De-Raz: just wanted to say changed the bio for Shina a little, just a little detail. You guys probably didn't even read it, just thought to say it for those who did. Sorry about taking too long, just too lazy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did Naruto would not be so stupid and Sasuke is dead. But then, that would screw things up, so nvm.
Chapter 6: Confessions!:
It was early morning over the large ninja city of Konohagakure. The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon, lighting up the city with a small morning fog to give the city the impression it was glowing. The light was reflected off the large mountain in the back with the faces of the Hokages carved into it. Most civilians were just beginning to awaken to take part in another day of their daily lives. There could be seen Konoha nin already off into the training grounds to prepare for later adventures, sparring, meditating, practicing jutsu, etc. One ninja, however, was participating in a more… abnormal... activity.
This ninja could be seen on the roof of a house that just so happened to be across the street from the bathhouses. This man was easily recognizable by the long, spiked white hair that ran down his back and the red & green shirt he wore over a fishnet shirt. He was wearing a large scroll strapped onto his back and wearing a horned metal headband with the kanji for "oil" on it. Those who paid closer attention could also notice the telescope he was looking through and a notepad laid in front of him with… we'll just say erotic… drawings of inspiration.
Looking through the eyeglass, the perverted man was musing to himself on his lucky break for once. "All right! The ANBU women always have the best bodies. This shall be one of my greatest pieces of literature yet! If only it wasn't so hard to keep them from spotting me. Thank god that little brat isn't around for once, these girls probably hit hard."
And as if to curse himself, an ANBU member could be seen appear behind him in a poof of smoke. "Jiraiya-sama?" Though Jiraiya was so into his research that he failed to notice him, falling off the roof and into the street below.
"Yea, what is it?" he asked, not bothering to pick himself up off the ground.
"Hokage-sama has asked that you report to her office immediately" he said, disappearing in another poof.
Somebody always has to ruin my research, if it isn't that brat it's some stupid messenger the Gama-sennin (Toad Hermit) thought finally sitting back up. What he failed to notice, however, was the commotion he made was enough to alert the ANBU level kunoichi at the bathhouse, who had wasted no time to gather their towels and spot the man on the ground. Already knowing who he was and what he wrote, the next thing he saw was, to him, a blessing and a curse.
To most perverted men, being surrounded by beautiful women in nothing but towels would seem like a blessing to them. One thing that gave Jiraiya a clue on their true purpose was the shared expression of angry faces with veins popping out of their foreheads.
Aaawwww shit! was all he had time to think as he prepared for yet another of his near daily brutal beatings.
About 1 hour later:
The first female Hokage Tsunade was gearing up to begin her daily paperwork. In other words, she was figuring out where to stash her sake where Shizune couldn't find it. Unfortunately, most spots she has already used at least twice, so she was a bit irritated knowing she might lose her sake for the day. Having her perverted teammate nearly an hour late to report in did nothing to soothe her temper.
I swear if him being late has anything to do with research I'll… though before she could finish painting sadistic thoughts of her fellow Sannin, said person came in through the window covered in bruises and more than a few cuts.
"Sorry I'm late Tsunade-chan, another of those ANBU of yours interrupted some of my precious research and then…" which was when Tsunade decided to release at least some of her pent up anger on the white haired pervert. After waking up about five minutes later on the floor of the Godaime's office with said person gritting her teeth, he decided it was best to not go on recounting his experience.
"So what did you want to talk to me about now Tsunade-chan?" he asked taking a seat on one of the wooden chairs.
Tsunade, finally starting to calm down, was able to answer "I need you to tell Naruto about the Chunnin Exams taking place in a week. You should be able to find him at the hospital."
"The hospital? What, the idiot over exert himself training again?" he asked heading back towards the window.
He's in for a surprise Tsunade thought with a small smirk on her face, which Jiraiya failed to notice.
"Kay, but right after I finish some more res…" Though before the unfortunate pervert could get out, Tsunade punched him out followed by a yell of "Do it now you pervert!" that could be heard through the whole Hokage Tower.
Guess Jiraiya was here thought the ANBU guards at the door, with all the other workers in there sharing similar sentiments.
Hospital, another 20 minutes:
Jiraiya's morning so far could in one word be described as horrible.
First, his wonderful opportunity for research was ruined by some stupid ANBU who did not know when to not sneak up on people.
Second, he ends up getting beat up by ANBU women in towels like so many other times. The pervert had to admit though, he still was able to enjoy that sight before losing consciousness.
Third, he ends up having to report to Tsunade. Not that he ever gets tired of looking at her gigantic breasts, but he always ends up getting beat up at least once in her office, which is the exact case of today.
Finally, he ends up having to go get his apprentice at the hospital. The Gama-sennin had to admit, however, the boy kind of grew on him. He was just so much like his previous student he couldn't help but think about those old days training with him. Just because he was like the Fourth, though, didn't mean he appreciated the chunk of time it took from precious research every time he had to train him. Once the blonde idiot figures out the Chunnin Exams are in a week, there is no way the boy will just let him leave without training.
For some reason only Kami knows, every time his peeking on women in Konoha is interrupted, it's always related to that boy, Naruto.
The scene he saw now, heading into the hospital room Naruto was supposed to be in, made most of it all worthwhile.
When he went into the room, at first he wondered where the boy was. Tsunade said he wasn't a patient, so he thought he was here looking out for one of his friends. Looking around the room, however, a frown went on his face as he couldn't see a mess of blonde hair on any chairs in the room. Thinking the boy went back to his shabby apartment (AN: remember Jiraiya hasn't been here for a little bit, so he doesn't know anything that happened so far). As he was turning around to leave again, he saw the blonde mat of hair he could easily recognize as Naruto lying in one of the beds.
The fact that he was holding a beautiful teenage girl with red as fire hair with a bit of yellow and orange in his arms caused Jiraiya's eyes to nearly burst out of their sockets, before turning into one of his trademark perverted grins. The pair of teenagers had apparently not awoken yet by the sunlight streaming into the room.
Alright Boy, you have finally become more like your sensei! And a girl this hot for his first, I mean I give her two thumbs up! Finally, this brat will be useful for inspiration! Were a few of his perverted thoughts going through his head as he decided to wake them up.
"Hey gaki wake up already!" he whispered by Naruto's ear. Naruto's eyes began fluttering open and seemed much calmer and happy for some reason. Jiraiya, interested in what the pair would do when they woke up, hoping its something he could research on, decided to use his famous invisibility jutsu to hide from their site.
As Naruto was waking up, he could not help but feel that was some of the best sleep he ever had. The blonde hair guy also felt much more warm and at peace. As he looked down, the first thing he noticed was Shina curled into him with a look of innocence planted on her face. Noticing his arms around her body, he began to let go, but only resulted in having the red haired kunoichi snuggle into his muscled chest further. This of course gave him a blush from seeing how she felt good in his arms, though it wasn't like he didn't enjoy having her in his arms either. She seemed more fragile than other girls he knew, and felt an overbearing sense of protection. She seemed so peaceful, he almost decided to leave her like that. However, he knew that they had to get up; she was able to leave the hospital according to Tsunade-obaa-chan now. Leaning his head down towards her ears, he gently whispered words to wake her up.
Shina felt in one word secure. She felt more safe and warm than ever before, that nothing could hurt her anymore. Not her own fears, not her old village, not those two strange men in the robes. Feeling a warm breath against her ear and neck, she immediately froze up until she recognized the voice as Naruto's.
"Good morning Shina-chan, did you sleep well?"
Instantly relaxing into his arms again, she whispered out a "hai" still a tad bit sleepy.
"So I guess you had no nightmares then?" the deep comforting voice said to her. Shina just went with a shake of her head and thanks. "Thanks for comforting me, you didn't have to you know" she said, instead of moving away turning around to face the blonde jinchuuriki.
"Yea, but I wanted to. You're my friend, I'm not gonna let you suffer if I can do something about it." He said finally getting out of bed. He held out a hand to Shina, which she took, warming up from the small contact.
Getting out from the bed, Jiraiya thought it a good time to reveal himself. Getting out of his jutsu, he stood right in front of the pair, making Naruto jump back in surprise and Shina shriek and fall back on the bed.
"Ero-sennin, what are you doing here!" Naruto yelled at the pervert.
"Naruto! You have finally embraced the sanctity that is women! Now you can help me in all my research and…" but before he could continue his congratulations, the blonde shinobi already had him in the ground with a fist.
"It wasn't like that Ero-sennin!" Naruto said, red with a mix of anger and embarrassment.
Ero-sennin? The red haired jinchuuriki thought to her self.
Jiraiya began to stand back up. "Brat, how many times must I tell you not to call me that! Besides, I found you sleeping with this beautiful woman, so I thought congrats were in order!"
What he didn't realize saying that was the huge blush on each teenager's cheeks as realization dawned on them. The Kyuubi was rolling around in laughter, and even Hinagusami couldn't hold back a chuckle knowing what thoughts were crossing their minds, mostly perverted.
"I am not a pervert like you Ero-sennin!" Naruto said pounding his sensei into the ground.
"Then what about the things you were thinking right now kit!" the fox said through his laughing fit, and Naruto quickly told him to shut up.
"Naru-kun, who is this guy anyway?" Shina asked looking at the heap of clothes and flesh on the ground.
"What, you don't recognize me, I am the great Toad Sannin Jiraiya!" the old man said, getting into his stupid dance (AN: if you've never seen it, lucky you. Though if u really want to see it, it's when Naruto meets him the first time. Go look it up). Though throughout his introduction, Naruto decided to add his own two cents, think of it as his own personal revenge for this morning.
"I have traveled the world going on many adventures…" he began.
"Which mostly includes peeping on naked women" Naruto added.
"I have braved many horrors and survived great fights…"
"As in he gets beat up by naked women when caught"
"I grace the world with great works of literature…"
"He writes perverted dirty novels"
"And I am the master summoner of all toads!"
"Who hate his perverted peeping habits."
"Damn it gaki! You have ruined my incredibly great introduction! And stop calling me a pervert in front of other people!" the white haired sannin said smacking Naruto's head.
"It's not my fault, you're the ero-sennin!" the blonde said, rubbing his head. As they continued bickering, Shina couldn't help but sweat drop at the childish behavior. Though it was amusing enough to give her a smile, like most things Naruto did.
Is this guy really that much a pervert? They are acting like a couple of little boys she thought looking at them.
"Umm, Jiraiya-san, is there any real reason you're here?" Shina asked, effectively halting their argument.
"See Naruto, at least somebody knows when to show me respect."
"'Cause she doesn't know you yet" Naruto mumbled mainly to himself.
"Well, yes Shina. Tsunade-chan ordered me away from my precious research to tell both of you the Chunnin Exams are in a week."
At mention of the Chunnin Exams Shina immediately froze up. The Chunnin Exams, that was when my team… and he… though she was snapped out of her thoughts by Naruto waving a hand in front of her face.
"Hey Shina-chan, you okay?" he asked, looking into her eyes, faces not that far apart. A blush came onto her face with a vengeance.
"O, yea, I'm okay Naru-kun" she said regaining her bearings. He could tell it was a lie by the look in her eyes, but didn't press further.
"Anyways, you have to stay and help us train Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled turning towards the old man.
"Woa, what do you mean us? You're lucky enough I train you gaki, why would I train somebody else?" he asked incredulously.
"Aww come on, she's my best friend and teammate, Ero-sennin you have to!" Naruto whined a bit.
"I don't have to do anything, and you calling me ero-sennin isn't helping" he asked crossing his arms.
Naruto sighed. "Shina, could you please turn away, you're not gonna like what you see."
Deciding that it might be best, she turned away covering her eyes. Once she turned around, Naruto made a few Shadow Clones. Instead of attacking Jiraiya, however, he preyed on Jiraiya's weakness of women.
"Harem Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, turning into the familiar female blonde with perfect figure, about 6 of them all holding onto the pervert seductively.
"Pretty please, Jiraiya-san?" the female Naruto's asked in a female seductive voice. The Gama-sennin barely was able to come out with a yes before promptly fainting from blood loss. After Naruto cancelled out the jutsu, he told Shina she could turn around and saw the man on the floor bleeding from his nose.
"Should we help him Naru-kun?"
"Nay, he'll be fine. Just preyed on his perverted weakness to get you a spot. It would just be best to leave it at that." Shina just nodded in agreement.
When Jiraiya came back to the land of the living, he just told both of them to meet at training ground 3 in ten minutes before poofing out of existence.
Training Ground 3:
As the pair of jinchuuriki made their way up the hill to the clearing, they could see Jiraiya standing up there waiting.
"Kay, now that you're both here, I need to decide what to train you guys in. I already know you're style Naruto, but how do you like to fight Shina?"
"O, well, I like to fight close in, and then put some space between us for some fire jutsus. It is my affinity, but I also do well with wind jutsus."
Thinking for a minute or two, a light bulb was lit over his head (figuratively, don't think there's a 'light bulb idea' jutsu).
"I know just what to teach you. First of all, I am going to give you some more fire jutsus. With your long hair, I'm also gonna give you one of my personal jutsus. The Hari Jizo will be perfect for defending you and to keep enemies at a distance" he explained, to which Shina nodded enthusiastically.
"Now Naruto, I need to talk to you about something" he said in a surprisingly serious tone, which Naruto knew to comply with. Walking with the toad sennin, they moved to an area out of earshot.
"Naruto, I can tell she is very important to you isn't she?" he asked still saying serious. Looking back at her, the blonde just nodded his head.
"Well, I believe that you should tell her about Kyuubi" but before Naruto could start yelling in protest, the old man already had his hand up. "Think about it Naruto, she is a friend, comrade, and teammate who still doesn't know your secret. What if you activate it during the exams? It would be better to tell her beforehand tan have her distraught with worry about any transformation you do."
Though Naruto hated to admit it, Ero-sennin did make some good points. Even more, it's not like she lost anything to the Kyuubi. She has no vendetta against the demon, so would she hate him. Still, he couldn't help but take a stroll down memory lane of all the time they had spent as friends training and hanging out together. What if she thought he was a demon, the Kyuubi?
"I can tell you need some time to think. I'm not gonna push you to do it, but you never know what is going to happen during the Chunnin Exams. Try to tell her beforehand" he said holding onto the blond gennin's shoulder. With their conversation finished, the two men made their way back to Shina. As they gathered together, Jiraiya made a shadow clone of himself; one would go with Shina to teach her jutsus at one end of the clearing, while the original stayed with Naruto to teach him some wind jutsus at another. So there plan for training the whole week would be a light spar in the morning with taijutsu and ninjutsu, then lunch, and finally practicing their jutsu in the afternoon.
The first wind jutsu Jiraiya taught him was Wind Style: Decapitating Winds, which was basically a powerful gust of wind to push back enemies and injure them. Naruto used about 1000 clones each day in training, so he had 300 learn this jutsu, but he sent the other 700 to work on something else. When asked what those clones were doing, Naruto just told Jiraiya it was a surprise.
Meanwhile, the other Jiraiya taught Shina the Hira Jizo technique. He told her that to do it; she just stimulates the density and shape of her hair by using chakra to make it into a spike wall around her. Though on the first day, she was having a bit of trouble controlling arranging all the hair, she began to get the hang of it.
Both of them were able to master these jutsus by their second day of training. As they continued on the week, they continued learning wind and fire techniques, which they didn't fail to incorporate into their sparing matches. The end of the week was fast approaching, however, and Naruto had still not decided on whether to tell Shina or not he has the Kyuubi inside of him. On one point, she might accept him like most of his friends have, but then she might think of him as the Kyuubi like the villagers. As the week was ending, Naruto could also see Shina becoming more nervous and anxious, but for what reason he had no idea.
On the final day before the Chunnin Exams, Jiraiya had told them the day before they should have the day off to rest.
They each got out of bed and had breakfast together like usual, discussing what they should do for the day. When that was finished, they just decided to take a walk around the village together.
As they were walking through the town, they discussed strategies and other things that did with the Chunnin Exams. Neither of them, however, wanted to talk about their past Chunnin exams. It just brought up painful memories for each of them; Shina of her past home, and Naruto of Sakura and the beginning of Sasuke's betrayal. After having lunch, they decided to sit at a park bench to relax, watching some kids play. Naruto had an arm wrapped around Shina's waist, though she didn't mind too much, resting her head on his shoulder. When she saw parents coming by to get kids, however, she saw them give looks of disgust at Naruto, though when she looked at Naruto it didn't seem to faze him at all, like he was used to it. They just decided to rest like that for a few hours, Naruto still lost in his thoughts. Truthfully, he was still thinking about what Jiraiya had told him on the first day of training.
Should I tell her, I mean she is my friend, but...?
"Kit, you are pretty dense, even in human standards aren't you?" a familiar voice mocked.
What are you talking about fox-teme! He yelled out to the fox
"Well, let's see… you still haven't told her about me when it's obvious she wouldn't care, so ya I think that makes you a baka" Kyuubi stated matter-of-factly. "Look at her; she's leaning on your damn shoulder like it's the most comforting thing in the world with your arm around her. Does that seem like something just a friend would do? She freaking loves you damn baka!"
Stop lying teme! She only wants to be my friend, nothing more… he thought, a bit sadly at the end.
"Well, if that's what you think, but either way, your other friends know me already, but your vixen doesn't. So tell her already!" he yelled.
Ignoring the vixen comment, Naruto kept thinking on what he should do. At the same time, the red headed kunoichi was having her own conversation with her inner demon.
"Well, the Chunnin Exams is tomorrow isn't it, how do you feel?" Hinagusami asked her vessel.
I don't know, I'm so nervous, but with Naruto-kun by me I feel safe. But still, what if something happened to him? What if I fail my teammate again? Naruto-kun has done so much for me, I wish there was something I could do.
"It is okay to be worried, but there is something I think you should do before the Exam."
What is it? Shina asked curious.
"You should confess about me" she said as if it was nothing.
What?! But then he'll hate me, and then I'll have nobody again! I know that isn't what I want.
"Child, I do not think that he would hate you. With all the time you spent with him, does he seem like the type of person to do that?"
Well, not really, but still…
"But nothing! You care about him a lot, and I can tell he cares for you too. If you really want him to be a friend, you should not keep me secret from him. Tell him today, before the Chunnin Exams" the phoenix said, leaving the girl to her own thoughts.
Maybe Hina-san is right, maybe I should tell him? I'll see if he knows a place we can talk in private.
Coming back to the real world, Shina saw the sun was beginning to set.Looking at Naruto's face, she saw how he was silently enjoying the peace now that there were few people around, a small smile on his face. When he turned, he gave Shina one of his foxy grins, which seemed to always speed up her heartbeat.
"Naruto-kun, do you know where we could talk somewhere in private." He gave her a questioning look, but was soon replaced with another smile.
"O, yea, sure! It also has a very good view. Can you close your eyes? I want it to be a surprise."
"Sure Naruto-kun" Shina said, putting one hand over her eyes while she let Naruto guide her by grabbing her other hand. After what seemed like a long time, Naruto finally seemed to stop moving. He brought Shina right next to him, and had her sit down. When he finally told her she could look, she uncovered her eyes to see a spectacular sight.
It was the entire city of Konoha that seemed right beneath their feet. She could see all the people still walking around finishing up the day, some of the lights beginning to light up, giving it a feel of life. The sun was about halfway done setting, painting the normally blue sky with hues of orange, red, and purple. It was basically breathtaking to her.
"Wow, Naru-kun, it's beautiful. Where are we?" she asked, still taking it all in. It gave Naruto a great feeling to see her in awe, the look on her face a bit amusing.
But, he had to ruin the moment to see what she wanted to say. "We are on the Hokage Mountain right now, I'm sure nobody can bother us here. What is it you wanted to tell me, though?" the question immediately made her frown a bit, a look of deep sadness in her eyes.
"You know how I had to run away from my village right?" she asked sadly, to which he nodded.
"Well, I just wanted to tell you why" she said, causing him to widen his eyes a bit.
"You see, nearly 16 years ago, there was this mountain by our village that said to have some demon bird inside it. That demon one day attacked our village, and the leader asked for some help from neighboring villages. Nobody helped until your Sandaime Hokage gave him a scroll for this jutsu that could seal it into a person. It was called the 'Shiki Fuujin' I think" she said, making Naruto look at her in surprise. She had her hands in fists, and looked like she was about to cry. Shina took a deep breath, and kept on going.
"He saw how it required the user to die and a newborn child to seal the demon in, so he volunteered to do the jutsu. There was only one child who was young enough to survive, so he… (starting to cry) he… he sealed it in me!" she said, latching on to Naruto, like he would disappear if he let go. He had a look of complete shock on his face, as she explained how her parents had died during the attack of the demon, and her brother Bakku looked after her at the orphanage. She went on to explain how everyone was knew what she was, so everyone hated her except her brother, but one day a mob tried to kill her, but instead killed her brother when he defended her, so she was alone for years. By this time, Naruto had gotten over his initial shock, tears of sympathy from his own memories streaming down his face.
He wrapped his own arms around her, and kissed her head, stroking one hand down her silky red hair. She felt a bit better sitting there with his arms around her, a warm feeling flowing through her, calming her down. Looking up from his chest, she could see his deep sapphire eyes looking down at her with sympathy, kindness, and love maybe? Seeing Shina like this, Naruto thought it would be best to expose his own secret.
"So, you dealt with it too? Glares, people telling you you're a monster, nobody to look after you, nobody who even cared if you lived or died?" he spoke with a voice laced in depression and loneliness. She looked at him in shocked surprise at how he knew what her life was like. Before she could ask any questions, though, he already began to explain.
"You know the Kyuubi attack around 16 years ago, right. How the Yondaime gave his life to destroy it and save this village?" he asked sadly, and she nodded her head.
"Well, that was a lie" he put bluntly, making her gasp in surprise. "He couldn't kill it; no human can kill a demon, so he used the same sealing technique your village used. There was only one child that day he could seal it in, so he sealed it into that child. That child was me" he said, and hugged her even tighter, to which she responded in kind. "I went through the same thing you did, but I was still a bit better. All the villagers hated me, but at least I still had Oji-san. I'm sorry" he said. Shina just responded by wiping his tears away from his pools of sapphire.
"There is nothing to be sorry for. There is still more to my story, though" she said, getting a look from Naruto. "You see, at the last Chunnin Exams, my team was composed of me and two other guys my age. One was like everyone else, who only tolerated having me around because it would help him be a Chunnin. The other guy, his name was Cadara, actually tried being a friend to me. He was maybe the only guy who didn't hate me, he would talk to me. But during the second exam, something awful happened…"
Flashback (hey, my second one won't be too long):
The team of three nin was traveling through a thick forest area, searching for other teams to take the scrolls from. One was a boy who had brown hai that was a bit unruly and eyes, and was about an average height. The one in the middle was the tallest guy between the three, and he had jet black hair that reached down to his shoulders with black eyes to match. The one on the right was actually a girl, with long red hair with orange and blonde mixed in at the end, with a strange orange shade for eyes.
"Cadara, can you sense any opponents around" the man in black called to his teammate.
"Not yet, Dabura, what about you Shina?" the guy with brown hair asked the girl.
"No, nothing Cad- wait, I think there might be some people, 400 m to the right."
"Cadara, Shina" he spat the name of the girl, though she seemed unfazed. "You guys take the lead, I'll provide backup."
"Hai" the two shorter nins said moving to spot their target. As the trio got close to the targets, they saw they were in the middle of a clearing. Looking around, the three soon heard a male voice among the trees.
"Ah, perfect, another team to kill."
"Get ready" Cadara said, the three getting into their taijutsu styles. The trio soon saw three waterfall nins jump down ahead of them, an air of confidence around them. The one in the front of the waterfall nins spoke first.
"Give us your scroll, and we might let you live."
"Like hell we will!" Cadara yelled, throwing a kunai at them. The middle Waterfall nin caught it between his fingers, quickly throwing it back at the owner. Shina's team dodged then began to charge. Dabura and the middle nin, who was apparently the leader, began slashing and fighting with kunai drawn. The other nins had a two on two match.
Cadara and Shina worked well together, keeping the Waterfall nin on the defensive. Cadara then appeared behind one of the nin and stabbed him in the back, but it bled water instead of blood, before turning completely into a puddle. Before Cadara could react, the nin kicked him into Shina, who was still fighting the other nin. The pair got up fast, making handsigns. Cadara yelled "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough" and at the same time Shina yelled "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower jutsu!" The wind from Cadara's technique helped fuel the fire of her jutsu, so it burned the nin quite a bit. What they didn't expect was for the pair to turn into logs. As they looked around, Cadara spotted a torrent of water heading towards them. He had just enough time to push Shina out of the way before getting hit with it himself and slammed into a tree. Before Shina could move to help him, she was hit by a ration jutsu that left her momentarily paralyzed and in great pain.
As she was standing up shakily, the pair of Waterfall nin charged toward her, kunai raised to stab her. Putting her arms out in front of her, she closed her eyes waiting for the pain. Shina heard metal rip through flesh, but when she didn't feel pain she looked at a horrible scene that would be forever sketched into her memory.
Cadara was standing in front of her, kunai piercing his body at where his stomach and where it might have hit his heart. He still had the energy, however, to make the handsigns for a fire jutsu. Too shocked he was still alive, the waterfall nin had no time to escape the attack, and were reduced to heaps of burnt flesh. After that, he fell back into Shina's arms, tears shedding fast over her dying teammate.
All she could do was hold him, crying and muttering apologies and how she was too weak.
Cadara still had some energy to speak. "Don't…be sorry…Shina. I wanted to, I thought…it could help you…to see…there are people… who will care about you… out…there (cough). People…who (cough) will be… your friends. You should leave…and be… happy. I just wish…I (cough) could…have…been…your…friend" were the last things he said as his eyes closed, his breathing stopped, and he went to rest in the eternal darkness. After maybe a minute, Dabura showed up with his own sets of cuts and bruises, a dead Waterfall nin hanging on his shoulder. Looking at the scene, he could only look at his dead teammate in pity, but anger at the phoenix container.
Seeing as without their teammate they failed, the pair left the forest, to give the dead body to be taken care of, not a word spoken between the two the entire way.
In the next few months, Shina was stuck in a depression. Dabura told her how it was her fault since she was too weak, and had asked for transfer to another team, which was quickly agreed on. The entire village, especially Cadara's family blamed her for his death. Despite what he said, she still felt it was her fault he died. Though, she couldn't let go on his words about leaving the village. Were there really people who would accept her, maybe even like her out there? She had to know. The red haired kunoichi had packed some important items with her, including a picture of her brother she kept with her at all times. She then left the village, planning to never return.
However, the leader was not about to let her escape so easily. He soon sent out a pair of hunter nin to search for her. She had evaded them most of the time, using skills at evasion and hiding she had developed as being a hated child constantly on the run from mobs. At the times when they would find her, she would barely escape, finding energy she didn't know she had. After what must have been two weeks of running, she found herself in a forest, nearly out of energy. Though it seemed the hunter nin had stopped, she hadn't. Her injuries had not been healed, and she was barely able to make it out of the forest before spotting a person.
She called out for help and passed out.
End Flashback:
"So that's the reason you left?" he asked Shina, said girl still in his arms just nodded.
She then spoke up again. "It's also why I'm afraid of what might happen at these exams."
"Afraid?" he asked, a look of curiosity on his whiskered face. A look, by the way, Shina couldn't help but find cute, like a child's.
"Yes. Naru-kun… I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. I just…I just don't want you to die!" Shina said, fear gripping onto her heart. "I care about you too much, what if I fail you too? What if I'm too weak?"
Looking down, Naruto brought one of his hands under the girl container's chin, lifting her head up to meet eye to eye.
"I promise, Shina-chan, nothing is going to happen to me. I will never leave you, believe it!" he shouted like he was a child again. Though, she couldn't help but believe him, the confidence in his voice gave her confidence in him. She just looked up at him from his chest, happiness clearly evident in her eyes. Not that it wasn't practically glowing from his own pools of sapphire.
After those confessions, they just sat there in each other's arms looking over the beautiful sight of Konoha, content in the warmth they gave each other. As it was getting dark, Naruto's stomach grumbled, initiating a blush of embarrassment on the blonde and a bunch of giggles from the red head girl next on his lap.
"I'm thinking Ichiraku, is that fine with you?" the blonde asked, rubbing his sheepishly and giving off a trademark foxy grin that always made her weak at the knees.
"O yea, I'd love to" she said, Naruto picking her up still in his arms, to which they both noticed and gave them a great blush. Though they separated from the hug, neither of which liked, they still held each others hands as they went off the mountain.
Unaware to the pair of jinchuuriki, a young man could be seen hiding among the trees. Though it was hard to make out any details in the darkness, you could still see the gray hair and the glare coming off the Hitae-ate with the design of a musical note sketched into it. There was also a glare for a second from his glasses as he pushed them up onto the bridge of his nose.
"Hmmm, two jinchuuriki, I must tell Orochimaru-sama of these new developments." And with that he disappeared as though he was never there.
Unknown Location:
In the darkness of the underground labyrinth, it was difficult for even the best of eyes to make out the details of its occupants. As the gray haired man came in through the door, he could make out two silhouettes; one sitting down but could still tell he was tall and skinny. The other, however, looked like the size of a teenager, near six feet tall.
The one who had entered the room kneeled down to the one sitting on his 'throne'.
"Orochimaru-sama, I have finished my research on Naruto as you asked" he said.
"And, what did you disssscover about our little jinchuuriki Kabuto?" the man hissed at the subordinate.
The man in question just smirked, replying "He will not be a threat to our plans, but there is something that is unexpected." At this Orochimaru just looked at Kabuto questioningly.
"And what would that be?"
"The presence of a second container." At this the snake man's eyes widened a bit, before quickly reverting into an evil smirk.
"No matter, nobody can interfere with my planssss this time. My ultimate creations are ready, and soon, Konoha will be mine! Not only that, but sssoon Sasuke, you shall gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, and will finally be ready to become my body."
"And then, I shall have the power to kill my brother!" the teen said, eyes blazing red with three black tomae in each eye.
De-raz: Sorry about taking so long, I was just being lazy
Naruto: Well at least you're finally done. Now we finally have the Chunnin Exams, Yea!
De-raz: Yep, next chapter is the chunnin exams. Planning a few surprises for these tests.
Naruto: Surprises?
De-raz: Of course, I don't want it to be too much like the actual one, right?
Naruto: But I like it that way! Then I know what to do!
De-raz: Well… Too bad!
Naruto: You suck (sticks tongue out)!
Shina: Don't make fun of the author!
De-raz: Yea what she said, Ha! (sticks tongue out back)
Shina: (sighs) they're like children
Anyways, next chapter: Chunnin Exams, GO!
Please Read and Review