Kabuto. Ayumi threw a kunai at Kabuto, switching his attention from Tsunade to her.

"You teme! I should show you what happens when you attack my sensei!" she punched the ground as hard as she could, and it shattered, splinters as large as trees racing up to meet him. Kabuto dodged, and Ayumi ran up, punching him in the stomach. He flew back into a rock, and Ayumi looked at Tsunade, noticing Orochimaru wasn't fighting with her anymore. That's when she felt a presence behind her, and she whirled around, fist raised, but he kicked her in the stomach. She flew into a rock, and she gritted her teeth in pain, but her eyes snapped open when she heard Naruto attack him. "Don't do it, Naruto-kun!"

Luckily, Jiraiya fought him instead, and Tsunade didn't move, covered in her own blood, and Ayumi stood. She saw Naruto start fighting Kabuto, and she ran over, stabbing a kunai into his arm. Kabuto winced in pain before cutting her arm deeply with his knife. She jumped back, trying to hide the fact that the wound was healing itself already, but Kabuto had keen eyes. He stared in awe at first, but she snapped him out of it when she threw a few kunai. He dodged, and beat Naruto down. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!" Ayumi kicked him away, and saw Naruto struggling to rise. "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Naruto nodded, running at Kabuto, hitting him with a real Rasengan.

"Naruto-kun…you did it…" Kabuto flew into a rock, and Naruto smiled sheepishly, saying, "I did good, didn't I-" At that moment, he fell backwards…dieng…"NARUTO-KUN!!!" She ran to his side, and said, tears filling her eyes, "Don't leave me, Naruto-kun! Hang on!" She opened his jacket, and then his shirt.

She tried to heal his heart, she really did, but it wasn't working. "Naruto-kun…I'm trying, just stay with me…" "Ayumi-chan…I'm sorry…" "Don't leave me, Naruto-kun! I can't live without you…" "I love you, Ayumi-chan…" "NARUTO-KUN!!!" his eyes closed, and, though Tsunade started healing, Ayumi's tears didn't stop. "Naruto-kun…I love you, too…I'll never love anyone else…" she kissed his still lips, and a tear landed on his cheek. That's when she saw Orochimaru about to stab him with a sword.

"NO!!!"

"Ayumi, don't!"

Tsunade's warning came too late, for the sword stabbed through Ayumi's chest. Naruto woke up at that moment, and Orochimaru pulled the sword out, making her fall back onto his lap. "AYUMI-CHAN!!!" "Naruto-kun…you're okay…" she smiled weakly. "I'm glad…" "Ayumi-chan, you're going to be fine! Just stay with me! Don't leave…" "I'm sorry…" "Ayumi-chan!" she put a hand on his cheek, and gave him one last kiss before her mind darkened. Her body lay limp in his hands, and he stared in shock at her blood on his hands.

"Ayumi-chan…" he glared at Orochimaru with demon-red eyes, saying, "You couldn't just leave her alone! She didn't deserve this! She deserved so much better…" he looked down at her pained face. "All she wanted was love…and once she was able to give it, you killed her!" He stood up, putting her down gently. Jiraiya could feel his pain, and Naruto said, red chakra swirling around him, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"